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<p>The anonymous, U.S-based hate group Sleeping Giants was set up to get companies to stop advertising on the conservative news site Breitbart.com.</p>
<p>Sleeping Giants invites bullies to take screenshots of ads on Breitbart.com, tweet them to the advertiser, and bully them into quitting doing business with the site.</p>
<p>It's like a protection racket. And it's all anonymous, with dark money behind it. George Soros? The Saudis? Who knows?</p>
<p>But now this anonymous troll war has come to Canada. And, of course, they're targeting us.</p>
<p>To be honest, we don't get a lot of money from ads; we are built on <a href="" type="internal">your subscription fees,</a> and <a href="" type="internal">crowdfunding</a>.</p>
<p>Yes, TheRebel.media displays some tiny ads, but they're served up automatically by YouTube and Google based on other sites you've visited. We don't choose these ads.</p>
<p>So the Sleeping Giants boycott doesn't really make sense.</p>
<p>But the National Post tried to make it into something.</p>
<p>They called up one of the companies listed by Sleeping Giant, the famous ski resort in B.C. called Whistler Blackcomb. You know it's nice, because Justin Trudeau goes there. But so does anyone from B.C., Alberta, across the country and even from other countries. People of every political stripe, who just love skiing. Skiing has nothing to do with politics.</p>
<p>Except that's not what Whistler Blackcomb told the National Post. They confirmed that they were going to ban their ads from appearing on TheRebel.media.</p>
<p>Now, I say again:</p>
<p>Whistler Blackcomb does not have an ad contract with us.</p>
<p>Their ad only shows up if someone who is really interested in skiing comes to our site. The total amount of money we have made from those Whistler Blackcomb ads is less than one dollar.</p>
<p>In other words: Whistler Blackcomb is literally boycotting Rebel viewers. They refuse to show their ads to our 700,000+ subscribers. They don't like our kind.</p>
<p>So if Whistler Blackcomb doesn't want to do business with Canadian conservatives, Canadian conservatives might want to repay the favour?</p>
<p>Tell Whistler Blackcomb themselves what you think:</p>
<p>Sign our petition at <a href="" type="internal">BoycottWhistlerBlackcomb.com</a></p>
<p>NEXT: Our Alberta Bureau Chief, Sheila Gunn Reid, reported <a href="" type="internal">a story yesterday</a> that the rest of the media is trying to ignore:</p>
<p>The fights between Syrian "refugees" and Canadian kids at an Alberta school.</p>
<p>Tonight we talk about her plan to continue covering this story, through Freedom of Information requests and tips from parents.</p>
<p>THEN: Daniel Ghasem Akbari of the Center for Sharia Studies joins me to talk about the Islamic terrorist attack in <a href="http://www.ManchesterTerror.com" type="external">Manchester</a>, and the aftermath.</p>
<p>FINALLY: Your messages to me!</p> | A famous BC ski resort is boycotting The Rebel. See how we're responding. | true | https://therebel.media/ezra_levant_may_25_2017 | 2017-05-25 | 0right
| A famous BC ski resort is boycotting The Rebel. See how we're responding.
<p>The anonymous, U.S-based hate group Sleeping Giants was set up to get companies to stop advertising on the conservative news site Breitbart.com.</p>
<p>Sleeping Giants invites bullies to take screenshots of ads on Breitbart.com, tweet them to the advertiser, and bully them into quitting doing business with the site.</p>
<p>It's like a protection racket. And it's all anonymous, with dark money behind it. George Soros? The Saudis? Who knows?</p>
<p>But now this anonymous troll war has come to Canada. And, of course, they're targeting us.</p>
<p>To be honest, we don't get a lot of money from ads; we are built on <a href="" type="internal">your subscription fees,</a> and <a href="" type="internal">crowdfunding</a>.</p>
<p>Yes, TheRebel.media displays some tiny ads, but they're served up automatically by YouTube and Google based on other sites you've visited. We don't choose these ads.</p>
<p>So the Sleeping Giants boycott doesn't really make sense.</p>
<p>But the National Post tried to make it into something.</p>
<p>They called up one of the companies listed by Sleeping Giant, the famous ski resort in B.C. called Whistler Blackcomb. You know it's nice, because Justin Trudeau goes there. But so does anyone from B.C., Alberta, across the country and even from other countries. People of every political stripe, who just love skiing. Skiing has nothing to do with politics.</p>
<p>Except that's not what Whistler Blackcomb told the National Post. They confirmed that they were going to ban their ads from appearing on TheRebel.media.</p>
<p>Now, I say again:</p>
<p>Whistler Blackcomb does not have an ad contract with us.</p>
<p>Their ad only shows up if someone who is really interested in skiing comes to our site. The total amount of money we have made from those Whistler Blackcomb ads is less than one dollar.</p>
<p>In other words: Whistler Blackcomb is literally boycotting Rebel viewers. They refuse to show their ads to our 700,000+ subscribers. They don't like our kind.</p>
<p>So if Whistler Blackcomb doesn't want to do business with Canadian conservatives, Canadian conservatives might want to repay the favour?</p>
<p>Tell Whistler Blackcomb themselves what you think:</p>
<p>Sign our petition at <a href="" type="internal">BoycottWhistlerBlackcomb.com</a></p>
<p>NEXT: Our Alberta Bureau Chief, Sheila Gunn Reid, reported <a href="" type="internal">a story yesterday</a> that the rest of the media is trying to ignore:</p>
<p>The fights between Syrian "refugees" and Canadian kids at an Alberta school.</p>
<p>Tonight we talk about her plan to continue covering this story, through Freedom of Information requests and tips from parents.</p>
<p>THEN: Daniel Ghasem Akbari of the Center for Sharia Studies joins me to talk about the Islamic terrorist attack in <a href="http://www.ManchesterTerror.com" type="external">Manchester</a>, and the aftermath.</p>
<p>FINALLY: Your messages to me!</p> | 599,000 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Lobos, thanks to a 6-0 start to the season and a Paradise Jam tournament championship win over previously ranked Connecticut last week, have broken into both major Top 25 polls – the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA TOday coaches poll.</p>
<p>The Lobos were ranked No. 23 in the latest coaches poll released Monday morning and No. 25 in the AP poll.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In the coaches poll, UNM was ahead of No. 24 UCLA and No. 25 Georgetown. Fellow Mountain West schools UNLV (No. 20) and San Diego State (No. 21), both of whom already have losses, are ranked ahead of UNM.</p>
<p>In the AP poll, San Diego State was No. 23 while UNLV checked in at No. 24. Colorado State received votes in both polls but did not crack the Top 25.</p>
<p>Previously ranked teams UConn, Memphis, Wisconsin and Baylor all dropped out of this week’s polls, making way for UNM, Georgetown and Illinois in both polls while Colorado broke into the coaches poll for the first time and Minnesota into the AP poll.</p>
<p>The Nov. 26 AP Top 25 with record, total points and previous ranking:</p>
<p />
<p>Others receiving votes: Alabama 108, Wichita State 99, Connecticut 93, UCLA 85, Pittsburgh 55, Oregon 44, Notre Dame 42, Memphis 23, Butler 20, Wisconsin 16, California 12, Florida State 10, Saint Joseph’s 9, Ohio 8, Marquette 7, Murray State 5, Temple 5, Baylor 4, Tennessee 3, Virginia Commonwealth 1, Colorado State 1</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CLICK HERE</a> to view Journal writer Geoff Grammer’s AP Top 25 ballot submitted Monday morning.</p>
<p>The Nov. 26 USA Today coaches Top 25 poll with record, total points and previous ranking:</p>
<p />
<p>Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota 48; Pittsburgh 41; Alabama 38; Connecticut 38; Notre Dame 36; Florida State 26; Wisconsin 24; Memphis 16; Wichita State 16; California 14; Murray State 13; Kansas State 12; Oregon 12; Ohio 10; Saint Josephs 10; Saint Marys 8; Butler 5; Tennessee 5; Marquette 4; Baylor 3; Maryland 2; Virginia Commonwealth 2; Colorado State 1; Davidson 1; Mississippi 1; Texas 1.</p> | Lobos Crack AP, USA Today Coaches Top 25 Polls (view polls) | false | https://abqjournal.com/238287/lobos-crack-usa-today-coaches-top-25-poll-view-poll.html | 2least
| Lobos Crack AP, USA Today Coaches Top 25 Polls (view polls)
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Lobos, thanks to a 6-0 start to the season and a Paradise Jam tournament championship win over previously ranked Connecticut last week, have broken into both major Top 25 polls – the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA TOday coaches poll.</p>
<p>The Lobos were ranked No. 23 in the latest coaches poll released Monday morning and No. 25 in the AP poll.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In the coaches poll, UNM was ahead of No. 24 UCLA and No. 25 Georgetown. Fellow Mountain West schools UNLV (No. 20) and San Diego State (No. 21), both of whom already have losses, are ranked ahead of UNM.</p>
<p>In the AP poll, San Diego State was No. 23 while UNLV checked in at No. 24. Colorado State received votes in both polls but did not crack the Top 25.</p>
<p>Previously ranked teams UConn, Memphis, Wisconsin and Baylor all dropped out of this week’s polls, making way for UNM, Georgetown and Illinois in both polls while Colorado broke into the coaches poll for the first time and Minnesota into the AP poll.</p>
<p>The Nov. 26 AP Top 25 with record, total points and previous ranking:</p>
<p />
<p>Others receiving votes: Alabama 108, Wichita State 99, Connecticut 93, UCLA 85, Pittsburgh 55, Oregon 44, Notre Dame 42, Memphis 23, Butler 20, Wisconsin 16, California 12, Florida State 10, Saint Joseph’s 9, Ohio 8, Marquette 7, Murray State 5, Temple 5, Baylor 4, Tennessee 3, Virginia Commonwealth 1, Colorado State 1</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CLICK HERE</a> to view Journal writer Geoff Grammer’s AP Top 25 ballot submitted Monday morning.</p>
<p>The Nov. 26 USA Today coaches Top 25 poll with record, total points and previous ranking:</p>
<p />
<p>Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota 48; Pittsburgh 41; Alabama 38; Connecticut 38; Notre Dame 36; Florida State 26; Wisconsin 24; Memphis 16; Wichita State 16; California 14; Murray State 13; Kansas State 12; Oregon 12; Ohio 10; Saint Josephs 10; Saint Marys 8; Butler 5; Tennessee 5; Marquette 4; Baylor 3; Maryland 2; Virginia Commonwealth 2; Colorado State 1; Davidson 1; Mississippi 1; Texas 1.</p> | 599,001 |
|
<p>When I was a lad of fourteen, at school in Scotland, a news mogul tycoon called Roy Thompson used five simple words to describe the higher purpose of commercial television. 1955 was the year the BBC lost its monopoly on TV provision in Britain. The government handed out licenses to new broadcasting companies which, unlike the BBC, could run ads. This privilege was, Thompson publicly rejoiced, “a license to print money”.</p>
<p>That’s the bottom line. Any time you see a TV proprietor or executive talking bravely about freedom of expression, and the public’s right to know, just remember the essential freedom the man has in mind is exactly what Thompson was happily hailing: the freedom to coin money. When, some time in the 1960s, the late Frank Stanton, overseeing news operations at CBS, asked his boss William Paley, the network’s founder, for more time for newscasts, Paley shook his head. “The minute’s just too valuable,” he told Stanton, meaning he wasn’t prepared to surrender one more second of commercials in the prime time slot.</p>
<p>Let us now move to a fateful moment in 1997.</p>
<p>Already by that year top executives at the major TV networks were gazing aghast at the trend lines. Inexorably, it seemed, they were pointing down. The networks were losing audience share, as people surfed to new choices on the remote. As with newspapers and magazines such reliable sources of revenue as auto commercials and detergent ads, were suddenly looking frail as companies like GM and Procter and Gamble (America’s two biggest advertisers)&#160; began to plan shifts of their advertising outlays to new-media channels. Consumers were starting to have increasing recourse to the internet to figure out which car to buy, and where to buy it. Shadows were looming over network revenues, maybe darker even than on that fearful night, January 2, 1971, when the Congressional ban on advertising tobacco on radio and tv came into effect.</p>
<p>And then… a miracle! A very American kind of miracle to be sure, being the sort of miracle achieved by the usual megatonnage of campaign contributions from the drug industry dropped into the pockets of the relevant FDA overseers in Congress in Clinton’s slush-sodden second term, plus direct lobbying of the FDA by media companies such as Time-Warner. The miracle went by the name of DTC: Direct to the Consumer Advertising.</p>
<p>Broadcast advertising of prescription drugs in the U.S. had actually been legal for years, but in 1997 the FDA “clarified” the rules about alerting consumers to any risks in a number of deft ways that suddenly made the game a whole lot easier for the drug companies. Thirty-five years after Congress moved to curb pharmaceutical company advertising of amphetamine antidepressants and barbiturates, the floodgates were opened once again. Through them poured the drug companies and their advertising dollars.</p>
<p>Soon prime-time tv viewers were listening to the drug peddlers telling them to make haste to their doctors to request prescriptions for medical conditions from depression to high blood pressure, by way of allergic reactions supposedly requiring Claritin. This prescription antihistamine was the subject of the first huge prescription ad campaign after the FDA opened the door in 1997. Its sales promptly shot up from $1.4 billion in that year to $2.6 billion in 2000.</p>
<p>At the end of each ad, risk advisories to the consumer would come in the form of an 800 number or the familiar cautions gabbled out at a speed probably intelligible only to ultra-sensitive equipment at the National Security Agency.</p>
<p>Back at the start of the 1990s the drug companies were spending $55 million on DTC ads. By 2003 the outlay had soared to $3 billion, and by 2005 to $7.5 billion. DTC sales-pitching of prescription drugs has been a huge boon to the networks, whose revenues from this source have surged since 1997. 2005 saw NBC, ABC and CBS pull in $1.4 billion in prescription drug advertising, with CBS leading the pack with its $$592,694 million, well ahead of ABC’s $411,949 and NBC’s $405,633.</p>
<p>For the drug lords in the big pharmaceutical companies – America’s most profitable industry – the FDA’s 1997 decision has indeed been a license to print money, bales of it. There are plenty of credible surveys establishing that as much as a third of consumers see a ad for some prescription drug on tv and then go off and talk to their doctor about it. Half of the people asking for the drug they’ve seen advertised end up getting a prescription for it. One Kaiser study cited by the Lehrer News hour disclosed the gloomy news that almost half these drug ad-watchers believe what they’re being told…</p>
<p>But now I must suspend this absorbing narrative and tell you that&#160; the full sweep&#160;and ripe detail&#160;of my narrative of how some of network TV’s mightiest news reporters&#160; prostituted their reputations to hawk dangerous drugs for the drug industry&#160; is to be found in the latest edition of our subscriber-only CounterPunch newsletter, which we can rush to your computer in pdf form or to your mailbox at a speed dictated by the US Post Office’s relaxed concept of what constitutes&#160; “first class mail”. All you have to do is <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">click right here to subscribe.</a></p>
<p>Also in this new edition is an unsparing&#160; portrait of the man for whom Rush Limbaugh threw over Sarah Palin. The Oxycontin Kid touted the masterly political skills of Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, who duly humiliated himself and his party in his reply to Obama on network tv on February 24. From Louisiana CounterPuncher Donald Juneau gives the lowdown on this contender for the Republican nomination in 2008.</p>
<p>There’s more. One of America’s greatest environmental writers, Doug Peacock —&#160; author of Walking It Off, of Grizzly Years, legendary model for Hayduke in Edward Abbey’s Monkeywrench Gang — gives CounterPunch newsletter subscribers a dazzling essay on Yellowstone country across the millennia since the era of the gigantic short-faced bear.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe Now!</a></p>
<p>ALEXANDER COCKBURN can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | Harlots High and Low: a Foul Saga in the History of Netwook TV | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/03/06/harlots-high-and-low-a-foul-saga-in-the-history-of-netwook-tv/ | 2009-03-06 | 4left
| Harlots High and Low: a Foul Saga in the History of Netwook TV
<p>When I was a lad of fourteen, at school in Scotland, a news mogul tycoon called Roy Thompson used five simple words to describe the higher purpose of commercial television. 1955 was the year the BBC lost its monopoly on TV provision in Britain. The government handed out licenses to new broadcasting companies which, unlike the BBC, could run ads. This privilege was, Thompson publicly rejoiced, “a license to print money”.</p>
<p>That’s the bottom line. Any time you see a TV proprietor or executive talking bravely about freedom of expression, and the public’s right to know, just remember the essential freedom the man has in mind is exactly what Thompson was happily hailing: the freedom to coin money. When, some time in the 1960s, the late Frank Stanton, overseeing news operations at CBS, asked his boss William Paley, the network’s founder, for more time for newscasts, Paley shook his head. “The minute’s just too valuable,” he told Stanton, meaning he wasn’t prepared to surrender one more second of commercials in the prime time slot.</p>
<p>Let us now move to a fateful moment in 1997.</p>
<p>Already by that year top executives at the major TV networks were gazing aghast at the trend lines. Inexorably, it seemed, they were pointing down. The networks were losing audience share, as people surfed to new choices on the remote. As with newspapers and magazines such reliable sources of revenue as auto commercials and detergent ads, were suddenly looking frail as companies like GM and Procter and Gamble (America’s two biggest advertisers)&#160; began to plan shifts of their advertising outlays to new-media channels. Consumers were starting to have increasing recourse to the internet to figure out which car to buy, and where to buy it. Shadows were looming over network revenues, maybe darker even than on that fearful night, January 2, 1971, when the Congressional ban on advertising tobacco on radio and tv came into effect.</p>
<p>And then… a miracle! A very American kind of miracle to be sure, being the sort of miracle achieved by the usual megatonnage of campaign contributions from the drug industry dropped into the pockets of the relevant FDA overseers in Congress in Clinton’s slush-sodden second term, plus direct lobbying of the FDA by media companies such as Time-Warner. The miracle went by the name of DTC: Direct to the Consumer Advertising.</p>
<p>Broadcast advertising of prescription drugs in the U.S. had actually been legal for years, but in 1997 the FDA “clarified” the rules about alerting consumers to any risks in a number of deft ways that suddenly made the game a whole lot easier for the drug companies. Thirty-five years after Congress moved to curb pharmaceutical company advertising of amphetamine antidepressants and barbiturates, the floodgates were opened once again. Through them poured the drug companies and their advertising dollars.</p>
<p>Soon prime-time tv viewers were listening to the drug peddlers telling them to make haste to their doctors to request prescriptions for medical conditions from depression to high blood pressure, by way of allergic reactions supposedly requiring Claritin. This prescription antihistamine was the subject of the first huge prescription ad campaign after the FDA opened the door in 1997. Its sales promptly shot up from $1.4 billion in that year to $2.6 billion in 2000.</p>
<p>At the end of each ad, risk advisories to the consumer would come in the form of an 800 number or the familiar cautions gabbled out at a speed probably intelligible only to ultra-sensitive equipment at the National Security Agency.</p>
<p>Back at the start of the 1990s the drug companies were spending $55 million on DTC ads. By 2003 the outlay had soared to $3 billion, and by 2005 to $7.5 billion. DTC sales-pitching of prescription drugs has been a huge boon to the networks, whose revenues from this source have surged since 1997. 2005 saw NBC, ABC and CBS pull in $1.4 billion in prescription drug advertising, with CBS leading the pack with its $$592,694 million, well ahead of ABC’s $411,949 and NBC’s $405,633.</p>
<p>For the drug lords in the big pharmaceutical companies – America’s most profitable industry – the FDA’s 1997 decision has indeed been a license to print money, bales of it. There are plenty of credible surveys establishing that as much as a third of consumers see a ad for some prescription drug on tv and then go off and talk to their doctor about it. Half of the people asking for the drug they’ve seen advertised end up getting a prescription for it. One Kaiser study cited by the Lehrer News hour disclosed the gloomy news that almost half these drug ad-watchers believe what they’re being told…</p>
<p>But now I must suspend this absorbing narrative and tell you that&#160; the full sweep&#160;and ripe detail&#160;of my narrative of how some of network TV’s mightiest news reporters&#160; prostituted their reputations to hawk dangerous drugs for the drug industry&#160; is to be found in the latest edition of our subscriber-only CounterPunch newsletter, which we can rush to your computer in pdf form or to your mailbox at a speed dictated by the US Post Office’s relaxed concept of what constitutes&#160; “first class mail”. All you have to do is <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">click right here to subscribe.</a></p>
<p>Also in this new edition is an unsparing&#160; portrait of the man for whom Rush Limbaugh threw over Sarah Palin. The Oxycontin Kid touted the masterly political skills of Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, who duly humiliated himself and his party in his reply to Obama on network tv on February 24. From Louisiana CounterPuncher Donald Juneau gives the lowdown on this contender for the Republican nomination in 2008.</p>
<p>There’s more. One of America’s greatest environmental writers, Doug Peacock —&#160; author of Walking It Off, of Grizzly Years, legendary model for Hayduke in Edward Abbey’s Monkeywrench Gang — gives CounterPunch newsletter subscribers a dazzling essay on Yellowstone country across the millennia since the era of the gigantic short-faced bear.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe Now!</a></p>
<p>ALEXANDER COCKBURN can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | 599,002 |
<p />
<p>Twice during his Sunday interview with Tim Russert, a frustrated President Bush tried to deflect tough questions by quipping that “the political season has started.” Of course, Bush’s comments might be considered proof enough of his statement. But it’s still interesting that Bush didn’t make the same observation about the situation in Iraq.</p>
<p>Then again, it might be entirely understandable that Bush didn’t dwell on the current political dynamics in Baghdad. After all, while it’s definitely political season in Iraq, the administration’s electoral plans are in even shakier shape in Baghdad than in Washington. And, to add insult to neocon injury, the administraton’s plans for Iraq’s political future are in the hands of the United Nations.</p>
<p>A U.N. team, in Iraq on a mission of undetermined length, met this weekend with the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council to discuss <a href="http://www.boston.com/dailynews/040/world/U_N_presses_ahead_in_its_elect%3A.shtml" type="external">the feasibility of holding elections</a> by Washington’s June 30 deadline. Predictably, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the June 30 election date remains the target. For now.</p>
<p>That must be particularly galling for the war party unilateralists on Team Bush. But the White House <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0209/p05s02-woiq.html" type="external">has little choice</a>. As Murhaf Jouejati a scholar in residence at the Middle East Institute in Washington tells the Christian Science Monitor:</p>
<p />
<p>“The US administration is going to have to backtrack on its own mechanism of having caucuses, which the Iraqis neither like nor understand. If [the US hurries] through with a flawed system, then [Iraqi insurgents] will seize on those flaws to justify their ongoing resistance.”</p>
<p>Already distrusted by a majority of the Iraqi public, the administration desperately needs the approval of the U.N. team to convince the nation’s squabbling factions and their supporters that Washington will not engineer a puppet government.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0125-04.htm" type="external">a Jan. 26 poll</a>, about 60 percent of Iraqis polled were against the continued occupation of Iraq. Which is hardly surprising. But the local opinion polls also found a dramatically higher degree of respect for the U.N.</p>
<p>Now, Washington is openly considering backtracking on the June 30 deadline — although the official position remains that the sooner the handover, the better. Coalition spokesman Dan Senor says “We think it is very important not only to meet the request to continually hand over authority to the Iraqi people, but also to stick to a deadline that we agreed upon with the Iraqi leadership.” Still, Pentagon boss Donald Rumsfeld told a meeting with Congress last week that it was possible the date could be shifted “depending on the way the world evolves.”</p>
<p>Of course, unless the world evolves in a dramatic and unexpected manner, the troops Rumsfeld is charged with directing aren’t likely to leave Iraq anytime soon, and <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FB05Ak02.html" type="external">U.S. control isn’t about to diminish</a>. As Phyllis Bennis, a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies writes in Asia Times:</p>
<p />
<p>“The administration of President George W Bush is lying about the deadline, claiming that it will lead to a “transfer of sovereignty” and the “end of US occupation” in Iraq. A real “end to occupation” requires the withdrawal of US troops. Transferring nominal authority from one US-selected Iraqi agency to another US-vetted Iraqi organization does not equal an end to occupation.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Bush administration wants to be able to claim “the occupation is over” and “troops are being withdrawn” as summer campaigning for the November presidential election in the United States heats up. Under the current plan, the reality will be the continuation of military occupation, with a US-backed “sovereign” government “requesting” that US troops remain. The US will withdraw 20,000-25,000 troops with great fanfare, hoping the voters will forget about the 100,000 or so US troops that will remain, and the likely continuation of significant casualties among US troops.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Iraq’s political factions are learning the lessons from Washington, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3472617.stm" type="external">fiercely lobbying both sides</a>. Yes, Mr. President, the political season has started.</p>
<p /> | Election Daze | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/02/election-daze/ | 2004-02-10 | 4left
| Election Daze
<p />
<p>Twice during his Sunday interview with Tim Russert, a frustrated President Bush tried to deflect tough questions by quipping that “the political season has started.” Of course, Bush’s comments might be considered proof enough of his statement. But it’s still interesting that Bush didn’t make the same observation about the situation in Iraq.</p>
<p>Then again, it might be entirely understandable that Bush didn’t dwell on the current political dynamics in Baghdad. After all, while it’s definitely political season in Iraq, the administration’s electoral plans are in even shakier shape in Baghdad than in Washington. And, to add insult to neocon injury, the administraton’s plans for Iraq’s political future are in the hands of the United Nations.</p>
<p>A U.N. team, in Iraq on a mission of undetermined length, met this weekend with the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council to discuss <a href="http://www.boston.com/dailynews/040/world/U_N_presses_ahead_in_its_elect%3A.shtml" type="external">the feasibility of holding elections</a> by Washington’s June 30 deadline. Predictably, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the June 30 election date remains the target. For now.</p>
<p>That must be particularly galling for the war party unilateralists on Team Bush. But the White House <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0209/p05s02-woiq.html" type="external">has little choice</a>. As Murhaf Jouejati a scholar in residence at the Middle East Institute in Washington tells the Christian Science Monitor:</p>
<p />
<p>“The US administration is going to have to backtrack on its own mechanism of having caucuses, which the Iraqis neither like nor understand. If [the US hurries] through with a flawed system, then [Iraqi insurgents] will seize on those flaws to justify their ongoing resistance.”</p>
<p>Already distrusted by a majority of the Iraqi public, the administration desperately needs the approval of the U.N. team to convince the nation’s squabbling factions and their supporters that Washington will not engineer a puppet government.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0125-04.htm" type="external">a Jan. 26 poll</a>, about 60 percent of Iraqis polled were against the continued occupation of Iraq. Which is hardly surprising. But the local opinion polls also found a dramatically higher degree of respect for the U.N.</p>
<p>Now, Washington is openly considering backtracking on the June 30 deadline — although the official position remains that the sooner the handover, the better. Coalition spokesman Dan Senor says “We think it is very important not only to meet the request to continually hand over authority to the Iraqi people, but also to stick to a deadline that we agreed upon with the Iraqi leadership.” Still, Pentagon boss Donald Rumsfeld told a meeting with Congress last week that it was possible the date could be shifted “depending on the way the world evolves.”</p>
<p>Of course, unless the world evolves in a dramatic and unexpected manner, the troops Rumsfeld is charged with directing aren’t likely to leave Iraq anytime soon, and <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FB05Ak02.html" type="external">U.S. control isn’t about to diminish</a>. As Phyllis Bennis, a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies writes in Asia Times:</p>
<p />
<p>“The administration of President George W Bush is lying about the deadline, claiming that it will lead to a “transfer of sovereignty” and the “end of US occupation” in Iraq. A real “end to occupation” requires the withdrawal of US troops. Transferring nominal authority from one US-selected Iraqi agency to another US-vetted Iraqi organization does not equal an end to occupation.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Bush administration wants to be able to claim “the occupation is over” and “troops are being withdrawn” as summer campaigning for the November presidential election in the United States heats up. Under the current plan, the reality will be the continuation of military occupation, with a US-backed “sovereign” government “requesting” that US troops remain. The US will withdraw 20,000-25,000 troops with great fanfare, hoping the voters will forget about the 100,000 or so US troops that will remain, and the likely continuation of significant casualties among US troops.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Iraq’s political factions are learning the lessons from Washington, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3472617.stm" type="external">fiercely lobbying both sides</a>. Yes, Mr. President, the political season has started.</p>
<p /> | 599,003 |
<p>Students and faculty walked out in protest of a lecture by the American Enterprise Institute’s Charles Murray last week, accusing the social scientist of promoting “racism and classism” in his research. The walk-out, organized by Princeton’s Anthropology Department chair Carolyn Rouse, was supplemented with fliers passed out to every student at the start of the event, encouraging students to walk out with her.</p>
<p>Rouse is known for her research on African American women and Sunni Islam and social justice activism.</p>
<p>“Join us in a silent protest against the normalization of racism and classism in academia,” the flyer instructs. “We are choosing to walk out of today’s lecture after the speaker’s bio is read.”</p>
<p>A video provided by one of the event’s attendees shows dozens of students and faculty members, who were sitting in the already-packed lecture hall, move toward the room’s exits as soon as Murray was introduced and walked up to the podium. Most of the protesters seemed to be older and female, and classic hippie hairstyles visibly stuck out among them, such as half-shaved heads and blue hair. A woman wearing a burka walked out with the protesters as well.</p>
<p>Students walk out in "silent protest" of <a href="https://twitter.com/charlesmurray" type="external">@charlesmurray</a> talk at Pton on Universal Basic Income. Shame, they could have learned something. <a href="https://t.co/kAF9ET57hK" type="external">pic.twitter.com/kAF9ET57hK</a></p>
<p>Murray, a self-described libertarian and a W.H. <a href="https://www.aei.org/scholar/charles-murray/" type="external">Brady Scholar</a> at AEI, is known for his work in welfare reform and promoting limited government intervention.</p>
<p>In the flyers, the protesters accuse Murray of promoting “pseudoscience” and accuse him of being an “armchair demagogue who argues that blacks and the poor are intellectually and morally inferior, as the cause of social inequality in America.”</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/charlesmurray" type="external">@charlesmurray</a> This flyer was handed out as people were walking in to the talk. One person stayed to ask Murray a question towards the end. <a href="https://t.co/wi67DHmf5g" type="external">pic.twitter.com/wi67DHmf5g</a></p>
<p>“Murray’s work is unworthy of our attention- and even our anger,” Rouse, who spent quite the effort meticulously organizing and marketing the demonstration, as well as gathering protesters, wrote in the letter.</p>
<p>“It was clear that she hadn’t read his work,” an attendee commented.</p>
<p>Murray seemed unfazed and even slightly amused by his protesters, making no complaints to The Daily Wire or other publications by their presence at his lecture.</p>
<p>“Free attraction: Protesters,” he humorously tweeted Thursday afternoon. “I’d feel neglected without them.”</p>
<p>Speaking at Aaron Burr Hall at Princeton in an hour (4:30). Y'all come. Free added attraction: Protesters. I'd feel neglected without them.</p>
<p>Follow Pardes Seleh on <a href="https://twitter.com/PardesSeleh" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | Look At The Flyer Leftist Students Handed Out To Protest Academic Charles Murray’s Talk | true | https://dailywire.com/news/11555/look-flyer-leftist-students-handed-out-protest-pardes-seleh | 2016-12-12 | 0right
| Look At The Flyer Leftist Students Handed Out To Protest Academic Charles Murray’s Talk
<p>Students and faculty walked out in protest of a lecture by the American Enterprise Institute’s Charles Murray last week, accusing the social scientist of promoting “racism and classism” in his research. The walk-out, organized by Princeton’s Anthropology Department chair Carolyn Rouse, was supplemented with fliers passed out to every student at the start of the event, encouraging students to walk out with her.</p>
<p>Rouse is known for her research on African American women and Sunni Islam and social justice activism.</p>
<p>“Join us in a silent protest against the normalization of racism and classism in academia,” the flyer instructs. “We are choosing to walk out of today’s lecture after the speaker’s bio is read.”</p>
<p>A video provided by one of the event’s attendees shows dozens of students and faculty members, who were sitting in the already-packed lecture hall, move toward the room’s exits as soon as Murray was introduced and walked up to the podium. Most of the protesters seemed to be older and female, and classic hippie hairstyles visibly stuck out among them, such as half-shaved heads and blue hair. A woman wearing a burka walked out with the protesters as well.</p>
<p>Students walk out in "silent protest" of <a href="https://twitter.com/charlesmurray" type="external">@charlesmurray</a> talk at Pton on Universal Basic Income. Shame, they could have learned something. <a href="https://t.co/kAF9ET57hK" type="external">pic.twitter.com/kAF9ET57hK</a></p>
<p>Murray, a self-described libertarian and a W.H. <a href="https://www.aei.org/scholar/charles-murray/" type="external">Brady Scholar</a> at AEI, is known for his work in welfare reform and promoting limited government intervention.</p>
<p>In the flyers, the protesters accuse Murray of promoting “pseudoscience” and accuse him of being an “armchair demagogue who argues that blacks and the poor are intellectually and morally inferior, as the cause of social inequality in America.”</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/charlesmurray" type="external">@charlesmurray</a> This flyer was handed out as people were walking in to the talk. One person stayed to ask Murray a question towards the end. <a href="https://t.co/wi67DHmf5g" type="external">pic.twitter.com/wi67DHmf5g</a></p>
<p>“Murray’s work is unworthy of our attention- and even our anger,” Rouse, who spent quite the effort meticulously organizing and marketing the demonstration, as well as gathering protesters, wrote in the letter.</p>
<p>“It was clear that she hadn’t read his work,” an attendee commented.</p>
<p>Murray seemed unfazed and even slightly amused by his protesters, making no complaints to The Daily Wire or other publications by their presence at his lecture.</p>
<p>“Free attraction: Protesters,” he humorously tweeted Thursday afternoon. “I’d feel neglected without them.”</p>
<p>Speaking at Aaron Burr Hall at Princeton in an hour (4:30). Y'all come. Free added attraction: Protesters. I'd feel neglected without them.</p>
<p>Follow Pardes Seleh on <a href="https://twitter.com/PardesSeleh" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | 599,004 |
<p>Singapore-born Audra Ang spent seven years as a Beijing-based Associated Press correspondent, where she covered a rapidly changing China.</p>
<p>In her new book, "To The People Food Is Heaven: Stories of Food and Life in a Changing China," Ang describes meals she ate with monks, activists, and village residents, and how she came to understand the people and soul of a country through its food.</p>
<p>She talks to Lisa Mullins about her book, her love of jasmine tea, and her fondness for comfort foods, especially after covering particularly tense stories.</p>
<p>In 2002, an early summer monsoon brought heavy rains to Hunan province. Rivers overflowed and flooded the countryside destroying crops, homes and lives.</p>
<p>One of Ang's first assignments was to cover the floods.</p>
<p>It was during this catastrophe she experienced her most memorable meal during her time in China. A farmer who lost a year worth of crops served Ang a large meal of Chinese delicacies, including his last chicken.</p> | Audra Ang: A Food Journey through Modern China | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-10-30/audra-ang-food-journey-through-modern-china | 2012-10-30 | 3left-center
| Audra Ang: A Food Journey through Modern China
<p>Singapore-born Audra Ang spent seven years as a Beijing-based Associated Press correspondent, where she covered a rapidly changing China.</p>
<p>In her new book, "To The People Food Is Heaven: Stories of Food and Life in a Changing China," Ang describes meals she ate with monks, activists, and village residents, and how she came to understand the people and soul of a country through its food.</p>
<p>She talks to Lisa Mullins about her book, her love of jasmine tea, and her fondness for comfort foods, especially after covering particularly tense stories.</p>
<p>In 2002, an early summer monsoon brought heavy rains to Hunan province. Rivers overflowed and flooded the countryside destroying crops, homes and lives.</p>
<p>One of Ang's first assignments was to cover the floods.</p>
<p>It was during this catastrophe she experienced her most memorable meal during her time in China. A farmer who lost a year worth of crops served Ang a large meal of Chinese delicacies, including his last chicken.</p> | 599,005 |
<p>It has long been said that the true definition of courage isn’t the absence of fear, but rather the ability to take action in the face of fear. In the wake of a horrific terror attack in the heart of Paris, France’s actions are about as courageous as could ever be asked of its people.</p>
<p>Despite the fear-mongering and the pressure from right-wing elements in both France and the United States, France’s president Francois Hollande <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/french-president-francois-hollande-welcomes-refugees-paris-attack/story?id=35274658" type="external">renewed his vow</a> to take in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees and urged Parisians not to&#160;allow a few terrorists to stop them from living their lives to the fullest.</p>
<p>“30,000 refugees will be welcomed over the next two years. Our country has the duty to respect this commitment,” explaining that they will undergo vigorous security checks.</p>
<p>Hollande noted that “some people say the tragic events of the last few days have sown doubts in their minds,” but called it a “humanitarian duty” to help those people … but one that will go hand in hand with “our duty to protect our people.”</p>
<p>“We have to reinforce our borders while remaining true to our values,” he said.</p>
<p>The French people have been remarkably brave throughout the harrowing ordeal. It’s the right-wing elements in America, thousands of miles away, that have truly succumbed to the fear. In state after state, Republican governors announced that they would be attempting to block any Syrian refugees from being resettled there. In Congress, the GOP quickly drafted up legislation that would – depending on who was writing it – ban all refugees or ban all refugees but the Christian ones.</p>
<p>All of this was done directly in the face of the evidence emerging from the Paris investigation. In fact, no Syrian refugee has thus far been named as one of the terrorists. They principally came from the EU itself. A Syrian passport made to look like a refugees turned out to be a fake – possibly planted by ISIS to sow confusion.</p>
<p>Refugees more generally have a remarkably low chance of being future assailants. Out of the 784,000&#160;Muslims taken in by the United States since 9/11,&#160;one has been arrested for being involved in terrorism. The facts are clear: refugees do not pose a threat. They are rigorously screened, interviewed, and checked. You wouldn’t know any of this if you simply listened to what Republican leaders are saying. Chris Christie <a href="http://fusion.net/story/234427/republicans-comments-syrian-refugees/" type="external">recently swore</a> he would block even “5-year-old orphans” from coming into his state, because he didn’t want to take the “risk.” Ted Cruz, whose father was a refugee from Cuba, is actively trying to ban non-Christians from being allowed into the United States. A Tennessee politician is now working on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/glen-casada-syrian-refugees_564be0cce4b08cda348b7421" type="external">deporting the Syrians already living in his state</a>&#160;and “politely take them back.”</p>
<p>Thankfully, President Obama and many Democratic governors have stood firm against this growing xenophobic rhetoric. Like Hollande, Obama has vowed to uphold the United States’ moral duty by helping averting the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East. At a recent press conference, he called out Republicans for their not-so-brave stances in the face of unfortunate victims of strife.</p>
<p>“At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates.&#160;Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”</p>
<p>If they ever want to get serious about being tough, Hollande just gave them an perfect example of how to do it.</p>
<p>Feature image via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosmartinschulz/21995201396" type="external">Martin Schultz/Flickr</a></p> | France Vows To Take In 30,000 Syrian Refugees, Makes Republicans Look Like Cowards | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/11/18/france-vows-to-take-in-30000-syrian-refugees-makes-republicans-look-like-cowards/ | 2015-11-18 | 4left
| France Vows To Take In 30,000 Syrian Refugees, Makes Republicans Look Like Cowards
<p>It has long been said that the true definition of courage isn’t the absence of fear, but rather the ability to take action in the face of fear. In the wake of a horrific terror attack in the heart of Paris, France’s actions are about as courageous as could ever be asked of its people.</p>
<p>Despite the fear-mongering and the pressure from right-wing elements in both France and the United States, France’s president Francois Hollande <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/french-president-francois-hollande-welcomes-refugees-paris-attack/story?id=35274658" type="external">renewed his vow</a> to take in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees and urged Parisians not to&#160;allow a few terrorists to stop them from living their lives to the fullest.</p>
<p>“30,000 refugees will be welcomed over the next two years. Our country has the duty to respect this commitment,” explaining that they will undergo vigorous security checks.</p>
<p>Hollande noted that “some people say the tragic events of the last few days have sown doubts in their minds,” but called it a “humanitarian duty” to help those people … but one that will go hand in hand with “our duty to protect our people.”</p>
<p>“We have to reinforce our borders while remaining true to our values,” he said.</p>
<p>The French people have been remarkably brave throughout the harrowing ordeal. It’s the right-wing elements in America, thousands of miles away, that have truly succumbed to the fear. In state after state, Republican governors announced that they would be attempting to block any Syrian refugees from being resettled there. In Congress, the GOP quickly drafted up legislation that would – depending on who was writing it – ban all refugees or ban all refugees but the Christian ones.</p>
<p>All of this was done directly in the face of the evidence emerging from the Paris investigation. In fact, no Syrian refugee has thus far been named as one of the terrorists. They principally came from the EU itself. A Syrian passport made to look like a refugees turned out to be a fake – possibly planted by ISIS to sow confusion.</p>
<p>Refugees more generally have a remarkably low chance of being future assailants. Out of the 784,000&#160;Muslims taken in by the United States since 9/11,&#160;one has been arrested for being involved in terrorism. The facts are clear: refugees do not pose a threat. They are rigorously screened, interviewed, and checked. You wouldn’t know any of this if you simply listened to what Republican leaders are saying. Chris Christie <a href="http://fusion.net/story/234427/republicans-comments-syrian-refugees/" type="external">recently swore</a> he would block even “5-year-old orphans” from coming into his state, because he didn’t want to take the “risk.” Ted Cruz, whose father was a refugee from Cuba, is actively trying to ban non-Christians from being allowed into the United States. A Tennessee politician is now working on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/glen-casada-syrian-refugees_564be0cce4b08cda348b7421" type="external">deporting the Syrians already living in his state</a>&#160;and “politely take them back.”</p>
<p>Thankfully, President Obama and many Democratic governors have stood firm against this growing xenophobic rhetoric. Like Hollande, Obama has vowed to uphold the United States’ moral duty by helping averting the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East. At a recent press conference, he called out Republicans for their not-so-brave stances in the face of unfortunate victims of strife.</p>
<p>“At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates.&#160;Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”</p>
<p>If they ever want to get serious about being tough, Hollande just gave them an perfect example of how to do it.</p>
<p>Feature image via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosmartinschulz/21995201396" type="external">Martin Schultz/Flickr</a></p> | 599,006 |
<p />
<p>A new reality series looks at the reality faced by the transgender people who serve in the very military which officially bans them.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the producers of &#160;TransMilitary <a href="https://vimeo.com/76937360" type="external">released a new preview video</a>&#160;for the upcoming reality series which will compare the military’s treatment of transgender people in the U.S. and the U.K. I have mixed feelings, to say the least, about the military, especially the U.S. military, but, obviously oppose transphobia and codified discrimination.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Allyson, what is the situation like today for trans people in the military?</p>
<p />
<p>AR:Well, it’s actually even worse than don’t ask, don’t tell. Transgender people today are not only barred from service, but, uh, they can be asked and then get kicked out.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Since 1999, in the United Kingdom, trans people have been able to serve openly. &#160;Why is the US so far behind in this?</p>
<p />
<p>AR: Well that’s a great question.</p>
<p />
<p>title sequence: london</p>
<p />
<p>card: TransMilitary</p>
<p />
<p>Fiona Driving VO: We are moving forward with our reality series TransMilitary. &#160;As well as funding, we need to know people in the UK who can answer our questions, and introduce us to transgender personnel in the armed forces.</p>
<p />
<p>So I &#160;&#160;to the UK and met with many people, including transgender activist Jacqui Gavin…</p>
<p />
<p>JG: I’m the chair of a civil service network here in the UK. &#160;It’s an organization called a:gender.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Jacqui, how come transgender people have been able to serve openly in the UK armed services since 1999?</p>
<p />
<p>JG: It was mainly due to a change in the legislation with the Sex Discrimination Act, gender reassignment regulations coming into force. That’s what prompted the change.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Because in the US, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed in 2011.</p>
<p />
<p>JG: And?</p>
<p />
<p>FD: And yet, today, transgender people are still banned by policy from serving openly. So what does it feel like for transgender people in the UK military?</p>
<p />
<p>JG: Feels like I would say, It’s a positive experience. &#160;There are still issues, that, I don’t think there’s any doubt about it, but I would say it’s more positive.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: What do you think about this project?</p>
<p />
<p>JG: I am so so proud to be a part of this project. &#160;And not just for me as an individual, but for the trans community as a whole. &#160;It needs this sort of exposure. &#160;[...] it’s about bringing not just the UK to the market, the US to the market, but it’s bringing the whole goal to the world, and bringing this whole subject attention as it deserves. It’s about the individual being able to be themselves, and that is so important.</p>
<p />
<p>AR: It could change the way Americans think about transgender people. Uh, and that is uh, that is not just changing law, that’s changing culture. They need to see transgender people who are serving. Uh, Seeing us, hearing our stories, uh, it- it changes the equation for many people.</p>
<p />
<p>Beginning of end sequence.</p>
<p />
<p>FD (VO):</p>
<p>We have global relationships with individuals and organizations to tell the most compelling stories…we will even fly with a transgender British Royal Air Force helicopter pilot.. but only when we have the funding to do so.</p>
<p />
<p>When you see the reality transgender people face you will be moved to tears by their fears, laugh out loud with their joy and feel chills from their courage.</p>
<p />
<p>Right now the stories we are hearing are top secret. &#160;Including the US trans soldier who is going to come out to his command and wants us to film him doing so. &#160;Who knows what will happen, but we know you want to watch because you care.</p>
<p />
<p>Please go to our Indigogo campaign and give five or more dollars, pounds or euros. &#160;Whatever you can afford. &#160;For too long transgender people have served in silence. &#160;Now is the time to give trans people the largest, loudest, platform to advocate for their equality.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Serving while transgender | true | http://feministing.com/2013/10/18/serving-while-transgender/ | 4left
| Serving while transgender
<p />
<p>A new reality series looks at the reality faced by the transgender people who serve in the very military which officially bans them.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the producers of &#160;TransMilitary <a href="https://vimeo.com/76937360" type="external">released a new preview video</a>&#160;for the upcoming reality series which will compare the military’s treatment of transgender people in the U.S. and the U.K. I have mixed feelings, to say the least, about the military, especially the U.S. military, but, obviously oppose transphobia and codified discrimination.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Allyson, what is the situation like today for trans people in the military?</p>
<p />
<p>AR:Well, it’s actually even worse than don’t ask, don’t tell. Transgender people today are not only barred from service, but, uh, they can be asked and then get kicked out.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Since 1999, in the United Kingdom, trans people have been able to serve openly. &#160;Why is the US so far behind in this?</p>
<p />
<p>AR: Well that’s a great question.</p>
<p />
<p>title sequence: london</p>
<p />
<p>card: TransMilitary</p>
<p />
<p>Fiona Driving VO: We are moving forward with our reality series TransMilitary. &#160;As well as funding, we need to know people in the UK who can answer our questions, and introduce us to transgender personnel in the armed forces.</p>
<p />
<p>So I &#160;&#160;to the UK and met with many people, including transgender activist Jacqui Gavin…</p>
<p />
<p>JG: I’m the chair of a civil service network here in the UK. &#160;It’s an organization called a:gender.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Jacqui, how come transgender people have been able to serve openly in the UK armed services since 1999?</p>
<p />
<p>JG: It was mainly due to a change in the legislation with the Sex Discrimination Act, gender reassignment regulations coming into force. That’s what prompted the change.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: Because in the US, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed in 2011.</p>
<p />
<p>JG: And?</p>
<p />
<p>FD: And yet, today, transgender people are still banned by policy from serving openly. So what does it feel like for transgender people in the UK military?</p>
<p />
<p>JG: Feels like I would say, It’s a positive experience. &#160;There are still issues, that, I don’t think there’s any doubt about it, but I would say it’s more positive.</p>
<p />
<p>FD: What do you think about this project?</p>
<p />
<p>JG: I am so so proud to be a part of this project. &#160;And not just for me as an individual, but for the trans community as a whole. &#160;It needs this sort of exposure. &#160;[...] it’s about bringing not just the UK to the market, the US to the market, but it’s bringing the whole goal to the world, and bringing this whole subject attention as it deserves. It’s about the individual being able to be themselves, and that is so important.</p>
<p />
<p>AR: It could change the way Americans think about transgender people. Uh, and that is uh, that is not just changing law, that’s changing culture. They need to see transgender people who are serving. Uh, Seeing us, hearing our stories, uh, it- it changes the equation for many people.</p>
<p />
<p>Beginning of end sequence.</p>
<p />
<p>FD (VO):</p>
<p>We have global relationships with individuals and organizations to tell the most compelling stories…we will even fly with a transgender British Royal Air Force helicopter pilot.. but only when we have the funding to do so.</p>
<p />
<p>When you see the reality transgender people face you will be moved to tears by their fears, laugh out loud with their joy and feel chills from their courage.</p>
<p />
<p>Right now the stories we are hearing are top secret. &#160;Including the US trans soldier who is going to come out to his command and wants us to film him doing so. &#160;Who knows what will happen, but we know you want to watch because you care.</p>
<p />
<p>Please go to our Indigogo campaign and give five or more dollars, pounds or euros. &#160;Whatever you can afford. &#160;For too long transgender people have served in silence. &#160;Now is the time to give trans people the largest, loudest, platform to advocate for their equality.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,007 |
|
<p>A section of ongoing federal budget negotiations has set aside $41 million in taxpayer money to pay for “extraordinary law enforcement personnel costs” incurred by the Trump family’s expensive travel schedules.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Sec. 544.&#160; A&#160;new provision is included providing an extra $41,000,000 to reinforce extraordinary law enforcement personnel&#160;costs for protection activities directly and demonstrably associated with a residence of the President that is designated for protection. Although the federal government does not otherwise reimburse costs of state or local law enforcement for activities in support of the United States Secret Service protection mission, these funds are being provided in recognition of the extraordinary costs borne by a small number of jurisdictions in which a residence of the president is located.</p>
<p>The $41 million in federal money is meant to relieve the financial burden incurred by some communities affected by Trump’s travels, but is not expected to come close to covering all of the expenses. New York City officials have said that protecting Melania and Barron Trump <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/21/news/protecting-donald-trump/index.html" type="external">costs the city approx. $1 million per day.</a></p>
<p>The president’s weekly travels to his Mar-a-Lago golf resort <a href="http://time.com/money/4703151/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-costs-taxpayers-palm-beach/" type="external">also costs taxpayers $3 million</a> for every visit, though these expenses will not be covered by the $41 million reimbursement, which will be <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/17/politics/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-costs/" type="external">assisting West Palm Beach</a>.&#160;The Florida community has to&#160;shell out $60,000 in overtime pay for every day Trump spends at his resort.</p>
<p>Despite these figures, <a href="http://ijr.com/2017/04/859586-trump-claims-golf-trips-cost-almost-nothing-but-thats-not-what-these-reports-suggest/" type="external">Trump claims</a>&#160;that his visits “cost almost nothing, because it’s hundreds of acres, and security, and they don’t have to close up streets.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Nathan Wellman is a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and playwright. His less-political Youtube channel&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTX2M68DdRvR5Jd2YHEH7A" type="external">can be found here</a>.&#160;Follow him on Twitter: @LightningWOW</p> | Budget deal includes $41 million outlay for the most ridiculous reason | true | http://resistancereport.com/news/budget-deal-includes-41-million-outlay-ridiculous-reason/ | 2017-05-01 | 4left
| Budget deal includes $41 million outlay for the most ridiculous reason
<p>A section of ongoing federal budget negotiations has set aside $41 million in taxpayer money to pay for “extraordinary law enforcement personnel costs” incurred by the Trump family’s expensive travel schedules.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Sec. 544.&#160; A&#160;new provision is included providing an extra $41,000,000 to reinforce extraordinary law enforcement personnel&#160;costs for protection activities directly and demonstrably associated with a residence of the President that is designated for protection. Although the federal government does not otherwise reimburse costs of state or local law enforcement for activities in support of the United States Secret Service protection mission, these funds are being provided in recognition of the extraordinary costs borne by a small number of jurisdictions in which a residence of the president is located.</p>
<p>The $41 million in federal money is meant to relieve the financial burden incurred by some communities affected by Trump’s travels, but is not expected to come close to covering all of the expenses. New York City officials have said that protecting Melania and Barron Trump <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/21/news/protecting-donald-trump/index.html" type="external">costs the city approx. $1 million per day.</a></p>
<p>The president’s weekly travels to his Mar-a-Lago golf resort <a href="http://time.com/money/4703151/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-costs-taxpayers-palm-beach/" type="external">also costs taxpayers $3 million</a> for every visit, though these expenses will not be covered by the $41 million reimbursement, which will be <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/17/politics/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-costs/" type="external">assisting West Palm Beach</a>.&#160;The Florida community has to&#160;shell out $60,000 in overtime pay for every day Trump spends at his resort.</p>
<p>Despite these figures, <a href="http://ijr.com/2017/04/859586-trump-claims-golf-trips-cost-almost-nothing-but-thats-not-what-these-reports-suggest/" type="external">Trump claims</a>&#160;that his visits “cost almost nothing, because it’s hundreds of acres, and security, and they don’t have to close up streets.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Nathan Wellman is a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and playwright. His less-political Youtube channel&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTX2M68DdRvR5Jd2YHEH7A" type="external">can be found here</a>.&#160;Follow him on Twitter: @LightningWOW</p> | 599,008 |
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<p>The crash occurred around 10 p.m. MDT Friday about 25 miles east of Tuba city, Ariz., after the driver of a pickup, fleeing police at speeds exceeding 100 mph, crossed the center line and struck the Hirayama family's rented van on U.S. 160 on the Navajo reservation, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Raul Garcia said.</p>
<p>The impact killed three of the four Hirayama family members: Tomohiro Hirayama, 50, Sachiyo Hirayama, 42, and Yuki Hirayama, 16. Everyone in the van was wearing seat belts, Garcia said.</p>
<p>The youngest member of the family, which apparently had come to the Southwest from Illinois to visit the Grand Canyon, was the only survivor of the crash.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Nine-year-old Rinka Hirayama was taken to the Phoenix Children's Hospital in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Rinka on Wednesday was listed in fair condition.</p>
<p>Also killed at the scene were the driver and passenger of the suspect vehicle, which rolled upon impact and caught fire. Neither the driver nor the passenger, who were severely burned, could be immediately identified, Garcia said.</p>
<p>Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, in a news release Tuesday, voiced regret and said the five-fatality crash remains under investigation.</p>
<p>"This was a senseless and tragic accident," the tribal president said. "We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the victims."</p>
<p>Navajo Nation spokesman Rick Abasta said the president of the Navajo Nation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, typically does not comment on traffic accidents, but said this incident deserved attention from the tribal leader.</p>
<p>"Given the severity of this particular case and the fact that it happened to one family in particular, we did believe that it warranted a statement of this type," Abasta said.</p>
<p>The Hirayama family lived in Illinois but were on vacation to the Grand Canyon, according to Tomohiro Hirayama's employer, Yaskawa America, Inc.</p>
<p>Takehiko Wajima, a spokesman for the Japanese consul general in Los Angeles, said the Hirayama family has no other members living in the U.S. He said the consulate was in contact with members of the girl's extended family living in Japan, but declined to comment on Rinka's care after her medical recovery.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Scott Warren, superintendent of the north Chicago suburban Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 where Rinka attended third grade, said in a letter to district parents that Rinka is expected to make a full recovery, according to the Chicago Tribune.</p>
<p>"We are extremely sad to learn of this tragic news, and we express our sympathy to Rinka and all whose lives have been impacted," Warren wrote, according to the newspaper.</p>
<p>About 20 minutes before the crash occurred, Navajo Police were alerted to a reckless driver in Tuba City by 911 calls. The car then led police onto U.S. 160 traveling eastbound.</p>
<p>At the time of the crash, after the police chase had gone for more than 20 miles, Navajo tribal police trailed the suspect vehicle by at least a mile, the Arizona DPS spokesman said. Tribal police struggled to keep up with the fleeing vehicle because of traffic on the two-lane roadway, Garcia said.</p>
<p>"Frankly, the vehicle was traveling in excess of 100 mph, and that made it difficult to keep up," Garcia said.</p>
<p>Investigators still are trying to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p />
<p /> | Navajo Nation crash kills 5, orphans girl | false | https://abqjournal.com/378212/navajo-nation-crash-kills-5-orphans-girl.html | 2014-04-03 | 2least
| Navajo Nation crash kills 5, orphans girl
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<p />
<p>The crash occurred around 10 p.m. MDT Friday about 25 miles east of Tuba city, Ariz., after the driver of a pickup, fleeing police at speeds exceeding 100 mph, crossed the center line and struck the Hirayama family's rented van on U.S. 160 on the Navajo reservation, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Raul Garcia said.</p>
<p>The impact killed three of the four Hirayama family members: Tomohiro Hirayama, 50, Sachiyo Hirayama, 42, and Yuki Hirayama, 16. Everyone in the van was wearing seat belts, Garcia said.</p>
<p>The youngest member of the family, which apparently had come to the Southwest from Illinois to visit the Grand Canyon, was the only survivor of the crash.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Nine-year-old Rinka Hirayama was taken to the Phoenix Children's Hospital in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Rinka on Wednesday was listed in fair condition.</p>
<p>Also killed at the scene were the driver and passenger of the suspect vehicle, which rolled upon impact and caught fire. Neither the driver nor the passenger, who were severely burned, could be immediately identified, Garcia said.</p>
<p>Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, in a news release Tuesday, voiced regret and said the five-fatality crash remains under investigation.</p>
<p>"This was a senseless and tragic accident," the tribal president said. "We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the victims."</p>
<p>Navajo Nation spokesman Rick Abasta said the president of the Navajo Nation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, typically does not comment on traffic accidents, but said this incident deserved attention from the tribal leader.</p>
<p>"Given the severity of this particular case and the fact that it happened to one family in particular, we did believe that it warranted a statement of this type," Abasta said.</p>
<p>The Hirayama family lived in Illinois but were on vacation to the Grand Canyon, according to Tomohiro Hirayama's employer, Yaskawa America, Inc.</p>
<p>Takehiko Wajima, a spokesman for the Japanese consul general in Los Angeles, said the Hirayama family has no other members living in the U.S. He said the consulate was in contact with members of the girl's extended family living in Japan, but declined to comment on Rinka's care after her medical recovery.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Scott Warren, superintendent of the north Chicago suburban Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 where Rinka attended third grade, said in a letter to district parents that Rinka is expected to make a full recovery, according to the Chicago Tribune.</p>
<p>"We are extremely sad to learn of this tragic news, and we express our sympathy to Rinka and all whose lives have been impacted," Warren wrote, according to the newspaper.</p>
<p>About 20 minutes before the crash occurred, Navajo Police were alerted to a reckless driver in Tuba City by 911 calls. The car then led police onto U.S. 160 traveling eastbound.</p>
<p>At the time of the crash, after the police chase had gone for more than 20 miles, Navajo tribal police trailed the suspect vehicle by at least a mile, the Arizona DPS spokesman said. Tribal police struggled to keep up with the fleeing vehicle because of traffic on the two-lane roadway, Garcia said.</p>
<p>"Frankly, the vehicle was traveling in excess of 100 mph, and that made it difficult to keep up," Garcia said.</p>
<p>Investigators still are trying to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,009 |
<p>Ex-CBS anchor Dan Rather said Monday that there was a key difference between the mistakes that led to his departure from the network and those made in an infamous “60 Minutes” report on Benghazi by correspondent Lara Logan.</p>
<p>Namely, he said, the story he pursued was true, while Logan got “taken in by a man who was a fraud.”</p>
<p>“I know what it feels like to be the correspondent who is the center of controversy, when there are people above and below you,” Rather said on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Live.” “I will make this point with our story, the one that led to our difficulty, no question the story was true. What the complaint was, while eventually most of us lost our jobs, was okay, your story was true but the way you got to the truth was flawed. The process was flawed. That’s not the case with the Benghazi story. Unfortunately — and there’s no joy in saying it — they were taken in by a man who was a fraud.”&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Rather’s 2004 “60 Minutes II” report on former President George W. Bush’s National Guard service is widely believed to be the force behind his departure from the network.</p>
<p>CBS&#160; <a href="" type="internal">announced</a>&#160;weeks after the Benghazi report was&#160; <a href="" type="internal">retracted</a>&#160;that Logan and her producer, Max McClellan, were taking a leave of absence from “60 Minutes.”</p>
<p>When Morgan asked if he thought the bungled report should end Logan’s career, Rather said her otherwise impressive record should redeem her.</p>
<p>“In my opinion, clearly labeled ‘No,'” Rather said. “And I’m so glad you mentioned that. Whatever one thinks of what Lara Logan did or didn’t do with this story, in fairness, it should be put against her whole record. She’s still a very young correspondent, but for a young correspondent has a distinguished record. It should be seen in that context and in that perspective.”</p>
<p>Watch below, courtesy of <a href="http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/09/dan-rather-on-his-old-networks-inaccurate-benghazi-reporting-cbs-news-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-this/?hpt=pm_bn1" type="external">CNN</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>This post has been updated.</p> | Dan Rather: Lara Logan Got Fooled, But My Botched Story Was True (VIDEO) | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dan-rather-lara-logan-was-fooled-but-shouldn-t-be-fired-video | 4left
| Dan Rather: Lara Logan Got Fooled, But My Botched Story Was True (VIDEO)
<p>Ex-CBS anchor Dan Rather said Monday that there was a key difference between the mistakes that led to his departure from the network and those made in an infamous “60 Minutes” report on Benghazi by correspondent Lara Logan.</p>
<p>Namely, he said, the story he pursued was true, while Logan got “taken in by a man who was a fraud.”</p>
<p>“I know what it feels like to be the correspondent who is the center of controversy, when there are people above and below you,” Rather said on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Live.” “I will make this point with our story, the one that led to our difficulty, no question the story was true. What the complaint was, while eventually most of us lost our jobs, was okay, your story was true but the way you got to the truth was flawed. The process was flawed. That’s not the case with the Benghazi story. Unfortunately — and there’s no joy in saying it — they were taken in by a man who was a fraud.”&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Rather’s 2004 “60 Minutes II” report on former President George W. Bush’s National Guard service is widely believed to be the force behind his departure from the network.</p>
<p>CBS&#160; <a href="" type="internal">announced</a>&#160;weeks after the Benghazi report was&#160; <a href="" type="internal">retracted</a>&#160;that Logan and her producer, Max McClellan, were taking a leave of absence from “60 Minutes.”</p>
<p>When Morgan asked if he thought the bungled report should end Logan’s career, Rather said her otherwise impressive record should redeem her.</p>
<p>“In my opinion, clearly labeled ‘No,'” Rather said. “And I’m so glad you mentioned that. Whatever one thinks of what Lara Logan did or didn’t do with this story, in fairness, it should be put against her whole record. She’s still a very young correspondent, but for a young correspondent has a distinguished record. It should be seen in that context and in that perspective.”</p>
<p>Watch below, courtesy of <a href="http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/09/dan-rather-on-his-old-networks-inaccurate-benghazi-reporting-cbs-news-has-a-lot-to-answer-for-this/?hpt=pm_bn1" type="external">CNN</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>This post has been updated.</p> | 599,010 |
|
<p>We thought Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida reached a low point when he falsely accused his opponent of being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War, and of not loving his country. But now Grayson has lowered the bar even further. He’s using edited video to make his rival appear to be saying the opposite of what he really said.</p>
<p>In a new ad, Grayson accuses his Republican opponent Daniel Webster of being a religious fanatic and dubs him "Taliban Dan." But to make his case, Grayson manipulates a video clip to make it appear Webster was commanding wives to submit to their husbands, quoting a passage in the Bible. Four times, the ad shows Webster saying wives should submit to their husbands. In fact, Webster was cautioning husbands to avoid taking that passage as their own. The unedited quote is: "Don’t pick the ones [Bible verses] that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ "</p>
<p>The ad compares Webster to "religious fanatics" in Afghanistan and Iran. It says Webster opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest, which is true. But it also claims that "Webster wants to impose his radical fundamentalism on us," and to support that claim it blatantly misuses a video clip of Webster speaking at a Christian conference in Nashville in 2009.</p>
<p>&lt;iframe height="295" width="480" src="https://video.factcheck.org/play/hIUWgf_yVQI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>[TET ]</p>
<p>Grayson for Congress TV Ad: "Taliban Dan"</p>
<p>Announcer: Religious fanatics tried to take away our freedom in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in Central Florida.</p>
<p>Webster: Wives submit yourselves to your own husband.</p>
<p>Announcer: Daniel Webster wants to impose his radical fundamentalism on us.</p>
<p>Webster: She should submit to me. That’s in the Bible.</p>
<p>Announcer: Webster tried to deny battered women medical care, and the right to divorce their abusers.</p>
<p>Webster: Submit to me.</p>
<p>Announcer: He wants to force raped women to bear the child.</p>
<p>Webster: Submit to me.</p>
<p>Announcer: Taliban Dan Webster. Hands off our bodies, and our laws.</p>
<p>[/TET]</p>
<p>The ad, which first aired Sept. 25, starts by saying, "Religious fanatics tried to take away our freedom in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in Central Florida," cutting to a clip of Webster saying, "Wives submit yourself to your own husband." Later the ad cuts to a clip of Webster saying, "She should submit to me. That’s in the Bible." And twice more, it shows him saying, "submit to me."</p>
<p>We contacted both campaigns to gather information on the claims in the ad and to obtain a copy of the video to better understand the context of Webster’s remarks. We also contacted the Institute of Basic Life Principles, which is a non-denominational Christian organization that runs programs and training sessions. Robert Staddon at the institute provided us with the section of Webster’s speech (see the video below) that deals with the Bible verse in question.</p>
<p>In an e-mail, Staddon said the video was "taken from a talk to fathers" at the Advanced Training Institute regional conference in Nashville in 2009. <a href="http://ati.iblp.org/ati/about/" type="external">ATI</a> is a religious-based program developed by the Institute of Basic Life Principles "to support parents in raising their children to love the Lord Jesus Christ." Bill Gothard, the founder of the Institute of Basic Life Principles, said that Webster home-schooled his children using the institute’s curriculum and has given speeches at the training institute on more than one occasion.</p>
<p>The full context of the remarks make clear that Webster is not telling wives to submit to their husbands. Just the opposite.</p>
<p>Webster: So, write a journal. Second, find a verse. I have a verse for my wife, I have verses for my wife. Don’t pick the ones that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ That’s in the Bible, but pick the ones that you’re supposed to do. So instead, ‘love your wife, even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it’ as opposed to ‘wives submit to your own husbands.’ She can pray that, if she wants to, but don’t you pray it.</p>
<p>&lt;iframe height="295" width="480" src="https://video.factcheck.org/play/hIUWgf_wMQI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>Grayson campaign spokesman Sam Drzymala told us that the campaign interpreted Webster’s remarks to mean that he believes wives should submit to their husbands. As evidence of this interpretation, Drzymala pointed to Webster’s comment to husbands, “She can pray that, if she wants to.”</p>
<p>The phrase "if she wants to," though, shows that Webster was not imposing his "radical fundamentalism"&#160;even on the people at the religious training conference. Also, the Grayson campaign’s interpretation is aided only by selectively editing the video to concoct a phrase that doesn’t even exist in the video: "She should submit to me. That’s in the Bible." That’s a mash-up of two sentences that read:&#160;"Don’t pick the ones that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ That’s in the Bible, but pick the ones that you’re supposed to do."</p>
<p>This is the second time in as many weeks that the Grayson campaign has resorted to cheap gimmicks to attack his opponent. As we <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> last week, Grayson falsely claimed Webster "refused the call to service" during the Vietnam War. In fact, Webster received routine student deferments in high school and college, and was disqualified for medical reasons after college.</p>
<p>As for Webster’s position on abortion, it’s true that he would prevent women from obtaining abortions even when the pregnancies result from rape, just as the ad says. And that goes for incest as well. He has been <a href="http://www.rnclife.org/pac/2010_Primary_PAC_Report.html#1" type="external">endorsed by the Republican National Coalition for Life</a>, which states: "[W]e have listed the Republican Congressional Candidates whose responses to the RNC/Life Questionnaire indicate they are faithfully pro-life, and do not justify abortion for babies who are conceived through rape or incest, have a handicap, or a genetic defect." When asked directly by a local television reporter whether he would support an abortion for a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape, Webster said "that’s not the issue we’re talking about" and evaded the question. Grayson’s campaign posted t <a href="" type="external">hat clip on YouTube</a>.</p>
<p>But the ad’s claim that Webster would "deny battered women … the right to divorce their abusers" is a distortion. The claim is based on legislation he sponsored in the Florida House of Representatives 20 years ago. The bill, HB 1585, would have allowed Florida residents the option of a "covenant marriage," which would limit their divorce rights. Under the proposal, couples could dissolve a covenant marriage only in cases of adultery. But that would not have applied to anyone who did not choose to enter a covenant marriage. The legislation died in committee in June 1990. Webster has not advocated for covenant marriages as a congressional candidate.</p>
<p>Webster’s positions on abortion and marriage, and his religious views, are certainly fair game. But Grayson crosses the line when he uses manipulated video to cast Webster’s views in a false light, just as he did when he concocted a false accusation that Webster had been a Vietnam draft dodger.</p>
<p>— by Michael Morse and Lara Seligman, with Eugene Kiely</p>
<p>Seligman, Lara. " <a href="" type="internal">Patriotism Falsely Impugned</a>." FactCheck.org. 22 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Gothard, Bill, founder, Institute of Basic Life Principles. Interview with FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Staddon, Robert, Gothard’s personal assistant, Institute of Basic Life Principles. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Graham, Brian, spokesman, Webster for Congress. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Drzymal, Sam, spokesman, Grayson for Congress. Interview with FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Drzymal, Sam, spokesman, Grayson for Congress. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Republican National Coalition for Life, " <a href="http://www.rnclife.org/pac/2010_Primary_PAC_Report.html#1" type="external">RNC/LIFE PAC REPORT — 2010 Republican Candidates</a>" 26 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Spalding, Miriam Gan, State Archives of Florida. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p> | Rep. Grayson Lowers the Bar | false | https://factcheck.org/2010/09/rep-grayson-lowers-the-bar/ | 2010-09-27 | 2least
| Rep. Grayson Lowers the Bar
<p>We thought Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida reached a low point when he falsely accused his opponent of being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War, and of not loving his country. But now Grayson has lowered the bar even further. He’s using edited video to make his rival appear to be saying the opposite of what he really said.</p>
<p>In a new ad, Grayson accuses his Republican opponent Daniel Webster of being a religious fanatic and dubs him "Taliban Dan." But to make his case, Grayson manipulates a video clip to make it appear Webster was commanding wives to submit to their husbands, quoting a passage in the Bible. Four times, the ad shows Webster saying wives should submit to their husbands. In fact, Webster was cautioning husbands to avoid taking that passage as their own. The unedited quote is: "Don’t pick the ones [Bible verses] that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ "</p>
<p>The ad compares Webster to "religious fanatics" in Afghanistan and Iran. It says Webster opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest, which is true. But it also claims that "Webster wants to impose his radical fundamentalism on us," and to support that claim it blatantly misuses a video clip of Webster speaking at a Christian conference in Nashville in 2009.</p>
<p>&lt;iframe height="295" width="480" src="https://video.factcheck.org/play/hIUWgf_yVQI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>[TET ]</p>
<p>Grayson for Congress TV Ad: "Taliban Dan"</p>
<p>Announcer: Religious fanatics tried to take away our freedom in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in Central Florida.</p>
<p>Webster: Wives submit yourselves to your own husband.</p>
<p>Announcer: Daniel Webster wants to impose his radical fundamentalism on us.</p>
<p>Webster: She should submit to me. That’s in the Bible.</p>
<p>Announcer: Webster tried to deny battered women medical care, and the right to divorce their abusers.</p>
<p>Webster: Submit to me.</p>
<p>Announcer: He wants to force raped women to bear the child.</p>
<p>Webster: Submit to me.</p>
<p>Announcer: Taliban Dan Webster. Hands off our bodies, and our laws.</p>
<p>[/TET]</p>
<p>The ad, which first aired Sept. 25, starts by saying, "Religious fanatics tried to take away our freedom in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in Central Florida," cutting to a clip of Webster saying, "Wives submit yourself to your own husband." Later the ad cuts to a clip of Webster saying, "She should submit to me. That’s in the Bible." And twice more, it shows him saying, "submit to me."</p>
<p>We contacted both campaigns to gather information on the claims in the ad and to obtain a copy of the video to better understand the context of Webster’s remarks. We also contacted the Institute of Basic Life Principles, which is a non-denominational Christian organization that runs programs and training sessions. Robert Staddon at the institute provided us with the section of Webster’s speech (see the video below) that deals with the Bible verse in question.</p>
<p>In an e-mail, Staddon said the video was "taken from a talk to fathers" at the Advanced Training Institute regional conference in Nashville in 2009. <a href="http://ati.iblp.org/ati/about/" type="external">ATI</a> is a religious-based program developed by the Institute of Basic Life Principles "to support parents in raising their children to love the Lord Jesus Christ." Bill Gothard, the founder of the Institute of Basic Life Principles, said that Webster home-schooled his children using the institute’s curriculum and has given speeches at the training institute on more than one occasion.</p>
<p>The full context of the remarks make clear that Webster is not telling wives to submit to their husbands. Just the opposite.</p>
<p>Webster: So, write a journal. Second, find a verse. I have a verse for my wife, I have verses for my wife. Don’t pick the ones that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ That’s in the Bible, but pick the ones that you’re supposed to do. So instead, ‘love your wife, even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it’ as opposed to ‘wives submit to your own husbands.’ She can pray that, if she wants to, but don’t you pray it.</p>
<p>&lt;iframe height="295" width="480" src="https://video.factcheck.org/play/hIUWgf_wMQI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>Grayson campaign spokesman Sam Drzymala told us that the campaign interpreted Webster’s remarks to mean that he believes wives should submit to their husbands. As evidence of this interpretation, Drzymala pointed to Webster’s comment to husbands, “She can pray that, if she wants to.”</p>
<p>The phrase "if she wants to," though, shows that Webster was not imposing his "radical fundamentalism"&#160;even on the people at the religious training conference. Also, the Grayson campaign’s interpretation is aided only by selectively editing the video to concoct a phrase that doesn’t even exist in the video: "She should submit to me. That’s in the Bible." That’s a mash-up of two sentences that read:&#160;"Don’t pick the ones that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ That’s in the Bible, but pick the ones that you’re supposed to do."</p>
<p>This is the second time in as many weeks that the Grayson campaign has resorted to cheap gimmicks to attack his opponent. As we <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> last week, Grayson falsely claimed Webster "refused the call to service" during the Vietnam War. In fact, Webster received routine student deferments in high school and college, and was disqualified for medical reasons after college.</p>
<p>As for Webster’s position on abortion, it’s true that he would prevent women from obtaining abortions even when the pregnancies result from rape, just as the ad says. And that goes for incest as well. He has been <a href="http://www.rnclife.org/pac/2010_Primary_PAC_Report.html#1" type="external">endorsed by the Republican National Coalition for Life</a>, which states: "[W]e have listed the Republican Congressional Candidates whose responses to the RNC/Life Questionnaire indicate they are faithfully pro-life, and do not justify abortion for babies who are conceived through rape or incest, have a handicap, or a genetic defect." When asked directly by a local television reporter whether he would support an abortion for a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape, Webster said "that’s not the issue we’re talking about" and evaded the question. Grayson’s campaign posted t <a href="" type="external">hat clip on YouTube</a>.</p>
<p>But the ad’s claim that Webster would "deny battered women … the right to divorce their abusers" is a distortion. The claim is based on legislation he sponsored in the Florida House of Representatives 20 years ago. The bill, HB 1585, would have allowed Florida residents the option of a "covenant marriage," which would limit their divorce rights. Under the proposal, couples could dissolve a covenant marriage only in cases of adultery. But that would not have applied to anyone who did not choose to enter a covenant marriage. The legislation died in committee in June 1990. Webster has not advocated for covenant marriages as a congressional candidate.</p>
<p>Webster’s positions on abortion and marriage, and his religious views, are certainly fair game. But Grayson crosses the line when he uses manipulated video to cast Webster’s views in a false light, just as he did when he concocted a false accusation that Webster had been a Vietnam draft dodger.</p>
<p>— by Michael Morse and Lara Seligman, with Eugene Kiely</p>
<p>Seligman, Lara. " <a href="" type="internal">Patriotism Falsely Impugned</a>." FactCheck.org. 22 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Gothard, Bill, founder, Institute of Basic Life Principles. Interview with FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Staddon, Robert, Gothard’s personal assistant, Institute of Basic Life Principles. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Graham, Brian, spokesman, Webster for Congress. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Drzymal, Sam, spokesman, Grayson for Congress. Interview with FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Drzymal, Sam, spokesman, Grayson for Congress. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Republican National Coalition for Life, " <a href="http://www.rnclife.org/pac/2010_Primary_PAC_Report.html#1" type="external">RNC/LIFE PAC REPORT — 2010 Republican Candidates</a>" 26 Sep 2010.</p>
<p>Spalding, Miriam Gan, State Archives of Florida. E-Mail sent to FactCheck.org. 27 Sep 2010.</p> | 599,011 |
<p>Three Fed speakers are on the docket on Tuesday</p>
