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<p>Ed. note: This piece is by Emilly Prado and was re-published with permission from <a href="https://bitchmedia.org/article/new-tv-series-honors-celia-cruz-la-reina-de-salsa" type="external">Bitch Magazine</a>.</p>
<p>The work of Celia Cruz is being honored this year in an astonishing <a href="http://www.telemundo.com/novelas/celia" type="external">80-episode long series from the Spanish-language network, Telemundo</a>. For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with Cruz, the series will be an overdue but necessary introduction to her life. For the millions of us who are already fans, the series is a welcome tribute to a woman whose music still pulls at our heartstrings over a decade after her death.</p>
<p>Appropriately christened la Reina de Salsa, Celia Cruz is a figure whose music neatly reflects the vast diversity and intersectionality within the Latino community. Her career continues to be remarkable not only because of her talent, but because of her swift opposition to racism and sexism in the industry. With her melded musical influences, strong will, and songs that praise individuality, Cruz’s music helped bring respect as well as much-needed appreciation (and acknowledgement) of the Afro-Latino populations within Cuba and beyond.&#160; In my own family’s home, her music has transcended generations and remains as much a part of my upbringing as it was for my grandmother.</p>
<p>Born in the Santa Suárez barrio of Havana, Cuba, Celia was the second eldest of four children to Simón and Catalina Cruz. Her family was very poor and report having shared their home with up to fourteen other family members at a time. Though demanded by her father to purse a career in teaching, Cruz’s distinct and vibrant voice was insuppressible. Her mother was supportive of her talents, but in a nod that seemingly aimed to please both parents, Cruz sang in contests and performed on radio shows, using the winnings to finance her educational expenses.</p>
<p>Although she went on to become one of the most accomplished female musicians and Latina artists of all time, Cruz’s journey was not without challenge. Cruz was an immensely talented Cuban singer and she also a Black woman. And in the 1950s, the white male music world was often not welcoming of these attributes. With time, however, Cruz’s fusion of Afro-Cubano santería and guaracho landed her a job fronting the band La Sonora Matancera. It was then that Cruz’s career officially took off and she met Pedro Knight, a gifted trumpeter and her eventual manager-turned-husband.</p>
<p>While the band was in Mexico on its very first international tour in 1959, communists gained control of Cuba. The band opted to continue their travels to the United States rather then head home and two years later, Cruz became a U.S. citizen. In retaliation, Fidel Castro banished her from ever returning to Cuba. She lived the rest of her life in exile but forever remained a symbol of hope in Cuba. Throughout her five-decade-long career, Cruz repeatedly broke records and stigma all at once. She sang songs praising dark skin. While some say her signature catchphrase, “Azucar!,” was only a punch line, others say it was in recognition of the African slaves who had worked in Cuban sugar plantations. Her history and that of her people was rich and complex and her music was complicated to matched.</p>
<p />
<p>Over the course of her career, she made 75 albums, 23 of which went gold. Her collaborations are countless with notable artists including Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, La India, and Luciano Pavarotti. Cruz’s passion for music was so strong that she continued to perform as often as possible, even as she was diagnosed and became sick with cancer. My mother remembers the tears that welled in her eyes as she knowingly watched Cruz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiye4ruiAPc" type="external">perform her last-ever show</a> alongside the likes of Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Gloria Gaynor, and many others.</p>
<p>When Celia Cruz died from brain cancer on July 18, 2003, her death was felt around the world. With two televised processions in New York City and Miami, thousands mourned her loss. In a heartfelt display, Victor Manuelle sang her famous song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImUJu_R_aa0" type="external">, “La Vida es un Carnaval,”</a> at her funeral, reminding those mourning to embody Cruz’s freeing view of life and death. She was buried in a New York City mausoleum with sand she had saved during her concert in Guantanamo Bay, symbolizing her lasting connection to Cuba. Years later, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKOU-wE3Oo" type="external">celebrities continue to pay homage to the late queen.</a>&#160;In addition, she continues to influence spheres previously inaccessible to Latinas. She was posthumously honored with a commemorative stamp by the US Postal Service in 2011 and in 2012 became the first-ever Latina to receive a dedicated exhibit at the Smithsonian.</p>
<p>Simply and appropriately titled, the new <a href="http://www.telemundo.com/novelas/celia" type="external">Telemundo series Celia</a> stars Jeimy Osorio and Aymeé Nuviolaand and aims to chronicle the life of Celia Cruz over the course of 80 hours. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKOU-wE3Oo" type="external">first episode debuted on October 14</a> and new hour-long episodes are airing nightly (the show is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKOU-wE3Oo" type="external">also available on Telemundo’s website for those without cable</a>).</p>
<p>The Spanish-language series is not the telenovela format you may be used to. Taking a much more understated approach, Celia seems committed to acknowledging the good and bad of la guarachera’s life. While the interactions between men and women on the show are mixed and often play into traditional gender norms, both racism and sexism are outwardly recognized in the series. Cruz’s character remains a beacon of strength and resilience. Her ganas are not watered-down for TV and each episode shows the complexities of her identity within Cuba and later as she leaves. When asked about the inspiration to focus on the icon for the series, network president Luis Silberwasser said the decision came when asking, “What can we do that doesn’t have narcos or crime?”</p>
<p>Celia is significant and comes as a positive change to the typical cinematic portrayal of Latinos in the media. The series debuts at a time when Celia can still be remembered by those whose lives she touched while living, but is packaged in a way that will immerse viewers from all levels of familiarity. When I listen to her music, it’s impossible not to feel moved and filled with life. Aside from wanting to break out into a rueda, her music makes me brings an overwhelming sense of pride and admiration. Her accomplishments are still hugely relevant. This past Dia de Los Muertos, I was reminded of just how beloved she remains when I bowed at her dedicated ofrenda in Portland, Oregon. Her influence will continue to be passed along and I’m happy to know that I’ll be calling my mom and abuelita watching it on their TVs back home to discuss after watching it from my laptop. As Cruz said herself, “Queda Celia para rato y con mucha más azúcar!” This televised tribute will be another of the many monumental accolades to remember the star by.</p>
<p>Emilly Prado is a writer, photographer, and button maker. When not crafting sassy critiques for various publications, she partakes in a day job and uses the internet far too much. You can see her work at&#160; <a href="http://www.emillyprado.com/" type="external">www.emillyprado.com</a></p>
<p>Header image credit: <a href="https://bitchmedia.org/article/new-tv-series-honors-celia-cruz-la-reina-de-salsa" type="external">Bitch Magazine</a></p> | New TV series honors Celia Cruz, la Reina de Salsa | true | http://feministing.com/2015/11/16/new-tv-series-honors-celia-cruz-la-reina-de-salsa/ | 4left
| New TV series honors Celia Cruz, la Reina de Salsa
<p>Ed. note: This piece is by Emilly Prado and was re-published with permission from <a href="https://bitchmedia.org/article/new-tv-series-honors-celia-cruz-la-reina-de-salsa" type="external">Bitch Magazine</a>.</p>
<p>The work of Celia Cruz is being honored this year in an astonishing <a href="http://www.telemundo.com/novelas/celia" type="external">80-episode long series from the Spanish-language network, Telemundo</a>. For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with Cruz, the series will be an overdue but necessary introduction to her life. For the millions of us who are already fans, the series is a welcome tribute to a woman whose music still pulls at our heartstrings over a decade after her death.</p>
<p>Appropriately christened la Reina de Salsa, Celia Cruz is a figure whose music neatly reflects the vast diversity and intersectionality within the Latino community. Her career continues to be remarkable not only because of her talent, but because of her swift opposition to racism and sexism in the industry. With her melded musical influences, strong will, and songs that praise individuality, Cruz’s music helped bring respect as well as much-needed appreciation (and acknowledgement) of the Afro-Latino populations within Cuba and beyond.&#160; In my own family’s home, her music has transcended generations and remains as much a part of my upbringing as it was for my grandmother.</p>
<p>Born in the Santa Suárez barrio of Havana, Cuba, Celia was the second eldest of four children to Simón and Catalina Cruz. Her family was very poor and report having shared their home with up to fourteen other family members at a time. Though demanded by her father to purse a career in teaching, Cruz’s distinct and vibrant voice was insuppressible. Her mother was supportive of her talents, but in a nod that seemingly aimed to please both parents, Cruz sang in contests and performed on radio shows, using the winnings to finance her educational expenses.</p>
<p>Although she went on to become one of the most accomplished female musicians and Latina artists of all time, Cruz’s journey was not without challenge. Cruz was an immensely talented Cuban singer and she also a Black woman. And in the 1950s, the white male music world was often not welcoming of these attributes. With time, however, Cruz’s fusion of Afro-Cubano santería and guaracho landed her a job fronting the band La Sonora Matancera. It was then that Cruz’s career officially took off and she met Pedro Knight, a gifted trumpeter and her eventual manager-turned-husband.</p>
<p>While the band was in Mexico on its very first international tour in 1959, communists gained control of Cuba. The band opted to continue their travels to the United States rather then head home and two years later, Cruz became a U.S. citizen. In retaliation, Fidel Castro banished her from ever returning to Cuba. She lived the rest of her life in exile but forever remained a symbol of hope in Cuba. Throughout her five-decade-long career, Cruz repeatedly broke records and stigma all at once. She sang songs praising dark skin. While some say her signature catchphrase, “Azucar!,” was only a punch line, others say it was in recognition of the African slaves who had worked in Cuban sugar plantations. Her history and that of her people was rich and complex and her music was complicated to matched.</p>
<p />
<p>Over the course of her career, she made 75 albums, 23 of which went gold. Her collaborations are countless with notable artists including Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, La India, and Luciano Pavarotti. Cruz’s passion for music was so strong that she continued to perform as often as possible, even as she was diagnosed and became sick with cancer. My mother remembers the tears that welled in her eyes as she knowingly watched Cruz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiye4ruiAPc" type="external">perform her last-ever show</a> alongside the likes of Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Gloria Gaynor, and many others.</p>
<p>When Celia Cruz died from brain cancer on July 18, 2003, her death was felt around the world. With two televised processions in New York City and Miami, thousands mourned her loss. In a heartfelt display, Victor Manuelle sang her famous song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImUJu_R_aa0" type="external">, “La Vida es un Carnaval,”</a> at her funeral, reminding those mourning to embody Cruz’s freeing view of life and death. She was buried in a New York City mausoleum with sand she had saved during her concert in Guantanamo Bay, symbolizing her lasting connection to Cuba. Years later, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKOU-wE3Oo" type="external">celebrities continue to pay homage to the late queen.</a>&#160;In addition, she continues to influence spheres previously inaccessible to Latinas. She was posthumously honored with a commemorative stamp by the US Postal Service in 2011 and in 2012 became the first-ever Latina to receive a dedicated exhibit at the Smithsonian.</p>
<p>Simply and appropriately titled, the new <a href="http://www.telemundo.com/novelas/celia" type="external">Telemundo series Celia</a> stars Jeimy Osorio and Aymeé Nuviolaand and aims to chronicle the life of Celia Cruz over the course of 80 hours. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKOU-wE3Oo" type="external">first episode debuted on October 14</a> and new hour-long episodes are airing nightly (the show is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKOU-wE3Oo" type="external">also available on Telemundo’s website for those without cable</a>).</p>
<p>The Spanish-language series is not the telenovela format you may be used to. Taking a much more understated approach, Celia seems committed to acknowledging the good and bad of la guarachera’s life. While the interactions between men and women on the show are mixed and often play into traditional gender norms, both racism and sexism are outwardly recognized in the series. Cruz’s character remains a beacon of strength and resilience. Her ganas are not watered-down for TV and each episode shows the complexities of her identity within Cuba and later as she leaves. When asked about the inspiration to focus on the icon for the series, network president Luis Silberwasser said the decision came when asking, “What can we do that doesn’t have narcos or crime?”</p>
<p>Celia is significant and comes as a positive change to the typical cinematic portrayal of Latinos in the media. The series debuts at a time when Celia can still be remembered by those whose lives she touched while living, but is packaged in a way that will immerse viewers from all levels of familiarity. When I listen to her music, it’s impossible not to feel moved and filled with life. Aside from wanting to break out into a rueda, her music makes me brings an overwhelming sense of pride and admiration. Her accomplishments are still hugely relevant. This past Dia de Los Muertos, I was reminded of just how beloved she remains when I bowed at her dedicated ofrenda in Portland, Oregon. Her influence will continue to be passed along and I’m happy to know that I’ll be calling my mom and abuelita watching it on their TVs back home to discuss after watching it from my laptop. As Cruz said herself, “Queda Celia para rato y con mucha más azúcar!” This televised tribute will be another of the many monumental accolades to remember the star by.</p>
<p>Emilly Prado is a writer, photographer, and button maker. When not crafting sassy critiques for various publications, she partakes in a day job and uses the internet far too much. You can see her work at&#160; <a href="http://www.emillyprado.com/" type="external">www.emillyprado.com</a></p>
<p>Header image credit: <a href="https://bitchmedia.org/article/new-tv-series-honors-celia-cruz-la-reina-de-salsa" type="external">Bitch Magazine</a></p> | 599,800 |
|
<p>“Wonder Woman” star Saïd Taghmaoui has exited season two of FX’s “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/legion/" type="external">Legion</a>,” currently in production in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>An FX spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Taghmaoui has left the production, saying that a decision was made to recast his role, but not commenting further. No new actor has yet been set.</p>
<p>Taghmaoui appeared to announce his departure from the series Saturday on Twitter, writing, “Finally I’m not going to be in <a href="http://variety.com/2017/artisans/production/composer-jeff-russo-star-trek-discovery-1202564832/" type="external">Legion</a> but a big surprise coming soon.”</p>
<p>“Legion” began shooting in September. It is not known how many scenes with Taghmoaoui had already been shot. A representative for Taghmoaoui declined to comment.</p>
<p>“Legion” creator Noah Hawley <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/wonder-woman-legion-1202502011/" type="external">announced</a> in July at Comic Con that Taghmaoui would join the series for season two as villain Amahl Farouk — aka the Shadow King. The Shadow King was played in season one by Aubrey Plaza, who portrayed the character in the guise of protagonist David Haller’s friend Lenny, and Quinton Boisclair, who portrayed him as a monster who haunted Haller (Dan Stevens). Both actors are set to reprise their versions of the character in season two.</p>
<p>Produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, season two of “Legion” is slated to premiere on FX in February. Based on Marvel’s “X-Men” comics, “Legion” tells the story of David Haller, a man who has been told his whole life that he is mentally ill, then discovers that what he thought were symptoms of his illness may actually be manifestations of a mutant superpower.</p>
<p>Taghmaoui was seen on screen most recently in this summer’s feature film “Wonder Woman” from Warner Bros., in which he played Sameer, a member of the team that accompanies the titular superhero to the front in World War I. His other credits include Starz’s “The Missing” and ABC’s “Lost.”</p> | ‘Wonder Woman’ Star Saïd Taghmaoui Exits ‘Legion’ Season 2 | false | https://newsline.com/wonder-woman-star-said-taghmaoui-exits-legion-season-2/ | 2017-11-28 | 1right-center
| ‘Wonder Woman’ Star Saïd Taghmaoui Exits ‘Legion’ Season 2
<p>“Wonder Woman” star Saïd Taghmaoui has exited season two of FX’s “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/legion/" type="external">Legion</a>,” currently in production in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>An FX spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Taghmaoui has left the production, saying that a decision was made to recast his role, but not commenting further. No new actor has yet been set.</p>
<p>Taghmaoui appeared to announce his departure from the series Saturday on Twitter, writing, “Finally I’m not going to be in <a href="http://variety.com/2017/artisans/production/composer-jeff-russo-star-trek-discovery-1202564832/" type="external">Legion</a> but a big surprise coming soon.”</p>
<p>“Legion” began shooting in September. It is not known how many scenes with Taghmoaoui had already been shot. A representative for Taghmoaoui declined to comment.</p>
<p>“Legion” creator Noah Hawley <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/wonder-woman-legion-1202502011/" type="external">announced</a> in July at Comic Con that Taghmaoui would join the series for season two as villain Amahl Farouk — aka the Shadow King. The Shadow King was played in season one by Aubrey Plaza, who portrayed the character in the guise of protagonist David Haller’s friend Lenny, and Quinton Boisclair, who portrayed him as a monster who haunted Haller (Dan Stevens). Both actors are set to reprise their versions of the character in season two.</p>
<p>Produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, season two of “Legion” is slated to premiere on FX in February. Based on Marvel’s “X-Men” comics, “Legion” tells the story of David Haller, a man who has been told his whole life that he is mentally ill, then discovers that what he thought were symptoms of his illness may actually be manifestations of a mutant superpower.</p>
<p>Taghmaoui was seen on screen most recently in this summer’s feature film “Wonder Woman” from Warner Bros., in which he played Sameer, a member of the team that accompanies the titular superhero to the front in World War I. His other credits include Starz’s “The Missing” and ABC’s “Lost.”</p> | 599,801 |
<p>What do a half-billion eggs have to do with democracy? The massive recall of salmonella-infected eggs, the largest egg recall in U.S. history, opens a window on the power of large corporations over not only our health, but over our government.</p>
<p>While scores of brands have been recalled, they all can be traced back to just two egg farms. Our food supply is increasingly in the hands of larger and larger companies, which wield enormous power in our political process. As with the food industry, so, too, is it with oil and with banks: Giant corporations, some with budgets larger than most nations, are controlling our health, our environment, our economy and increasingly, our elections.</p>
<p>The salmonella outbreak is just the most recent episode of many that point to a food industry run amok. Patty Lovera is the assistant director of the food-safety group Food &amp; Water Watch. She told me: “Historically, there’s always been industry resistance to any food-safety regulation, whether it’s in Congress or through the agencies. There are large trade associations for every sector of our food supply, starting from the large agribusiness-type producers all the way through to the grocery stores.”</p>
<p>The salmonella-tainted eggs came from just two factory farms, Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg, both in Iowa. Behind this outbreak is the egg empire of Austin “Jack” DeCoster. DeCoster owns Wright County Egg and also owns Quality Egg, which provides chicks and feed to both of the Iowa farms. Lovera describes DeCoster as “a poster child for what happens when we see this type of consolidation and this scale of production.”</p>
<p />
<p>The Associated Press offered a summary of DeCoster’s multistate egg and hog operation’s health, safety and employment violations. In 1997, DeCoster Egg Farms agreed to pay a $2 million fine after then-Labor Secretary Robert Reich described his farm “as dangerous and oppressive as any sweatshop.” In 2002, DeCoster’s company paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Mexican women who reported they were subjected to sexual harassment, including rape, abuse and retaliation by supervisors. Earlier this summer, another company linked to DeCoster paid out $125,000 to the state of Maine over animal-cruelty allegations.</p>
<p>Despite all this, DeCoster has thrived in the egg and hog business, which puts him in league with other large corporations, like BP and the major banks. The BP oil spill, the largest in the history of this country, was preceded by a criminally long list of serious violations going back years, most notably the massive Texas City refinery explosion in 2005 that killed 15 people. If BP were a person, he would have been imprisoned long ago.</p>
<p>The banking industry is another chronic offender. In the wake of the largest global financial disaster since the Great Depression, banks like Goldman Sachs, flush with cash after a massive public bailout, subverted the legislative process aimed at reining them in.</p>
<p>The result: a largely toothless new consumer-protection agency, and relentless opposition to the appointment of consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren to head it. She would give the banks as much oversight as the new agency would allow, which is why the bankers, including President Barack Obama’s appointees like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and economic adviser Larry Summers, are believed to be opposing her.</p>
<p>The fox, you could say, is watching the henhouse (and the rotten eggs within). Multinational corporations are allowed to operate with virtually no oversight or regulation. Corporate cash is allowed to influence elections, and thus, the behavior of our elected representatives. After the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which will allow unlimited corporate donations to campaigns, the problem is only going to get worse. To get elected, and to stay in power, politicians will have to cater more and more to their corporate donors.</p>
<p>There is hope. There is a growing movement to amend the U.S. Constitution, to strip corporations of the legal status of “personhood,” the concept that corporations have the same rights as regular people.</p>
<p>This would subject corporations to the same oversight that existed for the first 100 years of U.S. history. To restrict political participation just to people will take a genuine, grass-roots movement, though, since Congress and the Obama administration can’t seem to get even the most basic changes implemented. As the saying goes, if you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.</p>
<p>Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.</p>
<p>Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 800 stations in North America. She is the author of “Breaking the Sound Barrier,” recently released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.</p>
<p>© 2010 Amy Goodman</p>
<p>Distributed by King Features Syndicate</p> | Rotten Eggs and Our Broken Democracy | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/rotten-eggs-and-our-broken-democracy/ | 2010-08-26 | 4left
| Rotten Eggs and Our Broken Democracy
<p>What do a half-billion eggs have to do with democracy? The massive recall of salmonella-infected eggs, the largest egg recall in U.S. history, opens a window on the power of large corporations over not only our health, but over our government.</p>
<p>While scores of brands have been recalled, they all can be traced back to just two egg farms. Our food supply is increasingly in the hands of larger and larger companies, which wield enormous power in our political process. As with the food industry, so, too, is it with oil and with banks: Giant corporations, some with budgets larger than most nations, are controlling our health, our environment, our economy and increasingly, our elections.</p>
<p>The salmonella outbreak is just the most recent episode of many that point to a food industry run amok. Patty Lovera is the assistant director of the food-safety group Food &amp; Water Watch. She told me: “Historically, there’s always been industry resistance to any food-safety regulation, whether it’s in Congress or through the agencies. There are large trade associations for every sector of our food supply, starting from the large agribusiness-type producers all the way through to the grocery stores.”</p>
<p>The salmonella-tainted eggs came from just two factory farms, Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg, both in Iowa. Behind this outbreak is the egg empire of Austin “Jack” DeCoster. DeCoster owns Wright County Egg and also owns Quality Egg, which provides chicks and feed to both of the Iowa farms. Lovera describes DeCoster as “a poster child for what happens when we see this type of consolidation and this scale of production.”</p>
<p />
<p>The Associated Press offered a summary of DeCoster’s multistate egg and hog operation’s health, safety and employment violations. In 1997, DeCoster Egg Farms agreed to pay a $2 million fine after then-Labor Secretary Robert Reich described his farm “as dangerous and oppressive as any sweatshop.” In 2002, DeCoster’s company paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Mexican women who reported they were subjected to sexual harassment, including rape, abuse and retaliation by supervisors. Earlier this summer, another company linked to DeCoster paid out $125,000 to the state of Maine over animal-cruelty allegations.</p>
<p>Despite all this, DeCoster has thrived in the egg and hog business, which puts him in league with other large corporations, like BP and the major banks. The BP oil spill, the largest in the history of this country, was preceded by a criminally long list of serious violations going back years, most notably the massive Texas City refinery explosion in 2005 that killed 15 people. If BP were a person, he would have been imprisoned long ago.</p>
<p>The banking industry is another chronic offender. In the wake of the largest global financial disaster since the Great Depression, banks like Goldman Sachs, flush with cash after a massive public bailout, subverted the legislative process aimed at reining them in.</p>
<p>The result: a largely toothless new consumer-protection agency, and relentless opposition to the appointment of consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren to head it. She would give the banks as much oversight as the new agency would allow, which is why the bankers, including President Barack Obama’s appointees like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and economic adviser Larry Summers, are believed to be opposing her.</p>
<p>The fox, you could say, is watching the henhouse (and the rotten eggs within). Multinational corporations are allowed to operate with virtually no oversight or regulation. Corporate cash is allowed to influence elections, and thus, the behavior of our elected representatives. After the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which will allow unlimited corporate donations to campaigns, the problem is only going to get worse. To get elected, and to stay in power, politicians will have to cater more and more to their corporate donors.</p>
<p>There is hope. There is a growing movement to amend the U.S. Constitution, to strip corporations of the legal status of “personhood,” the concept that corporations have the same rights as regular people.</p>
<p>This would subject corporations to the same oversight that existed for the first 100 years of U.S. history. To restrict political participation just to people will take a genuine, grass-roots movement, though, since Congress and the Obama administration can’t seem to get even the most basic changes implemented. As the saying goes, if you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.</p>
<p>Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.</p>
<p>Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 800 stations in North America. She is the author of “Breaking the Sound Barrier,” recently released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.</p>
<p>© 2010 Amy Goodman</p>
<p>Distributed by King Features Syndicate</p> | 599,802 |
<p>The Indiana State Fair was scheduled to reopen Monday with a public memorial service for five people killed when a concert stage collapsed in high winds as fans waited for country band Sugarland to play.</p>
<p>(GlobalPost reports: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/110814/sugarland-stage-collapse-indiana-fair" type="external">Sugarland stage collapse kills five at Indiana Fair</a>)&#160;</p>
<p>Four people were killed when the metal scaffolding that holds lights and other <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stage-collapse-20110815,0,7751772.story" type="external">stage equipment</a> fell Saturday night, and a fifth died overnight at a hospital, the LA Times reported, quoting Indiana State Police Sgt. Dave Bursten.</p>
<p>The fairgrounds were closed following the accident, which occurred shortly before the country music duo was to take the stage before an audience of about 12,000 during an approaching storm.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stage-collapse-20110815,0,7751772.story" type="external">Gov. Mitch Daniels</a> said the gust of wind that toppled the stage was a "fluke" that no one could have anticipated, and insisted that precautions had been taken, the LA Times reports.&#160;</p>
<p>However, forecasters had warned that heavy rain and strong winds would hit the fair nearly two hours before the storm moved through, with the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/08/15/indiana.stage.collapse/" type="external">National Weather Service</a> estimating winds of 60 to 70 mph, CNN reports.</p>
<p>"The wind just picked up and the stage just caught and the roof just caught and it went up like a sail and then it crashed forward into the people standing in the front," said a WANE-TV reporter who witnessed the incident, according to TMZ.</p>
<p>"There were people trapped underneath and everyone was running and screaming. They were asking any medics or nurses not to leave."</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Forty-five were reported injured with anything fro cuts and bruises to fractures and <a href="http://www.wthr.com/story/15263814/fifth-person-dies-after-indiana-state-fair-tragedy" type="external">severe head trauma</a>, NBC reports.</p>
<p>The mother of a 17-year-old who suffered a broken back said her son may not walk again.&#160;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, police have identified those killed in the accident as: Tammy Vandam, Glenn Goodrich, Alina Bigjohny, Christina Santiago, Nathan Byrd.</p>
<p>Investigators began sifting through debris of the stage on Sunday, CNN reports, quoting investigators as saying that the deaths occurred when metal scaffolding fell onto the "Sugarpit," a section usually occupied by Sugarland's most ardent fans, about four minutes after authorities took the stage to warn the crowd to seek shelter.</p>
<p>A post on Sugarland's Twitter account late Saturday said: "We are all right. We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis. We hope you'll join us. They need your strength."</p> | Indiana State Fair to reopen after 5 Sugarland fans killed in freak accident (VIDEO) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-08-15/indiana-state-fair-reopen-after-5-sugarland-fans-killed-freak-accident-video | 2011-08-15 | 3left-center
| Indiana State Fair to reopen after 5 Sugarland fans killed in freak accident (VIDEO)
<p>The Indiana State Fair was scheduled to reopen Monday with a public memorial service for five people killed when a concert stage collapsed in high winds as fans waited for country band Sugarland to play.</p>
<p>(GlobalPost reports: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/110814/sugarland-stage-collapse-indiana-fair" type="external">Sugarland stage collapse kills five at Indiana Fair</a>)&#160;</p>
<p>Four people were killed when the metal scaffolding that holds lights and other <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stage-collapse-20110815,0,7751772.story" type="external">stage equipment</a> fell Saturday night, and a fifth died overnight at a hospital, the LA Times reported, quoting Indiana State Police Sgt. Dave Bursten.</p>
<p>The fairgrounds were closed following the accident, which occurred shortly before the country music duo was to take the stage before an audience of about 12,000 during an approaching storm.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stage-collapse-20110815,0,7751772.story" type="external">Gov. Mitch Daniels</a> said the gust of wind that toppled the stage was a "fluke" that no one could have anticipated, and insisted that precautions had been taken, the LA Times reports.&#160;</p>
<p>However, forecasters had warned that heavy rain and strong winds would hit the fair nearly two hours before the storm moved through, with the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/08/15/indiana.stage.collapse/" type="external">National Weather Service</a> estimating winds of 60 to 70 mph, CNN reports.</p>
<p>"The wind just picked up and the stage just caught and the roof just caught and it went up like a sail and then it crashed forward into the people standing in the front," said a WANE-TV reporter who witnessed the incident, according to TMZ.</p>
<p>"There were people trapped underneath and everyone was running and screaming. They were asking any medics or nurses not to leave."</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Forty-five were reported injured with anything fro cuts and bruises to fractures and <a href="http://www.wthr.com/story/15263814/fifth-person-dies-after-indiana-state-fair-tragedy" type="external">severe head trauma</a>, NBC reports.</p>
<p>The mother of a 17-year-old who suffered a broken back said her son may not walk again.&#160;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, police have identified those killed in the accident as: Tammy Vandam, Glenn Goodrich, Alina Bigjohny, Christina Santiago, Nathan Byrd.</p>
<p>Investigators began sifting through debris of the stage on Sunday, CNN reports, quoting investigators as saying that the deaths occurred when metal scaffolding fell onto the "Sugarpit," a section usually occupied by Sugarland's most ardent fans, about four minutes after authorities took the stage to warn the crowd to seek shelter.</p>
<p>A post on Sugarland's Twitter account late Saturday said: "We are all right. We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis. We hope you'll join us. They need your strength."</p> | 599,803 |
<p />
<p>Consumers could see more competition and better mobile service after the end of a big U.S. government auction transferring airwave rights from TV broadcasters to companies interested in wireless networks.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The biggest spenders in the Federal Communications Commission's $19.8 billion auction were T-Mobile with $8 billion, satellite TV company Dish at $6.2 billion and Comcast with $1.7 billion.</p>
<p>The nation's airwaves regulator ran the auction to help wireless networks keep up as people spend more time on smartphones. The biggest bidders in the last auction, in 2015, were AT&amp;T ($18.2 billion) and Verizon ($10.4 billion).</p>
<p>T-Mobile says its winnings will give its network more oomph against industry heavyweights AT&amp;T and Verizon. The company "just cleaned up," its CEO, John Legere, tweeted . The company has racked up new subscribers in recent years and helped tug AT&amp;T and Verizon into offering unlimited plans again.</p>
<p>Comcast, meanwhile, plans to launch a mobile service for its customers this year that will initially use Verizon's network.</p>
<p>Dish has long been amassing airwaves and has said it will build a wireless network.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Wall Street analysts suggest the end of the auction will lead to more merger discussions between telecom companies. Restrictions placed on companies involved in the auction made it difficult for them to discuss deals.</p>
<p>The auction, which started last year, will pay out $10 billion to 175 TV broadcasters that sold off their licenses. Those broadcasters go off the air or move to new channels. Other stations will be affected, too, and roughly 1,000 will have to move channels over the next few years. Consumers may have to rescan their sets to get them.</p>
<p>About $7.3 billion of the money raised by the auction goes to offset the federal deficit.</p> | $19.8 Billion Airwaves Auction May Mean Better Cell Service | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/14/19-8-billion-airwaves-auction-may-mean-better-cell-service.html | 2017-04-14 | 0right
| $19.8 Billion Airwaves Auction May Mean Better Cell Service
<p />
<p>Consumers could see more competition and better mobile service after the end of a big U.S. government auction transferring airwave rights from TV broadcasters to companies interested in wireless networks.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The biggest spenders in the Federal Communications Commission's $19.8 billion auction were T-Mobile with $8 billion, satellite TV company Dish at $6.2 billion and Comcast with $1.7 billion.</p>
<p>The nation's airwaves regulator ran the auction to help wireless networks keep up as people spend more time on smartphones. The biggest bidders in the last auction, in 2015, were AT&amp;T ($18.2 billion) and Verizon ($10.4 billion).</p>
<p>T-Mobile says its winnings will give its network more oomph against industry heavyweights AT&amp;T and Verizon. The company "just cleaned up," its CEO, John Legere, tweeted . The company has racked up new subscribers in recent years and helped tug AT&amp;T and Verizon into offering unlimited plans again.</p>
<p>Comcast, meanwhile, plans to launch a mobile service for its customers this year that will initially use Verizon's network.</p>
<p>Dish has long been amassing airwaves and has said it will build a wireless network.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Wall Street analysts suggest the end of the auction will lead to more merger discussions between telecom companies. Restrictions placed on companies involved in the auction made it difficult for them to discuss deals.</p>
<p>The auction, which started last year, will pay out $10 billion to 175 TV broadcasters that sold off their licenses. Those broadcasters go off the air or move to new channels. Other stations will be affected, too, and roughly 1,000 will have to move channels over the next few years. Consumers may have to rescan their sets to get them.</p>
<p>About $7.3 billion of the money raised by the auction goes to offset the federal deficit.</p> | 599,804 |
<p>The U.S. Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it could impose more inspections and greater oversight of Connecticut's nuclear power plant due to repeated problems with a critical water pump.</p>
<p>The agency issued its findings from an inspection of Millstone Power Plant's unit 3, saying problems associated with a turbine-driven auxiliary water pump three times last year and in January was of low to moderate safety significance.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The pump cools the reactor in emergencies if offsite power and diesel generators fail.</p>
<p>Millstone, which is owned by Dominion Resources Inc., may request a conference with regulators, submit a written response or accept the finding. Spokesman Ken Holt says plant officials have not made a decision.</p>
<p>Regulators said the Unit 3 pump operated from May 2013 through February 2014 in an "adverse configuration" due to the installation of an incorrect part. As a result, the pump ran at an excessive speed, the regulatory agency said.</p>
<p>Inspectors determined that the incorrect part "was a condition adverse to quality that was within Dominion's ability to foresee, correct and should have been prevented."</p>
<p>Federal regulators said the part has been replaced and the pump is no longer an immediate safety concern. The pump failed to operate properly last Nov. 4, Dec. 18 and Jan. 23, 2014.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Millstone provides half of Connecticut's power.</p> | US regulators: Greater oversight of Millstone possible over repeated troubles with water pump | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/28/us-regulators-greater-oversight-millstone-possible-over-repeated-troubles-with.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| US regulators: Greater oversight of Millstone possible over repeated troubles with water pump
<p>The U.S. Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it could impose more inspections and greater oversight of Connecticut's nuclear power plant due to repeated problems with a critical water pump.</p>
<p>The agency issued its findings from an inspection of Millstone Power Plant's unit 3, saying problems associated with a turbine-driven auxiliary water pump three times last year and in January was of low to moderate safety significance.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The pump cools the reactor in emergencies if offsite power and diesel generators fail.</p>
<p>Millstone, which is owned by Dominion Resources Inc., may request a conference with regulators, submit a written response or accept the finding. Spokesman Ken Holt says plant officials have not made a decision.</p>
<p>Regulators said the Unit 3 pump operated from May 2013 through February 2014 in an "adverse configuration" due to the installation of an incorrect part. As a result, the pump ran at an excessive speed, the regulatory agency said.</p>
<p>Inspectors determined that the incorrect part "was a condition adverse to quality that was within Dominion's ability to foresee, correct and should have been prevented."</p>
<p>Federal regulators said the part has been replaced and the pump is no longer an immediate safety concern. The pump failed to operate properly last Nov. 4, Dec. 18 and Jan. 23, 2014.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Millstone provides half of Connecticut's power.</p> | 599,805 |
<p>China is known for copying just about everything, from DVDs all the way up to cars. But a plan to copy an entire Austrian town and build it in Guangdong province has locals in the real town up in arms.</p>
<p>The Austrian Independant <a href="http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2011-06-16/7988/Chinese_copycats_upset_UNESCO_site_citizens" type="external">reports</a> that Chinese engineers and architects have caused a stir in the stunning 800-person lakeside hamlet of <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/806" type="external">Hallstatt</a>, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It seems the Chinese want to recreate Hallstatt back in China, but they came and studied the town without telling any locals they were planning to build a Chinese replica.</p>
<p>"You must not do such things without letting authorities and owners of houses know," the Hallstatt mayor told the newspaper.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Knocking off a whole town | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-06-17/knocking-whole-town | 2011-06-17 | 3left-center
| Knocking off a whole town
<p>China is known for copying just about everything, from DVDs all the way up to cars. But a plan to copy an entire Austrian town and build it in Guangdong province has locals in the real town up in arms.</p>
<p>The Austrian Independant <a href="http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2011-06-16/7988/Chinese_copycats_upset_UNESCO_site_citizens" type="external">reports</a> that Chinese engineers and architects have caused a stir in the stunning 800-person lakeside hamlet of <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/806" type="external">Hallstatt</a>, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It seems the Chinese want to recreate Hallstatt back in China, but they came and studied the town without telling any locals they were planning to build a Chinese replica.</p>
<p>"You must not do such things without letting authorities and owners of houses know," the Hallstatt mayor told the newspaper.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,806 |
<p>the White House pressured stocks while stoking demand for assets seen as safer stores of value.</p>
<p>The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 2.171% compared with 2.215% Tuesday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Stocks fell, while assets viewed by investors as havens like government bonds and gold climbed, after President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening that he would shut down the government if necessary to secure funding to build a wall along the southwest border.</p>
<p>Speaking at his first rally after a violent white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Va., Mr. Trump also attacked his GOP colleagues for their failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and said he might terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement.</p>
<p>"The rhetoric and belligerence out of Washington is a gift that keeps on giving" to the bond market, said Bryce Doty, a senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates. "It creates a quality opportunity every couple of days for investors."</p>
<p>Still, any rebound in the bond market is likely to be short-lived, investors and analysts say. Treasurys have largely traded in a narrow range this summer even after developments such as a flare-up in tensions between North Korea and the U.S., White House staffing changes and fallout in the business community over Mr. Trump's response to the Charlottesville protests.</p>
<p>In another sign of a lull in the bond market, a measure of expected volatility in the Treasury market -- the Bank of America Merrill Lynch MOVE Index -- fell to an all-time low earlier this month, and has traded near that level since then.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The real risks to the Treasurys market, many say, won't come until next month, when the Federal Reserve is expected to begin reducing its massive portfolio of bonds and other assets, and possibly offer additional clues on the path for interest-rate increases. For most of the year, investors have been betting that soft inflation would keep the Fed from aggressively backing out of its stimulus program.</p>
<p>Until there is more clarity on how the Fed plans to act, "we probably won't see much shake-up," Mr. Doty said.</p>
<p>Write to Akane Otani at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 23, 2017 15:38 ET (19:38 GMT)</p> | U.S. Bonds Higher After Contentious Speech From Trump | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/23/u-s-bonds-higher-after-contentious-speech-from-trump0.html | 2017-08-23 | 0right
| U.S. Bonds Higher After Contentious Speech From Trump
<p>the White House pressured stocks while stoking demand for assets seen as safer stores of value.</p>
<p>The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 2.171% compared with 2.215% Tuesday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Stocks fell, while assets viewed by investors as havens like government bonds and gold climbed, after President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening that he would shut down the government if necessary to secure funding to build a wall along the southwest border.</p>
<p>Speaking at his first rally after a violent white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Va., Mr. Trump also attacked his GOP colleagues for their failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and said he might terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement.</p>
<p>"The rhetoric and belligerence out of Washington is a gift that keeps on giving" to the bond market, said Bryce Doty, a senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates. "It creates a quality opportunity every couple of days for investors."</p>
<p>Still, any rebound in the bond market is likely to be short-lived, investors and analysts say. Treasurys have largely traded in a narrow range this summer even after developments such as a flare-up in tensions between North Korea and the U.S., White House staffing changes and fallout in the business community over Mr. Trump's response to the Charlottesville protests.</p>
<p>In another sign of a lull in the bond market, a measure of expected volatility in the Treasury market -- the Bank of America Merrill Lynch MOVE Index -- fell to an all-time low earlier this month, and has traded near that level since then.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The real risks to the Treasurys market, many say, won't come until next month, when the Federal Reserve is expected to begin reducing its massive portfolio of bonds and other assets, and possibly offer additional clues on the path for interest-rate increases. For most of the year, investors have been betting that soft inflation would keep the Fed from aggressively backing out of its stimulus program.</p>
<p>Until there is more clarity on how the Fed plans to act, "we probably won't see much shake-up," Mr. Doty said.</p>
<p>Write to Akane Otani at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 23, 2017 15:38 ET (19:38 GMT)</p> | 599,807 |
<p>Those who do not learn history are doomed&#160;to repeat it. Why? Because for the majority of human history, human beings have lived in bondage, in poverty, under despotic leaders, with little to no freedom. But there’s a reason human beings have time and again voted for their own oppression: freedom is hard. It is not easy to be the governor of your own life. It involves struggle, toil, hard work, and it isn’t easy.&#160;Contrast personal freedom&#160;with the promise of collective&#160;“safety” and “security,” ambiguous terms sold by political charlatans in order to secure their power.</p>
<p><a href="http://buzzpo.com/holocaust-survivor-shares-bone-chilling-similarities-between-hitler-and-obama/?utm_content=buffera227c&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=positivelyrepublican" type="external">World War II survivor and Austrian&#160;Kitty Werthmann</a> is a lesson in history. Her tale of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power is one we should all watch. It’s chilling, it’s terrifying, but worst of all, it sounds familiar. Watch:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Highlights:</p>
<p>Hitler gave everyone a free radio. He was a great orator. And then he nationalized the radio. Citizens were warned if they listened to anything other than Nazi radio, they would be put to death.</p>
<p>The only voice they had was the government radio station and the government controlled newspaper.</p>
<p>Hitler gave Austrian equal rights for everyone. Also, everybody getting a guaranteed income from the government. The equal rights amendment was designed in two components, equality, economics and social. Economics was designed to equalize the countries wealth because everyone was entitled to equal income. To achieve that, they had to raise taxes to 70%.</p>
<p>People got fuel stamps, heating fuel. The government equalized the countries wealth by taxing us. Called socialism.</p>
<p>On the socialism, everyone has to be on the work force. Moms stayed home, raised their families. But in socialism, if you didn’t work, you were called a parasite. Moms had to go to work and leave the kids to where? A daycare center. The longer you left your child with the schools and daycare, the better the government liked it. These caretakers were from the government, trained in psychology, to mold the children.</p>
<p>Education was then nationalized. We had a good education system before Hitler.</p>
<p>Seriously, this account is chilling. The longer you’ll listen to this full account (about 30 minutes) the more your skin will crawl.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15669" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/creepy.gif" alt="creepy" width="364" height="200" /&gt;</p>
<p>But did you notice how Hitler did it? Incrementally. Not over night, not in a day, not in a week. Slowly, over time, one area of life and then another. Do it the Nazi way, it’s the better way. You can’t trust the media, you have to listen to the national media. You cannot trust private institutions, you have to trust the government institutions. And you moms who want to stay at home with your children to raise them right? No, get out of the home, work, and do the right thing by putting your children through our state school.</p>
<p>Scared yet?</p>
<p>Leftist or Obama&#160;apologists will claim we’re being paranoid. Fine, I respect your freedom to think whatever you wish. Leftist&#160;apologists will say we’re being unfair in comparing their dear leader (Obama or anyone else) to any dictator. Fine, you’re free to tell me whatever you’d like. But if any of you apologists out there want to “report” this post to the government because you dislike it and think it should be removed… congratulations, you’ve proved the point. Where I believe in diversity of thought and more speech and not less, you have deemed anything that goes against your view of government as worthy of banning.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-15670" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/creepygirlsmile.gif" alt="creepygirlsmile" width="364" height="201" /&gt;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="" type="internal">Obama is making moves to take guns</a>, his <a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/content/irs-bureaucrats-could-still-be-targeting-conservatives" type="external">IRS has targeted conservative groups</a>, and him and his liberal cohorts lavish praise on <a href="" type="internal">socialist governments like Sweden</a>.</p>
<p>So pardon me if I’m a little cautious.</p>
<p>Send your vitriolic hate tweets to <a href="https://twitter.com/Courtneyscoffs" type="external">@Courtneyscoffs</a>. I’ll be sure to ignore them.</p>
<p /> | WW2 Survivor’s Account Draws Chilling Similarities between Nazism and Liberalism… | true | http://louderwithcrowder.com/holocaust-survivor-draws-chilling-similarities-between-nazism-and-obama/ | 2016-01-16 | 0right
| WW2 Survivor’s Account Draws Chilling Similarities between Nazism and Liberalism…
<p>Those who do not learn history are doomed&#160;to repeat it. Why? Because for the majority of human history, human beings have lived in bondage, in poverty, under despotic leaders, with little to no freedom. But there’s a reason human beings have time and again voted for their own oppression: freedom is hard. It is not easy to be the governor of your own life. It involves struggle, toil, hard work, and it isn’t easy.&#160;Contrast personal freedom&#160;with the promise of collective&#160;“safety” and “security,” ambiguous terms sold by political charlatans in order to secure their power.</p>
<p><a href="http://buzzpo.com/holocaust-survivor-shares-bone-chilling-similarities-between-hitler-and-obama/?utm_content=buffera227c&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=positivelyrepublican" type="external">World War II survivor and Austrian&#160;Kitty Werthmann</a> is a lesson in history. Her tale of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power is one we should all watch. It’s chilling, it’s terrifying, but worst of all, it sounds familiar. Watch:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Highlights:</p>
<p>Hitler gave everyone a free radio. He was a great orator. And then he nationalized the radio. Citizens were warned if they listened to anything other than Nazi radio, they would be put to death.</p>
<p>The only voice they had was the government radio station and the government controlled newspaper.</p>
<p>Hitler gave Austrian equal rights for everyone. Also, everybody getting a guaranteed income from the government. The equal rights amendment was designed in two components, equality, economics and social. Economics was designed to equalize the countries wealth because everyone was entitled to equal income. To achieve that, they had to raise taxes to 70%.</p>
<p>People got fuel stamps, heating fuel. The government equalized the countries wealth by taxing us. Called socialism.</p>
<p>On the socialism, everyone has to be on the work force. Moms stayed home, raised their families. But in socialism, if you didn’t work, you were called a parasite. Moms had to go to work and leave the kids to where? A daycare center. The longer you left your child with the schools and daycare, the better the government liked it. These caretakers were from the government, trained in psychology, to mold the children.</p>
<p>Education was then nationalized. We had a good education system before Hitler.</p>
<p>Seriously, this account is chilling. The longer you’ll listen to this full account (about 30 minutes) the more your skin will crawl.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15669" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/creepy.gif" alt="creepy" width="364" height="200" /&gt;</p>
<p>But did you notice how Hitler did it? Incrementally. Not over night, not in a day, not in a week. Slowly, over time, one area of life and then another. Do it the Nazi way, it’s the better way. You can’t trust the media, you have to listen to the national media. You cannot trust private institutions, you have to trust the government institutions. And you moms who want to stay at home with your children to raise them right? No, get out of the home, work, and do the right thing by putting your children through our state school.</p>
<p>Scared yet?</p>
<p>Leftist or Obama&#160;apologists will claim we’re being paranoid. Fine, I respect your freedom to think whatever you wish. Leftist&#160;apologists will say we’re being unfair in comparing their dear leader (Obama or anyone else) to any dictator. Fine, you’re free to tell me whatever you’d like. But if any of you apologists out there want to “report” this post to the government because you dislike it and think it should be removed… congratulations, you’ve proved the point. Where I believe in diversity of thought and more speech and not less, you have deemed anything that goes against your view of government as worthy of banning.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-15670" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/creepygirlsmile.gif" alt="creepygirlsmile" width="364" height="201" /&gt;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="" type="internal">Obama is making moves to take guns</a>, his <a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/content/irs-bureaucrats-could-still-be-targeting-conservatives" type="external">IRS has targeted conservative groups</a>, and him and his liberal cohorts lavish praise on <a href="" type="internal">socialist governments like Sweden</a>.</p>
<p>So pardon me if I’m a little cautious.</p>
<p>Send your vitriolic hate tweets to <a href="https://twitter.com/Courtneyscoffs" type="external">@Courtneyscoffs</a>. I’ll be sure to ignore them.</p>
<p /> | 599,808 |
<p>It is holiday shopping season and for many investors, that is all the explanation needed for why the SPDR S&amp;P Retail ETF (NYSEArca: XRT), the largest retail-related ETF on the market, jumped more than 5% and why the benchmark retail ETF is up more than 12% over the past month. However, there could be more… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/12/rally-in-retail-etfs-is-for-real-as-holiday-shopping-picks-up/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Rally in Retail ETFs is for Real as Holiday Shopping Picks Up | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/12/rally-in-retail-etfs-is-for-real-as-holiday-shopping-picks-up.html | 2016-12-12 | 0right
| Rally in Retail ETFs is for Real as Holiday Shopping Picks Up
<p>It is holiday shopping season and for many investors, that is all the explanation needed for why the SPDR S&amp;P Retail ETF (NYSEArca: XRT), the largest retail-related ETF on the market, jumped more than 5% and why the benchmark retail ETF is up more than 12% over the past month. However, there could be more… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/12/rally-in-retail-etfs-is-for-real-as-holiday-shopping-picks-up/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 599,809 |
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<p>ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s top transportation official will travel to Washington to discuss an ongoing dispute with federal officials over the state’s highway welcome centers and roadside “I Love NY” signs.</p>
<p>Federal officials say the signs violate signage rules and could distract motorists. Federal authorities are also concerned that the state-run Taste NY stores in highway welcome centers may run afoul of rules governing commercial activity at rest stops.</p>
<p>A spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration says agency Administrator Greg Nadeau is scheduled to meet with state Department of Transportation Commissioner Matt Driscoll next month to discuss the conflict.</p>
<p>The state defends the signs and welcome centers as successful ways to market tourism and locally made products.</p>
<p>The dispute was first reported by the USA Today Network.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Feds don’t love ‘I Love NY’ signs on roads, welcome centers | false | https://abqjournal.com/892398/feds-dont-love-i-love-ny-signs-on-roads-welcome-centers.html | 2least
| Feds don’t love ‘I Love NY’ signs on roads, welcome centers
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<p>ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s top transportation official will travel to Washington to discuss an ongoing dispute with federal officials over the state’s highway welcome centers and roadside “I Love NY” signs.</p>
<p>Federal officials say the signs violate signage rules and could distract motorists. Federal authorities are also concerned that the state-run Taste NY stores in highway welcome centers may run afoul of rules governing commercial activity at rest stops.</p>
<p>A spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration says agency Administrator Greg Nadeau is scheduled to meet with state Department of Transportation Commissioner Matt Driscoll next month to discuss the conflict.</p>
<p>The state defends the signs and welcome centers as successful ways to market tourism and locally made products.</p>
<p>The dispute was first reported by the USA Today Network.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,810 |
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<p />
<p>From&#160; <a href="http://americannews.com/breaking-fbi-finally-makes-move-to-arrest-hillary-clinton/" type="external">American News</a></p>
<p>Well, this could be the end for Hillary Clinton. According to recent reports, the Clinton campaign is panicking now that the FBI is deeply investigating her.</p>
<p>This time, she's a suspect for espionage.</p>
<p>According to reports, the FBI is currently trying to determine whether the former Secretary of State violated federal laws by making false statements about the way she handled classified materials while in office.</p>
<p>"The agents involved are under a lot of pressure," one source told Fox News, who was quick to point out that this is a serious expansion in the investigation against Hillary.</p>
<p>"The problem for the defendant is when their statements cause the bureau to expand more time, energy, resources to de-conflict their statements with the evidence," FBI officer Timothy Gill told reporters.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>0 comments</p> | BREAKING: FBI moves to arrest Hillary | true | http://freedomsfinalstand.com/breaking-fbi-moves-to-arrest-hillary/ | 0right
| BREAKING: FBI moves to arrest Hillary
<p />
<p>From&#160; <a href="http://americannews.com/breaking-fbi-finally-makes-move-to-arrest-hillary-clinton/" type="external">American News</a></p>
<p>Well, this could be the end for Hillary Clinton. According to recent reports, the Clinton campaign is panicking now that the FBI is deeply investigating her.</p>
<p>This time, she's a suspect for espionage.</p>
<p>According to reports, the FBI is currently trying to determine whether the former Secretary of State violated federal laws by making false statements about the way she handled classified materials while in office.</p>
<p>"The agents involved are under a lot of pressure," one source told Fox News, who was quick to point out that this is a serious expansion in the investigation against Hillary.</p>
<p>"The problem for the defendant is when their statements cause the bureau to expand more time, energy, resources to de-conflict their statements with the evidence," FBI officer Timothy Gill told reporters.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>0 comments</p> | 599,811 |
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<p>When I identify myself and ask to speak to Martha, he says he doesn’t know anyone by my name, or says there’s no Martha living there. Once he told Martha to ask me how my ex-husband was. (I have not seen my ex for 40 years, since our divorce.)</p>
<p>The last time it happened, I told Martha her husband was annoying and that she should call me from now on. She said he was just trying to be funny. I haven’t heard from her since, not even a birthday card. Was I wrong to speak up? Should I apologize or just lose this friendship? – PROBLEM HUSBAND IN FLORIDA</p>
<p>DEAR PROBLEM: Martha’s husband doesn’t strike me as being particularly witty. After a few repeat performances of his lame material, I can understand how someone would become annoyed. I don’t think you owe Martha an apology for being honest about how you felt. Because you left the ball in her court, it’s possible that since you did all the work staying in touch, your 40-year friendship was not as close as you assumed or you would have heard from her.</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: A friend and I belong to a book club and have regularly gone to lunch and a movie afterward. We have occasionally mentioned a movie we liked while chatting prior to the start of the book club meeting. This has prompted other people to invite themselves along or ask if they can go with us.</p>
<p>If we wanted to spend more time with these women, we would have invited them. The two of us feel that this afternoon outing is OUR time together and we would prefer it being just us. We changed the day, which was a bit inconvenient but preferable to the alternative. How do we handle it when future inquiries come up without hurting feelings or sounding snobbish? – OUR TIME TOGETHER</p>
<p>DEAR OUR TIME: Your mistake was in talking about your movie dates in front of the other women. In the future, handle it by refraining from doing that, and your problem will go away.</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been together for two years. We are in our 50s and have both been married before. My problem is I don’t know how to respond to his friends and family when they talk to me about his first wife. They tell story after story, and it makes me uncomfortable. I feel disrespected but smile politely to not be rude. Any thoughts? – GIRLFRIEND IN NEW JERSEY</p>
<p>DEAR GIRLFRIEND: I am sure no one does it out of a desire to make you uncomfortable or disrespect you. How you respond would depend upon whether your boyfriend’s marriage ended in death or divorce.</p>
<p>If his former wife is deceased, a way to change the subject might be to say, “It sounds like she was a wonderful (mother, daughter, woman).” However, if the marriage ended in divorce, all you need to say is that you’d rather focus on the present than the unhappy past.</p>
<p>Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.</p>
<p />
<p /> | DEAR ABBY: Friendship fades following criticism of husband’s jokes | false | https://abqjournal.com/1089894/friendship-fades-following-criticism-of-husbands-jokes.html | 2least
| DEAR ABBY: Friendship fades following criticism of husband’s jokes
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<p />
<p>When I identify myself and ask to speak to Martha, he says he doesn’t know anyone by my name, or says there’s no Martha living there. Once he told Martha to ask me how my ex-husband was. (I have not seen my ex for 40 years, since our divorce.)</p>
<p>The last time it happened, I told Martha her husband was annoying and that she should call me from now on. She said he was just trying to be funny. I haven’t heard from her since, not even a birthday card. Was I wrong to speak up? Should I apologize or just lose this friendship? – PROBLEM HUSBAND IN FLORIDA</p>
<p>DEAR PROBLEM: Martha’s husband doesn’t strike me as being particularly witty. After a few repeat performances of his lame material, I can understand how someone would become annoyed. I don’t think you owe Martha an apology for being honest about how you felt. Because you left the ball in her court, it’s possible that since you did all the work staying in touch, your 40-year friendship was not as close as you assumed or you would have heard from her.</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: A friend and I belong to a book club and have regularly gone to lunch and a movie afterward. We have occasionally mentioned a movie we liked while chatting prior to the start of the book club meeting. This has prompted other people to invite themselves along or ask if they can go with us.</p>
<p>If we wanted to spend more time with these women, we would have invited them. The two of us feel that this afternoon outing is OUR time together and we would prefer it being just us. We changed the day, which was a bit inconvenient but preferable to the alternative. How do we handle it when future inquiries come up without hurting feelings or sounding snobbish? – OUR TIME TOGETHER</p>
<p>DEAR OUR TIME: Your mistake was in talking about your movie dates in front of the other women. In the future, handle it by refraining from doing that, and your problem will go away.</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been together for two years. We are in our 50s and have both been married before. My problem is I don’t know how to respond to his friends and family when they talk to me about his first wife. They tell story after story, and it makes me uncomfortable. I feel disrespected but smile politely to not be rude. Any thoughts? – GIRLFRIEND IN NEW JERSEY</p>
<p>DEAR GIRLFRIEND: I am sure no one does it out of a desire to make you uncomfortable or disrespect you. How you respond would depend upon whether your boyfriend’s marriage ended in death or divorce.</p>
<p>If his former wife is deceased, a way to change the subject might be to say, “It sounds like she was a wonderful (mother, daughter, woman).” However, if the marriage ended in divorce, all you need to say is that you’d rather focus on the present than the unhappy past.</p>
<p>Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.</p>
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<p>He keeps talking about making America great again as if it is not great right now. He has called Hillary Clinton hateful. He has been accused of sexual abuse. Trump University is said to have been a scam. He has said the media is rigged against him.</p>
<p>On top of the above, he thinks Saddam Hussein should have stayed in power in Iraq. He did not pay taxes he did not owe. He said the inner cities in this country are hell holes.</p>
<p>He is against gun control. He wants to build a wall on the Mexican border. He once talked of punching protesters at a rally.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The thing about all of the above is that there are equivalents on the other side, the Democratic side, the leftist side. Let’s review them.</p>
<p>In his first campaign, Bill Clinton also said let’s make America great again. He didn’t say it as often, but he said it and, as far as I know, went unscathed, maybe because a Republican was president.</p>
<p>The sexual abuse allegations are serious stuff, but not as serious as Bill Clinton being accused of the vicious rape of a woman who talked to a friend soon afterwards about the horror she had endured. He is accused of groping another woman in the White House. He ended up paying $850,000 to settle a suit from still another woman who said he had exposed himself to her while encouraging sex.</p>
<p>The Monica Lewinsky affair was not just about sex, as even feminists often said on his behalf, although he did take advantage of this subordinate half his age by enjoying oral sex in the Oval Office. The affair was also about lying, obstruction of justice, perjury and disgracing the presidency.</p>
<p>Clinton is charming and smart and a moral mess who is now his wife’s top surrogate on the campaign trail and will play an important role in the administration if she is elected.</p>
<p>Trump has accused the press of prejudice and has threatened libel suits against newspapers. Some news outlets are in fact discarding normal standards to finish him off, and President Barack Obama has never been shy about taking on Fox News or talk radio.</p>
<p>Obama’s administration has spied on the Associated Press, and one New York Times reporter has called him “the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation.”</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton is so against free speech as interpreted by the Supreme Court that she wants to rewrite the First Amendment.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Saddam Hussein would have done more to quell terrorism than the U.S. war on Iraq if he had stayed in power, Trump says, to the anger of quivering critics. Don’t almost all liberals say the same?</p>
<p>Trump’s remarks about blacks in the inner cities living in hell holes have the left crucifying him even though that has been a leftist message for some time and still is in some quarters.</p>
<p>He wants a wall on the Mexican border, which is far from as crazy as what Hillary Clinton once said about wanting open borders.</p>
<p>Trump has been thoroughly castigated for not paying taxes he did not owe, thereby enabling him to rebuild his businesses, while the Clintons once claimed deductions for old underwear. Which speaks loudest about being cheap and cheesy?</p>
<p>Clinton is for extending background checks for gun purchases. It would do no harm, but the evidence is minimal it would do any good. She is against Trump’s advocacy of stop-and-frisk, which took 34,000 guns off the streets of New York and, by the reckoning of some top analysts, helped save thousands of lives.</p>
<p>Trump once said something at a rally about punching protesters in the face. Hillary Clinton once said something in a meeting about droning Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame. Those present say she did not seem to be joking.</p>
<p>None of this means Trump should be president, but if it is Hillary Clinton, we need a Republican Congress to check her.</p>
<p>Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Leftists’ faults match Trump’s | false | https://abqjournal.com/872909/leftists-faults-match-trumps.html | 2least
| Leftists’ faults match Trump’s
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<p />
<p>He keeps talking about making America great again as if it is not great right now. He has called Hillary Clinton hateful. He has been accused of sexual abuse. Trump University is said to have been a scam. He has said the media is rigged against him.</p>
<p>On top of the above, he thinks Saddam Hussein should have stayed in power in Iraq. He did not pay taxes he did not owe. He said the inner cities in this country are hell holes.</p>
<p>He is against gun control. He wants to build a wall on the Mexican border. He once talked of punching protesters at a rally.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The thing about all of the above is that there are equivalents on the other side, the Democratic side, the leftist side. Let’s review them.</p>
<p>In his first campaign, Bill Clinton also said let’s make America great again. He didn’t say it as often, but he said it and, as far as I know, went unscathed, maybe because a Republican was president.</p>
<p>The sexual abuse allegations are serious stuff, but not as serious as Bill Clinton being accused of the vicious rape of a woman who talked to a friend soon afterwards about the horror she had endured. He is accused of groping another woman in the White House. He ended up paying $850,000 to settle a suit from still another woman who said he had exposed himself to her while encouraging sex.</p>
<p>The Monica Lewinsky affair was not just about sex, as even feminists often said on his behalf, although he did take advantage of this subordinate half his age by enjoying oral sex in the Oval Office. The affair was also about lying, obstruction of justice, perjury and disgracing the presidency.</p>
<p>Clinton is charming and smart and a moral mess who is now his wife’s top surrogate on the campaign trail and will play an important role in the administration if she is elected.</p>
<p>Trump has accused the press of prejudice and has threatened libel suits against newspapers. Some news outlets are in fact discarding normal standards to finish him off, and President Barack Obama has never been shy about taking on Fox News or talk radio.</p>
<p>Obama’s administration has spied on the Associated Press, and one New York Times reporter has called him “the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation.”</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton is so against free speech as interpreted by the Supreme Court that she wants to rewrite the First Amendment.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Saddam Hussein would have done more to quell terrorism than the U.S. war on Iraq if he had stayed in power, Trump says, to the anger of quivering critics. Don’t almost all liberals say the same?</p>
<p>Trump’s remarks about blacks in the inner cities living in hell holes have the left crucifying him even though that has been a leftist message for some time and still is in some quarters.</p>
<p>He wants a wall on the Mexican border, which is far from as crazy as what Hillary Clinton once said about wanting open borders.</p>
<p>Trump has been thoroughly castigated for not paying taxes he did not owe, thereby enabling him to rebuild his businesses, while the Clintons once claimed deductions for old underwear. Which speaks loudest about being cheap and cheesy?</p>
<p>Clinton is for extending background checks for gun purchases. It would do no harm, but the evidence is minimal it would do any good. She is against Trump’s advocacy of stop-and-frisk, which took 34,000 guns off the streets of New York and, by the reckoning of some top analysts, helped save thousands of lives.</p>
<p>Trump once said something at a rally about punching protesters in the face. Hillary Clinton once said something in a meeting about droning Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame. Those present say she did not seem to be joking.</p>
<p>None of this means Trump should be president, but if it is Hillary Clinton, we need a Republican Congress to check her.</p>
<p>Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>A celtic cast today, topped with an Arabic primer from the campaign trail. US-based Al Jazeera TV correspondent Abderrahim Foukara talks about the challenges of translating some words and concepts of American presidential politics. Among the toughest: maverick and superdelegate (hockey mom is easy). Then it's Scottish Gaelic: the BBC is launching is launching a new Gaelic TV service this month. We consder that and other efforts to reverse the decline of the language, and we drop in on a Gaelic class at Harvard. Finally we listen in on speakers of Scots, that much-maligned dialect that may or may not be a language. Language or not, it is hugely expressive.</p> | The World in Words 20: Scottish Gaelic, Scots and the Arabic for hockey mom | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-09-09/world-words-20-scottish-gaelic-scots-and-arabic-hockey-mom | 2008-09-09 | 3left-center
| The World in Words 20: Scottish Gaelic, Scots and the Arabic for hockey mom
<p>A celtic cast today, topped with an Arabic primer from the campaign trail. US-based Al Jazeera TV correspondent Abderrahim Foukara talks about the challenges of translating some words and concepts of American presidential politics. Among the toughest: maverick and superdelegate (hockey mom is easy). Then it's Scottish Gaelic: the BBC is launching is launching a new Gaelic TV service this month. We consder that and other efforts to reverse the decline of the language, and we drop in on a Gaelic class at Harvard. Finally we listen in on speakers of Scots, that much-maligned dialect that may or may not be a language. Language or not, it is hugely expressive.</p> | 599,814 |
<p>While filming her <a href="" type="internal">red-state-bashing</a> Hulu series called "I Love You, America," the always-obnoxious Sarah Silverman claims she "fell in love" with Trump supporters.</p>
<p>"When you're one-on-one with someone who doesn't agree with you, or whose ideology is different than yours, when you’re face to face, your porcupine needles go down," Silverman <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sarah-silverman-talks-hollywood-harassment-at-vulture-fest-1060203" type="external">told</a> the Los Angeles-based Vulture Festival crowd over the weekend.</p>
<p>"The surprise was," she said, "I fell in love with them. I had a great time with them and I felt comfortable."</p>
<p>"I'm trying to be open," continued Silverman. "I'm finding if I do engage with someone who is angry at me, or angry and I'm a place where they can put that anger ... it's almost always a good experience, because more than anything, all of us what we have in common is, we want to feel seen. We want to feel like we exist. We really should — all of us — work on not getting our self-esteem from outside forces, but it is so much when somebody just sees you. It's just like, everything melts away. We just all just human out again."</p>
<p>Silverman did, however, find time to bash President Trump.</p>
<p>"We're waiting for him to hit bottom. There's no bottom. It's bottomless," she said.</p>
<p>She fantasizes about Trump leaving the White House "with no hair or makeup," added the actress.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Silverman attempted to convey her connection to conservatives by revealing that she suffered from "survival-based fear" when Trump took office and became a "doomsday" liberal.</p>
<p>"In an instant, I basically became a liberal doomsday prepper," she said. "And for the first time, I felt an actual kinship to the far-right militia person who thought Obama would end the world."</p>
<p>"It's that feeling of fear that makes us the same," she added.</p>
<p>Of course, as <a href="" type="internal">noted</a> by Daily Wire's Emily Zanotti, conservatives didn't react exactly like liberals; they didn't scream at the sky and smash the windows of their local Starbucks, they won back both houses of Congress and then the White House without the "crippling fear and total lack of sanity that's gripped outspoken Democrats."</p>
<p>Watch the dreadful promo for the show, if you can stomach it:</p> | Sarah Silverman Flips: 'I Fell In Love' With Trump Supporters | true | https://dailywire.com/news/23873/sarah-silverman-flips-i-fell-love-trump-supporters-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2017-11-22 | 0right
| Sarah Silverman Flips: 'I Fell In Love' With Trump Supporters
<p>While filming her <a href="" type="internal">red-state-bashing</a> Hulu series called "I Love You, America," the always-obnoxious Sarah Silverman claims she "fell in love" with Trump supporters.</p>
<p>"When you're one-on-one with someone who doesn't agree with you, or whose ideology is different than yours, when you’re face to face, your porcupine needles go down," Silverman <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sarah-silverman-talks-hollywood-harassment-at-vulture-fest-1060203" type="external">told</a> the Los Angeles-based Vulture Festival crowd over the weekend.</p>
<p>"The surprise was," she said, "I fell in love with them. I had a great time with them and I felt comfortable."</p>
<p>"I'm trying to be open," continued Silverman. "I'm finding if I do engage with someone who is angry at me, or angry and I'm a place where they can put that anger ... it's almost always a good experience, because more than anything, all of us what we have in common is, we want to feel seen. We want to feel like we exist. We really should — all of us — work on not getting our self-esteem from outside forces, but it is so much when somebody just sees you. It's just like, everything melts away. We just all just human out again."</p>
<p>Silverman did, however, find time to bash President Trump.</p>
<p>"We're waiting for him to hit bottom. There's no bottom. It's bottomless," she said.</p>
<p>She fantasizes about Trump leaving the White House "with no hair or makeup," added the actress.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Silverman attempted to convey her connection to conservatives by revealing that she suffered from "survival-based fear" when Trump took office and became a "doomsday" liberal.</p>
<p>"In an instant, I basically became a liberal doomsday prepper," she said. "And for the first time, I felt an actual kinship to the far-right militia person who thought Obama would end the world."</p>
<p>"It's that feeling of fear that makes us the same," she added.</p>
<p>Of course, as <a href="" type="internal">noted</a> by Daily Wire's Emily Zanotti, conservatives didn't react exactly like liberals; they didn't scream at the sky and smash the windows of their local Starbucks, they won back both houses of Congress and then the White House without the "crippling fear and total lack of sanity that's gripped outspoken Democrats."</p>
<p>Watch the dreadful promo for the show, if you can stomach it:</p> | 599,815 |
<p>Anonymous, an Internet-based group best known for pranking and protesting the Church of Scientology, apparently hacked Sarah Palin’s Yahoo Mail account and posted images of her inbox and correspondence on the Web. The McCain campaign condemned the “shocking invasion,” which turned up nothing of substantial juiciness.</p>
