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<p>SPECIAL NOTE TO THE READER: The Multi-Issue Alternative Magazine, EnergyGrid, conducted an excellent interview with Joe Bageant recently; I recommend that you check it out after plowing through what’s below. Who is JB? Well, if you ask me…I think you’re better off not knowing at this juncture…if you don’t know yet…reading through what he has to say here…and then diving into what he’s put out there for one and all to date (much of it accessible as per footnote #1 below). Trust me on this, if you will, just like Joe did…not knowin’ me from Adam and the Ants. By the way, a reader introduced us…making this possible. Hi, Chuckie!</p>
<p>ROX: In talking to you recently, you mentioned in passing that you were very popular with the Generation X crowd in England. What’s your guess on why that is?</p>
<p>JB: At first I was surprised. Then later it was explained to me by one of the exers that they were identifying with the American beatnik aspect and the anti-authority nature of my work. Also, like them, I see much virtue in getting loaded and rowdy.</p>
<p>ROX: Your “ <a href="" type="internal">The Covert Kingdom: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Texas</a>” (from May of this year) –which many of my friends consider the best online take of the Bush crowd in 2004– paints a picture of the left being lost in space vis-a-vis realities on the American Ground these days. What must “progressives” wake up to…to have a chance at moving in solidarity nationwide against The Extreme Right Roar? (TERRoar!)</p>
<p>JB: Hoooboy! That’s a biggun. See, I don’t believe the U.S. really has a political left. It just has personalities who consider themselves leftists and make an identity gig of it. If we really had a left, then I could walk out this door to a leftist party headquarters and take political action. It’s not like I can call up the local chapter of the Rifondazione Comunista, as in Italy. It’s not like I can stop by the newsstand and buy a copy of Liberazione. Americans kid themselves about having choices. Hell, they won’t even dare call themselves leftists. They’ve backed off into calling themselves “progressives.” That is totally gutless. What is the alternative to “progress?” The Stone Age? I think the U.S. has a cottage culture industry called the left. And it has a body of middle class professionals and semi-professionals who cannot bring themselves to associate with Republicans, so they call themselves “liberals.'” But liberals are too comfortable. So they deny reality. They are not going to do anything so long as they are comfortably insulated in the middle class. They are not going to wade into that hate filled ditch of political action, real political action that requires sacrifice, to battle for America,Äôs soul—not as long as they are still living on a good street, sending their kids to Montessori and getting their slice of the American quiche. I guess what I’m saying is that until we get a real left in this country, one capable of creating change through radical action, one willing to risk everything for what they believe, we should not be talking about what our pseudo-left should be doing. Our pseudo-left is doing exactly what it should be doing. Posturing, bickering amid itself and boring the hell out of the rest of America.</p>
<p>I just realized that I didn’t come close to answering your question: What must “progressives” wake up to…to have a chance at moving in solidarity nationwide against The Extreme Right?</p>
<p>American progressives need to wake up to the fact that they are just as big a part of the world’s problems as the Republicans, so long as they insist on living the American lifestyle. As long as they continue to thoughtlessly consume the world as if it were their birthright. All talk and no walk. Buying organic toilet paper and voting for evasive Democratic hacks just isn’t going to cut it guys.</p>
<p>ROX: Being Left of Left means never having to say you’re sorry, Joe. Seriously, though, Joe…all of that is valuable, “keeper words” one and all, as they say. In your November “ <a href="" type="internal">Dining with Rhinos</a>” piece –I loved your bouncing off of Ionesco, by the way– you mention something about wanting to get away from the herd, “shopping hard for a house in Andalucia, or St. Kitts, or Normandy, places where there are still secular humanists political parties of the type the rhinos see as the heart of evil.” In terms of our ecocidal momentum, is it possible to depart…without feeling “irresponsible” on some level? Can one even get away at all? And…if one is concerned with planting seeds that may not bear fruit until after one’s lifetime…aren’t the immediate pleasures of relocation problematic?</p>
<p>JB: One man never beat a mob on the mob’s own turf. But one man can sure as hell get outside the turf and lob hand grenades at the mob. Can one even get away at all? Of course not. But I don’t have to suffer the daily insults of America’s military capitalist mindwarp ALL the time for christsake! I think I can leave the country for months at a time…get away to think and write and screw and feel free. And to hear some other voices and opinions from the outside world. It is impossible to do so inside this capitalist military state, where information is so controlled and the citizenry’s behavior and attitudes are so heavily modified by media, consumer advertising, etc. Also, the older I get the more I appreciate simplicity…like buying vegetables in the market and spending all day preparing them. Playing my little parlor guitar. Napping with my dogs in the afternoon. Frankly, I’d like to slip away to a more contemplative life, but if you are born in this country you gotta buy back your fucking life before you are allowed to change it. The state owns us from birth. Ensnares us in its economic system as productive and consumer units. As far as planting seeds that may not bear fruit in our lifetimes, well, that’s a global proposition, isn’t it? You can do that from anywhere because it is about how you conduct your daily life. I think it is as much about what you refuse to do as what you do. Of course I am very much full of shit and tend to do as little as possible whenever possible. So screwing off and leaving the world alone, not using much of it up, appeals to me. That and internationalist solidarity of mankind. But even to accomplish that, we need to slow down, shut the fuck up and think about the world and our places in it. THEN we can commence to raise hell against the systems that enslave us.</p>
<p>ROX: I don’t remember where I read about your final moments with your dad…on his deathbed, but it was touching…the business of what was appropriate, not appropriate to bring up in that setting. What is your guess…that he would have said in response to what you just laid out? Forgive me, please, if I’m being insensitive here.</p>
<p>JB: No, you’re not being insensitive. I wouldn’t have put the subject out there if I were unwilling to discuss it. I’m sure his response would be total incomprehension. Fundamentalist faith such as his, and that of my family and some 100 million other Americans, is a religious throwback. Religious fundamentalism is sort of a blind default setting in mankind’s programming. It is not about any kind of comprehension. Hell, my dad only went to about the eighth grade, so I never expected to sit around and discuss existentialism or Marxism with the guy. But growing up in that religious environment gave me enough language and insight to discuss right and wrong and moral things with him. His faith was quite a bit deeper than the stuff of the Bush election ballyhoo. I don’t think he ever bothered with such things as the abortion issue. He was more interested in his daily connection with his creator. Talking to God in the back room of the house trailer where he died. He had a whole little scene back there with his meditations, which he wrote in the margins of his Bible, and his country music records….my grandpap’s old pocket knives, his wartime memories. It was an entire world, physical and metaphysical, in that tiny room of his, a place where he could listen to old time fiddle tunes and talk to God too. Pretty good deal, huh!</p>
<p>ROX: You can say that again…on national TV, if you will! What impact would you say the personal nooks and crannies we all have to go through has…on left solidarity? What do our various “quirks” (for want of a better expression right now) mean…what “should they mean” to us…vis-a-vis talk/thoughts about solidarity? I consider this stuff of paramount importance…for one, since it’s not addressed at all; and that’s a separate subject from another interesting angle…the black/dark view that’s shared among many old leftists. Right now I’m thinking that…maybe…I don’t really want you to answer those questions; perhaps we’ll save them as a teaser of sorts for a Part II. But I’m very interested in the many people you’ve had relationships with…people who have intrigued me –to say the least– over the years. People like Timothy Leary, Stephen Gaskin, Allen Ginsberg. Trungpa Rinpoche, William Burroughs, John Lilly and Marshall Mcluhan…and the “unknowns” you’ve mentioned like Marc Campbell of Taos, New Mexico and Jack Collum of Boulder, Colorado. I noticed that you didn’t bring up Ward Churchill (someone I know you know very well) in the <a href="http://www.energygrid.com/" type="external">EnergyGrid Magazine</a> interview. I’m particularly interested in what your view on what Marxism and corporatism have to do w Native Americans…since I greatly respect Ward’s position…and I understand you differ slightly there.</p>
<p>JB: I guess what I was trying to say in that last reply is that we cannot do it all with our minds. The left is too intellectual. Our hearts should be rivers. Empathy is far more important than intellect, to me at least. As far as the “impact of personal nooks and crannies on the left’s solidarity,” I’m not quite sure what you mean…other than the fact that the U.S. left is severely handicapped by our overblown American notion of individuality and personal uniqueness. Every American seems to think the sun rises and sets on his or her ass. Americans cannot seem to get over themselves. Consequently, empathy for mankind’s planetary misery is in short supply…more of an intellectual concept than a reality to soft, moody, self-absorbed American lefties. They all come from the 25% of Americans who get a college degree. They have no fucking idea what it is like for the other 60-70% of Americans who have to survive in our brutal corporatized state without the benefit of genuine education, insight or even honest news programming to see what is going on around them. These workers are being cultivated as a human crop by global business. A crop of toilers, consumers, and when need be, mechanized killers to be sent abroad. The one thing the thinking left and urban liberals will not do is trod the soil of the Goth—subject themselves to my people here in places like my hometown, Winchester, Virginia. Subject themselves to the unwashed working class America, that church-going, hunting and fishing, Bud Lite drinking, never-been-to-Europe- and-don’t-wanna-go, provincial America. The people who cannot, and do not even care to, locate Iraq or France on a map–assuming there is even an atlas in their homes. Few educated lefties will ever find themselves sucking down canned beer at the local dirt track or listening to the preacher explain the infallibility of the Bible on every known topic from biology to the designated hitter rule, never attend awards night at a Christian school or get drunk to Teddy and the Starlight Ramblers playing C&amp;W at the Eagles Club. Well HO! HO! HO! Welcome to my world! As for Marxism and Native Americans, I leave that to The Ward. He’s right and everybody knows he’s right. But just as he is Native American and speaks from that standpoint, I am European and speak from mine. And Marxism is the default political affiliation of intellectuals the world round, not just Europeans. Being conceived in the glory days of the industrial revolution, naturally it is overly concerned with production and failed to take into account environmental degradation, etc. But we can compensate for what Marx could not have foreseen. I don’t go for all that eye-glazing Marxist intellectual crap, and positively cannot stand Marxist gatherings in the U.S. But common sense and a lifetime of experience tell me that Marxism makes sense. I used to live on an Indian reservation at Plummer, Idaho, and hung out with an ancient Wobbly named George Bowmer…a crippled up old logger who repaired chainsaws. He never even finished high school, grew up in a remote logging camp in the Selkirk Range skidding logs with mules and fighting for the union when he was 12. He showed me what internationalism is and how it can reach around the world in solidarity simply because man is man, truth is truth and class struggle is ever necessary. He understood that he had brothers in labor in places like Argentina and Chile, though he would never have been able to locate those places on a map.</p>
<p>ROX: In your Dining with Rhinos piece you focus on Berenger and his “buddies,” of course, but there’s another Berenger in another Ionesco play, Exit the King…which your dad’s deathbed is now reminding me of. In that dying is seen as “illumination” through the shedding of old “clothes,” now-unecessary possessions and postures. What balls and chains do leftists have to leave and the roadside? What dodges and tics do they have to give up…for us to advance? To move on “to the other side,” say, as opposed to going where outfits like MoveOn would have progressives go.</p>
<p>JB: Well, the most sincere fundamentalist Christians certainly see death as you described it: “illumination” through the shedding of old “clothes,” as in the old hymn, “I’ll have a new body, oh lord, I’ll have a new life!” As to what the left has to do to advance…. hell, I don’t know. Like I said, I don’t even believe we have a real left. Just folks who wish we did, including me. I am not an intellectual or a social strategist, just a laboring son of the blue collar American South who somehow ended up being a writer instead of a truck driver. As far as moving on “to the other side,” I dunno what that means to you. But to me it means crossing over and joining the rest of humanity we claim to care so much about. Sacrifice, which for Americans means putting money where the mouth runs. Sell your house and give the money to the needy of Bombay. I know you must be laughing at that one. But I mean it. This spring I will be buying a place in the Caribbean or Europe, but I will not own it. I plan to legally deed it over to some deserving poor family on the condition that I can stay there when I visit, or live there in exile if necessary. In the Caribbean it would be an Indian or black native family. In Spain I think it would be a Roma family. I never want to own another house again, muchless two of them. I’d like to go out of this world completely broke, having used little and leaving nothing to my heirs. I don,Äôt believe in inherited wealth. You can imagine that this sort of thing is not too popular with my wife and family…but that’s what I mean about trying to walk the walk. It necessarily makes one’s life harder. To me, that’s what “moving to the other side means.” It means evolving one’s mind and soul to a more liminal place, focusing one’s eyes beyond the grave. Being a Marxist does not preclude a spiritual life, a recognition of a larger cosmic order of things. Ultimately being a leftist is about liberation of all kinds, don’t you think?</p>
<p>ROX: I really love you, what you’re saying, Joe. Truly. And, yes, I certainly do think being a leftist means liberation of all kinds. I asked ten fans of yours who are in contact with me regularly to submit questions…with the idea that I’d pick one or two to throw out during this interview. I picked one at random here…from someone who adored your “Sleepwalking to Babylon” piece (2)…thinking it’s watershed material…but who brought things back to your Ionesco/Rhinos article. Here are his words…which I’d like you to respond to briefly: “Joe Bageant I like because he reflects the voice of the common peoples with all their prejudices from TV and ads but I did not like the rhino stuff because rhinos are very smart animals with little darting eyes, not at all stupid but very territorial (they protect excellently their young, females even more fiercely…). Ionesco was wrong.”</p>
<p>JB: You are right in that no animal deserves to be compared to Americans these days. But don’t dismiss a wonderful piece of satirical art because it doesn’t accurately portray every aspect of the animal kingdom.</p>
<p>ROX: In the interests of moving expeditiously, and in acknowledgement of the short attention span of readers and limited heartbeats available for most…I’m going to be presumptuous and assume that we can make this a twelve-part series of sessions for the next time capsule buried…or at least turn it into a two-part ding-a-ling for online addicts…by asking you to close with three questions…directed AT/TO the reading public. To wit, three interrogatives that you’d like them to contemplate.</p>
<p>JB: You lost me old buddy. I don’t know what the heck you are talking about! Regarding “To wit, three interrogatives that you’d like them to contemplate.”…I have no idea. However, here is what I consider the most important philosophical question anyone can ever ask themselves: “What is the question to which my life is the answer?” (3)</p>
<p>ROX: I remember you saying something recently about appreciating being turned onto Ricardo Dominguez and the Electronic Disturbance Theatre –hackers of a sort– and I’d like to get your hit on something he said in an interview with Ben Shepard and Stephen Duncombe in 2000 (which can be found in Duncombe’s Cultural Resistance Reader): “And having been enamored of Genet, I felt that being a book thief, since that’s what I knew, well that’s the way I would live. And I started stealing very expensive Verso books and Lyotard’s wallbook on Duchamp, $350, and I would sell them at Mercer Books.” He’s talkin’ about how –early on– he managed to survive. And since I know you like Genet…I’d like to hear what you think of people “doing what they have to” to get by. Particularly since you made a huge distinction between the average, “cultured” lefty and the masses they supposedly want to help…but who they are light years from understanding. Get through that, and I’ve got one more inconsequential cutie I’d like to lay on you. This’ll be the swansong until Part II, okay?</p>
<p>JB: Well, I was quite impressed with the concept of the Electronic Disturbance Theatre. Much of this stuff is new to an old guy like me, who has been simply out here alone in his own corner of the left field for so long. As for the book stealing by a college educated middle class person, it sounds a bit suspect to me. But who am I to judge? There were years in the 1960s-70s when I dealt drugs to help support my wife and child (not to mention sustain a good stash of my own.) I’ve been a thief on occasion, and found I have neither the talent nor the nerves for it. On the other hand, I’ve been in the company of criminal angels…thieving junkie jazz players and their hooker wives in New Orleans (Ed and Kathy and Karen, if you are out there and still alive, contact me) and the like who showed me why and how the heavens turn on eternity’s star strewn axis. I know there is angelic criminality, just as the face of eternity is set in human misery and its heart is divine deviance. But I do not think it is something you can just go out and do because you think it is cool or makes a political point. It is not the kind of thing that can be contrived. You need to be born under a bridge in Rio or Bombay, or cast upon the American wastelands of Columbine High school for it to come naturally.</p>
<p>ROX/JB: Happy New Year!!</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>FOOTNOTES:</p>
<p>(1) Joe’s collected downloadable essays can be accessed at <a href="http://www.coldtype.net/" type="external">www.coldtype.net</a></p>
<p>(2) “Sleepwalking to Fallujah” has been used too.</p>
<p>(3) Joe tips his hat to Tim Leary heary.</p>
<p>RICHARD OXMAN can be found these days reading Joe Bageant’s material in Los Gatos, California; contact can be made at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. The Ox’s never-before-revealed “biography” is available at <a href="" type="internal">http://news.modernwriters.org/</a></p>
<p>Some of his recent writing can be found in his Arts &amp; Entertainment section and Features (under Social) there.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Oxman/Bageant Exchange (Part One) | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/01/05/the-oxman-bageant-exchange-part-one/ | 2005-01-05 | 4 |
<p>SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Police in San Antonio recently took the unusual step of charging a man suspected of smuggling 12 immigrants with a state felony instead of referring the case to federal authorities.</p>
<p>Herbert Alan Nichols of Houston was arrested Dec. 23 and charged with smuggling of persons. In a report published Thursday, police told <a href="http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Man-arrested-for-smuggling-immigrants-on-East-Side-12471179.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&amp;utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&amp;utm_medium=social" type="external">the San Antonio Express-News</a> that they interviewed the 12 people inside the tractor-trailer Nichols was allegedly driving, then released them. According to the newspaper, the 12 people were suspected of having entered the U.S. illegally.</p>
<p>In July, when San Antonio police discovered a trailer outside a Walmart in a smuggling case where 10 people died, U.S. authorities charged the driver and detained the people found inside. The driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., pleaded guilty in October. Another person remains charged in that case.</p>
<p>An additional 29 people who survived being in the trailer were detained. Immigrant advocates representing the survivors have said that many of them were eventually deported or sent back to their country of origin.</p>
<p>San Antonio police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Ramos said it made sense for the city to handle the new case in part because the department received a $500,000 grant last year to train its officers on human trafficking and smuggling.</p>
<p>"We certainly will work with our federal counterparts," Ramos said. "We have a working relationship."</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the newspaper that the agency offered its help. ICE did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment from The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Smuggling of persons is a felony under Texas law. Prosecutors don't have to prove that the people being smuggled were immigrants. It is a rarely used charge in San Antonio, despite the city's proximity to major interstate highways and the U.S.-Mexico border city of Laredo, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) away.</p>
<p>The Express-News reported that according to online court records in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, just one person has been prosecuted in the county since 2011.</p>
<p>San Antonio is among the cities that challenged a state law that targets so-called sanctuary cities. Parts of the law were allowed to go into effect by a federal appeals court last year.</p>
<p>San Antonio police Chief William McManus was an outspoken opponent of the law. As it went into effect, the department changed a policy that prohibited officers from asking people it detained about their immigration status. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice backed the law and the state in court.</p>
<p>In Nichols' case, McManus arrived at the scene where officers spoke to Nichols outside his tractor-trailer, according to a police report released Thursday.</p>
<p>The report says Nichols admitted to picking up the people inside from a warehouse in Laredo and driving them to San Antonio, where they were going to be picked up. Bradley, the driver of the trailer in July, also admitted driving from Laredo to San Antonio, though he initially denied knowing people were inside his trailer.</p>
<p>Nichols did not have a listed phone number or an attorney in online records who could comment on his behalf.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: San Antonio Express-News, <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com" type="external">http://www.mysanantonio.com</a></p>
<p>SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Police in San Antonio recently took the unusual step of charging a man suspected of smuggling 12 immigrants with a state felony instead of referring the case to federal authorities.</p>
<p>Herbert Alan Nichols of Houston was arrested Dec. 23 and charged with smuggling of persons. In a report published Thursday, police told <a href="http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Man-arrested-for-smuggling-immigrants-on-East-Side-12471179.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&amp;utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&amp;utm_medium=social" type="external">the San Antonio Express-News</a> that they interviewed the 12 people inside the tractor-trailer Nichols was allegedly driving, then released them. According to the newspaper, the 12 people were suspected of having entered the U.S. illegally.</p>
<p>In July, when San Antonio police discovered a trailer outside a Walmart in a smuggling case where 10 people died, U.S. authorities charged the driver and detained the people found inside. The driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., pleaded guilty in October. Another person remains charged in that case.</p>
<p>An additional 29 people who survived being in the trailer were detained. Immigrant advocates representing the survivors have said that many of them were eventually deported or sent back to their country of origin.</p>
<p>San Antonio police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Ramos said it made sense for the city to handle the new case in part because the department received a $500,000 grant last year to train its officers on human trafficking and smuggling.</p>
<p>"We certainly will work with our federal counterparts," Ramos said. "We have a working relationship."</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the newspaper that the agency offered its help. ICE did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment from The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Smuggling of persons is a felony under Texas law. Prosecutors don't have to prove that the people being smuggled were immigrants. It is a rarely used charge in San Antonio, despite the city's proximity to major interstate highways and the U.S.-Mexico border city of Laredo, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) away.</p>
<p>The Express-News reported that according to online court records in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, just one person has been prosecuted in the county since 2011.</p>
<p>San Antonio is among the cities that challenged a state law that targets so-called sanctuary cities. Parts of the law were allowed to go into effect by a federal appeals court last year.</p>
<p>San Antonio police Chief William McManus was an outspoken opponent of the law. As it went into effect, the department changed a policy that prohibited officers from asking people it detained about their immigration status. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice backed the law and the state in court.</p>
<p>In Nichols' case, McManus arrived at the scene where officers spoke to Nichols outside his tractor-trailer, according to a police report released Thursday.</p>
<p>The report says Nichols admitted to picking up the people inside from a warehouse in Laredo and driving them to San Antonio, where they were going to be picked up. Bradley, the driver of the trailer in July, also admitted driving from Laredo to San Antonio, though he initially denied knowing people were inside his trailer.</p>
<p>Nichols did not have a listed phone number or an attorney in online records who could comment on his behalf.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: San Antonio Express-News, <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com" type="external">http://www.mysanantonio.com</a></p> | Police sidestep feds in San Antonio human smuggling case | false | https://apnews.com/e6133a3594574d788c8c50d3e78fde02 | 2018-01-04 | 2 |
<p>Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said he is not considering leaving the Republican Party, despite his criticism that the GOP leadership is not headed in the correct direction.</p>
<p>Speaking on Sunday with <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-flake-interview-i-m-concerned-about-the-direction-of-gop-1018474563823" type="external">NBC’s “Meet the Press,”</a> the Arizona senator said he is “not at all” thinking of leaving the party and called himself a “proud” and “lifelong” Republican.</p>
<p>Flake, who faces a difficult reelection campaign next year, said “Arizona tends to elect independent-minded people and people who stand on principle. So, I’m doing what I think my voters expect of me.”</p>
<p>Flake said he was particularly concerned that conservatism has “been compromised by populism.”</p>
<p>He also reminded those who say the fact that the GOP controls the White House and both houses of Congress means the party is doing well, that “not long ago we had that, in 2006, and we lost it because, I don’t think, we acted very conservative, with all the spending and everything else that went on. So, I think that just because we have the House, the Senate and the White House, we can’t rest easy and we can’t say that populism is a governing philosophy because I don’t believe that it is.”</p>
<p>Flake emphasized that “I think it’s first and foremost the duty of conservatives to tell the truth to the constituency, and it’s easy to point to a shuttered factory and say, ‘Hey, if we’d just negotiated better trade deals, then those jobs would be there,’ when really it’s automation and productivity gains. It’s much more complex and my concern is that populism is a sugar high and once you come off it, it’s particularly troublesome for the party.”</p>
<p>The senator, who is promoting a new book “Conscience of a Conservative,” said that “what is so broken about our politics is we just can’t get together on the big things. And, as conservatives, we simply can’t enact conservative policy if we continue these polemics.”</p>
<p>He gave as an example the issue of the debt and the deficit, saying that tackling the problem “has to be done with Republicans and Democrats, [because] there’s no way one party will take the risk.”</p> | Despite Criticism, Sen. Flake Says Not Thinking of Quitting GOP | false | https://newsline.com/despite-criticism-sen-flake-says-not-thinking-of-quitting-gop/ | 2017-08-06 | 1 |
<p>Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., who <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/congress-healthcare-GOP-divided/2017/07/18/id/802217/" type="external">rejected the Senate healthcare bill,</a> said he would vote for a repeal measure.</p>
<p>About a flat repeal of Obamacare, Moran noted that he voted for it before. “I believe it puts us in a position in which we would have leverage with Democrats as we try to craft what the replacement is. All 100 senators, following expert testimony and congressional hearings, puts us in a better place to get a follow-up to repeal, which would be a good replacement,” he said in a Wednesday <a href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/5512736218001/?playlist_id=930909787001#sp=show-clips" type="external">Fox News interview.</a></p>
<p>Moran explained his reasoning for announcing that he was against the bill, calling it “inadequate.”</p>
<p>“It was an opportunity to express what I had concluded, which was this bill is inadequate in its repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This bill is inadequate in the replacement of the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, and it would not get my vote in the end.</p>
<p>“People needed to know that up front so that we can move in a different direction than where we were going,” the senator said.</p>
<p>Moran criticized negotiations over rounding up votes for the bill, saying that such negotiations could turn into negotiations over money instead. “One thing that can happen in these negotiations, trying to get 51 votes, is it begins to shift to not what is in the bill, but how to win a senator’s vote. And that generally involves money.”</p>
<p>“That’s not a good way for us to develop healthcare policy,” he added.</p>
<p>If the public sees that neither Republicans nor Democrats can make effective healthcare plans, the senator said he’d&#160;worry&#160;that a universal healthcare policy could be the result, which he called “a terrible mistake.”</p> | Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran Would Vote for Obamacare Repeal | false | https://newsline.com/kansas-sen-jerry-moran-would-vote-for-obamacare-repeal/ | 2017-07-19 | 1 |
<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday evening's drawing of the Kentucky Lottery's "Cash Ball" game were:</p>
<p>02-25-29-31, Cash Ball: 16</p>
<p>(two, twenty-five, twenty-nine, thirty-one; Cash Ball: sixteen)</p>
<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday evening's drawing of the Kentucky Lottery's "Cash Ball" game were:</p>
<p>02-25-29-31, Cash Ball: 16</p>
<p>(two, twenty-five, twenty-nine, thirty-one; Cash Ball: sixteen)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Cash Ball' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/b80f471122dc480e8b4da5a5a320085e | 2018-01-01 | 2 |
<p>Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) acknowledged Thursday that he put his foot in his mouth when he recently <a href="" type="internal">compared being gay to being an alcoholic.</a></p>
<p />
<p>At a lunch sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, he sought to shift emphasis away from the disputed comparison — which was <a href="" type="internal">panned by a CNBC anchor</a> and, naturally, <a href="" type="internal">mocked by Jon Stewart</a>.</p>
<p>“I got asked about an issue, and instead of saying, ‘You know what, we need to be a really respectful and tolerant country, and get back to talking about, whether you’re gay or straight you need to be having a job, and those are the focuses I want to be involved with,’ instead of getting — which I did, I readily admit, I stepped right in it,” Perry said, as quoted by <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/rick-perry-gay-comments-alcohol-108069.html#.U6Mi76mz5WE.twitter" type="external">Politico</a>.</p>
<p>Perry said the Republican Party needs to focus less on social issues and more on convincing Americans that its policies will benefit them economically.</p>
<p>“If you really are going to be the party that’s going to talk to everyone, we say, ‘Listen you may not agree with all of my positions, but giving you and your family and your loved ones the opportunity to get a better life, if we create a climate in this country where you’re going to have a job, and a good job, and a good paying job’ — if we’ll do that, then I think we’ll be successful,” he said, as quoted by Politico.</p>
<p>This post has been updated.</p> | Rick Perry Admits He ‘Stepped Right In It’ When He Compared Gays To Alcoholics | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rick-perry-stepped-in-it-gays-alcoholics-remark | 4 |
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<p>Ninety years ago today, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a boy was born to William and Edna Irvine. That boy was my father, Reed Irvine, the founder and first chairman of Accuracy in Media.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />My father grew up poor, as many did at that time, but thanks to his mother he had an almost insatiable appetite for reading and a thirst for knowledge. After two years of high school, he went on to attend the University of Utah where he was not only elected to Phi Beta Kappa, but also wrestled and was given the nickname “Killer,” which would epitomize his instincts towards the liberal media later in his adult life.</p>
<p>He enlisted in the Navy during WW II and was selected for a crash program to learn Japanese, leaving as an interpreter/translator with the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in the 2nd Marine Division as an intelligence officer and participated in the campaigns of Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa.</p>
<p>That led him to meet my mother, who survived the A-bomb on Nagasaki, and they were married on August 14, 1947.</p>
<p>After returning to the U.S., he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to Oxford University, earning a Bachelors of Literature degree in economics in 1951.</p>
<p>My mother would often refer to those years in England as her toughest, as she was still struggling with learning English and was now faced with British English. To this day she still can’t understand the British.</p>
<p>After graduating from Oxford, my parents returned to the U.S. where my father proceeded to spend the next 26 years with the Federal Reserve as an economist in the Far East Section of the Division of International Finance.</p>
<p>Through that post he became acquainted with many officials of the Bank of Japan and the Bank of Korea, and built friendships that lasted a lifetime.</p>
<p>I still recall accompanying him on a trip with my mother to Japan during the summer of 1970. That was also the year the World’s Fair, known as Expo ’70 was being held in Osaka. We traveled throughout Japan by limo, and I was able to use the VIP entrance at the Expo, causing me to ask my father who the VIP was that got us all these perks. He replied, modestly, that he was the VIP. I was suitably impressed.</p>
<p>That was also just a year after he made the bold move to start Accuracy in Media with the idea of taking on the liberal media, which was badly misreporting the Vietnam War. He started a newsletter, the AIM Report in 1972, working on it at night and weekends until he finally retired from the Fed in 1977 and was able to devote all of his time and energy to AIM.</p>
<p>He was a husband, father, grandfather and patriot who loved his country and spent the last 35 years of his life fighting the liberal media on the battlefield for truth and justice.</p>
<p>Many conservative leaders today have told me, and I certainly agree, that my father is owed a great debt of gratitude. At a time when there were few conservative organizations in existence, he had the courage to take on the liberal media establishment. He influenced many of today’s conservative leaders and paved the way in many respects for other conservative organizations. He was an unsung pioneer and hero, but I think he was fine with that.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday dad, I miss you and wish you were here.</p> | Reed Irvine, Conservative Media Pioneer | true | http://aim.org/don-irvine-blog/reed-irvine-conservative-media-pioneer/ | 2012-09-29 | 0 |
<p>Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that a Frenchwoman jailed for 60 years for kidnapping should not be released immediately, in case that has strained relations between France and Mexico and put the latter's opaque justice system on trial.</p>
<p>But in a 3-2 decision, the court also allowed for the possibility of a retrial, ruling that police violated the constitutional rights of Florence Cassez, 37, by staging her arrest for TV cameras.</p>
<p>Cassez was arrested in 2005 at a ranch on the outskirts of Mexico City and convicted of helping a kidnapping gang - allegedly led by her boyfriend - which kept three victims at the compound, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhxw_THvLX3dQ4k91ljRzP_7ydvA?docId=64e1a9d14e9c4a5fb0568efc3bb22690" type="external">the Associated Press reports</a>.</p>
<p>At least one victim has identified Cassez as a kidnapper, though only by her voice, and not by sight. Cassez denies involvement, saying she was unaware of the kidnapping and the victims' presence at the ranch.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/110729/mexico-murder-rate-safety-violence" type="external">Decoding Mexico's murder mayhem</a></p>
<p>On Wednesday the court found that by staging a televised raid of the compound a day after the alleged kidnappers had been arrested, Mexican officials had violated her constitutional rights, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577295941398435170.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" type="external">The Wall Street Journal reports</a>.</p>
<p>In a motion to the court, Cassez's lawyer also said that police failed to notify the French consulate of her arrest and did not present her to investigative officials, effectively denying her consular rights and the right to be presumed innocent after arrest.</p>
<p>The case has strained diplomatic relations between France and Mexico, with both nations cancelling a series of high-profile joint cultural events last year.</p>
<p>Paris and the wider French public regard Cassez as the victim of a miscarriage of justice, but she has received little public sympathy from ordinary Mexicans, frightened by a wave of kidnappings that have swept the country and sometimes resulted in victims being murdered even after ransoms have been paid, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17467330" type="external">according to the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>French President Nicolas Sarkozy has questioned her conviction and requested that Cassez be returned home.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/120217/peru-latin-america-economy-growth" type="external">Latin America's hidden growth story</a>&#160;</p> | Mexico Supreme Court rules Florence Cassez should not be freed | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-21/mexico-supreme-court-rules-florence-cassez-should-not-be-freed | 2012-03-21 | 3 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>While you were watching the presidential reality show, the Pentagon was busy putting boots back on the ground in Iraq and threatening to invade Syria.</p>
<p>Watch a video of this report here:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>CNN <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/29/politics/pentagon-army-target-isis-iraq/index.html" type="external">reports</a> that the unit has been ‘setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units’ in the past few weeks.</p>
<p>Defence Secretary Ash Carter <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/29/politics/pentagon-army-target-isis-iraq/index.html" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“The only thing I’ll say is the Expeditionary Targeting Force (Delta) is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign,”</p>
<p>Carter explained that the deployment of special forces was to make ISIS “fear that anywhere, anytime, it may be struck.”</p>
<p>Delta Force is 200-men strong in Iraq, and will be carrying out raids on targets, recovering hostages, eliminating terrorist&#160;commanders&#160;and gathering intelligence from enemy locations.</p>
<p>Carter also said:</p>
<p>“This force will also be in a position to conduct unilateral operations in Syria.”</p>
<p>What Carter is really saying is that Delta Force may be used illegally in Syria, as they have no mandate from the sovereign Syrian government, or the UN for that matter, to conduct any operations at all on Syrian territory.</p>
<p>Some might even say&#160;this is an American threat to invade Syria.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Russian actions</a>, on the other&#160;hand, are absolutely legal under international law, as they&#160;are fully <a href="" type="internal">sanctioned by the Syrian government</a>.</p>
<p>Earlier this week we learned that the&#160;Russian special forces unit <a href="" type="internal">Spetznaz was infiltrating ISIS with undercover operatives</a>, which enabled airstrikes to hit within just three meters of their targets.</p>
<p>Do you think Delta Force will have a real effect on the fight against ISIS?</p>
<p>GET THE FULL STORY ON THE SYRIAN CRISIS: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Syria Files</a></p> | US Delta Force Begins Targeting ISIS in Iraq, Threatens ‘Unilateral Operations in Syria’ | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/03/03/delta-force-begins-targeting-isis-in-iraq-threatens-unilateral-operations-in-syria/ | 2016-03-03 | 4 |
<p>July 12 (UPI) — <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Selena_Gomez/" type="external">Selena Gomez</a> has given fans a taste of her new song “Fetish” with a sensual teaser video focused around her lips.</p>
<p>“Take it or leave it / Baby take it or leave it. But I know you won’t leave it / Cause I know that you need it, uh. Look in the mirror / When I look in the mirror. Baby, I see it clearer / Why you want to be nearer,” Gomez sings in the clip released on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWazKMXAdwa/?taken-by=selenagomez" type="external">Instagram</a> Tuesday that only features her glossy lips singing the song.</p>
<p>The video has already been viewed over eight million times. The caption announces that “Fetish” which features rapper Gucci Mane, is set to release on Thursday.</p>
<p>The song will presumably appear on her upcoming follow-up album to 2015’s Revival after the pop star took <a href="https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2016/08/31/Selena-Gomez-taking-time-off-to-deal-with-Lupus-complications-including-anxiety-depression/9211472638623/" type="external">a break</a> from the spotlight in 2016.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWazKMXAdwa/" type="external">Fetish. Thursday.</a></p>
<p>A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Jul 11, 2017 at 12:54pm PDT</p>
<p>Gomez first teased “Fetish” on Friday alongside <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWQlbTCggHO/?taken-by=selenagomez" type="external">cover art</a> for the track that featured the 24-year-old wearing a yellow dress while holding shopping bags in the middle of an empty street.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWQlbTCggHO/" type="external">JULY 13</a></p>
<p>A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Jul 7, 2017 at 1:41pm PDT</p> | Selena Gomez teases new song 'Fetish' with sensual clip | false | https://newsline.com/selena-gomez-teases-new-song-fetish-with-sensual-clip/ | 2017-07-12 | 1 |
<p>DALLAS (ABP) — Churches that aren’t cutting their budgets due to the economic downturn are, by and large, taking measures to curb expenses, according to a survey the National Association of Church Business Administration has done of its members.</p>
<p>The organization — the professional society for church administrators of all denominations — recently released a study that reveals 57 percent of the congregations represented by members surveyed had experienced a slowdown in contributions.</p>
<p>Thirty-two percent of the churches’ administrators said the dip was “not common for our congregation this time of year,” while 25 percent could not say for certain whether the downturn was due to the economy.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, 30 percent of the respondents said their churches were “doing OK” but “not seeing strong growth in financial support.” Twelve percent said their giving was “strong” and continuing to grow, while only 1 percent said their financial support was “very strong.”</p>
<p>Twenty percent of the respondents said their churches had been forced to lay off employees and 26 percent said they had postponed a major capital project. Nearly half —&#160; 47 percent — said they had reduced or frozen staff compensation packages.&#160;Phill Martin is NACBA’s deputy chief executive and a veteran Baptist church administrator. He said the 32 percent of members who believed the economy had definitely affected their congregations was much higher than the 14 percent who thought so when they answered a similar survey in August.</p>
<p>“I think we are starting to see more pain felt — although nothing like in the private sector,” said Martin, a member of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas who serves with that congregation’s Christ Church mission in Rockwall, Texas.</p>
<p>Martin noted it often is more difficult for churches than businesses or secular nonprofits to judge whether the economy is responsible for a dip in contributions or if it owes to some other factor, such as church conflict or the a lack of a pastor.</p>
<p>“Our local ABC [TV] affiliate came and asked me to give them the names of five churches in [economic] trouble,” he said. “But I can give you five churches in trouble when the economy’s in good shape.”</p>
<p>He also noted the differences in local economic effects are causing differences between metropolitan areas and regions of the country in how particular churches fare.</p>
<p>“If we look at North Dallas, things are pretty good,” he said recently, noting he had just come from a meeting with 40 local church administrators and that they simply “had a good dialogue” about the state of the economy.</p>
<p>“But [members of] our chapter in Phoenix are really struggling because so many people there have lost their jobs because of downsizing.”</p>
<p>That’s the case in Dalton, Ga., a small city about an hour northwest of Atlanta where floor-covering manufacturers dominate the local economy.</p>
<p>“There have been layoffs in almost all of the major carpet companies located in Dalton,” said Debra Haney, administrator at First Baptist Church of Dalton, a congregation affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. “These layoffs have been necessary due to reduced need for floor covering. Of course, this need is directly tied to the declining housing market.”</p>
<p>Haney said the church has cut its 2009 budget by more than 11 percent — across all budget categories and including reductions in working hours for some staff.</p>
<p>The cuts may be just the beginning. The economy shows no obvious signs of a quick recovery, and some economists are predicting a multi-year recession.</p>
<p>Martin pointed to a study by the Christian research organization Empty Tomb, Inc., showing there has not necessarily been a correlation between nationwide recessions and declines in annual per-capita giving to churches in the last 40 years.</p>
<p>However, Martin noted, between 1968 and 2005, church giving declined in three of the 10 years that showed one month or more of economic contraction. Out of those three years of drops in church giving, two were the last year of recessions that stretched over multiple years.</p>
<p>“What I got out of that is that a lot of times multi-year recessions tend to catch up with the church; they’re not instantly affected,” he said. “And so I think it is a wise caution that churches are displaying.”</p> | Church finances begin to feel impact of economic crisis | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/churchfinancesbegintofeelimpactofeconomiccrisis/ | 3 |
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<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Advanced Micro Devices' (NASDAQ: AMD) stock price has skyrocketed in 2016, jumping more than 260% since the beginning of the year. But this year brought more than just stock price gains for the company.</p>
<p>AMD's revenues bounced back this year from one of their lowest points last year, and the company managed to expand its discrete desktop GPU market share against rival NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) as well. Additionally, AMD is poised to benefit from the expanding virtual reality market.</p>
<p>Here's how all of this looks for AMD in three charts.</p>
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<p>AMD's revenue has fallen about 28% from its five-year high, and it now sit at about $1.3 billion in the most recent quarter. But while the company is far below its five-year high, AMD's revenues are starting to move back in the right direction. The second and third quarters both saw positive revenue gains on a year-over-year basis, with the biggest jump -- 23% -- coming in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Image source: YCharts.</p>
<p>Much of the growth came from four straight quarters of growth in the company's professional graphics products. Investors should know that fourth-quarter revenues are expected to decline on a sequential basis as the company moves away from its usual "annual semi custom sales peak in the third quarter." But even with that decline, fourth-quarter revenue is expected to increase 12% year over year at the midpoint of guidance.</p>
<p>AMD expects revenue to be up just 6% for full-year 2016. Investors should keep a close eye on the company's ability grow sales -- and whether it can continue pushing revenue back in the right direction as AMD heads into the new year.</p>
<p>Another bright spot for AMD right now is the company's discrete desktop GPU market share. The company's graphics processors compete directly with NVIDIA, and while AMD is still an underdog, it's starting to gain momentum.</p>
<p>Last year, AMD had fallen to about 18% market share, but it's slowly ticked up since then and now stands at about an estimated 30%.</p>
<p>Data source: Jon Peddie Research, via <a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/10613/discrete-desktop-gpu-market-trends-q2-2016-amd-grabs-market-share-but-nvidia-remains-on-top" type="external">anandtech.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>AMD still has a long way to go to best NVIDIA's GPUs, but with the GPU market essentially a two-player game at this point, any gains AMD makes in the space should directly help the company's revenues.</p>
<p>The virtual reality (VR) market is just getting started, but AMD is in fantastic position to benefit. Here's what the virtual reality opportunity looks like over the next few years, as combined sales of hardware and software jump from under $5 billion in 2016 to an estimated $40 billion by 2020 .</p>