<p>U.S. stock-index futures were poised for a modestly lower open on Tuesday, as investors returned from a long weekend and got their first chance to respond to the heightened tensions between the West and North Korea.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Wall Street was also waiting to hear from a trio of Federal Reserve speakers during Tuesday's session, looking for hints on the future path of interest rates.</p>
<p>Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 60 points, or 0.3%, to 21,920, while S&amp;P 500 index futures fell 5.45 points, or 0.2%, to 2,468.75. Nasdaq-100 index futures gave up 10.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,978.</p>
<p>U.S. markets were closed for trade on Monday in observance of Labor Day, but U.S. stock futures traded in negative territory (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-drop-after-north-korea-test-as-traders-take-labor-day-break-2017-09-04). European and Asian markets sold off on Monday, while gold and the yen advanced in a wider flight to assets perceived as less risky.</p>
<p>See:How North Korea's nuclear test rattled markets--in 5 charts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-north-koreas-nuclear-test-rattled-markets-in-5-charts-2017-09-04)</p>
<p>The standoff between North Korea and the U.S. and its allies escalated over the weekend after Pyongyang said it had successfully tested its largest ever nuclear bomb (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-hails-perfect-success-of-latest-nuclear-test-triggering-magnitude-63-earthquake-2017-09-03). The isolated regime is said to be ready to launch a new intercontinental ballistic missile (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-is-getting-ready-for-another-possible-icbm-launch-says-south-korea-2017-09-04) as soon as this Saturday when the country celebrates its founding day.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The latest in Pyongyang's series of missile and bomb tests has hardened the rhetoric from the U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned North Korea that it will be met "with a massive military response" (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-have-many-military-options-mattis-warns-north-korea-2017-09-03) if it attacks the U.S., Japan or South Korea, while Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said at a UN Security Council emergency meeting that Kim Jong Un was "begging for war." (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikki-haley-says-kim-jong-un-appears-to-be-begging-for-war-2017-09-04)</p>
<p>"With tougher sanctions on North Korea looking to be the most likely scenario, markets will discount the possibility of war, but the risk-off mode may continue to persist a little longer, as there may be more missile launches on the horizon," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM.</p>
<p>"Investors have been searching for a catalyst that will lead to a steep market correction, but if a hydrogen bomb wasn't enough to trigger the selloff, then any new experiments from the Kim Jong Un regime won't get traction and investors should focus elsewhere," he said in a note.</p>
<p>Read:Putin warns of 'global catastrophe' if West turns up heat on North Korea (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/putin-warns-of-global-catastrophe-if-west-turns-up-heat-on-north-korea-2017-09-05)</p>
<p>Gold rose following the latest developments, trading at $1,335.40 an ounce, up $5 from Friday's settlement. However, they hit almost $1,345 on Monday in electronic trade.</p>
<p>The yen continued to rise, with the dollar buying Yen109.36, down from Yen109.73 late Monday in New York.</p>
<p>Economic news: A trio of Fed speakers are on the docket on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Fed Gov. Lael Brainard said that the Fed may have to slow down its pace of interest-rate hikes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-may-have-to-slow-interest-rate-hikes-given-subdued-inflation-brainard-2017-09-05), citing the recent low readings for inflation. She indicated that if low inflation "proves transitory," then the central bank may continue its current expected pace, for one additional hike in 2017 and three in 2018.</p>
<p>At 7 p.m. Eastern, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will participate in a moderated Q&amp;A session in Dallas.</p>
<p>"Investors will be looking to assess how stronger than expected economic growth but weaker than forecast labor market data may influence the Fed's monetary policy moving through towards the end of the year," said Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City Index, in a note.</p>
<p>Check out:Tune in Tuesday morning to hear the thinking of the Fed's inner circle (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tune-in-early-tuesday-morning-to-hear-the-thinking-of-the-feds-inner-circle-2017-09-01)</p>
<p>On the data calendar, the only major release is a report on factory orders for July, due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.</p>
<p>September is historically the worst month of the year for equities, and political issues are adding to the uncertain tone this year. In addition to North Korea, the federal debt ceiling must be raised by late September. A spending bill also must be approved by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. While Goldman Sachs views a shutdown as unlikely--in a note released on Tuesday it forecast a 15% chance of that occurring, down from an earlier calculation of 35%--President Donald Trump has said he wants a wall on the border between Mexico and the U.S. to be funded as part of any deal to keep the government open.</p>
<p>Read: The stock market is back near records--but its stiffest headwinds are ahead (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-is-back-near-recordsbut-its-stiffest-headwinds-are-ahead-2017-09-02)</p>
<p>Counterpoint:September stinks for stocks? No, this month actually looks like yet another winner (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/september-stinks-for-stocks-no-this-month-actually-looks-like-yet-another-winner-2017-09-05)</p>
<p>See:MarketWatch's economic calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)</p>
<p>Stock movers: Shares of United Technologies Corp.(UTX) slipped 2.8% ahead of the bell after the industrial conglomerate said late Monday it had reached a deal to buy airplane-parts maker (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/united-technologies-seals-23-billion-deal-to-buy-rockwell-collins-2017-09-05)Rockwell Collins Inc.(COL) for $23 billion, in the biggest aerospace deal in history. Rockwell shares were up 0.2%. News of a potential deal first surfaced last month (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/united-technologies-closing-in-on-20-billion-deal-for-rockwell-2017-08-29).</p>
<p>Insmed Inc.(INSM) rocketed 103% after the biotech firm said its study into NTM lung disease met its primary endpoint and it now plans to request a priority review and accelerated approval.</p>
<p>U.S.-listed shares of Cellectis SA tanked 31% in premarket trade after the Food and Drug Administration ordered the French cell therapy specialist to put a cancer-drug trial on hold.</p>
<p>U.S.-listed shares of Merck KGaA(MRK.XE) could also move after the German pharma giant put its consumer health business up for sale (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/merck-rises-2-after-health-business-is-put-up-for-sale-2017-09-05).</p>
<p>Teleflex Inc.(TFX) said it is buying medical device company NeoTract Inc. in a deal valued at up to $1.1 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teleflex-to-buy-neotract-for-up-to-11-billion-in-cash-and-potential-milestone-payments-2017-09-05).</p>
<p>After the market closes on Tuesday, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.(HPE) is slated to report earnings.</p>
<p>Read:Why Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock plunged Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-hewlett-packard-enterprise-stock-plunged-friday-2017-09-01)</p>
<p>Other markets:Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wary-investors-weigh-on-asian-markets-after-north-korean-nuclear-test-2017-09-03), with South Korea's Kospi index continuing to fall, but stocks in China ending higher.</p>
<p>European stocks were higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-push-higher-as-deal-news-eclipses-north-korea-worries-2017-09-05) almost across the board, rebounding from North Korean-fueled losses from Monday.</p>
<p>Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rally-gasoline-slumps-as-gulf-coast-refineries-come-back-after-harvey-2017-09-05) rallied, but gasoline futures slumped as more refineries powered up operations after Hurricane Harvey.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 05, 2017 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)</p> | MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Market Set For Lower Open As North Korea Standoff Intensifies | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/05/market-snapshot-stock-market-set-for-lower-open-as-north-korea-standoff-intensifies.html | 2017-09-05 | 0right
| MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Market Set For Lower Open As North Korea Standoff Intensifies
<p>Three Fed speakers are on the docket on Tuesday</p>
<p>U.S. stock-index futures were poised for a modestly lower open on Tuesday, as investors returned from a long weekend and got their first chance to respond to the heightened tensions between the West and North Korea.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Wall Street was also waiting to hear from a trio of Federal Reserve speakers during Tuesday's session, looking for hints on the future path of interest rates.</p>
<p>Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 60 points, or 0.3%, to 21,920, while S&amp;P 500 index futures fell 5.45 points, or 0.2%, to 2,468.75. Nasdaq-100 index futures gave up 10.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,978.</p>
<p>U.S. markets were closed for trade on Monday in observance of Labor Day, but U.S. stock futures traded in negative territory (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-drop-after-north-korea-test-as-traders-take-labor-day-break-2017-09-04). European and Asian markets sold off on Monday, while gold and the yen advanced in a wider flight to assets perceived as less risky.</p>
<p>See:How North Korea's nuclear test rattled markets--in 5 charts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-north-koreas-nuclear-test-rattled-markets-in-5-charts-2017-09-04)</p>
<p>The standoff between North Korea and the U.S. and its allies escalated over the weekend after Pyongyang said it had successfully tested its largest ever nuclear bomb (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-hails-perfect-success-of-latest-nuclear-test-triggering-magnitude-63-earthquake-2017-09-03). The isolated regime is said to be ready to launch a new intercontinental ballistic missile (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-is-getting-ready-for-another-possible-icbm-launch-says-south-korea-2017-09-04) as soon as this Saturday when the country celebrates its founding day.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The latest in Pyongyang's series of missile and bomb tests has hardened the rhetoric from the U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned North Korea that it will be met "with a massive military response" (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-have-many-military-options-mattis-warns-north-korea-2017-09-03) if it attacks the U.S., Japan or South Korea, while Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said at a UN Security Council emergency meeting that Kim Jong Un was "begging for war." (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikki-haley-says-kim-jong-un-appears-to-be-begging-for-war-2017-09-04)</p>
<p>"With tougher sanctions on North Korea looking to be the most likely scenario, markets will discount the possibility of war, but the risk-off mode may continue to persist a little longer, as there may be more missile launches on the horizon," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM.</p>
<p>"Investors have been searching for a catalyst that will lead to a steep market correction, but if a hydrogen bomb wasn't enough to trigger the selloff, then any new experiments from the Kim Jong Un regime won't get traction and investors should focus elsewhere," he said in a note.</p>
<p>Read:Putin warns of 'global catastrophe' if West turns up heat on North Korea (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/putin-warns-of-global-catastrophe-if-west-turns-up-heat-on-north-korea-2017-09-05)</p>
<p>Gold rose following the latest developments, trading at $1,335.40 an ounce, up $5 from Friday's settlement. However, they hit almost $1,345 on Monday in electronic trade.</p>
<p>The yen continued to rise, with the dollar buying Yen109.36, down from Yen109.73 late Monday in New York.</p>
<p>Economic news: A trio of Fed speakers are on the docket on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Fed Gov. Lael Brainard said that the Fed may have to slow down its pace of interest-rate hikes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-may-have-to-slow-interest-rate-hikes-given-subdued-inflation-brainard-2017-09-05), citing the recent low readings for inflation. She indicated that if low inflation "proves transitory," then the central bank may continue its current expected pace, for one additional hike in 2017 and three in 2018.</p>
<p>At 7 p.m. Eastern, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will participate in a moderated Q&amp;A session in Dallas.</p>
<p>"Investors will be looking to assess how stronger than expected economic growth but weaker than forecast labor market data may influence the Fed's monetary policy moving through towards the end of the year," said Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City Index, in a note.</p>
<p>Check out:Tune in Tuesday morning to hear the thinking of the Fed's inner circle (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tune-in-early-tuesday-morning-to-hear-the-thinking-of-the-feds-inner-circle-2017-09-01)</p>
<p>On the data calendar, the only major release is a report on factory orders for July, due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.</p>
<p>September is historically the worst month of the year for equities, and political issues are adding to the uncertain tone this year. In addition to North Korea, the federal debt ceiling must be raised by late September. A spending bill also must be approved by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. While Goldman Sachs views a shutdown as unlikely--in a note released on Tuesday it forecast a 15% chance of that occurring, down from an earlier calculation of 35%--President Donald Trump has said he wants a wall on the border between Mexico and the U.S. to be funded as part of any deal to keep the government open.</p>
<p>Read: The stock market is back near records--but its stiffest headwinds are ahead (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-is-back-near-recordsbut-its-stiffest-headwinds-are-ahead-2017-09-02)</p>
<p>Counterpoint:September stinks for stocks? No, this month actually looks like yet another winner (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/september-stinks-for-stocks-no-this-month-actually-looks-like-yet-another-winner-2017-09-05)</p>
<p>See:MarketWatch's economic calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)</p>
<p>Stock movers: Shares of United Technologies Corp.(UTX) slipped 2.8% ahead of the bell after the industrial conglomerate said late Monday it had reached a deal to buy airplane-parts maker (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/united-technologies-seals-23-billion-deal-to-buy-rockwell-collins-2017-09-05)Rockwell Collins Inc.(COL) for $23 billion, in the biggest aerospace deal in history. Rockwell shares were up 0.2%. News of a potential deal first surfaced last month (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/united-technologies-closing-in-on-20-billion-deal-for-rockwell-2017-08-29).</p>
<p>Insmed Inc.(INSM) rocketed 103% after the biotech firm said its study into NTM lung disease met its primary endpoint and it now plans to request a priority review and accelerated approval.</p>
<p>U.S.-listed shares of Cellectis SA tanked 31% in premarket trade after the Food and Drug Administration ordered the French cell therapy specialist to put a cancer-drug trial on hold.</p>
<p>U.S.-listed shares of Merck KGaA(MRK.XE) could also move after the German pharma giant put its consumer health business up for sale (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/merck-rises-2-after-health-business-is-put-up-for-sale-2017-09-05).</p>
<p>Teleflex Inc.(TFX) said it is buying medical device company NeoTract Inc. in a deal valued at up to $1.1 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teleflex-to-buy-neotract-for-up-to-11-billion-in-cash-and-potential-milestone-payments-2017-09-05).</p>
<p>After the market closes on Tuesday, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.(HPE) is slated to report earnings.</p>
<p>Read:Why Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock plunged Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-hewlett-packard-enterprise-stock-plunged-friday-2017-09-01)</p>
<p>Other markets:Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wary-investors-weigh-on-asian-markets-after-north-korean-nuclear-test-2017-09-03), with South Korea's Kospi index continuing to fall, but stocks in China ending higher.</p>
<p>European stocks were higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-push-higher-as-deal-news-eclipses-north-korea-worries-2017-09-05) almost across the board, rebounding from North Korean-fueled losses from Monday.</p>
<p>Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rally-gasoline-slumps-as-gulf-coast-refineries-come-back-after-harvey-2017-09-05) rallied, but gasoline futures slumped as more refineries powered up operations after Hurricane Harvey.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 05, 2017 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)</p> | 599,012 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>State labor officials say the percentage of people without jobs is up slightly from last year.</p>
<p>The Department of Workforce Solutions released the numbers on Friday, Dec. 16, saying the unemployment rate in November was 6.7 percent, up from 6.6 percent a year ago.</p>
<p>The national rate was 4.6 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Luna County checked in at 10.3 percent for October. The jump to 15.5 percent in November was expected now that the harvest seasons in the area’s agricultural industry are completed.</p>
<p>The closing of Deming Big Kmart store also eliminated a hefty part-time work force in December.</p>
<p>Of the 33 counties in New Mexico, Luna is the only one in double-digit unemployment percentage. The closest to Luna County are Torrance and Lea counties each at at 8.8 percent. Torrance is centrally located and lea border the southeastern corner of the state.</p>
<p>In November of 2015, Luna County stood at 18 percent unemployment.</p>
<p>Labor officials say goods-producing industries in New Mexico have seen a decrease of more than 5 percent – or 5,100 jobs – over the last year.</p>
<p>Bright spots include education and health services, the fastest-growing private industry sector with a 6,000-job increase since November 2015.</p>
<p>State labor officials say employment growth in every month in 2016, apart from May, exceeded anything reported in the industry since January 2003.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2016 The Deming Headlight (Deming, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit The Deming Headlight (Deming, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.demingheadlight.com" type="external">www.demingheadlight.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p> | Luna County jobless staggers at 15 percent | false | https://abqjournal.com/911749/luna-county-jobless-staggers-at-15-percent.html | 2least
| Luna County jobless staggers at 15 percent
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>State labor officials say the percentage of people without jobs is up slightly from last year.</p>
<p>The Department of Workforce Solutions released the numbers on Friday, Dec. 16, saying the unemployment rate in November was 6.7 percent, up from 6.6 percent a year ago.</p>
<p>The national rate was 4.6 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Luna County checked in at 10.3 percent for October. The jump to 15.5 percent in November was expected now that the harvest seasons in the area’s agricultural industry are completed.</p>
<p>The closing of Deming Big Kmart store also eliminated a hefty part-time work force in December.</p>
<p>Of the 33 counties in New Mexico, Luna is the only one in double-digit unemployment percentage. The closest to Luna County are Torrance and Lea counties each at at 8.8 percent. Torrance is centrally located and lea border the southeastern corner of the state.</p>
<p>In November of 2015, Luna County stood at 18 percent unemployment.</p>
<p>Labor officials say goods-producing industries in New Mexico have seen a decrease of more than 5 percent – or 5,100 jobs – over the last year.</p>
<p>Bright spots include education and health services, the fastest-growing private industry sector with a 6,000-job increase since November 2015.</p>
<p>State labor officials say employment growth in every month in 2016, apart from May, exceeded anything reported in the industry since January 2003.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2016 The Deming Headlight (Deming, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit The Deming Headlight (Deming, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.demingheadlight.com" type="external">www.demingheadlight.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p> | 599,013 |
|
<p>A recent discovery of ancient wheat DNA in ocean sediments off the British coast suggests that grain arrived there thousands of&#160;years before people actually began to farm. That discovery has archaeologists rethinking their theories about the rise of agriculture in western Europe.</p>
<p>The global history of agriculture is well established: It was first developed in the fertile crescent, the part of the Middle East that curves from the Persian Gulf across modern Israel and Syria into Egypt. From there it gradually spread across Asia and Europe, reaching Britain about 6,000 years ago.</p>
<p>Divers found traces of wheat DNA in 8,000-year-old paleosoil, about 11 meters under the sea off the coast of Britain. That area represents the land that existed during a time when sea levels were rising.&#160;The researchers used a new approach to collect environmental DNA — that is, DNA that’s found free and living in sediment. Robin Allaby says the cool temperatures of ocean make it great for preserving environmental DNA.</p>
<p>“It's a constant four degrees down there, and the preservation was incredible. So it's like nature's fridge,” he said.</p>
<p>The discovery sheds new light on the&#160; <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6225/998" type="external">development of ancient agriculture</a>.&#160;Researchers who wondered why residents of modern day Britian were so slow to adopt agriculture had long believed it was because they were on an island, physically removed from the mainland and its agricultural knowledge.</p>
<p>But the wheat DNA at this new site — Bouldnor Cliff, just off the coast of the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/oQs8n" type="external">Isle of Wight</a> in the Solent estuary — proves that Britain was in fact culturally connected with continential Europe.</p>
<p>The wheat DNA&#160;comes from&#160;contact with communities in the south of France. So the local communities had been exposed to agriculture — even if they weren't pursuing it themselves.&#160;Scientists argue two possibilities for the delayed development of agriculture in Britain: Either they didn't want to or they couldn't.</p>
<p>The first theory is that health risks discouraged transitioning to farming. Many diseases are associated with farming, as people started living&#160;in close proximity to lots of animals. In additiona, without physical adaptations, switching from the high protein diet of a hunter-gatherer to a high starch diet brought malnutrition. A crash in health and population could’ve turned people away from farming, instead staying with the higher calorie hunter-gatherer lifestyle.</p>
<p>The latter theory suggests farming could not progress that far north because agricultural plants, like wheat, could not adapt to growing at such northern latitudes.</p>
<p>Allaby says population growth, and limited resources, may have eventually pushed people to farm. Hunter-gatherers require more land than farmers, and as populations grew, people turned to agriculture as a&#160;more efficient means of finding food, the health risks notwithstanding. An agricultural economy might be comparatively more sedentary and less healthy, but it can outcompete a hunter-gatherer economy.</p>
<p>“If you've only got a small amount of space — you have to go to an agricultural economy,” Allaby says. “It may well have been the case that the Mesolithic peoples of Europe really did not want to switch to an agricultural economy, but at some point they would have had to switch as their own hunter-gatherer economy would have ceased to be viable as they lose more land to this encroaching advancement of arable agriculture.”</p>
<p>This story is based on <a href="http://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=15-P13-00009&amp;segmentID=5" type="external">an interview</a> from PRI's <a href="http://loe.org" type="external">Living on Earth</a> with Steve Curwood</p> | Scientists dig in to paleosoil to find out why some civilizations learned to farm earlier | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-03-07/scientists-paleosoil-agriculture-environmental-dna | 2015-03-11 | 3left-center
| Scientists dig in to paleosoil to find out why some civilizations learned to farm earlier
<p>A recent discovery of ancient wheat DNA in ocean sediments off the British coast suggests that grain arrived there thousands of&#160;years before people actually began to farm. That discovery has archaeologists rethinking their theories about the rise of agriculture in western Europe.</p>
<p>The global history of agriculture is well established: It was first developed in the fertile crescent, the part of the Middle East that curves from the Persian Gulf across modern Israel and Syria into Egypt. From there it gradually spread across Asia and Europe, reaching Britain about 6,000 years ago.</p>
<p>Divers found traces of wheat DNA in 8,000-year-old paleosoil, about 11 meters under the sea off the coast of Britain. That area represents the land that existed during a time when sea levels were rising.&#160;The researchers used a new approach to collect environmental DNA — that is, DNA that’s found free and living in sediment. Robin Allaby says the cool temperatures of ocean make it great for preserving environmental DNA.</p>
<p>“It's a constant four degrees down there, and the preservation was incredible. So it's like nature's fridge,” he said.</p>
<p>The discovery sheds new light on the&#160; <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6225/998" type="external">development of ancient agriculture</a>.&#160;Researchers who wondered why residents of modern day Britian were so slow to adopt agriculture had long believed it was because they were on an island, physically removed from the mainland and its agricultural knowledge.</p>
<p>But the wheat DNA at this new site — Bouldnor Cliff, just off the coast of the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/oQs8n" type="external">Isle of Wight</a> in the Solent estuary — proves that Britain was in fact culturally connected with continential Europe.</p>
<p>The wheat DNA&#160;comes from&#160;contact with communities in the south of France. So the local communities had been exposed to agriculture — even if they weren't pursuing it themselves.&#160;Scientists argue two possibilities for the delayed development of agriculture in Britain: Either they didn't want to or they couldn't.</p>
<p>The first theory is that health risks discouraged transitioning to farming. Many diseases are associated with farming, as people started living&#160;in close proximity to lots of animals. In additiona, without physical adaptations, switching from the high protein diet of a hunter-gatherer to a high starch diet brought malnutrition. A crash in health and population could’ve turned people away from farming, instead staying with the higher calorie hunter-gatherer lifestyle.</p>
<p>The latter theory suggests farming could not progress that far north because agricultural plants, like wheat, could not adapt to growing at such northern latitudes.</p>
<p>Allaby says population growth, and limited resources, may have eventually pushed people to farm. Hunter-gatherers require more land than farmers, and as populations grew, people turned to agriculture as a&#160;more efficient means of finding food, the health risks notwithstanding. An agricultural economy might be comparatively more sedentary and less healthy, but it can outcompete a hunter-gatherer economy.</p>
<p>“If you've only got a small amount of space — you have to go to an agricultural economy,” Allaby says. “It may well have been the case that the Mesolithic peoples of Europe really did not want to switch to an agricultural economy, but at some point they would have had to switch as their own hunter-gatherer economy would have ceased to be viable as they lose more land to this encroaching advancement of arable agriculture.”</p>
<p>This story is based on <a href="http://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=15-P13-00009&amp;segmentID=5" type="external">an interview</a> from PRI's <a href="http://loe.org" type="external">Living on Earth</a> with Steve Curwood</p> | 599,014 |
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<p>Punk rock band Anti-Flag is known for its political activism as well as its music.</p>
<p />
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Making music and touring never gets old for Justin Sane.</p>
<p>In fact, not a lot of things have changed for Sane and Anti-Flag for nearly 20 years.</p>
<p>The legendary punk rock band released a retrospective album, “A Document of Dissent: 1993-2013,” which takes 26 tracks from the band’s nine albums.</p>
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<p>Sane never imagined being able to put together an album like this. He says during the band’s early days, the members had a vision, but never realized how big an impact the band would have on the music industry.</p>
<p>The band’s current line up is Chris No. 2, Chris Head and Pat Thetic.</p>
<p>Sane says over the course of the band’s career, he and Thetic have collaborated a lot.</p>
<p>“Pat’s concepts for songs are still really important,” he says. “He’ll give his input and we’ll listen. If he doesn’t give any input, then it’s usually me and No. 2 who work on songs individually. Nothing really gets recorded if we’re not all on board. We do everything as a band.”</p>
<p>Anti-Flag is known to make music that focuses on anti-war activism, class struggle and human rights, just to name a few topics. The band is also known for the heavy bass, which former member Andy Flag cultivated.</p>
<p>“Andy was just that good. He was the best player in town,” he says. “He really takes the credit for forming the band’s sound with such a heavy and strong bass. Now, No. 2 picks it up and blows me away. These bass lines are challenging and he just puts them away easily.”</p>
<p>Sane says Anti-Flag still writes and performs music for the same reason the members all started the band – human rights and equality.</p>
<p>“We have to treat each other with respect,” he says. “There are a lot of people who are just trying to make the world a better place. We’re also trying to do that and will continue to do so.”</p>
<p /> | Punk rock legends Anti-Flag release retrospective and make a stop at Sunshine Theater | false | https://abqjournal.com/519986/albuquerque-punk-rock-10.html | 2least
| Punk rock legends Anti-Flag release retrospective and make a stop at Sunshine Theater
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<p>Punk rock band Anti-Flag is known for its political activism as well as its music.</p>
<p />
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Making music and touring never gets old for Justin Sane.</p>
<p>In fact, not a lot of things have changed for Sane and Anti-Flag for nearly 20 years.</p>
<p>The legendary punk rock band released a retrospective album, “A Document of Dissent: 1993-2013,” which takes 26 tracks from the band’s nine albums.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sane never imagined being able to put together an album like this. He says during the band’s early days, the members had a vision, but never realized how big an impact the band would have on the music industry.</p>
<p>The band’s current line up is Chris No. 2, Chris Head and Pat Thetic.</p>
<p>Sane says over the course of the band’s career, he and Thetic have collaborated a lot.</p>
<p>“Pat’s concepts for songs are still really important,” he says. “He’ll give his input and we’ll listen. If he doesn’t give any input, then it’s usually me and No. 2 who work on songs individually. Nothing really gets recorded if we’re not all on board. We do everything as a band.”</p>
<p>Anti-Flag is known to make music that focuses on anti-war activism, class struggle and human rights, just to name a few topics. The band is also known for the heavy bass, which former member Andy Flag cultivated.</p>
<p>“Andy was just that good. He was the best player in town,” he says. “He really takes the credit for forming the band’s sound with such a heavy and strong bass. Now, No. 2 picks it up and blows me away. These bass lines are challenging and he just puts them away easily.”</p>
<p>Sane says Anti-Flag still writes and performs music for the same reason the members all started the band – human rights and equality.</p>
<p>“We have to treat each other with respect,” he says. “There are a lot of people who are just trying to make the world a better place. We’re also trying to do that and will continue to do so.”</p>
<p /> | 599,015 |
|
<p>Nearly 46% of Swedes believe that “refugees in our country are more to blame for crime than other groups,” according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/21/riots-erupt-in-swedens-capital-just-days-after-trump-comments/?utm_term=.81382b9be458" type="external">Pew Research Center study</a> conducted last year.</p>
<p>For those of us outside of the liberal blogosphere, this statistic is hardly surprising. From the “shock” of Brexit in the UK to the rise of Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, Europeans in the north, south, east, and west have been punishing the impotent and feckless liberal establishment for its unwillingness to take the threat of radical Islam seriously. The fact is everyday people, voters, aren’t blind or deaf. They can detect doublespeak when they come across it. The experiences of residents in Malmo, Molenbeek, and Sevran bear no semblance to the happy go-lucky story of multi-culturalism the mainstream media keeps trying to jam down our throats.</p>
<p>Even the BBC was forced to admit that all is not well in socialist Sweden.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34794422" type="external">Checks on the border</a> with Denmark, accusations of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35285086" type="external">migrant sex assaults being covered up</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35406072" type="external">a killing in an asylum centre</a> and an anti-corruption investigation into a senior politician are just some of the stories that have made headlines,” <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35549169" type="external">reported</a> the BBC last May. “The minority government, which includes the Green Party, was elected in September 2014, and since then has been faced with managing a migrant crisis that has impacted sharply on public opinion.”</p>
<p>Sweden has taken in more refugees per capita than any other European country. Let’s look at the results.</p>
<p>A little over 48 hours after President Trump erroneously suggested that migrants had carried out a recent attack in Sweden, hordes of rioters took the streets in a predominately immigrant suburb north of Stockholm. The riots began shortly after police detained a suspect on drug charges. But what happened in Rinkeby Monday night was all too familiar to the people of Sweden. Rioters, some of them masked, “burned about half a dozen cars, vandalized several shopfronts and threw rocks at police,” according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/21/riots-erupt-in-swedens-capital-just-days-after-trump-comments/?utm_term=.81382b9be458" type="external">Washington Post</a>.</p>
<p>“The neighborhood, Rinkeby, was the scene of riots in <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/sweden-riots-revive-immigration-debate/news-story/4d8e13c5d886a27b2b54663c07c2d36f" type="external">2010 and 2013</a>, too,” added the Post. “And in most ways, what happened Monday night was reminiscent of those earlier bouts of anger.”</p>
<p>Importing a culture of Islamic misogyny and violence, male Muslim migrants have abused their host’s hospitality by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/04/swedish-music-festivals-hit-by-reports-of-rapes-by-migrants/" type="external">groping and raping young women at music festivals</a>, burning cars and attacking police in riots, and going off and <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20151004/300-swedes-have-left-to-join-extremist" type="external">joining ISIS groups in Syria and Iraq</a>. <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20151004/300-swedes-have-left-to-join-extremist" type="external">Hundreds</a> of Muslim Swedes, both native born and immigrants, have joined Islamic terrorist groups, pledging allegiance to the caliph of ISIS rather than the Swedish constitution.</p>
<p>Considering the sheer volume of migrant misdeeds, who could blame the Swedes for showing consternation about refugees?</p> | Pew: Nearly Half of All Swedes Believe Refugees ‘Are More to Blame for Crime Than Other Groups’ | true | https://dailywire.com/news/13719/pew-nearly-half-all-swedes-believe-refugees-are-michael-qazvini | 2017-02-21 | 0right
| Pew: Nearly Half of All Swedes Believe Refugees ‘Are More to Blame for Crime Than Other Groups’
<p>Nearly 46% of Swedes believe that “refugees in our country are more to blame for crime than other groups,” according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/21/riots-erupt-in-swedens-capital-just-days-after-trump-comments/?utm_term=.81382b9be458" type="external">Pew Research Center study</a> conducted last year.</p>
<p>For those of us outside of the liberal blogosphere, this statistic is hardly surprising. From the “shock” of Brexit in the UK to the rise of Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, Europeans in the north, south, east, and west have been punishing the impotent and feckless liberal establishment for its unwillingness to take the threat of radical Islam seriously. The fact is everyday people, voters, aren’t blind or deaf. They can detect doublespeak when they come across it. The experiences of residents in Malmo, Molenbeek, and Sevran bear no semblance to the happy go-lucky story of multi-culturalism the mainstream media keeps trying to jam down our throats.</p>
<p>Even the BBC was forced to admit that all is not well in socialist Sweden.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34794422" type="external">Checks on the border</a> with Denmark, accusations of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35285086" type="external">migrant sex assaults being covered up</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35406072" type="external">a killing in an asylum centre</a> and an anti-corruption investigation into a senior politician are just some of the stories that have made headlines,” <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35549169" type="external">reported</a> the BBC last May. “The minority government, which includes the Green Party, was elected in September 2014, and since then has been faced with managing a migrant crisis that has impacted sharply on public opinion.”</p>
<p>Sweden has taken in more refugees per capita than any other European country. Let’s look at the results.</p>
<p>A little over 48 hours after President Trump erroneously suggested that migrants had carried out a recent attack in Sweden, hordes of rioters took the streets in a predominately immigrant suburb north of Stockholm. The riots began shortly after police detained a suspect on drug charges. But what happened in Rinkeby Monday night was all too familiar to the people of Sweden. Rioters, some of them masked, “burned about half a dozen cars, vandalized several shopfronts and threw rocks at police,” according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/21/riots-erupt-in-swedens-capital-just-days-after-trump-comments/?utm_term=.81382b9be458" type="external">Washington Post</a>.</p>
<p>“The neighborhood, Rinkeby, was the scene of riots in <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/sweden-riots-revive-immigration-debate/news-story/4d8e13c5d886a27b2b54663c07c2d36f" type="external">2010 and 2013</a>, too,” added the Post. “And in most ways, what happened Monday night was reminiscent of those earlier bouts of anger.”</p>
<p>Importing a culture of Islamic misogyny and violence, male Muslim migrants have abused their host’s hospitality by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/04/swedish-music-festivals-hit-by-reports-of-rapes-by-migrants/" type="external">groping and raping young women at music festivals</a>, burning cars and attacking police in riots, and going off and <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20151004/300-swedes-have-left-to-join-extremist" type="external">joining ISIS groups in Syria and Iraq</a>. <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20151004/300-swedes-have-left-to-join-extremist" type="external">Hundreds</a> of Muslim Swedes, both native born and immigrants, have joined Islamic terrorist groups, pledging allegiance to the caliph of ISIS rather than the Swedish constitution.</p>
<p>Considering the sheer volume of migrant misdeeds, who could blame the Swedes for showing consternation about refugees?</p> | 599,016 |
<p />
<p>DraftKings hired regulatory compliance firm Exiger amid a fight with the New York Attorney General over the legality of daily fantasy sports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Boston-based website said Tuesday it retained Exiger to review DraftKings' operational and risk controls and to "help develop best practices that ensure DraftKings remains at the forefront of safety and consumer protection in the fantasy sports industry."</p>
<p>DraftKings CEO Jason Robins added that Exiger's recommendations will help the company maintain fair contests.</p>
<p>Exiger Associate Managing Director Roy Pollitt, a former special agent with the FBI, is leading the effort.</p>
<p>"I am encouraged by the commitment from DraftKings' senior management to provide our team with full access and transparency," Pollitt said in a statement.</p>
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<p>DraftKings and its main rival, FanDuel, are locked in a legal battle in New York. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to both companies, who countered with lawsuits seeking to prevent the state from prohibiting daily fantasy sports under New York's gambling laws. A court date is set for Wednesday.</p>
<p>Unlike season-long fantasy sports, DraftKings and FanDuel allow players to construct a different lineup before each day's slate of games and compete for daily prize money. Schneiderman is arguing that these contests amount to gambling. The companies say daily fantasy sports are games of skill, not games of chance like those in a casino.</p>
<p>Six states already ban daily fantasy games. Massachusetts has proposed regulations that would prohibit residents under the age of 21 from playing, among other measures.</p> | DraftKings Hires Regulatory Compliance Firm | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/11/24/draftkings-hires-regulatory-compliance-firm.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| DraftKings Hires Regulatory Compliance Firm
<p />
<p>DraftKings hired regulatory compliance firm Exiger amid a fight with the New York Attorney General over the legality of daily fantasy sports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Boston-based website said Tuesday it retained Exiger to review DraftKings' operational and risk controls and to "help develop best practices that ensure DraftKings remains at the forefront of safety and consumer protection in the fantasy sports industry."</p>
<p>DraftKings CEO Jason Robins added that Exiger's recommendations will help the company maintain fair contests.</p>
<p>Exiger Associate Managing Director Roy Pollitt, a former special agent with the FBI, is leading the effort.</p>
<p>"I am encouraged by the commitment from DraftKings' senior management to provide our team with full access and transparency," Pollitt said in a statement.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>DraftKings and its main rival, FanDuel, are locked in a legal battle in New York. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to both companies, who countered with lawsuits seeking to prevent the state from prohibiting daily fantasy sports under New York's gambling laws. A court date is set for Wednesday.</p>
<p>Unlike season-long fantasy sports, DraftKings and FanDuel allow players to construct a different lineup before each day's slate of games and compete for daily prize money. Schneiderman is arguing that these contests amount to gambling. The companies say daily fantasy sports are games of skill, not games of chance like those in a casino.</p>
<p>Six states already ban daily fantasy games. Massachusetts has proposed regulations that would prohibit residents under the age of 21 from playing, among other measures.</p> | 599,017 |
<p>Police say the man who got out of his car on I-95, fired shots at a deputy and a trooper, then got back into his car and crashed Thursday was wanted for allegedly shooting and killing a woman in Stafford County earlier that day, <a href="http://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-state-police-suspect-got-out-of-car-on-i-95-shot-at-officers-then-crashed" type="external">our affiliate WJLA reported</a>. The man has been flown to the hospital with serious injuries, according to police.</p>
<p>Police say the incident started at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday when they received word to keep a lookout for a man traveling in an SUV who was being searched for as part of a murder investigation. Earlier that morning, Stafford County Sheriff Office officials say the man shot and killed a woman on Newcastle Place, before leaving the scene and heading onto I-95. When a state trooper and a Stafford County Deputy spotted the SUV on I-95, they tried to pull the man over for a traffic stop, according to VSP, but when they did that the man pulled onto the shoulder, got out of his car and started shooting at them. VSP officials say one of the bullets hit the windshield of the trooper's car.</p>
<p>According to officials, the man then got back into his car, kept driving and then crashed, overturning in his car, near mile marker 142.</p>
<p>Police say the officers were not injured in the incident.</p> | The man who fired at officers and crashed on I-95 was being sought in a woman's death | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/12/28/nation/i-95-crash-in-virginia-suspect-got-out-of-car-shot-at-officers-crashed-police-say | 2017-12-28 | 1right-center
| The man who fired at officers and crashed on I-95 was being sought in a woman's death
<p>Police say the man who got out of his car on I-95, fired shots at a deputy and a trooper, then got back into his car and crashed Thursday was wanted for allegedly shooting and killing a woman in Stafford County earlier that day, <a href="http://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-state-police-suspect-got-out-of-car-on-i-95-shot-at-officers-then-crashed" type="external">our affiliate WJLA reported</a>. The man has been flown to the hospital with serious injuries, according to police.</p>
<p>Police say the incident started at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday when they received word to keep a lookout for a man traveling in an SUV who was being searched for as part of a murder investigation. Earlier that morning, Stafford County Sheriff Office officials say the man shot and killed a woman on Newcastle Place, before leaving the scene and heading onto I-95. When a state trooper and a Stafford County Deputy spotted the SUV on I-95, they tried to pull the man over for a traffic stop, according to VSP, but when they did that the man pulled onto the shoulder, got out of his car and started shooting at them. VSP officials say one of the bullets hit the windshield of the trooper's car.</p>
<p>According to officials, the man then got back into his car, kept driving and then crashed, overturning in his car, near mile marker 142.</p>
<p>Police say the officers were not injured in the incident.</p> | 599,018 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Tesla Motors Inc. won’t face a recall or fine as a result of a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, but U.S. safety regulators are warning auto manufacturers and drivers not to treat semiautonomous cars as if they were fully self-driving.</p>
<p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it found that the system had no safety defects at the time of the May 7 crash in Florida, and that it was primarily designed to prevent rear-end collisions rather than other crash scenarios.</p>
<p>Bryan Thomas, the agency’s chief spokesman, said automated driving systems still require a driver’s full attention. He warned that automakers need to keep tabs on how drivers use the technology and should design vehicles “with the inattentive driver in mind.”</p>
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<p>The probe began June 28, nearly two months after a driver using Autopilot in a 2015 Tesla Model S died when it failed to spot a tractor-trailer crossing the car’s path on a highway in Williston, Florida, near Gainesville.</p>
<p>Tesla’s Autopilot uses cameras, radar and computers to detect objects and automatically brake if the car is about to hit something. It also can steer the car to keep it centered in its lane. The company has said that before Autopilot can be used, drivers must acknowledge that it’s an “assist feature” that requires both hands on the wheel at all times and that drivers must be ready to take control.</p>
<p>The agency’s criticism is likely to influence how automakers market semi-autonomous systems. Just about every company has or is working on similar systems as they move rapidly toward self-driving cars.</p>
<p>The investigation “helps clarify that cars are still supposed to be driven by attentive people, and if people behind the wheel aren’t attentive, it’s not the technology’s fault,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book. That will help avoid the stigma that the technology causes accidents, he said.</p>
<p>NHTSA released guidelines last year that attempt to ensure safety without slowing development of semiautonomous and self-driving cars. The agency says self-driving features could dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error, which plays a role in 94 percent of fatal crashes.</p>
<p>Thomas said NHTSA wants to encourage innovation “to get the best answer to how we use these automated systems to the best effect and saving the most lives.”</p>
<p>In its probe, NHTSA evaluated how the system functions and looked into dozens of other crashes involving Teslas, including a July one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that injured two people.</p>
<p>The Florida crash killed former Navy Seal Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio. Tesla said at the time that the cameras on Brown’s Model S sedan failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and that neither the car nor Brown applied the brakes.</p>
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<p>Thomas said Brown set the car’s cruise control at 74 mph — 9 mph over the limit — less than two minutes before the crash. NHTSA’s crash reconstruction showed the tractor-trailer should have been visible to Brown at least 7 seconds before impact, enough time to react.</p>
<p>Detecting vehicles that cross in its path were beyond the capabilities of the Autopilot system, Thomas said on a conference call.</p>
<p>In a statement Thursday, Tesla said it appreciated NHTSA’s thoroughness in reaching its conclusion.</p>
<p>When Tesla released Autopilot in 2015, some safety advocates questioned whether the Palo Alto, California, company and NHTSA allowed the public access to the system before testing was finished.</p>
<p>Consumer Reports magazine called on Tesla to drop the “Autopilot” name because it can give drivers too much trust in their car’s ability to drive itself.</p>
<p>In September, Tesla updated Autopilot software to rely more on radar sensors and less on cameras. The update also disabled the automatic steering if drivers don’t keep both hands on the wheel.</p>
<p>Another federal agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, has opened a broader investigation into the Tesla crash. It could be months before a final report that provides a probable cause for the collision is issued.</p>
<p>The company that made the camera and computer system for Tesla said in September that the company ignored its warnings about possible safety problems.</p>
<p>Israel-based Mobileye that before the release of Autopilot, it warned Tesla not to allow drivers to use the system without their hands on the steering wheel. Mobileye NV, a huge player in the self-driving business, has stopped supplying components to Tesla.</p>
<p>Thomas said investigators got information from Mobileye and evaluated the company’s statements, but still reached the no-defect conclusion. He wouldn’t comment on the company’s statements.</p>
<p>Tesla said at the time that Mobileye’s statements were inaccurate and stem from Tesla’s plans to develop its own vision system.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Durbin and Krisher reported from Detroit.</p> | US ends probe of Tesla fatal crash without seeking recall | false | https://abqjournal.com/931343/ap-source-us-ends-probe-of-fatal-tesla-crash-without-recall.html | 2017-01-19 | 2least
| US ends probe of Tesla fatal crash without seeking recall
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<p>WASHINGTON — Tesla Motors Inc. won’t face a recall or fine as a result of a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, but U.S. safety regulators are warning auto manufacturers and drivers not to treat semiautonomous cars as if they were fully self-driving.</p>
<p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it found that the system had no safety defects at the time of the May 7 crash in Florida, and that it was primarily designed to prevent rear-end collisions rather than other crash scenarios.</p>
<p>Bryan Thomas, the agency’s chief spokesman, said automated driving systems still require a driver’s full attention. He warned that automakers need to keep tabs on how drivers use the technology and should design vehicles “with the inattentive driver in mind.”</p>
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<p>The probe began June 28, nearly two months after a driver using Autopilot in a 2015 Tesla Model S died when it failed to spot a tractor-trailer crossing the car’s path on a highway in Williston, Florida, near Gainesville.</p>
<p>Tesla’s Autopilot uses cameras, radar and computers to detect objects and automatically brake if the car is about to hit something. It also can steer the car to keep it centered in its lane. The company has said that before Autopilot can be used, drivers must acknowledge that it’s an “assist feature” that requires both hands on the wheel at all times and that drivers must be ready to take control.</p>
<p>The agency’s criticism is likely to influence how automakers market semi-autonomous systems. Just about every company has or is working on similar systems as they move rapidly toward self-driving cars.</p>
<p>The investigation “helps clarify that cars are still supposed to be driven by attentive people, and if people behind the wheel aren’t attentive, it’s not the technology’s fault,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book. That will help avoid the stigma that the technology causes accidents, he said.</p>
<p>NHTSA released guidelines last year that attempt to ensure safety without slowing development of semiautonomous and self-driving cars. The agency says self-driving features could dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error, which plays a role in 94 percent of fatal crashes.</p>
<p>Thomas said NHTSA wants to encourage innovation “to get the best answer to how we use these automated systems to the best effect and saving the most lives.”</p>
<p>In its probe, NHTSA evaluated how the system functions and looked into dozens of other crashes involving Teslas, including a July one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that injured two people.</p>
<p>The Florida crash killed former Navy Seal Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio. Tesla said at the time that the cameras on Brown’s Model S sedan failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and that neither the car nor Brown applied the brakes.</p>
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<p>Thomas said Brown set the car’s cruise control at 74 mph — 9 mph over the limit — less than two minutes before the crash. NHTSA’s crash reconstruction showed the tractor-trailer should have been visible to Brown at least 7 seconds before impact, enough time to react.</p>
<p>Detecting vehicles that cross in its path were beyond the capabilities of the Autopilot system, Thomas said on a conference call.</p>
<p>In a statement Thursday, Tesla said it appreciated NHTSA’s thoroughness in reaching its conclusion.</p>
<p>When Tesla released Autopilot in 2015, some safety advocates questioned whether the Palo Alto, California, company and NHTSA allowed the public access to the system before testing was finished.</p>
<p>Consumer Reports magazine called on Tesla to drop the “Autopilot” name because it can give drivers too much trust in their car’s ability to drive itself.</p>
<p>In September, Tesla updated Autopilot software to rely more on radar sensors and less on cameras. The update also disabled the automatic steering if drivers don’t keep both hands on the wheel.</p>
<p>Another federal agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, has opened a broader investigation into the Tesla crash. It could be months before a final report that provides a probable cause for the collision is issued.</p>
<p>The company that made the camera and computer system for Tesla said in September that the company ignored its warnings about possible safety problems.</p>
<p>Israel-based Mobileye that before the release of Autopilot, it warned Tesla not to allow drivers to use the system without their hands on the steering wheel. Mobileye NV, a huge player in the self-driving business, has stopped supplying components to Tesla.</p>
<p>Thomas said investigators got information from Mobileye and evaluated the company’s statements, but still reached the no-defect conclusion. He wouldn’t comment on the company’s statements.</p>
<p>Tesla said at the time that Mobileye’s statements were inaccurate and stem from Tesla’s plans to develop its own vision system.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Durbin and Krisher reported from Detroit.</p> | 599,019 |
<p>What sickens me most about the sexual abuse allegations leveled against Harvey Weinstein is that they represent yet another glaring example of abuse of power. The sense of entitlement and audacity possessed by powerful men in business and politics like Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump is deplorable.</p>
<p>Aside from their political leanings, I see striking similarities between Weinstein and our president — both are crude, boorish men who feel superior and unassailable. Nothing underscores that more than last year’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump was caught on camera bragging to Billy Bush about kissing and groping women as he pleased: “When you’re a star … you can do anything.”</p>
<p>Clearly, Weinstein also believed he was invincible.</p>
<p>These perpetrators, and countless more like them, act as if it’s their God-given right to prey on women who they assume are too afraid to speak out for various reasons, including fear of career repercussions.</p>
<p>For decades, Weinstein, who was fired this past weekend by his company’s board, got away with shameful, oafish behavior for several reasons: His victims&#160;were&#160;too scared to come forward; journalists (myself included) tried desperately to get the story we all knew was there, but failed; the companies that he worked for — Disney and the Weinstein Co. — turned a blind eye (as Fox News did with Ailes and O’Reilly); and his many famous friends and collaborators in Hollywood protected him by remaining silent.</p>
<p>But, hey, Karma’s a Bitch and Weinstein was finally outed by last week’s scathing New York Times piece on the mighty mogul, with victims like Ashley Judd being brave enough to go on the record with their horrific encounters.</p>
<p>Two years ago, <a href="http://variety.com/2015/film/news/ashley-judd-sexual-harassment-studio-mogul-shower-1201610666/" type="external">Variety interviewed Judd for a piece</a> we were running in our Power of Women issue. She spoke in great detail of a hideous encounter she had had with a studio mogul, but stopped short of naming him despite being pushed hard by our reporter, Ramin Setoodeh. She told him, “I was sexually harassed by one of the industry’s most famous, admired-slash-reviled bosses,” and went on to give a detailed account of being summoned to his hotel room, asked to watch him take a shower and more. She said she had shared her stories with other actors and learned “the exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul.” Judd, who considered herself empowered, knew that when people read her revelations online, they’d naturally wonder, “Why didn’t you leave the room?” which she called “victim-blaming.”</p>
<p>“When I kept saying no to everything, there was a huge asymmetry of power and control in that room.”</p>
<p>My point exactly.</p> | Harvey Weinstein: Just Another Hideous Example of Abuse of Power in Hollywood | false | https://newsline.com/harvey-weinstein-just-another-hideous-example-of-abuse-of-power-in-hollywood/ | 2017-10-10 | 1right-center
| Harvey Weinstein: Just Another Hideous Example of Abuse of Power in Hollywood
<p>What sickens me most about the sexual abuse allegations leveled against Harvey Weinstein is that they represent yet another glaring example of abuse of power. The sense of entitlement and audacity possessed by powerful men in business and politics like Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump is deplorable.</p>
<p>Aside from their political leanings, I see striking similarities between Weinstein and our president — both are crude, boorish men who feel superior and unassailable. Nothing underscores that more than last year’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump was caught on camera bragging to Billy Bush about kissing and groping women as he pleased: “When you’re a star … you can do anything.”</p>
<p>Clearly, Weinstein also believed he was invincible.</p>
<p>These perpetrators, and countless more like them, act as if it’s their God-given right to prey on women who they assume are too afraid to speak out for various reasons, including fear of career repercussions.</p>
<p>For decades, Weinstein, who was fired this past weekend by his company’s board, got away with shameful, oafish behavior for several reasons: His victims&#160;were&#160;too scared to come forward; journalists (myself included) tried desperately to get the story we all knew was there, but failed; the companies that he worked for — Disney and the Weinstein Co. — turned a blind eye (as Fox News did with Ailes and O’Reilly); and his many famous friends and collaborators in Hollywood protected him by remaining silent.</p>
<p>But, hey, Karma’s a Bitch and Weinstein was finally outed by last week’s scathing New York Times piece on the mighty mogul, with victims like Ashley Judd being brave enough to go on the record with their horrific encounters.</p>
<p>Two years ago, <a href="http://variety.com/2015/film/news/ashley-judd-sexual-harassment-studio-mogul-shower-1201610666/" type="external">Variety interviewed Judd for a piece</a> we were running in our Power of Women issue. She spoke in great detail of a hideous encounter she had had with a studio mogul, but stopped short of naming him despite being pushed hard by our reporter, Ramin Setoodeh. She told him, “I was sexually harassed by one of the industry’s most famous, admired-slash-reviled bosses,” and went on to give a detailed account of being summoned to his hotel room, asked to watch him take a shower and more. She said she had shared her stories with other actors and learned “the exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul.” Judd, who considered herself empowered, knew that when people read her revelations online, they’d naturally wonder, “Why didn’t you leave the room?” which she called “victim-blaming.”</p>
<p>“When I kept saying no to everything, there was a huge asymmetry of power and control in that room.”</p>
<p>My point exactly.</p> | 599,020 |
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Magician David Copperfield has declared his support for the Me Too movement in a lengthy statement online in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>Copperfield says in a <a href="https://twitter.com/D_Copperfield/status/956298396188504065" type="external">Twitter</a> post Wednesday that he has been falsely accused in the past, and that even as he must "weather another storm, I want the movement to continue to flourish."</p>
<p>The entertainment news site TheWrap.com published accounts this week from a woman who claims Copperfield drugged and assaulted her decades ago when she was a 17-year-old aspiring model.</p>
<p>Copperfield's statement makes reference to a since-debunked allegation of sexual misconduct made against him by a different woman in 2007. She was later charged with prostitution and making false claims of sexual abuse by another man.</p>
<p>He says he initially did not want to draw attention to that previous case because "false accusers can negatively impact the believability of others and are a true disservice to those who have been victims of sexual misconduct."</p>
<p>The 61-year-old Copperfield does not address the new accusations directly, but says in his statement to "always listen, and consider everything carefully, but please for everyone's sake don't rush to judgment."</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Magician David Copperfield has declared his support for the Me Too movement in a lengthy statement online in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>Copperfield says in a <a href="https://twitter.com/D_Copperfield/status/956298396188504065" type="external">Twitter</a> post Wednesday that he has been falsely accused in the past, and that even as he must "weather another storm, I want the movement to continue to flourish."</p>
<p>The entertainment news site TheWrap.com published accounts this week from a woman who claims Copperfield drugged and assaulted her decades ago when she was a 17-year-old aspiring model.</p>
<p>Copperfield's statement makes reference to a since-debunked allegation of sexual misconduct made against him by a different woman in 2007. She was later charged with prostitution and making false claims of sexual abuse by another man.</p>
<p>He says he initially did not want to draw attention to that previous case because "false accusers can negatively impact the believability of others and are a true disservice to those who have been victims of sexual misconduct."</p>
<p>The 61-year-old Copperfield does not address the new accusations directly, but says in his statement to "always listen, and consider everything carefully, but please for everyone's sake don't rush to judgment."</p> | David Copperfield voices support for #MeToo after accusation | false | https://apnews.com/amp/dea8f3a3a29f4d4a9642cd2afd4dc019 | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| David Copperfield voices support for #MeToo after accusation
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Magician David Copperfield has declared his support for the Me Too movement in a lengthy statement online in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>Copperfield says in a <a href="https://twitter.com/D_Copperfield/status/956298396188504065" type="external">Twitter</a> post Wednesday that he has been falsely accused in the past, and that even as he must "weather another storm, I want the movement to continue to flourish."</p>
<p>The entertainment news site TheWrap.com published accounts this week from a woman who claims Copperfield drugged and assaulted her decades ago when she was a 17-year-old aspiring model.</p>
<p>Copperfield's statement makes reference to a since-debunked allegation of sexual misconduct made against him by a different woman in 2007. She was later charged with prostitution and making false claims of sexual abuse by another man.</p>
<p>He says he initially did not want to draw attention to that previous case because "false accusers can negatively impact the believability of others and are a true disservice to those who have been victims of sexual misconduct."</p>
<p>The 61-year-old Copperfield does not address the new accusations directly, but says in his statement to "always listen, and consider everything carefully, but please for everyone's sake don't rush to judgment."</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Magician David Copperfield has declared his support for the Me Too movement in a lengthy statement online in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>Copperfield says in a <a href="https://twitter.com/D_Copperfield/status/956298396188504065" type="external">Twitter</a> post Wednesday that he has been falsely accused in the past, and that even as he must "weather another storm, I want the movement to continue to flourish."</p>
<p>The entertainment news site TheWrap.com published accounts this week from a woman who claims Copperfield drugged and assaulted her decades ago when she was a 17-year-old aspiring model.</p>
<p>Copperfield's statement makes reference to a since-debunked allegation of sexual misconduct made against him by a different woman in 2007. She was later charged with prostitution and making false claims of sexual abuse by another man.</p>
<p>He says he initially did not want to draw attention to that previous case because "false accusers can negatively impact the believability of others and are a true disservice to those who have been victims of sexual misconduct."</p>
<p>The 61-year-old Copperfield does not address the new accusations directly, but says in his statement to "always listen, and consider everything carefully, but please for everyone's sake don't rush to judgment."</p> | 599,021 |
<p>Sydney becomes absolutely iridescent in Gail Jones’ <a href="" type="internal">Five Bells</a>, the story of four hapless characters whose lives converge and overlap in Australia’s gorgeous city on a warm summer day.&#160; If you’ve been to the city, particularly its vibrant center, you understand how mesmerizing the environment can be: Circular Quay, the bridge, the beaches, above all the opera house: “It was moon-white and seemed to hold within it a great, serious stillness.&#160; The fan of its chambers leant together, inclining to the water.&#160; An unfolding thing, shutters, a sequence of sorts.&#160; Ellie marveled that it had ever been created at all, so singular a building, so potentially faddish, or odd.&#160; And that shape of supplication, like a body bending into the abstraction of a low bow or a theological gesture.”</p>
<p>Ellie is in Sydney to meet her lover from twenty years ago, when they were both fourteen and the innocence of their sexuality had a purity because of its singularity.&#160; There was nothing else to compare it to, no other people—certainly none of the later partners whose identities have long been forgotten.&#160; She can hardly control her excitement, and she doesn’t understand that the past is another country, that it’s almost impossible to recreate.&#160; We are not what we were.</p>
<p>Pei Xing knows what Ellie hasn’t learned, probably because she is much older and a <a href="" type="internal" />survivor—many times over.&#160; We first observe her, tucking a ten dollar note into the “waste space that was Mary’s,” a homeless woman whom Pei Xing usually chats with, but Mary is clearly out scavenging.&#160; A refugee years ago from Mao’s Red Guards, Pei Xing is on her way, crossing Sydney, to get to her weekly rendezvous.&#160; It’s a most unusual encounter because the woman she will visit, Mrs. Dong, is confined to a nursing home and is not much more than a vegetable lying in her bed.</p>
<p>The encounter introduces one of Five Bells’ major themes: forgiveness.&#160; Years ago, before Pei Xing fled China (after the murder of her parents by the Red Guards) when she herself was in prison, it was Mrs. Dong who was her tormentor, her sadistic guard.&#160; But such is fate that both of them eventually fled to Australia, where Mrs. Dong one day knocked on Pei Xing’s door, asking forgiveness.&#160; That was years ago before Mrs. Dong became so infirm, and all these years later with their roles reversed, it is Pei Xing who visits her former tormentor each week and reads to the voiceless woman, helps feed her, comforts her.&#160; As Pei Xing muses, “It was something difficult to explain…that there were forms of forgiveness that make life go on, and forms of reproach that hold history still [and we need] to live in the aura of forgiveness.”</p>
<p>It is only Pei Xing who understands the past, and her past was the more horrific than the others’.&#160; She is sustained by moments of transcendence much like Virginia Woolf’s characters, with whom she shares a certain affinity.&#160; Here, for example, a moment from her childhood, when hunger and poverty were always present:</p>
<p>“And when snow at last came, fitful at first, in the faintest disappointing sprinkle and then—oh yes—in a dense overnight fall, she believed that in some way she was personally responsible.&#160; She had woken and there it was, layering the roofs and the trees, lining the handlebars of bicycles and piling the edges of the laneways, caught on stall awnings in the yard of the Elementary School.&#160; Whiter than rice powder, with a bluish-mauve luster.&#160; Softer than leaf-fall and more wind-dispersed.&#160; You could taste it.&#160; You could drink it.&#160; You could swallow the sky.&#160; Flakes settled in her mouth and on her open dazzled eyes.”</p>
<p>Then there’s Catherine, a Scottish journalist, briefly in Sydney, and still mourning the recent death of her bother in an automobile accident.&#160; Another survivor, of course, but one of the walking wounded—far from at peace with herself and, in the midst of her peregrinations around Sydney, witness to another tragic event and a reminder how close we all are to random violence and gratuitous acts.&#160; She’s as burdened by the present and the past as is James DeMello, Ellie’s former lover, who will finally meet up with her for the encounter both have felt with such heavy anticipation.&#160; But James, too, has the burden of a recent tragedy and though he has ached to tell Ellie about it, hoping that she of all people will somehow succor him, he is unable to reveal to her what it is that has happened, what will make it impossible for the two of them to come together as they did in the past.</p>
<p>Sydney’s own past is also central to Gail Jones’ lush novel—especially the country’s Aboriginal heritage.&#160; Historical sites, museums, Aboriginal paintings but above all the almost hypnotic dirge of the didgeridoo, a fitting atmosphere for these mostly lost souls.&#160; And Sydney—like London in Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, New York in John Dos Passos’ Manhattan Transfer, and any number of memorable “city” novels—breathes on every page, permeates the consciousness of Jones’ characters whether they are newly transported arrivals to the metropolis or denizens with a lengthy connection to the unforgettable city.&#160; Five Bells is an indelible account of four characters caught in time and space, in one of the world’s most memorable cities.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Five Bells</a> By Gail Jones Picador, 224 pp., $15</p>
<p>Charles R. Larson is Emeritus Professor of Literature at American University, in Washington, D.C.&#160; Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Lost Souls in Sydney | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/03/02/lost-souls-in-sydney/ | 2012-03-02 | 4left
| Lost Souls in Sydney
<p>Sydney becomes absolutely iridescent in Gail Jones’ <a href="" type="internal">Five Bells</a>, the story of four hapless characters whose lives converge and overlap in Australia’s gorgeous city on a warm summer day.&#160; If you’ve been to the city, particularly its vibrant center, you understand how mesmerizing the environment can be: Circular Quay, the bridge, the beaches, above all the opera house: “It was moon-white and seemed to hold within it a great, serious stillness.&#160; The fan of its chambers leant together, inclining to the water.&#160; An unfolding thing, shutters, a sequence of sorts.&#160; Ellie marveled that it had ever been created at all, so singular a building, so potentially faddish, or odd.&#160; And that shape of supplication, like a body bending into the abstraction of a low bow or a theological gesture.”</p>
<p>Ellie is in Sydney to meet her lover from twenty years ago, when they were both fourteen and the innocence of their sexuality had a purity because of its singularity.&#160; There was nothing else to compare it to, no other people—certainly none of the later partners whose identities have long been forgotten.&#160; She can hardly control her excitement, and she doesn’t understand that the past is another country, that it’s almost impossible to recreate.&#160; We are not what we were.</p>
<p>Pei Xing knows what Ellie hasn’t learned, probably because she is much older and a <a href="" type="internal" />survivor—many times over.&#160; We first observe her, tucking a ten dollar note into the “waste space that was Mary’s,” a homeless woman whom Pei Xing usually chats with, but Mary is clearly out scavenging.&#160; A refugee years ago from Mao’s Red Guards, Pei Xing is on her way, crossing Sydney, to get to her weekly rendezvous.&#160; It’s a most unusual encounter because the woman she will visit, Mrs. Dong, is confined to a nursing home and is not much more than a vegetable lying in her bed.</p>
<p>The encounter introduces one of Five Bells’ major themes: forgiveness.&#160; Years ago, before Pei Xing fled China (after the murder of her parents by the Red Guards) when she herself was in prison, it was Mrs. Dong who was her tormentor, her sadistic guard.&#160; But such is fate that both of them eventually fled to Australia, where Mrs. Dong one day knocked on Pei Xing’s door, asking forgiveness.&#160; That was years ago before Mrs. Dong became so infirm, and all these years later with their roles reversed, it is Pei Xing who visits her former tormentor each week and reads to the voiceless woman, helps feed her, comforts her.&#160; As Pei Xing muses, “It was something difficult to explain…that there were forms of forgiveness that make life go on, and forms of reproach that hold history still [and we need] to live in the aura of forgiveness.”</p>
<p>It is only Pei Xing who understands the past, and her past was the more horrific than the others’.&#160; She is sustained by moments of transcendence much like Virginia Woolf’s characters, with whom she shares a certain affinity.&#160; Here, for example, a moment from her childhood, when hunger and poverty were always present:</p>
<p>“And when snow at last came, fitful at first, in the faintest disappointing sprinkle and then—oh yes—in a dense overnight fall, she believed that in some way she was personally responsible.&#160; She had woken and there it was, layering the roofs and the trees, lining the handlebars of bicycles and piling the edges of the laneways, caught on stall awnings in the yard of the Elementary School.&#160; Whiter than rice powder, with a bluish-mauve luster.&#160; Softer than leaf-fall and more wind-dispersed.&#160; You could taste it.&#160; You could drink it.&#160; You could swallow the sky.&#160; Flakes settled in her mouth and on her open dazzled eyes.”</p>
<p>Then there’s Catherine, a Scottish journalist, briefly in Sydney, and still mourning the recent death of her bother in an automobile accident.&#160; Another survivor, of course, but one of the walking wounded—far from at peace with herself and, in the midst of her peregrinations around Sydney, witness to another tragic event and a reminder how close we all are to random violence and gratuitous acts.&#160; She’s as burdened by the present and the past as is James DeMello, Ellie’s former lover, who will finally meet up with her for the encounter both have felt with such heavy anticipation.&#160; But James, too, has the burden of a recent tragedy and though he has ached to tell Ellie about it, hoping that she of all people will somehow succor him, he is unable to reveal to her what it is that has happened, what will make it impossible for the two of them to come together as they did in the past.</p>
<p>Sydney’s own past is also central to Gail Jones’ lush novel—especially the country’s Aboriginal heritage.&#160; Historical sites, museums, Aboriginal paintings but above all the almost hypnotic dirge of the didgeridoo, a fitting atmosphere for these mostly lost souls.&#160; And Sydney—like London in Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, New York in John Dos Passos’ Manhattan Transfer, and any number of memorable “city” novels—breathes on every page, permeates the consciousness of Jones’ characters whether they are newly transported arrivals to the metropolis or denizens with a lengthy connection to the unforgettable city.&#160; Five Bells is an indelible account of four characters caught in time and space, in one of the world’s most memorable cities.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Five Bells</a> By Gail Jones Picador, 224 pp., $15</p>
<p>Charles R. Larson is Emeritus Professor of Literature at American University, in Washington, D.C.&#160; Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,022 |
<p />
<p>Under pressure from the iron ore bear market, commodity blue chip Rio Tinto turned in a disappointing 2015. Because commodity prices have declined so markedly, Rio Tinto's consolidated revenue fell 27% to $34.8 billion for the full year, and its underlying earnings retreated 51% to $4.5 billion. Rio Tinto management also scrapped the company's progressive dividend and enacted plans to ensure that the company remains strong for the long haul. Following are three key takeaways from Rio Tinto's latest earnings report.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Flexible dividend Although Rio Tinto's 2015 underlying profit of $4.5 billion more than covered its annual dividend cost of $4.1 billion, the company's estimated underlying earnings in 2016 of $2.7 billion at current iron ore prices won't be enough to cover the dividend. Given that paying more in dividends than making in profits is unsustainable, Rio management took the long view and scrapped its progressive dividend policy to preserve the company's balance sheet.</p>
<p>A progressive dividend is a payout policy in which the dividend rises at least in line with the rise in underlying earnings, and the dividend doesn't decline if earnings declines. Rather than paying a progressive dividend, Rio management has instead committed to paying a flexible dividend with which the board decides theappropriate dividend payout at the end of each financial period. The board's goal is to pay 40% to 60% of the company's underlying earnings through the cycle by way of the ordinary dividend, special distributions, and stock repurchases.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto's new dividend policy has its advantages. If commodity prices recover, Rio Tinto can pay special dividend distributions that make up for the dividend cut. If commodity prices don't recover in the near term, the payout flexibility ensures that Rio Tinto survives the commodity bear market with its assets and balance sheet intact.</p>
<p>Capitalexpenditures are lower, but production can hold steady</p>
<p>Source: Rio Tinto investor relations.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Although it's getting harder and harder to cut costs, management still plans to trim $2 billion in expenses and another $3 billion in capital expenditures over the next two years. The lower planned capital expenditures mean Rio Tinto's capital expenditure budget will be $4 billion in 2016 and $5 billion in 2015, down from the previously guided $5 billion-plus and $7 billion in the two years. Although management is cutting costs, Rio Tinto's production won't decline much because the company has Tier 1, high-quality, long-life assets.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto's debt ismanageable, and the company could make someacquisitions</p>
<p>Source: Rio Tinto investor relations.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto has a strong balance sheet. The company has a gearing ratio (a measure ofthe degree to which an organizations' activities are funded by owner vs. creditor capital)of 24%, well within management's 20%-30% target range, and the company's net debt of $13.8 billion in debt is $700 million better than that of 2014. On a relative basis, Rio Tinto's balance sheet is miles better than that of its smaller competitors such as Freeport-McMoRan , which is substantially more leveraged and has exposure to crude.</p>
<p>Rio could potentially use its stronger balance sheet to acquire assets of distressed commodity companies such as Freeport-McMoRan. Although it hasn't pulled the trigger on any purchases yet, Rio management has said that it expects quality accretive assets to be put on the market as the commodity bear market rolls forward.</p>
<p>Investor takeaway While the dividend cut is painful, management made the right choice for long-term investors. Rio Tinto will survive and will have the balance sheet to acquire distressed companies if the right opportunities present themselves. Although the slowdown in China might worsen and a recession might occur in the United States, demand for iron ore, copper, and other commodities that Rio Tinto produces will rise in the long run as emerging markets develop and Rio Tinto will deliver substantial value to its shareholders.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/02/3-key-takeaways-from-rio-tintos-earnings-report.aspx" type="external">3 Key Takeaways From Rio Tinto's Earnings Report Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFJay22/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFJay22 Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper &amp; Gold,. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Key Takeaways From Rio Tinto's Earnings Report | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/02/3-key-takeaways-from-rio-tinto-earnings-report.html | 2016-03-28 | 0right
| 3 Key Takeaways From Rio Tinto's Earnings Report
<p />
<p>Under pressure from the iron ore bear market, commodity blue chip Rio Tinto turned in a disappointing 2015. Because commodity prices have declined so markedly, Rio Tinto's consolidated revenue fell 27% to $34.8 billion for the full year, and its underlying earnings retreated 51% to $4.5 billion. Rio Tinto management also scrapped the company's progressive dividend and enacted plans to ensure that the company remains strong for the long haul. Following are three key takeaways from Rio Tinto's latest earnings report.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Flexible dividend Although Rio Tinto's 2015 underlying profit of $4.5 billion more than covered its annual dividend cost of $4.1 billion, the company's estimated underlying earnings in 2016 of $2.7 billion at current iron ore prices won't be enough to cover the dividend. Given that paying more in dividends than making in profits is unsustainable, Rio management took the long view and scrapped its progressive dividend policy to preserve the company's balance sheet.</p>
<p>A progressive dividend is a payout policy in which the dividend rises at least in line with the rise in underlying earnings, and the dividend doesn't decline if earnings declines. Rather than paying a progressive dividend, Rio management has instead committed to paying a flexible dividend with which the board decides theappropriate dividend payout at the end of each financial period. The board's goal is to pay 40% to 60% of the company's underlying earnings through the cycle by way of the ordinary dividend, special distributions, and stock repurchases.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto's new dividend policy has its advantages. If commodity prices recover, Rio Tinto can pay special dividend distributions that make up for the dividend cut. If commodity prices don't recover in the near term, the payout flexibility ensures that Rio Tinto survives the commodity bear market with its assets and balance sheet intact.</p>
<p>Capitalexpenditures are lower, but production can hold steady</p>
<p>Source: Rio Tinto investor relations.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Although it's getting harder and harder to cut costs, management still plans to trim $2 billion in expenses and another $3 billion in capital expenditures over the next two years. The lower planned capital expenditures mean Rio Tinto's capital expenditure budget will be $4 billion in 2016 and $5 billion in 2015, down from the previously guided $5 billion-plus and $7 billion in the two years. Although management is cutting costs, Rio Tinto's production won't decline much because the company has Tier 1, high-quality, long-life assets.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto's debt ismanageable, and the company could make someacquisitions</p>
<p>Source: Rio Tinto investor relations.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto has a strong balance sheet. The company has a gearing ratio (a measure ofthe degree to which an organizations' activities are funded by owner vs. creditor capital)of 24%, well within management's 20%-30% target range, and the company's net debt of $13.8 billion in debt is $700 million better than that of 2014. On a relative basis, Rio Tinto's balance sheet is miles better than that of its smaller competitors such as Freeport-McMoRan , which is substantially more leveraged and has exposure to crude.</p>
<p>Rio could potentially use its stronger balance sheet to acquire assets of distressed commodity companies such as Freeport-McMoRan. Although it hasn't pulled the trigger on any purchases yet, Rio management has said that it expects quality accretive assets to be put on the market as the commodity bear market rolls forward.</p>
<p>Investor takeaway While the dividend cut is painful, management made the right choice for long-term investors. Rio Tinto will survive and will have the balance sheet to acquire distressed companies if the right opportunities present themselves. Although the slowdown in China might worsen and a recession might occur in the United States, demand for iron ore, copper, and other commodities that Rio Tinto produces will rise in the long run as emerging markets develop and Rio Tinto will deliver substantial value to its shareholders.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/02/3-key-takeaways-from-rio-tintos-earnings-report.aspx" type="external">3 Key Takeaways From Rio Tinto's Earnings Report Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFJay22/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFJay22 Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper &amp; Gold,. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,023 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />On Tuesday, CNN reporter Jessica Yellin critiqued a new 20-page booklet released by President Obama’s campaign which outlined his goals for a second term, and told anchor Carol Costello that “there’s not anything significantly new in here.”</p>
<p>COSTELLO: It is interesting that he puts out this plan because the big critique about him has been that he has no plan for a second term. He keeps going over what he terms as accomplishments, but nothing will really change in a second term, and I’m just wondering why it took him till fourteen days before the election to put a plan out.</p>