<p>There were murmurs and reports of improper use of private e-mail for public business, but gawkers looking for titillation will find little at <a href="http://gawker.com/photogallery/palinyahooemail/" type="external">Gawker</a>, where some of the images can still be viewed.</p>
<p>Not to get too speculative, but either Sarah Palin is the world’s most wholesome e-mailer or whoever posted the images did so selectively.</p>
<p>Wired’s Threat Level blog has more:</p>
<p />
<p>The internet griefers known as Anonymous took credit for the intrusion, and screenshots of e-mail messages and photos belonging to the Alaska governor have been published by WikiLeaks. Threat Level has confirmed the authenticity of at least one of the e-mails.</p>
<p>“This is a shocking invasion of the Governor’s privacy and a violation of law,” Rick Davis, McCain-Palin campaign manager said in a statement. “The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them. We will have no further comment.”</p>
<p>FBI spokesman Brian Hale said, “The FBI is aware of the alleged hacking incident involving Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and is coordinating with the United States Secret Service on the matter.”</p>
<p>The cache of stolen data contains five screenshots from Palin’s account, including the text of an e-mail exchange with Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell about his campaign for Congress.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/group-posts-e-m.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Palin's Hacked E-Mail Gets a 'G' Rating | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/palins-hacked-e-mail-gets-a-g-rating/ | 2008-09-18 | 4left
| Palin's Hacked E-Mail Gets a 'G' Rating
<p>Anonymous, an Internet-based group best known for pranking and protesting the Church of Scientology, apparently hacked Sarah Palin’s Yahoo Mail account and posted images of her inbox and correspondence on the Web. The McCain campaign condemned the “shocking invasion,” which turned up nothing of substantial juiciness.</p>
<p>There were murmurs and reports of improper use of private e-mail for public business, but gawkers looking for titillation will find little at <a href="http://gawker.com/photogallery/palinyahooemail/" type="external">Gawker</a>, where some of the images can still be viewed.</p>
<p>Not to get too speculative, but either Sarah Palin is the world’s most wholesome e-mailer or whoever posted the images did so selectively.</p>
<p>Wired’s Threat Level blog has more:</p>
<p />
<p>The internet griefers known as Anonymous took credit for the intrusion, and screenshots of e-mail messages and photos belonging to the Alaska governor have been published by WikiLeaks. Threat Level has confirmed the authenticity of at least one of the e-mails.</p>
<p>“This is a shocking invasion of the Governor’s privacy and a violation of law,” Rick Davis, McCain-Palin campaign manager said in a statement. “The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them. We will have no further comment.”</p>
<p>FBI spokesman Brian Hale said, “The FBI is aware of the alleged hacking incident involving Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and is coordinating with the United States Secret Service on the matter.”</p>
<p>The cache of stolen data contains five screenshots from Palin’s account, including the text of an e-mail exchange with Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell about his campaign for Congress.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/group-posts-e-m.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 599,816 |
<p>Billionaire Sheldon Adelson “has provided zero support” behind a campaign pushing for National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to be removed from the White House, <a href="https://www.axios.com/scoop-sheldon-adelson-comes-out-in-support-of-h-r-mcmaster-2472968641.html" type="external">Axios reported Monday.</a></p>
<p>The Zionist Organization of America, which is funded by Adelson, one of the biggest financial donors in Republican politics, is the group pushing the campaign.</p>
<p>“Sheldon Adelson has nothing to do with the ZOA campaign against McMaster – had no knowledge of it and has provided zero support&#160;and is perfectly comfortable with the role that McMaster is playing,” said Andy Abboud, who represents Adelson.</p>
<p>ZOA president Mort Klein released a statement last Wednesday accusing McMaster of being hostile toward Israel and called on President Donald Trump to “reassign him to another position where he can do no further harm on these critical national security issues.”</p>
<p>“Gen. McMaster has appointed officials who are holdovers from the Obama administration, who favor the Iran nuclear deal and are hostile to Israel – officials who are diametrically opposed to President Trump’s policies,”&#160;he added.</p>
<p>Adelson’s rep told Axios he does not know McMaster and “hasn’t developed an opinion about him,” but he has nothing to do with the ZOA campaign.</p> | Adelson Not Behind ZOA Campaign Push for McMaster's Ouster | false | https://newsline.com/adelson-not-behind-zoa-campaign-push-for-mcmasters-ouster/ | 2017-08-14 | 1right-center
| Adelson Not Behind ZOA Campaign Push for McMaster's Ouster
<p>Billionaire Sheldon Adelson “has provided zero support” behind a campaign pushing for National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to be removed from the White House, <a href="https://www.axios.com/scoop-sheldon-adelson-comes-out-in-support-of-h-r-mcmaster-2472968641.html" type="external">Axios reported Monday.</a></p>
<p>The Zionist Organization of America, which is funded by Adelson, one of the biggest financial donors in Republican politics, is the group pushing the campaign.</p>
<p>“Sheldon Adelson has nothing to do with the ZOA campaign against McMaster – had no knowledge of it and has provided zero support&#160;and is perfectly comfortable with the role that McMaster is playing,” said Andy Abboud, who represents Adelson.</p>
<p>ZOA president Mort Klein released a statement last Wednesday accusing McMaster of being hostile toward Israel and called on President Donald Trump to “reassign him to another position where he can do no further harm on these critical national security issues.”</p>
<p>“Gen. McMaster has appointed officials who are holdovers from the Obama administration, who favor the Iran nuclear deal and are hostile to Israel – officials who are diametrically opposed to President Trump’s policies,”&#160;he added.</p>
<p>Adelson’s rep told Axios he does not know McMaster and “hasn’t developed an opinion about him,” but he has nothing to do with the ZOA campaign.</p> | 599,817 |
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<p>Kerry Adams.</p>
<p>As a woman, I've benefited from the expansion of liberty. Having the freedom to pursue higher education, the opportunity to own a business, the right to vote and run for office and serve in the military have all been a result of the expansion of liberty for women. Women now have a higher standing in society but are still awaiting some major firsts. Could you imagine Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony being told, "In support of liberty, we must all accept some limitations on our liberties in order to get along with other people?" I'm sure opponents of abolition and women's suffrage would have cheered this sentiment, but Douglass, Anthony and their predecessors wouldn't have accepted this.</p>
<p>This is, however, what one candidate for city council believes; this is ironic since she has benefited from the expansion of liberty even more than I have. This is a direct quote from Darlene Collins? (candidate for District 2) campaign plan. The statement is shocking.&#160; In America today, we've seen a contraction of liberty across the board, from NSA surveillance of all Americans' phone and Internet histories to pepper-spraying peaceful student protesters from Occupy Wall Street, the very thing civil rights leaders fought against is now being perpetrated against everyone, and Collins apparently supports it.</p>
<p>In fact, following her statement on limiting liberty, she goes on to talk about one prominent area of women's rights, specifically ending this statement with, "When we have to make monumental decisions, I support putting the matter before the people for a vote and support their decision on the issue."</p>
<p>I seem to recall Albuquerque recently had a voter initiative on the ballot to limit women's rights. Is Ms. Collins saying that she would support ballot initiatives in Rio Rancho (where more men vote than women) which might limit women's rights for the sake of "getting along with other people?"</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I highly doubt it, but that's the way her campaign plan reads. Of course, it could also be that she feels that our government has the authority (and the people have the power) to limit liberties to certain groups of people, which is the exact problem that civil rights leaders have been trying to fix. Could Collins seriously be advocating turning back the clock in favor of rights for a privileged few?</p>
<p>The words Collins wrote stick in my mind, and they should yours. To support liberty, Collins believes we must limit it. Is this the kind of person women want sitting on the city council?</p>
<p>District 2 needs a councilor that respects the rights of all people rather than allowing our rights to hang on the whims of popular opinion.</p>
<p>(Kerry Adams is a libertarian Christian and blogger who writes about politics and religion at <a href="http://mereliberty.com" type="external">mereliberty.com</a> in Rio Rancho.)</p> | KERRY ADAMS: Candidate's statement about liberties 'shocking' | false | https://abqjournal.com/357248/candidate39s-statement-about-liberties-39shocking39.html | 2least
| KERRY ADAMS: Candidate's statement about liberties 'shocking'
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<p />
<p>Kerry Adams.</p>
<p>As a woman, I've benefited from the expansion of liberty. Having the freedom to pursue higher education, the opportunity to own a business, the right to vote and run for office and serve in the military have all been a result of the expansion of liberty for women. Women now have a higher standing in society but are still awaiting some major firsts. Could you imagine Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony being told, "In support of liberty, we must all accept some limitations on our liberties in order to get along with other people?" I'm sure opponents of abolition and women's suffrage would have cheered this sentiment, but Douglass, Anthony and their predecessors wouldn't have accepted this.</p>
<p>This is, however, what one candidate for city council believes; this is ironic since she has benefited from the expansion of liberty even more than I have. This is a direct quote from Darlene Collins? (candidate for District 2) campaign plan. The statement is shocking.&#160; In America today, we've seen a contraction of liberty across the board, from NSA surveillance of all Americans' phone and Internet histories to pepper-spraying peaceful student protesters from Occupy Wall Street, the very thing civil rights leaders fought against is now being perpetrated against everyone, and Collins apparently supports it.</p>
<p>In fact, following her statement on limiting liberty, she goes on to talk about one prominent area of women's rights, specifically ending this statement with, "When we have to make monumental decisions, I support putting the matter before the people for a vote and support their decision on the issue."</p>
<p>I seem to recall Albuquerque recently had a voter initiative on the ballot to limit women's rights. Is Ms. Collins saying that she would support ballot initiatives in Rio Rancho (where more men vote than women) which might limit women's rights for the sake of "getting along with other people?"</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I highly doubt it, but that's the way her campaign plan reads. Of course, it could also be that she feels that our government has the authority (and the people have the power) to limit liberties to certain groups of people, which is the exact problem that civil rights leaders have been trying to fix. Could Collins seriously be advocating turning back the clock in favor of rights for a privileged few?</p>
<p>The words Collins wrote stick in my mind, and they should yours. To support liberty, Collins believes we must limit it. Is this the kind of person women want sitting on the city council?</p>
<p>District 2 needs a councilor that respects the rights of all people rather than allowing our rights to hang on the whims of popular opinion.</p>
<p>(Kerry Adams is a libertarian Christian and blogger who writes about politics and religion at <a href="http://mereliberty.com" type="external">mereliberty.com</a> in Rio Rancho.)</p> | 599,818 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Time on Wednesday named President-elect Donald Trump its Person of the Year.</p>
<p>“It’s a great honor. It means a lot,” Trump said in a telephone interview on NBC’s “Today” show.</p>
<p>Time editor Nancy Gibbs said on the program that Democrat Hillary Clinton was the No. 2 finalist. Gibbs said the choice of Trump this year was “straightforward.”</p>
<p>“When have we ever seen a single individual who has so defied expectations, broken the rules, violated norms, beaten not one but two political parties on the way to winning an election that he entered with 100-to-1 odds against him?” Gibbs said.</p>
<p>The Time cover reads, “Donald Trump: President of the Divided States of America” and the cover image features a photograph of the president-elect sitting in his private residence at Trump Tower.</p>
<p>In the NBC interview, Trump took issue with the “Divided States of America” description: “I didn’t divide ‘em,” he said. “We’re going to put it back together and we’re going to have a country that’s very well-healed.”</p>
<p>Gibbs said Time gives the title to the person who has had the greatest influence on events “for better or worse.”</p>
<p>Trump went from fiery underdog in the race for the GOP presidential nomination to defeating Clinton in the Nov. 8 election. Trump won 306 electoral votes, easily enough to make him president when the electors meet on Dec. 19. Clinton won the popular vote.</p>
<p>Gibbs said Clinton “came closer than any woman ever has to winning the White House, and in the process revealed, I think, both the opportunities and the obstacles that women face in the public square.”</p>
<p>The No. 3 finalist for the Person of the Year was “The Hackers,” which Gibbs said referred to “a new cyber security threat we saw this year of state-sponsored hackers looking to delegitimize an American election.” She said this was “something new this year and something very disturbing.”</p> | Time names Trump Person of the Year | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/time-names-trump-person-of-the-year/ | 2016-12-07 | 1right-center
| Time names Trump Person of the Year
<p>WASHINGTON — Time on Wednesday named President-elect Donald Trump its Person of the Year.</p>
<p>“It’s a great honor. It means a lot,” Trump said in a telephone interview on NBC’s “Today” show.</p>
<p>Time editor Nancy Gibbs said on the program that Democrat Hillary Clinton was the No. 2 finalist. Gibbs said the choice of Trump this year was “straightforward.”</p>
<p>“When have we ever seen a single individual who has so defied expectations, broken the rules, violated norms, beaten not one but two political parties on the way to winning an election that he entered with 100-to-1 odds against him?” Gibbs said.</p>
<p>The Time cover reads, “Donald Trump: President of the Divided States of America” and the cover image features a photograph of the president-elect sitting in his private residence at Trump Tower.</p>
<p>In the NBC interview, Trump took issue with the “Divided States of America” description: “I didn’t divide ‘em,” he said. “We’re going to put it back together and we’re going to have a country that’s very well-healed.”</p>
<p>Gibbs said Time gives the title to the person who has had the greatest influence on events “for better or worse.”</p>
<p>Trump went from fiery underdog in the race for the GOP presidential nomination to defeating Clinton in the Nov. 8 election. Trump won 306 electoral votes, easily enough to make him president when the electors meet on Dec. 19. Clinton won the popular vote.</p>
<p>Gibbs said Clinton “came closer than any woman ever has to winning the White House, and in the process revealed, I think, both the opportunities and the obstacles that women face in the public square.”</p>
<p>The No. 3 finalist for the Person of the Year was “The Hackers,” which Gibbs said referred to “a new cyber security threat we saw this year of state-sponsored hackers looking to delegitimize an American election.” She said this was “something new this year and something very disturbing.”</p> | 599,819 |
<p />
<p />
<p>In 2013, <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2013/11/07/kerry-threatens-israel-with-third-intifada/" type="external">John Kerry went on Israeli TV to threaten that if Israel did not “make peace” with the Palestinians,</a> they would face increasing global isolation, as well as the possibility of a third intifada (Arab “uprising” of violence).</p>
<p>And now, this:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning that Israel will be “blamed” if Congress opposes the Iran agreement conjures up troubling memories of other instances in which Israel or Jews were warned they might be blamed for international conflicts.</p>
<p>Secretary Kerry made his remark in an address to the Council of Foreign Relations on July 24. He appeared to be not merely predicting that Israel might be blamed, but hinting that the Obama administration itself might do the blaming….</p>
<p>The possibility that the blame would be extended to Israel’s supporters in the United States has already been raised by President Obama himself, in his warning that unnamed “lobbyists” and “money” were trying to block the Iran deal….</p>
<p>Such blame-the-Jews rhetoric was all too common on the eve of World War II.</p>
<p>The U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Kennedy, reportedly warned one Jewish leader in 1939 that “if the United States is dragged into war with Germany there might even be a pogrom in the U.S.A. itself.”</p>
<p>Kennedy addressed a meeting of Hollywood notables, many of them Jews, in November 1940, shortly after the release of Charlie Chaplin’s anti-Hitler film, The Great Dictator. According to the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who was present, Ambassador Kennedy warned them “that the Jews were on the spot, and that they should stop making anti-Nazi pictures”–and if not, “we all, and the Jews in particular would be in jeopardy” for allegedly pushing the U.S. to go to war.</p>
<p>The most infamous attempt to blame Jews for encouraging war was the speech by aviation hero Charles Lindbergh in September 1941. “Instead of agitating for war, the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way, for they will be among the first to feel its consequences,” Lindbergh menacingly declared. “Tolerance is a virtue that depends upon peace and strength. History shows that it cannot survive war and devastation.”</p>
<p>….The debate over the Iran deal needs to be conducted on its merits, and should not be clouded by this kind of inappropriate rhetoric.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Jerusalem Post: <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Kerrys-threats-intimidation-wont-silence-Israel-criticism-official-tells-NYT-410172" type="external">Kerry’s ‘threats, intimidation’ won’t silence Israel, official tells NYT</a></p>
<p>IBD: <a href="http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/072015-762539-obama-makes-worst-political-error-in-history-with-iran-deal.htm" type="external">Thomas Sowell: Obama’s Iran Blunder Presages A Catastrophe</a></p>
<p>Algemeiner: <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/07/26/sharansky-calls-on-us-jews-to-stand-up-to-white-house-over-iran-nuclear-deal/" type="external">Sharansky Calls on US Jews to Stand Up to White House Over Iran Nuclear Deal</a></p> | true | http://tammybruce.com/2015/07/kerrys-new-threat-jews-will-be-blamed-if-iran-deal-fails-congress.html | 0right
|
<p />
<p />
<p>In 2013, <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2013/11/07/kerry-threatens-israel-with-third-intifada/" type="external">John Kerry went on Israeli TV to threaten that if Israel did not “make peace” with the Palestinians,</a> they would face increasing global isolation, as well as the possibility of a third intifada (Arab “uprising” of violence).</p>
<p>And now, this:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning that Israel will be “blamed” if Congress opposes the Iran agreement conjures up troubling memories of other instances in which Israel or Jews were warned they might be blamed for international conflicts.</p>
<p>Secretary Kerry made his remark in an address to the Council of Foreign Relations on July 24. He appeared to be not merely predicting that Israel might be blamed, but hinting that the Obama administration itself might do the blaming….</p>
<p>The possibility that the blame would be extended to Israel’s supporters in the United States has already been raised by President Obama himself, in his warning that unnamed “lobbyists” and “money” were trying to block the Iran deal….</p>
<p>Such blame-the-Jews rhetoric was all too common on the eve of World War II.</p>
<p>The U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Kennedy, reportedly warned one Jewish leader in 1939 that “if the United States is dragged into war with Germany there might even be a pogrom in the U.S.A. itself.”</p>
<p>Kennedy addressed a meeting of Hollywood notables, many of them Jews, in November 1940, shortly after the release of Charlie Chaplin’s anti-Hitler film, The Great Dictator. According to the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who was present, Ambassador Kennedy warned them “that the Jews were on the spot, and that they should stop making anti-Nazi pictures”–and if not, “we all, and the Jews in particular would be in jeopardy” for allegedly pushing the U.S. to go to war.</p>
<p>The most infamous attempt to blame Jews for encouraging war was the speech by aviation hero Charles Lindbergh in September 1941. “Instead of agitating for war, the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way, for they will be among the first to feel its consequences,” Lindbergh menacingly declared. “Tolerance is a virtue that depends upon peace and strength. History shows that it cannot survive war and devastation.”</p>
<p>….The debate over the Iran deal needs to be conducted on its merits, and should not be clouded by this kind of inappropriate rhetoric.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Jerusalem Post: <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Kerrys-threats-intimidation-wont-silence-Israel-criticism-official-tells-NYT-410172" type="external">Kerry’s ‘threats, intimidation’ won’t silence Israel, official tells NYT</a></p>
<p>IBD: <a href="http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/072015-762539-obama-makes-worst-political-error-in-history-with-iran-deal.htm" type="external">Thomas Sowell: Obama’s Iran Blunder Presages A Catastrophe</a></p>
<p>Algemeiner: <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/07/26/sharansky-calls-on-us-jews-to-stand-up-to-white-house-over-iran-nuclear-deal/" type="external">Sharansky Calls on US Jews to Stand Up to White House Over Iran Nuclear Deal</a></p> | 599,820 |
||
<p>As ObamaCare’s failures and victims mount by the day, Republicans have so far mostly been watching in amazement. They expected the law to fail, but even among its most ardent opponents few imagined the scale and speed of the fiasco.</p>
<p>Seeing the pileup, Republicans might be tempted to step aside and let ObamaCarecontinue to disappoint and infuriate Americans. After all, the GOP doesn’t have the power to repeal the law, or even to make meaningful changes to undo its worst effects. So why not just watch the Democrats pay the price for their folly?</p>
<p>But such passivity would actually protect the Democrats from paying that price. What Republicans can and should do is offer the public something better. Now is the time to advance a conservative reform that can solve the serious, discrete problems of the health-care system in place before ObamaCare, but without needlessly upending people’s arrangements or threatening what works in American medicine. That the Democrats are now making things worse doesn’t mean the public wants to keep that prior system, or that Republicans should.</p>
<p>The biggest Republican misconception about health care is that the system before ObamaCare was a free-market paradise. On the contrary: It has consisted chiefly of massive and inefficient entitlements that threaten to bankrupt the nation; the lopsided tax treatment of employer-provided coverage that creates incentives for waste and overspending; and an underdeveloped individual market struggling to fill the gaps.</p>
<p>Exploding health-care costs and millions left needlessly uninsured are a result of misguided federal policies. Solutions require targeted reforms to those policies.</p>
<p>The outlines of such reforms have been apparent for years. The key is to enable all Americans to purchase coverage and to approach health care as consumers: with an interest in quality and an eye on cost.</p>
<p>The first step of a plan to replace ObamaCare should be a flat and universal tax benefit for coverage. Today’s tax exclusion for employer-provided health coverage should be capped so that people would not get a bigger tax break by buying more extensive and expensive insurance. The result would be to make employees more cost-conscious; and competition for their favor would make insurance cheaper.</p>
<p>That tax break would also be available—ideally as a refundable credit sufficient at least for the purchase of catastrophic coverage—to people who do not have access to employer coverage. This would enable people who now choose not to buy insurance to get catastrophic coverage with no premium costs. It also would give those who want more-comprehensive coverage in the individual market the same advantage that people with employer plans get.</p>
<p>Medicaid could be converted into a means-based addition to that credit, allowing the poor to buy into the same insurance market as more affluent people—and so give them access to better health care than they can get now.</p>
<p>All those with continuous coverage, which everyone could afford thanks to the new tax treatment, would be protected from price spikes or plan cancellations if they got sick. This guarantee would provide a strong incentive to buy coverage, without the coercion of the individual mandate. People who have pre-existing conditions when the new rules take effect would be able to buy coverage through subsidized, high-risk pools.</p>
<p>By making at least catastrophic coverage available to all, and by giving people such incentives to obtain it, this approach could cover more people than ObamaCare was ever projected to reach, and at a significantly lower cost.</p>
<p>The new alternative would not require the mandates, taxes and heavy-handed regulations of ObamaCare. It would turn more people into shoppers for health care instead of passive recipients of it—and encourage the kind of insurance design, consumer behavior and intense competition that could help keep health costs down. Redesigned and directed this way, the flow of federal dollars and tax subsidies would do much less to distort health markets than it has for the last several decades, while getting far more people insured.</p>
<p>Conservative policy experts have long proposed such approaches, but congressional Republicans, with a few honorable exceptions, have not taken them up in recent years. In 2009, for instance, House Republicans offered an alternative to ObamaCare that did nothing about today’s market-distorting tax policy and thus did not do much to help the people whom that policy—by inflating premiums—has locked out of the insurance market.</p>
<p>Some Republicans think that political success requires nothing more than watching ObamaCare fail. But if the new system quickly implodes, that would be all the more reason to have an alternative on hand—other than another leftward move toward single payer. And it might not implode so quickly.</p>
<p>Other Republicans fear that any alternative would amount to ObamaCare Lite, just another big government health-care program. But a real market-oriented conservative reform would take us toward an actual functioning consumer market in coverage—and so to the right not only of ObamaCare but of the system that preceded it.</p>
<p>There has also been a fear among some Republicans that proposing an alternative would give Democrats a target and distract the public from the expected and now real failures of ObamaCare. But the absence of a credible alternative has been the GOP’s greatest weakness in the fight against ObamaCare, and it is probably why polls show that even many people who are skeptical and concerned about ObamaCare do not support full repeal.</p>
<p>Defenders of ObamaCare are using the absence of a Republican alternative to suggest that their law is the only answer to the grave problems of American health care and that without it millions of Americans would continue to lack access to coverage. That argument is their final trump card. It is time for Republicans to take it away.</p>
<p>Mr. Ponnuru is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor at National Review. Mr. Levin is the editor of National Affairs and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.</p> | A Conservative Alternative to ObamaCare | false | https://eppc.org/publications/a-conservative-alternative-to-obamacare/ | 1right-center
| A Conservative Alternative to ObamaCare
<p>As ObamaCare’s failures and victims mount by the day, Republicans have so far mostly been watching in amazement. They expected the law to fail, but even among its most ardent opponents few imagined the scale and speed of the fiasco.</p>
<p>Seeing the pileup, Republicans might be tempted to step aside and let ObamaCarecontinue to disappoint and infuriate Americans. After all, the GOP doesn’t have the power to repeal the law, or even to make meaningful changes to undo its worst effects. So why not just watch the Democrats pay the price for their folly?</p>
<p>But such passivity would actually protect the Democrats from paying that price. What Republicans can and should do is offer the public something better. Now is the time to advance a conservative reform that can solve the serious, discrete problems of the health-care system in place before ObamaCare, but without needlessly upending people’s arrangements or threatening what works in American medicine. That the Democrats are now making things worse doesn’t mean the public wants to keep that prior system, or that Republicans should.</p>
<p>The biggest Republican misconception about health care is that the system before ObamaCare was a free-market paradise. On the contrary: It has consisted chiefly of massive and inefficient entitlements that threaten to bankrupt the nation; the lopsided tax treatment of employer-provided coverage that creates incentives for waste and overspending; and an underdeveloped individual market struggling to fill the gaps.</p>
<p>Exploding health-care costs and millions left needlessly uninsured are a result of misguided federal policies. Solutions require targeted reforms to those policies.</p>
<p>The outlines of such reforms have been apparent for years. The key is to enable all Americans to purchase coverage and to approach health care as consumers: with an interest in quality and an eye on cost.</p>
<p>The first step of a plan to replace ObamaCare should be a flat and universal tax benefit for coverage. Today’s tax exclusion for employer-provided health coverage should be capped so that people would not get a bigger tax break by buying more extensive and expensive insurance. The result would be to make employees more cost-conscious; and competition for their favor would make insurance cheaper.</p>
<p>That tax break would also be available—ideally as a refundable credit sufficient at least for the purchase of catastrophic coverage—to people who do not have access to employer coverage. This would enable people who now choose not to buy insurance to get catastrophic coverage with no premium costs. It also would give those who want more-comprehensive coverage in the individual market the same advantage that people with employer plans get.</p>
<p>Medicaid could be converted into a means-based addition to that credit, allowing the poor to buy into the same insurance market as more affluent people—and so give them access to better health care than they can get now.</p>
<p>All those with continuous coverage, which everyone could afford thanks to the new tax treatment, would be protected from price spikes or plan cancellations if they got sick. This guarantee would provide a strong incentive to buy coverage, without the coercion of the individual mandate. People who have pre-existing conditions when the new rules take effect would be able to buy coverage through subsidized, high-risk pools.</p>
<p>By making at least catastrophic coverage available to all, and by giving people such incentives to obtain it, this approach could cover more people than ObamaCare was ever projected to reach, and at a significantly lower cost.</p>
<p>The new alternative would not require the mandates, taxes and heavy-handed regulations of ObamaCare. It would turn more people into shoppers for health care instead of passive recipients of it—and encourage the kind of insurance design, consumer behavior and intense competition that could help keep health costs down. Redesigned and directed this way, the flow of federal dollars and tax subsidies would do much less to distort health markets than it has for the last several decades, while getting far more people insured.</p>
<p>Conservative policy experts have long proposed such approaches, but congressional Republicans, with a few honorable exceptions, have not taken them up in recent years. In 2009, for instance, House Republicans offered an alternative to ObamaCare that did nothing about today’s market-distorting tax policy and thus did not do much to help the people whom that policy—by inflating premiums—has locked out of the insurance market.</p>
<p>Some Republicans think that political success requires nothing more than watching ObamaCare fail. But if the new system quickly implodes, that would be all the more reason to have an alternative on hand—other than another leftward move toward single payer. And it might not implode so quickly.</p>
<p>Other Republicans fear that any alternative would amount to ObamaCare Lite, just another big government health-care program. But a real market-oriented conservative reform would take us toward an actual functioning consumer market in coverage—and so to the right not only of ObamaCare but of the system that preceded it.</p>
<p>There has also been a fear among some Republicans that proposing an alternative would give Democrats a target and distract the public from the expected and now real failures of ObamaCare. But the absence of a credible alternative has been the GOP’s greatest weakness in the fight against ObamaCare, and it is probably why polls show that even many people who are skeptical and concerned about ObamaCare do not support full repeal.</p>
<p>Defenders of ObamaCare are using the absence of a Republican alternative to suggest that their law is the only answer to the grave problems of American health care and that without it millions of Americans would continue to lack access to coverage. That argument is their final trump card. It is time for Republicans to take it away.</p>
<p>Mr. Ponnuru is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor at National Review. Mr. Levin is the editor of National Affairs and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.</p> | 599,821 |
|
<p />
<p>Mamyrah Prosper steps gingerly over ankle-high grass strewn with plastic bags and empty soda bottles in the yard of a vacant redbrick house in Miami’s Liberty City. She peers through a gap in a boarded-up window. “It looks in good shape,” she says. “I mean, the walls aren’t falling down. This is definitely one of our stronger options.”</p>
<p>Prosper means that if the place checks out, she and her colleagues from Take Back the Land, a local group that advocates for affordable housing, will break in, change the locks, paint and clean, innovate a way to connect water and electricity, and then move a homeless family into the house. The criminal laws they’ll violate in the process range from trespassing to breaking and entering (even burglary, if the police get ambitious), which requires the organization to keep a pro bono lawyer on standby.</p>
<p>“We call it ‘liberating the housing,'” says Take Back the Land’s cofounder Max Rameau, a compact Haitian American who’s earned a reputation in Miami for creative activism. In 2006, Take Back received widespread attention when it took over a vacant city lot and erected a shantytown for the homeless that thrived for six months—that is, until a resident’s candle burned down the encampment. Rameau’s latest, and even more legally dubious, campaign targets homes shuttered by foreclosure.</p>
<p>In Greater Miami, there’s no shortage of those. Last year, Miami-Dade County recorded 26,391 foreclosures, a nearly threefold increase from 2006, and the pace has only quickened since then. Meanwhile, public housing is in crisis; at least four people are in line for each of the 10,000 available units, and the local housing agency—spectacularly corrupt, even by Miami standards—was taken over by the federal government last year.</p>
<p>Communities nationwide have seen a deluge of properties left vacant by foreclosures, but housing advocates say they’ve yet to witness anything like Rameau’s coordinated squatting campaign. “That’s the first I’ve heard of that kind of direct action,” says Linda Couch, deputy director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Low Income Housing Coalition. “It’s incredibly frustrating for housing advocates knowing that there are so many vacant houses amid so many people on the brink of homelessness.”</p>
<p>Rameau says Take Back’s campaign has two objectives: “One is to actually house people. The other is to bring attention to the contradictions in housing policy. The problem is that doing one precludes the other.” Drawing too much attention to Take Back’s efforts, he explains, would also get the attention of law enforcement. So Rameau’s organization has placed only two homeless families in foreclosed homes since the campaign began in October; the first was Cassandra and Jason, a couple in their late 20s, and their two small children. They’d been living in a van before Rameau moved them into a one-story stucco home in Liberty City. When I visited them in February, Cassandra, who works as a street vendor selling jewelry and incense, ushered me into the living room, furnished with two chairs, a moving trunk, and a small television. Bedsheets covered the windows, and the walls had just been painted saffron.</p>
<p>As far as the neighbors are concerned, the current tenants—squatters though they are—are a vast improvement over the crack den the vacant house had become. One neighbor even loaned the family electricity via an extension cord until a mysterious man sympathetic to Take Back’s cause turned on power at the house. “I didn’t ask any questions,” Cassandra says. The new living situation, temporary as it might be, affords her and Jason the time to save up to rent a new apartment, she said. “This just takes the stress off.”</p>
<p>According to the Miami-Dade County Housing Agency, squatters, if discovered, will be promptly removed from the premises and potentially prosecuted. So far, though, Take Back’s foreclosure-squatting pioneers have avoided detection. Despite the dicey legality, Rameau says there are 14 families like Cassandra’s on his waiting list. “We counsel them that they could be arrested if caught,” he says. “But things are so desperate, they are willing to risk it.”</p>
<p /> | Foreclosure Nation: Squatters or Pioneers? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/05/foreclosure-nation-squatters-or-pioneers/ | 2018-05-01 | 4left
| Foreclosure Nation: Squatters or Pioneers?
<p />
<p>Mamyrah Prosper steps gingerly over ankle-high grass strewn with plastic bags and empty soda bottles in the yard of a vacant redbrick house in Miami’s Liberty City. She peers through a gap in a boarded-up window. “It looks in good shape,” she says. “I mean, the walls aren’t falling down. This is definitely one of our stronger options.”</p>
<p>Prosper means that if the place checks out, she and her colleagues from Take Back the Land, a local group that advocates for affordable housing, will break in, change the locks, paint and clean, innovate a way to connect water and electricity, and then move a homeless family into the house. The criminal laws they’ll violate in the process range from trespassing to breaking and entering (even burglary, if the police get ambitious), which requires the organization to keep a pro bono lawyer on standby.</p>
<p>“We call it ‘liberating the housing,'” says Take Back the Land’s cofounder Max Rameau, a compact Haitian American who’s earned a reputation in Miami for creative activism. In 2006, Take Back received widespread attention when it took over a vacant city lot and erected a shantytown for the homeless that thrived for six months—that is, until a resident’s candle burned down the encampment. Rameau’s latest, and even more legally dubious, campaign targets homes shuttered by foreclosure.</p>
<p>In Greater Miami, there’s no shortage of those. Last year, Miami-Dade County recorded 26,391 foreclosures, a nearly threefold increase from 2006, and the pace has only quickened since then. Meanwhile, public housing is in crisis; at least four people are in line for each of the 10,000 available units, and the local housing agency—spectacularly corrupt, even by Miami standards—was taken over by the federal government last year.</p>
<p>Communities nationwide have seen a deluge of properties left vacant by foreclosures, but housing advocates say they’ve yet to witness anything like Rameau’s coordinated squatting campaign. “That’s the first I’ve heard of that kind of direct action,” says Linda Couch, deputy director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Low Income Housing Coalition. “It’s incredibly frustrating for housing advocates knowing that there are so many vacant houses amid so many people on the brink of homelessness.”</p>
<p>Rameau says Take Back’s campaign has two objectives: “One is to actually house people. The other is to bring attention to the contradictions in housing policy. The problem is that doing one precludes the other.” Drawing too much attention to Take Back’s efforts, he explains, would also get the attention of law enforcement. So Rameau’s organization has placed only two homeless families in foreclosed homes since the campaign began in October; the first was Cassandra and Jason, a couple in their late 20s, and their two small children. They’d been living in a van before Rameau moved them into a one-story stucco home in Liberty City. When I visited them in February, Cassandra, who works as a street vendor selling jewelry and incense, ushered me into the living room, furnished with two chairs, a moving trunk, and a small television. Bedsheets covered the windows, and the walls had just been painted saffron.</p>
<p>As far as the neighbors are concerned, the current tenants—squatters though they are—are a vast improvement over the crack den the vacant house had become. One neighbor even loaned the family electricity via an extension cord until a mysterious man sympathetic to Take Back’s cause turned on power at the house. “I didn’t ask any questions,” Cassandra says. The new living situation, temporary as it might be, affords her and Jason the time to save up to rent a new apartment, she said. “This just takes the stress off.”</p>
<p>According to the Miami-Dade County Housing Agency, squatters, if discovered, will be promptly removed from the premises and potentially prosecuted. So far, though, Take Back’s foreclosure-squatting pioneers have avoided detection. Despite the dicey legality, Rameau says there are 14 families like Cassandra’s on his waiting list. “We counsel them that they could be arrested if caught,” he says. “But things are so desperate, they are willing to risk it.”</p>
<p /> | 599,822 |
<p>Even once you've retired, there's a place in your portfolio for stocks. This is especially true if you expect to have a long retirement, or if you wish to leave a legacy to your children or favorite charity.</p>
<p>Still, not every stock is appropriate for a retiree's portfolio. For instance, stocks that pay no dividends, have no clear underpinning of value from cash flows or balance sheet strength, or have no sustainable competitive advantage, are far too speculative to fit in most retirees' portfolios. That's true even if they'd be reasonable investments for those still working. Keep on reading to find out what makes the following three companies awful stocks for retirees to own.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Amazon.com, Inc.&#160;(NASDAQ: AMZN) is a titan among retailers, rapidly becoming one of the largest merchandise sellers around. The company's growth has been stellar, and the stock market has rewarded it with a market cap of nearly half a trillion dollars.</p>
<p>Yet the market's valuation for Amazon.com is well ahead of other retailers, trading at more than three times trailing revenue and around 180 times trailing earnings.&#160;Compare that with fellow retail titan Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.&#160;(NYSE: WMT), which trades at less than half its trailing revenue and around 17 times trailing earnings,&#160;and it becomes clear just how much further growth is priced into Amazon.com's shares.</p>
<p>Can Amazon.com grow into its market capitalization? Perhaps, but investors buying today need Amazon to not only grow into today's market price, but continue growing well past it in order to profit from the fundamental value behind their investment. For retirees who needs to live off of their portfolios, that's a bit too much hope for a rosy future embedded in today's price to justify buying its shares.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>StoneMor Partners (NYSE: STON) operates in the funeral industry, operating 316 cemeteries and 100 funeral homes throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.&#160;Death care is (fortunately) not known as a fast-growing industry, and as such, a decent dividend yield can reasonably be expected. With a yield of nearly 14%, however,&#160;StoneMor Partners' dividend has jumped past "decent" and well into the "downright dangerous" level.</p>
<p>When a company's cash distribution is well above normal for its industry, it's frequently a sign that it's at risk of being cut. StoneMor Partners <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/28/a-deep-distribution-cut-guts-stonemor-partners-lp.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">already slashed its distribution Opens a New Window.</a> last October, and it's well behind on publishing its annual and quarterly financial statements.&#160;Even with that payment cut, StoneMor Partners' distribution isn't covered by its operating cash flows, which is another sign that its distribution may still be at risk.</p>
<p>When a company cuts its dividend, its <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/06/12/5-dividend-investing-tips-that-can-earn-you-thousa.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">share price frequently falls Opens a New Window.</a>. That's a double whammy, as shareholders lose both some of their current investment income and much of the capital they had invested in the company, making it much more difficult to make up the income elsewhere. With its 2016 cut, StoneMor Partners' shares sunk, and if it's forced to cut its distribution again, its shares may, once again, fall on the news.</p>
<p>That risk of yet another dividend cut -- and the stock-price risk that goes along with it -- is just too large for StoneMor Partners to deserve a place in a retiree's portfolio.</p>
<p>Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN) is a mortgage loan originator and servicer&#160;that's gotten into serious legal trouble for its servicing practices.&#160;In large part because of that legal trouble, it has been hemorrhaging money, reporting staggering losses over the past several years.</p>
<p>Yet despite that risk, there's a glimmer of potential value in its shares -- for investors who have a very high-risk tolerance and are incredibly patient. Ocwen Financial's stock trades at less than 0.6 times its book value&#160;and at about one times its trailing-four-quarters' cash from operations.&#160;If the company survives its legal troubles and manages to stave off bankruptcy while doing so, its shares could potentially spike upwards simply on the news of its survival.</p>
<p>Still, for retirees living off their portfolios, the very real risk of Ocwen Fiancial's potential bankruptcy overshadows the potential rewards if it survives. As retirees can't easily replace money lost in a speculative investment like this one should it go wrong, their money belongs in investments with a higher probability of survival.</p>
<p>Most <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/11/06/why-retirees-should-own-stocks.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">retirees should still own stocks Opens a New Window.</a> to help fight inflation over time and cover their longer-term future financial needs. The right companies for retirees to own are those that:</p>
<p>Retirees need their stock investments to provide reasonable potential rates of return in exchange for reasonable levels of risk. Knowing what to avoid in investments can go a long way toward helping retirees assure the stocks they do hold in their portfolios are appropriate fits for their particular stages in life.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBigFrog/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Chuck Saletta Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Ocwen Financial. 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=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Awful Stocks for Retirees | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/06/3-awful-stocks-for-retirees.html | 2017-07-08 | 0right
| 3 Awful Stocks for Retirees
<p>Even once you've retired, there's a place in your portfolio for stocks. This is especially true if you expect to have a long retirement, or if you wish to leave a legacy to your children or favorite charity.</p>
<p>Still, not every stock is appropriate for a retiree's portfolio. For instance, stocks that pay no dividends, have no clear underpinning of value from cash flows or balance sheet strength, or have no sustainable competitive advantage, are far too speculative to fit in most retirees' portfolios. That's true even if they'd be reasonable investments for those still working. Keep on reading to find out what makes the following three companies awful stocks for retirees to own.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Amazon.com, Inc.&#160;(NASDAQ: AMZN) is a titan among retailers, rapidly becoming one of the largest merchandise sellers around. The company's growth has been stellar, and the stock market has rewarded it with a market cap of nearly half a trillion dollars.</p>
<p>Yet the market's valuation for Amazon.com is well ahead of other retailers, trading at more than three times trailing revenue and around 180 times trailing earnings.&#160;Compare that with fellow retail titan Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.&#160;(NYSE: WMT), which trades at less than half its trailing revenue and around 17 times trailing earnings,&#160;and it becomes clear just how much further growth is priced into Amazon.com's shares.</p>
<p>Can Amazon.com grow into its market capitalization? Perhaps, but investors buying today need Amazon to not only grow into today's market price, but continue growing well past it in order to profit from the fundamental value behind their investment. For retirees who needs to live off of their portfolios, that's a bit too much hope for a rosy future embedded in today's price to justify buying its shares.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>StoneMor Partners (NYSE: STON) operates in the funeral industry, operating 316 cemeteries and 100 funeral homes throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.&#160;Death care is (fortunately) not known as a fast-growing industry, and as such, a decent dividend yield can reasonably be expected. With a yield of nearly 14%, however,&#160;StoneMor Partners' dividend has jumped past "decent" and well into the "downright dangerous" level.</p>
<p>When a company's cash distribution is well above normal for its industry, it's frequently a sign that it's at risk of being cut. StoneMor Partners <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/28/a-deep-distribution-cut-guts-stonemor-partners-lp.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">already slashed its distribution Opens a New Window.</a> last October, and it's well behind on publishing its annual and quarterly financial statements.&#160;Even with that payment cut, StoneMor Partners' distribution isn't covered by its operating cash flows, which is another sign that its distribution may still be at risk.</p>
<p>When a company cuts its dividend, its <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/06/12/5-dividend-investing-tips-that-can-earn-you-thousa.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">share price frequently falls Opens a New Window.</a>. That's a double whammy, as shareholders lose both some of their current investment income and much of the capital they had invested in the company, making it much more difficult to make up the income elsewhere. With its 2016 cut, StoneMor Partners' shares sunk, and if it's forced to cut its distribution again, its shares may, once again, fall on the news.</p>
<p>That risk of yet another dividend cut -- and the stock-price risk that goes along with it -- is just too large for StoneMor Partners to deserve a place in a retiree's portfolio.</p>
<p>Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN) is a mortgage loan originator and servicer&#160;that's gotten into serious legal trouble for its servicing practices.&#160;In large part because of that legal trouble, it has been hemorrhaging money, reporting staggering losses over the past several years.</p>
<p>Yet despite that risk, there's a glimmer of potential value in its shares -- for investors who have a very high-risk tolerance and are incredibly patient. Ocwen Financial's stock trades at less than 0.6 times its book value&#160;and at about one times its trailing-four-quarters' cash from operations.&#160;If the company survives its legal troubles and manages to stave off bankruptcy while doing so, its shares could potentially spike upwards simply on the news of its survival.</p>
<p>Still, for retirees living off their portfolios, the very real risk of Ocwen Fiancial's potential bankruptcy overshadows the potential rewards if it survives. As retirees can't easily replace money lost in a speculative investment like this one should it go wrong, their money belongs in investments with a higher probability of survival.</p>
<p>Most <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/11/06/why-retirees-should-own-stocks.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">retirees should still own stocks Opens a New Window.</a> to help fight inflation over time and cover their longer-term future financial needs. The right companies for retirees to own are those that:</p>
<p>Retirees need their stock investments to provide reasonable potential rates of return in exchange for reasonable levels of risk. Knowing what to avoid in investments can go a long way toward helping retirees assure the stocks they do hold in their portfolios are appropriate fits for their particular stages in life.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBigFrog/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Chuck Saletta Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Ocwen Financial. 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=602513d2-62c6-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,823 |
<p>For a man who thought is life would get so much easier in the Oval Office, Donald Trump certainly seems overly eager to convince himself and the world that he actually won the presidency.</p>
<p>In an interview with Reuters, Trump&#160; <a href="http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17U0CA" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going.&#160;This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”</p>
<p>Then quit, by all means. Resign. Do yourself and us all a favor. But I digress…</p>
<p>Later in the interview things got really, really weird. Trump decided he would pass out photos of the Electoral College to the Reuters reporters in the Oval Office.</p>
<p>Reuters <a href="http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17U0CA" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>“More than five months after his victory and two days shy of the 100-day mark of his presidency, the election is still on Trump’s mind. Midway through a discussion about Chinese President Xi Jinping, the president paused to hand out copies of what he said were the latest figures from the 2016 electoral map.</p>
<p>“Here, you can take that, that’s the final map of the numbers,” the Republican president said from his desk in the Oval Office, handing out maps of the United States with areas he won marked in red. “It’s pretty good, right? The red is obviously us.”</p>
<p>He had copies for each of the three Reuters reporters in the room.”</p>
<p>Check out the remarkably sad photo here via The Daily Beast’s Gideon Resnick:</p>
<p />
<p>Holy crap. What the hell is he still doing going over this? Is he still trying to convince himself? He should also realize that much of the red on that map are pretty unpopulated areas. Not that those people don’t matter, but that’s simply a fact.</p>
<p>Trump just gets more and more bizarre by the day. And if he doesn’t want to do the hard work of being president, then maybe he shouldn’t be president anymore. The fact that he thought it would be easy is insulting in remarkably naive. He’s been handed everything in life and clearly thought this would be no different.</p>
<p>UPDATE:</p>
<p>Here’s more video:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Photo by Getty Images</p> | Trump’s So Insecure He Just Passed Out Electoral College Maps To Reporters In Oval Office (IMAGE) | true | http://bluetribune.com/2017/04/28/trumps-so-insecure-he-just-passed-out-electoral-college-maps-to-reporters-in-oval-office-image/ | 2017-04-28 | 4left
| Trump’s So Insecure He Just Passed Out Electoral College Maps To Reporters In Oval Office (IMAGE)
<p>For a man who thought is life would get so much easier in the Oval Office, Donald Trump certainly seems overly eager to convince himself and the world that he actually won the presidency.</p>
<p>In an interview with Reuters, Trump&#160; <a href="http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17U0CA" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going.&#160;This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”</p>
<p>Then quit, by all means. Resign. Do yourself and us all a favor. But I digress…</p>
<p>Later in the interview things got really, really weird. Trump decided he would pass out photos of the Electoral College to the Reuters reporters in the Oval Office.</p>
<p>Reuters <a href="http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17U0CA" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>“More than five months after his victory and two days shy of the 100-day mark of his presidency, the election is still on Trump’s mind. Midway through a discussion about Chinese President Xi Jinping, the president paused to hand out copies of what he said were the latest figures from the 2016 electoral map.</p>
<p>“Here, you can take that, that’s the final map of the numbers,” the Republican president said from his desk in the Oval Office, handing out maps of the United States with areas he won marked in red. “It’s pretty good, right? The red is obviously us.”</p>
<p>He had copies for each of the three Reuters reporters in the room.”</p>
<p>Check out the remarkably sad photo here via The Daily Beast’s Gideon Resnick:</p>
<p />
<p>Holy crap. What the hell is he still doing going over this? Is he still trying to convince himself? He should also realize that much of the red on that map are pretty unpopulated areas. Not that those people don’t matter, but that’s simply a fact.</p>
<p>Trump just gets more and more bizarre by the day. And if he doesn’t want to do the hard work of being president, then maybe he shouldn’t be president anymore. The fact that he thought it would be easy is insulting in remarkably naive. He’s been handed everything in life and clearly thought this would be no different.</p>
<p>UPDATE:</p>
<p>Here’s more video:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Photo by Getty Images</p> | 599,824 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The action announced Monday against Golden State Human Development comes after repeated problems at the homes, including more than 170 law enforcement calls to two of the homes between January and July.</p>
<p>Other alleged problems that prompted the unusual step included children being left unattended for hours, failing to provide medical treatment and not intervening in altercations between the children who lived in the homes. Golden State also didn't have proof that it did background checks on some of its workers and inadequately secured medication, cleaning supplies and medications.</p>
<p>The foster children living at the homes were moved out in recent days, department spokesman Doug Nick said. The homes were licensed to care for 35 children and handled girls ages 10 to 17.</p>
<p>"This is one of those situations that became egregious, so we made a move," Nick said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The company can appeal the loss of its license. Call seeking comment from Golden State CEO Greg Johnson at the number listed on the nonprofit's tax returns weren't immediately returned.</p>
<p>Child Safety Department Director Greg McKay ordered more frequent licensing monitoring visits for group homes after taking over the department in February. He also implemented a policy of sharing responsibility for the care and safety of children in the foster care system between the state and group home operators.</p>
<p>The state had more than 17,500 children in out-of-home care as of March 31, including more than 1,700 living in group homes. That number has steadily increased in recent years.</p> | Child Safety Department revoking group homes' license | false | https://abqjournal.com/637234/child-safety-department-revoking-group-homes-license.html | 2least
| Child Safety Department revoking group homes' license
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The action announced Monday against Golden State Human Development comes after repeated problems at the homes, including more than 170 law enforcement calls to two of the homes between January and July.</p>
<p>Other alleged problems that prompted the unusual step included children being left unattended for hours, failing to provide medical treatment and not intervening in altercations between the children who lived in the homes. Golden State also didn't have proof that it did background checks on some of its workers and inadequately secured medication, cleaning supplies and medications.</p>
<p>The foster children living at the homes were moved out in recent days, department spokesman Doug Nick said. The homes were licensed to care for 35 children and handled girls ages 10 to 17.</p>
<p>"This is one of those situations that became egregious, so we made a move," Nick said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The company can appeal the loss of its license. Call seeking comment from Golden State CEO Greg Johnson at the number listed on the nonprofit's tax returns weren't immediately returned.</p>
<p>Child Safety Department Director Greg McKay ordered more frequent licensing monitoring visits for group homes after taking over the department in February. He also implemented a policy of sharing responsibility for the care and safety of children in the foster care system between the state and group home operators.</p>
<p>The state had more than 17,500 children in out-of-home care as of March 31, including more than 1,700 living in group homes. That number has steadily increased in recent years.</p> | 599,825 |
|
<p />
<p>Now is definitely the time to be a homebuyer. Potential new homeowners have a lot of bargaining power in the current market, and can choose from a slew of different house types, including fixer uppers and move-in ready homes. Deciding which type of home makes the most sense for you depends on your temperament, remodeling know-how and move-in time frame, experts say.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“If you know what it will cost to fix up the house then you are in a wonderful position,” says David Lupberger, the home improvement expert for ServiceMagic.&#160; “Unfortunately, people underestimate the cost of the fix up.”</p>
<p>The housing meltdown flooded the market with foreclosed properties and a record number of short sales, which have created bargain prices, but many of the houses require a lot of updating and renovations.&#160; At the same time, there’s also a large inventory of move-in-ready houses.</p>
<p>“Most fixer uppers tend to be short sales and <a href="" type="internal">foreclosures</a>,” says Doug Azarian, sales associate at Kinlin Grover Real Estate. “In foreclosures and short sales situations, the sellers don’t have the money to make the mortgage payment--let alone pay for maintenance.”</p>
<p>Before choosing whether to go with the fixer upper or a home that requires zero to little work, real estate experts advise considering your lifestyle and temperament. If you are working long hours, raising a family or have little spare time, a move-in ready home may be more ideal. But if you have the free time and the patience to deal with the stress associated with a renovation, a fixer up could be the way to go.</p>
<p>“If you enjoy working on homes and putting your unique stamp on them, or have the patience and budget to hire someone, a fixer-upper might be for you,” says Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List. “If you’re not handy, don’t like dealing with the minutia of a home improvement project, you should buy a move-in ready home – or one that doesn’t have major repair issues.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>When going the move-in ready route it’s imperative to ensure you’re not overpaying for the house. Buyers get swept up by updated kitchens, neutral wall colors and beautiful hardwood floors, but some upgrades aren’t worth the asking price. According to Lupberger, you have to know the market and the cost per square foot in a given neighborhood.&#160; Working with a knowledgeable realtor will ensure you aren’t over paying.</p>
<p>According to Hicks, most buyers are looking for turnkey homes or ones with fresh paint and bathrooms and kitchens that don’t need repairs because they don’t have the money to put into fixing up a home.</p>
<p>According to Azarian, when trying to find the ideal fixer-upper, location is everything. “If you buy in a better location at a discount and can be patient about fix ups, it’s worth it.” He lists &#160;&#160;new floors, kitchen and bath renovations and even roof replacement as repair worth doing if the price tag is low enough.</p>
<p>Calculating the cost of repairs is no easy task. Lupberger suggests adding 20% to your estimated costs because there are always unwanted surprises along the way. For example, if the house has lead paint or asbestos, expect to pay 30% to 40% more on the repairs, says Lupberger.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of downside if you don’t know exactly what you are doing,” says Lupberger. If you have no home improvement skills, bring along someone that does to check out the house—including the foundation, heating and cooling systems, windows and the roof.</p>
<p>“Be aware of cosmetic or superficial fixes that a homeowner has made to get the house through the sale,” adds Hicks. She says hiring a home inspector is important because a good one can spot cover up or cosmetic fixes that won’t last long.</p>
<p>A home inspector “may cost you a few hundred dollars, but it will be money well spent, especially if a costly repair is revealed,” she says. <a type="external" href="">&#160;</a></p> | Should You Buy a Fixer-Upper? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/08/15/should-buy-fixer-upper.html | 2017-02-08 | 0right
| Should You Buy a Fixer-Upper?
<p />
<p>Now is definitely the time to be a homebuyer. Potential new homeowners have a lot of bargaining power in the current market, and can choose from a slew of different house types, including fixer uppers and move-in ready homes. Deciding which type of home makes the most sense for you depends on your temperament, remodeling know-how and move-in time frame, experts say.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“If you know what it will cost to fix up the house then you are in a wonderful position,” says David Lupberger, the home improvement expert for ServiceMagic.&#160; “Unfortunately, people underestimate the cost of the fix up.”</p>
<p>The housing meltdown flooded the market with foreclosed properties and a record number of short sales, which have created bargain prices, but many of the houses require a lot of updating and renovations.&#160; At the same time, there’s also a large inventory of move-in-ready houses.</p>
<p>“Most fixer uppers tend to be short sales and <a href="" type="internal">foreclosures</a>,” says Doug Azarian, sales associate at Kinlin Grover Real Estate. “In foreclosures and short sales situations, the sellers don’t have the money to make the mortgage payment--let alone pay for maintenance.”</p>
<p>Before choosing whether to go with the fixer upper or a home that requires zero to little work, real estate experts advise considering your lifestyle and temperament. If you are working long hours, raising a family or have little spare time, a move-in ready home may be more ideal. But if you have the free time and the patience to deal with the stress associated with a renovation, a fixer up could be the way to go.</p>
<p>“If you enjoy working on homes and putting your unique stamp on them, or have the patience and budget to hire someone, a fixer-upper might be for you,” says Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List. “If you’re not handy, don’t like dealing with the minutia of a home improvement project, you should buy a move-in ready home – or one that doesn’t have major repair issues.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>When going the move-in ready route it’s imperative to ensure you’re not overpaying for the house. Buyers get swept up by updated kitchens, neutral wall colors and beautiful hardwood floors, but some upgrades aren’t worth the asking price. According to Lupberger, you have to know the market and the cost per square foot in a given neighborhood.&#160; Working with a knowledgeable realtor will ensure you aren’t over paying.</p>
<p>According to Hicks, most buyers are looking for turnkey homes or ones with fresh paint and bathrooms and kitchens that don’t need repairs because they don’t have the money to put into fixing up a home.</p>
<p>According to Azarian, when trying to find the ideal fixer-upper, location is everything. “If you buy in a better location at a discount and can be patient about fix ups, it’s worth it.” He lists &#160;&#160;new floors, kitchen and bath renovations and even roof replacement as repair worth doing if the price tag is low enough.</p>
<p>Calculating the cost of repairs is no easy task. Lupberger suggests adding 20% to your estimated costs because there are always unwanted surprises along the way. For example, if the house has lead paint or asbestos, expect to pay 30% to 40% more on the repairs, says Lupberger.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of downside if you don’t know exactly what you are doing,” says Lupberger. If you have no home improvement skills, bring along someone that does to check out the house—including the foundation, heating and cooling systems, windows and the roof.</p>
<p>“Be aware of cosmetic or superficial fixes that a homeowner has made to get the house through the sale,” adds Hicks. She says hiring a home inspector is important because a good one can spot cover up or cosmetic fixes that won’t last long.</p>
<p>A home inspector “may cost you a few hundred dollars, but it will be money well spent, especially if a costly repair is revealed,” she says. <a type="external" href="">&#160;</a></p> | 599,826 |
<p>Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:</p>
<p>1. <a href="" type="internal">STEVE BANNON WAS CUED TO KEEP MUM</a></p>
<p>During an interview by a House panel, the attorney for the ex-White House strategist relayed questions, in real time, to the White House and was told when not to respond, the AP learns.</p>
<p>2. <a href="" type="internal">HOW RIVAL KOREAS ARE COOPERATING</a></p>
<p>North and South Korea agree to form their first unified Olympic team and have their athletes parade together for the first time in 11 years during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Games in South Korea.</p>
<p>3. <a href="" type="internal">APPLE PLEDGES EXPANSION, NEW HIRING</a></p>
<p>The company says it is planning to build another corporate campus and hire 20,000 more workers during the next five years as part of a $350 billion commitment to the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>4. <a href="" type="internal">SNOW, ICE, RECORD COLD GRIP SOUTH</a></p>
<p>At least 10 deaths are blamed on the storm in a corner of the U.S. ill-equipped to deal with wintry weather</p>
<p>5. <a href="" type="internal">WALL STREET CHEERS MILESTONE</a></p>
<p>For the first time, the Dow closes above 26,000 points.</p>
<p>6. <a href="" type="internal">SCARS OF WAR REMAIN IN ANCIENT SYRIAN CITY</a></p>
<p>It's been four years since Syria's rebels withdrew from Homs, but the city's ancient heart is still an abandoned ruin.</p>
<p>7. <a href="" type="internal">'CANNOT ASSERT YOURSELVES BY DESTROYING OTHERS'</a></p>
<p>Pope Francis denounces the use of violence to achieve political gains in his visit to the heart of Chile's centuries-old conflict with indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>8. <a href="" type="internal">WHICH DEATHS SEEM 'ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE'</a></p>
<p>A scientific panel recommends that states significantly lower their drunken driving thresholds as part of a blueprint to eliminate 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths each year.</p>
<p>9. <a href="" type="internal">ANN CURRY'S UNPLEASANT MEMORIES</a></p>
<p>The former NBC anchor says there was an atmosphere of verbal sexual harassment when she worked at the "Today" show, and she was unsurprised by the allegations that got former colleague Matt Lauer fired.</p>
<p>10. <a href="" type="internal">LEBRON, CAVS IN THE DOLDRUMS</a></p>
<p>Recent losses raise questions about whether Cleveland is still the best team in the Eastern Conference or good enough to make its fourth straight NBA Finals.</p>
<p>Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:</p>
<p>1. <a href="" type="internal">STEVE BANNON WAS CUED TO KEEP MUM</a></p>
<p>During an interview by a House panel, the attorney for the ex-White House strategist relayed questions, in real time, to the White House and was told when not to respond, the AP learns.</p>
<p>2. <a href="" type="internal">HOW RIVAL KOREAS ARE COOPERATING</a></p>
<p>North and South Korea agree to form their first unified Olympic team and have their athletes parade together for the first time in 11 years during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Games in South Korea.</p>
<p>3. <a href="" type="internal">APPLE PLEDGES EXPANSION, NEW HIRING</a></p>
<p>The company says it is planning to build another corporate campus and hire 20,000 more workers during the next five years as part of a $350 billion commitment to the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>4. <a href="" type="internal">SNOW, ICE, RECORD COLD GRIP SOUTH</a></p>
<p>At least 10 deaths are blamed on the storm in a corner of the U.S. ill-equipped to deal with wintry weather</p>
<p>5. <a href="" type="internal">WALL STREET CHEERS MILESTONE</a></p>
<p>For the first time, the Dow closes above 26,000 points.</p>
<p>6. <a href="" type="internal">SCARS OF WAR REMAIN IN ANCIENT SYRIAN CITY</a></p>
<p>It's been four years since Syria's rebels withdrew from Homs, but the city's ancient heart is still an abandoned ruin.</p>
<p>7. <a href="" type="internal">'CANNOT ASSERT YOURSELVES BY DESTROYING OTHERS'</a></p>
<p>Pope Francis denounces the use of violence to achieve political gains in his visit to the heart of Chile's centuries-old conflict with indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>8. <a href="" type="internal">WHICH DEATHS SEEM 'ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE'</a></p>
<p>A scientific panel recommends that states significantly lower their drunken driving thresholds as part of a blueprint to eliminate 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths each year.</p>
<p>9. <a href="" type="internal">ANN CURRY'S UNPLEASANT MEMORIES</a></p>
<p>The former NBC anchor says there was an atmosphere of verbal sexual harassment when she worked at the "Today" show, and she was unsurprised by the allegations that got former colleague Matt Lauer fired.</p>
<p>10. <a href="" type="internal">LEBRON, CAVS IN THE DOLDRUMS</a></p>
<p>Recent losses raise questions about whether Cleveland is still the best team in the Eastern Conference or good enough to make its fourth straight NBA Finals.</p> | 10 Things to Know for Thursday | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e8b7a7688dfc469b9b638c1ea62d6607 | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| 10 Things to Know for Thursday
<p>Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:</p>
<p>1. <a href="" type="internal">STEVE BANNON WAS CUED TO KEEP MUM</a></p>
<p>During an interview by a House panel, the attorney for the ex-White House strategist relayed questions, in real time, to the White House and was told when not to respond, the AP learns.</p>
<p>2. <a href="" type="internal">HOW RIVAL KOREAS ARE COOPERATING</a></p>
<p>North and South Korea agree to form their first unified Olympic team and have their athletes parade together for the first time in 11 years during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Games in South Korea.</p>
<p>3. <a href="" type="internal">APPLE PLEDGES EXPANSION, NEW HIRING</a></p>
<p>The company says it is planning to build another corporate campus and hire 20,000 more workers during the next five years as part of a $350 billion commitment to the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>4. <a href="" type="internal">SNOW, ICE, RECORD COLD GRIP SOUTH</a></p>
<p>At least 10 deaths are blamed on the storm in a corner of the U.S. ill-equipped to deal with wintry weather</p>
<p>5. <a href="" type="internal">WALL STREET CHEERS MILESTONE</a></p>
<p>For the first time, the Dow closes above 26,000 points.</p>
<p>6. <a href="" type="internal">SCARS OF WAR REMAIN IN ANCIENT SYRIAN CITY</a></p>
<p>It's been four years since Syria's rebels withdrew from Homs, but the city's ancient heart is still an abandoned ruin.</p>
<p>7. <a href="" type="internal">'CANNOT ASSERT YOURSELVES BY DESTROYING OTHERS'</a></p>
<p>Pope Francis denounces the use of violence to achieve political gains in his visit to the heart of Chile's centuries-old conflict with indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>8. <a href="" type="internal">WHICH DEATHS SEEM 'ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE'</a></p>
<p>A scientific panel recommends that states significantly lower their drunken driving thresholds as part of a blueprint to eliminate 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths each year.</p>
<p>9. <a href="" type="internal">ANN CURRY'S UNPLEASANT MEMORIES</a></p>
<p>The former NBC anchor says there was an atmosphere of verbal sexual harassment when she worked at the "Today" show, and she was unsurprised by the allegations that got former colleague Matt Lauer fired.</p>
<p>10. <a href="" type="internal">LEBRON, CAVS IN THE DOLDRUMS</a></p>
<p>Recent losses raise questions about whether Cleveland is still the best team in the Eastern Conference or good enough to make its fourth straight NBA Finals.</p>
<p>Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:</p>
<p>1. <a href="" type="internal">STEVE BANNON WAS CUED TO KEEP MUM</a></p>
<p>During an interview by a House panel, the attorney for the ex-White House strategist relayed questions, in real time, to the White House and was told when not to respond, the AP learns.</p>
<p>2. <a href="" type="internal">HOW RIVAL KOREAS ARE COOPERATING</a></p>
<p>North and South Korea agree to form their first unified Olympic team and have their athletes parade together for the first time in 11 years during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Games in South Korea.</p>
<p>3. <a href="" type="internal">APPLE PLEDGES EXPANSION, NEW HIRING</a></p>
<p>The company says it is planning to build another corporate campus and hire 20,000 more workers during the next five years as part of a $350 billion commitment to the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>4. <a href="" type="internal">SNOW, ICE, RECORD COLD GRIP SOUTH</a></p>
<p>At least 10 deaths are blamed on the storm in a corner of the U.S. ill-equipped to deal with wintry weather</p>
<p>5. <a href="" type="internal">WALL STREET CHEERS MILESTONE</a></p>
<p>For the first time, the Dow closes above 26,000 points.</p>
<p>6. <a href="" type="internal">SCARS OF WAR REMAIN IN ANCIENT SYRIAN CITY</a></p>
<p>It's been four years since Syria's rebels withdrew from Homs, but the city's ancient heart is still an abandoned ruin.</p>
<p>7. <a href="" type="internal">'CANNOT ASSERT YOURSELVES BY DESTROYING OTHERS'</a></p>
<p>Pope Francis denounces the use of violence to achieve political gains in his visit to the heart of Chile's centuries-old conflict with indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>8. <a href="" type="internal">WHICH DEATHS SEEM 'ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE'</a></p>
<p>A scientific panel recommends that states significantly lower their drunken driving thresholds as part of a blueprint to eliminate 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths each year.</p>
<p>9. <a href="" type="internal">ANN CURRY'S UNPLEASANT MEMORIES</a></p>
<p>The former NBC anchor says there was an atmosphere of verbal sexual harassment when she worked at the "Today" show, and she was unsurprised by the allegations that got former colleague Matt Lauer fired.</p>
<p>10. <a href="" type="internal">LEBRON, CAVS IN THE DOLDRUMS</a></p>
<p>Recent losses raise questions about whether Cleveland is still the best team in the Eastern Conference or good enough to make its fourth straight NBA Finals.</p> | 599,827 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>What is the difference between an Inca Indian in Bolivia, and a middle-class wage-earner in America?</p>
<p>Answer: The Inca Indian knows where her or his interests lie, recognizes that the leading political parties are thieves and agents of international and domestic corporate interests out to rob them, and joins with thousands of like-minded comrades to take to the streets and drive the crooks and charlatans from power, using everything from sticks to sticks of dynamite. The American, in contrast, is easily snookered by politicians who use “wedge issues” like abortion, gay marriage, defense against “terror,” or posting of the 10 Commandments on public buildings to get her or him to vote against her or his own real interests.</p>
<p>Result: Bolivia has just seen a corrupt president driven from power and his would be successors deterred (so far) from replacing him, and is on the edge of a possible revolutionary transformation, all over the issue of whether the country’s sizeable natural gas reserves should be opened to plunder by international oil companies. The U.S. meanwhile, has recently opened fragile artic wilderness (and native lands) to drilling, and continues to despoil other ecologically fragile areas, particularly in coastal waters, is about to approve yet another “free trade” pact that will massively shift jobs out of the country, and is robbing workers of pension benefits while simultaneously planning the gutting of the public Social Security system–all with scarcely an organized protest from the public. Congress even passed a repeal of the estate tax, which only fell on people with assets of over $1.6 million ($3.2 for a family)! And the public cheers.</p>
<p>What explains this huge difference in political awareness and political action in the face of clear threats by the rich and powerful to the welfare of the majority?</p>
<p>I would suggest that it is the collapse of community in the U.S.</p>
<p>In Bolivia, as in many developing countries, the ordinary people, often without even access to televisions, have a strong sense of community. They meet routinely and naturally in social settings-street markets, plazas, churches, and at festivals-where their common experiences and concerns are discussed.</p>
<p>Americans are increasingly atomized and connected to each other only through the mediation of mass electronic entertainment vehicles, which convey the official version of reality. We travel to and from our places of work in isolated automobiles, from inside which we view other vehicles and their drivers primarily as obstacles and rivals whose only significance to us is that they interfere with our ability to get to our destination. At work, we operate in neofeudal settings that discourage open discourse and that punish free speech, and that have attacked and largely destroyed any sense of collective action by virtually legislating trade unions out of existence.</p>
<p>Meanwhile in our communities, most of us live in single-home isolation, with green barriers or even high fences separating us from our neighbors, attending churches that, while providing some limited sense of community, at the same time increasingly act more to divide us–one church from the other (or from non-churchgoers)-than they do to unite us. In those few settings were we might be in close contact with others-at the supermarket or the gym-we plug earphones in our ears and tune in the radio or our ipods so we don’t need to relate to others except for commercial transactions.</p>
<p>Little wonder that we are all strangers in our own neighborhoods, and that we are all fighting–and mostly losing–our individual struggles for survival while Bolivia’s Incas are marching enmasse to defend their rights.</p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512283/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal</a>. His new book of CounterPunch columns titled “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512984/counterpunchmaga" type="external">This Can’t be Happening!</a>” is published by Common Courage Press. Information about both books and other work by Lindorff can be found at <a href="http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/" type="external">www.thiscantbehappening.net</a>.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | How Do You Tell a Bolivian Indian from an Ordinary American? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/06/13/how-do-you-tell-a-bolivian-indian-from-an-ordinary-american/ | 2005-06-13 | 4left
| How Do You Tell a Bolivian Indian from an Ordinary American?
