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<p>The Hill <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/353714-scalise-shooting-fortified-view-on-gun-rights" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Fox News’s Martha MacCallum asked Rep. Steve Scalise in an interview to be aired later Tuesday if his experience and the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday night have changed his views about the Constitution’s Second Amendment. “I think it’s fortified it,” Scalise said.</p>
<p>“Because first of all you’ve got to recognize that when there’s a tragedy like this, the first thing we should be thinking about is praying for the people who were injured and doing whatever we can to help them, to help law enforcement. We shouldn’t first be thinking of promoting our political agenda,” Scalise said.</p>
<p /> | Shooting Victim Steve Scalise: The Massacre In Las Vegas Only “Fortified” My Opposition To Gun Control | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/10/03/shooting-victim-steve-scalise-massacre-las-vegas-fortified-opposition-gun-control-video/ | 2017-10-03 | 4 |
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<p>And it’s a voice worth listening to.</p>
<p>Brig. Gen. Gwen Bingham, commander of the White Sands Missile Range, pulled no punches when she told the Journal last week that allowing the line to cross over the range’s Northern Extension along the Department of Interior’s preferred route would reduce WSMR’s use of the area by 30 percent and mean the end of some low-altitude testing missions.</p>
<p>A group of private developers is seeking final approval for the 550-mile SunZia power line, which is intended to carry renewable energy as it becomes viable and available from central New Mexico to Arizona.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>America would benefit from a viable renewable energy project, but it is important to find a route for the transmission line that does not compromise the ability to carry out the type of vital research that is conducted regularly at White Sands. The U.S. military is moving into a new era of fewer boots on the ground and more technology launched from great distances.</p>
<p>And that is what White Sands’ mission is: testing weapons systems and technology to protect Americans – our military and civilians.</p>
<p>Bingham says White Sands is irreplaceable for some kinds of military testing.</p>
<p>“The adversarial threats are getting longer, not shorter,” the general said, referring to air and missile attack threats. “So, we need every inch of the range.”</p>
<p>In June, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management published a final SunZia environmental impact statement. A final record of decision is imminent. The Department of Defense, while not opposed to the project itself, wants the alignment moved to avoid what is called the Northern Extension call-up area, which provides a safety buffer for tests.</p>
<p>While SunZia may be a worthy project, it is not a good tradeoff if it threatens our ability to assess and respond to threats.</p>
<p>And while investors cite jobs the project would create, mainly installing it, White Sands already is one of the state’s top economic drivers and employs more than 9,000 New Mexicans. And U.S. taxpayers have invested billions of dollars making it the world’s premiere test facility. There are no similar capabilities on U.S. soil.</p>
<p>Proponents have said Defense had given tacit approval to this route earlier and has moved the goalposts. Perhaps. But there is nothing ambiguous about General Bingham’s statements.</p>
<p>Defense and Interior are discussing ways to avoid impacts to the range, and Bingham is pushing for a “win-win solution.” As they search for common ground, any decision must protect White Sands and its critical role in national security.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p /> | Editorial: Military mission takes priority over power line | false | https://abqjournal.com/267466/military-mission-takes-priority-over-power-line.html | 2013-09-23 | 2 |
<p />
<p>If you decide it's time to change your career path or find yourself unemployed, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/job/" type="external">job search Opens a New Window.</a>. Your new part-time job becomes figuring out what job boards are relevant, reading job descriptions, and&#160;filling out applications that seem to only grow in length.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The idea is to apply to&#160;as many jobs as possible and see what sticks, right?</p>
<p>May I suggest a new approach? Spend your time thinking about what you want out of your next career and apply for positions that will be rewarding to you. Though it may seem overwhelming,&#160;a job search is the perfect time to explore career possibilities and find the best possible fit. That is the employer's goal, and it should be yours as well.</p>
<p>Being intentional about your job search takes&#160;time, but it is time well spent – especially when you end up landing a job you love.</p>
<p>Here&#160;is how you can be intentional in your next job search:</p>
<p>1. Visualize</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Before you run to your first Indeed search, take time to figure out what you want from your next career – then write it down.</p>
<p>Consider all your previous experiences, including your likes, dislikes, need-to-haves, and nice-to-haves. You must prioritize what you're looking for in your next job. Once you have a solid list of career aspirations, don't compromise on your needs. As a recruiter, I would much rather be turned down by a candidate than have to reject a candidate because the position is not a good fit.</p>
<p>Creating a&#160;list of career aspirations will also help you when crafting cover letters and answering interview questions about your motivations, ideal culture, etc. You'll be fully aware of&#160;why the position is a perfect fit for you!</p>
<p>2. Research</p>
<p>You don't know what you don't know. Your dream job could be in an industry that doesn't exist yet or is just blossoming. Find out what jobs are in demand and what the employment forecasts are for the coming years. Automation and machine learning will shift the job market dramatically in the future, so you must take this changing landscape into account as you plot your new career or job.</p>
<p>Prioritize your needs from your career aspiration list: location, position, benefits, work/life alignment, etc. Begin researching your top priority, then work through the rest of your needs. If you can't relocate, start your job search in your hometown. If you are open to moving, research your dream companies. Explore all opportunities, and don't be afraid to add to your career aspiration list throughout your research.</p>
<p>Build a list of companies to watch for future openings and positions that are a good fit now. Be picky. Do not apply for every job. In the same way that employers seriously consider applicants, you should seriously consider potential employers before applying.&#160;Do not waste your (and the recruiters') time on applications for jobs that are not a good fit.</p>
<p>3. Apply</p>
<p>Before you sit down to submit your application, read the job description. Don't skim it – read it. Think through why this role is great&#160;for you and why you are a great candidate for it. Once you understand the reasons you are a great candidate, it becomes much easier to write a cover letter that responds to the job description.</p>
<p>You should absolutely submit a unique cover letter with each application. A cover letter is a great opportunity to help&#160;recruiters visualize you in&#160;their roles. Proofread your cover letter multiple times, then have a&#160;friend proofread it, too.</p>
<p>An easily forgotten rule when applying to jobs is to actually follow the directions in the application! Contrary to popular belief, good recruiters read every single resume and cover letter that comes through our systems. Your application does not disappear into the abyss. If you don't follow directions, you risk not being taken seriously as a candidate.</p>
<p>Think of your application as the first step in your journey to getting your dream job. If you struggle with the idea of writing a unique cover letter for every position, think about the fact that someone else is taking the application more seriously than you. All pieces of the interview process are important&#160;to eventually landing your dream role.</p>
<p>4. Interview</p>
<p>Remember when you did that research to find the job you wanted? The interview is a perfect time to whip your knowledge out and impress the employer. Research the company's website, news, Glassdoor profile, and social media presence. Be ready with specific reasons as to why you're excited about working with the company.</p>
<p>Be ready to talk about your experience, too. Would you be able to talk about a specific bullet point on your resume from three years ago if someone asked you about it? It may seem silly to brush up on your own&#160;experience, but you want to make sure you are ready to provide high-impact examples for every question asked.</p>
<p>Research common interview questions as well and write down your answers ahead of time or practice them&#160;with a friend. Preparing in advance gives you more confidence during the interview itself.</p>
<p>Remember that the recruiter you are talking to is a human. Interviews should be conversations, not exams. Sure, you should prepare for the interview as if it were a test, but when the day itself arrives, you should let your personality shine. Make a good impression. Tell your potential employer everything you need to tell them.</p>
<p>Ask questions – always. The interview is your chance to confirm that your research is correct and the job is the best fit for you and you are the best fit for it.&#160;You won't be a good fit for every open position, nor will every company be a&#160;good fit for you. Keep your list of aspirations in mind throughout the interview process.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Though I cannot guarantee that you will get your dream job if you follow these steps, I assure you that you will have a better experience throughout your job search. Take control of your future and be intentional about your career in 2017!</p>
<p>Molly Scheller is the senior HR coordinator at <a href="http://www.hanapinmarketing.com/" type="external">Hanapin Marketing Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | How to Be Intentional With Your Job Search | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/01/18/how-to-be-intentional-with-your-job-search.html | 2017-01-23 | 0 |
<p>According to officials from the National Institutes of Health, circumcision <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/health/14hiv.html?ex=1323752400&amp;en=af128f63110c1c4d&amp;ei=5088&amp;partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss" type="external">reduces the risk</a> in men of contracting HIV through heterosexual sex by roughly 50%. The announcement was based on several recent studies conducted in Africa.</p>
<p>New York Times:</p>
<p>The two trials, conducted by researchers from universities in Illinois, Maryland, Canada, Uganda and Kenya, involved nearly 3,000 heterosexual men in Kisumu, Kenya, and nearly 5,000 in Rakai, Uganda. None were infected with H.I.V. They were divided into circumcised and uncircumcised groups, given safe sex advice (although many presumably did not take it), and retested regularly.</p>
<p>The trials were stopped this week by the N.I.H. Data Safety and Monitoring Board after data showed that the Kenyan men had a 53 percent reduction in new H.I.V. infection. Twenty-two of the 1,393 circumcised men in that study caught the disease, compared with 47 of the 1,391 uncircumcised men.</p>
<p />
<p>In Uganda, the reduction was 48 percent.</p>
<p>Those results echo the finding of a trial completed last year in Orange Farm, a township in South Africa, financed by the French government, which demonstrated a reduction of 60 percent among circumcised men.</p>
<p>The two largest agencies dedicated to fighting AIDS said they would now be willing to pay for circumcisions, which they have not before because there was too little evidence that it worked.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/health/14hiv.html?ex=1323752400&amp;en=af128f63110c1c4d&amp;ei=5088&amp;partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Circumcision Reduces AIDS Risk | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/circumcision-reduces-aids-risk/ | 2006-12-14 | 4 |
<p>Stanley Black &amp; Decker (NYSE:SWK) saw its fourth-quarter earnings increase sharply amid strong construction and do-it-yourself sales.</p>
<p>Net sales climbed 4% to $2.67 billion, driving a profit of $492.1 million, or $2.99 a share, that topped $164 million and per-share earnings of 98 cents a year earlier. Excluding merger and acquisition charges and other items, adjusted earnings rose to $1.37 a share from $1.22.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company last month projected adjusted per-share earnings of $1.28. Analysts had anticipated sales of $2.62 billion.</p>
<p>“The close of 2012 marked a transformational year for the company as we continued our successful evolution into a diversified global industrial enterprise well-positioned for long-term value creation,” Stanley Black &amp; Decker's chief executive John F. Lundgren said in a statement.</p>
<p>Sales in Stanley Black &amp; Decker’s largest segment, construction and do-it-yourself offerings, rose 8.3%. Its industrial segment reported a sales increase of 1.5%, while sales in the security segment declined 1.7%.</p>
<p>For 2013, the company said it expects adjusted earnings of $5.40 to $5.65 a share, below analysts’ forecast of $5.69 a share. Stanley Black &amp; Decker added that it foresees a continuation of the modest growth in U.S. housing, which should help offset slowly recovering security and industrial end markets.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Stanley Black &amp; Decker, which was created after the 2010 merger of Stanley Works and Black &amp; Decker, has suffered in recent quarters from integration costs. It announced plans to cut jobs and suspend acquisition activity to focus on the company’s growth.</p>
<p>“The success of the Black &amp; Decker merger further validates our Company's acquisition integration capabilities. Looking forward, we are confident in our ability to adapt and apply our expertise and specialized skills in this area to fuel organic growth initiatives,” Lundgren added.</p>
<p>The New Britain, Conn.-based company sold its hardware and home improvement group last month for $1.4 billion to Spectrum Brands Holdings (NYSE:SPB). It earlier agreed to acquire Hong Kong’s Infastech, a fastener manufacturer, for $850 million.</p>
<p>Shares of Stanley Black &amp; Decker were down 47 cents to $77.49 a share Thursday morning.</p> | Stanley Black & Decker 4Q Profit Soars | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/01/24/stanley-black-decker-4q-profit-soars.html | 2016-01-25 | 0 |
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-174205493/stock-photo-new-york-ny-january-ray-rice-attends-the-rd-annual-nfl-characters-unite-at-sports.html?src=WgkkY1-dV5abYQ2oTa7-_A-1-1" type="external">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p>What happens behind closed doors — or rather closing doors — does not always stay behind them. Not for former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, apparently.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, another key development emerged in Rice’s domestic violence controversy, as TMZ on Monday <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/08/ray-rice-elevator-knockout-fiancee-takes-crushing-punch-video/" type="external">released a video</a> depicting the shocking events that took place on that fateful Atlantic City elevator ride in February. The video shows Rice throwing two punches at his then-fiancée and now-wife Janay Palmer, knocking her unconscious. Before the elevator doors close, Rice strikes Palmer, and as she moves to retaliate, he strikes her again, causing her to hit the elevator wall and lose consciousness.</p>
<p />
<p>The tape then shows Rice calmly dragging her out of the elevator before a hotel employee spots them. Perhaps the most chilling part of the episode is when Palmer regains consciousness and Rice puts his arm around her, as if to comfort her.</p>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/1CSzH2b" type="external">Also read: NFL Boss Roger Goodell Makes Up for Dropping the Ball on Domestic Violence Policy</a></p>
<p>Though this latest video yielded more troubling details, the footage of Rice dragging Palmer had already been circulated, leading initially to the equivalent of a slap on the wrist — a two-game suspension — by the NFL, followed by more stringent punishment from the league after the first meager penalty sparked an outcry. The new release has pushed the NFL to suspend Rice indefinitely, causing his termination from the Ravens and stirring up more public debate. Even President Obama has taken the time to address the issue, commenting in a <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/president-barack-obama-comments-on-ray-rice-situation-014612086.html" type="external">statement</a> read Monday by White House spokesman Josh Earnest that “hitting a woman is not something a real man does.”</p>
<p>So Rice is out of a job; plus, he’s been <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-09-09/sports/bal-ray-rice-to-be-removed-from-madden-video-game-dropped-by-nike-20140909_1_video-game-janay-palmer-ray-rice" type="external">dropped</a> by sponsors and erased from EA Sports’ “Madden NFL 15” video game, and he’ll have to attend mandatory counseling sessions for a year. Where do we find Palmer in all of this? On Instagram, posting <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/janay-rice-woman-defending-ray-rice/story?id=25378681" type="external">hopeful messages</a> such as: “If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow &amp; show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!” and “To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his a** off for all his life just to gain ratings is a horrific [sic]. THIS IS OUR LIFE!”. The “OUR” in this equation, of course, also includes the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Rayvan Rice.</p>
<p>Finally, further demonstrating that everyone loses (except TMZ) in a situation like this, the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, who for a moment seemed to make an <a href="" type="internal">effective apology</a> and take a firmer stance on domestic violence on behalf of the league, ended up with a little PR problem on their hands after Monday’s TMZ update. Goodell insisted on the “CBS Evening News” on Tuesday that he and everyone else in the NFL hadn’t seen the new footage, but as The Boston Globe’s Christopher L. Gasper <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/09/09/nfl-gambled-that-ray-rice-video-would-remain-concealed-and-lost/MALPXu3G3DQUA9cfsk3ovN/story.html" type="external">pointed out</a> Wednesday, “it defies credulity that TMZ.com could get its hands on the video and the most powerful sports league in North America, a league populated with influential billionaires and masters of the universe, couldn’t procure it.” We’ll let Gasper have the last word below:</p>
<p>The NFL gambled and it lost. It lost respect. It lost dignity. It lost some of the shine on its precious shield the moment the heinous surveillance video was glimpsed. The NFL closed its eyes and expected everyone else to do the same.</p>
<p>There is a willful suspension of disbelief that goes along with the business of the NFL, where the players are indistinguishable from the product. The players, portrayed, packaged and sold as superheroes are in reality flawed human beings, some with deeper flaws than others. The coaches, the general managers, the owners, the commissioner don’t really want to know what malice their players are capable of off the field, as long as they’re producing for them on it.</p>
<p>–Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Clara Romeo</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Kasia Anderson</a></p> | No Winners in Ray Rice's Game | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/no-winners-in-ray-rices-game/ | 2014-09-10 | 4 |
<p>KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (AP) — Containers of straws sit on the counter at Outer Banks Brewing Station with signs that discourage people from using them.</p>
<p>They say straws are bad for the ocean and sea turtles get sick from ingesting them.</p>
<p>"We don't offer a straw unless they want one," said bartender Vincent Thorpe.</p>
<p>They aren't even plastic anymore. Last summer, the restaurant began stocking straws made of firm paper.</p>
<p>Outer Banks Brewing Station is among the first businesses on the Outer Banks to quit serving drinks with plastic straws. There is a movement led by the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island to get more to follow.</p>
<p>It comes on the heels of a spat over plastic bags. Earlier this year, North Carolina lawmakers reversed a ban on the bags against the wishes of many Outer Banks businesses and the boards of Dare County and towns. Most stores continue to use paper bags.</p>
<p>This time, proponents want to educate people about the hazards of plastic straws rather than make a law.</p>
<p>"We're finding it's not that hard of a sell," said Dia Hitt, education curator for the aquarium. "You can be part of a movement."</p>
<p>Leslie Vegas, who cares for marine life at the aquarium, is making a pitch to local businesses to stop using plastic straws. And she hopes to get plastic- recycling bins placed at beach access points. She also is promoting beach cleanups on social media, giving prizes to people who pick up plastic trash and send a photo to the Instagram account @obx5minutebeachcleanup or the email address [email protected].</p>
<p>Americans use about 500 million plastic straws a day, according to the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Later, the plastic breaks into smaller pieces with harmful chemicals, aquarium director Maylon White said.</p>
<p>"They may be affecting us in ways we don't even realize," White said.</p>
<p>Microscopic pieces of plastic even have been found in mussels in remote ocean habitats worldwide, according to a study by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. Bits of plastic get caught in sea turtles' intestines, causing them to have trouble eating, White said.</p>
<p>Outer Banks Brewing Station offers Aardvark Straws. The company with the same name that makes them has ties to Marvin Stone, the man who invented and patented the paper straw in 1888, according to its website.</p>
<p>The company began producing paper straws again in 2007 for Ted Turner's earth-friendly restaurant in Montana, said Kara Woodring, a sales representative for Indiana-based Aardvark Straws.</p>
<p>The national movement against plastic straws started about two years ago , she said. Now, millions of the tough paper straws that break down in a couple of months are sold worldwide. The West Coast is leading the way, but Aardvark Straws has partnered with East Coast groups, including the Outer Banks chapter of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, Woodring said.</p>
<p>"The East Coast is catching on quickly," she said.</p>
<p>Education programs at the aquarium include segments about the harm plastics cause in the ocean. Staff lead games about sea life and offer prizes such as stainless steel straws with a cleaning brush, aquarium educator Morgan Freese said.</p>
<p>Before this year, the game winners got more traditional children's prizes, like little plastic pirate swords.</p>
<p>"At some point, we realized, 'Oh my gosh, we're part of the problem,' " White said.</p>
<p>The aquarium is not against all plastic, White said. The bins used to store the stainless steel straw prizes are made of it. Tubs used to hold injured sea turtles are plastic.</p>
<p>The problem, White said, is single-use plastic.</p>
<p>"The ocean is our territory," White said. "We felt a responsibility to look at ways to lessen dependence on single-use plastic."</p>
<p>KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (AP) — Containers of straws sit on the counter at Outer Banks Brewing Station with signs that discourage people from using them.</p>
<p>They say straws are bad for the ocean and sea turtles get sick from ingesting them.</p>
<p>"We don't offer a straw unless they want one," said bartender Vincent Thorpe.</p>
<p>They aren't even plastic anymore. Last summer, the restaurant began stocking straws made of firm paper.</p>
<p>Outer Banks Brewing Station is among the first businesses on the Outer Banks to quit serving drinks with plastic straws. There is a movement led by the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island to get more to follow.</p>
<p>It comes on the heels of a spat over plastic bags. Earlier this year, North Carolina lawmakers reversed a ban on the bags against the wishes of many Outer Banks businesses and the boards of Dare County and towns. Most stores continue to use paper bags.</p>
<p>This time, proponents want to educate people about the hazards of plastic straws rather than make a law.</p>
<p>"We're finding it's not that hard of a sell," said Dia Hitt, education curator for the aquarium. "You can be part of a movement."</p>
<p>Leslie Vegas, who cares for marine life at the aquarium, is making a pitch to local businesses to stop using plastic straws. And she hopes to get plastic- recycling bins placed at beach access points. She also is promoting beach cleanups on social media, giving prizes to people who pick up plastic trash and send a photo to the Instagram account @obx5minutebeachcleanup or the email address [email protected].</p>
<p>Americans use about 500 million plastic straws a day, according to the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Later, the plastic breaks into smaller pieces with harmful chemicals, aquarium director Maylon White said.</p>
<p>"They may be affecting us in ways we don't even realize," White said.</p>
<p>Microscopic pieces of plastic even have been found in mussels in remote ocean habitats worldwide, according to a study by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. Bits of plastic get caught in sea turtles' intestines, causing them to have trouble eating, White said.</p>
<p>Outer Banks Brewing Station offers Aardvark Straws. The company with the same name that makes them has ties to Marvin Stone, the man who invented and patented the paper straw in 1888, according to its website.</p>
<p>The company began producing paper straws again in 2007 for Ted Turner's earth-friendly restaurant in Montana, said Kara Woodring, a sales representative for Indiana-based Aardvark Straws.</p>
<p>The national movement against plastic straws started about two years ago , she said. Now, millions of the tough paper straws that break down in a couple of months are sold worldwide. The West Coast is leading the way, but Aardvark Straws has partnered with East Coast groups, including the Outer Banks chapter of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, Woodring said.</p>
<p>"The East Coast is catching on quickly," she said.</p>
<p>Education programs at the aquarium include segments about the harm plastics cause in the ocean. Staff lead games about sea life and offer prizes such as stainless steel straws with a cleaning brush, aquarium educator Morgan Freese said.</p>
<p>Before this year, the game winners got more traditional children's prizes, like little plastic pirate swords.</p>
<p>"At some point, we realized, 'Oh my gosh, we're part of the problem,' " White said.</p>
<p>The aquarium is not against all plastic, White said. The bins used to store the stainless steel straw prizes are made of it. Tubs used to hold injured sea turtles are plastic.</p>
<p>The problem, White said, is single-use plastic.</p>
<p>"The ocean is our territory," White said. "We felt a responsibility to look at ways to lessen dependence on single-use plastic."</p> | Movement under way to rid Outer Banks of plastic straws | false | https://apnews.com/amp/17067426756b4cde9def507543eb18e5 | 2017-12-31 | 2 |
<p>CHICAGO — It was a positive outcome in <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jon_Lester/" type="external">Jon Lester</a>‘s return from the disabled list on Saturyday, but it was an otherwise awkward day for the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Chicago-Cubs/" type="external">Chicago Cubs</a>.</p>
<p>Lester (9-7) picked up the win with his five-inning effort while the Cubs piled up 10 runs on his behalf through the first four innings.</p>
<p>But Atlanta rallied for eight runs over the last three innings and had the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth before Chicago finally secured a 14-12 victory.</p>
<p>“It was a little bit of a weird game for everyone,” said Lester, who survived one rocky inning as he came off a 14-day disabled list stay for the start and win. (But) I felt like the ball was coming off pretty well. Maybe a couple of pitch selections to have back, but we won the game.”</p>
<p>Rene Rivera clubbed a grand slam home run while <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Anthony-Rizzo/" type="external">Anthony Rizzo</a> capped a 2-for-5 day with a bases-clearing triple as the Cubs ran their winning streak to six.</p>
<p>Braves starter Lucas Sims (2-5) dropped his second straight in three-plus inning outing, his shortest of the season.</p>
<p>Atlanta produced a three-run ninth off relievers <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Brian_Duensing/" type="external">Brian Duensing</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Wade_Davis/" type="external">Wade Davis</a> before Davis finally quelled the rally as <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Freddie_Freeman/" type="external">Freddie Freeman</a>, the potential tying run, struck out.</p>
<p>“It was difficult, but we won it,” said Cubs manager <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Joe_Maddon/" type="external">Joe Maddon</a>. “We did a lot of good things and then we had to hang on. … They (the Braves) really worked some good at-bats.”</p>
<p>The Cubs (75-60) can claim their second consecutive series sweep with a Sunday victory. They took three straight from the Pirates earlier this week. The Braves (59-75) have lost three in a row.</p>
<p>Rivera went 2-for-4, while <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Javier-Baez/" type="external">Javier Baez</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jason_Heyward/" type="external">Jason Heyward</a> also had two hits for Chicago.</p>
<p>Dansby Swanson went 3-for-5, Ozzie Albies was 3-for-4 while Freddie Freeman, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kurt_Suzuki/" type="external">Kurt Suzuki</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Matt_Kemp/" type="external">Matt Kemp</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Nick_Markakis/" type="external">Nick Markakis</a> and each had a pair of hits as the Braves collected 17 hits.</p>
<p>Rivera clubbed his first career grand slam with one out in the second for 4-0 lead.</p>
<p>Acquired off waivers from the Mets on Aug. 19, Rivera launched Sims’ 0-2 pitch down the left-field line where it ricocheted off the foul pole for his ninth homer of the season.</p>
<p>The Braves roughed up Lester for four hits and three runs in the third.</p>
<p>Freeman hit his 24th homer on a first pitch with one out to drive in Albies. Kemp followed with a first-pitch shot to left for his 15th homer and trimmed the Cubs’ lead to 4-3.</p>
<p>Markakis then lined a double left but Suzuki grounded to third and Swanson flied to center as <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jon_Jay/" type="external">Jon Jay</a> made a diving catch for the final out.</p>
<p>Baez made it 5-3 in the third with his 21st home, a solo shot to left on a 2-2 pitch with two out.</p>
<p>Lester gave up his third homer of the afternoon in the fourth on Rio Ruiz’ shot to left as the Braves crept back to within one run at 5-4.</p>
<p>Sims walked Lester and gave up a base hit to Jay before being pulled in what turned into a five-run Cubs fifth. Left-handed reliever Ian Krol entered and walked Kyle Schwarber to load the bases for Rizzo’s bases-clearing triple and 100th RBI of the season.</p>
<p>Rizzo trotted home on a two-out double by Baez and Jason Heyward singled to left to score Baez as the lead grew to 10-4.</p>
<p>Two of the runs were charged to Sims, who allowed seven runs on six hits while walking four and striking out four in his three-plus inning outing. Krol allowed three runs on three hits over two innings.</p>
<p>“You can’t pitch like we did and expect to win,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “It wasn’t very good as we need. It was good that we came back and scored the runs, but we made way, way too many mistakes.”</p>
<p>Lester was pulled for a pinch hitter in the fifth. He allowed four runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out three over a five-inning, 92-pitch outing.</p>
<p>In the sixth, Bryant scored from third on a <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Luke_Jackson/" type="external">Luke Jackson</a> wild pitch for the Cubs’ 11th run.</p>
<p>Atlanta cut the gap with three seventh inning runs, all charged to left-handed reliever <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Justin_Wilson/" type="external">Justin Wilson</a>. The big blow was Markakis’ two-run double scoring Albies and Freeman.</p>
<p>The Cubs got two runs back in their seventh on a two-run single by <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Albert-Almora/" type="external">Albert Almora</a> Jr. He brought home Rivera and Tommy La Stella to make it 13-7. Freeman’s eighth inning double off <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Carl_Edwards/" type="external">Carl Edwards</a> Jr. scored Lane Adams and Kemp’s fielder’s choice grounder plated Jace Peterson to cut the deficit to 13-9.</p>
<p>Heyward closed Cubs scoring with his ninth homer of the season in the eighth.</p>
<p>NOTES: Since reaching the .500 mark (45-45) with a win on July 16, the Braves have gone an NL-worst 14-30. … Rookie INF Dansby Swanson has hit safely in 18 of his last 22 games. … Braves LHP Max Fried (0-0, 5.40 ERA) makes his fifth appearance and first career start as he goes against Cubs LHP <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Mike-Montgomery/" type="external">Mike Montgomery</a> (5-6, 3.29 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale. … Chicago officially activated LHP Jon Lester off the disabled list prior to Saturday’s start. They also called up newly-acquired OF Leonys Martin from Triple-A Iowa while designating LJHP Jack Leathersich for assignment.</p> | Chicago Cubs hang on to defeat Atlanta Braves | false | https://newsline.com/chicago-cubs-hang-on-to-defeat-atlanta-braves/ | 2017-09-03 | 1 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Friends and relatives of Theresa Vigil, 51, and Austin Urban, 16 — both allegedly shot to death by Vigil’s landlord in a dispute over $100 in back rent in January — kept their emotions in check for the first hour or so of murder suspect Arthur Anaya’s preliminary hearing Tuesday.</p>
<p>But when a prosecutor played a cellphone recording of the aftermath of the shooting, sobs broke out in the courtroom.</p>
<p>A man said to be Anaya can be heard on the recording referring to the wounded and dying Vigil as a “(expletive) bitch” and ordering witnesses to put the two shooting victims in the trunk of a car, according a police examination of the recording.</p>
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<p>“Pick them up, put them in the trunk and get them the (expletive) out of here,” the police account of the recording quotes Anaya as saying.</p>
<p>“They were acting up and now they are not acting (expletive),” Anaya says.</p>
<p>The recording is an unusual piece of evidence. According to testimony Tuesday, it was created when, after she was shot, Vigil called her son’s number — her last phone call ever.</p>
<p>Anaya grabbed the phone away from Vigil and stuck it in his jacket pocket, not realizing the phone was still in the middle of a call, testified Natalie Vigil, Theresa’s daughter, who was present at the shootings.</p>
<p>Vigil’s son did not answer the call. The son’s phone subsequently recorded, as a voice mail, Anaya as he yelled orders and expletives at Natalie and another teenaged witness for close to four minutes just after the shootings.</p>
<p>A voice that apparently is Natalie’s can be heard crying out in the background.</p>
<p>Anaya, 54, has been held without bail since his arrest following a days-long manhunt after the January shootings. Anaya has had mental problems in the past, as detailed in files that are part of an extensive criminal record, but he was recently found competent to stand trial.</p>
<p>He faces two first-degree murder counts and other charges and has entered not-guilty pleas.</p>
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<p>Natalie Vigil, 17, Theresa’s daughter and Austin Urban’s girlfriend, has said previously that Anaya came to the mobile home the mother and daughter lived in off Old Agua Fria Road, south of the Interstate 25-St. Francis Drive interchange, on Jan. 23 and demanded the monthly rent. Anaya or his family owned the residence and rented it to the Vigils.</p>
<p>When the Vigils were $100 short, an argument ensued and Anaya punched both Theresa and Natalie Vigil, according to Natalie’s account. When Urban tried to intervene, he shot Urban and then Theresa Vigil, the daughter says.</p>
<p>Anaya initially tried to get Natalie and another witness — Javier Salcido, 17, who was playing video games with Urban before the gunfire — to put the two shooting victims in a car trunk.</p>
<p>According to testimony from Natalie on Tuesday, Anaya eventually abandoned the trunk idea and helped Salcido get her mother into the seat of Natalie’s car. Natalie and Salcido took Theresa, still alive but with a gunshot wound to the head, to the hospital, where she later died.</p>
<p>In the preliminary hearing that started Tuesday, state District Judge Stephen Pfeffer will decide if there is probable cause for the case to proceed toward trial. The hearing will continue June 12.</p>
<p>Voice mail evidence</p>
<p>Prosecutor Tim Williams played the voice mail recording left on the phone of Theresa Vigil’s son in court Tuesday. It was largely inaudible and distorted-sounding in a single listening, although a few phrases such as “give me that phone,” “get these bodies out of here” and “rat” could be understood.</p>
<p>Santa Fe County sheriff’s Detective Joshua David, lead case agent in the murder investigation, said he listened to the recording more than 30 times and came up with the synopsis that was submitted as a prosecution exhibit Tuesday.</p>
<p>In the voice mail, Anaya first demands the phone from Theresa Vigil and that the shooting victims be put into a car trunk.</p>
<p>At one point, according to David’s analysis, Anaya says, “What, you want me to go to jail? You think I’m going to prison for these (expletives)?”</p>
<p>Another time, he says, “You said you’re going to rat. You’re a (expletive) rat, dude. Are you calling me a liar?”</p>
<p>Also on the tape, according to David: “Come on now, calm down, we’re gonna get these bodies out of here.”</p>
<p>“Ask you what happened next, you tell them you don’t know a (expletive) thing. … Now I have to go on the lam.”</p>
<p>Natalie, in her testimony, gave essentially the same account of the shooting that has been detailed in police reports filed in court and an interview with the Journal shortly after the shootings.</p>
<p>She testified her mother was shot “within seconds” of Anaya first shooting Urban. Her mother was shot in the head and Urban was shot above his lip, according to Tuesday’s testimony.</p>
<p>Anaya told her and Salcido, Urban’s friend, “to get the bodies and go dump them off,” Natalie said in court.</p>
<p>But she could tell her mother was still alive. Theresa “was pulling out her phone and trying to call somebody,” Natalie testified. Anaya took the phone and put it in his jacket pocket. “He thought it was hung up but it wasn’t,” she said.</p>
<p>“I told Arthur, ‘This is all a dream,’ ” Natalie testified, and Anaya responded, “It’s not a (expletive) dream. It’s real.”</p>
<p>Anaya said “he was not going back to prison,” Natalie said.</p>
<p>‘Don’t hit my mom’</p>
<p>Salcido had trouble testifying during Tuesday’s hearing, often freezing or tearing up or remaining silent when asked questions.</p>
<p>But he did manage to provide details. He said that from a small bedroom in the mobile home where he and Urban had been playing video games, he heard Anaya and Theresa Vigil arguing and heard noises like someone being punched. He said he heard Natalie saying, “Please don’t hit my mom.”</p>
<p>When Urban went to investigate, Salcido said, he heard Urban say, “Why are you hitting my girlfriend? Why are you hitting girls?” He said he saw Anaya pointing a gun at Urban and Urban saying, “If you’re gonna shoot me, shoot me.” Salcido then heard two shots. Urban fell back. When Salcido tried to move him, “his face was full of blood.”</p>
<p>“I was scared,” Salcido said. “I thought it was going to happen to me.”</p>
<p>He said he once tried to move Urban, when Anaya ordered that the shooting victims be put in the trunk of Natalie’s car, but he couldn’t lift his friend.</p>
<p>“I remember him (Anaya) saying, ‘I ain’t going to prison for you.’ ”</p>
<p>Salcido also testified that Anaya said that “if we ratted on him, he was gonna kill us.” Natalie Vigil gave similar testimony, saying Anaya told the two teens “he would kill us if we rat.”</p>
<p>Eventually, Anaya — who lived in a separate residence on the same property — helped Salcido carry the wounded Theresa Vigil to the car. And, Salcido said, Anaya gave him back the cellphones he had confiscated from Natalie and Salcido.</p>
<p>Natalie said she was bleeding herself, from where Anaya hit her before the shooting started, and needed stitches at the hospital.</p>
<p>Natalie also said Anaya put the gun used in the shootings in a lunch box and carried it around like that until she and Salcido drove off to the hospital.</p>
<p>David, the lead detective on the case, said two loaded revolvers, ammunition, knives, drug paraphernalia and a powdery substance consistent with cocaine or ground-up pills were found in the vacant mobile home where Anaya was arrested following a SWAT standoff a few days after the shootings, not far from where Theresa Vigil and Urban were killed.</p> | Audio Recording Rattles Relatives | false | https://abqjournal.com/109628/audio-recording-rattles-relatives.html | 2012-05-30 | 2 |
<p>Director Roman Polanski’s 1977 sex crime case has become an international and intergenerational saga, now that members of at least four governments have become involved, the former minor in question has grown up and requested that the issue be put to rest, and the original judge has been dead since 1993. However, after Polanski’s arrest last Saturday in Zurich, it’s clear this drama is far from over.</p>
<p>The filmmaker, 76, who holds French and Polish citizenship, was en route to accept a lifetime achievement award last weekend when he was detained by Swiss police — a move that angered some of his allies from the entertainment industry and added yet another controversial chapter to his tumultuous life story and, as the Los Angeles Times’ Patrick Goldstein <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/roman-polanski-still-being-stalked-by-la-county-prosecutors.html" type="external">noted</a> on Sunday, made Polanski a fugitive once again. He will probably contest an expected extradition request from the United States, but according to his lawyer, Polanski’s in a “fighting mood.” –KA</p>
<p>Update: Click <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/article/petition-release-roman-polanski-7901" type="external">here</a> to see a petition signed by dozens of Polanski’s allies in the international entertainment community, including Pedro Almodovar, Wes Anderson, Jeanne Moreau, Monica Bellucci and Wim Wenders.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p />
<p>Mr Polanski’s agent, Jeff Berg, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the arrest was “surprising because Roman for the last 12, 15 years has lived in Switzerland, he has a home, he travels there, he works there”.</p>
<p>Justice spokesman Guido Balmer said the difference with this particular trip was that authorities knew exactly when and where Mr Polanski would arrive.</p>
<p>Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said that because of agreements with the US, “when Mr Polanski arrived we had no choice from a legal point of view but to arrest him”.</p>
<p>Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley comments on Roman Polanski’s arrest</p>
<p>The Swiss media has rounded on the authorities.</p>
<p>“Switzerland let a guest walk into a nasty trap. We should be ashamed,” said tabloid newspaper Blick.</p>
<p>Daily paper Le Temps said Switzerland had “shocked film buffs and friends of the arts with its kindly and efficient co-operation with US justice. It has angered Poland and France”.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8279466.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Polanski Preps for a Fight After Arrest | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/polanski-preps-for-a-fight-after-arrest/ | 2009-09-29 | 4 |
<p>Drug giant AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) has poached Roche executive Pascal Soriot as chief executive, ending a months-long period of uncertainty after former CEO David Brennan suddenly retired at the age of 58 in April.</p>
<p>AstraZeneca said on Tuesday that he will take the helm and become executive director of the company’s board on Oct. 1, replacing interim CEO Simon Lowth.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Lowth, who was also among the candidates considered for the permanent position, will resume his responsibilities as chief financial officer and continue to serve as an executive director of the board.</p>
<p>Having first entered the pharmaceutical industry in 1986, Soriot has served as chief operating officer of Roche since 2010 where the 53-year old French national was responsible for the development, manufacturing, commercial operations and administration for the pharmaceutical business, which has 44,000 employees and recorded 2011 sales of $34 billion.</p>
<p>Earlier, Soriot served as CEO of Genentech where he was credited with leading the merger between the San Francisco-based biologics business and Roche.</p>
<p>"This is a key appointment at an important time for AstraZeneca and we are certain that Pascal's leadership qualities combined with his strategic thinking and relevant experience make him the right person to drive the company to success over the coming years,” the drug company’s chairman Leif Johansson said in a statement.</p>
<p>The management shake up comes months after Brennan quit at the end of May following investor anxiety over lackluster performance. The No. 2 drug maker in the U.K. by sales has been slow to bring blockbuster drugs to market as some of its biggest drugs face generic competition.</p>
<p>Buoyed for a while by cost-cutting initiatives, investors have become worried about its growth prospects. In July, AstraZeneca reported a 24% decline in quarter profit.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | AstraZeneca Nabs Roche Exec as New CEO | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/08/28/astrazeneca-grabs-roche-pharma-head-as-new-ceo.html | 2016-01-26 | 0 |
<p>Miami developers, whose condominiums are nearly completed, could tap into a new source of revenue based on a news report from the Florida coastal town, Punta Gorda.</p>
<p>There, police arrested a couple having sex atop a 100 foot high construction crane. “The man, who worked at the site and had keys to the crane, told officers he was photographing the city skyline.”</p>
<p>For the foreseeable future, renting out crane cabs for sex would generate a higher percentage profit than selling condominiums in unfinished buildings.</p>
<p>What is happening to Miami real estate markets and its skyline dotted with cranes atop unfinished condominiums is both predictable and terrifying.And because it is terrifying, not a single elected official is copping to responsibility in the unfolding collapse, spurred by their blind enthusiasm for zoning and permitting decisions and the influence of campaign contributors and the bill-by-the-hour development lobby.</p>
<p>Today’s Miami Herald documents the pain felt especially in some of Miami’s poorer neighborhoods where increasing numbers of homeowners are facing foreclosure.</p>
<p>The poor are always hit the hardest by corruption and fraud: the landmarks of the housing boom as with all sorts of pollution.</p>
<p>They are also hit, first, on the bottom step. But the entire economic ladder is being shaken hard and under-reported by the mainstream media.</p>
<p>Lots of people in high places (measured not by construction crane height) are praying that the mortgage fiasco resolves itself quiety. Elected officials who presided over the mess have their game faces on.</p>
<p>Government officials—in Congress and the White House—are scrambling to come up with plans to stage-manage the fallout (urging “cooperative” efforts of financial institutions to work out billions of loans generated in the enthusiasm of the “ownership society”—remember that?).</p>
<p>The Florida legislature has been engaged in a highly publicized effort to “jump start” the Growth Machine by slashing property taxes. But when all is said and done, the proposed relief of 7 percent is mired in delusion.</p>
<p>Over the last year revenue that Florida collects from real estate transactions dipped 25 percent, “causing overall tax revenue to fall for the first time since the 1970’s.” (New York Times, June 15, 2007)</p>
<p>So, at the same time that damage in Miami’s condominium, mid-price and upper price housing markets is just beginning, cuts in tax revenue piled atop declining tax base are setting the stage for recession and social unrest.</p>
<p>The billion-dollar Boca Development—that focused on coastal condos—is trying to shed hundreds of millions of assets. Production home builders are burning cash under conditions of tighening credit and balooning inventory.</p>
<p>The NY Times reports, today, that a Bear Stearns “set of hedge funds” tied to leveraged mortgage portfolios is down 23 percent “and recently suspended redemptions, prohibiting investors from getting their money back.”</p>
<p>If you own shares in a hedge fund, you will never know if its managers have been buying Miami condominiums until it is too late to do anything about it.</p>
<p>One is tempted to say, speculation is an individual and personal choice. But not when the societal outcomes are so severe.</p>
<p>The notion that what is happening in real estate markets is inconsequential is reinforced, almost like a mantra, by the financial elite.</p>
<p>According to the NY Times, “None of the finance officials at the banks expressed concern about the recent spike in interest rates, suggesting that the market’s adverse reaction passed quickly and that spikes occur every year. ‘As long as we continue to see that kind of benign environment—good availability of economic liquidity—I don’t think it will have much of an effect on our business,” Mr. Viniar (chief financial officer of Goldman Sachs) said.” In markets like Miami, governed primarily by speculators, thousands of investors are not facing the future with the same equanimity.</p>
<p>In the next six months as Miami condominiums obtain certificates of occupancy the real Miami will begin to hurl, showing what was achieved by politicians in Tallahassee and Washington who promoted the “ownership society” as the replacement for the dot.com boom.</p>
<p>The stories are yet to be told of ordinary people who leveraged hard earned dollars into properties their ordinary incomes cannot afford.</p>
<p>But of communities in Florida, and developers who got their way by zoning changes and building permits in wetlands and farmland—suburban sprawl that should never have been allowed—every single taxpayer will be paying for terrible decisions made by their elected officials for a long, long time to come.</p>
<p>Those at the top of the Ponzi scheme, and the politicians they subsidized, will be on easy street—no matter how bad inflation gets or how many police officers scour crane cabs for couples engaged in free expression.</p>
<p>ALAN FARAGO of Coral Gables, who writes about the environment, can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | The View from a Construction Crane | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/06/15/the-view-from-a-construction-crane/ | 2007-06-15 | 4 |
<p>Concerned about developing a church security plan? Security expert <a href="http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/legalstudies/About/faculty.htm" type="external">Chester Quarles</a> suggests starting with a risk assessment.</p>
<p>"Risk assessment is usually historical. We need to know what has gone before," said Quarles, professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University of Mississippi.</p>
<p>"We need to know if an incident at another church could happen at ours. Then we can make a list of the threats and weaknesses that most concern our membership. We can look at crime trends and then rate our information by assigning a reliability factor to it."</p>
<p>Begin by contacting the local police department's crime prevention unit, he recommended.</p>
<p>"They can tell you of crimes in your neighborhood and of crimes against other churches in their jurisdiction," he said.</p>
<p>Quarles, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1887056130/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwbaptiststa-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=1887056130" type="external">Crime Prevention for Houses of Worship</a>, observed churches tend to deal with risk in any of five ways — avoidance, reduction, acceptance, spreading or transfer.</p>
<p>Risk avoidance attempts to remove or decrease exposure, while risk reduction seeks to limit risky activities.</p>
<p>"Risk acceptance is what most churches do now — nothing. It basically relies on the myth that there is very little that you can do to prevent or deter crime," he said.</p>
<p>"Risk spreading involves assigning functions to multiple individuals so that the loss impact is reduced." An example would be having two or three people take an offering to the bank for deposit, rather than one person doing it.</p>
<p>Risk transfer means shifting the risk to an insurance company or sharing the loss with another party, such as an armored car service, and thereby minimizing loss.</p>
<p>Churches have a moral and legal responsibility to manage risk, Quarles insisted.</p>
<p>"It should be noted, however, that security analyses, security policies, security plans and security procedures may be subpoenaed in the event of a premises liability lawsuit," he said.</p>
<p>"While the total lack of security planning is a strong negative issue, the problem of failing to live up to your own policies, procedures, and plans will certainly be exploited by opposing council in a lawsuit."</p>
<p>Ken Camp ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.</p> | Churches advised to begin by assessing risks | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/churchesadvisedtobeginbyassessingrisks/ | 3 |
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<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar held steady above a three-year low versus a basket of currencies on Friday, marking a fifth week of falls and its longest losing streak since May 2015 as worries over a possible U.S. government shutdown weighed.</p> Bundles of banknotes of U.S. Dollar are pictured at a currency exchange shop in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
<p>On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to fund government operations through to Feb. 16 and avoid agency shutdowns from Saturday when existing allocations expire. The bill has yet to be approved by the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.</p>
<p>Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer met with Republican President Donald Trump on Friday to find ways to avert a shutdown. Schumer suggested some progress was made but they still had “a good number of disagreements.”</p>
<p>“At the start of the week, it was an outside risk. Now it’s a real risk,” Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at Credit Agricole in New York, said of a government shutdown.</p>
<p>Even as the likelihood of a shutdown grew, the greenback managed to hold steady against a group of major currencies on a trade-weighted basis =USD.</p>
<p>Some investors downplayed a possible shutdown, saying the market impact would be mild anyway.</p>
<p>“It’s more a political event than an economic one,” said Alessio de Longis, portfolio manager for OpperheimerFunds’ global multi-asset group. “We have been in this situation before.”</p>
<p>At 3:26 p.m. (2026 GMT), the trade-weighted dollar index =USD was up 0.06 percent at 90.591. It touched the lowest level since December 2014 this week, with investors selling on the view that more central banks will join the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates, after years of ultra-loose policy adopted to combat the 2008 global financial crisis and subsequent recessions.</p>
<p>The euro <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=EUR&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">EUR=</a> was down 0.06 percent at $1.2230, below a three-year high of $1.2323 touched on Wednesday. The common currency booked a fifth straight week of gains in advance of next Thursday's European Central Bank meeting.</p>