<p>YELLIN: I wouldn’t put it that way because he has put this out before. He’s just never put it out in a booklet like this. We heard these same details at the Democratic convention. We’ve heard them from his mouth on the campaign stump for days and months and weeks. And so my point is there’s not anything significantly new in here. It’s just all compiled in a nice booklet now. So we get the point that there is something, but you can still critique it for lacking details about will he pursue immigration reform — what specifically would the tax reform plan look like drilling down into the details.</p>
<p>The booklet, “ <a href="https://secure.assets.bostatic.com/pdfs/Jobs_Plan_Booklet.pdf" type="external">The New Economic Patriotism: A Plan For Jobs &amp; Middle-Class Security</a>”&#160; is very slick, with plenty of pictures and sprinkled with Obama’s promises for second term. As Yellin said, there isn’t anything new in the booklet, because all the Obama campaign has done is recycle and repackage promises Obama originally made as far back as 2009, and they are trying to make them sound like they are new.</p>
<p>It was refreshing to see a reporter, especially one at CNN, speak the truth about the Obama campaign. But she might find herself getting kicked off the bus for future campaign events.</p>
<p /> | CNN Reporter Says “There’s Not Anything Significantly New” In Obama’s Second Term Goals [Video] | true | http://aim.org/don-irvine-blog/cnn-reporter-says-theres-not-anything-significantly-new-in-obamas-second-term-goals-video/ | 2012-10-24 | 0right
| CNN Reporter Says “There’s Not Anything Significantly New” In Obama’s Second Term Goals [Video]
<p><a href="" type="internal" />On Tuesday, CNN reporter Jessica Yellin critiqued a new 20-page booklet released by President Obama’s campaign which outlined his goals for a second term, and told anchor Carol Costello that “there’s not anything significantly new in here.”</p>
<p>COSTELLO: It is interesting that he puts out this plan because the big critique about him has been that he has no plan for a second term. He keeps going over what he terms as accomplishments, but nothing will really change in a second term, and I’m just wondering why it took him till fourteen days before the election to put a plan out.</p>
<p>YELLIN: I wouldn’t put it that way because he has put this out before. He’s just never put it out in a booklet like this. We heard these same details at the Democratic convention. We’ve heard them from his mouth on the campaign stump for days and months and weeks. And so my point is there’s not anything significantly new in here. It’s just all compiled in a nice booklet now. So we get the point that there is something, but you can still critique it for lacking details about will he pursue immigration reform — what specifically would the tax reform plan look like drilling down into the details.</p>
<p>The booklet, “ <a href="https://secure.assets.bostatic.com/pdfs/Jobs_Plan_Booklet.pdf" type="external">The New Economic Patriotism: A Plan For Jobs &amp; Middle-Class Security</a>”&#160; is very slick, with plenty of pictures and sprinkled with Obama’s promises for second term. As Yellin said, there isn’t anything new in the booklet, because all the Obama campaign has done is recycle and repackage promises Obama originally made as far back as 2009, and they are trying to make them sound like they are new.</p>
<p>It was refreshing to see a reporter, especially one at CNN, speak the truth about the Obama campaign. But she might find herself getting kicked off the bus for future campaign events.</p>
<p /> | 599,024 |
<p>By Greg Warner</p>
<p>Three Baptist organizations are teaming up to provide churches with the tools to celebrate American freedoms “without watering down their devotion to God with civil religion.”</p>
<p>The First Freedoms Project-led by Associated Baptist Press, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Baptists Today news journal-has developed resources for churches to use in worship, Sunday school and other settings to celebrate American freedoms, particularly those enshrined in the First Amendment, including religious liberty and freedom of the press.</p>
<p>The original resources include sermon ideas, illustrations, original hymn texts, Sunday school lessons, litanies and readings, historical vignettes and bulletin inserts. All the materials, focused on a theme of “Free to Worship, Free to Know,” are available free on a CD and on the group's Web site, www. firstfreedoms.com.</p>
<p>The organizers are encouraging churches to celebrate the first annual First Freedoms Day on Sunday, July 3.</p>
<p>Composer and performer Ken Medema of San Francisco recorded his song I See America Through the Eyes of Love especially for this year's celebration. It is paired with a Powerpoint multimedia presentation for use in worship.</p>
<p>The resources also include original hymn texts by David Burroughs, president of Passport Camps and a volunteer editor of the resources, and Daniel Day, pastor of First Baptist Church of Raleigh, N.C.-both written to support the First Freedoms theme. In addition to Sunday school lessons for youth and adults, the materials include a commissioned sermon by George Mason, pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, and an address by church historian Walter Shurden of Mercer University.</p>
<p>According to organizers, the First Freedoms Project was developed to help churches that struggle with how to celebrate national holidays-particularly the Fourth of July-without blurring the line between patriotism and worship.</p>
<p>“The resources will help those who want to express their love of country without watering down their devotion to God with civil religion,” said Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee. “The answer is to celebrate our God-given freedom, which America has done a good job of preserving for more than two centuries.”</p>
<p>The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship sent copies of the resource CD to 1,600 Baptist congregations in early June. “The First Freedoms initiative will be a wonderful opportunity for you to respond with clarity and integrity to the fragile freedoms of our faith and our nation,” Bo Prosser, CBF coordinator for congregational life, told the congregations in an accompanying letter.</p>
<p>The First Freedoms Project was announced in June 2004 and launched with a national conference in April in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>All three sponsoring organizations are founded on First Amendment principles, which they say are embedded in Baptist history and crucial to the practice of a free faith. Those freedoms, particularly religious liberty and freedom of the press, “have been reinterpreted or misapplied by some, ignored or taken for granted by others,” they said.</p>
<p>“As a result, true religious liberty is often overwhelmed by a wave of civil religion or misdirected patriotism,” the group said in the resource materials.</p>
<p>John Pierce, editor of Baptists Today, said the resources have been well received by church leaders. He noted the First Freedoms Project is a “partnership” between the three sponsoring agencies and local congregations. “We are grateful for every church leader who joins us in reminding Baptists that the cherished freedoms to worship and to receive reliable information are crucial to everything we are called to do,” said Pierce.</p>
<p>Some of those congregations are also signing on to support the three autonomous organizations financially, either through budget gifts or special offerings, Pierce added.</p>
<p>Associated Baptist Press</p>
<p>Greg Warner is executive editor of ABP.</p> | Resources help churches celebrate freedom without ‘civil religion’ | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/resourceshelpchurchescelebratefreedomwithoutcivilreligion/ | 3left-center
| Resources help churches celebrate freedom without ‘civil religion’
<p>By Greg Warner</p>
<p>Three Baptist organizations are teaming up to provide churches with the tools to celebrate American freedoms “without watering down their devotion to God with civil religion.”</p>
<p>The First Freedoms Project-led by Associated Baptist Press, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Baptists Today news journal-has developed resources for churches to use in worship, Sunday school and other settings to celebrate American freedoms, particularly those enshrined in the First Amendment, including religious liberty and freedom of the press.</p>
<p>The original resources include sermon ideas, illustrations, original hymn texts, Sunday school lessons, litanies and readings, historical vignettes and bulletin inserts. All the materials, focused on a theme of “Free to Worship, Free to Know,” are available free on a CD and on the group's Web site, www. firstfreedoms.com.</p>
<p>The organizers are encouraging churches to celebrate the first annual First Freedoms Day on Sunday, July 3.</p>
<p>Composer and performer Ken Medema of San Francisco recorded his song I See America Through the Eyes of Love especially for this year's celebration. It is paired with a Powerpoint multimedia presentation for use in worship.</p>
<p>The resources also include original hymn texts by David Burroughs, president of Passport Camps and a volunteer editor of the resources, and Daniel Day, pastor of First Baptist Church of Raleigh, N.C.-both written to support the First Freedoms theme. In addition to Sunday school lessons for youth and adults, the materials include a commissioned sermon by George Mason, pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, and an address by church historian Walter Shurden of Mercer University.</p>
<p>According to organizers, the First Freedoms Project was developed to help churches that struggle with how to celebrate national holidays-particularly the Fourth of July-without blurring the line between patriotism and worship.</p>
<p>“The resources will help those who want to express their love of country without watering down their devotion to God with civil religion,” said Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee. “The answer is to celebrate our God-given freedom, which America has done a good job of preserving for more than two centuries.”</p>
<p>The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship sent copies of the resource CD to 1,600 Baptist congregations in early June. “The First Freedoms initiative will be a wonderful opportunity for you to respond with clarity and integrity to the fragile freedoms of our faith and our nation,” Bo Prosser, CBF coordinator for congregational life, told the congregations in an accompanying letter.</p>
<p>The First Freedoms Project was announced in June 2004 and launched with a national conference in April in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>All three sponsoring organizations are founded on First Amendment principles, which they say are embedded in Baptist history and crucial to the practice of a free faith. Those freedoms, particularly religious liberty and freedom of the press, “have been reinterpreted or misapplied by some, ignored or taken for granted by others,” they said.</p>
<p>“As a result, true religious liberty is often overwhelmed by a wave of civil religion or misdirected patriotism,” the group said in the resource materials.</p>
<p>John Pierce, editor of Baptists Today, said the resources have been well received by church leaders. He noted the First Freedoms Project is a “partnership” between the three sponsoring agencies and local congregations. “We are grateful for every church leader who joins us in reminding Baptists that the cherished freedoms to worship and to receive reliable information are crucial to everything we are called to do,” said Pierce.</p>
<p>Some of those congregations are also signing on to support the three autonomous organizations financially, either through budget gifts or special offerings, Pierce added.</p>
<p>Associated Baptist Press</p>
<p>Greg Warner is executive editor of ABP.</p> | 599,025 |
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<p>NEW YORK — Qualcomm rejected an unsolicited, $103 billion offer from Broadcom, saying that the proposal is significantly undervalued and that a tie-up between the massive chipmakers would face substantial regulatory resistance.</p>
<p>Qualcomm said Monday that it’s in a unique position to grow on its own.</p>
<p>“We are highly confident that the strategy (CEO Steve Mollenkopf) and his team are executing on provides far superior value to Qualcomm shareholders than the proposed offer,” said Tom Horton, Qualcomm director.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Broadcom’s bid last week represented a 28 percent premium over the closing price of Qualcomm shares on November 2, but analysts were expecting Qualcomm to reject the $70-per-share bid.</p>
<p>Broadcom said Monday that it remains committed to pursuing a deal.</p>
<p>“We have received positive feedback from key customers about this combination,” CEO Hock Tan said in a company release. “We continue to believe our proposal represents the most attractive, value-enhancing alternative available to Qualcomm stockholders.”</p>
<p>Qualcomm, which makes the Snapdragon chips found in smartphones and tablets, is the world’s No. 3 chip supplier, according to research firm Gartner. A combination with Broadcom would not have propelled it past industry leaders Intel and Samsung.</p>
<p>Broadcom Ltd., also announced, in the company of President Donald Trump, that it would bring its corporate address back from Singapore, to Delaware.</p>
<p>The company hopes the change will make it easier to get deals done and more specifically, help it avoid a cumbersome federal review process for a $5.5 billion deal for U.S. network provider Brocade Communications Systems. The deal has been delayed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which investigates proposed acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign buyers on national security and intellectual property grounds.</p>
<p>Qualcomm has a pending $28.1 billion deal with NXP Semiconductor that’s under regulatory review in Europe.</p>
<p>Qualcomm, based in San Diego, rode the boom in mobile. Today’s Broadcom is the product of a $37 billion combination in 2016 between Avago, a Singapore-based company that was once part of a former unit of pioneering PC maker Hewlett-Packard, and Broadcom, another company with origins in Southern California which made chips for tablets, smartphones and other telecom and cable applications.</p>
<p>Shares in Broadcom and Qualcomm both dipped slightly as the market opened.</p> | Qualcomm rejects Broadcom’s $103 billion offer | false | https://abqjournal.com/1091850/qualcomm-rejects-broadcoms-103-billion-offer.html | 2017-11-13 | 2least
| Qualcomm rejects Broadcom’s $103 billion offer
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Qualcomm rejected an unsolicited, $103 billion offer from Broadcom, saying that the proposal is significantly undervalued and that a tie-up between the massive chipmakers would face substantial regulatory resistance.</p>
<p>Qualcomm said Monday that it’s in a unique position to grow on its own.</p>
<p>“We are highly confident that the strategy (CEO Steve Mollenkopf) and his team are executing on provides far superior value to Qualcomm shareholders than the proposed offer,” said Tom Horton, Qualcomm director.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Broadcom’s bid last week represented a 28 percent premium over the closing price of Qualcomm shares on November 2, but analysts were expecting Qualcomm to reject the $70-per-share bid.</p>
<p>Broadcom said Monday that it remains committed to pursuing a deal.</p>
<p>“We have received positive feedback from key customers about this combination,” CEO Hock Tan said in a company release. “We continue to believe our proposal represents the most attractive, value-enhancing alternative available to Qualcomm stockholders.”</p>
<p>Qualcomm, which makes the Snapdragon chips found in smartphones and tablets, is the world’s No. 3 chip supplier, according to research firm Gartner. A combination with Broadcom would not have propelled it past industry leaders Intel and Samsung.</p>
<p>Broadcom Ltd., also announced, in the company of President Donald Trump, that it would bring its corporate address back from Singapore, to Delaware.</p>
<p>The company hopes the change will make it easier to get deals done and more specifically, help it avoid a cumbersome federal review process for a $5.5 billion deal for U.S. network provider Brocade Communications Systems. The deal has been delayed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which investigates proposed acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign buyers on national security and intellectual property grounds.</p>
<p>Qualcomm has a pending $28.1 billion deal with NXP Semiconductor that’s under regulatory review in Europe.</p>
<p>Qualcomm, based in San Diego, rode the boom in mobile. Today’s Broadcom is the product of a $37 billion combination in 2016 between Avago, a Singapore-based company that was once part of a former unit of pioneering PC maker Hewlett-Packard, and Broadcom, another company with origins in Southern California which made chips for tablets, smartphones and other telecom and cable applications.</p>
<p>Shares in Broadcom and Qualcomm both dipped slightly as the market opened.</p> | 599,026 |
<p>Thailand is a popular tourist destination. So it's a good destination for our Geo Quiz as well. But while most tourists head for Bangkok, or the beaches of Phuket, we're heading to one of Thailand's northern provinces.</p>
<p>It's best-known for its ceramics factories, national parks, and especially its Elephant Conservation Center. It's the perfect place for an animal psychologist to study cooperation and problem solving — on a large scale.</p>
<p>"And these are capacities that we always used to think were uniquely human but in fact it turns out they're not so by studying species such as elephants we get a greater understanding of how intelligence evolved".</p>
<p>Do you know the name of that northern Thai province?</p>
<p>The answer is the province of Lampang in northern Thailand. It's home to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center where comparative psychologist Joshua Plotnik (Department of Experimental Psychology, at the University of Cambridge, England) has been studying elephant cooperation. Anchor Marco Werman gets details on the research into how elephants sense or think about cooperation.</p> | Elephant conservation in Thailand | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-03-08/elephant-conservation-thailand | 2011-03-08 | 3left-center
| Elephant conservation in Thailand
<p>Thailand is a popular tourist destination. So it's a good destination for our Geo Quiz as well. But while most tourists head for Bangkok, or the beaches of Phuket, we're heading to one of Thailand's northern provinces.</p>
<p>It's best-known for its ceramics factories, national parks, and especially its Elephant Conservation Center. It's the perfect place for an animal psychologist to study cooperation and problem solving — on a large scale.</p>
<p>"And these are capacities that we always used to think were uniquely human but in fact it turns out they're not so by studying species such as elephants we get a greater understanding of how intelligence evolved".</p>
<p>Do you know the name of that northern Thai province?</p>
<p>The answer is the province of Lampang in northern Thailand. It's home to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center where comparative psychologist Joshua Plotnik (Department of Experimental Psychology, at the University of Cambridge, England) has been studying elephant cooperation. Anchor Marco Werman gets details on the research into how elephants sense or think about cooperation.</p> | 599,027 |
<p />
<p>Image source: GW Pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: After reporting that its marijuana-derived drug Epidiolex reduced the number of monthly seizures in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), GW Pharmaceuticals Plc shares jumped 10.6% last month,according to <a href="https://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>So what:Earlier this year, a phase 3 trial in Dravet syndrome patients showed that GW Pharmaceuticals' Epidiolex can offer hope to tough-to-treat patients suffering with rare forms of epilepsy. In June, a second trial evaluating Epidiolex in LGS patients similarly panned out.</p>
<p>In the Dravet syndrome trial, patients given Epidiolex -- a purified version of CBD, the second most common cannabinoid in marijuana -- experienced a 39% drop-off in monthly seizures. That matched up favorably to patients given a placebo who only saw a 11% reduction in seizure rates.</p>
<p>The decline in seizures was similarly impressive in the LGS trial. Patients with LGS who were given Epidiolex had 44% fewer drop seizures per month. LGS patients given a placebo instead of Epidiolex saw the number of drop seizures decrease by 22%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The findings are important because Dravet syndrome and LGS patients have few effective treatment options. Many of these patients don't respond adequately to typical medicines that work in other forms of epilepsy and as a result, there's a big need for new treatment options.</p>
<p>Now what:Momentum for the use of CBD to treat epilepsy has skyrocketed since Charlotte's Web, a marijuana strain that's high in CBD, was created to treat Charlotte Figi back in 2012.</p>
<p>Although anecdotal evidence has led to rising use of CBD-heavy strains of marijuana in epilepsy patients, GW Pharmaceuticals trials are the first large placebo-controlled studies to show that a purified CBD does indeed provide a benefit in epilepsy patients.</p>
<p>The company is awaiting data from two additional epilepsy trials (one each for Dravet syndrome and LGS), and assuming those trials back up findings to date, a filing for FDA approval of Epidiolex could be on deck in 2017. If approved, however, it's unclear just how big of a seller Epidiolex may prove to be: Dravet syndrome and LGS are relatively rare, and theoretically, the drug will be more expensive than CBD-heavy strains of marijuana available through medical marijuana dispensaries.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Epidiolex appears to deliver top-notch efficacy and safety. If it gets the FDA's blessing, doctors worried over prescribing marijuana without the backing of regulators may embrace it quickly.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/06/heres-why-this-marijuana-stock-marched-106-higher.aspx" type="external">Here's Why This Marijuana Stock Marched 10.6% Higher in June Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/EBCapitalMarkets/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Todd Campbell Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned.Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/ebcapital" type="external">@ebcapital Opens a New Window.</a> to see more articles like this.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Here's Why This Marijuana Stock Marched 10.6% Higher in June | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/06/here-why-this-marijuana-stock-marched-106-higher-in-june.html | 2016-07-06 | 0right
| Here's Why This Marijuana Stock Marched 10.6% Higher in June
<p />
<p>Image source: GW Pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: After reporting that its marijuana-derived drug Epidiolex reduced the number of monthly seizures in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), GW Pharmaceuticals Plc shares jumped 10.6% last month,according to <a href="https://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>So what:Earlier this year, a phase 3 trial in Dravet syndrome patients showed that GW Pharmaceuticals' Epidiolex can offer hope to tough-to-treat patients suffering with rare forms of epilepsy. In June, a second trial evaluating Epidiolex in LGS patients similarly panned out.</p>
<p>In the Dravet syndrome trial, patients given Epidiolex -- a purified version of CBD, the second most common cannabinoid in marijuana -- experienced a 39% drop-off in monthly seizures. That matched up favorably to patients given a placebo who only saw a 11% reduction in seizure rates.</p>
<p>The decline in seizures was similarly impressive in the LGS trial. Patients with LGS who were given Epidiolex had 44% fewer drop seizures per month. LGS patients given a placebo instead of Epidiolex saw the number of drop seizures decrease by 22%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The findings are important because Dravet syndrome and LGS patients have few effective treatment options. Many of these patients don't respond adequately to typical medicines that work in other forms of epilepsy and as a result, there's a big need for new treatment options.</p>
<p>Now what:Momentum for the use of CBD to treat epilepsy has skyrocketed since Charlotte's Web, a marijuana strain that's high in CBD, was created to treat Charlotte Figi back in 2012.</p>
<p>Although anecdotal evidence has led to rising use of CBD-heavy strains of marijuana in epilepsy patients, GW Pharmaceuticals trials are the first large placebo-controlled studies to show that a purified CBD does indeed provide a benefit in epilepsy patients.</p>
<p>The company is awaiting data from two additional epilepsy trials (one each for Dravet syndrome and LGS), and assuming those trials back up findings to date, a filing for FDA approval of Epidiolex could be on deck in 2017. If approved, however, it's unclear just how big of a seller Epidiolex may prove to be: Dravet syndrome and LGS are relatively rare, and theoretically, the drug will be more expensive than CBD-heavy strains of marijuana available through medical marijuana dispensaries.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Epidiolex appears to deliver top-notch efficacy and safety. If it gets the FDA's blessing, doctors worried over prescribing marijuana without the backing of regulators may embrace it quickly.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/06/heres-why-this-marijuana-stock-marched-106-higher.aspx" type="external">Here's Why This Marijuana Stock Marched 10.6% Higher in June Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/EBCapitalMarkets/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Todd Campbell Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned.Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/ebcapital" type="external">@ebcapital Opens a New Window.</a> to see more articles like this.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,028 |
<p>Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and former homicide detective Rod Wheeler on calls by some Pittsburg police officers to boycott Beyonce's concert in the city.</p>
<p>Law enforcement might not have Queen Bey’s back when she takes the stage at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“How ironic that a cop-hating performer realizes she needs the American law enforcement officer to pull off her concert. It’s definitely a ‘can’t live with the police, can’t live without them’ moment for Beyoncé,” said Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke during an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria.</p>
<p>Several Pittsburgh officers have allegedly refused to work Beyoncé’s concert after her controversial Super Bowl halftime performance at Levi Stadium in February.</p>
<p>“I don’t blame Pittsburgh’s finest for not volunteering for this assignment. Of course, if they are ordered to do it, these officers will do what they are told to do, but at the same time I’m glad to see that they have enough morals to not even add time-and-a-half to not even volunteer for something like this,” he said.</p>
<p>Clarke, who has spoken out against the Grammy award winner on the FOX Business Network since her halftime performance, says he would “allow her to do a reset on her relationship with the police” if she donated all the proceeds of this concert to the Concerns of Police Survivor Chapter State of Pennsylvania, which works with the survivors of slain law enforcement officers.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The singer and songwriter, who just launched a brand new clothing line, is also selling “Boycott Beyonce” merchandise at her concerts.</p> | Sheriff Clarke: Beyonce Can't Live With Police, Can't Live Without Them | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/05/31/sheriff-clarke-beyonce-cant-live-with-police-cant-live-without-them.html | 2017-01-09 | 0right
| Sheriff Clarke: Beyonce Can't Live With Police, Can't Live Without Them
<p>Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and former homicide detective Rod Wheeler on calls by some Pittsburg police officers to boycott Beyonce's concert in the city.</p>
<p>Law enforcement might not have Queen Bey’s back when she takes the stage at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“How ironic that a cop-hating performer realizes she needs the American law enforcement officer to pull off her concert. It’s definitely a ‘can’t live with the police, can’t live without them’ moment for Beyoncé,” said Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke during an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria.</p>
<p>Several Pittsburgh officers have allegedly refused to work Beyoncé’s concert after her controversial Super Bowl halftime performance at Levi Stadium in February.</p>
<p>“I don’t blame Pittsburgh’s finest for not volunteering for this assignment. Of course, if they are ordered to do it, these officers will do what they are told to do, but at the same time I’m glad to see that they have enough morals to not even add time-and-a-half to not even volunteer for something like this,” he said.</p>
<p>Clarke, who has spoken out against the Grammy award winner on the FOX Business Network since her halftime performance, says he would “allow her to do a reset on her relationship with the police” if she donated all the proceeds of this concert to the Concerns of Police Survivor Chapter State of Pennsylvania, which works with the survivors of slain law enforcement officers.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The singer and songwriter, who just launched a brand new clothing line, is also selling “Boycott Beyonce” merchandise at her concerts.</p> | 599,029 |
<p>George W. Bush is the most lawless president in U.S. history.</p>
<p>Not corrupt, mind you; plenty of presidents were guilty of avarice, abuse of power, adultery, perjury; President Bush is merely the first to usurp the law as a matter of policy.</p>
<p>This is not a criticism. It is a fact; to quote Casey Stengel, you can look it up. The truth is in the records of the nation’s highest court and the considered opinion of the majority of its justices. In fighting terrorism, Bush didn’t just break the law; he became a law unto himself. Then with imperial disdain — more likely, impervious disregard — he declared that his actions were beyond traditional checks and balances, and fully outside the reach of courts or Congress.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Hamdan-Rumsfeld-Fight-Presidential/dp/0374223203%3FSubscriptionId%3D0P6YZRHNJFV404XJNNG2%26tag%3Dtruthdig20-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0374223203" type="external" /></p>
<p />
<p>By Jonathan Mahler</p>
<p>Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 352 pages</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Hamdan-Rumsfeld-Fight-Presidential/dp/0374223203%3FSubscriptionId%3D0P6YZRHNJFV404XJNNG2%26tag%3Dtruthdig20-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0374223203" type="external" /></p>
<p><a href="http://thechallengethebook.com/author.html%20" type="external">Jonathan Mahler’s</a></p>
<p>“The Challenge: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power” is an essential history of the case that ended this presidential coup, and a worthy reminder that our most basic rights are vulnerable in time of war. Hamdan is also the compelling story of military personnel, lawyers and judges who put their careers at risk on behalf of a man who, if given the chance, would have murdered them. This handful of principled Americans won what former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger rightly called “the most important decision on presidential power ever.”</p>
<p>Days after the 9/11 attacks, Bush decided to try terrorism suspects as war criminals before military tribunals rather than in U.S. courts. The White House asked <a href="http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bios/p/4417.htm%20" type="external">Pierre-Richard Prosper</a>, head of the State Department’s war crimes office, to convene an interagency task force to study whether such tribunals would be legal. Prosper had prosecuted war criminals in Rwanda, was a colleague of mine at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, and is an experienced, principled professional. Having asked him to consider the question, Bush promptly ignored him.</p>
<p>“The White House … grew impatient with Prosper’s consensus-seeking and time-consuming brain trust,” Mahler writes. Before Prosper could finish his report on whether the tribunals were legal, the president forged ahead. By executive fiat (the technical term is military order), Bush declared that all noncitizens who the president “had reason to believe” were affiliated with al-Qaida, or aided and abetted acts of terrorism against the U.S., were to be tried in special courts. Hearsay evidence and unsupported exhibits would be admissible; trials would not be public; the president alone would decide whom to charge; all decisions were final; there would be no appeals. Like Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Prosper didn’t know the order was being considered until after the president issued it.</p>
<p>It is clear now — it was clear then — that the tribunals were designed to give the appearance rather than the protections of due process. The alternative — fair trials — was unacceptable to an administration that viewed opposition to the tribunals as treason and critics as traitors.</p>
<p>“Your tactics only aid the terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve,” Attorney General John Ashcroft said. “When we come to those responsible for [terrorism], say, who are in Afghanistan, are we supposed to read them the Miranda rights, hire a flamboyant defense lawyer, bring them to the United States to create a new cable network of Osama TV…?”</p>
<p>In 2001, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salim_Ahmed_Hamdan%20" type="external">Salim Ahmed Hamdan</a> of Yemen was arrested in Afghanistan. The car he was driving had two surface-to-air missiles in the trunk. Though Hamdan never shot, let alone killed, anyone, nor was he tied to any specific terrorist act, he admitted to being Osama bin Laden’s driver and bodyguard. This made him an excellent candidate for special treatment. “Of the thousands of detainees in U.S. custody, President Bush had chosen [Hamdan] to be the first Arab defendant in America’s first war crimes trials in more than fifty years,” Mahler writes.</p>
<p>It was presumed that Hamdan would go along with the program and plead guilty. Indeed, Hamdan might have done so. Having long been imprisoned, often in isolation, he had all but given up hope on having his day in court.</p>
<p>Enter <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800603.html%20" type="external">Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift</a>, a Naval Academy graduate with a reputation as “one of the most zealous defense attorneys in the JAG Corps.” If Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” comes to mind, it clearly occurred to the egocentric, self-promoting Swift as well.</p>
<p>Mahler is too honest a reporter to cast Swift in purely heroic terms. Mentally scattered, overly emotional, self-dramatizing, self-absorbed; a man who saw himself in such romantic terms that he could reduce himself to tears through his own eloquence, Swift “talked too much and never seemed to say enough.” By turns he was insecure and confident, combustible and deferential, aggressive and paranoid. His one constant was patriotism; specifically, the “loyal opposition” brand that goes against popular opinion or even the president in order to defend American principles and ideals.</p>
<p>If, as a colleague says, Swift has always been a “pain-in-the-ass,” so have most patriots. Sam Adams was a bully, Thomas Paine notoriously difficult, Clarence Darrow seldom washed. Fighting for civil liberties is noble in theory but hard in practice, and rarely pretty. Swift’s motivations to fight for Hamdan were not all pure; he wanted to be famous, was profiled on “Sixty Minutes” and in <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1204-DEC_B&amp;BSOCITY_jump_rev_2_5%20" type="external">Esquire magazine</a> and accepted awards and accolades from a number of organizations long before the case was over. But to his credit, Swift was the first and, for a time, the only one with the guts to take on his commander in chief. Had Congress shown such grit, the country, indeed, the world, would have been better off.</p>
<p>While Swift was a good man to start a fight, he was the wrong man to finish it. Hamdan’s best defense at trial was never to go to trial; it was to attack the legality of the tribunals themselves. For that, Swift’s brawn needed help from the brain of Georgetown law professor <a href="http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/facinfo/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&amp;ID=272%20" type="external">Neal Katyal</a>. The toughest task of Katyal, a former Supreme Court clerk, then 33 years old, was to convince a federal judge to hear Hamdan’s petition to begin with. For any trial court judge hoping for advancement, taking such a petition was professionally risky. The president is responsible for elevating federal judges. The president’s military order creating the tribunals forbade anyone to challenge them. To hear Hamdan’s petition would be to violate the president’s clear intent.</p>
<p>For a year, no judge would do it. Eventually several courageous lower-court judges did take action that eventually led to Hamdan’s case going forward. Foremost among these was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robertson_(judge)%20" type="external">Judge James Robertson</a> of the District of Columbia federal court, a former Navy officer himself, who had the temerity to find that any trial conducted without basic procedural safeguards was no trial at all.</p>
<p>Mahler mines the materials available to him to make the rocky climb to the Supreme Court compelling, a neat trick. Trials are theater, inherently dramatic plays with the neat denouement of a verdict in the end. Appeals, in contrast, are tedious, boring affairs in which the issues are limited to the written record, surprise is prohibited, action unheard of, and talking strictly limited. It is designed for scholars, not showmen, and there are rarely clear-cut winners and losers.</p>
<p>Mahler does an admirable job of explaining for the nonlawyer the arcane rules of appellate practice. And he wisely provides just enough flavor of the Talmudic analysis that goes into appellate decisions to make the court’s ultimate decision understandable. If Mahler sometimes gets lost in the minutia of appellate strategy, the 15 moot courts that Kaytal participated in prior to his argument before the court, the challenge of brief page length and font requirements, it is understandable; lesser writers would not have done so well. For the most part, he manages to get out of the thicket with the narrative intact and the suspense building.</p>
<p>By the time Kaytal stands in the bathroom stall of the Supreme Court, singing the theme from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to warm up his voice and settle his nerves, the story has wings; knowing the outcome does not make it any less exciting or satisfying. Kaytal’s argument before the court was a resounding success. By a 5-3 vote, the court eventually held that President Bush had violated the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution by creating tribunals that denied defendants basic rights.</p>
<p>The Hamdan decision quoted the court’s own ruling in Ex Parte Milligan, over a hundred years earlier, when it found Civil War-era military tribunals unconstitutional: “The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and peace, and covers with the shield of its protections all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances.” Amen.</p>
<p>Mahler writes with a refreshingly unbiased tone, refusing to take sides, generously concluding that Hamdan was less a rebuff of the Bush administration than “an affirmation of the majesty of America’s constitutional government and the critical role of the courts within.”</p>
<p>Perhaps so, but it was also an extraordinary rebuke of a wartime president. It took the Supreme Court decades to reverse itself on the matter of World War II-era internment camps, yet only a matter of months to strike down Bush’s tribunals. The irony of the commander in chief fighting not one but two wars in the name of American liberty while at the same time curtailing those liberties was characteristically lost on Bush, who immediately sought legislation that would overturn the court’s decision. It was an especially graceless act for a man who owes his very presidency to a Supreme Court decision. But Bush seems incapable of appreciating the manifold ironies that define his reign.</p>
<p>What Mahler could not have known when writing the book is that Bush had inadvertently laid the groundwork for an unexpected twist to the story. Thanks to the president’s efforts, new tribunals were set up and Hamdan eventually went to trial. The military jury acquitted him of the most serious charges, rejected the 30-year term sought by the prosecution, and gave Hamdan a five-year sentence, with credit for time served. He remains in custody, subject to continued incarceration even after the completion of his sentence in a mere six months. Whether he’ll be released and returned to Yemen is not the question; rather it is when.</p>
<p>Mahler never met or talked to Hamdan; such are the restrictions that still apply. One is reminded of Ernesto Miranda, another bad man destined to become synonymous with grand legal principles. The name of Miranda, a rapist and robber, is shorthand for the custodial rights of the accused. The name Hamdan will forever be associated with the limits of presidential power, even in a time of war. Like Miranda, Hamdan is thus a winner in name only. The real beneficiaries are the citizens of the country Hamdan waged war against. The ironies of the Hamdan case abound.</p>
<p>Jonathan Shapiro, a former federal prosecutor, teaches criminal law as an adjunct law professor at the USC School of Law, and writes and produces the NBC television drama “Life.”</p> | Jonathan Shapiro on the Hamdan Case | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/jonathan-shapiro-on-the-hamdan-case/ | 2008-08-29 | 4left
| Jonathan Shapiro on the Hamdan Case
<p>George W. Bush is the most lawless president in U.S. history.</p>
<p>Not corrupt, mind you; plenty of presidents were guilty of avarice, abuse of power, adultery, perjury; President Bush is merely the first to usurp the law as a matter of policy.</p>
<p>This is not a criticism. It is a fact; to quote Casey Stengel, you can look it up. The truth is in the records of the nation’s highest court and the considered opinion of the majority of its justices. In fighting terrorism, Bush didn’t just break the law; he became a law unto himself. Then with imperial disdain — more likely, impervious disregard — he declared that his actions were beyond traditional checks and balances, and fully outside the reach of courts or Congress.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Hamdan-Rumsfeld-Fight-Presidential/dp/0374223203%3FSubscriptionId%3D0P6YZRHNJFV404XJNNG2%26tag%3Dtruthdig20-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0374223203" type="external" /></p>
<p />
<p>By Jonathan Mahler</p>
<p>Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 352 pages</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Hamdan-Rumsfeld-Fight-Presidential/dp/0374223203%3FSubscriptionId%3D0P6YZRHNJFV404XJNNG2%26tag%3Dtruthdig20-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0374223203" type="external" /></p>
<p><a href="http://thechallengethebook.com/author.html%20" type="external">Jonathan Mahler’s</a></p>
<p>“The Challenge: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power” is an essential history of the case that ended this presidential coup, and a worthy reminder that our most basic rights are vulnerable in time of war. Hamdan is also the compelling story of military personnel, lawyers and judges who put their careers at risk on behalf of a man who, if given the chance, would have murdered them. This handful of principled Americans won what former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger rightly called “the most important decision on presidential power ever.”</p>
<p>Days after the 9/11 attacks, Bush decided to try terrorism suspects as war criminals before military tribunals rather than in U.S. courts. The White House asked <a href="http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bios/p/4417.htm%20" type="external">Pierre-Richard Prosper</a>, head of the State Department’s war crimes office, to convene an interagency task force to study whether such tribunals would be legal. Prosper had prosecuted war criminals in Rwanda, was a colleague of mine at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, and is an experienced, principled professional. Having asked him to consider the question, Bush promptly ignored him.</p>
<p>“The White House … grew impatient with Prosper’s consensus-seeking and time-consuming brain trust,” Mahler writes. Before Prosper could finish his report on whether the tribunals were legal, the president forged ahead. By executive fiat (the technical term is military order), Bush declared that all noncitizens who the president “had reason to believe” were affiliated with al-Qaida, or aided and abetted acts of terrorism against the U.S., were to be tried in special courts. Hearsay evidence and unsupported exhibits would be admissible; trials would not be public; the president alone would decide whom to charge; all decisions were final; there would be no appeals. Like Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Prosper didn’t know the order was being considered until after the president issued it.</p>
<p>It is clear now — it was clear then — that the tribunals were designed to give the appearance rather than the protections of due process. The alternative — fair trials — was unacceptable to an administration that viewed opposition to the tribunals as treason and critics as traitors.</p>
<p>“Your tactics only aid the terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve,” Attorney General John Ashcroft said. “When we come to those responsible for [terrorism], say, who are in Afghanistan, are we supposed to read them the Miranda rights, hire a flamboyant defense lawyer, bring them to the United States to create a new cable network of Osama TV…?”</p>
<p>In 2001, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salim_Ahmed_Hamdan%20" type="external">Salim Ahmed Hamdan</a> of Yemen was arrested in Afghanistan. The car he was driving had two surface-to-air missiles in the trunk. Though Hamdan never shot, let alone killed, anyone, nor was he tied to any specific terrorist act, he admitted to being Osama bin Laden’s driver and bodyguard. This made him an excellent candidate for special treatment. “Of the thousands of detainees in U.S. custody, President Bush had chosen [Hamdan] to be the first Arab defendant in America’s first war crimes trials in more than fifty years,” Mahler writes.</p>
<p>It was presumed that Hamdan would go along with the program and plead guilty. Indeed, Hamdan might have done so. Having long been imprisoned, often in isolation, he had all but given up hope on having his day in court.</p>
<p>Enter <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800603.html%20" type="external">Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift</a>, a Naval Academy graduate with a reputation as “one of the most zealous defense attorneys in the JAG Corps.” If Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” comes to mind, it clearly occurred to the egocentric, self-promoting Swift as well.</p>
<p>Mahler is too honest a reporter to cast Swift in purely heroic terms. Mentally scattered, overly emotional, self-dramatizing, self-absorbed; a man who saw himself in such romantic terms that he could reduce himself to tears through his own eloquence, Swift “talked too much and never seemed to say enough.” By turns he was insecure and confident, combustible and deferential, aggressive and paranoid. His one constant was patriotism; specifically, the “loyal opposition” brand that goes against popular opinion or even the president in order to defend American principles and ideals.</p>
<p>If, as a colleague says, Swift has always been a “pain-in-the-ass,” so have most patriots. Sam Adams was a bully, Thomas Paine notoriously difficult, Clarence Darrow seldom washed. Fighting for civil liberties is noble in theory but hard in practice, and rarely pretty. Swift’s motivations to fight for Hamdan were not all pure; he wanted to be famous, was profiled on “Sixty Minutes” and in <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1204-DEC_B&amp;BSOCITY_jump_rev_2_5%20" type="external">Esquire magazine</a> and accepted awards and accolades from a number of organizations long before the case was over. But to his credit, Swift was the first and, for a time, the only one with the guts to take on his commander in chief. Had Congress shown such grit, the country, indeed, the world, would have been better off.</p>
<p>While Swift was a good man to start a fight, he was the wrong man to finish it. Hamdan’s best defense at trial was never to go to trial; it was to attack the legality of the tribunals themselves. For that, Swift’s brawn needed help from the brain of Georgetown law professor <a href="http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/facinfo/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&amp;ID=272%20" type="external">Neal Katyal</a>. The toughest task of Katyal, a former Supreme Court clerk, then 33 years old, was to convince a federal judge to hear Hamdan’s petition to begin with. For any trial court judge hoping for advancement, taking such a petition was professionally risky. The president is responsible for elevating federal judges. The president’s military order creating the tribunals forbade anyone to challenge them. To hear Hamdan’s petition would be to violate the president’s clear intent.</p>
<p>For a year, no judge would do it. Eventually several courageous lower-court judges did take action that eventually led to Hamdan’s case going forward. Foremost among these was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robertson_(judge)%20" type="external">Judge James Robertson</a> of the District of Columbia federal court, a former Navy officer himself, who had the temerity to find that any trial conducted without basic procedural safeguards was no trial at all.</p>
<p>Mahler mines the materials available to him to make the rocky climb to the Supreme Court compelling, a neat trick. Trials are theater, inherently dramatic plays with the neat denouement of a verdict in the end. Appeals, in contrast, are tedious, boring affairs in which the issues are limited to the written record, surprise is prohibited, action unheard of, and talking strictly limited. It is designed for scholars, not showmen, and there are rarely clear-cut winners and losers.</p>
<p>Mahler does an admirable job of explaining for the nonlawyer the arcane rules of appellate practice. And he wisely provides just enough flavor of the Talmudic analysis that goes into appellate decisions to make the court’s ultimate decision understandable. If Mahler sometimes gets lost in the minutia of appellate strategy, the 15 moot courts that Kaytal participated in prior to his argument before the court, the challenge of brief page length and font requirements, it is understandable; lesser writers would not have done so well. For the most part, he manages to get out of the thicket with the narrative intact and the suspense building.</p>
<p>By the time Kaytal stands in the bathroom stall of the Supreme Court, singing the theme from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to warm up his voice and settle his nerves, the story has wings; knowing the outcome does not make it any less exciting or satisfying. Kaytal’s argument before the court was a resounding success. By a 5-3 vote, the court eventually held that President Bush had violated the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution by creating tribunals that denied defendants basic rights.</p>
<p>The Hamdan decision quoted the court’s own ruling in Ex Parte Milligan, over a hundred years earlier, when it found Civil War-era military tribunals unconstitutional: “The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and peace, and covers with the shield of its protections all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances.” Amen.</p>
<p>Mahler writes with a refreshingly unbiased tone, refusing to take sides, generously concluding that Hamdan was less a rebuff of the Bush administration than “an affirmation of the majesty of America’s constitutional government and the critical role of the courts within.”</p>
<p>Perhaps so, but it was also an extraordinary rebuke of a wartime president. It took the Supreme Court decades to reverse itself on the matter of World War II-era internment camps, yet only a matter of months to strike down Bush’s tribunals. The irony of the commander in chief fighting not one but two wars in the name of American liberty while at the same time curtailing those liberties was characteristically lost on Bush, who immediately sought legislation that would overturn the court’s decision. It was an especially graceless act for a man who owes his very presidency to a Supreme Court decision. But Bush seems incapable of appreciating the manifold ironies that define his reign.</p>
<p>What Mahler could not have known when writing the book is that Bush had inadvertently laid the groundwork for an unexpected twist to the story. Thanks to the president’s efforts, new tribunals were set up and Hamdan eventually went to trial. The military jury acquitted him of the most serious charges, rejected the 30-year term sought by the prosecution, and gave Hamdan a five-year sentence, with credit for time served. He remains in custody, subject to continued incarceration even after the completion of his sentence in a mere six months. Whether he’ll be released and returned to Yemen is not the question; rather it is when.</p>
<p>Mahler never met or talked to Hamdan; such are the restrictions that still apply. One is reminded of Ernesto Miranda, another bad man destined to become synonymous with grand legal principles. The name of Miranda, a rapist and robber, is shorthand for the custodial rights of the accused. The name Hamdan will forever be associated with the limits of presidential power, even in a time of war. Like Miranda, Hamdan is thus a winner in name only. The real beneficiaries are the citizens of the country Hamdan waged war against. The ironies of the Hamdan case abound.</p>
<p>Jonathan Shapiro, a former federal prosecutor, teaches criminal law as an adjunct law professor at the USC School of Law, and writes and produces the NBC television drama “Life.”</p> | 599,030 |
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<p />
<p>As he was slumped over in the driver’s seat, his 8-year-old son picked up his cellphone and dialed 911. Sobbing, the boy told the dispatcher what he thought happened.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“My dad’s dead. He’s not waking up or anything,” the boy said, his voice shaking.</p>
<p>The dispatcher spent the next few minutes trying to get the boy’s exact location and asking him if he could describe his surroundings. There were a lot of trees, the boy said, and they’re in a car by a building with a lot of windows.</p>
<p>“Can you tell me what color the building is?” the dispatcher asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” the boy said, crying and mumbling toward the end of his sentence.</p>
<p>“Well, we have help on the way,” the dispatcher assured the boy. “The ambulance is going to be there shortly, okay?”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>More than halfway into the 6 1/2-minute call, a man took the phone from the boy and gave the dispatcher their exact location. Koeberl’s car was in the parking lot of the administration building of the Waukesha School District in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a few miles outside of Milwaukee.</p>
<p>The man told the dispatcher that he was on his way to a meeting when he heard the boy on the phone and realized that he needed help. Koeberl was breathing, he told the dispatcher, and he had a lighter and an energy drink on his lap.</p>
<p>“There’s three children in the car here,” the man said. “If someone can get here soon, that’d be great.”</p>
<p>Koeberl has been charged with three counts of child neglect, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while revoked.</p>
<p>The incident happened about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Koeberl, 33, appeared in court Monday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After an officer arrived, he tried several times to wake up Koeberl. He later opened his eyes slightly, but was unable to keep his head up, according to a criminal complaint. The officer administered narcan, a lifesaving medication used by law enforcement officers around the country to reverse the effects of an overdose.</p>
<p>Koeberl told police that he picked up his children from an elementary school less than two miles away and drove to the parking lot, according to the complaint. He initially denied taking anything other than clonazepam, a prescription drug that treats anxiety and seizure disorders, but he later admitted to snorting three Xanax pills about three hours before police arrived, the complaint says.</p>
<p>The boy said they were in the parking lot for about 10 to 15 minutes before he called 911, the complaint states. He also said he didn’t see his father consume anything while in the car.</p>
<p>The officer, after getting permission from Koeberl to look through his phone, found that he was talking to someone about looking for “blues,” a street name for Xanax, the complaint states.</p>
<p>Benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium are most commonly used to treat people with anxiety. In the 1950s and 1960s, benzodiazepines were prescribed for a variety of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and anxiety-related disorders like insomnia, according to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The group described clonazepam, the drug that Koeberl said he had a prescription for, as the country’s most dangerous pill that has become a drug of choice for addicts “from Hollywood to Wall Street.”</p>
<p>Xanax is the most frequently prescribed benzodiazepine drug in the country, with about 49 million prescriptions in 2011. Clonazepam is second with 27 million prescriptions that year.</p>
<p>In September, health officials warned that mixing such benzodiazepines with opioid painkillers could cause a fatal overdose.</p>
<p>About half of prescription painkiller deaths involve at least one other drug, including cocaine, heroin and benzodiazepines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>The problem of overdose deaths in Wisconsin is not as severe as those of other Midwestern states, such as Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. In 2015, 878 overdose-related deaths – or 15 per 100,000 people – were reported in the state, according to the CDC. In West Virginia, which had the worst case of overdose deaths in 2015, the rate is 41 per 100,000 people.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Still, overdose deaths in Wisconsin have increased, according to the most recent data from the state’s health services department.</p>
<p>The numbers of deaths related to opioid and painkiller addiction jumped from less than 100 in 2000 to nearly 400 in 2014, according to state data. Overdose deaths that resulted from benzodiazepines went from less than 50 to more than 250 within the same period.</p>
<p>The use of narcan, both by peers and trained law enforcement officers or paramedics, also has skyrocketed, from about 1,700 incidents in 2012 to 3,400 in 2014, in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>This was not the first time that Koeberl was accused of driving while under the influence.</p>
<p>In 2015, he pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Online court records show a child was in the car with him.</p> | A child’s tearful 911 call after his dad’s apparent overdose | false | https://abqjournal.com/939774/a-childs-tearful-911-call-after-his-dads-apparent-overdose.html | 2least
| A child’s tearful 911 call after his dad’s apparent overdose
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<p />
<p>As he was slumped over in the driver’s seat, his 8-year-old son picked up his cellphone and dialed 911. Sobbing, the boy told the dispatcher what he thought happened.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“My dad’s dead. He’s not waking up or anything,” the boy said, his voice shaking.</p>
<p>The dispatcher spent the next few minutes trying to get the boy’s exact location and asking him if he could describe his surroundings. There were a lot of trees, the boy said, and they’re in a car by a building with a lot of windows.</p>
<p>“Can you tell me what color the building is?” the dispatcher asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” the boy said, crying and mumbling toward the end of his sentence.</p>
<p>“Well, we have help on the way,” the dispatcher assured the boy. “The ambulance is going to be there shortly, okay?”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>More than halfway into the 6 1/2-minute call, a man took the phone from the boy and gave the dispatcher their exact location. Koeberl’s car was in the parking lot of the administration building of the Waukesha School District in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a few miles outside of Milwaukee.</p>
<p>The man told the dispatcher that he was on his way to a meeting when he heard the boy on the phone and realized that he needed help. Koeberl was breathing, he told the dispatcher, and he had a lighter and an energy drink on his lap.</p>
<p>“There’s three children in the car here,” the man said. “If someone can get here soon, that’d be great.”</p>
<p>Koeberl has been charged with three counts of child neglect, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while revoked.</p>
<p>The incident happened about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Koeberl, 33, appeared in court Monday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After an officer arrived, he tried several times to wake up Koeberl. He later opened his eyes slightly, but was unable to keep his head up, according to a criminal complaint. The officer administered narcan, a lifesaving medication used by law enforcement officers around the country to reverse the effects of an overdose.</p>
<p>Koeberl told police that he picked up his children from an elementary school less than two miles away and drove to the parking lot, according to the complaint. He initially denied taking anything other than clonazepam, a prescription drug that treats anxiety and seizure disorders, but he later admitted to snorting three Xanax pills about three hours before police arrived, the complaint says.</p>
<p>The boy said they were in the parking lot for about 10 to 15 minutes before he called 911, the complaint states. He also said he didn’t see his father consume anything while in the car.</p>
<p>The officer, after getting permission from Koeberl to look through his phone, found that he was talking to someone about looking for “blues,” a street name for Xanax, the complaint states.</p>
<p>Benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium are most commonly used to treat people with anxiety. In the 1950s and 1960s, benzodiazepines were prescribed for a variety of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and anxiety-related disorders like insomnia, according to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The group described clonazepam, the drug that Koeberl said he had a prescription for, as the country’s most dangerous pill that has become a drug of choice for addicts “from Hollywood to Wall Street.”</p>
<p>Xanax is the most frequently prescribed benzodiazepine drug in the country, with about 49 million prescriptions in 2011. Clonazepam is second with 27 million prescriptions that year.</p>
<p>In September, health officials warned that mixing such benzodiazepines with opioid painkillers could cause a fatal overdose.</p>
<p>About half of prescription painkiller deaths involve at least one other drug, including cocaine, heroin and benzodiazepines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>The problem of overdose deaths in Wisconsin is not as severe as those of other Midwestern states, such as Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. In 2015, 878 overdose-related deaths – or 15 per 100,000 people – were reported in the state, according to the CDC. In West Virginia, which had the worst case of overdose deaths in 2015, the rate is 41 per 100,000 people.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Still, overdose deaths in Wisconsin have increased, according to the most recent data from the state’s health services department.</p>
<p>The numbers of deaths related to opioid and painkiller addiction jumped from less than 100 in 2000 to nearly 400 in 2014, according to state data. Overdose deaths that resulted from benzodiazepines went from less than 50 to more than 250 within the same period.</p>
<p>The use of narcan, both by peers and trained law enforcement officers or paramedics, also has skyrocketed, from about 1,700 incidents in 2012 to 3,400 in 2014, in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>This was not the first time that Koeberl was accused of driving while under the influence.</p>
<p>In 2015, he pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Online court records show a child was in the car with him.</p> | 599,031 |
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<p>Angela Ratliff, the mother of Hailey Ratliff, thanks the students and staff at Tony Hillerman Middle School for honoring her daughter with a ghost bike memorial in Hailey’s name that will be placed near the front of the school. (Jim Thompson/journal)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A white “ghost bike” will soon be set up outside Tony Hillerman Middle School, and hundreds of fluttering ribbons will bear messages of sorrow and remembrance for former student Hailey Ratliff.</p>
<p>Twelve-year-old Ratliff, who attended Hillerman as a sixth-grader last school year before moving to California, was killed in September in Novato, Calif., near San Francisco, when she was hit by an SUV while riding a bicycle.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It left two communities grieving, but folks at Hillerman are trying to help their students deal with it with the placement of the memorial bike and tying the ribbons on a nearby fence.</p>
<p>At a school assembly Friday, Ratliff’s mother, Angela Ratliff, talked a bit about her daughter.</p>
<p>“The outpouring has just been amazing and I want to thank you for that,” she told the crowd of about 900 students and faculty at the West Side school.</p>
<p>“People wonder what makes her so different, why she has gotten this much attention,” Ratliff said. “What made her so different and made her so special.” It was a number of things, she explained.</p>
<p>“She was very outgoing and very memorable,” Ratliff said. “Even if you have a conversation with her for five minutes, you’re going to remember her. She was easy to be around. She was kind. She never forgot the importance of giving somebody a kind word or a friendly smile. Because it is important. A kind word or a smile can make a huge difference in somebody’s day. And it was important to her to make difference for people.”</p>
<p>The Duke City Wheelmen Foundation provided the bike, and each of the students created a ribbon message.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This is a way to help them remember Hailey, to help them memorialize her,” said Jennifer Buntz, the foundation president. “And because they’re choosing to place a ghost bike, it’s also a call for safety. It’s a call for alertness, attentiveness on the road. Because nobody wants this kind of thing to happen to another child, another family. It’s such a horrific thing to have a child die so young. Nobody wants that.”</p>
<p>Students walk by the ghost bike memorial made in honor of Hailey Ratliff and the ribbons left by students at Tony Hillerman Middle School. The bike will be placed near the front of the West Side school.</p>
<p>Michael Banuelos, whose children attended Hillerman last year with Hailey, helped get the drive going for the memorial.</p>
<p>“Hailey’s passing was such a tragedy,” he said. “Our son told us one night that one of his friends from school died on her bike. Details started coming out and it became even more of a tragedy. She was driving home from school with her backpack and her helmet. It was really a sad story.”</p>
<p>They wanted to create something positive out of the tragedy and thought a ghost bike would be a good way to do it.</p>
<p>“We really tried to do something to honor Hailey by putting something out there that would promote bicycle safety, motorists safety and also be a memorial to Hailey herself,” Banuelos said. “We hope that this does that and will do that.”</p>
<p>Hailey’s friends at school said they have had a hard time dealing with her loss.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I didn’t think it was real,” said Emily Gutierrez, who met her in January after moving to Albuquerque from Las Cruces. “I was ready for somebody to come out and say, ‘Just kidding.’ But then I realized that it never came and that’s when it really hit me. Like in fifth period. And I just completely started breaking down and crying.”</p>
<p>A group of the girls went into the hallway that day after they found out about it, said Briana Flores.</p>
<p>“We brought a box of tissues with us and we cried,” she said. “And there was so many tissues on the floor, you could barely see the floor.”</p>
<p>But putting up the ghost bike and making the ribbon messages helps, said classmate Sierra Sewell.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “People that walk or bike to school can remember her and remember to be safe on their way to school.”</p>
<p>For Hailey’s family, her absence leaves a hole that cannot be filled, said Ratliff, who, with two of her sons, drove upon the scene of the accident shortly after it occurred.</p>
<p>“So we are seeing a lot of grief with them,” she said. “They’re kids. They’re going to have their good moments and their bad moments.”</p>
<p>Still, Ratliff, whose family has since moved back to Albuquerque, encouraged Hailey’s friends to remember the way she was.</p>
<p>“When you talk about her, tell the stories with a smile on your face,” she said. “And live life to the fullest. Live every single day like it’s your last day, because we don’t know when that day is going to be. We didn’t know when Hailey’s last day was going to be. So don’t take it for granted.” — This article appeared on page 10 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Ghost Bike Honors Late Student | false | https://abqjournal.com/145367/ghost-bike-honors-late-student.html | 2012-11-10 | 2least
| Ghost Bike Honors Late Student
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<p>Angela Ratliff, the mother of Hailey Ratliff, thanks the students and staff at Tony Hillerman Middle School for honoring her daughter with a ghost bike memorial in Hailey’s name that will be placed near the front of the school. (Jim Thompson/journal)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A white “ghost bike” will soon be set up outside Tony Hillerman Middle School, and hundreds of fluttering ribbons will bear messages of sorrow and remembrance for former student Hailey Ratliff.</p>
<p>Twelve-year-old Ratliff, who attended Hillerman as a sixth-grader last school year before moving to California, was killed in September in Novato, Calif., near San Francisco, when she was hit by an SUV while riding a bicycle.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It left two communities grieving, but folks at Hillerman are trying to help their students deal with it with the placement of the memorial bike and tying the ribbons on a nearby fence.</p>
<p>At a school assembly Friday, Ratliff’s mother, Angela Ratliff, talked a bit about her daughter.</p>
<p>“The outpouring has just been amazing and I want to thank you for that,” she told the crowd of about 900 students and faculty at the West Side school.</p>
<p>“People wonder what makes her so different, why she has gotten this much attention,” Ratliff said. “What made her so different and made her so special.” It was a number of things, she explained.</p>
<p>“She was very outgoing and very memorable,” Ratliff said. “Even if you have a conversation with her for five minutes, you’re going to remember her. She was easy to be around. She was kind. She never forgot the importance of giving somebody a kind word or a friendly smile. Because it is important. A kind word or a smile can make a huge difference in somebody’s day. And it was important to her to make difference for people.”</p>
<p>The Duke City Wheelmen Foundation provided the bike, and each of the students created a ribbon message.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This is a way to help them remember Hailey, to help them memorialize her,” said Jennifer Buntz, the foundation president. “And because they’re choosing to place a ghost bike, it’s also a call for safety. It’s a call for alertness, attentiveness on the road. Because nobody wants this kind of thing to happen to another child, another family. It’s such a horrific thing to have a child die so young. Nobody wants that.”</p>
<p>Students walk by the ghost bike memorial made in honor of Hailey Ratliff and the ribbons left by students at Tony Hillerman Middle School. The bike will be placed near the front of the West Side school.</p>
<p>Michael Banuelos, whose children attended Hillerman last year with Hailey, helped get the drive going for the memorial.</p>
<p>“Hailey’s passing was such a tragedy,” he said. “Our son told us one night that one of his friends from school died on her bike. Details started coming out and it became even more of a tragedy. She was driving home from school with her backpack and her helmet. It was really a sad story.”</p>
<p>They wanted to create something positive out of the tragedy and thought a ghost bike would be a good way to do it.</p>
<p>“We really tried to do something to honor Hailey by putting something out there that would promote bicycle safety, motorists safety and also be a memorial to Hailey herself,” Banuelos said. “We hope that this does that and will do that.”</p>
<p>Hailey’s friends at school said they have had a hard time dealing with her loss.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I didn’t think it was real,” said Emily Gutierrez, who met her in January after moving to Albuquerque from Las Cruces. “I was ready for somebody to come out and say, ‘Just kidding.’ But then I realized that it never came and that’s when it really hit me. Like in fifth period. And I just completely started breaking down and crying.”</p>
<p>A group of the girls went into the hallway that day after they found out about it, said Briana Flores.</p>
<p>“We brought a box of tissues with us and we cried,” she said. “And there was so many tissues on the floor, you could barely see the floor.”</p>
<p>But putting up the ghost bike and making the ribbon messages helps, said classmate Sierra Sewell.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “People that walk or bike to school can remember her and remember to be safe on their way to school.”</p>
<p>For Hailey’s family, her absence leaves a hole that cannot be filled, said Ratliff, who, with two of her sons, drove upon the scene of the accident shortly after it occurred.</p>
<p>“So we are seeing a lot of grief with them,” she said. “They’re kids. They’re going to have their good moments and their bad moments.”</p>
<p>Still, Ratliff, whose family has since moved back to Albuquerque, encouraged Hailey’s friends to remember the way she was.</p>
<p>“When you talk about her, tell the stories with a smile on your face,” she said. “And live life to the fullest. Live every single day like it’s your last day, because we don’t know when that day is going to be. We didn’t know when Hailey’s last day was going to be. So don’t take it for granted.” — This article appeared on page 10 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 599,032 |
<p>As Reuters reports, the wizards of finance expect the landmark nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran to boost global growth and make us all feel a little bit richer. Here’s why.</p>
<p>First, Iran is a major oil exporter, and while the deal won’t let Iran increase its oil sales for half a year, more supply generally means cheaper supply, which has all sorts of ripple effects throughout the economy.</p>
<p>Here’s how one investor, quoted by <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/25/markets-global-idINL2N0JA1MY20131125" type="external">Reuters</a>, put it:</p>
<p>“Less tension in the Middle East is always a positive, and any drop in gas prices will essentially act as a tax break for consumers going into the holiday shopping season,” said Jeff Duncan, chief executive of Duncan Financial Management in St. Louis. “This is a real benefit for the economy.”</p>
<p />
<p>So not just more oil, but more stability — aka peace — is good for consumers.</p>
<p>Speaking of consumers, Iran has its fair share of those, with a population of more than 76 million. European airplane and automobile manufacturers were forced to cut sales to Iran because of sanctions. An easing of those sanctions means not only will more Peugeots be zipping around Tehran, but more of that Iranian oil money flowing into Europe and, from there, who knows where? Perhaps a French engineer will get a bonus, buy an Apple laptop and help feed a wage slave in China. The global economy works in mysterious ways.</p>
<p>Anyway, the moral of the story is this: We know that war can be profitable, for all the wrong reasons. It’s good to be reminded that peace is profitable too.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer</a></p> | Why Iran Deal Is Good for the Economy | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/why-iran-deal-is-good-for-the-economy/ | 2013-11-26 | 4left
| Why Iran Deal Is Good for the Economy
<p>As Reuters reports, the wizards of finance expect the landmark nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran to boost global growth and make us all feel a little bit richer. Here’s why.</p>
<p>First, Iran is a major oil exporter, and while the deal won’t let Iran increase its oil sales for half a year, more supply generally means cheaper supply, which has all sorts of ripple effects throughout the economy.</p>
<p>Here’s how one investor, quoted by <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/25/markets-global-idINL2N0JA1MY20131125" type="external">Reuters</a>, put it:</p>
<p>“Less tension in the Middle East is always a positive, and any drop in gas prices will essentially act as a tax break for consumers going into the holiday shopping season,” said Jeff Duncan, chief executive of Duncan Financial Management in St. Louis. “This is a real benefit for the economy.”</p>
<p />
<p>So not just more oil, but more stability — aka peace — is good for consumers.</p>
<p>Speaking of consumers, Iran has its fair share of those, with a population of more than 76 million. European airplane and automobile manufacturers were forced to cut sales to Iran because of sanctions. An easing of those sanctions means not only will more Peugeots be zipping around Tehran, but more of that Iranian oil money flowing into Europe and, from there, who knows where? Perhaps a French engineer will get a bonus, buy an Apple laptop and help feed a wage slave in China. The global economy works in mysterious ways.</p>
<p>Anyway, the moral of the story is this: We know that war can be profitable, for all the wrong reasons. It’s good to be reminded that peace is profitable too.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer</a></p> | 599,033 |
<p>Washington, DC</p>
<p>The First Family Security Bubble was nearly pried open for a moment last Friday; but in the end Disneyland remained blessedly undisturbed.</p>
<p>On a particularly warm spring evening, Laura and Jenna Bush alighted from a squadron of black SUVs at the Borders book store in downtown Washington, D.C., right on schedule at 7:00 pm.&#160; Flanked by Secret Service agents, they went inside to an area set up for authors to sign books – yes, sign books.&#160; The two Bush women have co-authored a 32-page children’s book, “Read All About It,” the story of Tyrone, a youngster who is good at everything in school but reading.</p>
<p>In line to have her copy signed, and more importantly, to get a moment to deliver a letter to the authors, waited Gilda Carbonaro, the mother of a U.S. Marine Sergeant who died a quite terrible death in Iraq.</p>
<p>After nearly an hour wait, Gilda approached the table to proffer her book for a signature. “So that they wouldn’t see me as threatening, I made sure to introduce myself as a grade school teacher, like Jenna,” she said.</p>
<p>The moment she got her signed book back, she took her letter out from within the pages of the book and extended it to Laura and Jenna.&#160; Not 500 words long, it was laminated so it would clearly not be in something as suspicious-looking as an envelope.</p>
<p>“At that moment, swooping down out of absolutely nowhere, a Secret Service agent grabbed it out of my hand,” Gilda explained.&#160; But before she was hustled away, she extracted a promise from the younger Bush to read it.</p>
<p>After her brief encounter with American royalty, the member of <a href="http://www.gsfso.org/" type="external">Gold Star Families Speak Out</a> said, “If I had the chance, I would’ve liked to ask Laura Bush, ‘What would you consider enough of a real emergency to urge your kids to enlist?&#160; If New Jersey was invaded?&#160; Your husband constantly tells us that all hangs in the balance in this war.&#160; Just what would it take for your family to really risk something?”</p>
<p>You may be interested to read what Gilda Carbonaro wrote to Laura and Jenna Bush.&#160; Heaven knows they’re not likely to, inside the bubble.</p>
<p>Laura and Jenna Bush c/o Borders Books 14th and F Streets NW Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>April 25, 2008</p>
<p>Dear Laura and Jenna Bush,</p>
<p>As you promote your new children’s book, “Read All About It,” and advocate for literacy tonight I hope you will take but a few moments to read these heartfelt lines.</p>
<p>I write to you as one of thousands of parents and family members whose loved ones have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan; whose child, parent or spouse has returned blinded or deaf, armless or legless, or unable to ever move their limbs again; or perhaps have returned apparently unharmed, but with nightmares and a ticking timebomb in their minds.</p>
<p>You may think this a grim postscript to an evening’s chat about a book for children, but when someone you love has been taken from you forever, or returned so terribly damaged you barely know them, it becomes foremost in your thoughts every waking moment.&#160; You then begin to understand what is truly grim.&#160; And, I must add, there are those among us who still carry such unspeakable pain and anger they’ve become all but exhausted.</p>
<p>But many of us have felt exhaustion be replaced by an energy and a clarity of purpose we have never experienced before.&#160; One thing that has become clear to us is an answer to the question, “How could anyone send the youth of its nation to invade Iraq?”&#160; We see now how differently someone would answer that question if they suffered the anguish of a family member being killed as the result.</p>
<p>Your children, Mrs. Bush, are safe and I am glad for you.&#160; But I wonder, have you ever urged them to enlist in this heroic adventure?&#160; Your husband has told us many times how important this cause is.&#160; Your children appear well qualified, and as part of the First Family you’ve no doubt taught them the value of demonstrating leadership for the nation.</p>
<p>Why, then, has the price for this war been paid only by people like my son, Marine Corps Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro, who died May 10, 2006, eight days after being horrifically burned in an IED blast in Al Anbar Province, Iraq?</p>
<p>Can you not see the simple, basic unfairness of asking others to do what you yourself are unwilling to do?&#160; Have you drifted so far from an understanding of fundamental justice that you cannot see the contradictions apparent to so many of us?</p>
<p>These are not rhetorical questions.&#160; They are as real as the knot in our stomachs and the ache in our hearts.&#160; It is time – and past time – that you face these questions without blinking or dodging and give us a satisfactory answer.</p>
<p>Most Sincerely,</p>
<p>Gilda Carbonaro Bethesda, Maryland</p>
<p>MIKE FERNER is a member of <a href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/" type="external">Veterans For Peace</a> and works part time for DemocracyRising.US</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Inside American Royalty’s Security Bubble | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/04/29/inside-american-royalty-s-security-bubble/ | 2008-04-29 | 4left
| Inside American Royalty’s Security Bubble
<p>Washington, DC</p>
<p>The First Family Security Bubble was nearly pried open for a moment last Friday; but in the end Disneyland remained blessedly undisturbed.</p>
<p>On a particularly warm spring evening, Laura and Jenna Bush alighted from a squadron of black SUVs at the Borders book store in downtown Washington, D.C., right on schedule at 7:00 pm.&#160; Flanked by Secret Service agents, they went inside to an area set up for authors to sign books – yes, sign books.&#160; The two Bush women have co-authored a 32-page children’s book, “Read All About It,” the story of Tyrone, a youngster who is good at everything in school but reading.</p>
<p>In line to have her copy signed, and more importantly, to get a moment to deliver a letter to the authors, waited Gilda Carbonaro, the mother of a U.S. Marine Sergeant who died a quite terrible death in Iraq.</p>
<p>After nearly an hour wait, Gilda approached the table to proffer her book for a signature. “So that they wouldn’t see me as threatening, I made sure to introduce myself as a grade school teacher, like Jenna,” she said.</p>
<p>The moment she got her signed book back, she took her letter out from within the pages of the book and extended it to Laura and Jenna.&#160; Not 500 words long, it was laminated so it would clearly not be in something as suspicious-looking as an envelope.</p>
<p>“At that moment, swooping down out of absolutely nowhere, a Secret Service agent grabbed it out of my hand,” Gilda explained.&#160; But before she was hustled away, she extracted a promise from the younger Bush to read it.</p>
<p>After her brief encounter with American royalty, the member of <a href="http://www.gsfso.org/" type="external">Gold Star Families Speak Out</a> said, “If I had the chance, I would’ve liked to ask Laura Bush, ‘What would you consider enough of a real emergency to urge your kids to enlist?&#160; If New Jersey was invaded?&#160; Your husband constantly tells us that all hangs in the balance in this war.&#160; Just what would it take for your family to really risk something?”</p>
<p>You may be interested to read what Gilda Carbonaro wrote to Laura and Jenna Bush.&#160; Heaven knows they’re not likely to, inside the bubble.</p>
<p>Laura and Jenna Bush c/o Borders Books 14th and F Streets NW Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>April 25, 2008</p>
<p>Dear Laura and Jenna Bush,</p>
<p>As you promote your new children’s book, “Read All About It,” and advocate for literacy tonight I hope you will take but a few moments to read these heartfelt lines.</p>
<p>I write to you as one of thousands of parents and family members whose loved ones have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan; whose child, parent or spouse has returned blinded or deaf, armless or legless, or unable to ever move their limbs again; or perhaps have returned apparently unharmed, but with nightmares and a ticking timebomb in their minds.</p>
<p>You may think this a grim postscript to an evening’s chat about a book for children, but when someone you love has been taken from you forever, or returned so terribly damaged you barely know them, it becomes foremost in your thoughts every waking moment.&#160; You then begin to understand what is truly grim.&#160; And, I must add, there are those among us who still carry such unspeakable pain and anger they’ve become all but exhausted.</p>
<p>But many of us have felt exhaustion be replaced by an energy and a clarity of purpose we have never experienced before.&#160; One thing that has become clear to us is an answer to the question, “How could anyone send the youth of its nation to invade Iraq?”&#160; We see now how differently someone would answer that question if they suffered the anguish of a family member being killed as the result.</p>
<p>Your children, Mrs. Bush, are safe and I am glad for you.&#160; But I wonder, have you ever urged them to enlist in this heroic adventure?&#160; Your husband has told us many times how important this cause is.&#160; Your children appear well qualified, and as part of the First Family you’ve no doubt taught them the value of demonstrating leadership for the nation.</p>
<p>Why, then, has the price for this war been paid only by people like my son, Marine Corps Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro, who died May 10, 2006, eight days after being horrifically burned in an IED blast in Al Anbar Province, Iraq?</p>
<p>Can you not see the simple, basic unfairness of asking others to do what you yourself are unwilling to do?&#160; Have you drifted so far from an understanding of fundamental justice that you cannot see the contradictions apparent to so many of us?</p>
<p>These are not rhetorical questions.&#160; They are as real as the knot in our stomachs and the ache in our hearts.&#160; It is time – and past time – that you face these questions without blinking or dodging and give us a satisfactory answer.</p>
<p>Most Sincerely,</p>
<p>Gilda Carbonaro Bethesda, Maryland</p>
<p>MIKE FERNER is a member of <a href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/" type="external">Veterans For Peace</a> and works part time for DemocracyRising.US</p>
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<p>It shows how healthy eating and regular exercise can promote better health and reduce the risk of disease and medical costs later in life. It also highlights some community issues like having access to nutritious food and safe places to exercise can help families establish healthier habits.</p>
<p>Promotional material for the documentary “Big Healthy Life.” (Courtesy of Christopher Productions)</p>
<p>A free public premiere of the documentary will be shown at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19, at the South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd. SE in Albuquerque. The documentary will air on local broadcast stations throughout the state, beginning Saturday, Aug. 26.</p>
<p>The target audience will be teenagers, parents, educators and community leaders, according to Chris Schueler of Christopher Productions, who produced the documentary with support from city, county and state organizations, health insurance providers and other health related organizations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He said his company produces documentaries on contemporary issues. This one is based on conversations with teenagers around New Mexico.</p>
<p>“We need to understand the impact that obesity and overweight has on health, and the health care system long term. How it will cost us all, in families and our pocketbooks,” Schueler said. His hope is that the campaign will spur community leaders, educators and citizens to start thinking about solutions.</p>
<p>The documentary starts by pointing out 47 million children consume sugary drinks daily and quotes some dire statistics. According to Rita Condon, manager of the Obesity, Nutrition &amp; Physical Activity Program at New Mexico Dept. of Health, one four of kindergarten students are overweight or obese – by third grade, 34 percent are overweight or obese, while 65 percent of New Mexico adults are overweight or obese.</p>
<p>Pediatrician Sylvia Negrete, medical director of the University of New Mexico Healthy and Fit Children’s Clinic said she is seeing more overweight youngsters showing up with diseases previously only seen in adults – hypertension, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and sleep apnea problems.</p>
<p>“I first became aware of this around 2005 to 2006 and it has gotten worse,” Negrete said.</p>
<p>Weight issues can also affect academic performance.</p>
