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<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />This week on CounterSpin: Are banks that are too big to fail, and too big to jail, too big to surveil? You’d get that impression from corporate media’s subdued reaction to the Justice Department announcement that five&#160;major banks would plead guilty to felony charges, including price-rigging. Some major papers spilled some ink, but most went with a wire piece emphasizing the $5 billion the banks will supposedly “fork over” for what the DoJ termed “brazen” criminality, and called it a day. Are media reacting to a not-especially-meaningful ruling, or are they dangerously indifferent to questions of criminal banks? We’ll hear from Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate at the group Public Citizen, and former chief of investigations for the US Senate Banking Committee.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Also on the show: The whistleblower is on the front line of the conflict between powerful institutions’ desire to keep secrets and democracy’s requirement that people be well-informed, especially of actions taken in their name. Protecting whistleblowers from persecution is one driving idea behind the international Stand Up for Truth tour slated for early June. One of the participants is retired FBI agent-turned-political activist Coleen Rowley. We’ll talk with her about that.</p>
<p>And first, as usual, we’ll take a look back at the week’s press, including an undercovered story about the NBA and police violence.</p>
<p>LINKS:</p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p> | Bartlett Naylor on Bank Crimes, Coleen Rowley on Whistleblowers | true | http://fair.org/home/bartlett-naylor-on-bank-crimes-coleen-rowley-on-whistleblowers/ | 2015-05-29 | 4 |
<p>There were a number of takeaways from Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/02/apple-incs-growth-accelerates-in-a-blowout-quarter.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">record fourth quarter Opens a New Window.</a>. For instance, revenue and earnings per share both increased by double digits, and revenue for the iPhone, Mac, iPad, services, and other products segments all up year over year. Some segments were up <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/03/i-was-wrong-about-apple-inc-earnings.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">more than 30% Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>But a single metric from the quarter arguably stole the show: $85.5 billion, the midpoint of Apple's guidance range for its first-quarter revenue. Despite reports of iPhone X production woes, management expects a monster holiday quarter.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For its first fiscal quarter of 2018, which corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of the year and the holiday season, Apple said it expects revenue to be between $84 billion and $87 billion.</p>
<p>The midpoint of this guidance range, $85.5 billion, represents a strong 7.1% year-over-year increase compared to the year-ago quarter. Put another way, it's more than $7 billion higher than the $78.4 billion of record revenue Apple garnered last holiday season.</p>
<p>Going into the fourth-quarter earnings release, there were concerns about whether guidance for the holiday quarter could live up to expectations. Not only were there&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/25/why-iphone-x-is-apple-investors-worst-nightmare-co.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">daily reports of production constraints Opens a New Window.</a> for the new iPhone X, but Apple's later launch date for the new iPhone compared to normal (the beginning of November versus late September) confirmed that production was running behind compared to previous iPhone launches.</p>
<p>With less than two months for Apple to get the iPhone X into the hands of consumers during the holiday quarter -- one month less than usual -- some investors were worried it simply wouldn't be able to ship as many iPhones as usual. But despite the iPhone X's later launch, the company's guidance for total revenue of about $85.5 billion suggests it expects year-over-year growth in iPhone revenue during the quarter; since the iPhone accounts for over half of Apple's total revenue, management's guidance for the trajectory of overall revenue implies it expects a similar trajectory for the iPhone.</p>
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<p>But can investors trust this bullish outlook from management for the first quarter? Absolutely. In fact, when taking into consideration how conservative its guidance has proved to be in the past, the company's monstrous guidance begins to look even better.</p>
<p>Apple's revenue has exceeded the midpoint of its guidance range for six quarters in a row, highlighting management's tendency to provide a conservative outlook. Even more, actual revenue has exceeded the midpoint of its guidance range by an average of 2.2% for the last four quarters.</p>
<p>If Apple's revenue in its first fiscal quarter of 2018 proves to be 2.2% higher than the midpoint of its guidance range, this would be about $87.4 billion, up an impressive $9 billion from the revenue in the first fiscal quarter of 2017.</p>
<p>Considering both Apple's first-quarter guidance range and management's typically conservative outlook, the iPhone maker looks poised to obliterate its previous quarterly revenue record of $78.4 billion.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than AppleWhen 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=a73333f3-bd49-49ce-933a-2b7a71d6f840&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Apple 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=a73333f3-bd49-49ce-933a-2b7a71d6f840&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&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 October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDanielSparks/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Daniel Sparks Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=2a0a587a-c0bd-11e7-8ec6-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Apple, Inc. Expects a Massive Holiday Quarter | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/03/apple-inc-expects-massive-holiday-quarter.html | 2017-11-03 | 0 |
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are asking for help finding two suspects in two separate Kansas City killings.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kmbc.com/article/kcpd-seeks-2-men-after-arrest-warrants-issued-in-2-homicides/14513020" type="external">KMBC-TV</a> reports that prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for Malik Chapple and Deric Canady. Both men are 21.</p>
<p>Chapple is charged with second-degree murder, robbery, child endangerment and two counts of armed criminal action in the death of 25-year-old Travis Mills. Court records say Mills had bought $750 of marijuana in Colorado and decided to sell it to Chapple earlier this month in an apartment parking lot. Chapple is accused of bringing a toddler to the drug deal and shooting Mills after a struggle.</p>
<p>Authorities said Canady is wanted in the November 2016 shooting death of Greican Davidson. Canady is charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: KMBC-TV, <a href="http://www.kmbc.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.kmbc.com" type="external">http://www.kmbc.com</a></p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are asking for help finding two suspects in two separate Kansas City killings.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kmbc.com/article/kcpd-seeks-2-men-after-arrest-warrants-issued-in-2-homicides/14513020" type="external">KMBC-TV</a> reports that prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for Malik Chapple and Deric Canady. Both men are 21.</p>
<p>Chapple is charged with second-degree murder, robbery, child endangerment and two counts of armed criminal action in the death of 25-year-old Travis Mills. Court records say Mills had bought $750 of marijuana in Colorado and decided to sell it to Chapple earlier this month in an apartment parking lot. Chapple is accused of bringing a toddler to the drug deal and shooting Mills after a struggle.</p>
<p>Authorities said Canady is wanted in the November 2016 shooting death of Greican Davidson. Canady is charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: KMBC-TV, <a href="http://www.kmbc.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.kmbc.com" type="external">http://www.kmbc.com</a></p> | Police look for suspects in 2 separate Kansas City killings | false | https://apnews.com/c4cdf98ebdcb4ba6a73c6a82d1dcbb02 | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri's Board of Curators upheld its decision to fire an assistant professor whose run-ins with student journalists and the police during race-related protests last fall drew widespread attention, the university system said Tuesday.</p>
<p>The board found that Melissa Click's appeal "brought no new relevant information," the university system said in a statement. The curators unanimously reached the decision Monday during a closed session. A spokesman for the curators, John Fougere, said Click stopped being paid Tuesday.</p>
<p>"We consider this matter now closed and are moving forward as a university and as a community," the statement said, adding that it believes that Click was "treated fairly throughout this matter."</p>
<p>Click, whose February firing came a month after she was suspended, issued a statement vowing to "continue to fight" the curators, saying their actions "violate university policy and set a dangerous precedent." The American Association of University Professors has backed Click and said it was investigating the process leading to her firing.</p>
<p>More than 100 state lawmakers, mostly Republican, had called for her removal. Click, 45, said her actions should be viewed "within the context of the volatile situations" she encountered.</p>
<p>In voicing support for Click's firing, top university administrators cited her run-ins with police during October protests in Columbia and with two student journalists weeks later on the Columbia campus, including a videotaped confrontation in which she called for "some muscle" to remove a student videographer from the protest area.</p>
<p>In October, Click was recorded telling police to get their hands off students during a protest, then hugging the students and cursing at an officer who grabbed her.</p>
<p>The protests, spurred by what activists said was administrators' indifference to racial issues on campus, led to the resignations of the president of the four-campus university system and the chancellor of its flagship campus in Columbia. Their resignations came after members of Missouri's football team threw their support behind the protesters and threatened not to play unless the situation was resolved.</p>
<p>Click said the curators' decision "appears to be designed to discourage future activism," but that she hopes the university "will continue to advocate for fair treatment of all students, staff, and faculty."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Heather Hollingsworth on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/apheatherh" type="external">https://twitter.com/apheatherh</a></p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri's Board of Curators upheld its decision to fire an assistant professor whose run-ins with student journalists and the police during race-related protests last fall drew widespread attention, the university system said Tuesday.</p>
<p>The board found that Melissa Click's appeal "brought no new relevant information," the university system said in a statement. The curators unanimously reached the decision Monday during a closed session. A spokesman for the curators, John Fougere, said Click stopped being paid Tuesday.</p>
<p>"We consider this matter now closed and are moving forward as a university and as a community," the statement said, adding that it believes that Click was "treated fairly throughout this matter."</p>
<p>Click, whose February firing came a month after she was suspended, issued a statement vowing to "continue to fight" the curators, saying their actions "violate university policy and set a dangerous precedent." The American Association of University Professors has backed Click and said it was investigating the process leading to her firing.</p>
<p>More than 100 state lawmakers, mostly Republican, had called for her removal. Click, 45, said her actions should be viewed "within the context of the volatile situations" she encountered.</p>
<p>In voicing support for Click's firing, top university administrators cited her run-ins with police during October protests in Columbia and with two student journalists weeks later on the Columbia campus, including a videotaped confrontation in which she called for "some muscle" to remove a student videographer from the protest area.</p>
<p>In October, Click was recorded telling police to get their hands off students during a protest, then hugging the students and cursing at an officer who grabbed her.</p>
<p>The protests, spurred by what activists said was administrators' indifference to racial issues on campus, led to the resignations of the president of the four-campus university system and the chancellor of its flagship campus in Columbia. Their resignations came after members of Missouri's football team threw their support behind the protesters and threatened not to play unless the situation was resolved.</p>
<p>Click said the curators' decision "appears to be designed to discourage future activism," but that she hopes the university "will continue to advocate for fair treatment of all students, staff, and faculty."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Heather Hollingsworth on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/apheatherh" type="external">https://twitter.com/apheatherh</a></p> | Board upholds firing of Missouri professor who protested | false | https://apnews.com/amp/0cd0d110cfad4e9e8d74728897fd86bc | 2016-03-15 | 2 |
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<p>Illinois <a href="http://week.com/morenews/morenews-read.asp?id=3314" type="external">this week</a> became the 14th state to ban Toughman fights. During the last 17 months, four fighters have died after suffering injuries in Toughman bouts around the country.</p>
<p>In Texas, where the fights looked like they would survive a big political battle, the state has not banned them, but it has&#160;made them practically impossible to continue. <a href="http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/011304dntswtoughman.d65a17e.html" type="external">The Dallas Morning News said:</a></p>
<p>The amateur boxing elimination matches known as Toughman Contests, which came close to being outlawed in Texas last year, have been driven from the state by new regulations.</p>
<p>Promoter Art Dore said Monday that he has canceled Toughman events scheduled for this year in six Texas cities, including Fort Worth. The reason, Mr. Dore said, is a change in state law that requires participants to sign up 30 days before fighting.</p>
<p>"It's almost impossible to do," Mr. Dore said. "These guys [contestants] won't get ready 30 days in advance."</p>
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<p>Even Dore's home state of Michigan has imposed tough new restrictions on Toughman. <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-9/107400907684100.xml" type="external">The Saginaw News reported:</a></p>
<p>Michigan officials had issued a cease-and-desist order to stop Toughman events unless Dore could provide unlimited health insurance for his fighters. Facing a court battle with the state, Dore agreed to insure each of his fighters for $2 million -- and a previous ruling requires that Dore get rid of a section of his pre-fight waivers that asks that fighters pledge never to make any insurance claims.</p>
<p>The agreement kept Toughman critics in the Legislature from banning the events entirely, said state Rep. John Stewart, a Plymouth Republican who called the fights "repulsive."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E1876955,00.html" type="external">Colorado is considering</a> a ban, and&#160; <a href="http://www.columbian.com/12242003/clark_co/102743.html" type="external">Washington state has legislation pending to ban the fights</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-tough15.html" type="external">The Chicago Sun-Times says:</a></p>
<p>Illinois officials Wednesday delivered a KO to Toughman competitions in Illinois, issuing emergency rules closing loopholes in state law allowing a promoter to stage amateur fighting events here.</p>
<p>At least eight people have died in <a href="http://www.toughmancontest.com/" type="external">Toughman events sponsored by Michigan-based promoter Art Dore</a> -- the latest a 30-year-old woman named Stacy Young, who signed up on the spur of the moment and died of brain injuries after a bout last June in Florida.</p>
<p>Several <a href="http://www.toughmancontest.com/" type="external">Toughman fights</a> are set for this weekend around the country, in Washington, Ohio, <a href="http://www.wvtoughman.com/" type="external">West Virginia</a>, and Kentucky. (See newsletter section of the Toughman page.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/26/Tampabay/Toughman_death_prompt.shtml" type="external">Last year</a>, the <a href="http://www.acsm.org/index.asp" type="external">American College of Sports Medicine</a> urged lawmakers to demand better safety standards for the no-holds-barred events or ban them completely. <a href="http://www.acsm.org/publications/newsreleases2003/toughmantwo072503.htm" type="external">(See their statement.)</a></p>
<p>Here's an in-depth <a href="http://www.jameshoyer.com/news_wsj_toughman.html" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a> story on Toughman.</p>
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<p>Hospitals Violating Medical Resident Work Rules</p>
<p>Last February, I told you about <a href="http://12.31.13.115/HealthNews/reuters/NewsStory0219200319.htm" type="external">new rules</a> that were going into place that restrict how many hours medical residents can work a week. (I also did a story on this issue <a href="" type="internal">back in 2001</a>.)</p>
<p>Now that it has been 6 months since the rules took hold, Al's Morning Meeting reader Jason Straziuso at AP discovered that some hospitals force residents to violate that rule and lie about how many hours they work.</p>
<p><a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&amp;cid=541&amp;ncid=751&amp;e=3&amp;u=/ap/20040112/ap_on_he_me/doctors_hours" type="external">His story says:</a></p>
<p>Justin Wood, a spokesman for the union Committee for Residents and Interns, said a common story he hears is residents are told "more or less explicitly" to falsify time sheets.</p>
<p>Sometimes residents, particularly those in difficult specialties, work long hours by choice.</p>
<p>"The kind of people who are attracted to surgery ... want to stay. It's hard to push people out the door sometimes," said Dr. Larry Kaiser, the surgery department chair at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>A resident in Philadelphia, who asked not to be identified for fear of the retaliation, said she worked a 34-hour shift last week because she didn't want to dump work on her colleagues.</p>
<p>Dr. Lauren Oshman, president of the American Medical Student Association, said there are too many disincentives for reporting violations: no whistle-blower protection, resentment from peers, and the risk of getting one's own program disaccredited.</p>
<p>Still, the overall atmosphere is very different from when residents regularly worked 120 hours and studies showed sleep deprivation was leading to mistakes. A death in New York in 1984 caused in part by weary residents led to stricter laws there.</p>
<p>Jason says he found <a href="http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?s=8b5748516371ea7d4350530dc02c313f&amp;forumid=49" type="external">websites like this one</a>, for medical residents, helpful in learning about the conditions under which residents work.</p>
<p>As Jason said in his note to Al's Morning Meeting, "It's an easy, high-impact story to localize, although it's a complex issue. If there is something shady going on, though, it's going to take a little more digging than just getting on the phone with the hospital spokesman."</p>
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<p>Understanding Iowa Caucuses</p>
<p>Gary Price at <a href="http://www.resourceshelf.com/" type="external">Resourceshelf</a> collected some sites for you that will help you and your public understand the sometimes-confusing Iowa system.</p>
<p>Iowa Democrats Ask Media to Delay ReportingHere's a <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/01/14/politics1827EST0818.DTL&amp;type=printable" type="external">story from AP</a> via SF Gate.</p>
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<p>Who Gives?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/index.asp" type="external">Look up donors in your town,</a> by name, by zip code, by city, or by state. <a href="http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=116" type="external">The Center for Responsive Politics</a>, which operates that wonderful website <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/" type="external">opensecrets.org</a>, reports:</p>
<p>The average American does not spend his or her money on political campaigns. In fact, just one-third of one percent of U.S. adults give political contributions totaling more than $200 in federal elections. But the top fund-raisers for the 2004 presidential campaigns are anything but average.</p>
<p>In addition to raising millions for presidential hopefuls, these fund-raisers also contribute substantial amounts of their own money to federal campaigns.</p>
<p>The 350 individuals and couples identified as of today by the Bush campaign as Pioneers and Rangers -- those who have raised at least $100,000 and $200,000, respectively -- have personally <a href="http://www.capitaleye.org/PRchart.1.14.04.asp" type="external">given close to $40 million</a> (see their names), or an average of $113,000, to federal candidates, leadership PACs, and party committees since 1999. The 32 individuals and couples identified by John Kerry's presidential campaign as having raised more than $100,000 have given close to $4 million, or $123,000 apiece, over the same period.</p>
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<p>&#160;Military Suicides, Stress in Iraq</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/15/politics/15SUIC.html?ex=1074747600&amp;amp;en=6a0318db39deede8&amp;amp;ei=5062&amp;amp;partner=GOOGLE" type="external">The New York Times reported</a>:</p>
<p>The top health official in the Pentagon said there were at least 21 suicides last year among troops serving in Iraq.</p>
<p>The official, Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said 18 of the deaths were Army soldiers. He said the rate was a slight increase over past years.</p>
<p>Dr. Winkenwerder said the figures reflected a suicide rate for soldiers in Iraq of about 13.5 per 100,000. In 2001, the overall suicide rate in the United States was about 11 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&amp;storyID=4128021" type="external">Reuters said</a> that up to 400 troops have been evacuated from Iraq for "stress-related problems."</p>
<p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040114_1573.html" type="external">AP reported:</a></p>
<p>Suicide has become such a pressing issue that the Army sent an assessment team to Iraq late last year to see if anything more could be done to prevent troops from killing themselves. The Army also began offering more counseling to returning troops after several soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives and themselves after returning home from the war.</p>
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<p>The military has nine combat stress teams in Iraq to help treat troops' mental health problems, and each division has a psychiatrist, psychologist and social worker, Winkenwerder said. Of more than 10,000 troops medically evacuated from Iraq, between 300 and 400 were sent outside the country for treatment of mental health problems, he said.</p>
<p>The military prefers to treat mental health problems such as depression by keeping troops in their regular duties while they get counseling and possibly medication, Winkenwerder said. Less than one percent of the troops in Iraq are treated for mental issues during an average week, he said.</p>
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<p>&#160;Yahoo News Search</p>
<p><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/news" type="external">It is still in beta testing. Try it</a>. It searches something like 7,000 sources.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1024-5141328.html" type="external">C/net reported</a>:</p>
<p>Yahoo on Wednesday said it will drop search partner Google during the first quarter of 2004 in favor of its own technology, opening a new phase in the battle for Web search dominance. The announcement from Yahoo CEO Terry Semel marks the first time the company has publicly disclosed a specific timeline for replacing Google, a move that has been widely expected since Yahoo announced plans to acquire search provider Inktomi for $235 million in December 2002. Inktomi has developed so-called algorithmic search technology similar to Google's that indexes Web pages and ranks them based on search terms.</p>
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<p>We are always looking for your great ideas. <a href="" type="internal">Send Al</a> a few sentences and hot links.</p>
<p /> | Friday Edition: Toughman Fight | false | https://poynter.org/news/friday-edition-toughman-fight | 2004-01-15 | 2 |
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the New Mexico Lottery's "Roadrunner Cash" game were:</p>
<p>01-04-12-28-29</p>
<p>(one, four, twelve, twenty-eight, twenty-nine)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $25,000</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the New Mexico Lottery's "Roadrunner Cash" game were:</p>
<p>01-04-12-28-29</p>
<p>(one, four, twelve, twenty-eight, twenty-nine)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $25,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Roadrunner Cash' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/554ff8b62e5c4612bdbd1fc09d704e3c | 2018-01-13 | 2 |
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<p>Silicon Valley electric-car start-up Lucid Motors said it has entered a "strategic supply agreement" with South Korean giant LG Chem (NASDAQOTH: LGCLF) for lithium-ion battery cells for Lucid's upcoming electric luxury sedan, the Air.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The news was something of a surprise, as it follows an announcement earlier this month of a similar deal between Lucid and LG Chem's huge rival, the Samsung SDI unit of Samsung Electronics (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF). But if anything, it's one more reason investors interested in electric cars should be watching Lucid's effort closely.</p>
<p>Lucid Motors hopes to begin production of its first car, the Air luxury sedan, by the end of 2018. Image source: Lucid Motors.</p>
<p>In a statement, Lucid said the new agreement "establishes LG Chem as one of the key suppliers of cells for Lucid's products" (emphasis added). The cylindrical battery cells LG Chem will produce for Lucid use a "proprietary chemistry" developed jointly by the two companies.</p>
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<p>Lucid's statement directly acknowledged the existing relationship with Samsung SDI:</p>
<p>So, what's going on here?</p>
<p>In one sense, it's not surprising that Lucid would seek a deal with LG Chem, which is already an established player in the still-new market for lithium-ion cells for automotive applications. Most notably, it supplies the cells (and some other parts) for General Motors' (NYSE: GM) <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/02/12/general-motors-electric-chevy-bolt-will-zap-tesla.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Chevrolet Bolt EV Opens a New Window.</a>, and it has been aggressively building production capacity and seeking other clients around the world. (The Bolt's cells use a different proprietary chemistry owned by GM.)</p>
<p>Of course, we could make a similar case for Samsung SDI. Samsung, which has made lithium-ion cells for consumer applications for years, ramped up its electric-car efforts when it acquired an automotive battery-pack business from Magna International in 2015. That was one of several moves it has made over the last couple of years in an effort to build a sizable business as a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/14/why-samsung-electronics-is-betting-8-billion-on-th.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">top-tier auto-industry supplier Opens a New Window.</a>. Samsung SDI now supplies batteries for BMW's "i" vehicles and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' electric Fiat 500e.</p>
<p>Simply put, both Korean companies are established heavyweights jockeying for position as electric vehicles become more commonplace. Meanwhile, aside from a few hand-built prototypes, Lucid has yet to build a single car -- but it has managed to get deals with both to supply batteries for its future products.</p>
<p>The answer to the "how" may be found in Lucid's history. The company now known as Lucid Motors was originally called Atieva, and it was originally founded in 2007 to develop advanced battery packs for electric vehicles. In its initial incarnation, Ateiva reportedly did electric-vehicle design and engineering work for GM, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA), and Audi, and it also did some work on battery packs for electric buses in China.</p>
<p>Ateiva's direction changed in 2014 after a big fundraising round intended to jump-start its development of a line of electric cars (and its name changed in October). But the company retains deep expertise in batteries and battery packs for electric cars -- and possibly, as its statement about the LG Chem deal hints, for other applications as well. That's probably why both Samsung SDI and LG Chem were willing to make deals.</p>
<p>As for why, Lucid hasn't quite spelled it out. But there are many Tesla veterans on Lucid's team (including CTO Peter Rawlinson, who was the chief engineer on Tesla's groundbreaking Model S). The company often seems determined to out-do its larger electric-car rival -- or at least to make a point of showing that it has learned from Tesla's mistakes.</p>
<p>In this case, it's worth noting that Tesla has a deep relationship with one primary battery supplier (Panasonic). Lucid may feel that Tesla's dependency on a single battery supplier exposes it to some risk that could be hedged by having strong relationships with two big suppliers.</p>
<p>The deal with LG Chem is another sign that Lucid is a serious effort worth watching closely. Lucid is planning to break ground on its new factory in Arizona sometime in the second quarter of 2017, and it's hoping to begin shipping its first model (the Air sedan) by the end of 2018.</p>
<p>Those dates may slip. However, my sense is that Lucid and its car are for real, and it looks like a couple of very big suppliers agree.</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMarlowe/info.aspx" type="external">John Rosevear Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool recommends BMW and General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | This Deal Is Another Reason to Take Lucid Motors Seriously | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/21/this-deal-is-another-reason-to-take-lucid-motors-seriously.html | 2016-12-21 | 0 |
<p>What started as a night of nightmares ended in a magical proposal Monday night in front of thousands of people at a Florida baseball game.</p>
<p>On January 24th, 2012, EMTs in Clearwater, Florida responded to the scene of a brutal attack. Melissa Dohme's ex-boyfriend had convinced her to meet him that night. When she arrived, he pulled out a pocket knife and proceeded to stab her 32 times in the face, back, arms, hands, and shoulders.</p>
<p>Cameron Hill, a firefighters and one of the first responders on the scene, told the Tampa Bay Times that there was so much blood, "you couldn't tell she was blond." But when Melissa was flown to the hospital, Cameron knew he would somehow see her again.</p>
<p>Melissa flatlined at the hospital four times, but miraculously survived the attack.</p>
<p>That fall, Dohme and Hill reconnected and a romance slowly blossomed. Hill stood by Melissa's side a year later as she faced her ex-boyfriend in court when he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and domestic abuse.</p>
<p>Since the attack, Melissa has become a domestic violence advocate for a local non-profit, <a href="http://handsacrossthebay.org" type="external">Hands Across the Bay</a>, and spends her free time raising awareness about the issue. Her work led her to be asked to throw the ceremonial first pitch Monday night at the Tampa Bay Ray's baseball game, according to NBC affiliate <a href="http://www.wfla.com/story/29037046/clearwater-first-responder-proposes-at-rays-game-to-domestic-violence-victim-he-saved" type="external">WFLA.</a></p>
<p>After Melissa took to the mound on the field, Cameron stepped out to bring her the baseball. Melissa quickly realized there was a special message written on it, the words "Will you marry me?" in red ink.</p>
<p>Hill then dropped down to one knee and proposed. Dohme said yes.</p>
<p>"I have never been so happy in my life! Just completely blown away at the love I have for this man and also learning about ALL he went through to make this surprise "first pitch" engagement possible," Melissa wrote on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/melissadohme" type="external">Facebook</a>. "I love you Cameron, forever &amp; always."</p>
<p /> | First Responder Proposes to Woman He Helped Save | false | http://nbcnews.com/dateline/first-responder-proposes-woman-he-helped-save-n358086 | 2015-05-13 | 3 |
<p>Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney claims that his plan would balance the federal budget in eight to 10 years. But so far, he has not made public the details on how he would be able to do that, and one neutral budget expert calls it “an unrealistic goal.”</p>
<p>Also, Romney and running mate Paul Ryan exaggerate when they say “five different studies” prove that all of the stated goals of Romney’s revenue-neutral tax plan could be accomplished without raising taxes on middle-income taxpayers. Two of the five “studies” were blog items. And none of three other studies was nonpartisan: Two were written by Romney campaign advisers and a third was by a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush.</p>
<p>Balanced Budget?</p>
<p>Romney made the claim about balancing the budget on NBC’s “ <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48959273/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/september-mitt-romney-ann-romney-julian-castro-peggy-noonan-ej-dionne-bill-bennett-chuck-todd/" type="external">Meet the Press</a>” on Sept. 9, saying: “[W]e’ve put together a plan that lays out how we get to a balanced budget within eight to 10 years.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mittromney.com/issues/spending" type="external">The plan</a>, however, doesn’t lay out how this would be achieved. Instead, it’s short on specifics.</p>
<p>When we talked to Josh Gordon, policy director of the <a href="http://www.concordcoalition.org/about-concord-coalition" type="external">Concord Coalition</a>, a nonpartisan group that advocates “responsible fiscal policy,” he said there wasn’t much of a proposal from Romney. But his main takeaway, he said, is that “it’s an unrealistic goal and requires cuts far beyond what they’ve been able to specify.”</p>
<p>Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-30/romney-s-plan-to-end-deficit-hits-poor-as-well-as-park-rangers" type="external">told Bloomberg News</a> such a plan “would require some deep cuts beyond what he specified and beyond what I think most people would imagine.”</p>
<p>The only analysis we were able to find on the Romney budget plan determined what would happen if he cut spending across the board. The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&amp;id=3658" type="external">calculated</a> that if Social Security isn’t touched, all other non-defense spending would have to be cut by 29 percent in 2016 and at least 47 percent in 2022 to balance the budget.</p>
<p>Romney’s goal is far more ambitious than that of vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s Republican budget plan, which wouldn’t achieve <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/11/us/politics/0812-ryan.html" type="external">a balanced budget until 2040</a>.</p>
<p>Romney has said he would limit spending to under 20 percent of gross domestic product (or GDP) by the end of his first term and cut spending by about $500 billion per year, beginning in 2016, assuming, <a href="http://www.mittromney.com/issues/spending" type="external">his campaign website says</a>, that there’s a “robust economic recovery” with 4 percent growth annually. He wouldn’t cut defense spending — in fact, it would go up and remain fixed at 4 percent of GDP. (Defense spending is projected to be <a href="http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/06-05-Long-Term_Budget_Outlook.pdf" type="external">4.3 percent of GDP</a> for 2012, but as the economy improves, fixing the defense budget at 4 percent would mean an increase in spending.) Romney also says he would immediately propose cutting non-security discretionary spending by 5 percent across the board — that would be a cut of <a href="http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43539-08-22-2012-Update_One-Col.pdf" type="external">$31 billion if applied to the 2012 budget</a> — and cap such spending below 2008 levels.</p>
<p>Romney’s proposal to hold all federal spending below 20 percent of GDP requires huge reductions from the 22.9 percent that is projected for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, and the 24.1 percent of GDP that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects for 2022 if spending continues on its current path. That latter figure is from CBO’s “alternative fiscal scenario,” which assumes, among other things, that Congress will continue to avoid scheduled cuts in Medicare physician payment rates.</p>
<p>Romney has proposed cutting tax rates by 20 percent across the board, among other reduction measures, and making up for the lost revenue by eliminating unspecified exemptions for upper-income taxpayers but, he says, not shifting more of the burden on middle-income Americans. But he has not revealed how exactly he would accomplish that.</p>
<p>Similarly, Romney hasn’t revealed how the math would add up to balance the budget in eight to 10 years. His website says he’d cut $500 billion in spending per year starting in 2016. But by 2022, the deficit is expected to be $1.4 trillion. Plus, Romney would increase defense spending, widening that budget gap, and it remains unclear whether his tax plan would be revenue-neutral. Defense spending currently makes up <a href="http://usbudgetalert.com/spending.php" type="external">20 percent of federal spending</a>, and Social Security accounts for another 21 percent. Romney’s website <a href="http://www.mittromney.com/issues/social-security" type="external">says</a> he would make “no change in benefits for those at or near retirement.” Medicare makes up another 15 percent of the budget, and it’s <a href="http://www.mittromney.com/issues/medicare" type="external">unclear</a> if spending would be cut in that program under Romney in the near future. Interest on the debt accounts for another 7 percent of spending.</p>
<p>The campaign hasn’t revealed where Romney would even get that $500 billion in cuts. The Romney website lays out spending reductions that total $319.6 billion, which come from privatizing Amtrak, cutting funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities and foreign aid, eliminating family planning funding, cutting the federal workforce and compensation, block-granting Medicaid and work retraining to the states, and reducing “waste and fraud.” Romney also counts $95 billion a year for repealing the federal health care law. But that’s only the spending in the law, which <a href="http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43471-hr6079.pdf" type="external">also includes</a> $569 billion over 10 years of new revenues that would be lost, plus another $161 billion in revenue from the individual mandate tax and penalties on employers.</p>
<p>When we asked the Romney campaign for more information on his plan to balance the budget, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom sent us this statement:</p>
<p>Fehrnstrom: Governor Romney has balanced many budgets over his career, in private business, at the Olympics and in government. His track record speaks for itself. President Obama doesn’t even have a budget. Before Obama’s election, America had never run a trillion dollar deficit. Since Obama’s been in office, we’ve had four trillion dollar deficits in a row.</p>
<p>So, we’re left to wonder how spending possibly could be reduced in the next decade to balance the budget. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which has liberal leanings, ran the numbers in May and <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&amp;id=3658" type="external">found</a> that, assuming Social Security is not cut, all other non-defense programs would have to be cut by 29 percent in 2016 and 47 percent in 2022, if the cuts were spread evenly across the board — and if Romney’s tax plan was revenue-neutral.</p>
<p>The CBPP said that the plan would require cuts of $8.1 trillion for the 2014-2022 period, again, if Romney’s tax cuts were revenue-neutral. That’s nearly 19 percent of all projected government spending, including defense and Social Security, for that time period, under CBO’s alternative scenario.</p>
<p>‘Five Different Studies’?</p>
<p>Romney also said on “Meet the Press” that “five different studies” show that his tax plan could accomplish his goals of cutting the income tax rate by 20 percent across the board and make it revenue neutral without raising taxes for the low- to middle-income taxpayers. Rep. Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate, said something similar on ABC’s “ <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-gop-vice-presidential-nominee-paul-ryan/story?id=17186049&amp;page=6#.UE4Qdq5AWdA" type="external">This Week</a>.” Ryan said: “There have been five different studies — that show — that this — that this plan works.”</p>
<p>But the five “studies” aren’t all studies and none of them was nonpartisan. Of the three that could be considered studies, two were written by Romney campaign advisers and a third was written by a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush.</p>
<p>David Gregory, Sept. 9: You’ve called the debt and our deficit a moral crisis, and yet in addition to extending the Bush tax cuts, you want to cut tax rates an additional 20 percent. You’ve rejected a 10 to one spending ratio when it comes to spending to increasing taxes. And, yet, you want to balance the budget. The math simply doesn’t add up, does it?</p>
<p>Romney: Well, actually, it does. And the– the good news is that five different economic studies, including one at Harvard and Princeton and AEI and a couple at The Wall Street Journal all show that if we bring down our top rates and actually go across the board, bring down rates for everyone in America, but also limit deductions and exemptions for people at the high end, while you can keep the progressivity in the code, you could remain revenue neutral and you create an enormous incentive for growth in the economy.</p>
<p>Gregory, the host of “Meet the Press,” was referring to an Aug. 1 <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/1001628-Base-Broadening-Tax-Reform.pdf" type="external">report</a> by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that concluded it is not mathematically possible to design a revenue-neutral plan without providing “large tax cuts” to high-income households and raising taxes on those earning $200,000 or less. The report, which <a href="" type="internal">we wrote about</a> on Aug. 3, was co-authored by <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/experts/galew" type="external">William G. Gale</a>, a former staff economist for President George H.W. Bush, and <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/experts/looneya" type="external">Adam Looney</a>, a former senior economist in the Obama White House.</p>
<p>What were Romney and Ryan referring to when they referenced five studies? We asked Romney spokesman Fehrnstrom, and he emailed us a list that included:</p>
<p>The only study by someone not advising Romney was done by <a href="http://harveysrosen.com/" type="external">Harvey Rosen</a>, a Princeton economics professor who also once served as chairman of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.</p>
<p>In his <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/ceps/workingpapers/228rosen.pdf" type="external">study</a>, Rosen takes issue with TPC’s method —&#160; <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?DocID=299" type="external">the same sort of computer modeling</a> used by the U.S. Treasury and two nonpartisan congressional offices, the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office. He also considered the possible effects of Romney’s plan on economic growth — which the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center said was “likely to be small” because Romney’s plan is revenue neutral.</p>
<p>In any event, there are not “five different studies” that show Romney’s plan works.</p>
<p>— Lori Robertson and Eugene Kiely</p> | Romney’s Economic Exaggerations | false | https://factcheck.org/2012/09/romneys-economic-exaggerations-2/ | 2012-09-14 | 2 |
<p>Romenesko Memos Times executive editor Bill Keller calls his paper's story on Judith Miller a "fine, rigorous piece of journalism," and tells his staff: "My warmest thanks to the many of you who have expressed solidarity in a time of anxiety. If I had it to do over, there is probably much I'd do differently, and we can chew on the lessons learned when I return, but I hope my first instinct -- and the paper's -- would still be to defend a reporter in the line of duty, even if the circumstances lack the comfort of moral clarity." &gt; <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/17/1422250" type="external">E&amp;P's Mitchell, Newsweek's Isikoff discuss Miller on "Democracy Now" (DN)</a> &gt; <a href="http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2005/10/sorry_times_the.php" type="external">Corn: Miller mess worse for NYT than the 2003 Blair fiasco (DC)</a> &gt; <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1017-22.htm" type="external">Solomon: "Judith Miller, the Fourth Estate and the Warfare State" (CD)</a></p> | "There's probably much I'd do differently," says NYT's Keller | false | https://poynter.org/news/theres-probably-much-id-do-differently-says-nyts-keller | 2005-10-17 | 2 |
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<p>The confirmation of the prisoner swap came a day after the young women were liberated. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters on the matter.</p>
<p>There was no immediate comment about the exchange from the Nigerian presidency or Boko Haram, which has links to the Islamic State group. President Muhammadu Buhari’s office said Saturday that “some” Boko Haram suspects in detention had been released for the freedom of the schoolgirls, but it did not give details.</p>
<p>The young women were flown Sunday by military helicopters from northeastern Nigeria to Abuja, the capital, where they were expected to meet the president in the evening.</p>
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<p>The International Committee of the Red Cross, which along with the Swiss government mediated the Nigerian government’s negotiations with Boko Haram, said Sunday that the girls soon would meet with their families.</p>
<p>“They will face a long and difficult process to rebuild their lives after the indescribable horror and trauma they have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram,” said Pernille Ironside, acting representative of UNICEF Nigeria.</p>
<p>Authorities say 113 schoolgirls remain missing from the group of 276 abducted from their boarding school in April 2014. Girls who escaped early on said some of their classmates had died from illness. Others did not want to come home because they’d been radicalized by their captors, they said.</p>
<p>Human rights advocates also fear some of the girls kidnapped from the Chibok boarding school have been used by Boko Haram to carry out suicide bombings.</p>
<p>Anxious families were awaiting the official list of names of the 82 schoolgirls freed. Some parents did not live long enough to see their daughters released, underscoring the tragedy of the three-year-long saga.</p>
<p>Last year, a first group of 21 Chibok girls was freed in October, and they have been in government care in Abuja for medical attention, trauma counseling and rehabilitation. Human rights groups have criticized the decision to keep the girls in custody in Abuja, nearly 900 kilometers (560 miles) from Chibok.</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear whether the newly freed girls would join them.</p>
<p>They should be quickly released to their families and not be subjected to lengthy government detention, Amnesty International’s Nigeria office said, adding that the girls don’t deserve to be put through a “publicity stunt” and deserve privacy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Though Boko Haram has abducted thousands of people during its eight-year insurgency that has spilled across Nigeria’s borders, the Chibok mass kidnapping in 2014 horrified the world and brought the extremist group international attention.</p>
<p>The failure of Nigeria’s former government to act quickly to free the girls sparked a global Bring Back Our Girls movement; U.S. first lady Michelle Obama posted a photo with its logo on social media.</p>
<p>The Bring Back Our Girls campaign said Sunday it was happy that Nigeria’s government had committed to rescuing the 113 remaining schoolgirls.</p>
<p>“We urge the president and his government to earnestly pursue the release of all our Chibok girls and other abducted citizens of Nigeria,” the group said in a statement.</p>
<p>Buhari late last year announced Boko Haram had been “crushed,” but the group continues to carry out attacks in northern Nigeria and neighboring countries. Its insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people and driven 2.6 million from their homes, with millions facing starvation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Haruna Umar in Maiduguri, Nigeria contributed.</p> | Chibok schoolgirls were swapped for 5 Boko Haram commanders | false | https://abqjournal.com/999921/chibok-schoolgirls-were-swapped-for-5-boko-haram-commanders.html | 2017-05-07 | 2 |
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<p>More than 30 cars are piled up on I-76 in Philadelphia after freezing rain on Sunday. Slick roads caused a number of crashes, causing at least five fatalities. (The Associated Press)</p>
<p>A crash involving 30 to 50 vehicles on Interstate 76 outside Philadelphia killed one person, and two others died in a crash involving multiple vehicles on nearby Interstate 476, police said. In northeastern Pennsylvania, a man was killed after his car overturned on an icy road and he was thrown from it and hit by a commercial vehicle. In Connecticut, police cited slippery conditions in a crash that killed an 88-year-old woman who struck a utility pole in New Haven.</p>
<p>“This is the worst type of winter precipitation to combat, because it can freeze instantly and it doesn’t need to be the whole pavement for vehicles crossing it to have problems,” Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Eugene Blaum said.</p>
<p>Kaitlyn Maier grew up in upstate New York but said that didn’t prepare her for the icy conditions she encountered trying to get from her home in Philadelphia to her niece’s baptism.</p>
<p>“I’ve driven through snow a lot, and this isn’t like anything I’ve ever driven in,” Maier told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>She came upon the I-76 wreck moments after it happened and saw a jumbled line of cars extending around the bend ahead of her. “We were stopped for a while on the side of the road. I was going less than 10 mph, but I had no control of my vehicle.”</p>
<p>Freezing rain and snow was expected in interior parts of New England, but the temperature was expected to rise into the 40s and 50s along the coast and change the precipitation to plain rain in time for the evening AFC Championship Game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the West Coast, high winds left tens of thousands of customers without power in the Seattle area, but power companies promised Seahawks fans they’d do their best to restore power before the NFC title game against the Green Bay Packers.</p>
<p>In eastern Oregon, highway officials partially reopened Interstate 84 Sunday after a massive crash blamed on black ice Saturday closed more than 160 miles of eastbound lanes. Rain was expected in western Oregon Sunday and Monday, but not as much as fell on Saturday, when 1.8 inches of rain in Portland sent some untreated sewage into the Willamette River.</p>
<p>Dozens of spinouts and accidents were reported from northern New Jersey to southern New Hampshire on Sunday and treacherous conditions forced the closure of the New York State Thruway from Newburgh to New York City during the morning. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority warned travelers on New York City’s Metro-North commuter railroad to beware of ice on staircases, platforms and parking lots.</p>
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<p /> | Icy roads lead to pileup near Philly | false | https://abqjournal.com/528246/icy-roads-lead-to-pileup-near-philly.html | 2 |
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<p>Smash hits “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/dangal/" type="external">Dangal</a>,” “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/train-to-busan/" type="external">Train to Busan</a>,” “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/your-name/" type="external">Your Name</a>” and “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/wolf-warriors-ii/" type="external">Wolf Warriors II</a>” are among the films nominated for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts’ best Asian film award. The prize is being presented for the first time by AACTA.</p>
<p>The other five nominees include two more from India “Pink,” and “Kaasav: Turtle,” two more from China “Our Time Will Come,” and “I Am Not Madame Bovary,” and The Philippines’ foreign-language Oscar contender “Birdshot.”</p>
<p>The winner will be selected by a jury headed by Russell Crowe, and announced at the AACTA ceremony in Sydney on Dec. 6.</p>
<p>“The caliber, range and diversity of Asian cinema is extraordinary and this new award sets up a very unique framework to recognize these films, connecting Asian-Australian film-goers and the broader Australian audience with more Asian cinema, and vice versa,” said Crowe in a prepared statement.</p>
