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<p>City Council meetings are sometimes dominated not by what councilors say and do, but by what they hear.</p>
<p>They get berated and belittled, cajoled and criticized, and, yes, every once in awhile, thanked.</p>
<p>It’s all part of “public comment,” the part of the meeting in which anyone in the audience can sign up to speak to councilors on any topic, two minutes at a time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The council often hears from the families of people shot and killed by Albuquerque police and from city employees who haven’t had a raise in years – all mixed in with odd, off-topic testimony about, say, the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.</p>
<p>Mary Jobe, left, hugs Tammy Redwine before the start of a City Council meeting. Both have lost relatives in Albuquerque police shootings.</p>
<p>The amount of time spent on public comment has divided the City Council and left many councilors debating the fundamental purpose of their meetings: What if all that listening limits the time for acting on legislation?</p>
<p>A narrow majority of the council last week refused to lift new limits imposed on the number of people who can speak during public comment.</p>
<p>Under the new rule, the council agreed to hear only the first 30 people signed up to speak at each meeting, enough for an hour to 90 minutes of testimony. Any speakers beyond that are held over to talk either at the end of the meeting or at the beginning of the next council meeting.</p>
<p>Each speaker is restricted to two minutes at the microphone, unless councilors ask questions.</p>
<p>The 30-person limit doesn’t apply to people who sign up to speak on individual bills or other items on the agenda. It covers only general public comment. Someone who wants to speak on, for example, a budget bill on the agenda can still do so, no matter how many others also sign up.</p>
<p>Council President Ken Sanchez led an effort Monday to abolish the public comment limit.</p>
<p>“It’s important we listen,” he told other councilors. “I just feel these are the people’s chambers.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>His proposal failed. The council voted 5-4 against lifting the requirement.</p>
<p>“We are here first and foremost to do the business of the city of Albuquerque,” Councilor Diane Gibson said. “For a while there, that was being put on the back burner, I believe.”</p>
<p>Mike Gomez, whose son was fatally shot by an Albuquerque police officer, shows up at a City Council meeting to express his frustration about police shootings and the city’s response to them.</p>
<p>Councilor Isaac Benton, who also supported the public comment limit, said he’s seen “a serious loss of energy” when important bills come up late at night, affecting the debate.</p>
<p>Council meetings start about 5 p.m. Following a few presentations and public comment, the council takes a dinner break at 7 or 7:30. That means the bulk of the council’s action on legislation usually happens between 8 and 11 p.m.</p>
<p>The meetings end by rule at 10:30, but councilors usually extend them for a while beyond that. It takes a two-thirds vote to do so.</p>
<p>Councilor Don Harris, who also supported the limits, said the early time spent on public comment means people who have signed up on individual bills often don’t get to speak at all until deep into the night, and that’s only if the bill comes up. Sometimes legislation is postponed because of the lateness of the hour.</p>
<p>“What we’re doing is choosing one group of speakers over another,” he said.</p>
<p>The debate over how to handle public comment hasn’t split the council along the usual partisan divide.</p>
<p>Instead, favoring the 30-speaker limit are Democrats Benton and Gibson, plus Republicans Harris, Trudy Jones and Brad Winter.</p>
<p>Opposed are Democrats Sanchez, Klarissa Peña and Rey Garduño, in addition to Republican Dan Lewis.</p>
<p>Public comment has grown more rowdy and time-consuming in recent months, following the U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found Albuquerque police have a pattern or practice of violating people’s civil rights.</p>
<p>Some activists have signed up to speak as part of public demonstrations against the council’s failure, in their view, to adequately address police violence. In one meeting, protesters used the public comment period to announce a “people’s arrest warrant” for the police chief, leading to chaos as protesters took over the dais. The council president adjourned the meeting, citing safety concerns.</p>
<p>In another, protesters stood silently at the speakers’ podium when it was their turn to speak.</p>
<p>For now, councilors have decided to keep the limits in place.</p>
<p>Winter pointed out that none of the recent public comment periods has exceeded 30 speakers, so there’s been no application of the limit yet. Monday’s meeting was the second since the rule was adopted June 9.</p>
<p>“I think this should be given a chance to work,” Benton said.</p>
<p>State law doesn’t require the council to allow public comment at all, either in general or on specific bills, according to city officials.</p>
<p>Still, it’s clear the debate will continue.</p>
<p>“What other business do we have, other than to listen to the public?” Garduño asked.</p>
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<p /> | The people speak … but City Council stands by limit on the time it listens | false | https://abqjournal.com/444076/city-council-stands-by-decision-to-limit-speakers-for-general-comment.html | 2 |
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<p>Across Brazil’s vast landscape, poor people, in groups of hundreds, are moving onto land that is claimed by others. The poor are demanding that land be distributed to them as part of an ongoing national agrarian program.</p>
<p>Powerful landholders are threatening to drive the occupiers off at gunpoint. Governors of several states have announced that if necessary they will mobilize police and military to keep the peace and enforce the law in the countryside.</p>
<p>President Luis Inacio da Silva’s new center-left national government, known as Lula, is committed to agrarian reform, but it is also committed to international bankers for a favorable investment climate and support of agricultural exports.</p>
<p>The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor have run stories portraying these events in ominous terms. Do the land occupations foretell a crisis? Will the Lula government’s promises of stability, growth and credit worthiness be undermined by help to Brazil’s poorest people?</p>
<p>The story of the organization leading the wave of recent land occupations provides much of the answer.</p>
<p>The MST, whose Portuguese name translates as the Movement of Landless Rural Workers, has settled more than 1 million people, some 350,000 families, on more than 20 million acres. It educates thousands of teachers, agricultural extension agents and health workers. In spite of many difficulties and disappointments, the settlers enjoy higher living standards, including in schools and health care. Not only are they eating better themselves, they are providing basic food to regional markets.</p>
<p>Their organization, which started with the chemical and machine intensive methods of Brazil’s thriving agribusiness, has now officially turned to an “agro-ecological model.” The MST promotes strong land conservation measures. Its farmers market organic produce in many cities. Seventy percent of them work individually, by choice, though the movement continues to experiment with cooperative and collective production.</p>
<p>Most of all, participation in the MST and the experience of becoming productive farmers have turned tens of thousands of people who were passive victims into active citizens. Before they were called “the marginalized” and “the vagabonds.” Now they are voting and holding political offices. These people, along with millions of others in Brazil’s newly flourishing social movements, are shaping a democracy that is still recovering from years of military dictatorship.</p>
<p>The landless movement that would officially become the MST in 1984 arose from collaboration by progressive Catholic priests, secular political activists and the rural poor, beginning in the late 1970s. They discovered that they could make creative use of the force of numbers and Brazilian law to force the government to redistribute land.</p>
<p>For centuries, landowners had so ruthlessly abused the land, exploited labor and twisted the law that legislators, even the generals operating through decree law, began requiring that ownership be subjected to a test of whether the land was “serving its social function.” If it can be proven that land is held fraudulently or is not being used productively, or that it is not being used in accordance with labor and conservation laws, a counter-claimant can move onto it and serve legal notice in demand of title.</p>
<p>This has brought violent reaction. The Catholic Church’s Pastoral Commission on Land reports that more than 1,000 of the landless have been assassinated in land conflicts over the past 20 years. Only a handful of these cases have gone to trial. The landless themselves have only rarely been violent.</p>
<p>Keeping law and order in Brazil will require going forward with agrarian reform, not suppressing it. And the health of the Brazilian economy will be best served by encouraging the formation of small and medium scale family farms, found by various independent studies to be the most productive farms in the country.</p>
<p>The message of agrarian reform in Brazil is one of hope. The poor must keep pressuring the government to meet all its fundamental commitments, not just the ones it made to the international bankers.</p>
<p>ANGUS WRIGHT is a member of the Prairie Writers Circle at The Land Insitute in Salina, Kan. He is co-author with Wendy Wolford of “ <a href="" type="internal">To Inherit the Earth: The Landless Movement in the Struggle for a New Brazil</a>.” Wright teaches environmental studies at California State University, Sacramento.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Brazilian Land Reform Offers Hope | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/09/17/brazilian-land-reform-offers-hope/ | 2003-09-17 | 4 |
<p />
<p>An as of yet unconfirmed report originally published at Infowars.com says police have found evidence in shooter Stephen Paddock’s hotel room:</p>
<p>The Las Vegas shooter didn’t commit suicide as the mainstream media is reporting, but was killed by a FBI hostage rescue team who also found Antifa literature in his hotel room, according to a source linked to the team.</p>
<p>The FBI team took the suspect out after he opened fired on them, according to the source, and afterwards the team found photos taken in the Middle East of a woman linked to the suspect, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.infowars.com/fbi-source-vegas-shooter-found-with-antifa-literature-photos-taken-in-middle-east/" type="external">Read the full report at Infowars</a></p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/source-antifa-literature-and-mid-east-photos-found-in-las-vegas-shooters-room_10022017" type="external">SHTFplan.com</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | Source: Antifa Literature and Mid-East Photos Found in Las Vegas Shooter’s Room | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/03/source-antifa-literature-and-mid-east-photos-found-in-las-vegas-shooters-room/ | 0 |
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<p>Even a broken clock is right twice a day. In a similar fashion, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was dead on in at least part of his analysis of Monday night's presidential debate.</p>
<p>Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Kaepernick <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/49ers/2016/09/27/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-debate/91181232/?hootPostID=028b5d240792ec1eb5e3d830406a8359" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>It was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates. Both are proven liars, and it seems like they’re trying to debate who’s less racist...And at this point…you have to pick the lesser of two evils. But in the end, it’s still evil.</p>
<p>A remarkably coherent statement from a man whose protest of the National Anthem is right out of the Black Lives Matter false-narrative playbook.</p>
<p>However, Kaepernick couldn't resist taking a hit at "openly racist" Donald Trump, as well as his "Make American Great Again" slogan, saying:</p>
<p>He always says "Make America Great Again." Well, it's never been great for people of color. That's something that needs to be addressed. Let's make America great for the first time.</p>
<p>America's never been great for people of color? Kaepernick is presumably referring to BLM's <a href="" type="internal">patently false narrative</a> about systemic racism among America's police force, and not to himself, nor to the millions of other minorities who have found unparalleled freedom and success living in the United States.</p>
<p>According to a 2014 <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/12/minorities-the-force-fueling-small-business-growth.html" type="external">CNBC report</a>, minority-owned small businesses are increasingly the "force fueling small-business growth" in the United States:</p>
<p>"Between 2002 and 2007, minority-owned businesses increased 46 percent, while non minority-owned businesses grew 10 percent during that same period, according to Minority Business Development Agency...Minority businesses make up almost 15 percent of the 28 million small businesses and employ 5.9 million workers in the United States."</p>
<p>Andrew McGill of The Atlantic <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/black-college-student-body/417189/" type="external">reports</a> that college enrollment for black Americans has "skyrocketed" over the last two decades:</p>
<p>"Since 1994, black enrollment has doubled at institutions that primarily grant associate degrees, including community colleges. In 2013, black students accounted for 16 percent of the student body there, versus 11 percent in 1994.</p>
<p>Universities focusing on bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees also broadly saw gains, with blacks making up 14 percent of the population, compared to 11 percent in 1994."</p>
<p>There are always going to be select institutions where improvement can be made. No one is arguing otherwise.</p>
<p>A prime example would be our public school system. In many instances, economically disadvantaged students--who are often minorities--aren't getting the education they deserve simply because of where they live.</p>
<p>That said, as the above examples demonstrated, the United States is by no means a nation in which minorities cannot excel, and be "great."</p> | Colin Kaepernick Actually Says A True Thing About The Debate ... Then Says Something Predictably Uninformed | true | https://dailywire.com/news/9554/colin-kaepernick-actually-says-true-thing-about-frank-camp | 2016-09-28 | 0 |
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<p>TUCSON, Ariz. — Police in Tucson are searching for suspects after two men were shot in an altercation outside a hookah lounge.</p>
<p>The shooting happened at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the business about a mile north of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.</p>
<p>Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Dugan says a group of people were denied entry to the lounge and a fight then broke out in the parking lot. Someone fired multiple times with a gun and two men were hit. Friends took them to the hospital.</p>
<p>Dugan says one of the men has life-threatening injuries.</p>
<p>No arrests have been made and Tucson police detectives are investigating.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Tucson police search for suspect after 2 shot outside lounge | false | https://abqjournal.com/918746/tucson-police-search-for-suspect-after-2-shot-outside-lounge.html | 2 |
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<p>May 8, 2012</p>
<p>By Katy Grimes</p>
<p>The widening chasm of political philosophy was on display Monday in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, as one side argued for higher taxes on businesses, and the other pushed to continue with the business tax deal made in 2009.</p>
<p>It’s just another attempt to tax businesses for another type of California welfare program.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>The best way to raise the revenue to support the luxury level of government services desired by Californians is to produce more goods and services which yield more taxes, thereby allowing businesses to thrive instead of continually increasing their taxes.</p>
<p>Instead, California is famous for taxing first and then assuming that economic production will catch up.&#160; Any economist will explain that, if California wants more revenue, we have to first increase productivity.</p>
<p>But try telling that to California’s Democratic legislators. Assembly Speaker John Perez is pushing hard to get <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_1500/20112012/" type="external">AB 1500</a> passed.&#160;The bill which would impose a $1 billion tax hike on businesses which are not headquartered in California, but have significant operations in the state.</p>
<p>At Monday’s hearing, Perez said that <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_1500/20112012/" type="external">AB 1500</a> would close a loophole on “out-of-state” businesses to provide college financial aid for families earning between $80,000 and $150,000 a year.</p>
<p>Even with another tax in place, before any money can be spent on college kids, it has to be collected.</p>
<p>But the new tax will also increase taxes for some California voters and target businesses whose only apparent crime is being headquartered outside California.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_1500/20112012/" type="external">AB 1500</a>&#160;would raise taxes on businesses and employers who operate inside California, but are headquartered out-of-state. Unlike the previous versions of the legislation, this bill claims that the proceeds will go to creating a “ <a href="http://asmdc.org/issues/middleclassscholarship/" type="external">Middle-Class Scholarship</a>” for California’s public college students. This bill will become operative only if AB 1501, the companion bill&#160;which establishes a&#160;middle-class scholarship program, is also passed.</p>
<p>Perez said that, if AB 1500 is passed, tuition costs for California’s public universities would decrease by two thirds, and California’s Community College system would receive a $150 million infusion of funds. However, <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/billtrack/text.html?bvid=20110AB150098AMD" type="external">the bill</a> is light on details about this scholarship fund.</p>
<p>In 2009, state law was changed and agreed to by both Democrats and Republicans to allow the&#160;use of the single sales apportionment factor to be used by businesses. The “corporate tax break,” imperative for stimulating business in the state, allows businesses to choose whether to have their income tax based on the proportion of their total sales within California — or on a combination of their total sales and operations, which includes payrolls as well as property.</p>
<p>AB 1500 would repeal the “elective single sales factor” provisions approved in 2009, and eliminate the “loss carry forward” and “credit-sharing” provisions approved in 2009.</p>
<p>Perez calls it a&#160;“loophole.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/billtrack/text.html?bvid=20110AB150098AMD" type="external">AB 1500</a> is a very large tax increase on retailers and businesses, but specifically on manufacturers that create jobs for California workers. Many businesses headquartered outside of California still create jobs, pay taxes on their property, pay sales and payroll taxes and have employees who live in California.</p>
<p>Passage of AB 1500 will primarily discourage companies from investing and creating jobs in California, and can only serve as one more reason for businesses to pull out of the state.</p>
<p>Perez claims it will only target big corporations. But State Franchise Tax Board records showed that <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/24_11_2010.aspx" type="external">Proposition 24</a>, the 2010 ballot initiative and predecessor of AB 1500, would have impacted 120,000 businesses, large and small.</p>
<p>Dorothy Rothrock with the <a href="http://cmta.net/" type="external">California Manufacturers and Technology Association</a> testified that the CMTA opposes AB 1500 because of how unfairly it targets small and large businesses, just because they have operations in California, but aren’t headquartered here.</p>
<p>“Many companies have significant investments of property, equipment, facilities and payroll in California, but have sales into the state that are relatively large in comparison,” Rothrock said. “Forcing them to use Single Sales Factor would be a tax increase even though they would be operating as they have for many years. Nothing justifies this increase They are imposing no additional burden on government services, nor will they be able to avoid the tax increase through reasonable in-state investments and/or hiring.”</p>
<p>This is the Democrats’ third attempt to eliminate the 2009 bipartisan agreement created to encourage companies to invest in California. It was part of the deal that included then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $13 billion tax increase. But before the ink was dry on the 2009 deal, Democrats were already working on ways to undo the law.</p>
<p>Last year, Democrats tried to pass this $1 billion tax increase. But <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/ABX1_40/20112012/" type="external">ABX1 40</a>, and <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/SB_116/20112012/" type="external">SB 116</a>could not get enough votes in the Legislature to pass.</p>
<p>Similar to AB 1500, the goal of <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_24,_Repeal_of_Corporate_Tax_Breaks_(2010)" type="external">Proposition 24</a> was to stop several corporate tax breaks that were scheduled to go into effect in 2010 and 2012, and would have prevented eligible corporations from receiving about $1.3 billion in tax breaks per year.</p>
<p>Proposition 24 was overwhelmingly defeated despite being sponsored by the <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Teachers_Association" type="external">California Teachers Association</a>. “With our schools being slashed by $17 billion over the past two years and 26,000 teachers potentially facing layoff, now is not the time for the state to be giving tax breaks to large corporations and oil companies,” said CTA President David Sanchez. “Teachers want big businesses to pay their fair share in these dire times of deep cuts everywhere.”</p>
<p>At the hearing Monday, Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, testified on behalf of Perez, and once again claimed that Democrats didn’t fully understand what they were voting on when they passed the 2009 law.</p>
<p>A succession of students at the hearing called for more spending on higher education and cuts to the fees that are forcing more and more students into debt. “Businesses aren’t educating their employees any longer because they can’t afford to,” one student said. &#160;The student was correct about one thing. Businesses can’t afford to help educate employees because they have to pay such high taxes, and are penalized through restrictive regulations.</p>
<p>Another student testified that she has to work 20 hours each week and will still have student loan debt upon graduation.</p>
<p>Working 20 hours a week while going to school is hardly torture, and in fact will probably make this young woman far more marketable than her non-working classmates.</p>
<p>Following the students in support of AB 1500 was a succession of labor unions, teachers unions, state employee unions, and the firefighters union.</p>
<p>The use of the word “loopholes” would suggest that out-of-state corporations have an escape clause, allowing them to avoid paying proper taxes to the state. But this is just rhetoric.&#160; “Companies, therefore, that make products in other states and ship them here for sale would tend to pay more taxes under mandatory single sales,” the LAO wrote in 2011. “While it is very difficult or impossible to project the precise overall effect of switching from optional to mandatory single sales for the state’s economy, it is clear that different companies would be affected differently depending on their circumstances.”</p>
<p>Rothrock explained that the 2009 tax agreement allowed a new option based solely on sales receipts, because not all companies are structured the same. She explained that the&#160;single sales factor penalizes manufacturers of bulky, expensive products and fails to recognize that many out-of-state companies have made significant investments of property, equipment, facilities and employees in California.</p>
<p>Rothrock said that businesses have been operating this way for more than 40 years in California.</p>
<p>California businesses, and businesses operating in the state, have remained and continued to do business, even during the worst economic downturn in the state’s history, based on the anticipated tax savings. Democrats and Republicans agreed to the 2009 tax law changes during critical budget negotiations.</p>
<p>Representatives from International Paper, Kimberly Clark, General Motors and Chrysler testified that AB 1500 is a tax increase that unfairly punishes some companies while favoring others.</p>
<p>“By moving to a mandatory single sales factor, AB 1500 punishes taxpayers who neither supported SSF, nor ever planned to use it,” Rothrock said. “This will further erode California’s ability to attract and compete with other states for business investment and hiring.”</p> | Killing off business for college students | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2012/05/08/killing-off-business-for-college-students/ | 2018-05-20 | 3 |
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<p />
<p>“We should just stay in the States,” he quips during a recent phone interview. “By the time jet lag wears off, I’m back on the plane heading out on tour. It’s been a bit insane, but I love it.”</p>
<p>Bemrose is the lead singer of British indie band Scars on 45. After struggling to make it in Bradford, England, the band got a break when its first single, “Beauty’s Running Wild” was featured on an episode of “CSI: NY.”</p>
<p>That led to the band being signed to Chop Shop Records, which is known for getting music from unsigned bands on TV shows.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“To be honest, it’s been a fantastic ride that we’ve been on,” Bemrose says. “We were at the end of our ropes before the single took off and we started to make it in America.”</p>
<p>Flash forward five years since the band’s inception, and Scars on 45 is climbing the buzz list in the music industry. It also just released its self-titled debut album in May.</p>
<p>The buzz is a result of its second single, “Hearts on Fire” being used in ABC’s drama “Grey’s Anatomy.”</p>
<p>“Having the song on this type of show really helped get us out to more people,” he says. “A lot of people think that using TV shows for music is selling out. For us, it was an opportunity to have millions of people hear us. There’s nothing better.”</p>
<p>But Scars on 45 almost didn’t happened. In 2007, Bemrose had a career as a professional soccer player – he played as a striker for the Huddersfield Town Football Club – until he suffered a broken foot. It was a career-ending injury.</p>
<p>With soccer behind him, he decided to try his hand at music.</p>
<p>“I literally picked up my dad’s guitar and started to practice,” he explains. “I then called on Stuart (Nichols), who was a football friend of mine. I taught him how to play bass, and then we spent the next couple of years improving on our music.”</p>
<p>Bemrose says the band then added keyboardist David Nowakowski to the lineup and began to perform live.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We didn’t have a clue of what we were doing,” he says. “We took any gig we could get, but what people couldn’t deny is the passion that we had.”</p>
<p>The band eventually needed a female voice and added Aimee Driver after Nowakowski heard her sing at his house.</p>
<p>“Chris (Durling) was added a short time after Aimee joined,” he says. “After he was in place, we were ready to perform as a full band.”</p>
<p>Bemrose says having the five pieces to the band has made all the difference in its music.</p>
<p>“What’s funny is that we are just writing for fun,” he explains. “We all have this passion for music, and the fans say it shows when we are on stage. It’s important for us to remain grounded no matter what success we have. I still think of us as five small-town kids with a dream, and right now we’re living our dream.”</p>
<p>Aside from touring and making music, the band can also be seen on a commercial for the Internet search engine Bing.</p>
<p>Bemrose says that Chop Shop Music’s founder Alexandra Patsavas called the band to see if they wanted to participate in the commercial.</p>
<p>“She called us up and asked how fast we could get to New York,” he recalls. “We were so excited to be getting more exposure and made sure that our name appeared on the drum kit. That was the one stipulation that we asked for.”</p>
<p>Bemrose says that the band is constantly promoting itself online as well – via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.</p>
<p>“It’s important for us to adapt to how the ‘new’ music industry works,” he says. “Yes, we are signed to a record label and have that support, but I think it’s important for us to do some work and promote ourselves. We did it before our record deal and we’ll continue to do it after.”</p> | Band Gets Boost From TV Exposure | false | https://abqjournal.com/112979/band-gets-boost-from-tv-exposure.html | 2012-06-15 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Cisco Systems.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of networking hardware giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) jumped 11.3% in 2016, according to data provided by <a href="http://marketintelligence.spglobal.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>. While revenue declined slightly in each of the past four quarters, Cisco has put together a long streak of beating analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings. The stock rose slightly more than the S&amp;P 500 index last year, driven by these earnings beats.</p>
<p>While Cisco reported year-over-year revenue declines in each of its four quarterly reports in 2016, the sale of the SP Video CPE business was the main culprit. Adjusting for this divestiture, Cisco managed to grow revenue by between 1% and 3% each quarter. This was enough to beat analyst estimates for revenue in all cases.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>About 45% of Cisco's revenue comes from its core switching and routing segments, which are no longer consistently growing, with the rest coming from faster-growing segments like security and collaboration. While switching revenue was flat in fiscal 2016 and routing revenue slumped 4%, collaboration and security revenue rose by 9% and 13%, respectively. This growth helped balance out weakness in the core business.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/CSCO" type="external">CSCO Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Cisco also beat analyst estimates for earnings each quarter, with profitability holding up better than revenue. Share buybacks helped, with the company spending nearly $4 billion in fiscal 2016 buying back its own shares. Cisco does expect a decline in revenue and earnings during the second fiscal quarter of 2017. That guidance sent the stock lower during the last few months of last year.</p>
<p>Some of Cisco's growth businesses performed poorly during the last reported quarter. Collaboration and data center revenue each fell by 3% year over year. Security remained strong, growing by 11%, but Cisco's guidance suggests that this wasn't an anomaly.</p>
<p>Cisco has made plenty of acquisitions as it aims to diversify away from hardware. The biggest in quite a while, the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/26/cisco-gambles-37-billion-on-software.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">$3.7 billion purchase of software provider AppDynamics Opens a New Window.</a>, was announced in January 2017. Cisco is paying a steep price, and I'm a little concerned that the company is becoming undisciplined when it comes to splurging for start-ups. Acquisitions are important for Cisco, but dramatically overpaying will do more harm than good.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Cisco Systems When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=07c124d4-8a46-4dcf-9199-681d4117e48d&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Cisco Systems wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=07c124d4-8a46-4dcf-9199-681d4117e48d&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBargainBin/info.aspx" type="external">Timothy Green Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Shares of Cisco Systems Rose 11% in 2016 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/31/why-shares-cisco-systems-rose-11-in-2016.html | 2017-01-31 | 0 |
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<p>“I got a turkey here that just won’t let me leave,” said a desperate caller to a 911 operator in Davis, Calif.</p>
<p>Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Revolution had begun: Several dozen angry wild turkeys formed a gang that patrols the streets and bullies residents, reports The Week magazine.</p>
<p>Wildlife specialist John McNerney advised people cowed by the turkeys to not act chicken: Remember, you’re “the dominant species. Don’t let them intimidate you.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>That advice might have helped the man who complained that the wild bunch “just put me in a corner.”</p>
<p>WYOMING</p>
<p>We now know more about why an Oregon brother and sister walked across Yellowstone National Park’s hottest geothermal region last June, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Wyoming’s KULH-TV. Their illegal stroll made national news because the young man fell into a hot spring and was never seen again – only his flip-flops remained.</p>
<p>Like many of the 840,000 who visited the park that month, reports the Washington Post, Sable and Colin Scott came to marvel at Norris Geyser Basin’s weird array of orange, green and pink microorganisms, and boiling water, which has been measured as high as 459 degrees.</p>
<p>When they left the boardwalk, however, they had more than scenery on their minds: “Their goal was to find a thermal pool and take a soak – illegal conduct that the park describes as ‘hot-potting.'”</p>
<p>The two had hiked 225 yards into the basin when Colin Scott reached down to check the water’s temperature, slipped and fell into a 10-foot-deep pool. Though bad weather delayed a rescue attempt, even a fast save would have been futile. As Yellowstone ranger Lorant Veress delicately put it, “In a very short order, there was a significant amount of dissolving.”</p>
<p>Veress warns visitors that “straying” beyond the official paths is definitely dangerous.</p>
<p>OREGON</p>
<p>A man fleeing police in Ontario, Ore., thought he’d found the perfect hiding place – a large badger hole on Bureau of Land Management property. Unfortunately, the hole was 8 feet deep, and it swallowed first the man’s dog and then the suspect himself, 22-year-old Gregory Morrow, who found himself trapped and unable to move. It took police 90 minutes to dig him out and he likely would have died if they hadn’t found him, reports The Associated Press.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>COLORADO</p>
<p>If you’re going to poach an elk, be sure to post a braggy picture of yourself with your kill on Facebook.</p>
<p>That’s what one self-incriminating poacher did, and JT Romatzke, wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Grand Junction, happily used that picture to identify four possible canyons where it might have been taken. It took months, but the “kill site” was narrowed down to Exxon Mobil property near Rifle, where no hunting is allowed. Wildlife officers then used DNA evidence to link the poachers to the site during an investigation that took two years to complete.</p>
<p>What proved startling, however, was the identity of two of the four poachers, reports the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: Thad Bingham and Brian Scheer were both federal employees working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the agency’s Native Fish Facility Ponds near Fruita.</p>
<p>“We cannot stress this enough,” said Romatzke. “If you commit a wildlife crime, no matter who you are, we are going to do what we can to find you.”</p>
<p>The other men sentenced for poaching were Josh Fitzsimmons and Barrett Rowles. Sentences included a mix of suspension of hunting privileges and fines.</p>
<p>ARIZONA</p>
<p>City managers with progressive ideas seem to get nowhere fast in Arizona. The state Legislature recently banned cities from attempting to ban plastic grocery bags and, as if that weren’t enough, a second bill banned cities from requiring landlords or developers to disclose their energy use.</p>
<p>The two bills were a reaction to the city of Tempe, which tried to outlaw the use of plastic bags in grocery stores, and Phoenix, which merely looked into imposing an energy-use mandate. They were simply following the lead of a great many energy-conscious cities around the country, reports the Phoenix Business Journal.</p>
<p>TEXAS</p>
<p>Time to give Texas some credit for progress in energy conservation. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas provides power to almost everyone in the state – 24 million customers and about 90 percent of the state’s total electric load.</p>
<p>The grid operator just made a stunning forecast, reports the Union of Concerned Scientists: “Solar power will not only offer the cheapest electricity for projected bulk power purchases in the state from 2017 to 2031, but its price is also so low that no other type of power plants will likely be built in the state.”</p>
<p>Nonetheless, politics continues to trump economics and Texas leads the court fight against President Obama’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon pollution.</p>
<p>Betsy Marston</p>
<p>Betsy Marston is the editor of Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News (hcn.org). Tips and photos of Western oddities are appreciated and often shared; send to [email protected].</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | ‘Dominant species’ flees in face of bully turkeys | false | https://abqjournal.com/926939/dominant-species-flees-in-face-of-bully-turkeys.html | 2 |
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<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) _ These California lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>Daily 3 Evening</p>
<p>8-9-2</p>
<p>(eight, nine, two)</p>
<p>Daily 3 Midday</p>
<p>8-3-4</p>
<p>(eight, three, four)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>3-5-5-6</p>
<p>(three, five, five, six)</p>
<p>Daily Derby</p>
<p>1st:9 Winning Spirit-2nd:2 Lucky Star-3rd:4 Big Ben, Race Time: 1:49.34</p>
<p>(1st: 9 Winning Spirit, 2nd: 2 Lucky Star, 3rd: 4 Big Ben; Race Time: one: 49.34)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $54,000</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>04-14-18-21-30</p>
<p>(four, fourteen, eighteen, twenty-one, thirty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $75,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $306 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $384 million</p>
<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) _ These California lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>Daily 3 Evening</p>
<p>8-9-2</p>
<p>(eight, nine, two)</p>
<p>Daily 3 Midday</p>
<p>8-3-4</p>
<p>(eight, three, four)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>3-5-5-6</p>
<p>(three, five, five, six)</p>
<p>Daily Derby</p>
<p>1st:9 Winning Spirit-2nd:2 Lucky Star-3rd:4 Big Ben, Race Time: 1:49.34</p>
<p>(1st: 9 Winning Spirit, 2nd: 2 Lucky Star, 3rd: 4 Big Ben; Race Time: one: 49.34)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $54,000</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>04-14-18-21-30</p>
<p>(four, fourteen, eighteen, twenty-one, thirty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $75,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $306 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $384 million</p> | CA Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/amp/940efba940484d68ac04dfebb8e08e3e | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
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<p>"We heard some noise, and it became very clear to me that I could no longer continue flying the helicopter," Regtien said. "So I decided to do an autorotation landing in the water."</p>
<p />
<p>The FAA said Regtien sent out a mayday call just before landing in the water. A commercial flight headed into JFK Airport heard the call and radioed to the FAA.</p> | WWE Shane Mcmahon's Press Conference after Surviving Helicopter Crash | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/5406-WWE-Shane-Mcmahon-s-Press-Conference-after-Surviving-Helicopter-Crash | 2017-07-20 | 0 |
<p>LOUISIANAShreveport Times <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external" /></p>
<p>Vickie Welborn</p>
<p>/ The Times Mansfield BureauPosted on</p>
<p />
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<p>December 16, 2003</p>
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<p>MANY - A convicted child molester who District Attorney Don Burkett considers one of the worst sex offenders in this region faces yet another prison term following his conviction Monday in 11th Judicial District Court. Judge Stephen Beasley convicted Samuel G. Teague, 56, after a half-day bench trial. Teague was found guilty on one of two counts of molestation of a juvenile. "He faces a lengthy term in jail," said Burkett, who prosecuted the case. "He's probably one of the worst sex offenders I've seen in my almost 20 years as DA. Not necessarily as far as these kids, because we caught it before it went very far." Teague, a former Louisiana College professor and interim youth director at an Alexandria Baptist church, captured headlines in 1991 when he was arrested in Grant and Rapides parishes on multiple counts of child molestation. Teague was originally charged with 27 counts in Grant Parish and 23 counts in Rapides Parish. However, he pleaded guilty to five counts total, which led to a 15-year concurrent prison sentence.</p> | Ex-professor convicted for molestation | false | https://poynter.org/news/ex-professor-convicted-molestation | 2003-12-17 | 2 |
<p>BAGHDAD. The sat phones are lined up. The tents are in place. Dozens of languages fill the smoke filled atrium. Every kind of technical equipment imaginable is scattered about. The scene almost resembles an eerie version of the quick set up for a heavy metal concert. Welcome to the Press Center on the ground floor of the Iraqi Ministry of Information.</p>
<p>Over the last several weeks, low-paid Iraqi construction workers have rubbed elbows with journalists from CNN, BBC, The New York Times and a slew of other media outlets. The workers are halfway through a sizable construction project to expand the Press Center to accommodate the influx of the proverbial herds waiting for the war.</p>
<p>Inside the building, tiny 6′ x 6′ cubicles are now the hottest real estate on the Baghdad market. Officially, the space will cost you $500 a month. But space is limited and cash is flowing from the pockets of the major networks to Iraqi officials and the government to ensure access once the bombs start flying.</p>
<p>But it is not just the cubicles. Under the government guidelines, journalists cough up a handsome sum of money to the government and individual officials. Here are the bare minimums for journalists operating in Baghdad:</p>
<p>–$100/ day fee per journalist, cameraperson, technical staff etc.</p>
<p>–$150/ day fee for permission to use a satellite telephone (which the journalists have to provide themselves)</p>
<p>–$50-100/ day for a mandatory government escort</p>
<p>–$50-100/ day for a car and driver (some networks have a fleet of vehicles)</p>
<p>–$75/ day for a room at the Al Rashid Hotel</p>
<p>That’s already $500 and that doesn’t include the thousands of dollars daily for each direct live satellite feed for TV networks. Nor does it include the bribes and “tips” shelled out left and right. Nor does it include the money handed over at border crossings and the airport. The networks don’t like to talk about how much they actually spend, but one veteran of the media scene here estimated the cost for a major TV network at about $100,000 a month. Others say that is a low estimate. Almost all of this cash (except a few “tips” here and there) goes directly to the Iraqi government. Once you add up the bill for the TV networks alone, we’re talking perhaps millions of dollars in revenue a month for the government.</p>
<p>There is a joke here that the major media outlets are now competing with oil smuggling as the number one money-maker for the Iraqi government. It is particularly ironic that while Rupert Murdoch’s “troops” from FOX News Network rally for the war, dismissing antiwar activists as dupes of the Iraqi regime, the “network America trusts” is paying “Saddam” (as they refer to Iraq) hand over fist tens of thousands of dollars every month. But stroll down the halls of the press center and you’ll see that Rupert’s troops have multiple battalions. He also owns Sky News (the British version of FOX), as well as the Times of London. A bit of research would probably find that Murdoch owns other publications operating here as well.</p>
<p>FOX News reporters (and others as well) like to say “for the benefit of the viewers” that their broadcasts are being monitored by the Iraqi government. Fair enough. But perhaps the Murdoch Empire should begin each of its reports or dispatches from Baghdad by disclosing how much money they paid “Saddam” today.</p>
<p>JEREMY SCAHILL is an independent journalist, who reports for the nationally syndicated Radio and TV show Democracy Now! He is currently based in Baghdad, Iraq, where he and filmmaker Jacquie Soohen are coordinating <a href="http://Iraqjournal.org/" type="external">Iraqjournal.org</a>, the only website providing regular independent reporting from the ground in Baghdad.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Fox News | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/02/01/fox-news/ | 2003-02-01 | 4 |
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<p>FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Daimler will voluntarily recall 3 million Mercedes-Benz brand cars with diesel engines in Europe to improve their emissions performance, the company said Tuesday in the wake of widespread public debate over the future of diesel.</p>
<p>The Stuttgart-based company said it was taking the step to reassure drivers and strengthen confidence in the technology.</p>
<p>Diesels have been under a cloud since Daimler’s competitor Volkswagen admitted equipping vehicles with illegal software that meant they passed emissions tests, but then exceeded limits in everyday driving. There has been a push for diesel bans in some German cities because of concerns about levels of nitrogen oxide emitted by diesels.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The public debate about diesel engines is creating uncertainty — especially for our customers,” Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said.</p>
<p>He said in a statement that “we have therefore decided on additional measures to reassure drivers of diesel cars and to strengthen confidence in diesel technology.”</p>
<p>The recall will cover nearly all vehicles made under the EU5 and EU6 emissions standards and will start in the next few weeks. The company said it would cost 220 million euros ($254.2 million), but that customers wouldn’t pay anything.</p>
<p>The recall expands a smaller, ongoing recall offered to owners of compact-class and Mercedes-Benz V-Class vehicles. It said the fix would involve a software update and would draw on knowledge gained through the development of the company’s new family of diesel engines.</p>
<p>Mercedes has no plans to extend the action beyond Europe.</p>
<p>Daimler said in May that German investigators had searched its offices in connection with investigations of Daimler employees because of suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising relating to the possible manipulation of exhaust controls in cars with diesel engines. The company has said it is cooperating with the investigation.</p>
<p>The company was also asked by the U.S. Justice Department in April of 2016 to conduct an internal probe into its exhaust emissions certification process. Mercedes spokesman Robert Moran in the U.S. said the internal investigation is ongoing. The company has stopped trying to get its diesel cars certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in the U.S., but continues to sell the 2017 model diesel Sprinter commercial vehicles. The Justice Department and EPA would not comment.</p>
<p>The Daimler announcement came hours after the regional government in the company’s home region of Baden-Wuerttemburg agreed to abandon proposals to restrict diesels if older diesels could be fixed to pollute less, the dpa news agency reported.</p>
<p>The current debate over diesel was launched in September 2015 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation against Volkswagen. VW has said it used illegal engine-control software that detected when cars were on test stands. Emission controls were turned up during testing and turned down during regular driving.</p>
<p>About 11 million cars worldwide were equipped with the software. The company pleaded guilty in the U.S. to criminal charges, eight executives were charged, and it agreed to pay more than $20 billion in criminal penalties and civil settlements.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.</p> | Daimler to recall 3 million vehicles to ease diesel doubts | false | https://abqjournal.com/1034492/daimler-to-recall-3-million-vehicles-to-ease-diesel-doubts.html | 2017-07-18 | 2 |
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<p>The first African-American police chief of Charlottesville, Virginia, abruptly retired Monday, about two weeks after a scathing independent review criticized his “slow-footed response” to violence at a white nationalist rally this summer.</p>
<p>In a brief statement, the city did not give a reason for Chief Al Thomas’ departure, which was effective immediately.</p>
<p>“Nothing in my career has brought me more pride than serving as the police chief for the city of Charlottesville,” Thomas, 50, said in the statement. “I will be forever grateful for having had the opportunity to protect and serve a community I love so dearly.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Earlier this month, a former federal prosecutor hired by the city released a report that was sharply critical of Thomas and other law enforcement officials.</p>
<p>The report from former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy said Thomas’ response was “disappointingly passive” as the violence began to escalate on Aug. 12, the day of the “Unite the Right” rally that drew hundreds of white nationalists from across the county. A woman was killed that day when a car plowed into a crowd of people who were peacefully protesting.</p>
<p>According to the report, as brawling broke out between rally attendees and counterprotesters, Thomas said, “Let them fight, it will make it easier to declare an unlawful assembly.”</p>
<p>Thomas did not recall making that statement, which was cited in accounts by two other police employees, though he confirmed he waited to “see how things played out” before declaring an unlawful assembly, the report said.</p>
<p>“Chief Thomas’ slow-footed response to violence put the safety of all at risk and created indelible images of this chaotic event,” the report said.</p>
<p>The report also said Thomas initially tried to limit Heaphy’s team’s access to certain information by directing subordinates not to answer certain questions and made officers fearful of retaliation for speaking with investigators. And it said Thomas had deleted text messages relevant to the investigation and used a personal email account to conduct some police business, then denied having done so in response to an open records request.</p>
<p>Kevin Martingayle, an attorney for Thomas, has said the chief disputes that he deleted text messages, as well as other parts of the report.</p>
<p>Martingayle said Monday night that Thomas was not accepting interview requests. He declined to offer further comment on his behalf, except for saying that while Thomas was retiring “for now,” he has not ruled out other law enforcement opportunities in the future.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>City Manager Maurice Jones called Thomas “a man of integrity who has provided critical leadership for our department since his arrival.”</p>
<p>“We wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” he said in the statement.</p>
<p>Deputy Police Chief Gary Pleasants will guide the department until an interim chief is formally appointed within the next week.</p>
<p>A veteran of the Air Force, Thomas was appointed police chief in April 2016. Before joining the Charlottesville Police Department, Thomas had served as the police chief in Lexington, Virginia, since 2010. Prior to that, he spent 20 years with the Lynchburg Police Department.</p>
<p>Thomas had not publicly discussed plans to step down or retire. He spoke earlier this month at a press conference, saying he was committed to implementing the recommendations in Heaphy’s report.</p>
<p>“This community needs leadership now more than ever before. It’s not a time for finger-pointing — it’s a time to come together,” he said.</p>
<p>Some residents have called for Thomas to resign or be fired. Others said he was unfairly bearing the brunt of the criticism.</p>
<p>“There’s certainly more than enough blame to be passed around throughout this whole fiasco of the summer,” activist Don Gathers said at a recent city council meeting.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas retired from the department. He did not resign.</p> | Virginia police chief retires after criticism over rally | false | https://abqjournal.com/1108251/virginia-police-chief-retires-after-criticism-over-rally.html | 2017-12-18 | 2 |
<p>The water crisis in Palestine is 100% human-made, not a climate change catastrophe, not an issue of deforestation or drought.&#160; Don’t let the location fool you; as Ziyad Lunat from the Thirsting For Justice campaign pointed out, “Palestine and Israel get the same amount of <a href="http://www.worldclimate.com/" type="external">rainfall</a> as England. “</p>
<p>We say Palestine, mind you, not the West Bank and/or Gaza and/or the Occupied Territories. When we say Palestine, we mean all of it.&#160;&#160; The Palestine that is Gaza, the West Bank, the 64+ year flood of refugees in Jordan and Syria and Turkey and Chicago, the largest flood of refugees in modern history that span across the globe.</p>
<p>This water catastrophe — this other type of <a href="" type="internal">nakba</a> — is definitively the result of Israel’s apartheid policies that are being conducted continuously, evident in the waterborne disease spreading throughout Palestinian refugee camps that are perhaps not an accident, an inconvenient oversight.&#160;&#160; Perhaps they are part of the continuing collateral damage of a so-called unsolvable crisis that in person, feels much more like the combination of a big lie and a large land grab. And as in other places, <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">behind</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">every</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">land</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">grab</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">is</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">a</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">water</a> <a href="http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4516-squeezing-africa-dry-behind-every-land-grab-is-a-water-grab" type="external">grab</a>.</p>
<p>Israeli policies and practices limit Palestinians’ access to the water they are entitled to under international law. Israel controls all sources of freshwater in the West Bank.&#160; In Gaza, 90 to 95 percent of the coastal aquifer, on which Gaza inhabitants are dependent for water, is contaminated due to over extraction and sewage contamination, making it unfit for human consumption.&#160; For most Palestinians, this ongoing and catastrophic water crisis is what they face daily, when they wash clothing, need a glass of water or try to water their crops.</p>
<p>Thirsting for Justice</p>
<p>During my most recent trip to Palestine while traveling with Barbara Lubin, Executive Director of the <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">Middle</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">East</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">Children</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">’</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">s</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">Alliance</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">(</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">MECA</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">)</a>, I was directly asked by one of <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/partners" type="external">MECA</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/partners" type="external">’</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/partners" type="external">s</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/partners" type="external">partners</a>to take part in the <a href="http://www.thirstingforjustice.org/new/" type="external">Thirsting</a> <a href="http://www.thirstingforjustice.org/new/" type="external">for</a> <a href="http://www.thirstingforjustice.org/new/" type="external">Justice</a> <a href="http://www.thirstingforjustice.org/new/" type="external">Summer</a> <a href="http://www.thirstingforjustice.org/new/" type="external">Challenge</a> and only consume 6.3 gallons of water for one 24-hour period in solidarity with Palestinians.&#160; In the moment, I promised to participate and now I ask you to consider <a href="" type="internal">joining</a> <a href="" type="internal">this</a> <a href="" type="internal">campaign</a> as well.</p>