<p>Image source: <a href="https://www.superdataresearch.com/virtual-reality-forecast/" type="external">SuperData Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>AMD's opportunity lies in its graphics cards for VR-ready computers, but also in its sales of GPUs for gaming consoles, like Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4. Sony is shaping up to be a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/14/this-1-chart-shows-why-virtual-reality-is-so-impor.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">major player in the VR space Opens a New Window.</a>. The company recently released its VR headset that's compatible with the PS4, PS4 Slim, and upgraded PS4 Pro, and it has already sold more than 50 million PS4 consoles to date.</p>
<p>The company's new VR headset could help spur even more sales of the PS4 lineup, which would then boost sales of AMD's processors. With Sony teaming up with 230 developers and releasing new VR games and content, AMD is in the perfect position to benefit.</p>
<p>While AMD has had a rough few years of falling revenue and discrete desktop GPU market share, the company appears to be making up for lost time. If it can can continue on this path -- and benefit from the rise of VR as well -- then AMD investors can expect another promising year from the company.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices 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=f5be917a-488b-4aed-a97f-761e29a95b94&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 Advanced Micro Devices 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=f5be917a-488b-4aed-a97f-761e29a95b94&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/TMFNewsie/info.aspx" type="external">Chris Neiger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia. 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> | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. in 3 Charts | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/11/advanced-micro-devices-inc-in-3-charts.html | 2016-12-15 | 0 |
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<p>OAKLAND, Calif. — The widow of the Orlando nightclub gunman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s support of the Islamic State group and hindering the investigation of the attack that killed 49 people and injured 53 others.</p>
<p>Noor Salman, 30, entered her plea in an Oakland, California, courtroom two days after she was taken into custody at the home she shared with her mother in suburban San Francisco.</p>
<p>Her arrest came after she was interviewed numerous times by FBI agents investigating the June 12 attack in Florida.</p>
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<p>Federal prosecutor Roger Handberg said in court Tuesday that Salman knew about the plan by her husband Omar Mateen to attack the gay nightclub and then lied to investigators after it was over. Mateen was killed at the scene by authorities.</p>
<p>Handberg declined further comment on the indictment outside court, and no further details of the charges have been disclosed.</p>
<p>Salman will return to court Feb. 1 to argue for her release pending trial on the counts that could result in a life sentence if she is convicted.</p>
<p>Salman’s uncle Al Salman has defended his niece, saying she is an innocent person who was physically and mentally abused by Mateen.</p>
<p>He said she remained in the marriage because she feared losing custody of the couple’s 4-year-old boy.</p>
<p>Noor Salman was living with Mateen in Fort Pierce, Florida when he proclaimed his allegiance to Islamic State and attacked the nightclub.</p>
<p>The indictment charges her with aiding and abetting Mateen in providing material support and resources to Islamic State between April and June of last year. She was also charged with obstruction, accused of misleading and lying to police and the FBI during their investigation.</p>
<p>Charles Swift, her lead attorney, declined comment Wednesday outside court. He is director of the Texas-based Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America,</p>
<p>Salman told The New York Times in an interview published in November that she knew her husband had watched jihadist videos but that she was “unaware of everything” regarding his intent to shoot up the club. Salman also said he had physically abused her.</p> | Orlando gunman’s widow pleads not guilty to aiding husband | false | https://abqjournal.com/930487/orlando-gunmans-widow-pleads-not-guilty-to-aiding-husband.html | 2017-01-18 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>Some jerks never learn.</p>
<p>Maybe they can’t.</p>
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<p>Maybe their hubris is bigger than their heads.</p>
<p>Maybe they believe they will never be caught, even though they have been caught before.</p>
<p>Jayson Bice, a man whose past actions would surely qualify him as a world-class jerk, might be able to enlighten us on the matter, but I can’t ask him, because he’s in jail. Because he got caught again. Because he has never learned.</p>
<p>Remember him? Back in 2008, I wrote about the 44-year-old ponytailed manager of Alliance Drug Testing in Albuquerque who was accused of terrorizing a female job applicant during a particularly creepy and intimidating interview for a “personal assistant” position that, as he envisioned it, would be on her knees, very personally assisting him.</p>
<p>He was convicted of misdemeanor assault in August that year, laughing in Metro Court as his accuser tearfully testified about the smarmy horror he had put her through.</p>
<p>He appealed the conviction to state District Court, where in September 2009 he lost and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, plus 150 more in community custody.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It wasn’t much, but there was a modicum of hope that it was enough to end Bice’s string of dubious encounters with women, which began — at least as far as I can trace through court records — with charges of forcible sodomy and soliciting prostitutes in Virginia Beach, Va., in the early 1990s and continuing to 1998 when, as a manager at First Choice Community Health Care in Albuquerque, he interviewed and, according to a criminal complaint, groped a 16-year-old female job applicant.</p>
<p>A jury hung in that case.</p>
<p>Two other women had accused Bice of making inappropriate comments to them during job interviews at First Choice, although those allegations resulted in his leaving the job, not criminal charges, court documents say.</p>
<p>But, alas, Bice’s short jail stint in 2009 wasn’t his last.</p>
<p>On Dec. 19, he was arrested on charges of bribery and tampering with evidence — both fourth-degree felonies. He is accused of offering to alter the results of a blood test for a DWI suspect in exchange for sex — with her and her friend.</p>
<p>Bice remains in the Metropolitan Detention Center with bail set at $50,000, cash only.</p>
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<p>Bice, I suspect, isn’t laughing anymore.</p>
<p>And this time, his troubles may just be beginning.</p>
<p>“We’re looking into the possibility that there may be more victims,” Albuquerque police spokesman Robert Gibbs said. “Due to the propensity of the circumstances in the case, the probability of more victims is high.”</p>
<p>Which the women who have called to tell me that they, too, had unsavory, scary, criminal encounters with Bice, have known all along.</p>
<p>Last October, a woman caller related how Bice told her she had failed a drug test (she hadn’t) but that he was willing to fudge the results in exchange for sexual favors.</p>
<p>The woman refused.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Earlier this week, the woman told me she filed a police report and never heard anything more.</p>
<p>She will now, police said.</p>
<p>As for the current DWI case, that woman said she was arrested Nov. 18 for drunken driving after failing a breath test but, as allowed by law, was given the opportunity to take an independent blood test to be used later in court if she could find a blood tech willing to come out.</p>
<p>She found Bice in the phone book.</p>
<p>According to the criminal complaint, Bice showed up at the Prison Transport Center Downtown, took two vials of her blood and left.</p>
<p>The woman said Bice called her Dec. 16 and told her there were discrepancies in the test and that she would have to come down to the Alliance office to “work something out.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Although it was late, she agreed, taking along a friend.</p>
<p>Bice, according to the complaint, admonished the women not to tell anybody about the meeting. It was the first of several occurrences the woman found weird, she told police.</p>
<p>According to the complaint, Bice made her park on the side of the office at 120 Madeira NE. He locked the door behind them. He separated the women into two rooms, one that was nothing more than a closet with a chair, and asked the friend to leave her purse behind in a separate waiting room — a request she refused. He told the woman with the DWI charge that she might have to come back several times for additional blood tests, that she needed to stick around until the vials of her blood reached room temperature.</p>
<p>The complaint continues: She was a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders, he told her. She needed her job. She needed a better blood test result, and he could do that even if it meant switching her blood out for her friend’s. He would take no money for his services, because that would be a bribe and illegal.</p>
<p>But they could work something out.</p>
<p>The woman said Bice left her in the room several times. Both women said they realized later that every time he left he was going to the room where the other was and offering her the same proposition to help her friend.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On Dec. 18, a day after the woman had gone to police, she returned to the Alliance office, where once again Bice offered to fudge the test result in exchange for sex, as he had done for other women, the complaint says.</p>
<p>A call to Alliance, which Bice now owns, this week was answered by a woman who said the office is closed until Jan. 10.</p>
<p>That may be a bit optimistic.</p>
<p>But jerks have a knack for skating through the system unscathed. It remains to be seen whether this time for Bice will be any different.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to <a href="" type="internal">www.abqjournal.com/letters/new</a> to submit a letter to the editor. — This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | ‘World-Class Jerk’ Is Back In Jail | false | https://abqjournal.com/157655/worldclass-jerk-is-back-in-jail.html | 2013-01-04 | 2 |
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<p>United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) reported on Tuesday a stronger-than-expected increase in third-quarter profit on higher freight and domestic revenues, and the company reaffirmed its outlook despite economic headwinds.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>UPS delivered 965 million packages during the three-month period, which is up 0.7% from last year.</p>
<p>The Atlanta-based package delivery company booked net income of $1.04 billion, or $1.06 a share, compared with $991 million, or 99 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. The earnings were ahead of average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters of $1.05 a share.</p>
<p>Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 was $13.17 billion, up 8% from $12.19 billion a year ago, matching the Street’s view.</p>
<p>UPS attributed the results to growth in both its U.S. domestic, which saw operating margin improve to 13.1% despite flat volume growth, and supply chain &amp; freight segments, which posted a 10% increase in operating profit despite a slight decrease in daily shipments.</p>
<p>“The resilience of our global model was evident during the quarter and we remain confident in our ability to perform in both good and bad economies,” CEO Scott Davis said.</p>
<p>Ahead of what many are predicting to be a very busy holiday season, UPS unrolled at the end of last quarter its My Choice program, which enables U.S. consumers to obtain delivery alerts and approximate delivery times, among other things, to help customers mold a plan to fit their shipping needs.</p>
<p>The logistic leader’s biggest rival, FedEx (NYSE:FDX), announced on Monday that it is hiring 20,000 seasonable works as it gears up for a record high day on Dec. 12 where it expects to move some 17 million boxes amid an anticipated increase in online sales.</p>
<p>UPS reiterated its 2011 guidance in the range of $4.15 to $4.40 a share. Wall Street is predicting a profit of $4.23 a share.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | UPS Widens 3Q Profit, Reaffirms Forecast | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/10/25/ups-posts-higher-3q-profit-boosts-outlook.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>Omar S. Dahi is an associate professor of economics. He received his B.A. in economics from California State University at Long Beach, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. His research and teaching interests are in the areas of economic development and international trade, with a special focus on South-South economic cooperation, and on the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa.</p>
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<p /> JAISAL NOOR, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Jaisal Noor in Baltimore.
<p />
<p />Today we're going to talk about the latest developments from Syria.
<p />
<p />Now joining us is Omar Dahi. He's an assistant professor of economics at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. He's an editor of The Middle East Report. And he's of Syrian descent.
<p />
<p />Thank you for joining us, Omar.
<p />
<p />OMAR DAHI, ASSOC. PROF. ECONOMICS, HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE: Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.
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<p />NOOR: Let's get your thoughts about the agreement that was reached at the G8 summit which just ended in Northern Ireland.
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<p />DAHI: There's very little new that came out of this G8 summit. One year ago, almost to the day exactly, in June&#160;20, 2012, there was the initial Geneva conference, and out of that conference came almost exactly the same statement that this current G8 summit said, which is that there's broad agreement that there should be a political settlement, that there should be a transition, and that a transitional government should come that includes some current members of the current regime, as well as members of the opposition, and that it should be fully empowered.
<p />
<p />In the same way as the first Geneva conference of 2012 that I just mentioned, there is no explicit statement that Bashar al-Assad should leave as a precondition to this political settlement. So, basically, in that sense there has been very little other than a rehashing of a one-year-old agreement. And over this past year the big difference is that the violence has escalated dramatically. The humanitarian tragedy has increased. The United States has tried increasingly to take control over from its allies in the region, from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. We've seen Qatar marginalized and Saudi Arabia now coming more to the forefront.
<p />
<p />But you're right. The Russian side as well has all along said that they will continue to support the Syrian regime and that they will not allow a full military victory for the opposition.
<p />
<p />In many ways, the broad parameters with the agreement are still there. The question is: how do you actually put this settlement into execution? And that is still up in the air.
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<p />NOOR: So British Prime Minister David Cameron has said they have learned the lessons of Iraq. Yet you almost could feel a déjà vu as the Western powers say that chemical weapons have been used, insisting they are forced to act, arm the Syrian rebels. Talk about this claim of chemical weapons and whether there should be more skepticism around those claims. Has any evidence been presented to show chemical weapons have been used?
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<p />DAHI: Well, I'm not an expert on chemical weapons, and as far as I know, even by the admissions of the U.S. government itself, what they mention is that 150 and maybe 200 people have been killed or perhaps have been exposed to sarin gas. They have not conclusively linked it to the regime itself, because through the chain of, basically, where the evidence was passed from one side to the other, it's not 100&#160;percent conclusive. But even if it was, you're talking about a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands, even more than 100,000 lives. The idea that 200 people being exposed to sarin gas is now somehow the big change is little bit hard to believe. It's hard to take the chemical weapons claim seriously as an instigator for action, other than it's going to be used as a pretext to put pressure on the Russians and put pressure on the Syrian government, which is to say that if you do not come to a political settlement or if you do not abide by the direction that we're going, we are possibly going to use that to escalate the pressure and to increase the intervention against you.
<p />
<p />So I think it's best to understand the chemical weapons claim as a negotiating ploy, as a way of increasing the pressure on the Syrian government at its allies, and more than somehow a magical change in what's going to happen. The U.S. may use it to justify all sorts of things, but in light of all the different things that have taken place in the Syrian conflict so far, it's hard to take it seriously in the way that they're presenting it.
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<p />NOOR: And finally, what does this mean for the people on the ground in Syria? What does it mean for people living in refugee camps, people that are displaced, people that are on the front lines of the conflict?
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<p />DAHI: Well, it means an ongoing tragedy. It means that so long as the political settlement is not happening, so long as both sides don't fully pressure the warring parties to come together to the table and hash out an agreement that can end the conflict, that can initiate a transitional government, that can somehow stop the bloodshed, even if it doesn't solve all the issues--it's unlikely that all the issues will be solved just at once. But the people on the ground are suffering. By the end of this year, you may have even a quarter or more of the Syrian population as either refugees or internally displaced. You already have almost 3,&#160;4&#160;million people. It's a humanitarian tragedy that needs to be stopped. The UNHCR, the World Food Programme have already declared it to be as big or bigger than any catastrophe in the post-World War&#160;II period, which is staggering given all the level of conflict and other serious crises that have happened in the last couple of decades alone. So that's what it means. It means people on the ground are paying the price. And those are the people whose voices are being heard the least.
<p />
<p />NOOR: Omar Dahi, I want to thank you for joining us for part one of our discussion. And for our listeners, stay tuned for part two.
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<p />End
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<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. | US Claims of Chemical Weapons Use By Syria A Pretext for Arming Rebels | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D10333 | 2013-06-19 | 4 |
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<p>TAYLOR, Ariz. — Federal authorities are investigating after a small plane had to make an emergency landing in a field near Taylor in east-central Arizona.</p>
<p>Authorities were called to the area Saturday afternoon after the single-engine Piper PA28 hit a berm after landing.</p>
<p>An instructor and student were on the plane at the time of the incident.</p>
<p>Authorities say neither person was injured.</p>
<p>Their names still weren’t released by Sunday.</p>
<p>Damage to the aircraft isn’t immediately known.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2 unhurt after small plane has emergency landing in Arizona | false | https://abqjournal.com/888137/2-unhurt-after-small-plane-has-emergency-landing-in-arizona.html | 2 |
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<p>Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co shares could rise 25 percent in a year as the tire maker benefits from cost cuts and growing demand for lucrative 17-inch tires, Barron's said in a report.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Demand for 17-inch and larger models of tires has more than doubled since 2010 and management expects it to double again by 2020, much faster growth than the rest of the market, Barron's said in its latest issue.</p>
<p>Goodyear shares could hit $40 in a year for a gain of 25 percent, Barron's said. On Friday, Goodyear shares closed at $32.18 on the Nasdaq and the stock has fallen about 1.5 percent so far this year.</p>
<p>Late in October, Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear cut its full-year forecast for sales and operating income, hit by a fall in U.S. heavy-duty truck production.</p>
<p>Key concerns about the stock, however, seem overstated and more than priced in, Barron's said.</p>
<p>The company's dividend yield is only 1.3 percent currently and payments are expected to rise quickly in coming years, according to the report.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)</p> | Goodyear shares could rise 25 percent to hit $40: Barron's | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/12/11/goodyear-shares-could-rise-25-percent-to-hit-40-barron.html | 2016-12-11 | 0 |
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<p>The blogosphere is <a href="http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/5/2/93621/10103" type="external">abuzz</a> with news of <a href="http://www.techpresident.com/node/301" type="external">a falling out</a> between the campaign of Senator Barack Obama and Joe Anthony, an unpaid volunteer who created and maintained an unofficial fan page that has evolved into the candidate’s most popular site on MySpace, with more than 160,000 friends.</p>
<p>The conflict has been brewing for some time now, but <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&amp;friendID=159248288&amp;blogID=259712152&amp;Mytoken=8738375F-A57E-4AB4-900496ABAA3F3FF11236719" type="external">ended messily</a> on Tuesday when MySpace agreed to transfer the URL to Obama.</p>
<p>Micah Sifry of Techpresident <a href="http://www.techpresident.com/node/301" type="external">writes</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>How all this happened is a complicated tale that is still unfolding, and none of the parties involved–Anthony, the Obama online team, and the MySpace political operation–emerge from this story unscathed. Speaking on background, Obama campaign staffers are spreading word that Anthony just wanted a “big payday.” Anthony in turn has posted a missive on his blog (that was originally sent to me as an email) accusing the Obama team of “bullying…[and] rotten and dishonest” behavior. However one parses those accusations (more below), the Obama campaign’s reputation as the most net-savvy of 2008 has taken a big hit.</p>
<p>Something like this was bound to happen this year as top-down campaign structures have begun to collide with the new bottom-up energy of social networking and content sharing on the Web. Obama’s campaign strove for a hybrid model — Anthony retained control of the MySpace page, but Obama’s campaign also had access, and promoted the site. The advantages were obvious: free labor, a sense from the grassroots that they matter, and a populist PR spin. Then the campaign lost faith in Anthony and turned everything on its head. Yesterday, the campaign <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post_group/ObamaHQ/CvSl#extended" type="external">finally addressed the incident on Obama’s blog</a>, but from the looks of the comments, he still has a long way to go to win back the trust of many would-be “friends.”</p>
<p /> | Obama’s MySpace Meltdown | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/05/obamas-myspace-meltdown/ | 2007-05-04 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico is investigating an alleged sexual assault recently.</p>
<p>An 18-year-old female student told UNM police she was assaulted by a 19-year-old male student in his dorm room between midnight and 2 a.m. July 11 at the Student Residence Center apartments on Redondo East.</p>
<p>A friend urged the woman to go to UNM hospital and the police were contacted.</p>
<p>An officer took her to the sexual assault nurse examiner for further treatment and connected her with rape crisis counselors.</p>
<p>The university offered Sexual Assault Response Team services to the woman and launched a student code of conduct investigation.</p>
<p>The allegations are under investigation by the UNM Police Department, the Office of Equal Opportunity and the dean of students.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | UNM investigates alleged sex assault | false | https://abqjournal.com/432184/unm-investigates-alleged-sex-assault.html | 2 |
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<p>The humanitarian industrial complex (HIC) is separate and distinct from the charity/aid industry. The oligarchs, institutions and NGOs that comprise the HIC are not interested in the feeding frenzy they create that takes place below them. They want the whole pie. The want the prize they came for. They want the country they have targeted – in its entirety and nothing less than that.</p>
<p>This creates a pathological system. And like the capitalist economic system – dependent on infinite growth – at the expense of ecology and all life, which places the planet itself at the bottom of the food chain – the continuity of perpetual war must also grow infinitely for the entities constructed within this system to thrive (or even survive). This system, like a cancer, must multiply or die.</p>
<p>Let’s think of it in terms of hungry fish. We have three groups of fish:</p>
<p>1/ “biggest most powerful fish”</p>
<p>2/ “big fish”</p>
<p>3/ “small fish”</p>
<p>Groups 1 and 2 represent the HIC. Group 3 represents the charity/aid industry. Some NGOs belong to more than one group. An example would be Avaaz &amp; it’s counterpart Purpose, which belong to both the HIC&#160;and the non-profit industrial complex (NPIC) because&#160; of its diverse alliances and activities. These groups of fish are pink in colour to denote the physical and visual aspects of domination that are a prerequisite for power. Many non-pink fish are sadly fixated on striving to assimilate into the pink fish, something they can never attain since the privileges of pinkness itself is becoming more difficult to sustain. Fish that reside in the non-imperial parts of the ocean are brown. They are considered adversaries by the pink fish.</p>
<p>These groups (“big fish”) are NGOs like International Crisis Group, They seek access, recognition and approval from the groups that represent empire (“the biggest, most powerful fish”): World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Council on Foreign Relations, the Rockefeller dynasty, monarchies, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Goldman Sachs, etc. etc. Some of the International NGOs in the “big fish” group are Avaaz, Purpose, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Brookings Institution, Center for American Progress, The&#160;Syrian Observatory&#160;for Human Rights, Refugees International, etc. These NGOS are all financed by “the biggest, most powerful fish”, and in most all cases (unbeknownst to the public at large) they have also been created by “the biggest, most powerful fish” themselves.</p>
<p>The “big fish” are positioned right below the top tier of the HIC hierarchy. They swim in the same circles as “the biggest, most powerful fish” who are positioned at the very top of the hierarchy. All the fish below dream of finding a position within this group.</p>
<p>The fish positioned at the top of the hierarchy constitute the hegemonic power. The fish on the bottom comprise the bottom feeders. The middle class is a false construct.</p>
<p>The White Helmets are a 21st century NGO hybrid. A combination of soft power (the perception of altruism) and hard power (actual actions outside of the mainstream narrative), terrorism, identity theft, manufactured heroism, violence and celebrity. For a moment, consider the timing of the new superhero movies now flooding the cinemas. For Americans with a pathological fetish for violence and celebrity, these key attributes are a potent cocktail. The White Helmets were constructed exclusively to destabilize the Syrian government, thus it belongs to the HIC. It is a “big fish” and a real-life yet falsely stylized hero organization that whets the appetite of the masses that lust for such a story, be it fictionalized or a reality of our own making. Behavioural changes public relations firms such as Purpose identify this longing and exploit it via a powerful and manipulative 21st century marketing strategy referred to as “storytelling”.</p>
<p>Now think about what happens when “the biggest, most powerful fish” attacks a brown fish in a leadership position, that is minding its own business. The brown fish adversary lives in a specific area in the ocean where nature has provided rich resources with lots of other fish &#160;– and as necessitated under the current global system, the “the biggest, most powerful fish” want it and must acquire it. They don’t respect sovereignty. And being so greedy and wasteful, “the biggest, most powerful fish” never have enough. So they call on the “big fish” underneath them to help launch the attack. This is akin to a psychological pre-strike.</p>
<p>Far in advance to the a psychological pre-strike, the “biggest most powerful fish” instruct the “big fish” to infiltrate and disperse within the targeted area. The big fish are financed to bait and hook naïve brown fish living within the targeted areas utilizing soft power methods (providing laptops, monies, etc.). They target brown fish who have become enamoured with the spectacle and pinkness. They form fish schools financed by the “biggest most powerful fish”. Where there are no existing divisions to exploit, the big fish create them. This creates the pathways necessary to destroy whole cultures from within.</p>
<p>The “big fish”&#160; are tasked with framing&#160; public perception and building/creating mainstream acquiescence. The “big fish”, created and financed by the “the biggest, most powerful fish”, start the mechanisms of war through propaganda. To do this, they also seek assistance from their alliances in both the mass media and the NPIC. They all swim in the same circles. They too are all financed by, owned by, or created by, or have become dependent on “the biggest, most powerful fish”. This symbiotic relationship sets the stage. This is not an attack to destroy the big, powerful fish (now hated and demonized by those that reside in the imperial parts of the ocean) in order to steal the abundance of rich resources, this is a “fishtarian” intervention by the pink fish to save the poor brown fish that live the with the brown fish adversary leader under its “regime”.</p>
<p>Upon the first attack ordered by “the biggest, most powerful fish”, the blood and flesh of the brown fish disperse in the waters. This is where the “smaller but hungry fish” appear. They live in the imperial parts of the ocean and are happy with their subservient relationship to power in that realm since they benefit from it. They are smaller, but hungry – and they have been waiting. If there is no kill from the&#160; “the biggest, most powerful fish” – there is no feast for “the smaller but hungry fish.” These&#160; fish include groups like Oxfam, Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. These NGOs represent a trillion dollar industry. They are massive corporations with million dollar budgets, huge rents and huger salaries.&#160; And if “the biggest, most powerful fish” are not killing – the “smaller but hungry fish” are not going to be eating. &#160;The pink “small fish” understand full well that the sovereign “poor brown” fish will not be saved, that they will die, that indeed these “interventions” are nothing but a ruse. But, they need the millions of dollars in aid money. In addition, many of these pink fish are Machiavellian in ideology, with any traces of empathy altogether eradicated by their belief that by colour alone, they are superior.</p>
<p>“The biggest, most powerful fish” are the literal lifeline of those constructed below them. And this is why, no matter how grotesque or vapid the killings, the “smaller but hungry fish”, dependent on “the biggest, most powerful fish” – will ALWAYS go along with anything “the biggest, most powerful fish” does. The “smaller but hungry fish” will always look away because their very existence depends on the “the biggest, most powerful fish” killing – infinitely.</p>
<p>If this cycle should ever end – “the biggest, most powerful fish” attacking brown fish adversary – the house of cards will collapse.</p>
<p>But imagine ….</p>
<p>The house of cards as still intact.</p>
<p>What happens to the “biggest most powerful fish” and the “big fish” if the “small fish” were no longer existent?</p>
<p>The “biggest most powerful fish” and the “big fish” would no longer be able to dominate.</p>
<p>And this is why, the “small fish” – that of the aid/charity industry in fin with the mass-media and the NGOs that comprise the NPIC must be annihilated. Because these groups are the very foundation that empire cannot exist without. They cannot be reformed.</p>
<p>Cory Morningstar is an independent investigative journalist, writer and environmental activist, focusing on global ecological collapse and political analysis of the non-profit industrial complex. She resides in Canada. Her&#160;recent writings can be found on <a href="http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/" type="external">Wrong Kind of Green</a>, <a href="http://theartofannihilation.com/" type="external">The Art of Annihilation</a>, and <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org" type="external">Counterpunch</a>. Her writing has also been published by <a href="http://boliviarising.blogspot.ca/" type="external">Bolivia Rising</a> and <a href="http://www.cambio.bo/" type="external">Cambio</a>, the official newspaper of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. You can follow her on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/elleprovocateur" type="external">@elleprovocateur</a>]</p>
<p>Forrest Palmer is an electrical engineer residing in Texas.&#160; He is a part-time blogger and writer and can be found on Facebook. You may reach him at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared on <a href="" type="internal">Wrong Kind of Green</a>.</p> | The Humanitarian Industrial Complex School of Thought: Fish Analogy | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/06/30/the-humanitarian-industrial-complex-school-of-thought-fish-analogy/ | 2017-06-30 | 4 |
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<p>RUSH: Well, folks, I have to tell you, what red-blooded American kid growing up in the Midwest doesn’t dream of being in the Hall of Fame someday? And yesterday I made it into the Hall of Fame in the state of Missouri, with a bust and everything. And it’s a great bust. It’s an awesome-looking bust. What a fun day it was yesterday. And, of course, the libs are deranged. The Democrats are beside themselves. This is not the way this is supposed to be happening.</p>
<p>Anyway, great to have you here as we kick off another partial week of broadcast excellence. I hope now you understand why on Friday I didn’t say, “I’ll see you Monday.” I said “next week.” And why I didn’t say specifically where I was going. I’ll have full details for you about the day and the event that it was. It was a great honor for our family, really, is what this really was, and so many of my family showed up, drove from all over the Midwest to be there for this event. I must have posed for 200 pictures and signed a bunch of autographs. Everybody was just fabulous. It could not have been greater. From the moment we got off the airplane until we left, everybody we ran into was just as sweet, nice, as they could be.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCIRPT</p>
<p>RUSH: You would never make it to any <a href="http://house.mo.gov/famous.aspx?fm=display" type="external">Hall of Fame</a> if you’re afraid of failure. I’m next to Harry Truman, Mark Twain — of course, what’s funny is the governor of the state of Missouri is Democrat, Jay Nixon, and honestly there’s a statement from the governor’s office yesterday, ’cause they run the rotunda. The Speaker, Steve Tilley, is the guy who suggested that I join the Hall of Fame. He’s the guy spearheaded it. He’s the one who made it happen. He’s the one that took the arrows. This guy was being fired on from the moment he suggested this. Never once did he waver.</p>
<p>There’s also something that happened yesterday the Democrats don’t know about yet. He-he-he-he-he-he-he-he-he. It wasn’t part of the ceremony. He-he-he-he-he-he-he. I mean the national Democrats, not just the Missouri Democrats. Anyway, Steve was a real trooper. He loves life. This guy is having fun. He’s term limited. He’s leaving. He’s an eye doctor. This is his last term as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives. This is right there in the House chamber where this happened. So much of my life that has happened, none of it was ever expected. And certainly in my family, this kind of thing, I was the last one anybody thought would receive this kind of accolade or honor.</p>
<p>As I mentioned yesterday in my remarks, you know how after a championship sporting event they talk to the star of the game, inevitably the star of the game says, “Yeah, I’m the first member of my family to go to college.” Well, I’m the first member of my family not to. I’m the only member of my family not to, and I didn’t follow the family path in life, which was the law. That was the whole point of my remarks. Despite all of that, everybody in the family was always supportive and always has been. In fact, I’ve got some sound bites, some excerpts of this yesterday, the acceptance.</p>
<p>Peter Kinder, a family friend, is lieutenant governor. He made some introductory remarks and went through all the things that have happened of note in my career, and I heard some of them. It was tough hearing in there with the echo chamber and everything, but I was surprised I had forgotten so much of the stuff that had happened in my career and the way he put it in context. It would be unseemly for me to mention it. It would be bragging, so I’m not going to. Look at Mark Twain: Samuel Clemens was a financial failure all of his life ’cause he took risks. He’s in the Missouri Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>The governor of the state, Jay Nixon, his office put out a statement yesterday saying that they’re not going to put my bust in the capitol rotunda, or somebody’s asking for the bust not to be put there because I say controversial things and don’t deserve to be there. Which, fine. That’s just the way things are today. They asked me to go eight to ten minutes, and that’s a cough for me. I went 14. Nobody complained. So we have three sound bites. Here’s the first one starting at the top.</p>
<p>RUSH ARCHIVE: I’m stunned. I’m not speechless, but (laughter) close to it. I’m literally quite unable to comprehend what’s happening to me today. This is something that I never, ever considered would happen to me. As I’m listening to this list of qualifications or resume recitation, I’m reminded of why I’m here. You know, we’re all the products of our families. Families define us, determine so much about us, and there are so many in my family that far more deserve to be standing up here today than I do. They have been supportive throughout every aspect of my life when it veered away from what the family direction was.</p>
<p>RUSH: The family direction was law. My family had a very, very domineering, positively so, influential patriarch. Our grandfather — Pop — Rush H. Limbaugh Sr., everybody wanted to be like him. You know, every family has a mythological character. Every business has a mythological figure about whom the most incredibly positive things are said. Of course, that legend grows and it’s expanded in time, but all the things that were said about my grandfather were true. He never smoked, never drank. He was the epitome of dignity and sophistication and so forth. And he was a role model. Everybody wanted to be like him. There was this vision of a giant law firm: Limbaugh, Limbaugh, Limbaugh, Limbaugh, Limbaugh, Limbaugh, and they’d go hire somebody else just to have another name on the door.</p>
<p>A lot of the family went into law. A lot of my cousins and my brother and so forth. But I was never interested. I told them yesterday I hated school. From the time I was eight years old I found out I wanted to be on the radio. School to me was prison. I explained to them, my father reluctantly supported me as I embarked on my radio career only because it was the only thing in my life I’d never quit up ’til that time. He made me join the Boy Scouts. I was a Tenderfoot for a year. You know what you have to do to be a Tenderfoot? Nothing. You just join. Not one merit badge, nothing. Tenderfoot for a year. (laughing) I was doing so many things everybody else wanted me to. I just wasn’t interested, ’cause I knew what I wanted to do. And also I knew school couldn’t help me. Well, that’s the wrong way to put it. What I mean to say is I had a talent and there was no school to go to for talent.</p>
<p>I knew what I wanted to do, and so everything that prevented me from doing it was an obstacle. And school was an obstacle, in my immature view at the time. Here I am playing Donny Osmond records on the radio, and my family is looking at me, “Where is this gonna lead?” And of course nowhere. At age 28, my disc jockey days over, fired for the sixth or seventh time. So I quit and went to work for the Kansas City Royals, went back to work on radio. I mean I’ve told you all this story, but I spoke of it in brief yesterday as a means of expressing just how much throughout all of this the family, everybody in the family was 100%, totally supportive and have been since day one. Here’s the second sound bite.</p>
<p>RUSH ARCHIVE: My family has supported me through every up and down. You know, through no fault of their own, I have brought all kinds of attention to them, that I’m sure they never intended or planned on. And it’s not enough that I know how to put up with it. It’s not something they bargained for but they’ve been right there supporting me throughout all of this. Never once have I heard one critical thing asking me to stop or change what I’m doing because of any damage I might be incurring to the family. My family is singularly responsible for me being here today, being so honored, as I am today. And I really — my hope, my dream’s always been that throughout my life, that many more members of my family become known, and it’s understood about them that they are as deserving, if not more so, than I am of this. You can’t replace your family. You can’t change them, and my family is the best family. Being from Missouri, somebody once asked me, “What do you think would have happened to you, your radio show, if you’d been born in the Northeast or the West Coast?” I actually think, being born in Missouri, there is something to Midwestern cultural values. There’s something to it. Something really substantive about having it.</p>
<p>RUSH: And I went on to point out that I think being from the Midwest with those particular values, at the time I was born and growing up, was instrumental in helping me be able to acquire a national audience on radio, not just a regional one. And I can’t emphasize enough how much the support of everybody in my family has meant throughout this. Not one of them ever has sent a note or made a phone call, “Do you think you could maybe tone it down a little?” That’s never, ever, happened. It’s been just the exact opposite. And that you can’t replace. That kind of love, you can’t replace, and the gratitude that I feel is practically impossible to express. Now, at the end — this is by no means all of it, these two sound bites synthesize it. But at the end, I remembered that I had forgotten to expressly thank the Speaker, Steve Tilley, for singularly making this happen. Well, and the Republican caucus, for making this happen. And, by the way, it would have been easy, Tilley coulda done this without me being there. I mean there was opposition to it. The moment it was announced, it happened to coincide with something in the news about free contraceptives, and so there was all kinds of opposition to it, and Tilley, if he wanted to, could have done this without me being there. I didn’t have to be there. They coulda done this with just a short little ceremony in his office, in the chambers and so forth, “Okay, Limbaugh is now a member of the hall of famous Missourians,” and so forth. But he wasn’t gonna do it until I could be there, whenever that was, and knowing full well that he was inviting all kinds of flak and attention. So I thanked him at the end of my remarks this way. And this is why, folks, if you’ve read some of the media and think the comments are somewhat snarky, this is what did it.</p>
<p>RUSH ARCHIVE: The Speaker himself has been under assault for wanting to do this. And, believe me, it’s easy to say, “You know what, Rush, we’d be better off if we try this some other –” He didn’t do that. He hung in. It was tough. He did not give them any quarter. Laughed at them when they called his office, which is what you have to do, cause they’re deranged. (laughter)</p>
<p>RUSH: Well, that’s now why the governor’s office is suggesting the bust not be put in the rotunda and all that because I characterized them as deranged. In their singular opposition to me, they’re deranged. I don’t think there’s any question about it. But he was getting phone calls in his office from not just the general public — most of the general public was supportive of this — but elected Democrats were trying to hassle him and so forth. Essentially, folks, I fought the law, the law lost on this, and now I’m in the hall of famous Missourians, and I’m deeply gratified for the honor. I wish everybody coulda seen this. I had no idea what a big deal it was gonna be. I really didn’t.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: I say this a lot. My parents would not believe my life. My mother and dad would not believe it. Well, my mom might because she saw enough of what happened to me before she passed away. My father saw very little. He wouldn’t believe it. He didn’t think it was possible without going to college. I mean his formative years were the Great Depression. If you didn’t get a college degree, you didn’t have a chance. That was it, no choice, no prayer whatsoever. You were forever going to be an outcast in every which way, socially, intellectually, employment-wise, you didn’t have a chance.</p>
<p>My dad thought he was a failure his whole life because he couldn’t convince me to go to college. He tried everything. I mean, he even took away my car and my mother was driving me to school, to college. How many college students, their parents take them to make sure they get there? They found out I was skipping ballroom dance. So it was a really momentous day, as I say, for our entire family, not just for me. And again, I really don’t have the words, which is a strange circumstance for me, to adequately express my appreciation and gratitude to Steve Tilley and all of the Republicans in the Missouri House of Representatives for hanging tough. I mean they brought a lot of controversy. Well, not controversy, they brought a lot of attention to themselves that normally politicians don’t like. It’s like I told them, you know, I can survive being hated. In fact, I can even thrive being hated. But you can’t. There’s a big difference in getting votes and getting an audience. And I was truly humbled and gratified by what they did for me yesterday and how they stood behind it from the first moment they were attacked.</p>
<p><a href="http://house.mo.gov/FamousSubmap.aspx?fm=67" type="external" />BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p><a href="http://www.shannonsteak.com/" type="external" /></p>
<p>RUSH: Snerdley wants to know if we had a party yesterday. We flew to St. Louis. A lot of my family lives in St. Louis. We wet to <a href="http://www.shannonsteak.com/" type="external">Mike Shannon’s Steakhouse</a>. He’s the play-by-play for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball. He used to play third base. He’s got a great restaurant, and we went there, and I forgot something that was very important. My driver, a great guy named Victor, went all the way back to the airport to get it for me. And Victor’s a — (laughing) — you get off the plane and there’s your driver, and Victor is almost a dead ringer for Warren Sapp. He’s got a James Earl Jones voice. He’s got a great set of pipes. I got off the plane, introduced myself, “Rush Limbaugh.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I know. I know who you are, sir.”</p>
<p>And I said, “Okay, cool.” Victor knows who I am. That’s good.</p>
<p>Anyway, we had a caravan. We had three SUVs. It was just a hoot. That’s where we went, and everybody went their own separate ways. Kathryn and I flew home and got in about midnight, and it was time for show prep, and here we are.</p> | Every Little Kid’s Dream: The Hall of Fame | true | http://rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/05/15/every_little_kid_s_dream_the_hall_of_fame | 2012-05-15 | 0 |
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<p>You can avoid lift lines like these at Aspen (and Snowmass) and ski for free — all you have to do is hike to the top of the mountain with your skis by 9 a.m. (Ryan Slabaugh/The Aspen Times/AP Photo)</p>
<p>UTAH</p>
<p>“There’s no place at Brigham Young University for the grimy, sandaled, tight-fitted, ragged-Levi beatnik,” college president Ernest Wilkinson said back in the 1960s. But that was then, says BYU student Shane Pittson, 23, and now, “You can do your own thing and still be a Mormon.” Pittson’s “thing” is winning the right to grow a beard and his campaign hit a nerve after he organized a bicycle ride through campus with fellow protesters sporting “chin bristles fashioned from cardboard,” reports The New York Times. History is in his favor: Portraits of BYU founder Brigham Young show the 19th-century church patriarch’s chin festooned with a voluminous beard.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>WASHINGTON</p>
<p>Hats off to “extreme walking commuter” Luke Bayler of Seattle, who’s among the 10 percent of city residents who hoof it to work. He averages 50 miles a week and occasionally up to 20 miles a day, reports the Seattle Times, when he forages for berries and mushrooms or visits friends. Though his shoes may fray after a few months, the 37-year-old says walking gives him valuable time to clear his mind.</p>
<p>Betsy Marston.</p>
<p>CALIFORNIA</p>
<p>You can cash in your grass in Los Angeles, earning up to $3 a square foot for transforming your yard into a drought-tolerant landscape, reports the Mono Lake Newsletter. The Department of Water and Power is offering the deal because 60 percent of all potable water use in Southern California “is dedicated to outdoor use” – more specifically to lawns – the largest irrigated “crop” in the country. For homeowners too busy to destroy their own lawns, companies have sprung up to do the job in exchange for the rebate; one firm calls itself “Turf Terminators.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in central California, some 600 households are taking their first hot showers in months. In a church parking lot in East Porterville, population 7,000, Tulare County has installed trailers housing 26 portable showers for residents. Wells in the area began running dry several months ago, forcing families to take sponge baths from buckets. “There’s a lot of people out there who have a really strong need,” said Andrew Lockman, manager of the county’s Office of Emergency Service. With water scarce, many are jobless, while those working in the fields “come home wet and dirty.” Lockman told The Associated Press that the county’s aim was to provide a safety net, “a basic quality of life as people struggle through this disaster.”</p>
<p>For Owens Valley residents, a decades-long dispute with Los Angeles – which took water from Owens Lake, leaving sickening dust storms behind – may be ending. The low-tech fix of trapping lakebed dirt in furrows is a bittersweet victory for Ted Schade, enforcement officer for the valley’s air quality district, who’s been at odds with Los Angeles over the issue for 24 years. Though Schade was recently called “a truly great environmentalist” by a Los Angeles official, he was often criticized and even sued by the city. Now, Schade told the Los Angeles Times, “The war is over … so I’m resigning in December. My job here is done.”</p>
<p>COLORADO</p>
<p>Ski for free and save hundreds of dollars on lift tickets at Aspen and Snowmass, but only if you’re buff beyond belief. First, you have to strap skins onto your downhill skis; then you must climb to a mountain’s summit by 9 a.m., a sweaty way to start the day. Yet this do-it-yourself approach – “uphilling,” as it’s known – is gaining fans, reports Scott Condon in the Aspen Times. Though other resorts have begun charging for the upslope slog, the Aspen Skiing Co.’s Rich Burkley says no fee or pass is contemplated: “Policing this is not a goal of ours.”</p>
<p>MONTANA AND WYOMING</p>
<p>What is it with hunters who blast away whenever they see a huge herd of elk? In the White Gulch area of Canyon Ferry Reservoir, not far from Missoula, 500 elk drew crowds who repeatedly shot into the herd, some driving their vehicles toward the animals to keep them from scattering, reports the Independent Record. At day’s end, around 30 elk lay dead, many were wounded and three hunters were cited for their unethical behavior. Landowner Kelly Flynn said he’s seen this “gang mentality” in hunters before: “People seem to lose some of their common sense when there’s that many elk that close. It’s difficult to watch, and I’ve talked to several people who did see it and said it was as ugly as it could possibly be.”</p>