<p /> | Inaugural AACTA Asian Film Prize Spans Commercial Hits and Art House Gems | false | https://newsline.com/inaugural-aacta-asian-film-prize-spans-commercial-hits-and-art-house-gems/ | 2017-10-12 | 1 |
<p>Democrat Schakowsky says new government would end ‘toxic’ feud</p>
<p>(Jewish Daily Forward) – Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky is far from alone in her anger at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following his recent speech to a joint meeting of Congress warning against a deal with Iran being negotiated by the Obama administration and six other governments.</p>
<p>But Schakowsky, an eight-term Jewish veteran of Congress and member of the party’s House leadership, is the first to openly urge regime change in Jerusalem.</p>
<p>Asked in a March 10 phone interview about steps that can be taken to mend fences between Israel and congressional Democrats, the Illinois eight-term congresswoman told the Forward that the most positive measure would be for Israeli voters to oust Netanyahu.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">SPECIAL: Join the Tea Party REVOLUTION! The Obama Regime must be dismantled!</a></p>
<p>“Obviously one thing that would help…if the prime minister were to lose the elections and a different government would be set up, that would change the dynamic between the United States and Israel.” Schakowsky said that this new dynamic would “without a doubt” be a positive change for Democrats.</p>
<p>Another step suggested by Schakowsky was for Israel to replace its ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, who planned Netanyahu’s invitation with Republican House Speaker John Boehner to occur two weeks before elections in Israel and did not inform the administration or Democratic congressional leaders about it beforehand. Dermer, a Miami native who worked for Republican political consultants before immigrating to Israel, “is perceived to be a Republican operative,” said Schakowsky. “His collaboration with John Boehner on this speech has in many ways made him toxic to a lot of Democrats.” Replacing Dermer, she said, “would be a good thing.”</p>
<p>Israel will hold elections on March 17, and according to public opinion polls the race is tight with a slight advantage to Netanyahu’s chief rival, Isaac Herzog and his Zionist Union party. While criticism of the Israeli prime minister is widespread within the Obama administration and among Democrats, all have made sure, until now, to avoid any appearance of choosing sides in Israel’s democratic process. In that context, Schakowsky’s remarks about Netanyahu stand out as unusually bold.</p>
<p>Schakowsky, who has&#160;been rated&#160;as one of Congress’ most liberal members, has sought throughout her career to combine a pro-Israel approach with a progressive worldview. “As a Jewish Congresswoman,” boasts her on-line biography on the House’s website, “Jan has a deep personal connection to the State of Israel and has consistently voted for measures to assure Israel’s security and to promote efforts toward a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace.”</p>
<p>In 2014, Schakowsky co-sponsored a resolution defending Israel’s conduct during its military campaign that summer in Gaza against critics who held the country responsible for the many civilians killed. In 2010, she voted to condemn the United Nations’ Goldstone report, which found that Israel had committed war crimes during its 2008 Gaza military campaign.</p>
<p>“As a Jew, support for Israel is in my DNA,” Schakowsky said in a February 25&#160;statement.&#160;”I strongly agree with both the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the United States that Iran can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.” But she stressed to reporters on Capitol Hill, “The House of Representatives is the most prestigious venue in the world, and to use it for political purposes was something that I did not want to be part of.”</p>
<p>Born to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Schakowsky grew up in Chicago, where she started her political career. Her congressional district includes much of the city’s heavily middle class north and far northwest sides, where many Jews live, and affluent northern suburbs, such as Evanston, Skokie and Willmette, which are also heavily Jewish. She is viewed as a leader among congressional liberals.</p>
<p>Despite her open criticism of Israel’s policies of expanding Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank, Schakowsky has forged a good relationship with Israeli representatives. She was also among the first House members to accept endorsements from the political action committee of J Street, the dovish Israel lobby, but also maintained a good working relationship for many years with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the much larger establishment lobby group.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, she was challenged in 2010 by Joel Pollak, an Orthodox Jew, who argued that she was insufficiently supportive of Israel. According to The New Yorker magazine, a small but vocal contingent of AIPAC members were behind Pollak.</p>
<p>Her harsh reaction to Netanyahu’s speech may further complicate her relations with AIPAC.</p>
<p>Schakowsky described the Israeli prime minister’s speech as a call for military action against Iran. “What I heard was a drumbeat for war,” she said, explaining that the only alternative he left for resolving the nuclear issue is “another war in the Middle East.”</p>
<p>But despite the recent spat, Schakowsky does not see a long-term impact on how Democrats view Israel. “I don’t think this will influence the amount of unwavering support,” she said, noting that when speaking to Jewish friends and constituents she senses only concern about Netanyahu, not about their relationship with Israel. This appears to reflect her own approach.</p>
<p>“I’ve been asked to make a choice between Boehner and Bibi, and Barack Obama, and I support Barack Obama,” she said.</p>
<p>http://forward.com/articles/216396/jewish-congresswoman-pushes-for-israel-regime-chan/#ixzz3U9CpBbD7</p> | Congresswoman Pushes for Israel Regime Change | true | http://teaparty.org/congresswoman-pushes-israel-regime-change-88697/?utm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dcongresswoman-pushes-israel-regime-change | 0 |
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<p>Obamacare’s opponents are running out of options to stop the law.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court upheld it in the summer of 2012. President Obama was re-elected a few months later. The congressional GOP’s strategy of shutting down the federal government to de-fund the law proved a disaster.</p>
<p>That might help explain why the conservative movement’s latest tactics seem a little more desperate — and, according to experts, equally unlikely to succeed.</p>
<p />
<p>Heading into the 2014 legislative session, the American Legislative Exchange Council is pushing new model legislation that aims to undermine the federal health care reform law. The only problem is: It’s probably illegal.</p>
<p>Here’s what the bill says: If an insurance company accepts tax subsidies that trigger Obamacare’s employer mandate — in other words, if an employee at a company with more than 50 employees goes onto an Obamacare exchange to purchase insurance and gets financial help through the law — then that insurer would be prohibited from continuing to do business in that state.</p>
<p>The effect is that if an insurer is doing business with the Obamacare exchange, it’s putting itself at risk of being banned from operating in a state with this law in place. That would either force insurers to pull out of the exchanges or to decline to accept subsidies, which would unravel the foundation of the exchanges — or actually take their business out of the state.</p>
<p>“You cannot build the healthcare system based on the free market unless you have subsidies. If they are taken away, the whole thing collapses,” Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive, told <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/obamacare-alec-republican-legislators" type="external">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>It’s not inconceivable that ALEC could get some momentum behind the legislation. Though it’s faced some challenges amid controversies about its financial backers and positions, it’s still among the largest ideological coalition of state legislators, claiming 2,000 members (out of about 7,400). Bills with very similar language have already been proposed in Ohio and Missouri, according to The Guardian.</p>
<p>But the bill’s drafters seemed to forget one important fact: A few exceptions notwithstanding, state laws can’t be written to override federal laws.</p>
<p>“States can’t outlaw federal legislation,” Tim Jost, a Washington and Lee University law professor who supports Obamacare, told TPM. “I think this would be preempted.” Industry officials also say they believe the proposed legislation is likely illegal.</p>
<p>ALEC officials did not return TPM’s repeated requests for comment.</p>
<p>The other problem for ALEC and its ideological cohorts is: People will have obtained health coverage through Obamacare by the time these bills would be debated in the coming months. More than two million have enrolled in private insurance, according to the Obama administration.</p>
<p>Proposals like this, Jost said, will therefore become more politically difficult if it means people will lose their coverage or the financial help that assisted them in purchasing it.</p>
<p>“I think the question at some point is going to become: Several hundred thousand people are going to be insured in your state,” Jost said. “Are you really going to try to pass a law that would take it away?”</p> | ALEC’s New Obamacare Obstruction Plan Won’t Work | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/alec-obamacare-bill | 4 |
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<p />
<p>State Democratic Party Chair Jaime Harrison called the comment “sexist,” saying it is similar to portraying women as sex objects in wet T-shirt contests.</p>
<p>“Here’s a man who’s succeeding the first woman governor of South Carolina. It’s totally disrespectful, totally uncalled for. He needs to apologize to the mothers, daughters and grandmothers in this state,” Harrison said. “He’s the governor — not the coach of some basketball team.”</p>
<p>The comment, which drew laughter, came during a tour the governor led for a group of sheriffs, some of whom were there with their wives. Some of those present wondered if the governor crossed a line, according to multiple sources.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>According to witnesses, McMaster told the group that he would give $100 to anyone who jumped in the mansion pool, then added he’d give an additional $100 if a female jumped in the pool with her clothes on.</p>
<p>One guest said he thought McMaster probably just spontaneously blurted out the comment about women. “Probably 20 years ago, nobody would have thought anything of that, but these days, people don’t make that kind of joke,” the guest said.</p>
<p>Catherine Templeton of Charleston, one of McMaster’s rivals in next year’s Republican gubernatorial primary, said, “I’m sure Henry’s actions speak for themselves without my commentary.”</p>
<p>McMaster’s spokesman, Brian Symmes, said Friday, “It’s no surprise in today’s climate that a lighthearted joke, taken out of context, is being used to score cheap political points. But to selfishly sully an event that the governor and first lady hosted to thank our state law enforcement leaders for personal gain is absolutely offensive.”</p>
<p>The meeting was a get-together for the new governor and members of the South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.</p>
<p>After McMaster made his joke, someone in the crowd called out that if the female was good-looking, he’d give her $300, the guest said.</p>
<p>No one who witnessed the event wanted to be identified because they were governor’s guests at the mansion.</p>
<p>The topic of sexism, in more extreme forms than the governor’s joke, has been in the news of late.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly was fired by Fox News after a string of lawsuits alleging sexual harassment. And President Donald Trump before his election was in the news for bragging about groping women.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2017 The State (Columbia, S.C.)</p>
<p>Visit The State (Columbia, S.C.) at <a href="http://www.thestate.com" type="external">www.thestate.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p>_____</p> | S. Carolina governor’s ‘joke’ about women jumping into pool raises eyebrows | false | https://abqjournal.com/991681/s-carolina-governors-joke-about-women-jumping-into-pool-raises-eyebrows.html | 2 |
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<p>ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- More than 1,000 security forces guarded a special court in Pakistan’s capital on Monday as former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was finally indicted on treason charges.</p>
<p>“I prefer death to surrender,” he said after pleading not guilty to five charges of extra-constitutional and illegal actions against the state. "I would like to ask where is the justice for me in the Islamic republic of Pakistan. I have only given to this country and not taken anything.”</p>
<p>Musharraf faces the death penalty if convicted of the charges over his suspension of the constitution and imposition of emergency rule in 2007, when he was trying to extend his rule as president.</p>
<p>He added: "I have served the country as army chief for nine years honestly, gave 44 years of life to the army, is this a reward for loyalty?"</p>
<p>Musharraf told the court that he defined a "tratior" as one "who gives away national secrets to enemy and surrenders before the enemy."</p>
<p>His hearings have been postponed four times due to concerns about security and amid <a href="" type="internal">claims of poor health</a>. He did appear in court previously for a pre-trial hearing, but not during the formal proceedings. His lawyers have also <a href="" type="internal">received death threats.</a></p>
<p>Before his not guilty pleas, Musharraf's lawyer asked the three-member special court, for permission for his client to visit his sick mother in Dubai. The former dictator who seized power in 1999 is currently under house arrest.</p>
<p>"His mother is dying, for god's sake," Farough Naseem said. "She is 94 and very ill."</p>
<p>The court said it would rule on the request later Monday.</p>
<p>Reuters contributed to this report. Henry Austin reported from London.</p> | Pakistan’s Ex-Dictator Musharraf Pleads Not Guilty To Treason | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistans-ex-dictator-musharraf-pleads-not-guilty-treason-n67611 | 2014-03-31 | 3 |
<p>* Alcoa falls after missing earnings estimates</p>
<p>* U.S. jobless claims fall to 45-year low</p>
<p>* Indexes down: Dow 0.07 pct, S&amp;P 0.04 pct, Nasdaq down 0.08 pct (Updates to open)</p>
<p>By Sruthi Shankar</p>
<p>Jan 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street’s main indexes edged lower on Thursday as declines in healthcare and energy stocks paused a rally that had driven the Dow to its fastest ever 1,000 point gain.</p>
<p>Pfizer fell 0.9 percent and Amgen dropped more than 1 percent, knocking 0.34 percent off the S&amp;P healthcare sector.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P energy index fell 0.16 percent as oil slipped towards $69 a barrel on a reported rise in U.S. fuel stocks.</p>
<p>Alcoa shares sank 8.21 percent after the aluminum producer’s quarterly earnings missed analysts’ estimates.</p>
<p>Morgan Stanley wrapped up earnings season for the big U.S. banks with a better-than-expected adjusted profit, but its shares slipped 0.43 percent.</p>
<p>“Fourth quarter in terms of net interest margins for money center banks were better than expected, so that’s good news. And with interest rates rising, the outlook for financials are pretty good,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in Boston.</p>
<p>At 9:45 a.m. ET (1445 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 17.44 points, or 0.07 percent, at 26,098.21, the S&amp;P 500 was down 1.18 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,801.38 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 6.11 points, or 0.08 percent, at 7,292.17.</p>
<p>Economic data in the day was mixed. U.S. homebuilding fell more than expected in December, recording its biggest drop in just over a year, while weekly jobless claims dropped to a 45-year low last week.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, data from China showed its economic growth accelerated for the first time in seven years, putting world stocks on a firm footing.</p>
<p>“Economic data continues to accelerate both domestically and globally and that is certainly among the key drivers in the market,” Hogan said.</p>
<p>Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress intensified efforts to pass a temporary extension in funding government operations and avert a shutdown, scheduling a vote on the measure for later Thursday.</p>
<p>The government is operating on its third temporary funding extension since the 2018 fiscal year began on Oct. 1.</p>
<p>Amazon said it has short-listed 20 cities, including one in Canada, to build its second headquarters after reviewing 238 proposals and expects to make a decision this year. Its shares were down 0.54 percent.</p>
<p>La Quinta Holdings jumped about 5 percent after Wyndham Worldwide said it would acquire the company’s hotel operations for $1.95 billion. Wyndham rose 4 percent.</p>
<p>IBM and American Express are expected to report after market close.</p>
<p>Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,849 to 787. On the Nasdaq, 1,601 issues fell and 889 advanced. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=JPM.N" type="external">JPM.N</a>) quarterly profit fell short of Wall Street expectations on Friday as lower revenue from investment banking ate into gains from stock trading and higher interest rates.</p> FILE PHOTO: People walk inside JP Morgan headquarters in New York, U.S., October 25, 2013. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
<p>Investment banking revenue fell 7 percent as it underwrote fewer debt and equity offerings, a dark spot in an otherwise strong quarterly report.</p>
<p>Shares of the largest U.S. bank by assets were down nearly 1 percent, paring early gains. The stock has risen 33 percent in the past 12 months.</p>
<p>JPMorgan gained from a strengthening economy and higher interest rates that lifted lending revenue more than the its cost of money. Its equity markets business had a robust quarter, driven by a surge in volatility in global markets.</p>
<p>Overall, profit rose 35 percent to an all-time high, while revenue was up 10 percent.</p>
<p>“We are pleased with the firm’s performance this quarter, with all of our businesses showing continued and broad strength and an overall environment that remains supportive,” Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said on a call.</p>
<p>She expects tax cuts and higher interest rates to provide even more of a “tailwind” to profits going forward.</p>
<p>JPMorgan, like its rivals, had indicated that President Donald Trump’s sweeping changes to the U.S. tax law would kick-start economic growth and help lenders boost their revenue as corporations borrow more to expand their businesses.</p>
<p>Income tax expense was down 8.6 percent at $2.56 billion as the corporate tax rate fell.</p>
<p>Markets revenue rose 7 percent, excluding special items, on a 26 percent jump in equity trading.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=JPM.N" type="external">JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co</a> 110.3 JPM.N New York Stock Exchange -3.07 (-2.71%) JPM.N
<p>Global markets have been in churn since February due to worries over inflation, rising bond yields and heightened trade tensions between the United States and China.</p>
<p>Net interest income rose 9 percent to $13.5 billion as the rates it received for loans rose faster than its costs of funds.</p>
<p>The bank’s net income rose 35 percent to $8.71 billion in the quarter.</p>
<p>Excluding items, it earned $2.26 per share, missing average estimate of $2.28, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>Net revenue was $28.52 billion, beating the average estimate of $27.68 billion.</p>
<p>Return on tangible common equity, a performance measure, was 19 percent, compared with 13 percent a year earlier. JPMorgan in February raised its return target for three years out to 17 percent, largely because of lower tax rates.</p>
<p>Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru and David Henry in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GE.N" type="external">GE.N</a>) said on Friday it took a $4.24 billion equity charge and reduced earnings for the last two years by 30 cents a share, figures in line with expectations the company set earlier this year when it said it would comply with new accounting standards.</p> FILE PHOTO: The General Electric logo is pictured on the General Electric offshore wind turbine plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
<p>The maker of power plants, jet engines, medical devices and other industrial goods had estimated the after-tax, non-cash impact would be about $4.2 billion, plus reduced earnings for 2016 and 2017 of about 29 cents a share.</p>
<p>The accounting change prompted GE to recast two years of past financial statements to reflect lower income and asset values under the new standard, and those will be reflected when GE reports first-quarter results on April 20.</p>
<p>The value of GE’s contract assets are being written down, but that does not change the value of the long-term contracts GE has, nor does it affect GE’s cash flow or earnings estimates for 2018, GE said.</p>
<p>The adjustments appear within expectations, Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said. “Now the focus moves to next Friday’s earnings.”</p>
<p>The figures suggest GE executives have gotten to the bottom of some accounting issues and bolster confidence in Chief Executive Officer John Flannery after a series of financial surprises, including underestimating the impact of insurance policies that prompted a $6.2 billion charge in the fourth quarter, analysts said.</p>
<p>GE shares were down 1 percent at $13.35 in aftermarket trading after rising 2.4 percent on Friday.</p>
<p>The new accounting standard governs how companies estimate and recognize revenue from long-term contracts, and is designed to make a company’s cash flow more closely match its income, accounting experts and analysts said.</p>
<p>The prior standard allowed companies to recognize future revenue from such agreements more quickly. The new standard shifts revenue to later in the contract duration, analysts said.</p>
<p>Companies typically use the cost of providing services as a basis for estimating future revenue from the contracts, but the process can lead to over- or under-estimating the value of the contracts as assets on the balance sheet, experts say.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GE.N" type="external">General Electric Co</a> 13.5 GE.N New York Stock Exchange +0.32 (+2.43%) GE.N
<p>GE’s contract asset tally has soared 70 percent to $28.8 billion in 2017, from $16.9 billion in 2014, most of it in its power and aviation units. The majority of the total reflects revenue GE has already booked but for which it has not billed customers, which creates the gap between profit and cash flow, according to GE’s regulatory filings.</p>
<p>GE also made adjustments for new accounting standards for pensions, cash flow and taxes on Friday.</p>
<p>GE’s accounting is under scrutiny after earnings swung to a loss last year and GE said its 2018 results would be at the low end of its forecasted range of between $1.00 and $1.07 a share.</p>
<p>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into GE’s accounting for contract assets, raising investor concern but GE has said it is not overly concerned about the investigation.</p>
<p>GE said in February that it expects to make the adjustments as it switches to the new accounting standards for contracts.</p>
<p>GE said it chose to restate 2016 and 2017 earnings, a more exacting standard under the new rules, because it will allow investors to compare 2018 results with the prior years.</p>
<p>Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Bill Rigby and Clive McKeef</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial stocks led a drop on Wall Street on Friday as results from big banks failed to enthuse and fear of broader conflict in Syria further unnerved investors.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P banks index fell 2.6 percent and the broader S&amp;P financial index lost 1.6 percent, the most among the 11 major S&amp;P sectors.</p>
<p>Shares of JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, dropped 2.7 percent after the bank’s quarterly profit fell slightly short of expectations. JPMorgan shares were the biggest weight on the S&amp;P 500.</p>
<p>Wells Fargo sank 3.4 percent after the bank said it may have to pay a penalty of $1 billion to resolve investigations, while Citigroup dropped 1.6 percent despite beating profit estimates.</p>
<p>Weak loan growth weighed on bank shares, said RJ Grant, head of trading at Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods in New York.</p>
<p>“If you didn’t own financials going into the quarter, there was nothing in the numbers today that would make you excited about owning them,” Grant said.</p>
<p>U.S. stocks extended losses on Friday after the State Department said that it had proof that Syria carried out a recent chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma.</p>
<p>The renewed possibility of a strike in Syria “is enough to cause heartburn for the market,” said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas. “There’s a ton of uncertainty right now so investors don’t want to go into the weekend particularly long.”</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 122.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,360.14, the S&amp;P 500 lost 7.69 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,656.3 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 33.60 points, or 0.47 percent, to 7,106.65.</p>
<p>Still, for the week, the S&amp;P 500 rose 1.99 percent, the Dow gained 1.79 percent, and the Nasdaq added 2.77 percent.</p>
<p>Friday’s bank results kicked off earnings season, with Thomson Reuters data predicting profits at S&amp;P 500 companies increased by 18.6 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, their biggest rise in seven years.</p>
<p>While the U.S. economy is performing well, geopolitical issues are weighing on stock markets this year.</p>
<p>Senior Russian lawmakers said on Friday that the lower house of parliament would consider draft legislation giving the Kremlin powers to ban or restrict a list of U.S. imports, reacting to new U.S. sanctions on Russian tycoons and officials.</p>
<p>Boeing fell 2.4 percent after a Russian lawmaker said the country may stop supplying titanium to the company.</p>
<p>Issues with engines for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner planes also weighed on the company’s shares.</p>
<p>The top gainer among S&amp;P sectors was energy, up 1.1 percent as oil prices rose.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
<p>Tesla rose 2.1 percent after founder Elon Musk said the electric car maker would be profitable in the third and fourth quarters and would not need to raise any money this year.</p>
<p>Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.28-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.64-to-1 ratio favored decliners.</p>
<p>Volume on U.S. exchanges was 5.78 billion shares, compared to the 7.22 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Sinéad Carew in New York; Editing by Patrick Graham and Chizu Nomiyama</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Two U.S. regulators have proposed Wells Fargo &amp; Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=WFC.N" type="external">WFC.N</a>) pay $1 billion in penalties to resolve probes into auto insurance and mortgage lending abuses at the third largest U.S. bank, overshadowing its first quarter results.</p>
<p>The San Francisco-based lender, which reported a quarterly profit, said it may have to restate results to reflect the final settlement. The proposed penalties were reported earlier this week by Reuters.</p>
<p>Analysts said that while the $1 billion penalty would not make a significant dent to its balance sheet, it may take the bank some time to repair the damage to its reputation.</p>
<p>Shares of the bank fell 3.4 percent to $50.89.</p>
<p>“Operationally, Wells Fargo can recover, but reputationally and how a billion dollars will weigh on them - only time can tell,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley in Boston.</p>
<p>“Companies have come back from worse than this but right now they’re still in the eye of the storm,” he added.</p>
<p>The bank, still smarting from a prolonged sales scandal in its retail banking business, found inconsistencies at its auto lending and mortgage in the summer of 2017 - leading to further probes by regulators.</p>
<p>To appease investors and regulators, the bank overhauled its operational structure, shook up its board and hired a new compliance officer.</p>
<p>But this failed to impress the U.S. Federal Reserve, which imposed restrictions in February on the bank’s growth, forbidding it to expand its balance sheet beyond 2017 levels until it makes internal changes that addressed risk management.</p>
<p>“A bank’s balance sheet is the engine for profit growth,” said Kyle Sanders, analyst at Edward Jones. “The constraints on Well’s ability to take on deposits and make new loans will likely result in lagging earnings growth for Wells relative to peers in the near-term.”</p>
<p>Wells estimates restrictions on balance sheet growth will cut annual profit by $300 million to $400 million this year.</p>
<p>Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan repeatedly sought to reassure investors that the bank was stable despite the regulatory restrictions.</p>
<p>“I’m confident that our outstanding team will continue to transform Wells Fargo into a better, stronger company; however, we recognise that it will take time to put all of our challenges behind us,” Sloan said in the bank’s first-quarter results statement on Friday.</p>
<p>But as recently as last month, the bank also said it was examining its wealth and investment management business for possible customer abuse, including overcharging and inappropriate referrals, after inquiries from government agencies.</p> PROFIT RISES, REVENUE DIPS
<p>Despite its ongoing woes, the bank reported a 6 percent jump in profit, saying net income applicable to common stock rose to $5.53 billion, or $1.12 per share in the quarter ended March 31, from $5.23 billion, or $1.03 per share a year ago. ( <a href="https://reut.rs/2HgHNMt" type="external">reut.rs/2HgHNMt</a>)</p> A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo
<p>Analysts on average expected $1.06 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>Wells Fargo has been struggling to reduce expenses, but failed to keep a leash on costs in the quarter despite Sloan’s vow to slash $4 billion in costs by 2019 by closing hundreds of branches and taking other measures.</p>
<p>Total noninterest expenses for the first quarter rose 3.3 percent to $14.24 billion.</p>
<p>Sloan reiterated his 2019 cost savings target, and said his non-interest expense dollar target range for full-year 2018 remains unchanged.</p>
<p>In January, the company had said it remained committed to reducing its expenses by $2 billion by the end of 2018.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=WFC.N" type="external">Wells Fargo &amp; Co</a> 50.89 WFC.N New York Stock Exchange -1.81 (-3.43%) WFC.N
<p>Total revenue in the quarter fell 1.4 percent to $21.93 billion. Total loans slipped 1.2 percent to $947.3 billion, hurt most by a decline in average loans in its community banking unit, which includes consumer banking.</p>
<p>Non-interest income from mortgage banking, an area where the bank supersedes its peers, fell 23.9 percent due to rising interest rates.</p>
<p>Income tax expenses fell 36 percent to $1.37 billion following President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul last year.</p>
<p>Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Patrick Graham, Bernard Orr</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | US STOCKS-Wall St slips as healthcare, energy stocks drag JPMorgan profit just below estimates on weak investment banking GE books $4.2 billion charge, restates earnings as expected Wall Street falls as bank stocks, Syria conflict weigh Wells Fargo faces $1 billion fine from loan abuses | false | https://reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-wall-st-slips-as-healthcare-energy-stocks-drag-idUSL3N1PD4VT | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>An index designed to predict the future health of the U.S. economy rose in January by the smallest amount in five months, indicating the economy's momentum may have slowed a bit.</p>
<p>The New York-based Conference Board says its index of leading indicators increased 0.2 percent in January, the weakest gain since a 0.1 percent rise in August. In addition, the December increase was revised lower to a 0.4 percent rise instead of the initially reported 0.5 percent increase.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Conference Board economists say that the lack of strong momentum in residential construction and a weak outlook for new orders in manufacturing pose some downside risks for the economy.</p> | Gauge of US economy posts slight 0.2 percent gain in January, smallest increase in 5 months | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/02/19/gauge-us-economy-posts-slight-02-percent-gain-in-january-smallest-increase-in-5.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
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<p>Swimming is one of the most fun activities during the summer. Pediatricians, as part of their anticipatory guidance, will discuss with parents several pieces of advice regarding swimming. We advise on safety precautions, having secure fences around swimming pools, swimming lessons, the need to always watch kids closely in and around the water, and never have a false sense of security, particularly for the younger children (even if they know how to swim).</p>
<p>One important element that we often add to this guidance is how swimmers, both adults and children, must keep the swimming pool water clean. This is critical to protect your child’s health and the health of all those who share the swimming pool with your kids.</p>
<p>Last week, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) put out a news release stating that the number of diarrheal cases connected to swimming pools is on the rise. The most common bug that causes these diarrheal illnesses after swimming in a pool is a parasite called Crypto (Cryptosporidium). I hate to use the word dirty pool, as Crypto is not easily killed by chlorine. The pool water can be clear and treated appropriately, but the water can be contaminated with the parasite. Crypto can lasts up to 10 days in pool water or playground water (like water parks).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Children that are affected by crypto will develop diarrhea, stomach pain, stomach cramps and at times vomiting, fevers and weight loss. Some people can have crypto and have no symptoms. But people with low immunity can get very sick. Kids can get dehydrated. So it is critical to keep up with fluids. Crypto can affect people of any age, from very young babies to older individuals. Although Crypto diarrhea is the focus of this column, there are other recreational water illnesses that are prevalent in the summer. These might include infections of the eyes, ears and skin. Other bugs can also be acquired in the water, including Escherichia Coli (E.Coli 0157:H7) and another parasite called Giardia.</p>
<p>There are several ways to keep children safe from getting sick with Crypto diarrhea. Kids who are sick with diarrhea of any kind should not be brought to the pool to swim. These children should only swim two weeks after the diarrheal illness has stopped entirely. Adults and children should shower or rinse profusely right before getting into the swimming pool. Diapers should be changed in the diaper-change area. Diapers should be checked regularly while kids are swimming in the pool. Kids should be taken out of the pool often for bathroom breaks. Remind every child that they should not swallow the swimming pool water.</p>
<p>As I highlight the news release from the CDC, I would like to remind our readers that the majority of our swimming pools and public swimming pools are well maintained and they are safe. The cases of Crypto are still few. The concern is that the number of Crypto outbreaks has doubled from 16 in 2014 to 32 in 2016. So public health officials are worried that the number of cases will continue to increase if we do not take the proper precautions.</p>
<p>There is nothing like summer fun. As our kids start swimming for the summer vacation, one must remember that the water overall is clean, but chlorine does not kill everything and the pool water is not germ-free. The CDC, in putting out a press release, does not discourage swimming. It wants our families to practice healthy swimming.</p>
<p>For more information regarding healthy swimming, please check out this website on your mobile phone, tablet or computer: www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/.</p>
<p>Vernat Exil is a pediatric cardiologist at UNM. Please send your questions to him at [email protected].</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p /> | How to swim safely this summer | false | https://abqjournal.com/1010291/cdc-reminds-families-how-to-swim-safely-this-summer.html | 2 |
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<p>President Obama’s first salary as a community organizer was paid by a Catholic group and his earliest social justice work was rooted in Catholic social doctrine. He identified with Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, then Chicago’s archbishop, whose consistent ethic of life encompassed a dedication to the poor, a concern over the human costs of war, and opposition to the death penalty.</p>
<p>You could thus imagine the president asking Pope Francis at their meeting on Thursday: Why can’t these American bishops get along with me? Or, perhaps more humbly: Holy Father, what can I do to make these guys happy?</p>
<p>It is a sign of how politicized the American Catholic Church has become that its different factions were lobbying hard over the message the bishop of Rome should send after meeting with the president of the United States.</p>
<p>Catholic conservatives hope Francis will again condemn abortion by way of upbraiding the pro-choice Obama. They’d like strong language supporting the campaign spearheaded by the more conservative bishops against the contraception mandate in the health care law.</p>
<p />
<p>Catholic progressives look for Francis to push the president to move more forcefully against poverty and inequality, around the world and not just at home. They want some of the pope’s searing criticisms of global capitalism by way of reminding Obama that the Catholic Church is well to his left on economic matters.</p>
<p>Both sides, in other words, want Francis to bless their own positions inside the American Catholic struggle. The progressives believe they now have a friend in Rome and conservatives worry the progressives might be right. After all, as Michael Sean Winters pointed out in the National Catholic Reporter, “the American bishops who are most aggressively hostile to Obama are also the American bishops who have been most resistant to Pope Francis.”</p>
<p>But this meeting will also underscore something else: While Francis has decidedly moved the church back toward the social justice Catholicism that Obama connected with as a young man, Francis’ worldview is plainly not American. Efforts to shoehorn him into our debates will always have a distorting effect. And the Vatican — which itself is divided into factions — has other things to think about besides the contention within the American church.</p>
<p>From everything he has said, Francis is, in our terms, a social conservative. Yet the issues about which he feels a genuine sense of urgency involve the hundreds of millions around the globe who suffer from extreme deprivation and oppression. From this standpoint, the political and theological skirmishes that consume so much energy among believers in wealthy countries might seem a form of self-indulgence.</p>
<p>The Vatican will not leave conservative American bishops out in the cold in their contraception battle. But it’s difficult to see Francis joining them at the ramparts. The veteran Vatican correspondent John Allen has documented attacks on religious liberty from state-sponsored persecution, including the outright murder of Christians. In light of this, the American uproar over a requirement that contraception be subsidized in health insurance policies seems disproportionate. That’s especially true since the government-led health systems in many predominantly Catholic countries routinely cover contraception.</p>
<p>As for foreign policy, the Vatican has an approach of its own. It has often found itself allied with Obama — for example, on his quest for Middle East peace — but has also opposed him, as when he threatened military retaliation for Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Conservatives have ignored or downplayed the Vatican’s relative dovishness, except when it provided them with another club to use against Obama.</p>
<p>But this highlights the larger truth that Francis defies many currents of American thinking. Francis is anti-consumerist and anti-materialist. That is quite at odds with an American ethos that turns the mall into a religious shrine and shopping into a sacrament. The pope preaches a code of sacrifice that is not widely celebrated in our society outside the realm of military combat. He extols the simple life, a value popular in sections of the environmental movement, but not a big seller in a country obsessed with stuff and gadgets.</p>
<p>It would be good if Francis encouraged the parts of the American Catholic leadership most alienated from the president to stop treating this former church employee as an enemy. But the pope’s main job is to pose a radical challenge to our complacency and social indifference. In doing so, he should stir an uneasiness that compels all of us — and that includes Obama — to examine our consciences.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2014, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | The Pope Isn't a Party Boss | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-pope-isnt-a-party-boss/ | 2014-03-27 | 4 |
<p>Surveillance video released on Thursday shows the moment an alleged terror bomber left luggage with an explosive device inside on a New York City street Saturday, and one passerby who appears to kick a bag containing the device.</p>
<p>The pressure cooker bomb inside the suitcase left on West 27th Street in Manhattan on Saturday did not explode, and was removed by two other people who made off with the luggage — but left the device, which was inside a plastic bag, behind.</p>
<p>Another device allegedly left by suspect Ahmad Rahami on West 23rd Street did detonate, and wounded 31 people, officials say.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Men Who Found Pressure Cooker Bomb Had No 'Clue' What It Was, Source Says</a></p>
<p>The video shows unaware people pass by the device on the sidewalk before a woman called 911. One person appears to kick the bag as it is on the street before the 911 call is made, while another person nudges it.</p>
<p>A bomb squad was called and removed the device, which was characterized by the FBI as a pressure cooker containing an explosive charge as well as ball bearings and steel nuts.</p>
<p>Rahami was wounded in a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey, two days later on Monday. He is at University Hospital in Newark, where he is sedated with a breathing tube inserted.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Rahami's Notebook Highlights 'New Era of Terror,' Officials Say</a></p>
<p>Rahami <a href="" type="internal">has been charged</a> with federal and state charges, including three counts of using and attempting to use of weapons of mass destruction that could send him to prison for life if he is convicted.</p>
<p>Another bomb left on the route of a charity run in Seaside Park, New Jersey, earlier Saturday detonated but no one was hurt. An explosive device discovered at an Elizabeth, New Jersey, train station Monday went off as a bomb squad robot attempted to defuse the bomb, authorities said.</p> | New Video Shows Suspect Leaving Bomb in New York City, Passerby Kicking Bag | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/ny-nj-bombings/new-video-shows-suspect-leaving-bomb-new-york-city-passerby-n652961 | 2016-09-23 | 3 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — The Santa Fe police are looking for a woman in connection with an Oct. 14 incident in which a truck struck a parked car on Candelario Street, leading to an altercation where the car’s owner had his face slashed with a knife before he shot the truck driver.</p>
<p>Detectives are looking for Rachel Elizabeth Smith, 21, who is believed to have been a passenger in the truck that hit the parked car in the 100 block of Candelario. She is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.</p>
<p>Police believe she was in the truck when the accident occurred and “may have pertinent information regarding the case,” according to an Santa Fe Police Department news release.</p>
<p>The truck driver, Joshua Harmon, 33, was shot in the side by the car’s owner, Calvin Anderson, 67, after the crash and after Anderson allegedly was slashed by Harmon.</p>
<p>Police have said Anderson was trying to keep Harmon from fleeing.</p>
<p>Smith has an outstanding arrest order for failing to comply with conditions of probation. Police are asking anyone with information about Smith to call the Police Department.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The hit-and-run was reported about 9:18 p.m. Oct. 14. After hitting a red Nissan car parked in front of a home, the driver of a red truck tried to leave the dead-end street by driving to the end and turning around.</p>
<p>Before he could leave, though, Anderson came out of his home and confronted the driver, Harmon, who got out of his truck, police have said.</p>
<p>The two men argued, and Harmon took out a knife and slashed the older man across the face, causing a severe cut that required several stitches, according to the SFPD.</p>
<p>Anderson, armed with a Glock handgun, shot Harmon in his side. Police have described the shooting as self-defense.</p>
<p>Harmon initially was in critical condition and went through surgery for the gunshot wound.</p> | Woman Sought In Violent Hit-Run Case | false | https://abqjournal.com/140984/woman-sought-in-violent-hitrun-case.html | 2012-10-24 | 2 |
<p>AP: BAGHDAD, Iraq - Police said gunmen killed at least 10 security guards and seized an African engineer in an ambush Wednesday in Baghdad, while Iraqi authorities held out hope that kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll would be released.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the sister of Iraq's interior minister was freed by kidnappers about two weeks after being seized in Baghdad, an official said. | <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060118/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_060118120742" type="external">story</a></p> | Ambush Kills 10 Guards in Iraq | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/ambush-kills-10-guards-in-iraq/ | 2006-01-19 | 4 |
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ These Arkansas lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>Cash 3 Evening</p>
<p>3-7-0</p>
<p>(three, seven, zero)</p>
<p>Cash 3 Midday</p>
<p>7-3-5</p>
<p>(seven, three, five)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Evening</p>
<p>8-5-9-1</p>
<p>(eight, five, nine, one)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Midday</p>
<p>4-0-4-0</p>
<p>(four, zero, four, zero)</p>
<p>Lucky For Life</p>
<p>08-09-31-43-45, Lucky Ball: 6</p>
<p>(eight, nine, thirty-one, forty-three, forty-five; Lucky Ball: six)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $76 million</p>
<p>Natural State Jackpot</p>
<p>04-09-21-29-38</p>
<p>(four, nine, twenty-one, twenty-nine, thirty-eight)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $70,000</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $112 million</p>
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ These Arkansas lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>Cash 3 Evening</p>
<p>3-7-0</p>
<p>(three, seven, zero)</p>
<p>Cash 3 Midday</p>
<p>7-3-5</p>
<p>(seven, three, five)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Evening</p>
<p>8-5-9-1</p>
<p>(eight, five, nine, one)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Midday</p>
<p>4-0-4-0</p>
<p>(four, zero, four, zero)</p>
<p>Lucky For Life</p>
<p>08-09-31-43-45, Lucky Ball: 6</p>
<p>(eight, nine, thirty-one, forty-three, forty-five; Lucky Ball: six)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $76 million</p>
<p>Natural State Jackpot</p>
<p>04-09-21-29-38</p>
<p>(four, nine, twenty-one, twenty-nine, thirty-eight)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $70,000</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $112 million</p> | AR Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/4a1dd880e06146a3add59d29dd2e78a1 | 2018-01-26 | 2 |
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<p>The case deals with Oculus’s Rift headset, which was first introduced in a 2012 Kickstarter campaign. Facebook bought the company in 2014 for $2 billion; the headset continued in development before going on sale in 2016. ZeniMax Media, a major game publisher known for games such as “Doom” and “Fallout,” says it has proof that Oculus executives in 2013 stole ZeniMax code and other documents necessary to build the Oculus Rift headset.</p>
<p>“That evidence includes the theft of trade secrets and highly confidential information, including computer code,” said ZeniMax in a statement ahead of Zuckerberg’s testimony. The company said it also has proof of “intentional destruction of evidence to cover up their wrongdoing.”</p>
<p>Most of the case, ZeniMax Media Inc. v. Oculus VR Inc, centers on Oculus and its chief technology officer John Carmack – one of the industry’s most revered game programmers, who is perhaps best-known for the “Doom” franchise. Carmack left ZeniMax in 2013 for Oculus. According to Zenimax, he not only took “t housands of pages of ZeniMax’s confidential documents” but also broke an agreement not to recruit ZeniMax employees.</p>
<p>But the publisher is also going after Facebook itself, trying to prove it ignored signs that Oculus wasn’t being truthful about its technology.</p>
<p>Facebook has said in statements that ZeniMax’s claims, first filed in 2014, are outrageous and untrue. It has also said that the publisher never seemed to care about Carmack’s supposed theft until it got wind of Facebook’s planned $2 billion acquisition deal – after earlier rejecting an early opportunity to invest in Oculus.</p>
<p>In a statement ahead of Thursday’s trial, Oculus said: “We’re disappointed that another company is using wasteful litigation to attempt to take credit for technology that it did not have the vision, expertise, or patience to build.” The company has also said in previous statements that today’s version of the Rift does not contain a single line of code that can be traced to ZeniMax.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the stand, Zuckerberg said that ZeniMax had come “out of the woodwork” with its claims once it realized how valuable the company could be, New York Times reporter Mike Isaac tweeted from the courtroom.</p>
<p>Lawyers asked Zuckerberg, who had ditched his trademark hoodie for a suit and tie, whether Facebook knew ZeniMax had laid claim to some of Oculus’s technology before the deal, Isaac reported. ZeniMax attorneys pointed in particular to a text conversation between Zuckerberg and Facebook corporate development Amin Zoufonoun that suggest Zuckerberg encouraged his deputy to push the deal through despite questions about Oculus’s truthfulness.</p>
<p>Isaac also reported that Facebook set aside just one weekend to do its legal diligence on researching Oculus before buying the firm – a timeline Zuckerberg confirmed under oath.</p>
<p>Lawyer, incredulously: “Your plan was to begin legal diligence on Friday, and sign the deal on monday.”</p>
<p>The fact that Zuckerberg appeared in person in a Texas court seems to underscore comments he has made about virtual reality’s importance to the company. Zuckerberg has said repeatedly that he believes Oculus and virtual reality technology, while often viewed as gaming technologies now, hold the key to future social interaction. Facebook wants to be a leader in the space, and to see VR videos shared on its network, used for real-time activities such as long-distance poker matches and as a replacement for teleconferencing.</p> | Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand in $2 billion lawsuit claiming Oculus theft | false | https://abqjournal.com/929550/mark-zuckerberg-takes-the-stand-in-2-billion-lawsuit-claiming-oculus-theft.html | 2 |
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<p>As my friend Sarah pointed out to me, it looks like Donald Rumsfeld is trying to wipe his hands clean after years of rightfully being branded a war-criminal. In <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/americas/article4462278.ece" type="external">a recent interview</a> with Britain’s The Times,&#160;the former Secretary of Defense deflected the blame onto former President George W. Bush, saying W. was wrong in is attempt to bring democracy and nation build to Iraq:</p>
<p>“I’m not one who thinks that our particular template of democracy is appropriate for other countries at every moment of their histories. The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. I was concerned about it when I first heard those words.”</p>
<p>Wow, you’re about 15 years too late. Rumsfeld claimed he had serious reservations about the nation building from the start. Yet he went along with it for almost fifteen years. Now all of a sudden he wants to come clean. I guess nation building didn’t work out too well considering&#160;his actions helped&#160;create ISIS.</p>
<p>So Rumsfeld quietly kept his mouth shut while 4,500 American soldiers died “building a nation” he wasn’t even confident could be built?</p>
<p>What’s even more concerning is the discrepancies on “bringing democracy” to Iraq amongst Bush cabinet members. Rumsfeld says the plan was to bring democracy and nation build, something he wasn’t comfortable with. However, in 2011, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ruBKulyXQs" type="external">in an interview with ABC News</a> over her book No Higher Honor, Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State for the Bush Administration, said, “We didn’t go to Iraq to bring democracy to the Iraqi people.”</p>