<p>In Palestine, MECA was working to further our partnership with UNRWA to sustain and support&#160; <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">MECA</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">’</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">s</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">ongoing</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">Maia</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">project</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" type="external">,</a> which provides clean drinking water for children throughout kindergartens and UN schools in Gaza.&#160; As a natural extension of MECA’s humanitarian efforts, they are a member of the Emergency Water Sanitation and Hygiene group (EWASH), a coalition of 30 leading humanitarian organizations that launched this Thirsting for Justice Campaign.&#160; These groups have realized that demand for clean water will only increase unless there is some component where they do not just respond to the overwhelming need for clean water, but they advocate for a change in Israel’s water policy, which in my view amounts to liquid apartheid.</p>
<p>Taking the Challenge</p>
<p>I am not going to lie to you for a moment.&#160; This challenge is an impossible and completely symbolic task. How does one in the places we live respond to such a challenge?&#160; I, for one, procrastinated and delayed, as such is my privilege, since this is a symbolic nothingness, a gesture, a shoulder shrug.&#160;&#160; Solidarity?&#160; Perhaps.&#160; But solidarity means nothing when the 6.3 gallons I consumed during my allotted and chosen 24 hours were highly purified, compared to the water in Gaza, where I know from experience that if you take a hot shower the salt in the water burns your skin, that friends invite you to brush your teeth with their own bottled water so that your teeth won’t begin to erode for use of tap water.&#160; Water in Palestine is often so heavily salinated or in short supply that blue baby syndrome, liver afflictions, and kidney problems are all too commonly spoken on the lips of mothers when talking about their children.</p>
<p>Yet still I delayed.&#160;&#160; A 6.3 gallon challenge?&#160; Are you kidding me?&#160; I flush the toilet twice in the same day and I fail.&#160; If I do a load of laundry, or turn on the dishwasher, I fail.&#160; One shower, failure.&#160; I am American, therefore entitled to unlimited resources, am I not?&#160; Isn’t the American way of life not up for negotiation?</p>
<p>I finally acquiesced and undertook the Thirsting For Justice Challenge.&#160; Yesterday, instead of showering, I swam in the ocean. I pissed outdoors — I never flushed.&#160; I did not use dishes, except for one glass. I attempted the challenge and in the process spent countless gallons of oil and even more kilowatts of electricity, especially if you are reading this, all to communicate to you the importance of the Thirsting for Justice campaign, all to attempt&#160; to wash off the guilt and the default complicity we share in this occupation, all to complete a promise.</p>
<p>Taking part in the Thirsting for Justice Summer Challenge did make me think more about what it means to consume. Consume. Consume. The American mantra.&#160; We consume and destroy, and we do not question policies like the ongoing occupation and division of Palestine that we fund every day with US tax dollars. All of this, of course, is completely absent from debates, from dialogue, from the ongoing election cycle that makes one nauseous enough it makes it difficult to swallow. Even this symbolic feeling of being deprived of water, if just for one day, gives one pause to think about things such as this.</p>
<p>This symbolic challenge is a challenge nonetheless, one I invite you to consider, to embrace, to make you pause, despite all the noise, and join in the&#160; walk with the peoples of Palestine.&#160; The more who join the walk will be haunted as am I by Martin Luther King’s words: “ In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”</p>
<p>What now?</p>
<p>When I left Palestine weeks ago and returned home, (as is my privilege, I have freedom to travel,&#160; I am not Palestinian)&#160; sometimes things seemed more silent than ever.&#160; Sometimes I thought about how much harder it is to speak when you are thirsty. Sometimes I wished there was an easy way to be be heard by you, Israel.&#160; Because you are choking Palestine.&#160; There literally is no Jordan River anymore. You dam(n) the water from the underground aquifers that provide water to Palestinians, you poison their wells, you have built walls to encompass the high ground, you redirect the streams to fill swimming pools of settlers born of other lands with other privileges, many of whom are surprisingly well armed. With US weapons no less.</p>
<p>6.3 gallons. Per person. Per diem. I grab at the easy words in easy reach, carpe diem, to louden the call to <a href="" type="internal">join</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">this</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Thirsting</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">for</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Justice</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">campaign</a>&#160; <a href="" type="internal">today</a> <a href="" type="internal">,</a> but I cringe now at this phrase.&#160; Being in Palestine makes you realize seizure means something different when you are on the receiving end of of being seized.</p>
<p>Lessons learned?</p>
<p>What is 6.3 gallons?&#160; It is Israeli water torture.&#160; It is part of the occupation.&#160; It is part of maintaining the stalemate, the status quo, the divide and conquer, the non-solution is a solution.&#160;&#160; In the meantime, in the never ending interim, if you are Palestinian, just keep your water consumption under 6.3 gallons a day or there will be hell to pay.</p>
<p>I now know more deeply that expecting one to live on 6.3 gallons of water in a day is an insult. It’s collective punishment. It’s fucking horrible. An allotment of 6.3 gallons of water a day makes you want to flee.</p>
<p>This is not about me or you joining the Thirsting for Justice Summer campaign.&#160; This is about Israel using allotment of water resources as one of the many weapons in their arsenal to maintain their ongoing occupation.&#160; This is about making Palestine unlivable.&#160; This is about creating a different kind of Exodus. This is about a new Trail of Tears.&#160;&#160; But this is a controlled amount of tears, and it is controlled at the water spigots, controlled at the borders, controlled in the halls in Washington and the Knesset and in the lack of news you hear about the unwillingness of many Palestinians to be truly part of their two paltry puppets, the PA and Hamas.</p>
<p>This other Trail of Tears is drier and longer and older than you think.&#160; Listen.&#160; Do you hear the footsteps?&#160; More feet down the trail every day, with our silence. More tears. All happening in real time, all with the blind allegiance and support of the USA.</p>
<p>By no means, do I know what it is to walk any Trail of Tears.&#160; All I can think is to try to strive to accompany in some small way those who have been forced on this path by no choice of their own. That many of those walking are children.&#160; That there are choices before all of us, that we can, in fact, ourselves thirst for justice in our own way and shrink the gap between those on the receiving end, those whose lives know only war and occupation and those of us who, by default, by waking up in America, are the ones who are partly responsible.</p>
<p>Danny Muller has worked with the <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">Middle</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">East</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">Children</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">’</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">s</a> <a href="http://www.mecaforpeace.org" type="external">Alliance</a> since they were jointly breaking the economic sanctions against Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness in the 1990’s.&#160;&#160; He is raising money to build a water treatment unit at the UNRWA Rehabilitation Centre for Visually Impaired (RCVI) where almost 500 students come for training and treatment but have no access to clean water, and asks that you consider <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">making</a> <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">a</a> <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">donation</a> <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">and</a> <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">support</a> <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">Palestine</a> <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=4" type="external">.</a></p>
<p>COMING IN SEPTEMBER</p>
<p>A Special Memorial Issue of CounterPunch</p>
<p>Featuring recollections of Alexander Cockburn from Jeffrey St. Clair, Peter Linebaugh, Paul Craig Roberts, Noam Chomsky, Mike Whitney, Doug Peacock, Perry Anderson, Becky Grant, Dennis Kucinich, Michael Neumann, Susannah Hecht, P. Sainath, Ben Tripp, Alison Weir, James Ridgeway, JoAnn Wypijewski, John Strausbaugh, Pierre Sprey, Carolyn Cooke, Conn Hallinan, James Wolcott, Laura Flanders, Ken Silverstein, Tariq Ali and many others …</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe to CounterPunch Today to Reserve Your Copy</a></p> | Palestine is Drying Up Before Our Eyes | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/09/03/palestine-is-drying-up-before-our-eyes/ | 2012-09-03 | 4 |
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<p>The U.S. unemployment rate continues to tick down, hitting a more than four-year low of just 7.6% in March. In much of Europe, however, the situation is very different. If the latest developments in Cyprus are any indication, the economic and employment woes of Europe are nowhere near over.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/04/18/the-countries-with-the-highest-unemployment/" type="external">This content was originally published on 24/7 Wall St.&#160; Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>According to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the statistical agency that measures the European nations, the United States and Japan, the unemployment rates in 10 countries were roughly four percentage points higher than in the United States. These include the poster children for the European debt crisis, Spain and Greece. According to the most recent data, Spain’s unemployment rate is 26.3%, while Greece’s is even higher, at 26.4%.</p>
<p>While unemployment in the U.S. rose sharply during the recession, from 5.8% in 2008 to 9.3% in 2009, the effects of the European debt crisis were even more rapid and severe — especially in some of the nations where unemployment remains high. In Lithuania, the unemployment rate increased from 5.3% in 2008 to 13.6% in 2009. Ireland had the lowest unemployment rate of the 31 countries reviewed in 2005. Now, it has one of the highest rates in Europe.</p>
<p>24/7 Wall St. reviewed the countries measured by Eurostat because they are primarily developed nations. While many other countries have higher unemployment rates than the countries on this list, the residents of developed nations rely on services from their governments that do not exist in developing nations. Unlike most developing countries, government assistance becomes a costly burden when unemployment rises in developed countries.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/04/11/the-most-generous-countries-in-the-world/" type="external">Read: The Most Generous Countries in the World Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Sustained unemployment rates in excess of 10% can be very costly for governments. In 2009, Ireland spent 3.5% of its gross domestic product on unemployment benefits alone, while the United States spent just 0.9% on similar benefits. Making matters worse, as Mark Keese, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) head of employment analysis and policy division explained, “In some countries like Portugal, Spain, and Ireland, social protection is quite well developed and generous. Of course, any increase in unemployment gets translated into large increases in public expenditures, and puts upward pressure on debt.”</p>
<p>Debt as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the countries with the worst unemployment are among the highest in the developed world. In 2012, government debt as a percentage of GDP exceeded 110% in four of the 10 countries with the highest unemployment rates, and six were among the top 20% for debts as a percentage of their GDP out the of the 174 countries measured by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that year.</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/04/09/ten-cities-where-americans-dont-feel-safe/" type="external">Read: The Cities Where Americans Don’t Feel Safe Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>However, not all the countries on this list have high debt as a percentage of GDP — evidence of how different levels of government support for the unemployed affect costs. Keese noted that in high unemployment countries like Latvia and Bulgaria, where debt is not as high, those social protection systems are less generous, and so higher unemployment is less likely to translate into debt and poor sovereign debt ratings.</p>
<p>There is increasing pressure on these high unemployment countries by their citizens, international lenders and credit ratings agencies to improve their severe unemployment situation. According to Keese, countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece have enacted reforms of employment protection legislation and wage bargaining reforms, “In an effort to show that they are trying to tackle the structural problems in their economies.”</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/04/10/americas-nine-most-damaged-brands-2/" type="external">Read: America’s Nine Most Damaged Brands Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>To determine the countries with the highest unemployment rate, 24/7 Wall St. examined the most recent unemployment rates published by Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union which tracks European nations, the United States and Japan. Most of these data were for February 2013, and none were from earlier than December 2012. 24/7 Wall St. also reviewed national-level GDP and debt statistics. Most of these data were collected by the IMF through 2011 or 2012, with figures for some nations estimated by the fund. To reflect real changes in output, we reviewed GDP growth figures based on constant prices. We reviewed GDP per capita figures based on purchasing-power-parity to reflect real differences in the spending ability of residents of each nation. Additional figures for government spending on specific social services are from the OECD. Credit ratings were provided by Moody’s Investors Service and are as of April 4, 2013.</p>
<p>These are the countries with the highest unemployment rates.</p>
<p>10. Italy &gt; Unemployment rate: 11.6% &gt; Credit rating (outlook): Baa2 (negative) &gt; GDP per capita: $30,136.38 &gt; GDP growth: -2.37% &gt; Debt pct. of GDP: 126.98%</p>
<p>Italy’s unemployment rate rose in the past year from an already bad 10.1% in February 2012 to an even worse 11.6% in February 2013. For Italy’s youngest workers, those under 25, the job market is even worse. Nearly 38% of them were unemployed in February. In 2012, Italy’s GDP fell by nearly 2.4%. The IMF expects this contraction to continue in 2013, and estimates its GDP will drop an additional 1.5% this year. Italy’s general government debt totaled roughly 127% of national GDP in 2012, one of the highest among countries surveyed. Also, the country’s general election in February remain in a deadlock. Despite these, IMF economist Jorg Decressin recently noted that Italy was making progress in repairing its economy.</p>
<p>9. Bulgaria &gt; Unemployment rate: 12.5% &gt; Credit rating (outlook): Baa2 (stable) &gt; GDP per capita: $14,311.58 &gt; GDP growth: 0.78% &gt; Debt pct. of GDP: 18.50%</p>
<p>Many of the countries with high unemployment also have very high debt per capita. Bulgaria is an exception. The country’s debt is among the lowest in the world, at just 18.5% of GDP in 2012, compared to the United States’ 106.5% of GDP. In 2009, the eastern European nation had the 10th-lowest unemployment rate of the countries measured at just 6.8%. By 2012, unemployment had risen to 12.3%, the ninth-highest rate. Many of the economies with high unemployment rates are poorer than much of Europe, and none more so than Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s GDP per capita in 2012 was just $14,312, which is lower than all but one of the 31 countries measured by Eurostat.</p>
<p>8. Lithuania &gt; Unemployment rate: 13.1% &gt; Credit rating (outlook): Baa1 (stable) &gt; GDP per capita: $21,615.34 &gt; GDP growth: 3.62% &gt; Debt pct. of GDP: 39.59%</p>
<p>In 2010, Lithuania’s average unemployment rate was 18%. While it fell to an average of 13.3% in 2012 and to 13.1% in February 2013, Lithuania’s unemployment rate remains among the highest among countries measured by Eurostat. Although the nation’s GDP fell by a whopping 14.9% in 2009, the second largest contraction of any nation in the world that year, the Lithuanian economy steadily has recovered from the global economic recession. GDP has risen in every following year, and the IMF predicts the nation’s gross debt — which nearly doubled between 2008 and 2009 — will remain nearly flat relative to GDP in the next few years. The IMF also noted the nation cut its budget deficit from more than 9% of GDP in 2009 to just an estimated 3% in 2012.</p>
<p>7. Cyprus &gt; Unemployment rate: 14.0% &gt; Credit rating (outlook): Caa3 (negative) &gt; GDP per capita: $27,085.98 &gt; GDP growth: -2.43% &gt; Debt pct. of GDP: 86.21%</p>
<p>The unemployment rate in Cyprus has climbed steadily in recent months, and at 14% in February was nearly four percentage points above its 10.2% unemployment rate a year before. Last year, the country’s GDP declined by 2.4%, one of the largest declines in the world in 2012. Central to the nation’s problems were its banks, which lent heavily to Greece. In order to keep its economy afloat after the banking sector collapsed, Cyprus received a bailout package from the IMF and eurozone’s bailout fund. In January, Moody’s downgraded the country’s credit rating to Caa3, among the worst ratings, due to the problems the country’s banks are facing.</p>
<p>6. Ireland &gt; Unemployment rate: 14.2% &gt; Credit rating (outlook): Ba1 (negative) &gt; GDP per capita: $41,920.73 &gt; GDP growth: 0.94% &gt; Debt pct. of GDP: 117.12%</p>
<p>For the past several years, Ireland has had extremely high unemployment. According to Eurostat, in 2010 the average unemployment rate was 13.9%. In 2011 and 2012, unemployment was even worse, at an average rate of 14.7% in both years. In recent years, the country has taken on large amounts of debt. Between 2009 and 2010 alone, the government’s debt rose from less than 65% of GDP to more than 92% of GDP, according to the IMF. Ireland’s 2010 bailout is likely a major reason for this rise. The bailout, provided by the IMF and European Union in late 2010, was used help the country cover its budget deficit. In 2010, government spending totaled nearly 65% of GDP, fourth most in the world. Last year, government spending totaled a more modest 41.6% of GDP.</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/04/18/the-countries-with-the-highest-unemployment/3/" type="external">Click here to read the top 5 on 24/7 Wall St. Opens a New Window.</a></p> | The Countries with the Highest Unemployment | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2013/04/18/countries-with-highest-unemployment.html | 2016-03-02 | 0 |
<p>Cassette tapes have come a long way from the days when one tape could barely hold a full Grateful Dead show. Last week, Sony <a href="http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201404/14-044E/index.html" type="external">announced</a> that it had developed a magnetic tape that achieves 74-times the recording density of current mainstream storage tapes. The tape can hold 185 terabytes per cartridge, the highest recording density in the world.</p>
<p>To put that figure in perspective, 185 terabytes is enough to house 60 million three-minute songs, according to <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/05/05/sony-185tb-tape/" type="external">Mashable</a>. The entire collection of the Library of Congress would only add up to 10 terabytes.</p>
<p>“In recent years, the rapid recovery of data systems such as databases and data servers following natural disasters, as well as secure management of information has become ever more important,” said Sony in a news release. “The expansion of cloud services and the creation of new markets to utilize big data have led to a growing need for a data storage media which can store large amounts of information.”</p>
<p>The electronics giant achieved this revolution in data storage by harnessing a new vacuum thin film forming technology, which uses sputter deposition to generate multiple layers of crystals of uniform orientation on a super-thin polymer film. By “optimizing sputter conditions,” Sony could minimize disparities in crystalline length and growth, enabling far higher storage capabilities than current mainstream storage tapes.</p>
<p>“Sony will continue to work towards commercializing this next generation tape storage media, as well as the development of increasingly advanced thin layer deposition technologies based on the sputter method, with the aim of increasing recording densities even further,” said the company.</p>
<p /> | Sony introduces record-breaking 185-terabyte storage tape | false | http://natmonitor.com/2014/05/05/sony-introduces-record-breaking-185-terabyte-storage-tape/ | 2014-05-05 | 3 |
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<p>France is starting to realize something needs to change about their sexual consent laws after the rapist of an 11-year-old girl was able to walk free as a Parisian judge concluded there was not enough evidence to conclude this could have not been consensual and let the man, an immigrant from Cape Verde, walk free.</p>
<p>The fifth republic of Napoleon has always been proud of its history when it comes to language, culture and liberal views in matters of society (and thus sex).</p>
<p>For example, the movie "Fifty shades of grey" which is considered R-rated in the US, 18+ in Canada and banned in China, can be seen in France as from the age of 12 (The Netherlands as well).</p>
<p>The French have always taken the view that children should be made aware of sex and sexual relations from a very early age on, but the latest judicial case will probably change that.</p>
<p>The victim's first name was Justine, and she was raped in a park in Paris 8 years ago by a then 29-year-old immigrant from Cape Verde (a Portuguese protectorate off the coast of Middle Africa)</p>
<p>Under a legal reading of French judiciary, to have sex with someone aged 15 or under is illegal, however, the prosecutor has to prove it is non-consensual as there is, and here is the big argument, no legal minimum age below which it is presumed in law that a child cannot consent. In other words, an 8-year-old could be a consenting child if you were to want to interpret that way.</p>
<p>Equalities Minister Ms. Marlene Schiappa, realizing the caveat in the law, now wants a minimum age for sex set at between 13 and 15-years-old.</p>
<p>Ms. Schappa: "The law will mean that below a certain age, there can be no debate, ever, on the sexual consent of a child, and that any child below a certain age would automatically be considered as raped or sexually assaulted."?</p>
<p>Source:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-man-rape-11-year-old-consensual-relationship-cleared-law-change-marlene-schiappa-a8052766.html" type="external">independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-man-rape-11-year-old-consensual-relationship-cleared-law-change-marlene-schiappa-a8052766.html</a></p> | France to Change Sex Age After Rapist Of 11-Year-Old Walks Free | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/11813-France-to-Change-Sex-Age-After-Rapist-Of-11-Year-Old-Walks-Free | 2017-11-14 | 0 |
<p>President Trump’s budget proposal would&#160;increase military spending $54 billion, not quite a 10 percent increase over the current level. &#160;According to&#160; <a href="https://qz.com/937285/donald-trumps-proposed-54-billion-boost-to-defense-spending-is-bigger-than-the-total-annual-military-budget-of-all-but-two-countries/" type="external">Quartz</a>, the increase&#160;alone is more than all but two countries — China and Saudi Arabia — spend on their militaries. (China spends $145 billion, Saudi Arabia $57 billion, Russia $47, and Iran $16 billion, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reports.)</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Trump&#160;implies that NATO members take advantage of America by not paying enough for own defense. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Washington recently, Trump <a href="" type="internal">tweeted</a>: “Germany owes … vast sums of money to NATO &amp; the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”</p>
<p>As we’ve come to expect, Trump gets it wrong. NATO members don’t pay dues to NATO, and they don’t pay the United States for defense. However, NATO requires members to budget&#160;at least 2 percent of their GDP for their own militaries. Some members haven’t spent that much, but that has changed in recent years.</p>
<p>Trump leaves the impression that Americans shoulder an unnecessarily large military burden because some NATO members underfund their military establishments. But that’s nonsense&#160;because that’s not how things work in Washington. Americans don’t pay more because <a href="" type="internal">Germans Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Norwegians</a> pay less.</p>
<p>At other times Trump seems to acknowledge this. In his campaign he never said the U.S. military budget would be smaller if NATO members&#160;paid up. Rather, he said he wanted to make America “strong again” — so strong that no one would dare “mess with us.” His budget message said, “In these dangerous times, this public safety and national security Budget Blueprint is a message to the world—a message of American strength, security, and resolve.” His address to a joint session of Congress also did not justify greater military spending by pointing to how little the allies spend. It was all about making America “great again.”</p>
<p>In other words, Trump’s proposed increase is “signaling” — the American military is already powerful beyond imagination — and this signaling&#160;has little to do with NATO members’ spending. We have no reason to think his Pentagon budget would be smaller if suddenly other NATO members hiked their military budgets.</p>
<p>Signaling is not the only driver of military spending. The U.S. government maintains an empire, and empires are bloody expensive. They also generate their own need for greater resources. For example, the so-called war on terror, especially the <a href="" type="internal">repeated bombing&#160;of noncombatants</a>, provokes a desire for vengeance against Americans, which in turn functions as a justification for greater military spending. And so it goes.</p>
<p>Moreover, the Pentagon, as a bureaucracy, exhibits the well-known internal dynamic for expansion. Civilian and military administrators have a natural desire to enlarge their domains and enhance their prestige. Similarly, those who wish to sell products and services to the government — <a href="" type="internal">The Complex</a> — have an interest in the growth of the military budget and can be counted on to lobby for it. Finally, members of Congress can advance their careers by maintaining and bringing jobs and military facilities to their states and districts. When the budget sequester was pending, a leading Democratic and progressive member of Congress, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, opposed limits on the growth of military spending because they might reduce&#160;jobs in his district. We’ve all heard stories about legislators authorizing weapons that the Pentagon did not want because of the supposed economic stimulus in their states. Military Keynesian is as mistaken as other forms of Keynesianism: if the government doesn’t spend the money, private individuals will spend or invest it.</p>
<p>Trump may think that the American military is not powerful enough because its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have dragged on for more than a decade and other wars, such as those in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, show no signs of success. Trump’s mistake is in believing that such failure indicates weakness, but in fact it shows that those wars by nature are unwinnable, short of nuking the countries and killing everyone — in which case new conflicts would be provoked.</p>
<p>Instead of increasing the military budget, we ought to be debating the imperial mission the budget finances. We can’t afford the empire — both in terms of the money it costs and the enemies it creates.</p> | You Can’t Blame Trump’s Military Budget on NATO | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/24/you-cant-blame-trumps-military-budget-on-nato/ | 2017-03-24 | 4 |
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<p>COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The brutal beating of a homeless man is the year’s first homicide in Colorado Springs.</p>
<p>The Colorado Springs Gazette reports ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2j4CLnv" type="external">http://bit.ly/2j4CLnv</a> ) that arrest documents say 39-year-old Edward Eugene Lyles was beaten after seeking shelter in a neighbor’s tent when his own caught fire.</p>
<p>Police say he was taken to a local hospital and treated for head trauma. Lyles died of his injuries on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Police have arrested a 34-year-old man in connection with Lyles’ assault.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Gazette, <a href="http://www.gazette.com" type="external">http://www.gazette.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Homeless man beaten in Colorado Springs’ first 2017 homicide | false | https://abqjournal.com/926399/homeless-man-beaten-in-colorado-springs-first-2017-homicide.html | 2 |
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<p>During the 2016 presidential election cycle, then-candidate Donald Trump aggressively campaigned on helping veterans receive the care and benefits that they have earned with their service to their country.</p>
<p>With dozens of veterans dying because of lack of medical attention at VA hospitals under President Obama’s watch, It goes without saying that the Department of Veteran’s Affairs needs to be completely overhauled to meet the needs of today’s veterans.</p>
<p>&#160;Trump’s <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/veterans-affairs-reform" type="external">10-point plan</a> to reform the VA was welcomed with open arms, and helped him shore up the bulk of the much-needed veteran vote, which in turn helped him win the presidency.</p>
<p>Because Trump looks to make good on all of his VA reform promises, members of Congress who focus on veteran’s affairs are now pushing more reform legislation likes the Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act that just passed the House.</p>
<p>The bill, which helps veterans with the benefits that they need to transition out of the military and into civilian life, included Florida Congressman Gus Bilirakis’ provision to improve Veteran’s G.I education benefits.</p>
<p>According to Bilirakis’ office, “Bilirakis’ provision puts in place a comprehensive study of the G.I. benefit program to ensure it is effective and truly benefits Veterans.”</p>
<p>“The challenges our nation’s heroes face do not end on the battlefield, but continue as they make their transition to civilian life.”-Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R)</p> | Veterans should expect to receive more help under Trump Administration | true | http://shark-tank.com/2016/12/07/veterans-expect-receive-help-trump-administration/ | 0 |
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<p>Is real estate mogul Donald Trump dragging down Republican Senate candidates? Polls show that the GOP Senate candidates are up despite Trump being down, but there is still reason to believe that Trump is dragging them down.</p>
<p>Marcus Hawkins provided a few tweets expressing optimism about the GOP's chances of keeping the Senate:</p>
<p>In 6 swing states w/ concurrent Sen race, Trump underperforming GOPer by average of 5 points. He's down, but Sen candidates up, in all 6. /1</p>
<p>Avgs: NC: Burr +4 Trump -1 PA: Toomey +5 Trump -2 FL: Rubio +2 Trump -4 NH: Ayotte +2 Trump -3 NV: Heck +2 Trump -4 OH: Portman +1 Trump -3</p>
<p>But as RedState's Dan McLaughlin pointed out, "The good news is normal GOP Senate candidates run well ahead of Trump. The bad news will be his drag on turnout."</p>
<p>The good news is normal GOP Senate candidates run well ahead of Trump. The bad news will be his drag on turnout. <a href="https://t.co/IpfiTwq768" type="external">https://t.co/IpfiTwq768</a></p>
<p>There is evidence already that Trump will be a serious burden on GOP turnout.</p>
<p>"Right now the GOP is having trouble fielding operations in Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Wisconsin, and other swing states," <a href="http://theresurgent.com/the-truth-about-dumping-trump/" type="external">writes</a> Erick Erickson at The Resurgent. "They are also having trouble getting donors to donate. All these problems directly stem from Trump’s nomination."</p>
<p>This suggests a clear lack of enthusiasm for the GOP thanks to Trump at the top of the ticket, which will directly translate to turnout.</p>
<p>It also doesn't help that the GOP candidates have to constantly deal with Trump's penchant for bombastically idiotic statements. In fact, the Democrats have openly said their strategy is to tie the Senate Republican candidates to Trump.</p>
<p>"The people who stand up and said, 'He said this thing about a judge that I didn't like but I'm still going to vote for him, I still endorse him' — that's as good as standing for all the principles that he stands for, in my opinion," Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/jon-tester-trump-secret-weapon-democrats-regain-senate/85655966/" type="external">told</a> USA Today. "He's their guy, and he's a known commodity, yet they still endorse him; they still stand up for the policies he stands up for."</p>
<p>Republican Senate candidates are already bumbling through answers when asked about Trump.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I think, um, that, I will — basically, the way I look at 'support versus endorse' is: I will be voting for him," Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/magazine/can-the-gop-senate-majority-survive-donald-trump.html?_r=0" type="external">stammered</a>. "I obviously, when I endorse someone, I’m out campaigning, I’m endorsing and asking other people — people should vote their conscience in this election. That said, it doesn’t matter — it matters, but my point is, whoever wins, I'll be working with them on things that’ll be good for New Hampshire and the country, and I’ll be in opposition to them on things that I think aren’t good for New Hampshire and the country."</p>
<p>Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), both of whom are in tough re-election battles, have had to publicly distance themselves from Trump's "Mexican" judge comments. But they can't simply renounce Trump altogether, as New York Times Magazine <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/magazine/can-the-gop-senate-majority-survive-donald-trump.html?_r=0" type="external">explains</a>: (emphasis bolded)</p>
<p>Come November, both Portman and Toomey may need Trump — or rather, Trump’s voters. As Steven Law, the chief executive of the conservative “super PAC” American Crossroads, told me: “According to research we’ve seen, there were demonstrably voters in 2012 who stayed home in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Specifically, there were white working-class voters who were discouraged by the perception that Romney was a wealthy plutocrat.” As evidenced by exit polls taken early in the primary season across the Rust Belt, Trump’s message of aggrievement has especially resonated with the voters that Law says Toomey and Portman cannot afford to alienate.</p>
<p>This puts Toomey and Portman in a Catch-22: they need the Rust Belt "white working class voters" that tend to gravitate to Trump, but if they so much as announce their intention to vote for Trump they risk other key demographics that are repulsed by Trump's nasty, divisive rhetoric.</p>
<p>Toomey and Portman are also key to keeping the Senate red: according to political scientist Larry Sabato's <a href="http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2016-senate/" type="external">Crystal Ball</a>, the current Senate landscape features a tie between Democrats and Republicans at 47 seats each, with six states being toss-ups. Naturally two of those are Toomey and Portman. All of the Republican Senate candidates in swing states are leading the polls, as Hawkins pointed out, but they're not comfortable leads, and they could dwindle if Trump continues to burp out moronic statements.</p>
<p>Should the Democrats regain control of the Senate in November, they will have to Trump to thank for it.</p> | Polls: Will Trump Drag Down Republican Senate Candidates? | true | https://dailywire.com/news/7389/polls-will-trump-drag-down-republican-senate-aaron-bandler | 2016-07-12 | 0 |
<p>A school in Thailand has apologized after students dressed up as <a href="http://www.news24.com/World/News/Thai-school-under-fire-over-Nazi-parade-20110928" type="external">Nazis</a> for a sports day parade, Agence France-Presse reports.</p>
<p>Students at&#160;Sacred Heart College, a Catholic school in the northern city of Chiang Mai, carried red banners adorned with swastikas, wore Nazi uniforms, and gave "Sieg Heil" salutes, while some had swastikas painted on their faces, according to photos released by the U.S.-based&#160; <a href="http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&amp;b=4441467&amp;ct=11233739" type="external">Simon Wiesenthal Center</a>, a Jewish human rights organization.&#160;</p>
<p>School officials said that students had organized the parade themselves, and it was not intended to cause offense.</p>
<p>AFP reports:</p>
<p>"The school officially explained that it was an internal sports day and students who were in the red team wanted to give a surprise by using swastikas as the background since it's the color red," said Charnwit Tupsuphan, secretary of the Private Education Commission, a government body.</p>
<p>"Both students and the school expressed their regret and apologized," he added. "I've instructed all schools to be more careful about this kind of issue and to use it as a lesson."</p>
<p>The Israeli embassy in Thailand said it had received a letter of apology after contacting the school.</p>
<p>Itzhak Shoham, the Israeli ambassador to Thailand, told AFP that he thought the <a href="http://www.news24.com/World/News/Thai-school-under-fire-over-Nazi-parade-20110928" type="external">Nazi parade</a> took place "out of ignorance, not out of bad intentions," adding that "many people here in Asia are not aware of what happened in Europe."</p>
<p>The <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/28/world/asia/thailand-nazi-parade/?hpt=ias_c2" type="external">Simon Wiesenthal Center</a> denounced the parade, saying it was "glorifying Nazis," and called for Thailand's Christian leaders to condemn the parade, CNN reports.</p>
<p>"It is difficult to calculate the hurt such a display inflicted on survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and the families of all victims of Nazism. There can be no justification for such an outrage to emanate from place of learning," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement.</p>
<p>Cooper noted that a similar parade took place in 2007 at a school in Bangkok.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/thailand/100122/bangkok-nazi-swastika" type="external">More from GlobalPost in Thailand: Bangkok's Nazi chic</a></p> | Thai school apologizes for Nazi-themed sports day parade | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-09-28/thai-school-apologizes-nazi-themed-sports-day-parade | 2011-09-28 | 3 |
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<p>According to the autopsy report provided by the family of Vincent Wood, the man who allegedly threatened two kids in a Northeast Heights parking lot with two knives and then attacked an officer had nine gunshot wounds in various parts of his body.</p>
<p>Considering the first officer on the scene initially saw no weapons and perceived no threat, and a Crisis Intervention officer was arriving, it’s easy to see why Wood’s family is calling the nine shots fired less than a minute after two officers responded “overkill.”</p>
<p>Yes, Wood had a troubled history, including 14 arrests since 1998 and six trips to mental health facilities. Yes, the call for service described him as “extremely crazy” and “extremely dangerous.” And yes, once someone wields two large Bowie-type knives just feet from a police officer it’s hard to second-guess law enforcement’s response.</p>
<p>But the first officer to arrive saw no knives until he called Wood over to his cruiser.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating a possible pattern of civil rights violations by APD regarding deadly force in the wake of a spike in police shootings. In that vein, nine shots looks like a lot more than appropriate and judicious use of lethal force.</p>
<p>And it adds to the questions Albuquerque residents have about APD’s ability to use deadly force only when it is truly warranted and in the appropriate amount.</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> | Editorial: 9 shots puts judicious use of force in question | false | https://abqjournal.com/226081/9-shots-puts-judicious-use-of-force-in-question-2.html | 2013-07-27 | 2 |
<p>Stephen Colbert is no more. That’s old news. As I wait for his return as the host of a late night show in Dave Letterman’s slot on CBS, I have been thinking about what it is he was on “The Colbert Report.”</p>
<p>There was much talk of his character and him being constantly “in character.” Colbert himself has done very few interviews out of character, stepping carefully away from the bombastic faux right-winger that defined his show and came to define political satire in America. He fearlessly performed in character with steely focus, even at the 2006 White House Correspondent’s Dinner —&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=colbert+2006+white+house+correspondents%27+dinner+" type="external">YouTube videos of his performance</a>&#160;at the event have been seen in various incarnations more than 6 million times.</p>
<p>There was a discipline to that character that reminds me of the Charlie Hebdo writers. In comments before and after the tragic shootings this month, it was clear these satirists were aware of the distinct place they occupied and the role it was their responsibility to play.</p>
<p>After the publication of their first issue to follow the shootings, there has been concern among Hebdo purists that they might abandon their traditional role — that they might be tempted by some lure of mainstream circulation numbers or the easy embrace of mainstream sentimentality, which was suggested by the conciliatory image “All is Forgiven” that appeared on their most recent cover.</p>
<p>All of this has lately caused me to think of Colbert. He has abdicated the role he created, but I wonder if our discourse has grown to need such a character in a moment when political satire is so cheap. Whatever his talents, the Letterman slot comes with much lower expectations. It is the funny, clever fellow welcoming celebrities model that makes few demands of its audience. Colbert may need that kind of retirement gig. He certainly has earned it.</p>
<p>Once, at a party, he and I had a fascinating discussion about the responsibility of comedy after an event like 9/11. He wondered if the Daily Show, which he worked for at the time, might have waited too long in that uneasy moment after the attacks. We spoke about how The Onion was the first to publish humor after those events, and that the decision was a deep reminder of the serious responsibility of comedy.</p>
<p>In that way, Colbert’s character doesn’t really belong to him. It is something like an art project&#160; <a href="http://www.papermag.com/view/gallery/54b54ce8b6de82397f6f7f96#23" type="external">not unlike German artists Eva and Adele</a>&#160;whose strange and wonderful work is partly their absolute determination never to step away from the bizarre characters they have created.</p>
<p>Colbert may have another, even more important character for us later this year when he takes Letterman’s territory. He’s that talented. But as the “Je Suis Charlie” motto is now embroiled in a&#160; <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/jesuischarlie-versus-jesuischarlie-tm/384615/" type="external">very mainstream trademark chase</a>&#160;that may pay someone blood money for t-shirts in the global capitalist circus, Colbert is undoubtedly mindful of how he can step farther out onto the risky ledge of satire in his next incarnation, or go the other way which leads only to the forgettable mainstream.</p>
<p>It’s an admirable place for a creative genius to be. I’m hardly an enforcer of what Colbert should do, but it’s very clear that only a very few in history have ever stepped out on to that ledge with as many people around the world watching to see if he will jump.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/risky-ledge-satire/" type="external">blog post</a> was first published by <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/" type="external">The Takeaway</a>, a public radio program that invites you to be part of the American conversation.</p> | Stephen Colbert has left behind a world where the nature of satire has greatly changed | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-01-20/stephen-colbert-has-left-behind-world-where-nature-satire-has-greatly-changed | 2015-01-20 | 3 |
<p>The Committee to Protect Journalists, located in New York, calls itself “An Independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide”. In December it issued a report that said that “China, Cuba, Eritrea, and Ethiopia are the world’s leading jailers of journalists in 2005”.</p>
<p>On January 7 I sent them the following email:</p>
<p>“Dear People,</p>
<p>“I have a question concerning your report on imprisoned journalists. You write that you consider journalists imprisoned when governments deprive them of their liberty because of their work. This implies that they’ve been imprisoned because of WHAT THEY’VE WRITTEN PER SE. You show Cuba with 24. And I would question whether your criterion applies to the Cuban cases. The arrests of these persons in Cuba had nothing to do with them being journalists, or even being dissidents, per se, but had everything to do with their very close, indeed intimate, political and financial connections to American government officials.</p>
<p>“The United States is to the Cuban government like al Qaeda is to Washington, only much more powerful and much closer. During the period of the Cuban revolution, the United States and anti-Castro Cuban exiles in the US have inflicted upon Cuba damage greater than what happened in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. In 1999, Cuba filed a suit against the United States for $181.1 billion in compensation for victims of (at that time) forty years of aggression. The suit accused Washington policies of being responsible for the death of 3,478 Cubans and wounding or disabling 2,099 others.</p>
<p>“Would the US ignore a group of Americans receiving funds from al Qaeda and engaging in repeated meetings with known leaders of that organization inside the United States? Would it matter if these American dissidents claimed to be journalists? In the past few years, the American government has arrested a great many people in the US and abroad on the basis of alleged ties to al Qaeda, with a lot less evidence to go by than Cuba had with its dissidents’ ties to the United States.</p>
<p>“Moreover, most of the arrested Cubans can hardly be called journalists. Their only published works have appeared on websites maintained by agencies of the United States.”</p>
<p>On February 10, having received no reply, I sent another email referring them to my January 7 letter. As of March 21 I still have not received a reply. In the United States one does not have to defend attacking Cuba for any reason. You just do it, and if by some oddball chance, some oddball person asks you to defend what you’ve said … Who cares? The sports section of the Washington Post today brings another mindless knee-reflex attack. Alfonso Soriano, the Washington National’s new player, has refused to play left field, insisting on his regular second-base position. “Imagine,” writes Thomas Boswell, “Soriano refusing to change positions if he played for the Cuban team in the WBC title game. Fidel Castro might have disposed of the body before game time.”</p>
<p>Incidentally, it might also be noted that amongst America’s prison population of more than two million, there are probably at least a few hundred who have practiced journalism at one time or other, in one manner or other.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>September 11, 2001</p>
<p>Many readers have asked me why I haven’t expressed any opinion about the events of that infamous day. The reason is that I preferred to not get entangled in all the complexity and controversy, the arguments and hard feelings, without any clear answers. But, very briefly, here goes.</p>
<p>Almost all of those who have asked me this believe that it was all planned and carried out by US government officials. I don’t think so. Not that I would put it past the imperial mafia morally. I just think the complications would have made it next to impossible to stage with such “success”, and without making it obvious to virtually everyone. I think what’s more likely is that the government knew that some terrorist act involving aircraft was being planned and they let it happen so as to make use of it politically, or they watched the progress of the planning to see where it would lead, and perhaps capture other plotters, and they waited too long, which is apparently what happened in the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. There is an impressive body of evidence indicating that various government officials had knowledge of the broad outline of the 2001 planned deed, if not every detail.</p>
<p>I also think that some of the questions raised by 9-11 researchers are not very impressive. Like no one has given me a good explanation as to why the government would want to destroy building 7. And the fact that Bush quietly spent time in a class with young students after hearing about the first plane — If it was being staged he would have reacted in a different way. Or that several of the hijackers turned up “alive” in the Middle East. Why couldn’t their identity have been stolen? And more things like that.</p>
<p>There are numerous questions about the official version — which leaves the government completely innocent, albeit incompetent — that make it very difficult to take the story at face value, but one doesn’t therefore have to jump to the other extreme of a government operation.</p>
<p>WILLIAM BLUM is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567511945/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Rogue State: a guide to the World’s Only Super Power</a>. and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1887128727/counterpunchmaga" type="external">West-Bloc Dissident: a Cold War Political Memoir</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567511945/counterpunchmaga" type="external">.</a></p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Cuban Punching Bag | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/03/22/the-cuban-punching-bag/ | 2006-03-22 | 4 |
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<p>The investigation in the cause of Monday’s fatal crash continues, said NTSB investigator Leah Yeager. A preliminary report could be released next week, she said.</p>
<p>Francis died when his small plane crashed on airport property just before 1 p.m. Monday. He was the pilot and only person aboard, New Mexico State Police said.</p>
<p>Francis, the owner of Santa Teresa-based Francis Aviation, entered into a deal Nov. 10 with the city of Las Cruces to begin operations at the Las Cruces airport. A fixed-base operator is a commercial business granted the right by an airport to provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangar space, aircraft tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance and flight instruction.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Francis Aviation has been providing similar services at the Doña Ana County International Jetport at Santa Teresa. Also, it was scheduled to be the first fixed-base operator at Spaceport America, according to a story published in April 2013 by El Paso Inc.</p>
<p>Francis’ death was the second fatal crash in less than three months at Las Cruces International Airport. On Aug. 27, an air ambulance crashed shortly after refueling and takeoff. Four people aboard that flight died.</p>
<p>City officials said the fatal air ambulance crash in August has apparently factored into the U.S. Navy’s decision not to return to Las Cruces in January for winter training flights. Since 2001, the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi has come to Las Cruces 11 times, usually from January until March, to conduct winter training flights for Naval aviators.</p>
<p>“Questions regarding the fuel service operations at the airport were at the heart of the reason to pass over (the Las Cruces airport) for the 2015 Winter Training Detachment,” said Gary Camarano, economic development coordinator for the city of Las Cruces, in a newsletter released Friday by City Manager Robert Garza. “Among the concerns the Navy expressed were the August aircraft accident at the airport which killed four people, and the subsequent NTSB preliminary report, issued on September 8. Navy personnel expressed concerns about using the responsible party from this incident as a fuel provider for their detachment.”</p>
<p>Officials with NAS Corpus Christi did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday from the Sun-News. City and Navy officials have estimated the Navy’s training flights generated $1.5 million for Las Cruces’ economy in years when the exercises were staged at the airport.</p>
<p>City Manager Robert Garza said Monday’s fatal plane crash could prompt the Navy to further scrutinize Las Cruces as a location for future training flights.</p>
<p>“Before the events that took place (Monday), we actually thought the door was still open and possible for the Navy to reconsider,” Garza said. “At this point, that remains unclear.”</p>
<p>Garza added should the Navy return to Las Cruces, aviation services at the airport would be provided by Francis Aviation rather than Southwest Aviation, which has been the fixed-base operator for years at Las Cruces International Airport.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Southwest Aviation does not have a current fuel contract nor access to our fuel farm, they simply have not entered into a contract for that access,” Garza said. “There is a difference in opinion about the terms of such an agreement.”</p>
<p>City officials also emphasized that safety at the Las Cruces airport must continue to be paramount.</p>
<p>“We remain hopeful that everyone involved in safety at the airport, whether on the ground or in the air, are diligent and maintain the highest degree of safety at all times,” Garza said. “… The city remains engaged and have advised appropriate authorities to ensure the site is properly managed and assessed.”</p>
<p>Sun-News reporter James Staley contributed to this story.</p>
<p>Steve Ramirez can be reached at 575-541-5452.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2014 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.lcsun-news.com" type="external">www.lcsun-news.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC</p>
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<p>Topics: t000141113,t000029726,t000002537,t000002707,t000002953,t000047707,t000138183,t000047682,t000047680,t000015427,t000171973,t000044626,t000140624,t000009829,t000002525,t000037113,t000002522,t000141090,t000040421,t000139548</p> | No new details on fatal plane crash; Navy won’t return to Las Cruces for winter training flights | false | https://abqjournal.com/502274/no-new-details-on-fatal-plane-crash-navy-wont-return-to-las-cruces-for-winter-training-flights.html | 2 |
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<p>Are you looking to buy a home and hesitating since you still haven't accumulated an adequate down payment to avoid paying private mortgage insurance? You should explore the possibility of going the lender-paid mortgage insurance, or LPMI, route if that's the only barrier preventing you from taking advantage of today's low interest rates.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Mortgage insurance</p>
<p>A policy that reimburses the lender if the borrower defaults on a home loan. Generally, lenders require mortgage insurance when the loan is for more than 80 percent of the home's value. Often known as private mortgage insurance, or PMI. The Federal Housing Administration sells mortgage insurance, too.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/partners/sem/IP-mortgage-rates-v2.aspx?pid=p:foxbz?ic_id=mtg_st" type="external">Compare mortgage rates at Bankrate.com Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Avoid private mortgage insurance</p>
<p>With LPMI, your mortgage lender pays your mortgage insurance premium upfront in a lump sum and passes on the cost to you in the form of a higher interest rate. With LPMI, the interest rate often is one-quarter to half a percentage point higher, but it sometimes can be outside of that range, either lower or higher.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>According to Bill Banfield, vice president of capital markets with Quicken Loans, "It is similar to leasing a car in that you can make a monthly payment every single month, or you could do a one-time payment and you get a discount for doing that."</p>
<p>An example of PMI and LPMI</p>
<p>Say you are looking to buy a $200,000 house and don't have the 20 percent down payment required to avoid mortgage insurance. If you were to put down $20,000 to make a 10 percent down payment, you would typically have to make a private mortgage insurance payment every month.</p>
<p>Banfield says that at Quicken Loans, if you have a 720 credit score, you would pay $66 a month on private mortgage insurance in this case. At a 4.5 percent interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage, your monthly mortgage payment would be $912, making for a total monthly payment of $978, including the PMI cost.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you took the LPMI option, your monthly mortgage payment, at a slightly higher interest rate of 4.625 percent, would be $925, and you wouldn't pay any additional amount in private mortgage insurance.</p>
<p>What affects the costs?</p>
<p>Private mortgage insurance, both regular and lender-paid, gets more expensive with higher loan-to-value ratios or lower credit scores.</p>
<p>Loan-to-value ratio</p>
<p>Outstanding mortgage debt as a percentage of the home's current market value.</p>
<p>Formula: Mortgage amount owed / Appraised value</p>