<p>The dollar was down 0.41 percent at 110.64 yen <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=JPY&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">JPY=</a>, with its rebound from Wednesday's four-month low of 110.19 yen already fading even as benchmark U.S. 10-year yield US10YT=RR rose to the highest level since Sept. 2014.</p>
<p>A slim reduction in the Bank of Japan’s bond purchases this month spurred speculation about a possible pullback in its policy, even though many market players think any move will be many months away.</p>
<p>“Markets are increasingly sensitive to the prospect of a less-dovish BOJ, which is putting pressure on dollar/yen,” UBS Wealth Management analysts said in a note. They added that they will be looking to the BOJ’s policy meeting next week to gain more clarity on its stance.</p>
<p>“For now, we do not think the BOJ has any urgency to shift its yield curve control regime,” they added.</p>
<p>Another factor behind the dollar’s weakness has been global investors, including sovereign wealth funds and central banks, favoring other currencies.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly in New York; Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Susan Thomas and Tom Brown</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street’s three major indexes staged a comeback to close around 1 percent higher on Wednesday as investors turned their focus to earnings and away from a trade conflict between the United States and China that wreaked havoc in earlier trading.</p>
<p>After investors fled equities in the morning due to proposed retaliatory tariffs from China, their concerns about a potential trade war eased by the afternoon after Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the administration was in a “negotiation” with China rather than a trade war.</p>
<p>Investors said they were comforted by the fact that any tariffs would not take effect immediately, if at all. Strategists also cited the S&amp;P’s bounce above a key technical support level and said they expect equities to rise further around the first quarter earnings season, due to start in mid-April.</p>
<p>“We’re starting to feel that while markets hate uncertainty, Trump’s bark is worse than his bite when it comes to trade,” said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas.</p>
<p>“It’s earnings that’s going to lift us off this bottom. It wouldn’t shock me if we chopped around sideways for a little bit before earnings season ... The trade stuff is really a side show. We’re waiting for real economic data like the jobs report Friday and for earnings. For now it’s going to be all about the technicals,” he said.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P opened below its 200-day moving average, a key technical level, but inched above it as the session progressed, and by afternoon was in positive territory.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> rose 230.94 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 24,264.30, the S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> gained 30.24 points, or 1.16 percent, to 2,644.69 and the Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> added 100.83 points, or 1.45 percent, to 7,042.11.</p>
<p>The turnaround marked the first time the S&amp;P had showed gains for two consecutive days since early March.</p>
<p>Despite big swings in stocks, trading activity in U.S. equity options was muted as expectations for strong corporate earnings quelled the urge to load up on contracts that benefit from a surge in market volatility. The Cboe Volatility Index .VIX, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term volatility for the S&amp;P 500, closed down 1.04 points at 20.06.</p>
<p>The technology sector .SPLRCT rose 1.4 percent with only two of its stocks ending the day in negative territory including Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>), which was pummeled after news its chief executive would testify in Congress over a data privacy scandal. It too closed well off its session low with a 0.6 percent drop to $155.10.</p> Slideshow (7 Images)
<p>Boeing ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BA.N" type="external">BA.N</a>) was the biggest drag on the Dow due to its exposure to China, and ended the day well off its session lows with a 1 percent decline to $327.44 after falling as low as $311.88.</p>
<p>Farm machinery company Deere &amp; Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DE.N" type="external">DE.N</a>) ended down 2.9 percent at $148.57 as it could be hurt by China tariffs if its customers’ exports are curbed.</p>
<p>After being a laggard for much of the session, the S&amp;P 500’s industrials sector .SPLRCI turned positive late in the day to close 0.4 percent higher.</p>
<p>Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.95-to-1 ratio favored advancers.</p>
<a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">Dow Jones &amp; Company Inc</a> 24410.25 .DJI Dow Jones Indexes +145.95 (+0.60%) .DJI .SPX .IXIC FB.O BA.N
<p>The S&amp;P 500 posted one new 52-week high and eight new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 40 new highs and 94 new lows.</p>
<p>Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.04 billion shares, compared with the 7.3 billion average for the last 20 trading days.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Herbert Lash in New York and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Patrick Graham and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took China just 11 hours to retaliate against the United States for proposing tariffs on some 1,300 Chinese products, but Chinese officials are holding back on taking aim at their largest American import: government debt.</p>
<p>In a tit-for-tat response to the Trump administration’s plan for 25 percent duties on $50 billion of Chinese imports, China hit back with its own list of similar duties on key American imports including soybeans, planes, cars, beef and chemicals. But officials signaled no interest for now in bringing their vast holdings of U.S. Treasuries to the fight.</p>
<p>China held around $1.17 trillion of Treasuries as of the end of January, making it the largest of America's foreign creditors and the No. 2 overall owner of U.S. government bonds after the Federal Reserve. Any move by China to chop its Treasury portfolio could inflict significant harm on U.S. finances and global investors, driving bond yields higher and making it more costly to finance the federal government.(Graphic: Top U.S. trade partners &amp; foreign holders of Treasuries - <a href="http://reut.rs/2CUqQB0" type="external">reut.rs/2CUqQB0</a>)</p>
<a href="http://reut.rs/2CUqQB0" type="external" />
<p>Jeffrey Gundlach, the chief executive of DoubleLine Capital LP, said China can use its Treasury holdings as leverage, but only if they keep holding them.</p>
<p>“It is more effective as a threat. If they sell, they have no threat,” said Gundlach, known as Wall Street’s Bond King.</p>
<p>“It would only escalate the situation and eliminate their leverage.”</p>
<p>Prices on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes slipped on Wednesday, giving back earlier gains on the trade news. Their yield edged up to about 2.81 percent Wednesday afternoon.</p>
<p>China’s Treasury holdings have dipped in recent months, declining by about $30 billion from $1.20 trillion last August, and they are down about 11 percent from their record high above $1.3 trillion in late 2013, according to U.S government data. In all, foreign governments own $4 trillion, or more than a quarter, of the $14.7 trillion in Treasury securities outstanding.</p>
<p>Asked by a reporter on Wednesday if China would reduce its U.S. Treasury holdings in retaliation, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao reiterated China’s long-standing policy regarding its foreign exchange reserves, saying it is a responsible investor and that it will safeguard their value.</p>
<p>China’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, stood at about $3.13 trillion at the end of February, with roughly a third of it held in Treasuries.</p>
<p>“If they wanted to pull the nuclear switch, if they committed to dumping Treasuries, it would have an immediate and temporary impact on money markets in the United States,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, a portfolio manager who oversees more than $6 billion at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. “But I think it is a bigger hit to the sustainability of what they’re trying to accomplish.”</p>
<p>Brad Setser, senior fellow for international economics&#160;at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said China can sell Treasuries and buy lower-yielding European or Japanese debt.</p>
<p>But the effect would likely be to strengthen the yuan against the dollar, weakening the relative desirability of its exports, analysts said. The sale could also tank the value of the Treasuries China retains, with nothing to show for the aggression.</p>
<p>More likely, if China wanted to turn up the heat it would let the yuan depreciate against the U.S. dollar, according to CFR’s Setser, a move that could kneecap the Trump administration’s goal of jump-starting U.S. manufacturing. The yuan weakened by about 0.25 percent on Wednesday but remains near its strongest in two and a half years.</p>
<p>Even if the likelihood of a change in Chinese policy regarding its Treasuries portfolio remains low, investors are sensitive to the risk any big shift would pose to world financial markets, where Treasuries are a global benchmark asset.</p> Shares recoil as China fires back in U.S. trade war
<p>A January report that China might halt its purchases of Treasuries forced yields higher, but China disputed the news and said it was only diversifying its foreign exchange reserves to safeguard their value.</p>
<p>Reporting by Kate Duguid and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Dan Burns and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar gained and equity markets around the world jumped on Thursday in a relief rally as fears eased of a trade war between China and the United States after Washington expressed a willingness to negotiate.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>The dollar rose to a three-week high against the Japanese yen and a 10-week peak versus the Swiss franc, two safe-haven assets that investors buy in times of market uncertainty.</p>
<p>U.S. Treasury yields rose to one-week highs as rising stock markets were a sign of improving risk appetite amid expectations a growing economy will be confirmed Friday when the closely watched U.S. employment report for March is released.</p>
<p>Major European stock indexes surged 2 percent or more, with Germany's exporter-heavy DAX <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.GDAXI" type="external">.GDAXI</a>, the market most exposed to China, climbing 2.90 percent.</p>
<p>MSCI’s all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS, which tracks shares in 47 countries, gained 1.12 percent, led by Amazon.com ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">AMZN.O</a>), Apple ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O" type="external">AAPL.O</a>) and Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>).</p>
<p>“Markets seem to be in relief rally mode and part of this is really driven by the fact we’re not really in a trade war yet,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management in Minneapolis.</p>
<p>“This is quite small in terms of the impact to the economy, we still have the runway of tax reform that’s coming along,” Ripley said, referring to boost U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tax code is delivering to corporate earnings.</p>
<p>The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.FTEU3" type="external">.FTEU3</a> of leading regional shares rose 2.47 percent.</p>
<p>On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> rose 324.01 points, or 1.34 percent, to 24,588.31. The S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> gained 25.55 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,670.24 and the Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> added 65.37 points, or 0.93 percent, to 7,107.48.</p>
<p>Signs the United States is looking to resolve a trade dispute with China lifted the dollar but limited an advance in oil prices as crude is dollar-priced and a stronger greenback makes oil purchases in other currencies more expensive.</p>
<a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.GDAXI" type="external">Deutsche Boerse AG</a> 12305.19 .GDAXI Xetra +347.29 (+2.90%) .GDAXI AMZN.O AAPL.O FB.O .FTEU3
<p>White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said he expects the United States and China to work out differences and trade barriers likely “will come down on both sides.”</p>
<p>The dollar index .DXY rose 0.48 percent, with the euro <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=EUR&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">EUR=</a> down 0.46 percent to $1.2221. The Japanese yen <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=JPY&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">JPY=</a> weakened 0.63 percent versus the greenback at 107.45 per dollar.</p>
<p>Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solution in Washington, said the dollar was boosted by a view that “Washington and Beijing might broker a trade deal that doesn’t torpedo global commerce or damage the world economy.”</p>
<p>U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 43 cents to $63.80 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 gained 51 cents to $68.53.</p>
<p>Gold prices fell as the apparent willingness to resolve a trade dispute reduced demand for bullion as a place to park money. A stronger dollar also crimped gold as it’s more expensive for users of other currencies.</p>
<p>U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell $11.70 to $1,328.50 an ounce.</p>
<p>Many suspect Washington will likely back down on some fronts after Beijing threatened tariffs on soybeans, the top U.S. agricultural export to China. Threats to such exports are a powerful weapon for Beijing to wield given the potential impact on Iowa and other farming states that backed Trump in the presidential election.</p>
<p>U.S. soybeans Sc1 and corn Cc1 regained ground, following losses of around 2 percent the previous day.</p>
<p>Reporting by Kit Rees; Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China on Wednesday announced plans to place a 25 percent tariff on certain U.S. aircraft, in a move expected to affect some older Boeing Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BA.N" type="external">BA.N</a>) narrowbody models, according to documents from China’s Ministry of Commerce and the U.S. manufacturer.</p>
<p>But although several analysts said China had spared the newer 737 MAX - key to future Boeing profits - the impact remained uncertain because of a lack of detail in the announcement and the fact that not all airplane characteristics are published.</p>
<p>Boeing shares fell as much as 6 percent after China hit back at U.S. tariffs with the announcement of duties on key U.S. imports including soybeans, cars, beef and chemicals, as well as planes.</p>
<p>These include aircraft with an “empty weight” of between 15,000 kg and 45,000 kg, or 15 to 45 tonnes.</p>
<p>Depending on how “empty weight” is defined, this leaves a question mark over the fate of Boeing’s new big-selling 737 MAX 8 jet - though the larger MAX 9 and MAX 10 could be spared.</p>
<p>The stakes are high. The United States exported $15 billion of aircraft to China in 2016, ranking equally with agricultural products like soybeans as the biggest category of goods.</p>
<p>Several definitions of “empty weight” are used in the aircraft industry and the ministry document gave no explanation.</p>
<p>Two industry experts said the rules most likely refer to the “manufacturer’s empty weight,” or the core aircraft structure.</p>
<p>But manufacturers are usually shy about publishing this number because of its commercial sensitivity, while they do give estimates for the slightly higher “operating empty weight,” which includes airline crew and some equipment, but not fuel.</p>
<p>Yet even this number can vary according to an airline’s specific requirements, so it is seen as a guideline.</p>
<p>Whatever category is used, the range appears comfortably to include the current-generation 737 narrowbody aircraft, which is in the midst of being replaced by the newer 737 MAX.</p> 737 MAX 8 IMPACT UNCLEAR
<p>Boeing documents available online list the “operating empty weight” (OEW) of the 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900 well within the tariff zone at 37.6 to 42.9 tonnes.</p>
<p>The “manufacturer’s empty weight” (MEW) would typically be about 1-1.5 tonnes lower, two airplane appraisal experts said.</p>
<p>In contrast, the newer 737 MAX 8 is heavier than its predecessor, with an operating empty weight of 45,070 kg, according to a Boeing document published in August 2017.</p>
<p>Depending on how rules are applied, this leaves it hovering close to the tariff border line and potentially still exposed to sanctions if the more conservative “manufacturer” scale is used.</p>
<p>“I would expect a non-variable weight (MEW) to be used as the benchmark, as OEW will vary from operator to operator,” said Stuart Hatcher, chief operating officer of UK-based advisory firm IBA, adding this would pull the jet below 45 tonnes.</p>
<p>Even if the more generous OEW weight format were used, not all 737 MAX 8s might escape as some use lighter layouts. “A 70kg drop is pretty easy once you get into the realms of low-cost carriers or standard single-class operations,” Hatcher added.</p>
<p>Boeing said in a statement that while the United States and China have both outlined positions that could harm the global aerospace industry, nothing drastic has happened yet.</p> FILE PHOTO: Boeing employees are pictured in front of a 737 MAX 8 produced for Southwest Airlines as Boeing celebrates the 10,000th 737 to come off the production line in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo
<p>“We will continue in our own efforts to proactively engage both governments and build on the recent assurances by U.S. and Chinese leaders that productive talks are ongoing,” it said.</p>
<p>Chinese airlines have been on a buying spree from Boeing and rival Airbus ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AIR.PA" type="external">AIR.PA</a>) as air travel grows.</p>
<p>Boeing and China’s Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) are expected to open a 737 completion center in the coastal city of Zhoushan to install interiors and paint liveries this year.</p>
<p>The bulk of published 737 orders from Chinese that have not yet been delivered are for the newer MAX version.</p>
<p>However, China Southern Airlines ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=600029.SS" type="external">600029.SS</a>), Ruili Airlines and Okay Airways each have two 737-800s on order and Xiamen Airlines has four more, according to the Boeing order book.</p>
<p>Asked if the airline’s plane buying plans could shift away from Boeing, China Eastern Airlines Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=600115.SS" type="external">600115.SS</a>) Chief Executive Ma Xulun said on Wednesday “it’s too early to say, we will keep an eye on the situation of the China-U.S. trade war.”</p>
<p>Apart from some Boeing jets, the Gulfstream G650, a large corporate jet manufactured by General Dynamics Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GD.N" type="external">GD.N</a>), also falls into the weight range targeted for tariffs.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BA.N" type="external">Boeing Co</a> 334.24 BA.N New York Stock Exchange +6.80 (+2.08%) BA.N AIR.PA 600029.SS 600115.SS GD.N
<p>Gulfstream declined to comment.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jamie Freed in SINGAPORE and Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI; additional reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS, Alwyn Scott in NEW YORK; Writing by Jamie Freed and Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter, Susan Fenton and Tom Brown</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | U.S. shutdown fears pressure dollar, mark worst run since 2015 Wall Street closes higher as China tariff fears ease China, holding Treasuries, keeps 'nuclear option' in U.S. trade war Dollar, stocks climb in relief rally over trade spat Jet weight puzzle to determine China tariff impact on Boeing | false | https://reuters.com/article/uk-global-forex/us-shutdown-fears-pressure-dollar-mark-worst-run-since-2015-idUSKBN1F804S | 2018-01-19 | 2 |
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-49244" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AngieTMZ.jpg" alt="Harvey Weinstein" width="1200" height="627" srcset="https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AngieTMZ.jpg 1200w, https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AngieTMZ-300x157.jpg 300w, https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AngieTMZ-768x401.jpg 768w, https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AngieTMZ-1024x535.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /&gt;</p>
<p>Lots of people criticizing Hollywood for not speaking out against Harvey Weinstein before now (see&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Flashback: Gwyneth Paltrow Makes Harvey Weinstein ‘Coercion’ Jokes</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">George Clooney ‘Claims’ He Knew Nothing of Harvey Weinstein’s Actions. Sure…</a>). And when you’re talking about the A-listers who could have but didn’t, and in some cases were friends of his, I feel you. But others did try to speak out.&#160; <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2017/10/13/angie-everhart-harvey-weinstein-masturbate-yacht/" type="external">Like Angie Everhart</a>…</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Angie says the incident happened more than 10 years ago on a yacht during the Venice Film Festival (she mistakenly said Cannes). She says she had just arrived from the United States, was jetlagged and went to a cabin and fell asleep. The next thing she knew, Weinstein was over her, blocking the door and pleasuring himself.</p>
<p>But Angie, why didn’t you have the courage to speak out then?</p>
<p>She says he told her not to tell anyone, but, “I told everyone.” Angie says she told other actors, producers — anyone who would listen — and all they said was, “oh that’s just Harvey.” Angie says everyone knew that Weinstein committed such acts but no one did a damn thing until last week.</p>
<p>For many of these women, it’s not that <a href="" type="internal">they didn’t speak out</a>. It’s that no one listened to them. Sexual assault? Masturbating on potted plants? That was all just “Harvey Being Harvey.”</p>
<p>Such is Hollywood…</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | This Actress’s Harvey Weinstein Story is One of The Worst Yet | true | https://louderwithcrowder.com/actress-harvey-weinstein-story/ | 2017-10-16 | 0 |
<p>LONDON (Reuters) – Deutsche Boerse (DE:) has introduced a profit-sharing scheme to wrest volumes from the London Stock Exchange as banks face uncertainty over cross-border markets ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union.</p>
<p>The German exchange’s clearing unit, Eurex Clearing, said it will launch a partnership program in November to attract more volume in clearing interest rate swaps or IRS.</p>
<p>An IRS is a popular derivatives contract used by companies to insure themselves against adverse moves in borrowing costs. The clearing of IRS in Europe is dominated by the LSE’s LCH unit.</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> | Deutsche Boerse steps up clearing fight with London ahead of Brexit | false | https://newsline.com/deutsche-boerse-steps-up-clearing-fight-with-london-ahead-of-brexit/ | 2017-10-09 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico's public education secretary is urging state lawmakers to establish standards for closing charter schools that do not measure up to academic standards and financial controls.</p>
<p>Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera on Wednesday told members of the state Legislative Finance Committee it was important to hold charter schools accountable by developing new standards. She also says it's important to acknowledge excellence in charter-school education and share recipes for success.</p>
<p>New Mexico's state auditor recently has reported financial control problems and missing files on background checks and teacher licenses at state-sponsored charter schools overseen by the Public Education Department.</p>
<p>New Mexico has turned to charter schools amid some dissatisfaction with traditional schools. The number of state-sponsored charter schools grew to 59 last year from just two in 2008.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | New Mexico seeks charter school standards | false | https://abqjournal.com/756424/new-mexico-seeks-charter-school-standards.html | 2 |
|
<p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The rival Koreas will sit down for their first formal talks in more than two years next week to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics in the South and to improve their abysmal ties, Seoul officials said Friday. While a positive sign after last year's threats of nuclear war, the Koreas have a long history of failing to move past their deep animosity.</p>
<p>The announcement came hours after the United States said it will delay annual military exercises with South Korea until after the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month. The exercises infuriate North Korea, which claims they are an invasion rehearsal, although South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said they are defensive in nature.</p>
<p>On Friday morning, North Korea sent a message saying it would accept South Korea's offer to meet at the border village of Panmunjom next Tuesday to discuss Olympic cooperation and how to improve overall ties, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles North Korean matters. Panmunjom is where a North Korean soldier dashed across the border into the South in November. He is recovering after being shot five times by his former comrades.</p>
<p>Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said he expects the two Koreas will use a recently restored cross-border communication channel to try to determine who will head their respective delegations next week.</p>
<p>Any dialogue between the Koreas is seen as a positive step. But critics say the North's abrupt push to improve ties may be a tactic to divide Seoul and Washington and weaken international pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang.</p>
<p>In his New Year's address Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was willing to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics but he also said he has a "nuclear button" on his desk to fire atomic weapons at the United States. President Donald Trump quickly responded that he had a bigger and more powerful "nuclear button" of his own.</p>
<p>Past breakthroughs to ease Korean tensions have often ended with renewed animosities. It's likely the North will refrain from provocations during the Games. But tensions could return afterward because the North has no intention of abandoning its weapons programs and the United States will not ease its pressure on the country, analysts say.</p>
<p>The Trump government on Thursday said its springtime military drills with South Korea will be held from March 8-18 following the Feb. 9-25 Olympic Games. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis insisted the delay was a practical necessity to accommodate the Olympics, not a political gesture.</p>
<p>The White House said Trump approved the postponement in consultation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said he suggested the drills' delay to the United States.</p>
<p>Moon, a liberal, has been pushing to improve strained ties and restore stalled cooperation projects with North Korea since his inauguration in May, though he joined U.S.-led international efforts to apply more pressure and sanctions on the North.</p>
<p>Moon's government wants North Korea to take part in the Winter Olympics. But North Korea is not strong in winter sports and none of its athletes have been qualified to compete in the Games. It needs to acquire additional quotas by the International Olympic Committee to come to South Korea. Baik said North Korea is expected to hold talks with IOC officials next week.</p>
<p>The Trump administration has said all options are on the table to end the North Korean nuclear standoff, including military measures, but Moon has repeatedly said there cannot be another war on the Korean Peninsula. Critics say these differences may have led Kim to think he can drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington as a way to weaken international pressure on the country.</p>
<p>The United States stations about 30,000 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. North Korea has cited the U.S. military presence and its regular drills with South Korea as proof of American hostility that compels it to pursue nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>Last year, North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test and test-launched three intercontinental ballistic missiles as part of its push to possess functioning nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. The repeated weapons tests earned the North toughened U.N. sanctions, and Kim and Trump exchanged threats of nuclear war and crude personal insults.</p>
<p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The rival Koreas will sit down for their first formal talks in more than two years next week to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics in the South and to improve their abysmal ties, Seoul officials said Friday. While a positive sign after last year's threats of nuclear war, the Koreas have a long history of failing to move past their deep animosity.</p>
<p>The announcement came hours after the United States said it will delay annual military exercises with South Korea until after the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month. The exercises infuriate North Korea, which claims they are an invasion rehearsal, although South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said they are defensive in nature.</p>
<p>On Friday morning, North Korea sent a message saying it would accept South Korea's offer to meet at the border village of Panmunjom next Tuesday to discuss Olympic cooperation and how to improve overall ties, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles North Korean matters. Panmunjom is where a North Korean soldier dashed across the border into the South in November. He is recovering after being shot five times by his former comrades.</p>
<p>Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said he expects the two Koreas will use a recently restored cross-border communication channel to try to determine who will head their respective delegations next week.</p>
<p>Any dialogue between the Koreas is seen as a positive step. But critics say the North's abrupt push to improve ties may be a tactic to divide Seoul and Washington and weaken international pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang.</p>
<p>In his New Year's address Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was willing to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics but he also said he has a "nuclear button" on his desk to fire atomic weapons at the United States. President Donald Trump quickly responded that he had a bigger and more powerful "nuclear button" of his own.</p>
<p>Past breakthroughs to ease Korean tensions have often ended with renewed animosities. It's likely the North will refrain from provocations during the Games. But tensions could return afterward because the North has no intention of abandoning its weapons programs and the United States will not ease its pressure on the country, analysts say.</p>
<p>The Trump government on Thursday said its springtime military drills with South Korea will be held from March 8-18 following the Feb. 9-25 Olympic Games. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis insisted the delay was a practical necessity to accommodate the Olympics, not a political gesture.</p>
<p>The White House said Trump approved the postponement in consultation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said he suggested the drills' delay to the United States.</p>
<p>Moon, a liberal, has been pushing to improve strained ties and restore stalled cooperation projects with North Korea since his inauguration in May, though he joined U.S.-led international efforts to apply more pressure and sanctions on the North.</p>
<p>Moon's government wants North Korea to take part in the Winter Olympics. But North Korea is not strong in winter sports and none of its athletes have been qualified to compete in the Games. It needs to acquire additional quotas by the International Olympic Committee to come to South Korea. Baik said North Korea is expected to hold talks with IOC officials next week.</p>
<p>The Trump administration has said all options are on the table to end the North Korean nuclear standoff, including military measures, but Moon has repeatedly said there cannot be another war on the Korean Peninsula. Critics say these differences may have led Kim to think he can drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington as a way to weaken international pressure on the country.</p>
<p>The United States stations about 30,000 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. North Korea has cited the U.S. military presence and its regular drills with South Korea as proof of American hostility that compels it to pursue nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>Last year, North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test and test-launched three intercontinental ballistic missiles as part of its push to possess functioning nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. The repeated weapons tests earned the North toughened U.N. sanctions, and Kim and Trump exchanged threats of nuclear war and crude personal insults.</p> | In small breakthrough, Koreas will meet for talks on Tuesday | false | https://apnews.com/b2a4d6e6d4794cdeafd23dfef279cd43 | 2018-01-05 | 2 |
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<p>Cabela’s (NASDAQ:CAB) saw demand for firearms taper off to close 2016, as sales couldn’t keep up with the rapid pace set in the preceding year, after the San Bernardino terrorist attack.</p>
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<p>The hunting and outdoors retailer, whose <a href="" type="internal">sale to Bass Pro Shops</a> is now facing an uphill battle, missed Wall Street expectations with a sharp decline in profits during the fourth quarter. Shoppers spent heavily on firearms and shooting accessories early in the period, but demand in the latter half was overshadowed by strong sales that followed the San Bernardino terrorist attack in December 2015. The election has also cooled off the consumer firearms market.</p>
<p>Gun makers and industry analysts have offered subdued profit expectations in the wake of President Donald Trump’s rise to the White House. Historically, sales get a sizable boost if new gun-control measures are expected to be on the table. Those concerns are on the back burner with Trump in the White House and federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch nominated to fill the open Supreme Court seat.</p>
<p>The FBI processed a record 27.5 million background checks for gun purchases and permit applications last year. Background checks slowed down in January, when roughly two million checks went through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Nearly 2.8 million checks were recorded in December.</p>
<p>Cabela’s said total revenue for the fourth quarter was down 4.9% year-over-year. Sales at Cabela’s locations open at least a year fell 6.4%. The company added that revenue would have increased 1% excluding an extra week in the final quarter of 2015.</p>
<p>Shares of American Outdoor Brands (NASDAQ:AOBC), the renamed parent company of Smith &amp; Wesson, have dropped 33.9% since Election Day. Sturm Ruger &amp; Co. (NYSE:RGR) is down 24%.</p>
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<p>Cabela’s stock has slipped 17.6% over the past month amid questions surrounding Bass Pro’s $5.5 billion deal to buy the company. The transaction was tied to a separate agreement between Cabela’s and Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF), which lined up to buy Cabela’s credit card business, dubbed World’s Foremost Bank. Capital One effectively pulled its bid last month, saying that it wouldn’t receive regulatory approval in time.</p>
<p>Also, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent Cabela’s a second request for information, further delaying the buyout.</p> | Gun Sales Tapering Off, Cabela's Says | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/16/gun-sales-tapering-off-cabelas-says.html | 2017-02-16 | 0 |
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<p>The embattled Yahoo, which is currently exploring ways to potentially sell its business, is now reportedly looking to offload several thousand patents.</p>
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<p>Yahoo has started an auction to sell approximately 3,000 patents, the Wall Street Journal <a href="http://www.wsj.com/article_email/yahoo-lines-up-bids-for-about-3-000-patents-1465347136-lMyQjAxMTE2MzAwODIwOTgyWj" type="external">reports Opens a New Window.</a>, citing people with knowledge of its plans who say the patents could be worth as much as $1 billion to Yahoo. The patents relate to a wide range of technologies, but mostly focus on Internet search and advertising.</p>
<p>In a separate story, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/verizon-to-bid-3-billion-for-yahoos-web-assets-1465264919" type="external">the Journal says Opens a New Window.</a> Verizon will bid $3 billion for Yahoo's Web assets, about a year after it <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2484088,00.asp" type="external">purchased AOL Opens a New Window.</a> for $4.4 billion. But a Yahoo spokesperson told the Journal that Yahoo will be accepting bids through mid-June.</p>
<p>Yahoo has been evaluating its strategic options in light of increasing competition in the digital-advertising market and fears that it might not be able to rebound. The company has reportedly been fielding offers from companies to buy its core business, which doesn't include its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba or Yahoo Japan.</p>
<p>Regardless of what happens to the patents and Yahoo, the company's CEO Marissa Mayer continues on. In fact, she has engaged in widespread layoffs and nixed certain Web services. On Tuesday, Mayer also <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yahoo-launches-three-bots-on-kik-300280920.html" type="external">launched Opens a New Window.</a> a few things: three bots on Kik Messenger that will allow users to access Yahoo Weather, Yahoo News, and MonkeyPets, a "virtual friend that lives off of emojis and shares from its travels."</p>
<p>Yahoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
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<p>This article <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/news/345098/report-yahoo-wants-to-unload-3k-patents" type="external">originally appeared Opens a New Window.</a> on <a href="http://www.pcmag.com" type="external">PCMag.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Report: Yahoo Wants to Unload 3K Patents | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/06/08/report-yahoo-wants-to-unload-3k-patents.html | 2016-06-08 | 0 |
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<p>Though the young leader’s birthday is well-known throughout the country, it has yet to be celebrated with the kind of adulatory festivities that accompany the birthdays of his late grandfather and father. Pyongyang residents did what they do every second Sunday of the new year — joined in sports events.</p>
<p>Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 33 or 34 and the world’s youngest head of state, assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011.</p>
<p>With the official period of mourning his father’s death over and his own powerbase apparently solid, Kim presided over a once-in-a-generation party congress last May that was seen by many as something of a coronation and the beginning of the Kim Jong Un era.</p>
<p>But he has continued to keep a step or two behind his predecessors in the country’s intense cult of personality. Kim’s grandfather, “eternal president” Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il statues and portraits are found in virtually every public space or home. Their pins are worn over the hearts of every adult man and woman.</p>
<p>Rumors were rife that a new pin featuring Kim Jong Un would be issued during the May party congress, but they proved to be unfounded. Calendars for this year don’t denote Jan. 8 as anything other than a normal Sunday, and there was no mention of the birthday in Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party newspaper.</p>
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<p>The only time Kim has been honored in public on his birthday was in 2014, when former NBA star Dennis Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to him before an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang.</p>
<p>North Korean officials say the low-key approach — and the very little information made public about his wife and family — reflects Kim’s “humble” nature and respect for his forbearers. Kim seemed to amplify that image in his annual New Year’s address, when he closed with remarks about his desire to be a better leader.</p>
<p>Even so, 2017 could turn out to be a bigger than normal year in North Korea for Kim-related events.</p>
<p>State media have suggested Kim Jong Il’s birthday in February and especially Kim Il Sung’s birthday in April will be celebrated in a more lavish than usual manner, though exactly what’s in store is not known. And Kim Jong Un has already had something of a big New Year’s event — days after his address, tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang in the customary show of support for their leader.</p> | Just another Sunday? North Korea low key on Kim’s birthday | false | https://abqjournal.com/924547/just-another-sunday-north-korea-low-key-on-kims-birthday.html | 2017-01-10 | 2 |
<p>Rod Miller had been named director of Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center.</p>
<p>Miller, who has been acting director of Virginia Baptists' conference center near Lynchburg since September 2003, was elected by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's executive committee during its meeting on March 8.</p>
<p>He succeeds Wesley “Binky” Huff, who retired in 2003 after 14 years as director of Eagle Eyrie.</p>
<p>Miller has been on the staff of Eagle Eyrie since 1990. He holds three college degrees and is accredited as a certified conference center professional by the International Association of Conference Center Administrators.</p>
<p>He also is a member of the American Camping Association, the Christian Camp and Conference Association, the Religious Conference Management Association and the Southern Baptist Camping Association, for which he serves as a board member.</p>
<p>Miller also has been part-time associate pastor of Staunton Baptist Church in Huddleston and minister to youth and children at Bedford Baptist Church in Bedford.</p>
<p>Staff report</p> | Miller named Eagle Eyrie director | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/millernamedeagleeyriedirector/ | 3 |
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<p>Sadam Hussein's regime in Iraq was toppled five years ago. Not long after that, Iraq's Anbar province became the center of Sunni insurgency against American troops. But local Sunni leaders eventually turned against the insurgents. These tribal leaders set up their own security patrols with U.S. support. The result: Anbar has been relatively stable for almost two years now.</p>
<p>Today American and Iraqi troops made it official at a ceremony in the province -- the celebration followed the formal transfer of security control of Anbar to the Iraqi government.</p>
<p>"The World" anchor Lisa Mullins interviews the BBC's Mike Sergeant, who was at the ceremony in Anbar for the handover.</p>
<p>PRI's "The World" is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. "The World" is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston. <a href="" type="internal">More "The World."</a></p> | Control of Anbar goes back to Iraq | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-09-01/control-anbar-goes-back-iraq | 2008-09-01 | 3 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Republicans rallied to GOP Sen. Bob Corker’s defense Monday, rejecting a report that the Tennessee lawmaker stealthily tucked a provision into the massive tax package to benefit himself financially and then reversed course to back the bill.</p>
<p>Democrats were unrelenting as they howled about the “Corker kickback” and argued the tax benefit for real estate developers boosts the wealthy — President Donald Trump, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Corker among them — at the expense of average Americans.</p>
<p>In a letter on Monday, the GOP chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said that he — not Corker — was the author of the provision and that it was hardly a brand-new creation dropped into the final version of the bill. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, outlined the legislative path for the provision, starting with its unveiling Nov. 2 by his House counterpart, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas.</p>
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<p>Calling himself “disgusted,” Hatch said it was “categorically false” that the provision was “airdropped” into the bill and Corker was responsible.</p>
<p>“It takes a great deal of imagination — and likely no small amount of partisanship — to argue that a provision that has been public for over a month,” debated on the House floor and included in a House-passed bill “is somehow a covert and last-minute addition to the conference report,” Hatch said.</p>
<p>Corker said in a statement late Sunday that “he is not a member of the tax-writing committee and had no involvement in crafting the legislation.” Corker said he requested no specific tax provisions throughout the monthslong debate and had no knowledge of the real estate provision in question. He pressed Hatch for details on the process, prompting the chairman’s letter hours later.</p>
<p>Corker’s office declined further comment Monday.</p>
<p>A story in the International Business Times, an online publication, said Corker “suddenly switched his vote to yes” after GOP leaders added the provision, which could boost Corker’s real estate income. The story was co-written by David Sirota, a former Democratic political strategist who has worked for former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.</p>
<p>The No. 2 Republican in the Senate, Texas’ John Cornyn, called the story “a salacious tale from beginning to end. It was also completely false and invented.”</p>
<p>House and Senate negotiators finalized the tax bill last week and included a version of the provision to benefit the real estate industry in the form of pass-through companies, which are businesses in which the profits double as the owners’ personal income.</p>
<p>These types of companies can reduce their taxable income by 20 percent, but the Senate bill had only permitted them to do so if they paid wages to workers. The final bill enables the deduction for owners of certain kinds of property as well, a tax break that would presumably help Trump, Kushner and other officials and policymakers with real estate holdings.</p>
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<p>Brady said the claim that Corker had anything to do with the provision was “baloney.” He and other House negotiators fought for the provision, Brady told reporters, adding that the measure will encourage real estate owners and other businesses that have few employees but “may be making major investments.”</p>
<p>Corker owns real estate and development companies. His estimated net worth was more than $69 million in 2015, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which analyzes campaign and financial data. Corker’s most recent financial disclosure form listed a building in Chattanooga, Tennessee, worth $5 million to $25 million.</p>
<p>He opposed the original Senate bill, complaining it would add to the nation’s debt and “deepen the debt burden on future generations.”</p>
<p>But Corker said Friday that while the final version of the bill negotiated by House and Senate Republicans “is far from perfect,” it represents “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make U.S. businesses domestically more productive and internationally more competitive.”</p>
<p>Corker’s announcement made Senate passage of the GOP tax package more likely. GOP leaders are trying to muscle the bill through Congress this week, handing Trump his first major legislative victory by Christmas.</p>
<p>David Kamin, a law professor at New York University and former Obama administration official, said the tax break could create an incentive for companies to hold more property and assets while employing fewer workers.</p>
<p>“This is the quintessential picking of winners and losers,” Kamin said.</p>
<p>House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday used the term “Corker kickback” as she criticized the provision, calling it another example of Republicans working “to enrich their donors and themselves” in the tax legislation.</p>
<p>“Republicans are racing to pass the bill before the public can discover all the giveaways, but the American people already recognize the tax scam for the daylight robbery it is,” she said.</p>
<p>Big banks, wealthy real estate developers and other special interests are “already salivating” at the opportunity to exploit massive loopholes included in the GOP bill, Pelosi said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Marcy Gordon and Joshua Boak contributed to this report.</p> | GOP senators rally to defend Corker over tax bill provision | false | https://abqjournal.com/1108187/senate-chairman-disputes-report-of-corker-add-to-tax-bill.html | 2017-12-18 | 2 |
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<p>“I’ll be damned” and “Tilt! What are we doing here?” are two ways Polk describes his reaction.</p>
<p>Polk owns property at another northern New Mexico reservoir, Heron Lake, which is running out of water.</p>
<p>The lake near Tierra Amarilla was holding more than 350,000 acre-feet during summers in the late 1990s, making it a popular recreation site for boating, camping, fishing and weekend homes. Postcards of the era described Heron and its scenic high desert shores as the Acapulco of New Mexico.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Sailing Club’s marina at Heron Lake now has grass and weeds growing around the docks, as water levels have dropped in recent years. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>By July 2013, the lake was down to about 100,000 acre-feet (it’s at about 114,000 acre-feet now). Heron’s water storage is expected to go below 80,000 acre-feet by the end of 2014, with a 5-foot drop in the water level over the year. A campground that used to sit on the shoreline is now a hike away from water. What was a sailboat marina has become a mud bog.</p>
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<p>“I’m looking at an almost-drained Heron Lake, and they want to spend money to put more water in a lake (Abiquiu) at lower elevation with a higher evaporation rate?” Polk said. “It makes no sense to me.”</p>
<p>Polk and others have formed a group called Save Our Water New Mexico to push for changes. They are up against a crazy quilt of jurisdictions, acts of Congress, contracts and operating rules that control and restrict the uses of New Mexico water reservoirs, including Heron.</p>
<p>Heron was completed in 1970 under authorization to hold only so-called San Juan-Chama water piped across the Continental Divide to Heron from the Colorado River drainage and is under the authority of the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Abiquiu Lake was built earlier for flood control but has since been authorized for San Juan-Chama storage and is under the Army Corps of Engineers.</p>
<p>Not working in favor of the Heron Lake group, which includes members of a sailing club, is the fact that in a high desert, water-scarce state, recreational uses like boating, fishing or just providing a scenic spot for a weekend home aren’t a priority for reservoirs. As one expert said this week, there is no endangered species act for sailboaters.</p>
<p>So far, water managers aren’t offering the Heron Lake group much hope.</p>
<p>“Folks at Heron got used to a time that was outside the long-term purposes of the lake,” said Mike Hamman, area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation. Through the 1990s, the lake was relatively full on and off thanks to wet weather years and the fact that users like Albuquerque and Santa Fe weren’t taking the San Juan-Chama water for which they’d paid.</p>
<p>Now, the cities are taking their water from Heron, at downstream diversion points on the Rio Grande. New Mexico is in long-term drought, with the endangered silvery minnow in the river that must be protected.</p>
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<p>Recreational use of Heron Lake is only secondary. “It’s a nice benefit, but it’s not a purpose of the reservoir,” Hamman said.</p>
<p>Albuquerque is the big kahuna of San Juan-Chama contractors, with 56 percent, or 48,200 acre-feet. The Santa Fe area gets 5,605 acre-feet.</p>
<p>Polk and Giles Pennington, a retired teacher with homes in Albuquerque and at Heron, believe there are ways to keep more water in the lake while meeting the commitments to San Juan-Chama water users.</p>
<p>As Heron is currently managed, based on its congressional authorization, contractors like Albuquerque and Santa Fe can’t “carry over” holding their San Juan-Chama water at Heron from year to year. If that were allowed, a big water contractor like Albuquerque could easily have more allocations stacked up in the lake than there is water to cover them. If levels drop, contractors risk losing their water.</p>
<p>Polk and Pennington want the Bureau of Reclamation to grant longer “waivers” that would allow holding water in Heron Lake longer and help keep the water levels up. Polk also believes administrative waivers and simply more cooperation between agencies could create more common-sense management of the reservoirs. Pennington said the Heron group wants the feds “to use the waiver system more creatively.”</p>
<p>But Hamman said, “The reality is that over time there isn’t going to be any excess water for carryover or waiver purposes.”</p>
<p>Some waivers are allowed now – for carryovers of up to nine months, through the September past the end of a contracted allotment year. That has allowed for releases of Albuquerque’s San Juan-Chama water through the summer, a boost for river rafters. (At least one legal scholar has raised the question of whether any carryover waivers at Heron are legal, and that if the short waivers now allowed are in fact OK, why carryover storage isn’t allowed as general rule.)</p>
<p>What once was a lakeside campsite at Heron Lake is now far from the water. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Losing water?</p>
<p>Polk for one is backing away from making an argument for holding more water in Heron for recreation. His pitch is that Albuquerque is losing water to evaporation by using Abiquiu Lake instead of Heron, hence the “Save Our Water” name for the Heron advocates.</p>
<p>“I can’t sit here and say, ‘Give me more water because I want to go swimming,’ ” he said. But as a resident of Albuquerque and a “John Q. Citizen,” Polk said, “I can say, ‘Why are you wasting water?’ ”</p>
<p>A report prepared for a congressional subcommittee in 2003 estimated annual surface evaporation at 17,850 acre-feet per year at Heron and 53,967 acre-feet annually at Abiquiu. Heron is deeper and, at an altitude of about 7,180 feet, it is more than 900 feet higher than Abiquiu.</p>
<p>“This is a pure waste to put the water in Abiquiu,” said Polk. “Albuquerque is going to lose thousands of acre-feet.”</p>
<p>Others involved say there are other issues to consider, such as the loss of water along the Chama and Rio Grande as it travels downstream, with Heron Lake being the more distant reservoir. Using the closer Abiquiu also allows managers to better time water releases for when they are needed.</p>
<p>Journal efforts to engage the Albuquerque-Bernalillo Water Utility Authority on the Heron Lake issue produced a couple of short email responses.</p>
<p>The authority wants to expand storage in Abiquiu Lake to hold “native” water, from the Rio Grande basin. “Heron was created specifically as a storage reservoir for San Juan-Chama water,” said David Morris, the water authority’s public affairs manager. “Using it to hold native water would literally require an act of Congress. So our hands are tied.”</p>
<p>As far as seeking a congressional change to allow native water in Heron, in lieu of spending potentially millions to expand storage at Abiquiu, Morris said, “Given the vagaries of the legislative process, which could take many years and is ultimately unpredictable in terms of outcome, from our standpoint it makes more sense to work within existing parameters.”</p>