<p>So which is it? We have the Secretary of Defense saying it was nation building, and we have the Secretary of State saying it wasn’t for nation building.</p>
<p>That’s not the only sketchy revelation made. In an April <a href="http://www.playboy.com/articles/playboy-interview-dick-cheney" type="external">interview with&#160;</a> <a href="http://www.playboy.com/articles/playboy-interview-dick-cheney" type="external">Playboy</a>, Dick Cheney said President Bush was briefed on the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques. After years of saying the United States did not partake in such practices, they knew all along what was going on. In other words, he lied to the American people (but is anyone shocked?):</p>
<p>You have become publicly identified with the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that CIA officers used when questioning suspected terrorists. Your critics call those techniques torture. To your knowledge, was President Bush briefed about the actual methods that were to be employed?</p>
<p>I believe he was.</p>
<p>We ask because inDecision Points, the former president’s 2010 memoir, he recalls having been briefed on the EITs. Yet former CIA general counsel John Rizzo, in his 2014 memoir,Company Man, disputes that and says that he contacted former CIA director George Tenet about it, after reading the president’s book, and that Tenet backs him up in the belief that Bush wasnotbriefed.</p>
<p>No, I’m certain Bush was briefed. I also recall a session where the entire National Security Council was briefed. The meeting took place in Condi Rice’s office—I don’t think Colin Powell was there, but I think he was briefed separately—where we went down through the specific techniques that were being authorized.</p>
<p>Why do you say you’re certain Bushwasbriefed?</p>
<p>Well, partly because he said he was. I don’t have any doubt about that. I mean, he was included in the process. I mean, that’s not the kind of thing that we would have done without his approval.</p>
<p>There’s the Bush Administration for you. Backstabbing, lies, deception, and truths coming out after it’s too late. For years this Administration has lied to the American people, let our country go nearly bankrupt, and let over 4,500 soldiers die, and they can’t even agree on why we were there in the first place.</p>
<p>And they have the audacity to even criticize the Obama Administration?</p>
<p>Image <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_031008-F-2828D-057_Secretary_of_Defense,_The_Honorable_Donald_H._Rumsfeld,_answers_questions_from_members_of_the_media_during_a_joint_news_conference_with_NATO_Secretary-General_George_Robertson_at_a_session_of_the_info.jpg" type="external">via Wikipedia</a> from the U.S. Navy</p> | Rumsfeld Turns On Bush: He Was Wrong About Iraq | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/06/09/rumsfeld-turns-on-bush-he-was-wrong-about-iraq/ | 2015-06-09 | 4 |
<p>Paper - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management</p>
<p />
<p>While some people in the international community were skeptical about whether North Korea had actually tested a nuclear device on Oct. 9, 2006, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence stated decisively on Oct.16, "Analysis of air samples collected on October 11, 2006 detected radioactive debris which confirms that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion." Moreover, some experts suggested that such air sampling analysis would be able to determine if the fissile material was plutonium or uranium. In this paper, Zhang explores what information could have been obtained from offsite air sampling analysis. Specifically, he examines how to use the activity ratios of xenon isotopes to identify the North Korean nuclear test and whether the off-site air sampling analysis would be able to distinguish a test from a plutonium-bomb and a HEU bomb.</p>
<p /> | Off-Site Air Sampling Analysis And North Korean Nuclear Test | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/site-air-sampling-analysis-and-north-korean-nuclear-test | 2007-07-01 | 2 |
<p>Good morning. Here are some of the stories we’re following today:</p>
<p>Inmates at the Clinton Correctional Facility — where two killers broke out almost a week ago — looked for the "weakest links" among the staff in an effort to exploit them for preferential treatment and more, two sources familiar with that prison told NBC News. A corrections department employee says the manipulation — called "grooming" — has become more of an issue than prison workers wanted to admit. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>A Rhode Island man was arrested Thursday night in connection with an alleged terrorism plot that left a Boston man dead last week, the FBI said. Nicholas Rovinski, 24, of Warwick, is the <a href="" type="internal">third, unidentified man referred to in court documents</a> with whom Usaamah Abdullah Rahim and David Wright met on a Rhode Island beach to discuss an alleged plan to kill police officers. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>Acting under a rarely used provision of Ohio state law, a judge found probable cause Thursday to charge Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann with murder in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir last year. But the ruling is only advisory and doesn't affect the separate grand jury investigation. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>Embattled Twitter CEO Dick Costolo will leave his post July 1 and be replaced temporarily by the site's founder, Jack Dorsey, the company announced Thursday. Costolo said he began talking with board members last year about a succession plan, and with a strong team in place, both parties ultimately agreed "now is the right time." <a href="" type="internal">Read more in TECH</a>.</p>
<p>U.S. officials say they are still trying to assess the damage caused by a massive cyberattack on the federal government, while a union representing federal workers on Thursday claimed that the information of every current and retired federal employee was exposed. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in TECH</a>.</p>
<p>A French prosecutor says that some doctors who treated Andreas Lubitz, who crashed a Germanwings jet in March, felt he shouldn't fly — but did not tell his employers because of German patient secrecy laws. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>Moments before Game 4 of the NBA Finals began on Thursday night between the Cavaliers and the Warriors, James inadvertently exposed himself to millions watching on live television. His wardrobe malfunction preceded his worst offensive night of the series, which is now tied at 2-2. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in SPORTS</a>.</p>
<p>With California's historic drought entering its fourth year with no end in sight, the state is <a href="" type="internal">taking the plunge with plans</a> to turn the ocean into drinkable water.</p>
<p /> | KNOW IT ALL: Friday’s Top 7 Stories at NBC News | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/know-it-all/know-it-all-friday-s-top-7-stories-nbc-news-n374211 | 2015-06-12 | 3 |
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<p>The backdrop is Santa Fe in 1926 during fiestas, with its Gran Baile, the burning of Will Shuster’s Zozobra and Hysterical Parade.</p>
<p>Janet Chapman discusses and signs “Madcap Masquerade” at 3 p.m. Aug. 19 at Bookworks, 4022 Rio Grande NW.</p>
<p>The protagonist is Amanda Williams, a 20-year-old student at Wellesley College visiting her best friend, June, in the City Different.</p>
<p>For most of the novel, Amanda is in disguise as the newly arrived Lionel Hairgrove. Only June knows of her disguise; everyone else thinks Amanda has suddenly returned to Boston.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>As Lionel, Amanda helps June ferret out her would-be boyfriend Justin’s intentions. June is mad for him. Does Justin feel the same about her? He certainly doesn’t show it. In fact, he seems to be paying more attention to Teresa, who has a crush on June’s younger brother Christopher. Meanwhile, Amanda is enamored of David, whom she recently met. But now David finds his romantic feelings are strangely split between Amanda and Lionel.</p>
<p>The reader is a fly on the wall watching these young people interpret one another’s behavior and words.</p>
<p>Chapman said the inspiration for the novel was “the old Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movies, the crazy plots and missed connections.”</p>
<p>Astaire and Rogers were dancers and singers who co-starred in more than half a dozen films in the 1930s.</p>
<p>Everyone has the best intentions, but things just keep getting complicated.</p>
<p>“I thought it would be fun to recreate that in terms of the plot,” she added.</p>
<p>“Madcap Masquerade” is Chapman’s debut novel. Her first book, which she co-authored, was a biography of her great-uncle, “Kenneth Milton Chapman, A Life Dedicated to Indian Arts and Artists,” which the University of New Mexico Press published.</p>
<p>For the biography, she did some research on Santa Fe of the 1920s and a great deal more for the novel. Her great-uncle is referred to in the novel: David points to a Mr. Chapman, the main judge for the prizes given to the artists in the Indian fair.</p>
<p>The novel refers to a number of famous people who lived in northern New Mexico in the 1920s. There’s Santa Fe poet-writer Witter “Hal” Bynner, San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez and heiress Mabel Dodge Luhan, who invited artists and writers to her Taos salon-home to rejuvenate themselves. Amanda read about Mabel and is inspired by her to visit the Southwest for her own “psychic renewal.” In a subplot, Lionel is so upset by Bynner’s unflattering comments about Mabel in his book “Cake: An Indulgence” that he attempts to interfere in Bynner’s love life.</p>
<p>“I was captivated by the 1920s in Santa Fe,” Chapman said. “There were so many artists, writers, archaeologists doing so many interesting things. It seemed like a fun place to live and a fun time to be there. The closest I could come was to write a novel about it.”</p>
<p>Chapman wanted to write a book that would make people smile. She did.</p>
<p>The author, a technical writer by day, lived in the East Mountains for years and now resides in Albuquerque.</p>
<p /> | Dramatic romance in 1926 Santa fe | false | https://abqjournal.com/1043828/dramatic-romance.html | 2 |
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<p>Planned Parenthood has been under investigation for selling human fetus tissue, and now Congress’ attention to the situation has thickened.</p>
<p>Under federal law, donated human fetus tissue is allowed to be used for research. But videos showing Planned Parenthood selling human fetus tissue has been red flagged, as the law dictates the sale of it is illegal, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/07/us-usa-plannedparenthood-idUSKCN0QC2CG20150807" type="external">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>An anti-abortion group called the Center for Medical Progress last month brought the videos up to the eye of Congress.</p>
<p>Along with Planned Parenthood, three private bio-medical firms were have been targeted by the U.S. congressional panel. The U.S. House of Representative committee created a public letter requesting an interview with personnel from Planned Parenthood who appeared in the videos.</p>
<p>House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans said they wrote to the three companies identified as human fetal tissue suppliers to request more information from them.</p>
<p>Planned Parenthood provides healthcare services to millions of women at hundreds of centers across the United States.</p>
<p>At this time, they have denied being part of any wrongdoings and noted that abortions only make up to three percent of their outlined work.</p>
<p>Energy and Commerce’s letter to Planned Parenthood stated specific names of the people involved in the video.</p>
<p>“As you know, in several recent videotapes made public, these individuals have made statements concerning the manner in which fetal tissue is procured,” the committee letter said.</p>
<p>“We are examining whether these statements … are consistent with existing laws,” said the letter, signed by the panel’s chairman, Representative Fred Upton, and others.</p>
<p>Planned Parenthood has stated that they will fully cooperate with the committee and supply any information that they request.</p>
<p>The companies involved were: Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc., StemExpress and Novogenix Laboratories.</p>
<p>At this time, there are some conservative Republicans that have brought up cutting off Planned Parenthood’s federal funds, but no action has been taken yet in that direction.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Congress inquiry into Planned Parenthood intensifies | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/08/07/congress-inquiry-into-planned-parenthood-intensifies/ | 2015-08-07 | 3 |
<p>On Monday, a visibly frustrated Glenn Beck <a href="https://soundcloud.com/buzzfeedandrew" type="external">interviewed Ted Cruz</a> about his endorsement of Donald Trump, concluding after the interview was over that he should have backed Marco Rubio, and calling Cruz “calculated.”</p>
<p>Beck began:</p>
<p>Senator, you said you made this decision for two reasons: first, you promised to support the Republican nominee, and you intend to keep your word, and second, by any measure, Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable. I want to get into both of those things with you, but I want to start with the last thing that you said. You said, if you don’t want to se a Hillary Clinton presidency I encourage you to vote for Donald Trump. You’re voting for him, and you encourage others to vote for him, In your very eloquent, almost Charles Sumner speech at the convention, you said, “vote for conscience.” So am I now supposed to vote for him, or am I supposed to vote my conscience?</p>
<p>Cruz answered: “Well, Glenn, what I said in Cleveland, and I say today is the same thing: you should follow your conscience. And I believe what I laid out in Cleveland was don’t stay home, come out, vote your conscience, and vote for candidates you trust to defend freedom and defend the Constitution.”</p>
<p>After Cruz pointed out that Hillary Clinton would defend neither freedom or the Constitution, Beck agreed that she is not fit to be president of the United States, but then pointed out that Cruz would not answer when recently asked whether Trump was fit to be president.</p>
<p>Cruz argued that the election was a binary choice, stating, “What I said is this is a binary choice. I wish it were not a binary choice. As you know, I tried very very hard, as did you, to prevent it from being a binary choice between Hillary and Donald Trump.”</p>
<p>Beck then answered that Cruz would not say Trump was fit to be president, yet was encouraging people who stuck to their principles like Beck to abandon them and vote for Trump.</p>
<p>Cruz replied, “You are encouraged by me to do what you believe is right and honorable and principled.”</p>
<p>After Cruz spoke of the prospect of Hillary Clinton’s effect on the Supreme Court, Beck followed up by pointing out, “This is information that you had in Cleveland. … You had all of this information. You had this information the day you dropped out of the race and said that Donald Trump is a ‘sociopathic liar.’ So you had all this information. Have you spent an enormous amount of time — do you have new information that has made you say, ‘Oh, my gosh. He’s now not a sociopathic liar? He is not the guy that I very eloquently spelled out for over a year. And now suddenly there’s a reason to believe him?’</p>
<p>Cruz pointed out that he had had significant differences with Trump, but Beck persisted, “You knew all the things you are saying today. The time to do that would have been the day you pulled out, or the day you gave the speech so eloquently. Why now? What’s new?”</p>
<p>Cruz replied that “the most significant thing that changed” was the Supreme Court list of names Trump released on Friday, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a friend of Cruz’s.</p>
<p>That weak-tea excuse offered, Beck fired back, “Why do you believe him?”</p>
<p>After Beck had finished interviewing Cruz, he concluded, “For the very first time I heard Ted Cruz calculate. And when that happened, the whole thing fell apart for me. And it’s my fault. It’s my fault for believing men can actually be George Washington. It’s my fault.” He added, “I should have said, ‘You know who can win? You know who can beat Hillary Clinton? Marco Rubio.I may disagree with him on the Gang of Eight [immigration bill], but there’s about 80% that I do agree with him on, and he’s kind of a politician, but he’s a different kind of politician. He's a Hispanic, he can win — let's go for it.’”</p>
<p>Beck said, "To become the politician is disappointing. Really disappointing. … He’s still a good man, he’s just a politician first.” He later <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/26/glenn-beck-breaks-up-with-ted-cruz-over-his-donald-trump-endorsement.html" type="external">concluded</a>, “The interview pissed me off. That was so calculated that it was stunning to me."</p> | LISTEN: Cruz vs. Beck on Voting for Trump | true | https://dailywire.com/news/9473/listen-cruz-vs-beck-voting-trump-hank-berrien | 2016-09-26 | 0 |
<p>The US ambassador to Yemen has praised the government's renewed offensive against Al Qaeda, coming after months in which the terror group had taken advantage of internal turmoil to overrun parts of the south.</p>
<p>At least 17 suspected Qaeda militants were killed in an air raid that struck one of their hideouts in the lawless south, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gSqZkYdspB_wFyKFNWpTLzRCJBvw?docId=CNG.9b1ccd8db409c30832573d72fddc109a.81" type="external">Agence France-Presse cited</a>the defense ministry as saying Sunday.</p>
<p>Militants had been wanting to capture the city of Loder, in Abiyan province, and the strategic road it controls, 150 miles southeast of the capital, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/22/us-praises-yemen-crackdown-on-al-qaida/" type="external">the Associated Press wrote</a>.</p>
<p>The attack brought to 57 the number of Islamist insurgents reportedly killed in south Yemen over the past three days, according to the defense ministry.</p>
<p>The AP cited US Ambassador Gerald Feierstein as telling reporters in the capital, Sanaa, on Sunday that: "We have begun to see in the past few days ... a strategy to challenge Al Qaeda in ways they have not done in the past months."</p>
<p>It was unclear if the Loder strike was carried out by the Yemeni air force or by US drones.&#160;</p>
<p>On Wednesday <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-seeks-new-authority-to-expand-yemen-drone-campaign/2012/04/18/gIQAsaumRT_story.html" type="external">the Washington Post reported</a> that US drones had carried out eight airs strikes in Yemen in the past four months.</p>
<p>According to the Post the CIA is seeking permission to launch more airborne drone strikes in Yemen, even when there is a risk the victims might not always be terrorists.</p>
<p>If President Barack Obama's administration gives the CIA permission for the strikes, it could represent a politically dangerous escalation of US military activity in Yemen, the Post wrote.</p>
<p>The US has never formally acknowledged the use of drones against Al Qaeda in Yemen, considered by Washington to be the most active and deadly branch of the global terror network.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/120422/french-red-cross-worker-kidnapped-yemen" type="external">French Red Cross worker kidnapped in Yemen</a></p>
<p>Exploiting weakened central government control, Islamist insurgents have taken control of a number of cities in the territory, close to key Red Sea shipping lanes.</p>
<p>More than 200 people have reportedly been killed since Government forces stepped up attacks on militants, according to a report in the Scotland Herald.</p>
<p>Islamist insurgents have taken control of a number of cities in the south, close to key Red Sea shipping lanes, plotting suicide attacks on oil facilities and repeatedly sabotaging Yemen's oil and gas pipelines.</p>
<p>France's Total gas pipeline to Balhaf was last blown up in March, hours after a US drone attack killed at least five militants, the Herald reported.</p>
<p>New President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who took office vowing to fight al Qaeda, is also facing challenges from Shi'ite Muslim rebels in the north and secessionists in the south.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/120221/saleh-yemen-election-protests" type="external">Yemen's president Saleh is out. But real change remains elusive</a></p> | US ambassador praises Yemen's fight against Al Qaeda | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-22/us-ambassador-praises-yemens-fight-against-al-qaeda | 2012-04-22 | 3 |
<p>So much for United Russia. That’s the optimistic name of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s party, which drew accusations of voting fraud and incited protests after Sunday’s parliamentary election. The demonstrations continued Tuesday in Moscow and two other Russian cities, leading to hundreds of arrests and two counter-protests.</p>
<p>AP via USA Today:</p>
<p>Opponents say even that reduced presence came because of vote fraud. Local and international election observers reported widespread ballot-stuffing and irregularities in the vote count.</p>
<p>The protesters appear to be both angered by the reported fraud and energized by the vote’s show of declining support for Putin and his party, which have strongly overshadowed all other political forces in Russia for a dozen years.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-06/russian-election-protest/51670936/1?csp=34news" type="external">Read more</a></p> | More Protests Lead to Mass Arrests in Moscow | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/more-protests-lead-to-mass-arrests-in-moscow/ | 2011-12-07 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Let’s be clear: if Barack Obama really believes the things he said in California last week, he’s wrong. People “cling” to gun rights, religion, and anti-trade sentiment because those are things they believe in, not because they’re bitter or angry. I suspect Obama knows as much, although his tortured and politically foolish phrasing and word choice might suggest otherwise. But there is more at stake here than what the mainstream media likes to refer to as a “gaffe.” Because like every other manufactured controversy that’s based on something someone said rather than something someone did (like, say, torture people), there’s a double standard at work here.</p>
<p>The truth is that the right wing pronounces and the media repeats, with regularity, stupid, stereotypical slurs about large parts of American society, and no one blinks an eye. Trial lawyers, academics in their ivory towers, job-stealing illegal immigrants ( <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705110004" type="external">with leprosy!</a>), effete wine-drinking liberals, suburban soccer moms, granola-crunching environmentalists, and just about anyone within spitting range of “ <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200611270006" type="external">San Francisco values</a>,” are totally in-bounds for any sort of mockery the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world can cook up. But god forbid someone slur “Middle America.”</p>
<p>Stereotyping bicoastal city-dwellers is totally fine. That’s acceptable discourse. You can be “out of touch” with the 80 percent of the American population that lives in metro areas and their surrounding suburbs ( <a href="http://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/dynamic/PopDistribution.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>). In fact, it actually qualifies you to run for office. You’re down-to-earth, “real,” and an “everyday guy” (or gal). Some casual stereotyping of and contempt for city dwellers and suburbanites is always welcomed. Their values and lifestyle choices and beliefs can and should be attacked. But while it’s perfectly okay to hold and repeat outrageously offensive views about city folk and the values they hold dear, a city-born-and-bred man apparently can’t reveal that he may hold some silly or stereotypical opinions about why small-town Americans believe what they believe. At least not if he wants to be president.</p>
<p>The truth is that our backgrounds and upbringings create biases. White people make assumptions about black people. Jews make assumptions about Christians. And small-town folks make assumptions about city folks and visa versa. And anyone who tells you they’re free of bias is <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/" type="external">lying</a>. The challenge is to overcome those biases that are hammered into us by the circumstances of our upbringing, and to not let those biases change how we treat others. Barack Obama has previously demonstrated the ability to empathize with people who aren’t like him by noting in his <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/03/7695_black_and_more.html" type="external">speech on race</a> the frustration that many middle-class white people have with affirmative action. He’ll have to try to recapture that sense of empathy in the future. But honest people will admit that it’s a constant struggle to fight the assumptions we make about people who are different from us — at least Obama has opened a discussion on the topic over the course of the campaign, which is more than any other politician has done recently.</p>
<p>John McCain has pounced on Obama’s comments, trying to draw a contrast between himself as a “man of the people” and Obama as some “out-of-touch elite” character. This is a silly but mysteriously effective strategy. Republican presidential candidates always run this kind of campaign. They focus on some ridiculous narrative about class and down-to-earthness, despite the fact that every Democratic and Republican nominee for president is, by definition, a member of the elite, and almost all are fantastically wealthy. Obama certainly played right into McCain’s hands with his comments about small-town America. But he has shown his skill as a politician by using his mistake to segue into a discussion about why people are frustrated with the government and the status quo in Washington. And here’s the dirty little secret that no one talks about: Americans overwhelmingly agree with Barack Obama on the issues. They don’t want the federal government to do nothing about the housing crisis, they do want more transparency in Washington, and they don’t want to keep fighting the war in Iraq. They even want universal health care.</p>
<p>This so-called story (“Presidential candidate may in fact hold biases like everyone else”) is a story only because it supports the classic narrative of American elections, where the Democrat is the contemptuous elitist and the Republican is the down-to-earth man of the people. That story works because the media is driven by narrative, and manufactured outrage and the politics of grievance make great television. Cable news and the mainstream media is a world where what matters most is what people say, not what they do. It’s a profoundly crooked world, where being offended at something someone said (whether it was a Lefty with a intolerant rant about Middle America or a Righty with some “Bible-based” homophobic diatribe) is somehow more legitimate and more interesting than being outraged by something someone did (like, say, torturing people). Yes, words matter, and they can hurt. But I’m going to go ahead and bet that there isn’t one word in any language that hurts as much as torture.</p>
<p>In any just world, the lead story of the past four days would be the confirmation of what many already suspected: that George Bush and the principal figures in his administration knew about and authorized the torture of terrorist “detainees”. I have a poster on my wall from World War II. It reads, “Torture is the method of the enemy. We fight for a free world.” What’s John McCain’s recent record on torture? Well, today he took the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/14/mccain-opposes-torturing-americans/" type="external">bold stand</a> that we should never torture “any American.” And then there’s this: “In February, McCain voted against a bill banning the CIA from using torture, specifically including waterboarding. When the bill passed, McCain encouraged Bush to veto it — effectively supporting the CIA’s use of “stress positions, hypothermia, threats to the detainee and his family, severe sleep deprivation, and severe sensory deprivation.” It would be great if we paid more attention to the fact that many members of a major political party in the United States now believe it’s okay to torture people in the name of freedom. But instead the airwaves are plastered from sea to shining see with Barack Obama’s stupid comments about Middle America. That’s enough to make anyone bitter.</p>
<p /> | Why the “Bitter” Controversy Is So Stupid | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/04/why-bitter-controversy-so-stupid/ | 2008-04-14 | 4 |
<p>(Reuters) – Activist investor Fir Tree Partners on Monday opposed SandRidge Energy Inc’s $746-million deal to buy rival Bonanza Creek Energy Inc , saying an acquisition would drain all of the oil and gas producer’s cash.</p>
<p>“We believe this proposed acquisition represents a complete about face by (SandRidge’s) management on its post-bankruptcy strategy,” Fir Tree Partners, which owns about 8.3 percent of SandRidge, said in a statement.</p>
<p>SandRidge emerged from bankruptcy late last year, while Bonanza did so in April following a recovery in oil prices after a two-year slump.</p>
<p>As of Sept. 30, Oklahoma-based SandRidge’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $133.2 million.</p>
<p>Shares of SandRidge, which had fallen nearly 22 percent since the beginning of the year, dropped another 15 percent on Wednesday after the deal was announced.</p>
<p>Bonanza Creek’s shares closed at $32.07 on Wednesday, well below SandRidge’s offer price of $36 per share, suggesting investors were skeptical the deal would close.</p>
<p>Fir Tree also said SandRidge was paying an “unjustified premium” for Bonanza Creek.</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> | SandRidge investor Fir Tree opposes $746 million bid for Bonanza Creek | false | https://newsline.com/sandridge-investor-fir-tree-opposes-746-million-bid-for-bonanza-creek/ | 2017-11-20 | 1 |
<p>AUSTRALIAThe AgeThursday 8 May 2003, 8:06 PM</p>
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<p>Governor-General Peter Hollingworth has revealed he has been accused of raping a woman in Victoria in the 1960s.</p>
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<p>Dr Hollingworth, already under intense pressure to resign over his handling of child sex abuse cases, denied the allegation, saying it was a case of mistaken identity.</p>
<p>In an extraordinary twist to the furore surrounding the vice-regal office, the governor-general revealed the rape allegation in a statement recorded for television.</p>
<p>"I did not know this woman," Dr Hollingworth said in the statement.</p>
<p>"I did not rape her. I did not sexually assault her. I deny absolutely that I have ever raped or in any way sexually assaulted any person."</p> | Hollingworth denies raping woman | false | https://poynter.org/news/hollingworth-denies-raping-woman | 2003-05-08 | 2 |
<p>By Tim Radford / <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6318/1423" type="external">Climate News Network</a></p>
<p />
<p>&#160; &#160; The temperate and mixed forests of the world are the most divided by roads. (HC_Vision via Flickr)</p>
<p>LONDON — European, Brazilian and US scientists have delivered a new map of humanity’s mark on the world. Roads now fragment the terrestrial landscape and divide it into 600,000 patches — and only 7% of the roadless areas are larger than 100 square kilometres.</p>
<p />
<p>More than half of the patches are less than 1 sq km and four-fifths are less than 5 sq km. The implication is that humans are getting everywhere, and bringing with them noise, pollution, damage to wildlife and biological invaders.</p>
<p>About the only regions in which roads are few are the tundra, the deserts and the rock- and ice-covered highlands. The temperate and mixed forests of the world are the most divided by roads.</p>
<p>Pierre Ibisch, of Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development in Germany, and colleagues <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6318/1423" type="external">report in Science</a> that they used citizen science and internet datasets, and reviewed 282 studies, to make the maps.</p>
<p>Construction of roads</p>
<p>They allowed a 1km buffer zone along each road, because the construction of any road creates disturbance, including the loss of timber. And they conclude that a third of the world’s roads are now in regions with low biodiversity, low ecological function and low ecosystem resilience.</p>
<p>They see those areas still beyond the reach of cars, trucks and tractors as vulnerable.</p>
<p>“Global protection of ecologically valuable roadless areas is inadequate,” they write. “International recognition and protection of roadless areas is urgently needed to halt their continued loss.”</p>
<p>Such studies are fresh ways of illustrating what scientists call the “Great Acceleration”: one human lifetime ago, the world was home to only 2.5bn people, and very few of them had cars.</p>
<p>UN scientists predict a population of at least 9bn people this century, and possibly a much higher number before 2100. The cities are expanding, and new built-up areas will cover more than 1 million sq km between now and 2040.</p>
<p>One team of researchers has just calculated that the human “technosphere” — the sum of all things humans have built or excavated — has reached a mass of 30 trillion metric tons.</p>
<p>By 2050, the world will build an estimated 25 million kilometres of new road lanes, most of them in the developing world.</p>
<p>Andrew Balmford, a professor of conservation science at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and colleagues argue in a separate study in the Public Library of Science journal Biology that it should be possible to devise a highway strategy that makes the best use of existing farmland, serves the greatest number of people and yet conserves the natural ecosystems that deliver services of profound value to all humanity.</p>
<p>Among these are water management, carbon storage, crop pollination, and plants and animals that could be the source of new foods and medicines.</p>
<p>Opposition</p>
<p>The researchers tested their argument in the Greater Mekong region of south-east Asia, a landscape that includes Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and some of Myanmar. It is home to 320 million people, 20,000 plant species, 2,000 terrestrial vertebrate species and 850 varieties of freshwater fish, and it has lost a third of its tropical forest in the past four decades.</p>
<p>“The Mekong region is home to some of the world’s most valuable tropical forests. It’s also a region in which a lot of roads are going to be built, and blanket opposition by the conservation community is unlikely to stop this,” says co-author Xu Jianchu, professor of ethnoecology at the Kunming Institute of Botany in China and regional coordinator for the World Agroforestry Centre.</p>
<p>“Studies like ours help pinpoint the projects we should oppose most loudly, while transparently showing the reasons why and providing alternatives where environmental costs are lower and development benefits are greater. Conservationists need to be active voices in infrastructure development.”</p>
<p>Tim Radford, a founding editor of Climate News Network, worked for The Guardian for 32 years, for most of that time as science editor. He has been covering climate change since 1988.</p> | New Map Reveals How Roads Devastate Nature | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/new-map-reveals-how-roads-devastate-nature/ | 2017-01-18 | 4 |
<p>Iran says it is holding the United States responsible for the life and safety of an Iranian diplomat who was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6334439.stm" type="external">kidnapped</a> Sunday. Iraqi officials say Jalal Sharafi was abducted by men wearing the uniform of a special unit under American command, but the U.S. has denied any involvement.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Jalal Sharafi, the embassy's second secretary, was abducted from his car on Sunday in central Karrada district by men wearing Iraqi army uniforms.</p>
<p>Iran condemned the kidnapping and said it held the US responsible for his life. A US military spokesman said no US or Iraqi troops were involved.</p>
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<p>The news comes amid US-Iranian tension over Iranian activities in Iraq.</p>
<p>Last month in a dramatic pre-dawn helicopter raid, the Americans arrested five Iranians in north Iraq, prompting Iran to issue a formal protest to the US.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6334439.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Diplomat's Abduction Aggravates Iran-U.S. Relations | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/diplomats-abduction-aggravates-iran-u-s-relations/ | 2007-02-06 | 4 |
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<p>Officers with the Albuquerque Police Department walk toward a site where a possible body was found in a vacant lot near Bluewater and Airport NW Thursday afternoon. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Someone walking across the uneven ground of a vacant lot near Bluewater and Airport NW found a human hand and a sock covered by a brick slab Thursday afternoon, police said.</p>
<p>It was a partially buried body.</p>
<p>Officers were called to the scene around 1 p.m. to investigate a suspicious death and the scene was made a violent crimes call-out, said officer Tanner Tixier, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department.</p>
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<p>A sock was located where a foot would be in relation to the hand, he said.</p>
<p>Late Thursday detectives had not determined the gender or age of the body or the cause of death, said officer Darren DeAguero, an APD spokesman. They also did not know how long the body had been buried in the lot, he said.</p>
<p>The discovery was made in an overgrown lot full of small mounds of earth and shrubs, bordered by warehouses, construction businesses and a freight transportation center. Crime tape was strung up in the middle of the lot near a tree, and officers focused on an area several yards south of Bluewater NW.</p>
<p>"It's a pretty complex crime scene to get everything moved and extracted from the ground," Tixier said.</p>
<p>Leo Gonzalez said he works in a warehouse near where the hand was found. He said he saw the police cars and crime tape and drove over to see what was going on.</p>
<p>"Just thinking about what's going on by the area where you're working is kind of scary," Gonzalez said.</p>
<p>DeAguero said officers had not fully excavated the body Thursday night.</p>
<p>"Due to the loss of daylight, the criminalistics team cannot excavate the body at night," he said. "We have an officer securing the scene for the night until excavation can continue in the morning."</p>
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<p /> | Human remains found in NW Albuquerque lot | false | https://abqjournal.com/607164/possible-human-remains-found-in-nw-abq-lot.html | 2015-07-02 | 2 |
<p>On May 20 Myeisha Hutchinson is giving up part of her Sunday off to join tens of thousands of American families throughout the country who plan to participate in the 2012 Equal Voice Online Convention.</p>
<p>At the convention, which will be broadcast over the Internet, families will determine, and then vote on the issues for a national platform by and for families.</p>
<p>In doing so, they are sending a powerful message to the president, decision-makers and the country that families will be heard in 2012.</p>
<p>“It’s time for people who have not had a voice, not had opportunities, to have a chance to speak up,” said Hutchinson, 28. “I grew up in a single-parent family, in a neighborhood where the playing field was never fair.</p>
<p>“I want people to know we are not going to stand for injustice, that everyone deserves quality and equality. That means child care, health care and safe neighborhoods. It is time for all Americans to truly thrive,” she said.</p>
<p>“You think poverty doesn’t have anything to do with you? Well, that can all change in a blink of an eye,” said Hutchinson, who lives with her mother and grandmother in the same house where she grew up, in Birmingham’s low-income Woodlawn neighborhood.</p>
<p>Hutchinson is right. According to a study by the Corporation for Economic Development, more than 40 percent of families would fall below the poverty line within three months if they lost their jobs or became ill and couldn’t work.</p>
<p>Nearly 49 million people in America struggle every day to meet the basic needs of their families. They are families that work hard, sometimes two or three jobs that pay the $7.25 minimum wage, and still can’t make ends meet.</p>
<p>Despite their numbers, poor and low-income families in America, their views and their voices, are routinely ignored by those who create the policies that affect their lives.</p>
<p>That’s about to change.</p>
<p>On May 20, Marguerite Casey Foundation and Equal Voice families throughout the country will come together online, in a live webcast, to determine their issues and concerns and vote on the 2012 Equal Voice for America’s Families National Family Platform.</p>
<p>Anyone with an Internet connection can join the convention at <a href="http://www.equalvoice2012.org/" type="external">http://www.equalvoice2012.org/</a>.</p>
<p>Some of the biggest in-person gatherings will be held in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, in Birmingham, Ala., and in Seattle, Wash. Those three gatherings will be webcast live.</p>
<p>Other large gatherings are planned in California, Illinois, Arizona, Mississippi, Georgia and Kentucky. Many more people will meet at coffee shops, community centers and in living rooms across the country.</p>
<p>During the event, participants anywhere in the country will be able to ask questions and discuss issues by using social media, including their own Facebook and Twitter accounts. Then, they will vote – by mobile-phone text messaging or online via Twitter or Poll Everywhere – on the issues most important to them.</p>
<p>Families will text their votes on issues on May 20 to contribute their voice in updating the 2012 National Family Platform.</p>
<p>“We’ve been consumed by the interests of politicians and corporations for too long. It’s time to find our voices and our power by coming together,” &#160;said Jeanette Taylor-Smith, a mother of five in Chicago who works as a parent organizer.</p>
<p>Equal Voice is a network of organizations and families around the country that are working to build a base of families to advocate in their own behalf for policy changes to improve the economic and social well-being of poor and low-income families.</p>
<p>In 2008, some 30,000 families participated in the yearlong Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign, which created – for the first time – a comprehensive platform of values and policy recommendations by and for low-income families.</p>
<p>That time, 65 town hall–style meetings were held in 12 states and 11 languages. Families distilled the vision of a better America into an actionable document: The Equal Voice for America’s Families National Family Platform.</p>
<p>The 2008 issues focused on child care, education, employment, criminal justice reform, immigration reform, housing, health care and safe communities. Some of the policy recommendations made in 2008 have been addressed, but many have not.</p>
<p>And four years ago, few could have imagined the nation’s looming economic crisis.</p>
<p>Even fewer could have anticipated the extent to which the government would bail out failing banks and prop up crumbling corporations, while ignoring families living without electricity or running water, or those without enough food or without health care for their children.</p>
<p>The recession brought record high unemployment, homes lost to foreclosure, blighted neighborhoods when banks refused to care for those homes, and bare shelves at food banks. It helped shift 10 million more people into poverty.</p>
<p>Over the last four years, grassroots organizations have used the Equal Voice national family platform to build civic engagement and to create strong networks in every corner of the country to push for policies that will improve the future for their children.</p>
<p>“Since 2008, many people have looked to the national family platform for information and inspiration,” said Kate Shuster, statewide coordinator for Alabama Organizing Project. She is expecting 300 people to meet at the B&amp;A Warehouse in downtown Birmingham for the Equal Voice online convention.</p>
<p>“Families are joining the 2012 online convention to be part of something bigger than themselves,” she said.</p>
<p>The families’ determination is strengthened by the rhetoric of desperate candidates positioning for the 2012 elections. Candidates have used their podiums to insult struggling families and invoke false stereotypes without being challenged.</p>
<p>The truth is, poor families work, sometimes two or three different jobs. Immigrants pay taxes and often receive none of the benefits. More than half of low-income working families are headed by married couples, not single moms. And, poor people come in all colors, including white.</p>
<p>Families struggle because our policies and our system have failed them. They have the firsthand experience and insight into how public policy, attitudes and systems must change:</p>
<p>Sarah White, 52, who worked for 17 years skinning catfish in a processing plant in Moorhead, Miss., plans to take part in the convention.</p>
<p>“We are poor; we don’t have ways to access a better a life,” she said. “We don’t have the security of stable housing or the ability to take our babies to the doctor when they are sick, all the things that are necessary for a family.”</p>
<p>She raised two children while working 10- and 12-hour shifts for minimum wage.</p>
<p>“We never got to go to meetings with our children’s school teachers; we couldn’t take time off,” White said. “I have been where I wondered where I was going to get a can of milk or a chicken to fry.”</p>
<p>Years of working in the refrigerated factory, standing in puddles of water on the concrete floor, ravaged her health. She has asthma, arthritis and diabetes. Now, as a workers’ rights organizer, she has helped win overtime pay, vacation days and health insurance for factory workers.</p>
<p>“You have to fight,” she said.</p>
<p>Families are fighting in Texas, where the Equal Voice network helped defeat nearly 100 anti-immigrant bills and is improving housing, health care and education in the Rio Grande Valley, where the annual income for most families is around $15,000.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, more than 350 Rio Grande Valley residents attended a candidate forum on a Tuesday morning, sending a clear message to politicians that they are organized and that they will vote.</p>
<p>On May 20, they will be joined by families in Chicago, where 100 young people recently gathered at an Equal Voice town hall meeting to talk about the stereotyping of youth and extreme zero-tolerance policies in schools that prevent students of color from graduating.</p>
<p>One young man, O’Sha Dancy, 16, lost his mother and baby sister four years ago while they were boarding a bus in a lightning storm. He was lost, ready to give up on school until he was offered a summer job at the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization that he says opened his eyes.</p>
<p>Now, an advocate for young people in his community, Dancy is taking part in the May 20 convention.</p>
<p>“One person isn’t going to get it done – it takes everyone. People united will never be defeated,” Dancy said.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Contact author</a></p>
<p>&#160;&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Birmingham</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Equal Voice</a>, <a href="" type="internal">family</a>, <a href="" type="internal">issues</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Seattle</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Texas</a></p> | Stronger Together: A Powerful and Equal Voice for Families on May 20 | true | http://equalvoiceforfamilies.org/stronger-together-a-powerful-and-equal-voice-for-families-on-may-20/ | 4 |
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<p>Landlords hoping to pay tenants to move out of New York City's 1.3 million rent-regulated apartments will soon face new limitations on extending offers.</p>
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<p>Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday signed legislation barring repeated buyout offers within six months if tenants don't want them. Other provisions require reminders that tenants can refuse or consult lawyers.</p>
<p>De Blasio and other proponents say the measures will help keep residents from being browbeaten by landlords and professional "tenant relocators" eager to empty rent-restricted apartments so they can charge more.</p>
<p>Vacant apartments often can be renovated, deregulated and re-rented at much higher prices. About 266,000 apartments have been deregulated since 1994.</p>
<p>Some real estate industry experts say the new restrictions will unduly curb communications with tenants.</p>
<p>The measures will take effect in three months.</p> | NYC landlords to face new limitations on buying out tenants; city says some offers harass | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/09/03/nyc-landlords-to-face-new-limitations-on-buying-out-tenants-city-says-some.html | 2016-03-09 | 0 |
<p>NEW DELHI (AP) — Movie superstar Rajinikanth is entering politics in his southern Indian state with a plan to launch his own party, calling it his duty.</p>
<p>The 67-year-old said Sunday to his cheering supporters that his objective is to change the system and bring good governance to Tamil Nadu. He called for political change and appealed to his fans to bring all sections of society into the fold.</p>
<p>“I do not want cadres. I want watchdogs,” New Delhi Television channel quoted Rajinikanth as saying.</p>
<p>Rajinikanth is one of India’s most popular stars and many of his 175-plus films since 1975 have broken box-office records, mostly in the Tamil and Telugu languages.</p>
<p>His political prospects appear bright following a huge political vacuum created by the death of Jayaram Jayalalithaa, an iconic political figure, and the near-retirement of 93-year-old Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the leader of the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party.</p>
<p>Cinema has always influenced Tamil politics by turning actors into popular politicians.</p>
<p>C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi were both scriptwriters who went on to become chief ministers. M.G. Ramachandran, a top actor-turned-politician, also had a strong screen presence and following among the masses.</p>
<p>Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, Rajinikanth worked as a bus conductor for three years before joining an acting school. He started in small roles as a villain in Tamil cinema and worked his way up, landing roles in Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai.</p>
<p>The Indian government honored him with top national awards — the Padma Bhushan in 2000, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 — for his contributions to the arts. At the 45th International Film Festival of India in 2014, he was conferred the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.</p>
<p>Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also tried his hand in politics as a member of India’s Parliament, representing the Congress party in support of his friend, then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in the 1980s. He resigned after three years following allegations that he accepted bribes in the purchase of artillery guns. His name was later cleared from the scandal.</p>
<p>NEW DELHI (AP) — Movie superstar Rajinikanth is entering politics in his southern Indian state with a plan to launch his own party, calling it his duty.</p>
<p>The 67-year-old said Sunday to his cheering supporters that his objective is to change the system and bring good governance to Tamil Nadu. He called for political change and appealed to his fans to bring all sections of society into the fold.</p>
<p>“I do not want cadres. I want watchdogs,” New Delhi Television channel quoted Rajinikanth as saying.</p>
<p>Rajinikanth is one of India’s most popular stars and many of his 175-plus films since 1975 have broken box-office records, mostly in the Tamil and Telugu languages.</p>
<p>His political prospects appear bright following a huge political vacuum created by the death of Jayaram Jayalalithaa, an iconic political figure, and the near-retirement of 93-year-old Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the leader of the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party.</p>
<p>Cinema has always influenced Tamil politics by turning actors into popular politicians.</p>
<p>C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi were both scriptwriters who went on to become chief ministers. M.G. Ramachandran, a top actor-turned-politician, also had a strong screen presence and following among the masses.</p>
<p>Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, Rajinikanth worked as a bus conductor for three years before joining an acting school. He started in small roles as a villain in Tamil cinema and worked his way up, landing roles in Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai.</p>
<p>The Indian government honored him with top national awards — the Padma Bhushan in 2000, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 — for his contributions to the arts. At the 45th International Film Festival of India in 2014, he was conferred the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.</p>
<p>Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also tried his hand in politics as a member of India’s Parliament, representing the Congress party in support of his friend, then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in the 1980s. He resigned after three years following allegations that he accepted bribes in the purchase of artillery guns. His name was later cleared from the scandal.</p> | Indian movie star Rajinikanth joins politics in Tamil Nadu | false | https://apnews.com/fcef0c6660784b6bb11554e504643faf | 2017-12-31 | 2 |
