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<p>Mia Love speaks at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Ron Sachs/DPA/ZUMAPRESS.com</p>
<p />
<p>When she spoke at the Republican National Convention last month, Mia Love, a GOP rising star who’s vying to become the first black Republican woman elected to the House, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/28/republican-convention-to-feature-rising-star-mia-love/" type="external">wowed delegates</a>with her parents’ up-by-their-bootstraps tale. She said their story of coming to America from Haiti with $10 in their pockets formed the basis for her own belief in self-reliance and her staunch opposition to government handouts.</p>
<p>Love—mayor of the small town of Saratoga Springs, Utah—has been widely spotlighted as a pol who’s going places in the GOP, and she’s linked herself closely to GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney. Recently, she served as an <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsoutofcontext/54912217-64/love-romney-campaign-las.html.csp" type="external">official surrogate for Romney</a>on a campaign swing through Nevada, and she <a href="http://hollyonthehill.com/2012/09/18/mitt-romney-send-me-mia-love/" type="external">MC’d a fundraiser</a> for him in Utah last Tuesday. Though a child of immigrants, Love has embraced much of her party’s tough stance on immigration. She has <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KikEdyBiHNQ&amp;feature=endscreen#t=8m05s" type="external">implied that she would back deporting the US-born children</a> of illegal immigrants so as not to reward “bad behavior.” Yet by Love’s own account, she is what Republicans derisively call an “anchor baby”— someone born to immigrant parents specifically to game the immigration system and secure legal status for family members.</p>
<p>Love doesn’t talk about this aspect of her family’s immigration story now that she’s running for Congress, but she once said in a little-noticed interview that her birth on US soil helped bring her siblings to America. In January 2011, Love told the <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700101394/Kings-dream-certainly-thrives-along-the-shores-of-Utah-Lake.html?pg=all" type="external">Deseret News</a> that her parents, Jean Maxime and Marie Bourdeau, came to New York in the 1970s, fleeing poverty and looking for a better life. Love said that her parents immigrated legally, but were forced to leave their two young children behind in Haiti because their visa didn’t allow them to bring the kids. But, writes the Deseret News:</p>
<p>There was an immigration law in place, however, that would grant the entire family citizenship if Jean Maxine and Mary had a baby in America.</p>
<p>But there was a deadline.</p>
<p>The law was set to expire on Jan. 1, 1976.</p>
<p>On Dec. 6, 1975, with 25 days to spare, Mia was born in a Brooklyn hospital.</p>
<p>In no time, her older brother and sister were sent for in Haiti and the family was re-united.</p>
<p>Says Mia: “My parents have always told me I was a miracle and our family’s ticket to America.”</p>
<p><a href="#correction" type="external">*</a>Love appears to be describing a provision in an old immigration law that <a href="http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87863.pdf" type="external">allowed residents of the Western Hemisphere to apply</a> for permanent resident status if they had a US-born child before 1976. The law made an exception to longstanding immigration policy that, since 1924, has barred minor children from petitioning for permanant residency for their parents. Love’s story raises many questions about the legal status of her parents after they arrived in the US. Immigration lawyers contacted by&#160;Mother Jones say that if the Bourdeaus were in the US legally on a permanent visa, they would have been able to bring her siblings, according to the law at the time. However, if they had come on a tourist visa, as Love now claims, and had overstayed illegally, they might have been able to use her birth to eventually stay in the US and reunite their family.</p>
<p>Though Love’s story raises questions, her campaign declined to make the candidate available for an interview or respond to repeated requests for clarification concerning her account.&#160;Her parents—whose phone number has been disconnected—could not be reached for comment; Love’s campaign told Mother Jones&#160;it was specifically shielding them from press interviews.</p>
<p>Along with potential factual discrepancies, Love’s account is problematic from another perspective—a political one. Her story of being her “family’s ticket to America” runs contrary to conservative sentiment and policies on immigration. In recent years, prominent GOPers in the House and Senate have pushed unsuccessfully to end birthright citizenship (as outlined in the 14th Amendment) for so-called “anchor babies.”&#160;(See <a href="" type="internal">here</a>&#160;for why anchor baby concept itself is&#160;largely a&#160;myth concocted by conservatives seeking crackdowns on illegal immigrants.)&#160;</p>