<p>In fact, New Mexico’s two U.S. senators this week introduced broad water management legislation that, among other things, calls for a National Academy of Sciences study of how New Mexico’s federal reservoirs are operated, to help move water more efficiently down the Rio Grande to meet farm, municipal and environmental needs.</p>
<p>Sen. Tom Udall said in a statement provided by his staff, “It’s time to examine the role that our dams and reservoirs can play in maximizing this scarce resource across all of our needs,” adding that “we shouldn’t move forward without a detailed picture of the ramifications of changes on the full system” in addressing needs that vary from recreation at Heron to sustaining municipal and economic growth.</p>
<p>Sen. Martin Heinrich said he realizes “how difficult this drought has been for local communities – water shortages impact everyone, from city residents, to farmers and ranchers, to small businesses that depend on recreation and tourism for their customers.” He said that “we need to make sure water managers have the tools they need to make the most of the water that we have.”</p>
<p>Polk does see good news in the senators’ new legislative effort. “Maybe the senators can pour oil on troubled water and get everybody together,” he said. [photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000hx.02NC2Nhc” g_name=”Heron-Lake-06-02-2014″ width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]</p>
<p /> | Heron Lake and its legacy shrinking as drought takes its toll | false | https://abqjournal.com/414999/dwindling-away-heron-lake-and-its-legacy-of-fishing-boating-and-swimming-are-shrinking-as-the-states-long-drought-takes-its-toll.html | 2 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. - The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is getting additional security.</p>
<p>The Rio Metro Regional Transit District says it has contracted with a company for a pilot project to have security officers patrol platforms, parking lots and some trains.</p>
<p>The district says the project is intended to provide an extra level of security for train passengers and crews and also help check passengers' tickets.</p>
<p>The rail service runs between Belen and Santa Fe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Security being added to Rail Runner | false | https://abqjournal.com/374941/security-being-added-to-rail-runner.html | 2 |
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<p>By Philip Wen and Christian Shepherd</p>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) – When Kim Jong Un inherited power in North Korea in late 2011, then-Chinese president Hu Jintao was outwardly supportive of the untested young leader, predicting that “traditional friendly cooperation” between the countries would strengthen.</p>
<p>Two years later, Kim ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song Thaek, the country’s chief interlocutor with China and a relatively reform-minded official in the hermetic state.</p>
<p>Since then, ties between the allies have deteriorated so sharply that some diplomats and experts fear Beijing may become, like Washington, a target of its neighbor’s ire.</p>
<p>While the United States and its allies – and many people in China – believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two.</p>
<p>Before retiring this summer, China’s long-time point man on North Korea, Wu Dawei, had not visited the country for over a year. His replacement, Kong Xuanyou, has yet to visit and is still carrying out duties from his previous Asian role, traveling to Pakistan in mid-August, diplomats say.</p>
<p>The notion that mighty China wields diplomatic control over impoverished North Korea is mistaken, said Jin Canrong, an international relations professor at Beijing’s Renmin University.</p>
<p>“There has never existed a subordinate relationship between the two sides. Never. Especially after the end of the Cold War, the North Koreans fell into a difficult situation and could not get enough help from China, so they determined to help themselves.”</p>
<p>A famine in the mid-1990s that claimed anywhere from 200,000 to three million North Koreans was a turning point for the economy, forcing private trade on the collectivized state. That allowed the North a degree of independence from outside aid and gave credence to the official “Juche” ideology of self-reliance.</p>
<p>AVOID CHAOS</p>
<p>China fought alongside North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, in which Chinese leader Mao Zedong lost his eldest son, and Beijing has long been Pyongyang’s chief ally and primary trade partner.</p>
<p>While their relationship has always been clouded by suspicion and mistrust, China grudgingly tolerated North Korea’s provocations as preferable to the alternatives: chaotic collapse that spills across their border, and a Korean peninsula under the domain of a U.S.-backed Seoul government.</p>
<p>That is also the reason China is reluctant to exert its considerable economic clout, worried that measures as drastic as the energy embargo proposed this week by Washington could lead to the North’s collapse.</p>
<p>Instead, China repeatedly calls for calm, restraint and a negotiated solution.</p>
<p>The North Korean government does not provide foreign media with a contact point in Pyongyang for comment by email, fax or phone. The North Korean embassy in Beijing was not immediately available for comment.</p>
<p>China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a faxed request for comment. It has repeatedly spoken out against what it calls the “China responsibility theory” and insists the direct parties – North Korea, South Korea and the United States – hold the key to resolving tensions.</p>
<p>‘FEUDAL AGES’</p>
<p>Until his death in 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made numerous entreaties to ensure China would back his preferred son as successor.</p>
<p>While then-President Hu reciprocated, the younger Kim, in his late 20s at the time, began to distance himself from his country’s most powerful ally.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of domestic politics in North Korea where this young leader who isn’t well-known, he’s not proven yet, especially has to show that he’s not in the pocket of Beijing,” said John Delury of Seoul’s Yonsei University. “I think he made the decision first to keep Hu Jintao and then (current President) Xi Jinping really at bay.”</p>
<p>Within months of coming to power, Kim telegraphed North Korea’s intentions by amending its constitution to proclaim itself a nuclear state. The execution of Jang’s uncle in 2013 sealed Beijing’s distrust of the young leader.</p>
<p>“Of course the Chinese were not happy,” said a foreign diplomat in Beijing focused on North Korea. “Executing your uncle, that’s from the feudal ages.”</p>
<p>In an attempt to warm ties, Xi sent high-ranking Communist Party official Liu Yunshan to attend the North’s October 2015 military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.</p>
<p>Liu hand-delivered a letter from Xi praising Kim’s leadership and including congratulations not just from the Chinese Communist Party but Xi’s personal “cordial wishes” in a powerful show of respect.</p>
<p>Xi’s overture has been repaid with increasingly brazen actions by Pyongyang, which many observers believe are timed for maximum embarrassment to Beijing. Sunday’s nuclear test, for example, took place as China hosted a BRICS summit, while in May, the North launched a long-range missile just hours before the Belt and Road Forum, dedicated to Xi’s signature foreign policy initiative.</p>
<p>MISREADING LIPS</p>
<p>Mao Zedong’s description of North Korea’s relationship with China is typically mischaracterized as being as close as “lips and teeth”.</p>
<p>His words are better translated as: “If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,” a reference to the strategic importance of the North as a geographical security buffer.</p>
<p>Despite its resentment at the pressure North Korea’s actions have put it under, Beijing refrains from taking too hard a line.</p>
<p>It said little when Kim Jong Un’s half-brother was assassinated in February at Kuala Lumpur’s airport. The half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, had been seen as a potential rival for power in Pyongyang and had lived for years in Beijing, then Macau.</p>
<p>An editorial in China’s influential Global Times warned after Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test that cutting off North Korea’s oil would redirect the conflict to one between North Korea and China.</p>
<p>Zhao Tong, a North Korea expert at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, said North Korea was deeply unhappy with China’s backing of earlier UN sanctions.</p>
<p>“If China supports more radical economic sanctions that directly threaten the stability of the regime, then it is possible that North Korea becomes as hostile to China as to the United States.”</p>
<p>For a graphic on nuclear North Korea, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010031V7472/index.html</p> | 'Lips and teeth' no more as China's ties with North Korea fray | false | https://newsline.com/039lips-and-teeth039-no-more-as-china039s-ties-with-north-korea-fray/ | 2017-09-08 | 1 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Constitutional Sheriffs</a> are becoming more vocal and demonstrating why they are a valuable asset to freedom and their communities. The latest sheriff to take a constitutional stand is Eddy County, New Mexico’s Scott London, the first sheriff in twenty-five to stand up to the IRS against a tyrannical attempt to sell a citizen in his county’s land without due process.</p>
<p>Priscilla Jones <a href="http://benswann.com/exclusive-sheriff-stands-up-to-irs-cancels-land-sale/" type="external">provides</a> the background information for the sheriff’s actions:</p>
<p>Approximately ten days before Christmas, U.S. Marshals broke in the door of Carter’s rental property with their guns drawn. The tenant was a young mother with a new baby—home alone while her husband was at work. Sheriff London was called to the property to intervene. He advised the Marshals that Carter’s case was in appeal and he deserved due process. They threatened to arrest London, but he stood his ground and they backed off.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Taxation &amp; Revenue Department ordered Carter to cease “engaging in business in New Mexico” until his arbitrary tax debt was paid. Carter appealed this injunction on the grounds that it was both unconstitutional and vague, as it deprived him of his right to make a living and also prohibited him from, “carrying on or causing to be carried on any activity with the purpose of direct or indirect benefit.”</p>
<p>Kent Carter’s property was in the sights of the corrupt Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury has slated a sale of the properties in question for the 19th of February. When Sheriff London found out about it, he issued the following certified letter on February 4.</p>
<p />
<p>Sheriff London cites Section 18 of the New Mexico Constitution and the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution as the basis for his stand against the <a href="" type="internal">federal tyrants</a>.</p>
<p>“Thus I am notifying you that under compulsion to my oath to the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of New Mexico, I shall not allow the sales of these three properties on 19 February 2015,” he wrote.</p>
<p>Sheriff Mack, founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association praised London’s actions.</p>
<p>“Many officers have stood up over the years for the rights of citizens being victimized by the federal government,” Mack said. “But Sheriff London is the first one to stand up to the IRS since the early 1990s.” Mack <a href="http://benswann.com/exclusive-sheriff-stands-up-to-irs-cancels-land-sale/" type="external">said</a>, “His actions show courage and humility. London is setting a good example for the rest of our sheriffs.”</p>
<p>KrisAnne Hall <a href="http://krisannehall.com/constitutional-sheriff-nm-defies-irs/" type="external">documents</a> why sheriffs like London are so important to the people in her excellent article on what is taking place in New Mexico.</p>
<p>“Short of physical resistance, due process and community oversight (a jury of your peers) was intended to be some of the greatest protections against government threat against property,” Hall wrote. “So important was to be the protection of due process, that it is placed multiple times in our Bill of Rights.”</p>
<p>“For example, the 5th Amendment in the Bill of Rights declares that ‘…nor shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law;’ The 7th Amendment also declares, ‘In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right to trial by jury, shall be preserved…'” she adds. “Both of those Amendments express the due process protections guaranteed to the people. Sheriff London accurately states in his letter to the IRS that Mr. Carter has NOT exhausted his right to due process. Yet, the IRS under the auspices of Judge Brack and the US District court, are attempting to deprive Mr. Carter of his property with full knowledge that Mr. Carter’s right to due process is still engaged.”</p>
<p>Currently, 100% of the Carter’s Social Security benefits have been seized every month by the IRS. Under the law, Carter claims that the IRS can take no more than 15% of his Social Security benefits, but they’ve not only taken 100% of them, they’ve even deprived him of $2800.00 via his bank account.</p>
<p>Carter said the IRS is “worse than the mafia” and called them a “lie.”</p>
<p>“Why should they be able to take anything?” he <a href="http://benswann.com/exclusive-sheriff-stands-up-to-irs-cancels-land-sale/" type="external">asked</a>.</p>
<p>One court document, according to Jones indicates that Carter owed $145,000, which Carter maintains has no basis and was “pulled out of thin air” by an assessing agent. However, now the IRS claims that he owes upwards of $890,000! Carter says that number “doubled with the stroke of a pen.”</p>
<p>“The IRS fabricates evidence against citizens by pulling numbers out of a hat and adding fees,” <a href="http://benswann.com/exclusive-sheriff-stands-up-to-irs-cancels-land-sale/" type="external">said</a> Sheriff Mack. “They wear people down emotionally and financially until they can’t take it anymore. No citizen should ever have to fight the IRS for decades in order to keep his land.”</p>
<p>Ms. Hall also provided updated information on Carter’s motion. She <a href="http://krisannehall.com/constitutional-sheriff-nm-defies-irs/" type="external">wrote</a> on February 7:</p>
<p>I have spoken to Kent Carter. He filed a Motion to Stay the judges decision and was DENIED with NO explanation. If I were to make a professional guess as to why the court denied it, it would be because he filed the Motion outside the “allowed” time frame. That is no excuse for the court to not make that explanation, but there you have it. I also spoke to Sheriff London. He received a call yesterday from the acting Under Secretary of the Department of Treasury, Matthew Rutherford. Mr. Rutherford claims this case has been decided by the appellate court already in favor of the IRS. If he is correct that is a record pace decision. Sheriff London told Mr. Rutherford that he had better present proof of that before he will ever consider allowing the sales to take place. Apparently Mr. Rutherford was not at all happy about that. This could get very interesting!</p>
<p>Perhaps it is not only Sheriff London that needs to take a physical stand at the properties of Mr. Carter, but also the people of New Mexico, <a href="http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/04/harry-reids-attempted-land-grab-thwarted-bundy-supporters/" type="external">just as Americans did for Cliven Bundy and his ranch</a>.</p>
<p>As our forefather Benjamin Franklin once wisely said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”</p>
<p>If you wish your voice to be heard, you can contact the following:</p>
<p><a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e7a386958b828982c9ad88898294d5a78e9594c9808891" type="external" /></p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://freedomoutpost.com/2015/02/nm-sheriff-stands-irs-federal-marshals-cancels-land-sale/" type="external">Freedom Outpost</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | NM Sheriff Scott London Stands Against IRS & Federal Marshals – Cancels Land Sale | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2015/02/09/nm-sheriff-scott-london-stands-irs-federal-marshals-cancels-land-sale/ | 2015-02-09 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Lockheed Martin Corporation is a giant aerospace and defense contractor. It's one of the most recognizable names in the industry and is a great company. But it's not cheap right now, which is why you might want to take a look at these two other companies that play in the same spaces.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Good company, expensive stockLockheed's current price-to-earnings ratio is above 19. Its five-year average, however, is closer to 14, so it's trading hands about 35% above its recent average. It's expensive based on price to sales and price to cash flow, too. Its yield, meanwhile, is around 3%, which is about 10% lower than the company's five-year average. It's a good company, but it's an expensive stock. So it's worth taking a look at some alternatives.</p>
<p>Boeing logo. Source: Boeing.</p>
<p>For example, Boeing . This company is best known for its iconic passenger planes, but it does a lot more. For example, it generated $30.4 billion from its defense, space, and security businesses last year. To be fair, the rest of its $96.1 billion in revenue came from commercial jets, but it's got some significant similarities to Lockheed.</p>
<p>One thing that's very different, however, is valuation. In fact, Boeing recently got even cheaper than it had been because the SEC is investigating its accounting treatment for its 747 and 787 aircraft programs. That's nothing to brush off, but it's likely to cause more of a black eye than broken bones. Thiw could be a nice buying opportunity, with the shares recently trading around 10% below its trailing five-year average for P/E, about 10% below its price-to-sales norm, and nearly 25% below its price-to-cash flow average.</p>
<p>The yield, meanwhile, is about 3.8%. That's more than you'll get from Lockheed and a whopping 70% higher than Boeing's five-year average yield. In all, Boeing's accounting issue could represent a good entry point for investors willing to be greedy while others are fearful. And while some might counter that Boeing looks like it's entering an economic soft patch, it's got a $490 billion backlog. That's around five years' worth of revenue at current run rates -- it has plenty of time to adjust to an industry slowdown.</p>
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<p>Distorted numbersAnother stock to look at is United Technologies , which just sold its helicopter division to Lockheed in an effort to streamline its own business. United Technologies is trading nearly 15% below its average price to book value over the trailing five years and about 10% below its historical price-to-cash flow ratio.</p>
<p>The one ratio that makes United Technologies look expensive, however, could be confusing. Its price-to-earnings ratio is nearly 20, versus a five-year average of around 16. But that's largely because of one-time charges meant to improve the business, by bolstering margins through cost cuts. Take the one-time charges out, and the company's P/E drops to around 14, 12% or so below its historical average.</p>
<p>So United Technologies looks cheap, too. And while the dividend yield at nearly 3% is roughly what you'd get from Lockheed, it's 30% higher than United Technologies' five-year average yield -- from a company with over two decades of annual dividend increases under its belt. (Lockheed, for reference, has around 13 years of annual increases.)</p>
<p>United Technologies portfolio. Source: United Technologies.</p>
<p>All of that said, United Technologies is a more diversified company than either Boeing or Lockheed. For example, aerospace in some form makes up around half of United Technologies' business, but the rest includes things such as Otis elevators, security products, and climate control equipment. That, however, might be a desirable attribute if you don't want to be so heavily exposed to the military and/or aerospace markets.</p>
<p>Good vs. cheapWhen you're looking at Lockheed Martin, there's little doubt that you're researching an industry-leading company. But that means it's a good company, not a good value. Right now Lockheed looks expensive relative to alternatives such as Boeing and United Technologies. And while of this pair, only Boeing yields more than Lockheed, don't write United Technologies off on the dividend front. The company has 22 years of annual dividend increases behind it, and the yield is well above its historical norm -- suggesting that, in terms of valuation, now could be a good time to jump aboard. If you're looking at Lockheed, you should consider these two alternatives as well.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/25/forget-lockheed-martin-corporation-here-are-2-bett.aspx" type="external">Forget Lockheed Martin Corporation: Here Are 2 Better Dividend Stocks Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/ReubenGBrewer/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Reuben Brewer 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> | Forget Lockheed Martin Corporation: Here Are 2 Better Dividend Stocks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/25/forget-lockheed-martin-corporation-here-are-2-better-dividend-stocks.html | 2016-03-27 | 0 |
<p>Seattle Times That's what Bill Richards writes. He notes that one unknown starting to loom over the JOA fight is its impact on labor talks when the contract between the Times, the Post-Intelligencer and the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild expires next July 21. Traditionally, the papers and the union begin informal talks several months before the contract expires. "With all the bad blood in the JOA, we were curious whether this time they would be joined at the hip as they have in the past," says union official Liz Brown. "They said they had no plans to do anything different," she said, "but they'd let us know if they change their minds."</p> | Seattle Times, P-I spat expected to get more contentious | false | https://poynter.org/news/seattle-times-p-i-spat-expected-get-more-contentious | 2005-08-22 | 2 |
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<p>The first part of that could very well be happening. The second half? Perhaps not.</p>
<p>Of the four high-quality mainstream media polls conducted since that “Access Hollywood” video emerged, Trump has trailed by 11 points, 9 points, 7 points and 4 points. And even that last, closest poll, from The Washington Post and ABC News on Sunday, includes some big red flags for Trump.</p>
<p>But those same polls don’t suggest doom and gloom for downballot Republicans just yet. And in fact, there’s real reason for GOP optimism that Trump won’t ruin their year completely.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For one, the so-called generic ballot — i.e., whether people prefer a generic Democrat for Congress or a generic Republican — still only favors Democrats by a small margin: 3 points in both the Post-ABC poll and NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, among likely voters. That same Democratic edge on the generic ballot is actually down from 6 points in last week’s NBC-WSJ poll.</p>
<p>Put plainly, these generic ballots are unremarkable and don’t suggest a big Democratic wave ahead.</p>
<p>Part of the reason Trump’s woes might not have filtered downballot could be that a strong majority of people don’t really associate Republicans with their party’s presidential nominee. And many people also appear to dislike Clinton enough that they like the idea of a Congress that could keep her in check.</p>
<p>The Post-ABC poll includes a question about whether people think Trump represents the “core values” of the Republican Party, and a strong majority of likely voters say he doesn’t — 57 percent overall.</p>
<p>The number includes a whopping 62 percent of independents. Just 27 percent of them think Trump does represent the GOP.</p>
<p>And the NBC-WSJ poll might be even more encouraging for Republicans, because it suggests a path forward for them. The poll asked whether registered voters would be more likely to support a congressional Republican who would be a check and balance on Clinton and Democrats, and 53 percent said they would. Just 40 percent preferred a congressional Democrat who would help Clinton pass her agenda.</p>
<p>And we’ve already seen some Republicans begin to employ this strategy — suggesting they should be elected in order to counterbalance Clinton. It’s not pervasive at this point, but it would appear to be at least a semi-compelling argument for Republicans to make if they think Trump is a lost cause and they want to distance themselves from him.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting, to that point, that Clinton hasn’t really pressed the case that Trump is representative of the broader Republican Party. Democrats, at this point, might wish she had.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Christopher Hayes tweeted, “Fascinating. Obama now making the case that Clinton has explicitly rejected: that Trump is a natural continuation of the GOP.”</p>
<p>As for the Post-ABC poll, it’s possible that people might not think Trump represents the GOP but still decline to split their tickets. Ticket-splitting continues to decline in American elections, as our country becomes more and more polarized.</p>
<p>But we’re also in a highly unusual election, in which a strong majority of people (and many more in Trump’s case) don’t like either candidate. Given a strong majority dislikes Clinton, it’s at least theoretically possible that people might be more willing to split their tickets if Clinton is headed for victory, as the NBC-WSJ poll suggests.</p>
<p>All of that said, even in the best-case scenario, it might not be enough for the GOP to salvage its Senate majority. That has been in jeopardy from the very beginning of the 2016 election cycle, thanks to a very tough map for the GOP. And we believe Democrats are narrowly favored to win the chamber at this point.</p>
<p>But as I wrote last week, the case for Democrats retaking the House was presaged on the idea that Trump would prove an anvil tied to the ankles of Republicans across the country. I said at the time that we were still waiting for real evidence that this was true, and the newest national polls suggest it might not be.</p>
<p>The GOP shouldn’t count its congressional majorities safe by any means at this point, but in an election that has tested all of our preconceptions about American politics in 2016, it’s not unreasonable to think that a big victory for Clinton might fail to filter down to congressional Democrats — at least, as much as we’re accustomed to.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Video: The newest Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Democratic presidential Hillary Clinton with a 4-percentage-point lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump among likely voters. Respondents were also asked about Donald Trump’s lewd comments about women, and how locked-in their votes are. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)</p>
<p>URL:</p>
<p><a href="http://wapo.st/2e5D68h" type="external">http://wapo.st/2e5D68h</a></p>
<p>Embed code:</p>
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<p>campaign-gop</p> | Some legitimately good news for Republicans | false | https://abqjournal.com/868782/some-legitimately-good-news-for-republicans.html | 2 |
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<p>Virtually Speaking Sundays - 6p PT/9p ET</p>
<p>Listen live or later on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/virtuallyspeaking/2014/01/13/avedon-carol-gaius-publius-virtually-speaking-sundays" type="external">BlogTalkRadio</a>.</p>
<p>Current events and public policy. From the VS Media Panel, Gaius Publius ( <a href="http://americablog.com/author/gaius-publius" type="external">AmericaBlog</a>) and Avedon Carol ( <a href="http://avedoncarol.blogspot.com/" type="external">Sideshow</a>) discuss TPP, Chris Christie, GOP 2016, MSNBC. Political satire from Culture of Truth. Follow @Avedon_Says @Gaius_Publius</p>
<p>Links from the program will be posted in the episode post at <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us" type="external">virtuallyspeaking.us</a></p>
<p>The 2014 Virtually Speaking Media Panel: <a href="http://allisonkilkenny.tumblr.com/" type="external">Allison Kilkenny</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Avedon+Carol" type="external">Avedon Carol,</a> <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Cliff+Schecter" type="external">Cliff Schecter</a>, <a href="http://daviddayen.tumblr.com/" type="external">David Dayen</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Dave+Johnson" type="external">Dave Johnson</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=David+Waldman" type="external">David Waldman</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=digby" type="external">digby</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Gaius+Publius" type="external">Gaius Publius</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Joan+McCarter" type="external">Joan McCarter,</a> <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Marcy+Wheeler" type="external">Marcy Wheeler,</a> <a href="http://ourfuture.org/author/richardeskow" type="external">RJ Eskow</a>, <a href="http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-sundays/?tag=Stuart+Zechman" type="external">Stuart Zechman</a> Join us in the <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Colonia%20Nova/218/138/701" type="external">SecondLife Studio Audience</a>.</p> | Program Reminder: Virtually Speaking | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2014/01/program-reminder-virtually-speaking-0 | 2014-01-12 | 4 |
<p>Even the Kremlin is disagreeing with the White House’s account of a meeting between Jared Kushner — Donald Trump’s son-in-law — and Russian bankers.</p>
<p>Roughly one month after Donald Trump was elected, Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, met with Sergey Gorkov, the CEO of Russian government-owned Vnesheconombank (VEB). Kushner’s meeting with Gorkov was a diplomatic affair, with Kushner acting as “ <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-meeting-ceo-russia-bank-2017-3" type="external">a transition official</a>,” according to a statement an anonymous Trump official made to Business Insider. The spokesman added that Kushner was “the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials” on behalf of Trump’s presidential transition team.</p>
<p>However, Dmitry Peskov, who is a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday that Kushner’s meeting with Gorkov was “ordinary business.” The timing of the meeting seems to echo that statement, as Kushner was seeking investors in his 666 Fifth Avenue office building. One of the potential buyers is Chinese insurance group Anbang, which is in talks with the Kushner family about a possible&#160; <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-22/kushners-troubled-tower-debt-empty-offices-and-rising-fees" type="external">$4 billion deal</a> that would allow the family a way out of their colossal debt obligation through refinancing of existing loans, according to Bloomberg. Democrats have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-25/democrats-question-potential-kushner-deal-with-china-s-anbang" type="external">called for a probe</a> into whether or not the deal violates conflict of interest policy.</p>
<p>A of this writing, no deal between the Kushner family and VEB has been struck. Reuters reported earlier this week that Kushner and other business leaders <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-veb-idUSKBN16Y2C7?il=0" type="external">met with Gorkov</a> during a VEB roadshow in 2016 to discuss the bank’s new development strategies.</p>
<p>“[VEB executives met] with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies,” the bank said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Kushner has offered to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in its investigation of the Trump campaign’s communications with Russian officials.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Tom Cahill is a senior editor for the Resistance Report based in the Pacific Northwest. He specializes in coverage of political, economic, and environmental news. You can contact him via email at [email protected], or follow him on Facebook <a href="http://facebook.com/tomcahillRR" type="external">by clicking here</a>.</p> | Vladimir Putin’s spokesman just put Jared Kushner in a really awkward position | true | http://resistancereport.com/politics/putin-spokesman-kushner/ | 2017-03-28 | 4 |
<p>STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma State fought like crazy to get new coach Mike Boynton his first Big 12 win.</p>
<p>Jeffrey Carroll scored 24 points and Kendall Smith added a season-high 20 to help Oklahoma State defeat Iowa State 96-87 in overtime on Saturday.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State rallied from an eight-point deficit with 3:32 left in regulation. The victory came after a 20-point loss to Oklahoma on Wednesday.</p>
<p>"It was a huge bounce back game for a lot of guys," Boynton said. "We got our tails kicked the other day, and for us to bounce back from a pretty embarrassing loss - I'm really proud of the guys. That was pretty cool to see."</p>
<p>Tavarius Shine scored 15 points and Mitchell Solomon added 14 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma State (11-4, 1-2 Big 12), which snapped Iowa State's 10-game win streak in the series.</p>
<p>Cameron McGriff's layup with 46 seconds remaining in overtime put the Cowboys up four, and they held the Cyclones scoreless the rest of the way.</p>
<p>Donovan Jackson scored a career-high 30 points for Iowa State (9-5, 0-3).</p>
<p>"Disappointed for our guys," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. "It stinks right now. It's hard, but hopefully, it will help us down the road."</p>
<p>The Cowboys jumped out to a 23-9 lead and pushed their advantage to 30-17 before going cold. Iowa State took a 31-30 lead on three free throws by Jackson with 2:30 left in the first half. The Cyclones held Oklahoma State scoreless for nearly six minutes during a 17-0 run before Brandon Averette's jumper with 5 seconds remaining in the first half cut Iowa State's lead to 34-32 at the break. Jackson didn't score until 9:03 remained in the first half, but he scored 15 points before the break. At one point, he made three 3-pointers in a span of 2:23.</p>
<p>"I had to jump them at halftime," Boynton said. "I haven't had to do that very often this year, and for those guys to all respond the way they did - I'm really proud of those players."</p>
<p>Oklahoma State held Iowa State scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half to take a 40-34 lead, but Iowa State bounced back again.</p>
<p>Iowa State's Hans Brase made a layup with 52 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Cyclones a 78-77 lead. After Jackson made one of two free throws to put Iowa State up two, Smith tied the game at 79 on a short jumper with 5 seconds left to force overtime.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State outscored Iowa State 17-8 in the extra period. It was an especially tough loss for Iowa State, which fell 74-70 to Texas in overtime on Jan. 1.</p>
<p>"It comes down to we've got to make big plays offensively and defensively, and two games in a row, we didn't do that," Jackson said.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Iowa State: The Cyclones are winless in league play and have yet to play any of the league's currently ranked teams. They have two home losses to unranked teams already on their record, and three of the next four games are against ranked opponents.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State: The Cowboys remained unbeaten against unranked teams. If they can keep it that way and steal a few against ranked teams, their NCAA Tournament resume will look solid.</p>
<p>QUOTABLE</p>
<p>Prohm: "We scored plenty enough points to win the game. We were hot and cold on defense, and you can't do that and win on the road."</p>
<p>STAT LINES</p>
<p>Jackson made 6 of 8 3-pointers for Iowa State, but the rest of the Cyclones went 0 for 10.</p>
<p>WHISTLE HAPPY</p>
<p>The teams combined for 48 fouls. Solomon fouled out for Oklahoma State while Solomon Young and Lindell Wiggington fouled out for Iowa State.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Iowa State: The Cyclones will play at No. 10 Kansas on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State: The Cowboys will play at Kansas State on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP" type="external">www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a> .</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more AP college basketball coverage: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a> .</p>
<p>STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma State fought like crazy to get new coach Mike Boynton his first Big 12 win.</p>
<p>Jeffrey Carroll scored 24 points and Kendall Smith added a season-high 20 to help Oklahoma State defeat Iowa State 96-87 in overtime on Saturday.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State rallied from an eight-point deficit with 3:32 left in regulation. The victory came after a 20-point loss to Oklahoma on Wednesday.</p>
<p>"It was a huge bounce back game for a lot of guys," Boynton said. "We got our tails kicked the other day, and for us to bounce back from a pretty embarrassing loss - I'm really proud of the guys. That was pretty cool to see."</p>
<p>Tavarius Shine scored 15 points and Mitchell Solomon added 14 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma State (11-4, 1-2 Big 12), which snapped Iowa State's 10-game win streak in the series.</p>
<p>Cameron McGriff's layup with 46 seconds remaining in overtime put the Cowboys up four, and they held the Cyclones scoreless the rest of the way.</p>
<p>Donovan Jackson scored a career-high 30 points for Iowa State (9-5, 0-3).</p>
<p>"Disappointed for our guys," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. "It stinks right now. It's hard, but hopefully, it will help us down the road."</p>
<p>The Cowboys jumped out to a 23-9 lead and pushed their advantage to 30-17 before going cold. Iowa State took a 31-30 lead on three free throws by Jackson with 2:30 left in the first half. The Cyclones held Oklahoma State scoreless for nearly six minutes during a 17-0 run before Brandon Averette's jumper with 5 seconds remaining in the first half cut Iowa State's lead to 34-32 at the break. Jackson didn't score until 9:03 remained in the first half, but he scored 15 points before the break. At one point, he made three 3-pointers in a span of 2:23.</p>
<p>"I had to jump them at halftime," Boynton said. "I haven't had to do that very often this year, and for those guys to all respond the way they did - I'm really proud of those players."</p>
<p>Oklahoma State held Iowa State scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half to take a 40-34 lead, but Iowa State bounced back again.</p>
<p>Iowa State's Hans Brase made a layup with 52 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Cyclones a 78-77 lead. After Jackson made one of two free throws to put Iowa State up two, Smith tied the game at 79 on a short jumper with 5 seconds left to force overtime.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State outscored Iowa State 17-8 in the extra period. It was an especially tough loss for Iowa State, which fell 74-70 to Texas in overtime on Jan. 1.</p>
<p>"It comes down to we've got to make big plays offensively and defensively, and two games in a row, we didn't do that," Jackson said.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Iowa State: The Cyclones are winless in league play and have yet to play any of the league's currently ranked teams. They have two home losses to unranked teams already on their record, and three of the next four games are against ranked opponents.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State: The Cowboys remained unbeaten against unranked teams. If they can keep it that way and steal a few against ranked teams, their NCAA Tournament resume will look solid.</p>
<p>QUOTABLE</p>
<p>Prohm: "We scored plenty enough points to win the game. We were hot and cold on defense, and you can't do that and win on the road."</p>
<p>STAT LINES</p>
<p>Jackson made 6 of 8 3-pointers for Iowa State, but the rest of the Cyclones went 0 for 10.</p>
<p>WHISTLE HAPPY</p>
<p>The teams combined for 48 fouls. Solomon fouled out for Oklahoma State while Solomon Young and Lindell Wiggington fouled out for Iowa State.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Iowa State: The Cyclones will play at No. 10 Kansas on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State: The Cowboys will play at Kansas State on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP" type="external">www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a> .</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more AP college basketball coverage: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a> .</p> | Carroll's 24 lead Oklahoma St. to 96-87 OT win over Iowa St. | false | https://apnews.com/amp/b0ba216bf2a549c89ec5b6fc1fc071cb | 2018-01-07 | 2 |
<p>Burundi Opposition leaders want President Pierre Nkurunziza to step down or withdraw from his third term bid in the separate upcoming presidential elections, Claiming that it violates the country’s constitution and the Arusha Accords, a peace deal that ended the ethnic civil war and established the foundation for Burundi’s Post-conflict recovery.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/burundi-refugees-30jun15/2843074.html" type="external">Voanews</a>, the UN refugee agency has stated that thousand so of Burundians continue to flee political instability and the violence. About ten thousand refugees had crossed into neighboring countries over the weekend before the government closed the borders due to parliamentary elections.</p>
<p>President Nkurunziza supporters, on the other hand, argue that the president’s first term should be discounted as he was chosen by parliament and not by the people in an election as is specified in the agreement.</p>
<p>While there is little doubt about the outcome that has been given by the opposition, the presidential adviser Will Nyamitwe stated that the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party expects a landslide victory in the legislative elections.</p>
<p>The CNDD-FDD currently dominates the outgoing parliament with 81 of the 106 seats.</p>
<p>Nyamitwe added that the elections had gone well, without any major incidents across the whole country. The opposition had announced a boycott verbally, but unfortunately for them, it did not happen and the members of the opposition voted, and some of them had even been elected.</p>
<p>The presidency welcomed estimation turnout figures that were superior to 89% given the electoral commission CENI. While there had been reports of violence at a number of the polling stations, images that allegedly portrayed electors washing their hands using indelible ink applied to the forefinger of voters during the elections in order to avoid electoral fraud such as double voting-also spread on social media.</p>
<p>The opposition claims that the contested presidential elections should be held on 30 July, two weeks after initially planned with the second round on the 15 August.</p>
<p /> | Burundians flee Country while opposition sets election date to 30 July | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/06/30/burundians-flee-country-while-opposition-sets-election-date-to-30-july/ | 2015-06-30 | 3 |
<p />
<p>“We simply ask for the dignity and respect, to not call our mothers a son of a B,” she proclaimed. “I refuse to accept that as a standard of leadership for the highest office in the world, and even if you never understand it sir…we will continue to stand in the gap and racism is going to be under our foot!”</p>
<p>This comes in response to a long chain of events, starting with Colin Kaepernick back in 2016. The former NFL quarterback made national headlines when he refused to stand during the national anthem, in an effort to raise awareness to “racial inequality,” in his own words.</p>
<p>Many other players followed suit, and now the trend has even spread to the MLB, to the Chicago Police Department, and even to high school football teams. The controversy has polarized the nation, with the left believing that racism must be fought every step of the way, and the right believing that the flag must be respected.</p>
<p>At a rally in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, President Trump condemned the players who chose to kneel during the national anthem. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘get that son of a bitch off the field right now!” Trump proclaimed, as his crowd erupted in applause.</p>
<p>This speech is what sparked Representative Sheila Jackson Lee to kneel on the house floor, much to the shock of national media. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/26/that-is-racism-black-lawmaker-condemns-trump-kneels-in-congress-to-honor-nfl-players/?utm_term=.cad441f9457a" type="external">The Washington Post</a> reports:</p>
<p>Jackson Lee, who represents central Houston, demanded to know which NFL player’s mother Trump was insulting.</p>
<p>“That is racism,” Jackson Lee said during a special order of the Congressional Black Caucus. “You cannot deny it.”</p>
<p>Then Jackson Lee took a knee.</p>
<p>“I kneel in honor of them,” she said. “ … I kneel because the flag is a symbol of freedom. I kneel because I am going to stand against racism.”</p>
<p>Nearly every single NFL player who appeared on the sidelines Sunday locked arms, some standing, some kneeling, in response to President Trump’s comments. His stance, which he has reinforced on Twitter, has been met with both agreement and disagreement by owners and players.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>President Trump has also clarified that his opposition to the NFL and their kneeling players is not about race—it’s about respect to the flag.</p>
<p>On Monday, Jackson Lee and the Congressional Black Caucus joined the chorus of criticism. Jackson Lee previously called on Trump to resign following his sexist attack on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, who he said was “bleeding badly from a facelift.”</p>
<p>“There is no basis in the First Amendment that says you cannot kneel on the national anthem or in front of the flag,” she said. “There is no regulation that says these young men cannot stand against the dishonoring of their mothers.”</p>
<p>Civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a fellow member of the Congressional Black Caucus, also spoke out against Trump’s comments on Monday, saying that “young people kneeling today are following a long tradition,” referencing civil rights leaders’ tradition of kneeling in protest.</p>
<p>As the nation reels in response to the further division of our country, many are left wondering what exactly is dividing us. On the surface it appears that racism and sexism are the cause, but many believe these are remnants of the past, things which died off decades ago. What do you think?</p> | WATCH: Angry Democratic Congresswoman Kneels in Protest On House Floor (VIDEO) | true | http://silenceisconsent.net/watch-first-congresswoman-just-protested-national-anthem-house-floor-video/ | 2018-04-02 | 0 |
<p>There’s a myth out there right now that we need to address: that the presidency of Donald Trump has unified progressives who are ready to fight him every step of the way without any need for debate, as they join hands together in the “Resistance.” What some seem to have forgotten, however, is the legacy of the Sanders-Clinton split during the not actually so far-off Democratic primary. Recently, Hillary Clinton began speaking in public again, and laying a good deal of the blame for her loss in the general election on now former FBI director, James Comey (who, a little while ago, the President accused of letting Hillary Clinton get a “pass” on her email crisis). Nonetheless, Clinton’s explanation has only highlighted, once again, to some Bernie fans, that she simply doesn’t get it. Her “Third Way Liberalism,” they say, just didn’t appeal enough to angry white working-class voters who cast their ballot twice for Obama and then switched to Trump, or to the grievances of many leftists, particularly young ones. That’s a rift that, unfortunately, progressives must continue to contend with.</p>
<p>Over at The Baffler, J.M. Bernays <a href="http://thebaffler.com/latest/the-anatomy-of-liberal-melancholy" type="external">has rearticulated</a> this anger shared by the Sanders wing toward the Democratic Party. He has written a takedown of a so-called “Liberal Melancholia,” which refers to a lingering inability to accept blame for political defeat and instead to hunt for other actors to castigate. Bernays’s argument centers around the existence of a “liberal class,” a group of elites who are looking for a way to rationalize and recover from their continued shock and distress over Trump’s victory. And the answer that this “liberal class” has come up with is that all roads lead back to Russia, as it should be pointed out at the time of this writing, is a fair concern. “For almost five full months now,” Bernays writes, “in a weird pastiche-simulation that is equal parts Cold War intrigue, Watergate high drama, and addled, patriotic self-parody…the Democratic elite has struggled to heroically uncover the truth, connect the dots, and unravel the conspiracy that could topple a presidency.” This desire to uncover a Russian conspiracy, in Bernays’s mind, simply “deflects blame for a historic, humiliating failure” and provides a “rationale to continue ignoring criticism from the political left.” Meanwhile, they even continue holding on to the lingering hope of kicking the Donald out of office. Bernays’s essay was published just prior to Trump’s firing of Comey, but this line of argument would still likely suggest that this episode is just one of many little glimmerings of hope to pull the “liberal class” out of its doldrums.</p>
<p>What this class of liberal voters ignores, according to Bernays and many others, is the deep-seated failure of the existing “system” of global elites, the one being propped up by “Third-Way liberalism” which champions “technocratically managed economic growth” and that overused notion, “neoliberalism.” In making this argument, Bernays goes as far as to credit Steve Bannon for thinking along more systemic lines than those gooey liberals: “However deranged Bannon’s assumptions, this willingness to call the system into question goes a long way toward explaining Trump’s political success.”</p>
<p>Bernays’s piece frequently avoids the question of Russia’s role in the election, which is understandable seeing as the investigation into Russian meddling in the election was still under way, at least until Comey’s firing. But Bernays also turns legitimate fear about Russia into a psychological, self-defense mechanism, even citing Sigmund Freud and his theory of “melancholia,” psychologizing opponents rather than trying to engage them in real discussion. He concludes that, “In their reveries of heroic agency and frenzies of conspiratorial speculation, the urban cadres of the liberal class work through this loss via an imago of figures drawn from the febrile anxiety dreams of a terminal social order.” In other words, liberals have major issues.</p>
<p>My response to all this? Hold on just a second. Without a doubt Hillary Clinton ran a bad, technocratic campaign based upon the perception of her own superior intelligence compared to Trump’s bluster and ignorance. But here’s the rub. Notably, or perhaps not so much considering our attention-deficit culture, is that so few political critics have pointed out just how much Trump himself talked about Putin during the campaign. Therefore, is it really even necessary to make sense of &#160;inevitable “liberal melancholia”? The fact is that Trump himself was brazen about Russia throughout his quest for the presidency. First of all, he went so far as to say openly that he hoped Russia would find Hillary’s emails and expose them to the world. But, worse still, Trump claimed that Putin was a “leader far more than our President [Obama].” That’s the sort of statement that simply can’t be discounted in the way that Bernays would like it to be.</p>
<p>Trump might have symbolized, to a number of voters, an alternative to the apologia for global capitalism (although in fact he’s much more a globalist—as is Bannon—than was recognized). What he offers instead is a kind of authoritarianism (in addition to the possibility of catastrophic policy choices, like the destruction of the Affordable Care Act). And his threat is not, as has been made highlighted by his actions in office, to “neoliberalism” but instead toward the more classical conception of liberalism—that political theory of “rights,” of the defense of the individual against an over-extended state power. By his very own admission, Trump didn’t like Obama’s leadership, &#160;preferring that of Putin; this is telling. The fact that he has decided to fire an FBI director he once praised on rather dubious grounds is also quite telling. Trump glories in strong leaders, even fierce tyrants.&#160; He has also recently embraced other strongmen, including Turkey’s Erdogan and President Duterte of the Philippines. Trump cherishes unadulterated power and enjoys governing by executive order.</p>
<p>Reince Preibus has admitted that discussions have taken place in the White House about revising the country’s libel laws in order to allow Trump (and others) to sue media outlets that report whatever he might consider “fake news.” (In other words, the facts.) He treats any and all dissent against his leadership as the work of paid agitators, both illegitimate and unnecessary. He prefers action over deliberation—as the recent health-care vote reminds us.</p>
<p>And these are just some of the important details that writers like Bernays don’t seem to fully grasp. Bernays’s brand of Marxism—explicit or not—reduces all concerns about democratic procedure to the self-interest of this so-called “liberal class.” And, in certain cases, that’s indeed a legitimate argument. But it runs the non-negligible risk of blinding us to the serious threat that a leader like Donald Trump poses to our republic. This is not (only) about economic self-interest but also a grave a concern about the fragility of our constitutional republicanism. The desire of our current President to brush aside all dissent and rush forward on any and all possible action fundamentally endangers our procedural processes. Critics like Bernays are too quick to ignore the perils of the far-right authoritarian-inclined government we currently face, including the possibility of continued support from below, as has been exemplified also in countries from Turkey to France.</p>
<p>We need, therefore, to renew and nourish a progressivism that, unlike its conservative counterpart, truly cherishes the principles of deliberation and transparency. We need to articulate a style of leadership that doesn’t look like a fist and doesn’t try to simply sweep aside figures on a board game and then bluster its way to victory. No doubt liberals have too often ignored underlying issues of class power. But that doesn’t mean that we should do away with classic liberal ideals like open deliberation or the right to free speech. We have to get back at the difficult work of balancing rights and a diversity of opinions against the desire for political &#160;“efficiency” at all costs. It’s a tough job, but the imperative lies with progressives to get to work.</p> | Liberalism Now More Than Ever | true | http://democracyjournal.org/alcove/liberalism-now-more-than-ever/ | 2017-05-11 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (RNS) — Several prominent evangelical leaders have endorsed a “Reconciliation Referendum” that says Sen. Barack Obama's recent address on race did not go far enough and pushes church leaders to speak up more about the need to address racism.</p>
<p>“Opinion leaders in the national media praised the speech as courageous, but the notion that simply more talk is needed will no longer suffice,” the statement said.</p>
<p>“While politicians like Barack Obama and the national media wring their hands over a problem that has persisted in this country nearly 400 years, they offer no solutions to the problem.”</p>
<p>The statement was presented to Christian leaders at a recent meeting in Montgomery, Ala., hosted by “The Call,” a multidenominational movement focused on reconciliation and revival.</p>
<p>More than 350 people have endorsed the statement, which aims to achieve racial reconciliation within the next decade.</p>
<p>Among the signers are Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship; Richard Cizik, vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Harry Jackson, founder of the High Impact Leadership Coalition; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; and Alveda King, an anti-abortion activist and niece of Martin Luther King Jr.</p>
<p>The statement said the controversy about remarks by Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, demonstrates the church needs to do more to address race relations — including prayer, interracial evangelism and addressing poverty.</p>