<p>Over the past two dozen years, John Roberts has advanced from being a junior lawyer in the attorney general’s office and the White House Counsel’s office, to establishing himself as the premier appellate advocate in the country, to serving with distinction as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, to being nominated, to wide acclaim, to sit on the Supreme Court. During that same period of time, the so-called civil-rights groups on the Left have gone from quarreling about quotas, bickering over busing, and impugning as extremist anyone who shares Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of civil rights to … quarreling about quotas, bickering over busing, and impugning as extremist anyone who shares Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of civil rights.</p>
<p>Let’s strain credulity and assume for now that the concerns that have been raised about Roberts’s civil-rights views in the 1980s are entirely sincere, and not a gambit by the Left to try to generate some traction in opposing Roberts’s confirmation. As it happens, two of Roberts’s own documents that have been made available from that time cogently explain that the real battle was over rival visions of civil rights generally — and quotas and busing specifically. As Yogi Berra famously put it, “This is like déjà vu all over again.”</p>
<p>In March 1982 Attorney General William French Smith delivered a speech on civil rights to a United Jewish Appeal conference. Roberts’s documents from that time include an early outline of the speech as well as the first draft sent to the attorney general. It is not clear whether Roberts drafted the outline or merely provided comments on it. It is similarly not clear which parts of the first draft Roberts prepared; his colleague who submitted the draft commented that it had “been prepared with very substantial assistance from” Roberts. But irrespective of who drafted what, it is clear that the core argument in those two documents — which I will, for sake of simplicity, refer to as Roberts’s argument — reflects the understanding of civil rights that Roberts’s overall record from that time displays.</p>
<p>Roberts’s argument is that there are two competing visions of civil rights. The first vision — his vision, Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision, the traditional American vision — is guided by the principle that “individuals should be treated as individuals, without regard to race, creed, or ethnic background.” That vision sees “America as the new world of individual merit, not membership in caste or social groups.” It appeals to the first Justice Harlan’s dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson: “The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color.” Roberts acknowledges the ugly reality, most manifest in slavery, that this vision “has not always prevailed over bigotry.” But he sees it as animating the “great ideal of equal opportunity,” which “underl[ies] the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and the civil rights laws.”</p>
<p>A second, very different vision of civil rights had emerged from recognized leaders of the civil-rights community. That vision was focused on “advancing particular groups as groups.” Adherents to that vision were attached to remedial devices, like quotas and busing, that not only had proven ineffective but that elevated equality of results among groups above individual opportunity.</p>
<p>Although his critics attempt to obscure the fact (see <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071608.asp" type="external">second paragraph here</a> and <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071644.asp" type="external">here</a>), it is the difference between those visions that explains their disagreement with Roberts’s record. Take the issue of racial quotas. In instances of employment discrimination, Roberts advocated making individual victims whole rather than providing group relief through quotas. In government contracting, he opposed efforts by the Department of Labor to require government contractors to give race and sex preferences — a softer form of quotas — as a condition of doing business with the government. And with respect to the Voting Rights Act (see <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071580.asp" type="external">here</a> and <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071869.asp" type="external">here</a>), Roberts opposed a change to section 2 of that Act that he recognized would create a sort of racial quota system for electoral politics.</p>
<p>Likewise on forced busing. The draft speech expresses full commitment to the mandate of Brown v. Board of Education that “[n]o child should be assigned to a particular school on the basis of race, and no child should receive less of an educational opportunity because of race.” But the supposed remedy of forced busing, instead of achieving desegregation, had resulted in dramatic reductions in white enrollment in public school systems. In a passage that seems to bear Roberts’s rhetorical mark, the draft declares, “I do not consider it progress to act against one-race schools in a way that produces one-race school systems.” (The Left’s ardent opposition to school choice — the best hope of poor blacks for a quality education — shows that it still subordinates educational opportunity to other objectives, such as ideological secularism or the retrograde interests of teachers’ unions.)</p>
<p>There are, of course, other unfounded attacks on Roberts’s record. Some of these are downright silly: Roberts, <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071608.asp" type="external">it is claimed</a>, gave a narrow reading to the sex-discrimination provisions of Title IX when he read its plain language to mean exactly what the Supreme Court, in an opinion joined by Brennan and Marshall, had said four months earlier. Other distortions are much more insidious and vicious, as they seem designed to paint a false portrait of Roberts as disrespectful of blacks:</p>
<p>It is not true ( <a href="" type="internal">see sixth and seventh paragraphs here</a>), as the Washington Post has insinuated, that Roberts advised the attorney general to make phony excuses to Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow why no further funding could be provided to a program her organization was running.</p>
<p>It is <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071380.asp" type="external">not true</a>, as the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/politics/28assess.html" type="external">has asserted</a>, that Roberts stated that “affirmative action programs were bound to fail because they required ‘the recruiting of inadequately prepared candidates.'”</p>
<p>It is not true, as the Washington Post <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/071644.asp" type="external">has asserted</a>, that Roberts “derided” a report provided by Arthur Flemming, the chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.</p>
<p>When the civil-rights charges against Roberts are carefully examined, they collapse into the Left’s feeble position on the deeply unpopular issues of racial quotas and forced busing. Let’s hope that the Left succeeds in getting Senate Democrats to fight Roberts’s nomination on those grounds.</p>
<p>— Edward Whelan is president of the <a href="" type="internal">Ethics and Public Policy Center</a> and is a regular contributor to NRO’s <a href="http://bench.nationalreview.com/" type="external">“Bench Memos” blog</a> on judicial nominations.</p> | Quarreling About Quotas | false | https://eppc.org/publications/quarreling-about-quotas/ | 1 |
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<p>More than 8,000 people in America are turning 65 each day this year, and the senior population is expected to be around 49 million by the end of this year. By 2025, that number is expected to grow to nearly 72 million.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>These are pretty astounding numbers, and for some businesses, they provide big business opportunities.</p>
<p>The gaining baby boomer population combined with increasing health-care costs, health-care reform, cutbacks in <a href="" type="internal">Medicare</a> and many people looking for work in the recession, has been a boon to the home health care franchise industry in the U.S.</p>
<p>“People prefer to stay at home versus going to nursing homes,” explained Christine Friedberg, director of <a href="http://www.frandata.com" type="external">FRANdata Opens a New Window.</a>, a franchise information service. The elderly are also being forced to pay for nursing or assisted living facilities bills out of pocket since Medicare and <a href="" type="internal">Medicaid</a> don’t always cover the cost or just partially cover it, she added. “People are shopping around looking for that home health care provider.”</p>
<p>The home health care franchise industry grew by 13% each year from 2006 to 2008, providing services such as home care, non-medical assistance, shopping and companion services and nurse care, according to data released in October 2009 by FRANdata. The majority of brands had been in business for less than five years. <a href="http://www.frandata.com/shopping/products/ReportDetail.aspx?productID=29719%5D" type="external">According to FRANdata figures Opens a New Window.</a>, eight established home health care companies began franchising in 2011, three started franchising in 2010, five in 2009, and six every year from 2006 through 2008.</p>
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<p>But no one home health care company holds the market share, allowing room for more players to enter the market. With that said, Friedberg expects some mergers and acquisitions activity within the next few years.</p>
<p>“That is a benefit of franchising--having that brand recognition. Especially when you’re providing care, you want to be able to trust the name,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.firstlighthomecare.com/" type="external">FirstLight Home Car Opens a New Window.</a>e entered the market in March 2010 and has 29 franchise locations in 16 states. Its franchises not only serve seniors at home, but new moms, those recovering from surgery, and others who may be disabled or need assistance. The company has plans to open at least another 45 per year during each of the next three years.</p>
<p>“There are certainly good companies out there, but with the aging baby boomers, people with disabilities, new moms, people coming out procedures or physical therapy – we see and know there’s a real increasing need out there to create a provider that really has high brand awareness and really has a high culture of care,” FirstLight CEO Jeff Bevis said in explaining why FirstLight is so bullish about its growth. “We see health-care reform actually as being a generator, an accelerator, for the need to our services. It’s helping to raise awareness.”</p>
<p>In the past 10 years, Florida-based <a href="http://www.nautilusshc.com/" type="external">Nautilus Senior Home Care Opens a New Window.</a> has also grown tremendously, experiencing double-digit growth every year since 2006 despite the abysmal economy. Husband and wife founders Bruce and Patty Catanzaro began franchising a little more than &#160;a month ago.</p>
<p>“We’ve gotten a tremendous amount of interest from people but no one’s put the money down yet. Once it does, every indication we have is that things are going to explode,” said Bruce.</p>
<p>Plus, home care is typically cheaper and tends to bring more personalized service. An average semi-private room in a nursing home in Massachusetts, for example, can cost about $116,800, according to <a href="" type="internal">Genworth Financial</a>, while an assisted living facility can cost about $60,000 a year. The same costs in Nebraska are $63,875 for a semi-private room, and $33,630 for an assisted living facility. These prices tend to include meals, room and board and round-the-clock assess to care. Eighteen hours of care a week from FirstLight totals less than $18,000 a year. Typical rates for Nautilus are about $17 an hour; if a client gets six hours of care a day, that’s about $100 a day, or $3,000 a month</p>
<p>Bruce explained that the availability of long-term care insurance, combined with the fact that more patients are being forced to pay out of pocket for care is why he and his wife have a rosy outlook on their company’s growth.</p>
<p>“The potential is just tremendous. It’s one thing if you want to eat out for lunch or get your grass cut – those are all fairly discretionary. But if mom need a home health aid because she can’t get out of bed or can’t take care of herself, the family pulls together to get the money and that’s critical in an economy like right now. They can’t cut back on the health care.”</p>
<p>Recession a Boom to Industry</p>
<p>The recession is also serving as a boom to home health care franchises. Many laid-off or unemployed workers – particularly those nearing retirement – see getting into this business as a way to change careers, doing something in which they can give back in the later years of their life.</p>
<p>“A lot of people are saying, ‘I don’t want to go through a layoff again. I want to be in control of my destiny. I want to be my own boss. I want to give back to the community,’” Bevis said. “Those are all additional factors fueling our growth.”</p>
<p>Nautilus is targeting husband and wife teams in their 40s or 50s as potential franchisees. This demographic may have more time to commit to the job. Plus, many of their target couples “are just total victims of the economy,” Bruce said. He recalled recently meeting one man who owned a <a href="" type="internal">State Farm insurance</a> agency franchise for 20 years but found himself out of work after the company pulled up stakes in Florida. Realtors are other professionals not having much luck in their industry who would make great home care franchisees, as well, he said. A health care background isn’t necessary.</p>
<p>“These are bright, go-getter type of people and haven’t had anywhere to put their efforts,” Catanzaro added.</p>
<p>Bevis and Catanzaro offered several tips for those thinking about getting into the home health care franchise industry, including:&#160;</p>
<p>-Do your homework and understand what type of franchise is most interesting to you.&#160;</p>
<p>-Get to know the potential franchisor and compare that company to others in the industry. “I think that all helps for someone to see if they would fit well in the industry,” Bevis said. “Some people aren’t sure about taking the entrepreneurial leap. Doing that research of the market and competition helps validate whether they should take that leap or not.”</p>
<p>-Make sure you have adequate working capital to front. “Undercapitalization is the No. 1 reason any business – franchise or otherwise – fails,” Bevis said. FirstLight, for example, requires $53,000 to $79,000 of franchisees, which includes the franchise fee, working capital, startup costs, insurance, etc… Estimated up-front costs at Nautilus range from $70,000 to $95,000.</p>
<p>-Consider home health care franchises that offer both medical and non-medical care.&#160;“If you don’t, you will only be able to get half the money for the patient compared to what care is needed. Many franchisees get scared when they see the word ‘medical,’” Catanzaro said. Don’t worry; franchisors help recruit workers with both medical and non-medical backgrounds for the jobs available and assist with other 'scary' details. Home health care is “pretty sophisticated but it’s not overwhelming where someone with a good head on their shoulder with good information from the franchise” can’t succeed, Catanzaro added. “We can share that information with them and help them avoid a lot of pitfalls.”</p> | Home Health Care Franchises on the Rise as Boomers Age, Costs Rise | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/12/08/home-health-care-franchises-on-rise-as-boomers-age-costs-rise.html | 2016-03-23 | 0 |
<p>The man whom staffers of Va. Sen. George Allen attacked on Tuesday for asking the senator combative questions, <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?c=MGArticle&amp;cid=1149191441070&amp;pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle" type="external">is fighting back</a>.</p>
<p>Richmond Times Dispatch:</p>
<p>I demand that Senator Allen fire the staffers who beat up a constituent attempting to use his constitutional right to petition his government. I also want to know why Senator Allen would want his staffers to assault someone asking questions about matters of public record in the heat of a political campaign. Why are his divorce records sealed? Why was he arrested in the 1970s? And why did his campaign batter me when I asked him about these questions.</p>
<p>George Allen defends his support of the Iraq war by saying that our troops are defending the ideals America stands for. Indeed, he says our troops are defending our very freedom. What kind of country is it when a Senator's constituent is assaulted for asking difficult and uncomfortable questions? What freedoms do we have left? Maybe we need to bring the troops home so that they can fight for freedom at George Allen's campaign events. Demanding accountability should not be an offense worthy of assault.</p>
<p />
<p>I will be pressing charges against George Allen and his surrogates later today. George Allen, at any time, could have stopped the fray. All he had to do was say, "This is not how my campaign is run. Take your hands off that man." He could have ignored my questions. Instead he and his thugs chose violence. I spent four years in the Marine Corps. I'll be damned if I'll let my country be taken from me by thugs that are afraid of taking responsibility for themselves.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?c=MGArticle&amp;cid=1149191441070&amp;pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle" type="external">Link</a></p> | Assaulted Blogger Is Pressing Charges Against Allen | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/assaulted-blogger-is-pressing-charges-against-allen/ | 2006-11-02 | 4 |
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<p>PHOENIX — About 1,400 children had to be evacuated from summer camps led by YMCAs, churches and other youth groups in the area of a major wildfire near the northern Arizona city of Prescott.</p>
<p>Yavapai County Supervisor Tom Thurman says local school buses drove some children to Prescott, where their parents could pick them up. He says no camps had been burned, but he wanted to evacuate them before the fire split in two and cut off both escape routes.</p>
<p>Stone Barras, 8, was sad to leave his summer camp, though.</p>
<p>He says: “I was a little scared about the fire, but I was really sad I had to leave. I was having a lot of fun.”</p>
<p>An estimated 1,100 firefighters are attempting to further contain the fire, which has charred almost 40 square miles (104 square kilometers) since it ignited almost a week ago.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Summer camps cut short when Arizona fire forces evacuation | false | https://abqjournal.com/1026705/summer-camps-cut-short-when-arizona-fire-forces-evacuation.html | 2017-07-01 | 2 |
<p>Junior guard Josh Perkins scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting to lead No. 13 Gonzaga to a 75-60 victory over Santa Clara on Saturday in West Coast Conference play at Santa Clara, Calif.</p>
<p>Sophomore forward Rui Hachimura and freshman guard Zach Norvell Jr. scored 16 points apiece for the Bulldogs (17-4, 7-1 WCC). Sophomore forward Killian Tillie added 12 points as Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara for the 40th time in the past 42 meetings.</p>
<p>Junior guard KJ Feagin scored 21 points for the Broncos (7-13, 4-4). Senior guard Henry Caruso added 11 points and eight rebounds for Santa Clara, which shot 41.2 percent.</p>
<p>Gonzaga shot 50.9 percent from the field and had a 37-26 rebounding edge while bouncing back from its first WCC loss of the season. The Bulldogs lost 74-71 to Saint Mary’s on Thursday.</p>
<p>Gonzaga finished off a season sweep of the Broncos. The Bulldogs defeated Santa Clara 101-52 on Dec. 30.</p>
<p>Gonzaga led by seven points at halftime and soon increased the advantage to 42-31 on Norvell’s basket with 17:10 to play. Norvell drilled a 3-pointer three-plus minutes later to give the Bulldogs a 50-36 edge.</p>
<p>Gonzaga’s lead was 54-41 after Norvell’s layup with 12:33 remaining before junior forward Henrik Jadersten drained a 3-pointer and added a layup to pull the Broncos within eight. The Bulldogs sidestepped the threat and tallied the next 12 points to effectively put the game away.</p>
<p>Senior forward Johnathan Williams scored the first four points and Hachimura added a layup to give Gonzaga a 60-46 lead with 9:28 remaining. Tillie followed with a dunk and Norvell and Hachimura added layups to make it a 20-point margin with 7:17 to play.</p>
<p>Feagin made two free throws to end the Bulldogs’ run.</p>
<p>Perkins tallied 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting as Gonzaga held a 36-29 halftime lead.</p>
<p>The Broncos rattled off six straight points to tie the game at 19 on a layup by freshman forward Josip Vrankic with 8:38 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs responded with a 12-4 run and took a 31-23 lead on Perkins’ basket with 3:07 to play.</p>
<p>Santa Clara cut its deficit to four before Gonzaga took the seven-point edge into the break.</p>
<p>—Field Level Media</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN BRUNO, Calif. (Reuters) - A woman opened fire with a handgun at YouTube’s headquarters near San Francisco on Tuesday, wounding three people before shooting herself dead as employees of the Silicon Valley tech company fled into the surrounding streets, authorities said.</p>
<p>Police did not identify the suspect or say what might have motivated the shooting at YouTube, a video-sharing service owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google which employs nearly 2,000 people at the San Bruno, California offices.</p>
<p>The woman approached an outdoor patio and dining courtyard on the campus around lunchtime and began to fire before entering the building, police said.</p>
<p>The San Jose Mercury News, citing a law enforcement source, said that she was targeting her boyfriend due to a domestic dispute.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-california-youtube-shooting-ceos/tech-ceos-call-for-gun-control-following-youtube-shooting-idUSKCN1HB05T" type="external">Tech CEOs call for gun control following YouTube shooting</a>
<p>A U.S. government security official told Reuters there was no known connection to terrorism.</p>
<p>ABC News, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, said the suspect was 35 to 40 years old, and lived in Southern California, with no apparent connection to YouTube.</p>
<p>A YouTube product manager, Todd Sherman, described on Twitter hearing people running, first thinking it was an earthquake before he was told that a person had a gun.</p>
<p>“At that point every new person I saw was a potential shooter. Someone else said that the person shot out the back doors and then shot themselves,” Sherman said in a tweet.</p>
<p>“I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs. Peaked around for threats and then we headed downstairs and out the front,” Sherman said.</p>
<p>The shooting was the latest in a string of mass killings carried out in the United States in recent years. Most recently, the massacre of 17 people at a Florida high school has led to calls for tighter restrictions on gun ownership.</p>
<p>In a recording of a 911 call posted online by the Los Angeles Times, a dispatcher can be heard saying: “Shooter. Another party said they spotted someone with a gun. Suspect came from the back patio ... Again we have a report of a subject with a gun. They heard seven or eight shots being fired.”</p>
<p>Dozens of emergency vehicles quickly converged on the YouTube campus, and police could be seen on televised aerial video systematically frisking several employees leaving the area with their hands raised.</p>
<p>One of the victims, a 36-year-old man, was listed in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital. A 32-year-old woman was listed in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in fair condition. Authorities did not release names of the victims.</p>
<p>The three patients taken to San Francisco General Hospital were all awake, Dr. Andre Campbell, a trauma surgeon at the hospital, said at a news conference. All three people were victims of gunshot wounds, Campbell said, but none of them had undergone surgery. A fourth person was taken to a local hospital with an ankle injury from fleeing the scene.</p> Police officers and crime scene tape are seen at Youtube headquarters following an active shooter situation in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
<p>YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki declined to comment to reporters as she left the building.</p>
<p>“It’s with great sadness that I tell you - based on the latest information - four people were injured in this horrific act of violence,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in letter to employees that was posted on Twitter.</p>
<p>“I know a lot of you are in shock right now. Over the coming days, we will continue to provide support to help everyone in our Google family heal from this unimaginable tragedy,” he added.</p>
<p>In a separate tweet, Pichai said he and Wojcicki were “focused on supporting our employees &amp; the @YouTube community through this difficult time together.”</p> Slideshow (11 Images)
<p>President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had been briefed on the shooting.</p>
<p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved,” Trump tweeted. “Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are currently on the scene.”</p>
<p>In response, Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey tweeted: “We can’t keep being reactive to this, thinking and praying it won’t happen again at our schools, jobs, or our community spots. It’s beyond time to evolve our policies.”</p>
<p>Last month, YouTube announced it would ban content promoting the sale of guns and gun accessories as well as videos that teach how to make guns.</p>
<p>Female mass shooters are rare. A recent Washington Post analysis shows only three out of 150 U.S. shootings with more than four victims since 1966 were done by women. In 2015, a husband and wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York, Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Mark Hosenball in Washington, D.C.; Andrew Hay in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Salvador Rodriguez, Heather Somerville, Noel Randewich, Stephen Nellis and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Several Silicon Valley leaders called for increased gun control on Tuesday afternoon after a woman at the headquarters of YouTube shot and wounded three people before taking her own life.</p> Police officers and crime scene markers are seen at Youtube headquarters following an active shooter situation in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
<p>Tech companies have largely avoided the topic of gun control in the United States, but they have previously pushed for progressive stances on other hot-topic issues, ranging from climate change to same-sex marriage and comprehensive immigration reform. At least three major chief executives took up gun control after the shooting.</p>
<p>“We can’t keep being reactive to this, thinking and praying it won’t happen again at our schools, jobs, or our community spots,” tweeted Twitter Inc and Square Inc CEO Jack Dorsey. “It’s beyond time to evolve our policies.”</p>
<p>Joining Dorsey were Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Box Inc CEO Aaron Levie, who respectively sent tweets on Tuesday saying #EndGunViolence and #NeverAgain, two Twitter hashtags commonly used by proponents of gun control.</p>
<p>“On behalf of the team at @Uber, sending support to everyone @YouTube and @Google, and gratitude to the heroic first responders,” Khosrowshahi tweeted. “Another tragedy that should push us again to #EndGunViolence”</p>
<p>Emergency calls reporting gunfire in San Bruno, California, at the headquarters of Alphabet Inc’s YouTube began to pour in early Tuesday afternoon, according to the city of San Bruno. Authorities have not released the identities of the suspected shooter or the victims.</p>
<p>The tweets on Thursday could be an indication that Silicon Valley may soon weigh in on the epidemic of mass killings by firearms in the United States.</p>
<p>“Incredibly sad to see the YouTube shooting today,” Levie tweeted. “Our thoughts are with our Google friends and their families. #NeverAgain”</p>
<p>Sundar Pichai and Susan Wojcicki, the CEOs of Google and YouTube respectively, also issued statements on Tuesday while avoiding the topic of gun control.</p>
<p>“There are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter @YouTube today,” Wojcicki said. “Our deepest gratitude to law enforcement &amp; first responders for their rapid response. Our hearts go out to all those injured &amp; impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family.”</p>
<p>Other tech leaders expressed sympathy for the employees of YouTube on social media on Tuesday without referencing gun control. Those included Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos, Salesforce.com Inc CEO Marc Benioff and Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.</p>
<p>“From everyone at Apple, we send our sympathy and support to the team at YouTube and Google, especially the victims and their families,” Cook said in a tweet.</p>
<p>Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez, editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MATIAS ROMERO, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican officials on Tuesday screened a dwindling group of hundreds of largely Central American migrants who are moving through Mexico toward the United States, seeking to break up the “caravan” that has drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>Trump, doubling down on his tough stance against illegal immigration, has railed against those making their way from the Guatemala-Mexico border in the past 10 days.</p>
<p>Trump repeated threats to torpedo the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which underpins much of Mexico’s foreign trade, and said he wanted to send troops to the U.S. border to stop illegal immigrants until a long-promised border wall is built.</p>
<p>In response, the Mexican government has said the migrants are being vetted to determine whether they have a right to stay, or would be returned to their countries of origin.</p>
<p>Hundreds of men, women and children from Central America were stuck on Tuesday in the town of Matias Romero in the poor southern Mexican state of Oaxaca awaiting clarification of their legal status after officials began registering them.</p>
<p>Confused and frustrated by paperwork, many were uncertain what lay in store, and desperate for information.</p>
<p>“What was the point of all this then if they don’t let us stay?” Elizabeth Avalos, 23, a migrant from El Salvador who was traveling with two children, said angrily. “There’s no food, my children haven’t eaten since yesterday.”</p>
<p>Hundreds of people camped out overnight in a park near the town’s train station, with shoes and bags strewn about.</p>
<p>Jaime Alexander Variega, 35, sat alone in a patch of shade and cupped his head in his hands, weeping or praying, his feet still bearing lacerations from walking for four or five days straight through Guatemala from El Salvador.</p>
<p>“We’re not safe in El Salvador,” said the former security guard, his hat smeared in dirt, explaining he had left his home because of the threats from local gangs. “I know it’s difficult to get into the United States. But it’s not impossible.”</p>
<p>Around them, Mexican migration officials with notepads and pens took basic information from the migrants, asking for names, nationalities, dates of birth and proof of identity.</p>
<p>The caravan was organized by U.S-based advocacy group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which seeks to draw attention to the rights of migrants and provide them with aid. The Mexican government says the caravan, which like others travels by road, rail and on foot, has been organized every year since 2010.</p>
<p>Honduran Carlos Ricardo Ellis Garcia clutched a handwritten list of names belonging to more than 100 people who joined the caravan in the southern border town of Tapachula, where it began on March 25, reaching a peak of around 1,500 people.</p>
<p>But by Tuesday the number was down to about 1,100, according to Pueblo Sin Fronteras spokeswoman Gina Garibo.</p>
<p>Many had broken off from the group, eager to move on more quickly, she said. Many others aimed to stay in Mexico because they had family ties there or planned to work, Garibo said.</p>
<p>“Now they’re separating these groups,” Ellis Garcia said, referring to an estimated 300 people who split from the caravan on Monday. “I don’t know what’s the deal, we have no answers.”</p> Central American migrants take a break from traveling in their caravan, as they journey to the U.S., in Matias Romero, Oaxaca, Mexico April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Romero
<p>Advocacy groups told Reuters dozens of people left the caravan and traveled to the crime-ridden eastern state of Veracruz, where they were met by migration officials and police.</p>
<p>The government said on Monday evening around 400 people in the caravan had already been sent back to their home countries.</p>
<p>Geronimo Gutierrez, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, told CNN that Mexican authorities were “looking at the status of the individuals so we can proceed either with a repatriation process” or offer humanitarian relief. That could include granting asylum or humanitarian visas.</p>
<p>Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are among the most violent and impoverished countries in the Americas, prompting many people to leave in search of a better life.</p>
<p>Trump, who ran for office in 2016 on a platform to stem illegal immigrants from Mexico, said he had “told Mexico” he hoped it would halt the caravan.</p>
<p>The migrant caravan also poses a political problem for Mexico’s unpopular government in a presidential election year.</p> Slideshow (5 Images)
<p>President Enrique Pena Nieto is barred by law from seeking re-election in the July 1 vote, but the ruling party candidate is running third, well behind the front-runner.</p>
<p>The government does not want to be seen as kowtowing to threats by Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Mexico.</p>
<p>In a country where millions of people have friends or relatives who have migrated legally or illegally to the United States, many Mexicans harbor sympathy for the Central Americans.</p>
<p>Reporting by Delphine Schrank; Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Diego Ore and Daina Solomon; Editing by Dave Graham and Grant McCool</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>IXTEPEC, Mexico/EDINBURG, Texas (Reuters) - In some of the Mexican towns playing host to a “caravan” of more than 1,200 Central American migrants heading to the U.S. border, the welcome mat has been rolled out despite President Donald Trump’s call for Mexican authorities to stop them.</p>
<p>Local officials have offered lodging in town squares and empty warehouses or arranged transport for the migrants, participants in a journey organized by the immigrant advocacy group Pueblo Sin Fronteras. The officials have conscripted buses, cars, ambulances and police trucks. But the help may not be entirely altruistic.</p>
<p>“The authorities want us to leave their cities,” said Rodrigo Abeja, an organizer from Pueblo Sin Fronteras. “They’ve been helping us, in part to speed the massive group out of their jurisdictions.”</p>
<p>At some point this spring, the caravan’s 2,000-mile (3,200-km) journey that began at Tapachula near the Guatemalan border on March 25 will end at the U.S. border, where some of its members will apply for asylum, while others will attempt to sneak into the United States.</p>
<p>Abeja said there was a lot of pressure from authorities to stop the caravan “because of Donald Trump’s reaction.” The Mexican government issued a statement late on Monday saying it was committed to “legal and orderly” migration.</p>
<p>The government said the caravan had been taking place since 2010 and was largely made up of Central Americans entering Mexico who had not met the necessary legal requirements.</p>
<p>“For this reason, participants in this (caravan) are subject to an administrative migratory procedure, while 400 have already been repatriated to their countries of origin, in strict accordance with the law and respecting their human rights,” it said.</p>
<p>Those without permission to stay in Mexico or who had failed to request it through the proper channels could expect to be returned to their homelands, a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p> ‘DOING LITTLE’
<p>Trump railed on Twitter against the caravan on Monday, accusing Mexico of “doing very little, if not NOTHING” to stop the flow of immigrants crossing the U.S. border illegally. “They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA,” he concluded.</p>
<p>Mexico’s interior minister Alfonso Navarrete did not directly address the caravan, but he wrote on Twitter that he spoke to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Monday, and that the two had “agreed to analyze the best ways to attend to the flows of migrants in accordance with the laws of each country.”</p>
<p>Mexico must walk a delicate line with the United States because the countries are in the midst of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) along with Canada.</p>
<p>At the same time, Mexican left-wing presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has an 18-point lead ahead of the July 1 election, according to a poll published on Monday.</p>
<p>A Lopez Obrador victory could usher in a Mexican government less accommodating toward the United States on both trade and immigration issues.</p>
<p>Mexican Senator Angelica de la Pena, who presides over the Senate’s human rights commission, told Reuters that Mexico should protect migrants’ rights despite the pressure from Trump. &#160;</p>
<p>Former President Vicente Fox called for Mexican officials to take a stand against Trump’s attacks.&#160;Trump keeps “blackmailing, offending and denigrating Mexico and Mexicans,” he wrote on Twitter on Monday.</p>
<p>Under Mexican law, Central Americans who enter Mexico legally are generally allowed to move freely through the country, even if their goal is to cross illegally into the United States.</p> ‘WE’RE SUFFERING’
<p>Migrants in the caravan cite a variety of reasons for joining it. Its members are disproportionately from Honduras, which has high levels of violence and has been rocked by political upheaval in recent months following the re-election of U.S.-backed president, Juan Orlando Hernández, in an intensely disputed election.</p> Central American migrants participating in a caravan heading to the U.S. take a pause from their journey in Matias Romero, Oaxaca, Mexico April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Jose de Jesus Cortes
<p>Maria Elena Colindres Ortega, a member of the caravan and, until January, a member of Congress in Honduras, said she is fleeing the political upheaval at home. “We’ve had to live through a fraudulent electoral process,” she said. “We’re suffering a progressive militarization and lack of institutions, and ... they’re criminalizing those who protested.”</p>
<p>Colindres Ortega, who opposed the ruling party in Honduras, said she spiraled into debt after serving without pay for the last 18 months of her four-year term. She decided to head north after a fellow congressman from her party put out word on Facebook that a caravan of migrants was gathering in southern Mexico, leaving home with a small bag with necessities and photos of her children.</p>
<p>Pueblo Sin Fronteras has helped coordinate migrant caravans for the past several years, although previously they had a maximum of several hundred participants. During the journey members of the organization instruct the migrants about their rights.</p>
<p>“We accompany at least those who want to request asylum,” said Alex Mensing, Pueblo Sin Fronteras’ program director. “We help prepare them for the detention process and asylum process before they cross the border, because it’s so difficult for people to have success if they don’t have the information.”</p>
<p>Typically, Central Americans have not fared well with U.S. asylum claims, particularly those from Honduras. A Reuters analysis of immigration court data found that Hondurans who come before the court receive deportation orders in more than 83 percent of cases, the highest rate of any nationality. Hondurans also face deportation in Mexico, where immigration data shows that 5,000 Hondurans were deported from Mexico in February alone, the highest number since May 2016.</p>
<p>Manuel Padilla, chief of the border patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, one of the busiest crossing points on the U.S. Mexico border, said in an interview with Reuters that he worries the caravan could “generate interest for other groups to do the same thing,” but he was not terribly nervous about coping with the group currently traveling.</p>
<p>“Not to be flippant,” Padilla said, “but it’s similar numbers to what we are seeing every day pretty much.”</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>(This version of the story corrects spelling to Manuel from Maunel in penultimate paragraph)</p>
<p>Reporting by Delphine Schrank and Mica Rosenberg; Additional reporting by Dave Graham, Lizbeth Diaz, Diego Ore and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Sue Horton, Lisa Shumaker and Paul Tait</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | No. 13 Gonzaga rolls to big win over Santa Clara Woman wounds three at YouTube headquarters in California, then kills herself Tech CEOs call for gun control following YouTube shooting Mexico vets and disperses Central American migrant 'caravan' Migrant caravan heading to U.S. border puts Mexico in tough spot with Trump | false | https://reuters.com/article/basketball-ncaa-scl-gon-recap/no-13-gonzaga-rolls-to-big-win-over-santa-clara-idUSMTZEE1LVXYFP3 | 2018-01-21 | 2 |
<p>Our Geo Quiz today takes us to Scotland. We're looking for an island. It's the largest of the Inner Hebrides, off Scotland's west coast.</p>
<p>Cullins Mountains: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buho22Cullins" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/buho22Cullins</a> Mountains: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buho22" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/buho22</a></p>
<p>This island is famous for its scenery, including the Cuillin hills. And its biggest town is Portree.</p>
<p>Portree: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vtveenPortree:" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/vtveenPortree:</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vtveen" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/vtveen</a></p>
<p>Here's one more clue:</p>
<p>Scotland's first all-Gaelic television channel is being launched tonight with a live broadcast from this island.</p>
<p>Fairy Glen, Uig: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_barkerFairy" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/chris_barkerFairy</a> Glen, Uig: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_barker" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/chris_barker</a></p>
<p>Scottish Gaelic, spelled G-A-E-L-I-C -- is not to be confused with Irish Gaelic -- although the two are linguistic cousins.</p>
<p>There are only sixty thousand speakers of Gaelic in Scotland.</p>
<p>But many more of Scotland's five million residents have ancestors who spoke the language.</p>
<p>"There are many, many people who are interested in our culture, who will also be interested in the sport that they'll be broadcasting, who will also be interested in the documentaries, who are interested in the language and their own background in general, so it's also opening a door to folk as well as providing a service for the fluent speakers. It's for everyone."</p>
<p>That's Mary Ann Kennedy. She's hosting the first show on BBC Alba -- the new all-Gaelic channel.</p>
<p>Again, the channel kicks off tonight from the Scottish island we want you to name</p>
<p>homepage photo: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/martinlatter/9777533/" type="external">http://flickr.com/photos/martinlatter/9777533/</a></p>
<p>Now back with the answer to our Geo Quiz.</p>
<p>Sligachan, Isle of Skye: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pss/Sligachan" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/pss/Sligachan</a>, Isle of Skye: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pss/" type="external">www.flickr.com/photos/pss/</a></p>
<p>We were telling you about the launch of a new all-Gaelic TV channel in Scotland tonight. It's called BBC Alba. Mary Ann Kennedy is hosting the first show to go out on the new channel tonight.</p>
<p>It's a live show being broadcast from the Isle of Skye - and that's the answer to our Geo Quiz. Listen to the interview:</p> | Geo answer | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-09-19/geo-answer | 2008-09-19 | 3 |
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<p />
<p>SANTA FE – New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera is apparently sticking around the state – at least for now.</p>
<p>Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera</p>
<p>Skandera, a polarizing figure in the state’s education community, seemed headed for a top education job in President Donald Trump’s administration, but those plans have been scuttled after resistance from some Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, according to a report published Thursday by Politico.</p>
<p>The report cited concern from roughly a dozen GOP senators about Skandera’s support for national Common Core public education standards, a controversial system that measures student proficiency in mathematics, language arts and literacy via the PARCC test.</p>
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<p>Skandera, 43, declined an interview request Thursday about the assistant secretary job with the U.S. Department of Education, but suggested in a statement that she will remain at the helm of the state Public Education Department.</p>
<p>“I am focused on continuing the great progress we have started and will continue in New Mexico,” she said in a statement. “When education focuses on students and not politics, everyone wins.”</p>
<p>A Senate Republican staffer with knowledge of the Skandera nomination confirmed Thursday that it would likely not move forward. The White House did not respond to a Journal request for comment.</p>
<p>In New Mexico, Skandera has been a political lightning rod since her appointment by Gov. Susana Martinez in 2010, criticized by Democrats, unions and many educators because she has no classroom teaching experience.</p>
<p>She used her executive authority in 2011 to establish a statewide teacher evaluation system that had been rejected by the Legislature, and she successfully pushed for an A-F grading system for public schools and merit-based pay for educators.</p>
<p>Skandera was confirmed by the state Senate in 2015, but only after a Senate committee had spent 10 hours spread over three days during a previous legislative session hearing testimony and debating the merits of her nomination.</p>
<p>Some Democratic lawmakers have been blunt in their criticism of Skandera.</p>
<p>“I think both her and the governor are bad for the state and bad for the kids,” Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, told the Journal in 2014, citing specific concerns about money spent by the Public Education Department on private-sector testing and teacher training programs.</p>
<p>Although New Mexico graduation rates have improved in recent years – they reached 71 percent statewide for the 2015-16 school year – the state still lags far behind the national average.</p>
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<p>Skandera, who makes about $126,000 annually in her current job, previously worked as an education policy adviser in Florida, California, Texas and Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>If she’s still in Santa Fe, Skandera will likely have to find a new job after next year as Martinez is serving her second consecutive four-year term and will be barred from seeking a third term in 2018.</p>
<p>Journal Washington bureau reporter Michael Coleman contributed to this report.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Report: Skandera unlikely to get new job in D.C. | false | https://abqjournal.com/974776/report-skandera-nomination-to-federal-education-department-scuttled.html | 2017-03-23 | 2 |
<p>There are times in life when the institutional ground underneath you begins to crumble — and with it, longstanding attachments. Such is the case for me when it comes to the Republican Party and evangelicalism.</p>
<p>I’ve been a part of both for my entire adult life. These days, though, in many important ways they are having harmful effects on our society.</p>
<p>The latest example is in Alabama, where Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate, stands accused of varying degrees of sexual misconduct by nine women, including one who was 14 years old at the time. Mr. Moore leads in most polls, and solidly among most evangelicals, heading into Tuesday’s election.</p>
<p>A bit of personal history may be in order here. As a young man I embraced conservatism as a political philosophy and the Republican Party as its political home. The first vote I cast was in 1980 for Ronald Reagan. I had spirited debates with classmates at the University of Washington in Seattle, which was hardly a hotbed of conservatism. They couldn’t begin to understand what I was doing. Yet I was proud to make the case for Reagan and consider myself fortunate to have worked in his administration in its second term.</p>
<p>At roughly the same time, I was in the midst of a pilgrimage of faith that started as vague deism but eventually led me to evangelicalism. Both the Republican Party, which was created to end slavery and preserve the Union, and evangelicalism, a transdenominational effort to faithfully represent Christ in word and deed, shaped my life and outlook, helping me to interpret the world.</p>
<p>Politics and faith are hardly synonymous. They occupy different realms, and my faith has a far more important and cherished place in my life than politics. Yet both are significant to me, and the two spheres are not entirely distinct.</p>
<p>Some of the most impressive moral movements in American politics — the efforts to abolish slavery and to end segregation and the struggle to protect unborn life — have been informed by Christianity. Two of the monumental figures in the latter half of the 20th century, Reagan and Pope John Paul II, together helped to bring down one of the most malevolent political movements in history: Soviet-led Communism.</p>
<p>More recently, the global AIDS and malaria initiative is one of President George W. Bush’s greatest legacies; more than 13 million people are on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment as a consequence. This, too, was a policy that came about in response to human sympathies that were shaped in large part by the faith of Mr. Bush and some of his key advisers.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to imply that politics and religion are a perfect fit. Often they’re not, and over the years Christians, myself included, have not gotten the balance right. But overall I felt that the Republican Party and the evangelical movement were imperfect forces for good, and I spent a large part of my life defending them.</p>
<p>Yet the support being given by many Republicans and white evangelicals to President Trump and now to Mr. Moore have caused me to rethink my identification with both groups. Not because my attachment to conservatism and Christianity has weakened, but rather the opposite. I consider Mr. Trump’s Republican Party to be a threat to conservatism, and I have concluded that the term evangelical — despite its rich history of proclaiming the “good news” of Christ to a broken world — has been so distorted that it is now undermining the Christian witness.</p>
<p>Just the other day I received a note from a friend of mine, a pastor, who told me he no longer uses the label “evangelical” to describe himself, even though he meets every element of its historical definition, “because the term is now so stained as to ruin my ability to be what evangelicalism was supposed to be.”</p>
<p>Another pastor who is a lifelong friend told me, “Evangelical is no longer a word we can use.” The reason, he explained, is that it’s become not a religious identification so much as a political one. A third person, who heads a Christian organization, told me the term evangelical “is now a tribal rather than a creedal description.” In October, the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship, a campus ministry for more than 80 years, changed its name to the Princeton Christian Fellowship. “We’re interested in being people who are defined by our faith and by our faith commitments and not by any sort of political agenda,” <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/october/princeton-christian-fellowship-drops-evangelical-name.html" type="external">according to Bill Boyce</a>, who has led the campus group for decades.</p>
<p>There are of course a great many honorable individuals in the Republican Party and the evangelical movement. Those who hold different views than I do lead exemplary lives. Yet I cannot help believing that the events of the past few years — and the past few weeks — have shown us that the Republican Party and the evangelical movement (or large parts of them, at least), have become what I once would have thought of as liberal caricatures.</p>
<p>Assume you were a person of the left and an atheist, and you decided to create a couple of people in a laboratory to discredit the Republican Party and white evangelical Christianity. You could hardly choose two more perfect men than Donald Trump and Roy Moore.</p>
<p>Both have been credibly accused of being sexual predators, sometimes admitting to bizarre behavior in their own words. Both have spun wild conspiracy theories, including the lie that Barack Obama was not born in America. Both have slandered the United States and lavished praise on Vladimir Putin, with <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/27/roy-moore-outrageous-things-he-said-243207" type="external">Mr. Moore declaring</a> that America today could be considered “the focus of evil in the modern world” and stating, in response to Mr. Putin’s anti-gay measures in Russia: “Well, maybe Putin is right. Maybe he’s more akin to me than I know.” Both have been involved with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/undisclosed-deal-guaranteed-roy-moore-180000-a-year-for-part-time-work-at-charity/2017/10/11/5f56679e-a9de-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html?utm_term=.73ef58288bb7" type="external">shady business dealings</a>. Both have intentionally divided America along racial and religious lines. Both relish appealing to people’s worst instincts. Both create bitterness and acrimony in a nation desperately in need of grace and a healing touch.</p>
<p>I hoped the Trump era would be seen as an aberration and made less ugly by those who might have influence over the president. That hasn’t happened. Rather than Republicans and people of faith checking his most unappealing sides, the president is dragging down virtually everyone within his orbit.</p>