<p>Even so, Love has repeatedly highlighted her parents’ story to justify a <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54398316-90/love-utah-million-budget.html.csp?page=3" type="external">host of policy proposals targeted at the country’s most vulnerable,</a> including poor immigrants, whom she says are pushed into “dependency” by anti-poverty programs. More broadly, she’s emphasized how their tale solidified her conservative views. “My parents immigrated to this country from Haiti with $10 in their pockets, and they worked hard for everything that they have,” Love <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvPKUG-Cg80&amp;feature=relmfu" type="external">told Fox News’ Chris Wallace</a>recently, echoing her RNC speech. “My parents taught me that we weren’t entitled to anything that we didn’t own, earn, work for, or pay for ourselves. And I’ve taken those principles everywhere I’ve gone. And that’s how I ended up the way I am.”</p>
<p>Love has proposed eliminating the federally subsidized school lunch program and the funding that supports special education in public schools. She wants to halve the Earned Income Tax Credit that keeps millions of working people out of poverty, and she would radically slash housing subsidies that keep millions of poor people off the streets.</p>
<p>Love is running against six-term Rep. Jim Matheson, the scion of Utah’s only real Democratic dynasty and a politician Republicans have <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705389999/Matheson-Theres-no-question-Im-a-target-in-redistricting.html?pg=all" type="external">repeatedly tried to redistrict out of office.</a> Despite Love’s lack of experience, the GOP has provided her with major backing, funneling $1 million into the race and setting up a Salt Lake City call center on her behalf. Some of the party’s biggest names have come to Utah to fundraise for Love, including GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Ann Romney has also offered an endorsement, and Josh Romney is the chairman of Love’s campaign.</p>
<p>Despite the national firepower, Love was <a href="http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/candidates/mia-love" type="external">trailing by double digits in recent polls</a>. While Utah is one of the country’s more homogenous states, the district Love is running in is 6 percent Latino. Love’s lack of sympathy for people who may have a lot in common with her parents is unlikely to win her any fans in that voting bloc.&#160;</p>
<p>Correction: The original version of this article stated that federal immigration officials and immigration lawyers consulted for this story could find no law that matched the details Love shared with the Deseret News. While there was no law that would have conferred citizenship on Love’s family due to her birth in the US, a pair of immigration lawyers, following the publication of the article, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2012/09/28/mia-love-may-be-right-about-her-familys-immigration-history/" type="external">came forward in Forbes</a> to point out an old law that would have allowed a minor child to petition for permanent resident status for family members. You can read more about what that means <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</p>
<p /> | GOP Rising Star Mia Love: “Anchor Baby”? (Updated) | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/republican-rising-star-mia-love-anchor-baby/ | 2012-10-01 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Lee “Q” O’Denat, the founder of&#160; <a href="WorldStarHipHop.com" type="external">WorldStarHipHop.com</a>, received an open letter from members of the hip-hop awareness group&#160; <a href="http://www.zulunation.com/" type="external">The Universal&#160;Zulu Nation</a>&#160;which is&#160;headed by hip-hop pioneer&#160;Afrika Bambaataa. That letter&#160;addressed issues that the group has with the popular website.</p>
<p>Among these are the way that World Star Hip Hop portrays hip hop culture as well as the exploitation of people featured in the many thousands of the violent videos&#160;on the website. You might recall from&#160; <a href="http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/06/racist-open-carry-ar-15-protest-results-in-arrests-warrants-and-charges-filed/" type="external">our report on the Caucasian Ohioans, who paraded through the largely African American East Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati with AR-15s</a>, shouting the “N-Word”, that one of them claimed they hoped their video would get on&#160; <a href="WorldStarHipHop.com" type="external">WorldStarHipHop.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="WorldStarHipHop.com" type="external">WorldStarHipHop.com</a>&#160;is the&#160;247th most popular site in the United States and 983rd in the world, according to their Alexa ranking.</p>
