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<p>Tony Blair is getting one <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6672097.stm" type="external">last glimpse</a> of the mess he helped make before stepping down. The outgoing prime minister’s staff says the purpose of Blair’s Baghdad visit is to highlight the connection between security and political stability, but we can’t help but notice an emerging trend. Remember Donald Rumsfeld’s farewell tour of Iraq?</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Prime Minister Tony Blair has made a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad.</p>
<p>Mr Blair is due to have talks with President Jalal Talibani and Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.</p>
<p />
<p>“He’s in Baghdad against a backdrop of the continuing major security operation but also significant developments in Iraqi politics,” a spokesman said.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6672097.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | We'll Always Have Baghdad | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/well-always-have-baghdad-2/ | 2007-05-19 | 4 |
<p>Multiple ambulances and a Lifeflight helicopter were dispatched to a high school south of Spokane, Washington, following reports of a shooting.</p>
<p>A fire official told the AP – “threat eliminated.” The official confirmed that there are injuries.</p>
<p>The shooting was reported at Freeman High School in Rockford on Wednesday. Annie Baxter, whose two daughters attend Freeman Middle School across the street from the high school, told The Spokesman-Review that children were running into buildings when she pulled up to the school area about 10:15 a.m.</p>
<p>She says classes were about to begin because it’s a “late start”&#160;day.</p>
<p>All schools in the Spokane district were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure.</p> | Multiple Ambulances Sent to Washington HS Amid Reports of Shots Fired | false | https://newsline.com/multiple-ambulances-sent-to-washington-hs-amid-reports-of-shots-fired/ | 2017-09-13 | 1 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Leading lawmakers are calling for mandatory training and other steps to prevent sexual harassment in Congress as the national spotlight on gender hostility in the workplace falls on Capitol Hill.</p>
<p>The calls from House Speaker Paul Ryan and others follow a series of news reports about women staffers and lawmakers experiencing harassment and sexual advances on the job. The Associated Press reported Friday on the experiences of one current and three former female lawmakers, who said they had fended off unwanted advances, sexual comments and, in one case, physical contact from a male colleague in Congress. The issue was already in the national spotlight because of the sex assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and a growing list of boldface names in entertainment and the media.</p>
<p>On Friday, Ryan sent lawmakers a letter urging them to undergo sexual harassment training and make it mandatory for their staffs.</p>
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<p>“Any form of harassment has no place in this institution. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure a workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation,” wrote Ryan, R-Wis. “We can and should lead by example.”</p>
<p>House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called for passage of Democratic-sponsored legislation that would require anti-harassment training, enhance anti-retaliation protections for staffers who report harassment, and streamline dispute resolution. The recent focus on the issue has made clear that Congress’ tendency to self-police has resulted in lax rules, a patchwork of policies that vary from one office to another, and a complaints clearinghouse lodged in an Office of Compliance that requires a lengthy counseling and mediation period — and that many staffers have not even heard of.</p>
<p>Pelosi said all that needs to change.</p>
<p>“I think we are at a tipping point in our country,” the California Democrat told The Associated Press. “For a long time the Congress was a place where every congressional office had its own rules. … The system needs to be changed.”</p>
<p>The House Administration Committee, which oversees the operations of the House, also announced plans to convene a hearing Nov. 14 focused on training, policies and mechanisms in place to guard against and report sexual harassment.</p>
<p>In the Senate, New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who went public several years ago with accounts of inappropriate comments from male senators, also announced legislation on the issue. Gillibrand’s bill would streamline the reporting process within the Office of Compliance, remove the current mediation requirement and give interns the same resources as full-time staff.</p>
<p>“Congress should never be above the law or play by their own set of rules. The current process has little accountability and even less sensitivity to victims of sexual harassment,” Gillibrand said.</p>
<p>GOP Rep. Mary Bono told AP she once confronted a male colleague on the floor of the House after he made repeated suggestive comments, including telling her he’d thought about her in the shower. The behavior stopped, but the lawmaker remains in the House, she said.</p>
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<p>Rep. Linda Sanchez described being propositioned repeatedly in years past by one lawmaker who still serves, and ogled and groped by a second who’s since left the House. Former Rep. Hilda Solis disclosed repeated come-ons from a lawmaker, but declined to go into detail, while former Sen. Barbara Boxer described a years-ago incident at a hearing where a lawmaker made a sexually suggestive comment about her from the dais that the committee chairman seconded.</p>
<p>The female lawmakers declined to identify the men they were talking about, and did not report the incidents, with a couple of them noting it was not clear where they would have lodged such a complaint.</p>
<p>On Friday, additional female lawmakers offered public comments on the situations that can result in an environment that is only 20 percent women and still beholden in some ways to out-of-date traditions.</p>
<p>Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., said she has asked friends and colleagues in the House whether they knew of any woman who had advanced in their careers without being sexually harassed. “Without exception, they don’t know of anybody,” Bustos said. “We are all talking about it because it’s rampant. It’s absolutely rampant.”</p>
<p>As to whether she herself had been harassed by any fellow member, Bustos said: “It depends on how you want to define harassment.”</p>
<p>“How I’ve chosen to handle it is I just sort of dismiss it and I don’t give it another thought,” Bustos said. “I hope what happens out of all of this news coverage is it changes some people’s behavior as far as comments they make, or if it’s worse than that. I hope something good comes out of it.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.</p> | Congressional leaders call for sexual harassment training | false | https://abqjournal.com/1087991/congressional-leaders-call-for-sexual-harassment-training.html | 2017-11-04 | 2 |
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<p>BARON: Was promoted to sergeant last month</p>
<p>Sandoval County sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Baron, who was injured Thursday while investigating a weather-related crash on Interstate 25, died Friday afternoon despite what Sheriff Doug Wood described as a “gallant” effort by hospital staff to save his life.</p>
<p>The 47-year-old Baron, an eight-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, had been listed in critical but stable condition after being hit by a car while investigating a crash on roads made dangerous by a snowstorm that hit the state.</p>
<p>Baron was outside his patrol car when he was hit by a car on northbound I-25 near San Felipe Casino, authorities said.</p>
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<p>In a prepared statement, Wood said that it was “with the deepest regret that at 4:43 p.m. (Friday), our brother and fellow officer Sgt. Robert Baron succumbed to his injuries.”</p>
<p>“Robert was not only one of my deputies, he was a husband, father, brother and son, as well as a member of our law enforcement family and my friend,” the statement issued Friday by county public information officer Sidney Hill read.</p>
<p>The statement thanked “doctors and hospital staff who worked so gallantly to save Robert’s life.”</p>
<p>Baron last month was promoted to sergeant and day shift patrol supervisor. He had previously served as a detective for the department.</p>
<p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Krysia, his son Colter and the rest of his family,” Wood said.</p>
<p>Baron had remained in a medically induced coma in the neurological intensive care unit as officers from several agencies kept a vigil Thursday and Friday, Sandoval County Undersheriff Karl Wiese said.</p>
<p>State Police spokesman Lt. Emmanuel Gutierrez said Baron was conducting a crash investigation about 10:23 a.m. Thursday as the winter storm dumped heavy snow.</p>
<p>While Baron was in the roadway, another car skidded off the ice-packed road and struck him, Gutierrez said. Baron hit his head on the pavement.</p>
<p>Gutierrez said the driver of the car that hit Baron wasn’t injured and has not been charged. State Police are still investigating the accident.</p>
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<p /> | Officer hit by car on icy I-25 dies of his injuries | false | https://abqjournal.com/315711/deputy-hit-by-car-dies.html | 2013-12-07 | 2 |
<p>BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts postal worker has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $20,000 from the postal service.</p>
<p>Federal prosecutors say 37-year-old Dennis Reis, of Taunton, entered his plea Monday to one count of embezzlement and one count of theft of public money.</p>
<p>Reis formerly worked as the lead sales and service associate at the East Taunton Post Office.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Reis’ embezzlement scheme involved him voiding cash sales of stamps by customers. Reis would then enter a “no sale” transaction and take the money paid by customers without the system accounting for it.</p>
<p>Authorities say the scheme lasted from January 2015 to March.</p>
<p>Reis faces up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing scheduled for April 25.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts postal worker has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $20,000 from the postal service.</p>
<p>Federal prosecutors say 37-year-old Dennis Reis, of Taunton, entered his plea Monday to one count of embezzlement and one count of theft of public money.</p>
<p>Reis formerly worked as the lead sales and service associate at the East Taunton Post Office.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Reis’ embezzlement scheme involved him voiding cash sales of stamps by customers. Reis would then enter a “no sale” transaction and take the money paid by customers without the system accounting for it.</p>
<p>Authorities say the scheme lasted from January 2015 to March.</p>
<p>Reis faces up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing scheduled for April 25.</p> | Former postal worker pleads guilty to $20,000 embezzlement | false | https://apnews.com/468dd7af5feb44b4bac75b1f3764c8b1 | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
<p>USA Today <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2017/01/10/singers-charlotte-church-rebecca-ferguson-react-trump-invites/96384972/" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>With 10 days to go before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the entertainment roster is still sparse, with only Jackie Evancho, the Rockettes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Talladega College Marching Tornadoes confirmed to perform. On Tuesday, British singers Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Church officially turned him down.</p>
<p>Church, a classical/pop singer from Wales who rose to fame with her version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu, tweeted at the president-elect wondering why his inaugural committee had even approached, given that “a simple Internet search would show I think you’re a tyrant.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Ferguson, the runner-up from the seventh season of Britain’s The X Factor, said she is officially not participating, given that the committee wouldn’t accommodate her one demand: that she be allowed to sing Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit. The song is a condemnation of the lynchings of African-Americans in the late 1930s, based on a poem by Abel Meeropol.</p>
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<p /> | Singer Charlotte Church Blasts Trump’s Inauguration Invite: You Should Have Known I Think You’re A Tyrant | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/01/10/singer-charlotte-church-blasts-trumps-inauguration-invite-known-think-youre-tyrant/ | 2017-01-10 | 4 |
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<p>An Oct. 14 email from Principal Barbara M. Rothweiler to St. Pius parents states that "the decision to test by hair sample will take effect immediately" because students have been circumventing the standard urine test.</p>
<p>The email explains that the process involves taking 60 to 80 hairs "cut close to the scalp in 3-4 separate locations." All St. Pius students are subject to random drug tests.</p>
<p>A second email, sent by Rothweiler to St. Pius parents on Tuesday, goes into more detail about a recent drug incident that involved 17-year-old San Juan Andres Mendoza, son of longtime football coach San Juan Mendoza. Rothweiler did not use the names in her letter, but they were included in an Albuquerque police report on the incident.</p>
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<p>According to an APD report, on Oct. 7 Andres Mendoza sold a 16-year-old St. Pius student "a brown liquid in an unmarked capsule" that the student said he thought was aspirin.</p>
<p>The police report states that Andres Mendoza confessed to a St. Pius dean that the capsule contained liquid THC, the active ingredient of marijuana. The liquid form is more potent than smoking marijuana. The student who ingested the capsule was taken to Lovelace Westside Hospital by ambulance after feeling nauseated and having "an adverse reaction."</p>
<p>On Tuesday, APD spokeswoman Celina Espinoza told the Journal that Andres Mendoza was not officially arrested, but charges are pending. The APD report describes the incident under investigation as a "narcotics incident felony."</p>
<p>Espinoza said charges will be determined after APD works with Juvenile Probation and Parole and the St. Pius resource officer.</p>
<p>Tuesday's email from Rothweiler states that, in accordance with the school's policy, the student who sold the capsule "withdrew from St. Pius X immediately."</p>
<p>Andres Mendoza is not named in the email, which refers only to "the student who provided the pill."</p>
<p>Rothweiler also said in the letter that the school's policy on drug use is clear.</p>
<p>"A positive test means that the student has the option of meeting with the Substance Abuse Review Board or the student can withdraw from the school," she wrote. "If a student has a second positive drug test, the student must withdraw immediately."</p>
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<p>The second email also describes methods students have used to circumvent the urine test - supplying synthetic urine, which is available online, or another person's urine.</p>
<p>In response, St. Pius started the hair testing, which will be an option along with the urine and saliva drug tests.</p>
<p>The saliva test, taken with a cheek swab, is already part of St. Pius policy but has not been used recently, according to the email.</p>
<p>"The addition of these other tests also gives us the flexibility to understand any drug use in our students and keep them safe," the second email says.</p>
<p>St. Michael's High School in Santa Fe has used hair testing "for a number of years," according to Rothweiler's Oct. 14 email.</p>
<p>"When I spoke with the Principal at St. Mike's, he indicated that the parents were very happy with the (hair testing) process," she wrote.</p>
<p>Rothweiler could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.</p>
<p>St. Pius, a private Catholic school in Northwest Albuquerque, has an unusually strict drug policy, with all 730 students subject to random drug tests.</p>
<p>By comparison, Albuquerque Public Schools does not randomly test any students, including athletes.</p>
<p>At APS, staff contact parents if they suspect a student is using drugs, and the issue of testing and treatment is handed over to them, according to spokesman Rigo Chavez.</p>
<p>If a student becomes ill from drug use, APS will attempt to reach parents and then transport the student to the hospital, where a drug test could take place, Chavez said.</p>
<p>Critical of media</p>
<p>Rothweiler's second email also addresses a Journal reporter being told to leave a St. Pius girls soccer match Thursday after attempting to interview parents about drug testing.</p>
<p>He left and later returned and showed his New Mexico Activities Association credentials.</p>
<p>The email states that St. Pius had the authority to tell the reporter to leave under NMAA rules because he was asking questions unrelated to the game.</p>
<p>According to NMAA's website, the organization's press credentials are only officially for use at state championships.</p>
<p>At those games, the press pass "shall be used solely for news and editorial coverage (bona-fide news purposes) of NMAA sanctioned events."</p>
<p>Rothweiler had written at the beginning of Tuesday's email that she wanted to "clarify the rumors floating around, both inside and outside of the school."</p>
<p>"Over the past few days, the media has chosen to publish some disparaging articles about St. Pius X High School," Rothweiler wrote. "These articles were unsubstantiated and inaccurate."</p>
<p>She said drug testing has been done at the school since 1994. It first focused on athletes "and has since included all students."</p>
<p>Rothweiler closed by commending parents for "supporting the school regarding the drug testing policy and program."</p>
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<p /> | St. Pius X toughens drug-testing processes | false | https://abqjournal.com/663007/st-pius-adds-hair-sampling-in-effort-to-improve-drug-testing.html | 2015-10-21 | 2 |
<p>Dynavax Technologies Corp. shares surged 88% in premarket trade Monday after a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee said the safety data for its hepatitis B vaccination supported its approval. The advisory committee voted 12 to 1 on the safety data, with three members abstaining from the vote. A previous advisory committee voted 13 to 1 in favor of the vaccine's ability to promote an immune response. On Monday, Dynavax was upgraded to overweight at J.P. Morgan with a $27 price target and upgraded to outperform at RBC Capital Markets with a $26 price target. Hepatitis B can cause a chronic disease that can lead to liver damage, liver cancer and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis B vaccines already exist, but current ones consist of three doses over six months, while Dynavax's HEPLISAV-B vaccine is two doses over a month, the company said. An FDA decision about approval of the vaccine is expected by August 10, and the company said that if its vaccine is approved it will seek a recommendation from the CDC's immunization practices advisory committee. Dynavax said it plans a commercial launch of the vaccine in early 2018 "on its own or through a commercial partner." Dynavax shares have surged 66.7% to $9.25 over the last three months, compared with a 3.7% rise in the S&amp;P 500</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Dynavax Shares Skyrocket Nearly 90% After FDA Advisory Committee Vote | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/31/dynavax-shares-skyrocket-nearly-0-after-fda-advisory-committee-vote.html | 2017-07-31 | 0 |
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<p>Karen Finley, the former CEO of Arizona-based Reflex Traffic System Inc., arrives for a hearing at the federal building in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, where she pleaded guilty to using bribery to help her company land lucrative contracts with the city of Chicago. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT CHICAGO TRIBUNE; CHICAGO SUN-TIMES OUT; DAILY HERALD OUT; NORTHWEST HERALD OUT; THE HERALD-NEWS OUT; DAILY CHRONICLE OUT; THE TIMES OF NORTHWEST INDIANA OUT; TV OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES</p>
<p>CHICAGO - The former chief executive of a red-light camera company changed her plea to guilty on Thursday in a scheme that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to secure $124 million in city of Chicago contracts.</p>
<p>Karen Finley, a longtime executive at Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., looked calm as she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago, telling Judge Virginia Kendall she understood she now faced the possibility of spending up to five years behind bars.</p>
<p>Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, Arizona, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal-program bribery. Under the terms of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss more than a dozen other counts. Sentencing was set for Feb. 18.</p>
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<p>Chicago awarded its first contract to Redflex in 2003 and signed others later as it expanded its red-light enforcement program. Much-vilified by drivers, the program uses cameras to automatically record and ticket drivers who run red lights.</p>
<p>In June, Finley pleaded guilty to similar charges in a federal case in Ohio.</p>
<p>In the Chicago case, Finley acknowledged that she arranged for cash and benefits to go to a city transportation official, John Bills, and his friend; the benefits included golf trip and hiring the official's friend as a Redflex contractor, according to the plea agreement.</p>
<p>Bills, who retired in 2012, has pleaded not guilty to extortion, bribery and other charges. His trial is scheduled for January.</p>
<p>Neither Finley nor her attorney spoke to reporters after Wednesday's hearing.</p>
<p>Redflex spokesman Tilden Katz released a statement noting that Finley was replaced at the company more than two years ago.</p>
<p>"Today," he said, "Redflex is focused on making a life-saving difference in the over 170 communities we serve."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/mtarm" type="external">http://twitter.com/mtarm</a></p> | Ex-CEO pleads guilty to arranging bribes on traffic cameras | false | https://abqjournal.com/631328/ex-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-arranging-bribes-on-traffic-cameras.html | 2 |
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<p>A study of brain tissue from 111 deceased former NFL players found that 110, or 99%, showed signs of the degenerative brain condition known as CTE, researchers said&#160;Tuesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The 111 former NFL players were part of a sample of 202 individuals who played football at the pre-high school, high school, collegiate or professional level.</p>
<p>It's the biggest update yet of an ongoing study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The disease has been linked with repeated head blows and the results confirm that it can happen even in young players. But the report only reflects high occurrence in samples at a Boston brain bank and many donors contributed because of troubling symptoms before death.</p>
<p>“It is no longer debatable whether or not there is a problem in football – there is a problem,” Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist who conducted the study, told the&#160; <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_interactive_2017_07_25_sports_football_nfl-2Dcte.html&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&amp;r=saHIzWb0lDY3ZqFWexu06E0tZkOsDPIaeaTi-mUwBH4&amp;m=x7BKEWXlBwQvt8VkV8Fg9wNAiEWdfllr0ifrHBhpKP0&amp;s=M3sYtDiz6kWaLFx1Myg-qjaJtnsuxWcjzH14glVWc68&amp;e=" type="external">New York Times Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Of the 202 individuals examined, CTE was diagnosed in 177 former players or nearly 90 percent of brains studied.</p>
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<p>In 2013, the NFL reached a settlement worth up to $1 billion with former players who alleged that the league misled or misinformed them about the risks associated with repeated head trauma.</p>
<p>Researchers still don't know how common it is in football or the general population. Some players with repeated concussions never develop it.</p>
<p>The report is in&#160;Tuesday's&#160; <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__jama.ama-2Dassn.org_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=cnx1hdOQtepEQkpermZGwQ&amp;r=saHIzWb0lDY3ZqFWexu06E0tZkOsDPIaeaTi-mUwBH4&amp;m=x7BKEWXlBwQvt8VkV8Fg9wNAiEWdfllr0ifrHBhpKP0&amp;s=0kWm1XBInb7s4GWqLuxAk2G7hEUN1Qs0GyFLS07pADI&amp;e=" type="external">Journal Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;of the American Medical Association.</p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | CTE study finds 110 of 111 ex-NFL players have brain condition | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/25/cte-study-finds-110-111-ex-nfl-players-have-brain-condition.html | 2017-07-25 | 0 |
<p>The War on Drugs was an epic fail.&#160;~Jay Z (Rapper, Actor, Activist)</p>
<p>Since emerging in the 1970s, Hip Hop culture has been on the leading edge of the fight for justice. The immediate origins of Hip Hop are rooted in the courage of Black and Puerto Rican youth in the South Bronx using their gifts to claim their space, in an era when various authority figures attempted to silence them. By the early 1980s, Hip Hop culture was a phenomenon inspiring the disenfranchised worldwide. Over the years, trends and styles within the culture have come and gone, but one factor has remained, Hip Hop is the CNN of Black America.</p>
<p>The renewed revolutionary spirit of this nation and awakened call for justice has ignited the activist energy within Hip Hop culture with new vigor. Most recently, Grammy-award winning rapper, actor, and activist T.I. released a new EP titled “ <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/7518745/ti-new-us-or-else-ep-police-brutality-stream" type="external">Us or Else</a>,” expressing the sadness, anger, and frustration many African Americans are feeling about current social injustices. Also this week, rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z released the&#160;New York Times op-ed “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004642370/jay-z-the-war-on-drugs-is-an-epic-fail.html" type="external">The War On Drugs Is An Epic Fail</a>,” illustrated by Molly Crabtree and produced by dream hampton, deconstructing four decades of discriminatory drug laws with a Hip Hop sauce.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Too often Hip Hop is criticized for its lack of social consciousness, but in this season of revolution, we must remind ourselves of Hip Hop’s activist history and power. Hip Hop culture is the voice of the voiceless, recognized by the UN as an international culture of peace. Hip Hop culture is a global phenomenon that has united individuals across continents guided by the Hip Hop Declaration of Peace. Hip Hop culture is a tool elevating mental health and education. From an expanded lens, Hip Hop was born of the energy generated by Civil Rights Movement. And yes, Hip Hop culture is still an instrument in the fight for justice.</p>
<p>Here are six quotes from Hip Hop legends affirming the culture’s activist spirit and legacy:</p>
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<p /> | 6 Quotes To Remind Us of Hip Hop’s Voice in The Justice Movement | false | http://natmonitor.com/2016/09/24/6-quotes-to-remind-us-of-hip-hops-voice-in-the-justice-movement/ | 2016-09-24 | 3 |
<p>David Gushee</p>
<p>Follow David on twitter: @dpgushee</p>
<p>Once again a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/15/justice/florida-loud-music-trial/" type="external">white civilian has used a gun to kill a black civilian</a> in Florida. Once again a jury has <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/justice/zimmerman-trial/" type="external">failed to convict</a> the white man of any crime against the now-dead black man. Once again the media, social and otherwise, has erupted. Once again black Americans cry out that the verdict is an appalling confirmation of the relative worthlessness of black life in racist America. Once again white Americans, including many Christians and church leaders, either dissent or remain largely silent. Meanwhile, many conservative white Christians, recently including the leaders of the Georgia Baptist Convention, press for more rather than less freedom for civilians to arm themselves in public places such as churches and universities.</p>
<p>It is now clear, to me at least, that the combination of racist beliefs and racial tensions, together with all-too-free gun laws pressed by gun rights absolutists, together with the disastrous shifting of law and culture signified by “stand your ground” laws, has worsened an already dangerous and bloody situation when it comes to gun violence. All of this is diametrically opposed to Christian values.</p>
<p>Racist beliefs mean that in some cases fearful white people enter public space already having learned contempt or fear of black males, especially those they size up as dangerous due to certain cultural markers. Racial tensions mean that what might have been routinely irritating or uncomfortable social interactions that just happen in life immediately take on racial overtones that would not have been there otherwise. Libertine gun laws mean that in some cases people holding racist beliefs, facing conflict situations that involve racial tensions, arrive at such situations locked and loaded. “Stand your ground” laws, which both reflect culture and shape culture, have lowered the bar when it comes to the meaning of self-defense and have confused juries in the limited test cases we have seen, including the Michael Dunn case just decided.</p>
<p>The result is an extraordinarily dangerous environment, especially for young black males. But to some extent we all need to be afraid of the possibility of finding ourselves in a public space having conflict with someone — because they might be holding a gun, they might (say they) think we are dangerous, and they might shoot us — as in the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/bail-hearing-continues-movie-theater-shooting-22404543" type="external">Tampa movie theater shooting</a> in January.</p>
<p>That some white Christians would respond to this situation not by challenging white racism, not by pleading for racial reconciliation and measures to ease interracial tensions, not by calling for stricter gun laws, not by challenging Stand Your Ground both as law and cultural reality, but instead by calling for even more guns in public spaces strikes me as the height of idiocy, not to mention obvious infidelity to Jesus Christ. It marks a staggering capitulation to seductive ideologies of race, violence and security.</p>
<p>It also flies entirely in the face of Jesus’ teaching: Jesus blesses the humble, the merciful, the meek, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who bear up when persecuted. He teaches non-retaliation and active conflict resolution. He rejects eye for eye and tooth for tooth and instead calls on us to love and forgive our enemies. He speaks of God’s love for all. He honors Samaritans and Roman centurions, tax collectors and other rejected ones.</p>
<p>Perhaps Jesus and all that love and forgiveness business is rejected as not relevant in the “real world.” (Good luck with that approach when you meet him on the other side.) Maybe my white Christian brethren would prefer the harder-nosed Paul. What about this popular Pauline passage, then?</p>
<p>“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience” (Rom. 13:1-5).</p>
<p>In Romans 13 Paul offers a brief for government authority as God-given source of public order. It is “the authority” (state/government) that terrorizes the evildoer. It is the authority that seeks to maintain public order. It is the authority that bears the sword. All kinds of problematic interpretations of this passage have bedeviled Christian history, but in light of the chaos of self-armed citizen vigilantes the passage offers fresh insights desperately needed right now.</p>
<p>Paul’s vision is certainly not of every citizen in the Roman Empire locked and loaded for the next street fight. It is instead of a strong, well-trained state authority that keeps public order through its monopoly on both authority and arms. Every evildoer quails before that authority. Every innocent is told to relax in the face of that authority, which offers protection and not harm toward them. Christians are told to obey and even honor that authority.</p>
<p>Obviously, we all know of how wrong government can go. But the impulsive and sometimes vigilante bloodshed in our cul-de-sacs, gas stations and movie theatres reminds us that the anarchy of armed, untrained, gun-wielding citizens, in a context of racist beliefs and racial tensions, is also a problem. Police departments and militaries have authority, training and accountability. What authority, training and accountability do our street-corner problem-solvers like Michael Dunn have?</p>
<p>My analysis is that lobby-driven and fear-driven gun-rights absolutism has weakened the God-given role of the state in keeping public order. It has instead helped create a reversion to a Wild West type environment where fearful citizens leave their homes armed and ready for battle — just in case. That’s socially disastrous. It certainly violates Jesus’ teaching. And it is the antithesis of Romans 13. We must turn away from this path, now!</p> | Romans 13, Michael Dunn and gun-toting citizen vigilantes | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/romans-13-michael-dunn-and-gun-toting-citizen-vigilantes/ | 3 |
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<p>During former US President Bill Clinton’s recent trip to Australia, he said the two greatest threats facing the 21st century were terrorism and global warming. The Age welcomed Clinton’s presence in Melbourne as the coming of an almost god-like figure. “While much of the world’s population struggles simply to survive”, it breathlessly offered, “large numbers of the rest of us are searching for heroes.” The fact that Clinton oversaw the bulk of sanctions against Iraq, and the death of over 500,000 men, women and children, was airbrushed out of existence. For the Age, Clinton wasn’t Bush or a Republican, and therefore a person worth respecting.</p>
<p>Clinton was right on one issue, however. Global warming is a major problem and still largely side-lined by governments and mainstream media alike. Readers of the UK Guardian on February 8 were treated to this striking piece of news:</p>
<p>“Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years – without building a new generation of nuclear power stations. The attempt by the country of 9 million people to become the world’s first practically oil-free economy is being planned by a committee of industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others, who will report to parliament in several months.”</p>
<p>Sweden is the first Western country to attempt such an endeavour and yet the news was ignored in Australia. Instead, our self-appointed terrologists, “war on terror” devotees and fear-mongering government prefer to focus the public’s attentions on the next target of liberation: Iran.</p>
<p>As the quagmire in Iraq deepens, and Islamophobia becomes both politically correct and encouraged, the same blood-stained figures that led us into Saddam’s lair are now trying to achieve a similar result next-door. Perhaps somebody should inform John Howard. He told Southern Cross Radio on February 27 that Iraq is “inching towards a more stable future” and foreign troops were needed for the “stabilisation process.” In reality, the occupation is the main source of the ongoing insurgency. The fact that Howard is lying is dismissed as part of the political game. In the UK, there are currently moves to ensure politicians promise to never lie while in office. The chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Sir Alaistair Graham, says that the public demands politicians “tell it as it is and own up to mistakes.” Taking a country to war on a lie would hopefully classify as a “mistake.”</p>
<p>We live in an environment where Muslims are portrayed as backward, looking for Western assistance and irrationally violent. Take this example from UK columnist Julie Burchill, writing in Haaretz on February 17:</p>
<p>“Anyway, from now on I think I’ll get just a few less accusations of racism when I point out that Muslims can be a bit, well, narrow-minded. Mind you, it’s a long hard struggle trying to make bleeding-heart liberals see sense. Especially when you live in a country where a sizable part of the print and broadcasting media are such guilt-ridden cretins when it comes to Islam that if they saw Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein sexually sharing their own grandmother, they’d swear the poor old lady asked for it.”</p>
<p>Perhaps Muslims need a good dose of Western invasion and occupation. And Iran is the next victim. A poll taken in the US in mid February suggested that people believe Iran will develop nuclear weapons but also use them against the United States. We are constantly told that Iran is a “threat”. Barry Cohen, federal Labor MP from 1969-1990 and a minister in the Hawke government, informed readers in the Australian on February 17 that Iran was led by fanatics and desired to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons. “The fanatics don’t care if they die”, he wrote, “On the contrary, many will welcome it. At the risk of being repetitive we have a problem.” His solution wasn’t articulated, but he clearly believed that military strikes against Iran were both necessary and urgent. The Iranian people a recent report said that untold thousands of civilians would die in a US attack were clearly irrelevant.</p>
<p>Larry Derfner, a senior journalist and columnist at the Jerusalem Post, offered another perspective. He believed that Iran was going to get nuclear weapons whether the West liked it or not. His answer, however, was for Israel to build “more and better nuclear weapons of its own.” This kind of “deterrence”, Derfner wrote, “works well.” He also encouraged the Jewish state to develop better chemical and biological weapons than Iran. The lunatics have most certainly taken over the asylum. Witness Republican Senator John McCain, who told US television last Sunday that, “The Iranian threat to the world is the biggest since the Cold War.” What he meant to say, of course, is that the Iranian threat is the biggest since the Iraqi threat, which is the biggest since the Taliban threat.</p>
<p>The world asked Saddam Hussein to “prove a negative” and insisted he prove that he did not have weapons of mass destruction. Now we are asking Iran to prove another negative: that it is not developing nukes. Common sense teaches us that it is impossible to prove that something does not exist.</p>
<p>The rise of a supposedly nuclear Iran is not to be tolerated, we’re informed, but India and Pakistan can build their arsenals with Western blessing. Israel’s open secret of between 200 and 500 nuclear warheads isn’t even susceptible to international inspections, while Iran has allowed UN inspectors to comb the country looking for weapon’s material. It should be noted that North Korea has undoubtedly learnt the best way to avoid US invasion. Build a bomb – maybe a few – and watch the world suddenly lower the rhetoric.</p>
<p>The inevitability of some kind of Western offensive against Iran is gathering steam. Even ABC Radio’s PM is not immune. In mid-February, host Mark Colvin interviewed an English professor on international affairs and asked him how the West should deal with the “Iranian nuclear threat.” John Pilger recently explained in the New Statesman how we are being set up again:</p>
<p>“Like the invasion of Iraq, an attack on Iran has a secret agenda that has nothing to do with the Tehran regime’s imaginary weapons of mass destruction. That Washington has managed to coerce enough members of the International Atomic Energy Agency into participating in a diplomatic charade is no more than reminiscent of the way it intimidated and bribed the “international community” into attacking Iraq in 1991.</p>
<p>“Iran offers no “nuclear threat”. There is not the slightest evidence that it has the centrifuges necessary to enrich uranium to weapons-grade material. The head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, has repeatedly said his inspectors have found nothing to support American and Israeli claims. Iran has done nothing illegal; it has demonstrated no territorial ambitions nor has it engaged in the occupation of a foreign country – unlike the United States, Britain and Israel. It has complied with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty to allow inspectors to “go anywhere and see anything” – unlike the US and Israel.”</p>
<p>The deputy head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service told a Russian daily on February 22 that his country had no evidence Iran had any nuclear warheads or a sufficient amount of plutonium for constructing them. Flynt Leverett, former senior director for Middle East affairs in the US National Security Council (NSC) revealed in late February that the Bush administration deliberately sabotaged Iran’s assistance on al-Qaeda in the period after September 11, as the mullahs had many contacts in Afghanistan and were willing to share them with Washington. Furthermore, even though Iranian officials assisted the US in unseating the Taliban in Afghanistan, the neo-conservatives were determined to isolate Iran and include it in the “axis of evil.” It is therefore unsurprising that Iran would feel the need to at least explore its nuclear options in response to US aggression.</p>
<p>Perhaps the biggest bomb-shell – as yet unreported in the mainstream media – lies in the case of Valerie Plame, a former CIA agent outed by the Bush administration after her husband, Joe Wilson, challenged White House allegations about Iraq allegedly obtaining uranium from Niger. The Raw Story website discovered in mid-February that one of the main reasons Plame may have been outed was because she was working on discovering Iran’s nuclear capabilities, if any, and represented a direct threat to the neo-con agenda. In other words, by removing Plame from the scene, the US intelligence community was virtually blind in determining Iran’s nuclear progress – the neo-con’s ideal situation. Step forward the same charlatans and war-freaks who led us into Iraq.</p>
<p>We live in an age of extreme spin. The US Government Accountability Office released a report in mid February that revealed the Bush administration spent at least US$1.6 billion on public relations and advertising campaigns over 30 months. It is a startling though unsurprising figure. The Bush regime recently asked Congress for a further US$75 million to broadcast US radio and television into Iran, assist Iranians to study in America and support pro-democracy groups inside the Islamic state. Since 9/11, however, many students of the Arab world have decided to shun the US and study elsewhere. Aside from overly repressive entry requirements, many Muslims feel marginalised in the land of the free. Free speech is also under attack, with Senator Lindsay Graham recently suggesting to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that a new target for the administration’s domestic spying operations should be so-called “fifth columnists”, allegedly disloyal Americans who sympathise and collaborate with the enemy. Presumably tens of millions of Americans are guilty as charged, both questioning and challenging the spurious “war on terror.”</p>
<p>The situation in Iran remains uncertain. I, for one, am not suggesting Iran’s leadership hasn’t made inflammatory or outrageous comments, not least President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s suggestion that Israel should be “wiped off the map” and denial of the Jewish Holocaust. Such statements are both unacceptable and repulsive, though the priorities of the European Jewish Congress to file a complaint in the International Criminal Court in the Hague against the Iranian leader, for incitement to genocide, seems misplaced. Rather than focusing on leaders who have actually caused death and destruction take Bush, Blair and Howard in Iraq and the estimated toll of over 100,000 dead the Jewish group wanted the world to focus on a country that poses no direct threat to anybody.</p>
<p>Sadly, Israel and many of its supporters are at the forefront of demonising Iran and advocating military action. Not unlike Iraq, Iran is a perceived threat to the Jewish state and must therefore be obliterated. Israeli generals and politicians know Iran is not a serious threat but they never underestimate the political need to create a regional bogeyman to rally an ever-fearful Israeli population.</p>
<p>One of the great unspoken truths about the so-called “war on terror” has been the ascendency of Iran. Iranian influence now stretches through Iraq, through the Kurdistan region into Turkey, a weak Syria and through into Lebanon’s Hezbollah-dominated south, on Israel’s border. Iran’s reach also extends into the Arabian peninsula through Shiite communities scattered in the Persian Gulf countries. The US is fearful that as their regional influence is waning, a religious doctrine is taking its price. What better way to distract public opinion than a trumped-up scare campaign? The Financial Times reported last week that US marines are already launching probes into Iran’s ethnic minorities in an attempt to determine whether Iran “would be prone to a violent fragmentation along the same kind of fault lines that are splitting Iraq.” It should be noted that China is rushing to complete a deal worth as much as US$100 billion that would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in developing a massive oil field in Iran. Clearly, not everybody is worried about Tehran.</p>
<p>When Murdoch’s pro-war mouthpiece, the Australian, tells its readers that “the media must not become the tool of propagandists”, we truly know that responsible commentary is dead. Fancy the Australian telling us about propaganda, an institution more than willing to support the neo-liberal agenda in the far corners of the globe. The paper’s editorial on February 16 concluded:</p>
<p>“The distortion of accuracy and loss of trust among a wider public that looks at biased news coverage, smells a rat, and switches off is only part of the danger. The other, more sinister, side of the equation is that any old despot can ensure favourable coverage of his regime, so long as he presents a properly anti-Western front. Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, for one, is a master of this tactic. When news judgments are clouded by a warmed-over postmodernism that filters every conflict through a cloudy lens of class and power struggles, and where the US is the worst bad guy of all, totalitarians and terrorists turn the West’s hard-won free press into their own ministry of propaganda.”</p>
<p>The total failure of the Iraq project should not be taken as a comforting reason the US and its allies would not attack Iran. The storm clouds are nearly upon us. The US and Israel are gathering public opinion on board for yet another illegal and immoral intervention. It is the media’s duty to stop it. Unfortunately, the corporate media’s sole responsibility is to make money in the marketplace. Truth already comes a distant second to happy shareholders.</p>
<p>ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN is a Sydney-based freelance journalist and author. He is currently writing a book on the Israel/Palestine conflict for Melbourne University Publishing, due July 2006. Random House will publish his next book, on the Australian media, in 2007. He website is at <a href="http://www.antonyloewenstein.com/" type="external">http://www.antonyloewenstein.com/</a></p>
<p>He can be reached at antloew [at] yahoo.com.au</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Spinning Us to War with Iran | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/03/01/spinning-us-to-war-with-iran/ | 2006-03-01 | 4 |
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<p>In this July 20, 2014 photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, workers gather while they have nothing to do at the workshop of Shanghai Husi Food Co., a meat supplier for McDonald’s and KFC owned by OSI Group, a privately-held company that’s based in Aurora, Ill. OSI was thrust into the spotlight this weekend when a Chinese TV station reported the Husi plant repackaged old beef and chicken and slapped new expiration dates on them. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Pei Xin) NO SALES</p>
<p>NEW YORK — It isn’t a household name, but the company that’s at the center of a food scandal in China helps make some of the world’s most popular foods, including the Big Macs and Quarter Pounders served at McDonald’s locations.</p>
<p>OSI Group, a privately-held company based in Aurora, Illinois, was thrust into the spotlight this weekend when a Chinese TV station reported that one of its Shanghai plants repackaged old beef and chicken and slapped new expiration dates on them. The scare has ensnared chains including McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King and Starbucks, all of which got ingredients from a unit of OSI (pronounced OH-see) in the region called Husi Food Co.</p>
<p>The controversy deepened Wednesday when five workers for Husi, were detained by police. An official with China’s food safety agency told the Xinhua News Agency that some of the illegal conduct it uncovered was an arrangement “organized” by Husi.</p>
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<p>None of OSI’s more than 50 other plants around the world have been implicated and the company noted in a statement that it was “appalled by the report and is dealing with the issue directly and quickly.”</p>
<p>A representative for OSI in the U.S. declined to provide comment beyond the statement.</p>
<p>The scandal is a blemish for OSI, which began as a family-run meat market in 1909 and prides itself on its high standards. The company notes on its website that it has a “strong heritage of quality and service” and that food safety and quality assurance are “guiding principles.”</p>
<p>Its business took off after Ray Kroc tapped it in the 1950s to be a beef supplier for McDonald’s Corp. OSI grew alongside McDonald’s as the hamburger chain expanded around the world, and even helped create the McRib.</p>
<p>OSI doesn’t have to report financial information, but according to PrivCo, which researches privately-held companies, it had $6.13 billion in sales last year. OSI also doesn’t publicly disclose all of its clients, but it supplies numerous big-name chains including Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., for which it cooks some beans and carnitas and barbacoa meats.</p>
<p>In the U.S., OSI has said it has systems in place to ensure products can be located and taken out of the system within two hours if any issues arise. Executives have said they work with an outside public relations agency to periodically stage mock crises to be prepared for real-life controversies.</p>
<p>Richard Adams, a former owner of McDonald’s restaurants in Southern California who now runs a consulting firm for franchisees, said OSI closely oversees its production process in the U.S. and that he didn’t know how the lapses in China occurred.</p>
<p>“They wouldn’t be a McDonald’s vendor if they weren’t producing quality products,” Adams said.</p>
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<p>It’s unknown how much of OSI’s revenue come from China or whether it has similar safety systems there, but the company is already dealing with fallout from the controversy at its Shanghai plant.</p>
<p>Yum Brands Inc. said Wednesday it was terminating all supply agreements with OSI in China, not just at the plant in question. The company, based in Louisville, Kentucky, also said it reserves the right to take legal action against OSI, depending on results of the investigation.</p>
<p>A representative for Yum, Virginia Ferguson, noted that OSI wasn’t a major supplier for the company in China, but didn’t respond when asked about Yum’s ties to OSI in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>Over at McDonald’s, the impact on the menu seemed to be greater. A spokeswoman, Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem, said the Shanghai plant supplied products including sausage patties, ham patties, beef patties and chicken nuggets. Globally, she declined to specify how much meat and other items OSI provides McDonald’s, citing competitive reasons.</p>
<p>Without providing details, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson said Tuesday the company deal with the matter “effectively, swiftly and appropriately” if the allegations prove to be true.</p>
<p>“We do feel we were a bit deceived,” he said.</p> | Meat supplier in China scandal has global reach | false | https://abqjournal.com/434165/meat-supplier-in-china-scandal-has-global-reach.html | 2 |
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<p>A drop in Apple dragged down all three major U.S. stock indexes on Friday even as investors remained wary of global economic growth worries and an impending referendum on Britain's European Union membership.</p>
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<p>Britain will vote on June 23, an event that has weaved in uncertainty across the globe, battering stocks and bond yields for the past week and spiking the demand for safe-haven assets such as gold and the yen.</p>
<p>"Risk appetite has declined because of the Brexit vote," said Jeremy Zirin, head of investment strategy at UBS Wealth Management Americas in New York.</p>
<p>"Sectors that are performing well today are only those that have reacted positively to the dollar," he added.</p>
<p>The dollar fell 0.22 percent to 94.35 against a basket of major currencies.</p>
<p>The U.S. Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and cut its forecast for economic growth, but stock markets' reaction to the largely expected outcome has been muted.</p>
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<p>At 11:27 a.m. ET (1527 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 107.04 points, or 0.6 percent, at 17,626.06.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 was down 12.49 points, or 0.6 percent, at 2,065.5.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq Composite was down 45.46 points, or 0.94 percent, at 4,799.46.</p>
<p>Dow and S&amp;P are on track to close down more than 1 percent for the week, while Nasdaq is down 2 percent.</p>
<p>Seven of the 10 major S&amp;P sectors were lower, led by a 1.23 percent fall in the healthcare sector.</p>
<p>However, it was the 1.06 percent fall in the information technology index that weighed the most on the S&amp;P.</p>
<p>Apple fell 2 percent to $95.59 after Bloomberg reported that the tech giant may have to halt the sales of its latest iPhones in Beijing after the devices were found to have violated a Chinese rival's patent.</p>
<p>Google's parent Alphabet was down 2.7 percent at $704.87.</p>