<p>In the latest example of this, a rising number of Republicans are attempting to delegitimize the special counsel’s investigation into whether there were links between Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign and Mr. Putin’s Russia because they quake at what he may find. Prominent evangelical leaders, rather than challenging the president to become a man of integrity, have become courtiers. What’s happening with Mr. Moore in Alabama — with the president, the Republican National Committee, the state party and many white evangelicals rallying around him — is a bridge too far for many of us. Where exactly is the bottom? And at what point do you pull back from associating yourself with a political party and a religious term you once took pride in but that are now doing harm to the things you treasure?</p>
<p>Institutional renewal and regeneration are possible, and I’m going to continue to push for them. But for now a solid majority of Republicans and self-described evangelicals are firmly aboard the Trump train, which is doing its utmost to give a seat of privilege to Mr. Moore. So for those of us who still think of ourselves as conservative and Christian, it’s enough already.</p>
<p>Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, served in the last three Republican administrations and is a New York Times contributing opinion</p> | Why I Can No Longer Call Myself an Evangelical Republican | false | https://eppc.org/publications/why-i-can-no-longer-call-myself-an-evangelical-republican/ | 1 |
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<p>The 2012 Presidential debates and moderators have been announced, and the first woman moderator in 20 years will be Candy Crowley, host of CNN’s Sunday politics show, “State of the Union.”</p>
<p>“The Presidential Debate Commission announced Monday that PBS’s Jim Lehrer, CBS’s Bob Schieffer and CNN’s Candy Crowley will moderate the three presidential debates, while ABC’s Martha Raddatz will moderate the lone vice presidential debate between&#160;Vice President Biden&#160;and Rep.Paul Ryan&#160;(R-Wis.),” the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/presidential-debate-moderators-announced-crowley-is-first-woman-in-20-years/2012/08/13/0e327af6-e553-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_blog.html" type="external">Washington Post</a> reports:</p>
<p>Crowley is the first female moderator for a presidential debate since ABC’s Carole Simpson, who was&#160; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/carole-simpson-debate-moderator_n_1729849.html" type="external">both the first female and first African-American</a>&#160;to land the gig in 1992.</p>
<p>PBS’s Gwen Ifill moderated vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008, but there was a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/three-teen-girls-petition-for-female-moderator-for-presidential-debate/2012/07/27/gJQAM4FeEX_blog.html" type="external">significant</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/debate-official-on-campaign-for-a-female-moderator-its-very-hard-to-find-someone-who-can-do-that/2012/08/02/gJQA4p9XRX_blog.html" type="external">push</a>&#160;from some women’s groups for a woman to moderate one of the three main-event debates.</p>
<p>Lehrer is a mainstay when it comes to presidential debates, with the Oct. 3 debate in Denver being his 12th.</p>
<p>Direct from&#160; <a href="http://www.debates.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&amp;cntnt01articleid=39&amp;cntnt01origid=15&amp;cntnt01detailtemplate=newspage&amp;cntnt01returnid=80" type="external">The Presidential Debate Commission</a>:</p>
<p>First presidential debate:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/bio_lehrer.html" type="external">Jim Lehrer</a>, Executive Editor of the PBS NewsHour Wednesday, October 3, University of Denver, Denver, CO</p>
<p>Vice presidential debate:</p>
<p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/News/martha-raddatz-abc-news-official-biography/story?id=127431" type="external">Martha Raddatz</a>, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, ABC News Thursday, October 11, Centre College, Danville, KY</p>
<p>Second presidential debate (town meeting):</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/crowley.candy.html" type="external">Candy Crowley</a>, Chief Political Correspondent, CNN and Anchor, CNN’s State of the Union Tuesday, October 16, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY</p>
<p>Third presidential debate:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500500_162-530179.html?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea;cbsnewsMainColumnArea.2" type="external">Bob Schieffer</a>, Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News and Moderator, Face the Nation Monday, October 22, Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL</p>
<p>Fahrenkopf and McCurry said that, “The new formats chosen for this year’s debates are designed to focus big time blocks on major domestic and foreign topics.&#160; These journalists bring extensive experience to the job of moderating, and understand the importance of using the expanded time periods to maximum benefit.&#160; We are grateful for their willingness to moderate, and confident that the public will learn more about the candidates and the issues as a result.”</p>
<p>Format</p>
<p>The format for the debates, announced on July 25, 2012, will be:</p>
<p>First presidential debate</p>
<p>The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate.</p>
<p>The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond.&#160; The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.</p>
<p>Vice presidential debate</p>
<p>The debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics and be divided into nine time segments of approximately 10 minutes each.&#160; The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond.&#160; The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the question.</p>
<p>Second presidential debate</p>
<p>The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues.&#160; Candidates each will have two minutes to respond, and an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate a discussion.&#160; The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization.</p>
<p>Third presidential debate</p>
<p>The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy.</p>
<p>All debates will take place from 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.&#160; There will be no opening statements and two-minute closing statements in all the debates.&#160;&#160; In all the debates except town meeting, the CPD recommends that the candidates be seated at a table with the moderator.</p>
<p>The CPD is undertaking an innovative internet-based voter education program that will encourage citizens to become familiar with the issues to be discussed in the debates, and to share their input with the debate moderators in advance of the debates.&#160; The program, which will be announced later this month, will be led by a coalition of internet leaders.</p>
<p>The CPD has sponsored and produced all the presidential and vice presidential debates since 1987, the year it was established.&#160; For more information, please visit&#160; <a href="http://www.debates.org/" type="external">www.debates.org</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CandyCrowley.jpg" type="external">Image</a> by&#160;Mark Knight and Jordan Miller</p>
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">bob schieffer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">broadcasting</a>, <a href="" type="internal">candy crowley</a>, <a href="" type="internal">CNN</a>, <a href="" type="internal">commission on presidential debates</a>, <a href="" type="internal">debate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">debate town</a>, <a href="" type="internal">first presidential debate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gwen ifill</a>, <a href="" type="internal">jim lehrer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">mass media</a>, <a href="" type="internal">news media</a>, <a href="" type="internal">pbs newshourwednesday</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Politics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">presidential debate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">second presidential debate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">the presidential</a>, <a href="" type="internal">the presidential debate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">third presidential debate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states presidential debates</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states presidential election</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states presidential election debates</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states presidential primaries</a>, <a href="" type="internal">vice presidential debate</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
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<p>In one of the most blatantly false attack ads of the political season, an outside Republican group blamed a former assistant district attorney now running for attorney general in Pennsylvania of going “soft” with plea deals in two rape cases she never actually handled. In one case, the ad says, a judge “rejected [Kathleen] Kane’s weak deal because of the brutality of the crime and age of the victim,” and in another case, the ad says Kane “went soft on a rapist of a 16-year-old who was released and later assaulted two more women.”</p>
<p /> | false | https://factcheck.org/tag/kathleen-kane/ | 2 |
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<p>Hillary is going to benefit from warm treatment from the media and the utter insanity of Donald Trump. She’s the prohibitive favorite to win the White House; according to betting markets, she’s at a <a href="http://www.oddsshark.com/entertainment/us-presidential-odds-2016-futures" type="external">near-75 percent probability</a>. She could easily make that 100 percent with her vice presidential pick.</p>
<p>Now, vice presidential picks don’t tend to make much of a difference for successful presidential candidates. Dick Cheney didn’t materially help George W. Bush win the presidency. Joe Biden didn’t swing any states to Barack Obama.</p>
<p>But Hillary Clinton could pick someone who would virtually guarantee her the presidency.</p>
<p>No, not Elizabeth Warren. Warren doesn’t bring anything to the ticket other than Bernie Sanders socialists – and those people will likely swivel behind Hillary in the absence of a third party, just as most Republicans have lined up behind Donald Trump despite their distaste for him.</p>
<p>No, the best pick Hillary Clinton could make would be…Ohio Governor John Kasich.</p>
<p>Kasich announced again on Thursday morning that he wouldn’t be endorsing Trump yet. This morning, he told Fox News, “It’s not on me as to how Donald Trump does in Ohio. It’s on him. It’s how him how he does in the country. If you’re going to insult Hispanics, if you’re going to turn off minorities, if you’re going to have reckless suggestions on foreign policy—that’s not good. Why would I feel compelled to support somebody whose positions I’m kind of fundamentally disagreeing with?”</p>
<p>Kasich has already said he wouldn’t run for vice president, prompting spasms of apoplexic rage from conservatives who couldn’t understand why the madman wouldn’t just drop out of the presidential race and make it a one-on-one between Ted Cruz and Trump. Nonetheless, speculation has surrounded Kasich and the VP slot for months, given that he is the governor of America’s most prominent swing state.</p>
<p>Hillary has to know this. And Kasich mirrors many of her political positions. He expanded Obamacare in his own state. He believes the government has a role in forcing private businessowners to violate their religious precepts. He generally agrees with the perspective that government is designed to “make lives better” – and that he has been designated by God to do so.</p>
<p>Trump has alienated a huge swath of Republicans. There are some misguided Republicans who are even thinking of voting for Hillary Clinton – an unjustifiable move, given her corruption and tendency toward tyranny. But putting Kasich on the ticket would guarantee that many of those Republicans swing into Hillary’s camp. She wouldn’t just win Ohio and lock up Florida and Virginia – she’d likely win North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri. She’d even have an outside shot at Arizona and Utah. Hillary’s most significant flaw has always been her divisive partisanship. Bringing abord Kasich would solve that for her.</p>
<p>And Kasich would likely do it. He’s enough of an egotist to connect himself a Democrat, particularly knowing that he’d then be the frontrunner for president in eight years – he’s 64 years old now.</p>
<p>This is a long shot, naturally. Hillary will probably go with a far safer pick than Kasich. But if she wanted to end the election cycle today, it would be hard to find a better strategic choice than the faux-Republican Ohio governor.</p> | If Hillary Wants To Be President, She Just Needs To Try This One Simple Trick For VP | true | https://dailywire.com/news/6454/if-hillary-wants-be-president-she-just-needs-try-ben-shapiro | 2016-06-09 | 0 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Twenty-twelve has been an incredible year for feminism and for Feministing. After eight years, we’re still going strong — bringing you feminist news, analysis, laughter, and gifs direct to your screen of choice.&#160;ICYMI, this one was an election year, and even as we managed to avoid a transition in our White House leadership, we faced some change-ups with our own staffing. As one Feministing heavy hitter&#160; <a href="" type="internal">transitioned out of regular blogging</a>, we&#160;gained&#160; <a href="" type="internal">three amazing new contributors</a>&#160;(after holding our&#160; <a href="" type="internal">first-ever contributor contest</a>), and two <a href="" type="internal">longtime</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">contributors</a> became editors.</p>
<p>The updated crew has been having a blast producing fresh feminist content at a mind-numbing pace. As a result, Feministing pageviews and visitors numbered higher than ever before in 2012, with the most notable metric pointing to an increase in visitors of over 40% as compared to 2011. While traffic isn’t the end-all-be-all here at Feministing, and we value the smaller, thought-leadery pieces as much as the more popular heavy hitters, we do love to take a moment to recognize the posts that resonated so well with you all that you decided to share them around the internet.</p>
<p>That’s why, this week, we’re happy to bring you a series of end-of-year reflections and reports instead of the usual bloggity-blogging. Tomorrow and Friday, we’ll be posting staff picks for our favorite posts from here and around the web. For now,&#160;I’m happy to present to you the top ten most popular posts on Feministing in 2012!</p>
<p>Maya struck a nerve when she highlighted the “verbal kicking” issued by&#160;British Olympic weightlifter Zoe Smith in response to some dudes who posted offensive gender essentialist comments about her on Twitter.&#160;“Shall we stop weightlifting, amend our diet in order to completely get rid of our ‘manly’ muscles, and become housewives in the sheer hope that one day you will look more favourably upon us and we might actually have a shot with you?!” she asked incredulously. Badass. 9. “ <a href="" type="internal">Reactions of Mitt Romney’s 47 percent write off in gifs</a>” (Vanessa – September 18)</p>
<p>If there’s one thing we’ve learned in 2012, it’s that everyone loves a good gif. Vanessa’s post combined one of the most explosive news stories of 2012, Romney’s secret “47%” video, with one of the year’s hottest online mediums, and the result was pure magic.</p>
<p>8. “ <a href="" type="internal">Sherlyn Chopra- the first ever Indian lady to pose nude in playboy</a>” (Samhita – July 31) While it may seem obvious why a post with “nude” and “playboy” in the title did well on the Interwebs, Samhita paired this SEO goldmine with her trademark whipsmart analysis, exploring Playboy’s “awkward” relationship to feminism and likely dropping some serious knowledge on more than one person who may have started out simply in search of some naked lady pics. 7. “ <a href="" type="internal">What if dude superheroes posed like lady superheroes?</a>” (Jos – May 9)&#160;</p>
<p>Jos’ post about artist Kevin Bolk’s subversive gender switcheroos capitalized on the hype &#160;around one of the year’s biggest blockbuster, The Avengers, while turning some of the comic industry’s sexist imagery on its head.</p>
<p>6. “ <a href="" type="internal">Enough with I date women and trans men</a>” (Jos, June 28)</p>
<p>With this piece, Jos made a compelling, well-reasoned, and incredibly necessary point on why saying or “I&#160;date women and trans men” is the definition of cissexism, and cemented her place as an epic feminist thought leader (if it hadn’t been cemented already). Her post helped push forward our narrative about gender and dating, hegemony and misogyny, and caused something of a cathartic conversation in the lively comments section that followed. Jos continues to be such a boon to the Feministing team, as evidenced by the gushing of one commenter after reading her post: “That’s exactly what I love about this site. It complete embraces how “feminism” as a movement/cultural concept is constantly evolving, adding aspects, subtracting/multiplying/dividing aspects, parsing things out, figuring things out, and taking on all obstacles as they come to us.”</p>
<p>It’s encouraging to see a post like this get shared enough to make this list. Thanks Jos.</p>
<p />
<p>5. “ <a href="" type="internal">Matt Lauer is gross, Anne Hathaway kicks slut shaming’s ass</a>” (Jos, December 13)</p>
<p>Noticing a pattern here? Jos once again dominates. This time, the target of her razor sharp analysis was slimeball-of-the-moment Matt Lauer, who raised feminist eyebrows across the nation when he chose to interrogate Hathaway about her “wardrobe malfunction” (read: incident of unwanted sexual attention from opportunistic, commodifying paparazzi) rather than the movie she was there to promote.</p>
<p>4. “ <a href="" type="internal">New study: Lesbian households produce a child abuse rate of 0%</a>” (Vanessa – November 11, 2010)</p>
<p>The only post on this list to have been published in a year other than 2012, this post saw a resurgence in popularity as the study Vanessa cites became fodder for gay marriage debates across the country in an election year. While the sample size was small, Vanessa was right to point out that these kinds of studies are critical in breaking down the myths that are constantly being perpetuated by anti-LGBT culture, and to call for more studies in kind.</p>
<p>I was horrified when I learned the real context for this image, but I’m glad this particular “inconvenient truth” got the attention it deserved. A drunk man assaulting a stranger on the street has no place in our national conception of romance.</p>
<p>2. “ <a href="" type="internal">A Sikh Woman Does Not Apologize for Her Appearance and Everyone Learns Something</a>” (Samhita – September 27)</p>
<p>In a rare overlap between the Reddit and Feministing community, Samhita highlighted a beautiful post by a Sikh woman whose image had been posted online in an effort to shame her for having facial hair. In an impressive show of faith and courage, the woman published a moving response, prompting the original poster to apologize and, as Samhita describes, “pushing both normative Western standards of beauty and gender divisions in Sikhism.” LOVE.</p>
<p>1. “ <a href="" type="internal">Well you did dare to speak in public so I guess you deserve this</a>” (Chloe – October 18)</p>
<p>It’s perhaps fitting that in an election year, our most trafficked post was related to one of the presidential debates. When&#160;Katherine Fenton, a&#160;24-year-old kindergarten teacher who doesn’t identify as feminist but apparently wants to be paid as much as a man doing the same job,&#160;asked Mitt Romney and Barack Obama a question about the gender pay gap during the second presidential debate, she did more than launch the now infamous “binders full of women” meme. As Chloe points out in her post about the subsequent conservative freakout, apparently, by speaking out in public about one of the –let’s be honest here — most straightforward and noncontroversial woman-related issues of the election, she also volunteered herself the target of some vicious attacks from the right. As always, Chloe brings her signature sarcasm and poignancy to this latest injustice, creating a rock solid post and the most popular of the year.</p>
<p>Ed note: This is the first in a <a href="" type="internal">series of posts</a> summarizing the year in online feminism. Check back tomorrow and every day through the New Year for more end-of-the-year content.&#160;</p> | People’s choice: The ten most trafficked Feministing posts of 2012 | true | http://feministing.com/2012/12/26/peoples-choice-the-ten-most-trafficked-feministing-posts-of-2012/ | 4 |
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<p>NAPLES, Fla. — While Hillary Clinton is making an explicit push for Democratic down-ballot candidates, Donald Trump is taking a more subtle approach.</p>
<p>Sunday evening in sunny Florida, Trump repeatedly pushed his supporters to help keep Republicans in control of Congress.</p>
<p>Asking voters to cast their votes for him in 16 days, Trump said, "That includes helping me re-elect Republicans all over the place," adding that it would be "nice if they helped us, too, right? To enact my first 100 days."</p>
<p>At three other points in the speech, Trump slipped in mentions of a Republican House and Senate as essential to enacting his agenda.</p>
<p>Notably unnamed in Trump's pro-Republican push were Sen. Marco Rubio, who's actually running for re-election in Florida. Rubio has endorsed Trump, and he stood by him even as many other Republicans in tough races distanced themselves and even pulled their support.</p>
<p>"If you elect me, along with a Republican House and Senate, we will also immediately repeal the Obama-Clinton defense sequester and rebuild our badly depleted military," Trump promised.</p>
<p>He also mentioned the need for a GOP majority to repeal Obamacare and to help enact the other policies included in his recently announced "contract with the American voter."</p>
<p>This traditional aspect of party-minded campaigning is a foreign concept for Trump. The mentions on Sunday, while mundane to most, marked a departure for Trump, who has largely acted with his own self-interest in mind, even when it stands to hurt the party he carries the mantle for.</p>
<p>Trump rarely mentions down-ballot races in his usually hour-long stump speeches. Occasionally, he will add a local flourish, mentioning local Republicans who have endorsed and supported him — whether they're on the ballot in November or not. Generally, the names of Republicans down ballot are far from his mind as he outlines his plan for America should he take the White House.</p>
<p>Contrast Trump's vague approach and passing comments with Clinton's down-ballot push. Clinton is dedicating the final weeks of the campaign to her message — and to pushing for fellow Democrats who share a ballot with her on Nov. 8. She has spoken at length at rallies about down-ballot Democrats, appealing to voters to vote blue down the ticket and specifying why those candidates are best for them.</p>
<p>Trump again lauded polls Sunday that had him up while casting doubt on those that showed him trailing — taking special issue with data that show him down with women.</p>
<p>"We're doing well in the polls, but you know, I really think those polls are very inaccurate when it comes to women," Trump said.</p>
<p>He said he believed he was doing better with women than men but then reversed course to say that he understands he's setting records with men and would happily trade those numbers for higher support with women.</p>
<p>"I'd swap you out so fast," Trump told the men in the audience.</p> | Trump Makes Subtle, Unexpected Push for Down-Ballot Republicans | false | http://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-makes-subtle-unexpected-push-down-ballot-republicans-n671511 | 2016-10-24 | 3 |
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<p>Gay marriage private matter</p>
<p>CONTRARY TO THE Journal’s editorial position on same-sex marriage, July 5, “the voters” should not decide the issue of same-sex marriage because in short, it’s none of their damn business. The voters just don’t have a dog in that hunt.</p>
<p>That is essentially what the U.S. Supreme Court just said in Hollingsworth vs. Perry, June 26, to proponents of California’s State Constitution Amendment banning same-sex marriage. They did not have legal standing, or in other words they could not show any adverse effect from the lower court ruling striking down the same-sex marriage ban. The lower court opinion ruled that the ban violated both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S Constitution.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>If your son or daughter wants to marry someone you don’t approve of, you have the right to be upset. Everyone else should stay out of it.</p>
<p>CREIGH GORDON</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>Impact on kids is unclear</p>
<p>GAY “MARRIAGE” is one thing, but taking children into these families is another. Since studies have shown that these kids grow up to be normal, there has been a rush to get more children into families of gay parentage. This may not be wise.</p>
<p>The most recent of these long-term studies, tracking children from infancy to age 18, would have started about 20 years ago. Are we really to believe that 20 years ago researchers were able select a truly random and diverse sample of gay couples raising children? I don’t think so. Most of those couples were probably white with fairly high incomes. High socioeconomic status makes everything work better.</p>
<p>So to be blunt; do we have good reason to believe that gay families are a safe environment for children? No other society in human history has had gay “marriage.” Regardless of the studies, the true consequences of raising children in this very non-traditional context is unknown.</p>
<p>Now that these families will be greater in number and more widespread across the socioeconomic spectrum, we might start to see problems emerge.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>MICHAEL THOMPSON</p>
<p>Los Ranchos</p>
<p>What’s next, white slavery?</p>
<p>SINCE THE United States Supreme Court has removed murder – Roe vs Wade – and now same-sex unions from the list of aberrant behaviors, one wonders how long it will be until white slavery, rape and incest are removed from this list and then rewarded with monetary considerations by our government. Caligula lives!</p>
<p>ALBERT GRIFFIN</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>Share our liberty to marry</p>
<p>I AM STRAIGHT, and I’m glad the Supreme Court rulings have moved us closer to justice for our gay and lesbian friends.</p>
<p>A gay friend told me what the so-called “gay agenda” is: to have the same rights as straight people. Our traditions have often hurt gay folks. Fortunately, traditions change, for our traditions once supported slavery and denied the vote to women.</p>
<p>Imagine how you would feel if the government said you could not marry the person you love. But our marriage traditions have evolved. The institution of marriage has not suffered as a result of blacks being allowed to marry without whites’ permission, or from women being given equal marriage status, or from people being allowed to marry someone of a different race.</p>
<p>Many of us consider our marriage to be essential to our well-being. Marriage could help our gay and lesbian friends, too. It’s time to be proud of the liberty our country stands for and to share it with gay and lesbian folks. Please, let us live up to “liberty and justice for all”.</p>
<p>DOUG LONG</p>
<p>Rio Rancho</p>
<p>Gay marriage a moral issue</p>
<p>RE: “AG: Gay marriage not allowed,” June 7</p>
<p>I must commend the Albuquerque Journal for being on the scene to snap a photo and report that Alex Hanna and Yon Hudson were denied an application for marriage. It’s good to know that New Mexico still has the morality to decline these licenses, and the Albuquerque Journal is reporting on these important moral issues.</p>
<p>Thank you Albuquerque Journal.</p>
<p>LORENA CHAVEZ</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>Catholic opposition wrong</p>
<p>AS LIFE-LONG Catholics, we are confused and dismayed by the Catholic bishops’ continued opposition to all couples having the freedom to marry in the state of New Mexico. The Catholic Church has always had a strong commitment to strengthening families and assisting couples to live out a permanent commitment through marriage. It is puzzling that the same church’s leaders do not want society to extend the benefits of marriage to every couple who wish to spend their lives together and sometimes to raise children together.</p>
<p>Some religious leaders who oppose same-sex marriage say it would threaten traditional marriage. It is absolutely unclear to us why this would be so.</p>
<p>We have gay and lesbian friends who have made life-long commitments to each other and we certainly have never felt that to be a threat to our own marriage. Rather, we find it a support to our own relationship. We only wish they could have the legal support, benefits and protection that our marriage has provided to us.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Catholic bishops state that the religious freedom of those who oppose equality in marriage on religious grounds would be violated by society allowing same-sex marriage. We wonder about the violation of the religious freedom of those who support same-sex marriage precisely because of their religious beliefs. Such persons believe in the love of God for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that everyone is entitled to respect before the law.</p>
<p>Obviously, religious denomination should not be required to religiously solemnize marriages that are not in accord with their own norms. On the other hand, religious groups ought not try to prevent civil society from granting marital status to same-sex couples who wish it.</p>
<p>JACK TAYLOR and JANET MATHISON</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>What is the true difference?</p>
<p>IN A WAY, homosexuals that desire genderless “marriage” to be legally recognized are only mirroring what we Christians have been revealing as the current state of marriage: sexual relations between adults without much concern for a child or a family, or a yet larger family.</p>
<p>And since the heterosexual divorce rate is around 50 percent why shouldn’t homosexuals give it a try? Let us be blunt. They want to have the same freedom in sexual relations that married heterosexual couples have: No discrimination, no rude glances. Ironically, it is the heterosexual family with four or more children that is the object of discrimination and rude glances in today’s world.</p>
<p>We Christians have done a poor job of displaying the sanctity and purpose of marriage. Marriage should be a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman that unites the two and any children produced by that union.</p>
<p>If marriage is not lifelong and if 90-plus percent of unions involve artificial ways of preventing procreation, then homosexuals are somewhat correct in logically concluding that homosexual intercourse is not much different from heterosexual intercourse if artificial means are used to prevent the natural consequences of the sexual act. In a sense homosexual intercourse always unnaturally prevents pregnancy, whereas heterosexual intercourse will possibly lead to pregnancy in a fertile couple, unless artificial means are used. We have to seriously ask the difficult question: what is the true difference?</p>
<p>This push for genderless “marriage” is a blessing, in a way, to allow heterosexual Christian and non-Christian couples to ask themselves: what is the purpose of marriage? To be blunt again: only the very few couples that don’t artificially block the natural consequences of the marital act and who also stay married for life – and groups that hold to this ideal – can reasonably argue against genderless “marriage.” Beyond that we can only use sociological arguments that it will weaken the family – still more – and use the many sufficiently strong religious objections.</p>
<p>ANTHONY VIGIL</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>God should decide marriage</p>
<p>Now that Independence Day is over, hopefully we all had a chance to think about the rights that we enjoy in this nation. I hope we have all had the opportunity to also think about the source of our rights. According to an editorial published on July 5th, our rights and liberties should be decided by the voters of this state. Specifically, the editorial asserted that the question of the legality of same-sex marriage in the state of New Mexico ought to be decided by the people and Legislature of New Mexico instead of by the Supreme Court of New Mexico. The author of the editorial is assuming that the rights of a nation are decided by the people or the state. These, however, are not the only two options. According to the Declaration of Independence, the document that inspired the birth of our nation on July 4, 1776, the rights of the people of a nation are derived from the Laws of Nature and from Nature’s God. According to the Declaration, neither the Supreme Court nor the people have the right to decide what rights people have. According to our founders, rights are determined and endowed by God alone. The Supreme Court and the people of New Mexico share something in common, they are bodies composed of people. People have no right to determine the rights of other people, because they are only people themselves. Only God can make that determination because God is above man. Perhaps instead of trying to make this decision about same-sex marriage ourselves, we ought to follow in the honored tradition set forth in our Declaration of Independence and turn to the only Supreme Justice of the universe who has already given His decision on this issue.</p>
<p>ANDREW HOLLIS</p>
<p>Los Alamos</p>
<p>Legally allow gay marriage</p>
<p>I WOULD LIKE to tell my opinion on the fight about gay marriage. Being part of my church (LDS Indian School Ward, Albuquerque East Stake) I do not believe that same sex marriage is right.</p>
<p>We believe that being homosexual is a choice and that God would not have set us up to fail to return to him. Hence, that being my background and religion, people argue that God said a man and a woman should be together in marriage, not any other combination. But, I see a problem in this. It is all falling under religion.</p>
<p>The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.</p>
<p>This clearly states that religion is allowed to be exercised freely without interference. In my opinion homosexuality falls under religion which is allowed by the Constitution. Thus, though I won’t be practicing it, I feel that it should be allowed legally.</p>
<p>ADAM GREENWOOD</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p> | EQUAL TIME | false | https://abqjournal.com/221708/equal.html | 2 |
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<p>Photo Credit: P. Barry</p>
<p>Every major poll analysis outfit--from&#160; <a href="//projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/iowa-democratic/#polls-only" type="external">Nate Silver's fivethirtyeight</a>, to the Huffington Post's&#160; <a href="//elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-iowa-presidential-democratic-caucus" type="external">Pollster.com</a>&#160;to&#160; <a href="//www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ia/iowa_democratic_presidential_caucus-3195.html" type="external">Real Clear Politics</a>--all show Hillary Clinton to be the favorite to win the Iowa caucuses Monday night.&#160;</p>
<p>If she does indeed win, there will no doubt be a lot of pundits and wags who will use that victory as opportunity to dismiss the Bernie Sanders campaign as ineffective and historically unimportant. The record breaking rally sizes, the three million contributions, the volunteer-based distributed field campaign, the rise from single digits in the polls to become a serious contender--all of that will be, to some, just another George McGovern or Howard Dean-esque failure of liberal, grassroots campaigns that can shout loudly at rallies and in the comments but predictably flame out when real Americans start casting their ballots.</p>
<p>But no matter the outcome in Iowa, there is something that the Sanders campaign has already proven, and it is something that every single Democrat in the country needs to pay attention to and take to heart.&#160;</p>
<p>The lesson is this: A more progressive America is more possible than you believe. And not just in some hypothetical future with demographics and legislative maps very different than those of the present day. A more progressive America than you believe is possible than you believe&#160;right now.</p>
<p>This lesson is especially important for those voters, analysts, political professionals and elected Democrats who backed Hillary Clinton primarily because they view her as more electable, and / or her policies as having a more realistic chance of passing into law. Those people who Paul Krugman&#160; <a href="//www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/27/1475995/-Krugman-every-progressive-wonk-who-has-weighed-in-leans-Hillary" type="external">described</a>&#160;as "having an acute sense of the possible."</p>
<p>Bernie Sanders has shown is that more progressive outcomes are possible than you believe because you have left some of your own potential power on the table. Specifically, you have left the grassroots activist power that he has unleashed on the table.&#160;</p>
<p>The three million donations, the record breaking rally sizes, the distributed field campaign with a volunteer backbone--even if that force proves insufficient to win Bernie Sanders the Democratic nomination, to become President of the United States and to enact his proposed policies into law, it is a force strong enough to move the needle on the dial political possibility significantly to the left. But that is only if the Democratic and progressive advocacy elite stop leaving it on the table.</p>
<p>There has never been a contested Democratic presidential primary in history where elected Democrats and leaders of progressive advocacy campaigns have so unanimously thrown their support behind one candidate--a candidate who is actually well loved by Democrats, to boot. And yet even then, the combined power every elected Democrat and progressive advocacy organization has proven insufficient to prevent the bulk of the progressive grassroots from mounting a serious challenge to Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Bernie Sanders outflanked political possibility in this campaign. At the start of this campaign, no one at the elite levels of the Democratic Party and progressive advocacy ecosystem thought he could come this far--no one. He did it by tapping into a deep reservoir of grassroots progressive activism that almost everyone else has just flat out left on the table.</p>
<p>The Democratic Party and many progressive advocacy organizations rely on this activist base for small donations, but they don't really engage it. Communication to this activist base is typically outsourced to political consultancies who, more often than not, use superficial methods to turn lists of emails into television commercials. It works well enough to raise a decent amount of campaign cash, but it generates nowhere near the vast resources--both human and monetary--that Sanders has unlocked through his full-throated challenge to moneyed interests.&#160;</p>
<p>The lesson of the Bernie Sanders campaign, win or lose, is that elected Democrats and progressive advocacy organizations are leaving political possibility on the table when they leave engagement with the progressive grassroots on the table. For decades it was widely believed that this was not the case, and that instead you could get more done as a Democrat by accommodating moneyed interests than by partnering with the grassroots left. Well, it is time for Democrats to recalculate.</p>
<p>The liberal-conservative gap in America&#160; <a href="//www.gallup.com/poll/188129/conservatives-hang-ideology-lead-thread.aspx?g_source=IDEOLOGY&amp;g_medium=topic&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">has never been smaller</a>, and it <a href="//www.gallup.com/poll/181325/baby-boomers-likely-identify-conservative.aspx?g_source=IDEOLOGY&amp;g_medium=topic&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">&#160;is only going to keep getting smaller</a>. The liberal grassroots are better organized than ever through the larger than ever, even if no longer hip, constellation of digital-native organizations known as the netroots. They have reformed the filibuster, saved net neutrality, and have managed to give Bernie Sanders as much support you were able to give Hillary Clinton. Both you, and they, can do more when you work with them instead of just using them as an ATM. Together you can change what is politically possible, and in the process change the world.</p> | The Incredibly Important Lesson Democrats Must Learn from the Bernie Sanders Campaign | true | http://alternet.org/election-2016/incredibly-important-lesson-democrats-must-learn-bernie-sanders-campaign | 2016-02-01 | 4 |
<p />
<p>According to its site, Multi Packaging Solutions offers "Print. Packaging. Solutions." Image source: Multi Packaging Solutions.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Multi Packaging Solutions International Ltd. (NYSE: MPSX) shares jumped 23% as of noon EST today, on the news that the packaging company would be acquired by WestRock Company (NYSE: WRK) in a deal worth $2.3 billion, including nearly $900 million of debt.</p>
<p>Multi Packaging Solutions reported fiscal 2017 first-quarter results for the period ended Sept. 30, 2016, including sales down 11% year over year, and operating income down 6%. This follows similar struggles throughout 2016; before today, the stock was down 8% over the last year.</p>
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<p>On the other hand, WestRock has been performing well lately. It just announced yesterday that it would sell other assets worth about $1 billion, seemingly in preparation for today's news. WestRock shares are up about 3% so far today, and are up more than 70% over the last year for amarket cap, now, of $13.5 billion.</p>
<p>There's little value left to squeeze out ofMulti Packaging Solutions' stock, now that the merger news is announced and shares have jumped to just 1% below WestRock'soffered price per share of $18.The question now becomes whether WestRock looks more interesting following this merger. WestRock CEO Steve Voorheessaid in today's announcement: "Overall, this is a highly strategic transaction consistent with our balanced capital allocation strategy that we expect will generate compelling growth and returns. We have the right team in place with deep integration experience to fully realize this opportunity."</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Multi Packaging Solutions International When 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=4fa60c22-1eb3-42b8-9be0-e9b07226643f&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 Multi Packaging Solutions International 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=4fa60c22-1eb3-42b8-9be0-e9b07226643f&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 January 4, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMcNew/info.aspx" type="external">Seth McNew Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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> | Why Shares of Multi Packaging Solutions International Ltd. Surged Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/24/why-shares-multi-packaging-solutions-international-ltd-surged-today.html | 2017-01-24 | 0 |
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<p>Rahel Fikre-Selassie, left, co-owner of Cafe Roha, talks with Don Dietz and Angie Wulfow having lunch at the restaurant in De Vargas Center. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Meat, cabbage and potatoes. Not promising ingredients for dinner outside of the American Midwest. But add exotic spices, lentils both spicy and plain, home-made cheese and a strange bread made with teff rather than wheat flour and you've got Ethiopian cuisine.</p>
<p>It's tasty, and it's on the menu at Cafe Roha in De Vargas mall.</p>
<p>The menu is short at Cafe Roha, but flung with strange words. Timatim fitfit? Gomen? Aybe? Well, there was a burger listed, but that didn't appeal. We took refuge in the combination plates, one with meat and one vegetarian, and were more than happy - and enlightened.</p>
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<p>The Roha classical platter ($14.95) included both beef and chicken. The vegetarian platter ($13.95) gave us two types of lentils. On the side we split that timatim fitfit ($8.95), a jazzy bread salad made with Cafe Roha's signature teff flatbread.</p>
<p>The classical platter was the star of the show. It included a spicy-hot stew of beef, slow-cooked in a sauce that features lots of red chile. Berbere, the signature red chile sauce of North Africa, can be made with New Mexico red, as we learned on the Internet.</p>
<p>But it includes ginger and cardamom in the mix, and was at once familiar and strange to our palates. We liked the tender, fall-apart beef. Truth be told, my guest enjoyed the spicy heat more than I did - I found the beef (available on the menu as sega wot) too hot for my taste.</p>
<p>The accompanying chicken (doro wot on the menu) was similarly spiced, in that it featured ginger, cardamom and garlic.</p>
<p>But sans berbere, it was mild if no less sophisticated in flavor. I was able to appreciate the sweet and sharp notes of the cardamom and ginger, unobstructed by hot pepper.</p>
<p>We liked the red lentils on the vegetarian platter best of that sampler. These, too, were nicely spiced with berbere. The yellow lentils, billed as mild and creamy, were blander than we liked, although they were colored by turmeric and leavened by a little ginger and garlic.</p>
<p>Both plates were accompanied by atakilt alicha, a combination of sliced cabbage and potatoes with turmeric. The cabbage retained some crunch, which we appreciated, and in combination with the spicy-hot beef, it was a welcome respite. It was less successful as an accompaniment to the lentils.</p>
<p>But both of us really loved the other side vegetable: kale stir-fried with tomatoes and garlic and served atop aybe, billed as homemade cottage cheese. The kale was fried quick and hot, resulting in a little tasty char on the bright green leaves. The cheese was fresh and mild, and in texture somewhere between small-curd cottage and smooth ricotta. We loved it, gobbling up every morsel.</p>
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<p>If timatim fitfit is an indication, Cafe Roha's salads are worth every penny. The tomatoes, onion, carrot and romaine in this combo were scrupulously fresh and nicely trimmed and decoratively cut. Slices of cucumber graced the side of the platter, and the dressing was tart and refreshing without being overpowering.</p>
<p>We love bread salads, and before discovering that Ethiopia's answer to bread is the teff-based injera, expected this melange of vegetables would arrive with maybe something like pita bread mixed in.</p>
<p>To our resolutely Western-prejudiced palates, injera is just odd: spongy (well, so is pita or even naan), but without that essential wheat flavor. (A couple of wedges of injera, nicely presented in croissant-like rolls, flanked our main dishes.) Timatim fitfit was an exotic twist on a bread salad, and not one we're ordering again.</p>
<p>Dessert returned us to familiar ground, however. We decided to split a serving of cardamom and date gelato ($4.95). The serving - three generous scoops in a bitter-chocolate garnished pastry basket - was plenty. The creamy gelato was well flavored with sharp-but-sweet cardamom.</p>
<p>The dates, my guest discerned, were represented in the richly flavored sauce drizzled over the whole. It looked like caramel but no - it was the dates, pureed or emulsified into something far subtler than date chunks in the gelato would have been. Very nice!</p>
<p>The service at Cafe Roha is impeccable, even though it was somewhat crowded. We appreciated the minimalist decor - a few artisanal baskets on the wall echoed the cafe's circular logo. We'll be back to try that burger, the vegetable sandwich and the fried fish, and some more of that wonderful fresh cheese and kale.</p>
<p /> | Don't let unfamiliar menu keep you from diving in | false | https://abqjournal.com/652643/dont-let-unfamiliar-menu-keep-you-from-diving-in.html | 2 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The consensus view seems to be that last weekend’s storm, while it technically counts as our first real “winter storm” of the season, didn’t accomplish as much as hoped.</p>
<p>Kerry Jones at the National Weather Service, during the service’s weekly briefing today, said it “undelivered”. “It was fairly small numbers,” said Wayne Sleep of the NRCS snow survey team. High elevation sites saw more than 8 inches, but most of his measurement sites got less. The daily readings from Wayne’s sites can be found <a href="http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/New_Mexico/new_mexico.html" type="external">here</a>, but there’s not much to look at right now.</p>
<p>And there’s not much in the forecast to look forward to for the foreseeable future. Last week, it looked like there was a chance that the storm track was slipping down in our direction, and that we might see one of those storm series (bam-bam-bam) that are so important to building our winter snowpack.</p>
<p>No such luck. Here’s the five-day precipitation forecast, looking a whole lot like it’s looking for most of the fall:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/day1-5.shtml" type="external" /> Looking out over longer periods, the <a href="http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/610day/" type="external">6-10 day</a> and overlapping <a href="http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/index.php" type="external">8-14 day</a> outlooks don’t look any better.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Where’d all the snow go? | false | https://abqjournal.com/146060/whered-all-the-snow-go.html | 2 |
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<p>Following the tragedy in <a href="" type="internal">Las Vegas</a>&#160;on Sunday, liberal sports network ESPN <a href="" type="internal">agreed to broadcast</a> the National Anthem prior to Monday night’s Kansas City Chiefs-Washington Redskins game. Unfortunately, two Chiefs players decided to make the moment about themselves and sat during the Anthem.</p>
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<p>There’s no video showing Eligwe sitting during The Star-Spangled Banner, but Peters faced heavy criticism online after footage emerged of him sitting during the the anthem.</p>
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<p>This was a completely classless move on behalf of Peters and Eligwe. When our country faced tragedy in the past, sports was a way we banded together. Just look at George W. Bush’s post-9/11 <a href="" type="internal">ceremonial first pitch</a> during Game 3 of the World Series: everyone was behind him, whether they voted for him or not. What mattered was that we came together in the face of tragedy and showed that we were not afraid.</p>
<p>Fifty-nine people lost their lives in Las Vegas, making it the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.&#160;If there was ever a night we needed to put petty politics aside and come together, it was last night. Instead,&#160;Peters and Eligwe decided to make it about themselves, and a protest that they likely don’t even fully understand.</p>
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<p>H/T: <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/21848/watch-nfl-player-sits-during-national-anthem-ryan-saavedra" type="external">The Daily Wire</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Do you think it was wrong of Peters and Eligwe to sit during the National Anthem Monday night? Share your thoughts and comments below!</p>
<p /> | Two NFL Players Sit During National Anthem Following Vegas Massacre | true | http://thepoliticalinsider.com/marcus-peters-sits-national-anthem-las-vegas/ | 2017-10-03 | 0 |
<p><a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/354834-bannon-putting-senate-majority-at-risk-in-2018-republicans-warn" type="external">Republicans holding seats in both chambers of Congress are “put out” with former White House strategist Steve Bannon issuing a statement to challenge incumbent Republicans in order to oust establishment office holders</a> impeding Trump’s campaign platform that resounded with citizens nationwide resulting in Trump winning the White House.</p>
<p>In other words, Bannon is working outside the Beltway to “drain the swamp” that is Washington, DC, to the consternation of establishment Republicans working against Trump.</p>
<p>The Republican establishment has gone so far to suggest that Bannon’s plan could jeopardize the majority held in the Senate by Republicans.</p>
<p>The Hill reports:</p>
<p>Republicans on Capitol Hill fear that Stephen Bannon’s plan to wage primary challenges against incumbent senators will put their majority at risk in 2018.</p>
<p>Senate GOP aides warn that Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, is not motivated by a desire to advance President Trump’s agenda, but instead by a quest to remake the GOP in his own, nationalist image.</p>
<p>“If anyone misunderstands what Steve Bannon’s goal is, they have to open their eyes. He doesn’t care if we win or lose the Senate. He doesn’t care about the consequences for the president,” said one Senate Republican aide.</p>
<p>“Mr. Bannon, it seems clear, does not care about Republicans maintaining their majority in either chamber. He’s putting his former boss’s agenda on the line in his quest of take over and destroy the Republican Party,” the source added.</p>
<p>Bannon did not respond to an email summarizing the criticism of Senate GOP aides.</p>
<p>However, top GOP establishment donor, <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/10/10/top-gop-donor-bannons-star-rising-mcconnells-fading/" type="external">Dan Eberhart, indicated to MSNBC host Ari Melber on The Beat with Ari Melber and reported by Breitbart News</a>, he would probably not contribute money to “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) preferred candidates and may consider giving to some of Steve Bannon’s grassroots conservative candidates.”</p>
<p>The GOP establishment has plenty of cause for concern. After campaigning heavily for a majority in the House during the previous administration to thwart some of Obama’s policies through the power of the purse, citizens watched as Republicans repeatedly caved to the “boy king” when voters answered the pleas of the GOP.</p>
