text
stringlengths 0
127k
| title
stringlengths 0
777
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 26
278
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
int64 0
4
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>This week’s long-awaited report on the deaths of 13 Arab Israelis came amid rising tensions between the nation’s largest minority and its Jewish majority.</p>
<p>The report, commissioned by Israel’s government and led by an Israeli Supreme Court judge, investigated the deaths of Arab Israelis killed in northern Israel in October 2000, at the outbreak of the current intifada. As the Palestinian uprising spread from East Jerusalem to the West Bank and Gaza, Israel’s 1 million Christian and Muslim Arabs found themselves in the firing line, as when Israeli police killed 13 Arab Israeli men protesting Ariel Sharon’s visit to the sacred Haram Al-Sharif.</p>
<p>The report condemns Israel’s treatment of its Arab citizens, calling relations with them the nation’s most “important and sensitive” domestic issue.</p>
<p>“The establishment did not show sufficient sensitivity to the needs of the Arab population, and did not take enough action in order to allocate state resources in an equal manner…The state did not do enough or try hard enough to create equality for its Arab citizens or to uproot discriminatory or unjust phenomena. Meanwhile, not enough was done to enforce the law in the Arab sector, and the illegal and undesirable phenomena that took root there. As a result of this and other processes, serious distress prevailed in the Arab sector in various areas.”</p>
<p>This hasn’t done much to calm the frustrations of many Arab Israelis. In fact, the report’s release coincides with a number of government measures that look, well, discriminatory and unjust. The Christian Science Monitor reports that Israel has <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0902/p07s01-wome.html" type="external">stepped up demolition of Palestinian homes</a> built without permits, reduced child allowances for Israel’s Arabs, and passed a new law barring Palestinian spouses from living in Israel. All of which leaves Arab Israelis under no illusions about their second-class status. Issam Makhoul, an Arab Israeli legislator, told the Monitor that life for Arab Israelis is only getting worse:</p>
<p>“The policemen were ready to shoot from zero distance and ask questions later, because the targets were Arabs…It’s part of the mentality that the Arabs are a security question. The official policy is not to deal with the problems of the Arab minority, but to deal with the Arab minority as a problem…Arabs are being pushed into a corner.”</p>
<p>Hassan Asleh, whose 17-year-old son was killed three years ago by Israeli police, didn’t find much solace in the report. “The commission has displayed callousness to our wounds and our grief,” he told the Monitor. “This is a tunnel without light.” Witnesses to his son Asil’s death say the teenager was chased and <a href="http://www.amnesty.ie/act/racism/isr.shtml" type="external">shot at close range</a>. Asil’s death made international news when journalists discovered he was an active member of the US-based international peace group, <a href="http://www.seedsofpeace.org/" type="external">Seeds of Peace</a>.</p>
<p>The report found fault with then Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak but stopped short of recommending action against him. Yossi Verter writes in Ha’aretz that the commission’s findings <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=335620&amp;contrassID=2&amp;subContrassID=1&amp;sbSubContrassID=0&amp;listSrc=Y" type="external">don’t tell us anything bad we didn’t already know about Barak.</a> Which is lucky for the former leader since he’s said to be pondering a return to politics.</p>
<p>The commission warned, not unreasonably, that using live ammunition and treating Arab Israelis “as an enemy” is no way to disperse a crowd. Some shootings were referred for futher investigations, and several lower-ranking officials have been <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=335636&amp;contrassID=2&amp;subContrassID=1&amp;sbSubContrassID=0&amp;listSrc=Y" type="external">barred from holding future public office</a>.</p>
<p>This doesn’t go far enough, according to the Ha’aretz editorial board, which sees a mismatch between the commission’s findings and it’s disciplinary measures that bodes ill for the future.</p>
<p>“The gap between the Or Commission’s grave factual findings and its practical conclusions stems, among other things, from the gap between its ambition to present a complete picture of the events that led up to the October 2000 riots and the judicial criteria with which it examined the responsibility of the people involved. In accordance with this approach, the political echelon is accused of a shameful failure for not foreseeing and forestalling an ill that stemmed from many years of simmering resentment in the Arab sector, but no sanctions are imposed on these politicians on the grounds that this is a matter for the public to decide.</p>
<p>The result is a report that does as little damage as possible to the responsible parties:</p>
<p>This does not mean the commission’s work has no value. Its findings are extremely important, and its effectiveness as a means of defusing pressure and anger has been proven anew. Nevertheless, the report’s practical impact will be measured by the translation of its recommendations into practice. If the government ignores them, relations between Israel’s majority and its minority are liable to reach a boiling point from which there will be no return.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Israel’s Arabs | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2003/09/israels-arabs/ | 2003-09-03 | 4 |
<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ These Virginia lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Cash 5 Day</p>
<p>01-15-20-24-32</p>
<p>(one, fifteen, twenty, twenty-four, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Cash 5 Night</p>
<p>01-07-08-15-24</p>
<p>(one, seven, eight, fifteen, twenty-four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>02-06-30-31-55, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(two, six, thirty, thirty-one, fifty-five; Mega Ball: seven; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $63 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Day</p>
<p>9-7-3</p>
<p>(nine, seven, three)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Night</p>
<p>2-8-8</p>
<p>(two, eight, eight)</p>
<p>Pick 4 Day</p>
<p>9-4-5-1</p>
<p>(nine, four, five, one)</p>
<p>Pick 4 Night</p>
<p>7-7-9-7</p>
<p>(seven, seven, nine, seven)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $92 million</p>
<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ These Virginia lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Cash 5 Day</p>
<p>01-15-20-24-32</p>
<p>(one, fifteen, twenty, twenty-four, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Cash 5 Night</p>
<p>01-07-08-15-24</p>
<p>(one, seven, eight, fifteen, twenty-four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>02-06-30-31-55, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(two, six, thirty, thirty-one, fifty-five; Mega Ball: seven; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $63 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Day</p>
<p>9-7-3</p>
<p>(nine, seven, three)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Night</p>
<p>2-8-8</p>
<p>(two, eight, eight)</p>
<p>Pick 4 Day</p>
<p>9-4-5-1</p>
<p>(nine, four, five, one)</p>
<p>Pick 4 Night</p>
<p>7-7-9-7</p>
<p>(seven, seven, nine, seven)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $92 million</p> | VA Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/3e52b53a9bb74f5aa40e2ff4bd26ec82 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p>Vanessa Marcotte, a 27-year-old New York City resident, was found dead after she went for a jog on Sunday while visiting her family in Princeton, Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Authorities say Marcotte, an account manager for Google, left her mother's house around 1 p.m. and was reported missing a few hours later. The state police were notified and a search began. A K-9 unit found Marcotte​'s naked body a half-mile away in a wooded area around 8 p.m. that evening. Her body had been partially burned.</p>
<p>The horrific incident comes one week after the murder of 30-year-old jogger Karina Vetrano in Queens, New York. Like Marcotte, Vetrano was running alone during daylight hours in a secluded area.</p>
<p>Police say that Marcotte's hands, feet, and head were set on fire. Investigators are still examining the possibility that she was also sexually assaulted.</p>
<p>At a press conference on Monday, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/08/09/vanessa-marcotte-princeton/" type="external">told reporters</a>, "I must stress that we do not know if this was a random act. We are asking residents of Princeton and surrounding areas to use an abundance of caution. We are asking the public to be careful and to be vigilant.”</p>
<p>Google issued a statement expressing shock and sorrow at the senseless murder.</p>
<p>“Vanessa Marcotte was a much-loved member of the Google team, working in our New York office for the last year and a half, and known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work, and love of Boston sports,” the statement read. “We are deeply shocked and saddened, and our thoughts are with her family and friends.”</p>
<p>Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the tip line below:</p>
<p>Investigators seeking public help who saw anything after 1pm Sunday in the area of Brooks Station Rd <a href="https://t.co/ndlkrrFBQb" type="external">pic.twitter.com/ndlkrrFBQb</a></p>
<p>There is an now anonymous tip line for Princeton jogger murder Vanessa Marcotte Investigation Tip Line: 508-453-7589 <a href="https://t.co/JJafPZZrzX" type="external">pic.twitter.com/JJafPZZrzX</a></p>
<p>Local news footage below including</p> | Jogger Found Murdered, Burned, Naked in Massachusetts | true | https://dailywire.com/news/8245/jogger-found-murdered-burned-naked-massachusetts-chase-stephens | 2016-08-10 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Theodore Robert Larsen, 34, of Carlsbad, was sentenced Wednesday in Las Cruces federal court to 63 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.</p>
<p>Larsen was arrested in September 2011 following a Homeland Security Investigations investigation and a search of his Carlsbad home that turned up computers and computer-related media that contained child pornography, the release said.</p>
<p>He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in November 2011, then entered an amended plea agreement in April 2013, admitting that he used his computer and the Internet to access child pornography and that he possessed approximately 1,457 images and 264 video clips of child pornography, federal prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Larsen will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Carlsbad man gets 63 months for child porn | false | https://abqjournal.com/244199/carlsbad-man-gets-63-months-for-child-porn.html | 2 |
|
<p>Pakistan has blocked the head of an airline whose jet crashed near the capital, Islamabad, from leaving the country as it began an investigation today into the country's second major air disaster in less then two years.</p>
<p>The Bhoja Air passenger jet crashed Friday night local time as it tried to land in a thunderstorm at Islamabad's main airport, killing all 127 people on board, according to media reports.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan/120420/pakistan-plane-crash" type="external">More from GlobalPost:&#160;Pakistan passenger plane crashes with at least 121 passengers on board</a></p>
<p>A top official at Pakistan's meteorological department said the plane should never have been cleared to land, <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Plane-should-not-have-been-allowed-to-land-says-Pak-Met-dept-official/Article1-844284.aspx" type="external">Hindustan Times reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The government had issued two weather warnings prior to the plane's crash. Both citied high wind pressure.&#160;</p>
<p>"The plane should have been directed to land at the alternate airport, which is the Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore,"&#160;Arif Mehmood, director general of Pakistan's meteorological department told Hindustan Times.&#160;</p>
<p>Bhoja Air, which resumed operations in March after an 11-year pause, has said the weather was the cause, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5il2P97qnDJWT6mpm-5bQm7Jm1ysg?docId=3cf4fa84f52e4950a2bf8ea345a27114" type="external">according to the Associated Press</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-20/plane-crashes-in-pakistan-with-127-on-board-geo-tv-says.html" type="external">Bloomberg cited</a> Interior Minister Rehman Malik, speaking at the scene of the crash, as saying that Farooq Bhoja, the head of Bhoja Air, had been put on the "exit control list," meaning he cannot leave Pakistan.</p>
<p>Such a ban is often put on someone suspected or implicated in a criminal case.</p>
<p>Malik said that "it is being said that the aircraft was pretty old, so it has been ordered to investigate thoroughly the air worthiness of the Bhoja Air aircraft."</p>
<p>"The causes will be investigated, whether it was any fault in the aircraft, it was lightning, the bad weather or any other factor that caused loss of precious lives," he said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, rescue workers were continuing their search of the wreckage in the village of Hussain Abad, a residential area near Islamabad international airport, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17794685" type="external">the BBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>However, on Saturday morning officials confirmed there were no survivors.</p>
<p>Investigators have recovered the flight data recorder of the twin-engine Boeing 737-200, which was carrying 118 passengers and nine crew members, and was on approach to land at the Pakistani capital on a flight from Karachi.</p>
<p>Air traffic controllers lost contact with Bhoja Air flight BHO-213 from Karachi to Islamabad about 6.40pm local time, <a href="http://www.geo.tv/GeoDetail.aspx?ID=45354" type="external">according to GEO TV</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120328/rwanda-economic-growth-pulling-rwandans-out-poverty" type="external">More from GlobalPost: Rwanda's economic miracle</a></p>
<p /> | Pakistan blocks Bhoja Air chief from leaving country after crash that killed 127 (VIDEO) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-21/pakistan-blocks-bhoja-air-chief-leaving-country-after-crash-killed-127-video | 2012-04-21 | 3 |
<p>NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Tyler Kohl had 25 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday and Central Connecticut never trailed in the second half for an 80-76 win over Bryant.</p>
<p>The Blue Devils (9-10, 2-4 Northeast Conference) made 6 of 7 free throws in the final 42 seconds to hold on for the win. Kohl missed the front end of a 1-and-1 that gave the Bulldogs (2-17, 1-5) a chance to tie, but Tanner Johnson’s 3-point attempt was off line with 19 seconds left.</p>
<p>Central Connecticut went in front for good at 38-36 early in the second half and stretched the lead to 63-49 on Austin Nehls’ 3-pointer near the midpoint of the half.</p>
<p>Nehls added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Deion Bute and Mustafa Jones scored 10 apiece for the Blue Devils.</p>
<p>Ikenna Ndugba had a career-high 26 points for the Bulldogs and Adam Grant added 24 points.</p>
<p>NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Tyler Kohl had 25 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday and Central Connecticut never trailed in the second half for an 80-76 win over Bryant.</p>
<p>The Blue Devils (9-10, 2-4 Northeast Conference) made 6 of 7 free throws in the final 42 seconds to hold on for the win. Kohl missed the front end of a 1-and-1 that gave the Bulldogs (2-17, 1-5) a chance to tie, but Tanner Johnson’s 3-point attempt was off line with 19 seconds left.</p>
<p>Central Connecticut went in front for good at 38-36 early in the second half and stretched the lead to 63-49 on Austin Nehls’ 3-pointer near the midpoint of the half.</p>
<p>Nehls added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Deion Bute and Mustafa Jones scored 10 apiece for the Blue Devils.</p>
<p>Ikenna Ndugba had a career-high 26 points for the Bulldogs and Adam Grant added 24 points.</p> | Central Connecticut holds off Bryant 80-76 | false | https://apnews.com/cde0a9520b984ef98200cc2efe6f4d93 | 2018-01-13 | 2 |
<p>If you thought Watters World was a documentary about Donald Trump’s adventures with hookers in a Moscow hotel, you’re mistaken, but understandably so. In fact, it’s a program on Fox News featuring Jesse Watters, who is also a co-host of the daily afternoon program The Five. Watters is best known for being a smug, smartass who did ambush interviews for Bill O’Reilly and allegedly humorous segments that were overtly racist.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2069926576355460" type="external" /></p>
<p>Now the New York Daily News is <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/fox-news-host-jesse-watters-divorce-affair-employee-article-1.3867486" type="external">reporting</a> that Watters’ wife has filed for divorce due to his ongoing adulterous affair with a twenty-five year old co-worker, Emma DiGiovine. Watters has admitted his infidelity which he only reported to Fox News human resources after the divorce papers were filed. He and his now-estranged wife have twin six year old daughters.</p>
<p>Most companies have strict prohibitions against employees engaging in romantic relationships with subordinates on their staff. Generally it mandates termination of the superior employee who is in a position to abuse their power. Presumably, Fox News has the same policy. However, the response by Fox upon discovery of the relationship was to transfer DiGiovine to another program and let Watters off the hook entirely. Now he can continue leading classy discussions wherein he describes single women as “Beyoncé voters” who “depend on government because they’re not depending on their husbands. They need things like contraception, health care and they love to talk about equal pay.”</p>
<p>This is just the latest sex scandal at Fox News. Previously their founder and CEO, the late Roger Ailes was fired after multiple allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. Then their star host, Bill O’Reilly, got the ax when it became publicly known that he had paid millions of dollars in settlements to silence his accusers. Gee, Doanld Trump only paid $130,000 (that we know of). Fox and Friends anchor Ed Henry was suspended for several weeks for having an adulterous affair. Fox business host Charles Payne was also the subject of harassment charges. And Watters got his seat on The Five by replacing Eric Bolling, who was fired for sending explicit photos to women colleagues at Fox.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p>
<p>This obviously isn’t a case of a few bad apples. Fox News is a breeding ground for perverts. It’s a haven for men who exploit their power to demean and control women. Or as former Fox News host and victim Andrea Tantaros <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/andrea-tantaros-sues-fox-news-retaliation-sexual-harassment" type="external">said in her lawsuit</a>, “it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency, and misogyny.” And now Jesse Watters has become the latest face of the reprehensible pattern of misogynistic behavior that is nurtured by Fox and its management. But he certainly won’t be the last.</p> | Another Fox News Sleazeball Has Been Caught in a Sex Scandal with a 25 Year Old Co-Worker | true | http://newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p%3D35173 | 4 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Thanks to a $10,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant, a trinity of Chatter musicians have formed a core group to play together as well as anchor larger ensembles.</p>
<p>James Holland, David Felberg and Shanti Randall are the Chatter Trio.</p>
<p>Violinist David Felberg, violist Shanti Randall and cellist James Holland are the Chatter Trio and they’ve been rehearsing since September.</p>
<p>“We’ve always toyed with the idea of a residency,” Felberg said, “just to build some consistency. But we never quite got around to doing it.”</p>
<p>The grant supports expanded times of up to 12 rehearsals per piece, permitting the musicians to dig deep into the repertoire. Previously, the players rehearsed from three to four times per piece, Felberg said.</p>
<p>“When you walk up on stage after rehearsing 12 times, you feel really good,” he added. “We can really have a lot of fun. Rehearsals are tough to come by, because everybody’s got busy schedules.”</p>
<p>On Sunday, March 5, clarinetist James Shields will join the trio on the Penderecki Clarinet Quartet. Krzysztof Penderecki is considered Poland’s greatest living composer. “Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima” is his best-known work.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“He writes in a polytonal style,” Felberg said. “In his later years, he’s become a little more classical.”</p>
<p>The program also will feature Leonard Bernstein’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano and Three Romances by Schumann.</p>
<p>On March 26, the group will premiere a commissioned piece by Italian composer Marta Gentilucci. The trio will perform with a flutist, percussionist and pianist.</p>
<p>“We’re each individually rehearsing our parts,” Felberg said. “One of the parts requires you to bow the strings (of the piano) with fishing wire. It’s incredibly beautiful. She creates an amazing tapestry; something like sound sculpture. It should be a very interesting program.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Concert features Chatter Trio | false | https://abqjournal.com/956922/concert-features-chatter-trio.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE – The state Court of Appeals last week overturned a 2011 decision by the state Construction Industries Commission to revamp green building codes from former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration. The court said the commission failed to provide reasons for changing the construction standards. The case was ordered back to the commission for reconsideration and a new vote. The Martinez administration contended the building requirements were too expensive for developers and property owners. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center said Tuesday the administration failed to follow the law in trying to undo regulations aimed at protecting consumers and the environment</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Court: commission must reconsider energy rules | false | https://abqjournal.com/186916/court-commission-must-reconsider-energy-rules.html | 2013-04-09 | 2 |
<p>U.S. consumer spending surged in May with the biggest monthly increase in nearly six years - a sign of stronger economic growth ahead.</p>
<p>The Commerce Department said Thursday that consumer spending rose 0.9 percent last month, up from a revised 0.1 percent increase in April. May spending registered the biggest gain since August 2009, when the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program fueled auto-buying.</p>
<p>The increased spending last month suggests that the positive impacts from solid hiring and cheaper gasoline are starting to ripple through the economy.</p>
<p>"We are finally seeing signs of consumers beginning to spend the gasoline savings they have been sitting on since the start of this year," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.</p> | Consumer Spending Surges As Americans Finally Tap Gas Savings | false | http://nbcnews.com/business/economy/consumer-spending-surges-americans-finally-tap-gas-savings-n382401 | 2015-06-26 | 3 |
<p>Flash-flood watches and warnings were issued across seven states early Tuesday as an unprecedented downpour of torrential rain triggered "extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening" conditions in Houston.</p>
<p>More than 30 million Americans were told to brace for dangerous thunderstorms — including flooding, hail and possible tornadoes — as meteorologists warned the weather that has centered on Texas and Oklahoma since Saturday could expand to other areas.</p>
<p>Michael Walter, a spokesman for Houston Emergency Management, confirmed three deaths Tuesday afternoon, raising the death toll to 11. At least <a href="" type="internal">12 people were still missing</a>, and countless more were evacuated amid the deluge that has inundated Texas and Oklahoma with record-breaking floods since Saturday.</p>
<p>In Houston, more than 80,000 people were without power and the flood waters closed roads including Interstate 10 and Interstate 45. Houston was among 24 counties where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster on Monday.</p>
<p>Houston Intercontinental Airport smashed its all-time record for most rainfall in one day on Monday — its 4.34 inches almost doubling the previous milestone set in 1946.</p>
<p>"The rain just kept coming, and coming, and coming," said Ashley Aivles, a 25-year-old call center worker who struggled to make it back to her home in a Houston suburb early Tuesday.</p>
<p>"I lived here during Hurricane Ike [in 2008] and this was a close second. We've had really bad rain in the past but this was something else," said Aivles, who said many of her co-workers were still trapped in the office.</p>
<p>Around 200 basketball fans remained trapped inside the city's Toyota Center at 4 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET), having watched the Houston Rockets' playoff win over the Golden State Warriors.</p>
<p>Asif Noorani, a 22-year-old student, took his chances and left the stadium after the game despite a warning on the Jumbotron to wait until the storm passed.</p>
<p>"We didn't realize it would be that bad," he said. "We were just about able to make it home."</p>
<p>Lightning triggered blazes including two-alarm fire in the Memorial area of the city, officials said.</p>
<p>All Houston METRO rail and bus services were canceled until the flood waters receded and conditions were deemed safe by the city's Office of Emergency Management, the transportation service <a href="https://twitter.com/METROHouston/status/603128620429770752" type="external">announced at 4:20 a.m. local time</a> (5:20 a.m. ET).</p>
<p>The Houston Independent School District also announced that classes would be delayed by two hours.</p>
<p>Target employee Joshua Cooper said he and a dozen workers were stuck inside a store after become surrounded by the waters.</p>
<p>"We are basically an island right now," the 24-year-old told NBC News. "There's no way for us to get out. The waters are so high that we have a bayou that's basically a lake and buses are getting stuck on the roads."</p>
<p>Cooper added: "I've lived in Houston all my life and I've not seen flooding this bad in a very long time."</p>
<p>An unknown number of people were also <a href="" type="internal">stranded in Houston's The Galleria mall</a>, after parts of the building and the surrounding streets were drenched by the deluge.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.weather.com/" type="external">The Weather Channel</a> warned of "extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening flood situation" in Houston.</p>
<p>Around 32 million Americans in the Plains and South were at risk from dangerous thunderstorms Tuesday, meteorologists said.</p>
<p>Flood watches and warnings were in effect at 6:30 a.m. ET in parts of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Mississippi.</p>
<p>There were also 19 reported tornadoes in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi on Monday — and another twister over the Mexico border <a href="" type="internal">that killed 13 people</a>.</p>
<p>And there appeared to be no let up in sight, with Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth predicting the storm would likely refocus on central Texas, as well as branching out to the Ohio Valley and further north later on Tuesday.</p>
<p>"There will be another round of thunderstorms developing in central Texas in the mid-afternoon today, which could then clip Houston and Dallas by the evening," he said.</p>
<p>However, whereas a storm lingered over Houston on Monday night, Roth said Tuesday's round could pass over the city quicker and therefore not dump as much rain on the city.</p>
<p>Severe thunderstorms were also possible throughout the day in the Ohio Valley and as far north as Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay, Roth said.</p>
<p>"This is likely to mean wind, hail, and isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out," he said.</p>
<p>At least eight people were confirmed dead over the holiday weekend's storms and flooding, including a 14-year-old boy in Texas who was found inside a storm drain and believed to have drowned and a homecoming queen who was driving home from her prom.</p>
<p>Four were confirmed dead in Oklahoma, including a Claremore firefighter who died during a water rescue, and a 33-year-old woman who died in a storm-related traffic accident in Tulsa.</p>
<p>The 12 missing in the small town of Wimberley, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio, included members of two families who were vacationing together. The house they were staying in was swept away by flash floods on Sunday, relatives told NBC News.</p>
<p /> | Houston, Texas, Hit by Unprecedented Flooding; Seven States At Risk | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/weather/houston-texas-hit-unprecedented-flooding-seven-states-risk-n364456 | 2015-05-26 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />UP Aerospace sent its SpaceLoft rocket into suborbit from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico on Thursday morning.</p>
<p>“It went off at 7:33 am,” said UP Vice President for Public Relations Tracey Larson. “We set a new record by reaching 77.4 miles up.”</p>
<p>The internationally accepted boundary of space begins at 62 miles.</p>
<p>“It was a perfect flight,” Larson said. “Everything went well. We’re waiting for the crew now to come back with the payloads.”</p>
<p>The rocket carried four experiments paid for by NASA. It also included yeast that an Oregon brewery will use to make a new space beer, plus the ashes of nearly three dozen individuals placed on the flight by Celestis Inc., a commercial company that offers “Memorial spaceflights” for people’s remains.</p>
<p>White Sands Missile Range is providing helicopter service to UP to retrieve the SpaceLoft, something it’s done on past UP flights as well after the rocket returns to earth.</p>
<p>This is the 13th time UP has flown a vehicle at the Spaceport since 2006, and it’s the third flight paid for by NASA under the agency’s Flight Opportunities Program. That initiative, launched in 2011, pays commercial space companies for suborbital flights to test new technologies in space.</p>
<p>The four NASA payloads on Thursday morning’s flight included a device built by the engineering firm Control Dynamics Inc. that can isolate experiments from vibrations and other interference on rocket flights. That can help to further lower microgravity levels for some experiments in space, and it may now be headed to the International Space Station after having been tested for the second time on this morning’s UP rocket. It previous flew from Spaceport America on a SpaceLoft flight UP conducted last year.</p>
<p>The other three NASA payloads included:</p>
<p>a low-cost, radiation-tolerant computer system developed by Montana State University</p>
<p>a device developed by Spain’s Barcelona Tech university that uses sound waves to control bubbles in fluids when in space, which could help deal with fuel bubbles on future spacecraft</p>
<p>a microsensor for heliophysicists to study the sun at much finer resolution than is currently possible</p>
<p>The rocket launch was originally scheduled for last Monday, but it was scrubbed on Sunday night due to thunderstorms that were projected to last through Wednesday, UP President and CEO Jerry Larson told the Journal earlier this week.</p>
<p>Tracey Larson said today’s launch reached a record height because the payloads were somewhat lighter than on past flights. The SpaceLoft motor also burned a little hotter than on other occasions.</p>
<p>“We though it would climb to 75 miles, but it actually got to 77,” Larson said.</p>
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | UP rocket launches at Spaceport | false | https://abqjournal.com/484859/up-rocket-launches-at-spaceport.html | 2014-10-23 | 2 |
<p>As Florida lawmakers continue to consider a bill aiming to make it a criminal act for <a href="" type="internal">transgender people</a> to use the bathroom of their choice, we’d like to direct your attention to Cindy Sullivan, who spoke out against the bill in incredibly brave and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/national/transgender-woman-makes-tearful-testimony-in-fla/2015/03/06/bb2f14f8-c42b-11e4-a188-8e4971d37a8d_video.html%20James%20West%20%5B3:41%20PM%5D" type="external">emotional testimony</a> earlier this month.</p>
<p>“I see this bill as effecting not just my business but my partner’s business,” Sullivan said. “If I go to use the restroom, everybody in that restroom has the ability to sue me and my family, affect my child, affect my reputation. Everything could be taken away from me.”</p>
<p>“You could put me in jail for being me!”</p>
<p>As her tears well, Sullivan repeatedly looks behind her shoulder, as the bill’s sponsor, state representative Frank Artiles watches on.</p>
<p>House Bill 583 has already been approved by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/24/papers-to-pee-texas-kentucky-and-florida-consider-anti-transgender-bills" type="external">two subcommittees</a> and is expected to be reviewed by the house judiciary committee later this week. In Kentucky and Texas, lawmakers are attempting to pass similar anti-transgender legislation. All three states have the support and financial backing of the Alliance Defending Freedom, an influential conservative group.</p>
<p>Sullivan, who began her testimony noting she too was a Republican, slammed the bill as “government intrusion at its worst.”</p>
<p>“I’m a throw-away piece of trash, in this country of freedom, and liberty, and respect.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160;</p> | “Everything Could Be Taken Away From Me”: Watch This Woman Bravely Fight an Anti-Transgender Bill | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/florida-transgender-bathroom-cindy-sullivan/ | 2015-03-25 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>DALLAS - A lock of hair snipped from the head of John Lennon as the Beatle prepared for a film role is expected to sell for $10,000 at a Dallas auction later this month.</p>
<p>Heritage Auctions said in a news release Monday that the 4-inch lock was collected by a German hairdresser who trimmed Lennon's hair before he started shooting "How I Won the War."</p>
<p>The dark comedy, released in 1967, follows the World War II misadventures of British troops led by an inept commander.</p>
<p>The auction will be held Feb. 20 and Heritage says it will include other rare items linked to The Beatles, such as a signed photograph of all four members.</p>
<p>Memorabilia from other artists such as Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin also will be auctioned.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Lock of Lennon's hair expected to fetch $10K at auction | false | https://abqjournal.com/720390/lock-of-lennons-hair-expected-to-fetch-10k-at-auction.html | 2 |
|
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening’s drawing of the “Pick Four-Evening” game were:</p>
<p>9-9-0-2, Fireball: 7</p>
<p>(nine, nine, zero, two; Fireball: seven)</p>
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening’s drawing of the “Pick Four-Evening” game were:</p>
<p>9-9-0-2, Fireball: 7</p>
<p>(nine, nine, zero, two; Fireball: seven)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick Four-Evening’ game | false | https://apnews.com/a49eb2baa10f4cc2a27a61d90f26c8b1 | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
<p>Abercrombie &amp; Fitch Co , which is struggling with a relentless decline in sales, said Fran Horowitz, its merchandising head, had been promoted to chief executive of the teen apparel retailer.</p>
<p>Horowitz replaces Michael Jeffries, who stepped down in 2014 after over two decades at the helm.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company suspended its search for a new head in 2015, while a team led by Executive Chairman Arthur Martinez managed day-to-day operations.</p>
<p>Horowitz moved from the company's Hollister brand to take on the newly created role of chief merchandising officer in late 2015, as Abercrombie sought to make its apparel more attractive to teens.</p>
<p>Abercrombie's sales have fallen for 15 straight quarters as it struggles to keep pace with tastes of teen shoppers, who are increasingly opting to shop at "fast-fashion" chains such as H&amp;M , Inditex's Zara and Forever 21.</p>
<p>To win back shoppers, Abercrombie is investing heavily in its online business and is closing underperforming stores. It has also hired designers from top brands to keep its trends fresh and is selling fewer of its once popular logo-centric designs.</p>
<p>Abercrombie said Chief Financial Officer Joanne Crevoiserat has been given the additional responsibilities of chief operating officer.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)</p> | Abercrombie & Fitch names merchandising head as CEO | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/02/01/abercrombie-fitch-names-merchandising-head-as-ceo.html | 2017-02-01 | 0 |
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will create a state bank to service the defense sector, the finance ministry said on Thursday, after a tightening of U.S. sanctions heightened the risks for existing Russian lenders in handling defense deals.</p>
<p>The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia last year in response to Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a charge the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.</p>
<p>The new U.S. law called for sanctions on businesses or people who have engaged “in a significant transaction” with Russian defense or intelligence agencies, a condition that could result in a number of Russian banks being black-listed.</p>
<p>Some of Russia’s largest lenders, including Sberbank ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBER.MM" type="external">SBER.MM</a>) and VTB ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=VTBR.MM" type="external">VTBR.MM</a>), are already subject to sanctions which restrict their ability to borrow abroad.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBER.MM" type="external">Sberbank Rossii PAO</a> 204.7 SBER.MM Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange -7.51 (-3.54%) SBER.MM VTBR.MM
<p>But bankers and officials have privately voiced concerns that their work with the Russian defense sector leaves them vulnerable to further penalties and called for a special bank to finance Russia’s military industry.</p>
<p>The finance ministry said the new bank, which it did not name, would work to support state defense orders by providing financial services and lending.</p>
<p>“The new bank ... will be optimally suited for the role of a core bank in dealing with state defense orders and major government contracts,” it said in a statement.</p>
<p>The ministry did not say when the bank would be created, but said it would soon conclude the “necessary corporate procedures to transfer the bank into the ownership of the Russian Federation.”</p>
<p>The Russian central bank has in the past published a list of banks that provide services to the defense sector. Banks on the list include Sberbank, VTB and Russian Agriculture Bank, along with Gazprombank and privately-owned Rossiya.</p>
<p>Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Christian Lowe</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States, France and Britain told NATO envoys on Saturday their coordinated air strikes on Syrian government targets overnight were a last resort and aimed to stop more chemical attacks, the alliance’s chief said.</p> FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a news conference with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 4, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie
<p>The three allies briefed NATO ambassadors at a special session at the alliance headquarters and won support from the other 26 NATO members, who sought more diplomatic pressure to uphold an international ban on poison gas attacks like the one the West believes Syria conducted on April 7 in Douma.</p>
<p>The strikes “degraded the capabilities of Syria to conduct new attacks and at the same time send a clear message which deters further attacks”, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference after the meeting.</p>
<p>“We will never have a total guarantee against new attacks as long as we have regimes which are willing to use chemical weapons,” he said. “Chemical weapons cannot be used with impunity and cannot be normalized.”</p>
<p>NATO was not involved in the strikes.</p>
<p>In a separate statement, NATO envoys called on Syria, Russia and Iran to allow “rapid, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access” to areas targeted in Syria’s seven-year-old war.</p>
<p>Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Kevin Liffey</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S.-led strikes in Syria are an “important signal” to Iran, Syria and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a senior Israeli cabinet minister said on Saturday.</p> A plane preparing to take off as part of the joint airstrike operation by the British, French and U.S. militaries in Syria, is seen in this picture obtained on April 14, 2018 via social media. Courtesy French Military/Twitter/via REUTERS
<p>“The use of chemical weapons crosses a red line that humanity can no longer tolerate,” Yoav Gallant, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said on Twitter.</p>
<p>U.S., British and French forces hit Syria with air strikes overnight in response to a poison gas attack that killed dozens of people last week. U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to sustain the response until Assad’s government stopped its use of chemical weapons.</p>
<p>“The American attack is an important signal to the axis of evil - Iran, Syria and Hezbollah,” Gallant said.</p>
<p>An Israeli official said Israel was notified of the strikes ahead of time. Asked how much advanced warning Israel had received, the official told Reuters: “Between 12 and 24 hours, I believe.”</p>
<p>Asked whether Israel helped choose targets, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Not to my knowledge.”</p>
<p>A U.S. embassy spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters that Israel was notified before the strikes, but she provided no further details.</p>
<p>Iran’s involvement in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad has alarmed Israel, which has said it would counter any threat. Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has an extensive missile arsenal, last fought a war with Israel in 2006.</p>
<p>Syria, Iran and Russia say Israel was behind an air strike on a Syrian air base on Monday that killed seven Iranian military personnel, something Israel has neither confirmed nor denied.</p>
<p>On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to do nothing to destabilize Syria, according to a Kremlin statement.</p>
<p>Israel has mounted air strikes in Syria on a regular basis, targeting suspected weapons shipments to Hezbollah.</p>
<p>Reporting by Maayan Lubell, Ari Rabinovitch and Dan Williams; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Kevin Liffey</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes by U.S., British and French forces crippled Syria’s chemical weapons program and all missiles launched hit their targets, the Pentagon said on Saturday as President Donald Trump declared “Mission Accomplished.”</p>
<p>The 105 missiles launched overnight in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack in Syria targeted three chemical weapons facilities, including a research and development in Damascus’ Barzeh district and two facilities near Homs, Pentagon officials said.</p>
<p>“We believe that by hitting Barzeh in particular we’ve attacked the heart of the Syrian chemicals weapon program,” Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon.</p>
<p>However, McKenzie acknowledged elements of Syria’s chemical weapons program remain and he could not guarantee that Syria would be unable to conduct a chemical attack in the future.</p>
<p>Trump called the operation a success in a morning Twitter post and proclaimed: “Mission accomplished.”</p>
<p>The bombing represents a major escalation in the West’s confrontation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s superpower ally Russia, but is unlikely to alter the course of a multi-sided war that has killed at least half a million people in the past seven years.</p>
<p>That raised the question of where Western countries go from here, after a volley of strikes denounced by Damascus and Moscow as at once both reckless and pointless.</p>
<p>Syria released video of the wreckage of a bombed-out research lab, but also of President Bashar al-Assad arriving at work as usual, with the caption “Morning of resilience”.</p>
<p>Ten hours after the missiles hit, smoke was still rising from the remains of five destroyed buildings of the Syrian Scientific Research Center in Barzeh, which a Syrian employee said medical components were researched and developed.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-trump/trump-mission-accomplished-on-perfectly-executed-syria-strike-idUSKBN1HL0TW" type="external">Trump: 'mission accomplished' on 'perfectly executed' Syria strike</a>
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-israel/syria-strikes-are-important-signal-to-iran-and-hezbollah-israeli-minister-idUSKBN1HL0A4" type="external">Syria strikes are 'important signal' to Iran and Hezbollah: Israeli minister</a>
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-nato/u-s-france-britain-to-brief-nato-allies-on-syria-on-saturday-idUSKBN1HL0MA" type="external">U.S., France, Britain to brief NATO allies on Syria on Saturday</a>
<p>There were no immediate reports of casualties. Damascus’s allies said the buildings hit had been evacuated in advance. Russia had promised to respond to any attack on its ally, and said on Saturday that Syrian air defenses had intercepted 71 of the missiles fired.</p>
<p>Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that U.S.-led strikes on Syria were “unacceptable and lawless.”</p>
<p>The Pentagon said Syria had fired 40 unguided surface to air missiles - but only after the Western strikes had ended. “We are confident that all of our missiles reached their targets,” McKenzie said.</p>
<p>The United States had “deconfliction” contacts with Russia before, during and after the strikes and there was no indication that Russian systems had been employed.</p>
<p>The Western countries said the strikes were aimed at preventing more Syrian chemical weapons attacks after a suspected poison gas attack in Douma on April 7 killed up to 75 people. They concluded Assad’s government was to blame for gassing the Damascus suburb.</p>
<p>British Prime Minister Theresa May described the strike as “limited and targeted”, with no intention of toppling Assad or intervening more widely in the war.</p>
<p>The French government released a dossier that it said showed Damascus was to blame for the poison gas attack on Douma, the last town holding out in a rebel-held swathe of territory near Damascus that government forces have recaptured this year.</p>
<p>“ONE-TIME SHOT”</p>
<p>Washington described its targets as a center near Damascus for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weapons, a chemical weapons storage site near the city of Homs, and another site near Homs that stored chemical weapons equipment and housed a command post.</p>
<p>U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called the strikes a “one-time shot”, although Trump raised the prospect of additional strikes if Assad’s government again used chemical weapons.</p>
<p>“We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents,” the U.S. president said in a televised address.</p>
<p>The Pentagon said there had been chemical weapons agents at one of the targets, and that the strikes had significantly crippled its ability to produce such weapons.</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss what Moscow decried as an unjustified attack on a sovereign state.</p>
<p>At the meeting in New York, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged all members of the Security Council to exercise restraint and avoid escalation in Syria, but said allegations of chemical weapons use demands an investigation.</p>
<p>He said international investigators were ready to visit the site of the suspected attack in Douma.</p>
<p>Syrian state media called the attack a “flagrant violation of international law”. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called it a crime and the Western leaders criminals.</p>
<p>Inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW were due to try to visit Douma later on Saturday to inspect the site of the suspected gas attack on April 7. Moscow condemned the Western states for refusing to wait for their findings.</p>
<p>Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated to levels of Cold War-era hostility, has denied any gas attack took place in Douma and even accused Britain of staging it to whip up anti-Russian hysteria.</p>
<p>But despite responding outwardly with fury to Saturday’s attack, Damascus and its allies also made clear that they considered it a one-off, unlikely to meaningfully harm Assad.</p>
<p>A senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus told Reuters the sites that were targeted had been evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia.</p>
<p>“If it is finished, and there is no second round, it will be considered limited,” the official said.</p>
<p>Dmitry Belik, a Russian member of parliament who was in Damascus and witnessed the strikes, told Reuters: “The attack was more of a psychological nature rather than practical. Luckily there are no substantial losses or damages.”</p>
<p>At least six loud explosions were heard in Damascus and smoke rose over the city, according to a Reuters witness.</p>