<p>The open letter from the Zulu Nation says that&#160;World Star&#160;Hip Hop&#160;does not represent true hip-hop culture. Here is the open letter that was sent to the site’s founder this week.</p>
<p>Mr. O’Denat,</p>
<p>On behalf of the thousands of members of the Universal Zulu Nation, of which I am Minister Of Information, I write you this letter in peace and hope these words find you in the best of health and spirits. Brother, we at UZN have the utmost respect and love for all who choose to take our Culture to new heights, and we thank you for your part in creating new media that preserves our culture. It is with great sadness that we bring to your attention the obvious ills of your site, WorldStarHipHop.com. Mister O’Denat, you are well aware, or should be well aware that many are viewing your site’s content as very graphic and extremely violent. Before you brush this off as just another person’s opinion of your site and&#160;the content you publish, please do not get it confused. This is not the case.</p>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, Mr. O’Denat, I am a representative of the Universal Zulu Nation, and we take our Culture quite serious. You are a Black man who has accomplished quite a lot without a formal education, and I’m quite sure when you dropped out of New York’s Grover Cleveland High School, you would never have imagined that you’d be as successful with your company, World Star, LLC. Doesn’t it bother you just a little that another Black man (that man being yourself), has “made it” out of the “ghetto”, only to display unnerving images and videos of young adults berating, belittling, and beating each other solely for the purpose of the enjoyment of who you are led to believe are “millions of Hip-Hoppers?”</p>
<p>Mr. O’Denat, the followers of your site are impressionable young men and women who “follow” you for a reason. As salacious as you may want your site to be, our youth are looking for answers and solutions to the many problems that plague our communities. The young people use your site as an outlet to escape the world they are living in, only to find that you place them right back at the starting point. Brother, you are well aware, or should be aware of the way Haitians are treated all over the world, including their own country. After all, Mr. O’Denat, you are Haitian, and you have even labeled yourself as a “Haitian Ghetto Nerd”, to gain God knows what kind of accolades. I am not Haitian, but I find it deplorable for a Haitian to associate such a dignified people with the “ghetto”, when Haitians come to this country to escape ghetto life.</p>
<p>Brother, I am sure you heard God speaking to you when the earthquakes in Haiti destroyed so many lives, and many of us di a fair share of work to help those in need. The repair for the damage done physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially will be an ongoing process that will take decades. But one of the brilliant brothers of Haitian decent is instead showering the world with what you call “the CNN of the Ghetto”. Brother, you are sadly mistaken if you would like the world to believe that hype. If you understand journalism 101, news is reported with two sides. Your excerpts of ghetto life, your lack of morality when accepting uploaded material, and your drive to maintain a site for the sole intent to destroy our Culture’s standing in these Americas is both uncouth and unacceptable by all of us at UZN. We are hereby separating ourselves and our followers from your site and what it supposedly stands for. Brother, if you were in fact the “CNN of the ghetto”, then you, as a former resident of Queens, NY should already know who Zulu is and what real Hip-Hop Culture is. Mr. O’Denat, there are many real Hip-Hoppers from Queens who laid the brick in the wall that you are trying to tear down.</p>
<p>You should already know about Run-DMC, Larry Smith, Salt-N-Pepa, Nas, MC Shan, LL Cool J and the founders of FUBU Clothing, to name a new. These men and women purposed to create a platform of expression for our Culture, and through the years, they have maintained and preserved that Culture. Mr. O’Denat, you are a Haitian, so you should know how serious Haitians are about their Culture. We are just as serious.</p>