<p>“The failure of good Christian people to provide a clear and convincing example of racial unity within the church has contributed to the divide between the races in the nation and it only appears to be widening,” the statement says.</p>
<p>“We must recognize that racism is not just a social problem in America; it is also a spiritual problem.”</p> | Key evangelical leaders endorse reconciliation | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/keyevangelicalleadersendorsereconciliation/ | 3 |
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<p>Staff Changes</p>
<p>Steve Traylor, to First Church, Staunton, as senior pastor.</p>
<p>Mathew “Mat” Brown, to Branch's Church, Richmond, as pastor.</p>
<p>David G. McEntire, to Gibeon Church, Callao, as pastor.</p>
<p>Holly Irvin, resigning as minister of music and youth at Monument Heights Church, Richmond.</p>
<p>Jared Lake, to Flat Creek Church, Lynchburg, as interim youth pastor.</p>
<p>Ordination</p>
<p>Brandon Wood was ordained to the gospel ministry on Sept. 3 by Fort Trial Baptist Church, Stanleytown. He serves as associate pastor for children and youth at Second Church, Rutherfordton, NC.</p>
<p>Church News</p>
<p>Branch's Church, Richmond, will celebrate its 192nd anniversary with its annual Rally Day on Oct. 1. Pastor Mat Brown will lead the service at 11 a.m. A lunch will follow on the church grounds.</p>
<p>Fairview Church, Fredericksburg, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Family Life Center on Oct. 1 at 4:00 p.m.</p>
<p>Orange Church, Orange, is participating in a year-long commemoration of its 150 years of ministry. John Upton, executive director of the BGAV, will be guest speaker on Oct. 8. Lunch will be served after worship. In the afternoon former ministers will bring words of greetings and special music will be provided. A time capsule has been prepared by the youth.</p>
<p>Arthur D. DeCoursey celebrated his 20th anniversary as pastor of Zoar Church, Catlett, on Aug. 13. He and his wife, Janet, were honored with gifts by the congregation.</p>
<p>Death</p>
<p>Retired Bluefield College professor Primitivo Degado died Sept. 14 in Ohio at the age of 93. He joined the faculty at Bluefield in 1957 as Bible instructor and was promoted to academic dean, a position he held until 1975. At that time he continued to serve as a professor of religion, philosophy and behavioral science until retirement in 1991. Funeral services were held on the campus of the college.</p>
<p>Other</p>
<p>John Randall “Randy” Myers has joined the staff of the Chaplain Services of the Churches of Virginia Inc. as religious advisor to the Virginia Department of Corrections and Assistant to the President of Chaplain Service, Cecil E. McFarland. A native of Powhatan, Myers is an ordained Baptist minister.</p>
<p>Blackwater Association will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a Missions Celebration on Oct. 8 at Smithfield Church. Fred Anderson will portray a famous Virginia Baptist at the 6 p.m. service. Special music will be provided by “Praise 6.” An association historical exhibit will be open from 7:00-7:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Revivals &amp; Homecomings</p>
<p>Alum Spring Church, Culpeper; revival Oct. 8-12; Jim White, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Antioch Church, Sandston; 230th homecoming celebration Oct. 8; Anne Pomeroy Baltzell, guest speaker; dinner following worship; afternoon celebration with concert by “Four the Lord.”</p>
<p>Black Branch Church, Chase City; homecoming Oct. 8.</p>
<p>Blackey Church, Hurley; revival Oct. 12-14; Larry Burton, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Calvary Church, Lovingston; homecoming Oct. 1, followed by lunch.</p>
<p>Cave Rock Church, Troutville; homecoming Oct. 8; W. Nolan Teague, guest speaker.</p>
<p>Fairfields Church, Burgess; homecoming Oct. 15; Rod Hale, guest speaker; lunch served after worship.</p>
<p>First Church, Appalachia; 99th anniversary; homecoming Oct. 15.</p>
<p>First Church, Ballston; homecoming Oct. 15; John Edwards, guest speaker; special music by the Greater Love Quartet; dinner after service.</p>
<p>First Church, Monroe; revival Oct. 8-11.</p>
<p>Four Mile Creek Church, Richmond; 225th anniversary; homecoming Oct. 15 at 11 a.m.; dinner on the grounds at 12:30; celebration presentation at 1:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Furnace Creek Church, Rocky Mount; homecoming Oct 1; Rick Via, guest speaker.</p>
<p>Goochland Church, Goochland; homecoming Oct. 15; 235th anniversary; contemporary service at 8:45 a.m.; traditional service at 11:00; lunch will be followed by an afternoon program of memories, music and fellowship.</p>
<p>Gwynn's Island Church, Gwynn; revival Oct. 16-18; Jimmy Maroney, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Fuller Memorial Church, Martinsville; homecoming Oct. 8; former pastor Roger Beck, guest speaker.</p>
<p>Lebanon Church, Alfonso; homecoming Oct. 8 at 10:30 a.m.; Robert McKinley, guest speaker; lunch following worship; revival services Oct. 8-10 at 7:30 p.m.; Ray Goude, Chance Mace and Lee Scripture, guest evangelists.</p>
<p>Mine Road Church, Spotsylvania; 215th anniversary; Oct. 8 at 11:00; Peyton Wiltshire, guest speaker; lunch served after service.</p>
<p>New Life Church, Shiloh Church, Carson; revival Oct. 8-10; Robert P. Wyatt, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Round Hill Church, Round Hill; 100th anniversary; Oct. 7-8.</p>
<p>Sandston Church, Sandston; revival Oct. 1-4; Tommy Harrell, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Smithland Church, Heathsville; 120th anniversary; homecoming Oct. 8 at 11 a.m.; lunch served at 12:30.</p> | News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for September 28, 2006 | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/newsaboutvirginiabaptistsandtheirministriesforseptember282006/ | 3 |
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<p>BOULDER, Colo. — The Colorado Buffaloes had mixed feelings when they saw Washington’s fantastic freshman Markelle Fultz in sweats on the sideline during warm-ups Thursday night.</p>
<p>“I was bummed,” said Derrick White, who scored 16 points in Colorado’s 81-66 victory over the Fultz-less Huskies. “I wanted to go against him. … But we couldn’t dwell on it too much.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t clear if the Buffaloes saw Washington’s Malik Dime walk up to a student heckler and slap him in the face after the halftime buzzer. Washington coaches had to restrain the senior from Dakar, Senegal, who was sitting out his ninth consecutive game with a broken right finger.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Coach Lorenzo Romar said he’s aware of the fracas.</p>
<p>“I don’t know anything about the details,” Romar said. “I will look into it.”</p>
<p>Regarding Fultz’s knee, Romar said the soreness and swelling had been bothering the young player for a while.</p>
<p>“This week he wasn’t able to practice,” Romar said. “We sat him out. He was feeling a little better, but we decided to keep him out. It’s kind of day to day.”</p>
<p>Fultz scored a season-high 37 points in an 85-83 overtime win over Colorado on Jan. 18.</p>
<p>When one of his assistants ran to tell him that Fultz, projected as a potential top pick in this year’s NBA draft, was sitting this one out, Colorado coach Tad Boyle raced to update his scouting report and caution his players not to overlook the rest of Washington’s roster.</p>
<p>“You hate to see a good player like that not play because he’s special,” Boyle said after his 200th career victory. “However, it did not break my heart.”</p>
<p>Fultz’s 23.2-point average leads all freshmen and he’s the only player in the NCAA averaging 20 points, six assists and six rebounds.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s difficult when it’s someone you kind of build your whole offense around and he’s out,” Romar said. “He does so much for our team, obviously. I did not sense our team was having a pity party … We know that when he’s not in there we’re a different basketball team.”</p>
<p>Without him, the Huskies (9-15, 2-10) had no answers for Colorado’s balanced scoring attack — six Buffs scored in double figures led by George King’s 21 points to go with 12 rebounds.</p>
<p>“We’ve said all year long the strength of our team is the balance and the depth,” White said.</p>
<p>David Crisp led the Huskies with 17 points.</p>
<p>The Buffalos (14-11, 4-8 Pac-12) won for the fourth time in five games despite behind short-handed themselves. Boyle said suspended senior starters Wesley Gordon and Xavier Johnson will be back Sunday against Washington State. They missed their second consecutive game for unspecified violations of team rules. Deleon Brown is sidelined with a concussion.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Washington: The Huskies have to hope Fultz’s injury is a blip and not a lingering issue. Their only hope of reaching the postseason is a run behind their player who’s been producing more than half of their points in the second half.</p>
<p>Colorado: The Buffaloes are 1-1 since Gordon and Johnson were suspended. Their return could go a long way toward the Buffs making a successful stretch run.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Huskies visit Utah on Saturday. They lost 94-72 to the Utes last month in Seattle.</p>
<p>The Buffaloes host Washington State on Sunday night before their final road trip to Oregon.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</p> | Washington minus star Fultz, Dime slaps fan in Colorado | false | https://abqjournal.com/946970/washington-minus-star-fultz-dime-slaps-fan-in-colorado.html | 2017-02-10 | 2 |
<p>As a charter member of #NeverTrump, I’ve been receiving a fair number of emails and tweets regarding coverage of the 2016 race. Do I want Hillary to win? Do I want Trump to lose? How will I cover the debates?</p>
<p>Here’s the answer: I don’t care whether Trump wins or loses. I care that the conservative movement is preserved. I am for principle, not politicians. I care about ideas, not godworship.</p>
<p>That means calling Trump out when he violates conservative principle (which will be nearly always), and calling out Hillary when she violates conservative principle (which will be always). I’ve always done this. That’s why early on in this election cycle, I gave Trump more than a fair shot to earn my support – and he proceeded to unpeel his leftism and his narcissism in full public view like a rotten onion. His supporters refused to see or care about any of that. I saw it, I cared, and I rejected it. I went from Open To Trump to #NeverTrump.</p>
<p>I will follow the 2016 election where it leads. I will cover Trump by praising him when he says valuable things and calling him out when he violates conservative principles. I will do the same for Hillary. I’d expect my coverage to be more anti-Hillary than anti-Trump, simply because Trump is a broken clock right twice a day, while Hillary is a clock nuked in New Mexico H-bomb testing in the 1950s.</p>
<p>I will also be focusing on something far more interesting than these two bloated old mammoths of corruption and New York leftism – the frightening newly-resuscitated socialist and left-fascist movements, and the horrifying alt-right nationalist populist movement. Presidential elections are waves breaking on the shore; the forces that drive them start in movements miles from the beach. If we hope to course-correct America, that’s where we should focus – and that’s where we should build.</p>
<p>This will undoubtedly be an interesting election. Circuses usually are.</p>
<p>But instead of focusing now on the guaranteed choice between two evils, those of us who care about the future of the republic ought to focus on the culture, on the media, on the movements. That’s where change will happen – not on the back of some psychedelic electoral nightmare straight out of a Marx Brothers movie.</p> | A #NeverTrump Guide To Election Coverage | true | https://dailywire.com/news/5441/nevertrump-guide-election-coverage-ben-shapiro | 2016-05-04 | 0 |
<p>This fairy tale was re-told most recently by Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie when he said in a Dec. 3 speech: “80% of the tax relief for upper income filers goes to small businesses.” It’s untrue – and a classic example of a statistical distortion gone amok.</p>
<p>It may be true that&#160;79% of upper-income taxpayers have some income from business, but Gillespie’s definition of “small” business actually includes big accounting firms, law firms and real-estate partnerships, and “businesses” that are really only sidelines – such as occasional rental income from a corporate chief’s ski condo. In fact, tax statistics show that upper-income taxpayers get far more of their income from salaries, capital gains, stock dividends and interest than they do from small business.</p>
<p>By twisting statistics and over-hyping, Republicans are spoiling for themselves what would otherwise be a perfectly serviceable argument: lowering taxes on the most affluent Americans does indeed lower taxes on many small businesses, and thus creates more jobs. But not nearly as many as Gillespie and some other Republicans are claiming.</p>
<p>It is undisputed that that many small-business owners report profits from their companies on their personal income-tax returns and not on corporate returns. It’s also true that small business is a major source of new jobs, and economists generally agree that lower business taxes eventually tend to produce more hiring. So cutting the top tax rate probably does stimulate some small-business hiring. But how much? Nothing close to 80%, it turns out.</p>
<p>Where&#160;Top&#160;Taxpayers Get Their Income</p>
<p>(Average share of income from different sources to those paying the highest tax rate of 35% in 2003)</p>
<p>47.1%</p>
<p>25.8%</p>
<p>22.2%</p>
<p>4.9%</p>
<p>The 80% claim originated last May with a report by the Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, where it was prepared as ammunition for the debate over the second Bush tax-cut bill which eventually became law later in 2003.</p>
<p>That report concluded that 79% of the highest-income Americans have some business income. Then the report made a huge leap, claiming “These small business owners would receive 79 percent of the … tax savings” from cutting the top tax rate. But wait a second – very few of those “small business owners” are really running dry-cleaning stores. A Republican committee staff member confirmed to FactCheck.org that their report is counting anybody who made even one dollar of profit from a hobby business as a “small business owner” if they reported that income on Schedule C of their federal income-tax returns.</p>
<p>Their method also counts as a “small business owner” any member of an investment club&#160;— someone who put $50 a month into a pool to buy stocks with friends and then reported a few dollars of dividends and capital gains on a K-1 form from the partnership at the end of the year.</p>
<p>And that’s not all. Also counted as “small business owners” would be:</p>
<p>–A corporate executive who made $500,000 in salary and bonuses, and who also had $3,000 in income from renting out his yacht.</p>
<p>–A TV anchorwoman making $1 million in salary and reporting $25,000 in speaking fees as Schedule C income.</p>
<p>–A partner in a national accounting firm who has no side business at all, but who gets a big chunk of his income as a share of the giant partnership’s profits.</p>
<p>It’s silly to call any of these “small business owners,” but Gillespie went even beyond what the report said. He said 80% of the tax relief went to “small businesses,” (as opposed to “owners”). Not even the Republican staff report can back that statement.</p>
<p>So how much of the benefit really goes to small business? According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, done at the request of FactCheck.org, &#160;business income accounts for just over 22% of the income that will be reported this year by the most affluent American households. Those upper-income taxpayers actually get more from interest, dividends and capital gains than they get from business income, but Gillespie said nothing of the tax benefits on that score.</p>
<p>Both the&#160;Republican study and the Tax Policy Center&#160;focused on the same group of elite taxpayers — those paying the top income-tax rate. (That’s the rate&#160;which dropped to 35% this year from the previous level of 38.6% under the most recent tax cut.)&#160;In an earlier look at the same group, the Tax Policy Center found that roughly three out of four taxpayers paying the top rate got less than half their income from business. That’s a fact that some Republicans continue to ignore as they spin their small-business fable.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">View Tax Policy Center table showing that those paying the top federal income-tax rate get only 22.2% of their income from business sources</a></p>
<p><a href="http://jec.senate.gov/_files/SmallBusiness.pdf" type="external">“How the Top Individual Income Tax Rate Affects Small Businesses” Republican Senate staff, Joint Economic Committee, US Congress 6 May 2003</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rnc.org/Newsroom/Speeches/GillespieNH031203.htm" type="external">Ed Gillespie, Chairman, Republican National Committee “Remarks Prepared for Delivery: St. Anselm College, Manchester, NH ” 3 Dec 2003</a>.</p>
<p><a href="UploadedFiles/Components%20of%20AGI%202003%20by%20Statutory%20Rate.xls" type="external">Table 16: “Composition of AGI by Tax Bracket, 2003” Tax Policy Center (Washington DC) 18 Dec. 2003.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411135_EstateTax.pdf" type="external">Table 7: “Distribution of Returns With Small Business Income, 2003”, published in:&#160;Leonard E Burman, William Gale &amp; Peter Orszag “Tax Break: Thinking Through the Tax Options” Tax Analysts 19 May 2003: 1092.</a></p> | Puncturing a Republican Tax Fable | false | https://factcheck.org/2003/12/puncturing-a-republican-tax-fable/ | 2003-12-19 | 2 |
<p />
<p>“Now I practice political medicine, because it’s the mother of all illnesses,” says Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein.</p>
<p>Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, has quite the résumé. A two-time Harvard graduate, Stein began her career as a family physician before her environmental activism propelled her into the sphere of politics.</p>
<p />
<p>“I used to practice clinical medicine, taking care of patients,” she said in an interview with <a href="" type="internal">Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer</a>. “Now I practice political medicine, because it’s the mother of all illnesses.”</p>
<p>Stein will be in the Truthdig offices Tuesday evening for a “ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Truthdig/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel" type="external">Facebook Live</a>” discussion on the <a href="http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-presidential-primary-schedule-calendar/" type="external">final state presidential primaries</a>, including California’s, which will be a deciding factor in the presidential race.</p>
<p>In a country dominated by a two-party political system, Stein wants people to know that the Green Party’s platform is not “radical” in the typical sense. “[W]e reflect the solutions that people are hungering for, and we actually have quite a bit of experience on the ground at the local and the county level making this happen,” she told Scheer.</p>
<p>Stein has been making media waves, with <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/06/02/dont_rule_it_out_bernie_sanders_slightly_leaves_door_open_for_green_party_run_with_jill_stein/" type="external">some hoping</a> for a potential third-party ticket with Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. She has clear progressive policy stances and recently <a href="" type="internal">noted in Rolling Stone</a> that her platform is better for women than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s.</p>
<p>Truthdig contributor <a href="" type="internal">Chris Hedges believes</a> that Stein “does not want to work within the corporate establishment,” but “wants to dismantle it.”</p>
<p>Amid fears that Tuesday’s primary will be the end of Sanders’ campaign, Stein is certain that she could be a viable candidate for his supporters. “The whole reason for having an independent third party that cannot be silenced is [that] there are 25 percent of Bernie’s voters who are not going into that dark night to vote for the No. 1 cheerleader for Wal-Mart, for Wall Street, for an endless war,” Stein <a href="" type="internal">told Truthdig’s Bill Boyarsky</a>. “They are looking for another place to hang their hat.”</p>
<p>Join us Tuesday <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Truthdig/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel" type="external">on Facebook</a> at 6 p.m. PST, a deciding night in American politics, to hear about Stein’s platform and plans for moving forward.</p>
<p>Check out past “Facebook Live” discussions on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZNV4DrfcAmGZJ15p2XkjrJFB4w-bypv_" type="external">Truthdig’s YouTube page</a>.</p>
<p>—Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Emma Niles</a></p> | Truthdig to Host Green Party’s Jill Stein on California Primary Night | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/truthdig-to-host-green-partys-jill-stein-on-california-primary-night-2/ | 2016-06-04 | 4 |
<p>MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The United States military has carried out an air strike in Somalia against al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgency that wants to topple the U.N.-backed government, the U.S. Africa Command said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>It said “several militants” were killed in the strike 60 miles northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday at about 1500 GMT. It was coordinated with the Somali government, AfriCom said in a statement.</p>
<p>“Al Shabaab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the U.S. and our partners in the region,” AfriCom said.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the U.S. warned of a threat to its diplomatic staff in Mogadishu and directed all non-essential staff to leave the capital.</p>
<p>Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 and has lost control of most of Somalia’s cities and towns. But the group retains a strong presence in the south and center and can still carry out major attacks. It was blamed for bombings in Mogadishu last month that killed more than 350 people.</p>
<p>The group aims to topple Somalia’s government, drive out African Union peacekeeping troops and impose its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law.</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> | U.S. mounts air strike against al Shabaab militants in Somalia | false | https://newsline.com/u-s-mounts-air-strike-against-al-shabaab-militants-in-somalia/ | 2017-11-15 | 1 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A new program designed to make it easier to buy health insurance for small businesses has potential to become a major source of medical coverage for church staff and employees, says Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Church Benefits Board President Gary Skeen.</p>
<p>The Small Business Health Options Plan is part of the Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare – aimed at providing healthcare for 48 million uninsured Americans. The law requires most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine and businesses with more than 50 full-time employees to offer healthcare coverage to workers and their dependents under age 26.</p>
<p>More than half of the uninsured – 26 million people – are <a href="http://www.nfib.com/portals/0/pdf/healthcare/small-business-healthcare-fact-sheet.pdf" type="external">small business</a> owners, employees and their dependents. Because they lack the bargaining clout of larger companies, small businesses pay a higher rate for employee coverage, and as a result many cannot afford coverage.</p>
<p>Skeen, head of the CBF ministry created in 1998&#160;to provide retirement benefits for ministers and staff members for CBF churches and personnel worldwide, <a href="http://cbfportal.wordpress.com/2013/09/18/cbb-update-shop-marketplace-might-enable-small-churches-to-obtain-better-health-plans/#more-8981" type="external">said</a> in a recent blog that many churches face the same predicament.</p>
<p>Currently small employers pay rates based on the costs for insuring members of an individual group. For churches, that means anyone with pre-existing medical conditions or older staff members could be denied coverage or pay higher costs.</p>
<p>At very small churches, with three or four staff members, most plans require 70 percent participation. That means if one staff member balks at the high premium or decides it makes more sense to be covered under a spouse’s plan, the church cannot participate.</p>
<p>Skeen said the <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-shop-marketplace/" type="external">SHOP Marketplace</a>, which opens Oct. 1, removes those barriers.</p>
<p>Pre-existing health conditions are no longer a factor in determining costs and age factoring is adjusted to make small-group coverage more affordable. There is still a 70-percent participation requirement, but it will be waived each year during an open-enrollment period of Nov. 15-Dec. 15.</p>
<p>The program does require employers to offer coverage to all employees who work more than 30 hours a week.</p>
<p>“This may impact some churches who have only offered coverage to ministerial staff in the past,” Skeen said. “Remember the goal of the legislation is to allow more people access to medical coverage.”</p>
<p>“With most of the barriers removed for small group plans, the marketplace now provides a way for your church to continue providing medical insurance coverage to your staff,” Skeen said.</p>
<p>“Since my basic premise is that employers (churches) ought to be involved and concerned about the level and quality of medical coverage available to their staff, I am hopeful that the SHOP marketplace will become a viable solution for churches,” he said.</p>
<p>The Church Benefits Board is gathering information on a webpage called <a href="http://www.churchbenefits.org/Health-Ins-Marketplace" type="external">Health Insurance Marketplace.</a> Skeen led a <a href="http://www.churchbenefits.org/cbbv2/files/d3/d338c106-baae-4ad3-be8a-9d99953ba0bd.pdf" type="external">presentation</a> on the Affordable Care Act and its impact on churches at the CBF 2013 General Assembly in June and is in the midst of a series of articles on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship <a href="http://cbfportal.wordpress.com/" type="external">blog</a>.</p> | Churches may pay less under Obamacare | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/churches-may-pay-less-under-obamacare-2/ | 3 |
|
<p>Oct. 10 (UPI) — New research supports the theory that testosterone influences the decision making of stock market traders, and could be a cause of market instability.</p>
<p>An international team of researchers recruited 140 young males to participate in experimental asset market simulation. Prior to the simulated trading period, the participants were given a topical gel containing testosterone or a placebo.</p>
<p>During the simulation, researchers had the young men post bids and request offer prices, as well as buy and sell assets. Though the assets they were trading were fake, their performance was rewarded with real money.</p>
<p>The experiment’s results — shared this week <a href="http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2836" type="external">in the journal Management Science</a> — revealed more inflated price bubbles among markets inhabited by traders hopped up on testosterone.</p>
<p>Traders who received a placebo gel were more likely to employ a traditional stock market strategy: buy low, sell high. High-testosterone traders were more likely to deploy a more aggressive strategy: buy high to sell higher.</p>
<p>“This research suggests the need to consider hormonal influences on decision-making in professional settings, because biological factors can exacerbate capital risk,” Amos Nadler, a researcher at the Ivey Business School at Western University, <a href="https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/News-Room/Press-Releases/Raging-Bull-First-study-to-find-causation-between-testosterone-levels-and-stock-market-instability" type="external">said in a news release</a>. “Perhaps the simplest recommendation is to implement ‘cool down’ periods to interrupt exceptionally positive feedback cycles and return the focus to assets’ fundamental valuations to reduce the possibility of biased decision-making.”</p>
<p>Previous studies have suggested a greater number of women on trading floors could help ensure stock markets behave more rationally. Similarly, Nadler and his colleagues suggest trading firms may want to limit the risk taken by young male traders.</p>
<p>“This is the first study to have shown that testosterone changes the way the brain calculates value and returns in the stock market and therefore — testosterone’s neurologic influence will cause traders to make suboptimal decisions unless systems prevent them from occurring,” said Nadler.</p>
<p>Despite Nadler’s claim, the idea that testosterone and other hormones can influence the decision making of stock traders isn’t new.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-links-high-testosterone-to-market-bubbles/" type="external">previous study</a> suggested testosterone increases the feeling that a person’s good fortune is likely to continue, while <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4489095/" type="external">another study</a> determined both cortisol and testosterone triggered risk-taking and price instability among traders in an asset market simulation.</p> | Studies suggests link between testosterone, stock market instability | false | https://newsline.com/studies-suggests-link-between-testosterone-stock-market-instability/ | 2017-10-11 | 1 |
<p>The niqab is really big in Canada right now.&#160;</p>
<p>At least, one might think that is the case, judging by how much top Canadian politicians have been talking about it.&#160;</p>
<p>Canada is holding a national election on October 19. And there has been a great deal of attention paid to the full-face veil worn by some Muslim women.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>A Muslim woman wearing a niqab&#160;face veil&#160;walks past a lingerie advertisement in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.&#160;</p>
<p>Andy Clark/Reuters&#160;</p>
<p>Zunera Ishaq is at the center of the controversy. The 29-year-old mother of four lives in Toronto. She was born in Pakistan and has been a permanent resident of Canada since 2008.&#160;</p>
<p>Ishaq says she is baffled about all the fuss over her decision not to remove her niqab during a swearing-in ceremony to become a full-fledged Canadian citizen.&#160;</p>
<p>“I believe in it. It is a religious duty of mine to cover my face in the public all the times. So, it is very important for me that I am covering my face when I am taking the oath for the citizenship of Canada,” Ishaq told the CBC this week.&#160;</p>
<p>Last year, Ishaq challenged the legal requirement that said Muslim women must remove their face veil to take part in the public ceremony for becoming a Canadian citizen. Ishaq says she has no problem removing her veil in a private setting to verify her identity. In fact, she says she has already done so on several occasions.&#160;</p>
<p>“I have never refused,” Ishaq said in the CBC interview. “I will go for the identity purpose and I will unveil myself to show my identity for security reasons as well. But there is no point of unveiling myself in front of the public in the ceremony.”&#160;</p>
<p>Certain politicians do not agree. And in the run-up to this month’s national election, they have taken dead aim at the niqab.&#160;</p>
<p>“Canadians are profoundly attached to their citizenship and its values,” said Chris Alexander, Canada’s Immigration Minister. “They want that citizenship to be protected. They want those joining the Canadian family to follow the rules that have existed for a long time.”&#160;</p>
<p>The Canadian defense minister went further.</p>
<p>“I think that it’s completely wrong-headed to associate the niqab with Islam. The niqab represents a medieval tribal custom that reflects a misogynistic view of women. It is not a religious obligation in Islam,” said Jason Kenney.</p>
<p>Kenney and Alexander are members of the Conservative Party, along with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The party has talked about banning the niqab for all civil servants, just as France has done. Party officials also say they would consider setting up a hotline for the public to report suspected incidents of “barbaric cultural practices.”&#160;</p>
<p>Harper’s critics say it’s all just dirty politics, at the expense of Muslims. But Harper counters that his party’s policies reflect public sentiment in Canada. The prime minister said the policies on the niqab are&#160;“supported by an overwhelming majority of Canadians of all backgrounds. The other parties have created a difficulty for themselves by taking positions that are simply out of step with the values of Canadians.”&#160;</p>
<p>The Canadian courts have sided with Zunera Ishaq. After winning her legal battle, Ishaq was able to take her citizenship oath — wearing her niqab — on Friday afternoon outside of Toronto. "Thank you so much for honoring me here today," she said.&#160;</p>
<p>Ishaq told the CBC that people should understand that for her, wearing the veil is something that she decided to do on her own.&#160;</p>
<p>“This is very personal choice of me. And I am very comfortable with this and I am not oppressed at all,” she said.&#160;</p>
<p>Ishaq said she knows that not all Muslims agree about wearing the niqab. Some of her own relatives were irritated about her decision to wear one, she added. Ishaq, who has four sons, was asked if she had a daughter, would she make her daughter wear the niqab?&#160;</p>
<p>She certainly would not force her daughter to wear the niqab, Ishaq said. She would simply say that she has decided to wear one herself because she considers it to be a religious duty, even if Canada’s prime minister wants her to remove it.&#160;</p>
<p>The niqab question has not sparked the same kind of national debate in the United States. But several states have banned the niqab in specific situations, such as getting a driver’s license photo. In 2009, President Barack Obama warned of the dangers of limiting certain religious freedoms in a landmark speech in Cairo.&#160;</p>
<p>“It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit — for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear,” Obama said.&#160;</p>
<p>Ishaq is one of only two Canadian women to refuse to take part in the citizenship ceremony without a face veil. <a href="http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/10/08/the-niqab-crisis-by-the-numbers-cruickshank.html" type="external">By one estimate</a>, there could be as many 100 Muslim women each year, out of a total of 160,000, who would choose to wear the niqab while taking the public oath to become a Canadian citizen. &#160;</p>
<p>According to one survey, Canadian women who wear the niqab are “irritated” by the perception that they are forced to do so. <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-survey-of-women-who-wear-the-niqab-reveals-choice-may-be-a-bit-of-a-youth-movement" type="external">The survey found</a> that most Muslim women who wear the niqab tend to be educated, foreign-born, in their 20s and 30s, and most made the decision to wear the niqab only after moving to Canada.&#160;</p>
<p>This does not come as a surprise to Shireen Ahmed, who’s Muslim and a women’s sports activist in Toronto. “A lot of the women that do wear niqab, the ones that I know, were born and raised in Canada. They’re Toronto Maple Leafs fans.”&#160;</p>
<p>Ahmed says the niqab issue, <a href="http://www.durhamregion.com/opinion-story/5515758-today-s-cartoon-look-a-niqab-/" type="external">as portrayed in this cartoon</a>,&#160;is being raised by conservative politicians as a distraction. And she finds it troubling that people are talking about putting limits on&#160;the freedom of Muslim women to choose what they want to wear.&#160;</p>
<p>“Canada’s a place where you can practice your faith as you see fit,” Ahmed says. “I support all of their choices, whether they want to wear a bikini, a burkini, or a niqab. It doesn’t matter. In Canada, it is absolutely their right.”&#160;</p> | Canadian politicians want to save the nation from the Muslim face veil | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-10-09/canadian-politicians-want-save-nation-muslim-face-veil | 2015-10-09 | 3 |
<p />
<p>Flowers Foods’ (NYSE:FLO) $360 million bid for Hostess bread brands including Wonder bread went uncontested, Reuters reported Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Citing a source familiar with the matter, Reuters said Hostess, which is selling off assets as part of its bankruptcy, was prepared to run an auction on Thursday for its Wonder, Butternut, Home Pride, Merita and Nature's Pride brands. The auction was scrapped since no other bids emerged.</p>
<p>The deal to sell those brands to Flowers, which made its offer last month, is still subject to approval by a bankruptcy court.</p>
<p>An auction will be held for Hostess' Beefsteak brand because Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo submitted a higher bid than Flowers’ $30 million offer, according to the Reuters source.</p>
<p>A Hostess spokesperson said the company does not have any comment. Flowers Foods did not respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>Shares of Flowers Foods jumped on the news. The stock was up $1.21 to $28.90 in late morning trading Wednesday.</p> | Report: Flowers Foods Snags Wonder Bread in Unchallenged Bid | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/02/27/report-wonder-bread-sold-for-360m-in-unchallenged-bid.html | 2016-01-25 | 0 |
<p>Even though the market <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/02/consumers-less-happy-with-pcs-lead.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=f4c5f534-bb0d-11e7-8ec3-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">has changed Opens a New Window.</a>, when it comes to how to invest in computers, there's still one obvious answer.</p>
<p>When it comes to the desktop market, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) still has a commanding share with its Windows operating system (OS). Yes, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has a piece of that market, but at just under 4%, it's a niche player.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>If you want to invest in computers -- even as that market has lost share to tablets and phones -- Microsoft remains the best way to do that. The company remains the dominant player in the computer space while also positioning its OS for the next generation of computing.</p>
<p>Personal computer (PC) sales have been falling for five years, according to data from Gartner. In Q2 2017, total shipments dropped to 61.1 million units, a 4.3% drop from the same period a year ago. The total was the lowest for a quarter since 2007.</p>
<p>"Higher PC prices due to the impact of component shortages for DRAM, solid-state drives, (SSDs) and LCD panels had a pronounced negative impact on PC demand in the second quarter of 2017," said Gartner Analyst Mikako Kitagawa in a press release.</p>
<p>While Microsoft itself is not one of the top PC vendors, the vast majority of those sold use Windows. In fact, other than Apple, which had just under 7% of the market, all the other companies on the list use Windows. The Gartner data includes sales of desk-based PCs, notebook PCs, and ultramobile premiums such as Microsoft Surface, but not Chromebooks or iPads.</p>
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<p>The reason Microsoft is the smart way to invest in computers over HP and Lenovo, which each sold roughly 20% of the PCs shipped, is that Microsoft looks more prepared for the next generation of computing. The company largely missed out when it came to smartphones, so it has invested to make sure that won't happen when it comes to the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/14/how-to-invest-in-the-internet-of-things.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=f4c5f534-bb0d-11e7-8ec3-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">internet of Things Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Microsoft has engineered Windows so it can run everything from a fully functioning computer to a smart-home device. That gives the company an edge when it comes to next-generation computing, because it has one platform that can power a wide range of devices and functionality.</p>
<p>In 2015, Microsoft's Windows chief, Terry Myerson, predicted that Windows 10 would be on 1 billion devices in three years. In July of this year, about two and a half years after that prediction was made, CEO Satya Nadella said it was halfway to that goal, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/10/microsoft-windows-10-on-500-million-devices.html" type="external">CNBC Opens a New Window.</a> reported.</p>
<p>Still, while the timing may be off, it's very clear that the future of computers remains mostly Windows-based. Apple will, of course, have its place in the computing world, but Windows looks as if it will remain the lead player.</p>
<p>The computer world has shrunk, but Microsoft has adapted to that. It's no longer a company that relies on the sale of PCs, but it still owns that market, and it will continue to own the evolution of that business.</p>
<p>Since most companies probably won't be migrating to virtual-reality devices or abandoning the PC format anytime soon, Windows licensing remains a good business to be in. As that changes, Microsoft has shown that it can change, too, making it a smart way to invest in computers over the long term.</p>
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<p>Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDankline/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=f4c5f534-bb0d-11e7-8ec3-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Daniel B. Kline Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. 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 recommends Gartner. 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=f4c5f534-bb0d-11e7-8ec3-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | How to Invest in Computers | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/04/how-to-invest-in-computers.html | 2017-11-04 | 0 |
<p>The Fed’s emergency rescue plan for the financial markets is hopelessly flawed. It’s a scattershot approach that doesn’t address the real source of the problem; an unregulated, unsustainable structured finance system that emerged in full-force after 2000 and spawned a shadow banking system that creates trillions of dollars of credit without sufficient capital reserves. This is the heart of the problem and it needs to be debated openly. The present system doesn’t work; it’s as simple as that. It makes no sense to provide trillions of dollars of taxpayer money to shore up a system that is essentially dysfunctional. It’s just throwing money down a rat-hole.</p>
<p>The Federal Reserve and US Treasury want a blank check to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two war-horses of the mortgage industry, that currently underwrite nearly 80 per cent of all new mortgages in the US. But by any objective standard both of these GSEs are already insolvent. Thus, the taxpayer is being asked to rescue a failed industry that has been used for private gain so that speculators will not have to suffer the losses. Even worse, Fannie and Freddie have written hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mortgages that have not yet defaulted, but will certainly default within the next two years. This is bound to batter the already faltering economy.</p>
<p>The bad paper held by Fannie and Freddie are mortgages that were made to unqualified applicants who are presently losing their homes in record numbers. Their loans were approved because there was no functioning regulatory body to oversee their issuance and because the mortgages were transformed into complex securities that were sold to credulous investors around the world. The ratings were fixed to meet the requirements of their employers, the investment banks, which marketed these exotic bonds to foreign banks, insurance companies and hedge funds. That puts Fannie and Freddie at the center of a system that needs radical surgery to eradicate the bad paper. If this doesn’t happen in a timely fashion, then foreign investors will stop purchasing US debt and the dollar will crash. By creating a backstop for Fannie and Freddie, the Fed is linking US sovereign debt with mortgages and derivatives that are already known to be fraudulent. This is a big mistake. According to Merrill Lynch, the US is already facing a long-term “financing crisis” as the weakening US economy and sluggish consumer spending could signal an end to the $700 billion in foreign investment that covers America’s current account deficit. By assuming the GSE’s enormous debts, the Bush administration is just speeding this process along and inviting disaster.</p>
<p>Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been intentionally oblique about the implications of the proposed bailout. On Tuesday, he delivered a statement in front of the massive stone columns of the Department of the Treasury, a towering monolith that arouses feelings of confidence in rock-solid institutions. He made it clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have the “explicit” backing of the US government:</p>
<p>“First, as a liquidity backstop, the plan includes a temporary increase in the line of credit the GSEs have with Treasury. Treasury would determine the terms and conditions for accessing the line of credit and the amount to be drawn.</p>
<p>Second, to ensure the GSEs have access to sufficient capital to continue to serve their mission, the plan includes temporary authority for Treasury to purchase equity in either of the two GSEs if needed.</p>
<p>Third, to protect the financial system from systemic risk going forward, the plan strengthens the GSE regulatory reform legislation currently moving through Congress by giving the Federal Reserve a consultative role in the new GSE regulator’s process for setting capital requirements and other prudential standards.”</p>
<p>It was an impressive performance from a public relations point of view, but it didn’t fool anyone on Wall Street. What Wall Street wants is details not blather. Paulson gave no specifics about how much money the government would provide or what the nature of the new relationship would be; conservatorship, recievorship, nationalization? What is it?</p>
<p>The truth is that Paulson was deliberately vague because he and friend Bernanke would like to have it both ways; they’d like to provide a liquidity backstop and an endless line of credit for the two GSE’s without formally nationalizing them. That would avoid the further dilution of stock values while keeping the US government from taking another $5 trillion of mortgage debt onto their balance sheet. It is a delicate balancing act, but Paulson seems to think he carried it off. He’s wrong, though, and volatility in the stock market proves it. Investors are clearly skittish about the new arrangement. They want to know the facts about the government’s commitment. Paulson is discovering that deceiving investors is not as easy as duping the public about fictional WMD or Niger uranium. Sometimes even the dullest person can grasp the most complex matters when it comes to his own money.</p>
<p>Fannie and Freddie have been insolvent for ages, but it hasn’t stopped lawmakers from pushing the envelope and loading more debt on their balance sheets. Here’s how Barron’s summed it up more than six months ago:</p>
<p>“Fannie’s balance sheet is larded with soft assets and understated liabilities that would leave the company ill-equipped to weather a serious financial crisis. And spiraling mortgage defaults and falling home prices could bring a tsunami of credit losses over the next two years that will severely test Fannie’s solvency.</p>
<p>But, if the truth be known, a considerable portion of Fannie’s losses also came from speculative forays into higher-yielding but riskier mortgage products like subprime, Alt-A (a category between subprime and prime in credit quality) and dicey mortgages requiring monthly payments of interest only or less. For example, Fannie’s $314 billion of Alt-A — often called liar loans because borrowers provide little documentation — accounted for 31.4% of the company’s credit losses while making up just 11.9% of its $2.5 trillion single-family-home credit book. Fannie was clearly looking for love — and market share — in some of the wrong places.”</p>
<p>Rampant speculation, risky investments, and Enron-type accounting; hardly the stuff of solid portfolios. That’s why the two mortgage giants are stumbling headlong towards oblivion despite the Treasury’s panicky relief operation. By last Friday Fannie’s stock had fallen 47 per cent while Freddie was down 50 per cent. The public may still be in the dark about what is going on, but investors have a pretty good grip on the situation; they can see the great birds are already circling overhead and its just a matter of time before they descend on their prey. Paulson’s attempts to muddy the water have amounted to nothing. The fact remains that the two biggest mortgage-lenders in the world are busted and last week’s stock sell-off was tantamount to a run on the country’s largest bank. Paulson’s statement was really nothing more than a eulogy for the mortgage industry; a few heartfelt words over the rigid corpse of a close friend.</p>
<p>When the housing market started to tumble and Wall Street’s “securitization” model froze-up, Fannie had to take the lion’s share of the mortgages to keep the real estate market hobbling along. In a two year period, between the housing peak in 2005 and 2007, Fannie went from roughly 40 per cent of the market to about 80 per cent. The Congress even enlarged the size of the mortgages they could underwrite from $417,000 to over $700,000. The prospect of bankruptcy never diminished congress’s generosity.</p>
<p>Fannie and Freddie currently own or underwrite roughly half of the nation’s $12 trillion mortgage market. Basically, every home mortgage lender depends on them for financing. Their shares are owned by individual investors and banks around the world. Foreign investors have always believed that the GSE bonds were as risk-free as US government Treasuries. Now they are beginning to wonder. (Foreign central banks, led by China and Russia, hold at least $925 billion in U.S. agency debt, including bonds sold by Freddie and Fannie, according to official U.S. statistics)</p>
<p>Whatever happens to Fannie, the loss of investor confidence will send long term interest higher as investors demand bigger returns for the risk they’re taking on GSE bonds. That’ll put a straitjacket on home sales which are already flagging from soaring inventory and falling prices. Higher rates could bring the whole housing market to a standstill.</p>
<p>The Fed’s cheap credit policy under Greenspan created an artificial demand for housing which ballooned into the biggest equity bubble in history. Low interest rates are a subsidy which naturally lead to speculation and asset-inflation. At a certain point, however, the endless debt-pyramiding reaches its apex and the whole mechanism switches into reverse. Now the economy has entered deleveraging-hell where everything is primal blackness and the gnashing of teeth, the flip-side of speculative rapture.</p>
<p>By some estimates, Freddie Mac has a negative net-worth of $17 billion. It’s basically insolvent, although Paulson would like to see the charade go on a while longer. Investors purchased another $3 billion of the two GSEs last Monday, but the appetite for failing bonds is diminishing? What’s certain is that the collapse of Fannie and Freddie would be a watershed event and a mortal blow to the US financial system. $5 trillion in shaky mortgage-debt can’t be easily swept under the rug and ignored. Interest rates on everything would quickly rise; credit would become scarcer, economic growth would shrivel, unemployment would soar, and the dollar will plummet. As the two mortgage giants continue to get whipsawed by higher priced capital and waning investment, US government debt will likely to lose its much-vaunted triple A credit rating. On Friday, credit default swaps on government debt doubled, a sign that investors are losing confidence that the US will be able to manage its twin deficits or pay off its debts. It’s the end of the road for Washington’s free lunch throng and for a paper dollar that isn’t backed by much of anything except music videos, fast food and smart-bombs.</p>
<p>PAULSON’S POWER GRAB</p>
<p>What Paulson is really wants is for congress to allow the Fed to regulate the financial system without congressional oversight. Paulson’s so-called blueprint for financial regulation is a blatant power-grab meant to expand the authority of the banking oligarchy giving them unlimited power over the markets. Journalist Barry Grey sums it up like this in his article on “US Bailout of Mortgage Giants: The politics of plutocracy”:</p>
<p>“The plan outlined by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would give him virtually unlimited and unilateral authority to pump tens of billions of dollars of public funds into the mortgage finance companies. At the same time, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it would allow the companies to directly borrow Fed funds… The Democrats…now march in lockstep with the minority party to rush through laws demanded by Wall Street… The buying of legislators and their votes by corporate interests is carried out openly and shamelessly. Members of Frank’s House Financial Services Committee received over $18 million from financial services, insurance and real estate firms this year. Frank himself raised over $1.2 million, almost half of which came from finance and related industries…Senator Dodd’s top contributor in the 2003-2008 election cycle was Citigroup, followed by SAC Capital Partners. He raised $4.25 million from securities and investment firms. Senator Schumer’s top contributor was likewise Citigroup. He raised $1.4 million from securities and investment firms, his most lucrative corporate sector.”</p>
<p>The smell of political corruption is overpowering, and yet, the plan is moving forward regardless. Even if Paulson’s plan worked in the short term, the damage would be enormous. It would place the country’s regulatory powers and purse-strings in the hands of the same amoral banksters who created this mess to begin with. It is the fast-track to corporate feudalism on a nationwide scale.</p>
<p>PITFALLS FOR THE GSEs</p>
<p>The biggest problem facing Fannie and Freddie is that wary investors will not roll over the debt of the two companies which will precipitate a collapse. This is where it pays to have people who can be trusted in positions of power. Henry Paulson is the worst thing that ever happened to the US Treasury. Paulson is to finance capitalism what Rumsfeld is to military strategy. To say that Paulson is lacking in credibility is an understatement. Nothing he says can be taken at face-value. When Paulson says “the worst is behind us” or the “subprime crisis is contained” or the Bush administration “supports a strong dollar policy”; most people know it is a fabrication. Besides, Paulson is completely out of his depth in the present crisis. His appearances on TV, with the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, and his foolish repetition of the same stale mantra is eroding confidence in the financial system and sending waves of panic rippling through Wall Street. Enough is enough. He needs to go.</p>
<p>If the administration was serious about changing direction they would dump Paulson and reinstate Paul Volcker. Whatever one thinks about Volcker, his presence would calm the markets and send a message that the adults were back in charge. But that won’t happen. The Bush team still thinks they can finesse their way through the thicket of investor skepticism. That means that catastrophe is inevitable as more and more investors pick up their bets and head for the exits.</p>
<p>TIME IS RUNNING OUT</p>
<p>Whatever the administration decides to do; time is short and they have one chance to get it right. The Treasury needs to find a way to ring-fence the garbage bonds and pray that the investing public won’t dump their holdings in a panic run on the market. Either way, it’s a gamble and there’s no guarantee of success. The Wall Street Journal outlined the doomsday scenario if Paulson’s plan fails:</p>
<p>“Falling house prices and nonpaying homeowners cause the value of the trillions of dollars in outstanding debt held by these government-sponsored enterprises (Fannie and Freddie) to plunge. Many banks have balance sheets stuffed full of this paper. They face huge losses, which some can’t survive. They and other investors, such as foreign central banks, then dump the GSE paper.</p>
<p>Fannie and Freddie would end up unable to lend, or at least to take up anything like their current 80% share of the U.S. mortgage market, further punishing the reeling housing market. This would add another twist to the spiral of falling prices, credit losses and failing lenders.</p>
<p>What should they do? First, devise a plan — and fast. There is no time to dither.” (Wall Street Journal)</p>