<p>But the Western intervention has virtually no chance of altering the military balance of power at a time when Assad is in his strongest position since the war’s early months.</p> A missile is seen crossing over Damascus, Syria April 14, 2018. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ASSAD STRONG
<p>In Douma, site of the suspected gas attack, the last buses were due on Saturday to transport out rebels and their families who agreed to surrender the town, state TV reported. That effectively ends all resistance in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta, marking one of the biggest victories for Assad’s government of the entire war.</p>
<p>Russian and Iranian military help over the past three years has let Assad crush the rebel threat to topple him.</p>
<p>The United States, Britain and France have all participated in the Syrian conflict for years, arming rebels, bombing Islamic State fighters and deploying troops on the ground to fight that group. But they have refrained from targeting Assad’s government, apart from a volley of U.S. missiles last year.</p>
<p>Although the Western countries have all said for seven years that Assad must leave power, they held back in the past from striking his government, lacking a wider strategy to defeat him.</p>
<p>The Western powers were at pains on Saturday to avert any further escalation, including any unexpected conflict with their superpower rival Russia. French Defense Minister Florence Parly said the Russians “were warned beforehand”, to avert conflict.</p>
<p>The combined U.S., British and French assault involved more missiles, but appears to have struck more limited targets, than a similar strike Trump ordered a year ago in retaliation for an earlier suspected chemical weapons attack. That strike had effectively no impact on the war.</p>
<p>Mattis said the United States conducted the strikes on the basis of conclusive evidence that chlorine gas had been used in the April 7 attack. Evidence that the nerve agent sarin was also used was inconclusive, he said.</p>
<p>Syria agreed in 2013 to give up its chemical weapons after a nerve gas attack killed hundreds of people in Douma. Damascus is still permitted to have chlorine for civilian use, although its use as a weapon is banned. Allegations of Assad’s chlorine use have been frequent during the war although, unlike nerve agents, chlorine did not produce mass casualties as seen last week.</p>
<p>A U.S. official familiar with the military planning said there could be more air strikes if the intelligence indicates Assad had not stopped making, importing, storing or using chemical weapons, including chlorine. The official said this could require a more sustained U.S. air and naval presence.</p> Slideshow (16 Images)
<p>To view a graphic on an overview of chemical warfare, click: <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2pKDWOY" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2pKDWOY</a></p>
<p>Reporting by Phil Stewart and Tom Perry,; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Yara Bayoumy, Joel Schectman in Washington; Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam, Ellen Francis and Angus McDowall in Beirut; Michael Holden and Guy Faulconbridge in London; and Jean-Baptiste Vey, Geert de Clerq and Matthias Blamont in Paris; Polina Ivanova in Moscow, Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Yara Bayoumy and Diane Craft</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Twitter praised Western air strikes against the Syrian government on Saturday as “perfectly executed”, and added “Mission Accomplished”.</p>
<p>“A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!” Trump said in a Twitter post.</p>
<p>Trump’s message echoed the words of a banner that hung behind former President George W. Bush when he gave a speech in 2003 from the USS Abraham Lincoln, during the Iraq War.</p>
<p>That visual dogged Bush’s presidency as the war dragged out, with worsening American casualties, for the remainder of his two terms in office.</p> U.S. President Donald Trump makes a statement about Syria at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
<p>(This version of the story refiles to fix typographical error in paragraph 3).</p>
<p>Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Joel Schectman editing by Jason Neely and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Russia launches new defense bank to shield lenders from sanctions U.S., France and Britain brief NATO allies on Syria Syria strikes are 'important signal' to Iran and Hezbollah: Israeli minister U.S. says air strikes cripple Syria chemical weapons program Trump: 'mission accomplished' on 'perfectly executed' Syria strike | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-russia-sanctions-defence-bank/russia-launches-new-defense-bank-to-shield-lenders-from-sanctions-idUSKBN1F71TJ | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>This review is from a syndication service of The Washington Post.</p>
<p>The great thing about the Nazis … Hmm. No, that isn’t going to work, for all the obvious reasons. Surely there are no good things about the Nazis, I hear you say.</p>
<p>Well, there is one good thing, and it is this: In an age of moral relativism, we can all agree that the Nazis were evil and that the Western Allied forces opposing the Nazis were good.</p>
<p>With the Nazis you have a proper villain: Adolf Hitler. You have some heinous crimes, and here you can take your pick: the Holocaust, waging aggressive war, etc. You have a story arc that even the dumbest studio exec could understand, with a beginning, a middle and an end, and, gosh, they’re even in that order. You have some unlikely hero figures: Churchill and Roosevelt, but not I think De Gaulle. And, best of all, at the end of the story, the villain is completely destroyed. Everyone — even the long-suffering population of Germany — is glad. Ding-Dong! The witch is dead.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841%3FSubscriptionId%3D1XWTFJ60BR6QZ1PW9FR2%26tag%3Dtruthdig20-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0307408841" type="external" /></p>
<p>By Erik Larson</p>
<p>Crown, 464 pages</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841%3FSubscriptionId%3D1XWTFJ60BR6QZ1PW9FR2%26tag%3Dtruthdig20-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0307408841" type="external" /></p>
<p>Erik Larson, the author of several successful works of popular history like “The Devil in the White City” and “Isaac’s Storm,” has now turned his attention and considerable writing talent to the subject with his latest book, “In the Garden of Beasts.” And to bowdlerize a remark of Doctor Johnson’s, one is not surprised to find it done, but to find it done so well.</p>
<p>“In the Garden of Beasts” at times seems derivative of a 1940 memoir, “Through Embassy Eyes,” by Martha Dodd, one of the main characters of his tale. Much of material is the same, but we can forgive that because Larson fills in everything that Dodd herself felt obliged to leave out: It’s not every U.S. ambassador’s daughter who becomes a spy for the Soviet Union.</p>
<p>We can also forgive Larson because his book reads more like an elegant thriller — and certainly better than the elegant thriller, “Sowing the Wind,” that Dodd wrote herself. I found Larson’s book to be utterly compelling, and while I was reading it there were several occasions on which I had to stop and check to make sure it really was a work of nonfiction. It is — and marvelous stuff. You really couldn’t invent it in a novel because no one would believe you.</p>
<p>“In the Garden of Beasts” is, in the main, the story of George Dodd, a mild-mannered academic from Chicago, who to his own and everyone else’s surprise was appointed by President Roosevelt as America’s man in Nazi Germany. Larson describes Berlin very well, especially before and after the infamous Night of the Long Knives, when, in the stifling summer of 1934, the Fuehrer consolidated his power over Germany with a series of political murders. But for my Reichsmark it’s Martha’s story that’s the most interesting.</p>
<p>To see long excerpts from “In the Garden of Beasts” at Google Books, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=FEstnv3iVj8C&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=%22In+the+Garden+of+Beasts%22&amp;hl=en&amp;ei=L-HVTaPKEpDUtQPGqviwBw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=book_result&amp;ct=result&amp;resnum=1&amp;ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" type="external">click here</a>.</p>
<p>Beautiful, intelligent, willful, and highly sexed (a perfect heroine), no sooner had Martha arrived in Berlin than she was conducting affairs with several leading Nazis, including Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl, who at one stage tried to persuade her to become Hitler’s mistress. Repelled by Hitler’s halitosis and his even more revolting <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weltanschauung" type="external">Weltanschauung</a>, Martha found herself drawn to a very tall man at the Russian embassy who became her lover, her mentor and, later on, her spy master. British intellectual E.H. Carr, in his famous work of historiography “What is History?”, advised one to study the historian before one begins to study the facts he has assembled. What bees does he have in his bonnet, asks Carr? “When you read a work of history, always listen out for the buzzing.”</p>
<p>Larson is a journalist, not really a historian at all. Nothing wrong with that. And really the only buzz about Larson that should be of interest to anyone is that he’s written an excellent and entertaining book that deserves to be a best-seller and probably will be.</p>
<p>Philip Kerr’s latest novel is “Field Gray.”</p>
<p>(c) 2011, Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group</p>
<p /> | Love Among the Beasts | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/love-among-the-beasts/ | 2011-05-20 | 4 |
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the North Carolina Lottery's "Cash 5" game were:</p>
<p>04-05-12-38-39</p>
<p>(four, five, twelve, thirty-eight, thirty-nine)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $112,000</p>
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the North Carolina Lottery's "Cash 5" game were:</p>
<p>04-05-12-38-39</p>
<p>(four, five, twelve, thirty-eight, thirty-nine)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $112,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Cash 5' game | false | https://apnews.com/cb45db46a2be44adacff12da01cda2ef | 2018-01-05 | 2 |
<p>One of the first things you learn&#160;about the Ainu language and the people who speak it&#160;is that the Japanese barely know&#160;about it.</p>
<p>"Most Japanese, consciously or unconsciously, feel that the Ainu people do not exist," Tomomi Sato told me. Sato is an authority on the Ainu language at the University of Hokkaido.&#160;</p>
<p>"The Ainu people do not have any meaning."</p>
<p>Attention World in Wordsmiths of NYC: We're coming your way! <a href="https://www.showclix.com/event/ainutozaza/tag/publicradiointernational" type="external">More info here</a>.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.showclix.com/event/ainutozaza/tag/publicradiointernational" type="external" /></p>
<p />
<p>The public school curriculum mainly ignores Ainu, except to say it's a language that&#160;used&#160;to be spoken on the northern island of Hokkaido.&#160;There is no mention of it as a language that,&#160;in an earlier form, was probably spoken in Japan&#160;long before Japanese was.&#160;</p>
<p>Similarly, there's scant&#160;mention of when&#160;the ancestors of the&#160;Ainu people might have migrated to&#160;Japan — probably&#160;before the arrival of the ancestors of the Japanese.&#160;</p>
<p>If ordinary Japanese know anything about the Ainu, it's from folklore rituals staged for tourists in reconstructed Ainu villages.</p>
<p />
<p>Russian linguist Anna Bugaeva on the campus of the University of Hokkaido where she first studied the Ainu language.&#160;</p>
<p>Patrick Cox</p>
<p>"I don't think they were ever forbidden from speaking Ainu at home," Bugaeva told me. "It was their own choice, but it was pretty much a forced choice. We all want good for our children, right?"</p>
<p>Today, Bugaeva is&#160;a professor at Tokyo University of Science. She&#160;recently released&#160;an <a href="http://ainucorpus.ninjal.ac.jp/en/" type="external">audio corpus of Ainu folklore</a>.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Kibata Sachiko recites an Ainu epic poem taught to her by her grandmother. She is in reconstructed Ainu dwelling in Nibutani, Japan.&#160;</p>
<p>Patrick Cox</p>
<p>Bugaeva hopes that this renewed interest in Ainu culture will encourage younger Ainu to learn the language, which hasn't been spoken conversationally since the 1950s.&#160;</p>
<p>Podcast Contents</p>
<p>00:10 What my friend Yuki learned about the Ainu at school.</p>
<p>1:35 The stylized, unconversational sound of Ainu today.</p>
<p />
<p>Linguist Anna Bugaeva interviews Ainu speaker Ito Oda in her hospital room.&#160;</p>
<p>Courtesy of Anna Bugaeva</p>
<p>2:37 Anna Bugaeva knew from an early age she'd be a linguist.&#160;</p>
<p>3:40 Anna finds her mentor.&#160;</p>
<p>4:32 Sapporo: beer, winter sports and Ainu.&#160;</p>
<p>6:09 "The Ainu people do not have any meaning."</p>
<p>6:30 A language isolate.</p>
<p>7:50 Anna recorded 15 Ainu folktales recalled by Ita Oda, one of the last really fluent Ainu speakers.&#160;</p>
<p>8:40 "Half of the time I would go to the hospital to work with her."</p>
<p>10:30 Is folklore a touristic trap that makes outsiders feel good about the richness of this culture? Or is the folklore so powerful to the Ainu that they can recall lengthy poems and stories in their entirety?</p>
<p>12:46 Kenji and Maki Sekine are trying to bring back Ainu by raising their daughter to speak it.&#160;</p>
<p>15:00 For Koichi Kaizawa the land comes first for the Ainu. Without land, there is no place where the language can thrive.&#160;</p>
<p>18:35 Anna's own children:&#160;"They have never lived in Russia but they speak Russian becasue they had a chance to speak it with their parents. They will not get punished for that."</p>
<p>20:25 The Japanese "are not homogenous at all but nobody talks about it."</p>
<p>20:45 The Ainu and Japanese languages are not related.</p>
<p>21:00 One Ainu word that includes all the elements necessary to complete a sentence.&#160;</p>
<p>23:00 The World in Words'&#160;live podcast recording is June 21 at the New York Public Library. Reserve your free tickets <a href="https://www.showclix.com/event/ainutozaza/tag/publicradiointernational" type="external">here</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>23:37 The answer to our latest NEH funder accent quiz.&#160;</p>
<p>Ainu activist Koichi Kaizawa and his wife Miwako outside their home in Nibutani, Japan.&#160;</p>
<p>Patrick Cox</p>
<p>Music heard in the podcast</p>
<p>00:00&#160;Podington Bear: "Dramamine"</p>
<p>2:43 Adam Selzer: "Pluck and Bounce"&#160;</p>
<p>6:19&#160;Unsettling Scores: "Cathaedrabysmal"</p>
<p>12:23 Adam Selzer: "Ripple"&#160;</p>
<p>20:00 (morse):&#160;"J, Volume II"</p>
<p>22:17 Alexander Boyes: "The Resolution of Mr Clouds"</p>
<p>You can follow The World in Words stories on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-World-in-Words/113141975417106" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;or subscribe to the podcast on&#160; <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/pris-world-world-in-words/id279833390?mt=2" type="external">iTunes</a>.</p> | In Japan, the Ainu language is largely unknown and unloved, but linguists are fascinated by its mysteries | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-05-25/japan-ainu-language-largely-unknown-and-unloved-linguists-are-fascinated-it | 2016-05-26 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — They were the 13 days that transformed the White House.</p>
<p>Even for an administration that spent most of 2017 throwing off headlines at a dizzying pace, events in the second half of July unfolded at breakneck speed. They encapsulated both the promise and peril of President Donald Trump’s first year in office — and yielded aftershocks that reverberate within the White House even as the calendar turns to 2018.</p>
<p>The two-week span laid bare the splintering of Trump’s relationships with two influential Cabinet members; foreshadowed the reach of the Russia probe into the interior of his orbit; saw the dramatic, last-minute defeat of one of the president’s signature campaign promises; and featured a senior staff shakeup that reset the rhythms of this presidency.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>From the outside, it was an unruly stretch that threatened to turn the White House into a sideshow. Inside the West Wing, the chaotic days between July 19-31 stand as a panicked memory but also one that also paved the way for future successes, according to nearly two dozen administration officials, outside advisers and lawmakers. Most of those interviewed for this account spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk publicly about private discussions.</p>
<p>For the record, though: “That was the extreme,” said former press secretary Sean Spicer.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THE KISS</p>
<p>His suit perfect and his hair just so, Anthony Scaramucci lifted his right hand off the briefing room podium and blew a kiss to the slack-jawed White House press corps.</p>
<p>Trump’s new communications director, known to his friends as the Mooch, made his dramatic debut on July 21 and aimed to usher in a new era at a White House riven by in-fighting, drowning in bad press and struggling to maintain credibility.</p>
<p>He lasted 11 days.</p>
<p>Scaramucci’s shockingly brief tenure — some White House aides have taken to calling a short period of time a “Mooch” — underscored the drama that dominated and frequently paralyzed the West Wing.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>This was a White House where aides undermined each other with blind items in the press and jockeyed for face time with a president who left the Oval Office door open. Self-proclaimed “nationalists,” led by chief strategist Steve Bannon, were pitted against more centrist “globalists,” who included Trump’s powerful adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.</p>
<p>How the rivalries played out in the press was particularly important for Trump, the former reality TV star who consumes hours of cable news each day. For months, he demanded that his schedule be arranged so he could watch the daily White House press briefing, often barking at aides about what he was seeing in between sips of Diet Coke in his private dining room.</p>
<p>Some of his rants were about the “fake” news media. But many were about Spicer, whom Trump believed failed to adequately defend him — or to look the part. Long believing he was his own best spokesman, Trump told one confidant that he saw something of himself in Scaramucci, a rich, fast-talking New York hedge fund manager who excelled on television. Within hours of when Scaramucci was hired, Spicer quit.</p>
<p>That was only the beginning of the drama: Scaramucci fired one staffer and threatened to push others out, including the entire press shop. He vowed to cut down on leaks, but many in the White House believed that was a cover story for his own vengeful agenda. Believing that Bannon and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus had initially blocked his entrance to the White House, Scaramucci moved to oust them, culminating in a New Yorker interview in which he graphically cursed out both men.</p>
<p>Scaramucci himself was pushed out the door days later. Scaramucci’s expletive-laden interview was only part of the problem.</p>
<p>Trump was unwilling to share the spotlight with an aide, and came to believe Scaramucci had forgotten his place.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THE TANK</p>
<p>Tension was thick in the air as Trump and several top advisers strode out of a windowless room at the Pentagon on July 20 and climbed into a waiting motorcade.</p>
<p>Over the previous 150 minutes, top U.S. officials had explained to the president the critical importance of forward worldwide deployments of U.S. military, intelligence and diplomatic assets. For months, Trump had questioned why the U.S. government needed “so many people” abroad and suggested that he wanted to reduce its footprint, an idea that triggered alarm in capitals around the globe.</p>
<p>Armed with charts, maps and diagrams, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and others schooled Trump with talking points and commentary sure to click with the former businessman. They stressed the role that the military, intelligence officers and diplomats play in making the world safe for American businesses like The Trump Organization to operate and expand abroad.</p>
<p>In a limited way, Trump agreed with Mattis and Tillerson, grudgingly agreeing to increase the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But on a broad range of foreign policy matters, Trump has steadfastly refused to adopt conventional approaches, straining decades-long alliances, refusing to condemn authoritarian regimes on human rights abuses and escalating the rhetoric in a nuclear stand-off with North Korea.</p>
<p>The meeting in Room 2E924, known as “The Tank,” highlighted the sharp learning curve that the president, who had never held elected office or served in the military, faced as he grew into his new job. It also revealed the tensions within the administration between those from Washington’s national security establishment and those eager to pull back from international entanglements.</p>
<p>That rift only grew after the top-secret gathering. It was soon after the meeting concluded that Tillerson was reported to have privately called the president “a moron.” The secretary of state pointedly did not deny that he had done so — eventually, a State Department spokeswoman did — and it prompted a furious response from Trump, who repeatedly undermined Tillerson on his approach to North Korea.</p>
<p>But Tillerson was not the only attendee at The Tank to have misgivings after the session.</p>
<p>In the days that followed, Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, encouraged his best friend, Homeland Security chief John Kelly, to take the White House chief of staff job.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THE GENERAL</p>
<p>Buffeted by fierce rains and wind, Air Force One circled over Washington on July 28. When it finally touched down at Joint Base Andrews, a new phase of the presidency began.</p>
<p>In a series of tweets, Trump announced that he was appointing Kelly, a retired four-star general, to replace Priebus. As the 140-character bursts reached their smart phones, a pair of senior White House aides who been sitting in an idling SUV with Priebus stepped out onto the rainy tarmac and left the outgoing chief of staff alone.</p>
<p>Priebus never could bring a semblance of order to the rivals that populated Trump’s West Wing and the president had openly mused about replacing him. Never empowered to fully step into the role, Priebus often acted as merely the captain of his own squad of establishment Republicans, vying with Bannon and Kushner for influence.</p>
<p>Trump had previously floated the job to Kelly, who initially demurred. Kelly told confidants he had a change of heart because he felt that the president’s term had been imperiled by poor staff work.</p>
<p>“I don’t think you can overestimate the effect of the impact of those (staff) changes and that period,” Marc Lotter, Vice President Mike Pence’s spokesman, said at the time.</p>
<p>One of Kelly’s first official moves was to fire Scaramucci. In the months that followed, other headline-grabbing aides — Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Omarosa Manigault-Newman — also were pushed out as Kelly tried to enforce a one-team ethos. Most impactfully, aides said, Kelly worked to cut down access to the Oval Office and seize control of how information reached Trump.</p>
<p>Several advisers deemed Kelly’s hire a turning point for the administration, a move that cut down on internal fights, restored order to the West Wing and laid the groundwork for wins down the road.</p>
<p>“Once myself, Reince and Steve were out of the picture, I think that moved the target off — it got people back to focus,” Spicer recalled.</p>
<p>But there were limits to what Kelly could — or would — control.</p>
<p>The chief of staff made clear he would mount no effort to manage Trump’s no-holds Twitter habit. And Trump, in turn, chafed at Kelly’s handling.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THE THUMBS-DOWN</p>
<p>Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood on the Senate floor, his arms crossed, his face impassive. Trump, back at the White House, had hung up the phone, his last attempt at persuasion over.</p>
<p>At 1:29 a.m. on July 28, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona strode onto the Senate floor. The 80-year-old, just weeks after a brain cancer diagnosis, was poised to cast the tiebreaking vote on the GOP’s health care bill, in what was meant to be the fulfillment of seven years of work to undo President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.</p>
<p>McCain paused for a moment, and then flashed a thumbs-down, drawing gasps from fellow senators. The bill was dead, and the White House had been dealt a devastating blow.</p>
<p>Though Trump had spent the presidential campaign promising to repeal and replace Obamacare on Day One of his administration, the Republican effort had failed. It was a fiasco that underscored how the White House was struggling to push through Trump’s agenda even though his party controlled both houses of Congress.</p>
<p>Frequently exhibiting a shaky grasp of policy details, Trump often baffled aides by waffling on various options — including whether the GOP should repeal the Affordable Care Act and come up with a replacement later, or let it simply starve by not paying subsidies. His approach to lawmakers on Capitol Hill was equally inconsistent.</p>
<p>Trump snarled in private about McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan and showed no hesitation to air his grievances publicly. He used Twitter to deliver broadsides against the majority leader — urging him to “get back to work” — and targeted individual Republican senators whose health care votes the White House once courted.</p>
<p>But from the ashes of the health care defeat came the administration’s first major legislative triumph: the tax cut legislation passed on Dec. 20.</p>
<p>The bungled legislative process on health care sparked a new call for discipline in the administration’s approach to Capitol Hill. The White House would buy in to the plan at the start. Staff would cajole wavering legislators and work to resolve their concerns while there was still time to address them. Trump’s political operation would begin work to sell the tax package in the approaching midterm elections.</p>
<p>Trump himself worked behind the scenes making phone calls to key members and, perhaps more importantly, reined in his public criticism of members of his own party. With just 11 days left in 2017, Republicans from the House and Senate stood on the White House South Lawn and applauded as the president announced the bill would become law.</p>
<p>Trump allowed that he’d learned a thing or two — about the importance of relationships, in particular.</p>
<p>“When I came, I didn’t know too many,” he said Friday of the legislators. “I can call anybody now. I know every one of them very well.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THE RAID</p>
<p>The sun had not yet risen on July 26 when FBI agents arrived without warning at the front door of Paul Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Va.</p>
<p>Using a search warrant, they emerged from the home of Trump’s former campaign chairman with a trove of material. A new, more dangerous, chapter had begun in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible coordination between the president’s campaign and Russian officials.</p>
<p>The raid was a stark reminder for the White House that, no matter the successes or failures of the moment, the cloud of the Russia probe loomed on the horizon. Trump had grown furious at the distraction, fuming to advisers that he had done nothing wrong while railing that it was a conspiracy by Democrats and the so-called “deep state” to delegitimize his presidency.</p>
<p>Exactly one week before the raid, Trump sat in the Oval Office with reporters from The New York Times and, with little prompting, veered into an attack on his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions. Trump blasted Sessions, once one of his closest allies, for recusing himself from the Russia probe, believing that helped lead to Mueller’s appointment.</p>
<p>Trump continued his assault in a series of tweets in which he called Sessions “weak” and “beleaguered.” Privately, he discussed firing Sessions, but was met with a wave of resistance from his advisers. Some warned it would worsen the Russia probe, while Bannon told the president it would hurt with his base supporters, who loved Sessions’ tough-on-crime approach at the Justice Department.</p>
<p>Kelly, in his first weekend on the job, called Sessions to assure him his position was safe. But the rift between Trump and Sessions still has not healed. Recently, Trump bemoaned the Republicans’ loss in a special election in Alabama and in part blamed Sessions, whose departure from the Senate to head to Justice necessitated the election.</p>
<p>And the Mueller investigation shows no signs of ending.</p>
<p>Scores of top aides and allies, including Kushner and Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., have been questioned by Mueller and congressional investigators. In October, Manafort was charged with money laundering and other financial crimes related to his political consulting work in Ukraine. Several other Trump associates also have been charged by Mueller, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents and is cooperating with the investigation.</p>
<p>Though still shadowed by the probe, Trump emerged from the crucible of the 13 days in July with a more organized and less drama-filled White House, as well as lessons learned that would yield legislative victories.</p>
<p>But the president himself remains unchanged.</p>
<p>Impulsive and unconventional, Trump has spent his first year in office casting aside norms and mores. With his Twitter account as his weapon, the president has shown no willingness to ignore any slight or change the brash ways that he believes got him elected.</p>
<p>“I said with the exception of the late great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s ever held this office,” Trump told a rally crowd in Ohio on July 25. “It’s so easy to act presidential, but that’s not gonna get it done.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Lemire on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com///twitter.com/@ZekeJMiller" type="external">http://twitter.com///twitter.com/@ZekeJMiller</a></p> | 13 Days in July: The Trump White House’s crucible | false | https://abqjournal.com/1111427/13-days-in-july-the-trump-white-houses-crucible-3.html | 2017-12-27 | 2 |
<p>Some nail polish that is labeled as non-toxic actually has a combination of dangerous chemicals known as the "toxic trio," a new report in California has found.&#160;A Department of Toxic Substances Control report, to be released today, found that the mislabeled nail products could harm thousands of people, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/apnewsbreak-calif-finds-dangerous-chemicals-in-nail-polishes-that-advertise-as-non-toxic/2012/04/10/gIQAPYRY7S_story.html" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120312/burma-economy-myanmar-sanctions" type="external">Promises, pitfalls await investors in Burma's frontier&#160;</a></p>
<p>Many nail polish contains a combination of toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde, known as the toxic trio. Use of the chemicals is legal as long as the products are properly labeled. The nail polish companies making the false claims appear to be violating a state law, the AP said.</p>
<p>Investigators chose 25 brands at random, and found that 10 of 12 products claiming to be toluene-free actually did contain the chemical. And five of the seven products that claimed to not have the toxic trio actually did contain it.&#160;</p>
<p>High levels of exposure to the chemicals are known to cause birth defects, asthma and other illnesses, <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&amp;id=8615011" type="external">ABC reported</a>, putting people who work in nail salons or who regularly visit them most at risk.</p>
<p>Advocates have long voiced concerns about the 120,000 licensed nail technicians in California, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-health-nail-salons-20120410,0,3115837.story" type="external">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>. Manicurists, who in California are mostly women from Vietnam, often work in salons that are poorly ventilated, increasing their exposure to the toxic trio.</p>
<p>Hue Nguyen, an immigrant from Vietnam, told the LA Times that she began working at a salon in 2004 because trade was easy to learn without requiring much English. But she soon developed headaches. In 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.</p>
<p>"This is a major public health issue and it really interferes with workers' right to a healthy work environment," a spokesman from Asian Health Services in Oakland told the LA Times. "Workers shouldn't have to suffer health impacts because a manufacturer is making false claims." &#160;</p> | Nail polish labeled as non-toxic has chemicals linked to birth defects, report says | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-10/nail-polish-labeled-non-toxic-has-chemicals-linked-birth-defects-report-says | 2012-04-10 | 3 |
<p />
<p>Just a week after President Bush, speaking at Israel’s Knesset, likened those who would advocate engagement with “terrorists and radicals” to Nazi appeasers, the governments of Israel and Syria—a close ally of Iran—have announced that official peace talks are underway between their nations, mediated by Turkey. “It is better in this situation to speak rather than to shoot,” declared Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in a statement Wednesday. “This is what the sides agreed.”</p>
<p>Noted the Syrian foreign ministry in a similar statement: “Both sides have expressed their desire to conduct the talks in good will and decided to continue dialogue with seriousness to achieve comprehensive peace.”</p>
<p>The Bush administration, which was informed of the planned talks by Israel and Turkey, offered reluctant support. “It is our hope that discussions between Israel and Syria will cover all the relevant issues,” a State Department official, speaking on background, told Mother Jones. He outlined Washington’s outstanding concerns with Syria, including its “support for terrorist groups, facilitation of the passage of foreign fighters into Iraq, and intervention in Lebanon, as well as repression inside Syria. An agreement dealing with these issues would be a true contribution to peace.”</p>
<p>While Bush-era Washington has been consumed with ideological debates over whether talking to hostile regimes and militant groups rewards or legitimizes them, a parade of veteran senior Israeli security and diplomatic officials has pushed the case, both in Israel and Washington, that engaging adversaries such as Syria and Hamas could advance their nation’s security interests. “The alliance between Syria and Iran is mainly one of convenience,” Israel’s former foreign ministry director general and Mossad official David Kimche told me in January in a suburban Tel Aviv cafe. “There is no deep connection. And it’s worth our while, if we could weaken that link.”</p>
<p>What’s more, Kimche added, Syria very much wants Washington at the table. “Syria doesn’t want to talk without the Americans,” he said. “But from the American side, on Iraq, there has to be improvement. And the anger of the Americans at the moment is that they see Syria being behind the ongoing crisis in Lebanon.”</p>
<p>Alon Liel, former director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, has participated on the Israeli side of back channel Israel-Syria talks in recent years. “One of the reasons that I believe we should explore the possibility of speaking with Syria on an official level is that this body needs oxygen,” he told me in February during a visit to Washington. “And we can keep the [peace] process alive through the Syrians because we can bluff with the Palestinians for another two months, but not more. We need a real process, and the Syrians are open to do it.</p>
<p>“The problem we are having now is that the circumstances have changed and the Syrians are a regional player,” he added. “They are seen as an Iranian proxy, and Israel cannot sign a bilateral agreement with Syria as long as Syria is positioned as it is at moment in the region.”</p>
<p>Such a situation, Liel suggested, would require two sets of talks. “On one desk we have the Syrians and the Israelis discussing the [bilateral] issues of border, normalization, water, demilitarization,” he explained. “At another table, we’d have the Syrians, Israelis, Americans, and maybe the Europeans, in order to discuss how Syria is forming a military alliance with Iran, the need to kick out [Hamas political leader Khaled] Meshal from Damascus, and to stop smuggling arms to Hezbollah, and what they’d get in return.” (Olmert has reportedly offered to give the Golan Heights back to Syria if it meets Israeli conditions.)</p>
<p>Washington and Jerusalem also part ways over Syria’s role in Lebanon. The Bush administration sees Lebanon’s March 2005 Cedar Revolution –which led to withdrawal of Syrian troops a month later, and subsequent democratic elections — as a crowning achievement in its efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East. Some Israeli officials take a more jaundiced view. “We were very active in Lebanon, and we learned a lot of things,” Kimche told me. “The Syrians do not see Lebanon as independent. They see it as part of Syria. There is no Syrian embassy in Lebanon, and there never was a Syrian embassy in Lebanon.”</p>
<p>Washington is not backing away from its demand that Damascus recognize Lebanese independence, the State Department official insisted Wednesday: “Syria should carry out UN Security Council resolutions relating to Lebanon by recognizing its sovereignty and independence and delineation of their common border.”</p>
<p>It’s unclear what brought about the change in Washington’s position toward Israel-Syria talks, from passive rejection to tacit endorsement — or, as the case may be, if Israel simply decided to move on the talks in spite of Washington’s lingering objections. “I think that the administration is of two minds on this,” says David Schenker, a former Pentagon policy advisor on Syria and Lebanon. “On the one hand, the administration supports Israeli efforts to forge peace treaties with its neighbors. This is something that is an objective good.”</p>
<p>“On the other hand,” he notes, “the administration recognizes that negotiations with Syria now have a really pernicious effect on our embattled allies in Lebanon. “First, Syrians get to rub salt in the wounds of their enemies in Beirut. Secondly, and most importantly for Damascus, any negotiations with Israel undermine international consensus for isolating Syria and undermine potentially international support for the international tribunal” investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, which set the Cedar Revolution in motion.</p>
<p>The White House is in a precarious position, Schenker says. “It doesn’t want to stand in the way of progress. But everything the Syrians are saying would suggest no deal.” Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, he adds, is saying that a strategic realignment away from Iran is out of the question.</p>
<p>For his part, Israel’s Olmert said he had no illusions about the prospects for success. “The negotiations will not be easy,” he said. “It is possible that they will take a long time and involve difficult concessions.”</p>
<p>While driven by its own complex interests, such an attitude stands in contrast with the Bush administration’s ideological reluctance to meet with its foes (although it has done so with North Korea, Libya, and militant groups in Iraq). But some Israeli security and diplomatic officials express increasing impatience with Washington’s policy of non-engagement. “We need you to do diplomacy, because the military option does not work,” former Israeli Foreign Minister director general Shlomo Ben-Ami said at a Washington dinner in March. “It’s the first time in history that my ally does not speak with our enemies. We need you to engage these parties.”</p>
<p /> | Syriana: Newly Announced Israel-Syria Peace Talks Run Against Grain of Washington’s Anti-Engagement Policy | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/05/syriana-newly-announced-israel-syria-peace-talks-run-against-grain-washingtons-anti-eng/ | 2008-05-21 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Image source: <a href="http://msqrd.me/" type="external">Masquerade Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Given its impressive string of recent wins, social media titan Facebook enjoys a seeming air of invincibility these days.</p>
<p>And though the world's largest social-media platform remains well-positioned for the future, one company still looms in many investors' minds as a threat to Facebook's profit machine -- Snapchat.</p>
<p>In recent years, the 4-year-old vanishing-video unicorn has snapped up much of Facebook's cool factor, particularly among younger millennials. However, one to never back away from a fight, Facebook recently responded in kind when it purchased the video filter start-up Masquerade.</p>
<p>Facebook's new toy: Masquerade According to a blog post from the start-up CEO's founder, Facebook has officially agreed to terms to purchase Masquerade, which also goes by the handle MSQRD) for an undisclosed amount. Masquerade develops digital video filters that allow users to layer cartoon-esque filters atop smartphone images, a feature that has proved especially popular among Snapchat's surging hordes of youthful users. And while the thought of creating a video of yourself vomiting rainbows might not strike you as serious business, Masquerade's booming growth metrics suggest Facebook might once again have made a prescient and timely acquisition.</p>
<p>Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>According to Business Insider, data from mobile app tracking service Apptopia tells an impressive story. This January, Masquerade had registered 1.92 million total downloads. However, thanks to the explosion in video layering's popularity, the app's downloads surged to 7.6 million last month. What's more, the data service projects Masquerade's growth will surpass 13 million downloads in March.</p>
<p>This kind of accelerated growth over so short a time suggests the app indeed has tapped into something deeper than the kind of fly by-night growth often seen in the wonky world of mobile apps. As Apptopia COO Jonathan Kay commented to Business Insider:</p>
<p>The best defense... Social-media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat aren't exactly staid areas in the investing world. However, with billions of dollars on the line, Facebook's strategy in acquiring Masquerade appears largely aimed at subverting Snapchat's growing competitive threat.</p>
<p>Image source: Masquerade.</p>
<p>Facebook isn't necessarily the default social-media network among younger generations, thanks largely to a new wave of apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. To combat potential competitors, Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have demonstrated a deft touch in simply purchasing would-be competitors. Case in point: Facebook bought Instagram for a then-appalling $1 billion in 2012. However, given that Instagram's user base now exceeds 400 million users, Facebook's purchase appears prescient in hindsight. The company has followed a similar playbook for several other potential competitors with largely successful results.</p>
<p>Then there was SnapchatUnlike what other potential rivals may do, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel spurned Facebook's $3 billion cash acquisition attempt in 2013, a then-controversial move that has paid off significantly in the years since. Though its user or engagement metrics aren't publicly available, Snapchat is expected to generate revenues of between $300 million and $350 million this year, an impressive feat for a company that didn't exist at the start of the decade. What's more, its budding publishing and advertising platforms suggest that the company could indeed become the next great challenger to Facebook's social-media empire. Its $16 billion private market valuation doesn't hurt, either.</p>
<p>As such, Facebook's purchase of a start-up that produces filters eerily similar to Snapchat's should be largely interpreted as an attempt to steal some of Snapchat's thunder, especially among younger users. To what degree this will work remains far from clear. However, with Snapchat as the only major social-media company posing a legitimate threat to Facebook, this maneuvering is just good business for Zuckerberg &amp; Co.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/17/facebook-goes-on-the-offensive-against-snapchat.aspx" type="external">Facebook Goes on the Offensive Against Snapchat Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTheDude/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Andrew Tonner Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook and Twitter. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Facebook Goes on the Offensive Against Snapchat | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/17/facebook-goes-on-offensive-against-snapchat.html | 2016-03-17 | 0 |
<p>Jan 18 (Reuters) - India Ratings and Research:</p>
<p>* INDIA RATINGS AND RESEARCH SAYS EXPECTS INDIA’S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) TO GROW 7.1% YOY IN FY19</p>
<p>* INDIA RATINGS AND RESEARCH SAYS INDIA’S GOODS AND SERVICES TAX REGIME LIKELY TO BENEFIT ECONOMY OVER MEDIUM-TO-LONG TERM</p>
<p>* INDIA RATINGS AND RESEARCH SAYS BELIEVES THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA WILL REMAIN IN A PAUSE MODE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME‍​</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc bought Clarity Money, a personal finance startup, to bolster its Marcus online lending business, it said Sunday.</p> A Goldman Sachs sign is displayed inside the company's post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Buying Clarity Money, a free app that helps consumers manage their personal finances, is expected to add over 1 million customers to the financial service firm’s Marcus business. Marcus offers tools to help customers save and borrow. Clarity Money will be re-branded as Marcus by Goldman Sachs over time, the company said.</p>
<p>Terms were not disclosed.</p>
<p>Goldman launched Marcus in October 2016 as a way to court Main Street borrowers saddled with credit card debt. It offers loans from $3,500 to $40,000 and targets credit card borrowers who can benefit from consolidating debt into a single loan with a lower interest rate.</p>
<p>GS Bank, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, is making the acquisition. Clarity Money CEO Adam Dell will join Goldman Sachs as a partner.</p>
<p>(This version of the story corrects in paragraph 4 to say that Marcus offers loans up to $40,000, not $30,000)</p>
<p>Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Nick Zieminski</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. equity index futures rose on Sunday as financial market trading resumed for the first time since the United States, Britain and France hit Syria with missile strikes in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack.</p> FILE PHOTO - A specialist trader works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>The move suggested Wall Street was set to shrug off the attack and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning on Sunday that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs.</p>
<p>In the first few minutes of trading on Sunday evening, S&amp;P 500 e-mini futures ESv1 were up by about 0.6 percent. Futures tracking the Nasdaq Composite Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up by comparable amounts.</p>
<p>Futures tracking safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities were slightly lower.</p>
<p>U.S. stocks fell on Friday as results from big banks failed to enthuse and worries over the Syria situation, but major market benchmarks gained ground on the week.</p>
<p>Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Peter Cooney</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DBKGn.DE" type="external">DBKGn.DE</a>) has been asked by European Central Bank supervisors to calculate the potential costs of winding down its investment banking operations, a source told Reuters on Sunday.</p> FILE PHOTO: A statue is pictured next to the logo of Germany's Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
<p>Germany’s biggest lender has been calculating the financial effects of a potential move to quit investment banking for some time, and the move is not related to the switch in Deutsche Bank’s top management position last Sunday when retail banking expert Christian Sewing was appointed to replace chief executive John Cryan.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DBKGn.DE" type="external">Deutsche Bank AG</a> 11.7 DBKGn.DE Xetra +0.03 (+0.27%) DBKGn.DE
<p>The point of the exercise is to estimate how the value of Deutsche Bank’s capital market and derivatives business would develop if the bank was to exit abruptly from new business, the source said on condition he not be named because the matter is confidential.</p>
<p>Deutsche Bank said it “routinely” calculates the consequences of an orderly winding-down of positions in trading books for regulators. The ECB declined comment.</p>
<p>Germany’s daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung was first to report on Deutsche Bank’s explorations induced by the ECB, saying other lenders are to face similar requests at a later stage.</p>
<p>Deutsche Bank is already in the middle of a global review of the investment bank, known internally as Project Colombo, to determine the way forward as revenues shrink and clients and staff leave.</p>