<p>This is a new year, and the Universal Zulu Nation has begun a movement against anyone who is against us. Mr. O’Denat, either you are for Hip-Hop Culture, or you are not. There is no in-between, and no matter how many people have hyped you to believe that WorldStarHipHop is anything close to what this Culture is, they told you a lie. Mr. O’Denat, Hip-Hop Culture is FOUNDED on four spiritual principles. In case you haven’t already been schooled on what those principles are, they are: Peace, Unity, Love and Havin’ Fun. Mr. O’Denat, I pray that you do become a “CNN of the ghetto”, and that you someday get a camera and go to the ghetto yourself to record both sides of our neighborhoods. We still do have neighborhoods, brother.</p>
<p>Mr. O’Denat, can you imagine how much more hits WorldStarHipHop would have if you were intuitive enough to record rising Black political stars and activists, and some of the issues they discuss when trying to fix our problems nationwide? Or videos of Black political superstars like Barack and Michelle Obama. I would have loved to see the behind-the-scenes footage of the President at home with the wife and kids – on your website. I invite you to meet me in The Bronx, Boston, Virginia, The Carolinas, Chicago, DC, Maryland, Detroit, or any place that you feel more comfortable, so we may discuss the realities of “the ghetto” and how you can be better involved.</p>
<p>Mr. O’Denat, in closing I am asking you to remove the footage of the young man being forced to strip naked outside while people look on and another young man beats him with a belt while the camera man pours water on his fully naked body.</p>
<p>This is the link in question, Mr, O’Denat:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2013/02/newark_police_closing_in_on_me.html" type="external">Click here.</a></p>
<p>This is not the first time you have posted content that has been of this nature, and from the looks of it, this is probably Child Pornography. Therefore, I will forward the link and the video to the proper authorities to be sure that these young people are in fact of age and in full consent of being on your site in such a demeaning fashion. I’m unsure if this will bring about any charges, as there is a huge rumor on the streets that you are in fact working for the feds and are using your site as a cover up. But who knows? Mr. O’Denat, I again ask that you look into the fact that you and your site have misused our Culture’s name, committed fraud and falsely advertised your site as “Hip-Hop”. You have forced the hand of the Universal Zulu Nation to take further action should you continue to promote your “CNN of the ghetto” as “Hip-Hop”, and we are asking with all due respect that you include a disclaimer at the bottom of the front page of your website concerning your company and Hip-Hop Culture. A great&#160;footnote on your site should be:</p>
<p>“World Star Hip-Hop is in no way affiliated with real Hip-Hop Culture or its’ founders or the Universal Zulu Nation. This site solely for entertainment purposes, and does not promote Hip-Hop Culture”</p>
<p>Mr. O’Denat, you are free to use the above language, or you may use any language you see fit that parallels the language above. Please contact me at your earliest convenience, should you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at [email protected] or 617-297-7423.</p>
<p>Respectfully,</p>
<p>Quadeer “M.C. Spice” Shakur</p>
<p>Minister of Information</p>
<p>Universal Zulu Nation</p>
<p>What to you think? Will the Zulu Nation’s letter have any effect on the folks over at World Star Hip Hop? Or will their argument fall on deaf ears?</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Members of the Zulu Nation Send Warning to Popular Website World Star Hip Hop | true | http://politicalblindspot.com/members-of-the-zulu-nation-send-warning-to-popular-website-world-star-hip-hop/ | 2014-07-02 | 4 |
<p>The battle over state policies that some call soft on crime and some see as humane and thoughtful appears to be flaring anew, with prominent law-enforcement officials on both sides.</p>
<p>The first of the policies was&#160;Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011 decision to “realign” the corrections system and shift 30,000 prisoners from state institutions to county jails.&#160;With many county facilities as overcrowded as state prisons, this led to an estimated release&#160;of 18,000 people who were incarcerated in California. The second was state voters’ 2014 approval of Proposition 47, which reclassified some drug and property crime offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, which also led to more convicted criminals avoiding getting locked up. It was strongly supported by the governor.</p>
<p>What’s been the effect? That is a crucial question, given that&#160;California’s violent crime rate jumped significantly in the first half of 2015. In California’s 68 cities with populations of 100,000 or more, violent crime increased by 11 percent, according to statistics compiled by the FBI.</p>