<p>If foreign banks and investors ditch their GSE debt; it will send shockwaves through the global economy. But if the Treasury provides unlimited funding for a sinking operation, it’s likely to trigger a sell-off of the dollar. It’s a lose-lose situation. For now, bond holders are sitting-tight even though the stock is tanking, but for how long? They’ve already been taken to the cleaners on hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage-backed garbage; now there are rumors that the US government won’t back agency debt. What kind of shabby shell-game is the US playing anyway?</p>
<p>New York Times:</p>
<p>“If people lose faith in Fannie and Freddie, then the whole system freezes up, and nobody can buy a house, and the entire housing market can crash,” said Paul Miller of the Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group in Arlington, Va. “There’s a fine line between having faith and losing it, and sometimes it’s unclear when it has disappeared. But when investors cross that line, bad things happen very quickly.”</p>
<p>And it affects more than the housing market, too. The bond and equities markets are handcuffed to real estate and they’re already listing from the slowdown in investment. The Fed thought they could keep the whole mess from going sideways by opening up “auction facilities” where the banks could get low interest capital in exchange for their mortgage-backed junk. But the banks have curtailed their lending and there’s bigger trouble ahead. Bridgewater Associates issued a warning last week that losses to the banking system would exceed $1.6 trillion, four times original estimates and enough to crash the entire banking system. So far, banks have only written down $450 billion, which means that they are only 25 per cent of the way through the current credit storm. Defaults are liable to skyrocket as hundreds of undercapitalized banks turn to a grossly underfunded FDIC ($52 billion in reserves) to cover the losses of their depositors. The prospect of a humongous taxpayer bailout seems nearly unavoidable.</p>
<p>What’s most disturbing is that nothing has been done to restore the markets to a functional model. The Fed’s strategy is still to try to keep the relatively new “structured finance” model (with all it’s bizarre-named debt instruments and derivatives) in place even though it failed its first stress-test and has demonstrated that it cannot withstand even moderate downward movement in the market. The current model is kaput; there needs to be a Plan B or the Fed is just wasting its time.</p>
<p>Fannie’s demise comes at a particularly difficult time for the banking system. According to a report by Paul Kasriel, Chief Economist at Northern Trust:</p>
<p>“The sharpest 13-week contraction in bank credit” since data were first available in 1973. Banks simply don’t have the capital on hand to avail “themselves of the cheap credit the Fed is offering to fund them at.”….This is what it means to be in a “credit crunch.” Banks have suffered hundreds of billions in losses, forcing them to pull credit out of the economy. Every time you read an article about banks cutting credit lines, exiting lending businesses, or eliminating mortgage products it represents more bank credit drying up.” (Option Armageddon, “Understanding Bernanke”)</p>
<p>Bank credit is drying up because the capital is being destroyed (from foreclosures and downgraded assets) faster than anytime in history. We are just now feeling the first stiff breezes from a Force-5 deflationary hurricane set to touch down in 2009. Fannie and Freddie are teetering towards insolvency while the country is entering the most vicious downward cycle since the Great Depression. Higher interest rates, negative home equity, mounting credit card debt, auto loan debt, commercial real estate debt and tightening lending standards will only curtail consumer spending more putting greater pressure on the dollar.</p>
<p>The Fed will have to be selective; not everything can be saved. Significant parts of the financial system will be reduced to ashes. It would be wiser to clear the brush away from as many of the solvent institutions as possible and prepare for the worst. Otherwise, the whole system is at risk of contagion. Hundreds of local and regional banks are expected to go under. (the average small bank has 67% of its assets in real estate) It can’t be avoided. They are holding too much bad paper and no way to make up for the losses. They’re following the same path as the 250 mortgage lenders that vaporised in the subprime meltdown. They couldn’t be saved either.</p>
<p>The bigger investment banks are in trouble too. That’s why the SEC has finally decided to act as a regulator and go after short-sellers:</p>
<p>“The Securities and Exchange Commission announced an emergency action aimed at reducing short-selling aimed at Wall Street brokerage firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and will immediately begin considering new rules to extend new requirements to the rest of the market.”</p>
<p>The SEC never took an interest in naked shorting of stocks (or commodities speculators) while its fat-cat friends in the big brokerage houses were raking in billions. Now that many of these same institutions, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are in the crosshairs, SEC chief Christopher Cox is rushing to their rescue. It is utter duplicity, but it illustrates an important point; the system is cannibalizing itself just like Karl Marx predicted over 100 years ago. Unchecked greed is inevitably self-destructive.</p>
<p>A growing number of market analysts are beginning to notice the storm clouds forming on the horizon. The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months. The Bank of international Settlements (BIS) made a similarly ominous warning that the credit crisis could lead world economies into a crash on a scale not seen since the 1930s. The bank suggests that government officials and market analysts have not fully grasped the financial turmoil that could result from the mortgage crisis and its effects of the global economic system. The body points out that the Great Depression was not anticipated because people ignored the implicit danger of “complex credit instruments, a strong appetite for risk, rising levels of household debt and long-term imbalances in the world currency system.”</p>
<p>Ron Paul (R-Texas) is one of the few members of congress who has shown that he has a grasp of the impending economic disaster now facing the country if corrective action is not taken swiftly. In a speech he gave last week on the floor of the House, he said:</p>
<p>“There are reasons to believe this coming crisis is different and bigger than the world has ever experienced…The financial crisis, still in its early stages, is apparent to everyone: gasoline prices over $4 a gallon; skyrocketing education and medical-care costs; the collapse of the housing bubble; the bursting of the NASDAQ bubble; stock markets plunging; unemployment rising;, massive underemployment; excessive government debt; and unmanageable personal debt. Little doubt exists as to whether we’ll get stagflation. The question that will soon be asked is: When will the stagflation become an inflationary depression? “</p>
<p>The troubles at Fannie and Freddie are symptomatic of more deeply rooted problems related to abusive lending and the unsustainable expansion of credit. We’ve now reached our debt limit and the bills must be repaid or written off. The Bush administration is hoping to reflate the bubble by (stealthily) recapitalizing the GSEs, but it won’t be easy. As one blogger put it, we have reached “peak credit” and have nowhere to go except down.</p>
<p>Economist Michael Hudson summed it up like this:</p>
<p>“The reality is that Fannie, Freddie and the FHA gave a patina of confidence to irresponsible lending and outright fraud. This confidence game led them to guarantee some $5.3 trillion of mortgages, and to keep $1.6 trillion more on their own books to back the bonds they issued to institutional investors.”</p>
<p>It was a scam of Biblical proportions and now it is all starting to unravel. Bush’s “ownership society” was a cheap parlor trick engineered by the Fed’s low interest rates to trigger massive speculation and shift wealth from one class to another. Now, the housing bubble has crashed and the excruciating reality of insolvency is beginning to sink in.</p>
<p>Michael Hudson, again:</p>
<p>“All one hears is a barrage of claims that the government must preserve the financial fictions of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac in order to ‘save the market.’ The usual hypocrisy is being brought to bear claiming that all this is necessary to ‘save the middle class,’ even as what is being saved are its debts, not its assets…The “way of life” that is being saved is not that of home ownership, but debt peonage to support the concentration of wealth at the top of the economic pyramid.</p>
<p>Mortgages are the major debts of most American families. In this role, real estate debt has become the basis for the commercial banking system, and hence the basis for the wealthiest 10 percent of the population who hold the bottom 90 percent in debt. That is what Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and “the market” are all about.” (Michael Hudson; “Why the Bail Out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is Bad Economic Policy”, counterpunch.org)</p>
<p>The housing boom never had anything to do with Bush’s Utopian-sounding “ownership society”. It was always just a swindle to enrich the banking establishment and divert middle class wealth to ruling class elites.</p>
<p>MIKE WHITNEY lives in Washington state and can be reached at &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Swan Song for Fanny Mae | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/07/18/swan-song-for-fanny-mae/ | 2008-07-18 | 4 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/rnc-rules-insiders-speak-out-contested-convention-n541146" type="external">A contested convention at this point would be the end of the Republican party itself.</a> Here are the insiders secrets and what you need to know.</p>
<p>By Ari&#160;Melber</p>
<p>If no presidential candidate wins a majority of delegates and Republicans face a contested convention this summer, a small group of party insiders will have huge sway over who wins — and how to resolve a rift that could fracture the Republican Party.</p>
<p>After all the campaigning, debates and primaries, the GOP’s presidential nomination could hinge on what these insiders decide.</p>
<p>The RNC Rules Committee decides party regulations and writes the first draft of convention rules, which are finalized by a convention rules committee and submitted to a floor vote.</p>
<p>Those rules are crucial. They decide which candidates are on the ballot: They could pass a rule allowing only Donald Trump to run in Cleveland, or a rule enabling new candidates to challenge him. They can decide how delegates vote — and when delegates can switch teams to support rival candidates. These are the kind of restrictions that could make the difference between a coronation or chaos in Cleveland.</p>
<p>According to new interviews with more than a third of the 56 members of the RNC Rules Committee, these party insiders have strong views about how to run a convention.</p>
<p>Most say a contested convention is legitimate when no candidate has a delegate majority, but they disagree about whether there is an concerted effort to use this year’s convention to stop Trump. Some say delegates have every right to overrule the preferences of Republican primary voters. Many Rules Committee members say they are comfortable with the prospect of several rounds of balloting to pick a winner this summer — and most rejected one big idea establishment Republicans have put forward for the convention.</p>
<p>While politicos have speculated about a new candidate swooping in to win a contested convention, such as House Speaker Paul Ryan, insiders on the RNC Rules Committee say that idea would be dead on arrival in Cleveland this July.</p>
<p>‘World War III’</p>
<p>“Ridiculous — not happening,” said one Rules Committee member, asked about the prospect of candidates getting on the ballot who did not run this year.</p>
<p>“There’s no way in hell that any of these candidates — who have worked this hard and spent this much money — are going to say, ‘OK, now, for the good of the party, I’ll sit down and let’s bring back Mitt Romney,'” said the insider. “That’s a fantasy world — there’s zero chance of that happening.”</p>
<p>Another committee member said creating a path for a new candidate would lead to a party meltdown.</p>
<p>“Change the rules drastically you will have a problem,” said the insider, who requested anonymity to discuss controversial convention scenarios. “You want to have World War III and destroy the party?”</p>
<p>Indeed, most of the 19 Rules Committee members reached by MSNBC opposed any rule enabling new candidates to run at the convention. Only three backed a rule allowing new candidates to run.</p>
<p>One of them is Steve Frias, a committee member from Rhode Island, who argues there is nothing wrong with a large number of convention delegates agreeing to offer a new candidate.</p>
<p>“If a majority wants to put forward a candidate, I don’t see what the problem is,” he told MSNBC.</p>
<p>Democracy Is ‘Not the Way We Do It’</p>
<p>Some Rules Committee members worry about an effort to shape the rules in order to stop Trump.</p>
<p>Diana Orrock, who backs Trump, believes the RNC should intervene to stop any effort to make a contested convention more likely under the rules.</p>
<p>“The fact that Reince Preibus, as chair, has not come out and denounced these high-level Republican operatives who are blatantly trying to sabotage Donald Trump’s campaign speaks volumes,” she said. Any effort to block “the consistent GOP front-runner” at the convention, she argued, would be “shameful.”</p>
<p>Others say it all depends on the size of Trump’s lead.</p>
<p>“If you are fairly close and next person is 300, 400, 500 delegates down — I think you are playing with fire,” said Steve Scheffler, a Rules Committee member.</p>
<p>“If the person is short, but not a lot short — and I don’t know what the magic figure is — I think it’s pretty dangerous to gang up,” he said, “and say he’s not the nominee.”</p>
<p>Other RNC members dispute the idea, however, that a contested convention reflects any orchestrated effort to stop Trump. These Republicans stress that the rules dictate it takes 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination — so either someone wins those delegates, or there is no official nominee.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard people say, ‘If one candidate — whether it’s Trump or Cruz — goes in with a plurality, your duty is to vote for the one with a plurality,'” said one committee member, incredulously.</p>
<p>“The hell it is! You’ve got to win a majority — if you don’t have a majority, let’s chat,” said this insider, conjuring negotiations with the campaigns.</p>
<p>Another committee member, Zori Fonalledas, said the convention also gives delegates a chance to change their mind.</p>
<p>“Maybe the delegates that voted for Trump can now change their mind — a lot has happened,” she said, “it’s really delegates will elect the candidate.”</p>
<p>Curly Haugland, a North Dakota committee member, echoed that view, arguing the whole point of the convention is for delegates to pick the nominee. “Do the primaries choose a nominee or do the convention delegates?” he asked. “It can’t be both.”</p>
<p>“Democracy is pretty popular,” he added, “but it’s simply not the way we do it.” Haugland <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/16/we-choose-the-nominee-not-the-voters-senior-gop-official.html" type="external">has long advocated</a> for the party to play a bigger role than public primaries in selecting the nominee.</p>
<p>Henry Barbour, a Rules Committee member from Mississippi, stressed there is nothing exceptional, let alone unfair, about following the party’s procedure for a primary that ends without a candidate clinching the nomination.</p>
<p>“The rules are plain: You have to get a majority of the delegates,” he said, noting that if no candidate wins them before the convention, “we have a process in place and the delegates vote.”</p> | INSIDERS SPEAK UP: ‘World War III’ Will Break Out Amongst Republicans if Convention is Contested | true | http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/insiders-speak-up-world-war-iii-will-break-out-amongst-republicans-if-convention-is-contested/ | 0 |
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<p>PHILIPPINESStarManila, June 14, 2003 By Jose Aravilla (Star) Papal Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Franco arrived at 3 p.m. yesterday bearing Pope John Paul II’s decision that would seal the fate of beleaguered Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Fr. Gerardo Tapiador, Bacani’s deputy in the diocese, told The STAR. Tapiador said the Papal Nuncio is expected to announce the decision "within a few days." The Papal Nuncio is expected to meet first with the clergy of Novaliches on Monday or Tuesday at the earliest. "If the clergy of the diocese are called to a meeting, most likely the Vatican decision will be adversarial to Bishop Bacani and he is going to be punished," Tapiador told The STAR. Bacani is accused of sexually harassing his secretary. "If the Novaliches clergy meets, they need to elect a permanent administrator of the diocese," Tapiador said.</p> | PAPAL NUNCIO BACK HOME WITH POPE'S RULING ON BACANI | false | https://poynter.org/news/papal-nuncio-back-home-popes-ruling-bacani | 2003-06-14 | 2 |
<p>LIMA, Peru — When foreign dictatorships spy&#160;on US corporations, you don’t expect them to get the blessing of the CIA and FBI.</p>
<p>Yet that's what happened to Guillermo Gaede, an Argentine programmer who stole the Intel Pentium processor blueprints on behalf of Iran and China.</p>
<p>Gaede’s strange tale&#160;is making news these days thanks to a new documentary, “El Crazy Che,” <a href="http://festivales.buenosaires.gob.ar/2015/bafici/es/pelicula/167" type="external">premiering</a>&#160;at this month’s Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema.&#160;</p>
<p>Gaede&#160;wrote about his tale&#160;in an autobiography of the same name. The film&#160;was directed by Pablo Chehebar and Nicolas Iacouzzi in collaboration with the spy.</p>
<p>“Che” is Argentine slang,&#160;meaning something like&#160;“buddy” in the US. It’s widely used to refer to Argentines, most famously for&#160;Fidel Castro’s legendary right-hand revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara.</p>
<p>Gaede’s story is no less dramatic. Growing up in Buenos Aires, he became a communist idealist. He even offered, unsuccessfully, to spy for Cuba. It was only later, once working for the US firm Advanced Micro Devices, that he was finally able to realize his dream, providing Cuba with AMD’s microchip secrets.</p>
<p>But things changed after he visited the island for the first time. “In 1990 my wife and I visited Cuba and we ended up completely disillusioned,” he <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2015/04/150416_espia_cuba_eeuu_crazy_che_vs#orb-banner" type="external">told the BBC</a>’s Spanish language service. “We realized that communism was a big lie.”&#160;</p>
<p>Gaede contacted the CIA to offer to become a double agent. They put him in touch with the FBI. He then got a job at Intel and, with the Bureau’s approval — he says — sold the computer chipmaker's Pentium processor blueprint to China and Iran, reportedly for as much as $20 million. The rationale was to convince Washington’s enemies of his bona fides as someone willing to betray his adopted homeland.</p>
<p>He was caught in 1995 and sentenced to 33 months. He then produced tapes of his conversations with FBI handlers.&#160;Without those, his claims might never have been taken seriously.</p>
<p>Now free again and living happily in Germany, Gaede’s real&#160;life tale seems so far-fetched that even spy thriller author John le Carre might have refused to write it.</p> | This man claims he stole Intel chip designs for China and Iran, with FBI approval | false | https://pri.org/stories/man-claims-he-stole-intel-chip-designs-china-and-iran-fbi-approval | 3 |
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<p />
<p />
<p>Late Monday night during <a href="" type="internal">a contentious debate over a same-sex marriage bill</a>, Nevada state senator <a href="" type="internal">Kelvin Atkinson</a> stood up and announced, “I’m gay,” for the very first time publicly. Atkinson, a Democrat, said he was not even going to speak on the bill, but felt he had to.</p>
<p>“I’m black, I’m gay, I have dealt with a lot of what you folks are talking about. I know some of you first time hearing me say that, that I am a black gay male.”</p>
<p>Atkinson added, “I’ve heard some people say some nasty, ugly things, because they didn’t know that” he’s gay.</p>
<p>The bill passed <a href="" type="internal">by a vote of 12-9</a>.</p>
<p>Atkinson also told his colleagues that he was disappointed by some of their comments to him about the bill, not knowing that he is gay, and he added, if this bill hurts your marriage, your marriage was in trouble before the bill.</p>
<p />
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">bill</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Coming out</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Gay Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Kelvin Atkinson</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Marriage Equality</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Nevada</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Same-Sex Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Senate</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>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p> | Watch: Nevada Senator Comes Out, Tells Colleagues ‘I’m Gay’ During Marriage Debate | true | http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/watch-nevada-senator-comes-out-tells-colleagues-im-gay-during-marriage-debate/politics/2013/04/24/65853 | 2013-04-24 | 4 |
<p>Los Angeles Times "If New Orleans is to be pumped out, its soffits re-replastered, its live oaks replanted before I'm gone, I'll be happily surprised," writes 62-year-old former NYT executive editor Howell Raines. "For now, we wait and ponder this question: If it's gone or permanently altered, what memorial would be fitting? Surely it would not be some monument of stone, but perhaps a political memorial to the city of Huey P. Long and his fictional iteration Willie Stark, or a spiritual remembrance of the City That Care Forgot." &gt; <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=26612" type="external">"If the people of New Orleans and other low-lying areas</a> insist upon living in harm's way, they ought to accept responsibility for what happens to them and their property," says a Waterbury (CT) Republican American editorial. "Before the government commits to reclaiming New Orleans and its marshy environs, it should think long and hard about whether the investment of time and money would be worth it." (WRA)</p> | Raines: What memorial would be fitting for New Orleans? | false | https://poynter.org/news/raines-what-memorial-would-be-fitting-new-orleans | 2005-09-01 | 2 |
<p />
<p>On Tuesday, the <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/state/california/article145346624.html" type="external">Associated Press</a> reported that Lars Maischak, the Fresno State lecturer who said on Twitter that Pres. Trump “must hang” for the good of U.S. democracy, has been placed on paid administrative leave. &#160;According to a university statement,&#160;Maischak has taken a voluntary leave of absence for the remainder of the spring semester, the AP further said.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education/article145317164.html" type="external">Fresno Bee</a>:</p>
<p>Lars Maischak, who has worked as a history lecturer at Fresno State since 2006, has “agreed upon a voluntary leave of absence” effective immediately and lasting through the spring semester, according to a university statement issued on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“The agreement for the paid leave was reached in accordance with provisions in the collective bargaining agreement with the California Faculty Association, the union that represents all faculty,” Fresno State President Joseph Castro said. “During his leave of absence, Dr. Maischak will no longer have a teaching role, but will be conducting research off campus.”</p>
<p>A substitute teacher has been assigned to Maischak’s five American history classes.</p>
<p>Maischak came under fire after <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/08/fresno-state-lecturer-trump-must-hang-save-democracy/" type="external">Breitbart.com</a> – a far-right news website – shared his Tweet that “to save American democracy, Trump must hang. The sooner and the higher, the better.”</p>
<p>It’s not known what “research” Maischak will be doing, but we can guess.</p>
<p>The media has bent over backward to minimize his tweets, and a video posted <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article145655464.html" type="external">here</a> claims that it was all about just one “mean” tweet against the president, the fact is that Maischak’s Twitter feed was filled with this kind of rhetoric, including one tweet that included a picture of a bullet, calling it the “cure” for racism if administered to the cranium.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/fresno-state-we-want-to-see-lars-maischak-fired-from-fresno-state-for-inciting-violence" type="external">change.org petition</a> calls on the school to fire Maischak for inciting violence against the president and his supporters. &#160;You can see that petition <a href="https://www.change.org/p/fresno-state-we-want-to-see-lars-maischak-fired-from-fresno-state-for-inciting-violence" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;page, please go&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a>&#160;and do so.</p>
<p>And if you’re as concerned about Facebook censorship as we are, go&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Facebook-Enables-Militant-Islamic/dp/1944212221/" type="external">here</a>&#160;and order this new book:</p> | Fresno State prof who said Trump must hang out on paid leave | true | http://conservativefiringline.com/fresno-state-prof-said-trump-must-hang-paid-leave/ | 2017-04-20 | 0 |
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<p>Bob Berger, former SBIR program manager for the Department of Energy, will talk about the program, said Barbara Stoller, director of NM-SBIR, in a news release.</p>
<p>Berger will address the following questions: How do I start writing a SBIR/STTR proposal?; What are the fundamental elements that help organize the writing process?; How do you describe your technology in a competitive document?</p>
<p>STOLLER: Director of NM-SBIR</p>
<p>Cost to register is $50 with materials and lunch included. Visit <a href="http://www.techventures.org" type="external">www.techventures.org</a> to register.</p>
<p>The SBIR program provides competitive grants to businesses conducting research that may ultimately lead to commercialized products and services, according to Stoller.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Applicants are required to submit detailed proposals to participating federal agencies. These 11 agencies make awards to businesses based on the proposal’s degree of innovation, technical merit and future market potential.</p>
<p>Businesses that receive awards then begin a three-phase process: Phase I feasibility for 6-12 months’ work up to $150,000; Phase II prototype stage for two years up to $1,000,000; and Phase III commercialization utilizing previous resources with no further federal funding.</p>
<p>The workshops will cover practical steps to get in the game by writing a competitive proposal, organizers said in a news release.</p> | Tech grant proposal-writing workshop planned for Thurs. | false | https://abqjournal.com/249515/tech-grant-proposalwriting-workshop-planned-for-thurs.html | 2013-08-18 | 2 |
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<p>NORTH WEBSTER, Ind. - Authorities say a northern Indiana woman is recovering after being shot in the foot by her dog.</p>
<p>And the dog's name? Trigger.</p>
<p>Indiana Conservation Officer Jonathon Boyd says 25-year-old Allie Carter of Avilla laid her 12-gauge shotgun on the ground without the safety on during a waterfowl hunt Saturday at Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area.</p>
<p>Boyd says Carter's chocolate Labrador retriever, Trigger, stepped on top of the shotgun and depressed the trigger.</p>
<p>He says Carter was shot in the left foot at point-blank range, suffering injuries to her foot and toes. She was treated at two hospitals and released.</p>
<p>Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area is about 140 miles north of Indianapolis.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Dog named Trigger shoots owner during waterfowl hunt | false | https://abqjournal.com/665761/dog-named-trigger-shoots-owner-during-waterfowl-hunt.html | 2 |
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<p />
<p>Image source: Enbridge Energy Partners.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Enbridge Energy Partners got exactly what it needed this past quarter: a decent boost in profits thanks to two major projects coming online. That boost in profits from its oil pipelines helped to mask some of the issues that the company has experienced with its natural gas business as of late as gas volumes slowly decline. Let's take a quick look at Enbridge Energy Partners recent results and what the company plans to do about the problems its natural gas business presents to the overall profitability of the company.</p>
<p>Enbridge Energy Partners earnings: The raw numbers</p>
<p>Data source: Enbridge Energy Partners earnings release.</p>
<p>This quarter was a welcome sign for Enbridge after the company's financial results <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/17/cracks-start-to-show-in-enbridge-energy-partners-e.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">started to crack under the pressure Opens a New Window.</a>of low oil prices. After bringing two projects online in the prior quarter, the company was able to realize the benefit of having these assets online for an entire quarter. The decline in revenue for the quarter is mostly attributable to commodity prices, but the way in which Enbridge structures its fees means that revenue is much less relevant than adjusted EBITDA.</p>
<p>On a distributable cash flow basis -- the all important number for master limited partnerships -- Enbridge actually saw a decline of a couple million to $244 million. The largest reason for the change was increased interest expenses and payments to non-controlling interests.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>What happened with Enbridge Energy Partners this quarter?</p>
<p>What management had to sayEnbridge Energy Partners earnings were starting to feel the pressure of the decline in oil and gas activity recently, and the lack of new projects was starting to weigh on the bottom line. Now that Line 9B and the Southern Access Extension are up and running, though, President Mark Maki used the opportunity to take a little victory lap on its strong performance while acknowledging the need to address the issues with its natural gas business.</p>
<p>Looking forwardThe one thing that investors should be mindful of in the coming quarters is what exactly Enbridge Energy Partners decides to do with its natural gas assets. These assets have been a bit of a trouble spot for the company in recent months asnaturalgas volumes have started to decline. To make matters harder in thisenvironment, its current natural gas footprint is somewhat disjointed and has little connection to its core liquids pipelines. While the idea of selling these assets at what is probably one of the lowest points in the market doesn't sound too appealing, their underperformance suggests it's time to let them go and focus on the more attractive liquid pipeline assets.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/03/enbridge-energy-partners-record-pipeline-volumes-g.aspx" type="external">Enbridge Energy Partners' Record Pipeline Volumes Give Earnings a Welcome Boost Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDirtyBird/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Tyler Crowe Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned.You can follow him at Fool.comor on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerCroweFool" type="external">@TylerCroweFool Opens a New Window.</a>. The Motley Fool recommends Enbridge Energy Partners. 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> | Enbridge Energy Partners' Record Pipeline Volumes Give Earnings a Welcome Boost | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/03/enbridge-energy-partners-record-pipeline-volumes-give-earnings-welcome-boost.html | 2016-05-03 | 0 |
<p>FORT MOHAVE, Ariz. (AP) — Mohave County Sheriff’s officials say two victims of a double homicide now have been identified.</p>
<p>The bodies were found Jan. 10 near a burned vehicle in a desert area east of Fort Mohave.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials announced Tuesday that the victims have been identified as 51-year-old Mona Carter and 22-year-old Daryl Ward.</p>
<p>They both lived in Bullhead City.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials say investigators are looking into a possible drug connection surrounding the homicides.</p>
<p>They are still searching for any suspects in the case.</p>
<p>FORT MOHAVE, Ariz. (AP) — Mohave County Sheriff’s officials say two victims of a double homicide now have been identified.</p>
<p>The bodies were found Jan. 10 near a burned vehicle in a desert area east of Fort Mohave.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials announced Tuesday that the victims have been identified as 51-year-old Mona Carter and 22-year-old Daryl Ward.</p>
<p>They both lived in Bullhead City.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials say investigators are looking into a possible drug connection surrounding the homicides.</p>
<p>They are still searching for any suspects in the case.</p> | Victims of double homicide near Fort Mohave are identified | false | https://apnews.com/861ccabe722d45dc99e7e3be68497776 | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
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<p>First, she argues that our justice system is fallible. Death is irreversible and we might execute an innocent in error, though, she mistakenly argues that it is “certain” that innocents have been executed.</p>
<p>While all human systems are fallible, it is not “certain” that innocents have been executed.</p>
<p>She offers as evidence that 100 death row inmates have been exonerated over the past 40 years, apparently ignorant of the fact that the appeals which yielded these exonerations are as much a part of our legal system as the original trials are.</p>
<p>Furthermore, while there is indeed a risk in any execution, she ignores the much greater risk that a murderer allowed to live will manage to murder someone else.</p>
<p>Unlike her “certain” facts, repeat murders by unexecuted murderers are matters of record, with names, dates, places and numerous victims left in their wake.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Bureau of Justice statistics indicate about 55 murders a year occur in our nation’s prisons, about a third of those by inmates already having at least one prior homicide under their belts.</p>
<p>On the order of 20 repeat murders every year indicates a risk dramatically greater than even the highest estimates of the number of innocents who might have been executed.</p>
<p>Second, she argues that if even a single innocent is mistakenly executed, “every one of us is an accessory to murder.”</p>
<p>Aside from her misuse of the term “murder” (defined to be an illegal homicide committed with malice aforethought), by her own logic, she and every other opponent of capital punishment already share in the guilt of every repeat murder by an unexecuted murderer, i.e., one intentionally given more chances to murder again.</p>
<p>So you, Ms. Labar-Shelton, by your own confession, are already guilty of something like 20 murders per year. By taking up the cause of those who murder, you have chosen of your own will to share in their evil and guilt as well.</p> | Death Prevents Murderers From Killing Again | false | https://abqjournal.com/111735/death-prevents-murderers-from-killing-again.html | 2012-06-08 | 2 |
<p>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced plans Thursday for his first international trip since taking office with Saudi Arabia his first stop.</p>
<p>“The reason we chose to do the Saudis first is that they are the custodians of the two Holy Mosques,” a senior White House official explained. Leaders of the Muslim world will convene to meet with Trump, who warmed to Middle Eastern diplomacy after successful visits from King Abdullah of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sissi.</p>
<p>After Saudi Arabia, Trump will visit Israel, then Rome, where he will meet Pope Francis. After visiting three regions pivotal to the development of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, Trump will go to Brussels and Sicily for a NATO summit and meeting of the G7 economic powers. The nine-day trip is scheduled for later this month.</p>
<p>Trump’s travel plans popped up during a day dominated by the president’s first legislative victories. After the House passed his American Health Care Act, House Republicans joined Trump and White House staff for a celebratory moment in the Rose Garden. The Senate also passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill by a bipartisan vote. The bill, which keeps the government running through September, now goes to Trump to sign in time to avert a midnight Friday deadline.</p>
<p>Trump’s public events began with a Rose Garden ceremony attended by people of faith who watched the president sign an executive order to protect the rights of those who object to government policies on religious grounds.</p>
<p>“We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced again and we will never stand for religious discrimination,” Trump said.</p>
<p>In attendance were Little Sisters of the Poor, who objected to the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act, and won in the U.S. Supreme Court. “Come on up here, sister,” Trump said to a member of group during his remarks.</p>
<p>Trump also reached out to America’s “Muslim allies to combat extremism, terrorism and violence and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for young Muslims in their countries.”</p>
<p>Trump’s first stop came as a surprise to Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Hooper greeted the news with silence, then a question: “Did he say why he’s stopping there first?”</p>
<p>In a background briefing with reporters, a top official admitted that critics often portray Trump as anti-Islam, but the aide said Trump shares many objectives with Muslim majority nations, such as defeating “radical extremism.”</p>
<p>The president is committed to “better lives for children across all major religions,” another senior official explained.</p>
<p>Trump will hit the international stage late for a new president. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton all traveled abroad during their first 100 days. Instead, Trump focused on travel within the United States, often to his own properties, such as Mar-a-Lago.</p>
<p>The Trump White House does not see the president’s focus as antithetical to a muscular foreign policy. Aides believe Trump’s use of force after Syrian President Bashar al Assad turned chemical weapons on his own people has resonated with world leaders who saw America’s leadership falter during the Obama years.</p>
<p>“The president has demonstrated already that America First is fully compatible with American leadership in the world,” a senior official said.</p>
<p>Contact Debra J. Saunders at [email protected] or at 202-662-7391. Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/DebraJSaunders" type="external">@DebraJSaunders</a> on Twitter.</p>
<p>How they voted</p>
<p>The Senate voted 79-18 to pass a $1.1 trillion spending plan Thursday with Nevada’s senators split on the bill.</p>
<p>Republican Sen. Dean Heller — no</p>
<p>Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto — yes</p>
<p /> | Trump’s first presidential overseas trip to start in Saudi Arabia | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/trumps-first-presidential-overseas-trip-to-start-in-saudi-arabia/ | 2017-05-04 | 1 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">Legg Mason</a> Inc's (NYSE:LM) profit in its fiscal third quarter fell by more than half as asset management fees declined and it took a restructuring charge, but outflows from its funds slowed significantly.</p>
<p>The Baltimore company said on Friday for the three months ended Dec. 31 its net income fell to $28.1 million, or 20 cents per share, from $61.6 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier.</p>
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<p>Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S on average expected the company to earn 25 cents per share. The quarter included $42.3 million in transition costs as part of a reorganization begun in 2010, up from $24 million in the year-ago quarter.</p>
<p>Legg Mason has been among a number of asset managers to report a long string of outflows, driven by a mix of performance problems and a turn by investors away from the equity funds that traditionally were among the industry's most profitable products.</p>
<p>Legg Mason said its third-quarter net outflows were just $1.3 billion, down from $17.6 billion in the previous quarter and $16.7 billion in the year-earlier third quarter.</p>
<p>Assets under management were $627 billion at the end of the December quarter, up from $611.8 billion at the end of the prior quarter but down from $671.8 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>In a statement, Legg Mason Chief Executive Mark Fetting said, "It was a challenging quarter, with the cumulative effect of 2011's second-half market turmoil impacting AUM and revenues. However, our core business held up well, the flow picture improved and investment performance remained strong."</p>
<p>Legg Mason shares have fallen 22 percent over the past year, compared with an 18 percent drop in the <a href="" type="internal">Dow Jones</a> index of U.S. asset managers,.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Legg Mason's Profit 3Q Slides, Misses Estimates | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/01/27/legg-masons-profit-3q-slides-misses-estimates.html | 2016-01-26 | 0 |
<p>Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) has lots of opportunities to expand by adding more locations, but it's going to struggle to increase same-store sales at existing locations as it gets bigger.</p>
<p>That problem was evident in its most recent earnings report. The company saw its total revenue rise by nearly 30% to $94.6 million, with sales up 26.8% to $91.1 million. The problem is those increases occurred only because it added restaurants -- same-store sales dropped by 1.6%.</p>
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<p>Shake Shack <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/12/are-shake-shacks-expansion-plans-a-good-idea.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=97b77c10-bfcb-11e7-93ea-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">can grow Opens a New Window.</a>. It can make more money and it can continue to have a devoted fan base. What it's going to struggle to do is make more money at its existing locations, and that's going to act as an anchor on its stock price.</p>
<p>Shake Shack has a solid, profitable model, but investors tend to reward same-store sales increases. The burger chain, which has both licensed and company-owned stores, has struggled in that aspect. It expects a full-2017 sales decrease of between 1.5 and 2%. That follows a third quarter during which average weekly sales for domestic company-operated Shacks decreased to $91,000 compared to $103,000 in the third quarter of 2016.</p>
<p>The company blamed that on "the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/11/is-shake-shack-cannibalizing-itself.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=97b77c10-bfcb-11e7-93ea-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">addition of more Shacks Opens a New Window.</a> at various volumes into the system" in its third-quarter earnings report. That's a major red flag, because it shows that as the chain expands it actually loses something: it becomes less special, and that undermines some of what has driven customers in.</p>
<p>That's an inevitable part of growth, but for Shake Shack the problem may be bigger. In a market where better-burger chains have become common (Five Guys, BurgerFi, In-N-Out, etc.), maintaining a bit of mystery was good for Shake Shack and drove bigger orders when customers finally happened upon one.</p>
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<p>Once Shake Shack moves into the neighborhood, most people realize that the chain is not that special. It has good but not spectacular burgers, and solid shakes/frozen treats. It's a good chain, way better than traditional fast food, but not dramatically different from some of the chains mentioned above.</p>
<p>If you can't increase same-store sales, removing cost can improve profits. That's something CEO Randy Garutti touched on in his remarks in the Q3 earnings report.</p>
<p>"We continue to innovate and learn through our ever-increasing use of technology in the overall Shack experience, demonstrated most recently with our cashless, kiosk-only, and new kitchen design at Astor Place in New York City," he said. "This Shack is the representation of our relentless focus on excellence, experience, and hospitality through innovation, and you will continue to see more of this from us in the years to come."</p>
<p>As the chain gets bigger it will not only cannibalize existing locations but also see less spending per visit. As it becomes more common to visit the a Shake Shack, customers will stop feeling justified in adding a shake to their burger and fries order.</p>
<p>That would be fine if increased locations led to more visits, but that doesn't seem likely to happen. Shake Shack remains an indulgence -- both in price and calories. Consumers will probably visit about the same amount while spending less when a Shack opens near them.</p>
<p>This is not a bad company. As a private business, it would be a very solid investment. As a stock, however, it's going to struggle, because same-store sales are likely to continue to decrease. The chain should be able to handle that, and there will be a bottom that's still profitable, but this is a company where more locations have proven to be less for investors.</p>
<p>{%sfr%</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDankline/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=97b77c10-bfcb-11e7-93ea-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Daniel B. Kline Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool is short shares of Shake Shack. 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=97b77c10-bfcb-11e7-93ea-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Is Shake Shack Inc. a Buy? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/07/is-shake-shack-inc-buy.html | 2017-11-07 | 0 |
<p>A Troy, Illinois preschool suspended a four-year-old boy and called the Department of Children and Family Services to report his parents, all because the child brought a shell casing of a bullet to school.</p>
<p>According to the boy’s mother, Kristy Jackson, a teacher informed her that her son Hunter had brought a "shotgun bullet" to A Place 2 Grow preschool. Jackson wrote on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157040166533647&amp;set=a.443940788646.219058.679873646&amp;type=3&amp;theater" type="external">Facebook:</a></p>
<p>I was horrified. My kid? Who just spent the weekend learning gun safety? Well … when I was escorted to the office for a sit down. I was handed a tiny .22 empty brass casing. Not a "shotgun bullet.” He found it on the ground, expelled from a 22 Rifle over the weekend, while Hunter was target practicing with his Police Officer Grandpa. He was so excited, and snuck it to school to show his friends. We had no idea about it.</p>
<p>I was handed a piece of paper. No words, just eyebrows raised in disgust at my son, explaining that his behavior warranted a 7 school day suspension. Which I still was expected to pay tuition for, of course. And a threat that if his enthusiasm for guns continued, he'd be permanently expelled.</p>
<p>She added:</p>
<p>See, here's the thing. This was a teaching moment. He never hurt anyone, or threatened anyone. This could literally happen to ANY CHILD who happened to find one on the ground and thought it was cool. He does not have access to ANY weapon in our home. This could have been handled by explaining appropriate behavior at school.</p>
<p>Jackson stated that the school intimated that if Hunter’s “enthusiasm for guns continued, he'd be permanently expelled.”</p>
<p>Hunter’s grandfather is a Caseyville police officer. Kristy Jackson said he has been teaching his grandson about responsible gun use. She told <a href="http://fox2now.com/2017/03/22/4-year-old-suspended-for-bringing-a-shell-casing-to-preschool-daycare-goes-viral-on-facebook/" type="external">FOX2Now</a>:</p>
<p>[Hunter] just was wandering around in a field and picked up and put it in his pocket and didn’t tell his parents … it’s paranoia. It’s something that’s become quite an epidemic where guns are automatically assumed that they’re bad … and I’m not sure how a 7-day suspension teaches my son anything about tolerance or anything about why he was wrong. It just means his school doesn’t want him there because of things he enjoys.</p>
<p>The school’s director wrote Jackson, telling her Hunter had repeatedly been reminded about using other toys as make believe guns, in violation of school policy.</p>
<p>School president Sarah Jarman <a href="https://reason.com/blog/2017/03/23/4-year-old-brings-shell-casing-to-presch" type="external">wrote</a> to parents: “As a provider of early childhood education, we are charged with introducing a curriculum that is appropriate for every child in a classroom. The introduction of firearms safety into the classroom is not included in our curriculum. We view and understand that it is a very personal decision that each parent has the right to make.”</p> | UNREAL: Preschool Suspends Four-Year-Old For Bringing Shell Casing To School | true | https://dailywire.com/news/14742/unreal-preschool-suspends-four-year-old-bringing-hank-berrien | 2017-03-23 | 0 |
<p>Photo used under a Creative Commons license by flickr user Scorpions and Centaurs</p>
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<p>Last week was a milestone for US treasury secretary Tim Geithner. He finally got to play the hero. The morning of June 9, Treasury notified 10 financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, US Bancorp, and Capital One Financial, that they were “eligible to complete the repayment process” for the capital they received under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). In other words, they would be allowed to pay back $68.3 billion. Even though they really owe $229.7 billion. That we know of. But Geithner didn’t mention that last bit. Instead, he professed that “these repayments are an encouraging sign of financial repair,” with the caveat that “we still have work to do.”</p>
<p>The “we” he refers to is himself and Wall Street, both of whom are getting a good deal out of this fractional payback scheme. The agreement frees the banks from restrictions on executive pay or, worse, their general practices, but it still allows them to keep the cash they’ve received through non-TARP venues like the FDIC Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program— or the massive sums the banks recovered from AIG (thanks to its own federal bailout) to cover their losses on credit derivatives. Not to mention any cash provided by the mother of all cheap loan programs—the Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>Geithner, for his part, gets to convey the message that things are looking up. “These repayments follow a period in which many banks have successfully raised equity capital from private investors,” stated the press release. “Also, for the first time in many months, these banks have issued long-term debt that is not guaranteed by the government.”</p>
<p>Well, of course certain banks have raised some money on their own: Firms have a tendency to look a whole lot better when they’re backed by government capital and have cheap federal loans sitting on their books. Private investors notice that sort of thing. But more troubling than the misplaced praise is the fine print that accompanied the announcement: “These repayments,” the department noted, “help to reduce Treasury’s borrowing and national debt. The repayments also increase Treasury’s cushion to respond to any future financial instability that might otherwise jeopardize economic recovery.”</p>
<p>This statement belies some accounting sleight of hand.</p>
<p>First off, it conveniently ignores the fact that TARP accounts for a fraction—about $700 billion—of the government’s $13 trillion banking stabilization scheme. At some point, investors are going to balk at buying up federal debt (Treasury bonds), thereby forcing the government to pay higher interest rates, which will wipe out much of the TARP payback benefit. The second sentence is more ominous: It suggests that if banks need that money back, it’ll be waiting for them right there at the Treasury Department.</p>
<p>On the day of his announcement, Geithner acknowledged to the Senate Appropriations Committee that “while we see some initial signs of economic improvement and the financial system is beginning to heal, our country faces very substantial economic and financial challenges.” Indeed, the banking sector has not gotten substantially better lately. According to a report compiled by the Investigative Reporting Workshop and MSNBC, the number of delinquent or defaulting bank loans grew by 22 percent during the first quarter of 2009—six out of ten banks were, in fact, even less prepared to absorb further losses than they had been during the last, abysmal quarter of 2008.</p>
<p>While the treasury secretary conveyed to the senators some understanding of the plight of the rest of us, this show was all about Treasury and the banking sector. Geithner praised the government for pulling off stress tests of the 19 largest financial institutions last month. “The clarity and transparency provided by the tests,” he said, “has helped improve market confidence in the banks, making it possible for them to collectively raise nearly $90 billion through private equity offerings, bond issuances without government guarantees and sales of business units.”</p>
<p>But Tim’s not playing it straight. The fact that most of these banks passed their stress tests would only have mattered if the tests had any value. As I <a href="/politics/2009/05/flunking-stress-tests" type="external">discussed</a> when the tests were first unveiled, these tests were designed in tandem with the banks, the evaluations were provided by the banks, and some of the assumptions they were based upon—such as where unemployment would be—had been exceeded before the test results were released.</p>
<p>In fact, the stress tests have little to do with anything, but two other sources of capital for banks do. The main one is the Fed, which loans money to banks at stupidly low rates through a variety of facilities and loan-guarantee programs that total $7.9 trillion. In return, the banks can post as collateral an assortment of complex assets that no one but the Fed has any record of.</p>
<p>Banks can also borrow cheaply if they have an FDIC guarantee—and then use that cheap money to do things like pay TARP back, which explains why their stocks have gone up. The government opened this door on October 14, 2008, with the FDIC’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. The idea was that it would prompt banks to start lending to their customers again. But that didn’t happen. Instead, cunning institutions used the new program to raise cheap capital for their own needs. By changing its status to a bank holding company, Goldman Sachs was able to secure $29 billion of that FDIC-backed debt; Morgan Stanley raised nearly $24 billion.</p>
<p>The banks paying back the TARP funds aren’t doing any better than their peers. In the first quarter of 2009, JPMorgan Chase’s troubled asset ratio—the ratio of bad loans to the cash a bank has set aside to cover them—increased by nearly 16 percent, US Bancorp’s by 21 percent, and Capital One’s by 17 percent, numbers that put them in the same ballpark as many banks that are holding their TARP money.</p>
<p>In the meantime, average Americans, who don’t have a $13 trillion federal insurance policy to fall back upon, have fared poorly. Over the past three months, unemployment has hopped a full point, to 9.4 percent—nearly double what it was one year earlier. For the third straight month, home foreclosures have broken the 300,000 mark, with the defaults reaching well into the prime loan turf, and home prices are still falling.</p>
<p>Considering the true size of the bailout, the continued loan deterioration, and the weakness in the overall economy and job market, the economic signs simply aren’t that positive. For Geithner to pretend that a few banks paying back federal money with other federal money is an encouraging sign is to miss all of them.</p>