<p>Oracle rose 2.1 percent to $39.47 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&amp;P.</p>
<p>Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,650 to 1,241. On the Nasdaq, 1,402 issues fell and 1,215 advanced.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 index showed seven new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 22 new highs and 25 new lows. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)</p> | Wall St Treads Lower as Apple Slide Adds to Caution | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/17/wall-st-treads-lower-as-apple-slide-adds-to-caution.html | 2016-06-17 | 0 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe City Manager Robert Romero said Tuesday he plans to retire from his job on May 31.</p>
<p>It feels like the right time, said Romero, who has served as city manager since January 2010.</p>
<p>“I promised the mayor I would complete the budget, it seems annexation agreements are very close to being completed, and I’m ready to move on to other opportunities,” he said.</p>
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<p>Mayor David Coss said Romero “is about the best city manager the city has ever had and I’ve known a bunch of them, including myself.”</p>
<p>Coss, who himself announced last week that he doesn’t plan to seek a third term as mayor in 2014, said Romero “brought a lot of accountability” to the city and “had a very strong work ethic.”</p>
<p>Romero declined to rate his job performance, saying, “I’ll let somebody else describe that.”</p>
<p>But, he added, “I earned my salary. I worked hard, as hard as I could, and I am satisfied with the effort that I put into the job.” He said the decision to retire is his alone.</p>
<p>Romero, 48, is eligible to draw a public pension. He said he’s considering a new career in the private sector, but declined to give details.</p>
<p>Romero has worked for both the city of Santa Fe and the New Mexico Department of Transportation as an engineer. He was director of Santa Fe’s Engineering Division for four years before becoming Public Works director in 2004.</p>
<p>Coss chose Romero for the city manager position in January 2010; he was officially appointed by the City Council to accolades and a standing ovation from an audience filled with city employees.</p>
<p>But Romero’s tenure hasn’t been without its tensions. He’s faced scrutiny over problems in the city’s Parking Division, including allegations that he knew about possible financial wrongdoing but did nothing about it and that he had his own parking tickets fixed. Romero denied the allegations, and State Police declined to pursue an investigation. A forensic audit released last week found no evidence to support the ticket-fixing allegations.</p>
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<p>Romero also took some heat for his decision last year to fire Martin Lujan, the city’s recreation center and interim recreation director. Lujan, a former friend of Romero, claimed his dismissal was retaliation for him raising concerns about special treatment of Romero’s girlfriend, who is also a city employee, and bringing to light other alleged improprieties. Lujan also said he clashed with Romero over Lujan’s support for Councilor Chris Rivera’s successful election campaign last year, when Romero was supporting another candidate.</p>
<p>An administrative hearing officer ruled in March that the city had just cause in terminating Lujan for conspiring with his brother, Larry Lujan, to steal taxpayer money that the city had committed to sponsor a youth wrestling tournament. Lujan has appealed the decision.</p>
<p>Critics in the police department and elsewhere also have leveled other allegations of wrongdoing against Romero, none of which has ever been substantiated. He has also been the subject of “no confidence” votes by the city’s police union.</p>
<p>Coss said Romero “helped us work through many, many problems.”</p>
<p>“He held people accountable and I think he’s been unfairly accused of all kinds of deeds by employees he was holding accountable,” Coss said.</p>
<p>Several city councilors offered the departing city manager praise.</p>
<p>“I have to say I’m really sad to see Robert retire from the city. I’ve admired his work for a long time,” Councilor Patti Bushee said. “He is leaving some big shoes. I don’t know anyone with as much energy as Robert Romero. He gets things done.”</p>
<p>Councilor Bill Dimas said Romero is quick to answer phone calls and has been responsive to problems faced by the councilor and his constituents.</p>
<p>Councilor Ron Trujillo said Romero “has done an outstanding job for the city.”</p>
<p>The city manager serves at the discretion of the mayor and City Council. Coss declined to say who he’s considering for Romero’s replacement but said it’ll be a current city employee. Coss said he hopes to have someone on board by June. Romero earns $130,568 a year.</p> | Romero to retire as city manager | false | https://abqjournal.com/196812/romero-to-retire-as-city-manager.html | 2013-05-08 | 2 |
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<p>Want a free flu shot? There's an Uber for that, but only if you live in one of a handful of cities, and request it between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow</p>
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<p>That's right: Uber's on-demand flu shot experiment—which started in 2014—is back, but this time eligible customers won't have to pay the $10 fee. If you're one of those eligible customers, you'll open your Uber app between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Oct. 25, request the "Health" option, and a registered nurse will come to deliver a flu shot for you and up to four other people.</p>
<p>The offer is available in Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Washington, D.C., and a few other mid-size cities scattered around the South, Northeast, and Midwest. The entire states of Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire are also eligible. For a full list, check out Uber's <a href="https://newsroom.uber.com/uber-for-health-2016/" type="external">blog post Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>At least one of the eligible cities—Albany, N.Y.— is currently without regular Uber service. The company used its one-time flu shot offering as a dig at Albany officials who have stymied its attempts to set up shop there.</p>
<p>"While Albany dysfunction prevents Upstate New Yorkers from having access to affordable and reliable transportation options, it doesn't have to limit their access to flu season essentials at the touch of a button," Uber's New York General Manager Josh Mohrer said in a statement to the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Uber-returns-to-Upstate-New-York-mdash-this-10168996.php" type="external">Albany Times Union Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>Just over 40 percent of the people who requested $10 flu shots from Uber during <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2495563,00.asp" type="external">last fall's promotion Opens a New Window.</a> had never received a flu shot, a statistic Uber hailed as evidence that its program is increasing access to healthcare.</p>
<p>This article <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/news/348996/uber-to-offer-free-flu-shots-tuesday" type="external">originally appeared Opens a New Window.</a> on <a href="http://www.pcmag.com" type="external">PCMag.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Uber to Offer Free Flu Shots Tuesday | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/10/24/uber-to-offer-free-flu-shots-tuesday.html | 2016-10-24 | 0 |
<p>Image from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/restaurants-schools-close-in-day-without-immigrants-protest/2017/02/16/ac2af2f8-f44c-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?utm_term=.9b1c5f0309b1" type="external">Washington Post</a></p>
<p>Thursday was a #DayWithoutImmigrants, grinding some businesses and schools to a standstill. Across the US, immigrants refused to go to school, to go to work, or to purchase anything in order to demonstrate that the US economy is fueled by immigrant labor. According to the Pew Research Center, undocumented immigrants make up <a href="" type="external">9% of the hotel and restaurant</a> industry. At least 11 million undocumented people live in the United States, and the strength of these immigrants when organized as workers is staggering.</p>
<p>The movement is a response to Trump's anti-immigrant agenda - from expanding the border wall between the US and Mexico to the ban on travel from Muslim majority countries (now in limbo due to the ongoing court battles) and to the ICE raids that have <a href="" type="internal">rounded up hundreds of undocumented immigrants</a> across the US and struck fear into immigrants throughout the country. These raids are not new; the Obama administration deported more undocumented immigrants than any other president in the history of the United States. This level of resistance, however, has not been seen since the 2006 immigrant protests that swept the nation.</p>
<p>On Monday, Milwaukee held a massive #DayWithoutImmigrants march which drew 10,000 people. On Thursday, thousands around the country followed. From big cities to small towns, immigrants came out in droves to protest against Trump's xenophobic policies.</p>
<p>Some businesses shut their doors in solidarity. Others were forced to shut down for the day because no one showed up to work. Most notably, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/day-without-immigrants-mcdonalds-shut-down-2017-2?r=UK&amp;IR=T" type="external">McDonalds locations</a> around the country were forced to close.</p>
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<p>Even Washington elites were impacted by the protests. At the Pentagon, <a href="" type="external">many resteraunts</a> were closed because immigrant employees were on strike.</p>
<p>School districts around the country were affected by #DayWithoutImmigrants protests as thousands of students skipped school as participation in the protests. This occurs in the shadow of the mobilization of hundreds of high school students across the country who organized walkouts to protest against Trump's policies. On Thursday, these protests were nationwide with thousands of students missing school as a political statement.</p>
<p>In Brooklyn, NY hundreds of students walked out of <a href="http://brooklynreporter.com/story/sunset-park-high-school-students-take-streets-day-without-immigrants/" type="external">Sunset Park High School</a>. "Part of it was student organization and word spread that the teachers understand what's going on and they are encouraging us to if we want to march," said student Benji Marin.</p>
<p>In <a href="" type="internal">Grand Rapids</a>, Michigan, for example, the school district will likely have to call a snow day because so many students missed school in protest.</p>
<p>But people did not just stay home on Thursday - they took to the streets. Most major cities held protests.</p>
<p>A protest in Austin, TX.</p>
<p>Even an art museum expressed solidarity. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/us/museum-removes-art-from-immigrants-trnd/index.html?sr=fbCNN021617museum-removes-art-from-immigrants-trnd0830PMStoryLink&amp;linkId=34585712" type="external">The Davis Museum at Wellesley College</a> in Massachusetts took down all art created or donated by immigrants, draping black cloth with labels reading "Created By an Immigrant" in the place of the formerly displayed artworks.</p>
<p>These protests come after weeks of mobilization against Trump; from the January 21 Women's March to the airport protests, the people of the United States are demonstrating that they will fight against Trump on the side of the oppressed. In order for these protests to gain strength and strike at the heart of capitalism, we need mass strikes that go beyond groups of individuals who choose to not go to work. The unions have an important role to play in calling for a series of strikes against Trump and in mobilizing the working class to put their weight and power behind opposing Trump's policies. We must organize independently from the Democratic Party, who ordered and oversaw the deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants. Together, working class people, immigrants, young people and women have the strength to defeat Trump's policies. This is just the beginning.</p>
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<p><a href="DayWithoutImmigrants" type="external">#DayWithoutImmigrants</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="immigrant-workers" type="external">immigrant workers</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="United-States" type="external">United States</a></p> | Nationwide #DayWithoutImmigrants Shuts Down Businesses and Schools | true | https://leftvoice.org/Nationwide-DayWithoutImmigrants-Shuts-Down-Businesses-and-Schools | 2017-02-16 | 4 |
<p>Fidelity Senior V.P. of Retirement Ken Hevert on Americans' top financial priorities and retirement planning.</p>
<p>When it comes to finances, more Americans are feeling better about the future, according to Fidelity’s latest resolutions study.</p>
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<p>“We’ve seen a large increase in the number of people who are saying they are in much better shape now than they were just a year ago,” said Fidelity Sr. VP of Retirement Ken Hevert during an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria.</p>
<p>The survey revealed 70% of American’s predict their finances will be better in 2017.</p>
<p>“We are seeing more Americans resolving to get their financial houses in order,” he said. “The state of the economy, the stock market, the jobs… all factor into this.”</p>
<p>However, an increased focus on paying off debt, spending less and tackling savings goals is also boosting confidence according to Hevert.</p>
<p>“Simply setting a goal and doing something about it makes people feel good about their situation,” he said.</p>
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<p>Fidelity’s survey also revealed that the top three goals for 2017 were saving more, paying off debt and spending less.</p>
<p>Hevert also noted unexpected expenses topped the list of main concerns.</p>
<p>“The most important tip is to really understand what you’re spending your money on,” he said.</p> | Fidelity: More Americans Getting Financial Houses in Order | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/12/13/fidelity-more-americans-getting-financial-houses-in-order.html | 2017-01-09 | 0 |
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<p>To keep pace with inflation, at least 30 states have raised the dollar minimum for felony charges in the last two decades. Three dozen have a threshold of $1,000 or more, and Wisconsin and Texas won’t charge thefts of less than $2,500 as felonies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.</p>
<p>Virginia, however, has kept its felony bar at $200 since 1980, when that money had the same buying power as nearly $600 does today. Virginia is tied with New Jersey for having the nation’s lowest felony threshold.</p>
<p>Damien Ferebee said he was so embarrassed after he was caught stealing those eyeglasses that he paid back the store in Norfolk. Ferebee, who had a prior robbery conviction from 2004, pleaded guilty to felony larceny and was sentenced to six months in jail. He also lost his job. Now working as a cook at 31, he fears the latest felony will haunt him for years.</p>
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<p>“You want to get back from your mistakes, but it just makes it harder,” Ferebee said.</p>
<p>Ken Cuccinelli, a former Republican Virginia attorney general who supports raising the threshold, says Virginians and especially Republicans in the state have a long history “of only dealing with crime by making anything and everything tougher.”</p>
<p>Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s effort to make anything less than $500 a misdemeanor sailed through the Republican-controlled Senate this year, but was stymied in a GOP-led House committee last month after retail groups insisted the lower threshold deters shoplifting.</p>
<p>“The question is, why would we make it easier on people who steal?” said Republican Del. Rob Bell.</p>
<p>Critics say Virginia’s policy is overly harsh on minor criminals without doing anything to prevent crime.</p>
<p>Prosecutors often agree to knock a first-time offender’s felony larceny charge down to a misdemeanor when the stolen items are worth less than $1,000, but that depends largely on where the person is arrested, since prosecutors have wide discretion, said Michael Sprano, a northern Virginia attorney who works those cases.</p>
<p>Some prosecutors will only reduce a felony shoplifting charge to a misdemeanor if the accused agrees to serve jail time, Sprano said. And because judges don’t typically give jail time for first-time felony offenses, some defendants must decide whether to take a felony and go home, or get a misdemeanor and serve in jail.</p>
<p>“I had a client once who chose the felony instead of doing a month in jail because if he did the month in jail, he would’ve lost his job and his apartment and his family was depending on him,” Sprano said.</p>
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<p>It is unclear how many Virginians are being locked up for stealing low-priced items. A study by the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission in 2016 found that in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, nearly 850 people were convicted of felony larceny who would have received a misdemeanor had the state’s threshold been $500.</p>
<p>Of those, 430 people were given probation or no incarceration, about 340 served jail time and nearly 80 were sent to prison, with a median sentence of more than a year. Meanwhile, they joined the hundreds of thousands of Virginians who’ve been disenfranchised due to felonies and must have their voting rights restored by the governor.</p>
<p>Virginia retailers say the shoplifters in their stores aren’t people who make just one bad decision. They’re often part of organized retail crime rings and are well aware of the state’s larceny threshold, said Kate Baker, a lobbyist for the Virginia Retail Federation.</p>
<p>If the threshold is “raised to $500 or $1,000, they’re going to steal up to $499 or $999 and retailers are going to eat that,” said Lori Janke, who owns three resale clothing stores.</p>
<p>Janke said she’s had eight significant shoplifting incidents at her stores over the last six years. None involved first-time offenders and most ended up with misdemeanor convictions, she said.</p>
<p>California retailers reported a surge in shoplifting after the state ended the possibility of charging people who steal anything below $950 with a felony in 2014. Large retailers including Safeway, Target, Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies said last year that shoplifting had increased at least 15 percent while shoplifting reports to the Los Angeles Police Department jumped by a quarter in the law’s first year.</p>
<p>But a report by the Pew Research Center last year found no effect on property crimes or larceny rates in 23 states that raised their thresholds between 2001 and 2011. The report found that crime decreased in those states by essentially the same amount as in states that didn’t change theft laws.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at <a href="http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher." type="external">http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher.</a> Read more of her work at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/alanna-durkin-richer" type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/alanna-durkin-richer</a> .</p> | Virginia is for felonies? Petty theft law from 1980s sticks | false | https://abqjournal.com/972429/virginia-is-for-felonies-petty-theft-law-from-1980s-sticks.html | 2017-03-20 | 2 |
<p>Aren’t we lucky to be enjoying the fruits which democracy offers? We in the West get to choose our leaders, decide our own futures, and enjoy free speech and individual privacy. Right?</p>
<p>Wrong. Democracy is an illusion, a nice, neat ideology held out as a reality by the powers that be to string us along. True democracy is rule by the people. Few of us are empowered to rule on anything except whether to watch The Sopranos or switch over to Oprah; to mow the lawn or defrost the freezer.</p>
<p>Election time is a good example of this. We take it oh, so seriously and believe that our vote will make the difference when we are really voting for candidates chosen by various lobbies, interest groups and big business. It boils down to middle-aged white Christian male candidate ‘A’ versus middle-aged white male Christian candidate ‘B’.</p>
<p>In our freedom-loving, non-discriminatory societies minority groups don’t get a look in when it comes to the real leadership. How many black American presidents and German chancellors have there been? How many women have presided over the Oval Office or the Elysees Palace?</p>
<p>In the US, which holds itself out as the epitome of a democratic country, there are ruling dynasties, such as the Kennedys and the Bush’s, and yet over and over we are indoctrinated into believing that we actually choose the best person for the job. The chances of two or even three members of the same family ‘coincidentally’ being the best there is must be over three hundred million to one.</p>
<p>The fact is that as each year passes, whatever freedoms we did have are fast disappearing. We can no longer drop out, hang out or disappear from the government radar screen. The computer age has meant that from cradle to grave, in true 1984-style, we are registered, monitored, tracked and labeled.</p>
<p>We are designated numbers, which remain with us throughout our lives, details of our credit rating, our health and our speeding fines are in a central computer, and soon biometric identity cards, driving licenses and passports, with our unique iris print and facial shape, will be the norm.</p>
<p>There is no escape for those of us who cherish our privacy. On almost every street corner there are video cameras, monitored by law enforcement.</p>
<p>In Britain there are over 1.5 million closed-circuit television monitoring systems watching roads, shopping malls, schools, parking lots and public buildings, and yet crime is on the up and up, including homocide. Britain is the most monitored country on earth and yet the government plans to spend a further US$115 million to purchase more spy eyes in the sky.</p>
<p>In the US, the Patriot Act has facilitated intelligence gathering agencies to listen-in on telephone conversations and to read anyone’s email, while the guy who arrives to tune your piano or repair your washing machine could be a potential TIPS’ informer.</p>
<p>Most of us are reared on the work ethic and persuaded to believe that hard work reaps high rewards. Ask a worn out garbage collector, or a woman who flips burgers in McDonalds just how much his or her labor provides in real benefits each month. Ask him or her whether it’s Hawaii or Palm Beach this summer and you may get a blank stare in response.</p>
<p>We are constantly being fed the line that we live in lands of opportunity where the streets are paved with gold. What they don’t tell us is money goes to money and the success stories featuring entrepreneurs rising up from the wrong side of the tracks are comparatively few.</p>
<p>We are told that we have choices in life. True. Americans, for instance, have the ‘choice’ to pay US taxes or go to jail even when they live and work overseas. At the same time, they have no decision concerning the use to which their taxes are put or the right to object when a high proportion is sent off to prop up America’s allies, such as Israel.</p>
<p>Britons can ‘choose’ to pay high National Insurance contributions or be dragged to court, even though Britain’s National Health Service is a shambles with waiting lists for important operations stretching over years.</p>
<p>Many of us carry on our daily lives believing that we actually own our own homes when, in fact, they are owned by the banks and mortgage companies for much of our adult lives. In many cases, we spend most of our time working in boring repetitive jobs simply trying to keep a roof over our heads and pre-cooked dinners in the refrigerator.</p>
<p>Ask single families on welfare about their aspirations and ambitions. Have a word with the bag ladies, the drunks and the druggies what democracy has done for them.</p>
<p>I wonder what the victims of corporate scandals, such as Enron, think about a world where CEOs use the millions of dollars gleaned from insider trading to buy mansion ‘homes’ which are protected under the law, while they look forward to a poverty-stricken old age.</p>
<p>Better yet, pop over to that other paragon of democracy India. As you drive from Mumbai (Bombay) Airport you will be outraged to see the fruits of India’s democratic system. On each side of the road to the city as far as the eye can see humanity in its most wretched state lives under cardboard and corrugated iron surrounded by sewage.</p>
<p>Inside the city proper, the democratic Indian government does its utmost to clear out the beggars and the street residents but still the cart goes around every morning to pick up the bodies of those who died of disease or starvation during the night.</p>
<p>In the birthplace of democracy, Greece, a new law says that anyone who plays electronic or computer games, including chess or Game Boy will be fined or imprisoned. If anyone dares to play on-line Trivial Pursuit in an Internet cafe, the owner will be fined and the cafe closed down. I am sure that the British plane-spotters, who were accused as spies and jailed, will be delighted to attest to Greece’s new democratic principles too.</p>
<p>But all is not lost. There is a country where its citizens are given a free piece of land upon which to build their homes using interest-free loans. It is also a tax-free state where people pay state-subsidized electricity and water bills while enjoying a free internal telephone service.</p>
<p>In this paradisical place, couples are given a lump sum upon marriage and their children free further education anywhere in the world. If they should fall ill, they are treated by the world’s leading medical specialists at the hospital of their choice, while two members of their family are put up in a five-star hotel and receive a daily cash allowance, courtesy of the state.</p>
<p>It is a new country, only 30 years old, and yet it now boasts one of the world’s highest standards of living. Some 98 per cent of its nationals travel overseas at least once every year, and almost all own their own homes and businesses.</p>
<p>At the same time, there is little crime, no beggars and nobody goes hungry.</p>
<p>This is a diverse land offering cuisine from all over the world, golf courses, racecourses, marinas ice-rinks, pubs, clubs and every kind of sports facility. It boasts first class universities, an Internet city and a Media Village.</p>
<p>It is also a multi-cultural melting pot where Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, British, Americans, French and Filipinos brush shoulders in the many multi-storied air-conditioned shopping malls. It is a spot where the smile-count has to be among the highest on the planet.</p>
<p>Welcome to the union known as the United Arab Emirates and made up of seven sheikhdoms, the principal two being Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Yes, one of those Gulf countries where democracy is absent. Instead, the forward-thinking rulers treat the country just as if it formed part of their own back garden and its people their own sons and daughters.</p>
<p>The UAE offer real freedoms: the freedom to feel safe; the freedom to live well and the freedom to put the rewards of your labor into your own pocket without having to pay up to one third of it to the government. In the UAE, a woman can walk in the city at 3am without being afraid and children can play outside their homes without fear of being abducted.</p>
<p>I can almost hear you muttering to yourselves: So what? The UAE is awash with oil money. It’s hardly surprising that its people live well.</p>
<p>Exactly my point! It’s all about wealth. Wealth is health and cash is freedom. With cash in your pocket you can travel anywhere, live anywhere you like, and consequent opportunities open up.</p>
<p>Day to day existence in a phony Western democracy and belief that this is the ultimate lifestyle is widespread. It derives from being told the same thing over and over until we have little choice but to believe it. It’s a sham. Nothing else but a massive con perpetrated on the masses by fat cats who have never worked in their lives.</p>
<p>Western-style democracy? Phooey! It’s time to go back to the drawing board and define what democracy really means and what can be done to change our pretend democracies into the genuine article.</p>
<p>LINDA HEARD is a writer, editor and Arabist, who has lived and worked for most of her life in the Middle East.</p>
<p>She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | So You Think You Live in a Democracy? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/10/14/so-you-think-you-live-in-a-democracy/ | 2002-10-14 | 4 |
<p>By Flickr user &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruy_xw/"&gt;Ruy&lt;/a&gt; under a CC license.</p>
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<p>It’s been four years since Terry Gilliam’s last film—the surreal Tideland, starring Jeff Bridges. Now, for Christmas, the Monty Python <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8M3F7do3ao&amp;feature=related" type="external">animator</a>-turned-filmmaker has given us The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a production that was a roller coaster ride even by Gilliam standards. (Speaking of which, Gilliam is taking another crack at The Man Who Killed Don Quixote—and Robert Duvall has reportedly agreed to play the lead.) Imaginarium is very Terry, with more than a small dose of the Python vibe. It’s a dark, absurdist joyride pitting imagination against apathy and an ancient protagonist (Christopher Plummer) against the Devil (Tom Waits). It’s a lot of fun. Go see it.</p>
<p>I <a href="" type="internal">spoke with Gilliam</a> about how the film was thrown into complete disarray by the death of leading man Heath Ledger. That’s a familiar narrative by now, but we also talked about the director’s upbringing, his neuroses, his rep as a Hollywood nemesis, and his decision to give up American citizenship—not to mention sign that controversial petition in support of Roman Polanski. And of course, we talked about the constant struggle to sell his ideas: “It’s enough hard work making the movie, and then you have to go out and blow the trumpet and beat the drum and do all these things,” he told me in a bit that didn’t make the edited interview. “Actually this part of the selling, at the end, is just repetitious. The difficult selling is at the beginning, trying to get the money.”</p>
<p>For a couple of years after Gilliam first arrived in England, he was doing the same stuff he’d done back in the States—illustrations and magazine editing and all that. Then he approached soon-to-be Python star <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython#p/c/CDFEA6D52E5CC0EC/2/523uxFMUTGA" type="external">John Cleese</a>, whom he knew through his old job at Harvey Kurtzman’s Help magazine. (Kurtzman was the guy who did Mad magazine when it was still a comic.) “John was well known in television by then, and I said, Introduce me to somebody in TV,” Gilliam said. “That led me to a show called Do Not Adjust Your Set that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython#p/c/CDFEA6D52E5CC0EC/4/fUspLVStPbk" type="external">Michael Palin</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsd2yMSonE8" type="external">Terry Jones</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython#p/a/u/2/6SXq5X9zEZI" type="external">Eric Idle</a> were writing and performing. And that was the beginning of that relationship. I started doing animation in one of the episodes. And off we went.”</p>
<p>Though Gilliam had his start in television, he still hates the damn box. He was raised on radio, and credits it for some of his inventiveness. But there was a boob tube in the picture when he raised his three kids—all were part of the Imaginarium crew, Amy (Rainbow) Gilliam as a producer, Holly (Dubois) as a publicist, and Harry (Thunder) as a graffiti artist. Papa Terry recalled for me how Harry had related to TV as a youngster: “We had a house in Italy, there’s no television, there’s no telephone, it’s very basic,” he said. “For the first couple days, he’d be bored out of his mind. And then he would start playing—oh, there’s that stick there, and a bit of string, I’ve got a bow now! Now I’ll make an arrow. And little by little, you start doing things. And he’d become incredibly inventive. And then, the minute we come back to London, he’d go to his room and turn on the television set and the brain would go dead again.”</p>
<p>According to a bio submitted to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1563426/bio" type="external">imdb</a> by Holly Gilliam, young Harry is now a solid athlete—soccer and swimming—and model who hopes to attend art school. Nickname: Hairball. What does it all mean? I dunno. Use your imagination. And enjoy the <a href="" type="internal">interview</a>.</p>
<p /> | A Terry Gilliam Christmas | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/terry-gilliams-christmas-present/ | 2009-12-24 | 4 |
<p>The aircraft carrier&#160;Enterprise&#160;has moved into the Persian Gulf, although it’s an antique, slow-moving target and a potential lightening rod for war on Iran. As a retired Navy man told me last month, “A couple of torpedoes would stagger the thing, and then you’ve got the Alamo, the&#160;Maine,&#160;the&#160;Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, the Gulf of Tonkin and 9/11 all over again,” he said, “with Iran in the crosshairs.”</p>
<p>Enterprise&#160;needlessly joins the strike group of the 100,000-ton carrier&#160;Lincoln&#160;with its crew of 3,200 already in the Gulf. TV-Novosti&#160;reported April 10 that in March President Obama sent his second amphibious assault group to the Gulf. Those gun boats include a nuclear submarine, a Marine helicopter squadron and more than 2,000 Marines.</p>
<p>At 51,&#160;Enterprise&#160;is the oldest ship in the Navy, having seen action since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. From the bombing of Laos in 1973 and the 1986 bombing of Libya, to the 800,000 pounds of munitions it fired into Afghanistan in 2001,&#160;Enterprise&#160;has helped maintain a string of atrocity producing situations that has no end in sight.</p>
<p>Set for retirement and decommissioning this fall,&#160;Enterprise’s&#160;Gulf deployment is its last.&#160;But it has no purpose whatsoever as a war machine when 11 newer and more sophisticated carriers are available. Indeed&#160;Enterprise&#160;is a hugely expensive liability, a deadly heap of hazardous scrap. Its fiercely radioactive reactors and waste fuel require dangerous and costly removal and long-term isolation from the ecosphere as nuclear waste material.</p>
<p>So&#160;Enterprise, the first ever nuclear-powered carrier,&#160;parades through the Gulf with lots of gunpowder. Its “strike group 12”&#160;consists of:&#160; Carrier Air Wing 1; the guided-missile cruiser&#160;Vicksburg;&#160;and Destroyer Squadron 2, comprising guided-missile destroyers&#160;Nitze,&#160;Porter&#160;and&#160;James E. Williams.&#160;Enterprise&#160;is 1,123 feet long, weighs 94,000 tons, has 8 propulsion reactors, four 35-ton rudders, two gyms, a crew of at least 3,100, a television station and—no doubt demonstrating a free press— a daily paper.</p>
<p>The government knows its loss at sea would be cheaper than retirement, and if it can scare the country into yet another shooting war, our munitions makers and weapons merchants continue swimming in billions of tax dollars defending freedom and peace. In January, when Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta first said he would send&#160;Enterprise&#160;to the Gulf “to send a direct message to Iran,” the price of gas shot up and stayed up. You’d almost think the oil giants like war. The privatized DoD contractor corporations certainly do.</p>
<p>To get public opinion and NATO behind war on Iran, the war party needs to both sideline our Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan Syndromes and to flabbergast Russia, China and India. How better than to make it look as if Iran started it? Deployment of theEnterprise&#160;is hair-raising in the context of previous “false flag” provocations in the region. Like the Lavon Affair before it, Israel actually attacked the U.S. spy ship&#160;Liberty&#160;June 8, 1967&#160;—&#160;using unmarked jet fighters and torpedoes — initially blaming Egypt in an attempt to draw Washington into the war. Israel later claimed it attacked what it thought was an Egyptian ship, yet no one was charged or disciplined. Ward Boston, the U.S. Navy Senior Counsel for the Court of Inquiry, says in a 2002 affidavit, “Both [lead investigator] Admiral [Isaac] Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 sailors and injured 172, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew.”</p>
<p>Today the&#160;Enterprise&#160;has nothing to do but act like the greasiest sitting duck in history. No one should believe that Iran is dumb enough to take the bait.</p>
<p>John LaForge&#160;is on the staff of Nukewatch, a nuclear watchdog and anti-war group in Wisconsin, and edits its Quarterly.</p> | A Persian Gulf of Tonkin in the Making? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/04/24/a-persian-gulf-of-tonkin-in-the-making/ | 2012-04-24 | 4 |
<p>A hacker group has claimed to have broken into a Sony company network, stealing the personal data of more than a million users, including passwords and email addresses, in yet another attack on the Japanese company.</p>
<p>The hacker group, called LulzSec, posted a statement on its website saying it had hacked the servers that run SonyPictures.com, part of Sony's movie and television operations. LulzSec said the information hadn't been encrypted to protect the content of the data in the event of a breach.</p>
<p>"From a single injection, we accessed EVERYTHING," it said. "Why do you put such faith in a company that allows itself to become open to these simple attacks?</p>
<p>"Sony stored over 1,000,000 passwords of its customers in plaintext, which means it's just a matter of taking it," LulzSec said. "This is disgraceful and insecure: they were asking for it."</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110602-714949.html" type="external">Sony Pictures Entertainment</a> spokesman Jim Kennedy said the company was aware of the claims and looking into them, the Dow Jones newswire reports.</p>
<p>This is the latest hacker attack for Sony, which was forced to suspend its popular online gaming systems PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment after an April break in compromised more than 100 million user accounts.</p>
<p>The latest alleged attack comes just 24 hours after the Japanese company announced it had beefed up its security systems, and said the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13636704" type="external">PlayStation Network</a> would be fully restored in the U.S. and Europe, the BBC reports.</p>
<p>Sony's networks have become targets for hackers and the company has confirmed at least four other break-ins prior to the most recent attack.</p>
<p>LulzSec also claimed responsibility for hacking the PBS network's website, and posting a fake news story that claimed the murdered rap star <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/30/pbs-hacked-tupac-alive_n_868673.html" type="external">Tupac Shakur</a> was alive and living in New Zealand. This was in protest of a PBS NewsHour program about WikiLeaks.</p> | Sony attacked by hackers again | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-06-03/sony-attacked-hackers-again | 2011-06-03 | 3 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Older.jpg" type="external" />A Veterans Affairs whistleblower has exclusively revealed to Infowars that the facility at which he works has engaged in a of cover-up in response to the VA hospital scandal, while also relating the story of how one supervisor expressed his desire to see older veterans "taken outside and shot ["]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.infowars.com/exclusive-whistleblower-reveals-new-va-scandal/" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.infowars.com</a></p>
<p /> | Report: Sr. VA Supervisor Told Whistleblower Older Vets Should Be 'Taken Outside and Shot in The Head' | true | http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/exclusive-whistleblower-reveals-new-va-scandal/ | 0 |
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<p>Investing.com – The dollar slipped lower against other major currencies on Friday, as investors were still waiting for positive news on a highly-anticipated U.S. tax reform bill.</p>
<p>Sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable after the US Senate on Thursday evening on the tax reform bill until Friday as a key element of the bill still needed to be debated.</p>
<p>The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 92.92 by 02:05 a.m. ET (06:05 GMT).</p>
<p>edged up 0.10% to 1.1915, while eased 0.08% to trade at 1.3518m just off a two-month high of 1.3550 hit overnight.</p>
<p>The single currency was supported by hopes of progress on the German political front after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party held talks late Thursday with centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to facilitate the formation of a government coalition.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, hopes of a positive outcome to ongoing Brexit negociations continued to lend broad support to the pound.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, the yen was fractionally lower, with up 0.08% at 112.63, while held steady at 0.9837.</p>
<p>The Australian and New Zealand dollars were little changed, with at 0.7562 and with at 0.6826.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, slipped 0.17% to trade at 1.2874, just off the previous session’s one-month peak of 1.2910.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Forex – Dollar Slips Lower With Tax Reform Bill in Focus | false | https://newsline.com/forex-dollar-slips-lower-with-tax-reform-bill-in-focus/ | 2017-12-01 | 1 |
<p>Even during an era of great explorers tackling the nigh impossible, the Norwegian seaman Roald Amundsen was sui generis: He discovered the fabled Northwest Passage through Canada; he led the first crew to reach the South Pole, and was the first explorer to successfully reach both poles.</p>
<p>However, Amundsen went bankrupt and died a broken man, on a rescue mission searching for the crew of an airship stranded in the Arctic. His plane — and his body — were never found. &#160;</p>
<p>Finally, after more than 80 years, one of his most famous ships, Maud, may now be coming home.</p>
<p />
<p>"Maud" was&#160;launched on June 7, 1917.&#160;</p>
<p>Courtesy of Jan Wanggaard</p>
<p>It’s a task worthy of Amundsen himself —&#160;persuading the Canadian government to relinquish a legendary shipwreck. On top of the politics, the technical hurdles are high, too. It involves&#160;using a never-before-attempted method of raising the hull from an Arctic seabed, then towing it all the way back to Norway.</p>
<p>The Norwegian company <a href="http://www.tandbergdata.com/default/" type="external">Tandberg</a>, which decided to <a href="http://www.maudreturnshome.no/" type="external">bring Maud home</a>, found the right man for the job: Jan Wanggaard, artist, world-champion windsurfer and builder of Viking ships, among other things.</p>
<p>But when Wanggaard petitioned the Canadian government to release Maud, it turned him down. But hey, Amundsen didn’t reach the South Pole on his first attempt either.</p>
<p>Wanggaard persisted, arguing the ship was of intrinsic significance to Norway’s heritage. Maud was built by Amundsen himself, who Norwegians consider a kind of a “super hero,” Wanggaard says.</p>
<p>In the end, the Canadian government relented and ruled in Wanggaard’s favor. But now, he has&#160;to raise a wrecked ship, weighing hundreds of tons, from its shallow resting place about a half mile outside the Arctic settlement of Cambridge Bay in Nunavut.</p>
<p>It’s so remote, Wanggaard says, “you feel like if you look far in the distance, you can see the North Pole” —&#160;though it’s more than 1,000 miles away.</p>
<p>He’s been trying to raise Maud for three years now, a task complicated by the short summer season. This year, when his crew arrived in June, “Maud was completely closed in the ice and we started to dive as soon as the ice started to open.”</p>
<p />
<p>The wreck of Maud is trapped in ice for most of the year. This photo was taken on&#160;June 26,&#160;2015.</p>
<p>Courtesy of Jan Wanggaard</p>
<p>Come September, that ice will start to close back in. But Wanggaard believes they are in the final stretch and that soon Maud will rise again — with the help of five guys and some really big balloons.</p>
<p>“It's a very slow process because the balloons are really big and we have to attach them in a way so the Maud can be lifted in a safe way,” he says.</p>
<p />
<p>Jan Wanggaard underwater with "Maud"</p>
<p>D.L Hansen</p>
<p>Given the complexity of the task, Wanggaard says he wasn’t given a fixed budget — or&#160;deadline — to bring the ship home. And not everyone is in a hurry to see Maud leave. The citizens of Cambridge Bay have been gazing at its skeletal outline across the water for decades.</p>
<p />
<p>A bird's-eye view of Maud</p>
<p>J. Wanggaard</p>
<p>“There’s nowhere else you can really go and just see a piece of history standing out like that,” says Zachary Townsend, a college student whose parents live in Cambridge Bay.</p>
<p>Cruise ships have made Maud a tourist pit stop, but it's more than a landmark. The ship helped build the town — literally.</p>
<p>“There’s no real trees or any source of wood up here, so what a lot of the locals did when they were building the town, is they actually took pieces from the boat itself and used that to build their houses,” Townsend says.</p>
<p>Looking at it that way, I guess Maud will never really leave Cambridge Bay.</p>
<p>And Wanggaard says he understands where the locals are coming from: he feels a connection with Maud too.</p>
<p>“When I saw the ship the first time ...&#160;it was very emotional,” he says. “OK —&#160;this is the ship and this is what we're going to bring home.”</p>
<p>This reverence is ironic, because Maud was considered a failure during Amundsen’s time. He spent seven years trying to reach the North Pole in the ship, but he went bankrupt and Maud was seized by creditors. It was only years later that his team was recognized for the scientific research accomplished during those years crisscrossing the Arctic. Maud, in the meantime, was sold to Hudson's Bay Company and used as a floating warehouse until it sank, in 1930.</p>
<p />
<p>Maud sinking in her moorings in the winter of 1930-31.</p>
<p>Courtesy of Jan Wanggaard</p>
<p>Tandberg now plans to build a “futuristic” museum back in Vollen devoted to the returning the ship. But first Maud must be lifted from the sea bed. The big question is when.</p>
<p>“People ask ‘Is it happening tomorrow? Or after tomorrow?’” Wanggaard says. He tells them, “it’s happening in the timespan between now and [when] the ice arrives."</p>
<p>But what if they can’t beat the ice, I ask, or their balloons just aren’t strong enough to, you know, float the boat?</p>
<p>“I don't think like that,” he says. “We will not give up —&#160;so we will manage somehow.”</p>
<p>An answer Amundsen definitely would approve of.</p> | A Norwegian artist wants to raise a storied ship using some really big balloons | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-08-24/norwegian-artist-wants-raise-storied-ship-using-some-really-big-balloons | 2015-08-24 | 3 |
<p>(Editor’s note: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Freedom Movement, an open housing and racial justice campaign that brought the Southern civil rights movement to Chicago, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lived for a time in a tenement in North Lawndale. Through the eyes of scholars and participants, “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Chicago-Freedom-Movement-Activism/dp/0813166500" type="external">The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North</a>” explores a historic campaign that some people have dismissed as a political failure, and argues that the efforts had a lasting impact in the city and the nation. Here is an excerpt from the book, which will be published in April. )</p>
<p>In January 1966, the same month Martin Luther King moved into his slum apartment in Lawndale, Monsignor John J. Egan was appointed priest of Presentation Parish in that community. As head of the Catholic Diocese’s Office of Urban Affairs, Monsignor Egan had been training community organizers to work in church communities across the city. After being exiled from his downtown post by a new archbishop and sent to the West Side, he settled into the community and brought in Jesuit seminarians to do neighborhood organizing with his parishioners and their neighbors. One day in July 1967, one of those seminarians, Jack Macnamara, learned from a recently widowed woman in the parish that she had bought her house on contract at a drastically inflated price. He reported his discovery to Monsignor Egan.</p>
<p>As [John] McKnight explained: “Monsignor Egan knew that I knew about this. So he put together in his mind what Jack [Macnamara] was talking about and what I had been talking about. He sent Jack down to talk with me, and I spent a lot of time with Jack. He was the first person that I had run into who was on the ground floor and who said, ‘This is something I need to pursue.’”</p>
<p>This was the beginning. Macnamara, along with some fellow seminarians and students he had recruited, learned to research property records: to track down how the homes had changed hands, how much the white families had sold them for, how much the black families had paid, and who was involved as the middleman in these transactions. It was an arduous task, given the obscurity of the records. But the results were stunning. They were able to document what many people already knew: both white and black families had been seriously cheated, with black families sometimes paying twice what the white families had received. It was a lucrative business. The panic peddlers made large sums on these transactions, and they sometimes sold the contracts to other investors protected by blind trusts set up in local banks, giving many Chicago investors a stake in this system of exploitation. Some believed that many powerful people in the Democratic machine also benefited.</p>
<p>Ruth Wells was one of the first to confront her contract seller, Moe Forman at the F&amp;F Investment Company. In December 1967 Macnamara, Monsignor Egan, and two others accompanied her to the downtown office of the investment company. Macnamara tells the story: “Ruth had to do all the talking. She went to challenge him and she was just ruthless. He was an idiot himself. She tells this story: When she was leaving home in the morning she prayed to God that she would have a sign that she was doing the right thing. During the course of the meeting, his hand was shaking. So, she took that as a sign from God. When he wouldn’t renegotiate according to the formula, we started picketing his office.”</p>
<p>Shortly thereafter, in January 1968, the first community meeting of contract buyers was held in Lawndale. At the second community meeting, Ruth Wells told her story and then asked whether anyone else was in the same situation. Beryl Satter describes the response this way: “The effect was electric. Practically every hand in the room shot up. Wells encouraged the people gathered there to ‘tell your family and your friends, your neighbors and the people you work with, if they bought on contract, they should come out.’ At the next meeting approximately two-dozen contract buyers decided to form an organization, the Contract Buyers of Lawndale. Within months attendance at the CBL’s Wednesday night meetings had snowballed. … The group expanded so quickly in part because it had a perfect target for its anger—Moe Forman.”</p>
<p>The goal was to get the blockbusters to renegotiate the contracts down to more reasonable prices. The rest of 1968 was devoted to picketing contract sellers at their offices and at their homes when they refused to negotiate. Picketers confronted Ames, Sureway, Best, and F&amp;F Investments, among others. By the summer of 1968, word of the Contract Buyers of Lawndale had spread to the South Side, where another group was formed to focus on homes bought from the housing developer Universal Builders. But Jack Macnamara realized that another strategy was needed: I remember coming back from a CBL meeting one night, and things weren’t going as well. I walked into the apartment and said to a couple of the college students, ‘I think we need a payment strike. … These guys know how to handle picketing and bad publicity. What they won’t know how to handle is something that hits their pocketbook.’ We brought it up to the leaders and they thought it was a good idea. They said, ‘We have nothing to lose.’ I knew I’d succeeded when one woman one night said, ‘Well I know Mr. Macnamara doesn’t want us to do this payment strike, but I think we should do it anyway.’”</p>
<p>The families put their payments in escrow, for future payment to the sellers after the contracts had been renegotiated. The payment strike went on for many months, sometimes years, between 1968 and the early 1970s, with about 500 families participating. For their own reasons, the contract sellers did not move quickly to evict the nonpaying families, but eventually, when the evictions began, crowds of CBL members and their allies gathered at the homes to move the evicted families back in. For many months, the sheriff and his deputies backed off when confronted with hundreds of neighborhood residents determined to halt the evictions. These dramatic confrontations brought a lot of public attention to the whole issue of contract buying.</p>
<p>As the public became more aware of how the contract sales process drastically exploited both black and white homeowners, support came from unexpected places. Volunteers, mostly women, came into Lawndale from the northern suburbs to attend meetings and work in the CBL office. Rabbi Robert Marx from the Jewish Council for Urban Affairs was an important ally; his presence and the additional support he mobilized were critical to broadening the group’s base. At one point, the Contract Buyers League was raising money for a bond fund to appeal evictions; each appeal cost $3,000 to $5,000, far beyond the means of most families. The Chicago Province of the Jesuits agreed to put up $100,000 for the bond fund, and other Jesuit provinces collectively came up with another $150,000. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Jack Macnamara said upon hearing this news. Macnamara also raised funds from allies on the wealthy North Shore and from supporters such as Tom Foran, a US attorney, and Gordon Sherman, founder of Midas Muffler.</p>
<p>Thirty attorneys from prominent Chicago law firms offered pro bono legal services to the families facing eviction due to the payment strike. Chief among these firms was the well known Jenner and Block. Other Chicago attorneys, including Marshall Patner, Tom Sullivan, and Bob Ming, also provided critical support.</p>