<p>Perhaps it was even uglier north of Kelly, Wyo. There, hunters drove a herd of elk from a no-hunt zone toward a “firing line,” says the Jackson Hole News&amp;Guide. Wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen said about 30 people killed eight to 10 elk in a “display of totally barbaric hunting.” Teton National Park officials said some hunters were ticketed.</p>
<p>Betsy Marston is the editor of Writers on the Range, a column service of High Country News. Tips and photos of Western weirdness are appreciated and often shared, <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p /> | Beards at BYU? Student leads protest in favor of facial hair | false | https://abqjournal.com/527060/beards-at-byu-student-leads-protest-in-favor-of-facial-hair.html | 2 |
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<p>The <a href="" type="internal">Huffington Post</a>, the news and opinion website that has been an influential upstart in U.S. journalism since 2005, is expanding to France.</p>
<p>Media group Le Monde, which owns the centre-left daily of the same name, has inked a deal with the Huffington Post Media Group to create a new French-language web site with an editorial staff based in France, the parties said on Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"Le Huffington Post", as it will be named, will be launched before the end of the year with a French newsroom created in coming weeks. A search is under way for an editor in chief.</p>
<p>No financial detail was released.</p>
<p>"This will be ... an information site and a platform of expression for bloggers and writers of note," Ariana Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, was quoted saying in Le Monde.</p>
<p>The Huffington Post, which was purchased by <a href="" type="internal">AOL</a> for $315 million in February, has already launched international sites in Canada and Britain. Negotiations are underway for a site to be launched in Brazil, Huffington told Le Monde.</p>
<p>Le Monde launched an online site, www.lepost.fr, in 2007 that was designed to be an online portal for citizen journalism and bloggers, with a focus on celebrities. But the venture posted a loss of about 1 million euros ($1.4 million) last year, despite attracting some 3 million unique visitors per month.</p>
<p>A third partner in the French venture is Les Nouvelles Editions independantes, a holding company of investment banker Matthieu Pigasse, part owner of Le Monde together with Pierre Berge, former business partner of designer Yves Saint Laurent, and Internet tycoon Xavier Niel. ($1 = 0.732 Euros) (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Additional Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by David Holmes)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 'Le Huffington Post' to Launch in France | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/10/10/le-huffington-post-to-launch-in-france.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>While this death&#160;is quite different from the austerity-suicides seen in recent months, it is nonetheless the direct result of the disastrous budget&#160;cuts the British government has been making.</p>
<p>Watch a video of this report here:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>While one councillor reportedly called this decision ‘foolhardy‘, their efforts alone were not enough to prevent the implementation of this austerity driven decision – a decision that would prove fatal for 31 year old, mother of five Cheryl Richards.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> A terrible tragedy that was truly preventable. ( <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/mother-of-five-struck-by-car-dies-after-austerity-cuts-force-council-to-turn-off-street-lights-10286197.html" type="external">Photo</a>)</p>
<p>The Independent reports that she was ‘walking home along Wiltshire’s A361 at approximately 2am on 27 September last year when she was struck by an Audi A3 driven by 23-year-old Lee Sullivan’.</p>
<p>Cheryl&#160;died after suffering immense head trauma. While the driver did have alcohol in his system, the coroner ruled that Cheryl had been walking in the middle of the road ‘due to a lack of street lights‘, which made it impossible for the driver to miss her.</p>
<p>Independent councillor Ernie Clarke said ‘one death is one death too many’.</p>
<p>Far too many.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> Will protest be enough to stop austerity? ( <a href="https://www.popularresistance.org/how-to-protest-in-the-age-of-austerity/" type="external">Photo</a>)</p>
<p>Austerity related deaths are, unfortunately, nothing new for ‘modern’ Britain, as there are <a href="" type="internal">regular reports of austerity-suicides due to the devastating effects cuts are having on people’s lives</a>. The North of England recently started a petition to join Scotland, primarily brought about by the <a href="" type="internal">anti-austerity message of the victorious Scottish National Party</a> in the recent election.</p>
<p>The BBC, on the other hand, is simply looking to exploit austerity victims, as it seeks to establish <a href="" type="internal">a game show where those who produce the least will be ‘eliminated’</a>.</p>
<p>The loss of human life to save money is absolutely unacceptable and our thoughts are with the family of Ms. Richards.</p>
<p>Follow us here: <a href="http://twitter.com/21WIRE" type="external">http://twitter.com/21WIRE</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/mother-of-five-struck-by-car-dies-after-austerity-cuts-force-council-to-turn-off-street-lights-10286197.html" type="external">The Independent</a></p>
<p>A mother of five was killed after being knocked down by a car on a road where austerity cuts had forced the local council to turn off the street lights.</p>
<p>Cheryl Richards, 31, was walking home along Wiltshire’s A361 at approximately 2am on 27 September last year when she was struck by an Audi A3 driven by 23-year-old Lee Sullivan, an inquest heard.</p>
<p>Ms Richards, of Melksham, Wiltshire, died after suffering severe head injuries when she was struck by the car.</p>
<p>The court heard that the mother was not wearing any reflective clothing and that Mr Sullivan had been drinking when the accident occurred.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/mother-of-five-struck-by-car-dies-after-austerity-cuts-force-council-to-turn-off-street-lights-10286197.html" type="external">Continue reading the full story on The Independent</a></p>
<p>READ MORE AUSTERITY NEWS: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Austerity Files</a></p> | Mother of Five ‘Killed’ By Austerity Cuts | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/06/01/mother-of-five-killed-by-austerity-cuts/ | 2015-06-01 | 4 |
<p>A former ally of the Clintons said in his final interview that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton berated White House deputy counsel Vince Foster before he committed suicide.</p>
<p>The Washington Free Beacon <a href="http://freebeacon.com/issues/hillary-clinton-bullied-vince-foster-suicide-said-ex-clinton-friend-final-interview/" type="external">reports</a> that Jim McDougal, whose corrupt real estate business's accounts were handled by Clinton's Rose Law Firm, conducted a series interviews with the Boston Globe's Curtis Wilkie while in jail for fraud about the Clintons' inner circle. McDougal had been a friend of former President Bill Clinton's from 1968 and was a close ally of theirs until the 1990s when the <a href="" type="internal">Whitewater scandal</a> plagued the Clintons.</p>
<p />
<p>Image above: Jim McDougal, 17 Jan 1996 (AP/Spencer Tirey)</p>
<p>McDougal said that Foster "was clearly depressed" as he sought to defend the Clintons during the scandal.</p>
<p>"He was starting conversation talking about aging, eyesight going, asked me to sign something," McDougal said. "Then Vince Foster committed suicide. He had so much of their shit on his head, and Hillary was riding him every minute."</p>
<p>McDougal said that the former First Lady was a "pain in the ass" with "a hard, difficult personality."</p>
<p>The Free Beacon highlights an earlier report that said that FBI investigators concluded that Hillary Clinton had "triggered" Foster's suicide "because she publicly embarrassed him in front of others" at a White House meeting.</p>
<p>As The Daily Wire <a href="" type="internal">reported</a> in May, Foster suffered from chronic anxiety and depression that severely worsened when he worked for the Clinton administration, especially when he worked tirelessly to defend the Clintons during the Travelgate scandal. William Kennedy, whom Foster was mentoring, had been punished for his role in the Travel Office firings, causing Foster to be consumed with guilt. Foster was also obsessing about being exposed to charges for misleading congressional investigators. Eventually, Foster shot himself in the mouth with a revolver.</p>
<p>Despite the conspiracy theories surrounding Foster's death – which real estate mogul Donald Trump revived in a recent interview – all evidence points to Foster's death as a suicide. But, as National Review's Stanley Kurtz wrote, "Vince Foster’s suicide may have been a direct result of Hillary’s attempt to evade responsibility for her own decisions."</p>
<p>McDougal's interview and the FBI report not only seem to confirm this, but suggest that Clinton's overbearing personality was another aspect of the situation that caused Foster to snap.</p>
<p />
<p>Image above: Vince Foster (AP/White House)</p> | Former Clinton Ally: Hillary Berated Vince Foster Before His Suicide | true | https://dailywire.com/news/6435/former-clinton-ally-hillary-berated-vince-foster-aaron-bandler | 2016-06-08 | 0 |
<p>your email</p>
<p>your name</p>
<p>recipient(s) email (comma separated)</p>
<p />
<p>message</p>
<p>captcha</p>
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<p>I’ve spent the day keeping up with a flood of nonsense about the Chicago Teachers Union. The deluge hasn’t been coming from the Right, but from a certain subset of technocratic liberals.</p>
<p>I don’t accuse them of arguing in bad faith, they’re just being themselves. And in doing so they’re laying bare the spirit that sustains them.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the New York Times ran an editorial called “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/opinion/chicago-teachers-folly.html" type="external">Chicago Teachers’ Folly</a>,” claiming that “Teachers’ strikes, because they hurt children and their families, are never a good idea.” The editorial is stunning, even by the New York Times’ standards. It places much of the blame for the strike on a “personality clash between the blunt mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and the tough Chicago Teachers Union president, Karen Lewis.”</p>
<p>What’s politics and the scope of history when we have personalities to dissect?</p>
<p>The piece cites a widely misleading average teacher salary of $75,000. Misleading not only because the figure is incorrect, but because the strike <a href="" type="internal">wasn’t about wages in the first place</a>. This last point is what also frustrates about Dylan Matthews’ <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/12/chicago-teachers-make-more-than-the-national-average/" type="external">graphic detours</a> about Chicago teacher compensation. It’s not that he is willfully wrong, he just shifts the debate over to something that isn’t the issue.</p>
<p>Matt Yglesias also misses the mark with <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/09/12/why_teachers_unions_are_different_a_reply_to_doug_henwood_.html" type="external">his post</a> on teachers union. Though Yglesias believes public sector employees have the right to organize, a belief that sets him apart from the most odious of Beltway journalists, he makes a rather obvious point about who pays them:</p>
<p>CTU members get what they want, that's not coming out of the pocket of "the bosses" it's coming out of the pocket of the people who work at charter schools or the people who pay taxes in Chicago.</p>
<p>This is, contra cries from the Left, is qualitatively different from a stance I discussed in my post earlier this week:</p>
<p>[The argument] rests on the idea that public employees, since they’re funded by taxpayers, are somehow siphoning funds from “productive” private sectors of the economy. Ignored is the fact that these employees also produce goods and services, and should have a say on the conditions under which they work.</p>
<p>Those critics see any agency by public sector employees as parasitic. Ygelsias, however, just suggests a knee-jerk defense of public worker demands is wrongheaded, even though a similar stance may be justified in the corporate world. But in doing so he&#160;draws a distinction between private and public sector employees that I don’t think is productive. Moreover like the New York Times, he’s implicitly reducing the teachers’ struggle to a bread-and-butter trade union dispute. Anyone who’s read the <a href="http://www.ctunet.com/quest-center/research/the-schools-chicagos-students-deserve" type="external">Chicago Teacher Union’s literature</a> or followed how that organization has interacted with the community at large knows the struggle represents social unionism at its finest.</p>
<p>This isn’t trade-union consciousness. It’s class consciousness.</p>
<p>That’s why the conclusion of the Times’ editorial is especially wrong. It claims that “the differences between the two sides were not particularly vast, which means that this strike was unnecessary.” But what’s actually going on is a pitched battle between those who want to further neoliberalize the social safety net and those who want to keep the education sector, to a degree, well-funded and de-commodified.</p>
<p>It’s telling that the Times made no mention of the <a href="" type="internal">60 new private, non-union charter schools</a> Emanuel plans to erect in the city.</p>
<p>The clash between unabashedly pro-CTU leftists like&#160; <a href="http://jacobinmag.com/2012/09/liberals-who-hate-teachers/" type="external">Corey Robin</a> and liberals like Matt Yglesias is rooted in something far broader. It reminds me of a quote I bring up from time to time by Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski. He said the Left bases itself on the experience of history, while the Right is the mere expression of surrender to the situation of the moment. The Left can have political ideology, while the Right has nothing but tactics.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/labor/5-liberal-pundits-repeating-right-wing-teacher-bashing-talking-points" type="external">Matthews and Yglesias</a>, though on the center-left in the American context, have little history or ideology. They can’t see the beyond graphs and minutiae. Yes, radicals <a href="http://jacobinmag.com/category/vulgar-empiricist/" type="external">can do with a bit more empiricism</a>, but these wonks can do with recognizing the implications of political disputes, which go beyond Chicago and beyond even public education, can’t be understood within the dialectic of an Excel sheet.</p>
<p>As for the New York Times writers, they can’t see how industrial conflicts throughout history, no matter their immediate consequences of interupting the functioning of daily life—well actually, precisely because of those consequences—ultimately propel society forward. And yes, help children and their families.</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p> | People Who Can’t Teach, Write About Teachers | true | http://inthesetimes.com/uprising/entry/13847/people_who_cant_teach_write_about_teachers/ | 2012-09-13 | 4 |
<p>Take New Jersey as one example of actual reality. After the state raised taxes on income above $500,000, Princeton University researchers found that the number of half-millionaires who left the state was negligible.</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>David Sirota, an In These Times senior editor and syndicated columnist, is a staff writer at PandoDaily and a bestselling author whose book Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now—Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything was released in 2011. Sirota, whose previous books include The Uprising and Hostile Takeover, co-hosts "The Rundown" on AM630 KHOW in Colorado. E-mail him at [email protected], follow him on Twitter @davidsirota or visit his website at www.davidsirota.com.</p> | The ‘Economic Persecution’ Myth: No Need To Weep for the Wealthy | true | http://inthesetimes.com/article/15787/the_tax_migration_myth/ | 2013-10-25 | 4 |
<p>A new book about Hillary Clinton’s last campaign for president — <a href="" type="internal">Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign</a> by journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes — has gotten a lot of publicity since it appeared two weeks ago. But major media have ignored a revealing passage near the end of the book.</p>
<p>Soon after Clinton’s defeat, top strategists decided where to place the blame. “Within 24 hours of her concession speech,” the authors report, campaign manager Robby Mook and campaign chair John Podesta “assembled her communications team at the Brooklyn headquarters to engineer the case that the election wasn’t entirely on the up-and-up. For a couple of hours, with Shake Shack containers littering the room, they went over the script they would pitch to the press and the public. Already, Russian hacking was the centerpiece of the argument.”</p>
<p>Six months later, that centerpiece of the argument is rampant — with claims often lurching from unsubstantiated overreach to outright demagoguery.</p>
<p>A lavishly-funded example is the “Moscow Project,” a mega-spin effort that surfaced in midwinter as a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. It’s led by Neera Tanden, a&#160; <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/138212/neera-tanden-works" type="external">self-described “loyal soldier”</a>&#160;for Clinton who also runs the Center for American Progress (where she succeeded Podesta as president). The Center’s board includes several billionaires.</p>
<p>The “Moscow Project” is expressly inclined to go over the top, aiming to help normalize ultra-partisan conjectures as supposedly factual. And so, the&#160; <a href="https://www.themoscowproject.org/" type="external">homepage</a>&#160;of the “Moscow Project” prominently declares: “Given <a href="" type="internal" /> Trump’s obedience to Vladimir Putin and the deep ties between his advisers and the Kremlin, Russia’s actions are a significant and ongoing cause for concern.”</p>
<p>Let’s freeze-frame how that sentence begins: “Given Trump’s obedience to Vladimir Putin.” It’s a jaw-dropping claim; a preposterous smear.</p>
<p>Echoes of such tactics can be heard from many Democrats in Congress and from allied media. Along the way, no outlet has been more in sync than MSNBC, and no one on the network has been more promotional of the Russia-runs-Trump meme than Rachel Maddow,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">tirelessly promoting</a>&#160;the line and sometimes connecting dots in&#160; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-solomon/is-rachel-maddow-becoming_b_14489912.html" type="external">Glenn Beck fashion</a>&#160;to the point of journalistic malpractice.</p>
<p>Yet last year, notably without success, the Clinton campaign devoted plenty of its messaging to the Trump-Russia theme. As the “Shattered” book notes, “Hillary would raise the issue herself repeatedly in debates” with Trump. For example, in one of those debates she said: “We have 17 — 17 — intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyber attacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin and they are designed to influence our election.”</p>
<p>After Trump’s election triumph, the top tier of Clinton strategists quickly moved to seize as much of the narrative as they could, surely mindful of what George Orwell observed: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” After all, they hardly wanted the public discourse to dwell on Clinton’s lack of voter appeal because of her deep ties to Wall Street. Political recriminations would be much better focused on the Russian government.</p>
<p>In early spring, the former communications director of the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign, Jennifer Palmieri, summed up the post-election approach neatly in a&#160;Washington Post&#160;opinion&#160; <a href="" type="internal">article</a>:&#160;“If we make plain that what Russia has done is nothing less than an attack on our republic, the public will be with us. And the more we talk about it, the more they’ll be with us.”</p>
<p>The inability of top Clinton operatives to identify with the non-wealthy is so tenacious that they still want to assume “the public will be with us” the more they talk about Russia Russia Russia. Imagine sitting at a kitchen table with average-income voters who are worried sick about their financial futures — and explaining to them that the biggest threat they face is from the Kremlin rather than from U.S. government policies that benefit the rich and corporate America at their expense.</p>
<p>Tone deaf hardly describes the severe political impairment of those who insist that denouncing Russia will be key to the Democratic Party’s political fortunes in 2018 and 2020. But&#160;the top-down pressure for conformity among elected Democrats is enormous and effective.</p>
<p>One of the most promising progressives to arrive in Congress this year, Rep. Jamie Raskin from the Maryland suburbs of D.C., promptly drank what might be called the “Klinton Kremlin Kool-Aid.” His official website features an&#160; <a href="https://jamieraskin.com/news/bethesda-beat-democrats-fire-base-town-hall-meeting-silver-spring-event-doubled-political-rally" type="external">article</a>&#160;about a town-hall meeting that quotes him describing Trump as a “hoax perpetrated by the Russians on the United States of America.”</p>
<p>Like hundreds of other Democrats on Capitol Hill, Raskin is on message with talking points from the party leadership. That came across in an email that he recently sent to supporters for a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser. It said: “We pull the curtain back further each day on the Russian Connection, forcing National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to resign, Attorney General Sessions to recuse, and America to reflect on who’s calling the shots in Washington.”</p>
<p>You might think that Wall Street, big banks, hugely funded lobbyists, fat-check campaign contributors, the fossil fuel industry, insurance companies, military contractors and the like are calling the shots in Washington. Maybe you didn’t get the memo.</p> | How the Russia Spin Got So Much Torque | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/05/03/how-the-russia-spin-got-so-much-torque/ | 2017-05-03 | 4 |
<p>Visa (NYSE:V) posted a 21% year-over-year jump in its fiscal first-quarter earnings per share after the closing bell Wednesday, topping <a href="" type="internal">Wall Street</a>’s estimates and sending its stock jumping in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>The credit-card processor posted a quarterly profit of $1.03 billion, or $1.49 a diluted share, compared to $884 million the year prior. Sales came in at $2.55 billion, up from $2.24 billion on a year-to-year basis. Analysts expected Visa to earn $1.45 a share on slightly lighter revenue of $2.47 billion.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The upbeat results were driven by “strong double-digit growth in service revenues, data processing revenues and international transaction revenues,” the company said in a statement. Indeed, the number of payments the company processed during the quarter climbed 8% to 13.6 billion.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, the San Francisco-based firm sees low double-digit revenue growth in 2012 coupled with adjusted per-share growth in the high teens.</p>
<p>“We remain intensely focused on further growing our international business, partnering with financial institutions, merchants, technology providers and governments," Joe Saunders, Visa’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.</p>
<p>"At the same time, we are moving forward on our innovation strategy and are working side by side with our financial institution and merchant clients to deliver the products and solutions that best drive our mutual success."</p>
<p>Visa’s board also authorized a fresh $500 million share repurchase program that will go into effect in February 2013.</p>
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<p>Shares were up $1.85, 1.7%, to $110.52 in after-hours trading.</p> | Visa Unveils 1Q Earnings Beat, $500M Share Buyback | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/02/08/visa-unveils-1q-earnings-beat-500m-share-buyback.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
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<p>Latin Grammy winner the Cuarteto Latinoamericano performs next Sunday in Los Alamos.</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — A quartet of Latin Grammy winners is bringing classical music to Los Alamos, spiced with the fire of Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.</p>
<p>The Mexico-born ensemble Cuarteto Latinoamericano will perform in Smith Auditorium next Sunday.</p>
<p>The group consists of the three Bitrán brothers: violinists Saúl and Arón and cellist Alvaro with violist Javier Montiel. The group has recorded most of the repertoire for the Latin American string quartet. Their CD “Brasileiro, works of Mignone” won a Latin Grammy in 2012.</p>
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<p>The Los Alamos program is a sampling of Latin American classical music, opening with String Quartet No. 2 (1957) by Francisco Mignone.</p>
<p />
<p>The son of an Italian immigrant, Mignone is one of the most significant figures in Brazilian classical music.</p>
<p>“He grew up in Italian opera but later he heard Brazilian folk music and his music is a combination of both,” Saúl Bitrán said in a telephone interview from his Boston home.</p>
<p>One of Mexico’s most renowned composers, Manuel Ponce used the harmonies found in traditional songs. He wrote the song “Estrellita (Little Star)” to great fame, then incorporated it into his Violin Concerto (1943). The Cuarteto will play a transcription for string quartet by the great violinist Jascha Heifetz.</p>
<p>Héitor Villa-Lobos’ Quartet No. 5 is one of 17 written by the Brazilian composer.</p>
<p>“No. 5 is from his middle period,” Bitrán said. “He was incorporating Brazilian folklore based on well-known children’s songs. He wrote this very difficult piece, which is very charming.”</p>
<p>Astor Piazzolla’s “Four for Tango” (1987) was originally written for string quartet.</p>
<p>“He invented a whole new language for tangos,” Bitrán said. “It’s very, very exciting and avant-garde.”</p>
<p>Alberto Ginastera’s String Quartet No. 2 Op. 26 (1958) represents the composer’s break from European formalism in the beginning of his neo-expressionist period.</p>
<p>“He got inspired by the Pampas of Argentina (the fertile South American lowlands),” Bitrán said.</p>
<p>Ginastera was friends with major European composers such as Bartók and Stravinsky. The world premiere took place at the first Inter-American Music Festival in Washington, D.C., by the Juilliard Quartet.</p>
<p /> | Cuarteto Latinoamericano to play Los Alamos | false | https://abqjournal.com/551613/cuarteto-latinoamericano-performs-in-los-alamos.html | 2 |
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<p>A Russian Proton-M booster rocket carrying a U.S.-built commercial satellite has had a successful liftoff from Kazakhstan.</p>
<p>The Proton-M blasted off as scheduled on Thursday from the Baikonur launch facility that Russia leases in southern Kazakhstan, taking the AsiaSat 9 telecommunications satellite into space. The satellite is owned by Hong Kong-based AsiaSat.</p>
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<p>The launch follows several other successful Proton launches this year after a yearlong break that resulted from a flawed launch in June 2016. A probe spotted manufacturing flaws in the Proton's engines, prompting the Russian space agency to ground the rocket so the engines could be reproduced.</p>
<p>Russia's space program relies on the Proton-M for most commercial satellite launches in the competitive global launch market.</p> | Russian booster rocket launches commercial satellite | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/28/russian-booster-rocket-launches-commercial-satellite.html | 2017-09-28 | 0 |
<p>July 18 (UPI) — Chipotle Mexican Grill has shut down one of its Virginia locations Tuesday after customers reported getting sick after eating there, the company said.</p>
<p>Eight customers reported symptoms of stomach pain, dehydration, and nausea to a poisoning website. They indicate that at least 13 customers were sickened and two were hospitalized after eating at the Sterling, Va., location over the weekend.</p>
<p>“We are working with health authorities to understand what the cause may be and to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,” Jim Marsden, Chipotle’s food safety director, said. “The reported symptoms are consistent with norovirus. Norovirus does not come from our food supply, and it is safe to eat at Chipotle.”</p>
<p>Marsden added that the restaurant will reopen after the facility is sanitized.</p>
<p>Norovirus differs from E. coli, a food-born bacteria that led to a widespread outbreak at Chipotle sites in 14 states two years ago.</p>
<p>Chipotle has dealt with norovirus issues in the past, notably when nearly 120 Boston College students fell sick after an outbreak at a restaurant near campus that year, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chipotle-closes-restaurant-where-customers-got-sick-2017-7" type="external">Business Insider</a> reported Tuesday.</p>
<p>Norovirus outbreaks often involve an employee failing to wash their hands after using a restroom.</p>
<p>Shares of Chipotle fell on Wall Street Tuesday after news of the Virginia closure — <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-18/chipotle-declines-after-outbreak-forces-it-to-close-restaurant" type="external">dropping 7.6 percent</a> to $362.40, its largest one-day fall since December.</p> | Chipotle shuts down Virginia restaurant after illness reports | false | https://newsline.com/chipotle-shuts-down-virginia-restaurant-after-illness-reports/ | 2017-07-18 | 1 |
<p />
<p>U.S. regulators are advancing rules this week to tighten standards on the ballooning exchange-traded fund industry over the objections of asset managers including BlackRock Inc and Invesco Ltd .</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year pushed the three main ETF trading venues to draft rules that explicitly require the funds to continually pass a number of tests or face the possibility of being shut down, according to three people with knowledge of the matter and the regulator's filings.</p>
<p>The regulator approved the second of the three proposals in a notice posted on Wednesday and could rule on the third in coming days.</p>
<p>The latest regulatory actions highlight concerns over the potential for trading abuses affecting ETFs, especially those tracking indexes that include assets that are not traded often.</p>
<p>ETF managers including BlackRock and Invesco have sent letters to the SEC arguing that the rules are unnecessary and could force some ETFs to be declared out of compliance or shut down even if the fund itself is not at risk.</p>
<p>The funds have remained one of the fastest growing parts of the market despite concerns over their durability during periods of market stress, for instance after a "flash crash" that pummeled some ETFs on Aug. 24, 2015.</p>
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<p>ETFs will be required to meet requirements detailed in 314 pages of exchange filings unless they are granted an exception. For instance, a stock index fund needs to track a benchmark with a minimum number of equities that meet a target market value and trading volume.</p>
<p>"There is a lot of concern about manipulation," said James Simpson, president of ETP Resources LLC, a consulting and data company, and a former American Stock Exchange official, who said the listing standards for ETFs are "problematic" and "outdated."</p>
<p>The SEC backs the rules on the belief they could prevent market rigging, for instance, if an ETF tracks a group of rarely traded stocks whose prices could easily be manipulated, according to a person familiar with the SEC's reasoning and the agency's disclosures on the topic.</p>
<p>A SEC spokeswoman declined to comment.</p>
<p>ETFs have grown at double-digit percentages every year this century, allowing investors to buy commodities such as gold, companies in an entire industry sector or vast swaths of the bond market as easily as trading single stock. Assets in the funds reached a record near-$3.7 trillion in January, according to industry researcher ETFGI.</p>
<p>'UNDUE COSTS'</p>
<p>Rules answering the SEC's concerns drafted by CBOE Holdings Inc's Bats exchange were approved in the notice posted on Wednesday, and a verdict could come soon on a proposal by the Intercontinental Exchange Inc's NYSE Arca exchange, the largest listing venue for ETFs. Nasdaq Inc's revised listing standards have already been approved.</p>
<p>ETFs already have to meet requirements to be listed. But the latest changes specify the funds must meet those standards not just when they launch but as long as they are trading.</p>
<p>The rules also bolster restrictions on trading firms or fund managers for setting the rules determining what stocks are in an index and calculating what the index is worth.</p>
<p>But even one of the exchanges has reservations about the new standards.</p>
<p>"The continuing listing standards in their current proposed form may cause undue costs for fund managers as well as a negative impact for investors, without offering additional protections for the shareholders of the ETF," said Doug Yones, NYSE's head of exchange-traded products, in a statement to Reuters.</p>
<p>Nasdaq and Bats declined to comment.</p>
<p>In its notice, the SEC dismissed industry concerns, writing that the absence of ongoing standards is a "gap" in regulation. The agency, which in 1992 first approved exceptions to U.S. law that allowed ETFs to trade, has been conducting a broad review of the industry.</p>
<p>The rules are aimed at achieving the same goals as the requirements applied before funds start trading, including ensuring the products "are not susceptible to manipulation and maintaining fair and orderly markets," the SEC wrote.</p>
<p>An ETF could violate the rules if it tracks an index holding stocks falling below a certain trading volume, even if the ETF does not hold that stock, ETF managers and an industry group argued. They said it is not clear how the proposals address concerns about market manipulation.</p>
<p>"This would introduce monitoring and oversight for something that we don't control," the funds' indexes, said Chuck Thomas, head of U.S. ETF capital markets at Vanguard Group. He said the impact on Vanguard funds would be minimal.</p>
<p>BlackRock and Invesco declined interview requests.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Meredith Mazzilli)</p> | U.S. regulators push new ETF rules despite industry's howl | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/03/08/us-regulators-push-new-etf-rules-despite-industry-howl.html | 2017-03-17 | 0 |
<p>LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Emerging stocks pushed to their highest in almost a decade on Thursday as Chinese economic data beat forecasts, with some Asian bourses at record peaks, while the lira and rand firmed ahead of central bank meetings.</p>
<p>China’s economy grew by 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter and industrial output expanded by 6.2 percent, both ahead of expectations , adding fuel to the bullish sentiment in regional markets.</p>
<p>China’s mainland shares rose almost 1 percent to two-year highs, while Hong Kong, Indonesia, India and Thailand all scaled fresh peaks.</p>
<p>MSCI’s benchmark emerging equities index continued its steady ascent, up 0.3 percent, after a rally on Wall Street ended with a round of record closing highs.</p>
<p>Emerging Europe also opened stronger with Moscow shares up 0.3 percent to an all-time high, underpinned by oil prices near $69 a barrel. Warsaw shares touched their highest since November 2013.</p>
<p>William Jackson, senior emerging market economist at Capital Economics, said a number of positive factors were underpinning emerging markets.</p>
<p>“It’s a confluence of tailwinds – strong growth domestically and a favourable external environment, in most countries relatively strong balance sheets, and a rise in commodity prices, particularly oil, have provided support to commodity producers, while the weakness in the dollar recently has helped emerging currencies.”</p>
<p>The Turkish lira firmed 0.5 percent against the dollar and the South African rand 0.6 percent.</p>
<p>Both countries’ central banks meet today but rates are expected to stay on hold, Turkey at 12.75 percent and South Africa at 6.75 percent.</p>
<p>Jackson said South Africa’s central bank had made a very hawkish statement at its previous meeting but now the rand has strengthened, the question was whether the bank would cut rates.</p>
<p>“Our sense is they won’t, but given the economy seems to be a bit stronger we could see a more dovish stance than we got used to in the second half of last year.”</p>
<p>South Africa’s rand surged to 2-1/2 year highs earlier this week on hopes Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will be able to turn the country around and President Jacob Zuma will be pushed out early.</p>
<p>Ramaphosa made some of his toughest comments yet on Thursday, welcoming moves taken by prosecutors against companies accused of corruption, saying he wants to “deal with the rot”.</p>
<p>In emerging Europe the Czech crown underperformed its regional peers following the cabinet’s resignation, a day after losing a confidence vote.</p>
<p>Romania’s leu was also a touch weaker after compromise candidate Viorica Dancila was appointed PM-designate. The deal means the risk of a long drawn-out political crisis is averted.</p>
<p>Hungary will hold its first long-term interest rate swap tender today, aimed at encouraging long-term bank lending at lower interest rates. This is one of a number of unconventional easing measures from the central bank.</p>
<p>"One of the policies is a mortgage bond purchase programme which appears to be a form of quantitative easing, and the whole aim seems to be to drive down long-term bond yields," Jackson said. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml</a> For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5</a></p>
<p>For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see</p>
<p>For TURKISH market report, see</p>
<p>For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg</p>
<p>on year</p>
<p>Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1225.86 +3.24 +0.27 +5.82</p>
<p>Czech Rep 1112.97 -2.66 -0.24 +3.23</p>
<p>Poland 2602.08 +1.71 +0.07 +5.72</p>
<p>Hungary 39680.24 +136.98 +0.35 +0.77</p>
<p>Romania 8365.24 +48.65 +0.58 +7.89</p>
<p>Greece 840.68 -0.83 -0.10 +4.77</p>
<p>Russia 1269.00 +4.30 +0.34 +9.92</p>
<p>South Africa 54141.77 +72.93 +0.13 +3.06</p>
<p>Turkey 16847.74 +255.23 +0.22 +1.31</p>
<p>China 3475.91 +31.24 +0.91 +5.10</p>
<p>India 35268.48 +186.66 +0.53 +3.56</p>
<p>Currencies Latest Prev Local Local</p>
<p>close currency currency</p>
<p>% change % change</p>
<p>in 2018</p>
<p>Czech Rep 25.39 25.36 -0.11 +0.54</p>
<p>Poland 4.16 4.17 +0.06 +0.30</p>
<p>Hungary 308.21 308.38 +0.06 +0.75</p>
<p>Romania 4.65 4.64 -0.08 +0.62</p>
<p>Serbia 118.40 118.30 -0.08 +0.00</p>
<p>Russia 56.72 56.81 +0.17 +1.66</p>
<p>Kazakhstan 324.56 326.16 +0.49 +2.54</p>
<p>Ukraine 28.78 28.67 -0.38 -2.21</p>
<p>South Africa 12.24 12.30 +0.49 +1.00</p>
<p>Kenya 102.80 102.80 +0.00 +0.29</p>
<p>Israel 3.43 3.44 +0.40 +1.49</p>
<p>Turkey 3.80 3.82 +0.47 -0.24</p>
<p>China 6.42 6.43 +0.17 +1.31</p>
<p>India 63.79 63.88 +0.14 +0.06</p>
<p>Brazil 3.22 3.22 +0.00 +2.74</p>
<p>Mexico 18.70 18.71 +0.08 +5.10</p>
<p>Debt Index Strip Spd Chg %Rtn Index</p>
<p>Sov’gn Debt EMBIG 292 -2 .02 8 09.84 1</p>
<p>Reporting and graphic by Claire Milhench Editing by Jeremy Gaunt</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON/GENEVA (Reuters) - Britain’s foreign minister and United Nations human rights rapporteurs separately called on Thursday for the release of two Reuters reporters detained in Myanmar, after a judge rejected a request for their case to be dismissed.</p> Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone gestures to the media as he is escorted by police after a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang
<p>Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter that Myanmar must show its “commitment to media freedom” while the U.N. special rapporteurs said in a joint statement that the pursuit of the case against Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, gave rise to “grave concern for investigative journalism”.</p>
<p>A Myanmar government spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.</p>
<p>A court in Yangon has been holding preliminary hearings since January to decide whether the journalists will be charged for possessing secret government papers under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.</p>
<p>Judge Ye Lwin rejected on Wednesday a defence request to dismiss the case against the two reporters, who have been held since December, for lack of evidence. The judge said he wanted to hear the eight remaining prosecution witnesses out of the 25 listed, according to defence lawyer Khin Maung Zaw.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, seven Myanmar soldiers were sentenced to 10 years “with hard labor in a remote area” for participating in a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in northwestern Rakhine state last September, the army said.</p>
<p>Yanghee Lee, U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar, and David Kaye, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, noted the journalists could be sentenced to longer terms if found guilty.</p>
<p>“The perpetrators of a massacre that was, in part, the subject of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo’s reporting have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. And yet these two reporters face a possible 14 years imprisonment. The absurdity of this trial and the wrongfulness of their detention and prosecution are clear,” they said in a joint statement.</p>
<p>Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the U.N..</p>
<p>The country’s ambassador to the U.N., Hau Do Suan, said last month that the journalists were not arrested for reporting a story, but were accused of “illegally possessing confidential government documents”.</p> Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is escorted by police before a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang ARMY CRACKDOWN
<p>An army crackdown, unleashed in response to Rohingya militant attacks on security forces in August, has been beset by allegations of murder, rape, arson and looting. The U.N. and United States described it as ethnic cleansing - an accusation which Myanmar denies.</p>
<p>Nearly 700,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled Rakhine state and crossed into southern Bangladesh since then.</p>
<p>After the U.N. experts made their comments, Johnson took to Twitter on the case. “Very disappointed to hear Burmese @Reuters journalists Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone are now to face trial,” he said. “Reiterate my calls for their release: Burmese authorities must show their commitment to media freedom.”</p>
<p>At this stage the prosecutor is trying to persuade the court to file charges. The preliminary proceedings are still underway and only after they are completed is the court expected to decide whether to send the two reporters to trial.</p>
<p>Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and William James; editing by David Stamp</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Russia’s intelligence agencies spied on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia for at least five years before they were attacked with a nerve agent in March, the national security adviser to Britain’s prime minister said.</p> Salisbury District Hospital is seen after Yulia Skripal was discharged, in Salisbury, Britain, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
<p>Mark Sedwill said in a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday that email accounts of Yulia had been targeted in 2013 by cyber specialists from Russia’s GRU military intelligence service.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-skripal-lavrov/russias-lavrov-says-skripals-may-have-been-poisoned-by-substance-russia-never-made-idUSKBN1HL17K" type="external">Russia's Lavrov says Skripals may have been poisoned by substance Russia never made</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-skripal-diplomacy/russian-envoy-says-uk-spying-claims-about-skripals-a-big-surprise-idUSKBN1HK1UK" type="external">Russian envoy says UK spying claims about Skripals a "big surprise"</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-eu-diplomacy/eu-envoy-returns-to-moscow-after-recall-over-double-agent-poisoning-idUSKBN1HK2BM" type="external">EU envoy returns to Moscow after recall over double agent poisoning</a>
<p>Sedwill also said in the letter, which was published by the government, that it was “highly likely that the Russian intelligence services view at least some of its defectors as legitimate targets for assassination.”</p>
<p>The Skripals were targeted by what London says was a nerve agent attack that left both of them critically ill for weeks. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said it is highly likely that Moscow was behind the attack.</p>
<p>Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted on Friday that a report this week by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) did not confirm the origin of the poison used against the Skripals.</p>
<p>Lavrov said the report only confirmed the composition of the substance and that Britain’s claim that it confirmed the UK position on the Skripal case was overstated.</p>
<p>Separately on Friday, Russia’s ambassador to Britain said he was concerned the British government was trying to get rid of evidence related to the case.</p>
<p>“We get the impression that the British government is deliberately pursuing the policy of destroying all possible evidence, classifying all remaining materials and making an independent and transparent investigation impossible,” Alexander Yakovenko told reporters.</p>
<p>He also said Russia could not be sure about the authenticity of a statement issued by Yulia Skripal on Wednesday in which she declined the offer of help from the Russian embassy.</p>
<p>Reporting by Kate Holton; Writing by William Schomberg and Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Stephen Addison</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his use of the phrase “mission accomplished” over the U.S.-led missile strikes on Syrian targets after it was seized on by the media.</p>
<p>The phrase is associated with President George W. Bush, who used it in 2003 during the Iraq war but which dogged him for the rest of his presidency.</p>
<p>“The Syrian raid was so perfectly carried out, with such precision, that the only way the Fake News Media could demean was by my use of the term ‘Mission Accomplished’” Trump said on Twitter.</p>
<p>“I knew they would seize on this but felt it is such a great Military term, it should be brought back. Use often!” he said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Alexander Smith</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON/DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Western powers have no plans for further missile strikes on Syria but will assess their options if Damascus uses chemical weapons again, Britain’s foreign minister said on Sunday as debate raged over the legality and effectiveness of the raids.</p> Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attends the BBC's Marr Show in London, April 15, 2018. Jeff Overs/BBC handout via REUTERS
<p>U.S., French and British missile attacks struck at the heart of Syria’s chemical weapons program on Saturday in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack a week ago, and the three countries insisted they were not aimed at toppling President Bashar al-Assad or intervening in a seven-year civil war.</p>
<p>The bombings, hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a success but denounced by Damascus and its allies as an act of aggression, marked the biggest intervention by Western countries against Assad and his ally Russia, whose foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called them “unacceptable and lawless”.</p>
<p>In Damascus, Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad met inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW for about three hours in the presence of Russian officers and a senior Syrian security official.</p>
<p>The inspectors were due to try to visit the site of the suspected gas attack. Moscow condemned the Western states for refusing to wait for their findings before attacking.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-haley/u-s-troops-not-leaving-syria-until-goals-accomplished-haley-idUSKBN1HM0JZ" type="external">U.S. troops not leaving Syria until goals accomplished: Haley</a>
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-trump/trump-defends-use-of-mission-accomplished-phrase-for-syria-strike-idUSKBN1HM0GZ" type="external">Trump defends use of 'mission accomplished' phrase for Syria strike</a>
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-assad-russia/syrias-assad-tells-russian-lawmakers-western-strikes-were-act-of-aggression-idUSKBN1HM083" type="external">Syria's Assad tells Russian lawmakers Western strikes were act of aggression</a>
<p>As he left the hotel where the meeting took place, Mekdad declined to comment to reporters waiting outside.</p>
<p>British Foreign Secretary (Minister) Boris Johnson defended Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to take part in the attack, saying it was to deter further use of chemical weapons.</p>
<p>“This is not about regime change … This is not about trying to turn the tide of the conflict in Syria,” he told the BBC.</p>
<p>“There is no proposal on the table at the moment for further attacks because so far thank heavens the Assad regime have not been so foolish as to launch another chemical weapons attack.”</p>
<p>“If and when such a thing were to happen, then clearly with allies we would study what the options were,” he said, echoing U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who told an emergency Security Council meeting that Trump told her that if Syria uses poisonous gas again, “The United States is locked and loaded.”</p>
<p>Asked if this meant Assad could carry on using barrel bombs and other means in the war provided he did not use chemical weapons, Johnson said that was the “unhappy” consequence.</p>
<p>Assad was determined “to butcher his way” to an overwhelming victory and only the Russians could pressure him to come to the negotiating table in Geneva, Johnson said.</p>
<p>British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said that the legal basis used to support the British role was debatable, adding that he would only support action backed by the UN Security Council.</p> Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain's Labour Party attends the BBC's Marr Show in London, April 15, 2018. Jeff Overs/BBC handout via REUTERS
<p>“I say to the foreign secretary, I say to the prime minister, where is the legal basis for this?” Corbyn said in an interview with the BBC.</p>
<p>The Western countries blame Assad’s government for a suspected poison gas attack in Douma on April 7 that killed up to 75 people. Russia, whose ties with the West have sunk to levels of the Cold War-era, denies any gas attack in Douma and said Britain staged it to whip up anti-Russian hysteria.</p> “RESILIENCE”
<p>In Damascus, Assad told a group of visiting Russian lawmakers that the Western missile strikes were an act of aggression, Russian news agencies reported.</p>
<p>Syria released video of the wreckage of a bombed-out research lab, but also of Assad arriving at work as usual, with the caption “Morning of resilience” and there were no immediate reports of casualties.</p>
<p>The Russian agencies quoted the lawmakers as saying Assad was in a “good mood”, had praised the Soviet-era air defense systems Syria used to repel the Western attacks and had accepted an invitation to visit Russia at an unspecified time.</p>
<p>Russian Foreign Ministry official Vladimir Ermakov struck a apparently conciliatory tone on Sunday, saying Washington would want to maintain a dialogue with Moscow about strategic stability after the raids, Russian media reported.</p>
<p>“In the U.S. administration there are specific people who it is possible to talk with,” said Ermakov, head of the ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms control.</p>
<p>President Trump had said “Mission accomplished” on Twitter on Saturday following the strikes, although U.S. Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie at the Pentagon acknowledged elements of the program remain and he could not guarantee that Syria would be unable to conduct a chemical attack in the future.</p>
<p>Russian and Iranian military help over the past three years has allowed Assad to crush the rebel threat to topple him.</p> Slideshow (8 Images)
<p>The United States, Britain and France have all participated in the Syrian conflict for years, arming rebels, bombing Islamic State fighters and deploying troops to fight the militants. But they have refrained from targeting Assad’s government, apart from a volley of U.S. missiles last year.</p> RED LINE BREACHED?