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>What is the difference between an Inca Indian in Bolivia, and a middle-class wage-earner in America?</p>
<p>Answer: The Inca Indian knows where her or his interests lie, recognizes that the leading political parties are thieves and agents of international and domestic corporate interests out to rob them, and joins with thousands of like-minded comrades to take to the streets and drive the crooks and charlatans from power, using everything from sticks to sticks of dynamite. The American, in contrast, is easily snookered by politicians who use “wedge issues” like abortion, gay marriage, defense against “terror,” or posting of the 10 Commandments on public buildings to get her or him to vote against her or his own real interests.</p>
<p>Result: Bolivia has just seen a corrupt president driven from power and his would be successors deterred (so far) from replacing him, and is on the edge of a possible revolutionary transformation, all over the issue of whether the country’s sizeable natural gas reserves should be opened to plunder by international oil companies. The U.S. meanwhile, has recently opened fragile artic wilderness (and native lands) to drilling, and continues to despoil other ecologically fragile areas, particularly in coastal waters, is about to approve yet another “free trade” pact that will massively shift jobs out of the country, and is robbing workers of pension benefits while simultaneously planning the gutting of the public Social Security system–all with scarcely an organized protest from the public. Congress even passed a repeal of the estate tax, which only fell on people with assets of over $1.6 million ($3.2 for a family)! And the public cheers.</p>
<p>What explains this huge difference in political awareness and political action in the face of clear threats by the rich and powerful to the welfare of the majority?</p>
<p>I would suggest that it is the collapse of community in the U.S.</p>
<p>In Bolivia, as in many developing countries, the ordinary people, often without even access to televisions, have a strong sense of community. They meet routinely and naturally in social settings-street markets, plazas, churches, and at festivals-where their common experiences and concerns are discussed.</p>
<p>Americans are increasingly atomized and connected to each other only through the mediation of mass electronic entertainment vehicles, which convey the official version of reality. We travel to and from our places of work in isolated automobiles, from inside which we view other vehicles and their drivers primarily as obstacles and rivals whose only significance to us is that they interfere with our ability to get to our destination. At work, we operate in neofeudal settings that discourage open discourse and that punish free speech, and that have attacked and largely destroyed any sense of collective action by virtually legislating trade unions out of existence.</p>
<p>Meanwhile in our communities, most of us live in single-home isolation, with green barriers or even high fences separating us from our neighbors, attending churches that, while providing some limited sense of community, at the same time increasingly act more to divide us–one church from the other (or from non-churchgoers)-than they do to unite us. In those few settings were we might be in close contact with others-at the supermarket or the gym-we plug earphones in our ears and tune in the radio or our ipods so we don’t need to relate to others except for commercial transactions.</p>
<p>Little wonder that we are all strangers in our own neighborhoods, and that we are all fighting–and mostly losing–our individual struggles for survival while Bolivia’s Incas are marching enmasse to defend their rights.</p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512283/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal</a>. His new book of CounterPunch columns titled “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512984/counterpunchmaga" type="external">This Can’t be Happening!</a>” is published by Common Courage Press. Information about both books and other work by Lindorff can be found at <a href="http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/" type="external">www.thiscantbehappening.net</a>.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | 599,828 |
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<p>About 110 Mexican gray wolves - a smaller subspecies of the gray wolf - now roam a portion of Arizona and New Mexico, nearly two decades after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 11 wolves there to restart a population that had nearly vanished.</p>
<p>The agency hopes to complete a comprehensive recovery plan for the Mexican wolf in 2017, and officials say they've made no decision about releasing them in Colorado or Utah.</p>
<p>But neither state is waiting. Their governors joined Arizona and New Mexico's executives in November to accuse the Fish and Wildlife Service of using flawed science and biased experts. They demanded that no Mexican wolves be released outside the southern parts of Arizona and New Mexico.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Wildlife commissioners in Utah and Colorado also spoke out against releasing Mexican wolves in their states - the Utah Wildlife Board in December and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last Wednesday.</p>
<p>The Fish and Wildlife Service defended the experts and the process.</p>
<p>Mexican wolves have been contentious in Arizona and New Mexico for years. New Mexico officials are resisting proposals to release more wolves. Arizona state lawmakers tried but failed to allow ranchers to kill federally protected wolves in self-defense.</p>
<p>Environmental groups, meanwhile, are pushing for the release of more captive-bred wolves to bolster the population in those states.</p>
<p>In Colorado and Utah, opponents argue that wolves would inflict costly and cruel losses on cattle and sheep and decimate big game herds that support the lucrative hunting industry. They also say Mexican wolves aren't native to their states, and bringing them in could taint the gene pool if they bred with gray wolves roaming down from the northern Rockies.</p>
<p>"We don't need to introduce another large predatory carnivore to the state," Colorado Wool Growers Association director Bonnie Brown told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last week. Mountain lions are already killing pets in urban areas bordering open country.</p>
<p>Wolf advocates say the fears are overblown, and that Mexican wolves need more ranges to avoid extinction. Parts of Colorado and Utah would be ideal for wolves, said Jonathan Proctor of Defenders of Wildlife, and he argued that both states are within the wolves' historical range.</p>
<p>The West needs wolves to help restore balance to the environment, he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"It's we humans who have eradicated all the wolves from the West," Proctor said. "It's our responsibility to bring this animal back."</p>
<p>Wolves have long been deeply divisive subject in the region. They were hunted, trapped or driven out of many areas by the end of the last century and were regarded as a menace to largely defenseless sheep and cattle. But they also became a symbol for the environmental movement, a noble if fearsome avatar of the wild.</p>
<p>To support their arguments, both sides point to the northern Rockies, where the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates about 1,800 gray wolves live in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.</p>
<p>Wolves began killing hundreds of sheep and cattle after their release in the northern Rockies about 20 years ago, and big game populations fell drastically in some areas, officials said.</p>
<p>But they say cattle deaths are declining and game herds are rebounding since wolves were removed from Endangered Species Act protection in Idaho and Montana in 2011. The Fish and Wildlife Service then turned over wolf management to the states, which allow some hunting and sometimes remove or kill problem wolves.</p>
<p>"We know the wolf population is doing fine and continues to expand," said Mike Jimenez, northern Rockies wolf coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. "We use lethal control on wolves that are causing big problems."</p>
<p>Overall agricultural losses are low, but to an individual rancher, they can be devastating, he said.</p>
<p>In Idaho, elk numbers have begun to rebound since the state began managing wolves, state Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said.</p>
<p>"And we still have a very sustainable wolf population in our state," he said. "So we feel like we're making progress in bringing balance."</p>
<p>Wolves were briefly removed from federal protection in Wyoming, but safeguards were restored after environmental groups filed lawsuits challenging state management plans. The state is appealing the decision.</p>
<p>Legal wrangling is part of what makes wolves so aggravating, said Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.</p>
<p>"We have learned to live with them," he said of the estimated 330 wolves in Wyoming. "We have not learned to live with the never-ending process."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Dan Elliott at <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP." type="external">http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP.</a> His work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott." type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott.</a></p> | Suspicion over federal wolf plan spreads to Colorado, Utah | false | https://abqjournal.com/707766/suspicion-over-federal-wolf-plan-spreads-to-colorado-utah.html | 2least
| Suspicion over federal wolf plan spreads to Colorado, Utah
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>About 110 Mexican gray wolves - a smaller subspecies of the gray wolf - now roam a portion of Arizona and New Mexico, nearly two decades after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 11 wolves there to restart a population that had nearly vanished.</p>
<p>The agency hopes to complete a comprehensive recovery plan for the Mexican wolf in 2017, and officials say they've made no decision about releasing them in Colorado or Utah.</p>
<p>But neither state is waiting. Their governors joined Arizona and New Mexico's executives in November to accuse the Fish and Wildlife Service of using flawed science and biased experts. They demanded that no Mexican wolves be released outside the southern parts of Arizona and New Mexico.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Wildlife commissioners in Utah and Colorado also spoke out against releasing Mexican wolves in their states - the Utah Wildlife Board in December and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last Wednesday.</p>
<p>The Fish and Wildlife Service defended the experts and the process.</p>
<p>Mexican wolves have been contentious in Arizona and New Mexico for years. New Mexico officials are resisting proposals to release more wolves. Arizona state lawmakers tried but failed to allow ranchers to kill federally protected wolves in self-defense.</p>
<p>Environmental groups, meanwhile, are pushing for the release of more captive-bred wolves to bolster the population in those states.</p>
<p>In Colorado and Utah, opponents argue that wolves would inflict costly and cruel losses on cattle and sheep and decimate big game herds that support the lucrative hunting industry. They also say Mexican wolves aren't native to their states, and bringing them in could taint the gene pool if they bred with gray wolves roaming down from the northern Rockies.</p>
<p>"We don't need to introduce another large predatory carnivore to the state," Colorado Wool Growers Association director Bonnie Brown told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last week. Mountain lions are already killing pets in urban areas bordering open country.</p>
<p>Wolf advocates say the fears are overblown, and that Mexican wolves need more ranges to avoid extinction. Parts of Colorado and Utah would be ideal for wolves, said Jonathan Proctor of Defenders of Wildlife, and he argued that both states are within the wolves' historical range.</p>
<p>The West needs wolves to help restore balance to the environment, he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"It's we humans who have eradicated all the wolves from the West," Proctor said. "It's our responsibility to bring this animal back."</p>
<p>Wolves have long been deeply divisive subject in the region. They were hunted, trapped or driven out of many areas by the end of the last century and were regarded as a menace to largely defenseless sheep and cattle. But they also became a symbol for the environmental movement, a noble if fearsome avatar of the wild.</p>
<p>To support their arguments, both sides point to the northern Rockies, where the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates about 1,800 gray wolves live in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.</p>
<p>Wolves began killing hundreds of sheep and cattle after their release in the northern Rockies about 20 years ago, and big game populations fell drastically in some areas, officials said.</p>
<p>But they say cattle deaths are declining and game herds are rebounding since wolves were removed from Endangered Species Act protection in Idaho and Montana in 2011. The Fish and Wildlife Service then turned over wolf management to the states, which allow some hunting and sometimes remove or kill problem wolves.</p>
<p>"We know the wolf population is doing fine and continues to expand," said Mike Jimenez, northern Rockies wolf coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. "We use lethal control on wolves that are causing big problems."</p>
<p>Overall agricultural losses are low, but to an individual rancher, they can be devastating, he said.</p>
<p>In Idaho, elk numbers have begun to rebound since the state began managing wolves, state Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said.</p>
<p>"And we still have a very sustainable wolf population in our state," he said. "So we feel like we're making progress in bringing balance."</p>
<p>Wolves were briefly removed from federal protection in Wyoming, but safeguards were restored after environmental groups filed lawsuits challenging state management plans. The state is appealing the decision.</p>
<p>Legal wrangling is part of what makes wolves so aggravating, said Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.</p>
<p>"We have learned to live with them," he said of the estimated 330 wolves in Wyoming. "We have not learned to live with the never-ending process."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Dan Elliott at <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP." type="external">http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP.</a> His work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott." type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott.</a></p> | 599,829 |
|
<p>Hurricane Irene made landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, becoming the first hurricane to hit the continental United States since 2008.</p>
<p>The storm came ashore just east of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/us/28hurricane-irene.html" type="external">Cape Lookout in North Carolina</a>, The New York Times reports, with the eye of the storm reaching land by 7:30 a.m. eastern time.</p>
<p>While Irene has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, it is still expected to move slowly up the east coast, and hurricane warnings have been issued for the next 48 hours in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, ABC News reports.</p>
<p>And despite the downgrade, the National Hurricane Center on Saturday said Irene is still very dangerous.</p>
<p>"[T]he emphasis for this storm is on its size and duration, not necessarily how strong the strongest winds are," Hurricane specialist Mike Brennan said Saturday.</p>
<p>The Miami Herald described the scene in <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/27/2377453/hurricane-irene-strikes-north.html" type="external">North Carolina</a>:</p>
<p>The storm's core drilled into North Carolina's Outer Banks with 85-mph winds, thick sheets of charcoal-colored rain, and an 4-to-9-foot coastal storm surge topped by battering waves. It then sliced entirely through the state's eastern quadrant.</p>
<p>Reports of deaths have already started to come in.</p>
<p>ABC News reports that a North Carolina man hit by a falling tree limb outside his home early on Saturday was the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricanes/hurricane-irene-hits-north-carolina-claims-life/story?id=14393026" type="external">Hurricane Irene's first casualty</a>.</p>
<p>In Wilmington, Delaware, the Times said, conditions made it impossible to search for a teenager who jumped off a boat ramp into a churning sea.</p>
<p>And according to the Herald, an "incautious surfer" was reportedly killed along Virginia's coast.</p>
<p>More than <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/110827/hurricane-irene-new-york-north-carolina" type="external">two million people</a> have been told to evacuate along the eastern seaboard, with President Barack Obama issuing a warning that Irene could be an "historic hurricane."</p>
<p>The Times reports that Irene is now projected to hug the coast through Saturday and make landfall again on Sunday, on Long Island, just east of New York City.</p>
<p>FEMA, the Coast Guard, the National Guard and the Red Cross have all made emergency response preparations.</p>
<p>In New York City, in addition to evacuations, officials were getting ready to shut down the entire mass transit and subway system for the fist time in history on Saturday</p> | Hurricane Irene makes landfall in North Carolina | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-08-27/hurricane-irene-makes-landfall-north-carolina | 2011-08-27 | 3left-center
| Hurricane Irene makes landfall in North Carolina
<p>Hurricane Irene made landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, becoming the first hurricane to hit the continental United States since 2008.</p>
<p>The storm came ashore just east of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/us/28hurricane-irene.html" type="external">Cape Lookout in North Carolina</a>, The New York Times reports, with the eye of the storm reaching land by 7:30 a.m. eastern time.</p>
<p>While Irene has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, it is still expected to move slowly up the east coast, and hurricane warnings have been issued for the next 48 hours in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, ABC News reports.</p>
<p>And despite the downgrade, the National Hurricane Center on Saturday said Irene is still very dangerous.</p>
<p>"[T]he emphasis for this storm is on its size and duration, not necessarily how strong the strongest winds are," Hurricane specialist Mike Brennan said Saturday.</p>
<p>The Miami Herald described the scene in <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/27/2377453/hurricane-irene-strikes-north.html" type="external">North Carolina</a>:</p>
<p>The storm's core drilled into North Carolina's Outer Banks with 85-mph winds, thick sheets of charcoal-colored rain, and an 4-to-9-foot coastal storm surge topped by battering waves. It then sliced entirely through the state's eastern quadrant.</p>
<p>Reports of deaths have already started to come in.</p>
<p>ABC News reports that a North Carolina man hit by a falling tree limb outside his home early on Saturday was the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricanes/hurricane-irene-hits-north-carolina-claims-life/story?id=14393026" type="external">Hurricane Irene's first casualty</a>.</p>
<p>In Wilmington, Delaware, the Times said, conditions made it impossible to search for a teenager who jumped off a boat ramp into a churning sea.</p>
<p>And according to the Herald, an "incautious surfer" was reportedly killed along Virginia's coast.</p>
<p>More than <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/110827/hurricane-irene-new-york-north-carolina" type="external">two million people</a> have been told to evacuate along the eastern seaboard, with President Barack Obama issuing a warning that Irene could be an "historic hurricane."</p>
<p>The Times reports that Irene is now projected to hug the coast through Saturday and make landfall again on Sunday, on Long Island, just east of New York City.</p>
<p>FEMA, the Coast Guard, the National Guard and the Red Cross have all made emergency response preparations.</p>
<p>In New York City, in addition to evacuations, officials were getting ready to shut down the entire mass transit and subway system for the fist time in history on Saturday</p> | 599,830 |
<p>Same-sex Muslim marriages are “thriving” in the UK, according to the person billed as the country’s first Muslim drag queen.</p>
<p>Asifa Lahore, 34, whose Pakistani family raised her in west London, contested the recent claim made by another gay Muslim that his was the first union between two Muslim people of the same sex in Britain.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/375792-gay-nigeria-deportation-protest/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Jahed Choudhury, 24, made headlines last week when he claimed his marriage with Sean Rogan in Walsall was the first of its kind in the UK.</p>
<p>But Lahore, who rose to fame after featuring in Channel 4’s Muslim Drag Queens in 2015, said that while she is happy for Choudhury, who had attempted suicide because of the abuse he suffered as a gay Muslim, there have already been many marriages within Britain’s Muslim LGBT community.</p>
<p>“There are countless,” Lahore told the Times. “In the last three years I’ve been to dozens [of] gay Muslim, same-sex marriages.</p>
<p>“I attended one last Thursday, of two gay British Bangladeshi guys.”</p>
<p>Because marriage has such a significant value in South Asian cultures, she said it should be expected that gay Muslims would take advantage of Britain’s civil liberties.</p>
<p>“In south Asian Muslim culture, marriage is very much a milestone.</p>
<p>“Even if you identify as LGBT, marriage plays a big part in your upbringing and your psyche and I think LGBT Muslims in Britain are taking real advantage of equal marriage,” Lahore said.</p>
<p>“I’m glad this young boy has declared so openly about his marriage, but want him to know there have been others before him and will be many more.”</p>
<p>The drag queen also recalled the hardship of revealing her sexuality to her family, who took her to see a GP and an imam to address her queerness.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/396564-halal-sex-manual-author/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Lahore’s relatives conceded she could have gay relationships, on condition they were kept “secret,” while they arranged her marriage to a woman. At the time, Lahore identified as a boy named Asif Quraish.</p>
<p>But Lahore refused and married her gay partner instead, a Pakistani man with whom she entered a civil partnership in 2009, before marrying him five years later after equal marriage was legalized.</p>
<p>Lahore, who is currently transitioning to become a woman, said there are thousands of gay and transgender people of Muslim faith, some of whom still do not feel able to come out.</p>
<p>“We live in a country where we now have access to equal rights and they should be exercised.</p>
<p>“It would break my heart if there were LGBT Muslims out there who didn’t feel they were able to marry,” Lahore said.</p>
<p>“Never feel like you’re on your own or that you’re the only one.</p>
<p>“There’s many more people in the exact same boat as you.</p>
<p>“Britain is a thriving country for the LGBT Muslim community.”</p> | Gay Muslim marriages ‘thriving’ in Britain, says drag queen | false | https://newsline.com/gay-muslim-marriages-thriving-in-britain-says-drag-queen/ | 2017-07-19 | 1right-center
| Gay Muslim marriages ‘thriving’ in Britain, says drag queen
<p>Same-sex Muslim marriages are “thriving” in the UK, according to the person billed as the country’s first Muslim drag queen.</p>
<p>Asifa Lahore, 34, whose Pakistani family raised her in west London, contested the recent claim made by another gay Muslim that his was the first union between two Muslim people of the same sex in Britain.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/375792-gay-nigeria-deportation-protest/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Jahed Choudhury, 24, made headlines last week when he claimed his marriage with Sean Rogan in Walsall was the first of its kind in the UK.</p>
<p>But Lahore, who rose to fame after featuring in Channel 4’s Muslim Drag Queens in 2015, said that while she is happy for Choudhury, who had attempted suicide because of the abuse he suffered as a gay Muslim, there have already been many marriages within Britain’s Muslim LGBT community.</p>
<p>“There are countless,” Lahore told the Times. “In the last three years I’ve been to dozens [of] gay Muslim, same-sex marriages.</p>
<p>“I attended one last Thursday, of two gay British Bangladeshi guys.”</p>
<p>Because marriage has such a significant value in South Asian cultures, she said it should be expected that gay Muslims would take advantage of Britain’s civil liberties.</p>
<p>“In south Asian Muslim culture, marriage is very much a milestone.</p>
<p>“Even if you identify as LGBT, marriage plays a big part in your upbringing and your psyche and I think LGBT Muslims in Britain are taking real advantage of equal marriage,” Lahore said.</p>
<p>“I’m glad this young boy has declared so openly about his marriage, but want him to know there have been others before him and will be many more.”</p>
<p>The drag queen also recalled the hardship of revealing her sexuality to her family, who took her to see a GP and an imam to address her queerness.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/396564-halal-sex-manual-author/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Lahore’s relatives conceded she could have gay relationships, on condition they were kept “secret,” while they arranged her marriage to a woman. At the time, Lahore identified as a boy named Asif Quraish.</p>
<p>But Lahore refused and married her gay partner instead, a Pakistani man with whom she entered a civil partnership in 2009, before marrying him five years later after equal marriage was legalized.</p>
<p>Lahore, who is currently transitioning to become a woman, said there are thousands of gay and transgender people of Muslim faith, some of whom still do not feel able to come out.</p>
<p>“We live in a country where we now have access to equal rights and they should be exercised.</p>
<p>“It would break my heart if there were LGBT Muslims out there who didn’t feel they were able to marry,” Lahore said.</p>
<p>“Never feel like you’re on your own or that you’re the only one.</p>
<p>“There’s many more people in the exact same boat as you.</p>
<p>“Britain is a thriving country for the LGBT Muslim community.”</p> | 599,831 |
<p>Law Newz <a href="http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/bar-complaint-filed-against-kellyanne-conway-for-alleged-false-statements-to-media/" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>A group of law professors have filed a misconduct complaint against Kellyanne Conway, claiming that she violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys by giving false statements to the media.</p>
<p>Fifteen professors who teach legal ethics at law schools across the country signed the complaint, which was filed with the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Conway is a member of the D.C. Bar under her maiden name, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, although records show that her membership has been suspended for non-payment of dues (she remains an active member of the New Jersey Bar).</p>
<p>Conway is accused of “conduct involving ‘dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,’” for claiming that “alternative facts” supported the Trump administration’s claims regarding the size of the President’s inauguration crowd. The complaints says, “‘alternative facts’ are not facts at all; they are lies.”</p>
<p>On top of the alleged dishonesty, the professors allege that Conway “misused her position” when she promoted Ivanka Trump‘s brand on television from the White House, although they admit that this did not necessarily violate the attorney ethics rules.</p> | Law School Professors Seek To Have Kellyanne Conway Disbarred For “Dishonesty, Fraud, And Deceit” | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/02/23/law-school-professors-seek-kellyanne-conway-disbarred-dishonesty-fraud-deceit/ | 2017-02-23 | 4left
| Law School Professors Seek To Have Kellyanne Conway Disbarred For “Dishonesty, Fraud, And Deceit”
<p>Law Newz <a href="http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/bar-complaint-filed-against-kellyanne-conway-for-alleged-false-statements-to-media/" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>A group of law professors have filed a misconduct complaint against Kellyanne Conway, claiming that she violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys by giving false statements to the media.</p>
<p>Fifteen professors who teach legal ethics at law schools across the country signed the complaint, which was filed with the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Conway is a member of the D.C. Bar under her maiden name, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, although records show that her membership has been suspended for non-payment of dues (she remains an active member of the New Jersey Bar).</p>
<p>Conway is accused of “conduct involving ‘dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,’” for claiming that “alternative facts” supported the Trump administration’s claims regarding the size of the President’s inauguration crowd. The complaints says, “‘alternative facts’ are not facts at all; they are lies.”</p>
<p>On top of the alleged dishonesty, the professors allege that Conway “misused her position” when she promoted Ivanka Trump‘s brand on television from the White House, although they admit that this did not necessarily violate the attorney ethics rules.</p> | 599,832 |
<p>Iraqi journalist Huda Ahmed, now a refugee, looks back on more than five years of war and occupation from an Iraqi perspective.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to listen to this interview.</p>
<p>James Harris:</p>
<p>This is Truthdig. James Harris here with Huda Ahmed. She’s an Iraqi native. And in 2007 Huda also received the Courage Award for Journalism for her coverage of the war in Iraq. I’m talking to Huda today because I felt the need to get a stronger sense of the effect that the war has had on Iraqi citizens. And I, frankly, just don’t feel that we get that sense, living so far away from where the action is. But I feel like when I watch the news and I look around, a lot of it has become cheapened by the fact that they’re saying the surge has worked and that we’re starting to see progress in Iraq. And, “At what cost?” is the question that we’re asking today. So, at what cost did the surge work? Huda, we’ll start simply by asking, how do you feel when you hear, “The surge is working”?</p>
<p />
<p>Huda Ahmed: It made me outrageous when they started to publicize for the surge success. Not like disrespecting, you know, the sacrifices of American male and female soldiers back in Iraq who are fighting alongside with the Iraqi security. But they are ignoring the huge efforts from the Iraqi side. It’s a kind of disrespecting the Iraqis for the efforts that they have, gave to help alongside with the American forces. Starting with Sunni tribes from Anbar. When they started to form Awakening groups, which we call it in Arabic sahwa, they started to fight back the Qaida. They started to form conferences, months before the surge was decided. And they were asking for the support from the Iraqi government and from the coalition forces at that time. So we were watching that while we were in Iraq, and there was no word about surge, or any idea about that when those Awakening groups started to fight back.</p>
<p>Then we had the surge come into Iraq, sending their units there to Iraq. The surge couldn’t have succeeded if they didn’t realize that they should have worked together with those Awakening groups, the Sunni tribes. They found that this is a unique opportunity when they started to watch the Awakening groups coming after the Qaida leaders and fighting them. So they found that this is really a good opportunity for them. “Let’s, you know, work together with them and support them.” Beside the truce announced by Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shia cleric who froze his movement for almost six months. The Iraqi citizens, the civilians, they started to send information about any suspicious groups around their areas. The Americans started to know how to reach out to the Iraqis to help them to feed them with the information. Instead of throwing flyers on the streets where the people will be so afraid to pick them up and, you know, from the streets because they are watched by the insurgents and by the militia. So, the American troops started to use the loudspeakers and started to give the numbers, the hotlines to allow the people to call them and give them information.</p>
<p>So if there was no cooperation from both sides, I don’t think the surge would ever, ever, you know, succeed, you know. So it is a big success for both.</p>
<p>Harris: Mm-hmm.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Not only for, you know, the American Army.</p>
<p>Harris: Frankly, we haven’t heard much about that celebrated success, that unification that’s happening in Iraqi communities that is necessary to get this done and to get Iraq back on track.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Yes.</p>
<p>Harris: Huda, how do you feel about your country at this particular time, it being occupied by American troops?</p>
<p>Ahmed: I think any country is occupied by any foreign force, they would seek for their independence, for their sovereignty, and that doesn’t exclude Iraq from that point. People went through a lot since Iran-Iraq war, the sanctions. … The hardship of sanctions were terrible. And then, you know, the war of 2003. And people were crazy about that moment when toppling Saddam Hussein and then they saw freedom coming to them. And they were, for a short time — a very short time, because they were traumatized afterward — they were waving for the troops, for the American coalition forces, the troops, thinking that they’re gonna make huge change in the lives of the people there. But, unfortunately, the huge change they brought with them was very dramatic, was to the worse, not to the better.</p>
<p>So, we have sacrificed a lot, to reach to the point now — there is the 2008, there is big improvement in, you know, security, but under what cost? If the things were not misconducted, back after the war, none of this would happen. None of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis would die, including women, children, young men, old men. … We wouldn’t see many Iraqi refugees being displaced inside and outside Iraq. Iraqis thought that — especially those who worked with American forces, with the American NGOs, Western NGOs, with the media, with the Embassy — that they would be supported, they would be helped if they need for help. But they were abandoned once they got threats, death threats from the militia, from the insurgents; they found themselves alone. They were deserted by the people that they thought that they are their friends, that the Iraqis helped them, translate for them the language, the culture, the traditions, the religion, you know, and made it possible and easy for the Americans to conduct their policy and their process in Iraq. They felt that they were abandoned. Then they realized that they undermined the Iraqis, that they turned their back against them. And then many of them died. They got death threats and they died because they were abandoned. The help came late for the Iraqi refugees who worked with the Americans. You know, any Iraqi who worked with the American troops or with the NGOs or with media, they could have sell them out. They could have betrayed them. They could have, but they didn’t. They put their lives before the lives of the Americans. You know, they protect them. <a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to listen to this interview.</p>
<p>Harris: Why did they do that? I mean, what reason did they really have? Was it the belief that the Americans were bringing something greater, or …?</p>
<p>Ahmed: That’s what they thought. They thought that if they worked together with the American forces and the American government that it will fasten the withdrawal of the American forces, it will help to rebuild, reconstruct their country, OK? They were welcoming the freedom and democracy, so they were trying to learn from the Americans, at the same time, to educate the Americans about their country: what the ambitions, what expectations of the people. And besides, back there the Iraqis are so dedicated in their work, they are dedicated in their lives, very sophisticated people, very educated. Not because I’m Iraqi, but it is known all over the world what the Iraqi is, who he is. Back there it’s a shame that you betray your own guest, even if she or he is a stranger. It doesn’t matter. Even if he’s affiliated with the occupier. Because they believe that it’s worth it. If we lose our lives to achieve something better, a good future for our next generation, for our children, yes, let’s do it.</p>
<p>Harris: Five years down, who knows how long to go in this conflict, in this war. Huda, what do you fear most about the relationship between Iraq and America? And further, as we imagine the two countries together for the next 10 years, what will those 10 years be like?</p>
<p>Ahmed: I hope that the relationship between U.S. and Iraq gonna be based on mutual respect, mutual admiration, you know, cooperation, not undermining from any side, from either side. But we didn’t see that when the coalition forces came to Iraq in 2003. We thought they gonna have a huge respect for the Iraqis.</p>
<p>Harris: Mm-hmm.</p>
<p>Ahmed: They did not. You know? And we found that that, the way they treated the Iraqi detainees in the detentions, especially Abu Ghraib. All the Iraqis were shocked, you know. They could have expect anything except that. And also the American contractors. You have thousands of them in Iraq, doing whatever they like. Killing, raping, stealing. And they are not prosecuted by any law. Not the Iraqi law or the American law; they have immunity, so. … Also, not protecting our Iraqi heritage, the history. I don’t know what did you save in Iraq. You didn’t save the lives of the Iraqis, you didn’t save the Iraqi history, you didn’t save the Iraqi heritage, you didn’t save the Iraqi rights. I don’t know what kind of example of democracy and liberation did you bring to the Iraqi minds. All we knew from you is violence; that’s all we learned from you. OK? We learned the arrogance that you came and received the Iraqis with, dehumanizing them. If you are coming to bring democracy, why would you dehumanize the people? You dehumanize the people in war, the enemy, but not the people that you expect gonna be your friends. You send people to change the religion of the people there in Iraq, to convert them from Islam to Christianity or whatever the religion is. So I hope that the Americans learned from the lessons of the past five years that Iraq is a different country, a different nature, different culture, different, you know, tradition and religion, and all these should be respected. Let the Iraqis decide for themselves what kind of democracy they want, that’s gonna be adjusted and cope with their traditions, with their values, what kind of freedom they want. Because we know that it is totally different world and you cannot make Iraq as an example of U.S., otherwise we would never have our roots. You are just gonna cut the roots of the Iraqis, and they cannot survive without their roots. I hope that in the future that’s what Iraqis are expecting, and that’s what they are dreaming, that there gonna be a relationship based on respect from both sides. You are going to respect the world of the Iraqis. They are willing that you withdraw from Iraq. OK? And respect their rights, and go with it. But don’t try to undermine them or patronize them, and bringing ready solutions, saying that you are the thinkers and we are not. Like the surge and the experiments before. Iraq is not lab for your experiments. OK? Because in every experiment you are trying, many people are losing their lives. All you hear about is casualties, but you never questioned each casualty, who he is, or who she is. What was she doing, what their dreams, what their expectations, what their ambitions? Maybe … they loved the Americans but when they died they hate them because they were killed, because of the … maybe their families, they hate them, because they lost their loved ones, the ones that support them, you know? So I hope that there will be this kind of good, strong relationship between Iraq and America, because Iraq don’t want to go through wars anymore. They are devastated. They just want to live in peace. They want to live a natural life, send their kids to schools, build their country on freedom, on rights for everybody, and try to survive in harmony with all the ethnics and sects without any discrimination.</p>
<p>Harris: How do they feel about Barack Obama over there? Is he somebody they feel could make some of the things you just mentioned reality?</p>
<p>Ahmed: Uh … besides saying that he’s handsome …</p>
<p>[laughter]</p>
<p>Ahmed: … and articulate person. … There are mixture of feelings back in Iraq, a mixture of thoughts, but the dominant thought in Iraq, that he’s just one person, OK? And he cannot take all the decision by himself. There are, you know, policy, there is a process that he has to work according to it. Some of the people … we were talking about it, about the middle name, the Muslim middle name, you know, his middle name: Hussein. Some of the naive people in Middle East — not only in Iraq — they believe, yeah, oh, he is, you know, Muslim, so we have a Muslim president in America, the superpower country. There are some people, yeah, they were joyful about that. But there’re people who looked at him as a black man, you know, in Iraq, because in Iraq and Middle East — especially in Iraq; I’m going to talk about Iraq because I’m Iraqi; I lived this experience there, I was born and raised — at that time the dictator used to show us through the Iraqi state channel, old movies about discrimination, slavery against the black people. And we’ve read a lot about the history, about the people in the U.S., the Civil War, and the atrocities against the black, the Indians, the Native Americans and the other minorities. So seeing Barack Obama as a black person heading for presidency, the people there would say, Iraqis would say, maybe a black man like him, as a person from minorities, would feel what we have been through. Because they don’t know if he was from slavery generation or whatever; they see him as a black person so they will feel, they would say, “He would feel what we went through.” What the Iraqis have suffered. Maybe that he will be wise enough to try to find the good solutions and try to reshape the foreign policy of U.S. toward the world. Others will say there will be no change. <a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to listen to this interview.</p>
<p>Harris: Same policy, different color.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Same policy. They feel that the words, the glittering words that he is using is just because of the campaign; it’s just politics. But they don’t believe that he’s gonna fulfill them, especially when talking about the withdrawal of the American troops in 16 months, which is very ambitious. And especially the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, had respond to it, and, you know, he welcomed it. Though he didn’t want to take any side. But Iraqis are still afraid that this is too fast. They want the American troops to withdraw, but if you’re gonna withdraw you have to withdraw with responsibility, not as reckless as you came to Iraq in 2003. It has to be steady, gradual, responsible. And if you withdraw whether in 16, 18, 20, 24 months, no matter what happens in Iraq, violence is gonna be violence, OK? Because it’s a country that’s full with weapons, with ideas because of the wars that it went through. So just do it, but the problem is that the Iraqis are still hesitant about it. I’m talking about the Iraqi people, not the politicians.</p>
<p>Harris: Mm-hmm. The real people.</p>
<p>Ahmed: The real people that they want to feel that they will not be vulnerable, because they are the soft targets. And they want to feel that they can really trust their own security, the Iraqi army and the Iraqi security, that if U.S. proceeded a really gradual withdrawal from Iraq, there would be no huge violence after they withdraw. So, you know, the kind of tactics that has to be taken care of.</p>
<p>Harris: One day, do you see yourself with the nephews, the cousins, playing on the slides in Baghdad? Is that the kind of place, maybe it could turn out to be, if your hopes and wishes come true?</p>
<p>Ahmed: You know, we have learned, the Iraqis learned to be hopeful, all their times, even under dictatorship. I remember when we were going through Iran-Iraq war or the Gulf War, the first gulf war, or the sanctions, we were saying tomorrow maybe gonna be better day, tomorrow maybe gonna be better day. And that’s what I’m hoping for. Though I cry every day because I miss the laughters of my nephews. I miss everything about them. I miss my family, my mother, my sisters and my brothers and my nieces and my nephews, that I am not there with them, to share every moment. And I cannot be with them for different reasons. But I wish that I will see them soon, whether here or in Iraq, and I will play with them, even if they are now teenagers. But I will have the time to talk with them, to communicate with my own nephews, because they are like my children, and see their ambitions, their dreams, and fulfill it for them. And so I hope not only my nephews and my nieces or my family, but every Iraqi family because they really deserve a change. I mean, the Iraqis really deserve a better life, a better future, no wars, no sanctions, no violence, no bombings, no dictatorships, just freedom, free expression, live their lives. Not to involve them in any political crisis or — how shall I say this? — whatever the problems that the politicians have between each other, to keep the people away from their agenda; let the people live their lives. Now when … I talk with my family and I ask them about electricity, because in Iraq they live their life now without electricity. It doesn’t exist. They buried it, according to them. They said, “We made the funeral for our electricity.”</p>
<p>Harris: No lights, nothing. The sun goes down, candlelight.</p>
<p>Ahmed: No, they have, they use the generators back in Iraq.</p>
<p>Harris: OK.</p>
<p>Ahmed: But there is the turmoil of going through how you get the gas, the soaring prices of the gas, and the food and the lower rates of salaries and how the people try to cope with that. And then you have the bribes and blackmails and corruption going around in Iraq. But they don’t talk about electricity or whatever. No. They say, “Our much joy when we can go to restaurant where we can eat with our families, that the most joy.” You know. They don’t want to argue about electricity or about shortage of water or gas or whatever. They say, “At least we can go to the ice cream shop and we can eat with our children.”</p>
<p>Harris: Yeah.</p>
<p>Ahmed: They can get out from the house that we imprison them in, you know. That they can see the streets, they can see the trees. They can communicate with their friends that they couldn’t see them because they live in other neighborhoods. And I hope, as many Iraqis, they hope that even the walls that are surrounding the neighborhoods back in Baghdad, they all gonna be, gonna fall and gonna be demolished and the residents of all, of mixed neighborhoods, gonna go back together and communicate with each other and we can travel around, walk around, and drive, go there, shop there, and you know, have fun. That’s what we want. Rebuild our country and just move on. That’s what we want. Iraqis just don’t want to think about oil. Just tell you, “You want oil? Just take it! We don’t want it because it’s been a curse on us. We haven’t seen a good day in our lives since the discovery of the oil. If you want it, just take it, but we want to live our lives. That’s what we want. That’s all.” Because they have built themselves by themselves, without the help of the government. They did it by themselves without the help of, you know, oil revenues. So let’s hope for the best for Iraqis.</p>
<p>Harris: Got hope?</p>
<p>Ahmed: Got hope.</p>
<p>Harris: That’s some guy’s slogan. Huda, you’ve certainly helped us realize the importance of the civilian side, of the human side of this, because this is not just politics. This is not George Bush talking about the surge work. This is not Barack Obama talking about a 16-month withdrawal plan; these are lives. And we’ve seen estimates from 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead to 750,000 Iraqi civilians dead. And those numbers are mind-numbing, they’re stifling, and they hurt. Thank you for your courage. Obviously, the Courage Award for Journalism was …</p>
<p>Ahmed: With my own colleagues.</p>
<p>Harris: … with your own colleagues, was well deserved. And thank you for bringing some humanity to the story, and I hope we can continue to talk as things develop in Iraq.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Thank you. I would love to. I would love to be here again with you, James.</p>
<p>Harris: For Huda Ahmed, this is James Harris, and this is Truthdig.</p> | Iraq From the Inside | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/iraq-from-the-inside/ | 2008-09-02 | 4left
| Iraq From the Inside
<p>Iraqi journalist Huda Ahmed, now a refugee, looks back on more than five years of war and occupation from an Iraqi perspective.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to listen to this interview.</p>
<p>James Harris:</p>
<p>This is Truthdig. James Harris here with Huda Ahmed. She’s an Iraqi native. And in 2007 Huda also received the Courage Award for Journalism for her coverage of the war in Iraq. I’m talking to Huda today because I felt the need to get a stronger sense of the effect that the war has had on Iraqi citizens. And I, frankly, just don’t feel that we get that sense, living so far away from where the action is. But I feel like when I watch the news and I look around, a lot of it has become cheapened by the fact that they’re saying the surge has worked and that we’re starting to see progress in Iraq. And, “At what cost?” is the question that we’re asking today. So, at what cost did the surge work? Huda, we’ll start simply by asking, how do you feel when you hear, “The surge is working”?</p>
<p />
<p>Huda Ahmed: It made me outrageous when they started to publicize for the surge success. Not like disrespecting, you know, the sacrifices of American male and female soldiers back in Iraq who are fighting alongside with the Iraqi security. But they are ignoring the huge efforts from the Iraqi side. It’s a kind of disrespecting the Iraqis for the efforts that they have, gave to help alongside with the American forces. Starting with Sunni tribes from Anbar. When they started to form Awakening groups, which we call it in Arabic sahwa, they started to fight back the Qaida. They started to form conferences, months before the surge was decided. And they were asking for the support from the Iraqi government and from the coalition forces at that time. So we were watching that while we were in Iraq, and there was no word about surge, or any idea about that when those Awakening groups started to fight back.</p>
<p>Then we had the surge come into Iraq, sending their units there to Iraq. The surge couldn’t have succeeded if they didn’t realize that they should have worked together with those Awakening groups, the Sunni tribes. They found that this is a unique opportunity when they started to watch the Awakening groups coming after the Qaida leaders and fighting them. So they found that this is really a good opportunity for them. “Let’s, you know, work together with them and support them.” Beside the truce announced by Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shia cleric who froze his movement for almost six months. The Iraqi citizens, the civilians, they started to send information about any suspicious groups around their areas. The Americans started to know how to reach out to the Iraqis to help them to feed them with the information. Instead of throwing flyers on the streets where the people will be so afraid to pick them up and, you know, from the streets because they are watched by the insurgents and by the militia. So, the American troops started to use the loudspeakers and started to give the numbers, the hotlines to allow the people to call them and give them information.</p>
<p>So if there was no cooperation from both sides, I don’t think the surge would ever, ever, you know, succeed, you know. So it is a big success for both.</p>
<p>Harris: Mm-hmm.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Not only for, you know, the American Army.</p>
<p>Harris: Frankly, we haven’t heard much about that celebrated success, that unification that’s happening in Iraqi communities that is necessary to get this done and to get Iraq back on track.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Yes.</p>
<p>Harris: Huda, how do you feel about your country at this particular time, it being occupied by American troops?</p>
<p>Ahmed: I think any country is occupied by any foreign force, they would seek for their independence, for their sovereignty, and that doesn’t exclude Iraq from that point. People went through a lot since Iran-Iraq war, the sanctions. … The hardship of sanctions were terrible. And then, you know, the war of 2003. And people were crazy about that moment when toppling Saddam Hussein and then they saw freedom coming to them. And they were, for a short time — a very short time, because they were traumatized afterward — they were waving for the troops, for the American coalition forces, the troops, thinking that they’re gonna make huge change in the lives of the people there. But, unfortunately, the huge change they brought with them was very dramatic, was to the worse, not to the better.</p>
<p>So, we have sacrificed a lot, to reach to the point now — there is the 2008, there is big improvement in, you know, security, but under what cost? If the things were not misconducted, back after the war, none of this would happen. None of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis would die, including women, children, young men, old men. … We wouldn’t see many Iraqi refugees being displaced inside and outside Iraq. Iraqis thought that — especially those who worked with American forces, with the American NGOs, Western NGOs, with the media, with the Embassy — that they would be supported, they would be helped if they need for help. But they were abandoned once they got threats, death threats from the militia, from the insurgents; they found themselves alone. They were deserted by the people that they thought that they are their friends, that the Iraqis helped them, translate for them the language, the culture, the traditions, the religion, you know, and made it possible and easy for the Americans to conduct their policy and their process in Iraq. They felt that they were abandoned. Then they realized that they undermined the Iraqis, that they turned their back against them. And then many of them died. They got death threats and they died because they were abandoned. The help came late for the Iraqi refugees who worked with the Americans. You know, any Iraqi who worked with the American troops or with the NGOs or with media, they could have sell them out. They could have betrayed them. They could have, but they didn’t. They put their lives before the lives of the Americans. You know, they protect them. <a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to listen to this interview.</p>
<p>Harris: Why did they do that? I mean, what reason did they really have? Was it the belief that the Americans were bringing something greater, or …?</p>
<p>Ahmed: That’s what they thought. They thought that if they worked together with the American forces and the American government that it will fasten the withdrawal of the American forces, it will help to rebuild, reconstruct their country, OK? They were welcoming the freedom and democracy, so they were trying to learn from the Americans, at the same time, to educate the Americans about their country: what the ambitions, what expectations of the people. And besides, back there the Iraqis are so dedicated in their work, they are dedicated in their lives, very sophisticated people, very educated. Not because I’m Iraqi, but it is known all over the world what the Iraqi is, who he is. Back there it’s a shame that you betray your own guest, even if she or he is a stranger. It doesn’t matter. Even if he’s affiliated with the occupier. Because they believe that it’s worth it. If we lose our lives to achieve something better, a good future for our next generation, for our children, yes, let’s do it.</p>
<p>Harris: Five years down, who knows how long to go in this conflict, in this war. Huda, what do you fear most about the relationship between Iraq and America? And further, as we imagine the two countries together for the next 10 years, what will those 10 years be like?</p>
<p>Ahmed: I hope that the relationship between U.S. and Iraq gonna be based on mutual respect, mutual admiration, you know, cooperation, not undermining from any side, from either side. But we didn’t see that when the coalition forces came to Iraq in 2003. We thought they gonna have a huge respect for the Iraqis.</p>
<p>Harris: Mm-hmm.</p>
<p>Ahmed: They did not. You know? And we found that that, the way they treated the Iraqi detainees in the detentions, especially Abu Ghraib. All the Iraqis were shocked, you know. They could have expect anything except that. And also the American contractors. You have thousands of them in Iraq, doing whatever they like. Killing, raping, stealing. And they are not prosecuted by any law. Not the Iraqi law or the American law; they have immunity, so. … Also, not protecting our Iraqi heritage, the history. I don’t know what did you save in Iraq. You didn’t save the lives of the Iraqis, you didn’t save the Iraqi history, you didn’t save the Iraqi heritage, you didn’t save the Iraqi rights. I don’t know what kind of example of democracy and liberation did you bring to the Iraqi minds. All we knew from you is violence; that’s all we learned from you. OK? We learned the arrogance that you came and received the Iraqis with, dehumanizing them. If you are coming to bring democracy, why would you dehumanize the people? You dehumanize the people in war, the enemy, but not the people that you expect gonna be your friends. You send people to change the religion of the people there in Iraq, to convert them from Islam to Christianity or whatever the religion is. So I hope that the Americans learned from the lessons of the past five years that Iraq is a different country, a different nature, different culture, different, you know, tradition and religion, and all these should be respected. Let the Iraqis decide for themselves what kind of democracy they want, that’s gonna be adjusted and cope with their traditions, with their values, what kind of freedom they want. Because we know that it is totally different world and you cannot make Iraq as an example of U.S., otherwise we would never have our roots. You are just gonna cut the roots of the Iraqis, and they cannot survive without their roots. I hope that in the future that’s what Iraqis are expecting, and that’s what they are dreaming, that there gonna be a relationship based on respect from both sides. You are going to respect the world of the Iraqis. They are willing that you withdraw from Iraq. OK? And respect their rights, and go with it. But don’t try to undermine them or patronize them, and bringing ready solutions, saying that you are the thinkers and we are not. Like the surge and the experiments before. Iraq is not lab for your experiments. OK? Because in every experiment you are trying, many people are losing their lives. All you hear about is casualties, but you never questioned each casualty, who he is, or who she is. What was she doing, what their dreams, what their expectations, what their ambitions? Maybe … they loved the Americans but when they died they hate them because they were killed, because of the … maybe their families, they hate them, because they lost their loved ones, the ones that support them, you know? So I hope that there will be this kind of good, strong relationship between Iraq and America, because Iraq don’t want to go through wars anymore. They are devastated. They just want to live in peace. They want to live a natural life, send their kids to schools, build their country on freedom, on rights for everybody, and try to survive in harmony with all the ethnics and sects without any discrimination.</p>
<p>Harris: How do they feel about Barack Obama over there? Is he somebody they feel could make some of the things you just mentioned reality?</p>
<p>Ahmed: Uh … besides saying that he’s handsome …</p>
<p>[laughter]</p>
<p>Ahmed: … and articulate person. … There are mixture of feelings back in Iraq, a mixture of thoughts, but the dominant thought in Iraq, that he’s just one person, OK? And he cannot take all the decision by himself. There are, you know, policy, there is a process that he has to work according to it. Some of the people … we were talking about it, about the middle name, the Muslim middle name, you know, his middle name: Hussein. Some of the naive people in Middle East — not only in Iraq — they believe, yeah, oh, he is, you know, Muslim, so we have a Muslim president in America, the superpower country. There are some people, yeah, they were joyful about that. But there’re people who looked at him as a black man, you know, in Iraq, because in Iraq and Middle East — especially in Iraq; I’m going to talk about Iraq because I’m Iraqi; I lived this experience there, I was born and raised — at that time the dictator used to show us through the Iraqi state channel, old movies about discrimination, slavery against the black people. And we’ve read a lot about the history, about the people in the U.S., the Civil War, and the atrocities against the black, the Indians, the Native Americans and the other minorities. So seeing Barack Obama as a black person heading for presidency, the people there would say, Iraqis would say, maybe a black man like him, as a person from minorities, would feel what we have been through. Because they don’t know if he was from slavery generation or whatever; they see him as a black person so they will feel, they would say, “He would feel what we went through.” What the Iraqis have suffered. Maybe that he will be wise enough to try to find the good solutions and try to reshape the foreign policy of U.S. toward the world. Others will say there will be no change. <a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to listen to this interview.</p>
<p>Harris: Same policy, different color.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Same policy. They feel that the words, the glittering words that he is using is just because of the campaign; it’s just politics. But they don’t believe that he’s gonna fulfill them, especially when talking about the withdrawal of the American troops in 16 months, which is very ambitious. And especially the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, had respond to it, and, you know, he welcomed it. Though he didn’t want to take any side. But Iraqis are still afraid that this is too fast. They want the American troops to withdraw, but if you’re gonna withdraw you have to withdraw with responsibility, not as reckless as you came to Iraq in 2003. It has to be steady, gradual, responsible. And if you withdraw whether in 16, 18, 20, 24 months, no matter what happens in Iraq, violence is gonna be violence, OK? Because it’s a country that’s full with weapons, with ideas because of the wars that it went through. So just do it, but the problem is that the Iraqis are still hesitant about it. I’m talking about the Iraqi people, not the politicians.</p>
<p>Harris: Mm-hmm. The real people.</p>
<p>Ahmed: The real people that they want to feel that they will not be vulnerable, because they are the soft targets. And they want to feel that they can really trust their own security, the Iraqi army and the Iraqi security, that if U.S. proceeded a really gradual withdrawal from Iraq, there would be no huge violence after they withdraw. So, you know, the kind of tactics that has to be taken care of.</p>
<p>Harris: One day, do you see yourself with the nephews, the cousins, playing on the slides in Baghdad? Is that the kind of place, maybe it could turn out to be, if your hopes and wishes come true?</p>
<p>Ahmed: You know, we have learned, the Iraqis learned to be hopeful, all their times, even under dictatorship. I remember when we were going through Iran-Iraq war or the Gulf War, the first gulf war, or the sanctions, we were saying tomorrow maybe gonna be better day, tomorrow maybe gonna be better day. And that’s what I’m hoping for. Though I cry every day because I miss the laughters of my nephews. I miss everything about them. I miss my family, my mother, my sisters and my brothers and my nieces and my nephews, that I am not there with them, to share every moment. And I cannot be with them for different reasons. But I wish that I will see them soon, whether here or in Iraq, and I will play with them, even if they are now teenagers. But I will have the time to talk with them, to communicate with my own nephews, because they are like my children, and see their ambitions, their dreams, and fulfill it for them. And so I hope not only my nephews and my nieces or my family, but every Iraqi family because they really deserve a change. I mean, the Iraqis really deserve a better life, a better future, no wars, no sanctions, no violence, no bombings, no dictatorships, just freedom, free expression, live their lives. Not to involve them in any political crisis or — how shall I say this? — whatever the problems that the politicians have between each other, to keep the people away from their agenda; let the people live their lives. Now when … I talk with my family and I ask them about electricity, because in Iraq they live their life now without electricity. It doesn’t exist. They buried it, according to them. They said, “We made the funeral for our electricity.”</p>
<p>Harris: No lights, nothing. The sun goes down, candlelight.</p>
<p>Ahmed: No, they have, they use the generators back in Iraq.</p>
<p>Harris: OK.</p>
<p>Ahmed: But there is the turmoil of going through how you get the gas, the soaring prices of the gas, and the food and the lower rates of salaries and how the people try to cope with that. And then you have the bribes and blackmails and corruption going around in Iraq. But they don’t talk about electricity or whatever. No. They say, “Our much joy when we can go to restaurant where we can eat with our families, that the most joy.” You know. They don’t want to argue about electricity or about shortage of water or gas or whatever. They say, “At least we can go to the ice cream shop and we can eat with our children.”</p>
<p>Harris: Yeah.</p>
<p>Ahmed: They can get out from the house that we imprison them in, you know. That they can see the streets, they can see the trees. They can communicate with their friends that they couldn’t see them because they live in other neighborhoods. And I hope, as many Iraqis, they hope that even the walls that are surrounding the neighborhoods back in Baghdad, they all gonna be, gonna fall and gonna be demolished and the residents of all, of mixed neighborhoods, gonna go back together and communicate with each other and we can travel around, walk around, and drive, go there, shop there, and you know, have fun. That’s what we want. Rebuild our country and just move on. That’s what we want. Iraqis just don’t want to think about oil. Just tell you, “You want oil? Just take it! We don’t want it because it’s been a curse on us. We haven’t seen a good day in our lives since the discovery of the oil. If you want it, just take it, but we want to live our lives. That’s what we want. That’s all.” Because they have built themselves by themselves, without the help of the government. They did it by themselves without the help of, you know, oil revenues. So let’s hope for the best for Iraqis.</p>
<p>Harris: Got hope?</p>
<p>Ahmed: Got hope.</p>
<p>Harris: That’s some guy’s slogan. Huda, you’ve certainly helped us realize the importance of the civilian side, of the human side of this, because this is not just politics. This is not George Bush talking about the surge work. This is not Barack Obama talking about a 16-month withdrawal plan; these are lives. And we’ve seen estimates from 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead to 750,000 Iraqi civilians dead. And those numbers are mind-numbing, they’re stifling, and they hurt. Thank you for your courage. Obviously, the Courage Award for Journalism was …</p>
<p>Ahmed: With my own colleagues.</p>
<p>Harris: … with your own colleagues, was well deserved. And thank you for bringing some humanity to the story, and I hope we can continue to talk as things develop in Iraq.</p>
<p>Ahmed: Thank you. I would love to. I would love to be here again with you, James.</p>
<p>Harris: For Huda Ahmed, this is James Harris, and this is Truthdig.</p> | 599,833 |
<p>Newsday The Palm Beach Post has dropped Martha Stewart's column, but most feature editors aren't rushing to pull it. Ann Maloney, president of the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, says: "A few people have killed the column due to a lack of interest and a couple suspended it due to the indictment. But there wasn't a tidal wave one way or the other…the majority said they weren't dropping the column."</p> | Most newspapers keep Stewart's column despite legal woes | false | https://poynter.org/news/most-newspapers-keep-stewarts-column-despite-legal-woes | 2003-06-17 | 2least
| Most newspapers keep Stewart's column despite legal woes
<p>Newsday The Palm Beach Post has dropped Martha Stewart's column, but most feature editors aren't rushing to pull it. Ann Maloney, president of the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, says: "A few people have killed the column due to a lack of interest and a couple suspended it due to the indictment. But there wasn't a tidal wave one way or the other…the majority said they weren't dropping the column."</p> | 599,834 |
<p />
<p>I attended an event at the left-leaning <a href="http://www.ndn.org/" type="external">NDN</a> think tank that featured Joe Trippi, former chief strategist for John Edwards, Simon Rosenberg, NDN’s President, Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Hotline, and Andres Ramirez, NDN’s Vice President for Hispanic Programs. It was a typical inside-the-beltway panel discussion where intellectuals pontificate in front of other intellectuals about the future of politics and the political parties. I say that dismissively, because in a macro sense events like these are a touch ridiculous. But some fairly interesting things were said, which I’ll reproduce here, with some links for additional reading.</p>
<p /> | Democratic Politicos Discuss “Bottom Up” Politics | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/02/democratic-politicos-discuss-bottom-politics/ | 2008-02-20 | 4left
| Democratic Politicos Discuss “Bottom Up” Politics
<p />
<p>I attended an event at the left-leaning <a href="http://www.ndn.org/" type="external">NDN</a> think tank that featured Joe Trippi, former chief strategist for John Edwards, Simon Rosenberg, NDN’s President, Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Hotline, and Andres Ramirez, NDN’s Vice President for Hispanic Programs. It was a typical inside-the-beltway panel discussion where intellectuals pontificate in front of other intellectuals about the future of politics and the political parties. I say that dismissively, because in a macro sense events like these are a touch ridiculous. But some fairly interesting things were said, which I’ll reproduce here, with some links for additional reading.</p>
<p /> | 599,835 |
<p>It's challenging to find stocks on sale in today's market. Most of the stocks selling at a discount are deeply flawed companies that are cheap for a reason. The few worth considering, though, are likely facing some short-term headwinds that Wall Street can't seem to look past. For investors with a longer investment time frame, though, stocks selling for a discount due to near-term issues could be great investments several years from now.</p>
<p>Here's why the short-term issues at industrial and frack sand supplier U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA), iron ore producer Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), and rail car manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX)&#160;could be an opportunity for long-term profits.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>If you look at U.S. Silica's most recent earnings results and the trends in the oil patch over the past year or so, you'll find a company that is hitting its stride. Sales volumes are up considerably, the average realized price per ton is increasing as spare production&#160;capacity gets eaten up, and margins are expanding thanks to its investments in last-mile logistics. This has boosted U.S. Silica's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/02/its-hard-to-see-what-wall-street-didnt-like-in-us.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most recent quarterly earnings Opens a New Window.</a> back to pre-oil-price-crash levels, yet the stock price has curiously been on the decline this year.</p>
<p>Wall Street's fear seems to be that the market for sand is about to cool down just at a point when U.S. Silica and the other three large sand suppliers plan to bring new mines online in the next six to nine months. That could lower prices and put pressure on margins again.</p>
<p>That is certainly a distinct possibility, but U.S. Silica is better suited to handle a weaker market today, and shale drilling is much more resilient in places like the Permian Basin, where U.S. Silica and others are adding capacity. As it stands, the company has more cash on hand than total debt outstanding, which will make dedicating cash to its new sand mine much more palatable.</p>
<p>Perhaps the market for sand will start to flatten out, but it is flattening out at a time when business is good and will likely stay that way for a while. With U.S. Silica's stock trading at such depressed prices, now is a good time to take a look.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>When Cleveland-Cliffs -- formerly Cliffs Natural Resources&#160;-- CEO Lourenco Goncalves took the helm back in 2014, Cliffs was in a bad place. It was riddled with unprofitable assets and an enormous debt load. Over the past three years, though, management has divested itself of those poorly performing business segments to focus on its core U.S. iron ore operations and its mine in Australia.</p>
<p>So far, the plan has worked. Even though iron ore prices remain weak, the company has returned to profitability and reduced its net debt by 57%. Now that management has trimmed down its asset portfolio, it's focused on expanding again by building a new facility to supply reduced iron, the product that America's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/15/cleveland-cliffs-management-charts-a-new-course.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">modern electric arc furnaces need to manufacture steel Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the changes that Cleveland-Cliffs has made to its business over the past several years, it seems that the market has yet to catch on to these developments. The company's stock trades at a reasonable enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 8, and that is while EBITDA levels remain low because of weak commodity prices.</p>
<p>There was a time when Cliffs looked to be on the brink of insolvency, but management has trimmed the company down to fighting weight and is now in a better position to handle the challenges of today's iron ore and steel markets in North America.</p>
<p>There were a lot of mixed messages in Greenbrier's&#160;most recent earnings report. Sales and rail car deliveries were down significantly compared to this time last year, but those declines didn't seem that bad, as the company's new orders picked up and it now has a backlog of orders totaling $3.1 billion.</p>
<p>Management makes no secret that this year and possibly calendar year 2018 will be challenging as the North American market goes through fits and starts. However, there are reasons to think that this stock -- which trades at a very cheap enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 4 -- has better times ahead of it.</p>
<p>Manufacturing rail cars is an inherently cyclical business, but Greenbrier is looking to offset the cyclical nature of the business by moving into more replacement parts and expanding internationally. This past quarter, management <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/29/greenbrier-keeps-chugging-along-despite-challenges.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">signed several joint venture deals Opens a New Window.</a> and a new supply contract that will add it its order backlog outside North America.</p>
<p>Combined, these moves should give Greenbrier plenty of growth levers&#160;to pull over the next couple of years. With the company's balance sheet looking significantly better than it did a few years ago -- it has almost as much cash on hand as total debt outstanding -- the company should be poised to generate better returns down the road. Considering Greenbrier's stock price, this seems like a low-risk investment with a good chance at making investors quite a bit of money.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than The Greenbrier CompaniesWhen 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=dbab1951-164f-4307-b812-f4f3aeb2b61f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and The Greenbrier Companies 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=dbab1951-164f-4307-b812-f4f3aeb2b61f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</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/TMFDirtyBird/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Tyler Crowe Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Cleveland-Cliffs. The Motley Fool recommends The Greenbrier Companies. 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=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Top Stocks You Can Buy on Sale | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/27/3-top-stocks-can-buy-on-sale.html | 2017-08-24 | 0right
| 3 Top Stocks You Can Buy on Sale
<p>It's challenging to find stocks on sale in today's market. Most of the stocks selling at a discount are deeply flawed companies that are cheap for a reason. The few worth considering, though, are likely facing some short-term headwinds that Wall Street can't seem to look past. For investors with a longer investment time frame, though, stocks selling for a discount due to near-term issues could be great investments several years from now.</p>
<p>Here's why the short-term issues at industrial and frack sand supplier U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA), iron ore producer Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), and rail car manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX)&#160;could be an opportunity for long-term profits.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>If you look at U.S. Silica's most recent earnings results and the trends in the oil patch over the past year or so, you'll find a company that is hitting its stride. Sales volumes are up considerably, the average realized price per ton is increasing as spare production&#160;capacity gets eaten up, and margins are expanding thanks to its investments in last-mile logistics. This has boosted U.S. Silica's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/02/its-hard-to-see-what-wall-street-didnt-like-in-us.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most recent quarterly earnings Opens a New Window.</a> back to pre-oil-price-crash levels, yet the stock price has curiously been on the decline this year.</p>
<p>Wall Street's fear seems to be that the market for sand is about to cool down just at a point when U.S. Silica and the other three large sand suppliers plan to bring new mines online in the next six to nine months. That could lower prices and put pressure on margins again.</p>
<p>That is certainly a distinct possibility, but U.S. Silica is better suited to handle a weaker market today, and shale drilling is much more resilient in places like the Permian Basin, where U.S. Silica and others are adding capacity. As it stands, the company has more cash on hand than total debt outstanding, which will make dedicating cash to its new sand mine much more palatable.</p>
<p>Perhaps the market for sand will start to flatten out, but it is flattening out at a time when business is good and will likely stay that way for a while. With U.S. Silica's stock trading at such depressed prices, now is a good time to take a look.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>When Cleveland-Cliffs -- formerly Cliffs Natural Resources&#160;-- CEO Lourenco Goncalves took the helm back in 2014, Cliffs was in a bad place. It was riddled with unprofitable assets and an enormous debt load. Over the past three years, though, management has divested itself of those poorly performing business segments to focus on its core U.S. iron ore operations and its mine in Australia.</p>
<p>So far, the plan has worked. Even though iron ore prices remain weak, the company has returned to profitability and reduced its net debt by 57%. Now that management has trimmed down its asset portfolio, it's focused on expanding again by building a new facility to supply reduced iron, the product that America's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/15/cleveland-cliffs-management-charts-a-new-course.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">modern electric arc furnaces need to manufacture steel Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the changes that Cleveland-Cliffs has made to its business over the past several years, it seems that the market has yet to catch on to these developments. The company's stock trades at a reasonable enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 8, and that is while EBITDA levels remain low because of weak commodity prices.</p>
<p>There was a time when Cliffs looked to be on the brink of insolvency, but management has trimmed the company down to fighting weight and is now in a better position to handle the challenges of today's iron ore and steel markets in North America.</p>
<p>There were a lot of mixed messages in Greenbrier's&#160;most recent earnings report. Sales and rail car deliveries were down significantly compared to this time last year, but those declines didn't seem that bad, as the company's new orders picked up and it now has a backlog of orders totaling $3.1 billion.</p>
<p>Management makes no secret that this year and possibly calendar year 2018 will be challenging as the North American market goes through fits and starts. However, there are reasons to think that this stock -- which trades at a very cheap enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 4 -- has better times ahead of it.</p>
<p>Manufacturing rail cars is an inherently cyclical business, but Greenbrier is looking to offset the cyclical nature of the business by moving into more replacement parts and expanding internationally. This past quarter, management <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/29/greenbrier-keeps-chugging-along-despite-challenges.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">signed several joint venture deals Opens a New Window.</a> and a new supply contract that will add it its order backlog outside North America.</p>
<p>Combined, these moves should give Greenbrier plenty of growth levers&#160;to pull over the next couple of years. With the company's balance sheet looking significantly better than it did a few years ago -- it has almost as much cash on hand as total debt outstanding -- the company should be poised to generate better returns down the road. Considering Greenbrier's stock price, this seems like a low-risk investment with a good chance at making investors quite a bit of money.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than The Greenbrier CompaniesWhen 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=dbab1951-164f-4307-b812-f4f3aeb2b61f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and The Greenbrier Companies 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=dbab1951-164f-4307-b812-f4f3aeb2b61f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</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/TMFDirtyBird/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Tyler Crowe Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Cleveland-Cliffs. The Motley Fool recommends The Greenbrier Companies. 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=735ddc10-7d95-11e7-8827-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,836 |
<p>BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey gave a movement-defining speech. Natalie Portman threw shade at the all-male directing nominees — while presenting that award — and then Geena Davis did the same for the actors. Barbra Streisand scoffed at the bleak fact that she remains the only female director to win a Golden Globe — and that was 34 years ago. Some of the highest-profile actresses brought female activists as their dates. And nearly every soul wore black in support of the Time's Up movement and as a statement against sexual misconduct in Hollywood.</p>
<p>For once, everyone was listening to what the women of Hollywood had to say. And it all went down at — of all places — the Golden Globe Awards.</p>
<p>Yes, that boozy, questionable stepsister to the Academy Awards became the epicenter of a movement and the promise of a future where women are no longer content to be the industry's side show, the arm candy, the people sporting the barely there dresses to promote their barely there roles (and paychecks). From the red carpet to the winners table, men took a backseat.</p>
<p>"It's been a difficult year for our industry," Reese Witherspoon, one of the champions of the Time's Up initiative and the idea to wear black to the awards, said backstage with her "Big Little Lies" co-stars. "I think there was a collective feeling that it wouldn't be business as usual."</p>
<p>And indeed, the 75th Golden Globe Awards, held Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel wasn't business as usual. For one, it looked quite different from years past with attendees sporting all-black duds on the red carpet and speaking about issues that matter to them, to the unusually blunt skewering of an industry in flux by first-time host Seth Meyers.</p>
<p>"It's 2018 — marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't," Meyers said at the start of the show, which Nielsen estimates was watched by an estimated 19 million people. "For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."</p>
<p>But the Harvey Weinstein jabs mostly stopped there — the night wasn't about the men who have been brought down by accusations of sexual misconduct, and no one encapsulated that better than Winfrey, who brought the often chatty and distracted crowd in the ballroom to rapt silence and even tears with her barnburner speech accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement — the first black woman to do so. She weaved together her own personal narrative and memories of seeing Sidney Poitier win an Academy Award when she was a girl, with the story of Recy Taylor and the #MeToo movement into the most memorable, and moving moment of the evening.</p>
<p>"For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men," said Winfrey. "But their time is up. Their time is up!"</p>
<p>Even the night's two big winners, the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and the limited HBO series "Big Little Lies," were notably female-focused. One, "Three Billboards," about a mother avenging the rape and murder of her daughter, won best picture, drama, best actress, drama, for Frances McDormand, best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell and best screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The other, a tale of complex women and domestic abuse, "Big Little Lies," won four awards, including best limited series, best actress for Nicole Kidman and best supporting actress for Laura Dern.</p>
<p>Other winners continued the theme. Amazon's recently debuted "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," about a 1950s housewife who takes up stand-up comedy, won best TV series comedy, and best actress for Rachel Brosnahan. Elisabeth Moss, accepting an award for her performance in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," dedicated her award to Margaret Atwood, whose book the show is based on. "The Handmaid's Tale" later added the award for best TV drama series.</p>
<p>Greta Gerwig's mother-daughter tale "Lady Bird" won best picture, comedy or musical, and best actress honors for Saoirse Ronan.</p>
<p>"All of this makes it so much easier for the next crop of filmmakers who want to tell stories about women," Gerwig said backstage.</p>
<p>Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era fantasy "The Shape of Water" won for its score and del Toro's directing. The emotional Mexican-born filmmaker wiped back tears and managed to quiet the music that urged him offstage.</p>
<p>Notably left empty-handed were Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk," Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and Steven Spielberg's "The Post," starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The night did little to illuminate which direction the film academy will go with its nominations.</p>
<p>Best actor in a comedy or musical went to James Franco for his performance as the infamous "The Room" filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. Gary Oldman, considered by some to be the best actor front runner, won for his Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour," edging out newcomer Timothee Chalamet ("Call Me By Your Name") and Hanks.</p>
<p>Best foreign language film went to Germany's "In the Fade." Allison Janney took best supporting actress in a comedy for the Tonya Harding tale "I, Tonya." Aziz Ansari took best actor in a comedy series for his Netflix show "Master of None."</p>
<p>Best animated film went to the Pixar release "Coco." There was no mention of Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who is taking a "six-month sabbatical" after acknowledging "missteps" in his workplace behavior.</p>
<p>Even the quietest in Hollywood had something to say about the evening.</p>
<p>"I keep my politics private but it was really great to be in this room tonight and to be part of the tectonic shift in our industry's power structure," said McDormand, accepting her acting award.</p>
<p>The Golden Globes leaned in to the spirit of "Time's Up" wholeheartedly, and many found themselves unexpectedly moved by everyone's seriousness.</p>
<p>"A new day is on the horizon," Winfrey said. "And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say 'Me too' again."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton, Sandy Cohen and Jake Coyle contributed to his report from Beverly Hills and New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p>
<p>BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey gave a movement-defining speech. Natalie Portman threw shade at the all-male directing nominees — while presenting that award — and then Geena Davis did the same for the actors. Barbra Streisand scoffed at the bleak fact that she remains the only female director to win a Golden Globe — and that was 34 years ago. Some of the highest-profile actresses brought female activists as their dates. And nearly every soul wore black in support of the Time's Up movement and as a statement against sexual misconduct in Hollywood.</p>
<p>For once, everyone was listening to what the women of Hollywood had to say. And it all went down at — of all places — the Golden Globe Awards.</p>
<p>Yes, that boozy, questionable stepsister to the Academy Awards became the epicenter of a movement and the promise of a future where women are no longer content to be the industry's side show, the arm candy, the people sporting the barely there dresses to promote their barely there roles (and paychecks). From the red carpet to the winners table, men took a backseat.</p>
<p>"It's been a difficult year for our industry," Reese Witherspoon, one of the champions of the Time's Up initiative and the idea to wear black to the awards, said backstage with her "Big Little Lies" co-stars. "I think there was a collective feeling that it wouldn't be business as usual."</p>
<p>And indeed, the 75th Golden Globe Awards, held Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel wasn't business as usual. For one, it looked quite different from years past with attendees sporting all-black duds on the red carpet and speaking about issues that matter to them, to the unusually blunt skewering of an industry in flux by first-time host Seth Meyers.</p>
<p>"It's 2018 — marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't," Meyers said at the start of the show, which Nielsen estimates was watched by an estimated 19 million people. "For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."</p>
<p>But the Harvey Weinstein jabs mostly stopped there — the night wasn't about the men who have been brought down by accusations of sexual misconduct, and no one encapsulated that better than Winfrey, who brought the often chatty and distracted crowd in the ballroom to rapt silence and even tears with her barnburner speech accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement — the first black woman to do so. She weaved together her own personal narrative and memories of seeing Sidney Poitier win an Academy Award when she was a girl, with the story of Recy Taylor and the #MeToo movement into the most memorable, and moving moment of the evening.</p>
<p>"For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men," said Winfrey. "But their time is up. Their time is up!"</p>
<p>Even the night's two big winners, the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and the limited HBO series "Big Little Lies," were notably female-focused. One, "Three Billboards," about a mother avenging the rape and murder of her daughter, won best picture, drama, best actress, drama, for Frances McDormand, best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell and best screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The other, a tale of complex women and domestic abuse, "Big Little Lies," won four awards, including best limited series, best actress for Nicole Kidman and best supporting actress for Laura Dern.</p>
<p>Other winners continued the theme. Amazon's recently debuted "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," about a 1950s housewife who takes up stand-up comedy, won best TV series comedy, and best actress for Rachel Brosnahan. Elisabeth Moss, accepting an award for her performance in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," dedicated her award to Margaret Atwood, whose book the show is based on. "The Handmaid's Tale" later added the award for best TV drama series.</p>
<p>Greta Gerwig's mother-daughter tale "Lady Bird" won best picture, comedy or musical, and best actress honors for Saoirse Ronan.</p>
<p>"All of this makes it so much easier for the next crop of filmmakers who want to tell stories about women," Gerwig said backstage.</p>
<p>Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era fantasy "The Shape of Water" won for its score and del Toro's directing. The emotional Mexican-born filmmaker wiped back tears and managed to quiet the music that urged him offstage.</p>
<p>Notably left empty-handed were Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk," Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and Steven Spielberg's "The Post," starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The night did little to illuminate which direction the film academy will go with its nominations.</p>
<p>Best actor in a comedy or musical went to James Franco for his performance as the infamous "The Room" filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. Gary Oldman, considered by some to be the best actor front runner, won for his Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour," edging out newcomer Timothee Chalamet ("Call Me By Your Name") and Hanks.</p>
<p>Best foreign language film went to Germany's "In the Fade." Allison Janney took best supporting actress in a comedy for the Tonya Harding tale "I, Tonya." Aziz Ansari took best actor in a comedy series for his Netflix show "Master of None."</p>
<p>Best animated film went to the Pixar release "Coco." There was no mention of Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who is taking a "six-month sabbatical" after acknowledging "missteps" in his workplace behavior.</p>
<p>Even the quietest in Hollywood had something to say about the evening.</p>
<p>"I keep my politics private but it was really great to be in this room tonight and to be part of the tectonic shift in our industry's power structure," said McDormand, accepting her acting award.</p>
<p>The Golden Globes leaned in to the spirit of "Time's Up" wholeheartedly, and many found themselves unexpectedly moved by everyone's seriousness.</p>
<p>"A new day is on the horizon," Winfrey said. "And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say 'Me too' again."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton, Sandy Cohen and Jake Coyle contributed to his report from Beverly Hills and New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p> | Men? A sideshow at a Golden Globes that celebrated women | false | https://apnews.com/amp/9cea2fea37b048aabfb98d22c43d7826 | 2018-01-08 | 2least
| Men? A sideshow at a Golden Globes that celebrated women
<p>BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey gave a movement-defining speech. Natalie Portman threw shade at the all-male directing nominees — while presenting that award — and then Geena Davis did the same for the actors. Barbra Streisand scoffed at the bleak fact that she remains the only female director to win a Golden Globe — and that was 34 years ago. Some of the highest-profile actresses brought female activists as their dates. And nearly every soul wore black in support of the Time's Up movement and as a statement against sexual misconduct in Hollywood.</p>
<p>For once, everyone was listening to what the women of Hollywood had to say. And it all went down at — of all places — the Golden Globe Awards.</p>
<p>Yes, that boozy, questionable stepsister to the Academy Awards became the epicenter of a movement and the promise of a future where women are no longer content to be the industry's side show, the arm candy, the people sporting the barely there dresses to promote their barely there roles (and paychecks). From the red carpet to the winners table, men took a backseat.</p>
<p>"It's been a difficult year for our industry," Reese Witherspoon, one of the champions of the Time's Up initiative and the idea to wear black to the awards, said backstage with her "Big Little Lies" co-stars. "I think there was a collective feeling that it wouldn't be business as usual."</p>
<p>And indeed, the 75th Golden Globe Awards, held Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel wasn't business as usual. For one, it looked quite different from years past with attendees sporting all-black duds on the red carpet and speaking about issues that matter to them, to the unusually blunt skewering of an industry in flux by first-time host Seth Meyers.</p>
<p>"It's 2018 — marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't," Meyers said at the start of the show, which Nielsen estimates was watched by an estimated 19 million people. "For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."</p>
<p>But the Harvey Weinstein jabs mostly stopped there — the night wasn't about the men who have been brought down by accusations of sexual misconduct, and no one encapsulated that better than Winfrey, who brought the often chatty and distracted crowd in the ballroom to rapt silence and even tears with her barnburner speech accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement — the first black woman to do so. She weaved together her own personal narrative and memories of seeing Sidney Poitier win an Academy Award when she was a girl, with the story of Recy Taylor and the #MeToo movement into the most memorable, and moving moment of the evening.</p>