<p>Reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker, additional reporting by Frank Siebelt. Writing by Andreas Cremer, editing by Kathrin Jones and David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as markets opened the week cautiously following western air strikes in Syria over the weekend, and as American drilling for new production continued to rise.</p> FILE PHOTO: Oil pumping facilities are seen at Venezuela's western Maracaibo lake in Venezuela, November 5, 2007. REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia/File Photo
<p>The United States, France and Britain launched 105 missiles on Saturday, targeting what they said were three chemical weapons facilities in Syria in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack in Douma on April 7.</p>
<p>Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $71.87 per barrel at 0124 GMT, down 71 cents, or 1 percent from their last close.</p>
<p>U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 59 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $66.80 a barrel.</p>
<p>Traders said markets in Asia began cautiously after the weekend strikes, while oil markets also came under pressure from a rise in U.S. oil drilling activity.</p>
<p>U.S. energy companies added seven oil rigs drilling for new production in the week to April 13, bringing the total to 815, the highest since March 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes said on Friday.</p>
<p>Despite this, Brent is still up more than 16 percent from its 2018 low in February, due to healthy demand and also because of conflict and tension in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Although Syria itself is not a significant oil producer itself, the wider Middle East is the world’s most important crude exporter and tension in the region tends to put oil markets on edge.</p>
<p>“Investors continued to worry about the impact of a wider conflict in the Middle East,” ANZ bank said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Henning Gloystein; editing by Richard Pullin</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-India Ratings and Research says expects India's GDP to grow 7.1 pct in FY19 Goldman Sachs buys personal finance start-up Clarity Money Wall Street futures rise, shrug off allied missile attack on Syria ECB asks Deutsche Bank to gauge investment banking exit costs: source Oil markets tense after western strikes on Syria, but rising U.S. drilling weighs | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-india-ratings-and-research-says-ex/brief-india-ratings-and-research-says-expects-indias-gdp-to-grow-71-pct-in-fy19-idUSFWN1PD05N | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>About 300 people remain missing as search efforts in New Zealand continue in the aftermath of Tuesday's powerful earthquake in Christchurch. At least 75 people are known to have died, with the death toll expected to rise significantly, officials say. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Ian Maclean of the New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management.&#160;</p> | Hundreds missing after New Zealand quake | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-02-23/hundreds-missing-after-new-zealand-quake | 2011-02-23 | 3 |
<p>Macron’s gamble appears to be paying off. By front loading his five-year term with sweeping labor law reforms, the newly elected president bet that the union movement and its allies would be too weak and divided to seriously contest their passage. So far, the decision has proven wise.</p>
<p>On Friday September 22nd, in the aftermath nationwide protests, Macron signed into effect broadly unpopular <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-false-promise-of-macrons-labor-reforms/" type="external">executive orders</a> that would weaken job security protections and curtail union rights. For the changes to become permanent, Parliament must adopt them in the <a href="http://abonnes.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/visuel/2017/06/29/theme-par-theme-que-contient-la-reforme-du-code-du-travail-version-macron_5152918_4355770.html?xtmc=code_du_travail&amp;xtcr=1" type="external">coming months</a>. The hurdles are virtually non-existent. The government boasts an En Marche super-majority in the National Assembly and the right-wing Les Républicains control the Senate.</p>
<p>Still, if the path looks clear now, history suggests impasse is not impossible. Previous governments have withdrawn unpopular labor reforms in the face of mass protests and strikes — famously in 1995 over retirement cuts; more recently in 2006 over a proposed youth employment contract. And while today’s contestation is both limited and fragmented, it contains the recognizable seeds of a larger movement. Whether such an upsurge occurs is an open question that will be answered in the coming weeks.</p> | The Next Battle | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2017/10/the-next-battle | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
<p />
<p>President Donald Trump‘s budget blueprint slashes the budgets of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p />
<p>The proposed budget requests a total of $37.6 billion for the State Department and USAID.</p>
<p>It seeks $25.6 billion in base funding for the two agencies, which is $10.1 billion less than they received in fiscal year 2017. The proposed budget also requests an additional $12 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations funding for “extraordinary costs” associated with wars in countries that include Afghanistan and Iraq.</p>
<p>Trump writes in the blueprint’s introduction that the $54 billion in proposed cuts in non-defense spending “includes deep cuts to foreign aid.” The proposed budget does not specifically say whether the White House plans to cut or eliminate funding of State Department or USAID initiatives or programs that promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad.</p>
<p>“It is time to prioritize the security and well-being of Americans and to ask the rest of the world to step up and pay its fair share,” says Trump in the blueprint’s introduction.</p>
<p>The proposed budget “provides sufficient resources to maintain current commitments and all current patient levels on HIV/AIDS treatment under” the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. It also “meets U.S. commitments” to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.</p>
<p>The proposed budget would reduce funding for the State Department’s Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs and redirect it to “sustaining the flagship” Fulbright Program. It also calls for a $650 million reduction in funding to the World Bank and other international development banks over three years.</p>
<p>“Our aim is to meet the simple, but crucial demand of our citizens — a government that puts the needs of its own people first,” says Trump. “When we do that, we will set free the dreams of every American, and we will begin a new chapter of American greatness.”</p>
<p>The promotion of LGBT and intersex rights abroad was a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy during President Obama’s second term. Activists in the U.S. and around the world remain concerned that the Trump administration will no longer support these efforts.</p>
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in January raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing when he declined to specifically say whether <a href="" type="internal">“gay rights are human rights.”</a></p>
<p>The Human Rights Campaign, the Council for Global Equality, Human Rights First and OutRight Action International this week sharply criticized the State Department for <a href="" type="internal">appointing two anti-LGBT activists</a> to the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women meeting. Tillerson earlier this month did not publicly speak about the State Department’s annual human rights report when <a href="" type="internal">it was released.</a></p>
<p>Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Randy Berry <a href="" type="internal">remains</a> in his position as special U.S. envoy to promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad.</p>
<p>“We do not have additional details to share at this time,” a U.S. official told the Washington Blade on Friday, referring to Trump’s proposed budget. “More details will be available when the full budget is rolled out later this spring.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">Council for Global Equality</a> <a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights Campaign</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights First</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">OutRight Action International</a> <a href="" type="internal">PEPFAR</a> <a href="" type="internal">Rex Tillerson</a> <a href="" type="internal">State Department</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a> <a href="" type="internal">U.S. Agency for International Development</a></p> | Trump budget slashes State Department, USAID funding | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/03/18/trump-budget-slashes-state-department-usaid-budgets/ | 3 |
|
<p>- JOHN LOTT: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439024/gun-lobby-political-clout-members-campaign-contributions?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&amp;utm_content=57b3403e04d3015e857e0142&amp;utm_medium=trueAnthem&amp;utm_source=twitter" type="external">The Myth of the big bad gun lobby</a>.</p>
<p>” ... the NRA gave just $982,000, or 1/30th the amount spent by Bloomberg. While not all of Bloomberg’s campaign donations were driven by gun issues, his spending clearly dwarfs what the NRA could give.”</p>
<p>- UNITED NATIONS FAIL: “ <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/16/un-embassy-do-nothing-as-south-sudan-soldiers-gang-rape-and-torture-americans/" type="external">UN Peacekeepers” fail to help US aid workers</a> when they came under brutal attack.</p>
<p>Soldiers singled out U.S. citizens before gang-raping several women, beating aid workers and executing a local journalist, while forcing others to watch.</p>
<p>- HOLLYWOOD: <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/16/pennywise-costume-stephen-king-it-movie" type="external">First images of Pennywise the clown</a>.</p>
<p>- OLYMPICS: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pole-vault-penis_us_57b29482e4b0863b028480ad" type="external">Pole vaulter knocks down the beam in the worst way</a>. Bonus: “Inconvienent penis” sounds like the name of a failed art pop band.</p>
<p>- THIS IS REAL: <a href="http://impactwrestling.com/impact-ventures-names-billy-corgan-its-new-president-current-president-dixie-carter-becomes-chairman/" type="external">Billy Corgan is now president of TNA Wrestling</a>.</p>
<p>- BONUS: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3745343/Will-robots-SEXIST-Scientists-trying-reprogram-misogynist-machines-bias.html" type="external">SJW's totally excited about a new demo over which to feign outrage</a>.</p> | Morning 8/18 Quick Five | true | http://danaloeschradio.com/morning-8-18-quick-five | 2016-08-18 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Officer Fred Duran said the crash ejected Stacey Leon and Henry Lukee, who died on the scene. Two young children in the backseat were injured – one critically.</p>
<p>The group is from Acoma, Duran said, and the children’s last names are Lukee. He didn’t know their gender.</p>
<p>Duran said that, around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, police were called to the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 for the roll-over that ejected the occupants of the vehicle.</p>
<p>“A caller who was one of the citizens who stopped to help located a 3-year-old child who was in the vehicle and a 6-year-old child who was crawling out of the wreckage,” Duran said.</p>
<p>The 3-year-old was severely injured and remains in hospital, Duran said. The 6-year-old suffered minor injuries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He said investigators determined Leon had veered into the lane to her right, striking a truck with a trailer. He said she swerved back to the left and then over-corrected back to the right, causing the SUV to roll over several times.</p>
<p>“Both Leon and Lukee were not wearing seat belts and alcohol is a possible contributing factor as empty alcohol containers were located in the vehicle, as well in the debris from the crash,” Duran said.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | APD: Alcohol may be to blame in rollover crash | false | https://abqjournal.com/981506/apd-woman-swerved-into-a-semi-truck-before-fatal-crash.html | 2017-04-03 | 2 |
<p>So you think Rand Paul plays a little loose with facts? You’re right, according to Jill Lawrence over at the <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/the-truthiness-of-rand-paul-20131017" type="external">National Journal</a>.</p>
<p>And it’s by design.</p>
<p>Lawrence’s profile of the libertarian Kentucky senator, ophthalmologist and likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, starts off with a revealing anecdote in which Paul recently told medical students that while in college he and a few friends relied on spreading misinformation when it came to exam time (presumably the exams were graded on a curve). They would tell classmates that, for instance, they knew a looming pathology test was going to be about the liver, leading their competitors for high grades to run down a cul de sac as they crammed the wrong material.</p>
<p>Funny, that Rand Paul guy, the students laughed. As Lawrence explains, the anecdotes are part of the “charm,” and help obscure a decidedly austere view of the role of government in society. And a predisposition to keep facts at arm’s length. Paul followed the med school memoir with a series of half-truths and outright falsehoods about Obamacare.</p>
<p />
<p>Those few minutes on stage encapsulated the promise and the peril of a brash and politically talented party crasher already deep into preparations for a 2016 presidential race. Paul’s positions—a combination of conservative, libertarian, and idiosyncratic—have the potential to excite and enlarge the Republican Party. His informal, engaging personality could attract the young voters Republicans need to survive. Indeed, he could grow into a Reaganesque game changer for his party—if he does not end up a victim of his own affinity for misinformation.</p>
<p>He’s among the right wingers who want to kill Obamacare by defunding it, and like many of his colleagues is ready to misinterpret history to make it seem to support his position.</p>
<p>Paul’s logic in justifying the GOP drive to kill Obamacare is dicey, too. He says that while the president won reelection by “a small majority” in 2012, “a majority of the people believe Republicans should be in charge of the House” and therefore don’t want something like the law that was passed solely by Democrats. Obama won last year by nearly 5 million votes. Some people might consider that a small majority. But while Republicans won a majority of House districts, it’s not accurate to say a “majority of the people” wanted a GOP House. Democrats won the House popular vote by more than 1.7 million votes nationwide, the Federal Election Commission reported in July.</p>
<p>On another front, Paul routinely exaggerates the size of the annual federal deficit, pegging it at $1 trillion. In fact, the deficit for fiscal 2013 fell to an estimated $642 billion, heading toward $378 billion in two years, according to a Congressional Budget Office report in May.</p>
<p>So call him the Minister of Misinformation (others already have on Twitter). The general sense from the political left and center is that Paul, like his father, Ron Paul, is too iconoclastic and doctrinaire to win a national election, let alone the GOP’s nomination. And Paul’s relative “truthiness” will blow up on him in the national spotlight. Maybe. But there is a phrase to remind us that the seemingly politically inconceivable has a way of happening in the U.S.: President George W. Bush.</p>
<p>—Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Scott Martelle</a>.</p> | Rand Paul: The Minister of Misinformation | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/rand-paul-the-minister-of-misinformation/ | 2013-10-18 | 4 |
<p />
<p>President Obama was recently quoted as saying to Fareed Zakaria that his biggest failure was his inability to impose gun control on the United States. It was a bridge too far. Even the leadership of the Republican Party, who had done little to seriously oppose President Obama’s agenda, feared the backlash from the voters more than they feared the establishment media.&#160; Enough politicians feared the clout of&#160; gun culture voters to stop the irrational bills fueled by raw emotion. That is not the way President Obama saw it. <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-is-most-frustrated-he-couldnt-pass-gun-control/article/2609138#!" type="external">From washingtonexaminer.com</a>:</p>
<p>“If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I’ve been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws,” Obama told Fareed Zakaria in the TV special, “The Legacy of Barack Obama.”</p>
<p>Despite national anger following mass shootings throughout his two terms, Obama was unable to convince Congress to pass legislation that would change those policies, including enhancing background checks and not selling firearms at gun shows and other venues.</p>
<p>Obama was adamant in the days following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Conn., that he had done all he could to keep the U.S. afloat in the midst of other challenges, including the auto and bank bailout, and did not have the support to push a controversial gun bill now. Obama’s frustration prompted him to take executive action in January 2016.</p>
<p>President Obama has left a lasting legacy in the gun culture.&#160; There are some loose ends to wrap up before we know the full extent of that legacy.</p>
<p>Investigation into <a href="http://www.ammoland.com/2016/05/ammoland-exclusive-trump-promised-terry-brother-answers-fast-furious/#axzz49t6osabx" type="external">the Fast and Furious scandal</a>, where the administration facilitated the transfer of thousands of semi-automatic rifles and pistols to Mexican drug cartels, has been delayed and stymied by the Obama administration at every turn. It is unknown if a Trump administration working with a Republican Congress, will be willing to dive into a full blown investigation.&#160; They may not have much choice; a lawsuit is in progress.</p>
<p>There is the increased homicide rate, primarily with firearms, that is part of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/07/20/the-ferguson-effect/?utm_term=.ec435a3b59e5" type="external">the Ferguson effect</a>. The repeated bashing of police and fostering the false narrative of Black Lives Matter, has resulted in a serious spike in police homicides and in doubling of the homicide rate in several cities around the country where police have shied away from vigorous enforcement of the law.&#160; In Baltimore, in Chicago, in Milwaukee, the homicide rates have skyrocketed.</p>
<p>There is the mini spike in suicides with guns, particularly with older white males, who saw their jobs and careers and medical insurance all wither and disappear under Obama’s policies. True, the rate of suicide increased much faster than the rate of gun sales, but it clearly did increase.&#160; For the first time in decades, the expected lifespan of a large group of Americans declined.</p>
<p>This brings us to the third, and greatest legacy of President Obama on Guns. No one can deny it. No one even tries. President Obama has been the greatest gun salesman on planet earth, ever.&#160; No one is even close. Hitler did not come close. Neither did Stalin, or Mao. President Johnson was a piker in comparison.</p>
<p>Under President Obama, Gun sales in in the United States broke record after record. In this last year and a half along, each month has been the record month for 19 consecutive months. On Black Friday alone, enough guns were sold to private parties in the United States to outfit the entire Marine Corps.</p>
<p>Under President Obama, the private stock of firearms in the United States will have increased from about <a href="http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2016/12/record-nics-background-checks-through.html" type="external">308 million to over 405 million</a> firearms. The ammunition industry has had to add new plants to keep up with the demand for ammunition. Record numbers of women and minorities have become gun owners. The number of carry permits for weapons has surpassed 15 million.&#160; The number of states the do not require a permit to carry a firearm, openly or concealed, has increased from three to eleven, and more seem on the way.&#160; Four states were added in 2016 alone.</p>
<p>While many factors were involved in the election of President Elect Trump, one of the strongest policy differences between him and Candidate Clinton, was their policy on guns. Trump vigorously defended the Second Amendment. Clinton vigorously pushed for more infringements, following President Obama’s lead.</p>
<p>President Obama can be justly proud of his appellation as the Greatest Gun Salesman.&#160; It will be a long time before anyone ever comes close.&#160; It may never happen.&#160; The gun culture correctly fought against President Obama, with considerable cost in time and treasure. But they can thank the Greatest Gun Salesman.&#160; In this regard, he performed an enormous service for the United States.&#160; President Obama may not desire the title, but he has earned it.</p>
<p>©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.</p>
<p><a href="http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/" type="external">Link to Gun Watch</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<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> | President Obama’s Biggest Failure: Gun Control | true | http://bulletsfirst.net/2016/12/12/president-obamas-biggest-failure-gun-control/ | 0 |
|
<p>ANALYSIS/OPINION:</p>
<p>The swamp gets sloshed! Republicans stunned! GOP reeling! Blindsided!</p>
<p>Blindsided? Seriously?</p>
<p>President <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Trump</a> cuts a dirty little deal with Democrats and the swamp rats are surprised? They scurry for cover like cockroaches when the lights flick on.</p>
<p>Holy frog juice, these people are even dumber than we thought. These swamp denizens are even more delusional than we thought.</p>
<p>And these people are supposed to be political experts.</p>
<p>The hopeless debt-addled addicts in Congress got sent to rehab after last November’s intervention election, and ever since they keep promising they really learned their lesson this time. Now we find they are still doped up — meth-rotted teeth, glassy-eyed — and still shooting up treasury ink.</p>
<p>Rep. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Republican, said he “gasped” when he learned of <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>’s deal with the devilish Democrats.</p>
<p>“Wow,” he said. “I was at dinner last night where that was not in anybody’s dream.”</p>
<p>Former Senate GOP leader Trent Lott cringed over how “embarrassing” it was to have the president lay bare such a split with Republicans in Congress.</p>
<p>Somebody needs to reread “The Masque of the Red Death.”</p>
<p>We have on our hands an economic, bureaucratic and political plague, and these people in the swamp are still clutching their pearls, gasping into their lace gloves and fretting over proper manners at the garden party that went broke long, long ago.</p>
<p>Let’s review: Since the start of the year, President <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Trump</a> has tried working with Republicans. He gave them a sterling, phenomenal Supreme Court justice.</p>
<p>Despite all the venom from so many Republicans in Washington during last year’s general election, <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> helped the party keep seats in all four special elections where Republicans competed.</p>
<p>And despite the acrimony, <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> has been generous in explaining to Washington Republicans all the things that matter most to actual voters in America. He has worked strenuously to make good on the promises that got him — and many Republicans — elected last year.</p>
<p>For their part, Republicans refuse to hear <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>’s advice. They backstab him and leak fake stories to the fake media about his White House.</p>
<p>They join in with the barking, mouth-frothing hyenas to investigate this Russia canard and threaten the president’s family and personal fortune.</p>
<p>They call him a racist because he — rightly — called out the leftist thugs who agitate for a race war in this country.</p>
<p>And, finally, these syphilitic Washington Republicans are, apparently, constitutionally incapable of actually accomplishing anything.</p>
<p>Forget that <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> got elected promising to repeal Obamacare. Republicans have won four straight elections on that very same promise!</p>
<p>And they can’t even get that done, even as <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> stands at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, holding his pen, weeping ink.</p>
<p>Yet these bozos are surprised that <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> finally had enough and is now playing footsie with Democrats?</p>
<p>And these are the “good guys” in Washington. Dear Lord, help us!</p>
<p>• Charles Hurt can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter, @charleshurt.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/sep/7/donald-trump-sidesteps-roadblock-of-republicans/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Trump sidesteps roadblock of Republicans | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/7/donald-trump-sidesteps-roadblock-of-republicans/ | 2017-09-07 | 0 |
<p>PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (ABP) — The last of 10 Americans detained while trying to take 33 children out of Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake was released May 17 after a judge found her guilty and sentenced her to time already served in jail.</p>
<p>Laura Silsby, an Idaho businesswoman who led a 10-member mission team from her Southern Baptist church to rescue children left homeless by the earthquake, was jailed Jan. 29 after trying to bring a busload of children into the Dominican Republic without proper paperwork. Silsby originally claimed the children were orphans who lost parents it the earthquake, but it later was revealed that all of the children had at least one living parent who handed them over to the Americans in hope of finding them a better life.</p>
<p>Haiti <a href="" type="internal">released</a> eight of the 10 mission volunteers Feb. 17 and a <a href="" type="internal">ninth</a> team member on March 8. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil dropped charges of kidnapping and criminal association against the 10 but ordered Silsby to stand trial on a reduced charge of arranging illegal travel.</p>
<p>The Associated Press <a href="http://www.nwcn.com/news/idaho/Laura-Silsby-released-from-Haiti-jail-93957519.html" type="external">quoted</a> a Haitian prosecutor as saying Silby was convicted under a 1980 statute restricting movement out of Haiti signed by then-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and sentenced to the three months and eight days she had spent behind bars. The prosecution originally recommended a six-month sentence. Her maximum sentence could have been three years.</p>
<p>Silsby, 40, a member of <a href="http://www.centralvalleybaptist.net/cvbc09/events/" type="external">Central Valley Baptist Church</a> in Meridian, Idaho, was expected to fly out of Haiti on May 17.</p> | Last of 10 jailed U.S. Baptist missionaries released from Haiti | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/lastof10jailedusbaptistmissionariesreleasedfromhaiti/ | 3 |
|
<p />
<p>The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits declined largely as expected last week as the impact of a California computer glitch worked its way out of the report.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined by 10,0000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were not revised.</p>
<p>Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 339,000 last week.</p>
<p>A Labor Department analyst said California, which had been dealing with a backlog, reported no carryover in claims last week from previous weeks.</p>
<p>Technical problems as California converted to a new computer system have distorted the claims data since September, which had made it hard to get a clear read of labor market conditions.</p>
<p>A 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government had also pushed up claims in recent weeks as furloughed workers applied for benefits, but this appeared to be diminishing.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Claims filed by federal employees dropped 29,713 in the week ended October 19 to 14,423. The shutdown ended on October 17.</p>
<p>The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, increased 8,000 to 356,250. The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid rose by 31,000 to 2.881 million in the week ended October 19.</p> | Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to 340,000 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/10/31/weekly-jobless-claims-drop-to-340k.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>&lt;img class="alignright size-full wp-image-433456" src="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/DCNF-2-1-1.jpg" alt="DCNF" width="200" height="60" /&gt; Saagar Enjeti, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/04/rubio-demands-communist-west-point-grad-pay-back-tuition/" type="external">DCNF</a></p>
<p>The U.S. Army should nullify unabashed communist 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone’s military commission and require him to pay back his tuition costs, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio requested&#160;in a Wednesday letter to acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="alignleft wp-image-544437" src="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="384" /&gt;</p>
<p>“I respectfully request the United States Army immediately nullify Rapone’s commission and pursue all available disciplinary options under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Rapone should be required to pay back in full the cost of his education and the United States Military Academy should consider revoking his degree,” Rubio&#160; <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Press-Releases&amp;id=16F921F4-8A1A-46CC-9CEC-06C6567783A6" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>The senator referenced Rapone’s robust social media presence posting photos of communist propaganda while in his Academy uniform, and other posts expressing his desire to foment a communist revolution.</p>
<p>Did this guy Spenser Rapone participate also? Asking for a friend..&#160; <a href="https://t.co/7g9evaAxF4" type="external">pic.twitter.com/7g9evaAxF4</a></p>
<p>— Pat Isaacson&#160; (@Pat_Isaacson)&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/Pat_Isaacson/status/912659473902325760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">September 26, 2017</a></p>
<p>Rapone at different points on social media&#160; <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/27/communist-west-point-graduate-called-mattis-an-evil-vile-f/" type="external">denigrated</a>&#160;Secretary of Defense James Mattis as an “evil, vile f***,” and&#160; <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/27/chelsea-manning-inspired-communist-west-point-graduate-to-infiltrate-the-military/" type="external">called</a>&#160;convicted leaker Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning an inspiration.</p>
<p>“This clearly violates multiple Army regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Rubio’s letter noted.</p>
<p>Article 88 of the&#160;Uniform Code of Military Justice&#160; <a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&amp;jsonp=vglnk_150713396034913&amp;key=e7609c039c08d3ae00aebd97e6f0bffd&amp;libId=j8d858hf010110e3000DAbixzjsok&amp;loc=http%3A%2F%2Fdailycaller.com%2F2017%2F09%2F27%2Fcommunist-west-point-graduate-called-mattis-an-evil-vile-f%2F&amp;v=1&amp;out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebalance.com%2Fpunitive-articles-of-the-ucmj-3356854&amp;ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&amp;title=West%20Point%20Grad%20Calls%20Mattis%20%27Evil%2C%20Vile%20%7C%20The%20Daily%20Caller&amp;txt=Article%2088" type="external">states</a>&#160;“any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”</p>
<p>“It is extremely concerning that someone who so often expressed such hostile views towards the United States’ system of government was able to obtain a commission,” Rubio wrote. “Rapone’s revolutionary ideas were harbored long before he was commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant. Were West Point administrators or faculty aware of his views and behavior?”</p>
<p>Former Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, who nominated Rapone to the Academy, disavowed him and his views in a previous statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation,&#160; <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/27/former-congressman-who-nominated-communist-extremist-to-west-point-aggressively-disavows/" type="external">saying</a>, ”&#160;I have not been in touch with him in the years since the appointment, and I was shocked and extremely disappointed in the recent reports of his indefensible actions.”</p>
<p>“While I strongly support the rights of American citizens to express their opinions, the actions of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone are abhorrent and appear to be in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in addition to being inconsistent with the values of the United States Military Academy. I have no doubt that the U.S. Army will take appropriate action,” Altmire said.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/esaagar" type="external">Follow Saagar Enjeti on Twitter</a></p>
<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | ‘Revoke his degree!’ Sen Rubio wants communist West Point grad forced to pay back his tuition in full | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2017/10/04/revoke-degree-sen-rubio-wants-communist-west-point-grad-forced-pay-back-tuition-full-544429 | 2017-10-04 | 0 |
<p>Shares of telecommunications companies declined after one major television provider sounded the alarm on pay-television trends.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T said it lost about 90,000 customers video subscribers in the third quarter, despite an increase of subscribers at its streaming-TV service, according to a securities filing.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The telecom services sector is the only one of the 10 on the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 expected to see a decline in earnings for the third quarter, said analysts at Thomson Reuters.</p>
<p>-- By Rob Curran, [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 12, 2017 16:43 ET (20:43 GMT)</p> | Telecoms Down After AT&T Warning on Pay-TV -- Telecoms Roundup | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/12/telecoms-down-after-at-t-warning-on-pay-tv-telecoms-roundup.html | 2017-10-12 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump signed his first travel ban with scant warning and little planning seven days into his presidency, he meant to signal he was a man of action. After the lawsuits, chaos at airports and international criticism, Trump’s rewritten travel ban sent a different message: The White House has learned some lessons.</p>
<p>The Trump administration’s unveiling of its revised restrictions on travel and refugees was deliberate and cautious, an implicit acknowledgement of some of the unforced errors from the first rollout. The executive order was announced by Trump’s Cabinet officials, some of whom felt cut out of consultations on the earlier version. It does not go into effect immediately, giving the world time to assess its impact.</p>
<p>The White House took weeks of consultation with agency heads about how best to withstand expected legal challenges.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The scaled-back order will still face fire from critics. It bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America’s refugee program, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.</p>
<p>Department of Homeland Security intelligence analysts have questioned the rationale behind it, concluding that citizenship is an “unlikely indicator” of terrorism threats to the United States.</p>
<p>But the new ban does eliminate many of the original order’s most contentious elements. It removes Iraq from the list of banned countries — at the urging of U.S. military and diplomatic leaders — and it makes clear that current visa holders will not be impacted. It also removes language that would give priority to religious minorities — a provision some interpreted as a way to help Christians get into the U.S. while excluding Muslims.</p>
<p>Trump signed the order without fanfare in a closed-press ceremony in the Oval Office.</p>
<p>Legal experts say the new order addresses some of the constitutional concerns raised by a federal appeals court about the initial ban but leaves room for more legal challenges.</p>
<p>“It’s much clearer about how it doesn’t apply to groups of immigrants with more clearly established constitutional rights,” said University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck. “That’s a really important step.”</p>
<p>Trump officials say the goal hasn’t changed: keeping would-be terrorists out of the United States while the government reviews vetting systems for refugees and visa applicants from certain parts of the world.</p>
<p>“It is the president’s solemn duty to protect the American people, and with this order President Trump is exercising his rightful authority to keep our people safe,” said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at a brief press announcement, where he, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Attorney General Jeff Sessions served as the public faces of the rollout.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The original travel ban led to instant chaos at airports as Homeland Security officials scrambled to interpret how it was to be implemented and some travelers were detained before being sent back overseas or blocked from getting on airplanes abroad. The order quickly became the subject of several legal challenges and was put on hold last month by a federal judge in Washington state.</p>
<p>This time, there was none of that chaos. The new order won’t take effect until March 16, despite repeated warnings from Trump and his aides that any delay would put national security at risk by allowing the entry of “bad dudes” who want to cause harm to the country.</p>
<p>Press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at the White House that Trump approved the final details of the revised executive order on Saturday night after meeting with Kelly, Sessions and members of his legal staff and policy team.</p>
<p>Trump’s new order reinstates his four-month ban on all refugees from around the world and keeps in place his plan to reduce the number of refugees to be allowed into the United States this budget year to 50,000. Syrians are also no longer subjected to an indefinite ban, despite Trump’s insistence as a candidate that they pose a serious security threat.</p>
<p>Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the group will try to block the new order from taking effect, either by amending the existing lawsuits that blocked Trump’s original ban or seeking a new injunction.</p>
<p>“The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban is not to have a Muslim ban,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the project.</p>
<p>Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state won a court order blocking the travel ban, said the new travel ban is more legally palatable than the old one but that it still poses concerns and could prompt further court challenges from the state.</p>
<p>“Bottom line is the president has capitulated on numerous key provisions that we contested in court about a month ago,” Ferguson said at a news conference in his Seattle office. “This is a very significant victory for the people of the state of Washington.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/acaldwellap" type="external">http://twitter.com/acaldwellap</a> and Jill Colvin at <a href="http://twitter.com/colvinj" type="external">http://twitter.com/colvinj</a></p> | Trump’s new travel ban comes without the chaos of first one | false | https://abqjournal.com/963382/trumps-new-travel-ban-comes-without-the-chaos-of-first-one.html | 2017-03-07 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — American Indian tribes have tried everything from banishment to charging criminal acts as civil offenses to deal with non-Indians who commit crimes on reservations.</p>
<p>Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that tribal courts lack criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians, tribes have had to get creative in trying to hold that population accountable. They acknowledge, though, that those approaches aren’t much of a deterrent, and say most crimes committed by non-Indians on tribal land go unpunished.</p>
<p>Tribal leaders are hoping that will change, at least in part, with a federal bill expected to be signed into law Thursday. The measure gives tribes the authority to prosecute non-Indians — for a set of crimes limited to domestic violence and violations of protecting orders.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Implementation of the Violence Against Women Act will take time as tribes amend their legal codes and ensure defendants receive the same rights offered in state and federal courts. But proponents say it’s a huge step forward in the face of high rates of domestic violence with no prosecution.</p>
<p>“For a tribal nation, it’s just absurd that (authority) doesn’t exist,” said Sheri Freemont, director of the Family Advocacy Center on the Salt River Pima Maricopa reservation in Arizona. “People choose to either work, live or play in Indian Country. I think they should be subject to Indian Country rules.”</p>
<p>Native American women suffer incidents of domestic violence at rates more than double national averages. But more than half of cases involving non-Indians go unprosecuted because Indian courts have lacked jurisdiction and because federal prosecutors often have too few resources to try cases on isolated reservations.</p>
<p>Still, the tribal courts provision was a major point of contention in Congress, with some Republicans arguing that subjecting non-Indians to Indian courts was unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said after its passage that the bill denies basic rights and will be tied up in court challenges for years.</p>
<p>“It violates constitutional rights of individuals and would, for the first time ever, proclaim Indian tribes’ ‘inherent’ authority to exercise criminal jurisdiction over non-Indian citizens,” Hastings said in a statement. “The Supreme Court has ruled multiple times that tribes do not have this authority.”</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Justice met with tribal leaders Wednesday to discuss implementing the provisions, which will take effect two years after the law is enacted. A pilot project would allow any tribe that believes it has met the requirements to request an earlier start date.</p>
<p>To ease concerns that the new authority would violate the constitutional rights of a non-Indian or that jurors in tribal court would be unfair, the bill allows defendants to petition a federal court for review. A tribe would have jurisdiction over non-Indians when that person lives or works on the reservation, and is married to or in a partnership with a tribal member.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>About 77 percent of people living in American Indian and Alaska Native areas are non-Indian, according to a recent Census report. Roughly half of American Indian women are married to non-Indians, the Justice Department has said.</p>
<p>Although tribes have civil jurisdiction over non-Indians, they often are reluctant to go forward with a case when the penalty amounts to a fine and offenders have little incentive to pay it. The hope in taking on criminal cases is that incidents of domestic violence will be quelled before they lead to serious injury or death, and that victims won’t be afraid to report them.</p>
<p>“Having the ability to do it local and have the prosecution start soon after the offense, that’s just going to be great for our victims,” said Fred Urbina, chief prosecutor for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in southern Arizona.</p>
<p>Officers there are certified under state and federal law, which allows them to arrest non-Indians, but the cases aren’t handled at the tribal level. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe also has banished some non-Indians from the reservation for criminal activity.</p>
<p>“It’s almost like a patchwork of things we’ve been able to employ to fix that jurisdictional void,” Urbina said. “It’s not satisfactory in all cases.”</p>
<p>Under the new law, a non-Indian defendant would have the right to a jury trial that is drawn from a cross-section of the community and doesn’t systematically exclude non-Indians or other distinctive groups. The protections would equal those in state or federal court, including the right to a public defender, a judge who is licensed to practice law, a recording of the proceedings and published laws and rules of criminal procedure.</p>
<p>“This is not scary. It’s not radical,” said Troy Eid, former U.S. attorney in Colorado. “It’s very much in keeping with what we have as local governments.”</p>
<p>The safeguards are similar to those in the federal Tribal Law and Order Act, passed in 2010 to improve public safety on tribal lands.</p>
<p>About 30 tribes across the country are working toward a provision that allows them to increase sentencing from one year to three years, leaving them well-positioned to take authority over non-Indians in criminal matters, Eid said.</p> | Bill gives tribes authority over non-Indians | false | https://abqjournal.com/175630/bill-gives-tribes-authority-over-non-indians.html | 2013-03-07 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The top-seeded Monarchs (11-0) scored four first-half touchdowns and cruised past the No. 9 Wildcats (6-6) 45-7 in a Class 6A quarterfinal football game at Wilson Stadium on Friday night. It was quite a contrast to the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 13, when Manzano sputtered in the first two quarters and trailed 7-6 heading into the locker room at Leon Williams Stadium in Clovis before rallying for a 34-10 triumph.</p>
<p>“The real difference was in the first game we moved the ball – we just kept getting penalties that were calling touchdowns back. It just hurt us,” Manzano coach Chad Adcox said. “We couldn’t get any momentum built up. That’s how our offense works. We kind of build and we build and we start rolling downhill.”</p>
<p>The Monarchs offense rolled to the tune of 402 total yards on Friday – including 344 on the ground. Jordan Byrd rushed for 121 yards and three second-half touchdowns, while Xavier Ivey-Saud contributed 155 punishing yards on 21 carries. Keion Pringle and Austin Erickson also added rushing touchdowns for Manzano.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“That’s what we do. We’re gonna run the ball,” Adcox said. “We can really run it four different ways. We’ve got a lot of guys that can get the ball. We try to get the ball in everybody’s hands and see what happens.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the defense, which limited the Wildcats to 90 total yards last month, forced four turnovers. That included a forced fumble on a sack that led to a 5-yard touchdown return by Alex Nash to give his team a 12-0 lead with six seconds remaining in the first quarter. Erickson had a pair of interceptions, one in the end zone that cut off Clovis’ best scoring opportunity in the first half and another in the third that set up Byrd’s first rushing touchdown.</p>
<p>It was a jack-of-all trades kind of evening for Erickson, who in addition to his two picks and rushing score also caught a 26-yard TD pass from Byrd to put the Monarchs up 26-0 in the second quarter.</p>
<p>All told, it was a pretty complete effort for a Manzano team that had played just once in the past month.</p>
<p>“I was a little nervous that we were gonna be (rusty),” Adcox said. “We had a couple mistakes. … We’ll fix those. Overall, I’m happy.”</p>
<p>There was a brief scare when Byrd limped off the field to the trainer’s table to have his ankle examined after fumbling on the Clovis 1 in the third. While he appeared gimpy at times, Byrd had no trouble accelerating into the end zone twice more after that.</p>
<p>“When he fumbled down there, he said he got his ankle tweaked, but he’s all right,” Adcox said.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Monarchs’ run game gets into high gear quickly | false | https://abqjournal.com/1094787/monarchs-run-game-gets-into-high-gear-quickly.html | 2 |
|
<p>By Steve LevingstonThe Washington PostPublished: 12/15/05 Excerpt:</p>
<p>With journalism still under a cloud from some high-profile scandals, newsrooms must go to the greatest lengths to convince the public of their independence and credibility, said Kelly McBride, a journalism ethics expert at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a journalism training center. "This undermines all the efforts we're making to protect our credibility," she said. "It creates the perception that the newsroom is for sale to the highest bidder." The news broadcast also puts itself at risk by tying its image to that of the sponsor, McBride said. "A company could have some big corporate scandal, and you will instantaneously be associated with it because that name is now part of your name," she said. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR2005121402225.html?referrer=email&amp;referrer=email" type="external">More of this article...</a> <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ned=us&amp;q=" type="external">Search Google News for more quotes by Kelly McBride...</a></p> | Putting Their Names All Over the News | false | https://poynter.org/news/putting-their-names-all-over-news | 2005-12-15 | 2 |
<p>(Reuters) - Pipeline company Kinder Morgan Inc said on Wednesday that it expects U.S. tax reform to result in a one-time, $1.4 billion charge against earnings and added that it would be better off in the long run.</p>
<p>- In a presentation to analysts, Houston-based Kinder said the charge was caused by lower tax rates affecting the value of its deferred tax assets.</p>