<p>“What we know in the brain is that the hippocampus is smaller in people who have obesity. Why is that important? Because the hippocampus is where we store memory. Children with obesity are not doing as well in school and if it’s related to the fact that their memory is not as good as when in shape that would make a lot of sense,” Susan Scott, a pediatric endocrinologist affiliated with UNM Hospital, says in the film.</p>
<p>The documentary looks at some of the reasons why kids eat high-calorie foods with low nutritional value. Students from V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho say it’s easier to grab a back of chips than drive to find organic food that’s usually more expensive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Alissa Barnes, director of community initiatives for Road Runner Food Bank says 75 percent of those who visit their facility report knowingly buying cheaper, unhealthy foods because it was all they could afford.</p>
<p>Another factor contributing to childhood obesity, says Dr. Monique Vallabhan of UNM Children’s Hospital, is both parents working and technology, so kids are stuck inside watching TV, on their computers or cellphones.</p>
<p>Vallabhan and others talk about ways to change diet by avoiding sugary drinks and incorporating more fresh vegetables into meals. Dr. Anthony Fleg, UNM assistant professor in Family and Community Medicine, talks about the value of families exercising together. Fleg oversees a club called “Running Medicine” that welcomes people of all ages to get out in the evening to walk or run together in a fun and relaxed manner.</p>
<p>TV Broadcasts:</p>
<p>Saturday, Aug. 26&#160; 7pm&#160; FOX New Mexico</p>
<p>Sunday, Aug. 27&#160; 7pm&#160; KWBQ TV</p>
<p>Saturday, Sept. 2&#160; 7pm&#160; KRQE NEWS13 (CBS)</p>
<p>Sunday, Sept. 3&#160; 11am &#160;FOX NM&#160; /&#160;&#160;8pm&#160; KASY My50</p>
<p>Saturday, Sept. 9&#160;&#160; 2pm&#160; KWBQ&#160; &#160;/&#160; &#160;8pm&#160; KASY</p>
<p>Sunday, Sept.17&#160;&#160; &#160;3pm&#160; KASY &#160;/ &#160;&#160;7pm&#160; KWBQ</p>
<p>Saturday, Sept. 23&#160; &#160;11:30am&#160; KRQE&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;8pm&#160; KASY</p>
<p>Sunday, Sept 24&#160; &#160;11am&#160; FOX NM / 7pm&#160; KWBQ</p>
<p>Friday, Oct. 20&#160; 7:00pm KNME</p>
<p>KENW TV Portales&#160; 3-1</p>
<p>Tuesday,&#160;September 12th, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Wednesday,&#160;September 13th, 3 p.m.</p>
<p>Friday,&#160;September 22nd, 9 p.m.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>KENW TV Portales 3-2</p>
<p>Wednesday,&#160;September 6th, 9 p.m.</p>
<p>Tuesday,&#160;September 19th, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>PBS KRWG 22 Las Cruces&#160;&#160;&#160;check local listings Sept and Oct</p>
<p />
<p /> | Documentary addresses rampant obesity | false | https://abqjournal.com/1048106/film-focuses-on-rampant-obesity.html | 2least
| Documentary addresses rampant obesity
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<p />
<p>It shows how healthy eating and regular exercise can promote better health and reduce the risk of disease and medical costs later in life. It also highlights some community issues like having access to nutritious food and safe places to exercise can help families establish healthier habits.</p>
<p>Promotional material for the documentary “Big Healthy Life.” (Courtesy of Christopher Productions)</p>
<p>A free public premiere of the documentary will be shown at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19, at the South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd. SE in Albuquerque. The documentary will air on local broadcast stations throughout the state, beginning Saturday, Aug. 26.</p>
<p>The target audience will be teenagers, parents, educators and community leaders, according to Chris Schueler of Christopher Productions, who produced the documentary with support from city, county and state organizations, health insurance providers and other health related organizations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He said his company produces documentaries on contemporary issues. This one is based on conversations with teenagers around New Mexico.</p>
<p>“We need to understand the impact that obesity and overweight has on health, and the health care system long term. How it will cost us all, in families and our pocketbooks,” Schueler said. His hope is that the campaign will spur community leaders, educators and citizens to start thinking about solutions.</p>
<p>The documentary starts by pointing out 47 million children consume sugary drinks daily and quotes some dire statistics. According to Rita Condon, manager of the Obesity, Nutrition &amp; Physical Activity Program at New Mexico Dept. of Health, one four of kindergarten students are overweight or obese – by third grade, 34 percent are overweight or obese, while 65 percent of New Mexico adults are overweight or obese.</p>
<p>Pediatrician Sylvia Negrete, medical director of the University of New Mexico Healthy and Fit Children’s Clinic said she is seeing more overweight youngsters showing up with diseases previously only seen in adults – hypertension, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and sleep apnea problems.</p>
<p>“I first became aware of this around 2005 to 2006 and it has gotten worse,” Negrete said.</p>
<p>Weight issues can also affect academic performance.</p>
<p>“What we know in the brain is that the hippocampus is smaller in people who have obesity. Why is that important? Because the hippocampus is where we store memory. Children with obesity are not doing as well in school and if it’s related to the fact that their memory is not as good as when in shape that would make a lot of sense,” Susan Scott, a pediatric endocrinologist affiliated with UNM Hospital, says in the film.</p>
<p>The documentary looks at some of the reasons why kids eat high-calorie foods with low nutritional value. Students from V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho say it’s easier to grab a back of chips than drive to find organic food that’s usually more expensive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Alissa Barnes, director of community initiatives for Road Runner Food Bank says 75 percent of those who visit their facility report knowingly buying cheaper, unhealthy foods because it was all they could afford.</p>
<p>Another factor contributing to childhood obesity, says Dr. Monique Vallabhan of UNM Children’s Hospital, is both parents working and technology, so kids are stuck inside watching TV, on their computers or cellphones.</p>
<p>Vallabhan and others talk about ways to change diet by avoiding sugary drinks and incorporating more fresh vegetables into meals. Dr. Anthony Fleg, UNM assistant professor in Family and Community Medicine, talks about the value of families exercising together. Fleg oversees a club called “Running Medicine” that welcomes people of all ages to get out in the evening to walk or run together in a fun and relaxed manner.</p>
<p>TV Broadcasts:</p>
<p>Saturday, Aug. 26&#160; 7pm&#160; FOX New Mexico</p>
<p>Sunday, Aug. 27&#160; 7pm&#160; KWBQ TV</p>
<p>Saturday, Sept. 2&#160; 7pm&#160; KRQE NEWS13 (CBS)</p>
<p>Sunday, Sept. 3&#160; 11am &#160;FOX NM&#160; /&#160;&#160;8pm&#160; KASY My50</p>
<p>Saturday, Sept. 9&#160;&#160; 2pm&#160; KWBQ&#160; &#160;/&#160; &#160;8pm&#160; KASY</p>
<p>Sunday, Sept.17&#160;&#160; &#160;3pm&#160; KASY &#160;/ &#160;&#160;7pm&#160; KWBQ</p>
<p>Saturday, Sept. 23&#160; &#160;11:30am&#160; KRQE&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;8pm&#160; KASY</p>
<p>Sunday, Sept 24&#160; &#160;11am&#160; FOX NM / 7pm&#160; KWBQ</p>
<p>Friday, Oct. 20&#160; 7:00pm KNME</p>
<p>KENW TV Portales&#160; 3-1</p>
<p>Tuesday,&#160;September 12th, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Wednesday,&#160;September 13th, 3 p.m.</p>
<p>Friday,&#160;September 22nd, 9 p.m.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>KENW TV Portales 3-2</p>
<p>Wednesday,&#160;September 6th, 9 p.m.</p>
<p>Tuesday,&#160;September 19th, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>PBS KRWG 22 Las Cruces&#160;&#160;&#160;check local listings Sept and Oct</p>
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<p>As a man, he had a large personality. He carried his life in good humor – a big kid with a bigger smile. But he also knew difficult times.</p>
<p>Williams was 56 years old when he died of congestive heart failure Dec. 23 in El Paso.</p>
<p>Mike Williams, who rushed for 3,862 yards in his career with the Lobos, died last week of congestive heart failure in El Paso. (Courtesy of UNM)</p>
<p>“His contribution to the Lobos during his time was unbelievable,” said Walt Arnold, a UNM teammate of Williams. “Really, the way everything evolved around him and his ability to carry the football was probably unmatched.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>From 1975-78, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Williams rushed for 3,862 yards on 857 carries. His school rushing record lasted until DonTrell Moore broke it from 2002-05. Williams was the 1978 Western Athletic Conference player of the year and the league’s all-time rushing leader until 1986.</p>
<p>His No. 40 jersey is one of four retired by New Mexico.</p>
<p>“I remember as a freshman coming in how hard he worked, how dedicated he was to being the best,” Arnold said. “You couldn’t have a better, more dynamic player and leader than Mike Wiilliams.”</p>
<p>Joe Maloof, part of the Maloof family that formerly owned the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and a 1978 UNM alumnus, recalled Williams as “really a nice guy, really easy to get along with and always in a good mood.</p>
<p>“I was on the second string so we had to play against the first string in the spring game each year. It was impossible to tackle that guy by yourself. It took four or five guys to take him down because he was so powerful.”</p>
<p>Williams was taken by the Kansas City Chiefs in the eighth round of the 1979 NFL Draft.</p>
<p>He played three seasons with the Chiefs, who switched him from fullback to tight end, a move he was never comfortable with. He played in 33 games, starting 11. He had 261 yards rushing on 71 carries and 19 receptions for another 141 yards.</p>
<p>But knee problems ultimately ended his professional career.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Williams meandered through life after football.</p>
<p>“He headed down a tough road,” Arnold said.</p>
<p>At times Williams worked as a computer salesman, cook and caterer. He even had a stint as a burlesque dancer at various Albuquerque clubs.</p>
<p>Former Lobo coach Dennis Franchione invited Williams to help with the team in 1993. Williams attempted to finish the college degree he never acquired when he was a UNM player, but did not.</p>
<p>Eventually, he returned to El Paso, where he had been a high school star. He helped his brother, Morris Williams, at Mo’z BBQ.</p>
<p>“It happened right … before Christmas, so that kind of, you know, I missed him with me up there cooking. So that was kind of hard,” Morris Williams told KTSM-TV in El Paso.</p>
<p>Although he suffered health problems for much of his later life, Williams kept his good cheer.</p>
<p>Another brother, Mark, also a former Lobo football player, told KTSM-TV in El Paso that Mike would occasionally dress up as “Madea” – a character created by Tyler Perry.</p>
<p>“See, he was a joker like that. He used to joke around and he was a good guy, real good guy,” Mark told the TV station.</p>
<p>The Journal’s Mark Smith contributed to this story.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Former Lobo star RB Williams dies at 56 | false | https://abqjournal.com/329336/williams-was-a-star-for-lobos.html | 2least
| Former Lobo star RB Williams dies at 56
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<p />
<p>As a man, he had a large personality. He carried his life in good humor – a big kid with a bigger smile. But he also knew difficult times.</p>
<p>Williams was 56 years old when he died of congestive heart failure Dec. 23 in El Paso.</p>
<p>Mike Williams, who rushed for 3,862 yards in his career with the Lobos, died last week of congestive heart failure in El Paso. (Courtesy of UNM)</p>
<p>“His contribution to the Lobos during his time was unbelievable,” said Walt Arnold, a UNM teammate of Williams. “Really, the way everything evolved around him and his ability to carry the football was probably unmatched.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>From 1975-78, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Williams rushed for 3,862 yards on 857 carries. His school rushing record lasted until DonTrell Moore broke it from 2002-05. Williams was the 1978 Western Athletic Conference player of the year and the league’s all-time rushing leader until 1986.</p>
<p>His No. 40 jersey is one of four retired by New Mexico.</p>
<p>“I remember as a freshman coming in how hard he worked, how dedicated he was to being the best,” Arnold said. “You couldn’t have a better, more dynamic player and leader than Mike Wiilliams.”</p>
<p>Joe Maloof, part of the Maloof family that formerly owned the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and a 1978 UNM alumnus, recalled Williams as “really a nice guy, really easy to get along with and always in a good mood.</p>
<p>“I was on the second string so we had to play against the first string in the spring game each year. It was impossible to tackle that guy by yourself. It took four or five guys to take him down because he was so powerful.”</p>
<p>Williams was taken by the Kansas City Chiefs in the eighth round of the 1979 NFL Draft.</p>
<p>He played three seasons with the Chiefs, who switched him from fullback to tight end, a move he was never comfortable with. He played in 33 games, starting 11. He had 261 yards rushing on 71 carries and 19 receptions for another 141 yards.</p>
<p>But knee problems ultimately ended his professional career.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Williams meandered through life after football.</p>
<p>“He headed down a tough road,” Arnold said.</p>
<p>At times Williams worked as a computer salesman, cook and caterer. He even had a stint as a burlesque dancer at various Albuquerque clubs.</p>
<p>Former Lobo coach Dennis Franchione invited Williams to help with the team in 1993. Williams attempted to finish the college degree he never acquired when he was a UNM player, but did not.</p>
<p>Eventually, he returned to El Paso, where he had been a high school star. He helped his brother, Morris Williams, at Mo’z BBQ.</p>
<p>“It happened right … before Christmas, so that kind of, you know, I missed him with me up there cooking. So that was kind of hard,” Morris Williams told KTSM-TV in El Paso.</p>
<p>Although he suffered health problems for much of his later life, Williams kept his good cheer.</p>
<p>Another brother, Mark, also a former Lobo football player, told KTSM-TV in El Paso that Mike would occasionally dress up as “Madea” – a character created by Tyler Perry.</p>
<p>“See, he was a joker like that. He used to joke around and he was a good guy, real good guy,” Mark told the TV station.</p>
<p>The Journal’s Mark Smith contributed to this story.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,036 |
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<p><a href="http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/yda.png" type="external" />The&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Democrats_of_America" type="external">Young Democrats of America</a>&#160;(YDA), founded in 1932, is the official youth arm of the Democratic Party of the United States, although it severed official ties with the Democratic National Committee and became supposedly an independent group in 2002.&#160;The group's membership consists of Democrats under the age of 36. As of the 2013 Biennial Convention, YDA had 44 chartered state federations in the United States with the California Young Democrats as its largest state federation.</p>
<p>The president of the Young Democrats of the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) is Bill &#160;"Billy" Wayne Johnson, a 36-year-old pedophile, who was convicted and imprisoned for "indecency" with an 8-year-old child.</p>
<p>Here's his&#160;photo&#160; <a href="http://www.bustedoffenders.com/texas/mcallen/sex-offenders/billy-wayne-johnson/06774235" type="external">mug shot</a>:</p>
<p>Katherine Timpf reports for&#160; <a href="http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?ID=5097" type="external">Campus Reform</a>, Sept. 23, 2013, that Bill &#160;"Billy" Wayne Johnson, who is listed on the&#160; <a href="https://utpa.collegiatelink.net/organization/youngdems" type="external">school's official website</a>&#160;as the primary contact &#160;for the student organization, was registered as a sex offender in April of 2010, according&#160; <a href="https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/SexOffender/PublicSite/Application/Search/Individual.aspx?IND_IDN=5999771&amp;SearchType=Name&amp;ResultsUrl=%2FSexOffender%2FPublicSite%2FApplication%2FSearch%2FResults.aspx%3FSearchType%3DName%26FirstName%3DBilly%26LastName%3DJohnson%26Birthdate%3D%26Sex%3D0%26Race%3D0%26CountyCode%3D0" type="external">to Texas DPS SEX Offender registry.</a></p>
<p>According to state records, Johnson was&#160; <a href="http://www.campusreform.org/img/CROBlog/5097/FELONY.jpg" type="external">convicted&#160;</a>of&#160;first degree aggravated sexual assault of a child&#160;on April 28, 2003, and &#160; <a href="http://www.campusreform.org/img/CROBlog/5097/custodies.jpg" type="external">spent nearly three years</a>&#160;in the Garza West Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the offense, from July 16, 2003 through April 12, 2006.</p>
<p>Sexual Assault of a Child is aggravated if the child is under 14 years of age, if a deadly weapon is used or a serious bodily injury is threatened, according to Texas Penal Code Sec. 22.021.</p>
<p>Those records include multiple photos of Johnson, which match photos on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, and describe him as a 211 pound white male with &#160;"BLOND STRAWBERRY" hair who attends UTPA. The arrest report also lists a number of aliases and indicates he was required to register annually.</p>
<p>A Texas conservative blog, Texas Conservative Republican news,&#160; <a href="http://www.texasconservativerepublicannews.com/2013/09/billy-johnson-battleground-texas-sex-offender-democrat.html" type="external">has also identified Johnson</a>&#160;as a sex offender.</p>
<p>Local publication,&#160; <a href="http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?list=195030&amp;id=460508#.UkCVT7z8uTf%20" type="external">ValleyCentral.com,</a>&#160;also reported in 2010, thatJohnson's offense was "indecency with a an 8-year-old child."Johnson came to&#160;Valley Central's&#160;attention for volunteering at The Horizon Montessori Charter School in McAllen.</p>
<p>Johnson also identifies himself as the Young Democrat's chapter president on his <a href="https://twitter.com/CrimsonBilly" type="external">Twitter profile</a>, @CrimsonBilly,&#160;and appears&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=393140130813546&amp;set=a.295523937241833.66251.292587287535498&amp;type=1&amp;theater" type="external">at chapter events</a>&#160;in Facebook photos.</p>
<p>On September 13,&#160;Jenn Brown, the executive director of Battleground Texas, an organization that attempts to register Democratic voters in the state, <a href="https://twitter.com/jennb_jennb/status/378351435424858112" type="external">Tweeted</a>&#160;at Johnson to thank him for his work at the organization and called him "the great president of the @YoungDemsATUTPA."</p>
<p>Way to go, Not So Young&#160;Democrats&#160;Degenerates of America!</p>
<p>~Eowyn</p>
<p>Dr. Eowyn is the Editor of <a href="http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/09/25/president-of-texas-universitys-young-democrats-is-a-convicted-pedophile/" type="external">Fellowship of the Minds</a> and a regular contributor to The D.C. Clothesline.</p>
<p />
<p /> | President of Texas university's Young Democrats is a convicted pedophile | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2013/09/26/president-of-texas-universitys-young-democrats-is-a-convicted-pedophile/ | 2013-09-26 | 0right
| President of Texas university's Young Democrats is a convicted pedophile
<p><a href="http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/yda.png" type="external" />The&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Democrats_of_America" type="external">Young Democrats of America</a>&#160;(YDA), founded in 1932, is the official youth arm of the Democratic Party of the United States, although it severed official ties with the Democratic National Committee and became supposedly an independent group in 2002.&#160;The group's membership consists of Democrats under the age of 36. As of the 2013 Biennial Convention, YDA had 44 chartered state federations in the United States with the California Young Democrats as its largest state federation.</p>
<p>The president of the Young Democrats of the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) is Bill &#160;"Billy" Wayne Johnson, a 36-year-old pedophile, who was convicted and imprisoned for "indecency" with an 8-year-old child.</p>
<p>Here's his&#160;photo&#160; <a href="http://www.bustedoffenders.com/texas/mcallen/sex-offenders/billy-wayne-johnson/06774235" type="external">mug shot</a>:</p>
<p>Katherine Timpf reports for&#160; <a href="http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?ID=5097" type="external">Campus Reform</a>, Sept. 23, 2013, that Bill &#160;"Billy" Wayne Johnson, who is listed on the&#160; <a href="https://utpa.collegiatelink.net/organization/youngdems" type="external">school's official website</a>&#160;as the primary contact &#160;for the student organization, was registered as a sex offender in April of 2010, according&#160; <a href="https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/SexOffender/PublicSite/Application/Search/Individual.aspx?IND_IDN=5999771&amp;SearchType=Name&amp;ResultsUrl=%2FSexOffender%2FPublicSite%2FApplication%2FSearch%2FResults.aspx%3FSearchType%3DName%26FirstName%3DBilly%26LastName%3DJohnson%26Birthdate%3D%26Sex%3D0%26Race%3D0%26CountyCode%3D0" type="external">to Texas DPS SEX Offender registry.</a></p>
<p>According to state records, Johnson was&#160; <a href="http://www.campusreform.org/img/CROBlog/5097/FELONY.jpg" type="external">convicted&#160;</a>of&#160;first degree aggravated sexual assault of a child&#160;on April 28, 2003, and &#160; <a href="http://www.campusreform.org/img/CROBlog/5097/custodies.jpg" type="external">spent nearly three years</a>&#160;in the Garza West Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the offense, from July 16, 2003 through April 12, 2006.</p>
<p>Sexual Assault of a Child is aggravated if the child is under 14 years of age, if a deadly weapon is used or a serious bodily injury is threatened, according to Texas Penal Code Sec. 22.021.</p>
<p>Those records include multiple photos of Johnson, which match photos on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, and describe him as a 211 pound white male with &#160;"BLOND STRAWBERRY" hair who attends UTPA. The arrest report also lists a number of aliases and indicates he was required to register annually.</p>
<p>A Texas conservative blog, Texas Conservative Republican news,&#160; <a href="http://www.texasconservativerepublicannews.com/2013/09/billy-johnson-battleground-texas-sex-offender-democrat.html" type="external">has also identified Johnson</a>&#160;as a sex offender.</p>
<p>Local publication,&#160; <a href="http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?list=195030&amp;id=460508#.UkCVT7z8uTf%20" type="external">ValleyCentral.com,</a>&#160;also reported in 2010, thatJohnson's offense was "indecency with a an 8-year-old child."Johnson came to&#160;Valley Central's&#160;attention for volunteering at The Horizon Montessori Charter School in McAllen.</p>
<p>Johnson also identifies himself as the Young Democrat's chapter president on his <a href="https://twitter.com/CrimsonBilly" type="external">Twitter profile</a>, @CrimsonBilly,&#160;and appears&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=393140130813546&amp;set=a.295523937241833.66251.292587287535498&amp;type=1&amp;theater" type="external">at chapter events</a>&#160;in Facebook photos.</p>
<p>On September 13,&#160;Jenn Brown, the executive director of Battleground Texas, an organization that attempts to register Democratic voters in the state, <a href="https://twitter.com/jennb_jennb/status/378351435424858112" type="external">Tweeted</a>&#160;at Johnson to thank him for his work at the organization and called him "the great president of the @YoungDemsATUTPA."</p>
<p>Way to go, Not So Young&#160;Democrats&#160;Degenerates of America!</p>
<p>~Eowyn</p>
<p>Dr. Eowyn is the Editor of <a href="http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/09/25/president-of-texas-universitys-young-democrats-is-a-convicted-pedophile/" type="external">Fellowship of the Minds</a> and a regular contributor to The D.C. Clothesline.</p>
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe golf course will begin its 2nd Annual “Gift of Giving” Campaign in partnership with the state Children Youth and Families Department by collecting toys and clothing items for boys or girls 2 to 12 years old.</p>
<p>“CYFD works with many children and families each year. During Christmas time, and especially the holidays, are the most difficult times for children being placed in foster care due to circumstances not their own. We would like to help make this holiday a time for golf course patrons and staff to help and give support to these children,” stated Jennifer Romero, manager of the recreation center, in a news release.</p>
<p>These items are needed: stuffed animals, children’s books, socks, under garments, pants, shirts and jackets.</p>
<p>Collections began on Monday and will continue through Dec. 8. Donors are asked to wrap these gifts and label them for their contents. Bring the gift donation to the Proshop, 205 Caja del Rio Road in Santa Fe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | ‘Gift of Giving’ Campaign started | false | https://abqjournal.com/299413/gift-of-giving-campaign-started.html | 2013-11-12 | 2least
| ‘Gift of Giving’ Campaign started
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe golf course will begin its 2nd Annual “Gift of Giving” Campaign in partnership with the state Children Youth and Families Department by collecting toys and clothing items for boys or girls 2 to 12 years old.</p>
<p>“CYFD works with many children and families each year. During Christmas time, and especially the holidays, are the most difficult times for children being placed in foster care due to circumstances not their own. We would like to help make this holiday a time for golf course patrons and staff to help and give support to these children,” stated Jennifer Romero, manager of the recreation center, in a news release.</p>
<p>These items are needed: stuffed animals, children’s books, socks, under garments, pants, shirts and jackets.</p>
<p>Collections began on Monday and will continue through Dec. 8. Donors are asked to wrap these gifts and label them for their contents. Bring the gift donation to the Proshop, 205 Caja del Rio Road in Santa Fe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,038 |
<p>Worship leaders seldom welcome controversy. But some church musicians see value in the dust-up created earlier this year by a line in a hymn.</p>
<p>The committee on congregational song for the Presbyterian Church, USA, wanted to include a version of the contemporary hymn, In Christ Alone, that altered a line in the second stanza from “the wrath of God was satisfied” to read “the love of God was magnified.” When the copyright holders, Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, declined, the committee voted not to include the song with its original lyrics.</p>
<p>“I rejoice in the controversy,” said Terry York, professor of Christian ministry and church music at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.</p>
<p>York, who has published more than 40 hymns and served as project coordinator for the 1991 edition of The Baptist Hymnal, sees the controversy as evidence of increased interest in the theology taught in worship songs. And he welcomes that kind of serious consideration.</p>
<p>“We’ve gone through a time when if it rhymed and said ‘Jesus,’ that was enough. We’re finally back to giving attention to what we are saying,” he said. “We need to think about our theology. I don’t care if it gives you tears or goosebumps, the question that matter is, ‘Is it true?’”</p>
<p>Todd Wilson, pastor for worship and music at First Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas, also welcomes serious examination of hymn texts.</p>
<p>“What we sing shapes our theology, and a careful reading of the text of any worship song is necessary for inclusion in the publication of a denominational hymnal or a weekly service of worship,” he said.</p>
<p>Worship leaders need to take responsibility for studying the lyrics of hymns before selecting them for congregational singing, Wilson noted.</p>
<p>“Sometimes, we have found that word choice in a text might leave the truth open for interpretation that is distant from the original meaning. The context out of which the text appears will often shape word choice that could lead to misrepresentation of the original intent,” he said.&#160;</p>
<p>“I have often researched the writing of various songs of worship and have found a greater depth of meaning, out of that context, that has heightened the rich truth found in the lyrics.”</p>
<p>Ken Camp ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.</p> | Controversy underscores importance of theology in hymns | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/controversyunderscoresimportanceoftheologyinhymns/ | 3left-center
| Controversy underscores importance of theology in hymns
<p>Worship leaders seldom welcome controversy. But some church musicians see value in the dust-up created earlier this year by a line in a hymn.</p>
<p>The committee on congregational song for the Presbyterian Church, USA, wanted to include a version of the contemporary hymn, In Christ Alone, that altered a line in the second stanza from “the wrath of God was satisfied” to read “the love of God was magnified.” When the copyright holders, Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, declined, the committee voted not to include the song with its original lyrics.</p>
<p>“I rejoice in the controversy,” said Terry York, professor of Christian ministry and church music at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.</p>
<p>York, who has published more than 40 hymns and served as project coordinator for the 1991 edition of The Baptist Hymnal, sees the controversy as evidence of increased interest in the theology taught in worship songs. And he welcomes that kind of serious consideration.</p>
<p>“We’ve gone through a time when if it rhymed and said ‘Jesus,’ that was enough. We’re finally back to giving attention to what we are saying,” he said. “We need to think about our theology. I don’t care if it gives you tears or goosebumps, the question that matter is, ‘Is it true?’”</p>
<p>Todd Wilson, pastor for worship and music at First Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas, also welcomes serious examination of hymn texts.</p>
<p>“What we sing shapes our theology, and a careful reading of the text of any worship song is necessary for inclusion in the publication of a denominational hymnal or a weekly service of worship,” he said.</p>
<p>Worship leaders need to take responsibility for studying the lyrics of hymns before selecting them for congregational singing, Wilson noted.</p>
<p>“Sometimes, we have found that word choice in a text might leave the truth open for interpretation that is distant from the original meaning. The context out of which the text appears will often shape word choice that could lead to misrepresentation of the original intent,” he said.&#160;</p>
<p>“I have often researched the writing of various songs of worship and have found a greater depth of meaning, out of that context, that has heightened the rich truth found in the lyrics.”</p>
<p>Ken Camp ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.</p> | 599,039 |
|
<p />
<p>President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders will meet on Monday to continue working on a deal to avert a looming U.S. debt default, aides said on Sunday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Obama and Republican and Democratic leaders met for roughly an hour and a half on Sunday in a bid to break an impasse on deficit reduction talks to allow Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before the country runs out of money to cover its bills on Aug. 2.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Lawmakers to Continue Debt Talks Monday | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/07/10/high-stakes-deficit-meeting-gets-under-way.html | 2016-01-28 | 0right
| Lawmakers to Continue Debt Talks Monday
<p />
<p>President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders will meet on Monday to continue working on a deal to avert a looming U.S. debt default, aides said on Sunday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Obama and Republican and Democratic leaders met for roughly an hour and a half on Sunday in a bid to break an impasse on deficit reduction talks to allow Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before the country runs out of money to cover its bills on Aug. 2.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 599,040 |
<p>At a time when public confidence in our political institutions is near an all-time low, the U.S. military retains almost universal respect. Unfortunately, this respect hasn’t translated into a guarantee of a secure future for the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. As with previous wars, the costs of providing care will peak several decades after these wars have ended. Benefits for World War I veterans peaked in 1969 and for World War II veterans in 1986; payments for Vietnam-era vets are still climbing.</p>
<p>This time around, for a host of reasons, veterans’ costs will be much steeper. Half of the two million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have already been awarded lifetime disability benefits. Higher survival rates from injuries, better medical treatment, more generous disability compensation, and an unprecedented level of physical and mental health conditions among returning troops mean that the cost of providing lifetime disability and health-care benefits will easily surpass $1 trillion in the coming decades. Where will the money come from?</p>
<p>The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) already has the fastest-growing budget in the federal government. Since 2001, it has risen from $61 billion to nearly $180 billion. The VA now employs 350,000 workers nationwide—roughly double the number back in 2001, prior to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Despite this expansion, the VA has a chronic backlog of disability claims, arising from the overwhelming number of Vietnam and Gulf War veterans filing claims in addition to those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, some 6.6 million veterans are seeking medical care in the VA system today—up from 4.2 million in 2001. The VA still lacks sufficient funding to fill thousands of vacancies for doctors and nurses and to finance badly needed repairs to its hospitals and clinics.</p>
<p>President Abraham Lincoln famously pledged to “care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.” Today we have no credible plan to make good on this promise. Because the VA budget has a large “mandatory” portion (in the form of disability benefits), its budget will continue to grow automatically as claims rise, even if Congress were to rein in discretionary items. In this sense, it is an entitlement program like Social Security and Medicare. While there are always pressures to cut unfunded entitlements, veterans’ benefits are in some ways different from Medicare and Social Security because these benefits are actually “deferred compensation”—payments for services already rendered by defending and fighting for our country.</p>
<p>While much political energy is devoted to ensuring the long-term viability of other entitlement programs, our leaders are almost completely silent on how to pay for the accrued benefits we have only recently promised to veterans. Kicking the can down the road will put veterans’ funding in competition with all the other future claims on federal tax dollars—including paying back the trillions of dollars of debt we incurred to finance the wars in the first place.</p>
<p>The solution is to establish a Veterans Trust Fund that will provide funding to pay claims as they come due. We already have more than 100 such federal trust funds, of which the best known are Social Security (Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds) and Medicare (Hospital Insurance Trust Fund), which are funded by payroll taxes from employers and employees, and interest on their balances. Others include the Unemployment Trust Fund, the federal government employee retirement trust fund, the Highway Trust Fund, and the military retirement fund (for those who serve in the military for at least 20 years).</p>
<p>From a certain perspective these may be viewed as simply an accounting gimmick, because all tax dollars are fungible. The merit of establishing a trust fund for veterans, however, is that it creates an awareness of the magnitude of the funding challenge ahead. Today’s taxpayers need to shoulder some of this burden. So far we have avoided almost the entire fiscal toll of paying for our 14-year-long military odysseys in Iraq and Afghanistan. Previous wars—from the War of 1812 through World War I and right up to the first Gulf War—were all accompanied by higher taxes. By contrast, tax rates were cut in 2001 and again in 2003; nearly all Americans now pay lower taxes than they did before we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead, we borrowed the money needed to run these wars, shifting the full cost to the next generation.</p>
<p>The consequences of essentially ignoring the cost of caring for veterans are threefold. First, it understates the true cost of going to war. Second, it is poor financial management to be paying for a 40-year-long pension and benefit obligation from annual budget revenues. Third, it inevitably will lead to the possibility that veterans’ needs will not be funded adequately in the future. But the issue here is not merely fiscal. A widening gap has opened between the tiny percentage of the American population from whom the bulk of the nation’s volunteer army is drawn and the rest of us, who have neither served nor borne the financial burden of the conflict. The morally right choice is to pay for the Veterans Trust Fund through higher taxes. Raising the top marginal rate of federal income taxes to 45 percent or so over the next decade would probably be sufficient. This is far below the maximum level of income taxes levied after World Wars I and II, which reached 77 percent in 1918 and 94 percent in 1944-45.</p>
<p>If the politics of passing a tax increase prove too difficult, we could start the fund by imposing a surcharge (say, 20 percent) on all future war spending, designated for the Veterans Trust Fund. For example, the Obama Administration has requested $50.9 billion in dedicated war funds; the surcharge would require that $10 billion be added to begin a Veterans Trust Fund.</p>
<p>Such a measure would only begin the process of setting aside money for the long-term costs of war, but it would establish the right framework. More importantly, it would force us to confront the long-term financial burden of today’s wars and demonstrate tangible support for our troops that goes beyond buying bumper stickers.</p> | A Trust Fund for Veterans From the Symposium 16 for ’16 Savings in Exchange for National Service | true | http://democracyjournal.org/magazine/39/a-trust-fund-for-veterans/ | 2016-12-21 | 4left
| A Trust Fund for Veterans From the Symposium 16 for ’16 Savings in Exchange for National Service
<p>At a time when public confidence in our political institutions is near an all-time low, the U.S. military retains almost universal respect. Unfortunately, this respect hasn’t translated into a guarantee of a secure future for the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. As with previous wars, the costs of providing care will peak several decades after these wars have ended. Benefits for World War I veterans peaked in 1969 and for World War II veterans in 1986; payments for Vietnam-era vets are still climbing.</p>
<p>This time around, for a host of reasons, veterans’ costs will be much steeper. Half of the two million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have already been awarded lifetime disability benefits. Higher survival rates from injuries, better medical treatment, more generous disability compensation, and an unprecedented level of physical and mental health conditions among returning troops mean that the cost of providing lifetime disability and health-care benefits will easily surpass $1 trillion in the coming decades. Where will the money come from?</p>
<p>The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) already has the fastest-growing budget in the federal government. Since 2001, it has risen from $61 billion to nearly $180 billion. The VA now employs 350,000 workers nationwide—roughly double the number back in 2001, prior to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Despite this expansion, the VA has a chronic backlog of disability claims, arising from the overwhelming number of Vietnam and Gulf War veterans filing claims in addition to those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, some 6.6 million veterans are seeking medical care in the VA system today—up from 4.2 million in 2001. The VA still lacks sufficient funding to fill thousands of vacancies for doctors and nurses and to finance badly needed repairs to its hospitals and clinics.</p>
<p>President Abraham Lincoln famously pledged to “care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.” Today we have no credible plan to make good on this promise. Because the VA budget has a large “mandatory” portion (in the form of disability benefits), its budget will continue to grow automatically as claims rise, even if Congress were to rein in discretionary items. In this sense, it is an entitlement program like Social Security and Medicare. While there are always pressures to cut unfunded entitlements, veterans’ benefits are in some ways different from Medicare and Social Security because these benefits are actually “deferred compensation”—payments for services already rendered by defending and fighting for our country.</p>
<p>While much political energy is devoted to ensuring the long-term viability of other entitlement programs, our leaders are almost completely silent on how to pay for the accrued benefits we have only recently promised to veterans. Kicking the can down the road will put veterans’ funding in competition with all the other future claims on federal tax dollars—including paying back the trillions of dollars of debt we incurred to finance the wars in the first place.</p>
<p>The solution is to establish a Veterans Trust Fund that will provide funding to pay claims as they come due. We already have more than 100 such federal trust funds, of which the best known are Social Security (Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds) and Medicare (Hospital Insurance Trust Fund), which are funded by payroll taxes from employers and employees, and interest on their balances. Others include the Unemployment Trust Fund, the federal government employee retirement trust fund, the Highway Trust Fund, and the military retirement fund (for those who serve in the military for at least 20 years).</p>
<p>From a certain perspective these may be viewed as simply an accounting gimmick, because all tax dollars are fungible. The merit of establishing a trust fund for veterans, however, is that it creates an awareness of the magnitude of the funding challenge ahead. Today’s taxpayers need to shoulder some of this burden. So far we have avoided almost the entire fiscal toll of paying for our 14-year-long military odysseys in Iraq and Afghanistan. Previous wars—from the War of 1812 through World War I and right up to the first Gulf War—were all accompanied by higher taxes. By contrast, tax rates were cut in 2001 and again in 2003; nearly all Americans now pay lower taxes than they did before we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead, we borrowed the money needed to run these wars, shifting the full cost to the next generation.</p>
<p>The consequences of essentially ignoring the cost of caring for veterans are threefold. First, it understates the true cost of going to war. Second, it is poor financial management to be paying for a 40-year-long pension and benefit obligation from annual budget revenues. Third, it inevitably will lead to the possibility that veterans’ needs will not be funded adequately in the future. But the issue here is not merely fiscal. A widening gap has opened between the tiny percentage of the American population from whom the bulk of the nation’s volunteer army is drawn and the rest of us, who have neither served nor borne the financial burden of the conflict. The morally right choice is to pay for the Veterans Trust Fund through higher taxes. Raising the top marginal rate of federal income taxes to 45 percent or so over the next decade would probably be sufficient. This is far below the maximum level of income taxes levied after World Wars I and II, which reached 77 percent in 1918 and 94 percent in 1944-45.</p>
<p>If the politics of passing a tax increase prove too difficult, we could start the fund by imposing a surcharge (say, 20 percent) on all future war spending, designated for the Veterans Trust Fund. For example, the Obama Administration has requested $50.9 billion in dedicated war funds; the surcharge would require that $10 billion be added to begin a Veterans Trust Fund.</p>
<p>Such a measure would only begin the process of setting aside money for the long-term costs of war, but it would establish the right framework. More importantly, it would force us to confront the long-term financial burden of today’s wars and demonstrate tangible support for our troops that goes beyond buying bumper stickers.</p> | 599,041 |
<p>The former CEO of America’s second-largest investment bank, a former treasury secretary of the Treasury and one of America’s most sought after economic gurus, and America’s most famous technology analyst all have something in common besides vacation plans that overlap in Aspen and Davos: they sit on the board of a smallish company that specializes in helping low-risk borrowers pay off their credit card debts.</p>
<p>The illustrious trio is John Mack, former CEO of Morgan Stanley; Mary Meeker, the famed technology stock analyst and partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield &amp; Byers; and Larry Summers, <a href="http://www.lendingclub.com/public/lending-club-press-2012-12-13.action" type="external">who was appointed to the board of the San Francisco–based finance startup today</a>. The company, started in 2006, is one of a new breed of financial firm: a peer to peer lender. TechCrunch, the John the Baptist to the assorted Messiahs of Silicon Valley, regularly writes about the company and sings its praises. It has been <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/13/with-an-ipo-on-its-radar-lending-club-adds-former-treasury-secretary-larry-summers-to-its-heavyweight-board/" type="external">anointing its model and that of the entire peer-to-peer lending industry</a> as disruptive. (In Silicon Valley, there is no higher compliment.)</p>
<p>A typical bank takes in deposits and then lends out money, and keeps the difference between the interest rate paid to its depositors and the rate paid to its borrowers. By contrast, Lending Club allows individual lenders to be connected to borrowers who meet criteria specified by Lending Club. By focusing only on low-risk borrowers—Lending Club plays almost exclusively with “prime” and “super prime lenders, rejects 90 percent of applicants, and borrowers have an average credit score of 715—it is able to present a wide range of relatively safe lending opportunities. Renaud Laplanche, the co-founder and CEO, describes Lending Club borrowers as largely young professionals with high incomes who haven’t necessarily built up a ton of savings or home equity.</p>
<p>Before the housing crash, people were able to get home-equity loans on easy terms, which allowed them to take money out of their homes and add another room to their house, pay off credit-card debt, splurge on a wedding, and so on. But with those heady days over, people are instead putting more equity into their homes and <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/12/06/fed-data-are-we-richer-than-we-thought.html" type="external">paying off mortgages as fast as possible</a>.</p>
<p>So, there’s a demand for a type of loan that isn’t a credit card but allows people with assets or high earning potential to get credit on reasonable terms. But Laplanche says that Lending Club’s competitors are really credit-card companies, not home-equity lenders. Why? For a $12,000 loan, he says, “it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go through 50 pages of documentation” that a home-equity loan requires.</p>
<p>Lending Club is also able to fill a niche created by the Federal Reserve’s four-years-and-running policy of near-zero interest rates. Banks are able to fund themselves at near-zero rates while still charging 18 or so percent on credit cards. Lending Club, by having lower costs than its lumbering competitors, can give some of that spread back to the lenders while still saving something for itself. “We can walk right in and give that spread back to borrowers and give more to investors more attractive than other investment options,” explained Laplanche. Also, the low-interest rates on traditional investment options like treasury bonds, bank deposits, and corporate debt have plummeted. So that makes the 5.7 percent to 13.5 percent returns you can get from Lending Club look even more attractive.</p>
<p>However, Laplanche insisted, the company is not only successful because of the strange macroeconomic times we live in. Instead, he argues, that the spread will still be there when interest rates go up, because credit-card rates (and the interest rates on other investments) will go right up with them. But, from the perspective of the investors, the high-ish returns combined with a 2.42 percent default and delinquency rate look quite good compared to the 6 or so percent investors can get on high-yield (i.e. riskier) corporate debt.</p>
<p>Lenders don’t lend directly to borrowers, as is the case with some peer-to-peer lenders. Rather, investors buy “notes” from Lending Club that are graded A through G according to the risk of default. The notes, which sell for $25 or more each, have annual returns ranging from 5.7 percent for the least risky (the “A Notes” ) to 12.2 percent for the most risky “G Notes.” The loans run for three or five years, which means 36 or 60 months of steady payments for the investors. For a borrower, these notes add up to a loan, which they then have to pay back over the term. The <a href="https://www.lendingclub.com/public/borrower-rates-and-fees.action" type="external">interest rate ranges</a> from just over 6 percent for a three-year, highly rated loan to just under 25 percent for the most risky, five-year loans. Lending Club is able to charge these lower rates because they reject around 90 percent of their applicants. Lending Club then makes money by charging fees to both borrowers and the lenders.</p>
<p>Seventy-five percent of borrowers use their Lending Club financing for debt consolidation or credit-card debt. As Laplanche explained, despite rock-bottom interest rates on government debt, bank deposits, and corporate debt, credit-card rates are stubbornly high at around 18 percent. Lending Club is able to offer lower rates because it is solely pricing the risk of default. The company also has a suite of underwriting tools that, according to Laplanche, use individual credit histories along with a range of economic, behavioral, and geographic data to individually price the riskiness of the loan. Credit-card issuers—big banks like JPMorgan Chase—on the other hand, can’t do much fine-grained analysis of a credit-card user. That’s because credit cards aren’t just a way to get credit; they’re an expensive payment mechanism that only works for the company when they’re used by millions of people.</p>
<p>This means that a credit-card user who regularly pays her entire balance every month, and therefore pays no interest, is using an extensive payment system for free, which is being subsidized by the 18 percent annual rate (and all the fees) charged to the credit-card user who keeps a balance. By allowing people to get a loan at, say, 8 percent, to pay down $8,000 dollars worth of credit-card debt, Lending Club is allowing people to finance their purchases with interest rates adjusted to their risk profile instead of the risk profile of an entire population of credit-card users.</p>
<p>Lending Club surpassed $1 billion in loans originated and became cash-flow positive in November. And as with any start-up attracting big names and big money, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57557468-76/lending-club-plans-ipo-maybe-within-18-months/" type="external">there’s rampant IPO speculation</a>.</p>
<p>So why do these luminaries want to sign on with a company that uses lots of technology and an attractive funding mechanism to help yuppies pay their credit card bills? Laplanche said that Meeker, Mack, and Summers “saw the potential for the transformative impact that Lending Club can have on the financial system.” They said that all three are “interested and curious about technology and innovation” and that they see Lending Club as “a perfect combination” of technology and finance.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>All three, it should be noted, have acquired some level of notoriety. Summers <a href="http://business.time.com/2011/04/12/larry-summers-no-regrets-on-deregulation/" type="external">encouraged and oversaw financial deregulation as Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton</a>, Meeker <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/05/14/302981/index.htm" type="external">was one of the most enthusiastic boosters of the tech bubble</a>, and Morgan Stanley under Mack’s watch almost went under. It took billions of dollars in government aid and a massive investment from Mitsubishi to avoid disappearing altogether.</p>
<p>In the case of the financial system in which the three high-profile directors thrived, reckless, massive peer-to-peer lending among giant banks ended in disaster a few years ago. Let’s hope the smaller scale effort they’re helping to oversee doesn’t end in tears.</p> | Why Is Larry Summers Signing Up With Lending Club? | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-is-larry-summers-signing-up-with-lending-club | 2018-10-06 | 4left
| Why Is Larry Summers Signing Up With Lending Club?
<p>The former CEO of America’s second-largest investment bank, a former treasury secretary of the Treasury and one of America’s most sought after economic gurus, and America’s most famous technology analyst all have something in common besides vacation plans that overlap in Aspen and Davos: they sit on the board of a smallish company that specializes in helping low-risk borrowers pay off their credit card debts.</p>
<p>The illustrious trio is John Mack, former CEO of Morgan Stanley; Mary Meeker, the famed technology stock analyst and partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield &amp; Byers; and Larry Summers, <a href="http://www.lendingclub.com/public/lending-club-press-2012-12-13.action" type="external">who was appointed to the board of the San Francisco–based finance startup today</a>. The company, started in 2006, is one of a new breed of financial firm: a peer to peer lender. TechCrunch, the John the Baptist to the assorted Messiahs of Silicon Valley, regularly writes about the company and sings its praises. It has been <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/13/with-an-ipo-on-its-radar-lending-club-adds-former-treasury-secretary-larry-summers-to-its-heavyweight-board/" type="external">anointing its model and that of the entire peer-to-peer lending industry</a> as disruptive. (In Silicon Valley, there is no higher compliment.)</p>
<p>A typical bank takes in deposits and then lends out money, and keeps the difference between the interest rate paid to its depositors and the rate paid to its borrowers. By contrast, Lending Club allows individual lenders to be connected to borrowers who meet criteria specified by Lending Club. By focusing only on low-risk borrowers—Lending Club plays almost exclusively with “prime” and “super prime lenders, rejects 90 percent of applicants, and borrowers have an average credit score of 715—it is able to present a wide range of relatively safe lending opportunities. Renaud Laplanche, the co-founder and CEO, describes Lending Club borrowers as largely young professionals with high incomes who haven’t necessarily built up a ton of savings or home equity.</p>
<p>Before the housing crash, people were able to get home-equity loans on easy terms, which allowed them to take money out of their homes and add another room to their house, pay off credit-card debt, splurge on a wedding, and so on. But with those heady days over, people are instead putting more equity into their homes and <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/12/06/fed-data-are-we-richer-than-we-thought.html" type="external">paying off mortgages as fast as possible</a>.</p>
<p>So, there’s a demand for a type of loan that isn’t a credit card but allows people with assets or high earning potential to get credit on reasonable terms. But Laplanche says that Lending Club’s competitors are really credit-card companies, not home-equity lenders. Why? For a $12,000 loan, he says, “it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go through 50 pages of documentation” that a home-equity loan requires.</p>
<p>Lending Club is also able to fill a niche created by the Federal Reserve’s four-years-and-running policy of near-zero interest rates. Banks are able to fund themselves at near-zero rates while still charging 18 or so percent on credit cards. Lending Club, by having lower costs than its lumbering competitors, can give some of that spread back to the lenders while still saving something for itself. “We can walk right in and give that spread back to borrowers and give more to investors more attractive than other investment options,” explained Laplanche. Also, the low-interest rates on traditional investment options like treasury bonds, bank deposits, and corporate debt have plummeted. So that makes the 5.7 percent to 13.5 percent returns you can get from Lending Club look even more attractive.</p>
<p>However, Laplanche insisted, the company is not only successful because of the strange macroeconomic times we live in. Instead, he argues, that the spread will still be there when interest rates go up, because credit-card rates (and the interest rates on other investments) will go right up with them. But, from the perspective of the investors, the high-ish returns combined with a 2.42 percent default and delinquency rate look quite good compared to the 6 or so percent investors can get on high-yield (i.e. riskier) corporate debt.</p>
<p>Lenders don’t lend directly to borrowers, as is the case with some peer-to-peer lenders. Rather, investors buy “notes” from Lending Club that are graded A through G according to the risk of default. The notes, which sell for $25 or more each, have annual returns ranging from 5.7 percent for the least risky (the “A Notes” ) to 12.2 percent for the most risky “G Notes.” The loans run for three or five years, which means 36 or 60 months of steady payments for the investors. For a borrower, these notes add up to a loan, which they then have to pay back over the term. The <a href="https://www.lendingclub.com/public/borrower-rates-and-fees.action" type="external">interest rate ranges</a> from just over 6 percent for a three-year, highly rated loan to just under 25 percent for the most risky, five-year loans. Lending Club is able to charge these lower rates because they reject around 90 percent of their applicants. Lending Club then makes money by charging fees to both borrowers and the lenders.</p>
<p>Seventy-five percent of borrowers use their Lending Club financing for debt consolidation or credit-card debt. As Laplanche explained, despite rock-bottom interest rates on government debt, bank deposits, and corporate debt, credit-card rates are stubbornly high at around 18 percent. Lending Club is able to offer lower rates because it is solely pricing the risk of default. The company also has a suite of underwriting tools that, according to Laplanche, use individual credit histories along with a range of economic, behavioral, and geographic data to individually price the riskiness of the loan. Credit-card issuers—big banks like JPMorgan Chase—on the other hand, can’t do much fine-grained analysis of a credit-card user. That’s because credit cards aren’t just a way to get credit; they’re an expensive payment mechanism that only works for the company when they’re used by millions of people.</p>
<p>This means that a credit-card user who regularly pays her entire balance every month, and therefore pays no interest, is using an extensive payment system for free, which is being subsidized by the 18 percent annual rate (and all the fees) charged to the credit-card user who keeps a balance. By allowing people to get a loan at, say, 8 percent, to pay down $8,000 dollars worth of credit-card debt, Lending Club is allowing people to finance their purchases with interest rates adjusted to their risk profile instead of the risk profile of an entire population of credit-card users.</p>
<p>Lending Club surpassed $1 billion in loans originated and became cash-flow positive in November. And as with any start-up attracting big names and big money, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57557468-76/lending-club-plans-ipo-maybe-within-18-months/" type="external">there’s rampant IPO speculation</a>.</p>
<p>So why do these luminaries want to sign on with a company that uses lots of technology and an attractive funding mechanism to help yuppies pay their credit card bills? Laplanche said that Meeker, Mack, and Summers “saw the potential for the transformative impact that Lending Club can have on the financial system.” They said that all three are “interested and curious about technology and innovation” and that they see Lending Club as “a perfect combination” of technology and finance.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>All three, it should be noted, have acquired some level of notoriety. Summers <a href="http://business.time.com/2011/04/12/larry-summers-no-regrets-on-deregulation/" type="external">encouraged and oversaw financial deregulation as Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton</a>, Meeker <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/05/14/302981/index.htm" type="external">was one of the most enthusiastic boosters of the tech bubble</a>, and Morgan Stanley under Mack’s watch almost went under. It took billions of dollars in government aid and a massive investment from Mitsubishi to avoid disappearing altogether.</p>
<p>In the case of the financial system in which the three high-profile directors thrived, reckless, massive peer-to-peer lending among giant banks ended in disaster a few years ago. Let’s hope the smaller scale effort they’re helping to oversee doesn’t end in tears.</p> | 599,042 |
<p>By Ann Lopez -- PRI's The World</p>
<p>The sporting event I attended should never have happened.</p>
<p>It was a soccer match. One team wore bright yellow T-shirts and navy blue shorts. Their opponents were clad all in dark blue.</p>
<p>On the side lines, family and friends sat on white plastic lawn chairs, cheering on the teams. One fan painted her entire face blue. And she banged on a metal drum to spur on her favorite players.</p>
<p>In any other country, this would be a regular soccer game between two college teams. But these players are all women. And this game was taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>By convention, women do not officially play soccer in Riyadh. The city is very conservative. And if authorities got wind of this game, they’d likely shut it down.</p>
<p>So where the game was played in Riyadh will just have to be a mystery.</p>
<p>I won’t tell you the names of the teams.</p>
<p>Or the names of the players.</p>
<p>The Blue team captain is 23 years old and just graduated from college. She founded this league with a friend during her freshman year. They noticed how many students enjoyed the game, so they petitioned the university to organize a team.</p>
<p>“I realized that if we could get the university to support a team all this talent would not go to waste,” she said.</p>
<p>The university approved it and they got to work.</p>
<p>The captain says she trained herself to coach other players by purchasing DVDs on Amazon and watching soccer footage on YouTube.</p>
<p>They have limited access to facilities and funding. But that hasn’t stopped them from playing.</p>
<p>Watching the game were two business women. You won’t know their names either. They just started a new sports program. It targets girls from about 7 to 18 and teaches them to play team sports. Girls over 18 can get training as coaches.</p>
<p>It’s only three months old now, but the women say there’s a surge of interest.</p>
<p>“We can’t advertise so it’s all word of mouth, through Twitter and Blackberry,” said the first businesswoman.</p>
<p>So far 30 girls are participating. Outside of private schools, it’s hard to find organized sports for girls. So the program is filling that gap. The first business woman said she wants the girls to get some exercise.</p>
<p>“I want the girls outside, they need to run," she added.</p>
<p>The second businesswoman points out that parents already see a difference in their daughters.</p>
<p>“It changes their mindset. Parents have noticed that their girls are less wild, less rowdy," she said.</p>
<p>The program is also addressing a serious problem in Saudi Arabia, the growing rates of diabetes and obesity. According to the health ministry the national obesity rate is 25 percent. The rate for type 2 diabetes is 17 percent.</p>
<p>The women plan to integrate a healthier lifestyle into the program.</p>
<p>“We’re not pushing weight loss. First get the girls to have fun and then next year we’ll get them to starting thinking about nutrition and a healthy diet,” said the second business woman.</p>
<p>Creating a foundation for the girls is what the Blue team captain also has in mind.</p>
<p>“Our generation started the game, the leagues, the structure. The next generation will have it on a silver platter. We may not get to play for a national team but we’re laying the groundwork,” she said.</p>
<p>Who knows. In 10 years Saudi Arabia might just have a formidable national women’s soccer team.</p>
<p>The blue team beat the yellow team 3 to 2.</p> | In Saudi Arabia, a secret sports league caters to women and girls who want to play sports | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-06-04/saudi-arabia-secret-sports-league-caters-women-and-girls-who-want-play-sports | 2012-06-04 | 3left-center
| In Saudi Arabia, a secret sports league caters to women and girls who want to play sports
<p>By Ann Lopez -- PRI's The World</p>
<p>The sporting event I attended should never have happened.</p>
<p>It was a soccer match. One team wore bright yellow T-shirts and navy blue shorts. Their opponents were clad all in dark blue.</p>
<p>On the side lines, family and friends sat on white plastic lawn chairs, cheering on the teams. One fan painted her entire face blue. And she banged on a metal drum to spur on her favorite players.</p>
<p>In any other country, this would be a regular soccer game between two college teams. But these players are all women. And this game was taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>By convention, women do not officially play soccer in Riyadh. The city is very conservative. And if authorities got wind of this game, they’d likely shut it down.</p>
<p>So where the game was played in Riyadh will just have to be a mystery.</p>
<p>I won’t tell you the names of the teams.</p>
<p>Or the names of the players.</p>
<p>The Blue team captain is 23 years old and just graduated from college. She founded this league with a friend during her freshman year. They noticed how many students enjoyed the game, so they petitioned the university to organize a team.</p>
<p>“I realized that if we could get the university to support a team all this talent would not go to waste,” she said.</p>
<p>The university approved it and they got to work.</p>
<p>The captain says she trained herself to coach other players by purchasing DVDs on Amazon and watching soccer footage on YouTube.</p>
<p>They have limited access to facilities and funding. But that hasn’t stopped them from playing.</p>
<p>Watching the game were two business women. You won’t know their names either. They just started a new sports program. It targets girls from about 7 to 18 and teaches them to play team sports. Girls over 18 can get training as coaches.</p>
<p>It’s only three months old now, but the women say there’s a surge of interest.</p>
<p>“We can’t advertise so it’s all word of mouth, through Twitter and Blackberry,” said the first businesswoman.</p>
<p>So far 30 girls are participating. Outside of private schools, it’s hard to find organized sports for girls. So the program is filling that gap. The first business woman said she wants the girls to get some exercise.</p>
<p>“I want the girls outside, they need to run," she added.</p>
<p>The second businesswoman points out that parents already see a difference in their daughters.</p>
<p>“It changes their mindset. Parents have noticed that their girls are less wild, less rowdy," she said.</p>
<p>The program is also addressing a serious problem in Saudi Arabia, the growing rates of diabetes and obesity. According to the health ministry the national obesity rate is 25 percent. The rate for type 2 diabetes is 17 percent.</p>
<p>The women plan to integrate a healthier lifestyle into the program.</p>
<p>“We’re not pushing weight loss. First get the girls to have fun and then next year we’ll get them to starting thinking about nutrition and a healthy diet,” said the second business woman.</p>
<p>Creating a foundation for the girls is what the Blue team captain also has in mind.</p>
<p>“Our generation started the game, the leagues, the structure. The next generation will have it on a silver platter. We may not get to play for a national team but we’re laying the groundwork,” she said.</p>
<p>Who knows. In 10 years Saudi Arabia might just have a formidable national women’s soccer team.</p>
<p>The blue team beat the yellow team 3 to 2.</p> | 599,043 |
<p>Microsoft Corp. shares dropped in Thursday's extended session after the software giant missed Wall Street's estimates on quarterly earnings. Microsoft reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell to $3.76 billion, or 47 cents a share, from $4.99 billion, or 61 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned 62 cents a share. Revenue decreased to $20.5 billion versus $21.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $22.1 billion. Shares fell 3.8% in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Microsoft Shares Slump As Earnings Miss Wall Street's Estimates | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/21/microsoft-shares-slump-as-earnings-miss-wall-street-estimates.html | 2016-04-21 | 0right
| Microsoft Shares Slump As Earnings Miss Wall Street's Estimates
<p>Microsoft Corp. shares dropped in Thursday's extended session after the software giant missed Wall Street's estimates on quarterly earnings. Microsoft reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell to $3.76 billion, or 47 cents a share, from $4.99 billion, or 61 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned 62 cents a share. Revenue decreased to $20.5 billion versus $21.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $22.1 billion. Shares fell 3.8% in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 599,044 |
<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been a self-described atheist for years now. But this past Christmas, the wunderkind stunned the masses by publicly rejecting atheism and declaring religion as "very important."</p>
<p>On December 25, Zuckerberg took to the social media platform he created to post that he and his family were "celebrating" Christmas.</p>
<p>"Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from Priscilla, Max, Beast and me!" wrote the billionaire, referring to his wife, daughter and dog.</p>
<p>Facebook commenters quickly reacted to the post, one user specifically asking Zuckerberg about his past atheism.</p>
<p>"I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important."</p>
<p>-Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg</p>
<p>"But Aren't You Atheist?" inquired Jose Antonio.</p>
<p>"No. I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important," responded Zuckerberg.</p>
<p />
<p>As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/12/30/mark-zuckerberg-says-hes-no-longer-an-atheist-believes-religion-is-very-important/?utm_term=.a43411115417" type="external">noted</a>by The New York Times, "Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have publicly discussed their moral values frequently — including in a lengthy letter when their daughter was born a year ago, in which they pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook stock, which is at about $45 billion at the time was one of the largest philanthropic commitments ever."</p>
<p>In August of 2016, the influential couple <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/29/mark-zuckerberg-meets-pope-francis-gives-him-a-drone/" type="external">met</a> Pope Francis at the Vatican, where they discussed philanthropic efforts and ways to equip the poor with vital communication technology. Zuckerberg also gifted the leader of the Catholic Church a drone.</p> | Mark Zuckerberg Says He's No Longer An Atheist, Makes Strong Statement About Religion | true | https://dailywire.com/news/12060/mark-zuckerberg-says-hes-no-longer-atheist-makes-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2017-01-02 | 0right
| Mark Zuckerberg Says He's No Longer An Atheist, Makes Strong Statement About Religion
<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been a self-described atheist for years now. But this past Christmas, the wunderkind stunned the masses by publicly rejecting atheism and declaring religion as "very important."</p>
<p>On December 25, Zuckerberg took to the social media platform he created to post that he and his family were "celebrating" Christmas.</p>
<p>"Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from Priscilla, Max, Beast and me!" wrote the billionaire, referring to his wife, daughter and dog.</p>
<p>Facebook commenters quickly reacted to the post, one user specifically asking Zuckerberg about his past atheism.</p>
<p>"I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important."</p>
<p>-Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg</p>
<p>"But Aren't You Atheist?" inquired Jose Antonio.</p>
<p>"No. I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important," responded Zuckerberg.</p>
<p />
<p>As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/12/30/mark-zuckerberg-says-hes-no-longer-an-atheist-believes-religion-is-very-important/?utm_term=.a43411115417" type="external">noted</a>by The New York Times, "Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have publicly discussed their moral values frequently — including in a lengthy letter when their daughter was born a year ago, in which they pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook stock, which is at about $45 billion at the time was one of the largest philanthropic commitments ever."</p>
<p>In August of 2016, the influential couple <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/29/mark-zuckerberg-meets-pope-francis-gives-him-a-drone/" type="external">met</a> Pope Francis at the Vatican, where they discussed philanthropic efforts and ways to equip the poor with vital communication technology. Zuckerberg also gifted the leader of the Catholic Church a drone.</p> | 599,045 |
<p>your email</p>
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<p>AFGE Local 1738 and more than a hundred fellow union members rallied outside the VA Clinic in Morehead City, North Carolina, calling for safe staffing levels. (Photo: Norman J. McCullough) &#160;</p>
<p>This post first appeared at <a href="http://labornotes.org/2017/10/labors-stake-fight-veterans-health-care" type="external">Labor Notes</a>.</p>
<p>In January President Trump delivered on his promise to shrink the federal government: he announced a hiring freeze, despite thousands of federal job vacancies.</p>
<p>As a candidate, Trump campaigned as a great friend of veterans. He pledged to make big improvements in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the arm of the Veterans Administration (VA) that operates the largest health care system in the country.</p>
<p>But Trump’s hiring freeze deepened an already existing staffing crisis at VHA hospitals and clinics throughout the U.S., where there are 49,000 vacant positions.</p>
<p>Union activists believe the resulting understaffing is designed to generate patient complaints and negative publicity that will cause veterans and their families to lose faith in VA-provided care.</p>
<p>“Some in Congress want to underfund the VA so they can say that government doesn’t work,” says Dusten Retcher, a 29-year old Air Force veteran, who processes veterans’&#160;benefit&#160;claims in Minneapolis. “Then they want to turn it over to the private market.”&#160;</p>
<p>Socialized Medicine&#160;</p>
<p>The VHA covers nine million veterans who qualify based on their low income or, like Retcher, have a service-related medical condition. Unlike Canada’s single payer system or Medicare in the U.S., it does not function primarily as an insurer, simply reimbursing private hospitals, doctors, or pharmacies.</p>
<p>Instead, like Britain's National Health Service, the VHA provides direct care to veterans, via salaried personnel who are not paid on a fee-for-service basis. As the nation’s largest publicly funded, fully integrated&#160;health care&#160;network, it’s a model of socialized medicine more far-reaching than the single-payer plans proposed by Congressman John Conyers and Senator Bernie Sanders (who is also a leading defender of the VHA).</p>
<p>Overall, the VHA employs 300,000 people, a third of whom are veterans themselves. Because caregivers are salaried, they have little incentive to over-treat patients. And, as a large-scale public agency, the VHA can negotiate with pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies to secure prices lower than private hospital chains get.</p>
<p>This combination of “socialized medicine,” negotiated prices, and a salaried workforce heavily represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is not popular in a Republican Congress or in the Trump White House.</p>
<p>Earlier this summer, both attacked the due process rights of AFGE members by passing the “VA Accountability Act.” As the AFL-CIO notes, this draconian measure, backed by some Democrats, eliminates “any guarantee that employees will feel safe speaking out against mismanagement or to protect patient safety.” According to the federation, it “destroys grievance procedures that have been successfully used throughout the federal government to provide protection against arbitrary treatment.”</p>
<p>Such union-busting legislation—and more currently under consideration by Congress—has been a longtime objective of right-wing Republicans and the “Concerned Veterans of America.” CVA is an&#160;astro-turf&#160;group, funded by the Koch brothers, which has gained policy-making influence within the VA since Trump’s election. While CVA has few actual members, it has been quite successful in promoting negative coverage of the VHA in the media, including the New York Times and NPR.</p>
<p>Unlike traditional veterans organizations (American Legion, VFW, Disabled American Veterans), CVA hates the VHA and would like to see it totally privatized.</p>
<p>Campaign to save the VA</p>
<p>To resist this outsourcing threat, VHA union members and their allies have launched a multi-front campaign. They have held dozens of town hall meetings, local “Save the VA” rallies, and protests with labor and veterans organizations in California, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, New Mexico, Tennessee, Montana, Ohio, and Colorado. More protests are scheduled in October. Such activity, throughout the federal government, has helped AFGE sign up 5,000 new members since January.</p>
<p>Bay Area AFGE activists joined fellow VHA staffers, their patients, and other concerned veterans at a speak-out in San Francisco attended by House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Michael Blecker, a leader of Swords to Plowshares who served in Vietnam, warned that local programs to reduce homelessness among veterans were at risk of being curtailed.</p>
<p>Pelosi argued that GOP critics care little about improving VHA services or reducing their cost. “The people who want to privatize the VA don’t want to make it better,” she said. “They want to make a buck.”</p>
<p>In its critique of privatization, Fighting for Veterans Healthcare, a San Francisco–based advocacy group, notes that VHA hospital budgets are already stretched thin because of chronic underfunding. As the financial burden of paying for more costly private care increases, the group argues, in-house staff shortages will worsen, specialized research and treatment programs will be cut, demoralized employees will leave, and “the VA will become a shell of itself.”</p>
<p>At the Denver VA medical center, where workers rallied against privatization August 23, AFGE Local 2241 President Bernard Humbles says employee frustration is mounting. “I’ve had some members that just say, ‘I’m done,’ and leave because of the overwhelming workload,” he said. “We need to fill these positions.”</p>
<p>Bernie Sanders, former chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Senate and longtime defender of the VHA, has introduced legislation to reduce staff shortages by allocating $5 billion to new hiring. But Secretary for Veterans Affairs Dr. David Shulkin, who served in the Obama administration, is under White House and Congressional pressure to expand a program called “Choice” instead.</p>
<p>Created by Congress in 2014, Choice allows veterans who have to travel 40 miles or more to the nearest VHA facility, or who face appointment delays longer than 30 days, to use private providers instead. Federal reimbursement of these private hospitals and doctors has already drained billions from the VHA. A recent internal report revealed a pattern of over-payments to TriWest and Health Net, two private insurers hired to set up outside provider networks and process the Choice program's reimbursement claims.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as a Rand Corporation study found in 2015, actual wait times at the VHA are shorter than in the private sector, and the quality of veterans' care is equal to or&#160;superior than&#160;that received by private hospital patients.</p>
<p>An&#160;outsourcing&#160;gold mine&#160;</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Republicans seek a wholesale expansion of VHA outsourcing, to create a gold mine for the&#160;health care&#160;industry. Their goal is to steer more veterans toward&#160;non-VHA providers, including for-profit firms that would fill prescriptions, handle routine visits, or provide out-patient services like audiology and optometry.</p>
<p>The fight to defend quality care for veterans is uniting caregivers on the VHA staff, their patients, other veterans, and concerned community members. The fight also helps expose the ever-widening gap between President Trump’s pro-veteran rhetoric and the actual impact of his policies on working class people who have served in the military and, in some cases, voted for him last fall.</p>
<p>At a late September protest at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, AFGE picketers were joined by other unionists, including Navy veteran Tom Edwards, who carried a sign saying, “No Vet Should Wait in Line.” A retired postal worker, Edwards told Workday Minnesota that he hears plenty of rhetoric about “supporting our troops.” But when they come home and need access to skilled, specialized care like the VHA provides, it’s another story. “What’s happening in this country is a travesty,” he declared.</p> | Why Labor Is Fighting to Save Veterans’ Healthcare | true | http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/20607/why_labor_is_fighting_to_save_veterans_health_care | 2017-10-12 | 4left
| Why Labor Is Fighting to Save Veterans’ Healthcare
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<p>AFGE Local 1738 and more than a hundred fellow union members rallied outside the VA Clinic in Morehead City, North Carolina, calling for safe staffing levels. (Photo: Norman J. McCullough) &#160;</p>
<p>This post first appeared at <a href="http://labornotes.org/2017/10/labors-stake-fight-veterans-health-care" type="external">Labor Notes</a>.</p>
<p>In January President Trump delivered on his promise to shrink the federal government: he announced a hiring freeze, despite thousands of federal job vacancies.</p>
<p>As a candidate, Trump campaigned as a great friend of veterans. He pledged to make big improvements in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the arm of the Veterans Administration (VA) that operates the largest health care system in the country.</p>
<p>But Trump’s hiring freeze deepened an already existing staffing crisis at VHA hospitals and clinics throughout the U.S., where there are 49,000 vacant positions.</p>
<p>Union activists believe the resulting understaffing is designed to generate patient complaints and negative publicity that will cause veterans and their families to lose faith in VA-provided care.</p>
<p>“Some in Congress want to underfund the VA so they can say that government doesn’t work,” says Dusten Retcher, a 29-year old Air Force veteran, who processes veterans’&#160;benefit&#160;claims in Minneapolis. “Then they want to turn it over to the private market.”&#160;</p>
<p>Socialized Medicine&#160;</p>
<p>The VHA covers nine million veterans who qualify based on their low income or, like Retcher, have a service-related medical condition. Unlike Canada’s single payer system or Medicare in the U.S., it does not function primarily as an insurer, simply reimbursing private hospitals, doctors, or pharmacies.</p>
<p>Instead, like Britain's National Health Service, the VHA provides direct care to veterans, via salaried personnel who are not paid on a fee-for-service basis. As the nation’s largest publicly funded, fully integrated&#160;health care&#160;network, it’s a model of socialized medicine more far-reaching than the single-payer plans proposed by Congressman John Conyers and Senator Bernie Sanders (who is also a leading defender of the VHA).</p>
<p>Overall, the VHA employs 300,000 people, a third of whom are veterans themselves. Because caregivers are salaried, they have little incentive to over-treat patients. And, as a large-scale public agency, the VHA can negotiate with pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies to secure prices lower than private hospital chains get.</p>
<p>This combination of “socialized medicine,” negotiated prices, and a salaried workforce heavily represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is not popular in a Republican Congress or in the Trump White House.</p>
<p>Earlier this summer, both attacked the due process rights of AFGE members by passing the “VA Accountability Act.” As the AFL-CIO notes, this draconian measure, backed by some Democrats, eliminates “any guarantee that employees will feel safe speaking out against mismanagement or to protect patient safety.” According to the federation, it “destroys grievance procedures that have been successfully used throughout the federal government to provide protection against arbitrary treatment.”</p>
<p>Such union-busting legislation—and more currently under consideration by Congress—has been a longtime objective of right-wing Republicans and the “Concerned Veterans of America.” CVA is an&#160;astro-turf&#160;group, funded by the Koch brothers, which has gained policy-making influence within the VA since Trump’s election. While CVA has few actual members, it has been quite successful in promoting negative coverage of the VHA in the media, including the New York Times and NPR.</p>
<p>Unlike traditional veterans organizations (American Legion, VFW, Disabled American Veterans), CVA hates the VHA and would like to see it totally privatized.</p>
<p>Campaign to save the VA</p>
<p>To resist this outsourcing threat, VHA union members and their allies have launched a multi-front campaign. They have held dozens of town hall meetings, local “Save the VA” rallies, and protests with labor and veterans organizations in California, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, New Mexico, Tennessee, Montana, Ohio, and Colorado. More protests are scheduled in October. Such activity, throughout the federal government, has helped AFGE sign up 5,000 new members since January.</p>
<p>Bay Area AFGE activists joined fellow VHA staffers, their patients, and other concerned veterans at a speak-out in San Francisco attended by House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Michael Blecker, a leader of Swords to Plowshares who served in Vietnam, warned that local programs to reduce homelessness among veterans were at risk of being curtailed.</p>
<p>Pelosi argued that GOP critics care little about improving VHA services or reducing their cost. “The people who want to privatize the VA don’t want to make it better,” she said. “They want to make a buck.”</p>
<p>In its critique of privatization, Fighting for Veterans Healthcare, a San Francisco–based advocacy group, notes that VHA hospital budgets are already stretched thin because of chronic underfunding. As the financial burden of paying for more costly private care increases, the group argues, in-house staff shortages will worsen, specialized research and treatment programs will be cut, demoralized employees will leave, and “the VA will become a shell of itself.”</p>
<p>At the Denver VA medical center, where workers rallied against privatization August 23, AFGE Local 2241 President Bernard Humbles says employee frustration is mounting. “I’ve had some members that just say, ‘I’m done,’ and leave because of the overwhelming workload,” he said. “We need to fill these positions.”</p>
<p>Bernie Sanders, former chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Senate and longtime defender of the VHA, has introduced legislation to reduce staff shortages by allocating $5 billion to new hiring. But Secretary for Veterans Affairs Dr. David Shulkin, who served in the Obama administration, is under White House and Congressional pressure to expand a program called “Choice” instead.</p>
<p>Created by Congress in 2014, Choice allows veterans who have to travel 40 miles or more to the nearest VHA facility, or who face appointment delays longer than 30 days, to use private providers instead. Federal reimbursement of these private hospitals and doctors has already drained billions from the VHA. A recent internal report revealed a pattern of over-payments to TriWest and Health Net, two private insurers hired to set up outside provider networks and process the Choice program's reimbursement claims.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as a Rand Corporation study found in 2015, actual wait times at the VHA are shorter than in the private sector, and the quality of veterans' care is equal to or&#160;superior than&#160;that received by private hospital patients.</p>
<p>An&#160;outsourcing&#160;gold mine&#160;</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Republicans seek a wholesale expansion of VHA outsourcing, to create a gold mine for the&#160;health care&#160;industry. Their goal is to steer more veterans toward&#160;non-VHA providers, including for-profit firms that would fill prescriptions, handle routine visits, or provide out-patient services like audiology and optometry.</p>
<p>The fight to defend quality care for veterans is uniting caregivers on the VHA staff, their patients, other veterans, and concerned community members. The fight also helps expose the ever-widening gap between President Trump’s pro-veteran rhetoric and the actual impact of his policies on working class people who have served in the military and, in some cases, voted for him last fall.</p>
<p>At a late September protest at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, AFGE picketers were joined by other unionists, including Navy veteran Tom Edwards, who carried a sign saying, “No Vet Should Wait in Line.” A retired postal worker, Edwards told Workday Minnesota that he hears plenty of rhetoric about “supporting our troops.” But when they come home and need access to skilled, specialized care like the VHA provides, it’s another story. “What’s happening in this country is a travesty,” he declared.</p> | 599,046 |