<p>"For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men," said Winfrey. "But their time is up. Their time is up!"</p>
<p>Even the night's two big winners, the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and the limited HBO series "Big Little Lies," were notably female-focused. One, "Three Billboards," about a mother avenging the rape and murder of her daughter, won best picture, drama, best actress, drama, for Frances McDormand, best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell and best screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The other, a tale of complex women and domestic abuse, "Big Little Lies," won four awards, including best limited series, best actress for Nicole Kidman and best supporting actress for Laura Dern.</p>
<p>Other winners continued the theme. Amazon's recently debuted "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," about a 1950s housewife who takes up stand-up comedy, won best TV series comedy, and best actress for Rachel Brosnahan. Elisabeth Moss, accepting an award for her performance in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," dedicated her award to Margaret Atwood, whose book the show is based on. "The Handmaid's Tale" later added the award for best TV drama series.</p>
<p>Greta Gerwig's mother-daughter tale "Lady Bird" won best picture, comedy or musical, and best actress honors for Saoirse Ronan.</p>
<p>"All of this makes it so much easier for the next crop of filmmakers who want to tell stories about women," Gerwig said backstage.</p>
<p>Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era fantasy "The Shape of Water" won for its score and del Toro's directing. The emotional Mexican-born filmmaker wiped back tears and managed to quiet the music that urged him offstage.</p>
<p>Notably left empty-handed were Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk," Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and Steven Spielberg's "The Post," starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The night did little to illuminate which direction the film academy will go with its nominations.</p>
<p>Best actor in a comedy or musical went to James Franco for his performance as the infamous "The Room" filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. Gary Oldman, considered by some to be the best actor front runner, won for his Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour," edging out newcomer Timothee Chalamet ("Call Me By Your Name") and Hanks.</p>
<p>Best foreign language film went to Germany's "In the Fade." Allison Janney took best supporting actress in a comedy for the Tonya Harding tale "I, Tonya." Aziz Ansari took best actor in a comedy series for his Netflix show "Master of None."</p>
<p>Best animated film went to the Pixar release "Coco." There was no mention of Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who is taking a "six-month sabbatical" after acknowledging "missteps" in his workplace behavior.</p>
<p>Even the quietest in Hollywood had something to say about the evening.</p>
<p>"I keep my politics private but it was really great to be in this room tonight and to be part of the tectonic shift in our industry's power structure," said McDormand, accepting her acting award.</p>
<p>The Golden Globes leaned in to the spirit of "Time's Up" wholeheartedly, and many found themselves unexpectedly moved by everyone's seriousness.</p>
<p>"A new day is on the horizon," Winfrey said. "And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say 'Me too' again."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton, Sandy Cohen and Jake Coyle contributed to his report from Beverly Hills and New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p>
<p>BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey gave a movement-defining speech. Natalie Portman threw shade at the all-male directing nominees — while presenting that award — and then Geena Davis did the same for the actors. Barbra Streisand scoffed at the bleak fact that she remains the only female director to win a Golden Globe — and that was 34 years ago. Some of the highest-profile actresses brought female activists as their dates. And nearly every soul wore black in support of the Time's Up movement and as a statement against sexual misconduct in Hollywood.</p>
<p>For once, everyone was listening to what the women of Hollywood had to say. And it all went down at — of all places — the Golden Globe Awards.</p>
<p>Yes, that boozy, questionable stepsister to the Academy Awards became the epicenter of a movement and the promise of a future where women are no longer content to be the industry's side show, the arm candy, the people sporting the barely there dresses to promote their barely there roles (and paychecks). From the red carpet to the winners table, men took a backseat.</p>
<p>"It's been a difficult year for our industry," Reese Witherspoon, one of the champions of the Time's Up initiative and the idea to wear black to the awards, said backstage with her "Big Little Lies" co-stars. "I think there was a collective feeling that it wouldn't be business as usual."</p>
<p>And indeed, the 75th Golden Globe Awards, held Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel wasn't business as usual. For one, it looked quite different from years past with attendees sporting all-black duds on the red carpet and speaking about issues that matter to them, to the unusually blunt skewering of an industry in flux by first-time host Seth Meyers.</p>
<p>"It's 2018 — marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't," Meyers said at the start of the show, which Nielsen estimates was watched by an estimated 19 million people. "For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."</p>
<p>But the Harvey Weinstein jabs mostly stopped there — the night wasn't about the men who have been brought down by accusations of sexual misconduct, and no one encapsulated that better than Winfrey, who brought the often chatty and distracted crowd in the ballroom to rapt silence and even tears with her barnburner speech accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement — the first black woman to do so. She weaved together her own personal narrative and memories of seeing Sidney Poitier win an Academy Award when she was a girl, with the story of Recy Taylor and the #MeToo movement into the most memorable, and moving moment of the evening.</p>
<p>"For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men," said Winfrey. "But their time is up. Their time is up!"</p>
<p>Even the night's two big winners, the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and the limited HBO series "Big Little Lies," were notably female-focused. One, "Three Billboards," about a mother avenging the rape and murder of her daughter, won best picture, drama, best actress, drama, for Frances McDormand, best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell and best screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The other, a tale of complex women and domestic abuse, "Big Little Lies," won four awards, including best limited series, best actress for Nicole Kidman and best supporting actress for Laura Dern.</p>
<p>Other winners continued the theme. Amazon's recently debuted "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," about a 1950s housewife who takes up stand-up comedy, won best TV series comedy, and best actress for Rachel Brosnahan. Elisabeth Moss, accepting an award for her performance in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," dedicated her award to Margaret Atwood, whose book the show is based on. "The Handmaid's Tale" later added the award for best TV drama series.</p>
<p>Greta Gerwig's mother-daughter tale "Lady Bird" won best picture, comedy or musical, and best actress honors for Saoirse Ronan.</p>
<p>"All of this makes it so much easier for the next crop of filmmakers who want to tell stories about women," Gerwig said backstage.</p>
<p>Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era fantasy "The Shape of Water" won for its score and del Toro's directing. The emotional Mexican-born filmmaker wiped back tears and managed to quiet the music that urged him offstage.</p>
<p>Notably left empty-handed were Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk," Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and Steven Spielberg's "The Post," starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The night did little to illuminate which direction the film academy will go with its nominations.</p>
<p>Best actor in a comedy or musical went to James Franco for his performance as the infamous "The Room" filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. Gary Oldman, considered by some to be the best actor front runner, won for his Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour," edging out newcomer Timothee Chalamet ("Call Me By Your Name") and Hanks.</p>
<p>Best foreign language film went to Germany's "In the Fade." Allison Janney took best supporting actress in a comedy for the Tonya Harding tale "I, Tonya." Aziz Ansari took best actor in a comedy series for his Netflix show "Master of None."</p>
<p>Best animated film went to the Pixar release "Coco." There was no mention of Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who is taking a "six-month sabbatical" after acknowledging "missteps" in his workplace behavior.</p>
<p>Even the quietest in Hollywood had something to say about the evening.</p>
<p>"I keep my politics private but it was really great to be in this room tonight and to be part of the tectonic shift in our industry's power structure," said McDormand, accepting her acting award.</p>
<p>The Golden Globes leaned in to the spirit of "Time's Up" wholeheartedly, and many found themselves unexpectedly moved by everyone's seriousness.</p>
<p>"A new day is on the horizon," Winfrey said. "And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say 'Me too' again."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton, Sandy Cohen and Jake Coyle contributed to his report from Beverly Hills and New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p> | 599,837 |
<p>close up, cat and dog together lying on the floorPhoto Credit: VP Photo Studio/Shutterstock</p>
<p>When images of the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China hit the internet in 2013, there was no closing the Pandora’s box. Shock, anger and outrage at the brutality inflicted on what most Westerners view as humans’ best friends spurred millions around the world to sign petitions, write letters and share widely on social media in desperate attempts to do something about the horror.</p>
<p>The photos were haunting. Dogs squeezed by the dozen into tiny cages, smashed together so tightly they could barely breath. Dogs and cats electrocuted, burned or boiled alive in the (mistaken) belief that torture enhances the meat. Rows of dog and cat corpses dangling from meat hooks in the streets of Yulin to entice festival-goers, who could later be seen toasting over their bowls of dog meat stew.</p>
<p />
<p>Korea dog farm (image: Last Chance for Animals)</p>
<p />
<p>Korea dog farm (image: Last Chance for Animals)</p>
<p />
<p>Dogs with collars on truck, photo by Guangyuan Bo'ai Animal Protection Center, June 2013 (Animals Asia/ <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/animalsasia/14256092878/in/photolist-nHLcJN-azWS6X-nY9XGN-6Rdrq6-oxyQZt-aDAiV9-aDAmmA-a1Jsi7-uJyjUo-eujAyb-cm2eSL-caps2y-8rEdTQ-6gVnFk-6w5pzn-capZLq-o19SgU-nHGTjZ-crosGQ-aau3mM-4RXvdA-gkA7cc-a1FDyV-aDwpRt-H2YYho-GnEQG1-6cGHvC-yH4q3z-77aBub-dWUQkA-AhTmyY-AQ74fB-GZCM8L-JkNgua-JhMmsC-69Rocp-HpKcEL-HmbJgr-zS67Yu-HVd1Xm-HLJp5J-Hpidiy-HphCd9-HsgVbF-GZCNuy-zrs5At-zLTsD2-HiJLmo-HpnmsS-Hph3d5" type="external">Flickr</a>)</p>
<p />
<p>Dog meat for sale in Yulin, China (image: Last Chance for Animals)</p>
<p><a href="//lcanimal.org/" type="external">Last Chance for Animals (LCA</a>) was among the first to expose the brutal suffering at Yulin and around the world, and is working to end the dog and cat meat industry. With a team of undercover investigators, we’ve documented numerous slaughterhouses and dog meat markets in China, the Philippines, South Korea and more, exposing cruelty unfathomable to many and often unbearable to watch. Thousands of animals die in Yulin each year, but it’s just the beginning. An estimated 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are slaughtered for meat annually in China alone, many of them stolen pets, still wearing their collars when they arrive at the slaughterhouse.</p>
<p>But as we Westerners so vehemently point the finger at Asia for their barbarism, it’s all too easy to ignore what’s happening in our homeland. For dog meat is still perfectly legal in most of the United States. In fact, just six states—Virginia,&#160;California,&#160;Hawaii,&#160;New York,&#160;Georgia, and&#160;Michigan—have outlawed dog and cat meat. In the other 44, there is no law standing between your family dog and the dinner plate.</p>
<p>Yes, people in the States do kill dogs and cats and eat them. The evidence is usually hidden, but the practice does go on, as multiple LCA investigations have revealed.</p>
<p>In a particularly disturbing case in Wisconsin in the ‘90s, LCA got a tip that a class B animal dealer—one licensed to sell “random source” animals that could come from virtually anywhere—was also a dog butcher. The dealer’s name was <a href="//www.lcanimal.org/index.php/investigations/investigations-in-the-field/class-b-dealer-investigations/ervin-stebane" type="external">Ervin Stebane</a>, and he would reportedly steal dogs from people’s yards, grab them from the streets or obtain them from well-meaning families who naively posted “free to good home” ads. Stebane would tie a dog tightly to a post, shoot it in the head, slit its throat and then, once the blood had drained, sell it to customers seeking fresh dog meat. He charged $25 to $75 a dog, depending on size.</p>
<p>LCA caught Stebane on hidden camera, leading to a conviction for “improperly killing animals.” He became the first B dealer to ever have his license revoked. But Stebane was never charged for selling dog meat. He couldn’t be, because there was no law against it.</p>
<p>However, things have changed since the explosive outcry over Asia’s dog and cat meat trade, and the U.S. government is finally taking action. On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, four House representatives (Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., Dave Trott, R-Mich. and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa)&#160;introduced <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1406" type="external">HR 1406</a>, the&#160;Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act of 2017, which would&#160;ban the slaughter and trade of dogs and cats for human consumption in the U.S. Those who violate the law could receive a fine of up to $2,500 and up to one year’s jail time.</p>
<p>Following a familiar pattern, the U.S. initiative started with a focus on Yulin. On May 25, 2016, Rep. Hastings introduced <a href="//alceehastings.house.gov/uploadedfiles/yulinresolution.pdf" type="external">H. Res. 752</a>, Condemning the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, and urging China to end the dog meat trade. The resolution was referred to the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific in September 2016, with no further action since.</p>
<p>Back in Asia, dog and cat meat is on the decline. While it was once illegal to own pets in China, now many people share their homes with companion animals, and cringe at the thought of seeing them slaughtered. The younger generations do not eat dog and cat meat; it’s reserved as a “special occasion” food that is quickly losing favor as the cruelty and health risks—like rabies infection—are revealed.</p>
<p>Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines have now banned dog butchering outright. Sadly, China and South Korea, two major dog meat markets, are doing little to stop this lucrative trade—only to shield it from public eyes. Dogs are no longer sold on the streets of Yulin at festival time. And South Korea’s largest dog meat market, Moran Market, no longer displays dogs in cages for customers to select. (Not coincidentally, Korea is gearing up for the heightened scrutiny that will come with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.) But the slaughter still happens behind closed doors, and is just as brutal as ever.</p>
<p>While the bipartisan HR 1406 is unlikely to meet much opposition—the pro-dog-meat lobby simply doesn’t exist in the U.S.—things are much more complicated in Asia, where farming or selling dogs and cats for meat is a livelihood for many. Dog meat traders protest prohibition just as loudly as activists denounce the cruelty. But they are on the wrong side of history. You can’t un-educate people who learn the true evil of this industry.</p>
<p>LCA encourages anyone who stands against the brutality to speak out. Please add your voice: sign the petitions at <a href="//stopdogmeat.com/" type="external">StopDogMeat.com</a> urging Chinese and Korean officials to finally outlaw the slaughter of dogs and cats.</p>
<p />
<p>Dogs crammed into a cage destined for the Yulin dog meat festival in Yulin, China. (image via: Change.org)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.change.org/p/yulin-dog-meat-festival-will-happen-again-on-june-21-2017-10-000-dogs-will-be-tortured-and-then-eaten-this-cruel-festival-started-in-2010-and-it-must-be-stopped" type="external">Tell Yulin City Governor Chen Wu to permanently shut down the Yulin Dog Meat Festival</a>.</p>
<p>Nina Jackel is campaigns director of <a href="http://www.lcanimal.org" type="external">Last Chance for Animals</a> (LCA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing and eliminating cruelty to animals.</p> | Selling Dog and Cat Meat Is Still Legal in Most of U.S.—but a Federal Ban Could Soon Be in Place | true | http://alternet.org/food/selling-dog-and-cat-meat-still-legal-most-us-federal-ban-could-soon-be-place | 2017-03-23 | 4left
| Selling Dog and Cat Meat Is Still Legal in Most of U.S.—but a Federal Ban Could Soon Be in Place
<p>close up, cat and dog together lying on the floorPhoto Credit: VP Photo Studio/Shutterstock</p>
<p>When images of the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China hit the internet in 2013, there was no closing the Pandora’s box. Shock, anger and outrage at the brutality inflicted on what most Westerners view as humans’ best friends spurred millions around the world to sign petitions, write letters and share widely on social media in desperate attempts to do something about the horror.</p>
<p>The photos were haunting. Dogs squeezed by the dozen into tiny cages, smashed together so tightly they could barely breath. Dogs and cats electrocuted, burned or boiled alive in the (mistaken) belief that torture enhances the meat. Rows of dog and cat corpses dangling from meat hooks in the streets of Yulin to entice festival-goers, who could later be seen toasting over their bowls of dog meat stew.</p>
<p />
<p>Korea dog farm (image: Last Chance for Animals)</p>
<p />
<p>Korea dog farm (image: Last Chance for Animals)</p>
<p />
<p>Dogs with collars on truck, photo by Guangyuan Bo'ai Animal Protection Center, June 2013 (Animals Asia/ <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/animalsasia/14256092878/in/photolist-nHLcJN-azWS6X-nY9XGN-6Rdrq6-oxyQZt-aDAiV9-aDAmmA-a1Jsi7-uJyjUo-eujAyb-cm2eSL-caps2y-8rEdTQ-6gVnFk-6w5pzn-capZLq-o19SgU-nHGTjZ-crosGQ-aau3mM-4RXvdA-gkA7cc-a1FDyV-aDwpRt-H2YYho-GnEQG1-6cGHvC-yH4q3z-77aBub-dWUQkA-AhTmyY-AQ74fB-GZCM8L-JkNgua-JhMmsC-69Rocp-HpKcEL-HmbJgr-zS67Yu-HVd1Xm-HLJp5J-Hpidiy-HphCd9-HsgVbF-GZCNuy-zrs5At-zLTsD2-HiJLmo-HpnmsS-Hph3d5" type="external">Flickr</a>)</p>
<p />
<p>Dog meat for sale in Yulin, China (image: Last Chance for Animals)</p>
<p><a href="//lcanimal.org/" type="external">Last Chance for Animals (LCA</a>) was among the first to expose the brutal suffering at Yulin and around the world, and is working to end the dog and cat meat industry. With a team of undercover investigators, we’ve documented numerous slaughterhouses and dog meat markets in China, the Philippines, South Korea and more, exposing cruelty unfathomable to many and often unbearable to watch. Thousands of animals die in Yulin each year, but it’s just the beginning. An estimated 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are slaughtered for meat annually in China alone, many of them stolen pets, still wearing their collars when they arrive at the slaughterhouse.</p>
<p>But as we Westerners so vehemently point the finger at Asia for their barbarism, it’s all too easy to ignore what’s happening in our homeland. For dog meat is still perfectly legal in most of the United States. In fact, just six states—Virginia,&#160;California,&#160;Hawaii,&#160;New York,&#160;Georgia, and&#160;Michigan—have outlawed dog and cat meat. In the other 44, there is no law standing between your family dog and the dinner plate.</p>
<p>Yes, people in the States do kill dogs and cats and eat them. The evidence is usually hidden, but the practice does go on, as multiple LCA investigations have revealed.</p>
<p>In a particularly disturbing case in Wisconsin in the ‘90s, LCA got a tip that a class B animal dealer—one licensed to sell “random source” animals that could come from virtually anywhere—was also a dog butcher. The dealer’s name was <a href="//www.lcanimal.org/index.php/investigations/investigations-in-the-field/class-b-dealer-investigations/ervin-stebane" type="external">Ervin Stebane</a>, and he would reportedly steal dogs from people’s yards, grab them from the streets or obtain them from well-meaning families who naively posted “free to good home” ads. Stebane would tie a dog tightly to a post, shoot it in the head, slit its throat and then, once the blood had drained, sell it to customers seeking fresh dog meat. He charged $25 to $75 a dog, depending on size.</p>
<p>LCA caught Stebane on hidden camera, leading to a conviction for “improperly killing animals.” He became the first B dealer to ever have his license revoked. But Stebane was never charged for selling dog meat. He couldn’t be, because there was no law against it.</p>
<p>However, things have changed since the explosive outcry over Asia’s dog and cat meat trade, and the U.S. government is finally taking action. On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, four House representatives (Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., Dave Trott, R-Mich. and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa)&#160;introduced <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1406" type="external">HR 1406</a>, the&#160;Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act of 2017, which would&#160;ban the slaughter and trade of dogs and cats for human consumption in the U.S. Those who violate the law could receive a fine of up to $2,500 and up to one year’s jail time.</p>
<p>Following a familiar pattern, the U.S. initiative started with a focus on Yulin. On May 25, 2016, Rep. Hastings introduced <a href="//alceehastings.house.gov/uploadedfiles/yulinresolution.pdf" type="external">H. Res. 752</a>, Condemning the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, and urging China to end the dog meat trade. The resolution was referred to the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific in September 2016, with no further action since.</p>
<p>Back in Asia, dog and cat meat is on the decline. While it was once illegal to own pets in China, now many people share their homes with companion animals, and cringe at the thought of seeing them slaughtered. The younger generations do not eat dog and cat meat; it’s reserved as a “special occasion” food that is quickly losing favor as the cruelty and health risks—like rabies infection—are revealed.</p>
<p>Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines have now banned dog butchering outright. Sadly, China and South Korea, two major dog meat markets, are doing little to stop this lucrative trade—only to shield it from public eyes. Dogs are no longer sold on the streets of Yulin at festival time. And South Korea’s largest dog meat market, Moran Market, no longer displays dogs in cages for customers to select. (Not coincidentally, Korea is gearing up for the heightened scrutiny that will come with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.) But the slaughter still happens behind closed doors, and is just as brutal as ever.</p>
<p>While the bipartisan HR 1406 is unlikely to meet much opposition—the pro-dog-meat lobby simply doesn’t exist in the U.S.—things are much more complicated in Asia, where farming or selling dogs and cats for meat is a livelihood for many. Dog meat traders protest prohibition just as loudly as activists denounce the cruelty. But they are on the wrong side of history. You can’t un-educate people who learn the true evil of this industry.</p>
<p>LCA encourages anyone who stands against the brutality to speak out. Please add your voice: sign the petitions at <a href="//stopdogmeat.com/" type="external">StopDogMeat.com</a> urging Chinese and Korean officials to finally outlaw the slaughter of dogs and cats.</p>
<p />
<p>Dogs crammed into a cage destined for the Yulin dog meat festival in Yulin, China. (image via: Change.org)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.change.org/p/yulin-dog-meat-festival-will-happen-again-on-june-21-2017-10-000-dogs-will-be-tortured-and-then-eaten-this-cruel-festival-started-in-2010-and-it-must-be-stopped" type="external">Tell Yulin City Governor Chen Wu to permanently shut down the Yulin Dog Meat Festival</a>.</p>
<p>Nina Jackel is campaigns director of <a href="http://www.lcanimal.org" type="external">Last Chance for Animals</a> (LCA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing and eliminating cruelty to animals.</p> | 599,838 |
<p />
<p>Ever since the housing market bottomed out, real estate has become a great investment. Naturally, income properties should be approached with caution and only by those with decent credit and deep pockets. All-cash deals are easiest to close since banks are too shell-shocked to deal with iffy credit risks.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Care should also be taken when selecting properties; <a href="" type="internal">foreclosures</a> and short sales provide wonderful opportunities, but naïve investors could be bitten on the rump if they don’t know the ins and outs of these transactions.</p>
<p>“Short sales are a lot safer than foreclosures because there are a lot of lawsuits flying around about illegal foreclosures. You may pay for the house but it will turn out you don’t own it after all. And all your money is gone,” says Bodhi Kraus a broker with Priority Lending in Santa Rosa, Calif.</p>
<p>“Banks at first would allow only four financed properties,” Bodhi continues. “Six months ago they extended the number to 10. But if you are an investor with four financed houses, you cannot finance an owner occupied house.</p>
<p>“Gone are the days of 100% financing. Most bankers charge three points with only 20% down and only 1.5 points if you put down 25%.Credit scores must be in the range of 680 plus and interest rates on investment properties run in the high 4s and low 5s,” Kraus states.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>All that said; let’s talk about some of the common misconceptions about what is deductible when you purchase, own, and operate a rental property.</p>
<p>1.You are allowed to write off the down payment. Wrong! This expense is part of the basis of the property and is not deductible on your tax return. You still get the write off, albeit indirectly, via depreciation. Here’s how that works: you buy a property for $100,000. You put down $20,000 and pay $5,000 in closing costs. Your basis in the property is $105,000. After deducting the value of the land, you write off the remainder over 27.5 years for residential property and 39 years for commercial property.</p>
<p>2. Closing costs are deductible. No, they are not. They are added to the basis of the property and are deducted via depreciation over the useful life of the property as described in example 1 above. But take a close look at the closing costs. There may be some expenses listed there that you paid for, e.g. insurance and property taxes which are currently deductible. Always give closing papers to your tax pro, whether it’s for a purchase, refinance, or sale of a rental property or your own personal residence.</p>
<p>3. Points are deductible. Points are only deductible in the year of purchase for your personal residence. For a rental property, points may be deducted ratably over the period of the loan.</p>
<p>4. When you sell an income property, your mortgage balance is deducted from the selling price to determine your taxable gain or loss. No, no, no! Your mortgage balance is not a factor in the equation. The IRS couldn’t care less if you financed or paid cash for a property. The basic formula is: selling price less selling costs and your basis in the property. If you sold the $105,000 rental property purchased in example 1 for $205,000 and paid out $19,000 in closing costs and sales commissions plus $1,000 for a roof repair, your taxable gain would be $80,000 - $205,000 – ($19,000+$1,000).</p>
<p>5. Income received from rentals owned in foreign countries is not taxable. Check with Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) on this one. He was confused about the taxability of rents received on his villa in the Dominican Republic. Why was he confused? “Because,” he says, “I don’t speak Spanish.” This was one of the reasons he was censured by Congress. Don’t get yourself censured. It’s taxable income, OK?</p>
<p><a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">Bonnie Lee Opens a New Window.</a> is an Enrolled Agent admitted to practice and representing taxpayers in all fifty states at all levels within the Internal Revenue Service. She is the owner of Taxpertise in Sonoma, CA and the author of Entrepreneur Press book, “Taxpertise, The Complete Book of Dirty Little Secrets and Hidden Deductions for Small Business that the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know,” available at all major booksellers. Follow Bonnie Lee on Twitter at BLTaxpertise and at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/taxpertise.bonnielee." type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a>.&#160;</p> | Real Estate as an Investment: What it Means for Your Taxes | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2010/12/30/real-estate-investment-means-taxes.html | 2016-03-17 | 0right
| Real Estate as an Investment: What it Means for Your Taxes
<p />
<p>Ever since the housing market bottomed out, real estate has become a great investment. Naturally, income properties should be approached with caution and only by those with decent credit and deep pockets. All-cash deals are easiest to close since banks are too shell-shocked to deal with iffy credit risks.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Care should also be taken when selecting properties; <a href="" type="internal">foreclosures</a> and short sales provide wonderful opportunities, but naïve investors could be bitten on the rump if they don’t know the ins and outs of these transactions.</p>
<p>“Short sales are a lot safer than foreclosures because there are a lot of lawsuits flying around about illegal foreclosures. You may pay for the house but it will turn out you don’t own it after all. And all your money is gone,” says Bodhi Kraus a broker with Priority Lending in Santa Rosa, Calif.</p>
<p>“Banks at first would allow only four financed properties,” Bodhi continues. “Six months ago they extended the number to 10. But if you are an investor with four financed houses, you cannot finance an owner occupied house.</p>
<p>“Gone are the days of 100% financing. Most bankers charge three points with only 20% down and only 1.5 points if you put down 25%.Credit scores must be in the range of 680 plus and interest rates on investment properties run in the high 4s and low 5s,” Kraus states.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>All that said; let’s talk about some of the common misconceptions about what is deductible when you purchase, own, and operate a rental property.</p>
<p>1.You are allowed to write off the down payment. Wrong! This expense is part of the basis of the property and is not deductible on your tax return. You still get the write off, albeit indirectly, via depreciation. Here’s how that works: you buy a property for $100,000. You put down $20,000 and pay $5,000 in closing costs. Your basis in the property is $105,000. After deducting the value of the land, you write off the remainder over 27.5 years for residential property and 39 years for commercial property.</p>
<p>2. Closing costs are deductible. No, they are not. They are added to the basis of the property and are deducted via depreciation over the useful life of the property as described in example 1 above. But take a close look at the closing costs. There may be some expenses listed there that you paid for, e.g. insurance and property taxes which are currently deductible. Always give closing papers to your tax pro, whether it’s for a purchase, refinance, or sale of a rental property or your own personal residence.</p>
<p>3. Points are deductible. Points are only deductible in the year of purchase for your personal residence. For a rental property, points may be deducted ratably over the period of the loan.</p>
<p>4. When you sell an income property, your mortgage balance is deducted from the selling price to determine your taxable gain or loss. No, no, no! Your mortgage balance is not a factor in the equation. The IRS couldn’t care less if you financed or paid cash for a property. The basic formula is: selling price less selling costs and your basis in the property. If you sold the $105,000 rental property purchased in example 1 for $205,000 and paid out $19,000 in closing costs and sales commissions plus $1,000 for a roof repair, your taxable gain would be $80,000 - $205,000 – ($19,000+$1,000).</p>
<p>5. Income received from rentals owned in foreign countries is not taxable. Check with Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) on this one. He was confused about the taxability of rents received on his villa in the Dominican Republic. Why was he confused? “Because,” he says, “I don’t speak Spanish.” This was one of the reasons he was censured by Congress. Don’t get yourself censured. It’s taxable income, OK?</p>
<p><a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">Bonnie Lee Opens a New Window.</a> is an Enrolled Agent admitted to practice and representing taxpayers in all fifty states at all levels within the Internal Revenue Service. She is the owner of Taxpertise in Sonoma, CA and the author of Entrepreneur Press book, “Taxpertise, The Complete Book of Dirty Little Secrets and Hidden Deductions for Small Business that the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know,” available at all major booksellers. Follow Bonnie Lee on Twitter at BLTaxpertise and at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/taxpertise.bonnielee." type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a>.&#160;</p> | 599,839 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Some of the incoming president’s most important Cabinet choices are at odds with him on matters that were dear to his heart as a campaigner and central to his promises to supporters.</p>
<p>Trump says he doesn’t mind the disconnect. He wants his Cabinet members to be themselves, “say what you want to say,” he told reporters Friday in New York. “I may be right, they may be right.”</p>
<p>But despite that breezy dismissal, the differences laid bare in a week of confirmation hearings raise questions about whether Trump will roll over his Cabinet on immigration, Russia, national security and more, bend to his top advisers’ stated convictions or watch them backtrack from pronouncements that may be helping them win Senate approval.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It’s a team of rivals, with this twist: The mercurial Trump can be a rival to himself.</p>
<p>He proposed, then appeared to move away from, a plan to freeze the entry of Muslims into the U.S. His similarly provocative call for a big border wall with Mexico has gone through several incarnations. His crowd-rousing vow to prosecute Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton melted into a tribute to her public service when she conceded the election. On Friday, he tweeted anew she was “guilty as hell.”</p>
<p>Trump’s team isn’t nearly as inflammatory or unorthodox. Several are more traditional Republicans who toed the line on established GOP positions, even when they contradicted the boss.</p>
<p>The result is Trump is assembling a potentially discordant amen chorus at the dawn of his presidency.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>RUSSIAN HACKING</p>
<p>Trump’s nominees to run the CIA, State Department and Justice Department gave credence to U.S. intelligence assessments on Russian hacking that the president-elect ridiculed for weeks before he grudgingly accepted it Wednesday.</p>
<p>Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo, nominated as CIA director, said the report concluding that Russia interfered in the U.S. election trying to help Trump win was “an analytical product that is sound.” Rex Tillerson, nominated as secretary of state, told senators it’s a “fair assumption” the hacking couldn’t have happened without Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, chosen for attorney general, said “I have no reason to doubt” the report’s conclusions.</p>
<p>Trump has declared the focus on Russia and the election a “political witch hunt,” while acknowledging this week that Russia was probably behind the hacking of Democrats during the campaign.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>RUSSIA and NATO</p>
<p>Trump’s national security and diplomatic leaders have voiced sharp skepticism about the prospects for a warmer relationship with Moscow despite Trump’s praise of Putin.</p>
<p>“Russia is raising grave concerns on several fronts,” retired Gen. James Mattis, chosen to run the Pentagon, told senators. “I have very modest expectations for areas of cooperation with Mr. Putin,” who he said is “trying to break the North Atlantic alliance.”</p>
<p>Tillerson expressed unqualified support for NATO’s “inviolable” Article 5, which requires the allies to come to the defense of any member that is invaded. This, after Trump in the campaign suggested the U.S. might not defend its NATO allies if they came under attack if some did not contribute more money to the alliance.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>MUSLIMS</p>
<p>In the campaign, Trump proposed a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S. and at one point suggested requiring Muslims already in the country to register. The proposals then evolved into one that would halt immigration from countries linked to terrorism, though Trump never explicitly took a Muslim ban off the table, nor renounced the registry advocated by some who supported him.</p>
<p>Tillerson told senators: “I do not support a blanket-type rejection of any particular group of people.”</p>
<p>Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, nominated to lead the Homeland Security Department, also weighed in: “I don’t agree with registering people based on ethnic or religion or anything like that.” Nor should religion be a basis for criminal or counter terrorism investigations, he said.</p>
<p>Sessions also repudiated “the idea that Muslims, as a religious group, should be denied admission to the United States.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>IMMIGRATION</p>
<p>Tillerson dissociated himself from Trump’s inflammatory description of Mexicans crossing illegally into the U.S. as criminals and rapists. He contended he would “never characterize an entire population with any single term at all.” Mexico is a “long-standing friend and neighbor of this country,” he added, offering a diplomatic bow to a country that Trump says has been taking advantage of weak U.S. leadership.</p>
<p>For his part, Kelly stated that a border wall alone cannot be a cure-all for illegal crossings. “There has to be really a layered defense,” Kelly said. “If you are to build a wall from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, you’d still have to back that wall up with patrolling by human beings, by sensors, by observation devices.” Although he’s held out the wall as a “beautiful” solution to a porous border, Trump also has called for beefing up patrols.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TORTURE</p>
<p>“Torture works,” Trump said in the campaign. “Only a stupid person would say it doesn’t work.”</p>
<p>Torture doesn’t work, Mattis told him after the election.</p>
<p>Trump pronounced himself “surprised” and “impressed” by that assertion and suggested he would rethink his repeated vow to reinstate waterboarding and “worse” in interrogations of terror suspects. He said Matthis told him beer and cigarettes are more effective at getting people to talk.</p>
<p>In the confirmation hearings, Session said current law “absolutely” bans waterboarding and other torture techniques, despite his own past support for such practices.</p>
<p>Pompeo said that if Trump ordered the CIA to use waterboarding, he would “absolutely not” go along.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>IRAN</p>
<p>Trump railed against the “disastrous” Iran nuclear deal in the campaign and promised to dismantle it. The multinational deal lifts sanctions against Iran in return for the suspension of its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Trump’s nominees gave a more measured response when asked about ripping up the agreement.</p>
<p>Mattis called it “an imperfect” pact but said, “When America gives her word, we have to live up to it.” Tillerson merely said he would support a review.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Alicia A. Caldwell, Bradley Klapper, Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.</p> | Trump’s team of rivals: Discordant notes in the amen chorus | false | https://abqjournal.com/927493/trumps-team-of-rivals-discordant-notes-in-the-amen-chorus.html | 2017-01-13 | 2least
| Trump’s team of rivals: Discordant notes in the amen chorus
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Some of the incoming president’s most important Cabinet choices are at odds with him on matters that were dear to his heart as a campaigner and central to his promises to supporters.</p>
<p>Trump says he doesn’t mind the disconnect. He wants his Cabinet members to be themselves, “say what you want to say,” he told reporters Friday in New York. “I may be right, they may be right.”</p>
<p>But despite that breezy dismissal, the differences laid bare in a week of confirmation hearings raise questions about whether Trump will roll over his Cabinet on immigration, Russia, national security and more, bend to his top advisers’ stated convictions or watch them backtrack from pronouncements that may be helping them win Senate approval.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It’s a team of rivals, with this twist: The mercurial Trump can be a rival to himself.</p>
<p>He proposed, then appeared to move away from, a plan to freeze the entry of Muslims into the U.S. His similarly provocative call for a big border wall with Mexico has gone through several incarnations. His crowd-rousing vow to prosecute Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton melted into a tribute to her public service when she conceded the election. On Friday, he tweeted anew she was “guilty as hell.”</p>
<p>Trump’s team isn’t nearly as inflammatory or unorthodox. Several are more traditional Republicans who toed the line on established GOP positions, even when they contradicted the boss.</p>
<p>The result is Trump is assembling a potentially discordant amen chorus at the dawn of his presidency.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>RUSSIAN HACKING</p>
<p>Trump’s nominees to run the CIA, State Department and Justice Department gave credence to U.S. intelligence assessments on Russian hacking that the president-elect ridiculed for weeks before he grudgingly accepted it Wednesday.</p>
<p>Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo, nominated as CIA director, said the report concluding that Russia interfered in the U.S. election trying to help Trump win was “an analytical product that is sound.” Rex Tillerson, nominated as secretary of state, told senators it’s a “fair assumption” the hacking couldn’t have happened without Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, chosen for attorney general, said “I have no reason to doubt” the report’s conclusions.</p>
<p>Trump has declared the focus on Russia and the election a “political witch hunt,” while acknowledging this week that Russia was probably behind the hacking of Democrats during the campaign.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>RUSSIA and NATO</p>
<p>Trump’s national security and diplomatic leaders have voiced sharp skepticism about the prospects for a warmer relationship with Moscow despite Trump’s praise of Putin.</p>
<p>“Russia is raising grave concerns on several fronts,” retired Gen. James Mattis, chosen to run the Pentagon, told senators. “I have very modest expectations for areas of cooperation with Mr. Putin,” who he said is “trying to break the North Atlantic alliance.”</p>
<p>Tillerson expressed unqualified support for NATO’s “inviolable” Article 5, which requires the allies to come to the defense of any member that is invaded. This, after Trump in the campaign suggested the U.S. might not defend its NATO allies if they came under attack if some did not contribute more money to the alliance.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>MUSLIMS</p>
<p>In the campaign, Trump proposed a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S. and at one point suggested requiring Muslims already in the country to register. The proposals then evolved into one that would halt immigration from countries linked to terrorism, though Trump never explicitly took a Muslim ban off the table, nor renounced the registry advocated by some who supported him.</p>
<p>Tillerson told senators: “I do not support a blanket-type rejection of any particular group of people.”</p>
<p>Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, nominated to lead the Homeland Security Department, also weighed in: “I don’t agree with registering people based on ethnic or religion or anything like that.” Nor should religion be a basis for criminal or counter terrorism investigations, he said.</p>
<p>Sessions also repudiated “the idea that Muslims, as a religious group, should be denied admission to the United States.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>IMMIGRATION</p>
<p>Tillerson dissociated himself from Trump’s inflammatory description of Mexicans crossing illegally into the U.S. as criminals and rapists. He contended he would “never characterize an entire population with any single term at all.” Mexico is a “long-standing friend and neighbor of this country,” he added, offering a diplomatic bow to a country that Trump says has been taking advantage of weak U.S. leadership.</p>
<p>For his part, Kelly stated that a border wall alone cannot be a cure-all for illegal crossings. “There has to be really a layered defense,” Kelly said. “If you are to build a wall from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, you’d still have to back that wall up with patrolling by human beings, by sensors, by observation devices.” Although he’s held out the wall as a “beautiful” solution to a porous border, Trump also has called for beefing up patrols.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TORTURE</p>
<p>“Torture works,” Trump said in the campaign. “Only a stupid person would say it doesn’t work.”</p>
<p>Torture doesn’t work, Mattis told him after the election.</p>
<p>Trump pronounced himself “surprised” and “impressed” by that assertion and suggested he would rethink his repeated vow to reinstate waterboarding and “worse” in interrogations of terror suspects. He said Matthis told him beer and cigarettes are more effective at getting people to talk.</p>
<p>In the confirmation hearings, Session said current law “absolutely” bans waterboarding and other torture techniques, despite his own past support for such practices.</p>
<p>Pompeo said that if Trump ordered the CIA to use waterboarding, he would “absolutely not” go along.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>IRAN</p>
<p>Trump railed against the “disastrous” Iran nuclear deal in the campaign and promised to dismantle it. The multinational deal lifts sanctions against Iran in return for the suspension of its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Trump’s nominees gave a more measured response when asked about ripping up the agreement.</p>
<p>Mattis called it “an imperfect” pact but said, “When America gives her word, we have to live up to it.” Tillerson merely said he would support a review.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Alicia A. Caldwell, Bradley Klapper, Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.</p> | 599,840 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A fast-growing Albuquerque pizza chain is preparing to fire up another location.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisepiespizza.com/index.php" type="external">WisePies Pizza &amp; Salad</a> — still less than a year old — plans to open store No. 4 this fall in Nob Hill. The design-it-yourself pizzeria will open next door to the new Bosque Brewing location at Central and Girard.</p>
<p>The Nob Hill store should open by the end of November, according to Season Elliott, a marketing consultant for the company.</p>
<p>It is the company’s first franchised WisePies, though others are in the works, Elliott said.</p>
<p>WisePies plans to have 17 stores around the southwest by the end of 2015, according to a news release.</p>
<p>WisePies — owned by Mike and Kim Baird of Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse and partner Steven B. Chavez — debuted last January at 4545 Alameda NE and has since opened additional locations near Coors and Montaño and in Rio Rancho.</p>
<p>To celebrate its rapid rise, WisePies is holding a three-week “pizza party” from Sept. 22-Oct. 12 at all three locations. The stores will trim pizza and salad prices by $1 throughout the extended event. During the span, each location will also host special parties each Sunday at noon with music and other goodies.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | WisePies heading to Nob Hill | false | https://abqjournal.com/462714/wisepies-heading-to-nob-hill.html | 2least
| WisePies heading to Nob Hill
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A fast-growing Albuquerque pizza chain is preparing to fire up another location.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisepiespizza.com/index.php" type="external">WisePies Pizza &amp; Salad</a> — still less than a year old — plans to open store No. 4 this fall in Nob Hill. The design-it-yourself pizzeria will open next door to the new Bosque Brewing location at Central and Girard.</p>
<p>The Nob Hill store should open by the end of November, according to Season Elliott, a marketing consultant for the company.</p>
<p>It is the company’s first franchised WisePies, though others are in the works, Elliott said.</p>
<p>WisePies plans to have 17 stores around the southwest by the end of 2015, according to a news release.</p>
<p>WisePies — owned by Mike and Kim Baird of Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse and partner Steven B. Chavez — debuted last January at 4545 Alameda NE and has since opened additional locations near Coors and Montaño and in Rio Rancho.</p>
<p>To celebrate its rapid rise, WisePies is holding a three-week “pizza party” from Sept. 22-Oct. 12 at all three locations. The stores will trim pizza and salad prices by $1 throughout the extended event. During the span, each location will also host special parties each Sunday at noon with music and other goodies.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,841 |
|
<p>Ginger Minj (Photo courtesy Murray &amp; Peter)</p>
<p>Murray &amp; Peter present “HatersRoast: The Shady Tour,” featuring “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumni, at the Warner Theatre (513 13th St., N.W.) on Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m.</p>
<p>Bob the Drag Queen, Ginger Minj, Phi Phi O’Hara, Darienne Lake, Alaska, Kim Chi, Jinkx Monsoon and Acid Betty will make appearances. The queens will roast each other in this evening of unscripted comedy. Tickets range from $20-50.</p>
<p>For more information, visit <a href="http://dragfans.com/" type="external">dragfans.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Acid Betty</a> <a href="" type="internal">Alaska</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bob the Drag Queen</a> <a href="" type="internal">Darienne Lake</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ginger Minj</a> <a href="" type="internal">HatersRoast: The Shady Tour</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jinkx Monsoon</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kim Chi</a> <a href="" type="internal">Murray &amp; Peter</a> <a href="" type="internal">Phi Phi O'Hara</a> <a href="" type="internal">RuPaul's Drag Race</a> <a href="" type="internal">Warner Theatre</a></p> | ‘Drag Race’ alums reunite for ‘Shady Tour’ | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/03/22/drag-race-alums-reunite-shady-tour/ | 3left-center
| ‘Drag Race’ alums reunite for ‘Shady Tour’
<p>Ginger Minj (Photo courtesy Murray &amp; Peter)</p>
<p>Murray &amp; Peter present “HatersRoast: The Shady Tour,” featuring “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumni, at the Warner Theatre (513 13th St., N.W.) on Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m.</p>
<p>Bob the Drag Queen, Ginger Minj, Phi Phi O’Hara, Darienne Lake, Alaska, Kim Chi, Jinkx Monsoon and Acid Betty will make appearances. The queens will roast each other in this evening of unscripted comedy. Tickets range from $20-50.</p>
<p>For more information, visit <a href="http://dragfans.com/" type="external">dragfans.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Acid Betty</a> <a href="" type="internal">Alaska</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bob the Drag Queen</a> <a href="" type="internal">Darienne Lake</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ginger Minj</a> <a href="" type="internal">HatersRoast: The Shady Tour</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jinkx Monsoon</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kim Chi</a> <a href="" type="internal">Murray &amp; Peter</a> <a href="" type="internal">Phi Phi O'Hara</a> <a href="" type="internal">RuPaul's Drag Race</a> <a href="" type="internal">Warner Theatre</a></p> | 599,842 |
|
<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) _ These California lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Daily 3 Evening</p>
<p>4-4-4</p>
<p>(four, four, four)</p>
<p>Daily 3 Midday</p>
<p>0-3-9</p>
<p>(zero, three, nine)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>6-0-2-2</p>
<p>(six, zero, two, two)</p>
<p>Daily Derby</p>
<p>1st:2 Lucky Star-2nd:7 Eureka-3rd:5 California Classic, Race Time: 1:49.79</p>
<p>(1st: 2 Lucky Star, 2nd: 7 Eureka, 3rd: 5 California Classic; Race Time: one: 49.79)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $137,000</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>02-05-07-21-26</p>
<p>(two, five, seven, twenty-one, twenty-six)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $79,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>02-06-30-31-55, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(two, six, thirty, thirty-one, fifty-five; Mega Ball: seven; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $63 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $92 million</p>
<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) _ These California lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Daily 3 Evening</p>
<p>4-4-4</p>
<p>(four, four, four)</p>
<p>Daily 3 Midday</p>
<p>0-3-9</p>
<p>(zero, three, nine)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>6-0-2-2</p>
<p>(six, zero, two, two)</p>
<p>Daily Derby</p>
<p>1st:2 Lucky Star-2nd:7 Eureka-3rd:5 California Classic, Race Time: 1:49.79</p>
<p>(1st: 2 Lucky Star, 2nd: 7 Eureka, 3rd: 5 California Classic; Race Time: one: 49.79)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $137,000</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>02-05-07-21-26</p>
<p>(two, five, seven, twenty-one, twenty-six)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $79,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>02-06-30-31-55, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(two, six, thirty, thirty-one, fifty-five; Mega Ball: seven; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $63 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $92 million</p> | CA Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/amp/282af47c354f42678ecc873b23221c9d | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| CA Lottery
<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) _ These California lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Daily 3 Evening</p>
<p>4-4-4</p>
<p>(four, four, four)</p>
<p>Daily 3 Midday</p>
<p>0-3-9</p>
<p>(zero, three, nine)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>6-0-2-2</p>
<p>(six, zero, two, two)</p>
<p>Daily Derby</p>
<p>1st:2 Lucky Star-2nd:7 Eureka-3rd:5 California Classic, Race Time: 1:49.79</p>
<p>(1st: 2 Lucky Star, 2nd: 7 Eureka, 3rd: 5 California Classic; Race Time: one: 49.79)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $137,000</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>02-05-07-21-26</p>
<p>(two, five, seven, twenty-one, twenty-six)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $79,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>02-06-30-31-55, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(two, six, thirty, thirty-one, fifty-five; Mega Ball: seven; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $63 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $92 million</p>
<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) _ These California lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Daily 3 Evening</p>
<p>4-4-4</p>
<p>(four, four, four)</p>
<p>Daily 3 Midday</p>
<p>0-3-9</p>
<p>(zero, three, nine)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>6-0-2-2</p>
<p>(six, zero, two, two)</p>
<p>Daily Derby</p>
<p>1st:2 Lucky Star-2nd:7 Eureka-3rd:5 California Classic, Race Time: 1:49.79</p>
<p>(1st: 2 Lucky Star, 2nd: 7 Eureka, 3rd: 5 California Classic; Race Time: one: 49.79)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $137,000</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>02-05-07-21-26</p>
<p>(two, five, seven, twenty-one, twenty-six)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $79,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>02-06-30-31-55, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(two, six, thirty, thirty-one, fifty-five; Mega Ball: seven; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $63 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $92 million</p> | 599,843 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/GANGBUST.jpg" type="external" />Cops took down more than 100 Harlem-based gangbangers, from at least three rival crews, on Wednesday in one of the largest one-day sweeps in city history, police sources said. More than 400 NYPD cops flooded the neighboring Manhattanville and Grant Houses, near Amsterdam Avenue and West 125th Street, around [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://nypost.com/2014/06/04/rival-gangs-arrested-in-one-of-nycs-largest-take-downs/" type="external">Click here to view original web page at nypost.com</a></p>
<p /> | NYC Goes Gangbusters! One of the Largest Gang Takedowns in City History | true | http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/rival-gangs-arrested-in-one-of-nycs-largest-takedowns/ | 0right
| NYC Goes Gangbusters! One of the Largest Gang Takedowns in City History
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/GANGBUST.jpg" type="external" />Cops took down more than 100 Harlem-based gangbangers, from at least three rival crews, on Wednesday in one of the largest one-day sweeps in city history, police sources said. More than 400 NYPD cops flooded the neighboring Manhattanville and Grant Houses, near Amsterdam Avenue and West 125th Street, around [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://nypost.com/2014/06/04/rival-gangs-arrested-in-one-of-nycs-largest-take-downs/" type="external">Click here to view original web page at nypost.com</a></p>
<p /> | 599,844 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The speech, which was probably written for him because “deep” and “thinker” are likely not the first two words that spring to mind when you hear the name Trump, set out an agenda for what he promises to do should he be elected president.</p>
<p>Trump’s promises were divided into three sections. The first action, he said, would “clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, D.C.”</p>
<p>He’d start by proposing a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms. One can safely predict that isn’t going to happen because in order for a constitutional amendment to be considered for ratification by the states, it must first pass Congress. Most members are not about to limit their own power and position.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump would impose a hiring freeze on all federal employees, reducing the workforce through attrition. The military, public safety and public health would be the exceptions. That’s possible.</p>
<p>For every new federal regulation, Trump would ask that two existing federal regulations be eliminated. That might work if Trump could persuade Congress that the regulations he wishes to eliminate were in fact failures.</p>
<p>Trump wants to institute a five-year ban on White House and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service and also proposes a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.</p>
<p>He also favors a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections. These proposals also might work, but will require public pressure on Congress to achieve.</p>
<p>Trump also proposed “seven actions to protect American workers.”</p>
<p>These include his familiar promise to renegotiate NAFTA, or withdraw from it. As for the Trans Pacific Partnership, he would pull out completely with no renegotiation.</p>
<p>China would be declared a currency manipulator, which it is, but has Trump considered the response from Beijing, which holds an enormous amount of American debt?</p>
<p>Trump wants to list restrictions on energy producing entities and finish the Keystone pipeline, which has been blocked by the Obama administration, despite numerous studies showing there would be little or no environmental impact.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump would also cancel billions in payments to U.S. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure. Good. Polls show climate change is not high on the list of public concerns, and many believe the “science” to be manipulated, even bogus.</p>
<p>On national security, Trump promised to “cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.” Why not? Obama did the same with many of George W. Bush’s executive orders.</p>
<p>Trump again promised to name judges to federal benches, including the Supreme Court, “who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.”</p>
<p>He would cancel all funding to sanctuary cities where illegal aliens are being sheltered. And Trump would capture and deport illegal aliens who commit crimes and cancel the visas of countries that refuse to take them back. That would be popular and difficult for Democrats to oppose. He again pledged “extreme vetting” of people from countries where terrorism is a major export.</p>
<p>There’s more, including tax cuts for corporations to create jobs and bring back companies and their tax dollars from overseas, as well as school choice to help especially poor children escape failing schools.</p>
<p>Like them, or not, these are substantive ideas. Is it too late for voters to digest them and possibly for those undecided, or against Trump, to swing toward him and away from the big government promises of Hillary Clinton? We’ll know in less than two weeks.</p>
<p>Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p /> | Is anyone listening to Trump’s substantive ideas? | false | https://abqjournal.com/876880/anyone-listening-to-trumps-substantive-ideas.html | 2least
| Is anyone listening to Trump’s substantive ideas?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The speech, which was probably written for him because “deep” and “thinker” are likely not the first two words that spring to mind when you hear the name Trump, set out an agenda for what he promises to do should he be elected president.</p>
<p>Trump’s promises were divided into three sections. The first action, he said, would “clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, D.C.”</p>
<p>He’d start by proposing a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms. One can safely predict that isn’t going to happen because in order for a constitutional amendment to be considered for ratification by the states, it must first pass Congress. Most members are not about to limit their own power and position.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump would impose a hiring freeze on all federal employees, reducing the workforce through attrition. The military, public safety and public health would be the exceptions. That’s possible.</p>
<p>For every new federal regulation, Trump would ask that two existing federal regulations be eliminated. That might work if Trump could persuade Congress that the regulations he wishes to eliminate were in fact failures.</p>
<p>Trump wants to institute a five-year ban on White House and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service and also proposes a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.</p>
<p>He also favors a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections. These proposals also might work, but will require public pressure on Congress to achieve.</p>
<p>Trump also proposed “seven actions to protect American workers.”</p>
<p>These include his familiar promise to renegotiate NAFTA, or withdraw from it. As for the Trans Pacific Partnership, he would pull out completely with no renegotiation.</p>
<p>China would be declared a currency manipulator, which it is, but has Trump considered the response from Beijing, which holds an enormous amount of American debt?</p>
<p>Trump wants to list restrictions on energy producing entities and finish the Keystone pipeline, which has been blocked by the Obama administration, despite numerous studies showing there would be little or no environmental impact.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump would also cancel billions in payments to U.S. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure. Good. Polls show climate change is not high on the list of public concerns, and many believe the “science” to be manipulated, even bogus.</p>
<p>On national security, Trump promised to “cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.” Why not? Obama did the same with many of George W. Bush’s executive orders.</p>
<p>Trump again promised to name judges to federal benches, including the Supreme Court, “who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.”</p>
<p>He would cancel all funding to sanctuary cities where illegal aliens are being sheltered. And Trump would capture and deport illegal aliens who commit crimes and cancel the visas of countries that refuse to take them back. That would be popular and difficult for Democrats to oppose. He again pledged “extreme vetting” of people from countries where terrorism is a major export.</p>
<p>There’s more, including tax cuts for corporations to create jobs and bring back companies and their tax dollars from overseas, as well as school choice to help especially poor children escape failing schools.</p>
<p>Like them, or not, these are substantive ideas. Is it too late for voters to digest them and possibly for those undecided, or against Trump, to swing toward him and away from the big government promises of Hillary Clinton? We’ll know in less than two weeks.</p>
<p>Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p /> | 599,845 |
|
<p>China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) Monday said its first-half net profit soared from a year earlier, partly due to fair-value gain of investment properties and higher property sales.</p>
<p>The Hong Kong-listed developer said its net profit for the six months ended June 30 surged to 18.83 billion yuan (US$2.83 billion) from CNY2.02 billion a year earlier, while its first-half revenue more than doubled to CNY187.98 billion from CNY87.50 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company didn't declare an interim dividend.</p>
<p>Write to Chester Yung at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 28, 2017 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT)</p> | China Evergrande First-Half Net Profit Surges | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/28/china-evergrande-first-half-net-profit-surges.html | 2017-08-28 | 0right
| China Evergrande First-Half Net Profit Surges
<p>China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) Monday said its first-half net profit soared from a year earlier, partly due to fair-value gain of investment properties and higher property sales.</p>
<p>The Hong Kong-listed developer said its net profit for the six months ended June 30 surged to 18.83 billion yuan (US$2.83 billion) from CNY2.02 billion a year earlier, while its first-half revenue more than doubled to CNY187.98 billion from CNY87.50 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company didn't declare an interim dividend.</p>
<p>Write to Chester Yung at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 28, 2017 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT)</p> | 599,846 |
<p>There may have been dancing in the streets in Iran after the landslide election of Hassan Rouhani as President.</p>
<p>Rouhani claims to be a moderate, and was the favorite candidate of reformists in Iran.</p>
<p>His tone is certainly different from the rhetoric of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.</p>
<p>Ahmedinejad was notoriously inflammatory, talking of wiping Israel off the map.</p>
<p>But you should look beyond the rhetoric says Michael Singh.</p>
<p>Singh is managing director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He's also a former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council, specializing in Iran.</p>
<p>He says it's not clear how much power Rouhani will have, as many policies are set by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard.</p>
<p>"Ahmedinejad was diplomatically useful sometimes," says Singh. "Because his statements were so reprehensible that they helped unite countries against Iran."</p>
<p>"To the extent Rouhani is a more smiling face, I think there's a danger we need to guard against, that he really could start to split the coalition that President Obama has built up, and President Bush before him," Singh added.</p>
<p>"We should not pay too much attention to the personalities and the rhetoric, but pay attention to the policies underneath. And that's what I think US officials will be looking at."</p> | Iran's Regime Change? | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-06-17/irans-regime-change | 2013-06-17 | 3left-center
| Iran's Regime Change?
<p>There may have been dancing in the streets in Iran after the landslide election of Hassan Rouhani as President.</p>
<p>Rouhani claims to be a moderate, and was the favorite candidate of reformists in Iran.</p>
<p>His tone is certainly different from the rhetoric of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.</p>
<p>Ahmedinejad was notoriously inflammatory, talking of wiping Israel off the map.</p>
<p>But you should look beyond the rhetoric says Michael Singh.</p>
<p>Singh is managing director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He's also a former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council, specializing in Iran.</p>
<p>He says it's not clear how much power Rouhani will have, as many policies are set by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard.</p>
<p>"Ahmedinejad was diplomatically useful sometimes," says Singh. "Because his statements were so reprehensible that they helped unite countries against Iran."</p>
<p>"To the extent Rouhani is a more smiling face, I think there's a danger we need to guard against, that he really could start to split the coalition that President Obama has built up, and President Bush before him," Singh added.</p>
<p>"We should not pay too much attention to the personalities and the rhetoric, but pay attention to the policies underneath. And that's what I think US officials will be looking at."</p> | 599,847 |
<p>MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro became the first player through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open as she dug herself out of a hole to beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit 4-6 6-4 8-6 on Sunday.</p>
<p>Kontaveit was bidding to reach the last eight of a grand slam for the first time and the 22-year-old had victory in her grasp when she took the first set and broke twice to lead 4-1 in the second set on a muggy day alongside the Yarra river.</p>
<p>Unseeded Suarez Navarro was given heart when Kontaveit double-faulted to hand one break of serve back and the 29-year-old stormed back to take the second set.</p>
<p>The deciding set was a real battle and Kontaveit again looked like closing it out when she broke at 4-4 but she faltered and was broken as she served for the match.</p>
<p>Suarez Navarro enjoyed an outrageous slice of luck when Kontaveit served to stay in the match at 6-7, striking a forehand that hit the net tape twice before wobbling over to give her a second match point.</p>
<p>She missed that one but on her third opportunity Kontaveit smacked a forehand long to send Suarez Navarro into the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the third time where she will face either second seed Caroline Wozniacki or Magdalena Rybarikova.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Tennis: Suarez Navarro hits back to reach quarter-finals | false | https://newsline.com/tennis-suarez-navarro-hits-back-to-reach-quarter-finals/ | 2018-01-21 | 1right-center
| Tennis: Suarez Navarro hits back to reach quarter-finals
<p>MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro became the first player through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open as she dug herself out of a hole to beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit 4-6 6-4 8-6 on Sunday.</p>
<p>Kontaveit was bidding to reach the last eight of a grand slam for the first time and the 22-year-old had victory in her grasp when she took the first set and broke twice to lead 4-1 in the second set on a muggy day alongside the Yarra river.</p>
<p>Unseeded Suarez Navarro was given heart when Kontaveit double-faulted to hand one break of serve back and the 29-year-old stormed back to take the second set.</p>
<p>The deciding set was a real battle and Kontaveit again looked like closing it out when she broke at 4-4 but she faltered and was broken as she served for the match.</p>
<p>Suarez Navarro enjoyed an outrageous slice of luck when Kontaveit served to stay in the match at 6-7, striking a forehand that hit the net tape twice before wobbling over to give her a second match point.</p>
<p>She missed that one but on her third opportunity Kontaveit smacked a forehand long to send Suarez Navarro into the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the third time where she will face either second seed Caroline Wozniacki or Magdalena Rybarikova.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 599,848 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> panicked the other day. The press was raking him over the coals for saying that he worried more about the middle class than he did about the poor. So he panicked and threw a bone to liberals, some of whom he hopes will vote for him in November.</p>
<p>The bone he threw was a promise to index <a href="" type="internal">minimum wage</a> to inflation -- an idea that's not only an insult to those who believe in free markets, but also an insult to the millions of young folks who are out of work because of minimum wage laws.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As the brilliant economist <a href="" type="internal">Thomas Sowell</a> pointed out in a column this week, a minimum wage is one of the worst things you can do to young folks out of work.</p>
<p>"When you set minimum-wage levels higher than many inexperienced young people are worth, they don't get hired. It is not rocket science."</p>
<p>The minimum wage is particularly tough on black teens, whose unemployment rate is now over 39%. But it hasn't always been that way. Sowell reminds us that black teen unemployment in the late 1940s was under 10%. Why? Because there really wasn't a minimum wage back then; high inflation had made it meaningless.</p>
<p>So young black men were able to get entry level positions. Sowell was one of them. His first job was delivering telegrams in New York -- not a great job, but for a black, high school drop out in the late 1940s, it was a great start. And he wouldn't have gotten that start if there had been a real minimum wage.</p>
<p>Minimum wage laws prevent that first leg up. And if we index minimum wage to inflation, we'll see teenage unemployment go even higher.</p> | Minimum Thought Put into Minimum Wage | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/02/08/minimum-thought-put-into-minimum-wage.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Minimum Thought Put into Minimum Wage
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> panicked the other day. The press was raking him over the coals for saying that he worried more about the middle class than he did about the poor. So he panicked and threw a bone to liberals, some of whom he hopes will vote for him in November.</p>
<p>The bone he threw was a promise to index <a href="" type="internal">minimum wage</a> to inflation -- an idea that's not only an insult to those who believe in free markets, but also an insult to the millions of young folks who are out of work because of minimum wage laws.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As the brilliant economist <a href="" type="internal">Thomas Sowell</a> pointed out in a column this week, a minimum wage is one of the worst things you can do to young folks out of work.</p>
<p>"When you set minimum-wage levels higher than many inexperienced young people are worth, they don't get hired. It is not rocket science."</p>
<p>The minimum wage is particularly tough on black teens, whose unemployment rate is now over 39%. But it hasn't always been that way. Sowell reminds us that black teen unemployment in the late 1940s was under 10%. Why? Because there really wasn't a minimum wage back then; high inflation had made it meaningless.</p>
<p>So young black men were able to get entry level positions. Sowell was one of them. His first job was delivering telegrams in New York -- not a great job, but for a black, high school drop out in the late 1940s, it was a great start. And he wouldn't have gotten that start if there had been a real minimum wage.</p>
<p>Minimum wage laws prevent that first leg up. And if we index minimum wage to inflation, we'll see teenage unemployment go even higher.</p> | 599,849 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 25-vehicle pile-up in southwestern NM resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries Monday evening, according to a New Mexico State Police spokesman.</p>
<p>Officer Carl Christiansen said the crash occurred around 5 p.m. on Interstate 10 at mile marker 11 westbound, near Lordsburg.</p>
<p>“The chain-reaction crash is attributed to a dust storm which had high winds causing limited visibility from blowing dust,” Christiansen said. “Eighteen commercial motor vehicles and seven passengers vehicles were involved, resulting in multiple fatalities, and injuries.”</p>
<p>There is no more information at this time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | State Police: Multiple fatalities in 25-vehicle crash in southwest NM | false | https://abqjournal.com/1020336/state-police-multiple-fatalities-in-25-vehicle-crash-in-southwest-nm.html | 2least
| State Police: Multiple fatalities in 25-vehicle crash in southwest NM
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 25-vehicle pile-up in southwestern NM resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries Monday evening, according to a New Mexico State Police spokesman.</p>
<p>Officer Carl Christiansen said the crash occurred around 5 p.m. on Interstate 10 at mile marker 11 westbound, near Lordsburg.</p>
<p>“The chain-reaction crash is attributed to a dust storm which had high winds causing limited visibility from blowing dust,” Christiansen said. “Eighteen commercial motor vehicles and seven passengers vehicles were involved, resulting in multiple fatalities, and injuries.”</p>
<p>There is no more information at this time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,850 |
|
<p><a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> is once again responding to a <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> slaughter at the hands of Islamic radicals by trying to root out extremism entrenched in its growing Muslim population.</p>
<p>This time, however, the socialist government of President <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Francois Hollande</a> seems to mean it.</p>
<p>Last January, after the Charlie Hebdo killing spree by three Muslims tied to al Qaeda and the Islamic State terror army that left 17 dead, the <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">Hollande government</a> put more suspected jihadis on a watch list, imposed intrusive surveillance and blocked jihadi websites.</p>
<p>But all the monitoring did not stop at least nine Islamic State terrorists from an even larger slaughter of 130 persons at restaurants and a concert hall on a Friday night in November.</p>
<p>This time <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Mr. Hollande</a> ratcheted up the response. He declared war on the Islamic State, imposed a state of emergency that suspended civil liberties and, for the first time in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>, shut down three mosques deemed to be inspiring and supporting murderous zealots.</p>
<p>Some terror experts believe fabric of French Muslim life is woven with so many threads of radicalism that even these steps are not enough.</p>
<p>“ <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> is still very slow to understand the vast majority of Islamic centers/mosques are the problem, not just a few extremist ones,” said John Guandolo, a former FBI agent who leads a group, Understanding the Threat, which reports on what it sees as radical Islam.</p>
<p>Mr. Guandolo takes a hard line against Islamists. Some liberals brand him as “anti-Muslim.”</p>
<p>Robert Maginnis, a retired Army officer and author of the book on radical Islam “Never Submit,” said French officials are taking a harder line because they more clearly see the threat posed to the country’s political traditions and way of life.</p>
<p>“Now as we see in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>, and in countries like Germany and Sweden, Europeans are beginning to see the clash of civilizations as the tsunami of Islamic people flood into Europe and refuse to assimilate,” he said. “This fact is beginning to wake up Europeans who understand their civilization is at risk.”</p>
<p>The crackdown has not been universally accepted inside <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>. On Wednesday Christiane Taubira, <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Mr. Hollande</a>’s popular and high-profile justice minister, unexpectedly resigned to protest the <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">government</a>’s push to revoke citizenship from convicted terrorists with dual nationality.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> has Europe’s largest Muslim population, estimated at 8 percent to 10 percent of the country’s total population of 66 million. Many live in the “banlieues,” the mostly poor, semisegregated suburbs that ring <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> and other cities. Officials refer to some neighborhoods as “no-go” zones for police and security officials because of their isolation and governance by authoritarian religious clerics.</p>
<p>The French Center for Intelligence Research, a <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> think tank, estimates that a half-million Muslim citizens identify with radical Islam.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> newspaper Le Figaro reported last summer on a secret intelligence assessment that 41 of some 2,200 mosques in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> are “now destabilized” by Salafists — the ultrafundamentalist Sunni Muslim extremists who drive al Qaeda and Islamic State ideology.</p>
<p>“Usually quite young, well structured and sometimes advised by lawyers, they first install a small prayer room or create an ultra-orthodox school right next to the place of worship target,” the article said. “Then they infuse their radical theories that appeal to young people and fuel rumors about the alleged maladministration.”</p>
<p>The ‘Islamization’ of <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a></p>
<p>Soeren Kern, an analyst at the nonprofit Gatestone Institute, writes a regular column on “The Islamization of <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>” based on news reports and other sources.</p>
<p>His Jan. 19 update quotes Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Grand Mosque in <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a>, saying he wants the number of mosques in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> to double over the next two years and that unused churches should be converted into Islamic prayer centers.</p>
<p>Mr. Kern reports that about 40,000 cars are burned each year in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> by Muslim gangs.</p>
<p>His article lists a chronology of Islamic-related news events, such as the teacher who quit a Muslim school because it teaches anti-Semitism and the Muslim cleric who preaches that women are naturally selfish and must acknowledge “the goodness that man bestows upon her” or be condemned to hell.</p>
<p>On Dec. 13, he reports, 70 airport employees in <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> had their security clearances revoked after the <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">government</a> identified them as Islamic extremists. They included mechanics, baggage handlers and gate agents.</p>
<p>On Jan. 13 the minister of the interior announced details of how it used current law to close a mosque in Lagny-sur-Marne, a suburb east of <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a>, which had become a prime recruiting center for jihadis in Syria.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">government</a> also dissolved the three Islamic associations operating the mosque, essentially saying they were front organizations for radicals.</p>
<p>“Under the guise of ritual purposes,” the minister’s statement said, “these three associations, interlinked by their leaders and common objects, in reality aimed at promoting a radical ideology causing jihad and organize the departure of fighters in Syria-Iraq area.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> had also shut down mosques in Gennevilliers in <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a>‘ northern suburbs and in the town of L’Arbresle near Lyon.</p>
<p>“Such measures to close mosques because of radicalization have never before been taken by any government, including during the last state of emergency in 2005,” said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.</p>
<p>Mr. Cazeneuve told parliament in December that, one month into the state of emergency, authorities had conducted 2,235 raids, producing 262 arrests.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> continues to be in the Islamic State’s cross-hairs. The terror group, based in Raqqa, Syria, released a video homage last Sunday to the nine terrorists who died in the attack that killed 130 civilians on Nov. 13. One clip put a target on <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Mr. Hollande</a>’s head, and it vowed to also attack Great Britain.</p>
<p>The video showed some of the nine shooting and beheading prisoners in Syria and Iraq. The gruesome scenes tell this troubling storyline: The Islamic State can recruit foreign fighters, train them to kill and then deploy them back to Europe.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">conservative government</a> of British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a series of steps to stem Islamic extremism, including closing mosques and deporting clerics. Mr. Cameron also issued a damning report on the global fraternity Muslim Brotherhood and said it might be banned.</p>
<p>The organizer of the Nov. 13 massacre had photos of British tourist sites in his cellphone.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/jan/28/france-cracks-down-on-islamic-radicalism-after-par/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | France cracks down on Islamic radicalism after Paris attacks, shutters mosques | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/28/france-cracks-down-on-islamic-radicalism-after-par/ | 2016-01-28 | 0right
| France cracks down on Islamic radicalism after Paris attacks, shutters mosques
<p><a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> is once again responding to a <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> slaughter at the hands of Islamic radicals by trying to root out extremism entrenched in its growing Muslim population.</p>
<p>This time, however, the socialist government of President <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Francois Hollande</a> seems to mean it.</p>
<p>Last January, after the Charlie Hebdo killing spree by three Muslims tied to al Qaeda and the Islamic State terror army that left 17 dead, the <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">Hollande government</a> put more suspected jihadis on a watch list, imposed intrusive surveillance and blocked jihadi websites.</p>
<p>But all the monitoring did not stop at least nine Islamic State terrorists from an even larger slaughter of 130 persons at restaurants and a concert hall on a Friday night in November.</p>
<p>This time <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Mr. Hollande</a> ratcheted up the response. He declared war on the Islamic State, imposed a state of emergency that suspended civil liberties and, for the first time in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>, shut down three mosques deemed to be inspiring and supporting murderous zealots.</p>
<p>Some terror experts believe fabric of French Muslim life is woven with so many threads of radicalism that even these steps are not enough.</p>
<p>“ <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> is still very slow to understand the vast majority of Islamic centers/mosques are the problem, not just a few extremist ones,” said John Guandolo, a former FBI agent who leads a group, Understanding the Threat, which reports on what it sees as radical Islam.</p>
<p>Mr. Guandolo takes a hard line against Islamists. Some liberals brand him as “anti-Muslim.”</p>
<p>Robert Maginnis, a retired Army officer and author of the book on radical Islam “Never Submit,” said French officials are taking a harder line because they more clearly see the threat posed to the country’s political traditions and way of life.</p>
<p>“Now as we see in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>, and in countries like Germany and Sweden, Europeans are beginning to see the clash of civilizations as the tsunami of Islamic people flood into Europe and refuse to assimilate,” he said. “This fact is beginning to wake up Europeans who understand their civilization is at risk.”</p>
<p>The crackdown has not been universally accepted inside <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>. On Wednesday Christiane Taubira, <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Mr. Hollande</a>’s popular and high-profile justice minister, unexpectedly resigned to protest the <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">government</a>’s push to revoke citizenship from convicted terrorists with dual nationality.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> has Europe’s largest Muslim population, estimated at 8 percent to 10 percent of the country’s total population of 66 million. Many live in the “banlieues,” the mostly poor, semisegregated suburbs that ring <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> and other cities. Officials refer to some neighborhoods as “no-go” zones for police and security officials because of their isolation and governance by authoritarian religious clerics.</p>
<p>The French Center for Intelligence Research, a <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> think tank, estimates that a half-million Muslim citizens identify with radical Islam.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> newspaper Le Figaro reported last summer on a secret intelligence assessment that 41 of some 2,200 mosques in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> are “now destabilized” by Salafists — the ultrafundamentalist Sunni Muslim extremists who drive al Qaeda and Islamic State ideology.</p>
<p>“Usually quite young, well structured and sometimes advised by lawyers, they first install a small prayer room or create an ultra-orthodox school right next to the place of worship target,” the article said. “Then they infuse their radical theories that appeal to young people and fuel rumors about the alleged maladministration.”</p>
<p>The ‘Islamization’ of <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a></p>
<p>Soeren Kern, an analyst at the nonprofit Gatestone Institute, writes a regular column on “The Islamization of <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a>” based on news reports and other sources.</p>
<p>His Jan. 19 update quotes Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Grand Mosque in <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a>, saying he wants the number of mosques in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> to double over the next two years and that unused churches should be converted into Islamic prayer centers.</p>
<p>Mr. Kern reports that about 40,000 cars are burned each year in <a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> by Muslim gangs.</p>
<p>His article lists a chronology of Islamic-related news events, such as the teacher who quit a Muslim school because it teaches anti-Semitism and the Muslim cleric who preaches that women are naturally selfish and must acknowledge “the goodness that man bestows upon her” or be condemned to hell.</p>
<p>On Dec. 13, he reports, 70 airport employees in <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> had their security clearances revoked after the <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">government</a> identified them as Islamic extremists. They included mechanics, baggage handlers and gate agents.</p>
<p>On Jan. 13 the minister of the interior announced details of how it used current law to close a mosque in Lagny-sur-Marne, a suburb east of <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a>, which had become a prime recruiting center for jihadis in Syria.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">government</a> also dissolved the three Islamic associations operating the mosque, essentially saying they were front organizations for radicals.</p>
<p>“Under the guise of ritual purposes,” the minister’s statement said, “these three associations, interlinked by their leaders and common objects, in reality aimed at promoting a radical ideology causing jihad and organize the departure of fighters in Syria-Iraq area.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/france/" type="external">France</a> had also shut down mosques in Gennevilliers in <a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a>‘ northern suburbs and in the town of L’Arbresle near Lyon.</p>
<p>“Such measures to close mosques because of radicalization have never before been taken by any government, including during the last state of emergency in 2005,” said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.</p>
<p>Mr. Cazeneuve told parliament in December that, one month into the state of emergency, authorities had conducted 2,235 raids, producing 262 arrests.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/paris/" type="external">Paris</a> continues to be in the Islamic State’s cross-hairs. The terror group, based in Raqqa, Syria, released a video homage last Sunday to the nine terrorists who died in the attack that killed 130 civilians on Nov. 13. One clip put a target on <a href="/topics/francois-hollande/" type="external">Mr. Hollande</a>’s head, and it vowed to also attack Great Britain.</p>
<p>The video showed some of the nine shooting and beheading prisoners in Syria and Iraq. The gruesome scenes tell this troubling storyline: The Islamic State can recruit foreign fighters, train them to kill and then deploy them back to Europe.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/hollande-government/" type="external">conservative government</a> of British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a series of steps to stem Islamic extremism, including closing mosques and deporting clerics. Mr. Cameron also issued a damning report on the global fraternity Muslim Brotherhood and said it might be banned.</p>
<p>The organizer of the Nov. 13 massacre had photos of British tourist sites in his cellphone.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/jan/28/france-cracks-down-on-islamic-radicalism-after-par/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,851 |
<p>It’s so damn American. The settler class of white Europeans living away from the big mean city get conned by a loudmouth bullshittin’ big city con man who has never made an honest buck in his life. He plays into their fears; of brown skinned foreigners, angry black people still pissed about their ancestors being enslaved, uppity women who misuse the rights they got, and big city banks and financiers who just want to take their money and their land.&#160; Promising to keep the scared people safe, the film-flam man goes back to his rich friends, laughing to himself about how he loves the uneducated.</p>
<p>I don’t do election analysis much. However those who attribute Trump’s victory solely to the anger of those screwed by neoliberal capitalism are ignoring a very real fact. That fact is the racism of many Trump supporters and the racism he ignited.&#160; After all, when it comes to the harm caused by neoliberal capitalism, it wasn’t just rural white peoples or white workers who were affected negatively by this economic trend.&#160; Take a look: unemployment rates are much higher in Black communities, Latinos had to leave their countries to find work after the globalist nature of neoliberalism destroyed their local economies while refugees from predominantly Muslim countries had to move from their homes because the war of neoliberal capitalism led by Washington destroyed them. So, if Trump’s message really was solely one of opposition to the excesses of neoliberalism, like Bernie Sanders’ was, he would have had the support of many more non-whites. But he didn’t, nor did he want them. There’s a reason why the klan and the nazis endorsed trump. It’s a reason as American as apple pie. It’s called racism.</p>
<p>Because Trump is such a con man, nobody is ever sure he means what he says. Like other men who have been in the White House in the past forty years (Reagan, Dubya Bush), Trump is not a very politically sophisticated person.&#160; Consequently, once he is inaugurated he will rely on the people advising him. Looking at those who he has suggested he wants as advisors, this means some very reactionary ideas will become policy. The lives of those working class folks who voted for him will likely not get better. If they do, it will be at the expense of other workers.&#160;&#160; As for the women, they are likely to see their choices diminish, especially when it comes to contraception.&#160; The intimidation of immigrants and refugees will certainly increase as will the attacks on African-Americans by police.&#160; White racists will come further out of the shadows as they cash in their support for the new leader.</p>