<p>- Kinder Morgan said on Jan. 17 that the charge was an initial estimate and would be applied against fourth-quarter 2017 earnings.</p>
<p>- The company said it would be better off over a 10-year period because of a newfound ability to fully expense capital spending on certain assets, as well as a lower corporate tax rate.</p>
<p>- Kinder Morgan shares were down 1 percent at $19.25 in afternoon trading in New York.</p>
<p>- U.S. tax overhaul is likely to spur spending by refiners and pipeline companies, industry lobbyists and analysts said last month.</p>
<p>Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by David Gregorio and Steve Orlofsky</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CRM.N" type="external">CRM.N</a>) is in advanced discussions to acquire U.S. software maker MuleSoft Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MULE.N" type="external">MULE.N</a>), people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, as it looks to expand its offerings beyond customer relationship management software.</p> FILE PHOTO - The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo
<p>The acquisition, which the sources said could be worth more than $6 billion, would be Salesforce’s biggest ever deal, illustrating Chief Executive Marc Benioff’s push to supplement the company’s cloud-based portfolio with new technology.</p>
<p>A deal could be announced as soon as this week, the sources said, cautioning that negotiations had not been finalized and that an agreement was not certain.</p>
<p>The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Salesforce and MuleSoft declined to comment.</p>
<p>MuleSoft shares jumped more than 20 percent to $39.88 after Reuters reported the talks, giving the company a market value of $5.3 billion. Salesforce shares were up 0.3 percent at $125.31.</p>
<p>Based in San Francisco, MuleSoft makes software that automatically integrates disparate data, devices and applications to help companies’ networks run faster. It could help Salesforce win business from customers which are not yet ready to transition their systems to the cloud.</p>
<p>Buying MuleSoft would help Salesforce build a larger enterprise apps ecosystem around its own products, Barclays Plc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BARC.L" type="external">BARC.L</a>) analysts wrote in a research note, adding that MuleSoft could command a premium given its rapid growth and good fit.</p>
<p>Salesforce Ventures, the company’s venture capital arm, led a $128 million funding round in MuleSoft in 2015.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CRM.N" type="external">Salesforce.com Inc</a> 125.12 CRM.N New York Stock Exchange +0.14 (+0.11%) CRM.N MULE.N BARC.L KO.N MCD.N
<p>MuleSoft has more than 1,000 customers, including Coca-Cola Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=KO.N" type="external">KO.N</a>), McDonald’s Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MCD.N" type="external">MCD.N</a>), Spotify and Unilever ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ULVR.L" type="external">ULVR.L</a>). It went public about a year ago.</p>
<p>Salesforce holds more than 18 percent of the global customer relationship management software market, followed by Oracle Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ORCL.N" type="external">ORCL.N</a>) with 9.4 percent, according to 2016 figures provided by research firm IDC.</p>
<p>Alphabet Inc’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) Google acquired a competitor of MuleSoft called Apigee Corp in a $625 million deal in 2016.</p>
<p>Salesforce has benefited from companies switching to cloud-based services due to the lower costs and high level of scalability. Last month, it posted a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street targets, fueled by growth in its cloud-based sales and marketing software.</p>
<p>Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Bill Rigby and Meredith Mazzilli</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. film and TV studio The Weinstein Company, whose ex-Chairman Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment and assault, filed for bankruptcy on Monday and said it was ending all non-disclosure agreements that may have silenced some women.</p>
<p>The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware follows accusations by more than 70 women against the company’s co-founder, Harvey Weinstein, who was one of Hollywood’s most influential men, of sexual misconduct, including rape. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.</p>
<p>The women who spoke out against Weinstein spurred a national movement against sexual harassment, with victims sharing their stories on social media and labeling them under the hashtag #MeToo.</p>
<p>Texas private equity firm Lantern Capital agreed to buy Weinstein Company out of bankruptcy for $310 million. The firm's offer, saving the studio from winding down its business, will be subject to higher and better bids in a court-supervised auction scheduled for May 2. <a href="http://bit.ly/2prGdNm" type="external">bit.ly/2prGdNm</a></p>
<p>The deadline for other bids is April 30.</p>
<p>Lantern had been a potential investor in former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet’s bid for the studio, which was ultimately terminated.</p>
<p>The Weinstein Company’s bankruptcy will halt victim’s lawsuits against the company and any sexual misconduct claims would likely only be compensated after secured creditors are paid in full. Maria Contreras-Sweet’s bid for the studio included a $80-90 million compensation fund that would supplement any insurance payouts victims would receive.</p>
<p>The Weinstein Company, which has won 28 Academy Awards, owns a film library of 277 feature films that have generated over $2 billion in aggregate box office receipts worldwide.</p>
<p>Yet the company said in court papers it has lost about 25 percent of its workforce and many of its long time business partners since October 2017, when accusations against Harvey Weinstein became public.</p>
<p>“It is an understatement to say that the last six months have been trying for the company,” Chief Restructuring Officer Robert Del Genio said in court papers.</p> FILE PHOTO - Harvey Weinstein speaks at the UBS 40th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
<p>As part of the bankruptcy filing, the Weinstein Company said it released anyone “who suffered or witnessed any form of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein” from nondisclosure agreements.</p>
<p>“Since October, it has been reported that Harvey Weinstein used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those ‘agreements’ end,” the company said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>In February, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein, alleging that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed employees and the company failed to respond. Bob Weinstein co-founded the company and is the co-chairman.</p>
<p>“This is a watershed moment for efforts to address the corrosive effects of sexual misconduct in the workplace,” Schneiderman said in a statement after the company’s announcement on Monday.</p>
<p>In its filing, the Weinstein Company listed $500 million to $1 billion in both liabilities and assets.</p>
<p>The studio has spent months looking for a buyer or investor. Before the deal with Contreras-Sweet’s group failed, The Weinstein Company had tried securing rescue financing from other investors.</p>
<p>Lions Gate Entertainment Corp had made an earlier offer for some of the company’s assets, as had Qatar-owned film company Miramax, which was founded by Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein. Both could be among potential bidders in the auction.</p>
<p>Movie producer Killer Content also said bankruptcy would be the best option for the company, and that it may be interested in the studio’s assets in a bankruptcy auction.</p>
<p>The Weinstein Company also won commitments from its bank lenders for a $25 million bankruptcy loan.</p>
<p>Launched in October 2005, the studio produced and distributed critically acclaimed hits including “The King’s Speech” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” as well as TV series such as long-running fashion reality competition “Project Runway.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York, Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dropped on Monday, with the S&amp;P and Nasdaq suffering their worst day in just over five weeks, as concerns over increased regulation for large tech companies was spearheaded by a plunge in Facebook shares.</p>
<p>Facebook shares tumbled 6.8 percent as Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced calls from both U.S. and European lawmakers to explain how a consultancy that worked on President Donald Trump’s election campaign gained access to data on 50 million Facebook users.</p>
<p>The stock had its worst day since March 2014 and was down 10.8 percent from its closing record hit on Feb. 1, to put the stock squarely in correction territory, a drop of 10 percent from its high.</p>
<p>Facebook’s plunge weighed heavily on the S&amp;P technology sector, down 2.11 percent, as well as the Nasdaq, off more than 2 percent. Both indexes had their worst daily performance since Feb. 8.</p>
<p>Other major companies with large tech businesses also dropped as recent concerns over regulation in the arena increased. Apple lost 1.53 percent while Alphabet fell 3 percent and Microsoft declined 1.8 percent.</p>
<p>“What’s chilling to an investor is whether Facebook will be able to get advertisers to pay for the rich data they pay for today,” said Kim Forrest, Senior Portfolio manager, Fort Pitt Capital, Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>“Investors are not only concerned about losing advertising dollars. They’re also concerned these companies might come under relatively heavy regulation.”</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 335.6 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 24,610.91, the S&amp;P 500 lost 39.09 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,712.92 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 137.74 points, or 1.84 percent, to 7,344.24.</p> FILE PHOTO: The sun rises behind the entrance sign to Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park before the company's IPO launch, May 18, 2012. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach/File Photo
<p>The S&amp;P once again fell below its 50-day moving average, seen as a technical support level, for the first time since early March. The Nasdaq came about 2 points from its 50-day before paring losses.</p>
<p>Investors were also cautious ahead of a two-day monetary policy meeting at the U.S. Federal Reserve starting on Tuesday.</p> Slideshow (8 Images)
<p>The market believes the Fed is set to raise interest rates on Wednesday as Thomson Reuters data shows traders expect a quarter-percentage-point hike to be a certainty. Investors are now grappling with the question of whether an improving economy could lead to more hikes than anticipated.</p>
<p>“Some of the more salient questions investors have is, has the tone of the Fed, which this time last year was certainly more skewed towards being dovish, has it now extended to becoming more hawkish?” said Eric Freedman, chief investment officer for U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.</p>
<p>Industrials fell 0.82 percent against the backdrop of worries about a global trade war, which are set to dominate a two-day G20 meeting in Argentina.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-stocks-instant-analystview/analyst-view-tech-sector-selloff-leads-wall-street-sharply-lower-idUSKBN1GV2D2" type="external">Analyst View: Tech sector selloff leads Wall Street sharply lower</a>
<p>Selling was broad, with each of the 11 major S&amp;P sectors in the red. The CBOE Volatility index touched a high of 21.87 in one of its sharpest gains since the market sell-off in February.</p>
<p>Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 3.71-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.68-to-1 ratio favored decliners.</p>
<p>Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.9 billion shares, compared to the 7.2 billion average over the last 20 trading days.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us said at a bankruptcy court hearing on Tuesday that it was working hard to maximize payments to suppliers and lenders, as it starts to shutter 735 big-box toy stores across the United States.</p> FILE PHOTO - People pass by Toys R Us store at Times Square in New York, U.S., March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
<p>More than 50 suppliers, including Barbie maker Mattel ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MAT.O" type="external">MAT.O</a>) and Lego, have objected in some form to the proceedings by the storied toy retailer to liquidate its U.S. business, putting 30,000 jobs at risk.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us had been trying to reorganize under U.S. Chapter 11 but last week said those efforts had failed and it was quickly running out of cash. It is also winding down its U.K business, but is looking for a buyer for operations in Canada, Europe and Asia.</p>
<p>Some trade vendors are demanding the company return any unpaid inventory rather than selling it and using going out of business sales to pay secured lenders and bankruptcy lawyers, at their cost, court papers showed.</p>
<p>“We’re making every effort to make sure (trade vendors) will be paid in full,” Lazard’s David Kurtz, who is advising Toys ‘R’ Us, testified at a hearing at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia.</p>
<p>The company is seeking approval for a March 26 deadline for bids for each of its foreign businesses, minus U.K., followed by an auction on March 29.</p>
<p>It is also seeking approval for a series of U.S. liquidation procedures including a halt to more than $450 million in supplier payments as part of a plan that experts told Reuters could cause many small toy makers to disappear.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us was the last remaining specialty toy retailer in the United States. Hundreds of companies relied on its big-box stores as a showcase for both innovative toys as well as classics.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MAT.O" type="external">Mattel Inc</a> 12.97 MAT.O Nasdaq -0.25 (-1.89%) MAT.O
<p>Under trade agreements, vendors were required to ship goods to Toys ‘R’ Us on unsecured trade credit.</p>
<p>In a court filing, Lego said any “wind-down must be implemented in a manner that is fair and equitable to all” of the company’s creditors.</p>
<p>The U.S. Trustee, a bankruptcy watchdog, has also objected, saying that while it is “resigned” to the company’s future, it is concerned about certain of the procedures and relief proposed as part of the liquidation.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us financial advisor Bill Kosturos of Alvarez &amp; Marsal was also testifying at the hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips, which could run into Wednesday.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Kinder Morgan sees $1.4 billion hit from U.S. tax reform Exclusive: Salesforce in advanced talks to buy MuleSoft - sources Weinstein Co files for bankruptcy, ends all non-disclosure agreements Wall Street drops as regulation worry sinks tech shares Toys 'R' Us says 'making every effort' to pay vendors | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-kinder-morgan-de-tax/kinder-morgan-sees-14-billion-hit-from-us-tax-reform-idUSKBN1FD256 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p>Health Care Ruling: A Strange Constitutional Win <a href="http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/health-care-ruling-strange-constitutional-win" type="external">The Cato Institute</a></p>
<p>‘Who would have thought we could win our Commerce Clause challenge while the Affordable Care Act is upheld?</p>
<p>Thursday, the Roberts court vindicated all of our arguments about why the individual insurance mandate exceeded the commerce power: “The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. “That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage in it.” Then the court went further to invalidate the health care law’s withholding of existing Medicaid funding as coercive, thereby finding an enforceable limit on the Spending Power.’</p>
<p>Health Care Ruling Is Less Liberal Than It Looks <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/06/29-scotus-health-care-obama-aca-liberal-west" type="external">The Brookings Institution</a></p>
<p>‘Two provisions limit the scope of the law’s impact. First, the Medicaid ruling limits the power of the federal government to encourage states to extend medical care. This gives states the authority to resist national efforts to expand health insurance coverage for the uninsured. With the dire fiscal straits of many states, many places will be unlikely to extend coverage and the result will be fewer uninsured will receive coverage than was expected when the legislation passed.</p>
<p>Second, although Chief Justice Roberts supported the constitutionality of the individual mandate, his opinion limited the ability of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce through tactics other than taxes. This part of the decision will restrict the ability of future Congresses to regulate commerce.’</p>
<p>Government Medical “Insurance” <a href="https://mises.org/daily/6099/Government-Medical-Insurance" type="external">The Ludwig von Mises Institute</a></p>
<p>‘Physician and hospital prices are high and are always rising rapidly, far beyond general inflation. As a result, the medically uninsured can scarcely pay at all, so that those who are not certifiable claimants for charity or Medicaid are bereft. Hence, the call for national health insurance…</p>
<p>…our very real medical crisis has been the product of massive government intervention, state and federal, throughout the century; in particular, an artificial boosting of demand coupled with an artificial restriction of supply. The result has been accelerating high prices and deterioration of patient care.’</p>
<p>Obamacare Ensures Health Care Works for Every American <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/06/obamacare_constitutional.html" type="external">The Center for American Progress</a></p>
<p>‘The Supreme Court’s ruling today confirmed what the Constitution and 200 years of precedent have already made clear: The Affordable Care Act is undoubtedly constitutional.</p>
<p>With this ruling comes a victory for the millions of Americans who are already benefiting from the health reform law, whether it’s the sick child who can no longer be denied insurance or the senior who can finally afford her prescription drugs. And very soon, the Affordable Care Act will go even further to protect tens of millions more from ever being denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.</p>
<p>Here are the top five benefits of the Affordable Care Act that are making, and will continue to make, health care work for every American…’</p>
<p>Obamacare ruling takes power away from people <a href="http://www.statesman.com/opinion/goodman-obamacare-ruling-takes-power-away-from-people-2406267.html" type="external">The Independent Institute</a></p>
<p>‘The health reform law is a Rube Goldberg contraption that no one can explain. It was the result of a special-interest compromise, with each group claiming a slice of a 10-year, $1 trillion pie. Pharmaceutical giants colluded with the White House to pass Obamacare just one of many examples of how crony capitalism tried to shape our health care system.’</p>
<p>Court Decision Will Allow Health Reform to Bring Major Benefits to the Nation <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&amp;id=3796" type="external">Center on Budget and Policy Priorities</a></p>
<p>‘Today’s Supreme Court decision allows the nation to reap the very substantial benefits of the Affordable Care Act: health insurance coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, important consumer protections for millions of insured Americans whose coverage has serious gaps, and the promise of progress in slowing the growth of health care costs.’</p>
<p>The controversial, contradictory and complex ruling on Obamacare <a href="https://www.aei.org/article/health/healthcare-reform/the-controversial-contradictory-and-complex-ruling-on-obamacare/" type="external">The American Enterprise Institute</a></p>
<p>‘Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito stripped bare the pretense that the mandate was a tax rather than a (unconstitutional) penalty. For example, different groups of people are exempted from the mandate’s coverage command itself than those exempted from paying its penalty…</p>
<p>Just pay no attention to the ACA’s statutory history and language, President Obama’s own words in pushing for the law, or even some earlier legal positions by his attorneys. In most of the lower federal courts that reviewed similar versions of this “tax or penalty” legal ploy, it failed to pass the “straight-face” test.’</p>
<p>Health Care Reform Lives! <a href="https://tcf.org/blogs/botc/2012/06/health-care-reform-lives" type="external">The Century Foundation</a></p>
<p>‘From the outset, supporters of the legislation defended the legality of its mandate to buy health insurance based on its enforcement mechanism: a fine to be collected by the Internal Revenue Service out of income tax refunds. The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax, and people who don’t buy health insurance would owe a new tax under the law. Why did any courts, much less the Supreme Court, need to confirm something so obvious?’</p> | Think Tank Roundup: Reactions to Supreme Court’s Health Care Ruling | false | https://ivn.us/2012/06/30/think-tank-roundup-reactions-to-supreme-courts-health-care-decision/ | 2012-06-30 | 2 |
<p>Utah attorneys defending a hotly contested law banning minimum prices for contact lenses argued this week that the state has the right to regulate industry price-fixing even if the products are sold to customers elsewhere.</p>
<p>Any sales by Utah-based retailers are in-state transactions, no matter where the contacts are shipped, the Utah Attorney General's Office said in court documents filed Thursday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>State attorneys specifically cite Utah-based 1-800 Contacts, one of the country's largest discount retailers, in their defense of the law.</p>
<p>Three of the nation's biggest contact lens manufacturers sued to block the law they say violates interstate commerce rules. Alcon, Johnson &amp; Johnson and Bausch &amp; Lomb argue it was written to help 1-800 Contacts in a bitter pricing war.</p>
<p>The three manufacturers sued to block the law and won a temporary injunction, but a federal appeals court allowed the law to go into effect in June.</p>
<p>The two sides are set to argue before the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in August.</p>
<p>If Utah's law stands, it could have wide-ranging effects on the $4 billion industry.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The law bans pricing programs started by the lens manufacturers who threatened to pull their products from resellers like 1-800 Contacts whose prices dipped too low. The pricing policies have also been scrutinized by Congress, consumer advocates and other states.</p>
<p>The state of Utah has said the law is a legitimate antitrust measure that will bolster competition and help customers get lower prices. While 1-800 Contacts backed the measure when it was passed by Utah's Legislature earlier this year, lawmakers deny it was written specifically to benefit the company.</p>
<p>1-800 Contacts is one of several discounters who have started in recent years to take up a bigger slice of the contact-lens sales market, which has been long-dominated by eye doctors.</p> | Utah attorneys contend state can regulate contact lens prices even if customers are elsewhere | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/07/17/utah-attorneys-contend-state-can-regulate-contact-lens-prices-even-if-customers.html | 2016-03-09 | 0 |
<p>HHS is reportedly planning an anti-trans health rule.</p>
<p>A new media report that the Trump administration is set to propose a rule that would allow medical providers to refuse abortion-related services or treatment for transgender people has invoked concern among both LGBT and women’s groups.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/16/conscience-abortion-transgender-patients-health-care-289542" type="external">Politico</a> reported the Department of Health &amp; Human Services is preparing a rule enabling its civil rights office to shield workers who refuse to provide abortion-related care and services to transgender people on religious grounds. The rule would reportedly allow HHS to punish organizations that don’t allow practitioners to express these objections.</p>
<p>Politico reports the proposed rule would create a new division of the HHS civil rights office that “would conduct compliance reviews, audits and other enforcement actions to ensure that health care providers are allowing workers to opt out of procedures when they have religious or moral objections.”</p>
<p>Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement the proposed rule “would be another harmful attack on LGBTQ people by Donald Trump and Mike Pence.”</p>
<p>“Health care workers have a professional and ethical obligation to provide health care to all who need it,” Warbelow added. “Every American deserves access to medically necessary health care, and that health care should not be determined by the personal opinions of individual health care providers or administrative staff.”</p>
<p>The proposed rule is under review at the White House and the timing of the publication may coincide with the anti-abortion March for Life in D.C. over the weekend, according to Politico.</p>
<p>White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during the Wednesday news briefing President Trump would be the first sitting U.S. president ever to address the annual event. If the proposed rule is published by then, Trump may reference that in his remarks.</p>
<p>Sources familiar with HHS say the internal schedule at HHS is planning an event Thursday to announce a new Conscience &amp; Religious Freedom Division. The event is scheduled to take place in the Humphrey Building First Floor Auditorium at HHS between 10:30-11:30am.</p>
<p>Dana Singiser, vice president of public policy and government affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement the proposal would be “incredibly dangerous, and prevent women and transgender people from getting the care they need.”</p>
<p>“We should be able to trust that health care providers will provide the best care possible, not worry that they may instead impose their private, religious beliefs on their patients,” Singiser said. “For the past year, the Trump-Pence administration has been working to infringe on our freedoms and taking away the rights of people of color, LGBTQ people and women.”</p>
<p>Masen Davis, CEO of the LGBT group Freedom for All Americans, said in a statement the reported rule “would put transgender people and women at risk of being denied life-saving medical care.”</p>
<p>“When medical clinics and hospitals open their doors to serve the public, they must take in everyone on equal terms,” Davis said. “Religiously-affiliated providers are already protected from performing procedures that violate their religious beliefs, but this proposed rule goes far beyond our Constitution’s promise of religious freedom — it’s discrimination, plain and simple.”</p>
<p>The White House deferred comment to HHS, which didn’t respond to the Washington Blade’s request for information on the proposal.</p>
<p>In contrast to the Trump administration proposal, the Obama administration issued a rule interpreting the provision barring sex discrimination under Obamacare to bar medical providers from discriminating against transgender patients or women who have had abortions. After a legal challenge, however, HHS was enjoined from enforcing that rule as a result of <a href="" type="internal">a court order</a> issued by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas.</p>
<p>Administrative action against the Obama-era rule has been anticipated for some time. Court documents in the legal challenge against it indicated the Trump administration was either poised to rescind the rule or reconfigure it to allow religious objectors to deny services.</p>
<p>The proposed rule may be challenged in court by LGBT legal groups, although representatives from those organizations whom the Washington Blade contacted said they need to see the rule first before committing to action.</p>
<p>Mia Jacobs, a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union, said litigation against the proposal is possible after it becomes public.</p>
<p>“We haven’t seen the rule yet, and will make that final determination once we see it, but if it gives license to impermissible discrimination, we will sue,” Jacobs said.</p>
<p>Jennifer Pizer, law and policy director for Lambda Legal, said, “it’s hard to know what grounds there likely will be to fight back legally” without publication of the rule.</p>
<p>“It looks like yet more policy change long sought by the religious extremists for whom [Vice President Mike] Pence is a flag bearer, and one more example of this administration’s crusade to jam through as much of their agenda as possible before voters have a chance to toss them out,” Pizer said.</p>
<p>Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said his organization is making preparations, but “it’s hard to be more specific until we see what exactly they are doing.”</p>
<p>The report of the proposed rule comes after the appointment last year of Roger Severino as head of the HHS civil rights division. At the time of his appointment, transgender groups <a href="" type="internal">expressed discontent</a> over the move on the basis of anti-trans views he expressed as a scholar for the anti-LGBT Heritage Foundation.</p>
<p>Severino would have jurisdiction over the proposal and is among the scheduled speakers for the HHS event on Thursday.</p>
<p>Marguerite Bowling, a spokesperson for the Heritage Foundation, said the final rule remains unseen, but in general rules to allow religious accommodations are a good idea.</p>
<p>“Conscience violations continue to occur and it is critical that the administration responds appropriately,” Bowling said. “The freedom to live in accordance with one’s conscience is a fundamental principle of American life. Ensuring that HHS funds do not support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law should not be remotely controversial.”</p>
<p>In a joint statement from the Democratic National Committee, Elizabeth Renda, the DNC’s&#160;director of women’s media, and Lucas&#160;Acosta, the DNC’s director of LGBTQ media, condemned the Trump administration’s proposed plan.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t enough to try to strip transgender Americans of their right to serve, roll back access to birth control and attempt to defund Planned Parenthood,” Renda and Lucas said. “Now Trump, Pence and their Republican cronies want to allow health care workers to discriminate and rip away access to medical care. This rule is unethical and dangerously undermines public health.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">American Civil Liberties Union</a> <a href="" type="internal">Democratic National Committee</a> <a href="" type="internal">Elizabeth Renda</a> <a href="" type="internal">Freedom for All Americans</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lucas&#160;Acosta</a> <a href="" type="internal">March for Life</a> <a href="" type="internal">Masen Davis</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mia Jacobs</a> <a href="" type="internal">Planned Parenthood</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender health</a></p> | Report of HHS anti-trans health rule riles LGBT advocates | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2018/01/17/report-of-hhs-anti-trans-health-rule-riles-lgbt-advocates/ | 3 |
|
<p>A federal judge in Chicago has ordered immigration authorities in Illinois and five neighboring states to stop asking local law enforcement agencies to detain suspects who may be in the country illegally.</p>
<p>The order, <a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&amp;c=VyUc3Na%2FYsa363Me%2Flx%2FyuRKW2OVVD%2Bk" type="external">signed Friday by U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee,</a> would void thousands of so-called “detainers” sent annually to state, county and municipal jail and police officials requesting that they keep suspects in custody for 48 hours after their local cases play out—giving immigration agents time to pick them up. Detainers are one of the major tools used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify individuals to deport in the interior of the country.</p>
<p>The ruling won’t go into effect immediately; the federal government has until Thursday to notify the court if it will seek a stay pending appeal.</p>
<p>The decision comes as immigration has become a key issue in this year’s presidential elections, with Republican candidate Donald Trump promising to build a wall along the Mexican border and condemning so-called “sanctuary” cities and counties — like Chicago and Cook — that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>Earlier this summer immigrant rights groups lobbied Chicago’s City Council <a href="" type="internal">to amend an existing ordinance</a>to further bar police officers from cooperating with ICE agents. But much of that language was stripped from the proposed amendments after city officials raised concerns about losing federal funding. On Wednesday the City Council is expected to vote for the pared-down proposals, which would prevent police officers and other city employees from using coercive or threatening language against immigrants.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for the ICE field office in Chicago said the agency is reviewing the ruling, which would apply to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin. Between fiscal year 2014 and the first two months of fiscal year 2016, ICE issued 9,413 detainers in those six states, <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/433/" type="external">according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)</a> at Syracuse University.</p>
<p>Mark Fleming of the National Immigrant Justice Center and co-counsel in the case, called the ruling an important victory. “It sets a precedent, finally, that ICE needs to recognize that their warrantless arrest authority is limited,” he said. “Under most circumstances, if they are going to seek the arrest of somebody, they need to get a warrant just like every other law enforcement agency would need to.”</p>
<p>The federal order does not address the constitutionality of ICE detainers. Instead in his opinion Lee wrote that the immigration agency overreached its authority by issuing detainers rather than seeking judicial warrants or showing that individuals were likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained.</p>
<p>The class-action case was filed by Jose Jimenez Moreno, a U.S. citizen who was in a Winnebago County, Ill., jail when ICE agents issued an immigration detainer against him in 2011, and by Maria Jose Lopez, a lawful permanent resident who was serving a federal sentence in Florida that same year when a detainer was placed on her.</p>
<p>In recent years, ICE has drastically reduced its use of detainers — from nearly 30,000 per month in 2010 to fewer than 10,000 per month last fall, <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/413/" type="external">according to TRAC data</a>&#160; — in order to prioritize undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes.</p>
<p>In the 2015 fiscal year, ICE issued <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/433/" type="external">more than 95,000 detainers</a> to local law enforcement agencies. In nearly half of those cases, the detainers pertained to individuals who hadn’t been convicted of any crime.</p>
<p>Data obtained through public records requests by National Public Radio and shared with The Chicago Reporter show that ICE issued more detainer requests to Cook County Jail in 2014 than any other law enforcement agency in the state. Cook County officials don’t honor these requests, however, unless there is a warrant.</p>
<p>The Statesville Correctional Center, a state prison in Crest Hill, Ill., receives the second-highest number of detainer requests, followed by the jails in DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties.</p> | Federal judge stops immigration authorities from issuing ‘detainers’ | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/federal-judge-stops-immigration-authorities-from-issuing-detainers/ | 2016-10-03 | 3 |
<p>It is a melancholy object to those who wage wars that many children are burned, maimed and killed; that many children get in the way of bullets and bombs; that after the cessation of hostilities, many children die from pestilence, or are grievously injured by landmines.</p>
<p>These dangers have long troubled politicians. None more, I suppose, than the English, who truly love children. This love has never been more evident than recently, when it became well known that British leaders maintain strict laws punishing anyone who merely visits a website containing child pornography, because children are harmed in making this sordid material.</p>
<p>Many dreamers have offered solutions to the injustices visited upon children in war, but these proposals have proved impracticable. The principled refusal to bomb schools merely turns those buildings into sanctuaries for enemy soldiers. Precision guided missiles are expensive, and they just as often miss their intended targets.</p>
<p>Under my proposal, it will be possible to remove children from Iraq before the war commences. They will be provided safe passage to Britain, and, once there, gainful employment. There will be a demand for these workers. I have been told by many people that Iraqi children — the strong ones who have so far survived the UN sanctions — are considered quite beautiful. Perhaps a little thin, from hunger, but nevertheless pleasing to the eye.</p>
<p>I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration that Iraqi children, instead of being placed at risk of death or mutilation from British and American armaments, be given the option to appear in pornography. Of course, an exception to the English laws will have to be made. But the government can remain assured that English children will be protected from this scourge, if the law excepts only Iraqi children.</p>
<p>Strenuous efforts will warrant that no child is coerced. The government will dispatch inspectors to Iraq — often called “the cradle of civilization” — to locate healthy children, and ask them to choose freely: “Do you want to be in pictures — or would you rather be killed in the war? Do you want to be just another pretty face — or prefer yours disfigured?”</p>
<p>No child will engage in this enterprise for an unreasonable duration. I have been assured by child pornographers, and lawmakers, that a boy or girl older than 16 years is no salable commodity. Teenagers who save their earnings may pay for education, or train for respectable professions.</p>
<p>The advantages of my proposal are many. For first, moneys will once again flow unabated to credit card companies. Because of Britain’s strict laws, and recent arrests, sensible Englishmen are, at present, terrified to use a credit card to access a child pornography site. Without swift government action, there will be a decrease in profits, and a resulting loss of tax revenue.</p>
<p>Secondly, tax revenue from this business can fund schools and children’s hospitals, which may suffer in wartime. Some revenues can buy therapy for children who might be emotionally scarred by their employment. What is left might be used to purchase prosthetic limbs for children who choose to remain in Iraq for the invasion.</p>
<p>Thirdly, British leaders will be able to wage this war in good conscience. They will know that all child casualties freely assumed the risk of their injuries. They will know that those children who contract disease, or languish in unsanitary refugee camps, stubbornly refused a helping hand.</p>
<p>Fourthly, publics in the civilized world will need tolerate few, if any, indecent photographs in newspapers, TV or on the Internet, of bloody children who are dead, mangled, or twisted into grotesque shapes.</p>
<p>One might object that child pornography is immoral, harms children, and devalues human life; I agree. But let no one suggest other expedients: asking governments to avoid war by practicing diplomacy and applying creativity; asking governments to shift money from military budgets to humanitarian goals; asking British and American leaders to continue the strict UN weapons inspections in Iraq agreed to by many nations. I repeat, let no one suggest such expedients, until there is at least some glimpse of hope that there will ever be some sincere attempt to try them. At present, both the British and American governments appear too busy protecting children, born and unborn, to listen.</p>
<p>Lastly, I profess that I have no personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no motive other than the public good, assuaging the guilt of politicians, and providing for children. I have no children of my own in Iraq, and I would prefer pictures of adults only.</p>
<p>BRIAN J. FOLEY can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | an Immodest Proposal | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/02/01/an-immodest-proposal/ | 2003-02-01 | 4 |
<p>PUTNEY, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say footprints in the snow led them to a man they had been seeking for a week after a high speed chase and crash.</p>
<p>Authorities say 26-year-old Jacob McAllister of Westminster refused to pull over on Dec. 21 and eventually topped speeds of 130 mph before crashing into parked cars and a home in Walpole, New Hampshire, and running off. Police found more than 250 bags of heroin in the car, along with suspected stolen property.</p>
<p>Police say McAllister fled again Thursday after being stopped in Putney. A Bellows Falls officer found him in a garage. He faces multiple charges.</p>
<p>McAllister is being held at the Springfield prison.</p>
<p>McAllister's attorney Rick Ammons says anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.</p>
<p>PUTNEY, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say footprints in the snow led them to a man they had been seeking for a week after a high speed chase and crash.</p>
<p>Authorities say 26-year-old Jacob McAllister of Westminster refused to pull over on Dec. 21 and eventually topped speeds of 130 mph before crashing into parked cars and a home in Walpole, New Hampshire, and running off. Police found more than 250 bags of heroin in the car, along with suspected stolen property.</p>
<p>Police say McAllister fled again Thursday after being stopped in Putney. A Bellows Falls officer found him in a garage. He faces multiple charges.</p>
<p>McAllister is being held at the Springfield prison.</p>
<p>McAllister's attorney Rick Ammons says anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.</p> | Vermont man arrested a week after 130 mph chase, crash | false | https://apnews.com/amp/72d9f45af48e469fb5bbf4c6c0a39ae7 | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal" />On Aug 1st, the U.S. Senate voted to make Samantha Power Ambassador to the United Nations.</p>
<p>Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, responded with a warning, reminding Americans that this is a woman who thinks the U.S. should give up its sovereignty to the U.N. and other global organizations.</p>
<p />
<p>In a statement on his <a href="http://www.cruz.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=345479" type="external">website</a>, he wrote:</p>
<p>Today I voted to oppose the nomination of Samantha Power to be Ambassador to the United Nations. My opposition to her nomination comes down to one word: sovereignty.</p>
<p>I have seen firsthand how treaties and conventions negotiated at the United Nations and elsewhere can have unintended consequences for the United States when I represented Texas before the US Supreme Court in successfully arguing that no President has the authority to force a state to comply with an order from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.</p>
<p>Samantha Power's positions on the United Nations suggest she agrees with President Obama in giving the United Nations authority over fundamental rights, such as our right to bear arms, and in allowing US taxpayer dollars to be used at the UN to undermine our ally, Israel.</p>
<p>In 2003, she wrote that "giving up a pinch of sovereignty" to organizations such as the UN is good for the United States and our security.</p>
<p>There is no higher national security principle than defending American sovereignty, especially at the United Nations, where it has been demonstrated time and time again that when it comes to authority over the United States, when you give the UN a pinch, they will take a mile.</p>
<p>Makes you feel all warm inside, doesn't it?</p>
<p>But hey, she's a perfect fit for this administration.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>Be sure to check out our <a href="" type="internal">Headlines</a> page to see what else our contributors are covering and make sure to listen to "Grit and Grace" every Thursday from 6-8 p.m. Pacific Time on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gritgraceradio" type="external">Blog Talk Radio</a>, where you can hear Joe discuss current events</p> | Wonderful: New Ambassador to U.N. says U.S. should give up 'a pinch of sovereignty' | true | http://conservativefiringline.com/wonderful-new-ambassador-to-u-n-says-u-s-should-give-up-a-pinch-of-sovereignty/?fb_source%3Dpubv1 | 2013-08-09 | 0 |
<p>The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by one this week to 568.</p>
<p>A year ago, 767 rigs were active. Depressed energy prices have sharply curtailed oil and gas exploration.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 452 rigs sought oil and 115 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.</p>
<p>Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained six rigs and Ohio was up by one.</p>
<p>Alaska and North Dakota each declined by two. New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah each lost one.</p>
<p>Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, West Virginia and Wyoming were unchanged.</p>
<p>The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May at 404.</p> | US rig count down 1 this week to 568; Texas gains 6 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/11/us-rig-count-down-1-this-week-to-568-texas-gains-6.html | 2016-11-14 | 0 |
<p>Back in 2013, I was in Sydney, Australia, promoting&#160;Olivier Morel’s magnificent film,&#160;On the Bridge, a documentary featuring U.S. veterans, including myself, who struggle to assimilate to civilian life after returning home from the illegal and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>At the time, virtually no one could’ve predicted the outsized role Syria would play in the global geopolitical landscape. Today, stories about Syria fill the airwaves. Hashtags about Syria flood social media outlets. And progressive and liberal media outlets hardly contain their absolute disdain for Putin and Russia.</p>
<p>During the Democratic Primaries of 2015/2016, the Liberal Class was more than willing to risk a potential nuclear conflict with Russia in order to score petty political points against Trump and the Republicans.</p>
<p>This, my friends, is the true scandal, not Russia’s supposed meddling in U.S. affairs, which is not only expected, but quite limited compared to the absolute hegemony U.S. intelligence agencies have in the arena of coups and interference in sovereign democratic affairs.</p>
<p>Back in Sydney, I met filmmaker Sean McAllister, a stocky Brit with a worn and serious face, who told me, “The U.S. created a ticking time-bomb in Syria.” In-between drinking his many beers, he continued, “You guys [U.S. Military] blew apart the whole god damn region!” Nodding, I ordered us another round of drinks and asked him more questions.</p>
<p>“When did you first get to Syria? What do you make of the current situation? Where can people find reliable information?”</p>
<p>Sean wasn’t interested in my questions. He went on his own rants about the brutalities of Assad and what it was like being a prisoner in the Assad regime’s “modern gulags,” as he referred to them:</p>
<p>Who the fuck are these people to tell me that my experiences don’t matter? I’m not paid by the British government. I’m not some fucking spy. I was lucky. I was only in the regime’s prisons for two weeks. I heard people being beaten and tortured and the screaming. You know what it’s like. You went to Iraq. I know vets. I can’t sleep for shit. I have at least a few beers at night to calm down and sleep. This stuff, you know, it stays with you forever. People don’t understand.</p>
<p>Here, Sean was more than correct: people don’t know. Political situations become increasingly complex when extreme emotions are involved. When people are tortured, or when they’ve seen their family and friends murdered and maimed, it’s hard to rationally process complex political realities – emotions often take over.&#160;Yet, in order to properly deal with these situations, we must remain as rational as humanly possible.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Since then, I’ve been to plenty rallies, speaking engagements and panel discussions about the war/conflict/civil war/proxy war in Syria. And one thing is more than clear: being critical and seeking nuance is utterly difficult in a time when most people seek easy answers.</p>
<p>Let’s be very clear, there are no “good options” in Syria. Three years ago, people would tell me at public events that I was a stooge for the U.S. government because I would talk about Assad’s various atrocities and crimes, often citing my discussions with Sean, and because I refused to glorify Putin as some sort of anti-imperialist agent against Western aggression.</p>
<p>Today, people tell me that I’m a stooge for Assad and Putin because I appose “No-Fly Zones” and because I refuse to accept the notion that the opposition to Assad is some sort of coherent force that’s not dominated by extremists and terrorists. I don’t mind the criticism, but I do mind the inconsistencies.</p>