<p>The strikes suggest Trump may have reset America’s red line for military intervention in Syria over the use of chemical weapons.</p>
<p>In Washington, a senior administration official said that “while the available information is much greater on the chlorine use, we do have significant information that also points to sarin use” in the attack.</p>
<p>Sarin had previously appeared to be the threshold for intervention. Chlorine, in contrast, has been used more widely in Syria’s conflict without past U.S. reprisals, and the chemical is far easier to find and weaponize, experts say.</p>
<p>Washington described the strike targets as a center near Damascus for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weapons; a chemical weapons storage site near the city of Homs; and another site near Homs that stored chemical weapons equipment and housed a command post.</p>
<p>Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the attack a crime and the Western leaders criminals, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all Security Council members to use restraint, but said charges of chemical weapons use demand investigation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Pope Francis called on world leaders to renew efforts to bring peace to Syria, saying he was deeply troubled by their failure to agree on a joint plan to end the bloodshed.</p>
<p>GRAPHIC - Details of air strikes on Syria ( <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2EKgAMN" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2EKgAMN</a>)</p>
<p>Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Tom Perry; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Jeff Mason, Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Yara Bayoumy, Matt Spetalnick and Joel Schectman in Washington; Michelle Nichols in New York; Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam, Ellen Francis and Angus McDowall in Beirut; Kinda Makieh in Barzeh; Michael Holden and Guy Faulconbridge in London; and Jean-Baptiste Vey, Geert de Clercq and Matthias Blamont in Paris; Andrey Ostroukh and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Alison Bevege in Sydney,; Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Adrian Croft and Alexander Smith</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks at near-decade high after China data beats forecast U.N. experts, Britain demand release of Reuters reporters in Myanmar Russia spied on Skripal and daughter for at least five years: UK Trump defends use of 'mission accomplished' phrase for Syria strike Allies keep Syria options open as Britain says no strikes planned | false | https://reuters.com/article/emerging-markets/emerging-markets-emerging-stocks-at-near-decade-high-after-china-data-beats-forecast-idUSL8N1PD1N1 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>Last week, Donald Trump ratcheted up his nativist rhetoric by proposing a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/13/politics/donald-trump-muslim-ban-state-of-the-union/" type="external">ban on Muslims</a>&#160;entering the United States. Trump was widely condemned, but despite Ted Cruz’s new lead in Iowa,&#160;the candidate has only reached new heights in national&#160;polls.&#160;41 percent of Republicans now support him, with Cruz a <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/12/donald-trump-proposes-ban-muslims-soars-new-heights-poll" type="external">distant second</a> at 14 percent.</p>
<p>Many on the Left have looked worryingly at Trump’s rise and have been speculating that he might represent something even more dangerous&#160;than the usual varieties&#160;of right-wing populism. Could Trump be a fascist? And does the answer to that question even matter from a strategic perspective?</p>
<p>We asked&#160;Jacobin contributors for their thoughts.</p> | Is Donald Trump a Fascist? | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2015/12/donald-trump-fascism-islamophobia-nativism/ | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
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<p>4:05 p.m.</p>
<p>Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Promotion: Hats to first 3,000 fans; postgame fireworks</p>
<p>Probables: Isotopes RHP Matt Palmer (5-4, 3.99) vs. Zephyrs RHP Jared Rogers (5-2, 5.56)</p>
<p>Friday: The Isotopes and visiting Zephyrs were no match for Friday’s brutal storm. Winds and heavy rain forced the suspension of the game in the bottom of the first inning, with the Isotopes trailing 2-1 but still batting. The Isotopes have a runner on second base (Matt Angle) with two outs and Chili Buss at the plate with a 0-1 count.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The game picks up at that point today at 4:05 p.m. and is scheduled for nine innings. A half-hour after its conclusion, the two teams will play the regularly scheduled contest, which will be seven innings.</p>
<p>Tickets for today’s regularly scheduled game will work for both ends of the doubleheader. Tickets to Friday’s’s suspended game be exchanged exclusively at the Isotopes Park Box Office for any remaining regular-season Isotopes home game, based on availability.</p>
<p>Tonight’s fireworks show will go on, weather permitting, after the second game as will performances by B-Boy McCoy. Friday’s silent auction supporting Breast Cancer Awareness (for which the Isotopes are wearing pink jerseys) will carry over into today’s game.</p>
<p>The Isotopes Park gates will open at 3 p.m. today.</p>
<p>This and that: The suspended game allowed Albuquerque (59-47) to grab sole possession of first place in the American Southern Division of the Pacific Coast League. Round Rock (59-48) lost 7-4 to Memphis and fell one-half game back. … Albuquerque’s record is second best in the PCL only to Salt Lake (60-46). … Ken Levine, writer of “The Simpsons” episode that first coined the life-imitating-art notion of an “Albuquerque Isotopes” baseball team, throws out the first pitch tonight.</p> | Storm cancels Isotopes game | false | https://abqjournal.com/240065/storm-cancels-isotopes-game.html | 2 |
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<p>I understand it’s a personal decision to gamble; I also know the Indians shell out lots of dough for advertising and I understand that a shill cannot inform potential suckers about losing; but for every dollar the casinos pay out, at least 70 people lose their money. I mean, Sandia Casino grossed $91 million in the first 6 months of 2012 – whose cash was that, anyway?</p>
<p>In 2011, casinos and racinos in this state netted $973.8 million, the state deposited $130.2 million into the general fund. Out of that, 14 tribe-operated casinos had a net win of $713.9 million and paid the state $65.2 million (9.16 percent) in gambling taxes. The Indians pay nothing on winnings from their table games.</p>
<p>These gambling windfalls must be considered an added tax, which the state uses indiscriminately. This money would otherwise be spent in purchasing goods and services from businesses that employ many more people than do the casinos. This would raise the state’s gross domestic product and create more jobs.</p>
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<p>Not to mention the ruined families and lives induced by gambling.</p>
<p>Predatory gambling is not a pleasant sight – especially when the state condones it – and much of the money the Indians are bound to put into gamblers’ anonymous – according to the state’s audit – is merely absorbed into their general funds.</p>
<p>The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 was passed into law with little resistance from the states because they were facing shortfalls and bankruptcies and they saw it as extra revenue that would make up for their own misspending and waste.</p>
<p>There are 831 casinos in the United States. Only two states do not allow gambling.</p>
<p>If you think about it, Utah is an easy guess; but the other one is Hawaii. However, this year there are nearly three dozen bills in front of their legislature; proposals that call for casinos, lotteries, horse racing and more. However, once again gambling opponents stepped forward with their reasons why it’s a bad idea.</p>
<p>Freud classified gambling as a secondary addiction – all addictions are substitutes for sex. But I am not going to explore the psychoanalytical basis for this profundity, because in a repressed society perhaps these addictions are without cure (until the repressive conditions are abolished).</p>
<p>But when the state becomes an accomplice, the poor individual stands little chance of gaining health.</p>
<p>The poet and visionary William Blake put it this way: “The whore and gambler, by the state Licensed, build the nation’s fate.” Better to heed Mark Twain’s advice: “The best throw at dice is to throw them away.”</p>
<p /> | States complicit in the spread of gambling woes | false | https://abqjournal.com/278572/states-complicit-in-the-spread-of-gambling-woes.html | 2 |
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<p>A new ride officially opens tomorrow atComcast's(NASDAQ: CMCSA)Universal Studios Florida, and Comcast is making sure that everyone knows about thetheTonight Show-themed attraction. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon is being heavily promoted through Comcast's NBC, and understandably so since it's the network behind the iconic Tonight Show.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Fallon has been filming his show from Orlando all week, playing up the new ride that simulates a race through New York City and beyond. The ride has been open to guests on a limited basis for more than a month through technical rehearsals, but Thursday will be the attraction's official debut with Fallon on hand to kick off the festivities.</p>
<p>Image source: Universal Orlando.</p>
<p>Comcast's Universal Orlando resort has been closing the attendance gap withDisney's (NYSE: DIS) much larger resort in Florida in recent years. Universal Orlando's least visited theme park attracted 2.04 million fewer guests than Disney World's least visited park in 2015, according to industry tracker Themed Entertainment Association. Six years earlier, the deficit was a whopping 4.76 million. The 2009 arrival of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an ambitious 2014 expansion of the Potter universe so it spans both parks connected by the iconic Hogwarts Express train, and a massive push to build out on-site hotels have helped Comcast catch up to Mickey Mouse.</p>
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<p>Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon won't be the biggest new thing coming to Orlando this year. Disney's Pandora -- The World of Avatar and Comcast's own Volcano Bay waterpark open next month, and both of those projects are larger and costlier than this week's debutante. However, Comcast has a leg up on Disney when it comes to promoting the Tonight Show-themed ride in that it owns the property, a rare role reversal in this battle for tourism dollars.</p>
<p>Comcast isn't afraid to reach out of its portfolio for hit franchises that it can transform into theme park attractions, and Harry Potter is the best example. Disney, on the other hand, rarely delves outside of its owned properties, and the few times that it has gone this route -- Star Wars, The Muppets, Indiana Jones -- it has eventually acquired the intellectual property outright. Disney doesn't have the same luxury this time around. It's at the mercy of James Cameron and a rival movie studio to breathe new life into the franchise.</p>
<p>It was easy to question Comcast's decision when it announced a Fallon ride would be coming to the park, but this week we're seeing the advantages of a home-grown franchise and the ease to promote it seamlessly. Disney is going to generate plenty of buzz for Pandora next month, but it's going to be harder to promote it on ABC, Disney Channel, and other properties without coming off as a hard sales job. Well played, Comcast.</p>
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<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%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=d7ed5a1a-a11b-4ad9-a350-47998366037e&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 April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBreakerRick/info.aspx" type="external">Rick Munarriz Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Walt Disney. 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> | Comcast Is Doing What Disney Can't This Week | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/05/comcast-is-doing-what-disney-cant-this-week.html | 2017-04-05 | 0 |
<p>European shares and the euro rose on Friday, boosted by hopes of progress towards a solution to the euro zone's debt crisis later this month, shrugging off a credit rating downgrade for Spain.</p>
<p>Tamer inflation figures from top metal consumer <a href="" type="internal">China</a> lifted some worries over Chinese demand, boosting metal prices as well as Europe-listed mining shares and adding further upward momentum to the broader equity markets.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>G20 finance chiefs and central banks heads from the world's biggest economies meet in Paris on Friday in search for a solution to a deepening crisis that has fanned fears of a global recession.</p>
<p>Financial markets have been more buoyant since a pledge by French and German leaders to come up with a comprehensive plan for ending two years of turmoil, including a programme to recapitalise banks, by an Oct. 23 summit.</p>
<p>The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3788 and on track for its best weekly gain in nine months. The common currency dipped overnight on the move by Standard and Poor's to cut Spain by one notch AA-minus, although that only brought its rating into line with rival agency Fitch .</p>
<p>"We see a lot of optimism in the market, there are a lot of promises to develop a global, sustainable solution to the European debt crisis. We saw overnight when Spain was downgraded, there was no lasting impact on euro/dollar," said Lutz Karpowitz, currency analyst at Commerzbank.</p>
<p>Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 advanced 0.6 percent, though Spain's benchmark underperformed, down 0.2 percent.</p>
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<p>Yields on 10-year benchmark Spanish government bonds rose 3.5 basis points to 5.251 percent, and the cost of insuring its debt against default rose 10 bps to 389 bps.</p>
<p>BANKS</p>
<p>European bank shares also underperformed the broader market, down 0.4 percent after Fitch cut the credit rating of <a href="" type="internal">UBS</a> and may downgrade seven other U.S. European banks because of challenges in the economy and financial markets.</p>
<p>Those European banks include <a href="" type="internal">Deutsche Bank</a> , BNP Paribas , <a href="" type="internal">Societe Generale</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Credit Suisse</a> .</p>
<p>Credit Suisse analysts said European policymakers' plan to shore up confidence in banks needed to be undertaken quickly.</p>
<p>"If those stresses are not relieved soon, it's likely that credit conditions for firms will tighten severely, raising the prospect of a deep euro area recession," they said in a note.</p>
<p>World stocks measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index added 0.2 percent. The index is up 4.3 percent this week, heading for its best weekly gain in more than three months though it is still down 9.9 percent this year.</p>
<p>Copper rose 3.2 percent as the Chinese inflation data lend support to views that Beijing will keep interest rates on hold, sustaining demand from the giant Asian economy.</p>
<p>Brent crude added 1 percent to trade above $112 a barrel and was set for its best weekly rise since early July.</p>
<p>Gold was also in demand, up 0.6 percent and heading for its biggest weekly gain in more than a month.</p> | European Shares Rally Despite Spain Downgrade | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/10/14/european-shares-rally-despite-spain-downgrade.html | 2016-03-07 | 0 |
<p>Neko Case photo by &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rgordon/38502908/"&gt;rgordon&lt;/a&gt; under a CC license.</p>
<p />
<p>In the US, we overprocess everything, from <a href="" type="internal">veggie burgers</a> to <a href="" type="internal">sewage</a> to the ever-evolving exterior of Heidi Montag, whose back-scooped, chin-tucked body now resembles nothing that can be found in nature. So it’s not surprising that we process the hell out of our music as well.</p>
<p>Auto-Tune, which was originally created to fix pitch and tone problems in singers’ voices, has taken over the music industry, spanning virtually every genre—from rock to hip-hop to country to pop. But it didn’t stop there. Auto-Tune has dipped its synthesized hooks into TV shows and the Interwebs as well. The hit show Glee continues to be criticized for overusing it, to the point where fans felt compelled to <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/glpitch/petition.html" type="external">circulate a petition</a>. Also, comedians began a parody series called <a href="" type="internal">Auto-Tune the News</a> to mock the likes of Glenn Beck and Katie Couric. This one with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVD_QJ4nP4&amp;feature=player_embedded" type="external">Eric Massa</a> is particularly hilar.</p>
<p>Auto-Tune has become so omnipresent that not even our pets are safe. Behold the uh, magic, that is Kittens in Auto-Tune:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Who’s speaking out against the robotic-voice takeover? Well, Death Cab for Cutie, for one.</p>
<p>At last year’s Grammys, Death Cab bandmates wore tiny blue ribbons on their lapels to alert people to the rampant Auto-Tune abuses of artists like T-Pain, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, the Dixie Chicks, and a multitude of <a href="http://www.hometracked.com/2008/02/05/auto-tune-abuse-in-pop-music-10-examples" type="external">others</a>. From MTV News:</p>
<p>“We’re here to raise awareness about Auto-Tuner abuse,” DCFC frontman <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604710/20090210/death_cab_for_cutie.jhtml" type="external">Ben Gibbard laughed</a>. “I think over the last 10 years, we’ve seen a lot of good musicians being affected by this newfound digital manipulation of the human voice, and we feel enough is enough.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Neko Case</a> of Canadian indie-rock group the New Pornographers offered similar sentiments in <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6306-neko-case/" type="external">this Pitchfork interview</a>:</p>
<p>“When I hear auto-tune on somebody’s voice, I don’t take them seriously. Or you hear somebody like Alicia Keys, who I know is pretty good, and you’ll hear a little bit of auto-tune and you’re like, “You’re too f*cking good for that. Why would you let them do that to you? Don’t you know what that means?” It’s not an effect like people try to say, it’s for people like Shania Twain who can’t sing. Yet there they are, all over the radio, jizzing saccharine all over you. It’s a horrible sound and it’s like, “Shania, spend an extra hour in the studio and you’ll hit the note and it’ll sound fine. Just work on it, it’s not like making a burger!”</p>
<p>I highly suggest you read the full interview if you want to hear Case take down Celine Dion and Madonna for using Auto-Tune. Okay, one more quote; I can’t resist: “Can’t you just hit [the note], Celine? Do you have another baby book to shoot?”</p>
<p>But wait, this is pop music. Isn’t it supposed to sound manufactured? And who cares? As it turns out, many people. Major labels’ sales continue to slump. And in 2009, according to <a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/around_the_web/2009/05/indie-labels-are-on-the-rise-proof-in-the-numbers.html" type="external">Paste Magazine</a>, indie musicians like Death Cab and Neko Case were taking home more awards—and generally kicking more ass—than their mainstream, non-Auto-Tuned contemporaries.&#160;</p>
<p>Indie rockers aren’t the only ones raising a fuss: Jay-Z, for one,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">has spoken out</a> against the popular voice-processing gadget as well. He even wrote a song called D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) as a rebuttal to Kanye West’s heavily Auto-Tuned 808s and Heartbreak. Speaking to NME, he describes <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/jay-z/46206" type="external">his aversion</a> thusly:</p>
<p>“In hip-hop, our job is once a trend becomes a gimmick, to get rid of it. We’ve done that since the beginning of time. Now people are using auto-tune even in [fast food chain] Wendy’s commercials, and it’s like, ‘Oh no! That’s has to go!’ It’s become part of main culture. It’s the same thing like when the old lady in Oregon starts saying, ‘Bling, bling.’ It’s like, ‘I’m never saying that again’.”&#160;</p>
<p>Easier said than blung, Jay. Until we, as a culture, are ready to rally against the gimmicks and the fakery, it seems highly unlikely that Auto-Tune will be going away. The upside, of course, is that now our kittens sound like robots! If that’s not progress, then I don’t know what is.</p>
<p /> | Is Auto-Tune Killing Pop Music? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/auto-tune-abuse-neko-case-jay-z-death-cab-cutie/ | 2010-05-17 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time in three years, the Washington Nationals won the most games in the NL — and then quickly exited from the playoffs.</p>
<p>Now comes an offseason of questions about manager Matt Williams’ decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offense that fell flat in October.</p>
<p>“The window is not closed,” Desmond said after the Nationals’ season ended Tuesday night with a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants in Game 4 of their NL Division Series, “but it is closing.”</p>
<p>At 96-66 under rookie skipper Williams, Washington finished first in the NL East by 17 games and had the best record in the league. Its pitching staff led the majors with a 3.03 ERA, as Zimmermann, who threw a no-hitter in the regular-season finale, teamed with Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark to form as formidable rotation. The lineup lacked superstar numbers, but it managed to finish third in the NL in runs.</p>
<p>Then came the postseason.</p>
<p>Just like in 2012, when it won 98 games, a top-seeded Nationals club lost to a wild-card opponent in the NLDS.</p>
<p>The pitching was fine — Washington and San Francisco each scored nine runs in the series — although Williams’ use of his relievers will provide fodder for months’ worth of talk-radio segments.</p>
<p>Should he have lifted Zimmermann with two outs in the ninth in Game 2? Should he have gone through Game 4 without ever using Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen, Craig Stammen or an available Strasburg? Should he have picked one of those pitchers for the pivotal seventh inning, when the Giants took the lead for good, instead of Matt Thornton and rookie Aaron Barrett, whose wild pitch let the go-ahead run score?</p>
<p>“Those are our seventh-inning guys,” Williams said. “That’s how we set this up.”</p>
<p>The biggest problem of all in the playoffs, though, was the lack of runs.</p>
<p>The only batters who produced against the Giants were left fielder Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, who replaced Zimmerman as the team’s third baseman in 2014. Rendon batted .400 in the NLDS. Harper hit .368 with three homers and four RBIs, which might raise an additional second-guess: Why was he batting sixth?</p>
<p>The No. 3-4 hitters, right fielder Jayson Werth and 34-year-old first baseman Adam LaRoche, were particularly off. They went a combined 2 for 35 (a .057 average) with a pair of singles and nine strikeouts.</p>
<p>They were hardly alone, though.</p>
<p>The No. 1, 5 and 7 hitters — center fielder Denard Span, shortstop Desmond and catcher Wilson Ramos — were 7 for 54 (.130) with 15 strikeouts, zero extra-base hits and zero RBIs.</p>
<p>“It’s just frustrating to get to this point and not play to our capabilities,” Span said. “This will stick with me the whole offseason.”</p>
<p>When the Nationals eventually gather in Florida for spring training in February, the focus will be squarely on why a club so successful in the regular season hasn’t been able to follow that up in the postseason.</p>
<p>LaRoche might be gone, perhaps replaced at first base by Zimmerman. Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, a trade-deadline pickup, can become a free agent, and deposed closer Rafael Soriano could be gone, too. As things stand now, the Nationals have a contract option to keep Span for next season, while Zimmermann and Desmond can become free agents after the 2015 season.</p>
<p>“We’re a good team and we had a goal in mind,” reliever Jerry Blevins said. “This wasn’t it.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Freelance writer Rick Eymer in San Francisco contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich" type="external">http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich</a></p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time in three years, the Washington Nationals won the most games in the NL — and then quickly exited from the playoffs.</p>
<p>Now comes an offseason of questions about manager Matt Williams’ decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offense that fell flat in October.</p>
<p>“The window is not closed,” Desmond said after the Nationals’ season ended Tuesday night with a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants in Game 4 of their NL Division Series, “but it is closing.”</p>
<p>At 96-66 under rookie skipper Williams, Washington finished first in the NL East by 17 games and had the best record in the league. Its pitching staff led the majors with a 3.03 ERA, as Zimmermann, who threw a no-hitter in the regular-season finale, teamed with Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark to form as formidable rotation. The lineup lacked superstar numbers, but it managed to finish third in the NL in runs.</p>
<p>Then came the postseason.</p>
<p>Just like in 2012, when it won 98 games, a top-seeded Nationals club lost to a wild-card opponent in the NLDS.</p>
<p>The pitching was fine — Washington and San Francisco each scored nine runs in the series — although Williams’ use of his relievers will provide fodder for months’ worth of talk-radio segments.</p>
<p>Should he have lifted Zimmermann with two outs in the ninth in Game 2? Should he have gone through Game 4 without ever using Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen, Craig Stammen or an available Strasburg? Should he have picked one of those pitchers for the pivotal seventh inning, when the Giants took the lead for good, instead of Matt Thornton and rookie Aaron Barrett, whose wild pitch let the go-ahead run score?</p>
<p>“Those are our seventh-inning guys,” Williams said. “That’s how we set this up.”</p>
<p>The biggest problem of all in the playoffs, though, was the lack of runs.</p>
<p>The only batters who produced against the Giants were left fielder Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, who replaced Zimmerman as the team’s third baseman in 2014. Rendon batted .400 in the NLDS. Harper hit .368 with three homers and four RBIs, which might raise an additional second-guess: Why was he batting sixth?</p>
<p>The No. 3-4 hitters, right fielder Jayson Werth and 34-year-old first baseman Adam LaRoche, were particularly off. They went a combined 2 for 35 (a .057 average) with a pair of singles and nine strikeouts.</p>
<p>They were hardly alone, though.</p>
<p>The No. 1, 5 and 7 hitters — center fielder Denard Span, shortstop Desmond and catcher Wilson Ramos — were 7 for 54 (.130) with 15 strikeouts, zero extra-base hits and zero RBIs.</p>
<p>“It’s just frustrating to get to this point and not play to our capabilities,” Span said. “This will stick with me the whole offseason.”</p>
<p>When the Nationals eventually gather in Florida for spring training in February, the focus will be squarely on why a club so successful in the regular season hasn’t been able to follow that up in the postseason.</p>
<p>LaRoche might be gone, perhaps replaced at first base by Zimmerman. Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, a trade-deadline pickup, can become a free agent, and deposed closer Rafael Soriano could be gone, too. As things stand now, the Nationals have a contract option to keep Span for next season, while Zimmermann and Desmond can become free agents after the 2015 season.</p>
<p>“We’re a good team and we had a goal in mind,” reliever Jerry Blevins said. “This wasn’t it.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Freelance writer Rick Eymer in San Francisco contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich" type="external">http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich</a></p> | Nationals thrive for 162 games, but not in October | false | https://apnews.com/17239ca1bbc24bdd82caa53bf3a5f548 | 2014-10-08 | 2 |
<p>As part of his immigration policy, Donald Trump announced Thursday his plans for a database of all Muslims in the U.S., including Americans. He said Muslims would be signed up “at different places,” and that registration for the database would be legally required. The comments came after attacks in Paris by the Islamic State last week that killed at least 129 people. The U.S. is planning to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees.</p>
<p>When repeatedly asked how his database differs from forced registration of Jews in Nazi Germany, Trump replied four time, “You tell me.”</p>
<p>Trump has advocated increased surveillance activities, including inside mosques, and said earlier this week that there was going to be no choice but for the U.S. to close specific mosques. He said that “really bad things” are “happening fast.”</p>
<p>The Muslim database plans were announced in an interview with Yahoo News. Trump also mentioned the idea of giving out special identification cards to people of Muslim faith which would note their religion. He also suggested considering warrantless searches.</p>
<p>When asked on Thursday night to explain his comments, Trump said that his remarks had been misconstrued.</p>
<p>The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement yesterday condemning the Republican presidential candidate for what it describes as “Islamophobic and unconstitutional” comments that target Syrian refugees and American Muslims. Spokesman Ibrahim Hooper told <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-says-he-would-certainly-implement-muslim-database-n466716" type="external">NBC News</a> that the group was “kind of at a loss for words.”</p>
<p>Friday morning Trump’s rival presidential candidate Jeb Bush said the millionaire mogul’s comments were “just wrong.” Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton took to Twitter, posting “This is shocking rhetoric. It should be denounced by all seeking to lead this country.”</p>
<p>Hooper asked what else Trump’s proposal could be compared with, other than Nazi German. He said Trump “seems to think that’s perfectly okay.”</p>
<p>Others chimed in saying that the U.S.&#160;fought in World War II to preserve America against what the Nazis were doing. Rabbi Jack Moline, who is executive director of the Interfaith Alliance nonprofit group, also made that comparison, saying “This is exactly why there is an America, to not be like that.”</p>
<p>Trump ignored the question of whether there would be consequences for Muslims who do not register themselves into the database. He explained his reasoning for the need of the database with the need to identify who is legally in the country, saying “It would stop people from coming in illegally.”</p>
<p /> | Donald Trump announces plans for American Muslim database | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/11/20/donald-trump-announces-plans-for-american-muslim-database/ | 2015-11-20 | 3 |
<p>NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA)&#160;stock doubled this year, defying critics who claimed that it would run out of steam after more than tripling last year. Many investors are likely wondering if they should simply buy NVIDIA regardless of its past performance, or if they should wait for a pullback to start a position. Let's examine the bull and bear cases to decide.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>NVIDIA's core businesses are firing on all cylinders. Last quarter, its&#160;gaming GPU revenue rose 25% annually to $1.56 billion, thanks to robust demand for its new GeForce cards. Its data center GPU revenue more than doubled to $501 million, as an increasing number of enterprise customers installed its higher-end GPUs in their data centers for <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/03/baidus-ai-efforts-could-lift-these-3-companies.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">machine learning Opens a New Window.</a> purposes.</p>
<p>Professional visualization revenue rose 15% to $239 million, automotive revenue grew 13% to $144 million, and OEM/IP revenue grew 3% to $191 million.</p>
<p>Sales of NVIDIA's&#160;Tegra CPUs -- which power automotive infotainment and navigation systems, Shield gaming devices, and the Nintendo Switch -- rose 74% annually to $419 million. GPU sales rose 31% to $2.22 billion.</p>
<p>The bulls believe that NVIDIA's sales will keep rising across all those categories, as its newer gaming GPUs hold AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) at bay, more enterprise customers buy data center GPUs, and sales of Tegra CPUs continue rising on demand from automakers and Nintendo. They also believe that the growing interest in cryptocurrency mining will lift sales of its GPUs.</p>
<p>That's why analysts expect NVIDIA's revenue and non-GAAP earnings to&#160;respectively rise 37% and 63% this year. The bulls will claim those growth rates justify its trailing P/E of 53, which is nearly double the industry average of 27 for semiconductor makers.</p>
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<p>However, the bears <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/23/3-reasons-to-avoid-nvidia-stock-for-now.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">will point out Opens a New Window.</a> that NVIDIA's growth is decelerating, with analysts expecting its sales and earnings to grow just 16% and 12%, respectively,&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/29/where-will-nvidia-be-1-year-from-now.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">next year Opens a New Window.</a>. They'll also say that those estimates don't justify NVIDIA's forward P/E of 43.</p>
<p>NVIDIA's growth will likely slow down due to competitive pressures on multiple fronts. AMD's new Vega-based Radeon cards aren't <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/16/heres-where-things-went-wrong-for-advanced-micro-d.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">much of a threat Opens a New Window.</a> to NVIDIA's current-gen Pascal cards or next-gen Volta cards, but AMD could pull a rabbit out of its hat with upgraded Vega chips next&#160;year.</p>
<p>Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) also recently partnered with AMD to produce a new multichip processor package with&#160;integrated Radeon graphics, which&#160;could reduce the need for NVIDIA's discrete GPUs. Intel also launched a new Core and Visual Computing group to create discrete GPUs and&#160;hired Raja Koduri, AMD's former senior president and chief architect of Radeon, as its new leader.</p>
<p>Intel is also gunning for NVIDIA in the data center market with a combination of new Xeon Phi CPUs and&#160;Altera's programmable chips, which aim to eliminate the need for discrete GPUs in machine learning applications. It's also countering NVIDIA in the automotive market with its Atom automotive processors, Mobileye crash avoidance systems, and Movidius computer vision chips.</p>
<p>Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) will also become a dangerous rival in the automotive space once <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/02/qualcomms-nxp-deal-could-be-in-big-trouble.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">its acquisition Opens a New Window.</a> of NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI) closes, since it will gain NXP's BlueBox autonomous driving platform and become the biggest automotive chipmaker in the world. There are also persistent (but denied) rumors that NVIDIA customer Tesla Motors&#160;could work with&#160;AMD's partner GlobalFoundries on a next-gen chip for autonomous vehicles.</p>
<p>As for the cryptocurrency market, the overall market remains small compared to the gaming, data center, and automotive markets, and its long-term outlook remains cloudy.</p>
<p>NVIDIA has repeatedly proven the bears wrong in the past, as its "best-in-breed" chips kept rivals like AMD and Intel at bay. It might continue to do so next year, but the stakes are getting higher with AMD and Intel investing a lot more money into countering NVIDIA.</p>
<p>I believe that NVIDIA's dominant market share in discrete GPUs and its first mover's advantage in data center GPUs and cars should prevent Intel and AMD from gaining much ground.</p>
<p>But I also think that NVIDIA's valuations are too lofty for investors to start a full position at these prices. Therefore, it's smarter to buy a partial position and gradually average into this volatile stock over the next few quarters.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than NvidiaWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6e8f9c27-b059-42ab-8bdd-171316756938&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Nvidia wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6e8f9c27-b059-42ab-8bdd-171316756938&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Leo Sun Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia and Tesla. The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and NXP Semiconductors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=68daaee8-d41c-11e7-befc-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Is NVIDIA Corporation a Buy? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/28/is-nvidia-corporation-buy.html | 2017-11-28 | 0 |
<p>Richard Ellis/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>Coming off big wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Donald Trump secured his position as the clear front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday night with another resounding victory in the Nevada caucuses.</p>
<p>The major networks called the race for Trump shortly after the caucuses concluded. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas were locked in a battle for second place, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson trailing.</p>
<p>Trump, who has broken all the usual campaign rules with brash promises that range from building a wall along the Mexican border to banning Muslims from entering the country, has now won the last three caucuses or primaries. He enters the Super Tuesday contests on March 1 with a commanding lead in the delegate count.</p>
<p /> | Donald Trump Wins Nevada Caucuses | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/republican-caucus-nevada-winner/ | 2016-02-24 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Here’s a boost for the Geritol set. Cosmetic giant L’Oreal is set to make a 69-year-old actress its new face to the world.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Helen Mirren will join the likes of 31-year-old pop singer Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and 30-year-old model Lara Stone as the iconic brand’s bevy of beauties.</p>
<p>But “Dame Helen,” as the U.K. Mail described the iconic Oscar-winning actress, is hardly L’Oreal’s only seasoned celebrity -- just the latest. Jane Fonda, 76, has been a client for years -- as have 56-year-old actress Andie MacDowell and 45-year-old singer and starlet Jennifer Lopez.</p>
<p>But what makes Mirren’s pick so unusual is that she has been unusually critical of the entertainment industry’s fixation with looks. As she once told The Mail, “When you’re young and beautiful, you’re paranoid and miserable. And then you’re older and it’s ironic, really.”</p>
<p>“The weird thing is you get more comfortable with yourself, even as time is giving you less reason for it," she said.</p>
<p>Mirren has also knocked stars’ obsession with whatever’s the latest diet craze. She told The Mail that she eats “healthily but not that healthily…as anyone who saw me munching a burger will know.”</p>
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<p>But marketers say it’s statements like that that help Mirren stand out, and older spokesmen and spokeswomen stand out as well. As one put it to me: “sometimes with age, comes attitude, and that’s refreshing, and for most folks, very appealing.”</p>
<p>Just ask the marketing folks at Dove, whose “Campaign for Real Beauty” launched some ten years ago, featured normal-sized “real” women who didn’t need Photoshop to pop. But the company’s famous Times Square billboard did make pedestrians stop, and take notice.</p>
<p>Since the soap-maker’s campaign and its now famous time-lapse “Evolution” video meant to expose the trickery marketers use in some of their image ads, the public seems to have embraced real over “real hot.”</p>
<p>In fact, as L’Oreal sees it, real “is” real hot, and worth paying Dame Helen a very real nine million pounds, or about $16 million, to be its latest face. That’s all the proof you need there’s a lot of cash in those character lines.</p>
<p>None of this means the entertainment industry’s about to dump hot-and-sexy for “old-and-seasoned,” but it’s clearly a refreshing start. It’s also a reminder to marketers who aren’t as quick to seize on this very real human development, that human beings not only come in all shapes and sizes, but ages too.</p>
<p>And not just women. The box office success of “Expendables 3,” continuing a franchise juggernaut that includes the like of so-called Hollywood has-beens, such as Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Wesley Snipes, proves there’s an audience for aging stars.</p>
<p>That would be…their aging audience…happy to see them going along for the ride.</p> | That 'Dame' Sure is Hot! (Even if She Sure is Old!) | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/10/27/damn-that-dame-sure-is-hot-even-if-sure-is-old.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>Published time: 1 Oct, 2017 15:01</p>
<p>The US President Donald Trump apparently does not support his Secretary of State’s efforts in peaceful talks with North Korea, having tweeted that Rex Tillerson should “save his energy” and Washington will “do what has to be done.”</p>
<p>I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man…</p>
<p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914497877543735296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 1, 2017</a></p>
<p>…Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!</p>
<p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914497947517227008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 1, 2017</a></p>
<p>MORE TO FOLLOW</p> | ‘Save your energy Rex’: Trump says negotiations with N. Korea are a waste of time | false | https://newsline.com/save-your-energy-rex-trump-says-negotiations-with-n-korea-are-a-waste-of-time/ | 2017-10-01 | 1 |
<p />
<p>United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams said on Thursday the union is contacting workers at Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc , and plans to boost efforts to convince U.S. consumers not to buy vehicles built in other countries, including those sold by the Detroit automakers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The UAW leader also used a meeting with reporters to praise President Donald Trump for calling on companies to produce more products in the United States, and promising to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement. But Williams said he disagreed with Trump's order temporarily barring travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries.</p>
<p>"It's very dangerous to single out individual groups based on religion," Williams said. "It's un-American." Some UAW members were stranded overseas by the ban before it was stayed by a federal appeals court, Williams said.</p>
<p>Williams' comments highlight the political challenges facing U.S. labor leaders as they confront a Republican president who shares their skeptical views on free trade and values U.S. manufacturing, but whose policies on other issues are contrary to union principles.</p>
<p>"I'm interested in some of the things he's doing," Williams said. "I'm very concerned about some of the things he's doing."</p>
<p>Williams said he has not met with Trump, though other union leaders have.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The UAW leader endorsed Trump's moves to pressure Detroit automakers to stop shipping vehicles into the United States from Mexico, and said the UAW is working on a new advertising campaign to encourage consumers not to buy foreign-made vehicles.</p>
<p>"If it's not made in America, don't buy it," Williams told reporters at a briefing at the union's Detroit headquarters, responding to a question about General Motors Co's Chevrolet Cruze hatchback, made in Mexico, and the Buick Envision sport utility, which GM imports from China.</p>
<p>"Boycotts may be coming back," he said, adding he would prefer consumers buy a vehicle made by UAW workers, or a vehicle made in the United States by a foreign manufacturer.</p>
<p>Regarding Tesla, Williams reiterated the union's denial last week that the union had paid a worker at the automaker's Fremont, California, factory who went public with complaints about safety, pay and overtime. [nL1N1G1168]</p>
<p>UAW organizers are in contact with workers at Tesla, Williams said, but any formal effort by the union to organize workers will "be determined by the interest of employees."</p>
<p>Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, in comments to the Gizmodo website, charged the UAW had paid the worker, and blamed the union for the failure of the GM-Toyota Motor Corp &lt;7203.T&gt; joint venture that once operated at the factory, located on the east side of San Francisco Bay. [nL4N1FV4J4]</p>
<p>Tesla shares slid both before and after Williams' comments on Thursday, and were down 3.9 percent at $268.90 in afternoon trading.</p>
<p>(Editing by Matthew Lewis)</p> | Auto union courts Tesla workers, amplifies 'buy American' message | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/02/16/auto-union-courts-tesla-workers-amplifies-buy-american-message.html | 2017-02-16 | 0 |
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<p />
<p>Shortly after 6:45 p.m., Farmington officers responded to a report of a down subject in the area of Concorran Drive and Allen Avenue near Boyd Park, according to an email from police spokeswoman Georgette Allen.</p>
<p>Officers found a Native American man who had been stabbed multiple times. He was transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center.</p>
<p>Allen said in the email today that the man is still in the hospital.</p>
<p>She said police are not releasing his name until his family has been notified.</p>
<p>Police do not yet have a suspect.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2016 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.daily-times.com" type="external">www.daily-times.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p>_____</p> | Farmington police investigate stabbing | false | https://abqjournal.com/874370/brief-farmington-police-investigate-stabbing.html | 2 |
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<p>President Donald Trump addressed the nation this morning concerning the shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 50 people and injured over 400. He called it “ <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/transcript-video-trump-las-vegas.html?mcubz=1" type="external">an act of pure evil</a>” and assured everyone that the FBI and the DHS are working with local officials. He also praised the Las Vegas authorities for their quick actions.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Here is the transcript of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/transcript-video-trump-las-vegas.html?mcubz=1" type="external">Trump’s remarks</a>:</p>
<p>My fellow Americans, we are joined together today in sadness, shock, and grief.</p>
<p>Last night a gunman opened fire on a large crowd at a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. He brutally murdered more than 50 people and wounded hundreds more.</p>
<p>It was an act of pure evil.</p>
<p>The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are working closely with local authorities to assist with the investigation and they will provide updates as to the investigation and how it develops.</p>
<p>I want to thank the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department and all of the first responders for their courageous efforts and for helping to save the lives of so many. The speed with which they acted is miraculous and prevented further loss of life. To have found the shooter so quickly after the first shots were fired, is something for which we will always be thankful and grateful. It shows what true professionalism is all about.</p>
<p>Hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one, a parent, a child, a brother or sister. We cannot fathom their pain, we cannot imagine their loss. To the families of the victims, we are praying for you and we are here for you. And we ask god to help see you through this very dark period.</p>
<p>Scripture teaches us the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. We seek comfort in those words, for we know that God lives in the hearts of those who grieve. To the wounded who are now recovering in hospitals, we are praying for your full and speedy recovery, and pledge to you our support from this day forward.</p>
<p>In memory of the fallen, I have directed that our great flag be flown at half-staff. I will be visiting Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with law enforcement, first responders, and the families of the victims. In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one. And it always has.</p>
<p>We call upon the bonds that unite us, our faith, our family, and our shared values. We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity. Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence, and though we feel such great anger, at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today. And always will. Forever.</p>
<p>In times such as these, I know we are searching for some kind of meaning in the chaos, some kind of light in the darkness. The answers do not come easy. But we can take solace knowing that even the darkest space can be brightened by a single light and even the most terrible despair can be illuminated by a single ray of hope.</p>
<p>Melania and I are praying for every American who has been hurt, wounded or lost the ones they loved so dearly in this terrible, terrible attack. We pray for the entire nation to find unity and peace, and we pray for the day when evil is banished and the innocent are safe from hatred and from fear.</p>
<p>May god bless the souls of the lives that are lost, may God give us the grace of healing and may God provide the grieving families with strength to carry on. Thank you. God bless America. Thank you.</p>
<p>Authorities have not released any details about the shooter Stephen Paddock, but the Islamic State has claimed responsibility. From <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/10/02/isis-claims-responsibility-for-las-vegas-massacre/" type="external">The New York Post</a>:</p>
<p>ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Las Vegas rampage, saying without offering evidence that the shooter had converted to Islam a few months ago, according to reports.</p>
<p>“The Las Vegas attack was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried it out in response to calls to target states of the coalition,” the terror group’s news agency Amaq said in reference to the US-led coalition fighting the group in the Middle East.</p>
<p>“The Las Vegas attacker converted to Islam a few months ago,” Amaq added, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>However, the FBI <a href="http://wgntv.com/2017/10/02/las-vegas-shooter-had-no-ties-to-isis-fbi-says/" type="external">has stated</a> that Paddock does not have any “connection to an international terrorist group.”</p>
<p>Authorities have said that Paddock recently “made several large gambling transactions in recent weeks,” but did not know yet if they are in losses or wins.</p>
<p>Paddock’s two brothers have no idea why their brother decided to do this. From <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-shooting-suspect-identified-n806471" type="external">NBC News</a>:</p>
<p>Eric Paddock of Orlando, Florida, said he had “no idea” why his 64-year-old brother committed the shooting.</p>