<p>Example: Alex owes $60,000 on the mortgage. The house is worth $100,000.</p>
<p>$60,000 mortgage / $100,000 = 60 percent</p>
<p>Credit score</p>
<p>A number, roughly between 500 and 850, that summarizes a consumer's creditworthiness.</p>
<p>The higher the score, the more able and willing a consumer is to repay a loan, lenders believe. The best mortgage rates and terms go to borrowers with credit scores of 740 and higher. Generally, a "low" credit score is in the "fair" to "poor" ranges below.</p>
<p>750 and higher = excellent 749 to 700 = good 699 to 650 = fair 649 to 600 = poor 599 or lower = bad</p>
<p>Tax advantage of LPMI</p>
<p>Opting for LPMI offers at least one advantage over going with private mortgage insurance: While your private mortgage insurance payment is not tax deductible, your mortgage interest payments are.</p>
<p>Thus, the higher interest rate you pay by doing the LPMI is tax deductible. Private mortgage insurance has been tax deductible in previous years, and the private mortgage insurance industry is lobbying to get the deduction extended, but it is not currently tax deductible.</p>
<p>Private vs. FHA</p>
<p>Peter Milewski, director of homeownership lending with MassHousing in Boston, says that the state agency's LPMI option, launched in April, makes up as much as two-thirds of its production. He says, "It is popular because it is a vehicle whereby the cost of mortgage insurance built into the interest rate is less expensive than paying for the mortgage insurance separately."</p>
<p>Milewski also finds borrowers leaning toward LPMI who would otherwise consider Federal Housing Administration-insured loans as an alternative. FHA insurance has become more expensive in the past couple of years.</p>
<p>On the negative side, you are tied to the higher interest rate you get with LPMI as long as you hold on to the loan. However, with borrower-paid PMI, the mortgage insurance payments are dropped automatically after the loan balance falls below 78 percent of the original value of the home.</p>
<p>Comparing the options</p>
<p>As to which option is better for you, it all depends on your situation and what your plans are for your home purchase. Ask your banker to crunch the numbers to see what works best for you.</p>
<p>Tim Pascarella, a senior loan officer with Ross Mortgage in Royal Oak, Michigan, notes, "The one thing I tell my customers when it comes to lender-paid mortgage insurance is that there are a lot of things that factor into it. It is not for everyone. If this is the house you are going to live in for the next 30 years, you might just want to take the lowest rate possible and just deal with the private mortgage insurance."</p>
<p>Reducing the cost of LPMI</p>
<p>There are ways to reduce the cost of lender-paid mortgage insurance. For instance, you could buy down your interest rate with discount points. This way, you could pay the same mortgage interest rate as you would without adding on the additional LPMI-induced hike. You could even look into whether the seller of the house is willing to buy down your interest rate to sweeten the deal.</p>
<p>Another option: Your mortgage lender pays only part of the mortgage insurance upfront rather than the whole amount. In this case, you would still make a monthly payment on private mortgage insurance, but one that would be considerably lower than the full payment you would otherwise be liable for.</p>
<p>Copyright 2014, Bankrate Inc.</p> | Lender-Paid Mortgage Insurance: Pros and Cons | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/11/19/lender-paid-mortgage-insurance-pros-and-cons.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian-born American journalist, said she was sexually assaulted and abused during a 12-hour detention by Egyptian police, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57331008/american-accuses-egyptian-cops-of-sex-assault/" type="external">CBS News</a>reported.</p>
<p>Eltahawy let her <a href="https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy" type="external">Twitter followers</a> know her story firsthand, tweeting her arrest and photos of her casts from being abused in prison. The reporter was arrested near Egypt's Interior Ministry around Tahrir Square, as clashes between protesters and police continued since Saturday, CBS reported. According to her tweets, her left arm and right hand were broken, which she later <a href="http://twitpic.com/7iv0vk" type="external">posted a photo of the casts</a>.</p>
<p>Read more at GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/111124/egypt-3-american-students-released-after-protest-arrests" type="external">Egypt: 3 American students released after protest arrests</a></p>
<p>Her tweets explicitly went through her treatment in the Cairo cell, saying she was "blindfolded for two hours." When she told police she "didn't want to go with them," an officer said she "either go politely or else," she tweeted.</p>
<p>"The past 12 hrs were painful and surreal but I know I got off much much easier than so many other Egyptians," Eltahawy wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p>Eltahawy told <a href="http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/24/8994058-us-citizen-mona-eltahawy-i-was-sexually-assaulted-by-egypt-police" type="external">MSNBC</a>she was sexually abused by riot police who dragged her by her hair and groped her between the legs.</p>
<p>"They acted like animals," she told msnbc.com in a telephone interview. "I was filming the protests with my camera phone on Mohammed Mahmoud Street when they surrounded me and pulled me away." After she was allegedly assaulted, she was handed over to military police where she said she was blindfolded for two hours.</p>
<p>She was released with an apology and a promise of an investigation, the AP reported.</p> | Journalist Mona Eltahawy allegedly sexually abused by Egyptian police | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-11-24/journalist-mona-eltahawy-allegedly-sexually-abused-egyptian-police | 2011-11-24 | 3 |
<p>Editor’s note: This column originally ran on <a href="http://husseini.posthaven.com/with-trump-in-china-henry-rosemonts-moral-reflections" type="external">Sam Husseini’s website</a> Nov. 9. As President Trump makes his first <a href="" type="internal">visit to China</a>, we are reposting the piece on Truthdig.</p>
<p>God I so hate it when this happens. I want to get in touch with an expert, someone whose voice and wisdom is so needed, and find they’ve died. I remember it happening with China scholar&#160; <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/red_cat_white_cat/" type="external">Robert Weil</a>&#160;and Kurdish expert&#160; <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/burlingtonfreepress/obituary.aspx?pid=143332369" type="external">Vera Beaudin Saeedpour</a>&#160;in years past.</p>
<p>Today I was—later than I should have—trying to get hold of Henry Rosemont, a great scholar of Chinese philosophy and author of&#160; <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=nGZxAAAAMAAJ&amp;source=gbs_book_other_versions" type="external">Chinese Mirror: Moral Reflections on Political Economy and Society</a>&#160;among other books only to find out he died in July from&#160; <a href="http://www.newportri.com/new_obituaries/henry-rosemont-jr/article_ff4f9668-6347-11e7-98af-fb2e7a59c0ea.html" type="external">this fine obituary</a>.</p>
<p>I think Noam Chomsky originally pointed me in his direction. I never met him, but had several fascinating talks by phone and emailed back and forth at times, putting him on several news releases.</p>
<p />
<p>I enjoyed seeing several of his talks online. Here’s one he gave in 2012, titled “Individual Freedom and Human Rights vs Social Justice: A Confucian Meditation”, which begins: “Some of what I say this evening will worry liberals greatly. Some of the things I will say will annoy conservatives even more greatly. So that suggests that either I’m totally bipolar—or Confucius is—or that it might be helpful for you to try to bracket those kinds of labels and try hard to listen to what I’m going to say on its own terms about the Confucian persuasion.” Here’s that talk:</p>
<p />
<p>Perhaps my favorite quote of his of the&#160; <a href="http://www.accuracy.org/?s=Henry+Rosemont&amp;submit.x=20&amp;submit.y=10" type="external">dozen or so times</a>&#160;I had him on Institute for Public Accuracy news releases over the last 20 years was&#160; <a href="http://www.accuracy.org/release/1770-the-demonization-of-china/" type="external">this one</a>:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>My latest real interaction with him was after I wrote the posting “ <a href="https://husseini.posthaven.com/democracy-now-gets-nuclear-ban-vote-totally-wrong" type="external">‘Democracy Now’ Gets Nuclear Ban Vote Totally Wrong</a>” late last year. He saw it and responded:</p>
<p>Excellent letter, Sam; thanks for doing it. I’m quite disappointed in Amy Goodman; what has happened? Have a good weekend, Henry</p>
<p>I thanked him for his note, wrote that I wanted to get him on a news release soon. I emailed him again in April with no response and—especially since he was just about the age of my&#160; <a href="http://husseini.posthaven.com/farid-yousef-husseiny-1932-2017" type="external">father</a>&#160;who died in January—had an occasional worried thought in the back of my mind, until today.</p> | Shedding Light on Trump in China | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/trump-china-henry-rosemonts-moral-reflections/ | 2017-11-11 | 4 |
<p />
<p>In a slickly produced commercial with an outright bizarre message, Carly Fiorina, the Republican frontrunner vying for the US Senate, <a href="http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/06/02/fiorina_dismisses_global_warming_as_the_weather.html#035409a" type="external">ripped</a> her opponent, Democrat incumbent Barbara Boxer, for describing climate change as an issue of national security. The ad shows a 2007 clip of Boxer, in a tiny video frame (no doubt intentional), saying, “One of the very important national security issues we face, frankly, is climate change.” To which Fiorina, whose image now fills the frame, retorts, “Terrorism kills—and Barbara Boxer is worried about the weather.”</p>
<p>Really, Fiorina? This is <a href="" type="internal">demon sheep stuff here</a>. No one doubts that terrorism, as Fiorina mentions, is a major national security issue. But, according to the Pentagon, climate change is, too. Indeed, the mighty Pentagon <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-13.htm" type="external">has</a> been <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/pentagoners/" type="external">warning</a> for years, even <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2004/feb/22/usnews.theobserver" type="external">during the Bush administration</a> when climate change wasn’t believed by the White House, that climate change be could a destabilizing force throughout the world, stoking ethnic, racial, and economic conflicts. In the Quadrennial Defense Review released earlier this year, the Pentagon <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/31/pentagon-ranks-global-warming-destabilising-force" type="external">said</a> “While climate change alone does not cause conflict, it may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden on civilian institutions and militaries around the world.” And the CIA, an institution Fiorina name-drops in her Boxer-bashing ad touting her experience having worked on an external committee there, has opened a intelligence center on climate change to collect data on its effects around the world. The question is: With the US’s major defense and intelligence organizations saying climate change is a national security issue, how Fiorina say otherwise and retain any credibility?</p>
<p>And back to the “weather” rhetoric. The evidence supporting global climate change is so <a href="http://climateprogress.org/2009/03/22/an-introduction-to-global-warming-impacts-hell-and-high-water/" type="external">abundant</a>, so <a href="http://climateprogress.org/2009/03/26/full-global-warming-solution-350-450-ppm-technologies-efficiency-renewables/" type="external">voluminous</a>, that to call it “weather”&#160;is appalling. Even Fiorina herself has <a href="" type="internal">previously said</a>, “I think there is growing consensus that the issues of climate change and energy independence are inextricably linked,” and that climate change “matters to a lot of people.” Now: “weather.” Talk about a flip-flop.</p>
<p>Here’s the full ad for your viewing pleasure:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Carly Fiorina: What Climate Change? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/06/carly-fiorina-what-climate-change/ | 2010-06-03 | 4 |
<p>Risk, time and money remain the major problems for the construction of California’s high-speed rail project. That’s seen in the <a href="http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/about/legislative_affairs/SB1029_Project_Update_Report_030115.pdf" type="external">biannual Legislative Report</a> of the California High-Speed Rail Authority released this month, as required by law.</p>
<p>The report is&#160;a serious attempt of the CHSRA to let the California Legislature know the true status of the program. It includes four pages of “Issues” and 13 pages of “Risks.”</p>
<p>The CHSRA highlighted the project’s groundbreaking, which occurred on Jan. 6:</p>
<p>“The event highlighted the work that is already underway in the Central Valley on Construction Package 1 (CP 1), and underscored the Authority’s commitment to advancing the program on multiple project sections concurrently in order to deliver statewide mobility and environmental benefits sooner.”</p>
<p>However, as CalWatchdog.com <a href="" type="internal">noted</a>at the time, the groundbreaking was more appearance than reality, as progress on the project continues at a slow pace.&#160;</p>
<p>The report was enthusiastic. “Crucial to the start of heavy construction, 105, or 28 percent, of necessary parcels have been delivered to the DB [Design Build] contractor,” it said. But that also means 72 percent of the parcels still have not been delivered.</p>
<p>The March 3 Los Angeles Times also <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-tutor-20150303-story.html" type="external">reported</a>, “The contractor building the first segment of the California bullet train system said Monday it is seeking compensation for delays in the project and is not likely to start any major construction until June or July — months later than state officials said just weeks ago.”</p>
<p>The report took up the lawsuits against the project:</p>
<p>The future of these lawsuits and other CEQA cases may be determined by a case before the California Supreme Court called <a href="http://www.californiaenvironmentallawblog.com/ceqa/california-supreme-court-to-resolve-appellate-court-split-on-federal-preemption-in-railroad-regulation-2/" type="external">Friends of Eel River</a> v. North Coast Railroad Authority. The Legislative Report explained:</p>
<p>“A stay is requested to allow time for the California Supreme Court to decide the Friends of Eel River v. North Coast Railroad Authority case which is currently under review. In Eel River the Court will decide whether CEQA is preempted for a publically owned railroad that is under the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board. Eel River will have implications in the CEQA cases filed against the Authority.”</p>
<p>Another issue involved the California Public Utilities Commission. The matter was included in the Legislative Report’s lawsuits section, but not in all aspects. According to the CHSRA:</p>
<p>“On March 21, 2013, the PUC issued the Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR), at the request of the Authority, which initiated a rulemaking proceeding. The stated goal of the OIR was to ‘determine whether to adopt, amend or repeal regulations governing safety standards for the use of 25kv electric lines to power high-speed trains.’”</p>
<p>Under actions taken, the CHSRA wrote:</p>
<p>“The Authority has reached agreement with all parties to the proceeding on all terms of the General Order. The Authority presented the settlement General Order to the PUC on January 26, 2015. The General Order is currently pending adoption by the PUC, with an anticipated adoption at the March 2015 PUC Commissioners meeting.”</p>
<p>However, the CPUC must conduct an environmental report for electrifying the project, which could in fact have implications for the project.&#160; Permits at the earliest are not expected until 2017.&#160; According to the <a href="http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/BF95706A-50B5-46CD-877F-BFDA85F6DC89/0/BCP_6ElectricalInfrastructurePlanngforHSRInitiative.pdf" type="external">CPUC Report</a>:</p>
<p>“The Initial Operating Segment of the High Speed Rail line is Madera to Bakersfield with a targeted operation date of 2022. This requires electrical connectivity at least 2 years prior, with permits to construct facilities by 2017. To grant such permits, the Energy Division needs to start work no later than 2014-2015 to complete environmental review (usually takes at least a year) and permit review by mid-2017”&#160;</p>
<p>It is not a simple process. The CPUC report described the required involvement of the CPUC, Pacific Gas &amp; Electric, Southern California Edison and the CHSRA for the purpose of carrying out environmental review.</p>
<p>Absent from the CHSRA’s Legislative Report is the newest suit, filed on Feb. 9, against CalTrain, the Bay Area commuter system.&#160;The suit was filed by the city of Atherton, the Transportation and Education Defense League and the Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail.</p>
<p>Among other things, the lawsuit, as CalWatchdog.com <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>at the time:</p>
<p>The CHSRA Legislative Report also did not include its alleged violation of the National Endangered Species Act involving the San Joaquin Kit Fox, at least not directly. As CalWatchdog.com <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>last month:</p>
<p>“The environmentalist group Defenders of Wildlife&#160; <a href="http://www.defenders.org/san-joaquin-kit-fox/basic-facts" type="external">labels it</a> ‘one of the most endangered animals in California.’&#160;</p>
<p>“On Jan. 26, the Sacramento office of the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior sent the CHSRA&#160; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx5S0AJ0bopyLXM1T0dwSkN1NE5SZVRLdHVTcnRVbDVEOURZ/view?pli=1" type="external">a letter&#160;</a>about the kit fox’ habitat in the project’s&#160;29-mile-long Construction Package 1. The letter charged the CHSRA and the Federal Railroad Authority with causing ‘the loss of nine acres of suitable habitat for the San Joaquin kit fox, located outside the project footprint&#160;… and the destruction of a potential San Joaquin kit fox den.’”</p>
<p>Although not addressing the Kit Fox directly, the CHSRA’s Legislative Report said as a retroactive response:</p>
<p>“The Authority released an RFP for Habitat Mitigation Services in January 2015. The habitat mitigation services will satisfy environmental approvals and federal and State permit requirements related to habitat for federally and State-listed endangered or threatened wildlife and wetlands and waters of the United States…. With the habitat mitigation services contract in place, anticipated in spring 2015, the federal and state regulatory agencies will have the mitigation assurances needed to issue permits for CP 2-3 and CP 4.”&#160;</p>
<p>Finally, the lawsuit over using $250 million of cap-and-trade money to build the high-speed rail project also was not disclosed in the Legislative Report. As CalWatchdog.com <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>:</p>
<p>“TRANSDEF charged that cap-and-trade revenues, according to AB32, only can go to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. TRANSDEF President David Schonbrunn said in the statement, ‘The claimed GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions reductions are a very expensive fantasy,’ because the California High-Speed Rail Authority depends ‘on $30 billion of project funding that the Authority doesn’t have and can’t get.'”&#160;</p>
<p>In sum, although the CHSRA included a great deal in its latest Legislative Report, it also did not include some important information. However, outside the report, it is lawsuits, the state’s financial position and the facts on the ground that will determine the project’s fate.</p>
<p>Kathy Hamilton is the Ralph Nader of high-speed rail, continually uncovering hidden aspects of the project and revealing them to the public. &#160;She started writing in order to tell local communities how the project affects them and her reach grew statewide.&#160;&#160;She has written more than 225 articles on high-speed rail and attended hundreds of state and local meetings. She is a board member of the Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail; has testified at government hearings; has provided public testimony and court declarations on public records act requests; has given public testimony; and has provided transcripts for the validation of court cases.&#160;</p> | High-speed rail Legislative Report lists some, but not all controversies | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2015/03/13/high-speed-rail-legislative-report-lists-some-but-not-all-controversies/ | 2018-03-20 | 3 |
<p>Euro slides as German election woes linger</p>
<p>The dollar climbed against most other currencies on Tuesday, rising to a one-month high against the euro as traders continued to digest the German election and looked ahead to a speech on monetary policy from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The greenback drove up to its highest level against the euro since Aug. 25, with the shared currency buying $1.1824, down from $1.1850 late Monday in New York. Meanwhile, the jumped to a 10-week high against the euro, buying EUR1.1423, up from EUR1.1367 on Monday.</p>
<p>The eurozone currency also fell on Monday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured a fourth term in the election over the weekend (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germanys-anti-immigrant-party-set-to-be-first-in-more-than-50-years-to-enter-parliament-2017-09-24), but nonetheless registered a sharp drop in her party's overall support. Merkel now has to form a coalition government, a process that analysts fear could be difficult and take months.</p>
<p>Read:How Merkel's choice of partner could set the tone for the euro (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dont-call-the-german-election-boring-it-could-mean-a-huge-shift-for-the-eurozone-2017-09-18)</p>
<p>"The markets continue to worry that in her weakened political state Frau Merkel will not be able to maintain the steady policy consensus that has resulted in the best Eurozone recovery in years," said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a note.</p>
<p>Euro investors were also fretting about an independence referendum in the Spanish region of Catalonia on Sunday, although the central government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Read:German election result revives eurozone jitters as investors turn attention to Spain (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-election-result-revives-eurozone-jitters-as-investors-turn-attention-to-spain-2017-09-25)</p>
<p>Across the pond, attention will turn to Fed boss Yellen, who will speak in Cleveland at 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time about inflation, uncertainty and monetary policy at the National Association for Business Economics's annual meeting.</p>
<p>"As many analysts have already pointed out, the German election has taken the sails out of the euro rally and today Ms. Yellen could turn that sentiment even more negative by affirming her support for further U.S. monetary tightening," Schlossberg said.</p>
<p>"Yellen is likely to maintain a hawkish tone in her remarks reaffirming the latest FOMC statement last week. Any dollar supportive rhetoric could push USDJPY back above the Yen112.00 figure while sending euro below the key $1.1800 support," he added.</p>
<p>See:Yellen says low inflation a 'mystery,' but not mysterious enough to keep rates low (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-yellen-says-low-inflation-a-mystery-but-not-mysterious-enough-to-keep-rates-low-2017-09-20)</p>
<p>The dollar bought Yen111.68 on Tuesday ahead of the speech, compared with Yen111.73 late Monday in New York. The Japanese currency had risen during Monday's session after North Korea claimed the U.S. had declared war on the country and said Pyongyang now has the right to shoot down U.S. strategic bombers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korean-official-says-us-has-declared-war-2017-09-25-13103598).</p>
<p>The ICE Dollar Index traded 0.2% higher at 92.818, around its highest level since late August.</p>
<p>The pound was flat around $1.3468.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 26, 2017 06:34 ET (10:34 GMT)</p> | CURRENCIES: Dollar Jumps To 1-month High Vs. Euro Ahead Of Yellen Speech | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/26/currencies-dollar-jumps-to-1-month-high-vs-euro-ahead-yellen-speech.html | 2017-09-26 | 0 |
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A municipal court judge has sentenced WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder to 60 hours of community service for misdemeanor marijuana possession.</p>
<p>Judge Ricky McKinney found Wilder, 32, guilty Thursday and ordered him to perform the community service at a local YMCA. Wilder received a 30-day suspended sentence and two years of probation.</p>
<p>Wilder was arrested in Tuscaloosa in June after police found marijuana in his Cadillac Escalade. He was initially stopped for a window tint violation.</p>
<p>Officers searched the car after smelling marijuana and found a small amount in the vehicle's console.</p>
<p>Attorney Paul Patterson has said the marijuana didn't belong to Wilder. Patterson says the boxer had just returned from a trip and others had access to the Escalade.</p>
<p>Wilder, an Olympic bronze medalist, is 39-0 with 38 knockouts.</p>
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A municipal court judge has sentenced WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder to 60 hours of community service for misdemeanor marijuana possession.</p>
<p>Judge Ricky McKinney found Wilder, 32, guilty Thursday and ordered him to perform the community service at a local YMCA. Wilder received a 30-day suspended sentence and two years of probation.</p>
<p>Wilder was arrested in Tuscaloosa in June after police found marijuana in his Cadillac Escalade. He was initially stopped for a window tint violation.</p>
<p>Officers searched the car after smelling marijuana and found a small amount in the vehicle's console.</p>
<p>Attorney Paul Patterson has said the marijuana didn't belong to Wilder. Patterson says the boxer had just returned from a trip and others had access to the Escalade.</p>
<p>Wilder, an Olympic bronze medalist, is 39-0 with 38 knockouts.</p> | WBC heavyweight champion Wilder sentenced in marijuana case | false | https://apnews.com/amp/6297a75414524621a6f7fdcfabaef9d8 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
<p>Former FEMA Director Michael Brown on the political fallout from the flooding in Louisiana and the federal response to the flooding.</p>
<p>Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who headed the agency when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, weighed in on the flooding in Louisiana, the political fallout and the government’s handling of the recovery process.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who visited the flood zone in Louisiana last week, criticized President Obama for visiting the region days later tweeting it was “too little, too late!”&#160; Brown discussed the political responses to the flooding.</p>
<p>President Obama should have gone to Louisiana days ago, instead of golfing. Too little, too late!</p>
<p>“Well, I think the President was right in not going initially.&#160; It’s a fairly nuanced political situation.&#160; The last thing you want to do is have the President, Air Force One, Secret Service, the entire entourage show up while you’re in the response phase.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, Brown explained that President Obama also made some mistakes in his handling of the floods.</p>
<p>“But I think the President was wrong by not stepping off the golf course while he was on Martha’s Vineyard and at least making a statement to the American public telling the people of Louisiana that help is there, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.&#160; And then politically, I think the President made a mistake by letting Donald Trump beat him there once the response phase was over and they were in recovery.”</p>
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<p>Because of this Brown said Trump gained a political advantage by visiting the state ahead of Obama.</p>
<p>“Once the response phase was gone and Trump showed up, Trump trumped him [Obama].”</p>
<p>Brown assessed the Louisiana state government’s handling of the response to the flooding in the southern part of the state.</p>
<p>“I thought that what the state of Louisiana was doing in the response phase of this flooding was exactly what a state should be doing.&#160; They were coordinating, they had their mutual aid agreements in place, the Louisiana National Guard, Department of Wildlife, everybody was doing what they were supposed to do.&#160; So they had a unified command structure in place.&#160; That is exactly what governors should be doing in disasters.”</p>
<p>Brown then compared the government response to the flooding with the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.</p>
<p>“So compare that to Hurricane Katrina, we had a disaster in Hurricane Katrina because we couldn’t get a unified command structure in place and the mayor failed to evacuate the city.&#160; So while I never compare disasters, I will say this, Katrina had problems because of command structure, in this case you didn’t have that and I say touche to the state of Louisiana for it.”</p>
<p>Brown also explained that though federal financial aid is on the way, he warned about misconceptions of what the goals of the aid are and the amount that will be given.</p>
<p>“Well, let’s be very precise about this because there is federal aid that will come along, but there is a misconception that the federal aid is going to make these disaster victims whole and it simply does not.&#160; It’s temporary assistance, it doesn’t rebuild homes, it doesn’t make them right back to where they were, it’s a stop-gap measure.”</p> | Did Louisiana Learn From Katrina? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/08/24/did-louisiana-learn-from-katrina.html | 2016-08-24 | 0 |
<p>“Can you think of a better business model than being a Wall Street bank? You hand out 500 million credit cards to 118 million households, even though 60 million of the households make less than $50,000. You then create derivatives where you package billions of subprime credit card debt and convince clueless dupes to buy this toxic debt as if it was AAA credit. When the entire Ponzi scheme implodes, you write-off $200 billion of bad debt and have the American taxpayer pick up the tab by having your Ben puppet at the Federal Reserve seize $450 billion of interest income from senior citizens and re-gift it to you through his zero interest rate policy. You then borrow from the Federal Reserve at 0% and charge an average interest rate of 15% on the $800 billion of credit card debt outstanding, generating $120 billion of interest and charging an additional $22 billion of late fees…”</p>
<p>— Jim Quinn, The Burning Platform</p>
<p>Have you ever read a better description of how banking really works? It’s just one big looting operation that’s backstopped by the bandits at the Federal Reserve. Just think about it; millions of hard-working people were taken to the cleaners in an $8 trillion mortgage-laundering scam, and yet, not one of the miscreants who concocted the coup has ever seen the inside of a jail. How’s that for justice?</p>
<p>But that’s all “yesterday’s news”, what we’re interested in is today, and in particular, signs that Wall Street is engineering another debtbomb that will&#160;blow more holes in middle class balance sheets. Here’s some background from the Wall Street Journal:</p>
<p>“Companies in general are borrowing more this year, in part because investors are willing to buy riskier securities….Gains in the financial firms’ fixed-income businesses, which can account for as much as half of revenue, are putting companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and the J.P. Morgan unit of J.P. Morgan Chase &amp;amp; Co. on track to report their strongest numbers since the first quarter of 2011, said bankers and analysts…. (“Bond Trading Revives Banks”, Wall Street Journal)</p>
<p>Okay, so the big boys are licking their chops because yield-starved investors have begun dipping their toes in the water again. It was only a matter of time. When the Fed keeps rates frozen at zero, it’s like putting a gun to the head of a fund manager who has to prove to his clients that he can inflate their nest egg in time for retirement. Here’s more from the WSJ:</p>
<p>“High-yield companies around the world have sold more than twice as much debt this year compared with the final three months of 2011, according to Dealogic….Rising prices of risky assets in the first quarter enabled large securities dealers to buy around $19 billion of distressed mortgage bonds from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and to flip much of it to investment firms, making money in the process, said people familiar with the matter.</p>
<p>The bonds, backed by subprime mortgages and other types of home loans, were originally from the government’s 2008 bailout of American International Group Inc.” (“Bond Trading Revives Banks”, WSJ)</p>
<p>Let’s get this straight; the New York Fed–headed by ex-Goldman alum Bill Dudley, orchestrated the sale of AIGs bundle of subprime MBS? And to whom were those toxic bonds sold? The answer can be found on the New York Fed’s website:</p>
<p>“The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“New York Fed”) today announced that it has sold assets with a current face value of $6.2 billion from its Maiden Lane II LLC (“ML II”) portfolio through a competitive process to Goldman Sachs &amp;amp; Co.”</p>
<p>Surprise, surprise! So, there’s a subprime feeding frenzy and who’s first in the sharktank? You guessed it; G-Sax. I gather that “competitive” in this case, means that the transaction was conducted in the dead of night with just a handful of other well-connected bidders.</p>
<p>All that aside, the gold rush for junk has resumed paving the way for another round of massive speculative leveraging leading to another behemoth credit <a href="" type="internal" />bubble. But there’s more to this junk-buying spree then meets the eye. This isn’t about high-stakes gamblers flipping a coin and hoping they come up “winners”. Oh, no. This is about Bernanke winking to his buddies so they know what-to-buy before the Fed revs up QE3. Here’s the scoop from the WSJ:</p>
<p>“Investors have piled into mortgage bonds guaranteed by U.S. housing agencies, in a bet that the Federal Reserve will launch a third round of stimulus aimed at the housing market. That buying has sent yields for securities backed by newly originated 30-year mortgages to record lows…</p>
<p>Rates have declined in recent months, driven first by the Fed’s surprise announcement in September that it would start buying mortgage debt again with the proceeds of maturing mortgage bonds. More recently, investors took cues from some Fed officials publicly highlighting the importance of housing to the economic recovery. Speaking to a bankers’ group in Iselin, N.J., on Jan. 6, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Bill Dudley, considered a close ally of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, said “with additional housing policy interventions, we could achieve a better set of economic outcomes.” Other Fed officials recently have raised the call for more action on housing….” (“Investors Place Their Money on Fed”, WSJ)</p>
<p>And, what exactly did Bernanke’s first-round of MBS purchases ($1.25 trillion) do to improve housing, you ask?</p>
<p>Not a thing, although there was a slight blip in housing sales due to the banks withholding inventory. Beyond that, the program was a complete flop. It added no new jobs, did nothing to boost GDP, and did not stem the deluge of foreclosures. It did, however, transform the Fed’s balance sheet into the biggest stinkpile of garbage assets on the planet. (now exceeding $3 trillion) By the way, the Fed still marks its MBS at par when, in fact, their current market value is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 cents on the dollar. That means, someone is going to get a $600 billion haircut when the last of these turkeys are auctioned off.</p>
<p>Here’s more on Wall Street’s high-yield hysteria from an article titled “Buyers take a Shine to “Junk'”:</p>
<p>“Investors of all stripes are once again piling into “junk” bonds. The buyers are coming from both sides of the investing fence—from bond investors eschewing the low yields of U.S. Treasury debt to stock investors seeking protection from swings in the market….The buzz is building, even though the recent returns from junk bonds have been relatively meager….</p>
<p>“At some point it comes down to simple math,” said Edward Perks, who manages funds that mix stocks and bonds for Franklin Templeton Investments. “When you have a 2% yield on the 10-year, generating even high-single-digit returns is difficult.”…</p>
<p>With interest rates near record lows and unlikely to fall further, neither U.S. Treasury bonds nor investment-grade bonds are expected to deliver meaningful returns this year, fund managers say.” (“Buyers Take a Shine to ‘Junk'”, Wall Street Journal)</p>
<p>It’s all just child’s-play for an old graybeard like Fed chairman Pavlov. All he has to do is dial rates down to zero and wait for the salivating to begin. He knows the bigtime fund managers have to plump up their capital or investors will vamoose. What choice do they have? They either dabble in risky bonds and take their chances&#160;or head to Vegas; there’s not much in between.</p>
<p>Lastly, there’s this from an article titled “Auto Bonds drive into the Fast Lane”:</p>
<p>“In their quest to find a haven from Europe’s sovereign-debt troubles, some money-market funds are turning to debt backed by auto loans, spurring a barrage of sales and sending interest costs on the debt toward all-time lows.</p>
<p>Some $15.3 billion in auto-related securities have been sold this year, surpassing the $9 billion issued in the same period in 2011, according to Barclays Capital…</p>
<p>Asset-backed securities have been popular among money funds in part because they are backed by tangible assets, making them potentially less risky than other debt. In the case of auto bonds, they are backed by car loans to consumers and dealers. The interest paid on those loans is pooled to pay bond investors….</p>
<p>The demand from the $2.7 trillion money-market fund industry has helped spur more sales, dealers said. It also has pushed short-term risk premiums, or the amount of interest buyers demand over Treasurys or some other benchmark, lower.” (“Auto Bonds Drive Into the Fast Lane”, Wall Street Journal)</p>
<p>Money markets are chasing yield, too, which&#160;is another sign of looming&#160;disaster. Remember, it was Reserve Primary Fund– the oldest and largest of the money market funds–that froze redemptions after the value of its shares dropped below $1 (aka–“breaking the buck”) on September 15, 2008 shortly after Lehman Brothers defaulted. The news of Primary’s troubles ignited a bank run that siphoned $40 billion from its $62.6 billion stash and triggered a panic that spread across all asset classes sending equities markets plunging. By the time the Treasury provided guarantees on remaining money market deposits, over $170 billion had been drained from other accounts and the financial system was in full-meltdown phase.</p>
<p>But maybe we are overreacting, after all, the banks have improved the way they screen loan applicants to make sure that only people with regular income, decent collateral and a good FICO-score can buy a car on credit, right?</p>
<p>Wrong. This is from Reuters titled “U.S. auto lenders give easier terms, cheaper money”:</p>
<p>“U.S. lenders made more auto loans in the most recent quarter, but took more risks and charged less interest to get the business, according to a report released on Thursday by credit reporting and market information firm Experian Automotive.</p>
<p>Outstanding car loans increased nearly 4 percent to $658 billion at the end of December from a year earlier as borrowers financed larger amounts per car and lenders accepted lower credit scores and gave people more time to pay….</p>
<p>The portion of all loans made to subprime borrowers rose to 41.5 percent from 38.4 percent.</p>
<p>Lenders made loans for an average 110 percent of the value of new cars, which was two percentage points, and for 130 percent of the value of used cars, about the same as a year earlier. The average amount financed for new cars was $17,404 and for used cars $9,015.” (“U.S. auto lenders give easier terms, cheaper money”)</p>
<p>“130 percent of the value of the car”! So you can walk away with extra money in your pocket?</p>
<p>And here’s the punchline: The “top lender” is Ally Financial, the former financing arm of General Motors that is “74 percent owned by the U.S. government.” So Uncle Sam–who had to bail out the whole freaking financial system after the last subprime fisasco–is now “your friendly subprime auto dealer”?</p>
<p>Bottom line: As the economy improves, more investors will move into riskier assets which will increase the probability of another catastrophe. Maybe&#160;we should think about&#160;regulating the system again?</p>
<p>Nah.</p>
<p>MIKE WHITNEY&#160;lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, forthcoming from AK Press. He can be reached at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | Subprime at the Car Lot | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/03/14/subprime-at-the-car-lot/ | 2012-03-14 | 4 |
<p>I landed at Jose Marti International airport in May of 1960, 17 months after a young, bearded man and his fellow barbudos had captured control of the island and sent a hated dictator fleeing. Musicians played a lively tune as the passengers deplaned, a young woman pushed a rum-flavored drink into my hand and I spotted a young, uniformed man with lieutenant’s bars on his shoulders. I gave him the note that Raulito Roa (of the Cuban UN delegation) had given me in New York, saying I was a young progressive writer and to provide me with help in understanding the revolution.</p>
<p>Richard’s velocity of speech outpaced my meager comprehension of Spanish, but I did understand that “the revolution had opened the prisms of hope in the eyes of the Cuban people,” and that I should wait outside the Hotel Presidente at 8 a.m. to get picked up for a trip to eastern Cuba. I spent a few hours walking around Havana and trying to engage people in conversations. I had a rum drink at Club Red and heard a singer called La Lupe. I saw a sign for Bola de Nieve performing at the Hotel Nacional where Meyer Lansky ran Mafia operations until January 1959. I saw the sign Habana Libre, flashing from the hotel that used to say Havana Hilton.</p>
<p>I didn’t hear explosions and shooting in the street, although the CIA’s terrorist campaign from Florida was well underway. I walked along the Malecon (the ocean walk), passing couples necking, others fishing.</p>
<p>In the morning, a jeep stopped in front of the hotel, a young man asked my name, introduced himself as Julio, grabbed my suit case and motioned for me to hop in. I shared the ride with three Chileans back to the airport, bound for Santiago de Cuba, some 500 miles to the east.</p>
<p>What kind of revolution is this, I thought, filled with music and dancing in a Catholic country — I hadn’t yet realized that Santeria played a more powerful role in the spiritual life of the island than the Church.</p>
<p>Marta, one of the Chileans, questioned Cuba’s growing connection to the Soviet Union as well as the ever advancing role of the Cuban Communist Party in revolutionary decisions. In the October 1959 election for head of Cuba’s National Labor council Fidel personally had stepped in to prevent the victory of David Salvador who was an outspoken anti-communist. In the same time period, Fidel personally arrested Huber Matos, who commanded Camaguey Province. Matos had objected to the sweeping land reforms and to the growing relationship with Moscow.</p>
<p>The militant anti-imperialist and anti-Yankee language of Che Guevara, for example, and Raul Castro’s past links with Cuba’s Communist Youth movement had provoked U.S. newspaper columnists and Congressmen alike to question Fidel’s commitment to the very axioms of the Cold War: anti-Sovietism uber alles.</p>
<p>By June 1960, we cruised the countryside outside Santiago de Cuba and saw the revolution’s new construction and slum clearance projects; I heard only praise for the Soviets from revolutionary cadre. Marta’s skepticism increased.</p>
<p>The Manzana de Gomez , a slum neighborhood in Santiago, seemed endless as we trudged through mud and slime, rickety shacks made of every leftover substance one could imagine on either side. A trickling stream filled with garbage and feces wound its way through the center of the makeshift street. One middle aged man, seemingly drunk, offered a girl, of about 13 or 14, to the Chilean men and me. His daughter? The Cuban guides said something harsh to him. He laughed. Some women seemed intent on sweeping their dirt floors; some even looked clean, with ironed dresses. Mostly, I recall the barefoot kids, the emaciated dogs, my sense of being inside chaos and cacophony.</p>
<p>It had seemed like hours of watching a live horror show. My watch indicated that we had only walked for ten minutes.</p>
<p>“Seen enough?” one of the guides asked.</p>
<p>One of the Chilean men shook his head, his complexion slightly green. Marta looked angry. “It should not be permitted for human to live like this,” she said, “but in Chile there are similar shantytowns. I would imagine that almost every city in Latin America has them.” By the end of the visit Marta had become convinced that Cuba could not rely on any help from the United States, and had no option but to turn to Moscow.</p>
<p>“This one won’t be here long,” one of the Cubans pledged. “The plans to raze it and construct new housing are well underway. But under the old regimes no one cared to do anything about such conditions. This is why we’re showing it to you, so you’ll understand why we had to make a revolution.”</p>
<p>The jeep took us about a thousand feet up into the Sierra Maestra where the guerrillas successfully operated for two years between late December 1956 and their successful capture of the island in January 1959. I asked Julio how a few hundred men could possibly have defeated an army that numbered some fifty thousand.</p>
<p>He smiled. “We had will, determination, the cooperation of a large underground organization and the vast majority of the people. The Batista government had no support, except from Washington. They not only tortured and murdered; they did nothing for the people. Look around. Moreover, Cuba’s institutions did not function, which made it ripe for revolution.”</p>
<p>The villages we saw had neither electricity nor running water. Kids ran barefoot. I saw no school or a church in most of the villages. In two, I noticed a crude, hand painted sign: “El Dios se encuentra aqui. (God is here)”</p>
<p>“Protestants,” explained our guide. “Some kind of primitive religion,” said Julio.</p>
<p>The sun seemed to toast the ground. The villages had no electricity or running water. The thatched-roof houses, bohios, had existed even before Columbus, one guide asserted. I didn’t ask how he knew. The rocky dirt roads worsened as we climbed. Patches of corn and malanga, clusters of coffee trees and unhealthy farm animals dotted the landscape. The villagers filled sacks with ripe coffee beans, loaded them on burros and brought them down the dirt roads to market.</p>
<p>Dark-skinned peasants, in dirty yellowish hats and weathered faces waved or nodded as we passed their caravans of animals with jingling bells on their necks. Often the men rode on horseback; their wives — I presumed — walked next to them.</p>
<p>“Seen enough?” Julio asked, as one Chilean complained of physical discomfort — kidney exercise in the jeep.</p>
<p>Then the guides brought us to the place near Manzanillo where the yacht Granma landed in early December 1956. I tried to imagine Fidel and his bearded men disembarking to face an ambush, cries of betrayal amidst rifle and machine gun fire, the sight and smell of human blood on the road lined with white shelled crabs, crawling to and from the swampy grasses on either side of the road.</p>
<p>Fidel and a small group of sick, wounded and exhausted guerrillas somehow escaped and climbed to the high points of the nearby mountains. One of the guides told us of Fidel peering across the island and commenting to the weary survivors: “The days of the dictatorship are numbered.”</p>
<p>As we drove downhill, I wondered whether President Eisenhower, who had supposedly authorized the CIA to organize anti-Castro Cuban exiles to in the near future invade the island and overthrow the revolutionary government, had any idea of the already living legend he would be facing.</p>
<p>Julio talked of plans to redistribute wealth to and make investment in the impoverished countryside. The revolutionaries had already expropriated large estates and many other businesses, including major U.S. companies.</p>
<p>Shortly after I returned to Havana, in July 1960, Fidel took over the U.S.-owned oil refineries, which had refused on orders from Washington to refine imported Soviet oil. Eisenhower retaliated by cutting the Cuban sugar quota, depriving Cuba of badly needed cash and credit as well.</p>
<p>Walking from the bus to the Tropicana to hear a jazz combo, we ran into Guillermo Cabrera Infante, then editor of Lunes de Revolucion, the cultural supplement of Revolution, the government’s newspaper, and passed a demonstration denouncing Ike. “Sin cuota pero sin amo” read the placards carried by chanting marchers.</p>
<p>Cabrera Infante sneered: “Sin cuota pero sin ano.” (Without a quota but without an ass). I chuckled at his wit. I also feared both slogans might be right. (Lunes de Revolucion was closed in 1961. Cabrera Infante served as Cuba’s cultural attaché in Belgium. He defected in 1964 and in England wrote several acclaimed novels before his death.)</p>
<p>When I left Cuba in February 1961 I saw young men hoisting four barreled anti aircraft guns onto the roof of the lobby of the Hotel Riviera. Others planted dynamite under bridges. All of Cuba awaited the U.S.-backed invasion that finally came in April 1961 at the Bay of Pigs. When the battle ended, Cuba had symbolically lost its boss and still had its ass. Over the next decades it struggled to keep it.</p>
<p>SAUL LANDAU’s new book, <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">BUSH AND BOTOX WORLD</a>, with a foreword by Gore Vidal, is now available from Counterpunch Press. His new film, WE DON’T PLAY GOLF HERE, is available on DVD from <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Return to Cuba | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/06/01/return-to-cuba-2/ | 2007-06-01 | 4 |
<p>Students who serve in nontraditional ministry settings — whether a postmodern congregation, a cowboy church or something in-between — benefit from the foundation provided in a traditional seminary curriculum, some educators and ministry practitioners insist.</p>
<p>Baylor University's <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/truett/" type="external">Truett Theological Seminary</a> in Waco, Texas, does not adjust its basic course of study to accommodate ministry in specialized settings, Dean David Garland said. Rather, the seminary offers a foundation in Scripture and theology that is "timeless and can bridge various contexts," he said.</p>
<p>"We seek to provide a solid biblical and theological foundation that equips students to adjust to the changing realities of culture," Garland said.</p>
<p />
<p>Likewise, Hardin-Simmons University's <a href="http://www.logsdonseminary.org/" type="external">Logsdon Seminary</a> in Abilene, Texas, emphasizes the importance of giving students a firm grounding in unchanging principles so they can adapt to a variety of contexts.</p>
<p>"Logsdon absolutely affirms the need for persons engaging in nontraditional ministry settings to obtain seminary preparation. Our coursework provides an indispensible scriptural and theological foundation, along with basic ministry skills applicable to a wide variety of ministry settings," said Bob Ellis, associate dean at Logsdon Seminary.</p>
<p>"Logsdon is especially focused on the spiritual formation of seminary students, concerned about helping them to mature as persons in Christ who are servant ministers, which is essential for any type of ministry. A significant element in Logsdon's seminary curriculum is the equipping of students in the ability to exegete various ministry contexts, especially cross-culturally, and to creatively develop strategies for effective ministry based on solid biblical and theological foundations."</p>
<p>Overly specialized courses of study in niche ministry today likely will be as irrelevant in the future as some classes some seminarians took decades ago are now, Garland observed.</p>
<p>"I remember when seminaries used to offer courses in bus ministry back in the '70s. Not very helpful these days," he said.</p>
<p>Instead of chasing fads, Truett focuses on a classical theological curriculum designed to give students the basis from which they can adapt methods to meet changing needs, he noted.</p>
<p>"Things are constantly changing, and we believe that we need to give our students the theological and spiritual foundation of the body divinity and encourage them to be able to think biblically and theologically so they can adjust as times change and so that they can 'become all things to all people, that they might by all means save some,'" he said, alluding to a New Testament admonition by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians.</p>
<p>Thinking biblically means having a solid foundational knowledge of Scripture in a culture of low biblical literacy, Garland said. Thinking theologically involves not only accumulating knowledge, but also applying Scriptural truth within the context of human relationships, he added.</p>
<p>Truett's small classes and diverse student population help encourage meaningful interaction, as do the covenant groups students create as a part of the seminary's spiritual formations curriculum, he noted.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Truett students must complete service in a ministry setting as part of their seminary experience, gaining invaluable hands-on experience and developing skills in interpersonal relationships</p>
<p>"There are so many things that can't be learned in a classroom," Garland said.</p>
<p>In practical ministry settings, students work with a mentor of their choosing, a faculty supervisor and a lay committee. As a part of the process, students learn to apply scriptural principles and theological insights within a specific ministry context.</p>
<p>"Students reflect on actual experiences biblically and theologically," Garland said.</p>
<p>Toph Whisnant graduated from Truett Seminary in 2009 and last year became community pastor at <a href="http://www.ubcwaco.org/" type="external">University Baptist Church in Waco</a>, a nontraditional congregation with a strong emphasis on the arts. One of his primary responsibilities on the church staff is to build relationships with students on the Baylor University campus.</p>
<p>The practical experience he gained working with a mentor at <a href="http://www.calvarytuscaloosa.org/" type="external">Calvary Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala.</a>, as he focused on campus ministry at the University of Alabama proved invaluable preparation for his current position, he noted. But so did his classroom experiences, he added.</p>
<p>"The theological training I received helps me engage the students here today. It's important when I minister to college students as they are forming their worldviews," he said.</p>
<p>Werth Meyes, pastor of the <a href="http://www.cowboychurcherathcounty.com/" type="external">Cowboy Church of Erath County</a> in Stephenville, Texas, likewise believes the theological training he received at Logsdon Seminary serves him well in a western-heritage church—particularly in a college town.</p>
<p>"With Tarleton [State University] here, we have a tremendous number of college students in our church, as well as faculty and administrators who attend. We have discovered a lot of the professional rodeo cowboys and cowgirls here are college-educated," Meyes said.</p>
<p>People who attend the church want serious Bible study — albeit coupled with roping or barrel-racing practice sessions, he noted.</p>
<p>"They don't want a dumbed-down gospel. They want to study the Bible seriously and think deeply," said Meyes, who completed his master of divinity degree and started doctor of ministry studies at Logsdon Seminary. "My seminary education has been invaluable in helping me go deeper into Bible study."</p>
<p>Whether in a traditional tall-steeple county-seat church or a cowboy church, ministers find themselves evaluated by the same criteria, he noted.</p>
<p>"I establish credibility not by how good a job I do roping but by how well I do ministry," Meyes said.</p>
<p>Some aspects of ministry cut across all cultural contexts, he observed.</p>
<p>"There are some constants in ministry — funerals, grief ministry, hospital visitation, helping people who are dealing with divorce and providing premarital counseling and education," he said.</p>
<p>"Preaching is constant. My sermon illustrations have changed, but how I prepare a sermon and do good exegetical research is still the same."</p>
<p>Seminary provides skills that always have to be adapted by any ministry practitioner in any context, he added.</p>
<p>"Seminary is not a box of answers but a toolbox," Meyes said. "I learned how to do research in seminary. Now I do it reading Western Horseman and Rodeo News, but the research skills are the same."</p> | Traditional divinity program aids ministry in nontraditional contexts | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/traditionaldivinityprogramaidsministryinnontraditionalcontexts/ | 3 |
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<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump fired James Comey in May, he said he was acting on the recommendation of Justice Department leaders who had faulted the FBI director for releasing “derogatory information” about Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of the email server investigation months earlier.</p>
<p>Yet with each tweet about the Clinton probe, Trump seems to be further undermining his administration’s stated rationale for a termination that’s now central to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.</p>