<p>Feigning defeat on stopping the administration actions and policies due to the lack of a Senate majority, Republicans campaigned again for votes, almost to the point of begging, to achieve a Senate majority under the auspices of repealing Obamacare.</p>
<p>Once again, voters were disappointed to see the same old actions by the GOP while these charlatans attempted to ram through a GOP health care insurance plan that many citizens did not want.</p>
<p>Now, an “unnamed” Senate Republican aide has the audacity to declare that Bannon is jeopardizing the Senate majority, putting the agenda of President Trump at risk, and destroying the Republican party when Republicans in both chambers have done that all on their own.</p>
<p>Since Trump won the 2016 presidential election, members of the GOP establishment and those holding House and Senate seats have rejected Trump’s plan, which propelled him to the presidency, and worked against the president at every turn going so far as to attempt to “nullify” the election.</p>
<p>Moreover, some Republicans have joined forces with Democrats to undermine policies that would be good for the republic.</p>
<p>But, establishment Republicans, like many politicians, cannot accept responsibility for their actions nor admit the GOP is no more interested in following the Constitution than Democrats.</p>
<p>Instead, these hacks blame anything and everything except themselves.</p>
<p>The Republicans learned plenty from the rise of the Tea Party.</p>
<p>These politicians knew that should a strong conservative grassroots movement take hold, establishment Republicans, as well as Democrats, would be ousted from office in favor of candidates who would possess a constitutional outlook and hold to the oath of office.</p>
<p>Whether it was the Tea Party movement that decided to work within the Republican Party or whether Republicans subverted the Tea Party movement, the grassroots Tea Party movement did not gain a true stronghold.</p>
<p>Constitutional citizens were disappointed.</p>
<p>With the disastrous years of the previous administration, coupled with the dissatisfaction with both parties, the Trump campaign platform awoke many citizens sending a ripple through the GOP; although, it wasn’t enough to oust establishment career politicians whose only concern is lining their own pockets.</p>
<p><a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/354834-bannon-putting-senate-majority-at-risk-in-2018-republicans-warn" type="external">The Hill</a> continued:</p>
<p>The former White House adviser this week said he is working to field primary challengers against incumbents such as Sens. <a href="http://thehill.com/people/roger-wicker" type="external">Roger Wicker</a> (R-Miss.), <a href="http://thehill.com/people/deb-fischer" type="external">Deb Fischer</a> (R-Neb.), <a href="http://thehill.com/people/orrin-hatch" type="external">Orrin Hatch</a> (R-Utah) and <a href="http://thehill.com/people/john-barrasso" type="external">John Barrasso</a> (R-Wyo.). None are considered at risk of losing their reelection races.</p>
<p>“Nobody is safe. We are coming after all of them, and we’re going to win,” Bannon said Monday on Fox News’s “Hannity.”</p>
<p>The threat from Bannon is just the latest headache for Senate Majority Leader <a href="http://thehill.com/people/mitch-mcconnell" type="external">Mitch McConnell</a> (R-Ky.) after a frustrating summer where he took heavy fire from the right and from his own president.</p>
<p>In the Alabama race for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, Bannon supported Republicans conservative constitutionalist Judge Roy Moore over establishment pick Luther Strange.</p>
<p>The citizens of Alabama chose Roy Moore to face the Democrat challenger, signaling a problem for the establishment.</p>
<p>Clear messages are being sent to the establishment GOP; however, no one in the GOP listens.</p>
<p>The Hill cited another “unnamed” Senate Republican aide who indicated funds from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) might need to be diverted from capturing Democratic seats to protecting Republican incumbents.</p>
<p>“Every dollar the NRSC puts into protecting Republican incumbents is one less dollar than can be used to challenge Democrats,” the aide said.</p>
<p>A Senate Republican strategist cautioned, however, that it is too soon to know what impact Bannon might have on next year’s primaries, noting that he will have to raise a lot of money to compete with leadership-allied fundraising committees.</p>
<p>Conservative activists are undeterred, arguing that Republicans in Washington have become an impediment to Trump’s agenda.</p>
<p>Bannon told CBS’s “60 Minutes” last month that the GOP establishment is “trying to nullify” the 2016 election and “do not support the president’s program.”</p>
<p>“It’s an open secret on Capitol Hill. Everybody in this city knows it,” he said.</p>
<p>Even Judson Phillips, founder of the Tea Party Nation, stated that Steve Bannon “is feeding on the frustrations of the GOP’s conservative base.”</p>
<p>Phillips cites the failure to repeal Obamacare, the initiation of tax reform, and the building of the wall – promises of the GOP – as reasons for the voter bases intolerance of the GOP establishment.</p>
<p>The same “unnamed” second Republican aide source blamed Bannon for the GOP’s lack of ability to “cut deals on taxes, spending and other issues.”</p>
<p>Yet, Republicans had plenty of time before Trump’s election and Bannon becoming the White House chief strategist to deliver on campaign promises.</p>
<p>Instead, the GOP caved to the whim of the former administration and Democrats every time.</p>
<p>The Hill contends these “unnamed” aide sources declare Bannon’s campaign against the establishment GOP hinders bipartisan negotiation to “stabilize the individual insurance market.”</p>
<p>If any of this were factual, these “unnamed” sources would have little problem with their identity being known. As usual, politicians and their aides are playing the “blame game” used effectively by the previous administration while peddling falsehoods to shift blame from where it belongs – square in the middle of the laps of Republicans holding office.</p>
<p>One thing is for certain – the establishment GOP is being placed on notice by Bannon and those supporting Trump’s campaign platform to either get on board or be prepared to leave office.</p>
<p>The GOP knows what pure grassroots movements can accomplish.</p>
<p>It is what both political parties fear – return of control of government to the people.</p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="https://freedomoutpost.com/establishment-gop-unnverved-put-notice-bannon/" type="external">Freedom Outpost</a></p>
<p>Suzanne Hamner (pen name) is a registered nurse, grandmother of 4, and a political independent residing in the state of Georgia, who is trying to mobilize the Christian community in her area to stand up and speak out against tyrannical government, invasion by totalitarian political systems masquerading as religion and get back to the basics of education.</p>
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<p /> | Establishment GOP Unnverved At Being Put On Notice by Bannon | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/12/establishment-gop-unnverved-at-being-put-on-notice-by-bannon/ | 2017-10-12 | 0 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A retired Southern Baptist missionary, whose attempts to evangelize Muslims in Middle Tennessee recently attracted attention in national media, died unexpectedly the day before Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>Raouf Ghattas, 69, pastor of the <a href="http://abcmboro.org/" type="external">Arabic Baptist Church</a> in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the only Arabic-speaking church in the Tennessee Baptist Convention, <a href="http://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/11/25/arabic-baptist-pastor-raouf-ghattas-dies-natural-causes/76403788/" type="external">died</a> Nov. 25 after suffering a heart attack.</p>
<p>A native of Cairo, Egypt, Ghattas and his wife, Carol, served 20 years with the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board as church planters and evangelists in Muslim communities in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt.</p>
<p>When they retired in 2011 and moved back to Carol’s hometown, they found a different Murfreesboro than she remembered growing up, and a community divided over the construction of a mosque.</p>
<p>Declared a gateway city for Iraqi war refugees in 1992, the town’s Muslim population worshipped quietly for decades in an office building designated a mosque. That changed in 2010, when the county approved plans for a sprawling Islamic Center of Murfreesboro on 15 acres just outside the city limits.</p>
<p>After vandalism, bomb threats, legal challenges, a protest march and claims by a local politician it was a front for a terrorist training camp, the ICM finally got permission to occupy the building during Ramadan in August 2012.</p>
<p>In 2011 Ghattas began the Arabic Baptist Church in property offered by First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, his wife’s home church, with a stated purpose: “To be a catalyst for all the Muslims of Murfreesboro to know Christ by equipping believers to effectively share their faith with Muslims.”</p>
<p>Invited by an interim pastor who had served as a trustee of the International Mission Board, the Arabic church <a href="http://www.tnbaptist.org/BRPrint.asp?ID=4629" type="external">relocated</a> in 2013 to&#160; <a href="http://www.gracebaptisttn.org/" type="external">Grace Baptist Church</a>,&#160;right next door to the mosque. The church&#160;had made news a year earlier by posting 13 white crosses on its lawn as a “message” to Muslims on their way to the new mosque.</p>
<p>The arrangement soured, and when a new pastor arrived Ghattas began looking for a different meeting place. The search ended in May with purchase of Scenic Drive Baptist Church, a congregation that after a split had <a href="http://www.murfreesboropost.com/voices-of-faith-the-arabic-baptist-church---not-your-average-american-church-cms-43206" type="external">dwindled</a> to a handful of members struggling to meet expenses.</p>
<p>A May 30 Washington Post headline “ <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/as-old-line-southern-baptist-churches-struggle-a-dying-one-has-an-epiphany/2015/05/30/b0662e82-058d-11e5-bc72-f3e16bf50bb6_story.html" type="external">One church’s sunset means a new day for another</a>” presented the Arabic Baptist Church as a symbol of change going on in America’s Bible Belt.</p>
<p>“The first victims of Islam are the Muslims themselves,” Ghattas <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DrRaoufGhattas" type="external">wrote</a> in his final Facebook posting Nov. 24. “That profound truth will fill our hearts with love for Muslims and take the time and the effort to make them realize how they can be set free from the bondage of Islam only through the power of our Lord Jesus.”</p>
<p>A Murfreesboro Daily News Journal editorial memorialized Ghattas as a “builder of bridges,” who sought to get people to view Muslims not with fear but with Christian love.</p>
<p>“While some may not appreciate the concept of a Christian evangelizing to Muslims, Ghattas followed his heart and reached out to the local Middle Eastern population with kindness and respect,” news director Sandee Suitt&#160; <a href="http://www.dnj.com/story/opinion/2015/11/28/raouf-ghattas-builder-bridges/76459588/" type="external">wrote</a> on behalf of The Daily News Journal editorial council. “Finally, regardless of whether one shares Ghattas’ religious convictions, we believe it is clear he followed his heart and sought to build understanding.”</p>
<p>Ossama Bahloul, the imam of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro since 2008, <a href="http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/a-new-murfreesboro-church-seeks-southern-baptist-members-andmdash-in-the-muslim-community/Content?oid=5302878" type="external">told</a> the Nashville Scene in July that he wasn’t overly concerned about potential converts inside his mosque.</p>
<p>“I think it’s fair to say that it’s difficult for people in general to change a belief,” Bahloul said. “People tend to experience and admire their own practice. If you are asking about the Muslim community in particular, I haven’t had any experience of someone coming to me, saying they want to experience a new religion.”</p>
<p>Born into an evangelical Presbyterian family, Ghattas graduated from Cairo University before immigrating to the United States in 1976. He worked 12 years as a nuclear engineer before entering Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and <a href="http://media.sbhla.org.s3.amazonaws.com/6674,07-Oct-1988.pdf" type="external">serving</a> as pastor of Arabic Mission of University Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1985 until 1990. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>After earning his M.Div. in 1990 Ghattas completed a D.Min. at Southwestern studying Muslim evangelism.</p>
<p>Then Carol Brown had served two years as a Southern Baptist journeyman in Ivory Coast before coming to seminary called as a missionary to an Arab country. She attended the Arabic church to develop her ministry skills. The couple met at church and were married in 1990. She received her M.Div. in 1991.</p>
<p>In 1992 Ghattas <a href="http://media.sbhla.org.s3.amazonaws.com/7383,31-Jan-1992.pdf" type="external">became</a> the first Arab national to be appointed to the Middle East by what was then called the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. They <a href="http://media.sbhla.org.s3.amazonaws.com/7383,31-Jan-1992.pdf" type="external">began</a> their work in Lebanon, as soon as American missionaries were allowed back into the country where two dozen Southern Baptist missionaries left by order of the U.S. State Department in early 1987.</p>
<p>In addition to his wife, Ghattas is <a href="http://www.woodfinchapel.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1709619" type="external">survived</a> by two children, David and Nathan, five siblings and numerous nieces and nephews.</p>
<p>The Arabic Baptist Church <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abcmboro/" type="external">canceled</a> a Thanksgiving dinner due to his death but met for worship as scheduled on Sunday morning. Maged Boles, who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/as-old-line-southern-baptist-churches-struggle-a-dying-one-has-an-epiphany/2015/05/30/b0662e82-058d-11e5-bc72-f3e16bf50bb6_story.html" type="external">had been</a> an Anglican in Cairo before switching to Southern Baptist after meeting Ghattas, preached the sermon.</p>
<p>Previous stories:</p>
<p><a href="archives/item/5687-faith-fear-clash-in-middle-tennessee-over-proposed-mosque" type="external">Faith, fear clash in middle Tennessee over proposed mosque</a></p>
<p><a href="culture/social-issues/item/7623-faith-leaders-support-tenn-mosque" type="external">Faith leaders support Tenn. mosque</a></p>
<p><a href="culture/social-issues/item/8729-residents-still-fighting-tenn-mosque" type="external">Residents still fighting Tenn. mosque</a></p> | Tennessee’s lone Arabic Baptist pastor dies | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/tennessee-s-lone-arabic-baptist-pastor-dies/ | 3 |
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<p>One of the points many women have made since the beginning of the current national discussion about sexual assault and harassment has been that sexism and misogyny have cost women countless opportunities to achieve their full potential. Probably because this began with Harvey Weinstein, much of the mourning of opportunity costs focused on Hollywood: New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd mentioned her reaction to research she did on the topic: “I got more and more angry as I realized that these women were being systematically excluded based on ridiculous biases.”</p>
<p>It’s an excellent, long-overdue point: Who could possibly count how many brilliant women have been denied high-profile roles as actors and directors and studio executives as the result of the studios’ toxic “casting couch” culture? How much great insight and entertainment have the rest of us, including men, lost because we have been denied the full expression of women censored because they refused to sleep with some nasty executive?</p>
<p>Outside the world of entertainment, might cancer have been cured had more women been encouraged to enter a STEM career?</p>
<p>At the same time, there are many other forms of discrimination that have similar effects, yet they’re so hardwired into the system that we don’t give them much thought.</p>
<p>Most of these tragic cases of human underachievement are the direct result of economic discrimination. There is the guy who would be a great poet if not for the fact that he grew up in rural West Virginia and his parents were poor and uneducated so it never occurred to them to point him towards a career that, had they heard of it, would seem useless and impossible to turn into a viable means of making a living — which, because they were poor, was the only thing they could think about.</p>
<p>There is the woman working as a cashier in the Bronx who might have gone to Yale if she had been granted a scholarship or had been born into a wealthy family the woman who would have created an amazing computer company had the sexist pigs who compose Silicon Valley’s V.C. class given her pitch a fair hearing, the girl of color sitting in class in a rundown elementary school whose horizons have become a sinkhole thanks to mere demographics.</p>
<p>You can turn this around and look at it from the other side as well. Think of all the profiles you’ve read about an actor who scored his big break due to pure happenstance (as opposed to talent). You may have such a story yourself. If you think about it, though, the random lucky break is not a heartwarming confirmation that the universe provides what you need. Those breaks are few and far-between. The terrifying truth is that most people who deserve them never get them — and that sucks. It reflects the arbitrary and capricious nature of a system that barely pretends to be a smidge of a meritocracy.</p>
<p>I feel luckier than most. Even so, there are many things that I was never able to do simply because I didn’t have enough money: attend the college of my choice, study the major of my choice, join the Peace Corps, take a gap year and travel through Europe, get knee surgery, accept an internship, attend the grad school that accepted me but didn’t offer me financial aid, start a small newspaper, tell a jerky boss to go to hell. I doubt that many people reading this would have trouble composing an even longer list of things they would have liked to do, places they would have liked to see, businesses they would have liked to start, all out of reach due to a lack of funds.</p>
<p>Aside from stifling our dreams and crushing our ambitions, our cult of capitalism denies us the broad-based political debate that might solve many of our most pressing problems. Due to the pro-corporate, right-wing political bias of the mainstream media, all the left-wing ideas that never get expressed in the opinion pages and society are denied distribution, meaning that they never get discussed. For example, antiwar voices are never allowed space in major newspapers, radio news broadcasts, or on television. Surely that rigid censorship has something to do with the fact that the United States has constantly been at war since the American Revolution. When is the last time you heard a politician or pundit argue that we ought to spend more on mitigating climate change than we do on the military?</p>
<p>Capitalism is presented as an ideology that allows people to fulfill their ambitions and make the most of themselves, but in reality it’s exactly the opposite: it constrains people to what they can achieve based upon what’s in their bank account or in their parents’ estate. So the United States has been one of the least socially mobile societies in the industrialized world for quite some time (and it’s getting worse) but most Americans don’t have a clue. This caste system also applies to everyone. Even under a construct of systematic sexism and misogyny, a wealthy woman enjoys far more opportunity than a poor man.</p>
<p>This is not to say that women don’t have every right to rage against men, or to understate the validity of women’s complaints about male misdeeds ranging from contempt to physical assault. The sexual assault and harassment discussion is yet another reminder that the fundamental underlying cause of the problem is power and its inevitable abuse.</p>
<p>It has long been a standard argument of feminists that the world would be a better place if women were in charge.</p>
<p>Certainly more women should be in charge: exactly 50% of the people in charge ought to be women. But we need to look beyond sexism to understand the meta root cause behind unjustly (and foolishly) squandering countless human potential. Whether that waste is directly attributable to discrimination based upon race, gender, or some other factor, it will continue as long as we live in a society whose foundation relies upon the disgusting assumption that only those who can afford it have the right to be everything that they can be.</p> | Sexism Sucks, But Blame Capitalism More | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/12/20/sexism-sucks-but-blame-capitalism-more/ | 2017-12-20 | 4 |
<p>Shares of manufacturing and transportation companies ticked down amid ongoing skepticism about the viability of the Republican economic agenda. Senate Republican leaders unveiled the latest version of their bill to overturn the Affordable Care Act, but it was unclear if it would garner the support of moderates.</p>
<p>A monthly survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal showed that many have lowered forecasts based on a more modest expectation for pro-growth legislation. The German government called on industrial conglomerate Siemens to explain how gas turbines it sold for use at a Russian power plant got diverted to Crimea, possibly violating European Union sanctions.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>-Rob Curran, [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 13, 2017 16:29 ET (20:29 GMT)</p> | Industrials Down on Economic Policy Skepticism -- Industrials Roundup | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/13/industrials-down-on-economic-policy-skepticism-industrials-roundup.html | 2017-07-13 | 0 |
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<p>China’s ruling Communist Party controls internet traffic across the country’s borders and tries to keep the public from seeing thousands of websites including Facebook.</p>
<p>The app, called Colorful Balloons, was launched in China earlier this year and does not carry Facebook’s name. Facebook confirmed Saturday that it launched the app.</p>
<p>The social media company’s connection to the app was first reported Friday by The New York Times, which said it was released in China through a separate local company called Youge Internet Technology.</p>
<p>The launch of the app comes as China is cracking down on technology that allows web surfers to evade Beijing’s online censorship.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Last month, users of Facebook’s What’sApp messaging service, which normally operates freely in China, were no longer able to send images without using a virtual private network. That came amid official efforts to suppress mention of the death of Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate.</p>
<p>China’s biggest internet service provider, China Telecom Ltd., sent a letter to corporate customers last month saying that VPNs, which create encrypted links between computers and can be used to see sites blocked by Beijing’s web filters, would be permitted only to connect to a company’s headquarters abroad. The move could block access to news, social media or business services that are obscured by China’s “Great Firewall.”</p>
<p>Chinese authorities have long blocked Facebook, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, arguing that foreign social media services operating beyond their control pose a threat to national security.</p> | Facebook anonymously launched an app in China | false | https://abqjournal.com/1047076/facebook-anonymously-launched-an-app-in-china.html | 2 |
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<p>Occupy Wall Street and its detritus may have left our city squares but our cultural propagandists are doing their best to resurrect their imprint.</p>
<p>Mercedes-Benz Fashion week , a twice-yearly event showcasing new fashions for the upcoming seasons, presented the latest collection from a series of new designers who are taking the helm of the eponymous Marc by Marc Jacobs fashion line. The two new designers brought on to invigorate the line have a unique vision for us women in their Fall ready-to-wear collection.</p>
<p>Making headlines yesterday, their February 11 fashion show had&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/fashion/fashion-marc-by-marc-jacobs-Katie-Hillier-Luella-Bartley.html?ref=fashion" type="external">the New York Times</a> writing that it showcased “a new feistiness” and <a href="http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/F2014RTW-MARC/" type="external">Style.com</a> that it was “sensational” and “fiercely Ninja-pop militant.”</p>
<p>What did it feature? Women’s faces covered with black bana, Cold-War-esque uniforms, and “Revolution” bumper stickers affixed to our pants:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Edward Bernays’s 1928 classic Propaganda sums up what is less than subtle already:</p>
<p>In some departments of our daily life, in which we imagine ourselves free agents, we are ruled by dictators exercising great power. A man buying a suit of clothes imagines that he is choosing, according to his taste and his personality, the kind of garment which he prefers. In reality, he may be obeying the orders of an anonymous gentleman tailor in London….the fashionable men in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia wear them. And the Topeka man, recognizing this leadership, does the same.</p>
<p>The elements showcased in the Marc by Marc Jacobs are more than style choices, they’re symbols of the values his line embraces–and would have us take on. Judging by the breathless excitement the dark, militaristic, angry show evoked from the New York Times and other style columnists, they’re ready to jump on board.</p>
<p>As someone who spent quite a bit of time amongst truly black-bandana-wearing anarchists, running through Chicago’s streets kicking over trash cans and trying to inspire fear among the regular citizens in the poverty-riddled neighborhoods they marched through, forgive me for not embracing Marc Jacobs’s vision. Remember this?</p>
<p /> | Your Fall fashion: Revolution, Occupy, Uniforms? | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/02/your-fall-fashion-revolution-occupy-uniforms/ | 2014-02-13 | 0 |
<p>Just a few months after Walt&#160;Disney's (NYSE: DIS) exclusive streaming deal with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) began, it's coming to an end. Disney announced its plan to end its relationship with Netflix in 2019 to start its own direct-to-consumer streaming product.</p>
<p>The represents a major blow to Netflix, which has spoken highly of Disney's content library. "Disney makes big franchise films. The movies that people like to watch over and over again," Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4028389-netflixs-nflx-management-ubs-44th-annual-global-media-communications-conference-transcript?part=single" type="external">said</a> last year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>More importantly, it could be the start of a sea change for Netflix's content licensing business, which relies on other media companies. Other media execs, such as Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Jeff Bewkes, have expressed their concern that licensing shows and movies to Netflix is negatively affecting the results of their television ratings and movie sales. Some may decide to follow in Disney's footsteps, destroying some of the value of a Netflix subscription.</p>
<p>Media companies have a love-hate relationship with Netflix. Netflix provides a strong source of revenue, but it's also responsible for taking away viewership from traditional television. If <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/19/time-sensitiveheres-why-more-millennials-than-ever.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">viewers can get everything they want from Netflix</a>, there's no need to subscribe to cable, no need to tune into broadcasts as they're happening, and certainly no need to watch advertisements.</p>
<p>As such, it's caused several media companies to rethink their relationship with Netflix. Disney is only the latest. Time Warner expressed the desire to push its licensing window back nearly two years ago. It wants to retain the rights to its content for several years instead of a few months before it lands on Netflix.</p>
<p>CBS (NYSE: CBS) launched its own streaming service nearly three years ago: CBS All Access, which competes for attention with Netflix and traditional cable subscriptions. Interestingly, CBS is using Netflix <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/01/why-cbs-corporation-is-a-big-fan-of-netflix.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">to syndicate</a> its new All Access Star Trek original series everywhere globally except the United States. Still, CBS is increasingly reserving its best content for its own streaming service in the U.S.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Disney's decision to retain control of its own movies is just the latest move from big media companies. It likely won't be the last we see.</p>
<p>Smaller media companies may stick with Netflix to benefit from the increased exposure of the streaming platform and its 100 million-plus subscribers. But major networks and film studios with differentiated content like Disney won't stick around forever if Netflix continues to steal away their audiences.</p>
<p>Netflix's content budget has ballooned in recent years as it expanded globally and ramped up original productions. The company expects to spend $6 billion on content in 2017. As it starts footing the bill for more originals, producing them in house, Netflix is burning about $2 billion in of cash every year.</p>
<p>But don't expect the loss of content licensing deals to lighten up Netflix's investment in content. On the company's first-quarter earnings call, CFO David Wells said that even if content cost less, it would just buy more content to fill the budget.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if media companies like Disney demand more money for their content, Netflix's budgetary constraints would force it to take less content. Netflix may see that play out as it's currently in discussions to retain Disney's Star Wars and Marvel content beyond 2019.</p>
<p>But Netflix's content doesn't have to be specifically from Disney, or Time Warner, or CBS, or anyone, as long as it does a good job of filling the audiences those media companies' content attracts.</p>
<p>That puts a lot of pressure on Netflix to continue hitting the mark on original content. "That's why we got into the originals business five years ago, anticipating it may be not as easy a conversation with studios and networks," Sarandos recently told <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-disney-netflix-idUSKBN1AR0V0" type="external">Reuters</a>. It's done an <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/16/viewers-love-netflix-originals-more-than-hbos.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">excellent job</a> so far, but it also needs to <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/03/why-more-netflix-series-cancellations-are-a-good-t.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">take more risks</a>, which it's just starting to do four years into its original content strategy.</p>
<p>The loss of Disney will sting, but Netflix has a couple of years before it needs to replace that great content with its own. Netflix's original content machine has a new target, and with its recent acquisition of <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/07/netflix-steals-a-page-out-of-disneys-playbook.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Millarworld</a>, it now has some interesting intellectual property to play with.</p>
<p>That said, this will put even more pressure on Netflix's free cash flow, which the company expects to come in between negative $2 billion and negative $2.5 billion this year.&#160;Originals -- especially originals produced in house -- cost a lot more upfront than multiyear licensing deals. As such, Netflix may have to tap the bond market once again to raise cash if it loses a lot of licensing deals and replaces them with original content.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than NetflixWhen 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=c277eb76-e9f0-4527-a742-154b4fa750ae&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks</a> for investors to buy right now... and Netflix 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=c277eb76-e9f0-4527-a742-154b4fa750ae&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/adamlevy/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Adam Levy</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Time Warner. 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=ad1d253e-7ea6-11e7-8847-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | Can Netflix Afford to Lose Disney? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/13/can-netflix-afford-to-lose-disney.html | 2017-08-13 | 0 |
<p>A group of hackers posted a fresh cache of stolen HBO files online Monday, and demanded a multi-million dollar ransom from the network to prevent the release of entire television series and other sensitive proprietary files.</p>
<p>HBO, which had previously acknowledged the theft of “proprietary information,” said it’s continuing to investigate and is working with police and cybersecurity experts.</p>
<p>In a swaggering five-minute video from “Mr. Smith” to HBO CEO Richard Plepler included in the dump, the hackers used white text scrolling on a black background to deliver an ultimatum. In short: Pay up within three days or see the group, which claims to have stolen 1.5 terabytes of HBO shows and confidential corporate data, upload entire series and sensitive proprietary files.</p>
<p>Specifically, the hackers demanded “our 6-month salary in bitcoin,” and claimed they earn $12 million to $15 million a year from blackmailing organizations whose networks they have penetrated. They said they would only deal directly with “Richard” and only send one “letter” detailing how to pay.</p>
<p>The dump itself was just 3.4 gigabytes — mostly technical data that appears to provide a topography of HBO’s network and to list network-administrator passwords. It includes what appear to be draft scripts from five “Game of Thrones” episodes, including one upcoming episode, and a month’s worth of email apparently from the account of Leslie Cohen, HBO’s vice president for film programming.</p>
<p>The network reiterated Monday that it doesn’t believe that its email system as a whole has been compromised.</p>
<p>The video text was written in often flawed but fluent English peppered with misspellings and pop-culture references.</p>
<p>The hackers claimed it took them about 6 months to breach HBO’s network. Their biggest threat appears to be dumping videos of future shows online with their logo “HBO Is Falling” superimposed.</p>
<p>Many of the more than 50 internal documents in the dump were labeled “confidential,” including a spreadsheet of legal claims against the network, job offer letters to several top executives, slides discussing future technology plans and a list of 37,977 emails called “Richard’s Contact list,” an apparent reference to Plepler.</p>
<p>One screenshot labeled “Highly Confidential” by the hackers listed folders such as “Penguin Random House,” ″Licensing &amp; Retail,” ″Legal,” ″International” and “Budgets.” Another document appears to contain the confidential cast list for “Game of Thrones,” listing personal cellphone numbers and email addresses for actors such as Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Emilia Clark.</p>
<p>So far, however, the HBO leaks have been limited, falling well short of the chaos inflicted on Sony in 2014. In that attack, hackers possibly associated with North Korea unearthed thousands of embarrassing emails and released personal information, including salaries and social security numbers, of nearly 50,000 current and former Sony employees.</p>
<p>The video letter uploaded Monday claimed the hackers spend a half million dollars a year to purchase “zero-day” exploits that let them break into networks through holes not yet know to Microsoft and other software companies. It claims HBO is the hackers’ 17th target and that only three of their past targets refused to pay.</p> | Hackers Demand Millions in Ransom for Stolen HBO Data | false | https://newsline.com/hackers-demand-millions-in-ransom-for-stolen-hbo-data/ | 2017-08-08 | 1 |
<p>The on-again off-again relationship between pop star Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez continues, with reports that the couple were clearly back together at the Australian Music Awards after-party.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/364336/justin-bieber-and-selena-gomez-back-together-at-amas-afterparty" type="external">According to E News,</a>&#160;the young lovebirds were spotted getting cosy, and chatting to the 18-year-old pop singer's mother.</p>
<p>A source told E News, the couple "stayed in a corner and were very loving".</p>
<p><a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20649364,00.html" type="external">People Magazine reported</a>Gomez, 20, did not attend the awards, in which her beau picked up three awards, including artist of the year, but showed up at the after-party at the Marriot Downtown in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>The young duo reportedly split last week and then an attempt at reconciliation on Friday failed with witnesses watching as they stormed out of a restaurant.</p>
<p>But last night they appeared to have kissed and made up. &#160;</p>
<p>A source <a href="http://hollywoodlife.com/2012/11/19/justin-bieber-selena-gomez-back-together-ama-2012-after-party/" type="external">told HollywoodLife.com</a>: "It's not that Selena didn't want to come to the AMAs, she just didn't want all the attention to be on their relationship. She wanted it to be about the music and let Justin just be there for his fans. She still loves Justin. The love is still there, they just need to disappear to an exotic island together."</p> | Bieber and Selena Gomez kiss and make up again | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-11-19/bieber-and-selena-gomez-kiss-and-make-again | 2012-11-19 | 3 |
<p>Manna Dey's voice was a staple in hundreds of Bollywood movies from the 1940s until 2005. He was a playback singer who provided leading actors with a rich, classically-trained voice during musical numbers.</p>
<p>Here's a song which Dey sang for the 1955 movie "Shree 420."</p>
<p>Dey died Thursday morning in Bangalore, at the age of 94. He had suffered from a respiratory infection for several months.&#160;</p>
<p>The World's <a href="" type="internal">Manya Gupta</a> grew up with Manna Dey playing in the background on the radio. He was a favorite singer of her parents' generation.&#160;</p>
<p>"When I was getting ready for school, back like 20 years ago, I rememeber the radio was on, and my mom probably making breakfast and my dad getting ready and then his song was playing on the radio," Gupta said.&#160;</p>
<p>This is another Dey classic, from the 1971 movie "Anand."</p>
<p>Dey's voice has carried through generations. His music is still popular today, Gupta says.&#160;</p>
<p>One of his most well-known hits is "Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen" from the 1965 film "Waqt."</p>
<p>It is Gupta's favorite song by Dey.</p>
<p>"It's a beautiful, beautiful song, it's very lively, very peppy," she said.</p> | Bollywood singer Manna Dey dies at 94, but his songs keep living | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-10-24/bollywood-singer-manna-dey-dies-94-his-songs-keep-living | 2013-10-24 | 3 |
<p>LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Freshman Zhaire Smith <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22083556" type="external">cradled the inbounds pass</a> as the final eight-tenths of a second ticked off the clock and the frenzied Texas Tech fans rushed the court.</p>
<p>The Red Raiders will savor this moment, even if the rough-and-tumble Big 12 is just getting started.</p>
<p>Keenan Evans scored 20 points, Brandone Francis had a career-high 17 and No. 8 Texas Tech won the first-ever Top 10 matchup on its home court, beating second-ranked West Virginia 72-71 on Saturday.</p>
<p>The Mountaineers (15-2, 4-1 Big 12) couldn't hold an 11-point lead in the final 13 minutes and had their nation-leading 15-game winning streak stopped.</p>
<p>They were the last team in the Big 12 with a perfect league record. Now Texas Tech (15-2, 4-1) is part of a four-way tie atop arguably the nation's toughest conference — with 13 league games to go.</p>
<p>"I've got a great friend who this week told me, 'Prince today, frog tomorrow,'" Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "And for some reason, in the heat of the game — you might think about what I wonder in these moments — I kept on thinking about that.</p>
<p>"I know we're going to be a frog again at some point. It's the Big 12. But I want to be a prince one more day."</p>
<p>Jevon Carter <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082247" type="external">scored 28 points</a> — one off his career high — for West Virginia, which was denied its first 5-0 start in its sixth season in the Big 12. Esa Ahmad added 18 in his season debut following an NCAA academic suspension.</p>
<p>Sagaba Konate had a game-high 11 rebounds, but one of his misses on an ill-advised long jumper signified West Virginia's game for coach Bob Huggins.</p>
<p>"We just had guys that were really out of character," Huggins said. "We got our center shooting whatever that was, a 3-point shot from the top of the key. We just did a lot of things out of character from what we normally do."</p>
<p>Evans hit a lean-in jumper to give the Red Raiders a four-point lead in the final minute. Carter made a 3 for the final margin with less than a second to go, and the Mountaineers couldn't foul Smith before the buzzer sounded, prompting a wild celebration.</p>
<p>"It was amazing," Francis said. "It feels good to play in that kind of atmosphere out there. Thanks for having our back throughout the entire game. It was great you had our back."</p>
<p>It was the first time Texas Tech won a Top 10 matchup. Two of the three in school history were this week, starting with a 75-65 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Smith's <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082911" type="external">alley-oop dunk</a> from fellow freshman Jarrett Culver sparked a 12-2 run to help the Red Raiders wipe out most of the 11-point deficit. Smith had nine points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>West Virginia: After struggling in a home win over Baylor earlier this week in the first game with their highest ranking since Jerry West's senior season in December 1959, the Mountaineers couldn't keep the raucous crowd out of it when it looked like they were in control.</p>
<p>Texas Tech: The Red Raiders may have found another key contributor in Francis, a junior transfer from Florida who sat out last season. His only previous double-digit game was 10 in a 34-point blowout over Savannah State. Francis seemed to relish the moment, staring down his teammates on the bench after each big shot in the second half. He was 5 of 6 from the field.</p>
<p>ZACH SMITH OUT</p>
<p>Beard said senior forward Zach Smith, who didn't play, has a broken foot and his status for the rest of the season is uncertain. Smith has been a starter and team leader. He averages 6.5 points per game and started the day tied for second on the team at 3.9 rebounds per game.</p>
<p>AHMAD'S RETURN</p>
<p>Ahmad's impact was immediate after coming off the bench early in the first half. While the numbers weren't big early, he finished 6 of 12 from the field, hit a couple of 3s and added six rebounds.</p>
<p>BACK AND FORTH</p>
<p>There were three lead changes and three ties late in the second half before Niem Stevenson hit two free throws to put the Red Raiders in front for good with 2:07 remaining. Evans was 8 of 9 from the line and Stevenson made all six of his free throws as Texas Tech went 24 of 28.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>West Virginia: No. 12 Kansas at home on Monday.</p>
<p>Texas Tech: At Texas on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Freshman Zhaire Smith <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22083556" type="external">cradled the inbounds pass</a> as the final eight-tenths of a second ticked off the clock and the frenzied Texas Tech fans rushed the court.</p>
<p>The Red Raiders will savor this moment, even if the rough-and-tumble Big 12 is just getting started.</p>
<p>Keenan Evans scored 20 points, Brandone Francis had a career-high 17 and No. 8 Texas Tech won the first-ever Top 10 matchup on its home court, beating second-ranked West Virginia 72-71 on Saturday.</p>
<p>The Mountaineers (15-2, 4-1 Big 12) couldn't hold an 11-point lead in the final 13 minutes and had their nation-leading 15-game winning streak stopped.</p>
<p>They were the last team in the Big 12 with a perfect league record. Now Texas Tech (15-2, 4-1) is part of a four-way tie atop arguably the nation's toughest conference — with 13 league games to go.</p>
<p>"I've got a great friend who this week told me, 'Prince today, frog tomorrow,'" Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "And for some reason, in the heat of the game — you might think about what I wonder in these moments — I kept on thinking about that.</p>
<p>"I know we're going to be a frog again at some point. It's the Big 12. But I want to be a prince one more day."</p>
<p>Jevon Carter <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082247" type="external">scored 28 points</a> — one off his career high — for West Virginia, which was denied its first 5-0 start in its sixth season in the Big 12. Esa Ahmad added 18 in his season debut following an NCAA academic suspension.</p>
<p>Sagaba Konate had a game-high 11 rebounds, but one of his misses on an ill-advised long jumper signified West Virginia's game for coach Bob Huggins.</p>
<p>"We just had guys that were really out of character," Huggins said. "We got our center shooting whatever that was, a 3-point shot from the top of the key. We just did a lot of things out of character from what we normally do."</p>
<p>Evans hit a lean-in jumper to give the Red Raiders a four-point lead in the final minute. Carter made a 3 for the final margin with less than a second to go, and the Mountaineers couldn't foul Smith before the buzzer sounded, prompting a wild celebration.</p>
<p>"It was amazing," Francis said. "It feels good to play in that kind of atmosphere out there. Thanks for having our back throughout the entire game. It was great you had our back."</p>
<p>It was the first time Texas Tech won a Top 10 matchup. Two of the three in school history were this week, starting with a 75-65 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Smith's <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082911" type="external">alley-oop dunk</a> from fellow freshman Jarrett Culver sparked a 12-2 run to help the Red Raiders wipe out most of the 11-point deficit. Smith had nine points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>West Virginia: After struggling in a home win over Baylor earlier this week in the first game with their highest ranking since Jerry West's senior season in December 1959, the Mountaineers couldn't keep the raucous crowd out of it when it looked like they were in control.</p>
<p>Texas Tech: The Red Raiders may have found another key contributor in Francis, a junior transfer from Florida who sat out last season. His only previous double-digit game was 10 in a 34-point blowout over Savannah State. Francis seemed to relish the moment, staring down his teammates on the bench after each big shot in the second half. He was 5 of 6 from the field.</p>
<p>ZACH SMITH OUT</p>
<p>Beard said senior forward Zach Smith, who didn't play, has a broken foot and his status for the rest of the season is uncertain. Smith has been a starter and team leader. He averages 6.5 points per game and started the day tied for second on the team at 3.9 rebounds per game.</p>
<p>AHMAD'S RETURN</p>
<p>Ahmad's impact was immediate after coming off the bench early in the first half. While the numbers weren't big early, he finished 6 of 12 from the field, hit a couple of 3s and added six rebounds.</p>
<p>BACK AND FORTH</p>
<p>There were three lead changes and three ties late in the second half before Niem Stevenson hit two free throws to put the Red Raiders in front for good with 2:07 remaining. Evans was 8 of 9 from the line and Stevenson made all six of his free throws as Texas Tech went 24 of 28.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>West Virginia: No. 12 Kansas at home on Monday.</p>
<p>Texas Tech: At Texas on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p> | No. 8 Texas Tech makes history at home, 72-71 over No. 2 WVU | false | https://apnews.com/amp/66828a51965d46258c9dfeb997d4bc9b | 2018-01-13 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>Legendary singer Tom Petty has been found unconscious and not breathing on Monday. He has been rushed to a hospital after being found in full cardiac arrest.</p>
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<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>EMTs who arrived first at the scene were unable to get a pulse after responding to the call which originated from his home. After being taken to the closest hospital he was put on life support and listed in critical condition.</p>
<p />
<p>Tom Petty was known for his decades long career as the singer for his group Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which began in the 1970's.</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://www.wlwt.com/article/tom-petty-found-unconscious-rushed-to-hospital/12766862" type="external">wlwt.com/article/tom-petty-found-unconscious-rushed-to-hospital/12766862</a></p> | Tom Petty Is Found Unconscious After Going Into Cardiac Arrest | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/9043-Tom-Petty-Is-Found-Unconscious-After-Going-Into-Cardiac-Arrest | 2017-10-02 | 0 |
<p>By Vero and Maya</p>
<p />
<p>Race Forward just put out <a href="http://www.raceforward.org/research/reports/moving-race-conversation-forward" type="external">a report on how the media covers race</a> (SPOILER ALERT: it’s not great!). Jay Smooth tells us a bit about the report in the video above!</p>
<p>Pro wrestling pioneer <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/09/261226740/wrestling-fans-mourn-mae-young-90-a-pioneer-of-the-ring" type="external">Mae Young</a> passed away.</p>
<p><a href="http://redsociology.com/2014/01/22/they-forgot-mammy-had-a-brain-aka-defending-yourself-while-a-black-woman-in-class/" type="external">“They forgot mammy had a brain”</a>: tips for women of color in academia.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/79759/street-experiment-reveals-how-difficult-it-still-is-to-be-a-muslim-woman-in-america" type="external">On women as targets of Islamophobia.</a></p>
<p>Check out <a href="http://www.afropunk.com/video/cakes-da-killa-no-homo-trailer" type="external">the trailer for NO HOMO</a>, a documentary by Ja’Tovia Garyat about rapper Cakes Da Killa ( <a href="" type="internal">who we love here at Feministing</a>!).</p>
<p>“Revenge-porn king” <a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/23/revenge-porn-king-hunter-moore-indicted-by-fbi/" type="external">Hunter Moore</a> has been indicted.</p>
<p>The ridiculous <a href="http://www.shakesville.com/2014/01/this-is-apparently-real-thing-in-world.html" type="external">Hillary Clinton covers</a> just keep coming.</p> | Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet | true | http://feministing.com/2014/01/23/daily-feminist-cheat-sheet-248/ | 4 |
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<p>If you follow the news, you may have heard that Medicare is projected to run into serious financial trouble in the years ahead. However, the reasons behind this funding shortfall, as well as its implications for Americans, aren't well-understood by many people. So, here's a chart that sums up the problem with Medicare's financial future, some details about what it means, and what can be done about it.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Specifically, the funding shortfall mainly affects Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), as this is the portion of Medicare that is funded by the payroll tax and the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund. Parts B and D are primarily financed through general revenues and beneficiary premiums, not payroll taxes, so the same financial woes don't apply.</p>
<p>Simply put, the hospital insurance program is projected to start running a deficit in a few years, and the trust fund is expected to run out of money completely in 2030. Once this happens, the only money available to finance benefits will be incoming payroll taxes, which are expected to cover just 86% of the program's costs.</p>
<p>The reason for this expected financial dilemma can be seen in this one simple chart from the latest Medicare trustees' report:</p>
<p>Source: 2015 Medicare Trustees' Report</p>
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<p>As you can see, from 1980 until the mid-2000s, there were about four workers paying into the system for every beneficiary. With the continuing retirement of baby boomers as well as longer overall lifespans, this has been steadily dropping and is projected to continue to do so rapidly for the next few decades. From 2030 until 2089, the last year covered by the chart, it is expected that no more than 2.4 workers will be paying into the system for every beneficiary.</p>
<p>In other words, the number of workers paying Medicare taxes for each beneficiary is being cut almost in half.</p>
<p>Having said that, any headlines you see about Medicare being "bankrupt" or anything to that effect are completely overstating the current condition of the hospital insurance program. In fact, after a significant spending deficit from 2008 until 2014, Medicare Hospital Insurance is actually projected to run a surplus through 2023 before returning to deficits.</p>
<p>This means that the trust fund balance will actually grow for the next few years, although at a slow rate, but the deficits after 2023 are expected to get large pretty quickly, depleting the remaining reserves over a six-year period.</p>
<p>Source: 2015 Medicare Trustees' Report</p>