<p>“Mars just fell into the earth,” he told NBC News. “We’re completely dumbfounded.”</p>
<p>Eric Paddock said his brother was retired and was “just a guy” who went to the hotels, gambled, and went to shows.</p>
<p>His brother Bruce, who <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-shooting-suspect-identified-n806471" type="external">admitted</a> he hadn’t spoken to Stephen in 10 years, described him as a laid-back guy and “made money through apartment buildings, which he owned and managed with his mother, who lives in Florida.”</p> | Trump Calls Las Vegas Massacre ‘an Act of Pure Evil’ | true | https://legalinsurrection.com/2017/10/live-trump-addresses-las-vegas-shooting/ | 2017-10-02 | 0 |
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<p>CHAMA, N.M. — State authorities say a 64-year-old man was thrown from his horse in a remote, wilderness area of New Mexico before game wardens rescued him.</p>
<p>New Mexico Department of Game &amp; Fish said Friday that horsebackrider Randy Van Zant, of Chama, was airlfited from a field after breaking his arm.</p>
<p>He had been riding in the 10,000-acre Humphries Wildlife Management Area when his horse was spooked on Nov. 3 and threw him to the ground.</p>
<p>Another rider who was out with Van Zant sought help for him.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | State authorities describe horseman’s mountain rescue | false | https://abqjournal.com/892469/state-authorities-describe-horsemans-mountain-rescue.html | 2 |
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<p>Nairobi, Kenya.</p>
<p>I am scared.</p>
<p>As I am writing this essay, the Eid-ul-Fitr is approaching; festivities that will mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan are about to start. Some 20 percent of the world population, which is Muslim, is now cooking, doing last-minute wrapping of the gifts, getting ready to forgive the loved ones, its neighbors, and to disburse the charities.</p>
<p>For many it is just a routine, an obligation. But for some, perhaps for the majority of Muslims that I know, it is one important and beautiful event, an opportunity to become better and more caring people.</p>
<p>I don’t believe. I have no religion and in many of my books and reports I have been arguing that all religions, particularly those practiced in the West, brought tremendous grief and suffering to the people inhabiting our planet.</p>
<p>But I have many Muslim friends. Among Muslims are people that I care for immensely. I am close to Muslim people who live in Indonesia, Golf region, Sub-Continent, Africa, Malaysia and elsewhere. I had been a friend of Abdurrahman Wahid, former Indonesian progressive President and the leader of the largest Muslim organization in the world – NU (Nahdlatul Ulama). I regularly discuss Islam with Muslim clerics in Aceh and with Shia believers in Iran and India.</p>
<p>I have enormous respect for Muslim culture – for its great poetry, its scientific achievements of the past, medicine, the architecture and social structures, including their concepts for the first ‘social’ hospitals in the world.</p>
<p>But now, just one day before Eid-up-Fitr, I feel scared. Is it because suddenly I feel that the tall walls are separating us all and the doors that were otherwise wide opened to me are suddenly closing?</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>I worked in around 140 countries of the world, I lived on all continents that this planet has. I speak many languages. But more and more often I realize how difficult, almost impossible, is the true and honest dialogue between different cultures and different faiths.</p>
<p>Officially we are told the opposite. ‘Political correctness’ makes us say ‘right things’ about each other. We are all supposed to be one happy family now. We say we are having a dialogue even when we sit in the opposite corners. True, most of us do not swear at each other in public. We don’t insult others to the face. But do we really know each other? Do we understand each other? Do we go out of our ways to learn?</p>
<p>I am one of those ‘sad’ atheists and non-believers. I am not happy, not proud of the fact that I do not have faith. I wish I would have, but my brain was trained to be rational and my analytical thinking, philosophy that I studied, experiences from the war zones that I had as a war correspondent; they push me away from any form of devotion. I see, I record, analyze and then fight for better world. There is no time, no space in my life for rituals. Or that is what I repeat to myself. Then why do I feel such sadness and envy on the days like this; just a few hours before Eid-ul-Fitr?</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Then there is of course that deep frustration from not being included. Even if I do not have faith, I am sympathetic; I am educated and fluent enough in the rituals to be able to share at least the table with those who believe.</p>
<p>But there is exclusivity and one ends up either inside or outside, depending on whether he or she accepted belief.</p>
<p>Which leaves people like me, internationalists who severed all their original cultural ties and gave up their national identity for the struggle for better world, somewhere in the cold. Or more precisely – it leaves us in front of some tightly closed gate. Fighting against Western imperialism and against its cultural dictatorship does not guarantee that one would be invited and be given at least some temporary ‘cultural or spiritual asylum’ by those he or she is fighting for.</p>
<p>And I am not the only one who feels that way. A Byelorussian filmmaker who is helping to coordinate my visit to former USSR recently wrote in her email:</p>
<p>“Ah how many bright and dear Muslim friends I have… but I don’t believe it’s possible to come any closer to each other than to some point with a religious person. No chance to reach real mutual understanding and intimacy. Whose emotional emptiness and limitedness is there to blame? Not sure, not sure…”</p>
<p>All this explains sadness that is burdening my heart. But it is not explaining the fear.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>My fear is actually very rational. It is based on many years of observation and on analyzing what I managed to observe and record.</p>
<p>I am afraid that people of our planet are now walking towards the different corners. Not all of them, but the majority. The trust had been broken. Hurts, mental injuries are too deep. Western neo-colonialism has been too savage, too brutal, on all continents: in Africa, Oceania, Asia and until recently in Latin America. But some of the most terrible claws of imperialism had been pointed towards the Muslim world. There, the West usually used religion for its own gains, dividing Shia and Sunni Muslims, literally training and bribing religious cadres into fighting against Soviet Union or against progressive and non-aligned ideals in the countries like Indonesia before 1965.</p>
<p>It is almost as if much of political Islam had been kidnapped and corrupted by Western interests.</p>
<p>It has been long, debilitating and humiliating process, and for majority of the Muslims it was very difficult to fight back, to defend themselves. For decades since the end of the WWII, entire nations like Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Palestine and Somalia to name just a few, had been thrown to terrible meat grinders, they were forced to bleed in agony.</p>
<p>Almost every Muslim country, from Sudan, Libya to Mali, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Iraq had been manipulated or directly invaded or simply destroyed. The worst grade of dictators has been created, cultivated and then supported. The West was determined to rule over the Muslim lands, as it was determined to rule over the whole world.</p>
<p>In a way, Muslim countries never gained true independence after centuries of colonial rule. And if they did, they were beaten once again to even worse submission.</p>
<p>It is very hard to imagine that trust could bloom in such environment.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Emotions are one thing, but knowledge is quite another. Many Muslims may guard their feelings and their ‘territory’ when interacting with infidels (one could hardly blame them, given the ancient as well as recent history of the world), but it is the West, the ruling culture, that shows limitless spite towards the Islamic cultural universe, making Muslim even more defensive and protective of that little that has been left to them.</p>
<p>Even in the most remote and ‘uneducated’ parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, even on many far-away islands of Indonesian archipelago, people are well aware of at least some essentials, some basics on which the Western culture is constructed.</p>
<p>But how much the West knows about Islam – about its ideals, its code of justice, its culture and arts, its taboos and goals? Is Muslim universe that encompasses almost one quarter of the world’s population treated as equal partner by the Empire and its junior partners?</p>
<p>How many ‘educated’ people in the West even bothered to read Qur’an?&#160; We all know it is pathetically low percentage, although I don’t know anybody in the West who would not have some ‘theory’ or strong opinion (and mostly absolutely ignorant) on the subject!</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>The West developed powerful set of uncompromising stereotypes: there are two extremes on the scale of generally accepted measure of intellectualism: On one hand there is an image, a symbol, of totally deranged, submissive female with covered hair – a personification of oppression, stupidity and irrationality. A Muslim woman is submissive and pitiful and should be enlightened and ‘liberated’ at nearest appropriate opportunity.</p>
<p>At the other extreme is post-Existentialist intellectual, preferably from Paris, London or other Western metropolis. He (or she but most probably he) is without any doubt an atheist, wine drinking and determinately ‘liberal’ (whatever that means). His god is nothing less than ‘rational thinking’. He believes in nothing and sneers at God, but he also despises all revolutions, rebellions as well as Marxism and anything that smells of idealism. And he is fiercely individualistic.</p>
<p>Such prototype of intellectual was perfected and nurtured into the very symbol of the superiority of Western civilization. Of course he is at the right-side extreme on the imaginary scale. If a Muslim woman with her covered hair is somewhere near zero, he is scratching his back by the digits of number ten.</p>
<p>But is he so smart? Is he really bright? Is he kind; is he a humanist, a brave individual?</p>
<p>Is he challenging dogmas advanced by official Western propaganda? Is he brave enough to question his own right to’ superiority’? When he gets drunk and sings (and he gets drunk often); can we hear selection of world tunes or just his own jingles? When he struggles for something, is it for the world that is oppressed by his own culture or is he fighting mainly his own individualistic and egocentric goals?</p>
<p>What does our intellectual champion knows about the world outside his realm?</p>
<p>Most of my ‘intellectual’ friends in Paris or Madrid or even New York could hardly name one Muslim thinker, or one Middle Eastern poet.</p>
<p>Of course they are equally ignorant about all other parts of the world, except their own. While any Chinese or Japanese child can name at least some of the most outstanding composers and writers from Europe and United Sates, how many European adults, even with the advanced degrees can name one great Chinese or Japanese composer, Korean actor or Indonesian painter?</p>
<p>And what about the open-mindedness of our hero secular intellectual? What about the range of his choices? For most of Europeans and North American ‘thinkers’ it is almost unimaginable to question the superiority of [their own] multi-party political system (democracy is not measured by whether people really rule their countries, but by the number of political parties competing against each other). Also the “Free market” economic model that could be easily defined by the words ‘market fundamentalism’ allows no challenges – try to ridicule it and you will have corporate fatwa thrown on your head in no time – you will not be killed, just sidelined and possibly slowly starved to death.</p>
<p>And then, most of the Western intellectuals have one extreme, maybe the most extreme and fundamentalist believe on earth, which already murdered hundreds of millions of innocent men, women and children: it is belief that the West with its set of values and dogmas has some unquestionable mandate to rule over the world.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>But let us go back to Muslims.</p>
<p>Before and during this Ramadan, I met several people from Indian Bohra Muslim sect, extremely educated and Orthodox branch of Shia Islam. I will not go to details here, as they are connected to my, until now unfinished, work as an investigative journalist.</p>
<p>One of them is an Indian neurosurgeon, brilliant and determined, known for ‘going where all others refuse to go’, for saving lives where there appears to be no hope left.</p>
<p>We exchanged many ‘notes’. To her, doing what she does is one great blessing, as she explained to me: “I get access to God’s greatest creation – human brain.”</p>
<p>In other exchange she expressed her frustration: “No matter what we do, we are not considered to be ‘intellectuals’, if we are religious, if we believe in God. Atheists do not take believers seriously. Only atheist could be considered true intellectual.”</p>
<p>Her statement made me think and it inspired this essay. Someone who operates on human brains should be taken very seriously. And if she does not have her voice in our world, I am naturally ready to lend her mine.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>I always thought that one has to believe in something, in order to be able to live (not just to exist), in order to make positive difference in this world.</p>
<p>All great revolutions were conducted with passion and definitely with love – with unconditional love for the humanity. Country like USSR could not fight and defeat fascism (and save the world) without passion and belief in its sacred mission.</p>
<p>Cuba could not stand firm, to survive attacks and embargos by the mightiest bully in human history without determination, love and belief in its right path.</p>
<p>It often appears to me when I come to visit Europe or North America, when I travel to speak there or in order to launch my books or open films, that everything that used to be ‘sacred’ almost disappeared from the daily life there. Nobody is fighting for anything substantial, anymore. Almost nobody is fighting, full stop. There are almost no ideals left. Ideas had been discredited, dragged through dirt, spat on. People appear to be living by inertia while the plunder abroad conducted by their governments and companies continues.</p>
<p>Families are not having children anymore and men and women are too afraid to commit themselves to anything that would challenge their ‘freedom’. Old people are fading in retirement homes or are discovered weeks after dying in dismal loneliness.</p>
<p>Mention socialism, internationalism or (god forbid) Marxism, and you will be facing uninterrupted and vitriolic barrage of cynicism. Mention other countries that are choosing different path – China, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran – and badly informed but vicious choir will begin bombarding you with pre-fabricated dirt designed by mass media and propagandists to discredit any nation that is distinctive.</p>
<p>I feel unwell in the West, and increasingly so. I know no other part of the world with such uniformity of believes! And I do not like believes that took hold of the people there.</p>
<p>It is also becoming clear to me that believes that remained in the West have very little to do with love and so much with hate, and nihilism. That fact actually makes a rational sense: if not for hate and cruelty, how else would the minority be able to plunder and torture most of the world for so many centuries?</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Some time ago I was sitting on the tall carpet in one of the mosques in Istanbul. It was quiet and comfortable there. I was not alone. Unlike in Saudi Arabia, in Turkey a mosque is not only a place of worship; it is comfortable, beautiful and welcoming public space.</p>
<p>I was sitting on the floor and thinking. Not far from me were several women, praying. They were devoted and it appeared to me – content.</p>
<p>I was not content at all. What I witnessed in the Middle East, what I felt after working there was very far from harmony. I also calculated that I have approximately twenty years, at most 25, of this madness of non-stop working, constant traveling, of this exciting fight for better world. I enjoy good fight; I love my work and my life. The idea that I will eventually turn to dust was depressing me.</p>
<p>Those ladies had much better future than me, or at least they believed so.</p>
<p>And then I realized something else. While I was sitting on the carpet, in my heavy head working on the concept for some article, recalling horrors of existence of so many people on this earth, those women praying just a few steps from me were in love. They loved fully, unconditionally, and selflessly. They loved their God.</p>
<p>Everything was suddenly very simple. I recalled couples at sunset in Nicaragua, whispering verses of great poets – verses engraved to the beautiful sculptures.</p>
<p>When one loves, it should be absolute, or what is the point otherwise? And when there is love, objectivity is meaningless; it is even insulting. We don’t measure size of the nose of a woman we love; we don’t check her teeth. We don’t run her IQ test, do we? All that is irrelevant, because she is perfect. And if somebody tells us that she is ugly or brainless or both, we punch his teeth. It is natural and it was since the beginning of human race – such behavior.</p>
<p>The only difference was that these women loved unconditionally the Highest being.</p>
<p>I knew I was cheating. I always wanted to be with those who believed, with those who loved, with those who could…</p>
<p>I knew that deep inside, I felt much better, much more comfortable and much safer in this little mosque than I would feel in the pub or at some atheist gathering…</p>
<p>Eventually I lifted up my heavy bag, full of cameras and wires, and I went away, I went to fight for better world on this planet.</p>
<p>But as I was passing through the door, in my mind I fully paraphrased the end of one of the iconic philosophical works by Albert Camus: “The Myth of Sisyphus”. After observing those devoted women for a while, I had to conclude that they were happy … while I was scared.</p>
<p>Andre Vltchek&#160;is a novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. His book on Western imperialism in the &#160;South Pacific –&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Oceania</a>&#160;– is published by Lulu .&#160;His provocative book about post-Suharto Indonesia and market-fundamentalist model is called “Indonesia – The Archipelago of Fear” and will be released by Pluto Publishing House in August 2012. After living for many years in Latin America and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and works in East Asia and Africa. He can be reached through his&#160; <a href="http://andrevltchek.weebly.com/" type="external">website</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> | Veiled Muslim Women and Boozing Western Intellectuals | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/08/20/veiled-muslim-women-and-boozing-western-intellectuals/ | 2012-08-20 | 4 |
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<p>If you follow the news, you may have heard that Medicare is projected to run into serious financial trouble in the years ahead. However, the reasons behind this funding shortfall, as well as its implications for Americans, aren't well-understood by many people. So, here's a chart that sums up the problem with Medicare's financial future, some details about what it means, and what can be done about it.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Specifically, the funding shortfall mainly affects Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), as this is the portion of Medicare that is funded by the payroll tax and the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund. Parts B and D are primarily financed through general revenues and beneficiary premiums, not payroll taxes, so the same financial woes don't apply.</p>
<p>Simply put, the hospital insurance program is projected to start running a deficit in a few years, and the trust fund is expected to run out of money completely in 2030. Once this happens, the only money available to finance benefits will be incoming payroll taxes, which are expected to cover just 86% of the program's costs.</p>
<p>The reason for this expected financial dilemma can be seen in this one simple chart from the latest Medicare trustees' report:</p>
<p>Source: 2015 Medicare Trustees' Report</p>
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<p>As you can see, from 1980 until the mid-2000s, there were about four workers paying into the system for every beneficiary. With the continuing retirement of baby boomers as well as longer overall lifespans, this has been steadily dropping and is projected to continue to do so rapidly for the next few decades. From 2030 until 2089, the last year covered by the chart, it is expected that no more than 2.4 workers will be paying into the system for every beneficiary.</p>
<p>In other words, the number of workers paying Medicare taxes for each beneficiary is being cut almost in half.</p>
<p>Having said that, any headlines you see about Medicare being "bankrupt" or anything to that effect are completely overstating the current condition of the hospital insurance program. In fact, after a significant spending deficit from 2008 until 2014, Medicare Hospital Insurance is actually projected to run a surplus through 2023 before returning to deficits.</p>
<p>This means that the trust fund balance will actually grow for the next few years, although at a slow rate, but the deficits after 2023 are expected to get large pretty quickly, depleting the remaining reserves over a six-year period.</p>
<p>Source: 2015 Medicare Trustees' Report</p>
<p>The most obvious solution to the problem would be to raise the Medicare portion of the payroll tax, and it's entirely possible that this will happen. After all, Medicare taxes have already been increased in recent years with the 0.9% Medicare tax on high earners and the 3.8% Net Investment Income tax imposed on certain investment income, which is part of the reason Medicare is expected to run a surplus for a few years. However, an across-the-board Medicare tax increase hasn't occurred since 1986, and the demographics have certainly changed since then, so an increase may be necessary.</p>
<p>In addition to a tax increase, there are a few other potential solutions. Just to name some of the possibilities, we could:</p>
<p>It's highly likely that something will be done to fix Medicare. After all, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 77% of Americans feel that Medicare is "very important" and needs to be preserved. However, the exact reform package congress will pass, and when it will happen, is anyone's guess at this point.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/06/04/the-most-important-medicare-chart-you-will-ever-se.aspx" type="external">The Most Important Medicare Chart You Will Ever See</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | The Most Important Medicare Chart You Will Ever See | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/04/most-important-medicare-chart-will-ever-see.html | 2016-06-04 | 0 |
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<p>You won’t find this word in Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s recently published memoir, “My Beloved World.”</p>
<p>And this alone tells you everything you need to know about the woman who grew up in near-poverty, in an ire-filled home with a distant mother and an alcoholic father who died when she was 9. She was left to manage her diabetes, her family and her hard-won education nearly all by herself.</p>
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<p>You’d probably be forgiven for calling her a pobrecita, though it would surely infuriate the endlessly self-reliant Supreme Court justice.</p>
<p>Believe me, you won’t find any self-pitying words littering this story of pluck and perseverance.</p>
<p>I specifically chose those two words because the cliché irks me so. Generally speaking, I stay away from autobiographies because they’re usually meant to put the author in the best possible light for whatever next stage of fame her or she is hoping to achieve.</p>
<p>Sotomayor tells her own story, however, with the confidence of someone who has already arrived and doesn’t need to embellish it. On this count she almost goes overboard in the evenness, proportion and restraint with which she describes her meteoric rise to judicial stardom.</p>
<p>At times she describes the patience with which she maneuvered every obstacle — from the fear of insulin needles to the snootiness of high school administrators who couldn’t believe the eventual class valedictorian managed to get herself into Princeton — and the wonderment with which she greeted every successive academic and professional distinction, and you just want to grab her by her threadbare lapels and yell, “Look alive, honey!”</p>
<p>But that’s Sonia Sotomayor: nose-to-the-grindstone, unassuming, and down to earth — nearly to a fault. For how many times she mentions her disregard for stylish clothes, purses or shoes, one is almost surprised by how beautifully put-together she appears on the cover of her book.</p>
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<p>In truth, the pedestrian sobriety with which Sotomayor tells what amounts to a Greek mythology-style triumph — which easily could have been cast as yet another “I was a poor, victimized minority” sob story — is both refreshing and edifying.</p>
<p>So let’s get a few things straight about the woman who rocketed to Hispanic icon status by calling herself a “wise Latina.”</p>
<p>First, and what felt most important to me, was that after peering into the depths of Sotomayor’s character, it’s clear that her Latina statement was not the roar of a liberal feminist of color but merely, as she’d said in the aftermath of the slip, “a rhetorical flourish that fell flat.”</p>
<p>Here is a woman who worked overtime every single day of her life to attain academic and professional excellence under the most difficult personal circumstances.</p>
<p>Yet she did so without bitterness toward her less-than-perfect family, anger at her unenthusiastic teachers or resentment for anyone who, back in the early days of racial, ethnic and gender equality, didn’t exactly peg her as destined for any kind of greatness.</p>
<p>Far from being some sort of stereotypical fiery Latina, the quiet, somewhat awkward, Sotomayor freely shares her academic and personal shortcomings and insecurities. Most importantly, she details the rigor and discipline it takes to overcome such doubts through hard work.</p>
<p>Rather than being the ethnic activist she unwittingly painted herself as with the “wise Latina” crack, she speaks openly — and with an honesty that will disappoint many a left-winger — about not feeling marginalized by racism or lacking any desire to join radical Latino students who cheered “down with whitey” in their campaigns against oppressors.</p>
<p>Sotomayor does this, however, with the same mildness she uses to describe how meaningful it was to have Hispanic peers in college. They banded together to help needy Latinos and she eventually took a leadership role in a Puerto Rican social service organization that served the community she’d come from and never left until she became a judge.</p>
<p>Though some have complained that there aren’t any politics in the book, the lessons here transcend politics: a solid belief in personal responsibility, integrity and a moral core. Plus intellectual, as well as political, independence combined with reason and context, not to mention a lifelong love of learning and self-betterment — values anyone should be able to respect.</p>
<p>If you’re prepared to understand all the stereotype-busting realities of one of the most successful people in the world, you’ll be rewarded with this benediction: “I’m proud to offer living proof that big dreams are not out of bounds.”</p> | Sotomayor Pushes Aside Stereotypes | false | https://abqjournal.com/165725/sotomayor-pushes-aside-stereotypes.html | 2013-02-03 | 2 |
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<p>“Oh, we are so excited,” Shiffrin said. “It’s been a while. It’s like coming back to Vail for the world championships (in 2015) after so long. I know that the East Coast, the people, the ski racing fans, they are so excited for this race. I can’t wait to bring ski racing back to them.”</p>
<p>Killington, Vermont, will host a pair of women’s races on Thanksgiving weekend, with a giant slalom Nov. 26 and a slalom the following day. The 21-year-old Shiffrin grew up in Colorado, but most of her family is from New England.</p>
<p>“They are over the moon. They can’t wait for this race to happen,” the 21-year-old Shiffrin said. “My grandma, she is 95, I think is coming. I hope she will be able to go. That would be amazing.”</p>
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<p>The World Cup circuit visited Vermont before — in Stratton in 1978 — but November’s event will be the first in the U.S. northeast since American skier Julie Parisien won a GS in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, in 1991.</p>
<p>Ted Ligety, the Olympic GS gold medalist from Utah, hopes the area will also become a stop on the men’s World Cup circuit.</p>
<p>“Having a race in the East Coast really makes sense,” Ligety said. “There is a ton of hard-core ski racing fans in the East Coast. There are big populations near these ski races, as well. In the whole New England area you will get a big crowd as long as you are within a couple hours’ drive from Boston.”</p>
<p>The event in Killington features the first two of a total of 16 World Cup races on American snow in the 2016-17 season, the highest number in the past two decades.</p>
<p>The men traditionally race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in early December, but Squaw Valley, California, has been added to the women’s calendar for March, shortly before the men and women contest the World Cup finals in Aspen, Colorado.</p>
<p>“Many of our athletes grew up training and racing on these hills,” Tiger Shaw, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, said. “They’re excited to have this many opportunities to ski in front of a hometown crowd.”</p>
<p>Shiffrin believes that having 16 races in the U.S. will spark greater interest in the sport across the country.</p>
<p>“Especially moving into an Olympic year, it provides a lot more opportunities from a business standpoint for us, U.S. ski racers,” she said. “That’s huge.”</p>
<p>Shiffrin recalled how watching the likes of Lindsey Vonn, Anja Paerson, Janica Kostelic and Marlies Schild inspired her to get into racing.</p>
<p>“I watched all these girls and ski racing was the biggest thing in my eyes,” Shiffrin said. “I am hoping that having this many races in the U.S. can really spark some interest with those young girls, who remind me of myself 10 years ago.”</p>
<p>The USSA is eager to build on the momentum and host more World Cup races on a regular basis in the near future. Many American ski resorts could stage those races, but the rise of new formats like city events offers further opportunities.</p>
<p>Boston hosted a Big Air freestyle skiing event at Fenway Park in February, and could also host an Alpine skiing city event one day.</p>
<p>“It’s great for us to be able to go to big cities around the world,” FIS women’s race director Atle Skaardal said. “We have been to Munich, to Stockholm, to Moscow. Maybe we find an opportunity in North America, in one of the big cities there. These could be the highlights that are absolutely giving us the attraction we are looking for in these very populated areas of the world.”</p> | World Cup skiing returning to US East Coast after 25 years | false | https://abqjournal.com/875238/world-cup-skiing-returning-to-us-east-coast-after-25-years.html | 2016-10-26 | 2 |
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<p>The 92-year-old former president went into the ICU on Wednesday and underwent a procedure “to protect and clear his airway that required sedation,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement.</p>
<p>Bush was stable and resting comfortably at Houston Methodist Hospital, McGrath said.</p>
<p>The 41st president was placed in the ICU to address “an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia,” McGrath said. He later told The Associated Press that doctors were happy with how the procedure went. Bush was first admitted to the hospital Saturday for shortness of breath.</p>
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<p>“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of money to be gained betting against George Bush,” McGrath said. “We’re just kind of in a wait-and-see mode.”</p>
<p>McGrath said Barbara Bush, who is 91, had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks and decided “to take it out of committee and have the experts check it out.” He described the move as precautionary.</p>
<p>Physicians initially believed the former president would be released later this week following several days of treatment, but his stay has been extended, McGrath said. There is no timetable for his release.</p>
<p>Doctors want to see how the former first lady responds to treatment before allowing her to return home, he said.</p>
<p>The Bushes, who were married Jan. 6, 1945, have had the longest marriage of any presidential couple in American history. At the time of their wedding, he was a young naval aviator. She had been a student at Smith College.</p>
<p>After World War II, the pair moved to the Texas oil patch to seek their fortune and raise a family. It was there that George Bush began his political career, representing Houston for two terms in Congress in the late 1960s and early 1970s.</p>
<p>Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, has a form of Parkinson’s disease and uses a motorized scooter or a wheelchair for mobility. He was hospitalized in 2015 in Maine after falling at his summer home and breaking a bone in his neck. He was also hospitalized in Houston the previous December for about a week for shortness of breath. He spent Christmas 2012 in intensive care for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.</p>
<p>Despite his loss of mobility, Bush celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump in Kennebunkport, Maine. Last summer, Bush led a group of 40 wounded warriors on a fishing trip at the helm of his speedboat, three days after his 92nd birthday celebration.</p>
<p>Bush’s office announced earlier this month that the couple would not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration because of the former president’s age and health.</p>
<p>“My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas,” Bush wrote in a letter to Trump.</p>
<p>His son George W. Bush, the 43rd president, still expects to attend the inauguration and does not plan to travel to Houston, spokesman Freddy Ford said.</p>
<p>George Herbert Walker Bush, born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, also served as a congressman, CIA director and Ronald Reagan’s vice president.</p>
<p>George W. Bush was elected president in 2000 and served two terms. Another son, Jeb, served as Florida governor and made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination in 2016. Only one other U.S. president, John Adams, had a son who also became president.</p> | Former President George H.W. Bush and wife hospitalized | false | https://abqjournal.com/930925/former-president-george-h-w-bush-and-wife-hospitalized-2.html | 2017-01-18 | 2 |
<p>President Trump and Pope Francis are two very different people. The Pope dedicates his life to advancing the causes of the poor and otherwise marginalized within the confines of his Catholic faith. President Trump, on the other hand, has long operated in such a manner that he finds it nothing to propose slashing tens of millions of dollars in funding from programs that keep some people alive.</p>
<p>The inherent conflict between these two leaders was put on full display in the Pope’s facial expressions while meeting President Trump.</p>
<p>Trump visited the Pope as part of the European leg of his first foreign tour as president. Prior to visiting the Pope, Trump stopped in Saudi Arabia and in Israel. He has thus visited sites important to each of the globe’s three major monotheistic faiths.</p>
<p>You can check out Pope Francis’s remarkably morbid facial expressions in the photos in the tweet below.</p>
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<p>Those first couple of photos in the above tweet aren’t altered; that’s really how he looks.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first public relations gaffe on Trump’s overseas trip. When he was just getting to Israel, his wife Melania was caught on tape slapping his hand away when he reached for it. He also, infamously, told a room full of Israeli leaders that he had “just gotten back” from the Middle East when he was, in fact, in the Middle East at the time.</p>
<p>His time in Saudi Arabia was a bit more sinister, with him having inked a massive arms deal with the nation — Saudi Arabia — that could easily be said to be one of the globe’s largest state supporters of terrorism.</p>
<p>Of course, many have taken to comparing the photos taken of Trump and the Pope to those taken of Obama and the Pope.</p>
<p>Check out a couple such photos&#160;below, via screenshot from Twitter.</p>
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<p>Even in the most morbid of photos taken of Obama and Pope Francis, it still looks like he’s making somewhat of an attempt at looking pleasant. There’s no trace of the same in the photo of the Pope and Trump.</p>
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<p>The post-meeting <a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2017/05/24/0353/00790.html#es" type="external">statement</a> from the Vatican states that the Holy See hopes that there may be cooperation “in the fields of healthcare, education and assistance to immigrants” under the Trump administration.</p>
<p>According to the seemingly reputable <a href="http://religionnews.com/2017/05/24/pope-francis-gives-president-trump-some-homework-at-their-first-meeting/" type="external">Religion News Service</a>, the Pope passed Trump a few documents during their meeting, including a copy of his landmark explanation of the danger of and need to address climate change, something that Trump has been notoriously coy on.</p>
<p>Trump and the Pope traded jabs most recently after the Pope suggested that someone who “only thinks about building walls” couldn’t possibly be a Christian.</p>
<p>Featured Image via&#160; <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/687641462" type="external">MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images</a>.</p> | Camera Catches Pope’s Face Moments After Meeting Trump; Images Viral Instantly | true | http://bipartisanreport.com/2017/05/24/camera-catches-popes-face-moments-after-meeting-trump-images-viral-instantly/ | 2017-05-24 | 4 |
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/15683/justin-tucker" type="external">Justin Tucker</a> is more than just the most accurate kicker in NFL history. The
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/bal/baltimore-ravens" type="external">Baltimore Ravens</a> kicker is also the most talented player off the field. Showing off his opera skills by singing "Ave Maria," Tucker was the winner of "Most Valuable Performer," an NFL talent show televised on CBS on Thursday night. He beat out finalists
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/car/carolina-panthers" type="external">Carolina Panthers</a> running back
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/11247/jonathan-stewart" type="external">Jonathan Stewart</a> (played piano) and
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/cle/cleveland-browns" type="external">Cleveland Browns</a> guard
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/14931/kevin-zeitler" type="external">Kevin Zeitler</a> (dog tricks). "This is amazing," Tucker said. "What an incredible opportunity. Such a blast." Tucker, who earned a music degree at the University of Texas, will give his $50,000 prize money to the Baltimore School for the Arts. "Hopefully, we're going to keep encouraging Baltimore's youth to stay involved in music, dance and all of the fine arts," he said. In what was his fourth live performance, Tucker wowed the judges in the first such talent show involving NFL players. "That's what we call pitch perfect," said Katharine McPhee, a singer and actress. The other players who participated were Ravens defensive tackle
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/15875/brandon-williams" type="external">Brandon Williams</a> (singing) and running back
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3046409/alex-collins" type="external">Alex Collins</a> (Irish dancing) and Broncos defensive tackle Domata Peko (guitar and singing). Tucker, who has sung previously at Christmas concerts, was the star of the show. "I expected to be impressed tonight," said wide receiver
<a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/9705/brandon-marshall" type="external">Brandon Marshall</a>, who was also a judge. "But I was not expecting to be moved. This was emotional." | Ravens kicker Justin Tucker wins NFL talent show by singing opera | false | http://abc11.com/sports/ravens-kicker-justin-tucker-wins-nfl-talent-show-by-singing-opera/2990219/ | 2018-01-25 | 3 |
<p>As he plots his own comeback in California, <a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Sen. Bernard Sanders</a> on Monday night took a break from campaigning and attended Game 7 of the <a href="/topics/national-basketball-association/" type="external">NBA</a> Western Conference finals, watching from the 15th row as the <a href="/topics/golden-state-warriors/" type="external">Golden State Warriors</a> defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder and capped off an impressive come-from-behind win in the series.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Mr. Sanders</a> was joined by actor Danny Glover, an ardent <a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Sanders</a> supporter, at the game. ESPN reported that the average ticket price for the event was $960.</p>
<p>On Twitter, <a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Mr. Sanders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/737484632757817344?lang=en" type="external">posted</a> several pictures from the game.</p>
<p>The Vermont senator stood out in the crowd as one of the few fans not wearing a distinctive yellow <a href="/topics/golden-state-warriors/" type="external">Warriors</a> T-shirt; <a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Mr. Sanders</a> instead wore his trademark blue dress shirt.</p>
<p>After the game, he praised the <a href="/topics/golden-state-warriors/" type="external">Warriors</a> comeback after being down three games to one in the series and hinted that he’ll mount a similar comeback against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary.</p>
<p>“Last week, Golden State was down three games to one. Tonight, they finished off a great comeback in California,” <a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Mr. Sanders</a> tweeted. “I like comebacks.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/bernie-sanders/" type="external">Mr. Sanders</a> will face off against Mrs. Clinton in the California primary on June 7, while the <a href="/topics/golden-state-warriors/" type="external">Warriors</a> will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the <a href="/topics/national-basketball-association/" type="external">NBA</a> finals.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="https://goo.gl/forms/xGjXcUKYsKxMeCUl1" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Socialist Bernie Sanders scores coveted Warriors-Thunder Game 7 tix, hails victorious Golden State | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/31/bernie-sanders-takes-warriors-thunder-game-7-prais/?1 | 2016-05-31 | 0 |
<p>Shares of power-plant operators rose amid risk aversion and deal activity.</p>
<p>Shares of merchant power producer Calpine rallied after a consortium led by leveraged-buyout firm Energy Capital Partners agreed to buy the company for $5.6 billion in cash.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Rob Curran, [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 18, 2017 17:29 ET (21:29 GMT)</p> | Utilities Higher Amid Deal Activity -- Utilities Roundup | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/18/utilities-higher-amid-deal-activity-utilities-roundup.html | 2017-08-18 | 0 |
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<p>President Barack Obama will announce on Monday that the Department of Agriculture intends to buy up to $170 million of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help support farmers suffering from the drought, a White House official said. The food purchases will go toward "food nutrition assistance" programs, like food banks. During a visit to Iowa, a political swing state that the Democrat hopes to win in the November 6 election, Obama will press Congress to pass a farm bill with short-term relief measures for the ranchers and farmers hurt by the drought. The president will also direct the Department of Defense to "encourage" its vendors to speed up purchases of lamb, pork and beef and freeze it for later use. "This is a win-win. Farmers and ranchers will have an opportunity to sell more of their products at this critical time and taxpayers will get a better price on food that would have been purchased later," the official said. "The president has directed his administration to continue exploring every possible avenue to provide relief to communities struggling with this historic natural disaster." Obama will tour an Iowa farm to view the effects of the drought. The state is one of a handful of political swing states, including Ohio, Florida, and Colorado, that could hold the key to victory in his race with Republican Mitt Romney for the White House. Last week the governors of two poultry-growing states, Maryland and Delaware, asked the Obama administration for relief from the requirement to use corn ethanol in gasoline, saying corn is needed to feed livestock.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Obama to Announce Measures to Help Drought Pain | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/08/13/obama-to-announce-measures-to-help-drought-pain.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon employees have been testing it, but is the public ready for a cashier-less store?</p>
<p>More than a year after it introduced the concept, Amazon is opening its artificial intelligence-powered Amazon Go store in downtown Seattle on Monday.</p>
<p>The store on the bottom floor of the company's Seattle headquarters allows shoppers to scan their smartphone with the Amazon Go app at a turnstile, pick out the items they want and leave.</p>
<p>By combining computer vision, machine learning algorithms and sensors, the online retail giant can tell what people have purchased and charges their Amazon account. If someone puts an item back, they aren't charged.</p>
<p>The store is not without employees — Amazon says there will be people there making food, stocking shelves and helping customers. The store will offer ready-to-eat breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, as well as some grocery staples like bread, milk, cheese and chocolates. It'll also have Amazon Meal Kits.</p>
<p>At about 1,800 square feet, the Amazon Go store adds to the company's growing physical store presence and its expansion into groceries after its purchase last year of organic grocer Whole Foods and its 470 stores.</p>
<p>Amazon now has more than a dozen Amazon Books stores, which also sell toys, electronics and small gifts. It has space in some Kohl's stores. Amazon also has small shops in several malls.</p>
<p>The company had announced the Amazon Go store in December 2016 and said it would open by early 2017, but it delayed the debut while it worked on the technology and company employees tested it out.</p>
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon employees have been testing it, but is the public ready for a cashier-less store?</p>
<p>More than a year after it introduced the concept, Amazon is opening its artificial intelligence-powered Amazon Go store in downtown Seattle on Monday.</p>
<p>The store on the bottom floor of the company's Seattle headquarters allows shoppers to scan their smartphone with the Amazon Go app at a turnstile, pick out the items they want and leave.</p>
<p>By combining computer vision, machine learning algorithms and sensors, the online retail giant can tell what people have purchased and charges their Amazon account. If someone puts an item back, they aren't charged.</p>
<p>The store is not without employees — Amazon says there will be people there making food, stocking shelves and helping customers. The store will offer ready-to-eat breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, as well as some grocery staples like bread, milk, cheese and chocolates. It'll also have Amazon Meal Kits.</p>
<p>At about 1,800 square feet, the Amazon Go store adds to the company's growing physical store presence and its expansion into groceries after its purchase last year of organic grocer Whole Foods and its 470 stores.</p>
<p>Amazon now has more than a dozen Amazon Books stores, which also sell toys, electronics and small gifts. It has space in some Kohl's stores. Amazon also has small shops in several malls.</p>
<p>The company had announced the Amazon Go store in December 2016 and said it would open by early 2017, but it delayed the debut while it worked on the technology and company employees tested it out.</p> | Amazon to debut cashier-less store in downtown Seattle | false | https://apnews.com/amp/b56ab4659e59492587347565b64c4729 | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
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<p>JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking an unpopular message to the White House and the United Nations this week: Don’t be fooled by Tehran’s new leadership.</p>
<p>He contends that Iran is using conciliatory gestures as a smoke screen to conceal an unabated march toward a nuclear bomb.</p>
<p>He will deliver those strong words of caution – and fresh intelligence – in an attempt to persuade the U.S. to maintain tough economic sanctions and not allow the Islamic republic to develop a bomb.</p>
<p>With the White House cautiously optimistic about its dialogue with Iran, today’s meeting between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama could be tense.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Netanyahu warns US about Iran | false | https://abqjournal.com/271723/netanyahu-warns-us-about-iran.html | 2013-09-30 | 2 |
<p>&lt;a href="https://secure.istockphoto.com/photo/military-service-member-holding-little-cardboard-house-gm495634442-78095063?st=81f119f"&gt;Catherine Lane&lt;/a&gt;/iStockPhoto</p>
<p />
<p>Over the objections of the Pentagon, the Senate passed a military budget in mid-June that changes the housing allowances given to soldiers, denying them a widespread source of supplemental income.</p>
<p>Service members who don’t live in barracks receive a monthly stipend called Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). Right now, it’s a simple, flat-rate (and tax-free) cash payment that’s handed out according to soldiers’ rank, the cost of housing where they live, and whether or not they have dependents. Under current rules, service members are free to rent cheap apartments and pocket the leftover cash, or they can share housing while each getting a full allowance—a popular way for single soldiers and “dual military” couples to offset low military pay. The stipends range from a little over $600 a month for <a href="http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Docs/perdiem/browse/Allowances/BAH/PDF/2016/2016-Without-Dependents-BAH-Rates.pdf" type="external">an unmarried private</a> to more than $5,000 a month for <a href="http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Docs/perdiem/browse/Allowances/BAH/PDF/2016/2016-With-Dependents-BAH-Rates.pdf" type="external">a high-ranking officer with dependents</a>.</p>