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<p>Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who oversees sports policy, said Isinbayeva “will obviously leave the post as chair of the supervisory board,” in comments to the Russian agency R-Sport on Friday.</p>
<p>World Anti-Doping Agency director-general Oliver Niggli said on Thursday that Isinbayeva — a prominent critic of WADA investigations into Russian doping — would have to step down to make way for a new chair who is independent of the Russian Olympic Committee.</p>
<p>Since the two-time Olympic pole vault champion stopped competing last year, Isinbayeva has become an International Olympic Committee member and sits on the Russian Olympic Committee board.</p>
<p>Isinbayeva took the anti-doping post in December. She will remain as a board member, though not chair, according to comments on Friday by Vitaly Smirnov, the head of an anti-doping advisory body set up by Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It isn’t clear who will succeed Isinbayeva as chair of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, known as RUSADA. The board has three Russian members who don’t hold office with the government or sports organizations. They are astronaut Sergei Ryazansky, medical researcher Vladimir Chekhonin, and Alexander Ivlev, who heads the Russian operations of accountancy firm EY.</p>
<p>The new chair’s first priority will be to select a new CEO for RUSADA after the previous acting chief executive quit in March.</p>
<p>There was no immediate word from Isinbayeva, who did not attend the WADA board meeting on Thursday, and instead spent the day at the Cannes film festival.</p> | Mutko agrees Isinbayeva should leave anti-doping agency | false | https://abqjournal.com/1005768/mutko-agrees-isinbayeva-should-leave-anti-doping-agency.html | 2017-05-19 | 2least
| Mutko agrees Isinbayeva should leave anti-doping agency
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<p>Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who oversees sports policy, said Isinbayeva “will obviously leave the post as chair of the supervisory board,” in comments to the Russian agency R-Sport on Friday.</p>
<p>World Anti-Doping Agency director-general Oliver Niggli said on Thursday that Isinbayeva — a prominent critic of WADA investigations into Russian doping — would have to step down to make way for a new chair who is independent of the Russian Olympic Committee.</p>
<p>Since the two-time Olympic pole vault champion stopped competing last year, Isinbayeva has become an International Olympic Committee member and sits on the Russian Olympic Committee board.</p>
<p>Isinbayeva took the anti-doping post in December. She will remain as a board member, though not chair, according to comments on Friday by Vitaly Smirnov, the head of an anti-doping advisory body set up by Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It isn’t clear who will succeed Isinbayeva as chair of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, known as RUSADA. The board has three Russian members who don’t hold office with the government or sports organizations. They are astronaut Sergei Ryazansky, medical researcher Vladimir Chekhonin, and Alexander Ivlev, who heads the Russian operations of accountancy firm EY.</p>
<p>The new chair’s first priority will be to select a new CEO for RUSADA after the previous acting chief executive quit in March.</p>
<p>There was no immediate word from Isinbayeva, who did not attend the WADA board meeting on Thursday, and instead spent the day at the Cannes film festival.</p> | 599,047 |
<p>SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 13 (UPI) — South Korean prosecutors have demanded a 25-year prison sentence for Choi Soon-sil on Thursday, as a Seoul court began wrapping up her 14-month legal battle.</p>
<p>Choi is a central figure in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the ousting of former President <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Park-Geun-hye/" type="external">Park Geun</a> Hye, who faces 18 criminal charges including the abuse of power, fraud, obstruction of duty and bribery.</p>
<p>The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday opened a final hearing for Choi along with ex-presidential secretary An Chong Bum and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong Bin over their involvement in the influence-peddling scandal.</p>
<p>Along with the 25-year prison term, prosecutors requested the court to charge Choi a penalty of $108 million and a surcharge of $7 million.</p>
<p>The 61-year-old stands accused of colluding with the ex-president, and former presidential secretary An, to raise more than $71 million for her Mir and K-Sport foundations, by extorting some of the nation’s largest conglomerates including Samsung Group, and retail giant Lotte Group.</p>
<p>Choi also allegedly received $7.1 million from Samsung Electronics’ de facto leader Lee Jae Yong, which partially funded her daughter’s equestrian activities, JoongAng Ilbo reported.</p>
<p>Under the country’s special criminal law, cases involving kickbacks of more than roughly $92,000 are subject to at least 10 years of imprisonment, or even a life sentence, Yonhap reported.</p>
<p>The South Korean <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/supreme-court/" type="external">Supreme Court</a>‘s sentencing guideline recommends imposing 9 to 12 years of time behind bars when bribes exceed $460,000.</p>
<p>However, in cases where additional penalties are delivered for specific crimes under the special criminal law, the guideline recommends a prison term of at least 11 years, up to a lifelong sentence.</p>
<p>Observers say Choi has a high chance of receiving a heavy sentence and it is unlikely that the court will reduce her penalties, given the sheer number of charges against her and her denial of wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Samsung Electronics Lee Jae Yong was sentenced to five years for bribery in August. Choi’s accomplice Cha Eun Taek and nephew Jang Si Ho were also deemed guilty of involvement in the influence-peddling scandal.</p>
<p>Choi Soon Sil was put behind bars in November last year as the scandal spiraled. Earlier this year, she was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for using her ties to the ex-President to solicit academic favors for her daughter.</p>
<p>A verdict on Thursday’s trial is expected to be announced in mid-January.</p> | Confidante of South Korea's ex-president faces 25 years behind bars | false | https://newsline.com/confidante-of-south-koreas-ex-president-faces-25-years-behind-bars/ | 2017-12-14 | 1right-center
| Confidante of South Korea's ex-president faces 25 years behind bars
<p>SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 13 (UPI) — South Korean prosecutors have demanded a 25-year prison sentence for Choi Soon-sil on Thursday, as a Seoul court began wrapping up her 14-month legal battle.</p>
<p>Choi is a central figure in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the ousting of former President <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Park-Geun-hye/" type="external">Park Geun</a> Hye, who faces 18 criminal charges including the abuse of power, fraud, obstruction of duty and bribery.</p>
<p>The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday opened a final hearing for Choi along with ex-presidential secretary An Chong Bum and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong Bin over their involvement in the influence-peddling scandal.</p>
<p>Along with the 25-year prison term, prosecutors requested the court to charge Choi a penalty of $108 million and a surcharge of $7 million.</p>
<p>The 61-year-old stands accused of colluding with the ex-president, and former presidential secretary An, to raise more than $71 million for her Mir and K-Sport foundations, by extorting some of the nation’s largest conglomerates including Samsung Group, and retail giant Lotte Group.</p>
<p>Choi also allegedly received $7.1 million from Samsung Electronics’ de facto leader Lee Jae Yong, which partially funded her daughter’s equestrian activities, JoongAng Ilbo reported.</p>
<p>Under the country’s special criminal law, cases involving kickbacks of more than roughly $92,000 are subject to at least 10 years of imprisonment, or even a life sentence, Yonhap reported.</p>
<p>The South Korean <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/supreme-court/" type="external">Supreme Court</a>‘s sentencing guideline recommends imposing 9 to 12 years of time behind bars when bribes exceed $460,000.</p>
<p>However, in cases where additional penalties are delivered for specific crimes under the special criminal law, the guideline recommends a prison term of at least 11 years, up to a lifelong sentence.</p>
<p>Observers say Choi has a high chance of receiving a heavy sentence and it is unlikely that the court will reduce her penalties, given the sheer number of charges against her and her denial of wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Samsung Electronics Lee Jae Yong was sentenced to five years for bribery in August. Choi’s accomplice Cha Eun Taek and nephew Jang Si Ho were also deemed guilty of involvement in the influence-peddling scandal.</p>
<p>Choi Soon Sil was put behind bars in November last year as the scandal spiraled. Earlier this year, she was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for using her ties to the ex-President to solicit academic favors for her daughter.</p>
<p>A verdict on Thursday’s trial is expected to be announced in mid-January.</p> | 599,048 |
<p>Here's another one for the "myth of monogamy" file.</p>
<p>For a long time, ornithologists believed that most birds were monogamous.</p>
<p>According to <a href="" type="external">this article in Acorn</a>, ornithologist David Lack estimates that at least 90 percent of nest-raised birds come from monogamous pairs.&#160;</p>
<p>Monogamous birds such as eagles and geese were long regarded as the epitome of fidelity and social monogamy, remaining together until one dies.</p>
<p>According to Acorn, Canadian geese are among the most faithful birds, mating for as long as 20 years.</p>
<p>But based on new DNA testing of several bird species, it turns out that even monogamous birds are not as loyal as previously thought.</p>
<p>They, too, tend to have flings on the side.</p>
<p>A study about the sex lives of birds, conducted by a Czech scientist and <a href="" type="external">reported by Ceska Pozice</a>, claims that more than 70 percent of bird species are prone to casual sex with another partner out of the stable couple.</p>
<p>In addition, 70 percent of chicks in the broods of some species can be attributed to a different partner.</p>
<p>So there you have it.</p>
<p>Birds aren't exactly shining examples of monogamy.</p>
<p>But don't despair. There are always <a href="" type="external">prairie voles</a>.</p>
<p>Scientists haven't been able to disprove their supposed monogamy.</p>
<p>Yet.</p> | Even monogamous birds indulge in casual flings | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-06-12/even-monogamous-birds-indulge-casual-flings | 2012-06-12 | 3left-center
| Even monogamous birds indulge in casual flings
<p>Here's another one for the "myth of monogamy" file.</p>
<p>For a long time, ornithologists believed that most birds were monogamous.</p>
<p>According to <a href="" type="external">this article in Acorn</a>, ornithologist David Lack estimates that at least 90 percent of nest-raised birds come from monogamous pairs.&#160;</p>
<p>Monogamous birds such as eagles and geese were long regarded as the epitome of fidelity and social monogamy, remaining together until one dies.</p>
<p>According to Acorn, Canadian geese are among the most faithful birds, mating for as long as 20 years.</p>
<p>But based on new DNA testing of several bird species, it turns out that even monogamous birds are not as loyal as previously thought.</p>
<p>They, too, tend to have flings on the side.</p>
<p>A study about the sex lives of birds, conducted by a Czech scientist and <a href="" type="external">reported by Ceska Pozice</a>, claims that more than 70 percent of bird species are prone to casual sex with another partner out of the stable couple.</p>
<p>In addition, 70 percent of chicks in the broods of some species can be attributed to a different partner.</p>
<p>So there you have it.</p>
<p>Birds aren't exactly shining examples of monogamy.</p>
<p>But don't despair. There are always <a href="" type="external">prairie voles</a>.</p>
<p>Scientists haven't been able to disprove their supposed monogamy.</p>
<p>Yet.</p> | 599,049 |
<p>VF Corp. said Monday that it will acquire Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co., a family-owned workwear company, for about $820 million in cash. VF Corp.'s portfolio of brands includes Wrangler, Timberland and The North Face. Williamson-Dickie Mfg. brands include Dickies and Kodiak. Wiliamson-Dickie generated about $875 million in revenue in the last 12 months. The acquisition creates a company with about $1.7 billion in annual revenue, said VF Corp. Chief Executive Steve Rendle in a statement. VF Corp. now expects 2017 revenue to total $11.85 billion up from a previous $11.65 billion. Earnings are expected to be $2.96, up from previous guidance of $2.94. Adjusted EPS is expected to fall 1% from last year's $2.98 total. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $11.68 billion and EPS of $2.96. VF Corp. shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and up 15.4% for the year so far. The S&amp;P 500 index is up 9% for 2017 to date.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | VF Corp. To Acquire Williamson-Dickie For About $820 Million In Cash | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/14/vf-corp-to-acquire-williamson-dickie-for-about-820-million-in-cash.html | 2017-08-14 | 0right
| VF Corp. To Acquire Williamson-Dickie For About $820 Million In Cash
<p>VF Corp. said Monday that it will acquire Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co., a family-owned workwear company, for about $820 million in cash. VF Corp.'s portfolio of brands includes Wrangler, Timberland and The North Face. Williamson-Dickie Mfg. brands include Dickies and Kodiak. Wiliamson-Dickie generated about $875 million in revenue in the last 12 months. The acquisition creates a company with about $1.7 billion in annual revenue, said VF Corp. Chief Executive Steve Rendle in a statement. VF Corp. now expects 2017 revenue to total $11.85 billion up from a previous $11.65 billion. Earnings are expected to be $2.96, up from previous guidance of $2.94. Adjusted EPS is expected to fall 1% from last year's $2.98 total. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $11.68 billion and EPS of $2.96. VF Corp. shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and up 15.4% for the year so far. The S&amp;P 500 index is up 9% for 2017 to date.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 599,050 |
<p>Economists place long odds on President Donald Trump nominating Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to a second term, but have little consensus on who might take her place.</p>
<p>A recent Wall Street Journal survey found economists placed a 20.8% average probability on Ms. Yellen getting the nod, the largest share won by anyone named in the poll. While Ms. Yellen isn't expected to be picked, Mr. Trump hasn't ruled it out.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The second most likely candidate, according to the survey respondents, was National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who garnered a 13.7% probability. Mr. Cohn, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. president, is managing the White House's search for a nominee to take the helm when Ms. Yellen's term ends in early February.</p>
<p>Other contenders include Kevin Warsh, a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, to whom economists assigned a 11.5% probability of becoming the next chairman.</p>
<p>Respondents put roughly the same odds, 11.3%, on the top Fed position going to John Taylor, the Stanford University economist who developed an eponymous policy rule for setting short-term interest rates according to a mix of economic variables, including inflation and employment measures.</p>
<p>The Journal surveyed 63 economists in its monthly survey from July 7-11, and asked them to assign probability to candidates from a list of 14 names analysts have mentioned as potential Trump choices to run the Fed. Respondents also could assign probability to someone not on the list. The survey results were an average of their responses, although not every economist submitted estimates or comments for the question.</p>
<p>Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group viewed Ms. Yellen's chances for reappointment as favorable, placing a 40% probability on her renomination, "because her cautious approach to monetary policy has been good for the stock market."</p>
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<p>Ms. Yellen has said on numerous occasions that she intends to serve out her current term as chairwoman. When asked if she would accept a request from the president to nominate her for another term during testimony Wednesday, Ms. Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee that the matter of a renomination has "not been something that's come up," but she is prepared to discuss it with the president.</p>
<p>In separate testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Ms. Yellen said she hasn't decided whether she would accept renomination if offered it.</p>
<p>The economists polled assigned some uncertainty to the overall nomination process in their comments, citing the unpredictable nature of the Trump White House so far.</p>
<p>"Who can read President Trump's mind?," said James Smith, chief economist at Parsec Financial.</p>
<p>"Surprise appointments have been Trump's hallmark," Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said.</p>
<p>Further down on the list of potential nominees, with an average 6.5% probability of being chosen, was Columbia University Professor Glenn Hubbard, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Fed governor Jerome Powell garnered 5.6%, while former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher got 4.8%.</p>
<p>The respondents put a 3.9% probability on Kevin Hassett, current chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and at 3.2%. J.P. Morgan Chase &amp; Co. Chief James Dimon.</p>
<p>One wild-card name on the list was Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney, a Canadian who previously ran the Bank of Canada. His term as head of the British central bank doesn't end until June 30, 2019, however, more than a year after Ms. Yellen's term as chairwoman expires. Economists placed just a 0.3% probability on him netting the hat trick of governing the Canadian, U.K. and U.S. central banks.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen's term as Fed chairwoman ends on Feb. 3, 2018. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama. She previously served as Fed vice chairwoman and as president of the San Francisco Fed.</p>
<p>Write to Harriet Torry at [email protected]</p>
<p>Economists place long odds on President Donald Trump nominating Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to a second term, but have little consensus on who might take her place.</p>
<p>A recent Wall Street Journal survey found economists placed a 20.8% average probability on Ms. Yellen getting the nod, the largest share won by anyone named in the poll. While Ms. Yellen isn't expected to be picked, Mr. Trump hasn't ruled it out.</p>
<p>The second most likely candidate, according to the survey respondents, was National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who garnered a 13.7% probability. Mr. Cohn, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. president, is managing the White House's search for a nominee to take the helm when Ms. Yellen's term ends in early February.</p>
<p>Other contenders include Kevin Warsh, a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, to whom economists assigned a 11.5% probability of becoming the next chairman.</p>
<p>Respondents put roughly the same odds, 11.3%, on the top Fed position going to John Taylor, the Stanford University economist who developed an eponymous policy rule for setting short-term interest rates according to a mix of economic variables, including inflation and employment measures.</p>
<p>The Journal surveyed 63 economists in its monthly survey from July 7-11, and asked them to assign probability to candidates from a list of 14 names analysts have mentioned as potential Trump choices to run the Fed. Respondents also could assign probability to someone not on the list. The survey results were an average of their responses, although not every economist submitted estimates or comments for the question.</p>
<p>Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group viewed Ms. Yellen's chances for reappointment as favorable, placing a 40% probability on her renomination, "because her cautious approach to monetary policy has been good for the stock market."</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen has said on numerous occasions that she intends to serve out her current term as chairwoman. When asked if she would accept a request from the president to nominate her for another term during testimony Wednesday, Ms. Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee that the matter of a renomination has "not been something that's come up," but she is prepared to discuss it with the president.</p>
<p>In separate testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Ms. Yellen said she hasn't decided whether she would accept renomination if offered it.</p>
<p>The economists polled assigned some uncertainty to the overall nomination process in their comments, citing the unpredictable nature of the Trump White House so far.</p>
<p>"Who can read President Trump's mind?," said James Smith, chief economist at Parsec Financial.</p>
<p>"Surprise appointments have been Trump's hallmark," Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said.</p>
<p>Further down on the list of potential nominees, with an average 6.5% probability of being chosen, was Columbia University Professor Glenn Hubbard, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Fed governor Jerome Powell garnered 5.6%, while former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher got 4.8%.</p>
<p>The respondents put a 3.9% probability on Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's nominee for chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers who is awaiting Senate confirmation, and at 3.2%. J.P. Morgan Chase &amp; Co. Chief James Dimon.</p>
<p>One wild-card name on the list was Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney, a Canadian who previously ran the Bank of Canada. His term as head of the British central bank doesn't end until June 30, 2019, however, more than a year after Ms. Yellen's term as chairwoman expires. Economists placed just a 0.3% probability on him netting the hat trick of governing the Canadian, U.K. and U.S. central banks.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen's term as Fed chairwoman ends on Feb. 3, 2018. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama. She previously served as Fed vice chairwoman and as president of the San Francisco Fed.</p>
<p>Write to Harriet Torry at [email protected]</p>
<p>Corrections &amp; Amplifications</p>
<p>This article was corrected on Aug. 1, 2017 at 6:35 p.m. ET to show that Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's nominee for chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is awaiting Senate confirmation. The original version incorrectly stated Mr. Hassett is the current chairman.</p>
<p>Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's nominee for chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is awaiting Senate confirmation. "Economists Place One-in-Five Odds of Trump Reappointing Yellen As Fed Chair" at 6:14 a.m. EDT July 14, incorrectly stated Mr. Hassett is the current chairman in the 14th paragraph. (Aug. 1, 2017)</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 01, 2017 18:45 ET (22:45 GMT)</p> | Economists Place One-in-Five Odds of Trump Reappointing Yellen As Fed Chair | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/14/economists-place-one-in-five-odds-trump-reappointing-yellen-as-fed-chair.html | 2017-08-01 | 0right
| Economists Place One-in-Five Odds of Trump Reappointing Yellen As Fed Chair
<p>Economists place long odds on President Donald Trump nominating Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to a second term, but have little consensus on who might take her place.</p>
<p>A recent Wall Street Journal survey found economists placed a 20.8% average probability on Ms. Yellen getting the nod, the largest share won by anyone named in the poll. While Ms. Yellen isn't expected to be picked, Mr. Trump hasn't ruled it out.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The second most likely candidate, according to the survey respondents, was National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who garnered a 13.7% probability. Mr. Cohn, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. president, is managing the White House's search for a nominee to take the helm when Ms. Yellen's term ends in early February.</p>
<p>Other contenders include Kevin Warsh, a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, to whom economists assigned a 11.5% probability of becoming the next chairman.</p>
<p>Respondents put roughly the same odds, 11.3%, on the top Fed position going to John Taylor, the Stanford University economist who developed an eponymous policy rule for setting short-term interest rates according to a mix of economic variables, including inflation and employment measures.</p>
<p>The Journal surveyed 63 economists in its monthly survey from July 7-11, and asked them to assign probability to candidates from a list of 14 names analysts have mentioned as potential Trump choices to run the Fed. Respondents also could assign probability to someone not on the list. The survey results were an average of their responses, although not every economist submitted estimates or comments for the question.</p>
<p>Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group viewed Ms. Yellen's chances for reappointment as favorable, placing a 40% probability on her renomination, "because her cautious approach to monetary policy has been good for the stock market."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen has said on numerous occasions that she intends to serve out her current term as chairwoman. When asked if she would accept a request from the president to nominate her for another term during testimony Wednesday, Ms. Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee that the matter of a renomination has "not been something that's come up," but she is prepared to discuss it with the president.</p>
<p>In separate testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Ms. Yellen said she hasn't decided whether she would accept renomination if offered it.</p>
<p>The economists polled assigned some uncertainty to the overall nomination process in their comments, citing the unpredictable nature of the Trump White House so far.</p>
<p>"Who can read President Trump's mind?," said James Smith, chief economist at Parsec Financial.</p>
<p>"Surprise appointments have been Trump's hallmark," Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said.</p>
<p>Further down on the list of potential nominees, with an average 6.5% probability of being chosen, was Columbia University Professor Glenn Hubbard, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Fed governor Jerome Powell garnered 5.6%, while former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher got 4.8%.</p>
<p>The respondents put a 3.9% probability on Kevin Hassett, current chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and at 3.2%. J.P. Morgan Chase &amp; Co. Chief James Dimon.</p>
<p>One wild-card name on the list was Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney, a Canadian who previously ran the Bank of Canada. His term as head of the British central bank doesn't end until June 30, 2019, however, more than a year after Ms. Yellen's term as chairwoman expires. Economists placed just a 0.3% probability on him netting the hat trick of governing the Canadian, U.K. and U.S. central banks.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen's term as Fed chairwoman ends on Feb. 3, 2018. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama. She previously served as Fed vice chairwoman and as president of the San Francisco Fed.</p>
<p>Write to Harriet Torry at [email protected]</p>
<p>Economists place long odds on President Donald Trump nominating Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to a second term, but have little consensus on who might take her place.</p>
<p>A recent Wall Street Journal survey found economists placed a 20.8% average probability on Ms. Yellen getting the nod, the largest share won by anyone named in the poll. While Ms. Yellen isn't expected to be picked, Mr. Trump hasn't ruled it out.</p>
<p>The second most likely candidate, according to the survey respondents, was National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who garnered a 13.7% probability. Mr. Cohn, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. president, is managing the White House's search for a nominee to take the helm when Ms. Yellen's term ends in early February.</p>
<p>Other contenders include Kevin Warsh, a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, to whom economists assigned a 11.5% probability of becoming the next chairman.</p>
<p>Respondents put roughly the same odds, 11.3%, on the top Fed position going to John Taylor, the Stanford University economist who developed an eponymous policy rule for setting short-term interest rates according to a mix of economic variables, including inflation and employment measures.</p>
<p>The Journal surveyed 63 economists in its monthly survey from July 7-11, and asked them to assign probability to candidates from a list of 14 names analysts have mentioned as potential Trump choices to run the Fed. Respondents also could assign probability to someone not on the list. The survey results were an average of their responses, although not every economist submitted estimates or comments for the question.</p>
<p>Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group viewed Ms. Yellen's chances for reappointment as favorable, placing a 40% probability on her renomination, "because her cautious approach to monetary policy has been good for the stock market."</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen has said on numerous occasions that she intends to serve out her current term as chairwoman. When asked if she would accept a request from the president to nominate her for another term during testimony Wednesday, Ms. Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee that the matter of a renomination has "not been something that's come up," but she is prepared to discuss it with the president.</p>
<p>In separate testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Ms. Yellen said she hasn't decided whether she would accept renomination if offered it.</p>
<p>The economists polled assigned some uncertainty to the overall nomination process in their comments, citing the unpredictable nature of the Trump White House so far.</p>
<p>"Who can read President Trump's mind?," said James Smith, chief economist at Parsec Financial.</p>
<p>"Surprise appointments have been Trump's hallmark," Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said.</p>
<p>Further down on the list of potential nominees, with an average 6.5% probability of being chosen, was Columbia University Professor Glenn Hubbard, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Fed governor Jerome Powell garnered 5.6%, while former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher got 4.8%.</p>
<p>The respondents put a 3.9% probability on Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's nominee for chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers who is awaiting Senate confirmation, and at 3.2%. J.P. Morgan Chase &amp; Co. Chief James Dimon.</p>
<p>One wild-card name on the list was Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney, a Canadian who previously ran the Bank of Canada. His term as head of the British central bank doesn't end until June 30, 2019, however, more than a year after Ms. Yellen's term as chairwoman expires. Economists placed just a 0.3% probability on him netting the hat trick of governing the Canadian, U.K. and U.S. central banks.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen's term as Fed chairwoman ends on Feb. 3, 2018. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama. She previously served as Fed vice chairwoman and as president of the San Francisco Fed.</p>
<p>Write to Harriet Torry at [email protected]</p>
<p>Corrections &amp; Amplifications</p>
<p>This article was corrected on Aug. 1, 2017 at 6:35 p.m. ET to show that Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's nominee for chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is awaiting Senate confirmation. The original version incorrectly stated Mr. Hassett is the current chairman.</p>
<p>Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's nominee for chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is awaiting Senate confirmation. "Economists Place One-in-Five Odds of Trump Reappointing Yellen As Fed Chair" at 6:14 a.m. EDT July 14, incorrectly stated Mr. Hassett is the current chairman in the 14th paragraph. (Aug. 1, 2017)</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 01, 2017 18:45 ET (22:45 GMT)</p> | 599,051 |
<p />
<p>Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The second quarter isn't going to give investors in JPMorgan Chase much to write home about, as analysts are predicting that earnings at the nation's biggest banks will fall in the three months ended June 30.</p>
<p>Among 28 analysts who track JPMorgan Chase, the consensus estimate is that its earnings per share will drop by 7% in the second quarter. It earned $1.54 a share in the year-ago period but is expected to bring in only $1.43 a share this year.</p>
<p>If analysts are right, it will mark the second consecutive quarter in which JPMorgan Chase's net income has contracted on a year-over-year basis. It earned $5.5 billion in the first quarter, which is certainly nothing to shake a stick at. But it was nevertheless meaningfully less than the $5.9 billion it earned in the first quarter of 2015.</p>
<p>The problem for banks right now is threefold. First, concerns about slowing economic growth in China, stubbornly low oil and gas prices, and the United Kingdom's pending departure from the European Union have spurred volatility in asset markets. This reduces revenue in JPMorgan Chase's capital markets divisions -- its trading and investment banking units.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a market maker and an advisor to companies that want to issue debt or equity, JPMorgan Chase earns commissions when its clients buy or sell products in the capital markets -- things like stocks and bonds. But heightened volatility causes many of these clients to stay on the sidelines, thereby weighing on JPMorgan's noninterest income.</p>
<p>We got a taste for this in the first quarter. The New York-based bank's trading revenue fell by 11% in the three months ended March 31. And fees from investment banking declined by 25%.</p>
<p>The good news is that there's reason to believe that trading revenues across the industry won't be as bad this quarter. Jefferies Group, an investment bank owned by Leucadia National, reported last month that its sales and trading revenue increased on a year-over-year basis by 21% in the three months ended May 31.</p>
<p>Additionally, the head of JPMorgan Chase's investment bank, Daniel Pinto, said at a recent industry conference that trading revenue should climb by the mid-teens percentage in the second quarter. The question now, in turn, is whether or not the vote in favor of the Brexit on June 23 will have upset the markets enough to erase these gains. This seems unlikely, given how late in the quarter the Brexit vote occurred -- though there's little question that it will serve as a headwind for the rest of the year.</p>
<p>A second problem banks are confronting are higher loan losses from their energy portfolios. In the first quarter, JPMorgan Chase nearly doubled the amount of money that it sets aside to cover future loan losses, recording a $1.8 billion provision compared to $959 million in the year-ago period. As the bank noted in its press release, the move "reflected an increase in wholesale reserves of $713 million, primarily driven by downgrades, including $529 million in Oil &amp; Gas and Natural Gas Pipelines, and $162 million in Metals &amp; Mining."</p>
<p>The situation looked particularly dire earlier in the year, as oil prices briefly dipped below $30 a barrel. They've since recovered to around $45 a barrel, but that's still 21% lower than they were at this time last year. It thus seems reasonable to assume that JPMorgan Chase's loan loss provisions will stay elevated, as the bank has predicted.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/indicators/brent_crude_oil_spot_price" type="external">Brent Crude Oil Spot Price Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, all banks are laboring against unprecedentedly low interest rates, which weigh on bank earnings by reducing income earned from loan and securities portfolios. While the Federal Reserve was on the verge of raising rates earlier this year, and in fact inched them up by 0.25% last December, it's since abandoned any pretense of further increases.</p>
<p>All banks would benefit from higher rates, but in JPMorgan Chase's case a mere 100-basis-point increase would translate into an estimated $3 billion in additional net interest income. This would go a long way toward helping the nation's biggest bank by assets get its return on equity above the 10% threshold that most banks strive to exceed -- its ROE over the last two quarters was 9%.</p>
<p>In sum, banks are navigating a very inhospitable environment right now, essentially marooned on an island waiting until the weather clears. The silver lining is that shares of JPMorgan Chase are yielding 3.1%, which offers a tempting target to income-seeking investors.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/12/jpmorgan-chase-q2-earnings-preview.aspx" type="external">JPMorgan Chase: Q2 Earnings Preview Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">John Maxfield Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Leucadia National. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | JPMorgan Chase: Q2 Earnings Preview | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/12/jpmorgan-chase-q2-earnings-preview.html | 2016-07-12 | 0right
| JPMorgan Chase: Q2 Earnings Preview
<p />
<p>Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The second quarter isn't going to give investors in JPMorgan Chase much to write home about, as analysts are predicting that earnings at the nation's biggest banks will fall in the three months ended June 30.</p>
<p>Among 28 analysts who track JPMorgan Chase, the consensus estimate is that its earnings per share will drop by 7% in the second quarter. It earned $1.54 a share in the year-ago period but is expected to bring in only $1.43 a share this year.</p>
<p>If analysts are right, it will mark the second consecutive quarter in which JPMorgan Chase's net income has contracted on a year-over-year basis. It earned $5.5 billion in the first quarter, which is certainly nothing to shake a stick at. But it was nevertheless meaningfully less than the $5.9 billion it earned in the first quarter of 2015.</p>
<p>The problem for banks right now is threefold. First, concerns about slowing economic growth in China, stubbornly low oil and gas prices, and the United Kingdom's pending departure from the European Union have spurred volatility in asset markets. This reduces revenue in JPMorgan Chase's capital markets divisions -- its trading and investment banking units.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a market maker and an advisor to companies that want to issue debt or equity, JPMorgan Chase earns commissions when its clients buy or sell products in the capital markets -- things like stocks and bonds. But heightened volatility causes many of these clients to stay on the sidelines, thereby weighing on JPMorgan's noninterest income.</p>
<p>We got a taste for this in the first quarter. The New York-based bank's trading revenue fell by 11% in the three months ended March 31. And fees from investment banking declined by 25%.</p>
<p>The good news is that there's reason to believe that trading revenues across the industry won't be as bad this quarter. Jefferies Group, an investment bank owned by Leucadia National, reported last month that its sales and trading revenue increased on a year-over-year basis by 21% in the three months ended May 31.</p>
<p>Additionally, the head of JPMorgan Chase's investment bank, Daniel Pinto, said at a recent industry conference that trading revenue should climb by the mid-teens percentage in the second quarter. The question now, in turn, is whether or not the vote in favor of the Brexit on June 23 will have upset the markets enough to erase these gains. This seems unlikely, given how late in the quarter the Brexit vote occurred -- though there's little question that it will serve as a headwind for the rest of the year.</p>
<p>A second problem banks are confronting are higher loan losses from their energy portfolios. In the first quarter, JPMorgan Chase nearly doubled the amount of money that it sets aside to cover future loan losses, recording a $1.8 billion provision compared to $959 million in the year-ago period. As the bank noted in its press release, the move "reflected an increase in wholesale reserves of $713 million, primarily driven by downgrades, including $529 million in Oil &amp; Gas and Natural Gas Pipelines, and $162 million in Metals &amp; Mining."</p>
<p>The situation looked particularly dire earlier in the year, as oil prices briefly dipped below $30 a barrel. They've since recovered to around $45 a barrel, but that's still 21% lower than they were at this time last year. It thus seems reasonable to assume that JPMorgan Chase's loan loss provisions will stay elevated, as the bank has predicted.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/indicators/brent_crude_oil_spot_price" type="external">Brent Crude Oil Spot Price Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, all banks are laboring against unprecedentedly low interest rates, which weigh on bank earnings by reducing income earned from loan and securities portfolios. While the Federal Reserve was on the verge of raising rates earlier this year, and in fact inched them up by 0.25% last December, it's since abandoned any pretense of further increases.</p>
<p>All banks would benefit from higher rates, but in JPMorgan Chase's case a mere 100-basis-point increase would translate into an estimated $3 billion in additional net interest income. This would go a long way toward helping the nation's biggest bank by assets get its return on equity above the 10% threshold that most banks strive to exceed -- its ROE over the last two quarters was 9%.</p>
<p>In sum, banks are navigating a very inhospitable environment right now, essentially marooned on an island waiting until the weather clears. The silver lining is that shares of JPMorgan Chase are yielding 3.1%, which offers a tempting target to income-seeking investors.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/12/jpmorgan-chase-q2-earnings-preview.aspx" type="external">JPMorgan Chase: Q2 Earnings Preview Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">John Maxfield Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Leucadia National. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,052 |
<p>Aug. 16 (UPI) — Iraqi warplanes bombed Tal Afar — the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Islamic-State/" type="external">Islamic State</a>‘s last stronghold in northern Iraq — in preparation for a ground assault, defense officials said.</p>
<p>The bombardment has intensified in the past several days, targeting IS headquarters, tunnels and armories. Last month, a senior Iraqi commander and former Tal Afar mayor said that between 1,500 and 2,000 militants and their families remain in the city.</p>
<p>Wednesday, Kurdish Peshmerga troops arrested 30 IS militants <a href="http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/peshmerga-arrest-30-islamic-state-members-near-tal-afar/" type="external">who officials said</a> attempted to escape Tal Afar — which was once the home of 200,000 people — by traveling through Peshmerga-held territory.</p>
<p>Tal Afar is 35 miles west of Mosul, the city recaptured last month from the Islamic State by Iraqi troops who were backed by a U.S.-led force. It is also on a major road between Mosul and the Syrian border, and was once a key IS supply route.</p>
<p>United Nations Humanitarian coordinator Lise Grande said the city faces food and water shortages, adding that escaping civilians must walk up to 20 hours to reach safety.</p>
<p>The Iraqi federal police said special forces and armored military units are grouping in preparation for an assault on Tal Afar. Although it remains unknown when the push will begin, Iraqi Prime Minister <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Haider-al-Abadi/" type="external">Haider al-Abadi</a> has made it clear that the city is their next target.</p>
<p>Federal Police chief Lt. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40947440" type="external">said the units</a> are “regrouping in combat positions.”</p> | Iraqi jets bomb Islamic State stronghold ahead of ground assault | false | https://newsline.com/iraqi-jets-bomb-islamic-state-stronghold-ahead-of-ground-assault/ | 2017-08-16 | 1right-center
| Iraqi jets bomb Islamic State stronghold ahead of ground assault
<p>Aug. 16 (UPI) — Iraqi warplanes bombed Tal Afar — the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Islamic-State/" type="external">Islamic State</a>‘s last stronghold in northern Iraq — in preparation for a ground assault, defense officials said.</p>
<p>The bombardment has intensified in the past several days, targeting IS headquarters, tunnels and armories. Last month, a senior Iraqi commander and former Tal Afar mayor said that between 1,500 and 2,000 militants and their families remain in the city.</p>
<p>Wednesday, Kurdish Peshmerga troops arrested 30 IS militants <a href="http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/peshmerga-arrest-30-islamic-state-members-near-tal-afar/" type="external">who officials said</a> attempted to escape Tal Afar — which was once the home of 200,000 people — by traveling through Peshmerga-held territory.</p>
<p>Tal Afar is 35 miles west of Mosul, the city recaptured last month from the Islamic State by Iraqi troops who were backed by a U.S.-led force. It is also on a major road between Mosul and the Syrian border, and was once a key IS supply route.</p>
<p>United Nations Humanitarian coordinator Lise Grande said the city faces food and water shortages, adding that escaping civilians must walk up to 20 hours to reach safety.</p>
<p>The Iraqi federal police said special forces and armored military units are grouping in preparation for an assault on Tal Afar. Although it remains unknown when the push will begin, Iraqi Prime Minister <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Haider-al-Abadi/" type="external">Haider al-Abadi</a> has made it clear that the city is their next target.</p>
<p>Federal Police chief Lt. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40947440" type="external">said the units</a> are “regrouping in combat positions.”</p> | 599,053 |
<p>The election of Donald Trump has rocked the political landscape, producing a deep sense of fear, mourning, and rage. With reactionary populism not just ascendant but set to assume power over the federal government, the Left must offer a clear alternative capable of defeating Trump’s brand of politics.</p>
<p>The Democratic Party’s strategy — yoking the prospects of some of the most marginalized to a <a href="" type="internal">cosmopolitan professional class</a> and a socially liberal donor base — has failed to even advance a liberal agenda, much less hold back the Republican Party and Donald Trump.</p>
<p>What can the Left offer in its place? What can meet the pressing needs of a population ground down by neoliberal capitalism, while simultaneously producing structures and policies that create a basis for longer-term power?</p>
<p>Socialists and progressives should begin arguing for, and rebuilding, what I call “engines of solidarity.”</p>
<p>Constructing engines of solidarity means moving beyond the liberal view of solidarity as a sympathetic disposition and instead binding people together in relationships of shared material interest. It means ameliorating the brutality of life under capitalism while fashioning a working class that is more structurally unified and in closer political conversation with socialist ideas.</p>
<p>More concretely, it means significantly expanding the welfare state.</p>
<p>Over the years, socialists <a href="https://newleftreview.org/I/122/elizabeth-wilson-marxism-and-the-welfare-state" type="external">have</a> <a href="" type="internal">produced</a> serious critiques of the welfare state under capitalism, and it would be a mistake to ignore the contradictions and limitations of social-democratic reforms. But the fact remains that workers in the advanced capitalist world are socially fragmented and politically alienated, and winning significant social progress is exceedingly difficult without a more united working class.</p>
<p>The welfare state is one of the best and most readily available tools we have to&#160;make&#160;that happen.</p> | Engines of Solidarity | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2016/11/donald-trump-democratic-party-welfare-state/ | 2018-10-04 | 4left
| Engines of Solidarity
<p>The election of Donald Trump has rocked the political landscape, producing a deep sense of fear, mourning, and rage. With reactionary populism not just ascendant but set to assume power over the federal government, the Left must offer a clear alternative capable of defeating Trump’s brand of politics.</p>
<p>The Democratic Party’s strategy — yoking the prospects of some of the most marginalized to a <a href="" type="internal">cosmopolitan professional class</a> and a socially liberal donor base — has failed to even advance a liberal agenda, much less hold back the Republican Party and Donald Trump.</p>
<p>What can the Left offer in its place? What can meet the pressing needs of a population ground down by neoliberal capitalism, while simultaneously producing structures and policies that create a basis for longer-term power?</p>
<p>Socialists and progressives should begin arguing for, and rebuilding, what I call “engines of solidarity.”</p>
<p>Constructing engines of solidarity means moving beyond the liberal view of solidarity as a sympathetic disposition and instead binding people together in relationships of shared material interest. It means ameliorating the brutality of life under capitalism while fashioning a working class that is more structurally unified and in closer political conversation with socialist ideas.</p>
<p>More concretely, it means significantly expanding the welfare state.</p>
<p>Over the years, socialists <a href="https://newleftreview.org/I/122/elizabeth-wilson-marxism-and-the-welfare-state" type="external">have</a> <a href="" type="internal">produced</a> serious critiques of the welfare state under capitalism, and it would be a mistake to ignore the contradictions and limitations of social-democratic reforms. But the fact remains that workers in the advanced capitalist world are socially fragmented and politically alienated, and winning significant social progress is exceedingly difficult without a more united working class.</p>
<p>The welfare state is one of the best and most readily available tools we have to&#160;make&#160;that happen.</p> | 599,054 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces man on trial for fatally shooting his housemate in 2008 has been acquitted of murder charges.</p>
<p>The Las Cruces Sun-News reports jurors on Friday afternoon found 36-year-old James Bogart not guilty of second-degree murder.</p>
<p>Authorities say Bogart shot 30-year-old Jeremy Hernandez inside their Sonoma Ranch home on March 15, 2008, then placed a knife in Hernandez's hand.</p>
<p>Bogart said he was acting in self-defense after Hernandez took a butcher knife with the intention of attacking him. Prosecutors say Bogart made up that story and told Hernandez's wife not to call police because he "tried to save her."</p>
<p>Bogart is awaiting sentencing on a related conviction of evidence tampering.</p>
<p>The jury had deadlocked on the murder charge when the case first went to trial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Cruces man not guilty of murder | false | https://abqjournal.com/379917/cruces-man-not-guilty-of-murder-2.html | 2least
| Cruces man not guilty of murder
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces man on trial for fatally shooting his housemate in 2008 has been acquitted of murder charges.</p>
<p>The Las Cruces Sun-News reports jurors on Friday afternoon found 36-year-old James Bogart not guilty of second-degree murder.</p>
<p>Authorities say Bogart shot 30-year-old Jeremy Hernandez inside their Sonoma Ranch home on March 15, 2008, then placed a knife in Hernandez's hand.</p>
<p>Bogart said he was acting in self-defense after Hernandez took a butcher knife with the intention of attacking him. Prosecutors say Bogart made up that story and told Hernandez's wife not to call police because he "tried to save her."</p>
<p>Bogart is awaiting sentencing on a related conviction of evidence tampering.</p>
<p>The jury had deadlocked on the murder charge when the case first went to trial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,055 |
|
<p>COPPEROPOLIS, Calif. (AP) — The four young men had just started their marijuana harvest in rural Northern California when a dozen sheriff's deputies swooped in with guns drawn, arrested them and spent the day chopping down 150 bushy plants with machetes.</p>
<p>"I could do this every day if I had the personnel," Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said during the operation near the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Copperopolis, about two hours east of San Francisco.</p>
<p>Authorities this year have cut down close to 30,000 plants grown without permits in a county that is reconsidering its embrace of marijuana cultivation ahead of statewide legalization.</p>
<p>"There are just so many of them," the sheriff said of the illegal farms. "It's never-ending."</p>
<p>Marijuana has deeply divided financially strapped Calaveras County, among many where growers are increasingly open about their operations and are starting to encroach on neighborhoods.</p>
<p>DiBasilio estimates the county — population 44,000 and about the size of Rhode Island — has more than 1,000 illegal farms in addition to the hundreds with permits or in the process of obtaining them. The influx has caused a backlash among residents and led to the ouster of some leaders who approved marijuana cultivation.</p>
<p>Pot farmers operating legally, meanwhile, say they are helping the local economy and have threatened to sue over attempts to stop them.</p>
<p>California is set to issue licenses in January to grow, transport and sell weed for recreational purposes, nearly 20 years after the state first authorized the drug's consumption with a doctor's recommendation.</p>
<p>Farmers can legally grow marijuana for recreational consumption next year but are required to get a local permit before applying for a state license, which has sparked a boom in pot-friendly counties.</p>
<p>Calaveras County legalized medical marijuana cultivation last year, seeking to tax the hundreds of farms that popped up in the region after a 2015 wildfire destroyed more than 500 homes.</p>
<p>County officials expected to receive about 250 applications by the 2016 deadline. They got 770. About 200 applications have been approved, a similar number rejected, and the others are still being processed.</p>
<p>The sheriff gets some of the nearly $10 million in fees and taxes paid by legal farmers to crack down on illegal grows, many of which the department has mapped from the air.</p>
<p>The new pot farms have brought a bustling industry that includes the sounds of generators, bright lights illuminating gardens at night, water trucks kicking up dust on their way to grows, the distinct odor of marijuana, and tents, trailers and other temporary housing for migrant workers.</p>
<p>Local hardware stores' gardening sections are now stocked with pot farming supplies.</p>
<p>Law enforcement officials say they have raided farms where they have found pesticides that are banned in the U.S.</p>
<p>"It has changed our way of life," said Bill McManus, head of an organization seeking to ban marijuana in Calaveras County. "The environmental impacts are atrocious."</p>
<p>To the north, even the fabled pot-growing mecca known as the Emerald Triangle has been thrown into political turmoil as more farmers set up shop ahead of legalization.</p>
<p>The California Growers Association estimates about 3,500 farmers in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties have applied for local permits and will be in a position to receive state licenses. An additional 29,000 farmers there haven't bothered with the paperwork, according to the group.</p>
<p>Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman complained that local laws allowing cultivation are too "gentle" and attract violent crime, including a farmworker's recent homicide.</p>
<p>In Siskiyou County, leaders declared a state of emergency and called on Gov. Jerry Brown to help with an influx of marijuana farmers, who have snatched up inexpensive land even though pot cultivation is illegal there. Two growers were arrested and charged with offering Sheriff Jon Lopey $1 million to leave their farms alone.</p>
<p>"That's all you need to know about the type of money involved," Lopey said. "This isn't confined to the state. There's a big market outside of California they are supplying."</p>
<p>In Calaveras County, voters in January replaced four of the five supervisors who voted to legalize marijuana. The new majority has vowed to repeal legalization and institute a strict ban. But a formal vote has been delayed several times amid threats of lawsuits from farmers.</p>
<p>"So much of this is a cultural war," grower Beth Witke said. "I'm tired of being demoralized by the ban supporters."</p>
<p>Witke and other farmers argue they create good-paying jobs for young adults who otherwise would leave the county for the San Francisco Bay Area. She is among a handful of growers who operated quietly in Calaveras County for decades, attracted by the region's climate and proximity to the Bay Area.</p>
<p>But the devastating 2015 wildfire helped launch the county's green rush. The fire leveled subdivisions and wooded areas, turning them into attractive farmland. Former homeowners sold their flattened lots to outside growers armed with cash and betting the county would issue permits to grow.</p>
<p>Mark Bolger received the first permit. He said a ban would drive out him and his dozen workers.</p>
<p>"I'm trying to do the right thing," Bolger said. "But the first guy through the door always gets shot."</p>
<p>The sheriff said he's focused on farmers who have never applied for a permit or who grow despite a rejected application. This year, he has raided about 40 farms and seized close to 30,000 plants.</p>
<p>In late September, deputies raided two farms that share a waterline west of Copperopolis and removed more than 300 plants. Three of the four farmers arrested were new arrivals from Minnesota. All four tended to another plot deputies raided in August.</p>
<p>They were cited and released. One of them — Ryu Lee, 22, of Redding — told deputies taking him to jail that he would return regardless of whether a ban was enacted.</p>
<p>"I'll see you next year," Lee said.</p>
<p>COPPEROPOLIS, Calif. (AP) — The four young men had just started their marijuana harvest in rural Northern California when a dozen sheriff's deputies swooped in with guns drawn, arrested them and spent the day chopping down 150 bushy plants with machetes.</p>
<p>"I could do this every day if I had the personnel," Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said during the operation near the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Copperopolis, about two hours east of San Francisco.</p>
<p>Authorities this year have cut down close to 30,000 plants grown without permits in a county that is reconsidering its embrace of marijuana cultivation ahead of statewide legalization.</p>
<p>"There are just so many of them," the sheriff said of the illegal farms. "It's never-ending."</p>
<p>Marijuana has deeply divided financially strapped Calaveras County, among many where growers are increasingly open about their operations and are starting to encroach on neighborhoods.</p>
<p>DiBasilio estimates the county — population 44,000 and about the size of Rhode Island — has more than 1,000 illegal farms in addition to the hundreds with permits or in the process of obtaining them. The influx has caused a backlash among residents and led to the ouster of some leaders who approved marijuana cultivation.</p>
<p>Pot farmers operating legally, meanwhile, say they are helping the local economy and have threatened to sue over attempts to stop them.</p>
<p>California is set to issue licenses in January to grow, transport and sell weed for recreational purposes, nearly 20 years after the state first authorized the drug's consumption with a doctor's recommendation.</p>
<p>Farmers can legally grow marijuana for recreational consumption next year but are required to get a local permit before applying for a state license, which has sparked a boom in pot-friendly counties.</p>
<p>Calaveras County legalized medical marijuana cultivation last year, seeking to tax the hundreds of farms that popped up in the region after a 2015 wildfire destroyed more than 500 homes.</p>
<p>County officials expected to receive about 250 applications by the 2016 deadline. They got 770. About 200 applications have been approved, a similar number rejected, and the others are still being processed.</p>
<p>The sheriff gets some of the nearly $10 million in fees and taxes paid by legal farmers to crack down on illegal grows, many of which the department has mapped from the air.</p>
<p>The new pot farms have brought a bustling industry that includes the sounds of generators, bright lights illuminating gardens at night, water trucks kicking up dust on their way to grows, the distinct odor of marijuana, and tents, trailers and other temporary housing for migrant workers.</p>
<p>Local hardware stores' gardening sections are now stocked with pot farming supplies.</p>
<p>Law enforcement officials say they have raided farms where they have found pesticides that are banned in the U.S.</p>
<p>"It has changed our way of life," said Bill McManus, head of an organization seeking to ban marijuana in Calaveras County. "The environmental impacts are atrocious."</p>
<p>To the north, even the fabled pot-growing mecca known as the Emerald Triangle has been thrown into political turmoil as more farmers set up shop ahead of legalization.</p>
<p>The California Growers Association estimates about 3,500 farmers in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties have applied for local permits and will be in a position to receive state licenses. An additional 29,000 farmers there haven't bothered with the paperwork, according to the group.</p>
<p>Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman complained that local laws allowing cultivation are too "gentle" and attract violent crime, including a farmworker's recent homicide.</p>
<p>In Siskiyou County, leaders declared a state of emergency and called on Gov. Jerry Brown to help with an influx of marijuana farmers, who have snatched up inexpensive land even though pot cultivation is illegal there. Two growers were arrested and charged with offering Sheriff Jon Lopey $1 million to leave their farms alone.</p>
<p>"That's all you need to know about the type of money involved," Lopey said. "This isn't confined to the state. There's a big market outside of California they are supplying."</p>
<p>In Calaveras County, voters in January replaced four of the five supervisors who voted to legalize marijuana. The new majority has vowed to repeal legalization and institute a strict ban. But a formal vote has been delayed several times amid threats of lawsuits from farmers.</p>
<p>"So much of this is a cultural war," grower Beth Witke said. "I'm tired of being demoralized by the ban supporters."</p>
<p>Witke and other farmers argue they create good-paying jobs for young adults who otherwise would leave the county for the San Francisco Bay Area. She is among a handful of growers who operated quietly in Calaveras County for decades, attracted by the region's climate and proximity to the Bay Area.</p>
<p>But the devastating 2015 wildfire helped launch the county's green rush. The fire leveled subdivisions and wooded areas, turning them into attractive farmland. Former homeowners sold their flattened lots to outside growers armed with cash and betting the county would issue permits to grow.</p>
<p>Mark Bolger received the first permit. He said a ban would drive out him and his dozen workers.</p>
<p>"I'm trying to do the right thing," Bolger said. "But the first guy through the door always gets shot."</p>
<p>The sheriff said he's focused on farmers who have never applied for a permit or who grow despite a rejected application. This year, he has raided about 40 farms and seized close to 30,000 plants.</p>
<p>In late September, deputies raided two farms that share a waterline west of Copperopolis and removed more than 300 plants. Three of the four farmers arrested were new arrivals from Minnesota. All four tended to another plot deputies raided in August.</p>
<p>They were cited and released. One of them — Ryu Lee, 22, of Redding — told deputies taking him to jail that he would return regardless of whether a ban was enacted.</p>
<p>"I'll see you next year," Lee said.</p> | Rush of pot grows splits rural California before legal sales | false | https://apnews.com/amp/7f8506264dff435eb8edf86ac3aeb38c | 2017-11-24 | 2least
| Rush of pot grows splits rural California before legal sales
<p>COPPEROPOLIS, Calif. (AP) — The four young men had just started their marijuana harvest in rural Northern California when a dozen sheriff's deputies swooped in with guns drawn, arrested them and spent the day chopping down 150 bushy plants with machetes.</p>
<p>"I could do this every day if I had the personnel," Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said during the operation near the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Copperopolis, about two hours east of San Francisco.</p>
<p>Authorities this year have cut down close to 30,000 plants grown without permits in a county that is reconsidering its embrace of marijuana cultivation ahead of statewide legalization.</p>
<p>"There are just so many of them," the sheriff said of the illegal farms. "It's never-ending."</p>
<p>Marijuana has deeply divided financially strapped Calaveras County, among many where growers are increasingly open about their operations and are starting to encroach on neighborhoods.</p>
<p>DiBasilio estimates the county — population 44,000 and about the size of Rhode Island — has more than 1,000 illegal farms in addition to the hundreds with permits or in the process of obtaining them. The influx has caused a backlash among residents and led to the ouster of some leaders who approved marijuana cultivation.</p>
<p>Pot farmers operating legally, meanwhile, say they are helping the local economy and have threatened to sue over attempts to stop them.</p>
<p>California is set to issue licenses in January to grow, transport and sell weed for recreational purposes, nearly 20 years after the state first authorized the drug's consumption with a doctor's recommendation.</p>
<p>Farmers can legally grow marijuana for recreational consumption next year but are required to get a local permit before applying for a state license, which has sparked a boom in pot-friendly counties.</p>
<p>Calaveras County legalized medical marijuana cultivation last year, seeking to tax the hundreds of farms that popped up in the region after a 2015 wildfire destroyed more than 500 homes.</p>
<p>County officials expected to receive about 250 applications by the 2016 deadline. They got 770. About 200 applications have been approved, a similar number rejected, and the others are still being processed.</p>
<p>The sheriff gets some of the nearly $10 million in fees and taxes paid by legal farmers to crack down on illegal grows, many of which the department has mapped from the air.</p>
<p>The new pot farms have brought a bustling industry that includes the sounds of generators, bright lights illuminating gardens at night, water trucks kicking up dust on their way to grows, the distinct odor of marijuana, and tents, trailers and other temporary housing for migrant workers.</p>
<p>Local hardware stores' gardening sections are now stocked with pot farming supplies.</p>
<p>Law enforcement officials say they have raided farms where they have found pesticides that are banned in the U.S.</p>
<p>"It has changed our way of life," said Bill McManus, head of an organization seeking to ban marijuana in Calaveras County. "The environmental impacts are atrocious."</p>
<p>To the north, even the fabled pot-growing mecca known as the Emerald Triangle has been thrown into political turmoil as more farmers set up shop ahead of legalization.</p>
<p>The California Growers Association estimates about 3,500 farmers in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties have applied for local permits and will be in a position to receive state licenses. An additional 29,000 farmers there haven't bothered with the paperwork, according to the group.</p>
<p>Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman complained that local laws allowing cultivation are too "gentle" and attract violent crime, including a farmworker's recent homicide.</p>
<p>In Siskiyou County, leaders declared a state of emergency and called on Gov. Jerry Brown to help with an influx of marijuana farmers, who have snatched up inexpensive land even though pot cultivation is illegal there. Two growers were arrested and charged with offering Sheriff Jon Lopey $1 million to leave their farms alone.</p>
<p>"That's all you need to know about the type of money involved," Lopey said. "This isn't confined to the state. There's a big market outside of California they are supplying."</p>
<p>In Calaveras County, voters in January replaced four of the five supervisors who voted to legalize marijuana. The new majority has vowed to repeal legalization and institute a strict ban. But a formal vote has been delayed several times amid threats of lawsuits from farmers.</p>
<p>"So much of this is a cultural war," grower Beth Witke said. "I'm tired of being demoralized by the ban supporters."</p>
<p>Witke and other farmers argue they create good-paying jobs for young adults who otherwise would leave the county for the San Francisco Bay Area. She is among a handful of growers who operated quietly in Calaveras County for decades, attracted by the region's climate and proximity to the Bay Area.</p>
<p>But the devastating 2015 wildfire helped launch the county's green rush. The fire leveled subdivisions and wooded areas, turning them into attractive farmland. Former homeowners sold their flattened lots to outside growers armed with cash and betting the county would issue permits to grow.</p>
<p>Mark Bolger received the first permit. He said a ban would drive out him and his dozen workers.</p>
<p>"I'm trying to do the right thing," Bolger said. "But the first guy through the door always gets shot."</p>
<p>The sheriff said he's focused on farmers who have never applied for a permit or who grow despite a rejected application. This year, he has raided about 40 farms and seized close to 30,000 plants.</p>
<p>In late September, deputies raided two farms that share a waterline west of Copperopolis and removed more than 300 plants. Three of the four farmers arrested were new arrivals from Minnesota. All four tended to another plot deputies raided in August.</p>
<p>They were cited and released. One of them — Ryu Lee, 22, of Redding — told deputies taking him to jail that he would return regardless of whether a ban was enacted.</p>
<p>"I'll see you next year," Lee said.</p>
<p>COPPEROPOLIS, Calif. (AP) — The four young men had just started their marijuana harvest in rural Northern California when a dozen sheriff's deputies swooped in with guns drawn, arrested them and spent the day chopping down 150 bushy plants with machetes.</p>
<p>"I could do this every day if I had the personnel," Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said during the operation near the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Copperopolis, about two hours east of San Francisco.</p>
<p>Authorities this year have cut down close to 30,000 plants grown without permits in a county that is reconsidering its embrace of marijuana cultivation ahead of statewide legalization.</p>
<p>"There are just so many of them," the sheriff said of the illegal farms. "It's never-ending."</p>
<p>Marijuana has deeply divided financially strapped Calaveras County, among many where growers are increasingly open about their operations and are starting to encroach on neighborhoods.</p>
<p>DiBasilio estimates the county — population 44,000 and about the size of Rhode Island — has more than 1,000 illegal farms in addition to the hundreds with permits or in the process of obtaining them. The influx has caused a backlash among residents and led to the ouster of some leaders who approved marijuana cultivation.</p>
<p>Pot farmers operating legally, meanwhile, say they are helping the local economy and have threatened to sue over attempts to stop them.</p>
<p>California is set to issue licenses in January to grow, transport and sell weed for recreational purposes, nearly 20 years after the state first authorized the drug's consumption with a doctor's recommendation.</p>
<p>Farmers can legally grow marijuana for recreational consumption next year but are required to get a local permit before applying for a state license, which has sparked a boom in pot-friendly counties.</p>
<p>Calaveras County legalized medical marijuana cultivation last year, seeking to tax the hundreds of farms that popped up in the region after a 2015 wildfire destroyed more than 500 homes.</p>
<p>County officials expected to receive about 250 applications by the 2016 deadline. They got 770. About 200 applications have been approved, a similar number rejected, and the others are still being processed.</p>
<p>The sheriff gets some of the nearly $10 million in fees and taxes paid by legal farmers to crack down on illegal grows, many of which the department has mapped from the air.</p>
<p>The new pot farms have brought a bustling industry that includes the sounds of generators, bright lights illuminating gardens at night, water trucks kicking up dust on their way to grows, the distinct odor of marijuana, and tents, trailers and other temporary housing for migrant workers.</p>
<p>Local hardware stores' gardening sections are now stocked with pot farming supplies.</p>
<p>Law enforcement officials say they have raided farms where they have found pesticides that are banned in the U.S.</p>
<p>"It has changed our way of life," said Bill McManus, head of an organization seeking to ban marijuana in Calaveras County. "The environmental impacts are atrocious."</p>
<p>To the north, even the fabled pot-growing mecca known as the Emerald Triangle has been thrown into political turmoil as more farmers set up shop ahead of legalization.</p>
<p>The California Growers Association estimates about 3,500 farmers in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties have applied for local permits and will be in a position to receive state licenses. An additional 29,000 farmers there haven't bothered with the paperwork, according to the group.</p>
<p>Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman complained that local laws allowing cultivation are too "gentle" and attract violent crime, including a farmworker's recent homicide.</p>
<p>In Siskiyou County, leaders declared a state of emergency and called on Gov. Jerry Brown to help with an influx of marijuana farmers, who have snatched up inexpensive land even though pot cultivation is illegal there. Two growers were arrested and charged with offering Sheriff Jon Lopey $1 million to leave their farms alone.</p>
<p>"That's all you need to know about the type of money involved," Lopey said. "This isn't confined to the state. There's a big market outside of California they are supplying."</p>
<p>In Calaveras County, voters in January replaced four of the five supervisors who voted to legalize marijuana. The new majority has vowed to repeal legalization and institute a strict ban. But a formal vote has been delayed several times amid threats of lawsuits from farmers.</p>
<p>"So much of this is a cultural war," grower Beth Witke said. "I'm tired of being demoralized by the ban supporters."</p>
<p>Witke and other farmers argue they create good-paying jobs for young adults who otherwise would leave the county for the San Francisco Bay Area. She is among a handful of growers who operated quietly in Calaveras County for decades, attracted by the region's climate and proximity to the Bay Area.</p>
<p>But the devastating 2015 wildfire helped launch the county's green rush. The fire leveled subdivisions and wooded areas, turning them into attractive farmland. Former homeowners sold their flattened lots to outside growers armed with cash and betting the county would issue permits to grow.</p>
<p>Mark Bolger received the first permit. He said a ban would drive out him and his dozen workers.</p>
<p>"I'm trying to do the right thing," Bolger said. "But the first guy through the door always gets shot."</p>
<p>The sheriff said he's focused on farmers who have never applied for a permit or who grow despite a rejected application. This year, he has raided about 40 farms and seized close to 30,000 plants.</p>
<p>In late September, deputies raided two farms that share a waterline west of Copperopolis and removed more than 300 plants. Three of the four farmers arrested were new arrivals from Minnesota. All four tended to another plot deputies raided in August.</p>
<p>They were cited and released. One of them — Ryu Lee, 22, of Redding — told deputies taking him to jail that he would return regardless of whether a ban was enacted.</p>
<p>"I'll see you next year," Lee said.</p> | 599,056 |
<p>Dov Hikind, a New York assemblyman, has apologized for wearing blackface to a party at his house after at first defending it, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5b1b8c411bc546f9895b8336cc7a02e9.html" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>The Democratic lawmaker, who is Jewish, said his brown makeup, Afro wig and oversize basketball jersey were part of a “black basketball player” costume he put together for a party for the Jewish holiday of Purim, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/nyregion/hikind-defends-wearing-blackface-to-purim-party.html" type="external">New York Times reported</a>. People often wear costumes to Purim celebrations.</p>
<p>Hikind’s colleagues and others were quick to criticize him after Hikind’s son posted a photograph of his father in costume on Facebook, the New York Times reported.</p>
<p>Assemblyman Karim Camara, the chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, noted that blackface “has a very painful history to many people,” the New York Times reported. “A lot of black leaders and clergy — elected officials, everyday citizens — were very upset or offended, and had a lot of questions as to, from their point of view, how could someone be so insensitive,” he said.</p>
<p>Hikind defended himself in a post on his personal blog, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/02/26/blackface_assemblyman_is_it_ok_if_i.php" type="external">Gothamist reported</a>. "Yes, I wore a costume on Purim and hosted a party,” he wrote. “Most of the people who attended also wore costumes. Everywhere that Purim was being celebrated, people wore costumes. It was Purim. People dress up.”</p>
<p>"A lot of people just don’t realize, on Purim, in a sense, forgive me for saying this, you do crazy stuff,” he told the New York Times. “It’s not done, God forbid, to laugh, to mock, to hurt, to pain anyone.”</p>
<p>But later, at a press conference outside his Brooklyn home, he promised to be "a little more careful, a little more sensitive” in the future, the AP reported.</p>
<p>Earlier in February, Hikind had called out fashion designer John Galliano, who has been captured on video making anti-Semitic remarks, for appearing in New York City dressed in Hasidic garb, including a long jacket and long sidelocks, the AP reported.</p>
<p>"If it was just anyone else, I wouldn't know what to say,” Hikind told the New York Post at the time, according to the AP. “But considering who this guy is, considering his background and what he's said in the past, let him explain it to all of us: Are you mocking us?"</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/benelux/091201/black-pete-saint-nicholas-holland" type="external">Santa's little blackface helper</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Dov Hikind, New York assemblyman, apologizes for wearing blackface to party | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-02-27/dov-hikind-new-york-assemblyman-apologizes-wearing-blackface-party | 2013-02-27 | 3left-center
| Dov Hikind, New York assemblyman, apologizes for wearing blackface to party
<p>Dov Hikind, a New York assemblyman, has apologized for wearing blackface to a party at his house after at first defending it, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5b1b8c411bc546f9895b8336cc7a02e9.html" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>The Democratic lawmaker, who is Jewish, said his brown makeup, Afro wig and oversize basketball jersey were part of a “black basketball player” costume he put together for a party for the Jewish holiday of Purim, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/nyregion/hikind-defends-wearing-blackface-to-purim-party.html" type="external">New York Times reported</a>. People often wear costumes to Purim celebrations.</p>
<p>Hikind’s colleagues and others were quick to criticize him after Hikind’s son posted a photograph of his father in costume on Facebook, the New York Times reported.</p>
<p>Assemblyman Karim Camara, the chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, noted that blackface “has a very painful history to many people,” the New York Times reported. “A lot of black leaders and clergy — elected officials, everyday citizens — were very upset or offended, and had a lot of questions as to, from their point of view, how could someone be so insensitive,” he said.</p>
<p>Hikind defended himself in a post on his personal blog, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/02/26/blackface_assemblyman_is_it_ok_if_i.php" type="external">Gothamist reported</a>. "Yes, I wore a costume on Purim and hosted a party,” he wrote. “Most of the people who attended also wore costumes. Everywhere that Purim was being celebrated, people wore costumes. It was Purim. People dress up.”</p>
<p>"A lot of people just don’t realize, on Purim, in a sense, forgive me for saying this, you do crazy stuff,” he told the New York Times. “It’s not done, God forbid, to laugh, to mock, to hurt, to pain anyone.”</p>
<p>But later, at a press conference outside his Brooklyn home, he promised to be "a little more careful, a little more sensitive” in the future, the AP reported.</p>
<p>Earlier in February, Hikind had called out fashion designer John Galliano, who has been captured on video making anti-Semitic remarks, for appearing in New York City dressed in Hasidic garb, including a long jacket and long sidelocks, the AP reported.</p>
<p>"If it was just anyone else, I wouldn't know what to say,” Hikind told the New York Post at the time, according to the AP. “But considering who this guy is, considering his background and what he's said in the past, let him explain it to all of us: Are you mocking us?"</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/benelux/091201/black-pete-saint-nicholas-holland" type="external">Santa's little blackface helper</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,057 |
<p>GX_GR110</p>
<p>Springfield, IL Fri, Sep 29, 2017 USDA-IL Dept of Ag Market News</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Chicago Terminal Grain Report</p>
<p>To Arrive Truck and Rail Bids for Grain Delivered to Chicago. The</p>
<p>following quotations represent Bids ($/ bu) from Terminal Elevators,</p>
<p>Processors, Mills, and Merchandisers after 1:30 p.m. today.</p>
<p>Grain Bids Delivery Change Basis Change</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>SRW Wheat 4.2825-4.3825 30 Days DN 6.75 -20Z to -10Z UNCH</p>
<p>Soybeans 9.3225-9.3425 Spot UP 8.75 -36X to -34X UNCH</p>
<p>Soybeans 9.3225-9.3425 15-30 Days UP 8.75 -36X to -34X UNCH</p>
<p>Terminal Elevator Bids</p>
<p>Corn 3.2025-3.2225 Spot UP 2.75 -35Z to -33Z UNCH</p>
<p>Corn 3.2025-3.2225 15-30 Days UP 2.75 -35Z to -33Z UNCH</p>
<p>Processor Bids</p>
<p>Corn 3.3025-3.3525 Spot UP 2.75 -25Z to -20Z UNCH</p>
<p>Corn 3.3025-3.4025 15-30 Days UP 2.75 -25Z to -15Z UNCH</p>
<p>Changes are cents per bushel. Spot = up to 15 days</p>
<p>Soybeans = US 1 Yellow; Corn = US 2 Yellow</p>
<p>Chicago Board of Trade month symbols: F January, G February, H March, J April,</p>
<p>K May, M June, N July, Q August, U September, V October, X November, Z December</p>
<p>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Monthly Prices for: August 2017</p>
<p>SRW Wheat 4.1170</p>
<p>Processor Corn (Spot) 3.3575</p>
<p>Terminal Corn (Spot) 3.2692</p>
<p>Soybeans (Spot) 9.2816</p>
<p>Source: USDA-IL Dept of Ag Market News Service, Springfield, IL</p>
<p>David Humphreys 217-782-4925 [email protected]</p>
<p>In state only toll free 888-458-4787</p>
<p>www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/gx_gr110.txt</p>
<p>www.ams.usda.gov/LPSMarketNewsPage</p>
<p>1416C dh</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 29, 2017 15:35 ET (19:35 GMT)</p> | USDA Chicago Terminal Grain - Sep 29 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/29/usda-chicago-terminal-grain-sep-29.html | 2017-09-29 | 0right
| USDA Chicago Terminal Grain - Sep 29
<p>GX_GR110</p>
<p>Springfield, IL Fri, Sep 29, 2017 USDA-IL Dept of Ag Market News</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Chicago Terminal Grain Report</p>
<p>To Arrive Truck and Rail Bids for Grain Delivered to Chicago. The</p>
<p>following quotations represent Bids ($/ bu) from Terminal Elevators,</p>
<p>Processors, Mills, and Merchandisers after 1:30 p.m. today.</p>
<p>Grain Bids Delivery Change Basis Change</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>SRW Wheat 4.2825-4.3825 30 Days DN 6.75 -20Z to -10Z UNCH</p>
<p>Soybeans 9.3225-9.3425 Spot UP 8.75 -36X to -34X UNCH</p>
<p>Soybeans 9.3225-9.3425 15-30 Days UP 8.75 -36X to -34X UNCH</p>
<p>Terminal Elevator Bids</p>
<p>Corn 3.2025-3.2225 Spot UP 2.75 -35Z to -33Z UNCH</p>
<p>Corn 3.2025-3.2225 15-30 Days UP 2.75 -35Z to -33Z UNCH</p>
<p>Processor Bids</p>
<p>Corn 3.3025-3.3525 Spot UP 2.75 -25Z to -20Z UNCH</p>
<p>Corn 3.3025-3.4025 15-30 Days UP 2.75 -25Z to -15Z UNCH</p>
<p>Changes are cents per bushel. Spot = up to 15 days</p>
<p>Soybeans = US 1 Yellow; Corn = US 2 Yellow</p>
<p>Chicago Board of Trade month symbols: F January, G February, H March, J April,</p>
<p>K May, M June, N July, Q August, U September, V October, X November, Z December</p>
<p>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Monthly Prices for: August 2017</p>
<p>SRW Wheat 4.1170</p>
<p>Processor Corn (Spot) 3.3575</p>
<p>Terminal Corn (Spot) 3.2692</p>
<p>Soybeans (Spot) 9.2816</p>
<p>Source: USDA-IL Dept of Ag Market News Service, Springfield, IL</p>
<p>David Humphreys 217-782-4925 [email protected]</p>
<p>In state only toll free 888-458-4787</p>
<p>www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/gx_gr110.txt</p>
<p>www.ams.usda.gov/LPSMarketNewsPage</p>
<p>1416C dh</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 29, 2017 15:35 ET (19:35 GMT)</p> | 599,058 |
<p>According to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/donald-trump-rnc-support-226987" type="external">Politico</a>, GOP leaders are privately admitting to various outlets that the party is readying a move to transfer its focus and finances from aiding Donald Trump’s increasingly troubled campaign to buttressing the Senate and congressional campaigns that must be won to prevent a complete takeover of the government by the Democratic Party.</p>
<p>Politico reports that Sean Spicer, the RNC’s top strategist, addressed 14 political reporters he invited to GOP headquarters to alert them of the incipient change; intimating that the Republican National Committee has done more to help Trump than it did in 2012 to help 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, and that Trump’s poor position in the polls was his own fault and the party was not culpable.</p>
<p>Reporters from Politico and BuzzFeed were not invited to the meeting with Spicer, but sources told Politico that Spicer showed all the support the RNC had offered to candidates in swing states and delineated how the party’s infrastructure is actually stronger now than ever.</p>
<p>One source said Spicer wanted reporters to know that the RNC has “all these staffers out there working and knocking on doors, with a data system they believe rivals what Obama build in 2012 — so it’s not their fault.” Spicer apparently defended RNC chairman Reince Priebus, asserting that he has been calling Trump “five or six times a day” to urge him to be more disciplined.</p>
<p>Spicer said the rubber-meets-the-road date for a split from Trump may arrive in mid-October, but operatives with knowledge of the RNC leadership are arguing for an earlier deadline than that. One RNC member said privately:</p>
<p>Early voting in Ohio starts in a few weeks, there’s a 45-day window for absentee voters, so mid-September would probably be the latest the RNC could redeploy assets and have any real impact. The only thing you could change in mid-October would be to shift some TV ads, maybe try to prop up Senate candidates in tough races like [Rob] Portman, [Marco] Rubio and [Pat] Toomey.</p>
<p>It is critical for the RNC to throw its weight into the Senate races; according to RealClearPolitics averages, Portman has a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/oh/ohio_senate_portman_vs_strickland-5386.html" type="external">5.8% lead</a> in Ohio; Rubio currently has a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/fl/florida_senate_rubio_vs_murphy-5222.html" type="external">4.3% lead</a> in Florida; but Toomey <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/pa/pennsylvania_senate_toomey_vs_mcginty-5074.html" type="external">trails by 2.6%</a> in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Kelly Ayotte is <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/nh/new_hampshire_senate_ayotte_vs_hassan-3862.html" type="external">neck-and-neck</a> in New Hampshire, trailing by 1.0%. If the GOP hangs on to those seats, the party will keep the Senate.</p>
<p>A high-level GOP strategist echoed: “The party committee has this same job every cycle, to employ limited resources to maximum effect at the ballot box. ... And that means not pouring precious resources into dysfunctional, noncooperative, losing campaigns.”</p>
<p>But Spicer, when queried by Politico, stressed that an earlier cut-off date would be counterproductive, arguing that Trump is bringing money into the campaign: “When I’ve gotten these questions, I’ve been correcting the record. There is no talk of shifting resources in mid-August and it’s unlikely that would happen until late September or October.”</p>
<p>“The party committee has this same job every cycle, to employ limited resources to maximum effect at the ballot box. ... And that means not pouring precious resources into dysfunctional, noncooperative, losing campaigns.”</p>
<p>GOP strategist</p>
<p>A new factor roiling the waters between the Trump campaign and the RNC: the Trump campaign has decided to spend its time pursuing Colorado and Virginia, both of which currently show huge leads for Hillary Clinton, and Connecticut, a Democrat stronghold that happens to be close to home for Trump, necessitating less travel. One RNC member told Politico, “He has shown no interest in doing the tough demographic work that’s necessary in campaigns. You don't see them trying to talk to independent women, educated Hispanics; and beyond that, it’s an issue of strategic staffing. I don’t think he understands how presidential campaigns are won. The senior staff gets it, but the true believers outnumber them.”</p> | Uh-Oh: Will RNC Cut Money To Trump? | true | https://dailywire.com/news/8356/uh-oh-will-rnc-cut-money-trump-hank-berrien | 2016-08-14 | 0right
| Uh-Oh: Will RNC Cut Money To Trump?