<p>The most obvious solution to the problem would be to raise the Medicare portion of the payroll tax, and it's entirely possible that this will happen. After all, Medicare taxes have already been increased in recent years with the 0.9% Medicare tax on high earners and the 3.8% Net Investment Income tax imposed on certain investment income, which is part of the reason Medicare is expected to run a surplus for a few years. However, an across-the-board Medicare tax increase hasn't occurred since 1986, and the demographics have certainly changed since then, so an increase may be necessary.</p>
<p>In addition to a tax increase, there are a few other potential solutions. Just to name some of the possibilities, we could:</p>
<p>It's highly likely that something will be done to fix Medicare. After all, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 77% of Americans feel that Medicare is "very important" and needs to be preserved. However, the exact reform package congress will pass, and when it will happen, is anyone's guess at this point.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/06/04/the-most-important-medicare-chart-you-will-ever-se.aspx" type="external">The Most Important Medicare Chart You Will Ever See</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | The Most Important Medicare Chart You Will Ever See | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/04/most-important-medicare-chart-will-ever-see.html | 2016-06-04 | 0 |
<p>When you first see an elephant carcass it's so big it looks more like a boulder than an animal. This man can tell this animal is too young for a natural death; he's the manager of an organization that works to reduce conflict between humans in elephants in Kenya's Rift Valley where he says such conflict is becoming increasingly deadly. The conflict is fueled by proximity: farmers are pushing deeper into elephants' foraging grounds and elephants are finding their foraging grounds more planted with beans and cabbages. Crops aren't the only attraction: elephants are moving into human inhabited areas because of droughts. Elephants are a key part of Kenya's tourism industry. The manager says many farmers feel the government cares more about the elephants than the humans. There's no government assistance for farmers whose crops are destroyed so many stay up all night to protect against grazing elephants. This farmer grow three acres of corn as well as other crops and recently a single elephant ate three-quarters of an acre of corn in just one night, 12% of their annual yield. They have surrounded their home with a homemade elephant deterrent: sheets smeared with grease and hot chili. Others farmers set up trip wires, but the manager is hoping a fence will put an end to the problem. The elephant fence separates agriculture from grazing land. it's not clear the fence will hold the elephant back. still local farmers have high hopes for the fence.</p> | Kenya's elephant problem | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-05-13/kenyas-elephant-problem | 2008-05-13 | 3 |
<p>In this <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2006/05/21/snl-funhouse-with-bush-real-audio" type="external">witty clip</a> from “Saturday Night Live’s” animated “TV Fun House,” characters have a tough time with the president’s falsehoods over the years.</p>
<p>Crooks and Liars:</p>
<p>On Saturday Night Live, Fun with Real Audio “kicked out the jams” last night.</p>
<p>Every time Bush, Cheney or Rummy say something that has ultimately turned out wrong, someone, animal or thing spits water or soup on them. Karl Rove scurries into the frame each time and makes them do another take. All the audio is of course the real thing. Another excellent job by Robert Smigel and Matt O’Brien.</p>
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<p><a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2006/05/21/snl-funhouse-with-bush-real-audio" type="external">Link</a></p> | SNL's 'TV Fun House' Can't Stomach Bush's Lies | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/snls-tv-fun-house-cant-stomach-bushs-lies/ | 2006-05-22 | 4 |
<p>FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here</p>
<p>U.S. stock-index futures signaled the S&amp;P 500 would pull back from record highs as traders worried about financial conditions in China and mixed earnings from corporate giants.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>As of 8:35 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 58 points, or 0.38%, to 15339, S&amp;P 500 futures dipped 8.3 points to 1741 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 16.2 points to 3340.</p>
<p>The broad S&amp;P 500 notched its thirtieth record close of the year Tuesday after investment banks pushed back their view on when the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its massive asset-buying program after a round of lukewarm data on the labor market.</p>
<p>The enthusiasm wore off on Wednesday as traders looked toward China. Short-term lending rates took their biggest jump since July, according to an analysis by Peter Boockvar, chief &#160;market analyst at The Lindsey Group.</p>
<p>The sharp move that could crimp the bounce-back in the world's No. 2 economy comes on the back of news reports suggesting the country's central bank could "impose further property measures to curb prices," according to analysts at Nomura, a Japan-based investment bank.</p>
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<p>"We’ll soon see if Chinese officials are taking another run at slowing excessive bank lending," Boockvar said.</p>
<p>Mixed Earnings&#160;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, earnings from blue-chip companies were mixed.</p>
<p>Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) revealed third-quarter profits of $1.45 a share on sales of $13.42 billion, missing expectations of $1.66 a share on revenues of $14.35 billion. The world’s biggest heavy machinery maker also said it expects to earn $5.50 a share for the full year, widely missing Wall Street’s view of $6.21 a share. Shares dropped nearly 4% in pre-market trading.</p>
<p>Boeing (NYSE:BA) posted adjusted third-quarter earnings of $1.80 a share on revenues of $22.1 billion, topping estimates of $1.55 a share on sales of $21.68 billion. The aerospace giant also upped its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $6.50 to $6.65 a share, compared with analysts’ expectations of $6.52 a share. Shares climbed 2.3% in pre-market action.</p>
<p>In other corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) was nearing a $6 billion settlement with institutional investors over the sale of mortgage-backed securities leading up the financial crisis, according to a report by Reuters.</p>
<p>On the economic front, U.S. import prices climbed 0.2% in September from the month prior, matching expectations. Meanwhile, export prices rose 0.3% in the first climb since February, compared to estimates they would remain unchanged. The report was delayed due to the government shutdown.</p>
<p>U.S. crude oil prices skidded $1.55, or 1.6%, to $96.76 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.65% to $2.60 a gallon. Gold dropped $12, or 0.89%, to $1331 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>Foreign Markets</p>
<p>The Euro Stoxx 50 sold off by 1% to 2016, the English FTSE 100 dipped 0.33% to 6674 and the German DAX slumped 0.4% to 8912.</p>
<p>In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 sold off by 2% to 14426 and the Chinese Hang Seng dropped 1.4% to 23000.</p> | Stock Futures Drop on Mixed Earnings, China Woes | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/10/23/stock-futures-drop-on-mixed-earnings-china-woes.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Antoine Predock has designed projects all round the world, but even 30 years later, one of his favorites is the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park.</p>
<p>“It’s way, way up there,” said Predock, a renowned architect with offices in Los Angeles and Taiwan in addition to Albuquerque. “In terms of the site and its social ethos, I think it’s way up there. To have this in my backyard, I would have to put it in the Top 10.”</p>
<p>Predock will discuss his role in designing the Nature Center at the west end of Candelaria NW on Saturday at a 30th anniversary celebration. The free event is at 1:30 p.m. There is a $3 day-use parking fee.</p>
<p>Predock won the highest honor in architecture in 2006 when he received the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal. He has also received the lifetime achievement award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Predock has designed a number of noteworthy buildings, including the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, the Xianfan City Museum in China, as well as the San Diego Padres ballpark in California.</p>
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<p>“It’s a time of celebration,” Predock said of Saturday’s event. “Thirty years, and it’s getting better all the time.”</p>
<p>When Predock set about designing the Nature Center, the area was strewn with litter and was known more as a place for people to party by the river.</p>
<p>Now, it’s an oasis in the middle of a metropolitan area that provides a haven for airborne and earthbound animals, not to mention those that stroll about upright on two feet.</p>
<p>“The bosque is a treasure to the state of New Mexico and to Albuquerque and everybody that lives here,” Predock said. — This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Nature Center, Architect Celebrate | false | https://abqjournal.com/141175/nature-center-architect-celebrate.html | 2012-10-25 | 2 |
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<p>It can be hard enough to hand over some of your hard-earned dollars to Uncle Sam each year in taxes, but it's even more painful if you fall for a tax scam and end up enriching some crooks. Learn more about common tax scams so that you can recognize -- and avoid! -- them.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Within a month or two, our friends at the IRS will likely be releasing their latest list of top tax scams. Many are likely to be holdovers from their 2016 "Dirty Dozen" list of scams. Here's a review of those scams -- any of which could cost you in 2017 if you're not careful.</p>
<p>Identity theft is a problem even in the world of taxes. It happens when a criminal impersonates you (using your Social Security number, for example), filing a tax return in your name and collecting a refund. The IRS has been tacklingthis problem, and in fiscal year 2015, it initiated 776 identity theft related investigations, resulting in 774 sentencings. It has been working behind the scenes, and in the first nine months of 2016, it reducedthe number of people who filed affidavits with the IRS saying they were victims of identity theft by almost half, compared to 2015 -- with affadavits dropping from 512,278 to 237,750.</p>
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<p>Image source: Pixabay.</p>
<p>It's very important to know that the IRS is never going to call you out of the blue, demanding that you make a payment immediately. It's not going to call and ask for your credit card numbers or bank account information. If you receive an alarming or threatening call, just hang up.</p>
<p>The word "phishing" was addedto the Oxford English Dictionary more than a decade ago. It's a common scam inside and outside the tax world, whereby you receive a phony email or end up at a phony website that looks legitimate -- perhaps purporting to be from your bank or a major retailer or other company you trust -- asking you for personal information. There are emails that look like they're from the IRS, requesting personal information from you, such as your credit card number, password, or perhaps your Social Security number. Be on your guard and don't offer personal information unless you're very sure who you're giving it to.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>All tax preparers are not created equal. Some are very skilled, while others are less so. Most are honest, while a few are... con artists. It's an appealing scam, as they can have your trust quickly, receiving lots of personal information from you, such as Social Security number, bank statements, and so on. They can use the information you give them to file a return for you and pocket your refund. The IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/return-preparer-fraud-is-on-the-irs-annual-dirty-dozen-list-of-tax-scams-to-avoid-during-the-2016-filing-season" type="external">offers tips Opens a New Window.</a> to help you settle on a legitimate preparer, such as asking for their IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number, as all preparers need to be registered with the IRS.</p>
<p>If you think it's legal to hide money and income overseas, thereby avoiding being taxed on it, think again. This has been a big problem, leading the IRS to set up the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), which helps taxpayers come clean. The IRS has noted:</p>
<p>If an alleged tax service seems to be promising to get you a big tax refund, beware. The scam will often involve your signing a blank return and promising to fork over a percentage of your fat refund. This scam shouldn't even make sense as no one can know what your tax bill will be until all your numbers have been crunched. These scams are oftenadvertised via flyers and mailings -- even fake storefronts -- centered around trusted entities such as churches or community centers.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Another trap for unsuspecting taxpayers is the fake charity. You might have heard of a legitimate charity and might be willing to support it. Then you receive a phone call supposedly from the charity, asking you to make a donation via credit card or through your bank account. If you get such a call, hang up and, if you want, look up the charity's website or phone number on your own and donate via that. Similarly, don't fall for alleged charities that have names very similar to ones you know and respect. "Doctors Outside Borders," for example, is not the Nobel-Prize-winning Doctors Without Borders organization. You can research charities at sites such as <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/" type="external">GuideStar Opens a New Window.</a>, <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/" type="external">CharityNavigator Opens a New Window.</a>, <a href="http://www.givewell.org/" type="external">GiveWell Opens a New Window.</a>, and <a href="http://www.charitywatch.org/" type="external">CharityWatch Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>This scam is often perpetrated not by full-time con artists, but by ordinary tax-payers -- and it's a scam against the IRS and fellow taxpayers. It happens if you exaggerate deductions or make up false ones, such as claiming to have given more to charity than you did or claiming more business expenses than you actually incurred. The rest of the scams are generally taxpayer-driven ones -- or ones suggested by or covertly used by shady tax preparers.</p>
<p>Some taxpayers overreach in claiming tax credits related to business, such as the fuel tax credit that's typically for off-highway business use (such as farming). The credit available for research is misused when a taxpayer doesn't qualify for it or can't substantiate the research. The IRS would likeyou to know that there's a $5,000 fine for those who file a "frivolous" tax claim.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Claiming tax credits you're not eligible for is another no-no. One way taxpayers do so is by inflating their income to qualify for or receive more of certain credits. This is often in connection with "refundable credits" such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has certain earned income requirement.</p>
<p>If any tax service provider suggests that you use tax-avoiding shelters, be wary. Last year, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen warned that, "Taxpayers should steer clear of unscrupulous promoters who sell phony tax shelters with no real purpose other than to avoid paying what is owed," adding that, "These schemes can end up costing taxpayers more in back taxes, penalties and interest than they saved in the first place." These illicit practices include taking advantage of financial secrecy protections in other countries and setting up credit cards with offshore financial institutions to sidestep the IRS. The IRS suggests that if you're tempted by such suggestions, you get a second opinion.</p>
<p>Finally, keep in mind that the IRS won't be amused if you try to get out of your tax obligations by claiming that you don't really owe money because of some argument you read about or heard about. Trust that the IRS has likely heard it many times before -- and has gone to court and won, too, with such arguments dismissed. Taxpayers do have the right to question honestly, but if you're found to be filing a "frivolous" return, you may face a $5,000 penalty.</p>
<p>The IRS is not out to get you and the chance that your tax return will be flagged for an audit is low. (Less than 1%of tax returns are audited.) Still, you can avoid a lot of trouble and cost by playing by the rules -- and by not falling for it when others try to scam you.</p>
<p>The $15,834 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 $15,834 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. <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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>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> | Don't Get Sucked In by These 2017 Tax Scams | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/28/dont-get-sucked-in-by-these-2017-tax-scams.html | 2017-01-28 | 0 |
<p>Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP</p>
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<p>Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, does not want to talk about abortion. Specifically, he doesn’t want to discuss the <a href="" type="internal">draconian law</a> that he signed two years ago, which was <a href="" type="internal">upheld</a> by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this week and now threatens to <a href="" type="internal">shut down two-thirds of the state’s remaining abortion clinics</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/shows/the-kelly-file.html" type="external">During an interview on Fox News Wednesday</a>, Perry pushed aside questions about the recent court decision. “I think the real issue for me is this has been settled in the state of Texas,” Perry told host Megyn Kelly before changing the subject to the economy, the border, and national security—”the big issues that I think the bulk of the American people really want to focus on.”</p>
<p>But the American people may not be able to avoid the issue of abortion as next November nears. This week’s ruling paves the way for the US Supreme Court to take up the most important abortion case in more than 20 years to determine how far states can go in cutting off access to abortion. If the high court takes the case, the justices’ decision could be announced right smack in the middle of the 2016 campaign, forcing candidates to discuss abortion whether they want to or not. And, as Perry seems to recognize, that could be bad news for Republicans.</p>
<p>The Texas case isn’t the only chance for the Supreme Court to reanimate the abortion debate, but it may be the best. A number of legal challenges to abortion restrictions passed in Republican-controlled states are slowly making their way through the courts. A few have already reached the Supreme Court and are waiting for the justices to decide whether to take them. There’s a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/06/01/3663955/admitting-privileges-supreme-court/" type="external">Mississippi law</a> struck down by the 5th Circuit, which the Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to take, that could close down the <a href="/wakeupmississippi.org/" type="external">state’s only abortion clinic</a>. And a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/23/us/us-court-strikes-down-north-carolina-ultrasound-abortion-law.html" type="external">North Carolina law</a> that requires women to receive an ultrasound and listen to the doctor describe the fetus before getting an abortion was struck down in 2014 but has been appealed to the Supreme Court by the state.</p>
<p>But court watchers agree that the facts in the Texas case as well as an unresolved circuit court split make it the one most likely to be heard by the justices. “It only takes four justices” to take a case, says Caitlin Borgmann, a professor at the CUNY School of Law and a former state strategies coordinator at the Reproductive Freedom Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. “At least four of the justices expressed an interest in hearing a case of this kind,” she says.</p>
<p>Here’s how the case could take shape. Within the next 90 days, lawyers fighting the Texas law will officially ask the Supreme Court to take up, or <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/certiorari" type="external">grant cert</a> for, the case. Because the current Supreme Court term concludes at the end of this month, the justices&#160;would accept the case this fall. Depending on the speed at which the two parties file their motions, the court could schedule oral arguments for anywhere from late 2015 to the spring of 2016.</p>
<p>There’s a good chance the court would hear the case next spring when the primaries are in full swing. Its decision would be announced next June—just a month before the parties hold their conventions and kick off the general election season. If the case is delayed until the fall of 2016, it might have less of an impact because a decision would occur after the election. But an impending abortion decision in the fall of 2016 would still force candidates to take a stand.</p>
<p>Should the Supreme Court take the case, the question it will consider is whether or not the Texas law creates an “undue burden” on women’s right to an abortion. More practically, however, the case is about basic access to abortion services—whether states the can use clinic regulations to make abortion unavailable to millions of women. The Texas law’s requirements for abortion clinics and doctors performing abortions are so stringent that all but seven Texas clinics would be forced to shut down in less than three weeks.</p>
<p>The Texas case raises questions about basic access to abortions during the early stages of pregnancy, which polls show a majority of Americans support. Last month, Gallup reported an <a href="" type="internal">upswing in pro-choice sentiment</a> in the last year. On the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in 2013, a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that a <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323301104578255831504582200" type="external">record 70 percent</a> of Americans believed that landmark ruling should stand.</p>
<p>“The more that social issues are front and center the worse things will be for Republicans,” especially if Roe v. Wade is being debated, says Geoff Garin, the Democratic pollster who worked on Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s 2013 race in which the abortion issue <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-women-won-the-virginia-race" type="external">figured prominently</a>.</p>
<p>And the timing of the Texas case could make the high court itself into an important campaign issue—and one that could work to a Democratic presidential candidate’s advantage, according to Garin: “I don’t think voters are going to want a president who is going to appoint more Scalias and Thomases to the court.”</p>
<p /> | The Supreme Court Could Make Abortion One of 2016’s Big Campaign Issues | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/06/supreme-court-abortion-texas-election/ | 2015-06-12 | 4 |
<p>Since the terror attacks in France, life for Jews in that country has gotten worse.</p>
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<p>Anti-Semitic acts are up 84% over the last five months, for a total of 508.</p>
<p>Jews make up only 1% of the population but are 50% of the victims of hate crimes, and are typically targeted by Muslims.</p>
<p>Jews are leaving France in record numbers, heading to Israel, Canada and the U.S.</p>
<p>So what happens after every Jewish citizen has left? Do you think Muslim violence in France will stop?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">JOIN TheRebel.media</a> for more fearless news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else. <a href="" type="internal">VISIT our NEW group blog The Megaphone!</a>It’s your one-stop shop for rebellious commentary from independent and fearless readers and writers. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/LevantShakedown" type="external">READ Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights</a> --Ezra Levant’s book about the Canadian Human Rights Commissions, censorship and the Mohammed cartoons was voted "the best political book of the last 25 years."</p> | Jews leave France in record numbers; Anti-Semitic attacks up 84 percent since January | true | http://therebel.media/jews_leave_france_in_record_numbers | 2015-07-16 | 0 |
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<p>Image source: Flickr user Nacho.</p>
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<p>The big problems facing Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) are fairly well known. It hasn't <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/27/why-youd-have-to-be-crazy-to-buy-harley-davidson-s.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">been able to sell Opens a New Window.</a> as many of its motorcycles these days, because economic uncertainty makes buying one of its pricey bikes less necessary, just as changing industry demographics have those buyers who are still in the market looking for more sportier models and less for touring and cruiser models. Add those factors together and Harley is staring at eight straight quarters of lower sales.</p>
<p>Yet the biggest U.S. motorcycle manufacturer also faces a less obvious risk, one that is more hidden to the casual investor: In addition to selling motorcycles, parts, and accessories, Harley also finances its products' purchase with loans. Management's acceptance of rising risk factors in its portfolio increases the potential for greater problems down the road.</p>
<p>Harley-Davidson Financial Services is essentially a one-stop shop for motorcycle buyers that, by financing any motorcycle aftermarket parts, clothes, and accessories a buyer wantsat the time of a bike purchase, makes it an easier decision to buy the bike in the first place. It's a huge convenience that can work in Harley's favor when times are good.</p>
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<p>But times aren't so good now, and Harley-Davidson continues to take on risky buyers in an attempt to juice sales. The situation may not have reached the critical stage yet, but it also might not take much to kick it up to that level, either.</p>
<p>Harley-Davidson's loan portfolio is deteriorating. It is and always has been a big lender to buyers who, because they can't afford one of its bikes, really shouldn't be buying one. The subprime market of high-risk borrowers accounts for about 20% of its loan portfolio, but the number of borrowers who are falling delinquent on their loans is on the rise.</p>
<p>At the end of the third quarter, loans at least 30 days past due had risen to 3.61%, about the same level as in 2011, but higher than the 3% delinquency rate in the third quarter of 2014. The value of the loans that were 90 days delinquent jumped 31% from the year-ago period, hitting $31.3 million, while the total value of loans that are at least 30 days delinquent was $194.1 million, 14% higher than last year.</p>
<p>Data source: Harley-Davidson investor presentations. Chart by author.</p>
<p>That's significant, because when a loan goes delinquent for 120 days, Harley writes off the loan. (It also charges off the loan if it repossesses the bike or otherwise determines the loan is uncollectible.)</p>
<p>At the same time, Harley's annualized loss experience for the division is also rising, hitting 1.59% in the period just ending, about on par with its condition in 2010. It had to raise its provision for credit losses from its financial services business some 34% from last year to $36.5 million. A much smaller portion of that is due to loans extended to its dealerships, which, although only amounting to $400,000 in the the third quarter, is quadruple the amount of a year ago. It seems its dealers are increasingly falling on hard times, too.</p>
<p>However, as noted, this isn't critical yet for Harley-Davidson. As it pointed out during its earnings conference call with analysts, Harley-Davidson Financial Services had $351.4 million of cash and cash equivalents in the bank and available liquidity through other credit facilities of almost $984 million, so it does have the financial resources available to it to cover its losses.</p>
<p>The problem is that it shows a worsening condition that looks like it will only deteriorate further, and as sales fall, it is going to be relying upon the riskiest of borrowers to make its sales numbers. And let's not forget, Harley carries a heckuva lot of debt on its balance sheet, partially from financing those loans -- almost $5.2 billion.</p>
<p>Image source: Pixabay.</p>
<p>The motorcycle maker blames declining conditions in oil-dependent states as a reason for the situation, as the downturn in oil prices has hit those regions hard, impacting sales. Industry peer Polaris Industriesconfirms this, saying economically depressed oil-rich states helped send sales of off-road vehicles spiraling 23% lower in the third quarter, though motorcycle sales overall remain robust compared to Harley's.</p>
<p>Harley-Davidson admits it is a major lender in the subprime market but has no intention of cutting back on the practice. In fact, for the past seven years, it says HDFS has been making substantial profits from these borrowers because it prices its loans for the risks it's underwriting. It believes the rising delinquencies are merely a reversion to the mean and nothing to be concerned about. CFO John Olin told analysts, "It remains incredibly profitable and it's doing what we expected."</p>
<p>Still, investors who may like to focus more on the motorcycles Harley-Davidson sells may now also want to factor in just how these buyers are paying for them, whether they can continue to finance their loans, and what risks that represents to the business. The situation may not be as bad as it was back in 2009 during the depths of the recession, but it's clear the motorcycle leader is facing more difficult times ahead.</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Polaris Industries. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Are Harley-Davidson's Financials About to Get Worse Because of This Hidden Risk? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/28/are-harley-davidson-financials-about-to-get-worse-because-this-hidden-risk.html | 2016-11-28 | 0 |
<p>In his speech at the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the President said the American pullout from Vietnam caused the deaths of millions in Cambodia and Vietnam. Thus spoken, Mr. Bush would have us believe invasion and bloody occupation of sovereign nations is not problematic. Instead, stopping the fighting and leaving the indigenous citizens to their own affairs is the greater evil.</p>
<p>The facts, however, are at variance with Mr. Bush’s statements concerning the suffering of Southeast Asians. Millions of Cambodians died on the “killing fields” because secret American carpet bombing destroyed their nation and created an environment in which armed thugs led by Pol Pot took over unchallenged. In 1969, President Nixon ordered every available American plane into Cambodia to “crack the hell out of them.” He wanted them to “hit everything.” Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, subsequently transmitted the order to his top aide, Alexander Haig, this way: “Anything that flies on anything that moves.” When Cambodia collapsed under the weight of the American Air Force, Prince Sihanouk fled to China, and the bad guys took over. Cambodian life under the bloody rule of the Khmer Rouge is well documented.</p>
<p>But what of the Vietnamese people and their other neighbors? In his speech, Mr. Bush spoke of “boat people” and “re-education camps,” certainly a chaotic, frightful time for millions of innocent peasants, but Mr. Bush failed to mention that was not the extent of their suffering. The tragic aftermath of the American invasion of Southeast Asia kills and cripples to this day. More than thirty years after the Vietnam War, the misery index rises even though the shooting has long stopped. Historians, scholars, political scientists and high-level government officials have written volumes about America’s experience in Vietnam, and careful examination of a representative sample of this material reveals a wealth of understanding. Estimates range as high as 3,000,000 Vietnamese men, women and children and an additional 1,000,000 Cambodian/Lao were killed or wounded during the fighting, but that’s only the beginning.</p>
<p>Today, vast expanses of once productive Southeast Asian land threaten the native population. Death, disease and disfigurement are embedded in the very soil under their feet. Records show between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. sprayed approximately 76,000,000 liters of herbicide (Agents Orange, Green, Pink, Purple and White), 8,800 tons over an area of 6,000,000 square acres, 14% of Vietnam’s land mass. Dioxins, the active family of chemicals in Agent Orange, are known health risks to humans. Sampling studies undertaken in the 1990’s revealed dangerously high levels of contaminant in Vietnamese forests, soil, fishpond sediment, fish and fowl tissue and human blood. Agent Orange Dioxin in human blood samples taken from Vietnamese men and women ranging from twelve to twenty-five years old clearly show the contaminant chemicals have moved up through the food chain into humans.</p>
<p>Science has only begun to catalogue the long-term effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese, but the statistics are frightening. As early as 1970, Saigon’s leading maternity hospital reported a monthly average of 140 miscarriages and 150 premature births in 2800 pregnancies. As compared to others in the region, children living in areas sprayed with Agent Orange were found to suffer three times as many cleft palates, three times as much mental retardation, were three times as likely to have extra fingers or toes and eight times as likely to experience massive abdominal and inguinal hernias. In addition, Vietnamese children living in sprayed areas suffered dwarfism, impaired vision, Down syndrome, heart disorders, enlarged heads and other deformities. Studies show severely affected children rarely lived beyond age twenty.</p>
<p>More is known about the effects of Agent Orange from treating American servicemen, perhaps exposed while flying aircraft that disseminated the contaminant or ground troops caught in the fallout. Doctors treating veterans years ­ even decades ­ after exposure have recorded a procession of life-threatening and life-diminishing symptoms. American Vietnam veterans are far more likely to suffer immune system disorders, soft tissue sarcomas, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, respiratory cancers, liver disorders and even lower sperm counts. Children born to Vietnam veterans are more prone to birth defects relating to the nervous system, kidneys and oral clefts. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is 400% more likely to occur in infants born to the men and women who served in Vietnam. Anecdotally, friends and family of Vietnam veterans tell stories of their loved one aging decades, seemingly overnight. The veteran’s hair falls out in clumps and what remains turns white. Families report their veteran fathers, mothers, sons and brothers suffer from undiagnosed nerve disorders, irritability, weight loss, palsies and sometimes, sudden, unexplained death.</p>
<p>The Vietnam War misery index can be further expanded to include the estimated 100,000 Southeast Asian men, women and children subsequently killed, maimed or mutilated by unexploded landmines, artillery, bombs, grenades and a variety of other ordnance that lay concealed but still lethal in the forests and rice paddies throughout Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. After the cessation of hostilities, 3,500,000 landmines remained armed and buried in Vietnam. Short on funds and organizational support, in 2004, the Vietnamese government claimed to have cleared 100,000 mines in recent years, but United Nations estimates are closer to 59,000. According to UN officials, landmines in Vietnam are a primary obstacle to its social and economic development. In addition to killing or mutilating thousands of people each year, many of whom are children, their very presence in the countryside impedes the healthy development of millions of others.</p>
<p>In March 1964, five months before the first American bombing raid on North Vietnam, the United States organized a secret bombing campaign in Laos. Using unmarked planes, pilots initially attacked the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the increasingly important Communist supply route from North to South Vietnam. However, as the months passed, the air war intensified, and targets included Laotian villages, which drove a million peasants from their homes. For nine years, Laos was the most bombed country in the world. In 2004, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D ­ Minnesota’s 4th District) testified on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, “From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. flew 580,000 bombing runs over Laos ­ one every nine minutes for ten years. More than two million tons of ordnance was dropped on Laos, double the amount dropped in the European theater during the entirety of World War II. As many as 30% of the bombs dropped on Laos did not explode, leaving up to 20 million unexploded submunitions, also known as ‘bombies’ littered throughout the country.</p>
<p>“These American ‘bombies’ may be thirty years old, but they continue to kill and maim children as well as farmers clearing land for planting. In the first five months of 2004, 39 people died and 74 have been maimed by unexploded ordnance. In the thirty years since the end of the Vietnam War, an estimated 10,000 Lao people, including thousands of children, have died. And while Lao families struggle for food and survival, tens of thousands of acres of land cannot be put into agricultural production because the earth has been contaminated with this deadly cluster ordnance.”</p>
<p>The negative effects of the American invasion of Southeast Asia ripple across the generations, and similar damage may already be done in Iraq. Researchers have yet to calculate the long term effects of depleted uranium (DU) munitions. Consider this testimony from Dr. Jawad Al-Ali, director of the Oncology Center at the largest hospital in Basra, Iraq at a 2003 conference in Japan: “Two strange phenomena have come about in Basra, which I have never seen before. The first is double and triple cancers in one patient. For example, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. We had one patient with two cancers – one in his stomach and kidney. Months later, primary cancer developed in his other kidney. He had three different cancer types. The second is the clustering of cancer in families. We have 58 families here with more than one person affected by cancer. Dr Yasin, a general Surgeon here, has two uncles, a sister and cousin affected with cancer. Dr Mazen, another specialist, has six family members suffering from cancer. My wife has nine members of her family with cancer.</p>
<p>“Children in particular are susceptible to DU poisoning. They have a much higher absorption rate as their blood is being used to build and nourish their bones, and they have a lot of soft tissues. Bone cancer and leukemia used to be diseases affecting them the most, however, cancer of the lymph system which can develop anywhere on the body, and has rarely been seen before the age of 12, is now also common.”</p>
<p>Sadly, thirty years from now, another generation of researchers will examine the aftermath of America’s misadventure in Iraq. We can only hope the politicians of that era will not ignore the facts when making policy.</p>
<p>WILLIAM SCHRODER is a Vietnam veteran and with Dr. Ron Dawe, co-author of <a href="http://www.soldiersheartbook.com/" type="external">Soldier’s Heart: Close-up Today with PTSD in Vietnam Veterans</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Bush, Vietnam and Iraq | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/08/24/bush-vietnam-and-iraq/ | 2007-08-24 | 4 |
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<p>Alexander and Stephanie Zola replaced carpets with hardwood floors, among numerous other upgrades, in their Philadelphia home. They spent about $45,000 on renovations. (Kelsey Anne Dubinsky via Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)</p>
<p>When first-time homebuyers Meghan Starr and Andrew Boerckel told their Philadelphia real-estate agent that they were interested only in fixer-uppers, Amanda Turske of Prudential Fox &amp; Roach was skeptical.</p>
<p>Typically, clients buying their first houses these days want move-in-ready properties, said Turske, who gets about half her business from first-timers.</p>
<p>“Meghan was my first homebuyer that wanted something that was a complete fixer-upper,” she said.</p>
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<p>But Starr, a 28-year-old school psychologist, and her boyfriend, 32, recognized the potential in the approximately 1,080-square-foot “grandmom home,” which had wood-paneled walls and orange shag carpeting in the master bedroom.</p>
<p>“Don’t look at the present-day picture,” Starr said. “Visualize what it can be.”</p>
<p>Visualization didn’t come quite as easily for 29-year-old Alexander Zola.</p>
<p>When he and his wife, Stephanie, 30, began house-hunting in January, they wanted a turnkey property, Zola said. But finding a house that required no renovations and met their criteria – 1,400 square feet, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and some outdoor space – pushed prices $170,000 higher than the couple originally intended to spend.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to find a wonderful 100-year-old house that is completely modern but still has a touch of character within my price range,” Zola said. “So the only other option is to do it yourself.”</p>
<p>The East Passyunk Square area of Philadelphia where they searched is historically known as an Italian-American enclave, an influence sometimes reflected indoors.</p>
<p>At one house, the decor included colonnades, shag carpeting and thick wallpaper, Zola said.</p>
<p>“It was like you were transported to Olive Garden,” he said. “We couldn’t imagine ourselves in it.”</p>
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<p>But after visiting more than 30 properties, the couple reconsidered the four-bedroom, three-story house.</p>
<p>“It had the bones we were looking for,” Zola said. “And it had character; it was just hidden.”</p>
<p>When remodeling their Philadelphia home, Alexander and Stephanie Zola stripped part of a wall to its natural brick foundation to enhance an older feel of the house. (Kelsey Anne Dubinsky via Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)</p>
<p>They closed on the house in May and, after spending about $45,000 to renovate, moved in July, he said.</p>
<p>They converted the third floor into a master suite, replaced drop ceilings, removed wallpaper, installed hardwood floors, and opened up the first floor by knocking down a few walls, Zola said.</p>
<p>Since Starr and Boerckel moved into their new house in August, they have torn down walls to expose the brick, ripped up rugs to expose the hardwood floors, and begun turning the middle of the three bedrooms into a walk-in closet.</p>
<p>They expect to spend about $15,000 on renovations by doing the work themselves, which presents other challenges.</p>
<p>“We are living in a construction zone,” Starr said.</p>
<p>Lauren Acker Kratz, an associate agent with Prudential Fox &amp; Roach’s McCann Team in Philadelphia, warns interested buyers to consider the timing of the remodeling before taking on fixer-uppers.</p>
<p>“Are you going to be able to live through rehabs?” she asked. “How much time can you allow?”</p>
<p>Acker Kratz also urges buyers to get estimates on desired upgrades, so the renovations don’t push typically cheaper fixer-upper homes beyond their budget constraints.</p>
<p /> | Homebuyers find hidden gems in fixer-uppers | false | https://abqjournal.com/320572/homebuyers-find-hidden-gems-in-fixeruppers.html | 2 |
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<p>The dazzling icescape at the top of our planet is mutating into a place that is barely recognizable to those who have studied it for years.</p>
<p>The Arctic is home to some of the world's most dramatic climate change, scientists say, with warming oceans and air melting ice at a rate experts never imagined possible. The warming there has drastic implications for the rest of the earth, scientists say.</p>
<p>"The Arctic is a very useful bellwether of change, and it's ringing," Jason Box, an American glaciologist, told NBC News' Ann Curry. Curry traveled to far corners of the globe for "Ann Curry Reports: Our Year of Extremes - Did Climate Change Just Hit Home?"</p>
<p>The special, which takes a look at the Arctic, drought-stricken regions in the American West, rising seas on Florida’s coastline, and extreme weather events all over the world, comes days after a panel of some of the world's top scientists delivered the sobering news that climate change is already being felt in every continent and across the oceans.</p>
<p>"It is a call for action," Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which <a href="" type="internal">issued the groundbreaking climate report Monday</a>, told the Associated Press.</p>
<p>Those who have witnessed the Arctic's transformation loudly echo that call.</p>
<p>Aqqaluk Lynge, a leader of the Inuit — the indigenous people of the Arctic regions — told Curry that not long ago, the water behind him was once solid ice and served as a road for Inuit hunters' dogsleds during hunting season. But in the past 20 years, the sea ice has become unpredictable.</p>
<p>"Two years ago here, a young couple died falling through the ice," Lynge said.</p>
<p>"We don't have time to argue. It's here. It's happening and we need to do something."</p>
<p>Now when the Inuit hunt for traditional food for their families, such as walruses and seals, they sometimes have to use their dogs to haul motorboats into the water instead of sledding across ice.</p>
<p>Box, who has been studying Arctic ice for 20 years, accompanied Curry to Iceberg Alley in Greenland. He says the glacier has been discharging ice into the sea for thousands of years, but in the last 10 years, the rate has has doubled.</p>
<p>"Greenland each year recently is losing about 300 billion tons [of ice]," Box said.</p>
<p>The rapid pace of change isn't just in the Arctic: Scientists have observed record ice melt all over the globe, from Alaska to Peru, from the Himalayas to the Swiss Alps.</p>
<p>Though scientists generally do not link specific weather events to climate change, they also say as the earth warms, we will have to get used to living with more extreme weather.</p>
<p>In California, an unrelenting drought has gripped the state — threatening communities and the states farming industry. And since California supplies about half the nation's fruit and vegetables, that could mean food prices will rise.</p>
<p>But drought poses additional threats.</p>
<p>In other places in North America, where communities have developed in wildfire danger zones, millions of people are potentially at risk from longer wildfire seasons.</p>
<p>Amazingly, some scientists say the effect of those longer fire seasons can be witnessed as far as the Arctic. During her journey there, Curry noticed large dark swaths covering parts of the normally white ice.</p>
<p>"Most likely it's dust, but also in that is some wildfire soot," Box said, explaining that some of the soot had traveled from North American wildfires and coated the ice with carbon particles. The problems can multiply from there.</p>
<p>"Light-absorbing impurities trap more sunlight, and that can hasten the melting process," Box said. "It's a good example of human activity and climate change combining in complex ways that further promote melting."</p>
<p>Box is still conducting research, investigating the effect of what he calls "dark snow" on the rate of ice melt.</p>
<p>That the ice is melting is not in doubt. But the impact of ice melt is the subject of an ongoing debate.</p>
<p>Jennifer Francis, a research professor with the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has a bold and controversial theory that Arctic ice melt is changing the polar jet stream in the northern hemisphere.</p>
<p>"As the Arctic is warming faster, it's causing these waves in the jet stream to get larger," she said. As the waves get larger, the jet stream moves more slowly, she says, and that has the effect of holding weather - good or bad - in place.</p>
<p>If we want to stop the impact of climate change, there's no time to waste, experts say. In 2013, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions went up for the first time in years, although they're down 10 percent since 2005.</p>
<p>"We don't have time to argue. It's here. It's happening and we need to do something, and there's an urgency about it," said Keren Bolter, a research scientist at Florida Atlantic University's Center for Environmental Studies.</p>
<p>Roger Pielke, Jr., a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, believes human activity impacts global warming, but does not link recent extreme weather to climate change. And he too believes that urgent action is needed. He argues the introduction of something like a multibillion-dollar government initiative, possibly a carbon tax, may be necessary to fund energy innovation.</p>
<p>"Changing your light bulb is not going to make a big difference. We need to go after the big sources of energy," he said.</p>
<p>According to scientists, a huge volume of greenhouse gases is trapped under permafrost — frozen soil that spans large areas of the Northern hemisphere, at a thickness of up to one mile in places — and that permafrost is showing signs of thawing. If the trapped greenhouse gases escape, Box says there could be severe consequences — something he calls the "doomsday scenario."</p>
<p>"That's climate catastrophe. Runaway climate heating," he said. "That would ravage agricultural systems. We cant feed people, mass starvation, famine, breakdown of civilization."</p>
<p>In the meantime, in the Arctic, some Inuit families are abandoning the melting ice that no longer provides for them. But they have an urgent message for the rest of the world.</p>
<p>"Protect it, take good care of it," said Inuit leader Lynge.</p> | Our Year of Extremes: Did Climate Change Just Hit Home? | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/our-year-extremes-did-climate-change-just-hit-home-n70976 | 2014-04-06 | 3 |
<p>PHOENIX — “What’s the matter with Arizona?” is the obvious question about the state’s new immigration law. There are a few obvious answers — and a not-so-obvious one that I was surprised to hear from observers across the political spectrum here.</p>
<p>Obviously, the state is reacting — overreacting — in understandable frustration to the federal government’s failure to control illegal immigration. Overall illegal immigration is down, but stepped-up enforcement in California and Texas has helped shift the problem to Arizona.</p>
<p>Obviously, the state is reacting to an economic crisis that has made the additional pressures of illegal immigration all the more untenable. In the percentage of jobs lost, Arizona has suffered more than Michigan, and its budget woes have exceeded those of California.</p>
<p>Obviously, the Republican Party, which controls both houses of the Arizona Legislature and the governorship, is becoming more conservative nationwide. In the Grand Canyon State, the tea partyers met the Minutemen.</p>
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<p>But Arizona is not quite as blazingly red as it once was. Arizonans voted for Bill Clinton in 1996 and twice elected Janet Napolitano governor. Five of its eight U.S. House members are Democrats. Its Hispanic population is 30 percent and growing — suggesting that a wise politician of either party would do well not to alienate this key constituency.</p>
<p>Which leads to the less obvious reason that many people here posed as an explanation, at least in part, for the immigration bill: the state’s 1998 “Clean Elections” law. The measure, adopted in response to a corruption scandal, is one of the most far-reaching public financing laws in the nation.</p>
<p>Candidates for the Legislature can receive public funding if they collect 220 contributions of at least $5 each. This entitles them to more than $14,000 for the primary campaign and more than $21,000 for the general election. If a competing candidate chooses not to comply with spending and contribution limits, the publicly funded candidate gets matching funds to stay even.</p>
<p>One admirable notion underlying the law was to make campaigns more competitive, leveling the playing field between entrenched incumbents beholden to moneyed interests and upstart challengers otherwise unable to amass the necessary resources.</p>
<p>Trouble is, it worked — perhaps too well. The barriers to entry were extremely low. People with little experience in politics at any level ran for the Legislature and won. Previously, for better or worse, candidates of both parties were “vetted” by business groups that then proceeded to help them raise money, a process that served to filter out extremes on both sides.</p>
<p>And, as it turned out, a law pushed by “good government” types, primarily Democrats, ended up benefiting conservative Republicans who quickly figured out that the Clean Elections money could be used to take on Chamber of Commerce-type Republicans.</p>
<p>“Clean Elections allowed individuals … not to have to compete financially since they didn’t have to build constituencies,” Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a Democrat, said in an interview.</p>
<p>J.D. Hayworth, the conservative former congressman who is challenging Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary here, told me that “for those of us who derided it as nanny state government, and properly so,” the “unintended consequence is that it has empowered conservatives.”</p>
<p>Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is spearheading a reform effort that includes repealing the financing law. But a measure to do so died in the just-concluded legislative session.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, another good government initiative — to create more politically competitive districts by taking the task of drawing them away from the Legislature and giving it to a bipartisan commission — also did not work as intended. Under a constitutional amendment adopted by voters in 2000, Arizona became the first state to require that competitiveness be considered in drawing legislative lines.</p>
<p>Great idea. But competitiveness was just one among many factors to be considered, and only four of 30 districts ended up competitive. The Arizona Supreme Court last year rejected a challenge by Hispanic Democratic lawmakers seeking to have the lines redrawn to require additional swing districts.</p>