<p>The measure in the Senate bill, which passed with approval from the Armed Services Committee, would make the housing stipend cover only soldiers’ actual bills. (The committee did not respond to requests for comment about which members specifically backed the housing changes.) Soldiers would provide copies of their rents or mortgages and get reimbursed only for what they spent, up to a maximum payable limit. Soldiers sharing housing would have their allowances divided by the number of service members sharing the space. The changes would cost many soldiers hundreds of dollars of a month. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the move would <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/wp-content/uploads/114th-congress-2015-2016/costestimate/s2943.pdf" type="external">save $2 billion</a> over the next five years.</p>
<p>“This seems like a very odd thing to go after, just because it’s such a drop in the bucket in the overall big scheme of things,” says Dan Grazier, a fellow at the Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group. The Senate’s overall bill calls for $602 billion in Pentagon spending for the next fiscal year alone. A Pentagon report issued in March said it was “inappropriate to limit a member’s compensation by tying that compensation to actual expenses,” <a href="http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/2016/05/28/military-housing-allowance-bah/85028422/" type="external">according to</a> the Military Times.</p>
<p>If the Defense Department is looking for meaningful savings,&#160;says Todd Harrison, the director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, it needs to focus on something other than cutting housing stipends. “It’s not nothing, [but] it’s not the kind of reform that’s going to put the military compensation system on a more sustainable trajectory,” he says. Harrison argues that Congress should look to make changes to retirement benefits or to Tricare, the military health care system, whose costs are growing faster than any other area of the Pentagon budget. In fact, Harrison says, past change have already produced far bigger savings without taking money out of the pockets of soldiers.</p>
<p>“Just the minor changes that Congress has made to the Tricare program over the past four or five years [are] now saving more than $5 billion a year—each year—in the defense budget,” he says, “and I think a lot of people would be hard-pressed to identify what those changes are.”</p>
<p>Harrison’s research also says housing allowances are more important to soldiers than benefits such as health care. “It kind of baffles me,” he says. “They’re cutting back on exactly the types of compensation that people value most [and] ignoring the elephant in the room.”</p>
<p>While Harrison believes there’s still “a lot more that could be done” to find savings in retirement and health programs, others disagree. “Any low-hanging fruit has gone away, at the very least,” says Katherine Blakeley, a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a defense think tank.</p>
<p>Blakeley points out that housing allowances were never intended to simply be bonus cash for troops, even if many soldiers now use them that way. BAH was originally intended to cover only about 80 percent of a soldier’s housing costs, she said—it’s now designed to <a href="http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/2014/12/10/bah-cuts-details/20187553/" type="external">cover 99 percent</a>—and the Senate’s changes are an attempt to make such stipends “a little more true to what their purposes are. If you want troops to be able to have $400 in their pocket more every month, a better way to do that is to look at the actual pay.”</p>
<p>For now, there’s still hope for angry troops. The House version of the defense spending bill doesn’t include any changes to BAH, and the measure will have to survive the conference committee that will hash out the bill’s final version. The Armed Services committees in both the Senate and the House did not respond to requests for comment about what might happen.</p>
<p /> | Congress Has a New Plan to Rein In Military Spending. Soldiers Are Going to Hate It. | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/congress-targeting-troops-housing-benefits/ | 2016-06-28 | 4 |
<p>Evan Vucci/AP</p>
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<p>Donald Trump defended his habit of publicly ridiculing women’s looks, arguing that it has entertainment value. Trump, who made the comment during an <a href="http://news3lv.com/news/local/exclusive-one-on-one-with-presidential-candidate-donald-trump" type="external">interview</a> with an NBC affiliate in Las Vegas before giving a speech there Wednesday evening, seemed to claim that as long as mocking women is funny, it’s a fine way to grab headlines and ramp up ratings.</p>
<p>“You have two beautiful daughters past their teenage years,” the reporter said. “Can you understand the concern from parents of younger girls that some of your comments could be hurtful to girls struggling with body image and the pressure to be model-perfect?” Trump responded, “A lot of that was done for the purpose of entertainment. There’s nobody that has more respect for women than I do.”</p>
<p>Much of Trump’s public persona over the years has been shaped by his comments about women. He <a href="http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-trump-women/" type="external">wanted to fire</a> women from one of his golf courses because they weren’t hot enough. He made degrading comments about women in <a href="" type="internal">regular</a> <a href="" type="internal">appearances</a> on the shock jock Howard Stern’s show in the 1990s and 2000s and in public speeches <a href="" type="internal">where he boasted about hiring women for their looks</a>. In last week’s presidential debate, his <a href="" type="internal">fat-shaming</a> of Miss Universe Alicia Machado became a campaign issue.</p>
<p>But Trump’s claim that his comments about women over the years were just for entertainment is undermined by the fact that they weren’t limited to his public appearances. He didn’t just shame Machado in front of the cameras; he also allegedly called her “ <a href="" type="internal">Miss Piggy</a>” in private. He <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/us/politics/donald-trump-women.html" type="external">commented</a> when female executives in the Trump organization gained weight. On the set of The Apprentice, he <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2778a6ab72ea49558445337865289508/ap-how-trumps-apprentice-moved-capitalism-sexism" type="external">talked</a> about the women contestants’ appearances when the cameras weren’t rolling. He once reportedly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/us/politics/donald-trump-women.html" type="external">asked</a> a Miss Universe whether she thought his then-16-year-old daughter, Ivanka, was hot. He passed the 1993 White House Correspondents Dinner <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/graydon-carter-on-donald-trump" type="external">talking to a model seated next to him</a> about “the ‘tits’ and legs of the other female guests and asking how they measured up to those of other women, including his wife.”</p>
<p>Perhaps when Trump says “a lot of that was for entertainment,” he just means he personally found it entertaining.</p>
<p /> | Trump Says He Mocked Women’s Looks to Be Entertaining | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/trump-says-he-mocked-womens-looks-because-its-funny/ | 2016-10-06 | 4 |
<p>As if women facing abortions were not troubled enough, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected to soon sign a law that will require them “to have a sonogram and hear a description of the fetus, including whether it has developed fingers, toes or internal organs” before having the operation.</p>
<p>In a feeble attempt at mercy, the state’s legislators have provided for some exceptions: Women who live more than 100 miles from a clinic are not required to observe the 24-hour waiting period between the sonogram and the operation, and those who have been raped, are underage or are enduring abnormal pregnancies do not have to hear the fetus’ description. –ARK</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal:</p>
<p>We believe that when they see the miracle of life some will change their minds,” said Dan Patrick, a Republican state senator who represents part of Houston and who sponsored the legislation, which passed both houses of the state legislature last week.</p>
<p />
<p>… The Texas bill also calls for a 24-hour waiting period between the sonogram and the abortion, except for women who live more than 100 miles from a clinic. Opponents say that waiting period places more burdens on women.</p>
<p>… Under the Texas law, all women seeking an abortion must have a sonogram but those who have been raped, are minors or who are carrying a fetus with abnormalities are exempt from hearing the description of the image. All women seeking abortions can sign a waiver and choose not to view the image or hear the fetus’s heartbeat.</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704681904576315350526209130.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Want an Abortion? Not Without a Sonogram, Texas Says | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/want-an-abortion-not-without-a-sonogram-texas-says/ | 2011-05-12 | 4 |
<p>Dublin.</p>
<p>Do European lives matter? Not to Obama. But does anything or did anything matter to him? His America is down the toilet. And his Europe too. For different reasons of course. He didn’t mean to divide America. It just kinda happened. Wall Street was the priority and the Mexican Wall kinda built itself. The new Berlin Wall however is his baby. That was intentional. He built it with malice. And last week he came to Europe to kiss it goodbye. It felt like the kiss of death.</p>
<p>Trump wants to keep the Mexicans out of America. And he is ridiculed. Obama on the other hand wants to keep the Russians out of Europe. And he is applauded. Especially in Europe! Trump is all mouth. While Obama is all war. Yet the Europeans fear Trump. Maybe Europe’s Obama fetish is a peculiar death wish. Or more likely its a super colony obeying the orders of the super power. Even if the order is death. Whatever it is Obama’s departing gift to Europe is a time bomb. And Europe says thanks!</p>
<p>Divide and rule is the oldest trick in the book. And Europe fell for it. Not once but twice. The first time as they say was a tragedy. This time around (the second coming) is just a farce. The first Cold War was believable (even if it was a hoax). The New Cold War though is a joke. But no one is laughing. Except Obama. He’s smirking. While his European pawns are deadly serious. And for that reason – if they – the Europeans -don’t stop – they’ll soon be dead. And Obama will still be smirking .</p>
<p>Obama’s time bomb comes in two parts. One is called the Ukraine. And the other is called the Baltic states. And the spare part is called Poland. Under Obama they all became highly irrational overnight. Obama activated them. And now they’re ready to trigger World War III at any moment. It’ll probably be the shortest War in history. For Europe that is, because it’ll be dust within seconds. But does Obama care? No. Does Europe even care? No. It loves Obama’s shit. The more he gives – the more it smokes it. The subsequent hallucinations and paranoia are weird.</p>
<p>Nothing Trump says or does comes close. Trump wants to arrest, deport and hate the Mexicans. In contrast Obama and his European clowns want to exterminate the Russians. And Trump is supposed to be the mad one! In Europe, Obama’s hate makes Trump’s hate look cute. Obama’s version is structural (its policy), whereas Trump’s version is emotional (its nonsense). No wonder Obama’s candidate (Clinton) got the full support of the US warmongering establishment. The weird thing is that &#160;Europe – the target of Obama’s hate – also supported his candidate.</p>
<p>The Europe that obeys Obama however is a dead man walking. Its the lie called the European Union – a racket that financially bleeds ordinary “deplorable” Europeans. Like Obama’s candidate, the EU has lost touch with reality. And no longer is credible – if it ever was. As the EU loses the support of Europe’s “deplorables” it shamelessly clings onto Obama. Merkel, Hollande, Renzi and Tsipras kowtowed last week and didn’t complain about the bomb on their backs. Like true fundamentalists they believe in Obama’s hate. And are ready to be his suicide bombers. It’s a case of après moi, rien!</p>
<p>Europe is expendable – that’s the Obama doctrine. And one of Obama’s key representatives in Europe, Victoria Nuland, said it best in February 2014 when the time bomb was being planted in Ukraine: “ <a href="" type="internal">Fuck [Europe]</a>“. The fact that the EU elite itself obeys this doctrine doesn’t justify it. On the contrary,&#160;it justifies the opposite: resistance. In any shape or form. The only thing that can defuse Obama’s time bomb is the rejection not only of Obama but also of the EU. The US electorate has just given us the first part of this double rejection. Now it is up to the EU electorate. And the signs are good.</p>
<p>In the coming year France, Germany, Holland and maybe even Italy get to vote. And in each country “the deplorables” are the majority. European lives may not matter to the North Atlantic elite, but they do matter to ordinary Europeans. And despite what the elites say – it isn’t a case of “racism”. Its common sense. The point is that Lives Matter – Everywhere. Especially the lives of the weak. The ones that are sacrificed in war. The ones that Obama has been sacrificing in his wars. Europe doesn’t want to be another statistic. Neither does Russia. Adios Obama! And take the EU and your time bomb with you.</p> | Obama Says Goodbye to His European Time Bomb | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/11/22/obama-says-goodbye-to-his-european-time-bomb/ | 2016-11-22 | 4 |
<p>MP Rachael Harder of Lethbridge, Alberta is the Conservative’s official critic for status of women. Her party leader, Andrew Scheer, appointed her. She is also pro-life.</p>
<p>Now, Prime Minnister Justin Trudeau is a feminist. You know that because <a href="" type="internal">he keeps saying so.</a></p>
<p>So because Trudeau is such a great feminist, he ordered his MPs on the status of women committee <a href="" type="internal">to block Harder from becoming its chairman.</a></p>
<p>So instead they stormed out in a fuss. All because of Harder’s views on abortion.</p>
<p>The Conservatives have said for years that they don’t want to reopen the abortion debate. Harder wasn’t going to propose to regulate abortion, let alone criminalize it. Even if she did, it would get voted down.</p>
<p>But this is how Trudeau runs the Liberal Party:</p>
<p>He has some pro-life Muslims and Sikhs in his caucus. There might even be a secret pro-life Christian, but they’d never admit it in public. Because Trudeau banned them.</p>
<p>Now Trudeau thinks he can take away a Conservative MP's Parliamentary privileges because she’s thinking the wrong thoughts.</p>
<p>I don’t care if you’re pro life or pro choice:</p>
<p>The idea that the prime minister can censor MPs from other parties from representing their own consciences and their constituents is shocking.</p>
<p>TONIGHT'S GUESTS:</p>
<p>You'll recall&#160; <a href="" type="internal">The Rebel's fact-finding</a>&#160;and humanitarian trek to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Kurdistan</a>&#160;earlier this year.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Jennifer Breedon</a>, an international law attorney, and Michael Rubin, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, join me tonight to talk about the results of the Kurdistan referendum, and what's next for that troubled region.</p>
<p>FINALLY: Your messages to me! (Plus something a little different to wind up the show...)</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | “He’s a bit of a thug”: Trudeau blocks pro-life Conservative woman from chairmanship | true | https://therebel.media/ezra_levant_september_28_2017 | 2017-09-28 | 0 |
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<p>SANTA FE - A Santa Fe police officer accused of falsifying time cards was arraigned and pled not guilty for a second time in First Judicial District Court on Monday morning.</p>
<p>Lt. Jason Wagner, a 16-year veteran with the Santa Fe Police Department who is charged with three counts of receiving public money for services not rendered for allegedly not being in Santa Fe during work hours, pled not guilty and will be released on a $2,500 signature bond.</p>
<p>He was originally arraigned and pled not guilty in March after District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco filed a criminal information against him for falsifying time cards between September and November 2013. He was arraigned again after district Judge T. Glenn Ellington found that there was enough evidence for Wagner to stand trial.</p>
<p>Wagner resigned in January 2014 after former police chief Ray Rael confronted him with GPS data showing his squad car was in Rio Rancho instead of Santa Fe. He was rehired earlier this year by current chief Eric Garcia.</p>
<p>Each fourth-degree felony count carries up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Assistant District Attorney David Murphy said in court Monday that both parties agreed to a $1,000 signature bond, but Ellington raised it to $2,500, saying it was consistent with his policy on fourth-degree felonies. Wagner's trial is scheduled for early next year.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Santa Fe officer arraigned on time card fraud for second time | false | https://abqjournal.com/619019/santa-fe-officer-arraigned-on-time-card-fraud-for-second-time.html | 2 |
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<p>NEW YORK (AP) — With new options and conveniences, there’s never been a better time for shoppers. As for workers ... well, not always.</p>
<p>The retail industry is being radically reshaped by technology, and nobody feels that disruption more starkly than 16 million American shelf stockers, salespeople, cashiers and others. The shifts are driven, like much in retail, by the Amazon effect — the explosion of online shopping and the related changes in consumer behavior and preferences.</p>
<p>As mundane tasks like checkout and inventory are automated, employees are trying to deliver the kind of customer service the internet can’t match.</p>
<p>So a Best Buy employee who used to sell electronics in the store is dispatched to customers’ homes to help them choose just the right products. A Walmart worker dashes in and out of the grocery aisles, hand-picks products for online shoppers and brings them to people’s cars.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Editor’s note: This story is part of Future of Work, an Associated Press series that explores how workplaces across the U.S. and the world are being transformed by technology and global pressures. As more employers move, shrink or revamp their work sites, many employees are struggling to adapt. At the same time, workers with in-demand skills or knowledge are benefiting. Advanced training, education or know-how is becoming a required ticket to the 21st-century workplace.</p>
<p>Long known for low pay and mundane tasks, retail work is changing as stores emphasize customer service to compete with online sellers. Employees are taking on new roles as retailers offer personalized services the internet can’t match. (Jan. 8)</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Yet even as responsibilities change — and in many cases, expand — the average growth in pay for retail workers isn’t keeping pace with the rest of the economy. Some companies say that in the long run the transformation could mean fewer retail workers, though they may be better paid. But while some workers feel more satisfied, others find their jobs are just a lot less fun.</p>
<p>Bloomingdale’s saleswoman Brenda Moses remembers the pre-internet era, when the upscale store was regularly filled with customers ready to buy. These days, department stores are less crowded and the customers who do come in can make price comparisons on their phones at the same time as they pepper staff with questions.</p>
<p>“You tell them everything, and then they look at you and say, ‘You know what? I think I will get it online,’” she said.</p>
<p>Moses has seen her commission rate rise to 6 percent from a half a percent, but her hourly wage dropped from $19 as low as $10 before it came back up to $14. Depending more on commissions means her income fluctuates, and she’s competing with her colleagues for each sale.</p>
<p>“Now,” Moses said, “you have to fight to make your money.”</p>
<p>The same could be said for the retailing industry, overall. In 2017, 66,500 U.S. retail jobs disappeared (not taking into account jobs added in areas like distribution and call centers). In the past decade, about one out of every seven jobs have vanished in the hardest-hit sectors like clothing and consumer electronics, says Frank Badillo, director of research at MacroSavvy LLC. Though department stores have suffered the most, smaller businesses also have struggled to compete with online sellers.</p>
<p>Many of the survivors are rushing to adapt. Of the retail jobs that remain, over the next decade as many as 60 percent will either be new kinds of roles or will involve revised duties, says Craig Rowley, senior client partner at Korn Ferry Hay Group, a human resources advisory firm. He estimates the number is about 10 percent now.</p>
<p>How fast retail jobs will change and what they’ll look like depends on three factors, Rowley said: the pace at which online shopping advances; the speed at which robotics and other technology progress; and shifts in the minimum hourly pay.</p>
<p>“Jobs for workers will get more interesting and be more impactful on the company’s business,” Rowley said. “But the negative side is that there will be fewer entry-level jobs and there will be more pressure to perform.”</p>
<p>Some retail workers at the vanguard of the changes — like Laila Ummelaila, a personal grocery shopper at a Walmart in Old Bridge, New Jersey — speak glowingly of their new responsibilities.</p>
<p>Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, has scrutinized every job in its stores as it looks to leverage its more than 4,000 U.S. locations against Amazon’s internet dominance.</p>
<p>The company now has 18,000 personal shoppers who fill online orders from store shelves, and 17,000 check-out hosts whose responsibilities are more extensive than the greeters of old, including keeping the area clean and making sure registers move efficiently. The company has also shifted workers from back-room clerical jobs and eliminated some overnight stocker positions in favor of more daytime sales help. The customers like the changes, company officials say, pointing to more than three years of sales growth at its established U.S. stores — a contrast with other, suffering retailers.</p>
<p>Ummelaila became a personal shopper after joining the company three years ago. To meet her store’s goals, she must pick one item per 30 seconds. If she can’t find something, she has to quickly get a substitute that’s as good or better.</p>
<p>“You start to get to know the customers, you know what they like,” she said, “how they like their meat ... and how long they keep milk in the fridge.”</p>
<p>Best Buy, meanwhile, has begun a free service in key markets where salespeople will sit with customers in their own homes and make recommendations on setting up a home office to designing a home theater system. Best Buy said shoppers spend more with a home visit than they do at the stores. The project follows Amazon, which reportedly has been testing a program that sends employees to shoppers’ houses for free “smart home” recommendations.</p>
<p>At Steve Frederick’s townhouse in Chicago, Billy Schuler offered advice about speakers that can be adjusted from a smartphone. Schuler, who had previously worked at Best Buy for 14 years, returned to the company to take on the new role.</p>
<p>“Customers are more relaxed when they are in their home,” he said. “We can do a walkthrough of the house and see their needs.” He likes to “break the ice” by calling the person and chatting a day or two before the visit.</p>
<p>Frederick, who’s spending close to $20,000 on the equipment, describes himself as “old-school” and says he needed a lot of help. He thinks it was worthwhile.</p>
<p>“When you are spending that kind of money, you want to have someone come in and explain it,” he said.</p>
<p>Schuler declined to give specifics but says he is well compensated. Ummelaila says her pay went up to nearly $12 per hour from $10 when she became a personal shopper.</p>
<p>Target credits its strategy of assigning dedicated sales staff in areas such as clothing, consumer electronics, and beauty for helping increase sales, and says having visual merchandisers create vignettes like shoppers would see in specialty stores inspires people to buy. “You are making an outfit and telling a story on each rack,” says Crystal Lawrence, who works at a Target store in Brooklyn, New York. She likes the variety in her new job, and Target says it plans to keep paying higher wages for those specialized roles.</p>
<p>But a survey of nearly 300 retail workers — conducted by the Center for Frontline Retail and Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center — found that of those workers whose job responsibilities have changed, more than 40 percent said they hadn’t received pay increases to reflect that.</p>
<p>Wages for hourly retail workers have risen less than 9 percent since 1990, compared with 18 percent for overall workers in the private sector. There has been some progress recently; some of the biggest retailers, like Walmart and Target, have made moves to increase pay in the face of low unemployment and competition for workers.</p>
<p>“For a long period, these retail jobs were just terrible on average,” said Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute. “Retail stores have been following one strategy: high turnover, low wages. That strategy is no longer viable.”</p>
<p>Mandel sees hope in technology, which he says has historically created more and better-paying jobs than it has eliminated.</p>
<p>The National Retail Federation trade group points to government data showing that even in large supermarket chains where self-checkout has become standard, the number of employees per store has held steady over the 15 years through 2014. And the demand for grocery cashiers increased in the past few years, says Burning Glass Technologies, a company that analyzes labor market data.</p>
<p>McDonald’s says the self-serve kiosks it has been rolling out won’t result in mass layoffs, but will mean that some cashiers shift roles to accommodate changes like offering table service.</p>
<p>But a report prepared by Cornerstone Capital Group for the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute predicts that more than 7.5 million retail jobs are at risk of being eliminated by automation over the next several years.</p>
<p>Amazon is testing a grocery store in Seattle without cashiers, using cameras and shelf sensors to keep track of the items that shoppers grab and charge them. Eatsa, an automat-style restaurant in San Francisco, lacks cashiers as well — diners order at kiosks and workers prepare the food behind an opaque wall, with virtually no interaction between them.</p>
<p>Labor groups are trying to address some of the new issues. Under a contract reached last May between Bloomingdale’s and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Moses and other members who work at the flagship store in Manhattan can also get commissions from some online sales.</p>
<p>And a labor group representing 1.3 million grocery and food workers is trying to combat automation by highlighting that workers’ specialized skills — like the care they take in icing a rose on a wedding cake, or arranging flowers, or the ability of human workers to recognize spoiled food — provide a benefit to shoppers.</p>
<p>“Separating progress for the consumer, for the worker, for the economy versus the stockholders ... those are completely different things,” says Erikka Knuti, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.</p>
<p>Others say automation and happy workers are not necessarily incompatible.</p>
<p>Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon foresees fewer sales associates at his stores, but they’ll be better paid and better trained. Walmart has trained 225,000 supervisors and managers on topics like new apps and better customer service. It says managers who go through the academies have better retention rates than those who do not. Workers who report to those managers stay longer. And entry-level workers who complete a new training program are more likely to remain.</p>
<p>It’s a shift retailers may have to speed up. Government figures show the rate of retail workers quitting their jobs in 2016 was at its highest since 2007.</p>
<p>Alfredo Duran, who started as a sales associate at Gap and worked at six retailers over 15 years, left the industry two years ago. As a manager at clothing chain Mango, he was making $75,000 a year. But once the store closed, he had trouble finding another job in retail because no one wanted to pay him for his experience.</p>
<p>“It’s gone down. One person is doing three jobs. And you can’t move up,” said Duran, 38, of Queens, New York.</p>
<p>He’s now a concierge at a Manhattan hotel, making half of what he used to earn — but happy he left retail.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Video journalists Terry Chea in San Francisco and Teresa Crawford in Chicago contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: <a href="http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio" type="external">http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio</a></p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — With new options and conveniences, there’s never been a better time for shoppers. As for workers ... well, not always.</p>
<p>The retail industry is being radically reshaped by technology, and nobody feels that disruption more starkly than 16 million American shelf stockers, salespeople, cashiers and others. The shifts are driven, like much in retail, by the Amazon effect — the explosion of online shopping and the related changes in consumer behavior and preferences.</p>
<p>As mundane tasks like checkout and inventory are automated, employees are trying to deliver the kind of customer service the internet can’t match.</p>
<p>So a Best Buy employee who used to sell electronics in the store is dispatched to customers’ homes to help them choose just the right products. A Walmart worker dashes in and out of the grocery aisles, hand-picks products for online shoppers and brings them to people’s cars.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Editor’s note: This story is part of Future of Work, an Associated Press series that explores how workplaces across the U.S. and the world are being transformed by technology and global pressures. As more employers move, shrink or revamp their work sites, many employees are struggling to adapt. At the same time, workers with in-demand skills or knowledge are benefiting. Advanced training, education or know-how is becoming a required ticket to the 21st-century workplace.</p>
<p>Long known for low pay and mundane tasks, retail work is changing as stores emphasize customer service to compete with online sellers. Employees are taking on new roles as retailers offer personalized services the internet can’t match. (Jan. 8)</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Yet even as responsibilities change — and in many cases, expand — the average growth in pay for retail workers isn’t keeping pace with the rest of the economy. Some companies say that in the long run the transformation could mean fewer retail workers, though they may be better paid. But while some workers feel more satisfied, others find their jobs are just a lot less fun.</p>
<p>Bloomingdale’s saleswoman Brenda Moses remembers the pre-internet era, when the upscale store was regularly filled with customers ready to buy. These days, department stores are less crowded and the customers who do come in can make price comparisons on their phones at the same time as they pepper staff with questions.</p>
<p>“You tell them everything, and then they look at you and say, ‘You know what? I think I will get it online,’” she said.</p>
<p>Moses has seen her commission rate rise to 6 percent from a half a percent, but her hourly wage dropped from $19 as low as $10 before it came back up to $14. Depending more on commissions means her income fluctuates, and she’s competing with her colleagues for each sale.</p>
<p>“Now,” Moses said, “you have to fight to make your money.”</p>
<p>The same could be said for the retailing industry, overall. In 2017, 66,500 U.S. retail jobs disappeared (not taking into account jobs added in areas like distribution and call centers). In the past decade, about one out of every seven jobs have vanished in the hardest-hit sectors like clothing and consumer electronics, says Frank Badillo, director of research at MacroSavvy LLC. Though department stores have suffered the most, smaller businesses also have struggled to compete with online sellers.</p>
<p>Many of the survivors are rushing to adapt. Of the retail jobs that remain, over the next decade as many as 60 percent will either be new kinds of roles or will involve revised duties, says Craig Rowley, senior client partner at Korn Ferry Hay Group, a human resources advisory firm. He estimates the number is about 10 percent now.</p>
<p>How fast retail jobs will change and what they’ll look like depends on three factors, Rowley said: the pace at which online shopping advances; the speed at which robotics and other technology progress; and shifts in the minimum hourly pay.</p>
<p>“Jobs for workers will get more interesting and be more impactful on the company’s business,” Rowley said. “But the negative side is that there will be fewer entry-level jobs and there will be more pressure to perform.”</p>
<p>Some retail workers at the vanguard of the changes — like Laila Ummelaila, a personal grocery shopper at a Walmart in Old Bridge, New Jersey — speak glowingly of their new responsibilities.</p>
<p>Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, has scrutinized every job in its stores as it looks to leverage its more than 4,000 U.S. locations against Amazon’s internet dominance.</p>
<p>The company now has 18,000 personal shoppers who fill online orders from store shelves, and 17,000 check-out hosts whose responsibilities are more extensive than the greeters of old, including keeping the area clean and making sure registers move efficiently. The company has also shifted workers from back-room clerical jobs and eliminated some overnight stocker positions in favor of more daytime sales help. The customers like the changes, company officials say, pointing to more than three years of sales growth at its established U.S. stores — a contrast with other, suffering retailers.</p>
<p>Ummelaila became a personal shopper after joining the company three years ago. To meet her store’s goals, she must pick one item per 30 seconds. If she can’t find something, she has to quickly get a substitute that’s as good or better.</p>
<p>“You start to get to know the customers, you know what they like,” she said, “how they like their meat ... and how long they keep milk in the fridge.”</p>
<p>Best Buy, meanwhile, has begun a free service in key markets where salespeople will sit with customers in their own homes and make recommendations on setting up a home office to designing a home theater system. Best Buy said shoppers spend more with a home visit than they do at the stores. The project follows Amazon, which reportedly has been testing a program that sends employees to shoppers’ houses for free “smart home” recommendations.</p>
<p>At Steve Frederick’s townhouse in Chicago, Billy Schuler offered advice about speakers that can be adjusted from a smartphone. Schuler, who had previously worked at Best Buy for 14 years, returned to the company to take on the new role.</p>
<p>“Customers are more relaxed when they are in their home,” he said. “We can do a walkthrough of the house and see their needs.” He likes to “break the ice” by calling the person and chatting a day or two before the visit.</p>
<p>Frederick, who’s spending close to $20,000 on the equipment, describes himself as “old-school” and says he needed a lot of help. He thinks it was worthwhile.</p>
<p>“When you are spending that kind of money, you want to have someone come in and explain it,” he said.</p>
<p>Schuler declined to give specifics but says he is well compensated. Ummelaila says her pay went up to nearly $12 per hour from $10 when she became a personal shopper.</p>
<p>Target credits its strategy of assigning dedicated sales staff in areas such as clothing, consumer electronics, and beauty for helping increase sales, and says having visual merchandisers create vignettes like shoppers would see in specialty stores inspires people to buy. “You are making an outfit and telling a story on each rack,” says Crystal Lawrence, who works at a Target store in Brooklyn, New York. She likes the variety in her new job, and Target says it plans to keep paying higher wages for those specialized roles.</p>
<p>But a survey of nearly 300 retail workers — conducted by the Center for Frontline Retail and Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center — found that of those workers whose job responsibilities have changed, more than 40 percent said they hadn’t received pay increases to reflect that.</p>
<p>Wages for hourly retail workers have risen less than 9 percent since 1990, compared with 18 percent for overall workers in the private sector. There has been some progress recently; some of the biggest retailers, like Walmart and Target, have made moves to increase pay in the face of low unemployment and competition for workers.</p>
<p>“For a long period, these retail jobs were just terrible on average,” said Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute. “Retail stores have been following one strategy: high turnover, low wages. That strategy is no longer viable.”</p>
<p>Mandel sees hope in technology, which he says has historically created more and better-paying jobs than it has eliminated.</p>
<p>The National Retail Federation trade group points to government data showing that even in large supermarket chains where self-checkout has become standard, the number of employees per store has held steady over the 15 years through 2014. And the demand for grocery cashiers increased in the past few years, says Burning Glass Technologies, a company that analyzes labor market data.</p>
<p>McDonald’s says the self-serve kiosks it has been rolling out won’t result in mass layoffs, but will mean that some cashiers shift roles to accommodate changes like offering table service.</p>
<p>But a report prepared by Cornerstone Capital Group for the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute predicts that more than 7.5 million retail jobs are at risk of being eliminated by automation over the next several years.</p>
<p>Amazon is testing a grocery store in Seattle without cashiers, using cameras and shelf sensors to keep track of the items that shoppers grab and charge them. Eatsa, an automat-style restaurant in San Francisco, lacks cashiers as well — diners order at kiosks and workers prepare the food behind an opaque wall, with virtually no interaction between them.</p>
<p>Labor groups are trying to address some of the new issues. Under a contract reached last May between Bloomingdale’s and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Moses and other members who work at the flagship store in Manhattan can also get commissions from some online sales.</p>
<p>And a labor group representing 1.3 million grocery and food workers is trying to combat automation by highlighting that workers’ specialized skills — like the care they take in icing a rose on a wedding cake, or arranging flowers, or the ability of human workers to recognize spoiled food — provide a benefit to shoppers.</p>
<p>“Separating progress for the consumer, for the worker, for the economy versus the stockholders ... those are completely different things,” says Erikka Knuti, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.</p>
<p>Others say automation and happy workers are not necessarily incompatible.</p>
<p>Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon foresees fewer sales associates at his stores, but they’ll be better paid and better trained. Walmart has trained 225,000 supervisors and managers on topics like new apps and better customer service. It says managers who go through the academies have better retention rates than those who do not. Workers who report to those managers stay longer. And entry-level workers who complete a new training program are more likely to remain.</p>
<p>It’s a shift retailers may have to speed up. Government figures show the rate of retail workers quitting their jobs in 2016 was at its highest since 2007.</p>
<p>Alfredo Duran, who started as a sales associate at Gap and worked at six retailers over 15 years, left the industry two years ago. As a manager at clothing chain Mango, he was making $75,000 a year. But once the store closed, he had trouble finding another job in retail because no one wanted to pay him for his experience.</p>
<p>“It’s gone down. One person is doing three jobs. And you can’t move up,” said Duran, 38, of Queens, New York.</p>
<p>He’s now a concierge at a Manhattan hotel, making half of what he used to earn — but happy he left retail.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Video journalists Terry Chea in San Francisco and Teresa Crawford in Chicago contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: <a href="http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio" type="external">http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio</a></p> | Retail workers feel disruption from shifting shopper habits | false | https://apnews.com/a229acca059a4061a1b0f9356a2e9db2 | 2018-01-08 | 2 |
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<p>Atrios has been writing much about e <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/03/05/seniors-retirement-social-security-column/1965159/" type="external">xpanding Social Security because most Americans</a> will have to live on it when they retire and it's impossible to do it. President Obama has been talking about <a href="" type="internal">using chained CPI to suck in Republicans</a> to help craft a bipartisan bill on on the economy. Gun control has been defeated by a cowardly Senate. The Republicans are obstructing every appointee Obama makes. It's f*&amp;king ridiculous, but unfortunately there is a basic principle at play that could reek havoc over us in 2014. It's called "Kick out the bums." You remember the tea party revolt in 2010?</p>
<p>I really like what <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/17/1202521/-Democrats-this-isn-t-going-well-sigh" type="external">brooklynbadboy has to say</a> on the faltering Democratic Party and he uses the 'kick out the bums' theorem to make his point:</p>
<p>This isn't going well, and Democrats are in charge. 2014.</p>
<p>That's what our folks in Washington need to understand. That is going to be the overwhelming assessment we get from the public unless we turn this shit around and at least appear to be fighting for the average person. Because in 2014, nobody is going to give a shit that we didn't change the Senate rules or failed to reform campaign finance or that chess moves are being planned out for 20 years from now. All they're going to know is this shit isn't going well and Democrats are in charge.</p>
<p>So, to the White House and the Senate leadership: You all are about to get creamed. Again. I know the GOP will obstruct everything. Good. Use that as your springboard. Just dismiss this foolishness of trying to craft a bipartisan legislative agenda and go for the full on political combat. So just get rid of the filibuster, stop fucking around trying to balance the budget, and just start doing shit for regular people who are broke.</p>
<p>Do shit for regular people who are broke.</p>
<p>DO SHIT FOR REGULAR PEOPLE WHO ARE BROKE.</p>
<p>Stop trying to feed into the beltway fetishism of bipartisanship because it's not going to happen with these R's so get with it and act like real Democrats. Help the American people. You know, jobs, jobs, jobs...(h/t <a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/" type="external">Digby</a>)</p> | Democrats, Do Sh*t For Regular People Who Are Broke | true | http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/democrats-do-sht-regular-people-who-are | 2013-04-18 | 4 |
<p>Photo by Meg Chang | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>There is no such thing as a good war, especially not in 2018. History, both recent and otherwise, has proven this statement. No war in the past seventy years has made the world a better place. In fact, in most cases those wars have made the world more dangerous. Furthermore, these wars—most of them waged by the United States and its clients—have wreaked environmental destruction, made life even more difficult for those who have little to begin with, and created an economy whose very existence not only demands but depends on the waging of and preparation for war and more war. In other words, a permanent war economy.</p>
<p>According to most commentators on the subject, the term “permanent war economy” was first discussed in detail by Edward Sard in a 1944 article in Politics magazine. (Politics, 1:2 (February 1944), pp. 11–17, writing as W. Oakes.) His understanding of the phenomenon was that this type of economy is a form of military Keynesianism. In other words, it is a way to transfer wealth from the working classes to capital by means of government taxation. He further argued that developing a permanent war economy was the only way contemporary capitalism could survive. As any reasonable thinker would acknowledge today, not only has capitalism survived, its reach is so ubiquitous there is essentially no alternative to its deadly but profitable presence.</p>
<p>In the wake of the US defeat in Vietnam, the Vietnamese economy became part of the international capitalist economy. China, whose economy once represented an alternative to the monopoly capitalism dominated by US money and power, is now a capitalist economy vying with the United States for world economic dominance. The majority of the former republics of the Soviet Union find themselves in a similar position, especially in the case of Russia. Yet, the world’s doomsday clock is closer to midnight than it has been since the height of the Cold War in the 1980s between Washington and the nominally communist Soviet Union. Why is that? If every nation’s economy is capitalist, then why don’t they cooperate to exploit the world’s already exploited even more?</p>
<p>The answer is actually quite simple. The reason we are closer to war than we have been in decades is precisely because all of these powerful nations are capitalist. They are not arguing or battling over ideology like they were in previous decades; they are arguing and battling over profits and markets, resources and control. In other words, the current arguments, trade wars, military positioning and conflicts potential and real are elements of imperialism. Just like competition is essential to capitalism, so is it essential to imperialism, which is nothing but capitalism on a national/international scale. The difference between the competitive rivalries between local capitalists and capitalist nations is measured in body counts and blood. In other more general terms there is no difference. In other words, the working people lose and the most powerful capitalists win.</p>
<p>Let me get back to the situation at hand. By this I am referring to Syria and the situation in that nation’s cities and countryside. As I write this, unverified stories of a chemical attack in a rebel-held section near Damascus are being used to justify an attack on that already beleaguered people and nation. Even if this chemical attack did occur and even if the perpetrators are those the western media are quick to blame, the military action by the US and other western nations is unlikely to do anything but further inflame the situation. This is especially true if Russian or other foreign troops allied with the Syrian government are killed in any such attack. Indeed, if that occurs, the likelihood of a greater conflict reflecting the current state of inter-imperialist rivalry increases to a level that is incomprehensible to most US residents alive today, most of whom have little or no memory of the US wars on Korea and Vietnam and have little connection to the current conflicts waged by US forces today. Unfortunately, this lack of historical memory means many of those residents can be manipulated into supporting not only an attack on Syria, but a greater conflict with other forces the US war machine considers the enemy, if only because they are not supplicant to Washington’s foreign ambitions. Some will support it simply because they see themselves as patriots who must support the military no matter what. Others, many of them liberals and even leftist, will support it (if only tacitly) in the name of human rights.</p>
<p>The fault with this latter premise is that US capitalism tramples human rights every second of the day. It does so when it supports authoritarian regimes in countries where it has investments. It does so when it supports the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Israeli military’s murder of Palestinians. It does so when it signs trade agreements that encode the exploitation of labor and the destruction of local environments. It does so when it abrogates those agreements and allows even greater exploitation and destruction. It violates human rights when its police forces kill unarmed residents and then sanctions those murders. It violates human rights when its immigration police pick up and detain immigrants based on their appearance and separate parents from their children. It violates human rights every time an armed drone kills an individual in a foreign land and every time a Special Forces unit kicks in the door of some family’s home somewhere in the world. Then there is the reality of invasion and war, neither of which are humanitarian in nature no matter what the neocons and neoliberals say. This list could go on for pages, but the reader should get my point.</p>
<p>Capitalism does not care about human rights. Capitalist nations do not wage wars for human rights. Capitalist nations engage in military conflicts to serve the needs of those that rule those nations. They may do so directly via invasion and armed drone attacks or via proxy forces they train, fund and provide public relations cover for. Recent examples of this latter approach by the US include the contra forces in Nicaragua, the mujahedin in Afghanistan (including Bin Laden and his forces), and various tribal, religious and ethnic militias in Iraq and Syria. Some intelligence sources have also stated that ISIS is such an operation, although the truth of this possibility may never be known, for somewhat obvious reasons. These operations have proven murderous beyond comprehension. Any deeper involvement of US forces would only intensify the catastrophe.</p> | War is Just F**kin’ Wrong | true | https://counterpunch.org/2018/04/16/war-is-just-fkin-wrong/ | 2018-04-16 | 4 |
<p>William K. Black, author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One, teaches economics and law at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC). He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007. He has taught previously at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and at Santa Clara University, where he was also the distinguished scholar in residence for insurance law and a visiting scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.</p>
<p>Black was litigation director of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, deputy director of the FSLIC, SVP and general counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and senior deputy chief counsel, Office of Thrift Supervision. He was deputy director of the National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement.</p>
<p>Black developed the concept of "control fraud" frauds in which the CEO or head of state uses the entity as a "weapon." Control frauds cause greater financial losses than all other forms of property crime combined. He recently helped the World Bank develop anti-corruption initiatives and served as an expert for OFHEO in its enforcement action against Fannie Mae's former senior management.</p>
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<p /> JESSICA DESVARIEUX, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Jessica Desvarieux in Baltimore. And welcome to this edition of The Black Financial and Fraud Report.