<p>The disconnect between Trump’s attacks on Comey’s handling of the email investigation and the criticism of Comey by his own Justice Department could muddy the explanation for exactly why Comey was fired, and may complicate efforts by the president’s legal team to present a coherent narrative as Mueller and his prosecutors examine whether the dismissal could support obstruction of justice allegations.</p>
<p>Trump has complained for months about the FBI’s decision not to pursue criminal charges against Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential election, for her use of a personal email server. He has suggested the criminal investigation was rigged in her favor, claiming in one October tweet that Comey “totally protected” her. He recently seized on the revelation of politically charged text messages from an FBI agent who worked on that probe to again deride the investigation. And in a Saturday tweet that appeared to suggest Clinton should have been prosecuted, Trump caustically referred to “33,000 illegally deleted emails.”</p>
<p>Yet those attacks are increasingly hard to square with a Justice Department memo that the White House held up as justification for firing Comey. That document, authored by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, cited an unusual July 2016 news conference in which Comey described Clinton and her aides as “extremely careless” as well as Comey’s notification to Congress, days before the election, that the investigation was being revisited because of the sudden discovery of additional emails.</p>
<p>“From the beginning there’s always been serious doubt that the memo from the deputy attorney general was the actual reason the president fired the FBI director,” said Scott Fredericksen, a Washington criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor. “These tweets,” he added, “probably don’t help the president in that regard.”</p>
<p>A lawyer for Trump did not return a phone message seeking comment.</p>
<p>Mueller’s team has been interested for months in the circumstances of Comey’s firing, with prosecutors obtaining an initial White House memo, drafted but never released, that purported to lay out a basis for Comey’s removal.</p>
<p>The final memo the White House released on May 9, signed by Rosenstein, castigated Comey for announcing that criminal charges were not warranted against Clinton even though such determinations are generally left to Justice Department prosecutors. He also faulted Comey for comments made during that news conference, which Rosenstein said broke with Justice Department protocol by issuing “derogatory information” about someone who was investigated but never charged. Though he did not explicitly say it, his assessment seemed in line with that of Clinton and her supporters — that Comey’s statements and actions during the investigation had harmed her election prospects.</p>
<p>“The Director laid out his version of the facts for the news media as if it were a closing argument, but without a trial,” Rosenstein wrote. “It is a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.”</p>
<p>In a single-page letter to Comey released alongside Rosenstein’s memo, Trump said he had accepted the Justice Department’s recommendation for termination.</p>
<p>From the start, though, that explanation has been tough to reconcile with Trump’s blistering attacks on Clinton, and his repeated assertions on the campaign trail and as president that she should have been prosecuted.</p>
<p>He returned to that theme days after Mueller revealed a plea deal with Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, by tweeting: “Many people in our Country are asking what the ‘Justice’ Department is going to do about the fact that totally Crooked Hillary, AFTER receiving a subpoena from the United States Congress, deleted and ‘acid washed’ 33,000 Emails? No justice!”</p>
<p>And on Saturday, amid reports that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe — a frequent Trump target — intended to retire, the president tweeted, “How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?”</p>
<p>“The irony is most politicians would recognize that perpetuating silence post-firing would have been the most effective course,” said Jacob Frenkel, a Washington defense lawyer and former prosecutor.</p>
<p>In the event charges are brought or impeachment proceedings are begun, that kind of inconsistent messaging would present “not just entertaining fodder for cross-examination” but also material that could be used to challenge a witness’s credibility, Frenkel said.</p>
<p>But by the same token, the evolving messaging could oddly benefit Trump by making it difficult for prosecutors to attach any one motive or reason — such as a desire to shut down the Russia investigation — for Comey’s firing.</p>
<p>“Once you start picking on one tweet or one message, then it becomes, ‘What about this tweet or that message?’ You’re constantly having competing messages,” Frenkel said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP</a></p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump fired James Comey in May, he said he was acting on the recommendation of Justice Department leaders who had faulted the FBI director for releasing “derogatory information” about Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of the email server investigation months earlier.</p>
<p>Yet with each tweet about the Clinton probe, Trump seems to be further undermining his administration’s stated rationale for a termination that’s now central to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.</p>
<p>The disconnect between Trump’s attacks on Comey’s handling of the email investigation and the criticism of Comey by his own Justice Department could muddy the explanation for exactly why Comey was fired, and may complicate efforts by the president’s legal team to present a coherent narrative as Mueller and his prosecutors examine whether the dismissal could support obstruction of justice allegations.</p>
<p>Trump has complained for months about the FBI’s decision not to pursue criminal charges against Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential election, for her use of a personal email server. He has suggested the criminal investigation was rigged in her favor, claiming in one October tweet that Comey “totally protected” her. He recently seized on the revelation of politically charged text messages from an FBI agent who worked on that probe to again deride the investigation. And in a Saturday tweet that appeared to suggest Clinton should have been prosecuted, Trump caustically referred to “33,000 illegally deleted emails.”</p>
<p>Yet those attacks are increasingly hard to square with a Justice Department memo that the White House held up as justification for firing Comey. That document, authored by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, cited an unusual July 2016 news conference in which Comey described Clinton and her aides as “extremely careless” as well as Comey’s notification to Congress, days before the election, that the investigation was being revisited because of the sudden discovery of additional emails.</p>
<p>“From the beginning there’s always been serious doubt that the memo from the deputy attorney general was the actual reason the president fired the FBI director,” said Scott Fredericksen, a Washington criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor. “These tweets,” he added, “probably don’t help the president in that regard.”</p>
<p>A lawyer for Trump did not return a phone message seeking comment.</p>
<p>Mueller’s team has been interested for months in the circumstances of Comey’s firing, with prosecutors obtaining an initial White House memo, drafted but never released, that purported to lay out a basis for Comey’s removal.</p>
<p>The final memo the White House released on May 9, signed by Rosenstein, castigated Comey for announcing that criminal charges were not warranted against Clinton even though such determinations are generally left to Justice Department prosecutors. He also faulted Comey for comments made during that news conference, which Rosenstein said broke with Justice Department protocol by issuing “derogatory information” about someone who was investigated but never charged. Though he did not explicitly say it, his assessment seemed in line with that of Clinton and her supporters — that Comey’s statements and actions during the investigation had harmed her election prospects.</p>
<p>“The Director laid out his version of the facts for the news media as if it were a closing argument, but without a trial,” Rosenstein wrote. “It is a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.”</p>
<p>In a single-page letter to Comey released alongside Rosenstein’s memo, Trump said he had accepted the Justice Department’s recommendation for termination.</p>
<p>From the start, though, that explanation has been tough to reconcile with Trump’s blistering attacks on Clinton, and his repeated assertions on the campaign trail and as president that she should have been prosecuted.</p>
<p>He returned to that theme days after Mueller revealed a plea deal with Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, by tweeting: “Many people in our Country are asking what the ‘Justice’ Department is going to do about the fact that totally Crooked Hillary, AFTER receiving a subpoena from the United States Congress, deleted and ‘acid washed’ 33,000 Emails? No justice!”</p>
<p>And on Saturday, amid reports that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe — a frequent Trump target — intended to retire, the president tweeted, “How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?”</p>
<p>“The irony is most politicians would recognize that perpetuating silence post-firing would have been the most effective course,” said Jacob Frenkel, a Washington defense lawyer and former prosecutor.</p>
<p>In the event charges are brought or impeachment proceedings are begun, that kind of inconsistent messaging would present “not just entertaining fodder for cross-examination” but also material that could be used to challenge a witness’s credibility, Frenkel said.</p>
<p>But by the same token, the evolving messaging could oddly benefit Trump by making it difficult for prosecutors to attach any one motive or reason — such as a desire to shut down the Russia investigation — for Comey’s firing.</p>
<p>“Once you start picking on one tweet or one message, then it becomes, ‘What about this tweet or that message?’ You’re constantly having competing messages,” Frenkel said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP</a></p> | Trump’s Clinton tweets cut against Comey firing explanation | false | https://apnews.com/7944aaf7b1d24974abcb00a49f3a7755 | 2017-12-28 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Tens of millions of pounds of UK aid money has been siphoned through charities linked to Hillary Clinton, it emerged last night.</p>
<p>British politicians – including Gordon Brown – stand accused of diverting huge amounts of cash through the organisations after falling under the spell of the US presidential candidate and her husband Bill.</p>
<p>At least £50 million of taxpayer-funded foreign aid money has gone to Clinton charities, which are at the centre of allegations in the US that foreign governments used donations to buy influence.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3174033/Clintons-charities-got-50million-British-aid-cash-UK-government-accused-trying-buy-influence-power-family.html" type="external">Click here for the article.</a></p> | Daily Mail: Clintons’ charities got £50million of British aid cash: UK government accused of trying to buy influence with US power family | true | http://againstcronycapitalism.org/2015/07/daily-mail-clintons-charities-got-50million-of-british-aid-cash-uk-government-accused-of-trying-to-buy-influence-with-us-power-family/ | 2015-07-25 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/30/super-bowl-commercials-super-bowl-advertisements/5038865/" type="external">Millions of dollars</a> are spent trying to make the most of the thirty seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl (Four million dollars into every thirty seconds, to be exact.)</p>
<p>And yes, that means celebrities make cameos. This year, commercial enthusiasts look forward to a reunion of the men from Full House, Ellen DeGeneres, Scarlett Johansson, Bruno Mars, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Terry Crews with the Muppets, just to name a few.</p>
<p>Over the years, there have been quite a few commercials that have stuck with us. Here are some of the best.</p>
<p>Noxema: Farrah Fawcett (1973)</p>
<p>Farrah Fawcett flips her hair and instructs men to use Noxema's cream for a smooth shave. Not long after this commercial aired, women everywhere would sing this little ditty to their man, encouraging them to shave (just kidding, but the song is catchy enough for that to be believable).</p>
<p>Diet Pepsi: New Neighbor w/ Michael J. Fox (1987)</p>
<p>Clearly Diet Pepsis are key to keep good company. Michael J. Fox searches all over for the drink and has to run out in the rain to finally get one. Its eighties music is so cheesy and the struggle is so real. Classic.</p>
<p>Diet Coke: James Bond vs Ninja w/ Pierce Brosnan (1987)</p>
<p>While trying to open a can of Diet Coke, 007 evades ninjas shooting at him, throwing blades his way, and coming at him with swords.</p>
<p>Pepsi: New Can w/ Cindy Crawford (1992)</p>
<p>Nothing can take away from the new design of Pepsi cans, not even Cindy Crawford. That's when you know.</p>
<p>Pepsi: Ultimate Beverage w/ Cindy Crawford (1994).</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>If you don't drink Pepsi, you won't look like Cindy Crawford.</p>
<p>Nike: Dennis Hopper (1995)</p>
<p>Dennis Hopper gives a dramatic monologue about passion for football while the Nike logo hangs behind him. It's not funny, but the energy put into his 90 seconds of Super Bowl commercial fame has more of an effect than a celebrity Vana White-ing a product.</p>
<p>Pepsi Generations w/ Britney Spears (2002)</p>
<p>Britney Spears sings and dances her way through the decades, with a Pepsi in hand. This commercial is probably the shortest period ever.</p>
<p>Mercedes-Benz: Soul w/ Kate Upton, Willem Dafoe (2013)</p>
<p>In an effort to prove that with the right car, you can have the world at your fingertips, Mercedes-Benz seduces viewers with a car under $30,000. This commercial was both flashy and tasteful, showing that if you sell your soul to Willem Dafoe, you can get the car of your dreams, take out Kate Upton, and pretty much rule the world with your never-ending awesomeness.</p>
<p>Samsung Mobile: The Next Big Thing w/ Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd (2013)</p>
<p>Bringing comedy to the forefront, Samsung employs Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd to sit in a brainstorm meeting. Here, they try to come up with ways to sell the "next big thing" (the latest Samsung Galaxy) to cell phone buyers.</p>
<p>Best Buy: Asking Amy w/ Amy Poehler (2013)</p>
<p>Amy Poehler is your worst nightmare in the land of retail. Anyone who finds her wandering around Best Buy should run and hide. Immediately.</p>
<p>Bud Light: Lucky Chair w/ Zoe Saldana (2013)</p>
<p>We all have our game day superstitions. With the power of Stevie Wonder, a hex has been put on a chair of the rival fan. The pair of friends drag the lucky chair all over creation to get to Stevie Wonder's hideout. The way to gain access to the man behind the magic? A six pack of Bud Light.</p> | The Best Celebrity Cameos in Super Bowl Ads | true | https://thedailybeast.com/the-best-celebrity-cameos-in-super-bowl-ads | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Image source:Weight Watchers International</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares ofWeight Watchers International, Inc.(NYSE: WTW) rose nearly 15% as of 11:30 a.m EST today, not because of surprise earnings or a new business partnership that could drive earnings, but because Oprah -- one of Weight Watchers' most famous spokespeople and investors -- revealed in a new commercial that she has lost more than 40 lbs. using the Weight Watchers plan.</p>
<p>Weight Watchers' updated weight-loss program, which the company says leads to 15% more weight lossin the first two months than the company's earlier program, launched <a href="http://people.com/bodies/oprah-lost-over-40-lbs-weight-watchers-new-ad/" type="external">a new commercialfeaturing Oprah Opens a New Window.</a>. In the commercial, the billionaire personality and business mogul tells viewers that if they are thinking of trying Weight Watchers, they just need to "take the leap" and start the new program. "I can honestly tell you, I struggle no more," Oprah says in the ad.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Oprah first teamed up with Weight Watchers in late 2015, when she took a 10% stake in the company for $43 million. Oprah has since been a company cheerleader and advisor, and today, she has helped to make the company and herself a little richer. Long term, though, the company may still face some serious challenges.</p>
<p>Weight Watchers has had a volatile last few years. The company made an impressive run through March 2012, up to around $80 per share, though the stock plummeted the next three years down to just 5% of that value by June 2015. Oprah has been able to boost the stock a few times in her short tenure there. Shares spiked in 2015, when Oprah announced her new role and position in the company, and again when she announced some weight loss success in January. Even following today's bump, though, the stock is down nearly 50% year to date.</p>
<p>Weight Watchers posted a relatively solid most recent quarter, with revenue and EPS up 2.7% and 38%, respectively, year over year. Still, much of that earnings success was due to a tax issue that allowed the company to pay just 10% tax for the quarter, and Wall Street hasn't been convinced the company will be able to overcome some of its challenges to continue growing earnings going forward.</p>
<p>Congratulations to Oprah on her success, but until Weight Watchers can start to show consistent growth under its new program -- and take care of hurdles such as completing their search for a CEO -- it might be best to push yourself away from the table on this one.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Weight Watchers International When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=c742c2af-5e9e-4e93-b9c8-e4b16a90ed1c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now...and Weight Watchers International wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=c742c2af-5e9e-4e93-b9c8-e4b16a90ed1c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/BSMcNew/info.aspx" type="external">Seth McNew Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Weight Watchers International, Inc. Popped Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/22/why-weight-watchers-international-inc-popped-today.html | 2016-12-22 | 0 |
<p />
<p>You may like your customers, but are you obsessed with them?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Global consulting firm Bluewolf’s State of Salesforce Report, developed with MIT Sloan School of Management, shows customer engagement is more important than ever. In fact, 84% of the more than 450 businesses surveyed say that customer engagement will overtake productivity as the primary driver behind growth at their companies.</p>
<p>Gene Marks, owner of sales and marketing technology consulting firm The Marks Group PC, agrees with Bluewolf that customer engagement is now top of mind for most business owners.</p>
<p>“It costs way more to get a new customer to sell to than it is to sell to existing customers,” says Marks. The Marks Group sells Salesforce as well as other CRM platforms, including Goldmine, Zoho and Microsoft Dynamic.</p>
<p>That message is ringing loud and clear with staffers, according to Bluewolf’s survey. Sixty percent of employees see customer engagement as their top priority. Additionally, more than 60% of sales, service and marketing employees say they are measured on their ability to increase customer engagement.</p>
<p>Marks says the more employees “get with the program,” the better.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“A good CRM system accomplishes two things: Nothing ever falls through the cracks and no one looks like a dope,” says Marks. “Everybody should know what’s going on with the customer.”</p> | Salesforce Survey Shows Current Customers Still King | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/11/12/salesforce-survey-shows-current-customers-still-king.html | 2016-03-23 | 0 |
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<p>TOKYO — Shares fell in Asia on Wednesday, tracking modest losses overnight on Wall Street, where the biggest drop in crude oil prices since October weighed on oil producers and other energy stocks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slumped 0.9 percent after a lackluster GDP report for July-September.</p>
<p>KEEPING SCORE: The Nikkei 225 was at 22,169.31, as manufacturers’ shares were hurt by a stronger yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 percent to 28,956.00 and the Shanghai Composite index also lost 0.7 percent to 3,405.18. Australia’s S&amp;P ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent to 5,945.50 and the Kospi of South Korea declined 0.3 percent to 2,519.26. Taiwan fell and shares in Southeast Asia were mostly lower.</p>
<p>JAPAN DATA: Japan’s economy expanded at a 1.4 percent annualized rate in July-September in the seventh straight quarter of growth for the world’s third-largest economy. The economy is in its longest period of expansion since 2001. But growth slowed from a 2.6 percent annualized rate of growth in April-June, the Cabinet Office reported Wednesday. Strong exports are helping offset relatively weak household demand. Private consumption fell 0.5 percent in July-September, the first such decline in seven quarters, the report said.</p>
<p>ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude sank 58 cents to $55.12 per barrel, or 1.04 percent, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.06, or 1.9 percent, on Tuesday to settle at $55.70 per barrel, the biggest single-day decline since October. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 71 cents to $61.50 per barrel. It declined 95 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $62.21 a barrel in London.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>ANALYST’S VIEWPOINT: “There’s this perception that there’s a lot of supply waiting in the wings and as prices have moved higher that’s made the marginal producer want to come out and just find more oil,” said Eric Freedman, chief investment officer of U.S. Bank Wealth Management.</p>
<p>WALL STREET: Energy companies led U.S. stocks modestly lower Tuesday, erasing small gains made a day earlier. Investors also are eyeing a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on its version of a major tax bill this week. Expectations that the tax overhaul will sharply lower corporate taxes have helped lift share prices this year. The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index 0.2 percent to 2,578.87. The Dow Jones industrial average 0.1 percent to 23,409.47 and the Nasdaq composite slid 0.3 percent to 6,737.87. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks also gave up 0.3 percent, to 1,471.26.</p>
<p>CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 113.21 yen from 113.43 yen on Tuesday. The euro weakened to $1.1793 from $1.1796.</p> | Asian shares fall, tracking Wall St, drop in oil prices | false | https://abqjournal.com/1092396/us-stocks-decline-in-early-trading-oil-heads-lower.html | 2017-11-14 | 2 |
<p />
<p>I’ve already written plenty about <a href="" type="internal">what it feels like</a> to <a href="" type="internal">be assaulted and fight like hell</a> in a full-force self-defense class. I wish I could show you some of the highlights from my third and final day of training. Like when I failed to protect myself against an attacker knocking my legs out from under me: My back hit the ground hard enough to stun me for several seconds and draw gasps from everyone watching. Or the grueling “extended” fights, which I’ve&#160; <a href="" type="internal">previously described</a>:</p>
<p>[T]hese fights require you to land five or seven knockout blows. As my instructor describes it, they “are meant to simulate scenarios where the assailant is either on a psychotic break or high, and thus not receptive to a ‘pain knockout’—and requiring a ‘structural knockout'” (as in, he must be kicked or punched in the head in a way that his brain knocks against the skull hard enough for him to lose consciousness).</p>
<p>Much of these brawls took place on the ground. It’s highly unsettling to watch a gal get overtaken on the floor, fight as hard as she can, lose, get pinned again, and then have to say to her assailant, “I’m sorry, I was just scared. I’m sorry I fought you, I’ll be good now,” so he’ll go easier on her and she might find another chance to win. I was given a video of a few of my fights, but watching myself lying still, trying to remember to breathe, looking for a window to kick some dude in the face while he crawls all over me calling me a little bitch kind of makes me want to die, so I’m not ready to put it on the internet.</p>
<p>However! One of my fearless classmates took the next level of the course, which includes simulations of someone coming into your house and attacking you while you’re in your own bed. She has bravely offered this video of one such scenario for public consumption. Voilà:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | How to Kick Ass: The Video | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/dick-kicking-video/ | 2011-03-18 | 4 |
<p>The demonising of the enemy before the war is intense. The Swedish media, for instance, take for granted that a war against Iraq will take place. No alternatives to war are mentioned. Iraq has become a synonym for Saddam Hussein in the Swedish media, leaving 23 million human beings in oblivion. Iraq as a society and culture, from now on, belongs to the zone of silence.</p>
<p>It is above all very important that not even the tiniest element of humanness affects our perception of the country. Iraqis must not be pictured as human beings, mothers, fathers, children with hopes and fears, poverty or wealth. We must only imagine Saddam and his palaces that we will pulverize in a technological inferno. None of the potential consequences of a full-fledged war are being discussed. Millions of refugees; tens of thousands of dead and injured (both Iraqis and Americans, especially if chemical weapons are used); environmental disaster; a sky rocketing price of oil; possible spreading of the conflict to Israel-Palestine; the need for hundreds of billions of dollars for reconstruction that could take ten or even twenty years; eventual partition of Iraq in three; war in Turkey against the Kurds; and so on. Can anyone guarantee that none of that will happen?</p>
<p>No, we are supposed to accept the war because it will bring democracy, peace, stability, a market economy and gender equity. But then not a word about the possibility that it is all about taking control of Iraq’s oil, not to mention the oil of Saudi Arabia, who is no longer a reliable ally.</p>
<p>Thanks to TFF’s e-mail services, all the relevant Swedish media know that our team is one of the few in the Nordic region to have been there. But not a single one of them thought that it would be interesting to do an interview. TFF is against the war, and has provided propositions for a non-violent resolution of the conflict, in other words, the “wrong” point of view. Instead, journalists from various media sources (including “Dagens Eko”) call us up because they want to know how to travel there and get a visa, which hotel to stay in and how dangerous it is. Unfortunately, we are not a travel agency.</p>
<p>Bush wants to make us think that all is black in Iraq and that all is white in the United States, that it is the bad guys threatening the good guys. Most of the people who believe that do not have the intellectual capacity to see more than a two-fold matrix when what we need is a four-fold matrix: there are good things and bad things in Iraq just like there are good things and bad things in the United States and in the West.</p>
<p>According to that logic, because they are the evil ones, all that we do is by definition good. That way, we are free to impose several unilateral demands on Iraq (the United States will not promise anything in return), and if Iraq does not comply it has made its own choice to be bombed. So the West has no responsibility whatsoever for what it does or how it chooses to influence and answer to Iraq’s politics.</p>
<p>The Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh is getting dangerously close to that war-legitimising logic in a recent TT telegram following her meeting with Iraq’s Foreign Minister at the UN: “Iraq must give access to all facilities, and I insist to all facilities. I pointed out that the responsibility is now in the Iraqi camp – – it is up to them to decide if military actions will be taken or not.” Literally, this means that the United States and Sweden are thereby no longer responsible for their own actions. Even if we unilaterally dictate the conditions, Saddam alone is responsible for our actions.</p>
<p>This is obviously philosophical nonsense and it is totally immoral. Such reasoning could only be plausible if there were a pre-established mutual agreement about the rules of the game. It is absurd to claim that the US is not responsible for the decision to bomb or not. It has the freedom to choose to do something other than war. To cling to such views is to distance oneself from one’s moral responsibility, not to mention eventually closing the borders to the traumatised Iraqis who will begin to come knocking on our doors after the war.</p>
<p>In addition to the actual substance of the conflict we have a gigantic communication problem with prejudice, stereotypes and huge differences in the meaning of words. Above all, we have a Christian and a Muslim political fundamentalism that match one another perfectly.</p>
<p>Ofra Begio’s book “Saddam’s Word; Political Discourse in Iraq” is an extremely useful tool for those who want to understand the influence of culture and language on this conflict. Among many other things, what I have learned from Begio is that the Arabic language, through its politeness, ceremony, its talking around the core of the matter, and its many repetitions with tiny differences is very suitable for both diplomatic and manipulative purposes. Further, the line between rhetoric and action is rather fuzzy in the Arabic language. Rhetoric can be so powerful that, when repeated many times and with sufficient energy, a threat of war can replace a real war. It has a collective self-absorbing function. Arabic, spoken by Saddam, is full of code words and references to concrete past events that lead individuals to interpret their own situation in a historical context.</p>
<p>Let us for example take the word “intifada”, which became known during the first intifada in Palestine in 1987. An Arabic dictionary from the 15th Century defines the word as “Give me a stone so that I can save my soul with it.” The word describes a situation in which one runs from an oppressor and tries to keep him at distance by throwing stones. It became a core concept in the Iraqi Baath party ideology during the 1960’s. Little by little, the meaning of the word changed to “uprising,” to “make a revolution,” to “lead Iraq towards unity, socialism and freedom.” The word intifada was also used in the context of the invasion of Kuwait. It was argued that the invasion was in support of the Kuwaiti intifada against the corrupted Sabah family, Kuwait’s sovereign dynasty.</p>
<p>Another example is the concept of “thawra.” It is associated with “revolutionism” but has become synonym with the highest, almost holy order in society. The word can mean war or fight, but it can also mean to get the cows moving and drinking water. Other meanings of that word are “a fight against a foreign occupying power” or “a coup against one’s own regime if it is corrupted.” When the Iraqi people have had enough of war, revolutions, coups and political murders the political content of the concept of thawra was oriented towards “the highest good,”towards order and stability rather than change.</p>
<p>In Arabic, words have a ‘magical’ and emotional connotation that we do not really understand in the West. There is nothing really magical about what comes out of the mouth of our politicians. Arabic is an ocean of meanings, associations and images. It is said about the Arabs that they like words for their own sake, for the sake of poetry, sound and eloquence. One can listen to people talk for hours without even saying anything, it sounds so beautiful, just like music. From what I understand, where we draw a sharp line between abstractions, description of reality and fantasy, Arab countries do not make such clear distinctions.</p>
<p>Such a language is perfectly shaped for manipulation. Whoever is in power can decide that a certain word will now have a new nuance and represent something that is not clearly understood by all. For example, the word “yellow” can appear harmless but it was used politically in reference to the Mongol invasion 800 years ago and about Iran during the war. Words are thus not only symbolic but they are also charged emotionally: they enhance the mobilisation of strong positive or negative feelings of belonging against “the others.”</p>
<p>What we can be sure of is that what the Iraqis are saying in this ongoing pie throwing contest with the West is a lot more sophisticated than it seems to be in the English translation. We should not believe that all the rhetoric and statements about war and combat are in fact meant as concrete war declarations: they can downright replace them. By saying this or that and repeating it often enough, the promised actions do not always have to be actually taken. It is the case for example with all the speeches on Arab unity that concludes all Arab States meetings.</p>
<p>One may hope that the war rhetoric of the United States and Iraq will lead to similar results. But I fear that we understand each other’s culture so little that we are on the course of collision. Perhaps what we need is an intellectual and moral intifada in the entire Western world to stop the war against Iraq!</p>
<p>JAN OBERG is director of <a href="http://www.transnational.org/" type="external">Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research</a> based in Lund, Sweden.</p>
<p>Translation from Swedish by Jean-Francois Drolet.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Time for an Intellectual Intifada! | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/12/05/time-for-an-intellectual-intifada/ | 2002-12-05 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Generic drugmaker Mylan NV has recalled some EpiPen devices in countries outside the United States, following two reports of the life-saving allergy shot failing to work in emergencies.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The two reports showed that devices in a batch of about 80,000 failed to activate, Mylan said on Monday. http://bit.ly/2mtk4iv</p>
<p>The recall includes EpiPen devices issued in Ireland, Australia, Finland, Denmark and some other European nations.</p>
<p>Mylan did not respond to requests for comment on whether the device failures resulted in deaths. It also did not specify the total number of devices being recalled.</p>
<p>The U.S. drugmaker, which is the focus of multiple federal investigations, has come under fire for staggering price increases on the emergency shot in the United States.</p>
<p>Mylan has also been heavily criticized for classifying EpiPen as a generic rather than a branded product, which led to much smaller rebates from the company to state Medicaid programs.</p> | Mylan Recalls Some EpiPens Outside U.S. After Reports of Failure | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/22/mylan-recalls-some-epipens-outside-u-s-after-reports-failure.html | 2017-03-22 | 0 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/endemol-shine/" type="external">Endemol Shine</a> North America has set a joint venture with Mexico’s <a href="http://variety.com/t/boomdog/" type="external">Boomdog</a> to produce Spanish-language content for U.S. and Mexican audiences.</p>
<p>The deal brings together <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/mipcom-endemol-shine-latino-co-produces-series-boy-band-menudo-1202591907/" type="external">Endemol Shine</a> North America’s existing Spanish-language operations, based in Miami, with the bustling independent studio that is home to numerous hit shows in Mexico.&#160;Boomdog CEO Alejandro Rincon will become CEO of Endemol Shine Boomdog, reporting to Endemol Shine Latino president Laurens Drillich.</p>
<p>“We’ve enjoyed a great relationship and great success with the team at Boomdog over the last several years and quickly realized that joining forces could take both of our operations to the next level,” said Cris Abrego, CEO of Endemol Shine North America. “Alejandro and the Boomdog team are unquestionably the leading independent producers in Mexico and we’re truly excited about what our joint teams will be able to accomplish together.”</p>
<p>Boomdog is the producer behind HBO’s hit talk show “Chumel con Chumel Torres,” as well as a range of other series including format adaptations “Mexico’s Next Top Model,” “Impractical Jokers Mexico,” “Fashion Police Mexico,” and the Endemol Shine co-production “Gran Hermano.” The two companies have already worked together on several shows.</p>
<p>Boomdog launched in 1997 in Venezuela and relocated to Mexico in 2007. The company has more than 100 employees and extensive production studios in Mexico.</p>
<p>“We are very excited with what now lies ahead of us, working hand-in-hand with our partners at Endemol Shine,” said Rincon. “We have two tremendous teams in both Miami and Mexico and we are poised&#160;to be the independent leader in both the U.S. Hispanic market and in Mexico. And I want to thank Cris Abrego and Laurens&#160;Drillich for trusting me and my team to make the creation of Endemol Shine Boomdog a reality.”</p>
<p /> | Endemol Shine Sets Spanish-Language Joint Venture With Mexico’s Boomdog | false | https://newsline.com/endemol-shine-sets-spanish-language-joint-venture-with-mexicos-boomdog/ | 2017-11-14 | 1 |
<p>Former first lady Michelle Obama went on a racist tirade Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women attacking Republican congress members for being “all white.”&#160;</p>
<p>From&#160; <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/04/michelle-obama-all-men-all-white-gop-makes-people-distrust-politics/" type="external">The Daily Caller</a>:</p>
<p>“We should be working actively to mix it up, so we’re getting a real broad range of perspectives on every issue. Shoot, I would see that in Congress,” she stated [on the topic of diversity].</p>
<p>“At the State of the Union address… when you are in the room what you can see is this real dichotomy. It’s a feeling of color almost,” Obama said. “On one side of the room is literally gray and white. Literally, that is the color palette on one side of the room. On the other side of the room, there are yellows and blues and whites and greens. Physically, there’s a difference in color, in the tone, because on one side all men, all white, on the other side some woman, some people of color.”</p>
<p />
<p>“I look at that, and I go, no wonder. No wonder we struggle, no wonder people don’t trust politics.&#160;We’re not even noticing what these rooms look like,” she added.</p>
<p>According to Obama, the GOP being too white and male means “it’s hard to come up with the right answer [to the problems of minorities] when you haven’t lived it.”</p>
<p>Note too she said people should not be allowed to have homogeneous work places where they feel “comfortable.”</p>
<p>She made it absolutely clear all she sees when she looks at the vibrant diversity of European peoples is “whiteness.”</p>
<p />
<p>Notice how we’re only now hearing this? Clearly she was biting her tongue throughout Barack’s political career to hide her deep-seated hatred for “white” people.</p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=57464" type="external">Information Liberation</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | Michelle Obama Goes On Racist Tirade Against ‘White Men’ At Women’s Conference In Pennsylvania | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/06/michelle-obama-goes-on-racist-tirade-against-white-men-at-womens-conference-in-pennsylvania/ | 2017-10-06 | 0 |
<p>SALEM, Ore. (AP) — More beverages now carry a 10-cent refund deposit in Oregon.</p>
<p>The Statesman Journal <a href="https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2017/12/30/more-bottles-cans-require-10-cent-deposit-starting-monday/990707001/" type="external">reports</a> that 10-cent deposits are now required for coffee, tea, fruit juice, coconut water and hard cider containers between 4 oz. and 1.5 liters. The change, which went into effect Monday, is part of an expansion that state lawmakers approved in 2011.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.oregon.gov/olcc/pages/bottle_bill.aspx" type="external">2018 expansion</a> , however, won't apply to dairy, plant-based milks, meal-replacement drinks, wine, distilled liquor and infant formula containers.</p>
<p>Beer, water and carbonated soft drinks containers that are 3 liters or smaller were previously covered under the state's bottle bill.</p>
<p>The deposits are aimed at encouraging customers to bring their bottles and cans to redemption centers across the state to get their money back.</p>
<p>Oregon was the first state in the nation to give 5-cent refunds for recycling used soda cans and glass bottles more than 45 years ago. In April, the rate increased to 10 cents.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Statesman Journal, <a href="http://www.statesmanjournal.com" type="external">http://www.statesmanjournal.com</a></p>
<p>SALEM, Ore. (AP) — More beverages now carry a 10-cent refund deposit in Oregon.</p>
<p>The Statesman Journal <a href="https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2017/12/30/more-bottles-cans-require-10-cent-deposit-starting-monday/990707001/" type="external">reports</a> that 10-cent deposits are now required for coffee, tea, fruit juice, coconut water and hard cider containers between 4 oz. and 1.5 liters. The change, which went into effect Monday, is part of an expansion that state lawmakers approved in 2011.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.oregon.gov/olcc/pages/bottle_bill.aspx" type="external">2018 expansion</a> , however, won't apply to dairy, plant-based milks, meal-replacement drinks, wine, distilled liquor and infant formula containers.</p>
<p>Beer, water and carbonated soft drinks containers that are 3 liters or smaller were previously covered under the state's bottle bill.</p>
<p>The deposits are aimed at encouraging customers to bring their bottles and cans to redemption centers across the state to get their money back.</p>
<p>Oregon was the first state in the nation to give 5-cent refunds for recycling used soda cans and glass bottles more than 45 years ago. In April, the rate increased to 10 cents.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Statesman Journal, <a href="http://www.statesmanjournal.com" type="external">http://www.statesmanjournal.com</a></p> | Oregon's 10-cent bottle deposit applies to more beverages | false | https://apnews.com/amp/27512a6390df47f894236aa2cf0c8e6e | 2018-01-01 | 2 |
<p>While the <a href="" type="internal">War on Women</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-v-taylor/chick-fil-a-gay-rights_b_1740017.html" type="external">Chick-fil-A</a> might be getting all the juicy headlines lately, there’s another issue quietly smoldering in the background noise of this election season. It’s buried under all the campaign rhetoric and doom-and-gloom forecasts about the economy.</p>
<p>Our public libraries are not just threatened this election season. They’re fighting for their lives — and with them, the livelihoods and well-being of hard-hit communities all over the country. <a href="http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/soal2012/public-libraries" type="external">Library districts</a> in California, Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Washington, <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/libfunding/public/" type="external">and more</a> have measures or proposals to slash budgets in 2012. California alone is looking at 50% budget cuts. Where I live, the library district is facing a <a href="https://sincitysiren.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/gotv-week-save-the-libraries/" type="external">30% budget cut</a>, which will close at least two branches. According to the American Library Association, <a href="http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/soal2012/public-libraries" type="external">23 states are looking to cut library budgets</a> in the most recent fiscal year.</p>
<p>But I have yet to see a demonstration to save the libraries. Or read national news coverage about the potential collapse of one society’s most valuable resources. Indeed, it wasn’t by accident that our nation’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin" type="external">founding fathers established the first American lending library</a>.</p>
<p>But the truth is that the state of our public libraries is a kind of litmus test of not only our economic health but that of our democracy, too. After all, libraries are the free, democratization of education, unbiased research, and uncensored enlightenment.</p>
<p>It was President John F. Kennedy who made this plea for the sanctity of our libraries:</p>
<p>If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.</p>
<p>Here are some reasons why our libraries are still the place where we as a nation will achieve our destiny:</p>
<p />
<p>These days, there are a lot of people talking about how nobody reads anymore. But that’s just wrong. People are reading ALL THE TIME. People are on Facebook, on Wikipedia, on blogs… They are using e-readers to read virtual copies of books. They are downloading newspapers to their tablet devices. People still read. And people read books — with pages and paper and bindings — too. But the fact is, there’s all kinds of other stuff besides books that libraries do for people in our community every day. Book programs for shut-ins. After-school and summer programs for youth. Did I mention toddler story time?</p>
<p>But more than that, it may just be the last free space that is truly free and there for everyone — homeless, young, old, rich, poor, and any race under the sun. We are all welcome there. We are all equal there.</p>
<p>Doesn’t that seem like a space too valuable to lose?</p> | Nine Reasons to Save Public Libraries | false | https://ivn.us/2012/09/19/nine-reasons-to-save-public-libraries-2/ | 2012-09-19 | 2 |
<p />
<p>The cassette tape is turning 50 and some music industry insiders say the recording relic is poised for a comeback.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The people who helped put together Record Store Day in 2007 are launching the first <a href="http://cassettestoreday.com/" type="external">Cassette Store Day Opens a New Window.</a> on Saturday in celebration of the beloved recording format.</p>
<p>Steve Rose says the idea for Cassette Store Day was born while he was putting together some tapes for a friend following&#160; <a href="http://recordstoreday.com/Home" type="external">Record Store Day Opens a New Window.</a>.&#160;He reached out to fellow music producer Jen Long, who in partnership with Transgressive Records runs the U.K.-based tape label Kissability, to help bring the party to life.</p>
<p>Long says first and foremost it is a day for music and cassette fans, but also a way to show there is still an appetite to own releases in a physical format.</p>
<p>“We’d like to see cassette labels get a little more recognition,” Long tells FOXBusiness.com.</p>
<p>She says the response has been loud and clear.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“When we started the event it was going to be UK only and we really didn’t expect so many U.S. stores to get involved.”</p>
<p>Indeed, a couple dozen cassette and record <a href="http://cassettestoreday.com/stores" type="external">stores across the United States and Latin America Opens a New Window.</a> are celebrating and <a href="http://cassettestoreday.com/releases" type="external">some 50 bands Opens a New Window.</a> including The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Deerhunter and Los Campesinos! (Kissability will be releasing the first live album on tape from the band especially for the day) are set to release music.</p>
<p>50 Years of Cassettes</p>
<p>While the eight-track began popping up in American households in the 1950s, <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/30/50_years_of_the_compact_cassette/?page=1" type="external">it was eclipsed by the cassette tape in the 1960s Opens a New Window.</a>. In 1970, when Ray Dolby used his noise reduction unit to solve the cassette’s “hissing” issue, the cassette quickly morphed from a business aid into a music carrier -- giving the music industry its first taste of piracy.</p>
<p>“Cassettes caught on because they made music portable,” says Don Cusic, music historian and professor at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. “You could copy music onto a tape and carry it with you in the car, on a Walkman, wherever.”</p>
<p>Despite all the hype, Cusic says he doesn’t see the tape making as big a resurgence as vinyl records. Based on data from Nielsen Soundscan, <a href="http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/20130726vinyl" type="external">U.S. vinyl music sales for 2013 are projected to reach 5.5 million units Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>And according to the Nielsen Company and Billboard’s 2012 Music Industry Report, “digital album sales are up 14.1% and digital track sales are up 5.1%, but despite being down 12.8%, physical is still the dominant album format.”</p>
<p>Dan Keen, instructor of Music Business and Cusic’s colleague at Belmont, agrees any sales bump from the celebration will likely be small, however, he does think the music industry as a whole is at the “dawn of a golden age.”</p>
<p>“We’re trending away from owning copies of anything, sure, but publishers, songwriters and artists have always adapted to new technologies and will be okay,” Keen says. “It’s anybody whose business depends on selling recorded versions of music (like record stores) turn to react.”</p>
<p>The Making of a Mixtape</p>
<p>The fact tapes are cheaper to produce has kept them popular among independent record stores and labels, and in turn for consumers looking to purchase old and new tracks at a lesser cost.</p>
<p>Eric Ziegler, store manager for Homer’s Music in Omaha, Neb., says the inexpensiveness of the exchange might do the trick to help ailing record stores and labels.</p>
<p>“Sure there’s some kitsch value to [Cassette Store Day] because not everybody buys tapes, but not everybody buys records and [Record Store Day] is still hugely successful,” he says.</p>
<p>Homer’s Music opened its doors in 1971 and operated as a chain up and down the Midwest until recently when the company decided to close all but one store, the one in Omaha at which Ziegler works. He says tapes make up maybe 1% of Homer’s sales, 70% comes from CD sales, 30% from Vinyl LP sales. Tapes typically sell for anywhere from $2 to $7, depending on if there are bonus tracks or they’re collectibles. Some of the exclusive releases for Cassette Store Day imported from the U.K. may go for $12.</p>
<p>Kevin Klein, owner of the independent Omaha-based label Rainy Road Records, is producing several releases for Cassette Store Day. He says he can produce about 100 tapes for about $200.</p>
<p>Klein admits it’s been hard to sustain his business as people move toward digital music and streaming, but says one thing that’s helped the company survive is the low cost of cassettes -- and including download cards for digital copies with the purchase.</p>
<p>He also thinks tapes, even at 50-years-old, can make a comeback.</p>
<p>“Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing, but tapes have a warmer quality to their sound that passionate music fans appreciate.”</p> | Cassette Tapes at 50: Alive and Kicking? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/09/06/cassette-tapes-at-50-alive-and-kicking.html | 2016-04-08 | 0 |
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ These Tennessee lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Cash 3 Evening</p>
<p>9-0-4, Lucky Sum: 13</p>
<p>(nine, zero, four; Lucky Sum: thirteen)</p>
<p>Cash 3 Midday</p>
<p>5-8-6, Lucky Sum: 19</p>
<p>(five, eight, six; Lucky Sum: nineteen)</p>
<p>Cash 3 Morning</p>
<p>7-0-2, Lucky Sum: 9</p>
<p>(seven, zero, two; Lucky Sum: nine)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Evening</p>
<p>8-4-1-0, Lucky Sum: 13</p>
<p>(eight, four, one, zero; Lucky Sum: thirteen)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Midday</p>
<p>8-7-1-0, Lucky Sum: 16</p>
<p>(eight, seven, one, zero; Lucky Sum: sixteen)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Morning</p>
<p>3-9-9-1, Lucky Sum: 22</p>
<p>(three, nine, nine, one; Lucky Sum: twenty-two)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>10-12-20-38-41, Mega Ball: 25, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(ten, twelve, twenty, thirty-eight, forty-one; Mega Ball: twenty-five; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $277 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ These Tennessee lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Cash 3 Evening</p>
<p>9-0-4, Lucky Sum: 13</p>
<p>(nine, zero, four; Lucky Sum: thirteen)</p>
<p>Cash 3 Midday</p>
<p>5-8-6, Lucky Sum: 19</p>
<p>(five, eight, six; Lucky Sum: nineteen)</p>
<p>Cash 3 Morning</p>
<p>7-0-2, Lucky Sum: 9</p>
<p>(seven, zero, two; Lucky Sum: nine)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Evening</p>
<p>8-4-1-0, Lucky Sum: 13</p>
<p>(eight, four, one, zero; Lucky Sum: thirteen)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Midday</p>
<p>8-7-1-0, Lucky Sum: 16</p>
<p>(eight, seven, one, zero; Lucky Sum: sixteen)</p>
<p>Cash 4 Morning</p>
<p>3-9-9-1, Lucky Sum: 22</p>
<p>(three, nine, nine, one; Lucky Sum: twenty-two)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>10-12-20-38-41, Mega Ball: 25, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(ten, twelve, twenty, thirty-eight, forty-one; Mega Ball: twenty-five; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $277 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p> | TN Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/0544b9ca51b94252845a5375ffdca437 | 2017-12-27 | 2 |
<p>Weight cutting in mixed martial arts is a dangerous prospect. Fighters will oftentimes shed anywhere between 20 to 40 pounds of their body weight in the weeks leading up to a fight so that they can be the bigger combatant in the cage. However, doing so carries significant risks to one's overall health, and can even affect fighter performance.</p>
<p>So why do they do it?</p>
<p>"We do it because everybody does it. Everybody cuts weight," said UFC flyweight Paige "12 gauge" VanZant in an interview with MMAFighting.</p>
<p>VanZant used to compete in the UFC's strawweight division, which has a limit of 115 pounds. However, before beginning the process of cutting weight, PVZ would weigh about 138 pounds. She described her weight cutting routine, starting with the changes to her diet she would make in the weeks leading up to a fight, including cutting out all sodium. She'd drop about a half pound a day.</p>
<p>During one particularly difficult weight cut, VanZant weighed in 10 pounds over the limit the day before the fight. So it was off to the sauna, where she would don a plastic suit and work out, attempting to drain herself of water in the form of sweat. When she was too exhausted to do that, she went to her hotel room, ran the bath as hot as it would go, poured salt and alcohol into the water, turned on her faucets and a hair dryer, and would continue to sweat this way.</p>
<p>VanZant said a friend who had helped her set up her bathroom for the weight cut would return later to find her passed out.</p>
<p>"I was killing myself for this," said VanZant.</p>
<p>"12 gauge" has since moved up in weight to the newly created flyweight division, which has a 125 pound weight limit. She'll have a much easier cut, and is far less likely to hurt herself in the process. Her next fight goes down Jan. 14 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. She faces off against fellow UFC flyweight Jessica-Rose Clark.</p> | UFC fighter Paige VanZant: "I was killing myself for this" | false | https://circa.com/story/2018/01/14/action-sports/ufc-fighter-paige-vanzant-i-was-killing-myself-for-this | 2018-01-14 | 1 |
<p />
<p>Photo by Bureau of Land Management | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Standing on the south lawn of the White House just days after 9/11, Bush told the nation—and the world—that “[t]his crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take awhile.”</p>
<p>Bush, evoking history’s most infamous religious war, perhaps out of clumsy oblivion to the connotation of his own words, perhaps as a dog whistle to the most reactionary elements of his base, laid out his vision for a global war, a war that had no boundaries, not even the borders of the United States. In the early post-9/11 period, Bush, who had been the first President since 1888 to fail to win a plurality of the popular vote, frequently resorted to particularly grandiose terms. Thus, it was, in some respects, oddly fitting for the man who spoke of “enemies of freedom” and the “axis of evil”, to refer to his global war on terrorism as a “crusade” against a “new kind of evil.”</p>
<p>Nearly a decade and a half later, the former crusader-in-chief, now fashions himself a painter. And he has found an odd and surprising new fan club amongst <a href="" type="internal">liberals</a>. Liberals have sought to revive his image in order to turn him into an anti-Trump. We are told that Bush is everything Trump is not. Unlike Trump, he never embraced Islamophobia, respected the media and liberal constitutional norms and tolerated dissent. You see Trump will somehow melt away if only liberals can point to respectable representatives of the status quo, and say, “Look, Trump is not like them!”</p>
<p>But those looking to tout the good Bush as the opposite of the bad Trump seem to have forgotten—or are conveniently overlooking—the very real causalities of the former zealot of the death chamber and the black site.</p>
<p>Bush’s, while speaking of a new kind of evil, did incalculable amounts of damage.</p>
<p>Abroad, his crusade led him to launch two invasions, whose massive bombings of impoverished countries paralleled Guernica in their brutality, whose policies of occupation brought the neoliberal order full circle to the old blunt violence of colonial pillage.</p>
<p>At home, his crusade meant domestic dissent was tantamount to disloyalty; and that civil society could either be conscripted into the cause or treated as an enemy.</p>
<p>And somewhere in the space blended together, Bush’s crusade erected a regime of torture, detention, and disappearance.</p>