<p>According to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/donald-trump-rnc-support-226987" type="external">Politico</a>, GOP leaders are privately admitting to various outlets that the party is readying a move to transfer its focus and finances from aiding Donald Trump’s increasingly troubled campaign to buttressing the Senate and congressional campaigns that must be won to prevent a complete takeover of the government by the Democratic Party.</p>
<p>Politico reports that Sean Spicer, the RNC’s top strategist, addressed 14 political reporters he invited to GOP headquarters to alert them of the incipient change; intimating that the Republican National Committee has done more to help Trump than it did in 2012 to help 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, and that Trump’s poor position in the polls was his own fault and the party was not culpable.</p>
<p>Reporters from Politico and BuzzFeed were not invited to the meeting with Spicer, but sources told Politico that Spicer showed all the support the RNC had offered to candidates in swing states and delineated how the party’s infrastructure is actually stronger now than ever.</p>
<p>One source said Spicer wanted reporters to know that the RNC has “all these staffers out there working and knocking on doors, with a data system they believe rivals what Obama build in 2012 — so it’s not their fault.” Spicer apparently defended RNC chairman Reince Priebus, asserting that he has been calling Trump “five or six times a day” to urge him to be more disciplined.</p>
<p>Spicer said the rubber-meets-the-road date for a split from Trump may arrive in mid-October, but operatives with knowledge of the RNC leadership are arguing for an earlier deadline than that. One RNC member said privately:</p>
<p>Early voting in Ohio starts in a few weeks, there’s a 45-day window for absentee voters, so mid-September would probably be the latest the RNC could redeploy assets and have any real impact. The only thing you could change in mid-October would be to shift some TV ads, maybe try to prop up Senate candidates in tough races like [Rob] Portman, [Marco] Rubio and [Pat] Toomey.</p>
<p>It is critical for the RNC to throw its weight into the Senate races; according to RealClearPolitics averages, Portman has a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/oh/ohio_senate_portman_vs_strickland-5386.html" type="external">5.8% lead</a> in Ohio; Rubio currently has a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/fl/florida_senate_rubio_vs_murphy-5222.html" type="external">4.3% lead</a> in Florida; but Toomey <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/pa/pennsylvania_senate_toomey_vs_mcginty-5074.html" type="external">trails by 2.6%</a> in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Kelly Ayotte is <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/nh/new_hampshire_senate_ayotte_vs_hassan-3862.html" type="external">neck-and-neck</a> in New Hampshire, trailing by 1.0%. If the GOP hangs on to those seats, the party will keep the Senate.</p>
<p>A high-level GOP strategist echoed: “The party committee has this same job every cycle, to employ limited resources to maximum effect at the ballot box. ... And that means not pouring precious resources into dysfunctional, noncooperative, losing campaigns.”</p>
<p>But Spicer, when queried by Politico, stressed that an earlier cut-off date would be counterproductive, arguing that Trump is bringing money into the campaign: “When I’ve gotten these questions, I’ve been correcting the record. There is no talk of shifting resources in mid-August and it’s unlikely that would happen until late September or October.”</p>
<p>“The party committee has this same job every cycle, to employ limited resources to maximum effect at the ballot box. ... And that means not pouring precious resources into dysfunctional, noncooperative, losing campaigns.”</p>
<p>GOP strategist</p>
<p>A new factor roiling the waters between the Trump campaign and the RNC: the Trump campaign has decided to spend its time pursuing Colorado and Virginia, both of which currently show huge leads for Hillary Clinton, and Connecticut, a Democrat stronghold that happens to be close to home for Trump, necessitating less travel. One RNC member told Politico, “He has shown no interest in doing the tough demographic work that’s necessary in campaigns. You don't see them trying to talk to independent women, educated Hispanics; and beyond that, it’s an issue of strategic staffing. I don’t think he understands how presidential campaigns are won. The senior staff gets it, but the true believers outnumber them.”</p> | 599,059 |
<p>You are not one of the gang.</p>
<p>You are not a regular fellow.</p>
<p>Confess, at least, to yourself that you hate regular fellows. You do not care if the home team wins.</p>
<p>Secretly, you despise yourself for standing when the flag is raised.</p>
<p>You do not think that your home town is any better or any different from any other home town.</p>
<p>You hate parades.</p>
<p>You know the mayor lies and the alderman lies and the senator lies and the college president lies and the priest and minister lie.</p>
<p>You know the policeman is not your friend, and lies as well.</p>
<p>And late at night you see them all gathered, and not in your dreams but for real, behind the courthouse sodomizing a child and then setting her aflame, all so they can have enough light to read the evening papers.</p>
<p>JOHN SNIDER lives in Havre, Montana. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Not One of the Gang | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/08/26/not-one-of-the-gang/ | 2005-08-26 | 4left
| Not One of the Gang
<p>You are not one of the gang.</p>
<p>You are not a regular fellow.</p>
<p>Confess, at least, to yourself that you hate regular fellows. You do not care if the home team wins.</p>
<p>Secretly, you despise yourself for standing when the flag is raised.</p>
<p>You do not think that your home town is any better or any different from any other home town.</p>
<p>You hate parades.</p>
<p>You know the mayor lies and the alderman lies and the senator lies and the college president lies and the priest and minister lie.</p>
<p>You know the policeman is not your friend, and lies as well.</p>
<p>And late at night you see them all gathered, and not in your dreams but for real, behind the courthouse sodomizing a child and then setting her aflame, all so they can have enough light to read the evening papers.</p>
<p>JOHN SNIDER lives in Havre, Montana. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>The House GOP’s 11th hour gambit prior to a government shutdown Monday night was rejected by Senate Democrats who saw it for what it was: a Republican attempt to use the funding deadline to extract unilateral policy concessions they cannot normally achieve.</p>
<p>As a result, the federal government shut down at midnight for the first time since 1996, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and closing federal services like national parks and museums until Congress can resolve the budget impasse.</p>
<p>House GOP leaders initiated a call for conference committee negotiations with the Senate to achieve a resolution on a stopgap bill to temporarily keep the government funded. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) swiftly rejected it, calling on the GOP to agree to keep the government funded at status quo spending levels and negotiate a real budget.</p>
<p>“We will not go to conference with a gun to our head,” Reid said on the Senate floor. He spoke after the chamber had voted down a <a href="" type="internal">third attempt</a> by House Republicans to derail Obamacare as a price for keeping the government open.</p>
<p>It gives Republicans the talking point they want: Democrats won’t negotiate.</p>
<p />
<p>“Reid rushed to the floor and [Nancy] Pelosi to the mics because they know it’s unsustainable to not negotiate in a divided government,” said a House GOP leadership aide.</p>
<p>The reality is less simple. The reason Congress is mired in repeated fiscal crises is that Republicans have thwarted budget conference negotiations since April, when the two chambers passed their own deeply divergent budget resolutions. Senate Democrats have requested conference negotiations 18 times and Republicans have denied their request each time.</p>
<p>“After blocking Senate Democrats’ attempts to start a budget conference 18 times over the past six months, Republicans are now scrambling to start a conference committee with mere minutes to go before a government shutdown,” said Senate Budget Chair Patty Murray (D-WA). “If Republicans were truly serious about avoiding a crisis they would pass the Senate’s short-term funding bill to remove the threat of a government shutdown immediately. We won’t negotiate while Republicans are threatening families and the economy with a crisis.”</p>
<p>Republicans have lofty conservative policy goals and cannot achieve them through the regular legislative process as long as Democrats control the White House and Senate. So they’ve decided to take must-pass bills like government funding hostage and demand unilateral concessions from President Barack Obama and Democrats. Agreeing on a budget conference would require them to compromise on taxes and spending — which the GOP has no interest in doing. They want to protect their gains and build on them.</p>
<p>Senior Republicans admitted their real goal was to keep chipping away at Obamacare.</p>
<p>“House Republicans still desire to delay or defund or disband Obamacare and we’re going to stick to this effort,” said House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX).</p>
<p>Reid dismissed the Senate shortly after midnight. The House voted 228-199 to request a conference committee early Tuesday morning, and Senate Democrats vowed to strike it down when the chamber returned after reconvening at 9:30 a.m. ET.</p>
<p>“Don’t do a conference as a charade while you’re shutting the government down,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “That’s what the other side is asking us to do.”</p>
<p>This article was updated at 1:11 am ET.</p> | SHUTDOWN: Why Democrats Rejected The GOP’s 11th Hour Conference Gambit | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-s-goal-in-conference-gambit-unilateral-concessions | 4left
| SHUTDOWN: Why Democrats Rejected The GOP’s 11th Hour Conference Gambit
<p>The House GOP’s 11th hour gambit prior to a government shutdown Monday night was rejected by Senate Democrats who saw it for what it was: a Republican attempt to use the funding deadline to extract unilateral policy concessions they cannot normally achieve.</p>
<p>As a result, the federal government shut down at midnight for the first time since 1996, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and closing federal services like national parks and museums until Congress can resolve the budget impasse.</p>
<p>House GOP leaders initiated a call for conference committee negotiations with the Senate to achieve a resolution on a stopgap bill to temporarily keep the government funded. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) swiftly rejected it, calling on the GOP to agree to keep the government funded at status quo spending levels and negotiate a real budget.</p>
<p>“We will not go to conference with a gun to our head,” Reid said on the Senate floor. He spoke after the chamber had voted down a <a href="" type="internal">third attempt</a> by House Republicans to derail Obamacare as a price for keeping the government open.</p>
<p>It gives Republicans the talking point they want: Democrats won’t negotiate.</p>
<p />
<p>“Reid rushed to the floor and [Nancy] Pelosi to the mics because they know it’s unsustainable to not negotiate in a divided government,” said a House GOP leadership aide.</p>
<p>The reality is less simple. The reason Congress is mired in repeated fiscal crises is that Republicans have thwarted budget conference negotiations since April, when the two chambers passed their own deeply divergent budget resolutions. Senate Democrats have requested conference negotiations 18 times and Republicans have denied their request each time.</p>
<p>“After blocking Senate Democrats’ attempts to start a budget conference 18 times over the past six months, Republicans are now scrambling to start a conference committee with mere minutes to go before a government shutdown,” said Senate Budget Chair Patty Murray (D-WA). “If Republicans were truly serious about avoiding a crisis they would pass the Senate’s short-term funding bill to remove the threat of a government shutdown immediately. We won’t negotiate while Republicans are threatening families and the economy with a crisis.”</p>
<p>Republicans have lofty conservative policy goals and cannot achieve them through the regular legislative process as long as Democrats control the White House and Senate. So they’ve decided to take must-pass bills like government funding hostage and demand unilateral concessions from President Barack Obama and Democrats. Agreeing on a budget conference would require them to compromise on taxes and spending — which the GOP has no interest in doing. They want to protect their gains and build on them.</p>
<p>Senior Republicans admitted their real goal was to keep chipping away at Obamacare.</p>
<p>“House Republicans still desire to delay or defund or disband Obamacare and we’re going to stick to this effort,” said House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX).</p>
<p>Reid dismissed the Senate shortly after midnight. The House voted 228-199 to request a conference committee early Tuesday morning, and Senate Democrats vowed to strike it down when the chamber returned after reconvening at 9:30 a.m. ET.</p>
<p>“Don’t do a conference as a charade while you’re shutting the government down,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “That’s what the other side is asking us to do.”</p>
<p>This article was updated at 1:11 am ET.</p> | 599,061 |
|
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — The leader of Macedonia's opposition was charged Saturday with preparing a coup and prevented from leaving the country.</p>
<p>Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democratic Union party, was charged with "violence against representatives of the highest state authorities."</p>
<p>He was questioned by an investigative judge, but wasn't arrested and was ordered to hand over his passport, local media reported.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski accused Zaev of trying to blackmail him into resigning and giving way to a government of technicians by threatening to publish compromising phone conversations.</p>
<p>Gruevski told journalists he met Zaev four times last year and that the latter had told him he possessed "recorded phone conversations from a foreign intelligence service that may discredit the country's leadership."</p>
<p>"I do not accept any threats and blackmailing. This has done real damage to the reputation of the state," Gruevski said.</p>
<p>In a statement, Macedonia's Interior ministry said that "for the first time in history of independent Macedonia" police had prevented an "attempt on endangering the constitutional order and (an) undemocratic takeover or violation of the will of the citizens."</p>
<p>Last weekend, authorities arrested former intelligence chief Zoran Verusevski, accused of possessing illegal weapons. On Saturday, they also arrested Verusevski's his wife and one other man, in connection with the case. Computers, mobile phones, two illegal weapons and about 1 million files were confiscated during the search of the suspected homes, police said.</p>
<p>Zaev's party has been boycotting parliament, accusing the ruling conservative coalition led by Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party of fraud in the April 2014 election.</p>
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — The leader of Macedonia's opposition was charged Saturday with preparing a coup and prevented from leaving the country.</p>
<p>Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democratic Union party, was charged with "violence against representatives of the highest state authorities."</p>
<p>He was questioned by an investigative judge, but wasn't arrested and was ordered to hand over his passport, local media reported.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski accused Zaev of trying to blackmail him into resigning and giving way to a government of technicians by threatening to publish compromising phone conversations.</p>
<p>Gruevski told journalists he met Zaev four times last year and that the latter had told him he possessed "recorded phone conversations from a foreign intelligence service that may discredit the country's leadership."</p>
<p>"I do not accept any threats and blackmailing. This has done real damage to the reputation of the state," Gruevski said.</p>
<p>In a statement, Macedonia's Interior ministry said that "for the first time in history of independent Macedonia" police had prevented an "attempt on endangering the constitutional order and (an) undemocratic takeover or violation of the will of the citizens."</p>
<p>Last weekend, authorities arrested former intelligence chief Zoran Verusevski, accused of possessing illegal weapons. On Saturday, they also arrested Verusevski's his wife and one other man, in connection with the case. Computers, mobile phones, two illegal weapons and about 1 million files were confiscated during the search of the suspected homes, police said.</p>
<p>Zaev's party has been boycotting parliament, accusing the ruling conservative coalition led by Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party of fraud in the April 2014 election.</p> | Macedonia opposition leader accused of organizing a coup | false | https://apnews.com/amp/0ae8649ea6f4441e9c7a486bdde6ff1e | 2015-01-31 | 2least
| Macedonia opposition leader accused of organizing a coup
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — The leader of Macedonia's opposition was charged Saturday with preparing a coup and prevented from leaving the country.</p>
<p>Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democratic Union party, was charged with "violence against representatives of the highest state authorities."</p>
<p>He was questioned by an investigative judge, but wasn't arrested and was ordered to hand over his passport, local media reported.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski accused Zaev of trying to blackmail him into resigning and giving way to a government of technicians by threatening to publish compromising phone conversations.</p>
<p>Gruevski told journalists he met Zaev four times last year and that the latter had told him he possessed "recorded phone conversations from a foreign intelligence service that may discredit the country's leadership."</p>
<p>"I do not accept any threats and blackmailing. This has done real damage to the reputation of the state," Gruevski said.</p>
<p>In a statement, Macedonia's Interior ministry said that "for the first time in history of independent Macedonia" police had prevented an "attempt on endangering the constitutional order and (an) undemocratic takeover or violation of the will of the citizens."</p>
<p>Last weekend, authorities arrested former intelligence chief Zoran Verusevski, accused of possessing illegal weapons. On Saturday, they also arrested Verusevski's his wife and one other man, in connection with the case. Computers, mobile phones, two illegal weapons and about 1 million files were confiscated during the search of the suspected homes, police said.</p>
<p>Zaev's party has been boycotting parliament, accusing the ruling conservative coalition led by Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party of fraud in the April 2014 election.</p>
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — The leader of Macedonia's opposition was charged Saturday with preparing a coup and prevented from leaving the country.</p>
<p>Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democratic Union party, was charged with "violence against representatives of the highest state authorities."</p>
<p>He was questioned by an investigative judge, but wasn't arrested and was ordered to hand over his passport, local media reported.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski accused Zaev of trying to blackmail him into resigning and giving way to a government of technicians by threatening to publish compromising phone conversations.</p>
<p>Gruevski told journalists he met Zaev four times last year and that the latter had told him he possessed "recorded phone conversations from a foreign intelligence service that may discredit the country's leadership."</p>
<p>"I do not accept any threats and blackmailing. This has done real damage to the reputation of the state," Gruevski said.</p>
<p>In a statement, Macedonia's Interior ministry said that "for the first time in history of independent Macedonia" police had prevented an "attempt on endangering the constitutional order and (an) undemocratic takeover or violation of the will of the citizens."</p>
<p>Last weekend, authorities arrested former intelligence chief Zoran Verusevski, accused of possessing illegal weapons. On Saturday, they also arrested Verusevski's his wife and one other man, in connection with the case. Computers, mobile phones, two illegal weapons and about 1 million files were confiscated during the search of the suspected homes, police said.</p>
<p>Zaev's party has been boycotting parliament, accusing the ruling conservative coalition led by Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party of fraud in the April 2014 election.</p> | 599,062 |
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<p />
<p>He would never work in another restaurant as long as he lived.</p>
<p>Oh, teenagers. They’re so rash.</p>
<p>DiGregory may have taken a detour into theater work and, later, film studies in Los Angeles. But when he tired of the LA scene, he moved to New Mexico, where his brother had just opened Prairie Star.</p>
<p>And guess what happened then?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I figured, ‘Well, I’ll move to New Mexico. There’s got to be some sort of film business here,’ which, of course at the time, there was nothing,” recalls DiGregory, who went to work at Prairie Star. “I ended up just really liking the restaurant business and realized that was probably where I needed to be.”</p>
<p>DiGregory went from waiter to bartender to pastry chef to manager … to becoming a successful restaurateur in his own right.</p>
<p>DiGregory and Tom Fenton launched Range Café in Bernalillo in 1992. It has since grown into a three-chain operation that DiGregory is looking to expand, perhaps even out of state.</p>
<p>In 2005, DiGregory added something else to his plate – he and his brothers launched The Standard Diner.</p>
<p>The four restaurants combined have an annual revenue of about $14 million.</p>
<p>Q: What were your interests growing up?</p>
<p>A: It’s funny. As a kid I used to bake a lot, and I remember always making cakes for my little brother’s birthday parties. It would always be white cake mix with white icing, and I’d take food coloring and squirt it into it and make it really funky looking, and his friends wouldn’t eat it. Me and my little brother were like, “Well, that means more for us.” I always used to make cookies and stuff like that, so I guess looking way back there was an interest in that – in cooking – and that carried over through college, where I was the one who always cooked for all my roommates. I had an interest in theater back in high school, which probably (translates to) restaurants, where you’re setting the stage for customers. It’s entertainment; it’s theatrical.</p>
<p>Q: What were your career ambitions when you went to LA to study?</p>
<p>A: A lot of people in film school are like, “Well, I want to be a director.” I just wanted to lug cables around and kind of be the production side of that. That was my interest. … My college roommate (Stephen Sommers) actually went on to become a very big director and writer and things like that; had I stuck it out in LA, I probably would’ve gone to work for him. He did “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns” and “Scorpion King” and all those bigwig things. But the main thing was my brother lived in New Mexico, and every time I’d come out to visit and it came time to go back to LA, it was like, “Why am I going back to Los Angeles? I hate this place.” He opened up the Prairie Star in 1986, and the lease ran out at my house, and it was either move closer to work or move to New Mexico, and I said: “You know what? Maybe it’s time to move to New Mexico.”</p>
<p>Q: Do you have any regrets about not following the film path?</p>
<p>A: No, not really. I found Los Angeles to be very superficial and the people to be very, you know, if you didn’t have something that benefitted them, then you weren’t going to get anywhere. I think looking back had I stuck with that I would’ve been miserable and probably would’ve ended up here anyway.</p>
<p>Q: Do you remember the first dish you made that earned raves?</p>
<p>A: At home? Well (there were) raves from my little brother when I made Kraft macaroni and cheese for the first time. That’s quite honestly my earliest memory of making something is when I learned to make Kraft macaroni and cheese. But (otherwise) my aunt had a recipe for these chocolate oatmeal cookies – no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. I remember the first time being able to make those successfully, because they’re kind of tricky in how long you cook it. They can either work perfectly or fail, and it’s kind of hit or miss. And the first time I tried it, I made them and it worked, and we actually have that recipe in our cookbook now.</p>
<p>Q: How old do you think you were?</p>
<p>A: I was probably about 8.</p>
<p>Q: What do you see as the future of your business?</p>
<p>A: I have so many different restaurant concepts that are flying around my brain, and obviously the Range is the most successful and it would be the one that probably needs to move forward and expand, possibly beyond New Mexico. We’ve been working diligently the last three or four years really getting our systems in place, our culture in place, our operations in place in order that we can expand.</p>
<p>Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures?</p>
<p>A: Food really is. I just absolutely love eating out. It’s my favorite thing to go to a restaurant and have a great experience. What’s funny is I have friends of mine that are always hesitant to take me places, and I always say, “I can have just as great a time with a bad restaurant experience as I can with a good one.” I learn just as much from it. When I travel – and I’m fortunate that I’m able to travel a lot – I really, really enjoy finding a cool restaurant that’s just hitting on all cylinders.</p>
<p>Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in Albuquerque? A: It’s weird, ’cause it’s hard to pinpoint. My absolute favorite one is no longer and I would give anything to have it back and that was Noda’s Japanese Cuisine. (Otherwise) I think it depends on which style of food because I have probably four or five I think are just amazing. Siam Cafe for Thai food. India Grill for Indian food. Trombino’s for Italian, it’s always been my favorite. I (also) have a new favorite for Italian, M’tucci’s Kitchina. It was quite delicious. I don’t think I have one favorite one. I think as far as the best restaurant, I think it’s Jennifer James. I think she is so incredibly talented, and she doesn’t get enough credit.</p>
<p>Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?</p>
<p>A: Someone who used to work (at Siam Cafe) recently opened his own Thai restaurant, Thai Kitchen. His name is Art. (Recently) I went in to have lunch at his new restaurant, and he came up to me and said, “Matt, I’ve watched your success over the years, and I just wanted to tell you that you were the inspiration for me to go and open my own restaurant.” I can’t think of a better compliment than that!</p>
<p>Q: What are your pet peeves?</p>
<p>A: People who drive in the left-hand lane and don’t move over. (Laughs)</p>
<p>Q: How would you describe yourself in three words?</p>
<p>A: Honest, compassionate and sincere.</p>
<p /> | One-on-One with Matt DiGregory | false | https://abqjournal.com/440313/one-on-one-with-matt-digregory.html | 2least
| One-on-One with Matt DiGregory
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<p />
<p>He would never work in another restaurant as long as he lived.</p>
<p>Oh, teenagers. They’re so rash.</p>
<p>DiGregory may have taken a detour into theater work and, later, film studies in Los Angeles. But when he tired of the LA scene, he moved to New Mexico, where his brother had just opened Prairie Star.</p>
<p>And guess what happened then?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I figured, ‘Well, I’ll move to New Mexico. There’s got to be some sort of film business here,’ which, of course at the time, there was nothing,” recalls DiGregory, who went to work at Prairie Star. “I ended up just really liking the restaurant business and realized that was probably where I needed to be.”</p>
<p>DiGregory went from waiter to bartender to pastry chef to manager … to becoming a successful restaurateur in his own right.</p>
<p>DiGregory and Tom Fenton launched Range Café in Bernalillo in 1992. It has since grown into a three-chain operation that DiGregory is looking to expand, perhaps even out of state.</p>
<p>In 2005, DiGregory added something else to his plate – he and his brothers launched The Standard Diner.</p>
<p>The four restaurants combined have an annual revenue of about $14 million.</p>
<p>Q: What were your interests growing up?</p>
<p>A: It’s funny. As a kid I used to bake a lot, and I remember always making cakes for my little brother’s birthday parties. It would always be white cake mix with white icing, and I’d take food coloring and squirt it into it and make it really funky looking, and his friends wouldn’t eat it. Me and my little brother were like, “Well, that means more for us.” I always used to make cookies and stuff like that, so I guess looking way back there was an interest in that – in cooking – and that carried over through college, where I was the one who always cooked for all my roommates. I had an interest in theater back in high school, which probably (translates to) restaurants, where you’re setting the stage for customers. It’s entertainment; it’s theatrical.</p>
<p>Q: What were your career ambitions when you went to LA to study?</p>
<p>A: A lot of people in film school are like, “Well, I want to be a director.” I just wanted to lug cables around and kind of be the production side of that. That was my interest. … My college roommate (Stephen Sommers) actually went on to become a very big director and writer and things like that; had I stuck it out in LA, I probably would’ve gone to work for him. He did “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns” and “Scorpion King” and all those bigwig things. But the main thing was my brother lived in New Mexico, and every time I’d come out to visit and it came time to go back to LA, it was like, “Why am I going back to Los Angeles? I hate this place.” He opened up the Prairie Star in 1986, and the lease ran out at my house, and it was either move closer to work or move to New Mexico, and I said: “You know what? Maybe it’s time to move to New Mexico.”</p>
<p>Q: Do you have any regrets about not following the film path?</p>
<p>A: No, not really. I found Los Angeles to be very superficial and the people to be very, you know, if you didn’t have something that benefitted them, then you weren’t going to get anywhere. I think looking back had I stuck with that I would’ve been miserable and probably would’ve ended up here anyway.</p>
<p>Q: Do you remember the first dish you made that earned raves?</p>
<p>A: At home? Well (there were) raves from my little brother when I made Kraft macaroni and cheese for the first time. That’s quite honestly my earliest memory of making something is when I learned to make Kraft macaroni and cheese. But (otherwise) my aunt had a recipe for these chocolate oatmeal cookies – no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. I remember the first time being able to make those successfully, because they’re kind of tricky in how long you cook it. They can either work perfectly or fail, and it’s kind of hit or miss. And the first time I tried it, I made them and it worked, and we actually have that recipe in our cookbook now.</p>
<p>Q: How old do you think you were?</p>
<p>A: I was probably about 8.</p>
<p>Q: What do you see as the future of your business?</p>
<p>A: I have so many different restaurant concepts that are flying around my brain, and obviously the Range is the most successful and it would be the one that probably needs to move forward and expand, possibly beyond New Mexico. We’ve been working diligently the last three or four years really getting our systems in place, our culture in place, our operations in place in order that we can expand.</p>
<p>Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures?</p>
<p>A: Food really is. I just absolutely love eating out. It’s my favorite thing to go to a restaurant and have a great experience. What’s funny is I have friends of mine that are always hesitant to take me places, and I always say, “I can have just as great a time with a bad restaurant experience as I can with a good one.” I learn just as much from it. When I travel – and I’m fortunate that I’m able to travel a lot – I really, really enjoy finding a cool restaurant that’s just hitting on all cylinders.</p>
<p>Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in Albuquerque? A: It’s weird, ’cause it’s hard to pinpoint. My absolute favorite one is no longer and I would give anything to have it back and that was Noda’s Japanese Cuisine. (Otherwise) I think it depends on which style of food because I have probably four or five I think are just amazing. Siam Cafe for Thai food. India Grill for Indian food. Trombino’s for Italian, it’s always been my favorite. I (also) have a new favorite for Italian, M’tucci’s Kitchina. It was quite delicious. I don’t think I have one favorite one. I think as far as the best restaurant, I think it’s Jennifer James. I think she is so incredibly talented, and she doesn’t get enough credit.</p>
<p>Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?</p>
<p>A: Someone who used to work (at Siam Cafe) recently opened his own Thai restaurant, Thai Kitchen. His name is Art. (Recently) I went in to have lunch at his new restaurant, and he came up to me and said, “Matt, I’ve watched your success over the years, and I just wanted to tell you that you were the inspiration for me to go and open my own restaurant.” I can’t think of a better compliment than that!</p>
<p>Q: What are your pet peeves?</p>
<p>A: People who drive in the left-hand lane and don’t move over. (Laughs)</p>
<p>Q: How would you describe yourself in three words?</p>
<p>A: Honest, compassionate and sincere.</p>
<p /> | 599,063 |
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<p />
<p>The City Council last month denied Walmart’s project, and the company did not file an appeal in District Court by the deadline on Monday, said Deborah Nason, spokeswoman for the city’s planning department. Also, its lawyers told the city’s legal staff this week they were not going to appeal, she said.</p>
<p>“The city attorney dealing with this told me the proposed Walmart project at Coors and Montaño is dead, over,” Nason said.</p>
<p>Walmart officials did not have an immediate comment.</p>
<p>The yearlong process included 30 hours of hearings. A court appeal would have been the next step after city councilors upheld an October decision by the Environmental Planning Commission to deny the retail giant’s request to build a 98,900-square-foot store at the southeast corner of Coors and Montaño. One of the reasons councilors cited was that the proposed store would not have “full access” to a nearby road as required by the city’s big-box retail ordinance and that it was not a pedestrian-friendly design.</p>
<p>After the EPC decision, Walmart filed an appeal with the city. A land-use hearing officer recommended the city uphold the EPC denial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Neighbors, students and staff at the nearby Bosque School and others aggressively opposed the store, showing up by the hundreds to speak out against it at public meetings. They claimed the property that sits only a few hundred yards from the bosque was a terrible location for a big-box retail like Walmart. They feared the store would increase crime, create a traffic nightmare and damage habitat in the nearby bosque.</p>
<p>René Horvath, board member of the Taylor Ranch Neighborhood Association, said the association was “very pleased with the decision.”</p>
<p>“We are glad the property owners did not appeal the City Council’s decision,” she said in an emailed statement. “We would like to work with them in the future to insure that development at the Coors and Montaño site follows the adopted plans and is sensitive to the bosque environment.”</p>
<p>— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Walmart gives up pursuit of West Side store | false | https://abqjournal.com/189812/walmart-gives-up-pursuit-of-west-side-store.html | 2013-04-18 | 2least
| Walmart gives up pursuit of West Side store
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<p />
<p>The City Council last month denied Walmart’s project, and the company did not file an appeal in District Court by the deadline on Monday, said Deborah Nason, spokeswoman for the city’s planning department. Also, its lawyers told the city’s legal staff this week they were not going to appeal, she said.</p>
<p>“The city attorney dealing with this told me the proposed Walmart project at Coors and Montaño is dead, over,” Nason said.</p>
<p>Walmart officials did not have an immediate comment.</p>
<p>The yearlong process included 30 hours of hearings. A court appeal would have been the next step after city councilors upheld an October decision by the Environmental Planning Commission to deny the retail giant’s request to build a 98,900-square-foot store at the southeast corner of Coors and Montaño. One of the reasons councilors cited was that the proposed store would not have “full access” to a nearby road as required by the city’s big-box retail ordinance and that it was not a pedestrian-friendly design.</p>
<p>After the EPC decision, Walmart filed an appeal with the city. A land-use hearing officer recommended the city uphold the EPC denial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Neighbors, students and staff at the nearby Bosque School and others aggressively opposed the store, showing up by the hundreds to speak out against it at public meetings. They claimed the property that sits only a few hundred yards from the bosque was a terrible location for a big-box retail like Walmart. They feared the store would increase crime, create a traffic nightmare and damage habitat in the nearby bosque.</p>
<p>René Horvath, board member of the Taylor Ranch Neighborhood Association, said the association was “very pleased with the decision.”</p>
<p>“We are glad the property owners did not appeal the City Council’s decision,” she said in an emailed statement. “We would like to work with them in the future to insure that development at the Coors and Montaño site follows the adopted plans and is sensitive to the bosque environment.”</p>
<p>— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 599,064 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Zstreet.jpg" type="external" />&#160; Z Street representative Lori Lowenthal Marcus spoke out in March 2013 about the harassment the pro-Israel group received from the Obama IRS: - They told us terrorism happens in Israel. Therefore, they had to look into our organization because they thought we might be funding terrorism. We're a [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/05/pro-israel-group-wins-ruling-against-irs-was-harassed-because-its-views-contradicted-the-administrations/" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.thegatewaypundit.com</a></p>
<p /> | Z-Street Wins Ruling Against IRS After Being Target For Pro-Israel Support | true | http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/z-street-wins-ruling-against-irs-was-targeted-by-obama-officials-because-its-pro-israel/ | 0right
| Z-Street Wins Ruling Against IRS After Being Target For Pro-Israel Support
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Zstreet.jpg" type="external" />&#160; Z Street representative Lori Lowenthal Marcus spoke out in March 2013 about the harassment the pro-Israel group received from the Obama IRS: - They told us terrorism happens in Israel. Therefore, they had to look into our organization because they thought we might be funding terrorism. We're a [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/05/pro-israel-group-wins-ruling-against-irs-was-harassed-because-its-views-contradicted-the-administrations/" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.thegatewaypundit.com</a></p>
<p /> | 599,065 |
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<p />
<p>Boys results</p>
<p>CAPITAL 47, GADSDEN 44: No Christian Martinez; no Michael Sanders; no problem – well, sort of.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Jaguars (6-1), playing without two of their starters, survived a six-point, fourth-quarter deficit against the Panthers (4-5) to advance to today’s semifinal contest against Santa Fe Prep. ”</p>
<p>We needed other guys to step up – and they did a really good job,” Capital coach Mark Senteney said.</p>
<p>Martinez is serving a one-game suspension after being ejected from this past weekend’s title game of the Al Armendariz Classic and is expected to return today, Senteney said. Sanders, who was out for violating school rules, is also expected to return today. Meanwhile, Taylor Martinez picked up the scoring slack for the Jaguars, posting 10 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. Capital, trailing 42-36 with 4:35 to go, rattled off seven unanswered points off four Gadsden turnovers to take a 43-42 lead with 2:28 left to play. And after three lead changes, a Martinez put-back with 1:42 left in regulation would give Capital the lead for good.</p>
<p>ST. MICHAEL’S 59, WEST LAS VEGAS 41: Thanks to an extended football season – which just concluded this past Saturday with a Horsemen state title – Thursday’s contest was essentially the Horsemen’s first official practice of the season. “Yesterday we had an hour to go over plays, but this is the first action we’ve seen,” coach Ron Geyer said. “We did enough good things to win the game, but it’s certainly not where we want to be.”</p>
<p>But despite the victory over the Dons (2-3), the Horsemen (2-0) suffered a major loss when with their leading scorer, senior Matthew Barela, left the game less than a minute into the second half with a knee injury. He did not return, finishing with nine points, and Geyer already ruled him out for the rest of the tournament.</p>
<p>With Barela sidelined, Jeff Groenewold led the Horsemen to victory, scoring nine of his team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter. St. Mike’s, which led by as many as 20 points, went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line in the final period.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>PUEBLO (Colo.) CENTRAL 50, SANTA FE 39: The Demons suffered an early exit at their own tournament due in large part to an inspired performance by the Wildcats’ Michael Ranson. The Pueblo Central forward torched Santa Fe (2-5) for 24 points, including 12 in the final period, during a contest in which the Wildcats never trailed. The loss sends the Demons to a 12:30 p.m. matchup against the Dons.</p>
<p>SANTA FE PREP 59: SANTA FE JV 32: Francis Mulert set the tone for the Blue Griffins (8-1), scoring 10 of his game-high 21 points in the opening period, to help Santa Fe Prep cruise into today’s semifinals against the Jaguars. Along with Mulert, two other Blue Griffins finished in double-digit scoring, including D.J. Casados and Tex Ritter, who each finished with 15 points. With the loss, the Demons junior varsity squad will take on the Panthers at 9:30 a.m.</p>
<p>Girls results</p>
<p>SANTA FE 81, WEST LAS VEGAS 62: The matchup between the previously unbeaten Lady Dons and Demonettes emphatically went the way of the host squad.</p>
<p>Kayla Herrera helped preserve Santa Fe’s perfect record, scoring 15 of her team-high 31 points in the first half of a contest in which Santa Fe (8-0) was never threatened and led by as many as 20 points by the third period. Briana Hernandez and Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage were Santa Fe’s other high scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. WLV was led in scoring by Michelle Tapia with 20 points. The Demonettes will face Taos tonight at 5.</p>
<p>POJOAQUE 52, CAPITAL 42: Cheyenne Cordova scored 17 points and Cheyenne Law followed with 10 to lead the Elkettes (4-2) to today’s semifinal contest versus former District 5 rival St. Mike’s today at 2 p.m. Pojoaque Valley, which led by five points at the half, broke open the game in the third period, outscoring the Jaguars 15-6 behind Cordova and Law, who combined for 10 points. Capital (1-7-1) was led in scoring by Vivian Valencia with 14 points.</p>
<p>TAOS 57, ROBERTSON 36: Three Tigers players scored in double figures in their rout of District 2-3A rival Robertson (2-1).</p>
<p>Elizabeth Winter scored six of her 10 points in the opening period to give Taos (3-3) a 17-8 lead. The Tigers led at the half, 27-12, before cruising to victory. Taos’ Marcella Sanchez led the way with 19 points, followed by Marisol Martinez with 12. With the loss, the Cardinals will face another district rival, WLV, in the opening consolation round. Game time is 8 a.m.</p>
<p>ST. MICHAEL’S 52, SANTA FE JV 23: The Lady Horsemen (3-4) made short work of the Demonettes junior varsity squad to advance to today’s semifinal contest versus the Elkettes. Alexandra Groenewold led all scorers with 13 points, including six in the first quarter to give St. Mike’s a 17-4 lead heading into the second period. The Lady Horsemen led by as many as 34 points in the fourth quarter. The Santa Fe JV will take on Capital in the opening consolation round at 11 a.m.</p> | Shorthanded Capital Nips Gadsden in Tourney | false | https://abqjournal.com/153271/shorthanded-capital-nips-gadsden-in-tourney.html | 2012-12-14 | 2least
| Shorthanded Capital Nips Gadsden in Tourney
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Boys results</p>
<p>CAPITAL 47, GADSDEN 44: No Christian Martinez; no Michael Sanders; no problem – well, sort of.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Jaguars (6-1), playing without two of their starters, survived a six-point, fourth-quarter deficit against the Panthers (4-5) to advance to today’s semifinal contest against Santa Fe Prep. ”</p>
<p>We needed other guys to step up – and they did a really good job,” Capital coach Mark Senteney said.</p>
<p>Martinez is serving a one-game suspension after being ejected from this past weekend’s title game of the Al Armendariz Classic and is expected to return today, Senteney said. Sanders, who was out for violating school rules, is also expected to return today. Meanwhile, Taylor Martinez picked up the scoring slack for the Jaguars, posting 10 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. Capital, trailing 42-36 with 4:35 to go, rattled off seven unanswered points off four Gadsden turnovers to take a 43-42 lead with 2:28 left to play. And after three lead changes, a Martinez put-back with 1:42 left in regulation would give Capital the lead for good.</p>
<p>ST. MICHAEL’S 59, WEST LAS VEGAS 41: Thanks to an extended football season – which just concluded this past Saturday with a Horsemen state title – Thursday’s contest was essentially the Horsemen’s first official practice of the season. “Yesterday we had an hour to go over plays, but this is the first action we’ve seen,” coach Ron Geyer said. “We did enough good things to win the game, but it’s certainly not where we want to be.”</p>
<p>But despite the victory over the Dons (2-3), the Horsemen (2-0) suffered a major loss when with their leading scorer, senior Matthew Barela, left the game less than a minute into the second half with a knee injury. He did not return, finishing with nine points, and Geyer already ruled him out for the rest of the tournament.</p>
<p>With Barela sidelined, Jeff Groenewold led the Horsemen to victory, scoring nine of his team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter. St. Mike’s, which led by as many as 20 points, went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line in the final period.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>PUEBLO (Colo.) CENTRAL 50, SANTA FE 39: The Demons suffered an early exit at their own tournament due in large part to an inspired performance by the Wildcats’ Michael Ranson. The Pueblo Central forward torched Santa Fe (2-5) for 24 points, including 12 in the final period, during a contest in which the Wildcats never trailed. The loss sends the Demons to a 12:30 p.m. matchup against the Dons.</p>
<p>SANTA FE PREP 59: SANTA FE JV 32: Francis Mulert set the tone for the Blue Griffins (8-1), scoring 10 of his game-high 21 points in the opening period, to help Santa Fe Prep cruise into today’s semifinals against the Jaguars. Along with Mulert, two other Blue Griffins finished in double-digit scoring, including D.J. Casados and Tex Ritter, who each finished with 15 points. With the loss, the Demons junior varsity squad will take on the Panthers at 9:30 a.m.</p>
<p>Girls results</p>
<p>SANTA FE 81, WEST LAS VEGAS 62: The matchup between the previously unbeaten Lady Dons and Demonettes emphatically went the way of the host squad.</p>
<p>Kayla Herrera helped preserve Santa Fe’s perfect record, scoring 15 of her team-high 31 points in the first half of a contest in which Santa Fe (8-0) was never threatened and led by as many as 20 points by the third period. Briana Hernandez and Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage were Santa Fe’s other high scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. WLV was led in scoring by Michelle Tapia with 20 points. The Demonettes will face Taos tonight at 5.</p>
<p>POJOAQUE 52, CAPITAL 42: Cheyenne Cordova scored 17 points and Cheyenne Law followed with 10 to lead the Elkettes (4-2) to today’s semifinal contest versus former District 5 rival St. Mike’s today at 2 p.m. Pojoaque Valley, which led by five points at the half, broke open the game in the third period, outscoring the Jaguars 15-6 behind Cordova and Law, who combined for 10 points. Capital (1-7-1) was led in scoring by Vivian Valencia with 14 points.</p>
<p>TAOS 57, ROBERTSON 36: Three Tigers players scored in double figures in their rout of District 2-3A rival Robertson (2-1).</p>
<p>Elizabeth Winter scored six of her 10 points in the opening period to give Taos (3-3) a 17-8 lead. The Tigers led at the half, 27-12, before cruising to victory. Taos’ Marcella Sanchez led the way with 19 points, followed by Marisol Martinez with 12. With the loss, the Cardinals will face another district rival, WLV, in the opening consolation round. Game time is 8 a.m.</p>
<p>ST. MICHAEL’S 52, SANTA FE JV 23: The Lady Horsemen (3-4) made short work of the Demonettes junior varsity squad to advance to today’s semifinal contest versus the Elkettes. Alexandra Groenewold led all scorers with 13 points, including six in the first quarter to give St. Mike’s a 17-4 lead heading into the second period. The Lady Horsemen led by as many as 34 points in the fourth quarter. The Santa Fe JV will take on Capital in the opening consolation round at 11 a.m.</p> | 599,066 |
<p />
<p>Antonio Brown’s new contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday made him the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, but his earnings pale in comparison to the biggest paychecks for players at other key positions in 2017 – especially quarterback.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Brown, 28, agreed to a four-year deal worth $68 million, including an average of $17 million in new money through the year 2021, according to details obtained by <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/02/27/inside-the-antonio-brown-deal/" type="external">Pro Football Talk Opens a New Window.</a>. In 2017, he’s set to earn $19.91 million, of which the majority is a bonus, plus a base salary of $910,000. By comparison, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who will earn the second-highest total at the position this year, will bring in $15.25 million in salary and bonuses.</p>
<p>While Brown’s projected earnings are unmatched at his position in NFL history, they rank just 7th among all NFL players in 2017, according to data from sports contract aggregator <a href="http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/cash/" type="external">Spotrac Opens a New Window.</a>. As of Tuesday morning, Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is set to be the league’s top earner, with $27.5 million. However, the 27-year-old signal-caller’s deal comes with a caveat. The Bills have until March 11 to determine if they want to exercise their option on Taylor’s contract. If they opt to go in a new direction, they can release Taylor at no cost.</p>
<p>Taylor is one of eight quarterbacks that rank among the NFL’s top-10 earners this season. Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck ranks second with $27 million, the Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton ranks fourth with $23.67 million and Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Flacco ranks fifth with $21 million.</p>
<p>Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman is the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback this season, ranking third overall with on-field income of $24 million. Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is set to earn $20 million (sixth overall).</p>
<p>Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford and Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill tied for eighth overall with $18 million each, while Arizona Cardinals star Carson Palmer ranks 10th with $17.5 million.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Adrian Peterson would have tied for eighth on this year’s list with $18 million in earnings – if the Vikings had picked up the running back’s contract option for 2017. Instead, Minnesota declined the option on Tuesday, voiding the deal and rendering Peterson a free agent.</p>
<p>Overall, retired quarterback <a href="" type="internal">Peyton Manning</a> is the highest-paid player in league history, with nearly $250 million in career earnings.</p>
<p>A full breakdown of the NFL’s highest-paid players in 2017 can be found below, courtesy of Spotrac.</p>
<p>$27.5 million – if option is exercised</p>
<p>$27 million</p>
<p>$24 million</p>
<p>$23.67 million</p>
<p>$21 million</p>
<p>$20 million</p>
<p>$19.91 million</p>
<p>$18 million</p>
<p>$18 million</p>
<p>$17.5 million</p> | NFL Highest-Paid Players 2017: Where Antonio Brown's Contract Ranks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/02/28/nfl-highest-paid-players-2017-where-antonio-browns-contract-ranks.html | 2017-02-28 | 0right
| NFL Highest-Paid Players 2017: Where Antonio Brown's Contract Ranks
<p />
<p>Antonio Brown’s new contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday made him the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, but his earnings pale in comparison to the biggest paychecks for players at other key positions in 2017 – especially quarterback.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Brown, 28, agreed to a four-year deal worth $68 million, including an average of $17 million in new money through the year 2021, according to details obtained by <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/02/27/inside-the-antonio-brown-deal/" type="external">Pro Football Talk Opens a New Window.</a>. In 2017, he’s set to earn $19.91 million, of which the majority is a bonus, plus a base salary of $910,000. By comparison, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who will earn the second-highest total at the position this year, will bring in $15.25 million in salary and bonuses.</p>
<p>While Brown’s projected earnings are unmatched at his position in NFL history, they rank just 7th among all NFL players in 2017, according to data from sports contract aggregator <a href="http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/cash/" type="external">Spotrac Opens a New Window.</a>. As of Tuesday morning, Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is set to be the league’s top earner, with $27.5 million. However, the 27-year-old signal-caller’s deal comes with a caveat. The Bills have until March 11 to determine if they want to exercise their option on Taylor’s contract. If they opt to go in a new direction, they can release Taylor at no cost.</p>
<p>Taylor is one of eight quarterbacks that rank among the NFL’s top-10 earners this season. Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck ranks second with $27 million, the Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton ranks fourth with $23.67 million and Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Flacco ranks fifth with $21 million.</p>
<p>Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman is the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback this season, ranking third overall with on-field income of $24 million. Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is set to earn $20 million (sixth overall).</p>
<p>Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford and Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill tied for eighth overall with $18 million each, while Arizona Cardinals star Carson Palmer ranks 10th with $17.5 million.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Adrian Peterson would have tied for eighth on this year’s list with $18 million in earnings – if the Vikings had picked up the running back’s contract option for 2017. Instead, Minnesota declined the option on Tuesday, voiding the deal and rendering Peterson a free agent.</p>
<p>Overall, retired quarterback <a href="" type="internal">Peyton Manning</a> is the highest-paid player in league history, with nearly $250 million in career earnings.</p>
<p>A full breakdown of the NFL’s highest-paid players in 2017 can be found below, courtesy of Spotrac.</p>
<p>$27.5 million – if option is exercised</p>
<p>$27 million</p>
<p>$24 million</p>
<p>$23.67 million</p>
<p>$21 million</p>
<p>$20 million</p>
<p>$19.91 million</p>
<p>$18 million</p>
<p>$18 million</p>
<p>$17.5 million</p> | 599,067 |
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker made no secret about what he saw as the failures of Mitt Romney's last run for the White House, devoting an entire chapter of his book to the topic.</p>
<p>But it turns out the Wisconsin governor, way back in 2000, also aired sharp criticism about George W. Bush's efforts in his first presidential bid.</p>
<p>Walker, who was then a 32-year-old state Assembly member, wrote an open memo to Bush he titled "Campaign Strategy" in which he offered detailed advice on how he thought the then-Texas governor should be crafting his message to win the presidency, including what type of television ads he should run.</p>
<p>Walker, now in his second term as governor, is expected to launch his own presidential campaign within the next couple months. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, will likely be among those duking it out with Walker for the Republican nomination.</p>
<p>The open letter to George W. Bush and the Romney critique provide a window into Walker's thinking on how a presidential campaign should craft its message. And while Walker has spent nearly his entire adult life in elected office after he dropped out of college with about a year to go, the 15-year-old memo shows that how to win the White House has been on Walker's mind for many years.</p>
<p>The advice outlined in the 800-word open letter to Bush is typical of Walker, said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist who ran Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in Wisconsin. Graul said Walker offered advice at his request that year and in 2006, when Graul was running the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green.</p>
<p>"In all of my conversations with him about political strategy, it's never been about tearing the other guy down," Graul said. "It's been about what were my guy's ideas and what was the best way to communicate it to the people we were trying to persuade to vote for us."</p>
<p>In his memo to Bush, Walker recommended specific television ads Bush should run to help him win. He said one spot should feature "real life families" of people such as fire fighters, nurses, construction workers and teachers talking about how much they had saved because of Bush's tax cuts.</p>
<p>Those professions — particularly teachers — came out in force against Walker in 2011 when he effectively ended their collective bargaining rights, with his union-busting measure that put him on the national radar and set the stage for his likely presidential run.</p>
<p>Walker said in his memo to Bush, which was first published on his Assembly campaign website, that his thoughts "reflect the views of the vast majority of undecided voters who want a positive reason to vote for the next President of the United States."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that his campaign theme should be: "They had their chance for the past eight years and they have not led. We will."</p>
<p>Bush lost Wisconsin in 2000 by just 5,708 votes, or less than a quarter of a percentage point, on his way to defeating Democrat Al Gore for the White House.</p>
<p>Democrats said Walker was looking out for himself by writing the memo to Bush in 2000.</p>
<p>"For 20 years, Scott Walker has been running negative campaigns for higher office and doing anything and everything to advance his personal political ambitions," said Wisconsin Democratic Party spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff. "The hubris and micromanagement we see from him today were on full display when he told George W. Bush how to run his presidential campaign. Some things never change."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that he should focus on his work with Democrats and Republicans to pass a middle class tax cut in Texas, and his efforts to control health care costs and improve public schools. As he prepares for what would be his first run for national office, Walker talks about many of the same things that he's done as Wisconsin governor: cutting taxes by nearly $2 billion, expanding school choice programs and kicking people off Medicaid who make more than the federal poverty level, while also qualifying others who had been on a waiting list for coverage. The net effect, as of August, was that about 40,000 more people had coverage than before.</p>
<p>Walker, 47, also casts himself as a "fresh faced" alternative to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush, who served as Florida's governor for two terms.</p>
<p>Walker's criticisms of Bush are reminiscent of complaints Walker lodged against the Romney presidential campaign in 2012. Walker spent an entire chapter in his 2013 book "Unintimdated" explaining why he thought Romney lost to President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Walker sent an email to Romney voicing his frustrations about his campaign's tone and urging Romney to show more passion, get out from behind the podium and connect directly with voters.</p>
<p>Walker said he got no response.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p>
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker made no secret about what he saw as the failures of Mitt Romney's last run for the White House, devoting an entire chapter of his book to the topic.</p>
<p>But it turns out the Wisconsin governor, way back in 2000, also aired sharp criticism about George W. Bush's efforts in his first presidential bid.</p>
<p>Walker, who was then a 32-year-old state Assembly member, wrote an open memo to Bush he titled "Campaign Strategy" in which he offered detailed advice on how he thought the then-Texas governor should be crafting his message to win the presidency, including what type of television ads he should run.</p>
<p>Walker, now in his second term as governor, is expected to launch his own presidential campaign within the next couple months. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, will likely be among those duking it out with Walker for the Republican nomination.</p>
<p>The open letter to George W. Bush and the Romney critique provide a window into Walker's thinking on how a presidential campaign should craft its message. And while Walker has spent nearly his entire adult life in elected office after he dropped out of college with about a year to go, the 15-year-old memo shows that how to win the White House has been on Walker's mind for many years.</p>
<p>The advice outlined in the 800-word open letter to Bush is typical of Walker, said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist who ran Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in Wisconsin. Graul said Walker offered advice at his request that year and in 2006, when Graul was running the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green.</p>
<p>"In all of my conversations with him about political strategy, it's never been about tearing the other guy down," Graul said. "It's been about what were my guy's ideas and what was the best way to communicate it to the people we were trying to persuade to vote for us."</p>
<p>In his memo to Bush, Walker recommended specific television ads Bush should run to help him win. He said one spot should feature "real life families" of people such as fire fighters, nurses, construction workers and teachers talking about how much they had saved because of Bush's tax cuts.</p>
<p>Those professions — particularly teachers — came out in force against Walker in 2011 when he effectively ended their collective bargaining rights, with his union-busting measure that put him on the national radar and set the stage for his likely presidential run.</p>
<p>Walker said in his memo to Bush, which was first published on his Assembly campaign website, that his thoughts "reflect the views of the vast majority of undecided voters who want a positive reason to vote for the next President of the United States."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that his campaign theme should be: "They had their chance for the past eight years and they have not led. We will."</p>
<p>Bush lost Wisconsin in 2000 by just 5,708 votes, or less than a quarter of a percentage point, on his way to defeating Democrat Al Gore for the White House.</p>
<p>Democrats said Walker was looking out for himself by writing the memo to Bush in 2000.</p>
<p>"For 20 years, Scott Walker has been running negative campaigns for higher office and doing anything and everything to advance his personal political ambitions," said Wisconsin Democratic Party spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff. "The hubris and micromanagement we see from him today were on full display when he told George W. Bush how to run his presidential campaign. Some things never change."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that he should focus on his work with Democrats and Republicans to pass a middle class tax cut in Texas, and his efforts to control health care costs and improve public schools. As he prepares for what would be his first run for national office, Walker talks about many of the same things that he's done as Wisconsin governor: cutting taxes by nearly $2 billion, expanding school choice programs and kicking people off Medicaid who make more than the federal poverty level, while also qualifying others who had been on a waiting list for coverage. The net effect, as of August, was that about 40,000 more people had coverage than before.</p>
<p>Walker, 47, also casts himself as a "fresh faced" alternative to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush, who served as Florida's governor for two terms.</p>
<p>Walker's criticisms of Bush are reminiscent of complaints Walker lodged against the Romney presidential campaign in 2012. Walker spent an entire chapter in his 2013 book "Unintimdated" explaining why he thought Romney lost to President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Walker sent an email to Romney voicing his frustrations about his campaign's tone and urging Romney to show more passion, get out from behind the podium and connect directly with voters.</p>
<p>Walker said he got no response.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p> | Walker critical of Romney in 2012, Bush in 2000 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/14c4173aefb14e3cb922834c919dec0d | 2015-05-04 | 2least
| Walker critical of Romney in 2012, Bush in 2000
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker made no secret about what he saw as the failures of Mitt Romney's last run for the White House, devoting an entire chapter of his book to the topic.</p>
<p>But it turns out the Wisconsin governor, way back in 2000, also aired sharp criticism about George W. Bush's efforts in his first presidential bid.</p>
<p>Walker, who was then a 32-year-old state Assembly member, wrote an open memo to Bush he titled "Campaign Strategy" in which he offered detailed advice on how he thought the then-Texas governor should be crafting his message to win the presidency, including what type of television ads he should run.</p>
<p>Walker, now in his second term as governor, is expected to launch his own presidential campaign within the next couple months. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, will likely be among those duking it out with Walker for the Republican nomination.</p>
<p>The open letter to George W. Bush and the Romney critique provide a window into Walker's thinking on how a presidential campaign should craft its message. And while Walker has spent nearly his entire adult life in elected office after he dropped out of college with about a year to go, the 15-year-old memo shows that how to win the White House has been on Walker's mind for many years.</p>
<p>The advice outlined in the 800-word open letter to Bush is typical of Walker, said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist who ran Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in Wisconsin. Graul said Walker offered advice at his request that year and in 2006, when Graul was running the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green.</p>
<p>"In all of my conversations with him about political strategy, it's never been about tearing the other guy down," Graul said. "It's been about what were my guy's ideas and what was the best way to communicate it to the people we were trying to persuade to vote for us."</p>
<p>In his memo to Bush, Walker recommended specific television ads Bush should run to help him win. He said one spot should feature "real life families" of people such as fire fighters, nurses, construction workers and teachers talking about how much they had saved because of Bush's tax cuts.</p>
<p>Those professions — particularly teachers — came out in force against Walker in 2011 when he effectively ended their collective bargaining rights, with his union-busting measure that put him on the national radar and set the stage for his likely presidential run.</p>
<p>Walker said in his memo to Bush, which was first published on his Assembly campaign website, that his thoughts "reflect the views of the vast majority of undecided voters who want a positive reason to vote for the next President of the United States."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that his campaign theme should be: "They had their chance for the past eight years and they have not led. We will."</p>
<p>Bush lost Wisconsin in 2000 by just 5,708 votes, or less than a quarter of a percentage point, on his way to defeating Democrat Al Gore for the White House.</p>
<p>Democrats said Walker was looking out for himself by writing the memo to Bush in 2000.</p>
<p>"For 20 years, Scott Walker has been running negative campaigns for higher office and doing anything and everything to advance his personal political ambitions," said Wisconsin Democratic Party spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff. "The hubris and micromanagement we see from him today were on full display when he told George W. Bush how to run his presidential campaign. Some things never change."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that he should focus on his work with Democrats and Republicans to pass a middle class tax cut in Texas, and his efforts to control health care costs and improve public schools. As he prepares for what would be his first run for national office, Walker talks about many of the same things that he's done as Wisconsin governor: cutting taxes by nearly $2 billion, expanding school choice programs and kicking people off Medicaid who make more than the federal poverty level, while also qualifying others who had been on a waiting list for coverage. The net effect, as of August, was that about 40,000 more people had coverage than before.</p>
<p>Walker, 47, also casts himself as a "fresh faced" alternative to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush, who served as Florida's governor for two terms.</p>
<p>Walker's criticisms of Bush are reminiscent of complaints Walker lodged against the Romney presidential campaign in 2012. Walker spent an entire chapter in his 2013 book "Unintimdated" explaining why he thought Romney lost to President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Walker sent an email to Romney voicing his frustrations about his campaign's tone and urging Romney to show more passion, get out from behind the podium and connect directly with voters.</p>
<p>Walker said he got no response.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p>
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker made no secret about what he saw as the failures of Mitt Romney's last run for the White House, devoting an entire chapter of his book to the topic.</p>
<p>But it turns out the Wisconsin governor, way back in 2000, also aired sharp criticism about George W. Bush's efforts in his first presidential bid.</p>
<p>Walker, who was then a 32-year-old state Assembly member, wrote an open memo to Bush he titled "Campaign Strategy" in which he offered detailed advice on how he thought the then-Texas governor should be crafting his message to win the presidency, including what type of television ads he should run.</p>
<p>Walker, now in his second term as governor, is expected to launch his own presidential campaign within the next couple months. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, will likely be among those duking it out with Walker for the Republican nomination.</p>
<p>The open letter to George W. Bush and the Romney critique provide a window into Walker's thinking on how a presidential campaign should craft its message. And while Walker has spent nearly his entire adult life in elected office after he dropped out of college with about a year to go, the 15-year-old memo shows that how to win the White House has been on Walker's mind for many years.</p>
<p>The advice outlined in the 800-word open letter to Bush is typical of Walker, said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist who ran Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in Wisconsin. Graul said Walker offered advice at his request that year and in 2006, when Graul was running the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green.</p>
<p>"In all of my conversations with him about political strategy, it's never been about tearing the other guy down," Graul said. "It's been about what were my guy's ideas and what was the best way to communicate it to the people we were trying to persuade to vote for us."</p>
<p>In his memo to Bush, Walker recommended specific television ads Bush should run to help him win. He said one spot should feature "real life families" of people such as fire fighters, nurses, construction workers and teachers talking about how much they had saved because of Bush's tax cuts.</p>
<p>Those professions — particularly teachers — came out in force against Walker in 2011 when he effectively ended their collective bargaining rights, with his union-busting measure that put him on the national radar and set the stage for his likely presidential run.</p>
<p>Walker said in his memo to Bush, which was first published on his Assembly campaign website, that his thoughts "reflect the views of the vast majority of undecided voters who want a positive reason to vote for the next President of the United States."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that his campaign theme should be: "They had their chance for the past eight years and they have not led. We will."</p>
<p>Bush lost Wisconsin in 2000 by just 5,708 votes, or less than a quarter of a percentage point, on his way to defeating Democrat Al Gore for the White House.</p>
<p>Democrats said Walker was looking out for himself by writing the memo to Bush in 2000.</p>
<p>"For 20 years, Scott Walker has been running negative campaigns for higher office and doing anything and everything to advance his personal political ambitions," said Wisconsin Democratic Party spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff. "The hubris and micromanagement we see from him today were on full display when he told George W. Bush how to run his presidential campaign. Some things never change."</p>
<p>Walker told Bush that he should focus on his work with Democrats and Republicans to pass a middle class tax cut in Texas, and his efforts to control health care costs and improve public schools. As he prepares for what would be his first run for national office, Walker talks about many of the same things that he's done as Wisconsin governor: cutting taxes by nearly $2 billion, expanding school choice programs and kicking people off Medicaid who make more than the federal poverty level, while also qualifying others who had been on a waiting list for coverage. The net effect, as of August, was that about 40,000 more people had coverage than before.</p>
<p>Walker, 47, also casts himself as a "fresh faced" alternative to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush, who served as Florida's governor for two terms.</p>
<p>Walker's criticisms of Bush are reminiscent of complaints Walker lodged against the Romney presidential campaign in 2012. Walker spent an entire chapter in his 2013 book "Unintimdated" explaining why he thought Romney lost to President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Walker sent an email to Romney voicing his frustrations about his campaign's tone and urging Romney to show more passion, get out from behind the podium and connect directly with voters.</p>
<p>Walker said he got no response.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p> | 599,068 |
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1930722664/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-9834972-5425500?redirect=true&amp;_encoding=UTF8" type="external" /></p>
<p>Overfishing, pollution, global warming, species extinction: it’s hard to overstate the seriousness and scale of the problems facing our oceans; just as it’s tempting to assume there’s little or nothing we can do about them. (See, for example, this classily written, highly informative, but paralysingly depressing <a href="/news/feature/2006/03/the_fate_of_the_ocean.html" type="external">inventory of oceans-related</a> woes by Julia Whitty in a recent Mother Jones.)</p>
<p>But don’t be too quick to curl into the fetal position! There are (at least) 50 things you can do to save the ocean, from being a smart seafood consumer, to keeping your home aquarium ocean friendly, to joining in a coastal cleanup, to supporting local marine education. These suggestions come from an important and recently updated book, “50 Ways to Save the Ocean,” by David Helvarg, president of the Blue Frontier Campaign ( <a href="http://www.bluefront.org" type="external">www.bluefront.org</a>), with illustrations by cartoonist Jim Toomey. Click on the cover image to go check it out.</p>
<p>(And don’t forget: there’s another way you can do your bit for the oceans—by signing up for Mother Jones‘ <a href="http://www.oceanvoyager.org" type="external">Ocean Voyager</a> campaign, a five-part virtual journey—complete with stunning photos and spectacular video footage—to the world’s ocean hotspots.)</p>
<p /> | Fifty Ways to Save the Ocean | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/07/fifty-ways-save-ocean/ | 2006-07-17 | 4left
| Fifty Ways to Save the Ocean
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1930722664/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-9834972-5425500?redirect=true&amp;_encoding=UTF8" type="external" /></p>
<p>Overfishing, pollution, global warming, species extinction: it’s hard to overstate the seriousness and scale of the problems facing our oceans; just as it’s tempting to assume there’s little or nothing we can do about them. (See, for example, this classily written, highly informative, but paralysingly depressing <a href="/news/feature/2006/03/the_fate_of_the_ocean.html" type="external">inventory of oceans-related</a> woes by Julia Whitty in a recent Mother Jones.)</p>
<p>But don’t be too quick to curl into the fetal position! There are (at least) 50 things you can do to save the ocean, from being a smart seafood consumer, to keeping your home aquarium ocean friendly, to joining in a coastal cleanup, to supporting local marine education. These suggestions come from an important and recently updated book, “50 Ways to Save the Ocean,” by David Helvarg, president of the Blue Frontier Campaign ( <a href="http://www.bluefront.org" type="external">www.bluefront.org</a>), with illustrations by cartoonist Jim Toomey. Click on the cover image to go check it out.</p>
<p>(And don’t forget: there’s another way you can do your bit for the oceans—by signing up for Mother Jones‘ <a href="http://www.oceanvoyager.org" type="external">Ocean Voyager</a> campaign, a five-part virtual journey—complete with stunning photos and spectacular video footage—to the world’s ocean hotspots.)</p>
<p /> | 599,069 |
<p>We know all too well what happens when insurers like AIG overexpose themselves to Wall Street’s impossible gambles. What happens when the insurance industry plays the odds on climate change? We don’t really know, since the $16 trillion global industry hasn’t fully revealed its exposure to the potential impacts of environmental meltdown. Even without hard numbers, it’s easy to see how things could go very badly for them—and their customers—as the weather gets weirder and wilder. (A recent report found that rising sea levels could cause <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/12/MNTK16DEBF.DTL&amp;hw=coastal+climate+change&amp;sn=002&amp;sc=795" type="external">$100 billion in property damage</a> this century in California alone.) Some European insurers have been <a href="" type="internal">been worried about this scenario</a> for nearly 20 years; in 1990, the head of Swiss Reinsurance warned that “if the feared climate change is confirmed, it will obviously stretch the insurance industry to is limits.” And that was back when we were still at <a href="" type="internal">350 ppm</a>.</p>
<p>American insurers have been more nonchalant about confronting climate change. It looks like that’s about to change.Two days ago, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners decided to require major US insurers to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123733370641063551.html" type="external">submit climate-risk reports</a> starting next year. Companies will have to disclose how they’re altering their risk-management models to account for climate change. Firms don’t have to reveal proprietary or sensitive information, which may limit just how much hard data we get. Nonetheless, the <a href="http://www.ceres.org/Page.aspx?pid=1062" type="external">green investment group Ceres</a> is hailing the new rules as a victory. And as the Wall Street Journal notes, this could inspire insurance companies to come up with profitable ways to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123733370641063551.html" type="external">encourage carbon reductions</a>: “One example: auto insurance with premiums based on the number of miles a person drives. Such policies would prod consumers to drive less, curbing their vehicles’ carbon emissions.” Hopefully, insurers will also look for ways to make their carbon-spewing corporate clients pay a premium on their premiums.</p> | Could Climate Change Bring Down Insurers? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/could-climate-change-bring-down-insurers/ | 2009-03-19 | 4left
| Could Climate Change Bring Down Insurers?
<p>We know all too well what happens when insurers like AIG overexpose themselves to Wall Street’s impossible gambles. What happens when the insurance industry plays the odds on climate change? We don’t really know, since the $16 trillion global industry hasn’t fully revealed its exposure to the potential impacts of environmental meltdown. Even without hard numbers, it’s easy to see how things could go very badly for them—and their customers—as the weather gets weirder and wilder. (A recent report found that rising sea levels could cause <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/12/MNTK16DEBF.DTL&amp;hw=coastal+climate+change&amp;sn=002&amp;sc=795" type="external">$100 billion in property damage</a> this century in California alone.) Some European insurers have been <a href="" type="internal">been worried about this scenario</a> for nearly 20 years; in 1990, the head of Swiss Reinsurance warned that “if the feared climate change is confirmed, it will obviously stretch the insurance industry to is limits.” And that was back when we were still at <a href="" type="internal">350 ppm</a>.</p>
<p>American insurers have been more nonchalant about confronting climate change. It looks like that’s about to change.Two days ago, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners decided to require major US insurers to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123733370641063551.html" type="external">submit climate-risk reports</a> starting next year. Companies will have to disclose how they’re altering their risk-management models to account for climate change. Firms don’t have to reveal proprietary or sensitive information, which may limit just how much hard data we get. Nonetheless, the <a href="http://www.ceres.org/Page.aspx?pid=1062" type="external">green investment group Ceres</a> is hailing the new rules as a victory. And as the Wall Street Journal notes, this could inspire insurance companies to come up with profitable ways to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123733370641063551.html" type="external">encourage carbon reductions</a>: “One example: auto insurance with premiums based on the number of miles a person drives. Such policies would prod consumers to drive less, curbing their vehicles’ carbon emissions.” Hopefully, insurers will also look for ways to make their carbon-spewing corporate clients pay a premium on their premiums.</p> | 599,070 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Courtesy of Tirol Housing The 198-apartment Volcanes Commons at 6901 Glenrio NW,the biggest low-income housing tax credit project in the metro in 12 years, will hold an open house on Tuesday.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Volcanes Commons, 198-unit apartment project built at a cost of nearly $14 million, will hold a grand opening on Tuesday at noon at its 8.9-acre site at 6901 Glenrio NW, not far from West Mesa High School.</p>
<p>The apartments, which are managed by Albuquerque-based Monarch Properties, are seeing an average of about 15 potential renters visit daily, said Casey Cameron of Tirol Housing, the owner and developer.</p>
<p>Leasing began in December while the property was still under construction. It's currently just over half leased and Cameron expects it to be fully rented sometime in July, which is a sign of healthy apartment demand.</p>
<p>A 12-15-month lease-up is not unusual for a new apartment property with 200 units.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Volcanes Commons was built using low-income housing tax credits, which means it is income restricted to individuals and families making up to 60 percent of Albuquerque's median income. For a family of three, that translates to an income of&#160; $32,340 a year, Cameron said.</p>
<p>Tax-credit apartments open to families making 60 percent to 120 percent of the local median income are classified by Fannie Mae as workforce housing, which means it caters to "essential" workers like police officers, firemen, teachers, nurses and other medical personnel.</p>
<p>Los Volcanes is in the process of getting platinum certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Designed by Dekker Perich Sabatini, a local architectural firm, the property was built by Pavilion Construction, a Portland, Ore.-based general contractor with a strong presence in New Mexico.</p> | Volcanes Commons to hold grand opening | false | https://abqjournal.com/594953/volcanes-commons-to-hold-grand-opening.html | 2least
| Volcanes Commons to hold grand opening
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Courtesy of Tirol Housing The 198-apartment Volcanes Commons at 6901 Glenrio NW,the biggest low-income housing tax credit project in the metro in 12 years, will hold an open house on Tuesday.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Volcanes Commons, 198-unit apartment project built at a cost of nearly $14 million, will hold a grand opening on Tuesday at noon at its 8.9-acre site at 6901 Glenrio NW, not far from West Mesa High School.</p>
<p>The apartments, which are managed by Albuquerque-based Monarch Properties, are seeing an average of about 15 potential renters visit daily, said Casey Cameron of Tirol Housing, the owner and developer.</p>
<p>Leasing began in December while the property was still under construction. It's currently just over half leased and Cameron expects it to be fully rented sometime in July, which is a sign of healthy apartment demand.</p>
<p>A 12-15-month lease-up is not unusual for a new apartment property with 200 units.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Volcanes Commons was built using low-income housing tax credits, which means it is income restricted to individuals and families making up to 60 percent of Albuquerque's median income. For a family of three, that translates to an income of&#160; $32,340 a year, Cameron said.</p>
<p>Tax-credit apartments open to families making 60 percent to 120 percent of the local median income are classified by Fannie Mae as workforce housing, which means it caters to "essential" workers like police officers, firemen, teachers, nurses and other medical personnel.</p>
<p>Los Volcanes is in the process of getting platinum certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Designed by Dekker Perich Sabatini, a local architectural firm, the property was built by Pavilion Construction, a Portland, Ore.-based general contractor with a strong presence in New Mexico.</p> | 599,071 |
|
<p>Aug. 25 (UPI) — As Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast, residents boarded windows, laid sandbags and cleared store shelves, preparing to hunker down for what’s expected to be a Category 3 storm.</p>
<p>Officials in Texas ordered mandatory evacuations in at least five counties in the area where the eye of the storm is expected to make landfall. Texas Gov. Rick Abbott pre-emptively declared states of disaster in 30 Texas counties where wind, heavy rain and flooding could cause damage.</p>
<p>Sitting in the bull’s eye is the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, the coastal population center closest to where <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/08/25/Harvey-strengthens-to-Category-2-hurricane-aims-for-Texas/9361503491207/" type="external">forecasters predict</a> Harvey’s eye will make landfall.</p>
<p>Despite mandatory evacuation orders elsewhere, Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb did not issue one there, though he has strongly encouraged residents in low-lying areas to leave due to the possibility of deadly flooding.</p>
<p>“We could mandate it, but people need to make a decision of their own. I’m not going to risk our police and fire people going to try and drag somebody out of the house if they don’t want to go,” <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/harvey-texas-louisiana-preps-impacts" type="external">McComb told Weather.com</a>. “Because our fire and police, they’re fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles. They’ve got relatives and they’ve got family, and we don’t want to put them in harm’s way because someone just wanted to stay.”</p>
<p>Farther north in Houston, officials canceled what was supposed to have been the first day of school on Monday, meaning 200,000 schoolchildren and thousands of teachers and support staff will remain home to ride out the storm. Classes were expected to begin Tuesday.</p>
<p>A Coldplay concert scheduled for Houston’s NRG Stadium on Friday night <a href="http://abc13.com/entertainment/coldplay-show-at-nrg-stadium-scheduled-to-move-forward/2339133/" type="external">was scheduled to go on as planned.</a></p>
<p>Residents there stood in long lines at Walmart and other grocery stores, clearing shelves of staple foods and bottled water, <a href="https://twitter.com/KPRC2/status/900683938242473984" type="external">KPRC-TV Houston reported</a>. Grocery chain Kroger sent an additional 80 truckloads of bottled water to its stores in the area. The Houston airport is not expected to close, however flight cancellations are likely as the storm intensifies. Most airlines were offering waivers or dropping change fees for travelers scheduled to fly into or out of the city over the weekend.</p>
<p>Hurricanes are a part of life in the coastal South. The last major storm to hit the Texas coast was Hurricane Ike in 2008, which caused nearly $30 billion in damage in Texas and Louisiana. Residents on Galveston Island, where Ike made landfall, greeted the prospect of a less damaging Hurricane Harvey with a shrug.</p>
<p>Paul Murdoch, owner of Marina Bar and Grill on the Galveston waterfront said his restaurant would stay open all weekend. He had even declined to cancel his Saturday night band.</p>
<p>“What storm?” Murdoch <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Galveston-residents-visitors-stay-calm-as-11956753.php" type="external">told the Houston Chronicle</a>. “It’s just business as normal.”</p> | Evacuations ordered, store shelves cleared as Harvey looms over Texas | false | https://newsline.com/evacuations-ordered-store-shelves-cleared-as-harvey-looms-over-texas/ | 2017-08-25 | 1right-center
| Evacuations ordered, store shelves cleared as Harvey looms over Texas
<p>Aug. 25 (UPI) — As Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast, residents boarded windows, laid sandbags and cleared store shelves, preparing to hunker down for what’s expected to be a Category 3 storm.</p>
<p>Officials in Texas ordered mandatory evacuations in at least five counties in the area where the eye of the storm is expected to make landfall. Texas Gov. Rick Abbott pre-emptively declared states of disaster in 30 Texas counties where wind, heavy rain and flooding could cause damage.</p>
<p>Sitting in the bull’s eye is the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, the coastal population center closest to where <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/08/25/Harvey-strengthens-to-Category-2-hurricane-aims-for-Texas/9361503491207/" type="external">forecasters predict</a> Harvey’s eye will make landfall.</p>
<p>Despite mandatory evacuation orders elsewhere, Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb did not issue one there, though he has strongly encouraged residents in low-lying areas to leave due to the possibility of deadly flooding.</p>
<p>“We could mandate it, but people need to make a decision of their own. I’m not going to risk our police and fire people going to try and drag somebody out of the house if they don’t want to go,” <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/harvey-texas-louisiana-preps-impacts" type="external">McComb told Weather.com</a>. “Because our fire and police, they’re fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles. They’ve got relatives and they’ve got family, and we don’t want to put them in harm’s way because someone just wanted to stay.”</p>
<p>Farther north in Houston, officials canceled what was supposed to have been the first day of school on Monday, meaning 200,000 schoolchildren and thousands of teachers and support staff will remain home to ride out the storm. Classes were expected to begin Tuesday.</p>
<p>A Coldplay concert scheduled for Houston’s NRG Stadium on Friday night <a href="http://abc13.com/entertainment/coldplay-show-at-nrg-stadium-scheduled-to-move-forward/2339133/" type="external">was scheduled to go on as planned.</a></p>
<p>Residents there stood in long lines at Walmart and other grocery stores, clearing shelves of staple foods and bottled water, <a href="https://twitter.com/KPRC2/status/900683938242473984" type="external">KPRC-TV Houston reported</a>. Grocery chain Kroger sent an additional 80 truckloads of bottled water to its stores in the area. The Houston airport is not expected to close, however flight cancellations are likely as the storm intensifies. Most airlines were offering waivers or dropping change fees for travelers scheduled to fly into or out of the city over the weekend.</p>
<p>Hurricanes are a part of life in the coastal South. The last major storm to hit the Texas coast was Hurricane Ike in 2008, which caused nearly $30 billion in damage in Texas and Louisiana. Residents on Galveston Island, where Ike made landfall, greeted the prospect of a less damaging Hurricane Harvey with a shrug.</p>
<p>Paul Murdoch, owner of Marina Bar and Grill on the Galveston waterfront said his restaurant would stay open all weekend. He had even declined to cancel his Saturday night band.</p>
<p>“What storm?” Murdoch <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Galveston-residents-visitors-stay-calm-as-11956753.php" type="external">told the Houston Chronicle</a>. “It’s just business as normal.”</p> | 599,072 |
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Eight months after ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in prison, a new book by bestselling author James Patterson is reviving unanswered questions.</p>
<p>Patterson spoke with The Associated Press on Friday about what he calls "the most fascinating, complicated and troubling crime story of our times."</p>
<p>Hernandez, a former standout tight end for the New England Patriots, was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on April 19, hours before his ex-teammates were due to visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory. The 27-year-old athlete had been serving life without parole for a 2013 murder. Just days earlier, he had been acquitted of a separate double murder.</p>
<p>After his death, Hernandez was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease tied to head blows which can cause depression and violent mood swings.</p>
<p>Patterson's book on the case, "All-American Murder," is set to be <a href="http://www.jamespatterson.com/books/all-american-murder" type="external">released</a> Monday by Little, Brown and Company, and CBS is airing a companion " <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/48-hours/" type="external">48 Hours</a> " special Saturday night.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Most of your work tends to be fiction. What drew you to this real-crime story?</p>
<p>Patterson: I don't usually do nonfiction, but I was compelled to do this story. You can't take your eyes off this guy because of all his gifts: his good looks, the smile, the beautiful fiancee, the baby girl, the $40 million NFL contract. When I was in my teens, my family moved up near Boston, and I became a fan of the Patriots and the other Boston teams. I still am to some extent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why do you think Hernandez killed himself if there was a chance — however small — of overturning his conviction and winning his freedom?</p>
<p>Patterson: Most people who suffer from brain damage do not become murderers. My take is if you take somebody with a psychopathic personality — somebody who enjoyed killing people — hit him in the head a few thousand times and add some PCP and weed, you have a nightmare. And there are a lot of suicides with CTE.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: What do you make of the <a href="" type="internal">rumors</a> that Hernandez may have been gay or bisexual and had a prison lover?</p>
<p>Patterson: We never talked to anybody who said there was something to that. He was in his cell 22½ hours a day. He had virtually no contact with any prisoners. What could he do?</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Did Hernandez have some kind of jailhouse conversion? He <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> "John 3:16" in ink on his forehead and in blood on a cell wall.</p>
<p>Patterson: He was clinging to this notion, real or imagined, that if he believed in Jesus he could be saved. But he was over the top with everything. His thinking was scrambled big-time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why does this case captivate people so powerfully?</p>
<p>Patterson: This is the most dramatic and surprising murder mystery in the last 25 years — including O.J. (Simpson). The story is just stunning, from his days as a well-behaved kid in high school to his time at the University of Florida to the NFL. It's the most amazing fall from grace imaginable.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/billkole" type="external">https://twitter.com/billkole</a> . His work can be found <a href="" type="internal">here</a> .</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Eight months after ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in prison, a new book by bestselling author James Patterson is reviving unanswered questions.</p>
<p>Patterson spoke with The Associated Press on Friday about what he calls "the most fascinating, complicated and troubling crime story of our times."</p>
<p>Hernandez, a former standout tight end for the New England Patriots, was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on April 19, hours before his ex-teammates were due to visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory. The 27-year-old athlete had been serving life without parole for a 2013 murder. Just days earlier, he had been acquitted of a separate double murder.</p>
<p>After his death, Hernandez was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease tied to head blows which can cause depression and violent mood swings.</p>
<p>Patterson's book on the case, "All-American Murder," is set to be <a href="http://www.jamespatterson.com/books/all-american-murder" type="external">released</a> Monday by Little, Brown and Company, and CBS is airing a companion " <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/48-hours/" type="external">48 Hours</a> " special Saturday night.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Most of your work tends to be fiction. What drew you to this real-crime story?</p>
<p>Patterson: I don't usually do nonfiction, but I was compelled to do this story. You can't take your eyes off this guy because of all his gifts: his good looks, the smile, the beautiful fiancee, the baby girl, the $40 million NFL contract. When I was in my teens, my family moved up near Boston, and I became a fan of the Patriots and the other Boston teams. I still am to some extent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why do you think Hernandez killed himself if there was a chance — however small — of overturning his conviction and winning his freedom?</p>
<p>Patterson: Most people who suffer from brain damage do not become murderers. My take is if you take somebody with a psychopathic personality — somebody who enjoyed killing people — hit him in the head a few thousand times and add some PCP and weed, you have a nightmare. And there are a lot of suicides with CTE.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: What do you make of the <a href="" type="internal">rumors</a> that Hernandez may have been gay or bisexual and had a prison lover?</p>
<p>Patterson: We never talked to anybody who said there was something to that. He was in his cell 22½ hours a day. He had virtually no contact with any prisoners. What could he do?</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Did Hernandez have some kind of jailhouse conversion? He <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> "John 3:16" in ink on his forehead and in blood on a cell wall.</p>
<p>Patterson: He was clinging to this notion, real or imagined, that if he believed in Jesus he could be saved. But he was over the top with everything. His thinking was scrambled big-time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why does this case captivate people so powerfully?</p>
<p>Patterson: This is the most dramatic and surprising murder mystery in the last 25 years — including O.J. (Simpson). The story is just stunning, from his days as a well-behaved kid in high school to his time at the University of Florida to the NFL. It's the most amazing fall from grace imaginable.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/billkole" type="external">https://twitter.com/billkole</a> . His work can be found <a href="" type="internal">here</a> .</p> | Q&A: James Patterson on Aaron Hernandez's fall from grace | false | https://apnews.com/amp/bf0b03004a8d4a85ade0114e28a23657 | 2018-01-19 | 2least
| Q&A: James Patterson on Aaron Hernandez's fall from grace
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Eight months after ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in prison, a new book by bestselling author James Patterson is reviving unanswered questions.</p>
<p>Patterson spoke with The Associated Press on Friday about what he calls "the most fascinating, complicated and troubling crime story of our times."</p>
<p>Hernandez, a former standout tight end for the New England Patriots, was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on April 19, hours before his ex-teammates were due to visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory. The 27-year-old athlete had been serving life without parole for a 2013 murder. Just days earlier, he had been acquitted of a separate double murder.</p>
<p>After his death, Hernandez was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease tied to head blows which can cause depression and violent mood swings.</p>
<p>Patterson's book on the case, "All-American Murder," is set to be <a href="http://www.jamespatterson.com/books/all-american-murder" type="external">released</a> Monday by Little, Brown and Company, and CBS is airing a companion " <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/48-hours/" type="external">48 Hours</a> " special Saturday night.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Most of your work tends to be fiction. What drew you to this real-crime story?</p>
<p>Patterson: I don't usually do nonfiction, but I was compelled to do this story. You can't take your eyes off this guy because of all his gifts: his good looks, the smile, the beautiful fiancee, the baby girl, the $40 million NFL contract. When I was in my teens, my family moved up near Boston, and I became a fan of the Patriots and the other Boston teams. I still am to some extent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why do you think Hernandez killed himself if there was a chance — however small — of overturning his conviction and winning his freedom?</p>
<p>Patterson: Most people who suffer from brain damage do not become murderers. My take is if you take somebody with a psychopathic personality — somebody who enjoyed killing people — hit him in the head a few thousand times and add some PCP and weed, you have a nightmare. And there are a lot of suicides with CTE.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: What do you make of the <a href="" type="internal">rumors</a> that Hernandez may have been gay or bisexual and had a prison lover?</p>
<p>Patterson: We never talked to anybody who said there was something to that. He was in his cell 22½ hours a day. He had virtually no contact with any prisoners. What could he do?</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Did Hernandez have some kind of jailhouse conversion? He <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> "John 3:16" in ink on his forehead and in blood on a cell wall.</p>
<p>Patterson: He was clinging to this notion, real or imagined, that if he believed in Jesus he could be saved. But he was over the top with everything. His thinking was scrambled big-time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why does this case captivate people so powerfully?</p>
<p>Patterson: This is the most dramatic and surprising murder mystery in the last 25 years — including O.J. (Simpson). The story is just stunning, from his days as a well-behaved kid in high school to his time at the University of Florida to the NFL. It's the most amazing fall from grace imaginable.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/billkole" type="external">https://twitter.com/billkole</a> . His work can be found <a href="" type="internal">here</a> .</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Eight months after ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in prison, a new book by bestselling author James Patterson is reviving unanswered questions.</p>
<p>Patterson spoke with The Associated Press on Friday about what he calls "the most fascinating, complicated and troubling crime story of our times."</p>
<p>Hernandez, a former standout tight end for the New England Patriots, was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on April 19, hours before his ex-teammates were due to visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory. The 27-year-old athlete had been serving life without parole for a 2013 murder. Just days earlier, he had been acquitted of a separate double murder.</p>
<p>After his death, Hernandez was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease tied to head blows which can cause depression and violent mood swings.</p>
<p>Patterson's book on the case, "All-American Murder," is set to be <a href="http://www.jamespatterson.com/books/all-american-murder" type="external">released</a> Monday by Little, Brown and Company, and CBS is airing a companion " <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/48-hours/" type="external">48 Hours</a> " special Saturday night.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Most of your work tends to be fiction. What drew you to this real-crime story?</p>
<p>Patterson: I don't usually do nonfiction, but I was compelled to do this story. You can't take your eyes off this guy because of all his gifts: his good looks, the smile, the beautiful fiancee, the baby girl, the $40 million NFL contract. When I was in my teens, my family moved up near Boston, and I became a fan of the Patriots and the other Boston teams. I still am to some extent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why do you think Hernandez killed himself if there was a chance — however small — of overturning his conviction and winning his freedom?</p>
<p>Patterson: Most people who suffer from brain damage do not become murderers. My take is if you take somebody with a psychopathic personality — somebody who enjoyed killing people — hit him in the head a few thousand times and add some PCP and weed, you have a nightmare. And there are a lot of suicides with CTE.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: What do you make of the <a href="" type="internal">rumors</a> that Hernandez may have been gay or bisexual and had a prison lover?</p>
<p>Patterson: We never talked to anybody who said there was something to that. He was in his cell 22½ hours a day. He had virtually no contact with any prisoners. What could he do?</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Did Hernandez have some kind of jailhouse conversion? He <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> "John 3:16" in ink on his forehead and in blood on a cell wall.</p>
<p>Patterson: He was clinging to this notion, real or imagined, that if he believed in Jesus he could be saved. But he was over the top with everything. His thinking was scrambled big-time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP: Why does this case captivate people so powerfully?</p>
<p>Patterson: This is the most dramatic and surprising murder mystery in the last 25 years — including O.J. (Simpson). The story is just stunning, from his days as a well-behaved kid in high school to his time at the University of Florida to the NFL. It's the most amazing fall from grace imaginable.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/billkole" type="external">https://twitter.com/billkole</a> . His work can be found <a href="" type="internal">here</a> .</p> | 599,073 |
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana residents are reflecting on the 40th anniversary of a blizzard that paralyzed much of the state for days by dumping a foot or more of snow that howling winds whipped into road-blocking drifts.</p>
<p>Indianapolis forecasters issued their first blizzard warning for the entire state on Jan. 25, 1978. There were 20-foot snow drifts, 40 mph winds and temperatures that plummeted from 34 degrees to zero overnight.</p>
<p>The death toll from the storm rose to over 70 people across the region. It included 5 in Kentucky, 11 in Indiana and 51 in Ohio.</p>
<p>Pendleton resident Kenneth Saunders said he was riding on a snowmobile to nearby Fortville through wind-driven snows to get groceries to sustain his family during the storm.</p>
<p>"Fortville was basically a ghost town," he said.</p>
<p>Saunders said people who complain about Indiana winters and didn't live through the rare blizzard have no idea how bad it can get.</p>
<p>"When we have a bad winter, it is kind of comical to hear people, 'Oh my gosh, how terrible,'" he said. "Nothing quite compares to that winter of '78."</p>
<p>The National Weather Service advises that residents keep prepared kits for harsh storms in their homes and cars. The Weather Service also advises residents to pay attention to forecasts and warnings.</p>
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana residents are reflecting on the 40th anniversary of a blizzard that paralyzed much of the state for days by dumping a foot or more of snow that howling winds whipped into road-blocking drifts.</p>
<p>Indianapolis forecasters issued their first blizzard warning for the entire state on Jan. 25, 1978. There were 20-foot snow drifts, 40 mph winds and temperatures that plummeted from 34 degrees to zero overnight.</p>
<p>The death toll from the storm rose to over 70 people across the region. It included 5 in Kentucky, 11 in Indiana and 51 in Ohio.</p>
<p>Pendleton resident Kenneth Saunders said he was riding on a snowmobile to nearby Fortville through wind-driven snows to get groceries to sustain his family during the storm.</p>
<p>"Fortville was basically a ghost town," he said.</p>
<p>Saunders said people who complain about Indiana winters and didn't live through the rare blizzard have no idea how bad it can get.</p>
<p>"When we have a bad winter, it is kind of comical to hear people, 'Oh my gosh, how terrible,'" he said. "Nothing quite compares to that winter of '78."</p>
<p>The National Weather Service advises that residents keep prepared kits for harsh storms in their homes and cars. The Weather Service also advises residents to pay attention to forecasts and warnings.</p> | Indiana residents recall 1978 blizzard that paralyzed state | false | https://apnews.com/amp/4e45766dee26485bb1f01ee0d772ce51 | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| Indiana residents recall 1978 blizzard that paralyzed state
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana residents are reflecting on the 40th anniversary of a blizzard that paralyzed much of the state for days by dumping a foot or more of snow that howling winds whipped into road-blocking drifts.</p>
<p>Indianapolis forecasters issued their first blizzard warning for the entire state on Jan. 25, 1978. There were 20-foot snow drifts, 40 mph winds and temperatures that plummeted from 34 degrees to zero overnight.</p>
<p>The death toll from the storm rose to over 70 people across the region. It included 5 in Kentucky, 11 in Indiana and 51 in Ohio.</p>
<p>Pendleton resident Kenneth Saunders said he was riding on a snowmobile to nearby Fortville through wind-driven snows to get groceries to sustain his family during the storm.</p>
<p>"Fortville was basically a ghost town," he said.</p>
<p>Saunders said people who complain about Indiana winters and didn't live through the rare blizzard have no idea how bad it can get.</p>
<p>"When we have a bad winter, it is kind of comical to hear people, 'Oh my gosh, how terrible,'" he said. "Nothing quite compares to that winter of '78."</p>
<p>The National Weather Service advises that residents keep prepared kits for harsh storms in their homes and cars. The Weather Service also advises residents to pay attention to forecasts and warnings.</p>
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana residents are reflecting on the 40th anniversary of a blizzard that paralyzed much of the state for days by dumping a foot or more of snow that howling winds whipped into road-blocking drifts.</p>
<p>Indianapolis forecasters issued their first blizzard warning for the entire state on Jan. 25, 1978. There were 20-foot snow drifts, 40 mph winds and temperatures that plummeted from 34 degrees to zero overnight.</p>
<p>The death toll from the storm rose to over 70 people across the region. It included 5 in Kentucky, 11 in Indiana and 51 in Ohio.</p>
<p>Pendleton resident Kenneth Saunders said he was riding on a snowmobile to nearby Fortville through wind-driven snows to get groceries to sustain his family during the storm.</p>
<p>"Fortville was basically a ghost town," he said.</p>
<p>Saunders said people who complain about Indiana winters and didn't live through the rare blizzard have no idea how bad it can get.</p>
<p>"When we have a bad winter, it is kind of comical to hear people, 'Oh my gosh, how terrible,'" he said. "Nothing quite compares to that winter of '78."</p>
<p>The National Weather Service advises that residents keep prepared kits for harsh storms in their homes and cars. The Weather Service also advises residents to pay attention to forecasts and warnings.</p> | 599,074 |
<p>KOLOMNA, Russia (AP) - Ronald Mulder of the Netherland won the 500-meter event at the European Speed Skating Championships in 34.80 seconds on Friday, 0.05 seconds ahead of the second- and third-place finishers.</p>
<p>Mulder, who won Olympic bronze at the distance in Sochi, nosed ahead of Finland Mika Poutala and Russia's Pavel Kulizhnikov, who is the world record holder but has been suffering from a groin injury.</p>
<p>In the women's 500-meter, Austria's Vanessa Herzog won in 37.69 seconds. Angelina Golikova of Russia was second with 3804 and the Czech Republic's Karolina Erbanova, last year's overall champion, was third in 38.18.</p>
<p>KOLOMNA, Russia (AP) - Ronald Mulder of the Netherland won the 500-meter event at the European Speed Skating Championships in 34.80 seconds on Friday, 0.05 seconds ahead of the second- and third-place finishers.</p>
<p>Mulder, who won Olympic bronze at the distance in Sochi, nosed ahead of Finland Mika Poutala and Russia's Pavel Kulizhnikov, who is the world record holder but has been suffering from a groin injury.</p>
<p>In the women's 500-meter, Austria's Vanessa Herzog won in 37.69 seconds. Angelina Golikova of Russia was second with 3804 and the Czech Republic's Karolina Erbanova, last year's overall champion, was third in 38.18.</p> | Dutchman Ronald Mulder wins European 500-meter skate | false | https://apnews.com/336a994ef6244cd3bb8f106d7597c8b7 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Dutchman Ronald Mulder wins European 500-meter skate
<p>KOLOMNA, Russia (AP) - Ronald Mulder of the Netherland won the 500-meter event at the European Speed Skating Championships in 34.80 seconds on Friday, 0.05 seconds ahead of the second- and third-place finishers.</p>
<p>Mulder, who won Olympic bronze at the distance in Sochi, nosed ahead of Finland Mika Poutala and Russia's Pavel Kulizhnikov, who is the world record holder but has been suffering from a groin injury.</p>
<p>In the women's 500-meter, Austria's Vanessa Herzog won in 37.69 seconds. Angelina Golikova of Russia was second with 3804 and the Czech Republic's Karolina Erbanova, last year's overall champion, was third in 38.18.</p>
<p>KOLOMNA, Russia (AP) - Ronald Mulder of the Netherland won the 500-meter event at the European Speed Skating Championships in 34.80 seconds on Friday, 0.05 seconds ahead of the second- and third-place finishers.</p>
<p>Mulder, who won Olympic bronze at the distance in Sochi, nosed ahead of Finland Mika Poutala and Russia's Pavel Kulizhnikov, who is the world record holder but has been suffering from a groin injury.</p>
<p>In the women's 500-meter, Austria's Vanessa Herzog won in 37.69 seconds. Angelina Golikova of Russia was second with 3804 and the Czech Republic's Karolina Erbanova, last year's overall champion, was third in 38.18.</p> | 599,075 |
<p>Last June Fox News <a href="" type="internal">retired</a> their classic slogan “fair and balanced.’ It has taken nearly a year for them to come up with a new one. But earlier this month they revealed it to be “Real News, Real Honest Opinion.” <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsCorpse/status/973287749645082624" type="external">Their promo promised</a> that “It’s about to get REAL.” Which kind of implies that it’s been bullshit up until mow.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2078698535478264" type="external" /></p>
<p>An example of what Fox regards as “Real News’ was on display Sunday morning on Fox and Friends. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes aired a segment about the <a href="" type="internal">firing</a> of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. That’s a serious issue and demands serious attention and thoughtful analysis. So naturally Fox and Friends turned to YouTube vloggers Diamond and Silk.</p>
<p>For those of you who are unaware of this dynamic duo, they are African-American sisters who were confirmed nobodies until they pledged their unquestioning allegiance to Donald Trump. At that point they were snatched up by Fox News and other right-wing media as representatives of the black Republican perspective. Since <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/politics/trump-black-approval-rating/index.html" type="external">polls show</a> that Trump is viewed favorably by only about three percent of African-American voters, D&amp;S made a profitable choice to become among the few black supporters of Trump in the media. They join such intellectual icons as Herman Cain and Omarosa as Fox News regulars.</p>
<p>On Sunday’s episode of Fox and Friends, the subject of McCabe’s abrupt dismissal after more than twenty years of service to his country came up and the insight of D&amp;S was sought out (video below). The pair, who seem to perform only as a twosome, began their predictably negative harangue in harmony by complaining that McCabe has been offered work by Democrats in congress so that he can preserve his pension:</p>
<p>Diamond: What we don’t understand is how is it that the Democrats wanna offer McCabe a job so he can have money in his pocket, but they wouldn’t even come to the table for law abiding Americans to make sure we had money in our pockets. What are the Democrats trying to hide? What do McCabe have over the Democrats’ head? What are they covering up? Are they colluding? Maybe we need to bring in a special prosecutor to watch the Democrats and McCabe. Because we know Mueller is gonna turn a blind eye. That’s what I think. Silk: And it sounds like a kickback, patty whack, give a dog a bone kinda deal.</p>
<p>If that sounds like the Real Housewives of Trumplandia rattling off cliched talking points, that’s because it was. Most of it had nothing to do with the question at hand. They just wanted to rant about Democrats covering up – who knows what, and colluding with – who knows who. So they shoehorned it into their routine. For the record, it’s the Democrats who have been working to put money into the pockets of the American people through increases in the minimum wage and tax reform that favors the working and middle classes rather than the rich and corporations. But D&amp;S aren’t especially concerned with facts.</p>
<p>The rest of the segment was spent attacking MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle for making a trivial comment that Fox Christianists blew up into an unholy abomination. Ruhle merely expressed some curiosity at Trump’s choice for chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, suggesting that the decision was “God’s will.” That led to a couple of minutes of of outright sermonizing. And of course, the conclusion by D&amp;S was that Democrats “despise Christianity.”</p>
<p>So Fox News spent nearly four minutes interviewing these ignorant blowhards who have no qualifications whatsoever to provide political analyses. That puts them in the same boat as most of Fox’s hosts and contributors. Almost none of them came to their roles with any experience in journalism or political science. And yet Fox now wants to characterize itself as the network of “real news.” But with cartoon characters like Diamond and Silk weighing in on matters as important as the President’s collusion with Russia to tamper with our elections, and obstruction of justice, they must have a very twisted definition of reality. Stay tuned for their a riveting debate on gun reform between Sean Hannity and Ted Nugent. Followed by a probing discussion of North Korea’s nukes with Happy Days’ Chachi, Scott Baio.</p>
<p />
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p> | This is ‘Real’ News? Fox and Friends Interview with Diamond and Silk Descends Into Lunacy | true | http://newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p%3D31794 | 4left
| This is ‘Real’ News? Fox and Friends Interview with Diamond and Silk Descends Into Lunacy
<p>Last June Fox News <a href="" type="internal">retired</a> their classic slogan “fair and balanced.’ It has taken nearly a year for them to come up with a new one. But earlier this month they revealed it to be “Real News, Real Honest Opinion.” <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsCorpse/status/973287749645082624" type="external">Their promo promised</a> that “It’s about to get REAL.” Which kind of implies that it’s been bullshit up until mow.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2078698535478264" type="external" /></p>
<p>An example of what Fox regards as “Real News’ was on display Sunday morning on Fox and Friends. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes aired a segment about the <a href="" type="internal">firing</a> of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. That’s a serious issue and demands serious attention and thoughtful analysis. So naturally Fox and Friends turned to YouTube vloggers Diamond and Silk.</p>
<p>For those of you who are unaware of this dynamic duo, they are African-American sisters who were confirmed nobodies until they pledged their unquestioning allegiance to Donald Trump. At that point they were snatched up by Fox News and other right-wing media as representatives of the black Republican perspective. Since <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/politics/trump-black-approval-rating/index.html" type="external">polls show</a> that Trump is viewed favorably by only about three percent of African-American voters, D&amp;S made a profitable choice to become among the few black supporters of Trump in the media. They join such intellectual icons as Herman Cain and Omarosa as Fox News regulars.</p>
<p>On Sunday’s episode of Fox and Friends, the subject of McCabe’s abrupt dismissal after more than twenty years of service to his country came up and the insight of D&amp;S was sought out (video below). The pair, who seem to perform only as a twosome, began their predictably negative harangue in harmony by complaining that McCabe has been offered work by Democrats in congress so that he can preserve his pension:</p>
<p>Diamond: What we don’t understand is how is it that the Democrats wanna offer McCabe a job so he can have money in his pocket, but they wouldn’t even come to the table for law abiding Americans to make sure we had money in our pockets. What are the Democrats trying to hide? What do McCabe have over the Democrats’ head? What are they covering up? Are they colluding? Maybe we need to bring in a special prosecutor to watch the Democrats and McCabe. Because we know Mueller is gonna turn a blind eye. That’s what I think. Silk: And it sounds like a kickback, patty whack, give a dog a bone kinda deal.</p>
<p>If that sounds like the Real Housewives of Trumplandia rattling off cliched talking points, that’s because it was. Most of it had nothing to do with the question at hand. They just wanted to rant about Democrats covering up – who knows what, and colluding with – who knows who. So they shoehorned it into their routine. For the record, it’s the Democrats who have been working to put money into the pockets of the American people through increases in the minimum wage and tax reform that favors the working and middle classes rather than the rich and corporations. But D&amp;S aren’t especially concerned with facts.</p>
<p>The rest of the segment was spent attacking MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle for making a trivial comment that Fox Christianists blew up into an unholy abomination. Ruhle merely expressed some curiosity at Trump’s choice for chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, suggesting that the decision was “God’s will.” That led to a couple of minutes of of outright sermonizing. And of course, the conclusion by D&amp;S was that Democrats “despise Christianity.”</p>
<p>So Fox News spent nearly four minutes interviewing these ignorant blowhards who have no qualifications whatsoever to provide political analyses. That puts them in the same boat as most of Fox’s hosts and contributors. Almost none of them came to their roles with any experience in journalism or political science. And yet Fox now wants to characterize itself as the network of “real news.” But with cartoon characters like Diamond and Silk weighing in on matters as important as the President’s collusion with Russia to tamper with our elections, and obstruction of justice, they must have a very twisted definition of reality. Stay tuned for their a riveting debate on gun reform between Sean Hannity and Ted Nugent. Followed by a probing discussion of North Korea’s nukes with Happy Days’ Chachi, Scott Baio.</p>
<p />
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p> | 599,076 |
|
<p>Get your gloves on, because you're going to need them. Digital currency bitcoin is absolutely on fire after hitting an all-time high of $4,183.30 over this past weekend.</p>
<p>Since concerns about a possible split into two separate currencies riled the bitcoin community in mid-July, the cryptocurrency has since more than doubled in value. This year alone bitcoin has quadrupled in value, while on a peak-to-trough basis over the trailing two-year period we're talking about a 1,500% increase.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Why the bullishness surrounding a currency that's not backed by any government? For starters, the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/03/oh-look-yet-another-reason-to-avoid-bitcoin.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">recent split into two currencies</a>, bitcoin and bitcoin cash, has investors in the original bitcoin excited about its future potential. A majority of engineers voted in favor of the BIP 91 upgrade using SegWit2X. This upgrade allows for some of the data within bitcoin's blockchain (its decentralized digital ledger for recording transactions) to be moved out of the main bitcoin network.&#160;Doing so should speed up transaction times and settlements, increase the capacity of the bitcoin network, and help to lower transaction fees. In other words, it makes bitcoin more appealing to businesses. The minority who opposed SegWit2X were bitcoin miners who were opposed to smaller transaction fees.</p>
<p>We've also witnessed discernable weakness in the U.S. dollar, which is to the delight of President Trump. A weaker dollar helps promote foreign exports. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of devaluing Americans' currency, which investors tend not to like. Normally when the dollar devalues, investors seek the safety of gold, which is a finite resource and a perceived store of value. However, since bitcoin has protocol built in that allows for only 21 million coins to be mined, it, too, is perceived as a finite resource and has been a safe-haven source for investors.</p>
<p>It's also hard to deny that momentum has played a role. This writer has seen a marked increase in advertisements for investments in bitcoin online, and the allure of the pace at which bitcoin's value is rising has likely drawn in new money. Investors should also understand that bitcoin isn't a traditional "investment" like we see in the stock market. It can be bought and sold, but only a few exchanges allow users to "short-sell" bitcoin and bet it goes down.&#160;This could be influencing its rising price as well.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Bitcoin has witnessed its market cap, based on the 16,505,312 mined coins per WorldCoinIndex, expand to as much as $69 billion over the past couple of days.&#160;With fewer coins mined and a significantly lower price in 2015, bitcoin's market cap was in the $3 billion range. This gives you some idea of just how far this cryptocurrency has come in such a short amount of time.</p>
<p>But how does this compare to the gold market, the S&amp;P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and the U.S. dollar's monetary base? Let's take a look.</p>
<p>On a purely monetary level, bitcoin is <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/10/bitcoin-is-valued-nearly-3-times-higher-than-an-ou.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">valued at three times the price of an ounce of gold</a>, which closed near $1,290 an ounce this past week. News outlets have been particularly diligent in pointing out how bitcoin's value is leaving gold in the dust. But, it's gold that could still mop the floor with bitcoin if we compare the two based on market cap.</p>
<p>According to a 2013 report from Thompson Reuters GFMS, it was believed that 171,300 tons of gold had either been mined or was still in the ground.&#160;Since there are 32,000 ounces per ton, we're talking about 5.482 billion ounces of gold in the entire world, based on this report. If each ounce was worth about $1,290, the world's gold supply would have an implied market cap of $7.07 trillion dollars. That's more than 100 times the market cap of bitcoin at its all-time high!</p>
<p>It's also worth pointing out that numerous reports exist on the world's total gold supply, and some suggest as much as 2.5 million tons may be present (that's over 14 times what Thompson Reuters has predicted). This would imply a $103 trillion market value for gold, or nearly 1,500 times that of bitcoin. Long story short, bitcoin still has a very long way to go to truly catch gold.</p>
<p>Conservatively, bitcoin also trails the market cap of the S&amp;P 500 by a significant amount. The S&amp;P 500 is made of up just a shade over 500 companies, many of which are the largest in the United States by market cap. According to data compiled by SiblisResearch.com, the S&amp;P 500 had a market cap of $21.83 trillion as of June 30, 2017.&#160;Of course, the index has also risen nearly 1% since the second quarter ended, implying that its total market cap today is probably closer to $22 trillion, or about 319 times that of bitcoin.</p>
<p>In fact, the largest U.S. stock, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), could run circles around bitcoin by itself. Through Friday, Aug. 11, Apple had a market cap of $813.4 billion, which is almost 12 times higher than the entire market cap of bitcoin.</p>
<p>What's more impressive, Apple ended its most recent quarter with a record cash pile of $261.5 billion.&#160;Admittedly, nearly all of this cash is being held in overseas markets, because Apple doesn't want to be taxed for the repatriation of this cash. Still, in theory, Apple could acquire all bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, bitcoin cash, and litecoin, the five largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, and still have approximately $152 billion in cash left over.&#160;Would Apple do such a thing? Not a chance. It's focused on returning cash to its shareholders and reinvesting in new technologies. But it does demonstrate just how tiny bitcoin is next to a behemoth like Apple, or the broad-based S&amp;P 500.</p>
<p>Lastly, let's take a look at how bitcoin stacks up next to the currency it'd ultimately like to make go extinct -- the U.S. dollar.</p>
<p>According to figures from the St. Louis Federal Reserve as of July 2017, the monetary base was nearly $3.8 trillion, including coins and deposits.&#160;The monetary base has increased more than fourfold from the Great Recession, and it's currently about 55 times larger than that of bitcoin, even after bitcoin's enormous run.</p>
<p>Despite its recent strength, this writer continues to believe that avoiding bitcoin is a smart move. Without true fundamentals to analyze, deriving a fair valuation on bitcoin is difficult to ascertain. We've witnessed numerous assets increase in value like this before throughout history, and practically every one wound up having its bubble burst eventually. My suspicion is bitcoin will be no different, and uninformed investors are going to be taken to the digital woodshed if they aren't careful.</p>
<p>What's more, the lone bitcoin investment option in the stock market is grossly overvalued. Bitcoin Investment Trust (NASDAQOTH: GBTC) is an ETF that currently holds about 173,014 bitcoin as of July 31, 2017.&#160;Given the recent run-up in bitcoin prices, the market cap of these bitcoin is just north of $700 million. However, the Bitcoin Investment Trust had a closing market cap on Friday of $1.05 billion, a nearly 50% premium, which is insane! Almost as insane as the 2% annual fee the fund charges.</p>
<p>While bitcoin's underlying blockchain could be intriguing to businesses years down the road after it's been tested on a small scale, the current value of bitcoin makes little sense.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than BITCOIN INVT TR NPVWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6af4f7cd-70e1-4db7-9316-60c7e19ecd43&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks</a> for investors to buy right now... and BITCOIN INVT TR NPV wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6af4f7cd-70e1-4db7-9316-60c7e19ecd43&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFUltraLong/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Sean Williams</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | How Does Bitcoin's Market Cap Stack Up Next to Gold, the S&P 500, and U.S. Dollar? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/17/how-does-bitcoins-market-cap-stack-up-next-to-gold-s-p-500-and-u-s-dollar.html | 2017-08-17 | 0right
| How Does Bitcoin's Market Cap Stack Up Next to Gold, the S&P 500, and U.S. Dollar?