<p>Looking at photos of those celebrating Trump’s victory in Manhattan, I saw a bunch of young men who were white and well-fed.&#160; They looked like upper middle class fratboys who knew their ship had come in.&#160; These are the folks who will benefit from this man’s reign.&#160; Despite the downturn of the markets in the wake of Trump’s victory, the fact is that capital will make friends with anyone who like capitalism, even fascists. Is he a fascist?&#160; As far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on that.&#160; However, I do want to point out that fascism usually arrives slowly.&#160; Here in the United States the economic foundation is already in place, Trump’s desire to further corporatize the US government only enhances that.&#160; As the members of the Frankfurt School pointed out about Hitler’s rise, fascism was installed in Germany via a series of ongoing pacts between the financial/corporate oligarchy and the Nazis.</p>
<p>There is only one answer to the situation we now face.&#160; Resistance.&#160; On every front.</p> | The Flim-Flam Man Does Pennsylvania Avenue | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/11/09/the-flim-flam-man-does-pennsylvania-avenue/ | 2016-11-09 | 4left
| The Flim-Flam Man Does Pennsylvania Avenue
<p>It’s so damn American. The settler class of white Europeans living away from the big mean city get conned by a loudmouth bullshittin’ big city con man who has never made an honest buck in his life. He plays into their fears; of brown skinned foreigners, angry black people still pissed about their ancestors being enslaved, uppity women who misuse the rights they got, and big city banks and financiers who just want to take their money and their land.&#160; Promising to keep the scared people safe, the film-flam man goes back to his rich friends, laughing to himself about how he loves the uneducated.</p>
<p>I don’t do election analysis much. However those who attribute Trump’s victory solely to the anger of those screwed by neoliberal capitalism are ignoring a very real fact. That fact is the racism of many Trump supporters and the racism he ignited.&#160; After all, when it comes to the harm caused by neoliberal capitalism, it wasn’t just rural white peoples or white workers who were affected negatively by this economic trend.&#160; Take a look: unemployment rates are much higher in Black communities, Latinos had to leave their countries to find work after the globalist nature of neoliberalism destroyed their local economies while refugees from predominantly Muslim countries had to move from their homes because the war of neoliberal capitalism led by Washington destroyed them. So, if Trump’s message really was solely one of opposition to the excesses of neoliberalism, like Bernie Sanders’ was, he would have had the support of many more non-whites. But he didn’t, nor did he want them. There’s a reason why the klan and the nazis endorsed trump. It’s a reason as American as apple pie. It’s called racism.</p>
<p>Because Trump is such a con man, nobody is ever sure he means what he says. Like other men who have been in the White House in the past forty years (Reagan, Dubya Bush), Trump is not a very politically sophisticated person.&#160; Consequently, once he is inaugurated he will rely on the people advising him. Looking at those who he has suggested he wants as advisors, this means some very reactionary ideas will become policy. The lives of those working class folks who voted for him will likely not get better. If they do, it will be at the expense of other workers.&#160;&#160; As for the women, they are likely to see their choices diminish, especially when it comes to contraception.&#160; The intimidation of immigrants and refugees will certainly increase as will the attacks on African-Americans by police.&#160; White racists will come further out of the shadows as they cash in their support for the new leader.</p>
<p>Looking at photos of those celebrating Trump’s victory in Manhattan, I saw a bunch of young men who were white and well-fed.&#160; They looked like upper middle class fratboys who knew their ship had come in.&#160; These are the folks who will benefit from this man’s reign.&#160; Despite the downturn of the markets in the wake of Trump’s victory, the fact is that capital will make friends with anyone who like capitalism, even fascists. Is he a fascist?&#160; As far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on that.&#160; However, I do want to point out that fascism usually arrives slowly.&#160; Here in the United States the economic foundation is already in place, Trump’s desire to further corporatize the US government only enhances that.&#160; As the members of the Frankfurt School pointed out about Hitler’s rise, fascism was installed in Germany via a series of ongoing pacts between the financial/corporate oligarchy and the Nazis.</p>
<p>There is only one answer to the situation we now face.&#160; Resistance.&#160; On every front.</p> | 599,852 |
<p>PARIS — My pal, Manfred, visiting from Munich on May 8, asked about the fuss nearby on the Champs-Elysees. Ah that, I said. They’re commemorating victory over you guys.</p>
<p>Millions dead and a continent left in smoldering ruin are not all that funny. But Manfred, an old hand at covering global ups and downs, chuckled at the irony.&#160;</p>
<p>Within our lifetimes, Germans had shot Frenchmen only yards from where we spoke. Churchill saw Teutonic hordes invade Europe three times and observed: Germans are either at your throat or at your feet.</p>
<p>That does not, however, say much about Manfred, a gentle soul of quiet dignity who would attempt life support on any flea he might happen to discomfit.</p>
<p>At 5, he fled as Allies bombed the family grand piano and most of Nuremburg. His conscript father hated war; to this day fireworks paralyze him with fear. He was missing until 1947 when he returned, a skeleton, from Russia.</p>
<p>Manfred’s wife, Birgitte, also thought she had lost her father. He hid in a stable to escape the draft and then, when caught, barely survived a work camp in Poland.</p>
<p>“Others did that to our country,” Manfred said, meaning Hitler’s Nazis as well as Allies who leveled much of Germany to defeat them, “and the children had to pay.”</p>
<p>The lessons here are obvious enough: Collective nouns mean nothing on their own. Worldviews based on generalities set against comic-book context can only bring us to grief.</p>
<p>This is why today’s trend toward drive-by coverage, distorted by meaningless tweets and senseless twaddle, ought to have us trembling in our socks.</p>
<p>Manfred and I each know people still fighting World War II — and others in Europe and Asia who have yet to digest ignominious defeats that predate medieval times.</p>
<p>We’ve also returned to battlefields we knew as journalists where invasion is forgiven. “To Vietnamese, Americans are just foreigners, like Germans,” Manfred told me, and that’s what I found.</p>
<p>Wars fade into memory along with the tyrants and fools who start them. Yet even if some victims learn quickly to forgive, few ever forget.</p>
<p>The past always matters. History offers clues when new trouble is imminent. Still, lessons drawn only from history are an imperfect guide.</p>
<p>The present matters more. A close watch allows sparks to be snuffed out before they flame. Tyrants and fools can be stopped while there is still time.</p>
<p>A popular new American president will soon visit Normandy, where Ronald Reagan evoked these themes in stirring terms a generation ago.</p>
<p>Up there, among those rows of white crosses and stars of David, the vicissitudes of human folly are dead clear. Given the state of today’s world, we’d better take notice.</p>
<p>True enough, war is the failure of diplomacy. Most other bad news is equally preventable if it is foreseen, and understood, before it makes headlines.</p>
<p>As we saw in World War II, and repeatedly since, statesmen and generals bear watching. This takes seasoned correspondents with no flag to wave or brand to promote.</p>
<p>Our besieged news organizations, now so badly in need of saving, have always been uneven, shot through with flaws. That is why we need multiple competitive sources, now more than ever.</p>
<p>As America worked itself into pre-invasion furor early in 2003, I watched media stars hustle into Normandy for an obvious cheap shot: Cowardly France was ungrateful.</p>
<p>But the old nemesis had since joined France in the European Union. Both nations have learned about war the hard way and know it can only be a last, desperate resort.</p>
<p>In the six years since, public apathy and corporate greed have slashed America’s foreign correspondent corps to a pathetic fraction of what we desperately need.</p>
<p>If we cannot protect and reinforce what is left of nuanced reporting by skilled practitioners, we are bound to get things horribly wrong.</p>
<p>World War II, like every human calamity before and since, made this painfully plain: We cannot even remotely understand a world that confounds generality without solid knowledge of how diverse societies see it and what causes their points to tip.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Old enemies, new friends | false | https://pri.org/stories/2009-05-13/old-enemies-new-friends | 2009-05-13 | 3left-center
| Old enemies, new friends
<p>PARIS — My pal, Manfred, visiting from Munich on May 8, asked about the fuss nearby on the Champs-Elysees. Ah that, I said. They’re commemorating victory over you guys.</p>
<p>Millions dead and a continent left in smoldering ruin are not all that funny. But Manfred, an old hand at covering global ups and downs, chuckled at the irony.&#160;</p>
<p>Within our lifetimes, Germans had shot Frenchmen only yards from where we spoke. Churchill saw Teutonic hordes invade Europe three times and observed: Germans are either at your throat or at your feet.</p>
<p>That does not, however, say much about Manfred, a gentle soul of quiet dignity who would attempt life support on any flea he might happen to discomfit.</p>
<p>At 5, he fled as Allies bombed the family grand piano and most of Nuremburg. His conscript father hated war; to this day fireworks paralyze him with fear. He was missing until 1947 when he returned, a skeleton, from Russia.</p>
<p>Manfred’s wife, Birgitte, also thought she had lost her father. He hid in a stable to escape the draft and then, when caught, barely survived a work camp in Poland.</p>
<p>“Others did that to our country,” Manfred said, meaning Hitler’s Nazis as well as Allies who leveled much of Germany to defeat them, “and the children had to pay.”</p>
<p>The lessons here are obvious enough: Collective nouns mean nothing on their own. Worldviews based on generalities set against comic-book context can only bring us to grief.</p>
<p>This is why today’s trend toward drive-by coverage, distorted by meaningless tweets and senseless twaddle, ought to have us trembling in our socks.</p>
<p>Manfred and I each know people still fighting World War II — and others in Europe and Asia who have yet to digest ignominious defeats that predate medieval times.</p>
<p>We’ve also returned to battlefields we knew as journalists where invasion is forgiven. “To Vietnamese, Americans are just foreigners, like Germans,” Manfred told me, and that’s what I found.</p>
<p>Wars fade into memory along with the tyrants and fools who start them. Yet even if some victims learn quickly to forgive, few ever forget.</p>
<p>The past always matters. History offers clues when new trouble is imminent. Still, lessons drawn only from history are an imperfect guide.</p>
<p>The present matters more. A close watch allows sparks to be snuffed out before they flame. Tyrants and fools can be stopped while there is still time.</p>
<p>A popular new American president will soon visit Normandy, where Ronald Reagan evoked these themes in stirring terms a generation ago.</p>
<p>Up there, among those rows of white crosses and stars of David, the vicissitudes of human folly are dead clear. Given the state of today’s world, we’d better take notice.</p>
<p>True enough, war is the failure of diplomacy. Most other bad news is equally preventable if it is foreseen, and understood, before it makes headlines.</p>
<p>As we saw in World War II, and repeatedly since, statesmen and generals bear watching. This takes seasoned correspondents with no flag to wave or brand to promote.</p>
<p>Our besieged news organizations, now so badly in need of saving, have always been uneven, shot through with flaws. That is why we need multiple competitive sources, now more than ever.</p>
<p>As America worked itself into pre-invasion furor early in 2003, I watched media stars hustle into Normandy for an obvious cheap shot: Cowardly France was ungrateful.</p>
<p>But the old nemesis had since joined France in the European Union. Both nations have learned about war the hard way and know it can only be a last, desperate resort.</p>
<p>In the six years since, public apathy and corporate greed have slashed America’s foreign correspondent corps to a pathetic fraction of what we desperately need.</p>
<p>If we cannot protect and reinforce what is left of nuanced reporting by skilled practitioners, we are bound to get things horribly wrong.</p>
<p>World War II, like every human calamity before and since, made this painfully plain: We cannot even remotely understand a world that confounds generality without solid knowledge of how diverse societies see it and what causes their points to tip.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,853 |
<p>Michael Young with his spouse and gay asylum seeker Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez (Photo courtesy of Immigrant Defenders Law Center)</p>
<p>A gay Mexican immigrant who sought asylum in the United States, but was deported over the recent Christmas holiday despite a court order in his favor, was retrieved Tuesday after a nearly one-month ordeal in which the Trump administration ignored rulings on his behalf.</p>
<p>Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez, who’s gay and HIV positive, is an asylum seeker from Mexico, who was deported Dec. 22 at 3 a.m. and literally dumped at the border with a limited supply of his HIV medications.</p>
<p>U.S. Immigration &amp; Customs Enforcement deported Bringas-Rodriguez even though the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in March determined the persecution he faced in Mexico because of his sexual orientation made him eligible for asylum in the United States.</p>
<p>The Department of Homeland Security removed Bringas-Rodriguez on the basis that he missed a court appearance for asylum — an appearance for which he never received notification — taking him away from his spouse in Kansas City, Michael Young, a&#160;U.S. citizen. The couple cares for Bringas-Rodriguez’s 12-year-old cousin as a daughter.</p>
<p>The U.S. government only agreed to allow Bringas-Rodriguez, who also goes by Patricio Iron-Rodriguez, to return to the United States after a <a href="" type="internal">subsequent order</a> from the Ninth Circuit on Thursday instructing DHS “to return petitioner to the United States through the Port of Entry at San Ysidro, California, no later than January 16, 2018.”</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez said in a statement to the Blade prior to his retrieval he was relieved the nightmare of being separated from his family over the holidays would end soon.</p>
<p>“I have mixed emotions right now,” Bringas-Rodriguez said. “I am still very traumatized and shaken up from being deported and separated from my family. But I am of course relieved that this nightmare will soon be over and cannot wait to be reunited with my husband and our niece who is like my daughter.”</p>
<p>Young, a physician, expressed his frustration in a statement that his spouse “was taken away from me three days before Christmas, in the dead of night without my knowledge.”</p>
<p>“My husband has been fighting his case for over six years and has cooperated with immigration authorities throughout,” Young said. “As his husband, I am suffering because I do not know when we will be reunited; as a physician, I am terrified that his unlawful deportation will have irreparable consequences to his health. I am just relieved that the Ninth Circuit recognized the wrong done here and has ordered the government to return my husband to me.”</p>
<p>Representing Bringas-Rodriguez is Munmeeth Soni, co-legal director for the Los Angeles-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who confirmed he was paroled Tuesday and said his treatment was “not just cruel, but inhumane and outrageous.”</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez first came to the United States in 2010 after suffering persecution in Mexico over his sexual orientation and has been fighting his asylum case ever since. In his hometown of Veracruz, Bringas-Rodriguez was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by his relatives and neighbor.</p>
<p>If Bringas-Rodriguez were forced to remain in Mexico, Soni said he’d face the same anti-gay persecution he endured years ago, only worse.</p>
<p>“There’s even more of a likelihood that it would be at the hand of strangers,” Soni said. “It could be at the hands of the police, or the military, and I think…because of his HIV condition, he definitely faces significant risk of being killed.”</p>
<p>Even without his recent deportation to Mexico, Bringas-Rodriguez’s case for asylum has been a trial. Bringas-Rodriguez first applied for asylum when he initially came to the United States when immigration officials detained him.</p>
<p>The San Diego immigration court where he first made his case denied him asylum because he couldn’t show the Mexican government would have been unwilling or unable to protect him. Part of the reason the case was denied was because of a Ninth Circuit precedent in the 2011 ruling of Castro-Martinez v. Holder against a gay, HIV-positive asylum seeker from Mexico.</p>
<p>On appeals to the Board of Immigrations Appeals, Bringas-Rodriguez again lost his case. When he tested positive for HIV, Bringas-Rodriguez sought a second chance before the board on the basis he was now in a higher category of persecution, but the outcome was no different. (The HIV infection happened not in Mexico, but the United States. He tested positive for the first time at age 23.)</p>
<p>In 2013, Bringas-Rodriguez took another chance before the Ninth Circuit. Up until that time, Bringas-Rodriguez was representing himself, but now was appointed pro bono counsel at the University of California, Irvine. That was when Soni, an adjunct professor at the school, became involved in the case.</p>
<p>The initial decision from the three-judge panel at the Ninth Circuit was against Bringas-Rodriguez on the basis of the 2011 decision. But when the full court agreed to rehear the case, the <a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/03/08/13-72682.pdf" type="external">outcome</a> overturned precedent and was in his favor, remanding the case to immigration court for reconsideration.</p>
<p>“We granted rehearing en banc and now hold that the evidence Bringas adduced before the agency — credible written and oral testimony that reporting was futile and potentially dangerous, that other young gay men had reported their abuse to the Mexican police to no avail, and country reports and news articles documenting official and private persecution of individuals on account of their sexual orientation — satisfies our longstanding evidentiary standards for establishing past persecution and compels the conclusion that Bringas suffered past persecution that the Mexican government was unable or unwilling to control,” the court determined.</p>
<p>Soni said the decision was “beyond positive” because it didn’t just favor Bringas-Rodriguez, but has far-reaching implications.</p>
<p>“It really has been an extraordinary decision for anybody, any person who’s experienced anything that Bringas has experienced,” Soni said.</p>
<p>In summer 2014, Bringas-Rodriguez had moved from San Diego to Kansas City to be with his now husband Young. Prior to that, he had been put on a rigorous supervised system similar to prison probation where DHS monitors his movement and must be informed if he ever leaves the. Soni said Bringas-Rodriguez fastidiously kept up with the requirements.</p>
<p>But his asylum process technically wasn’t over because the immigration court had ruled as a result of the Ninth Circuit order. The U.S. government was given another chance to present evidence against his case, but in the event that didn’t happen, Bringas-Rodriguez would be allowed to stay.</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez checked in with ICE in June and was told the next time he’d need to do so was Dec. 20. But in the meantime, unbeknownst to him, his case was scheduled for a new hearing on Aug. 20 in immigration court in San Diego. DHS showed up for the hearing, but Bringas-Rodriguez didn’t.</p>
<p>As a result, the immigration court issued a deportation order against Bringas-Rodriguez on the basis that his failure to appear demonstrates he’s abandoned his asylum application.</p>
<p>The immigration court is required to send a notice to the person’s address to notify them to appear. Although Soni said they supposedly did that, it may have been sent to a different address in San Diego because Bringas-Rodriguez never received it, nor did he obtain a copy of the deportation order. There’s no certification of service for either document, Soni said.</p>
<p>There’s some dispute as to whether any notice went out. In subsequent communications, Soni said ICE confirmed with the law firm there’s no evidence Bringas-Rodriguez was properly served even at the wrong address in San Diego.</p>
<p>The U.S. government, Soni said, never bothered to inform the immigration court at the hearing DHS is aware of Bringas-Rodriguez’s location and that he wasn’t trying to abscond after putting seven years into his asylum case. DHS also knew the immigration court didn’t send the notice to the right address, but didn’t bring that up, Soni said.</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez’s absence from the hearing about which he was unaware had major consequences when he showed up for his next check-in on Dec. 20.</p>
<p>“He’s immediately detained, and they tell him he’s getting deported,” Soni said. “He has no idea what they’re talking about, and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, you missed your court hearing, and so obviously you’re getting deported because you didn’t show up.'”</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez called his husband, who in turn called Soni, who’s able to piece together what happened and was able to obtain new local counsel, Rekha Sharma-Crawford of the Sharma-Crawford law firm in Kansas City.</p>
<p>Finalizing the motion to reopen his case, Sharma-Crawford law firm sent the document on Dec. 22. But it’s too late for the holiday season. The San Diego immigration court, without notification to the public, decides to close at 1 p.m. and so the courier couldn’t file the motion at the time. The motion isn’t filed until after Christmas on Dec. 26.</p>
<p>Despite the initial notification at the ICE office, deportation proceedings against Bringas-Rodriguez were underway while he was in detention. He was shackled and taken by plane to Mexico. Officials left him little more than his cell phone and the limited supply of HIV meds given to him by his spouse.</p>
<p>“He was getting deported as were we trying to file this motion to reopen,” Soni said. “By the time we had filed, he had been physically removed from the country.”</p>
<p>That deportation process wasn’t known to either Bringas-Rodriguez’s attorneys or his husband. Soni said on Dec. 22 she received a phone call from Young, who told her he had just heard from Bringas-Rodriguez in Mexico and wouldn’t let him call anyone before that happened.</p>
<p>Soni said Bringas-Rodriguez was stranded in Mexico with a couple weeks supply of his HIV medication that he obtained from his spouse while in immigration detention.</p>
<p>“Our client from there went to this shelter that night, stayed at that shelter until his husband could buy him a ticket to move on there because he was in a border town, and border towns are really dangerous,” Soni said.</p>
<p>The first destination for Bringas-Rodriguez was Veracruz because his grandmother lives there, but that was the place he suffered abuse for being gay and he didn’t want to stay. He left for Oaxaca City, another town that’s a tourist destination where he could be relatively safe, then left for Tijuana.</p>
<p>Soni said attorneys tried to work with DHS officials in San Diego, but after a week of radio silence, decided to take the issue back up with the Ninth Circuit with a writ of mandamus on the basis the lower court had totally ignored the judge’s order.</p>
<p>“In Mexico, petitioner is currently terrified and holed-up in a hotel and quickly running out of his HIV medications; he has no way to get these medications when they run out in the next 9 days,” the writ says. “Since petitioner was not allowed to contact anyone immediately prior to his removal and DHS calculatingly kept that information from his attorneys and his family, no one was able to make medical arrangements for petitioner.”</p>
<p>The Ninth Circuit allowed 24 hours for a response from the U.S. government, which — for the first time — started negotiating with the attorneys and asked to drop the writ because the San Diego immigration court had rescinded its order on the same day.</p>
<p>“We felt very strongly that we weren’t going to give them the benefit of the doubt because, up until this point, they had not been acting with us in good faith, and just also given the fact that our client’s life was on the line,” Soni said. “I’m glad we did that because ultimately, I think, we’ve gotten a faster resolution through the Ninth Circuit.”</p>
<p>The response to the writ of mandamus filed by Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Division Chad Readler made no reference to Bringas-Rodriguez’s dwindling supply of HIV meds even though that was the basis of argument presented to the Ninth Circuit.</p>
<p>“[A]ny alleged error in the Immigration Judge’s in absentia ruling has now been remedied, as the immigration judge has reopened proceedings and Mr. Bringas-Rodriguez will be provided further hearings on the merits of his claim,” the brief says. “As Mr. Bringas-Rodriguez has an available remedy, mandamus is not warranted.”</p>
<p>Soni said the U.S. government attorney didn’t think the dwindling supply of HIV meds was a big deal and said the family could ship them to him to Mexico — demonstrating a lack of knowledge of laws against sending medication outside the United States as well as difficulty of obtaining HIV treatment across the border.</p>
<p>“That’s exactly what all our arguments and our briefs were about and it’s as though this man didn’t even bother reading it,” Soni said.</p>
<p>Within hours of the government filing its brief at 4 p.m., the Ninth Circuit issued the order demanding DHS reclaim Bringas-Rodriguez, give him his medications, and take him back to Kansas City.</p>
<p>“We’re very, very, very lucky, but I also think that the court here was not pleased at all with how the government has treated Patricio, and how they just sort of ignored the order in the first place,” Soni said.</p>
<p>The order came in the nick of time. Soni said Bringas-Rodriguez took his last HIV pill two days before he was ultimately retrieved.</p>
<p>Lauren Mack, an ICE spokesperson, responded with a statement on the facts of the case in response to the Washington Blade’s request for a comment on why ICE allowed the deportation.</p>
<p>“According to DHS database records, officers with ICE’s Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations San Diego removed Carlos Alberto Bringas-Rodriguez to Mexico&#160;Dec. 22,” Mack said. “An immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review issued Mr. Bringas-Rodriguez a final order of removal&#160;Aug. 22, which served as the basis for his removal.&#160;A motion to reopen his case was filed Dec. 26, and proceedings in his case are ongoing.”</p>
<p>The Department of Justice didn’t respond to the Blade’s request for comment.</p>
<p>As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, U.S. citizens in same-sex marriages, like Americans in opposite-sex marriages, can sponsor their immigrant spouses for Green Cards with an I-130 application. Soni, however, said Bringas-Rodriguez wasn’t eligible because he’s subject to the permanent bar and would have to wait 10 years outside of the country before that would be an option.</p>
<p>Soni said the next steps in the case aren’t settled. Although Soni said suing for damages is a “good conversation that we might have,” the main task at hand as of Tuesday was retrieving Bringas-Rodriguez from Mexico.</p>
<p>But was the mess of immigration laws in the United States to blame for the nightmare scenario, or something else? Soni said the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies bear the responsibility for the scenario.</p>
<p>“I’d like to think that they wouldn’t have done that under the prior administration, but that under this administration, given the tenor of both Trump as well as [U.S. Attorney General Jeff] Sessions against immigrants, irrespective of whether they’re here lawfully or not, or who they are, or what they’ve done for the communities, the bottom line is to deport them,” Soni said.</p>
<p>Deportations are rising under the Trump administration. According to the Associated Press,&#160;nearly 54,000 immigrants were deported from the interior last year between Jan. 22 and Sept. 9 — a 34 percent increase over the same period in 2016.</p>
<p>Soni added, “there’s truth to the fact” that low-level immigration officials feel empowered deport immigrants with Trump at the helm.</p>
<p>“To a certain degree, DHS and DOJ thought they could get away with this, that they would not be held to task,” Soni said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mexico</a> <a href="" type="internal">Michael Wolf</a> <a href="" type="internal">Munmeeth Soni</a></p> | Court orders return of gay immigrant to U.S. after Christmas nightmare deportation | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2018/01/16/gay-asylum-seeker-deported-retrieved-by-u-s-in-nightmare-christmas/ | 3left-center
| Court orders return of gay immigrant to U.S. after Christmas nightmare deportation
<p>Michael Young with his spouse and gay asylum seeker Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez (Photo courtesy of Immigrant Defenders Law Center)</p>
<p>A gay Mexican immigrant who sought asylum in the United States, but was deported over the recent Christmas holiday despite a court order in his favor, was retrieved Tuesday after a nearly one-month ordeal in which the Trump administration ignored rulings on his behalf.</p>
<p>Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez, who’s gay and HIV positive, is an asylum seeker from Mexico, who was deported Dec. 22 at 3 a.m. and literally dumped at the border with a limited supply of his HIV medications.</p>
<p>U.S. Immigration &amp; Customs Enforcement deported Bringas-Rodriguez even though the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in March determined the persecution he faced in Mexico because of his sexual orientation made him eligible for asylum in the United States.</p>
<p>The Department of Homeland Security removed Bringas-Rodriguez on the basis that he missed a court appearance for asylum — an appearance for which he never received notification — taking him away from his spouse in Kansas City, Michael Young, a&#160;U.S. citizen. The couple cares for Bringas-Rodriguez’s 12-year-old cousin as a daughter.</p>
<p>The U.S. government only agreed to allow Bringas-Rodriguez, who also goes by Patricio Iron-Rodriguez, to return to the United States after a <a href="" type="internal">subsequent order</a> from the Ninth Circuit on Thursday instructing DHS “to return petitioner to the United States through the Port of Entry at San Ysidro, California, no later than January 16, 2018.”</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez said in a statement to the Blade prior to his retrieval he was relieved the nightmare of being separated from his family over the holidays would end soon.</p>
<p>“I have mixed emotions right now,” Bringas-Rodriguez said. “I am still very traumatized and shaken up from being deported and separated from my family. But I am of course relieved that this nightmare will soon be over and cannot wait to be reunited with my husband and our niece who is like my daughter.”</p>
<p>Young, a physician, expressed his frustration in a statement that his spouse “was taken away from me three days before Christmas, in the dead of night without my knowledge.”</p>
<p>“My husband has been fighting his case for over six years and has cooperated with immigration authorities throughout,” Young said. “As his husband, I am suffering because I do not know when we will be reunited; as a physician, I am terrified that his unlawful deportation will have irreparable consequences to his health. I am just relieved that the Ninth Circuit recognized the wrong done here and has ordered the government to return my husband to me.”</p>
<p>Representing Bringas-Rodriguez is Munmeeth Soni, co-legal director for the Los Angeles-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who confirmed he was paroled Tuesday and said his treatment was “not just cruel, but inhumane and outrageous.”</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez first came to the United States in 2010 after suffering persecution in Mexico over his sexual orientation and has been fighting his asylum case ever since. In his hometown of Veracruz, Bringas-Rodriguez was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by his relatives and neighbor.</p>
<p>If Bringas-Rodriguez were forced to remain in Mexico, Soni said he’d face the same anti-gay persecution he endured years ago, only worse.</p>
<p>“There’s even more of a likelihood that it would be at the hand of strangers,” Soni said. “It could be at the hands of the police, or the military, and I think…because of his HIV condition, he definitely faces significant risk of being killed.”</p>
<p>Even without his recent deportation to Mexico, Bringas-Rodriguez’s case for asylum has been a trial. Bringas-Rodriguez first applied for asylum when he initially came to the United States when immigration officials detained him.</p>
<p>The San Diego immigration court where he first made his case denied him asylum because he couldn’t show the Mexican government would have been unwilling or unable to protect him. Part of the reason the case was denied was because of a Ninth Circuit precedent in the 2011 ruling of Castro-Martinez v. Holder against a gay, HIV-positive asylum seeker from Mexico.</p>
<p>On appeals to the Board of Immigrations Appeals, Bringas-Rodriguez again lost his case. When he tested positive for HIV, Bringas-Rodriguez sought a second chance before the board on the basis he was now in a higher category of persecution, but the outcome was no different. (The HIV infection happened not in Mexico, but the United States. He tested positive for the first time at age 23.)</p>
<p>In 2013, Bringas-Rodriguez took another chance before the Ninth Circuit. Up until that time, Bringas-Rodriguez was representing himself, but now was appointed pro bono counsel at the University of California, Irvine. That was when Soni, an adjunct professor at the school, became involved in the case.</p>
<p>The initial decision from the three-judge panel at the Ninth Circuit was against Bringas-Rodriguez on the basis of the 2011 decision. But when the full court agreed to rehear the case, the <a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/03/08/13-72682.pdf" type="external">outcome</a> overturned precedent and was in his favor, remanding the case to immigration court for reconsideration.</p>
<p>“We granted rehearing en banc and now hold that the evidence Bringas adduced before the agency — credible written and oral testimony that reporting was futile and potentially dangerous, that other young gay men had reported their abuse to the Mexican police to no avail, and country reports and news articles documenting official and private persecution of individuals on account of their sexual orientation — satisfies our longstanding evidentiary standards for establishing past persecution and compels the conclusion that Bringas suffered past persecution that the Mexican government was unable or unwilling to control,” the court determined.</p>
<p>Soni said the decision was “beyond positive” because it didn’t just favor Bringas-Rodriguez, but has far-reaching implications.</p>
<p>“It really has been an extraordinary decision for anybody, any person who’s experienced anything that Bringas has experienced,” Soni said.</p>
<p>In summer 2014, Bringas-Rodriguez had moved from San Diego to Kansas City to be with his now husband Young. Prior to that, he had been put on a rigorous supervised system similar to prison probation where DHS monitors his movement and must be informed if he ever leaves the. Soni said Bringas-Rodriguez fastidiously kept up with the requirements.</p>
<p>But his asylum process technically wasn’t over because the immigration court had ruled as a result of the Ninth Circuit order. The U.S. government was given another chance to present evidence against his case, but in the event that didn’t happen, Bringas-Rodriguez would be allowed to stay.</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez checked in with ICE in June and was told the next time he’d need to do so was Dec. 20. But in the meantime, unbeknownst to him, his case was scheduled for a new hearing on Aug. 20 in immigration court in San Diego. DHS showed up for the hearing, but Bringas-Rodriguez didn’t.</p>
<p>As a result, the immigration court issued a deportation order against Bringas-Rodriguez on the basis that his failure to appear demonstrates he’s abandoned his asylum application.</p>
<p>The immigration court is required to send a notice to the person’s address to notify them to appear. Although Soni said they supposedly did that, it may have been sent to a different address in San Diego because Bringas-Rodriguez never received it, nor did he obtain a copy of the deportation order. There’s no certification of service for either document, Soni said.</p>
<p>There’s some dispute as to whether any notice went out. In subsequent communications, Soni said ICE confirmed with the law firm there’s no evidence Bringas-Rodriguez was properly served even at the wrong address in San Diego.</p>
<p>The U.S. government, Soni said, never bothered to inform the immigration court at the hearing DHS is aware of Bringas-Rodriguez’s location and that he wasn’t trying to abscond after putting seven years into his asylum case. DHS also knew the immigration court didn’t send the notice to the right address, but didn’t bring that up, Soni said.</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez’s absence from the hearing about which he was unaware had major consequences when he showed up for his next check-in on Dec. 20.</p>
<p>“He’s immediately detained, and they tell him he’s getting deported,” Soni said. “He has no idea what they’re talking about, and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, you missed your court hearing, and so obviously you’re getting deported because you didn’t show up.'”</p>
<p>Bringas-Rodriguez called his husband, who in turn called Soni, who’s able to piece together what happened and was able to obtain new local counsel, Rekha Sharma-Crawford of the Sharma-Crawford law firm in Kansas City.</p>
<p>Finalizing the motion to reopen his case, Sharma-Crawford law firm sent the document on Dec. 22. But it’s too late for the holiday season. The San Diego immigration court, without notification to the public, decides to close at 1 p.m. and so the courier couldn’t file the motion at the time. The motion isn’t filed until after Christmas on Dec. 26.</p>
<p>Despite the initial notification at the ICE office, deportation proceedings against Bringas-Rodriguez were underway while he was in detention. He was shackled and taken by plane to Mexico. Officials left him little more than his cell phone and the limited supply of HIV meds given to him by his spouse.</p>
<p>“He was getting deported as were we trying to file this motion to reopen,” Soni said. “By the time we had filed, he had been physically removed from the country.”</p>
<p>That deportation process wasn’t known to either Bringas-Rodriguez’s attorneys or his husband. Soni said on Dec. 22 she received a phone call from Young, who told her he had just heard from Bringas-Rodriguez in Mexico and wouldn’t let him call anyone before that happened.</p>
<p>Soni said Bringas-Rodriguez was stranded in Mexico with a couple weeks supply of his HIV medication that he obtained from his spouse while in immigration detention.</p>
<p>“Our client from there went to this shelter that night, stayed at that shelter until his husband could buy him a ticket to move on there because he was in a border town, and border towns are really dangerous,” Soni said.</p>
<p>The first destination for Bringas-Rodriguez was Veracruz because his grandmother lives there, but that was the place he suffered abuse for being gay and he didn’t want to stay. He left for Oaxaca City, another town that’s a tourist destination where he could be relatively safe, then left for Tijuana.</p>
<p>Soni said attorneys tried to work with DHS officials in San Diego, but after a week of radio silence, decided to take the issue back up with the Ninth Circuit with a writ of mandamus on the basis the lower court had totally ignored the judge’s order.</p>
<p>“In Mexico, petitioner is currently terrified and holed-up in a hotel and quickly running out of his HIV medications; he has no way to get these medications when they run out in the next 9 days,” the writ says. “Since petitioner was not allowed to contact anyone immediately prior to his removal and DHS calculatingly kept that information from his attorneys and his family, no one was able to make medical arrangements for petitioner.”</p>
<p>The Ninth Circuit allowed 24 hours for a response from the U.S. government, which — for the first time — started negotiating with the attorneys and asked to drop the writ because the San Diego immigration court had rescinded its order on the same day.</p>
<p>“We felt very strongly that we weren’t going to give them the benefit of the doubt because, up until this point, they had not been acting with us in good faith, and just also given the fact that our client’s life was on the line,” Soni said. “I’m glad we did that because ultimately, I think, we’ve gotten a faster resolution through the Ninth Circuit.”</p>
<p>The response to the writ of mandamus filed by Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Division Chad Readler made no reference to Bringas-Rodriguez’s dwindling supply of HIV meds even though that was the basis of argument presented to the Ninth Circuit.</p>
<p>“[A]ny alleged error in the Immigration Judge’s in absentia ruling has now been remedied, as the immigration judge has reopened proceedings and Mr. Bringas-Rodriguez will be provided further hearings on the merits of his claim,” the brief says. “As Mr. Bringas-Rodriguez has an available remedy, mandamus is not warranted.”</p>
<p>Soni said the U.S. government attorney didn’t think the dwindling supply of HIV meds was a big deal and said the family could ship them to him to Mexico — demonstrating a lack of knowledge of laws against sending medication outside the United States as well as difficulty of obtaining HIV treatment across the border.</p>
<p>“That’s exactly what all our arguments and our briefs were about and it’s as though this man didn’t even bother reading it,” Soni said.</p>
<p>Within hours of the government filing its brief at 4 p.m., the Ninth Circuit issued the order demanding DHS reclaim Bringas-Rodriguez, give him his medications, and take him back to Kansas City.</p>
<p>“We’re very, very, very lucky, but I also think that the court here was not pleased at all with how the government has treated Patricio, and how they just sort of ignored the order in the first place,” Soni said.</p>
<p>The order came in the nick of time. Soni said Bringas-Rodriguez took his last HIV pill two days before he was ultimately retrieved.</p>
<p>Lauren Mack, an ICE spokesperson, responded with a statement on the facts of the case in response to the Washington Blade’s request for a comment on why ICE allowed the deportation.</p>
<p>“According to DHS database records, officers with ICE’s Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations San Diego removed Carlos Alberto Bringas-Rodriguez to Mexico&#160;Dec. 22,” Mack said. “An immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review issued Mr. Bringas-Rodriguez a final order of removal&#160;Aug. 22, which served as the basis for his removal.&#160;A motion to reopen his case was filed Dec. 26, and proceedings in his case are ongoing.”</p>
<p>The Department of Justice didn’t respond to the Blade’s request for comment.</p>
<p>As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, U.S. citizens in same-sex marriages, like Americans in opposite-sex marriages, can sponsor their immigrant spouses for Green Cards with an I-130 application. Soni, however, said Bringas-Rodriguez wasn’t eligible because he’s subject to the permanent bar and would have to wait 10 years outside of the country before that would be an option.</p>
<p>Soni said the next steps in the case aren’t settled. Although Soni said suing for damages is a “good conversation that we might have,” the main task at hand as of Tuesday was retrieving Bringas-Rodriguez from Mexico.</p>
<p>But was the mess of immigration laws in the United States to blame for the nightmare scenario, or something else? Soni said the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies bear the responsibility for the scenario.</p>
<p>“I’d like to think that they wouldn’t have done that under the prior administration, but that under this administration, given the tenor of both Trump as well as [U.S. Attorney General Jeff] Sessions against immigrants, irrespective of whether they’re here lawfully or not, or who they are, or what they’ve done for the communities, the bottom line is to deport them,” Soni said.</p>
<p>Deportations are rising under the Trump administration. According to the Associated Press,&#160;nearly 54,000 immigrants were deported from the interior last year between Jan. 22 and Sept. 9 — a 34 percent increase over the same period in 2016.</p>
<p>Soni added, “there’s truth to the fact” that low-level immigration officials feel empowered deport immigrants with Trump at the helm.</p>
<p>“To a certain degree, DHS and DOJ thought they could get away with this, that they would not be held to task,” Soni said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mexico</a> <a href="" type="internal">Michael Wolf</a> <a href="" type="internal">Munmeeth Soni</a></p> | 599,854 |
|
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Two men convicted in the shooting death of an innocent bystander at a Boston street festival in 2014 have been sentenced to life in prison.</p>
<p>Keith Williams and Wesson Colas were sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday after being convicted of first-degree murder last month in the death of 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say the men were rivals who confronted each other with guns near a Caribbean festival in Dorchester. Prosecutors say Williams fired the shot that killed the city youth worker.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Colas was responsible because he participated in the gun battle even though he didn't fire the fatal shot.</p>
<p>Jaffier's brother said during Monday's sentencing hearing that his sister's death has changed his life forever. Her father lamented that he will never see his "superstar" again.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Two men convicted in the shooting death of an innocent bystander at a Boston street festival in 2014 have been sentenced to life in prison.</p>
<p>Keith Williams and Wesson Colas were sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday after being convicted of first-degree murder last month in the death of 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say the men were rivals who confronted each other with guns near a Caribbean festival in Dorchester. Prosecutors say Williams fired the shot that killed the city youth worker.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Colas was responsible because he participated in the gun battle even though he didn't fire the fatal shot.</p>
<p>Jaffier's brother said during Monday's sentencing hearing that his sister's death has changed his life forever. Her father lamented that he will never see his "superstar" again.</p> | 2 men get life for shooting death of innocent bystander | false | https://apnews.com/amp/352686e44477467d9416cffea28f24a7 | 2018-01-08 | 2least
| 2 men get life for shooting death of innocent bystander
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Two men convicted in the shooting death of an innocent bystander at a Boston street festival in 2014 have been sentenced to life in prison.</p>
<p>Keith Williams and Wesson Colas were sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday after being convicted of first-degree murder last month in the death of 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say the men were rivals who confronted each other with guns near a Caribbean festival in Dorchester. Prosecutors say Williams fired the shot that killed the city youth worker.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Colas was responsible because he participated in the gun battle even though he didn't fire the fatal shot.</p>
<p>Jaffier's brother said during Monday's sentencing hearing that his sister's death has changed his life forever. Her father lamented that he will never see his "superstar" again.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Two men convicted in the shooting death of an innocent bystander at a Boston street festival in 2014 have been sentenced to life in prison.</p>
<p>Keith Williams and Wesson Colas were sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday after being convicted of first-degree murder last month in the death of 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say the men were rivals who confronted each other with guns near a Caribbean festival in Dorchester. Prosecutors say Williams fired the shot that killed the city youth worker.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Colas was responsible because he participated in the gun battle even though he didn't fire the fatal shot.</p>
<p>Jaffier's brother said during Monday's sentencing hearing that his sister's death has changed his life forever. Her father lamented that he will never see his "superstar" again.</p> | 599,855 |
<p />
<p>As a rule, many liberals aren’t thrilled with the high-stakes testing component of the No Child Left Behind act. But it seems obvious that if you are going to have high-stakes testing, in which the fate of the school hangs in the balance, they should be “value-added tests”—which measure how much a student has learned in a given year, no matter what level he or she starts at—rather than expecting all students in all districts to meet the exact same standards, as is currently done. On the most basic level, “value-added” tests would reward schools for making progress with students, rather than punish those schools that do a good job but can’t get disadvantaged students to accelerate three grade levels in a single year, as NCLB can do. It would also give schools incentive to focus on all students; the way the NCLB tests are currently structured, teachers have incentive to concentrate primarily on those students just below the cutoff, so that they can pass the damn test and save the school. Switching to “value-added” tests makes sense in all sorts of ways.</p>
<p>At any rate, Thomas Toch <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0510.toch.html" type="external">agrees</a>, reporting that the Dallas school system had a fair amount of success with such tests, before NCLB came along. Usefully, though, Toch also points out some of the reasons why this “obvious” solution hasn’t yet been implemented. First, schools lack the proper statistical equipment, although that can be solved easily. And second, some parents don’t like to hear that their students are held to a lower standard than those in some other district.</p>
<p>There’s an argument for replacing the adequate yearly progress method mandated by NCLB with value-added. But the political obstacles to doing so would be considerable. The idea that there should be one standard for all students, regardless of race or income, and that all schools should be held responsible for meeting those standards, is the gravity that holds the liberal and conservative sides of the school reform movement together. Moreover, setting that single standard for all students does seem to have the effect of lifting the aspirations of parents, students, and teachers in many low-income schools, and sparking a sense of panic that is not unhelpful given the dismal performance of many of these schools. Dropping the standards approach entirely makes no sense politically or policy-wise.</p>
<p>One solution might be to publish scores from both the standards-based and value-added methods but to tie rewards and sanctions only to the latter. Another would be to combine the two ratings strategies. That’s what Dallas has done in recent years, Tennessee wants to do, and value-added advocates like Sandy Kress support.</p>
<p>So it’s not impossible. The current Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, has promised to consider changes to the assessment criteria in NCLB. As modest changes go, this seems like one of the more sensible ones.</p> | Better Tests for NCLB | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/10/better-tests-nclb/ | 2005-10-14 | 4left
| Better Tests for NCLB
<p />
<p>As a rule, many liberals aren’t thrilled with the high-stakes testing component of the No Child Left Behind act. But it seems obvious that if you are going to have high-stakes testing, in which the fate of the school hangs in the balance, they should be “value-added tests”—which measure how much a student has learned in a given year, no matter what level he or she starts at—rather than expecting all students in all districts to meet the exact same standards, as is currently done. On the most basic level, “value-added” tests would reward schools for making progress with students, rather than punish those schools that do a good job but can’t get disadvantaged students to accelerate three grade levels in a single year, as NCLB can do. It would also give schools incentive to focus on all students; the way the NCLB tests are currently structured, teachers have incentive to concentrate primarily on those students just below the cutoff, so that they can pass the damn test and save the school. Switching to “value-added” tests makes sense in all sorts of ways.</p>
<p>At any rate, Thomas Toch <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0510.toch.html" type="external">agrees</a>, reporting that the Dallas school system had a fair amount of success with such tests, before NCLB came along. Usefully, though, Toch also points out some of the reasons why this “obvious” solution hasn’t yet been implemented. First, schools lack the proper statistical equipment, although that can be solved easily. And second, some parents don’t like to hear that their students are held to a lower standard than those in some other district.</p>
<p>There’s an argument for replacing the adequate yearly progress method mandated by NCLB with value-added. But the political obstacles to doing so would be considerable. The idea that there should be one standard for all students, regardless of race or income, and that all schools should be held responsible for meeting those standards, is the gravity that holds the liberal and conservative sides of the school reform movement together. Moreover, setting that single standard for all students does seem to have the effect of lifting the aspirations of parents, students, and teachers in many low-income schools, and sparking a sense of panic that is not unhelpful given the dismal performance of many of these schools. Dropping the standards approach entirely makes no sense politically or policy-wise.</p>
<p>One solution might be to publish scores from both the standards-based and value-added methods but to tie rewards and sanctions only to the latter. Another would be to combine the two ratings strategies. That’s what Dallas has done in recent years, Tennessee wants to do, and value-added advocates like Sandy Kress support.</p>
<p>So it’s not impossible. The current Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, has promised to consider changes to the assessment criteria in NCLB. As modest changes go, this seems like one of the more sensible ones.</p> | 599,856 |
<p>This week on <a href="" type="internal">Truthdig Radio</a> in association with <a href="http://kpfk.org" type="external">KPFK</a>: It’s Elizabeth Warren’s country. Hillary Clinton just lives in it. Why Wal-Mart should be worried. Truthdigger of the Week Jeremy Hammond is sentenced to a decade in prison, and we get an update on the Philippines.</p>
<p>(Trouble listening? <a href="" type="internal">Right-click to download the podcast here</a>.)</p>
<p>Guests, in order of appearance: Peter Dreier, Heidi Boghosian, Noam Scheiber, Kuusela Hilo.</p>
<p>{g_podcast_box}</p>
<p /> | Why Elizabeth Warren Should Run for President | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/why-elizabeth-warren-should-run-for-president/ | 2013-11-22 | 4left
| Why Elizabeth Warren Should Run for President
<p>This week on <a href="" type="internal">Truthdig Radio</a> in association with <a href="http://kpfk.org" type="external">KPFK</a>: It’s Elizabeth Warren’s country. Hillary Clinton just lives in it. Why Wal-Mart should be worried. Truthdigger of the Week Jeremy Hammond is sentenced to a decade in prison, and we get an update on the Philippines.</p>
<p>(Trouble listening? <a href="" type="internal">Right-click to download the podcast here</a>.)</p>
<p>Guests, in order of appearance: Peter Dreier, Heidi Boghosian, Noam Scheiber, Kuusela Hilo.</p>
<p>{g_podcast_box}</p>
<p /> | 599,857 |
<p />
<p>The <a href="http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/street.txt" type="external">Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Information Clearinghouse</a> has posted a list of more than 2,000 drug terms culled from the Internet, press articles, and various agencies, according to “Leslie” at the ONDCP (where workers aren’t allowed to give out their last names).</p>
<p>Some of the terms are relatively innocent, others will give you a chuckle. But some of the definitions will leave you wondering if the government hasn’t been just a little too credulous. After all, how often have you heard about PCP mixed with peanut butter? Or PCP laced with gasoline?</p>
<p>We’ll just tell you up front that the <a href="#mojo" type="external">mojo</a> entry on the list has nothing to do with us. The following is a sampling to keep you in the know: Aroma of men: isobutyl nitrite</p>
<p>Balling: vaginally implanted cocaine</p>
<p>Bart Simpson: heroin</p>
<p>Beat artist: someone selling bogus drugs</p>
<p>Beavis &amp; Butthead; Elvis; Felix the Cat; Pink Panther: LSD</p>
<p>Bogart a joint: salivate on a marijuana cigarette; refuse to share</p>
<p>Buck: shoot someone in the head</p>
<p>Buffer: crack smoker; woman who exchanges oral sex for crack</p>
<p>Casper the ghost: crack</p>
<p>Chipper: occasional Hispanic user</p>
<p>Chocolate ecstasy: crack made brown by adding chocolate milk powder during production</p>
<p>Closet baser: user of crack who prefers anonymity</p>
<p>Garbage heads: users who buy crack from street dealers instead of cooking it themselves</p>
<p>Geezin a bit of dee gee: injecting a drug</p>
<p>Graduate: completely stop using drugs OR progress to stronger drugs</p>
<p>Ground control: guide or caretaker during a hallucinogenic experience</p>
<p>Hamburger helper: crack</p>
<p>Hen picking: searching on hands and knees for crack</p>
<p>Highbeams: the wide eyes of a person on crack</p>
<p>Hot heroin: poisoned to give to a police informant</p>
<p>Hubba pigeon: crack user looking for rocks on a floor after a police raid</p>
<p>Jim Jones: marijuana laced with cocaine and PCP</p>
<p>Kabuki; Maserati: crack pipe made from a plastic rum bottle and a rubber sparkplug cover</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Lettuce</a>: money</p>
<p>Lipton tea: inferior quality drugs</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Mayo</a>: cocaine; heroin</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Mojo</a>: cocaine; heroin</p>
<p>Nontoucher: crack user who doesn’t want affection during or after smoking crack</p>
<p>Octane: PCP laced with gasoline</p>
<p>Pancakes and syrup: combination of glutethimide and codeine cough syrup</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Peanut butter</a>: PCP mixed with peanut butter</p>
<p>Pepsi habit: occasional use of drugs</p>
<p>Perp: fake crack made of candle wax and baking soda</p>
<p>Pig Killer: PCP</p>
<p>Pullers: crack users who pull at parts of their bodies excessively</p>
<p>Raspberry; Rock star; Toss up: female who trades sex for crack or money to buy crack</p>
<p>Roid rage: aggressive behavior caused by excessive steroid use</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Sandwich</a>: two layers of cocaine with a layer of heroin in the middle</p>
<p>Skin popping: injecting drugs under the skin</p>
<p>Snot balls: rubber cement rolled into balls and burned</p>
<p>Taxing: price paid to enter a crackhouse; charging more per vial depending on race of customer or if not a regular customer</p>
<p>Toilet water: inhalant</p>
<p>Toucher: user of crack who wants affection before, during, or after smoking crack</p>
<p>Tutti-frutti: flavored cocaine developed by a Brazilian gang</p>
<p>Yen sleep: restless, drowsy state after LSD use</p>
<p /> | Dope Definitions | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1997/07/dope-definitions/ | 1997-07-15 | 4left
| Dope Definitions
<p />
<p>The <a href="http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/street.txt" type="external">Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Information Clearinghouse</a> has posted a list of more than 2,000 drug terms culled from the Internet, press articles, and various agencies, according to “Leslie” at the ONDCP (where workers aren’t allowed to give out their last names).</p>
<p>Some of the terms are relatively innocent, others will give you a chuckle. But some of the definitions will leave you wondering if the government hasn’t been just a little too credulous. After all, how often have you heard about PCP mixed with peanut butter? Or PCP laced with gasoline?</p>
<p>We’ll just tell you up front that the <a href="#mojo" type="external">mojo</a> entry on the list has nothing to do with us. The following is a sampling to keep you in the know: Aroma of men: isobutyl nitrite</p>
<p>Balling: vaginally implanted cocaine</p>
<p>Bart Simpson: heroin</p>
<p>Beat artist: someone selling bogus drugs</p>
<p>Beavis &amp; Butthead; Elvis; Felix the Cat; Pink Panther: LSD</p>
<p>Bogart a joint: salivate on a marijuana cigarette; refuse to share</p>
<p>Buck: shoot someone in the head</p>
<p>Buffer: crack smoker; woman who exchanges oral sex for crack</p>
<p>Casper the ghost: crack</p>
<p>Chipper: occasional Hispanic user</p>
<p>Chocolate ecstasy: crack made brown by adding chocolate milk powder during production</p>
<p>Closet baser: user of crack who prefers anonymity</p>
<p>Garbage heads: users who buy crack from street dealers instead of cooking it themselves</p>
<p>Geezin a bit of dee gee: injecting a drug</p>
<p>Graduate: completely stop using drugs OR progress to stronger drugs</p>
<p>Ground control: guide or caretaker during a hallucinogenic experience</p>
<p>Hamburger helper: crack</p>
<p>Hen picking: searching on hands and knees for crack</p>
<p>Highbeams: the wide eyes of a person on crack</p>
<p>Hot heroin: poisoned to give to a police informant</p>
<p>Hubba pigeon: crack user looking for rocks on a floor after a police raid</p>
<p>Jim Jones: marijuana laced with cocaine and PCP</p>
<p>Kabuki; Maserati: crack pipe made from a plastic rum bottle and a rubber sparkplug cover</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Lettuce</a>: money</p>
<p>Lipton tea: inferior quality drugs</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Mayo</a>: cocaine; heroin</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Mojo</a>: cocaine; heroin</p>
<p>Nontoucher: crack user who doesn’t want affection during or after smoking crack</p>
<p>Octane: PCP laced with gasoline</p>
<p>Pancakes and syrup: combination of glutethimide and codeine cough syrup</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Peanut butter</a>: PCP mixed with peanut butter</p>
<p>Pepsi habit: occasional use of drugs</p>
<p>Perp: fake crack made of candle wax and baking soda</p>
<p>Pig Killer: PCP</p>
<p>Pullers: crack users who pull at parts of their bodies excessively</p>
<p>Raspberry; Rock star; Toss up: female who trades sex for crack or money to buy crack</p>
<p>Roid rage: aggressive behavior caused by excessive steroid use</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Sandwich</a>: two layers of cocaine with a layer of heroin in the middle</p>
<p>Skin popping: injecting drugs under the skin</p>
<p>Snot balls: rubber cement rolled into balls and burned</p>
<p>Taxing: price paid to enter a crackhouse; charging more per vial depending on race of customer or if not a regular customer</p>
<p>Toilet water: inhalant</p>
<p>Toucher: user of crack who wants affection before, during, or after smoking crack</p>
<p>Tutti-frutti: flavored cocaine developed by a Brazilian gang</p>
<p>Yen sleep: restless, drowsy state after LSD use</p>
<p /> | 599,858 |
<p>Why has John Kasich has received over $700,000 for his presidential campaign from organizations connected with George Soros?</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/why-has-george-soros-given-john-kasichs-presidential-campaign-700000" type="external">LifeSiteNews</a> reports, Soros Fund Management, Kasich’s sixth highest individual donor, gave him $202,700; the Duquesne Family Office, run by Stanley Druckenmiller, who manages $2 billion of Soros’ hedge funds, gave $150,000; Druckenmiller himself gave Kasich’s New Day for America $150,000; and Scott Bessent, who was <a href="http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/major-gop-presidential-candidate-took-588375-george-soros/#ixzz435sUz157" type="external">Soros’ chief investment manager</a> until late last year, gave Kasich $200,000.</p>
<p>Soros’ leftist credentials are impeccable; he is the <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/planned-parenthoods-biggest-donors-gave-374-million-in-four-years" type="external">third largest donor to Planned Parenthood</a>, having donated tens of millions of dollars; he has funded ACORN and MoveOn.org.</p>
<p>Soros, who has donated $8 million to Hillary Clinton, has written in the Guardian, “We must reaffirm our commitment to the principles of open society and resist the siren song of the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, however hard that may be.”</p>
<p>Given Soros’ support for Clinton, why would he support Kasich?</p>
<p>Here’s where things get really suspicious; Trump has ties to Soros that date back to 2004, when Grove Capital LLP, which managed most of the multibillion-dollar real estate portfolio of the $13 billion Soros Fund Management, was one of three New York hedge funds to invest a total of $160 million in Trump’s proposed Chicago skyscraper, according to the <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-10-28/news/0410280265_1_donald-trump-soros-fund-management-blackacre-institutional-capital-management" type="external">Chicago Tribune</a>.</p>
<p>Given Soros’ support for Clinton, why would he support Kasich?</p>
<p>So if Trump and Soros have done business together, and Soros backs Kasich, that implies that Soros’ attack on Trump and Cruz is a devious way of hiding the obvious: Soros knows exactly who Trump is, and has no problems with Trump.</p>
<p>It is only Cruz who worries him, and by supporting Kasich, Soros ensures Trump’s nomination.</p> | Soros Has Given Kasich $700,000. Why? | true | https://dailywire.com/news/4249/soros-has-given-kasich-700000-why-hank-berrien | 2016-03-21 | 0right
| Soros Has Given Kasich $700,000. Why?
<p>Why has John Kasich has received over $700,000 for his presidential campaign from organizations connected with George Soros?</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/why-has-george-soros-given-john-kasichs-presidential-campaign-700000" type="external">LifeSiteNews</a> reports, Soros Fund Management, Kasich’s sixth highest individual donor, gave him $202,700; the Duquesne Family Office, run by Stanley Druckenmiller, who manages $2 billion of Soros’ hedge funds, gave $150,000; Druckenmiller himself gave Kasich’s New Day for America $150,000; and Scott Bessent, who was <a href="http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/major-gop-presidential-candidate-took-588375-george-soros/#ixzz435sUz157" type="external">Soros’ chief investment manager</a> until late last year, gave Kasich $200,000.</p>
<p>Soros’ leftist credentials are impeccable; he is the <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/planned-parenthoods-biggest-donors-gave-374-million-in-four-years" type="external">third largest donor to Planned Parenthood</a>, having donated tens of millions of dollars; he has funded ACORN and MoveOn.org.</p>
<p>Soros, who has donated $8 million to Hillary Clinton, has written in the Guardian, “We must reaffirm our commitment to the principles of open society and resist the siren song of the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, however hard that may be.”</p>
<p>Given Soros’ support for Clinton, why would he support Kasich?</p>
<p>Here’s where things get really suspicious; Trump has ties to Soros that date back to 2004, when Grove Capital LLP, which managed most of the multibillion-dollar real estate portfolio of the $13 billion Soros Fund Management, was one of three New York hedge funds to invest a total of $160 million in Trump’s proposed Chicago skyscraper, according to the <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-10-28/news/0410280265_1_donald-trump-soros-fund-management-blackacre-institutional-capital-management" type="external">Chicago Tribune</a>.</p>
<p>Given Soros’ support for Clinton, why would he support Kasich?</p>
<p>So if Trump and Soros have done business together, and Soros backs Kasich, that implies that Soros’ attack on Trump and Cruz is a devious way of hiding the obvious: Soros knows exactly who Trump is, and has no problems with Trump.</p>
<p>It is only Cruz who worries him, and by supporting Kasich, Soros ensures Trump’s nomination.</p> | 599,859 |
<p>A new survey suggests slower economic growth ahead in rural areas of 10 states in the Plains and the West.</p>
<p>Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said Thursday falling grain prices and weak global growth are weighing down the economy in rural areas.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The overall economic index for the region fell to 43.4 in October from September's already negative 48.2. The index has been steadily falling since June 2013 when it hit 60.5.</p>
<p>The survey indexes range from 0 to 100. Any score below 50 suggests decline in the months ahead.</p>
<p>Bankers from rural areas of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.</p> | Bankers predict slow economic growth in rural parts of 10 Western and Plains states | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/17/bankers-predict-slow-economic-growth-in-rural-parts-10-western-and-plains.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Bankers predict slow economic growth in rural parts of 10 Western and Plains states
<p>A new survey suggests slower economic growth ahead in rural areas of 10 states in the Plains and the West.</p>
<p>Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said Thursday falling grain prices and weak global growth are weighing down the economy in rural areas.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The overall economic index for the region fell to 43.4 in October from September's already negative 48.2. The index has been steadily falling since June 2013 when it hit 60.5.</p>
<p>The survey indexes range from 0 to 100. Any score below 50 suggests decline in the months ahead.</p>
<p>Bankers from rural areas of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.</p> | 599,860 |
<p>The “Letter to the Synod Fathers from Catholic Women,” coordinated by the Catholic Women’s Forum, brings to the public square the much-needed voice of Catholic women who support the Church’s teachings on sexuality, marriage, and family. The letter affirms that Catholic teachings promote women’s flourishing while serving to protect the poor and vulnerable. It also expresses solidarity with women in the developing world against the forces of “ideological colonization,” and urges an expanded role for women as messengers of the faith.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to read the letter and to add your name to the list of signatories.</p> | Letter to Synod Fathers from Catholic Women | false | https://eppc.org/publications/letter-to-synod-fathers-from-catholic-women/ | 1right-center
| Letter to Synod Fathers from Catholic Women
<p>The “Letter to the Synod Fathers from Catholic Women,” coordinated by the Catholic Women’s Forum, brings to the public square the much-needed voice of Catholic women who support the Church’s teachings on sexuality, marriage, and family. The letter affirms that Catholic teachings promote women’s flourishing while serving to protect the poor and vulnerable. It also expresses solidarity with women in the developing world against the forces of “ideological colonization,” and urges an expanded role for women as messengers of the faith.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Click here</a> to read the letter and to add your name to the list of signatories.</p> | 599,861 |
|
<p>From a deal with Iran to an uptick in the employment rolls, a lot can happen to shift the political conversation between now and November.</p>
<p>Immigration reform, for example, was supposed to help Democrats in the midterm elections. Clashes on the border between angry Texans and buses carrying immigrant children fleeing gang violence and sex trafficking highlighted the GOP's opposition, and Democrats thought maybe this was the game changer they needed.</p>
<p>But the consensus among Republicans and Democrats interviewed for this article is that President Obama squandered his party's advantage on immigration when he was blindsided by the sudden influx of children from Central America, and then didn't do much to deal with the crisis until it became a big national story.</p>
<p>Frank Luntz, who helped steer the GOP to its House majority in 1994, says what's happening in Texas has captivated public attention and could negatively impact the Democrats more than anything else this year, including health care. "No one expected us to lose control of the border," he says, and when something unexpected happens, that's the definition of a game changer.</p>
<p>"You want another game changer," he added, "Rick Perry went from no contender to serious contender in 24 hours. He has been completely rehabilitated."</p>
<p>Democrats counting on an energized Hispanic vote in November are looking to Obama to retrieve the situation with whatever executive orders he can come up with. But Brookings senior fellow William Galston says almost any response is going to involve some steps pro-immigration advocates are not going to like. "While Hispanics are angry and disaffected with the Republicans, they're bitterly disappointed with the Democrats."</p>
<p>Yet some things could happen between now and November that might alter the public mood, says Galston. An historic agreement to derail Iran's nuclear program would be a diplomatic achievement on the scale of Camp David, and would disrupt the current narrative that Obama can't do anything right.</p>
<p>Even more important to voters could be an improving economy, especially if unemployment drops below 6 percent, which it is likely to do. Alternatively, a sudden oil shock stemming from the turbulent events in the Middle East is also possible, and would counter any good economic news.</p>
<p>Midterm races generally crystallize in mid-summer, and the House is expected to stay firmly in GOP hands. Political handicapper Charlie Cook points out that 96 percent of Democrats are in seats Obama won, and 93 percent of Republicans are in districts Mitt Romney won, leaving very few competitive swing districts.</p>
<p>The Senate is the big prize, and Republicans can gain the majority just winning seats in red states that Romney carried. "What happens in the Senate is less about the environment than where the races are," says Cook. Democrats, he says, are facing "an ugly map."</p>
<p>Obamacare is still a big driver, but it's not the unalloyed gift Republicans had banked on. A survey last month for NBC and the Wall Street Journal conducted by Republican pollster Bill McInturff and Democratic pollster Peter Hart found the biggest liability for Democrats is a lack of time to alter the negative impression about the health care law, which is taking hold with millions of happy enrollees. For Republicans, the biggest liability is that voters aren't buying the GOP's "repeal and replace" message, preferring "fix and keep" instead.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision giving closely-held family corporations veto power over contraceptive coverage jump-starts the Democrats? "war on women" theme and could help turn out single women who, when they vote, support Democrats. House Speaker John Boehner's lawsuit against the president, a proxy for impeachment, gets Democratic activists revved up, but most analysts dismiss it as a political stunt that's going nowhere.</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>"Just noise," says Luntz, who despite his bullishness on how the border crisis is helping the GOP, says he "must be the only person right of center who isn't convinced Republicans will win the Senate." Asked to explain, he says opposition to Obama and Senate leader Harry Reid is "not enough. Candidates need to be heard. They have to have a reason to be elected."</p>
<p>GOP consultant Kevin Madden thinks he has found the perfect issue for Republicans to champion: increased investment in early childhood programs. A bipartisan poll being released Thursday by the First Five Years Fund shows sizeable majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans favoring more government programs for preschoolers, with evidence that every dollar spent saves seven dollars in benefits down the road.</p>
<p>The Fund's executive director, Kris Perry, thinks it's the perfect issue for the GOP's emerging generation of intellectuals, dubbed "Reformicons," who are searching for ideas to ease their party's hard-line image. Having failed to win the Senate in the last two election cycles because of candidates that were preposterous in their views and rhetoric, Republicans are much more savvy this time around.</p>
<p>For one thing, there won't be any town meetings in August for candidates to attract unwanted attention. "Members have found ways to avoid town hall meetings with teleconferences or invitation-only meetings," says Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.</p>
<p>Even with the deck stacked against them, Democrats can take heart in two things, says Pitney. "Republicans are perfectly capable of botching races, and with the Senate, Democrats lose in 2014, they gain it in 2016." In two years, it will be the Republicans' turn to face an ugly map, and the search for game changers will begin anew.</p> | The Looming Political Game Changers | true | https://thedailybeast.com/the-looming-political-game-changers | 2018-10-04 | 4left
| The Looming Political Game Changers
<p>From a deal with Iran to an uptick in the employment rolls, a lot can happen to shift the political conversation between now and November.</p>
<p>Immigration reform, for example, was supposed to help Democrats in the midterm elections. Clashes on the border between angry Texans and buses carrying immigrant children fleeing gang violence and sex trafficking highlighted the GOP's opposition, and Democrats thought maybe this was the game changer they needed.</p>
<p>But the consensus among Republicans and Democrats interviewed for this article is that President Obama squandered his party's advantage on immigration when he was blindsided by the sudden influx of children from Central America, and then didn't do much to deal with the crisis until it became a big national story.</p>
<p>Frank Luntz, who helped steer the GOP to its House majority in 1994, says what's happening in Texas has captivated public attention and could negatively impact the Democrats more than anything else this year, including health care. "No one expected us to lose control of the border," he says, and when something unexpected happens, that's the definition of a game changer.</p>
<p>"You want another game changer," he added, "Rick Perry went from no contender to serious contender in 24 hours. He has been completely rehabilitated."</p>
<p>Democrats counting on an energized Hispanic vote in November are looking to Obama to retrieve the situation with whatever executive orders he can come up with. But Brookings senior fellow William Galston says almost any response is going to involve some steps pro-immigration advocates are not going to like. "While Hispanics are angry and disaffected with the Republicans, they're bitterly disappointed with the Democrats."</p>
<p>Yet some things could happen between now and November that might alter the public mood, says Galston. An historic agreement to derail Iran's nuclear program would be a diplomatic achievement on the scale of Camp David, and would disrupt the current narrative that Obama can't do anything right.</p>
<p>Even more important to voters could be an improving economy, especially if unemployment drops below 6 percent, which it is likely to do. Alternatively, a sudden oil shock stemming from the turbulent events in the Middle East is also possible, and would counter any good economic news.</p>
<p>Midterm races generally crystallize in mid-summer, and the House is expected to stay firmly in GOP hands. Political handicapper Charlie Cook points out that 96 percent of Democrats are in seats Obama won, and 93 percent of Republicans are in districts Mitt Romney won, leaving very few competitive swing districts.</p>
<p>The Senate is the big prize, and Republicans can gain the majority just winning seats in red states that Romney carried. "What happens in the Senate is less about the environment than where the races are," says Cook. Democrats, he says, are facing "an ugly map."</p>
<p>Obamacare is still a big driver, but it's not the unalloyed gift Republicans had banked on. A survey last month for NBC and the Wall Street Journal conducted by Republican pollster Bill McInturff and Democratic pollster Peter Hart found the biggest liability for Democrats is a lack of time to alter the negative impression about the health care law, which is taking hold with millions of happy enrollees. For Republicans, the biggest liability is that voters aren't buying the GOP's "repeal and replace" message, preferring "fix and keep" instead.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision giving closely-held family corporations veto power over contraceptive coverage jump-starts the Democrats? "war on women" theme and could help turn out single women who, when they vote, support Democrats. House Speaker John Boehner's lawsuit against the president, a proxy for impeachment, gets Democratic activists revved up, but most analysts dismiss it as a political stunt that's going nowhere.</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>"Just noise," says Luntz, who despite his bullishness on how the border crisis is helping the GOP, says he "must be the only person right of center who isn't convinced Republicans will win the Senate." Asked to explain, he says opposition to Obama and Senate leader Harry Reid is "not enough. Candidates need to be heard. They have to have a reason to be elected."</p>
<p>GOP consultant Kevin Madden thinks he has found the perfect issue for Republicans to champion: increased investment in early childhood programs. A bipartisan poll being released Thursday by the First Five Years Fund shows sizeable majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans favoring more government programs for preschoolers, with evidence that every dollar spent saves seven dollars in benefits down the road.</p>
<p>The Fund's executive director, Kris Perry, thinks it's the perfect issue for the GOP's emerging generation of intellectuals, dubbed "Reformicons," who are searching for ideas to ease their party's hard-line image. Having failed to win the Senate in the last two election cycles because of candidates that were preposterous in their views and rhetoric, Republicans are much more savvy this time around.</p>
<p>For one thing, there won't be any town meetings in August for candidates to attract unwanted attention. "Members have found ways to avoid town hall meetings with teleconferences or invitation-only meetings," says Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.</p>
<p>Even with the deck stacked against them, Democrats can take heart in two things, says Pitney. "Republicans are perfectly capable of botching races, and with the Senate, Democrats lose in 2014, they gain it in 2016." In two years, it will be the Republicans' turn to face an ugly map, and the search for game changers will begin anew.</p> | 599,862 |
<p>Victoria Jones/Press Association/AP</p>
<p>The cognitive dissonance of the Republicans is pegging the needle this week. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/clinton-campaign-dnc-paid-for-research-that-led-to-russia-dossier/2017/10/24/226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.538082497a8e" type="external">news</a> that a law firm working for the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee bankrolled the Trump opposition research project that produced the infamous Trump-Russia memos has touched off much howling in GOP and conservative quarters. The revelation that these Democratic outfits financed the digging of Christopher David Steele, the veteran British counterintelligence officer, was a scoop—but it does not fundamentally change the landscape.</p>
<p>When the existence of these memos was <a href="" type="internal">first reported</a> (uh, by me, in October 2016), I noted that Steele’s investigation was underwritten by a Democratic source. Now the public knows which ones. But as Republicans seize on this development to try to discredit the Steele memos and the whole Trump-Russia scandal, they are also pushing for an investigation into what they claim is the&#160;real&#160;scandal involving Hillary Clinton and the sale of a uranium company with US operations to a Russian government agency. Fact-checkers have already&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/10/26/the-facts-behind-trumps-repeated-claim-about-hillary-clintons-role-in-the-russian-uranium-deal/?utm_term=.be6e758fa945" type="external">declared</a> this supposed scandal, which President Donald Trump has pushed, a&#160; <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/10/a-false-corruption-claim/" type="external">phony</a>. But here’s where the hypocrisy truly kicks in: the Clinton-uranium story originated with an anti-Clinton book called&#160;Clinton Cash, which was produced at a nonprofit supported by right-wing hedge-fund manager Robert Mercer and co-founded by conservative firebrand Stephen Bannon.</p>
<p>So you see what’s happening? Republicans are asserting the Steele memos should be dismissed because they are a dastardly Democratic oppo concoction&#160;and&#160;saying this somehow undermines the whole Trump-Russia scandal. Yet at the same time, they are demanding an investigation of the fake Clinton-uranium scandal that was based on a debunked story subsidized and promoted by a big-money conservative donor and Trump backer.&#160;</p>
<p>At the heart of all this is a simple and troubling fact: Most Republicans don’t seem to give a damn about the Russian assault on the 2016 election and the profound implications of that act of information warfare. Trump, of course, has refused to fully acknowledge Vladimir Putin’s attack on American democracy and has branded all reporting of interactions between him and his associates and Russia as “fake news.” (His denial of Russia’s actions was <a href="" type="internal">one form of collusion</a>.) Most of his party has followed his lead. Though there are three congressional investigations underway related to the Trump-Russia scandal, several prominent Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Devin Nunes, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, have been trying to change the subject by focusing on the Steele documents more than the extensive Russian covert plot—which included the hack-and-dump operations and, as we now realize, clandestine social-media campaigns. These Republicans also have been attempting to develop competing scandals, such as the Clinton-uranium affair or the unmasking controversy. (For the latter pseudo-scandal—a Nunes favorite—Republicans have claimed former Obama administration officials who reviewed classified intelligence intercepts improperly asked for the names of Americans caught in US intelligence eavesdropping. Unmasking actually is a common action conducted by national security officials, and so far there has been no evidence anyone engaged in wrongful unmasking.)</p>
<p>Republicans and conservatives looking to protect the president from the Russia scandal keep trying to build up distractions. The Steele memos have been a main target. Republicans appear to believe that if they can cast the Steele memos as no more than a spurious product of partisan oppo research—essentially, a dirty trick—they can persuade people that the whole Trump-Russia affair is the hoax the president claims it is. Some Trump backers even contend that the FBI investigation is a sham because it was predicated on the Steele material.&#160;</p>
<p>There is no indication that Steele’s memo triggered the FBI’s probe of the Trump-Russia connections. The available information shows that the bureau was already interested in the ties between Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Putin-friendly Ukrainians and that the FBI was keeping an eye on Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who had in 2013 been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/us/politics/carter-page-trump-russia.html" type="external">a recruiting target</a> of Russian intelligence. Steele did, on his own initiative, start to share his material with the FBI in July 2016—weeks after the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee became public—but it was not until early October that the bureau requested a briefing from him. The bottom line: There was plenty of reason for the FBI to investigate Trump-Russia ties without the Steele stuff.&#160;</p>
<p>Still, the Steele memos should not be dismissed. Some of his material now tracks with what’s become publicly known. Steele’s first memo, written in June 2016, reported there had been secret exchanges of information between the Russian government and Trump and his team. This past July it was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html" type="external">revealed</a> that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Manafort met with a Russian emissary in June 2016 in an effort to obtain dirt on Clinton as part of a secret Russian government scheme to help Trump. That initial Steele memo also reported that the Kremlin had for years been trying to cultivate Trump by offering him lucrative real estate deals in Russia. Though Trump’s efforts to score a big project in Russia has long been known, only recently was it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-tower-putin-felix-sater.html" type="external">disclosed</a>&#160;that during the 2016 campaign, Trump—while he was making positive remarks about Putin—was secretly trying to land a deal to build a Trump tower in Moscow. Was that part of a Russian attempt to woo the developer-turned-candidate?&#160;</p>
<p>There are elements in the Steele memos that are far more solid than the Clinton-uranium conspiracy theory. The gist of that tale is that when Clinton was secretary of state she supposedly approved a Russian takeover of a uranium firm that controlled about one-fifth of uranium production in the United States—and she okayed this deal after the Clinton Foundation received $145 million from investors in the company. The two foundational premises of this are <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/oct/24/what-you-need-know-about-hillary-clinton-and-urani/" type="external">inaccurate</a>. The State Department was one of nine federal agencies that had to sign off on the deal, and there is no evidence that Clinton was involved in Foggy Bottom’s decision-making on the matter. (The official in charge of foreign investment issues at the State Department has said that Clinton did not participate in these decisions.) And about $140 million of the payments to the Clinton Foundation came from a Canadian businessman who says he sold his stake in the company three years before the Russian deal. (One investor did give between $1.3 million and $5.6 million while the deal was being reviewed.)&#160;</p>
<p>As the&#160;New York Times noted in a long 2015&#160; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=1" type="external">story</a> that used material from&#160;Clinton Cash, “Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown.” The Clinton Foundation did pose ethical challenges for Clinton when she was secretary of state—it accepted donations from foreign governments and businesspeople who had interests in US policy—and this was a subject that warranted scrutiny. But there has been no evidence that this uranium deal—hyped by conservative outfits—amounted to a secret and corrupt pay-to-play arrangement. Yet that is what Trump and other Republicans have claimed, in a brazen effort to present a counter-controversy. And this week,&#160; Nunes and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/politics/house-investigating-uranium-deal/index.html" type="external">announced</a> their committees would be conducting a joint investigation of the deal. (This is before there has been any conclusion of the Trump-Russia probe.)</p>
<p>One tragedy of the Trump-Russia scandal is that it has not escaped the hyperpartisan vortex of modern-day politics. The intelligence community—which Republicans used to support and embrace as part of their patriotic duty—has declared that Putin waged cyberwar on the United States to influence an election and help Trump land in the White House. Yet plenty of&#160; Republicans now are looking to deflect and distract. Ultimately, the Steele dossier is not the most important matter at hand. And certainly the uranium deal and unmasking are not. None of these have anything to do with the integrity of the American election process—or with protecting US democracy from future attacks from Russia or elsewhere. Still, many Republicans—Trump, most of all—would rather have congressional committees (and the public) chase after these rabbits rather than confront the bear in the room. And there’s just one word for that: sad.&#160;</p> | How Republicans Are Jumping on the New Steele Scoop to Distract From the Trump-Russia Scandal | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/how-republicans-are-jumping-on-the-new-steele-scoop-to-distract-from-the-trump-russia-scandal/ | 2017-10-25 | 4left
| How Republicans Are Jumping on the New Steele Scoop to Distract From the Trump-Russia Scandal
<p>Victoria Jones/Press Association/AP</p>
<p>The cognitive dissonance of the Republicans is pegging the needle this week. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/clinton-campaign-dnc-paid-for-research-that-led-to-russia-dossier/2017/10/24/226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.538082497a8e" type="external">news</a> that a law firm working for the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee bankrolled the Trump opposition research project that produced the infamous Trump-Russia memos has touched off much howling in GOP and conservative quarters. The revelation that these Democratic outfits financed the digging of Christopher David Steele, the veteran British counterintelligence officer, was a scoop—but it does not fundamentally change the landscape.</p>
<p>When the existence of these memos was <a href="" type="internal">first reported</a> (uh, by me, in October 2016), I noted that Steele’s investigation was underwritten by a Democratic source. Now the public knows which ones. But as Republicans seize on this development to try to discredit the Steele memos and the whole Trump-Russia scandal, they are also pushing for an investigation into what they claim is the&#160;real&#160;scandal involving Hillary Clinton and the sale of a uranium company with US operations to a Russian government agency. Fact-checkers have already&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/10/26/the-facts-behind-trumps-repeated-claim-about-hillary-clintons-role-in-the-russian-uranium-deal/?utm_term=.be6e758fa945" type="external">declared</a> this supposed scandal, which President Donald Trump has pushed, a&#160; <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/10/a-false-corruption-claim/" type="external">phony</a>. But here’s where the hypocrisy truly kicks in: the Clinton-uranium story originated with an anti-Clinton book called&#160;Clinton Cash, which was produced at a nonprofit supported by right-wing hedge-fund manager Robert Mercer and co-founded by conservative firebrand Stephen Bannon.</p>
<p>So you see what’s happening? Republicans are asserting the Steele memos should be dismissed because they are a dastardly Democratic oppo concoction&#160;and&#160;saying this somehow undermines the whole Trump-Russia scandal. Yet at the same time, they are demanding an investigation of the fake Clinton-uranium scandal that was based on a debunked story subsidized and promoted by a big-money conservative donor and Trump backer.&#160;</p>
<p>At the heart of all this is a simple and troubling fact: Most Republicans don’t seem to give a damn about the Russian assault on the 2016 election and the profound implications of that act of information warfare. Trump, of course, has refused to fully acknowledge Vladimir Putin’s attack on American democracy and has branded all reporting of interactions between him and his associates and Russia as “fake news.” (His denial of Russia’s actions was <a href="" type="internal">one form of collusion</a>.) Most of his party has followed his lead. Though there are three congressional investigations underway related to the Trump-Russia scandal, several prominent Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Devin Nunes, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, have been trying to change the subject by focusing on the Steele documents more than the extensive Russian covert plot—which included the hack-and-dump operations and, as we now realize, clandestine social-media campaigns. These Republicans also have been attempting to develop competing scandals, such as the Clinton-uranium affair or the unmasking controversy. (For the latter pseudo-scandal—a Nunes favorite—Republicans have claimed former Obama administration officials who reviewed classified intelligence intercepts improperly asked for the names of Americans caught in US intelligence eavesdropping. Unmasking actually is a common action conducted by national security officials, and so far there has been no evidence anyone engaged in wrongful unmasking.)</p>
<p>Republicans and conservatives looking to protect the president from the Russia scandal keep trying to build up distractions. The Steele memos have been a main target. Republicans appear to believe that if they can cast the Steele memos as no more than a spurious product of partisan oppo research—essentially, a dirty trick—they can persuade people that the whole Trump-Russia affair is the hoax the president claims it is. Some Trump backers even contend that the FBI investigation is a sham because it was predicated on the Steele material.&#160;</p>
<p>There is no indication that Steele’s memo triggered the FBI’s probe of the Trump-Russia connections. The available information shows that the bureau was already interested in the ties between Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Putin-friendly Ukrainians and that the FBI was keeping an eye on Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who had in 2013 been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/us/politics/carter-page-trump-russia.html" type="external">a recruiting target</a> of Russian intelligence. Steele did, on his own initiative, start to share his material with the FBI in July 2016—weeks after the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee became public—but it was not until early October that the bureau requested a briefing from him. The bottom line: There was plenty of reason for the FBI to investigate Trump-Russia ties without the Steele stuff.&#160;</p>