<p>The idea that the U.S. and the West should simply “do something” is completely misguided – both politically and ideologically – and ahistorical, to say the least. The U.S. and the West are largely responsible for the disaster in Syria, not only because of the decisions they’ve made or haven’t made in the past three or four years, which have been horrific enough, but primarily because of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the precursor to the conflict in Syria. The West is also responsible for creating the framework for such conflicts, as 100+ years of colonialism and imperialism have sowed the seeds for ongoing unrest and violence.</p>
<p>It’s increasingly difficult to determine or predict what’s best for Syria as a nation because the conversation is no longer about Syria. Some argue the conversation has never been about Syria or the Syrian people. For some time, the debate has been focused on inter-regional conflicts (Sunni vs. Shia),(Iran vs. Saudi Arabia), (Israeli interests), broader geopolitical interests, global power struggles between Russia and the U.S., and so on. Sober analyses and suggestions are in short order when it comes to Syria. One of&#160;the few shining lights has been Phyllis Bennis.</p>
<p>For Americans who are genuinely interested in stopping the violence in Syria,&#160; <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-war-in-syria-cannot-be-won-but-it-can-be-ended/" type="external">Bennis offers three suggestions</a>&#160;that are viable options for progressive activists in the U.S. Remember, Americans can have an impact on what THEIR government does, not what the Russian government or the Syrian government chooses to do. Hence, it’s important to focus on what can be achieved:</p>
<p>1) You can’t defeat terrorism with war, so stop killing people and destroying cities in the name of stopping others from killing people—that means stop the airstrikes and bombing, withdraw the troops and Special Forces, make “no boots on the ground” real.</p>
<p>2) Work to achieve a full arms embargo on all sides, challenging the US and global arms industry. Stop the train-and-equip programs. Stop allowing US allies to send weapons into Syria, making clear that if they continue they will lose all access to US arms sales. Convincing Russia and Iran to stop arming the Syrian regime will become more realistic when the United States and its allies stop arming the other side.</p>
<p>3) Create new diplomatic, not military, partnerships involving outside powers and those inside Syria, including regional governments and other actors. Real diplomacy for ending war must be at center stage, not fake diplomacy designed to enable joint bombing campaigns. All must be at the table, including Syrian civil society, women, and the nonviolent opposition as well as armed actors. Support UN efforts toward local cease-fires and new diplomacy.</p>
<p>The reason I think Bennis’ suggestions are so important is because they cut across sectarian ideological and political divides which have crippled the Left’s ability to properly confront the unfortunate and complex situation in Syria. The first thing to do for leftists is to agree on a set of principles. Here, we’ve failed to do so since 9/11.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Back in 2011, I remember marching in Madison, Wisconsin, during the anti-Walker/pro-union protests and having a friend from Iraq Veterans Against the War ask, “What do you think about the situation in Libya?” At the time, my answer was quite simple, as it remains today:</p>
<p>If the Libyan people can oust Gaddafi on their own, then by all means, oust Gaddafi and deal with the consequences. That is their choice. But if the question is, ‘What should the U.S. do?’ Well, the U.S. must remain as disengaged as possible because in the end, it’s none of our business. While Gaddafi is no leftist or friend to leftwing political activists or movements, that doesn’t mean the U.S. has the right to overthrow the Libyan government. Saddam Hussein was a horrific person, but that doesn’t mean the U.S., or anyone else for that matter, has the right to overthrow the Iraqi government. The same is true in Libya, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.</p>
<p>After returning home from Madison, I was scheduled to give a speech in Evanston, Illinois. At the event, I spoke about my experiences in Wisconsin and why I opposed the Obama administration’s policies in Libya and the broader Middle East and North Africa. Toward the end of my talk, a decent gentleman stood up and asked, “Well, what do you propose!?”</p>
<p>The question was genuine, but the manner in which he asked it sorta pissed me off. There was this sense that I just didn’t give a fuck about the Libyan people and that all these well-intentioned liberals who were proposing bombing campaigns did indeed care about Libyan lives.</p>
<p>Then, as now, I ask the same questions, “Where were the liberals when the Saudis were torturing and beheading their own people?” After all,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Obama recently signed</a>&#160;the largest weapons deal in the history of the planet with the Saudi regime. Is that acceptable? Is it acceptable to&#160; <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-s-bombing-of-yemeni-farmland-is-a-disgraceful-breach-of-the-geneva-conventions-a7376576.html" type="external">allow the Saudis to destroy Yemen</a>&#160;with carte blanche?</p>
<p>While it’s hard to admit, the truth remains: Iraq was in better shape with Saddam in power. Libya was in better shape with Gaddafi in power. And Syria is in better shape with Assad in power. Does that mean I support these dictators and regimes? Absolutely not.</p>
<p>The point is that the West has no business meddling in the affairs of other nations, unless, of course, people in the U.S. don’t mind other countries meddling in our affairs. And judging from the ongoing and absurd&#160;reactions of liberals who now wish to blame their electoral losses on the Russians, Americans don’t like the idea of outside influences on our so-called “democratic processes.”</p>
<p>The U.S. has been overthrowing democratically elected governments for decades. Now, Americans get a taste of what their government has been doing for over a century. As the old saying goes, “Welcome to the club.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Left has a long tradition of supporting failed ideologies and political regimes. Many leftists supported the Soviet Union’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan (1979-89). Leftists also supported Stalin, Lenin’s madness, Mao’s atrocities and Pol Pot’s insanity. In fact, I still run into people who think the Soviet Union represented some sort of alternative to Capitalism and Imperialism. If these people weren’t so serious, it’d be a joke, but their ideological fantasies are actually quite dangerous.</p>
<p>Those sort of absurd political positions represent one of the reasons why leftwing political&#160;movements have been so unsuccessful compared to their rightwing counterparts: namely, because leftwing political movements support maniacs who are on the same level as the rightwing maniacs we so often deplore.</p>
<p>Anyone glorifying Assad and Putin isn’t a serious leftist, nor are they a serious human being. Serious leftists remain critical of power, regardless of where that power is located. Governments are the problem. Corporations are the problem. Powerful individuals are the problem. Banks are the problem. Militaries are the problem. Organized religion is the problem. And none of these phenomena are concentrated in a specific locality, region or nation. These problems infect all cultures and societies.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Where is the Left’s culture of internationalism?&#160;One of the main reasons I initially became involved with leftwing political movements as because of their willingness to reject the sort of rabid and uncritical nationalism that pervaded American society in the years following 9/11.</p>
<p>My time in the U.S. Marine Corps illuminated the hollow nature of American nationalism, and the abject failure of tribalistic ideologies. My primary concerns were much greater than the U.S. or my family and close friends. I began to see myself as being a part of a global society – a society built on trust, solidarity and compassion, not hyper-competition and individuality.</p>
<p>We have more in common with working-class and poor people in Russia and Syria than those people have in common with their leaders and vice versa. My comrades, my allies, those I have solidarity with, are the working-class and poor people around the world who hold little power, yet provide the very foundation for global capitalism and state power.</p>
<p>For some reason, the Left no longer speaks in such terms. Leftists today are focused on maximizing our potential within a neoliberal context, but those options are limited, and fading.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The planet is being destroyed. Syria is being destroyed. The U.S. is being destroyed. The very best aspects of our various cultures are being destroyed by global capitalism and the commodification of anything and everything. Whatever makes a buck, we’ll sell it. Fuck it. Who cares? The planet, much like a paper bag or a used condom, has served its purpose.</p>
<p>Human beings, particularly those living in the industrialized landscape we’ve created, have no use for a dying planet. As a result, billionaire moguls such as Elon Musk hope to colonize Mars. I hope he fails. In fact, we should&#160;make sure they fail, as we should be committed to making sure this failed evolutionary experiment ends on this planet. The idea that human beings should spread our madness across the universe is indicative of the insane ideologies and worldviews we’ve created as a society and culture.</p>
<p>Mars? Maybe we should figure out how to live on this planet before we destroy another planet. As my friend Derrick Jensen often says, “How many plants, trees and living creatures can you recognize within ten feet of your house or apartment?” If that answer is limited, there’s a problem.</p>
<p>Human beings, as Derrick notes, are always asking whether we’re alone on this planet. Only an insane and propagandized culture can believe we’re “alone” on a planet with billions of living organisms. When will we learn? Can we learn? Are we willing to learn?</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Back to Syria, what, exactly, do people want to do? Former Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has suggested that a “No Fly Zone” is an “act of war.” In other words, unless the U.S. and its allies are willing to go to war with Russia, their strategies must drastically change, and quickly, if we hope to achieve some level of peace and stability.</p>
<p>Some folks argue that Assad must go. Okay, but who will replace him? In the absence of a serious and coherent opposition, what can we expect from average people – working class, poor or otherwise? Without question, options are limited.</p>
<p>As&#160; <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38133-noam-chomsky-on-syria-a-grim-set-of-alternatives" type="external">Noam Chomsky recently admitted</a>&#160;in an exchange with Dan Falcone and Saul Isaacson:</p>
<p>[Dan and Saul] Is there any hope for working with Russia on this?</p>
<p>[Noam] There may be some hopes. In the case of Syria, there’s simply no alternative (no realistic alternative, short of destroying Syria) to having some kind of transitional government with Assad certainly involved, maybe in power. It’s ugly, but there’s no alternative. My good friend [Gilbert Achcar] has&#160; <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-syrian-truce-and-obamas-exit-strategy/" type="external">an article in The Nation</a>&#160;[that] says — although he wrote it right before the cease-fire — that the cease-fire will never last, because as long as Assad remains in power, the opposition will continue to fight until the death of Syria. So he says we have to do something to get Assad out of power, but that can’t be done. That’s the problem.</p>
<p>[Dan and Saul] That’s such a grim set of alternatives.</p>
<p>[Noam] It’s pretty grim, yeah. And for Syria, it’s just horrendous. And the one saving grace is, if you look at history, at the end of the First World War in Syria, it was just about as bad as what’s happening now, and they probably had the worst casualties per capita of any country in the world during the First World War. It was very brutal, with hundreds of thousands killed. It was a much smaller country then, but they did recover somehow, so it’s conceivable, but it’s pretty awful. And it’s just very hard to think of any recommendations. I mean, I don’t know what Obama could’ve done that’s better [than] what he did do.</p>
<p>In other words, the idea that the Left or various other progressive political forces in the U.S. or elsewhere could’ve done more than what they did is fabricated at best, and an outright lie at worst. Plenty of activists and academics tried their best to avoid the worst case scenario in Syria, but with limited results.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>In the end, the question for activists in the West, and particularly in the U.S., is: What can we achieve? Surely, we can’t achieve much in terms of altering or directing Syrian or Russian policies, yet we can impact U.S. foreign policy decisions. Hence, we should start where we have power. I keep hearing and reading leftists in the U.S. argue that we should be more critical of Putin and Assad – okay, that’s fine, but what’s the goal?</p>
<p>If activists in the U.S. think that they can significantly alter Russian or Syrian policies, they are greatly mistaken and they do not understand how power works in the real world.</p>
<p>If activists in the U.S. hope to significantly alter U.S. and European policies in Syria, they have serious and viable options. Some of the first options, of course, would be to stop all air strikes, boots on the ground, special forces operations and weapons deals and political support to nations who continue to foster increased militarism and violence in Syria. That includes cutting off the Qatari, Saudi, Pakistani, Iraqi and Israeli governments. Here, activists in the U.S. have a serious chance of defeating the legacies of imperialism and authoritarianism..</p>
<p>If activists in the U.S. continue to act as mouthpieces for various western NGOs and government agencies, they will become increasingly marginalized and ignored, as they should.</p>
<p>Activists in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West, should act on a set of principles and values. The primary of which being the notion that Western military interventions will unquestionably and invariably make things worse, regardless of the context, region, etc.&#160;Any potential or actual benefits are incidental.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The most important thing to remember, at least as far as I can tell, is that most of us are on the same side. We should have no allegiances to the Syrian, Russian or American governments.&#160;Leftists should have&#160;no vested interests in maintaining the violence and ongoing destruction of Syria. Yet, here we are, increasingly engaged in a discussion and debate on&#160;their&#160;terms. We must break free from this sort of intellectual and political slavery.</p>
<p>What do we want? That’s the question. Leftist must develop serious political alternatives to existing regional, national, sectarian and corporate conflicts. In the absence of serious alternatives, the status quo, which is completely unacceptable, will continue, unquestioned and unchallenged.</p> | Syria and the Left | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/12/15/syria-and-the-left/ | 2016-12-15 | 4 |
<p>Canada’s Liberal majority government has <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/liberals-introduce-bill-to-protect-transgender-canadians-from-hate-speech-and-discrimination" type="external">introduced</a> legislation to extend “human rights protections” to transgender Canadians on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Sponsored by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, <a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&amp;Mode=1&amp;DocId=8280564" type="external">Bill C-16</a> would prohibit discrimination against individuals on the basis of “gender identity” or “gender expression” by amending the <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/fulltext.html" type="external">Canadian Human Rights Act</a> (CRA).</p>
<p>In its summary, Bill C-16 claims to extend protection to transgender persons against “hate propaganda” as defined by Canada’s Criminal Code (CCC). The bill also seeks to treat evidence of the commission of an offense being motivated by “bias, prejudice or hate based on gender identity or expression” as an aggravating circumstance for courts to consider when sentencing.</p>
<p>The CRA currently prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, and conviction for an offense which has been pardoned or for which a record suspension has been ordered. Assuming the proposed amendment is passed and adopted, “gender identity” and “gender expression” will be added grounds against which discrimination is made illegal. If passed, C-16 will make it illegal for businesses to discriminate in their operations - customers, clients, employees, business partners, and other relationships - against individuals on the basis of them being transgendered.</p>
<p><a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-71.html#h-92" type="external">Canada’s Criminal Code</a> (CCC) currently criminalizes “public incitement of hatred,” which includes the nebulous offense of “communicating statements in any public place [that is] likely to lead to a breach of the peace.” In other words, if law enforcement believes that public statements amounting to “incitement of hate” are likely to provoke observers or passersby to attack the person or persons engaging in said incitement, reasonable grounds are considered to exist for arrest.</p>
<p>The CCC also criminalizes the “promotion of hatred” outside of “private conversation” towards an identifiable group as defined by the aforementioned bases.</p>
<p>May 17 is <a href="http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/" type="external">apparently</a> “International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.”</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | Canadian Liberals Introduce Anti-Discrimination Legislation For Transgender Persons | true | https://dailywire.com/news/5792/canadian-liberals-introduce-anti-discrimination-robert-kraychik | 2016-05-17 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Witnesses told police they saw a man shoot Ayala and then drive away in Ayala’s silver H3 Hummer.</p>
<p>Police haven’t found the car or the suspect, whom witnesses described as Hispanic or black and wearing a white jersey.</p>
<p>2:45 p.m. update:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Albuquerque police say the victim in this morning’s shooting at the&#160;Super 8 motel at University and Candelaria NE has died.</p>
<p>Police have identified the man and are notifying next of kin prior to releasing his name.</p>
<p>Investigators hope to learn more about the incident when they interview the victim’s family and friends.</p>
<p>Check back for details.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>7:05 a.m. update:</p>
<p>Police received several 911 calls around 5 a.m. today reporting three gunshots fired at the Super 8 motel at University and Candelaria NE, KOB-TV reported.</p>
<p>When police arrived, they found the body of a man lying on the ground, bleeding, Eyewitness News 4 said. The man, whose name and condition were not immediately available, was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital for treatment.</p>
<p>Albuquerque police are on scene at a reported shooting at a Super 8 motel at University and Candelaria NE, KOB-TV is reporting.</p>
<p>There is no word yet on who did the shooting or whether there are any victims.</p>
<p>We’ll update you as we get more details.</p> | UPDATED: Police identify victim from Super 8 shooting | false | https://abqjournal.com/194358/breaking-shooting-at-ne-abq-motel.html | 2013-04-30 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>This is Burn Awareness Week, and officials are focusing on scald burns this year.</p>
<p>Rio Rancho Fire Rescue Department Battalion Chief Richard Doty said babies, elderly people and disabled people have the highest risk for scald burns because they may not be able to check the temperature of food or bath water, for instance, or get it away from their body if it's too hot.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Doty recommends lowering the thermostat on household water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or below, which is especially important for showers and filling bathtubs.</p>
<p>He warned that scalding from hot tap water usually happens in bathrooms, and, compared to other situations, causes more severe burns over larger portions of the body. Those burns often happen when parents put babies in the bath without checking the water temperature.</p>
<p>"So they put the entire child in the tub, and by the time they realize it's too hot, it's too late," Doty said.</p>
<p>He said people should turn on the cold water first when filling a tub and gradually add hot water.</p>
<p>After checking the water temperature, Doty said, they should set the child in the water farthest from the faucet with the youngster's back to the faucet. The hottest water is under the faucet.</p>
<p>In the kitchen, adults should have a "kid-free zone" that extends 3 feet away from the stove or cooking area. They need to make sure children understand to stay out of that area until they're old enough to safely cook on their own.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"You always want to make sure also you place the pot handles away from the edge," Doty added.</p>
<p>That makes it less likely that hot liquids or food will be spilled onto someone.</p>
<p>Doty recommended using the back burners on stoves as much as possible to keep pots and pans out of children's reach. Adults shouldn't put hot food or liquids near the edge of countertops or tables, either, he said.</p>
<p>"Parents should certainly test the temperature of food before they serve it to a child to be sure it's cooled to a safe temperature," Doty said.</p>
<p>Microwaved food presents risk of scald burns as much as food cooked with a stove or an oven.</p>
<p>In general, children need constant supervision to prevent burns.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Caretakers of disabled people or elderly adults who can't care for themselves need to follow similar guidelines.</p>
<p>Doty also offered first-aid instructions for scald burns.</p>
<p>"You want to treat the burn right away," he said.</p>
<p>Caretakers should remove hot, wet clothes, including diapers, from the victim. Then they should cool the burn with cool water for three to five minutes and cover it with a clean, dry cloth. People should never use anything but cool water and the cloth to treat burns.</p>
<p>"Ice or very cold water can further damage the burned area," Doty warned.</p>
<p>Putting greasy substances, including home remedies, on burns is dangerous, too.</p>
<p>Doty said it's best to seek medical attention for burns.</p>
<p>"Sometimes it's difficult to tell the severity of a burn right away," he said.</p>
<p>Doty said children younger than 5 years old, adults older than 65, pregnant women, people with existing medical problems or weakened immune systems, or burn victims showing symptoms of illness or injury in addition to burned skin especially need quick medical attention for burns.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Check food, water heat to prevent scald burns | false | https://abqjournal.com/348307/check-food-water-heat-to-prevent-scald-burns.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NEW YORK — The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):</p>
<p>4:00 p.m.</p>
<p>U.S. stocks ended little changed after a day of meandering between small gains and losses.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Income-seeking investors bought dividend-paying utilities and phone companies Friday as bond yields fell. Ameren rose 1.3 percent.</p>
<p>Health care stocks sank. Biotech drugmaker Amgen gave up 6.6 percent after disappointing results from a study of its cholesterol drug Repatha.</p>
<p>Financial stocks lost ground as yields fell, cutting into lending profits. Capital One Financial fell 2.2 percent.</p>
<p>On the New York Stock Exchange, more stocks rose than fell.</p>
<p>Adobe Systems rose 4 percent and Tiffany rose 2.7 percent. Both posted strong quarterly results.</p>
<p>The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index fell 3 points or 0.1 percent to 2,378.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 20 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,915. The Nasdaq composite was unchanged at 5,901.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>12:00 p.m.</p>
<p>U.S. stocks gave up an early gain and were slightly lower in midday trading as health care stocks slid.</p>
<p>Biotechnology company Amgen gave up 6.7 percent after releasing disappointing results from a study of its cholesterol drug Repatha.</p>
<p>Financial stocks fell as bond yields moved lower, cutting into their lending profits. Capital One Financial fell 2 percent and Morgan Stanley fell 1.8 percent.</p>
<p>Adobe Systems jumped 5.4 percent after reporting strong first-quarter earnings. Tiffany &amp; Co. rose 2.9 percent on its own solid earnings report.</p>
<p>The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index fell 2 points or 0.1 percent to 2,379.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,917. The Nasdaq fell 4 points or 0.1 percent to 5,896.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:35 a.m.</p>
<p>Stocks are opening modestly higher on Wall Street with the biggest gains going to energy and materials companies.</p>
<p>Tiffany jumped 3.6 percent early Friday after reporting better earnings and revenue than analysts expected thanks to strong demand in China and Japan.</p>
<p>Adobe rose 6 percent on strong fiscal first quarter earnings.</p>
<p>Amgen fell more than 6 percent following a disappointing study of its cholesterol drug Repatha.</p>
<p>The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index rose 1 point to 2,383.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average gained 12 points to 20,947. The Nasdaq fell 1 point to 5,899.</p> | Markets Right Now: Early gain for stocks fades at close | false | https://abqjournal.com/971141/markets-right-now-us-stocks-open-slightly-higher-7.html | 2017-03-17 | 2 |
<p>LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Banned from the Olympics for life as doping cheats, seven Russian bobsled and skeleton athletes have been cleared to carry on racing in World Cup events.</p>
<p>The green light to compete for all seven - including Sochi Olympic skeleton champion Aleksandr Tretiakov - was confirmed Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.</p>
<p>The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation had asked CAS for urgent provisional bans after its own doping tribunal last month refused to suspend the Russian racers despite their disqualifications from the 2014 Sochi Games by the IOC.</p>
<p>A failure in the IBSF's legal rules prevented the Lausanne-based court taking the case.</p>
<p>CAS noted in a statement that the governing body's investigation of Sochi doping cases are "still pending and also because no clear remedy is set out in the IBSF statutes and regulations to provide jurisdiction to CAS in such circumstances."</p>
<p>It means Tretiakov and Sochi women's skeleton bronze medalist Elena Nikitina can start Friday in World Cup races at Altenberg, Germany.</p>
<p>An International Olympic Committee disciplinary panel has stripped 43 Russians of their Sochi results in recent weeks, and banned them from all future Olympics, for benefiting from a state-backed doping program.</p>
<p>All 43 are expected to appeal to CAS against their convictions. Some seek urgent verdicts that could let them race at the Feb. 9-25 Pyeongchang Olympics.</p>
<p>The IOC panel verified evidence to prove claims made in 2016 by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the testing laboratories in Moscow and Sochi.</p>
<p>Still, the IBSF's doping tribunal declined to bar the convicted Russians from non-Olympic events, citing a possible breach of international law because Rodchenkov had not been cross-examined. He is a protected witness in the United States.</p>
<p>The CAS ruling, by appeals division chairwoman Corinne Schmidhauser, was based only on the jurisdiction issue. It did not weigh evidence against the athletes or the credibility of Rodchenkov.</p>
<p>LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Banned from the Olympics for life as doping cheats, seven Russian bobsled and skeleton athletes have been cleared to carry on racing in World Cup events.</p>
<p>The green light to compete for all seven - including Sochi Olympic skeleton champion Aleksandr Tretiakov - was confirmed Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.</p>
<p>The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation had asked CAS for urgent provisional bans after its own doping tribunal last month refused to suspend the Russian racers despite their disqualifications from the 2014 Sochi Games by the IOC.</p>
<p>A failure in the IBSF's legal rules prevented the Lausanne-based court taking the case.</p>
<p>CAS noted in a statement that the governing body's investigation of Sochi doping cases are "still pending and also because no clear remedy is set out in the IBSF statutes and regulations to provide jurisdiction to CAS in such circumstances."</p>
<p>It means Tretiakov and Sochi women's skeleton bronze medalist Elena Nikitina can start Friday in World Cup races at Altenberg, Germany.</p>
<p>An International Olympic Committee disciplinary panel has stripped 43 Russians of their Sochi results in recent weeks, and banned them from all future Olympics, for benefiting from a state-backed doping program.</p>
<p>All 43 are expected to appeal to CAS against their convictions. Some seek urgent verdicts that could let them race at the Feb. 9-25 Pyeongchang Olympics.</p>
<p>The IOC panel verified evidence to prove claims made in 2016 by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the testing laboratories in Moscow and Sochi.</p>
<p>Still, the IBSF's doping tribunal declined to bar the convicted Russians from non-Olympic events, citing a possible breach of international law because Rodchenkov had not been cross-examined. He is a protected witness in the United States.</p>
<p>The CAS ruling, by appeals division chairwoman Corinne Schmidhauser, was based only on the jurisdiction issue. It did not weigh evidence against the athletes or the credibility of Rodchenkov.</p> | CAS clears Russians to race in non-Olympic skeleton, bobsled | false | https://apnews.com/amp/5df8c3a5553f48a8ac7db225b21426ab | 2018-01-04 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The party said the denial of the election money forced the secretary of state to cut back on voting equipment in Sandoval County. However, secretary of state spokesman Ken Ortiz said neither Sandoval County nor any other county in the state received fewer voting machines than they requested in advance of the Nov. 6 general election.</p>
<p>An election budget shortfall was brought to the attention of the Martinez administration in September when Secretary of State Dianna Duran asked the state Board of Finance -which Martinez chairs – to provide $1.4 million in emergency funds to cover requested voting equipment projected to exceed Duran’s budget.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The board, with Martinez absent, denied the request. But Duran opted to order the requested equipment -incurring the $1.4 million in debt in her own budget – to ensure each county had the voting equipment it sought, Ortiz said. Duran plans to seek the money from the Legislature in January, Ortiz said.</p>
<p>Democrats charged on Friday that Election Day delays in Rio Rancho – where the city of 80,000, the largest in Sandoval County, had just five polling places – were caused because the county didn’t get equipment it sought. Long voter lines in Rio Rancho “were the inevitable result of (the governor’s) decision” to withhold funds, the party said in a statement.</p>
<p>“If they provided those funds, maybe that (delay) doesn’t happen,” said Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesman Matt Ross.</p>
<p>Martinez and Duran are Republicans. The Democratic Party charge came after a Sandoval County spokesman said last week that the Secretary of State’s Office denied the county’s request for more voting equipment.</p>
<p>Ortiz, the secretary of state’s spokesman, said Sandoval County officials did not request additional equipment until it was too late.</p>
<p>Some counties -including Doña Ana and Santa Fe – requested and received additional voting equipment during early voting. Sandoval County, however, did not recognize it was underprepared until Election Day, and by then there wasn’t enough time to program new machines to print Rio Rancho precinct ballots, Ortiz said.</p>
<p>Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell pointed to poor planning by Sandoval County officials as the reason behind Rio Rancho voting delays.</p>
<p>“Thirty-two out of 33 counties in New Mexico got the election right,” Darnell said. “The problems in Sandoval County were unprecedented when compared to the rest of the state.” — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Democrats Blame Gov. for Rio Rancho Vote Problems | false | https://abqjournal.com/147044/democrats-blame-gov-for-rio-rancho-vote-problems.html | 2012-11-17 | 2 |
<p>Jan. 16,2013</p>
<p>By Chris Reed</p>
<p>It turns out that school districts in the state of California can swiftly fire teachers who engage in lewd behavior — but only if it’s a paid part-time job, not incidents in school involving students.</p>
<p>The Smoking Gun website <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stacie-halas-porn-decision-576314" type="external">has the details</a>:</p>
<p>“The California teacher who was fired last year after her prior career as a porn actress was discovered by her middle school students has had her appeal unanimously rejected by a state panel that ruled that the online availability of her X-rated work ‘will continue to impede her from being an effective teacher and respected colleague.’</p>
<p>“In a 48-page decision, the Commission on Professional Competence ruled that Stacie Halas, 32, was unfit to continue teaching at the Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School in Oxnard. Halas, a science teacher, began working at the school in 2009, several years after her porn career ended.”</p>
<p>The contrast with the disgusting case of Mark Berndt at Miramonte Elementary School in south Los Angeles could not be more striking. Berndt is very credibly accused of spoon-feeding semen to blindfolded students. So what did L.A. Unified do to get rid of him? It <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/2012-02-16/news/mark-berndt-miramonte-40000-payoff/" type="external">paid him $40,000 to leave</a> after concluding that teacher protections won over the years by United Teachers Los Angeles, a CTA affiliate, prevented his quick ouster.</p>
<p>Subsequently, attempts in the Legislature to make it easier to remove classroom sexual predators were blocked by CTA-allied lawmakers.</p>
<p>What makes this not just politics as usual but appalling is that the CTA’s reflexive justification for all that it does is that “it’s all about the kids.” Keeping sex predators in classrooms? Making it so difficult to fire perverts that they have to be paid off? “It’s all about the kids.”</p>
<p>Amazing. In a pathetic way.</p>
<p /> | Teacher puzzler: Part-time porn star fired, semen-feeder paid off | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2013/01/16/teacher-discipline-part-time-porn-star-fired-semen-feeder-paid-off/ | 2018-01-20 | 3 |
<p>NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The creators of a reality show say they were shooting an episode about a vacuum device used to compress luggage when the gadget prompted a fake bomb alert at a New Jersey airport.</p>
<p>NJ.com <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/9_arrested_at_newark_airport_were_part_of_reality.html" type="external">reports</a> that federal officers at Newark Liberty International Airport stopped crew members of a CNBC show called "Staten Island Hustle" following a security check Thursday. The Transportation Security Administration had believed the device was a fake bomb.</p>
<p>Nine men were arrested and charged with multiple offenses.</p>
<p>Endemol Shine North America employs the show's crew and issued an apology. The company says the device frees up luggage space by compressing clothing.</p>
<p>TSA says parts of the gadget were "indicators of an improvised explosive device."</p>
<p>"Staten Island Hustle" documents a group of investors searching for unconventional products.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: NJ Advance Media.</p>
<p>NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The creators of a reality show say they were shooting an episode about a vacuum device used to compress luggage when the gadget prompted a fake bomb alert at a New Jersey airport.</p>
<p>NJ.com <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/9_arrested_at_newark_airport_were_part_of_reality.html" type="external">reports</a> that federal officers at Newark Liberty International Airport stopped crew members of a CNBC show called "Staten Island Hustle" following a security check Thursday. The Transportation Security Administration had believed the device was a fake bomb.</p>
<p>Nine men were arrested and charged with multiple offenses.</p>
<p>Endemol Shine North America employs the show's crew and issued an apology. The company says the device frees up luggage space by compressing clothing.</p>
<p>TSA says parts of the gadget were "indicators of an improvised explosive device."</p>
<p>"Staten Island Hustle" documents a group of investors searching for unconventional products.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: NJ Advance Media.</p> | Company apologizes for prompting bomb scare at airport | false | https://apnews.com/amp/46c65717191b4cc7af3572a89d330256 | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p>During his top-rated radio show last week, Rush Limbaugh took aim at yet another media hit-job on Donald Trump that ended up being a steaming pile of "fake news": Trump's so-called "laptop ban" on certain airlines coming out of terror-risk Middle Eastern countries. Several establishment outlets tried to portray the ban of the use of laptops and tablets on airlines entering the U.S. as "retaliation" against... well, somebody, while the far-left Slate hysterically decried it as "xenophobic." In his take-down of the false narrative, Limbaugh, as usual, had some fun at the media's expense.</p>
<p>Limbaugh addressed the "laptop ban" nontroversy on Wednesday, as news of the <a href="" type="internal">terror attack</a> on British Parliament was streaming in. The host began the discussion by citing a Washington Post piece that read " <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/21/trump-wont-allow-you-to-use-ipads-or-laptops-on-certain-airlines-heres-the-underlying-story/?utm_term=.312f037e39a8" type="external">Trump Won't Allow You to Use iPads or Laptops on Certain Airlines</a>."</p>
<p>"Trump," Limbaugh stressed. "Donald Trump is denying you, if you’re on a certain airline flying into the United States, Donald Trump is denying you the chance to use your electronic device."</p>
<p>He continued, reading from the Post's disingenuous article (full quote from article provided):</p>
<p>From Tuesday on, passengers traveling to the U.S. from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries will not be allowed to have iPads, laptops or any communications device larger than a smartphone in the cabin of the plane. If you are traveling from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or the UAE on Egypt Air, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, or Turkish Airlines, and you want to use your laptop on the flight, you are probably out of luck.</p>
<p>So why is the United States doing this, and how can it get away with it?</p>
<p>"Don’t you mean why is Trump doing this and how can Trump get away with it?" asked Limbaugh. "Well, the story here says that the U.S. says it’s not all about security. There is an alternative explanation."</p>
<p>Limbaugh then read the following passage from the Post suggesting that the banning of laptops by "Trump" might just be about "retaliation":</p>
<p>Three of the airlines that have been targeted for these measures — Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways — have long been accused by their U.S. competitors of receiving massive effective subsidies from their governments. These airlines have been quietly worried for months that President Trump was going to retaliate. This may be the retaliation. ...The United States is weaponizing interdependence.</p>
<p>To demonstrate that it wasn't just the Post (and the Financial Times, which the Post cites) trying to turn the ban into yet another "utterly bogus" conspiracy theory about Trump, Limbaugh quoted Slate's over the top headline, which screams, " <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/03/21/trump_s_laptop_ban_is_a_giant_middle_finger_to_business_travelers.html" type="external">Trump’s Laptop Ban Isn’t Just Misguided and Xenophobic. It’s a Giant Middle Finger to Business Travelers</a>"!</p>
<p>But Limbaugh noted a little detail that the Post fails to emphasize: The British are also barring laptops and tablets from cabins on some international flights. Limbaugh launched into his point by reading an <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AIRPLANE_SECURITY_LAPTOPS?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" type="external">AP story</a> admitting that "U.S. and British officials" were in on the laptop ban.</p>
<p>"Wait, there’s another government involved here?" said Limbaugh. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. We just kind of read 'U.S. and British officials.' You mean the Brits have instituted the same ban on electronic devices on certain airliners coming into the U.K. just like we have in the U.S.? Well, shazam! It looks like somebody other than Trump is doing the same thing Trump’s doing. I wonder if Trump’s making ’em do it."</p>
<p>Limbaugh later joked that apparently Trump was being accused of "colluding" with the British. "So we are now being led to believe that Donald Trump colluded with the U.K. to deny airplane passengers the right to use their laptops, their iPads, and their iPhones. Is that right? U.K., United States, Trump colludes with everybody. "</p>
<p>Though AP at least acknowledged that the British also agree that the devices should be banned for security reasons, the news source tried to make the case that the ban is based on "no new threat." But that too is misleading, as Limbaugh pointed out.</p>
<p>"[D]o you know what this really is about? ‘Cause I have that here," said Limbaugh, who then utterly dismantled the key assumption of all the articles by detailing the actual facts behind the "laptop ban":</p>
<p>LIMBAUGH: “Laptop ban on flights ‘is based on intelligence about an ISIS plot to target the West gathered during the raid on Yemen which killed Navy SEAL’. The intelligence centered around al-Qaeda’s ‘successful development’ of compact battery bombs that fit inside laptops or other devices, sources claimed.”</p>
<p>In other words, there is a credible threat. It is a credible threat based on intel that was gathered during the raid in Yemen, in January, a raid that Obama had approved before he left office. The military commanders said they couldn’t launch until they had a new moon. They needed a totally dark sky. There wasn’t a new moon until after Trump was inaugurated. Trump signed off on the deal. He had nothing to do with the strategy, the actual operation. He just signed off on it.</p>
<p>The raid was conducted and we know the details. They somehow knew we were coming, claiming they heard the drone of our drones, they heard the sound, and a SEAL was killed and the terrorists were hiding and dressed as men and women and children and so forth inside mosques or what have you. And everybody proclaimed the mission an abject failure. Trump said, “No, no, there was some really valuable intel gathered.” People pooh-poohed Trump as insane, stupid, and a lying sack of you know what.</p>
<p>It turns out there was intel gathered, and the intel gathered from the raid claimed that ISIS has perfected bombs that work and go inside batteries, inside electronic devices that you would use on the cabin of an airplane: a laptop, an iPad, or an iPhone. And when they learned of this intel, they banned flights from 10 different countries where the intel said people had been perfecting this.</p>
<p>There is a solid, specific reason for this to happen. It’s not because Trump hates anybody. It’s not because Trump doesn’t want you using your iPhone. It’s not because Trump’s flipping off the business community. It’s not because Trump’s a xenophobe or a bigot. It’s because there was a credible threat in both the U.K. and the United States.</p>
<p>And the only place that you will find the details of that story is in the U.K. Daily Mail. You won’t see it in the New York Times. You won’t see it in the Washington Post. You won’t see it anywhere in America because the objective is not to tell the truth. The objective is to destroy Trump.</p>
<p>More from the Daily Wire on Limbaugh:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Limbaugh Predicts Media's Response To U.K. Terror Attack - Is Immediately Proved Correct</a></p>
<p>Transcript via <a href="https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/03/22/terror-in-the-u-k-as-u-s-media-bashes-trump-for-laptop-ban/" type="external">RushLimbaugh.com</a>.</p> | Limbaugh Exposes Yet Another Media Hit-Job On Trump | true | https://dailywire.com/news/14754/limbaugh-exposes-yet-another-media-hit-job-trump-james-barrett | 2017-03-27 | 0 |
<p>Public health authorities have declared an outbreak of the highly contagious liver disease hepatitis A in Los Angeles County, the third California region to see significant infections this year.</p>
<p>Health officials reported the outbreak to the county Board of Supervisors, which requested a briefing due to the proximity of LA to San Diego, which has had more than 420 cases and 16 deaths since early this year.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles County outbreak was declared because two of 10 confirmed cases could not be traced back to either San Diego or to Santa Cruz County, some 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the north, where there have been 69 hepatitis A cases since April, the Department of Public Health said.</p>
<p>The two apparently locally acquired infections were the most recent.</p>
<p>“We’ve met the definition for an outbreak,” department Director Barbara Ferrer told the board. “As of this morning we’ve confirmed that we have two community acquired cases.”</p>
<p>Of the other cases, four had been in San Diego and one had been in Santa Cruz during their exposure period. Three secondary cases occurred in a health care facility in Los Angeles County.</p>
<p>Most of those infected in the outbreaks have been homeless or using illicit drugs. Several people who provide services to the homeless have also been infected.</p>
<p>Los Angeles County Interim Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser said vaccination is the best protection against hepatitis A and outreach teams and clinics are offering free vaccine to the homeless, active drug users and people who work with those groups.</p>
<p>The homeless are considered at high risk for infection because of poor sanitation. The latest annual tally found nearly 59,000 homeless people in the nation’s most populous county.</p>
<p>Hepatatis A spreads when someone comes in contact with an infected person’s feces, sometimes when hands are not properly washed after going to the bathroom or changing diapers and the virus is then spread through food or objects. It can also be spread through sex or by sharing drug paraphernalia.</p>
<p>Health officials say the incubation period ranges from 15 to 50 days, and symptoms include fever, malaise, dark urine, anorexia, nausea and abdominal discomfort, followed by jaundice.</p>
<p>In addition to vaccination and thorough hand washing, medical experts said people should avoid sex with anyone who has hepatitis A, and not share food, drinks, cigarettes, towels, toothbrushes or eating utensils.</p> | Hepatitis A Outbreak Hits Los Angeles County | false | https://newsline.com/hepatitis-a-outbreak-hits-los-angeles-county/ | 2017-09-20 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton is preparing to formally open up shop in New Mexico.</p>
<p>The Democratic presidential candidate's campaign announced today it has hired three state-level staffers in advance of the June 7 primary election and also plans to open an undisclosed number of field offices in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>The moves could be a sign of New Mexico's importance to Clinton, who holds a lead in pledged delegates over Democratic rival Bernie Sanders but has not yet mathematically clinched the party's nomination.</p>
<p>Scott Forrester, a political consultant who previously served as the state Democratic Party's executive director and as a top aide to former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, will serve as state director for Clinton's campaign in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Rich Thuma will be Clinton's organizing director in New Mexico and Victor Reyes has been hired on her campaign's communications director in the state.</p>
<p>A Journal Poll conducted in February found 47 percent of New Mexico Democrats likely to vote in this year's presidential primary election favored Clinton, compared to 33 percent who backed Sanders.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Hillary Clinton campaign announces New Mexico staff, operations | false | https://abqjournal.com/763972/hillary-clinton-campaign-announces-new-mexico-staff-operations.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it paid more than $201 million in second-quarter bonuses to hourly store staff as 99 percent of its stores met targets for cleanliness, faster checkout and better service.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The world's largest retailer said 932,000 store employees received a quarterly bonus this year. This was a jump from 880,000 employees in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 and 687,000 workers in fiscal 2015.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States, with about 1.5 million workers including hourly store staff, store management and truck drivers. Hourly workers at the company's nearly 4,600 U.S. locations are eligible for quarterly bonuses based on the performance of their store.</p>