<p>Get your gloves on, because you're going to need them. Digital currency bitcoin is absolutely on fire after hitting an all-time high of $4,183.30 over this past weekend.</p>
<p>Since concerns about a possible split into two separate currencies riled the bitcoin community in mid-July, the cryptocurrency has since more than doubled in value. This year alone bitcoin has quadrupled in value, while on a peak-to-trough basis over the trailing two-year period we're talking about a 1,500% increase.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Why the bullishness surrounding a currency that's not backed by any government? For starters, the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/03/oh-look-yet-another-reason-to-avoid-bitcoin.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">recent split into two currencies</a>, bitcoin and bitcoin cash, has investors in the original bitcoin excited about its future potential. A majority of engineers voted in favor of the BIP 91 upgrade using SegWit2X. This upgrade allows for some of the data within bitcoin's blockchain (its decentralized digital ledger for recording transactions) to be moved out of the main bitcoin network.&#160;Doing so should speed up transaction times and settlements, increase the capacity of the bitcoin network, and help to lower transaction fees. In other words, it makes bitcoin more appealing to businesses. The minority who opposed SegWit2X were bitcoin miners who were opposed to smaller transaction fees.</p>
<p>We've also witnessed discernable weakness in the U.S. dollar, which is to the delight of President Trump. A weaker dollar helps promote foreign exports. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of devaluing Americans' currency, which investors tend not to like. Normally when the dollar devalues, investors seek the safety of gold, which is a finite resource and a perceived store of value. However, since bitcoin has protocol built in that allows for only 21 million coins to be mined, it, too, is perceived as a finite resource and has been a safe-haven source for investors.</p>
<p>It's also hard to deny that momentum has played a role. This writer has seen a marked increase in advertisements for investments in bitcoin online, and the allure of the pace at which bitcoin's value is rising has likely drawn in new money. Investors should also understand that bitcoin isn't a traditional "investment" like we see in the stock market. It can be bought and sold, but only a few exchanges allow users to "short-sell" bitcoin and bet it goes down.&#160;This could be influencing its rising price as well.</p>
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<p>Bitcoin has witnessed its market cap, based on the 16,505,312 mined coins per WorldCoinIndex, expand to as much as $69 billion over the past couple of days.&#160;With fewer coins mined and a significantly lower price in 2015, bitcoin's market cap was in the $3 billion range. This gives you some idea of just how far this cryptocurrency has come in such a short amount of time.</p>
<p>But how does this compare to the gold market, the S&amp;P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and the U.S. dollar's monetary base? Let's take a look.</p>
<p>On a purely monetary level, bitcoin is <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/10/bitcoin-is-valued-nearly-3-times-higher-than-an-ou.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">valued at three times the price of an ounce of gold</a>, which closed near $1,290 an ounce this past week. News outlets have been particularly diligent in pointing out how bitcoin's value is leaving gold in the dust. But, it's gold that could still mop the floor with bitcoin if we compare the two based on market cap.</p>
<p>According to a 2013 report from Thompson Reuters GFMS, it was believed that 171,300 tons of gold had either been mined or was still in the ground.&#160;Since there are 32,000 ounces per ton, we're talking about 5.482 billion ounces of gold in the entire world, based on this report. If each ounce was worth about $1,290, the world's gold supply would have an implied market cap of $7.07 trillion dollars. That's more than 100 times the market cap of bitcoin at its all-time high!</p>
<p>It's also worth pointing out that numerous reports exist on the world's total gold supply, and some suggest as much as 2.5 million tons may be present (that's over 14 times what Thompson Reuters has predicted). This would imply a $103 trillion market value for gold, or nearly 1,500 times that of bitcoin. Long story short, bitcoin still has a very long way to go to truly catch gold.</p>
<p>Conservatively, bitcoin also trails the market cap of the S&amp;P 500 by a significant amount. The S&amp;P 500 is made of up just a shade over 500 companies, many of which are the largest in the United States by market cap. According to data compiled by SiblisResearch.com, the S&amp;P 500 had a market cap of $21.83 trillion as of June 30, 2017.&#160;Of course, the index has also risen nearly 1% since the second quarter ended, implying that its total market cap today is probably closer to $22 trillion, or about 319 times that of bitcoin.</p>
<p>In fact, the largest U.S. stock, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), could run circles around bitcoin by itself. Through Friday, Aug. 11, Apple had a market cap of $813.4 billion, which is almost 12 times higher than the entire market cap of bitcoin.</p>
<p>What's more impressive, Apple ended its most recent quarter with a record cash pile of $261.5 billion.&#160;Admittedly, nearly all of this cash is being held in overseas markets, because Apple doesn't want to be taxed for the repatriation of this cash. Still, in theory, Apple could acquire all bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, bitcoin cash, and litecoin, the five largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, and still have approximately $152 billion in cash left over.&#160;Would Apple do such a thing? Not a chance. It's focused on returning cash to its shareholders and reinvesting in new technologies. But it does demonstrate just how tiny bitcoin is next to a behemoth like Apple, or the broad-based S&amp;P 500.</p>
<p>Lastly, let's take a look at how bitcoin stacks up next to the currency it'd ultimately like to make go extinct -- the U.S. dollar.</p>
<p>According to figures from the St. Louis Federal Reserve as of July 2017, the monetary base was nearly $3.8 trillion, including coins and deposits.&#160;The monetary base has increased more than fourfold from the Great Recession, and it's currently about 55 times larger than that of bitcoin, even after bitcoin's enormous run.</p>
<p>Despite its recent strength, this writer continues to believe that avoiding bitcoin is a smart move. Without true fundamentals to analyze, deriving a fair valuation on bitcoin is difficult to ascertain. We've witnessed numerous assets increase in value like this before throughout history, and practically every one wound up having its bubble burst eventually. My suspicion is bitcoin will be no different, and uninformed investors are going to be taken to the digital woodshed if they aren't careful.</p>
<p>What's more, the lone bitcoin investment option in the stock market is grossly overvalued. Bitcoin Investment Trust (NASDAQOTH: GBTC) is an ETF that currently holds about 173,014 bitcoin as of July 31, 2017.&#160;Given the recent run-up in bitcoin prices, the market cap of these bitcoin is just north of $700 million. However, the Bitcoin Investment Trust had a closing market cap on Friday of $1.05 billion, a nearly 50% premium, which is insane! Almost as insane as the 2% annual fee the fund charges.</p>
<p>While bitcoin's underlying blockchain could be intriguing to businesses years down the road after it's been tested on a small scale, the current value of bitcoin makes little sense.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than BITCOIN INVT TR NPVWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6af4f7cd-70e1-4db7-9316-60c7e19ecd43&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks</a> for investors to buy right now... and BITCOIN INVT TR NPV wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFUltraLong/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Sean Williams</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e3a4704c-8088-11e7-8eb2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | 599,077 |
<p>TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Friday that a long telescopic probe successfully captured images of what is most likely melted fuel inside one of its three damaged reactors, providing limited but crucial information for its cleanup.</p>
<p>Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the fishing rod-like device carrying a camera went deep into the plant's Unit 2 primary containment vessel. The images indicated that at least part of the fuel had breached the core, falling to the vessel's floor, TEPCO spokesman Takahiro Kimoto said.</p>
<p>"There is so much that we still haven't seen," Kimoto told reporters. "But we were able to obtain important information that we need in order to determine the right method for removing the melted fuel debris."</p>
<p>A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused three reactors at the Fukushima plant to melt. The plant's decommissioning is expected to take decades.</p>
<p>Melted fuel has previously only been documented inside Unit 3, where an underwater probe captured images of large amounts of melted fuel debris that looked like molten lava mixed with broken parts of equipment and structures on the concrete floor.</p>
<p>During Friday's investigation, the device — developed by Toshiba Corp. and the International Research Institute for Decommissioning, a government-funded organization of nuclear companies — found deposits in the shape of pebbles, clay and other forms, Kimoto said.</p>
<p>Determining the location of the melted fuel is crucial in planning for its removal, the hardest process in the plant's decommissioning.</p>
<p>The government and TEPCO plan to determine the methods and start removing melted fuel from one of the three reactors in 2021. But experts say a lack of data is delaying the development of the precise type of technology and robots.</p>
<p>The images from Friday's probe show was what is believed to be a stainless steel handle of a case containing bundles of fuel rods sitting on a pile of pebble-shaped and clayish substances, in a sign the rods melted and breached the bottom of the core. The deposits seemed to be scattered in a wide area around the pedestal, the main structure that sits underneath the core.</p>
<p>Experts say they believe part of the fuel still remains inside the core of the Unit 2 reactor, while almost all of the fuel rods in Unit 1 and 3 melted and fell to the bottom of the primary containment chambers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at <a href="https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi" type="external">twitter.com/mariyamaguchi</a></p>
<p>Find her work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi</a></p>
<p>TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Friday that a long telescopic probe successfully captured images of what is most likely melted fuel inside one of its three damaged reactors, providing limited but crucial information for its cleanup.</p>
<p>Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the fishing rod-like device carrying a camera went deep into the plant's Unit 2 primary containment vessel. The images indicated that at least part of the fuel had breached the core, falling to the vessel's floor, TEPCO spokesman Takahiro Kimoto said.</p>
<p>"There is so much that we still haven't seen," Kimoto told reporters. "But we were able to obtain important information that we need in order to determine the right method for removing the melted fuel debris."</p>
<p>A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused three reactors at the Fukushima plant to melt. The plant's decommissioning is expected to take decades.</p>
<p>Melted fuel has previously only been documented inside Unit 3, where an underwater probe captured images of large amounts of melted fuel debris that looked like molten lava mixed with broken parts of equipment and structures on the concrete floor.</p>
<p>During Friday's investigation, the device — developed by Toshiba Corp. and the International Research Institute for Decommissioning, a government-funded organization of nuclear companies — found deposits in the shape of pebbles, clay and other forms, Kimoto said.</p>
<p>Determining the location of the melted fuel is crucial in planning for its removal, the hardest process in the plant's decommissioning.</p>
<p>The government and TEPCO plan to determine the methods and start removing melted fuel from one of the three reactors in 2021. But experts say a lack of data is delaying the development of the precise type of technology and robots.</p>
<p>The images from Friday's probe show was what is believed to be a stainless steel handle of a case containing bundles of fuel rods sitting on a pile of pebble-shaped and clayish substances, in a sign the rods melted and breached the bottom of the core. The deposits seemed to be scattered in a wide area around the pedestal, the main structure that sits underneath the core.</p>
<p>Experts say they believe part of the fuel still remains inside the core of the Unit 2 reactor, while almost all of the fuel rods in Unit 1 and 3 melted and fell to the bottom of the primary containment chambers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at <a href="https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi" type="external">twitter.com/mariyamaguchi</a></p>
<p>Find her work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi</a></p> | Melted nuclear fuel seen inside second Fukushima reactor | false | https://apnews.com/amp/f135f8120ae54b1e882b61f0a6e32cac | 2018-01-19 | 2least
| Melted nuclear fuel seen inside second Fukushima reactor
<p>TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Friday that a long telescopic probe successfully captured images of what is most likely melted fuel inside one of its three damaged reactors, providing limited but crucial information for its cleanup.</p>
<p>Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the fishing rod-like device carrying a camera went deep into the plant's Unit 2 primary containment vessel. The images indicated that at least part of the fuel had breached the core, falling to the vessel's floor, TEPCO spokesman Takahiro Kimoto said.</p>
<p>"There is so much that we still haven't seen," Kimoto told reporters. "But we were able to obtain important information that we need in order to determine the right method for removing the melted fuel debris."</p>
<p>A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused three reactors at the Fukushima plant to melt. The plant's decommissioning is expected to take decades.</p>
<p>Melted fuel has previously only been documented inside Unit 3, where an underwater probe captured images of large amounts of melted fuel debris that looked like molten lava mixed with broken parts of equipment and structures on the concrete floor.</p>
<p>During Friday's investigation, the device — developed by Toshiba Corp. and the International Research Institute for Decommissioning, a government-funded organization of nuclear companies — found deposits in the shape of pebbles, clay and other forms, Kimoto said.</p>
<p>Determining the location of the melted fuel is crucial in planning for its removal, the hardest process in the plant's decommissioning.</p>
<p>The government and TEPCO plan to determine the methods and start removing melted fuel from one of the three reactors in 2021. But experts say a lack of data is delaying the development of the precise type of technology and robots.</p>
<p>The images from Friday's probe show was what is believed to be a stainless steel handle of a case containing bundles of fuel rods sitting on a pile of pebble-shaped and clayish substances, in a sign the rods melted and breached the bottom of the core. The deposits seemed to be scattered in a wide area around the pedestal, the main structure that sits underneath the core.</p>
<p>Experts say they believe part of the fuel still remains inside the core of the Unit 2 reactor, while almost all of the fuel rods in Unit 1 and 3 melted and fell to the bottom of the primary containment chambers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at <a href="https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi" type="external">twitter.com/mariyamaguchi</a></p>
<p>Find her work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi</a></p>
<p>TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Friday that a long telescopic probe successfully captured images of what is most likely melted fuel inside one of its three damaged reactors, providing limited but crucial information for its cleanup.</p>
<p>Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the fishing rod-like device carrying a camera went deep into the plant's Unit 2 primary containment vessel. The images indicated that at least part of the fuel had breached the core, falling to the vessel's floor, TEPCO spokesman Takahiro Kimoto said.</p>
<p>"There is so much that we still haven't seen," Kimoto told reporters. "But we were able to obtain important information that we need in order to determine the right method for removing the melted fuel debris."</p>
<p>A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused three reactors at the Fukushima plant to melt. The plant's decommissioning is expected to take decades.</p>
<p>Melted fuel has previously only been documented inside Unit 3, where an underwater probe captured images of large amounts of melted fuel debris that looked like molten lava mixed with broken parts of equipment and structures on the concrete floor.</p>
<p>During Friday's investigation, the device — developed by Toshiba Corp. and the International Research Institute for Decommissioning, a government-funded organization of nuclear companies — found deposits in the shape of pebbles, clay and other forms, Kimoto said.</p>
<p>Determining the location of the melted fuel is crucial in planning for its removal, the hardest process in the plant's decommissioning.</p>
<p>The government and TEPCO plan to determine the methods and start removing melted fuel from one of the three reactors in 2021. But experts say a lack of data is delaying the development of the precise type of technology and robots.</p>
<p>The images from Friday's probe show was what is believed to be a stainless steel handle of a case containing bundles of fuel rods sitting on a pile of pebble-shaped and clayish substances, in a sign the rods melted and breached the bottom of the core. The deposits seemed to be scattered in a wide area around the pedestal, the main structure that sits underneath the core.</p>
<p>Experts say they believe part of the fuel still remains inside the core of the Unit 2 reactor, while almost all of the fuel rods in Unit 1 and 3 melted and fell to the bottom of the primary containment chambers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at <a href="https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi" type="external">twitter.com/mariyamaguchi</a></p>
<p>Find her work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi</a></p> | 599,078 |
<p>Germany and China have reached an agreement whereby the two nations have agreed to stop any ongoing commercial cyberwar that may be happening at the moment. The two nations have agreed to begin to halt any aggressive hacking attacks that may be going on,</p>
<p>The agreement generally favors Germany as most of the business infrastructure in the country is rather ill prepared to deal with cyber attacks in general or an outright cyberwar coming from the Chinese, reports <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-29/china-working-to-halt-commercial-cyberwar-in-deal-with-germany" type="external">Bloomberg</a>. China has put such agreements in force with other countries such as England and the United States also. Germany told the Chinese that they must have a treaty in place as immediately a possible. The Chinese readily agreed to Germany’s terms as the Germans are China’s largest and most important trading partner.</p>
<p>The Germans are aware of China’s cyber espionage program just as most nations are. The challenge is that most German companies have rather porous and weakly defended IT systems in place. Germany has accused the Chinese of espionage in the past but both countries are willing to drop all of that in place of the cyber security treaty. The Chinese have briefly stated, with regard to the matter, that they have always been against the stealing of state secrets.</p>
<p>When President Obama met with the Chinese president last month, they both came to terms on a similar cyber security treaty. President Obama, however, like the Germans, was the one with the leverage. He threatened the Chinese with direct trade and private sanctions if a treaty was not immediately put into place.</p>
<p>The Director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, has been a rather vocal spokesman for the opposing view. He doesn’t see how such treaties make any sense, or can be upheld, if there are so many rogue governments and organizations out there who are not held to such a treaty.</p>
<p>He warned of such rogue entities like the Islamic State who are out, he says, to destabilize the entire world if they can and they will use every means they can get their hands on.</p>
<p /> | Germany and China Reach Agreement to End Commercial Cyberwar | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/10/29/germany-and-china-reach-agreement-to-end-commercial-cyberwar/ | 2015-10-29 | 3left-center
| Germany and China Reach Agreement to End Commercial Cyberwar
<p>Germany and China have reached an agreement whereby the two nations have agreed to stop any ongoing commercial cyberwar that may be happening at the moment. The two nations have agreed to begin to halt any aggressive hacking attacks that may be going on,</p>
<p>The agreement generally favors Germany as most of the business infrastructure in the country is rather ill prepared to deal with cyber attacks in general or an outright cyberwar coming from the Chinese, reports <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-29/china-working-to-halt-commercial-cyberwar-in-deal-with-germany" type="external">Bloomberg</a>. China has put such agreements in force with other countries such as England and the United States also. Germany told the Chinese that they must have a treaty in place as immediately a possible. The Chinese readily agreed to Germany’s terms as the Germans are China’s largest and most important trading partner.</p>
<p>The Germans are aware of China’s cyber espionage program just as most nations are. The challenge is that most German companies have rather porous and weakly defended IT systems in place. Germany has accused the Chinese of espionage in the past but both countries are willing to drop all of that in place of the cyber security treaty. The Chinese have briefly stated, with regard to the matter, that they have always been against the stealing of state secrets.</p>
<p>When President Obama met with the Chinese president last month, they both came to terms on a similar cyber security treaty. President Obama, however, like the Germans, was the one with the leverage. He threatened the Chinese with direct trade and private sanctions if a treaty was not immediately put into place.</p>
<p>The Director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, has been a rather vocal spokesman for the opposing view. He doesn’t see how such treaties make any sense, or can be upheld, if there are so many rogue governments and organizations out there who are not held to such a treaty.</p>
<p>He warned of such rogue entities like the Islamic State who are out, he says, to destabilize the entire world if they can and they will use every means they can get their hands on.</p>
<p /> | 599,079 |
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<p>Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier poses for a photograph after the annual news conference in Toulouse, southwestern France, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. The European aerospace conglomerate said Monday it delivered 626 planes last year, a company record but still 22 fewer than U.S. rival Boeing Co. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)</p>
<p>TOULOUSE, France — After a record year for sales, plane maker Airbus aims to keep business going by focusing on space — as in more legroom, not outer.</p>
<p>Woolly ambitions once bandied about in the aviation industry for supersonic or stratospheric flight have taken a back seat to more mundane market demands at the European manufacturer.</p>
<p>For good reason: Business is booming, and 2013 was a record year in many ways. Airbus said Monday that it received a record 1,619 orders, and delivered a company-best 626 planes — right behind the 648 delivered by U.S. archrival Boeing &amp; Co.</p>
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<p>The companies, which split the global market for commercial planes, saw airlines gobble up their offerings to renew or build fleets, cut fuel costs and plan for continued growth in travel.</p>
<p>Airbus’ order backlog — jets to be delivered in coming years — sits at a record 5,559, or nearly nine years of work, at current output levels. That figure eclipsed Boeing, whose unfulfilled order book stood at 5,080 — a record for the Chicago-based company as well. Airbus is pumping out 42 single-aisle A320s each month, billed as the highest rate ever for a commercial aircraft.</p>
<p>The plane maker, which is shucking its military business to focus on commercial aircraft, is admittedly facing a high bar this year.</p>
<p>“The market was extremely bullish,” said Airbus’ top executive, Fabrice Bregier, as he met with journalists alongside commercial director John Leahy. “More bullish than John or me would have thought, and probably Boeing.”</p>
<p>Some of the biggest demand came from once-struggling U.S. airlines as well as from emerging markets, particularly in Asia.</p>
<p>“The real story for some of you is, where does it go from here?” said Leahy. “The fact is, we cannot as an industry continue at this level. But what we are doing is we’re continuing to increase production.”</p>
<p>“The point is, we are in a growth industry,” he added.</p>
<p>Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, says the global airplane market doubles in size about every 15 years, despite troubles caused by events like the 2001 terror attacks in the United States or the international financial crisis in 2008. Amid last year’s boom in demand, Airbus will raise the average list prices of its aircraft by 2.6 percent this year — though airlines often wrest discounts on their orders.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Single-aisle aircraft, which are easier to contour to the demands of airline customers than are wide-body jets, make up the bulk of orders these days. The backlog for A320s — including the more fuel-efficient A320 neo in coming years — sits at nearly 4,300 planes, making it the best-selling aircraft in history, Airbus said.</p>
<p>But Airbus says its superjumbo, the A380, is also answering a key demand for air travelers: More space and wider seats for those long-haul flights where passenger comfort is more prized.</p>
<p>Squeezed seats might be tolerable for a two- or three-hour flight, but “do it for 15 hours — then you do end up with black eyes,” said Leahy, pulling in his elbows to mimic his own experience with economy-class travel.</p>
<p>Bregier said supersonic flight would not viable anytime soon — suggesting comfort trumps speed for now. When it comes to seat size, an inch can matter a lot, Leahy said, and Airbus is pushing 18-inch seats on the A380.</p>
<p>“Study after study shows that at 18-inch, you can have the ability to move around in the seat. At 17 inches, if you fit in the seat, you aren’t going to move,” he said.</p>
<p>It’s not just about seats, but also increasing the size of the aisles, so passengers can move around more easily and stretch their legs.</p>
<p>Last year, Airbus recorded its biggest single order for the A380: 50, from Emirates. Among other highlights to 2013 was its biggest single order, for 234 A320s from Lion Air, and an order for 31 A350XWBs from Japan Airlines — a customer that has long favored Boeing.</p>
<p>The focus on the flying passenger is set to grow at Airbus this year as the company sheds its military aircraft business to another segment of the new Airbus Group — its parent, formerly known as aerospace and defense giant EADS.</p> | Airbus logs record year, plans roomier planes | false | https://abqjournal.com/335681/airbus-logs-record-year-plans-roomier-planes.html | 2least
| Airbus logs record year, plans roomier planes
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<p>Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier poses for a photograph after the annual news conference in Toulouse, southwestern France, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. The European aerospace conglomerate said Monday it delivered 626 planes last year, a company record but still 22 fewer than U.S. rival Boeing Co. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)</p>
<p>TOULOUSE, France — After a record year for sales, plane maker Airbus aims to keep business going by focusing on space — as in more legroom, not outer.</p>
<p>Woolly ambitions once bandied about in the aviation industry for supersonic or stratospheric flight have taken a back seat to more mundane market demands at the European manufacturer.</p>
<p>For good reason: Business is booming, and 2013 was a record year in many ways. Airbus said Monday that it received a record 1,619 orders, and delivered a company-best 626 planes — right behind the 648 delivered by U.S. archrival Boeing &amp; Co.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The companies, which split the global market for commercial planes, saw airlines gobble up their offerings to renew or build fleets, cut fuel costs and plan for continued growth in travel.</p>
<p>Airbus’ order backlog — jets to be delivered in coming years — sits at a record 5,559, or nearly nine years of work, at current output levels. That figure eclipsed Boeing, whose unfulfilled order book stood at 5,080 — a record for the Chicago-based company as well. Airbus is pumping out 42 single-aisle A320s each month, billed as the highest rate ever for a commercial aircraft.</p>
<p>The plane maker, which is shucking its military business to focus on commercial aircraft, is admittedly facing a high bar this year.</p>
<p>“The market was extremely bullish,” said Airbus’ top executive, Fabrice Bregier, as he met with journalists alongside commercial director John Leahy. “More bullish than John or me would have thought, and probably Boeing.”</p>
<p>Some of the biggest demand came from once-struggling U.S. airlines as well as from emerging markets, particularly in Asia.</p>
<p>“The real story for some of you is, where does it go from here?” said Leahy. “The fact is, we cannot as an industry continue at this level. But what we are doing is we’re continuing to increase production.”</p>
<p>“The point is, we are in a growth industry,” he added.</p>
<p>Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, says the global airplane market doubles in size about every 15 years, despite troubles caused by events like the 2001 terror attacks in the United States or the international financial crisis in 2008. Amid last year’s boom in demand, Airbus will raise the average list prices of its aircraft by 2.6 percent this year — though airlines often wrest discounts on their orders.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Single-aisle aircraft, which are easier to contour to the demands of airline customers than are wide-body jets, make up the bulk of orders these days. The backlog for A320s — including the more fuel-efficient A320 neo in coming years — sits at nearly 4,300 planes, making it the best-selling aircraft in history, Airbus said.</p>
<p>But Airbus says its superjumbo, the A380, is also answering a key demand for air travelers: More space and wider seats for those long-haul flights where passenger comfort is more prized.</p>
<p>Squeezed seats might be tolerable for a two- or three-hour flight, but “do it for 15 hours — then you do end up with black eyes,” said Leahy, pulling in his elbows to mimic his own experience with economy-class travel.</p>
<p>Bregier said supersonic flight would not viable anytime soon — suggesting comfort trumps speed for now. When it comes to seat size, an inch can matter a lot, Leahy said, and Airbus is pushing 18-inch seats on the A380.</p>
<p>“Study after study shows that at 18-inch, you can have the ability to move around in the seat. At 17 inches, if you fit in the seat, you aren’t going to move,” he said.</p>
<p>It’s not just about seats, but also increasing the size of the aisles, so passengers can move around more easily and stretch their legs.</p>
<p>Last year, Airbus recorded its biggest single order for the A380: 50, from Emirates. Among other highlights to 2013 was its biggest single order, for 234 A320s from Lion Air, and an order for 31 A350XWBs from Japan Airlines — a customer that has long favored Boeing.</p>
<p>The focus on the flying passenger is set to grow at Airbus this year as the company sheds its military aircraft business to another segment of the new Airbus Group — its parent, formerly known as aerospace and defense giant EADS.</p> | 599,080 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump praised Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for his country’s financial investments in U.S. companies during a meeting Tuesday at the White House and thanked him for helping to fight Islamic State militants.</p>
<p>Left unsaid by either leader: anything about the massive corruption scandal swirling around Najib’s multibillion-dollar state fund.</p>
<p>Malaysia’s government has said it found no criminal wrongdoing at the fund, called 1MDB and founded by Najib. But it has been at the center of investigations in the U.S. and several countries amid allegations of a global embezzlement and money-laundering scheme.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The U.S. Justice Department says people close to Najib stole billions of dollars, and the federal government is working to seize $1.7 billion it says was taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S.</p>
<p>At their meeting, Trump and Najib instead focused on areas of agreement, such as economic development and counterterrorism measures when they spoke during a public appearance in the Cabinet room of the White House.</p>
<p>“Mr. Prime Minister, it’s a great honor to have you in the United States and in the White House,” Trump said.</p>
<p>Flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence, the president crossed his arms and listened raptly as Najib described Malaysia’s purchase of billions of dollars’ worth of aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing. Trump said the deal is worth $10 billion to $20 billion.</p>
<p>Trump also pointed out that Malaysia is a “massive investor in the United States in terms of stocks and bonds.”</p>
<p>“They have to be very happy because we are hitting new highs on almost a weekly basis,” Trump said. “We’re very proud of our stock market, what’s happened since I became president.”</p>
<p>On fighting ISIS, Najib said his country would do its part to “keep our part of the world safe.” And he encouraged Trump to continue building partnerships in the region.</p>
<p>“The key is to support moderate and progressive Muslim regimes and governments around the world because that is the true face of Islam,” Najib said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Najib has resisted calls to resign, has clamped down on critics and continues to enjoy the unwavering support of most ruling-party members, but his real test will come in general elections due by mid-2018.</p>
<p>Senior opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said many Malaysians viewed Najib’s White House visit as a “national humiliation and shame” as he is tainted by the 1MDB financial saga.</p>
<p>Analysts said Najib hoped to dispel the corruption scandal and secure political legitimacy with the White House visit.</p>
<p>“He can tell Malaysians that the 1MDB is a non-issue and that the opposition’s message that he is unwelcome by world leaders is not true. He will also try to convey the impression that the U.S. investigation on 1MDB has nothing to do with him,” said James Chin, who heads the Asia Institute in Australia’s University of Tasmania.</p>
<p>Chin said Najib will also aim to burnish his Islamic credentials by seeking U.S. help to end the violence against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Malaysia is host to 56,000 Rohingyas.</p>
<p>Najib will also want to show that predominantly Muslim Malaysia is still a moderate Islamic country that can work with the West in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, Chin said.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur.</p> | Trump meeting with Malaysian prime minister under scrutiny | false | https://abqjournal.com/1062359/trump-meeting-with-malaysian-prime-minister-under-scrutiny.html | 2017-09-12 | 2least
| Trump meeting with Malaysian prime minister under scrutiny
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<p>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump praised Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for his country’s financial investments in U.S. companies during a meeting Tuesday at the White House and thanked him for helping to fight Islamic State militants.</p>
<p>Left unsaid by either leader: anything about the massive corruption scandal swirling around Najib’s multibillion-dollar state fund.</p>
<p>Malaysia’s government has said it found no criminal wrongdoing at the fund, called 1MDB and founded by Najib. But it has been at the center of investigations in the U.S. and several countries amid allegations of a global embezzlement and money-laundering scheme.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The U.S. Justice Department says people close to Najib stole billions of dollars, and the federal government is working to seize $1.7 billion it says was taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S.</p>
<p>At their meeting, Trump and Najib instead focused on areas of agreement, such as economic development and counterterrorism measures when they spoke during a public appearance in the Cabinet room of the White House.</p>
<p>“Mr. Prime Minister, it’s a great honor to have you in the United States and in the White House,” Trump said.</p>
<p>Flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence, the president crossed his arms and listened raptly as Najib described Malaysia’s purchase of billions of dollars’ worth of aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing. Trump said the deal is worth $10 billion to $20 billion.</p>
<p>Trump also pointed out that Malaysia is a “massive investor in the United States in terms of stocks and bonds.”</p>
<p>“They have to be very happy because we are hitting new highs on almost a weekly basis,” Trump said. “We’re very proud of our stock market, what’s happened since I became president.”</p>
<p>On fighting ISIS, Najib said his country would do its part to “keep our part of the world safe.” And he encouraged Trump to continue building partnerships in the region.</p>
<p>“The key is to support moderate and progressive Muslim regimes and governments around the world because that is the true face of Islam,” Najib said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Najib has resisted calls to resign, has clamped down on critics and continues to enjoy the unwavering support of most ruling-party members, but his real test will come in general elections due by mid-2018.</p>
<p>Senior opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said many Malaysians viewed Najib’s White House visit as a “national humiliation and shame” as he is tainted by the 1MDB financial saga.</p>
<p>Analysts said Najib hoped to dispel the corruption scandal and secure political legitimacy with the White House visit.</p>
<p>“He can tell Malaysians that the 1MDB is a non-issue and that the opposition’s message that he is unwelcome by world leaders is not true. He will also try to convey the impression that the U.S. investigation on 1MDB has nothing to do with him,” said James Chin, who heads the Asia Institute in Australia’s University of Tasmania.</p>
<p>Chin said Najib will also aim to burnish his Islamic credentials by seeking U.S. help to end the violence against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Malaysia is host to 56,000 Rohingyas.</p>
<p>Najib will also want to show that predominantly Muslim Malaysia is still a moderate Islamic country that can work with the West in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, Chin said.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur.</p> | 599,081 |
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<p>Placards and mementos with the phrase “Remember Pearl Harbor” are on display as part of an exhibit at The Museum of World War II, Boston, in Natick, Mass. The new exhibition, which opened Saturday, features artifacts that have rarely been publicly displayed. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)</p>
<p>NATICK, Mass. — President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared it a “date which will live in infamy” – and three-quarters of a century later, relics from that audacious attack still conjure strong emotions.</p>
<p>A new exhibition commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that drew the United States into World War II is opening at a private, nonprofit museum west of Boston that’s open to the public by appointment.</p>
<p>The Natick-based Museum of World War II’s “Why We Still Remember” display chronicles the mood in the U.S. and Japan leading up to and after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack by Japan.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Museum founder Kenneth Rendell suggests the themes – including the rising nationalism in Japan and the complacency in the U.S. to the growing threat in a part of the world few Americans understood – should resonate today in the times of the Islamic State group and other foes.</p>
<p>“We underestimated the Japanese terribly. Everyone was paying attention to Europe, no one was paying attention to Asia,” he says. “It explains a lot about why we were caught flat-footed. That’s the importance of learning from history. It’s having respect for the enemy.”</p>
<p>The exhibition, which opened Saturday and runs through Jan. 7, 2017, features artifacts evoking the imperialistic ambitions of Japan in the years leading up to the attack, when Japanese news accounts and propaganda celebrated victories over China in the two nations’ battles in the 1930s.</p>
<p>Those pieces are contrasted with the island paradise of hula girls and sandy beaches captured in photographs taken by U.S. servicemen stationed at Pearl Harbor, which is located just west of Honolulu, Hawaii, and is the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet.</p>
<p>Then there is the attack itself. It involved more than 300 Japanese fighter planes and bombers and killed more than 2,000 Americans, wounded more than 1,000 others, and destroyed or damaged scores of U.S. warships and aircraft.</p>
<p>A glass display holds a small piece of a Japanese plane shot down in the battle, as well as a copy of the first hastily typed distress message sent out from the naval base.</p>
<p>“AIRRAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NO DRILL,” it reads.</p>
<p>Other items on display include a large pair of binoculars from the bridge of the USS Arizona. The badly bombed battleship sank in the attack, killing more than 1,000 officers and crew members.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the exhibition walls, the outrage and sorrow of U.S. newspaper headlines is contrasted with the euphoria and exultation expressed in Japanese postcards, photos and newspapers at the time.</p>
<p>The exhibition also reflects on the heightened fear and anger over Japanese living in America, and the experiences of Japanese families forced into internment camps.</p>
<p>Through photos, letters and other personal effects, it spotlights the story of Tom Kasai, a Los Angeles-area resident who served in the U.S. Army while his wife and parents were relocated to a camp in Arizona.</p>
<p>Kasai was wounded serving in France and awarded the Purple Heart, which is included in the display along with his uniform and other medals.</p>
<p>As visitors complete the exhibition, they’re confronted with an assortment of buttons, pins, stamps and other keepsakes produced in the wake of the attack.</p>
<p>All bear the national rallying cry: “Remember Pearl Harbor.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Philip Marcelo at https://twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo." type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo.</a></p> | Display of rare items marks 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor | false | https://abqjournal.com/863788/display-of-rare-items-marks-75th-anniversary-of-pearl-harbor.html | 2016-10-09 | 2least
| Display of rare items marks 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor
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<p>Placards and mementos with the phrase “Remember Pearl Harbor” are on display as part of an exhibit at The Museum of World War II, Boston, in Natick, Mass. The new exhibition, which opened Saturday, features artifacts that have rarely been publicly displayed. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)</p>
<p>NATICK, Mass. — President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared it a “date which will live in infamy” – and three-quarters of a century later, relics from that audacious attack still conjure strong emotions.</p>
<p>A new exhibition commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that drew the United States into World War II is opening at a private, nonprofit museum west of Boston that’s open to the public by appointment.</p>
<p>The Natick-based Museum of World War II’s “Why We Still Remember” display chronicles the mood in the U.S. and Japan leading up to and after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack by Japan.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Museum founder Kenneth Rendell suggests the themes – including the rising nationalism in Japan and the complacency in the U.S. to the growing threat in a part of the world few Americans understood – should resonate today in the times of the Islamic State group and other foes.</p>
<p>“We underestimated the Japanese terribly. Everyone was paying attention to Europe, no one was paying attention to Asia,” he says. “It explains a lot about why we were caught flat-footed. That’s the importance of learning from history. It’s having respect for the enemy.”</p>
<p>The exhibition, which opened Saturday and runs through Jan. 7, 2017, features artifacts evoking the imperialistic ambitions of Japan in the years leading up to the attack, when Japanese news accounts and propaganda celebrated victories over China in the two nations’ battles in the 1930s.</p>
<p>Those pieces are contrasted with the island paradise of hula girls and sandy beaches captured in photographs taken by U.S. servicemen stationed at Pearl Harbor, which is located just west of Honolulu, Hawaii, and is the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet.</p>
<p>Then there is the attack itself. It involved more than 300 Japanese fighter planes and bombers and killed more than 2,000 Americans, wounded more than 1,000 others, and destroyed or damaged scores of U.S. warships and aircraft.</p>
<p>A glass display holds a small piece of a Japanese plane shot down in the battle, as well as a copy of the first hastily typed distress message sent out from the naval base.</p>
<p>“AIRRAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NO DRILL,” it reads.</p>
<p>Other items on display include a large pair of binoculars from the bridge of the USS Arizona. The badly bombed battleship sank in the attack, killing more than 1,000 officers and crew members.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the exhibition walls, the outrage and sorrow of U.S. newspaper headlines is contrasted with the euphoria and exultation expressed in Japanese postcards, photos and newspapers at the time.</p>
<p>The exhibition also reflects on the heightened fear and anger over Japanese living in America, and the experiences of Japanese families forced into internment camps.</p>
<p>Through photos, letters and other personal effects, it spotlights the story of Tom Kasai, a Los Angeles-area resident who served in the U.S. Army while his wife and parents were relocated to a camp in Arizona.</p>
<p>Kasai was wounded serving in France and awarded the Purple Heart, which is included in the display along with his uniform and other medals.</p>
<p>As visitors complete the exhibition, they’re confronted with an assortment of buttons, pins, stamps and other keepsakes produced in the wake of the attack.</p>
<p>All bear the national rallying cry: “Remember Pearl Harbor.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Philip Marcelo at https://twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo." type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo.</a></p> | 599,082 |
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<p>Authorities work the scene of a standoff at the Rite4Us Inn and Suites on Snapfinger Woods Drive, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, in Decatur, Ga. A standoff at a motel outside Atlanta that involved a number of children ended Tuesday morning with the suspect stabbing himself but no one else injured, police said. DeKalb County interim Police Chief James Conroy tells WSB-TV the man was armed with a knife. Police later identified him as Korrie Thomas, 36, and said he is facing charges of false imprisonment and obstruction. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)</p>
<p>DECATUR, Ga. - A man armed with a knife held 11 children and his girlfriend inside a motel room for five hours before he stabbed himself in the neck Tuesday morning, ending a standoff with police, authorities said.</p>
<p>No one else was injured.</p>
<p>Authorities had surrounded the motel and tried to negotiate with Korrie Thomas, 36, before a SWAT team eventually stormed the room and found him critically injured, police said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Thomas was taken to a hospital. He faces charges of false imprisonment and obstruction. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.</p>
<p>Police initially responded to the Rite4us Inn &amp; Suites motel about 2 a.m. for a domestic assault. It was not immediately clear who made the call or what happened.</p>
<p>A woman and children ranging in age from 3 months to 17 years old were inside the room and Thomas would not allow anyone to leave, DeKalb County police Maj. Stephen Fore said in a statement.</p>
<p>Details about the police negotiations with him were not released.</p>
<p>County and state officials were searching for safe housing and other assistance for the woman and the children, after determining they weren't injured or neglected, said DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center director Trenny Stovall. She said authorities believe the woman and Thomas are parents of 10 of the children, while the oldest child is Thomas' brother.</p>
<p>She said the family had been living in the motel, but it's not clear how long or how many rooms they used.</p>
<p>"Our goal is to keep the family together in a safe situation," Stovall said. "They're all in school, and we want to be sure they are able to continue. Separation can add trauma."</p>
<p>Decatur is about 10 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this report.</p> | Police: Man who held 11 children inside motel room stabs himself | false | https://abqjournal.com/701051/police-man-who-held-11-children-inside-motel-room-stabs-himself.html | 2least
| Police: Man who held 11 children inside motel room stabs himself
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<p>Authorities work the scene of a standoff at the Rite4Us Inn and Suites on Snapfinger Woods Drive, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, in Decatur, Ga. A standoff at a motel outside Atlanta that involved a number of children ended Tuesday morning with the suspect stabbing himself but no one else injured, police said. DeKalb County interim Police Chief James Conroy tells WSB-TV the man was armed with a knife. Police later identified him as Korrie Thomas, 36, and said he is facing charges of false imprisonment and obstruction. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)</p>
<p>DECATUR, Ga. - A man armed with a knife held 11 children and his girlfriend inside a motel room for five hours before he stabbed himself in the neck Tuesday morning, ending a standoff with police, authorities said.</p>
<p>No one else was injured.</p>
<p>Authorities had surrounded the motel and tried to negotiate with Korrie Thomas, 36, before a SWAT team eventually stormed the room and found him critically injured, police said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Thomas was taken to a hospital. He faces charges of false imprisonment and obstruction. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.</p>
<p>Police initially responded to the Rite4us Inn &amp; Suites motel about 2 a.m. for a domestic assault. It was not immediately clear who made the call or what happened.</p>
<p>A woman and children ranging in age from 3 months to 17 years old were inside the room and Thomas would not allow anyone to leave, DeKalb County police Maj. Stephen Fore said in a statement.</p>
<p>Details about the police negotiations with him were not released.</p>
<p>County and state officials were searching for safe housing and other assistance for the woman and the children, after determining they weren't injured or neglected, said DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center director Trenny Stovall. She said authorities believe the woman and Thomas are parents of 10 of the children, while the oldest child is Thomas' brother.</p>
<p>She said the family had been living in the motel, but it's not clear how long or how many rooms they used.</p>
<p>"Our goal is to keep the family together in a safe situation," Stovall said. "They're all in school, and we want to be sure they are able to continue. Separation can add trauma."</p>
<p>Decatur is about 10 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this report.</p> | 599,083 |
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<p>FILE - In this June 6, 2014 file photo, Bill Simon, President and CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., speaks during the annual Wal-Mart Shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. A small plane piloted by Simon made an emergency landing Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, on Arkansas 16 in front of Fayetteville High School, after its oil system failed. Three men aboard were taken to a hospital, as was a woman whose truck was hit by the falling plane. (AP Photo/Sarah Bentham, File)</p>
<p>FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A small plane that made an emergency landing along an Arkansas highway was piloted by a former CEO at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.</p>
<p>Bill Simon, who led the company's U.S. operations from 2010 to 2014, told The Associated Press he unfurled a parachute that brought the plane down Tuesday along Arkansas 16 outside Fayetteville High School.</p>
<p>Simon says he suffered a burn as his air bag deployed.</p>
<p>Police say all three men aboard the plane were taken to a hospital, as was a woman whose truck was hit by the falling plane. Police say only minor injuries were reported.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Simon was flying to Waco, Texas, where he teaches at Baylor University. He says he decided to land the plane after its oil system failed, and relied on his training to bring the plane down relatively safely.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that Simon was the CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.?s U.S. operations, not of the overall company.</p> | Ex-Wal-Mart CEO lands troubled plane on Arkansas highway | false | https://abqjournal.com/670281/ex-wal-mart-ceo-lands-troubled-plane-on-arkansas-highway.html | 2least
| Ex-Wal-Mart CEO lands troubled plane on Arkansas highway
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<p>FILE - In this June 6, 2014 file photo, Bill Simon, President and CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., speaks during the annual Wal-Mart Shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. A small plane piloted by Simon made an emergency landing Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, on Arkansas 16 in front of Fayetteville High School, after its oil system failed. Three men aboard were taken to a hospital, as was a woman whose truck was hit by the falling plane. (AP Photo/Sarah Bentham, File)</p>
<p>FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A small plane that made an emergency landing along an Arkansas highway was piloted by a former CEO at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.</p>
<p>Bill Simon, who led the company's U.S. operations from 2010 to 2014, told The Associated Press he unfurled a parachute that brought the plane down Tuesday along Arkansas 16 outside Fayetteville High School.</p>
<p>Simon says he suffered a burn as his air bag deployed.</p>
<p>Police say all three men aboard the plane were taken to a hospital, as was a woman whose truck was hit by the falling plane. Police say only minor injuries were reported.</p>
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<p>Simon was flying to Waco, Texas, where he teaches at Baylor University. He says he decided to land the plane after its oil system failed, and relied on his training to bring the plane down relatively safely.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that Simon was the CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.?s U.S. operations, not of the overall company.</p> | 599,084 |
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<p>August 31, 2008–5 PM</p>
<p>Pink sky colored the morning as cicadas buzz in waves in the old oak trees.&#160; What is it they say about “pink sky in morning…?”&#160; In New Orleans it is one day to Gustave.</p>
<p>A steady river of people arrived at the bus station, many walking from home.&#160; People lined up, men, women, young babies and people with walkers.&#160;&#160; Suitcases, Batman backpacks, pillowcases stuffed with belongings, even black plastic garbage bags clutched tightly in nervous hands.</p>
<p>How many of us would shove some things in a pillowcase, turn out the lights, leave our home and catch a bus filled with strangers going to places unknown?&#160;&#160; In New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast, tens of thousands are doing exactly that.</p>
<p>Big 64 passenger buses roll into the station from across the country to pick up the people of New Orleans.&#160; Some going to public shelters, some to military bases, some to churches.</p>
<p>Spent the day unpacking and opening hundreds of boxes of MREs (military meals ready to eat) to distribute to people getting on buses out of town.&#160; Spaghetti, barbecue, even vegetarian in slick brown packets complete with plastic spoon.&#160; Tastes much better than you would think, especially if you are, as most are, pretty hungry.</p>
<p>Outside satellite TV trucks idle by waiting buses and ambulances.&#160; The sun is out and the wind is up.&#160; Soldiers, who yesterday clutched their M-16s, today sat on folding chairs texting their families.</p>
<p>Volunteers pitch in with city, state and federal officials.&#160; Every kind of police and military you can imagine, many in full battle gear.</p>
<p>Women volunteers in day-glow vests guide the blind, carry bags for the unable, and lift the wheelchairs into the ambulances. &#160;Hundreds and hundreds of people with walkers and canes and wheelchairs are flushed out of their homes and forced to flee.</p>
<p>The occasional big shot strolls through and people politely allow them to fantasize that they are in charge.</p>
<p>Outside the wind continues to pick up.&#160; The U.S. flag flaps ferociously clanging the chains against the metal flagpole.</p>
<p>Those who say they hate government please consider our situation.&#160; Since Katrina our Gulf Coast has benefited from thousands of faith-based groups and hundreds of thousands of volunteers.&#160; But we need the public sector to help make it all work.&#160; Think where New Orleans would be tonight without the buses we all helped pay for, the police and soldiers we all helped pay for, the water, the MREs, the bus drivers, the shelter workers and the Coast Guard.&#160; As you watch the disaster unfold on TV, think where we would be without public help.&#160; We need each other.&#160; In a complex society like ours, we help each other and build the common good through the public sector.&#160; If it is bad, we fix it, not destroy it.&#160; Please think about it.</p>
<p>Back home, a mandatory evacuation has started.&#160; Curfew starts at dusk.&#160; The buses continue to arrive and depart but the passengers slow to a trickle.&#160; Generators and engines roar as the air smells of dust, MREs, and humidity.</p>
<p>As dusk starts, waves of cicadas humm.&#160; Thousands of people are in shelters.&#160; Hundreds are still riding buses.</p>
<p>Gustave is coming.</p>
<p />
<p>Waiting in New Orleans</p>
<p>August 30, 2008 – 4PM</p>
<p>In the blazing midday sun, hot and thirsty little children walk around bags of diapers and soft suitcases piled outside a locked community center in the Lower Ninth Ward.&#160;&#160; Military police in camouflage and local police in dark blue uniforms and sunglasses sit a few feet away in their cars.&#160; Moms and grandmas sit with the children quietly.&#160; Everyone is waiting for a special city bus which will start them on their latest journey away from home.</p>
<p>Hundreds of buses are moving people away from the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Gustave is heading for the Louisiana coast nearly three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes across the Gulf Coast.&#160; Many now face mandatory evacuation.</p>
<p>Dozens died in Haiti and the Dominican Republic after Gustave visited.&#160; After Katrina, few underestimate the potential of Gustave, now a Category 5 (out of a maximum of 5) storm.</p>
<p>Yesterday marching brass bands led commemorations for those who died and for those who lost so much in Katrina.</p>
<p>Today, Humvees crawl amid the thwack thwack thwack of plywood boards being nailed over windows.</p>
<p>Soldiers with long guns and police of all types are everywhere. &#160;Fifteen hundred police are on duty and at least that many National Guard are also here.</p>
<p>One estimate says two million people may be displaced.</p>
<p>In the lower nine, still no bus even after a wait of over two hours.&#160; Another mom clutching an infant walks up to the center with a small suitcase and adds another diaper bag to the pile.&#160; Children ask for water but nothing is provided.&#160; An African American nun named Sister Greta drives up with a few bags of ice and some water and paper cups and everyone happily shares.</p>
<p>This is the first step of displacement.&#160; Those with cars drive away.&#160; Those without walk to a community center with their children and wait for a bus.&#160; The first of many buses they will take in their journey to who-knows-where.&#160; The bus that people are waiting for will take them to the train station where people will get off the bus, be entered into computers, be given bar code bracelets, and then put on other buses for a trip to public shelters in places like Shreveport, Alexandria and Memphis.</p>
<p>New Orleans expects 30,000 people need help evacuating.</p>
<p>Many waiting for this bus were in the Superdome when Katrina hit.&#160; One of the men shows a picture of himself on a bridge surrounded by flood waters where hundreds waited for boats.</p>
<p>There are still big problems.&#160; A 311 call system for the disabled and seniors never properly functioned, crashed and has been abandoned.</p>
<p>Though the wait for the bus is rough, this appears to be a huge improvement.&#160; When Katrina hit, there were no buses and no way out of town for the 25 per cent of the city who had no cars.&#160; As a result, nearly 100,000 people were left behind.&#160; This time the hospitals and nursing homes are emptying, the prisoners are already moved out, and there are buses to carry out tens of thousands.&#160;&#160; There are still big problems, but people do have a chance to get out.</p>
<p>Seniors worry about their social security checks, due the first of the month.&#160; Others worry about leaving behind pets.&#160; (One semi-rural area announced that each person getting on the buses could bring one pet, a dog or cat, no roosters, no pigs).&#160;&#160; Others worry about the looming 24 hour curfews.&#160; St. Bernard Parish promises that those out during curfew will be arrested and immediately transported to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary.</p>
<p>Back at the community center, the bus finally pulls up.&#160; No one complains that it is late.&#160; Holding bags and children, people line up quietly in the sun to climb into their first bus.&#160; A blind man is guided into the bus.&#160; Little kids pull smaller children.&#160; Forty-three get on the bus.&#160; There are three nine-year old children, one seven-year old, one six, four three year olds, three one year olds, one infant is 11 months, a 3-month old, and a couple of young teenagers.&#160; All the moms and grandmas and kids and bags and diapers make it onto the bus and it pulls away.</p>
<p>Across the Gulf Coast, another journey starts.</p>
<p>BILL QUIGLEY is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola &#160;University New Orleans.&#160;His essay on the Echo 9 nuclear launch site protests is featured in <a href="" type="internal">Red State Rebels: Tales of Grassroots Resistance from the Heartland</a>, published by AK Press. He can be reached at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Your Ad Here</a> &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | BILL QUIGLEY August 31, 2008–5 PM | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/08/30/bill-quigley-august-31-2008-5-pm/ | 2008-08-30 | 4left
| BILL QUIGLEY August 31, 2008–5 PM
<p>August 31, 2008–5 PM</p>
<p>Pink sky colored the morning as cicadas buzz in waves in the old oak trees.&#160; What is it they say about “pink sky in morning…?”&#160; In New Orleans it is one day to Gustave.</p>
<p>A steady river of people arrived at the bus station, many walking from home.&#160; People lined up, men, women, young babies and people with walkers.&#160;&#160; Suitcases, Batman backpacks, pillowcases stuffed with belongings, even black plastic garbage bags clutched tightly in nervous hands.</p>
<p>How many of us would shove some things in a pillowcase, turn out the lights, leave our home and catch a bus filled with strangers going to places unknown?&#160;&#160; In New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast, tens of thousands are doing exactly that.</p>
<p>Big 64 passenger buses roll into the station from across the country to pick up the people of New Orleans.&#160; Some going to public shelters, some to military bases, some to churches.</p>
<p>Spent the day unpacking and opening hundreds of boxes of MREs (military meals ready to eat) to distribute to people getting on buses out of town.&#160; Spaghetti, barbecue, even vegetarian in slick brown packets complete with plastic spoon.&#160; Tastes much better than you would think, especially if you are, as most are, pretty hungry.</p>
<p>Outside satellite TV trucks idle by waiting buses and ambulances.&#160; The sun is out and the wind is up.&#160; Soldiers, who yesterday clutched their M-16s, today sat on folding chairs texting their families.</p>
<p>Volunteers pitch in with city, state and federal officials.&#160; Every kind of police and military you can imagine, many in full battle gear.</p>
<p>Women volunteers in day-glow vests guide the blind, carry bags for the unable, and lift the wheelchairs into the ambulances. &#160;Hundreds and hundreds of people with walkers and canes and wheelchairs are flushed out of their homes and forced to flee.</p>
<p>The occasional big shot strolls through and people politely allow them to fantasize that they are in charge.</p>
<p>Outside the wind continues to pick up.&#160; The U.S. flag flaps ferociously clanging the chains against the metal flagpole.</p>
<p>Those who say they hate government please consider our situation.&#160; Since Katrina our Gulf Coast has benefited from thousands of faith-based groups and hundreds of thousands of volunteers.&#160; But we need the public sector to help make it all work.&#160; Think where New Orleans would be tonight without the buses we all helped pay for, the police and soldiers we all helped pay for, the water, the MREs, the bus drivers, the shelter workers and the Coast Guard.&#160; As you watch the disaster unfold on TV, think where we would be without public help.&#160; We need each other.&#160; In a complex society like ours, we help each other and build the common good through the public sector.&#160; If it is bad, we fix it, not destroy it.&#160; Please think about it.</p>
<p>Back home, a mandatory evacuation has started.&#160; Curfew starts at dusk.&#160; The buses continue to arrive and depart but the passengers slow to a trickle.&#160; Generators and engines roar as the air smells of dust, MREs, and humidity.</p>
<p>As dusk starts, waves of cicadas humm.&#160; Thousands of people are in shelters.&#160; Hundreds are still riding buses.</p>
<p>Gustave is coming.</p>
<p />
<p>Waiting in New Orleans</p>
<p>August 30, 2008 – 4PM</p>
<p>In the blazing midday sun, hot and thirsty little children walk around bags of diapers and soft suitcases piled outside a locked community center in the Lower Ninth Ward.&#160;&#160; Military police in camouflage and local police in dark blue uniforms and sunglasses sit a few feet away in their cars.&#160; Moms and grandmas sit with the children quietly.&#160; Everyone is waiting for a special city bus which will start them on their latest journey away from home.</p>
<p>Hundreds of buses are moving people away from the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Gustave is heading for the Louisiana coast nearly three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes across the Gulf Coast.&#160; Many now face mandatory evacuation.</p>
<p>Dozens died in Haiti and the Dominican Republic after Gustave visited.&#160; After Katrina, few underestimate the potential of Gustave, now a Category 5 (out of a maximum of 5) storm.</p>
<p>Yesterday marching brass bands led commemorations for those who died and for those who lost so much in Katrina.</p>
<p>Today, Humvees crawl amid the thwack thwack thwack of plywood boards being nailed over windows.</p>
<p>Soldiers with long guns and police of all types are everywhere. &#160;Fifteen hundred police are on duty and at least that many National Guard are also here.</p>
<p>One estimate says two million people may be displaced.</p>
<p>In the lower nine, still no bus even after a wait of over two hours.&#160; Another mom clutching an infant walks up to the center with a small suitcase and adds another diaper bag to the pile.&#160; Children ask for water but nothing is provided.&#160; An African American nun named Sister Greta drives up with a few bags of ice and some water and paper cups and everyone happily shares.</p>
<p>This is the first step of displacement.&#160; Those with cars drive away.&#160; Those without walk to a community center with their children and wait for a bus.&#160; The first of many buses they will take in their journey to who-knows-where.&#160; The bus that people are waiting for will take them to the train station where people will get off the bus, be entered into computers, be given bar code bracelets, and then put on other buses for a trip to public shelters in places like Shreveport, Alexandria and Memphis.</p>
<p>New Orleans expects 30,000 people need help evacuating.</p>
<p>Many waiting for this bus were in the Superdome when Katrina hit.&#160; One of the men shows a picture of himself on a bridge surrounded by flood waters where hundreds waited for boats.</p>
<p>There are still big problems.&#160; A 311 call system for the disabled and seniors never properly functioned, crashed and has been abandoned.</p>
<p>Though the wait for the bus is rough, this appears to be a huge improvement.&#160; When Katrina hit, there were no buses and no way out of town for the 25 per cent of the city who had no cars.&#160; As a result, nearly 100,000 people were left behind.&#160; This time the hospitals and nursing homes are emptying, the prisoners are already moved out, and there are buses to carry out tens of thousands.&#160;&#160; There are still big problems, but people do have a chance to get out.</p>
<p>Seniors worry about their social security checks, due the first of the month.&#160; Others worry about leaving behind pets.&#160; (One semi-rural area announced that each person getting on the buses could bring one pet, a dog or cat, no roosters, no pigs).&#160;&#160; Others worry about the looming 24 hour curfews.&#160; St. Bernard Parish promises that those out during curfew will be arrested and immediately transported to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary.</p>
<p>Back at the community center, the bus finally pulls up.&#160; No one complains that it is late.&#160; Holding bags and children, people line up quietly in the sun to climb into their first bus.&#160; A blind man is guided into the bus.&#160; Little kids pull smaller children.&#160; Forty-three get on the bus.&#160; There are three nine-year old children, one seven-year old, one six, four three year olds, three one year olds, one infant is 11 months, a 3-month old, and a couple of young teenagers.&#160; All the moms and grandmas and kids and bags and diapers make it onto the bus and it pulls away.</p>
<p>Across the Gulf Coast, another journey starts.</p>
<p>BILL QUIGLEY is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola &#160;University New Orleans.&#160;His essay on the Echo 9 nuclear launch site protests is featured in <a href="" type="internal">Red State Rebels: Tales of Grassroots Resistance from the Heartland</a>, published by AK Press. He can be reached at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Your Ad Here</a> &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,085 |
<p>In the first minute of his July 29 Democratic National Convention (DNC) acceptance speech, John Kerry told us that the Democratic party has “one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in the world.” The Republicans have set the standard by which a US President will be judged, and listening to peace and social justice activists is not one of the desired qualities. Regardless of who gets elected, the two parties tell us, the next president will be a “Commander-in-chief”: tough on terrorism, national security and Homeland Security, and easy on corporations, while paying lip-service to jobs, healthcare, and education. According to Democrats quoted in the New York Times (July 25th 2004), this year’s DNC was designed so that you “think you’re looking at a Republican Convention.” Kerry is reaching out to the same base that Bush is, so this election year there is hardly even the pretense of progressive values coming from the Democratic elites on the podium.</p>
<p>The thousands of people who mobilized four years ago at the Los Angeles DNC to critique the Democrats are a very different crowd from the mainstream or liberal wing of the party that will vote for John Kerry this November. Kerry and the Democratic Party elite do not need the votes of activists ­ they do not constitue a significant or influential voting block like corporations or other Republican constituencies that appear to be the targets of most Kerry campaigning. Furthermore, Kerry and the Party elite do not actually want peace activists to campaign for them, at least not as peace activists. This was demonstrated most tellingly at the DNC where not only was criticism of the war discouraged, but peace activists among the delegates were not allowed to bring literature or clothing that expressed an anti-war stance. Medea Benjamin, who advocates voting for Kerry in swing states, was thrown out of the convention hall after unfurling a banner calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq. Other activists were barred from entering with headscarves that read “Delegates for Peace” and one California delegate with a flyer entitled “No War on Iraq” was prevented from bringing it onto the floor of the convention hall.</p>
<p>Anti-war views were by no means rare at the Convention. Even within the narrow spectrum of the Democratic Party, ninety percent of delegates oppose the war in Iraq (according to a recent CBS/NY Times poll). Their views were barely reflected in the choreographed speeches of their elite “representatives.” Outspoken anti-war Democrat Dennis Kucinich justified ignoring the divide: “we’re going to unite our party to elect John Kerry and then we’re going to continue the debate within the Democratic Party.” (PBS Interview) So, ninety percent of the party’s rank-and-file have to compromise their position on the war to comply with the 10 percent who are represented by the powerful elite of the party. Instead of the party taking a stand based on the majority sentiment, the crucial debate over war has been relegated to internal party discussion, where it will probably fizzle out. Those on the left who advocate blind support for Kerry hand responsibility for the debate over war and occupation to the Democratic Party, whose elites have more in common with Republicans than with their own rank-and-file.</p>
<p>The irresponsible idealism with which the antiwar movement is throwing its support behind a pro-war Bush-like candidate is disturbing. Little attempt is being made by the Party itself to reach out to those who are unregistered or uninterested, but private groups like MoveOn.org and individuals like filmmaker Michael Moore are doing it for them, under the slogan “Anybody But Bush.” The MoveOn Political Action Committee just sent a letter to its members that “hope is on the way” in the guise of John Kerry, parroting Kerry’s own refrain (“help is on the way”) during his DNC acceptance speech. After he wins, MoveOn tells us, “we’ll wake up that morning able to dream big dreams for a country and a world that are once again headed in the right direction.” Unless voters are aware of the problems of backing Kerry for President most will go home after election day, either happy that their candidate won or cynical that their actions had no effect. Being realistic about Kerry’s background may prepare activists to begin organizing now, regardless of who wins, determined to involve themselves in struggle for the long haul, if that’s what it takes.</p>
<p>The constituency that Kerry actually listens to includes those who want the good old days of a glorious America that had “credibility” in the world and could enforce genocidal sanctions on Iraq with a smile. They want the Democratic Party to back a candidate that “appears” to respect international law even as we repeatedly violate it. Kerry voters will include Republicans who are disgusted with the Bush administration’s overt imperialism, choosing instead a stealthy approach to world domination. Kerry would forego Bush’s blatant unilateralism in favor of a more nuanced version. Just like Bush, Kerry would ” never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security,” but he would at least have “the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden.” To Kerry, the US must be feared and respected, “not just feared.”</p>
<p>“We need John Kerry to restore life to the Global War on Terrorism,” said Jimmy Carter on the first day of the DNC. If the war on terrorism needed any more life than Bush gave it in Iraq and Afghanistan, the world is in for a disaster. As we saw by the State Department’s (revised) Patterns of Global Terrorism report, countries subjected to the US “war on terrorism” showed increasing rates of terrorism. If Kerry wanted to address sources of terrorism, he might work to end the US occupation of Iraq and theUS-backed occupation of Palestine. Instead, he is insistent on continuing the brutal legacy of the Clinton era in Iraq and has allied himself unequivocally with Israel. If he becomes President, Kerry will clearly act at least as center-right as Clinton, and maybe worse. His positions on Afghanistan and Cuba are Clintonesque as well.</p>
<p>Carter and others have emphasized Kerry’s tour of duty as a soldier in Vietnam as evidence that “He is a proven defender of national security.” The implicit emphasis is on his blind obedience to US imperial policy. Kerry himself said he learned his values “on that gunboat patrolling the Mekong Delta,” without mentioning his eventual public stand against the war. Rarely is Kerry’s past anti-war activism invoked, except by some anti-war supporters who blindly ignore his more recent pro-war record as Senator.</p>
<p>Knowing that public disenchantment with Bush’s foreign policy will not be enough to elect him (especially since he does not have much that is different to offer), Kerry has decided to highlight domestic issues like jobs, healthcare, and education. Outsourcing is a hot-button issue that Kerry has promised to reduce, despite his vote for NAFTA. Little mention is made of the inherent contradiction between his support of “free trade” and protectionist measures to preserve jobs at home-or the contradiction between wooing organized labor by backing environmental and labor standards in trade agreements, and his support for corporate power. Kerry is unambiguous that his real constituency is Big Business. In an interview with BusinessWeek (August 2nd) Kerry revealed, “I am going to bring Corporate America to the table to say: How do we make you more competitive? How do we get out of your way? Research-and-development tax credits? I’d make them permanent and larger. Manufacturing tax credits? That’s a smart way to help I am 100% in favor of companies going abroad to do business.”</p>
<p>It is true that a small amount of positive change will accompany a Kerry administration­most certainly fewer people will die in the short term. If Kerry wins in November it will definitely be a blow to the ultra-facist Neoconservatives and their allies. But those who are interested in long term radical social change, an admittedly marginal slice of the population, should not waste their time and effort in propping up the Democratic Party elite and their Republican-like agenda. There are plenty of people who are doing that already. Activism should focus on exposing Kerry before he ascends to the White House so that there will be few illusions that the Kerry era will be any better than the Clinton era; and so we can lay the groundwork for opposing Kerry’s policies as soon as possible. Kerry should be put on notice that the rabble-rousers who see through his compromises will not for long indulge in a sigh of relief if he wins. Instead activism ought to focus on constantly pushing the discussion to the left, wresting it from the rightward trend of current political discourse. We should be clear: activists who want serious social change, like those who mobilized 4 years ago to hold Gore and the Democrats accountable, will not find it in backing Kerry.</p>
<p>Sonali Kolhatkar is co-producer and host of Uprising, a morning drive-time radio program on KPFK Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>James Ingalls is a staff scientist at the Spitzer Space Telescope Science Center, California Institute of Technology. They both are co-directors of the Afghan Women’s Mission.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Kerry Doesn’t Want Anti-War Activists | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/07/30/kerry-doesn-t-want-anti-war-activists/ | 2004-07-30 | 4left
| Kerry Doesn’t Want Anti-War Activists
<p>In the first minute of his July 29 Democratic National Convention (DNC) acceptance speech, John Kerry told us that the Democratic party has “one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in the world.” The Republicans have set the standard by which a US President will be judged, and listening to peace and social justice activists is not one of the desired qualities. Regardless of who gets elected, the two parties tell us, the next president will be a “Commander-in-chief”: tough on terrorism, national security and Homeland Security, and easy on corporations, while paying lip-service to jobs, healthcare, and education. According to Democrats quoted in the New York Times (July 25th 2004), this year’s DNC was designed so that you “think you’re looking at a Republican Convention.” Kerry is reaching out to the same base that Bush is, so this election year there is hardly even the pretense of progressive values coming from the Democratic elites on the podium.</p>
<p>The thousands of people who mobilized four years ago at the Los Angeles DNC to critique the Democrats are a very different crowd from the mainstream or liberal wing of the party that will vote for John Kerry this November. Kerry and the Democratic Party elite do not need the votes of activists ­ they do not constitue a significant or influential voting block like corporations or other Republican constituencies that appear to be the targets of most Kerry campaigning. Furthermore, Kerry and the Party elite do not actually want peace activists to campaign for them, at least not as peace activists. This was demonstrated most tellingly at the DNC where not only was criticism of the war discouraged, but peace activists among the delegates were not allowed to bring literature or clothing that expressed an anti-war stance. Medea Benjamin, who advocates voting for Kerry in swing states, was thrown out of the convention hall after unfurling a banner calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq. Other activists were barred from entering with headscarves that read “Delegates for Peace” and one California delegate with a flyer entitled “No War on Iraq” was prevented from bringing it onto the floor of the convention hall.</p>
<p>Anti-war views were by no means rare at the Convention. Even within the narrow spectrum of the Democratic Party, ninety percent of delegates oppose the war in Iraq (according to a recent CBS/NY Times poll). Their views were barely reflected in the choreographed speeches of their elite “representatives.” Outspoken anti-war Democrat Dennis Kucinich justified ignoring the divide: “we’re going to unite our party to elect John Kerry and then we’re going to continue the debate within the Democratic Party.” (PBS Interview) So, ninety percent of the party’s rank-and-file have to compromise their position on the war to comply with the 10 percent who are represented by the powerful elite of the party. Instead of the party taking a stand based on the majority sentiment, the crucial debate over war has been relegated to internal party discussion, where it will probably fizzle out. Those on the left who advocate blind support for Kerry hand responsibility for the debate over war and occupation to the Democratic Party, whose elites have more in common with Republicans than with their own rank-and-file.</p>
<p>The irresponsible idealism with which the antiwar movement is throwing its support behind a pro-war Bush-like candidate is disturbing. Little attempt is being made by the Party itself to reach out to those who are unregistered or uninterested, but private groups like MoveOn.org and individuals like filmmaker Michael Moore are doing it for them, under the slogan “Anybody But Bush.” The MoveOn Political Action Committee just sent a letter to its members that “hope is on the way” in the guise of John Kerry, parroting Kerry’s own refrain (“help is on the way”) during his DNC acceptance speech. After he wins, MoveOn tells us, “we’ll wake up that morning able to dream big dreams for a country and a world that are once again headed in the right direction.” Unless voters are aware of the problems of backing Kerry for President most will go home after election day, either happy that their candidate won or cynical that their actions had no effect. Being realistic about Kerry’s background may prepare activists to begin organizing now, regardless of who wins, determined to involve themselves in struggle for the long haul, if that’s what it takes.</p>
<p>The constituency that Kerry actually listens to includes those who want the good old days of a glorious America that had “credibility” in the world and could enforce genocidal sanctions on Iraq with a smile. They want the Democratic Party to back a candidate that “appears” to respect international law even as we repeatedly violate it. Kerry voters will include Republicans who are disgusted with the Bush administration’s overt imperialism, choosing instead a stealthy approach to world domination. Kerry would forego Bush’s blatant unilateralism in favor of a more nuanced version. Just like Bush, Kerry would ” never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security,” but he would at least have “the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden.” To Kerry, the US must be feared and respected, “not just feared.”</p>
<p>“We need John Kerry to restore life to the Global War on Terrorism,” said Jimmy Carter on the first day of the DNC. If the war on terrorism needed any more life than Bush gave it in Iraq and Afghanistan, the world is in for a disaster. As we saw by the State Department’s (revised) Patterns of Global Terrorism report, countries subjected to the US “war on terrorism” showed increasing rates of terrorism. If Kerry wanted to address sources of terrorism, he might work to end the US occupation of Iraq and theUS-backed occupation of Palestine. Instead, he is insistent on continuing the brutal legacy of the Clinton era in Iraq and has allied himself unequivocally with Israel. If he becomes President, Kerry will clearly act at least as center-right as Clinton, and maybe worse. His positions on Afghanistan and Cuba are Clintonesque as well.</p>