<p /> | The Big Bank Bailout Payback Bamboozle | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/06/big-bank-bamboozle/ | 2009-06-15 | 4 |
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<p>With Monsanto Co's (NYSE:MON) latest flagship weed killer, dicamba, banned in Arkansas and under review by U.S. regulators over concerns it can drift in the wind, farmers and weed scientists are also complaining that confusing directions on the label make the product hard to use safely.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dicamba, sold under different brand names by BASF and DuPont (NYSE:DD), can vaporize under certain conditions and the wind can blow it into nearby crops and other plants. The herbicide can damage or even kill crops that have not been genetically engineered to resist it.</p>
<p>To prevent that from happening, Monsanto created a 4,550-word label with detailed instructions. Its complexity is now being cited by farmers and critics of the product. It was even singled out in a lawsuit as evidence that Monsanto's product may be virtually impossible to use properly.</p>
<p>At stake for Monsanto is the fate of Xtend soybeans, it largest ever biotech seed launch.</p>
<p>Monsanto's label, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviewed and approved, instructs farmers to apply the company's XtendiMax with VaporGrip on its latest genetically engineered soybeans only when winds are blowing at least 3 miles per hour, but not more than 15 mph.</p>
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<p>Growers must also spray it from no higher than 24 inches above the crops. They must adjust spraying equipment to produce larger droplets of the herbicide when temperatures creep above 91 degrees Fahrenheit. After using the product, they must rinse out spraying equipment. Three times.</p>
<p>"The restriction on these labels is unlike anything that's ever been seen before," said Bob Hartzler, an agronomy professor and weed specialist at Iowa State University.</p>
<p>The label instructions are also of interest to lawyers for farmers suing Monsanto, BASF and DuPont over damage they attribute to the potent weed killer moving off-target to nearby plants.</p>
<p>A civil lawsuit filed against the companies in federal court in St. Louis last month alleged it might be impossible to properly follow the label. Restrictions on wind speed, for example, do not allow for timely sprayings over the top of growing soybeans, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>The companies failed "to inform the EPA that their label instructions were unrealistic," the lawsuit said.</p>
<p>Monsanto said that while its label is detailed, it is not difficult to follow.</p>
<p>"It uses very simple words and terms," Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president of strategy, told Reuters. "They are not complex in a fashion that inhibits the ability of making a correct application."</p>
<p>BASF and DuPont could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit on Friday.</p>
<p>Monsanto and BASF have said they trained thousands of farmers to properly use dicamba. Monsanto also said the crop damage seen this summer likely stemmed largely from farmers who did not follow label instructions.</p>
<p>Those detailed instructions led some growers and professional spraying companies to avoid the herbicide altogether.</p>
<p>Richard Wilkins, a Delaware farmer, abandoned plans to plant Monsanto's dicamba-resistant soybeans, called Xtend, this year because a local company would not spray the weed killer.</p>
<p>"The clean-out procedure that you have to go through to ensure that you don't have any residue remaining in the applicator equipment is quite onerous," he said.</p>
<p>In Missouri, farm cooperative MFA Inc said it stopped spraying dicamba for customers last month partly because high temperatures made it too difficult to follow the label.</p>
<p>The EPA is reviewing label instructions following the reports of crop damage.</p>
<p>Monsanto has a lot riding on the EPA review. The company's net sales increased 1 percent to $4.2 billion in the quarter ended on May 31 from a year ago, partly due to higher U.S. sales of Xtend soybeans. Since January, the company has increased its estimate for 2017 U.S. plantings to 20 million acres from 15 million.</p>
<p>One confusing requirement on its dicamba label, farmers said, prohibits spraying during a "temperature inversion," a time when a stable atmosphere can increase the potential for the chemical to move to fields that are vulnerable.</p>
<p>To follow the rule, some growers used their smart phones to check weather websites for wind speeds and information on inversions.</p>
<p>"You have to be a meteorologist to get it exactly right," said Hunter Raffety, a Missouri farmer who believes dicamba damaged soybeans on his farm that could not resist the chemical.</p>
<p>(Editing by David Gregorio)</p>
<p>(([email protected]; +1-312-408-8556; Twitter:</p>
<p>@tpolansek; Reuters Messaging:</p>
<p>[email protected]))</p>
<p>(C) Reuters 2017. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.</p> | U.S. farmers confused by Monsanto weed killer's complex instructions | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/21/u-s-farmers-confused-by-monsanto-weed-killers-complex-instructions.html | 2017-08-21 | 0 |
<p>Colin Kaepernick refused to stand up during the national anthem at a preseason game. His move did not amuse a lot of people and it puts him in the middle of a controversy.</p>
<p>The San Francisco 49ers quarterback said that he refused to stand for the anthem to challenge authority and instigate change. This is in relation to racial interactions and what he considers as police brutality.</p>
<p>“ I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told the NFL.com in an interview.</p>
<p>The million-dollar quarterback sat through the anthem in all three preseason games. He will persist in his fight for his beliefs. However, he said that he did not mean to insult members of the military.</p>
<p>He added that the attention that his protest is getting is a good thing because it brings awareness to what is really going on in the country.</p>
<p>Martin Halloran, the San Francisco Police Officers Association president, sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denouncing Kaepernicks statements . He also sent a copy to Jed York, the 49ers CEO. The letter criticizes the quarterbacks “total lack of sensitivity” toward police and stated that his statements were ill-advised due to his lack of knowledge about police matters and officer-involved shootings.</p>
<p>The police union also invited Kaepernick to visit the San Francisco police academy. He might be able to gain a better understanding about the profession after the visit.</p>
<p>Kaepernick’s actions did not escape scrutiny from players around the NFL as well. Alejandro Villanueva, Steelers offensive tackle and former Army Ranger, said that he does not agree that sitting through the national anthem of the nation that is giving you freedom is the correct way of showing disapproval when black minorities are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan defending that freedom.</p>
<p>Even some of Kaepernick’s teammates were not happy by his bold move.</p> | 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick Sits Through Anthem as Protest | false | https://newsline.com/49ers-qb-colin-kaepernick-sits-anthem-protest/ | 2016-08-29 | 1 |
<p>After pushback over the "softening" of his position on deporting the 11+ million illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S., Donald Trump has returned to something closer to his original hardline position. Sort of.</p>
<p>Speaking on CNN's AC 360 on Thursday, Trump insisted that there would be "no path to legalization" unless illegals "leave the country and come back." But when pressed on what exactly he plans to do about the illegal immigrants who "haven’t committed a crime," have been here for several years, and have a family, Trump <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/politics/trump-no-legal-status-for-undocumented-immigrants/index.html" type="external">said</a>,"We're going to see what happens..."</p>
<p>Trump told host Anderson Cooper that he was going to go into more depth about his immigration policy in about a week, when he gives his big immigration speech, but he did offer a few thoughts on the issue. His first priority, he said, is to deport criminal illegal immigrants and secure the border. After that, things got a bit fuzzy.</p>
<p>"You can’t take 11 [million people] at one time and just say, boom, you’re gone," he said. "We have to find where these people are. Most people don’t even know where they are. Nobody even knows if it’s 11 [million]."</p>
<p>Maintaining that his new position was not a "softening" but a "hardening, Trump told Cooper that there'd be "no path" to legalization.</p>
<p>"No, there’s not a path," he said. "There is no path to legalization, unless people leave the country — well, when they come back in, if they come back in, then they can start paying taxes, but there is no path to legalization, unless they leave the country and come back."</p>
<p>Using similar language as he did in his immigration speech earlier in the week, Trump suggested he was simply going to use "existing laws" which are resulting in "millions of people" being deported every year, but said he would use them "vigorously."</p>
<p>Pressed on whether he would deport illegals who have been here for "15 years" and "have families," Trump hedged.</p>
<p>"We’re going to see what happens once we strengthen our border," he said, adding that "there is a very good chance the answer could be yes, we’re going to see what happens."</p>
<p>Trump went on to stress that it was "very unfair" for illegal immigrants to jump in line over legal immigrants.</p>
<p>Trump's "pivot" on immigration has resulted in some strong backlash from a few supporters, including Ann Coulter, who has spent most of the week <a href="" type="internal">chastising him</a> for having "panicked" over his struggling poll numbers. But most of Trump fans have <a href="" type="internal">brushed off</a>the "softening" as "realistic."</p> | Trump On Deporting Illegals: 'We'll Have to See What Happens' | true | https://dailywire.com/news/8683/trump-deporting-illegals-well-have-see-what-james-barrett | 2016-08-26 | 0 |
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<p>The storms strafed northern Texas, Nebraska and Kansas on Wednesday and early Thursday but reserved their worst for the Oklahoma City area, where at least a dozen people were injured in a trailer park and where a 43-year-old woman was killed. Skylyna Stewart apparently took cover in an underground storm shelter and drowned when it was deluged by floodwater, police Sgt. Gary Knight said.</p>
<p>While residents assessed the damage early Thursday afternoon, a large cluster of thunderstorms was developing in western Oklahoma that was expected to bring hail and damaging winds to the state. Meanwhile, storms that could produce more powerful tornadoes could rake the Plains on Friday and Saturday, said meteorologist John Hart of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman.</p>
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<p>"The conditions are right; it's the right time of year," Hart said. "There are just a lot of things that make you think over the next three days there will probably be big tornadoes across the southern Plains."</p>
<p>An area covering southern Kansas, western Oklahoma and parts of North Texas would likely bear the brunt of the storms Friday and Saturday.</p>
<p>The likelihood of another round of storms so soon left some residents wondering whether they should wait to begin cleaning up.</p>
<p>Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency for 12 central Oklahoma counties. The hardest hit appeared to be the rural community of Bridge Creek, about 30 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, where 25 homes were destroyed.</p>
<p>Flooding remained a concern throughout the region, after 5-8 inches fell in many areas, said Forrest Mitchell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman. The 7.1 inches that fell at the Oklahoma City airport easily eclipsed the previous daily high of 2.6 inches, he said.</p>
<p>Heavy damage also was reported in Norman and Oklahoma City. A hotel and mobile home park along Interstate 35 in south Oklahoma City were heavily damaged by a rain-wrapped tornado that dropped from the sky after dark. Oklahoma City spokeswoman Kristy Yager said crews were still conducting preliminary damage assessments, but more worried about ominous storms heading toward the state.</p>
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<p>"We're concerned about the weather that's coming in," she said. "About receiving more rain tonight, Friday and Saturday. It's important that everybody stay weather aware and have a plan."</p>
<p>In Norman, a large piece of a metal roof torn from the gymnasium at Community Christian School was found wrapped around a light pole at a baseball field more than 100 yards away. Jim Ohsfeldt, whose wife is principal of the school, spent Wednesday morning with student volunteers picking up soggy insulation scattered across the parking lot.</p>
<p>"They say it's going to hit again, but I think it's going to go north or south and pick on somebody else," Ohsfeldt said.</p>
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<p>Follow Sean Murphy at https://twitter.com/apseanmurphy</p> | After heavy storms, forecasters predict more to come | false | https://abqjournal.com/580903/after-heavy-storms-forecasters-predict-more-to-come.html | 2 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Firefighters with the New Mexico State Forestry Division are answering the call for help as states around the West are dealing with large wildfires.</p>
<p>At least 100 State Forestry personnel are supporting firefighting efforts around the region.</p>
<p>State Forester Donald Griego says the West has seen one of the worst fire seasons on record with more than 2 million acres (809,371 hectares) burned. With New Mexico’s fire season winding down, he says his agency has been able to share resources.</p>
<p>One crew made up of military veterans and civilians is helping with a fire in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge. This marks the team’s fifth tour and third fire in Oregon.</p>
<p>Crews also have been sent to California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Washington state.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | New Mexico sends crews to help with western wildfires | false | https://abqjournal.com/1066981/new-mexico-sends-crews-to-help-with-western-wildfires.html | 2 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices, driven up by rising energy costs, rose moderately in December, closing out a year in which consumer inflation rose at the fastest pace in five years.</p>
<p>The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its consumer price index increased 0.3 percent last month, up from a 0.2 percent gain in November. Energy prices, which have been rebounding, were up 1.5 percent, led by another jump in gasoline pump prices. Food costs were unchanged for the fifth straight month.</p>
<p>For all of 2016, prices were up 2.1 percent, compared to a 0.7 percent rise in 2015. It was the largest annual increase since a 3 percent jump in 2011. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.2 percent in December and 2.2 percent for the year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After four years of extremely low inflation, prices have begun to accelerate with both overall inflation and core inflation above the 2 percent target set by the Federal Reserve. The low inflation figures had allowed the central bank to keep interest rates at ultra-low levels with its key rate at a record low near zero for seven years.</p>
<p>The Fed has now boosted rates twice in December 2015 and again last month by modest quarter-point moves. Fed officials are projecting that they will boost rates another three times in 2017. Fed officials continue to stress that they believe prices will be rising by modest amounts that will allow them to move interest rates up gradually.</p>
<p>Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said that core inflation has been relatively stable, rising at rates just above 2 percent over the past year. He said that would allow the Fed to keep interest rates steady until mid-year. But after that, he said a variety of factors including tax cuts and spending increases supported by the Trump administration will likely prompt the Fed to begin moving rates higher at a faster clip.</p>
<p>“We expect that a sharper acceleration in inflation will eventually force the Fed to tighten policy much more aggressively” in the second half of this year, Hunter said, saying the Fed could hike rates four times this year.</p>
<p>But other analysts said they were still looking for slower rise in rates. Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group, said he still believed the Fed would raise rates only twice in 2017, in June and December.</p>
<p>For 2016, food costs actually declined 0.2 percent for the 12 months ending in December while energy costs were up 5.4 percent from a year ago. Currently, the national price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.36 up from $1.89 a year ago, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge.</p>
<p>Medical care services was one of the fastest rising categories last year, rising by 3.9 percent over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>New car prices were up a slight 0.3 percent but used car prices were down 3.5 percent and clothing prices were down 0.1 percent over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>In addition to a big fall in energy costs, inflation has been kept low in recent years by a rise in the value of the dollar against foreign currencies which makes imports, including clothing imports, cheaper for U.S. consumers.</p>
<p>The Fed has used low interest rates and other measures to provide a boost for the U.S. economy as it struggled to emerge from the worst recession since the 1930s.</p> | US consumer prices up moderate 0.3 percent in December | false | https://abqjournal.com/930187/us-consumer-prices-up-moderate-0-3-percent-in-december.html | 2017-01-18 | 2 |
<p>PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) — A 22-year-old man was booked into the Kitsap County Jail for investigation of attempted murder after he allegedly shot a man who had been sleeping, and then stole his car.</p>
<p>The Kitsap Sun <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2018/01/18/man-booked-attempted-murder-south-kitsap-shooting/1046551001/" type="external">reports</a> the man was arrested early Thursday.</p>
<p>The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called Wednesday to a house in Manchester.</p>
<p>The victim told investigators he was at the house with the 22-year-old suspect and a 19-year-old woman when he fell asleep. When he awoke, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scott Wilson says the suspect was standing over the victim with a rifle and shot him. Wilson says the man was shot in the bicep and that another bullet grazed his scalp.</p>
<p>Wilson says the victim then jumped out of a second-story window.</p>
<p>Wilson says the suspect and his girlfriend were found at a Bremerton apartment.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Kitsap Sun, <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/" type="external">http://www.kitsapsun.com/</a></p>
<p>PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) — A 22-year-old man was booked into the Kitsap County Jail for investigation of attempted murder after he allegedly shot a man who had been sleeping, and then stole his car.</p>
<p>The Kitsap Sun <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2018/01/18/man-booked-attempted-murder-south-kitsap-shooting/1046551001/" type="external">reports</a> the man was arrested early Thursday.</p>
<p>The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called Wednesday to a house in Manchester.</p>
<p>The victim told investigators he was at the house with the 22-year-old suspect and a 19-year-old woman when he fell asleep. When he awoke, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scott Wilson says the suspect was standing over the victim with a rifle and shot him. Wilson says the man was shot in the bicep and that another bullet grazed his scalp.</p>
<p>Wilson says the victim then jumped out of a second-story window.</p>
<p>Wilson says the suspect and his girlfriend were found at a Bremerton apartment.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Kitsap Sun, <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/" type="external">http://www.kitsapsun.com/</a></p> | Man booked for attempted murder in South Kitsap shooting | false | https://apnews.com/810aac69bde64a6f81a228343e012637 | 2018-01-19 | 2 |
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<p>A Starbucks Workers Union member protests outside a Starbucks in Pittsburgh in 2009. &#160; (Photo via <a href="http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=3733" type="external">greenchange.org</a>)</p>
<p>The decline of unions does not mean the end of the labor movement. Indeed, the last few years have seen a proliferation of new kinds of worker organizations and workers' rights campaigns. Some of the most exciting of late have been conducted by community-based groups (rather than workplace-based unions), such as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and those part of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.pmpress.org/content/article.php/20080722202202555" type="external">Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks</a>, a recent pamphlet published by PM Press, Daniel Gross and Staughton Lynd highlight an increasingly important feature of today’s labor movement—nonunion workers using direct action strategies protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—while examining the <a href="http://www.iww.org/" type="external">Industrial Workers of the World</a>’s (IWW)'s ongoing efforts to organize Starbucks.</p>
<p>During the last decade, Chicago-based IWW has seen a resurgence of organizing activity and visibility. That's in part because the 106-year-old international union, which once had 100,000 members but is now only a fraction of that size, formed the <a href="http://www.starbucksunion.org/" type="external">Starbucks Workers Union</a> (SWU) in 2004 in New York City. It was the coffee chain's first union, and it has <a href="" type="internal">since</a> <a href="" type="internal">expanded</a>.</p>
<p>The Starbucks campaign is remarkable because it draws from both IWW's history and the best practices of worker centers, which are the principal heir of the union's rich organizing legacy. Ironically, today’s IWW activists, or Wobblies, can learn from worker centers. In fact, one sign of the IWW's revival is the emergence of the IWW-affiliated <a href="http://lucycenter.org" type="external">Lucy Parsons Workers' Center</a> in Chicago. Gross and Lynd’s pamphlet is particularly instructive to Wobblies who are challenged by the task of reaching out to workers in need of organizing.</p>
<p>Gross and Lynd, both proponents of rank-and-file unionism, union democracy, and direct action, focus on the practice of solidarity unionism among IWW members working for Starbucks. The story is compelling, in part because of the symbolic importance of the coffee chain. The ubiquitous corporate giant is emblematic of the precarity of the service economy. The authors make the important point that new organizational forms of business require new forms of worker organization.&#160;</p>
<p>Starbucks, for instance, argues that a bargaining unit would necessarily include all of the stores in a given region. This, along with ideological reasons, is why the IWW is organizing Starbucks workers across coffee shop locations, rather than shop by shop.</p>
<p>Gross and Lynd share the stories of workers like Laura de Anda, who deal with overbearing managers, low-wages, unilateral scheduling and repetitive motion injuries. For readers without personal experience in service-sector jobs, some of these abuses may seem like mere annoyances; not nearly as exploitative or shocking as, those in say, the meat-packing industry.&#160;</p>
<p>But taken together, the at-times idealized barista can find herself in a state of psychological pressure and physical strain. I should know—I did time as a barista in a coffee shop in Chicago’s banking district. My fingertips became so raw from the constant handling of coins and hand washing that I had to wear Band-Aids to prevent infection. I also had to corner my boss and make an appeal to his wife after he didn’t give me my promised raise at the end of my training period. &#160; Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks is useful because it names and describes a collection of strategies nontraditional worker organizations like worker centers increasingly employ. This is particularly true for groups that do not limit their organizing by industry or geographic community. Instead of seeking geographic or industry monopoly power, worker centers like New Brunswick’s <a href="http://newlabor.org/" type="external">New Labor</a>, <a href="http://cworkers.org/" type="external">Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center</a>, and the organization I work for, <a href="http://arisechicago.org/" type="external">Arise Chicago</a>, choose to build a base of workers organized around the principles and power of direct action and mutual aid.&#160;</p>
<p>This means workers joining together to change conditions and terms of work, regardless of what or where their work is. In a recent and typical Arise Chicago action, a retired factory worker, social worker and home healthcare worker joined a butcher to confront his boss about paying the minimum wage, signing a discrimination-free workplace statement, and covering the medical costs of a work-related injury. Worker centers are effective in mobilizing marginalized and low-wage workers because they are rooted in the communities they organize, address workers’ immediate needs and develop them into leaders. &#160;Gross and Lynd describe how IWW-SWU members take bold actions to win concrete gains. We learn how workers disobeyed management to create a comfortable break area, and organized a work stoppage to demand affordable healthcare options and sick days. Besides being dramatic and attention-grabbing, some of these campaigns are notable for their tactical use of legal complaints.</p>
<p>Organizations like the SWU are successful in part because the workers they organize are covered by the NLRA. When people think of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the agency charged with regulating union elections and protecting workers’ rights in the process—most often they think of union organizing campaigns. But if one studies the NLRA, the pamphlet authors point out, any workers have the right to engage in “collective concerted activity” and are protected from retaliation for doing so.&#160;</p>
<p>SWU workers in New York City won a complaint and were reinstated, changing a company policy against distributing union information in the process. In the example cited above, the threat of filing a legal charge for violation of protected concerted activity was sufficient to win demands related to a comfortable break area. &#160; The IWW has a long and fascinating history of solidarity unionism, even before the passage of the NLRA in 1935. From its founding in 1905, the IWW was radical in its aim to organize workers as a single class, instead of as members of a particular trade or industry. &#160; The IWW faces enormous challenges, however. Though it has a history to be proud of, the union would do well to update its image for the 21st-century worker. I have witnessed earnest IWW organizers dressed with newsboy-styled caps, singing “Solidarity Forever” by themselves at a rally. I suspect that some Wobblies are moved by the romanticism of the union’s heyday, but do not know how to speak the language of the 21st century service worker.&#160;</p>
<p>I’ve observed IWW activists feverishly discuss the power of the general strike, but strain to develop a strategy for combating wage theft in the workplace. The IWW has begun to revive the “Chicago Idea” (a combination of anarchism and unionism), but thus far has not managed to create a Chicago presence. &#160; Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks provides a glimpse into campaigns that have successfully spoken to disgruntled workers in need of organization. None of the campaigns described in its pages attribute their success to appealing to co-workers’ innate yet hidden thirst for revolutionary activity. On the contrary, SWU appears to be successful because of its appeal to workers’ immediate and basic needs: a fan; a breakroom; sick days.</p>
<p>Gross and Lynd’s good storytelling and legal tutorial should serve as a basic introduction to solidarity unionism for rank-and-file worker activists. And with its attractive and portable zine design, political cartoons and accessible text, the pamphlet speaks to today’s workers in a way that should serve as a model to other IWW activists and worker center activists alike.</p> | Organizing on Wobbly Ground: Learning from ‘Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks’ | true | http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11489/organizing_on_wobbly_ground_learning_from_solidarity_unionism_at_starb/ | 2011-06-16 | 4 |
<p>Taiwanese Buddhists trying to improve their karma are being accused of killing tens of millions of animals during so-called "mercy releases".</p>
<p><a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20120513-taiwan-buddhist-animal-rites-killing-millions" type="external">AFP reports</a>that the problem is so widespread that Taiwan's government is now planning to ban the practice.</p>
<p>An official from the government's Council of Agriculture, Lin Kuo-chang, reportedly told the news agency that some groups had accepted the ban, but negotiations are ongoing.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/easter-animal-rights-groups-protest-dyed-chicks-video" type="external">Animal rights activists protest dyeing chicks for Easter</a></p>
<p>About 200 million animals are released each year, with most dying from a lack of food or natural habitat.&#160; <a href="http://www.hsi.org/issues/mercy_release/" type="external">The Humane Society International says</a> that the animals can "sustain injuries from nets or snares, suffocate or starve in transit, or become easy prey on release".&#160; It adds that once released "they can spread disease, compete for food and territory, or threaten gene pools by mating with native species."</p>
<p>The issue has been highlighted by the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, which has raised the issue in the past, <a href="http://www.theasiamag.com/archives/2007/the-wretched-act-of-animal-release?page=0,2" type="external">according to Asiamag</a>.</p>
<p>The Commissioner of Miaoli County in western Taiwan Liu Cheng-hung has been accused of "setting a bad example" by "taking the lead in the destruction of a river habitat", <a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/05/10/2003532465" type="external">says the Taipei Times</a>.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/wanderlust/buddhist-monk-arrested-watching-porn" type="external">Buddhist monk arrested for watching porn</a></p>
<p>Lui oversaw the release of up to 14,000 bighead carp and grass carp spawn into a local creek as part of efforts to maintain river ecosystems and diversify the fishery business.</p>
<p>However academics and environmental protection groups have complained that the fish are not indigenous to the area, arguing that "people should not release foreign fish into rivers" because it could affect the well-being of other fish.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Taiwan Buddhists accidentally killing millions of animals during "mercy releases" | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-05-14/taiwan-buddhists-accidentally-killing-millions-animals-during-mercy-releases | 2012-05-14 | 3 |
<p>Over the course of a long and brutal war with Sri Lanka’s armed forces, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE) emerged as one of the world’s most formidable insurgent groups.&#160; Besides engaging the Sri Lankan government in a bloody battle for more than 25 years, the LTTE (or, more informally, the ‘Tamil Tigers’) managed to seize substantial chunks of government territory, and operated these as a quasi-state for well over a decade.&#160; Today, however, the mighty Tigers are on the verge of&#160; total military defeat.&#160; Will their demise bring peace to Sri Lanka?</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the LTTE’s hammering has come at an enormous price.&#160; Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, the war has claimed more than 70,000 lives, rendered some half a million Tamils refugees in their own country, and driven an equal number out of Sri Lanka. The last six months of fighting have been particularly intense, with the Sri Lankan government at its most aggressive in decades.&#160; Reports from the United Nations, Red Cross and several other reputed humanitarian organizations indicate that the country is on the brink of a colossal humanitarian disaster.&#160; Some 6,500 civilians have been killed since January, and another 100,000 are caught – facing carnage, and without adequate food, shelter and medicine – in the crossfire between the Tigers and government forces.&#160; An additional 40,000 or so that have fled the war zone are being held in military-run camps, where conditions, according to the most recent reports, are similar to those in Nazi-run concentration camps (journalists and humanitarian workers have been banned from these camps for over a month).</p>
<p>Led by the United Nations, concerned voices in the international community have repeatedly pleaded for a halt to the fighting, or even a ceasefire of a reasonable length, in which more civilians may be moved to safety, and aid workers allowed access to the sick and wounded.&#160; Determined to run the Tigers to the ground, however, the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has remained undeterred, apparently confident that a full purging of the LTTE – now perhaps only days away – will have been worth the carnage and dislocation, and the palpable damage to his country’s international reputation.&#160; Rajapaksa evidently believes that a Sri Lanka free of the Tigers will be a Sri Lanka whither all good things will come.</p>
<p>Over the years, the LTTE has earned the reputation of being a ruthless organization; one that turns children into hardened soldiers; that has perfected suicide bombing as a tactic; that relies on extortion and smuggling for funding, and that has zero tolerance for critics and competitors.&#160; While there are no reliable measures of the extent of support for the LTTE among Tamils in Sri Lanka, or within the vast diaspora, Tamil human rights activists both inside and outside the country have spoken out against the LTTE’s cruel ways, totalitarian structure, and uncompromising, maximalist demands.&#160; The LTTE has duly assassinated many of these detractors.&#160; Indeed, given all of this, it is tempting to presume that Sri Lanka will be infinitely better off without the LTTE, and that its elimination will necessarily steer the country towards order, stability and reconciliation.&#160; But though appealing, this conclusion ultimately rests on a wrongheaded view of the Tigers’ role in the conflict.&#160; The LTTE is the product, not the cause, of Sri Lanka’s deadly politics.</p>
<p>To begin with, the conflict, if not the war, predates the LTTE by a few generations.&#160; Its origins may be traced to the effects of the nefarious “divide and rule” policies devised by British colonial administrators to govern Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.&#160; The British used the island’s Tamil minority to keep its Sinhalese majority in check, and in return, gave Tamils the best government jobs and the benefit of English education.&#160; With independence in 1948, however, the Tamils were deprived of their patrons, and found themselves outnumbered and marginalized inside the new Sri Lanka’s unitary state and majoritarian institutional framework. With the Tamils rendered politically irrelevant, short-sighted politicians competed with each other for the Sinhalese vote, and soon discovered that the political party with the stronger anti-minority stance was almost always guaranteed electoral success.</p>
<p>Such “ethnic outbidding,” as scholars have characterized the dreadful process, led to the rise of a ferocious Sinhala nationalism that demanded revenge for the Tamils’ supremacy during the colonial period, along with a revival of Sinhala language and culture.&#160; It saw Sri Lanka as for the Sinhalese alone, and insisted that the Tamil minority submit to its second-class position or, better still, simply leave the island.&#160; In the first few decades following independence, Sri Lanka’s Tamils were systematically stripped of their erstwhile social and economic privileges, with the demotion of their language (Tamil) to secondary status, and the imposition of strict quotas that shrank their employment and educational opportunities.&#160; Sinhalese farmers were encouraged to settle in and around the island’s north-east, in an obvious attempt to reduce the concentration of Tamils in these areas.</p>
<p>Initially, the Tamils attempted to resist these changes through democratic means, forming political parties that pressed for federalism and various minority guarantees.&#160; While many sensible Sinhalese politicians warmed to such appeals, the forces of majoritarianism always seemed to triumph.&#160; Any government seen as making too many concessions to the Tamils was swiftly pulled down, a disheartening ritual that eventually left most Tamils alienated, and the Tamil parties largely discredited.&#160; By the late 1970s, the conflict had taken a violent turn, with the surfacing of several militant outfits, including the LTTE, which called for armed struggle and secession – the creation of a Tamil ‘homeland’ (‘eelam’) out of the Tamil majority areas in Sri Lanka’s north-east. The LTTE proved the strongest of these militant groups, and, out-powering its rivals, became locked in bitter conflict with the Sri Lankan state.</p>
<p>As an insurgent force, the LTTE has been remarkably successful.&#160; By the early 2000s, it had captured much of the north and east, and was governing these territories as though they were already a separate state (the LTTE provided schools, postal services, and even rudimentary hospitals).&#160; The LTTE brought forth a harsh and authoritarian regime, but one that was, perhaps, an inevitable response to the harsh and authoritarian regime that the Sri Lankan government had become.&#160; Human Rights Watch has characterized the Sri Lankan government as one of the world’s worst perpetrators of enforced disappearances.&#160; Indeed, in many ways, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan state have been reflections of each other’s total lack of generosity.&#160; Both have squandered numerous opportunities for peace, though it is unlikely that the Sri Lankan government would have agreed to negotiate at all – as it did in 2003, following a ceasefire – had it faced a lesser organization than the Tigers.&#160; The annihilation of the LTTE will mean that only one of the two fearsome, unbending contenders in the country’s long and bloody war will have left the arena and, that too, probably not for good.&#160; Far from being a recipe for peace, this will probably ignite a new cycle of grotesque injustice and pitiless retaliation.</p>
<p>One danger that looms heavily is that the Sri Lankan state will try to use its victory to seek a permanent solution to its “Tamil minority problem.”&#160; The government might begin by preventing Tamil civilians interned in its military camps from returning to their villages.&#160; These camps have already taken on an air of permanence, with the government arguing that no-one can be moved until the LTTE is fully flushed out, and the military demines the conflict zone. This could take months, if not years.&#160; It is entirely possible that while tens of thousands of Tamils languish in these camps, encircled by razor-wired fences, the government will move large numbers of Sinhalese settlers into the island’s north and east, thus stamping out, once and for all, the geographical rationale for a separate Tamil homeland.&#160; The counterpoint to the government’s expected belligerence might be an even darker phase in the Tamil resistance; one with a more lucid and focused fury that will bring great disquiet to Tamils everywhere.</p>
<p>To most governments, the bloodbath in Sri Lanka is the consequence of a sovereign power besieged by a brutal domestic insurgency.&#160; This is to be expected in a world where states are generally considered legitimate, no matter what they do, and those that challenge their authority are immediately viewed as criminal – a distinction that’s been sharpened, of course, by the menacing language around the “war on terror.”&#160; Indeed, following Sri Lanka’s success in having the LTTE proscribed as a terrorist organization by 31 countries, including the United States, the sense that the Sri Lankan state is on the right side of history has gone from strength to strength, which might explain the muted condemnation of its actions in the rapidly unfolding tragedy.</p>
<p>It’s probably too much to expect the US government – or any other government for that matter – to accept the argument, however rigorously advanced, that the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE have mirrored each other’s unyielding attitudes and methods, and, that ultimately, the noble sovereign power and the sinister terrorist organization are two sides of the same bloodied coin.&#160; The one, small opening for peace that the LTTE’s retreat may provide, however, is that without its looming spectre, the Sri Lankan government will be less able to shield its decaying democracy and ugly human rights record from the eyes of the world.&#160; It will, hopefully, be the subject of an international initiative that helps rein in the country’s majoritarian forces, thus barring any further acceleration of the vicious cycle of injury and retribution these tend to set in motion.</p>
<p>MITU SENGUPTA, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Politics at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.&#160; She may be reached by email: <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p> | Why Battering the Tamil Tigers Won’t Bring Peace | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/04/27/why-battering-the-tamil-tigers-won-t-bring-peace/ | 2009-04-27 | 4 |
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<p>A Chinese family member of a passenger on board missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 cries after praying at a temple in Malaysia on Sunday. The plane vanished a year ago. (The Associated Press)</p>
<p>remote oceans to allow planes to be more easily found should they vanish like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australia’s transport minister said Sunday.</p>
<p>The announcement comes one week ahead of the anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 370, which vanished last year during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing with 239 people on board. No trace of the plane has been found.</p>
<p>Airservices Australia, a government-owned agency that manages the country’s airspace, will work with its Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts to test the new method, which would enable planes to be tracked every 15 minutes, rather than the previous rate of 30 to 40 minutes, Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said. The tracking would increase to 5 minutes or less if there is a deviation in the plane’s movements.</p>
<p>The trial will boost the frequency with which planes automatically report their position, allowing air traffic controllers to better track them, Houston said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>There is no requirement for real-time tracking of commercial aircraft.</p>
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<p /> | New plane tracking to be tested after Malaysia jet mystery | false | https://abqjournal.com/548315/new-plane-tracking-to-be-tested-after-malaysia-jet-mystery.html | 2 |
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<p>Add green peas to your guacamole. Trust us. <a href="http://t.co/7imMY9c2ph" type="external">http://t.co/7imMY9c2ph</a> <a href="http://t.co/oeOMt2qgmh" type="external">pic.twitter.com/oeOMt2qgmh</a></p>
<p>— The New York Times (@nytimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/616303020574441472" type="external">July 1, 2015</a></p>
<p>It’s hard to know what on earth compelled The New York Times to offer the worst culinary advice this country has yet to see. Of course, this may be an overstatement, but when the president of the United States of America feels the need to tell you just how ludicrous it is to put peas in guacamole (take a second to let that sink in), it’s pretty safe to say your cooking cred is over.</p>
<p>respect the nyt, but not buying peas in guac. onions, garlic, hot peppers. classic. <a href="https://t.co/MEEI8QHH1V" type="external">https://t.co/MEEI8QHH1V</a></p>
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<p>— President Obama (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/616338528138608640" type="external">July 1, 2015</a></p>
<p>To see some more responses to the misguided advice, click <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-is-going-crazy-over-peas-in-guacamole-2015-7" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, perhaps the newspaper should report more effectively on more pressing matters, like, who knows, perhaps the numerous <a href="" type="internal">black churches</a> that are being burned in the South?</p>
<p>From CNN:</p>
<p>First, California’s epic drought has been drying up avocado supplies across the country. Avocado prices have been increasing, and fast food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill said it would consider getting rid of avocados temporarily if costs continued to rise.</p>
<p>Now the New York Times is basically axing the buttery treat out of guacamole, proposing an alternative ingredient instead: peas.</p>
<p>New York Times food columnist Melissa Clark has sparked outrage across social media after publishing a recipe that calls for English peas to be added into a traditional guacamole dish.</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/01/us/new-york-times-war-on-avocados-feat/" type="external">more</a>.</p>
<p>—Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Natasha Hakimi Zapata</a></p> | The New York Times Found a Way to Upset the Internet and Get Everyone to Agree on One Thing | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-new-york-times-found-a-way-to-upset-the-internet-and-get-everyone-to-agree-on-one-thing/ | 2015-07-02 | 4 |
<p>Focus on TrueCar's Dealer Pledge rather than short-term volatility. Image source: TrueCar's <a href="https://a.tcimg.net/dp/dp.2016.r109-494/assets/static/pdf/TrueCar_2016_Dealer_Pledge.pdf" type="external">Dealer Pledge Opens a New Window.</a> presentation.</p>
<p>What: Shares of TrueCar, a Santa Monica based automotive information website that plays the role of middle man between consumers and dealerships, closed 11% higher Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>So what: It's a one-day move that provided a little relief for investors who have witnessed the stock shed 36% of its value, including Wednesday's 11% gain, during 2016, and an even greater 62% decline over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>While it's possible news driving the move will become apparent down the line, there doesn't appear to be any direct news pushing TrueCar's stock price higher on a day its shares traded at about 67% of its average volume for the past three months. For now, we'll chalk this move up to "stocks go up and stocks go down," and with a market cap of just over $500 million, TrueCar's journey promises to be a volatile one during the near term.</p>
<p>Now what: Going forward, there are many factors TrueCar investors can keep an eye on. Of course, new vehicle sales in the U.S. continuing to stay at strong levels would be desirable, but this serves as a good opportunity to remind investors that the relationship between TrueCar and its network of dealerships is the most important ongoing development. I still strongly recommend reading through the company's recent " <a href="https://a.tcimg.net/dp/dp.2016.r109-494/assets/static/pdf/TrueCar_2016_Dealer_Pledge.pdf" type="external">Dealer Pledge</a>" to better understand how the company plans to offer more value to consumers and dealerships alike -- or check out this <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/31/a-major-step-forward-for-truecar-inc.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">brief summary Opens a New Window.</a>-- a pretty critical component to being a middle man.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/14/11-rise-in-truecar-incs-share-price-provides-a-lit.aspx" type="external">11% Pop in TrueCar, Inc's Shares Provides a Little Relief, but Its Dealer Pledge Remains Key Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTwoCoins/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Daniel Miller Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of TrueCar. The Motley Fool recommends TrueCar. 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> | 11% Pop in TrueCar, Inc's Shares Provides a Little Relief, but Its Dealer Pledge Remains Key | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/14/11-pop-in-truecar-incs-shares-provides-little-relief-but-its-dealer-pledge-remains-key.html | 2016-04-14 | 0 |
<p>Of course the President and Republicans can't make a deal. <a href="" type="internal">President Obama</a> is trying to transform America into a European welfare state.</p>
<p>The Republicans want to stop him from doing that. This is a conflict over which there can be no compromise. President Obama has established huge new government programs and bureaucracies that eat up money like a big SUV eats up gas.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>His ridiculous promise that setting up a new government health care system wouldn't cost any money was either hopelessly na�ve or fundamentally dishonest. But the fact is that he's increased the size and scope of government to levels that are now destroying the economies of Europe.</p>
<p>And they could destroy our economy, as well...particularly if we try to raise taxes to keep feeding an ever growing government. So where's the room for compromise here? There really is none. President Obama is fond of lecturing Republicans about what <a href="" type="internal">Ronald Reagan</a> would have done.</p>
<p>Well, let's hear from Ronald Reagan about these very issues, from his first inaugural address:</p>
<p>It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.</p>
<p>That's the way Ronald Reagan saw it. And that's the way we see it.</p> | Compromise Will be Tough in Budget Deal | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/15/final-score.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>Published time: 15 Dec, 2017 09:51</p>
<p>Employees of Japan’s web hosting company GMO Internet will get an opportunity to be paid for their work in bitcoin starting in February next year.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/business/383592-japan-retailers-accept-bitcoin-payments/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The internet service provider, operating a range of web-related businesses including finance, online advertising, and internet infrastructure, is planning to offer to pay its workers up to ¥100,000 ($890) per month in digital currency.</p>
<p>“Employees can receive salaries in bitcoin if they want to. We hope to improve our own literacy of virtual currency by actually using it,” company spokeswoman Harumi Ishii said.</p>
<p>The company said the offer would be available to nearly 4,000 of its employees in Japan. The workers will reportedly get an extra 10 percent of their salary if they choose to receive it in digital currency.</p>
<p>GMO Internet Group is interested in promoting bitcoin as the company joined a bitcoin trading and exchange business in May and is planning to launch a new cryptocurrency mining operation next year.</p>
<p>“We will operate a next-generation mining center utilizing renewable energy and cutting-edge semiconductor chips in Northern Europe,” GMO said as quoted by Bitcoin Magazine. The company announced it would invest in research and development, as well as in the manufacturing of hardware, including the next-generation mining chip.</p>
<p>The firm, which is headquartered in Tokyo, operates over 60 companies in 10 countries. Given the group’s size and financial power, the bitcoin salary initiative may potentially boost the mainstream adoption of similar practices worldwide.</p> | Japanese company offers to pay its employees in bitcoin | false | https://newsline.com/japanese-company-offers-to-pay-its-employees-in-bitcoin/ | 2017-12-15 | 1 |
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<p>FALLBROOK, Calif. — Flames were practically on top of Dick and Joan Marsala’s home when they got an urgent knock on the door and were told to leave.</p>
<p>The couple, in their mid-80s, grabbed only a change of clothes and medications before fleeing Thursday through wind gusts and smoke as fire swallowed the row of mobile homes behind their place in the Rancho Monserate Country Club north of San Diego.</p>
<p>It’s a story that has played out in communities across much of Southern California this week as ferocious winds whipped sparks into massive infernos that have killed one person, destroyed nearly 700 homes and buildings, killed dozens of horses and forced hundreds of thousands of people to run from fires that have burned more than 260 square miles (673 square kilometers) since Monday.</p>
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<p>On Friday, the first fire-related death was confirmed by the Ventura County medical examiner’s office.</p>
<p>Virignia Pesola, 70, of Santa Paula, was found dead Wednesday night along an evacuation route near a fire northwest of Los Angeles. Her death was caused by crash injuries, smoke inhalation and burns, the medical examiner’s office said in a statement.</p>
<p>The flames that tore through Fallbrook, self-proclaimed “Avocado Capital of the World,” and nearby Bonsall, home to a premier racehorse training facility, traveled so far that even people who found temporary refuge had to move again when the fires got too close.</p>
<p>Flames sprang up so quickly and moved so fast that three people were burned Thursday trying to escape. Many of those who managed to get out unscathed did so with only the clothes on their backs after abandoning a lifetime of possessions to fate.</p>
<p>The Marsalas and other unlucky homeowners returned Friday to find their homes in ruins.</p>
<p>Dick Marsala was too overwhelmed to speak as he searched through the smoldering remnants in search of his wallet. It was still too hot, so he climbed back out. Peering through a broken window, he spotted a framed photo still hanging on a blackened wall. It was a picture of him golfing.</p>
<p>“I’ll be darned,” he said, his eyes tearing up as he put on sunglasses.</p>
<p>The charred gray remains of much of the 55-and-over community stood in stark contrast to the bright green nine-hole golf course where Marsala and others in the community played regularly.</p>
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<p>Many residents were on the course when the fire swept into the area, driven by dry desert Santa Ana winds that surpassed 35 mph (56 kph). That was too fast for firefighters to stop the flames.</p>
<p>“The crews were trying to stay out ahead of this as quickly as they could,” said Capt. Kendal Bortisser of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. “As we know, when a tornado hits the Midwest, there’s no stopping it. When a hurricane hits the East Coast, there’s no stopping it. When Santa Ana winds come in, there’s no stopping them.”</p>
<p>Tom Metier was brushing his teeth to get ready for a doctor’s appointment when sheriff’s deputies pulled up and yelled, “Get out now!”</p>
<p>He grabbed the key to his safety deposit box, prescription pills and some cash. Winds were howling outside, and flames leaped through the brush on a nearby hillside.</p>
<p>Metier, who expected to lose everything, was surprised to find his place intact Friday. He zipped through the mobile home park in a golf cart, fielding calls from neighbors and reporting whose homes survived and whose were gone.</p>
<p>More than a third of the community’s 213 mobile homes burned as the fire zigzagged along a hillside, skipping some streets and razing others. On one street, all 24 mobile homes were gone, with only hulls of cars and stoves left.</p>
<p>“It’s really horrible to see some of these little streets look like a moonscape,” he told a friend whose home was reduced to black rubble.</p>
<p>The fire 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of San Diego ignited for unknown reasons and destroyed at least 105 structures as it burned 6 square miles (16 square kilometers).</p>
<p>Meanwhile, firefighters northwest of Los Angeles gained some control over the largest and most destructive fire in the state, which destroyed 476 homes and buildings. The blaze in Ventura County grew to 223 square miles (533 square kilometers) since igniting.</p>
<p>Some of the first evacuees from the fire who had to flee on Monday were allowed to return on Friday, including everyone from the city of Santa Paula, the first city threatened by the week’s fires.</p>