<p>This increase in bonuses comes after the retailer bucked a string of weak earnings by its rivals and reported a better-than-expected quarterly performance last month, saying it benefited from more efficient U.S. stores and higher employee wages that fostered better customer service.</p>
<p>It also comes at a time when the retailer is cutting back-office jobs. Earlier this month, Wal-Mart said it will cut about 7,000 jobs, mostly in accounting and invoicing positions at its U.S. stores, and will offer affected employees consumer-facing positions.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg said until two years ago Wal-Mart's internal targets focused more on metrics like higher store sales. However, in the past two years the retailer has pivoted towards a greater emphasis on customer service by bringing more employees to the front of the store from its back rooms.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Wal-Mart has also increased entry-level wages to $10 an hour and said it will invest $2.7 billion in employee compensation and training over two years, a move it has said contributed to improved service levels.</p>
<p>"As a result employee turnover has reduced and you have more people on the sales floor," Lundberg said.</p>
<p>The retailer also recently launched a new system for scheduling workers at 650 U.S. stores to improve staffing levels during peak shopping times and offer more certainty over hours for employees.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Stephen Coates)</p> | Wal-Mart Pays Over $200M in Store Staff Bonuses | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/09/21/wal-mart-pays-over-200m-in-store-staff-bonuses.html | 2016-09-21 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“I’m lucky because I get to actually relax when I’m off tour,” he says during an interview from his Maine home. “I get to make my own schedule, which is nice. But I give up a lot of money not working a typical day job.”</p>
<p>Arcara and Joy Kills Sorrow are gearing up to release their latest album, “Wide Awake,” in June.</p>
<p>The band, which includes Emma Beaton, Wes Corbett and Jacob Jolliff, also is embarking on a tour to support the album.</p>
<p>“We’re very excited about it all,” Arcara says. “We came to the point where we knew that we had to have some new material and that we wanted to record.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Before the band went in to record, it also hired a bass player, Zoe Guigueno.</p>
<p>“We wanted to create the new music with the bass player and it became more pressing for us to put out music,” he says. “This was also a good way for everyone to get used to each other.”</p>
<p>Arcara says Guigueno adapted to the band immediately.</p>
<p>“I’m sure there was some nerves on Zoe’s part coming into an established band,” he explains. “But we all felt a little nerves because we were going to get a fuller sound and Zoe is an amazing player and she just hit the ground running.”</p>
<p>Formed under the banner “a modern American stringband,” Joy Kills Sorrow first emerged out of Boston’s thriving folk music scene in 2005, releasing its self-titled debut album in 2007.</p>
<p>Two years and several band members later, Arcara says, Joy Kills Sorrow is full of talent and passion. Each member had a storied career before joining the band.</p>
<p>Founding member Arcara, a subtle and expressive guitarist, was the 2006 winner of Winfield’s National Flatpicking Championship and has performed with such luminaries as Darol Anger and David Grier.</p>
<p>Joliff, is the Berklee School of Music’s first full-scholarship mandolin student and a veteran performer, having toured professionally since age 11.</p>
<p>Corbett, a banjo player, has toured the country with Crooked Still, the Biscuit Burners and the Bee Eaters. He was featured in the August 2008 issue of Banjo Newsletter.</p>
<p>Beaton, the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards’ Young Performer of the Year, adds an earthy, powerful presence to the band as its newly minted vocalist.</p>
<p>Arcara says the recording process for “Wide Awake” did take some time.</p>
<p>“For a seven-song record,we did 10-plus days in the studio,” he says. “We tracked everything live, which is the sound we wanted to go for. We all sat down together and played through all of the songs. It was the mixing process that took awhile because we wanted it all to be perfect. We were focused on making the sound bigger.”</p> | Talent, passion fuel Joy Kills Sorrow | false | https://abqjournal.com/202508/talent-passion-fuel-joy-kills-sorrow.html | 2013-05-24 | 2 |
<p>DENVER (AP) — Denver is still in the running to become the home of Amazon's proposed second headquarters.</p>
<p>Denver is among 20 cities on a shortlist of contenders announced by Amazon on Thursday.Many of them are concentrated in the East and Midwest.</p>
<p>Gov. John Hickenlooper says Colorado is one of the most business friendly states in the nation and that the Denver region would be a great choice for the online retailing giant.</p>
<p>Denver's pitch emphasized Colorado's workforce and lifestyle over economic incentives.</p>
<p>Amazon is promising $5 billion in investment and as many as 50,000 jobs over the next 15 years. It's expected to pick a location this year.</p>
<p>DENVER (AP) — Denver is still in the running to become the home of Amazon's proposed second headquarters.</p>
<p>Denver is among 20 cities on a shortlist of contenders announced by Amazon on Thursday.Many of them are concentrated in the East and Midwest.</p>
<p>Gov. John Hickenlooper says Colorado is one of the most business friendly states in the nation and that the Denver region would be a great choice for the online retailing giant.</p>
<p>Denver's pitch emphasized Colorado's workforce and lifestyle over economic incentives.</p>
<p>Amazon is promising $5 billion in investment and as many as 50,000 jobs over the next 15 years. It's expected to pick a location this year.</p> | Denver among 20 cities on Amazon HQ shortlist | false | https://apnews.com/amp/2395b52bea7f41b1b4006dd73a4b0463 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>The horrific attack against America on September 11, 2001 offered us citizens an opportunity to engage in serious national self-examination about our government’s foreign policy in our name, and whether it contributed to such violent aggression. But the Bush administration was not about to engage in or encourage any soul-searching. Instead of introspection, we got projection. We got knee-jerk, flag-waving, distraction-inducing unreflective patriotism. “No threat, no threat,” President Bush immediately reacted, “will prevent freedom-loving people from defending freedom. And make no mistake about it,” he emphasized, “this is good versus evil. These are evil doers. They have no justification for their actions [italics added]. There’s no religious justification, there’s no political justification. The only motivation is evil.” (“International Campaign Against Terror Grows,” Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Koisumi of Japan in Photo Opportunity,” The White House, Sept. 25, 2001)</p>
<p>Self-examination is fundamental to our individual and national security. A healthy response to any personal or nation-wide tragedy or loss includes asking how our own behavior may have contributed to it. Self-examination is one of life’s first and most</p>
<p>essential lessons: learning from our mistakes and misfortunes and misconduct by being open to our own possible involvement in helping to bring them about. Being guided by cause-and-effect is critical to assuming responsibility for our behavior and becoming responsible, democratic social beings. Self-examination leads to self-understanding and thus helps prepare us to understand, respect and live with other persons in our society and in the world. Conversely, anti-introspective tendencies, i.e. resistance to examining one’s own behavior in conflict and crisis, may lead to self-justification with its denial of any personal responsibility and projection of blame on others, dooming a person or nation to repeat and intensify destructive self-defeating behavior.</p>
<p>The fifth anniversary of the violent 9/11 attack on our country is an especially important time for us Americans to engage in self-examination. It can lead us to identify and thus protect ourselves from the “evil doers” close to home.</p>
<p>Since religion stresses soul-searching, one assumes it would be an integral part of the behavior of a self-professed man of prayer and piety like President Bush. When asked during a 2000 presidential campaign debate, “what philosopher or thinker” he most identified with and why, he replied, “Christ, because he changed my heart.” (“George W. Bush,” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Bush’s “change of heart” involved recognizing that he was a “sinner.” In a 2000 campaign interview, he stated that awareness of himself as a “sinner” influenced how he approached government. “I treat people with respect. I don’t feel I’m better than anyone else . . . I respect other people, and that’s what’s needed in Washington, D.C. right now.” (Beliefnet.com, editor-in-chief Steven Waldman’s interview with Bush, Oct. 2000)</p>
<p>During the 2000 presidential campaign, President Bush stressed the importance of soul-searching in his “walk” with his god. “I’ve got a lot of imperfections like anyone else,” he told Beliefnet editor-in-chief Steven Waldman. “And the more I get into the Bible, the more the admonition ‘Don’t try to take a speck out of your neighbor’s eye when you’ve got a log in your own’ [Jesus’ admonition] becomes more and more true, particularly for those of us in public life. . . . You see,” Bush explained, “if you believe that we’re all sinners, as opposed to you’re a sinner and I’m not, then I think it helps you. . . bring people together, and that’s what is needed on some very practical issues that the country faces.” (Ibid)</p>
<p>President Bush repeated the same teaching of Jesus on self-examination in another 2000 campaign interview. “A Bible verse that is important to me,” he said, “is one that says I shouldn’t try to take a speck out of someone else’s eye if I have a log in my own. I like that verse,” Bush continued, “because it reminds me that we’re all sinners. When you admit you’re a sinner, it is recognition that there is a need. And that need, for me, was met through Christ.” (“God and the Governor,” Charisma Magazine interview, Aug. 29, 2000)</p>
<p>President Bush’s religious soul-searching was apparently motivated by political vote-getting. Winning the presidency in 2000 evidently proved to be a far more “transforming” experience than his self-professed “we’re all sinners,” “I don’t feel like I’m better than anyone else,” humble, “walking the walk with Christ”-on the campaign trail. With the violent wake-up call of 9/11, national soul-searching was thrown overboard and self-justification took over to “stay the course” of the ship of state. Bush became so blinded by the “logs” in many “neighbors” eyes that he declared an unending “global war on terrorism,” rather than lead us Americans in examining any “log” in US foreign policy. Evidently the understanding of others he gained from his own “Christ”-inspired conversion as a “sinner” applied only to [voting] neighbors across the street not to neighbors around the world.</p>
<p>The president diverted attention from soul-searching even any national “speck” of our own by telling us Americans how great we are. On September 11, 2001 he said, “America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon of freedom and opportunity in the world.” (“Test of Bush’s address,” CNN.com/US, Sept. 11, 2001) In his September 22, 2001 radio address, Bush continued to turn our attention away from any national soul-searching with, “I want to remind the people of America, we’re still the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and no terrorist will ever decide our fate.”</p>
<p>President Bush repeatedly reminded us Americans how great and thus how “speck”-free our nation is. In September of 2002, he continued to take our minds off any self-examination with, “We differ from our enemy because we love. We not only love our freedoms and love our values, we love life, itself. . . . I believe we can cross any hurdle, climb any mountain because this is the greatest nation on the face of the earth, full of the most decent, hard-working, honorable citizens.” (“President Bush Calls on Congress to Act on Nation’s Priorities,” The White House, Army National Guard Aviation Support Facility, Trenton, New Jersey, Sept. 23, 2002) Similarly, in an address to the staff of the newly created Homeland Security Department, resistance to any national introspection continued to be reinforced by Bush: “There is no doubt in my mind that this nation will prevail in this war against terror, because we’re the greatest nation, full of the finest people on the face of this Earth.” (“President Bush Addresses New Homeland Security Workers,” CNN.com, Feb. 28, 2003) Not even a “speck” here. If we citizens are this great, obviously our political leaders must be great, too.</p>
<p>President Bush saw only “logs” in his apparent attempt to prevent us Americans from becoming aware of the oppressive foreign policy his administration continued to do unto far-away “neighbors” in our name. He quickly discouraged any discussion of what may have motivated the 19 Muslim men to hijack the four passenger jets and use them as missiles to kill nearly 3000 people. In his September 20, 2001 address to a joint session of Congress, he said “Americans are asking ‘why do they hate us?'” Bush knew why, without identifying who “the terrorists” and their supporters were or ever talking with any of “them,” nor presumably talking to anyone else who has talked to them. “They hate our freedoms,” he answered rhetorically, “our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” (“Transcript of President Bush’s address,” Sept. 20, 2001)</p>
<p>The importance of us American people asking, “Why do they hate us,” and entering into a real national discussion was immediately shot down, and still remains in the ruins of 9/11, a victim of stereotyping and demonizing and mindless patriotism. Throwing any cause-and-effect out the window, President Bush declared, “The people who did this act on America, and who may be planning further acts are evil people. . . . They are flat evil. That’s all they can think about, is evil.” He then further discourage any national soul-searching: “And as a nation of good folks, we’re going to hunt them down, and we’re going to find them, and we will bring them to justice.” (“President: FBI Needs Tools to Track Down Terrorists,” Remarks by the President to Employees at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Headquarters, The White House, Sept. 25, 2001)</p>
<p>President Bush stifled any effort to really entertain the question, “Why do they hate us?” He warned, “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” (“Address to a joint session of Congress and the American people,” The White House, Sept. 20, 2001) He cautioned, “If you harbor a terrorist, if you aid a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you’re just as guilty as the terrorists.” ( “International Campaign Against Terrorism Grows,” Remarks of President Bush and Prime Minister Koisumi of Japan, The White House, Sept. 25, 2001)</p>
<p>The president’s threatening “either . . . or” rhetoric appears to have intimidated many in American mainstream media from investigative studies and reporting on who the so-called “terrorists” really are and the reasons they give for hating us that may have contributed to 9/11. The fact that US government-identified enemies often show up as “terrorists” in newspapers and on the airwaves of mainstream media has helped the Bush administration to use the tragedy of 9/11 to gain support for a “global war on terrorism,” which precludes any real national soul-searching and thus prevents us Americans from seeing any “specks” and “logs” in our government’s foreign policy in our name, the knowledge of which provides the necessary basis for justice and peace-making. President Bush’s constant stereotyping and demonizing of other human beings, and ensuing fear-and-war-mongering in the name of “freedom” and “peace,” are believed to indicate that he is the one who “hates our freedoms.”</p>
<p>“Why do they hate us?” A reality check is contained in the 2004 report of the Pentagon’s own advisory panel, the Defense Science Board on Strategic Communications. The report states that “Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather they hate our policies” including America’s “one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf States.” Thus “when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.” The report cautions about seeing only “logs” in the “eyes” of these “neighbors”: “In the eyes of the Muslim world, . . . American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering.” (The New York Times, Nov. 24, 2004; “They hate our policies, not our freedom,” Canadian Content, Aug. 19, 2006)</p>
<p>Columnist Helen Thomas picked up on the Pentagon’s advisory panel’s report, revealing its invitation to national soul searching which apparently threatened President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. Thomas noted that former President Clinton’s advisor Sidney Blumenthal was quoted in The Guardian as saying “the 102-page report was not made public in the presidential campaign but instead was ‘silently slipped on to a Pentagon web site on Thanksgiving eve.'” (“Insurgents Hate Our Policies, Not Our Freedoms,” WCVB-TV Boston 5 ABC, Dec. 17, 2004)</p>
<p>Helen Thomas pointed out the “log” in President Bush’s eye, represented by the Pentagon’s advisory panel’s report: “The administration got it all wrong, the report indicated, since the Arabs were not yearning to be liberated except from the authoritarian regimes that the United States is supporting.” She continued, “It’s silly for Bush to keep saying ‘they hate freedom,’ referring to the insurgents in Iraq. It makes me think he’s looking for a new rationale for the war, his earlier reasons having been discredited.” She said that “Bush has played into the hands of the radical jihadists by trying to tie the attacks on the World Trade Center to Iraq.” And she ends by encouraging soul-searching: “The reality is that the Iraqis hate the conquest and occupation of their country, just as any people with pride in the world would [italics added]. (Ibid)</p>
<p>“Why do they hate us?” Another “log”-revealing response is presented by Michael Scheuer, a 22-year CIA official who, from 1996 to 1999, headed the bin Laden unit at the Counterterrorist Center, and authored “Through Our Enemies’ Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America.” Interviewed by Ken Silverstein, Scheuer was asked if the US were “safer or more vulnerable” as “the five-year anniversary of 9/11 attacks” approaches. Scheuer answered, “In the long run, we’re not safer because we’re still operating on the assumption that we’re hated because of our freedoms, when in fact we’re hated because of our actions in the Islamic world.”</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer revealed the need for national self-examination: “There’s our military presence in Islamic countries, the perception that we control the Muslim world’s oil production, our support for Israel and for countries that oppress Muslims such as China, Russia, and India, and our support for Arab tyrannies.” He stressed, “Publicly promoting democracy while supporting tyranny may be the most damaging thing we do. . . . We use the term ‘Islamofacism’-but we’re supporting it in Saudi Arabia, with Mubarak in Egypt, and even Jordan is a police state.” He concluded by emphasizing the importance of introspection: “We don’t have a strategy because we don’t have a clue about what motivates our enemies.” (“Six Questions for Michael Scheuer on National Security,” by Ken Silverstein, Harper’s Magazine, Aug. 23, 2006)</p>
<p>“Why do they hate us?” President Bush would have us Americans believe that “we are different from our enemy because we love . . . life, itself.” He seems so oblivious to the 12 years of US-controlled UN economic sanctions imposed on Iraq, until the invasion, that resulted in the deaths of some 500,000 Iraq children under the age of 5 between 1991 and 1998 alone. (UNICEF report on the devastation caused by the sanctions, Aug. 12, 1999) Then there is the unprovoked, lies-based invasion and report of ensuing deaths of at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians, mostly women and children, in the first 18 months of the war. (“Mortality before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: cluster sample survey,” by Les Roberts, Riyadh Lafta, Richard Garfield, Jamal Khudhairi, Gilbert Burnham, The Lancet, Oct. 30, 2004) And the US occupation and resulting widespread sectarian violence bordering on civil war, which was recently verified by a Pentagon report and denied by Bush. (“Warning issued on sectarian violence: Pentagon says threat is growing,” by Robert Burns, Associated Press, The Boston Globe, Sept. 2, 2006) And Bush recently allowing Israel’s air force to devastate Lebanon, even speeding up delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, under the guise of holding out for a “sustainable peace.”</p>
<p>“A Bible verse that is important to me is one that says I shouldn’t try to take a speck out of someone else’s eye if I have a log in my own. I like that verse because it reminds me that we’re all sinners.” These are the words of a president who resists admitting making a mistake never mind being a “sinner.”</p>
<p>“Islamic fascists.” Evil doers.” “All they can think about is evil.” “Flat evil.” “Killers.” “Murderers of women and children.” “Terrorists.” Lenin and Hitler” types. A never-ending “global war on terrorism.” “They want to create a unified totalitarian Islamic state and destroy the free world.” “A struggle for civilization.” These are the words of a man driven by projection not guided by introspection.</p>
<p>Similar judgments may be made about President Bush and his administration’s policies. In his Hitler-like case, “the big lies” are sanctions-weakened, defenseless, non-threatening Iraq’s “mushroom cloud”-threatening weapons of mass destruction and ties to the 9/11 attacks against America. In his case, it is the use of the invaders’ “shock and awe” bombs which led to the resistance’s use of roadside improvised explosive devices. In the case of many of his evangelical fundamentalist supporters, it is their Christocentric fascism that led them to support the invasion, seeing it as an opportunity to convert Muslims to “Christ.” And in his case, it is the use of “freedom” and “democracy” as code words to disguise, for public consumption, spreading American imperialism “to the darkest corners of the world.” In his case, we may well be fighting “enemies in the streets of our own cities” precisely because his administration committed state terrorism in invading and occupying “the streets of Baghdad.”</p>
<p>In President Bush’s case, it is appealing to “a higher Father.” As he planned his administration’s pre-emptive war against Iraq, he prayerfully said, “We go forward with confidence because this call of history has come to the right country [italics added].” He proclaimed that “the liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to humanity.” (The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2003) The war-mongering calling of “a higher Father.” Bush continued to declare, “Freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to every man and woman in the world” to justify his administration’s war of choice against and occupation of Iraq. (Acceptance Speech to Republican Convention Delegates, The New York Times, Sept. 3, 2004) Bush used his god for self-justification and not for soul-searching. And we Americans are far less safe because of the enemies our government continues to create in our name.</p>
<p>President Bush is “walking the walk” with “Christ”? Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” ( Matthew 5:9) Tragically, Bush is waging war in the name of peace. Jesus said, “Love your enemies . . . so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good; and sends his rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44, 45, RSV and NRSV). Bush has so demonized our country’s enemies that it is almost impossible for many Americans to see them as human beings who, as columnist Helen Thomas wrote, “hate the conquest and occupation of their country, just as any people with pride in the world would.” [italics added]</p>
<p>The fifth anniversary of the horrible national wound of 9/11, and our own security, call for examining the “logs” in our government’s foreign policy in our name. The greater struggle we Americans face is not about “good versus evil” but about “overcoming evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) America’s war on terrorism should begin at home. The most dangerous enemies we face are those who would have us sell the soul of our humanity for a mess of “national security” potage. It is time to see the “logs” in the eyes of our country’s own fear-and-war-mongerers and remove them from office-for the sake of our children and grandchildren and all children and grandchildren everywhere.</p>
<p>Rev. William E. Alberts, Ph.D. is a hospital chaplain. Both a Unitarian Universalist and a United Methodist minister, he has written research reports, essays and articles on racism, war, politics and religion. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]." type="external">[email protected].</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | America’s War on Terrorism Should Begin at Home | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/09/23/america-s-war-on-terrorism-should-begin-at-home/ | 2006-09-23 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Dividend stocks could very well be the most underappreciated assets on the planet. Some investors, of course, both fully understand them and bask in their wealth-building abilities. But a handful of the population is completely unaware of what makes them so great. Here are the top four reasons to love dividend stocks, using Apple as an example.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A dividend stock is ultimately a company that is producing excess cash that management doesn't plan to invest back into its business. This means this excess cash goes to shareholders -- usually on a quarterly basis. Dividends, therefore, provide a consistent stream of income, making them popular investments for individuals either approaching retirement, or already in retirement.</p>
<p>Consider Apple. The tech giant pays out $0.57 per share to investors every quarter, or $2.28 per share annually. With shares trading at $94 at the time of this writing, the company is paying out a dividend equal to 2.4% of its share price every year. This metric is called dividend yield, and it represents the stream of cash dividend stocks pay out to shareholders as a percentage of each share owned.</p>
<p>A 2.4% dividend yield is already better than the annual interest that can be earned in savings accounts, and it even beats many CDs, or certificates of deposits. But it gets better: Apple has promised to increase its dividend on an annual basis, so this stream of income will actually grow over time.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Since Apple initiated its dividend in 2012, its quarterly dividend has increased 50%, from $0.38 to $0.57.</p>
<p>Many dividend stocks have regular dividends that have consistently increased annually for years -- even decades.</p>
<p>Beyond a consistent income stream from dividends, the principal per share can increase, too. For instance, the per share value of Apple stock is up 60% since the beginning of 2012; during this same period, Apple initiated a quarterly dividend and boosted it by about 50%.</p>
<p>For investors who strictly buy stocks that don't pay dividends, ultimately the goal is to sell at a higher price than the original purchase price. This adds an extra layer of work. Dividend stock or not, investors need to assess the investment quality of the stock; but a regular dividend means investors need to worry less about the timing of selling their investment in the future, as dividend stock owners are rewarded with a cash stream even without taking any action.</p>
<p>Of course, dividends come in many shapes and sizes. Some dividend yields are much higher than Apple's, but historically grow at very low rates -- or not at all. Other dividend yields are lower than Apple's, but grow faster. Then, of course, there are companies with very unreliable and unpredictable dividends, usually evident by an inconsistent track record of dividend payouts.</p>
<p>And it's also worth noting that even dividends paid by large, dependable companies can occasionally go awry. The risk of losing principal, or the risk of a consistent dividend coming to an end, are realities income investors face -- similar to risks investors in stocks without dividends face. So it's usually best that these dividend stocks are owned as part of a diversified portfolio of investment-worthy dividend stocks.</p>
<p>Investments can't get much better than a growing stream of cash produced from a low-maintenance portfolio of solid dividend stocks that will likely see principal appreciation over the long haul, too. If you're not already exploring these assets, now is a good time to start.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/17/4-reasons-to-love-dividend-stocks.aspx" type="external">4 Reasons to Love Dividend Stocks Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDanielSparks/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Daniel Sparks Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4 Reasons to Love Dividend Stocks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/17/4-reasons-to-love-dividend-stocks.html | 2016-05-17 | 0 |
<p>Microsoft Corp did not violate a patent owned by Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility when it made its popular Xbox, an administrative law judge at the International Trade Commission said on Friday in the latest ruling in the long-running fight.</p>
<p>A final ITC decision in the case is due in July.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The fight over the Xbox video game console is related to the larger smartphone patent war between Apple, Microsoft and the mobile phone makers who use Google's Android software, including its subsidiary Motorola Mobility.</p>
<p>The case is at the International Trade Commission, No. 337-752.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Microsoft Did Not Violate Google Patent | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/03/22/microsoft-did-not-violate-google-patent.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>Sthanlee Mirador/Sipa USA via AP</p>
<p>Calls for Oprah Winfrey to run for president may have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/01/08/oprah-for-president-in-2020-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/?tid=a_mcntx&amp;utm_term=.1ca5fe7a1421" type="external">begun as a joke,</a>&#160;but&#160;in the wake of her rousing Golden Globes <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/01/full-transcript-oprah-winfreys-speech-at-the-golden-globes/549905/" type="external">speech</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/08/576472393/oprah-2020-people-are-asking-after-golden-globe-speech" type="external">speculation has swirled</a>. CNN even ran&#160; <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTCwrqJXUAItSeb.jpg" type="external">live updates</a> on a&#160;potential “Oprah 2020” campaign on Monday. President Donald Trump told reporters he doubts Winfrey will run, though&#160;he also <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/09/trump-beat-oprah-winfrey-329507" type="external">declared he would win</a> a campaign&#160;against her.&#160;</p>
<p>Some progressives <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/the-memo/368016-oprah-buzz-sparks-debate-about-celebrity-presidents" type="external">welcomed the idea</a> that Winfrey, a popular media icon whose star power could eclipse even that of Trump, might take on the president in 2020. Winfrey, who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/01/08/oprah-for-president-in-2020-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/?utm_term=.8fc7c8135e27" type="external">endorsed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton</a>, is well know for championing a wide range of important causes, such as <a href="https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2011/05/25/reading-for-life-oprah-winfrey/" type="external">promoting reading</a>&#160;and founding the&#160; <a href="https://www.owla.co.za" type="external">Leadership Academy for Girls</a> in Johannesburg, South Africa. But there’s one area in which Winfrey and her would-be opponent are surprisingly alike: Both she and Trump have helped spread the inaccurate—and dangerous—myth that vaccines cause autism or other health problems.</p>
<p>The supposed&#160;link between autism and vaccines has been repeatedly and unequivocally debunked by scientists and public health officials. (See <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html" type="external">here</a>, <a href="http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(13)00144-3/pdf?ext=.pdf" type="external">here</a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/pdf/cdcstudiesonvaccinesandautism.pdf" type="external">here</a>, <a href="http://www.sabin.org/updates/blog/vaccines-dont-cause-autism-0" type="external">here</a>, <a href="http://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked/" type="external">here</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/04/four-vaccine-myths-and-where-they-came" type="external">here</a>, for starters.) The theory has roots in&#160;an error-filled (and later retracted) 1998 British&#160; <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/" type="external">study</a> claiming a link between autism and vaccines.&#160;Following the paper’s publication, measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rates <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html" type="external">dropped in Britain</a>, and measles cases rose sharply in the ensuing years. Researchers <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120604142726.htm" type="external">reported</a> a&#160;decline in US vaccination rates. Years later, the discredited theory continues to negatively impact <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/us/a-discredited-vaccine-studys-continuing-impact-on-public-health.html?_r=0" type="external">public health</a>.</p>
<p>Winfrey’s role in this controversy dates back to&#160;2007, when she <a href="http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/mothers-battle-autism/all#ixzz53cqpWT2j" type="external">brought Jenny McCarthy</a>, the Playboy model and actress, onto her show to talk about&#160;autism. McCarthy’s young son, Evan, had suffered a series of seizures at two-and-a-half years old and was later diagnosed with autism.&#160;McCarthy was adamant that the MMR vaccination Evan received as a baby caused his autism. On the show, McCarthy told Oprah she had been instinctually uncomfortable with&#160;allowing the doctor to give her son the vaccine. “I said to the doctor, I have a very bad feeling about this shot,”&#160;McCarthy recounted.&#160;“This is the autism shot, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>On the show, McCarthy’s claims went largely unchallenged. Winfrey praised McCarthy as a “mother warrior” and plugged her book Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, which inaccurately suggests&#160;childhood vaccinations contribute to autism. Winfrey did read a brief statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said there was no scientific evidence of a connection and that scientists were&#160;continuing to study the causes of autism.&#160;“It is important to remember, vaccines protect and save lives. Vaccines protect infants, children and adults from the unnecessary harm and premature death caused by vaccine-preventable diseases,” the CDC statement concluded. But McCarthy had the final word. “My science is named Evan, and he’s at home,” she said. “That’s my science.”</p>
<p>CNN’s <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/television/larry-king-PECLB0000005449-topic.html" type="external">Larry King</a> and&#160; <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2007/09/18/jenny-mccarth-1-2/" type="external">People</a>&#160;magazine also gave attention to McCarthy and her views. She became a semi-regular guest on Winfrey’s show and&#160; <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jenny-mccarthy-oprah-production-deal-217009" type="external">signed a deal</a> with Winfrey’s Harpo Studios to create her own show, though that show ultimately fell through.&#160;McCarthy <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/jenny-mccarthy-i-am-not-anti-vaccine" type="external">says</a> she is not anti-vaccine but, rather, an advocate for “ <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/04/16/jenny-mccarthy-says-she-isnt-anti-vaccine-here-are-some-other-things-she-has-said-about-vaccinations/?utm_term=.e0c112eccc57" type="external">safe vaccines</a>.” There’s no evidence that vaccines are currently unsafe.</p>
<p>This wasn’t the first time Winfrey’s audience had been presented with the vaccines-autism theory. A few months before McCarthy’s appearance,&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/us/18autism.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0" type="external">Katie Wright</a>, whose son has autism, said on the show, “The vaccine connection has not been refuted at all. In fact, we give 37 vaccines to babies under the age of 18 months. Nobody has shown that that’s safe, a wise idea, the multiple&#160;vaccines at once.”</p>
<p>“She wanted to say it, and I wanted you to get it out there,” Winfrey replied, as the&#160;audience clapped. “Because you are a mother dealing with your child every day.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The following year,&#160;Christiane Northrup, a physician and one of Winfrey’s regular experts, <a href="http://www.oprah.com/health/ask-dr-christiane-northrup" type="external">answered a fan’s question</a> about the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/whatishpv.html" type="external">human papillomavirus</a>&#160;vaccine, which protects against a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer. Northrup expressed apprehension about the shot, saying she is “very concerned” about vaccinating young girls and would rather focus on a “getting everybody on a dietary program that would enhance their immunity,”&#160;according to a write-up on Winfrey’s website.</p>
<p>“I’m a little against my own profession,” Northrup said. “My own profession feels that everyone should be vaccinated.” (A publicist for Northrup told&#160;Mother Jones&#160;that she was “unavailable for comment.”)</p>
<p>Oprah’s show has since been criticized for promoting the careers of a number of&#160; <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/oprah-presidential-case-marred-by-promotion-dr-oz-jenny-mccarthy-others.html" type="external">scientifically dubious guests</a>&#160;and&#160;offering unsound&#160; <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/why-health-advice-oprah-could-make-you-sick-80201" type="external">health advice</a>. “Oprah is a really interesting figure, and she has clearly been a really positive force in so many ways,” says Seth Mnookin, director of MIT’s&#160;science writing&#160;program and author of The Panic Virus, which discusses anti-vaxxer appearances on Winfrey’s show. “I think public health is not one of those ways, and it’s not just around vaccines.”</p>
<p>In a 2009 <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/why-health-advice-oprah-could-make-you-sick-80201" type="external">statement to&#160;Newsweek</a>,&#160;Winfrey defended the controversial medical advice offered by guests on her show, arguing that she was empowering viewers to make up their own minds:</p>
<p>“The guests we feature often share their first-person stories in an effort to inform the audience and put a human face on topics relevant to them. I’ve been saying for years that people are responsible for their actions and their own well-being. I believe my viewers understand the medical information presented on the show is just that—information—not an endorsement or prescription. Rather, my intention is for our viewers to take the information and engage in a dialogue with their medical practitioners about what may be right for them.”</p>
<p>Winfrey’s own views on vaccinations aren’t clear. The Oprah Winfrey&#160;Network&#160;press office didn’t respond to requests for comment. An&#160; <a href="http://www.oprah.com/health_wellness/vaccines-you-need-to-get-again/all#ixzz53ckVsbAI" type="external">article</a> published last year on her website did encourage readers to get booster shots recommended by the CDC, including the MMR vaccine.&#160;“You may think you’ve had all the immunizations you’ll ever require,” the article said, “but the guidelines are constantly being fine-tuned—for the good of us all.”</p>
<p>Regardless of her personal opinions, it’s evident that&#160;she offered anti-vaxxers an opportunity to voice their unfounded concerns on national TV and may not have considered the “long-term ramifications,” says Jennifer Reich, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Denver and the author of Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines. During the 2007 episode with McCarthy, for instance, Winfrey told viewers McCarthy would appear on a special online messaging board to answer&#160;questions, according to <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=l_KwCOs3QhsC&amp;pg=PA256&amp;lpg=PA256&amp;dq=the+panic+virus+I'm+so+proud+you+followed+your+mommy%C2%A0instinct&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=ayJW_4T705&amp;sig=HmYYmxyklVsZwg7Zn1amkepkAHU&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiC0aWz8svYAhXr7oMKHZeLBTEQ6AEIMTAB#v=onepage&amp;q=the%20panic%20virus%20I'm%20so%20proud%20you%20followed%20your%20mommy%C2%A0instinct&amp;f=false" type="external">Mnookin’s book</a>. On that board, McCarthy wrote, “If I had another child, I would not vaccinate.” When one mother wrote that she had chosen not to vaccinate her child because of the “autism link,” McCarthy replied, “I’m so proud you followed your mommy&#160;instinct.”&#160;</p>
<p>Still, it’s hard to say for sure how much influence celebrities have over&#160;decisions that parents make about vaccinating their children, according to Reich. “It’s not so much that someone is going to go into their pediatrician’s office for an appointment and say,&#160;‘I saw this on Oprah, and I’m going to change what I do,'” she says. “It’s more that they become vehicles to inject this misinformation into the nation’s consciousness.”</p>
<p>“They continue to raise the question that the science is somehow not settled,” adds Reich. “I think public health agencies are struggling with how to combat anecdotes. When a parent says this feels true to me, it’s really hard to stack that feeling against population data.”</p>
<p>If Winfrey did decide to&#160;run for president, she’d hardly be the first candidate to have played a role in legitimizing inaccurate fears about vaccines. During the 2008 campaign, <a href="" type="internal">Clinton</a>,&#160; <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/2/2/7963837/obama-vaccine-autism" type="external">Obama, and John McCain</a>&#160;all&#160;suggested that vaccines might cause autism. (So did a 2004&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Mother Jones&#160;story</a>.)&#160;</p>
<p>In 2011, Rep. Michele Bachmann&#160; <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/16/michele-bachmann/bachmann-hpv-vaccine-cause-mental-retardation/" type="external">wrongly suggested</a> during a GOP presidential debate that&#160;the HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation.&#160;More recently, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) said vaccines can cause “mental disorders” and&#160;are “ <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/rand-paul-vaccines-can-lead-mental-disorders-n298821" type="external">an issue of freedom.</a>” In the midst of worries about a measles outbreak, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) suggested <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/chris-christie-vaccinations-114825" type="external">parents should have a choice</a> of whether or not to vaccinate; he later backed off&#160;his remarks.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>For his part, Trump suggested vaccines were linked to autism during&#160;a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/ben-carson-donald-trump-republican-presidential-debate-vaccine-autism-science-government/405901/" type="external">presidential debate</a> in late 2015, <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/11/30/donald-trump-vaccines-policy/" type="external">met with anti-vaxxers</a> in 2016, and reportedly asked vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-meet-with-proponent-of-debunked-tie-between-vaccines-and-autism/2017/01/10/4a5d03c0-d752-11e6-9f9f-5cdb4b7f8dd7_story.html?tid=a_inl&amp;utm_term=.c316fad1f899" type="external">lead a commission</a> on “vaccine safety” shortly before taking office. (No such commission <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2017/08/21/trump-vaccine-commission-robert-kennedy/" type="external">has been created</a>.)</p>
<p>Most Americans still&#160;support vaccinating children. A survey by&#160; <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/02/02/young-adults-more-likely-to-say-vaccinating-kids-should-be-a-parental-choice/" type="external">the&#160;</a> <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/02/vast-majority-of-americans-say-benefits-of-childhood-vaccines-outweigh-risks/" type="external">Pew Research Center</a>,&#160;published in February 2017, found 82 percent of US adults say healthy children should be required to get the MMR vaccine in order to attend school, while just 17 percent say parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their kids.&#160;But even a small decline in the percentage of children who are vaccinated can have serious consequences for public health. Last year, Minnesota fought its <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/5/8/15577316/minnesota-measles-outbreak-explained" type="external">largest measles&#160;outbreak in nearly three decades</a>.</p>
<p>* This story has been revised.</p> | How Oprah Helped Spread Anti-Vaccine Pseudoscience | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/how-oprah-helped-spread-anti-vaccine-pseudoscience/ | 2018-01-10 | 4 |
<p>Who does not know Marx's lovely vision of life in a "communist society" where it will be possible "to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have in mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd, or critic?"</p>
<p /> | A Feasible Vision of Socialism | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/a-feasible-vision-of-socialism | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — Fifteen Chicago men whose convictions were thrown out in November are asking for certificates of innocence.</p>
<p>The drug convictions were tossed following allegations a corrupt Chicago police sergeant manufactured evidence that sent them to prison.</p>
<p>The men claim former Sgt. Ronald Watts demanded money from them. When they didn’t pay, they were handcuffed and drugs stuffed in their pockets.</p>
<p>Watts was convicted in 2013 of extorting money from drug dealers.</p>
<p>Attorney Joshua Tepfer said Tuesday the certificates of innocence would wipe away the convictions of the exonerated men and open the way for the men to sue the city and police officers.</p>
<p>Watts and his tactical team worked the South Side for more than a decade.</p>
<p>At least 20 individuals have been exonerated by the courts due to Watts’ actions.</p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — Fifteen Chicago men whose convictions were thrown out in November are asking for certificates of innocence.</p>
<p>The drug convictions were tossed following allegations a corrupt Chicago police sergeant manufactured evidence that sent them to prison.</p>
<p>The men claim former Sgt. Ronald Watts demanded money from them. When they didn’t pay, they were handcuffed and drugs stuffed in their pockets.</p>
<p>Watts was convicted in 2013 of extorting money from drug dealers.</p>
<p>Attorney Joshua Tepfer said Tuesday the certificates of innocence would wipe away the convictions of the exonerated men and open the way for the men to sue the city and police officers.</p>
<p>Watts and his tactical team worked the South Side for more than a decade.</p>
<p>At least 20 individuals have been exonerated by the courts due to Watts’ actions.</p> | Exonerated men ask court for certificates of innocence | false | https://apnews.com/3918073965e7412a8ad3e82c0f6ebd3d | 2018-01-10 | 2 |
<p />
<p>A Los Angeles immigration attorney who has been helping <a href="http://dailynews.com/theiropinion/ci_4722708" type="external">Iraqi Armenian</a> refugees resettle in the U.S. writes that her clients tell her that death threats have become so common that terrorist groups have quit writing them by hand. Instead, they use computer-generated forms with their organization’s logo and blank spaces where the victim’s name is written in.</p>
<p>Another depressing nugget from her essay:</p>
<p>The United States has not liberalized its refugee policy in response to the worsening crisis in Iraq. More than 1 million Iraqi refugees of all religious backgrounds have poured into Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. In fiscal year 2006, just 202 Iraqi refugees were resettled in the United States.</p>
<p /> | Standardized Death Threats | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/11/standardized-death-threats/ | 2006-11-30 | 4 |
<p>From Sac Bee:</p>
<p>Responding to concerns by Gov. Jerry Brown, Democratic leaders and budget stakeholders, civil rights attorney Molly Munger today submitted a new version of her initiative to increase income taxes for California schools.</p>
<p>The latest version uses $3 billion for state bond repayment for the first four fiscal years, starting in 2013-14, and the remaining $7 billion for K-12 schools and early childhood programs. For the final eight years of the 12-year initiative, $10 billion would go toward K-12 and pre-kindergarten programs.</p>