<p>Paralleling the payment strikes were class-action lawsuits seeking legal redress for the exploitative contracts. The battle through the courts was long and arduous. The West Side case first went to court in November 1975, and the South Side case began in 1979. In the end, both cases were lost, and the last appeal was rejected in 1983.</p>
<p>Despite these losses, a second set of lawsuits challenging the Forcible Detainer and Entry Act—the Illinois law governing evictions—went to the Illinois Supreme Court. In Rosewood v. Fisher, the court ruled in 1970 that the nature of the contracts—whether fraudulent or usurious or otherwise irregular—could be raised as a defense in an eviction case, giving contract buyers a chance to tell their stories. In a second case, the Durhams, a family from the South Side, argued that the eviction law discriminated against the poor because it required the posting of a large bond—several thousand dollars—to file an appeal to an eviction order. In 1972 the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in their favor, declaring invalid the part of the law requiring large bonds before filing an appeal.</p>
<p>By July 1971, 155 contracts had been renegotiated, with an average saving of $14,000 (about half the purchase price for a house). Other families were finally able to obtain regular mortgages; the FHA had changed its policies and was beginning to make mortgage insurance—and thus mortgages—available in black communities on a limited basis. Moved by the sight of families being evicted in January’s cold, powerhouse black real estate developer Dempsey Travis found mortgage funds through black-owned insurers for one group of buyers.</p>
<p>Eventually, the sheriff and the Chicago police devised a method to conduct evictions without interference: by having the city police cordon off the street so that supporters could not reach the house. Approximately seventy families permanently lost their homes. By the time these evictions happened, however, at least some families had saved sufficient funds in the escrow accounts to buy other homes.</p>
<p>Some of the contract buyers described another, more personal, kind of victory. Macnamara explains: “It’s the individual victories that people had. One of the stories I like to tell is about Mrs. Johnson, whose Realtor would not renegotiate her contract. … She got up at a meeting and said, ‘He won’t renegotiate my contract, but that’s fine with me because I’m a leader. I’ve got this much out of it. No man’s gonna get his hand in my pocket again.’ So you know, she didn’t feel like she was a loser, and she wasn’t.”</p>
<p>Growing publicity and public support suggest that the Contract Buyers League had a substantial effect on attitudes in the larger community. James Bevel had often explained that in nonviolent direct action campaigns, the goal is to bring the oppression out into the open; when many people see the injustice, and see it as a violation of their own values, they will support the movement’s goals and call for change. Satter describes this shift in public opinion as one of the consequences of this movement.</p>
<p>At a January 2013 event at the Hull House Museum in Chicago honoring the CBL’s work, I asked Clyde Ross, vice president of the Contract Buyers League and now in his nineties, if he saw a link between the Contract Buyers League and Dr. King’s work in the North Lawndale neighborhood two years earlier. “We were definitely inspired by Dr. King,” he said. “He gave us courage.”</p>
<p /> | Inside the Contract Buyers League’s fight against housing discrimination | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/inside-the-contract-buyers-leagues-fight-against-housing-discrimination/ | 2016-02-15 | 3 |
<p />
<p>Having already received approval from a slew of regulators, exchange operator NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) said Thursday its $8.2 billion takeover by IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE:ICE) is expected to close on November 4.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The transaction is set to create the world’s third-largest exchange group, behind Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and Chicago’s CME Group (NYSE:CME).</p>
<p>The more precise timeframe comes after the NYSE-ICE deal <a href="" type="internal">won a nod from the Securities and Exchange Commission in August</a>. The European Union signed off on the deal in June.</p>
<p>The exchange operators said they see the transaction closing on November 4, subject to receiving approval from the remaining European regulators. They warned the deadline could be extended.</p>
<p>Atlanta-based ICE and NYSE had previously indicated the deal would close this fall.</p>
<p>Shares of ICE have soared almost 53% year-to-date, while NYSE have rallied 37.5%.</p> | NYSE-ICE to Wrap up $8.2B Deal Nov. 4 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/10/10/nyse-ice-to-wrap-up-82b-deal-on-nov-4.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
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<p>"Nickademus Mantooth," left, "Trailor Tom" and Nate "Dogggg" Nalder ride the first chair at Loveland Ski Area in Colo., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, on the opening day of the 2015-16 ski season. Loveland and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area opened Thursday. Nalder has been on the first chair in Colorado for the past 20 years. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT</p>
<p>DENVER - Colorado ski season is underway with not one but two resorts to choose from.</p>
<p>Both Arapahoe Basin and Loveland ski areas began operating their lifts Thursday after snow making and recent natural snow helped the resorts catch up after a warm October.</p>
<p>The resorts, high on the Continental Divide, compete each year to be the first to open in the state.</p>
<p>Loveland was the first to announce that it would open and, on Thursday, A-Basin thanked its competition for "setting the stoke meter high early."</p>
<p>It's the first time they've tied since 2008.</p>
<p>Copper Mountain and Wolf Creek are the next resorts scheduled to open - both on Nov. 6.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Colorado ski season starts with opening of A-Basin, Loveland | false | https://abqjournal.com/667592/colorado-ski-season-starts-with-opening-of-a-basin-loveland.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />May 2, 2012</p>
<p>By John Seiler</p>
<p>If you want to see why California is in such a mess, make sure to watch the video of Gov. Jerry Brown’s appearance on “Face the Nation.” CBS doesn’t&#160;allow embedding, but you can watch the,&#160;short&#160;7:24 video <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57423835/jerry-brown-gop-must-move-out-of-their-reactionary-cul-de-sac/?tag=morningFlexGridRight;flexGridModule" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Brown, like the rest of the state’s political elite — Republican as well as Democratic — is living in a world of his own, a Hollywood fantasy playing in the theater of his own mind.</p>
<p>Brown said that, compared to when he first got into the field, politics is “more polarized.” Actually, it’s less. It’s hard to see any difference between him, a Democratic governor, and his Republican predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Or between him and the Republican opponent he defeated in 2010, Meg Whitman.</p>
<p>He said that campaign money is more centrally controlled. But that’s the fault of the campaign “reforms,” beginning with the 1974 post-Watergate “reforms,” which made it almost impossible for an average Joe or Jane Citizen to run for office.&#160;The laws today are so complex that only professionals (or rich people) run for office, and are must&#160;hire professionals to figure out the campaign laws. Brown himself is very wealthy, has been a professional politician all his life (his father was governor), and knows how to get support from wealthy interest groups, especially the powerful government-worker unions.</p>
<p>He said that, “particularly on the Republican side, there’s an enforcement of discipline that’s ideological” which “takes on the quality of a cult.” Again, it’s hard to find policy differences between Democrats and Republicans. Did things change when Democratic President Obama took office in 2009, replacing Republican George Bush? Or when the Republicans took over&#160;the U.S. House in 2011? No, everything still is the same.</p>
<p>And as to a “cult,” just try to be a Democrat&#160;who’s pro-life and favors tax cuts and decisive pension reform.</p>
<p>“So&#160;we’re in a much more adversarial environment,” he said. Perhaps&#160;we can forgive him for&#160;being a Californian,&#160;where Hollywood dreams become some people’s reality. It’s only the partisan rhetoric that is “adversarial.” That’s&#160;to fool the voters into thinking they have a say in&#160;matters.</p>
<p>After all, consider the choice this November, between the sitting president who imposed Obamacare, and a former liberal governor of the liberal state of Massachusetts whose Romneycare in that state inspired Obamacare.</p>
<p>Brown mentioned the “filibuster.” Apparently he’s talking about <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/04/16/Senate-filibuster-kills-Buffett-Rule/UPI-22141334561400/" type="external">the filibuster that blocked the&#160;“Buffett Rule”</a> tax increase in the U.S. Senate last month. But&#160;the&#160;tax increase would have&#160;failed in the House anyway. And any tax increase — including&#160;Brown’s proposed $9 billion tax increase for California — only would take money from jobs and business producers, thus killing businesses and jobs.</p>
<p>“A great power can’t govern itself with this kind of disfunction,” he said. By “great power,” does he main military power? Because the United States remains by far the world’s greatest military power — although less so than a decade ago because the Iraq and Afghanistan wars bankrupted the country and severely harmed the military. Or does he mean a great economic power? But it’s the tax-and-waste policies he favors that have dimininshed America, especially in the last decade under both Republicans and Democrats. “Communist” China <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/blog/chinas-rise-americas-fall/" type="external">now has a freer economy</a>, and more rapidly increasing prosperity, than America.</p>
<p>The way out? “We need some kind of decisive election.” Well he sure didn’t give us one here in California. He’s Arnold III without the Austrian accent. He could have charged into office in January 2011 with a bold plan to transform California’s finances with something like the flat-tax proposal he advanced nationally in his 1992 presidential bid.</p>
<p>Indeed, the economist who designed that 1992 plan for him, Arthur Laffer, has come up with a great plan do so for California: “ <a href="http://www.pacificresearch.org/bookstore/eureka-how-to-fix-california" type="external">Eureka! How to Fix California</a>.” It was written for the Pacific Research Institute, CalWatchDog.com’s parent think tank.</p>
<p>But, no. Brown didn’t come up with anything new. Just a repeat of Arnold’s 2009 tax increase, which didn’t solve the budget problem at the time.</p>
<p>And he never brings up the major problems: the <a href="http://www.usdebtclock.org/" type="external">$16 trillion national debt</a>and the <a href="http://www.usdebtclock.org/" type="external">$1 trillion California debt</a>. These debts are weighing everything down — even with low interest rates. When interest rates finally rise from the current absurd effective rate of zero, then those twin towers of debt will grow even taller — then topple.</p>
<p>He attacks Republicans for ignoring “12 million people” in the country, meaning illegal aliens. But thanks to the policies of Brown and others in both parties, the American economy is doing so badly that the illegals are <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-23/mexican-immigration-united-states/54487564/1" type="external">returning to their homes</a>.&#160;This is another indication that Brown still is living in the 1980s.</p>
<p>Brown said that “Republicans have to move out of that extreme cul-de-sac that some of their more extreme members are pushing.” Huh? They just nominated Romney, the poster boy for moderation, who changes his policies so often his own staff even <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-23/mexican-immigration-united-states/54487564/1" type="external">compared him to an Etch A Sketch</a>. And Schwarzenegger was so moderate he makes Brown look like a radical right-winer.</p>
<p>He said the economy is recovering slowly “not because of Obama, but because the mortgage meltdown was a financial recession, and the historic data show they take much longer to recover from.” No. The real problems are: the $16 trillion debt, at least $1 trillion in new debt every year, fluctuating currency values because there has been no gold standard since 1971, artificially low interest rates, massive new regulations such as Obamacare and AB 32 in California (both of which Brown supports) and uncertainty about tax rates, which well could go higher. Although Obama didn’t cause all that, he certainly has perpetuated it. The mortgage meltdown hit about this time in 2007, five years ago, which is more than enough time to clear out the bad investments and generate a recovery — if decent policies had been pursued.</p>
<p>He also blamed the lack of regulation, not too much of it. It’s true that mostly getting rid of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act" type="external">Glass-Steagall Act</a>banking regulations in 1999 was a mistake, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIC8E9Q2pTs" type="external">as even free-marketer Ron Paul has said</a>. But since then, the Republicans in 2002 imposed the hideous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley_Act" type="external">Sarbanes-Oxley</a>regulations on business, and in 2010 the Democrats imposed the horrible <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd-Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act" type="external">Dodd-Frank</a>absurd regulations on business. China doesn’t have such anti-market restraints, which is why it kept growing during the recession that hit America.</p>
<p>Brown said his agenda today is the same as it was 30 years ago, more evidence he’s living in the past. His itemization of what he said was “right at the top of the agenda today”:</p>
<p>* “Pension reform.” Not only is his current pension reform plan <a href="" type="internal">pathetically weak</a>. But the major culprit in the mess is Brown himself for signing into law <a href="" type="internal">the 1977 Dills Act</a>, which allowed collective bargaining for government unions. Doing so effectively meant the unions would run the government. The employees would <a href="" type="internal">“elect our own bosses</a>,” as one union boss put it. Surprise! The “bosses” spiked the “employees'” pensions, causing the crisis.</p>
<p>* “Completing the California water plan.” But the state remains stuck with the <a href="http://www.ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Water_Bond_(2012)" type="external">special interests pushing general tax increases for water pork</a>, instead of real solutions.</p>
<p>* “Renewable energy.” This is just a slam on businesses and families to jack up energy prices for his boutique power-source fixation. California’s electricity rates already are <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/266243/california-dreamin-robert-bryce?utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter#" type="external">30 percent higher</a>than the national average, and will be headed higher.</p>
<p>* “High-Speed Rail.” He’s still pushing what’s aptly called the Browndoggle. It’s <a href="" type="internal">nothing but waste</a>and never will be built.</p>
<p>Notice there’s nothing on his list about creating jobs or making businesses more comfortable in what currently is the country’s most toxic environment for businesses and private-sector jobs.</p>
<p>Brown said that it takes 30 years to get some things done, whereas people want “instant gratification.” Well, maybe to a very rich man like himself. But if you’re standing in an unemployment line because his policies killed your job, you’re thinking about taking care of your family today, not what happens in three decades.</p>
<p>He said being governor is “abstract” and the Capitol, which includes his office “isn’t anywhere.” Still Gov. Moonbeam.</p>
<p>He should get around the state. Talk to some folks in unemployment lines — as the jobless numbers are <a href="http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-california-unemployment-creeping-higher-for-march-20120424,0,6883062.story" type="external">rising</a>. Visit the hundreds of businesses loading up U-Haul trucks <a href="http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/companies-33242-vranich-california.html" type="external">to get out of this state</a>.</p>
<p>Brown concluded the interview&#160;by saying he’s “thinking about” running for re-election in 2014. While others have said he woudln’t, I’ve said all along that he would. What else is he going to do? Re-join the reality-based community?</p> | Jerry Brown loses it on ‘Face the Nation’ | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2012/05/02/jerry-brown-loses-it-on-face-the-nation/ | 2018-05-20 | 3 |
<p>Gregory Peck in a scene from the 1959 movie, “On the Beach,” showing how a nuclear war ends life on the planet.</p>
<p>John Pilger <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/04/how-the-world-may-end/" type="external">Consortium News</a></p>
<p>The U.S. submarine captain says, “We’ve all got to die one day, some sooner and some later. The trouble always has been that you’re never ready, because you don’t know when it’s coming. Well, now we do know and there’s nothing to be done about it.”</p>
<p>He says he will be dead by September. It will take about a week to die, though no one can be sure. Animals live the longest.</p>
<p>The war was over in a month. The United States, Russia and China were the protagonists. It is not clear if it was started by accident or mistake. There was no victor. The Northern Hemisphere is contaminated and lifeless now.</p>
<p>A curtain of radioactivity is moving south towards Australia and New Zealand, southern Africa and South America. By September, the last cities, towns and villages will succumb. As in the north, most buildings will remain untouched, some illuminated by the last flickers of electric light.</p>
<p>This is the way the world ends.</p>
<p>Not with a bang, but a whimper.</p>
<p>These lines from T.S. Eliot’s poem&#160;The Hollow Men&#160;appear at the beginning of Nevil Shute’s novel&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Beach-Nevil-Shute/0099530252" type="external">On the Beach</a>,&#160;which left me close to tears. The endorsements on the cover said the same.</p>
<p>Published in 1957 at the height of the Cold War when too many writers were silent or cowed, it is a masterpiece. At first the language suggests a genteel relic; yet nothing I have read on nuclear war is as unyielding in its warning. No book is more urgent.</p>
<p>Some readers will remember the black and white Hollywood film starring Gregory Peck as the U.S. Navy commander who takes his submarine to Australia to await the silent, formless specter descending on the last of the living world.</p>
<p>I read&#160;On the Beach&#160;for the first time the other day, finishing it as the U.S. Congress passed a law to wage economic war on Russia, the world’s second most lethal nuclear power. There was no justification for this insane vote, except the promise of plunder.</p>
<p>Aiming Toward a Hot War</p>
<p>The “sanctions” are aimed at Europe, too, mainly Germany, which depends on Russian natural gas and on European companies that do legitimate business with Russia. In what passed for debate on Capitol Hill, the more garrulous senators left no doubt that the embargo was designed to force Europe to import expensive American gas.</p>
<p>Their main aim seems to be war – real war. No provocation as extreme can suggest anything else. They seem to crave it, even though Americans have little idea what war is. The Civil War of 1861-65 was the last on their mainland. War is what the United States does to others.</p>
<p>The only nation to have used nuclear weapons against human beings, they have since destroyed scores of governments, many of them democracies, and laid to waste whole societies – the million deaths in Iraq were a fraction of the carnage in Indochina, which President Reagan called “a noble cause” and President Obama revised as the tragedy of an “exceptional people.” He was not referring to the Vietnamese.</p>
<p>Filming last year at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, I overheard a National Parks Service guide lecturing a school party of young teenagers. “Listen up,” he said. “We lost 58,000 young soldiers in Vietnam, and they died defending&#160;your freedom.”</p>
<p>At a stroke, the truth was inverted. No freedom was defended. Freedom was destroyed. A peasant country was invaded and millions of its people were killed, maimed, dispossessed, poisoned; 60,000 of the invaders took their own lives. Listen up, indeed.</p>
<p>A lobotomy is performed on each generation. Facts are removed. History is excised and replaced by what&#160;Time&#160;magazine calls “an eternal present.” Harold Pinter described this as “manipulation of power worldwide, while masquerading as a force for universal good, a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis [which meant] that it never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest.”</p>
<p>Those who call themselves liberals or tendentiously “the left” are eager participants in this manipulation, and its brainwashing, which today revert to one name: Trump.</p>
<p>Trump is mad, a fascist, a dupe of Russia. He is also a gift for “liberal brains pickled in the formaldehyde of identity politics,” wrote Luciana Bohne memorably. The obsession with Trump the man – not Trump as a symptom and caricature of an enduring system – beckons great danger for all of us.</p>
<p>A Narcissistic Media</p>
<p>While they pursue their fossilized anti-Russia agendas, narcissistic media such as the&#160;Washington Post, the BBC and the&#160;Guardian&#160;suppress the essence of the most important political story of our time as they warmonger on a scale I cannot remember in my lifetime.</p>
<p>Unlike every other Trump signing, this was conducted in virtual secrecy and attached with a caveat from Trump himself that it was “clearly unconstitutional.”On 3 Aug., in contrast to the acreage the&#160;Guardian&#160;has given to drivel that the Russians conspired with Trump (reminiscent of the far-right smearing of John Kennedy as a “Soviet agent”), the paper buried, on page 16, news that the President of the United States was forced to sign a Congressional bill declaring economic war on Russia.</p>
<p>A coup against the man in the White House is under way. This is not because he is an odious human being, but because he has consistently made clear he does not want war with Russia.</p>
<p>This glimpse of sanity, or simple pragmatism, is anathema to the “national security” managers who guard a system based on war, surveillance, armaments, threats and extreme capitalism. Martin Luther King called them “the greatest purveyors of violence in the world today.”</p>
<p>They have encircled Russia and China with missiles and a nuclear arsenal. They have used neo-Nazis to install an unstable, aggressive regime on Russia’s “borderland” – the way through which Hitler invaded, causing the deaths of 27 million people. Their goal is to dismember the modern Russian Federation.</p>
<p>In response, “partnership” is a word used incessantly by Vladimir Putin – anything, it seems, that might halt an evangelical drive to war in the United States. Incredulity in Russia may have now turned to fear and perhaps a certain resolution. The Russians almost certainly have war-gamed nuclear counter strikes. Air-raid drills are not uncommon. Their history tells them to get ready.</p>
<p>The threat is simultaneous. Russia is first, China is next. The U.S. has just completed a huge military exercise with Australia known as Talisman Sabre. They rehearsed a blockade of the Malacca Straits and the South China Sea, through which pass China’s economic lifelines.</p>
<p>The admiral commanding the U.S. Pacific fleet said that, “if required,” he would nuke China. That he would say such a thing publicly in the current perfidious atmosphere begins to make fact of Nevil Shute’s fiction.</p>
<p>Silencing Dissenting Journalists</p>
<p>None of this is considered news. No connection is made as the bloodfest of Passchendaele a century ago is remembered. Honest reporting is no longer welcome in much of the media. Windbags, known as pundits, dominate: editors are infotainment or party-line managers. Where there was once sub-editing, there is the liberation of axe-grinding clichés. Those journalists who do not comply are defenestrated.</p>
<p>Nuclear armed, the missiles were aimed at both China and Russia. A junior officer questioned this, and the order was eventually rescinded – but only after they were issued with service revolvers and ordered to shoot at others in a missile crew if they did not “stand down.”The urgency has plenty of precedents. In my film,&#160;The Coming War on China, John Bordne, a member of a U.S. Air Force missile combat crew based in Okinawa, Japan, describes how in 1962 – during the Cuban missile crisis – he and his colleagues were “told to launch all the missiles” from their silos.</p>
<p>At the height of the Cold War, the anti-communist hysteria in the United States was such that U.S. officials who were on official business in China were accused of treason and sacked. In 1957 – the year Shute wrote&#160;On the Beach&#160;– no official in the State Department could speak the language of the world’s most populous nation. Mandarin speakers were purged under strictures now echoed in the Congressional bill that has just passed, aimed at Russia.</p>
<p>The bill was bipartisan. There is no fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans. The terms “left” and “right” are meaningless. &#160;Most of America’s modern wars were started not by conservatives, but by liberal Democrats.</p>
<p>When Obama left office, he presided over a record seven wars, including America’s longest war and an unprecedented campaign of extrajudicial killings – murder – by drones.</p>
<p>In his last year, according to a Council on Foreign Relations study, Obama, the “reluctant liberal warrior,” dropped 26,171 bombs – three bombs every hour, 24 hours a day. Having pledged to help “rid the world” of nuclear weapons, the Nobel Peace Laureate built more nuclear warheads than any president since the Cold War.</p>
<p>Trump is a wimp by comparison. It was Obama – with his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at his side – who destroyed Libya as a modern state and launched the human stampede to Europe. At home, immigration groups knew him as the “deporter-in-chief.”</p>
<p>One of Obama’s last acts as president was to sign a bill that handed a record $618 billion to the Pentagon, reflecting the soaring ascendancy of fascist militarism in the governance of the United States. Trump has endorsed this.</p>
<p>Buried in the detail was the establishment of a “Center for Information Analysis and Response.” This is a Ministry of Truth. It is tasked with providing an “official narrative of facts” that will prepare us for the real possibility of nuclear war – if we allow it.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>John Pilger is an Australian-British journalist based in London.&#160;Pilger’s Web site is:&#160; <a href="http://www.johnpilger.com/" type="external">www.johnpilger.com</a>. His new film, “The Coming War on China,” is available in the U.S. from&#160; <a href="http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/" type="external">www.bullfrogfilms.com</a></p>
<p>READ MORE WWIII NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire WWIII Files</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT 21WIRE –&#160;SUBSCRIBE &amp; BECOME A MEMBER @&#160; <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">21WIRE.TV</a></p> | HOW THE WORLD MAY END ~ By John Pilger | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/08/05/how-the-world-may-end-by-john-pilger/ | 2017-08-05 | 4 |
<p>Guess how many years this law has been around. Just guess. Ten, twenty, maybe even thirty? You would be wrong if you said any of those answers. Try one hundred. That’s right, this has been a law for 100 YEARS.</p>
<p>Trump is just enforcing the law, like it should be.</p>
<p /> | LIBERALS ARE OUTRAGED: Because Trump Wants to Deport Illegals on Welfare — Something We Should Have Been Doing Already! | true | http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/liberals-outraged-trump-wants-deport-illegals-welfare-something-already/ | 0 |
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<p>President Donald Trump hosted a meeting with the leaders of Detroit’s Big Three automakers Tuesday, keeping the focus on the car industry amid a push to create American jobs.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>General Motors (NYSE:GM) CEO Mary Barra, Ford (NYSE:F) CEO Mark Fields and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) CEO Sergio Marchionne joined Trump at the White House, where regulatory reform, corporate taxes and trade were topics of discussion.</p>
<p>Also on Tuesday, Toyota made a separate announcement that its factory in Princeton, Ind., will add 400 jobs under a $600 million investment. The money will be used to modernize the facility and meet growing demand for the Highlander SUV, according to Toyota. The project will begin in the fall of 2019.</p>
<p>“We have a very big push going to have auto plants and many other plants…built in the United States,” Trump said, adding that reducing taxes and unnecessary regulations are priorities.</p>
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<p>Trump, who <a href="" type="internal">also met with CEOs of manufacturing heavyweights on Monday</a>, has pressured automakers to invest in U.S. factories. General Motors, Ford and Toyota (NYSE:TM) have faced Trump’s ire for expanding production in Mexico. Automakers have sought to smooth relations with the new president, headlined by Ford’s decision to cancel the construction of a Mexican factory.</p>
<p>Mark Fields, the CEO of Ford, said the industry is encouraged by Trump’s economic proposals.</p>
<p>“We just had a great conversation with the president, and he is very focused on policies that will grow investment and jobs here in America and American industry and, of course, the automotive industry,” Fields said as he left the White House. “I think as an industry, we’re excited about working together with the president and his administration on tax policies, on regulation and on trade to really create a renaissance in American manufacturing.”</p>
<p>Barra echoed those sentiments.</p>
<p>“There’s a huge opportunity working together as an industry with government…to improve the environment, improve safety and improve jobs creation and the competitiveness of manufacturing,” Barra added.</p>
<p>In a statement released after Tuesday’s meeting, Marchionne said Fiat Chrysler shares President Trump’s desire to build a strong manufacturing base in the U.S.</p>
<p>“I appreciate the President's focus on making the U.S. a great place to do business,” he said.</p>
<p>Fields also applauded Trump’s move on Monday to officially withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that Trump often criticized on the campaign trail. The deal didn’t meaningfully deal with currency manipulation, which Fields called “the mother of all trade barriers.”</p>
<p>Will be meeting at 9:00 with top automobile executives concerning jobs in America. I want new plants to be built here for cars sold here!</p>
<p>WATCH: President Trump meets with automakers <a href="https://t.co/LweDYmdIOT" type="external">pic.twitter.com/LweDYmdIOT</a></p> | Toyota Pledges U.S. Jobs as Trump Meets With Detroit's Auto CEOs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/24/toyota-pledges-u-s-jobs-as-trump-meets-with-detroits-auto-ceos.html | 2017-01-24 | 0 |
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<p>COOLIDGE, Ariz. - Part of a small southern Arizona city was forced to shut down after authorities say a swarm of bees invaded a neighborhood.</p>
<p>The Casa Grande Dispatch reports ( <a href="http://goo.gl/UiIayb)" type="external">http://goo.gl/UiIayb)</a> that police and fire officials ordered residents on Friday in parts of Coolidge to secure homes and not go outside after the bizarre invasion.</p>
<p>Nearby businesses such as Tag's Cafe also were told to keep customers inside. The orders were lifted later Friday morning.</p>
<p>Police say several people were stung and a dog later died from multiple stings.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, thousands of bees swarmed through a Gilbert neighborhood, stinging six people, including four who had to be hospitalized. Firefighters later drove them off with foam and fire hoses.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Casa Grande Dispatch.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Bee invasion closes part of small southern Arizona city | false | https://abqjournal.com/650180/bee-invasion-closes-part-of-small-southern-arizona-city.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="http://d1o2xrel38nv1n.cloudfront.net/files/2014/07/bad-medicine-map1-2.png" type="external" /> A&#160; <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/repro/bad-medicine-download.pdf" type="external">new report</a>&#160;from the National Partnership for Women &amp; Families explores the common anti-choice restrictions that are forcing&#160;doctors to choose between following the law and doing what they know is best for their patients.&#160;</p>
<p>The report focuses on four anti-abortion restrictions–ultrasound requirements, biased counseling sessions, mandatory waiting periods, and regulations on the abortion pill–that they describe as “bad medicine” laws since there is absolutely no medical justification for them. Over&#160;30 states have at least one of these types of restrictions on their books, and half of those states have all four of them. And that doesn’t even include the TRAP laws that are equally medically unnecessary and <a href="" type="internal">are shutting down clinics altogether</a>.</p>
<p>“Politics are taking over our exam rooms and that is a dangerous, disturbing trend,” said the group’s president Debra L. Ness. “More and more, lawmakers across the country are enacting laws that mandate how health care providers must practice&#160;medicine, without regard to their professional judgment or their patients’ needs.”</p> | Map of the Day: “Bad medicine” laws undermine reproductive health care across the country | true | http://feministing.com/2014/07/14/map-of-the-day-bad-medicine-laws-put-politicians-in-our-exam-rooms/ | 4 |
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<p><a href="../riorancho/2802941riorancho08-28-10.htm" type="external">The switch</a> should be in place by 5 a.m. Sunday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Meanwhile, northbound traffic is scheduled to be switched onto the southbound side of the interstate the second week of September, so that work can be done on northbound half of the interstate.</p>
<p>The changes are part of the ongoing work to widen I-25 from two to three lanes in each direction between Bernalillo and Albuquerque.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | TRAFFIC: A Change On Southbound I-25 Tonight | false | https://abqjournal.com/9094/traffic-a-change-on-southbound-i-25-tonight.html | 2 |
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<p>WASHINGTON (RNS) — Air travelers want to feel safe, and federal security officials want to make sure they actually are safe. If only it were that simple.</p>
<p>Misunderstandings over religious expression have led to recent incidents that prompted apologies from airlines. Recently, agents with the Transportation Security Administration removed a Muslim woman in a headscarf from a Southwest Airlines flight after airline staff deemed her suspicious. Crew members thought the woman said “It’s a go” into her cell phone, when she actually said, “I have to go” because the plane was about to take off.</p>
<p>That same day, Orthodox Jews triggered a security alert on an Alaska Airlines flight when they strapped on tefillin, or ritual straps for the arms and forehead, and began to pray in a foreign language.</p>
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<p>Such incidents highlight an ongoing challenge for airlines and the TSA to allow for religious expression while also taking prudent security measures. The domain puts personnel in the sometimes-uncomfortable position of assessing a delicate question: When does a prayer, a garment or religious paraphernalia constitute a threat?</p>
<p>“We are sensitive to travelers’ concerns,” TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said. “But security is not optional.”</p>
<p>Muslim and Sikh groups say it’s an ongoing problem—almost always directed against religious minorities — that hasn’t improved much since the 9/11 terrorist attacks prompted widespread security crackdowns.</p>
<p>Muslim women in headscarves and Sikh men in turbans are routinely subjected to extra pat-downs at security checkpoints, advocates say, thus stoking fears among already-tense fellow passengers.</p>
<p>“Imagine you’re walking through the airport and you see this group of people, all fitting this certain profile, who are all pulled aside,” said Ameena Mirza Qazi, deputy executive director of the California chapter of the <a href="http://www.cair.com/" type="external">Council on American-Islamic Relations</a>, a Muslim civil rights group. “It feeds into pervasive biases that people have.”</p>
<p>Even before they clear security, several religious groups chafe at full-body scanners that they consider immodest; the 18-member Fiqh Council of North America last year issued a fatwa (religious edict) that said the scanners violate Islamic law.</p>
<p>TSA takes steps to allow for religious needs, Koshetz explained — allowing travelers to forgo a full-body scan, for example, and instead receive a thorough pat-down by a person of the same gender. Those who wear head coverings or loose-fitting clothing may undergo additional screening, she said, and in some cases need to remove headwear to show “the head area is free of a detectable threat item.”</p>
<p>The TSA neither condones nor practices religious profiling, she said.</p>
<p>Some religious minorities have welcomed TSA’s accommodations. Orthodox Jews, for instance, dropped complaints about new screening procedures last year after TSA announced the option of same-gender pat-downs. The <a href="http://www.hafsite.org/" type="external">Hindu American Foundation</a> likewise has no pending concerns or requests to modify TSA procedures, according to Managing Director Suhag Shukla.</p>
<p>Others, however, feel they’re being unfairly targeted. Sikhs have been working with TSA for years to craft screening procedures that respect turban wearers, according to Amardeep Singh, program director for the Sikh Coalition. Yet Sikhs continue to endure stigmatizing turban pat-downs, Singh said, even though scanners can purportedly see through fabric.</p>
<p>“We’re still trying to get from (TSA) the reasons why the turbans require this extra scrutiny,” Singh said. “It sends the wrong message to the other passengers. It singles us out in a way that builds into the discrimination that the community already feels as a result of our religious appearance.”</p>
<p>Some are more concerned with the practices of airlines than the TSA. The <a href="http://www.ou.org/" type="external">Orthodox Union</a>, which represents Orthodox Jews, is developing initiatives to educate airlines about Jewish observances, including the use of tefillin and prayer shawls. Alaska Airlines is developing new training materials in consultation with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.</p>
<p>“The plane is controlled by a more idiosyncratic sense of what’s going on, and there’s no TSA policy” to heed, said Michael Broyde, project director at the <a href="http://cslr.law.emory.edu/" type="external">Center for the Study of Law and Religion</a> at Emory University. “There’s a lack of common sense on many sides” on which types of religious expression should be permitted during flight.</p>
<p>The Council on American-Islamic Relations also sees the need for improvement in the wider airline industry. The organization has seen a recent increase in complaints from Muslims and other religious minorities who say they’ve been “ejected from aircrafts for no reason at all,” Qazi said.</p>
<p>The airline industry says staffers often have had training to make them aware of various groups’ religious customs and practices.</p>
<p>“Airlines deeply understand, respect and are very sensitive to their customers and employees who comprise varied cultures and religions and have specialized training for their employees in this regard,” said Victoria Day, spokeswoman for the Air Transport Association.</p>
<p>As policies get fine-tuned, TSA and airlines say they’re committed to the principle of religious freedom, both in airports and at 30,000 feet. But legal experts caution that claims of religious freedom face limits and don’t ever trump security considerations.</p>
<p>“There’s no notion in our society that religion entitles you to opt out of reasonable security measures,” Broyde said.</p> | Security service, airlines tread carefully on religious expression | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/securityserviceairlinestreadcarefullyonreligiousexpression/ | 3 |
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<p>A teenager and her family are suing a fraternity from the University of South Florida and its national body, accusing that one of the fraternity members sexually assaulted the girl while she was unconscious at a party the fraternity hosted.</p>
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<p>The girl was just 16 at the time of the alleged sexual assault. Identified only as Jane Doe No.72, she was joined by her parents and attorney Herman Law in filing a suit in Hillsborough County last week. They are seeking $5 million in damages, plus the court costs and a jury trial.</p>
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<p>The Pinellas County resident teenager says Pi Kappa Phi member Dillon LaGamma, 19, raped her after she was egged on to drink more than she could handle to the point of losing consciousness. She became unresponsive and only woke up the next morning to find herself in the hospital.</p>
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<p>In their lawsuit, the girl says she visited the University of South Florida campus last October with her two older sisters. Pi Kappa Phi was then throwing a party. Fraternity members appeared to be checking IDs outside of the house in Greek Village, but they said to the sisters that they were just "making it look like they were checking IDs so they didn't get in trouble."</p>
<p>The lawsuit further states that once inside, the teenager was handed a pre-poured mixed drink that became one too many. No one among the fraternity members who were of majority age bothered to ask for the teenager's age and also her level of inebriation. Instead, they exerted pressure on her to drink a "slap bag" filled with alcohol. The lawsuit says the girl became too drunk, incoherent and barely able to stand.</p>
<p />
<p>At that point, it is alleged that LaGamma then took the teenager into a room. There was no way she would have given her consent considering her state and her age. The lawsuit accuses LaGamma of having sex with the teenager's "unconscious body."</p>
<p />
<p>Another fraternity member took the girl to the hospital. The teenager says the next thing she remembers is waking up at the hospital with her clothes soaked in blood.</p>
<p />
<p>The following day, an assault charge was reported to the police. LaGamma was arrested, and the University of South Florida's Pi Kappa Phi chapter was suspended.</p>
<p />
<p>La Gamma is no longer enrolled at the same university. He was also released on bail after his booking. He faces sexual battery charge of a victim older than 12 but younger than 18.</p>
<p>Pi Kappa Phi at the University of South Florida, however, managed to lighten their suspension to probation after it re-examined its procedure for managing risk. It is prevented from hosting any social events that will involve alcohol until 2017. All its activities have to be cleared first by university officials.</p>
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/usf-fraternity-hit-with-lawsuit-alleging-sexual-assault-of-teen-at-party/2329931" type="external">http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/usf-fraternity-hit-with-lawsuit-alleging-sexual-assault-of-teen-at-party/2329931</a></p> | Roofied Young Teen Sues University of South Florida Frat for $5 Million | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/5032-Roofied-Young-Teen-Sues-University-of-South-Florida-Frat-for-5-Million | 2017-07-12 | 0 |
<p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. Navy patrol boat fired warning shots Tuesday near an Iranian vessel that came close to it during a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf, an American defense official said.</p>
<p>The incident involving the USS Thunderbolt, a Cyclone-class patrol ship based in Bahrain as part of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, is the latest confrontation between Iranian vessels and American warships.</p>
<p>The Thunderbolt was taking part in an exercise with American and other coalition vessels when the Iranian patrol boat approached it, the official said. The Iranian ship did not respond to radio calls, flares and sirens as it came within 150 yards of the Thunderbolt, forcing the U.S. sailors aboard to fire the warning shots, the official said.</p>
<p>The Iranian boat went “dead in the water” after the shots and the vessels all left the area without further incident, the official said.</p>
<p>The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the incident had yet to be made public. Iranian officials and state-run media there did not immediately acknowledge the incident.</p>
<p>Iran and the U.S. frequently have tense naval encounters in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy recorded 35 instances of what it describes as “unsafe and/or unprofessional” interactions with Iranians forces in 2016, compared to 23 in 2015.</p>
<p>Of the incidents last year, the worst involved Iranian forces capturing 10 U.S. sailors and holding them overnight. It became a propaganda coup for Iran’s hard-liners, as Iranian state television repeatedly aired footage of the Americans on their knees, their hands on their heads.</p>
<p>Iranian forces view the American presence in the Gulf as a provocation by itself. They in turn have accused the U.S. Navy of unprofessional behavior, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil trade by sea passes.</p> | Official: US Navy Ship Fires Warning Shots Near Iranian Ship | false | https://newsline.com/official-us-navy-ship-fires-warning-shots-near-iranian-ship/ | 2017-07-25 | 1 |
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Carponizer-carp-fishing-calendar-2017/dp/3981747224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1484705955&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=carponizer" type="external">Carponizer</a>, an online retailer that offers its clients the best in “high-end carp equipment,” has found a new special combination. Like peanut butter and jelly or cookies and milk, Carponizer’s Hendrik Pöhler has married together attractive women with the popular&#160;activity of carp fishing.</p>
<p>This mixture of sex appeal and fish has already started turning heads all across the world. For his part, Pöhler told <a href="http://www.maxim.com/women/2017-carp-calendar-2016-12" type="external">Maxim</a>&#160;the idea came to him while he was fishing one day with “two hot girls.”&#160;After this revelation, he decided to strike at&#160;what he considers the two greatest desires of men—to see women naked and to catch big fish.</p>
<p />
<p>By appealing to red-blooded fishermen, Carponizer hopes to drum up more revenue for their company. However, one look at their <a href="https://twitter.com/carponizer?lang=en" type="external">Twitter</a> page makes clear that fact that Carponizer care more about selling their calendar than any fishing equipment.</p>
<p>And who can blame them?</p>
<p>The freshwater member of the Cyprinidae family is nowhere near as appealing as a nude Nordic blond or a well-tanned model from Bavaria. Somehow, when thrust together, the women in the calendar make carp look more appealing (although this is not always the case).</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Featured image via <a href="https://twitter.com/carponizer?lang=en" type="external">Twitter.</a></p> | German Calendar Has Fish And Naked Woman – Strange But Weirdly Sexy (VIDEO) | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2017/01/18/this-german-calendar-has-fish-and-naked-woman-strange-but-weirdly-sexy-video/ | 2017-01-18 | 4 |
<p>TRACK 1</p>
<p>“Que Beleza”</p>
<p>From Tim Maia’s Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia</p>
<p>LUAKA BOP</p>
<p>Liner notes: Leading a mellow orchestra of tropical brass, sexy percussion, and smoking funk guitar, Maia celebrates beauty and joy on this ’74 gem.</p>
<p>Behind the music: The notoriously eccentric Maia (1942-1998) brought deep R&amp;B to Brazil’s fertile ’70s scene, sparking the Black Rio movement that fused African and local sounds. An acid enthusiast, he spent two years in the UFO-obsessed Racional Energy cult.</p>
<p>Check it out if you like: Eclectic innovators like Funkadelic, Os Mutantes, and the Isley Brothers.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>This review originally appeared in our <a href="" type="internal">November/December</a> issue of Mother Jones.</p> | Music Review: “Que Beleza” by Tim Maia | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/music-review-que-beleza-tim-maia/ | 2012-11-19 | 4 |
<p>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says it has reached a deal to renew Gerard Pique’s contract until 2022, adding a buyout clause of 500 million euros ($611 million).</p>
<p>The club says the deal will be formalized in the coming days. His current contract was to expire later this year.</p>
<p>Pique, who will turn 31 in February, began playing with Barcelona in 1997 when he was 10. He joined Manchester United in 2004 and returned to Barcelona in 2008 under coach Pep Guardiola.</p>
<p>He has played more than 420 matches with the Catalan club, scoring 37 goals and winning 25 titles, including three Champions Leagues, six Spanish leagues and three Club World Cups.</p>
<p>Lionel Messi has the club’s highest buyout clause, set at 700 million euros ($856 million).</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Spanish soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga</a></p>
<p>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says it has reached a deal to renew Gerard Pique’s contract until 2022, adding a buyout clause of 500 million euros ($611 million).</p>
<p>The club says the deal will be formalized in the coming days. His current contract was to expire later this year.</p>
<p>Pique, who will turn 31 in February, began playing with Barcelona in 1997 when he was 10. He joined Manchester United in 2004 and returned to Barcelona in 2008 under coach Pep Guardiola.</p>
<p>He has played more than 420 matches with the Catalan club, scoring 37 goals and winning 25 titles, including three Champions Leagues, six Spanish leagues and three Club World Cups.</p>
<p>Lionel Messi has the club’s highest buyout clause, set at 700 million euros ($856 million).</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Spanish soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga</a></p> | Barcelona renewing Gerard Pique’s contract until 2022 | false | https://apnews.com/ea69f46b4c824b2d90e6d515f5ca9687 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>German factory production rose strongly in August, more than making up for modest declines in the previous two months.</p>
<p>The Economy Ministry said Monday that industrial production rose by a monthly rate of 2.6 percent in August, according to figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar factors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The rise followed a decrease of 0.1 percent in July and 1 percent in June.</p>
<p>ING economist Carsten Brzeski says the August data should allay concerns about the strength of industry.</p>
<p>He says "the weak spot" over the past few years, investment and industrial production are "increasingly and steadily" showing "signs of revival."</p> | German factory production rises in August, allaying fears | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/09/german-factory-production-rises-in-august-allaying-fears.html | 2017-10-09 | 0 |
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<p>The GOP senators sent a two-page letter to the White House saying that remaining in the international agreement signed by Trump’s predecessor pledging to reduce carbon emissions could fuel legal challenges to the administration’s push to roll back environmental regulations.</p>
<p>Most of the senators who signed are from states that depend on the continued burning of coal, oil and gas. That includes Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe and others who, like Trump, have suggested the scientific data showing the Earth is warming due to man-made carbon emissions is a hoax.</p>
<p>The letter signers account for fewer than half of Senate Republicans. A similar letter was also sent to Trump this week by attorneys general from 10 Republican-led states, including oil-rich Texas and coal-dependent West Virginia.</p>
<p>Trump pledged during the presidential campaign to “renegotiate” the accord, but he has wavered on the issue since winning the presidency. His top officials have appeared divided about what to do about the 2015 deal, which was signed by nearly 200 countries.</p>
<p>There are also influential voices urging Trump not to ditch the Paris accord. Forty Democratic Senators sent Trump a letter earlier this week urging him to stay in, saying a withdrawal would hurt America’s credibility and influence on the world stage.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Hundreds of high-profile businesses have spoken out in favor of the deal, including Apple, Google and Walmart. Even fossil fuel companies such as Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell say the United States should abide by the deal.</p>
<p>During Trump’s visit to Rome this week, Pope Francis also urged Trump to take climate change seriously.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Associated Press environmental reporter Michael Biesecker at <a href="http://www.Twitter.com/mbieseck" type="external">www.Twitter.com/mbieseck</a></p> | 22 GOP senators want US to pull out of Paris climate accord | false | https://abqjournal.com/1008600/22-gop-senators-want-us-to-pull-out-of-paris-climate-accord.html | 2 |
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<p>I don’t know Dr. Tom Taylor.</p>
<p>But I understand his situation when he decided to attend Republican Congressman Tom Reed’s town hall this morning in Ithaca, NY, where I work at Cornell Law School. In case you were unaware, Ithaca is like Berkeley, California, only smaller.</p>
<p>Ithaca is in the NY-23 District. Reed has won in landslides the last two elections against Democratic challengers backed by national money. While no one is a sure thing, he is in a very strong position in this mostly conservative district.</p>