<p>Safe seats plus the Clean Elections funding equaled more extreme candidates — and a Legislature where moderate Republicans are nearly extinct.</p>
<p>I am a firm supporter, in theory, of public financing and, even more, of nonpartisan redistricting. But the Arizona experience offers a sobering lesson to reformers. It’s not necessarily to be careful what you wish for. But craft your wish with precision, or you may regret making it.</p>
<p>Ruth Marcus’ e-mail address is marcusr(at symbol)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2010, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | The Unintended Consequences of Good Government | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-unintended-consequences-of-good-government/ | 2010-05-05 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Knowles Corp.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of advanced micro-acoustic solutions provider Knowles Corp. jumped on Tuesday following the company's first-quarter report. Knowles beat analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings, sending the stock higher despite a decline in revenue. At 11:40 a.m. ET Tuesday, shares of Knowles were up about 14%.</p>
<p>So what: Knowles reported quarterly revenue of $185.3 million, down 0.7% year over year but about $5.7 million higher than the average analyst estimate. The company pointed to better-than-expected sales in its mobile consumer electronics segment, with microphone shipments to North American and Korean handset customers driving the revenue beat. Revenue from the specialty components segment was in line with expectations. Knowles' results exclude the speaker and receiver business, which is currently being held for sale.</p>
<p>Knowles reported non-GAAP EPS of $0.08, down from $0.20 in the prior-year period but $0.05 higher than analysts were expecting. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $0.14 per share, down from a gain of $0.06 per share. Higher operating costs were the main reason for the earnings decline, with R&amp;D expense rising 60% year over year and selling and administrative costs rising 20%.</p>
<p>Now what: While revenue and profits slumped during the first quarter, Knowles CEO Jeffrey Niew expects business to pick up going forward. "Revenue for the first half of 2016 is tracking to our prior projections, with margins and EPS tracking slightly ahead of plan. We expect to see an acceleration of revenue and earnings in the second half of the year driven by new product launches, shipments of our intelligent audio solutions, and normal seasonal patterns."</p>
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<p>Knowles doesn't expect much improvement during the second quarter, with revenue expected between $180 million and $200 million and non-GAAP EPS expected between $0.08 and $0.14. But the promise of growth in the second half, along with an across-the-board earnings beat, sent the stock soaring on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/26/why-shares-of-knowles-corp-are-soaring-today.aspx" type="external">Why Shares of Knowles Corp. Are Soaring Today Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBargainBin/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Timothy Green Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Shares of Knowles Corp. Are Soaring Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/26/why-shares-knowles-corp-are-soaring-today.html | 2016-04-26 | 0 |
<p />
<p>National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey on Jan. 19, 2016, announced her organization has reversed its decision to cancel a reception at its annual conference that was to have featured two LGBT rights advocates from Israel. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p />
<p>“Having taken in a range of information and seeing what has happened over the last couple of days, I have decided to reverse our decision to cancel the ‘Beyond the Bridge’ reception,” said National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey <a href="http://www.thetaskforce.org/national-lgbtq-task-force-reverses-decision-to-cancel-reception/" type="external">in a statement.</a></p>
<p>A Wider Bridge, an organization that describes its mission as building “LGBTQ connections with Israel,” sponsored the reception that was scheduled to take place on Friday at the Creating Change Conference in Chicago. Sarah Kala-Meir and Tom Canning of Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance had been scheduled to speak at the gathering.</p>
<p>The National LGBTQ Task Force <a href="" type="internal">cancelled the reception</a> amid criticism from Dean Spade, founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and others who accused A Wider Bridge of promoting Israel’s LGBT rights record in an attempt to deflect attention away from its treatment of the Palestinians.</p>
<p>The decision to cancel the reception sparked outrage among LGBT rights advocates in Israel and in the U.S.</p>
<p>“In reversing the decision today, we want to make it quite clear that the Creating Change Conference will always be a safe space for inclusion and dialogue for people with often widely different views,” said Carey in her statement. “It was not at all our intention to censor representatives of the Jerusalem Open House or A Wider Bridge at Creating Change and I apologize that our actions left people feeling silenced.”</p>
<p>A Wider Bridge in a statement thanked Carey and the National LGBTQ Task Force for reversing their decision.</p>
<p>“We look forward to bringing our important work, and the work of Jerusalem Open House, to Creating Change in Chicago,” said A Wider Bridge. “Our goal is to always engage in constructive dialogue that will further our cause, and now we can continue our important work for our worldwide community.”</p>
<p>Kala-Meir, who is the executive director of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, in a statement described the National LGBTQ Task Force’s apology as “sincere.”</p>
<p>“As a home for all LGBTQ Jerusalemites, it is only natural that we find among us people from diverse backgrounds, political affiliations, ethnicity and religions,” she said. “While recognizing the sensitivities and complexities of working within a conflict situation, we try to focus on our commonality rather than our differences, and to serve everyone regardless.”</p>
<p>Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt also welcomed the decision to allow the reception to take place at the conference.</p>
<p>“We are very pleased that the Task Force has reversed course and taken responsibility for their deeply misguided decision to cancel this reception,” he said.</p>
<p>Spade expressed disappointment.</p>
<p>“This indicates that there is a lot of work still to do to build understanding and discernment within the Task Force about how Israel advocacy organizations use pinkwashing,” Spade told the Washington Blade.</p>
<p>“These events are still a victory for those who oppose pinkwashing because they have raised this conversation to national attention and are providing an opportunity for meaningful engagement in queer and trans communities about how purportedly ‘pro-gay’ propaganda works and why opposing racism, occupation and apartheid is essential to our liberation,” added Spade.</p>
<p>Spade earlier on Tuesday noted he does engage in “collaborations with Israelis” that are not part of efforts backed by the Israeli government. Spade also expressed opposition to groups that “promote Israeli government funded propaganda tools, normalize occupation and apartheid by talking about ‘gay rights in Israel’ without opposing the fact that LGBT people who are Palestinian live under occupation and apartheid.”</p>
<p>The reception will take place less than five months after Yishai Schlissel, an Orthodox Jewish man, stabbed a 16-year-old girl to death and injured five others during an attack on a Jerusalem Pride march that Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance organized. The July 30, 2015, incident took place a day before two Jewish settlers allegedly killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents on the West Bank when they set fire to their home.</p>
<p>The National LGBTQ Task Force earlier this month announced the cancellation of a panel at the Creating Change Conference that was to have <a href="" type="internal">included officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.</a> The advocacy group in a statement said it made the decision in response to “concerns from our community.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">A Wider Bridge</a> <a href="" type="internal">Anti-Defamation League</a> <a href="" type="internal">Creating Change Conference</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dean Spade</a> <a href="" type="internal">Israel</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jonathan A. Greenblatt</a> <a href="" type="internal">National LGBTQ Task Force</a> <a href="" type="internal">Rea Carey</a></p> | Group reverses decision to cancel reception with Israeli activists | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/01/19/group-reverses-decision-to-cancel-reception-with-israeli-activists/ | 3 |
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<p />
<p>A Wall Street pro came to the rescue forSkechers(NYSE: SKX)to snap a streak of eight consecutive trading days of lower closing prices on Monday. As fate would have it, the savior is also the one who probably triggered the initial sell-off.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser upgraded the reeling shares of the leading maker of walking footwear this week. He is boosting his rating from "negative" to "neutral." Poser thinks Skechers stock is fairly valued at this point, slapping it with a $25 price target. Susquehanna's analyst realizes that there are near-term challenges at Skechers -- specifically with its struggling domestic wholesale business -- but the recent sell-off finds him stepping back from his bearish call.</p>
<p>The analyst update came as a refreshing surprise, sending the stock 2% higher in Monday's trading. That's a poetic update. If we roll back to two Wednesdays ago, when the eight-day streak of losses began, that day kicked off with Poser downgrading the stock.</p>
<p>Image source: Skechers.</p>
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<p>Poser's bearish call two weeks ago and today's upgrade aren't bookends to a cruel eight trading days that shaved away 17% of the stock's value. The symmetry isn't right, as Poser's call two weeks ago was to lower his rating on the stock by two notches, going from"positive" to "negative." Taking two steps back and only moving up one doesn't make for a fair trade.</p>
<p>Poser is also reacting opportunistically to the stock's double-digit slide since he turned bearish late last month. He's not having a change of heart when it comes to fundamentals. His concerns remain from two weeks ago -- namely, channel checks show retailers as being more enthusiastic about stocking rival brands.</p>
<p>Skechers has posted three consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in its domestic wholesale business. Strength overseas and at its namesake stores have been enough to offset the declines on the stateside wholesale front, but it remains a challenge for the stock that until sliding last year had been a market darling. Poser's double downgrade last month had him slashing his U.S. wholesale sales forecast from 7% this year and 7.6% in fiscal 2018 to just 2.5% in fiscal 2017 and 4% next year.</p>
<p>We'll get a clearer picture later this month, when Skechers reports its first-quarter results. Back in February, Skechers was targeting a dip in profitability of 7% to 10% in top-line growth. If Poser is right that trends are generally working against Skechers, that would translate into a weaker performance and a rough outlook. Bulls will be grateful to see an end to a rare string of lower closing prices for eight consecutive trading days, but it will be up to Skechers and its quarterly financial update to dictate which way the stock heads later this month.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than SkechersWhen 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>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBreakerRick/info.aspx" type="external">Rick Munarriz Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Skechers. 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> | Skechers Stock Ties Its Loose Laces | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/11/skechers-stock-ties-its-loose-laces.html | 2017-04-11 | 0 |
<p>and TRINH LE</p>
<p>Despite President Barack Obama’s decision to allow residents living in FEMA Trailers to remain in their trailers while the federal government partners with residents to find permanent housing, the Biloxi City Council is preparing to take action to kick these hurricane survivors out of their city. The Biloxi City Council will vote June 16th on an ordinance, backed by the City’s community development office, forcing FEMA trailers to be removed from residential zones by August 9th. Housing and human rights advocates have denounced the proposed ordinance as another step in the victimization and marginalization of residents with disabilities, low income, elderly, immigrant, and minority survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by their elected officials.</p>
<p>Chuck Rogers, a long-time Biloxi resident is currently living in a trailer along Redding Street as he works with Hope Community Development Agency, a community-based nonprofit working to find permanent homes for Katrina survivors, to redesign a new home for his lot. He is eager to move out of his trailer but now fears the city council ordinance will set back his plans to rebuild saying, “I’m just trying to do the best I can to build to the future.”</p>
<p>“I think it’s important that the city recognizes that everyone has not recovered completely from Katrina and that a number of people are still working on their homes,” said Ward 2 Councilman Bill Stallworth, an outspoken critic of the ordinance who also serves as Executive Director of Hope Community Development Agency. “It will be unconscionable for the city to throw its citizens onto the streets.”</p>
<p>“Biloxi will run afoul of the federal Fair Housing Act if the trailer occupants it displaces include high numbers of racial minorities, persons with disabilities, or single mothers with children,” noted Reilly Morse, an attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice.</p>
<p>The proposed move by the City Council comes in contrast to the Obama Administration’s recent announcement to stall a planned eviction of families in FEMA trailer, instead deciding to sell a number of trailers for $5 or less to residents, and provide $50 million in housing vouchers and federal housing case management assistance to assist remaining qualified residents still in temporary housing to find their best options for permanent affordable housing. The plan, which came about after significant protest and outreach by advocates and residents, was viewed as an important first step on Gulf Coast recovery by the new Administration. Still questions remain about how the Administration plans to address the region’s remaining inter-related post-Katrina-Rita social, economic and environmental crises, especially after the U.S. Treasury Department’s recent decision to exclude Gulf Coast communities from key housing programs in the economic recovery package, affecting the construction of 10,000 much needed affordable housing units.</p>
<p>Advocates fear that such actions, if allowed to move forward, will not only be a major set-back for residents rebuilding their homes and lives in Biloxi, but possibly for residents in other cities looking to enact similar ordinances to force out vulnerable residents still residing in FEMA Trailer but unable to find permanent affordable housing.</p>
<p>A group of advocates, including local groups Action Communication and Education Reform, Inc., Biloxi Branch NAACP, Dando la Mano, Hope CDA, Mississippi ACLU, Mississippi Center for Justice, Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster Task Force, Mississippi LIFE, MPOWER, STEPS Coalition, and national allies including ACORN, Advancement Project, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Alabama Arise; and Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , Louisiana Justice Institute, Oxfam America, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, South Bay Communities Alliance and U.S. Human Rights Network, who helped push the Obama Administration to stop the planned FEMA Trailer evictions, are now urging the City of Biloxi, as well as state and federal leaders, to end the victimizing the survivors of our nation’s largest disasters. Instead of removing residents from their land they are urging elected officials to enact policies which protect the human rights of hurricane survivors by looking to the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, a human rights policy that, for several years, has guided the U.S. government in providing temporary and permanent homes for people in foreign countries who become displaced by earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding and allowing survivors of disaster to participate in their recovery.</p>
<p>In order to ensure the human rights of hurricane survivors they are also urging:</p>
<p>U.S. Treasury Department to reverse its decision and allow Gulf Opportunity Zone financing to qualify for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s tax-credit exchange program, to help Gulf Coast state housing agencies exchange difficult to utilize tax credits for grants to build much needed additional affordable housing units. Congress and the White House to enact the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (HR 2269) a recently introduced piece of federal legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Biloxi, MS), Joseph Cao (R-New Orleans, LA), Rodney Alexander (R-Quitman, LA) and Charlie Melancon (D-Houma, LA) to create 100,000 jobs for survivors to rebuild their communities and restore the environment, including vital natural flood protection to create a more sustainable and equitable Gulf Coast. Overhaul the Stafford Act and other disaster response and planning legislation to ensure human rights are protected in preparation for, during and after future disasters and to incorporate the lessons learned during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike.</p>
<p>JEFFREY BUCHANAN is Information Officer with RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights and Trinh Le serves as Community Empowerment Coordinator with Hope Community Development Agency(Biloxi, MS). You can learn how to support HOPE Community Development Agency, who is helping lead the fight in Biloxi against this unjust ordinance at: <a href="http://www.hopecda.org/index" type="external">http://www.hopecda.org/index</a>.html or by contacting Trinh, <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | Biloxi Trailer Blues | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/06/12/biloxi-trailer-blues/ | 2009-06-12 | 4 |
<p>Like every celebrity in Hollywood who hung around movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is also claiming dumbfounded ignorance regarding the "open secret" about his alleged habitual sexual harassment of women.</p>
<p>Weinstein has long been a great friend to the Clintons and the Obamas, regularly holding fundraisers and donating big dollars to their campaigns. His relationship with both candidates would even include giving Malia Obama a special internship with his company.</p>
<p>Speaking with CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Wednesday, Hillary said she felt "sick" after hearing of the allegations.</p>
<p>"I was just sick. I was shocked. I was appalled," she exclaimed. "It was something that was just intolerable in every way. Like so many people who have come forward and spoken out, this was a different side to a person that I and many others had known in the past."</p>
<p>Fareed Zakaria asked Hillary no questions regarding her husband's allegations of sexual harassment, nor did he ask her about her own role in allegedly backing her husband as women came forward to accuse him.</p>
<p>Hillary also said she considered Weinstein a friend who was liked by many people.</p>
<p>"People in Democratic politics for many decades appreciated his help and support," she said. "I think these stories coming to light now, and people who never spoke out before having the courage to speak out, just clearly demonstrates that this behavior he engaged in cannot be tolerated and cannot be overlooked."</p>
<p>When Zakaria asked if Weinstein got away with it because people looked the other way, Hillary claimed to have no part in it.</p>
<p>"Well, I certainly didn’t and I don’t know who did," she said.</p>
<p>Hillary called this moment a "wake up call" regarding sexual harassment. When asked if she will return Weinstein's campaign money, she said the money will go to charity.</p>
<p>"What other people are saying, what my fellow colleagues are saying, is that they’re going to donate it to charity and of course I will do that," she said.</p>
<p>Clinton came under fire, even by many on the Left, for having remained silent for so long after The New York Times bombshell about Weinstein dropped last Thursday. When she finally commented on it, she issued a bare-bones and general statement saying she was " <a href="" type="internal">shocked and appalled</a>" by the revelations and that the "behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated."</p> | Hillary On CNN: Weinstein Scandal Is A 'Wake Up Call' | true | https://dailywire.com/news/22201/hillary-cnn-weinstein-scandal-wake-call-paul-bois | 2017-10-12 | 0 |
<p>The religious right, currently the subject of intense press attention, is here scrutinized by both insiders and outside observers. Journalists Fred Barnes (The New Republic), Michael Barone (U.S. News &amp; World Report), and E. J. Dionne (The Washington Post), activists Ralph Reed (Christian Coalition) and Michael Farris, and scholarly analysts John Green, Allen Hertzke, Michael Horowitz, Richard Land, and George Weigel examine the agenda of religious conservatives, their influence upon the 1992 election, and whether and how they can increase their political influence in the next four years. In a foreword, Irving Kristol calls religious conservatives “the very core of an emerging American conservatism.” The volume, published jointly by the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Eerdmans, includes brief comments by eighteen other informed observers as well.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />“The rise of the religious conservatives is a hot topic, and this is an indispensable study and critique. A lively, solid, and serious piece of work.”</p>
<p>Michael Novak</p>
<p>American Enterprise Institute</p>
<p>“A highly thought-provoking and well-balanced introduction to a subject that is not just difficult but combustible.”</p>
<p>Charles Krauthammer</p>
<p>syndicated columnist</p>
<p>“This profound book goes to the heart of questions faced daily in newsrooms, on school boards, in Congress, and at the dinner table. It is a serious and significant exploration of the intersection of rights, responsibility, community, and tolerance, conducted in a fashion that illuminates the discussion and enlightens the reader.”</p>
<p>Thomas Byrne Edsall</p>
<p>The Washington Post</p>
<p>“This volume provides fresh exposition, examination, and debate of a topic weighed down by the worst kinds of misrepresentation. For those who follow the evolution of our contemporary culture war, Disciples and Democracy is essential reading.”</p>
<p>James Davison Hunter</p>
<p>University of Virginia</p> | Disciples and Democracy | false | https://eppc.org/publications/disciples-and-democracy/ | 1 |
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<p>I was in a military courtroom at Fort Meade in Maryland on Thursday as Pfc. Bradley Manning admitted giving classified government documents to WikiLeaks. The hundreds of thousands of leaked documents exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as government misconduct. A statement that Manning made to the court was a powerful and moving treatise on the importance of placing conscience above personal safety, the necessity of sacrificing careers and liberty for the public good, and the moral imperative of carrying out acts of defiance. Manning will surely pay with many years — perhaps his entire life — in prison. But we too will pay. The war against Bradley Manning is a war against us all.</p>
<p>This trial is not simply the prosecution of a 25-year-old soldier who had the temerity to report to the outside world the indiscriminate slaughter, war crimes, torture and abuse that are carried out by our government and our occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a concerted effort by the security and surveillance state to extinguish what is left of a free press, one that has the constitutional right to expose crimes by those in power. The lonely individuals who take personal risks so that the public can know the truth — the Daniel Ellsbergs, <a href="http://www.ridenhour.org/about_ron.html%20" type="external">the Ron Ridenhours</a>, the Deep Throats and the Bradley Mannings — are from now on to be charged with “aiding the enemy.” All those within the system who publicly reveal facts that challenge the official narrative will be imprisoned, as was John Kiriakou, the former CIA analyst who for exposing the U.S. government’s use of torture began serving a 30-month prison term the day Manning read his statement. There is a word for states that create these kinds of information vacuums: totalitarian.</p>
<p>The cowardice of The New York Times, El Pais, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, all of which used masses of the material Manning passed on to WikiLeaks and then callously turned their backs on him, is one of journalism’s greatest shames. These publications made little effort to cover Manning’s pretrial hearings, a failure that shows how bankrupt and anemic the commercial press has become. Rescuing what honor of our trade remains has been left to a handful of independent, often marginalized reporters and a small number of other individuals and groups — including Glenn Greenwald, Alexa O’Brien, Nathan Fuller, Kevin Gosztola (who writes for Firedog Lake), the <a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org/%20" type="external">Bradley Manning Support Network</a>, political activist Kevin Zeese and the courtroom sketch artist Clark Stoeckley, along with The Guardian, which also published the WikiLeaks documents. But if our domesticated press institutions believe that by refusing to defend or report on Manning they will escape the wrath of the security and surveillance state, they are stunningly naive. This is a war that is being played for keeps. And the goal of the state is not simply to send Manning away for life. The state is also determined to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and try him in the United States on espionage or conspiracy charges. The state hopes to cement into place systems of information that will do little more than parrot official propaganda. This is why those with the computer skills to expose the power elite’s secrets, such as <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-aaron-swartz-washington-memorial-20130205,0,483788.story%20" type="external">Aaron Swartz</a>, who committed suicide in January, and <a href="http://freehammond.com/" type="external">Jeremy Hammond</a>, who is facing up to 30 years in prison for allegedly hacking into the corporate security firm Stratfor, have been or are being ruthlessly hunted down and persecuted. It is why Vice President Joe Biden labeled Assange a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/19/joe-biden-wikileaks-assange-high-tech-terrorist_n_798838.html" type="external">“high-tech terrorist,”</a> and it is why the Bradley Manning trial is one of the most important in American history.</p>
<p>The government has decided to press ahead with all 22 charges, including aiding the enemy (Article 104), stealing U.S. government property (18 USC 641), espionage (18 USC 793(e)) and computer crimes (18 USC 1030(a)(1)) — the last notwithstanding the fact that Manning did not hack into government computers. The state will also prosecute him on charges of violating lawful general regulations (Article 92). The government has refused to settle for Manning’s admission of guilt on nine lesser offenses. Among these lesser offenses are unauthorized possession and willful communication of the video known as “Collateral Murder”; the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War_documents_leak" type="external">Iraq War Logs</a>; the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_War_documents_leak" type="external">Afghan War Diary</a>; two CIA <a href="http://boingboing.net/2010/08/25/wikileaks-publishes-3.html" type="external">Red Cell Memos,</a> including one entitled “Afghanistan: Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-Led Mission — Why Counting on Apathy Might Not Be Enough”; Guantanamo files; documents of a so-called Article 15-6 investigation into the May 2009 <a href="http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_60359.shtml%20" type="external">Garani massacre</a> in Afghanistan’s Farah province; and a Department of Defense counterintelligence report, “WikiLeaks.org — An Online Reference to Foreign Intelligence Services, Insurgents, or Terrorist Groups?” as well as one violation of a lawful general order by wrongfully storing information.</p>
<p />
<p>Manning’s leaks, the government insists, are tantamount to support for al-Qaida and international terrorism. The government will attempt to prove this point by bringing into court an anonymous witness who most likely took part in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. This witness will reportedly tell the court that copies of the leaked documents were found on bin Laden’s computer and assisted al-Qaida. This is an utterly spurious form of prosecution — as if any of us have control over the information we provide to the public and how it is used. Manning, for substantial amounts of money, could have sold the documents to governments or groups that are defined as the enemy. Instead he approached The Washington Post and The New York Times. When these newspapers rejected him, he sent the material anonymously to WikiLeaks. The short, slightly built Manning told the military court Thursday about the emotional conflict he experienced when he matched what he knew about the war with the official version of the war. He said he became deeply disturbed while <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_12,_2007_Baghdad_airstrike%20" type="external">watching a video</a> taken from an Apache helicopter as it and another such craft joined in an attack on civilians in Baghdad in 2007. The banter among the crew members, who treated the murder and wounding of the terrified human beings, including children, in the street below as sport, revolted him. Among the dead was Reuters photojournalist Namir Noor-Eldeen and his driver, Saeed Chmagh. Reuters had repeatedly asked to see the video, and the Army had repeatedly refused to release it. [ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0%20" type="external">Click here</a> to see the “Collateral Murder” video.]</p>
<p>“Using Google I searched for the event by its date and general location,” Manning said in reading from a 35-page document that took nearly an hour to deliver. “I found several new accounts involving two Reuters employees who were killed during the aerial weapon team engagement. Another story explained that Reuters had requested a copy of the video under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. Reuters wanted to view the video in order to be able to understand what had happened and to improve their safety practices in combat zones. A spokesperson for Reuters was quoted saying that the video might help avoid the reoccurrence of the tragedy and believed there was compelling need for the immediate release of the video.” [Alexa O’Brien, another journalist who attended Thursday’s proceedings, has provided a full transcript of Manning’s statement: <a href="http://www.alexaobrien.com/secondsight/wikileaks/bradley_manning/pfc_bradley_e_manning_providence_hearing_statement.html" type="external">Click here.</a>]</p>
<p>“Despite the submission of the FOIA request, the news account explained that CENTCOM [Central Command] replied to Reuters stating that they could not give a time frame for considering a FOIA request and that the video might no longer exist,” Manning said. “Another story I found written a year later said that even though Reuters was still pursuing their request [the news organization] still did not receive a formal response or written determination in accordance with FOIA. The fact neither CENTCOM or Multi National Forces Iraq, or MNF-I, would not voluntarily release the video troubled me further. It was clear to me that the event happened because the aerial weapons team mistakenly identified Reuters employees as a potential threat and that the people in the bongo truck [van] were merely attempting to assist the wounded. The people in the van were not a threat but merely ‘good Samaritans.’ The most alarming aspect of the video to me, however, was the seemly delightful bloodlust they [the helicopter crew members] appeared to have.</p>
<p>“They dehumanized the individuals they were engaging and seemed to not value human life by referring to them as quote ‘dead bastards’ unquote and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers,” Manning said, speaking into a court microphone while seated at the defense table. “At one point in the video there is an individual on the ground attempting to crawl to safety. The individual is seriously wounded. Instead of calling for medical attention to the location, one of the aerial weapons team crew members verbally asks for the wounded person to pick up a weapon so that he can have a reason to engage. For me, this seems similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass.</p>
<p>“While saddened by the aerial weapons team crew’s lack of concern about human life, I was disturbed by the response of the discovery of injured children at the scene. In the video, you can see the bongo truck driving up to assist the wounded individual. In response the aerial weapons team crew — as soon as the individuals are a threat, they repeatedly request authorization to fire on the bongo truck and once granted they engage the vehicle at least six times. Shortly after the second engagement, a mechanized infantry unit arrives at the scene. Within minutes, the aerial weapons team crew learns that children were in the van, and despite the injuries the crew exhibits no remorse. Instead, they downplay the significance of their actions, saying quote ‘Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle’ unquote.</p>
<p>“The aerial weapons team crew members sound like they lack sympathy for the children or the parents. Later in a particularly disturbing manner, the aerial weapons team verbalizes enjoyment at the sight of one of the ground vehicles driving over a body — or one of the bodies. As I continued my research, I found an article discussing the book ‘The Good Soldiers,’ written by Washington Post writer David Finkel. In Mr. Finkel’s book, he writes about the aerial weapons team attack. As I read an online excerpt in Google Books, I followed Mr. Finkel’s account of the event belonging to the video. I quickly realize that Mr. Finkel was quoting, I feel in verbatim, the audio communications of the aerial weapons team crew. It is clear to me that Mr. Finkel obtained access and a copy of the video during his tenure as an embedded journalist. I was aghast at Mr. Finkel’s portrayal of the incident. Reading his account, one would believe the engagement was somehow justified as ‘payback’ for an earlier attack that led to the death of a soldier. Mr. Finkel ends his account of the engagement by discussing how a soldier finds an individual still alive from the attack. He writes that the soldier finds him and sees him gesture with his two forefingers together, a common method in the Middle East to communicate that they are friendly. However, instead of assisting him, the soldier makes an obscene gesture extending his middle finger. The individual apparently dies shortly thereafter. Reading this, I can only think of how this person was simply trying to help others, and then he quickly finds he needs help as well. To make matters worse, in the last moments of his life he continues to express his friendly gesture — his friendly intent — only to find himself receiving this well known gesture of unfriendliness. For me it’s all a big mess, and I am left wondering what these things mean, and how it all fits together. It burdens me emotionally. … “I hoped that the public would be as alarmed as me about the conduct of the aerial weapons team crew members. I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan are targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare. After the release I was encouraged by the response in the media and general public who observed the aerial weapons team video. As I hoped, others were just as troubled — if not more troubled than me by what they saw.”</p>
<p>Manning provided to the public the most important window into the inner workings of imperial power since the release of the Pentagon Papers. The routine use of torture, the detention of Iraqis who were innocent, the inhuman conditions within our secret detention facilities, the use of State Department officials as spies in the United Nations, the collusion with corporations to keep wages low in developing countries such as Haiti, and specific war crimes such as the missile strike on a house that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/task-force-373-secret-afghanistan-taliban%20" type="external">killed seven children</a> in Afghanistan would have remained hidden without Manning.</p>
<p>“I felt that we were risking so much for people that seemed unwilling to cooperate with us, leading to frustration and anger on both sides,” Manning said. “I began to become depressed with the situation that we found ourselves increasingly mired in year after year. The SigActs [significant-acts reports of the Army] documented this in great detail and provide a context of what we were seeing on the ground.</p>
<p>“In attempting to conduct counterterrorism, or CT, and counterinsurgency, COIN, operations we became obsessed with capturing and killing human targets on lists and being suspicious of and avoiding cooperation with our host nation partners, and ignoring the second- and third-order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A tables [a reference to military information] this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>“I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of time by different sectors of society might cause society to re-evaluate the need or even the desire to engage in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the people living in the affected environment every day.”</p>
<p>It is certain that with this “naked” plea Manning will serve perhaps as much as 20 years in prison. The judge, Col. Denise Lind, who will determine Manning’s sentence, warned him that the government could use his admissions to build a case for the more serious charges. Manning faces 90 years if he is convicted on the greater charge of espionage, and he faces life if convicted of aiding the enemy. Military prosecutors have made it clear they are out for blood. They said they will call 141 witnesses, including 15 who will charge that Manning caused harm to national interests; 33 witnesses, the government claims, will discuss information so sensitive or secret that it will require closed court sessions. Four witnesses — including, it appears, a Navy SEAL involved in the bin Laden raid — will give testimony anonymously. Army Maj. Ashden Fein, the lead prosecution attorney, has told the court that the government witnesses will discuss issues such as “injury and death to individuals” that resulted from the WikiLeaks disclosures, as well as how the “capability of the enemy increased in certain countries.” The <a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/government-tries-to-block-bradley-mannings-defense-from-interviewing-classified-witness%20" type="external">government is preventing</a> Manning’s defense team from interviewing some of the witnesses before the trial.</p>
<p>When he was secretary of defense, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/16/wikileaks.assessment/index.html" type="external">Robert Gates said</a> a Defense Department review determined that the publication of the Iraq War Logs and the Afghan War Diary had “not revealed any sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” In the trial, however, the government must prove only that the “disclosure could be potentially damaging to the United States” and need only provide “independent proof of at least potential harm to the national security” beyond mere security classification, writes law professor Geoffrey Stone.</p>
<p>The government reviews determined that the release of Department of State “diplomatic cables caused <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/18/us-wikileaks-damage-idUSTRE70H6TO20110118%20" type="external">only limited damage</a> to U.S. interests abroad despite the Obama administration’s public statements to the contrary,” according to Reuters. “We were told the impact [of WikiLeaks revelations] was embarrassing but not damaging,” a congressional official, briefed by the State Department, told Reuters. The “Obama administration felt compelled to say publicly that the revelations had seriously damaged American interests in order to bolster legal efforts to shut down the WikiLeaks website and bring charges against the leakers,” the official told the news outlet. Government prosecutors, strengthening their case further, have succeeded in blocking Manning’s lawyers from presenting evidence about the lack of real damage caused to U.S. interests by the leaks.</p>
<p>Manning has done what anyone with a conscience should have done. In the courtroom he exhibited — especially given the prolonged abuse he suffered during his thousand days inside the military prison system — poise, intelligence and dignity. He appealed to the best within us. And this is why the government fears him. America still produces heroes, some in uniform. But now we lock them up.</p>
<p>The court has not yet issued an official text of Bradley Manning’s statement. Thanks to Alexa O’Brien for providing a transcript.</p> | We Are Bradley Manning | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/we-are-bradley-manning/ | 2013-03-04 | 4 |
<p>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's first family won't be moving in to the new governor's mansion by the new year.</p>
<p>Capitol Facilities Manager John Boyle says officials had hoped for Gov. Doug Burgum to move into a new home by the end of December. But he says construction of the new 13,600-square-foot home is running behind schedule and the new completion date is now set for late February.</p>
<p>Officials originally had a goal of completing the new home by Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>The Legislature authorized $4 million in state money and $1 million from private donations to construct the building.</p>
<p>Bismarck businessman Jim Poolman is heading a group to raise private money. He says about $900,000 has been raised to date.</p>
<p>Boyle says the old governor's mansion will be torn down in the spring.</p>
<p>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's first family won't be moving in to the new governor's mansion by the new year.</p>
<p>Capitol Facilities Manager John Boyle says officials had hoped for Gov. Doug Burgum to move into a new home by the end of December. But he says construction of the new 13,600-square-foot home is running behind schedule and the new completion date is now set for late February.</p>
<p>Officials originally had a goal of completing the new home by Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>The Legislature authorized $4 million in state money and $1 million from private donations to construct the building.</p>
<p>Bismarck businessman Jim Poolman is heading a group to raise private money. He says about $900,000 has been raised to date.</p>
<p>Boyle says the old governor's mansion will be torn down in the spring.</p> | Construction of governor's mansion misses deadline again | false | https://apnews.com/amp/61dd67162df5455cb909182788139333 | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
<p>The New Jersey Attorney General’s office will issue new guidelines to state police in the wake of outrage over a $6000 speaking fee paid to fake former Palestinian terrorist Walid Shoebat, who recently addressed a police academy. Shoebat and his son Ted Shoebat regularly call for the executions of homosexuals, atheists, and Christians who support LGBT rights. The Asbury Park Press <a href="http://www.app.com/story/news/investigations/watchdog/2015/11/11/ag-anti-islam-cop-class-not-appropriate/75564478/" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>“The private training program that took place in Ocean County last week clearly was not appropriate training and is not the type of training we want our police officers attending,” said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Acting Attorney General John Jay Hoffman. The guidelines will be sent to all 21 county prosecutors, who are the chief law enforcement official in each county.</p>
<p>On Nov. 2, Walid Shoebat, a Palestinian-American who bills himself as a former Muslim terrorist turned Christian, spoke to more than 60 law enforcement officers for three hours about his views on Islam. The in-service training session was arranged by a private police vendor at a cost of $109 per officer and sponsored through the Ocean County Police Academy, which is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Office.</p>
<p>Among those complaining this week is Garden State Equality:</p>
<p>“Shoebat spreads blatantly false information about LGBT people,” wrote Aaron Potenza, director of programs at Garden State Equality. “He has made hateful statements equating same-sex relationships with pedophilia, calling for a ‘ban on homosexuality’ and claiming that LGBT people are ‘vile’ and ‘the greatest threat to the Western World.’ He has stated that LGBT people are equivalent to the Nazis.”</p>
<p>“Many LGBT people fear going to law enforcement, as they assume that police will discriminate against them. Unfortunately hiring someone like Shoebat to conduct training reinforces that fear,” he wrote. “Garden State Equality recognizes that the vast majority of those in law enforcement are allies to the LGBT community and do not harbor prejudice. Garden State Equality also is aware that there are many LGBT individuals in law enforcement. That said, we believe that the officers you serve could benefit from an in-service training on LGBT issues and on how to work with the LGBT community.”</p>
<p>(Tipped by JMG reader Michael)</p> | NEW JERSEY: Attorney General’s Office Blasts Hiring Of Extremist Walid Shoebat To Address Police Academy | true | http://joemygod.com/2015/11/12/new-jersey-attorney-generals-office-blasts-hiring-of-extremist-walid-shoebat-to-address-police-academy/ | 2015-11-12 | 4 |
<p>"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? — A Handbook On How to Defeat the 1%" is a compilation of articles written by Gabriel of Urantia, a self-described spiritual activist, that addresses the deeper issues involved within the Occupy movement. Urantia poses step-by-step strategies and solutions for the 99% to create real and lasting change, including the need to discover true leadership and how that can be accomplished.</p>
<p>Throughout "Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?" Gabriel explores at deeper levels the power struggle between the 99% and the 1%, examining ideas implemented by effective tactical leaders throughout history, including George Washington and Colonists who won the American Revolution. He addresses how these methods can be successfully implemented around the globe today, while also addressing in detail the needs of people to establish communities and find things in common amid the loneliness and stress of modern urban life, with an emphasis on returning to nature.</p>
<p>Urantia, who is the co-founder, along with <a href="http://niannemersonchase.org/biography" type="external">Niánn Emerson Chase</a>, of one of the largest EcoVillages in the world in Arizona, also founded Global Change Multi-Media, and he leads the Spiritualution—Justice to the People! movement focused on protecting the human rights of all people, with emphasis on the responsibility of the baby boomer and X-generations as well as indigenous communities to step up and lead.</p>
<p>In particular, Urantia's Spiritualution—Justice to the People! concept advocates a willingness and commitment by individuals to quit their wrong jobs and go on strike as part of a spiritual re-connection with one another as citizens, and with the Earth. Urantia, who enthusiastically supported the Occupy movement, has long spoken about the need for people to take social, civil and environmental injustices into their own hands, through civil disobedience that challenges corporate elites like the media, banking system, oil companies, pharmaceutical companies and those in government.</p>
<p>"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" includes a color photo gallery that was taken from various Occupy actions around the country, starting in the fall of 2011 with Occupy Wall Street at Zuccotti Park and moving to Los Angeles, Anaheim, Chicago, Phoenix, Tucson, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and elsewhere. Articles in the handbook accompany other information for activists like The Be Aware Proclamation &amp; Answers, and Unoccupy Your Couch--10 Points to Become Proactive.</p>
<p>For more information and to purchase the book, which is published by Global Community Communications Publishing, <a href="http://globalchangetools.org/bigbadwolf" type="external">visit here</a>.</p> | Occupy the Bookshelf: A Handbook to Defeat the 1% | true | http://occupy.com/article/occupy-bookshelf-handbook-defeat-1 | 4 |
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<p>As the lead guest on the first Late Show of 2017, Oprah Winfrey was ostensibly there to promote her new weight-loss cookbook, <a href="http://amzn.to/2iBk76I" type="external">Food, Health, and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life</a>. But there was no way Stephen Colbert was going to let her go without talking a little bit of politics.</p>
<p>Winfrey raised eyebrows in the days following Donald Trump’s victory when she <a href="" type="internal">suggested that the candidate had seemed “humbled” in his public meeting</a> with President Obama. “I think everybody can take a deep breath now,” she said, to which many of her fans replied, “Not so fast.”</p>
<p>Colbert declined to press Winfrey on what she meant when it came to Trump, but he did ask her about the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/michelle-obama-gave-a-somber-exit-interview-to-oprah-winfrey/2016/12/19/f1fce4a4-c656-11e6-a22f-f4d703887285_story.html?utm_term=.df2a6577289b" type="external">exit interview she conducted with first lady Michelle Obama</a> last month. The Late Show host admitted that he had not actually watched any of the interview, which also aired on CBS, telling her, “I’m saving it for when I’m good enough to deserve it.”</p>
<p>Winfrey described the interview as “bittersweet,” recalling the first interview she did with Obama for her magazine back in 2008, when Malia and Sasha Obama were still “baby children.” She said that she told the first lady that she is just going to miss her “presence” in the White House.</p>
<p>“For me, you know, African-American woman,” she said, “being able to see that reflection of myself through the girls and through her, just their presence there, I’m going to miss that. But it has meant so much to me.” She didn’t even have to specifically address the change that is about to come to the White House to make her point crystal clear.</p>
<p>Asked if she thinks Michelle Obama will ever run for office, Winfrey replied, “Never!” Then, the host asked, to cheers from his audience, “Is there any charismatic African-American woman that both sides of the political aisle really love?”</p>
<p>“Never!” Winfrey exclaimed in her signature scream. “No, it’s not my thing.”</p>
<p>Back in June, on the same day she <a href="" type="internal">endorsed Hillary Clinton for president</a>, Winfrey <a href="" type="internal">joked to Jimmy Kimmel</a> that Trump’s success had started to make her feel “really qualified” to be president. Yet even then, she said, “The one thing that I know for sure, sure, sure, is I will never run for office.”</p>
<p>At that point, she never could have imagined that Trump would actually win the election. And apparently, that reality has not made her change her mind about her own plans for the future.</p> | Oprah to Colbert: I Am ‘Never’ Running for Political Office, But Will Miss the Obamas | true | https://thedailybeast.com/oprah-to-colbert-i-am-never-running-for-political-office-but-will-miss-the-obamas | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
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<p>“The poem seemed operatic to me,” he said by phone from New Haven, Conn. “It’s really a tour de force. I originally wrote the music for a baritone with a mixed ensemble of instruments.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, plans to premiere the piece at Yale in 2007 fell through. “It was logistically impossible to do it, so I put the music away,” Suttor added.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>New York-based performance artist Douglas Fitch, who has known Suttor for years, was familiar with the music that Suttor had composed for the poem. He proposed a collaboration that involved reciting, instead of singing, the words to instrumental accompaniment.</p>
<p>“I thought it was a really good idea,” said Suttor. “I reworked the piece for narrator, flute and string quartet.”</p>
<p>Wanting to present the work in concert, Fitch contacted Taos Chamber Music Group’s artistic director Nancy Laupheimer during a visit to Taos, where his parents live.</p>
<p>Taos Chamber Music Group presents “La Prose du Transsibérien” by Suttor along with works by Steve Reich and Rhonda Larson during its “Moving On” concert this weekend at Taos Community Auditorium.</p>
<p>“This is the piece’s premiere,” said Suttor. “I’ll be there with a laptop playing pre-recorded atmospheric electronic sounds.”</p>
<p>The poem for which Sutton wrote music is about Cendrars’ epic, and perhaps imaginary, train journey from Moscow to Mongolia during the Russo-Japanese War and Russian Revolution in 1905 when the poet was 16 years old. In the poem Cendrars talks about the people he meets along the way, the things he sees and many of his painful and pleasurable experiences.</p>
<p>Performing on stage are Laupheimer, Fitch, violinists David Felberg and Megan Holland, violist Kimberly Fredenburgh and cellist James Holland.</p> | Music, poetry merge in Taos | false | https://abqjournal.com/159199/music-poetry-merge-in-taos.html | 2013-01-11 | 2 |
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