<p>This suggests that “realignment” and Prop. 47 might have a cumulative effect.&#160;A December 2013 <a href="http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_1213MLR.pdf" type="external">report</a>by the Public Policy Institute of California downplayed any link between a smaller increase in violent crime in 2011 and 2012 and the effects of “realignment”:</p>
<p>We find that California’s crime rates increased between 2011 and 2012 — violent crime went up 3.4 percent and property crime went up 7.6 percent. These rates vary widely across the state, with California’s 10 largest counties generally seeing greater increases in crime than in the state overall. However, despite this pattern of increase, crime rates remain at historically low levels in California today.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>How does realignment relate to the recent uptick in crime? Our analysis of violent crime finds no evidence that realignment has had an effect on the most serious offenses, murder and rape. The evidence on robbery is more uncertain, with a possible indication of a modest increase related to realignment. California’s overall increases in violent crime between 2011 and 2012 appear to be part of a broader upward trend also experienced in other states.</p>
<p>Now, 17 months after Proposition 47’s adoption, opinions are beginning to harden on its effects.</p>
<p>In November, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell depicted the initiative as a well-intentioned <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-ol-1104-prop-47-revolution-sheriff-jim-mcdonnell-20151104-htmlstory.html" type="external">failure</a>. And on PoliceOne.com, a website on police issues, a December&#160;opinion <a href="https://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/57282006-What-we-learned-from-Californias-Prop-47-in-2015/" type="external">piece</a> declared “the crooks won.”</p>
<p>Inmates are fans of Prop. 47 because it keeps them out of jail, allowing them to keep using illegal drugs and keep committing crime. Even if they miss their court date (which in turn gives them a warrant), inmates know the crimes and the misdemeanor warrants will not keep them locked up long. Inmates view misdemeanors as “not a big deal” and shrug their shoulders. It does not matter that there are hardworking citizens who are being victimized. Criminals usually never show remorse or empathy for their victims. Criminals have a great way of decriminalizing and minimizing their crimes. With Prop. 47, the state and the criminals both are doing just that.</p>
<p>But William Lansdowne, a veteran California police chief, strongly challenges this assessment in an <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Prop-47-is-not-raising-crime-rates-7044658.php" type="external">op-ed</a> posted Thursday by the San Francisco Chronicle:</p>
<p>Since Prop. 47 passed, critics have tried to scapegoat it for a rise in crime, but there’s no evidence proving such an assertion. As the former police chief for San Diego, San Jose and Richmond, I know all too well that every shift in crime must be addressed. There is nothing more important than public safety. But in paying close attention, we need to be honest about the facts and avoid misleading the public.</p>
<p>Others suggest that both McDonnell and Lansdown are too quick to draw conclusions:</p>
<p>Keramet Reiter, a criminology professor at UC Irvine, said the ballot measure has been used by critics as a “convenient scapegoat” for the rise in crime. The reality, she said, is more complicated in a state that is undergoing broad changes to its criminal justice system, including a massive shift of inmates from state prisons to local jails.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The Los Angeles Police Department has reported a double-digit increase in property crime so far this year, but Chief Charlie Beck said it is premature to fault Proposition 47.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“The studies are not done and the results aren’t in,” Beck said.</p>
<p>That is from a November Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/crime/la-me-prop47-anniversary-20151106-story.html" type="external">report</a>.</p>
<p>The rise of Big Data has led to many changes in policing strategies in recent years, most notably in New York City, where the NYPD uses algorithms to <a href="http://citylimits.org/2015/01/29/why-nypds-predictive-policing-should-scare-you/" type="external">predict</a> likely trouble spots. But big-think arguments over why crime has gone down sharply over the last 25 year have actually gotten more complex, not less. Last year, Vox detailed <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/2/13/8032231/crime-drop" type="external">16 different theories</a> explaining the phenomenon.</p> | Fight flares over ‘realignment,’ Prop. 47 effects on crime | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2016/03/25/fight-flares-realignment-prop-47-effects-crime/ | 2018-03-20 | 3 |