<p>Along the coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara, tiny communities had so far survived close calls. Slopes along U.S. 101 were blackened, but homes still stood at La Conchita and Faria Beach. Sections of Carpinteria were under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders, but no flames were in sight.</p>
<p>Fire crews made enough progress against other large fires around LA to lift most evacuation orders.</p>
<p>The Fallbrook fire broke out along State Highway 76 and quickly jumped six lanes to the other side.</p>
<p>Horse trainers took stock of the damage at the elite San Luis Rey Downs training facility for thoroughbreds in Bonsall, where many of the more than 450 horses were cut loose to prevent them from being trapped in burning stables.</p>
<p>Frantic herds galloped through smoke and past flaming palm trees in a chaotic escape from a normally idyllic place.</p>
<p>“We almost got trampled to death,” trainer Kim Marrs said. “One gal got knocked down. I thought she was going to get crushed. You just had to stand there and pray they didn’t hit you.”</p>
<p>Most of the loose horses were corralled and taken to Del Mar Fairgrounds, but about 25 died as barns and pasture burned.</p>
<p>The fire, on the eastern border of the Marine Corps’ Camp Pendleton, was uncontained, although winds subsided significantly overnight. Forecasters said they would return later in the day but be less widespread.</p>
<p>Authorities said 1,000 firefighters battled the flames with help from a fleet of air tankers and helicopters. Crews were also dispatched to stamp out a small new fire that began to the east in the Cleveland National Forest near the mountain town of Alpine.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Krysta Fauria and Amanda Lee Myers in Bonsall, Brian Skoloff in Ojai, and Brian Melley, Michael Balsamo, and John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For complete coverage of the California wildfires, click here: https://apnews.com/tag/Wildfires .</p> | Fast-moving flames force people to flee on a moment’s notice | false | https://abqjournal.com/1103872/homes-horses-burn-in-newest-california-wildfire.html | 2017-12-08 | 2 |
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Intel</a> Corp unveiled a string of management changes on Friday, elevating 20-year company veteran and manufacturing expert Brian Krzanich to the post of chief operating officer.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The reshuffle comes the day after the company reported fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street's moderate expectations. On Thursday, Intel also said it would sharply increase capital spending in 2012, quickening efforts to catch up in the tablet and smartphone markets.</p>
<p>Krzanich, 51, will continue to oversee worldwide manufacturing for the world's top chipmaker, while handling internal operations as well.</p>
<p>The company is also promoting or redeploying several other executives across its chip architecture, manufacturing, and data-center businesses.</p>
<p>Dadi Perlmutter assumes the mantle of chief product officer, while continuing to helm the Architecture Group. Bill Holt, the company's tech-development chief, now reports directly to Chief Executive Officer <a href="" type="internal">Paul Otellini</a>.</p>
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<p>Kirk Skaugen becomes Intel's new PC Client Group chief, reporting to Perlmutter. Diane Bryant succeeds Skaugen as general manager of the data-center business.</p>
<p>And Kim Stevenson, head of IT Global Operations and Services, succeeds Bryant as chief information officer.</p>
<p>All management changes will take effect over the next 30 days, Intel said in a statement.</p>
<p>Shares in the company gained 1.6 percent to $26.04 in midday trade as Wall Street welcomed its solid quarterly results. Several brokers, including Citigroup and Barclays, raised their target prices on the stock. (Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Gerald E. <a href="" type="internal">McCormick</a>)</p> | Intel Shakes Up Management, Taps Krzanich as COO | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/01/20/intel-shakes-up-management-taps-krzanich-as-coo.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
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<p>CHICAGO — The Latest on President Barack Obama’s farewell speech (all times CST):</p>
<p>8:55 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama says choosing Joe Biden to be his vice president was the first and best choice he made.</p>
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<p>He says Biden — “the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware’s favorite son” — has not only been a great vice president during the past eight years, but he also was an unexpected gift. Obama says that in Biden, he gained a brother.</p>
<p>Obama says he loves Biden and his wife, Jill, like family. He says their friendship has been one of the “great joys” for the Obama family.</p>
<p>The Bidens were in the audience at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center for Obama’s farewell address.</p>
<p>Obama and Biden embraced onstage after the speech.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:50 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama says the nation’s democracy needs more citizen involvement.</p>
<p>Obama says in his farewell speech in Chicago that “if you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, trying talking with one of them in real life.”</p>
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<p>He’s encouraging citizens who are disappointed by their elected officials to “grab a clipboard, get some signatures” and run for office.</p>
<p>Obama is offering this advice: “Show up. Dive in. Stay at it. Sometimes you’ll win. Sometimes you’ll lose.”</p>
<p>He says more often than not “your faith in America” will be confirmed.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:45 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama is thanking his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha for sacrificing for his political dreams.</p>
<p>He’s noting in his farewell address that his partner for the past 25 years took on a role she didn’t want and made it her own with “grace and grit and style and good humor.” He says the first lady is a role model who turned the White House into a place that belongs to everybody.</p>
<p>Obama tells his wife that she has made him and the country proud. Obama paused for a few seconds and pressed his lips together to regain his composure while thanking the first lady.</p>
<p>Only 18-year-old Malia traveled to Chicago for the speech, but Obama says both daughters “wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily.”</p>
<p>He says that of everything he’s done in life he’s most proud to be their dad.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>8:40 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama says in his farewell address that protecting the nation’s way of life is the job of citizens as well as the military.</p>
<p>Obama says in Chicago that “democracy can buckle when we give in to fear.”</p>
<p>He is also making a reference to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign calls for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States.</p>
<p>Obama says he rejects discrimination against Muslim Americans, and he is drawing cheers for saying they are “just as patriotic as we are.”</p>
<p>The outgoing president says the U.S. can’t withdraw from global fights to expand democracy, human rights and the rights of women, gays and lesbians.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:30 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama says talk of a post-racial America after his 2008 election may have been well-intended, but it “was never realistic.”</p>
<p>Obama — who is 55 years old — says in his farewell address that he’s lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 30 years ago. But he says he also knows “we’re not where we need to be.”</p>
<p>He says every economic issue can’t be framed as a struggle between hardworking middle-class whites and undeserving minorities, and says forsaking the children of immigrants will diminish the prospects of American children.</p>
<p>Obama says hearts must change. He quotes the hero of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch, who said that to understand a person, it helps to “climb into his skin and walk around in it.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:25 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama is acknowledging that “stark inequality” is corrosive to the nation’s democratic principles, a nod to the economic uncertainty that helped Republican Donald Trump win the White House last November.</p>
<p>Obama says in his final speech as president that too many families in inner cities and rural counties have been left behind. He says many are convinced that the “game is fixed against them” and government only serves powerful interests.</p>
<p>The president calls that a “recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:15 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama says in his farewell address that in 10 days the world will witness the peaceful transfer of power to a new president, drawing some jeers ahead of Donald Trump’s presidency.</p>
<p>Obama says he committed to Trump that his administration would “ensure the smoothest possible transition” just as his predecessor, President George W. Bush, did for him.</p>
<p>The outgoing president says in Chicago “it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.”</p>
<p>Obama says the nation’s politics need to reflect “the decency” of the American people.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:10 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama is opening his farewell address in his hometown of Chicago, thanking thousands of supporters and reaffirming his belief in the power of change.</p>
<p>Obama was harkening back to the message of his first campaign for president in 2008.</p>
<p>At one point, he was interrupted by chants of “Four more years!”</p>
<p>Obama says, “I can’t do that.”</p>
<p>In the aftermath of Republican Donald Trump’s election as the next president, Obama is acknowledging that the nation’s progress has been “uneven.” He says that for “every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back.”</p>
<p>But the president says the country strives for “forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:30 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama plans to reaffirm in his farewell address his belief that change only happens when “ordinary people get involved, get engaged and come together to demand it.”</p>
<p>Obama plans to say that after eight years in the White House he still believes in the power of change. The outgoing president plans to tell supporters in the city that launched his political career that change is the “beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government.”</p>
<p>Obama will note the founding fathers gave Americans the freedom to “chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil and imagination.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama’s final trip aboard Air Force One as president is his 445th mission on the presidential aircraft.</p>
<p>Obama is flying to Chicago to give his final presidential speech. The White House says he’s traveled on the plane to 56 countries and to 49 of the 50 U.S. states. He’s visited all 50 but never flown to Maryland.</p>
<p>White House spokesman Josh Earnest tells reporters aboard Air Force One that prior to Tuesday’s flight, the plane had been airborne for 2,799 hours and 6 minutes during Obama’s tenure. That’s equivalent to spending 116 days on the plane.</p>
<p>Earnest says Air Force One is “a national treasure.” He says Obama benefited deeply from use of the plane.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:25 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama is taking an array of longtime friends, staffers and relatives along for his last trip as president.</p>
<p>Obama boarded Air Force One for the flight to Chicago along with first lady Michelle Obama, daughter Malia and sister Auma Obama, who is from Kenya. They were joined by Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan, national security adviser Susan Rice and counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco.</p>
<p>Vice President Joe Biden and his wife are also traveling to Chicago for the speech on a separate aircraft.</p>
<p>The White House says that before taking off from Andrews Air Force Base, Obama attended a farewell event with members of the U.S. Air Force division that supports presidential air travel.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3 p.m.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama is returning to the city that launched his unlikely political career to give one final speech.</p>
<p>He’ll deliver a parting plea to Americans not to lose faith in their future, no matter what they think about their next president.</p>
<p>Obama’s speech before thousands in Chicago on Tuesday evening is his last chance to try to define what his presidency meant for America, and a fitting bookend. Chicago is where the nation’s first black president declared victory in 2008 and where he cultivated his decidedly optimistic brand of American politics.</p>
<p>Obama says in a video preview that he’ll be reflecting on lessons learned from his presidency, including that Americans are fundamentally good and that the democratic system responds to ordinary people pursuing a better future.</p> | Obama says Biden was his 1st, best choice | false | https://abqjournal.com/924916/the-latest-obama-family-friends-joining-for-final-speech.html | 2017-01-10 | 2 |
<p>“You are a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible.”</p>
<p>— President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to President Donald Trump, New York Times, May 21, 2017</p>
<p>The business of making money on property, badly, has shifted to the business of making money, greatly, for the US industrial arms complex.&#160; This is the technique of President Donald Trump, who has been making various gestures, sword and wallet in hand, to various selected allies in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Besieged domestically, Trump did what other predecessors have done: find solace in the turmoil of Middle Eastern politics.&#160; On Saturday, he sealed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, one that will include Lockheed Martin missile defence systems, BAE combat vehicles and Raytheon bombs. <a href="#_ftn1" type="external">[1]</a>&#160; With characteristic hyperbole, he mentioned the “hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.&#160; So I would like to thank all of the people of Saudi Arabia.”</p>
<p>Admirably, Trump never lets political awareness of a theocracy, or any state system, however brutal, get in the way of the cash heavy deal.&#160; Whether such an ally deals in punitive amputation, state sanctioned misogyny or the funding of devastating, destabilising wars, a US ally will be well treated.</p>
<p>On Sunday, Trump moved to soften the stance he had taken as an electoral war horse.&#160; Having deemed Islam the threatening bugbear of Western values in the lead-up to his nomination as the GOP Presidential candidate, he was now conciliatory to friends, hard on designated foes.</p>
<p>“This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilizations.&#160; This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people, all in the name of religion, people that want to protect life and want to protect their religion. That is the battle between good and evil.”</p>
<p>Gone was the fragile, sanctimony of human rights chatter, the hypocrisies that tend to accompany every US delegation prompted by a moral tic or humanitarian reserve.&#160; In such a moral universe, foreign intervention, arms sales and destabilisation can still occur, provided it is deodorised by the cheap trick of humanity.</p>
<p>The moral tic became particularly aggressive when the Obama administration suspended a sale of nearly $400 million in weapons to Saudi Arabia after the bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa last October.</p>
<p>Did such a move mean much? Kristine Beckerle of Human Rights Watch, writing for The Hill, thought so, mounting a far from convincing case.&#160; “After the funeral bombing, unlawful airstrikes continued, but the decision to suspend arms sales sent an important message to the Saudis.” <a href="#_ftn2" type="external">[2]</a></p>
<p>Messages, weighed down by their meaningless, should still be sent in the pantomime of human rights discourse, if for no other reason to confirm that great illusion that US foreign policy remains both power and cant.</p>
<p>That particular cant is bound to find form in proposed amendments made by lawmakers requiring the White House to certify that the use of US weaponry be done appropriately.&#160; “Saudi Arabia,” noted Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) in a statement, “is an important partner, but we must acknowledge when a friend’s actions aren’t in our national interest.” <a href="#_ftn3" type="external">[3]</a>&#160; Kill with our weapons, by all means, but do so with a tolerable degree of observance for the laws of war.</p>
<p>For Trump, such matters would have been, not so much hypocritical as unnecessary.&#160; What mattered was the sound of money and the elimination of cartoon enemies, even as he spoke to an audience mindful of their achievements in rolling back the Arab Spring.</p>
<p>To combat such enemies as Islamic State required adjustments in tone and speech, avoiding the altogether heavy hooch of “radical Islamic terrorism” for the more watered down brew of “Islamist extremism.”</p>
<p>This purely cosmetic move was no doubt deemed necessary since Trump could hardly tell his hosts and recent purchasers of US hardware that they were progenitors of a species of radicalism as odious as any other.&#160; Those listening were waiting for the verbal dance on what “extremism” he would be talking about.</p>
<p>For all the preparatory caution, Trump could still make the point that the Islamic world, along with the US and its allies, would have to confront “the crisis of Islamic extremism and the Islamists and Islamic terror of all kinds.”&#160; A few in the audience would have been left squirming.</p>
<p>While local press outlets in the United States were churning in transfixed fashion on the latest Comey-Russian saga, a perfect cover had been provided for a deal that tilts the US into a terrain that is less varnished in its brutal aspirations.&#160; This was Trump more controlled than before, one away from the noisy press corps.&#160; (The press were fairly muzzled on this occasion.) Basking in the glow of authoritarianism, he seemed at ease, one might even say, at home.</p>
<p>Notes.</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" type="external">[1]</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-arms-exclusive-idUSKBN18124K" type="external">http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-arms-exclusive-idUSKBN18124K</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" type="external">[2]</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/334339-why-is-trump-rewarding-saudi-war-crimes-with-more-weapons" type="external">http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/334339-why-is-trump-rewarding-saudi-war-crimes-with-more-weapons</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref3" type="external">[3]</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/defense/276114-senate-resolution-would-limit-weapons-sales-to-saudi-arabia" type="external">http://thehill.com/policy/defense/276114-senate-resolution-would-limit-weapons-sales-to-saudi-arabia</a></p> | Return to Realpolitik: Trump in Saudi Arabia | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/05/24/return-to-realpolitik-trump-in-saudi-arabia/ | 2017-05-24 | 4 |
<p>In an Islamic country known for violent persecution of Christians, a local believer named Samuel (name changed for security reasons) hands out evangelistic tracts and films every day.</p>
<p>One day, Samuel spotted a conservative Muslim man on a street corner where Muslims gather to collect funds for their mosque. Samuel sensed the Lord telling him to share Jesus with the man.</p>
<p>“Are you sure, Lord?” Samuel prayed as sweat began to prickle on his forehead.</p>
<p>“Yes, go,” he heard a voice within him say.</p>
<p>So he walked straight up to the Muslim man and declared the gospel. Instead of the hostile response Samuel feared, the Muslim man listened thoughtfully.</p>
<p>“That's interesting,” he said when Samuel finished. “Last night I was listening to the radio and heard something about this. I have to work now, but can you meet me later?”</p>
<p>They met later that night, and Samuel led the man to faith in Christ.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Courageous? Yes. Dangerous? Undoubtedly. Samuel isn't a natural risk-taker, however. He just wants to obey the Lord.</p>
<p>“We have been teaching our team about boldness,' said a Southern Baptist worker who trained Samuel to spread the gospel. “He comes across as very timid, but the Lord has changed him. We tell him to be careful, but he keeps going. These national believers are bold!'</p>
<p>Many such testimonies were shared at a recent consultation on church planting among Muslim peoples. Nearly 500 Christian workers from 46 nationalities attended the conference in Asia, where they talked about fruitful ways to guide Muslims to Christ.</p>
<p>One scholar at the conference recalled a similar gathering nearly 30 years ago where participants asked, “How do we take the gospel to Muslims?” Now the question has become, “How do we become more effective at planting churches and discipling Muslim-background believers?”</p>
<p>That, he said, is “a huge forward move.”</p>
<p>• In one Muslim area in South Asia, the first local believer began sending gospel materials to friends and family members by mail, buses and other local transportation. Now he can track on a map how the Good News has taken root along the roads to various villages. He counts 75 baptized believers in eight churches, plus numerous “seeker groups.” At least one second-generation church has been started by one of the new congregations.</p>
<p>• In a Middle Eastern country, a Christian worker entered the office of a strongly anti-American Muslim group. “We'd like to help your people,” he offered, adding that some of the helpers would come from America.</p>
<p>“When they heard me say America, the men stood with their guns ready. But after more dialogue and discussion, they said ‘OK.' Now they allow us to go to their villages. They escort us and protect us, and our volunteers pray and give Bibles to the people.”</p>
<p>For every such success story told at the conference, however, there came a reminder of the challenge of working among Muslims.</p>
<p>“A year ago our team members could put a finger on 50 [worshipping] groups, so we know there are a lot more,” one worker reported. “People come and say, ‘We have 50 believers. Can you give us a [gospel] film?' We have girls who are leading others to Jesus. Families are coming to faith. But we are seeing a lot of persecution. Our team has suffered. One member went to prison twice and they used several methods to harm her. She came out with a battered back — and a heart song. That heart song is now being taught to others.”</p>
<p>Another worker exulted about victories in other places, but wept over the lack of visible results in his own area. “We haven't seen [any believers or churches] yet, and we have been laboring a really long time,” he admitted. “Can you please pray for my people?”</p>
<p>Conference participants gathered around him to ask God for the salvation of his people, and for encouragement and strength for him.</p>
<p>Are Muslims becoming more open to the gospel of Jesus Christ? It depends on where you are — and when. The Holy Spirit works on his schedule, not ours.</p>
<p>Scott Holste, the International Mission Board's associate vice president for research and strategic services, remembers his years among a particularly resistant Muslim people group in Asia. He often compared notes with other missionaries hoping for glimpses of progress with their peoples.</p>
<p>“Our dream at the time was to see at least one healthy church planted in each of these people groups,” he recalled. “I don't think in our wildest imagination we ever thought there would be scores or hundreds of churches like there are among some groups now.”</p>
<p>In some places, the day of bountiful harvest has arrived. In other places, it may take generations of patient sowing and removing rocks from the soil before any real church planting can take place.</p>
<p>“That's the challenge,” Holste observed. “We need to be bolder than we've been in the past. It still may take years and years, but let's push the edge.”</p>
<p>Erich Bridges is senior writer with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. This article was distributed by Baptist Press.</p> | SECOND OPINION: Muslim world: Hard ground, harvest field | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/secondopinionmuslimworldhardgroundharvestfield/ | 3 |
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<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's budget chief Mick Mulvaney stormed Washington as a tea party lawmaker elected in 2010, and he hasn't mellowed much as director of the Office of Management of Budget at the White House.</p>
<p>In both spots, he's been at the center of government shutdowns.</p>
<p>As a congressman in 2013, Mulvaney was among a faction on the hard right that bullied GOP leaders into a shutdown confrontation by insisting on lacing a must-pass spending bill with provisions designed to cripple President Barack Obama's signature health care law.</p>
<p>Then, the fast-talking South Carolina Republican downplayed the impact of a government shutdown, noting that critical government services would continue and Social Security benefits would be paid. He said about 75 percent of the government would remain open, and he noted that Congress arranged for the military to continue to get paid.</p>
<p>"In many ways, then, this is a government 'slowdown' more than it is a 'shutdown,'" Mulvaney said back in 2013, though he added, "I know that is not much consolation for folks who are personally affected."</p>
<p>Mulvaney voted against legislation to reopen the government and was unapologetic over his role as a ringleader in 2013, saying the GOP's political beating — and eventual retreat — was the product of bad messaging.</p>
<p>Now, as the federal official in charge of managing government operations during the lapse in funding, Mulvaney is taking steps to ameliorate the shutdown, giving agencies more flexibility to remain open by using, for instance, previously appropriated money to keep their doors open. He accused the Obama White House of purposefully closing high-profile federal sites to reap political gain. The Trump administration will do what it can to keep national parks open and accessible, he said.</p>
<p>"We are going to manage the shutdown differently. We are not going to weaponize it," Mulvaney said Friday. "We're not going to try and hurt people, especially people who happen to work for this federal government."</p>
<p>Mulvaney is quick-witted and possesses a disarming frankness, and he's not afraid of being impolitic, even as he has risen to a Washington power post.</p>
<p>For instance, on Friday, just hours before the shutdown began, Mulvaney told conservative radio host Sean Hannity, "I found out for the first time last night that the person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool."</p>
<p>Mulvaney isn't apologizing for the shutdown tactics he employed years ago, saying he opposed that year's stopgap spending measure because it funded agencies that were implementing "Obamacare." But now he's faulting Democrats for seeking to use the very kind of leverage now that he failed to exploit back then.</p>
<p>"When Republicans tried to add a discussion about Obamacare to the funding process in 2013, we were accused by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer of inserting a non-fiscal — a non-financial — issue into the spending process in order to shut the government down," Mulvaney said. "How is that not exactly what is happening today?"</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's budget chief Mick Mulvaney stormed Washington as a tea party lawmaker elected in 2010, and he hasn't mellowed much as director of the Office of Management of Budget at the White House.</p>
<p>In both spots, he's been at the center of government shutdowns.</p>
<p>As a congressman in 2013, Mulvaney was among a faction on the hard right that bullied GOP leaders into a shutdown confrontation by insisting on lacing a must-pass spending bill with provisions designed to cripple President Barack Obama's signature health care law.</p>
<p>Then, the fast-talking South Carolina Republican downplayed the impact of a government shutdown, noting that critical government services would continue and Social Security benefits would be paid. He said about 75 percent of the government would remain open, and he noted that Congress arranged for the military to continue to get paid.</p>
<p>"In many ways, then, this is a government 'slowdown' more than it is a 'shutdown,'" Mulvaney said back in 2013, though he added, "I know that is not much consolation for folks who are personally affected."</p>
<p>Mulvaney voted against legislation to reopen the government and was unapologetic over his role as a ringleader in 2013, saying the GOP's political beating — and eventual retreat — was the product of bad messaging.</p>
<p>Now, as the federal official in charge of managing government operations during the lapse in funding, Mulvaney is taking steps to ameliorate the shutdown, giving agencies more flexibility to remain open by using, for instance, previously appropriated money to keep their doors open. He accused the Obama White House of purposefully closing high-profile federal sites to reap political gain. The Trump administration will do what it can to keep national parks open and accessible, he said.</p>
<p>"We are going to manage the shutdown differently. We are not going to weaponize it," Mulvaney said Friday. "We're not going to try and hurt people, especially people who happen to work for this federal government."</p>
<p>Mulvaney is quick-witted and possesses a disarming frankness, and he's not afraid of being impolitic, even as he has risen to a Washington power post.</p>
<p>For instance, on Friday, just hours before the shutdown began, Mulvaney told conservative radio host Sean Hannity, "I found out for the first time last night that the person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool."</p>
<p>Mulvaney isn't apologizing for the shutdown tactics he employed years ago, saying he opposed that year's stopgap spending measure because it funded agencies that were implementing "Obamacare." But now he's faulting Democrats for seeking to use the very kind of leverage now that he failed to exploit back then.</p>
<p>"When Republicans tried to add a discussion about Obamacare to the funding process in 2013, we were accused by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer of inserting a non-fiscal — a non-financial — issue into the spending process in order to shut the government down," Mulvaney said. "How is that not exactly what is happening today?"</p> | Mulvaney has been at center of last 2 government shutdowns | false | https://apnews.com/amp/8262ef35f03b47b998ffcbe7ff4c311e | 2018-01-20 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Candidates in the District 5 City Council runoff election Robert Aragon, left, and Cynthia Borrego.</p>
<p>Albuquerque business leaders on Thursday quizzed candidates in the District 5 City Council runoff election about issues ranging from crime, economic development and the city budget.</p>
<p>Cynthia Borrego, 59, emphasized her 28-year experience as a planner for Albuquerque and Bernalillo County and her familiarity with city government, budgets and project management. She retired from the city in 2010.</p>
<p>“I have worked in City Hall,” Borrego told members of the New Mexico Business Coalition at a “job interview” for candidates in the city runoff election. “I know how it operates. I know how the budget operates.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Robert Aragon, 60, an Albuquerque attorney, told business leaders that he would advocate overhauling the city budget to reflect public safety and take a hands-off approach to business development.</p>
<p>“We don’t have any economic opportunity on the West Side,” Aragon said. “We have had problems with development on the West Side because of redundant and job-killing rules and regulations.”</p>
<p>Increases in gross-receipt taxes have “stifled economic growth,” he said.</p>
<p>The candidates expressed differing views to a question about a proposed sick-leave ordinance, which voters narrowly defeated on Oct. 3. The Healthy Workforce Ordinance would have required employers to allow workers to earn paid sick time off.</p>
<p>Aragon expressed opposition to the proposal and said he favors making the process more rigorous for groups that want to place a proposed ordinance on the city ballot.</p>
<p>“Whatever a private company wants to do is their own business,” Aragon said during the forum at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque. “We must make it harder to get public initiatives on the ballots.”</p>
<p>Borrego said she supported the now-defeated ordinance, but she also said that business owners need to be involved in any discussion about sick leave.</p>
<p>“I think everyone needs to come to the table on that issue,” she said. “I don’t think it needs to be passed by a small group, and just a few people who support it. I think businesses need to buy into that.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Both identified crime as the top issue facing District 5 in far northwest Albuquerque, and both have said the city needs 1,200 police officers.</p>
<p>The West Side has been “inundated with property crime,” calling for a city budget that prioritizes public safety, Aragon said. The city needs to begin with a “zero-based budget,” that requires each department to make a case for its survival, rather than the usual process of starting with the previous year’s budget, which “replicates mistakes” in prior budgets, he said.</p>
<p>“Make every department justify their existence,” Aragon said.</p>
<p>Property crime needs to be added as a criterion in the Public Safety Assessment, or PSA, a risk-assessment tool that judges use to determine whether an inmate should be released from jail pending trial, he said. Currently, the PSA is based largely on violent criminal activity and failures to appear to determine a defendant’s flight risk.</p>
<p>“We know we have frequent fliers who are in and out of jail chiefly for property crimes,” Aragon said.</p>
<p>Borrego identified theft and auto burglary as the top crimes in District 5. She began to list a five-point plan for addressing crime but was cut off by a time limit.</p>
<p>She has proposed a plan that includes new leadership at the Albuquerque Police Department, increasing the force to 1,200 officers, and a greater emphasis on community policing, crime prevention, and behavioral health treatments.</p>
<p>“I think people are living in fear,” she said, “and that is an issue we have to focus on as a community.”</p>
<p>District 5 voters can cast votes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at any city polling site. Also on the ballot are mayoral runoff candidates Tim Keller and Dan Lewis. The winner of the District 5 runoff will succeed Lewis on the City Council.</p>
<p /> | City Council hopefuls court business leaders | false | https://abqjournal.com/1090999/district-5-city-council-candidates-face-job-interview.html | 2017-11-10 | 2 |
<p>Reckless speed is all too common in public forums. So let us look at a few examples of activists and artists rising above the din of the keyboard warriors.</p>
<p>Hyenas would be better conversationalists, I sometimes think as I scan political arguments on social media. This is not unlike a Republican presidential debate, where a <a href="https://youtu.be/ufGlBv8Z3NU" type="external">Bad Lip Reading</a> parody is just as enlightening as the original.</p>
<p>When former president <a href="https://youtu.be/ATYMT7fMYmI" type="external">Jimmy Carter</a> spoke candidly and with good humor last week about his cancer, millions were inspired by his serenity, humility, and grace. But the next day, Republican presidential candidate <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-21/ted-cruz-slams-jimmy-carter-day-after-wrenching-talk-on-cancer" type="external">Ted Cruz</a> attacked him. When I said on Facebook that I recently read Carter’s 2006 book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Palestine-Peace-Apartheid-Jimmy-Carter-ebook/dp/B000MGAU4S/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" type="external">Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid</a> and found it fair and reasonable, I was met with scorn by someone who had not read it.</p>
<p>This reckless speed is all too common in public forums. So let us look at a few examples of activists and artists rising above the din of the keyboard warriors to propose useful reforms or tell their stories in ways that help us see differently.</p>
<p>After weeks of squabbles by various people over <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0818/Why-Black-Lives-Matter-activists-are-arguing-with-Hillary-Clinton-video" type="external">direct-action tactics</a> in the Black Lives Matter movement, policy solutions were issued by activists DeRay Mckesson, Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe. The effort, called Campaign Zero, is described as a “comprehensive platform to create systems and structures to end police violence.” Their detailed plans (see <a href="http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision" type="external">joincampaignzero.org</a>) are informed proposals by practical public policy advocates, notwithstanding sniping and trivializing like that of a self-described anarchist I encountered on Twitter.</p>
<p>The #CampaignZero planning team writes, “Police in England, Germany, Australia, Japan, and even cities like Newark, NJ, and Richmond, CA, demonstrate that public safety can be ensured without killing civilians. By implementing the right policy changes, we can end police killings and other forms of police violence in the United States.”</p>
<p>Dr. Dre, a producer of the movie <a href="https://youtu.be/OrlLcb7zYmw" type="external">Straight Outta Compton</a>, made clever use of social media for viral marketing with a meme generator ( <a href="http://www.straightouttasomewhere.com" type="external">straightouttasomewhere.com</a>) created by his Beats by Dre audio brand. The film powerfully portrays the emergence of hip hop group N.W.A. and its protest music out of a violent late-1980s urban milieu. From exploitive music execs to police who act like an occupying army, it feels all too contemporary.</p>
<p>The movie, however, has drawn criticism for the rappers’ disrespect toward women and the glaring double standard by which male promiscuity is taken for granted while sexually active women are stigmatized. Dr. Dre, responding to criticism that the film omits his violence toward women, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/arts/music/dr-dre-apologizes-to-the-women-ive-hurt.html?_r=0" type="external">apologized</a> for that violence. Blue Telusma at The Grio responded that <a href="http://thegrio.com/2015/08/22/dr-dre-owes-black-women-much-more-than-an-apology/" type="external">words are not enough</a>, and suggested he contribute to domestic violence charities.</p>
<p>By using the film’s high profile to confront a troubling legacy, the critics did not shut down a conversation but expanded it. The songs retain their impact because they capture something real. When “Fuck tha Police” stirs us, it is not just about a movie but about current injustice. What to do about misogyny and police violence is a question for us, not just for Ice Cube and Dr. Dre.</p>
<p>Finally, Amy Wallace reports for Wired on a battle over white supremacy, misogyny, and homophobia in the science fiction world, and how they were resisted at the <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/08/won-science-fictions-hugo-awards-matters/?mbid=social_fb" type="external">Hugo Awards</a> in Spokane, Washington last weekend. Fans registered in historic numbers and voted “No Award” in categories where a group dedicated to white male dominance had exploited arcane rules to control the list of nominees. A leader of that group once called fantasy author N. K. Jemisin, who is black, an “educated but ignorant half-savage” on his blog. The fans pushing back against this oddly earthbound myopia echo those of the 1950s documented by the <a href="http://one.usc.edu" type="external">One Archives</a> in Los Angeles who were <a href="https://news.usc.edu/84708/usc-seminar-to-explore-how-sci-fi-fandom-sparked-the-gay-rights-movement/" type="external">early LGBT activists</a>.</p>
<p>Each of us decides whom to follow, whom to block, and how and when to respond. It is up to us to tell the signal from the noise. Rather than censoring and sanitizing divergent voices, we need a multiplicity of them, along with restless people searching for connections to forge new art and new politics.</p>
<p>Glib put-downs on social media are about ritual display, not advancing understanding. The discerning and dedicated few make the breakthroughs that lead to beneficial change, like an old statesman focused on eradicating <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/guineaworm/" type="external">guinea worm disease</a> across the world despite his own terminal illness.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2015 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Black Lives Matter</a> <a href="" type="internal">Brittany Packnett</a> <a href="" type="internal">Campaign Zero</a> <a href="" type="internal">DeRay Mckesson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dr. Dre</a> <a href="" type="internal">guinea worm</a> <a href="" type="internal">homophobia</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hugo Awards</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ice Cube</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jimmy Carter</a> <a href="" type="internal">Johnetta Elzie</a> <a href="" type="internal">misogyny</a> <a href="" type="internal">N.W.A.</a> <a href="" type="internal">police violence</a> <a href="" type="internal">Samuel Sinyangwe</a> <a href="" type="internal">science fiction</a> <a href="" type="internal">Straight Outta Compton</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ted Cruz</a> <a href="" type="internal">white supremacy</a></p> | Above the Keyboard Warriors’ Din | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2015/08/27/above-the-keyboard-warriors-din/ | 3 |
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<p>Multiple students at an Iowa high school were disciplined this week after they posed in a photo wearing white hoods and holding a confederate flag and a rifle.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2017/09/06/white-hoods-apparent-confederate-flag-iowa-students-disciplined-after-photo-surfaces/637953001/" type="external">The Des Moines Register reported</a> on a photo that made the rounds on social media, which depicts five people standing in front of a burning cross. One of them was shirtless and all wore white hoods like those donned by members of the Ku Klux Klan.</p>
<p>After an investigation, officials at Creston Community High School determined that the students were enrolled there. The students were disciplined, although officials would not reveal what their punishments were.</p>
<p>“That picture does not represent the beliefs of our school system, our parents or our community,” athletic director and assistant principal Jeff Bevins told the Register.</p>
<p>Creston Police Department Sgt. Pat Henry told the Register it did not appear a crime had been committed and the department is not looking into the matter.</p>
<p>“We don’t believe any real crime has been committed,” Henry said. “People can have weapons in the country.”</p>
<p>The existence of the photo comes on the heels of <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/red-sox-fan-banned-racial-slur/2017/05/05/id/788384/" type="external">several racially charged incidents</a> across the U.S., according one in Charlottesville, Virginia last month that resulted in the <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/heather-heyer-killed-white-nationalist-charlottesville/2017/08/13/id/807377/" type="external">death of a 32-year-old woman</a>.</p> | Iowa High School Students Disciplined Over Burning Cross Photo | false | https://newsline.com/iowa-high-school-students-disciplined-over-burning-cross-photo/ | 2017-09-07 | 1 |
<p />
<p>It appears members of the House ethics committee want to have it both ways. When it came time to vote yesterday on a series of <a href="" type="internal">amendments</a> to strip earmarks from the pork-laden defense appropriations bill, each of the panel’s ten members <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25650.html" type="external">voted</a> “present,” declining to support or oppose the measures. Presumably these lawmakers were trying to demonstrate their impartiality, since they are presently <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0609/Ethics_committee_reviewing_PMA.html" type="external">investigating</a> earmarks steered&#160; to clients of the PMA Group, the now defunct lobbying firm founded by an ex-aide to Jack Murtha. (Under scrutiny along with Murtha are Democratic Reps. Peter Visclosky of Indiana and James Moran of Virginia, who also had PMA ties.) Yet, at the very same time as these lawmakers were abstaining from these votes, they had their own <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073001431.html" type="external">pet projects</a> tucked into the approps bill. Twenty nine of them, according to the Washington Post, worth $59 million.</p>
<p>Congressional ethics experts said the ethics committee earmarks create at least the appearance of a conflict of interest, and some in the public would naturally question how thoroughly the committee might investigate members on the subcommittee that granted their funding wishes.</p>
<p>“At the same time the committee is investigating the ties between lobby shops and earmarks and appropriators, they are actually playing the game themselves,” said Steve Ellis, of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “It’s hard not to see some conflict of interest in that.”</p>
<p>Ethics committee chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who has three earmarks in the bill, explained to the Post: “When one is appointed to the ethics committee, one is not relieved of the responsibility to represent one’s district.” That is, just because she’s leading an investigation into the corrupting powers of pork, doesn’t mean she’s going to stop bringing home the bacon herself. Then why vote “present” on the earmark amendments? Perhaps to avoid news stories questioning whether ethics committee members can truly investigate earmarks, when they themselves rely on them to direct funding to their districts. Too late.</p>
<p /> | Having Their Earmarks and Investigating Them Too | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/07/earmarks-ethics-committee-murtha/ | 2009-07-31 | 4 |
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — An ongoing shortage of fluids used to deliver medicine and treat dehydrated patients has hospital workers scrambling in the midst of a nasty flu season and supplies from factories in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico have been slow to rebound.</p>
<p>Supplies of saline and nutrient solutions were already tight before hurricanes pounded Puerto Rico and cut power to manufacturing plants that make much of the U.S. supply of fluid-filled bags used to deliver sterile solutions to patients.</p>
<p>Flu season has turned out to be a bad one and it came early, bringing patients in need of fluids into hospitals already running low.</p>
<p>Hospital officials, pharmacists and other staff have been devising alternatives and workarounds, training doctors and nurses on new procedures and options, and hitting the phones to try to secure fluids from secondary suppliers.</p>
<p>“If we can’t support patients coming in emergency rooms who have the flu, more people are going to die,” predicts Deborah Pasko, director of medication safety and quality at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, a professional group. “I see it as a crisis.”</p>
<p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said last week it believes shortages will start to ease over the next few weeks, but stressed “the production situation in Puerto Rico remains fragile.”</p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s power grid is being slowly restored and the last of three Baxter International factories there that make saline bags and nutrient solutions was reconnected just before Christmas. But intermittent power outages are still slowing Baxter’s efforts to get back to full production.</p>
<p>Only a few other companies make those solutions, and supplies never fully recovered after a 2014 shortage of saline bags.</p>
<p>Now many hospitals are only getting half or two-thirds of what they order, and have only a few days’ worth of saline on their shelves.</p>
<p>“No one wants to come out and make it sound like their hospital isn’t safe,” but problems will worsen if shortages don’t ease soon, Pasko said.</p>
<p>Pasko and other hospital officials said they worry that changes in procedures and products could lead to errors.</p>
<p>Some hospital officials say the severity of shortages stabilized over the holidays, when elective surgeries and other services drop, but others say shortages are worsening.</p>
<p>Several noted a cascade effect, with new shortages created as hospitals all try the same workarounds. For instance, syringe supplies are running low because many patients are now getting injections instead of IV drips.</p>
<p>“Everything is hard to get because people are getting whatever they can,” said Deborah Sadowski, director of pharmacy services at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, a specialized hospital in southern New Jersey.</p>
<p>The worst shortage is for small saline bags. Hospitals use hundreds or thousands daily to hydrate patients and to dilute antibiotics, painkillers and other drugs, then hang bags from a pole so the mix slowly drips through a tube and into a vein.</p>
<p>Deliveries of those have been most unpredictable, said David Chen, a pharmacy director with Promedica, which operates 13 hospitals in Ohio and Michigan.</p>
<p>“Some facilities are getting virtually zero. Other are having them trickle in. You never know what you’re going to get,” Chen said.</p>
<p>The FDA has been trying to boost supplies, giving two additional companies approval to start selling saline bags, likely within a couple months. It also gave Baxter permission to temporarily import sterile fluids from six overseas factories.</p>
<p>Baxter says it’s been shipping those to U.S. hospitals since October, but hospital officials say that hasn’t been enough.</p>
<p>Erin Fox, who tracks nationwide drug shortages and heads the University of Utah health system’s drug information and support services, said its hospital system now has five to eight pharmacists a day working on nothing but managing shortages.</p>
<p>Shortages are also hitting surgery centers, cancer clinics that infuse chemotherapy, dialysis centers and companies that provide regular infusions to home-bound patients.</p>
<p>An Atlanta-area hospital run by Cancer Treatment Centers of America has had to rent special pumps to empty liter-size saline bags into many smaller ones for individual patients, said pharmacy services director Jamie Joy.</p>
<p>Nutrient solution bags, also running low, are needed for far fewer patients than saline, but there are few substitutes, said Connie Sullivan, head of research and innovation at the National Home Infusion Association.</p>
<p>Its members have been swapping products with other infusion services and even limiting the number of new patients they accept.</p>
<p>“I have never seen anything quite this bad,” Sullivan said.</p>
<p>Hospitals have been substituting pills for IV-administered drugs when possible, changing dosing schedules or injecting drugs directly into a vein, what’s called I.V. push.</p>
<p>They’ve also been changing some procedures, like trying to switch people off IV bags as soon as possible and not starting patients on IV drips during surgery until it’s certain they are needed.</p>
<p>On the positive side: Hospitals may find ways to permanently reduce use of saline bags. Ohio Health System will evaluate its new practices to see which are cost effective and should be kept, said pharmacy services heard Curt Passafume Jr.</p>
<p>“We should learn something about patient care from this,” he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Linda A. Johnson at <a href="https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma" type="external">https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma</a> .</p>
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — An ongoing shortage of fluids used to deliver medicine and treat dehydrated patients has hospital workers scrambling in the midst of a nasty flu season and supplies from factories in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico have been slow to rebound.</p>
<p>Supplies of saline and nutrient solutions were already tight before hurricanes pounded Puerto Rico and cut power to manufacturing plants that make much of the U.S. supply of fluid-filled bags used to deliver sterile solutions to patients.</p>
<p>Flu season has turned out to be a bad one and it came early, bringing patients in need of fluids into hospitals already running low.</p>
<p>Hospital officials, pharmacists and other staff have been devising alternatives and workarounds, training doctors and nurses on new procedures and options, and hitting the phones to try to secure fluids from secondary suppliers.</p>
<p>“If we can’t support patients coming in emergency rooms who have the flu, more people are going to die,” predicts Deborah Pasko, director of medication safety and quality at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, a professional group. “I see it as a crisis.”</p>
<p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said last week it believes shortages will start to ease over the next few weeks, but stressed “the production situation in Puerto Rico remains fragile.”</p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s power grid is being slowly restored and the last of three Baxter International factories there that make saline bags and nutrient solutions was reconnected just before Christmas. But intermittent power outages are still slowing Baxter’s efforts to get back to full production.</p>
<p>Only a few other companies make those solutions, and supplies never fully recovered after a 2014 shortage of saline bags.</p>
<p>Now many hospitals are only getting half or two-thirds of what they order, and have only a few days’ worth of saline on their shelves.</p>
<p>“No one wants to come out and make it sound like their hospital isn’t safe,” but problems will worsen if shortages don’t ease soon, Pasko said.</p>
<p>Pasko and other hospital officials said they worry that changes in procedures and products could lead to errors.</p>
<p>Some hospital officials say the severity of shortages stabilized over the holidays, when elective surgeries and other services drop, but others say shortages are worsening.</p>
<p>Several noted a cascade effect, with new shortages created as hospitals all try the same workarounds. For instance, syringe supplies are running low because many patients are now getting injections instead of IV drips.</p>
<p>“Everything is hard to get because people are getting whatever they can,” said Deborah Sadowski, director of pharmacy services at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, a specialized hospital in southern New Jersey.</p>
<p>The worst shortage is for small saline bags. Hospitals use hundreds or thousands daily to hydrate patients and to dilute antibiotics, painkillers and other drugs, then hang bags from a pole so the mix slowly drips through a tube and into a vein.</p>
<p>Deliveries of those have been most unpredictable, said David Chen, a pharmacy director with Promedica, which operates 13 hospitals in Ohio and Michigan.</p>
<p>“Some facilities are getting virtually zero. Other are having them trickle in. You never know what you’re going to get,” Chen said.</p>
<p>The FDA has been trying to boost supplies, giving two additional companies approval to start selling saline bags, likely within a couple months. It also gave Baxter permission to temporarily import sterile fluids from six overseas factories.</p>
<p>Baxter says it’s been shipping those to U.S. hospitals since October, but hospital officials say that hasn’t been enough.</p>
<p>Erin Fox, who tracks nationwide drug shortages and heads the University of Utah health system’s drug information and support services, said its hospital system now has five to eight pharmacists a day working on nothing but managing shortages.</p>
<p>Shortages are also hitting surgery centers, cancer clinics that infuse chemotherapy, dialysis centers and companies that provide regular infusions to home-bound patients.</p>