<p>Still, the Steele memos should not be dismissed. Some of his material now tracks with what’s become publicly known. Steele’s first memo, written in June 2016, reported there had been secret exchanges of information between the Russian government and Trump and his team. This past July it was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html" type="external">revealed</a> that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Manafort met with a Russian emissary in June 2016 in an effort to obtain dirt on Clinton as part of a secret Russian government scheme to help Trump. That initial Steele memo also reported that the Kremlin had for years been trying to cultivate Trump by offering him lucrative real estate deals in Russia. Though Trump’s efforts to score a big project in Russia has long been known, only recently was it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-tower-putin-felix-sater.html" type="external">disclosed</a>&#160;that during the 2016 campaign, Trump—while he was making positive remarks about Putin—was secretly trying to land a deal to build a Trump tower in Moscow. Was that part of a Russian attempt to woo the developer-turned-candidate?&#160;</p>
<p>There are elements in the Steele memos that are far more solid than the Clinton-uranium conspiracy theory. The gist of that tale is that when Clinton was secretary of state she supposedly approved a Russian takeover of a uranium firm that controlled about one-fifth of uranium production in the United States—and she okayed this deal after the Clinton Foundation received $145 million from investors in the company. The two foundational premises of this are <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/oct/24/what-you-need-know-about-hillary-clinton-and-urani/" type="external">inaccurate</a>. The State Department was one of nine federal agencies that had to sign off on the deal, and there is no evidence that Clinton was involved in Foggy Bottom’s decision-making on the matter. (The official in charge of foreign investment issues at the State Department has said that Clinton did not participate in these decisions.) And about $140 million of the payments to the Clinton Foundation came from a Canadian businessman who says he sold his stake in the company three years before the Russian deal. (One investor did give between $1.3 million and $5.6 million while the deal was being reviewed.)&#160;</p>
<p>As the&#160;New York Times noted in a long 2015&#160; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=1" type="external">story</a> that used material from&#160;Clinton Cash, “Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown.” The Clinton Foundation did pose ethical challenges for Clinton when she was secretary of state—it accepted donations from foreign governments and businesspeople who had interests in US policy—and this was a subject that warranted scrutiny. But there has been no evidence that this uranium deal—hyped by conservative outfits—amounted to a secret and corrupt pay-to-play arrangement. Yet that is what Trump and other Republicans have claimed, in a brazen effort to present a counter-controversy. And this week,&#160; Nunes and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/politics/house-investigating-uranium-deal/index.html" type="external">announced</a> their committees would be conducting a joint investigation of the deal. (This is before there has been any conclusion of the Trump-Russia probe.)</p>
<p>One tragedy of the Trump-Russia scandal is that it has not escaped the hyperpartisan vortex of modern-day politics. The intelligence community—which Republicans used to support and embrace as part of their patriotic duty—has declared that Putin waged cyberwar on the United States to influence an election and help Trump land in the White House. Yet plenty of&#160; Republicans now are looking to deflect and distract. Ultimately, the Steele dossier is not the most important matter at hand. And certainly the uranium deal and unmasking are not. None of these have anything to do with the integrity of the American election process—or with protecting US democracy from future attacks from Russia or elsewhere. Still, many Republicans—Trump, most of all—would rather have congressional committees (and the public) chase after these rabbits rather than confront the bear in the room. And there’s just one word for that: sad.&#160;</p> | 599,863 |
<p>Prop 37 would require labeling for most genetically engineered foods sold in California. Currently, 40-70% of food sold in California grocery stores has some GE ingredients.</p>
<p>Under Prop 37, retailers would be responsible for validating the labels on genetically engineered food. They would be required to prove that a specific food is not GE by producing a sworn statement from the supplier that the product does not knowingly contain GE material or by independent certification. Alcohol, organic foods, dairy products, meat, and poultry are exempt from Prop 37. Consumers would be able to sue over&#160;mislabeled&#160;foods without having to prove any actual damage occurred.</p>
<p><a href="http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/37-title-summ-analysis.pdf" type="external">Proposition 37</a>:</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.carighttoknow.org/" type="external">Yes on 37</a> campaign urges a yes vote.</p>
<p>Proposition 37 is a common-sense November ballot measure that will help consumers make informed choices about the food they eat. Written with broad input from food groups, industry, science, legal and health experts Prop. 37 (The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act) requires clear labels letting consumers know if foods are genetically modified. We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.noprop37.com/" type="external">No on 37</a> campaign says:</p>
<p>Proposition 37 would ban the sale of tens of thousands of perfectly-safe, common grocery products only in California unless they are specially repackaged, relabeled or made with higher cost ingredients. Prop 37 is a deceptive, deeply flawed food labeling scheme that would add more government bureaucracy and taxpayer costs, create new frivolous lawsuits, and increase food costs by billions — without providing any health or safety benefits.</p>
<p>Yes on 37 has a <a href="https://youtu.be/Szq2GFYktG8" type="external">30 second video</a> linking those who lied in past about the dangers of cigarettes, DDT, and Agent Orange to those who say now that GE foods are safe. However, while GE foods have been around for almost twenty years, there is still no definitive word on its safety or lack of safety by scientists. Thus, voters will need to vote based on their opinion of the safety of GE food.</p> | Proposition 37 Requires Genetically Engineered Food Labeling | false | https://ivn.us/2012/10/10/california-proposition-37-genetically-engineered-food/ | 2012-10-10 | 2least
| Proposition 37 Requires Genetically Engineered Food Labeling
<p>Prop 37 would require labeling for most genetically engineered foods sold in California. Currently, 40-70% of food sold in California grocery stores has some GE ingredients.</p>
<p>Under Prop 37, retailers would be responsible for validating the labels on genetically engineered food. They would be required to prove that a specific food is not GE by producing a sworn statement from the supplier that the product does not knowingly contain GE material or by independent certification. Alcohol, organic foods, dairy products, meat, and poultry are exempt from Prop 37. Consumers would be able to sue over&#160;mislabeled&#160;foods without having to prove any actual damage occurred.</p>
<p><a href="http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/37-title-summ-analysis.pdf" type="external">Proposition 37</a>:</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.carighttoknow.org/" type="external">Yes on 37</a> campaign urges a yes vote.</p>
<p>Proposition 37 is a common-sense November ballot measure that will help consumers make informed choices about the food they eat. Written with broad input from food groups, industry, science, legal and health experts Prop. 37 (The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act) requires clear labels letting consumers know if foods are genetically modified. We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.noprop37.com/" type="external">No on 37</a> campaign says:</p>
<p>Proposition 37 would ban the sale of tens of thousands of perfectly-safe, common grocery products only in California unless they are specially repackaged, relabeled or made with higher cost ingredients. Prop 37 is a deceptive, deeply flawed food labeling scheme that would add more government bureaucracy and taxpayer costs, create new frivolous lawsuits, and increase food costs by billions — without providing any health or safety benefits.</p>
<p>Yes on 37 has a <a href="https://youtu.be/Szq2GFYktG8" type="external">30 second video</a> linking those who lied in past about the dangers of cigarettes, DDT, and Agent Orange to those who say now that GE foods are safe. However, while GE foods have been around for almost twenty years, there is still no definitive word on its safety or lack of safety by scientists. Thus, voters will need to vote based on their opinion of the safety of GE food.</p> | 599,864 |
<p>Low interest rates and dollar weakness seen earlier this year combined to make for a perfect storm for emerging markets and the relevant exchange traded funds, including dollar-denominated funds such as the iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NYSEArca: EMB) to local currency fare such as the Market Vectors Emerging Markets Local Currency… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/11/dollar-drama-for-these-popular-etfs/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Dollar Drama for These Popular ETFs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/22/dollar-drama-for-these-popular-etfs.html | 2016-11-22 | 0right
| Dollar Drama for These Popular ETFs
<p>Low interest rates and dollar weakness seen earlier this year combined to make for a perfect storm for emerging markets and the relevant exchange traded funds, including dollar-denominated funds such as the iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NYSEArca: EMB) to local currency fare such as the Market Vectors Emerging Markets Local Currency… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/11/dollar-drama-for-these-popular-etfs/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 599,865 |
<p>KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Representatives of a pilot project that promotes socially and environmentally responsible rice growing said they aim to expand into India and China, the world’s largest rice producers.</p>
<p>The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) worked with more than 80 partners to create the world’s first “global rice sustainability standard”.</p>
<p>The standard provides a framework to drive government policy, as well as a working definition to be used by the private sector to monitor their own sustainability goals.</p>
<p>The sustainability standard has been tested over the past two years in nine countries, mostly in Southeast and South Asia.</p>
<p>“This is a fledgling project still - our next task will be to upscale,” said Wyn Ellis, coordinator for the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP).</p>
<p>The SRP is a coalition of more than 80 representatives from non-governmental organizations, and the private and public sectors, which launched the sustainability standard in 2015.</p>
<p>“We will need to be moving into China and into India quite soon - those are our priorities in future,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p>
<p>The standard promotes improvements in rice farming using more than 40 requirements and “performance indicators”, which authorities and companies such traders and supermarkets can use as best practice guidance.</p>
<p>These include measures against abuses such as child labor. The standard also aims to make rice growing more environmentally friendly by, for example, restricting the use of pesticides.</p>
<p>Members of the SRP hope that the standard will also be used in a certification scheme to help consumers choose ethical rice. Governments may also use it to promote sustainable rice farming and meet emissions targets.</p>
<p>Water management is crucial factor in achieving those targets.</p>
<p>Up to 40 percent of the world’s irrigation water is used for rice production, while up to 10 percent of global methane emissions come from rice fields, according to the SRP.</p>
<p>During pilot testing, the standards helped reduced the water used in rice farming by 20 percent, cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and increased farmers’ incomes by 10 percent.</p>
<p>“It is huge,” said Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general at IRRI, referring to the sustainability standard, which he hoped could be expanded globally.</p>
<p>The world produced more than 500 million tonnes of milled rice in 2017, with China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand among the top growers.</p>
<p>The grain is the main staple for 3.5 billion people but as the world’s population continues to grow, output will need to rise by about 25 percent over the next quarter century, IRRI estimates.</p>
<p>Reporting by Michael Taylor, Editing by Jared Ferrie; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit <a href="http://news.trust.org" type="external">news.trust.org</a></p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CANONSBURG, Pa./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans sounded the alarm on Wednesday after Democrats claimed victory in a Pennsylvania congressional election seen as a referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump’s performance, although the vote tally remained officially too close to call.</p>
<p>In an ominous sign for Trump’s Republicans eight months before national midterm elections, moderate Democrat Conor Lamb led conservative Republican Rick Saccone on Wednesday by a fraction of a percentage point for the House of Representatives seat.</p>
<p>The earliest the election result could be certified is March 26, according to a state official, but the final tally could be unknown for weeks.</p>
<p>County officials are expected to begin counting provisional paper ballots late this week, and military ballots next week, officials said.</p>
<p>Republicans have until the results are officially certified to challenge the outcome or pursue a recount. Saccone on Wednesday afternoon sent a fundraising email to supporters saying the “campaign is far from over.”</p>
<p>The election should have been a shoo-in for Republicans in a district that Trump won by almost 20 points in the 2016 presidential election. He campaigned for Saccone, who started the race well ahead of Lamb.</p>
<p>Republican Speaker Paul Ryan called the election a “wakeup call” in a meeting with Republican House members and pushed them to raise more campaign funds. He also urged them to do more to highlight tax cuts approved by the Republican-dominated Congress and signed by Trump.</p>
<p>Lamb led Saccone by 627 votes on Wednesday, the state’s unofficial returns showed; Lamb had 49.8 percent of the vote and Saccone 49.6 percent.</p>
<p>With about 500 provisional, absentee and military ballots to count, according to the New York Times, Lamb’s lead appeared to be safe. The vast majority of the outstanding ballots were in Allegheny County, officials told Reuters, where Lamb received over 57 percent of the vote.</p>
<p>Republicans have not conceded the race and were not ruling out a recount or other legal action, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said.</p>
<p>House Republicans called the race unique, noting that Lamb, 33, a Marine Corps veteran, had distanced himself from his party’s leaders and staked out positions to the right of many Democrats.</p>
<p>“I don’t think you’ll see another candidate like Lamb,” said Republican Representative Chris Collins of New York.</p>
<p>Representative Mike Kelly, who represents Pennsylvania’s 3rd District, said Lamb was “more like a Republican.”</p> U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Conor Lamb is greeted by supporters during his election night rally in Pennsylvania's 18th U.S. Congressional district special election against Republican candidate and State Rep. Rick Saccone, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid ‘TRUMP BEFORE TRUMP WAS TRUMP’
<p>The patchwork of small towns, farms and Pittsburgh suburbs that make up Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district is so Republican that Democrats did not even field candidates in the previous two House elections.</p>
<p>Come November, the district will cease to exist because boundaries have been redrawn. Both Lamb and Saccone were expected to run again, though in different districts.</p>
<p>Saccone, 60, a former Air Force counter-intelligence officer, has described himself as “Trump before Trump was Trump,” and in January he led the race by more than 10 percentage points.</p>
<p>Trump held two events in the district during the campaign, including a rally on Saturday. Last week, he announced tariffs on imported steel that had been expected to appeal to voters in a state known for its steel industry.</p> Slideshow (17 Images)
<p>The election, held to replace a Republican who resigned amid a scandal last year, was the latest forceful electoral showing for Democrats, who also won a governor’s race in Virginia and scored a U.S. Senate upset in conservative Alabama.</p>
<p>Lamb’s strong showing could buoy Democrats nationally as they seek to win control of the House from Republicans in the November elections. Democrats see 118 Republican-held districts in play. If they flip 24 seats, they could reclaim a House majority.</p>
<p>Saccone’s poor performance is worrying for Republicans who were sure that tax cuts they passed last year, the party’s only major legislative achievement under Trump, would be a vote winner.</p>
<p>A Lamb win could vindicate a strategy Democrats are using in some races to enlist candidates whose positions and ideologies are well suited to the district even while conflicting in significant ways with the positions of the Democratic leadership in Washington.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-election-pennsylvania-votingmachi/pennsylvania-race-shows-need-for-u-s-voting-machine-upgrades-experts-idUSKCN1GQ2NX" type="external">Pennsylvania race shows need for U.S. voting machine upgrades: experts</a>
<p>Lamb advocated for gun rights and said Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as House Democratic leader, making it harder than expected for Republicans to attack some of his positions.</p>
<p>Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat from the Ohio Rust Belt who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi’s leadership in late 2016, said he believed Lamb’s apparent victory sent a message to other candidates not to be afraid to break with party leadership.</p>
<p>“I hope it means that other candidates will take the lead, and run a very organic race based on the communities that they come from,” Ryan told reporters.</p>
<p>Representative Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from a largely agricultural and blue collar district in Illinois, said Lamb was a strong candidate because he mirrored his district.</p>
<p>“When you have swing districts, you better make sure you’ve got a candidate that fits that district,” Bustos said.</p>
<p>Editing by Alistair Bell</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>PARIS (Reuters) - France on Wednesday said it would be in touch with Britain in the coming hours to coordinate a response to a nerve agent attack on a Russian spy, which London has blamed on Russia, after an earlier muted reaction to Britain’s allegations.</p>
<p>British Prime Minister Theresa May earlier on Wednesday announced that Britain was expelling 23 Russian diplomats because it had received no explanation for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a Russian former double agent, and his daughter with a Soviet-made nerve toxin.</p>
<p>In contrast to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump who assured May they were taking her government’s views seriously, President Emmanuel Macron and other French officials have declined to point a finger directly at Russia.</p>
<p>French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said it was too early for Paris to decide whether action should be taken and a decisions would be made only once a case of Russian involvement was proven.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian later expressed full confidence in the investigations being carried out by Britain, though he too was careful not to say directly that Russia was behind the attack.</p>
<p>“In the coming hours, France will be in contact at the highest level with the British authorities to coordinate our response,” Le Drian said before going into a meeting with his new German counterpart Heiko Maas.</p>
<p>The Elysee presidential palace said that Macron would speak on Thursday with May and added that London had been informing Paris and other allies since the start of the week in detail about Russia’s responsibility in the “unacceptable” attack.</p>
<p>Britain’s ambassador to France, Ed Llewellyn, tweeted on Tuesday that the first neuro toxin attack on European soil since 1945 required a “strong and coordinated response from our allies.”</p> DIPLOMACY
<p>Le Drian said that not only was the security of one of France’s main allies at stake, but also that of France and Europe because a lethal nerve agent had been used despite international rules against chemical weapons proliferation.</p>
<p>France’s nuanced reaction was in line with Macron’s efforts since coming into office to build a new relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>Rather than directly confronting Putin through threats and megaphone diplomacy, he has emphasized private dialogue, while pushing for a restoration of business and cultural ties despite existing European Union sanctions on Moscow.</p>
<p>Diplomats say Macron believes ostracizing Moscow will not yield results given its importance on the world stage and role in world crises. Despite obvious differences, he believes it is vital to keep a working relationship going with Russia.</p> Related Video
<p>Standing alongside Putin last May at the Chateau de Versailles, Macron heralded the start to a new page in relations after tensions under the previous administration. He said at the time that he wouldn’t let differences over Syria, Ukraine and human rights strain their relationship.</p>
<p>Nearly a year on, there is little evidence to suggest he has gained anything tangible from the alternative approach in terms of foreign policy successes. However, he is due to be the guest of honor at an investor forum in Saint Petersburg at the end of May where a large French business delegation will also be present.</p>
<p>“France has a policy on Russia that it’s going to stick to. There’s no reason for this to knock that off-target,” a French official said. “You’ve got to remember there are pretty close ties between France and Russia, whether around literature, culture and business, and they are important.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Luke Baker; Editing by Richard Balmforth</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Differences over how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear challenge were a key factor in President Donald Trump’s decision to replace Rex Tillerson as U.S. secretary of state, according to sources familiar with the internal deliberations.</p> U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks to the media at the U.S. State Department after being fired by President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis
<p>Tillerson had been an early advocate of talks with North Korea to the annoyance of Trump, who wanted to keep applying maximum pressure on Pyongyang before responding to an invitation to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the sources said.</p>
<p>That had led to fear that Tillerson might be too willing to make concessions to North Korea, the sources said.</p>
<p>“He’s got to have somebody in there that he totally trusts,” said a senior U.S. official.</p>
<p>In recent weeks Trump spent time putting in place a succession plan, lining up Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to take over at the State Department and CIA deputy director Gina Haspel to replace Pompeo as the head of the spy agency, the source said.</p>
<p>A key aim was to get the team in place prior to moving ahead with North Korea.</p>
<p>Trump and Kim have committed to meeting at a time and place to be determined before the end of May to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.</p>
<p>In a snub, Tillerson was left out of the loop regarding the North Korean invitation and was on his first trip to Africa when Trump sat down at the White House with a visiting delegation from South Korea last Thursday and agreed to meet Kim.</p>
<p>The next day, Friday, Trump told White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to tell Tillerson he needed to resign, White House officials said.</p>
<p>One source said Kelly had been trying to protect Tillerson as long as he could, but that Trump had grown weary of Tillerson’s tendency to contradict the president on a variety of issues and had been telling friends he was about to dump him.</p>
<p>Tillerson, who was in Nairobi at the time and still had two stops to go - Chad and Nigeria - asked that he first return to the United States before it was announced.</p>
<p>Hours after Tillerson landed in Washington on Tuesday, Trump announced on Twitter that he was being dismissed and replaced by Pompeo.</p>
<p>State Department officials said Tillerson did not know why he was being pushed out. One of them, Steve Goldstein, was fired later on Tuesday after he contradicted the White House’s version.</p>
<p>Tillerson, whose tenure ends on March 31, returned to the State Department on Wednesday to hand over responsibilities to John Sullivan, his deputy, and to meet with senior officials, a State Department official said.</p>
<p>The official said Tillerson’s chief of staff, Margaret Peterlin, and deputy chief of staff, Christine Ciccone, had resigned.</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear whether Tillerson’s policy chief, Brian Hook, would stay on beyond March 31. The department announced on Wednesday that Hook would travel to Vienna to participate in a meeting on Friday on the Iran nuclear deal.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Tom Brown</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BERLIN (Reuters) - German lawmakers on Wednesday re-elected Angela Merkel as chancellor for a fourth, and likely final, term that may prove her most challenging yet as she takes charge of a fragile coalition with her personal standing diminished.</p>
<p>Lawmakers voted by 364 to 315, with nine abstentions, in favor of re-electing Merkel, a humbling start as the coalition of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) has 399 votes in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.</p>
<p>“I accept the vote,” a beaming Merkel, 63, told lawmakers before being sworn in by Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble.</p>
<p>She later told broadcaster the ruling parties would focus on taking support away from far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which hurt them in last September’s national election.</p>
<p>“That is our aim - that we make them (AfD) smaller and get them out of the Bundestag again insofar as is possible,” she said. “We want a coalition that appeals to all people in the country.”</p>
<p>In office since 2005, Merkel has dominated Germany’s political landscape and steered the European Union through economic crisis.</p>
<p>But her authority was dented by her decision in 2015 to commit Germany to an open-door policy on refugees, resulting in an influx of more than one million people that laid bare deep divisions within the EU over migration and fueled the AfD.</p>
<p>While also being locked in a trade stand-off with the United States, Merkel must now juggle competing domestic demands from within her coalition.</p>
<p>Her conservative CDU/CSU alliance only turned to the SPD to prolong the ‘grand coalition’ that has governed Germany since 2013 out of desperation, after talks on a three-way alliance with two smaller parties collapsed in November.</p>
<p>“It will not be an easy coalition, we have some difficult tasks ahead,” said Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of the conservative bloc.</p>
<p>Ministers, younger and more diverse than the last cabinet, take up their posts almost six months after last September’s national election.</p> German Finance Minister and vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chancellery's Chief of Staff Helge Braun attend the first cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
<p>“I have the feeling that nothing good is going to be done for the country in this legislature period,” said Alice Weidel, the AfD’s leader in parliament. “It will probably be Angela Merkel’s last term and at some point it will be enough.”</p> FULL INBOX
<p>Merkel starts work with a full inbox.</p>
<p>Abroad she faces the trade tensions with Washington, pressure from France to reform Europe, and from Britain to stand up to Russia.</p> Slideshow (26 Images)
<p>President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was “high time for a new government” to go to work.</p>
<p>Merkel’s spokesman said she would head to France on Friday to discuss bilateral, European and international topics with President Emmanuel Macron.</p>
<p>Macron congratulated Merkel in a tweet, adding: “Let’s act together to take Europe forward, faster and more strongly.”</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Merkel’s spokesman said she spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Theresa May and condemned a nerve agent attack on an ex-Russian spy in England for which May held Moscow responsible.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-germany-agriculture-minister/julia-kloeckner-takes-over-as-german-farm-minister-in-new-government-idUSKCN1GQ1T1" type="external">Julia Kloeckner takes over as German farm minister in new government</a>
<p>Merkel later said the EU would present a common stance on Russia, adding: “Nonetheless, I say we can’t break off all contacts now.”</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Merkel on her re-election in a telegram and emphasized the importance of further developing bilateral ties, the Kremlin said.</p>
<p>At home, the pressure is on both sides of the coalition to deliver for their rank and file. Their deal includes a clause that envisages a review of the government’s progress after two years, giving each the opportunity to pull out then if it is not working for them.</p>
<p>Fault lines have emerged in the new government even before its first cabinet meeting, with tensions evident over the sequencing and extent of reforms.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Heavens</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Resilient rice project to target top two producers, China and India Republicans sound alarm as Democrats claim Pennsylvania win France says to coordinate response soon with Britain on spy poisoning Differences on North Korea key to Trump's Tillerson decision: sources Weakened Merkel begins fourth term beset by challenges | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-asia-rice-sustainable/resilient-rice-project-to-target-top-two-producers-china-and-india-idUSKBN1FE116 | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| Resilient rice project to target top two producers, China and India Republicans sound alarm as Democrats claim Pennsylvania win France says to coordinate response soon with Britain on spy poisoning Differences on North Korea key to Trump's Tillerson decision: sources Weakened Merkel begins fourth term beset by challenges
<p>KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Representatives of a pilot project that promotes socially and environmentally responsible rice growing said they aim to expand into India and China, the world’s largest rice producers.</p>
<p>The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) worked with more than 80 partners to create the world’s first “global rice sustainability standard”.</p>
<p>The standard provides a framework to drive government policy, as well as a working definition to be used by the private sector to monitor their own sustainability goals.</p>
<p>The sustainability standard has been tested over the past two years in nine countries, mostly in Southeast and South Asia.</p>
<p>“This is a fledgling project still - our next task will be to upscale,” said Wyn Ellis, coordinator for the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP).</p>
<p>The SRP is a coalition of more than 80 representatives from non-governmental organizations, and the private and public sectors, which launched the sustainability standard in 2015.</p>
<p>“We will need to be moving into China and into India quite soon - those are our priorities in future,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p>
<p>The standard promotes improvements in rice farming using more than 40 requirements and “performance indicators”, which authorities and companies such traders and supermarkets can use as best practice guidance.</p>
<p>These include measures against abuses such as child labor. The standard also aims to make rice growing more environmentally friendly by, for example, restricting the use of pesticides.</p>
<p>Members of the SRP hope that the standard will also be used in a certification scheme to help consumers choose ethical rice. Governments may also use it to promote sustainable rice farming and meet emissions targets.</p>
<p>Water management is crucial factor in achieving those targets.</p>
<p>Up to 40 percent of the world’s irrigation water is used for rice production, while up to 10 percent of global methane emissions come from rice fields, according to the SRP.</p>
<p>During pilot testing, the standards helped reduced the water used in rice farming by 20 percent, cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and increased farmers’ incomes by 10 percent.</p>
<p>“It is huge,” said Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general at IRRI, referring to the sustainability standard, which he hoped could be expanded globally.</p>
<p>The world produced more than 500 million tonnes of milled rice in 2017, with China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand among the top growers.</p>
<p>The grain is the main staple for 3.5 billion people but as the world’s population continues to grow, output will need to rise by about 25 percent over the next quarter century, IRRI estimates.</p>
<p>Reporting by Michael Taylor, Editing by Jared Ferrie; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit <a href="http://news.trust.org" type="external">news.trust.org</a></p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CANONSBURG, Pa./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans sounded the alarm on Wednesday after Democrats claimed victory in a Pennsylvania congressional election seen as a referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump’s performance, although the vote tally remained officially too close to call.</p>
<p>In an ominous sign for Trump’s Republicans eight months before national midterm elections, moderate Democrat Conor Lamb led conservative Republican Rick Saccone on Wednesday by a fraction of a percentage point for the House of Representatives seat.</p>
<p>The earliest the election result could be certified is March 26, according to a state official, but the final tally could be unknown for weeks.</p>
<p>County officials are expected to begin counting provisional paper ballots late this week, and military ballots next week, officials said.</p>
<p>Republicans have until the results are officially certified to challenge the outcome or pursue a recount. Saccone on Wednesday afternoon sent a fundraising email to supporters saying the “campaign is far from over.”</p>
<p>The election should have been a shoo-in for Republicans in a district that Trump won by almost 20 points in the 2016 presidential election. He campaigned for Saccone, who started the race well ahead of Lamb.</p>
<p>Republican Speaker Paul Ryan called the election a “wakeup call” in a meeting with Republican House members and pushed them to raise more campaign funds. He also urged them to do more to highlight tax cuts approved by the Republican-dominated Congress and signed by Trump.</p>
<p>Lamb led Saccone by 627 votes on Wednesday, the state’s unofficial returns showed; Lamb had 49.8 percent of the vote and Saccone 49.6 percent.</p>
<p>With about 500 provisional, absentee and military ballots to count, according to the New York Times, Lamb’s lead appeared to be safe. The vast majority of the outstanding ballots were in Allegheny County, officials told Reuters, where Lamb received over 57 percent of the vote.</p>
<p>Republicans have not conceded the race and were not ruling out a recount or other legal action, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said.</p>
<p>House Republicans called the race unique, noting that Lamb, 33, a Marine Corps veteran, had distanced himself from his party’s leaders and staked out positions to the right of many Democrats.</p>
<p>“I don’t think you’ll see another candidate like Lamb,” said Republican Representative Chris Collins of New York.</p>
<p>Representative Mike Kelly, who represents Pennsylvania’s 3rd District, said Lamb was “more like a Republican.”</p> U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Conor Lamb is greeted by supporters during his election night rally in Pennsylvania's 18th U.S. Congressional district special election against Republican candidate and State Rep. Rick Saccone, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid ‘TRUMP BEFORE TRUMP WAS TRUMP’
<p>The patchwork of small towns, farms and Pittsburgh suburbs that make up Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district is so Republican that Democrats did not even field candidates in the previous two House elections.</p>
<p>Come November, the district will cease to exist because boundaries have been redrawn. Both Lamb and Saccone were expected to run again, though in different districts.</p>
<p>Saccone, 60, a former Air Force counter-intelligence officer, has described himself as “Trump before Trump was Trump,” and in January he led the race by more than 10 percentage points.</p>
<p>Trump held two events in the district during the campaign, including a rally on Saturday. Last week, he announced tariffs on imported steel that had been expected to appeal to voters in a state known for its steel industry.</p> Slideshow (17 Images)
<p>The election, held to replace a Republican who resigned amid a scandal last year, was the latest forceful electoral showing for Democrats, who also won a governor’s race in Virginia and scored a U.S. Senate upset in conservative Alabama.</p>
<p>Lamb’s strong showing could buoy Democrats nationally as they seek to win control of the House from Republicans in the November elections. Democrats see 118 Republican-held districts in play. If they flip 24 seats, they could reclaim a House majority.</p>
<p>Saccone’s poor performance is worrying for Republicans who were sure that tax cuts they passed last year, the party’s only major legislative achievement under Trump, would be a vote winner.</p>
<p>A Lamb win could vindicate a strategy Democrats are using in some races to enlist candidates whose positions and ideologies are well suited to the district even while conflicting in significant ways with the positions of the Democratic leadership in Washington.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-election-pennsylvania-votingmachi/pennsylvania-race-shows-need-for-u-s-voting-machine-upgrades-experts-idUSKCN1GQ2NX" type="external">Pennsylvania race shows need for U.S. voting machine upgrades: experts</a>
<p>Lamb advocated for gun rights and said Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as House Democratic leader, making it harder than expected for Republicans to attack some of his positions.</p>
<p>Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat from the Ohio Rust Belt who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi’s leadership in late 2016, said he believed Lamb’s apparent victory sent a message to other candidates not to be afraid to break with party leadership.</p>
<p>“I hope it means that other candidates will take the lead, and run a very organic race based on the communities that they come from,” Ryan told reporters.</p>
<p>Representative Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from a largely agricultural and blue collar district in Illinois, said Lamb was a strong candidate because he mirrored his district.</p>
<p>“When you have swing districts, you better make sure you’ve got a candidate that fits that district,” Bustos said.</p>
<p>Editing by Alistair Bell</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>PARIS (Reuters) - France on Wednesday said it would be in touch with Britain in the coming hours to coordinate a response to a nerve agent attack on a Russian spy, which London has blamed on Russia, after an earlier muted reaction to Britain’s allegations.</p>
<p>British Prime Minister Theresa May earlier on Wednesday announced that Britain was expelling 23 Russian diplomats because it had received no explanation for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a Russian former double agent, and his daughter with a Soviet-made nerve toxin.</p>
<p>In contrast to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump who assured May they were taking her government’s views seriously, President Emmanuel Macron and other French officials have declined to point a finger directly at Russia.</p>
<p>French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said it was too early for Paris to decide whether action should be taken and a decisions would be made only once a case of Russian involvement was proven.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian later expressed full confidence in the investigations being carried out by Britain, though he too was careful not to say directly that Russia was behind the attack.</p>
<p>“In the coming hours, France will be in contact at the highest level with the British authorities to coordinate our response,” Le Drian said before going into a meeting with his new German counterpart Heiko Maas.</p>
<p>The Elysee presidential palace said that Macron would speak on Thursday with May and added that London had been informing Paris and other allies since the start of the week in detail about Russia’s responsibility in the “unacceptable” attack.</p>
<p>Britain’s ambassador to France, Ed Llewellyn, tweeted on Tuesday that the first neuro toxin attack on European soil since 1945 required a “strong and coordinated response from our allies.”</p> DIPLOMACY
<p>Le Drian said that not only was the security of one of France’s main allies at stake, but also that of France and Europe because a lethal nerve agent had been used despite international rules against chemical weapons proliferation.</p>
<p>France’s nuanced reaction was in line with Macron’s efforts since coming into office to build a new relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>Rather than directly confronting Putin through threats and megaphone diplomacy, he has emphasized private dialogue, while pushing for a restoration of business and cultural ties despite existing European Union sanctions on Moscow.</p>
<p>Diplomats say Macron believes ostracizing Moscow will not yield results given its importance on the world stage and role in world crises. Despite obvious differences, he believes it is vital to keep a working relationship going with Russia.</p> Related Video
<p>Standing alongside Putin last May at the Chateau de Versailles, Macron heralded the start to a new page in relations after tensions under the previous administration. He said at the time that he wouldn’t let differences over Syria, Ukraine and human rights strain their relationship.</p>
<p>Nearly a year on, there is little evidence to suggest he has gained anything tangible from the alternative approach in terms of foreign policy successes. However, he is due to be the guest of honor at an investor forum in Saint Petersburg at the end of May where a large French business delegation will also be present.</p>
<p>“France has a policy on Russia that it’s going to stick to. There’s no reason for this to knock that off-target,” a French official said. “You’ve got to remember there are pretty close ties between France and Russia, whether around literature, culture and business, and they are important.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Luke Baker; Editing by Richard Balmforth</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Differences over how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear challenge were a key factor in President Donald Trump’s decision to replace Rex Tillerson as U.S. secretary of state, according to sources familiar with the internal deliberations.</p> U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks to the media at the U.S. State Department after being fired by President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis
<p>Tillerson had been an early advocate of talks with North Korea to the annoyance of Trump, who wanted to keep applying maximum pressure on Pyongyang before responding to an invitation to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the sources said.</p>
<p>That had led to fear that Tillerson might be too willing to make concessions to North Korea, the sources said.</p>
<p>“He’s got to have somebody in there that he totally trusts,” said a senior U.S. official.</p>
<p>In recent weeks Trump spent time putting in place a succession plan, lining up Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to take over at the State Department and CIA deputy director Gina Haspel to replace Pompeo as the head of the spy agency, the source said.</p>
<p>A key aim was to get the team in place prior to moving ahead with North Korea.</p>
<p>Trump and Kim have committed to meeting at a time and place to be determined before the end of May to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.</p>
<p>In a snub, Tillerson was left out of the loop regarding the North Korean invitation and was on his first trip to Africa when Trump sat down at the White House with a visiting delegation from South Korea last Thursday and agreed to meet Kim.</p>
<p>The next day, Friday, Trump told White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to tell Tillerson he needed to resign, White House officials said.</p>
<p>One source said Kelly had been trying to protect Tillerson as long as he could, but that Trump had grown weary of Tillerson’s tendency to contradict the president on a variety of issues and had been telling friends he was about to dump him.</p>
<p>Tillerson, who was in Nairobi at the time and still had two stops to go - Chad and Nigeria - asked that he first return to the United States before it was announced.</p>
<p>Hours after Tillerson landed in Washington on Tuesday, Trump announced on Twitter that he was being dismissed and replaced by Pompeo.</p>
<p>State Department officials said Tillerson did not know why he was being pushed out. One of them, Steve Goldstein, was fired later on Tuesday after he contradicted the White House’s version.</p>
<p>Tillerson, whose tenure ends on March 31, returned to the State Department on Wednesday to hand over responsibilities to John Sullivan, his deputy, and to meet with senior officials, a State Department official said.</p>
<p>The official said Tillerson’s chief of staff, Margaret Peterlin, and deputy chief of staff, Christine Ciccone, had resigned.</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear whether Tillerson’s policy chief, Brian Hook, would stay on beyond March 31. The department announced on Wednesday that Hook would travel to Vienna to participate in a meeting on Friday on the Iran nuclear deal.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Tom Brown</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BERLIN (Reuters) - German lawmakers on Wednesday re-elected Angela Merkel as chancellor for a fourth, and likely final, term that may prove her most challenging yet as she takes charge of a fragile coalition with her personal standing diminished.</p>
<p>Lawmakers voted by 364 to 315, with nine abstentions, in favor of re-electing Merkel, a humbling start as the coalition of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) has 399 votes in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.</p>
<p>“I accept the vote,” a beaming Merkel, 63, told lawmakers before being sworn in by Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble.</p>
<p>She later told broadcaster the ruling parties would focus on taking support away from far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which hurt them in last September’s national election.</p>
<p>“That is our aim - that we make them (AfD) smaller and get them out of the Bundestag again insofar as is possible,” she said. “We want a coalition that appeals to all people in the country.”</p>
<p>In office since 2005, Merkel has dominated Germany’s political landscape and steered the European Union through economic crisis.</p>
<p>But her authority was dented by her decision in 2015 to commit Germany to an open-door policy on refugees, resulting in an influx of more than one million people that laid bare deep divisions within the EU over migration and fueled the AfD.</p>
<p>While also being locked in a trade stand-off with the United States, Merkel must now juggle competing domestic demands from within her coalition.</p>
<p>Her conservative CDU/CSU alliance only turned to the SPD to prolong the ‘grand coalition’ that has governed Germany since 2013 out of desperation, after talks on a three-way alliance with two smaller parties collapsed in November.</p>
<p>“It will not be an easy coalition, we have some difficult tasks ahead,” said Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of the conservative bloc.</p>
<p>Ministers, younger and more diverse than the last cabinet, take up their posts almost six months after last September’s national election.</p> German Finance Minister and vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chancellery's Chief of Staff Helge Braun attend the first cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
<p>“I have the feeling that nothing good is going to be done for the country in this legislature period,” said Alice Weidel, the AfD’s leader in parliament. “It will probably be Angela Merkel’s last term and at some point it will be enough.”</p> FULL INBOX
<p>Merkel starts work with a full inbox.</p>
<p>Abroad she faces the trade tensions with Washington, pressure from France to reform Europe, and from Britain to stand up to Russia.</p> Slideshow (26 Images)
<p>President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was “high time for a new government” to go to work.</p>
<p>Merkel’s spokesman said she would head to France on Friday to discuss bilateral, European and international topics with President Emmanuel Macron.</p>
<p>Macron congratulated Merkel in a tweet, adding: “Let’s act together to take Europe forward, faster and more strongly.”</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Merkel’s spokesman said she spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Theresa May and condemned a nerve agent attack on an ex-Russian spy in England for which May held Moscow responsible.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-germany-agriculture-minister/julia-kloeckner-takes-over-as-german-farm-minister-in-new-government-idUSKCN1GQ1T1" type="external">Julia Kloeckner takes over as German farm minister in new government</a>
<p>Merkel later said the EU would present a common stance on Russia, adding: “Nonetheless, I say we can’t break off all contacts now.”</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Merkel on her re-election in a telegram and emphasized the importance of further developing bilateral ties, the Kremlin said.</p>
<p>At home, the pressure is on both sides of the coalition to deliver for their rank and file. Their deal includes a clause that envisages a review of the government’s progress after two years, giving each the opportunity to pull out then if it is not working for them.</p>
<p>Fault lines have emerged in the new government even before its first cabinet meeting, with tensions evident over the sequencing and extent of reforms.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Heavens</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 599,866 |
<p />
<p>I couldn’t help but notice that Helen Gurley Brown died on Annie Oakley’s birthday this past week. What came to mind immediately was something my mother used to sing to me when I was a teenager:</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“Oh you can’t get a man with a gun,” as the Irving Berlin song goes. “With a gun, with a gun. No, you can’t get a man with a gun.”</p>
<p>Relax, NRA sharp shooters, Mom was talking in metaphor. That kind of independence, she figured, was frowned upon when trying to land a man. It was intimidating and emasculating.</p>
<p>But this was a time (the late 1970s) when Gurley Brown and Gloria Steinem and even The Mary Tyler Moore Show were well-entrenched in our culture and delivering other messages to balance that out. It was this Gurley Brown line of thinking that influenced me:</p>
<p>“The message was: So you’re single. You can still have sex. You can have a great life. And if you marry, don’t just sponge off a man or be the gold-medal-winning mother. Don’t use men to get what you want in life -- get it for yourself.”</p>
<p>It surprises me how even today some of my life coaching clients – especially those of my generation -- don’t get this way of thinking. Some do and could pretty much teach courses in how to be strong, vibrant, independent and female, but I find others struggle with their identity as it relates to the social order of things. Their self image is often tied up in roles where they are in relationship to others – mother, wife, daughter. Not so much seeing themselves as a whole person who may be all of those things.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a coach, I love the challenge of this kind of client. Sometimes a divorce, illness or death forces them into building their own lives and they thrive. In some cases what is initially loneliness turns to solitude, a wholly different experience. It allows for room to reflect, to attract new things and people, and to reconnect with interests they once loved and began to neglect.</p>
<p>We all have those individuals we’ve met or admire from afar who have helped propel us along our path. I like to ‘collect’ examples, from my life and others, so that I can have one at the ready when a client needs a boost from a real, tangible individual who overcame or accomplished something. I want to at the very least get them nodding and at the most give them a push to action on their own goals.</p>
<p>For instance, upon discovering then-New York Times op-ed columnist Anna Quindlen, I was buoyed by the idea of another New Jersey Italian-American woman, also raised Catholic, having a voice in that forum. It validated my own decision to become a columnist.</p>
<p>Ironically one of my earliest female influences -- Roman Catholic nuns -- has resurfaced as a great inspiration this summer. They are currently under fire from <a href="http://www.doctrinafidei.va/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20120418_assessment-lcwr_en.html" type="external">a Vatican Doctrinal Assessment Opens a New Window.</a> with regard to a number of issues, including the question of women’s ordination, their approach in ministering to homosexuals and “a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith” in speakers they invite to conferences.</p>
<p>Back when I was in school, it was Sister Benita who tapped into my love of words and showed me – drilled into me, actually – the importance of parts of speech and spelling. In my experience, nuns know how to run a classroom. Plus, it is very much the nuns doing the work in the trenches, helping the poor and carrying out the church’s mission. In most cases, their devotion to a spiritual life is not ego- or power-driven and they are not the ones transferring criminals from one parish to another in institutional cover-ups.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lcwr.org/" type="external">The Leadership Conference of Women Religious Opens a New Window.</a> (which according to its website has “nearly 1,500 members who are elected leaders of their religious orders, representing approximately 57,000 Catholic sisters” in the United States) met in St. Louis last week and Pat Farrell, its president, gave a speech she called Navigating the Shifts.</p>
<p>“The human family is not served by individualism, patriarchy, a scarcity mentality, or competition,” she said. “The world is outgrowing the dualistic constructs of superior/inferior, win/lose, good/bad, and domination/submission. Breaking through in their place are equality, communion, collaboration, synchronicity, expansiveness, abundance, wholeness, mutuality, intuitive knowing, and love. This shift, while painful, is good news!”</p>
<p>While the wholly male Vatican continues to illustrate its denial about a changing world, the nuns are evolving with it, working with the people who, in their perception, Jesus wants them to help. Whether you’re Catholic or Muslim, Jewish or atheist, surely there is an admirable message in that – stand up for your principles even when they’re being challenged by daunting authority. I am awed.</p>
<p>The point of all this, whether it’s wisdom gleaned from a nun, a sharp shooter, an activist, an editor or your Aunt Joan, is to figure out how to apply it to your own life. This is the direction I take it in with my clients. Drill down on your wants and needs. Be out front or be behind the scenes, but borrow from those before you and then find your way. Put your twist on how to live and what to impart. No one person needs to be your hero or role model. Pay attention to what is going on around you and see what resonates.</p>
<p>I love that all these seemingly disparate things helped shape me and I continue to be fascinated by what else might.</p>
<p>For all Annie Oakley may have been told about “pistol packin’ mamas” and their ilk, she sure did OK for herself.</p>
<p>Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is <a href="http://www.nancola.com" type="external">www.nancola.com Opens a New Window.</a> and you can follow her on Twitter @nancola. Please direct all questions/comments to <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Life Lessons from an Editor, a Sharp Shooter and Some Nuns | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/08/17/life-lessons-from-editor-sharp-shooter-and-some-nuns.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Life Lessons from an Editor, a Sharp Shooter and Some Nuns
<p />
<p>I couldn’t help but notice that Helen Gurley Brown died on Annie Oakley’s birthday this past week. What came to mind immediately was something my mother used to sing to me when I was a teenager:</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“Oh you can’t get a man with a gun,” as the Irving Berlin song goes. “With a gun, with a gun. No, you can’t get a man with a gun.”</p>
<p>Relax, NRA sharp shooters, Mom was talking in metaphor. That kind of independence, she figured, was frowned upon when trying to land a man. It was intimidating and emasculating.</p>
<p>But this was a time (the late 1970s) when Gurley Brown and Gloria Steinem and even The Mary Tyler Moore Show were well-entrenched in our culture and delivering other messages to balance that out. It was this Gurley Brown line of thinking that influenced me:</p>
<p>“The message was: So you’re single. You can still have sex. You can have a great life. And if you marry, don’t just sponge off a man or be the gold-medal-winning mother. Don’t use men to get what you want in life -- get it for yourself.”</p>
<p>It surprises me how even today some of my life coaching clients – especially those of my generation -- don’t get this way of thinking. Some do and could pretty much teach courses in how to be strong, vibrant, independent and female, but I find others struggle with their identity as it relates to the social order of things. Their self image is often tied up in roles where they are in relationship to others – mother, wife, daughter. Not so much seeing themselves as a whole person who may be all of those things.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a coach, I love the challenge of this kind of client. Sometimes a divorce, illness or death forces them into building their own lives and they thrive. In some cases what is initially loneliness turns to solitude, a wholly different experience. It allows for room to reflect, to attract new things and people, and to reconnect with interests they once loved and began to neglect.</p>
<p>We all have those individuals we’ve met or admire from afar who have helped propel us along our path. I like to ‘collect’ examples, from my life and others, so that I can have one at the ready when a client needs a boost from a real, tangible individual who overcame or accomplished something. I want to at the very least get them nodding and at the most give them a push to action on their own goals.</p>
<p>For instance, upon discovering then-New York Times op-ed columnist Anna Quindlen, I was buoyed by the idea of another New Jersey Italian-American woman, also raised Catholic, having a voice in that forum. It validated my own decision to become a columnist.</p>
<p>Ironically one of my earliest female influences -- Roman Catholic nuns -- has resurfaced as a great inspiration this summer. They are currently under fire from <a href="http://www.doctrinafidei.va/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20120418_assessment-lcwr_en.html" type="external">a Vatican Doctrinal Assessment Opens a New Window.</a> with regard to a number of issues, including the question of women’s ordination, their approach in ministering to homosexuals and “a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith” in speakers they invite to conferences.</p>
<p>Back when I was in school, it was Sister Benita who tapped into my love of words and showed me – drilled into me, actually – the importance of parts of speech and spelling. In my experience, nuns know how to run a classroom. Plus, it is very much the nuns doing the work in the trenches, helping the poor and carrying out the church’s mission. In most cases, their devotion to a spiritual life is not ego- or power-driven and they are not the ones transferring criminals from one parish to another in institutional cover-ups.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lcwr.org/" type="external">The Leadership Conference of Women Religious Opens a New Window.</a> (which according to its website has “nearly 1,500 members who are elected leaders of their religious orders, representing approximately 57,000 Catholic sisters” in the United States) met in St. Louis last week and Pat Farrell, its president, gave a speech she called Navigating the Shifts.</p>
<p>“The human family is not served by individualism, patriarchy, a scarcity mentality, or competition,” she said. “The world is outgrowing the dualistic constructs of superior/inferior, win/lose, good/bad, and domination/submission. Breaking through in their place are equality, communion, collaboration, synchronicity, expansiveness, abundance, wholeness, mutuality, intuitive knowing, and love. This shift, while painful, is good news!”</p>
<p>While the wholly male Vatican continues to illustrate its denial about a changing world, the nuns are evolving with it, working with the people who, in their perception, Jesus wants them to help. Whether you’re Catholic or Muslim, Jewish or atheist, surely there is an admirable message in that – stand up for your principles even when they’re being challenged by daunting authority. I am awed.</p>
<p>The point of all this, whether it’s wisdom gleaned from a nun, a sharp shooter, an activist, an editor or your Aunt Joan, is to figure out how to apply it to your own life. This is the direction I take it in with my clients. Drill down on your wants and needs. Be out front or be behind the scenes, but borrow from those before you and then find your way. Put your twist on how to live and what to impart. No one person needs to be your hero or role model. Pay attention to what is going on around you and see what resonates.</p>
<p>I love that all these seemingly disparate things helped shape me and I continue to be fascinated by what else might.</p>
<p>For all Annie Oakley may have been told about “pistol packin’ mamas” and their ilk, she sure did OK for herself.</p>
<p>Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is <a href="http://www.nancola.com" type="external">www.nancola.com Opens a New Window.</a> and you can follow her on Twitter @nancola. Please direct all questions/comments to <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,867 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The resolution ratchets up the sanctions in a previous resolution that passed in March in response to Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test, conducted in January. The earlier resolution also banned countries from buying North Korean coal but exempted “livelihood” purchases.</p>
<p>Under its interpretation of the provision, China had continued to buy coal from its neighbor, which earns an estimated $1 billion a year from such sales. China, which fears floods of refugees if North Korea is destabilized, voted in favor of the resolution that removes the exemption, and U.S. officials say the move will pare North Korea’s earnings by more than 60 percent.</p>
<p>China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, called on North Korea to stop its nuclear testing but accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with North Korea by stepping up military exercises in the region.</p>
<p>Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, thanked China for working on the language of the resolution, which she said will go after North Korea’s “illicit schemes.”</p>
<p>In addition to capping coal sales, the resolution also bans exports of copper, nickel, silver and zinc. It prohibits the sale of bronze monumental statues, which North Korea sells primarily to authoritarian rulers in Africa and the Middle East, earning tens of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>The resolution also adds bone china, rugs and tapestries to the list of banned luxury items that cannot be sold to North Korea, where they have been doled out as rewards for supporters of the regime’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and it suggests that countries reduce the number of North Korea diplomats accredited in their capitals.</p>
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<p>The United States began working on drafting a resolution shortly after North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Sept. 9, an acceleration of its pursuit of nuclear warheads that can be mounted on missiles, including some that can reach the continental United States. But U.S. officials acknowledged the latest resolution is unlikely to act as an immediate brake on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, which have continued to grow despite U.N. sanctions resolutions dating to 2006.</p>
<p>“Have the sanctions that the Security Council has imposed caused the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program?” said a U.S. official familiar with the resolution, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and speaking on the condition of anonymity to comment on the confidential negotiations. “Clearly the answer to that is no. A different question to ask is: Have they impeded the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile program from the development that it otherwise would have been able to do? I’m quite confident that the answer to that is yes.”</p>
<p>North Korea’s nuclear weapons proliferation will be one of the most urgent international crises confronting President-elect Donald Trump. This week, former president George W. Bush called the country a “prison run by a sadistic warden” and a grave security threat.</p>
<p>U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the latest resolution was the “toughest and most comprehensive” ever passed by the Security Council and called on Pyongyang to cease “further provocative actions.”</p>
<p>un-nkorea</p> | U.N. tightens N. Korea sanctions, capping coal sales | false | https://abqjournal.com/898990/u-n-tightens-n-korea-sanctions-capping-coal-sales.html | 2least
| U.N. tightens N. Korea sanctions, capping coal sales
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<p>The resolution ratchets up the sanctions in a previous resolution that passed in March in response to Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test, conducted in January. The earlier resolution also banned countries from buying North Korean coal but exempted “livelihood” purchases.</p>
<p>Under its interpretation of the provision, China had continued to buy coal from its neighbor, which earns an estimated $1 billion a year from such sales. China, which fears floods of refugees if North Korea is destabilized, voted in favor of the resolution that removes the exemption, and U.S. officials say the move will pare North Korea’s earnings by more than 60 percent.</p>
<p>China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, called on North Korea to stop its nuclear testing but accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with North Korea by stepping up military exercises in the region.</p>
<p>Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, thanked China for working on the language of the resolution, which she said will go after North Korea’s “illicit schemes.”</p>
<p>In addition to capping coal sales, the resolution also bans exports of copper, nickel, silver and zinc. It prohibits the sale of bronze monumental statues, which North Korea sells primarily to authoritarian rulers in Africa and the Middle East, earning tens of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>The resolution also adds bone china, rugs and tapestries to the list of banned luxury items that cannot be sold to North Korea, where they have been doled out as rewards for supporters of the regime’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and it suggests that countries reduce the number of North Korea diplomats accredited in their capitals.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The United States began working on drafting a resolution shortly after North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Sept. 9, an acceleration of its pursuit of nuclear warheads that can be mounted on missiles, including some that can reach the continental United States. But U.S. officials acknowledged the latest resolution is unlikely to act as an immediate brake on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, which have continued to grow despite U.N. sanctions resolutions dating to 2006.</p>
<p>“Have the sanctions that the Security Council has imposed caused the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program?” said a U.S. official familiar with the resolution, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and speaking on the condition of anonymity to comment on the confidential negotiations. “Clearly the answer to that is no. A different question to ask is: Have they impeded the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile program from the development that it otherwise would have been able to do? I’m quite confident that the answer to that is yes.”</p>
<p>North Korea’s nuclear weapons proliferation will be one of the most urgent international crises confronting President-elect Donald Trump. This week, former president George W. Bush called the country a “prison run by a sadistic warden” and a grave security threat.</p>
<p>U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the latest resolution was the “toughest and most comprehensive” ever passed by the Security Council and called on Pyongyang to cease “further provocative actions.”</p>
<p>un-nkorea</p> | 599,868 |
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<p>Rebel fighters who were sent to bring rebel military head Abdel Fattah Younes to Benghazi for questioning killed him and dumped his body outside the city, rebel minister Ali Tarhouni told reporters on Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>Tarhouni said a militia leader who was asked to bring General Younes from the frontline had <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/29/us-libya-younes-perpetrator-idUSTRE76S62U20110729" type="external">confessed</a>that his men killed Younes. The trigger pullers remained at large, Reuter's reported.</p>
<p>Yesterday, revolutionary officials announced Younes's death, but would not give details of why Younes had been recalled to Benghazi from the front line near the oil port of Brega for questioning. Rumors were that he was in communication with the Gaddafi government.</p>
<p>"If the rumors that General Younes was feeding information to Gaddafi were there then it would make sense that some rogue elements might attempt to assassinate him," said Alan Fraser, an analyst with London-based risk consultancy AKE.&#160;</p>
<p>There had long been an internal split among rebel leaders on Younes, who rose to power with Gaddafi's 1969 revolution and who had served at "the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14338212" type="external">heart of Gaddafi's</a> regime" but who joined the rebels at the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February, the BBC reported.</p>
<p>In April, a Globalpost reporter heard military leaders ask other Libyans to join them to discuss whether they could circumvent Younes. There were high-level questions whether he could be trusted, whether he deserved the job.&#160;</p>
<p>But foreigners and analysts often praised Younes's appointment as head of the rebel forces in the field because it showed the rebel's could form a coalition with former Gaddafi officials and project a brand of national unity.&#160;</p>
<p>"He was one of the few credible senior opposition military commanders and he has been a key figure in helping stabilize and re-organize rebel fighters,"&#160;Analyst David Hartwell of IHS said. With Younes's assassination, rebel unity and appeal to the 30-some nations who have recognized the Transitional National Council, is in question.</p>
<p>Rebel defense minister Omar Hariri told Reuters Younes's death was still being investigated and the loss would be great.&#160;Gen Younes was due to appear before a panel of judges in Benghazi, the BBC reported.</p>
<p>In Benghazi relatives vowed allegiance to the rebels' political leader. But members of Younes's tribe interrupted the press conference with gunfire last night. Explosions were heard outside the hotel where his death was announced.&#160;</p> | Libyan rebels admit one of their own killed Younes | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-07-29/libyan-rebels-admit-one-their-own-killed-younes | 2011-07-29 | 3left-center
| Libyan rebels admit one of their own killed Younes
<p>Rebel fighters who were sent to bring rebel military head Abdel Fattah Younes to Benghazi for questioning killed him and dumped his body outside the city, rebel minister Ali Tarhouni told reporters on Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>Tarhouni said a militia leader who was asked to bring General Younes from the frontline had <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/29/us-libya-younes-perpetrator-idUSTRE76S62U20110729" type="external">confessed</a>that his men killed Younes. The trigger pullers remained at large, Reuter's reported.</p>
<p>Yesterday, revolutionary officials announced Younes's death, but would not give details of why Younes had been recalled to Benghazi from the front line near the oil port of Brega for questioning. Rumors were that he was in communication with the Gaddafi government.</p>
<p>"If the rumors that General Younes was feeding information to Gaddafi were there then it would make sense that some rogue elements might attempt to assassinate him," said Alan Fraser, an analyst with London-based risk consultancy AKE.&#160;</p>
<p>There had long been an internal split among rebel leaders on Younes, who rose to power with Gaddafi's 1969 revolution and who had served at "the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14338212" type="external">heart of Gaddafi's</a> regime" but who joined the rebels at the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February, the BBC reported.</p>
<p>In April, a Globalpost reporter heard military leaders ask other Libyans to join them to discuss whether they could circumvent Younes. There were high-level questions whether he could be trusted, whether he deserved the job.&#160;</p>
<p>But foreigners and analysts often praised Younes's appointment as head of the rebel forces in the field because it showed the rebel's could form a coalition with former Gaddafi officials and project a brand of national unity.&#160;</p>
<p>"He was one of the few credible senior opposition military commanders and he has been a key figure in helping stabilize and re-organize rebel fighters,"&#160;Analyst David Hartwell of IHS said. With Younes's assassination, rebel unity and appeal to the 30-some nations who have recognized the Transitional National Council, is in question.</p>
<p>Rebel defense minister Omar Hariri told Reuters Younes's death was still being investigated and the loss would be great.&#160;Gen Younes was due to appear before a panel of judges in Benghazi, the BBC reported.</p>
<p>In Benghazi relatives vowed allegiance to the rebels' political leader. But members of Younes's tribe interrupted the press conference with gunfire last night. Explosions were heard outside the hotel where his death was announced.&#160;</p> | 599,869 |
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<p>“A pit bull named Mugsy Malone was officially declared dangerous even before he attacked a 3-year-old girl. The dog has twice come and gone from our animal shelters. The attack on the child was not enough to warrant euthanasia under our practices. Neither was the fact that Mugsy Malone killed a small dog and also bit a man in our own facility.</p>
<p>One day, while Mugsy Malone was outdoors, a man came along with a small dog. “No, no! Close the gate! Don’t come in!” the caregiver yelled. But it was too late. Mugsy Malone saw the dog and killed it, even as the owner of the dog tried to save his little friend by fighting Mugsy Malone to no avail.</p>
<p>Mugsy Malone was declared to be a dangerous dog. Then, last year, he saw a little girl playing outside. Mugsy Malone ran to the little girl and attacked her, grabbing her on the face. The father leaped into the attack and tried to pry the dog’s mouth from his daughter’s face. The father grabbed a rock and began hitting Mugsy Malone on the head to save the child.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The girl was taken to a hospital, and Mugsy Malone was taken to the West Side Animal Shelter and later to a veterinary clinic. At the clinic, while the dog was being sedated, an officer had to stand by Mugsy Malone, holding him with a cable stick until the dog passed out.</p>
<p>Back at our animal shelter, about six weeks later, a volunteer decided to take Mugsy Malone for a walk. The volunteer reached into the kennel so he could put a leash on the dog. Mugsy Malone bit the volunteer’s arm and scratched the volunteer with his teeth. The volunteer was taken to our clinic, where the volunteer’s arm was scrubbed for about 10 minutes before being bandaged and wrapped. A note was added to the dog’s file, advising that Mugsy Malone should not be walked by anyone, to avoid another incident.</p>
<p>(Mugsy Malone was given to an out-of-town animal group last September).”</p>
<p>A pit bull mix named Pappy appeared on a local animal rescue website that notes the dog isn’t good with other dogs or cats. The dog was involved in killing a former shelter poodle and biting its owner after its adoption from the city animal shelter.</p>
<p>“Eight years ago, a little dog named Lienda was turned over to a city animal shelter. There was something medically wrong with Lienda and its owner could not afford the expense of veterinary care.</p>
<p>Our staff fell in love with Lienda. They believed Lienda was so cute that she could easily be adopted if they could only save her life. It appeared there was an intestinal blockage. Our veterinarians discussed it and they decided to operate on Lienda to see if the blockage could be removed. If not, the plan was to euthanize Lienda; she would not wake up from surgery.</p>
<p>Dr. John Romeo performed the operation and he was able to save the little dog. “Wagging tail,” a medical note said as Lienda began to recover from surgery. And, just as expected, Lienda was quickly adopted into a loving home.</p>
<p>Three months ago, Lienda was horribly killed by a pit bull named Pappy, who had recently been released from a city animal shelter despite a history of aggression and repeatedly failing behavioral tests. During the attack, Pappy also bit Lienda’s owner when she tried to save her beloved little friend.</p>
<p>After the killing, Pappy was returned to the animal shelter and I personally put him on a euthanasia list for public safety reasons. However, by the end of the day, Pappy had been removed from the euthanasia list on orders of the department director. Later, the director approved giving Pappy to a rescue group, who recently arranged for Pappy to be adopted by a family living on the West Side of Albuquerque.”</p>
<p>These excerpts are from a complaint written by Jim Ludwick, of the Animal Welfare Department.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Stories of two dogs that killed | false | https://abqjournal.com/562534/stories-of-two-dogs-that-killed.html | 2least
| Stories of two dogs that killed
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<p>“A pit bull named Mugsy Malone was officially declared dangerous even before he attacked a 3-year-old girl. The dog has twice come and gone from our animal shelters. The attack on the child was not enough to warrant euthanasia under our practices. Neither was the fact that Mugsy Malone killed a small dog and also bit a man in our own facility.</p>
<p>One day, while Mugsy Malone was outdoors, a man came along with a small dog. “No, no! Close the gate! Don’t come in!” the caregiver yelled. But it was too late. Mugsy Malone saw the dog and killed it, even as the owner of the dog tried to save his little friend by fighting Mugsy Malone to no avail.</p>
<p>Mugsy Malone was declared to be a dangerous dog. Then, last year, he saw a little girl playing outside. Mugsy Malone ran to the little girl and attacked her, grabbing her on the face. The father leaped into the attack and tried to pry the dog’s mouth from his daughter’s face. The father grabbed a rock and began hitting Mugsy Malone on the head to save the child.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The girl was taken to a hospital, and Mugsy Malone was taken to the West Side Animal Shelter and later to a veterinary clinic. At the clinic, while the dog was being sedated, an officer had to stand by Mugsy Malone, holding him with a cable stick until the dog passed out.</p>
<p>Back at our animal shelter, about six weeks later, a volunteer decided to take Mugsy Malone for a walk. The volunteer reached into the kennel so he could put a leash on the dog. Mugsy Malone bit the volunteer’s arm and scratched the volunteer with his teeth. The volunteer was taken to our clinic, where the volunteer’s arm was scrubbed for about 10 minutes before being bandaged and wrapped. A note was added to the dog’s file, advising that Mugsy Malone should not be walked by anyone, to avoid another incident.</p>
<p>(Mugsy Malone was given to an out-of-town animal group last September).”</p>
<p>A pit bull mix named Pappy appeared on a local animal rescue website that notes the dog isn’t good with other dogs or cats. The dog was involved in killing a former shelter poodle and biting its owner after its adoption from the city animal shelter.</p>
<p>“Eight years ago, a little dog named Lienda was turned over to a city animal shelter. There was something medically wrong with Lienda and its owner could not afford the expense of veterinary care.</p>
<p>Our staff fell in love with Lienda. They believed Lienda was so cute that she could easily be adopted if they could only save her life. It appeared there was an intestinal blockage. Our veterinarians discussed it and they decided to operate on Lienda to see if the blockage could be removed. If not, the plan was to euthanize Lienda; she would not wake up from surgery.</p>
<p>Dr. John Romeo performed the operation and he was able to save the little dog. “Wagging tail,” a medical note said as Lienda began to recover from surgery. And, just as expected, Lienda was quickly adopted into a loving home.</p>
<p>Three months ago, Lienda was horribly killed by a pit bull named Pappy, who had recently been released from a city animal shelter despite a history of aggression and repeatedly failing behavioral tests. During the attack, Pappy also bit Lienda’s owner when she tried to save her beloved little friend.</p>
<p>After the killing, Pappy was returned to the animal shelter and I personally put him on a euthanasia list for public safety reasons. However, by the end of the day, Pappy had been removed from the euthanasia list on orders of the department director. Later, the director approved giving Pappy to a rescue group, who recently arranged for Pappy to be adopted by a family living on the West Side of Albuquerque.”</p>
<p>These excerpts are from a complaint written by Jim Ludwick, of the Animal Welfare Department.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 599,870 |
|
<p />
<p>It seems somewhat disingenuous referring to a stock that has rallied roughly 530% over the last five years as having "lost its mojo."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>However, the fact remains that shares of graphics chip leader NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) have indeed fallen roughly 18% from their 52-week high in early February.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/NVDA" type="external">NVDA</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>So, how should investors think about this newfound bearishness in NVIDIA shares? Does the sell-off in its stock represent a paradigm shift in investor sentiment toward the company, or does it create an attractive potential entry point? Let's explore this topic in greater detail.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The only major news to break since NVIDIA's stock peaked -- which occurred on February 7th-- was the company's release of its full-year and fourth-quarter results for its fiscal year 2017, which took place on February 9th. As a quick point of clarification, NVIDIA runs its fiscal year one full year ahead of the calendar year, for some odd reason.</p>
<p>At any rate, NVIDIA actually released earnings that exceeded analyst estimates in terms of sales and profits.</p>
<p>If anything, it seems safe to say that some investors have been simply taking profits on their NVIDIA investments, a strategy that seems sensible for short-term investors concerned about NVDIIA's admittedly rich valuation. Moreover, while it enjoys many well-defined positives, there is one potential storm forming on the horizon that could sap some of the wind from NVIDIA's sails.</p>
<p>Long-time graphics laggard Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) plans to launch its Vega chip series later this year, a move that some analysts believe could allow AMD to steal significant market GPU market share from NVIDIA. Though we don't know any of the specifics regarding AMD's Vega chips yet, the hope is that they will serve as a cheaper alternative to NVIDIA's GTX chip series, while not sacrificing much in the way of performance. If that proves to be the case, NVIDIA could be forced to lower the prices of corresponding chipsets. Of course, worrying about this is putting the cart before the horse to a certain extent, but it bears noting as something that could inhibit NVIDIA's growth. And given NVIDIA's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/30/1-key-reason-nvidia-corporation-stock-could-fall.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">sky-high valuation Opens a New Window.</a>, that could be enough to compel investors sitting on large paper gains to sell.</p>
<p>Image source: NVIDIA.</p>
<p>In as much as NVIDIA has indeed "lost its mojo," it's important to remember that NVIDIA's multiyear investment thesis appears <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/06/how-nvidias-4-segments-fared-in-2016.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">as strong as ever Opens a New Window.</a>. As we saw in its earnings release, the main drivers underpinning NVIDIA's growth today are high-end gaming, artificial intelligence (AI) software, and self-driving cars.</p>
<p>eSports still don't receive a lot of coverage from the mainstream media, but the craze's momentum is undeniable. eSport's global audience was estimated to reach 256 million viewers in 2016, according to one industry researcher. Large events regularly enjoy sponsorship from blue-chip brands like Coca-Cola, Nissan, and more, which has led to a dramatic increase in purse sizes for some of the genre's most popular events. This, in turn, has helped increase the awareness of the pastime to many casual fans, particularly in Asia, where the sport is most popular.The same researcher believes total revenue related to eSports will reach $1.1 billion by 2019, up from $463 million in 2016. The rush of money and interest into the sport should help continue to create demand for NVIDIA's best-of-breed graphics processing chips, which rose 44% last year.</p>
<p>Better still, major trends like AI software and driverless cars remain in their early stages. Last year, NVIDIA saw an unprecedented surge in demand for its GPUs to power an impressive host of applications. NVIDIA's GPUs are the chip of choice to power the various AI projects at tech giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Facebook, the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Department of Energy, and many others. Turning to self-driving cars, NVIDIA has also partnered with an impressive arrayof major automakers, though this technology figures to more meaningfully contribute to its growth early next decade.</p>
<p>Not to belabor the point, but hopefully it's clear now that NVIDIA has far from lost its mojo. True, the company's stock prices has fallen from its recent all-time highs, but it easily remains in positive territory over the last 12 months, and for good reason. NVIDIA is one of the best-positioned companies to profit from several of the largest continuing trends in technology.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than NvidiaWhen 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=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=78bc8530-0d8d-4045-bdce-cce7e3a30c57&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now...and Nvidia 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=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=78bc8530-0d8d-4045-bdce-cce7e3a30c57&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017.</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTheDude/info.aspx" type="external">Andrew Tonner Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A and C shares), Facebook, and Nvidia. 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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Can NVIDIA Regain Its Mojo? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/13/can-nvidia-regain-its-mojo.html | 2017-03-17 | 0right
| Can NVIDIA Regain Its Mojo?
<p />
<p>It seems somewhat disingenuous referring to a stock that has rallied roughly 530% over the last five years as having "lost its mojo."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>However, the fact remains that shares of graphics chip leader NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) have indeed fallen roughly 18% from their 52-week high in early February.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/NVDA" type="external">NVDA</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>So, how should investors think about this newfound bearishness in NVIDIA shares? Does the sell-off in its stock represent a paradigm shift in investor sentiment toward the company, or does it create an attractive potential entry point? Let's explore this topic in greater detail.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The only major news to break since NVIDIA's stock peaked -- which occurred on February 7th-- was the company's release of its full-year and fourth-quarter results for its fiscal year 2017, which took place on February 9th. As a quick point of clarification, NVIDIA runs its fiscal year one full year ahead of the calendar year, for some odd reason.</p>
<p>At any rate, NVIDIA actually released earnings that exceeded analyst estimates in terms of sales and profits.</p>
<p>If anything, it seems safe to say that some investors have been simply taking profits on their NVIDIA investments, a strategy that seems sensible for short-term investors concerned about NVDIIA's admittedly rich valuation. Moreover, while it enjoys many well-defined positives, there is one potential storm forming on the horizon that could sap some of the wind from NVIDIA's sails.</p>
<p>Long-time graphics laggard Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) plans to launch its Vega chip series later this year, a move that some analysts believe could allow AMD to steal significant market GPU market share from NVIDIA. Though we don't know any of the specifics regarding AMD's Vega chips yet, the hope is that they will serve as a cheaper alternative to NVIDIA's GTX chip series, while not sacrificing much in the way of performance. If that proves to be the case, NVIDIA could be forced to lower the prices of corresponding chipsets. Of course, worrying about this is putting the cart before the horse to a certain extent, but it bears noting as something that could inhibit NVIDIA's growth. And given NVIDIA's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/30/1-key-reason-nvidia-corporation-stock-could-fall.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">sky-high valuation Opens a New Window.</a>, that could be enough to compel investors sitting on large paper gains to sell.</p>
<p>Image source: NVIDIA.</p>
<p>In as much as NVIDIA has indeed "lost its mojo," it's important to remember that NVIDIA's multiyear investment thesis appears <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/06/how-nvidias-4-segments-fared-in-2016.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">as strong as ever Opens a New Window.</a>. As we saw in its earnings release, the main drivers underpinning NVIDIA's growth today are high-end gaming, artificial intelligence (AI) software, and self-driving cars.</p>
<p>eSports still don't receive a lot of coverage from the mainstream media, but the craze's momentum is undeniable. eSport's global audience was estimated to reach 256 million viewers in 2016, according to one industry researcher. Large events regularly enjoy sponsorship from blue-chip brands like Coca-Cola, Nissan, and more, which has led to a dramatic increase in purse sizes for some of the genre's most popular events. This, in turn, has helped increase the awareness of the pastime to many casual fans, particularly in Asia, where the sport is most popular.The same researcher believes total revenue related to eSports will reach $1.1 billion by 2019, up from $463 million in 2016. The rush of money and interest into the sport should help continue to create demand for NVIDIA's best-of-breed graphics processing chips, which rose 44% last year.</p>
<p>Better still, major trends like AI software and driverless cars remain in their early stages. Last year, NVIDIA saw an unprecedented surge in demand for its GPUs to power an impressive host of applications. NVIDIA's GPUs are the chip of choice to power the various AI projects at tech giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Facebook, the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Department of Energy, and many others. Turning to self-driving cars, NVIDIA has also partnered with an impressive arrayof major automakers, though this technology figures to more meaningfully contribute to its growth early next decade.</p>
<p>Not to belabor the point, but hopefully it's clear now that NVIDIA has far from lost its mojo. True, the company's stock prices has fallen from its recent all-time highs, but it easily remains in positive territory over the last 12 months, and for good reason. NVIDIA is one of the best-positioned companies to profit from several of the largest continuing trends in technology.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than NvidiaWhen 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=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=78bc8530-0d8d-4045-bdce-cce7e3a30c57&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now...and Nvidia 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=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=78bc8530-0d8d-4045-bdce-cce7e3a30c57&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017.</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTheDude/info.aspx" type="external">Andrew Tonner Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A and C shares), Facebook, and Nvidia. 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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,871 |
<p>Democrats’ albatross continued to hang heavy on their messaging campaign Thursday.</p>
<p>Nancy Pelosi, who recently insisted she’s “worth the trouble” amid criticisms over her performance as leader, continued her bizarre behavior during her weekly press conference as she was confused about what time of day it was, struggled to recall her latest accusations against Russia just six minutes later, and again awkwardly stopped speaking mid-sentence and stared at reporters before resuming.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>As Pelosi approached the podium on Thursday, she muttered to herself on the hot mic, “It’s afternoon. It is afternoon. Good afternoon everyone.”</p>
<p>She then immediately got confused about what time of day it was.</p>
<p>“Thank you for being here. I’m honored this morning, or now afternoon…” she said. She went on to refer to her Democratic colleague as the “chairman” of a committee, before correcting herself and calling him the “ranking member.”</p>
<p>Going off script proved to be a disaster.</p>
<p>While denouncing Republican attempts to replace Obamacare, Pelosi said, “And what does that mean? Higher costs, fewer benefits, uh, terrible age tax undermining Medicare, uh, uh, stealing from Medicare and Maid-icaid, as I should have said,” mispronouncing the word.</p>
<p>A statement about Medicaid left the listener to wonder what other things Pelosi thinks are covered by the program.</p>
<p>“As they do this, they’re making an assault on Medicaid, which is, again, very dangerous to children and other living ch— things,” she said.</p>
<p>Criticizing Republicans over what she sees as a lack of interest in the alleged election “hacking” by Russia, the Minority Leader said, “They hacked our democracy. Twenty-one state, local election systems were per— penetrated.”</p>
<p>But just six minutes later, Pelosi struggled to remember the accusation and Rep. Bennie Thompson assisted with the details.</p>
<p>“We’re finding out things that we didn’t even know before. For example, was it— how many states have been compromised in all of this?” she wondered aloud.</p>
<p>“Twenty-one,” Thompson muttered under his breath.</p>
<p>“Twenty-one. Twenty— twenty-one states,” Pelosi echoed.</p>
<p>She then fell back on her allegation that the Russians have something on Trump.</p>
<p>“Again I always say, ‘What is it the Russians have on Donald Trump, politically, personally or financially that we have to uh—” she said before stopping awkwardly and staring momentarily at reporters, before continuing, “pussyfoot around when it comes to sanctions on Russia.”</p> | Nancy Pelosi struggles to remember latest Russia accusation — 6 mins after making it! | true | http://theamericanmirror.com/video-pelosi-confused-time-day-forgets-latest-russia-accusations-6-mins-later/ | 2017-06-30 | 0right
| Nancy Pelosi struggles to remember latest Russia accusation — 6 mins after making it!