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<p />Now joining us is Bill Black. Bill teaches law and economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and he's the author of the book The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One. And he's also a regular contributor to The Real News.
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<p />Thanks for joining us, Bill.
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<p />BILL BLACK, ASSOC. PROF. ECONOMICS AND LAW, UMKC: Thank you.
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<p />DESVARIEUX: So, Bill, you recently got back from Sacramento. What were you doing out West?
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<p />BLACK: Well, going to the front lines of the Justice Department's supposed war on mortgage fraud, in one of the epicenters, which is Sacramento, California. And just a bit of background. This happens to be the place where the U.S. attorney, Benjamin Wagner, is the most senior prosecutor in the entire national mortgage fraud task force by the Justice Department. And he's the one famously that said it didn't make any sense to him that there could be such a thing as accounting control fraud, because they would never steal from themselves, okay? And he apparently thinks that the banks and the bankers are the same thing. But it's all very confused. And I wrote to him [snip] but he corresponded. And so his office has led the nation in bringing mortgage fraud prosecutions against some very small-time folks and in not investigating and prosecuting a single elite bank or bankers.
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<p />I was asked about five weeks ago to come out by the defense team for four of these alleged fraud mice while the fraud lions roamed the campsite, and I had to scramble and learn about the case. And we put on the most remarkable defense that's ever occurred during these mortgage fraud cases. And that defense was that it was actually the banks who were criminal enterprises. And so it was a very bizarre thing, in which the defense attorneys were presenting a prosecution case against the elite bankers and the institutions and how they were run, while the Justice Department was trying to defend three lenders that it knew were front-to-back frauds and indeed are on the list of the worst of the worst lenders, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. So everything was reversed during the trial.
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<p />DESVARIEUX: What were those three lenders, Bill?
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<p />BLACK: Well, the three lenders that I'm talking about primarily--there was a fourth, which is a subsidiary of Wachovia. But the ones I spent most of my time testifying about were GreenPoint and Aegis and Ownit. And probably almost nobody in the listening audience has ever heard of any of them, but two of the ones I listed where at various time periods among the top 20 makers of liar's loans in the country.
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<p />And I think you'll be able to add to your website soon what became our method of explaining this to the jury--of course, not financial experts. And it was an advertisement by GreenPoint designed for loan brokers to add their own names to it and ship this advertisement out to regular people to become customers, and it has the famous three monkeys, right? One covering the eyes, the other the ears, and the other the mouth. And, of course, that is supposed to mean hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil. And they decided to use that as their symbol. What they say is, see no income, hear no job, speak no assets. So this is a NINJA loan--no income, no job, no assets.
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<p />And, of course, we were making the point that no honest lender would ever loan money under conditions like that, but that fraud and accounting control fraud would find it optimal to make loans that way. And, you know, I've gone through the fraud recipe many times. That creates the sure things that the bank will report immediately record profits--they're fictional reports, but they trigger the second sure thing of massive compensation. So it's a sure thing that the CEOs would be wealthy. And the third sure thing is [snip] loss. Four of these lenders produced exactly that fraud pattern.
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<p />Anyhow, the cases out in Sacramento have routinely been coming back with guilty verdicts, often within an hour. In other words, the jurors view them as slam dunks. But in this case, the jury came back with not-guilty verdicts for all defendants on all charges. And, of course, we made the point that the Justice Department ought to be prosecuting the senior officers that led these huge criminal enterprises. And most of us, the times we've talked, we've been saying the Justice Department has not prosecuted any elite bankers--and that's true--for their role in causing the crisis.
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<p />But it's actually worse than that. This is a different level. This is mortgage banks that most [snip] people [snip] heard of [snip] has been prosecuted either. And all of this was happening in the same week that The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed blasting the Justice Department not for failing to prosecute, but having the audacity to even bring a civil action against the banks that caused these frauds. So The Wall Street Journal is in there fighting for complete immunity for the banksters and the banks who grew wealthy by causing this financial crisis.
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<p />But in Sacramento, a jury of 12 regular Americans started a counterattack on behalf of the rule of law and the need for the same standard of justice for everyone.
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<p />DESVARIEUX: Well, Bill, congratulations on winning your case. And we'll certainly keep track of all of these other developments. Thank you so much for being with us.
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<p />BLACK: One trivial addition. I did all of this without charge.
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<p />DESVARIEUX: Alright. Bill black, thank you again.
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<p />And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
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<p />End
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<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. | Sacramento Residents Found Not Guilty of Mortgage Fraud | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D12292 | 2014-08-26 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque police officer thought something might be amiss when he saw what looked like a doctor or nurse pushing a cart along a hospital corridor wearing blue jeans beneath his scrubs.</p>
<p>It turns out the officer was correct. The jeans-wearing man was a criminal suspect making his escape from the University of New Mexico Hospital.</p>
<p>Jonathan Kahl, 39, had been taken to the hospital last weekend before he was to have been booked on a narcotics charge. Because Kahl had swollen hands, officers did not handcuff him, APD spokeswoman Tasia Martinez confirmed Thursday.</p>
<p>Kahl allegedly made his escape after the officer who was in charge left the room, Martinez said. Kahl put on hospital scrubs, snapped on a face mask and pushed a cart out of the room, she said.</p>
<p>The officer who saw him in the hall didn’t question him, but returned to find an empty hospital room. That officer immediately called security and tried to secure the hospital exits, but it was too late.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Kahl was gone, and he had removed the mask and scrubs as he left.</p>
<p>A UNM spokesman told KOAT-TV that scrubs are usually left in hospital rooms if a medical staff member needs to change clothes in between patients.</p>
<p>Police found Kahl on Tuesday, in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in the 1400 block of Renaissance Boulevard. He was arrested and charged with shoplifting after police found him with wool socks, hand-warmers, an energy drink and a monocular.</p>
<p>The police report made no mention of the escape or the narcotics charge, but it did say that Kahl appeared to have some sort of seizure and was returned to UNMH for a checkup.</p>
<p>He is now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Suspect nabbed after hospital escape | false | https://abqjournal.com/173690/suspect-nabbed-after-hospital-escape.html | 2013-03-01 | 2 |
<p>On Tuesday, 18-year-old Zakaryia Abdin was indicted by a grand jury after he had allegedly told an undercover FBI agent he wanted to fight for ISIS and torture an American on a propaganda video.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fbi-man-wanted-to-fight-for-islamic-state-torture-american/2017/04/05/e3736950-1a14-11e7-8598-9a99da559f9e_story.html?utm_term=.9509e1c16862" type="external">The Washington Post</a> reports Abdin knew he was being observed by federal authorities, since two years ago police discovered he wanted to rob a gun store to get weapons to kill soldiers. Arrested before the robbery, he was only charged as a juvenile with gun possession. A parole board last May agreed to release him. But the York, South Carolina, police chief protested, calling him "one of the scariest people I have ever come in contact with."</p>
<p>The FBI <a href="http://myfox8.com/2017/04/04/sc-teen-arrested-for-trying-to-join-isis-was-willing-to-commit-attack-in-us/" type="external">started monitoring</a> Abdin on January 13, 2017, when he started researching buying guns.</p>
<p>Last week Abdin was arrested when he tried to board a plane in Charleston that was headed for Jordan. He had informed the undercover agent that if he couldn’t get to the Middle East to fight, he would be willing to attack a site in the U.S. He praised Omar Mateen, the mass murderer who slaughtered 49 people at the Pulse gay nightclub on June 12, 2016, according to the FBI. Abdin <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teenage-isis-recruit-zakaryia-abdin-eyed-orlando-style-attack-feds-n742686" type="external">said</a>, "I was very close to doing what our [brother] Omar did.” He wrote on social media,”I was going to do the same thing one month later, but I did not have weapons ... so I saved and saved ... got weapons."</p>
<p>Abdin bragged he wanted his face to be seen as he tortured an American, adding, “I want to be the one to send the message because they know who I am.”</p>
<p>The FBI reported that Abdin tried to obfuscate his intentions; he told authorities he had purchased guns in order to hunt; he said he was traveling to the Dead Sea rather than to join ISIS. He informed authorities and asked for a meeting where he told them his extreme beliefs had dissipated.</p>
<p>But Abdin also sent the undercover agent a video of him pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State in Arabic and pledging his unwavering support. The agent recalled Abdin saying, “I am coming to fight. Not play video games and sit.”</p>
<p>He even told the agent, “We are most likely to contact an undercover agent than a real brother. That is why I carry guns in my house, in my car and even I used to secretly take to school. It is very humiliating to be captured.”</p> | South Carolina Teen Dreamed Of Joining ISIS, Torturing Americans On Video | true | https://dailywire.com/news/15153/south-carolina-teen-dreamed-joining-isis-torturing-hank-berrien | 2017-04-05 | 0 |
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<p>The Woonsocket, Rhode Island, company said Friday that revenue from its pharmacy benefits management business jumped 18 percent to nearly $23 billion. Driving sales were pricey specialty drugs, which are complex medicines that can represent treatment breakthroughs but often at a much higher cost than other drugs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Those sales helped offset slower growth from the company's drugstore segment, where revenue climbed 3 percent.</p>
<p>Pharmacy benefits managers help negotiate the prices that customers pay for prescription drugs. They are seen as a key component in the push to contain soaring costs from specialty drugs.</p>
<p>Overall, CVS Health earned $1.22 billion, up from $1.13 billion in last year's quarter. Earnings in the most recent quarter, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.14 per share.</p>
<p>That was better than the per-share earnings of $1.08 that Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.</p>
<p>Revenue grew 11 percent in the quarter to $36.33 billion, also beating forecasts.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Nineteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $35.92 billion.</p>
<p>For the current quarter ending in June, CVS Health expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.17 to $1.20. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.25.</p>
<p>The company also raised the bottom end of its 2015 earnings forecast by three cents, resulting in a new expectation for $5.08 to $5.19 per share.</p>
<p>Analysts expect, on average, $5.16 per share, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>The company operated 7,850 retail locations at the end of the first quarter, a total that trails only Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>CVS Health Corp. shares edged up 51 cents to $99.80 Friday before markets opened. The shares have risen about 3 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index has climbed slightly more than 1 percent. The stock has climbed 37 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights ( <a href="http://automatedinsights.com/ap)" type="external">http://automatedinsights.com/ap)</a> using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CVS at <a href="http://www.zacks.com/ap/CVS" type="external">http://www.zacks.com/ap/CVS</a></p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Keywords: CVS Health, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings</p> | CVS Health tops Street 1Q forecasts, as earnings climb 8 pct | false | https://abqjournal.com/578058/cvs-health-tops-street-1q-forecasts-as-earnings-climb-8-pct.html | 2 |
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<p>Cyberspace gathering stresses cooperation even as Beijing tightens grip on the internet</p>
<p>This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (December 4, 2017).</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>WUZHEN, China -- China's tightening grip on the internet has forced U.S. companies to recalibrate their efforts here, but there was little outward sign of friction as American executives on Sunday touted their commitment to the crucial Chinese market during the government's annual cyberspace conference.</p>
<p>Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook and Cisco Systems Inc. CEO Chuck Robbins were among those echoing the conference theme: "Developing [a] digital economy for openness and shared benefits."</p>
<p>That theme "is a vision we at Apple share," Mr. Cook said. "We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community to join a common future in cyberspace."</p>
<p>That common future has caveats. Despite the assertion of openness, China's internet is walled off from the rest of the world, with Alphabet Inc.'s Google search engine and Facebook Inc.'s eponymous social network among the platforms blocked.</p>
<p>A new cyberspace law that went into effect June 1 tightened restrictions, leading Apple to remove virtual-private-network programs from its Chinese App Store that enabled people to evade the internet firewall.</p>
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<p>Cisco, meanwhile, is one of many U.S. companies that has found it expedient to form a partnership with a Chinese company to do business here, a situation overall that some believe amounts to unfair trade practices. Mr. Robbins also sounded a cooperative note, touting the billions of dollars in local procurement Cisco has made in China.</p>
<p>"In order to build this common future, we must also embark on a new area of global cooperation and new partnerships," Mr. Robbins said. "No one company, no one country can do it alone. "</p>
<p>Messrs Cook and Robbins both spoke to large crowds. Not so Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, who faced hundreds of empty seats during his panel discussion after lunch. Google has had limited operations in the country since it pulled out of China in 2010 amid a cyberattack it traced to Chinese hackers and complaints that its content was censored.</p>
<p>As U.S. technology executives gather in Wuzhen, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade team is considering actions against China for suspected trade violations, including alleged pressure by China on U.S. tech companies to turn over their intellectual property for access to the Chinese market.</p>
<p>The executives might have decided to come in part to ease potential tensions that could jeopardize their businesses in China, said Paul Triolo, head of geotechnology at consultancy Eurasia Group.</p>
<p>Now into its fourth year, the Wuzhen World Internet Conference is organized by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the powerful internet bureau whose job includes censorship of content and blocking access to unapproved sites.</p>
<p>Since the conference began in 2014, China has used the three-day event to promote its view of a policed internet as an alternative to the free-for-all that exists in most of the world.</p>
<p>This year, China added a new twist, announcing what might be called a "One Belt, One Road, One Internet" initiative that adds cyberspace to the transportation infrastructure campaign it is promoting to make China the center of a new international trade hub.</p>
<p>"The Belt and Road" digital-economy cooperation international initiative seeks to expand cooperation in 15 areas, including e-commerce, regulation and international standard-setting, with countries such as Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.</p>
<p>Wang Huning, the newly named member of China's Politburo Standing Committee, gave his first speech since his appointment in October and called on countries to work together to promote compatible web policies and to cooperate on cybersecurity. A former politics professor, Mr. Wang now has the responsibility to handle party affairs including ideology and propaganda.</p>
<p>Other executives participating at Sunday's sessions included Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Executive Chairman Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings Ltd. CEO Pony Ma. Facebook Vice President Vaughan Smith, LinkedIn Corp. Vice President Allen Blue and Microsoft Executive Vice President Harry Shum are among those scheduled to speak at sessions Monday and Tuesday.</p>
<p>Write to Liza Lin at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>December 04, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)</p> | U.S. Firms Tout China Despite Web Curbs -- WSJ | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/12/04/u-s-firms-tout-china-despite-web-curbs-wsj.html | 2017-12-04 | 0 |
<p>The Senate is scheduled to take up legislation Tuesday to keep federal highway money flowing to states, with just three days left before the government plans to start slowing down payments.</p>
<p>The House passed a $10.8 billion bill last week that would pay for highway and transit aid through the end of May 2015 if transportation spending is maintained at current levels.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But senators who say the House bill uses budgetary gimmicks or who want to force Congress to act on a long-term plan to pay for roads and bridges are expected to offer amendments. If any of the amendments pass, it would set up an 11th hour showdown between the House and Senate.</p>
<p>The Transportation Department says it will begin cutting back payments to states on Aug. 1.</p> | Senate to vote on keeping federal highway money flowing to states as deadline looms | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/07/29/senate-to-vote-on-keeping-federal-highway-money-flowing-to-states-as-deadline.html | 2016-03-09 | 0 |
<p>Hundreds of thousands of freezing Europeans are waiting for Russia and Ukraine to resolve a pricing dispute, while EU officials engage in scramblepants diplomacy to get the natural gas flowing again. Russia has accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas, which runs from Mother Russia through Ukraine and into Europe, where some areas are very, very cold.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Ukraine and the EU are trying to iron out glitches that have stalled a deal with Russia to resolve a gas dispute.</p>
<p>Russia has said it cannot implement an agreement with Ukraine to resume gas flows to Europe, accusing Ukraine of adding “unacceptable” conditions.</p>
<p />
<p>Several European countries have been left without gas in severe winter weather as the dispute rumbles on.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7822694.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Russia-Ukraine Spat Leaves Europe in the Cold | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/russia-ukraine-spat-leaves-europe-in-the-cold/ | 2009-01-12 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/fact-check-cora-faith-walker-mostly-right-on-st-louis/article_9aaaea42-e73f-11e7-ae4b-af3cc727b78e.html" type="external">In&#160;</a> <a href="http://www.stlamerican.com/your_health_matters/health_news/equity-is-a-public-health-imperative/article_fb9aab2a-c4e5-11e7-be9f-67606edf47df.html" type="external">a Nov. 9 guest commentary for the St. Louis American</a>, Rep. Cora Faith Walker, D-Ferguson, wrote that funding cuts to Medicaid programs would further hurt African-American communities.</p>
<p>"The average life expectancy for African-Americans in Saint Louis and Saint Louis County varies by as much as 18 years compared to the white population, with nearly half of all African-American kids under the age of 18 living in poverty," Walker wrote.</p>
<p>Those are striking statistics, so we reached out to Walker to find out where she got them. She sent us a copy of&#160; <a href="https://forthesakeofall.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FSOA_report_2.pdf" type="external">a 2015 "For the Sake of All" report</a>, which analyzes "the health and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis." Walker also outlined the primary sources cited in the report.</p>
<p>We reached out to the report’s project directors to find out where these stats came from.</p>
<p>Walker wrote that the average life expectancy for African-Americans in St. Louis City and St. Louis County varies by as much as 18 years compared to the white population.</p>
<p>Where does that information come from?</p>
<p>For the Sake of All project director Jason Purnell told us the figure comes from a comparison between residents in the ZIP code 63106 in the city and the ZIP&#160;zip code 63105 in the county.</p>
<p>For the Sake of All’s report breaks down the differences in life expectancy for different ZIP&#160; codes within St. Louis city and county. On page 27 of the report, a map showing life expectancy at birth by ZIP code is accompanied by this description:</p>
<p>"A child born in 63106 near the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood can expect to live 18 fewer years than a child born in 63105 (Clayton), 15 fewer years than a child born in 63017 (Chesterfield), 14 fewer years than children born in 63122 (Kirkwood) and 63109 (St. Louis Hills), and 3 years fewer than a child born in 63133 (Pagedale/Wellston)," the report says.</p>
<p>Research Project Coordinator Rachel Barth said the life expectancies were constructed using a calculator developed by the City of St. Louis Department of Health – Center for Health Information, Planning, and Research, and life expectancies by ZIP code were derived using population counts from the 2010 Census and deaths from&#160; <a href="http://health.mo.gov/data/mica/DeathMICA/" type="external">the Missouri Information for Community Assessment’s 2010 data</a>.</p>
<p>To be clear, the data aren’t comparing life expectancies by race. Walker is extrapolating that based on what she knows about the ZIP&#160; codes analyzed. The report notes that the areas with lowest life expectancies — such as ZIP code 63106 that has an average life expectancy of 67 years — "are also in areas with the highest concentration of African-American population."</p>
<p>"We do not have calculations for life expectancy by race," Barth told PolitiFact Missouri.</p>
<p>However, ZIP code 63105, which includes Clayton, is predominately white — which is where Walker may have based her assertion "compared to the white population."</p>
<p>"What I think Rep. Walker is getting at is the life expectancy for residents living in 63106 (95 percent of whom are African-American) is 67 years, whereas the life expectancy for residents living in 63105 (92 percent of whom are white) is 85 years of age," Barth said.</p>
<p>To summarize, Walker is comparing ZIP&#160; codes in the St. Louis area and identifying where the greatest life expectancy disparity exists. Those ZIP&#160; codes align with overwhelmingly African-American or white populations. However, there may be other variables that weren’t considered in the study that have an effect on the average life expectancy.</p>
<p>Walker went on to say that "nearly half of all African-American kids under the age of 18 (are) living in poverty."</p>
<p>That’s from the same report, but the statistic is outdated and relies on 2012 Census information. In 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46 percent of African-American children under 18 lived in poverty in St. Louis County and St. Louis City, Barth said.</p>
<p>According to the more recent Census Bureau estimate from 2016, the figure has fallen to 33 percent, Barth said. The decrease coincides with the improvement of the economy in Missouri.</p>
<p>Walker said "the average life expectancy for African Americans in Saint Louis and Saint Louis County varies by as much as 18 years compared to the white population, with nearly half of all African-American kids under the age of 18 living in poverty."</p>
<p>Walker based this assertion on a study showing a wide difference in life expectancy between two ZIP codes within the city and county of St. Louis. That’s not exactly a comparison of life expectancy by race, but given that one ZIP code is heavily African-American and the other is heavily white, it’s a reasonable proxy.</p>
<p>As for the poverty claim, the rate remains high, but the 50 percent figure is based on old data. More recent estimates find that about a third of African-American children in the St. Louis area are living in poverty.</p>
<p>On balance, we rate this claim&#160;Mostly True.</p> | Cora Faith Walker mostly right on life expectancy disparities in St. Louis | false | http://politifact.com/missouri/statements/2017/dec/24/cora-faith-walker/Cora-Faith-Walker-mostly-right-on-life-expectancy/ | 2017-12-24 | 2 |
<p>STARKVILLE, Miss. — Ole Miss took advantage of five Mississippi State turnovers and a game-ending injury to Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to post a 31-28 victory Thursday in the 114th matchup between the two teams.</p>
<p>No. 14 Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) outgained the Rebels 501-335, but the turnovers proved to be the difference.</p>
<p>Big plays paid off for Ole Miss with Jordan Ta’amu throwing for 247 yards, with 140 of those yards coming off of his two touchdown passes. A.J. Brown burned the Bulldogs for 167 yards and a touchdown on six catches, and Jordan Wilkins rushed for 110 yards and two scores on 14 carries.</p>
<p>The Rebels (6-6, 3-5 SEC) scored in the first 39 seconds when Ta’amu found Brown for a 58-yard pass inside Mississippi State territory and Wilkins ran for a 22-yard touchdown on the next play.</p>
<p>Later in the first quarter, the Bulldogs were dealt a blow that they would never recover from when Fitzgerald sustained a gruesome ankle injury that ended his night. He gave way to true freshman Keytaon Thompson, who helped Mississippi State close the deficit to 10-6 by halftime.</p>
<p>Turnovers would plague the Bulldogs all game. They threw two interceptions and fumbled three times, one by Thompson proving critical.</p>
<p>After the quarterback coughed it up inside the Ole Miss 25, Ta’amu struck with an 80-yard touchdown pass for the 17-6 lead midway through the third quarter. The Rebels added on late in the third quarter when Ta’amu hit D.K. Metcalf for the 63-yard score, and Ole Miss took a 24-6 lead into the fourth.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs finally got in the end zone after a Rebels turnover. Mark McLaurin intercepted a pass that eventually led to 15-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Deddrick Thomas to close the deficit to 24-13 with 9:16 remaining.</p>
<p>Ole Miss answered with a 46-yard burst up the middle from Wilkins for a 31-13 advantage.</p>
<p>Mississippi State gave itself a chance late with Kylin Hill’s 30-yard run and a two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 31-21. A defensive stop gave the Bulldogs another shot, and Thompson led the team down the field and scored from 1 yard out to close it to 31-28.</p>
<p>The ensuing onside kick was failed, and Ole Miss held on for the win.</p>
<p>Mississippi State rushed for 294 yards in the game, led by Thompson, who had 26 carries and 121 yards with a score. Hill rushed for 82 yards, and Aeris Williams gained 75 yards.</p>
<p>NOTES: Ole Miss WR A.J. Brown broke the Ole Miss single-season school record for receiving yards with 1,252 yards on the year. … Mississippi State RB Aeris Williams eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season. .. Ole Miss RB Jordan Wilkins also went over the 1,000-yard mark with his sixth 100-yard game. … The road team has now won the last three Egg Bowls. … The Rebels lead the series 64-44-6.</p> | Ole Miss Rebels roll after Mississippi State Bulldogs lose Nick Fitzgerald | false | https://newsline.com/ole-miss-rebels-roll-after-mississippi-state-bulldogs-lose-nick-fitzgerald/ | 2017-11-24 | 1 |
<p>Book - MIT Press Quarterly Journal: International Security</p>
<p />
<p>The spread of nuclear weapons is one of the most significant challenges to global security in the twenty-first century. Limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials may be the key to preventing a nuclear war or a catastrophic act of nuclear terrorism. Going Nuclear offers conceptual, historical, and analytical perspectives on current problems in controlling nuclear proliferation. It includes essays that examine why countries seek nuclear weapons as well as studies of the nuclear programs of India, Pakistan, and South Africa. The final section of the book offers recommendations for responding to the major contemporary proliferation challenges: keeping nuclear weapons and materials out of the hands of terrorists, ensuring that countries that renounce nuclear weapons never change their minds, and cracking down on networks that illicitly spread nuclear technologies.</p>
<p>Nearly all the chapters in this book have been previously published in the journal International Security. It contains a new preface and one chapter commissioned specifically for the volume, Matthew Bunn's "Nuclear Terrorism: A Strategy for Prevention."</p>
<p /> | Going Nuclear: Nuclear Proliferation and International Security in the 21st Century | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/going-nuclear-nuclear-proliferation-and-international-security-21st-century | 2010-01-01 | 2 |
<p>Published time: 27 Jul, 2017 09:58Edited time: 27 Jul, 2017 10:13</p>
<p>Russia’s human rights ombudsman says excluding women from universal military conscription is a violation, and has promised to address the issue in the near future.</p>
<p>“Maybe I will not get support from everyone here, but I think that our girls’ right for conscription service as privates is infringed. They cannot get permission for this and this is wrong,” Tatyana Moskalkova said as she spoke at the Terra Scientia international educational youth forum.&#160;</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/politics/333693-russian-military-allow-conscription-service/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Moskalkova also said the government should offer more support to military pensioners, and to widows and orphans of deceased servicemen.</p>
<p>The Defense Ministry commented on the ombudsman’s words on Thursday, telling Zvezda TV channel that the manning of forces is currently accomplished with conscripted recruits and contract servicemen, and that women’s rights were not being infringed upon.</p>
<p>The ministry added that conscription for men is a duty, not a right, and that women can join the forces voluntarily and reach any rank – from private soldier to general.</p>
<p>The ministry also stated that Russia currently has about 45,000 females in the military, most of whom serve in communications troops, logistics units, and in military schools. The total number of active military servicemen is currently about 830,000.</p>
<p>Russian law obliges all male citizens aged 18-27 to serve in the military for one year. Exceptions are allowed for people with health problems, single providers with pensioner parents or small children, and a few other groups.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/politics/332854-russians-trust-their-militarys-ability/" type="external" /></p>
<p>According to new rules adopted in early 2016, citizens summoned for one-year of compulsory service now have the right to become contract soldiers straight away, but for double the term. This is part of a larger reform started in 2008 and aimed at a full transition to professional military forces in the future.</p>
<p>In April 2015, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told reporters that for the first time in Russian history, the number of contract servicemen had exceeded the number of conscripts – 300,000 to 276,000.</p>
<p>However, according to public opinion polls, about 58 percent of Russians believe authorities should not abolish universal conscription, while 37 percent say they would prefer fully professional military forces.</p> | Russian ombudsman advocates conscription service for women | false | https://newsline.com/russian-ombudsman-advocates-conscription-service-for-women/ | 2017-07-27 | 1 |
<p />
<p>In a move that says to the world, “no, of course we’re not desperate and fearful, as our industry crumbles around us,” music-licensing group ASCAP is now going after bars, clubs and restaurants that play any of the over 8 million songs by artists they represent without paying appropriate fees. ASCAP have <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003815486_royalty01.html" type="external">apparently sued over two dozen venues recently</a> who have failed to pay their royalties. Of course, legally, ASCAP is right: if I charge people $5 to come listen to the new U2 CD, it sure seems like that’s money U2 should get. Since, you know, they need more money. But business owners often pay music services for chatter-free background tunes; is that different from just turning on the radio? Most amusing is this statement from Vincent Candilora, ASCAP senior vice president for licensing: “As long as it’s [played] outside a direct circle of friends and family, it is considered a public performance.” So, how many friends and family can I have before it’s not considered a “direct circle?” We need friendship guidelines!</p>
<p /> | Start Composing Your Own Background Music, Bar Owners | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/start-composing-your-own-background-music-bar-owners/ | 2007-08-01 | 4 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>The lead story in the New York Times print edition today ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/middleeast/us-says-it-suspects-assad-used-chemical-weapons.html" type="external">4/26/13</a>) bore the headline:</p>
<p>Well, that’s pretty definitive, isn’t it? But then if you read the first line of the story, you get a different picture:</p>
<p>The White House said Thursday that it believes the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in its civil war, an assessment that could test <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/world/middleeast/nato-prepares-missile-defenses-for-turkey.html" type="external">President Obama’s repeated warnings</a> that such an attack could precipitate American intervention in Syria.</p>
<p>The White House says it “believes” Syria has used chemical weapons–and the story goes on to say that this position is held “with varying degrees of confidence” by various U.S. intelligence agencies. The White House said that “more conclusive evidence was needed” before the United States could act on this information. In the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/middleeast/us-says-it-suspects-assad-used-chemical-weapons.html?ref=todayspaper" type="external">online version</a>, this article is headlined:</p>
<p>–a far more appropriate, and less inflammatory, summary. (The story’s url indicates that “suspects” was the original headline verb, which would arguably be a more accurate way to describe the information presented.)</p>
<p>Note that the Obama administration has threatened to go to war if Syria uses chemical weapons–so by mislabeling its story, the New York Times is in effect making it more likely that the United States will get involved in another Middle Eastern civil war. This is a life-and-death subject where you want to get it right the first time.</p>
<p>The Times is not the only outlet guilty of originally overselling this story. “U.S. Now Says Syria Has Used Chemical Weapons” is on the front page of USA Today (4/26/13); inside, a subhead tells us that the U.S. is “Still Assessing Chemicals’ Use in Attacks.”</p> | Reporting ‘Says’ Rather Than ‘Says It Believes’ Could Make a War of Difference | true | http://fair.org/blog/2013/04/26/reporting-says-rather-than-says-it-believes-could-make-a-war-of-difference/ | 2013-04-26 | 4 |
<p>Merck &amp; Co. reported Friday second-quarter earnings that rose to $1.21 billion, or 43 cents a share, from $687 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring acquisition and divestiture-related costs, adjusted earnings per share came to 93 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 91 cents. Revenue rose to $9.84 billion from $9.79 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $9.78 billion, with pharmaceutical revenue increasing 2% and animal health revenue growing 7%. Sales of Merck's top selling drug, Januvia/Janumet, increased 2% to $1.63 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.61 billion. Looking ahead, the drug maker expects 2016 revenue of $39.1 billion to $40.1 billion, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $39.49 billion. 2016 EPS is expected to be $3.67 to $3.77, compared with the FactSet consensus of $3.72. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 11% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.9%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Merck's Profit And Revenue Rise Above Expectations | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/29/merck-profit-and-revenue-rise-above-expectations.html | 2016-07-29 | 0 |
<p>President Obama addressed tried to placate gay activists last night but still left some of them frustrated.</p>
<p>From the <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28156.html" type="external">Politico</a></p>
<p>President Barack Obama wowed a crowd of gay rights activists Saturday night with an impassioned defense of equality for gays and lesbians, but he offered no new commitments to assuage concerns that he has given a low priority to issues critical to the gay and lesbian community.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Obama received a series of rousing ovations from the more than 2,000 attendees at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Washington as he insisted he is fully committed to their cause.</p>
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<p>“I’m here with a simple message: I’m here with you in that fight,” Obama declared.</p>
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<p>The president was quick to acknowledge the impatience many gay activists have expressed about his failure to carry through on campaign promises regarding gays in the military and other issues.</p>
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<p>“I also appreciate that many of you don’t believe progress has some fast enough. I want to be honest about that,” Obama said. “Even as we face extraordinary challenges as a nation, we cannot and will not put aside issues of basic equality.”</p>
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<p>“We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country. We should be celebrating their willingness,” Obama said. “I’m working with the Pentagon and its leadership and members of the House and Senate on ending this policy…I will end ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’ That’s my commitment to you,” he said to a raucous ovation.</p>
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<p>But while emphatically renewing his pledge to end the military’s ban on openly gay soldiers and sailors, Obama gave no timetable for making the change and no promise to put an immediate stop to discharges based on sexual orientation.</p>
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<p>Obama’s comments did omit some of the qualifications he expressed during a speech to gay leaders at the White House in June.</p>
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<p>“As commander-in-chief, in a time of war, I do have a responsibility to see that this change is administered in a practical way and a way that takes over the long term,” he said then.</p>
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<p>But while the speech was applauded in the hall, reaction outside of it was was harsher, with many prominent gay voices concerned by the president’s lack of specifics.</p>
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<p>Prominent gay blogger John Aravosis, in a post titled <a href="http://www.americablog.com/2009/10/wheres-beef.html" type="external">“Where’s the Beef?”</a>,&#160; wrote that “Obama repeated his campaign promises. That was it.”</p>
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<p>“An opportunity was missed tonight,” said Kevin Dix of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which had urged Obama to set a deadline for ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. “When are we going to get this done? We didn’t hear any of that tonight.”</p>
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<p>The economy is really more of a smokescreen as to why Obama hasn’t moved quickly and forcefully on gay issues.&#160; While it was an effective campaign promise Obama is faced with the reality that most Americans don’t favor gay marriage and he has spent most if not all his political capital on health care reform and can’t afford to take up another bruising fight for something that isn’t likely to help him much at the polls in the future.</p>
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<p>Post #2391</p> | Obama to Gays: ‘I’m With You’ | true | http://aim.org/don-irvine-blog/obama-to-gays-im-with-you/ | 2009-10-11 | 0 |