<p>An Atlanta-area hospital run by Cancer Treatment Centers of America has had to rent special pumps to empty liter-size saline bags into many smaller ones for individual patients, said pharmacy services director Jamie Joy.</p>
<p>Nutrient solution bags, also running low, are needed for far fewer patients than saline, but there are few substitutes, said Connie Sullivan, head of research and innovation at the National Home Infusion Association.</p>
<p>Its members have been swapping products with other infusion services and even limiting the number of new patients they accept.</p>
<p>“I have never seen anything quite this bad,” Sullivan said.</p>
<p>Hospitals have been substituting pills for IV-administered drugs when possible, changing dosing schedules or injecting drugs directly into a vein, what’s called I.V. push.</p>
<p>They’ve also been changing some procedures, like trying to switch people off IV bags as soon as possible and not starting patients on IV drips during surgery until it’s certain they are needed.</p>
<p>On the positive side: Hospitals may find ways to permanently reduce use of saline bags. Ohio Health System will evaluate its new practices to see which are cost effective and should be kept, said pharmacy services heard Curt Passafume Jr.</p>
<p>“We should learn something about patient care from this,” he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Linda A. Johnson at <a href="https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma" type="external">https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma</a> .</p> | IV bag shortage has hospitals scrambling to treat flu | false | https://apnews.com/c62970809845472cae7302125109399d | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
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<p>HOUSTON — Texas agricultural officials fear thousands of cattle may have died in the aftermath of Harvey, resulting in losses to ranchers of tens of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>The counties that sustained damage when Harvey first came ashore Aug. 25 were home to 1.2 million head of cattle, representing 1-in-4 of all beef cows in Texas, the nation’s largest producer.</p>
<p>Sales of beef cattle and calves in the state averaged $10.7 billion annually between 2011 and 2014, according to the Texas A&amp;M Agri-Life Extension Service and Agri-Life Research.</p>
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<p>Most ranchers don’t insure their herds because of the cost, so a rancher could be out hundreds of thousands of dollars if an entire herd drowned, the Houston Chronicle reported . The Oklahoma National Stockyards, branded as one of the world’s largest stocker and feeder cattle markets, sold beef cows for an average of $1,500 in May.</p>
<p>Officials are still in the process of tallying the damages.</p>
<p>“We’re finding cattle in waist-deep water,” said Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture commissioner. “But when we try to drive them to dry ground, many of them just collapse they’re so exhausted.”</p>
<p>Cattle standing in water will have weakened skin and hooves that are susceptible to infection, said Dr. Dan Posey, a veterinarian and clinical professor at Texas A&amp;M. Prolonged standing, lack of food and lack of drinkable water could make the cattle susceptible to respiratory disease, he said.</p>
<p>“Not all of them will recover even though they were rescued,” Posey said.</p>
<p>Texas A&amp;M economists estimated that Hurricane Ike in 2008 caused about $13.3 million in cattle losses, with an additional $23.3 million in damages to fences, hay and other farm equipment.</p>
<p>Harvey may be more costly because it affected a larger area, said David Anderson, an A&amp;M professor and agriculture economist.</p>
<p>However, Anderson said he doesn’t expect the losses to affect meat prices, because the number of cattle lost in Harvey won’t be enough to impact the national beef market, which is expected to yield a record amount next year.</p>
<p>The beef cows in the coastal regions are mostly raised for breeding, so their loss won’t be immediately felt by meat packers. Coastal region calves are sent to Texas Panhandle feedlots where they grow to full size before going to slaughterhouses.</p> | Thousands of Texas cattle may have died in wake of Harvey | false | https://abqjournal.com/1060433/thousands-of-texas-cattle-may-have-died-in-wake-of-harvey.html | 2017-09-08 | 2 |
<p>HIV-infected mothers are less likely to transmit the virus to their newborns if they breastfeed their child exclusively for more than 4 months, a study in Zambia showed</p>
<p>However, the amount of HIV in an infected mother’s breast milk spikes when weaning begins, the new study suggests.</p>
<p>The findings of researchers who looked at the breast milk of 958 HIV-infected women and their infants in Lusaka and followed them for two years, were <a href="http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/5/181/181ra51" type="external">published in Science Translational Medicine</a>.</p>
<p>The researchers from Columbia University wrote:</p>
<p>"Our results have profound implications for prevention of mother-to child HIV transmission programs in settings where breast-feeding is necessary to protect infant and maternal health."</p>
<p>They also have important implications in sub-Saharan Africa, where the risk of infants contracting and dying from diarrheal diseases or pneumonia is higher, <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/exclusive-extebded-breastfeeding-lowers-mother-to-infant-hiv-risk/1643748.html" type="external">VOA wrote</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/hiv-in-breastmilk-spikes-at-weaning-1.12832" type="external">Nature</a>, meantime, wrote that the findings were likely to add urgency to efforts to ensure that infected mothers without access to formula took antiretroviral drugs beyond the time that they weaned their infants.</p>
<p>This was because women who stopped breast feeding had "dramatically higher" levels of the virus, said Louise Kuhn, lead author of the study, adding:</p>
<p>"Weaning should be a slow and gradual process."</p>
<p>HIV-infected women typically had a 10 percent to 15 percent chance of transmitting the virus to their babies through breast milk.</p>
<p>However, in sub-Saharan Africa nursing was an important way to help children develop immunities to fight many infectious diseases.</p>
<p>Complicating the situation, said Kuhn, antiretroviral drugs weren’t available for the treatment of advanced HIV in sub-Saharan Africa at the time of the study.</p>
<p>And early weaning had not been successful in preventing HIV transmission from mother to baby. The study went some way to explaining why.</p>
<p>Said Kuhn:</p>
<p>"We found that stopping breastfeeding early was a really bad idea for several different reasons."</p>
<p>Researchers discovered the highest concentrations of HIV in the breast milk of women who had stopped breast feeding at 4 months.</p>
<p>More than three-quarters of them had evidence of the virus in their milk, compared with just under 40 percent of the women who were still breastfeeding, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-04-17/delayed-weaning-may-reduce-hiv-from-breast-feeding-women" type="external">Bloomberg wrote</a>, citing the study.</p>
<p>Generally, HIV-infected women who breastfed without supplementing their infants’ diets with other fluids or foods had lower levels of the AIDS virus in their milk.</p> | HIV-infected mothers less likely to transmit the virus to their newborns if they breastfeed for 4 months | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-04-18/hiv-infected-mothers-less-likely-transmit-virus-their-newborns-if-they-breastfeed | 2013-04-18 | 3 |
<p>WACO, Texas — Like the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel’s “wheel in the middle of a wheel,” King James-only churches represent a resilient subculture within the subculture of American fundamentalist Protestants, some scholars insist.</p>
<p>King James-only churches believe God preserved the inerrancy of the 1611 translation of the English Bible — perhaps even using it to correct errors in earlier versions of Scripture, said Jeffrey Straub, professor of historical theology at <a href="http://centralseminary.edu/" type="external">Central Baptist Theological Seminary</a> in Plymouth, Minn.</p>
<p />
<p>“Few issues have had the kind of polarizing effect that the battle over Bible versions in general, and the battle for the KJV in particular, have had within some segments of American Protestantism,” Straub told a group during a conference at Baylor University marking the <a href="http://www.isreligion.org/events/400-years-of-the-king-james-bible/" type="external">400th anniversary of the King James Bible</a>.</p>
<p>For King James-only Christians, he explained, “the use of the King James 1611 — as opposed to corruption of the KJV which include the New King James and even the New Scofield Reference Bible which updated certain words within the text, rendering it a corruption of the original KJV — has become the litmus test for Christian orthodoxy. The sign of a biblical church becomes the Bible version used from the pulpit.”</p>
<p>The King James-only movement grew largely out of opposition to newer translations of the Bible — first the Revised Version of 1881 and American Standard Version of 1901 and later the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and those that followed, he noted.</p>
<p>Peter Ruckman, founder of Pensacola Bible Institute, became one of the movement’s most strident and extreme advocates over the last 40 years, Straub explained.</p>
<p>“Many of his views are idiosyncratic with regard to the general teachings of most KJV proponents. For example, Ruckman believes the [King James] 1611 sometimes is superior to any Greek text,” he said. “That is, when there is a discrepancy between the KJV and the manuscripts, … then the KJV should be considered authoritative.”</p>
<p>While Straub views the King James-only movement as “hyperfundamentalism” as distinguished from “mainstream” fundamentalism, he noted its staying power.</p>
<p>“There does not appear to be any realistic hope that the KJV-only position will die out any time in the near future,” he said. “If anything, the Internet has made the dissemination of even the most extreme forms of KJV-onlyism accessible to a worldwide audience.”</p>
<p>Scholars who study the King James-only movement need to look not just at rational arguments about the superiority of certain manuscripts but at the human side of the movement as reflected in the lives of individual Christians and the churches where they worship, said Jason Hentschel, a doctoral candidate at the University of Dayton.</p>
<p>Hentschel spent several months attending worship services and interviewing leaders and members of Charity Baptist Church, a congregation in Kettering, Ohio, that adheres to the “inerrancy of Scripture as preserved in the King James Bible.”</p>
<p>Fear of doubt and a desire for an unchanging objective standard seems to motivate the church members’ commitment to the King James Version of the Bible, he asserted.</p>
<p>“Their insistence that the KJV Bible is the physically present, perfect, inerrant word of God reads, in many ways, as an attempt to certify their Bible’s authority and thus ultimately their faith and salvation,” Hentschel said.</p>
<p>“What Charity seeks is certainty and not confusion, objectivity not subjectivity, constancy not fluctuation. Believing the King James Version of the Bible to be the only authentic, historically and divinely preserved revelation of God is an attempt to achieve such certainty.”</p>
<p>The King James-only proponents, as exemplified at Charity Baptist Church, believe a perfect God not only inspired a perfect Bible but also preserved a perfect Bible, he explained.</p>
<p>In this line of thinking about inerrancy, the King James Bible is the perfect word of God, which means it is eternally immutable. To add or subtract from it, to argue that we need something more or something different than what is found in it, is to argue against that Bible’s perfection and thus against God’s promise to provide humanity with salvation,” Hentschel said. “Authority and perfection here represent two sides of the same coin.”</p> | King James-only adherents apply inerrancy to 1611 Bible translation | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/kingjames-onlyadherentsapplyinerrancyto1611bibletranslation/ | 3 |
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<p>Dollar rebounds slightly</p>
<p>The pound inched higher in early trade on Thursday, with traders awaiting the Bank of England's so-called Super Thursday that could help steer expectations for the first rate hike in a decade.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Sterling rose to $1.3252, up from $1.3224 late Wednesday in New York. The U.K. currency has now risen more than 2% against the dollar over the past month, partly on heightened speculation the central bank is getting ready to tighten its ultraloose monetary policy.</p>
<p>The pound got a bump higher after a U.K. services purchasing managers' index for July came in better than expected at 53.8.</p>
<p>After the BOE's policy-setting meeting in June, when three members voted in favor of a rate increase, markets had started to price in a hike as early as the August meeting, which is now taking place. However, after a slowdown in July inflation, analysts broadly agree the central bank will hold its fire for now.</p>
<p>"I do not expect the outcome of today's meeting to result in a rate hike. Firstly, because consumer prices slipped from 2.9% to 2.6% in June, suggesting that the central bank may need to assess whether prices will ease further, after topping out in May," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, in a note.</p>
<p>"Secondly, there's still no clear transition deal for Britain's relationship with the EU after Brexit. I believe these two factors will keep the BOE on hold for now, but this does not necessarily mean the rally in GBP is over," he added, referring to the country's planned exit from the European Union.</p>
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<p>In addition to the rate decision on Thursday, the BOE will release minutes from the meeting as well as its quarterly inflation report. This triple release has led to the "Super Thursday" moniker. The reports will all come out at noon London time, or 7 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by a press conference by BOE Governor Mark Carney at 12:30 p.m.</p>
<p>"A rate hike would still be a big surprise, but probably less so than at any time in that last eight years. Assuming rates remain on hold, the quarterly inflation report will be key. We think the central bank will try to emphasize slowing growth, the main reason to keep rates low over rising inflation," Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group.</p>
<p>Read:Confusion reigns for investors ahead of Bank of England's 'Super Thursday' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/confusion-reigns-for-investors-ahead-of-bank-of-englands-super-thursday-2017-08-01)</p>
<p>In other currencies, the dollar rebounded slightly on Thursday. The ICE Dollar Index gained 0.1% to 92.97 after trading around a 15-month low on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-languishes-at-15-month-low-with-adps-jobs-report-waiting-in-the-wings-2017-08-02). Traders are looking ahead to Friday's closely watched nonfarm-payrolls report.</p>
<p>The euro fell to $1.1836, down from a more-than-two-year high of $1.1857 late Wednesday in New York.</p>
<p>The dollar was almost flat against the yen , buying Yen110.69 compared with Yen110.74 on Wednesday.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 03, 2017 04:48 ET (08:48 GMT)</p> | CURRENCIES: Pound Climbs As Traders Wait For BOE's 'Super Thursday' | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/03/currencies-pound-climbs-as-traders-wait-for-boes-super-thursday0.html | 2017-08-03 | 0 |
<p>A recent article in the British Observer by Ian Birrell discussed an ominous development that has historical connotations. “The demonization of the disabled is a sign of the times” outlined how more and more British disabled people are being increasingly subjected to bullying and hate crime.[1]</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;This rising incidence of disability harassment has followed austerity-driven measures by the British Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government to cut disability benefit payments. In tandem with these moves, the right-wing tabloid press has engaged in a vicious anti-disability campaign targeting so-called disability benefit fraudsters or as they colloquially label them “scroungers.” Birrell’s article set out to measure the impact that this sustained campaign has had on the life of one man, Peter Greener. Greener lives with multiple sclerosis, in the English city of Hebburn. He was the subject of a recent campaign of torment and abuse by his neighbor involving, among other things, name-calling and object throwing. The neighbor’s campaign climaxed in his anonymously calling a benefit fraud hotline in an attempt to discredit Greener but the neighbor’s actions backfired when welfare officials found that he was not a fraudster. Subsequently, Greener’s torment ended when the neighbor was arrested and jailed for his hate crime.[2]</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Birrell though goes into detail as to how Greener’s case is not an isolated one, particularly during the current crisis of capitalism that is the European Sovereign Debt crisis. He outlines how the reported level of disability harassment has increased in Britain, the result of an implicit campaign by both the UK right and its media allies to discredit all disabled welfare claimants.[3] I would argue that this represents a renewed campaign to label disabled people as a “burden” to society, a view that is gaining renewed currency as governments throughout Europe and the world seek to slash social expenditure in this time of crisis. I am aware as a New Zealander of the detrimental impact of economic and social reforms, particularly on disabled people, in my own country.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Indeed, eugenic ideas are making a comeback as the New Right and neoliberal forces that have colonized financial and political institutions such as the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanding stringent austerity measures to arrest the global crisis. Eugenics, a pseudo-science first developed by Francis Galton (a half-cousin of the evolutionist Charles Darwin) postulated that disabled people and others deemed to be unproductive such as those living with health conditions, alcoholism, and drug addiction, were not to be permitted to reproduce for fear that their moral and/or physical failings would be transmitted to any offspring.[4] These eugenic notions soon gained a foothold throughout the Western world as changes to capitalist production modes began to see disabled people, in Marxian terms, deemed surplus labor. The late British disability theorist Vic Finkelstein noted, within this context, how disabled people had been treated as more employable under agrarian systems of production, but when the Industrial Revolution arrived, new mechanized mass production techniques effectively excluded impaired people from the workplace.[5] Consequently, more disabled people were expelled from the mainstream of society to its margins throughout the industrialized world. In order to deal with the increasing number of economically displaced disabled and mentally ill people and to prevent their breeding, mass institutions arose throughout the Western world during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Consignment to these institutions constituted a death sentence for many people who had the misfortune to live in them. Those fortunate enough to still reside in the community had to depend on their families and/or charity dispensed by the bourgeoisie, the churches and other charitable organizations.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;This situation lasted until the evolution of the modern Keynesian Welfare State during the period 1935-1973. Many social democratic Western governments (including those in the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) designed benefit systems as a means of maintaining the economic and social exclusion of disabled people in order to protect the comparatively better paying jobs of able-bodied people during what became known as “Long Boom.”[6] Still, the quality of life of disabled people did improve marginally thanks to the availability of income transfers from government. However, the emergence of the Disability Rights Movement (DRM) in the late 1960s and early 1970s challenged the notion that disabled people were unemployable. The DRM’s rhetoric around the right to work is being uplifted by an increasing number of governments (especially in Britain, New Zealand and Europe) to justify their renewed attacks on disability welfare rights.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;But is there a real dichotomy between the right of disabled people to receive welfare and the right to employment?</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;American disability activist and academic Marta Russell outlines how governments (beginning with the U.S. Clinton Administration), began to expound a “you can’t have it both ways” mentality during the 1990s in terms of demanding both the right to receive benefits and employment.[7] This was at a time when both Third Way Clintonian Democrats and neo-liberal Congressional Republicans in the United States worked together to further restrict eligibility to social security payments, including for disabled people. Similarly in Britain, the Blair Labour Government began its attack on disability welfare payments soon after coming to office in 1997 when it severely tightened eligibility for the Incapacity Benefit.[8] In 1998, the National-New Zealand First Coalition Government in New Zealand abolished the sickness benefit and merged it with the unemployment benefit. This consequently led to some disabled people and those with long term health conditions being subjected to work testing requirements.[9] This policy was reversed by the Labour-Alliance Coalition Government upon its election in 1999.[10] These New Right/neo-liberal moves were all made possible by the overturning of the Keynesian Social Democratic/Welfare State consensus following the global Oil Shock and associated economic crises of the mid-1970s.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Ultimately though, these moves to stem the rising number of disability (and other benefit) claimants had failed by the mid-2000s. In New Zealand the proportion of working-age people claiming the three main disability-related benefits—namely, Invalids, Sickness, and Accident Compensation—increased from 1 percent in the early 1970s to reach 5 percent by 2002.[11] This same trend was mirrored throughout the Western world. This was due to factors that the mainly non-disabled policymaking elite consisting of New Right-influenced politicians, bureaucrats, and academics failed to (or more precisely did not want to) understand. In this sense, policymakers either did not or would not take account of the complex needs that disabled people have: the fact that for some people their health conditions fluctuate; that the rising number of disabled and mentally ill people being released from institutions into community living required an independent income; and above all, the historic discrimination practiced against disabled people within labor markets.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;And it is this continuing rise in the number of disabled people on welfare (despite all the restrictive measures already taken) that is driving many Western governments, especially those in Britain and New Zealand, to consider taking even more drastic measures against them. New Right governments are using the pretext of the economic crisis that began with the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and has now extended into the Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis of 2011/12 to initiate a new war of attrition against disabled people and other disadvantaged communities. This is the result of the ruling elites of Europe and the West having been panicked into yet again seeking to reduce the role and size of the state. These moves have been driven by corporate lobbyists who, in the wake of the financial crisis, have successfully sought to make ordinary people pay for their excesses by persuading governments to bail them out through governments introducing regressive tax increases and service cuts. In New Zealand, for example, the right wing National-led government bailed out major finance company South Canterbury Finance in 2010 to the tune of $NZ 1 billion.[12] In Britain, Conservative Chancellor George Osborne has stated that his government aims to cut income tax, and to achieve this aim he increased the regressive Value Added Tax (VAT-consumption tax) in late 2010. [13]</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Ominously then, both the “trickle down” theory and the neo-classical requirement for governments to arrive at fiscal balance have seen governments mount renewed attacks on welfare systems. These attacks have focused on all benefit classes. For disabled people, the consequences of the changes that are either being proposed or are in the process of being implemented by various governments are dire. In the UK, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government has proposed changes to further restrict eligibility for Disability Living Allowance and other related benefits. Disturbingly, the Coalition Government (as did the previous Labour Government) has contracted out the process of determining disability benefit eligibility to a French multinational company, Atos. The anecdotal stories emerging from the British testing process have been harrowing with many disabled people being subjected to the most grossly medicalized tests possible and consequently denied benefits.[14] This has led to many disabled people becoming impoverished at a time when jobs are scarce in the UK. In some cases, the outcomes have been tragic with some disabled and mentally ill people committing suicide as a consequence of these dehumanizing policies. However, British ministers continue to downplay the nature of the changes by stressing that most disabled people have nothing to fear when the reality is that they do.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;These moves stand to be imitated by New Zealand’s right-wing National Government. During 2009/10, a Welfare Working Group recommended replacing the existing disability related benefits (excluding Accident Compensation) with one single Jobseeker Support payment which would cover most non-retirement based benefit recipients.[15] During the November 2011 election campaign, the National Government announced its response that outlined the creation of three new benefits—Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, and Supported Living Payment. Jobseeker Support will include current sickness benefit recipients, and this is where many disabled people are expected to be placed due to strict work testing requirements.[16] This could well be the case as the author has informally spoken to disability advocates who expect the Government to introduce UK-style “Fit Note” assessment tests which will see thousands of disabled people “exited” from the higher paying Invalids Benefit. This would be done in line with the Government’s aim of shifting 46 000 people off benefits overall. This will come at a time when, as in the UK, many disabled New Zealanders will have little hope of finding suitable, well paid work, given the ongoing recession. Therefore, the New Zealand disability community stands to suffer in much the same way as Britain’s has.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;And this is where we come back to the case of Peter Greener. Given the New Right’s campaign of hostility towards already marginalized communities, such as disabled people, there could be grave consequences for our survival as a community. The austerity driven political climate has induced a radical shift to the right in many industrialized countries during the last two years. This has come through in recent election results, for example, in Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal where center-right governments were elected or re-elected. In Britain, the Labour Party continues to hold a plurality in most opinion surveys but still the coalition parties (Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) when combined continue to perform well, taking over 50 percent of the vote.[17] Upon closer analysis, it seems that a fearful and insecure majority has increasingly sought to scapegoat minority groups as the cause of the crisis rather than those who actually produced it in the first instance—capitalist bankers and financiers. This has been aided and abetted by populist media campaigns that have sought to divide and rule populations, such as those waged by the tabloid media against so-called benefit cheats and work-shy people, as is the case in Britain as noted earlier.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>In my native New Zealand, I also fear the increased targeting of disabled people as welfare reforms proceed. The corporate New Zealand media have already begun a campaign of demonizing beneficiary groups once again. During 2011, for example, a New Zealand television current affairs program stressed the fact that a single parent of eight children had a subscription television service antenna on her roof.[18] This story generated the usual level of hostility that is reflected towards beneficiaries who are perceived to be living better than many hard working families. This image of the so-called “feckless beneficiary” or “welfare bum” suits the ruling classes and their agenda well as it ignores the fact that in New Zealand benefit rates were severely slashed in 1991. Nonetheless, the New Zealand Government could be preparing to engage in “wolf whistle” politics through the media as the British Government has done in order to further divide working class opinion.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Ultimately, these anti-disability and anti-welfare moves are eugenic in character. While right-wing governments clothe their welfare policies in the language of “compassionate conservatism” and that of the DRM around the right to employment, the reality is different. In fact, one has to have a grasp of Orwellian language to realize that what governments are actually saying to disabled people is unless they work for a living or seek the support of their family, they will die—period. What right-wing governments are seeking to do is to return industrialized societies to the Victorian, neo-classical values of individual choice, responsibility, and self-reliance. This means that disabled people and other excluded groups will have to increasingly (if they are unemployed or underemployed) rely on charity or the family for survival, as the State will no longer provide anything more than temporary support.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Therefore, if Western governments continue on this path, disabled people will begin to experience even shorter life spans. This will be due to unemployed disabled people experiencing more serious health problems. These trends will no doubt be quietly welcomed by right wing governments determined to reduce social security outlays—despite protestations to the contrary on their part. But what is more alarming is that if Europeans become inclined to support far right/neo-fascist parties due to the depressed economic climate, then disabled people (along with other minorities) will be subjected to a second, more ominous threat to their survival—effective mass extermination through so called “passive euthanasia” programs. This is not an in extremis scenario, given that the Nazis established their T4 program for this purpose in the 1930s. And the Nazis softened up public opinion through a mass propaganda campaign claiming that disabled and mentally ill people were a fiscal burden.[19]</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;However, these campaigns of hate, marginalization, and stigmatization can be halted in their tracks by disabled people themselves. Compared to the Great Depression era of the 1930s, there is one positive in disabled people’s favor—the existence of a global Disability Rights Movement. To paraphrase Dylan Thomas, disabled people will not go into that long, good night at all. Disabled people and their supporters/advocates have a role to play in joining the global campaign against austerity and greed. Furthermore, movements, such as the Occupy Movement, have sought to change the nature of the debate from one in which multinational corporations are owed a break to that of ordinary people needing one from austerity. With these factors in mind, the DRM can and should align with other anti-capitalist and progressive forces as well to turn back the tide of anti-welfarism.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;But what arguments can be deployed by the DRM to counter the resurgent neo-liberal right?</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;One powerful counter-argument is offered by Russell who believed that:</p>
<p>It is discrimination to deny a disabled person who can work an opportunity to do so, but it is not “special” treatment for people who cannot work to be guaranteed a humane standard of living—rather it is a measure of a just civilization that they are decently catered for.[20]</p>
<p>While this statement may not immediately appeal to either politicians or majority public opinion, it is a case that should be made by disability advocates. Another that should be deployed is that any non-disabled person can join the disability community at anytime and require support. Non-disabled people should be encouraged to imagine themselves in this situation with the hope that they visualize the difficulties involved in living with impairment. Above all, the DRM should take up the mantra of the Occupy Movement that it is not ordinary people (such as disabled people) who are responsible for the crisis but rather that corporate capitalism is—and that financial institutions are not being held responsible by governments for it. Subsequently, the DRM should bring the public to realize the consequences of blaming minorities for economic failures as history has already proffered up numerous examples of what this ultimately could lead to—genocide.</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;In the UK, the mobilization of ordinary disabled people against their government’s proposed welfare changes could be about to bear some fruit. As this article is being written, the UK Cabinet is considering softening some of the harshest changes to the proposed disability benefits regime. On the basis of that pledge, government members of the House of Lords defeated proposed amendments that would have softened the changes in January 2012.[21] This means that the struggle against the UK welfare changes still has some way to run. Overall, the success of any campaign against regressive welfare reform (wherever this occurs) will rely on the waging of political struggles by disabled people themselves and their allies. For successful political struggle to occur, disability activists must be armed with information on the neoliberal agenda around disability. If that happens, then history will not repeat itself for disabled people—leading to people like Peter Greener and other disabled people feeling safer and more valued by their communities.</p>
<p /> | Disability politics in a time of capitalist crisis: could history repeat itself? | true | http://newpol.org/node/638 | 4 |
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<p>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/5855964036/"&gt;Gage Skidmore&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p />
<p>Rick Perry was <a href="" type="internal">more than happy</a> to embrace the anti-science title in Wednesday’s GOP debate, repeating the claim that the “science isn’t settled” on the question of whether human activity is causing the planet to heat up. Of course, this was nothing new: Perry has been pretty open about the fact that he thinks scientists <a href="" type="internal">invented climate change</a> to keep those big research bucks rolling in.</p>
<p>When Perry couldn’t name a single scientist he actually agrees with on climate change, he deferred, instead, to the ghost of Galileo Galilei. “Galileo got out-voted for a spell,” said Perry, intending to demonstrate that just because the majority of scientists have reached a conclusion, that doesn’t make it true.</p>
<p>The problem with that, of course, is that it wasn’t a cabal of scientists who were out-voting Mr. Galilei. True, he did catch flack for breaking with the scientific establishment at the time. But it was the Catholic church that interrogated the Italian scientist, accused him of heresy, and put him under house arrest for the rest of his life. Sadly, I think the irony of the comment is lost on Perry and his fans.</p>
<p>So, really, it wasn’t all that much different than what’s going on with climate change, today. Establishment forces—the <a href="" type="internal">fossil fuel industry</a>, <a href="" type="internal">anti-regulation conservatives</a>, and <a href="" type="internal">religious fundamentalists</a>—have waged a relentless campaign to <a href="" type="internal">malign</a>, <a href="" type="internal">persecute</a>, and <a href="" type="internal">marginalize</a> climate scientists. And Rick Perry has been the <a href="" type="internal">favorite presidential candidate</a> of climate deniers because he has been a zealous participant in those attacks.</p>
<p>Of course, we all know how the Galileo story ends. Turns out, he was right about that whole earth revolving around the sun thing. But it certainly wasn’t the Rick Perrys of the world that ushered that into common acceptance.</p>
<p /> | Well, Rick Perry, Since You Brought Up Galileo… | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/well-rick-perry-you-brought-galileo/ | 2011-09-08 | 4 |
<p>Still from “Intent to Destroy”.</p>
<p>Joe Berlinger’s reputation rests on a number of documentaries about the injustices of the judicial system including a trilogy about the trial and imprisonment of three teens in West Memphis, Arkansas falsely accused of taking part in a Satanic ritual murder of three 8-year old boys. Next came “Crude”, a film about the struggle of indigenous peoples in Ecuador to make Chevron pay for the massive despoliation of their land and water. It should not come as a big surprise that an American judge declared Chevron innocent of all charges.</p>
<p>His most recent film opens on November 10th at the Village East in New York and the Laemmle in Los Angeles. Titled “Intent to Destroy”, it is an examination of the Armenian genocide that took place between 1915 and 1916 and that left just under 300,000 survivors out of a population of 1,700,000 in the Anatolian heartland of the Ottoman Empire. As opposed to the Nuremberg trials that punished the Nazis and the allied powers insistence that reparations be paid to Israel, the Armenians were left with nothing. This is a sorry confirmation of the historical law that victorious nations never have to pay for their crimes. Despite being on the losing side in WWI, the Turks found themselves in the envious position of being a geopolitical asset in the hands of the West for quarantining the USSR and as a launching pad for Middle East incursions. Even Israel found Turkey to be a convenient ally. When a bill was introduced to congress some years ago condemning Turkey for genocide, Abraham Foxman opined, “I don’t think a bill in Congress will help reconcile this issue.”</p>
<p>Berlinger’s film is a collage of different elements that serve to introduce the audience to the events that took place just over a century ago. To start with, it is like one of those “Making of” films you can so often on HBO about some Hollywood blockbuster. In this instance, it was not much of a blockbuster either in terms of critical reaction or box office but in my view an important and dramatically powerful narrative film titled “ <a href="" type="internal">The Promise</a>” that I reviewed for CounterPunch in April.</p>
<p>As “Intent to Destroy” begins, we see a group of a dozen or so actors doing a reading of the script for “The Promise” that was co-written by Terry George, the film’s director, and Robin Swicord. Among them is Eric Bogosian, who is best known for his performance pieces in Soho in the 80s and 90s. Like practically all Armenians in the diaspora, he is haunted by the horrors even as he enjoyed a successful career as an artist. Another such Armenian was the fabulously wealthy investor Kirk Kerkorian who financed “The Promise”.</p>
<p>Berlinger follows Terry George’s crew as it gets set up in Spain for filming. A good half of the documentary showing him directing actors and extras in various scenes of chilling massacres. Not only was Turkey out of the question as a locale for shooting, George had to contend with the massive propaganda machine directed from Ankara that is always poised to discredit and even squelch pro-Armenian films.</p>
<p>After having learned much more about Armenian history after reading Ronald Grigor Suny’s “They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else: a History of the Armenian Genocide” in conjunction with this review, I can better appreciate the fealty of George’s script to actual events, including a climactic 40-day battle between a lightly armed Armenian militia on top of a mountain and the Ottoman military trying to annihilate it and the civilians under its protection until they were rescued by a French warship.</p>
<p>That battle, which took place in Musa Dagh in 1915, was fictionalized in Franz Werfel’s 1933 novel <a href="" type="internal">The Forty Days of Musa Dagh</a>&#160;that became a runaway bestseller and focused attention on Turkey’s crimes. Werfel, a Jew, not only hoped to educate the world about those events, but to implicitly warn about the rise of Nazism that he saw as a threat to his own people. After fleeing France in 1940 after the German invasion, Werfel ended up in Los Angeles and became part of the expatriate community that included Thomas Mann and Max Reinhardt.</p>
<p>Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of Werfel’s novel, MGM secured the film rights and began pre-production work in 1934. When Munir Ertegun, Turkey’s ambassador to the USA, got wind of this, he was told by Mustafa Kemal to nip the film in the bud. The ambassador was the father of Ahmet Ertegun, the long-time president of Atlantic records who signed Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones and other top artists. In a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/harut-sassounian/ahmet-ertegun-knew-what-w_b_37267.html" type="external">Huffington Post article</a> dated December 27, 2006 written by Harut Sassounian, a major Armenian leader who administered Kirk Kerkorian’s philanthropic foundation, we learn that Sassounian met with Ahmet Ertegun and was surprised to discover that he was opposed to Armenian genocide denials, blaming “Turk ghafali” (the stubborn Turk mentality) for the country’s refusal to come clean.</p>
<p>I saw “Turk ghafali” myself firsthand when I visited Istanbul for the first time in 2003. My father-in-law, who had been a pilot in the Turkish air force, gesticulated at the television that was featuring some ancient film footage that supposedly proved that the Young Turks were trying to save the nation from Armenian terrorists. Maybe that’s the reason I have trouble with Assad’s defenders today. There’s no better way to rationalize mass murder than to blame the victims for being the criminals. The Turks, the Baathists and the Zionists are all past masters.</p>
<p>Munir Ertegun was successful. MGM backed down. After several more abortive attempts to make the film, including one “successful” version in 1982 that was underfunded and did not do justice to Werfel’s novel, Mel Gibson got the idea to make his own film in 2009 but was convinced to drop the project after getting 3,000 angry emails from a Turkish pressure group. In this instance it was probably just as well.</p>
<p>This is not the only excursion that “Intent to Destroy” makes into the tortured history of film and genocide denial. We also hear from Atom Egoyan, the director of “Ararat”, a 2002 film about the defense of the city of Van from Turkish onslaught. Unlike Musa Dagh, the results were disastrous. When the Turks learned about Egoyan’s intention to make such a film, the pressure was turned on. He describes a meeting with a Turkish diplomatic official in Canada, who made a veiled threat that Armenians would pay for their lives if the film was made.</p>
<p>“Intent to Destroy” benefits from the inclusion of a number of Armenian and Turkish scholars who are determined to make Turkey accept responsibility for its historic injustices. One of the most jarring moments in the film was hearing from Justin McCarthy, a U. of Louisville professor and genocide denialist. McCarthy argues that there was mass killing on all sides during WWI, both Turk and Armenians, who—after all—were allied with the Russians. What this argument elides, however, is the distinction between armed combatants and civilians, especially the women and children who were either killed outright by Turkish cops and soldiers or who died from starvation or disease on the “trail of tears” to Syria. Like the Cherokees, the Syrians were forced to march hundreds of miles through the desert, a trek that was almost as deadly as a Dachau gas chamber.</p>
<p>Most importantly, McCarthy fails to point out that the overwhelming majority of Armenians were loyal citizens of the Ottoman Empire who wanted nothing more than to live in peace with their Muslim neighbors. There certainly were Armenian terrorists, who were the equivalent of the Russian narodniks ideologically, as well as revolutionary socialists but as is so often the case lacking in mass support.</p>
<p>Given the Ottoman Empire’s character as a reasonably tolerant entity, noted in scholarly works like Mark Mazower’s <a href="" type="internal">Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950</a>, what caused the genocide? This is explained by the historians in “Intent to Destroy” as well as any 115 minute film can but for the comprehensive answer, I would regard Ronald Grigor Suny’s <a href="" type="internal">They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else</a>&#160;as definitive.</p>
<p>In an interview with the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburgh, Suny was asked about his evolution as a historian. His reply contained this statement: “I came from the left and I was interested in Marxism, socialism, the working class, and revolutionary movement.” Given his Armenian background, it was natural that his scholarship in Russian history would be based on a rejection of the Great Russian chauvinism Lenin warned against. Naturally, his work on Georgia, a prime target of Stalin’s bureaucratic abuses, led the Soviet intelligentsia to attack him. This led to Suny telling the interviewer: “So in America I was attacked for being a Marxist and here I was attacked as the bourgeois falsifier of history.” I certainly can empathize.</p>
<p>Given his early Marxist leanings, it was logical for Suny to foreground economic questions in his study. As is the case in Syria and many other countries today, sectarian violence can be explained by underlying class conflicts.</p>
<p>In a section of chapter two titled “Armenians”, Suny maps out the “uneven reach of capitalism” in the Ottoman Empire that will help you to understand the impending catastrophe. As commodity production and exchange took root in an essentially precapitalist world, it was the non-Muslims who grew rich while the Muslim officialdom, reliant on dwindling state revenues, grew poor. This was ultimately the cause of the hatred directed against the Greeks who lived along the west coast bordering the Aegean sea and the Armenians who lived there and in the mountainous east as well. As was the case with Jews in other countries (and also a cause of resentment), the non-Muslims in Ottoman society tended to live in urban areas and had longstanding ties to the outside world that benefited those operating in trade, commerce and manufacturing.</p>
<p>To give you an idea of the social weight of non-Muslims, in 1900 they comprised 55.9 percent of Istanbul and 61.5 percent of Izmir (called Smyrna by the Greeks and referred to as “infidel Izmir” by the Turks). In terms of their economic weight, Suny provides the details: “By the turn of the century only eleven of the forty-two printing plants in the empire were owned by Muslims and twenty-six by non-Muslims; of metal-working plants twenty were owned by non-Muslims, only one by a Muslim; of the famous Bursa raw silk manufactories, six were owned by Muslims, two by the government, and thirty-three by non-Muslims. At the top economic pyramid in the early twentieth century Europeans occupied the most lucrative posts. Besides industrial ownership, Armenians and Greeks held important positions as managers and salaried employees in Western-financed companies, in mining and especially on the railroads. The Anatolian railroad was largely financed and managed by Germans, but middle-rank positions were held, half by Europeans, half by Ottoman Greeks and Armenians.”</p>
<p>If Muslims were suffering economic decline internally because of expanding capitalist property relations, it was inevitable that the same process would be undermining the foundations of an empire reliant mostly on military rather than economic prowess.</p>
<p>A series of wars in eastern Europe turned out disastrously for the Ottoman Empire in places like Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania. Once the imperial forces were defeated, ethnic cleansing of Turks took place that men like Justin McCarthy viewed as balancing out the Armenian genocide. As brutal as they were (and likely included the ancestors of my in-laws who were named after a Macedonian city), they did not involve systematic extermination. The Turks who were ethnically cleansed from such places did, however, end up in eastern Anatolia where they ended up harboring resentments against the Christian Armenians.</p>
<p>Between 1894 and 1896, there was a dress rehearsal for the 1915-16 genocide known as the Hamidian Massacres, with casualties estimated as large as 300,000. Depleted state treasuries were to be refreshed by steep taxes imposed on rural Armenians who generally lacked the class status of their urban counterparts and had to pay cash and in-kind tribute to Kurdish landlords and bandits. As it happens, the Kurds were the leading edge of repression against the Armenians in eastern Anatolia during the Hamidian Massacres and the 1915-16 genocide. To the credit of the PKK, the Kurdish party whose followers are building an anarchist-inspired enclave in Syria, their leadership acknowledged its criminal past in 1997. Zubeyir Aydar, a PKK leader, issued a statement that contained these words: “Today is the 82nd anniversary of the genocide committed against the Assyrian-Syriac and Armenian peoples. Sharing the agony caused by this process, I find the Ottoman State and their collaborators the Hamidiye Alaylari, formed by some Kurdish tribes, responsible for this crime before history and I condemn them with abhorrence.”</p>
<p>I urge CounterPunch readers to see “Intent to Destroy” in New York or Los Angeles. Joe Berlinger is a very fine filmmaker and understands the importance of story-telling for a documentary, just as much as is the case with narrative films. As the contradictions of world capitalism continue to mount, reactionary nationalism will find fertile soil. Despite the noble intentions of the Young Turks, who were embraced by democratic-minded Armenian intellectuals during their early period, the commitment to creating an exclusivist religious-ethnic state has made the creation of a modern, democratic state in Turkey nearly impossible. The Armenians were exterminated in 1915-1916 and the Greeks were ethnically cleansed in 1923. Today, it is the Kurds who the targets of the Turkish army, even as they are defending the cities and villages they stole from Armenians just over a century ago.</p>
<p>The costs of sectarian warfare were steep a century ago and far steeper today. Creating states based on a common language, faith and ethnicity was a dead end during the classic period of bourgeois revolutions. As capitalism continues to decay, the tendency to impose standards of racial purity will only grow as should be obvious from the Christian hatred of Muslim refugees in Europe and elsewhere demonstrates.</p>
<p>Ronald Grigor Suny, whose great-grandparents were among those massacred, concludes his book with a chapter titled “Thinking about the Unthinkable: Genocide” that makes an eloquent plea for a universal understanding of and support for the Armenian cause in the final paragraph:</p>
<p>The Armenian Genocide, along with the killing of Assyrians and the&#160; expulsion of the Anatolian Greeks, laid the ground for the more homogeneous nation-state that arose from the ashes of the empire. Like many other states, including Australia, Israel, and the United States, the emergence of the Republic of Turkey involved the removal and subordination of native&#160; peoples who had lived on its territory prior to its founding. The connection between ethnic cleansing or genocide and the legitimacy of the national state underlies the desperate efforts to deny or distort the history&#160; of the nation and the state’s genesis. Coming to terms with that history,&#160; on the other hand, can have the salutary effect of questioning continued policies of ethnic homogenization and the refusal to recognize the claims&#160; and rights of those peoples, minorities, or diasporas—Aborigines, native Americans, Kurds, Palestinians, Assyrians, or Armenians—who refuse to&#160; disappear.</p> | Haunted by the Horrors of Armenia | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/11/10/haunted-by-the-horrors-of-armenia/ | 2017-11-10 | 4 |
<p>NEW DELHI, India — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday warned Italy there would be unspecified “consequences” unless two Italian marines charged with the murder of two Indian fishermen returned to India to face trial.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130313/india-pm-warns-consequences-over-italian-marines" type="external">Agence France-Presse said</a> the “normally mild-mannered” Singh made the unusually strong remarks to lawmakers in response to growing public and political anger at <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/italy/130311/italian-marines-indian-fishermen-trial-india" type="external">Italy’s announcement Monday</a> that the marines would stay in Italy.</p>
<p>Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone were working as guards on the tanker Enrica Lexie when they allegedly shot dead the fishermen who they said they mistook for pirates off the southern state of Kerala in February 2012.</p>
<p>They are now in Italy after the Indian Supreme Court gave them special permission to return home to vote in last month’s elections.</p>
<p>"This cannot by any standards be in the interests of any bilateral relationship that has to function on the basis of trust," Singh was quoted as saying.</p>
<p>"Our government has therefore insisted that the Italian authorities respect the undertakings they have given to the honorable supreme court and return the two accused persons to stand trial in India.</p>
<p>"If they do not keep their word, there will be consequences for our relations with Italy."</p>
<p>GlobalPost Senior Correspondent in New Delhi, Jason Overdorf, said Rome was no doubt aware of the potential consequences of refusing to return the accused sailors.</p>
<p>"But the Italians may be misreading New Delhi's past willingness to tolerate this kind of slight," Overdorf said.</p>
<p>India reacted relatively mildly when Denmark refused to return a suspect in an illegal arms trafficking case and when the US protected former Union Carbide chief executive Warren Anderson after he was spirited out of India following the deadly Bhopal gas leak.</p>
<p>"But elections are looming in 2014, and the Congress Party can ill afford to seem soft on Italy. Nationalists continually blast Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi for her Italian birth, even though she declined the prime minister's chair in 2004 to avoid a conflict," Overdorf said.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21766592" type="external">According to the BBC,</a> Rome argues the two men should be tried in Italy because the incident happened in international waters. Delhi says the ship was in Indian territorial waters.</p>
<p>Before Monday’s announcement, relations between the two countries were already frayed followed corruption allegations surrounding <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130215/india-says-cancel-scandal-plagued-italian-helicopter-deal-2" type="external">a $750 million helicopter deal</a> between India’s military and an Italian defense company, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indian-pm-demands-italy-return-marines-trial-18715778" type="external">the Associated Press said.</a></p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/121206/17-crazy-things-only-happen-india" type="external">17 crazy things that only happen in India</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }</p> | India PM warns Italy of 'consequences' after Italian marines skip bail | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-03-13/india-pm-warns-italy-consequences-after-italian-marines-skip-bail | 2013-03-13 | 3 |
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