<p>The state would have to prioritize repayment of school bonds before using the money on other debt. It raises $10 billion by hiking income taxes on all but the poorest Californians, at increasing marginal rates up the income ladder.</p>
<p>( <a href="http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/12/molly-munger-changes-california-tax-ballot-initiative-jerry-brown.html#mi_rss=Capitol%20and%20California" type="external">Read Full Article</a>) <a href="" type="internal" /></p> | Molly Munger changes tax initiative after Democrats’ criticism | false | http://capoliticalreview.com/trending/molly-munger-changes-tax-initiative-after-democrats-criticism/ | 2011-12-24 | 1 |
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening’s drawing of the Tennessee Lottery’s “Tennessee Cash” game were:</p>
<p>05-08-20-22-33, Bonus: 5</p>
<p>(five, eight, twenty, twenty-two, thirty-three; Bonus: five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $855,000</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening’s drawing of the Tennessee Lottery’s “Tennessee Cash” game were:</p>
<p>05-08-20-22-33, Bonus: 5</p>
<p>(five, eight, twenty, twenty-two, thirty-three; Bonus: five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $855,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Tennessee Cash’ game | false | https://apnews.com/56854861dbd748648e0ab3b15e57348d | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Joe and Lisa Woodruff correctly matched five of the six numbers drawn in the Nov. 28 game, which produced a record jackpot of $587 million.</p>
<p>The Woodruff’s doubled their $1 million prize by paying an additional $1 for the Power Play option. They matched the five white balls — 5, 16, 22, 23 and 29 — but missed the red ball, 6.</p>
<p>Lisa Woodruff said they didn’t know for certain how much their ticket was worth until they drove to Lottery headquarters in Albuquerque Thursday morning.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>She said they had not had much time to think about how they’ll use the money — $1,380,000 after taxes — but they’d pay off their Jeep and maybe buy their two grown sons new cars.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Hobbs Couple Claim $2 Million Powerball Prize | false | https://abqjournal.com/151477/hobbs-couple-claims-2-million-powerball-prize.html | 2012-12-06 | 2 |
<p>Plenty of observers say that President Trump’s first speech to Congress last night was a major reset, a game changer, maybe even the moment when he “ <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/01/politics/van-jones-trump-congress-speech-became-the-president-in-that-moment-cnntv/" type="external">became the President of the United States</a>.” I will stick to what I wrote last night, which is that it was essentially ‘American carnage’ with the <a href="" type="internal">volume turned down</a> a couple notches. And a “Senior White House official” ( ¯_(ツ)_/¯ ) tells Trump entourage whisperer Josh Green, <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaGreen/status/836945345678540800" type="external">that it was</a> “nationalism with an indoor voice.”</p>
<p>That is just right.</p>
<p />
<p>Trump pulled back from precisely none of his most controversial policy positions. Indeed, he doubled down on the incitement against undocumented immigrants which is the basis of the new VOICE office at DHS. His moment with the widow of the SEAL special operator who died in Yemen, while wildly lauded and powerful in his widow’s palpable grief, had a profoundly dark side which most seem to be ignoring.</p>
<p>When Trump didn’t have a prepared speech in front of him, this is <a href="" type="internal">how he spoke</a> about the death of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens: “This was a mission that was started before I got here. This was something they wanted to do. They came to see me, they explained what they wanted to do ― the generals ― who are very respected, my generals are the most respected that we’ve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.”</p>
<p>It is the most basic job of the President to take responsibility for the death of Americans fighting abroad, whether it is the President’s ‘fault’ or not. Trump has firmly refused to do this and continues to claim, against most evidence, that the mission was a success.</p>
<p>Owens father has already become <a href="" type="internal">sharply critical and called on</a> the President not to “hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation.” The wording of Trump’s moment with Carryn Owens seemed structured precisely to repurpose her grief as a heat shield to ward off any calls for an investigation or any suggestion that it wasn’t a success. Note specifically Trump’s invocation of Defense Secretary Mattis’ claim that the raid was a success before calling out to Owens’ widow.</p>
<p>The important thing to remember is that for the moment, little of this may matter. Think back to President Bush’s notorious “mission accomplished” speech on that aircraft carrier off the coast of California in the spring of 2003. It was a shamelessly political stunt. It drove Democrats crazy. They had arguments about the cost to the Navy for the event and whether the sailors on board should have been allowed their R&amp;R without the presidential distraction. But this inevitably seemed like caviling and bleating on the margins as long as most of the country was either excited or simply relieved that the war had been quick and with relatively few American casualties. It was the substance, not the stunt or the bombast, that eventually made it one of the most notorious moments in Bush’s presidency.</p>
<p>I suspect this will be largely the same.</p>
<p>Taking the edge off the rhetoric, turning down the volume or speaking in an in-door voice does make a difference. There’s Trump’s policies, most of which are unpopular. Then there’s the gnashing, blood and soil, rhetoric in which he speaks of them – an angry and foreboding code which echoes the least lovely parts of his personality. This can and may well for the moment make a difference. Maybe we will see in retrospect that this was a fundamental break with the way the President has started in his presidency in its first weeks. But I doubt it. It’s the same policy, just with an “indoor voice” as this mysterious senior official puts it. It’s all the same.</p> | Day Two Thoughts on the President’s Speech | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/day-two-thoughts-on-the-president-s-speech | 4 |
|
<p />
<p>Intel server chips. Image credit: Intel.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Analysts with Nomura (via <a href="http://www.investors.com/news/technology/notebook-blahs-broadwell-timing-could-slug-intel-q1-analyst/" type="external">Investor's Business Daily Opens a New Window.</a>) apparently took down their estimates of Intel's first quarter revenue performance by $500 million. The analysts now believe that the chip giant is on track to record just $13.6 billion in revenue, mainly as a result of weaker-than-expected PC sales.</p>
<p>Indeed, there have been a number of notes suggesting that PC sales are proving to be weaker than expected, even after the company guided to worse-than-seasonal results as a result of macroeconomic weakness, most notably in China.</p>
<p>Although $400 million of that $500 million revenue estimate cut came from tempering expectations around PC chip sales, the analysts call for a $100 million revenue miss/push-out as a result of the timing of the launch of the company's next generation server chips.</p>
<p>In particular, the analysts apparently noted (and I'm quoting a paraphrasing from Investor's Business Daily here) that a "potential pause in enterprise data center shopping" in anticipation of the company's upcoming Broadwell-EP server chips could negatively impact sales in the quarter.</p>
<p>Here's why I don't really buy that analysis.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>There's launch and then there's launch It looks like Intel will <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/15/intel-corp-likely-to-announce-new-server-chips-on.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">formally unveil Opens a New Window.</a> Broadwell-EP later this month. The chips should be socket-compatible with current generation Haswell-EP processors, with the main enhancements coming from a transition to a more efficient 14-nanometer manufacturing process, slightly enhanced CPU cores, and more of those cores.</p>
<p>The chips should offer a really nice performance and performance per watt boost for data center customers and are likely to do well in the marketplace.</p>
<p>Of course, it's easy to think that customers -- all of whom know that Intel will be launching these Broadwell-EP chips soon -- will suddenly stop buying servers until the new chips are out. This appears to be the heart of the analyst's argument.</p>
<p>Though plausible, I don't think that many of Intel's customers -- either server vendors that buy chips from Intel or major hyper-scale customers that "roll their own" data centers -- are actually waiting for the press and investor-targeted song-and-dance before they can get their hands on the chips.</p>
<p>Indeed, in a very good <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/11/15/intel-super-7/" type="external">piece Opens a New Window.</a> published in Fortune, it is revealed that Intel has an "Early Ship" program in which major data center customers "get access to chips that Intel designs about six months before Intel releases them to any other customers."</p>
<p>What this would strongly suggest to me is that the really big, move-the-needle type customers have already been getting their hands on Broadwell-EP server chips for quite some time. The smaller customers may have to wait longer, but I doubt that even they have to wait until later this month before they can start buying said chips.</p>
<p>In fact, one sharp AnandTech forum user noted that computer hardware reseller, ShopBLT.com, actually has several Broadwell-EP chips <a href="http://www.shopblt.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?action=thispage&amp;thispage=0110030005041_B2U5515P.shtml&amp;order_id=!ORDERID!" type="external">in stock Opens a New Window.</a> and available for purchase today. If this online shop has these chips, then it stands to reason that even "non-Early Ship" customers have been able to get their hands on the chips for quite some time. In my mind, investors should have little to fear around the timing of the Broadwell-EP launch causing an unexpected "slowdown" during the first quarter of the year.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/16/why-this-intel-corp-fear-is-overblown.aspx" type="external">Why This Intel Corp. Fear Is Overblown Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/aeassa/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Ashraf Eassa Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Intel. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why This Intel Corp. Fear Is Overblown | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/16/why-this-intel-corp-fear-is-overblown.html | 2016-03-16 | 0 |
<p />
<p>It may seem hard to get into the cable television industry these days. We live in an era of cord cutters, and as investors we're taught to stay away from fading markets. The trend is your friend, or so they say.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Thankfully for investors there are still some compelling players with stocks worth exploring, even at a time when folks are ditching ESPN and other cable channels as they shift to cheaper entertainment options. Let's take a look at the three top cable stocks to buy now.</p>
<p>Image source: Comcast's Universal Orlando.</p>
<p>The country's largest cable provider may also be its most resilient. Comcast is gaining ground at a time when many of its smaller peers are going the wrong way. Comcast had22.549 million cable television accounts as of the end of March, up from 22.4 million customers a year earlier.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>It shouldn't be a surprise to see its Xfinity internet service growing faster, as even cord cutters need a reliable connection to stream video content. Internet accounts just topped 25 million for Comcast, up 6% over the past year.Comcast is also doing a better job of milking more money out of its growing account base, as revenue for both its cable and internet platforms is growing faster than its user growth.</p>
<p>Comcast isn't just a cable provider these days, diversifying successfully into content. The acquisition of NBCUniversal arms Comcast with movie studio and media network assets along with a thriving theme park business that now ranks as the world's third largest player. It also <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/04/3-reasons-comcast-bought-dreamworks.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">acquired DreamWorks Animation Opens a New Window.</a> a year ago.</p>
<p>Satellite television is struggling, and as the country's second largest player DISH Network isn't necessarily doing well on that front. It had 13.528 million pay TV customers at the end of March, down from the 13.874 million accounts on its rolls a year earlier. Average revenue per user has actually declined over the past year, unlike Comcast where that metric is inching higher.</p>
<p>DISH Network makes the cut here because it's the one player that isn't afraid to disrupt its own industry. DISH was the first player to roll out an internet-tethered service in Sling TV. Before that DISH was the one leading the way to let subscribers view channels that they were already paying for across various devices.</p>
<p>DISH is also making some interesting moves in wireless. It's been <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/05/19/why-we-might-see-a-shakeup-in-the-telecom-industry.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">loading up its arsenal with spectrum Opens a New Window.</a> that it has three years to put into play or face stiff penalties. Whether DISH is able to build out the Internet of Things network that it's discussed in the past or finds a well-heeled partner to make it all come together, DISH is an attractive buyout candidate even if none of its divestitures pan out.</p>
<p>The third top stock is a company that few consider a pay TV provider, but let's go over the many ways that the company formerly known as Google is a much bigger player in this space than you might initially think.</p>
<p>Alphabet obviously doesn't rely on pay TV the way that Comcast and DISH do, but it's an important player that just happens to be the global top dog in digital advertising. Comcast, DISH Network, and Alphabet are the top cable stocks for investors to consider.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than DISH NetworkWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=ffa5b647-ba60-4b55-930a-84d477bae99b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and DISH Network wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=ffa5b647-ba60-4b55-930a-84d477bae99b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of May 1, 2017</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBreakerRick/info.aspx" type="external">Rick Munarriz Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Top Cable Stocks to Buy Now | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/01/3-top-cable-stocks-to-buy-now.html | 2017-05-30 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Oh, how we love a good fight.</p>
<p>But the real fight was revealed a couple of nights earlier when South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley gave the Republican Party's response to President Obama's State of the Union address. She pulled no punches and brought the fight to her own party. Nice and pretty-like.</p>
<p>Rather than exclusively critiquing Obama's presidency as many expected, Haley turned her sights on the angry tenor of GOP politics and our dysfunctional government, for which she said Republicans are partly responsible.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"There is more than enough blame to go around," she said. "We as Republicans need to own that truth. - We need to accept that we've played a role in how and why our government is broken. And then we need to fix it." Whoo-hoo. Sorry, but sometimes it takes a girl.</p>
<p>Noting that we live in anxious times, she nonetheless urged her fellow Republicans to resist the "siren call of the angriest voices." Gosh, wonder who she meant?</p>
<p>To a certain kind of Republican, this was pure heresy. But it was also brave, necessary and true - especially if the GOP is to survive or ever hope to reclaim the White House.</p>
<p>Haley's gentle cri de coeur neatly exposed the battle lines. On one side are those who deploy anger, bias, nativism and fear. On the other are those who want to reshape the GOP into a party that's based on ideals of inclusiveness and respect for others (like, maybe, a first-generation Indian-American daughter of Sikh immigrants), exercises caution through reformed immigration policies without demonizing swaths of people, and recognizes that winning hearts and minds begins with civility and communication.</p>
<p>"Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That's just not true," Haley said. "Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume. When the sound is quieter, you can actually hear what someone else is saying. And that can make a world of difference."</p>
<p>Haley confirmed on NBC's "Today Show" the following morning that she was, indeed, referring to Trump, who shouldn't take it personally.</p>
<p>During the debate on Thursday, Trump said he is happy to wear the mantle of anger because he is angry, and he assured the audience that he and Haley, who was beaming in the crowd, are good friends.</p>
<p>That's nice. But what's clear is that Haley, who is widely considered a likely vice-presidential candidate, had decided that she didn't need a Trump alliance and was choosing the "establishment lane" of the party, or, as some prefer, the "rational lane." In other words, she signaled her support for Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Jeb Bush.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But which is it? What does Haley know that we don't know? As unlikely as it seems at this juncture that any of these but Rubio has a reasonable shot at the nomination, we might assume that she's banking on Rubio.</p>
<p>This would be a dream ticket for Republicans. A bilingual Cuban (check Hispanic vote), a woman (check), both first-generation Americans, coverage in two crucial states, South Carolina and Florida, and perhaps most important, a younger generation of leadership without the baggage of the establishment.</p>
<p>They would completely collapse the smallish Republican tent of older, white males and build a rainbow-hued edifice of diversity in which race and religion are not the first questions on anyone's mind.</p>
<p>Haley, whom I've known for several years, is a polished politician, make no mistake. She doesn't accidentally do anything, such as fumble the most important speech of her career.</p>
<p>I also know from previous conversations that she has been changed by her time in office, altered by her experiences dealing with the horrific murders of nine African-Americans in a Charleston church and by her subsequent decision to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds.</p>
<p>The latter was a calculated political risk - and her speech a gamble that truth wins in the end. This truth includes the lesson of South Carolina after the shootings, when the state's people embraced one another in love and dedication to a shared, higher purpose of unity, forgiveness and racial reconciliation.</p>
<p>Haley's point: If we can do this as a state, we can do this as a nation. It's a worthy goal and a battle worthy of its opponents.</p>
<p>Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group; e-mail to [email protected].</p>
<p />
<p /> | Rubio-Haley would be dream ticket | false | https://abqjournal.com/707709/rubiohaley-would-be-dream-ticket.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LEBANON, Pa. — A rapper whose songs include “Sell Drugz” has been charged with selling drugs in Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Persaud performs under the name Montana Millz.</p>
<p>The Lebanon County district attorney says Persaud and a female accomplice sold heroin to an undercover police officer during a monthlong investigation. The district attorney says they sold 70 bags of heroin to an undercover officer in Lebanon and were arrested Oct. 28.</p>
<p>The district attorney says police raided the couple’s hotel room and found more than 2 ounces of heroin worth about $11,500.</p>
<p>The two suspects are both from Johnston, Rhode Island. They remain jailed.</p>
<p>Online court records don’t list an attorney for Persaud.</p>
<p>Investigators say his online mix tape also includes songs called “Gun Play” and “Armed and Ready.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Rapper behind song ‘Sell Drugz’ is accused of selling drugs | false | https://abqjournal.com/879461/rapper-behind-song-sell-drugz-is-accused-of-selling-drugs.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>Students relocating to campus for the start of the semester may be looking for a new bank or credit union to establish a checking account to execute all of their monetary needs.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Particularly for freshmen who have had joint bank accounts with their parents up until this point, it’s a good idea for parents to guide them through the process of establishing their own checking account to create a solid financial foundation, says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance advisor for <a href="http://www.credit.com/" type="external">Credit.com Opens a New Window.</a>. ( <a href="http://www.credit.com/" type="external">http://www.credit.com/</a>)</p>
<p>“Many students need every penny they can get during college, plus it’s a great chance for them to learn how watch for – and avoid – sneaky fees,” she says. “Helping them learn how to shop for a bank account can help them when they start to shop for other services.”</p>
<p>Here are five tips from personal finance experts on how students and their parents can find the best checking account for their needs.</p>
<p>Tip No.1: Shop around</p>
<p>For campuses with a variety of banking choices (large banks, local banks, credit unions), experts recommend that students and their parents compare what the institutions offer to find the best fit.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“Parents may be pleasantly surprised to find out that many of those credit unions offer&#160; <a href="http://www.co-opnetwork.org/" type="external">free access to ATMs Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;or participate in the&#160; <a href="http://www.branchnearyou.com/" type="external">shared branch network Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;which allows parents to go into a credit union near home and deposit funds or pay bills (if needed) for their kids,” says Detweiler.&#160;“Plus most credit unions offer the latest technology such as online banking, text account alerts, etc.” ( <a href="http://www.co-opnetwork.org/" type="external">http://www.co-opnetwork.org/</a>) ( <a href="http://www.branchnearyou.com/" type="external">http://www.branchnearyou.com/</a>)</p>
<p>While smaller banks and credit unions may offer student-friendly options such as low balance requirements and no monthly fees and some campuses have credit unions designed specifically for students, it’s important to keep in mind that students may not be living in their college town for the long haul, says <a href="http://www.ameriprise.com/default-home.asp" type="external">Ameriprise Opens a New Window.</a> financial advisor Katie Coleman. ( <a href="http://www.ameriprise.com/default-home.asp" type="external">http://www.ameriprise.com/default-home.asp</a>)</p>
<p>“If you choose a smaller local institution, parents may not be able to easily transfer funds, and you may have to move to another bank upon graduation,” she says.</p>
<p>Tip No.2: Look for low or no cost accounts</p>
<p>Let’s face it: Students will likely experience a low account balance from time to time.</p>
<p>Students should try to find an account with a low minimum balance requirement and no monthly fees, recommends Coleman.</p>
<p>“But those are not the only fees to keep in mind--make sure you can access the account online and that there are local ATM's so that you do not have to pay fees each time you withdraw money.”</p>
<p>Tip No. 3: Flexibility with other accounts</p>
<p>Everyone likes to get a little cash influx from mom and dad, so students should find out the bank’s policy for those types of transactions.</p>
<p>“[Ask] specifically how you can make deposits or transfers from outside banks and understand all fees associated with the account,” says Coleman.</p>
<p>To monitor any deposits and other activity, free online financial account management tools can also very useful for busy students, says Detweiler.</p>
<p>Tip No. 4: Proximity</p>
<p>Students should pick a banking institution that has a physical location in case they have any questions or need to discuss any issues in person.</p>
<p>Students should also check out a bank’s ATM system to make sure they are many machines available and at least one within walking distance to avoid getting charged for using out-of-network machines.</p>
<p>In the case that there isn’t an ATM close by, students can use their debit card to ask for cash back at the register when making a purchase, recommends Detweiler.</p>
<p>Tip No. 5: Check out overdraft protection options</p>
<p>In the chance that students spend money they don’t have their account, it’s essential to inquire about the bank’s overdraft policy before opening an account, says Coleman.</p>
<p>“Many overdraft fees cost $30 or more, and you do not want it to be a surprise,” she says. “However, overdraft protection can be a double edged sword, as it can lead to bad habits, such as overspending and creating debt.”</p>
<p>Detweiler recommends opting out of standard overdraft protection, which will allow debit card purchases to go through even if students don’t have enough money in your account to cover them.</p>
<p>“It may be an inconvenience if your debit card is rejected because you don’t have enough money to make the purchase, but it’s much better than paying $35 -$45 to cover a small purchase,” she says.</p>
<p>Students may want to look for a checking account option that allows them to link it to a savings account instead.</p>
<p>“You can ensure that you will not be charged extra fees and linking your accounts can also help to teach money management and encourage students to monitor their accounts,” says Coleman.</p> | What to Look for in a Student Checking Account | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/09/06/what-to-look-for-in-student-checking-account.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Shoppers are hitting the stores on Thanksgiving as retailers under pressure look for ways to poach shoppers from their rivals.</p>
<p>As the holiday shopping season officially kicked off, retailers are counting on a lift from a better economy. But they’re also looking beyond economic data and mapping out ways to pick up sales from other retailers as Amazon expands its reach.</p>
<p>That can mean opening earlier than rivals on the holidays or even jumping into new product categories. So shoppers may find some surprises: toys and TVs at J.C. Penney, Barbies at Best Buy, kitchen appliances like wine refrigerators at B.J.’s.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>At Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, it was the deals like cosmetic and perfume sets from $10 to $20 as well as 40 percent off on boots and shoes that drew attention. Its Apple shop was packed too, with deals on gadgets like the Apple Watch.</p>
<p>Tiffany Lloyd, in town from Columbia, Maryland, was visiting tourist sites when she realized stores were open.</p>
<p>“This is not a traditional Thanksgiving. We ate pizza,” said Lloyd, who was buying a pair of Naturalizer shoes at 40 percent off and said she planned to buy three more pairs. She said she also picked up sweaters on sale at Old Navy.</p>
<p>Despite the early crowds at stores, analysts at Bain say Amazon is expected to take half of the holiday season’s sales growth. And Amazon is the top destination for people to begin holiday shopping, according to a September study by market research firm NPD Group.</p>
<p>“The retailers are in survival mode. It’s about stealing each other’s market share,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD. “Amazon is the Grinch. They’re stealing the growth.”</p>
<p>Abi and Sush Gyawali — both 27-year-old biology graduate students at the University of Missouri — were among hundreds of people who lined up outside J.C. Penney in Columbia, Missouri, before the store opened at 2 p.m. Thursday. Abi Gyawali normally shops online on Amazon or Best Buy for Cyber Monday, where he said he finds some of the best deals.</p>
<p>But he said the couple wanted to check out the scene at the mall before friends came over to share a meal. He and his wife planned to just collect coupons that were being handed out, but ended up getting a discounted air fryer.</p>
<p>With the jobless rate at a 17-year-low of 4.1 percent and consumer confidence stronger than a year ago, analysts project healthy sales increases for November and December. The National Retail Federation trade group expects sales for that period to at least match last year’s rise of 3.6 percent and estimates online spending and other non-store sales will rise 11 to 15 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Amazon is expected to be a big beneficiary as it cements loyalty among its Prime members and moves into new services and private-label merchandise. That leaves stores looking at rivals to see where they can pick up sales. There are extra dollars up for grabs this year, after thousands of store locations have closed and several retailers filed for bankruptcy protection.</p>
<p>Target CEO Brian Cornell recently noted that up to $60 billion in consumer spending will be up for the taking in the next few years, and said the chain has been picking up market share in such areas as clothing.</p>
<p>Greg Foran, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. division, said that the retail giant’s holiday shopping season appeared to be off to a good start. It got things going in the first minutes of Thursday with an online sales event that featured a range of deals from toys to TVs to slow cookers and Google Home mini gadgets.</p>
<p>“We have a bit of momentum and we had a good kickoff online,” Foran told The Associated Press, “and with a bit of luck we are going to have a good 24 hours and be ship-shape for the weekend, and go from here to the 25th of December.”</p>
<p>The Thanksgiving weekend, when stores go all-out to attract shoppers, can be an indication of how well they’ll do through the season. About 69 percent of Americans, or 164 million people, intend to shop at some point during the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation. It expects Black Friday to remain the busiest day, with about 115 million people planning to shop then.</p>
<p>Judy St. Antoine, 60, of St. Petersburg, Florida, said she arrived at the J.C. Penney in her city about 10 minutes before the store’s 2 p.m. opening. There were already two lines of a couple hundred people each waiting. St. Antoine said she came “for the sale,” and that she’ll finish up her Thanksgiving afterward.</p>
<p>Mary Bergeron, 62, of Tampa, bought an oil-less fryer, a waffle maker and a steamer at JC Penney, and was headed back for more.</p>
<p>“It’s a tradition. We come here every year,” she said, adding that she’d eaten turkey at noon. “It’s crazy, there are so many people and it gets tense. It’s fun.”</p>
<p>Some retailers are using the weekend to test new product areas: Penney has TVs and consumer electronics like game consoles as doorbusters for Thanksgiving and Black Friday only, one example of what Penney’s Senior Vice President James Starke called “market share plays.”</p>
<p>Chris Baldwin, CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club, says it is offering more toys and clothes, including key national brands in areas like casual athletic wear.</p>
<p>“There’s no question that consumer spending has started to tick up and confidence is a little bit better, which is terrific, but we are also seeing some benefit from other retailers,” he said.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Anne D’Innocenzio at <a href="http://www.Twitter.com/adinnocenzio" type="external">http://www.Twitter.com/adinnocenzio</a></p> | Shoppers mobilize on Thanksgiving, as retailers branch out | false | https://abqjournal.com/1096742/retailers-look-to-woo-shoppers-from-rivals-as-amazon-grows.html | 2017-11-22 | 2 |
<p>MOSCOW (AP) — Yevgeny Avrorin, a renowned nuclear physicist who played an important role in developing Russia’s atomic weapons, has died. He was 85.</p>
<p>The Russian Federal Nuclear Center-VNIITF, one of the country’s two main nuclear weapons centers, announced Avrorin’s death Tuesday, adding that it followed a long illness.</p>
<p>After graduating from university in 1954, Avrorin worked alongside Andrei Sakharov to help build the first Soviet megaton-range hydrogen bomb.</p>
<p>In 1955 he joined the VNIITF nuclear center located in Chelyabinsk-70, or Snezhinsk, a closed city in the Ural Mountains. Avrorin, who served as the center’s scientific director in 1985-2007, played a leading role in designing a range of nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>MOSCOW (AP) — Yevgeny Avrorin, a renowned nuclear physicist who played an important role in developing Russia’s atomic weapons, has died. He was 85.</p>
<p>The Russian Federal Nuclear Center-VNIITF, one of the country’s two main nuclear weapons centers, announced Avrorin’s death Tuesday, adding that it followed a long illness.</p>
<p>After graduating from university in 1954, Avrorin worked alongside Andrei Sakharov to help build the first Soviet megaton-range hydrogen bomb.</p>
<p>In 1955 he joined the VNIITF nuclear center located in Chelyabinsk-70, or Snezhinsk, a closed city in the Ural Mountains. Avrorin, who served as the center’s scientific director in 1985-2007, played a leading role in designing a range of nuclear weapons.</p> | Top Russian nuclear weapons designer Avrorin dies at 85 | false | https://apnews.com/8ee258ee434c4870b9cc3175e98d327c | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
<p>Troy has gotten a lot of flak over the past few days. Much of the opposition to this film seems to stem from a misunderstanding of the purposes and mechanisms of the Iliad. It is unclear exactly how many critics have actually read Homer, but it seems clear that the number who have picked up the book since high school sits perilously close to zero. Yes, there are problems with the movie (the drabness of queen Helen, for one). But (perhaps despite itself), it gets a lot of things right.</p>
<p>For one thing, Brad Pitt makes a great Achilles. As a sex symbol and hero of Fight Club, Pitt is the right man to play the great lover/warrior of ancient lore. The Achilles of Homer was not ‘noble’ in any sense of the word as we currently define it. His character is petulant and childish, unwilling to yield to any authority other than his own glory. In Homer, when Agamemnon snatches away Briseis and refuses to honor Achilles, the mighty warrior goes down to the beach and cries to his mother. What would Rambo say?</p>
<p>There have been complaints about Achilles’ constant refrain that men must do great deeds so that their names will be remembered. Those familiar with the text of the Iliad will recognize this not as a screenwriter’s defect, but a rather good rendition of the Greek epic style. The Greeks idea of the afterlife involved a lot of shades moping about in Hades, a far throw from the fluffy clouds of our imaginations. So if you want any part of you to survive the mortal coil, it is rather essential to make sure that everyone remembers, and, crucially, speaks your name. Breath gives life and so on.</p>
<p>Given that the epic was originally sung over the span of several days in front of a hall of drunken chieftains, the endless repetition of key points is not surprising.. Music, not literature, is the paradigm with which to approach this &lt;genre.Pop&gt; music in particular is a good place to start. Once you look at it that way, the snobbish denunciations of Troy start to look a bit silly. In their haste to demand a more faithful rendition of the text of Homer, they have forgotten that the Iliad was not the product of one man’s labor, but rather the result of a long oral tradition whose chief aim was to entertain. Epic is not a highbrow genre.</p>
<p>What the critics do remember from English class is that Homer had gods, whereas divine squabblings are conspicuously absent from Peterson’s revival of the epic (I am thankful to have been spared an inevitably painful rendition of life on Olympus). The influence of the supernatural in Troy is left to be constructed by mortals, particularly Trojan mortals, who die by the thousands thanks to Priam’s chief soothsayer’s miscalculations of Apollo’s will. This seems to be a clear bid for the separation of church and state. When your best fighter (Hector) says, it’s not a good time to attack, perhaps you should pay heed. Rumsfeld and Bush beware.</p>
<p>There is a strong case to be made for seeing the gods as projections of human intention. In the Greek vision of the world, any time someone has an urge or idea, a god has put it there. A vestige of this concept survives in English, as the word ‘inspire’ means ‘to breathe in’, meaning, ‘to be taken hold of by the spirit of the god who compels an action’. A vision of the world without gods calls for personal responsibility for action, a welcome concept in a ‘they made me do it’ political climate.</p>
<p>In Troy, a great city falls at the hands of men, not gods. We see that even a noble army defending its homeland can lose against an invasion. And interestingly, while Agamemnon gets his comeuppance at the end of the film (a scene to make classicists cringe), Odysseus does not. Who is to blame for the mayhem? The king who ordered it, or the brilliant mind who found a way? Power does not work without instruments.</p>
<p>As any good translator knows, a literal interpretation is unlikely to succeed in viscerally affecting its audience. Peterson has made many changes to the story that critics have called significant. However, anyone with a thorough understanding of the Iliad can see that those changes have not destroyed the substance of the epic, but rather have preserved the story’s ability to communicate with a modern audience.</p>
<p>CHLOE COCKBURN lives in New York. She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | In Defense of "Troy" | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/05/22/in-defense-of-quot-troy-quot/ | 2004-05-22 | 4 |
<p>Shares of power-plant operators fell as traders digested the implications of a relatively weak jobs report for August.</p>
<p>August is typically volatile because of seasonal issues, said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial, adding the data were "steady, not stellar." The Fed's rate plans could become more clear next week, when there is a "parade" of Fed speakers, she said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Rob Curran, [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 01, 2017 16:47 ET (20:47 GMT)</p> | Utilities Lower After Jobs Report -- Utilities Roundup | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/01/utilities-lower-after-jobs-report-utilities-roundup.html | 2017-09-01 | 0 |
<p>Bomb-making guides similar to the instructions used by the suspect in last week’s New York subway attack are still easy to find online, despite repeated promises by Google to block such material from appearing in search results.</p>
<p>RT correspondent Jacqueline Vouga used Google to locate manuals authored by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) which provide step-by-step instructions in English on how to construct a device similar to that allegedly used by the 27-year-old New York City bomb suspect Akayed Ullah on December 11. Vouga says it took her less than 10 minutes to find the cookbook – demonstrating that you don’t need access to the dark web to find extremist content.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412732-manhattan-explosion-terrorist-attack/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Ullah, who immigrated to the US from Bangladesh, allegedly followed online instructions to make a homemade pipe bomb, which he detonated in a New York City subway passage, injuring himself and at least three commuters.</p>
<p>In June, Kent Walter, Google’s senior vice president, pledged that the company would work with government, law enforcement and civil society groups to “tackle the problem of violent extremism.” He added that there “should be no place for terrorist content on our services.”</p>
<p>However, Google’s algorithm can’t stop terrorists from creating new websites to share their bomb-making manuals, Jennifer Breedon, an international criminal law attorney, told RT.</p>
<p>“Anyone can just start a new [website]. Say, for example, your website has maybe terrorist content or activity that’s problematic or could lead to criminal activity. If they shut that down, if Google doesn’t allow it to come up in its search results, another [website] could come up right after,” Breedon said. “So you’re not just looking at things like Google, which would be the search engine that it was found on, but now you’re looking at things like website hosts. These are other private companies, not just Google, who have to look at who is starting a website.”</p>
<p>But Google isn’t the only tech giant that has struggled to put a lid on extremist content. Amazon’s algorithm was recently found to be “suggesting” bomb-making materials to its online shoppers.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412798-trump-chain-migration-terrorist-attack/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“Cyberspace is the new training camp,” James Conway, a counterterrorism expert and former FBI agent, told RT. “Individuals can find information about bomb making, they can identify targets, they can chat with their colleagues, they can receive instructions, they can receive inspiration. Cyberspace flies underneath the radar screen of the police and security forces.”</p>
<p>Describing the fight against online extremism as a “cat and mouse game,” Conway acknowledged that it would be nearly impossible to completely and permanently rid the internet of bomb-making manuals and similar extremist material. “I don’t want to say it’s a mission impossible, but it’s very, very difficult to remove – and still live with a free and open internet – all elements of hate and extremism,” said Conway.</p>
<p>The Independent <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-york-attack-explosion-bomb-isis-al-qaeda-manuals-online-terror-instructions-google-social-media-a8113261.html" type="external">reported</a> Monday that even two days after alerting the tech giant, bomb-making manuals still appear in Google search results. YouTube, the popular video sharing platform owned by Google, is also host to a “remarkable amount” of videos showing how to make homemade explosive devices, Nikita Malik, a senior research fellow at think tank the Henry Jackson Society, told the British news outlet.</p> | Bomb manual used by New York terrorist suspect still just a Google search away | false | https://newsline.com/bomb-manual-used-by-new-york-terrorist-suspect-still-just-a-google-search-away/ | 2017-12-19 | 1 |
<p>On March 24, 1999, NATO began an aerial bombing campaign against what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. For 78 days, bombs rained down on military targets and civilian infrastructure under the guise of ‘humanitarian intervention.’ Operation Allied Force precipitated the displacement of over one million people and directly resulted in the deaths of over 2000 civilians of a range nationalities (a number that gets much larger if we include indirect deaths as a result of the intervention and post-intervention period, as well as those killed in the resulting escalation of the military conflict between the Yugoslav army and the KLA). Ten years later, Kosovo’s ‘independence’ has resulted in a quasi-colonial entity of ‘ethnic’ enclaves and an all-pervasive security apparatus, a new client state for the Western powers that led the bombing campaign. Meanwhile, Serbia and Montenegro remain stalled on a ‘transition’ to neo-liberal democracy marked by a brutal mass privatization, increasing poverty, and the rapid dispossession and continued marginalization of workers, students, refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), Roma communities, and others casualties of economic restructuring.</p>
<p>GLOBAL BALKANS is a small network of anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist activists of diverse backgrounds in the ex-Yugoslav diaspora and allies. Many of us have witnessed and experienced first-hand the devastation that continues to be felt as a result of the events and ripple effects emanating from the NATO intervention of 1999. We have talked to and continue to dialogue with people from many communities throughout the former Yugoslav Balkan region whose lives have been deeply and permanently turned upside down by the upheaval of the NATO bombing, the wars of the 1990s, and the neoliberal transition of Yugoslavia’s various successor states.</p>
<p>Whether they be…</p>
<p>workers massively laid off from factories that were first bombed and then later sold off at fire sale prices or questionable privatization deals to local tycoons or foreign investors; refugees and displaced people caught between the prospect of no return and a lack of resources and political and social will for local integration; the families and loved ones of the missing, those who disappeared and were never accounted for during and after the violent chaos of 1999; minorities trapped in enclaves in Kosovo who go to sleep every night in fear of attack and who have not seen the main town or city 10 km away for over 10 years; internally displaced people living in the shipping containers, makeshift shelters, and run down collective housing provided to them by international aid agencies ten years ago as a “temporary solution”, for whom aid was cut off in 2004 and who live in them year round whether it is -15 or + 40°C; those communities facing strange illnesses or high cancer rates who are unable to get proper medical care or answers as to their causes in a system that seems bent on hushing up any talk of depleted uranium or the health effects of the bombing that would displease NATO countries; displaced people who are among the more than 100,000 who have been or are under threat of deportation back to Serbia from EU countries, many of them, particularly Roma, born abroad and unable to speak the language of the country they are dumped back into; the erased of Slovenia, non-Slovenian minorities from the ex-Yugoslav region who woke up one day to find that their citizenship had been erased by the state, and who have been fighting for status under extremely precarious conditions ever since; women, Roma, ethnic and sexual minorities who have been disproportionately affected by mass layoffs, particularly in the former self-managing social property sector of the economy (where the majority were employed) that was the first to be privatized, and who face disproportionate violence in the toxic transitional climate of militarism and deprivation that produces social scape-goating; our own families, friends, and loved ones who bear many of the hidden and not so hidden marks and scars of those times;</p>
<p>…we have been inspired by their struggles and persistence against difficult odds in difficult conditions. They are the erased, the ignored, the missing and the forgotten of the NATO military campaign, the post-Yugoslav transition, and the intervention of the international community, and we name their situations and think of them today, and invite those who read this to join us in doing so.</p>
<p>Ten years later, we remember those ordinary people of all nationalities who lost their lives in the wars of the ‘90s, the NATO bombing, and the neoliberal transition. We reject the nationalist lenses through which these conflicts have been portrayed in the Western media as well as in the region, ones that only recognize or canonize the victims of a preferred side and refuse to see those whose lives have been destroyed on the “other” enemy side. We also reject the cynical pro-imperialist lens that legitimizes military intervention by NATO as a “humanitarian” necessity borne of goodwill and the need for benevolent imperial oversight. As if the millions of dollars in bombs (79,000 tons), cruise missiles (10,000 launched), radiation, and cluster bombs (35,000 bomblets) costing $30 billion USD in damage to the local economy and raining down death and ecological devastation on hospitals, schools, factories, bridges, and refineries are the same as teddy bears, food supplies, or medical aid. We stand in solidarity with all the victims of the many layers of violence that have and continue to be enacted in the region, the kind that the mainstream media are unable and unwilling to depict or recognize. We ask our comrades and allies to aim for a more informed perspective on the legacy of those times than that which much of the Western left has seemingly adopted from the simplistic scenarios of the mainstream media.</p>
<p>Ten years later, we are working to support and actively extend our solidarity to the former Yugoslav region’s slowly (re)emerging social movements fighting struggles of survival, persistence, and liberation and to our activist comrades who are tirelessly fighting to make these fragile and beleaguered, yet resolute and courageous&#160; movements still stronger, more visible, and even more effective. They are an inspiration. We also encourage the North American/Western left and other progressives to overcome the common cycle of momentary and opportunistic interest based on partial understandings followed by long periods of indifference to the conditions, constraints, and complexities faced by ordinary people and social movements in the region.</p>