<p>Time magazine’s cover this week (5/11/15) on the Baltimore protests is “America, 1968/2015: What Has Changed. What Hasn’t”:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>What has changed? Well, for one thing, in 1968, Time was unlikely to compare current events to things that happened 47 years earlier, in 1921–before most people alive then were born.</p> | The Times, They Are No Longer A-Changing | true | http://fair.org/home/the-times-they-are-no-longer-a-changing/ | 2015-05-04 | 4 |
<p>In the past couple of years, Macy's (NYSE: M) has started to get serious about maximizing the value of its real estate. In several cases, this approach has involved closing or downsizing stores that sat on valuable land to <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/31/investors-are-still-overlooking-macys-real-estate.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">sell the underlying real estate Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>As a result, many investors have drawn parallels between Macy's and Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD), which has also been selling a lot of real estate in recent years. However, the similarities end there. Sears Holdings is selling assets in a desperate attempt to stave off bankruptcy. It's unlikely that shareholders will ever see any benefit from Sears' real estate deals.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>By contrast, Macy's is a profitable retail business that also has a lot of great real estate. Long-term investors are likely to benefit from both sides of the Macy's story.</p>
<p>Last year, Macy's brought in <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/04/macys-is-a-real-estate-and-credit-card-company-mas.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">cash proceeds of $673 million Opens a New Window.</a> from a slew of real estate deals. The highlight was the sale of its Union Square Men's Store in downtown San Francisco for $250 million. A year earlier, Macy's raised $204 million from asset sales.</p>
<p>Fiscal 2017 is shaping up to be an in-between year. In the first half of the year, Macy's received $150 million in proceeds from asset sales and booked gains of $111 million. For the full year, it expects to book $275 million-$300 million of gains (excluding the Union Square sale), with cash proceeds likely to be similar or slightly higher.</p>
<p>Macy's recently took a big step toward meeting this guidance by completing the sale of two floors of its downtown Seattle store. Two years ago, it sold the top four floors of the building for $65 million. It has now sold another two floors -- plus some basement space -- to the same buyer <a href="https://news.theregistryps.com/starwood-capital-buys-portions-macys-building-seattle-50mm/" type="external">for $50 million Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>The rest of the company's asset sales for fiscal 2017 are likely to involve mall-based stores or the surrounding land. While Macy's is actively marketing the upper floors of its downtown Chicago flagship store, it probably won't be able to complete any such deal until 2018.</p>
<p>Between 2014 and 2016, Sears Holdings sold about $3.5 billion of real estate. Of that total, $2.7 billion came from the company's deal to spin off 235 stores and joint venture interests in another 31 properties as Seritage Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT.</p>
<p>The company hopes to sell at least another $1 billion of real estate during 2017. By April, the company had lined up bids <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/25/sears-holdings-just-offered-more-proof-its-doomed.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">exceeding $700 million Opens a New Window.</a> for about 60 properties. As of late August, it had realized proceeds of about $620 million from executing some of these deals. Sears still owns hundreds of stores, so it will be able to continue raising cash through real estate sales in the next few years.</p>
<p>While Macy's and Sears have both been closing stores and selling real estate recently, the parallels end there. For example, comparable-store sales declined 2.5% at Macy's last quarter -- compared with an 11.5% plunge for Sears Holdings.</p>
<p>Most importantly, Macy's is consistently profitable, whereas Sears has been bleeding cash at an astounding rate. Sears has burned through about $2 billion of cash in the past 12 months, and it has fairly consistently torched $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion annually in recent years. Thus, the company needs to sell lots of real estate, or other assets, each year just to stay afloat.</p>
<p>By contrast, despite facing some sales and earnings pressure recently, Macy's has churned out about $900 million of free cash flow in each of the past two years. That's more than enough to cover its generous dividend, which currently has a yield around 7%. Macy's is using the rest of its free cash flow -- as well as its asset sale proceeds -- to pay down debt. In the past year alone, it has reduced its net debt by more than $1 billion.</p>
<p>Macy's is also in the early stages of reinventing its merchandise assortment, marketing strategy, and loyalty program. These efforts could lead to better results at its core retail business starting in 2018. Investors should view the company's real estate deals as an effective tool for accelerating its debt-reduction efforts -- not as a sign that it's spiraling toward bankruptcy.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Macy'sWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=13d1ffd4-30e5-441a-a5f5-9aa16dae8e1a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Macy's wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=13d1ffd4-30e5-441a-a5f5-9aa16dae8e1a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&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 September 5, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGemHunter/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Adam Levine-Weinberg Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Macy's. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=6aa648e8-93e6-11e7-adf2-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Macy's, Inc. Completes Another Big Real Estate Deal -- but It's Not the Next Sears | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/09/macys-inc-completes-another-big-real-estate-deal-but-its-not-next-sears.html | 2017-09-09 | 0 |
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<p>The world economy will "muddle through", Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said on Wednesday, but he warned that growth problems in Europe and China and a possible breakup of the euro zone could make doing so a lot more difficult.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"I think the biggest problem that Europe has is growth and the tail risk problem is a real go-off-the-rail, bust-up of the euro," Blankfein told a business audience in Toronto.</p>
<p>On China, he said the biggest risk is that the economy will have a hard landing. "I'm very confident in the outcome but you have to recognize ... one of the risks of the world that instead of providing a lot of extra demand, China disappoints, but it won't be for a long time if it does."</p> | Goldman Sachs' Blankfein Sees World Economy Muddling Through | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/09/19/goldman-sachs-blankfein-sees-world-economy-muddling-through.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
<p>&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks3iC5Q-wNs"&gt;Comstock for Congress&lt;/a&gt;/YouTube</p>
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<p>What do Blackwater’s founder, Koch Industries, and Mitt Romney have in common? They’ve all been represented by Northern Virginia’s newest congresswoman.</p>
<p>Republican Barbara Comstock cruised to victory on Tuesday, easing past Fairfax County supervisor John Foust in a suburban DC district. Comstock will replace retiring GOP Rep. Frank Wolf, for whom she once worked as an aide. You’ll be hearing a lot more from her.</p>
<p>Electing Comstock—a veteran of two Romney campaigns, the Bush White House, and the Clinton wars—was personal for establishment Republicans. As I <a href="" type="internal">reported in an April profile</a>, she got her start as an investigator on the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee in the 1990s, carving out a reputation as one of the Clintons’ most obsessive critics. She parlayed her work as opposition-research guru for George W. Bush’s first campaign into a job as a spokeswoman for Attorney General John Ashcroft. She then moved into crisis PR, where she repped clients such as Blackwater founder Erik Prince and disgraced Cheney aide Scooter Libby. From there, she moved on to lobbying, on behalf of companies like Koch Industries and the private prison giant GEO Group. If liberals were upset about it in the 2000s, chances are Barbara Comstock was involved somehow.</p>
<p>Although the 10th district leans red, Democratic groups poured more than $1.2 million into the race in the hopes of expanding on their gains in an increasingly blue state. Dismissing Comstock’s work in DC, Foust said of his opponent, “I don’t even think she’s had a real job.” In response, Republicans flooded the airwaves with ads like this one, slamming Foust as a hurtful misogynist:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The ad doesn’t quite get it right—Foust was attacking all women in the same way that Republicans who insist President Barack Obama <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/241937-boehner-obama-has-never-even-had-a-real-job-for-christs-sake" type="external">never held a real job</a> are attacking all men.</p>
<p>But the sexism narrative obscured a larger trend that Comstock’s victory helps solidify—the Beltwayification of Northern Virginia. Consider that Virginia’s new Democratic governor was a Democratic National Committee chair and fundraising guru; Virginia’s junior senator, Tim Kaine, was a DNC chair*; Virginia’s GOP Senate nominee, Ed Gillespie, was a former Republican National Committee chair and high-powered lobbyist from the DC suburbs; George Allen, Virginia’s GOP Senate nominee in 2012, was a lobbyist from the DC suburbs. Foust’s mistake wasn’t misogyny; it was forgetting that lobbyists are people too—especially in McLean, Virginia.</p>
<p>*Correction: This story originally stated that Kaine is from the DC suburbs; he is from Richmond.</p>
<p /> | Koch Lobbyist and Clinton Archenemy Wins in Virginia | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/barbara-comstock-bush-koch-brothers-lobbyist/ | 2014-11-05 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Frances Rivas, 42, a former Albuquerque resident who now lives in Amarillo, pleaded guilty Monday morning to one count of preparing a false federal income tax return under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.</p>
<p>Rivas pleaded guilty to one count of a 25-count indictment alleging that she prepared and presented false federal income tax returns, admitting that between January 2008 and April 2011 she willfully prepared and presented to the IRS returns she knew to be materially false and fraudulent, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales said in a news release.</p>
<p>Rivas further admitted that she altered tax return information provided by her clients by changing the clients’ filing status, number of dependents, exemptions or W-2 wage information in order to increase the federal tax refund, the release said.</p>
<p>According to federal prosecutors, Rivas unlawfully bilked the IRS out of $98,396 as a result of her fraudulent activity.</p>
<p>She faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release and must pay the estimated $98,396 in restitution, the release said. She remains free on conditions of release pending her sentencing, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to False Return | false | https://abqjournal.com/149220/tax-preparer-pleads-guilty-to-false-return.html | 2 |
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<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada woman who was twice convicted of a 2001 murder and sexual mutilation that she maintained happened while she was more than150 miles away was exonerated Friday by a state judge in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>However, Kirstin Blaise Lobato, whose cause drew an online following and backing from advocates including the New York-based Innocence Project, was not immediately freed.</p>
<p>The 35-year-old Lobato was instead taken to a county jail in Las Vegas to serve a one-year sentence for a misdemeanor conviction in a 2007 prisoner sexual contact case, state Corrections Department spokeswoman Brooke Keast said.</p>
<p>Keast and a Lobato attorney said Lobato was unlikely to be released before next week.</p>
<p>“We hope Ms. Lobato will be released soon. It’s just a matter of time,” said Vanessa Potkin, a chief lawyer in Lobato’s case for the Innocence Project.</p>
<p>Potkin said she will challenge Lobato’s conviction in the sexual contact case, noting that the incident happened just three months after she arrived at Nevada’s Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>“She is on the verge of being a free woman for the first time in nearly 17 years,” Potkin said.</p>
<p>Lobato was 18 when she was arrested in the July 2001 slaying of Duran Bailey, whose body was found near a trash bin in Las Vegas with a cracked skull, missing teeth and slashed carotid artery, among other injuries.</p>
<p>Lobato was 19 when she was first convicted in 2002 of murder and other crimes including use of a weapon and sexual penetration of a dead body. She was sentenced to 40 to 100 years in prison.</p>
<p>No physical evidence or witnesses connected Lobato to the murder, and she maintained she never met Bailey. But jurors were told that Lobato confessed in jail that she killed Bailey during a three-day methamphetamine binge after he tried to rape her when she refused his attempts to trade sex for drugs.</p>
<p>Lobato said she wasn’t in Las Vegas when Bailey was killed, but was in her hometown of Panaca, a nearly three-hour drive away.</p>
<p>She said that although she told people that she used a knife to defend herself during a sexual assault in Las Vegas, she was referring to an incident that happened months before and across town from where Bailey was killed.</p>
<p>The state Supreme Court in 2004 threw out the verdict because Lobato’s lawyers hadn’t been able to cross-examine the prosecution witness who said Lobato made the jailhouse confession.</p>
<p>Lobato was tried again in 2006, convicted of manslaughter, mutilation and weapon charges, and sentenced to 13 to 45 years in prison.</p>
<p>The Nevada Supreme Court in late 2016 ordered another evidence hearing, citing “strong alibi evidence” from people who saw Lobato in Panaca and faulting her lawyers for failing to hire an expert witness to pinpoint Bailey’s time of death.</p>
<p>During hearings in October in state court in Las Vegas, the Innocence Project enlisted scientific experts whose testimony about the absence of blowfly larvae on Bailey’s body in the summer heat narrowed his time of death to a period when Lobato was in Panaca.</p>
<p>Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez issued the one-page order Friday saying “good cause has been shown” to dismiss all charges against Lobato and not allow the case to be refiled.</p>
<p>Attorney David Chesnoff, who appeared before the judge, referred calls about the case to Potkin.</p>
<p>“It’s a tragedy that it has taken almost all her prison sentence for Ms. Lobato to be exonerated of a crime,” Potkin said.</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada woman who was twice convicted of a 2001 murder and sexual mutilation that she maintained happened while she was more than150 miles away was exonerated Friday by a state judge in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>However, Kirstin Blaise Lobato, whose cause drew an online following and backing from advocates including the New York-based Innocence Project, was not immediately freed.</p>
<p>The 35-year-old Lobato was instead taken to a county jail in Las Vegas to serve a one-year sentence for a misdemeanor conviction in a 2007 prisoner sexual contact case, state Corrections Department spokeswoman Brooke Keast said.</p>
<p>Keast and a Lobato attorney said Lobato was unlikely to be released before next week.</p>
<p>“We hope Ms. Lobato will be released soon. It’s just a matter of time,” said Vanessa Potkin, a chief lawyer in Lobato’s case for the Innocence Project.</p>
<p>Potkin said she will challenge Lobato’s conviction in the sexual contact case, noting that the incident happened just three months after she arrived at Nevada’s Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>“She is on the verge of being a free woman for the first time in nearly 17 years,” Potkin said.</p>
<p>Lobato was 18 when she was arrested in the July 2001 slaying of Duran Bailey, whose body was found near a trash bin in Las Vegas with a cracked skull, missing teeth and slashed carotid artery, among other injuries.</p>
<p>Lobato was 19 when she was first convicted in 2002 of murder and other crimes including use of a weapon and sexual penetration of a dead body. She was sentenced to 40 to 100 years in prison.</p>
<p>No physical evidence or witnesses connected Lobato to the murder, and she maintained she never met Bailey. But jurors were told that Lobato confessed in jail that she killed Bailey during a three-day methamphetamine binge after he tried to rape her when she refused his attempts to trade sex for drugs.</p>
<p>Lobato said she wasn’t in Las Vegas when Bailey was killed, but was in her hometown of Panaca, a nearly three-hour drive away.</p>
<p>She said that although she told people that she used a knife to defend herself during a sexual assault in Las Vegas, she was referring to an incident that happened months before and across town from where Bailey was killed.</p>
<p>The state Supreme Court in 2004 threw out the verdict because Lobato’s lawyers hadn’t been able to cross-examine the prosecution witness who said Lobato made the jailhouse confession.</p>
<p>Lobato was tried again in 2006, convicted of manslaughter, mutilation and weapon charges, and sentenced to 13 to 45 years in prison.</p>
<p>The Nevada Supreme Court in late 2016 ordered another evidence hearing, citing “strong alibi evidence” from people who saw Lobato in Panaca and faulting her lawyers for failing to hire an expert witness to pinpoint Bailey’s time of death.</p>
<p>During hearings in October in state court in Las Vegas, the Innocence Project enlisted scientific experts whose testimony about the absence of blowfly larvae on Bailey’s body in the summer heat narrowed his time of death to a period when Lobato was in Panaca.</p>
<p>Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez issued the one-page order Friday saying “good cause has been shown” to dismiss all charges against Lobato and not allow the case to be refiled.</p>
<p>Attorney David Chesnoff, who appeared before the judge, referred calls about the case to Potkin.</p>
<p>“It’s a tragedy that it has taken almost all her prison sentence for Ms. Lobato to be exonerated of a crime,” Potkin said.</p> | Woman exonerated after being convicted twice in killing | false | https://apnews.com/4fc49400745040f5acdd16039193e424 | 2017-12-30 | 2 |
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<p>During a quarterly update last week from electric company officials, Mayor Ken Miyagishima said the time might have finally come for the city and El Paso Electric to come to some kind of new franchise agreement. In August 2009, the council rejected a proposed franchise agreement that was developed with help from an advisory committee of residents.</p>
<p>The proposed franchise agreement would have replaced a franchise agreement the city and El Paso Electric have operated with for almost 50 years. The franchise agreement expired in April 2009, after 45 years, and the city and electric company have since been operating on a month-by-month agreement that still hasn’t been changed.</p>
<p>Miyagishima agreed there need to be renewed efforts to finalize a new franchise agreement.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“There’s one in draft form, but it hasn’t been approved yet,” Miyagishima said. “With an ever-changing industry, it’s time to get together with El Paso Electric and see what they can provide.”</p>
<p>City Manager Robert Garza said the council would conduct a work session, possibly in February, to begin examining a new franchise agreement. He isn’t sure how long it might take the council to decide.</p>
<p>Garza added he believes it is unlikely the council will re-institute the ad hoc committee that helped develop the 2009 draft proposal. “Perhaps a more appropriate approach would be to present what was developed in our last process, get City Council review … and then have work done to respond to council’s direction including some significant public hearing and input sessions,” Garza said.</p> | Cruces, electric utility edge toward new franchise pact | false | https://abqjournal.com/150620/cruces-electric-utility-edge-toward-new-franchise-pact.html | 2012-12-03 | 2 |
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<p>Extra security guards surrounded 19-year-old Elijah Fernandez as the judge set his bail. He is charged with criminal sexual penetration and child abuse with great bodily harm. Fernandez is the mother's boyfriend, according to police.</p>
<p>The family had been referred to the Children, Youth and Families Department, but not for physical or sexual abuse, according to a spokesman Saturday.</p>
<p>The 4-month-old was still clinging to life Sunday night, although an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman said "the situation does not look good."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>A flower and stuffed animal were on a couch on the porch of the home Sunday afternoon where the incident allegedly occurred. "It's disturbing to think what was going on on the other side of the wall," said Pepper Smith, who lives in the apartment next door in the complex near Juan Tabo and Interstate 40.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Bail set for man accused of attacking 4-month-old | false | https://abqjournal.com/350727/bail-set-for-man-accused-of-attacking-4-month-old.html | 2014-02-10 | 2 |
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<p>Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ:JOSB) turned down a $1.5 billion takeover bid from rival Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE:MW), continuing the tug-of-war between the two suit sellers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Jos. A. Bank, whose own offer to buy Men’s Wearhouse was rejected, said Monday it will continue to review potential strategic options after determining its rival’s offer “significantly undervalued” the company.</p>
<p>“Our Board undertook a thorough review and determined that the per share consideration in the proposal made to us by Men’s Wearhouse was simply not in the best interest of our shareholders,” said Robert Wildrick, chairman of Jos. A. Bank.</p>
<p>In a statement on Monday morning, Men’s Wearhouse said it would prefer to work collaboratively with Jos. A. Bank but will consider all “options to make this combination a reality, including nominating director candidates at Jos. A. Bank’s next annual meeting of shareholders.”</p>
<p>The retailers have been the subject of an ongoing buyout saga. In October, Jos. A. Bank first offered $2.3 billion, or $48 a share, for Men’s Wearhouse, which quickly spurned the overture.</p>
<p>Jos. A. Bank then said it would consider raising its bid in exchange for limited due diligence, but Men’s Wearhouse again rejected the offer. Hampstead, Md.-based Jos. A. Bank officially withdrew its proposal last month.</p>
<p>Late in November, Men’s Wearhouse turned the tables with its $55-a-share offer.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="" type="internal">the Houston company has been shopping its K&amp;G discount chain</a>, with Sycamore Partners the reported frontrunner.</p>
<p>Shares of Jos. A. Bank slipped 1.3% to $56.26 in pre-market trading Monday. Men’s Wearhouse was down 1.2% at $51.38.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Jos. A. Bank Rejects Men's Wearhouse Bid | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/12/23/jos-bank-rejects-men-wearhouse-buyout-offer.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>&lt;img class="size-full wp-image-28634 aligncenter" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ProfessorPronouns.jpg" alt="ProfessorPronouns" width="1200" height="627" srcset="https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ProfessorPronouns.jpg 1200w, https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ProfessorPronouns-300x157.jpg 300w, https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ProfessorPronouns-768x401.jpg 768w, https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ProfessorPronouns-1024x535.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /&gt;</p>
<p>In Canada, a professor stirred up a hornets’ nest of SJWs. His crime? Refusing to use gender neutral pronouns. The nerve of the bigot! Turns out the professor bothered so many people, students and teachers rallied together and conjured up a “tolerant” strategy to make him change his bad hombre ways. <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/20/professor-refuses-to-use-genderless-pronouns-and-now-the-faculty-is-in-full-revolt/" type="external">Here’s what they came up with…</a></p>
<p>University of Toronto faculty signed a letter criticizing hate speech against their transgender and black students in light of fellow professor [Peterson’s] refusal to use “genderless pronouns.” Some transgender students stopped attending class because they did not feel safe.</p>
<p>Approximately 250 faculty members endorsed the letter [because] Peterson lambasted current political correctness on campuses [and] refused to use gender neutral pronouns. The letter told Peterson that he must start using genderless pronouns if asked and that he needs to stop commenting publicly on the topic.</p>
<p>I’ll get to the meaty commentary after some brief mockery. Some tranny students “didn’t feel safe” because one professor refused to call them by their preferred gender pronoun. Let that sink in for a second. Didn’t feel safe. Pronouns.</p>
<p>And they wonder why we mock them.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-24378" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ArnoldLongHairLaugh-GIF.gif" alt="ArnoldLongHairLaugh GIF" width="400" height="285" /&gt;</p>
<p>Practically the entire campus wants to punish this guy for not participating in their progressiveness. Hundreds of them felt the need to put their heads together to “fix the problem.” And the solution they picked? A cowardly letter demanding Peterson to stop doing that stuff. “That stuff” referring to… things they don’t like, because feelings. Students are also being proactive by staging protests and harassing him on campus. But remember, he’s the bad guy here.</p>
<p>Pronouns. Safety. They’re bullying him because of words. Because he’s refusing to go along with their fantasy that they’re anything other than weirdos who feel threatened with pronouns.</p>
<p>So it’s come down to 250 people vs 1 dude. All because of words, or lack thereof. Have I&#160;crystalized this enough for you?</p>
<p>&lt;img class=" wp-image-1497 aligncenter" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/HeadShake.gif" alt="HeadShake" width="421" height="338" /&gt;</p>
<p>By the way, all this takes place in the land of “higher learning.” Friendly reminder: this is just another example to add to the ever growing list of why <a href="" type="internal">you shouldn’t go to college</a>. Ever. Don’t even visit. Universities have evolved into breeding grounds for social justice sphincters… Now no school is safe from their paint peeling thought bubbles. Hence all the stories of college outrage and stupidity. We have <a href="" type="internal">an entire collection of them</a>.</p>
<p>I know all this comes as zero surprise to most. For instance, Canada being a turd wagon? Hardly news (see <a href="" type="internal">Embarrassing: Canada Changes National Anthem to be ‘Inclusive.’ And It Sucks…</a>). Combine Canada with universities and you’d expect to get this ideological flatulence.</p>
<p>Here we have an innocent chap harassed and bullied by bristling trannies until he conforms. Their reasoning? Everyone should be accepting of ALL identities… Unless your identity doesn’t adhere to leftist standards, of course. Welcome to Tolerance 101.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE PODCAST?&#160; <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/louder-with-crowder/id929121341?mt=2" type="external">FIX THAT</a>! IT’S COMPLETELY FREE ON BOTH&#160; <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/louder-with-crowder/id929121341?mt=2" type="external">ITUNES&#160;HERE</a>&#160;AND&#160; <a href="https://soundcloud.com/louderwithcrowder" type="external">SOUNDCLOUD&#160;HERE</a>.</p>
<p /> | Professor REFUSES to Use Genderless Pronouns. ‘Tolerant’ Students Bully Him… | true | http://louderwithcrowder.com/canada-professor-pronouns/ | 2016-10-21 | 0 |
<p>Wednesday, January 31 2018</p>
<p>Natural Rubber</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Turnover: 654,482 lots</p>
<p>Open High Low Settle Prev. Change Vol Open</p>
<p>Settle Interest</p>
<p>Mar-18 13,245 13,275 12,825 12,910 13,540 -630 38 102</p>
<p>Apr-18 13,125 13,125 13,125 13,125 13,665 -540 6 110</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>May-18 13,400 13,440 12,880 13,175 13,585 -410 576,542 509,238</p>
<p>Jun-18 13,505 13,505 13,045 13,270 13,645 -375 22 268</p>
<p>Jul-18 13,635 13,635 13,300 13,445 13,620 -175 22 294</p>
<p>Aug-18 13,665 13,670 13,225 13,515 13,625 -110 12 90</p>
<p>Sep-18 13,705 13,760 13,265 13,520 13,875 -355 72,518 100,862</p>
<p>Oct-18 - - - 13,875 14,165 -290 0 18</p>
<p>Nov-18 13,920 13,980 13,500 13,630 14,060 -430 164 230</p>
<p>Jan-19 15,640 15,640 15,180 15,400 15,800 -400 5,158 16,118</p>
<p>Notes:</p>
<p>1) Unit is Chinese yuan a metric ton;</p>
<p>2) Volume and open interest are in lots;</p>
<p>3) One lot is equivalent to 10 metric tons.</p>
<p>Write to [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 31, 2018 02:37 ET (07:37 GMT)</p> | China Shanghai Rubber Futures Closing Prices, Volume | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/26/china-shanghai-rubber-futures-closing-prices-volume.html | 2018-01-31 | 0 |
<p />
<p>I didn’t expect that I would be getting “the Trump treatment” this early in the campaign. Last week, I wrote an article about the Las Vegas shooting that posed <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/16-unanswered-questions-about-the-las-vegas-shooting-that-the-mainstream-media-doesnt-want-to-talk-about" type="external">16 questions</a> that I did not feel were being addressed by the mainstream media adequately enough. That article was picked up by Zero Hedge, and it has now been read <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-04/16-unanswered-questions-about-las-vegas-shooting-mainstream-media-doesnt-want-talk-a" type="external">more than 1.6 million times</a>. All along, I have never claimed to know exactly what happened in Las Vegas. But I feel very strongly that there is nothing wrong with asking questions. In the old days, that is what real journalists would actually do. Unfortunately, the art of critical thinking has almost entirely disappeared from the field of journalism, and so it is up to us in the alternative media to ask the hard questions that “professional journalists” used to pursue.</p>
<p>The emails have been pouring in from many others that also have serious questions about what happened in Las Vegas, but according to <a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article177195056.html" type="external">the Idaho Statesman</a>, it was improper for me to ever raise any of these questions at all…</p>
<p>A Republican candidate for Idaho’s District 1 Congressional seat has drawn attention and criticism after <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/" type="external">promoting several unfounded theories on his blog</a> about the Las Vegas shooting that left 59 dead and more than 500 injured on Sunday night.</p>
<p>Michael Snyder, a conservative author who lives in Bonners Ferry, posted a entry on his blog “The Economic Collapse” on Tuesday posing “16 unanswered questions about the Las Vegas shooting that the mainstream media doesn’t want to talk about.” He has also posted two entries about the shooter, claiming he may have been an anti-Trump activist with ties to antifacist organizations, among other claims.</p>
<p>Following that article in the Statesman, I received several hateful emails about my article on the Las Vegas shooting. For example, one individual called me “a nut” that needs “help”…</p>
<p>You’re a nut. Not the good kind. Get help.</p>
<p>Another email suggested that I should do anything else rather than run for public office…</p>
<p>You are obviously completely insane.</p>
<p>Please don’t run for any public office.</p>
<p>Go apply to be a manager at AppleBee’s. Go work as an assistant manager at a Tire Depot.</p>
<p>Do anything. But please don’t ever run for any kind of public office or put any more of your nonsense in the universe. It’s not helping anyone or anything.</p>
<p>And in yet another email, I was told that I am not wanted in Idaho…</p>
<p>You are too ******* crazy even for northern Idaho.</p>
<p>I know that you and your type consider Idaho an easy target, a fat pigeon for your to make an easy way. But you are not wanted here.</p>
<p>Of course the overwhelming majority of the emails that I have been receiving have been extremely supportive. Like me, most people out there have very serious questions about what happened in Las Vegas, and so many have encouraged me for being courageous enough to ask questions that other politicians would never dare to ask.</p>
<p>At the heart of the Idaho Statesman’s criticism of me was the fact that I suggested that Stephen Paddock may not have acted alone. And it turns out that Clark Country Sheriff Joseph Lombardo agrees with me. During a press conference on Wednesday, Lombardo publicly stated that Paddock almost certainly <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/04/las-vegas-sheriff-have-to-assume-he-had-help-video/" type="external">“had to have help at some point”</a>…</p>
<p>“You got to make the assumption he had to have help at some point, and we want to insure that’s the answer. Maybe he’s a super guy, super hero–not a hero, super–I won’t use the word. Maybe he’s super — that was working out this out on his own, but it will be hard for me to believe that.”</p>
<p>He also said, “Here’s the reason why, put one and one–two and two together, another residence in Reno with firearms, okay, electronics and everything else associated with larger amounts of ammo, a place in Mesquite, we know he had a girlfriend. Do you think this is all self-facing individual without talking to somebody, it was sequestered amongst himself. Come on focus folks these type of investigations have been occurring in the last few years and we have to investigate that.”</p>
<p>So perhaps my questions are not so “unfounded” after all, eh?</p>
<p>The truth is that the Idaho Statesman owes me an apology. But I am not expecting one, because they have a very long history of treating conservatives very unfairly.</p>
<p>Of course some of the questions that I posed in my original article have now been answered. For example, some information about what was in the written note that Paddock left in his room <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-gunman-stephen-paddock-note-hotel-room-details-of-bullet-trajectory/" type="external">has now been released to the public</a>…</p>
<p>A note found in the hotel room of the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/feature/las-vegas-shooting/" type="external">man who shot into a crowd</a> from his perch in a Las Vegas high-rise included hand-written calculations about where he needed to aim to maximize his accuracy and kill as many people as possible.</p>
<p>In an interview airing Sunday on “60 Minutes,” three police officers who stormed Stephen Paddock’s hotel room in the Mandalay Bay hotel tell correspondent Bill Whitaker new details about the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The officers were the first to see Paddock’s body and the arsenal of weapons and ammunition he had stockpiled.</p>
<p>That is part of the process of journalism. We knew that there was a note, and millions of us wanted to know what was in it, and so I asked the question.</p>
<p>Now we at least have part of the answer, and that is a good thing.</p>
<p>And guess what? Law enforcement authorities are acknowledging that they still don’t have all of the answers about this case either, and so <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/nra-agrees-target-bump-stocks-las-vegas-massacre-002015458.html" type="external">they are reaching out to the public for help</a>…</p>
<p>Baffled police and FBI agents, still lacking a clear motive for the Las Vegas massacre of 58 people by a lone gunman five days ago, appealed to the public on Friday to come forward with any information that might help solve the mystery.</p>
<p>Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said investigators have, to no avail, run down more than 1,000 leads seeking clues to what drove a 64-year-old wealthy retiree with a penchant for gambling to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.</p>
<p>I greatly applaud law enforcement authorities for reaching out to the public like this. Perhaps if we all keep asking questions and if we all work together, maybe we can start to put the pieces of the puzzle together.</p>
<p>As for the Idaho Statesman, shame on them for criticizing my search for answers. If I am fortunate enough to be elected to Congress, I will always ask the hard questions, and I will always work very hard to get answers for the people that I am representing.</p>
<p>Since I am the most conservative candidate in this race, the Idaho Statesman would rather see anyone else win rather than me. In fact, I think that they would rather see a steaming pile of garbage take this seat rather than me. So if you would like to help me stick it to the Idaho Statesman, you can contribute to the campaign <a href="https://www.michaelsnyderforcongress.com/contribute.html" type="external">right here</a>.</p>
<p>When I first entered this race, I was naive enough to actually believe that the mainstream media would not treat me like they do President Trump and other true conservatives. But the good news is that they would never even be criticizing me at all if we weren’t gaining so much traction with the voters, and next May we are going to shock the entire Idaho political establishment by pulling off a stunning victory.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.michaelsnyderforcongress.com/" type="external">Michael Snyder</a> is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his <a href="https://www.michaelsnyderforcongress.com/contribute.html" type="external">official website</a>. His new book entitled <a href="http://amzn.to/2t5bx4A" type="external">“Living A Life That Really Matters”</a> is available in paperback and for the Kindle on <a href="http://amzn.to/2t5bx4A" type="external">Amazon.com</a>.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;page, please go&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a>&#160;and do so.</p>
<p>And if you’re as concerned about online censorship as we are, go <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Facebook-Enables-Militant-Islamic/dp/1944212221/" type="external">here</a> and order this book (Remember, half of what we earn will be <a href="" type="internal">donated to Hurricane Harvey relief</a>):</p> | Media Attacks Republican Candidate For Congress For Asking Hard Questions About The Las Vegas Shooting | true | http://conservativefiringline.com/media-attacks-republican-candidate-congress-asking-hard-questions-las-vegas-shooting/ | 2017-10-07 | 0 |
<p>USA Today‘s Susan Page</p>
<p>“Democrats on one side, Republicans on the other” is the way conventional Beltway reporters seem to see the world–and it’s reflected in their reporting on political events.</p>
<p>On the front page of USA Today ( <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2013-06-07-obamaanalysis_ST_U.htm" type="external">6/7/13</a>), <a href="" type="internal">Susan Page</a> has a piece wondering if the unfolding scandals surrounding the White House and surveillance will threaten the president’s “agenda.” That’s a strange concern for the moment, but we’ll put that aside. The most unusual part of the piece is the very premise: That Obama’s actions have verified Republican criticisms of his presidency. As Page puts it, the current story</p>
<p>is especially problematic for Obama because it stokes controversies he already was struggling to contain and reinforces criticism that has dogged him from the start.</p>
<p>Republicans have long depicted Obama as an advocate of a big, dangerous and overreaching government, back to the federal bailout of the auto industry he undertook during the financial crisis that greeted his first inauguration. That has been their fundamental philosophical objection to his signature Affordable Care Act, now just months away from implementation of its major provisions.</p>
<p>So Obama is a “big government” something-or-other, which is what Republicans most certainly are not. Thus, big government spying shows that Obama is just as Republicans have “long depicted” him.</p>
<p>The Washington Post‘s Karen Tumulty recently made the same argument (FAIR Blog, <a href="" type="internal">5/17/13</a>)–Beltway scandals are scandals because they reinforce partisan criticism. It’s an illogical jump even when it comes to most Republican criticism of Obama, like the argument that the new healthcare law is a Big Government power grab.&#160; Of course accusations that come from partisan critics reinforce&#160; partisan criticism–how could they not?</p>
<p>But this line of argument makes even less sense in the case of surveillance, as Page acknowledges deep within the article: “To be sure, Obama didn’t launch the data-mining initiatives, which were started during the Bush administration.” So Republicans, if we’re to buy the premise here, are mad about Obama carrying out a policy begun under a Republican administration.</p>
<p>The real story, on a political level, is one of continuity: The <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/lindsey-graham-m-glad-nsa-collecting-phone-records-151211411.html" type="external">elites in both parties</a> basically agree on the policy in question, which is why there are not all that many politicians of either party speaking out forcefully right now in criticizing the administration’s policies. But that’s not the way most political journalists are trained to look at the world.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Pointless Partisanship on Surveillance | true | http://fair.org/blog/2013/06/07/pointless-partisanship-on-surveillance/ | 2013-06-07 | 4 |
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