<p>To praise Bush now is to erase these victims, and all in the name of an impotent strategy. Trump’s success depends on his ability to convince his supporters that he isn’t like the George Bushes of the world. And by legitimizing Bush, we legitimize in part some of the worst potential policies of a Trump administration.&#160; To put it simply, it is difficult to lament Trump’s desire to bring back torture while praising as his foil the man who implemented the very regime of torture Trump wishes to resurrect.</p>
<p>Rise to Power</p>
<p>Even before Bush was president, he had an almost super villain quality to him. As governor, Bush signed 131 death warrants, at the time a record. While Rick Perry would latter go onto outdo Bush’s ghastly record in total number of executions, Bush executed individuals at a faster rate. Analysis of these executions showed that most of those sent to death by Bush had <a href="" type="internal">“seriously flawed trials.”</a> Bush <a href="" type="internal">denied</a> the clemency petition of an individual with intellectual disabilities and even opposed legislation barring such a practice. The Supreme Court would later rule executing individuals with intellectual disabilities is cruel and unusual punishment.</p>
<p>After presiding over Texas’s machinery of death, Bush set his sites on the White House. Like Trump, he failed to gain a plurality of popular. Unlike Trump, unfounded claims of Russian hacking not withstanding, there are serious allegations of fraud and outright theft of the election. An intervention by the Supreme Court ended recount efforts in Florida.</p>
<p>Needless to say, not everyone was pleased by the failure to properly count the votes in Florida. When he arrived in Washington, DC for his inauguration, he was greeted by a mass of <a href="" type="internal">protesters</a> who hold “Hail to the Thief” signs and pelted his motorcade with <a href="" type="internal">eggs</a>.</p>
<p>War On the World</p>
<p>In a Saturday Night Live <a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/bush-gore-meeting-cold-open/2861376?snl=1" type="external">sketch</a> following the election, a fictional Bush tells the defeated Al Gore “maybe, I’ll start a war. Wars are like executions supersized.” This would prove to be uncannily foreboding of what was to come.</p>
<p>While any US President (or any leader in the capitalist world) would have exploited a tragedy like 9/11 for a consolidation of power, Bush’s actions in its aftermath go far beyond the pale of what anyone could imagine. Bush subsequently invaded Afghanistan, but sought and received a Congressional <a href="" type="internal">authorization for the use of military force</a> (AUMF) that never mentioned the country by name. This is because instead of arguing for military force against a single national, Bush proclaimed a global war, a war in which every corner, of every country is a battlefield.</p>
<p>The ramifications of this are profound. To date, between both Bush and Obama the authorization for military force in question, which is still in effect, has been <a href="https://www.hsdl.org/?view&amp;did=792875" type="external">cited</a> 37 times to justify military actions in 14 countries. The AUMF was used by the Bush administration to argue that it could detain José Padilla, <a href="https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/jose-padilla-no-charges-no-trial-just-jail" type="external">a US citizen arrested on US soil</a>, indefinitely without trial as an enemy combatant—after all the whole world, including the US, was a battlefield. The US government charged Padilla to <a href="" type="internal">avoid</a> a Supreme Court ruling on whether the AUMF granted such powers. &#160;Bush would make similar claims after the US detained another US citizen Yaser Esam Hamdi, who unlike Podailla was captured in Afghanistan. Hamdi was initially held at Guantanamo Bay, but moved to the US mainland when it was discovered he was a US citizen. In spite of this, Bush continued to assert Hamdi was an enemy combatant that could be held indefinitely without ever challenging his detention. Eight of the Supreme Court’s nine Supreme Court justices <a href="" type="internal">rejected this argument</a>, though a plurality affirmed the Bush Administration’s claims that the AUMF granted him powers to detain combatants.</p>
<p>Guantanamo Bay became the symbol of Bush’s assertion that he could detain people without any form of review. It also created a continuous legal back and forth, in which the highest courts constantly rebuffed the government, with the government just beginning the process anew. Throughout this process Bush made shocking departures from liberal norms, at one point attempting to argue the Geneva Conventions, which governs the treatment of prisoners of war, did not apply to “unlawful enemy combatants.” Bush also attempted to argue, that neither Congress nor the courts could check the President’s decision to detain “enemy combatants.”</p>
<p>Bush’s policies of detention are closely intertwined with his policies of torture. While the US has almost certainly been complicit in torture <a href="" type="internal">throughout its history,</a> Bush’s watch included not just &#160; <a href="" type="internal">Abu Graib,</a> but a <a href="" type="internal">CIA program in</a> which people were disappeared into black sites and subjected to heinous acts like waterboarding or <a href="" type="internal">rectal feeding</a>.</p>
<p>Under Bush, the US engaged in the types of human rights abuses most commonly associated with rightwing military dictatorships. Images of individuals, disappeared, wearing orange jumpsuits, with black hoods that both obscure their identity and obstruct their vision, remain, even in the context of the US’s very dark history, haunting.</p>
<p>Afghanistan &amp; Iraq: Neoliberalism &amp; Colonialism</p>
<p>While Bush may have been at war with the world, his administration invaded two separate countries—Afghanistan and Iraq.&#160; The longstanding narrative has been that Afghanistan was the good war justified by 9/11, and supported by the global public opinion. Bush’s cardinal sin was that by invading Iraq he got distracted from the noble crusade in Afghanistan and squandered the good will of the world. Nothing could be further from the truth, within less than the first month of the war <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_public_opinion_on_the_war_in_Afghanistan" type="external">global public opinion was overwhelmingly negative.</a></p>
<p>If the world opposed Bush’s invasion of Afghanistan, it reviled his invasion of Iraq. Even before the war officially began <a href="" type="internal">, millions of people p</a>articipated in record breaking global demonstrations against Bush’s plan to invade Iraq.</p>
<p>The stated reasoning for war—Iraq’s nonexistent weapons of mass destruction and the patently absurd claims that the country played a role in 9/11—all turned out to be false.</p>
<p>The Iraq invasion and subsequent occupation was particularly brutal and barbarous. The opening act of official invasion was a particularly sickening act of imperial aggression, dubbed “shock and awe,” which consisted of a massive and continuous bombardment of urban areas like Baghdad meant to subdue the nation into submission by “shocking” it and thus allowing the US to achieve “rapid dominance.” Images of bombs falling over Baghdad were broadcast <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NktsxucDvNI" type="external">live</a> for the entire world to see. That the intended purposes of this campaign, to use massive violence to terrorize, fit the definition of terrorism, the very thing Bush claimed he was seeking to eradicate, <a href="" type="internal">was not lost</a> on much of the world.</p>
<p>Shock and Awe was not the only moment in the Iraq War to live on infamy. Fallujah, a densely populated city of 300,000, was put under siege by occupation forces, as exits and entrances were blocked and the city was subjected to aerial bombardments by coalitions forces, provoking <a href="" type="internal">repeated</a> <a href="" type="internal">comparisons</a> to the bombing of Guernica.</p>
<p>In 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War staged an event called “ <a href="https://www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier" type="external">Winter Soldier,”</a> molded after a similar event held in the 1970s by Vietnam Veterans Against the War, during which veterans testified to the realities of the Iraq and Afghanistan. For three days, veteran after veteran told firsthand stories of how the military <a href="https://www.ivaw.org/racism-and-war-dehumanization-enemy" type="external">used of racism to dehumanize an enemy</a> resulting in a disregard for Iraqi civilian.</p>
<p>The image of a foreign soldier standing, heavily armed at a checkpoint stopping an Iraqi, on pain of death, in their own country is an image of colonial domination. And like all colonial enterprises, the occupation of Iraq rested on a deliberate dehumanization that reduces the lives of the occupied to meaninglessness when the will of the occupier is concerned. Hence, the large numbers of Iraqis killed <a href="" type="internal">at checkpoints or by convoys. The blame for this rests squarely with Bush, whose actions set these events into motions, not with individual soldiers, who join the military for a myriad of complex reasons, and are put into a situation where they must struggle to survive. Bush had a choice. And he chose to invade and occupy Iraq.</a></p>
<p>While Iraq was claimed to be a war for democracy, the early occupation came complete with an arrogant colonial viceroy—Paul Bremer. Bremer, who was guarded by his own private mercenary force, was able to enact laws for Iraq with the stroke of a pen. As Naomi Klein <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Shock_Doctrine.html?id=PwHUAq5LPOQC" type="external">describes</a>, during his reign Bremer was</p>
<p>ensconced in Saddam’s turquoise- domed Republican Palace, receiving trade and investment laws by e-mail from the Department of Defense, printing them out, signing them and im­posing them by fiat on the Iraqi people.</p>
<p>Upon his assumption of power, he overturned many of the laws of the Baathist era, but kept the ban on <a href="" type="internal">public sector trade unions.</a> Bremer did enact laws though eliminating taxes and tariffs, and selling off key state industries</p>
<p>Even after Bremer left and the Iraqi people got chose their government, Bush continued to impose economic dictates on the country. Bush’s benchmarks for success for the new government included the <a href="" type="internal">“Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law,”</a> i.e. privatization of Iraqi oil.</p>
<p>Such actions could be viewed as an attempt to implement neoliberal economics by armed invasion. While Bush’s economic agenda for Iraq had a distinctively neoliberal character, it also in many respects a classic form of colonialism, in which a regime of alien domination is imposed on a people by force and loots their nation. In order to maintain the high levels of violence necessary to maintain such a regime, racism as an ideology must be deployed to dehumanize its victims or even to paint them as the aggressor. Thus, in Iraq Bush helped to bring the old colonial barbarism into the 21st century.</p>
<p>Bush’s Crusade</p>
<p>A particular point of distinction between good conservative Bush and bad conservative Trump, has been that former gallantly responded to one of the worst terror attacks <a href="" type="internal">while shunning Islamophobia,</a> while the later has resorted to exploiting the menace of terrorism in order to exploit cheap racist demagoguery. Bush did refuse to use the words <a href="" type="internal">“radical Islamic terrorism,”</a> words deemed precious by Trump, but descriptively meaningless as anything other than a dog whistle.&#160; However, Bush did reach into his vocabulary to find another troubling word, describing his war against the world as a “crusade.” The religious connotations of this term <a href="" type="internal">troubled</a> <a href="" type="internal">many</a> <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/bush-crusade/" type="external">at</a> <a href="" type="internal">the</a> <a href="" type="internal">time</a>.</p>
<p>As his war was without borders, Bush’s crusade not only meant combatting evil abroad, but purging it at home. On his list of those to be targeted at home was Muslim civil society. When campaigning for President, Bush had condemned Bill Clinton’s own Islamophobia, <a href="" type="internal">criticizing</a> his use of secret evidence in immigration proceeding and accusing him of racial profiling. As a result, he won support amongst American Muslims and even the endorsement of prominent Muslim civil rights activists Sami Al-Arian. Yet, after 9/11 the Palestinian-American activist who had once received a personal audience with Bush found himself on the wrong side of his crusade. Al-Arian became the subject of one the longest mounting US terrorism prosecutions, a prosecution that was essentially a political witch-hunt in which political books owned by Al-Arian <a href="" type="internal">were introduced as evidence</a>. An initial five-month trial saw Al-Arian acquitted on 8 of the 17 charges against him, with the jury deadlocked on the remaining charges. He later would agree to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. As part of this plea, he was to be deported to Turkey. Yet, instead of allowing him to leave, the government charged him anew with both civil and criminal attempt. The federal government did not drop their <a href="" type="internal">campaign against Al-Arian until 2015</a>.</p>
<p>Another key moment in Bush’s war against Muslim civil society was the labeling of the Holy Land Foundation, than the largest Islamic charity, a terrorist organization. Just months after 9/11, the charity had its assets seized and in 2004 five of its leaders indicted on terrorism related offenses. Much like Al-Arian, these supposed enemies in the War on Terror had no alleged nexus to 9/11, but were instead accused of aiding Palestinian groups. In fact, they were not even accused of links to violence, but instead the government argued that the charitable aid they raised for Palestinians was distributed by <a href="" type="internal">Hamas controlled charity committees</a>. Nearly six years after the original designation, a <a href="" type="internal">mistrial</a> was declared when a jury failed to reach a verdict. Nonetheless, Bush’s justice department brought a retrial. This time, with the help of testimony from <a href="" type="internal">an Israeli intelligence agent who was permitted to testify anonymously</a>, all five were convicted. The impact of this was widely felt amongst Muslim civil society. During the Holy Land Five trial, the government labeled the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), an “unindicted co-conspirator,” which is used to this day to attempt to delegitimize the US’s largest Muslim civil rights organization.</p>
<p>It was not just Muslim civil society that was targeted by the repressive apparatuses of the state. The Bush years saw a number of domestic spying <a href="" type="internal">scandals</a> involving opponents of Bush’s wars, environmental, and animal rights groups. When Bush’s press secretary was asked about comments made by comedian Bill Maher about it being wrong to label the 9/11 hijackers cowards, he <a href="" type="internal">responded</a> with “Americans need to watch what they say, watch what they do.”</p>
<p>There is, of course, Bush’s newfound <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/george-w-bush-opens-up-on-trumps-war-with-the-media-russia-and-travel-ban/ar-AAnxiv7" type="external">love of the media</a>. As, Zaid Milani&#160; <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/george-w-bush-opens-up-on-trumps-war-with-the-media-russia-and-travel-ban/ar-AAnxiv7" type="external">pointed out</a> part of this stems from the role the media played in allowing Bush to sell his invasion of Iraq. Even when the media did clash with Bush, such as when the New York Times published a story about the NSA’s illegal surveillance of Americans, they showed their trademark deference to the administration—The New York Times <a href="" type="internal">sat on the story for a year</a> as the administration tried persuade them not to publish it.</p>
<p>Journalist who refused to defer to Bush administration often did so at great risk. According to the Daily Telegraph, a memo exists documenting that George W. Bush seriously proposed bombing Al-Jazeera headquarters in Doha, Qatar, but was talked out of it by Tony Blair. The British government responded by <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/did-bush-really-want-bomb-al-jazeera/" type="external">invoking</a> the Official States Secret Act, meaning that any newspaper that published parts of it would have faced criminal prosecution.&#160; Al-Jazeera had been <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/did-bush-really-want-bomb-al-jazeera/" type="external">a verbal target</a> for the Bush Administration, with Rumsfeld calling their reporting from Iraq “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable” and a US military spokesperson labeled any reports documenting the US intentionally killing civilians “not legitimate news sources,” “propaganda,” and “lies.” In short, anything that contradicted the official narrative was fake news.</p>
<p>Al-Jazeera was not only verbally assailed by the Bush administration, its office in Afghanistan was bombed, though no one was killed, and a reporter was killed when the US bombed its electricity generator in Iraq.</p>
<p>During the invasion, of Iraq a US tank shelled the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, killing two of the journalists who were staying there. Separate investigations by <a href="" type="internal">Committee to Protect Journalists</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Reporters without Borders,</a> did not conclude journalists were killed intentionally, but they did find that Pentagon higher ups at the very least knew the hotel housed journalists and in the words of latter organization were “criminally negligent.”</p>
<p>Yet, much as the later revelations about the Al-Jazeera bombing memo raised unsettling questions about US bombings of Al-Jazeera, later revelations would raise disturbing questions about the Palestine Hotel. In 2008 Adrienne Kinne, a former army sergeant involved with military intelligence, <a href="" type="internal">claims</a> that the hotel appeared on a list of military targets. Kinne also purports to have listened to the phonecalls of both journalists and NGOs. While official obfuscation means the full truth about this incidents remains unknown, the Bush Administration’s decision to view critical reporters as enemies shows an attitude towards reporters who refused to be conscripted into Bush’s crusade that is deeply at odds with his recent professed love for the free press</p>
<p>Thanks, Obama!</p>
<p>How did we get to a point in time when such a revisionist view of Bush can triumph? Bush can thank, in part, Obama for his rehabilitation.&#160; Obama as president embraced and expanded the worst aspects of Bush’s global war. Although he had earlier stated the AUMF should be repealed, Obama would cite it 19 times, compared to Bush’s 18, to justify foreign military action. He would also seek statutory codifications of the President’s right to detain individuals indefinitely. And while Bush claimed the right to detain without trial, Obama claimed the right to kill without trial, including US citizens, as evidenced by his global program of extrajudicial executions via drones.&#160; And media revelations from the Bush era about NSA spying paled in comparison to the Snowden revelations. In short, Obama helped to normalize some of the worst aspects of the Bush Administration, which is why it is now easy to paint Bush as reasonable or respectable.</p>
<p>Painting Bush as respectable or reasonable means painting torture as respectable or reasonable. It means accepting a decision that resulted in hundred of thousands, if not a million, deaths as a just another policy choice. It requires us to accept detaining and disappearing individuals as policy option about which reasonable people can agree to disagree.</p>
<p>This may be convenient, as it allows us to let Obama off the hook for continuing some of Bush’s worst policies and not ask serious question about the way Bill Clinton <a href="" type="internal">paved the way for them</a>. When you are deeply committed to the functioning of the system for something to be undesirable it must be a deviance from it, not because of it. Thus, for Trump to truly be bad he must represent a break from his predecessors.</p>
<p>Trump very well may turn out to be worse than Bush. The brashness of his blatant hatred for Muslims and his affiliations with unreconstructed white supremacist go far beyond Bush. Resisting him is an urgent for priority for the left and a situation of basic survival for those communities under siege. But none of this erases the fact that Bush viewed his critics as enemies of freedom, attempted to criminalize swaths of Muslim civil society, launched, brutal, protracted wars, and oversaw authoritarian policies of surveillance, torture, and dissent. With these tools alone Trump could do immense damage. Equally important, Trump can’t be resisted with also resisting the system that produced him. That means a break with Bush’s abhorrent crusade.</p> | Crusader-in-Chief: the Strange Rehabilitation of George W. Bush | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/23/crusader-in-chief-the-strange-rehabilitation-of-george-w-bush/ | 2017-03-23 | 4 |
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — A day after Little League International stripped Chicago's Jackie Robinson West of its national championship, team officials announced they've hired a high-profile attorney to conduct an investigation they hope will end with the return of their title.</p>
<p>The sport's governing body announced Wednesday that team officials had violated regulations by including players who didn't qualify because they lived outside the team's boundaries, then scrambled to get adjacent leagues to go along with the scheme. But attorney Victor Henderson said Thursday he will try to determine not only whether the team broke any rules but whether — as supporters in Chicago have suggested — Little League International unfairly singled them out.</p>
<p>"I want to make sure that whatever rules and regulations are being applied to Jackie Robinson West are being applied to any other team," Henderson said during a news conference, flanked by members of the family that runs the league on the city's South Side and the team's manager, who has been suspended.</p>
<p>Henderson said it is too early to say if Jackie Robinson West will file a lawsuit against Little League International.</p>
<p>"Clearly, we have one more battle," said Bill Haley, the director of the team, whose father was the founder. "You were not wrong for sticking with our boys then (during the Little League World Series), and you are not wrong for sticking with our boys now."</p>
<p>The announcement that the title the team won at last summer's Little League World Series triggered an emotional response from parents and supporters in Chicago and around the country, some of whom suggested that the race of the all-black team may have been a factor in the stunning decision to remove the title. On Thursday, Henderson tried to tamp down those criticisms.</p>
<p>"We aren't raising the race card," he said. He also addressed threats made against the life of the suburban baseball league official whose allegations triggered the investigation.</p>
<p>"The Haley family, they want no part of that," he said.</p>
<p>The family members who attended the press conference and Darold Butler, the team's suspended manager, did not take questions. Henderson said he could not answer any questions until he receives paperwork from Little League International, which he said he will request.</p>
<p>In the meantime, he said he is telling the boys that, as far as he is concerned, they remain the national champions.</p>
<p>"I'm saying to them, 'You do not give up your championship yet,'" he said.</p>
<p>Whether the investigation could prompt Little League International to reverse its decision remains to be seen. On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the organization to ask that the title be given back to the team because the boys did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>But the president and CEO of Little League International, who on Wednesday said there was no indication the boys were complicit in the scheme of the adults, told the mayor that the decision was final.</p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — A day after Little League International stripped Chicago's Jackie Robinson West of its national championship, team officials announced they've hired a high-profile attorney to conduct an investigation they hope will end with the return of their title.</p>
<p>The sport's governing body announced Wednesday that team officials had violated regulations by including players who didn't qualify because they lived outside the team's boundaries, then scrambled to get adjacent leagues to go along with the scheme. But attorney Victor Henderson said Thursday he will try to determine not only whether the team broke any rules but whether — as supporters in Chicago have suggested — Little League International unfairly singled them out.</p>
<p>"I want to make sure that whatever rules and regulations are being applied to Jackie Robinson West are being applied to any other team," Henderson said during a news conference, flanked by members of the family that runs the league on the city's South Side and the team's manager, who has been suspended.</p>
<p>Henderson said it is too early to say if Jackie Robinson West will file a lawsuit against Little League International.</p>
<p>"Clearly, we have one more battle," said Bill Haley, the director of the team, whose father was the founder. "You were not wrong for sticking with our boys then (during the Little League World Series), and you are not wrong for sticking with our boys now."</p>
<p>The announcement that the title the team won at last summer's Little League World Series triggered an emotional response from parents and supporters in Chicago and around the country, some of whom suggested that the race of the all-black team may have been a factor in the stunning decision to remove the title. On Thursday, Henderson tried to tamp down those criticisms.</p>
<p>"We aren't raising the race card," he said. He also addressed threats made against the life of the suburban baseball league official whose allegations triggered the investigation.</p>
<p>"The Haley family, they want no part of that," he said.</p>
<p>The family members who attended the press conference and Darold Butler, the team's suspended manager, did not take questions. Henderson said he could not answer any questions until he receives paperwork from Little League International, which he said he will request.</p>
<p>In the meantime, he said he is telling the boys that, as far as he is concerned, they remain the national champions.</p>
<p>"I'm saying to them, 'You do not give up your championship yet,'" he said.</p>
<p>Whether the investigation could prompt Little League International to reverse its decision remains to be seen. On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the organization to ask that the title be given back to the team because the boys did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>But the president and CEO of Little League International, who on Wednesday said there was no indication the boys were complicit in the scheme of the adults, told the mayor that the decision was final.</p> | Lawyer helping Chicago Little League team stripped of title | false | https://apnews.com/amp/45d5f2889e5a44f0b6d55e0227836540 | 2015-02-13 | 2 |
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<p>It is impossible to determine at this time how many structures were lost. According to Wells Fargo Securities, insurance settlements could be $130 billion, which will result in higher premium rates. Human lives lost have been few, but the human tragedy is real. Even the loss of pets, homes and a lifetime collection of possessions is unrecoverable.</p>
<p>While drought and winds are major contributors to the California wildfires, local and federal restrictions on clearing brush from natural habitats have provided much of the fuel for this record loss. Unfortunately, this time, the fires destroyed residential and business areas, which will hopefully make environmental groups and authorities re-evaluate the real need to clean up fuel areas before fires do.</p>
<p>California’s Governor Jerry Brown has urged U.S. lawmakers to pay more attention to dealing with natural disasters such as fires, yet his own California Forest Service continues to restrict cleanup of brush and forest areas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Germany has the best managed forests of any country and they place management of the public lands in the hands of local groups to clean and keep them healthy. While the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management manage each district independently, and have the authority to manage them properly by thinning and cleaning, they often kowtow to the demands of environmental organizations that choose to protect mouse habitat.</p>
<p>In New Mexico, Ruidoso was almost lost in the 2012 Little Bear Fire, which burned 44,300 acres, 230 structures and killed hundreds of livestock. The 2000 Cero Grande Fire caused over $1 billion in damage, destroyed 420 homes in Los Alamos and damaged over 100 buildings at Los Alamos National Laboratory.</p>
<p>Much of this damage could have been avoided or mitigated by proper forest management. What will it take for our forest managers to responsibly modify their policies that lead to the destruction of property, livestock, wildlife, scenery and human life, as well as a large portion of New Mexico’s economy and the livelihood of a good many New Mexicans?</p>
<p>How can we protect Cloudcroft, Taos, Pecos and other high-risk communities from having their homes turned into ashes and the beautiful landscape to moonscape? One answer is lifting restrictions on forest use and issuing more multiple-use permits.</p>
<p>Forest districts need to implement more effective forest management, or will we continue to fiddle while our country burns like California by allowing environmental extremists to dictate management policy to government agencies?</p>
<p>It is time to take action and write our representatives and encourage our forest management officials to open our forests and BLM-managed areas to enact policies of proper cleanup and thinning.</p>
<p>If you are an environmentalist against proper forest thinning, think of the water pollution caused by these fires. If thinning is good for the watershed areas, it is good for the entire forest and hundreds of entrepreneurial commercial jobs can be created in the process. Our local communities, forest users and forest rangers hold the answers. California has shown us what will happen if we stay the current course.</p>
<p>Scott Chandler is a rancher and forest user in southern New Mexico. Tom Wright is a retired disaster relief executive and lives in Santa Fe.</p>
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<p /> | Act now to improve, enforce forest management | false | https://abqjournal.com/1109845/act-now-to-improve-enforce-forest-management-ex-california-has-shown-us-what-will-happen-to-our-communities-if-we-stay-the-current-course.html | 2017-12-22 | 2 |
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<p>BOSTON — No. 1 if by land, No. 2 if by sea?</p>
<p>Archaeologists are excavating what they believe was the site of an outhouse next door to Paul Revere’s home — and the privy, as the colonists politely called their potties, could be flush with artifacts.</p>
<p>People typically dumped trash and household goods in their outhouses. Volunteers with the City of Boston Archaeological Program already have pulled fragments of pottery, bottles and a tobacco pipe from the bricked yard of the Pierce-Hichborn House in the heart of Boston’s North End.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>So far, there’s been no sign of mummified human excrement. That would be the telltale evidence of an outhouse at the home once owned by a cousin of Revere, Boston city archaeologist Joe Bagley told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>“Paul Revere might well have come over here for dinner and used the bathroom,” Bagley said. “He had 12 kids in his own little house next door. It’s easy to imagine they didn’t stay cramped up in there all the time.”</p>
<p>On Friday, organizers said on Instagram that they were surprised to discover the outdoor toilet is only three feet deep — half what they expected — but they planned to punch through a concrete bottom apparently added around 1850 to see what might lurk beneath.</p>
<p>The house — one of the earliest remaining brick structures in Boston — was built around 1711 next to the Paul Revere House, one of the city’s most prominent historic sites and a huge tourist draw. Archaeologists timed their dig to coincide with drainage improvements being made to the property.</p>
<p>Colonial-era outhouses tend to yield surprises, said Nina Zannieri, executive director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association that owns and operates the homes.</p>
<p>“They’ve excavated other privies and they were full of stuff,” she said. “It’s always a treasure trove. For us, it’s an opportunity to get at a source of information that’s literally buried underground.”</p>
<p>Any fossilized unmentionables will be analyzed for seeds or the remains of parasites — clues that could tell scholars more about the colonists’ diet.</p>
<p>And bones left over from a 1700s supper could speak to the occupants’ financial health, Bagley said. “We’ll learn what they were eating, how much money they had, whether they bought good or cheap cuts of meat,” he said.</p>
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<p>Moses Pierce, a glass worker, was the original owner of the house. It was later bought by Nathaniel Hichborn, a boat builder and a cousin of Paul Revere, famed for his midnight ride on April 18, 1775, warning that the British were coming.</p>
<p>Revere’s backup plan — preparations to light either one or two lanterns as signals from the steeple of Boston’s Old North Church — is immortalized in a line in “Paul Revere’s Ride,” a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem: “One if by land, and two if by sea …”</p>
<p>Did one of America’s most celebrated patriots use the outhouse? The experts concede they may never know for certain.</p>
<p>“If it happened,” Zannieri said, “we hope he left a marker for us.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at https://twitter.com/billkole . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/William%20J.%20Kole .</p> | This old outhouse: Privy tied to Paul Revere is excavated | false | https://abqjournal.com/1070707/no-2-if-by-sea-outhouse-tied-to-paul-revere-is-excavated.html | 2017-09-29 | 2 |
<p>The opioid epidemic continues to worsen.</p>
<p>The UK Daily Mail <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4221110/Louisville-hit-52-overdose-cases-day-half.html" type="external">reports</a> that there were 52 instances of heroin overdoses in a span of 32 hours in Louisville, KY and 174 heroin overdose calls over six days in Cincinnati, OH. Consequently, Louisville will have to increase the number of their police officers by 150.</p>
<p>Here are seven things you need to know about the heroin epidemic.</p>
<p>1. The number of heroin overdose deaths in 2015 was over six times as high as it was in 2002. The <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates" type="external">National Institute on Drug Abuse</a> has a graph showing just how much this increase was:</p>
<p />
<p>Clearly, the number of heroin overdose deaths has alarmingly accelerated since 2010, with no sign of it slowing down.</p>
<p>2. Heroin drug busts have also skyrocketed from 376 in 2010 to 790 in 2015. This is according to <a href="http://drugabuse.com/featured/seized/" type="external">DrugAbuse.com</a>, which projects that there were 548 drug busts in 2015. While that is a decline, it's still higher than it was in 2010.</p>
<p />
<p>3. Most of the heroin drug busts occurred in the northeastern part of the United States. Per DrugAbuse.com, the top ten states with the highest rate of heroin busts were, from highest to lowest:</p>
<p>Here are further details from DrugAbuse.com:</p>
<p>Delaware’s problem with heroin, which has been dubbed a “deadly crisis”, has been covered by the media from almost every angle, from reports of major heroin busts (which we used in our analysis) to stories of the harms heroin causes to Delaware residents and the resulting difficulties they’ve faced in receiving treatment for their addiction to the drug. A report by DelwareOnline.com recently pointed out that there were only 95 inpatient residential treatment beds available in the whole state, which has forced some individuals in need of drug addiction treatment to travel to other states, where treatment is more readily available.25</p>
<p>From January to May 2016, there were 13 media reports of heroin busts in Delaware, which suggests that the total number could end up being lower than 2016’s total, or it could just be that the problem has become so bad that the media are burnt out reporting it. One hopeful bit of news in Delaware’s battle with heroin availability, and the resulting addiction it fuels, came in April 2016, when it was announced that the state could see up to $4 million in government funding over the next two years to help expand access to opioid addiction treatment.18</p>
<p>Other Northeastern states have similar heroin afflictions, like New Jersey, which had the third-highest rate of heroin busts in the news in the country between 2010 and 2015, over 10 times above the national average. In fact, between those years, 54 percent of all major drug busts reported by New Jersey media outlets were heroin-related, more than in any other state. Delaware was second, at 52 percent, followed by Vermont and Pennsylvania, both at 46 percent. The national average was just 14 percent.</p>
<p>4. However, it's the Midwest that has the highest number of heroin deaths. According to <a href="http://heroin.net/think/america-and-the-heroin-epidemic/" type="external">Heroin.net</a>, the Midwest has the highest heroin death per 100,000 residents at just below 45 per 100,000, which is right above the northeast at around 40 deaths per 100,000 residents.</p>
<p>"States such as Ohio, where at least 23 residents die of heroin-related causes weekly, are among the most affected by this epidemic of addiction," notes Heroin.net. "Ohio saw nearly 1,200 overdose-related deaths in 2014 that were connected to heroin use. Indiana cities have also seen a sharp rise in the number of cases of heroin overdoses, many of which have been fatal."</p>
<p>5. The heroin epidemic is one of the factors behind the rise in crime. Sean Kennedy and Parker Abt wrote in an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/is-heroin-behind-the-crime-spike-new-evidence-suggests-so/" type="external">post</a> that Mexican drug cartels have become the largest drug crime syndicate in the country as a result of more affordable form of heroin that's allowed them to increase their business. Kennedy and Abt's research found that cities with increases in drug cartels resulted in higher crime due to fights between competing cartels as well as gangs vying for the cartels' business.</p>
<p>6. There were more heroin deaths than gun deaths in 2015. The Daily Wire <a href="" type="internal">reported</a> back in December that it was the first time there were ever more heroin deaths than gun deaths in a single year, as there were 12,989 heroin deaths and 12,979 gun deaths.</p>
<p>7. How does the heroin epidemic relate to the drug war, and how can it be solved? The Daily Wire has more on that <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</p>
<p>Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter" type="external">@bandlersbanter</a>.</p> | 7 Things You Need To Know About The Heroin Epidemic | true | https://dailywire.com/news/13485/7-things-you-need-know-about-heroin-epidemic-aaron-bandler | 2017-02-14 | 0 |
<p>Canadians admire Barack Obama more than any other politician in either the U.S. or Canada, according to a recent poll. But there's plenty of envy to go around. According to the same survey, a majority of both Canadians and Americans think Canada has a superior health care system.</p>
<p>Globe and Mail:</p>
<p>Both Canadians and Americans say Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic candidate for president, would be a "game changer" with respect to the image of the United States in the world. And Canadians really like Mr. Obama. When asked to name the politician in either country they admire most, 26 per cent named the Illinois senator, putting him at the top of the list.</p>
<p>"We see these impressive candidates in Canada compared to the U.S., particularly Obama who is more popular than any Canadian political leader," Mr. Donolo said. "And it's one of those relatively rare moments when we look south of the border at their politics with something approaching envy."</p>
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<p>On the topic of health care, the poll suggests the envy goes in the other direction. While 91 per cent of Canadians surveyed said their health system is superior to that in the United States, 45 per cent of Americans said they too think the Canadian system is better.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080629.wpoll30/BNStory/National/home" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Canadians Experience Obama Envy | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/canadians-experience-obama-envy/ | 2008-07-01 | 4 |
<p>We've all heard of Publishers Clearing House, but this is a whole new ball game, people. Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films team has come up with a game that offers each player the fictional (sigh) amount of $3 trillion, the same amount the Iraq war is projected to cost the U.S., and a whole virtual mall's worth of fun "shopping" items to buy.</p>
<p>Watch the clip:</p>
<p />
<p>Follow this <a href="http://3trillion.org/?play=1?utm_source=rgemail" type="external">link</a> to go shopping.</p>
<p /> | Can YOU Spend $3 Trillion Better Than Bush? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/can-you-spend-3-trillion-better-than-bush/ | 2008-04-15 | 4 |
<p>The remembrance of the sight remains fixed in my brain. Try as I might, my mind’s eye cannot stop seeing the second plane hit that tower. Nor can it erase the sight of that tower collapsing in on itself. Being no more than thirty blocks away that day, I remember the uncertainty I felt. I wasn’t afraid and was fortunate that no one I knew was killed or injured (although I didn’t find that out until evening). When I heard that an explosion had occurred at the Pentagon, my feelings were a bit different, yet I knew that even though it was a military target, mostly civilian personnel would suffer.</p>
<p>On the streets of New York, uncertainty was the tone of the day, even among those whose fear had turned to anger or overwrought blathering. Indeed, it seemed that the only thing certain among every person I talked with was that the White House would use this tragedy as an excuse to go to war. Five years later, the truth of that certainty is in the news daily.</p>
<p>Indeed, talk of spreading that war to Iran is beginning to reach a fever pitch as I write. It doesn’t take a genius to see the ducks being lined up–claims of a deadly enemy with WMD in the Middle East and a need to destroy them now. Regime change in Tehran and huzzahs from Tel Aviv. Stories planted real and false in the press concerning the internal situation in Washington’s next target. False dissension from Washington’s allies over the course of war. Words being wasted at the UN since Washington’s armies will do whatever they want, UN Security Council or not. Threats and ultimatums disguised as diplomacy from the State Department.</p>
<p>Into this scenario comes a book due to be released on September 11, 2006. That’s five years after the day described above. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/184467116X/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Not One More Death</a> (Verso, 2006) is a small book. In fact, it is an oversized pamphlet. However, as any student struggling to write the required number of words to get full credit for a writing assignment knows, it isn’t the number of words that have been written, but the quality of the text that those words express. In other words, how well does the writer get their ideas across? How readable is is the text? And so on. Given these criteria, this collection of essays from musicians, writers and political commentators on the war in Iraq certainly passes muster.</p>
<p>The essays in the collection are brief. Although some of these essays have appeared elsewhere, they are worth reading again. The litany of terror, despair, bloodshed and sadness they tell is never diminished. Brian Eno’s observation in the opening piece that the problems of today’s world need vision and imagination–and that the war on Iraq represents the complete lack of both–is even more obvious in August 2006 as Iraq falls further apart and Israel wages an unmerciful war on Lebanon. Both of these realities are, of course, sanctioned and funded by Washington and London–the primary targets of this collection.</p>
<p>What is often most interesting about the spate of recent books on the war in Iraq is that no matter how gloomy the authors of these books predicted the situation would get in that country when they were doing the final edit (usually at least six months before the work’s publication), the situation has turned out to be considerably worse. In short, not only is the suffering of the people and the destruction of the country terrible, it’s even worse than we could have imagined. Yet, the tragedy does not stop. Even worse, the opposition to the war seems to be powerless if not completely irrelevant, in spite of its apparent majority in the court of public opinion.</p>
<p>Although this book does not address the apparent disjunction between the war’s growing unpopularity and its continuation despite that unpopularity, the publication of Not One More Death is a noble and intelligent effort to help mobilize that opinion. It is by no means an organizing pamphlet, however.</p>
<p>The words written in these pages can provide us with the reasons to oppose the war and its directors, but they can not stop it. Likewise, they can also provide antiwarriors with the conviction that they are correct. Unfortunately, as history has consistently proven, this means very little when it is the warriors that have the weaponry and the will to destroy.</p>
<p>Instead of words, we need action. However, the fact that this book bears the logo of the British antiwar group UK Stop the War is evidence that the authors and the publisher are more than just purveyors of words. Indeed, they are part of the international movement against Washington and London’s plans for world domination.</p>
<p>Not One More Death closes with a meditation on words by Michael Faber. It is a piece that could easily have begun the book. I recently finished another book that shared the theme of Faber’s essay: the power of words–their danger and potential beauty. That book is the novel <a href="" type="internal">The Book Thief</a> by Markus Zusak (Random House 2006). Nominally a work written for the young adult market, this work unveils the emotional horrors of war and oppression while simultaneously celebrating the everyday beauty found in human existence. It is the story of an eleven year old German girl who was made an orphan by the Nazis who disappeared her parents because of their communist beliefs.</p>
<p>The tale is narrated by Death. It is death gathering souls and taking them away. Death acknowledging that there are degrees of suffering, but that war is Death’s master. The story takes place in the Munich suburb where Dachau was located. This is where the protagonist has been placed with foster parents. Illiterate when she arrives, her foster father teaches her how to read and write. A Jewish man comes to hide in their basement. By the story’s second half, the Allied bombing of the village has begun. Like civilians in every modern war, the villagers bear the brunt of the attacks.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the evil of Dachau continues. Death meditates on both the evil of the state that oppresses and murders its own and the evil of that state’s enemy that rains down death on the people in that land in the name of their freedom. The girl meditates on the nature of words. She thinks about their potential for brutality and oppression and wishes that she never learned to read. The she remembers their ability to describe and transmit beauty and hope. This thought causes her to recant her earlier desire.</p>
<p>Another theme these books have in common is their representation and concern for those who always suffer in modern war–the civilians. As the Israeli campaign against Lebanon makes abundantly clear once again, civilians are the true target of all modern wars. Like Not One More Death, The Book Thief is about the casualties that the masters of war ignore. The people that today’s generals and politicians call collateral damage, as if their deaths were mere circumstance when, in reality, they are part of the battle plan. Besides that, The Book Thief is one of those tales that seem so simple in its narrative, yet resounds with moral and thematic complexity. Despite its hopeful ending in which Death marvels at the resilience of the human soul, it is not a pretty tale.</p>
<p>Certainly a well-told one, but not pretty. Indeed, the wonderful writing that one finds in both of these texts only serves to highlight the dreadfulness it often describes.</p>
<p>This piece appears in the September 4, 2006 State of Nature in a slightly different form.</p>
<p>RON JACOBS is the author of The Way the Wind Blew, a history of the Weather Undergrouind. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | War and the Power of Words | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/09/09/war-and-the-power-of-words/ | 2006-09-09 | 4 |
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<p>Shares of Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) ticked higher early Tuesday after the retail chain’s chairman and newly-named chief executive, Edward Lampert, disclosed buying $54.96 million worth of new shares.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>He scooped up just fewer than 1.24 million shares on Monday for $44.36, according to securities filings. His hedge fund, ESL Investments, simultaneously sold 1.24 million shares, a sign that Lampert is taking a more direct stake in the company.</p>
<p>Large market purchases by insiders are often viewed as a sign of confidence in the company’s future value.</p>
<p>Shares of the Hoffman Estate, Ill.-based operator of the Sears- and Kmart-branded stores rose 6.7% to $46.98 early Tuesday, though they remain down about 42% from 12 months ago.</p>
<p>Sears last week reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, buoyed by aggressive cost cutting initiatives as part of the department store’s lengthy overhaul that failed to impress Wall Street.</p>
<p>Lampert, the billionaire hedge fund manager who holds a majority stake in Sears and led its merger with Kmart, took over as CEO of the ailing retailer after Louis D’Ambrosio stepped down in February.</p>
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<p>He is expected to continue holding the reins until a replacement is found.</p> | Sears CEO Lampert Buys Another 1.24M Shares | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/03/05/sears-ceo-lampert-buys-another-124m-shares.html | 2016-01-25 | 0 |
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<p>Chinese officials unveiled plans for Monday's launch of the country's latest space mission in which two astronauts will be blasted into space and will dock with an orbiting space lab.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft will be launched at 7:30 a.m., said Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, in a televised news conference.</p>
<p>The Shenzhou mission will take off aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.</p>
<p>The spacecraft will dock with the Tiangong 2 space station within two days and the astronauts will stay there for 30 days to test the complex's ability to support their life. They will also conduct medical and scientific experiments, Wu said.</p>
<p>An earlier Tiangong 1 experimental space station launched in 2011 went out of service in March after extending its mission for two years and docking with three visiting spacecraft. The Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace," stations are considered stepping stones to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.</p>
<p>Wu identified the astronauts flying the mission as 49-year-old Jing Haipeng and 37-year-old Chen Dong. It will be Jing's third flight into space following missions in 2008 and 2012.</p>
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<p>"It is any astronaut's dream and pursuit to be able to perform many space missions," Jing said at a separate briefing.</p>
<p>The state-run China Youth Daily newspaper said Jing would celebrate his 50th birthday in space.</p>
<p>China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the U.S. to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon. Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future.</p> | China to blast 2 astronauts into space on Monday | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/10/15/china-to-blast-2-astronauts-into-space-on-monday.html | 2016-10-16 | 0 |
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<p>Players compete during last year’s Santa Fe Ultimate Frisbee League at Fort Marcy Park. (Courtesy of Mark Zuliani)</p>
<p>Ultimate Frisbee is often a game played by a group of friends who get together informally to chuck around a disc and have a good time.</p>
<p>But the sport has morphed into so much more.</p>
<p>Santa Fe now has a city-sponsored league that plays Thursdays at Fort Marcy Park. Registration is open through Thursday – the first game – but those interested in playing are encouraged to sign up sooner because team captains will divvy up players Monday based on a questionnaire that includes players’ experience.</p>
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<p>The league, in its second season, is being organized by Steve Iliff, who played last year and got in the game in earnest while at Northern Colorado University.</p>
<p>“Our No. 1 goal is for everybody who signs up to have a good experience and come back the next year,” he said. “A big part of the league, too, is education, and introducing new people to the sport and teaching people about the sport. It’s a really fun game that combines the speed and athleticism of soccer with a lot of the throwing skills of football.”</p>
<p>In ultimate Frisbee, there are seven players per side and they work the disc down the field, scoring when a player catches it in the opposing end zone.</p>
<p>“Generally, it’s a fast-paced game with a lot of subbing,” Iliff said.</p>
<p>Last year, each team had 12-14 players per side, generally with five men and two women on field per team at a time.</p>
<p>Pick-up ultimate Frisbee has been around Santa Fe for some time, but a man named Mark Zuliani convinced the city to sponsor a league last year.</p>
<p>“He did a lot of the work to build interest,” Iliff said of Zuliani. “He did a lot of recruiting around town.”</p>
<p>The result was a league with enough players to fill out four squads, Iliff said.</p>
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<p>When Zuliani’s work took him out of Santa Fe this summer, Iliff stepped up to continue moving the league forward.</p>
<p>“We’re hoping to grow it,” he said, adding that the optimum number of players is about 15 per team to give everybody ample rest periods while still providing enough playing time.</p>
<p>“We want to continue to keep building it and get the word out,” Iliff said. “Some people have played in leagues in other places that they loved – they’re the die-hards that will seek it out – and others who have done it in the past and haven’t necessarily gone seeking it but would like to play again.”</p>
<p>Although tall, fast players who throw and catch have an advantage, any level of player is welcome, he said.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t have contact, so there’s not as many injures as soccer, football or basketball,” Iliff said. “People can sign up as individuals or with friends, and then we basically do a survey of their past experience and how they would rate themselves, and use that to draft teams, try to make them as a equal as possible.”</p>
<p>While the idea is to provide a fun experience, one player from last year said it was a bit too competitive for her.</p>
<p>“It was way too competitive to my skill level,” Patricia Rosacker said. “The players are experienced and hard-core. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the exercise. I learned a little about the game.</p>
<p>“I think most of those people play on a regular basis. Players were way too experienced and hard-core for someone coming off the street. I will not do it again.”</p>
<p>Still, regardless of a person’s ability or experience, there’s plenty to be gained, Iliff said.</p>
<p>“It’s a great social activity; it’s a very social sport,” he said. “It emphasizes getting to know other people and the spirit of the game. It’s self-refereed. Each player is responsible for calling their own fouls and out of bounds. If there is a dispute, players are encouraged to work it out in the spirit of the game.”</p>
<p>The idea is not necessarily to win, but to have fun and get better, Iliff said.</p>
<p>“It’s a chummy sport. Winning isn’t everything, you just want high-quality play,” he said. “We generally encourage people to hang out afterwards. That happens a lot. It’s a great way to get to know people if you’re new to town.”</p>
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<p /> | City-sponsored league turns disc-tossing into a more competitive — but chummy — game | false | https://abqjournal.com/424920/frisbee-amp-friends.html | 2 |
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<p>SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 9 (UPI) — South Korean President <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Moon-Jae/" type="external">Moon Jae</a>-in called for a complete and thorough overhaul of the country’s armed services Wednesday, highlighting an “urgent” need to enhance the country’s defense capabilities against <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/North_Korea/" type="external">North Korea</a>‘s evolving nuclear and missile technologies.</p>
<p>“I believe we might need a complete defense reform at the level of a rebirth instead of making some improvements or modifications,” the president said while meeting with six new top commanders of the three armed services in a promotion ceremony held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.</p>
<p>“I believe another task now facing us is the urgent task of securing defense capabilities to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations,” he added, according to Cheong Wa Dae pool reports.</p>