<p>Democrats’ albatross continued to hang heavy on their messaging campaign Thursday.</p>
<p>Nancy Pelosi, who recently insisted she’s “worth the trouble” amid criticisms over her performance as leader, continued her bizarre behavior during her weekly press conference as she was confused about what time of day it was, struggled to recall her latest accusations against Russia just six minutes later, and again awkwardly stopped speaking mid-sentence and stared at reporters before resuming.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>As Pelosi approached the podium on Thursday, she muttered to herself on the hot mic, “It’s afternoon. It is afternoon. Good afternoon everyone.”</p>
<p>She then immediately got confused about what time of day it was.</p>
<p>“Thank you for being here. I’m honored this morning, or now afternoon…” she said. She went on to refer to her Democratic colleague as the “chairman” of a committee, before correcting herself and calling him the “ranking member.”</p>
<p>Going off script proved to be a disaster.</p>
<p>While denouncing Republican attempts to replace Obamacare, Pelosi said, “And what does that mean? Higher costs, fewer benefits, uh, terrible age tax undermining Medicare, uh, uh, stealing from Medicare and Maid-icaid, as I should have said,” mispronouncing the word.</p>
<p>A statement about Medicaid left the listener to wonder what other things Pelosi thinks are covered by the program.</p>
<p>“As they do this, they’re making an assault on Medicaid, which is, again, very dangerous to children and other living ch— things,” she said.</p>
<p>Criticizing Republicans over what she sees as a lack of interest in the alleged election “hacking” by Russia, the Minority Leader said, “They hacked our democracy. Twenty-one state, local election systems were per— penetrated.”</p>
<p>But just six minutes later, Pelosi struggled to remember the accusation and Rep. Bennie Thompson assisted with the details.</p>
<p>“We’re finding out things that we didn’t even know before. For example, was it— how many states have been compromised in all of this?” she wondered aloud.</p>
<p>“Twenty-one,” Thompson muttered under his breath.</p>
<p>“Twenty-one. Twenty— twenty-one states,” Pelosi echoed.</p>
<p>She then fell back on her allegation that the Russians have something on Trump.</p>
<p>“Again I always say, ‘What is it the Russians have on Donald Trump, politically, personally or financially that we have to uh—” she said before stopping awkwardly and staring momentarily at reporters, before continuing, “pussyfoot around when it comes to sanctions on Russia.”</p> | 599,872 |
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<p />
<p>“School of Rock” and theater tech club members at Cleveland High School may be too young to remember that classic Saturday Night Live sketch, which first aired on April 8, 2000. After all, an 18-year-old senior this spring would have been just 5 back then, and probably not allowed to stay up that late, even on a Saturday night.</p>
<p>The sketch, always included in Will Ferrell retrospectives, fictionalized the recording of the song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult. Walken, directing the session inside the control booth, kept stopping recording to insist that Gene Frenkle (Ferrell) bring “More cowbell” sound into the recording.</p>
<p>Of course, CHS fine arts teacher Keith Abrahamson understood the comment when it was uttered during a recording session in the Concert Hall Monday afternoon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Two tracks, with others to be laid down in the weeks to come, gave students an idea of the time consumed by bands making recordings, from gathering various cords and microphones to making sure every input is accounted for at the mixer. Abrahamson said the keyboards and vocals tracks will be laid down in a week or two, and that three songs in all — “Monster,” by Disturbed, plus “Kryptonite” by Three Doors Down and “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters — are also planned for what will be a the CD.</p>
<p>The CDs may be sold as a fundraiser, Abrahamson said, but the recordings are being done “basically for the knowledge on how this happens.” He explained to the students that if the group played as a band, and were unhappy with the final sound — or if there was a minor mishap during the recording — the entire song would have to be replayed. By laying down separate tracks, when each track has been recorded and its musicians are satisfied, then the other tracks can each be played to those musicians’ satisfaction.</p>
<p>Seated at the mixer was a professional, Mike Gerdes, who not only plays in two bands (“Mondo Vibrations,” a reggae band, and “Broken Breadwinner,” a hip-hop band), works in the audio department at Grandma’s and has his own studio, Central Root Studios in Nob Hill. He has an impressive résumé, having worked many facets in the entertainment industry, from lighting and sound in theaters and concert venues, and live recording, producing, audio engineering for intimate shows to large festivals.</p>
<p>A St. Pius X graduate, Gerdes said he initially learned to play guitar while listening to Pink Floyd.</p>
<p>He’s receiving a stipend for his time, Abrahamson said, being paid from a fund generated by various fundraising activities of the School of Rock and theater tech club.</p>
<p>“We splurge to do these workshops,” Abrahamson said. He’s taken the interested students to Santa Ana Star Center twice in the past year to see the arena set-up for “Cirque du Soleil” and “Batman Live.” The professionals, it seems, enjoy seeing the “future” of their profession, as well as the passion and inquiring minds exhibited by teenagers.</p>
<p>If there’s one thing the students might be learning, besides teamwork, it’s patience. Eventually, the proper cables are found and plugged in, and the requested “57” mic, which Abrahamson said is made by Shure Microphones and better for instruments, rather than vocals, is plugged in.</p>
<p>“One cable, or lack thereof, can cripple a session,” Gerdes says, before the session officially starts with music.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After the drums and bass are recorded, the three-minute track is played back. The two musicians like what they hear and one track is all that’s needed.</p>
<p>But guitarist Alex Scales doesn’t like what he hears after he plays his part and the tracks combined. He plays his part again, and then a third time, before he’s satisfied with what he’s done.</p>
<p>Gerdes plays it back — 90 minutes have passed since the group began assembling in the Concert Hall after school ended.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of disturbed,” Abrahamson said of the sound, which seems to account for the band’s name.</p>
<p>Abrahamson, of course, has “been there, done that,” recalling days in recording studios, which then ran about $500 an hour, during his high school days many years ago as a teen in Massachusetts. These kids may have never seen Mylar recording tape or reel-to-reel recorders; digital sound is the new way to go.</p>
<p>“They’re learning how to do multi-track recordings to further their musical and technical knowledge,” Abrahamson said.</p>
<p>As 4 p.m. arrives, Monday’s session is about to come to an end.</p>
<p>More work must be done, and many more tedious hours of work will need to go into this CD before CHS students might be able to buy it.</p>
<p>Nobody has cracked wise, “Free Bird!”</p>
<p>Nor has anyone requested “More cowbell.”</p> | Unique club at Cleveland High learns art of recording | false | https://abqjournal.com/185837/unique-club-at-cleveland-high-learns-art-of-recording.html | 2013-04-07 | 2least
| Unique club at Cleveland High learns art of recording
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<p />
<p>“School of Rock” and theater tech club members at Cleveland High School may be too young to remember that classic Saturday Night Live sketch, which first aired on April 8, 2000. After all, an 18-year-old senior this spring would have been just 5 back then, and probably not allowed to stay up that late, even on a Saturday night.</p>
<p>The sketch, always included in Will Ferrell retrospectives, fictionalized the recording of the song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult. Walken, directing the session inside the control booth, kept stopping recording to insist that Gene Frenkle (Ferrell) bring “More cowbell” sound into the recording.</p>
<p>Of course, CHS fine arts teacher Keith Abrahamson understood the comment when it was uttered during a recording session in the Concert Hall Monday afternoon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Two tracks, with others to be laid down in the weeks to come, gave students an idea of the time consumed by bands making recordings, from gathering various cords and microphones to making sure every input is accounted for at the mixer. Abrahamson said the keyboards and vocals tracks will be laid down in a week or two, and that three songs in all — “Monster,” by Disturbed, plus “Kryptonite” by Three Doors Down and “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters — are also planned for what will be a the CD.</p>
<p>The CDs may be sold as a fundraiser, Abrahamson said, but the recordings are being done “basically for the knowledge on how this happens.” He explained to the students that if the group played as a band, and were unhappy with the final sound — or if there was a minor mishap during the recording — the entire song would have to be replayed. By laying down separate tracks, when each track has been recorded and its musicians are satisfied, then the other tracks can each be played to those musicians’ satisfaction.</p>
<p>Seated at the mixer was a professional, Mike Gerdes, who not only plays in two bands (“Mondo Vibrations,” a reggae band, and “Broken Breadwinner,” a hip-hop band), works in the audio department at Grandma’s and has his own studio, Central Root Studios in Nob Hill. He has an impressive résumé, having worked many facets in the entertainment industry, from lighting and sound in theaters and concert venues, and live recording, producing, audio engineering for intimate shows to large festivals.</p>
<p>A St. Pius X graduate, Gerdes said he initially learned to play guitar while listening to Pink Floyd.</p>
<p>He’s receiving a stipend for his time, Abrahamson said, being paid from a fund generated by various fundraising activities of the School of Rock and theater tech club.</p>
<p>“We splurge to do these workshops,” Abrahamson said. He’s taken the interested students to Santa Ana Star Center twice in the past year to see the arena set-up for “Cirque du Soleil” and “Batman Live.” The professionals, it seems, enjoy seeing the “future” of their profession, as well as the passion and inquiring minds exhibited by teenagers.</p>
<p>If there’s one thing the students might be learning, besides teamwork, it’s patience. Eventually, the proper cables are found and plugged in, and the requested “57” mic, which Abrahamson said is made by Shure Microphones and better for instruments, rather than vocals, is plugged in.</p>
<p>“One cable, or lack thereof, can cripple a session,” Gerdes says, before the session officially starts with music.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After the drums and bass are recorded, the three-minute track is played back. The two musicians like what they hear and one track is all that’s needed.</p>
<p>But guitarist Alex Scales doesn’t like what he hears after he plays his part and the tracks combined. He plays his part again, and then a third time, before he’s satisfied with what he’s done.</p>
<p>Gerdes plays it back — 90 minutes have passed since the group began assembling in the Concert Hall after school ended.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of disturbed,” Abrahamson said of the sound, which seems to account for the band’s name.</p>
<p>Abrahamson, of course, has “been there, done that,” recalling days in recording studios, which then ran about $500 an hour, during his high school days many years ago as a teen in Massachusetts. These kids may have never seen Mylar recording tape or reel-to-reel recorders; digital sound is the new way to go.</p>
<p>“They’re learning how to do multi-track recordings to further their musical and technical knowledge,” Abrahamson said.</p>
<p>As 4 p.m. arrives, Monday’s session is about to come to an end.</p>
<p>More work must be done, and many more tedious hours of work will need to go into this CD before CHS students might be able to buy it.</p>
<p>Nobody has cracked wise, “Free Bird!”</p>
<p>Nor has anyone requested “More cowbell.”</p> | 599,873 |
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Paul Crookston</a> October 15, 2017 10:13 am</p>
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said again Sunday he would not engage in "games" by answering whether he called President Donald Trump a "moron."</p>
<p>NBC News reported that Tillerson made the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/tillerson-s-fury-trump-required-intervention-pence-n806451?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma" type="external">comment</a> over the summer and Tillerson has not denied it but <a href="" type="internal">rather said</a> the whole discussion around the report is "petty." CNN host Jake Tapper repeatedly asked him about the allegation, but Tillerson insisted he would not play "games" by answering.</p>
<p>"These are the games of Washington," Tillerson said. "These are the destructive games of this town. They're not helpful to anyone, so my position on it is: I'm not playing. I'm not playing. You want to make a game out of it, I'm not playing."</p>
<p>Tapper questioned the logic of dismissing the question, saying that Trump and Tillerson’s relationship matters greatly for the world. Even though the State Department <a href="" type="internal">denied the comment</a>, Tillerson&#160;refused to answer Tapper and instead talked about the problems with the culture of Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>"This is a town that seems to relish gossip, rumor, innuendo, and they feed on it," Tillerson said. "They feed on one another in a very destructive way."</p>
<p>"I don't work that way and I'm not going to dignify the question," he added. "I call the president ‘Mr. President.’ He and I have a very open, frank and candid relationship."</p>
<p>Tillerson said he and Trump work closely on matters of foreign policy and he said his job is to execute the decisions the president makes. He called the Trump administration "unconventional," including his role within it.</p>
<p>"He has assembled a very, I think, unconventional team," Tillerson said. "He himself is an unconventional president. He's assembled an unconventional cabinet. I’m an unconventional pick as secretary of state. But that’s because he does not accept the status quo with the many threats that we are confronting in the world today."</p>
<p>Tillerson described Trump’s work as aggressively "forcing action" on foreign policy and said his goal is to change the status quo.</p>
<p>"He is not going to accept the status quo," Tillerson said. "The American people elected him to change the status quo, and that's what he's doing."</p> | Tillerson Has Testy Exchange With Tapper Over Alleged ‘Moron’ Comment: ‘You Want to Make a Game Out of It’ | true | http://freebeacon.com/politics/tillerson-moron-comment-want-make-game-im-not-playing/ | 2017-10-15 | 0right
| Tillerson Has Testy Exchange With Tapper Over Alleged ‘Moron’ Comment: ‘You Want to Make a Game Out of It’
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Paul Crookston</a> October 15, 2017 10:13 am</p>
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said again Sunday he would not engage in "games" by answering whether he called President Donald Trump a "moron."</p>
<p>NBC News reported that Tillerson made the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/tillerson-s-fury-trump-required-intervention-pence-n806451?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma" type="external">comment</a> over the summer and Tillerson has not denied it but <a href="" type="internal">rather said</a> the whole discussion around the report is "petty." CNN host Jake Tapper repeatedly asked him about the allegation, but Tillerson insisted he would not play "games" by answering.</p>
<p>"These are the games of Washington," Tillerson said. "These are the destructive games of this town. They're not helpful to anyone, so my position on it is: I'm not playing. I'm not playing. You want to make a game out of it, I'm not playing."</p>
<p>Tapper questioned the logic of dismissing the question, saying that Trump and Tillerson’s relationship matters greatly for the world. Even though the State Department <a href="" type="internal">denied the comment</a>, Tillerson&#160;refused to answer Tapper and instead talked about the problems with the culture of Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>"This is a town that seems to relish gossip, rumor, innuendo, and they feed on it," Tillerson said. "They feed on one another in a very destructive way."</p>
<p>"I don't work that way and I'm not going to dignify the question," he added. "I call the president ‘Mr. President.’ He and I have a very open, frank and candid relationship."</p>
<p>Tillerson said he and Trump work closely on matters of foreign policy and he said his job is to execute the decisions the president makes. He called the Trump administration "unconventional," including his role within it.</p>
<p>"He has assembled a very, I think, unconventional team," Tillerson said. "He himself is an unconventional president. He's assembled an unconventional cabinet. I’m an unconventional pick as secretary of state. But that’s because he does not accept the status quo with the many threats that we are confronting in the world today."</p>
<p>Tillerson described Trump’s work as aggressively "forcing action" on foreign policy and said his goal is to change the status quo.</p>
<p>"He is not going to accept the status quo," Tillerson said. "The American people elected him to change the status quo, and that's what he's doing."</p> | 599,874 |
<p>John V. Walsh</p>
<p>Those in the U.S. who are enthralled by relentless reports of the most demonic acts attributed to President Vladimir Putin and the rebel Eastern Ukrainian federalists a in the NYT (New York Times), NPR, ETC. would do well to look at the track record of the “reporters” dishing out this stuff. What they will find is a trail of deception that is piled with corpses of hundreds of thousands of innocents.</p>
<p>Principle among the purveyors of these bloodletting falsehoods is Michael R. Gordon, chief military correspondent for the NYT, serving over the decades as a trusty pipeline from the Pentagon to you. Although his name should be in profound disrepute, many opposed to war are unaware of his ignoble career or may have forgotten it. Most notoriously he is the co-author with Judith Miller of the front page NYT article planted by Dick Cheney’s minions, which claimed that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), relying on the idea that aluminum tubing being purchased by Iraq was to be used for purifying uranium.</p>
<p>Here is a quick reminder of that sorry episode so typical for the NYT. That <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/08/world/threats-responses-iraqis-us-says-hussein-intensifies-quest-for-bomb-parts.html?scp=1&amp;sq=gordon%20miller%20september%208%202002&amp;st=cse" type="external">article</a>, entitled “Threats and Responses: The Iraqis; U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest For A-Bomb Parts,” ran on page one of the NYT on Sunday, September 8, 2002.</p>
<p>That same day, with the newsprint barely dry, Cheney popped up on Meet the Press citing the piece and claiming that Saddam Hussein was on his way to making nukes. Appearances on the other Sunday propaganda shows were made that same day by Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Meyers (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Condoleeza Rice who employed the infamous phrase used by Miller and Gordon, declaring with a straight face, “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.”</p>
<p>On October 11, 2002, with an election staring it in the face, the Congress voted authorization for Bush to go to war. (That Constitutional requirement was unceremoniously dropped when Obama decided to make war on Libya. At least Bush took the time to lie to Congress.) As we know all too well now, the entire aluminum tube story was a lie, as was obvious at the time to anyone who read the article with the slightest care and as the Department of Energy and Department of State&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_aluminum_tubes" type="external">knew well</a>&#160;at the time, as was later disclosed.</p>
<p><a href="http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/08/more-new-york-times-disinformation/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | More New York Times Disinformation | true | http://rinf.com/alt-news/media-news/new-york-times-disinformation/ | 2014-08-05 | 4left
| More New York Times Disinformation
<p>John V. Walsh</p>
<p>Those in the U.S. who are enthralled by relentless reports of the most demonic acts attributed to President Vladimir Putin and the rebel Eastern Ukrainian federalists a in the NYT (New York Times), NPR, ETC. would do well to look at the track record of the “reporters” dishing out this stuff. What they will find is a trail of deception that is piled with corpses of hundreds of thousands of innocents.</p>
<p>Principle among the purveyors of these bloodletting falsehoods is Michael R. Gordon, chief military correspondent for the NYT, serving over the decades as a trusty pipeline from the Pentagon to you. Although his name should be in profound disrepute, many opposed to war are unaware of his ignoble career or may have forgotten it. Most notoriously he is the co-author with Judith Miller of the front page NYT article planted by Dick Cheney’s minions, which claimed that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), relying on the idea that aluminum tubing being purchased by Iraq was to be used for purifying uranium.</p>
<p>Here is a quick reminder of that sorry episode so typical for the NYT. That <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/08/world/threats-responses-iraqis-us-says-hussein-intensifies-quest-for-bomb-parts.html?scp=1&amp;sq=gordon%20miller%20september%208%202002&amp;st=cse" type="external">article</a>, entitled “Threats and Responses: The Iraqis; U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest For A-Bomb Parts,” ran on page one of the NYT on Sunday, September 8, 2002.</p>
<p>That same day, with the newsprint barely dry, Cheney popped up on Meet the Press citing the piece and claiming that Saddam Hussein was on his way to making nukes. Appearances on the other Sunday propaganda shows were made that same day by Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Meyers (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Condoleeza Rice who employed the infamous phrase used by Miller and Gordon, declaring with a straight face, “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.”</p>
<p>On October 11, 2002, with an election staring it in the face, the Congress voted authorization for Bush to go to war. (That Constitutional requirement was unceremoniously dropped when Obama decided to make war on Libya. At least Bush took the time to lie to Congress.) As we know all too well now, the entire aluminum tube story was a lie, as was obvious at the time to anyone who read the article with the slightest care and as the Department of Energy and Department of State&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_aluminum_tubes" type="external">knew well</a>&#160;at the time, as was later disclosed.</p>
<p><a href="http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/08/more-new-york-times-disinformation/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 599,875 |
<p>WORCESTER (MA)Telegram &amp; GazetteWORCESTER- Bishop Daniel P. Reilly will answer questions under oath tomorrow in connection with a lawsuit that a Shrewsbury man has brought against the Catholic Diocese of Worcester and Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger. Sime M. Braio, 52, alleges in his suit that he was sexually abused and raped by Bishop Rueger at age 13. Bishop Rueger, who in July flatly denied the accusations, testified in a deposition last week. Mr. Braio is scheduled to testify at 9 a.m. Thursday. The diocese attempted to block public access to the depositions of both Bishop Reilly and Bishop Rueger but was overruled March 31 by Judge Mary Lou Rupp in Worcester Superior Court. The diocese also asked the court to block Bishop Reilly from giving testimony. Diocesan lawyer James Gavin Reardon Jr. argued that Bishop Reilly did not come to Worcester until years after the alleged incidents involving Bishop Rueger and Mr. Braio in the 1960s. The judge said Bishop Reilly has "institutional knowledge' of the diocese and should testify. She added that he can be questioned about the House of Affirmation. Mr. Shea said Bishop Reilly's testimony is relevant because he made public statements after the suit was filed last July indicating that Mr. Braio tried to extort money from the diocese and he intended to seek criminal action against him through the office of District Attorney John J. Conte. Mr. Conte declined to bring criminal charges. Daniel J. Shea of Houston, the lawyer representing Mr. Braio, said it could take a month before the depositions go through the legal process and become part of the public record in the suit.</p> | Bishop Reilly set to make deposition | false | https://poynter.org/news/bishop-reilly-set-make-deposition | 2003-04-08 | 2least
| Bishop Reilly set to make deposition
<p>WORCESTER (MA)Telegram &amp; GazetteWORCESTER- Bishop Daniel P. Reilly will answer questions under oath tomorrow in connection with a lawsuit that a Shrewsbury man has brought against the Catholic Diocese of Worcester and Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger. Sime M. Braio, 52, alleges in his suit that he was sexually abused and raped by Bishop Rueger at age 13. Bishop Rueger, who in July flatly denied the accusations, testified in a deposition last week. Mr. Braio is scheduled to testify at 9 a.m. Thursday. The diocese attempted to block public access to the depositions of both Bishop Reilly and Bishop Rueger but was overruled March 31 by Judge Mary Lou Rupp in Worcester Superior Court. The diocese also asked the court to block Bishop Reilly from giving testimony. Diocesan lawyer James Gavin Reardon Jr. argued that Bishop Reilly did not come to Worcester until years after the alleged incidents involving Bishop Rueger and Mr. Braio in the 1960s. The judge said Bishop Reilly has "institutional knowledge' of the diocese and should testify. She added that he can be questioned about the House of Affirmation. Mr. Shea said Bishop Reilly's testimony is relevant because he made public statements after the suit was filed last July indicating that Mr. Braio tried to extort money from the diocese and he intended to seek criminal action against him through the office of District Attorney John J. Conte. Mr. Conte declined to bring criminal charges. Daniel J. Shea of Houston, the lawyer representing Mr. Braio, said it could take a month before the depositions go through the legal process and become part of the public record in the suit.</p> | 599,876 |
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<p>SILVER CITY – It has been a dry New Mexico spring so far, and cattle growers continue to struggle to survive in the drought conditions that still prevail in much of the state.</p>
<p>Selling off part or all of their herds is an option many have chosen and others are considering.</p>
<p>To help producers fully understand the issues and make optimal herd management decisions, the New Mexico State University Grant County Cooperative Extension Service office will host a drought and marketing workshop from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 26.</p>
<p>The event will take place at the Extension meeting room at 2610 N. Silver St. in Silver City.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This workshop is scheduled immediately prior to the monsoon season in order to give ranchers the best available drought forecasts and marketing information for the 2012 growing season,” said Pete Walden, Grant County Extension agriculture agent and program director.</p>
<p>During the morning session, Walden and Natural Resources Conservation Service representatives will display the latest maps and forecasts for southwest New Mexico.</p>
<p>Macky Irwin of the U.S. Farm Service Agency will give updates on USDA drought programs. Jerry Hawkes, NMSU Extension economist, will review the tax implications of selling cattle in a drought year. Nick Ashcroft, NMSU Extension range specialist, will explain a USDA pilot PRM program that insures pasture and range forage. Hawkes will return during the afternoon session to discuss research findings from area sale barns.</p>
<p>A $10 charge will cover the cost of the catered lunch. Register by June 22 at http://grantextension.nmsu.edu. For more information, call 575-388-1859.</p> | Drought workshop set for NM cattle growers | false | https://abqjournal.com/113349/drought-workshop-set-for-nm-cattle-growers.html | 2012-06-18 | 2least
| Drought workshop set for NM cattle growers
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<p />
<p>SILVER CITY – It has been a dry New Mexico spring so far, and cattle growers continue to struggle to survive in the drought conditions that still prevail in much of the state.</p>
<p>Selling off part or all of their herds is an option many have chosen and others are considering.</p>
<p>To help producers fully understand the issues and make optimal herd management decisions, the New Mexico State University Grant County Cooperative Extension Service office will host a drought and marketing workshop from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 26.</p>
<p>The event will take place at the Extension meeting room at 2610 N. Silver St. in Silver City.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This workshop is scheduled immediately prior to the monsoon season in order to give ranchers the best available drought forecasts and marketing information for the 2012 growing season,” said Pete Walden, Grant County Extension agriculture agent and program director.</p>
<p>During the morning session, Walden and Natural Resources Conservation Service representatives will display the latest maps and forecasts for southwest New Mexico.</p>
<p>Macky Irwin of the U.S. Farm Service Agency will give updates on USDA drought programs. Jerry Hawkes, NMSU Extension economist, will review the tax implications of selling cattle in a drought year. Nick Ashcroft, NMSU Extension range specialist, will explain a USDA pilot PRM program that insures pasture and range forage. Hawkes will return during the afternoon session to discuss research findings from area sale barns.</p>
<p>A $10 charge will cover the cost of the catered lunch. Register by June 22 at http://grantextension.nmsu.edu. For more information, call 575-388-1859.</p> | 599,877 |
<p>A steep selloff on Wall Street with the Dow falling over 300 points Friday, posting its worst week in three years. And the S&amp;P 500 didn't fair much better -- it saw its worst week in two-and-a-half years. <a href="" type="internal">The market downturn didn't end there</a>: Oil settled at 57.81, the lowest level in five-and-a-half years. And taking a look at the VIX -- the so-called fear index -- topping 21 for the first time since Oct. 21.</p>
<p>What could be behind this? Andy Brenner, head of international fixed income at National Alliance Securities, says we are getting closer to a Russian default and if that happens, it would have a huge ripple effect for emerging markets and the global economy.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Plus, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors Austan Goolsbee weighed in on the selloff and offered a different take on Russia. Head to <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> to find out what keeps him up at night right now.</p>
<p>Former Apple CEO John Sculley joined FBN&#160;and said that Apple, with Tim Cook in the lead, is doing everything right. Head to <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> to see which Apple products this former chief thinks are a big hit and which ones could use some work.</p>
<p>Here's what's coming up next week: The last Federal Reserve meeting of the year is taking place on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Will the Fed drop the "considerable time" language from it's policy statement? We'll break down what it means for your money.</p>
<p>Be sure to check out all of today's interviews on <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> and tune into Countdown to the Closing Bell every week day at 3 p.m. ET.</p> | Claman on Call: Apple On the Right Track? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/12/12/claman-on-call.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Claman on Call: Apple On the Right Track?
<p>A steep selloff on Wall Street with the Dow falling over 300 points Friday, posting its worst week in three years. And the S&amp;P 500 didn't fair much better -- it saw its worst week in two-and-a-half years. <a href="" type="internal">The market downturn didn't end there</a>: Oil settled at 57.81, the lowest level in five-and-a-half years. And taking a look at the VIX -- the so-called fear index -- topping 21 for the first time since Oct. 21.</p>
<p>What could be behind this? Andy Brenner, head of international fixed income at National Alliance Securities, says we are getting closer to a Russian default and if that happens, it would have a huge ripple effect for emerging markets and the global economy.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Plus, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors Austan Goolsbee weighed in on the selloff and offered a different take on Russia. Head to <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> to find out what keeps him up at night right now.</p>
<p>Former Apple CEO John Sculley joined FBN&#160;and said that Apple, with Tim Cook in the lead, is doing everything right. Head to <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> to see which Apple products this former chief thinks are a big hit and which ones could use some work.</p>
<p>Here's what's coming up next week: The last Federal Reserve meeting of the year is taking place on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Will the Fed drop the "considerable time" language from it's policy statement? We'll break down what it means for your money.</p>
<p>Be sure to check out all of today's interviews on <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> and tune into Countdown to the Closing Bell every week day at 3 p.m. ET.</p> | 599,878 |
<p>Delta Air Lines Inc on Thursday reported an increase in quarterly passenger unit revenue, a closely watched metric, but higher costs weighed on its bottom line.</p>
<p>Breaking a losing streak that has plagued much of the industry for the last two years, Delta posted a 2.5 percent increase in passenger unit revenue, which measures sales relative to flight capacity, on 0.4 percent higher capacity in the second quarter of 2017.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But the company's net income fell 20.8 percent to $1.22 billion, or $1.68 per share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $1.55 billion, or $2.03 per share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>On an adjusted basis, the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic earned $1.64 per share, compared to the analyst consensus forecast of $1.67, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>Shares of the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic fell as much as 2.4 percent to $54.13 in early trading.</p>
<p>Delta said operating expenses climbed during the quarter on higher salaries and fuel costs, its two biggest components. The airline paid an additional $338 million towards 2017 profit sharing with employees.</p>
<p>"The June quarter represented the peak for non-fuel cost pressures this year and we expect our CASM (cost per available seat mile) trajectory to moderate to approximately 2 percent for the September quarter," Delta Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in a statement.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Aircraft fuel related expenses rose 18 percent to $1.45 billion during the quarter, while salary costs were up 9 percent to $2.62 billion.</p>
<p>Delta said the June quarter marked a return to quarterly unit revenue growth after two and a half years, and it expects continued positive growth in the September quarter.</p>
<p>Delta's operating margin, excluding special items, rose slightly to 18.4 percent, compared to 17.4 percent last year.</p>
<p>Total operating revenue rose 3.3 percent to $10.79 billion.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)</p> | Delta's passenger unit revenue rises, but profit tumbles | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/13/delta-profit-drops-20-8.html | 2017-07-13 | 0right
| Delta's passenger unit revenue rises, but profit tumbles
<p>Delta Air Lines Inc on Thursday reported an increase in quarterly passenger unit revenue, a closely watched metric, but higher costs weighed on its bottom line.</p>
<p>Breaking a losing streak that has plagued much of the industry for the last two years, Delta posted a 2.5 percent increase in passenger unit revenue, which measures sales relative to flight capacity, on 0.4 percent higher capacity in the second quarter of 2017.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But the company's net income fell 20.8 percent to $1.22 billion, or $1.68 per share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $1.55 billion, or $2.03 per share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>On an adjusted basis, the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic earned $1.64 per share, compared to the analyst consensus forecast of $1.67, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>Shares of the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic fell as much as 2.4 percent to $54.13 in early trading.</p>
<p>Delta said operating expenses climbed during the quarter on higher salaries and fuel costs, its two biggest components. The airline paid an additional $338 million towards 2017 profit sharing with employees.</p>
<p>"The June quarter represented the peak for non-fuel cost pressures this year and we expect our CASM (cost per available seat mile) trajectory to moderate to approximately 2 percent for the September quarter," Delta Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in a statement.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Aircraft fuel related expenses rose 18 percent to $1.45 billion during the quarter, while salary costs were up 9 percent to $2.62 billion.</p>
<p>Delta said the June quarter marked a return to quarterly unit revenue growth after two and a half years, and it expects continued positive growth in the September quarter.</p>
<p>Delta's operating margin, excluding special items, rose slightly to 18.4 percent, compared to 17.4 percent last year.</p>
<p>Total operating revenue rose 3.3 percent to $10.79 billion.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)</p> | 599,879 |
<p>Investing.com – The People’s Bank of China set the yuan mid-point at 6.5668 against the dollar on Monday, compared to the previous close of 6.5596, the strongest since June 23. 2106.</p>
<p>The China Foreign Exchange Trade System sets the weighted average of prices given by market makers. The highest and lowest offers are excluded from the calculation. The central bank allows the dollar/yuan rate to move no more than 2% above or below the central parity rate.</p>
<p>Market watchers see a yuan level of 7 against the dollar, , as a key touchstone for sentiment in the near term.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | PBOC sets yuan parity at 6.5668 vs dollar, strongest since June 2016 | false | https://newsline.com/pboc-sets-yuan-parity-at-6-5668-vs-dollar-strongest-since-june-2016/ | 2017-09-03 | 1right-center
| PBOC sets yuan parity at 6.5668 vs dollar, strongest since June 2016
<p>Investing.com – The People’s Bank of China set the yuan mid-point at 6.5668 against the dollar on Monday, compared to the previous close of 6.5596, the strongest since June 23. 2106.</p>
<p>The China Foreign Exchange Trade System sets the weighted average of prices given by market makers. The highest and lowest offers are excluded from the calculation. The central bank allows the dollar/yuan rate to move no more than 2% above or below the central parity rate.</p>
<p>Market watchers see a yuan level of 7 against the dollar, , as a key touchstone for sentiment in the near term.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 599,880 |
<p />
<p>Precious metals have been surging this year, with the markets focused on the rise in gold as the U.S. dollar depreciates and market volatility sent traders to the safe-haven. Now, silver and related exchange traded funds are finally starting to outpace their golden counterpart.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A perfect storm of global central bank policies and market volatility has contributed to a surge in precious metals. Year-to-date, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) rose 16.1% and iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) gained 16.9%.</p>
<p>Global central banks have shown that they are willing to adopt negative interest rate policies to stimulate stagnate growth. Consequently, in this new so-called NIRP environment, precious metals have shined and may continue to perform.</p>
<p>“We believe that the prolonged presence of low (and now even negative) rates has fundamentally altered the way investors should think about risk and may result in a broader use of assets like gold to manage their portfolios more effectively and preserve their wealth over the long run,” the World Gold Council said in a research note.</p>
<p>While gold has been the go-to precious metal for many investors, silver is finally beginning to step ahead. Over the past five years, GLD generated an average annualized return of -4.2% while SLV returned an average -18.3%. However, SLV jumped 16.5% over the past three months and increased 2.6% over the past month while GLD rose 13.1% over the past three months and dipped 1.7% in the past month.</p>
<p>Bolstering the appeal for silver, the precious metal enjoys heavy industrial demand that benefits from an expanding global economy. Over 50% of global demand for silver comes from industries like chemicals, medicine and technological appliances.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Along with SLV, investors interested in increasing their exposure to silver may look to a number of related ETFs, including ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE:SIVR) and PowerShares DB Silver Fund (NYSE:DBS).</p>
<p>Both SLV and SIVR are bullion-backed silver ETFs - the funds' shares represent a physical holding in silver bars stored in London, U.K. bank vaults. Potential investors should be aware that physically backed ETFs are taxed as collectibles at a rate of 28% instead of long-term equity rate of 15%.</p>
<p>DBS, on the other hand, tracks silver futures contracts. Specifically, the ETF includes silver contracts that expire on January 27, 2017. Consequently, potential investors should be aware that the fund may come with a K-1 tax form. Additionally, since the ETF includes futures contracts, investors are susceptible to the effects of contango or backwardation in the futures market.</p>
<p>The outperformance in the precious metals commodities have also bolstered silver miner-related ETFs, which are among the best peforming ETFs of the year. For example, the Global X Silvers Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) increased 65.4%, PureFunds ISE Junior Silver ETF (NYSE:SILJ) surged 118.5% and iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SLVP) jumped 72.8% year-to-date. In comparison, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX), the largest gold miner-related ETF, gained 61.7% this year.</p>
<p>SIL tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, which is comprised of global silver miners. The ETF is top heavy with a hefty 11.9% tilt toward Tahoe Resources (NYSE:TAHO), 11.2% Fresnillo Plc, 10.8% Silver Wheaton Corp (NYSE:SLW) and 8.2% Industrials Penoles among its top holdings. The fund's country weights include Canada 48.1%, Mexico 23.1%, U.S. 21.7%, Russia 5.7% and Peru 1.5%.</p>
<p>SLVP reflects the performance of the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index, which also has a large 62.6% position in Canadian companies, along with 13.1% in U.S., 11.7% U.K., 5.0% Peru, 4.5% Mexico and 2.0% Hong Kong. The fund's top holdings include a big 18.2% weight in SLW, along with 9.1% Fresnillo and 8.3% TAHO.</p>
<p>SILJ, on the other hand, follows the ISE Junior Silver Index, which is comprised of small-cap miners and explorers, with a heavy 88.3% emphasis on Canadian companies, along with 6.7% U.S. and 4.9% U.K. Top holdings include First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) 16.4%, Pan American Silver Corp (Nasdaq:PAAS) 11.6%, Mag Silver Corp 10.7% and Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE) 5.8%.</p>
<p>These silver miner ETFs may also be enjoying a double boost from the shifting foreign exchange markets. Silver bullion prices are affected by a weakening U.S., and the global silver ETFs also enjoy the positive forex effects of a depreciating greenback - a strengthening foreign currency means that returns are augmented when converted to a weaker U.S. dollar. However, potential investors should be aware that a strengthening dollar could contribute to a significant pullback in both precious metals and related miner assets.</p>
<p>This article was provided by our partners at <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.etftrends.com_&amp;d=CwMFAg&amp;c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&amp;r=GRqff5l5MHpejHoKHot8Gp2SY_ZPxrunht950uhDnYCPYyIIU0YyzTG5vMXJEgC6&amp;m=k85PcDp2YgGVfeI2B3nwCjx7jv-3IPJlDnOuPTYLETs&amp;s=p4TGxzCx5ElW9i-1mp6P4gc0gwc0Z8nGD_158B8xmfM&amp;e=" type="external">etftrends.com</a>.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: Tom Lydon's clients own shares of SLV, GLD and GDX.</p> | Silver ETFs Are Outshining Gold | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/20/silver-etfs-are-outshining-gold.html | 2016-04-20 | 0right
| Silver ETFs Are Outshining Gold
<p />
<p>Precious metals have been surging this year, with the markets focused on the rise in gold as the U.S. dollar depreciates and market volatility sent traders to the safe-haven. Now, silver and related exchange traded funds are finally starting to outpace their golden counterpart.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A perfect storm of global central bank policies and market volatility has contributed to a surge in precious metals. Year-to-date, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) rose 16.1% and iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) gained 16.9%.</p>
<p>Global central banks have shown that they are willing to adopt negative interest rate policies to stimulate stagnate growth. Consequently, in this new so-called NIRP environment, precious metals have shined and may continue to perform.</p>
<p>“We believe that the prolonged presence of low (and now even negative) rates has fundamentally altered the way investors should think about risk and may result in a broader use of assets like gold to manage their portfolios more effectively and preserve their wealth over the long run,” the World Gold Council said in a research note.</p>
<p>While gold has been the go-to precious metal for many investors, silver is finally beginning to step ahead. Over the past five years, GLD generated an average annualized return of -4.2% while SLV returned an average -18.3%. However, SLV jumped 16.5% over the past three months and increased 2.6% over the past month while GLD rose 13.1% over the past three months and dipped 1.7% in the past month.</p>
<p>Bolstering the appeal for silver, the precious metal enjoys heavy industrial demand that benefits from an expanding global economy. Over 50% of global demand for silver comes from industries like chemicals, medicine and technological appliances.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Along with SLV, investors interested in increasing their exposure to silver may look to a number of related ETFs, including ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE:SIVR) and PowerShares DB Silver Fund (NYSE:DBS).</p>
<p>Both SLV and SIVR are bullion-backed silver ETFs - the funds' shares represent a physical holding in silver bars stored in London, U.K. bank vaults. Potential investors should be aware that physically backed ETFs are taxed as collectibles at a rate of 28% instead of long-term equity rate of 15%.</p>
<p>DBS, on the other hand, tracks silver futures contracts. Specifically, the ETF includes silver contracts that expire on January 27, 2017. Consequently, potential investors should be aware that the fund may come with a K-1 tax form. Additionally, since the ETF includes futures contracts, investors are susceptible to the effects of contango or backwardation in the futures market.</p>
<p>The outperformance in the precious metals commodities have also bolstered silver miner-related ETFs, which are among the best peforming ETFs of the year. For example, the Global X Silvers Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) increased 65.4%, PureFunds ISE Junior Silver ETF (NYSE:SILJ) surged 118.5% and iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SLVP) jumped 72.8% year-to-date. In comparison, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX), the largest gold miner-related ETF, gained 61.7% this year.</p>
<p>SIL tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, which is comprised of global silver miners. The ETF is top heavy with a hefty 11.9% tilt toward Tahoe Resources (NYSE:TAHO), 11.2% Fresnillo Plc, 10.8% Silver Wheaton Corp (NYSE:SLW) and 8.2% Industrials Penoles among its top holdings. The fund's country weights include Canada 48.1%, Mexico 23.1%, U.S. 21.7%, Russia 5.7% and Peru 1.5%.</p>
<p>SLVP reflects the performance of the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index, which also has a large 62.6% position in Canadian companies, along with 13.1% in U.S., 11.7% U.K., 5.0% Peru, 4.5% Mexico and 2.0% Hong Kong. The fund's top holdings include a big 18.2% weight in SLW, along with 9.1% Fresnillo and 8.3% TAHO.</p>
<p>SILJ, on the other hand, follows the ISE Junior Silver Index, which is comprised of small-cap miners and explorers, with a heavy 88.3% emphasis on Canadian companies, along with 6.7% U.S. and 4.9% U.K. Top holdings include First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) 16.4%, Pan American Silver Corp (Nasdaq:PAAS) 11.6%, Mag Silver Corp 10.7% and Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE) 5.8%.</p>
<p>These silver miner ETFs may also be enjoying a double boost from the shifting foreign exchange markets. Silver bullion prices are affected by a weakening U.S., and the global silver ETFs also enjoy the positive forex effects of a depreciating greenback - a strengthening foreign currency means that returns are augmented when converted to a weaker U.S. dollar. However, potential investors should be aware that a strengthening dollar could contribute to a significant pullback in both precious metals and related miner assets.</p>
<p>This article was provided by our partners at <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.etftrends.com_&amp;d=CwMFAg&amp;c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&amp;r=GRqff5l5MHpejHoKHot8Gp2SY_ZPxrunht950uhDnYCPYyIIU0YyzTG5vMXJEgC6&amp;m=k85PcDp2YgGVfeI2B3nwCjx7jv-3IPJlDnOuPTYLETs&amp;s=p4TGxzCx5ElW9i-1mp6P4gc0gwc0Z8nGD_158B8xmfM&amp;e=" type="external">etftrends.com</a>.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: Tom Lydon's clients own shares of SLV, GLD and GDX.</p> | 599,881 |
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<p>Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the nation in a televised speech after the closure of Iran's nuclear probe at the IAEA meeting, at his office in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. Rouhani said Wednesday that the U.N. nuclear agency's decision to close the books on a decade-long probe of allegations that Tehran worked on nuclear weapons is a "big success."(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON - The United States appears poised to lift at least some sanctions against Iran - possibly as early as January.</p>
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry said in a letter Wednesday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the international agreement in what Kerry calls a "transparent" and "verifiable" way, and that "suspension of sanctions - is appropriate."</p>
<p>The committee's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, said at a hearing Thursday that it appears that sanctions relief could start as early as January, not in the spring as initially anticipated.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cardin said that throughout the congressional review of the nuclear deal, witnesses for the administration guessed that it would be spring until Iran could comply with the terms required for that relief to begin.</p>
<p>The deal involving the United States, Iran and five other world powers would curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for giving Iran access to billions in frozen assets and oil revenue.</p>
<p>"Now we understand it is likely that Iran will be in compliance and entitled to sanctions relief as early as January," Cardin said at the hearing where Obama administration officials were questioned about the deal.</p>
<p>"Obviously, we want them to comply - don't get me wrong," Cardin said. "But why did we misjudge so badly the date that is likely for compliance?"</p>
<p>Stephen Mull, the State Department's lead coordinator for implementation of the deal, agreed that some administration officials had speculated that it would take until the spring. But he said the pacing of compliance is in Iran's hands.</p>
<p>Mull emphasized that the agreement requires Iran to take steps to dismantle its nuclear program correctly, not quickly. He did not speculate about when that would be, and he did not rebut Cardin's claim that it could be next month.</p>
<p>"We're not there yet," he said. "I don't think anyone in the U.S. can predict when that will be. The responsibility for that lies with Iran as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency."</p>
<p>Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, said Wednesday that Iran will carry out its remaining obligations in the next two weeks to pave the way for the lifting of sanctions in January. He said Iran would now dismantle some nuclear centrifuges and ship out a major portion of its stockpile of enriched uranium.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Kerry's letter to Congress, which The Associated Press obtained Thursday, he also stated that Iran had not engaged in any covert or other activities that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program.</p>
<p>Mull said Iran has begun dismantling its uranium enrichment system by removing thousands of centrifuges and transferring them into a storage facility that will be monitored by international nuclear inspectors.</p>
<p>"It has already removed more than 5,000 of its machines and is likely to move quickly to remove the rest in the coming days," Mull said.</p>
<p>He said Iran is reducing its stockpile of various forms of enriched uranium to no more than 300 kilograms of material enriched up to 3.67 percent.</p>
<p>"It will accomplish this primarily by shipping a significant amount of such material outside Iran, while also diluting the remaining excess to the level of natural uranium or below," Mull said. "Commercial contracts are in place for Iran to ship its enriched uranium stockpiles to Russia. We expect that this material - approximately 25,000 pounds of material enriched up to 20 percent low-enriched uranium - could leave Iran in the coming weeks."</p>
<p>Committee from both parties expressed concern about recent actions taken by Iran, which they fear could foreshadow Iranian noncompliance.</p>
<p>Saying the deal is off to a "terrible start," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the committee chairman, cited Iran's conviction of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, along with the export of weapons to Syria and Yemen, and the violation of the U.N. ballistic missile test ban.</p>
<p>"Can anyone here point to any substantive consequences that Iran has faced?" Corker said. "We see no evidence of them paying a price for any of these actions."</p>
<p>Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and 35 GOP senators wrote President Barack Obama on Thursday noting the ballistic missile test.</p>
<p>On Oct. 10, Iran conducted a ballistic missile test that, according to Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, violated a Security Council resolution. Following that test, Ayotte and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., sent a letter urging the administration to respond and warning that "tough statements followed by inaction will further undermine U.S. national security."</p>
<p>On Thursday, Ayotte and the other senators wrote, "This approach toward Tehran undermines further an already weak Iran deal and jeopardizes our national security interests and the safety of Americans and our allies."</p> | US poised to lift sanctions on Iran under nuclear deal | false | https://abqjournal.com/692711/us-poised-to-lift-sanctions-on-iran-under-nuclear-deal.html | 2least
| US poised to lift sanctions on Iran under nuclear deal
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<p>Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the nation in a televised speech after the closure of Iran's nuclear probe at the IAEA meeting, at his office in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. Rouhani said Wednesday that the U.N. nuclear agency's decision to close the books on a decade-long probe of allegations that Tehran worked on nuclear weapons is a "big success."(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON - The United States appears poised to lift at least some sanctions against Iran - possibly as early as January.</p>
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry said in a letter Wednesday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the international agreement in what Kerry calls a "transparent" and "verifiable" way, and that "suspension of sanctions - is appropriate."</p>
<p>The committee's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, said at a hearing Thursday that it appears that sanctions relief could start as early as January, not in the spring as initially anticipated.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cardin said that throughout the congressional review of the nuclear deal, witnesses for the administration guessed that it would be spring until Iran could comply with the terms required for that relief to begin.</p>
<p>The deal involving the United States, Iran and five other world powers would curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for giving Iran access to billions in frozen assets and oil revenue.</p>
<p>"Now we understand it is likely that Iran will be in compliance and entitled to sanctions relief as early as January," Cardin said at the hearing where Obama administration officials were questioned about the deal.</p>
<p>"Obviously, we want them to comply - don't get me wrong," Cardin said. "But why did we misjudge so badly the date that is likely for compliance?"</p>
<p>Stephen Mull, the State Department's lead coordinator for implementation of the deal, agreed that some administration officials had speculated that it would take until the spring. But he said the pacing of compliance is in Iran's hands.</p>
<p>Mull emphasized that the agreement requires Iran to take steps to dismantle its nuclear program correctly, not quickly. He did not speculate about when that would be, and he did not rebut Cardin's claim that it could be next month.</p>
<p>"We're not there yet," he said. "I don't think anyone in the U.S. can predict when that will be. The responsibility for that lies with Iran as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency."</p>
<p>Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, said Wednesday that Iran will carry out its remaining obligations in the next two weeks to pave the way for the lifting of sanctions in January. He said Iran would now dismantle some nuclear centrifuges and ship out a major portion of its stockpile of enriched uranium.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Kerry's letter to Congress, which The Associated Press obtained Thursday, he also stated that Iran had not engaged in any covert or other activities that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program.</p>
<p>Mull said Iran has begun dismantling its uranium enrichment system by removing thousands of centrifuges and transferring them into a storage facility that will be monitored by international nuclear inspectors.</p>
<p>"It has already removed more than 5,000 of its machines and is likely to move quickly to remove the rest in the coming days," Mull said.</p>
<p>He said Iran is reducing its stockpile of various forms of enriched uranium to no more than 300 kilograms of material enriched up to 3.67 percent.</p>
<p>"It will accomplish this primarily by shipping a significant amount of such material outside Iran, while also diluting the remaining excess to the level of natural uranium or below," Mull said. "Commercial contracts are in place for Iran to ship its enriched uranium stockpiles to Russia. We expect that this material - approximately 25,000 pounds of material enriched up to 20 percent low-enriched uranium - could leave Iran in the coming weeks."</p>
<p>Committee from both parties expressed concern about recent actions taken by Iran, which they fear could foreshadow Iranian noncompliance.</p>
<p>Saying the deal is off to a "terrible start," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the committee chairman, cited Iran's conviction of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, along with the export of weapons to Syria and Yemen, and the violation of the U.N. ballistic missile test ban.</p>
<p>"Can anyone here point to any substantive consequences that Iran has faced?" Corker said. "We see no evidence of them paying a price for any of these actions."</p>
<p>Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and 35 GOP senators wrote President Barack Obama on Thursday noting the ballistic missile test.</p>
<p>On Oct. 10, Iran conducted a ballistic missile test that, according to Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, violated a Security Council resolution. Following that test, Ayotte and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., sent a letter urging the administration to respond and warning that "tough statements followed by inaction will further undermine U.S. national security."</p>
<p>On Thursday, Ayotte and the other senators wrote, "This approach toward Tehran undermines further an already weak Iran deal and jeopardizes our national security interests and the safety of Americans and our allies."</p> | 599,882 |
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<p>Hip-hop artist Sage Francis is touring in support of his new album, “Copper Gone.”</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It took Sage Francis his whole life to complete “Copper Gone.” Well, it only felt like a lifetime.</p>
<p>“It was about four years in the making,” he says while driving through Idaho. “But I didn’t do any recording or serious writing until the end of last year.”</p>
<p>Francis is a hip-hop artist who has developed a devoted underground following over the years. His new album marks the first one for his record label.</p>
<p>“It was a tough decision to move on and start my own label,” he says. “But with having the label, I’m able to be my own boss and set my own deadlines. With owning a label, I’m also responsible for the business side to my career as well, which is something new for me.”</p>
<p>On “Copper Gone” Francis took a different approach to the recording process. Instead of heading into a studio, he opted to record vocals at his home studio.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s falling apart, but it did its job,” he laughs. “I was able to have the freedom to go into the studio any time I wanted and just record vocals. This helped out so much and it helped speed up the process.”</p>
<p>While deep into that recording process, Francis had to slow it down a little. He had pneumonia and a chest infection earlier this year, which hampered his singing ability.</p>
<p>“I couldn’t take the air capacity that I usually take,” he says. “There were a few times I had to record my vocals on a track more than once. But I kept pushing myself to get it done and make it the best I could.”</p>
<p>Now that Francis is all healed, he’s been touring the country in support of his album and will take his tour to Europe later this year.</p>
<p>“It’s been a rough journey for me to get the album out,” he says. “Now that it’s out there for the fans, I’m trying my best to be at the top of my form. The tour has been amazing and I’m pulling out some older tracks as well.”</p>
<p /> | Sage Francis finds manning his own label conducive to recording | false | https://abqjournal.com/418017/albuquerque-hiphop-7.html | 2least
| Sage Francis finds manning his own label conducive to recording
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Hip-hop artist Sage Francis is touring in support of his new album, “Copper Gone.”</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It took Sage Francis his whole life to complete “Copper Gone.” Well, it only felt like a lifetime.</p>
<p>“It was about four years in the making,” he says while driving through Idaho. “But I didn’t do any recording or serious writing until the end of last year.”</p>
<p>Francis is a hip-hop artist who has developed a devoted underground following over the years. His new album marks the first one for his record label.</p>
<p>“It was a tough decision to move on and start my own label,” he says. “But with having the label, I’m able to be my own boss and set my own deadlines. With owning a label, I’m also responsible for the business side to my career as well, which is something new for me.”</p>
<p>On “Copper Gone” Francis took a different approach to the recording process. Instead of heading into a studio, he opted to record vocals at his home studio.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s falling apart, but it did its job,” he laughs. “I was able to have the freedom to go into the studio any time I wanted and just record vocals. This helped out so much and it helped speed up the process.”</p>
<p>While deep into that recording process, Francis had to slow it down a little. He had pneumonia and a chest infection earlier this year, which hampered his singing ability.</p>
<p>“I couldn’t take the air capacity that I usually take,” he says. “There were a few times I had to record my vocals on a track more than once. But I kept pushing myself to get it done and make it the best I could.”</p>
<p>Now that Francis is all healed, he’s been touring the country in support of his album and will take his tour to Europe later this year.</p>
<p>“It’s been a rough journey for me to get the album out,” he says. “Now that it’s out there for the fans, I’m trying my best to be at the top of my form. The tour has been amazing and I’m pulling out some older tracks as well.”</p>
<p /> | 599,883 |
|
<p>Michigan’s Republican lawmakers seem to be feeling a bit left out of the anti-transgender backlash sweeping state legislatures and attorneys general’s offices. This week, it got its own bill limiting restroom use for transgender students and made its own attempt to push back on the <a href="" type="internal">Obama administration’s guidance</a> protecting them from such restrictions.</p>
<p>State Sen. Tom Casperson (R) has been contemplating his anti-transgender bill for a few months. Independent of events in other states like North Carolina, the Michigan State Board of Education revealed new voluntary guidance for accommodating transgender students — not so dissimilar from the federal government’s —  <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/michigan_lawmaker_says_guideli.html" type="external">back in February</a>. Though he’d been teasing it since then, Casperson didn’t introduce his bill until this week.</p>
<p>The legislation, <a href="https://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%2800iqamy2or4k2wyil2pgkxwg%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&amp;objectname=2016-SB-0993" type="external">SB 993</a>, is framed as providing “accommodations,” but it actually only provides restrictions. Like countless bills before it, it defines students according to their “biological sex,” the “physical condition of being male or female as determined by a person’s chromosomes and anatomy as identified at birth.” Under the bill, and only permits students to access facilities that match their “biological sex.”</p>
<p>“I’m concerned about all the kids, and everybody has the right to some type of privacy,” <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/bill_would_ban_michigans_trans.html" type="external">Casperson told MLive</a>. He seems to believe that the way to ensure this is to segregate the transgender students by forcing them to use “a single-occupancy restroom, a unisex restroom, or the controlled use of a restroom, locker room, or shower room that is designated for use of faculty.” The Department of Education <a href="" type="internal">has made clear</a> that forcing this accommodation on transgender students and nobody else is unacceptable.</p>
<p>According to MLive, Casperson’s bill was “referred to the Senate Government Operations Committee, a place bills typically go to languish.” Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R) has said that the bill <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/25/transgender-bathroom-bill-debuts-but-isnt-priority/84917386/" type="external">is not a priority</a> and that he doesn’t plan to hold any hearings on it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, while <a href="" type="internal">nearly a dozen states</a> sued the federal government this week over the guidance issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE), Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) took his own approach to resisting the guidance: asking nicely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/26/schuette-feds-retract-transgender-student-directive/85012236/" type="external">In a letter</a> to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Education Secretary John King Thursday, Schuette expressed that he thought the guidance was poorly considered. “The manner in which this decision was made — ignoring the essential role of parents, local school teachers and administrators, and done without the debate and consent of the legislative branch — is a failing that needs to be corrected,” he wrote.</p>
<p>Asked whether Schuette is considering joining the other states’ lawsuits, <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/schuette_calls_out_transgender.html" type="external">a spokesperson for his office said</a>, “The Attorney General is reviewing all options.”</p> | Michigan Republicans Want Their Chance In The Anti-Trans Spotlight, Too | true | http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/05/27/3782671/michigan-transgender-response/ | 2016-05-27 | 4left
| Michigan Republicans Want Their Chance In The Anti-Trans Spotlight, Too
<p>Michigan’s Republican lawmakers seem to be feeling a bit left out of the anti-transgender backlash sweeping state legislatures and attorneys general’s offices. This week, it got its own bill limiting restroom use for transgender students and made its own attempt to push back on the <a href="" type="internal">Obama administration’s guidance</a> protecting them from such restrictions.</p>
<p>State Sen. Tom Casperson (R) has been contemplating his anti-transgender bill for a few months. Independent of events in other states like North Carolina, the Michigan State Board of Education revealed new voluntary guidance for accommodating transgender students — not so dissimilar from the federal government’s —  <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/michigan_lawmaker_says_guideli.html" type="external">back in February</a>. Though he’d been teasing it since then, Casperson didn’t introduce his bill until this week.</p>
<p>The legislation, <a href="https://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%2800iqamy2or4k2wyil2pgkxwg%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&amp;objectname=2016-SB-0993" type="external">SB 993</a>, is framed as providing “accommodations,” but it actually only provides restrictions. Like countless bills before it, it defines students according to their “biological sex,” the “physical condition of being male or female as determined by a person’s chromosomes and anatomy as identified at birth.” Under the bill, and only permits students to access facilities that match their “biological sex.”</p>
<p>“I’m concerned about all the kids, and everybody has the right to some type of privacy,” <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/bill_would_ban_michigans_trans.html" type="external">Casperson told MLive</a>. He seems to believe that the way to ensure this is to segregate the transgender students by forcing them to use “a single-occupancy restroom, a unisex restroom, or the controlled use of a restroom, locker room, or shower room that is designated for use of faculty.” The Department of Education <a href="" type="internal">has made clear</a> that forcing this accommodation on transgender students and nobody else is unacceptable.</p>
<p>According to MLive, Casperson’s bill was “referred to the Senate Government Operations Committee, a place bills typically go to languish.” Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R) has said that the bill <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/25/transgender-bathroom-bill-debuts-but-isnt-priority/84917386/" type="external">is not a priority</a> and that he doesn’t plan to hold any hearings on it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, while <a href="" type="internal">nearly a dozen states</a> sued the federal government this week over the guidance issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE), Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) took his own approach to resisting the guidance: asking nicely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/26/schuette-feds-retract-transgender-student-directive/85012236/" type="external">In a letter</a> to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Education Secretary John King Thursday, Schuette expressed that he thought the guidance was poorly considered. “The manner in which this decision was made — ignoring the essential role of parents, local school teachers and administrators, and done without the debate and consent of the legislative branch — is a failing that needs to be corrected,” he wrote.</p>
<p>Asked whether Schuette is considering joining the other states’ lawsuits, <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/schuette_calls_out_transgender.html" type="external">a spokesperson for his office said</a>, “The Attorney General is reviewing all options.”</p> | 599,884 |
<p>After a challenging year marked by slowing growth, speeding inflation, a major power blackout and the threat of a credit ratings downgrade to "junk," India can look forward to an "easier 2013," say economists at Deutsche Bank.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, India delivered a boost to investor sentiment when its lower house of parliament voted in favor of allowing foreign retailers such as <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/1515906" type="external">Wal-Mart</a> to open up shop in the country. On Friday the upper house of parliament also endorsed the vote.</p>
<p>The vote is symbolic - last year the coalition government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to back down on its decision to let foreign supermarket chains enter the country amid pressure from opposition parties who said the measure would force small stores out of business and lead to job losses.</p>
<p>But this week's vote has raised hopes that India will continue a reform agenda started in September when it allowed foreign participation in retail, aviation and broadcast together with some fiscal tightening measures such as reducing fuel subsidies.</p>
<p>(Read More: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/49290525" type="external">India Declares, 'We're Back in Business'</a>)</p>
<p>"While the economy remains vulnerable to external shocks and domestic political turbulence, incentives are in place for the authorities to respond with investment friendly reforms, a dynamic already underway," wrote Deutsche Bank economists Taimur Baig and Kaushik Das in a note published Thursday.</p>
<p>They added that economic growth, which has slowed to around 5.5 percent this year, has bottomed and further policy initiatives would make for a "durable economic recovery," going forward.</p>
<p>"The economy will likely see a pick-up in external demand next year, and exporters would also be supported by a considerably weaker exchange rate. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to cut rates next year, which should also help. And finally, we see consumption remaining resilient, helping anchor demand," the economists wrote.</p>
<p>The Indian <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100013624" type="external">rupee</a> has seen a steep fall over the past one year and hovering around 54 against the U.S. dollar, a level viewed as competitive for boosting exports. Also the central bank, which has this year focused on reigning in inflation stubbornly above 7 percent, is also widely expected to cut interest rates next year. Both these factors will help boost the economy, said experts.</p>
<p>According to an estimate by Credit Suisse, the RBI is likely to cut interest rates by 125 basis points next year. This would be enough to push India's growth rate above 7 percent in late-2013, says Credit Suisse's head of India and Southeast Asia Economics, Robert Prior Wandesforde.</p>
<p>(Read More: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/50004600" type="external">Why India Struggles to Deliver Its Growth Potential</a>)</p>
<p>While returning to the days of 8 percent-plus growth may still be a way off, India is likely to "face less pressure in 2013 and get more breathing space," according to the Deutsche Bank report. They forecast the Indian economy to recover to 6.5 percent gross domestic product growth in fiscal year 2013/2014.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/" type="external" /></p>
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<p>CNBC: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/49263174" type="external">Why are Indians buying diamonds?</a></p> | India can expect a better economic year in 2013 | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-12-10/india-can-expect-better-economic-year-2013 | 2012-12-10 | 3left-center
| India can expect a better economic year in 2013
<p>After a challenging year marked by slowing growth, speeding inflation, a major power blackout and the threat of a credit ratings downgrade to "junk," India can look forward to an "easier 2013," say economists at Deutsche Bank.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, India delivered a boost to investor sentiment when its lower house of parliament voted in favor of allowing foreign retailers such as <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/1515906" type="external">Wal-Mart</a> to open up shop in the country. On Friday the upper house of parliament also endorsed the vote.</p>
<p>The vote is symbolic - last year the coalition government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to back down on its decision to let foreign supermarket chains enter the country amid pressure from opposition parties who said the measure would force small stores out of business and lead to job losses.</p>
<p>But this week's vote has raised hopes that India will continue a reform agenda started in September when it allowed foreign participation in retail, aviation and broadcast together with some fiscal tightening measures such as reducing fuel subsidies.</p>
<p>(Read More: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/49290525" type="external">India Declares, 'We're Back in Business'</a>)</p>
<p>"While the economy remains vulnerable to external shocks and domestic political turbulence, incentives are in place for the authorities to respond with investment friendly reforms, a dynamic already underway," wrote Deutsche Bank economists Taimur Baig and Kaushik Das in a note published Thursday.</p>
<p>They added that economic growth, which has slowed to around 5.5 percent this year, has bottomed and further policy initiatives would make for a "durable economic recovery," going forward.</p>
<p>"The economy will likely see a pick-up in external demand next year, and exporters would also be supported by a considerably weaker exchange rate. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to cut rates next year, which should also help. And finally, we see consumption remaining resilient, helping anchor demand," the economists wrote.</p>
<p>The Indian <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100013624" type="external">rupee</a> has seen a steep fall over the past one year and hovering around 54 against the U.S. dollar, a level viewed as competitive for boosting exports. Also the central bank, which has this year focused on reigning in inflation stubbornly above 7 percent, is also widely expected to cut interest rates next year. Both these factors will help boost the economy, said experts.</p>
<p>According to an estimate by Credit Suisse, the RBI is likely to cut interest rates by 125 basis points next year. This would be enough to push India's growth rate above 7 percent in late-2013, says Credit Suisse's head of India and Southeast Asia Economics, Robert Prior Wandesforde.</p>
<p>(Read More: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/50004600" type="external">Why India Struggles to Deliver Its Growth Potential</a>)</p>
<p>While returning to the days of 8 percent-plus growth may still be a way off, India is likely to "face less pressure in 2013 and get more breathing space," according to the Deutsche Bank report. They forecast the Indian economy to recover to 6.5 percent gross domestic product growth in fiscal year 2013/2014.&#160;</p>
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<p>
The terrible drought afflicting the American West has sparked soul-searching about water management in the region. For the first time in many decades, the viability of dams and other infrastructure that supply water to cities and farms throughout the region has entered the conversation.</p>
<p>Abrahm Lustgarten, a reporter for ProPublica, has <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/drought-provokes-debate-on-unplugging-great-dams-of-american-west" type="external">written a new story</a> about one of the largest dams in the US, Glen Canyon, and a recent push to open up its gates. It’s a remarkable development, he says, given how important the Colorado River dams — Glen Canyon, with its reservoir, Lake Powell, and Hoover&#160;with Lake Meade — have been for the development of the West.</p>
<p>In the early 1900s, the US government started building dams up and down the Colorado River to harness its water and distribute it far outside the river's natural course — hundreds of miles into Arizona and California. The dams, particularly the Hoover Dam, were also intended to control the torrential floods that would come downstream in big water years.</p>
<p>“Glen Canyon Dam was built in the 1950s, at the tail end of this building spree,” Lustgarten explains. “The upper basin states on the Colorado River — Wyoming, Colorado New Mexico, and Utah — were worried that the lower basin states — California, Arizona and Nevada — were taking too much water and were growing too fast, and they basically wanted a gate. Glen Canyon Dam was built as their way to hold back water so they wouldn't have to give more than they were legally required to those states in the south.”</p>
<p>Now, given the realities of climate change and a drought that shows no sign of abating, the reservoir at Lake Powell may have outlived its usefulness, Lustgarten says — especially given the amount of water that is lost to evaporation.</p>
<p>“The big dams on the Colorado River were built to save water, but because the water is spread over such a large area in such a hot and dry environment, an enormous amount evaporates off the surface,” Lustgarten says. “That didn't matter so much in the past, but as water becomes more and more scarce, that loss is significant enough to make a real difference.”</p>
<p>Lake Powell loses about 350,000 acre feet of water each year to evaporation. Combined with the amount of water that seeps out the bottom of the lake — an additional 380,000 acre feet — that’s enough to supply about nine million people with water each year — roughly the population of the city of Los Angeles. Lake Mead loses a similar amount and so do each of the reservoirs up and down the Colorado River system, Lustgarten notes. “When you add all that up in a system that is [already] over-allocated every single year, you see an inefficiency that could add roughly 30 percent more to the river's flow.”</p>
<p>There are no easy ways to address this inefficiency, Lustgarten says. But what’s changing the discussion is the fact that both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are essentially drying up.</p>
<p>“Lake Mead is now about 37 percent full. Lake Powell is just a little bit less than half full,” Lustgarten explains. “Both reservoirs still lose an enormous amount to evaporation and they're not functioning at their full capacity, in terms of the power they generate or the amount of water that they hold. So the ratio of inefficiency to benefit has changed substantially over the last decade or so of drought.”</p>
<p>A proposal from an environmental organization called the <a href="http://www.glencanyon.org" type="external">Glen Canyon Institute</a> suggests combining the two reservoirs. If they are&#160;both half-full, their reasoning goes, then empty Lake Powell and combine it with Lake Mead. The region would not lose the water, but send it 300 miles downstream and re-collect it in one full, large reservoir. This would significantly decrease the amount of water lost to evaporation, and increase the power generating capacity of Hoover Dam, which helps make up for the loss of power generation at Glen Canyon dam. An added bonus is the opportunity to restore the landscape of Glen Canyon.</p>
<p>Most of the resistance to this idea comes from the upper basin states, according to Lustgarten. They say removing Glen Canyon Dam would require a renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact — a legal agreement to send seven-and-a-half million acre feet of water down to the south every single year — congressional approval and an involved bureaucratic process. What that really means, Lustgarten says, is that they don't want to lose hands-on control over their water.</p>
<p>Legal experts Lustgarten consulted suggest that both the upper and lower basins could share the water out of Lake Mead. “It doesn't have to continue in the traditional role of serving only the southern basins,” he explains. “The accounting for the water could still happen at a place called Lee's Ferry, where it happens now, just below the site of the Glen Canyon Dam.”</p>
<p>So how realistic is it to think of opening the gates of the Glen Canyon dam in the face of political pressure from states upstream? The short-term answer from deputy secretary of interior Mike Connor, the person ultimately in charge of water in the West, is not very; this is not something that is going to happen anytime soon.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Lustgarten says, a conversation seen as laughable just a few years ago is now taking place in a serious way. The idea of a dam not suiting its original purpose is a topic that can now be broached, he says.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, or whenever it happens, the bottom line is that “the Colorado River will never be sustainable until the amount of water the states take from it matches what is naturally available,” Lustgarten says. “If that doesn’t change, if the states continue every single year to draw more water than flows out of it, then these reservoirs are going to drain. It could take another ten years it could take another two years, but they’re going to drain to the bottom.”</p>
<p>This article is based on an <a href="http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=16-P13-00024&amp;segmentID=5" type="external">interview</a> that aired on PRI's <a href="http://www.loe.org/index.html" type="external">Living on Earth</a> with Steve Curwood</p> | Is it time to think about removing dams on the Colorado River? | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-07-02/it-time-think-about-removing-dams-colorado-river | 2016-07-02 | 3left-center
| Is it time to think about removing dams on the Colorado River?