<p>A look at New York Stock Exchange 10 most-active stocks at 1 p.m.:</p>
<p>AT&amp;T Inc. rose 1.1 percent to $33.16 with 23,563,400 shares traded.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Bank of America Corp. fell 1.5 percent to $15.39 with 49,071,300 shares traded.</p>
<p>FXCM Inc. rose 3.8 percent to $2.47 with 12,822,600 shares traded.</p>
<p>Ford Motor Co. fell .7 percent to $14.60 with 18,732,600 shares traded.</p>
<p>Freeport McMoran Copper &amp; Gold Inc. fell 2.6 percent to $17.91 with 15,662,900 shares traded.</p>
<p>General Electric Co. fell 1.1 percent to $24.12 with 21,676,400 shares traded.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Peabody Energy Corp. fell 1.8 percent to $6.13 with 17,520,400 shares traded.</p>
<p>Pfizer Inc. fell .9 percent to $32.30 with 14,355,500 shares traded.</p>
<p>Twitter Inc. fell 1.8 percent to $38.22 with 13,506,500 shares traded.</p>
<p>United States Steel Corp. rose 14.0 percent to $24.24 with 21,969,500 shares traded.</p> | New York Stock Exchange's 10 most active stocks at 1 p.m. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/03/12/new-york-stock-exchange-10-most-active-stocks-at-1-pm.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>Every educator should have this video cued and ready to play for every CEO who wants to reinvent the classroom even though they’ve never taught in one and every politician who calls the underpaid and overworked teachers of America lazy.</p>
<p>More on Taylor Mali, the educator and poet we’re celebrating, can be found <a href="http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=2" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>(video below via <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ryan/status/98628870286225408" type="external">@Ryan</a>)</p>
<p />
<p /> | This Pissed-Off Teacher Is Our Hero | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/this-pissed-off-teacher-is-our-hero/ | 2011-08-03 | 4 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>Sen. Ted Cruz will hold a nationwide conference call for pastors Aug. 25, seeking evangelical support for his presidential campaign by going after Planned Parenthood.</p>
<p>Cruz (R-Texas), a Southern Baptist and pastor’s son, invited pastors to join the call on a video posted online by the American Renewal Project, an organization started by GOP operative David Lane to encourage pastors to get personally involved in politics.</p>
<p>The call will seek to build on outrage over recently released viral videos purported to show Planned Parenthood profiting from the harvesting and sale of fetal tissue for medical research. Planned Parenthood says its practices are legal and calls the videos an attempt by abortion opponents to portray the women’s health care provider in a negative light.</p>
<p>“Recently, all of us have seen videos of behind-the-scenes dealing at the Planned Parenthood facilities, activities that all of us find horribly offensive,” Cruz said in the message. “But even more appalling is that we as taxpayers are funding these activities. We cannot allow this to continue.”</p>
<p>“Only our pastors, our faith leaders, our church leaders, have enough influence to put a stop to this ongoing holocaust,” he continued. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 4 p.m. Eastern, he said, “We’ll have a nationwide call with pastors to learn what we can do now to put a stop to this tragedy.</p>
<p>“Please make a concerted effort to be on this important call, and to encourage all pastors you know to join us,” Cruz said. “Help stop taxpayer funding for these horrific acts that take a precious human life. Thank you, and God bless you.”</p>
<p>The phone call is part of a larger 50-state campaign by Cruz to end taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood —&#160;a campaign likely to raise his profile in a Republican primary race where the vote of social conservatives is seen as up for grabs.</p>
<p>“The battle we face is not political,” Cruz said in an email <a href="http://theamericanrenewalproject.org/2015/08/cruzs-evangelical-outreach-shifts-into-high-gear/" type="external">reportedly</a> sent to 100,000 pastors. “It is spiritual.”</p>
<p>“The recent exposure of Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practices of harvesting the body parts of innocent babies and selling them to the highest bidder has brought about a pressing need to end taxpayer support of this institution,” Cruz wrote. &#160; “As the son of a pastor, I know you bear a high and holy calling on your lives. I am urging you to confront this evil in our nation by praying and preaching with an unbridled passion until funding for Planned Parenthood ends, and this barbaric practice is purged from the land.”</p>