<p>Ithaca is an anomaly in the District. In fact, Reed twice ran campaigns lambasting “Extreme Ithaca Liberals.” This ad against Martha Robertson in 2014 irked many Ithaca progressives:</p>
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<p />
<p>So when Reed comes to Ithaca, it’s not seeking votes. He says it’s because he wants to hear all voices in the District, but a part of me thinks he just wants to prove he’s not afraid to take the heat from “extreme Ithaca liberals.”</p>
<p>You may recall my report from February 24, 2017, regarding an earlier group of Reed town halls in the western part of the vast NY-23 district. Those town halls were hours from Ithaca, yet many from Ithaca went to those distant town halls for the purpose of disruption, as I documented in&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Here’s how liberal activists astroturfed town hall protests against Rep. Tom Reed (#NY23)</a>.</p>
<p>Reed, who has done over 200 town halls in the district in the past several years (according to him), scheduled another round of town halls today, with the first one being in Ithaca starting at 8 a.m. Not surprisingly, several hundred people turned up, with many not being able to gain admission for lack of room.</p>
<p>The town hall went pretty much as you would expect. You can view the entire live stream at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theithacavoice/videos/1089528971159010/" type="external">Facebook page</a> of The Ithaca Voice. Most of the chants, shouts, signs and “questions” were about Obamacare and the Republican effort to repeal and replace. There were many pre-printed signs stating “Disagree.”</p>
<p>There also was a lot of pontificating and speechifying by the crowd. Often questions were more like statements and declarations.</p>
<p>Reed is a Pro at this. He seems to love engaging with a hostile audience, something I noticed when I saw him at a <a href="" type="internal">town hall at Cornell in 2013</a>, where he was targeted by Democratic activists and operatives.</p>
<p>There was, however, one voice of dissent in the crowd, the aforementioned Dr. Tom Taylor, a Reed supporter who says he didn’t vote for Trump, but liked Reed’s Trump-supportive platform on Obamacare and other issues.</p>
<p><a href="https://ithacavoice.com/2017/03/ithaca-hundreds-line-tom-reed-town-hall-waiting-since-4-m/" type="external">The Ithaca Voice</a>&#160;interviewed Dr Taylor:</p>
<p>But Dr. Tom Taylor was among the first few hundred people in line and he has a different message for Reed.</p>
<p>“…Do not forget the people who got you elected on the basis of your promises and the agenda you promised to enact. You do not lose elections by keeping your promises. You lose the election by breaking your promises,” he said.</p>
<p>Taylor is among the 149,779 people who re-elected Reed to public office in November.</p>
<p>“As a doctor, I’ve seen the direct results of Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act, and it has been an unmitigated disaster,” he said.</p>
<p>He said that while some people have been helped by the ACA, he has seen that most people’s healthcare plans have changed in undesirable ways, such as through higher costs or fewer choices.</p>
<p>But he’s also not in full support of new proposals for healthcare announced by the Trump administration this week. He said he wants to see market reforms and more competition in health care.</p>
<p>He said, “I was promised by the president and by Congressman Reed that we would repeal Obama Care, not substitute something which is Obama Care Light.”</p>
<p />
<p>Dr. Taylor attended the town hall with a red hat that saying “Make America Great Again.” He may not have voted for Trump, but he certainly seems like a Trump supporter now.</p>
<p>Dr.Taylor tried to ask a question, but was heckled so badly he had trouble getting it out. He finally ended up asking Reed to hold true to his campaign promises.</p>
<p />
<p>Welcome to my world.</p>
<p>Update 3-15-2017: After this post ran, Dr. Taylor contacted me to clarify that while he didn’t vote for Trump in the primary, he did vote for Trump in the general election. He also reminded me that we once met briefly after a speech I gave to a Tea Party group in Horseheads (NY) several years ago.</p>
<p>[Featured Image Credit: <a href="https://ithacavoice.com/2017/03/gallery-best-photos-tom-reed-town-hall-ithaca/" type="external">Alyvia Covert/The Ithaca Voice</a>]</p> | VIDEO: Lone Trump supporter heckled at Rep. Tom Reed town hall in Ithaca (#NY23) | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2017/03/video-lone-trump-supporter-heckled-at-rep-tom-reed-town-hall-in-ithaca-ny23/ | 2017-03-11 | 0 |
<p>NEW YORK — Mylan faced new scrutiny over price hikes for its anti-allergy EpiPen on Tuesday, with U.S. lawmakers calling for a probe of oversight of the company’s rebates to government healthcare plans, while West Virginia said it was investigating whether Mylan defrauded its Medicaid department.</p>
<p>Mylan is grappling with a growing backlash from U.S. consumers, lawmakers and prosecutors over EpiPen prices, which have risen from about $100 in 2007 to more than $600 for a pair of the devices. The EpiPen delivers a dose of epinephrine, an antidote to a severe and potentially deadly allergic reaction to anything from nuts to bee stings.</p>
<p>The rising cost has made it difficult for many families to afford, prompting a public outcry that has resonated with legislators.</p>
<p>Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch is to <a href="" type="internal">testify about EpiPen price hikes on Wednesday before an oversight committee of the House of Representatives</a>. Bresch is the daughter of Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia.</p>
<p>Ahead of the hearing, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee said they were concerned that Mylan was allowed to inappropriately classify EpiPen as a generic drug, reducing the potential discounts to the government’s Medicaid health program for the poor.</p>
<p>“We are concerned that the controls in place, if any, are inadequate to ensure that Medicaid is receiving the full amount of rebates afforded to it by law,” the Senate Republicans, led by Orrin Hatch of Utah, said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Senate Panel Opens Probe of EpiPen Price Hike</a></p>
<p>Under current law, branded drugs, and generic drugs available from a single source, are subject to a rebate of at least 23.1 percent of the average manufacturer price for Medicaid. Non-innovator drugs are subject to a much lower 13 percent rebate.</p>
<p>The Finance Committee Republicans are asking Inspector General Daniel Levinson to examine the federal health agency's oversight of the rebate program.</p>
<p>Mylan has said it has complied with all laws and regulations regarding rebates.</p>
<p>Also on Tuesday, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he was investigating the rebates and the possibility that Mylan violated the state's antitrust law when it sued and settled with a would-be generic competitor. Mylan spokeswoman Nina Devlin said the company was cooperating with the investigation.</p>
<p>EpiPen has also posed a cost burden to the federal Medicare health program for the elderly, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy research group. Before rebates, EpiPen costs for Medicare Part D shot up more than 1,000 percent between 2007 and 2014, from $7 million to $87.9 million, the report said.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Industry Insiders Estimate EpiPen Costs No More Than $30</a></p>
<p>While rebates to Medicare, which are not disclosed by the program, would have offset the cost to a degree, it was still far higher than a 164 percent increase in EpiPen prescriptions to Medicare patients, the report said.</p>
<p>Mylan said last month it would expand discount programs to help individual consumers and plans to launch a generic version of EpiPen for $300 per two injectors. It has defended the device's high price, saying it spent hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the product and recoups less than half the list price.</p>
<p>Also on Tuesday <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/20/family-matters-epipens-had-help-getting-schools-manchin-bresch/90435218/" type="external">USA Today reported</a>that after Bresch's mother, Gayle Manchin, became president of a national state board of education group, the organization began publishing <a href="http://www.nasbe.org/wp-content/uploads/Anaphylaxis-Discussion-Guide_10-30-13.pdf" type="external">discussion guides</a> and <a href="http://www.nasbe.org/partners/nasbe-launches-epinephrine-policy-initiative/" type="external">policy initiatives</a> to increase access to epinephrine auto-injectors in schools.</p>
<p>Manchin responded to the reports in a statement Tuesday saying:</p>
<p>"After the death of a child in school from anaphylactic shock, I felt it was my responsibility to do everything I could to prevent this from ever happening again. My only concern and motivation, was, and always will be, how we can protect as many children as possible.”</p>
<p>A spokesperson for the company also said the story was "factually inaccurate in its core premise, as well as in numerous other assertions," in an emailed statement to NBC News.</p> | Senate Republicans Seek Probe of Mylan’s EpiPen Oversight | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/senate-republicans-seek-probe-mylan-s-epipen-oversight-n651546 | 2016-09-21 | 3 |
<p>The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/07/amnesty-for-gay-men-convicted-under-outdated-laws-extended-to-northern-ireland" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>An amnesty for gay and bisexual men convicted of consensual sex with people of the same sex has been extended to Northern Ireland. Until Wednesday, the region was excluded from legislation that posthumously pardons men convicted of sexual offences that are no longer illegal and allows the living to apply to have convictions overturned.</p>
<p>The legislation did not apply to Northern Ireland because justice powers have been devolved to the Stormont parliament since 2010. But an amendment to the policing and crime bill tabled in the House of Lords by Lord Lexden on Wednesday was passed, and means that hundreds of Northern Irish gay and bisexual men can apply to have their names cleared of such offences.</p>
<p>Announcing the measure, Northern Ireland Office minister Kris Hopkins said: “It is hugely important that we pardon people convicted of historical sexual offences who would be innocent of any crime today. While respecting that this is a devolved issue in Northern Ireland, both the secretary of state and I voted in support of equal marriage in England and Wales in 2013 and will continue to advocate LGBT equality issues across the UK.</p>
<p>An applicant from Northern Ireland will now be eligible for a “disregard” if the other person involved consented and was aged 17 or over at the time, and the conduct would not now constitute the offence of sexual activity in a public lavatory. The Northern Ireland Department of Justice must be satisfied that the conduct is no longer criminal. A similar scheme operates for offences in England and Wales.</p>
<p>The Scottish Parliament is readying its own “Turing law.” As I’ve noted in previous reports on this issue, some men convicted under the old laws say they will refuse any pardon because accepting one is a tacit admission of guilt. These men want a flat apology and for all records to be expunged.</p> | BRITAIN: House Of Lords Extends Pardons For Archaic Sodomy Laws To Gay/Bi Men In Northern Ireland | true | http://joemygod.com/2016/12/08/britain-house-lords-extends-pardons-archaic-sodomy-laws-gaybi-men-northern-ireland/ | 2016-12-08 | 4 |
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<p>CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Four UNM women’s golfers were named All-American Scholars by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association on Wednesday;&#160; Katerina Jaeger, Eva Saulnier, Alexandra Moisand and Ingrid Gutierrez.</p>
<p>Coach Jill Trujillo’s Lobos had a team GPA of&#160; 3.88 in the spring. It was the 10th straight semester UNM was 3.7 GPA or higher.</p>
<p>Western New Mexico’s Bobbi Pierson, Adrianna Grijalva, Shelby Turner and freshman Brenda Dominguez were also named. The minimum cumulative GPA to qualify is 3.50.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Galloway wins playoff</p>
<p>Rio Rancho’s Jacque Galloway finished second and won a playoff last week at UNM Championship Golf Course to advance to the U.S. Junior Girls Championship (July 24-29) in Augusta, Mo.&#160; There were two spots available.</p>
<p>Jiayi Wang of Shanghai, China, shot 67 to win the qualifier while Galloway and Tania Nunez of Jalisco, Mexico, shot 72.</p>
<p>In the boys qualifier, only Jack Glenn of Stillwater, Okla., advanced to the national finals after shooting a 70.</p>
<p>Carlsbad’s Brad Cole (73) tied for fourth and Albuquerque’s Slater Sivage and Farmington’s Trey Diehl both shot 74.</p>
<p>Etc. …</p>
<p>The deadline to sign kids up for Albuquerque’s Drive Chip &amp; Putt qualifier is Friday at 3 p.m. The qualifier is at UNM Championship Golf Course on Wednesday. Sign up at drivechipandputt.com.&#160; There is no cost to enter.</p>
<p>•&#160;The deadline to sign up for the New Mexico-West Texas Women’s Amateur/Albuquerque’s Women’s Golf Championship is Friday.&#160; Information is available at suncountrygolf.org. The event is July 15-17 at Santa Ana Golf Club.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>•&#160;The Sun Country selected its Pacific Coast Amateur team: Greg Condon of Montrose, Colo., and Ben Albin and Marty Sanchez of Santa Fe. The players will compete at Chambers Bay, both individually and as a team, July 18-21.</p>
<p>Holes in One</p>
<p>CHRIS KRAHLING: Paa-Ko Ridge GC, No. 16, 123 yards, 9-iron, his second in less than two weeks</p>
<p>PAUL BERNIER: Los Altos GC, No. 7, 141 yards, 6-iron, his first</p>
<p>LEONARD TORRES: Tanoan CC, Sandia No. 2, 157 yards, 8-iron, his first</p>
<p>DOUG BYERS, Albuquerque: UNM North Golf Course No. 2, 150 yards, 7-iron, his third at the course</p>
<p>GORDON STALGREN: Isleta GC, Lakes No. 6, 165 yards, 5-iron, his first.</p>
<p>Double Eagle</p>
<p>KATHY COLLEY, Rio Rancho: Santa Ana GC, Star 9, No. 9 from the green tees, 405 yards, her second</p> | Golf briefs | false | https://abqjournal.com/1028688/golf-briefs-18.html | 2 |
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<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Thursday for his comments about referee James Williams.</p>
<p>Durant criticized Williams after he was ejected from Golden State’s 123-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Durant apologized Wednesday, saying after watching replays that he acted like a “diva” and a “jerk” and vowed to apologize directly to Williams in person.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Thursday for his comments about referee James Williams.</p>
<p>Durant criticized Williams after he was ejected from Golden State’s 123-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Durant apologized Wednesday, saying after watching replays that he acted like a “diva” and a “jerk” and vowed to apologize directly to Williams in person.</p> | Durant fined $15,000 for criticism of referee | false | https://apnews.com/eb8b7c003cb44abbae9097a6e780e10e | 2018-01-26 | 2 |
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<p>If you don’t want to watch Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show, you’re in luck!</p>
<p>Jen Lawrence, Patrick Howley, Dustin Stockton, and Matt Perdie of The America First Project will be doing a halftime Facebook Live that will be way more entertaining than watching some over-the-hill liberal dance singer.</p>
<p>Lady Gaga is probably going to pull some anti-Trump stunt that every news outlet will be talking about tomorrow. Who cares? Let’s watch the Patriots and Falcons, then tell the TV networks that you won’t watch their halftime trash, and come watch us. Then we’ll go back to watching the game.</p>
<p>John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.</p>
<p>Brady will be fine, everyone!</p>
<p>The America First Project is a new organization to fight the Left and push for policies in the Trump administration that don’t usually get pushed for. We want to tell you how to get involved with our group — which can lead to you telling us which projects you want us to do, and us working together on them.</p>
<p>The America First Project petition to de-fund the University of California, Berkeley over its Wednesday night riots has reached more than 10,000 signatures. Our Right Wing News video launching our “Defund Berkeley” campaign has gained more than 250,000 views.</p>
<p>We’ll see you at halftime!</p>
<p /> | TURN OFF Lady Gaga and Watch The Right Wing News Halftime Show! | true | http://rightwingnews.com/top-news/turn-off-lady-gaga-watch-right-wing-news-halftime-show/ | 2018-02-20 | 0 |
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<p>Al Zahera neighborhood, DAMASCUS — This brief update is not focused on the ever deteriorating grave conditions of Palestinians and Syrians displaced and often trapped inside dangerous areas on Damascus, where this observer had been visiting some of the 24 former Damascus public schools currently being used as shelters.</p>
<p>Rather it seeks to highlight the esprit de corps, solidarity, resistance, and good will among Palestinians here is Damascus who were forced from Yarmouk and other camps and how they are huddled and preparing for a harsh winter which one senses these frigid nights it not far off.</p>
<p>This is not to gainsay that every shelter is a very fragile social existence for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s), as aid agencies here refer to them. In the former schools there is no mazot (fuel oil) currently available to fire-up the furnaces and the among the needs at all the shelters are for “high-thermal” blankets, food, medicines&#160; winters clothe and shoes and knitted caps for the kids trekking early in the morning to government schools in the neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Thanks to the continuing cooperation between the Syrian government, particularly the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the United&#160;Nations Relief and Works Agency&#160;for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) many former public schools have been made available as emergency shelters.&#160; Additionally, the MOE has created double shift in many schools,&#160;offering youngster a&#160;7 a.m. to noon&#160;shift followed by a&#160;noon to 5 p.m.&#160;shift.</p>
<p>Prior to the armed conflict in Syria, Yarmouk, a suburb just south of Damascus city, was home to over 160,000 Palestine refugees. In December 2012 and in the months since, armed conflict has caused at least 140,000 Palestine refugees to flee their homes in Yarmouk, as armed opposition groups established a presence in the area, with government forces controlling the periphery. Between December 2012 and June 2013, civilians could still access UNRWA assistance at the Zahera entrance to Yarmouk. However, from mid-July 2013, Palestine thousands of refugees&#160;have been trapped in the area, with little or no access to shops or freedom of movement.</p>
<p>At among the 4 school-shelters in south Damascus near Yarmouk camp and the 8 in the nearby neighbored of al-Vvahra, some of which this observer visited, “The Fayadeen”&#160; elementary public school currently houses 56 families- half of them Palestinians totaling 260 people. At “Fayadeen” there is a clean large make-shift kitchen where approximately half a dozen families use at one time based on a schedule. &#160;The Syrian government and some NGO often deliver emergency food packages—most designed to feed a family of five for 15 days. &#160;“Fayadeeen” school also has a heavy duty Italian electric washing machine donated by a Palestinian businessman and which is shared by all. There is a high level of sanitation and shed housing toilets are clean.&#160; Three times a week, medical teams arrive to administer free government health care.&#160; US sanctions have cut off some urgently needed medicines, particularly for cancer patients and cases where weekly doses of medicines are required but often only monthly doses are now available. Shelter rules are enforced. For example, if a family does not enroll their 6-15 year old children in local public schools they are evicted. This observer was briefed at length and shown around by two Syrian professions basketball players on the National team, Hani and Mohamad who have placed their careers and family life on hold to manage four school shelters in a south Damascus.</p>
<p>Several Palestinians in the school shelters have been asking this observer if he has news about their countrymen still trapped inside Yarmouk.&#160; There is of increasing concern because their families report that desperately needed humanitarian assistance is still not able to be delivered, nor have repeatedly promised “humanitarian corridors” opened. Despite UNRWA’s numerous appeals and efforts, 32,000 Palestinian civilians and others who remain trapped in Yarmouk have had little or no freedom of movement or access to humanitarian assistance and in addition to facing death and serious injury from the armed conflict. Yarmouk’s civilian residents are exposed to psychological trauma, malnutrition, and a lack of health care. The UN Security Council’s Presidential Statement on the humanitarian situation on Syria adopted on 2 October, 2013, among other stipulations, called on all parties to grant full humanitarian access and “to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.”</p>
<p>Hope among the more than 100,000 refugees displaced from Yarmouk camp rises and sinks with on again off again announcements that militia will leave the camp to civilian Palestinian administration. Just this week a claimed settlement involving intense negotiation mediated by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to end the fighting in Yarmouk camp suffered collapsed, after opposition fighters close to Hamas insisted that they be included among the groups that will subsequently manage the affairs of the camp.</p>
<p>PLO officials had recently arrived at a preliminary agreement with the various Palestinian factions and opposition armed groups that would lead to a ceasefire but excluded Hamas and the PFLP-General Command led by Ahmed Jabril. Within 72 hours, another and still showing life signs, another proposal was announced on&#160;November 22. Under the terms of this “agreement”, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front Khaled Abdul Majid , that “the armed groups in the Yarmouk camp aka&#160; the“Palestinian Resistance Alliance factions” would be withdrawing from the camp “very soon”.</p>
<p>In statements to Al-Watan, Abdul Majid said: “What is happening in Yarmouk is that most of the armed factions have reestablished contact with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – The General Command, as well as the factions of the Palestine Resistance Alliance, after the initiative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (to solve the camp’s crisis) failed. These factions thus expressed their willingness to regulate their situation, handle the issue and withdraw from the camp.” He continued that the discussions with these groups were conducted via mediators, or in some cases through contacts with some of them.</p>
<p>This observer has witnessed the fact that since November 17, almost complete calm has been prevailing over Yarmouk.&#160; Services teams from the Palestine Aid Committee have been cleaning the camp’s streets and removing the dirt mounds.&#160; This observer has been invited inside Yarmouk to witness this process. Government permission is required and date of entrance is not fixed.</p>
<p>Some refugees from Yarmouk &#160;are hopeful but during interviews the past two days most expressed &#160;doubt that this latest initiative will succeed any more than the previous dozen.&#160; The coming few days will provide the answer.</p>
<p>Palpable fear is also evident because of the fast approaching winter with rumors of severe cold this year, A condition that will be much more severe among the 250 camps in the nearby Lebanese Bekaa valley particularly for the&#160;25 plastic wall and roof&#160; make-shift tents in &#160;25 emergency refugee camps that are particularly flood-prone and shared by Syrian and Palestinian refugees.</p>
<p>Hopefully subsequent updates on the Palestinian condition in Syra will allow for rather more detail regarding many examples of Palestinians helping Palestinians regarding community assistance to their sisters and brothers.&#160; But a brief example about a wonderful family is fixed in this observers mind.</p>
<p>It relates to the Khalid al Jrahi family from Haifa now living in “Taher al Jazari” public school shelter.&#160; Mr. al Jrahi granted permission to this observer to use his name publicly because he wants friends and relatives with whom he has lost contact since the events of&#160;December 17, 2013&#160;which leveled some of his neighborhood in Yarmouk, to know that his family is alive and relatively well.</p>
<p>What a spectacular family, including five teenaged and early 20s girls and two boys. How deeply impressed this observer is the esprit among these sisters, their charisma, charm and dedication to helping others among the approximately 260 refugees sharing the school while eschewing complaints about the own plight.&#160; The Al Jrahi family lives in a space probably ten feet wide and 20 feet long. Foam mattresses are neatly stacked along the walls and pillows and clothing stacked in the corners. &#160;A clothes line runs along one side of the room which is walled by an UNHCR white and blue lettered plastic tarp separating their neighbors.&#160; Shocking?&#160; Yes, but inspiring certainly.&#160; The girls, whose English is quite good, explained why and how they set up a school for pre-K’s in this and one other shelter.&#160; How organized it is. They showed me the ‘teaching manual’ they wrote and explained how they run their schools with occasionally donated pencils and crayons and notebooks for thee tots donated by a Palestinian NGOs or even foreign visitors.</p>
<p>We did not discuss politics, but two of the sisters reminded me of&#160;Jane Austen’s character Eleanor and Marianne in Sense and Sensibility. Hala is the sensible and reserved eldest of al Jrahi family daughters. She is in charge of the lesson plans for the informal ‘sisters schools’ in the shelter and carefully instructs her younger impetuous Zeina on school rules for the children, trying to keep her&#160;attention and her younger sister focused. Hala showed this observer her English grammar notes that she in learning from a tattered UNWRA grammar book. She points to her perfect cursive hand written notes and asks me about “present participles”, “dangling modifiers” and “past perfect tense”! &#160;When I last even heard these terms it was half a century ago and I have no idea what the even mean– if I ever did, which is questionable.</p>
<p>Her younger sister Zeina is all Austen’s character Marianne, and refuses to check her emotions and dramatically insists that she is ready to return to Yarmouk “despite the dangers even if I am killed going back home!”&#160; Her mother Fatima grimaces and Hala is disapproving when Zeina insists that she should teach the children dancing in the street outside the closed in-shelter as well as tree climbing so they “can properly express themselves under the sky.”</p>
<p>Rather wistful and not wanting to leave this family or the shelter, this observer and his companion left the wonderful Al Jrahi family wondering if Ms. Sense or Ms. Sensibility would triumph or if these two remarkable sisters in fact constituted a good balance to one another as they serve their fellow countrymen in emergency shelters.</p> | Inside Emergency Damascene Shelters | false | http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/11/25/inside-emergency-damascene-shelters/ | 2013-11-25 | 1 |
<p>Since Andy Warhol’s death in 1987, I have been asked the same question at least a thousand times: Did you have any idea, when you were working for Andy in the 1970s, how important and expensive he would become? I sort of did, as did most of us who helped turn out his art, his films, his magazine, his books, his TV shows at his studio known as the Factory. But he definitely knew. Or knew that was what he wanted. Beneath Andy’s bewigged feyness and maddening nonchalance lay an iron will and limitless ambition, which he revealed only to a select few and then more as a slip of the mask than a shared confidence.</p>
<p>This has all become more obvious to me as time has passed, and I am able to look back on the thrilling, crazy, exhausting years documented in this book with greater clarity and detachment. As Billy Name, the photographer- in- residence at the first of Andy’s four successive</p>
<p>Factories (the one with the silver walls and nonstop parties), said in a 2006 PBS documentary, “He wanted it so much, to be successful. He didn’t want to be second- rate or an underling in any way. And he didn’t want to be first- class or top rank either. He wanted to be a superstar. He wanted to be a big nova that would eclipse everything. . . . That was the only thing that would satisfy Andy. And it happened.”</p>
<p>Now, a quarter century after his death, it has become almost a cliché to say that Andy Warhol was the most important artist of the second half of the twentieth century, just as Picasso was of the first half.</p>
<p>Was Andy a vampire? A prophet? A charlatan? He’s been called all three, repeatedly. Sometimes it seems a kind of transubstantiation has occurred, a commercial version of Catholic Communion, through which Warhol has become the world, and the world has become Warhol.</p>
<p>One cannot avoid Andy’s most prescient line—“In the future everyone will be world famous for fifteen minutes”—probably because it rings truer every day. He seems to have predicted everything. The O.J. Simpson slow-motion car chase, the Paris Hilton sex tape, Bill Clinton’s grand jury testimony in which off- screen inquisitors ask if he achieved orgasm before or after Monica Lewinsky—straight out of, respectively, Sleep, Blue Movie, and the Chelsea Girls confession scene in which Pope Ondine torments poor Ingrid Superstar about her alleged sins. Reality TV, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Wikileaks, Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal—all pure Warhol. A society in which narcissism, exhibitionism, and voyeurism run rampant, celebrity and notoriety have merged, and fame is the ultimate goal—Andy would feel right at home.</p>
<p>But a gift for prophecy does not fully explain Warhol’s omnipresence, nor why massive numbers of people who know almost nothing about art relate to his. Andy always thought big, and went for big, simple, slam- bang images—Soup Cans, Dollar Signs, Torsos, Skulls.</p>
<p>Not for him the obscurities of Johns, the encrustations of Rauschenberg, the refinements of Lichtenstein, or the poetics of Twombly, darlings of the cognoscenti all, but not global superstars on the order of action-movie heroes. Perhaps Warhol’s greatest talent was for making art that was simultaneously simple and complex, obvious and subtle.</p>
<p>All the great modern American themes—individualism, capitalism, consumerism, religion, sex, addiction, death—are there, but presented so casually, even flippantly, as to make them easy to go down, to make them cool, as Gagosian would say. Andy always credited his success with being in the right place at the right time—and that he was. During the second half of the twentieth century America was the new Rome, the dominant world empire, but a very insecure one, eager to assert itself but increasingly ashamed of having done so. In Warhol it found its self-image, ready-made for idolatry and mockery. Not surprisingly, the wise old Europeans got him—got us—way before we did.</p>
<p>Of course, there are those who have not fallen under the Warhol spell. For them, Andy was the Chauncey Gardiner character in the 1979 movie Being There: a simpleton turned into a god for uttering pseudo profundities, such as “Life is a state of mind.” One of Warhol’s severest critics was also one of his closest collaborators. Paul Morrissey, the director of most of the feature films produced by Warhol, including Flesh, Trash, and Heat, maintains that Andy was essentially untalented and dependent on his associates for all of his ideas. “Andy’s entire vocabulary consisted of ‘gee,’ ‘wow,’ and ‘oh, really.’” Paul told my parents when we visited him in Montauk after Andy had died. “Your son and Pat Hackett put all those big words in Andy’s mouth in his so- called Philosophy book that made people think he was brilliant. The only thing Andy could think to say after he met people was ‘Are they rich?’ and ‘Are they Jewish?’ ”</p> | Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Andy Warhol | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-we-cant-stop-talking-about-andy-warhol | 2018-10-05 | 4 |
<p>There are three essential differences between the social movements of right and left during the Obama years. One is money. The second is media. And the third is seriousness about winning and holding power, a necessary condition for both winning and holding power.</p>
<p>The most impressive movement on the right in decades, not counting the apocalyptic evangelical Christians (with which it partly overlaps), the Tea Party, is, first of all, wealthy. This wasn’t always the case; it was in some ways, at first, diffuse and grassroots, unified (if at all) by opposition to government—government mortgage assistance, government-financed health care, taxes, etc., and overarching, the devil’s own Barack Obama. However, quite early on, the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/30/covert-operations" type="external">Koch brothers</a> jumped in to help, along with with their tax-hating, deficit-hawk, union-busting, climate-change-denying Americans for Prosperity (AFP). To their minds, the essence of the movement was simply to make the rich richer. The Tea Party proceeded to pig out on the assistance of these very deep pockets, which supplied training, intelligence, and assistance in crafting policy ideas. Soon, AFP was pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into right-wing Republican campaigns, not least of which included paying for <a href="https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/jane-mayer-dark-money-review-koch-brothers-gop" type="external">staff in 17 states,</a> including Wisconsin and North Carolina, both of which went hard-right in no small part because of AFP’s anti-union campaigning.</p>
<p>The AFP plays the long game. That the Koch brothers were unable to find a suitably thrilling candidate to represent them in the 2016 Republican primaries does not detract from their importance in the current political constellation. Their intertwined goals, after all, have been to weaken the federal government and to bring corporate power to bear on democratic components of state government, not least through voting rights restrictions drawn up by the Koch-financed American Legislative Exchange Council ( <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/koch-brothers-alec-and-savage-assault-democracy/" type="external">ALEC</a>). They should be popping a lot of corks nowadays. Even though the Kochs were suspicious of Donald Trump, their New Hampshire director, Corey Lewandowski, was his first campaign manager. And their common interest was clear: in the short run, demonizing Hillary; in the longer run, trashing regulation and lowering taxes for the wealthy. To the Kochs and their allies, the ravaging of public-sector unions was not only a victory in itself for savage capitalism, but a nifty way to undermine Democratic funding.</p>
<p>By contrast, Occupy Wall Street scrounged for nickels and dimes. The United Federation of Teachers, National Nurses United, and other unions donated meeting space, sleeping bags, and tents—in thousands of dollars, not millions. So far as I know, their largest contribution came from Vermont’s <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/10/ben-jerrys-founder-occupy-wall-street-batmobile.html" type="external">Ben Cohen (he formerly of the eponymous ice cream), who reportedly</a> donated $65,000 for a sort of “Batmobile” to project progressive messages onto surrounding buildings. Black Lives Matter, for its part, has no known big donors. Community organizations are not comparably favored by big foundations. And however rancid runs the crackpot right’s fervor against George Soros, there is no left-wing equivalent to Americans for Prosperity. The closest thing is the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/democrats-democracy-alliance-liberal-donors-105972" type="external">Democracy Alliance</a>, a liberal ensemble whose investments go toward conventional political techniques, not the funding of organizational infrastructure that lasts past the next election.</p>
<p>It is perhaps of little surprise that the Tea Party was, from the start, well connected to the media galaxy—not least Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, which promoted their rallies gratis. Even more, by many accounts, the Tea Party was inspired by a CNBC commentator, <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/rick-santelli-tea-party-time/" type="external">Rick Santelli</a>, who in February 2009—one month into Obama’s first term—took to the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange to denounce Obama’s proposal to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. There is simply no equivalent on the left. To call MSNBC a left-wing equivalent of Fox News is a bad joke. Where on Fox are the equivalents of “Morning Joe” or the anodyne Andrea Mitchell, Brian Williams, and Chuck Todd?</p>
<p>The final important distinction is that, from early on, many Tea Party groups set out to conquer political power, and did rather well at it. The AFP’s money took over the Tea Party and turned it into a party-building and party-changing institution. The AFP and other Koch brothers enterprises, are, as Theda Skocpol has written, “parasites who depend upon the continued life of their host”—the Republican Party. The&#160;Koch network, she explains,</p>
<p>has been primarily focused on pulling the GOP policy agenda to the right by manipulating careers as well as money….AFP not only engages in electioneering and lobbying, but also offers very attractive career opportunities to Republicans. AFP is virtually a parallel political party set up to the right of the GOP, especially in the states below the level of the self-enclosed Koch directorate.&#160;AFP state directors very often come from GOP staff positions and, after working for the Kochs, go on to hold even more important posts directing Republican campaigns or running legislative or executive staffs that set policy agendas.</p>
<p>In the midterm elections of 2010, the Tea Party supported <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/us/politics/15teaparty.html?_r=1&amp;hp" type="external">138 Republicans</a> running for Congress. As of June 2016, they numbered 31 Representatives, one in eight House Republicans. Plainly, the groups in the Tea Party orbit have no aversion to politics as such; to the contrary. Once in the House and Senate, they sponsored a “Freedom” caucus in the Republican Party that was instrumental in the overthrow of John Boehner as House Speaker and in his replacement by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supermajority-of-house-freedom-caucus-to-back-paul-ryans-speaker-bid/2015/10/21/d7411964-781e-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html?utm_term=.3c954066c940" type="external">Paul Ryan</a>. No ambivalence about power here. Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/the-tea-party-movement-is-alive-and-well-and-we-saw-trump-coming-214469" type="external">Tea Party Patriots</a> claim to hold “webinars every Sunday evening except on holidays with hundreds of local leaders participating, discussing how to move forward on our issues…along with dozens of Monday conference calls with local tea party activists during the congressional session and countless teletownhalls featuring various national leaders.” They backed Ted Cruz in the Republican primaries, but once he crashed and burned, they swallowed their pride and threw in their lot with Trump—anything to crush Hillary Clinton. Since the election, though, they’re crowing: “Our values prevailed.” We’ll see.</p>
<p>Occupy Wall Street, in stark contrast, endorsed no one and ran no one for office. Famously, it made no political demands. This rejection of conventional politics was, for its anarchist core, a matter of principle—to those in the <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Occupy-Nation-Spirit-Promise-Street/dp/0062200925/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482767487&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=occupy+nation" type="external">inner movement</a>, politics was nothing more or less than a dirty charade orchestrated by a corrupt establishment. Of course, many veterans of the Occupy movement went on to join other movements, including fossil fuel divestment, and the Bernie Sanders campaign. And the movement no doubt contributed to popular debates on inequality and corporate power.</p>
<p>As for Black Lives Matter, it’s hard to say what its impact has been on police practices, though many public officials have seemingly been influenced by the discussions that emerged since the movement’s inception. In 2015, as Clare Foran wrote in <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/black-lives-matter/421839/" type="external">The Atlantic</a>:</p>
<p>Obama&#160; <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-to-announce-new-policing-standards-1431943381" type="external">called</a>&#160;for an end to transfers of certain kinds of military-style equipment from the federal government to police departments. In December, the Federal Bureau of Investigation&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fbi-to-sharply-expand-system-for-tracking-fatal-police-shootings/2015/12/08/a60fbc16-9dd4-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html" type="external">announced</a>&#160;a new effort to improve its tracking of fatal police shootings. And Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake both fired their police chiefs amid protests over police brutality.</p>
<p>However, the only prominent BLM figure, Deray McKesson, to have entered politics—running in the Democratic primary for mayor of Baltimore— <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/2016-mayor-race/bs-md-ci-deray-20160426-story.html" type="external">finished sixth,</a> with only 2 percent of the vote. McKesson has 630,000 Twitter followers, and won 3,077 votes. This was not a sign of political organization, this was a sign of its absence.</p>
<p>This has been partly because, from the Sixties onward, the activist left has been suspicious of political power. Leadership is often anathema, horizontal is better than vertical, spontaneity is better than structure, hierarchy is the work of the devil, steady organizational work a drag. As for media, the right has Fox News, Limbaugh, Hannity, Alex Jones, and the rest of the booming heads; the left has the fragments of identity politics, toothless letterhead “coalitions,” the “people’s mic,” and finger-wiggling at Occupy general assemblies—but, at best, a knack for changing the discourse, as for example, with Occupy’s “We Are the 99 percent” and BLM’s, well, “Black Lives Matter.”</p>
<p>Changing the discourse does matter. For contemporary breakthrough examples, consider “build a wall,” “extreme vetting,” “get the government off our backs,” “China’s eating our lunch,” and nothing Hillary Clinton said loudly or consistently enough. But do left-wing activists offer the promise of organization on the ground in a way that can become a gravitational force? Some Sanders activists, like <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-revolution-will-not-be-staffed-how-big-organizing-can-take-down-trump/" type="external">Becky Bond and Zack Exley</a>, believe the Sanders movement can serve as a template for big organization through the mobilization of volunteers. Whether a model built around a presidential candidate can be extrapolated to leadership training to win local and state office is another matter. There’s no precedent for it in American history.</p>
<p>To be sure, Exley worked hard in the grassroots effort for Howard Dean in 2004, and then again for Bernie Sanders in 2016. But neither effort, let it be noted, elected anyone. Can there be any doubt, therefore, that power matters?</p>
<p>In 2017, according to the historian <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/all-resistance-is-local-a-plan-of-progressive-action-for-the-trump-years/" type="external">Gary Gerstle</a>:</p>
<p>Prior to the 2010 election, there were only nine states in which the GOP controlled the governorship and both houses of the legislature. In 2017, there will be 26, more than four times what the Democrats will have. If the Democrats had not seen a loss of almost 1,000 state-level representatives since 2008, Hillary Clinton may well have had a sufficiently robust political machinery to put her over the top in key swing states.</p>
<p>Talk about voter suppression in many states.</p>
<p>Think about the Republican-dominated redistricting that in Pennsylvania, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Pennsylvania,_2012" type="external">in 2012</a>,&#160;put 13 Republican Congresspersons in the House (total vote: 48.77%) as against 5 Democrats (total vote: 50.28%).</p>
<p>Leave Comey’s intervention, and Assange-Putin’s, out of account. And still:</p>
<p>Think about Hillary Clinton losing <a href="http://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/ENR_NEW" type="external">Pennsylvania</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_in_Wisconsin,_2016" type="external">Wisconsin</a>, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/michigan" type="external">Michigan</a> by margins less than Jill Stein’s totals.</p>
<p>Movements generate energy, but energy unchanneled scatters into the air. Elections are not won with righteousness, but with arithmetic. How many times must this refrain be sung?</p> | Power Matters | true | http://democracyjournal.org/arguments/power-matters/ | 2017-01-17 | 4 |
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<p>Albuquerque saw its average home price increase 1.3 percent year over year as of June, but nudge down by 0.7 percent from the preceding May.</p>
<p>The small year-over-year increase placed the metro among the 98 largest metros to see prices rise. Only Worcester, Mass., and Little Rock, Ark., experienced a fall in prices.</p>
<p>The average price statewide rose 1.1 percent, placing New Mexico next to last among states for home price appreciation. Last-place Arkansas saw its average price drop by a miniscule 0.4 percent.</p>
<p>Nationwide, prices rose year over year by an average of 7.5 percent in June, as well as 1 percent from the preceding May, the Irvine, Calif.-based provider of real estate data and analysis reported Tuesday. Going back a year, the annual increase was a stronger 11.9 percent in June 2013, a double-digit percentage increase that was characteristic of home prices nationwide last year but not so much this year.</p>
<p>“Home price appreciation continued moderating in June with its slight month-over-month increase,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “This reversion to normality that we are finally experiencing is expected to continue across the country.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The national trend of a robust rise in prices has been driven largely by the housing recovery on the West Coast, led by increases of 11.5 percent in California and 11.3 percent in Nevada as of June. Two of New Mexico’s neighboring states are also at the forefront of the recovery, with Texas at 8.4 percent and Colorado at 7.9 percent.</p>
<p>June’s average price in New Mexico is 18.2 percent below the peak price set in May 2007, compared to home prices nationwide at 12.9 percent below the 2006 peak.</p>
<p>CoreLogic uses a huge database to track prices on the repeat sales of the same properties as they are bought and sold over time.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Corelogic: NM, ABQ trailing US in home price recovery | false | https://abqjournal.com/440985/year-over-year-us-home-prices-show-a-slowing-gain.html | 2 |
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<p>The list of complaints, of valid complaints about the American electoral system – about America’s democracy – is long and it must be addressed. But claims that the system is broken, or charges by publicity-hungry real estate moguls that this is not a democracy, are ridiculous.</p>
<p>The election of 2012, despite all it showed us about what is wrong with American democracy, showed most of all that democracy is alive and well in the U.S.</p>
<p>Millions of Americans are disappointed with the results. That’s further evidence that the results were not pre-ordained, that it was voters who decided who they wanted for president.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>When it was over, the man who won the most votes came out to extend a hand to those who did not vote for him, reiterating that he governs for all. The losing candidate accepted the voters’ verdict, and everyone got back to work. Despite the frustration on one side and the satisfaction on the other, nobody ever expected an outbreak of revenge, or that the results would be rejected. Americans believe, with good reason, that the election was fair and the outcome generally reflects the people’s wishes.</p>
<p>Sure, money plays an excessive role in American politics. But those who say it’s all about money should note that the wealthier candidate did not win. There were countless factors at work. The Citizens United decision, allowing corporations to spend freely to sway elections, is a travesty, but it did not derail the election. And Mitt Romney, the candidate who enjoyed support from the richest, most powerful people in the United States, failed to get a majority of the vote.</p>
<p>In the end, it’s about convincing the people that you would make a better president. Sometimes the candidate with more money does that. Sometimes he doesn’t.</p>
<p>And, by the way, the people who thought they could set the outcome of the election by writing a check with a lot of zeroes saw their cash evaporate with no tangible effect.</p>
<p>I’m not naive. I know America is no Capra-esque movie set. I know everyone is not equal when it comes to influencing who or how the country is governed. But I’ve heard too many people dismissing the system as a charade.</p>
<p>In this election, voters brought defeat to proponents of countless conspiracy theories. Wall Street did not pull all the strings, and neither did the oh-so-nefarious “Israel lobby,” catnip for those who see shadows lurking everywhere. And, by the way, did you notice America is no longer ruled at all levels by white men? Yes, most people have stopped noticing that. That in itself is an impressive achievement of this democracy.</p>
<p>Voters heard the case from two candidates with different political philosophies. Let us recognize that they were both competent, intelligent, qualified candidates. Neither was an extremist demagogue. Republican primary voters, by the way, deserve credit for unmasking and rejecting some of the most radical primary contenders.</p>
<p>Americans seem to have taken a measure of the country’s problems and found that the country faces stark choices. Voters, too, behaved like intelligent, competent participants of a democracy, not easily bribed by empty promises. No candidate could have won this time by offering to slash taxes across the board.</p>
<p>Voters quickly disposed of candidates that had no business in government, such as the ones (plural!) who made idiotic comments about rape.</p>
<p>Now, the aftermath of the election brings soul-searching, as it should. Republicans, in particular, are pondering the source of their defeat. It is for them to decide which way to steer. But I would suggest considering the possibility that their flirtation with the extreme right cost them this election, because despite the loud noises made by a few, American voters prefer reasonable, centrist positions.</p>
<p>For the country as a whole, I suggest a collective recognition that America is a strong, mature, functioning democracy. But one with problems that need to be corrected. Let’s hope the country’s leaders acknowledge the seriousness of the electorate, and respond with serious and constructive work of their own on the country’s many pressing problems.</p>
<p>And as they set to solve America’s problems, they should strive to correct the flaws in the country’s electoral system and try to build a more perfect democracy.</p>
<p>Frida Ghitis writes about global affairs for The Miami Herald. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. Distributed by MCT Information Services</p> | Election Shows Democracy Is Fine | false | https://abqjournal.com/146102/election-shows-democracy-is-fine.html | 2012-11-14 | 2 |
<p>Why let facts get in the way of a&#160;leftwing narrative?&#160;</p>
<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren's new anti-Trump ad, produced&#160;for MoveOn.org, attacks the GOP presumptive nominee on all the usual leftist talking points. You know: "he doesn't pay his fair share," and whatnot.&#160;</p>
<p>One&#160;man&#160;featured in the video seemed to come right out of central casting, given his mixed-race, middle-class&#160;family.&#160;</p>
<p>Images of Michael Levin and&#160;his family members&#160;were featured in the video while Warren narrates:&#160;"They pay their fair share" -- as if to say&#160;the Levin family is disgusted that Trump supposedly doesn't pay his.&#160;</p>
<p>Just one problem -- Levin is a Trump supporter who actually voted for the real estate tycoon during the primaries.&#160;</p>
<p>While news broke late last week about the Trump supporter being&#160;misused in Warren's ad, Levin spoke out on Sunday&#160;to set the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/06/26/man-featured-in-elizabeth-warrens-anti-trump-ad-voted-for-trump.html?intcmp=hpbt2" type="external">record straight</a>:&#160;</p>
<p>“On Monday I got a text from a friend who said, ‘Hey, I just saw you in the new Warren video attacking Trump.’ And I thought, ‘You've got to be kidding me,’” Levin told "Fox and Friends" on Sunday. “I watched the video, and to my shock and surprise, there I was.”</p>
<p>Levin and his family are featured in two clips about 2:30 into the Internet video. In the first, he’s helping his daughter strap on a bicycle helmet. In the second, Levin and his wife are shown gazing into the distance. Warren’s voiceover during the clips declares: “They pay their fair share.”</p>
<p>Anything Levin pays comes from his job as a writer. He’s contributed to The New York Daily News, Politico, The Huffington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He told "Fox and Friends" that he's written about Trump and 10 seconds of research would have revealed his actual feelings about the Manhattan mogul.</p>
<p>“I’m certainly not anti-Trump,” he said.</p>
<p>Research and facts are not Democrat strong suits, Levin. Don't be silly.</p> | Man Featured in Elizabeth Warren's Anti-Trump Ad Speaks Out: 'I'm Not Anti-Trump' | true | http://truthrevolt.org/news/man-featured-elizabeth-warrens-anti-trump-ad-speaks-out-im-not-anti-trump | 2018-10-03 | 0 |
<p>In a sign of how perilous the national economy is, The New York Times favors broadly reducing principal on underwater residential mortgages (“Not much relief”, July 5, 2009). “Everybody wins” according to the Times by resolving the collateral damage of a speculator-driven economy. Taxpayers win because they will not be required to dole out additional billions when the economy is dragged down further the rabbit hole.</p>