<p>Moon’s remarks came amid escalating tension caused by the communist state’s recent missile launches and a fresh threat, filed earlier in the day by the North Korean military, to <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/08/08/North-Korea-threatens-strike-near-Guam-after-US-bomber-mission/6121502216475/?utm_source=sec&amp;utm_campaign=sl&amp;utm_medium=11" type="external">strike near U.S.-controlled Guam</a> with a barrage of missiles.</p>
<p>“The plan is to be reported to the Supreme Command soon after going through full examination and completion, and will be put into practice in a multi-concurrent and consecutive way any moment once <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kim_Jong_Un/" type="external">Kim Jong Un</a>, supreme commander of the nuclear force of the DPRK, makes a decision,” an unidentified spokesman of the North’s Korea People’s Army said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.</p>
<p>U.S. President <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Donald_Trump/" type="external">Donald Trump</a> earlier said the North will be met with “fire and fury” should it continue to make threats to the United States.</p>
<p>Part of efforts to strengthen Seoul’s defense capability apparently includes building more powerful missiles.</p>
<p>While speaking with his U.S. counterpart in a telephone conversation Monday, the new South Korean leader asked for the U.S. president’s support for a proposed revision to the Korea-U.S. agreement on ballistic missiles that currently limits the range and payload of South Korean missiles to 800 kilometers and 500 kilograms, respectively.</p>
<p>Seoul hopes to <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/08/08/United-States-open-to-bigger-more-powerful-South-Korea-missiles/9961502192849/?utm_source=sec&amp;utm_campaign=sl&amp;utm_medium=19" type="external">increase the payload</a> to at least 1,000 kilograms, which many experts say may be enough to destroy the North’s deep-situated bunkers.</p>
<p>Moon also called for efforts to build enough capabilities to ensure the country’s own security.</p>
<p>“Another task is that we must build self-reliant defense capabilities,” he told the new military leaders.</p>
<p>“The goal of defense reform is to build a winning military, a highly confident military,” the president was quoted as saying by his spokesman Park Soo-hyun.</p>
<p>“Most of all, it is important to secure capabilities that will ensure our victory in modern warfare and prepare us against North Korea’s developing nuclear arms and missiles,” he added.</p>
<p>The United States maintains some 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea as part of its defense alliance.</p>
<p>South Korea and the North remain divided, and technically at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.</p> | South Korea President Moon urges 'complete' overhaul of military | false | https://newsline.com/south-korea-president-moon-urges-complete-overhaul-of-military/ | 2017-08-09 | 1 |
<p>Eleven days into his stint as White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci has been fired by President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>This is old news, but the jokes about this former Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporter just keep coming.</p>
<p>With a nickname like “The Mooch,” not to mention his profanity-laced rant to a reporter that ultimately led to his demise, reporters and politicians alike have been having fun at the 53-year-old former financial advisor’s expense.</p>
<p>Social media blew up after Mooch got canned, with the best meme being put out by actress Kate Hudson. This was pretty clever of her.</p>
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<p>Speaking of politicians having fun at Mooch’s expense, Florida Congresswoman Lois Frankel tweeted this meme shortly after Scaramucci’s interview with that reporter came out.</p>
<p>Rep. Frankel is not know to have a very outgoing and funny personality, but even she could resist a swipe at “The Mooch.”</p>
<p /> | Florida Congresswoman Gets Caught Up In Scaramucci Mania | true | http://shark-tank.com/2017/08/01/florida-congresswoman-gets-caught-up-in-scaramucci-mania/ | 0 |
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<p>Question One.&#160; The combined pay of the 299 highest paid CEOs in the US is enough to support how many median salary jobs?</p>
<p>45,000?&#160; 83,000?&#160; 102,325?</p>
<p>Two.&#160; The median net worth of black households in the US is $2,200.&#160; What is the median net worth of white households in the US?</p>
<p>$4,400?&#160; $44,000?&#160; $97,000?</p>
<p>Three. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development issues a national survey every year listing fair market rents for every county in the US.&#160; HUD also suggests renters should pay no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.&#160;&#160; In how many of the USA’s 3068 counties can someone who works full-time and earns the federal minimum wage pay 30% of their income and find a one-bedroom apartment at the fair market rental amount?</p>
<p>19?&#160; 368?&#160; 1974?</p>
<p>Four.&#160; How much must the typical U.S. worker earn per hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment if that worker dedicates thirty percent of his income, as HUD suggests, to rent and utilities?</p>
<p>$9.39? $14.63?&#160; $18.46?</p>
<p>Five.&#160; The wealthiest 1 percent of the US has a net worth which is how many times greater than the median or typical household’s net worth?</p>
<p>50?&#160; 150?&#160; 225?</p>
<p>Six.&#160; Which of these countries puts the highest percentage of their people in jails and prisons?</p>
<p>China? Iran?&#160; Iraq?&#160; Germany?&#160; Russia? USA?</p>
<p>Seven.&#160; In 2012, the US will pay out about $620 million for old age Social Security benefits to 45 million families.&#160; How much is budgeted for military spending by the US in 2012?</p>
<p>$310 billion?&#160; $620 billion?&#160; $836 billion?</p>
<p>Eight.&#160; The US is number one in the world in military spending.&#160; How much more does the US spend compared to the top 15 countries in the world in military spending?</p>
<p>More than any 2 other countries combined?&#160; More than any 5 other countries combined?&#160; More than all the rest of the 15 top military spending countries combined?</p>
<p>Nine.&#160; How many people in the world live on less than $1.25 a day?</p>
<p>150 million?&#160; 500 million?&#160; Over 1 billion?</p>
<p>Ten.&#160; How many people in the world live without electricity?</p>
<p>500 million?&#160; One billion?&#160; One and half billion?</p>
<p>Eleven.&#160; The US government donates over $30 billion a year in official development assistance (foreign aid) to poor countries.&#160; Where does that rank the US government in percentage of giving among the richest 23 countries?</p>
<p>First?&#160; Tenth? Nineteenth?</p>
<p>Twelve.&#160; The US government donates over $30 billion a year to poor countries.&#160; How much do US consumers spend on pets and pet supplies each year?</p>
<p>$10 billion?&#160; $30 billion?&#160; $67 billion?</p>
<p>Thirteen.&#160; The poverty rate among children in the US is over 20 percent.&#160; How does US compare with the rest of the 30 nations surveyed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development?</p>
<p>First?&#160; Tenth?&#160; Twenty-sixth?</p>
<p>Answers to Social Justice Quiz 2012:</p>
<p>One.&#160; The combined pay of the top 299 CEOs is enough to support 102,325 average jobs.&#160; Source: Corporate Paywatch.</p>
<p>Two.&#160; The median net worth of white households in the US is $97,900.&#160; Source: Economic Policy Institute.</p>
<p>Three.&#160; Except for eleven counties in Illinois and another eight in Puerto Rico, there is no county in the US where a one bedroom fair market rate apartment is available to a person working full-time at the minimum wage. Source: The National Low Income Housing Coalition.</p>
<p>Four.&#160; The typical worker must earn $18.46 an hour to rent a two bedroom apartment.&#160; Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition.</p>
<p>Five.&#160; In the last numbers reported, the top 1 percent had net worth 225 times greater than the median or typical household’s net worth, the highest ever recorded.&#160;&#160; Source: Economic Policy Institute.&#160;</p>
<p>Six.&#160; The rate of incarceration per 100,000 people is: USA 730, Russian 534, Iran 334, China 122, Iraq 101, and Germany 86.&#160; Source: International Centre for Prison Studies, University of Essex.&#160;</p>
<p>Seven.&#160; $836 billion.&#160; Over $713 billion on military programs and another $123 for veterans affairs.&#160; Source: US Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2012.&#160;</p>
<p>Eight.&#160; The US spends $100 billion more on our military than the next highest 15 countries combined.&#160; More than China, UK, France, Russia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, India, Italy, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Turkey combined.&#160; Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2011 Yearbook.</p>
<p>Nine.&#160; 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day.&#160; Source: United National Development Program, Human Development Report 2010.</p>
<p>Ten.&#160; One and half billion people, more than one of every five people in the world, live without electricity.&#160; Source:&#160; United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2011.</p>
<p>Eleven.&#160; US government ranks 19th&#160;out of 23 countries in assistance to poor nations, giving about two-tenths of one percent of US gross national income to poor countries.&#160; Source: Global Issues: Foreign Aid for Development Assistance.</p>
<p>Twelve.&#160; US consumers spend $67 billion each year on pets, pet products and services.&#160; Source:&#160; US Census Bureau 2012 Statistical Abstract.</p>
<p>Thirteen.&#160; The US poverty rate among children ranks the US 26th among 30 nations in the rate of poverty among children.&#160; Source: Poverty among children.&#160; OECD.</p>
<p>Bill Quigley teaches law at Loyola University New Orleans and works with the Center for Constitutional Rights.&#160;You can reach Bill at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>Sam Schmitt is a law student at University of Montana School of Law. &#160;A version of this with full sources is available.&#160;</p> | A Social Justice Quiz | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/01/30/a-social-justice-quiz/ | 2012-01-30 | 4 |
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<p>Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine … every day, it seems like there’s another social network small business owners are expected to take advantage of.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But Pubsoft Director of Marketing Heather Wied says small businesses shouldn’t spread themselves thin trying to master every social network under the sun. Pubsoft, which helps businesses publish online content, integrates social networking to help customers spread the word about their businesses.</p>
<p>“The best social network for you is dependent on your target market,” says Wied.</p>
<p>To maximize your time on social media – without losing your mind – check out Wied’s three best tips:</p>
<p>No. 1: Figure out where your audience is.</p>
<p>Wied’s top piece of advice is taking the time to understand which social networks will be most valuable to you in terms of your target demographics.</p>
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<p>“This is something that gets lost in small business strategy. You want to be on all the different networks because you want the most exposure, but you should focus your efforts and use networks where your customers are,” says Wied.</p>
<p>For instance, if you’re a B2B company, LinkedIn might prove to be the most valuable network. But if you’re trying to connect with millennials, you might want to spend more time on Instagram.</p>
<p>No. 2: Choose the networks you like best.</p>
<p>If you don’t enjoy being on Facebook, it’s likely that updating your page will be the item on your to-do list that you just don’t get to every day.</p>
<p>“Do the things that interest you,” says Wied. This is especially important for small business owners considering Twitter. Because the shelf life of a tweet is so short, Wied says it’s necessary for business owners to post on Twitter very frequently in order to make it a valuable use of time.</p>
<p>Lesson? If you’d rather visit the dentist than scroll through your Twitter feed, forget Twitter and spend more time on another network.</p>
<p>No. 3: Carve out the time.</p>
<p>Many big companies have dedicated social media experts who spend their whole day managing Twitter accounts and posting items to Facebook.</p>
<p>While this is outside the realm of possibility for most small businesses, it is necessary to make social networking a part of your workday routine. Wied suggests spending one to two hours a day connecting with potential and current customers on a social network. And if you’re only spending time on the networks you like, she says, hopefully it won’t feel like work at all.</p> | 3 Tips for Crafting an Effective Social Media Strategy | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/04/10/3-tips-for-crafting-effective-social-media-strategy.html | 2016-04-07 | 0 |
<p>A regional advocate for the rights of the homeless says actions by Sugar Notch officials to deny shelter to homeless men may be based upon fear and a lack of knowledge.</p>
<p>About 40 homeless men were scheduled to receive temporary shelter at the Holy Family Roman Catholic church in Sugar Notch for a week beginning Jan. 11. About three dozen churches in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region each shelter the homeless for one or two weeks a year. Professional staff usually work with, and stay with, the homeless. However, borough zoning officer Carl Alber, apparently acting under Council direction, issued a letter that threatened the church with a $500 fine for each day it housed the homeless. Councilman Herman Balas, a member of the church, said that Council was acting for safety and citizen welfare. The Rev. Joseph Kakareska told the media he has no plans to deny shelter to the homeless for the week. Sugar Notch is a town of about 950 residents, about five miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>A public council meeting, Jan. 4, led to a yelling contest among the Council and members of the audience; most of the Council and residents claimed the homeless could pose “problems,” with others claiming the problem had nothing to do with the homeless but with following proper zoning ordinances. However, the church is zoned R-1 (residential) and in a residential area. Council kicked the problem to the Zoning Commission, but indicated that if the church files an appeal, with a $350 fee, it would allow the homeless to stay in the church for a week. It’s an “olive branch,” claimed council president Charlene Tarnalicki. There was no ruling that if the church loses its appeal if it would still be liable for up to a $3,500 fine.</p>
<p>“This is not a zoning issue, but an issue of fear by residents,” says Gary F. Clark, executive director of the Northeast Pennsylvania Homeless Alliance. “Most homeless pose absolutely no threat to any citizen,” says Clark. The homeless, says Clark, often have day jobs, and are sheltered only in evenings. Clark says that with the Recession, more persons have been laid off from jobs they may have had for several years, and have been unable to meet mortgage payments on houses. Council’s concern about the homeless, according to Balas, was that they could be violent or be drug users.</p>
<p>However, Clark says that while some of the homeless may have alcohol- or drug-induced problems, most are “just trying to get by.” About 3.5 million people will be homeless at some point this year, with almost half being children, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. About 16,000 Pennsylvanians are homeless on any given night, according to the Pennsylvania Interagency Council on Homelessness. About one-third of homeless men are veterans, “many with post-traumatic stress disorder that keeps them from a stable life,” Clark says. It is unlikely, he says, that they pose any threat to public safety.</p>
<p>Clark points out that it is unacceptable during the Winter, when snow lies on the ground and temperatures drop into the teens, to have anyone “trying to survive on our streets.” Shelter, says Clark, “is a basic human need and many more problems are created when this need is not met.” The “true measure of a society,” says Clark, “is how it treats its most needy.”</p>
<p>The “movable shelter program,” run by Wilkes-Barre’s non-profit VISION program, and with the support of numerous churches that give temporary shelter and meals to the homeless, has had relatively few problems, says Clark. VISION director Vince Kabacinski told Council he has offers of legal support not only from local organizations but from some as far away as Arizona. “I didn’t ask Sugar Notch to become part of the problem with the ‘not in my backyard’ ” attitude, he said.</p>
<p>On a sign in front of the church is the message, “Jesus was homeless, too.”</p>
<p>WALTER BRASCH is author of 17 books, a syndicated columnist, and professor of journalism at Bloomsburg University and recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award. You may contact him through his website, <a href="http://www.walterbrasch.com/" type="external">www.walterbrasch.com</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Giving the Homeless the Cold Shoulder | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/01/08/giving-the-homeless-the-cold-shoulder/ | 2010-01-08 | 4 |
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<p>Monika, 19, had recently split up with her boyfriend when she realized with horror that she was pregnant. With no partner, no money and years of education ahead, she felt an abortion was her only option. But abortion in Poland is illegal in most cases and even when she tracked down a doctor rumored to bend the rules, he refused.</p>
<p>So Monika did what many Polish women before her have done — packed a bag, crossed the border into Germany and had an abortion in a place where it is safe and legal. Many have also gone to the Czech Republic, Slovakia or the Netherlands.</p>
<p>“I feel good now,” she told The Associated Press from her hospital bed after ending her 7-week pregnancy in Prenzlau, Germany. “I would have had no one to leave the baby with and would not have coped financially. I was not ready to face this.”</p>
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<p>Poland, like the United States, is a society deeply divided over abortion. The Central European nation has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe and a government loyal to the Catholic church that wants to further restrict abortions. But a recent attempt to impose a total ban on abortion outraged many Polish women who held street protests that forced lawmakers to abandon that idea.</p>
<p>Now the ruling party is pushing for a near-total ban — a move that seems to be creating new support for abortion rights.</p>
<p>Another Polish woman having an abortion in Prenzlau, 22-year-old Ewa, said the recent protests made her aware that abortion was possible abroad.</p>
<p>“Other women who wrote on the internet about their experience helped me take the decision,” she said. “I thought it would be worse, but it’s OK now. I feel fine.”</p>
<p>Both women refused to give their full names or hometowns, afraid of being identified and condemned back home in the heavily Catholic nation.</p>
<p>In Poland, abortion is only allowed through the 12th week in cases of rape or incest, if the woman’s life or health is in danger or if the fetus is irreparably damaged. Poland had 1,040 legal abortions last year, but experts say the true number of abortions is at about 150,000 per year in the nation of 38 million. Women import banned abortion pills from elsewhere, travel abroad for the procedure or resort to secret, unsafe abortions by non-medical people looking to earn money.</p>
<p>Reproductive rights activists are denouncing the Polish government’s plans for an even more restrictive abortion law. The proposed change would also ban abortions in cases of fetuses with genetic defects like Down syndrome or even if they have no chances of survival upon birth. This way the born child can be “baptized, buried (and) have a name,” ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said.</p>
<p>In fact, even abortions allowed by law are often denied to women due to a large number of doctors who declare themselves “conscientious objectors.”</p>
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<p>“The current law does not work in practice,” said Krystyna Kacpura, the executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning. “Women are clever and always find a way to avoid government obstacles. We are in the center of Europe; it’s easy to go by train, plane, bus and car to another country.”</p>
<p>Karina Walinowicz, a lawyer with Ordo Iuris, a Catholic group that has pushed unsuccessfully for a total abortion ban, said the law plays an important role in teaching people right from wrong.</p>
<p>“Abortion is homicide performed on a person at a pre-natal stage when the person is weakest, incapable of defense,” Walinowicz said.</p>
<p>A leading polling institute in Warsaw, CBOS, estimates that at least one in four Polish women have probably had an abortion, but very few will admit to it. Several young men speaking Polish were in the waiting room at Prenzlau hospital, but denied their partners were there for abortions.</p>
<p>Monika was given an appointment within a week of calling Dr. Janusz Rudzinski, a Pole who lives in Germany and heads the hospital’s Department of Gynecological Oncology, Special Operating Gynecology and Aesthetic Surgery.</p>
<p>During two hours that he spent with AP reporters, Rudzinski answered at least eight calls in Polish. Each time he assured the caller that abortion is legal in Germany through the 12th week. He said the hospital performs about 20 abortions a week on Polish women.</p>
<p>“This is not the most pleasant procedure, but the thing is, that if you have demand for them for some reason or other, then someone must perform them,” Rudzinski said, sitting by an ultrasound machine.</p>
<p>In one case, a woman called from Poland’s southeastern region of Rzeszow, saying she had tried an abortion on herself using a wire and had a high fever and acute abdominal pain. Rudzinski suspected she was developing life-threatening sepsis and told her to go immediately to a hospital.</p>
<p>Rudzinski also said a network called “the abortion underground” has developed in Poland, so the number of foreign abortions is falling.</p>
<p>“Three out of four (illegal) abortions are now done in Poland, but not by doctors. Tailors, shoemakers, artisans are performing them to make money,” he said.</p>
<p>Since abortion pills are banned in Poland, Rudzinski said some Polish women take pills for stomach ulcers, which can provoke an abortion but can also damage the fetus’ nervous system if the pregnancy continues. Those pills can also be fake.</p>
<p>“My patients sometimes tell me they have taken 50 pills, which is an almost lethal dose, but they are doing fine, and the pregnancies are continuing,” Rudzinski said.</p>
<p>Those who can afford it seek real abortion pills from the Dutch organization Women on Web through the internet, but they can be confiscated by customs authorities.</p>
<p>“Nobody draws pleasure from having an abortion. There are always some reasons for it, bigger or smaller,” Rudzinski said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Vanessa Gera in Warsaw contributed to this report.</p> | Strict law pushes Polish women to have abortions abroad | false | https://abqjournal.com/881266/strict-law-pushes-polish-women-to-have-abortions-abroad.html | 2016-11-03 | 2 |
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<p>In classrooms across New Mexico, nearly 26,000 students are in third grade. Just under half of them — about 12,000 children — score in the “nonproficient” range on reading tests.</p>
<p>It doesn’t mean they don’t know how to read; it means they have failed to pass the state’s reading test that sets benchmarks for where a child should be at the end of third grade. Those benchmarks include being able to read certain texts aloud fluently, to summarize the main ideas after reading a text and to use context to figure out unknown words.</p>
<p>During the most recent school year, 287 of those 12,000 kids were held back for another year of third grade and another crack at getting the concepts that add up to being a competent third-grade reader.</p>
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<p>Gov. Susana Martinez tried three times to persuade lawmakers to change state law to force more students to repeat third grade. This year, the third-grade retention proposal was back again and was killed by Democrats in the education committees of both the House and the Senate.</p>
<p>With flunking them off the table again, it seems like a great time to try to understand what works to get through to struggling readers before they get to the end of third grade.</p>
<p>New Mexico now has a small army of reading coaches — 46 of them spread out over 57 school districts — paid for by the state Public Education Department under New Mexico Reads to Lead and tasked with identifying struggling readers as early as kindergarten and bringing up their skills. Ten of those coaches are at the state’s largest district, Albuquerque Public Schools.</p>
<p>When I hear “reading coach,” I picture a specialist who sits down with groups of kids or individuals and sounds out words or works on decoding texts.</p>
<p>Some schools have those types of coaches, but that’s not how New Mexico Reads to Lead works. Its reading coaches work with classroom teachers to give them the tools to more effectively teach reading, but they don’t work one-on-one with students.</p>
<p>APS identified elementary schools with the most struggling readers and put a reading coach in each.</p>
<p>When I sat down with Pamela Christy, who just took on the job of overseeing the APS program, I thought she might be able to let me in on the secret that will turn our reading numbers around.</p>
<p>Instead, she told me in all honesty, “There is no magic formula.”</p>
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<p>Teaching reading involves working on the foundational skills — recognizing letters and letter combinations and knowing how they sound; learning what words mean; and being able to decode those letters to read with speed, intonation and comprehension.</p>
<p>You do that by … doing that, breaking down the basic components, working until you master them and then reviewing those skills and building on them.</p>
<p>The state’s new Common Core standards expect a lot from children leaving kindergarten. They must be able to recognize and name all lowercase and uppercase letters of the alphabet, be able to isolate the sounds in most consonant-vowel-consonant words (cat, lip, sun), to recognize and produce rhyming words and to read a number of common words (the, she, I, to, of, do, does) by sight.</p>
<p>Some kids know how to do all that and more on their first day of kindergarten. Most don’t. Some come in without even knowing the ABCs.</p>
<p>At the very beginning, a student is shown a letter and told its sound. Next comes working on writing that letter and recognizing it in words.</p>
<p>“And then it becomes more intricate as you go on,” Christy said. “It’s building blocks.”</p>
<p>By the time kids are nearing the end of third grade, they’re expected to be able to read some pretty complicated texts and summarize their main ideas.</p>
<p>Why do some kids struggle to learn how to read? Research establishes relationships between lower student performance and poverty, nutrition, absences, English-language deficiencies and lack of exposure to words in early childhood. Poor instruction can also be a factor, and that is where Reads to Lead aims its efforts. You can change only what you can control, after all.</p>
<p>In analyzing the previous APS curriculum, Christy said she found it used versions of stories with simplified language. Now, teachers are allowed more freedom to choose texts with richer vocabulary.</p>
<p>Repetition is important, so the schools with Reads to Lead dedicate 90-minute blocks to reading daily.</p>
<p>“Research shows that just exposure alone to words, to concepts is going to help these students,” Christy said. “Repetition and putting it into practice.”</p>
<p>In the case of children who are struggling, or who are repeating a grade because of problems with reading, Christy said teachers understand that they have to switch up their lessons.</p>
<p>“Differentiating your instruction is key when you have a reader who’s struggling,” Christy said.</p>
<p>If a student is having trouble with the concept of silent e, for example, a teacher could put that student to work building silent e words with letter tiles, pair that student with another who understands the concept and have them read aloud together from a text or act out that text with a group in “reading theater.”</p>
<p>In Thursday’s column, we’ll go to a kindergarten and a third-grade classroom to see it all in practice.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Leslie at 823-3914 or <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a>. Go to <a href="" type="internal">www.abqjournal.com/letters/new</a> to submit a letter to the editor.</p> | Reaching third-grade reading goals | false | https://abqjournal.com/179471/reaching-thirdgrade-reading-goals.html | 2013-03-17 | 2 |
<p>The left must be losing their minds. Their once-hero, now-enemy, Caitlyn Jenner <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/03/07/backlash-over-caitlyn-jenners-cruz-support-proves-leftists-are-the-real-bigots/" type="external">endorsed</a> Tea Party darling Texas Senator Ted Cruz last week. Now, the former Olympian just bashed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton while appearing on his own reality show “I Am Cait” on Sunday night.</p>
<p>During the episode, Jenner said that Clinton “couldn't care less about women” and only “cares about herself.” The reality star also defended Republicans on the whole, saying that the party has candidates who actually want to help grow a "thriving economy,” which would in turn help all people, not just trans people.</p>
<p>Caitlyn, who has always been politically conservative, was somehow persuaded to attend a Democratic presidential debate with his friends, and Jenner was none too pleased.</p>
<p>“It’s the last place I want to be,” said Jenner, not holding back. “But I’m open. We need both sides and if we’re unfortunate enough to get Hillary as our next president, we need her on our side. Although she won’t be — she couldn’t care less about women.”</p>
<p>“She cares about herself,” Jenner added.</p>
<p>"[Hillary Clinton] couldn’t care less about women... She cares about herself."</p>
<p>-Caitlyn Jenner</p>
<p>After Jenner’s friends pulled out the typical attacks — saying that Republicans "hate" gay people and trans people — Jenner shot them down, saying Republicans are "worried about much bigger issues than the trans issues.” Republicans “want a thriving economy so every trans person has a job," he added.</p>
<p>“We’re $18.5 trillion in debt. I think what they don’t realize is this country could collapse over this at some point and if our country collapses it doesn’t make any difference if you’re gay, trans, whatever,” continued Jenner.</p>
<p>Jenner has been used as a prop for the left, as someone who was supposed to be on the “their side” ideologically to help push their agenda, as per the rules of identity politics. But to the despair of the left and a win for free thought everywhere, Jenner has not backed down in the face of harassment from the left, who cannot handle dissent.</p>
<p>The left's blatant intolerance was also on display when Jenner claimed that he receives “ <a href="" type="internal">more flak</a>” for being conservative than for being trans last month.</p> | Caitlyn Jenner Just BLASTED Hillary And Liberals Are Going To Lose Their Minds | true | https://dailywire.com/news/3947/caitlyn-jenner-just-blasted-hillary-and-liberals-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2016-03-07 | 0 |
<p>Barack Obama, now decrying John McCain’s definition of rich people as those earning five million or more, has a clear populist streak to his campaign.&#160; Obama notes that McCain thinks that “the economy” is doing well.&#160; But what does the term, “the economy” really mean?&#160; The term is often illusive if not confusing. Some simply misuse the expression “the economy” for their own particular ideological purposes. The ambiguities attached to the expression create problems in understanding the presidential debate.&#160; There are significant limits to what so-called “policy analysts” or “experts” have to say on the matter.&#160; This is highly significant because voters now say that the most important issue in the election is “the economy.”&#160; It is not enough to simply argue that more growth and jobs are what make a good economy, as some (like Left ecologists) debate whether or not growth in itself is a good thing.&#160; If the right is often indifferent to questions of redistribution and equality, the Left itself sometimes simply deconstructs the capitalist system. It is evil and must be transformed.&#160; But how can this be done in a way that translates into a presidential election campaign?&#160; We can rant about outsourcing of jobs and “globalization,” but what can we really do about it all?</p>
<p>Let’s start with defining the problem of economics.&#160; It’s more than just balancing the “free market” and “the state,” supply and demand, and the markets comprised by consumers, producers and labor.&#160; Part of the “economic problem” is economics itself.&#160; In The Economics of Innocent Fraud, John Kenneth Galbraith says that in seventy years of working as an economist, he “learned that to be right and useful, one must accept a continuing divergence between approved belief” or “the conventional wisdom” and “the reality.”&#160; The latter, “reality” was “obscured by social or habitual preference and personal or group pecuniary advantage in economics and politics.”&#160; The problem of elites and their interests colors economics and distorts it.&#160; Galbraith declared that economics could in fact be “fraudulent.”&#160; One foundation for this fraud was found in “traditional economics and its teaching and some from the ritual views of economic life.”&#160; These factors not only supported the particularistic interests of individuals or groups, but also “that of the more fortunate, articulate and politically prominent in the larger community.”&#160; These interests could “achieve the respectability and authority of everyday knowledge.”</p>
<p>Obamanomics and the Political Economy of Deficits</p>
<p>We might translate Galbraith’s views into the kind of economic populism that the Obama campaign has sometimes embraced. Yet, we also need to do much more.&#160; We need to examine how economics and journalistic accounts of economic reality are translated into campaign reporting and investigate whatever obfuscation exists.&#160; David Leonhardt’s interesting report, “How Obama Reconciles Dueling Views on Economy,” in the August 24th edition of The New York Times Magazine, offers us a useful text for understanding what’s at stake.</p>
<p>Leonhardt reports that “policy experts and economists” who comprise the Democratic government-in-waiting share a consensus.&#160; These “agree that deficit reduction did an enormous amount of good,” helping to “usher in the 1990s boom and the only period of strong broad-based income growth in a generation.”&#160; Obama also embraces some elements of deficit reduction in his thinking.&#160; That’s not wrong in principle.&#160; Lower deficits can strengthen the value of the dollar, making imports less expensive.&#160; Lower federal budget deficits can make it harder to justify fiscal austerity that shrinks needed social welfare, training or public investments of various kinds. Government borrowing can crowd out private sector borrowing, making investments more costly.</p>
<p>Yet, there is something missing here.&#160; What was a principle source of the mega-deficits that Clinton tackled?&#160;&#160; If we knew what caused the deficit problem in the beginning and addressed the problem at its source, might that be better than a remedial cure after the fact?&#160; It’s strange that the deficit reduction problem is treated more in terms akin to what most doctors do than what (economic) historians are supposed to do.&#160; How is it that the medical paradigm has proven dominant, where an old fashioned exercise in cause and effect (or preventative medicine) might be far better? The answer I think is that doctors don’t usually like to ask their patients uncomfortable questions about their diet, personal habits and the like.&#160; This resulting discomfort is part of the kind of legitimacy problem that Galbraith was talking about.&#160; Economics has partially become a branch of the public relations industry.</p>
<p>What is the embarrassing truth?&#160; A book by Wyatt Wells, American Capitalism, 1945-2000, explains that “total federal debt grew more rapidly in the 1980s than at any time since World War II.”&#160; The “Democrats blamed President Reagan’s tax cuts and defense build up, pointing out that between 1980 and 1986, in terms of percent of [Gross Domestic Product], income tax revenue fell by almost 20 percent and military outlays grew by 30 percent.&#160; This led to an increase in the deficit equal to about 3 percent of GDP.” &#160;Republicans for their part blamed increased social outlays.&#160; Wells himself argues that “at its core the deficit reflected anemic growth in productivity and income after 1973.”&#160; Wells says that if income had growth “as fast between 1970 and 1990 as between 1950 and 1970, revenue probably would have been sufficient to fund all of Washington’s obligations.”&#160; This analysis is misleading and partially misguided.&#160; One thing is that the Democrats went along with Reagan’s military budget hikes and civilian government cutbacks.&#160; The size of the civilian federal budget was too small.&#160; It allowed for pockets of hunger, homelessness, and ghettos. Reagan’s military build up was partially paid for by massive cutbacks in public housing programs and a failure to invest the billions of dollars necessary for cleaning up various environmental and social hazards—an obsolescent of means of production and transportation system wedded to polluting technologies, crumbling school buildings, and an economy segregated by race, class and gender.</p>
<p>The Infrastructure Crisis and the Peace Dividend</p>
<p>The infrastructure crisis can be defined by the absence of needed investments in various bridges, water pipelines, accessible mass transportation systems and other key areas considered within the realm of so-called “public goods.” Let’s not forget that in parts of the rural South (and elsewhere) the working poor have to choose between paying for food and fuel, so that starving one’s self a little makes it easier to get to work.&#160; Today, Obama says part of his infrastructure spending plan can be paid for by savings from cutbacks realized by savings from the Iraq War.&#160; Assuming he is able to fulfill such a pledge, he will still be faced with another military economy question. The economic historian Wells is right to say that deficits can be tied to anemic growth.&#160; Yet, part of the problem is that spending billions of dollars on wars and arcane weapons systems might be bad for productivity and technological innovation.&#160; There is a long standing debate about whether the military is “good” for “the economy.”&#160; The defense firms that profit from such spending are partial beneficiaries, except those companies like Grumman which were largely dismembered by a merger and consolidation wave in the 1990s that eliminated thousands of defense jobs.&#160; The diversion of hundreds of thousands of engineers into pursuing weapons innovation is regarded by some economists as a huge opportunity cost against developing needed consumer goods and various new wave ecological products like windmills and other alternative energy systems.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the problem of deficits has been translated by various factions of the Democratic Party into a problem of “fiscal discipline.”&#160; Others, like Robert Reich, have argued that the government should support infrastructure investments and worker training.&#160; Yet, Wells’s analysis cited above, suggests that the productive organization of the economy will promote the growth that lowers deficits.&#160; In my view this means that dramatic military budget reductions will be necessary.&#160; Moreover, if defense firms convert into civilian production, this wealth producing activity (with proper taxation policies) will further reduce deficits.&#160; Various articles by David Alan Aschauer show that infrastructure investments will increase productivity and growth.&#160; The problem is the size of such infrastructure investments.&#160; In theory, the more spent on civilian infrastructure, the more growth.</p>
<p>Obama supports sustainable innovations and various infrastructure investments worth about $50 billion.&#160; The Iraq War may cost as much as $3 trillion.&#160; This difference has economic significance.&#160; The more money that is invested in alternative sustainable technologies, the lower their cost will be.&#160; In contrast, the more money diverted into military spending, the less funding for such sustainable pursuits.&#160; At a meeting concerned with green technology this June in Washington, D.C., I pointed out Obama’s linkage of Iraq War savings to the new monies that could be spent on alternative energy—the Iraq War peace dividend.&#160; A Congressman pointed out to me that there will be no such dividend as the war was paid for by the Chinese (among others).&#160; I knew as much, but it’s also true that if the military budget is going to be reduced to even what could be called an irrational “normal” level, then thousands could lose their jobs.&#160; Defense cuts will usually translate into job loss unless domestic defense firms make something else.&#160; If they take the moral route, they will have to convert into civilian production.&#160; Here is another role for government in the economy that most mainstream economic discourse ignores.&#160; If the government does nothing and simply cuts the military budget, there will be a post-Iraq War backlash.&#160; The money wasted on the Iraq War is tied to thousands of jobs and voters.&#160; Without government planning to help ease the transition into new jobs for the firms, workers and regions tied to what James Cypher called “the war dividend,” militarism will limit or checkmate new investment priorities.</p>
<p>The post-Iraq War jobs transition plan can’t simply be alternative infrastructure investments plus Afghanistan War bounty.&#160; Some firms will also respond to cuts by ratcheting up their arms exports programs.&#160; This problem embraces the U.S., Russia, Israel and other nations addicted to defense spending and trying to reduce unit costs by increasing their market through overseas sales. These exports contribute to the cycle of violence we claim to be fighting in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.&#160; Some kind of multilateral disarmament planning is needed. That’s hardly on most economists’ radar.</p>
<p>Obama, to his credit, has noted the trade off between guns and butter in various speeches centered on the Iraq War.&#160; The media, economic pundits and perhaps voters suspicious of “policy wonks” help constrain a full appreciation about the link between a new green economy and the permanent war economy.&#160; And, to make the obvious point, monies spent on a continued war in Afghanistan represent an opportunity cost against needed infrastructure spending in the United States.&#160;&#160; Aside from ethanol perhaps, the public R&amp;D budgets and support system for needed alternative energy and mass transit systems have been rather limited.&#160; The right in the Democratic Party and Republicans see ethanol as a disaster—the limits of picking winners.&#160; Yet, a cursory review of the history of ethanol production suggests it was supported by corporatist interests, i.e. the corporations who lie behind the market.&#160; The various environmentalists, academics and isolated innovators who supported wind and solar power were largely ignored until recently.</p>
<p>From Redistribution to Design:&#160; The Social Organization of the Economy</p>
<p>In Leonhardt’s article, Robert Rubin acknowledges that “distributional issues are more serious now.”&#160; Leonhardt adds, that “inequality looks like a bigger problem than economic growth.”&#160; This decoupling of equality from growth is somewhat misleading.&#160; Those interests who control growth are more likely to gain wealth.&#160; The redistribution of wealth can contribute to equality.&#160; One way to do this is by manipulating taxes.&#160; That is what the Obama campaign supports and there’s nothing wrong with that.&#160; Yet, while tax reform is an important strategy (and an acceptable discourse), it can be partially reactive.&#160; One can also promote redistribution by redistributing the ownership of firms, by changing the quality of the supply of jobs, and by democratizing capital investments.</p>
<p>The first strategy of ownership redistribution can build on the bipartisan support that already exists in the tax code that supports worker owned firms through Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).&#160; ESOPs are not cure alls.&#160; Such ESOPs can sometimes be part of bail outs of failing companies, tie workers to the global market that makes wage reductions necessary, or simply reward high paid executives and upper strata workers.&#160; Yet, today as Seymour Melman noted, capital or corporate firms are “abdicating the organization of work.”&#160; That often means if you can’t organize your own job (for which you need stronger unions and often ownership), you won’t have a job.&#160; Obama supports stronger unions, but with capital flight and global mobility of jobs even strong unions are insufficient.&#160; Or let’s think about it another way: even middle class African and Latino Americans can lose their jobs through global outsourcing, the restructuring of middle class jobs, and the relocation of bank jobs to China and India.&#160; So even affirmative action, tax cuts and retraining into a new economy job are not enough.</p>
<p>In one of his books, Obama says that African American controlled small businesses can’t compete with global networks defined by scale economies.&#160; That’s a fair point.&#160; Yet, established economists don’t really talk about linking socially responsible or worker owned firms to global networks.&#160; Established business professors talk about “core capacities” and linking scale economies to narrow niches.&#160; They say this while highly diversified firms like Mitsubishi beat up their one dimensional American counterparts or supply goods like propulsion systems for mass transit markets that have no American suppliers.&#160; So much for U.S. global reach and scale economies. Being big has not meant being smart.&#160; Manipulating markets does not in itself create and organize domestic work to serve those markets. &#160;Market incentives to promote innovation can add to jobs, but as I’ll show the large scale manufacturing success stories often depend on more than market tinkering.</p>
<p>Leonhardt says with Obamanomics “there would be Reich-like investments in alternative energy, physical infrastructure and such, meant both to create middle-class jobs and to address long-term problems like global warming.”&#160; That sounds good, but let’s consider Thomas L. Friedman’s question to a recent panel on plug in electric vehicles organized by the Brookings Institution and Google (to paraphrase): “Will all the electric cars simply be made in China?” The only way to limit that possibility is by supporting industrial policies that reward Detroit in making the right technological choices and by democratizing some of the firms organizing the jobs. Government will have to use its procurement leverage to promote socially responsible and domestic investments in the green economy.&#160; Procurement power should also be used to strengthen the pockets of unionized industrial workers and firms. That’s what happens in Canada when municipalities (like Toronto) reward the domestic (Canadian) subway industry with contracts, i.e. local content provisions just like the Chinese use in China.</p>
<p>If you think the government can’t pick winners, then look at Detroit’s miserable choices in technology that are now killing Ford and GM. &#160;Mainstream economists who say the government “can’t pick winners,” can not face the reality that some private companies “can’t pick winners.”&#160; They say that the market absorbs the costs of its failures, except when it comes to the big banks and investment houses who seem to define the limits of acceptable discourse.&#160; A bureaucrat in Washington who simply copied Toyota and issued orders to the Big Three would do far better than these managers (not that I support such Gosplan-type, top-down planning). If workers control their jobs, they won’t likely outsource them. &#160;In sum, the social control of the economy is just one of those Lefty policy wonk realities that is hard to sell politically but likewise hard to deny.</p>
<p>Mainstream journalists and their media corporate employers can help regulate the boundaries of acceptable discourse.&#160; Leonhardt says that during the primaries Obama “pandered” in the direction of “trade barriers.”&#160; That is the only time in his article that he uses this charged word.&#160; At no other time did Obama “pander.”&#160; Trade barriers have been embraced by President Bush and countless other politicians, but are supposed to be an evil that constrains global trade.&#160; That’s an interesting view.&#160; Leonhardt notes that “as Europe’s regulated economies have struggled and Asia’s move to capitalism has spurred its fabulous boom, many liberals have…come to appreciate the virtues of markets.”&#160; In the Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean cases we know that the boom and growth was tied to various actions by both government agencies and assorted networks or structures beyond the market and state.&#160; Industrial policy and regulation were often, but not always, keys to growth.&#160; Yet, the “Asian miracle” is miraculously called a miracle of markets.&#160; The work of Bennett Harrison and Alice Amsden, among others, shows that this was not so.&#160;&#160; In contrast, European countries like Sweden and Finland have done relatively well by combining welfare states, government support of retraining and R&amp;D, with high growth economies.&#160; High taxes did not limit growth. Government regulations, linked to Nordic specifications for mobile telephony for example, actually helped spur companies like Nokia and Ericsson.&#160; In the case of the Swedish-based Ericsson, Televerket (a quasi-governmental phone company) was a critical partner firm that was actually a key to the Swedish telephonic giant’s growth.&#160; None of this matters, however, because it does not fit into the mantra: markets are pro-growth and government and taxation are not.</p>
<p>Obama writes in his second book, that “Reagan’s central insight—that the liberal welfare state had grown complacent and overly bureaucratic, with Democratic policy makers more obsessed with slicing the economic pie than with growing that pie—contained a good deal of truth.”&#160; Leonhardt writes that Obama’s “policies often involve setting up a government program to address a market failure but then trying to harness the power of the market within that program.”&#160; These observations contain some truth, but also a potential source of confusion. It’s true that if Democrats had supported economic cooperatives, ecologically sustainable firms, and democratic industrial development banks then they might have done far more good than redistributive programs that do nothing to increase the size of the economic pie.&#160; Yet, the notion that “growth equals markets” is simply wrong as I have shown.&#160; There is no homogeneous market.&#160; Markets can fail or succeed.&#160; The rhetoric about markets is useful ideological cover.&#160; One can’t blame a candidate for using the language, but any candidate should make sure that they don’t get burned later on by embracing the fallacies tied to the lingo.</p>
<p>Market Failure as a Failure of the Political Market</p>
<p>Some say that we can’t afford to cut the military budget because of Russian imperialism and terrorism.&#160; Even if we ignore Bush’s provocations, the war hawk economists assume that more money spent on defense brings us more security.&#160; Military jets that create environmental hazards through their fuel or bombing campaigns also terrorize civilians and drive them into the fundamentalist camp and counter-military terror moves.&#160; But, even if we reject that view, there is an unspoken problem that looms larger.&#160; The Pentagon has failed to really defend us in key ways.</p>
<p>This relates to a big failure in government that is rarely talked about these days. It’s not an election issue and it’s really too big to ignore in the long run. It has to do with how the military part of the State is robbing civilians.&#160; Recent books by Seymour Melman (After Capitalism, published in 2001) and Ishmael Hossein-Zadeh (The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism, published in 2006) should be required reading for the Obama campaign.&#160; Both books tell the story of hundreds of billions of dollars that the Pentagon can’t even find: “According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions,” then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told reporters on September 10, 2001. Hossein-Zadeh notes that that sum was equivalent to “$8,000 for every man, woman, and child in the nation.”&#160; The sloppy accounting is tied to members of Congress who have been more concerned with Pentagon pork than fiscal responsibility in the view of seasoned observers. Hossein-Zadeh also explains that “the major bulk of weapons procurement is done without competitive bidding; it is often done through negotiation between Pentagon contractors and a high-ranking military official, a general or a colonel.”&#160; Contracts initially are bid at low sums to win over government skeptics. Then, costs are often inflated without fear of Pentagon sanctions.&#160; There’s no free market in all this. Hossein-Zadeh describes how military contractors “often do business in government-owned land or in government-owned buildings and facilities free of charge.”&#160; These companies don’t “pay for the government-owned machinery and equipment or other infrastructure facilities when they use them in their process of production.”&#160; If all this is in the interest of national security, we might ask ourselves what happened on 9-11 or why the Iraq War has worsened the terrorist threat according to various intelligence agencies.</p>
<p>An Iraq War that could cost $3 trillion.&#160; $2.3 trillion that can’t be accounted for.&#160; It’s a lot of money that the economists have little to say about, even as the industrial belt in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York State and other key presidential battlegrounds is rotting. Some of the money may have shown up in these states’ factories.&#160; Most went to military dependent regions in California and the South that face periodic droughts and can’t transport their population from home to work in a sensible way.&#160; It’s all a question of politics and how the economy is organized.</p>
<p>Strangely enough, to understand our present dilemmas we have to forget about many a contemporary economist and instead embrace some of the key notions developed during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s by writers like Paul Goodman and C. Wright Mills.&#160; They examined the emerging economic and social structures within the bureaucratic state and firm, and saw the resulting limits to the economic and political sphere.&#160; These thinkers were marginalized by the established academy and its discourses.&#160; In his biographical study of C. Wright Mills, Stanley Aronowitz says that Mills became a pariah when he made power elites and not pluralism the center of his argument. &#160;Dozens of academics wrote about Mills, but usually rejected his views. No matter, both Goodman and Mills embraced the kind of critical argument that Galbraith saw was missing in much contemporary economics.</p>
<p>It’s not enough to say, as Leonhardt and Democratic Party reformers do, that firms sometimes succeed but sometimes fail (and have to be regulated as a result).&#160; The problem is that markets have to be designed.&#160; There are good designs and bad ones.&#160; Sometimes the key designers work in the government, sometimes they are consumers and other times producers.&#160; It’s far more important to discuss the designs of markets than to discuss the abstract trade offs between too much government and too little markets.&#160; The realm of designers includes not just business persons or economists but also philosophers, political scientists, consumer groups, professional trade associations, politicians, architects, artists, etc.&#160; Paul Goodman, in an essay called “Prudent Technology,” wrote that: “Whether or not it draws on new scientific research, technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science.&#160; It aims at prudent goods for the commonweal, to provide efficient means for these goods.”</p>
<p>The status quo economists don’t understand Goodman’s argument or care to consider its implications.&#160; For example, Leonhardt notes: “What tends to distinguish Democratic economists is that they set out to uncover imperfections of the market and then come up with incremental, market-based solutions to these imperfections.”&#160; For example, the cap-and-trade program uses all kinds of market systems to create a market price for pollution and gives firms the incentive to trade pollution rights.&#160; This is a far cry from redesigning firms so that they don’t pollute in the first place.&#160; Where is the right we might have to have zero emissions?&#160; In various books, like Making Peace with the Planet, Barry Commoner long ago argued that pollution prevention was the cure to the ecological crisis and that cure required redesign of the “ecosphere.”&#160; We have used the market to export pollution to China and India, a kind of ecological imperialism that many mainstream economists think is just dandy.</p>
<p>The failures of the market are all shaped by questions and problems of power.&#160; They are tied to the absence or weakness of regulations and regulators, the limited imagination and greed of top corporate planners who couldn’t make a sustainable and smaller-sized car quickly enough, and the limited number of firms who have taken the “high road” in reorganizing worker to gain productivity advantages through workers’ participation and control. The failure and breakdown of anti-trust provisions and practices, justified by global competition, simply fuels the fires of stupidity, greed and short term thinking.&#160; Ralph Nader has brought some of this into the margins of presidential campaign discourse. The political design of markets (and the firms who comprise them) is the obvious question that is ignored. This question centers on what can be said about who can and should design markets, who benefits from the policies of incumbent market designers, and the potential role for non-market forces in the social economy.&#160; This expression refers to the larger economic sphere that can be organized by governments, cooperatives and socially responsible firms as well as the ignored actors Goodman had in mind.</p>