<p>
The terrible drought afflicting the American West has sparked soul-searching about water management in the region. For the first time in many decades, the viability of dams and other infrastructure that supply water to cities and farms throughout the region has entered the conversation.</p>
<p>Abrahm Lustgarten, a reporter for ProPublica, has <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/drought-provokes-debate-on-unplugging-great-dams-of-american-west" type="external">written a new story</a> about one of the largest dams in the US, Glen Canyon, and a recent push to open up its gates. It’s a remarkable development, he says, given how important the Colorado River dams — Glen Canyon, with its reservoir, Lake Powell, and Hoover&#160;with Lake Meade — have been for the development of the West.</p>
<p>In the early 1900s, the US government started building dams up and down the Colorado River to harness its water and distribute it far outside the river's natural course — hundreds of miles into Arizona and California. The dams, particularly the Hoover Dam, were also intended to control the torrential floods that would come downstream in big water years.</p>
<p>“Glen Canyon Dam was built in the 1950s, at the tail end of this building spree,” Lustgarten explains. “The upper basin states on the Colorado River — Wyoming, Colorado New Mexico, and Utah — were worried that the lower basin states — California, Arizona and Nevada — were taking too much water and were growing too fast, and they basically wanted a gate. Glen Canyon Dam was built as their way to hold back water so they wouldn't have to give more than they were legally required to those states in the south.”</p>
<p>Now, given the realities of climate change and a drought that shows no sign of abating, the reservoir at Lake Powell may have outlived its usefulness, Lustgarten says — especially given the amount of water that is lost to evaporation.</p>
<p>“The big dams on the Colorado River were built to save water, but because the water is spread over such a large area in such a hot and dry environment, an enormous amount evaporates off the surface,” Lustgarten says. “That didn't matter so much in the past, but as water becomes more and more scarce, that loss is significant enough to make a real difference.”</p>
<p>Lake Powell loses about 350,000 acre feet of water each year to evaporation. Combined with the amount of water that seeps out the bottom of the lake — an additional 380,000 acre feet — that’s enough to supply about nine million people with water each year — roughly the population of the city of Los Angeles. Lake Mead loses a similar amount and so do each of the reservoirs up and down the Colorado River system, Lustgarten notes. “When you add all that up in a system that is [already] over-allocated every single year, you see an inefficiency that could add roughly 30 percent more to the river's flow.”</p>
<p>There are no easy ways to address this inefficiency, Lustgarten says. But what’s changing the discussion is the fact that both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are essentially drying up.</p>
<p>“Lake Mead is now about 37 percent full. Lake Powell is just a little bit less than half full,” Lustgarten explains. “Both reservoirs still lose an enormous amount to evaporation and they're not functioning at their full capacity, in terms of the power they generate or the amount of water that they hold. So the ratio of inefficiency to benefit has changed substantially over the last decade or so of drought.”</p>
<p>A proposal from an environmental organization called the <a href="http://www.glencanyon.org" type="external">Glen Canyon Institute</a> suggests combining the two reservoirs. If they are&#160;both half-full, their reasoning goes, then empty Lake Powell and combine it with Lake Mead. The region would not lose the water, but send it 300 miles downstream and re-collect it in one full, large reservoir. This would significantly decrease the amount of water lost to evaporation, and increase the power generating capacity of Hoover Dam, which helps make up for the loss of power generation at Glen Canyon dam. An added bonus is the opportunity to restore the landscape of Glen Canyon.</p>
<p>Most of the resistance to this idea comes from the upper basin states, according to Lustgarten. They say removing Glen Canyon Dam would require a renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact — a legal agreement to send seven-and-a-half million acre feet of water down to the south every single year — congressional approval and an involved bureaucratic process. What that really means, Lustgarten says, is that they don't want to lose hands-on control over their water.</p>
<p>Legal experts Lustgarten consulted suggest that both the upper and lower basins could share the water out of Lake Mead. “It doesn't have to continue in the traditional role of serving only the southern basins,” he explains. “The accounting for the water could still happen at a place called Lee's Ferry, where it happens now, just below the site of the Glen Canyon Dam.”</p>
<p>So how realistic is it to think of opening the gates of the Glen Canyon dam in the face of political pressure from states upstream? The short-term answer from deputy secretary of interior Mike Connor, the person ultimately in charge of water in the West, is not very; this is not something that is going to happen anytime soon.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Lustgarten says, a conversation seen as laughable just a few years ago is now taking place in a serious way. The idea of a dam not suiting its original purpose is a topic that can now be broached, he says.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, or whenever it happens, the bottom line is that “the Colorado River will never be sustainable until the amount of water the states take from it matches what is naturally available,” Lustgarten says. “If that doesn’t change, if the states continue every single year to draw more water than flows out of it, then these reservoirs are going to drain. It could take another ten years it could take another two years, but they’re going to drain to the bottom.”</p>
<p>This article is based on an <a href="http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=16-P13-00024&amp;segmentID=5" type="external">interview</a> that aired on PRI's <a href="http://www.loe.org/index.html" type="external">Living on Earth</a> with Steve Curwood</p> | 599,886 |
<p>Sen. Rand Paul was wrong when he said that 60 percent of law students and 55 percent of medical students are women. The share of female students at law and medical schools in the United States is 47 percent each and hasn’t varied much in 10 years.</p>
<p>The Kentucky Republican also repeated a myth that “nine out of 10 businesses fail.” Government data show that almost one-half of new businesses last beyond five years and about one-third of them continue operating after 10 years.</p>
<p>Women ‘Won’ the War</p>
<p>Paul was asked on NBC’s “ <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/54182774/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/january-rand-paul-dick-durbin-michael-chertoff-jesselyn-radack-carolyn-ryan-michael-powell-mike-murphy-loretta-sanchez-chuck-todd/#.UuZ0SLROmNI" type="external">Meet the Press</a>” if former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s recent statement about women was “helpful.” <a href="http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/23/huckabee-gop-waging-war-for-women/" type="external">Huckabee said</a> Republicans “don’t have a war on women,” and then went on to say that Democrats “insult the women of America” by providing them with free birth control and making them think that they “cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.” Paul didn’t answer the question about Huckabee, but rather spoke of the percentage of female students in veterinary, law and medical schools.</p>
<p>Paul, Jan. 26: This whole sort of war on women thing, I’m scratching my head because if there was a war on women, I think they won. You know, the women in my family are incredibly successful. I have a niece at Cornell vet school, and 85 percent of the young people there are women. In law school, 60 percent are women; in med school, 55 percent.</p>
<p>It’s true that the vast majority of veterinary students at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine are women. It’s not quite 85 percent; Stephanie Specchio, a spokeswoman for the college, told us it is 80 percent. That’s not surprising. Nationwide, women make up about 79 percent of enrollment in veterinary medical colleges, <a href="https://www.aavmc.org/data/images/research/aavmc%20data%20reports/2013%20aavmc%20public%20data%20as%20of%20march25.2013.pdf" type="external">according to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges</a>.</p>
<p>Paul is wrong, though, about the percentage of women in law and medical schools — nationwide and at Cornell University.</p>
<p>At no point during the last 10 years has the percentage of women enrolled in U.S. medical or law schools exceeded 50 percent, even though women make up <a href="http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/distribution-by-gender/" type="external">slightly more than half of the U.S. population</a>.</p>
<p>Let’s first look at the gender makeup of the nation’s medical schools. In 2013, there were 83,472 medical students — 44,524 men (53 percent) and 38,948 women (47 percent), according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.</p>
<p>The AAMC provides total enrollment by gender and school in two charts from <a href="https://www.aamc.org/download/321524/data/2013factstable26-1.pdf" type="external">2004 through 2008</a> and <a href="https://www.aamc.org/download/321526/data/2013factstable26-2.pdf" type="external">2009 through 2013</a>. The charts show there has been little change in 10 years. If anything, the percentage of women med students is trending downward. It was 48 percent in 2004 and ticked up to 49 percent in 2005 and 2006, before falling back to 48 percent from 2007 through 2009. It dipped to 47 percent in 2010, where it has remained through 2013.</p>
<p>Female representation at the Weill-Cornell Medical College is actually slightly below the national average. Weill-Cornell had 502 medical students in 2013. Fifty-four percent were men, and 46 percent were women, according to the AAMC (see page 3 of its 2009-2013 chart).</p>
<p>The trend at Weill-Cornell favors men, too. The class that entered Weill-Cornell in 2013 was 58 percent male and 43 percent female, <a href="http://weill.cornell.edu/education/admissions/acc_cla_com.html" type="external">according to the school’s website</a>.</p>
<p>The story is pretty much the same at the nation’s law schools.</p>
<p>There were 139,055 students enrolled in Juris Doctor programs at 201 law schools in the United States during the 2012-2013 academic year. Fifty-three percent of those students were men, and 47 percent were women, <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/statistics/enrollment_degrees_awarded.authcheckdam.pdf" type="external">according to the American Bar Association</a>. The trend, too, has been downward. The ABA data show women represented 49 percent of total J.D. enrollment in the 2003-2004 academic year, and then the percentage dipped to 48 percent in 2004-2005 and 47 percent in 2005-2006. It has remained at 47 percent since then.</p>
<p>At Cornell University Law School, 44 percent of the students entering the law school in 2013 were women, <a href="http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/about/facts_stats.cfm" type="external">according to the school’s website</a>.</p>
<p>Failing Businesses</p>
<p>Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, also appeared on <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/26/sen-rand-paul-on-our-countrys-libido-problem/" type="external">CNN’s “State of the Union</a>,” where he falsely said that “nine out of 10 businesses fail.”</p>
<p>A 2002 study found that, after four years, one-third of new businesses closed under “unsuccessful” circumstances, according to their owners.&#160;And government data show that almost one-half of new businesses last beyond five years and about one-third of them continue operating after 10 years.</p>
<p>Paul made his claim on CNN while explaining how his approach to creating jobs differs from President Obama’s:</p>
<p>Paul, Jan. 26: The president thinks that you collect money from the rest of the country, bring it to Washington, and then we re-pass it out. That creates jobs. Well, what he misunderstands is that nine out of 10 businesses fail, so nine out of 10 times, he’s going to give it to the wrong people. He gave $500 million to one of the richest men in the country to build solar panels and we lost that money.</p>
<p>We reached out to the senator’s press office for the source of his claim, but we didn’t receive a response.</p>
<p>Paul didn’t mention a specific time period for business failures, but sources show higher business survival rates over a period of years than what he claimed.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_Sept_2012.pdf" type="external">Small Business Administration says</a> “about half of all new establishments survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 years or more.” That statement was included in a September 2012 update to its list of frequently asked questions.</p>
<p>SBA’s claim is backed up by <a href="http://www.bls.gov/bdm/entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship.htm" type="external">data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Business Employment Dynamics program,</a> depicted in the chart below:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bls.gov/bdm/entrepreneurship/bdm_chart3.htm" type="external">data behind the BLS chart,</a> which covers the period from 1994 to 2010, show that about 78 percent of businesses survive two years and almost 42 percent last eight years. The rate of survival drops as the years go on, but at no point is the survival rate as low as 10 percent, as Paul claimed.</p>
<p>BLS also cautions that “survival rates for establishments vary by industry.” For example, the health care and social assistance industry “consistently ranks among the industries with the highest survival rates over time, while construction ranks among the lowest,” BLS said.</p>
<p>Plus, not all business closures are considered failures. Some close without any debt. Some are sold to other businesses, and some were never intended to be around for long.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/483/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1024433630958.pdf?auth66=1391026411_fb0268c41e0ae721f98bc7c9e46290ca&amp;ext=.pdf" type="external">2002 study of Census Bureau data</a>, Brian Headd, an economist with the Small Business Administration, found that after four years, “only one-third of new businesses (33 percent) closed under circumstances that owners considered unsuccessful.”</p>
<p>Headd, March 20, 2002:&#160;As shown in Figure 1, [the Business Information Tracking Series] showed that about half of new businesses remained open for a reasonable time period and the [Characteristics of Business Owners] showed that about a third of all closed businesses closed while successful. Contrary to what is commonly believed, not all closures are failures. Only one-third of new businesses (33 percent) closed under circumstances that owners considered unsuccessful.</p>
<p>Headd wrote that the “significant proportion of businesses that closed while successful calls into question the use of ‘business closure’ as a meaningful measure of business outcome.”</p>
<p>He called it a “myth that 9 out of 10 businesses close in their first year.”</p>
<p>Paul made the business failure claim as he described President Obama’s job creation methods. “The president thinks that you collect money from the rest of the country, bring it to Washington, and then we re-pass it out,” Paul said. “He gave $500 million to one of the richest men in the country to build solar panels and we lost that money.”</p>
<p>As far as we can tell, Paul is referring to a <a href="http://energy.gov/articles/obama-administration-offers-535-million-loan-guarantee-solyndra-inc" type="external">$535 million loan guarantee the Department of Energy</a> awarded, in 2009, to Solyndra, a <a href="http://www.solyndra.com/2011/09/solyndra-suspends-operations-to-evaluate-reorganization-options/" type="external">now-defunct solar manufacturing company</a>. Solyndra <a href="http://lpo.energy.gov/our-projects/discontinued-projects/" type="external">had been given $528 million</a> of that loan amount when the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011, and the government hasn’t recovered any of that money.</p>
<p>But, overall, the entire portfolio for the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office “remains very strong,” according to the agency.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://energy.gov/articles/update-fisker-automotive-and-energy-department-s-loan-portfolio" type="external">September 2013 update on its loan portfolio</a>, the department said that it had disbursed $18.5 billion of the $34.4 billion that had been allocated for loan guarantees, and had lost $799.7 million. The losses were just over 4 percent of the total amount disbursed and over 2 percent of the total loan amount.</p>
<p>— Eugene Kiely and D’Angelo Gore</p> | Paul’s ‘Head-Scratching’ Stats | false | https://factcheck.org/2014/01/pauls-head-scratching-stats/ | 2014-01-28 | 2least
| Paul’s ‘Head-Scratching’ Stats
<p>Sen. Rand Paul was wrong when he said that 60 percent of law students and 55 percent of medical students are women. The share of female students at law and medical schools in the United States is 47 percent each and hasn’t varied much in 10 years.</p>
<p>The Kentucky Republican also repeated a myth that “nine out of 10 businesses fail.” Government data show that almost one-half of new businesses last beyond five years and about one-third of them continue operating after 10 years.</p>
<p>Women ‘Won’ the War</p>
<p>Paul was asked on NBC’s “ <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/54182774/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/january-rand-paul-dick-durbin-michael-chertoff-jesselyn-radack-carolyn-ryan-michael-powell-mike-murphy-loretta-sanchez-chuck-todd/#.UuZ0SLROmNI" type="external">Meet the Press</a>” if former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s recent statement about women was “helpful.” <a href="http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/23/huckabee-gop-waging-war-for-women/" type="external">Huckabee said</a> Republicans “don’t have a war on women,” and then went on to say that Democrats “insult the women of America” by providing them with free birth control and making them think that they “cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.” Paul didn’t answer the question about Huckabee, but rather spoke of the percentage of female students in veterinary, law and medical schools.</p>
<p>Paul, Jan. 26: This whole sort of war on women thing, I’m scratching my head because if there was a war on women, I think they won. You know, the women in my family are incredibly successful. I have a niece at Cornell vet school, and 85 percent of the young people there are women. In law school, 60 percent are women; in med school, 55 percent.</p>
<p>It’s true that the vast majority of veterinary students at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine are women. It’s not quite 85 percent; Stephanie Specchio, a spokeswoman for the college, told us it is 80 percent. That’s not surprising. Nationwide, women make up about 79 percent of enrollment in veterinary medical colleges, <a href="https://www.aavmc.org/data/images/research/aavmc%20data%20reports/2013%20aavmc%20public%20data%20as%20of%20march25.2013.pdf" type="external">according to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges</a>.</p>
<p>Paul is wrong, though, about the percentage of women in law and medical schools — nationwide and at Cornell University.</p>
<p>At no point during the last 10 years has the percentage of women enrolled in U.S. medical or law schools exceeded 50 percent, even though women make up <a href="http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/distribution-by-gender/" type="external">slightly more than half of the U.S. population</a>.</p>
<p>Let’s first look at the gender makeup of the nation’s medical schools. In 2013, there were 83,472 medical students — 44,524 men (53 percent) and 38,948 women (47 percent), according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.</p>
<p>The AAMC provides total enrollment by gender and school in two charts from <a href="https://www.aamc.org/download/321524/data/2013factstable26-1.pdf" type="external">2004 through 2008</a> and <a href="https://www.aamc.org/download/321526/data/2013factstable26-2.pdf" type="external">2009 through 2013</a>. The charts show there has been little change in 10 years. If anything, the percentage of women med students is trending downward. It was 48 percent in 2004 and ticked up to 49 percent in 2005 and 2006, before falling back to 48 percent from 2007 through 2009. It dipped to 47 percent in 2010, where it has remained through 2013.</p>
<p>Female representation at the Weill-Cornell Medical College is actually slightly below the national average. Weill-Cornell had 502 medical students in 2013. Fifty-four percent were men, and 46 percent were women, according to the AAMC (see page 3 of its 2009-2013 chart).</p>
<p>The trend at Weill-Cornell favors men, too. The class that entered Weill-Cornell in 2013 was 58 percent male and 43 percent female, <a href="http://weill.cornell.edu/education/admissions/acc_cla_com.html" type="external">according to the school’s website</a>.</p>
<p>The story is pretty much the same at the nation’s law schools.</p>
<p>There were 139,055 students enrolled in Juris Doctor programs at 201 law schools in the United States during the 2012-2013 academic year. Fifty-three percent of those students were men, and 47 percent were women, <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/statistics/enrollment_degrees_awarded.authcheckdam.pdf" type="external">according to the American Bar Association</a>. The trend, too, has been downward. The ABA data show women represented 49 percent of total J.D. enrollment in the 2003-2004 academic year, and then the percentage dipped to 48 percent in 2004-2005 and 47 percent in 2005-2006. It has remained at 47 percent since then.</p>
<p>At Cornell University Law School, 44 percent of the students entering the law school in 2013 were women, <a href="http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/about/facts_stats.cfm" type="external">according to the school’s website</a>.</p>
<p>Failing Businesses</p>
<p>Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, also appeared on <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/26/sen-rand-paul-on-our-countrys-libido-problem/" type="external">CNN’s “State of the Union</a>,” where he falsely said that “nine out of 10 businesses fail.”</p>
<p>A 2002 study found that, after four years, one-third of new businesses closed under “unsuccessful” circumstances, according to their owners.&#160;And government data show that almost one-half of new businesses last beyond five years and about one-third of them continue operating after 10 years.</p>
<p>Paul made his claim on CNN while explaining how his approach to creating jobs differs from President Obama’s:</p>
<p>Paul, Jan. 26: The president thinks that you collect money from the rest of the country, bring it to Washington, and then we re-pass it out. That creates jobs. Well, what he misunderstands is that nine out of 10 businesses fail, so nine out of 10 times, he’s going to give it to the wrong people. He gave $500 million to one of the richest men in the country to build solar panels and we lost that money.</p>
<p>We reached out to the senator’s press office for the source of his claim, but we didn’t receive a response.</p>
<p>Paul didn’t mention a specific time period for business failures, but sources show higher business survival rates over a period of years than what he claimed.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_Sept_2012.pdf" type="external">Small Business Administration says</a> “about half of all new establishments survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 years or more.” That statement was included in a September 2012 update to its list of frequently asked questions.</p>
<p>SBA’s claim is backed up by <a href="http://www.bls.gov/bdm/entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship.htm" type="external">data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Business Employment Dynamics program,</a> depicted in the chart below:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bls.gov/bdm/entrepreneurship/bdm_chart3.htm" type="external">data behind the BLS chart,</a> which covers the period from 1994 to 2010, show that about 78 percent of businesses survive two years and almost 42 percent last eight years. The rate of survival drops as the years go on, but at no point is the survival rate as low as 10 percent, as Paul claimed.</p>
<p>BLS also cautions that “survival rates for establishments vary by industry.” For example, the health care and social assistance industry “consistently ranks among the industries with the highest survival rates over time, while construction ranks among the lowest,” BLS said.</p>
<p>Plus, not all business closures are considered failures. Some close without any debt. Some are sold to other businesses, and some were never intended to be around for long.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/483/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1024433630958.pdf?auth66=1391026411_fb0268c41e0ae721f98bc7c9e46290ca&amp;ext=.pdf" type="external">2002 study of Census Bureau data</a>, Brian Headd, an economist with the Small Business Administration, found that after four years, “only one-third of new businesses (33 percent) closed under circumstances that owners considered unsuccessful.”</p>
<p>Headd, March 20, 2002:&#160;As shown in Figure 1, [the Business Information Tracking Series] showed that about half of new businesses remained open for a reasonable time period and the [Characteristics of Business Owners] showed that about a third of all closed businesses closed while successful. Contrary to what is commonly believed, not all closures are failures. Only one-third of new businesses (33 percent) closed under circumstances that owners considered unsuccessful.</p>
<p>Headd wrote that the “significant proportion of businesses that closed while successful calls into question the use of ‘business closure’ as a meaningful measure of business outcome.”</p>
<p>He called it a “myth that 9 out of 10 businesses close in their first year.”</p>
<p>Paul made the business failure claim as he described President Obama’s job creation methods. “The president thinks that you collect money from the rest of the country, bring it to Washington, and then we re-pass it out,” Paul said. “He gave $500 million to one of the richest men in the country to build solar panels and we lost that money.”</p>
<p>As far as we can tell, Paul is referring to a <a href="http://energy.gov/articles/obama-administration-offers-535-million-loan-guarantee-solyndra-inc" type="external">$535 million loan guarantee the Department of Energy</a> awarded, in 2009, to Solyndra, a <a href="http://www.solyndra.com/2011/09/solyndra-suspends-operations-to-evaluate-reorganization-options/" type="external">now-defunct solar manufacturing company</a>. Solyndra <a href="http://lpo.energy.gov/our-projects/discontinued-projects/" type="external">had been given $528 million</a> of that loan amount when the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011, and the government hasn’t recovered any of that money.</p>
<p>But, overall, the entire portfolio for the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office “remains very strong,” according to the agency.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://energy.gov/articles/update-fisker-automotive-and-energy-department-s-loan-portfolio" type="external">September 2013 update on its loan portfolio</a>, the department said that it had disbursed $18.5 billion of the $34.4 billion that had been allocated for loan guarantees, and had lost $799.7 million. The losses were just over 4 percent of the total amount disbursed and over 2 percent of the total loan amount.</p>
<p>— Eugene Kiely and D’Angelo Gore</p> | 599,887 |
<p>ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Mohamed Salah won African Player of the Year on Thursday, a reward for success on all fronts in 2017 for the Egypt forward after he inspired his country to a long-awaited World Cup place and had a phenomenal start to his career at Liverpool.</p>
<p>Salah won ahead of Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the other finalists at the Confederation of African Football awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Salah had a memorable year, first as part of the Egypt team that made the African Cup of Nations final in February.</p>
<p>Salah was then joint top-scorer in the final round of qualifiers as Egypt reached the World Cup for the first time since 1990.</p>
<p>He’s had a stunning first half of the season at Liverpool with 17 goals in 21 league games and 23 goals in 29 games in all competitions, justifying Liverpool’s decision to break the club’s transfer record and pay $46.8 million to buy him from Roma in the summer.</p>
<p>Although Egypt lost in the African Cup final to Cameroon at the beginning of the year, the team returned to the tournament after seven years without qualifying and made it all the way to the final. Salah was a pivotal part of the revival.</p>
<p>He scored five goals in six games in the decisive qualifying round as Egypt sealed its place at the World Cup in Russia, ending almost three decades of near-misses and misery for fans. Salah scored both goals, including the injury-time winner, in the 2-1 win over Republic of Congo in October that sealed Egypt’s place at the World Cup.</p>
<p>“It was very difficult to explain that moment to qualify to the World Cup after 28 years,” he said at the awards ceremony in Ghana. “And to have a great season with the clubs, with Roma and Liverpool.</p>
<p>“This award is a big award for me ... it’s a special moment for me in my career.”</p>
<p>Mane finished second this time after a third-place finish last year. Aubameyang was third. He won African Player of the Year in 2014 and has been one of the three finalists for the last four years.</p>
<p>The award is traditionally voted for by the head coaches or technical directors of all Africa’s national teams. This is the first year CAF allowed captains of those teams to also vote for the continent’s best player, it said.</p>
<p>Salah’s victory capped a clean sweep of the three main African football awards for Egypt. Egypt won team of the year and its manager, Hector Cuper, Africa’s coach of the year.</p>
<p>ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Mohamed Salah won African Player of the Year on Thursday, a reward for success on all fronts in 2017 for the Egypt forward after he inspired his country to a long-awaited World Cup place and had a phenomenal start to his career at Liverpool.</p>
<p>Salah won ahead of Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the other finalists at the Confederation of African Football awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Salah had a memorable year, first as part of the Egypt team that made the African Cup of Nations final in February.</p>
<p>Salah was then joint top-scorer in the final round of qualifiers as Egypt reached the World Cup for the first time since 1990.</p>
<p>He’s had a stunning first half of the season at Liverpool with 17 goals in 21 league games and 23 goals in 29 games in all competitions, justifying Liverpool’s decision to break the club’s transfer record and pay $46.8 million to buy him from Roma in the summer.</p>
<p>Although Egypt lost in the African Cup final to Cameroon at the beginning of the year, the team returned to the tournament after seven years without qualifying and made it all the way to the final. Salah was a pivotal part of the revival.</p>
<p>He scored five goals in six games in the decisive qualifying round as Egypt sealed its place at the World Cup in Russia, ending almost three decades of near-misses and misery for fans. Salah scored both goals, including the injury-time winner, in the 2-1 win over Republic of Congo in October that sealed Egypt’s place at the World Cup.</p>
<p>“It was very difficult to explain that moment to qualify to the World Cup after 28 years,” he said at the awards ceremony in Ghana. “And to have a great season with the clubs, with Roma and Liverpool.</p>
<p>“This award is a big award for me ... it’s a special moment for me in my career.”</p>
<p>Mane finished second this time after a third-place finish last year. Aubameyang was third. He won African Player of the Year in 2014 and has been one of the three finalists for the last four years.</p>
<p>The award is traditionally voted for by the head coaches or technical directors of all Africa’s national teams. This is the first year CAF allowed captains of those teams to also vote for the continent’s best player, it said.</p>
<p>Salah’s victory capped a clean sweep of the three main African football awards for Egypt. Egypt won team of the year and its manager, Hector Cuper, Africa’s coach of the year.</p> | Egypt’s Mohamed Salah wins African Player of the Year | false | https://apnews.com/673367258160437cbf8f7ecb00d45a99 | 2018-01-04 | 2least
| Egypt’s Mohamed Salah wins African Player of the Year
<p>ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Mohamed Salah won African Player of the Year on Thursday, a reward for success on all fronts in 2017 for the Egypt forward after he inspired his country to a long-awaited World Cup place and had a phenomenal start to his career at Liverpool.</p>
<p>Salah won ahead of Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the other finalists at the Confederation of African Football awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Salah had a memorable year, first as part of the Egypt team that made the African Cup of Nations final in February.</p>
<p>Salah was then joint top-scorer in the final round of qualifiers as Egypt reached the World Cup for the first time since 1990.</p>
<p>He’s had a stunning first half of the season at Liverpool with 17 goals in 21 league games and 23 goals in 29 games in all competitions, justifying Liverpool’s decision to break the club’s transfer record and pay $46.8 million to buy him from Roma in the summer.</p>
<p>Although Egypt lost in the African Cup final to Cameroon at the beginning of the year, the team returned to the tournament after seven years without qualifying and made it all the way to the final. Salah was a pivotal part of the revival.</p>
<p>He scored five goals in six games in the decisive qualifying round as Egypt sealed its place at the World Cup in Russia, ending almost three decades of near-misses and misery for fans. Salah scored both goals, including the injury-time winner, in the 2-1 win over Republic of Congo in October that sealed Egypt’s place at the World Cup.</p>
<p>“It was very difficult to explain that moment to qualify to the World Cup after 28 years,” he said at the awards ceremony in Ghana. “And to have a great season with the clubs, with Roma and Liverpool.</p>
<p>“This award is a big award for me ... it’s a special moment for me in my career.”</p>
<p>Mane finished second this time after a third-place finish last year. Aubameyang was third. He won African Player of the Year in 2014 and has been one of the three finalists for the last four years.</p>
<p>The award is traditionally voted for by the head coaches or technical directors of all Africa’s national teams. This is the first year CAF allowed captains of those teams to also vote for the continent’s best player, it said.</p>
<p>Salah’s victory capped a clean sweep of the three main African football awards for Egypt. Egypt won team of the year and its manager, Hector Cuper, Africa’s coach of the year.</p>
<p>ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Mohamed Salah won African Player of the Year on Thursday, a reward for success on all fronts in 2017 for the Egypt forward after he inspired his country to a long-awaited World Cup place and had a phenomenal start to his career at Liverpool.</p>
<p>Salah won ahead of Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the other finalists at the Confederation of African Football awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Salah had a memorable year, first as part of the Egypt team that made the African Cup of Nations final in February.</p>
<p>Salah was then joint top-scorer in the final round of qualifiers as Egypt reached the World Cup for the first time since 1990.</p>
<p>He’s had a stunning first half of the season at Liverpool with 17 goals in 21 league games and 23 goals in 29 games in all competitions, justifying Liverpool’s decision to break the club’s transfer record and pay $46.8 million to buy him from Roma in the summer.</p>
<p>Although Egypt lost in the African Cup final to Cameroon at the beginning of the year, the team returned to the tournament after seven years without qualifying and made it all the way to the final. Salah was a pivotal part of the revival.</p>
<p>He scored five goals in six games in the decisive qualifying round as Egypt sealed its place at the World Cup in Russia, ending almost three decades of near-misses and misery for fans. Salah scored both goals, including the injury-time winner, in the 2-1 win over Republic of Congo in October that sealed Egypt’s place at the World Cup.</p>
<p>“It was very difficult to explain that moment to qualify to the World Cup after 28 years,” he said at the awards ceremony in Ghana. “And to have a great season with the clubs, with Roma and Liverpool.</p>
<p>“This award is a big award for me ... it’s a special moment for me in my career.”</p>
<p>Mane finished second this time after a third-place finish last year. Aubameyang was third. He won African Player of the Year in 2014 and has been one of the three finalists for the last four years.</p>
<p>The award is traditionally voted for by the head coaches or technical directors of all Africa’s national teams. This is the first year CAF allowed captains of those teams to also vote for the continent’s best player, it said.</p>
<p>Salah’s victory capped a clean sweep of the three main African football awards for Egypt. Egypt won team of the year and its manager, Hector Cuper, Africa’s coach of the year.</p> | 599,888 |
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<p>The filing by MVB Holding LLC in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Gulfport follows the casino’s shutdown on Monday night.</p>
<p>Don Dornan, a lawyer for landlord Clay Point LLC, said the company had planned to ask Harrison County Circuit Judge Michael Ward to give it control of the property in a Wednesday hearing. Clay Point said in court papers in July that MVB hasn’t paid rent since the casino opened in 2012 and owes more than $3.8 million, plus $500,000 in taxes that Clay Point had to step in and pay on Margaritaville’s behalf.</p>
<p>The bankruptcy freezes the state court case, leaving a judge to sort things out.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Clay Point was barricading entrances with concrete traffic barriers as MVB filed. Bob Byrd, a bankruptcy lawyer for MVB, said those barricades were later removed. Clay Point’s owners include the Sims family of Hattiesburg, Gulf Central Seafood and T. Mothers Development Cos. That last company is controlled by Thomas Brosig, Margaritaville’s original CEO.</p>
<p>MVB said in its bankruptcy filing that its assets and debts are both between $10 million and $50 million. The company listed 164 creditors and $4.2 million in unsecured debt, including $1.38 million owed to Roy Anderson Corp. The Biloxi contractor built the 81,000-square-foot complex, which included a 25,000-square-foot casino.</p>
<p>MVB, owned by 40 investors, estimated secured creditors will claim all its remaining assets and unsecured creditors will get nothing.</p>
<p>Byrd said that besides Clay Point, lenders would also be among Margaritaville’s large secured creditors.</p>
<p>The company announced in July that it would close the casino, saying it was unable to reach an agreement with Clay Point. Margaritaville’s 371 employees will be paid through Friday.</p>
<p>Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, told the Sun Herald that agents were on site when the casino closed at 10 p.m. Monday and remained Tuesday.</p>
<p>“It was very orderly,” he said of the shutdown.</p>
<p>Inside money is being counted and Margaritaville betting chips will be destroyed, normally by shredding, Godfrey said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Margaritaville is the second Mississippi casino to close this year, after Caesars Entertainment Corp. shuttered Harrah’s Tunica Hotel &amp; Casino in June. Singer Jimmy Buffett licenses the name of his famous song, but doesn’t share ownership. His Margaritaville Enterprises is listed among unsecured creditors, owed more than $56,000.</p>
<p>Mississippi’s Gaming Commission allowed Margaritaville, a $62 million project when it opened in May 2012, to be built without a hotel. Analysts questioned its small size, leading to higher investment requirements for new casinos. That means that any new owner could have trouble getting a new casino license without substantial investment in a location isolated from Biloxi’s other casinos.</p>
<p>“Once you close up it’s a brand new ball game,” Godfrey said.</p>
<p>Margaritaville’s owners had announced plans to invest another $64 million to build a 250-room hotel and overhaul the casino.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Follow Jeff Amy at: <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffamy" type="external">http://twitter.com/jeffamy</a></p> | Margaritaville casino owners seek bankruptcy | false | https://abqjournal.com/463232/margaritaville-casino-owners-seek-bankruptcy.html | 2least
| Margaritaville casino owners seek bankruptcy
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<p />
<p>The filing by MVB Holding LLC in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Gulfport follows the casino’s shutdown on Monday night.</p>
<p>Don Dornan, a lawyer for landlord Clay Point LLC, said the company had planned to ask Harrison County Circuit Judge Michael Ward to give it control of the property in a Wednesday hearing. Clay Point said in court papers in July that MVB hasn’t paid rent since the casino opened in 2012 and owes more than $3.8 million, plus $500,000 in taxes that Clay Point had to step in and pay on Margaritaville’s behalf.</p>
<p>The bankruptcy freezes the state court case, leaving a judge to sort things out.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Clay Point was barricading entrances with concrete traffic barriers as MVB filed. Bob Byrd, a bankruptcy lawyer for MVB, said those barricades were later removed. Clay Point’s owners include the Sims family of Hattiesburg, Gulf Central Seafood and T. Mothers Development Cos. That last company is controlled by Thomas Brosig, Margaritaville’s original CEO.</p>
<p>MVB said in its bankruptcy filing that its assets and debts are both between $10 million and $50 million. The company listed 164 creditors and $4.2 million in unsecured debt, including $1.38 million owed to Roy Anderson Corp. The Biloxi contractor built the 81,000-square-foot complex, which included a 25,000-square-foot casino.</p>
<p>MVB, owned by 40 investors, estimated secured creditors will claim all its remaining assets and unsecured creditors will get nothing.</p>
<p>Byrd said that besides Clay Point, lenders would also be among Margaritaville’s large secured creditors.</p>
<p>The company announced in July that it would close the casino, saying it was unable to reach an agreement with Clay Point. Margaritaville’s 371 employees will be paid through Friday.</p>
<p>Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, told the Sun Herald that agents were on site when the casino closed at 10 p.m. Monday and remained Tuesday.</p>
<p>“It was very orderly,” he said of the shutdown.</p>
<p>Inside money is being counted and Margaritaville betting chips will be destroyed, normally by shredding, Godfrey said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Margaritaville is the second Mississippi casino to close this year, after Caesars Entertainment Corp. shuttered Harrah’s Tunica Hotel &amp; Casino in June. Singer Jimmy Buffett licenses the name of his famous song, but doesn’t share ownership. His Margaritaville Enterprises is listed among unsecured creditors, owed more than $56,000.</p>
<p>Mississippi’s Gaming Commission allowed Margaritaville, a $62 million project when it opened in May 2012, to be built without a hotel. Analysts questioned its small size, leading to higher investment requirements for new casinos. That means that any new owner could have trouble getting a new casino license without substantial investment in a location isolated from Biloxi’s other casinos.</p>
<p>“Once you close up it’s a brand new ball game,” Godfrey said.</p>
<p>Margaritaville’s owners had announced plans to invest another $64 million to build a 250-room hotel and overhaul the casino.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Follow Jeff Amy at: <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffamy" type="external">http://twitter.com/jeffamy</a></p> | 599,889 |
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<p />
<p>Your introduction of two people should provide each person with the name of the other, their professional titles and some information that might help them start a conversation.</p>
<p>In a business introduction, the first aspect to consider is who holds more authority. The person of less authority is presented to the senior person. Address the most important person: “Mr. Richards, I’d like to present Ms. Irene Reyes, our new sales manager in Las Cruces. Ms. Reyes, this is Mr. Douglas Richards, the president of our company.” When it makes sense to use courtesy titles, use them.</p>
<p>A client always occupies the position of most importance: “Dr. Chavez, this is Ms. Ann Honeywell, our chief executive officer. Dr. Dominic Chavez is a family practitioner in Phoenix and our new client.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>When introducing people of equal rank, present the person you know well to the other. Start by addressing the person you know least: “Diana, I’d like you to meet Jerry Carlson. Jerry is a partner in my firm. Jerry, this is Diana Smith, a partner at the Hurst Law Firm.”</p>
<p>In social situations it is traditional to introduce a man to a woman: “Emma, I’d like to introduce Tristan Clark, a friend of mine from college. Tristan, this is Emma Griego, my neighbor.” Or introduce the person you know best to the other: “Sam, let me introduce Jay Moreno, my brother visiting from Alabama. Jay, this is Sam Morris, my neighbor with the Harley.”</p>
<p>When you find yourself in a situation in which an introduction is necessary, but there’s no one around to make it, introduce yourself: “Hello, I’m Melissa Park. I’ve just joined the accounting department here.”</p>
<p>And what if you forget a person’s name after you’ve been introduced? Remain poised, smile and say, “I’m sorry, but please tell me your name again.” It’s also fine to reintroduce yourself upon meeting up again with someone you’ve recently met, “Hello, we met at the school play. I’m Ann Johnson, nice to see you again.” The person should reciprocate with their own name, but if he doesn’t, you may ask for it again.</p>
<p>Once you’ve been introduced you may have the opportunity to present your business card. Although we live in a world that becomes more electronic every day, always carry your card and make sure it is in good condition, up-to-date and includes your name, email address and phone number. It should be of standard business-card size and clearly readable so that it can be easily scanned and transferred by a smartphone app. Present the card to a person face up and positioned so that the receiver doesn’t have to rotate it to read it.</p>
<p>The way we meet and greet individuals makes a first impression and leaves a lasting one. It’s a key component in your bank of business etiquette skills.</p>
<p>Starting relationships and good manners never go out of style.</p>
<p>Dear Readers: If you have sent a question within the past six months and have not seen it answered in the newspaper column, please send it to me by email at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you will take the time to resubmit your question. Thank you.</p>
<p>Thelma Domenici is CEO of Thelma Domenici &amp; Associates, offering corporate coaching and contemporary social skills development programs to all ages.</p>
<p /> | Skillful introductions can open door to success | false | https://abqjournal.com/415711/skillful-introductions-can-open-door-to-success.html | 2least
| Skillful introductions can open door to success
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Your introduction of two people should provide each person with the name of the other, their professional titles and some information that might help them start a conversation.</p>
<p>In a business introduction, the first aspect to consider is who holds more authority. The person of less authority is presented to the senior person. Address the most important person: “Mr. Richards, I’d like to present Ms. Irene Reyes, our new sales manager in Las Cruces. Ms. Reyes, this is Mr. Douglas Richards, the president of our company.” When it makes sense to use courtesy titles, use them.</p>
<p>A client always occupies the position of most importance: “Dr. Chavez, this is Ms. Ann Honeywell, our chief executive officer. Dr. Dominic Chavez is a family practitioner in Phoenix and our new client.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>When introducing people of equal rank, present the person you know well to the other. Start by addressing the person you know least: “Diana, I’d like you to meet Jerry Carlson. Jerry is a partner in my firm. Jerry, this is Diana Smith, a partner at the Hurst Law Firm.”</p>
<p>In social situations it is traditional to introduce a man to a woman: “Emma, I’d like to introduce Tristan Clark, a friend of mine from college. Tristan, this is Emma Griego, my neighbor.” Or introduce the person you know best to the other: “Sam, let me introduce Jay Moreno, my brother visiting from Alabama. Jay, this is Sam Morris, my neighbor with the Harley.”</p>
<p>When you find yourself in a situation in which an introduction is necessary, but there’s no one around to make it, introduce yourself: “Hello, I’m Melissa Park. I’ve just joined the accounting department here.”</p>
<p>And what if you forget a person’s name after you’ve been introduced? Remain poised, smile and say, “I’m sorry, but please tell me your name again.” It’s also fine to reintroduce yourself upon meeting up again with someone you’ve recently met, “Hello, we met at the school play. I’m Ann Johnson, nice to see you again.” The person should reciprocate with their own name, but if he doesn’t, you may ask for it again.</p>
<p>Once you’ve been introduced you may have the opportunity to present your business card. Although we live in a world that becomes more electronic every day, always carry your card and make sure it is in good condition, up-to-date and includes your name, email address and phone number. It should be of standard business-card size and clearly readable so that it can be easily scanned and transferred by a smartphone app. Present the card to a person face up and positioned so that the receiver doesn’t have to rotate it to read it.</p>
<p>The way we meet and greet individuals makes a first impression and leaves a lasting one. It’s a key component in your bank of business etiquette skills.</p>
<p>Starting relationships and good manners never go out of style.</p>
<p>Dear Readers: If you have sent a question within the past six months and have not seen it answered in the newspaper column, please send it to me by email at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you will take the time to resubmit your question. Thank you.</p>
<p>Thelma Domenici is CEO of Thelma Domenici &amp; Associates, offering corporate coaching and contemporary social skills development programs to all ages.</p>
<p /> | 599,890 |
|
<p>MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — The commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police is leaving the post after less than two years to become a town police chief.</p>
<p>Col. Alaric Fox is expected to begin his new job in Enfield, Connecticut, March 12. Enfield Town Manager Bryan Chodkowski announced on Wednesday that Fox accepted the position after being selected from a pool of more than 20 applicants.</p>
<p>Fox says he hadn't been looking to leave the state police, but became interested in the Enfield job after learning longtime Chief Carl Sferrazza was retiring Feb. 28.</p>
<p>He says he has been impressed with Enfield police and his in-laws live in town.</p>
<p>The 53-year-old Fox is a 24-year veteran of the state police. He previously worked as a Willimantic police officer, an FBI agent and a lawyer.</p>
<p>MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — The commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police is leaving the post after less than two years to become a town police chief.</p>
<p>Col. Alaric Fox is expected to begin his new job in Enfield, Connecticut, March 12. Enfield Town Manager Bryan Chodkowski announced on Wednesday that Fox accepted the position after being selected from a pool of more than 20 applicants.</p>
<p>Fox says he hadn't been looking to leave the state police, but became interested in the Enfield job after learning longtime Chief Carl Sferrazza was retiring Feb. 28.</p>
<p>He says he has been impressed with Enfield police and his in-laws live in town.</p>
<p>The 53-year-old Fox is a 24-year veteran of the state police. He previously worked as a Willimantic police officer, an FBI agent and a lawyer.</p> | State police leader is leaving to become town police chief | false | https://apnews.com/amp/dbf883218e23449f8931a70aa654c60c | 2018-01-17 | 2least
| State police leader is leaving to become town police chief
<p>MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — The commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police is leaving the post after less than two years to become a town police chief.</p>
<p>Col. Alaric Fox is expected to begin his new job in Enfield, Connecticut, March 12. Enfield Town Manager Bryan Chodkowski announced on Wednesday that Fox accepted the position after being selected from a pool of more than 20 applicants.</p>
<p>Fox says he hadn't been looking to leave the state police, but became interested in the Enfield job after learning longtime Chief Carl Sferrazza was retiring Feb. 28.</p>
<p>He says he has been impressed with Enfield police and his in-laws live in town.</p>
<p>The 53-year-old Fox is a 24-year veteran of the state police. He previously worked as a Willimantic police officer, an FBI agent and a lawyer.</p>
<p>MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — The commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police is leaving the post after less than two years to become a town police chief.</p>
<p>Col. Alaric Fox is expected to begin his new job in Enfield, Connecticut, March 12. Enfield Town Manager Bryan Chodkowski announced on Wednesday that Fox accepted the position after being selected from a pool of more than 20 applicants.</p>
<p>Fox says he hadn't been looking to leave the state police, but became interested in the Enfield job after learning longtime Chief Carl Sferrazza was retiring Feb. 28.</p>
<p>He says he has been impressed with Enfield police and his in-laws live in town.</p>
<p>The 53-year-old Fox is a 24-year veteran of the state police. He previously worked as a Willimantic police officer, an FBI agent and a lawyer.</p> | 599,891 |
<p>Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero. Flickr/&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidgiard/2840634733/sizes/m/in/photostream/"&gt;David Giard&lt;/a&gt;</p>
<p />
<p>[More MoJo primary coverage: Nick Baumann reports on the Missouri primaries for US Senate <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.]</p>
<p>Big labor, at least in a manufacturing state like Michigan, still wields some major political muscle. That’s one takeaway from Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in Michigan, in which labor’s pick, Lansing mayor <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20100624/NEWS06/6240376/1285/NEWS15/" type="external">Virg Bernero</a>, easily defeated state House speaker Andy Dillon. Most media outlets called the race for Bernero early in the evening, and with 50 percent of voting precincts reporting, Bernero led Dillon by more than 40,000 votes.</p>
<p>Bernero, once seen as the underdog candidate,&#160; <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100624/NEWS06/6240376/1285/NEWS15/&amp;template=fullarticleunderdog%20in%20the%20race,%20and%20had%20consistently%20http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/governor/mi/michigan_governor_democratic_primary-1116.html" type="external">trailed</a> Dillon in the polls for most of his primary campaign. But recently labor groups like the AFL-CIO and AFSCME mobilized their members and ramped up their ground campaign on Bernero’s behalf, and as a result, the blunt Lansing mayor surged in the most recent polls. A fiery politician, Bernero is largely seen as a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAaPwdERMPU" type="external">defender of the working class</a>, especially the auto industry, and will garner even more support from Michigan’s still-influential unions heading into November.</p>
<p>While Bernero sounds like a classic Michigan Democrat, Rick Snyder, who easily defeated longtime Rep. Pete Hoekstra in Michigan’s GOP gubernatorial primary, is hardly your typical Republican. The former CEO of Gateway computers, Snyder trounced his more established Republican opponents, leading Hoekstra by 63,000 votes with 53 percent of precincts reporting. Like Bernero, Snyder got off to a rocky, unassuming start, but quickly gathered momentum as voters latched onto his job-creation message in a state blighted by 13 percent unemployment.</p>
<p>Indeed, Snyder’s business cred—he’s a former wunderkind with business and law degrees from the University of Michigan, ran Gateway, and started two venture capital firms—is the core of his platform. He’s mostly avoided questions about abortion, the tea party, or petty politics—so much so that he’s been accused of being socially liberal. (Snyder says he’s pro-life and backs the state’s man-and-woman marriage law.) As for his take on the powerful unions, he&#160; <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100617/NEWS15/6170462&amp;template=fullarticle" type="external">said</a>, “I’m not anti-union or pro-union. I want to get the job done.”</p>
<p>Snyder’s win Tuesday night all but ends the political career of Pete Hoekstra, a fatherly figure in Michigan Republican politics. A former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Hoekstra had led the in the polls for months, buoyed by his bike-riding campaign throughout Michigan to meet voters. But in the end, he never matched Snyder’s campaign war chest.</p>
<p>Looking to November, Snyder likely has the edge to replace term-limited governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat. Of all five GOPers in Tuesday’s primary, Snyder, a moderate Republican from liberal Ann Arbor, has polled highest in a hypothetical general election. Snyder is also incredibly popular among independents: Public Policy Polling <a href="http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/08/some-thoughts-on-rick-snyder.html" type="external">reported</a> that 37 percent of indies viewed him favorably while only 9 percent didn’t. Snyder, in other words, has cross-over appeal. Whether Bernero can woo those same independent voters, and at the same time grow his Democratic base, could well determine whether he tops Snyder and keeps the governor’s seat within the Democratic Party.</p>
<p>Wasting no time, Bernero began separating himself from businessman Snyder on Tuesday night, saying, “You know where [Snyder’s] got me beat? Wall Street… I represent Main Street.”</p>
<p /> | Michigan Guv: Big Labor vs. Big Biz | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/08/michigan-big-labor-battle-big-biz/ | 2010-08-04 | 4left
| Michigan Guv: Big Labor vs. Big Biz
<p>Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero. Flickr/&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidgiard/2840634733/sizes/m/in/photostream/"&gt;David Giard&lt;/a&gt;</p>
<p />
<p>[More MoJo primary coverage: Nick Baumann reports on the Missouri primaries for US Senate <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.]</p>
<p>Big labor, at least in a manufacturing state like Michigan, still wields some major political muscle. That’s one takeaway from Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in Michigan, in which labor’s pick, Lansing mayor <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20100624/NEWS06/6240376/1285/NEWS15/" type="external">Virg Bernero</a>, easily defeated state House speaker Andy Dillon. Most media outlets called the race for Bernero early in the evening, and with 50 percent of voting precincts reporting, Bernero led Dillon by more than 40,000 votes.</p>
<p>Bernero, once seen as the underdog candidate,&#160; <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100624/NEWS06/6240376/1285/NEWS15/&amp;template=fullarticleunderdog%20in%20the%20race,%20and%20had%20consistently%20http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/governor/mi/michigan_governor_democratic_primary-1116.html" type="external">trailed</a> Dillon in the polls for most of his primary campaign. But recently labor groups like the AFL-CIO and AFSCME mobilized their members and ramped up their ground campaign on Bernero’s behalf, and as a result, the blunt Lansing mayor surged in the most recent polls. A fiery politician, Bernero is largely seen as a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAaPwdERMPU" type="external">defender of the working class</a>, especially the auto industry, and will garner even more support from Michigan’s still-influential unions heading into November.</p>
<p>While Bernero sounds like a classic Michigan Democrat, Rick Snyder, who easily defeated longtime Rep. Pete Hoekstra in Michigan’s GOP gubernatorial primary, is hardly your typical Republican. The former CEO of Gateway computers, Snyder trounced his more established Republican opponents, leading Hoekstra by 63,000 votes with 53 percent of precincts reporting. Like Bernero, Snyder got off to a rocky, unassuming start, but quickly gathered momentum as voters latched onto his job-creation message in a state blighted by 13 percent unemployment.</p>
<p>Indeed, Snyder’s business cred—he’s a former wunderkind with business and law degrees from the University of Michigan, ran Gateway, and started two venture capital firms—is the core of his platform. He’s mostly avoided questions about abortion, the tea party, or petty politics—so much so that he’s been accused of being socially liberal. (Snyder says he’s pro-life and backs the state’s man-and-woman marriage law.) As for his take on the powerful unions, he&#160; <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100617/NEWS15/6170462&amp;template=fullarticle" type="external">said</a>, “I’m not anti-union or pro-union. I want to get the job done.”</p>
<p>Snyder’s win Tuesday night all but ends the political career of Pete Hoekstra, a fatherly figure in Michigan Republican politics. A former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Hoekstra had led the in the polls for months, buoyed by his bike-riding campaign throughout Michigan to meet voters. But in the end, he never matched Snyder’s campaign war chest.</p>
<p>Looking to November, Snyder likely has the edge to replace term-limited governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat. Of all five GOPers in Tuesday’s primary, Snyder, a moderate Republican from liberal Ann Arbor, has polled highest in a hypothetical general election. Snyder is also incredibly popular among independents: Public Policy Polling <a href="http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/08/some-thoughts-on-rick-snyder.html" type="external">reported</a> that 37 percent of indies viewed him favorably while only 9 percent didn’t. Snyder, in other words, has cross-over appeal. Whether Bernero can woo those same independent voters, and at the same time grow his Democratic base, could well determine whether he tops Snyder and keeps the governor’s seat within the Democratic Party.</p>
<p>Wasting no time, Bernero began separating himself from businessman Snyder on Tuesday night, saying, “You know where [Snyder’s] got me beat? Wall Street… I represent Main Street.”</p>
<p /> | 599,892 |
<p>Walt Disney Co. just became the biggest cord-cutter Hollywood has ever seen.</p>
<p>The world's largest entertainment company said Tuesday it is starting two online streaming services to offer its sports, movies and television programming directly to consumers, a broadside at distributors old and new, including cable providers and Netflix Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As part of the strategy, Disney said it would pull future movies from Netflix, an announcement that sent shares for the streaming service down 7% in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>Disney will start one streaming service for its ESPN sports unit early next year, and another in 2019 that is to carry other Disney entertainment, including original material available only on the new service.</p>
<p>The moves represent a gamble that in the long run it will be more lucrative for Disney to sell its entertainment -- which includes some of Hollywood's most valuable stories and characters -- directly to consumers, rather than through services that offer large, upfront payments but also serve as gatekeepers to audiences. Disney has dominated the film industry in recent years, thanks to acquisitions that have placed the "Star Wars" franchise, Pixar Animation and Marvel Studios under one roof.</p>
<p>The shift also signals rising confidence at media companies that they can take control of distributing their content online, without relying on Netflix. or others as much as they now do. CBS Corp.'s earnings this week included a strong report on the early performance of its direct-to-consumer offering CBS All Access, one of the drivers of its subscription revenue.</p>
<p>Disney and other media companies have come to rely on the licensing revenue from Netflix deals, but they have been looking for ways to wrest back control, as it has become apparent that such arrangements mean decreased visibility and ratings for media companies and their subbrands.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The new Disney-branded service is to carry movies Disney releases starting in 2019, including "Toy Story 4" and "Frozen 2," the company said Tuesday afternoon. Disney chairman and chief executive Robert Iger said it would offer the service first in the U.S. before expanding internationally. Eventually, he indicated, older Disney titles are likely to be added to the service. Pricing hasn't been determined, he said, and he left open the possibility of separate services for Star Wars and Marvel content.</p>
<p>Disney's decision to go its own way is a damning evaluation of the traditional cable system, where cord-cutting has already weakened providers and caused revenue declines in Disney's own cable networks division, which includes ESPN.</p>
<p>Operating income in its cable networks segment, which houses ESPN, retreated 23% in the third quarter, weaker than the 21% decline predicted by analysts cited by FactSet. Operating income within the segment contracted for the fourth time in the last five quarters.</p>
<p>Tuesday's news came about two years after Mr. Iger told investors the company was seeing "some subscriber losses" at ESPN, an acknowledgment that would come to define earnings announcements.</p>
<p>Since then, in Wall Street's eyes, the long-term issues at ESPN have overshadowed the successful return of the "Star Wars" franchise, the hit performance of movies such as "Beauty and the Beast" and the opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort.</p>
<p>The new ESPN streaming service will include Major League Baseball and National Hockey League games. However, it will not be a streaming version of the regular ESPN cable-network channel. Flagship programs such as "Monday Night Football" and NBA basketball won't be on the ESPN streaming platform. ESPN President John Skipper will manage the network's streaming service, which will be accessed through an updated version of ESPN's current app.</p>
<p>Disney has become a bellwether for the entertainment industry at large, and its move into streaming services could encourage other conglomerates to consider direct-to-consumer models, further weakening a cable industry already hit by cord-cutting.</p>
<p>In the past couple of years at Disney, adapting the company to a consumer landscape dominated by new players like Netflix has become a top concern.</p>
<p>Disney said Tuesday it would pay $1.58 billion for an additional 42% stake in BAMTech LLC, a direct-to-consumer streaming technology and marketing-services company. It already had a 33% stake in BAMTech.</p>
<p>Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. have spent aggressively on original content, as studios and networks rethink the strategy of selling their programming to relative newcomers that have emerged as their biggest competitor for viewers. The tech companies' expansion into producing original content has widened the rift with traditional Hollywood studios.</p>
<p>Netflix declined to comment Tuesday about the Disney announcement.</p>
<p>The move Tuesday represented the strongest break yet from a Hollywood studio with Netflix, a 20-year-old company that began as a DVD distributor.</p>
<p>Mr. Iger's plans come as the he faces the end of his tenure. He has said he would leave the company in 2019. Important to his legacy will be how well he prepares Disney for a media ecosystem in which technology has upended traditional distribution models.</p>
<p>Disney shares in the media and entertainment giant fell 3.1% in after-hours trading to $103.07.</p>
<p>ESPN has been an example of the challenges facing the cable industry amid declining viewership and the overall cord-cutting trend. Earlier this year the network shed some of its most recognizable on-air talent in a round of layoffs.</p>
<p>The sports network's presence in U.S. pay-TV households has fallen by around 6 percentage points, to 89%, since fiscal 2013, according to MoffettNathanson. The research firm estimates ESPN has lost more than 5 million subscribers from people downgrading to less expensive cable bundles.</p>
<p>Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 08, 2017 18:54 ET (22:54 GMT)</p> | Disney Unveils New Streaming Services -- Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/08/disney-unveils-new-streaming-services-update.html | 2017-08-08 | 0right
| Disney Unveils New Streaming Services -- Update
<p>Walt Disney Co. just became the biggest cord-cutter Hollywood has ever seen.</p>
<p>The world's largest entertainment company said Tuesday it is starting two online streaming services to offer its sports, movies and television programming directly to consumers, a broadside at distributors old and new, including cable providers and Netflix Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As part of the strategy, Disney said it would pull future movies from Netflix, an announcement that sent shares for the streaming service down 7% in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>Disney will start one streaming service for its ESPN sports unit early next year, and another in 2019 that is to carry other Disney entertainment, including original material available only on the new service.</p>
<p>The moves represent a gamble that in the long run it will be more lucrative for Disney to sell its entertainment -- which includes some of Hollywood's most valuable stories and characters -- directly to consumers, rather than through services that offer large, upfront payments but also serve as gatekeepers to audiences. Disney has dominated the film industry in recent years, thanks to acquisitions that have placed the "Star Wars" franchise, Pixar Animation and Marvel Studios under one roof.</p>
<p>The shift also signals rising confidence at media companies that they can take control of distributing their content online, without relying on Netflix. or others as much as they now do. CBS Corp.'s earnings this week included a strong report on the early performance of its direct-to-consumer offering CBS All Access, one of the drivers of its subscription revenue.</p>
<p>Disney and other media companies have come to rely on the licensing revenue from Netflix deals, but they have been looking for ways to wrest back control, as it has become apparent that such arrangements mean decreased visibility and ratings for media companies and their subbrands.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The new Disney-branded service is to carry movies Disney releases starting in 2019, including "Toy Story 4" and "Frozen 2," the company said Tuesday afternoon. Disney chairman and chief executive Robert Iger said it would offer the service first in the U.S. before expanding internationally. Eventually, he indicated, older Disney titles are likely to be added to the service. Pricing hasn't been determined, he said, and he left open the possibility of separate services for Star Wars and Marvel content.</p>
<p>Disney's decision to go its own way is a damning evaluation of the traditional cable system, where cord-cutting has already weakened providers and caused revenue declines in Disney's own cable networks division, which includes ESPN.</p>
<p>Operating income in its cable networks segment, which houses ESPN, retreated 23% in the third quarter, weaker than the 21% decline predicted by analysts cited by FactSet. Operating income within the segment contracted for the fourth time in the last five quarters.</p>
<p>Tuesday's news came about two years after Mr. Iger told investors the company was seeing "some subscriber losses" at ESPN, an acknowledgment that would come to define earnings announcements.</p>
<p>Since then, in Wall Street's eyes, the long-term issues at ESPN have overshadowed the successful return of the "Star Wars" franchise, the hit performance of movies such as "Beauty and the Beast" and the opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort.</p>
<p>The new ESPN streaming service will include Major League Baseball and National Hockey League games. However, it will not be a streaming version of the regular ESPN cable-network channel. Flagship programs such as "Monday Night Football" and NBA basketball won't be on the ESPN streaming platform. ESPN President John Skipper will manage the network's streaming service, which will be accessed through an updated version of ESPN's current app.</p>
<p>Disney has become a bellwether for the entertainment industry at large, and its move into streaming services could encourage other conglomerates to consider direct-to-consumer models, further weakening a cable industry already hit by cord-cutting.</p>
<p>In the past couple of years at Disney, adapting the company to a consumer landscape dominated by new players like Netflix has become a top concern.</p>
<p>Disney said Tuesday it would pay $1.58 billion for an additional 42% stake in BAMTech LLC, a direct-to-consumer streaming technology and marketing-services company. It already had a 33% stake in BAMTech.</p>
<p>Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. have spent aggressively on original content, as studios and networks rethink the strategy of selling their programming to relative newcomers that have emerged as their biggest competitor for viewers. The tech companies' expansion into producing original content has widened the rift with traditional Hollywood studios.</p>
<p>Netflix declined to comment Tuesday about the Disney announcement.</p>
<p>The move Tuesday represented the strongest break yet from a Hollywood studio with Netflix, a 20-year-old company that began as a DVD distributor.</p>
<p>Mr. Iger's plans come as the he faces the end of his tenure. He has said he would leave the company in 2019. Important to his legacy will be how well he prepares Disney for a media ecosystem in which technology has upended traditional distribution models.</p>
<p>Disney shares in the media and entertainment giant fell 3.1% in after-hours trading to $103.07.</p>
<p>ESPN has been an example of the challenges facing the cable industry amid declining viewership and the overall cord-cutting trend. Earlier this year the network shed some of its most recognizable on-air talent in a round of layoffs.</p>
<p>The sports network's presence in U.S. pay-TV households has fallen by around 6 percentage points, to 89%, since fiscal 2013, according to MoffettNathanson. The research firm estimates ESPN has lost more than 5 million subscribers from people downgrading to less expensive cable bundles.</p>
<p>Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 08, 2017 18:54 ET (22:54 GMT)</p> | 599,893 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Trains have since grown much longer, seemingly stretching to the horizon and often taking 20 minutes to pass through a crossing. And crews have been reduced in size — to five people in the 1970s and two in 1991. Now U.S. railroads want to put a single person in charge of today’s huge locomotives, taking another step toward a future in which the nation’s rail-cargo system increasingly could resemble toy train sets — highly mechanized networks run by computers or distant controllers.</p>
<p>For the moment, freight trains generally have two people aboard — an engineer who drives the train and a conductor who oversees the long line of cars. Railroad executives want to reduce that to a lone engineer, saying advances in safety systems, including a new automatic braking system under development, could minimize risks.</p>
<p>But labor groups and people who live near rail lines are skeptical.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“These trains are 7,000 tons going 50 mph. You have to have two people,” said J.P. Wright, an engineer for CSX railroad in Louisville, Kentucky. “It’s mindboggling to me that the railroads would go this far with it.”</p>
<p>The mayor of the Chicago suburb of Barrington asks how one person could split a stopped train to allow traffic and first responders through in the event of an emergency.</p>
<p>“There may be technology to compensate for some of it, but I would have questions,” Karen Darch said.</p>
<p>The one-person crew idea is being pitched at a time when railroads are working to increase train length because delivering more cars usually is more profitable, and they’re working to expand capacity to handle even more freight as the economy improves.</p>
<p>Federal regulators have pushed back against the proposal, saying they may require two-person crews.</p>
<p>The Association of American Railroads trade group says accident data does not support requiring two-person crews. It has opposed any effort by the government to prohibit one-person trains.</p>
<p>During a cross-country rail journey, the engineer is at the train’s controls. The conductor is responsible for the cars behind the locomotive, communicating with dispatchers and providing a second set of monitoring eyes.</p>
<p>Labor groups and regulators argue single-person crews, even with the new braking system called “positive train control,” would make trains more prone to accidents.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re transporting chlorine through your town in the middle of the night completely fatigued with the possibility that the computer is going to make a mistake,” said Wright, a third-generation railroader and co-chairman of the advocacy group Railroad Workers United.</p>
<p>The National Transportation Safety Board says more than two dozen train crashes since 2004 could have been prevented by positive train control, which was required by a 2008 law approved after a commuter train collided head-on with a freight train near Los Angeles, killing 25 and injuring more than 100.</p>
<p>The system is aimed at preventing human error by using GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor train position and speed. It can stop trains from colliding, derailing because of excessive speed, entering track under maintenance or traveling the wrong direction because of switching mistakes.</p>
<p>Congress set a 2015 deadline for having the system in place, but it won’t be ready by then. Railroads blame technical challenges and problems getting regulatory approval for thousands of antennas needed to make it work.</p>
<p>The major railroads appear committed to making one-person crews a reality. They declared in 2004 that they wanted to negotiate a nationwide pact for one-person crews, but courts ruled each railroad had to negotiate individually with its unions.</p>
<p>The BNSF railroad tried and failed earlier this fall to get one-person crews approved by one of its unions. The proposal is getting more attention now because of BNSF’s effort and a recent string of fiery rail crashes.</p>
<p>Darch initially became concerned about how increasing train traffic was blocking her city’s four crossings. She helped form a rail-safety group after a 2009 derailment of ethanol tankers killed a woman at a crossing in nearby Cherry Valley, Illinois.</p>
<p>Normally, the conductor can uncouple cars to allow police, fire trucks and ambulances through. But if only one person is aboard, that sole crew member cannot leave the locomotive without manually setting brakes all along the train to ensure it does not roll away.</p>
<p>The Federal Railroad Administration has promised to propose a rule next year requiring at least two people to operate a train.</p>
<p>“We believe safety is greatly enhanced with the use of a multiple-person crew,” administration spokesman Kevin Thompson said.</p>
<p>However, railroad companies argue having a second person in the locomotive does not dramatically improve safety.</p>
<p>“In many cases, that second crew member will be redundant,” said Frank Wilner, who has written six books on the rail industry and previously worked for the Association of American Railroads, the federal Surface Transportation Board and one of the major rail unions.</p>
<p>If railroads can successfully implement the braking system and stop trains remotely, the advances might open the door to one day operating trains entirely by remote control or with robots. Existing remote-control systems are limited to use in rail yards.</p>
<p>The safety system clearly would add another layer of protection against accidents, said Allan Zarembski, an industry veteran who now leads the railroad engineering and safety program at the University of Delaware. But it’s not clear whether positive train control adds enough security to eliminate a crew member.</p>
<p>“It’s a question of how much of a degree of safety do you want?” Zarembski said.</p> | Railroads seek one-person crews for freight trains | false | https://abqjournal.com/516172/railroads-seek-one-person-crews-for-freight-trains.html | 2least
| Railroads seek one-person crews for freight trains
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Trains have since grown much longer, seemingly stretching to the horizon and often taking 20 minutes to pass through a crossing. And crews have been reduced in size — to five people in the 1970s and two in 1991. Now U.S. railroads want to put a single person in charge of today’s huge locomotives, taking another step toward a future in which the nation’s rail-cargo system increasingly could resemble toy train sets — highly mechanized networks run by computers or distant controllers.</p>
<p>For the moment, freight trains generally have two people aboard — an engineer who drives the train and a conductor who oversees the long line of cars. Railroad executives want to reduce that to a lone engineer, saying advances in safety systems, including a new automatic braking system under development, could minimize risks.</p>
<p>But labor groups and people who live near rail lines are skeptical.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“These trains are 7,000 tons going 50 mph. You have to have two people,” said J.P. Wright, an engineer for CSX railroad in Louisville, Kentucky. “It’s mindboggling to me that the railroads would go this far with it.”</p>
<p>The mayor of the Chicago suburb of Barrington asks how one person could split a stopped train to allow traffic and first responders through in the event of an emergency.</p>
<p>“There may be technology to compensate for some of it, but I would have questions,” Karen Darch said.</p>
<p>The one-person crew idea is being pitched at a time when railroads are working to increase train length because delivering more cars usually is more profitable, and they’re working to expand capacity to handle even more freight as the economy improves.</p>
<p>Federal regulators have pushed back against the proposal, saying they may require two-person crews.</p>
<p>The Association of American Railroads trade group says accident data does not support requiring two-person crews. It has opposed any effort by the government to prohibit one-person trains.</p>
<p>During a cross-country rail journey, the engineer is at the train’s controls. The conductor is responsible for the cars behind the locomotive, communicating with dispatchers and providing a second set of monitoring eyes.</p>
<p>Labor groups and regulators argue single-person crews, even with the new braking system called “positive train control,” would make trains more prone to accidents.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re transporting chlorine through your town in the middle of the night completely fatigued with the possibility that the computer is going to make a mistake,” said Wright, a third-generation railroader and co-chairman of the advocacy group Railroad Workers United.</p>
<p>The National Transportation Safety Board says more than two dozen train crashes since 2004 could have been prevented by positive train control, which was required by a 2008 law approved after a commuter train collided head-on with a freight train near Los Angeles, killing 25 and injuring more than 100.</p>
<p>The system is aimed at preventing human error by using GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor train position and speed. It can stop trains from colliding, derailing because of excessive speed, entering track under maintenance or traveling the wrong direction because of switching mistakes.</p>
<p>Congress set a 2015 deadline for having the system in place, but it won’t be ready by then. Railroads blame technical challenges and problems getting regulatory approval for thousands of antennas needed to make it work.</p>
<p>The major railroads appear committed to making one-person crews a reality. They declared in 2004 that they wanted to negotiate a nationwide pact for one-person crews, but courts ruled each railroad had to negotiate individually with its unions.</p>
<p>The BNSF railroad tried and failed earlier this fall to get one-person crews approved by one of its unions. The proposal is getting more attention now because of BNSF’s effort and a recent string of fiery rail crashes.</p>
<p>Darch initially became concerned about how increasing train traffic was blocking her city’s four crossings. She helped form a rail-safety group after a 2009 derailment of ethanol tankers killed a woman at a crossing in nearby Cherry Valley, Illinois.</p>
<p>Normally, the conductor can uncouple cars to allow police, fire trucks and ambulances through. But if only one person is aboard, that sole crew member cannot leave the locomotive without manually setting brakes all along the train to ensure it does not roll away.</p>
<p>The Federal Railroad Administration has promised to propose a rule next year requiring at least two people to operate a train.</p>
<p>“We believe safety is greatly enhanced with the use of a multiple-person crew,” administration spokesman Kevin Thompson said.</p>
<p>However, railroad companies argue having a second person in the locomotive does not dramatically improve safety.</p>
<p>“In many cases, that second crew member will be redundant,” said Frank Wilner, who has written six books on the rail industry and previously worked for the Association of American Railroads, the federal Surface Transportation Board and one of the major rail unions.</p>
<p>If railroads can successfully implement the braking system and stop trains remotely, the advances might open the door to one day operating trains entirely by remote control or with robots. Existing remote-control systems are limited to use in rail yards.</p>
<p>The safety system clearly would add another layer of protection against accidents, said Allan Zarembski, an industry veteran who now leads the railroad engineering and safety program at the University of Delaware. But it’s not clear whether positive train control adds enough security to eliminate a crew member.</p>
<p>“It’s a question of how much of a degree of safety do you want?” Zarembski said.</p> | 599,894 |
|
<p><a href="" type="internal">Download MP3</a> (right-click)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />This week on CounterSpin: 60 Minutes joins the media crowd taking aim at disability benefits. What did they get wrong? We’ll speak with disability advocate Rebecca Vallas.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Also on CounterSpin today: One of the speakers at a recent event on the state of U.S. journalism and its relationship to democracy was investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, author of the book Blackwater and more recently, Dirty Wars, also a documentary film. We’re going to hear part of Scahill’s remarks that night.</p>
<p>LINKS:</p>
<p>–Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities: Letter to 60 Minutes ( <a href="http://www.c-c-d.org/fichiers/CCD_Letter_to_6-Minutes-Social_Security_Disability-Oct4-2013-final.pdf" type="external">10/4/13</a>)</p>
<p>— <a href="http://dirtywars.org/" type="external">Dirty Wars</a></p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p> | Rebecca Vallas on 60 Minutes & Disability, Jeremy Scahill on War on Whistleblowers | true | http://fair.org/counterspin-radio/rebecca-vallas-on-60-minutes-disability-jeremy-scahill-on-war-on-whistleblowers/ | 2013-10-11 | 4left
| Rebecca Vallas on 60 Minutes & Disability, Jeremy Scahill on War on Whistleblowers
<p><a href="" type="internal">Download MP3</a> (right-click)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />This week on CounterSpin: 60 Minutes joins the media crowd taking aim at disability benefits. What did they get wrong? We’ll speak with disability advocate Rebecca Vallas.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Also on CounterSpin today: One of the speakers at a recent event on the state of U.S. journalism and its relationship to democracy was investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, author of the book Blackwater and more recently, Dirty Wars, also a documentary film. We’re going to hear part of Scahill’s remarks that night.</p>
<p>LINKS:</p>
<p>–Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities: Letter to 60 Minutes ( <a href="http://www.c-c-d.org/fichiers/CCD_Letter_to_6-Minutes-Social_Security_Disability-Oct4-2013-final.pdf" type="external">10/4/13</a>)</p>
<p>— <a href="http://dirtywars.org/" type="external">Dirty Wars</a></p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p> | 599,895 |
<p>Investing.com – Greece stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.</p>
<p>At the close in Athens, the fell 2.07% to hit a new 6-months low.</p>
<p>The best performers of the session on the were Flexopack SA (AT:), which rose 7.84% or 0.4000 points to trade at 5.5000 at the close. Meanwhile, Select Textile (AT:) added 4.79% or 0.008 points to end at 0.175 and Creta Plastics (AT:) was up 4.35% or 0.250 points to 6.000 in late trade.</p>
<p>The worst performers of the session were Selonda Aquaculture SA (AT:), which fell 13.33% or 0.0220 points to trade at 0.1430 at the close. Marfin Invest (AT:) declined 5.68% or 0.005 points to end at 0.083 and Attica Bank SA (AT:) was down 5.66% or 0.003 points to 0.050.</p>
<p>Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Athens Stock Exchange by 84 to 24 and 10 ended unchanged.</p>
<p>Shares in Flexopack SA (AT:) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 7.84% or 0.4000 to 5.5000.</p>
<p>Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.40% or 5.05 to $1279.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.37% or 0.21 to hit $56.95 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.02% or 0.01 to trade at $63.51 a barrel.</p>
<p>EUR/USD was down 0.08% to 1.1658, while EUR/GBP rose 0.52% to 0.8888.</p>
<p>The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 94.43.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Greece stocks lower at close of trade; Athens General Composite down 2.07% | false | https://newsline.com/greece-stocks-lower-at-close-of-trade-athens-general-composite-down-2-07/ | 2017-11-13 | 1right-center
| Greece stocks lower at close of trade; Athens General Composite down 2.07%
<p>Investing.com – Greece stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.</p>
<p>At the close in Athens, the fell 2.07% to hit a new 6-months low.</p>
<p>The best performers of the session on the were Flexopack SA (AT:), which rose 7.84% or 0.4000 points to trade at 5.5000 at the close. Meanwhile, Select Textile (AT:) added 4.79% or 0.008 points to end at 0.175 and Creta Plastics (AT:) was up 4.35% or 0.250 points to 6.000 in late trade.</p>
<p>The worst performers of the session were Selonda Aquaculture SA (AT:), which fell 13.33% or 0.0220 points to trade at 0.1430 at the close. Marfin Invest (AT:) declined 5.68% or 0.005 points to end at 0.083 and Attica Bank SA (AT:) was down 5.66% or 0.003 points to 0.050.</p>
<p>Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Athens Stock Exchange by 84 to 24 and 10 ended unchanged.</p>
<p>Shares in Flexopack SA (AT:) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 7.84% or 0.4000 to 5.5000.</p>
<p>Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.40% or 5.05 to $1279.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.37% or 0.21 to hit $56.95 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 0.02% or 0.01 to trade at $63.51 a barrel.</p>
<p>EUR/USD was down 0.08% to 1.1658, while EUR/GBP rose 0.52% to 0.8888.</p>
<p>The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 94.43.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 599,896 |
<p />
<p />
<p>A man in Jacksonville, North Carolina was charged with the murder of his own mother after police discovered she was killed during a wellness check.</p>
<p />
<p>Clara Bell Kornegay, 61, was found dead at 206 Marion Ct. around 1:31 p.m. on Saturday. An investigation by police revealed the woman died from a blunt force object striking her and her car was missing as well.</p>
<p />
<p>Kornegay was last seen with her car on November 2 while an investigation by police revealed the Carteret County Sheriff's Office pulled over the car on November 3rd and the victim's son was behind the wheel. Investigators concluded the victim's 38-year-old son, Shahid Olean Kornegay, killed her and he has been charged with an open count of murder.</p>
<p />
<p>Kornegay is being held with no bond at the Carteret County Jail. Authorities ask anyone with information to contact JPD Detective Brandon Potter at <a href="tel:9109386464" type="external">910-938-6464</a> or <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Credit:</p>
<p />
<p>On Twitter:</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ErvinProduction" type="external">@ErvinProduction</a></p>
<p />
<p>Tips? Info? Send me a message!</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://wnct.com/2017/11/05/jacksonville-police-son-arrested-for-the-murder-of-his-mother/" type="external">wnct.com/2017/11/05/jacksonville-police-son-arrested-for-the-murder-of-his-mother</a></p> | Jacksonville Psycho Arrested For Killing His Own Mother | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/11255-Jacksonville-Psycho-Arrested-For-Killing-His-Own-Mother | 2017-11-06 | 0right
| Jacksonville Psycho Arrested For Killing His Own Mother
<p />
<p />
<p>A man in Jacksonville, North Carolina was charged with the murder of his own mother after police discovered she was killed during a wellness check.</p>
<p />
<p>Clara Bell Kornegay, 61, was found dead at 206 Marion Ct. around 1:31 p.m. on Saturday. An investigation by police revealed the woman died from a blunt force object striking her and her car was missing as well.</p>
<p />
<p>Kornegay was last seen with her car on November 2 while an investigation by police revealed the Carteret County Sheriff's Office pulled over the car on November 3rd and the victim's son was behind the wheel. Investigators concluded the victim's 38-year-old son, Shahid Olean Kornegay, killed her and he has been charged with an open count of murder.</p>
<p />
<p>Kornegay is being held with no bond at the Carteret County Jail. Authorities ask anyone with information to contact JPD Detective Brandon Potter at <a href="tel:9109386464" type="external">910-938-6464</a> or <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Credit:</p>
<p />
<p>On Twitter:</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ErvinProduction" type="external">@ErvinProduction</a></p>
<p />
<p>Tips? Info? Send me a message!</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://wnct.com/2017/11/05/jacksonville-police-son-arrested-for-the-murder-of-his-mother/" type="external">wnct.com/2017/11/05/jacksonville-police-son-arrested-for-the-murder-of-his-mother</a></p> | 599,897 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Monroe County sheriff’s office said deputies responded Monday night to a report of a domestic dispute at a home in Pittsford, an upscale suburb just southeast of Rochester.</p>
<p>When they arrived, deputies said, they found 19-year-old Charles Tan and his mother, Qing Tan, 46, standing in the driveway.</p>
<p>Inside, they found the body of 49-year-old Ling Tan, president and CEO of Dynamax Imaging in nearby Canandaigua.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police said the father had been shot several times with a shotgun, which was found in the garage. The elder Tan had wounds on his upper body, deputies said.</p>
<p>Charles Tan was arraigned Tuesday morning on a second-degree murder charge.</p>
<p>He is being held in the county jail without bail. A message left with his lawyer wasn’t immediately returned.</p>
<p>Police had been called to the home several times before for reports of domestic disputes, the sheriff’s office told the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester. Specific information about the calls weren’t released.</p>
<p>The young man graduated from Pittsford Mendon High School in 2013 and is enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell in Ithaca, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>According to the Ivy League school’s website, he was a member of the 2104 sprint football team, limited to players weighting 165 pounds or less.</p>
<p>Dynamax Imaging is a high-tech company specializing in the manufacturing of image sensors.</p>
<p>In March 2013, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the company was moving from its home south of Syracuse to the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Canandaigua.</p>
<p>Ling Tan had previously worked at Rochester-based Eastman Kodak Co. for 20 years, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Student charged with shooting dad | false | https://abqjournal.com/539858/student-charged-with-shooting-dad.html | 2least
| Student charged with shooting dad
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Monroe County sheriff’s office said deputies responded Monday night to a report of a domestic dispute at a home in Pittsford, an upscale suburb just southeast of Rochester.</p>
<p>When they arrived, deputies said, they found 19-year-old Charles Tan and his mother, Qing Tan, 46, standing in the driveway.</p>
<p>Inside, they found the body of 49-year-old Ling Tan, president and CEO of Dynamax Imaging in nearby Canandaigua.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police said the father had been shot several times with a shotgun, which was found in the garage. The elder Tan had wounds on his upper body, deputies said.</p>
<p>Charles Tan was arraigned Tuesday morning on a second-degree murder charge.</p>
<p>He is being held in the county jail without bail. A message left with his lawyer wasn’t immediately returned.</p>
<p>Police had been called to the home several times before for reports of domestic disputes, the sheriff’s office told the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester. Specific information about the calls weren’t released.</p>
<p>The young man graduated from Pittsford Mendon High School in 2013 and is enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell in Ithaca, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>According to the Ivy League school’s website, he was a member of the 2104 sprint football team, limited to players weighting 165 pounds or less.</p>
<p>Dynamax Imaging is a high-tech company specializing in the manufacturing of image sensors.</p>
<p>In March 2013, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the company was moving from its home south of Syracuse to the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Canandaigua.</p>
<p>Ling Tan had previously worked at Rochester-based Eastman Kodak Co. for 20 years, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,898 |
|
<p>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It likely was Lamar Jackson's farewell performance.</p>
<p>It definitely was Keytaon Thompson's coming-out party.</p>
<p>Thompson, a highly touted freshman making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 24 Mississippi State beat Jackson and Louisville 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday.</p>
<p>"He was phenomenal," Bulldogs interim coach Greg Knox said.</p>
<p>Thompson completed 11 of 20 passes for 127 yards, with an interception. He was more effective as a runner, carrying on 27 of the team's 55 running plays.</p>
<p>"We knew that's what he did best," Knox said. "If you go back and look at Mississippi State over the year, when Nick Fitzgerald ran the ball for a hundred yards, we were winning games. So we knew he had to run the ball today.</p>
<p>"We didn't care if he was a freshman. We didn't care if he was starting his first game. We knew we could scheme some things up for him to run the ball, and he could have success."</p>
<p>Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs (9-4) ahead for good.</p>
<p>Jackson had the Cardinals (8-5) on the move late, but safety <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947209932457283586" type="external">Mark McLaurin intercepted his third pass</a> of the game. Jackson got another chance in the waning seconds following a failed, fourth-down conversation. But his <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947218191234879488" type="external">desperation heave</a> was batted away in the end zone.</p>
<p>That set off a wild and tearful celebration for Mississippi State, which stuck together despite losing coach Dan Mullen and a number of assistants to Florida. Knox got doused on the sideline. Players ripped off jerseys in 50-degree temperatures and danced in the end zone.</p>
<p>"The last three, four weeks we've been together, it's been a tough time for everyone," Knox said. "A lot of emotions. ... I think that's what you saw on the field. It was a chance for everyone to just breathe a sigh of relief and say, 'Thank you God for this win.'"</p>
<p>Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, had different emotions after probably ending his college career with a loss. Jackson has yet to declare for the NFL draft, but most outsiders believe the dynamic junior will turn pro.</p>
<p>"I got to sit down with my coach and my family," he said.</p>
<p>If he is leaving, he went out setting records.</p>
<p>Jackson ran 24 times for 158 yards and a touchdown, breaking the TaxSlayer Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. West Virginia's Pat White set the previous mark with 145 yards in 2007. He also broke his own school records for rushing yards and yards from scrimmage.</p>
<p>He had the longest run of his career, a 75-yarder late in the second quarter, and a 13-yard TD scamper earlier in the game in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/947171673786200069" type="external">split two defenders and made another look silly</a> . He also had a flip pass to Jaylen Smith for a score.</p>
<p>But his interceptions overshadowed his improvisations.</p>
<p>Jackson completed 13 of 31 passes for 171 yards, with two touchdowns, four picks and six sacks. He threw just six interceptions in the regular season.</p>
<p>Still, he became the third player in Football Bowl Subdivision history with at least 50 touchdown passes and 50 touchdown runs, joining Florida's Tim Tebow and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.</p>
<p>"I'd love to see him come back, there's no question about that," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "He really needs to understand where his draft status is, what the finances are that go with that. Him and his mom, we'll get people around him to help him make the decision.</p>
<p>"But they just need to make an educated business decision."</p>
<p>TAKEAWAY</p>
<p>Louisville: Jackson has to become a more accurate passer to make it in the NFL. He had way too many errant throws, including on two of his interceptions.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: New coach Joe Moorhead will have a chance to win games early thanks to what Mullen built in Starkville.</p>
<p>RARE FEAT</p>
<p>It was the fourth time in the FBC this season that both starting quarterbacks topped 100 yards rushing.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Louisville: Freshman Jawon Pass is the obvious choice to replace Jackson. If so, he will be thrown into the fire right away because the Cardinals open next season against perennial power Alabama in Orlando on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Moorhead inherits an experienced defense and an offense expected to return a number of starters, including Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams. The Bulldogs open next season against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It likely was Lamar Jackson's farewell performance.</p>
<p>It definitely was Keytaon Thompson's coming-out party.</p>
<p>Thompson, a highly touted freshman making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 24 Mississippi State beat Jackson and Louisville 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday.</p>
<p>"He was phenomenal," Bulldogs interim coach Greg Knox said.</p>
<p>Thompson completed 11 of 20 passes for 127 yards, with an interception. He was more effective as a runner, carrying on 27 of the team's 55 running plays.</p>
<p>"We knew that's what he did best," Knox said. "If you go back and look at Mississippi State over the year, when Nick Fitzgerald ran the ball for a hundred yards, we were winning games. So we knew he had to run the ball today.</p>
<p>"We didn't care if he was a freshman. We didn't care if he was starting his first game. We knew we could scheme some things up for him to run the ball, and he could have success."</p>
<p>Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs (9-4) ahead for good.</p>
<p>Jackson had the Cardinals (8-5) on the move late, but safety <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947209932457283586" type="external">Mark McLaurin intercepted his third pass</a> of the game. Jackson got another chance in the waning seconds following a failed, fourth-down conversation. But his <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947218191234879488" type="external">desperation heave</a> was batted away in the end zone.</p>
<p>That set off a wild and tearful celebration for Mississippi State, which stuck together despite losing coach Dan Mullen and a number of assistants to Florida. Knox got doused on the sideline. Players ripped off jerseys in 50-degree temperatures and danced in the end zone.</p>
<p>"The last three, four weeks we've been together, it's been a tough time for everyone," Knox said. "A lot of emotions. ... I think that's what you saw on the field. It was a chance for everyone to just breathe a sigh of relief and say, 'Thank you God for this win.'"</p>
<p>Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, had different emotions after probably ending his college career with a loss. Jackson has yet to declare for the NFL draft, but most outsiders believe the dynamic junior will turn pro.</p>
<p>"I got to sit down with my coach and my family," he said.</p>
<p>If he is leaving, he went out setting records.</p>
<p>Jackson ran 24 times for 158 yards and a touchdown, breaking the TaxSlayer Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. West Virginia's Pat White set the previous mark with 145 yards in 2007. He also broke his own school records for rushing yards and yards from scrimmage.</p>
<p>He had the longest run of his career, a 75-yarder late in the second quarter, and a 13-yard TD scamper earlier in the game in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/947171673786200069" type="external">split two defenders and made another look silly</a> . He also had a flip pass to Jaylen Smith for a score.</p>
<p>But his interceptions overshadowed his improvisations.</p>
<p>Jackson completed 13 of 31 passes for 171 yards, with two touchdowns, four picks and six sacks. He threw just six interceptions in the regular season.</p>
<p>Still, he became the third player in Football Bowl Subdivision history with at least 50 touchdown passes and 50 touchdown runs, joining Florida's Tim Tebow and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.</p>
<p>"I'd love to see him come back, there's no question about that," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "He really needs to understand where his draft status is, what the finances are that go with that. Him and his mom, we'll get people around him to help him make the decision.</p>
<p>"But they just need to make an educated business decision."</p>
<p>TAKEAWAY</p>
<p>Louisville: Jackson has to become a more accurate passer to make it in the NFL. He had way too many errant throws, including on two of his interceptions.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: New coach Joe Moorhead will have a chance to win games early thanks to what Mullen built in Starkville.</p>
<p>RARE FEAT</p>
<p>It was the fourth time in the FBC this season that both starting quarterbacks topped 100 yards rushing.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Louisville: Freshman Jawon Pass is the obvious choice to replace Jackson. If so, he will be thrown into the fire right away because the Cardinals open next season against perennial power Alabama in Orlando on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Moorhead inherits an experienced defense and an offense expected to return a number of starters, including Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams. The Bulldogs open next season against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p> | Thompson carries Miss State to 31-27 victory in TaxSlayer | false | https://apnews.com/amp/1bfb6e6de27d4b51a2d0d5502cdcea84 | 2017-12-30 | 2least
| Thompson carries Miss State to 31-27 victory in TaxSlayer
<p>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It likely was Lamar Jackson's farewell performance.</p>
<p>It definitely was Keytaon Thompson's coming-out party.</p>
<p>Thompson, a highly touted freshman making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 24 Mississippi State beat Jackson and Louisville 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday.</p>
<p>"He was phenomenal," Bulldogs interim coach Greg Knox said.</p>
<p>Thompson completed 11 of 20 passes for 127 yards, with an interception. He was more effective as a runner, carrying on 27 of the team's 55 running plays.</p>
<p>"We knew that's what he did best," Knox said. "If you go back and look at Mississippi State over the year, when Nick Fitzgerald ran the ball for a hundred yards, we were winning games. So we knew he had to run the ball today.</p>
<p>"We didn't care if he was a freshman. We didn't care if he was starting his first game. We knew we could scheme some things up for him to run the ball, and he could have success."</p>
<p>Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs (9-4) ahead for good.</p>
<p>Jackson had the Cardinals (8-5) on the move late, but safety <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947209932457283586" type="external">Mark McLaurin intercepted his third pass</a> of the game. Jackson got another chance in the waning seconds following a failed, fourth-down conversation. But his <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947218191234879488" type="external">desperation heave</a> was batted away in the end zone.</p>
<p>That set off a wild and tearful celebration for Mississippi State, which stuck together despite losing coach Dan Mullen and a number of assistants to Florida. Knox got doused on the sideline. Players ripped off jerseys in 50-degree temperatures and danced in the end zone.</p>
<p>"The last three, four weeks we've been together, it's been a tough time for everyone," Knox said. "A lot of emotions. ... I think that's what you saw on the field. It was a chance for everyone to just breathe a sigh of relief and say, 'Thank you God for this win.'"</p>
<p>Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, had different emotions after probably ending his college career with a loss. Jackson has yet to declare for the NFL draft, but most outsiders believe the dynamic junior will turn pro.</p>
<p>"I got to sit down with my coach and my family," he said.</p>
<p>If he is leaving, he went out setting records.</p>
<p>Jackson ran 24 times for 158 yards and a touchdown, breaking the TaxSlayer Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. West Virginia's Pat White set the previous mark with 145 yards in 2007. He also broke his own school records for rushing yards and yards from scrimmage.</p>
<p>He had the longest run of his career, a 75-yarder late in the second quarter, and a 13-yard TD scamper earlier in the game in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/947171673786200069" type="external">split two defenders and made another look silly</a> . He also had a flip pass to Jaylen Smith for a score.</p>
<p>But his interceptions overshadowed his improvisations.</p>
<p>Jackson completed 13 of 31 passes for 171 yards, with two touchdowns, four picks and six sacks. He threw just six interceptions in the regular season.</p>
<p>Still, he became the third player in Football Bowl Subdivision history with at least 50 touchdown passes and 50 touchdown runs, joining Florida's Tim Tebow and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.</p>
<p>"I'd love to see him come back, there's no question about that," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "He really needs to understand where his draft status is, what the finances are that go with that. Him and his mom, we'll get people around him to help him make the decision.</p>
<p>"But they just need to make an educated business decision."</p>
<p>TAKEAWAY</p>
<p>Louisville: Jackson has to become a more accurate passer to make it in the NFL. He had way too many errant throws, including on two of his interceptions.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: New coach Joe Moorhead will have a chance to win games early thanks to what Mullen built in Starkville.</p>
<p>RARE FEAT</p>
<p>It was the fourth time in the FBC this season that both starting quarterbacks topped 100 yards rushing.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Louisville: Freshman Jawon Pass is the obvious choice to replace Jackson. If so, he will be thrown into the fire right away because the Cardinals open next season against perennial power Alabama in Orlando on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Moorhead inherits an experienced defense and an offense expected to return a number of starters, including Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams. The Bulldogs open next season against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It likely was Lamar Jackson's farewell performance.</p>
<p>It definitely was Keytaon Thompson's coming-out party.</p>
<p>Thompson, a highly touted freshman making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 24 Mississippi State beat Jackson and Louisville 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday.</p>
<p>"He was phenomenal," Bulldogs interim coach Greg Knox said.</p>
<p>Thompson completed 11 of 20 passes for 127 yards, with an interception. He was more effective as a runner, carrying on 27 of the team's 55 running plays.</p>
<p>"We knew that's what he did best," Knox said. "If you go back and look at Mississippi State over the year, when Nick Fitzgerald ran the ball for a hundred yards, we were winning games. So we knew he had to run the ball today.</p>
<p>"We didn't care if he was a freshman. We didn't care if he was starting his first game. We knew we could scheme some things up for him to run the ball, and he could have success."</p>
<p>Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs (9-4) ahead for good.</p>
<p>Jackson had the Cardinals (8-5) on the move late, but safety <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947209932457283586" type="external">Mark McLaurin intercepted his third pass</a> of the game. Jackson got another chance in the waning seconds following a failed, fourth-down conversation. But his <a href="https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/947218191234879488" type="external">desperation heave</a> was batted away in the end zone.</p>
<p>That set off a wild and tearful celebration for Mississippi State, which stuck together despite losing coach Dan Mullen and a number of assistants to Florida. Knox got doused on the sideline. Players ripped off jerseys in 50-degree temperatures and danced in the end zone.</p>
<p>"The last three, four weeks we've been together, it's been a tough time for everyone," Knox said. "A lot of emotions. ... I think that's what you saw on the field. It was a chance for everyone to just breathe a sigh of relief and say, 'Thank you God for this win.'"</p>
<p>Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, had different emotions after probably ending his college career with a loss. Jackson has yet to declare for the NFL draft, but most outsiders believe the dynamic junior will turn pro.</p>
<p>"I got to sit down with my coach and my family," he said.</p>
<p>If he is leaving, he went out setting records.</p>
<p>Jackson ran 24 times for 158 yards and a touchdown, breaking the TaxSlayer Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. West Virginia's Pat White set the previous mark with 145 yards in 2007. He also broke his own school records for rushing yards and yards from scrimmage.</p>
<p>He had the longest run of his career, a 75-yarder late in the second quarter, and a 13-yard TD scamper earlier in the game in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/947171673786200069" type="external">split two defenders and made another look silly</a> . He also had a flip pass to Jaylen Smith for a score.</p>
<p>But his interceptions overshadowed his improvisations.</p>
<p>Jackson completed 13 of 31 passes for 171 yards, with two touchdowns, four picks and six sacks. He threw just six interceptions in the regular season.</p>
<p>Still, he became the third player in Football Bowl Subdivision history with at least 50 touchdown passes and 50 touchdown runs, joining Florida's Tim Tebow and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.</p>
<p>"I'd love to see him come back, there's no question about that," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "He really needs to understand where his draft status is, what the finances are that go with that. Him and his mom, we'll get people around him to help him make the decision.</p>
<p>"But they just need to make an educated business decision."</p>
<p>TAKEAWAY</p>
<p>Louisville: Jackson has to become a more accurate passer to make it in the NFL. He had way too many errant throws, including on two of his interceptions.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: New coach Joe Moorhead will have a chance to win games early thanks to what Mullen built in Starkville.</p>
<p>RARE FEAT</p>
<p>It was the fourth time in the FBC this season that both starting quarterbacks topped 100 yards rushing.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Louisville: Freshman Jawon Pass is the obvious choice to replace Jackson. If so, he will be thrown into the fire right away because the Cardinals open next season against perennial power Alabama in Orlando on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Moorhead inherits an experienced defense and an offense expected to return a number of starters, including Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams. The Bulldogs open next season against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p> | 599,899 |
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