<p>But here is who doesn’t win: responsible homeowners who did not buy a bigger mortgage than they could reasonably afford, or, citizens who could have bought but rented or who otherwise remained on the sidelines during the speculative frenzy that turned home mortgages into gambling chips to enhance their standard of living. Why should these heroes be forced to pay?</p>
<p>The New York City residential real estate market is one of the most inflated in the world. That is the result, mainly, of the Wall Street juggernaut built on confections of debt. Now that markets for fraudulent debt has cratered and Wall Street is shriveling, inflated values for condominiums, apartments, and houses are collapsing, too.</p>
<p>The Times’ view is that reducing principal will establish a basement for the depression in residential real estate. But the tidal wave of foreclosures has already radically changed market values.</p>
<p>It is principle, not principal, that needs protecting. The buck has to stop somewhere.</p>
<p>As a card-carrying member of the hero class of homeowners, I ask: why should responsible taxpayers who violated no standards of fiduciary responsibility be forced to underwrite those who did? I was a refusenik. I did not buy into the housing market bubble or the culture of greed and speculation that plunged the US economy into the worst economic crisis since the Depression. Why should I pay, again and again and again?</p>
<p>Of course, all US taxpayers are all paying– hugely– for miscalculations of risk that passed as sound public policy by elected officials, Democrats and Republicans alike. All those business school degrees in high places didn’t add up to a hill of beans. The Alan Greenspans and Robert Rubins of the world have no place in the public realm. But in addition to their banishment on an Isle of Elba or Alcatraz, I have a counter-proposal on behalf of the hero class: if Congress and the Obama administration approves reducing principal for homeowner mortgages that are underwater, then home owners who did not chase the fireflies of unsustainable personal debt or do not benefit from their own TARP should be compensated.</p>
<p>Give the hero class, his or her due: a 30 year income tax holiday equivalent to the average amount of forgiveness of mortgages for the top bracket of income earners, compounded annually. Allow individuals to trade these hero class tax credits to profitable corporations for cash. Why the upper bracket and not the average of home values of reduced principal? Because the upper bracket of wage earners benefited mostly from and contributed to the speculative fever that is now destroying the national treasury.</p>
<p>This suggestion is only half in jest. If you weren’t part of the culture of greed and excess that marked the past decade, if you weren’t bailed out and haven’t been able to get your 100 cents on the dollar like Goldman Sachs, you don’t even have a party favor to remind you of what you missed. Welcome aboard.</p>
<p>My keyhole view into the operations of the US Treasury is from a low level of ordinary interest. I don’t know how much future national pain could be avoided by reducing principal of underwater mortgages today. Clearly, the New York Times has data that is not being reported. But I do know that reducing some principal on mortgages– self selected by past mistakes–, when neighbors aren’t given the same opportunity to profit, makes a mockery of contracts and is theft by any other name.</p>
<p>The bottom line: speculators who continue to agitate for the next bubble in the US economy need to be wrung from the system. Their bankrupt behavior and preferences wrecked the economy. Tragically, their interests are still represented in Washington more than mine and yours, notwithstanding “change we can believe in”.</p>
<p>ALAN FARAGO lives in south Florida. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Princple Over Principal | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/07/07/princple-over-principal/ | 2009-07-07 | 4 |
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<p>The reason may be the yellowish goo smeared on her 18-inch wound as she lay on the operating table. The Houston woman was helping test a novel medicine aimed at avoiding opioids, potent pain relievers fueling an epidemic of overuse and addiction.</p>
<p>Vicodin, OxyContin and similar drugs are widely used for bad backs, severe arthritis, damaged nerves and other woes. They work powerfully in brain areas that control pleasure and pain, but the body adapts to them quickly, so people need higher and higher doses to get relief.</p>
<p>This growing dependence on opioids has mushroomed into a national health crisis, ripping apart communities and straining police and health departments. Every day, an overdose of prescription opioids or heroin kills 91 people, and legions more are brought back from the brink of death. With some 2 million Americans hooked on these pills, evidence is growing that they’re not as good a choice for treating chronic pain as once thought.</p>
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<p>Drug companies are working on alternatives, but have had little success.</p>
<p>Twenty or so years ago, they invested heavily and “failed miserably,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.</p>
<p>Pain is a pain to research. Some people bear more than others, and success can’t be measured as objectively as it can be with medicines that shrink a tumor or clear an infection. Some new pain drugs that worked well were doomed by side effects — Vioxx, for instance, helped arthritis but hurt hearts.</p>
<p>Some fresh approaches are giving hope:</p>
<p>–“Bespoke” drugs, as Volkow calls them. These target specific pathways and types of pain rather than acting broadly in the brain. One is Enbrel, which treats a key feature of rheumatoid arthritis and, in the process, eases pain.</p>
<p>–Drugs to prevent the need for opioids. One that Hernandez was helping test numbs a wound for a few days and curbs inflammation. If people don’t have big pain after surgery, their nerves don’t go on high alert and there’s less chance of developing chronic pain that might require opioids.</p>
<p>–Funky new sources for medicines. In testing: Drugs from silk, hot chili peppers and the venom of snakes, snails and other critters.</p>
<p>–Novel uses for existing drugs. Some seizure and depression medicines, for example, can help some types of pain.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The biggest need, however, is for completely new medicines that can be used by lots of people for lots of problems. These also pose the most risk — for companies and patients alike.</p>
<p>ONE DRUG’S BUMPY ROAD</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, a small biotech company had a big idea: blocking nerve growth factor, a protein made in response to pain. The company’s drug, now called tanezumab (tah-NAZE-uh-mab), works on outlying nerves, helping to keep pain signals from muscles, skin and organs from reaching the spinal cord and brain — good for treating arthritis and bad backs.</p>
<p>Pfizer Inc. bought the firm in 2006 and expanded testing. But in 2010, some people on tanezumab and similar drugs being tested by rivals needed joint replacements. Besides dulling pain, nerve growth factor may affect joint repair and regeneration, so a possible safety issue needed full investigation in a medicine that would be the first of its type ever sold, said one independent expert, Dr. Jianguo Cheng, a Cleveland Clinic pain specialist and science chief for the American Academy of Pain Medicine.</p>
<p>Regulators put some of the studies on hold. Suddenly, some people who had been doing well on tanezumab lost access to it. Phyllis Leis in Waterfall, a small town in south-central Pennsylvania, was one.</p>
<p>“I was so angry,” she said. “That was like a miracle drug. It really was. Unless you have arthritis in your knees and have trouble walking, you’ll never understand how much relief and what a godsend it was.”</p>
<p>Her doctor, Alan Kivitz of Altoona Center for Clinical Research, has helped run hundreds of pain studies and consults for Pfizer and many other companies. “You rarely get people to feel that good” as many of them did on the nerve growth factor drugs, he said.</p>
<p>A drug with that much early promise is unusual, said Ken Verburg, who has led Pfizer’s pain research for several decades.</p>
<p>“When you do see one, you fight hard to try to bring one to the market,” he said.</p>
<p>An independent review ultimately tied just a few serious joint problems to tanezumab and the suspension on testing was lifted in August 2012. But a new issue — nervous system effects in some animal studies — prompted a second hold later that year, and that wasn’t lifted until 2015.</p>
<p>Now Eli Lilly &amp; Co. has joined Pfizer in testing tanezumab in late-stage studies with 7,000 patients. Results are expected late next year — about 17 years after the drug’s conception.</p>
<p>AVOIDING PAIN TO AVOID DRUGS</p>
<p>What if a drug could keep people from needing long-term pain relief in the first place? Heron Therapeutics Inc. is testing a novel, long-acting version of two drugs — the anesthetic bupivacaine and the anti-inflammatory meloxicam — for notoriously painful operations like tummy tucks, bunion removal and hernia repair.</p>
<p>Company studies suggest it can numb wounds for about three days and cut patients’ need for opioids by 30 to 50 percent.</p>
<p>There’s a good chance of preventing brain responses that lead to chronic pain if patients can get through that “initially very rough period,” said Dr. Harold Minkowitz, a Houston anesthesiologist who consults for Heron and treated Hernandez in the tummy tuck study.</p>
<p>Hernandez was part of an experiment testing the drug versus a placebo and doesn’t know whether she got the drug or a dummy medicine. But she hurt less than she expected to and never filled a prescription for pain pills.</p>
<p>“The goal would be to have half or more of patients not requiring an opiate after they go home,” said Heron’s chief executive, Barry Quart. “You have far fewer opiates going out into society, far fewer opiates sitting in medicine cabinets that make their way to a high school.”</p>
<p>Studies so far are mid-stage — too small to prove safety and effectiveness — but Heron plans more aimed at winning approval.</p>
<p>ON THE HORIZON</p>
<p>Many companies have their eyes on sodium channel blockers, which affect how nerves talk to each other and thus might help various types of pain. Others are testing cell therapies for nerve pain. Stem cells can modulate immune responses and inflammation, and may “overcome a raft of problems,” said Cheng of the pain medicine academy.</p>
<p>Some companies, including Samumed, Centrexion Therapeutics and Flexion Therapeutics, are testing long-acting medicines to inject in knees to relieve arthritis pain. Samumed’s aims to regenerate cartilage.</p>
<p>And then there’s marijuana. A cannabis extract is sold as a mouth spray in Britain for nerve pain and other problems from multiple sclerosis. But cannabinoid research in the U.S. has been hampered by marijuana’s legal status. A special license is needed and most researchers don’t even try to obtain one, said Susan Ingram, a neurosurgery scientist at Oregon Health &amp; Science University.</p>
<p>She is studying cannabinoid receptors in the brain, looking at how pain affects one type but not another. Such work might someday lead to drugs that relieve pain but don’t produce a high or addiction.</p>
<p>Selective activity has precedent: The drug buprenorphine partially binds to opioid receptors in the brain and has become “an extraordinarily successful medication” for treating addiction, said Volkow, of the national drug institute.</p>
<p>“It has shown pharmaceutical companies that if you come up with a good intervention, there is an opportunity to recover their costs,” she said.</p>
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<p>Marilynn Marchione can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP</a></p> | Overcoming Opioids: The quest for less addictive drugs | false | https://abqjournal.com/988822/overcoming-opioids-the-quest-for-less-addictive-drugs.html | 2017-04-16 | 2 |
<p>Someone (with a lot of time on their hands) made a supercut of dancing scenes from 86 movies from the 1990s. Those of us who grew up in the decade will recognize many of these great films. This supercut has the moments cut together to the song “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim.</p>
<p>The man behind the video, Robert Jones, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supercut-dancing-90s-movies_us_5862177be4b0de3a08f603eb" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“I worked in a music store (Blockbuster Music) from ‘96-’99 and wanted to choose something from that great period in my life. Hopefully, this video captures some of the feels of the period for you too.”</p>
<p>This video has scenes from movies such as Clueless, Titanic, 10 Things I Hate About You, Pulp Fiction, and&#160;Can’t Hardly Wait.&#160;Robert Jones is a video artist, and he has also done videos featuring 1980s movies.</p>
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<p>Featured image via YouTube <a href="https://youtu.be/q8bs2ihwK2c" type="external">screenshot</a>.</p> | My Fellow Millennials! This Video Will Hit You Right In The Childhood! | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2016/12/27/my-fellow-millennials-this-video-will-hit-you-right-in-the-childhood/ | 2016-12-27 | 4 |
<p>SCREENCAPTURE VIA NEW YORK TIMES</p>
<p>NEW YORK ( <a href="https://www.intellihub.com/new-york-times-columnist-drops-dead-newsroom-just-interviewing-nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden/" type="external">INTELLIHUB</a>) — David Carr, 58, a columnist for the New York Times, fell out dead in his office Thursday just after interviewing <a href="" type="internal">NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden</a> in a “Times Talks” episode which was captured on video via Google Hangouts.</p>
<p>Before Carr’s death he was said to have drawn out candid conversation with the whistleblower <a href="" type="internal">Snowden</a> about the release of secret documents and also touched on the new film “Citizenfour”.</p>
<p>During the interview Snowden gave information to Carr about a secret NSA encryption program. Moments later a clip of Citizenfour was also shown in which <a href="" type="internal">Snowden</a>, who sitting in bed at a hotel room at the time, was being interviewed by a journalist as fire alarms kept going off, promptly alerting Snowden to unplug his room phone.</p>
<p>Carr joined the New York Times in 2002 where his column “Media Equation” was typically posted in the Monday business edition.</p>
<p>Carr’s coworkers were shocked of his death and said that he was “special”, a “gifted” journalist with lots of “talent”.</p>
<p>Carr also <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/magazine/20Carr-t.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0" type="external">had a book published in 2008</a>, which he worked on for three years, titled “The Night of the Gun” which talked about his previous struggles with cocaine and how he eventually became a good father to his daughters and a columnist for the Times.</p>
<p>According to Tom McElroy with the AP, Carr was even teaching a “Boston University class that explored the creative business models to support digital journalism” as he was quite the busy guy.</p>
<p>Carr’s death will now likely be a hot topic amongst the <a href="" type="internal">conspiracy community</a> as Snowden was also responsible for leaking <a href="https://www.intellihub.com/flying-saucer-files-among-leaked-snowden-documents/" type="external">sensitive information</a> about at least one “flying saucer” or UFO incident.</p>
<p>Watch Carr’s final interview here:</p>
<p><a href="http://new.livestream.com/nytimes/events/3800646/videos/76929642" type="external">http://new.livestream.com/nytimes/events/3800646/videos/76929642</a></p>
<p>New York Times media columnist David Carr dies at age 58 — <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_CARR?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2015-02-12-23-39-47" type="external">AP</a></p>
<p>David Carr, Times Critic and Champion of Media, Dies at 58 — <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/business/media/david-carr-media-equation-columnist-for-the-times-is-dead-at-58.html" type="external">New York Times</a></p>
<p>Rieder: David Carr death latest shocker for journalism — <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2015/02/13/new-york-times-david-carr-dies/23336497/" type="external">USA Today</a></p>
<p>David Carr’s Outsize ‘Times’ Legacy — <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/13/david-carr-s-outsize-times-legacy.html" type="external">The Daily Beast</a></p>
<p>About the author:</p>
<p><a href="http://intellihub.com/bio-shepard-ambellas/" type="external">Shepard&#160;Ambellas</a>&#160;is the founder, editor-in-chief of&#160;Intellihub&#160;News&#160;and the maker of&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4VFYRaltcc" type="external">SHADE the Motion Picture</a>.&#160;You can also find him on&#160; <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shepardambellas" type="external">Twitter</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/shepardambellas" type="external">Facebook</a>. Shepard also appears on the Travel Channel series&#160; <a href="http://www.travelchannel.com/video/denver-airport-underground" type="external">America Declassified</a>. You can also listen to him on&#160; <a href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/ambellas-shepard/64680" type="external">Coast To Coast AM</a> with hosts, both, George Noory on “ <a href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2014/12/15" type="external">Chemtrails</a>” and John B. Wells on the “ <a href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2013/09/27" type="external">Alternative Media Special</a>“. Shepard Ambellas has also been featured on the <a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/" type="external">Drudge Report</a>, the largest news website in the entire world, for his provocative coverage of the Bilderberg Group.</p>
<p>For media inquires, interviews, questions or suggestions for this author, email:&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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<p /> | NYT columnist David Carr drops dead just hours after interviewing Edward Snowden | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2015/02/13/nyt-columnist-david-carr-drops-dead-just-hours-interviewing-edward-snowden/ | 0 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />Barack Obama who has aided the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Al Qaeda in Libya, is at it again.&#160; He will be arming Al Qaeda in it’s bid to overthrow Assad.&#160; Both previous actions led to the murders of Americans.&#160; (I wonder if Obama gets a tingle down his leg)&#160; In Egypt, the Brotherhood killed Christians on the streets and in Libya, Egypt and Al Qaeda combined to murder our ambassador and three others.</p>
<p>We saw that same thing in Mexico, where Obama armed the drug cartels, leading to at least 300 deaths.&#160; Apparently, Obama will not commit murder but he is perfectly willing to hold the coats and provide lunch and weapons for those who do.</p>
<p>Syrian Jabhat al Nusra Front chief Abou Mohamad al-Joulani&#160; <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/11/syria-al-qaeda-connection/2075323/" type="external">has pledged his support for Al Qaeda&#160;</a>and it’s current leader, Sheik Ayman al-Zawahri (Same last name as California shooter) and in return al- Joulani was promised support from the&#160;al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq.&#160; Yesterday, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57589252/u.s.-syria-used-chemical-weapons-crossing-red-line/" type="external">&#160;Obama said he would start sending military aid&#160;</a>to Syrian rebels.&#160; I guess he figures it worked so well in Libya, where he armed Al Qaeda, who later used some of those weapons in&#160; <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2012/11/17/benghazi_betrayal_may_be_a_coverup_of_american_weapons_in_hands_of_terrorists" type="external">raiding the embassy in Benghazi&#160;</a>and later in&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/algeria/9814510/Algeria-hostage-crisis-Most-weapons-used-in-attack-came-from-Libya.html" type="external">Algeria, where Americans were also killed</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, Obama was most supportive of overthrows that occurred during the Arab Spring.&#160; Well, except for in Iran.&#160; What made the Iran uprising different?&#160; It was the only country that already had a radical Muslim extremist government.&#160; Of course that could be a coincidence, but if I were you, I wouldn’t bet the rent money on it.</p>
<p>Obama is claiming that Syria has used chemical weapons on it’s people.&#160; I put nothing past Assad and I believe this war is the bad guys vs the worst guys, but it reminds me of the BBQ Janet Reno sponsored in Waco, Texas, ostensibly because the Branch Davidians were sexually molesting children.&#160; No proof of that ever came out, but the actions of Reno, led to the death of 25 children and 50 adults.</p>
<p>But what you have to understand is we have to believe Obama that Assad actually used chemical weapons.&#160; The White House claims that Assad used various chemical weapons, including ricin to kill up to 150 people.&#160; Judge Judy always says if it doesn’t make sense, it isn’t true.&#160; That may apply here.&#160; Several attacks and only 150 dead.&#160; Ricin is extremely deadly and <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/question722.htm" type="external">&#160;inhaling just 1 milligram is fatal</a>.&#160; So is it credible that Assad used ricin with such a small death toll?&#160; Possible, yes, probable, no.</p>
<p>Do not get me wrong, I feel Assad is very capable of using ricin, but the death toll would probably have been much greater.&#160; And when I did a search,&#160; <a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/06/13/red_lined_white_house_says_it_knows_for_sure_that_assad_used_chemical_weapons" type="external">almost&#160;all the accusations came from the US&#160;</a>and the few which came from other countries, cited US reports.&#160; Given the choice, Americans should be rooting for Assad.&#160; He may terrorize his own citizens, but he isn’t sending terrorists to American in the hope of doing us harm.&#160; That’s why it’s perfectly understandable that Obama is taking the opposite tack.</p>
<p>Obama claims that he only wants to support rebels not associated with terrorists.&#160; My question is where would he find such a group?&#160; In the end, this is just Obama’s attempt at Radical Islamist nation Building.&#160; Love your country but never trust your government.</p>
<p>Steven Ahle is the Editor of <a href="http://redstatements.co/" type="external">Red Statements</a> and a regular contributor to The D.C. Clothesline.</p>
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<p /> | OBAMA RUSHING TO AID AL QAEDA AGAIN | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/15/obama-rushing-to-aid-al-qaeda-again/?fb_source%3Dpubv1 | 2013-06-15 | 0 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Student performance on the SAT college entrance exam is lagging, continuing a mostly downward trend over the last five years.</p>
<p>The College Board says in a report that a record number of students took the exam.</p>
<p>The nonprofit organization, which administers the exam, said in a report released Thursday that the mean score in reading was 495, down from 497 the previous year. For math, it was 511, down from 513. Writing scores dropped three points, to 484 from 487. The top score in each category is 800.</p>
<p>The latest scores continue a decline since 2010, when the means were 500 in reading, 515 in math, and 491 in writing.</p>
<p>A record 1.7 million students from the Class of 2015 took the exam, up from 1.67 million in the 2014 class.</p>
<p>The College Board says about 42 percent of test-takers, more than 712,000 students, met a benchmark that indicates they’re likely ready for college-level work or career-training programs. The benchmark is a combined score of 1550 or higher for math, reading and writing. The percentage meeting that benchmark has largely remained the same in the last few years.</p>
<p>About 16 percent of African-Americans met that benchmark; 61 percent of Asian test-takers hit it, followed by about 53 percent of white test-takers, 33 percent of Native Americans and 23 percent of Hispanics.</p>
<p>“We know we can, and need, to do better,” says Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment for the Board. “Simply doing the same things we have been doing is not going to improve these numbers.”</p>
<p>The SAT exam is undergoing a major revamp that will roll out next year. The idea behind the update is to make the exam more representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward. The redesign will focus more on areas of math that matter most for college and career readiness, shift away from obscure vocabulary words, and eliminate the guessing penalty.</p>
<p>The College Board is also teaming up with online educator Khan Academy to offer free SAT practice to all students through diagnostic quizzes and interactive practice tests. They will be accessible to anyone with Internet access.</p>
<p>The report said there’s also been an increase in the number of students taking the Advanced Placement, or AP, exams and PSAT/NMSQT exam. Passing an AP exam can earn test-takers college credit. The PSAT/NMSQT test is sometimes viewed as a precursor to the SAT. It is used to assess student performance and as a qualifier for National Merit Scholarships.</p>
<p>About 3.8 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT test in the fall of 2014. AP exams were taken by about 2.5 million students in 2015.</p>
<p>More than 1.5 million students received a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam in 2015, up slightly from the previous year.</p>
<p>Depending on the school and the state, college credit may be awarded for scores of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exams.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Student performance on the SAT college entrance exam is lagging, continuing a mostly downward trend over the last five years.</p>
<p>The College Board says in a report that a record number of students took the exam.</p>
<p>The nonprofit organization, which administers the exam, said in a report released Thursday that the mean score in reading was 495, down from 497 the previous year. For math, it was 511, down from 513. Writing scores dropped three points, to 484 from 487. The top score in each category is 800.</p>
<p>The latest scores continue a decline since 2010, when the means were 500 in reading, 515 in math, and 491 in writing.</p>
<p>A record 1.7 million students from the Class of 2015 took the exam, up from 1.67 million in the 2014 class.</p>
<p>The College Board says about 42 percent of test-takers, more than 712,000 students, met a benchmark that indicates they’re likely ready for college-level work or career-training programs. The benchmark is a combined score of 1550 or higher for math, reading and writing. The percentage meeting that benchmark has largely remained the same in the last few years.</p>
<p>About 16 percent of African-Americans met that benchmark; 61 percent of Asian test-takers hit it, followed by about 53 percent of white test-takers, 33 percent of Native Americans and 23 percent of Hispanics.</p>
<p>“We know we can, and need, to do better,” says Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment for the Board. “Simply doing the same things we have been doing is not going to improve these numbers.”</p>
<p>The SAT exam is undergoing a major revamp that will roll out next year. The idea behind the update is to make the exam more representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward. The redesign will focus more on areas of math that matter most for college and career readiness, shift away from obscure vocabulary words, and eliminate the guessing penalty.</p>
<p>The College Board is also teaming up with online educator Khan Academy to offer free SAT practice to all students through diagnostic quizzes and interactive practice tests. They will be accessible to anyone with Internet access.</p>
<p>The report said there’s also been an increase in the number of students taking the Advanced Placement, or AP, exams and PSAT/NMSQT exam. Passing an AP exam can earn test-takers college credit. The PSAT/NMSQT test is sometimes viewed as a precursor to the SAT. It is used to assess student performance and as a qualifier for National Merit Scholarships.</p>
<p>About 3.8 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT test in the fall of 2014. AP exams were taken by about 2.5 million students in 2015.</p>
<p>More than 1.5 million students received a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam in 2015, up slightly from the previous year.</p>
<p>Depending on the school and the state, college credit may be awarded for scores of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exams.</p> | SAT scores slip slightly; more students take test | false | https://apnews.com/762d862d15d94beb9d880d62afe41d73 | 2015-09-03 | 2 |
<p>The news: Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart ended his monthlong moratorium on mortgage foreclosure evictions after pressure to enforce judges’ orders.</p>
<p>Behind the news: The rate of empty homes and apartments in the Chicago metro area is more than double that of New York and Los Angeles, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Postal Service, which The Chicago Reporter analyzed. Chicago has the sixth-highest vacancy rate of 29 large U.S. metro areas. In metro Chicago, 4.2 percent of homes and apartments were empty compared with 1.6 percent in Los Angeles and 1.7 percent in New York as of September. In fact, Chicago’s vacancy rate was just slightly lower than that of Miami, one of the cities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis.</p>
<p>HUD research analyst Robert Renner says many factors are to blame. First, New York and Los Angeles have much tighter rental markets than Chicago, which has twice the rate of apartments sitting empty. In addition, the housing crisis may have hit Chicago with more force. “Chicago has a higher rate of foreclosure–”about 10 times as many as New York City–”and significantly more abandonment,” he said.</p>
<p>When you drill down to Chicago neighborhoods, many have been hit far worse than others. And there’s one in particular where more than one in every three residential properties is empty. Which are the worst? Riverdale tops the list at 34.6 percent. Hundreds of units still sit empty at the Altgeld Gardens housing project. Riverdale is followed by Fuller Park, South Chicago, Englewood and New City. Every neighborhood in the top 25 for vacancy rate is located on the South or West sides.</p> | New meaning to “empty nest” | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/new-meaning-empty-nest/ | 2011-01-01 | 3 |
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<p>Taking another step to repair its financial health, <a href="" type="internal">General Motors</a> (NYSE:GM) revealed on Tuesday it has eliminated half of its pension liabilities since 2009, leaving it on the hook for less than $9 billion more.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The accomplishment, which was set to be announced by CEO Dan Akerson at GMs shareholder meeting, leaves the Detroit auto makers plan 90% funded.</p>
<p>The pension fund was underfunded by $17.1 billion as of the end of 2009 and by $11 billion as of the end of last quarter.</p>
<p>GM, which like <a href="" type="internal">Chrysler</a> received a controversial government bailout in 2009, has hit a number of key milestones in recent quarters.</p>
<p>The company returned to the public markets earlier this year with the largest U.S. IPO ever and tripled its first-quarter profits. However, the slowing economy and high gas prices may be taking their toll as GM reported a 1.2% year-over-year decline in May sales.</p>
<p>Shareholders had a muted response to pension news, bidding GMs stock up 0.11% to $28.59 Tuesday morning. GM has slumped 9% over the past month and lost 22.5% of its value so far this year.</p>
<p>Speaking to reporters ahead of the shareholder meeting, Akerson also addressed the U.S. governments stake in the auto maker.</p>
<p>"At some point they have to decide whether they are an investor or whether they were trying to save an industry, Akerson said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | General Motors Wipes Out Half of Pension Liabilities | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/06/07/gm-wipes-out-half-pension-liabilities.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>A quote given by key Nixon policy adviser John Ehrlichman in 1994 pertaining to Nixon’s war on drugs has <a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/" type="external">just been released</a>, and with it comes clear proof that the war on drugs was a complete at total farce.</p>
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<p>So many decades after the war on drugs and the popular “Just Say No” phrasing was invented, the war wages futilely on. Under these policies, several presidents have been able to justify growing the U.S. prison populations to a record-breaking number&#160;and&#160;incarcerating low level offenders for possession of a tiny amount of drugs as harmless as marijuana.</p>
<p>It has been proven again and again that modern law enforcement disproportionately arrests black drug offenders, despite the fact that drug possession and use between black and white Americans is virtually the same.</p>
<p>Now, the irrefutable truth has been revealed that the drug war was never intended to remove drugs from our nation, but rather to suppress the political and social shifts created by anti-war leftist “hippies” and politically active, equal rights gaining black Americans.</p>
<p>It is time to end these policies which should have never taken place. By continuing to follow the policies of Nixon, we are continuing to oppress generations of poor and black families who see themselves targeted to an unfair degree.</p> | Infuriating: Nixon Crony Admits War On Drugs Was Really War On Hippies & Blacks | true | http://trofire.com/2016/03/22/nixon-crony-admits-war-drugs-really-war-hippies-blacks/ | 2016-03-22 | 4 |
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<p>The Dutch agency that approved Tesla's "Autopilot" driver assistance system for use throughout Europe is concerned the name could be misleading, a spokeswoman said on Monday, after Germany asked the company to stop using the term in advertising.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Therese de Vroomen added, however, she was not sure whether the agency - the Dutch Road Traffic Service (RDW) - would take any action to follow up its concerns.</p>
<p>Over the weekend, Germany's transport ministry said it had asked Tesla to stop using the term "Autopilot" in advertising because it might suggest drivers' attention was not needed.</p>
<p>Tesla said in response to that request that autopilot had been used in the aerospace industry for decades to describe a system operating in conjunction with a human driver, and the company had always made it clear to customers that the system required drivers to pay attention at all times.</p>
<p>In 2015, the RDW approved Tesla's "Autopilot" feature for use throughout Europe. The agency's concerns only relate to the name and not to the system itself.</p>
<p>De Vroomen said there had been discussions within the RDW about whether the name was appropriate, but was unsure whether it would, like Germany, ask Tesla to stop using it.</p>
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<p>The Dutch Advertising Code Authority, which oversees standards in the advertising industry, said it had not received any complaints about Tesla's use of the name "Autopilot".</p>
<p>The system has been the focus of intense scrutiny since a Tesla Model S driver was killed while using the technology in a May 7 collision with a truck in Florida.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Mark Potter)</p> | Agency that vetted Tesla's Autopilot for Europe concerned about the name | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/10/17/agency-that-vetted-tesla-autopilot-for-europe-concerned-about-name.html | 2016-10-17 | 0 |
<p>Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday with scant leads from news headlines to move the markets. Investors are eyeing upcoming corporate earnings reports and U.S. politics for clues about the next Federal Reserve chair.</p>
<p>KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.1 percent to 21,830.78 while South Korea's Kospi was nearly unchanged at 2,591.14. Hong Kong's Hang Seng outperformed the region, gaining 0.5 percent to 28,303.84. The Shanghai Composite Index was flat at 3,388.53. Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 5,908.00. Shares in Taiwan, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries were in the black.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>ANALYST'S TAKE: "Markets are bracing for an announcement for the next Fed Chair soon," Mizuho Bank said in a daily commentary. Among the candidates is John Taylor, a Stanford University economist who advocates higher interest rates. His nomination would be perceived to be "a hawkish risk," it said.</p>
<p>FED HEAD: President Donald Trump is polling Republican senators for advice as he nears a decision to name a new head of the Fed. Other top candidates include current Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Fed board member Jerome Powell.</p>
<p>EARNINGS: A slew of companies in the U.S. and in Asia are announcing their quarterly financial results this week and next week. South Korean panel supplier LG Display, a supplier to Apple, reported a 150 percent jump in its net income for the July-September quarter. Other tech and auto exporters in South Korea and Japan are due to report earnings, which would give better ideas about global demand for Asian export items and the pace of global recovery.</p>
<p>WALL STREET: U.S. stock markets finished with gains on Tuesday. The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index gained 0.2 percent to 2,569.13. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 0.7 percent to 23,441.76. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.2 percent to 6,598.43. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 0.2 percent to 1,500.42.</p>
<p>OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude shed 6 cents to $52.41 per barrel in electronic trading on New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped 57 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $52.47 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, climbed 7 cents to $58.40 per barrel in London. It surged 96 cents, or 1.7 percent, to finish at $58.33 a barrel on Tuesday.</p>
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<p>CURRENCIES: The dollar strengthened 113.95 yen from 113.91 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1756 from $1.1762.</p> | Asian shares inch higher as investors eye corporate earnings | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/24/big-gains-for-caterpillar-and-3m-lead-us-stocks-higher.html | 2017-10-24 | 0 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe’s Historic Districts Review Board has green-lighted several minor exterior changes to La Fonda, the City Different’s famed downtown hotel.</p>
<p>That includes the addition of a small staircase on the southwest corner of the building, the reopening of an exit door on Water Street that was closed off years ago, repair and replacement of woodwork and re-stuccoing and reconfiguring the bell tower to create better access.</p>
<p>The exterior alterations are just a taste of La Fonda’s planned renovation, which includes a makeover for 164 of the hotel’s 178 guest rooms and the hotel corridors.</p>
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<p>The renovation is inspired by the Southwestern style of architects Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter and John Gaw Meem, who designed the southwest corner of the hotel with its bell tower in 1929.</p>
<p>The H-Board doesn’t have jurisdiction over interior changes, but members applauded La Fonda’s exterior plans on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Cecilia Rios commended planners for “trying to keep the building as historic as possible.”</p>
<p>“I want to wish you good luck and I think your approach is very good,” Rios said.</p>
<p>Barbara Felix Architect and Design of Santa Fe and Bradbury Stamm Construction of Albuquerque have been hired for the project.</p>
<p>Felix said Tuesday that work should start in January and — “fingers crossed” — will be completed by next August.</p>
<p>The interior changes involve improving the guest rooms with hardwood flooring, new and restored handcrafted headboards, renovated bathrooms and modern touches such as flat-panel televisions hung in wooden frames.</p>
<p>A public hearing Tuesday night drew a few speakers.</p>
<p>Pablo Sedillo, a member of Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s staff, said he supports the renovation. Sedillo said he’s a 12th generation New Mexican who has spent many years in and around the Plaza and La Fonda.</p>
<p>“What I’ve heard from the architect is exciting. In a tough economic time, La Fonda is taking this on. We need to preserve the character, the integrity, of the building, the hotel, because it is part of our cultural heritage,” he said.</p>
<p>Elizabeth Pettus, who owns the Things Finer store in La Fonda, said she thinks “the whole project is fabulous.”</p>
<p>However, adobe preservationist Michael Moquin said preservation work on the building is overdue. “We’re losing our soul by not taking care of the things that were entrusted to us,” he said.</p>
<p>Moquin also alleged that the city isn’t carrying out required preservation-related inspections. Santa Fe Land Use Director Matt O’Reilly did not return a message Wednesday seeking clarification on that point.</p> | La Fonda Changes Get Approval | false | https://abqjournal.com/124603/la-fonda-changes-get-approval.html | 2012-08-16 | 2 |
<p>If things just don't work out at the Kentucky clerk's office, where she is currently barred from interfering with the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses, noted bigot Kim Davis has another job opportunity to consider: the pervy pornographers at the Dogfart Network have offered her $500K to star in an interracial lesbian scene. Here is the press release they sent to the media, as I guess they don't have Davis's direct line:</p>
<p>With all the controversy surrounding Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis' refusal to issue same sex marriage licenses even after the Supreme Court of the United States made same sex marriage the law of the land, The Dogfart Network which is the leading online destination for Adult Interracial content is offering the Holy Kim Davis a chance at redemption.</p>
<p>The undisputed kings of interracial porn are dangling $500k to star in a scene for their site ZebraGirls.com, which is one of 23 sites in the companies vast Adult Entertainment Empire. ZebraGirls.com specializes in Lesbian Interracial Erotica.</p>
<p>"We here at Dogfart have always believed in equality. We have interracial sites, gay sites, straight sites, and we think Kim Davis has been appalling," said a Dogfart Spokesman. "We are giving her a chance at a redemption. We are willing to drop half a million bucks for Kim to come out to our studio and shoot an Interracial Lesbian scene for our network."</p>
<p>The offer will stand for the next week. She is also welcome to bring her family with her on an all expense paid vacation.</p>
<p>Now, it's obvious that indulging in a little girl-on-girl scissoring would be pretty kinky for the smock-loving homophobe, but it's interesting that Dogfart took it up a notch by padding their offer with an interracial element. Let's face it, she's probably bigoted towards everyone who isn't straight, white, crazy Christian, ragingly conservative and insistent on layering their oversized T-shirts. But HOW bigoted is Davis? Enough to turn down an easy $500K, plus an all-expenses paid vacay for her whole family? Yeah, I'm guessing so.</p>
<p>[ <a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/265970/kim-davis-receives-500k-offer-to-do-interracial-lesbian-porn-scene/" type="external">Death and Taxes</a>]</p> | Kim Davis Offered $500K To Star In Interracial Lesbian Porn Scene | true | http://thefrisky.com/2015-10-07/kim-davis-offered-500k-to-star-in-interracial-lesbian-porn-scene/?utm_source%3Dsc-fb%26utm_medium%3Dref%26utm_campaign%3Dkim-davis | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
<p>Ever since Keith Olbermann returned to us all in the form of online, topical political videos posted almost daily, it’s been an unending joy hearing his progressive, quick-witted commentary once again.</p>
<p>Today, that commentary focused on Donald Trump’s flip-flop on whether or not he would respect the outcome of the election in November.</p>
<p>Olbermann said that Trump’s claim that he would support Clinton if she won the election during the first debate was “perhaps his first sane moment.”</p>
<p>And yet,</p>
<p>“Within 96 hours, he had repudiated that act, and in that repudiation was the most craven and cowardly act not just of this election, not just of this campaign, but by any presidential candidate since the civil war – and it was lost in the shuffle.”</p>
<p>Watch.</p>
<p /> | Keith Olbermann: Trump Now The Most Un-American Candidate In History | true | http://trofire.com/2016/10/04/keith-olbermann-trump-now-un-american-candidate-history/ | 4 |
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<p>A: OK, so you’ve decided how you are going to water your small space and have made proper arrangements, then amended the area for all that its worth!</p>
<p>Next, you’ve decided on the type of grass you’re going to grow. I was asked this week about native grasses for a lawn, so a few thoughts about them. There are two grasses that can be used as a lawn but they do have a couple of drawbacks. Buffalo or blue grama grasses can be used. Either of these grasses will use very little water comparatively and can be mixed together. Both grow relatively slowly so it could take upwards to three full growing seasons to get that lawn look you are aiming for. The biggest drawback of these natives is their ability to handle traffic. They don’t! So if you want to play on your lawn, I truly don’t think the use of natives would be to way to go.</p>
<p>For the seeding, you will want to have at the ready a drop spreader, a sod roller and starter fertilizer. Also purchase enough of a finely milled soil amendment to apply as a top dressing to protect the seed. Rake the spot smooth and slightly dampen the area. Then using your drop spreader spread the seed evenly over the entire area. Spread the seed side to side then go against the grain to create a cross hatch pattern assuring good coverage with the seed.</p>
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<p>Next, apply the starter fertilizer according to manufacturer’s suggestions. No, more is not better when it comes to fertilizer!</p>
<p>Then roll the whole area, so the seed is pressed into the soil. You don’t want to bury it just have it get “stuck” into the soil.</p>
<p>Finally, cover the area with a thin layer of the finely milled compost. This layer will keep the seed in place, help hold the water and help keep the grass seed from being noticed as a feeding spot for birds!</p>
<p>Watering the plot should be done frequently. At least twice, perhaps three times, a day will be necessary to allow the germinating seeds the moisture they’ll need. Within five to seven days you should see a faint green haze appear over the area. While you are watching the plot, be ready to pluck any baby weeds as they might appear. You will not want to user any kind of a weed killer on the young lawn this year. The grass roots are too fragile to be able to withstand a chemical assault. When the young turf is about 2 to 3 inches tall, you’ll need to mow. Keeping the grass about 2 inches tall is a good blade length. Remember to keep your mower washed after each use to keep the grass healthier. Nothing maims a lawn quicker than a dirty mower!</p>
<p>As your grass matures, its watering requirements lessen and, since you’ve taken all of the proper measures to create an area that will actually use the water it’ll receive, you can have a water-wise small patch of lawn and begin your own oasis. Happy Digging In!</p>
<p>Readers: Be sure to check out the 7th annual Tomato Fiesta happening from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Albuquerque Garden Center, 10120 Lomas NE. Tomato tastings, recipes and judging by you, the consumer, will be part of a fun-filled afternoon for those of you who love growing and eating those tasty globes of flavor! Master Gardeners will be on-site to answer questions or guide you to a solution for most any gardening concern.</p>
<p>Have Fun!</p>
<p>Need tips on growing your garden? Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send your garden-related questions to Digging In, Rio West, P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, NM 87103.</p>
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<p /> | Yes, you can grow a water-wise lawn | false | https://abqjournal.com/252559/yes-you-can-grow-a-waterwise-lawn.html | 2013-08-24 | 2 |
<p>San Diego.</p>
<p>The 9/11 conspiracy movement, seemingly the most hopeless of causes when it emerged years ago, is still nibbling at the edges of the mainstream. Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, a seasoned conspiracist on this issue, has appeared on “The Larry King Show” on CNN casting doubts on conventional 9/11 thinking. In December, truTV will air an episode of Ventura’s “Conspiracy Theory” featuring allegations that the 47-story World Trade Center skyscraper, aka Building 7, was actually felled by pre-planted bombs placed strategically inside the structure by the network of schemers.</p>
<p>Ex-U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel is likewise agitating&#160; to place initiatives on the 2012 ballot in California and other states mandating a thorough investigation of the 9/11 disaster, including alleged manipulation of the country’s air security system just prior to the disaster . Here in San Diego, the so-called San Diego 9/11 Truth Group – one of the most hardcore of the 9/11 conspiracy organizations – claims its monthly meetings in the&#160;San Diego area community of Hillcrest routinely attract up to 200 seekers, reflecting a steady increase in attendance in the last several years.</p>
<p>The 9/11 conspiracy push has been dismissed by both liberals and conservatives as a&#160;preposterous set of scenarios conjured on&#160;a mythic scale.</p>
<p>Some leftists have compared the campaign to the workings of the Christic Institute, which in the 1980s charged that the U.S. government had for decades sponsored a secret team of operatives involved in&#160;everything from the&#160;murders of journalists to the bombings of dissidents in&#160;such countries as Nicaragua. Never mind that a 1985 lawsuit inititated by the institute under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was dismissed by a judge prior to trial, with the&#160;organization ordered to pay defendants about $1 million in damages.</p>
<p>However, such considerations have hardly fazed the determination of a core group of 9/11 true believers dedicated to proving that traitors within the federal government colluded to bring on the&#160;momentous disaster with the intention of fostering heightened world tensions and empowering various elite economic groups, such as the&#160;vast U.S. military-industrial complex.</p>
<p>“Our message is gaining traction,” said Dwain Deets, a retired flight research engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration who now edits the 9/11 Investigator newspaper.</p>
<p>Deets, a member of the San Diego 9/11 Truth Group as well as&#160;the liberal Progressive Democrats For America, will be among the guests on Ventura’s “Conspiracy Theory”&#160;9/11 segment next month.</p>
<p>He stood last Thursday in front of a sprawling 9/11 exhibit on a walkway near North Harbor Drive during a Veterans Day celebration.</p>
<p>The impromptu setting&#160;included a dozen or so booths manned by members of&#160;Veterans for Peace and kindred groups and entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>A block away, a parade honoring U.S. servicemen featured military marching bands and politicians like liberal Rep. BoB Filner (D-Calif.).</p>
<p>Deets pointed to oversized photographs mounted on easels&#160;depicting Building 7’s demise on 9/11 in&#160;second-by-second sequence – a train of events he said indicates that the skyscraper was bombed from the inside.</p>
<p>The National Institute of Science and Technology “had recordings of explosions in the vicinity (of the structure), but withheld this evidence until well after issuing their final report,” Deets claims, adding that the account did not even mention the possibility of&#160;explosions.</p>
<p>Sceptics of the 9/11 conspiracy line have been especially critical of accusations that longtime Republican officials like Cheney could have been a part of such widespread intrigue involving hundreds&#160; of connivers.</p>
<p>Indeed, news of such subterfuge would likely destroy the conservative movement for good, as well as bring down a long list of military contractors and associated firms and interests.</p>
<p>Deets nevertheless noted that the World Trade Center housed such tenants as the Department of Defense, the Securities and Exchange Commission and various other federal agencies. “The SEC was investigating Enron,” he suggested, emphasizing that the company would have benefitted from the World Trade Center carnage.</p>
<p>Deets stressed that the 9/11 coverup is being facilitated not only by Republicans, but by their Democratic counterparts.</p>
<p>Democrats “are stonewalling any investigation” in 9/11, he said. People attending the Veterans Day festivities who walked by the 9/11 showcase displayed a mix of emotions, from bafflement to mild agreement,&#160;as they viewed&#160;the hazy, black and white photographs of the deadly onslaught.</p>
<p>“Maybe there’s something to it … Nothing would surprise me these days,” said Marita Bardoni, whose brother&#160;recently returned from a two-year military stint in Iraq. “It is odd that everything has changed for the worse since it (the 9/11 attack) happened.”</p>
<p>But World War II veteran William Hemmings was having none of it.</p>
<p>“If any of this were true, Cheney would be lynched from the Washington Monument in a minute,” Hemmings said. “A conspiracy supposedly this big could never be kept secret. Somebody would have stepped forward by now.”</p>
<p>FRANK GREEN is a veteran journalist and lives in the San Diego area. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p /> | Conspiracy in Theory | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/11/16/conspiracy-in-theory/ | 2010-11-16 | 4 |
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<p>Along with the rains finally drenching California in recent days have come clouds over Gov. Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Published on the website of state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a <a href="http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/publications/baydelta.pdf" type="external">new report</a> by the California Debt Advisory Commission questions the BDCP’s financing with municipal bonds.</p>