<p>Carter and others have emphasized Kerry’s tour of duty as a soldier in Vietnam as evidence that “He is a proven defender of national security.” The implicit emphasis is on his blind obedience to US imperial policy. Kerry himself said he learned his values “on that gunboat patrolling the Mekong Delta,” without mentioning his eventual public stand against the war. Rarely is Kerry’s past anti-war activism invoked, except by some anti-war supporters who blindly ignore his more recent pro-war record as Senator.</p>
<p>Knowing that public disenchantment with Bush’s foreign policy will not be enough to elect him (especially since he does not have much that is different to offer), Kerry has decided to highlight domestic issues like jobs, healthcare, and education. Outsourcing is a hot-button issue that Kerry has promised to reduce, despite his vote for NAFTA. Little mention is made of the inherent contradiction between his support of “free trade” and protectionist measures to preserve jobs at home-or the contradiction between wooing organized labor by backing environmental and labor standards in trade agreements, and his support for corporate power. Kerry is unambiguous that his real constituency is Big Business. In an interview with BusinessWeek (August 2nd) Kerry revealed, “I am going to bring Corporate America to the table to say: How do we make you more competitive? How do we get out of your way? Research-and-development tax credits? I’d make them permanent and larger. Manufacturing tax credits? That’s a smart way to help I am 100% in favor of companies going abroad to do business.”</p>
<p>It is true that a small amount of positive change will accompany a Kerry administration­most certainly fewer people will die in the short term. If Kerry wins in November it will definitely be a blow to the ultra-facist Neoconservatives and their allies. But those who are interested in long term radical social change, an admittedly marginal slice of the population, should not waste their time and effort in propping up the Democratic Party elite and their Republican-like agenda. There are plenty of people who are doing that already. Activism should focus on exposing Kerry before he ascends to the White House so that there will be few illusions that the Kerry era will be any better than the Clinton era; and so we can lay the groundwork for opposing Kerry’s policies as soon as possible. Kerry should be put on notice that the rabble-rousers who see through his compromises will not for long indulge in a sigh of relief if he wins. Instead activism ought to focus on constantly pushing the discussion to the left, wresting it from the rightward trend of current political discourse. We should be clear: activists who want serious social change, like those who mobilized 4 years ago to hold Gore and the Democrats accountable, will not find it in backing Kerry.</p>
<p>Sonali Kolhatkar is co-producer and host of Uprising, a morning drive-time radio program on KPFK Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>James Ingalls is a staff scientist at the Spitzer Space Telescope Science Center, California Institute of Technology. They both are co-directors of the Afghan Women’s Mission.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,086 |
<p>Land Rover and Jaguar are recalling 104,000 vehicles because of problems with the brakes and lights.</p>
<p>The largest recall involves a brake-hose issue that Jaguar Land Rover North America studied and dismissed, only to reopen after an accident.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued notices on the recalls Friday.</p>
<p>The safety agency said that Jaguar Land Rover North America will recall up to 74,648 Range Rovers because one or both front brake hoses could rupture, causing the loss of braking fluid.</p>
<p>Land Rover dealers will replace the brake hoses for free on the cars, which are model years 2006 through 2012.</p> | Land Rover and Jaguar will recall 104,000 vehicles over brake and light problems | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/02/07/land-rover-and-jaguar-will-recall-104000-vehicles-over-brake-and-light-problems.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Land Rover and Jaguar will recall 104,000 vehicles over brake and light problems
<p>Land Rover and Jaguar are recalling 104,000 vehicles because of problems with the brakes and lights.</p>
<p>The largest recall involves a brake-hose issue that Jaguar Land Rover North America studied and dismissed, only to reopen after an accident.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued notices on the recalls Friday.</p>
<p>The safety agency said that Jaguar Land Rover North America will recall up to 74,648 Range Rovers because one or both front brake hoses could rupture, causing the loss of braking fluid.</p>
<p>Land Rover dealers will replace the brake hoses for free on the cars, which are model years 2006 through 2012.</p> | 599,087 |
<p>Baghdad.</p>
<p>Bags beneath his eyes, beard greying, finger-jabbing with anger, Saddam was still the same fox, alert, cynical, defiant, abusive, proud. Yet history must record that the new “independent” government in Baghdad yesterday gave Saddam Hussein an initial trial hearing that was worthy of the brutal old dictator.</p>
<p>He was brought to court in chains and handcuffs. The judge insisted that his own name should be kept secret. The names of the other judges were kept secret. The location of the court was kept secret. There was no defence counsel.</p>
<p>For hours, the Iraqi judges managed to censor Saddam’s evidence from the soundtrack of the videotaped proceedings–so that the world should not hear the wretched man’s defence. Even CNN was forced to admit that it had been given tapes of the hearing “under very controlled circumstances”.</p>
<p>This was the first example of “new” Iraq’s justice system at work–yet the tapes of the court appeared on CNN with the logo “Cleared by US Military”. So what did the Iraqis and their American mentors want to hide?</p>
<p>The voice of the Beast of Baghdad as he turned–much to the young judge’ s surprise–on the court itself, pointing out the investigating lawyer had no right to speak “on behalf of the so-called coalition”? Saddam’s arrogant refusal to take human responsibility for the 1990 invasion of Kuwait? Or his dismissive, chilling response to the mass gassings of Halabja? “I have heard of Halabja,” he said, as if he had read about it in a newspaper article. Later, he said just that: “I’ve heard about them [the killings] through the media.”</p>
<p>Perhaps the Americans and the Iraqis they have appointed to run the country were taken by surprise. Saddam, we were all told over the past few days, was “disorientated”, “downcast”, “confused”, a “shadow of his former self” and other cliches. These were the very words used to describe him on the American networks from Baghdad yesterday. But the moment the mute videotape began to air, a silent movie in colour, the old combative Saddam was evidently still alive. He insisted the Americans were promoting his trial, not the Iraqis. His face became flushed and he showed visible contempt towards the judge. “This is all a theatre,” he shouted. “The real criminal is Bush.”</p>
<p>The brown eyes moved steadily around the tiny courtroom, from the judge in his black, gold-trimmed robes to the policeman with the giant paunch–we were never shown his face–with the acronym of the Iraqi Correctional Service on his uniform. “I will sign nothing–nothing until I have spoken to a lawyer,” Saddam announced–correctly, in the eyes of several Iraqi lawyers who watched his performance on television.</p>
<p>Scornful he was, defeated he was not. And of course, watching that face yesterday, one had to ask oneself how much Saddam had reflected on the very real crimes with which he was charged: Halabja, Kuwait, the suppression of the Shia Muslim and Kurdish uprisings in 1991, the tortures and mass killings.</p>
<p>One looked into those big, tired, moist eyes and wondered if he understood pain and grief and sin in the way we mere mortals think we do. And then he talked and we needed to hear what he said and the question slid away; perhaps that is why he was censored. We were supposed to stare at his eyes, not listen to his words. Milosevic-like, he fought his corner. He demanded to be introduced to the judge. “I am an investigative judge,” the young lawyer told him without giving his name.</p>
<p>In fact, he was Ra’id Juhi, a 33-year old Shia Muslim who had been a judge for 10 years under Saddam’s own regime, a point he did concede to Saddam later in the hearing without telling the world what it was like to be a judge under the dictator. He was also the same judge who accused the Shia prelate Muqtada Sadr of murder last April, an event that led to a military battle between Sadr’s militiamen and US troops in the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. Mr Juhi, who most recently worked as a translator, was appointed–to no one ‘s surprise–by the former US proconsul in Iraq, Paul Bremer.</p>
<p>Already, one suspected, Saddam had sniffed out what this court represented for him: the United States. “I am Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq,” he announced–which is exactly what he did when US Special Forces troops dragged him from his hole on the banks of the Tigris river seven months ago. “Would you identify yourself?”</p>
<p>When Judge Juhi said he represented the coalition, Saddam admonished him. Iraqis should judge Iraqis but not on behalf of foreign powers, he snapped. “Remember you’re a judge, don’t talk for the occupiers.” Then he turned lawyer himself. “Were these laws of which I am accused written under Saddam Hussein?” Judge Juhi conceded that they were. “So what entitles you to use them against the president who signed them?”</p>
<p>Here was the old arrogance that we were familiar with, the president, the rais who believed he was immune from his own laws, that he was above the law, outside the law. Those big black eyebrows that used to twitch whenever he was angry, began to move threateningly, arching up and down like little drawbridges above his eyes.</p>
<p>The invasion of Kuwait was not an invasion, he said. “It was not an occupation.” Kuwait had tried to strangle Iraq economically, “to dishonour Iraqi women who would go into the street and would be exploited for 10 dinars”. Given the number of women dishonoured in Saddam’s torture chambers, these words carried their own unique and terrible isolation.</p>
<p>He called the Kuwaitis “dogs”, a description the Iraqi authorities censored to “animals” on the tape. Dogs are, alas, one of the most cursed of creatures in the Arab world. “The president of Iraq and the head of the Iraqi armed forces went to Kuwait in an official manner,” Saddam blustered.</p>
<p>But then, watching that face with its expressive mouth and bright white crooked teeth, the eyes glimmering, a dreadful thought occurred. Could it be this awful man–albeit given less chance to be heard than the Nazis at the first Nuremberg hearings–actually knew less than we thought? Could it be that his apparatchiks and grovelling generals, even his own sons, kept from this man the iniquities of his regime? Might it just be possible that the price of power was ignorance, the cost of guilt a mere suggestion here and there that the laws of Iraq–so immutable according to Saddam–were not adhered to as fairly as they might have been?</p>
<p>No, I think not. I remember how, a decade and a half ago, Saddam asked a group of Kurds whether he should hang “the spy” Farzad Bazoft and how, once the crowd had obligingly told him to execute the young freelance reporter from The Observer, he ordered his hanging. No, I think Saddam knew. I think he regarded brutality as strength, cruelty as justice, pain as mere hardship, death as something endured by others.</p>
<p>Of course, there was that smart, curious black jacket, more a sports blazer than a piece of formal attire, the crisply cleaned shirt, the cheap pen and the piece of folded, yellow exercise paper which he took from his jacket pocket when he wanted to take notes. “I respect the will of the people,” he said at one stage. “This is not a court–it is an investigation.”</p>
<p>The key moment came at that point. Saddam said the court was illegal because the Anglo-American war which brought it into being was illegal–it had no backing from the UN Security Council. Then Saddam crouched slightly and said with controlled irony: “Am I not supposed to meet with lawyers? Just for 10 minutes?”</p>
<p>And one had to have a heart of stone not to remember how many of his victims must have begged, in just the same way, for just 10 more minutes.</p>
<p>ROBERT FISK is a reporter for The Independent and author of <a href="" type="internal">Pity the Nation</a>. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s hot new book, <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Bookshop.html" type="external">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>.</p> | Confused? Shadow of His Old Self? Hardly… | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/07/02/confused-shadow-of-his-old-self-hardly/ | 2004-07-02 | 4left
| Confused? Shadow of His Old Self? Hardly…
<p>Baghdad.</p>
<p>Bags beneath his eyes, beard greying, finger-jabbing with anger, Saddam was still the same fox, alert, cynical, defiant, abusive, proud. Yet history must record that the new “independent” government in Baghdad yesterday gave Saddam Hussein an initial trial hearing that was worthy of the brutal old dictator.</p>
<p>He was brought to court in chains and handcuffs. The judge insisted that his own name should be kept secret. The names of the other judges were kept secret. The location of the court was kept secret. There was no defence counsel.</p>
<p>For hours, the Iraqi judges managed to censor Saddam’s evidence from the soundtrack of the videotaped proceedings–so that the world should not hear the wretched man’s defence. Even CNN was forced to admit that it had been given tapes of the hearing “under very controlled circumstances”.</p>
<p>This was the first example of “new” Iraq’s justice system at work–yet the tapes of the court appeared on CNN with the logo “Cleared by US Military”. So what did the Iraqis and their American mentors want to hide?</p>
<p>The voice of the Beast of Baghdad as he turned–much to the young judge’ s surprise–on the court itself, pointing out the investigating lawyer had no right to speak “on behalf of the so-called coalition”? Saddam’s arrogant refusal to take human responsibility for the 1990 invasion of Kuwait? Or his dismissive, chilling response to the mass gassings of Halabja? “I have heard of Halabja,” he said, as if he had read about it in a newspaper article. Later, he said just that: “I’ve heard about them [the killings] through the media.”</p>
<p>Perhaps the Americans and the Iraqis they have appointed to run the country were taken by surprise. Saddam, we were all told over the past few days, was “disorientated”, “downcast”, “confused”, a “shadow of his former self” and other cliches. These were the very words used to describe him on the American networks from Baghdad yesterday. But the moment the mute videotape began to air, a silent movie in colour, the old combative Saddam was evidently still alive. He insisted the Americans were promoting his trial, not the Iraqis. His face became flushed and he showed visible contempt towards the judge. “This is all a theatre,” he shouted. “The real criminal is Bush.”</p>
<p>The brown eyes moved steadily around the tiny courtroom, from the judge in his black, gold-trimmed robes to the policeman with the giant paunch–we were never shown his face–with the acronym of the Iraqi Correctional Service on his uniform. “I will sign nothing–nothing until I have spoken to a lawyer,” Saddam announced–correctly, in the eyes of several Iraqi lawyers who watched his performance on television.</p>
<p>Scornful he was, defeated he was not. And of course, watching that face yesterday, one had to ask oneself how much Saddam had reflected on the very real crimes with which he was charged: Halabja, Kuwait, the suppression of the Shia Muslim and Kurdish uprisings in 1991, the tortures and mass killings.</p>
<p>One looked into those big, tired, moist eyes and wondered if he understood pain and grief and sin in the way we mere mortals think we do. And then he talked and we needed to hear what he said and the question slid away; perhaps that is why he was censored. We were supposed to stare at his eyes, not listen to his words. Milosevic-like, he fought his corner. He demanded to be introduced to the judge. “I am an investigative judge,” the young lawyer told him without giving his name.</p>
<p>In fact, he was Ra’id Juhi, a 33-year old Shia Muslim who had been a judge for 10 years under Saddam’s own regime, a point he did concede to Saddam later in the hearing without telling the world what it was like to be a judge under the dictator. He was also the same judge who accused the Shia prelate Muqtada Sadr of murder last April, an event that led to a military battle between Sadr’s militiamen and US troops in the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. Mr Juhi, who most recently worked as a translator, was appointed–to no one ‘s surprise–by the former US proconsul in Iraq, Paul Bremer.</p>
<p>Already, one suspected, Saddam had sniffed out what this court represented for him: the United States. “I am Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq,” he announced–which is exactly what he did when US Special Forces troops dragged him from his hole on the banks of the Tigris river seven months ago. “Would you identify yourself?”</p>
<p>When Judge Juhi said he represented the coalition, Saddam admonished him. Iraqis should judge Iraqis but not on behalf of foreign powers, he snapped. “Remember you’re a judge, don’t talk for the occupiers.” Then he turned lawyer himself. “Were these laws of which I am accused written under Saddam Hussein?” Judge Juhi conceded that they were. “So what entitles you to use them against the president who signed them?”</p>
<p>Here was the old arrogance that we were familiar with, the president, the rais who believed he was immune from his own laws, that he was above the law, outside the law. Those big black eyebrows that used to twitch whenever he was angry, began to move threateningly, arching up and down like little drawbridges above his eyes.</p>
<p>The invasion of Kuwait was not an invasion, he said. “It was not an occupation.” Kuwait had tried to strangle Iraq economically, “to dishonour Iraqi women who would go into the street and would be exploited for 10 dinars”. Given the number of women dishonoured in Saddam’s torture chambers, these words carried their own unique and terrible isolation.</p>
<p>He called the Kuwaitis “dogs”, a description the Iraqi authorities censored to “animals” on the tape. Dogs are, alas, one of the most cursed of creatures in the Arab world. “The president of Iraq and the head of the Iraqi armed forces went to Kuwait in an official manner,” Saddam blustered.</p>
<p>But then, watching that face with its expressive mouth and bright white crooked teeth, the eyes glimmering, a dreadful thought occurred. Could it be this awful man–albeit given less chance to be heard than the Nazis at the first Nuremberg hearings–actually knew less than we thought? Could it be that his apparatchiks and grovelling generals, even his own sons, kept from this man the iniquities of his regime? Might it just be possible that the price of power was ignorance, the cost of guilt a mere suggestion here and there that the laws of Iraq–so immutable according to Saddam–were not adhered to as fairly as they might have been?</p>
<p>No, I think not. I remember how, a decade and a half ago, Saddam asked a group of Kurds whether he should hang “the spy” Farzad Bazoft and how, once the crowd had obligingly told him to execute the young freelance reporter from The Observer, he ordered his hanging. No, I think Saddam knew. I think he regarded brutality as strength, cruelty as justice, pain as mere hardship, death as something endured by others.</p>
<p>Of course, there was that smart, curious black jacket, more a sports blazer than a piece of formal attire, the crisply cleaned shirt, the cheap pen and the piece of folded, yellow exercise paper which he took from his jacket pocket when he wanted to take notes. “I respect the will of the people,” he said at one stage. “This is not a court–it is an investigation.”</p>
<p>The key moment came at that point. Saddam said the court was illegal because the Anglo-American war which brought it into being was illegal–it had no backing from the UN Security Council. Then Saddam crouched slightly and said with controlled irony: “Am I not supposed to meet with lawyers? Just for 10 minutes?”</p>
<p>And one had to have a heart of stone not to remember how many of his victims must have begged, in just the same way, for just 10 more minutes.</p>
<p>ROBERT FISK is a reporter for The Independent and author of <a href="" type="internal">Pity the Nation</a>. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s hot new book, <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Bookshop.html" type="external">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>.</p> | 599,088 |
<p>The unpopularity of the Affordable Healthcare Act, aka Obamacare, continues to take a negative toll on Democrat legislators running for re-election in this year's mid-term elections.</p>
<p>Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) seems to be hedging on her assertion that Democrats will definitely run on Obamacare, and not run away from the controversial healthcare law.</p>
<p>During a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz said that Americans are not so concerned about Obamacare, as they are about jobs and the economy.</p>
<p>"When I go home, and I'll broaden it out to colleagues who I've spoken to, the Affordable Care Act is not the first thing that people in a town hall meeting are asking about" "They're asking about investing in education, focusing on continuing to create jobs, making sure that we can make housing more affordable - the bread and butter, kitchen table issues that will add to the confidence that Americans have that this economy is continuing to improve."- <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/debbie-wasserman-schultz-obamacare-106443.html?hp=r2" type="external">Politico</a></p>
<p>Wasserman Schultz then added that incumbent Democrat members of Congress are free to decide which issues, including Obamacare, they would need to focus on in their respective re-election campaigns.</p>
<p>"Every member has to decide on the prime issues in their election," she said. "I know the White House is comfortable with members making those decisions."-Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)</p>
<p>Is&#160;Wasserman Schultz &#160;continuing to back away from her initial claim that Democrats would&#160;in fact run, and win on Obamacare?</p>
<p>Just this past&#160;January, &#160;the congresswoman&#160; <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/369848/wasserman-schultz-wont-confidently-predict-dems-win-back-house-andrew-johnson" type="external">stated</a>that&#160;&#160;she wasn't going to "confidently predict" victory for Democrats.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Obamacare Hurting Democrats, Wasserman Schultz Slowly Backs Off 2014 Election Claim | true | http://shark-tank.com/2014/05/07/obamacare-hurting-democrats-wasserman-schultz-slowly-backs-off-2014-election-claim/ | 0right
| Obamacare Hurting Democrats, Wasserman Schultz Slowly Backs Off 2014 Election Claim
<p>The unpopularity of the Affordable Healthcare Act, aka Obamacare, continues to take a negative toll on Democrat legislators running for re-election in this year's mid-term elections.</p>
<p>Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) seems to be hedging on her assertion that Democrats will definitely run on Obamacare, and not run away from the controversial healthcare law.</p>
<p>During a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz said that Americans are not so concerned about Obamacare, as they are about jobs and the economy.</p>
<p>"When I go home, and I'll broaden it out to colleagues who I've spoken to, the Affordable Care Act is not the first thing that people in a town hall meeting are asking about" "They're asking about investing in education, focusing on continuing to create jobs, making sure that we can make housing more affordable - the bread and butter, kitchen table issues that will add to the confidence that Americans have that this economy is continuing to improve."- <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/debbie-wasserman-schultz-obamacare-106443.html?hp=r2" type="external">Politico</a></p>
<p>Wasserman Schultz then added that incumbent Democrat members of Congress are free to decide which issues, including Obamacare, they would need to focus on in their respective re-election campaigns.</p>
<p>"Every member has to decide on the prime issues in their election," she said. "I know the White House is comfortable with members making those decisions."-Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)</p>
<p>Is&#160;Wasserman Schultz &#160;continuing to back away from her initial claim that Democrats would&#160;in fact run, and win on Obamacare?</p>
<p>Just this past&#160;January, &#160;the congresswoman&#160; <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/369848/wasserman-schultz-wont-confidently-predict-dems-win-back-house-andrew-johnson" type="external">stated</a>that&#160;&#160;she wasn't going to "confidently predict" victory for Democrats.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,089 |
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<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Turchynov: Made interim president by parliament</p>
<p>Yanukovych: Leader's whereabouts are unknown</p>
<p>KIEV, Ukraine - The foes of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych took swift, bold action Sunday to consolidate power and transform the government, sacking ministers, freeing jailed protesters and announcing detentions of former officials, even as ordinary Ukrainians confessed they weren't really sure who was running the country or where it was headed.</p>
<p>By decree, the nation's parliament gave interim presidential authority to the speaker, Oleksandr Turchynov, a leader of the opposition.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Turchynov quickly delivered some sobering news: The economy was in a shambles, and the government coffers empty. Ukraine's pension fund, currency and banking system were facing "immense problems," he said, according to the news agency RIA Novosti.</p>
<p>Sunday's actions brought the latest dramatic changes to a country convulsed by protests since Yanukovych reversed course on a trade agreement with the European Union three months ago and turned to Russia for economic aid. Since then, 88 people have died in demonstrations and clashes with riot police and security forces, which culminated in the president's removal in a parliamentary vote on Saturday .</p>
<p>Even as demonstrators in Kiev celebrated Sunday, there were signs of trouble in parts of Ukraine that lean more toward Russia than Europe. In the southern Crimean region, men gathered to volunteer for militias to oppose the decrees announced in the capital.</p>
<p>There has been no word from Yanukovych since a short prerecorded interview aired Saturday morning on Ukrainian television, in which he blasted his removal as "illegal" and refused to resign. Border police said they stopped his plane in Donetsk on Saturday as he was trying to leave the country.</p>
<p>Yanukovych's whereabouts remain unknown, even to members of his party.</p>
<p>Legislators said Sunday that they urgently needed to form an interim unity government, leading up to elections they have called for May 25. But in their rush, they got ahead of themselves.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The lawmakers put forth the name of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko as a possible candidate for the premiership. But she quickly said she was not interested in the job and hadn't been consulted.</p>
<p>Even Yanukovych's allies began to turn against their former boss on Sunday, blaming him for the crisis.</p>
<p>Oleksandr Yefremov, a leader of Yanukovych's Party of Regions, said he "strongly condemns the criminal orders that led to human victims, an empty state treasury, huge debts and the shame before the eyes of the Ukrainian people and the entire world."</p>
<p>Ukraine's interim government faces huge problems, even beyond the teetering economy. A member of parliament warned his colleagues that they needed to work quickly to bring Ukraine's security forces back to work, saying that some of the nation's vital infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, was unguarded.</p>
<p>Opposition leaders urged thousands of demonstrators still on Kiev's Independence Square to remain where they are to guarantee that the government changes wouldn't be reversed.</p>
<p>They called upon the "self-defense" militias organized to defend the barricades at the square to remain on the streets to provide security. Groups of men in mismatched military uniforms, wielding baseball bats and homemade shields, were directing traffic at intersections and standing guard in front of government offices.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On Sunday, Independence Square was filled with Ukrainians who piled heaps of flowers at makeshift shrines beside photographs of protesters killed in the most recent clashes. In western Ukraine, which is fervently pro-Europe, large crowds assembled to mourn protesters slain in the past week.</p>
<p>Members of the opposition announced that protesters arrested during the demonstrations would be freed immediately, while they also sought to detain and prosecute the dismissed prosecutor general, Viktor Pshonka.</p>
<p>The interim interior minister, Arsen Avakov, promised that the government would open an inquiry into the use of lethal force by riot police and security forces.</p>
<p>Among the unknowns Sunday was how Russia would react to the swift change in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that Moscow regards as a vital strategic interest. In December, Russia had signed a deal with Yanukovych promising a $15 billion support package for Ukraine. The move toward Russian aid fueled the protests in Kiev.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Ukrainian parliament moves to consolidate power | false | https://abqjournal.com/358287/ukrainian-parliament-moves-to-consolidate-power.html | 2least
| Ukrainian parliament moves to consolidate power
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<p>Turchynov: Made interim president by parliament</p>
<p>Yanukovych: Leader's whereabouts are unknown</p>
<p>KIEV, Ukraine - The foes of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych took swift, bold action Sunday to consolidate power and transform the government, sacking ministers, freeing jailed protesters and announcing detentions of former officials, even as ordinary Ukrainians confessed they weren't really sure who was running the country or where it was headed.</p>
<p>By decree, the nation's parliament gave interim presidential authority to the speaker, Oleksandr Turchynov, a leader of the opposition.</p>
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<p>Turchynov quickly delivered some sobering news: The economy was in a shambles, and the government coffers empty. Ukraine's pension fund, currency and banking system were facing "immense problems," he said, according to the news agency RIA Novosti.</p>
<p>Sunday's actions brought the latest dramatic changes to a country convulsed by protests since Yanukovych reversed course on a trade agreement with the European Union three months ago and turned to Russia for economic aid. Since then, 88 people have died in demonstrations and clashes with riot police and security forces, which culminated in the president's removal in a parliamentary vote on Saturday .</p>
<p>Even as demonstrators in Kiev celebrated Sunday, there were signs of trouble in parts of Ukraine that lean more toward Russia than Europe. In the southern Crimean region, men gathered to volunteer for militias to oppose the decrees announced in the capital.</p>
<p>There has been no word from Yanukovych since a short prerecorded interview aired Saturday morning on Ukrainian television, in which he blasted his removal as "illegal" and refused to resign. Border police said they stopped his plane in Donetsk on Saturday as he was trying to leave the country.</p>
<p>Yanukovych's whereabouts remain unknown, even to members of his party.</p>
<p>Legislators said Sunday that they urgently needed to form an interim unity government, leading up to elections they have called for May 25. But in their rush, they got ahead of themselves.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The lawmakers put forth the name of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko as a possible candidate for the premiership. But she quickly said she was not interested in the job and hadn't been consulted.</p>
<p>Even Yanukovych's allies began to turn against their former boss on Sunday, blaming him for the crisis.</p>
<p>Oleksandr Yefremov, a leader of Yanukovych's Party of Regions, said he "strongly condemns the criminal orders that led to human victims, an empty state treasury, huge debts and the shame before the eyes of the Ukrainian people and the entire world."</p>
<p>Ukraine's interim government faces huge problems, even beyond the teetering economy. A member of parliament warned his colleagues that they needed to work quickly to bring Ukraine's security forces back to work, saying that some of the nation's vital infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, was unguarded.</p>
<p>Opposition leaders urged thousands of demonstrators still on Kiev's Independence Square to remain where they are to guarantee that the government changes wouldn't be reversed.</p>
<p>They called upon the "self-defense" militias organized to defend the barricades at the square to remain on the streets to provide security. Groups of men in mismatched military uniforms, wielding baseball bats and homemade shields, were directing traffic at intersections and standing guard in front of government offices.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On Sunday, Independence Square was filled with Ukrainians who piled heaps of flowers at makeshift shrines beside photographs of protesters killed in the most recent clashes. In western Ukraine, which is fervently pro-Europe, large crowds assembled to mourn protesters slain in the past week.</p>
<p>Members of the opposition announced that protesters arrested during the demonstrations would be freed immediately, while they also sought to detain and prosecute the dismissed prosecutor general, Viktor Pshonka.</p>
<p>The interim interior minister, Arsen Avakov, promised that the government would open an inquiry into the use of lethal force by riot police and security forces.</p>
<p>Among the unknowns Sunday was how Russia would react to the swift change in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that Moscow regards as a vital strategic interest. In December, Russia had signed a deal with Yanukovych promising a $15 billion support package for Ukraine. The move toward Russian aid fueled the protests in Kiev.</p>
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<p>Urban beekeeping has found an unlikely new frontier: airports.</p>
<p>The practice of maintaining beehives on airport property began in Germany a decade and a half ago&#160;and has spread, reaching&#160;Chicago, St. Louis and Seattle in the United States. &#160;</p>
<p>The hives are typically kept in the buffer zone on the outskirts of the airport. The bees give airports a PR friendly way to show off their green bona fides and find a use for land that legally can’t be developed. It’s also good for honeybees, whose population has been put under stress by “Colony Collapse Disorder.” While the number of bee colonies that died last winter was lower than in previous years, the rate — 23.2 percent — was still higher than what beekeepers believe to be sustainable, according to a <a href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2014/140515.htm" type="external">report</a> from the US&#160;Department of Agriculture.</p>
<p>Bob Redmond, a beekeeper and executive director of the nonprofit <a href="http://commonacre.org" type="external">The Common Acre</a>, helped bring the idea to Seattle’s&#160;Sea-Tac airport after reading about a similar <a href="http://www.flychicago.com/OHare/EN/AboutUs/Sustainability/Apiary.aspx" type="external">project</a> at Chicago’s O’Hare. Sea-Tac helped get things going with a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/99ddd856-5c70-4a9f-bff3-27850f210d90" type="external">small grant</a>&#160;and a 50-acre space. Redmond and his team now oversee 25 hives.</p>
<p>His vision didn’t stop there. While the honeybees are the main focus, his team are planting trees, shrubs and flowers on the land that will also be a food source for wild bees in the area.&#160;</p>
<p>“The honeybee is sort of the poster child for bees, and when people think ‘I want to save the bees,’&#160;they think of that one first. But in reality there are 4,000 species of bees in North America and only one of them is the honey bee,” Redmond said. “Granted that we do the most with that bee. It's the only species — or not the only, but it's the main species of bee that we do depend on for agricultural pollination. But the point of this project is to look at the whole picture, and that's why we're planting pollinator habitat.”</p>
<p>The Common Acre also runs an art exhibit in the terminal, and sells honey to passengers to help cover the project’s cost. The honey was lab tested to make sure it didn’t contain contaminants. Since the area around the beehives isn’t developed, the bees have access to a large range of native plants, which Redmond says gives the airport honey a different flavor from that found in backyard urban beehives.</p>
<p>“The airport honey tastes wild, and kind of woody and grassy, and the backyard honeys taste sweeter and more fruity,” he said.</p>
<p>For Redmond, the project isn’t just about bees, but is representative of how cities can best use their empty spaces to support urban agriculture as a whole.</p>
<p>“We're looking at increasing urban development and decreasing land availability, so we have to say, what is available?&#160;And are we really going to plant it all with grass?” he said. “Or are we going to plant something that can make a difference?”</p>
<p>This <a href="http://sciencefriday.com/segment/02/27/2015/airport-apiaries-now-boarding.html" type="external">story</a> first aired as an interview on <a href="http://sciencefriday.com/" type="external">Science Friday</a> with Ira Flatow.</p> | A new home for honeybees, just off the tarmac | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-03-08/airports-welcome-bees-way-make-good-use-their-required-undeveloped-space | 2015-03-08 | 3left-center
| A new home for honeybees, just off the tarmac
<p>Urban beekeeping has found an unlikely new frontier: airports.</p>
<p>The practice of maintaining beehives on airport property began in Germany a decade and a half ago&#160;and has spread, reaching&#160;Chicago, St. Louis and Seattle in the United States. &#160;</p>
<p>The hives are typically kept in the buffer zone on the outskirts of the airport. The bees give airports a PR friendly way to show off their green bona fides and find a use for land that legally can’t be developed. It’s also good for honeybees, whose population has been put under stress by “Colony Collapse Disorder.” While the number of bee colonies that died last winter was lower than in previous years, the rate — 23.2 percent — was still higher than what beekeepers believe to be sustainable, according to a <a href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2014/140515.htm" type="external">report</a> from the US&#160;Department of Agriculture.</p>
<p>Bob Redmond, a beekeeper and executive director of the nonprofit <a href="http://commonacre.org" type="external">The Common Acre</a>, helped bring the idea to Seattle’s&#160;Sea-Tac airport after reading about a similar <a href="http://www.flychicago.com/OHare/EN/AboutUs/Sustainability/Apiary.aspx" type="external">project</a> at Chicago’s O’Hare. Sea-Tac helped get things going with a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/99ddd856-5c70-4a9f-bff3-27850f210d90" type="external">small grant</a>&#160;and a 50-acre space. Redmond and his team now oversee 25 hives.</p>
<p>His vision didn’t stop there. While the honeybees are the main focus, his team are planting trees, shrubs and flowers on the land that will also be a food source for wild bees in the area.&#160;</p>
<p>“The honeybee is sort of the poster child for bees, and when people think ‘I want to save the bees,’&#160;they think of that one first. But in reality there are 4,000 species of bees in North America and only one of them is the honey bee,” Redmond said. “Granted that we do the most with that bee. It's the only species — or not the only, but it's the main species of bee that we do depend on for agricultural pollination. But the point of this project is to look at the whole picture, and that's why we're planting pollinator habitat.”</p>
<p>The Common Acre also runs an art exhibit in the terminal, and sells honey to passengers to help cover the project’s cost. The honey was lab tested to make sure it didn’t contain contaminants. Since the area around the beehives isn’t developed, the bees have access to a large range of native plants, which Redmond says gives the airport honey a different flavor from that found in backyard urban beehives.</p>
<p>“The airport honey tastes wild, and kind of woody and grassy, and the backyard honeys taste sweeter and more fruity,” he said.</p>
<p>For Redmond, the project isn’t just about bees, but is representative of how cities can best use their empty spaces to support urban agriculture as a whole.</p>
<p>“We're looking at increasing urban development and decreasing land availability, so we have to say, what is available?&#160;And are we really going to plant it all with grass?” he said. “Or are we going to plant something that can make a difference?”</p>
<p>This <a href="http://sciencefriday.com/segment/02/27/2015/airport-apiaries-now-boarding.html" type="external">story</a> first aired as an interview on <a href="http://sciencefriday.com/" type="external">Science Friday</a> with Ira Flatow.</p> | 599,091 |
<p>It’s no secret that millions of people use mobile dating apps like Tinder and OKCupid to find love. For many, they might have these apps on company issued cell phones or connect their personal devices into a company network posing a big question: can personal apps access a company network?</p>
<p>A recent report from Flexera Software found that most of the popular dating apps can access a phone’s contact list, calendar, location services as well as texting capabilities. The report noted that when dating apps come into contact with a company network, they can access sensitive corporate information, a frightening possibility for America’s largest corporations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But there’s no reason to panic right now. Diogo Monica, the security lead at Docker (an open platform for developers to build apps) and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), says that most popular apps like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) or Uber care deeply about user privacy and thus have strong security features. “The majority of well known apps invest in security” says Monica. They even pay security researchers to hack and test an app’s security.</p>
<p>Regardless, Monica says that hacking an app to access a company network is too complicated and an extra step that hackers don’t need to take. According to him, sending a phishing email with a bug to employees is the easiest way to get inside a company’s system.</p>
<p>So feel free to keep swiping right (or left) with no fear.</p> | No, Dating Apps Can't Hack A Company Network | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/03/15/no-dating-apps-cant-hack-company-network.html | 2016-03-15 | 0right
| No, Dating Apps Can't Hack A Company Network
<p>It’s no secret that millions of people use mobile dating apps like Tinder and OKCupid to find love. For many, they might have these apps on company issued cell phones or connect their personal devices into a company network posing a big question: can personal apps access a company network?</p>
<p>A recent report from Flexera Software found that most of the popular dating apps can access a phone’s contact list, calendar, location services as well as texting capabilities. The report noted that when dating apps come into contact with a company network, they can access sensitive corporate information, a frightening possibility for America’s largest corporations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But there’s no reason to panic right now. Diogo Monica, the security lead at Docker (an open platform for developers to build apps) and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), says that most popular apps like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) or Uber care deeply about user privacy and thus have strong security features. “The majority of well known apps invest in security” says Monica. They even pay security researchers to hack and test an app’s security.</p>
<p>Regardless, Monica says that hacking an app to access a company network is too complicated and an extra step that hackers don’t need to take. According to him, sending a phishing email with a bug to employees is the easiest way to get inside a company’s system.</p>
<p>So feel free to keep swiping right (or left) with no fear.</p> | 599,092 |
<p>Oct. 12 (UPI) — <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/North_Korea/" type="external">North Korea</a>‘s public distribution system is part of the reason defectors have a hard time adjusting to life in South Korea — and socioeconomic change in the North is driving <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kim_Jong_Un/" type="external">Kim Jong Un</a>‘s need to impress the population with nuclear weapons, according to a woman who fled after time in detention.</p>
<p>Jihyun Park, a North Korean defector and activist based in Britain, told UPI Wednesday in a Skype interview that North Korea’s public food distribution system has encumbered the ability of North Korean refugees to cope with South Korea’s capitalist economy.</p>
<p>“North Korea is a distribution country,” Park said. “The government always gave us food.”</p>
<p>While the distribution of “free” staples such as rice, barley or corn precluded the need for currency, North Korea founder <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kim_Il_Sung/" type="external">Kim Il Sung</a> used the public distribution system to control the population.</p>
<p>Park said a system in which you are given food as compensation, instead of payments in currency, is slavery.</p>
<p>North Korea used this system to keep the people in check, Park said.</p>
<p>“If you work you would be given something to eat,” Park said. “If you don’t work, you don’t get to eat.”</p>
<p>The defector said the system is comparable to slavery in the American South, where those enslaved enjoyed few material benefits aside from basic housing, rationed food and cotton clothing.</p>
<p>“The North Korean system is responsible for defectors who are unable to adjust,” Park said. “Capitalism in the South is totally different from the North.”</p>
<p>Defectors in the South are known to struggle in menial jobs in an unfamiliar social environment and cope with discrimination.</p>
<p>One defector <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/09/08/North-Korea-defector-proud-of-nukes-says-Kim-would-rather-die-than-give-up/9701504547982/?utm_source=sec&amp;utm_campaign=sl&amp;utm_medium=1" type="external">who spoke to</a> UPI in August said he “hated” his new life in South Korea and North Koreans continue to exercise loyalty to Kim Jong Un because they “reap benefits” from the state.</p>
<p>Park said North Korean defectors who speak of the merits of the regime are “oblivious” of how the system actually works.</p>
<p>Park was forcibly repatriated to the North from China after being forced into a marriage with a Chinese national.</p>
<p>Her experience in a North Korean prison camp and disease pushed her to gain “real insight into the reality of North Korea.”</p>
<p>“It is people like us who have been forcibly repatriated to the North,” Park said. “What we realized is that it is a country run by dictators.”</p>
<p>“We also realize North Korea is not a socialist country, it is a slave state.”</p>
<p>Defectors who speak fondly of North Korea have not had the bitter experience of rights abuses or walking with bleeding bare feet while laboring in a North Korean prison camp, Park said.</p>
<p>Park, who said she was released while ill because guards wanted her to “die outside the prison camp,” also said North Korea will not give up its weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>The 48-year-old defector said during her university days in the ’80s the state was teaching students about the “need for nuclear weapons.”</p>
<p>“Kim Il Sung taught peace on the peninsula can only be achieved if U.S. forces leave,” Park said, which means war.</p>
<p>But Park also said while the North Korea founder was “able to control the North Korean people” his successors are having a more difficult time maintaining authority.</p>
<p>“Kim Jong Un needs nuclear weapons because of the North Korean people,” Park said. “Because the country is a dictatorship ruled by the Kim family.”</p>
<p>A changing society poses new challenges for the ruling Kims: After the North Korea founder died in 1994, the population’s “way of thinking began to change a great deal.”</p>
<p>“The reason Kim Jong Un is threatening the United States with nuclear weapons, is to impress North Koreans,” Park said. “He’s trying to gain the support of the people.”</p> | Defector: North Korea uses food to keep people under control | false | https://newsline.com/defector-north-korea-uses-food-to-keep-people-under-control/ | 2017-10-12 | 1right-center
| Defector: North Korea uses food to keep people under control
<p>Oct. 12 (UPI) — <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/North_Korea/" type="external">North Korea</a>‘s public distribution system is part of the reason defectors have a hard time adjusting to life in South Korea — and socioeconomic change in the North is driving <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kim_Jong_Un/" type="external">Kim Jong Un</a>‘s need to impress the population with nuclear weapons, according to a woman who fled after time in detention.</p>
<p>Jihyun Park, a North Korean defector and activist based in Britain, told UPI Wednesday in a Skype interview that North Korea’s public food distribution system has encumbered the ability of North Korean refugees to cope with South Korea’s capitalist economy.</p>
<p>“North Korea is a distribution country,” Park said. “The government always gave us food.”</p>
<p>While the distribution of “free” staples such as rice, barley or corn precluded the need for currency, North Korea founder <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kim_Il_Sung/" type="external">Kim Il Sung</a> used the public distribution system to control the population.</p>
<p>Park said a system in which you are given food as compensation, instead of payments in currency, is slavery.</p>
<p>North Korea used this system to keep the people in check, Park said.</p>
<p>“If you work you would be given something to eat,” Park said. “If you don’t work, you don’t get to eat.”</p>
<p>The defector said the system is comparable to slavery in the American South, where those enslaved enjoyed few material benefits aside from basic housing, rationed food and cotton clothing.</p>
<p>“The North Korean system is responsible for defectors who are unable to adjust,” Park said. “Capitalism in the South is totally different from the North.”</p>
<p>Defectors in the South are known to struggle in menial jobs in an unfamiliar social environment and cope with discrimination.</p>
<p>One defector <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/09/08/North-Korea-defector-proud-of-nukes-says-Kim-would-rather-die-than-give-up/9701504547982/?utm_source=sec&amp;utm_campaign=sl&amp;utm_medium=1" type="external">who spoke to</a> UPI in August said he “hated” his new life in South Korea and North Koreans continue to exercise loyalty to Kim Jong Un because they “reap benefits” from the state.</p>
<p>Park said North Korean defectors who speak of the merits of the regime are “oblivious” of how the system actually works.</p>
<p>Park was forcibly repatriated to the North from China after being forced into a marriage with a Chinese national.</p>
<p>Her experience in a North Korean prison camp and disease pushed her to gain “real insight into the reality of North Korea.”</p>
<p>“It is people like us who have been forcibly repatriated to the North,” Park said. “What we realized is that it is a country run by dictators.”</p>
<p>“We also realize North Korea is not a socialist country, it is a slave state.”</p>
<p>Defectors who speak fondly of North Korea have not had the bitter experience of rights abuses or walking with bleeding bare feet while laboring in a North Korean prison camp, Park said.</p>
<p>Park, who said she was released while ill because guards wanted her to “die outside the prison camp,” also said North Korea will not give up its weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>The 48-year-old defector said during her university days in the ’80s the state was teaching students about the “need for nuclear weapons.”</p>
<p>“Kim Il Sung taught peace on the peninsula can only be achieved if U.S. forces leave,” Park said, which means war.</p>
<p>But Park also said while the North Korea founder was “able to control the North Korean people” his successors are having a more difficult time maintaining authority.</p>
<p>“Kim Jong Un needs nuclear weapons because of the North Korean people,” Park said. “Because the country is a dictatorship ruled by the Kim family.”</p>
<p>A changing society poses new challenges for the ruling Kims: After the North Korea founder died in 1994, the population’s “way of thinking began to change a great deal.”</p>
<p>“The reason Kim Jong Un is threatening the United States with nuclear weapons, is to impress North Koreans,” Park said. “He’s trying to gain the support of the people.”</p> | 599,093 |
<p>The Canadian government lost its appeal, so now confessed terrorist and convicted war criminal Omar Khadr is now out on bail while he appeals his conviction.</p>
<p />
<p>But this is illegal, because it violates Khadr's signed plea agreement.</p>
<p>In that deal, Khadr agreed, among other things, not to appeal his conviction and not to profit from his crimes.</p>
<p>But the Alberta courts are on Khadr's side, so they set him loose today.</p>
<p>After this, how can ordinary Canadians trust our nation's elites -- our judges and pundits.</p>
<p>Khadr's illegal release on bail needs to be made into an issue in the upcoming federal election.</p>
<p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/LevantEnemyWithin" type="external">READ The Enemy Within: Terror, Lies, and the Whitewashing of Omar Khadr</a> --Ezra Levant's new book about domestic terrorism and radicalization. <a href="http://www.khadrfacts.com" type="external">VISIT KhadrFacts.com</a> to learn the truth about this convicted terrorist that the media doesn't want you to know.</p> | Release of "Muslim Nazi" Omar Khadr on bail is illegal -- and needs to be federal election issue | true | http://therebel.media/release_of_muslim_nazi_omar_khadr_on_bail_is_illegal_and_needs_to_be_federal_election_issue | 2015-05-07 | 0right
| Release of "Muslim Nazi" Omar Khadr on bail is illegal -- and needs to be federal election issue
<p>The Canadian government lost its appeal, so now confessed terrorist and convicted war criminal Omar Khadr is now out on bail while he appeals his conviction.</p>
<p />
<p>But this is illegal, because it violates Khadr's signed plea agreement.</p>
<p>In that deal, Khadr agreed, among other things, not to appeal his conviction and not to profit from his crimes.</p>
<p>But the Alberta courts are on Khadr's side, so they set him loose today.</p>
<p>After this, how can ordinary Canadians trust our nation's elites -- our judges and pundits.</p>
<p>Khadr's illegal release on bail needs to be made into an issue in the upcoming federal election.</p>
<p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/LevantEnemyWithin" type="external">READ The Enemy Within: Terror, Lies, and the Whitewashing of Omar Khadr</a> --Ezra Levant's new book about domestic terrorism and radicalization. <a href="http://www.khadrfacts.com" type="external">VISIT KhadrFacts.com</a> to learn the truth about this convicted terrorist that the media doesn't want you to know.</p> | 599,094 |
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday afternoon’s drawing of the Georgia Lottery’s “All or Nothing Evening” game were:</p>
<p>02-03-07-08-09-14-16-18-19-20-21-23</p>
<p>(two, three, seven, eight, nine, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three)</p>
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday afternoon’s drawing of the Georgia Lottery’s “All or Nothing Evening” game were:</p>
<p>02-03-07-08-09-14-16-18-19-20-21-23</p>
<p>(two, three, seven, eight, nine, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘All or Nothing Evening’ game | false | https://apnews.com/a48c233415c048ed98c4bd66021222e4 | 2018-01-01 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘All or Nothing Evening’ game
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday afternoon’s drawing of the Georgia Lottery’s “All or Nothing Evening” game were:</p>
<p>02-03-07-08-09-14-16-18-19-20-21-23</p>
<p>(two, three, seven, eight, nine, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three)</p>
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday afternoon’s drawing of the Georgia Lottery’s “All or Nothing Evening” game were:</p>
<p>02-03-07-08-09-14-16-18-19-20-21-23</p>
<p>(two, three, seven, eight, nine, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three)</p> | 599,095 |
<p />
<p>Federal trade officials on Tuesday will recommend measures to safeguard struggling domestic solar panel manufacturers against cheap imports in a closely watched case that could have a major impact on the price of U.S. solar power.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The vote by the U.S. International Trade Commission is a major milestone in a case that has divided the solar industry for the last six months. The panel's proposals, which could include tariffs, a quota or other trade remedies, will be delivered to President Donald Trump, who will make a final decision later this year.</p>
<p>Trade remedies were requested earlier this year by two small U.S. manufacturers that say they are not able to compete with cheap panels made overseas, mainly in Asia.</p>
<p>But fears of steep new tariffs on imports have sparked widespread nervousness among solar developers and installers that have benefited from a 70 percent drop in the cost of solar since 2010. Many snapped up panels ahead of the ITC's vote and warned that some projects may not be completed if the cost of panels rises too much.</p>
<p>The ITC made a preliminary finding on Sept. 22 that domestic solar manufacturers had been harmed by cheap imports after the complaint brought by bankrupt Georgia-based producer Suniva Inc in April.</p>
<p>Solar installation companies are hoping the commission will recommend a small tariff, or none at all.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"This tells you what's going to land on the president's desk, though there is a fair amount of unpredictability here given that the president has wide leeway and this president is pretty unpredictable in general," said Shayle Kann, head of solar market research firm GTM Research.</p>
<p>Suniva filed the rare Section 201 petition nine days after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the petition, the company said a global glut of panels has depressed prices and made it difficult for American producers to compete.</p>
<p>Suniva's petition is opposed by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the sector's primary trade organization.</p>
<p>Suniva is majority owned by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy. It was joined in the petition by another domestic manufacturer, the U.S. division of Germany's SolarWorld.</p>
<p>In documents filed last month, Suniva asked for a tariff of 25 cents per watt on solar cells and 32 cents per watt on panels. It is also seeking a minimum price on panels of 74 cents a watt, nearly double their current cost. SolarWorld has asked for an import quota.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Sue Horton and Dan Grebler)</p> | U.S. trade panel set to recommend solar trade tariffs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/31/u-s-trade-panel-set-to-recommend-solar-trade-tariffs.html | 2017-10-31 | 0right
| U.S. trade panel set to recommend solar trade tariffs
<p />
<p>Federal trade officials on Tuesday will recommend measures to safeguard struggling domestic solar panel manufacturers against cheap imports in a closely watched case that could have a major impact on the price of U.S. solar power.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The vote by the U.S. International Trade Commission is a major milestone in a case that has divided the solar industry for the last six months. The panel's proposals, which could include tariffs, a quota or other trade remedies, will be delivered to President Donald Trump, who will make a final decision later this year.</p>
<p>Trade remedies were requested earlier this year by two small U.S. manufacturers that say they are not able to compete with cheap panels made overseas, mainly in Asia.</p>
<p>But fears of steep new tariffs on imports have sparked widespread nervousness among solar developers and installers that have benefited from a 70 percent drop in the cost of solar since 2010. Many snapped up panels ahead of the ITC's vote and warned that some projects may not be completed if the cost of panels rises too much.</p>
<p>The ITC made a preliminary finding on Sept. 22 that domestic solar manufacturers had been harmed by cheap imports after the complaint brought by bankrupt Georgia-based producer Suniva Inc in April.</p>
<p>Solar installation companies are hoping the commission will recommend a small tariff, or none at all.</p>
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<p>"This tells you what's going to land on the president's desk, though there is a fair amount of unpredictability here given that the president has wide leeway and this president is pretty unpredictable in general," said Shayle Kann, head of solar market research firm GTM Research.</p>
<p>Suniva filed the rare Section 201 petition nine days after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the petition, the company said a global glut of panels has depressed prices and made it difficult for American producers to compete.</p>
<p>Suniva's petition is opposed by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the sector's primary trade organization.</p>
<p>Suniva is majority owned by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy. It was joined in the petition by another domestic manufacturer, the U.S. division of Germany's SolarWorld.</p>
<p>In documents filed last month, Suniva asked for a tariff of 25 cents per watt on solar cells and 32 cents per watt on panels. It is also seeking a minimum price on panels of 74 cents a watt, nearly double their current cost. SolarWorld has asked for an import quota.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Sue Horton and Dan Grebler)</p> | 599,096 |
<p>I cannot &#160;recall any other major policy debate in America in my adult lifetime in which there has been so much passion and “certitude” and so little discussion of the facts. Sound bites in news programs, newspaper editorials, political speeches on the floor of the Congress, and even our many healthcare “forums” here in Vermont on the subject have for the most part been occasions for people to vent angry opinions about our present system of healthcare delivery, and to characterize opposing views.</p>
<p>We could we could instead, however, be having a national debate on this important issue based upon easily obtainable, reliable data.</p>
<p>The relative costs and performance outcomes of the many different healthcare delivery systems in over 200 countries and territories are known, tracked, carefully gathered, and published annually by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. This year’s edition is entitled “World Health Statistics 2009”, and &#160;you have almost certainly never seen or even heard of it, though you have probably listened to hours of speeches, debates and discussions about healthcare costs and waste and delays, in the U.S. and Canada and Europe, and on and on.</p>
<p>WHO’s annual health statistics report is compiled from data submitted by 193 member countries. All statistics in the report are cleared by the member states and are presented as the Organization’s official figures, though they should ….”still be regarded as best estimates made by WHO rather than the official view of member states.” There is, in other words, a lot of money, sensitivity and emotion involved in healthcare statistics, as you may have noticed. The full 2009 Report may be accessed at <a href="" type="internal">http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2009/en/index.html</a>.</p>
<p>So, relative healthcare costs. The United States as a government, according to the 2009 World Health Report, expends $3,076 US on healthcare per capita per year, which puts it third in the world behind Luxembourg ($4,992) and Denmark ($3,239) and then followed (top ten)by:</p>
<p>Netherlands ($2,785) Austria ($2,737) France ($2,727) Germany ($2, 664) Iceland ($2,628) Canada ($2,587) Sweden ($2,583)</p>
<p>These, however, are only government healthcare expenditures, and all of the other countries listed here have essentially national, not free-market healthcare systems.</p>
<p>The Report also tracks total national healthcare expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product, public and private. Here then are those relative figures, for the top ten countries:</p>
<p>United States (15.8%) France (11%) Denmark (10.8%) Switzerland (10.8%) Germany (10.6%) Austria (10.2%) Canada (10.0%) Sweden (9.2%) Spain (8.4%) Japan (8.1%)</p>
<p>The United States relative to its GDP expends, counting both government and private funds, 43% more on health care than does the next highest country, which is France.</p>
<p>Compared with Canada (aren’t we always comparing our HC system to Canada’s?) the US expends, in public and private funds together, 63% more on healthcare. So with the highest healthcare costs in the world, what are we in the United States getting in the way of results, i.e., HEALTH?</p>
<p>One standard measure of the effectiveness of our healthcare system might be life expectancy at birth, in years. According to WHO, the nation with the highest life expectancy is Japan, at 83 years, followed by Italy, Australia and Switzerland, at 82 years. You may expect to live to be 81 if you live in Canada, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, France, Sweden, New Zealand and Andorra. People in Austria, Belgium and Cypress live to the age of 80, on average. Costa Ricans and people in Finland live on average to be 79. Citizens of the U.S., along with those of Chile, Denmark and Cuba die on average at age 78.</p>
<p>The infant mortality rate calculates the number of deaths at birth, per 1000 births, for both sexes. The U.S. is tied at six deaths per thousand with the countries of Thailand, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary. Among the countries with FEWER than six deaths per 1000 live births are Slovenia, Singapore, San Marino, South Korea, Lithuania, Estonia, Cuba, Cyprus and Andorra.</p>
<p>It is worth noting, in respect of the infant mortality numbers just cited, that the WHO annual report also tracks the percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel. While the number for attended U.S. births is high, at 99%, there are 46 countries that have 100% of births attended. These include Albania, Barbados, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada (oops!) Chile, Croatia, Cuba (again) , Cyprus and the Czech Republic, along with Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Poland, Quatar , Moldova, Malaysia, and Libya. Also Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.</p>
<p>Maternal mortality rates per 100,000 live births are also rated. The United States loses 11 mothers per 100,000 live births. Countries which lose fewer than that include Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Kuwait, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Macedonia. In all, a total of 31 countries suffer fewer than 11 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.</p>
<p>The point here is not to denigrate the “American Healthcare System.” It is among the finest in the world…..AMONG the finest in the world. It is indisputably the most expensive in the world….. by far. A little realism and a dash of humility would probably help us to improve it further.</p>
<p>But I begin to question whether those in the Congress who are currently resisting reform, and&#160; those insurance and drug company lobbyists who are using their obscene profits to loudly oppose reform, really want to change any aspects of the system. It is serving them quite well as it is.</p>
<p>STEPHEN GREEN is retired from the United Nations. He lives in Vermont.</p>
<p /> | America’s Strange Health Care Debate | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/09/16/america-s-strange-health-care-debate/ | 2009-09-16 | 4left
| America’s Strange Health Care Debate
<p>I cannot &#160;recall any other major policy debate in America in my adult lifetime in which there has been so much passion and “certitude” and so little discussion of the facts. Sound bites in news programs, newspaper editorials, political speeches on the floor of the Congress, and even our many healthcare “forums” here in Vermont on the subject have for the most part been occasions for people to vent angry opinions about our present system of healthcare delivery, and to characterize opposing views.</p>
<p>We could we could instead, however, be having a national debate on this important issue based upon easily obtainable, reliable data.</p>
<p>The relative costs and performance outcomes of the many different healthcare delivery systems in over 200 countries and territories are known, tracked, carefully gathered, and published annually by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. This year’s edition is entitled “World Health Statistics 2009”, and &#160;you have almost certainly never seen or even heard of it, though you have probably listened to hours of speeches, debates and discussions about healthcare costs and waste and delays, in the U.S. and Canada and Europe, and on and on.</p>
<p>WHO’s annual health statistics report is compiled from data submitted by 193 member countries. All statistics in the report are cleared by the member states and are presented as the Organization’s official figures, though they should ….”still be regarded as best estimates made by WHO rather than the official view of member states.” There is, in other words, a lot of money, sensitivity and emotion involved in healthcare statistics, as you may have noticed. The full 2009 Report may be accessed at <a href="" type="internal">http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2009/en/index.html</a>.</p>
<p>So, relative healthcare costs. The United States as a government, according to the 2009 World Health Report, expends $3,076 US on healthcare per capita per year, which puts it third in the world behind Luxembourg ($4,992) and Denmark ($3,239) and then followed (top ten)by:</p>
<p>Netherlands ($2,785) Austria ($2,737) France ($2,727) Germany ($2, 664) Iceland ($2,628) Canada ($2,587) Sweden ($2,583)</p>
<p>These, however, are only government healthcare expenditures, and all of the other countries listed here have essentially national, not free-market healthcare systems.</p>
<p>The Report also tracks total national healthcare expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product, public and private. Here then are those relative figures, for the top ten countries:</p>
<p>United States (15.8%) France (11%) Denmark (10.8%) Switzerland (10.8%) Germany (10.6%) Austria (10.2%) Canada (10.0%) Sweden (9.2%) Spain (8.4%) Japan (8.1%)</p>
<p>The United States relative to its GDP expends, counting both government and private funds, 43% more on health care than does the next highest country, which is France.</p>
<p>Compared with Canada (aren’t we always comparing our HC system to Canada’s?) the US expends, in public and private funds together, 63% more on healthcare. So with the highest healthcare costs in the world, what are we in the United States getting in the way of results, i.e., HEALTH?</p>
<p>One standard measure of the effectiveness of our healthcare system might be life expectancy at birth, in years. According to WHO, the nation with the highest life expectancy is Japan, at 83 years, followed by Italy, Australia and Switzerland, at 82 years. You may expect to live to be 81 if you live in Canada, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, France, Sweden, New Zealand and Andorra. People in Austria, Belgium and Cypress live to the age of 80, on average. Costa Ricans and people in Finland live on average to be 79. Citizens of the U.S., along with those of Chile, Denmark and Cuba die on average at age 78.</p>
<p>The infant mortality rate calculates the number of deaths at birth, per 1000 births, for both sexes. The U.S. is tied at six deaths per thousand with the countries of Thailand, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary. Among the countries with FEWER than six deaths per 1000 live births are Slovenia, Singapore, San Marino, South Korea, Lithuania, Estonia, Cuba, Cyprus and Andorra.</p>
<p>It is worth noting, in respect of the infant mortality numbers just cited, that the WHO annual report also tracks the percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel. While the number for attended U.S. births is high, at 99%, there are 46 countries that have 100% of births attended. These include Albania, Barbados, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada (oops!) Chile, Croatia, Cuba (again) , Cyprus and the Czech Republic, along with Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Poland, Quatar , Moldova, Malaysia, and Libya. Also Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.</p>
<p>Maternal mortality rates per 100,000 live births are also rated. The United States loses 11 mothers per 100,000 live births. Countries which lose fewer than that include Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Kuwait, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Macedonia. In all, a total of 31 countries suffer fewer than 11 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.</p>
<p>The point here is not to denigrate the “American Healthcare System.” It is among the finest in the world…..AMONG the finest in the world. It is indisputably the most expensive in the world….. by far. A little realism and a dash of humility would probably help us to improve it further.</p>
<p>But I begin to question whether those in the Congress who are currently resisting reform, and&#160; those insurance and drug company lobbyists who are using their obscene profits to loudly oppose reform, really want to change any aspects of the system. It is serving them quite well as it is.</p>
<p>STEPHEN GREEN is retired from the United Nations. He lives in Vermont.</p>
<p /> | 599,097 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>This election season, as in 2012, many sitting Republicans face challenges from tea party candidates, who aren’t afraid to tout conspiracy theories or <a href="" type="internal">say brash things about women’s bodies</a>. One GOP Senate challenger, vying against veteran Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), has gone as far as claiming that the IRS is training an army of “Brown Shirts” to enforce Obamacare—with assault weapons no less.</p>
<p>South Carolina state Sen. Lee Bright argued in a speech last August that we should “get rid of that IRS.” (See the video above). He also discussed comments from US Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, who toured a federal law enforcement facility last spring and reported seeing IRS agents training with the semi-automatic AR-15 rifles. Bright added:</p>
<p>If that’s true…and they’re doing assault-weapon training, the Brown Shirts are next because that’s the enforcement for Obamacare, is the IRS. If you don’t have an IRS, you don’t have Obamacare. That’s the mechanism that’s controlling our lives for far too long.</p>
<p>In fact, the armed agents Duncan saw probably belonged to a special criminal investigation division, which sometimes goes after drug traffickers and money launderers. At the time, according to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/jeff-duncan-irs-rifle-training-92662.html" type="external">Politico</a>, Duncan questioned whether “that level of firepower is appropriate when they could coordinate operations with other agencies, like the FBI, especially in a time of austerity.” That’s a far cry from likening IRS agents to Nazi storm troopers.</p>
<p>After Bright made his IRS comments, at a Republican Liberty Caucus gathering (for more on the meeting, see the <a href="http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2013/08/23/lee-bright-makes-his-pitch-in-the-lowcountry" type="external">Charleston City Paper</a>), an audience member asked for Bright’s take on other conspiracy theories, including that “FEMA is training a militia.”</p>
<p>“Most of the federal government is a scam,” Bright replied. “FEMA is the biggest scam in the world.”</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time Bright has taken a controversial stand. Last year, he drafted a bill allowing South Carolina schools to offer firearms training to children. “I believe the more guns we have the safer we are,” he <a href="http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/possible-class-focus-firearm-safety-second-amendme/nT3tN/" type="external">told</a> a local TV station. Bright has also opposed state funding for rape-crisis centers, and he has sponsored a bill that would make it a crime for federal officials to enforce the Affordable Care Act, with penalties of up to a year in prison.</p>
<p>Three other Republican candidates besides Bright are challenging Graham, who has been in Congress since 1995 but has come under attack from the party’s right wing for supporting some of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees and policies, including immigration reform. Graham has also raised hackles by bashing tea party insurgents. “The problem with the tea party, I think it’s just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country,” he told the the New York Times Magazine in 2010. Graham boldly predicted that the movement would “die out.” The tea party apparently wants to see Graham’s career die out first.</p>
<p /> | WATCH: Senate Candidate Claims IRS is Training “Brown Shirts” to Enforce Obamacare Using Assault Weapons | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/irs-training-army-brown-shirts-assualt-weapons-enforce-obamacare/ | 2014-01-17 | 4left
| WATCH: Senate Candidate Claims IRS is Training “Brown Shirts” to Enforce Obamacare Using Assault Weapons
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>This election season, as in 2012, many sitting Republicans face challenges from tea party candidates, who aren’t afraid to tout conspiracy theories or <a href="" type="internal">say brash things about women’s bodies</a>. One GOP Senate challenger, vying against veteran Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), has gone as far as claiming that the IRS is training an army of “Brown Shirts” to enforce Obamacare—with assault weapons no less.</p>
<p>South Carolina state Sen. Lee Bright argued in a speech last August that we should “get rid of that IRS.” (See the video above). He also discussed comments from US Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, who toured a federal law enforcement facility last spring and reported seeing IRS agents training with the semi-automatic AR-15 rifles. Bright added:</p>
<p>If that’s true…and they’re doing assault-weapon training, the Brown Shirts are next because that’s the enforcement for Obamacare, is the IRS. If you don’t have an IRS, you don’t have Obamacare. That’s the mechanism that’s controlling our lives for far too long.</p>
<p>In fact, the armed agents Duncan saw probably belonged to a special criminal investigation division, which sometimes goes after drug traffickers and money launderers. At the time, according to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/jeff-duncan-irs-rifle-training-92662.html" type="external">Politico</a>, Duncan questioned whether “that level of firepower is appropriate when they could coordinate operations with other agencies, like the FBI, especially in a time of austerity.” That’s a far cry from likening IRS agents to Nazi storm troopers.</p>
<p>After Bright made his IRS comments, at a Republican Liberty Caucus gathering (for more on the meeting, see the <a href="http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2013/08/23/lee-bright-makes-his-pitch-in-the-lowcountry" type="external">Charleston City Paper</a>), an audience member asked for Bright’s take on other conspiracy theories, including that “FEMA is training a militia.”</p>
<p>“Most of the federal government is a scam,” Bright replied. “FEMA is the biggest scam in the world.”</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time Bright has taken a controversial stand. Last year, he drafted a bill allowing South Carolina schools to offer firearms training to children. “I believe the more guns we have the safer we are,” he <a href="http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/possible-class-focus-firearm-safety-second-amendme/nT3tN/" type="external">told</a> a local TV station. Bright has also opposed state funding for rape-crisis centers, and he has sponsored a bill that would make it a crime for federal officials to enforce the Affordable Care Act, with penalties of up to a year in prison.</p>
<p>Three other Republican candidates besides Bright are challenging Graham, who has been in Congress since 1995 but has come under attack from the party’s right wing for supporting some of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees and policies, including immigration reform. Graham has also raised hackles by bashing tea party insurgents. “The problem with the tea party, I think it’s just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country,” he told the the New York Times Magazine in 2010. Graham boldly predicted that the movement would “die out.” The tea party apparently wants to see Graham’s career die out first.</p>
<p /> | 599,098 |
<p />
<p>How often I have said this: You can’t make stuff like this up. Yet I continue to be right.</p>
<p>Case in point: In Boston, attempting to unseat 37-year Democratic Senate veteran Edward Kennedy, a Republican has flung the first hot, wet mud of the race. And it turns out he could have done it in a locked closet with a bamboo boomerang, since the target was his own self.</p>
<p>In response to what he considered a partisan attack, Jack E. Robinson III issued an 11-page report detailing all the dirt he and his staff could dig up on himself.</p>
<p>And you got to admit, the guy did a pretty damn good job. C’mon, 11 pages. Even double spaced, we’re talking at least the appearance of thoroughness here. He’s getting near CIA foreign dictator application status. I bet even Pamela Anderson would have perked up at the disclosure, provided someone in her retinue could read.</p>
<p>The sensation was sufficient, suffice to say, that had Mr. Robinson been any other person on the planet he could have sued for slander. “Where have you gone Henry Kissinger? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Koo kooka choo.”</p>
<p>In his near-scandalous autobiographical account of a misspent well … youth, young adulthood, and middle age, the wealthy business executive alludes to a relationship culminating in a restraining order, flunking the bar three times, a drunk-driving charge, and a court-upheld accusation of plagiarism. All this amidst rumors of a secret propensity to thaw individual Cornish game hens in what one James Beard, award-winning Pan-Asian chef, has labeled a “hygienically suspect procedure.” However, it has been said his chat room etiquette is impeccable.</p>
<p>You might think that to call this mind-boggling paradigm of pre-emptive public self flagellation political suicide is a little like suggesting the results of the McWorm sandwich rollout were mixed, but don’t forget; he’s running against the Teddy Bear. A man to whom 11 pages doesn’t even cover the court documents reproduction service segment of his FBI official dossier’s acknowledgements section. The Fredo of the Kennedy family. The only Senator who by all rights should be wearing a house arrest ankle bracelet. Strike that. Silly thought. All of them should.</p>
<p>We always whine about how we we wish every politician would roll out his or her sins on an orderly, lined parchment like this, but that refuses to take into account the law of unintended results. For instance, if we got our wish, the American Spectator and Mother Jones would become shopping inserts. The McLaughlin Group would barkingly review movies. How much muck can a muckraker rake when the mother ruckers rake their own muck?</p>
<p>And realistically, does anybody really think the world would be better off with Bob Woodward covering the Orioles beat?</p>
<p />
<p>"Smirking silently but walking purposefully away from the commotion surrounding Albert Belle's third cleat to the head prank of the day, the grizzled captain of horsehide, to many the embodiment of the big orange bird himself, but with a sharper beak, Hargrove glimpsed Ripken kick a clump of dirt over the third base foul line and wondered darkly to himself: 'How many more clumps of dirt does he have left in that foot? What happens when the clumps become wads and then just sprays of dirt, and finally a single grain of black sand? Who will know first? Hopefully it won't be the crowd. If I don't know, will Tom Clancy tell me? Where's my chaw? I need new shoes.'"</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Tell us what you think</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Will Durst is covering the 2000 election for the MoJo Wire. He is host of PBS’ “Livelyhood” and picks the Orioles to finish fourth.</p>
<p /> | Political Glass Houses | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2000/03/political-glass-houses/ | 2000-03-30 | 4left
| Political Glass Houses
<p />
<p>How often I have said this: You can’t make stuff like this up. Yet I continue to be right.</p>
<p>Case in point: In Boston, attempting to unseat 37-year Democratic Senate veteran Edward Kennedy, a Republican has flung the first hot, wet mud of the race. And it turns out he could have done it in a locked closet with a bamboo boomerang, since the target was his own self.</p>
<p>In response to what he considered a partisan attack, Jack E. Robinson III issued an 11-page report detailing all the dirt he and his staff could dig up on himself.</p>
<p>And you got to admit, the guy did a pretty damn good job. C’mon, 11 pages. Even double spaced, we’re talking at least the appearance of thoroughness here. He’s getting near CIA foreign dictator application status. I bet even Pamela Anderson would have perked up at the disclosure, provided someone in her retinue could read.</p>
<p>The sensation was sufficient, suffice to say, that had Mr. Robinson been any other person on the planet he could have sued for slander. “Where have you gone Henry Kissinger? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Koo kooka choo.”</p>
<p>In his near-scandalous autobiographical account of a misspent well … youth, young adulthood, and middle age, the wealthy business executive alludes to a relationship culminating in a restraining order, flunking the bar three times, a drunk-driving charge, and a court-upheld accusation of plagiarism. All this amidst rumors of a secret propensity to thaw individual Cornish game hens in what one James Beard, award-winning Pan-Asian chef, has labeled a “hygienically suspect procedure.” However, it has been said his chat room etiquette is impeccable.</p>
<p>You might think that to call this mind-boggling paradigm of pre-emptive public self flagellation political suicide is a little like suggesting the results of the McWorm sandwich rollout were mixed, but don’t forget; he’s running against the Teddy Bear. A man to whom 11 pages doesn’t even cover the court documents reproduction service segment of his FBI official dossier’s acknowledgements section. The Fredo of the Kennedy family. The only Senator who by all rights should be wearing a house arrest ankle bracelet. Strike that. Silly thought. All of them should.</p>
<p>We always whine about how we we wish every politician would roll out his or her sins on an orderly, lined parchment like this, but that refuses to take into account the law of unintended results. For instance, if we got our wish, the American Spectator and Mother Jones would become shopping inserts. The McLaughlin Group would barkingly review movies. How much muck can a muckraker rake when the mother ruckers rake their own muck?</p>
<p>And realistically, does anybody really think the world would be better off with Bob Woodward covering the Orioles beat?</p>
<p />
<p>"Smirking silently but walking purposefully away from the commotion surrounding Albert Belle's third cleat to the head prank of the day, the grizzled captain of horsehide, to many the embodiment of the big orange bird himself, but with a sharper beak, Hargrove glimpsed Ripken kick a clump of dirt over the third base foul line and wondered darkly to himself: 'How many more clumps of dirt does he have left in that foot? What happens when the clumps become wads and then just sprays of dirt, and finally a single grain of black sand? Who will know first? Hopefully it won't be the crowd. If I don't know, will Tom Clancy tell me? Where's my chaw? I need new shoes.'"</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Tell us what you think</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Will Durst is covering the 2000 election for the MoJo Wire. He is host of PBS’ “Livelyhood” and picks the Orioles to finish fourth.</p>
<p /> | 599,099 |
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