<p>Cruz invited pastors to dial into the conference call “to hear how you can be a part of this effort.”</p>
<p>He further asked that pastors preach a message Aug. 30 “calling on your people to enter into this spiritual battle for the soul of their nation.” A link on the American Renewal Project points to an <a href="http://theamericanrenewalproject.org/2015/08/sermon-the-cry-of-the-innocent/" type="external">outline</a> for a sample sermon titled: “The Cry of the Innocent for the Soul of a Nation.”</p>
<p>Finally, Cruz asked pastors to lead congregations in a “Day of Prayer and Fasting,” on Wednesday, Sept. 9, and use Wednesday night services asking God “to move in the hearts of men and women in government to vote to end the slaughter of the innocents.”</p>
<p>The dial-in number for tomorrow’s call is 877-229-8493, PIN 114559.</p>
<p>Previous story:</p>
<p><a href="culture/politics/item/30396-ted-cruz-urges-evangelicals-to-vote-in-2016" type="external">Ted Cruz urges evangelicals to vote in 2016</a></p> | Ted Cruz recruiting pastors in push to defund Planned Parenthood | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/ted-cruz-recruiting-pastors-in-push-to-defund-planned-parenthood/ | 3 |
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<p>Business reboot</p>
<p>Albuquerque is one of twelve cities in the U.S. selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration to host an entrepreneurship training course for veterans or their spouses this summer.</p>
<p>Its Boots to Business: Reboot is a two-day event on Wednesday and Thursday at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th NW. The event takes place from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on both days.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It is free for veterans and their spouses; pre-registration is required.</p>
<p>To register, visit <a href="http://www.boots2businessreboot.org" type="external">www.boots2businessreboot.org</a>. Locally, for information only, veterans can also contact New Mexico Veterans Business Outreach Center Director Joe Long at <a href="mailto:href=" type="external">joseph.lon</a>[email protected] or 505-383-2401.</p>
<p>This nationwide effort is led by representatives from the SBA’s resource partners and industry experts from Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families. It is supported through the SBA’s partnership with Syracuse University’s IVMF.</p>
<p>Veterans will learn how to evaluate business concepts, and effective strategies for developing a business plan.</p>
<p>Gobs of Jobs on Tues.</p>
<p>The next Gobs of Jobs career fair will be Tuesday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Marriott Pyramid, 5151 San Francisco NE, in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>Career openings range from entry level to highly skilled.</p>
<p>Companies signed up for the event include: AAA New Mexico; Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center; Alliance Data; Home Care Assistance; Lowe’s Customer Service Center; New Mexico Gas Co.; Rio Grande Credit Union; Santa Ana Star Casino; Sprint; New Mexico Corrections Department; T-Mobile; and Verizon Wireless..</p>
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<p>Job seekers should bring résumés to hand out to business representatives, even though many require online applications. Business attire and good grooming are also recommended.</p>
<p>Tables and chairs will be available for job seekers to fill out applications for employment at companies requesting this be done on site.</p>
<p>For additional information, visit <a href="http://nmgobsofjobs.com" type="external">nmgobsofjobs.com</a>.</p>
<p>TalentABQ</p>
<p>The City of Albuquerque-sponsored TalentABQ “Skills to Jobs” career event is Sept. 4 from 2-7 p.m. at the Marriott Pyramid</p>
<p>Organizers said that job seekers with validated skills scores are being invited in addition to a large community media campaign. A special thank-you cocktail reception featuring Mayor Richard J. Berry will be held for employers with door prize giveaways. Visit <a href="http://www.talentabq.org" type="external">www.talentabq.org</a> for information on skills-based hiring.</p>
<p>TalentABQ’s “Skills to Jobs” Talent Fair is open to all area employers. Also, a cocktail reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a silent auction to benefit HRMA.</p>
<p>Employers will be treated to a presentation about TalentABQ and how “Skills to Jobs” works prior to the talent fair. There will be on-site testing for job seekers, as well as employers to check it out.</p>
<p>Sign up at <a href="http://www.talentabq.org" type="external">www.talentabq.org</a>.</p>