<p>On Dec. 10, water economist <a href="http://www.stratwater.com/our-team/" type="external">Rodney Smith</a>, Ph.D., president of <a href="http://www.stratwater.com/" type="external">Stratecon</a> Inc., <a href="http://hydrowonk.com/blog/2014/12/10/is-bdcp-a-doable-deal-redux-part-2/" type="external">analyzed</a>the CDAC report about whether the BDCP was a “doable deal.” Specifically, he looked at what the plan would cost the Westlands Water District in the Fresno area. <a href="http://wwd.ca.gov/about-westlands/" type="external">Westlands</a> provides water to 700 family-owned farms that average 875-acres in size.</p>
<p>Smith estimated the debt burden of the BDCP would entirely wipe out cropland values and diminish permanent planting land values by 50 percent:</p>
<p>The average value of California farmland in 2012 was <a href="http://westernfarmpress.com/markets/average-california-farm-real-estate-value-7200-acre" type="external">$7,200 per acre</a>. &#160;California has about <a href="http://www.acwa.com/news/water-supply-challenges/uc-davis-report-pegs-californias-2014-losses-due-drought-22-billion" type="external">8.56 million acres</a> of irrigated cropland. Thus, the total value of irrigated farmland would be about $61 billion.</p>
<p>According to Smith’s analysis of the report, the above gloomy analysis of the economics of the BDCP doesn’t even take into consideration the project’s many risks, such as:</p>
<p>However, the biggest risk cited in the CDAC report was drought. If water contractors “opt out” of paying bonds in low-water years, and shift to cheaper groundwater, this would result in uncertain revenues to pay the bonds (page 7). Farmers are obligated to continue to make bond payments through their water rates even if they get no water.&#160; It is a certainty that farmers will shift to groundwater during drought.</p>
<p>The magnitude of the bond debt would be $55.4 billion (inflation-adjusted dollars). As the CDAC report put it, “By any measure, this is an extraordinarily large amount of bonds to be issued for a single project and would be one of the most expensive infrastructure projects ever taken in California and the United States” (page 42).</p>
<p>Due to all of the above factors, Smith foresees an unfavorable reaction to financing the project in the bond market.</p>
<p>Smith says the BDCP needs to be downsized to a “municipal and agricultural water user project.” But that isn’t likely.</p>
<p>Along with the high-speed rail project, the BDCP is part of what Brown <a href="rendezvous%20with%20destiny." type="external">calls</a>California’s “rendezvous with destiny.” He has <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/11/gov-jerry-brown-has-no-patience-for-dystopians-and-declinists.html" type="external">branded</a>doubters “dystopians and declinists” with a “noir view of California.”</p>
<p>So any clouds over the BDCP are unlikely to deter him</p> | Bay Delta Plan could wipe out farmland values | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2014/12/12/bay-delta-plan-could-wipe-out-farmland-values/ | 2018-12-20 | 3 |
<p>The New Military Humanism: Lessons from Kosovo by Noam Chomsky Common Courage Press, 1999, 199 pp $15.95</p>
<p>Early in Noam Chomsky's diatribe against NATO's military intervention in Kosovo, he cites George Orwell's preface to Animal Farm. Orwell discussed the way that "unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without any need for any official ban" by a "general tacit agreement that it wouldn't do to mention that particular fact." Chomsky is intent on challenging the claim that NATO acted in Kosovo to protect human rights by bringing to light inconvenient facts.</p>
<p>According to Chomsky, the real reasons for the twelve-week, spring 1999 bombing campaign in Kosovo and Serbia proper were conventional. First and foremost, he argues, the purpose was to sustain NATO's status in the post-cold war era. Secondarily, the bombing was undertaken to complete Washington's "substantial takeover of Europe" and to stimulate defense spending.</p>
<p>Whatever one thinks of Chomsky's analysis of the rationale for the war, he does call attention to some inconvenient facts. The most significant, I believe, is a provision of the Rambouillet Peace Agreement that, he says, was unreported by the American media either in advance of March 24 when the bombing began or, indeed, while the war was underway. This was paragraph 8 of Annex B, which provided that</p>
<p>NATO personnel shall enjoy, together with their vehicles, vessels, aircraft, and equipment, free and unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the FRY [Federal Republic of Yugoslavia] including associated airspace and territorial waters. This shall include, but not be limited to, the right of bivouac, maneuver, billet, and utilization of any area or facilities as required for support, training and operations.</p>
<p>Chomsky says that in "the massive US coverage of the war" he found "no report of those terms that was near accurate?." I think he is right. Though I did no search of the literature, I did pay close attention to accounts of the Rambouillet negotiations in three daily newspapers and recall no discussion of this passage. In fact, when I learned about it from some of the materials emanating from Belgrade during the war, I was skeptical, imagining that this was misinformation disseminated by the Milosevic regime. The omission was probably not as crucial as Chomsky believes. Milosevic's spokespersons were interviewed frequently in that period on CNN and on other broadcast media. I don't recall any of them saying that the reason they would not sign at Rambouillet was that the proposed agreement gave NATO free access to all of Yugoslavia. It was NATO's occupation of Kosovo...</p>
<p /> | Inconvenient Facts | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/inconvenient-facts | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
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<p>For decades, Big Tobacco focused its political largesse on the U.S. Congress and the presidency. But by 1988, when California voters passed a tough anti-smoking law despite a $15 million campaign against it, the industry knew it needed a more sophisticated strategy. The solution: Fund front groups of consumers or retailers with no obvious ties to tobacco, and use them to push for state “pre-emption” laws.</p>
<p>Tobacco-backed pre-emption laws appear to be stringent anti-smoking measures. The catch is that these measures are weak and supersede any stronger local restrictions on tobacco.</p>
<p>Pre-emption laws generally succeed when voters believe them to be genuine anti-smoking efforts (as was the case in Maine, for example, where a bill recently passed without any mention of the tobacco industry’s involvement); the laws usually fail when their connections to Big Tobacco are revealed (as in Minnesota, where a leaked memo exposed the role of the industry and turned the tide against its front group). In all, 28 states have now passed pre-emption laws.</p>
<p>The irony is that while the tobacco industry spouts “local control” rhetoric, it is cynically using front groups and statewide pre-emption laws to snuff out genuine grassroots initiatives to control smoking.</p>
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<p />
<p /> | The War in the States | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1996/05/war-states/ | 2018-05-01 | 4 |
<p>Benghazi terror suspet Ahmed Abu Khattalah and prosecutor John Crabb on the first day of trial.Dana Verkouteren/AP</p>
<p>“Benghazi” was a rallying cry for Republican critics of Hillary Clinton, who blamed the former secretary of state for the 2012 attack on the US diplomatic compound in the Libyan city that killed&#160;Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. But on Monday, when the alleged mastermind behind the attack appeared in federal court, none of those Benghazi-obsessed Republicans were present. And it quickly became clear that the government’s case—now in the hands of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department—has major flaws.</p>
<p>Ahmed Abu Khattalah is the only person charged with the any crime related to the Benghazi attack. Federal prosecutors have&#160;charged him with <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/1312772/khatallah-ahmed-abu-superseding-indictment-oct.pdf" type="external">18 different criminal offenses</a>, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and murder of an internationally protected person (namely Stevens). US Special Forces captured Khattalah in Libya in 2014 and brought him to the United States, where the Obama administration insisted on trying him in a civilian court.</p>
<p>Even if the Washington courtroom was full of lawyers and a handful of journalists, not elected officials,&#160;the trial holds high stakes for Republicans. Both <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/world/europe/al-qaeda-suspect-court-trump-sessions-guantanamo.html?mcubz=0&amp;_r=0" type="external">President Donald Trump and Sessions have said</a>they think terror defendants should be taken to the Guantanamo Bay military prison and subject to military tribunals rather than tried before a jury in a regular federal court. But Sessions and his Justice Department lawyers are now responsible for prosecuting Khattalah and will bear the blame for an acquittal—which is a legitimate prospect.</p>
<p>Chief among the prosecutors’ problems&#160;is the testimony they plan to offer from a handful of Libyans. During opening arguments, prosecutor John Crabb disclosed that after the Benghazi attack, the government employed a Libyan snitch to befriend Khattalah and solicit damaging comments from him. The man, identified only as “Ali” in court, then lured Khattalah to a Libyan beach house, where the US military apprehended him three years ago. The US government paid Ali an astonishing $7 million for his services. Human rights activists and some former military officials <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/25/guantanamo-detainees-captured-pakistan-afghanistan" type="external">have criticized such bounty payments</a> in Iraq and Afghanistan for creating an atmosphere where warlords and spies rounded up their enemies and sold them to the United States, which imprisoned them indefinitely at Guantanamo without much evidence that they were terrorists.</p>
<p>Federal public defender Jeffrey Robinson made a similar criticism in his opening arguments. He told the jury to carefully scrutinize the government’s witnesses. “Many of them received significant benefits,” he said. He explained that Libya’s political situation is complex, and that far from being anti-American, Khattalah had been backed by the United States when he took up arms against the regime of Moammar Qaddafi in the Libyan civil war in 2011. The Qaddafi regime had imprisoned Khattalah in the infamous Abu Salim prison, where he was tortured for his conservative Islamic beliefs. Khattalah’s role in the civil war left him with enemies who would be happy to see him take the blame for the attacks on the US compound, Robinson said.</p>
<p>The government’s other challenge in securing a conviction against Khattalah is one that’s plagued terrorism prosecutions since the launch of the Iraq War: allegations of torture. When US special forces captured Khattalah, they beat him, put a mask over his head, and gagged him. They brought him back to the United States on a boat trip that lasted 13 days, during which intelligence officers interrogated him without the benefit of a lawyer and did not read him his rights.</p>
<p>Every time he went to the latrine or left his room on the boat, Khattalah was masked, shackled, and given noise-cancelling headphones, his lawyers say. After several days of questioning by intelligence officers, FBI agents took over&#160;and finally told&#160;Khattalah about his rights to a lawyer and&#160;to remain silent.</p>
<p>The government says Khattalah voluntarily waived his right to a lawyer no fewer than 15 times during those sessions, and Crabb went to great lengths in his opening arguments to reassure the jury that Khattalah was not tortured or coerced by US agents into volunteering incriminating information to the FBI agents. But despite having gone to the trouble to build a special cell for Khattalah on the US Navy ship, the government somehow failed to record any of Khattalah’s interrogation, raising questions about those claims.</p>
<p>Prosecutors have asked the jury to rely on the FBI agents’ notes and testimony about the interrogations—a request that Robinson openly scoffed at. “What we don’t know, and you can never know, is what he actually said,” Robinson told the jury. “They deliberately chose not to record what he was saying.”</p>
<p>Because of the way Khattalah’s statements were obtained, his lawyers sought to have them excluded from the trial, but US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper allowed them to be admitted. Still, if Robinson succeeds in planting doubt about the veracity of the FBI’s claims or the jury believes that Khattalah’s statements were coerced, the government’s case could be in real trouble. That’s also because there is, as Robinson noted, virtually no physical evidence tying Khattalah to the murder of Stevens or other crimes he’s been charged with.</p>
<p>The prosecution has cell phone records it says tie Khattalah to some of the other people involved in the attack, as well as at least one eyewitness account that Khattalah had prevented anyone from attempting to rescue Stevens and the other Americans at the compound. Most persuasive is the security footage from the diplomatic compound that shows Khattalah there on September 11, 2012, the night of the attack. Crabb presented some of the video clips to the jury on Monday. But he also introduced about a dozen other people in the videos who happened to be at the compound and who he claimed were associates of Khattalah. That raised the obvious question of why none of them were also in the courtroom and charged with crimes.</p>
<p>That question is clearly something that the government is worried about. Prosecutors included a question on the jury questionnaire that may have been intended to weed out potential jurors who were skeptical about this, asking them, “Do you have strong feelings about the fact that Mr. Ahmed Abu Kattalah is the only defendant at this trial?”</p>
<p>Robinson sought to portray his client as low-hanging fruit—a “soft target” whom the United States picked up out of desperation to charge someone with the attack. Sitting in the courtroom, Khattalah looked the part of poor schlub his lawyers sought to make him out to be, with his long beard and baggy white shirt.</p>
<p>After the assault on the Benghazi compound, Khattalah didn’t behave like a wanted man. While the government was claiming he was in hiding after the attack, Khattalah was giving interviews to reporters in Libya. Before he was captured in 2014, he was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/world/africa/suspect-in-benghazi-attack-scoffs-at-us.html?_r=0&amp;pagewanted=print" type="external">interviewed by the New York Times</a> and other outlets with some frequency, and he denied having a role in the assault. Robinson alluded to this in telling the jury, “The evidence will show that he’s here because he was easy. He didn’t hide because he didn’t do it.”</p>
<p>The trial continues Tuesday and is expected to run four to six weeks.</p> | Benghazi Is Back. And This Time Republicans Could Take the Blame. | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/benghazi-is-back-and-this-time-republicans-could-take-the-blame/ | 2017-10-02 | 4 |
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<p>“We should start now to talk about filibustering for the saving of lives and of our country.”</p>
<p>John Kerry</p>
<p>That is a direct quote from John Kerry. Unfortunately it is from April, 1971. Now Senator Kerry will not go so far as to vote against the supplemental appropriations to end the war. In a conference call with the Smedley Butler Brigade, the Boston Chapter of Veterans for Peace, Kerry refused on Tuesday to vote against the Supplemental Appropriation for the War on Iraq. It is possible with only 41 Senate votes to filibuster the war to an end, as pointed out on February 8 <a href="" type="internal">here in CounterPunch</a>. Although there are 51 Democrats in the Senate, not one Senator has stepped forward to fight for such a filibuster. Meanwhile Americans and innocent Iraqis die every day in Iraq.</p>
<p>But John Kerry is simply one of the ugliest examples of the Democrats’ complicity in the war. And that complicity reflects the complicity of much of the “official” peace movement. Let’s look at the facts. In October 2002, the Democrats controlled the Senate when the Iraq resolution came up. 23 Senators, including one Republican, Lincoln Chafee, voted against it. Right there it could have been stopped. 18 more votes would have sustained a filibuster and the resolution would have been dead. But those 18 votes did not emerge. Why? Because every Democratic Senator facing a close election in the very next month or harboring presidential ambitions voted in favor of the resolution. The only exception of which I know was the late Paul Wellstone. Daschle and Cleland voted for the resolution ­ and they lost their races anyway, defeats they richly deserved. And of course John Edwards and John Kerry and Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, all with presidential ambitions, voted for the war. Kerry compounded his criminality by running on a prowar platform in 2004. It is interesting that the polls had a majority turning against the war late in October of 2004 just before the election, but Kerry had locked himself into his bellicose stance ­ and lost. Think about that. John Kerry consciously decided to climb to the presidency atop a mountain of Iraqi and American corpses. To make amends for that crime, a simple apology will never be enough.</p>
<p>So the Democrats gave Bush his war for the sake of their ambitions, precisely what Rove and AIPAC were counting on. And year after year Bush came along with requests for supplemental funding. And each year the Democrats provided the votes. But the Dems were not in the majority, say “Progressive” Democrats of America and some in the leadership of United for Peace and Justice. In fact that is why those folks urged us to vote for Dems in 2006. But in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 the Democrats had 41 votes in the Senate, giving them the power to end the war in any of those years. They never even tried. And now they have 51 votes, a majority and much more than they need to filibuster against the war appropriations. And still they will not so much as raise the issue of the filibuster. It has been the Democrats’ war all along; it was from the start; and it is so in spades today.</p>
<p>The root cause is not spineless Dem politicians but a spineless official peace movement.</p>
<p>Now dear reader, if you are part of the “mainstream” peace movement, represented by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), for example, do not start to mutter to yourself about spineless Democratic politicians. For the fault lies not in our politicians, but in ourselves. Let us remind ourselves that twice in two weeks, the avowedly prowar Senators, mainly Republicans, filibustered against a toothless non-binding anti-war resolution against the war. Why? Their base demands it. Theirs is not a spineless base, and so they are not spineless legislators But in over four years the supposedly antiwar Democratic Senators did not even raise the idea of a filibuster. Why not? In part because their base did not demand it. Not once was it raised to my knowledge. What does the mainstream or “official” antiwar movement, as it more properly should be called, do? Does it demand or does it grovel? Quite frankly it grovels ­ at most. The Dem politicians are spineless in part, because we are.</p>
<p>Whenever a UFPJ group goes to “lobby” the Congressmen or Senators, the unwritten rule (violated by the present writer on many occasions) is to “make nice”.’ Do not risk weakening the “relationships” with legislators and staff is the mantra. It is all carrot and no stick. And what are the results? No filibuster. Continued war. And from first hand experience, when one threatens the legislator with supporting another candidate in the coming election, a pained look comes over the UFPJ “facilitator,” and one can rely on being tut-tutted into silence.</p>
<p>But take this a step farther. The Democratic politicians know full well that there is no stick. “P”DA can be relied on to support the most retrograde of Democratic candidates in the end as can “progressives” like Dennis Kucinich.</p>
<p>In fact without a third party, there is no stick. Ralph Nader is right on this point. The Democrats will never change unless they face an electoral challenge. It is time to build that challenge. And it is time for more of us to get involved in movements like the Occupation Project. We must refuse to leave the offices of Senators until we have obtained written pledges to vote against the war and to join a filibuster. The time is late.</p>
<p>John V. Walsh can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>He thanks Nate Goldschlag of Veterans for Peace for digging up the quote from John Kerry. When VFP went to occupy Senator Kerry’s office after their initial conference call with Kerry, they found a large police detail waiting to repulse them. Fort Kerry has not yet been breached.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | John Kerry’s Strange Call to Filibuster the War | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/03/02/john-kerry-s-strange-call-to-filibuster-the-war/ | 2007-03-02 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Susana Martinez plans to ask the Legislature to provide nearly $2.5 million next year to train more family practice physicians and nurse practitioners.</p>
<p>To address a shortage of health care providers, Martinez proposed Tuesday to allow 24 additional nurse practitioners to be educated through a University of New Mexico program. Currently, 16 are admitted to the program annually. The funding also would provide for seven additional family practice residency positions. There currently are 27 residency slots.</p>
<p>Nurse practitioners don’t have to work under the supervision of a physician and can operate their own clinics.</p>
<p>The governor has recently announced several health care proposals, including streamlining the licensing system for nurses who move to New Mexico from more than two dozen states that aren’t part of compact for multistate licensure</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Governor seeks $2.5M for medical provider training | false | https://abqjournal.com/313515/governor-seeks-2-5m-for-medical-provider-training.html | 2 |
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<p>The 162,000 increase in payrolls last month was the smallest in four months and followed a revised 188,000 rise in June that was less than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.</p>
<p>The median forecast of 93 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 185,000 gain. Workers spent fewer hours on the job and hourly earnings fell for the first time since October.</p>
<p>The slower pace of hiring suggests some employers are confident they’re able to meet demand with current staffing levels as the economy begins to emerge from a first-half slowdown. At the same time, improving consumer confidence and auto sales have encouraged other companies such as Amazon.com and Ford to take on more workers.</p>
<p>“This isn’t a disaster of a report, but it shows the U.S. remains vulnerable to a slower economic growth performance,” said Julia Coronado, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas in New York, who had projected payrolls would rise by 165,000. “This isn’t the kind of progress the Fed would like to see. At the margin, it keeps them cautious.”</p>
<p>Retailers added almost 47,000 workers in July, the most in eight months. Employment in education and health services showed the smallest gain in a year. Construction employment fell and manufacturing rose for the first time in five months.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Bloomberg survey estimates for total payrolls ranged from increases of 23,000 to 225,000. Revisions to prior reports subtracted a total of 26,000 jobs from overall payrolls in the previous two months.</p>
<p>Private employment, which excludes government agencies, rose to 161,000 after a revised gain of 196,000. It was projected to rise by 195,000, the survey showed.</p>
<p>The unemployment rate was forecast to drop to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey median.</p>
<p>The labor force as a share of the population dropped to 63.4 percent from 63.5 percent.</p>
<p>Average hourly earnings fell 0.1 percent to $23.98 in July from the prior month and were up 1.9 percent over the past 12 months.</p> | Hiring slips to four-month low | false | https://abqjournal.com/241250/hiring-slips-to-fourmonth-low.html | 2013-08-03 | 2 |
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<p>The powers that be in Connecticut have decided that little things like the Constitution and Rights have no place in the (ironically named) Constitution state.</p>
<p>When you have the Connecticut State Police spokesman, Lt. Paul Vance declare that anyone who voices opinions contrary to support of the new gun control law “sounds anti-American” one cannot help but hear shades of the Gestapo looking to root out any perceived opposition to the dictatorship.</p>
<p>Here is a quote from Lt. Vance during a phone conversation with a woman whose husband received a letter saying he must turn in or destroy his weapons because the authority didn’t get the paperwork in time:</p>
<p>“Ma’am, it sounds like you’re anti-American, it sounds like you’re anti-law.”</p>
<p>According to Vance, if you are not lock step in line with the government’s oppression then you are Anti-American.</p>
<p>When the caller, Ashley, responds to this notion by saying that Vance is a public servant and whose job it is to serve the people, his flippant and tyrannical response is this:</p>
<p>“I’m the master, ma’am. I’m the master.” (and by extension the people are HIS servants)</p>
<p>Vance would continue on to say that he will be sending officers door to door in order to confiscate all weapons that he deems “illegal”.</p>
<p>This is the same Vance who wanted to arrest people for tweeting, what he called, “erroneous” Sandy Hook information.</p>
<p>So, where does Connecticut stand. &#160;Does it support the Gestapo like tactics of Lt. Vance? &#160;Does it want to silence the freedom of speech right along with the freedom to keep and bear arms? &#160;Will it move forward with it’s door to door Final Solution?</p>
<p>For historical reference, from the Holocaust Encyclopedia:</p>
<p>On the night of February 27-28, 1933, a mentally disabled Dutch citizen&#160;set fire to the German parliament building. Hitler and his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, presented the incident as the prelude to an armed Communist uprising and persuaded the aging President Paul von Hindenburg to establish what became a permanent state of emergency.</p>
<p>This decree, known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspended the provisions of the German constitution that protected basic individual rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. The decree also permitted increased state and police intervention into private life, allowing officials to censor mail, listen in on phone conversations, and search private homes without a warrant or need to show reasonable cause.</p>
<p>Under the state of emergency established by the decree, the Nazi regime could arrest and detain people without cause and without limits on the length of incarceration.</p>
<p>In the months after Hitler took power, SA and Gestapo agents went from door to door looking for Hitler’s enemies. They arrested Socialists, Communists, trade union leaders, and others who had spoken out against the Nazi party; some were murdered. By the summer of 1933, the Nazi party was the only legal political party in Germany. Nearly all organized opposition to the regime had been eliminated. Democracy was dead in Germany.</p>
<p>If you replace the dates and the word Germany for Connecticut and have the mentally disabled citizen shooting up Sandy Hook instead of setting a fire, it’s pretty much history repeating itself word for word.</p>
<p>The all powerful regime in Connecticut has exchanged hatred of Jews for hatred of gun owners and will repeat the same tactics from 80 years ago in an attempt to exterminate them as well.</p>
<p>And do not expect the following not to come to pass, <a href="" type="internal">as it is all ready being encouraged in New York State</a> by their own dictator, Herr Cuomo:</p>
<p>Essential to the intimidating effects of the terror was the willingness of many German citizens (whether out of conviction, greed, envy, or vengeance) to denounce their fellow citizens, Jewish and non-Jewish, to the police. The Gestapo could not have exercised such control over German society without the benefit of this steady stream of denunciations, many of which were entirely unfounded.</p>
<p>Even gun owners themselves, who felt compelled to follow the law (like Ashley’s husband) have done nothing more than tell the Nutmeg Gestapo of the guns they own. &#160;And just like Ashley’s husband, they have now given the Police the information needed to expedite the confiscation of said weapons.</p>
<p>My suggestion to the good people of Connecticut, get your heads out of your fourth point of contact and wake up. &#160;You are living in a state modeled after one that the entire world went to war in order to topple.</p>
<p>You best wake up soon.</p>
<p>And if you have a weapon that Connecticut wants, I suggest you don’t tell them…EVER.</p>
<p>Molon labe, bullets first.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.</p> | Hey Connecticut, 1933 Berlin called, they want their Gestapo back | true | http://bulletsfirst.net/2014/03/02/hey-connecticut-1933-berlin-called-want-gestapo-back/ | 0 |
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<p>A sharp partisan difference in public opinion separates the two war paths</p>
<p />
<p>In drawing an explicit comparison between the ongoing Iraq conflict and the Vietnam War in his recent speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars — a linkage he once sharply rejected, — President George W. Bush might seem to be providing ammunition to his critics. To many observers the most obvious parallel between the two wars is that, after an initial period of public support, disillusionment mounted as the conflicts dragged on without apparent success. But while the overall trajectory of public opinion is strikingly similar, an important political difference distinguishes public attitudes toward the two wars. In this case, the president’s steadfast commitment to the war he initiated continues to draw strong support from members of his own party.</p>
<p>As noted in an <a href="/pubs/25/the-iraq-vietnam-difference" type="external">earlier Pew commentary</a>, the Iraq war has divided America along partisan lines to a degree never approached during the Vietnam era. Pew surveys show that even before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, Democrats were significantly more likely than Republicans to oppose military action in Iraq. Post-invasion, that gap widened sharply over time reaching its maximum spread of 62 percentage points in February 2005 with 74% of Democrats calling military action a mistake compared with only 12% of Republicans.</p>
<p>Since that time the partisan gap has narrowed somewhat as the percentage of Republicans disapproving of the war has increased modestly. But more than 50 percentage points still divide the views of Democrats and Republicans in Pew’s most recent sampling of attitudes toward the war in July, with 74% of the former calling the U.S. military action in Iraq a “wrong decision,” compared with 21% of the latter.</p>
<p>By comparison, partisan differences with regard to the wisdom of the U.S. intervention in Vietnam were relatively small and shifting. As shown in the chart, in January 1973 on the eve of U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam, majorities of both Republicans and Democrats called the sending of troops there a mistake.</p>
<p>True, Democratic disapproval exceeded Republican disapproval by 11 percentage points at that time in the Nixon presidency, but until the fall of 1969, Democrats were actually less likely to judge the troop deployment a mistake than were Republicans. (Indeed, the largest partisan gap recorded in Gallup polls occurred in June 1967 when 51% of Republicans called Vietnam a mistake, compared with 33% of Democrats.)</p>
<p>Nor did Republicans later deplore the U.S. disengagement from Vietnam as the ensuing victory by the communist North in Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge-inflicted bloodbath in neighboring Cambodia unfolded, events that the president pointed to in making his case for a steadfast U.S. commitment in Iraq. Asked in a February 1975 Gallup poll about proposals to send additional military aid to South Vietnam and Cambodia, among the 79% of the public who said they were following the issue, fully 72% of Republicans opposed such a move as did 80% of Democrats.</p> | Along the Iraq-Vietnam Parallel | false | http://pewresearch.org/2007/08/28/along-the-iraqvietnam-parallel/ | 2007-08-28 | 2 |
<p>Troops loyal to Bosco 'Terminator' Ntaganda, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, have taken multiple towns in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17893674" type="external">BBC News reported</a> that thousands of people are fleeing the fighting between government troops and rebel forces in Mukashe and Rubaya, and are heading toward the nearby town of Goma. The UN and Congolese military have said 400 to 500 heavily armed soldiers loyal to Ntaganda defected from the Congolese army earlier this month, deserting their base in Goma.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/africa/congos-terminator-ransoming-countrys-peace" type="external">Congo's 'Terminator': ransoming a country's peace</a></p>
<p>"Violent clashes involving heavy weapons are ongoing close to Mweso (North Kivu Province) between soldiers who have left the army and loyalist forces," an army commander, who was participating in a second combat in DR Congo, <a href="http://www.africareview.com/News/Army+rebels+clash+in+eastern+DRC/-/979180/1396656/-/ukwcod/-/" type="external">told Agence France-Presse by phone</a>. He didn't give details about deaths or injuries, but added that "about a hundred people have fled Mweso in the direction of another village, Kitschanga," located about 20km away.</p>
<p>The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Ntaganda in 2006 for charges of using child soldiers to fight in his militia group, <a href="http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/100s-flee-as-DRC-army-rebels-clash-20120429" type="external">reported News24</a>.</p>
<p>According to BBC News, Ntaganda may not have defected himself, but residents of the area said he has not been seen in Goma since early this month. &#160;</p> | Bosco 'Terminator' Ntaganda troops take over DR Congo towns | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-30/bosco-terminator-ntaganda-troops-take-over-dr-congo-towns | 2012-04-30 | 3 |
<p>Jan 25 (Reuters) - EVOLVA HOLDING SA:</p>
<p>* FY PRODUCT REVENUES INCREASED TO CHF 2.0 MILLION AS COMPARED TO CHF 1.1 MILLION IN 2016,</p>
<p>* REVENUES FROM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DECLINED TO CHF 4.8 MILLION IN 2017 AS COMPARED TO CHF 7.6 MILLION IN 2016</p>
<p>* OVERALL REVENUES WERE CHF 6.8 MILLION IN 2017 VERSUS CHF 9.6 MILLION IN 2016 Source text - <a href="http://bit.ly/2BpN5hr" type="external">bit.ly/2BpN5hr</a> Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, who stepped down in January under fire from President Donald Trump, is meeting on Thursday with a Justice Department official in an effort to preserve his pension, according to a source familiar with the matter.</p> Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testifies before the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
<p>McCabe planned to retire on Sunday with full benefits, but some or all of his pension could be at risk after the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Office of Professional Responsibility recommended firing him for misleading Justice Department investigators about his supervision of probes into Hillary Clinton, Trump’s presidential opponent, said the source, who requested anonymity.</p>
<p>The person spoke anonymously because no decisions have been made, and the matter is still not public.</p>
<p>McCabe did not return a call seeking comment.</p>
<p>Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by John Walcott and Leslie Adler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Iconic toy retailer Toys ‘R’ Us Inc will shutter or sell its stores in the United States after failing to revamp its struggling business, putting 30,000 jobs at risk and leaving a void for vendors who supplied the company with $11 billion worth of goods a year.</p>
<p>As shoppers flock to Amazon.com Inc and children choose smartphones and screens over toys, Toys ‘R’ Us has struggled to boost sales and service debt following a $6.6-billion leveraged buyout by private equity firms in 2005.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us plans to liquidate inventory at 735 U.S. stores, including Babies ‘R’ Us locations, by the end of this year. The wind-down follows a bruising holiday season, when the company failed to stay competitive and sales came in well below projections. The quarter accounts for 40 percent of its annual net sales.</p>
<p>With the disappearance of Toys ‘R’ Us, everything from squishies and slime kits made by small companies, to board games and Barbie dolls by heavyweights Hasbro Inc and Mattel Inc, will lose a top customer.</p>
<p>Hasbro said on Thursday the pending liquidation and closure is expected to be “disruptive” in the near term.</p>
<p>Lutz Muller, president of consultancy Klosters Trading Corp, estimated a single-digit sales impact on companies like Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master Corp, Jakks Pacific Inc, Funko Inc and MGA Entertainment Inc.</p>
<p>“Bad but not fatal,” Muller said. “But for the little guys that depended on Toys ‘R’ Us as a major showcase ... a large number will go to the wall.”</p>
<p>Jefferies predicted the bankruptcy would depress 2018 revenue across the industry by between 2.5 percent and 5.5 percent. It said 40 percent of the toy sales up for grabs would flow to Amazon and 30 percent to Walmart Inc.</p>
<p>Shares of Mattel fell nearly 3 percent while shares of Hasbro were trading slightly lower on Thursday; they had tumbled last week on Toys ‘R’ Us’ liquidation reports.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us’ creditors said in a court filing that Target Corp, Walmart and Amazon pricing toys at low margins, and a greater-than-expected decline in toy and gift card sales following its bankruptcy filing in September, led to the weak performance in the quarter.</p>
<p>“Even during recent store close-outs, Toys ‘R’ Us failed to create any sense of excitement,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail research firm GlobalData Retail. “Its so-called heavy discounts remained well above the standard prices of many rivals.”</p> The logo of Toys R Us is seen on a store at Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire near Nantes, France, March 15, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe TOYS ABROAD
<p>Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys ‘R’ Us was already in the process of closing one-fifth of its stores as part of an attempt to emerge from one of the largest ever bankruptcies by a specialty retailer.</p>
<p>In September, when the company operated more than 1,600 stores globally, with roughly 800 stores outside the United States, it got court permission to borrow more than $2 billion to start paying suppliers.</p>
<p>But efforts to keep the business going collapsed after lenders decided they could recover more in a liquidation by closing stores and raising money from merchandise sales.</p> Slideshow (5 Images)
<p>The company, which is also winding down its UK business, is still trying to salvage some 200 U.S. stores as part of negotiations to sell its Canadian business.</p>
<p>It is also pursuing a reorganization or sale of its operations in Asia and Central Europe, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland.</p>
<p>Keeping up a good relationship with vendors who supply across Toys ‘R’ Us throughout liquidation proceedings will be key to those deals, sources with knowledge of the matter said.</p>
<p>Seventy-year Toys ‘R’ Us does not rule out a last-minute offer for all of its stores and said it will announce the winning bidder of a March 29 auction on April 12.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-hasbro/hasbro-sees-near-term-disruption-from-toys-r-us-liquidation-idUSKCN1GR2I9" type="external">Hasbro sees near-term disruption from Toys 'R' Us liquidation</a>
<a href="/article/us-toys-r-us-bankruptcy-reit/reits-slip-anew-despite-minor-exposure-to-toys-r-us-closings-idUSKCN1GR2NA" type="external">REITs slip anew despite minor exposure to Toys 'R' Us closings</a>
<p>The company’s troubles mirror those of other mall-based retailers in the United States that have shut stores and fired employees in a bid to stay relevant.</p>
<p>More than 8,000 U.S. retail stores closed in 2017, roughly double the average annual store closures in the previous decade, according to data from the International Council of Shopping Centers.</p>
<p>Despite the threat of 30,000 job losses, experts do not expect retail employment and wages to be subdued in the near term. Approximately 700,000 jobs in the industry need to be filled, say retail staffing firms and trade federations such as the NRF.</p>
<p>Aly Sanchez, a two-year employee of Toys R Us in Kansas City, said, “It’s an overwhelming feeling not knowing what’s going to happen. And if we do close, we don’t know if we’ll even get severance pay.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Nandita Bose; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Nick Zieminski</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO accused Russia on Thursday of trying to destabilise the West with new nuclear weapons, cyber attacks and covert action, including the poisoning of a Russian former double agent in Britain, that blurred the line between peace and war.</p> NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a news conference at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 15, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
<p>NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters the use of the Novichok nerve agent against Sergei Skripal and his daughter “happened against a backdrop of a reckless pattern of Russian behaviour over many years”.</p>
<p>Russia denies any involvement and says it is the U.S.-led Atlantic alliance that is a risk to peace in Europe.</p>
<p>Britain’s National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill told NATO envoys at a special meeting of the alliance’s governing North Atlantic Council that Russia was to blame.</p>
<p>“What happened in Salisbury was the latest in a clear pattern of reckless and unlawful behaviour by the Russian state,” Sedwill said in a statement he read to reporters after the meeting, referring to the English city where Skripal was attacked.</p>
<p>Sedwill said the attack “concerns the whole alliance” and that Britain would support allies who faced similar threats. Britain’s ambassador to NATO briefed the envoys on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Stoltenberg said Russia was mixing nuclear and conventional weapons in military doctrine and exercises, which lowered the threshold for launching nuclear attacks, and increasingly deploying “hybrid tactics” such as soldiers without insignia.</p>
<p>Stoltenberg listed Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, its direct support for separatists in Ukraine, its military presence in Moldova and Georgia, meddling in Western elections and its involvement in the war in Syria as evidence of Russia’s threat.</p>
<p>He cited the development of new nuclear weapons, which President Vladimir Putin unveiled in a bellicose speech on March 1, as another worrying development.</p> “BLURRING THE LINE”
<p>He also accused Moscow of a “blurring of the line between peace, crisis and war”, which he said was “destabilising and dangerous”.</p>
<p>Stoltenberg, who will meet British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday in Brussels, stressed there had been no request from London to activate the Western military alliance’s mutual defence clause, but said Russia must be deterred.</p> Related Video
<p>“The UK will respond and is responding in a proportionate and measured way ... I fully support there is a need for a response, because there must be consequences when we see actions like those in Salisbury,” he said.</p>
<p>NATO has deployed significant ground forces to the Baltic countries and Poland to dissuade Russia from repeating any Crimea-like seizures.</p>
<p>Stoltenberg said there was little for NATO as an alliance to do immediately in response to the nerve agent attack, beyond giving Britain strong political support.</p>
<p>Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Kevin Liffey</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, the United States, Germany and France jointly called on Russia on Thursday to explain a military-grade nerve toxin attack in England on a former Russian double agent, which they said threatened Western security.</p>
<p>After the first known offensive use of such a weapon on European soil since World War Two, Britain has pinned the blame on Moscow and given 23 Russians who it said were spies working under diplomatic cover at the London embassy a week to leave.</p>
<p>Moscow has denied any involvement in the poisoning. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused London of behaving in a “boorish” way and suggested this was partly due to the problems Britain faces over its planned exit from the European Union next year.</p>
<p>Russia has refused Britain’s demands to explain how Novichok, a nerve agent first developed by the Soviet military, was used to strike down Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southern English city of Salisbury.</p>
<p>“We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack,” U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May said in their joint statement.</p>
<p>“It is an assault on UK sovereignty,” the leaders said. “It threatens the security of us all.”</p>
<p>While the statement signals a more coordinated response from Britain’s closest allies, it lacked any details about specific measures the West would take if Russia failed to comply.</p> BREACH OF CONVENTION
<p>The Western leaders said the use of the toxin was a clear breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention and international law.</p>
<p>They called on Russia to provide a complete disclosure of the Novichok program to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.</p>
<p>Russia has repeatedly asked Britain to supply a sample of the nerve agent. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said neither Russia nor the Soviet Union had run a program to develop Novichok.</p>
<p>Separately, Washington on Thursday slapped sanctions on two of Russia’s biggest intelligence agencies, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the GRU military intelligence service, in response to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and malicious cyber attacks.</p> Security cameras are seen, and a flag flies outside the consular section of Russia's embassy in London, Britain, March 15, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
<p>Skripal, a former colonel in the GRU who betrayed dozens of Russian agents to British intelligence, and his daughter have been critically ill since March 4, when they were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, an elegant cathedral city.</p>
<p>A British policeman who was also poisoned when he went to help them is in a serious but stable condition.</p>
<p>May has directly accused President Vladimir Putin, poised to win a fourth term in an election on Sunday, of being behind the attack. In Washington, Trump said: “It looks like the Russians were behind it.”</p> Slideshow (10 Images) LOST INFLUENCE
<p>Putin, who took over as Kremlin chief from Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has tried to claw back some of the clout that Moscow lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. He says the West has repeatedly tried to undermine Russia.</p>
<p>Lavrov said Russia would respond “very soon” to Britain’s decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats. Putin discussed relations with Britain at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.</p>
<p>Skripal, who was turned by Britain’s MI6 agency while serving in Spain, was arrested in Moscow in 2004 and convicted in 2006 of treason. But in 2010 he was given refuge in Britain after being exchanged for Russian spies.</p>
<p>May on Thursday visited Salisbury, a normally sedate city where police investigators in chemical protection suits and the army have been collecting evidence of the poisoning.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-may-salisbury/uk-pm-may-visits-city-where-russian-double-agent-was-poisoned-idUSKCN1GR1TH" type="external">UK PM May visits city where Russian double agent was poisoned</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-nato/after-nerve-agent-attack-nato-sees-pattern-of-russian-interference-idUSKCN1GR1O0" type="external">After nerve agent attack, NATO sees pattern of Russian interference</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-johnson/britain-to-let-international-body-check-its-poison-findings-idUSKCN1GR2RC" type="external">Britain to let international body check its poison findings</a>
<p>NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Britain could count on NATO’s solidarity, but that it had not invoked the alliance’s mutual defense clause.</p>
<p>In London, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended the government’s response and suggested the authorities might also go after assets held in Britain by Russians close to Putin, though he gave no specific details.</p>
<p>Lavrov suggested that the poisoning might have motivated by a desire to complicate Russia’s hosting of this summer’s soccer World Cup.</p>
<p>In a sign of just how tense relations have become, British Defence Secretary said: “Russia should go away, it should shut up.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Michael Holden, Elisabeth O'Leary and Costas Pitas in London and Edinburgh, William James in Salisbury, England; Robin Emmott in Brussels; Denis Pinchuk and Andrew Osborn in Moscow; and Steve Holland, James Oliphant and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Gareth Jones</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Evolva FY 2017 Overall Revenues At CHF 6.8 Mln In 2017 Former FBI official urging Justice not to fire him days before he retires Toys 'R' Us closure leaves void for suppliers, endangers 30,000 jobs After nerve agent attack, NATO sees pattern of Russian interference West calls on Russia to explain nerve toxin attack on former double agent | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-evolva-fy-2017-overall-revenues-at/brief-evolva-fy-2017-overall-revenues-at-chf-68-mln-in-2017-idUSFWN1PJ1GC | 2018-01-25 | 2 |
<p>ALMATY (Reuters) - A Dutch court has lifted a freeze on Kazakh sovereign fund’s assets worth $22 billion, the Central Asian nation’s Justice Ministry said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The assets held by the fund’s custodian, Bank of New York Mellon ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BK.N" type="external">BK.N</a>), were frozen last October after a lawsuit by Moldovan businessman Anatolie Stati who seeks to enforce a $500 million arbitration ruling against the Astana government.</p>
<p>The freeze had shocked the oil-exporting nation and the sovereign fund industry, partly because of the disproportion between the size of the claim and that of the frozen assets.</p>
<p>Stati, his son Gabriel and their companies were investors in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry. They say they have been subjected to harassment from the state aimed at forcing them to sell their investments cheaply.</p>
<p>Kazakhstan denies the allegations, but Anatolie and Gabriel Stati and two of their companies – Ascom Group S.A. and Terra Raf Trans Traiding Ltd, have won an international arbitration award of around $500 million against the government.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BK.N" type="external">Bank of New York Mellon Corp</a> 52.34 BK.N New York Stock Exchange -2.27 (-4.16%) BK.N
<p>Kazakhstan has refused to pay, accusing Stati of using fraudulent means to secure a favourable arbitration ruling and filing lawsuits against him.</p>
<p>The Justice Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday it was also seeking the reversal of a court ruling in Belgium which had frozen some Kazakh assets.</p>
<p>Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Jacqueline Wong</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China, although his action was far removed from threats that could have ignited a global trade war.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the memorandum, Trump will target the Chinese imports only after a consultation period, a measure that will give industry lobbyists and legislators a chance to water down a proposed target list which runs to 1,300 products.</p>
<p>China will also have space to respond to Trump’s actions, reducing the risk of immediate dramatic retaliation from Beijing, and Trump struck an emollient tone as he started speaking, saying “I view them as a friend.”</p>
<p>“We have spoken to China and we are in the middle of negotiations,” Trump said, adding that loss of American jobs from unfair trade was one of the main reasons he had been elected in 2016.</p>
<p>The United States runs a $375 billion goods trade deficit with China.</p>
<p>Washington will also pursue alleged breaches of intellectual property law by China through the World Trade Organization, a body that has repeatedly drawn the ire of the administration but which could provide a resolution that avoids a trade war.</p>
<p>Global stocks had sold off on Thursday on the expectation of tough action from Trump, with U.S. markets down as much as 2 percent, but recovered somewhat after the announcement.</p> U.S. President Donald Trump holds his signed memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
<p>Following Trump’s announcement on Thursday, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office will present a list of products that could be targeted, primarily from the high-tech sector. There will then be a 60-day consultation period before definitive action will be put into force.</p> CHINESE INVESTMENTS
<p>White House officials told a briefing ahead of the trade announcement that the administration was eyeing tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods. They said the figure was based on a calculation of the impact on the profits of U.S. companies that had been forced to hand over their intellectual property as the price of doing business in China.</p> Slideshow (12 Images)
<p>There was no explanation of the difference between the numbers provided by White House officials in the briefing and Trump’s $60 billion.</p>