<p>What C. Wright Mills called The Power Elite is now tied to a series of institutions that are jeopardizing the whole fabric of American society.&#160; The culprits include: banks that serve as loan sharks, firms that take the form of&#160; what Reich once called “casino capitalists,” companies that don’t produce but serve as trade reps for the Chinese, schools that don’t teach critical thinking but blind subservience, governments that waste taxes and budgets on military adventurism, and other exemplars of what can best be called, an emerging “Fifth Column Society.”&#160; In the old days we had racism, sexism, inequality and war.&#160; Today, we have those things, but even those who were supposedly co-opted into the system (like industrial workers and middle class professionals) are being rejected by the elites through outsourcing and deindustrialization.&#160; The politics of the design of institutions has become more central than ever.&#160; The language of Goodman and Mills is key.</p>
<p>As an example, we’re told that automation and new technologies destroy jobs, but the central role of a rational and socially responsible banking and productive industrial system in holding up the economy is ignored.&#160; The mantra is that everything is cheaper in China and India or former Eastern European nations that are part of the global labor force. That is true for sure.&#160; Yet, how historically have wage rates been taken out of competition?&#160; One way is through automation that led to productivity enhancing investments where the resulting profits were partially used to reinvest in “upskilling” the domestic workforce (see Seymour Melman, Profits without Production, 1983).&#160;&#160; Many firms don’t do that any more.&#160; Instead, they use technology to destroy jobs or move them.</p>
<p>One key exception to this job destroying pattern can be seen in networks of progressive firms where the network is more loyal to labor than capital.&#160; In the Mondragon network of cooperatives in Spain, productivity gains have been used to generate profits and jobs directly within the network.&#160; The design of the network, not the market or the state, requires that corporate wealth is translated directly into investments within the networks’ banks, laboratories and retraining program. There are no plundering intermediaries to waste the workers’ treasure.&#160;&#160; Japanese firms also did some of this before they succumbed to the greed of globalization and parasitical global capitalism.&#160; Also, don’t forget that in an industrial enterprise manufacturing costs can be as small as 40 percent of the selling price and of that direct labor costs can be something like only twelve percent of these manufacturing costs (see JT: Black, The Design of the Factory with a Future, 1991, page 14).&#160; Quality improvements, delivered to a segment of cost indifferent consumers, can often be far more important than cheap labor and goods.&#160; With growing sustainability consciousness, many disposable Walmart goods will prove to be things of the past.&#160; To fully benefit from such a paradigm shift, business schools, engineering programs, federal R&amp;D initiatives, and future entrepreneurs will have to get smart fast.&#160; The acceptable wisdom will doom both economy and ecosphere.</p>
<p>The boundary conditions shaped by mainstream economics often result in a failure to consider national security questions as economic problems. In Leonhardt’s article, Lawrence Summers, the leading Democratic economist famous for his own endorsement of ecological imperialism, notes that “we’re not looking so good on infrastructure and education.”&#160; He means that “we” are doing a better job in addressing problems the market can solve rather than those it can’t.&#160; The problem, here, is that when I asked Summers at a conference over a decade ago why he didn’t embrace Seymour Melman’s ideas about cutting the military budget and investing in infrastructure (in contrast to his then notion that the problem was that Americans did not save enough), he simply suggested that Melman was some kind of a quack who didn’t understand economics.&#160;&#160; Again, how will we pay for the infrastructure at the rate at which the investments (in the trillions not billions) are needed?</p>
<p>If Summers represents the kind of economist who likes to divorce economic security from national security, there are others who divorce economics and national security itself from energy and environmental security.&#160; Every investment in wind power and solar energy is going to strengthen the United States in economic, national security and ecological terms—far more than an anti-ballistic missile.&#160; Fortunately, Obama has understood some if not much of this, acknowledging that our GNP statistics are limited.&#160; He consistently links sustainable investments and military budget reductions.</p>
<p>Obama is right to tax the rich, to support ecological infrastructure and to have suspicions about big government bureaucracy.&#160; He’s competing against a media and Republican candidate whose ideas are outmoded and often dangerous.&#160; The voters are not always sympathetic to his most progressive ideas.&#160; Yet, if his presidency, and perhaps campaign, is to succeed, he will have to go far beyond the proscriptions of accepted Democratic Party economists and pundits.&#160; One senses that some of his policy wonks are wrong headed.&#160; I understand that by picking some established wonks, like Rubin, Obama sends a signal to parts of the power elite who help his campaign.&#160; Yet, one can drown in a sea of pro-establishment wonks—the ability to reach suffering voters will be diminished.</p>
<p>Obama gets economic populism and in his books, he’s talked about “the elites.”&#160; Yet, he will eventually have to do more. &#160;Every region that has been screwed over by Bushanomics is associated with data that can easily be documented.&#160; One could easily create a regional video almanac showing the failures of this Administration in every state in the union. &#160;Obama will not only have to address the conversion problem of a permanent war economy, but he will also have to discuss who has power in the civilian economy.&#160; He won’t be able to limit his argument to the equation that tax cuts will stimulate the economy when such cuts can easily be used for an increasing range of imported goods and services (including high end jobs in banks and programming).&#160; The manipulation of markets will not in itself organize production, ownership and designs in a way that it is either socially equitable or even economically productive for the domestic economy, i.e. jobs, wealth distribution and ecological outcomes.</p>
<p>The big bucks questions, of run away military budgets and waste, suggest that if Obama wants to take up the mantle of President Kennedy he will have to look at his ideas about the structure of an alternative international relations system. Obama can start with Kennedy’s famous American University address (on June 10, 1963) where the President talked about the limits of the arms races and the benefits of disarmament.&#160; This Kennedy, reflecting some of the ideas of John Kenneth Galbraith, is one both journalists and economists have buried.&#160; Here’s a discourse that is <a href="" type="internal">worth studying</a>.</p>
<p>Where is the mechanism to link Obama to these far sighted ideas?&#160; As I have suggested <a href="" type="internal">elsewhere</a>, it is partially up to us.&#160; We have to redesign our own movements so that they extend their reach into the millions but also hold any potential reformer like Obama accountable to the alternatives considered here.&#160; We also have to strengthen his hand on issues we care about.&#160; Otherwise, left wing economic ideas will be summarily ignored—just as they pretty much were in the last cabinet in which Robert Reich served.</p>
<p>Jonathan Feldman is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economic History at Stockholm University.&#160; He is a member of the Economic Reconstruction network ( <a href="http://www.economicreconstruction.com/" type="external">www.economicreconstruction.com</a>).</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Obamanomics | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/08/23/obamanomics/ | 2008-08-23 | 4 |
<p>You would think that by now we would have “supp’d full with horrors” on the New York Times op-ed pages. What could be worse than the atrocities that have filled those gray columns in the past few years, the loud brays for war, the convoluted excuses for presidential tyranny, the steady murmur of chin-stroking bullshit meant to comfort the comfortable elite and confirm them — at all times, at any cost — in their well-wadded self-righteousness? Surely, you would think, we have seen the worst.</p>
<p>If this was your thought, then alas, alas, alack the day, you were bitterly mistaken, my friend. Comes now before us the portly, fur-lipped figure of Thomas Friedman, Esq., who today has penned what must be the most morally hideous and deeply racist column ever to appear in those rarefied journalistic precincts: “Ten Months or Ten Years.”</p>
<p>It seems that this very enthusiastic promoter of the unprovoked war of aggression against Iraq – which he proudly called “a war of choice,” apparently not realizing that he was parroting the propagandists of the Nazi regime that killed millions of his ethnic kindred — has now discovered that Iraqi Arabs are hopeless, worthless barbarians, broken by “1,000 years of Arab-Muslim authoritarianism” and can only be held together by an “iron fist.” (He got all this from reading a new book, apparently. Well, a little literacy, like a little learning, is a dangerous thing, I reckon — and as anyone who has ever exposed themselves to the dull, flat buzz of Friedman’s prose can attest, his literacy is little indeed.)</p>
<p>In fact, the only thing America did wrong in its “effort to bring progressive politics or democracy to this region” was not coming down hard enough on this darky riff-raff: “Had we properly occupied the country, and begun political therapy, it is possible an American iron fist could have held Iraq together long enough to put it on a new course. But instead we created a vacuum by not deploying enough troops.” Instead, we took it easy on them — I mean, Jesus H. Jiminy Cricket Walker Christ, we only killed 600,000 of them; what kind of pussyfooting around is that? — and look what happened. A Sunni insurgency sprang up, whose only goal — whose ONLY goal, mind you — was to make America look bad: “America must fail in its effort to bring progressive, etc., etc. America must fail ­ no matter how many Iraqis have to be killed, America must fail.” What was their “only one goal” again, Tom? Oh yeah: America must fail. Not a single ding-dang one of them ornery critters ever had any other motive whatsoever to take up arms against an army of foreigners who had invaded and occupied their country.</p>
<p>Actually, I think there was at least one other goal of the insurgency, and it hangs over Friedman’s piece like a bad smell he is loath to acknowledge in polite company: they wanted Thomas Friedman to fail. Here we come to the corroded heart of the matter. Friedman, like all the pro-war “liberal hawks” who see aggressive war as the very best method of implanting “progressive politics or democracy” in benighted lands, is personally affronted by the Iraqis’ ingratitude. They will not and cannot accept even the slightest implication that there was ever any flaw in their philosophy of benign bloodlust. (Bloodlust by proxy, of course, always by proxy! Goodness gracious granny me, you’d never see one of these paladins so much as muss their cuticles in the service of their noble ideals. That’s what God made Mexicans and Salvadorans and white trash crackers for.)</p>
<p>In his column, Friedman makes much of his pre-war enthusiasm, and proudly claims that he was the first to come up with the “Pottery Barn rule” of international diplomacy — “You break it, you own it” — which he further claims Colin Powell copped from him. Perhaps he’s right; certainly, it’s hard to believe that two separate lifelong chewers of conventional wisdom cud could have come up with such a banal and suburban-brained observation independently! But the fact that Tom Friedman’s war has failed — that these dastardly, dumb-ass Arabs (and Tom, swoopstake, includes the entire “Sunni Muslim world” in his condemnation for “tolerating and tacitly support[ing]” the insurgency; he has obviously gone and polled every single Sunni Muslim on earth to procure this knowledge) — is the unspoken leitmotiv of the entire piece. This was my war — and the Arabs ruined it! They didn’t want the “progressive politics or democracy” that I wanted to give them at gunpoint — or with an “iron fist” — and now the whole thing’s just a hopeless mess. Hell, the Arabs are so goddamned stupid, says Tom, that they “can’t even have a proper civil war. There are so many people killing so many other people for so many different reasons – religion, crime, politics – that all the proposals for how to settle this problem seem laughable.”</p>
<p>Ah, but wise old Tom has a proposal to settle this problem — a most condign punishment for the Arab trash who have so bitterly disappointed him. Friedman proposes — seriously, one assumes, for surely nothing is more serious than Tom Friedman in full cry — that we “re-invade” Iraq with 150,000 more troops…and this time really do a number on those recalcitrant tribes, do whatever “is necessary to crush the dark forces in Iraq” and pound some sense into them, or at least some obedience, with our big “iron fist.” (This is, after all, the only thing that Arabs understand, right? No doubt Tom has read “The Arab Mind,” Raphael Pataki’s reduction of fellow human beings to abstract ciphers bound up in a hive mentality — an outdated, outmoded, outlandish spasm of hidebound “Orientalism” that has long been required reading not only for war-of-choicemongers like Friedman but also for Pentagon brass and officers in the field.)</p>
<p>Whatever is necessary. Whatever it takes. This is, I believe, what is technically known as the “Close Your Hearts to Pity” strategy, in honor of that great war-of-choicer who thus exhorted his officers as they stood poised on the Polish frontier back in the glorious days when men were men and an iron fist was an iron fist.</p>
<p>Nowadays, of course, we hollow men, headpieces filled with straw, obviously lack the will to power. And so even while Tom adjures his great hero, the Commander-in-Chief, to unleash the re-invasion force (where Tom proposes to get 150,000 more fighting troops from remains a mystery; maybe China will loan us some), thereby “crushing the Sunni and Shiite militias, controlling borders, and building Iraq’s institutions and political culture from scratch,” it’s clear that he believes that the sissy-mary American public lacks the proper martial spirit to carry through the necessary 10 years of fisting that the Iraqis so clearly deserve. And so, more in anger than in sorrow, he proposes the only other possible alternative to a brand-new blitzkrieg: bugging out in 10 months time and forgetting the whole shebang ever happened. Otherwise, “it will only mean throwing more good lives after good lives into a deeper and deeper hole filled with more and more broken pieces.”</p>
<p>Yes, yes, the “Pottery Barn Rule” says that if we are responsible for those broken pieces, then we own them. But never let it be said that Friedman lacks the moral courage and mental elasticity to admit that he is wrong. Not about his advocacy of the war, of course. Nor about the idea that murdering 600,000 civilians (and counting) is a jim-dandy way to advance “progressive politics or democracy.” Heavens to Betsy my word, no. All of that still goes, and we can only hope to see this course followed again elsewhere, and soon — and done right this time. No, what Tom manfully admits is wrong is his “Pottery Barn Rule” itself. It turns out that “Iraq was already pretty broken before we got there.” So none of what has happened is our fault. The blame lies with those “1,000 years of Arab-Muslim authoritarianism.” (So much more corrosive than the European authoritarianism that overlaid the White-Folk homeland for, oh, say 3,000 years or so.) The blame lies with “three brutal decades of Sunni Baathist rule” — that would be the Sunni Baathist rule that was put in place by means of not one but two CIA-assisted coups, and maintained with lavish help from Ronald Reagan and George Humpty Dumpty Bush. The blame also lies, it seems, with a “crippling decade of UN sanctions,” screwed on ever tighter by those champions of humanitarian intervention, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.</p>
<p>In fact, who can forget Tom’s giddy cheerleading for the Clinton-Blair air war against the civilian population of Serbia? Who can forget his bone-chilling warning to the unruly Slavs in his classic 1999 column, “Give War a Chance,” when he wrote: “Let’s at least have a real war. It should be lights out in Belgrade: every power grid, water pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted…Every week you ravage Kosovo is another decade we will set your country back by pulverizing you. You want 1950? We can do 1950. You want 1389? We can do 1389 too.” In a column the year before, as Norman Solomon notes, Friedman called for “bombing Iraq, over and over and over again.”</p>
<p>So there you go. Iraq was already ruined before we got there. We didn’t have a blessed thing to do with it. Certainly, the “war of choice” launched by the knowing lies of Bush and Blair (“the intelligence is being fixed around the policy”) has no connection whatsoever to the deep hole filled with broken pieces that is Iraq today. And if it turns out that we really are too wimpy to close our hearts to pity and put these ragheads in their place once and for all, we can still leave behind the hellhole — and those 600,000 dead — with a clear conscience. For we have not failed. (Thomas Friedman has not failed.) We were not wrong. (Thomas Friedman was not wrong.) It was all the fault of those “progress-resistant,” broken-down, hive-minded, barbaric Arabs. We can either slaughter them by the millions, or flush them down the toilet. There is no other way.</p>
<p>This, ladies and gentleman, is what passes for Establishment thought on the most respected newspaper in the land. This complete and utter moral perversion — like unto an act of sexual congress with the beasts of the field — is now the conventional wisdom of the chattering classes, the “public intellectuals,” and the powerful elites whom they so cravenly serve. This blood-flecked drivel — a precise echo of the genocidal fury being voiced on what once was once considered the lunatic fringes of the far right — is now at the heart of American political life.</p>
<p>How many more people will have to die to keep the warmongers from colliding with the enormity of their crimes? What child will be ripped to shreds tonight — and tomorrow night — and every night afterward, for “ten months or ten years,” to keep Thomas Friedman snug and cozy in the gilded palace of his endless self-regard?</p>
<p>CHRIS FLOYD is a frequent contributor to CounterPunch. He is the author of Empire Burlesque: High Crimes and Low Comedy in the Bush Imperium, and editor of the website of that same name (at <a href="http://www.chris-floyd.com/" type="external">www.chris-floyd.com</a>). He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]." type="external">[email protected].</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Thomas Friedman Comes Undone | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/12/01/thomas-friedman-comes-undone/ | 2006-12-01 | 4 |
<p>Published time: 19 Dec, 2017 02:47</p>
<p>A man in the Russian city of Kursk has been saved from certain death after surviving a day trapped in the underground heating system. The dramatic rescue operation was captured on film by RT’s Ruptly video agency.</p>
<p>On Monday, local children <a href="http://www.dddkursk.ru/lenta/2017/12/18/041551/" type="external">heard</a> a strange voice emanating below the ground in Kursk. Puzzled youths rushed to investigate the sounds emanating below the earth’s surface. Through a hole beneath layers of concrete and frozen ground, the they noticed a human eye and a finger of a person, desperately calling for help.</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>When rescuers arrived at the scene they discovered a man in his 40s, stuck in the subterranean pipe network that delivers hot water to the residents of Kursk from the city’s heat generation plants. The man was extremely lucky to survive, as pipes in the peak of the winter may get heated up to 130 degrees Celsius, which would make a person almost certainly burn alive on contact with them. Luckily for the victim, the segment which he was wriggling through was covered with insulation and heat in the pipes was not raised to its full capacity.</p>
<p>Fearing for the victim’s life and with no time to waste, the emergency team quickly looked for a nearby hatch which could lead them to the underground pipe network. However, retrieving the victim via a hatch could pose risks, so the crew instead chose to cut through the cement using a concrete saw.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/401896-taxi-drunk-airport-hooliganism/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Soon the man resurfaced on the streets of Kursk wearing just a pair of underpants. The victim explained, the best he could, that he was forced to lose his clothing to better maneuver in confined space of the city’s heating network. He also revealed that he spent at least an entire day searching for a way out.</p>
<p>The man informed the rescuers that he was intoxicated and does not recall how he ended up below ground. There he found himself stuck in a confined space that was just big enough for a small child to squirm through.</p>
<p>Dramatic video of the rescue by RT’s Ruptly also shows a number of burns that the victim has suffered crawling the hot pipes underneath the city. While the city authorities conduct an investigation into a bizarre case, the man has been taken to a local hospital to get his injuries treated.</p> | Naked man rescued from deathtrap in Russian city’s underground heating system (VIDEO) | false | https://newsline.com/naked-man-rescued-from-deathtrap-in-russian-citys-underground-heating-system-video/ | 2017-12-18 | 1 |
<p>The U.S. military is increasing its presence in Poland and the Baltics in response to the crisis in Ukraine, officials said Wednesday.</p>
<p>The military will deploy jets now in the Britian — six F-15 fighters and one KC-135 re-fueler — to Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, a U.S. defense official told NBC News.</p>
<p>The U.S. already has four F-15s in Lithuania as part of a NATO’s Baltic air policing rotation — jets that fly patrols and respond to airspace violations in the Baltics.</p>
<p>The NATO air patrols have been in place for a decade and include military aircraft from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Czech Republic.</p>
<p>The U.S. rotation lasts from Jan. 1 through April 30, 2014.</p>
<p>At the request of Poland, the Pentagon is beefing up the number of U.S. airmen assigned to an aviation detachment in Poland that trains the Polish Air Force.</p>
<p>The United States has 10 Air Force personnel there now, as well as F-16s and C-130s. The U.S. defense official could not say how many additional airmen would go to Poland, but did say that they would arrive sometime this week — likely tomorrow.</p>
<p>In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel refused to speculate on what the United States military response would be if Russian troops, who now control Crimea, advance toward Kiev.</p>
<p>Hagel also said supplying additional arms to Ukraine would be a joint NATO or presidential decision.</p>
<p>Canada is sending two observers to track military activities on the Crimean peninsula, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement Wednesday.</p> | U.S. Moves Six Fighter Jets to Baltics, More Airmen to Poland | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/u-s-moves-six-fighter-jets-baltics-more-airmen-poland-n45386 | 2014-03-05 | 3 |
<p>As weak economic data fan concerns about the outlook for the world's second biggest economy, just how much of a slowdown in growth is Beijing willing to tolerate before it steps in?</p>
<p>So far Chinese policymakers appear happy to allow a lower level of gross domestic product (GDP) growth as the economy shifts away from a dependence on investment and exports, but their resolve could be tested as economic conditions worsen.</p>
<p>China's full-year growth was 7.8 percent in 2012 and the government targets growth of 7.5 percent for 2013, which would be the slowest in 23 years, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>"The question is how low can we go and that depends on the pain threshold for Chinese politicians," said Chi Lo, senior strategist for Greater China at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.</p>
<p>"From what I understand, they [policymakers] talk about 7-7.5 percent as the range of growth that the authorities are willing to tolerate. So if we see economic growth slow to 7.2 to 7.3 percent we may see a shift towards [monetary or fiscal] loosening to make sure we don't slip below 7 percent," he added.</p>
<p>Data on Wednesday showed exports fell 3.1 percent in June from a year earlier, the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100874817" type="external">first decline since January 2012</a>, reinforcing signs of a slowdown.</p>
<p>A spike in short-term interest rates to record highs last month that economists say could spill over into the real economy through higher lending rates has also fueled worries about China's economic outlook.</p>
<p>Guessing Game</p>
<p>"It's a guessing game in the market and policy uncertainty has been on the rise, especially after the inter-bank market episode in June," Stephen Schwartz, chief economist for Asia at BBVA Research, told CNBC in response to a question about how low Beijing would allow economic growth to fall to before considering stimulus measures.</p>
<p>"So nobody knows for sure except the authorities. Our own view is that, they will try and stick to the 7.5 percent target this year. The real uncertainty is what the targets will be for next year," he told CNBC Asia's <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838831" type="external">"Squawk Box."</a></p>
<p>China releases its second-quarter GDP data next Monday and economists polled by Reuters forecast annual economic growth at 7.5 percent, down from 7.7 percent growth in the first quarter.</p>
<p>The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday downgraded its global growth outlook and said one of the main risks facing the world economy is slower-than-expected growth in China.</p>
<p>"We have seen a higher tolerance for lower headline growth as the focus shifts towards structural reform and rebalancing the economy, so I think the government would tolerate growth below the 7.5 percent target, but they have also shown a commitment to economic stability," Fan Cheuk Wan, managing director and head of research at Credit Suisse Private Banking said.</p>
<p>According to Schwartz of BBVA Research, the labor market could be the key to determining how much of a slowdown in the economy Beijing is willing to tolerate.</p>
<p>"As long as growth stays above 6 percent, that should give some comfort to the government that the labor market should stay stable and that social risks won't be a problem," he added.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/" type="external" /></p>
<p>More from our partner, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com" type="external">CNBC:</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100875217" type="external">For Australia, ‘R’ word may not mean recession</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100875600" type="external">Weak China data flags more bad news for copper</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100843287" type="external">If there are top states, there must be bottom states</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100849559" type="external">Second wind: renewable energy down but not out</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100876456" type="external">New Google Maps takes aim at Foursquare, Yelp</a></p> | Just how low will China allow growth to go? | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-07-10/just-how-low-will-china-allow-growth-go | 2013-07-10 | 3 |
<p>Millions of people have taken to the streets in immigrant-rights protests mostly focused against vicious legislation passed by the U.S. House that would criminalize undocumented workers and anyone who assists them. But the “compromise” proposal in the Senate falls far short of justice.</p>
<p>Among the provisions of the propoal by Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy is a guest-worker program that would give legal status to migrant workers brought into the U.S. to work for a specific contract. The politicians claim the guest-worker system would be a generous “reform,” and some leaders among immigrant-rights organizations support it, viewing it as the “realistic” alternative to the House bill.</p>
<p>But in fact the history of the last major guest-worker program in the U.S. — the so-called bracero program, from 1942 to 1964 — shows that the reality of such a system is very different from the rhetoric promoting it.</p>
<p>The bracero program was introduced in 1942, a year after the U.S. entered the Second World War. The program, negotiated between the U.S. and Mexican governments, brought approximately 4.8 million Mexican contract laborers to work in the U.S., primarily as agricultural workers in California and Texas. The term “bracero” refers to those who work with their arms, from the Spanish word for arm “brazo.”</p>
<p>Though it was supposed to be a temporary measure to fill a wartime labor shortage, the program was so lucrative that it was extended until 1964.</p>
<p>The primary purpose and result of the bracero program was to give growers more control over farm labor, immigrant and native alike. The program was immensely profitable for growers, as it enabled them to thwart union organizing efforts and drive down wages of all farm workers.</p>
<p>By the 1940s, the family farm had been largely replaced by large-scale commercial agriculture in western states like California. A decade before, during the struggles of the 1930s, farm workers made huge strides in union organizing that, while not entirely successful, left growers fearful of their potential power.</p>
<p>War mobilization increased demands for production across many industries, threatening the growers’ control over farm labor. Agricultural laborers had increasing opportunities to secure better jobs in manufacturing, transportation and service trades.</p>
<p>Farmers didn’t want to be scrambling to secure a labor force, especially if it meant increasing wages or improving conditions. Growers, processors and federal authorities settled on the bracero program as a means of alleviating this threat.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>The Mexican American Bracero Agreement was signed on July 23, 1942, establishing the Mexican government as recruiters and the U.S. government as distributors of cheap and expendable labor. Mexico had declared war on the Axis powers one month before and was thus under pressure from the U.S. to help it overcome the wartime labor shortage. The majority of “braceros” were assigned to work in agriculture, though a significant minority, about one in four, were contracted to work on the railroads.</p>
<p>The government, newspapers and recruiters in Mexico sold the program through an intensive propaganda campaign. For example, an article titled “Impressions of a Worker,” printed in the Mexico City daily El Universal, quoted Antonio Corrales, who had allegedly just returned from working as a contract worker in California. “We work contentedly, eat with an appetite, amuse ourselves, send our families money, and even save,” he said.</p>
<p>He described the braceros as being “joyfully greeted by the North American farmers,” working eight-hour days in the “best possible conditions,” making exchanges of language lessons with American workers, earning abundant wages, having opportunities to save at least 25 percent of their earnings, and receiving a sympathetic welcome by Americans generally.</p>
<p>This glowing picture contrasted sharply with the actual experience of most braceros.</p>
<p>Braceros were usually afraid to register official complaints, but they suffered from lack of consistent work, long work hours, earnings that barely covered expenses, unauthorized deductions from their pay, meager and poor-quality food rations, run-down and unsanitary housing, dangerous means of transportation, dangerous working conditions that led to disabling or fatal accidents, and even physical abuse, as well as severe racial discrimination.</p>
<p>The contracts stipulated that workers had to leave at the end of the season–a perfect solution to growers’ need for seasonal labor that wouldn’t “burden” local schools or public relief funds.</p>
<p>The bracero agreement stipulated that the contract laborers were to be used only to fill shortages, to be paid at prevailing rates, and not to displace or undercut the wages of domestic workers.</p>
<p>In reality, the opposite occurred. The Farm Placement Service, entrusted by the Department of Labor with determining the need for labor and wages, was far from independent. Many of its officials had worked previously for the California Farm Production Council, a representative of commercial farm interests.</p>
<p>Mexican contract workers often found when they arrived that they were replacing recently fired native-born or non-contract Mexican farm workers. They were almost always paid significantly less than “domestic” laborers, and their availability enabled growers to lower wages for all farm workers.</p>
<p>As one former contract worker explained, “They paid a little more to them, to the domestic people. We knew they were making almost double. They knew that the Mexican people had to work, so they paid us less.”</p>
<p>The agreement’s recognition of braceros’ right to elect their own representatives and provisions for a grievance process weren’t honored in practice. In 1944, there were only 10 inspectors assigned by the Mexican government to investigate conditions and respond to the grievances of more than 62,000 Mexican contract workers who entered the U.S. that year, in addition to the thousands remaining from previous years.</p>
<p>While both governments formally recognized braceros’ right to join unions, the right was nonexistent in reality. When the National Farm Labor Union (NFLU) attempted to organize braceros in 1950, the Department of Labor intervened to sabotage its efforts.</p>
<p>When the program was renegotiated in 1951, the new agreement again recognized the right of braceros to organize through elected representatives. But the Department of Labor refused to meet with union officials to discuss the grievances of braceros who joined the union. Thus, the provision was, as NFLU organizer Ernesto Galarza put it, “stillborn,” remaining “embalmed in the meaningless language of the international agreement.”</p>
<p>The growers claimed that the Mexicans’ interpreters, employed by the company, served as the workers’ chosen representatives. But interpreters occupied an advantaged position in relation to braceros, which they were unwilling to compromise to advance the grievances of braceros.</p>
<p>Any attempt to unionize could lead to immediate termination of employment, and therefore deportation. Even to be spotted talking to a union organizer could mean transfer or deportation. As Justin Akers wrote in the International Socialist Review, “Any ‘breach’ of the contract, such as speaking out against poor conditions or involvement in collective bargaining, was a violation of the contract. Because these contracts were made with individuals, collective bargaining was precluded.”</p>
<p>A study conducted by the Pan American Union (PAU) found that braceros were threatened with transfer and deportation if they attempted to put forward grievances, organize or challenge the growers in any way.</p>
<p>After speaking with more than 500 Mexican contract workers in 1945, PAU investigators concluded that “workers who complain are regarded as agitators and are shipped back to Mexico…Many groups have stated confidentially that they prefer not to push a justifiable complaint so as not to run the risk of sudden repatriation.”</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>The contract labor program did not stop “illegal” immigration, nor was it meant to. Farmers continued to employ undocumented farm workers throughout the duration of the bracero program. Growers paid undocumented workers even less than contract workers, thereby driving wages down even further.</p>
<p>Organized labor was hesitant to criticize the bracero program as long as the war lasted, especially as wartime production and labor shortages meant that domestic workers had ample job opportunities. After the war ended, however, unions began to advocate for the program’s termination and made some limited efforts to organize braceros, or at least defend their right to organize.</p>
<p>While there were attempts by the NFLU to organize braceros and involve them in the strikes, as well as efforts by braceros to honor picket lines and resist their use by growers as strike breakers, the threat of firing and subsequent deportation left many with little choice but to replace striking farm workers. Strikes led by the NFLU often went down to defeat as a result.</p>
<p>The bracero program helped growers to keep unions out of the fields and wages abysmally low for over two decades. It was only after the bracero program was finally terminated in 1964 that a new farm workers’ movement, led by Cesar Chavez, could take off.</p>
<p>Like employers today, the growers’ objective was to ensure their control over who worked, for how much, and under what conditions. Guest-worker programs, like any other division based on immigration status, segregate the workforce, allowing employers to take advantage of immigrant workers to drive all workers’ wages down, worsen working conditions and undermine union organizing.</p>
<p>A new guest-worker program will be no different. We should stand up to such bogus immigration “reforms” and demand real reform–equal rights and unconditional amnesty for all undocumented immigrants.</p>
<p>SARAH HINES lives in Los Angeles and writes for the <a href="http://www.socialistworker.org/" type="external">Socialist Worker.</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Bracero Program: 1942-1964 | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/04/21/the-bracero-program-1942-1964/ | 2006-04-21 | 4 |
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<p>Democrat Manuel Gonzales defeated Republican Scott Baird in the race to replace incumbent Dan Houston. The race was within about 3 percentage points until about midnight.</p>
<p>Gonzales’ campaign questioned Baird’s history as a deputy, including a prior suspension. Baird did not return calls for comment Tuesday night and Wednesday. Gonzales said a candidate’s campaign platform, along with background and record as a law enforcement officer, should be considered in a sheriff’s race.</p>
<p>“The same as any other elected official,” he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>A background check added to his endorsements and reputation won him the election, Gonzales said.</p>
<p>Houston, who lost to Baird in the Republican primary, endorsed Gonzales and campaigned for him in an automated voice message to voters. Gonzales said the vacating sheriff’s support should help his transition into the office.</p>
<p>He said his first task will be finding a group of retired or current deputies to help him analyze the performance of the various units within the sheriff’s office, and the office’s budget.</p>
<p>Unlike the Bernalillo County sheriff’s race, the sheriff’s offices in Torrance, Valencia and Sandoval counties won’t see much of a shake-up. That’s because the incumbent candidates in each county won re-election.</p>
<p>In Sandoval County, Sheriff Doug Wood’s nearly 20,000 votes were enough to keep him in office, having beaten opponent Jesse James Casaus by more than 2,600 ballots.</p>
<p>Valencia County Sheriff Louis Burkhard won handily, with almost 65 percent of the vote. In Torrance County, Sheriff Heath White won re-election with nearly 75 percent of the vote.</p>
<p>The Tuesday-night election also decided county commission races in each of those counties, according to unofficial election results. In Torrance County, the victors were James Frost with about 61 percent of the vote and Julia Ducharme, who won in a three-way race after getting 45 percent.</p>
<p>In Sandoval County, Democrat R. James Dominguez beat Republican Gary Miles with nearly 60 percent of the vote.</p>
<p>And in Valencia County, the winning commissioners were Helen Cole, David Hyder and Jhonathan M. Aragon.</p>
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<p /> | Next Bernco sheriff credits voters | false | https://abqjournal.com/492036/next-bernco-sheriff-credits-voters.html | 2 |
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<p>Tune in Monday 9:00 PM on KPFT 90.1 FM (Houston Area) Live stream: <a href="http://KPFT.org" type="external">http://KPFT.org</a>&#160;(Entire USA) - Podcasts: <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/egbertowillies" type="external" /> <a href="http://youtube.com/PoliticsDoneRight" type="external" /> Call (713) 526-5738 to talk to me on air.</p>
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<p>I attended the Texas Democratic Convention this weekend. The entire convention was inspiring and filled with energy. I spoke to a woman, an ordained minister who placed religion, politics, policy, and compassion for fellow human beings into context. Maybe the Supreme Court should listen to her after what they did today. Maybe they need to realize that religion has no place in business.</p>
<p>Today is a day that will live in infamy. Everyone knows that the Supreme Court over the years have given corporations progressively more and more human rights. Today the corporation was also given the ability to have a religion.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court in ruling on the side of Hobby Lobby has done two things. It has declared war on women’s rights from the highest court of the land. It has codified into its interpretation of the law that companies like people can go to church. Maybe they will find some way to lock corporations up, throw them in a jail cell when they misbehave.</p>
<p>But you know what? Of more concern is that the Supreme Court has made corporations people with a license to discriminate. They are people with the right to control women. They have authorized a war on women.</p>
<p>Let’s get busy.</p>
<p>Give me a call at (713) 526-5738. That is 713-526-KPFT. Remember you can also send me a tweet to <a href="mailto:to@egbertowillies." type="external">@egbertowillies.</a> Let us engage. It is politics done right.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> LIKE My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EgbertoWilliescom/181893712536" type="external">Facebook Page</a> – Visit My Blog: <a href="http://www.EgbertoWillies.com" type="external">EgbertoWillies.com</a></p> | Politics Done Right on KPFT 90.1 FM – The politics of religion – Monday 9 PM CST | true | http://egbertowillies.com/2014/06/30/pdr-kpft-politics-religion-supreme-court-hobby-lobby/ | 2014-06-30 | 4 |
<p>George W. Bush was appointed into the White House as a proudly born-again “Christian,” and his “compassionate” conservative administration entered the White House accordingly, as if it had a mandate from the gods, when it didn’t even have a mandate from the people. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, George has answered to a higher calling and signed America up in the millennial religious struggle against “evil” in the world. George’s self-proclaimed “crusade” against terrorism has become the new and larger American assignment, having entirely eclipsed America’s centuries-long struggle to become a democracy.</p>
<p>Operationally, George’s vision translates into the Orwellian notion of preserving American “freedom” by eliminating American rights, maintaining a self-righteous, neo-imperialistic attitude toward the “old” world’s democracies, and promoting a militaristic expansion of American power in the name of America’s war on terrorism. All of this is brought to you, as they say on Sesame Street, by the letter “C,” “compassionate” conservatism, consumerism and corrupt crony capitalism.</p>
<p>In light of George’s dynastic family past, it is possible to wonder why George would feel so duty bound to nourish the conservative sociocultural world which caused him decades of dysfunction as a young man. Why would he invest in a sociocultural world which provided him with no interest in education, a good deal of interest in alcoholic escapism, and little or no ability to survive on his own in the business world of his social class?</p>
<p>Having finally found sobriety in Billy Graham’s concept of deity, George learned to accept as personal fact that he had largely wasted two decades of his life jagging around as the spoiled son of money, privilege and power. Having achieved this personal epiphany, it was by giving himself over to Graham’s god, that George has been able to rid himself of alcoholic indecision and indirection. In return, Graham’s god has provided George with righteous self-justification. While one might hope for a president who is knowledgeable, thoughtful and caring, George doesn’t need to be any of these things, because George is right in the eyes of the god who keeps him sober.</p>
<p>George’s devotion to his Grahamic god has saved him from a life of alcoholic failure and chronic bailouts, no doubt. George has found his theological calling as a “dry drunk,”, now able to be smug and belligerent without drinking a drop, as testimony to the great healing power of Graham’s god. From this self-righteous mindset, George has declared that America (and the crony capitalism for which it has come to stand) is transcendent of all traditional western notions of morality, no compassionate forgiveness, no religious vengeance, just raw unprovoked military aggression. America’s dominant position in the world is assumed to reflect the wishes of Graham’s god and America is, therefore, justified in contemplating pre-meditated and unprovoked violence against all who are seen as a threat to the new unilateralist “American Way.”</p>
<p>In the course of this personal evolution, George has come to accept that he was a black sheep in the Bush dynastic family, that he was saved from himself by Graham’s god, and that he has since been blessed by that god with a transcendent, religious reason for being in power. Given that George’s dynastic family has made his survival and his “success” possible, it is necessarily in George’s interest to see himself as duty bound to those responsible. George, the prodigal son, has found his way back home to make his family proud. It was he who was out of line all along wasn’t it now, all praise Graham’s god. This approach to the comprehension of causation in one’s life is, by now, classically “American” in that it only goes back one step in thought. Under the aegis of consumerism, for example, food comes from grocery stores and housing comes from real estate agencies, nevermind the farms and ranches and timberlands. For decades now, American consumers have believed that they need only go back one step in thought, to the retail outlets and to the common denominator required at all of them, i.e., money.</p>
<p>Likewise, personal causation in George’s life did not start one step ago with his devotion to Grahamism, nor did it start with his earlier devotion to alcoholism. As with even “common” people, personal causation in George’s life started back in the family, where the parenting which he experienced must be considered as a factor in his early lack of self-discipline and self-respect and, therefore, his lack of parental respect.</p>
<p>In other words, if George took a natural historical look at his situation, beginning with his beginnings, he would see that there are necessarily direct and indirect reasons for his having spent his first two adult decades in alcoholic failure, both as a dis-interested student and as a would-be businessman. George must know that he was not really such a “bad” kid, that there were home-bound reasons for his depression and his penchant for alcoholic escape, his inability to find a mature footing upon which to grow.</p>
<p>From what kind of world do you suppose George was so desperately and for so long seeking to escape? What was the nature of the parental world that would drive a young man into a life style of alcohol and meaningless relationships? What parental impositions would produce a young man with little interest in personal growth and self-improvement? What sins of commission? What sins of omission?</p>
<p>This is the introspective subject area to which George ought really devote considerable personal attention in the interest of self-comprehension. It would certainly make him a better president to better know himself. Do you suppose that George turned to alcohol and “good” times because he was raised in a world in which he was personally insignificant and inconsequential? Do you suppose that George lost his way because he was exposed to nothing that had meaning for him, nothing that made sense to his nascent self? Do you suppose that George’s wealthy and powerful parents were so busy with matters of pomp and circumstance, matters of security and securities, that George’s needs were oftentimes treated with benign neglect (which is never very benign)? Do you suppose young George went off the deep end because he got everything he wanted and very little he needed?</p>
<p>Do you suppose that if George thought about his life on the whole, from the beginning, that he might see that his youthful depression and escapism were understandable if not justifiable, given his dynastic family experience? Do you suppose that George might come to see that he was perhaps not all that wrong as a rebellious youth, more like over-protected, over-pacified and neglected? Do you suppose that George might come to see that had he been provided what all young people need at home, a loving, honest and time-intense parental relationship, he might have avoided two decades of meaningless escapism? Is it not entirely possible that George could have departed the parental nest to do just fine as an adult, not as a politically-appointed and manipulated president, not as a self-ordained religious hack, but as an honest, thoughtful and caring individual making honest contribution to the country and the people he could love?</p>
<p>Think back, George, to the days before you sold yourself out. What exactly about your home life was bothering you?</p>
<p>Dr. GERRY LOWER lives in Keystone, South Dakota. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Graham’s God and George’s Evolution | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/05/20/graham-s-god-and-george-s-evolution/ | 2003-05-20 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has released emails from Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, that were found by the FBI on her husband’s laptop.</p>
<p>Some of the emails found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop were marked classified. It was unclear whether they were deemed classified at the time they were sent or when the State Department was preparing them for release.</p>
<p>The emails were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.</p>
<p>The State Department said it “carefully reviews the content of records requested through FOIA to determine whether any information is sensitive or classified,” and some of the documents released Friday have “classified information that has been redacted.”</p>
<p>The FBI found thousands of emails exchanged between Clinton and Abedin while searching Weiner’s laptop as part of a criminal investigation into his sexting with a high school student. The discovery led then-FBI Director James Comey to announce in late October 2016, as Clinton’s run for the White House was in its final stage, that he was reopening the probe of her use of a private computer server.</p>
<p>Then two days before Election Day, the FBI declared there was nothing new in the emails. Clinton has called Comey’s intervention “the determining factor” in her defeat.</p>
<p>The FBI has since said that only a small number of the emails found on the laptop had been forwarded while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices, including most of the email chains containing classified information. Comey said the FBI had concluded that neither Weiner nor Abedin had committed a crime in their handling of the email.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has released emails from Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, that were found by the FBI on her husband’s laptop.</p>
<p>Some of the emails found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop were marked classified. It was unclear whether they were deemed classified at the time they were sent or when the State Department was preparing them for release.</p>
<p>The emails were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.</p>
<p>The State Department said it “carefully reviews the content of records requested through FOIA to determine whether any information is sensitive or classified,” and some of the documents released Friday have “classified information that has been redacted.”</p>
<p>The FBI found thousands of emails exchanged between Clinton and Abedin while searching Weiner’s laptop as part of a criminal investigation into his sexting with a high school student. The discovery led then-FBI Director James Comey to announce in late October 2016, as Clinton’s run for the White House was in its final stage, that he was reopening the probe of her use of a private computer server.</p>
<p>Then two days before Election Day, the FBI declared there was nothing new in the emails. Clinton has called Comey’s intervention “the determining factor” in her defeat.</p>
<p>The FBI has since said that only a small number of the emails found on the laptop had been forwarded while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices, including most of the email chains containing classified information. Comey said the FBI had concluded that neither Weiner nor Abedin had committed a crime in their handling of the email.</p> | State Department releases emails from Clinton aide | false | https://apnews.com/45bf7232374f43cab835145e5deabace | 2017-12-30 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Six Cheap Places to Retire Abroad</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Over the 20th century, many retirees moved from New England, California and the Midwest to the sunny and sparsely populated Sun Belt, where low taxes and warm weather beckoned. Today, many Americans are moving much farther afield to enjoy a new life at a low cost. Thousands are migrating to Asia, South America, Europe and beyond to stretch their retirement dollars. And foreign countries, eager for the boost to their economies, have taken notice.</p>
<p>With so many nations interested in attracting retirees from abroad, Americans are spoiled for choice. Bankrate uncovers six up-and-coming destinations where retirees can easily live on an income of $2,000 a month. In some cases, retirees are already living there for far less. Read on to discover the affordability of housing, food and medical care at these retirement destinations.</p>
<p>Chiang Mai, Thailand</p>
<p>Thanks to its weather and low cost of living, Thailand has been on retirees' radars for years, and Chiang Mai is cheap, even by Thai standards.</p>
<p>"For under $2,000, I live like a king," says Barry, a Canadian who relocated to Chiang Mai in early 2009. Since then, he has rented a 1,200-square-foot condo for a little more than $400 per month. Groceries are no big concern, usually running him about $50 per month. Restaurants cost about twice that at $100 per month -- and he goes out to eat almost every day.</p>
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<p>Barry says that Chiang Mai has just about everything he needs. "There are Western-style restaurants, entertainment venues and social events," he says. The city has several modern hospitals. "I had an emergency spinal fusion two years ago at a cost of 280,000 baht (about $9,300 at the time). In Canada, medical coverage is free, but the waiting time is long. Here, the service is almost instantaneous and very professional."</p>
<p>More routine medical issues are so inexpensive, Barry says, that he doesn't need insurance to cover them. "Going to a dentist for a checkup and cleaning is 500 baht," or about $16.</p>
<p>Guam</p>
<p>Guam is an often-overlooked alternative for American retirees, despite its many benefits. Because it's an American territory, English is spoken everywhere on the island, and its currency is the U.S. dollar. And, at least on the surface, much of the country's culture and politics will seem familiar to many Americans.</p>
<p>Situated 3,700 miles southwest of Honolulu, Guam is a lower-cost alternative to Hawaii while sharing the same climate. One-bedroom apartments in Guam can rent for as low as $400 per month, with luxury units facing the sea costing $1,000 per month. American citizens can buy property on the island; three-bedroom houses often sell for less than $200,000.</p>
<p>Since the country is a small, remote island, most items have to be imported, which means groceries can be more expensive than in the U.S. Meats, most vegetables and some dairy products can cost twice as much. Restaurants, however, are usually comparable in cost to their American counterparts.</p>
<p>Besides enjoying the weather, retirees in Guam can use both American and Guam-based insurers -- including Medicare -- to cover their health care costs. All major medical services are available at Guam Memorial Hospital, which is certified and accredited by several federal agencies in the U.S.</p>
<p>Vancouver, British Columbia</p>
<p>While it doesn't have a reputation as a retiree destination, Vancouver remains a viable option for Americans who want to stay close to home while living the cosmopolitan life across the border. The biggest hurdle for Vancouver-bound Americans is real estate. With the most expensive housing prices in Canada and some of the most expensive property in the world, Vancouver is not an investment option for many retirees.</p>
<p>The average house price is $857,400, according to CanadianBusiness.com. Renting is a possibility: One-bedroom apartments in downtown Vancouver start at around 1,400 Canadian dollars (nearly $1,398). Food and entertainment cost about the same as in Seattle, which is less than three hours away by car.</p>