<p>Ten years on, the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been eclipsed on the global stage by a series of intensifying imperialist military interventions, most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq. We see each of these military adventures and the mass devastation they have wrought as of a piece, as part of a troubling and dangerous progression, one that will not be resolved by a Democratic president or a kinder, gentler imperialism. We understand and underline the extent to which the NATO bombing in 1999 set many dangerous precedents for these later imperialist wars, and ask those in anti-war movements to remember, talk about, and make those often neglected links. We also see the 1999 NATO intervention as inscribed in a lineage of earlier destructive political measures taken by the “international community”, starting with the economic ‘shock therapy’ program imposed on the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1990.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen how much of the world and the media will remember or mark this 10th anniversary of the NATO intervention. We expect there to be little recognition of this date that does not recapitulate the standard nationalist, pro-neoliberal and pro-NATO perspectives we reject. We remember. We refuse to let it be ignored, glossed over or forgotten, and we stand strong with all those who are still daily living the effects and devastation of those 78 days in 1999 and their aftermath – living, struggling, persisting, fighting back and moving forward towards a different Balkans and a different world as well, one where none of this will be possible or even fathomable.</p>
<p>GLOBAL BALKANS is an activist research, media, and organizing network that works both locally and in solidarity with Balkan social movements to investigate, publicize and impact political, social and economic struggles in the former Yugoslav and wider Balkan region. We are working to build a transnational, anti-nationalist, anti-capitalist, and anti-authoritarian network with a pan-Balkan and internationalist outlook (currently based in San Francisco, Toronto, and Montreal). They can be reached at [email protected] and <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | NATO’s 78-Day Bombing of Yugoslavia | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/03/24/nato-s-78-day-bombing-of-yugoslavia/ | 2009-03-24 | 4 |
<p>Good morning! TGIF. One lesson for the day: If you want to do something in the state, don’t try to get around the permitting process.&#160;</p>
<p>It’s not enough that Uber killed its unpermitted, self-driving-vehicle pilot program in San Francisco just a week after it started; an assemblyman wants to squash any further attempts to test vehicles without a permit as well.&#160;</p>
<p>Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation&#160;requiring the DMV to revoke registrations for self-driving vehicles in violation of the state’s <a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/autonomous/testing" type="external">Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program</a>. The bill is a response to Uber, which last year began testing its vehicles without a permit, even picking up passengers, violating state regulations. And one of the vehicles ran a red light.&#160;</p>
<p>Under Ting’s bill, law enforcement would have the authority to impound violating vehicles and the DMV could&#160;fine as much as $25,000 per vehicle per day.&#160;</p>
<p>“I applaud our innovation economy and all the companies developing autonomous vehicle technology, but no community should face what we did in San Francisco,” Ting said in a statement. “The pursuit of innovation does not include a license to put innocent lives at risk.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CalWatchdog</a> has more.&#160;</p>
<p>In other news:</p>
<p>“The Coastal Commission’s stated concern that a proposed Huntington Beach desalination plant’s intake pipes pose a threat to small and microscopic plankton has been rebutted in a letter from three prominent California marine biologists.” <a href="" type="internal">CalWatchdog</a> has more.&#160;</p>
<p>“Consumer Watchdog collects millions, but does it lower your insurance rates?” <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/the-public-eye/article126279069.html" type="external">The Sacramento Bee</a> has the story.&#160;</p>
<p>“Jerry Brown doesn’t want to give doctors a cut of the new tobacco tax money,” writes <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article126274099.html" type="external">The Sacramento Bee</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>“Days after Governor Jerry Brown called for an extension of California’s signature greenhouse gas reduction program and threatened to withhold money it generates until that happens, Assembly Democrats introduced legislation.” <a href="http://www.capradio.org/articles/2017/01/12/assembly-democrats-propose-cap-and-trade-extension/" type="external">Capital Public Radio</a> has more.&#160;</p>
<p>Legislature:</p>
<p>Gov. Brown:&#160;</p>
<p>Tips: [email protected]</p>
<p>Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp</p>
<p>New follower:&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisLevinson" type="external">@ChrisLevinson</a></p> | CalWatchdog Morning Read – January 13 | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2017/01/13/calwatchdog-morning-read-january-13/ | 2018-01-20 | 3 |
<p>The FBI is investigating reports that journalists and their associates working for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. may have tried to hack the phones of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14162545" type="external">victims of the 9/11 attacks</a>.</p>
<p>A growing number of U.S. senators have called for an investigation into Murdoch's embattled company, which last week shut its News of the World tabloid over the alleged hacking of phones belonging to U.K. politicians, celebrities and even crime victims and their families.</p>
<p>The allegation that phone messages of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks were targeted by the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14162545" type="external">News of the World</a> was made by a rival British tabloid, the Daily Mirror, citing an unnamed source, the BBC says.</p>
<p>"We are aware of the allegations and are looking into them," an FBI source told CNN. "We'll be looking at anyone acting for or on behalf of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/14/us.hacking/index.html?hpt=hp_t2" type="external">News Corp.</a>, from the top down to janitors.?</p>
<p>The probe is a "high priority,? the source told CNN.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/110714/Murdoch-BSkyB-News-Corp-Political-Influence" type="external">(More from GlobalPost in London: Rupert Murdoch being undone by old-fashioned journalism)</a></p>
<p>Murdoch, in an interview with the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304911104576445550262237380.html" type="external">News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal</a>, defended his company's handling of the continuing crisis.</p>
<p>While Murdoch acknowledged "minor mistakes" in News Corp.'s response to the scandal, he said the company had dealt with it "extremely well in every way possible.?</p>
<p>The phone hacking scandal has crossed the Atlantic to the United States, and the FBI's involvement takes it into the serious territory of a criminal investigation, the BBC says.</p>
<p>News of the World was the most widely read English-language newspaper before it was shut in a shock move by Murdoch.</p>
<p>Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York who is chairman of the House homeland security committee, on Wednesday asked FBI director Robert Mueller to investigate the phone hacking allegations.</p>
<p>"The thought that anyone would have hacked into the phones of either those who were killed, those who were missing, the family members, during that tragic time... is contemptible," he told the BBC on Thursday.</p> | FBI to probe Murdoch's News Corp. over phone hacking | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-07-15/fbi-probe-murdochs-news-corp-over-phone-hacking | 2011-07-15 | 3 |
<p>France's Schneider Electric SE is in advanced talks to take control of British engineering software provider Aveva Group PLC, according to people familiar with the matter, after previous talks to merge their software operations collapsed over terms.</p>
<p>The current deal calls for Schneider, a global industrial giant, to fold its software assets into Aveva's operations and pay the U.K. company more than GBP500 million ($646.4 million) in exchange for a controlling stake in the combined entity, in a so-called reverse takeover, according to the people familiar with the matter.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Aveva, with a current market value of about GBP1.2 billion, would maintain its stock listing on the London Stock Exchange and remain headquartered in Cambridge, the people said. A deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday.</p>
<p>Sky News first reported the planned tie-up.</p>
<p>The combination would create a larger industrial software provider, offering opportunity to cut costs, and access new customers by providing a broader range of products. Schneider has already targeted U.K. software companies in the past to bolster its industrial software business. In 2013, it agreed to acquire Invensys PLC for GBP3.31 billion to better compete against rivals such as Siemens AG, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Rockwell Automation Inc.</p>
<p>Spun out of Cambridge University in 1967, Aveva provides engineering software to owners, operators and engineering contractors that operate in the power, oil and gas, marine and paper and pulp sectors among others. It employs more than 1,700 people across 30 countries.</p>
<p>The deal comes at a time when the company is trying to reduce it reliance on the slowing oil and gas and marine markets. For the year ended March 31, Aveva grew revenue by 7% to GBP215.8 million from the prior year, benefiting in part from currency moves. Discounting that, revenue was down 3.8%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Schneider's software is used to help manage manufacturing processes, design tools and train plant crews. It services an array of industries ranging from transportation to food and beverages.</p>
<p>The planned transaction is similar to the structure of the companies' previous attempt to merge their industrial software businesses back in July 2015. Then Schneider had agreed to combine its software assets with those of Aveva and pay GBP550 million in exchange for a 53.5% stake in the enlarged group. However, the deal collapsed after the two sides couldn't agree on final terms.</p>
<p>Write to Ben Dummett at [email protected] and Nick Kostov at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 04, 2017 18:03 ET (22:03 GMT)</p> | Schneider Electric in Talks to Take Control of Aveva Group | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/04/schneider-electric-in-talks-to-take-control-aveva-group.html | 2017-09-04 | 0 |
<p />
<p>&#160;&#160; <a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/aquaculture_02.html" type="external">Aquaculture: The Environmental Impact</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/aquaculture_03.html" type="external">Aquaculture Production</a></p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/eutrophication.html" type="external">Dead Zones: How They Form</a></p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/deadzone_02.html" type="external">Dead Zones: US Coastal Map</a></p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/marine_pollution_02.html" type="external">Marine Pollution: From the Mountains to the Sea</a></p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/fishing_02.html" type="external">Overfishing: The Ecological Impact</a></p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/overfishing_02.html" type="external">Overfishing: Depletion of Fish Stocks</a></p>
<p><a href="/news/featurex/2006/03/overfishing_03.html" type="external">Overfishing: Rebuilding Fish Stocks</a></p>
<p />
<p>All graphics courtesy of Pew Trusts.</p>
<p /> | The Last Days of the Ocean: Graphics | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/03/last-days-ocean-graphics/ | 2018-03-01 | 4 |
<p>Football and politics have something in common these days beside combat. Each wrestles with the role religion plays in its game.</p>
<p>Tim Tebow is a curious case on the gridiron. A passionate evangelical Christian and one of the most heralded college players of all time, Tebow is lauded by many and dismissed by some for his unapologetic faith. Yet, his faith itself is in a sense apologetic. Let me explain.</p>
<p />
<p>In the late 1970s I played quarterback at the University of Miami — before we got good, before we got “bad,” before we got the label “The U.” My career was hardly noteworthy, although it’s gotten better with age. (The quarterback who followed me was NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. Success by association.)</p>
<p>I was a like Tebow only in my faith perspective. Here’s the way I thought back then: Football is a stage. It gives me a platform to witness. God will honor my witness for Christ by giving me success on the field. People will watch what I do and listen to what I say. My success will lead to a wider audience for the gospel. The attention I receive for Christ will prove that God is real, and it will lead others to follow me in following Christ.</p>
<p>Of course that has worked out better for Tebow than for me. He has garnered loyal Christian fans who believe God has given him glory because he has given God glory. His trademark touchdown ritual of kneeling to pray (Tebowing!) demonstrates spiritual humility in the face of more common athletic hubris. Bible verse references painted on his eye black have inspired many to look up passages that might lead to their salvation. Young Christian boys have a role model to look up to in Tebow, which is unquestionably far better than some who play the game.</p>
<p>Tebow is struggling now at the pro level with the Denver Broncos, albeit winning more often than not. Some Christian loyalists blame anti-Christian sentiment for criticism of his performance. “Why would such a devout Christian be booed, except out of bias against his bold witness?” they ask.</p>
<p>The same thing is happening in politics. Some Christians would rather support an outspoken and unapologetic Christian over one who bears witness to his or her faith more modestly, even if another candidate may be more competent in public service. The point is always to put faith first, to declare Christ the point above all else. If such a candidate is elected, the stage grows and the Christian faith is proved real and powerful.</p>
<p>Christian apologetics is a discipline that attempts to prove the faith true by evidence outside the logic of the faith itself. Traditionally, apologetics has employed reason to make its claim. The “Tebow” approach employs worldly success to give evidence of faith’s power. It’s a non-monetary form of the prosperity gospel. And for whatever gains it makes in the short run, it fails to reach the goal line of the high calling of Christ Jesus on the very grounds of the gospel itself.</p>
<p>The Apostle Paul worked off a different apologetic logic. Defending himself against the supposed “super-apostles” in Corinth, he claimed that the legitimacy of his witness was found in God’s strength being made perfect in his weakness. “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell within me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:9-10).”</p>
<p>The prospect of football failure might be just the right opening to test Tim Tebow’s witness. He is young; let’s give him room to mature in his own understanding of the faith. I’m glad others didn’t write me off too soon.</p>
<p>Politicians are old enough to know better. Five of the current candidates for president of the United States claim God told them to run. Guess God likes a good contest too. But here again, the gospel is not validated by whether one wins but by how one plays the game.</p>
<p>One reminder to Tebow and Tebow-like apologists: athletic and political criticism is not tantamount to Christian persecution. Faithfulness to the gospel may result in insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities for the sake of Christ, as Paul put it, but preferring another quarterback or a different candidate hardly rises to that standard.</p>
<p>George Mason is senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.</p> | OPINION: Tebow apologetics | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/opiniontebowapologetics/ | 3 |
|
<p>Libya's interim leaders have given pro-Gaddafi forces until Saturday to surrender or face military force. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, who leads the National Transitional Council (NTC), said the ultimatum applied to loyalists of Col Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte and in other towns. Marco Werman gets an update from the BBC's Jon Leyne in Benghazi.</p> | Gaddafi's Forces Given Ultimatum | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-08-30/gaddafis-forces-given-ultimatum | 2011-08-30 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It isn’t just the legend of Elvis Presley that has unmatched staying power 40 years after his death. The guilt, pain and regret felt by those who knew and loved him lingers, too.</p>
<p>Prolific session musician and producer Norbert Putnam was on vacation with his family in Hawaii when he heard his friend died of a heart attack. After years of making groundbreaking music and acting in more than two dozen movies, Presley’s career had slowed, and historical accounts of his life note he was fighting obesity and substance abuse when he passed away in his Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.</p>
<p>Putnam was standing in line to pay for items at a general store when he heard someone say Presley had died.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I reached into my pocket, threw some money down, ran to the car, threw the food down, turned on the radio,” Putnam said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Putnam switched on the radio. The announcer said: “Elvis Presley died this morning.”</p>
<p>“I sat there in my car and bawled like a child who had a toy taken away from him,” Putnam said. “I could not believe it. I thought someone should have staged an intervention. I thought he could have been saved.”</p>
<p>Since Presley’s death, devotees of the swivel-hipped, smooth talking performer who was born into poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi, and became an international star have been flocking to Memphis for Elvis Week, the annual celebration of his life and career.</p>
<p>It coincides with the anniversary of Presley’s death in Memphis on Aug. 16, 1977, and it draws visitors from around the world. Most fans will have their first glimpse of a newly built entertainment complex that has replaced and updated old exhibits focused on Presley’s cars, movies and memorabilia. An estimated 30,000 people are expected to attend a candlelight vigil that begins Tuesday night and continues into Wednesday morning at Graceland, where Presley is buried.</p>
<p>For the first time, Graceland will charge fans for access to Presley’s gravesite during the nighttime vigil. Visitors can pay $28.75 to join the procession leading to the graves. The ticket also provides access to other parts of the property, Graceland said in a statement.</p>
<p>Putnam is scheduled to make a public appearance during Elvis Week to honor the late rock n’ roll pioneer. Bill Medley, the deep-voiced singer who comprised half of the Righteous Brothers duo before starting a solo career, will also be there.</p>
<p>Presley and Medley played the same hotel in Las Vegas in 1971. Their schedules kept them busy, but they still would catch each other’s shows.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Medley had a strong following, and Presley sang Righteous Brothers hits “Unchained Melody” and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.” They were friends dating back to the early 1960s.</p>
<p>Before Presley would go on stage at the Las Vegas Hilton, he and Medley would spend a few minutes together, talking about their mutual love for motorcycles and musical influences. Medley remembers those chats fondly, as Presley had few moments when he could just be himself, away from fans and handlers and an entourage known as the Memphis Mafia.</p>
<p>“We would sit there, one on one,” Medley said. “So Elvis and I just really became Bill and Elvis. We would just talk about normal stuff. … Nothing too deep.”</p>
<p>Putnam, a bass guitarist and member of the renowned Muscle Shoals rhythm section, played on 120 Presley songs. He recalls how much energy Presley displayed during the marathon recording sessions that ran all night at RCA Studio B in Nashville in 1970.</p>
<p>“Elvis could focus better than any artist I ever worked with,” Putnam said. “He would learn a new song in five to 10 minutes, and was ready to deliver a killer vocal on the first take. That was very unusual.”</p>
<p>Another musician who will appear during Elvis Week is Ginger Holladay. She was only 17 and in high school when she sang backup on Presley hits “Suspicious Minds” and “In the Ghetto.” Holladay’s sister Mary, a backup singer for Presley, had recommended Ginger when one of his regulars fell ill. So, Ginger Holladay skipped cheerleading practice and flew to Memphis to record at American Sound studio in 1969.</p>
<p>“He was more at home in the studio than he was anywhere else,” Holladay said. “He loved being a musician and he loved making connections with other musicians. We got to see another part of him that was more comfortable and not so much of a performer.”</p>
<p>Medley says he wanted to visit Presley when he was hospitalized in the mid-1970s, but was discouraged by his handlers.</p>
<p>“They knew what I was going to say — enough of this crap,” Medley said. “I would have told him, ‘Listen, do you want to get away? We’ll get a couple of motorcycles and take off.’ But I never had that chance.”</p>
<p>Such regret probably follows Presley’s friends around to this day, Holladay said.</p>
<p>“We all have that guilt with Elvis,” she said. “Looking back, how could we have supported him more? I think we all have that feeling that we let him down.”</p> | Presley’s friends feel love, pain, 40 years after his death | false | https://abqjournal.com/1047049/presleys-friends-feel-love-pain-40-years-after-his-death.html | 2017-08-12 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The legislation sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen cleared the chamber on a 32-8 vote and was sent to the House for consideration.</p>
<p>The measure was spurred by the state’s handling of allegations of fraud and abuse involving 15 nonprofits that provided behavioral health services to needy New Mexicans. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration froze Medicaid payments to the providers while the attorney general’s office launched an investigation.</p>
<p>The Human Services Department eventually replaced the nonprofits with companies from Arizona despite protests that the due-process rights of the nonprofit providers were violated when the state froze payments without hearings.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Investigations into three of the providers are complete, and no fraud was found in at least two of the cases. Four other providers are still being investigated, and reviews of the remaining eight have yet to begin.</p>
<p>Some lawmakers said New Mexico needs to join other states that already have processes for investigating claims while ensuring services continue.</p>
<p>Rep. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, said the disruption caused by the shake-up of nonprofit providers has been “quite profound” and that the state has yet to realize the full consequences.</p>
<p>“As we go forward, we need to have confidence that if there’s fraud, we’ll deal with fraud,” he said, “but if someone alleges fraud, that we have a way to make sure that’s a credible allegation so that we don’t disrupt services for people who so vitally and desperately need those services.”</p>
<p>The legislation would define what a credible allegation of fraud is and it would establish certain procedures for the Human Services Department to follow when determining whether an allegation is credible, such as requiring notice and an opportunity for a hearing.</p>
<p>The department also would have to allow the provider an opportunity to correct clerical, typographical and computer errors or provide misplaced records prior to making a final determination.</p>
<p>Under the measure, the department would be able to call for corrective action to address systemic problems that result in errors.</p>
<p>Papen said the bill is less about what happened with New Mexico’s behavioral health system but more about how the state can improve and provide due process for providers.</p>
<p>“Everybody has learned a big lesson from this,” she said.</p> | Senate passes bill to address Medicaid fraud allegations | false | https://abqjournal.com/553342/senate-passes-bill-to-address-medicaid-fraud-allegations.html | 2015-03-11 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Hewlett-Packard Chairman and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Ray Lane said on Thursday that he had decided to step down after reflecting on the shareholder vote and to reduce distractions.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Lane won 58.88 percent of shareholder votes, which was announced during the company's annual meeting last month.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Poornima Gupta)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | HP chairman resigns after shareholder vote | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/04/04/hp-chairman-resigns-after-shareholder-vote.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>No one won the multi-state Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, pushing the grand prize to $478 million.</p>
<p>Officials said that makes it the fifth largest in the game's history and the eighth-biggest lottery prize ever in the United States.</p>
<p>The winning numbers were 10, 47, 50, 65, 68, with the Powerball 24. The next drawing will be held on Saturday.</p>
<p>The jackpot has rolled over 23 times since it was reset to its starting sum of $40 million for a drawing on May 11.</p>
<p>The Powerball game is based on lottery tickets sold for $2 apiece. It is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</p>
<p>A winning ticket will be worth an estimated payout of $478 million if spread over 30 years, or the winner may opt for a lump-sum payment of $330.6 million before federal taxes.</p>
<p>The largest all-time lottery prize offered in North America was a Powerball jackpot worth nearly $1.6 billion for winning tickets sold in California, Tennessee and Florida in January.</p> | Powerball Jackpot to Hit $478 Million, Will Be 8th Biggest in U.S. History | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/powerball-jackpot-hit-478-million-will-be-8th-biggest-u-n618641 | 2016-07-28 | 3 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Part One: The Ties That Blind</p>
<p>The mad cowboys are on the loose. Pack only what you can carry. Liberate the animals. Leave the rest behind. The looters are hot on the trail. Only ruin stands in their wake. Not even women and children are safe. Especially not them. Run for the hills and don’t look back. Don’t ever look back.</p>
<p>So the story goes, anyway.</p>
<p>We find ourselves living out a scene in a bad Western. A movie filmed long after all the old plot lines have been exhausted, the grizzled character actors put out to pasture, the Indians slaughtered and confined to desert prisons, the cattle slotted into stinking feed lots, the scenic montane backdrops pulverized by strip mines. All that remains are the guns, bulked up beyond all comprehension, and the hangman and his gibbet. We’ve seen it all before. But there’s no escape now. Someone’s locked the exits. The film rolls on to the bitter end. Cue music: Toby Keith.</p>
<p>Perhaps only the Pasolini of <a href="" type="internal">Salo: 120 Days of Sodom</a> could have done this celluloid scenario justice. Or the impish Mel Brooks, who gave us <a href="" type="internal">Blazing Saddles</a> (one of the greatest films on the true nature of American politics), if you understand the narrative as comedy, which is probably the most emetic way to embrace it. Both Pasolini and Brooks are masters of scatological cinema. And there’s mounds of bullshit to dig through to get at the core of George W. Bush.</p>
<p>Because it’s all an act, of course, a put on, a dress game. And not a very convincing one at that. Start from the beginning. George W. Bush wasn’t born a cowboy. He entered the world in New Haven, Connecticut, hallowed hamlet of Yale. His bloodlines include two presidents and a US senator. The cowboy act came later, when he was famously re-birthed, with spurs on his boots, tea in his cup and the philosophical tracts of Jesus of Nazareth on his night table. Bush is a pure-blooded WASP, sired by a man who would later become the nation’s chief spook, a man frequently called upon to clean up the messes left by apex crooks in his own political party, including his own entanglements (and those of his sons) with the more noirish aspects of life. His grandfather was a US senator and Wall Street lawyer, who shamelessly represented American corporations as they did business with the Nazi death machine. Old Prescott narrowly escaped charges of treason. But those were different times, when trading with the enemy was viewed as, at the very least, unseemly.</p>
<p>His mother, Barbara, is a bitter and grouchy gorgon, who must have frightened her own offspring as they first focused their filmy eyes onto her stern visage. She is a Pierce, a descendent of Franklin, the famously incompetent president, patron of Nathaniel Hawthorne and avowed racist, who joined in a bizarre cabal to overthrow Abraham Lincoln. (For more on this long neglected episode in American history check out Charles Higham’s excellent new book <a href="" type="internal">Murdering Mr. Lincoln</a>.)</p>
<p>Understandably, George Sr. spent much of his time far away from Barbara Bush’s icy boudoir, indulging in a discreet fling or two while earning his stripes as a master of the empire, leaving juvenile George to cower under the unstinting commands of his cruel mother, who his younger brother Jeb dubbed “the Enforcer.” This woman’s veins pulse with glacial melt. According to Neil Bush, his mother was devoted to corporal punishment and would “slap around” the Bush children. She was known in the family as “the one who instills fear.” She still does…with a global reach.</p>
<p>How wicked is Barbara Bush? Well, she refused to attend her own mother’s funeral. And the day after her five-year old daughter Robin died of leukemia Barbara Bush was in a jolly enough mood to spend the afternoon on the golf course. Revealingly, Mrs. Bush kept Robin’s terminal illness a secret from young George, a stupid and cruel move which provided one of the early warps to his psyche.</p>
<p>Her loathsome demeanor hasn’t lightened much over the years. Refresh you memory with this quote on Good Morning America, dismissing the escalating body count of American soldiers in Iraq. “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many,” the Presidential Mother snapped. “It’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”</p>
<p>Even Freud might have struggled with this case study. Imagine young George the Hysteric on Siggy’s couch in the curtained room on Berggasse 19. The analysand doesn’t enunciate; he mumbles and sputters in non-sequential sentence fragments. His quavering voice a whiny singsong. The fantasy has to be teased out. It’s grueling work. But finally Freud puts it all together. This lad doesn’t want to fuck his mother. Not this harridan. Not this boy. He wants to kill her and chuckle in triumph over the corpse. Oh, dear. This doesn’t fit the Oedipal Complex, per se. But it explains so much of George the Younger’s subsequent behavior. (See his cold-blooded chuckling over the state murder of Karla Faye Tucker.)</p>
<p>Perhaps, Freud isn’t the right shrink for Bush, after all. Maybe the president’s pathology is better understood through the lens of Freud’s most gifted and troubled protégé, Wilhelm Reich. (I commend to your attention Dr. Reich’s neglected masterpiece <a href="" type="internal">Listen, Little Man</a>.) Sadly, we cannot avail ourselves of psychological exegises of either Freud or Reich. So Justin Frank, the disciple of Melanie Klein, will have to substitute. In the spirit of his mentor, Frank, author of <a href="" type="internal">Bush on the Couch</a>, zeroes in on the crucial first five years of W’s existence, where three factors loom over all others: an early trauma, an absent father and an abusive mother. It is a recipe for the making of a dissociated megalomaniac. Add in a learning disability (dyslexia) and a brain bruised by booze and coke and you have a pretty vivid portrait of the Bush psyche.</p>
<p>With this stern upbringing, is it really surprising that Bush evidenced early signs of sadism? As a teenager he jammed firecrackers in the orifices of frogs and snickered as he blew them to bits. A few years later, as president of the DKE frathouse at Yale, Bush instituted a branding on the ass-crack as an initiation ritual. Young pledges were seared with a red-hot wire clothes hanger. One victim complained to the New Haven police, who raided the frathouse. The story was covered-up for several decades until it surfaced in Bush’s first run for governor of Texas. He laughed at the allegations, writing the torture off as little more than “a cigarette burn.” From Andover to Abu Ghraib.</p>
<p>In his teens, this man child was shoved into a distant boarding school. It must have been a relief for him. The squirrely adolescent with the pointy ears did just enough to get by. At Andover they called him “Bushtail.” Ambition wasn’t his thing. And he didn’t have the athletic talent or thespian skills to do much more than play the role of class goof. So he went on to an undistinguished academic career, highlighted only by his ebullient performances as a cheerleader and a reputation for selling fake IDs. Even in his youth he was adept at forgery.</p>
<p>George the Younger snuck into Yale on a legacy admission, a courtesy to his father and grandfather. He was a remedial student at best, awarded a bevy of Cs, the lowest score possible for the legacy cohort. Repositories like Andover and Yale know what to do with the dim children of the elite. George nestled in his niche. No demands were made of him. He spent much his time acquainting himself with a menu of designer inebrients. He was arrested twice. Once for petty theft. Once for public drunkenness. No one cared.</p>
<p>When Vietnam loomed, Lil’ George fled to New Haven for Houston and the safe harbor of the Texas Air National Guard, then jokingly known as Air Canada–a domestic safe-haven for the combat-averse children of the political elite. <a href="" type="internal">It was a deftly executed dodge.</a> His father pulled some strings. Escape hatches opened. The scions of the ruling class, even the half-wits, weren’t meant to be eviscerated in the rice paddies of the Mekong–that’s why they freed the slaves.</p>
<p>But soon George grew bored of the weekend warrior routine. And who among us wouldn’t? He slunk off to Alabama, and promptly went AWOL for a year and a half. Nobody seemed to miss him. He wasn’t a crucial cog in anyone’s machine. George? George Bush??</p>
<p>How did the president-in-training fritter away those idle days? Supposedly he was lending his expertise to the congressional campaign of Winton “Red” Blount. But he apparently soon went AWOL from this assignment as well. Other campaign staffers recall young George ambling into the campaign office in the late afternoon, propping his cowboy booted heals on a desk and recounting his nocturnal revels in the bars, strip joints and waterbeds of Montgomery. The other staffers took to calling him the “Texas Soufflé.”. As one recalled, “Bush was all puffed up and full of hot air.”</p>
<p>Precisely, how did he wile away those humid nights on the Gulf Coast? According to the intrepid Larry Flynt, he spent part of his time impregnating his girlfriend and, like a true southern gentleman, then escorting her to an abortion clinic. Checkbook birth control, the tried and true method of the ruling classes. A year later, according to Bush biographer J.H. Hatfield, George W. got popped in Texas on cocaine possession charges. The old man intervened once again; George diverted for six months of community service a Project PULL in a black area of Houston and the incident was scrubbed from the police blotter and court records. Today, Bush denies all knowledge of those squalid indiscretions. Just two more lost weekends in George’s blurry book of days.</p>
<p>Speaking of cocaine, Bush, by many accounts, had more than a passing familiarity with the powder. Several acquaintances from his days at Yale tell us that Bush not only snorted cocaine, but sold it. Not by the spoonful, but by the ounce bag, a quantity that would land any black or Latino dealer in the pen for at least a decade. Young Bushtail had become the Snow Bird of New Haven.</p>
<p>Even the Bush family, so smugly self-conscious of its public image, didn’t seem to care much. Jr wasn’t the star child. They just wanted him alive and out of jail. (The habitual drunk driving was already a nagging problem. On a December night in 1973, George came up from Houston to visit his family in DC. He took his younger brother Marvin out drinking in the bars of Georgetown. Returning home after midnight, Bush, drunk at the wheel, careened down the road, toppling garbage cans. When he pulled into the driveway, he was confronted by his father. Young Bush threatened to pummel his old man, mano-a-mano. Jeb intervened before young George could be humilated by his father. A couple of years later, the drunk driving would later land him in the drunk tank of a Maine jail-his fourth arrest.) No need to plump up his resumé with medals or valedictory speeches. Anyway back then, the inside money was riding on Neil, who they said had a head for figures, or perhaps young Jeb, whose gregarious looks hid a real mean streak. (Neil, of course, came to ruin in <a href="" type="internal">the looting of the Silvarado Savings and Loan</a> (though he deftly avoided jail time), while Jeb proved his utility in Florida and amplified his presidential ambitions.)</p>
<p>By all accounts, the family elders saw George as a pathetic case, as goofy as a black lab. They got him out of the National Guard eight months early (or 20 months, if you insist on counting the Lost Year) and sent him off to Harvard Business School. He didn’t have the grades to merit admission, but bloodlines are so much more important than GPA when it comes to prowling the halls at the Ivy League. The original affirmative action, immune from any judicial meddling. In Cambridge, he strutted around in his flight jacket and chewed tobacco in class. The sound of Bushtail spitting the sour juice into a cup punctuated many a lecture on the surplus value theory. At Harvard, one colleague quipped that Bush majored in advanced party planning and the arcana of money laundering. George met every expectation.</p>
<p>Then came the dark years. Booze, drugs, cavorting and bankruptcy in dreary west Texas. There he also met Laura Welch, the steamy librarian who had slain her own ex-boyfriend, by speeding through a stop sign and plowing broadside into his car with a lethal fury. (Rep. Bill Janklow got 100 days in the pen for a similar crime; Laura wasn’t even charged.) They mated, married, raised fun-loving twins. In 1978, George decided to run for congress. His opponent cast him as carpetbagger with an Ivy League education. It worked. And it didn’t help his chances much that Bush apparently was drunk much of time. After one drunken stump speech, Laura gave him a tongue lashing on the ride home. Bush got so irate that he drove the car through the garage door. He lost big.</p>
<p>Eventually, Laura got George to quit the booze–though the librarian never got him to read. It wasn’t a moral thing for her. Laura still imbibes herself, even around her husband. She smokes, too. Refreshingly, so do the Bush Twins, who have both been popped for underage drinking.</p>
<p>George was Laura’s ticket out of the dusty doldrums of west Texas. She sobered him up and rode him hard all the way to Dallas, Austin and beyond. “Oh, that Welch girl,” recalled a retired librarian in Midland. “She got around.” Wink, wink.</p>
<p>If the son of a millionaire political powerbroker can’t make it in Midland, Texas, he can’t make it anywhere. George was set up in his own oil company in the heart of the Permian Basin. His two starter companies, Bush Exploration and Arbusto, promptly went bust, hemorraghing millions of dollars. His father’s cronies in a group called Spectrum 7 picked up the pieces. It flatlined too. A new group of savoirs in the form of Harken Oil swooped in. Ditto. Yet in the end, George walked away from the wreckage of Harkin Oil with a few million in his pocket. One of the investors in Harken was George Soros, who explained the bail out of Bush in frank terms. “We were buying political influence. That was it. Bush wasn’t much of a businessman.”</p>
<p>Among the retinue of rescuers in his hours of crisis was a Saudi construction conglomerate, headed by Mohammad bin Laden, sire of Osama. The ties that blind.</p>
<p>Flush with unearned cash, George and Laura hightailed it to Arlington, the Dallas suburb, soon to be the new home of the Texas Rangers, perennial also rans in the American League. Bush served as front man for a flotilla of investors, backed by the Bass brothers and other oil and real estate luminaries, who bought the Rangers and then bullied the city of Arlington into building a posh new stadium for the team with $200 million in public money, raised through a tax hike, for which Bush, the apostle of tax-cuts for the rich, sedulously lobbied. Here’s a lesson in the art of political larceny. The super-rich always get their way. When taxes are raised, public money is sluiced upward to the politically connected. When taxes are cut, the money ends up in the same accounts. As William Burrough’s hero Jack Black (the hobo writer, not the rotund actor) prophesied, you can’t win.</p>
<p>The Rangers deal was never about building a competitive baseball team for the people of Dallas/Ft. Worth. No. The Bush group seduced the city into building a stadium with nearly all the proceeds going straight into their pockets. It was a high level grifter’s game, right out of a novel by Jim Thompson, the grand master of Texas noir. Bush played his bit part as affable con man ably enough. Even though he only plunked down $600,000 of his own cash, he walked away from the deal with $14.7 million-a staggering swindle that made Hillary Clintons’s windfalls in the cattle future’s market look like chump change.</p>
<p>As team president, Bush printed up baseball cards with his photo on them in Ranger attire, endulging his life-long fetish for dress-up fantasies. He would hand out the Bush cards during home game. Invariably, the cards would be found littering the floors of the latrines, soaked in beer and piss.</p>
<p>Tomorrow: Mark His Words.</p>
<p>JEFFREY ST. CLAIR is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512585/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Been Brown So Long It Looked Like Green to Me: the Politics of Nature</a> and, with Alexander Cockburn, <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CP_Books.html" type="external">Dime’s Worth of Difference: Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Life and Crimes of George W. Bush | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/08/31/the-life-and-crimes-of-george-w-bush-3/ | 2004-08-31 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Former New Mexico Finance Authority Controller Greg Campbell acknowledged in a Journal interview Monday that he falsified a 2011 audit report to get it to bond investors in time for a $25 million bond sale to go forward as planned last April.</p>
<p>Now, national credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard &amp; Poor’s say they are reviewing the Finance Authority’s “weak internal controls” that prevented the forgery from being caught before millions of dollars in bonds were sold.</p>
<p>“I just thought that we needed to get the bond sale done,” Campbell, who has since resigned, said in an interview with the Journal outside his Albuquerque home on Monday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Asked why the falsified audit report was necessary, Campbell said: “I just know that’s an issue for them in order for them — I don’t know if it’s necessarily the rating agency as it is more or less the investors — to see that (official audit) report that’s in there.”</p>
<p>Campbell’s statement Monday was the first public indication of a motive for the forgery. Finance Authority officials and State Auditor Hector Balderas have said it’s unclear why Campbell drafted the fake audit.</p>
<p>Credit agencies are considering downgrading NMFA’s bond rating, a move that could cost millions in additional interest fees for New Mexico municipalities and school districts that rely on NMFA to borrow money for capital improvement projects.</p>
<p>Campbell, in response to Journal questions Monday, said no money was stolen and that the financial numbers in the bogus 2011 audit are accurate.</p>
<p>The former financial controller said he’s now concerned about having misled bond investors with the falsified audit, although he said he didn’t have the same concern at the time he assembled it.</p>
<p>“Looking at it now, yes it’s a concern,” Campbell said in the interview Monday. “Not at the time.”</p>
<p>The forged report included a written summary and findings supposedly penned by the Finance Authority’s independent audit firm, Clifton Gunderson, that was copied almost word for word from a 2010 audit report by the same firm.</p>
<p>The forger changed dates on that document to make the old audit appear current. The falsified document, which included typos carried over from the prior year, also added a page claiming that a meeting to review the report was held with NMFA officials on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, although officials listed in the document say no such meeting occurred.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Finance Authority officials have said no one at the authority caught the forgery, although “lots of people” read the 2011 audit report.</p>
<p>Campbell left the Finance Authority in June, before the fraudulent audit was discovered earlier this month. He had worked at the agency for nearly seven years, but he did not have another job when he left.</p>
<p>The Finance Authority’s chief executive, Rick May, previously said Standard &amp; Poor’s began asking for the 2011 audit report in January as the agency prepared required documents for the $25 million bond sale in April. Campbell said the document would be ready in February, according to May.</p>
<p>Standard &amp; Poor’s, still not having received it, asked for the document again in March, May said.</p>
<p>After that request, Campbell provided Finance Authority management with the forged 2011 audit in mid-March. The report was then sent to investors and posted on NMFA’s website.</p>
<p>The document never was sent to the Office of the State Auditor, as required for independent audits.</p>
<p>Since the forgery was discovered, the NMFA has had to postpone a $40 million bond issue that would have financed projects in Albuquerque, Belen and Española. The projects will either be delayed or alternative financing will be needed.</p>
<p>A $100 million bond sale is scheduled for later this year.</p>
<p>‘Just a mistake’</p>
<p>Campbell said he believed the auditor at Clifton Gunderson had completed the report and had sent it on for the state auditor’s review. But the auditor at Clifton Gunderson said last week that he was still waiting on NMFA to provide documents he requested to complete the report.</p>
<p>Asked why he went to such detail to make the forged 2011 audit appear legitimate, including the fabrication of a formal meeting to review the report, Campbell said Monday: “I don’t know why. It’s just a mistake.”</p>
<p>The Office of the State Auditor and the state Regulation and Licensing Department have said they will investigate the forged 2011 audit.</p>
<p>Campbell said he has spoken with “a law enforcement agency” about the fraud, but has not spoken with Finance Authority or the Office of the State Auditor. Campbell said he was on a three-week vacation at the time the forged audit was discovered this month.</p>
<p>NMFA board Chairwoman Nann Winter, who was appointed to direct the agency last week by Gov. Susana Martinez, said Campbell’s comments will not influence the pending investigations into the Finance Authority.</p>
<p>“Nothing Mr. Campbell has to say at this point in time changes what’s in the works,” Winter said. “The investigation continues to go forward.”</p> | Forged Audit Was a Rush Job | false | https://abqjournal.com/119901/forged-audit-was-a-rush-job.html | 2012-07-24 | 2 |
<p>The <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Houston-Astros/" type="external">Houston Astros</a> agreed to terms on a two-year contract with free agent right-handed reliever Hector Rondon, the team announced Friday.</p>
<p>Though terms of the deal were not announced, the 29-year-old Rondon was expected to command in the neighborhood of $4.5 million to $5 million annually, according to the Houston Chronicle.</p>
<p>Rondon, 29, spent his five seasons in the major leagues as a member of the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Chicago-Cubs/" type="external">Chicago Cubs</a>‘ bullpen, where he posted an 18-13 record with a 3.22 ERA over 296 1/3 innings, and 77 saves and 303 strikeouts.</p>
<p>Last season, Rondon struck out 69 batters in 57 1/3 innings, going 4-1 with a 4.24 ERA and a career-high 10.83 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. The Venezuelan native, who has consistently been one of the hardest-throwing relievers in the majors, posted an average fastball velocity of 96.8 mph last season.</p>
<p>Rondon has been effective against both right-handed and left-handed hitters throughout his career, holding righties to a .223 batting average and lefties to a .232 average.</p>
<p>The Astros also announced they designated outfielder Preston Tucker for assignment.</p>
<p>Tucker, 27, played in 146 games with the Astros from 2015-16, hitting 27 doubles and 17 home runs with 41 RBIs. A seventh-round pick by the Astros in the 2012 draft, Tucker spent all of last season at Triple-A Fresno.</p>
<p>With the addition of Rondon and the removal of Tucker, the Astros 40-man roster remains full at 40.</p> | Houston Astros agree with pitcher Hector Rondon on two-year deal | false | https://newsline.com/houston-astros-agree-with-pitcher-hector-rondon-on-two-year-deal/ | 2017-12-15 | 1 |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.