<p>“Many of these areas are those where China has sought to acquire advantage through the unfair acquisition and forced technology transfer from U.S. companies ... establishing its own competitive advantage in an unfair manner,” Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told reporters.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-trade-eu/eu-leaders-receive-positive-news-on-trump-tariffs-idUSKBN1GY02V" type="external">EU leaders receive positive news on Trump tariffs</a>
<a href="/article/us-usa-trade-china/trump-administration-eyes-tariffs-on-50-billion-in-chinese-goods-idUSKBN1GY2DM" type="external">Trump administration eyes tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods</a>
<a href="/article/us-usa-trade-germany-tariffs/german-bga-trade-association-welcomes-us-tariff-exemptions-for-eu-idUSKBN1GY2BB" type="external">German BGA trade association welcomes US tariff exemptions for EU</a>
<p>In addition, Trump will also direct the U.S. Treasury to propose measures that could restrict Chinese investments in the United States, Eissenstat said.</p>
<p>The tariffs and investment restrictions will be imposed under the U.S. Trade Representative’s “Section 301” investigation into alleged misappropriation of U.S. intellectual property by China.</p>
<p>Eissenstat said the investigation clearly demonstrates unfair practices by China, which forces U.S. investors to turn over key technologies to Chinese firms.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Steve Holland, David Chance, David Lawder and Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Paul Simao</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German conglomerate Bayer won EU antitrust approval on Wednesday for its $62.5 billion buy of U.S. peer Monsanto, the latest in a trio of mega mergers that will reshape the agrochemicals industry.</p>
<p>The tie-up is set to create a company with control of more than a quarter of the world’s seed and pesticides market.</p>
<p>Driven by shifting weather patterns, competition in grain exports and a faltering global farm economy, Dow and Dupont, and ChemChina and Syngenta had earlier led a wave of consolidation in the sector.</p>
<p>Both deals secured EU approval only after the companies offered substantial asset sales to boost rivals.</p>
<p>Environmental and farming groups have opposed all three deals, worried about their power and their advantage in digital farming data, which can tell farmers how and when to till, sow, spray, fertilize and pick crops based on algorithms.</p>
<p>The European Commission said Bayer addressed its concerns with its offer to sell a swathe of assets to boost rival BASF, confirming a Reuters story on Feb. 28.</p>
<p>“Our decision ensures that there will be effective competition and innovation in seeds, pesticides and digital agriculture markets also after this merger,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.</p>
<p>“In particular, we have made sure that the number of global players actively competing in these markets stays the same.”</p>
<p>Vestager said the Commission, which received more than a million petitions concerning the deal, had been thorough by examining more than 2,000 different product markets and 2.7 million internal documents to produce a 1,285-page ruling.</p>
<p>The U.S. Justice Department, which is also reviewing the merger, said in a statement on its website that it would press on with its review and that the market in the two regions was quite different.</p> European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
<p>“While genetically modified seeds are largely prohibited in Europe, they are widely used throughout the United States,” the department noted. “The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice continues to examine the effects of the proposed transaction on American farmers and consumers.”</p>
<p>China has given conditional approval to the Bayer and Monsanto deal, which has won a green light in Brazil. It is currently being reviewed by Russian antitrust authorities too.</p>
<p>Australia said on Thursday it would not oppose the deal following the divestment commitment.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>Bayer has already reached a deal to sell certain seed and herbicide assets for 5.9 billion euros ($7.2 billion) to BASF and to give it a license to its global digital farming data. It will also divest its vegetable seeds business to BASF.</p>
<p>The Commission is due to rule on the BASF deal by April 16.</p>
<p>Online campaigns group Avaaz criticized the EU approval.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-monsanto-m-a-bayer-usa/u-s-says-it-is-still-reviewing-bayers-planned-monsanto-acquisition-idUSKBN1GX2HZ" type="external">U.S. says it is still reviewing Bayer's planned Monsanto acquisition</a>
<p>“This is a marriage made in hell. The Commission ignored a million people who called on them to block this deal, and caved in to lobbying to create a mega-corporation which will dominate our food supply,” Avaaz legal director Nick Flynn said.</p>
<p>U.S.-incorporated Avaaz, funded by its members, is active in climate change, poverty, conflict and corruption issues.</p>
<p>The Greens grouping in the European Parliament echoed the sentiment, saying smaller players in the agriculture industry needed to be helped too.</p>
<p>“The agriculture industry is already far too concentrated, giving a handful of massive firms a stranglehold on food production. Merging two of the biggest players only makes a bad situation worse,” Greens spokesman Bart Staes said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Foo Yun Chee with additional reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; editing by Robin Emmott, David Evans and Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s crude oil futures, to be launched on Monday, will be a major step in Beijing’s years-long push to win greater sway over oil pricing, but for western traders it will likely bring frustration as well as opportunity.</p> Workers are seen on an offshore oil platform surrounded by icy waters in Liaodong bay off Liaoning province, China January 18, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>Shanghai Crude aims to rival the world’s two crude benchmarks, luring overseas traders with the promise of a deep pool of liquidity and the chance for arbitrage between Asian, U.S. and European markets.</p>
<p>However, the contract will also come with quirks that traders used to London’s Brent or U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) may find less appealing, including shorter business hours, unique Chinese trading habits and extended holiday breaks.</p>
<p>Yuan-denominated trading and a blend of new rules and regulatory burdens will also likely hamper initial take-up on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), executives at a dozen banks and brokers and experts involved in the launch told Reuters.</p>
<p>“The rules around trading methodology will be unfamiliar for western houses,” said John Browning, chief operating officer of Hong Kong-based futures broker Bands Financial Ltd, which is an approved overseas intermediary for the INE.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-china-oil-futures-explainer/china-aims-to-challenge-brent-wti-oil-with-crude-futures-launch-idUSKBN1GY0S9" type="external">China aims to challenge Brent, WTI oil with crude futures launch</a>
<p>“They’ll have to get to grips with a different set of trading parameters, including initial margin calculation, rolling between months, order cancellations ratios, etc. It’s all very different.”</p>
<p>So far, China has opened more than 6,000 trading accounts, including the country’s oil majors and about 150 brokerages. Ten foreign intermediaries have registered, including J.P.Morgan, Bands Financial, Straits Financial Services and other Hong Kong based affiliates of domestic brokerages.</p>
<p>Last-minute changes are still being made to entice overseas users. On Tuesday, the government said it would waive income taxes for foreign investors for the first three years.</p> CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
<p>Specific issues for traders include Shanghai’s shorter trading hours, split into three slots, with the afternoon session ending at 3:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), just before London ramps up.</p>
<p>Although the exchange will have an overnight trading session to match late European and early U.S. trading, it will close for more than six hours before trade resumes in Beijing.</p> Slideshow (4 Images)
<p>This could mean the contract risks having to play catch-up each morning to the moods and swings of Europe and America, rather than setting its own price, several senior futures traders said.</p>
<p>Chinese trading habits may also be a shock to foreign users, they said.</p>
<p>Chinese commodity futures investors do not typically trade steadily over the months, but instead pick specific months in which they deal, due to a different cost structure. That could complicate efforts to trade spreads between Brent, WTI and Shanghai.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ICE.N" type="external">Intercontinental Exchange Inc</a> 72.31 ICE.N New York Stock Exchange -1.71 (-2.31%) ICE.N CME.O 601857.SS 600028.SS
<p>These and other factors mean the contract may have a “hard time” building correlations with Brent and WTI that would make arbitrage possible, said Albert Helmig, chief executive of financial consultancy Grey House and a former vice chairman of NYMEX.</p>
<p>“It’s a China market, with Chinese characteristics,” said Helmig.</p> FUTURE PLANS
<p>Still, China offers the potential for a deep, liquid market, buoyed by an explosion of interest from mom-and-pop investors that has supported its vast commodities derivative markets from apples to iron ore in Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Dalian.</p>
<p>In 2017, the total traded value of ShFE’s steel derivatives contracts was $4.4 trillion from domestic investors. This compares with global turnover of more than $10 trillion in international oil futures, the world’s biggest commodity market.</p>
<p>Previous attempts at an Asia benchmark have foundered. Contracts set up by the Dubai Mercantile Exchange a decade ago have not matched Brent or WTI, traded on the Intercontinental Exchange ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ICE.N" type="external">ICE.N</a>) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) owned by CME Group ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CME.O" type="external">CME.O</a>).</p>
<p>China hopes it can do better: with state-controlled oil majors like PetroChina ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=601857.SS" type="external">601857.SS</a>) and Sinopec ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=600028.SS" type="external">600028.SS</a>) expected to provide liquidity, analysts said the contract has a chance of succeeding even if it faces short-term caution.</p>
<p>“Launching a new exchange is enormously complex, so if the initial uptake for the contract isn’t that strong, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” said Bands’ Browning.</p>
<p>Reporting by Josephine Mason, Meng Meng and Tom Daly in BEIJING and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; editing by Richard Pullin</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration urged a federal judge on Thursday to block AT&amp;T Inc’s proposed $85 billion merger with Time Warner Inc, saying the deal would hand the company a “weapon” to harm competition and raise consumer prices.</p> Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes arrives ahead of arguments in the trial to determine if AT&amp;T's merger with Time Warner is legal under antitrust law at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
<p>During opening statements in one of the most closely watched U.S. antitrust trials in years, Justice Department lawyer Craig Conrath said the deal would hike prices for consumers by more than $400 million annually, or an average of $0.45 a month for pay TV subscribers.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T lawyer Daniel Petrocelli, in his opening statement, ridiculed the Justice Department’s case and suggested the administration was “fundamentally stuck in the past” and that its arguments were “divorced from reality.”</p>
<p>Petrocelli said the deal would actually lead to a 50-cent decrease in prices for pay TV subscribers, citing a number of errors in a government expert’s model of how the transaction would impact future prices.</p>
<p>But Conrath said AT&amp;T would be able to use content from movie and TV show maker Time Warner, including its Turner unit, to prevent innovation. The merger would hurt 90 million U.S. pay TV subscribers, Conrath added.</p>
<p>“This is a weapon to harm competition,” Conrath told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who will decide the case after a trial expected to last six to eight weeks.</p>
<p>“Time Warner would be a weapon for AT&amp;T because AT&amp;T’s competitors need Time Warner,” Conrath added.</p>
<p>The Justice Department, Petrocelli said, “cannot meet their burden of proof. They cannot prove that this would lessen competition.”</p>
<p>The merger is about the companies trying to better compete with technology businesses like Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc and others that are changing how people watch television, Petrocelli said.</p>
<p>Petrocelli added that the combined company would have a better ability to use data from users to target advertising. Companies like General Motors Co and Mastercard In will pay more for higher quality advertising and consumers will pay less, he said.</p>
<p>The Justice Department filed suit in November to stop AT&amp;T, which has some 25 million pay-TV subscribers, from closing the deal. AT&amp;T says a merger would benefit consumers by creating efficiencies. AT&amp;T is the biggest pay-TV provider via subsidiary DirecTV.</p> An AT&amp;T logo is pictured in Pasadena, California, U.S., January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
<p>Opening statements were delayed one day by bad weather in Washington.</p>
<p>Conrath suggested that AT&amp;T would be able to hike fees that Turner charges for its content by about 10 percent if the merger were approved and that the company could withhold content from rival distributors. He referenced an internal email from Turner executives that Dish Network Corp’s Sling service would be “crap” without Turner content, as he paraphrased the stronger language in the email.</p> Slideshow (3 Images) TRUMP’S CRITICISM
<p>Trump publicly criticized the deal as a candidate and as president, and the Republican president often has excoriated Time Warner’s CNN news network.</p>
<p>If the administration loses, that could open up the field for similar tie-ups between distributors and content providers. But a win could strengthen the hand of antitrust regulators looking at other, similarly structured mergers.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T and Time Warner are not direct competitors, making the deal a so-called vertical merger between companies on the same supply chain. The vast majority of challenged mergers involve one rival buying another.</p>
<p>The merger would hand AT&amp;T, if it becomes the new owner of Time Warner, the motive and opportunity to refuse to license March Madness NCAA basketball tournament games, along with premium cable channel HBO and other content, to pay-TV rivals and online distributors, the Justice Department has said.</p>
<p>Petrocelli had asked for access to communications between the White House and Justice Department about the deal, but the judge denied the request. Trump’s opposition to the merger did not come up during opening statements. AT&amp;T lawyers have previously said the Time Warner deal may have been singled out for enforcement, citing Trump’s statements that the deal was bad for consumers and the country.</p>
<p>If the government loses, Verizon Communications Inc and Charter Communications Inc could strike deals to buy movie or television makers and squeeze smaller pay-TV providers.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T has said the merger would result in more than $2.5 billion in annual cost savings by 2020. It argues that the deal is crucial to compete with companies like Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Netflix Inc.</p>
<p>The internet companies pose two challenges to pay TV. They either compete with cable and satellite television for ad dollars or provide cheaper online video that has hurt pricey pay-TV. Some do both.</p>
<p>Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Kazakhstan says freeze lifted on $22 billion in oil fund assets Trump sets China tariff plan, edges away from global trade war Bayer wins EU approval for $62.5 billion Monsanto buy China's oil futures: frazzle or dazzle for foreign traders? U.S. Justice Department urges judge to block AT&T-Time Warner merger | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-swf-freeze/kazakhstan-says-freeze-lifted-on-22-billion-in-oil-fund-assets-idUSKBN1FD0CY | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 15-year-old boy apparently shot and killed Wednesday liked to dance, listen to rapper Lil Wayne and play basketball – even though he wasn’t very good at it, one of his friends said.</p>
<p>“It’s shocking. I get the chills like every five seconds,” the boy’s friend Joab Ortiz-Perea said Wednesday after hearing about the death from some of his friends. “He was a great person.”</p>
<p>The boy was wounded just before 8 a.m. in or near a home on 57th Street NW, according to Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Tanner Tixier. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital from what looked like a gunshot wound, though Tixier said the state Office of the Medical Investigator hadn’t confirmed that Wednesday morning. Police haven’t identified the victim.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police are looking for an offender and are following some good leads, Tixier said, but nobody had been arrested Wednesday. He said he wouldn’t give details of how many people or who police were looking for.</p>
<p>“It’s still a very active, ongoing investigation,” he said. “We have a pretty good idea of who we’re looking for.”</p>
<p>He said police believe there was a fight in a home in the 200 block of 57th Street, near Central. They hadn’t found a gun Wednesday morning.</p>
<p>A woman in pajamas was crying in the arms of an APD chaplain at the scene, which was roped off with crime tape.</p>
<p>“I tried to save him, I tried to save my baby. I just got my heart ripped out of my chest,” she said.</p>
<p>Throughout the day, police were focusing on a house on the east side of the street. The department’s bomb squad arrived in the late afternoon to check a suspicious item that didn’t end up being hazardous, according to APD spokeswoman Tasia Martinez.</p>
<p>The apparent shooting took place about three blocks from where three teens allegedly bludgeoned two homeless men to death in late July. That’s the same neighborhood where Alfred Redwine was shot and killed by police in March after a large protest against the department’s use of force hours earlier.</p>
<p>Tim Sanchez, who has owned a house on the block for 25 years, said the neighborhood is sometimes unpredictable.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“You never know what’s going on around here,” Sanchez said.</p>
<p>Ortiz-Perea said he met the victim playing basketball at Bandelier Elementary School about two years ago. He said the two hung out every day for much of their friendship, though they hadn’t been hanging out as much recently, he said.</p>
<p>“You don’t believe it until you see it,” said another friend Ruben Perez. “It’s unbelievable. He was only 15.”</p>
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<p />
<p /> | 15-year-old killed in apparent shooting in ABQ | false | https://abqjournal.com/498539/victim-pronounced-dead-after-nw-abq-shooting.html | 2014-11-19 | 2 |
<p>Jan 22 (Reuters) - Sundar Pichai:</p>
<p>* GOOGLE CEO SUNDAR PICHAI SAYS CO TO OPEN 4 LOCAL GOOGLE HUBS ACROSS FRANCE‍​ Source text: ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2G5P6Db" type="external">bit.ly/2G5P6Db</a>) Further company coverage:</p> Our Standards:
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<p>PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron promised 1.5 billion euros ($1.85 billion) of public funding into artificial intelligence by 2022 in a bid to reverse a brain drain and catch up with the dominant U.S. and Chinese tech giants.</p> French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the Artificial Intelligence for Humanity event in Paris, France, March 29, 2018. Etienne Laurent/Pool via Reuters
<p>The investment is part of an AI strategy laid out by the centrist leader at the elite College de France research institute in Paris and builds on a report that points to the assets and drawbacks of France in the field.</p>
<p>Business-friendly Macron wants to turn France into a “start up nation” and bets that easing labor laws and higher investments technology will create jobs, alleviate the domination of Alphabet’s Google, Facebook and lay out the seeds for Europe-based champions.</p>
<p>“There’s no chance of controlling any effects (of these technologies) or having a say on any adverse effect if we’ve missed the start of the war,” the president said on Thursday in front of a row of ministers and top executives, including BNP Paribas Jean-Laurent Bonnafé.</p> French President Emmanuel Macron looks through a microscope during a visit concerning the artificial intelligence with researchers at the Institut Curie Hospital in Paris, France, March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
<p>He spoke between two black boards covered with complex equations in the main amphitheatre of the institute, founded in the 16th century.</p>
<p>The first goal is to make better use of the French higher education system that trains computer engineers and mathematicians only to see them leave for jobs at top U.S. tech companies.</p>
<p>Some of them have secured high-level positions Google and Facebook, and Facebook, which opened an AI research center in Paris in 2015.</p>
<p>“What a waste,” said Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire earlier on Thursday. “France pays for the training of doctoral students who then head to the United States.”</p> LADY GAGA OF MATHEMATICS
<p>The AI plan was inspired by a government-commissioned report by Cedric Villani, the self-styled “Lady Gaga of Mathematics” and winner of the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize.</p> Slideshow (7 Images)
<p>Villani, who is also a lawmaker in Macron’s party, said in the report the brain drain to Silicon Valley companies showed the excellence of French schools and justified a doubling of their salaries — a proposal that was eventually left out.</p>
<p>The report also pointed to the need for greater collaboration between government research centers and private companies to keep the best minds at home, an idea that was praised by Macron and could lead an easing of the conditions needed for state researchers to work in for private companies.</p>
<p>Macron’s AI plan calls for the opening up of data collected by state-owned organizations such as France’s centralized healthcare system to drive up efficiency through AI — the field in computer science that aims to create machines able to perceive the environment and make decisions.</p>
<p>The amount to be spent, about $450 million, represents a drop in the ocean of AI spending worldwide, which consultancy firm McKinsey estimated between $20 and 30 billion for the biggest tech companies alone in 2016.</p>
<p>In a sign Macron’s efforts to woo top scientists and businesses may be starting to bear fruit, Samsung Electronics , Japan’s Fujitsu and London-based Google-owned DeepMind announced plans to beef up their operations in Paris earlier.</p>
<p>IBM also announced on Thursday its intentions to recruit 400 AI experts in France over the next two years.</p>
<p>Before unveiling his plan, Macron hosted a dinner with about a dozen AI experts at the Elysee palace.</p>
<p>Guests included Yann LeCun - the New York-based Frenchman who until recently ran Facebook’s AI research lab - and Demis Hassabis of London-based DeepMind, creator of the AlphaGo system that in 2016 beat an elite human player of the Chinese game “Go”.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier; Editing by Richard Lough, Leigh Thomas and Richard Balmforfth</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] does not use the self-driving platform architecture of Nvidia Corp, the chipmaker’s Chief Executive Jensen Huang said on Wednesday.</p> Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaks at the 2018 Nvidia GPU conference in San Jose, California, U.S. March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Alexandria Sage
<p>The ride-hailing service uses Nvidia’s graphics processing units known as GPUs, Huang told an audience on the final day of Nvidia’s GPU conference in San Jose, California.</p>
<p>“Uber does not use Nvidia DRIVE technology. Uber develops its own sensing and drive technology,” Huang said in response to a question asked at the conference.</p>
<p>The Nvidia DRIVE platform is used by over 370 companies developing self-driving technology, including automakers and robotaxi companies and makers of self-driving hardware, such as sensors.</p>
<p>Huang’s comments provide more detail as to the relationship between Nvidia and Uber, one of its many partners.</p>
<p>Nvidia’s shares have fallen by about 9.5 percent since the company said on Tuesday it was temporarily halting its self-driving tests on public roads out of respect for the victim in the March 18 accident involving an Uber self-driving vehicle. An investigation is ongoing.</p>
<p>The chipmaker is continuing tests on closed enclosures, the chief executive said.</p>
<p>Uber suspended self-driving tests in North America after an autonomous vehicle struck and killed a woman crossing a street in Arizona earlier in the month.</p>
<p>Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and Alexandria Sage in San Francisco</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said on Thursday it had decided to cut 353 jobs in its home market Finland this year due to a weak global network market and as part of its global cost-savings plan.</p> The Nokia logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Perez
<p>The figure came down from the company’s initial plan to reduce up to 425 jobs.</p>
<p>Under the finalised plan, 283 of the positions will be cut from the company’s mainstay networks business and 70 from its Technologies unit, which includes Nokia’s licensing operations and digital health business.</p>
<p>Globally, Nokia is looking to save 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) annually following its 2016 acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent and a weak network equipment market has encouraged it to step up measures.</p>
<p>Nokia currently employs 6,300 people in Finland and around 102,800 globally.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; editing by Niklas Pollard</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it would end its partnerships with several large data brokers who help advertisers target people on the social network, a step that follows a scandal over how Facebook handles personal information.</p>
<p>The world’s largest social media company is under pressure to improve its handling of data after disclosing that information about 50 million Facebook users wrongly ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.</p>
<p>Facebook adjusted the privacy settings on its service on Wednesday, giving users control over their personal information in fewer taps.</p>
<p>Facebook has for years given advertisers the option of targeting their ads based on data collected by companies such as Acxiom Corp and Experian PLC.</p>
<p>The tool has been widely used among certain categories of advertisers - such as automakers, luxury goods producers and consumer packaged goods companies - who do not sell directly to consumers and have relatively little information about who their customers are, according to Facebook.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-facebook-cambridge-analytica-nix/suspended-cambridge-analytica-ceo-to-appear-before-uk-parliamentary-committee-idUSKBN1H423H" type="external">Suspended Cambridge Analytica CEO to appear before UK parliamentary committee</a>
<a href="/article/us-colombia-cambridge-analytica/colombia-blocks-app-it-says-possibly-linked-to-cambridge-analytica-idUSKBN1H42CL" type="external">Colombia blocks app it says possibly linked to Cambridge Analytica</a>
<p>“While this is common industry practice, we believe this step, winding down over the next six months, will help improve people’s privacy on Facebook,” Graham Mudd, a Facebook product marketing director, said in a statement.</p>
<p>Shares in Acxiom traded down more than 10 percent to $25 after Facebook’s announcement after the bell. Shares in other data brokers were largely unchanged.</p>
<p>Acxiom said late on Wednesday it did not expect this change to impact its revenue or earnings for the year ending in March. The company currently expects revenue in the range of $910 million to $915 million in the 2018 fiscal year.</p>
<p>However, for the 2019 fiscal year, Acxiom expects total revenue and profitability to be negatively impacted by as much as $25 million.</p>
<p>Facebook declined to comment on how the change could affect its ad revenue.</p>
<p>Advertisers would still be able to use third-party data services to measure how well their ads performed by examining purchasing data, Facebook said.</p>
<p>Facebook’s website lists nine third-party data providers that it has worked with, including Acxiom, Experian, Oracle Data Cloud, TransUnion and WPP PLC.</p>
<p>Other companies, besides Acxiom, were not available for comment.</p>
<p>Facebook on Wednesday also put all its privacy settings on one page and made it easier to stop third-party apps from using personal information. Privacy settings had previously been spread over at least 20 screens, Facebook said.</p>
<p>Facebook said in a blog post it had been working on the updates for some time but sped things up to appease users’ anger over how the company uses data and as lawmakers around the globe call for regulation.</p>
<p>Facebook’s shares closed up 0.5 percent at $153.03 on Wednesday. They are still down more than 17 percent since March 16, when Facebook first acknowledged that user data had been improperly channeled in 2014 via a third-party app to Cambridge Analytica, which was later hired by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.</p>
<p>The data leak has raised investor concerns that any failure by big tech companies to protect privacy could deter advertisers, who are Facebook’s lifeblood, and lead to tougher regulation.</p> Figurines are seen in front of the Facebook logo in this illustration taken March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic SCRUTINY FROM LAWMAKERS
<p>Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly apologized for the mistakes the company made and has promised to crack down on abuse of the Facebook platform and restrict developers’ access to user information.</p>
<p>There is a new Facebook page - called Access Your Information - where users can see what they have shared and manage it.</p>
<p>“The biggest difference is ease of access in settings, which fulfills Mark Zuckerberg’s promise to make the privacy process and permissions more transparent to users,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.</p>
<p>It was uncertain whether the changes will satisfy lawmakers.</p>
<p>They were announced ahead of a stringent European Union data law which comes into force in May. It requires companies to give people a “right to portability” - to take their data with them - and imposes fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue for companies breaking the law.</p> A Facebook logo reflected in the eye of a woman is seen in this picture illustration taken in Skopje November 6, 2014. Picture take November6. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski
<p>Lawmakers in the United States and Britain are still clamoring for Zuckerberg himself to explain how users’ data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica.</p>
<p>He plans to testify before Congress, a source briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. Facebook has said it has received invitations to testify and that it is talking to legislators.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg and the CEOs of Alphabet Inc and Twitter Inc have been invited to testify at an April 10 hearing on data privacy. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and U.S. Senate Commerce Committee have also asked Zuckerberg to appear at a hearing.</p>
<p>The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Facebook, and attorneys representing 37 states are also pressing Zuckerberg to explain what happened.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Ingram and Julia Fioretti; Additional reporting by Laharee Chatterjee, Arjun Panchadar and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish and Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Co To Open 4 Local Google Hubs Across France France to spend $1.8 billion on AI to compete with U.S., China Chipmaker Nvidia's CEO says Uber does not use its self-driving processing solution Nokia to cut 353 jobs in Finland Facebook cuts ties to data brokers in blow to targeted ads | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-google-ceo-sundar-pichai-says-co-t/brief-google-ceo-sundar-pichai-says-co-to-open-4-local-google-hubs-across-france-idUSFWN1PH11G | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p>As California's San Joaquin River meanders down from the Sierra Nevada across the Central Valley toward the San Francisco Bay, it loses water to farms and communities along the way. Now, amid drought, a national river conservation agency is calling on California to manage the San Joaquin's much-needed water more efficiently.</p>
<p>The nonprofit American Rivers announced Wednesday (April 9) that it has deemed the San Joaquin the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/28789-most-endangered-us-rivers-2013.html" type="external">most endangered river</a> in America. The organization highlights 10 rivers each year facing threats and management decisions that could make or break their futures.</p>
<p>"The San Joaquin has lots of problems from dams, levees and water diversions," said John Cain, the conservation director for California floodplain management at American Rivers. "It's had these problems for a long time, but this year, it's really at a tipping point." [ <a href="http://www.livescience.com/44630-endangered-rivers-2014.html" type="external">Under Threat: See the 10 Most Endangered Rivers of 2014</a>]</p>
<p>Fork in the river</p>
<p>There are two big legislative and management decisions facing the San Joaquin. The first is that the state's Water Resources Control Board is updating its Bay Delta Water Quality Plan. This plan governs the enormous estuary that connects the San Joaquin to the Pacific, the Bay Delta; it's the largest estuary on the west coast of either North or South America, said Eric Wesselman, executive director of the California conservation organization Friends of the River.</p>
<p>The estuary is a crucial habitat for fish, including the economically important <a href="http://www.livescience.com/43171-salmon-know-migration-route.html" type="external">Chinook salmon</a>, Wesselman, who was not involved in the American Rivers report, told Live Science. The water board has the power to increase flows down the San Joaquin into the estuary, improving the water and habitat quality. Though there is pressure from agricultural interests to keep that water for irrigation, environmental advocates argue that increased flows are necessary to protect both the environment and the economy.</p>
<p>"If the estuary collapses, then these fisheries collapse," Wesselman said.</p>
<p>There are also farmers near the estuary who would prefer more water get downstream, Cain added. And 23 million Californians get drinking water from the San Joaquin and south delta.</p>
<p>"Today, that supply is really compromised by the low quality and quantity of the San Joaquin river," Cain said.</p>
<p>The San Joaquin and its tributaries are extensively dammed, and water diversions remove 70 percent of the natural flow of the river, American Rivers reports. More than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the river have run dry for half a century because of the diversions.</p>
<p>A second tipping point for the river involves attempts in Congress to overturn a settlement agreement to restore the San Joaquin. This settlement, hard-won over the course of two decades of litigation, is threatened by the pressures on the river's water. The problems have only worsened as <a href="http://www.livescience.com/44606-california-drought-snowpack.html" type="external">California's drought</a> drags on. In February, the Fresno Bee newspaper reported that <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/02/03/3749022/san-joaquin-river-restoration.html" type="external">planned water releases</a> for the restoration have been put on hold until at least 2015.</p>
<p>The drought is "like putting gasoline on the fire for water politics," Wesselman said.</p>
<p>Water solutions</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.livescience.com/21469-drought-definition.html" type="external">drought</a>, however, is not the reason American Rivers chose to highlight the San Joaquin this year, Cain said. The river's problems run deep, and would require a solution no matter how much rain California was getting, he said.</p>
<p>American Rivers is urging Californians to push for a sustainable management plan for the San Joaquin. Wesselman said that probably the most efficient route for reaching the Water Resources Control Board's ear is to pressure the state's governor, Jerry Brown, who appoints the board. [ <a href="http://www.livescience.com/44631-san-joaquin-river-images.html" type="external">See Images of the San Joaquin River</a>]</p>
<p>Nationally, citizens can urge their senators to oppose attempts to overturn state and federal laws that safeguard rivers from excessive diversion, Cain said.</p>
<p>"What we're advocating for is better water management regimes so that there is enough water for farms and fish," Cain said. "That would really require water conservation in all years and actively recharging our aquifer in wet years, so it can serve as a buffer in dry years."</p>
<p>About 80 percent of California's water goes to agriculture, so conservation by farmers is key, Wesselman said. Possible solutions include installing drip rather than spray irrigation; planting annual crops such as lettuce that can be tailored to wet and dry years versus plants such as nut trees that must be watered no matter the weather; and lining canals so that precious water doesn't seep into the soil instead of irrigating crops.</p>
<p>"The drought, in a way, is the opportunity for California to put itself on a path to a sustainable water future," Wesselman said.</p>
<p>American Rivers highlighted nine other endangered rivers in its report, as well. Threats range from excessive diversions to outdated dams to polluted runoff. The full list is:</p>
<p>1. San Joaquin River, California</p>
<p>2. Upper Colorado River, Colorado</p>
<p>3. Middle <a href="http://www.livescience.com/30414-mississippi-river-flooding-before-after-images.html" type="external">Mississippi River</a>, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky</p>
<p>4. Gila River, New Mexico</p>
<p>5. San Francisquito Creek, California</p>
<p>6. South Fork Edisto River, South Carolina</p>
<p>7. White River, Colorado</p>
<p>8. White River, Washington</p>
<p>9. Haw River, North Carolina</p>
<p>10. Clearwater and Lochsa rivers, Idaho</p>
<p>Follow Stephanie Pappas on <a href="https://twitter.com/sipappas" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/101831066787121148004/posts" type="external">Google+</a>. Follow us <a href="https://twitter.com/LiveScience" type="external">@livescience</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/livescience" type="external">Facebook</a> &amp; <a href="https://plus.google.com/101164570444913213957/posts" type="external">Google+</a>. Original article on <a href="http://www.livescience.com/44708-most-endangered-river-2014.html" type="external">Live Science</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 2014 <a href="http://www.livescience.com/" type="external">LiveScience</a>, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</p> | America’s Most Endangered River Reaches Tipping Point | false | http://nbcnews.com/science/science-news/americas-most-endangered-river-reaches-tipping-point-n75836 | 2014-04-09 | 3 |
<p>By Bill Prather</p>
<p>This article is based on a Nov. 15 sermon from Mark 13:1-8, the Revised Common Lectionary text following the terrorist attacks in Paris.</p>
<p>I have to confess that I’m not a big fan of disaster movies. I can count the ones that I’ve seen not only on one hand, but with one finger. Yes, the first and only disaster movie that I’ve seen was the original Poseidon Adventure which came out in 1972 and starred Gene Hackman, Earnest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and a host of others. As you might remember, a huge wave capsizes the ocean liner and the survivors, in the hope of rescue, must travel through the upside down ship toward the exposed hull of the ship. Navigating the obstacles in their journey to the bottom of the boat, there is great joy as the survivors signal their rescuers and are eventually pulled from the wreckage of that ocean liner. Although there is joy and celebration at the triumph of the survivors, a good disaster flick has just a little too much drama and mayhem in it to keep me coming back.</p>
<p>The lectionary texts for Nov. 15th, particularly Mark 13:1-8 (with a bit of Hebrews 10:11-25) have me thinking of disaster movies as the gospel writer takes an interesting turn in his narrative.</p>
<p />
<p>Mark has been telling story after story, but as chapter 13 begins, his writing turns more apocalyptic in form. As Jesus’ disciples are marveling at the grandeur of the temple, Jesus tells his followers that the great structure will soon be destroyed — reduced to a pile of rubble. In the next verse, sitting opposite of the temple on the Mount of Olives, Mark’s four initial disciples ask Jesus to explain what will happen and to give them a sign. Jesus basically refuses their request. Normally I am pretty self-righteously critical of the disciples’ thickheaded behavior and I wonder why the disciples don’t “get” Jesus like we modern day Christians do. (My tongue is firmly in my cheek here.) But in this instance, I identify with the disciples’ questions and I think that most of us do as well.</p>
<p>Like the disciples, we have a yearning to know what is going to happen in life and we want to know the details of how the future will unfold. We want to be able to see the signs of the coming chaos that Jesus describes and know why those things will be happening. We may especially feel that way in recent days as our world is feeling the effects of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Not only do our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of France, those injured and the loved ones of those murdered, but our own anxiety level has been raised realizing again that there are people in the world who would hope to terrorize and kill innocent people. So, if we could just know the signs of the approaching end, we could be prepared for what’s to come and we could have at least some small amount of control over future events.</p>
<p>But as the disciples learn from Jesus, so in the text, we grasp that Jesus is not some sort of fortuneteller who is present with us to ease our mind and give us a pat on the head to reassure us. He doesn’t give us clues about future events to calm our fears and thus expose us to the temptation to behave as we choose until the signs appear. Instead, Jesus advises us to be alert, watchful and prepared for what is to come. He warns his followers to be on guard for deceivers who will be in our midst and he encourages us to not be alarmed at the news of chaos and suffering. Jesus understands that the news of this world will only serve to heighten our fears and raise our level of anxiety. Its purpose will be to mislead the Christian and have the follower cling to the latest worldly wisdom in search of truth and security. It’s interesting that in his warning, Jesus says that the things we will hear of will be just the beginning of what is to come.</p>
<p>So, how is the Christian to live faithfully in times of chaos without knowing the signs of what is to come? How does one deal with all of the situations of tragedy and suffering which would have us have us live in confusion and fear? The attacks in Paris are a prime example of what Jesus is referring to, but other situations also come to mind such as a devastating diagnosis of cancer or some other life threatening illness, the collapse of a mighty structure or a tragic loss of innocence. How is one to live in the midst of all of this as well as the competing voice of the world which are all full of passionate conviction and claiming to know the truth of world events leading to the end?</p>
<p>Common sense would say that the Christian ought not fly apart and point to every little hiccup in our society as a threat to the world and evidence of Jesus’ coming in the next hour. And that same common sense would also have us not simply bury our head in the sand and simply think that all of the crazy talk of the end of the world will go away. Rather, in all of the chaotic and fearful situations of life, our focus must not be on signs and voices, but instead on the One who is to come. Our center of peace and calm is to be on the One who enables us to look up amid the chaos that we face and claim the certainty of his presence and blessing. Our life or the world may have appeared to fall apart. It may seem that confusion and disorder reign in our world. But the hope of the Christian is found in Christ and our faith in him.</p>
<p>The author of Hebrews says in another lectionary text for the day (Hebrews 10:11-25), that we are to hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering. That means that we are to have faith in Jesus and have that faith because Jesus is reliable. Thank God that we don’t hold onto faith in our own strength, rather our confidence and true security are grounded in the trustworthiness and faithfulness of the One who keeps promises. We develop our faith and maintain our focus on Jesus by drawing near to him and striving to be like him. For we know that as we do that, we will be shaped, formed and prepared so that we are ready for the times of chaos to come.</p>
<p>Thinking back on Jesus’ response to his disciples, perhaps it is a good thing that Jesus didn’t answer their questions and give them the signs they were looking for. It seems that a better answer for the disciples is that Jesus knew that his followers would be alright if they stayed close to him. They had committed their lives to him, spent time with him, and served him. And they would continue to model their life after Jesus’ so they would grow in discernment and be able to tell the lies from the truth even in the midst of confusion and tragedy.</p>
<p>So, as it is for the disciples, may it be for us modern day followers as well. As we have faith in Jesus, follow him closely and know him, may we too be able to discern the truth even amid all of the disconcerting events and chaos that we hear of. Jesus closes the Markan passage in saying that the rumors will be the beginnings of labor. So, the discerning Christian can live in expectation and anticipation that something marvelous that is coming from God. We can rest assured that God is preparing to birth something wonderful as we will keep the faith and trust in him.</p> | Looking for signs of the future | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/looking-for-signs-of-the-future/ | 3 |
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<p>Xi Jinping may be a celebrity in Muscatine, Iowa, but his wife is a star in China.</p>
<p>The vice president's wife, Peng Liyuan, is a well-known folk singer.</p>
<p>She has not given up her career for her husband and has appeared regularly in front of hundreds of millions of people at China's Annual Spring Festival television pageants.</p>
<p>Anchor Marco Werman talks to journalist Shirong Chen about her music.</p> | Chinese Vice President's Wife, Peng Liyuan, is a Star Folk Singer | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-02-15/chinese-vice-presidents-wife-peng-liyuan-star-folk-singer | 2012-02-15 | 3 |
<p>A Christian pastor in India was murdered over the weekend while preparing for his church’s 25th anniversary celebration.</p>
<p>Shots rang out this past Saturday night when two assassins on a motorcycle gunned down Pastor Sultan Masih, who co-founded Temple of God in Peeru Banda Mohalla of Salem Tabri, Ludhiana District, located in India’s northern state of Punjab. He was lured outside the building by a phone call, according to an <a href="http://morningstarnews.org/2017/07/pastor-punjab-state-india-shot-dead/" type="external">article</a> by Morning Star News. Members of the congregation were outraged by the killing, prompting local authorities to call for calm in the region.</p>
<p>The victim’s youngest brother, Raj Kamal Masih, explained that the pastor’s son discovered his father after hearing the gunshots. “Anoop Masih heard the noise of shooting and came out of his room on the first floor,” he said. “Seeing his dad lying on the road, he screamed and alerted everyone in the church building.”</p>
<p>The incident was captured by a nearby CCTV camera. The Indian Tribune <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/pastor-shot-dead-outside-ludhiana-church/437322.html" type="external">reported</a> that two children witnessed the shooting. One told the Tribune, “We were playing near the church when two men arrived on a bike and shot the pastor. We raised the alarm and informed his family. He was taken to the DMC Hospital in a car.”</p>
<p>Fellow Pastor Balwinder Kumar said the attack happened at 8:45 p.m. when Misah received the call. The victim's family believes it was a premeditated attack since he went outside to be targeted by what witnesses described as two youths on a motorbike.</p>
<p>The Indian Express <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ludhiana-pastor-sultan-masih-killing-punjab-cm-amarinder-singh-gives-widow-rs-5-lakh-police-job-to-son-4753427/" type="external">reported</a> that Ludhiana Police Commissioner RN Dhoke confirmed Masih was rushed to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital where he was pronounced dead.</p>
<p>Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed his shock and regret over the shooting. He asked the local police to coordinate with Christian ministers in helping to ease tensions between them and their hostile neighbors.</p>
<p>While no suspect has been arrested at this time, authorities believe that members of the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were behind the attack.</p>
<p>Pastor Kumar stated that RSS “objected” to the event. “RSS activists arrived there and started accusing the pastor of forced conversions,” he said. “They came to him to quarrel twice after the event, too.”</p>
<p>RSS filmed a confrontation between their members and Pastor Misah. “The feud was not so very serious that he had to be killed like this.” said Kumar. “The RSS activists accused him that, ‘You Christians get paid for converting people. How much do you pay the converted?’ They were stiff and were not listening when Pastor Masih tried to explain it is not true.” No violence happened during this incident.</p>
<p>Pastor Misah is survived by his wife Sarabjit and his sons Alishah, 26, and Hanok, 18. Aside from serving as the lead pastor of Temple of God, he also ran a school where he educated impoverished children in the community.</p> | Indian Pastor Murdered During His Church's Anniversary Celebration | true | https://dailywire.com/news/18670/indian-pastor-murdered-during-his-churchs-jacob-airey | 2017-07-17 | 0 |
<p>From the September 18 edition of Fox News' Hannity:</p>
<p>HANNITY: And over the past few months we have sounded the alarm about the White House's green jobs czar, Van Jones, who was forced to step down just weeks ago.</p>
<p>JONES [video clip]: This moment is deeper than a solar panel. Deeper than a solar panel. Don't stop there. Don't stop there. No, we're going to change the whole system. We're going to change the whole thing. We're not going to put a new battery in a broken system. We want a new system.</p>
<p>HANNITY: But those men are just the tip of the iceberg. Now, tonight we bring you a special report about 10 people who President Obama has appointed or nominated to work on your behalf in your government. Now you judge for yourself: Are the president's 10 representative of your vision for America?</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>Now, you've heard the entire list. Folks, don't go anywhere, because coming up next, we have a very, very special edition of our great, "Great American Panel." They're going to react to the president's top 10. And you've got to ask yourself the question: Should any of them be fired?</p>
<p>Hannity claims Carol Browner supports "redistribution of wealth" because of link to an international federation of progressive political parties. Referring to Obama administration energy official Carol Browner, Hannity said:</p>
<p>HANNITY: Now, The Washington Times reports that, as recently as December 2008, <a type="external" href="" /> <a type="external" href="" />Browner's name appeared as one of the directors of the group Socialist International. Now, the group's own website proclaims that they support a, quote, "new world order to replace the current concentration of power in a few economic hands." Well, that sounds like redistribution of wealth, now, doesn't it?</p>
<p>As Media Matters for America has <a href="/research/2009/09/09/fox-news-on-a-witch-hunt-for-obama-czars/154379" type="external">noted</a>, Socialist International is an international federation of progressive parties that includes the <a href="http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=928" type="external">British</a> and <a href="http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=930" type="external">Israeli</a> Labor parties as constituent members.</p>
<p>Hannity distorts Rosa Brooks' statement on Al Qaeda. Hannity stated: "Now, during her previous career as a columnist for the L.A. Times, [Defense Department official Rosa Brooks] wrote a July 2007 column claiming that before 9-11 Al Qaeda was a little more than obscure group of extremist thugs and that U.S. policies have since turned them into a vast global threat. So I guess she's suggesting it was our fault." In fact, in her July 20, 2007, Los Angeles Times op-ed, Brooks <a href="/research/2009/04/24/wash-times-editorial-distorts-rosa-brooks-state/149488" type="external">attributed to "most experts"</a> the conclusion that Al Qaeda "was little more than an obscure group of extremist thugs." She also wrote that the group was "well financed and intermittently lethal" in 2001.</p>
<p>Hannity alleges that Mark Lloyd's position on corporate and public broadcasting "sounds like something that may happen in Venezuela." Hannity asserted of Federal Communications Commission chief diversity officer Mark Lloyd: "Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that Lloyd has criticized corporate ownership of media and has advocated taxing station owners to subsidize public broadcasters. And if that sounds like something that may happen in Venezuela, well, you may be right."</p>