<p>While Americans may not save much on rent or living costs by moving to Canada, one expense is considerably lower up North: health care. "I save over $400 per month on medicine, and I never have to wait to see my doctor," says Betty Segel, an American who has lived in suburban Vancouver for five years. Retirees in Canada have access to the country's public health care system, which provides free care to residents, including expats with a permanent residence in the country.</p>
<p>For Americans concerned about health care costs, the added premium of Vancouver property just might be worth it.</p>
<p>Valencia, Spain</p>
<p>The subprime mortgage crisis caused property values to plummet everywhere, including Spain, making the Mediterranean nation suddenly affordable for a number of retirees. The euro crisis notwithstanding, the southeastern coastal city of Valencia offers hundreds of villas, apartments and houses for less than $200,000. New one-bedroom apartments in the city sell for less than 50,000 euros ($61,506). For those who do not want to invest in real estate, rentals are cheap and plentiful. A two-bedroom apartment in the center of Valencia rents for 600 euros per month ($738).</p>
<p>Groceries sold in traditional open-air markets cost the same or less than supermarket prices back in the States, while low property taxes keep the cost of living low for expats in Spain. The country offers free public health coverage, and additional health insurance rarely exceeds $300 per month. Prescription medicines are almost always a fraction of what they would be in America.</p>
<p>Valencia is a great option for retirees who want to spend their golden years traveling. Its airport offers direct flights to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Morocco and Norway. Round-trip flights to the rest of Europe often cost less than 150 euros ($184).</p>
<p>Buenos Aires, Argentina</p>
<p>Although Buenos Aires is pricier than most parts of South America, it is still a bargain compared to most American cities. A one-bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood can be rented for less than $400 per month or bought for less than $70,000. Internet, cable and electricity combined rarely costs more than $100 per month. The city's comprehensive subway system and buses make transportation cheap. One ride on the subway costs 2.50 Argentine pesos (55 cents).</p>
<p>Health care in Argentina is a bargain, thanks to the country's public health care system and surplus of doctors. The quality and affordability of Argentina's medical services has led to a booming medical tourism industry. In 2011, more than 100,000 visitors came to Argentina to receive medical care, according to Argentina's National Institute of Tourism Promotion.</p>
<p>For most expats, the costliest part of Buenos Aires is dining in the city's European-style cafes, restaurants and night spots. While movies are relatively cheap in Argentina (a ticket costs less than $8 in most places), dinner out at a restaurant usually costs between $25 and $45. An espresso will cost around $2.50 and can be found in any of the city's thousands of small open-air cafes.</p>
<p>Lake Atitlan, Guatemala</p>
<p>Lake Atitlan is about 75 miles away from Guatemala City and is surrounded by volcanoes and villages where Mayan traditions still thrive. The area has perennial spring-like temperatures ranging from the 60s to 80s Fahrenheit. Several waterfront houses are available for rent on the lake; a three-bedroom house costs around $300 per month to rent.</p>
<p>Other expenses remain extremely low in this retiree-friendly part of Guatemala. "Restaurants cost about $10 per dinner and $3 (to) $4 for breakfast," says Andy Lee Graham, founder of HoboTraveler.com. The cheapest foods are also the healthiest; fresh fruits and vegetables cost about a third less in local markets than they do in the U.S.</p>
<p>For those who require assisted living, a full-time personal nurse can be hired for $15 to $20 per day, says Graham. "A maid is about $4 (to) $10 per day."</p>
<p>Graham recommends using taxis or tuk-tuks in Guatemala, which he notes are very cheap. Tuk-tuks are three-wheeled motorized versions of rickshaws. "Tuk-tuks will go between cities for about $3 (to) $5 per city. Inside metropolitan areas, they cost 75 cents for one trip." He warns that, "Driving a car is dangerous, but taxis are safe."</p>
<p>Andy estimates that retirees need $1,000 per month to live near Lake Atitlan.</p> | Six Global Destinations for an Affordable Retirement | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/08/14/six-global-destinations-for-affordable-retirement.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>Fresh into his role as Ford Motor Co.'s chief executive, Jim Hackett said the auto maker is rethinking how customers are going to want to use self-driving vehicle technology.</p>
<p>The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker is among car makers and tech companies racing to develop technology that would create autonomous cars. Under previous CEO Mark Fields, Ford aimed to have a fully self-driving vehicle commercially available in 2021 for ride-hailing services.</p>
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<p>Mr. Hackett, in an interview on Thursday during a Ford-sponsored symposium on the future of cities, reiterated the goal of having the technology ready in 2021 but said the company is reviewing how it might be deployed. His comments suggest Ford may be taking a different direction with autonomous technology than it did under Mr. Fields.</p>
<p>"The biggest leap is the nature of the human interpretation of using it, " said Mr. Hackett, who was wearing jeans and an Apple Watch. "If you think we're going to take the [autonomous vehicle] and just replace the station wagon, I don't believe that's what's going to happen. The AV will replace and do something that the station wagon can't do -- not just drive itself -- but other things."</p>
<p>He noted how the uses of computing technology have evolved in surprising ways, such as the smartphone being used to watch HBO.</p>
<p>"It's about aligning the technology to what the market wants it to do -- is it a new station wagon or is it an Uber vehicle?" he added. "We have work to do."</p>
<p>Mr. Hackett, 62, was named chief executive in May, after Ford's board ousted former boss Mark Fields for lacking a clear strategy to challenge new Silicon Valley rivals, such as Alphabet Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., looking to redefine the car business.</p>
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<p>Since becoming CEO, Mr. Hackett has been to Silicon Valley five times, he said.</p>
<p>A former office-furniture executive who until recently ran the auto maker's smart-mobility unit, Mr. Hackett is working to make Ford more nimble and to accelerate decision making. The company is undergoing a 100-day review of all its operations, an effort that Mr. Hackett hopes will help it better target new revenue and cost-savings opportunities.</p>
<p>As part of that review, Mr. Hackett said he has realized the importance of the infrastructure around self-driving vehicles, such as an operating system that allows everything to communicate to coordinate. "There's a marriage of the evolution of the technology of the vehicle and the evolution of the system it works in," he said. "In my 100-day review, I'm more convinced that the harmony of that is key to Ford."</p>
<p>Under Mr. Fields, Ford had aimed to roll out a fully autonomous car -- with no steering wheel or pedals -- by 2021, taking a different approach than other auto makers looking to phase in automated features more gradually within the next few years. Mr. Hackett also has noted that Ford is behind in other connected-car services, such as providing customers with over-the-air updates.</p>
<p>Mr. Hackett also inherited a relationship between Ford and the Trump administration that has been tense at times over issues including whether Ford builds its cars in the U.S. or overseas. Mr. Fields stepped back from the president's manufacturing council when he was removed as CEO at Ford in May. Ford didn't replace him with another representative on the council.</p>
<p>That council disbanded on Wednesday amid a broad backlash against President Donald Trump's response to deadly white-nationalist protests last weekend. On Thursday, Mr. Hackett and Ford Chairman Bill Ford issued a statement condemning the weekend's "displays of hatred and blatant racism."</p>
<p>The statement, which didn't criticize Mr. Trump, also said: "You can be assured that while Ford left the President's Manufacturing Council earlier this year, we also remain committed to working in support of policies that promote American manufacturing, economic prosperity, and safe and sustainable transportation."</p>
<p>Write to Tim Higgins at [email protected] and Christina Rogers at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 17, 2017 17:24 ET (21:24 GMT)</p> | New Ford CEO Hints at Changes in Auto Maker's Self-Driving Plans | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/17/new-ford-ceo-hints-at-changes-in-auto-makers-self-driving-plans.html | 2017-08-17 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Crowdstar.</p>
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<p>Glu Mobile(NASDAQ: GLUU)shareholders know that it's always darkest before the dawn. The stock hit a five-year low on Thursday, but the shares went on to bounce off their lowest levels since late 2011 after the mobile gaming app publisher shuffled its management team and announced a well-received acquisition after the market close. Glu Mobile also posted abysmal quarterly results for the third quarter, but let's not rain on this dead-cat bounce just yet.</p>
<p>Chairman and CEONiccolo de Masi will be handing the reins to Nick Earl, Glu Mobile's global studios president. When your stock is hitting multiyear lows, a change at the top is typically an applause-worthy event.Masi isn't bowing out entirely. He's transitioning to the newly created role of executive chairman, where he will focus onstrategic acquisition planning and maximizing celebrity relationships.</p>
<p>Maximizing Glu Mobile's relationships with paparazzi magnets is a pretty big deal. The success that Glu Mobile experienced in 2014 withKim Kardashian: Hollywoodtriggered a series of prolific celebrities turning to Glu Mobile to crank out celeb simulators as mobile apps.Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Gordon Ramsay are just some of the big names that have granted Glu Mobile the right to make apps based on their bigger-than-life personas. Glu Mobile hasn't been able to catch lightning in a bottle again, but the model makes Thursday's transaction -- where it's taking a controlling stake in Crowdstar -- a brilliant move.</p>
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<p>Crowdstar is a leader in the fashion games niche. Covet: Fashion -- where buddingfashionistas can virtually shop and create outfits that are then voted on by other players -- remains a popular download even three years after its initial release. It's been downloaded more than 30 million times.There's also a unique e-commerce perk to the game, as folks can actually buy the designer brand items that they're tinkering with virtually.</p>
<p>Glu Mobile is paying $45.5 million in an all-cash transaction for Crowdstar, and the synergy is pretty clear. It locks up mobile game licensing rights with major celebrities, and now it will be armed with the tools to profit from the dress-up process. It will also be able to cross-market its celebrity simulators to Covet: Fashion gamers and vice versa. Crowdstar is also beta-testing the potentially promising Design Home game that gives a home designer spin to its dress-up engine.</p>
<p>It's a no-brainer acquisition, and Glu Mobile can certainly use something going right for a change. Gross bookings clocked in at $51.3 million in its third quarter, 20% below its showing a year earlier. Its guidance for the current quarter calls for $46 million to $48 million in gross bookings, so it'll be a sequential dip -- something that we have seen happen in five of the past seven quarters since peaking at $72.9 million in late 2014. Even if it nails the high end of its outlook, we're looking at Glu Mobile's worst showing in gross bookings in more than two years.</p>
<p>Glu Mobile's ability to <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/04/taylor-swift-cant-save-glu-mobile.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">rub elbows with young superstars Opens a New Window.</a>and the synergy with its latest acquisition make the stock a good candidate to bounce back off of Thursday's five-year lows. It also continues to update its Tap Sports, Cooking Dash, and Deer Hunter franchises. Posting its fourth straight quarterly loss is problematic, but its cash-rich and debt-free balance sheet give it the ammo it needs for patient investors to wait out another hit. If it connects the dots just right following the Crowdstar addition, finding another hit will be easier than you probably think.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBreakerRick/info.aspx" type="external">Rick Munarriz Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool 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=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Glu Mobile Stock Can Bounce Back After Hitting Rock-Bottom | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/04/glu-mobile-stock-can-bounce-back-after-hitting-rock-bottom.html | 2016-11-04 | 0 |
<p>Olympic basketball isn't exactly...competitive. To put it bluntly, team USA is far and away the best team on the international stage.&#160;</p>
<p>Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and crew are absolutely annihilating&#160;the competition in London. The team even set several records in their matchup against Nigeria including &#160;most points scored in the first half of a game with 78 points in the first half. Carmelo Anthony alone scored 37 points. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/usa-basketball-carmelo-anthony-nigeria-records_n_1735410.html?utm_hp_ref=sports" type="external">According to the Associated Press</a>, they also set records for most 3-pointers (26), field goals (59) and field-goal percentage (71).&#160;In total, USA dominated over Nigeria with a 156-73 victory.</p>
<p>Bryant expressed a bit of remorse at just how badly team USA is crushing the competition. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/usa-basketball-carmelo-anthony-nigeria-records_n_1735410.html?utm_hp_ref=sports" type="external">He told the Associated Press</a>,&#160;"When we get hot, it's a big problem. So you have all these guys on one team and then all get hot on the same night, it's tough."</p>
<p>Bryant apparently didn't have enough remorse to hold back on his game with the Nigerians or the French, Brazilians or Tunisians. Check out Bryant and a few others in GlobalPost's favorite GIFs of the games.&#160;</p>
<p>Team USA throwing back a 3-pointer:</p>
<p>&#160; <a href="http://minus.com/l4MrIHXCI6xP" type="external" /></p>
<p>Celebrating their victories:</p>
<p><a href="http://minus.com/libDmDdBffqcw" type="external" /></p>
<p>Getting some hang time:&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://minus.com/l4SVz2Zkp6LB0" type="external" /></p>
<p>Scaring off the other team with a single point:</p>
<p><a href="http://minus.com/lhlGa39jPxEGR" type="external" /></p>
<p>Showing their might:</p>
<p><a href="http://minus.com/lbo2geyWOO8rm9" type="external" /></p> | USA Basketball sets new record, creams competition in process | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-08-03/usa-basketball-sets-new-record-creams-competition-process | 2012-08-03 | 3 |
<p>Harry and Louise may have switched sides, but that’s no excuse, in our book, for the health insurance industry to resort to misrepresenting polls as it argues against inclusion of a public plan in health care overhaul proposals on Capitol Hill. Karen Ignani, the head of industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), told lawmakers that “77 percent of Americans are satisfied with their existing health insurance coverage,” according to today’s Washington Post.</p>
<p /> | false | https://factcheck.org/tag/ignani/ | 2 |
||
<p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A team of South Korean officials travelled to North Korea on Tuesday to check logistics for joint events ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in the South, as the rivals exchanged rare visits to each other amid signs of warming ties.</p>
<p>The head of the North's popular girl band triggered a media frenzy during her two-day visit to South Korea this week to check potential venues for North Korean artistic performances during the Olympics, and another delegation from the North is coming this week to see accommodation facilities and the Olympic main stadium.</p>
<p>The Koreas are pressing ahead with a flurry of reconciliation efforts after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly expressed his willingness to send an Olympic delegation. While some see Kim's outreach as a ploy to weaken U.S.-led international pressure and sanctions, Seoul wants better inter-Korean ties and sees improved ties as a path toward talks to help ease the North Korean nuclear standoff.</p>
<p>South Korea's presidential office called for national unity for the success of the first Winter Olympics on South Korean soil and criticized conservatives who have said the government is making too many concessions to North Korea to help it steal the show at the Games.</p>
<p>"We don't understand why they label the Games as the 'Pyongyang Olympics,'" spokesman Park Su-hyun said in a televised statement. "The Pyeongchang Olympics is the Pyeonghwa (peace) Olympics."</p>
<p>Under a deal approved by the International Olympic Committee, the Koreas will field its first unified Olympic team, in women's hockey, and have their athletes parade together under a single flag during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony. The two Koreas also reached their own agreements to hold joint cultural events at the North's Diamond Mountain and have their non-Olympic skiers practice together at the North's Masik ski resort before the Pyeongchang Games.</p>
<p>The South Korean team is to visit those places in North Korea from Tuesday to Thursday.</p>
<p>But in a reminder of their bitter relations, North Korea had a harsh rhetorical response to a protest in Seoul in which South Korean conservatives burned Kim's photo and a North Korean flag when the Moranbong Band leader, Hyon Song Wol, passed by them during her visit Monday.</p>
<p>"They committed unpardonable atrocities ... and defamed the dignity of the supreme leadership," Ri Myong, councilor of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, said in the statement carried by state media.</p>
<p>"If these traitors and psychopaths defaming the dignified Korean nation are allowed to go scot-free, the national reconciliation, unity and the building of a reunified powerful country will be delayed so much," Ri said.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.</p>
<p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A team of South Korean officials travelled to North Korea on Tuesday to check logistics for joint events ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in the South, as the rivals exchanged rare visits to each other amid signs of warming ties.</p>
<p>The head of the North's popular girl band triggered a media frenzy during her two-day visit to South Korea this week to check potential venues for North Korean artistic performances during the Olympics, and another delegation from the North is coming this week to see accommodation facilities and the Olympic main stadium.</p>
<p>The Koreas are pressing ahead with a flurry of reconciliation efforts after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly expressed his willingness to send an Olympic delegation. While some see Kim's outreach as a ploy to weaken U.S.-led international pressure and sanctions, Seoul wants better inter-Korean ties and sees improved ties as a path toward talks to help ease the North Korean nuclear standoff.</p>
<p>South Korea's presidential office called for national unity for the success of the first Winter Olympics on South Korean soil and criticized conservatives who have said the government is making too many concessions to North Korea to help it steal the show at the Games.</p>
<p>"We don't understand why they label the Games as the 'Pyongyang Olympics,'" spokesman Park Su-hyun said in a televised statement. "The Pyeongchang Olympics is the Pyeonghwa (peace) Olympics."</p>
<p>Under a deal approved by the International Olympic Committee, the Koreas will field its first unified Olympic team, in women's hockey, and have their athletes parade together under a single flag during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony. The two Koreas also reached their own agreements to hold joint cultural events at the North's Diamond Mountain and have their non-Olympic skiers practice together at the North's Masik ski resort before the Pyeongchang Games.</p>
<p>The South Korean team is to visit those places in North Korea from Tuesday to Thursday.</p>
<p>But in a reminder of their bitter relations, North Korea had a harsh rhetorical response to a protest in Seoul in which South Korean conservatives burned Kim's photo and a North Korean flag when the Moranbong Band leader, Hyon Song Wol, passed by them during her visit Monday.</p>
<p>"They committed unpardonable atrocities ... and defamed the dignity of the supreme leadership," Ri Myong, councilor of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, said in the statement carried by state media.</p>
<p>"If these traitors and psychopaths defaming the dignified Korean nation are allowed to go scot-free, the national reconciliation, unity and the building of a reunified powerful country will be delayed so much," Ri said.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.</p> | S. Korean advance team goes to North for pre-Olympic events | false | https://apnews.com/amp/bcd65fa8a8ab4581ad2158bab08c1a09 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>Episode #57 of The Sunday Wire Radio Show resumes this Sunday November 2, 2014 presented by host Patrick Henningsen with 3 hours of power-packed talk radio and music…</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />LISTEN LIVE ON THIS PAGE AT THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULED SHOW TIMES:</p>
<p>SUNDAY – 5pm-7pm GMT | 12pm-3pm EST | 9am-12pm PST This week’s edition of THE SUNDAY WIRE will be broadcasting LIVE from the UK, as this week’s host Patrick Henningsen from 21WIRE, covers the latest from ISIS, Virgin Galactic and Russiaphobia in the US and Europe, and other top stories of the week from around the globe. In the first hour – Patrick takes on the more puzzling aspects of Pandemic USA, with health guru and alternative expert <a href="http://www.drleonardcoldwell.com" type="external">Dr. Leonard Coldwell</a>, with a high level Q&amp;A on <a href="" type="internal">Ebola</a>, Big Pharma, Vaccines, Elite Eugenics, Cancer and your health. Later on, Patrick covers John Kerry’s apparent U-turn on Assad, Iran and Putin, along with the privatization of space travel, deconstructing Chris Christie, as well as this week’s crucial (yet ultimately useless) US midterm elections. In the third hour we’ll discuss more media manipulation, plus all the latest on Political/Hollywood largess, and other conspiracy double-back flips.</p>
<p>Strap yourselves in and lower the blast shield – this is your brave new world…</p>
<p>*WARNING THIS EPISODE CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND ADULT THEMES*</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/sundaywire/acr_sunday_wire_ep_57.mp3" type="external">http://traffic.libsyn.com/sundaywire/acr_sunday_wire_ep_57.mp3</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Sunday Wire Radio Show Archives</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Episode #57 – SUNDAY WIRE: ‘Fear, Fear! Vote Here!’ with guest Dr. Leonard Coldwell | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/11/02/episode-57-sunday-wire-fear-fear-vote-here-with-guests-dr-coldwell-and-dean-ryan/ | 2014-11-02 | 4 |
<p>Norway’s sovereign wealth fund hit $1 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, driven higher by climbing stock markets and a weaker U.S. dollar.</p>
<p>The milestone valuation was reached for the first time on Sept. 19 at 2:01 a.m. in Oslo, Norges Bank Investment Management said in a statement on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“I don’t think anyone expected the fund to ever reach $1 trillion when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996,” Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive officer of the fund, said in the statement. “Reaching $1 trillion is a milestone, and the growth in the fund’s market value has been stunning.”</p>
<p>But the extreme wealth,&#160;about equal to the gross domestic product of Mexico, isn’t unalloyed good news.&#160;</p>
<p>The fund’s sheer size has made it a challenge to find markets big enough to invest in. Meanwhile, Norway’s politicians are finding it hard to resist the temptation to raid the world’s biggest state piggy bank, with the petro-dollar addiction threatening to overheat the $400 billion economy.</p>
<p>It has few rivals in terms of size. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund was valued at 144.9 trillion yen ($1.3 trillion at the current exchange rate) at the end of March. China, of course, has about $3 trillion in currency reserves. There are also big cash-piles at money management firms such as BlackRock Inc.’s $5.7 trillion and Vanguard Group’s $4.4 trillion.</p>
<p>Slyngstad recently suggested it’s now largely fruitless for it to enter new asset classes such as infrastructure because that would be costly and only deliver a blip on overall returns.&#160;The investor is also retrenching its global bond portfolio, cutting 23 currencies down to just three — the dollar, the euro and the pound. The fund says it doesn’t make sense to have more diversification in a world in which prices and rates are converging.</p>
<p>Its huge size has also driven the fund to respond to problems with trading by devising elaborate strategies to hide its selling and buying from anyone seeking to front-run its activities.&#160;</p>
<p>But being big has its advantages, especially for a lean organization like Norges Bank Investment Management. The fund only employs about 550 people in offices across the entire globe (Oslo, New York, London, Shanghai and Singapore). Management costs were equal to just 0.02 percent of assets in the most recent quarter, down from 0.07 percent five years ago.</p>
<p>The decline in costs comes despite the fund’s expansion into real estate. It’s snapped up prime properties in Times Square, the Champs Elysees and London’s Regent Street, among other locations. It owned 200 billion kroner ($26 billion) in real estate at the end of June.</p>
<p>For now, there’s been little discussion about breaking the fund up into smaller, more nimble entities, though the government is currently pondering a proposal to shift it out of the central bank and strengthen oversight.</p>
<p>So what lies ahead? Norway expects the fund to keep growing through 2025, when it’s predicted to hit 10.5 trillion kroner (or $1.3 trillion at today’s exchange rate). But such estimates are notoriously unreliable. Its current size already exceeds the milestone it wasn’t expected to reach until 2018.</p>
<p>With interest rates at record lows and returns hard to come by, the fund’s management is growing less optimistic. Central Bank Governor Oystein Olsen has warned the decline in oil prices means the fund may already have passed its peak.</p>
<p>Norway’s government last year made direct withdrawals from the fund for the first time in its history and is expected to take out about 70 billion kroner this year. Meanwhile, Norway has lowered the fund’s expected return to 3 percent from 4 percent. &#160;</p>
<p>The fund has been given permission to raise its stock holdings to 70 percent from 60 percent, with an equivalent cut in bonds. That could help it eke out higher returns, or at least maintain the 8 percent annualized real return it’s had over the past five years.</p>
<p>But Slyngstad also recently said he sees fundamental issues with the global economic system and trade, which is being buffeted by increasing global political risk. And that’s not good for a fund that owns 1.3 percent of global stocks.</p> | World's Biggest Wealth Fund Hits $1 Trillion as Dollar Sinks | false | https://newsline.com/worlds-biggest-wealth-fund-hits-1-trillion-as-dollar-sinks/ | 2017-09-19 | 1 |
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<p />
<p>Unfortunately, “America’s College Promise” is, like so many other public relations campaigns the White House devises to attract the support of young voters, of little use to the very people it vows to help.</p>
<p>In his speech announcing the proposal, the president said: “For millions of Americans, community colleges are essential pathways to the middle class because they’re local, they’re flexible. They work for people who work full time. They work for parents who have to raise kids full time. They work for folks who have gone as far as their skills will take them and want to earn new ones, but don’t have the capacity to just suddenly go study for four years and not work.”</p>
<p>And yet, these are the very students who would probably not qualify for free tuition because their full-time work or parental responsibilities would make it nearly impossible for them to spend enough time in class.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Many of us who want to earn new skills but have demanding jobs and family responsibilities do indeed access courses at community colleges – and we usually have to do it one course at a time. My three-credit-hour spring semester class starts Jan. 20 at my local community college and I’ll have all I can handle, so I know what I’m talking about.</p>
<p>But what if we focus only on recent high school graduates?</p>
<p>What President Obama did not point out during his stirring speech about investments in education paying dividends is that money is not the biggest barrier to completion for the average community college student.</p>
<p>According to the American Association of Community Colleges, annual tuition at community colleges is less than half that of four-year public colleges and, at an average of $3,260, is likely to be either very affordable for a middle-class student or already free to those with low incomes once you calculate in financial aid.</p>
<p>Ask anyone even remotely knowledgeable about the poor outcomes for community college students – only 43 percent of students who attended a two-year public higher-ed institution full-time managed to graduate in six years from their starting institution – and he or she will not mention affordability as the main culprit.</p>
<p>You have to understand that community colleges are burdened by the task of offering low-cost education to what is arguably the most difficult population of college-goers: those who are paying, at best, part-time attention to their educational goals and those who are simply unable to compete in the four-year-college financial aid game because of their grades.</p>
<p>According to federal data published in 2009 on beginning postsecondary students, 68 percent of students beginning at public two-year colleges in 2003-04 took one or more remedial courses in the six years after their initial entry.</p>
<p>When you look at it this way, the idea of offering free tuition – whether funded from federal, state or local sources – misses the point.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The White House estimated that “America’s College Promise” will cost $60 billion over 10 years and didn’t say how it would be paid for. But if those dollars were found and invested in ensuring better outcomes for community college students, they’d be better spent on ensuring that feeder high schools graduated students whose diplomas actually guaranteed that they had college-ready competence in math, reading and writing.</p>
<p>Those dollars would also be better spent on more full-time community college professor jobs and/or higher salaries for the instructors tasked with teaching remedial and weed-out courses that keep students from making progress on their educational goals.</p>
<p>Or more tutoring services, affordable on-site childcare or more accessible public transportation to campuses.</p>
<p>There are any number of evidence-based interventions that could move the needle on getting those students who do attend community college for their post-secondary education – and not simple enrichment or career-enhancing certifications – to graduate from a two-year institution in less than six years.</p>
<p>Bettering education is a tough and complex mission dependent on myriad factors – many of which have nothing to do with school. We have to stop pretending that throwing money at real educational problems will magically produce the educated citizenry we all wish for.</p>
<p /> | Better education beats free college | false | https://abqjournal.com/526438/better-education-beats-free-college.html | 2 |
|
<p>Q: Were refugees, weapons and drugs found on a Clinton Foundation cargo ship?</p>
<p>A:&#160;No. That is yet another story from a prolific satirical website.</p>
<p />
<p>Did a Clinton Foundation cargo ship get caught smuggling people from Syria, drugs and illegal fruit?</p>
<p>Facebook users have flagged a <a href="http://thelastlineofdefense.org/breaking-clinton-foundation-cargo-ship-raided-at-port-of-baltimore-reveals-sick-secret/" type="external">fake news story</a> that says “a ship owned and operated by the Clinton Foundation was raided as it arrived from Africa … at the Port of Baltimore.”</p>
<p>The bogus story claims that “BPA Harbormaster Jake Cummings” told CNN that a cargo ship named “Chelsea” was illegally transporting 460 refugees “from places like Yemen and Syria,” as well as “illegal fruits that could potentially carry foreign insects and foodborne illnesses, weapons without serial numbers on them and no less than 30 pounds of marijuana.”</p>
<p>All of those details were fabricated by America’s Last Line of Defense, which, as <a href="" type="internal">we’ve written</a> before, is a website that admits to making up its stories.</p>
<p>A&#160; <a href="" type="internal">revised disclaimer</a>&#160;on its website now says: “America’s Last Line of Defense is a satirical publication that uses the imagination of liberals to expose the extreme bigotry and hate and subsequent blind gullibility that festers in right-wing nutjobs. We present fiction as fact and our sources don’t actually exist. Names that represent actual people and places are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and do not in any way depict reality. In other words, if you believe this crap you’re a real dumbass.”</p>
<p>The fake story even prompted a response from the Port of Baltimore.</p>
<p />
<p>America’s Last Line of Defense hinted that its story was false by linking to a <a href="https://memegenerator.net/instance/53599267/forrest-gump-are-you-stupid-or-something" type="external">meme</a> about the film “Forrest Gump” instead of a CNN story about the alleged raid. “Are you stupid or something,” the text of the meme&#160;says.</p>
<p>But that clue may not have been available to readers who came across the story on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3xUsPvqtnA" type="external">other websites</a> that repeated the claims without a warning.</p>
<p>Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations <a href="http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/factcheck-org-to-work-with-facebook-on-exposing-viral-fake-news/" type="external">working with Facebook</a>&#160;to help identify and label viral fake news stories flagged by readers on the social media network.</p>
<p>Stryker. “ <a href="" type="internal">BREAKING: Clinton Foundation Cargo Ship Raided At Port Of Baltimore Reveals Sick Secret</a>.” Thelastlineofdefense.org. 11 May 2017.</p>
<p>America’s Last Line of Defense. “ <a href="" type="internal">About Us</a>.” Accessed 16 May 2017.</p> | Clinton Cargo Raid Didn’t Happen | false | https://factcheck.org/2017/05/clinton-cargo-raid-didnt-happen/ | 2017-05-18 | 2 |
<p>Gold prices ticked lower Friday, while the U.S. dollar inched up ahead of the monthly jobs report due later in the day.</p>
<p>The precious metal was down 0.05% at $1,275.32 a troy ounce in midmorning trade.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Copper, meanwhile, was up 0.37% at $6,951 a metric ton after slightly better-than-expected data on China's services sector.</p>
<p>Gold prices were under gentle pressure from the stronger dollar, with investors awaiting the U.S. nonfarm payrolls job data, due out at 12:30 GMT.</p>
<p>The WSJ Dollar Index, which weighs the currency against a basket of 16 others, was last 0.13% higher, having risen 1% in the past month.</p>
<p>"Investors are absolutely watching the jobs figures," said Carsten Menke, a Julius Baer commodity analyst.</p>
<p>Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal predicted the addition of 315,000 jobs to the economy during October. The U.S. jobs market contracted by 33,000 jobs in September, amid a wave of hurricanes and forest fires during the month.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The jobs report is a key indicator of the strength of the U.S. economy, and a strong showing could help smooth the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as expected when it meets Dec. 13.</p>
<p>"In terms of that December FOMC meeting, that rate hike seems to be a given now. The report would need a pretty big beat in order to move gold by much," Julius Baer's Mr. Menke said.</p>
<p>Data from CME Group last put the probability of a December rate increase from the Fed at 98.2%.</p>
<p>Thursday's release in the U.S. of the Republican tax bill was also weighing on gold.</p>
<p>With House Republicans unveiling their plans to cut the corporate tax rate to 20% from 35%, "gold lost because of talk of a very pro-business tax policy being introduced," said David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets, in a note.</p>
<p>Among precious metals, silver was flat at $17.11 a troy ounce, palladium fell 0.43% to $994.70 a troy ounce and platinum fell 0.21% to $923.70 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>Among base metals, zinc fell 0.02% to $3,210.50 a metric ton, aluminum rose 0.78% to $2,188.50 a metric ton, tin fell 0.18% to $19,540 a metric ton, nickel gained 1.32% to $12,695 a metric ton and lead rose 0.90% to $2,466 a metric ton.</p>
<p>Write to David Hodari at [email protected]</p>
<p>Gold prices swung between small gains and losses Friday after the latest jobs report was mixed.</p>
<p>Futures for December delivery recently were less than 0.1% at $1,278.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling 0.2% before the jobs report.</p>
<p>Although the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in October and wage growth slowed, revisions showed the labor market weathered hurricane damage better than previously estimated.</p>
<p>The report is unlikely to change the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates again in December, meaning the outlook for gold was also largely unchanged, said Tai Wong, head of metals trading at BMO Capital Markets. He said he expected gold to continue reacting to moves in other assets such as the dollar, which makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive to foreign buyers when it rises.</p>
<p>The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, pared earlier losses and was recently down less than 0.1%. Mr. Wong noted the market also was still digesting President Donald Trump's nomination of Jerome Powell as the next Fed chair and the Republican tax plan along with the jobs report.</p>
<p>"Unless there's a big move in the broader markets, I'm not seeing a big day in gold ahead of us," he said.</p>
<p>The dollar rebounding in recent weeks and concerns about the Fed's plans to raise rates gradually moving forward have gold trading roughly 5.6% off its year-to-date high from early September. The precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates rise. Still, for the year, gold prices are up about 10% and have gotten a boost from geopolitical uncertainty.</p>
<p>Among base metals, copper for December delivery fell less than 0.1% to $3.1415 a pound. Like gold, the industrial metal has largely traded sideways in recent sessions. Still, it sits near three-year highs, boosted by a positive global economic backdrop, strong demand from China -- the world's largest copper consumer -- and the prospect electric vehicles will stoke demand for base metals moving forward.</p>
<p>Write to Amrith Ramkumar at [email protected] and David Hodari at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 03, 2017 10:12 ET (14:12 GMT)</p> | Gold Edges Down After U.S. Jobs Report | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/03/gold-edges-down-ahead-u-s-jobs-report.html | 2017-11-03 | 0 |
<p>The Republican-controlled Texas Senate backed a plan Saturday night to restrict insurance coverage for abortions, over the objections of opponents who expressed concern it could force some women to make heart-wrenching choices because no exceptions will be made in cases of rape and incest.</p>
<p>The 20-10 party-line vote for preliminary approval requires women to purchase extra insurance to cover abortions except amid medical emergencies. A final vote Sunday will see the measure clear the chamber, meaning it’s now on a fast-track to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.</p>
<p>Legislators debated other bills limiting insurance coverage for abortion during Texas’ regular session that ended in May, but Abbott called a special session and revived the issue.</p>
<p>Ten states already have laws restricting insurance coverage of abortion in all private insurance plans: Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah. All make exceptions if the mother’s life is endangered; only Indiana and Utah also make exceptions for rape and incest.</p>
<p>“Texas must take steps to prohibit taxpayer and premium dollars from subsidizing abortions that are not medically necessary,” said Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from Conroe, near Houston.</p>
<p>The bill passed the Texas House earlier this week. Both Creighton and its House sponsor, Republican Rep. John Smithee, said the rules only apply to “elective” abortions and promote “economic freedom” by not forcing Texas policyholders who object to the procedure to help pay for insurance coverage for women undergoing it.</p>
<p>“What we’re saying here is: If you want to buy this coverage, you can buy it,” Smithee, a Republican from Amarillo, said during House debate.</p>
<p>Outnumbered Democrats in both chambers dismissed the bill as purely political, arguing that insurance companies already cover only medically necessary abortions. They also said the law will require purchasing insurance plans that insurers won’t actually offer because too few women will buy them, not knowing in advance that they will be undergoing abortions.</p>
<p>Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat, said Saturday night that the bill would effectively require women to buy “rape insurance.” She tried to include exceptions for rape and incest, but failed on a 20-10 vote.</p>
<p>“No woman plans to have an abortion and certainly no woman can plan to be raped, no woman can plan to be attacked by someone she knows in her own family,” Garcia said. “Those are the most heinous of the heinous crimes.”</p>
<p>Texas approved some of the nation’s strictest limits on abortion in 2013, but those were mostly struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer. Still, abortion clinics around the state have closed and the number of abortions performed in the country’s second-largest state has fallen from more than 82,000 in 2006 to around 54,300 in 2015.</p>
<p>“One of the talking points we’ve heard lately is abortion should be considered health care,” Elizabeth Graham, director of Texas Right to Life, told a Texas Senate committee. “Really, the definition of health care is to make a person well and to encourage health. The definition of a successful abortion is the complete death of the unborn child.”</p>
<p>State policy analyst Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, a national research group that supports abortion rights, said she knows of no current analysis of the impact of states imposing coverage restrictions, nor the extent to which health plans offer supplemental coverage for abortion.</p>
<p>“My sense is that there isn’t any identifiable impact of these restrictions since most women pay out of pocket already,” Nash said by email.</p>
<p>A Guttmacher analysis in March said about 60 percent of privately insured abortion patients pay out of pocket, because their policy doesn’t cover the procedure or because deductibles are high. But many women who get abortions are too poor to afford private insurance.</p>
<p>Nancy Northup, president of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, depicted the insurance bans as “a shocking infringement” on women’s right to opt for private insurance to cover a legal medical procedure. In cases where a woman opts for an abortion after detection of a severe fetal abnormality, the costs can run into the thousands of dollars, she said.</p>
<p>The insurance bans also have been criticized by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which says insurance coverage of abortion should be comparable to that of other essential health care services.</p> | Texas Senate OKs Restricting Insurance Coverage for Abortion | false | https://newsline.com/texas-senate-oks-restricting-insurance-coverage-for-abortion/ | 2017-08-13 | 1 |
<p>Given the Blackness of most of the players, why not precede football and basketball games with the first verse of what used to be called the Negro National Anthem? The first verse of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is moving, inclusive, relatively sing-able, and doesn’t glorify bombs bursting through air. Any fans singing along could be calling for their team to win. It would have been perfect for the Cleveland Cavaliers last year. The Browns’ fans should start singing it right away.</p>
<p>Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.</p>
<p>I thought I’d had an original idea until I checked with Wikipedia and learned, “In Maya Angelou’s 1969 autobiography, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,’ the song is sung by the audience and students at Maya’s eighth grade graduation, after a white school official dashes the educational aspirations of her class.”</p>
<p>The online encyclopedia also notes, “‘Lift Every Voice and Sing'” was publicly performed first as a poem as part of a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, 1900, by 500 school children at the segregated Stanton School. Its principal, James Weldon Johnson, wrote the words to introduce its honored guest Booker T. Washington. The poem was set to music soon after by Johnson’s brother John in 1905. In 1919, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) dubbed it</p>
<p>‘The Negro National Anthem.'”</p>
<p>The second and third verses are specific to those whose forefathers were enslaved and who have faith in God.</p>
<p>YouTube has many renditions.&#160; <a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Lift+Every+Voice+Youtube&amp;view=detail&amp;mid=413A1AE23DF53A6F5C3E413A1AE23DF53A6F5C3E&amp;FORM=VIRE" type="external">Ray Charles</a>, the greatest piano player ever —backed by the Raelettes in pastel gospel gowns on the Dick Cavett show in 1972— modifies the lyric and jazzes it up. Most performers seem impelled to do something special with an anthem.&#160; YouTube yielded two straightforward versions which happen to have graphics glorifying <a href="" type="internal">Martin Luther King</a>&#160;and <a href="" type="internal">Barack Obama</a>.</p>
<p>The ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ was first played at a baseball game in 1918, when US Americans were fighting in World War I and there was such patriotic fervor that Gene Debs, the antiwar Socialist who got a million votes for President in 1916, was imprisoned for sedition. The hideous ballad was performed during the seventh-inning stretch of a World Series game between the Cubs and the Red Sox in Chicago. Fans loved it so much that the team made it a regular feature and ticket sales went up. Source: Stephen Colbert. Herbert Hoover named it “the national anthem” in 1931.</p>
<p>The words “under God” were added to the pledge of allegiance in the 1950s when patriotic/religious fervor had been stirred by the Cold War against atheistic Russia. It broke the rhythm for those of us accustomed to “one nation indivisible.”</p>
<p>The singing of “God Bless America” during ball games was introduced in response to patriotic/religious fervor following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.</p>
<p>The waves of fervor may subside a bit as the years ago by, but the nauseating rituals never get retired.</p>
<p>Thank you, Colin Kaepernick. May your injuries heal and may you get to lead the Niners till victory is won. (If Gabbert can’t do it against better teams than the Rams.)</p> | “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – The Appropriate Anthem | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/09/14/lift-every-voice-and-sing-the-appropriate-anthem/ | 2016-09-14 | 4 |
<p>By Rick CundiffStar-Banner (Ocala, Fla.) Published: 12/09/05 Excerpt:</p>
<p>Criminal cases involving allegations of sex between an adult and a minor are common in Marion County courts. Few draw such attention. What makes the Lafave case different? Gender, for one thing. Lafave's alleged victim of sexual assault was a 14-year-old boy. That makes a difference in the coverage, said Bob Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values at St. Petersburg's Poynter Institute. The nonprofit institute, which owns the St. Petersburg Times, trains journalists. "If all the details were the same ... I doubt that we would generally see the same thing if the gender roles were reversed," Steele said. <a href="http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS/212090370/1001/news01" type="external">More of this article...</a> <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ned=us&amp;q=" type="external">Search Google News for more quotes by Bob Steele...</a></p>
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<p /> | Case captivates media's attention | false | https://poynter.org/news/case-captivates-medias-attention | 2005-12-15 | 2 |
<p>A branded HIV drug that has been shown to reduce the risk of infection with the virus by 86% is proving too expensive for some at-risk European patients.</p>
<p>England's National Health Service thinks it has a solution.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The high price of Gilead Sciences Inc.'s HIV drug Truvada has deterred many countries from providing the pill as a preventive treatment for people at high risk of contracting the AIDS-causing virus, doctors, activists and patients say.</p>
<p>Under the trial, the NHS will make a generic form of the drug, made by rival firm Mylan NV, available for at least 10,000 people. The generic isn't otherwise directly available in the U.K. The move could also pave the way for other European countries to follow suit.</p>
<p>"The unusual length, extent and nature of this 'implementation trial' may well set significant precedent for the unencumbered use of generics on the NHS," said Siva Thambisetty, an Associate Professor in Intellectual Property Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science.</p>
<p>The use of a trial in this manner is very rare in the U.K., but the unconventional move stands to deliver the drug at a significant discount.</p>
<p>Truvada costs patients about GBP355.73 ($461.69) a month when bought privately via the NHS, according to the most recent British National Formulary figures, while generics bought online usually cost a fraction of that.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The NHS declined to comment on commercial terms of the arrangement, citing confidentiality. Mylan said it has worked with Gilead to expand access to Truvada and its generic version around the world, and it is pleased to support the NHS for the clinical trial on PrEP. It didn't comment on how much the agreement was worth. Gilead Sciences declined to comment.</p>
<p>However, while the use of a clinical trial to circumvent patents and use generics could set a precedent for this is particular drug, it is unlikely to be used more widely because generics aren't typically available for new, high-price drugs. The reason generic drugs are widely available for HIV is because drug companies have allowed their development for use in low-income countries.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal first reported last week that the NHS would use the generic version of the drug for a large-scale clinical trial, with an allocated budget of GBP10 million.</p>
<p>Truvada and its generic version are used in PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, a regimen that people at high risk of HIV can use to protect against acquiring the virus. Its use has been linked to a decrease in new HIV diagnoses in England recently, a first since numbers started being recorded.</p>
<p>Sheena McCormack, a professor of Clinical Epidemiology at University College London, said that increased testing and a rise in PrEP use played key roles in this decline.</p>
<p>In England, the potential benefits of PrEP are widely acknowledged. But the state-funded health system has been reluctant to make Truvada available for preventive purposes because of its high cost, with a lengthy legal battle over who should pay for the drug in England lasting years.</p>
<p>In December the NHS announced it would put out a tender for the trial and would review proposals from a number of manufacturers, including those of generic versions of the drug.</p>
<p>"It was anticipated that a generic company would win, it's kind of what we've hoped," said Laura Waters, a doctor with the British HIV Association.</p>
<p>Activists have cautiously welcomed the NHS's decision to launch a trial using a generic.</p>
<p>"This is a good step forward. We've been waiting for years for PrEP to become more widely available," said Will Nutland, an HIV activist and honorary lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.</p>
<p>But some caveats remain, he said: It is a trial, it isn't full access, and it is likely the 10,000 places on the trial will be filled quickly.</p>
<p>Mr. Nutland is among a handful of HIV activists who have been importing generic PrEP into the U.K. for personal use for several years in a bid to circumvent the high cost of the branded version of Truvada. He and others have also worked to make generic PrEP more widely available by having NHS HIV clinics test the purity of the drugs they import. But this depended heavily on how literate and wealthy PrEP users were, Mr. Nutland said. The NHS also said the trial would address the issue of drug penetration among demographics other than men who have sex with men.</p>
<p>PrEP is currently available in a number of European countries, including Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.</p>
<p>The move is likely to renew interest in generic PrEP elsewhere in Europe, activists and doctors say. In Ireland, where the import of generics is forbidden, shipments of generic drugs have been intercepted by customs.</p>
<p>"If the U.K. can do it, we can do it, too," said Julia Del Amo, a doctor and researcher at the Carlos III Institute of epidemiology in Madrid, Spain.</p>
<p>--Denise Roland contributed to this article</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 11, 2017 18:12 ET (22:12 GMT)</p> | England's NHS Turns to Clinical Trial to Make Cheaper HIV Drug Available -- 2nd Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/11/englands-nhs-turns-to-clinical-trial-to-make-cheaper-hiv-drug-available-2nd-update.html | 2017-08-11 | 0 |
<p>Steve Martin is a comedian, actor, writer, and banjo player — the consummate performer. But before he made a name for himself as a standup comedian, he wanted to be a magician.</p>
<p>“I loved comedy from by the time I was seven or eight years old,” Martin says, “But I decided at around age 15 that I wanted to be a magician. You know I put together a little magic act but then I realized that the audience likes it better when the tricks don't work. And I I decided that I would try to lean towards comedy and I began a slow process of eliminating the magic and getting into comedy.”</p>
<p>Martin went on to develop a stand-up act that commanded the full comic spectrum — high-concept surrealism as well as a kind of broad comedy that made fun of broad comedy.</p>
<p>“He always pointed high,” says Dan Aykroyd, who appeared with Martin on SNL, “He pointed above the brows of his audience and somehow was able to connect with the more intelligent material…he was able to go on soar up and away from the real world of stand up. You know, ‘What happened to me the other day when my wife locked me out of the car’ — that wasn't his humor…He doesn't pander to any lower intelligence he assumes that everyone knows.”</p>
<p>Martin studied the philosophy of language in college, “I learned about being absurd,” Martin says, “And I started applying that to areas where it really shouldn’t strictly apply… Theories are really good to get you motivated, but they don't necessarily lead you to good show business. You're constantly thinking, ‘Does this work? Is this working? Is this funny?’ But, you know, a theory can lead you places that you wouldn't have gone before.”</p>
<p>Martin’s second standup album, "A Wild and Crazy Guy," broke through to a huge audience. The name of the album is from a sketch he performed at SNL featuring the “Festrunk Brothers,”&#160; two very seventies Czech immigrants with tight plaid trousers looking to swing with American women.</p>
<p>That album has now been honored by the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress — it was one of 25 American recordings honored last year.&#160;</p>
<p>Martin recalls releasing the album: “The United States was coming out of a deep depressive war experience. And also along with that there was a certain philosophy that was chugging along, you know love child, hippies and free love. All that was about to change and I believe I sensed it or grew bored with it and decided to change myself and change my stage philosophy into one of pure fun and zaniness. And I believe the public was ready for that change.”</p>
<p>Historian Sheila Moeschen, who's taught comedy at Northwestern University,&#160;says Steve Martin developed a certain brand of zany comedy.&#160;</p>
<p>“He has a kind of gentle anarchy about him,” Moeschen says, “You know, the way he disrupts the the fourth wall so he's interacting with the audience. In a way it kind of&#160;foreshadows some of what Jerry Seinfeld does as well where you think about it for like a second, you know, that sort of beat. You really kind of unpack it.”&#160;</p>
<p>This&#160; <a href="http://www.studio360.org/story/steve-martin-wild-crazy-guy/" type="external">story</a>&#160;first aired on PRI's&#160; <a href="http://www.studio360.org/" type="external">Studio 360</a>&#160;with Kurt Andersen.</p> | The 'gentle anarchy' of Steve Martin | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-01-21/gentle-anarchy-steve-martin | 2016-01-21 | 3 |
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