<p>Hannity links David Hamilton to recent ACORN videos based on one month of fundraising he did for ACORN in 1979. Hannity declared: "Now, besides once being a board member of the Indiana ACLU, [Obama's 7th Circuit Court of Appeals nominee David] Hamilton was also a one-time fundraiser for -- you guessed it -- the group ACORN. By the way, I wonder what he thinks of all the videotapes that have been released in the past week." However, Hamilton's work for ACORN <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/17/AR2009031703031.html" type="external">reportedly</a> consisted of "raising contributions door-to-door for the advocacy group ACORN for one month after college" in 1979, as Media Matters has <a href="/research/2009/03/19/fox-news-bream-uncritically-repeats-conservativ/148422" type="external">noted</a>.</p>
<p>Hannity advances dubious claim that Harold Koh may believe "we should also apply Sharia law here in the United States." Hannity stated that State Department legal adviser Harold Koh "advocates a, quote, 'transnational legal process,' meaning that judges should not follow American law when making decisions but also follow global, quote, 'norms.' " Hannity added: "Now, does he think we should also apply Sharia law here in the United States?" Hannity has previously <a href="/research/2009/09/10/hannity-advances-dubious-claim-that-koh-advocat/154432" type="external">asserted as fact</a> that Koh "advocates the use of Sharia law in America." But that characterization -- originated by a lawyer who claimed that at a 2007 event, Koh said that Sharia law "could, in an appropriate instance ... govern a controversy in a federal or state court in the US" -- has been disputed by both the host of the event where Koh purportedly spoke about Sharia law and by Koh himself.</p>
<p>Notorious Clinton-basher Hannity puts Samantha Power on the list for calling Clinton a "monster." Hannity said that National Security Council adviser Samantha Power "had been a foreign policy adviser during the campaign until she referred to then-Senator Hillary Clinton as a, quote, 'monster' and was fired. But now she's back. And by the way, I wonder if she and Hillary made up and are having coffee together." Hannity -- who has previously <a href="/research/2008/08/26/sean-hannity-on-demonizing-hillary-clinton-that/144595" type="external">said</a> that "demoniz[ing]" Clinton is "my job" and <a href="/research/2008/08/25/sean-hannity-i-think-i-was-more-fair-to-the-cli/144573" type="external">repeatedly smeared her</a> -- provided no other justification for including Power on the list.</p>
<p>Hannity distorts Cass Sunstein's position, falsely claims he supports "basically creating a nation of forced organ donors." Hannity falsely claimed that Cass Sunstein, Obama's nominee to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has said that "the state should own the organs of the deceased, basically creating a nation of forced organ donors." In fact, Sunstein <a href="/research/2009/09/10/witch-hunt-continues-fox-goes-after-sunstein-wi/154443" type="external">recommended</a> that states should consider either presumed consent or mandated choices, policies he said would save lives while "preserving freedom." Under "presumed consent" policy, citizens "would be presumed to be consenting donors" and could "easily" opt-out. Under a "mandated choice" policy, individuals could be required to make their preference known in order to renew their driver's license.</p>
<p>Hannity claimed John Holdren has "come close to advancing" theories that "kind of sound like forced sterilization." Hannity asserted that White House science and technology adviser John Holdren has "written about population control and has come close to advancing some very unusual theories, including the idea that sterilization capsules could be implanted in people when they reach puberty or by spiking drinking water with chemicals to prevent pregnancy. Now, doesn't it kind of sound like forced sterilization? It does to me." Hannity has <a href="/research/2009/09/09/hannity-falsely-claims-science-adviser-holdren/154356" type="external">previously claimed</a> that Holdren "spoke out in defense of compulsory abortion and sterilization." But Holdren never advocated for any kind of involuntary birth control; he co-authored an environmental sciences book more than 30 years ago that discusses "compulsory control of family size" including sterilization as a possible consequence for countries whose expanding birth rates are not curbed by "milder methods."</p> | Hannity reasserts control over Fox News' witch hunt of Obama appointees | true | http://mediamatters.org/research/200909220004 | 2009-09-22 | 4 |
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<p />
<p>In fact, the singer doesn’t stay in the country lane.</p>
<p>He throws in New Mexico music, classic country to pop music.</p>
<p>“It all depends on the venue,” he says during a recent interview. “We’ve been having fun performing at all the venues around town.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Solis is a native New Mexican.</p>
<p>He grew up in Guadalupita in northern New Mexico.</p>
<p>The small town has become a musical muse.</p>
<p>“As I’ve gotten older, I do mention a lot about my home and what it’s like to be from there,” he says. “Living that country life, it’s coming out in my lyrics. When I was younger, I didn’t want to refer to that. Then I started making memories there. It’s the pine mountains. The cold winters. The cool summers and campfires. Fishing in the stream. Those are all great things in my life and inspire me in music.”</p>
<p>Solis and his band have been together for two years.</p>
<p>Currently the band is performing five originals in its set.</p>
<p>“I do have two CDs that I’ve produced and released in the past eight years,” he says. “We’re performing a lot from my most recent album, ‘My Kind of Friday Night.’ That was released last year.”</p>
<p>Some of Solis’ music also comes from his honky-tonk side.</p>
<p>“I’ve been married for 10 years,” he says. “I like to write about what life is like. It’s about capturing the current moment of life. We only have one life to live, and we should live it to the fullest.”</p>
<p>Solis and the band haven’t made the move to being full-time musicians just yet.</p>
<p>The band plays close to 100 shows a year.</p>
<p>“I enjoy the challenge of playing a completely different show each time,” he says. “Over the course of my music career, I’ve never played the same show twice. That is what is exciting about being able to get on stage and perform. There’s always something new to experience. Making the connection with the audiences has been some of the most rewarding times for the band. We’re slowly introducing ourselves with these shows. I think it’s working well for us to show how diverse we can be with our music.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Changing lanes: Daniel Solis Band blends pop, country, New Mexico music | false | https://abqjournal.com/1109222/daniel-solis-band-blends-pop-country-new-mexico-music.html | 2 |
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<p>* SSEC 0.6 pct, CSI300 0.6 pct, HSI 1.2 pct</p>
<p>* HK-&gt;Shanghai Connect daily quota used 1.8 pct, Shanghai-&gt;HK daily quota used 14.1 pct</p>
<p>* FTSE China A50 +1.0 pct, BNY Mellon ADR China Select Index +0.1 pct</p>
<p>SHANGHAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks climbed on Tuesday morning to an all-time peak, underpinned by a combination of gains in financial and IT firms as well as record highs on Wall Street after U.S. senators struck a deal to end a three-day government shutdown. ** At 04:03 GMT, the Shanghai Composite index was up 22.28 points or 0.64 percent at 3,523.64. ** China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.58 percent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 1.41 percent, the consumer staples sector down 0.32 percent, the real estate index up 2.53 percent and healthcare sub-index down 0.29 percent. ** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 1.63 percent at 13,420.17, while the Hang Seng Index was up 1.18 percent at 32,775.88. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.12 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.1 percent. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.67 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index was up 1.10 percent. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.398 per U.S. dollar, 0.11 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.405. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Henan Yuguang Gold &amp; Lead Co Ltd up 9.89 percent, followed by Sichuan Langsha Holding Ltd gaining 8.55 percent and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co Ltd up by 7.03 percent. ** The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Kama Co Ltd down 7.34 percent, followed by Shanghai Huili Building Materials Co Ltd losing 7.26 percent and Shanghai Lingyun Industries Development Co Ltd down by 6.86 percent. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 5.87 percent, while China’s H-share index is up 12.8 percent. Shanghai stocks have risen 5.87 percent this month. ** The top gainers among H-shares were China Merchants Bank Co Ltd up 3.13 percent, followed by Agricultural Bank of China Ltd gaining 2.94 percent and China Pacific Insurance Group Co Ltd up by 2.69 percent. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Railway Construction Corp Ltd off 1.47 percent, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co Ltd losing 1.3 percent and Huatai Securities Co Ltd down by 1.3 percent. ** About 12.64 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 72.4 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 17.46 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 21.75 billion as of the last full trading day. ** As of 04:03 GMT, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.12 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ** The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average. ** The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 15.9 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 1.8 percent. ** So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Shanghai stock index has risen by 0.50 percent to 30.79 trillion yuan. ** In Hong Kong, the sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking energy shares rose 0.6 percent while the IT sector rose 1.4 percent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd up 8.91 percent, while the biggest loser was Sunny Optical Technology Group Co Ltd which was down 1.50 percent.</p>
<p>Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel will sell its chemicals business in a 10.1 billion euro ($12.6 billion) deal to buyers led by Carlyle Group, the maker of Dulux paints said on Tuesday, making good on a promise made as it fought off a takeover last year.</p>
<p>The sale of the Specialty Chemicals operation to Carlyle and Singapore’s GIC sovereign wealth fund for a slightly better than expected price will allow Akzo to focus on its main paints and coatings business.</p>
<p>It delivers one of the biggest commitments made by Akzo Nobel in its defense against a 26 billion euro ($32 billion) takeover offer from U.S. rival PPG Industries last year.</p>
<p>It may also help to repair strained relationships with shareholders unhappy with the rejection of the bid.</p>
<p>Akzo Nobel CEO Thierry Vanlancker, who took charge last July after the bid battle, expects 7.5 billion euros in net proceeds from the sale. The 10.1 billion euro valuation includes debt.</p>
<p>The division being sold produces an array of chemicals used in plastic packaging, tissue paper, cleaning materials, pharmaceuticals, food products, salts and adhesives.</p>
<p>The 7.5 billion euro total will be returned to shareholders, Vanlancker told Reuters, with the company deciding on the distribution through dividends or share buybacks in the coming months.</p>
<p>The deal leaves Akzo as “one of the top 3 largest paints and coatings companies in the world,” Vanlancker said.</p>
<p>He said Akzo must now deliver on a goal to achieve a 15 percent margin on sales by 2020, after that measure fell to 9.4 percent last year.</p>
<p>That goal will mainly be delivered through cost savings and efficiency measures, Vanlancker said, as overall sales growth in the paints and coatings market is expected to remain modest.</p>
<p>“We will be looking at size (acquisition) opportunities as they come along”, Vanlancker said. “But size is really not top of mind, it’s performance of the business.”</p>
<p>The remaining Akzo business will have 35,700 employees, while Speciality Chemicals employs around 10,000.</p> FILE PHOTO - AkzoNobel's logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo DEFENSE PLAN
<p>Akzo will try to strengthen its position in promising markets such as powder coatings, which showed 10 percent global growth last year, the CEO said. Akzo also expects its sales of decorative paints in China and Europe to increase.</p>
<p>Shares rose 2.7 percent to 77.70 euros. That is well short of the figure of around 95 euros in the cash and share offer from PPG last year.</p>
<p>Analyst Wim Hoste of KBC said the sale price for Specialty Chemicals represented a multiple of 9.8 times core earnings, “which is a bit higher ... than we were banking on.”</p>
<p>Bankers advising potential buyers had said they expected the business to fetch an enterprise value of 8-9 times the unit’s expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).</p>
<p>Carlyle had been vying for the asset with U.S. private equity firm Apollo and its consortium partner, Dutch fund PGGM, as well as Dutch investor Hal Investments, and Advent International partnered with Bain Capital Private Equity, people familiar with the matter had told Reuters.</p>
<p>Akzo first announced plans to sell the business last April, when PPG was in full pursuit. Many shareholders were dismayed as Akzo’s boards appeared uninterested in talks with PPG and when they ultimately rejected the U.S. company’s best offer.</p>
<p>With support from Dutch politicians, Akzo argued a takeover was not in the interest of other stakeholders, including employees.</p>
<p>Shareholders sued unsuccessfully to have chairman Antony Burgmans removed. Akzo’s CEO and chief financial officer both resigned last year on health grounds. Burgmans is due to retire after next month’s annual meeting, with former Maersk CEO Nils Andersen nominated to take his place.</p>
<p>Vanlancker said Akzo had extracted promises from Carlyle to keep the chemicals company’s head offices in the Netherlands, though it made no commitment to retain all of the business’s 2,500 employees in the Netherlands.</p>
<p>The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be concluded before the end of the year, Akzo said.</p>
<p>Lazard, JPMorgan Chase and HSBC advised Akzo Nobel on the sale.</p>
<p>($1 = 0.8023 euros)</p>
<p>Reporting by Toby Sterling and Bart Meijer; Editing by Jason Neely and Keith Weir</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence fell from more than a 17-year high in March amid stock market volatility, but households remained upbeat about labor market conditions, which could help to support consumer spending.</p> FILE PHOTO - Holiday shoppers look at store windows at Henri Bendel store on 5th Avenue in New York November 23, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
<p>The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index dropped 2.3 points to a reading of 127.7 this month from a slightly downwardly revised 130.0 in February, which was the highest level since November 2000. The index was previously reported at 130.8 in February.</p>
<p>“The stock market has been volatile and consumers don’t like market volatility. The pullback in confidence is not a concern for the economic outlook this year,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “Still, we wonder if the decline in confidence means that the economy may have seen its best days already for this cycle.”</p>
<p>U.S. stocks have been under pressure over the past two months as worries about inflation led some investors to speculate that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates more aggressively than currently anticipated.</p>
<p>Wall Street has also been roiled by the threat of a global trade war after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. President Donald Trump last week signed a memorandum targeting up to $60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs over what his administration says is misappropriation of U.S. intellectual property.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 index has dropped about 2 percent so far in March, coming on the heels of a decline of nearly 4 percent in February and putting stocks on pace for their worst two-month performance since the December 2015-January 2016 period.</p>
<p>Stocks were trading higher on Tuesday as fears of a trade war between the United States and China eased.</p>
<p>The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. Prices of U.S. Treasuries climbed as fund managers bought bonds to rebalance their portfolios for the end of the quarter in advance of more government debt supply.</p> FILE PHOTO: Clusters of newly built multi-unit town homes and apartments are shown in San Marcos, California January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo LABOR MARKET STRENGTH
<p>The Conference Board survey’s so-called labor market differential, derived from data on respondents’ views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get, increased to 25.0 in March, the strongest reading since May 2001, from 24.0 in February.</p>
<p>That measure, which closely correlates to the unemployment rate in the Labor Department’s employment report, suggests that labor market slack continues to shrink.</p>
<p>“This report combined with the March jobless claims data points to another 200,000-plus reading on payrolls in March, which we judge would push the unemployment rate down to 4.0 percent from 4.1 percent,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.</p>
<p>The economy added 313,000 jobs in February. Labor market tightness has left economists optimistic that wage growth will soon pick up. That, together with lower income taxes, are expected to spur consumer spending in the coming quarters.</p>
<p>Retail sales have declined for three straight months, leading economists to expect a slowdown in consumer spending in the first quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, grew at a robust 3.8 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Rising house prices could also boost consumer spending. A separate report on Tuesday showed the S&amp;P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas increased 6.4 percent in the 12 months to January after rising 6.3 percent in December.</p>
<p>Higher house prices are bolstering household wealth. But the house price inflation is being driven by an acute shortage of homes available for sale, which is hurting the housing market.</p>
<p>“If we continue to see a steady stream of buyers and owners remain largely uninterested in selling, we can expect prices to continue to rise,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak in New York; Editing by Paul Simao</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Wall Street closed sharply lower Tuesday, with each of the major U.S. indexes suffering their fourth decline in five sessions, fueled by a selloff in the tech sector.</p>
<p>Tech stocks, among the best performing sectors of the bull market, have been under pressure recently as concerns about government regulation stemming from their strong growth and privacy questions surrounding Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>).</p>
<p>“What it really amounts to is a complete lack of knowing what to expect,” said Peter Kenny, senior market strategist at Global Markets Advisory Group, in New York.</p>
<p>“It seems so open-ended, there is a lot of risk here and investors don’t like uncertainty and this is the definition of uncertainty.”</p>
<p>Facebook shares dropped 4.9 percent at $152.22 and is down nearly 15 percent for the month. The Nasdaq Internet index .QNET saw its worst daily percentage drop since June 2016.</p>
<p>Of the 11 major sectors of the S&amp;P 500 only defensive plays such as consumer staples, telecom, real estate and utilities ended the session in positive territory.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> fell 344.89 points, or 1.43 percent, to 23,857.71, the S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> lost 45.93 points, or 1.73 percent, to 2,612.62 and the Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> dropped 211.74 points, or 2.93 percent, to 7,008.81.</p>
<p>Since hitting a record on Jan. 26, equities have been battered by worries about rising inflation, the pace of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the possibility of a global trade war. The S&amp;P 500 is down 9.1 percent from its high.</p>
<p>White House trade adviser Peter Navarro confirmed on Monday top Trump administration officials have asked China to cut tariffs on imported cars, allow foreign majority ownership of financial services firms and buy more U.S.-made semiconductors in negotiations to avoid imposing tariffs on a host of Chinese goods.</p>
<p>A person familiar with the discussions said these were among the asks from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as they pursue talks with Beijing.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Markets roared back on Monday with their best day since August 2015 on hopes that the world’s two largest economies were willing to renegotiate tariffs and trade imbalances.</p>
<p>But those gains proved temporary as early advances were overcome by the tech sector weakness.</p>
<p>The drop in Facebook continues to put pressure on the tech sector .SPLRCT, which is down 5.2 percent for March and on track for its worst month since April 2016.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 159.39 FB.O Nasdaq -5.50 (-3.34%) FB.O .DJI .SPX .IXIC GOOGL.O
<p>Privacy concerns for the social media giant were highlighted further on Tuesday when a whistleblower said Canadian company AggregateIQ had developed software to target Republican voters in the 2016 U.S. election.</p>
<p>Alphabet ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) shares fell 4.5 percent after an appeals courts resurrected a multibillion dollar copyright case brought by Oracle Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ORCL.N" type="external">ORCL.N</a>) against the company.</p>
<p>Nvidia ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=NVDA.O" type="external">NVDA.O</a>) was another weak spot, falling 7.8 percent after the chipmaker temporarily suspended self-driving tests across the globe.</p>
<p>Tesla ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TSLA.O" type="external">TSLA.O</a>) shares were off 8.2 percent after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board opened a field investigation of last week’s fatal Tesla crash and vehicle fire.</p>
<p>Twitter ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TWTR.N" type="external">TWTR.N</a>) fell 12 percent after short-seller Citron Research called the stock “most vulnerable” to privacy regulations.</p>
<p>Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.36-to-1 ratio favored decliners.</p>
<p>Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.57 billion shares, compared to the 7.37 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Susan Thomas</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - When electric carmaker Tesla Inc. launched its first mass market model last summer, it sent a shockwave through the aluminum industry by largely shifting to steel and away from the lighter weight metal it had used in its first two luxury models.</p> FILE PHOTO: A Tesla Model 3 is seen in a showroom in Los Angeles, California, U.S. January 12, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
<p>The switch by Elon Musk’s Tesla to the heavier-but-cheaper metal highlights how steel is fighting back against aluminum, which had widely been expected to be the bigger beneficiary of the electric vehicle revolution.</p>
<p>Aluminum had been seen as the key to offsetting the weight of batteries in order to extend the range of electric vehicles, crucial to increased consumer acceptance.</p>
<p>But as makers of battery-powered cars look to tap into bigger markets with cheaper vehicles - and embrace technological developments in batteries and components - many are increasingly looking to steel to cut costs. The price of Tesla’s mass-market orientated Model 3 is around half of the £70,000 luxury Model S.</p>
<p>“Before the aim was ‘Let’s get the [electric vehicles] developed’, now it’s ‘Let’s get them developed at the right price point,’” says Mauro Erriquez, a partner at McKinsey &amp; Company in Germany who specializes in the auto sector.</p>
<p>It is the latest tussle in a decades-long battle between steel and aluminum for market share among automakers, seeking to cut the weight of vehicles to help slash emissions and meet tough government pollution standards.</p>
<p>Steel is also winning back some market share among gasoline vehicles, such as the Audi A8. The latest model abandoned its heavy use of aluminum and shifted to a mix of steel, aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber.</p>
<p>The competition between the metals has intensified amid rapidly growing demand for battery-powered cars.</p>
<p>Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles are due to surge to 30 percent of the global auto market by 2030, according to metal consultants CRU, up from 4 percent of the 86 million vehicles sold last year.</p>
<p>In China, the world’s largest auto market, sales of new energy vehicles are due to grow by 40 percent this year to top 1 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.</p>
<p>Tesla declined to comment, but in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month it said it designed the Model 3 “with a mix of materials to be lightweight and safe while also increasing cost-effectiveness for this mass-market vehicle”.</p>
<p>Other makers of mass market electric vehicles that have also chosen steel over aluminum include Nissan Motor Co Ltd’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=7201.T" type="external">7201.T</a>) Leaf, the world’s best-selling all-electric vehicle, and Volkswagen’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=VOWG_p.DE" type="external">VOWG_p.DE</a>) e-Golf.</p>
<p>The e-Golf has 129 kg of aluminum and the Leaf uses 171 kg while Tesla’s luxury Model S contains 661 kg of the metal, according to A2mac1 Automotive Benchmarking. A detailed breakdown was not available for the Tesla 3.</p>
<p>(For a graphic of Metals used in vehicles click <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2G9OuvQ" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2G9OuvQ</a>)</p> STEP CHANGE
<p>Aluminum is still expected to benefit greatly from the electric vehicle revolution, however, especially from hybrids because they have two engines.</p>
<p>Both the combustion engine block and transmission are typically made of aluminum while the metal is also often used for housing the battery and motor in electric vehicles, according to auto metals specialist AluMag in Germany.</p>
<p>And, because it is expected to be years before pure electric vehicles become widely used - in part due to the lack of power charging networks - the growth of hybrids in the interim is expected to benefit aluminum.</p>
<p>According to CRU Consultant Eoin Dinsmore, demand for aluminum from electric and hybrid vehicles is forecast to increase ten times to nearly 10 million tonnes by 2030.</p>
<p>Aluminum was used in the first electric London black cab, which launched last year, spurring the reopening of a UK aluminum plant in Wales owned by Norway’s aluminum producer Norsk Hydro NYH.OL.</p> Slideshow (9 Images)
<p>“We chose aluminum as a material as it is nearly three times lighter than steel in its raw form, and it absorbs twice as much energy in a crash,” said Chris Staunton, chief engineer of body structures for the firm that developed the taxi for the London Electric Vehicle Company ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=0175.HK" type="external">0175.HK</a>).</p>
<p>Both Staunton’s firm and the London Electric Vehicle Company are owned by China’s Geely Automotive Holdings Ltd 0175.HK&gt;.</p>
<p>(Graphic: Aluminum content climbs in vehicles - <a href="http://reut.rs/2FIHfLl" type="external">reut.rs/2FIHfLl</a>)</p> BETTER BATTERIES
<p>But aluminum remains more expensive than steel. Benchmark aluminum futures CMAL3 on the London Metal Exchange are around $2,050 per ton, more than three times the cost of LME steel rebar SRRc1 at $585 a ton.</p>
<p>The price gap between the types of aluminum and steel used in autos was not as wide, but still represented significant savings by using steel, industry experts said.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=7201.T" type="external">Nissan Motor Co Ltd</a> 1130.0 7201.T Tokyo Stock Exchange +25.00 (+2.26%) 7201.T VOWG_p.DE 0175.HK TKAG.DE MT.AS
<p>Meanwhile, stronger and cheaper batteries for electric vehicles as well as developments in the components that generate power and overall structural design have lessened the need for aluminum to cut weight to extend the range.</p>
<p>Since 2010, the cost of batteries have tumbled to as low as $114 per kilowatt hour from $1,000/kwh and are expected to drop further in coming years, according to AluMag.</p>
<p>“I think car makers are finding that as battery costs fall they can achieve their range requirement with an all-steel solution,” said George Coates, technical director for WorldAutoSteel, the automotive arm of the World Steel Association.</p>
<p>Improvements in the powertrain - the main components in a car that generate power - have also had a big impact.</p>
<p>The 2017 model of the Nissan Leaf extended its range by nearly 50 percent to 172 km compared to the 2011 version mainly by improving the powertrain, consolidating four separate systems into one, said McKinsey’s Erriquez.</p>
<p>(For a graphic on Aluminum vs Steel prices click <a href="https://reut.rs/2IS9oBr" type="external">reut.rs/2IS9oBr</a>)</p> MATERIAL MIX
<p>At the same time, the steel industry has developed Advanced High Strength Steel products, which are stronger and lighter than normal steel, and importantly, cheaper than aluminum.</p>
<p>“(Steel) companies like ThyssenKrupp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TKAG.DE" type="external">TKAG.DE</a>) and ArcelorMittal ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MT.AS" type="external">MT.AS</a>), they’re not going to just give up this market share. There will be a battle for the material,” said Jost Gaertner, partner at AluMag.</p>
<p>Future models will likely contain a complex mix of materials, including various grades of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, magnesium and plastics, automakers and consultants said.</p>
<p>BMW, which used large amounts of costly aluminum and carbon fiber in its i3 and i8, told Reuters it was not planning to increase the use of those materials in future electric models.</p>
<p>“There is no ‘one material fits all’ solution” for future electric vehicles, the German carmaker said in an email.</p>
<p>“We will continue to employ each material in a way and in a quantity which brings in its specific advantages.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Veronica Brown and Cassell Bryan-Low</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Hong Kong stocks advance to record peak; China also up Akzo Nobel reshapes business with 10 billion euro sale U.S. consumer confidence ebbs, house prices surge Wall Street closes sharply lower, tech leads late selloff Aluminum wrestles with steel over electric vehicle market | false | https://reuters.com/article/china-stocks-midday/hong-kong-stocks-advance-to-record-peak-china-also-up-idUSL4N1PI22C | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>The Horsemen found their stride during district play, surviving in what may be the deepest of the districts that sent four of five teams to the state tournament. Although it doesn’t boast a lot of power, St. Mike’s will drive opponents crazy by clogging the bases with a .392 on-base percentage and 70 steals. Sean Latham hit .305 with 18 runs and 25 RBI, while Josh Delgado was 17-of-19 on his steal attempts.</p>
<p>The Tigers rely on a deep pitching staff, led by Daniel Aguilar, who went 6-3 with a 1.99 earned-run average, while Santiago Cortez was 2-1 with a 2.02 ERA. As a staff, Taos put up a microscopic 2.58 ERA and only allowed 106 hits in 125 innings. At the plate, A.J. Fresquez was the big bat, hitting .322 and 16 RBI, followed closely by Quinn Moon, who hit .293 14 RBI.</p>
<p>The Dons also boast a deep staff, which is a good thing because the Colts trot out a couple of the state’s leading sluggers in Gavin Maloney, who hit .457 with 20 extra base hits, including, four homers, and 28 RBI, and Jake Guerrero, who hit .449 with 15 extra base hits and 38 RBI. West Las Vegas will counter with Robbie Alarcon (4-2, 2.07 ERA), Santiago Mondragon (4-3, 2.20 ERA) and James Archuleta (3-3, 1.22).</p>
<p>The Cardinals will put up the runs, averaging more than seven per game behind Austin King (.473, 19 RBI), Richard Armijo (.434, 29 RBI) and Antonio Padilla (.443, 16 RBI). But outside of Padilla, Robertson’s pitchers tend to struggle.</p>
<p>The Braves averaged nine runs a game and hit .372 as a team with Abraham Herrera (.419, 25 RBI), Kye Aguilar (.418, 17 RBI) and James Bridges (.423, 14 RBI) all doing significant damage. But outside of Chris Lucero (2-1, 1.91 ERA), SFIS has struggled on the hill with a 4.51 ERA.</p>
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<p>The Bobcats (9-8) got a complete game from starting pitcher Kemmer Croff, who struck out eight and allowed seven hits, while also going 2-for-4 at the plate. Isaac Fresquez went 2-for-4 with two RBI.</p>
<p>The Panthers (12-9) rallied from a 5-0 deficit to score three in the third, but then let the game get away as the Wildcats scored eight runs in the fifth inning.</p>
<p>Although the Blue Griffins (5-12) rallied for three runs in the top of the second to pull within 4-3, the Lions put the game away with six runs in the fifth.</p>
<p /> | First games in Class 4A state playoffs start today | false | https://abqjournal.com/998841/first-games-in-class-4a-state-playoffs-start-today.html | 2 |
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<p>Here we have some news that Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown believes “can unite the tea party and Occupy Wall Street.” Sound implausible? Well, Bloomberg News’ parent company went to court to access 29,000 pages of documents from the Federal Reserve, from which the outlet gleaned that, thanks to hefty Fed loans during their time of great need, big banks not only escaped the disaster of their own making but raked in major profits behind taxpayers’ backs. We’re talking billions of dollars in loans — and in profits. –KA</p>
<p>Bloomberg:</p>
<p>The Fed didn’t tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn’t mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue.</p>
<p>Saved by the bailout, bankers lobbied against government regulations, a job made easier by the Fed, which never disclosed the details of the rescue to lawmakers even as Congress doled out more money and debated new rules aimed at preventing the next collapse.</p>
<p />
<p>A fresh narrative of the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 emerges from 29,000 pages of Fed documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and central bank records of more than 21,000 transactions. While Fed officials say that almost all of the loans were repaid and there have been no losses, details suggest taxpayers paid a price beyond dollars as the secret funding helped preserve a broken status quo and enabled the biggest banks to grow even bigger.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-28/secret-fed-loans-undisclosed-to-congress-gave-banks-13-billion-in-income.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks Big Profits During Bailout | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/secret-fed-loans-gave-banks-big-profits-during-bailout/ | 2011-11-30 | 4 |
<p>U.S. stocks trade in narrow range</p>
<p>-- Nikkei on record streak after Japan elections</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>-- European stocks mostly higher</p>
<p>U.S. stock indexes wobbled near the flatline Monday after finishing at a trifecta of records last week.</p>
<p>A flurry of earnings reports released before the opening bell drove swings in individual stocks while leaving major indexes little changed.</p>
<p>With nearly 200 S&amp;P 500 companies expected to report quarterly results this week, according to FactSet, and little on the economic calendar for much of the week, some analysts and investors expect corporate news to drive much of the action in the coming days.</p>
<p>"Listening to companies on their earnings calls, I think the general trend is still looking pretty positive," said Jeremy Bryan, a portfolio manager at Gradient Investments. While some sectors like the insurance industry have reported weaker results, partially because of damage from hurricanes earlier this year, "we're looking through the one-time hits and still expecting robust growth into 2018," Mr. Bryan said.</p>
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<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points, or less than 0.1%, to 23341. The S&amp;P 500 fell less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%. All three indexes closed at fresh highs Friday.</p>
<p>Hasbro shares shed 9.2% after the toy maker posted sales and profit that beat analysts' expectations, but gave a downbeat projection for sales in the key holiday period.</p>
<p>Shares of State Street, which beat earnings estimates but posted foreign-exchange trading results that disappointed some analysts, fell 2.9%.</p>
<p>General Electric slid 5.6%, on track for its biggest one-day percentage decline since 2011, after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock following the company's latest earnings report.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% as gains in technology companies offset declines in the banking sector.</p>
<p>Investors this week will be watching closely for the European Central Bank's plans to announce the fate of its giant bond-buying program at its meeting on Thursday.</p>
<p>This "may be a potential turning point in the timeline for withdrawing accommodation," said Holly MacDonald, chief investment strategist at Bessemer Trust, noting the European Central Bank is facing constraints on continuing its program of quantitative easing.</p>
<p>Still, with the decision well-telegraphed to markets and no interest rate rise on the horizon for some time, the ECB's October meeting is unlikely to ruffle bond markets much, she said.</p>
<p>U.S. government bonds strengthened Monday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note falling to 2.366%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.381% on Friday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.</p>
<p>In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.1%, rounding out its longest-ever winning streak with a 15th session of consecutive gains, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a national election by a landslide.</p>
<p>Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index reversed its opening gains to trade down 0.6% as investors turned cautious on Chinese banks ahead of their earnings releases this week and declines in property stocks weighed on the index.</p>
<p>Ese Erheriene contributed to this article</p>
<p>Write to Akane Otani at [email protected] and Riva Gold at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 23, 2017 12:32 ET (16:32 GMT)</p> | Stocks Little Changed to Start the Week | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/23/stocks-little-changed-to-start-week1.html | 2017-10-23 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Dear Bankruptcy Adviser,&#160;</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I filed bankruptcy in 2008, and at that time requested to reaffirm my home loan. I have been paying my loan on time for four years, not realizing that my home loan had been discharged in the bankruptcy. Now I'm trying to refinance my home, but I was told that I can't because I did not reaffirm the loan. The new lender said I can't refinance without a loan and I don't have a loan anymore because I did not reaffirm the loan. Can I still reaffirm the loan? If not, is there any way I can refinance my home? -Lynn</p>
<p>Dear Lynn,&#160;</p>
<p>This has become a problem for my clients as well. I would love to hear how others are handling this issue.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/partners/funnel/mortgage-rates.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Compare Mortgage Rates in Your Area Opens a New Window.</a></p>
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<p>I will try to keep this answer short, even though it is complicated. While I don't doubt that the customer service representative said you can't refinance the loan because you don't have a loan, I can assure you the representative is incorrect.</p>
<p>The property still has a lien against it. The lender is just not reporting the monthly payment to the credit bureaus. That is all. While bankruptcy wiped out your liability on the loan, it did not eliminate the lien.</p>
<p>If you fail to make loan payments, the lender will foreclose on the property. And if you continue to make your payments, you eventually will pay off the loan. Chapter 7 bankruptcy cannot remove a mortgage lien because that would mean you would keep your home and have it free and clear of any mortgage.</p>
<p>In your case, I believe the lender is just making up an excuse not to work with you. I have told clients to get something in writing from the lender stating that the lender would refinance the loan if the loan had been reaffirmed. No client has ever sent me that letter.</p>
<p>I would first try to find another lender and explain your situation before applying for a loan. There is no reason to waste your time when the next lender's customer service representative might say the same thing.</p>
<p>If that does not work, I believe you probably could file a motion to reopen your bankruptcy case and file the reaffirmation agreement. I only say it is probable because I don't know how every bankruptcy court throughout the country is addressing this issue. The bankruptcy courts here in California, where I file cases, are permitting debtors to do this, even though the bankruptcy case is closed and the time period to file the reaffirmation agreement has passed. Many debtors are filing these, and the court appears not to be taking a hard-line approach to the deadlines.</p>
<p>Make sure to understand that reopening the case and reaffirming the loan will re-establish your personal liability on that mortgage loan.</p>
<p>Since a reaffirmation agreement is a legally enforceable contract filed with the bankruptcy court, the agreement means that you promise to repay all or a portion of a debt that otherwise had been discharged in your bankruptcy case.</p>
<p>If you live in a state in which the lender can pursue a homeowner post-foreclosure for a deficiency balance, reaffirming the loan could be a horrible decision. This is important because not all states allow the lender to pursue you. In states in which the lender can't pursue you, reaffirming the loan would not pose great personal risk to you, just to your credit.</p>
<p>But here is the bizarre contradiction of this entire process. If you refinance the loan even without reaffirming the old loan, you are liable on the new loan. So if the new or old lender is concerned about making sure you are liable, you'd think they'd be more than willing to refinance your existing loan. The bankruptcy wiped out your liability, a refinance re-establishes it.</p>
<p>This is where you have the greatest risk associated with your motion to reopen the case. You file the motion to reopen your case and the court grants your request. The lender then gives you the reaffirmation agreement, which re-establishes your liability on a previously discharged debt.</p>
<p>The lender then says you don't qualify for a refinance. After that, you can't afford your payments and the lender forecloses on your home. You could then be sued for a deficiency balance, which became possible because you reaffirmed the loan. Now, you may have a bad-faith defense against the lender, but that will be an expensive fight to undertake.</p>
<p>While you should not let the difficult decision paralyze you, make sure you are making an informed one. You need to know whether reaffirming the loan in your state re-establishes the liability and how likely your refinance application is to be approved.</p>
<p>Ask the adviser</p>
<p>To ask a question of the Bankruptcy Adviser, go to the " <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/brm/ask.asp" type="external">Ask the Experts Opens a New Window.</a>" page and select "Bankruptcy" as the topic. Read more <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/advisers/bankruptcy-adviser.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Bankruptcy Adviser Opens a New Window.</a> columns and more <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/debt-management.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">stories Opens a New Window.</a> about debt management.</p>
<p>Bankrate's content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/coinfo/disclaimer.asp" type="external">Bankrate's Terms of Use Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 2013, Bankrate Inc.</p> | Kept Home After Bankruptcy, Can I Refi? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/10/08/kept-home-after-bankruptcy-can-refi.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Public Radio has provided additional details of allegations of sexual harassment against humorist Garrison Keillor, saying his alleged conduct went well beyond his account in November of accidentally touching a woman's bare back.</p>
<p>MPR said in a statement Tuesday that Keillor was accused by a woman who worked on his "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents over several years, including requests for sexual contact and explicit sexual communications and touching.</p>
<p>MPR said the woman, whom it has not identified, detailed the allegations in a 12-page letter that included excerpts of emails and written messages. MPR said as it attempted to investigate the case, Keillor and his attorney refused to grant access to his computer, emails and text messages.</p>
<p>Keillor did not respond to an emailed request for comment from The Associated Press. He told the Minneapolis Star Tribune listeners were angry over his firing because they "smelled a rat" and "they know I'm not abusive." He called the woman's account "a highly selective and imaginative piece of work" drawn up by her attorney.</p>
<p>MPR faced a backlash from outraged Keillor fans after firing the best-selling humorist after four decades of his telling folksy stories about his fictional Minnesota hometown of Lake Wobegon. Keillor accused the station of firing him without a full investigation. Until MPR's new statement Tuesday, the only account of his actions was his.</p>
<p>He told the Star Tribune on Nov. 29 that he had simply been trying to console a co-worker.</p>
<p>"I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness, and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized," Keillor told the newspaper in an email. "I sent her an email of apology later, and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it."</p>
<p>In a note to members Tuesday afternoon, MPR President Jon McTaggart said otherwise.</p>
<p>"If the full 12-page letter or even a detailed summary of the alleged incidents were to be made public, we believe that would clarify why MPR ended its business relationship with Garrison and correct the misunderstandings and misinformation about the decision," he added.</p>
<p>The station also disputed that Keillor was fired in a rush, laying out a timeline in which it launched an internal investigation after receiving a general allegation against Keillor from a former employee — not the alleged victim — in late August. MPR said that employee refused to identify the alleged victim or detail what happened to her, and MPR didn't get specifics of the allegations until it received letters from the former employee Sept. 29 and from the alleged victim Oct. 22.</p>
<p>MPR said it notified its board Oct. 26 and launched an independent investigation a few days later.</p>
<p>MPR said Keillor responded to the allegations with his attorney present. MPR said Keillor and his attorney declined to give access to his computer, emails and text messages to allow a full investigation.</p>
<p>The station said it had avoided releasing more information about the allegations while it was in mediation with Keillor "and the other parties in this matter."</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, the mediation sessions have not produced the final settlements we had hoped for," the station said.</p>
<p>MPR has removed from its website archived "A Prairie Home Companion" shows featuring Keillor. The network also ended broadcasts of "The Writer's Almanac," Keillor's daily reading of literary events and a poem, and ended rebroadcasts of Keillor-hosted "Prairie Home" shows.</p>
<p>Keillor, 75, retired in 2016 as host of "Prairie Home," a Saturday evening radio variety show he created in 1974. The show, now titled "Live from Here," continues with Keillor's hand-picked successor, mandolinist Chris Thile.</p>
<p>MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Public Radio has provided additional details of allegations of sexual harassment against humorist Garrison Keillor, saying his alleged conduct went well beyond his account in November of accidentally touching a woman's bare back.</p>
<p>MPR said in a statement Tuesday that Keillor was accused by a woman who worked on his "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents over several years, including requests for sexual contact and explicit sexual communications and touching.</p>
<p>MPR said the woman, whom it has not identified, detailed the allegations in a 12-page letter that included excerpts of emails and written messages. MPR said as it attempted to investigate the case, Keillor and his attorney refused to grant access to his computer, emails and text messages.</p>
<p>Keillor did not respond to an emailed request for comment from The Associated Press. He told the Minneapolis Star Tribune listeners were angry over his firing because they "smelled a rat" and "they know I'm not abusive." He called the woman's account "a highly selective and imaginative piece of work" drawn up by her attorney.</p>
<p>MPR faced a backlash from outraged Keillor fans after firing the best-selling humorist after four decades of his telling folksy stories about his fictional Minnesota hometown of Lake Wobegon. Keillor accused the station of firing him without a full investigation. Until MPR's new statement Tuesday, the only account of his actions was his.</p>
<p>He told the Star Tribune on Nov. 29 that he had simply been trying to console a co-worker.</p>
<p>"I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness, and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized," Keillor told the newspaper in an email. "I sent her an email of apology later, and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it."</p>
<p>In a note to members Tuesday afternoon, MPR President Jon McTaggart said otherwise.</p>
<p>"If the full 12-page letter or even a detailed summary of the alleged incidents were to be made public, we believe that would clarify why MPR ended its business relationship with Garrison and correct the misunderstandings and misinformation about the decision," he added.</p>
<p>The station also disputed that Keillor was fired in a rush, laying out a timeline in which it launched an internal investigation after receiving a general allegation against Keillor from a former employee — not the alleged victim — in late August. MPR said that employee refused to identify the alleged victim or detail what happened to her, and MPR didn't get specifics of the allegations until it received letters from the former employee Sept. 29 and from the alleged victim Oct. 22.</p>
<p>MPR said it notified its board Oct. 26 and launched an independent investigation a few days later.</p>
<p>MPR said Keillor responded to the allegations with his attorney present. MPR said Keillor and his attorney declined to give access to his computer, emails and text messages to allow a full investigation.</p>
<p>The station said it had avoided releasing more information about the allegations while it was in mediation with Keillor "and the other parties in this matter."</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, the mediation sessions have not produced the final settlements we had hoped for," the station said.</p>
<p>MPR has removed from its website archived "A Prairie Home Companion" shows featuring Keillor. The network also ended broadcasts of "The Writer's Almanac," Keillor's daily reading of literary events and a poem, and ended rebroadcasts of Keillor-hosted "Prairie Home" shows.</p>
<p>Keillor, 75, retired in 2016 as host of "Prairie Home," a Saturday evening radio variety show he created in 1974. The show, now titled "Live from Here," continues with Keillor's hand-picked successor, mandolinist Chris Thile.</p> | MPR releases more details of allegations against Keillor | false | https://apnews.com/amp/2d13ac3446b94623b1a0380872377823 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p />
<p>THURSDAY, Aug. 4, 2017 — If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you probably know that it can help relax your body and your mind. Now, several new studies suggest that practicing yoga may also ease depression.</p>
<p>But the leader of a session on yoga and depression held Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Washington, D.C., emphasized the research is preliminary.</p>
<p>“At this time, we can only recommend yoga as a complementary approach, likely most effective in conjunction with standard approaches delivered by a licensed therapist,” psychologist Lindsey Hopkins said in an APA news release.</p>
<p>“Clearly, yoga is not a cure-all. However, based on empirical evidence, there seems to be a lot of potential,” added Hopkins. She is a clinical psychologist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.</p>
<p>Hopkins conducted a study that included 23 male veterans who took part in twice-weekly hatha yoga classes for eight weeks. Hatha yoga emphasizes physical exercises, along with meditative and breathing exercises.</p>
<p>Participants who began the study with elevated depression scores saw their symptoms ease significantly after eight weeks, the findings showed.</p>
<p>A second study looked at Bikram (hot) yoga and included 52 women aged 25 to 45. Those who did twice-weekly classes for eight weeks had sharply reduced depression symptoms compared to a control group that did not take the classes.</p>
<p>Another study of 29 adults found eight weeks of at least twice-weekly Bikram yoga significantly eased depression while also improving quality of life, optimism, and mental and physical functioning.</p>
<p>A number of other studies have yielded similar findings, the news release said.</p>
<p>The concept of yoga as a way to improve mental health is so promising that the U.S. military is investigating creation of its own yoga treatment programs, according to the release.</p>
<p>Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.</p>
<p>More information</p>
<p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Depression/Treatments.htm" type="external">depression treatment</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.</p> | Studies show yoga may help ease depression | false | https://newsline.com/studies-show-yoga-may-help-ease-depression/ | 2017-08-04 | 1 |
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