<p>Employers wanted</p>
<p>The semi-annual Partnering for Success Career Fair on Sept. 12 is looking for companies to participate in the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the New Mexico Workforce Connections office, 501 Mountain NE in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>It is an ideal time to seek out employees for full-time, part-time and holiday needs, organizers said in a news release. There will be 45 tables and about 1,400 job seekers are expected to attend.</p>
<p>Employer participation is free, but you must have at least 10 available positions at the time of the event. Space is limited, organizers said.</p>
<p>Interested employers should contact: Margaret Sachs at 843-1903 or Karen Huladek at 843-1928.</p>
<p>Registration deadline is Aug. 18.</p>
<p /> | Upcoming options for employment seekers | false | https://abqjournal.com/440273/upcoming-options-for-employment-seekers.html | 2 |
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<p>FOX Business' Charles Payne on what lifted the stock market to a new record close.</p>
<p>The major U.S. stock indices opened Wednesday’s session basically flat, taking a bit of a breather following their record-setting run.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have pushed higher in recent weeks, following a consistent stream of overall positive earnings. The Dow, which set another record on Tuesday, was uninspired by the release of positive quarterly earnings reports from components Boeing (NYSE:BA), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), and Visa (NYSE:V). Of note, Dow component General Electric (NYSE:GE) was lower again on Wednesday, with investors still selling shares following last week’s big earnings miss.</p>
<p>Before the market open, Boeing reported better earnings and hiked its forecast, Coca-Cola beat and maintained guidance and Visa beat and called for net revenue growth in 2018 to be in the “high-single digits.”</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 was also lower, with Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) taking a big hit, down over 10% following its earnings release on Tuesday. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) was also lower despite topping third-quarter earnings expectations, as it lowered its fourth-quarter guidance.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the markets, oil futures were lower ahead of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly oil inventory update. The EIA will release this data at 10:30 a.m. ET.</p> | US markets show some signs of fatigue, indices near flat in early trading | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/25/us-markets-show-some-signs-fatigue-indices-near-flat-in-early-trading.html | 2017-10-25 | 0 |
<p>Let’s start with a disclaimer. My first-ever published music review was on Television’s first album, “Marquee Moon,” which appeared in March 1977, in the critic-seeder that was the Soho Weekly News. I was paid $5 to write it. Forty years later, some things never change, and that goes for Television torch-bearer Tom Verlaine and company, too, who played two nights at Los Angeles’ <a href="http://variety.com/tag/teragram-ballroom/" type="external">Teragram Ballroom</a> on Sept. 29 and 30.</p>
<p>A rock poet who was Patti Smith’s significant other sometime between Sam Shepard, Robert Mapplethorpe on the one side, and Allen Lanier and Fred “Sonic” Smith on the other, Verlaine and fellow schoolmate Richard Hell formed the Neon Boys, which eventually evolved into Television.</p>
<p>As legend has it, Verlaine and cohorts convinced Hilly Krystal to turn his biker’s bar <a href="http://variety.com/tag/cbgb/" type="external">CBGB</a> on the Bowery into a new music venue. The band, while highly influential, only recorded a pair of albums for Elektra, following “Marquee Moon” a year later with “Adventure,” then disappeared for 14 years before resurfacing with a self-titled third album for Capitol in 1992.</p>
<p>Television replaced original member Richard Lloyd in 2007 with N.Y. guitar whiz Jimmy Rip and the band – with original bassist Fred Smith and drummer Billy Ficca — returned to the road several years ago, and performed at the Teragram Ballroom a month after the downtown venue opened in July 2015.</p>
<p>After a fine opening set from fellow ‘70s legend (and former Alex Chilton collaborator) Chris Stamey, backed by a violinist and cellist, including dBs songs like “From a Window to a Screen” and “Happenstance” as well as solo chestnuts such as “Astronomy” and the original Ork Records 45, “Summer Sun,” it was time for Television, proving both a lot tighter and much more expansive than I’d remembered them.</p>
<p>On Friday night, they were the former, opening with the martial rhythms of “Prove It,” and doing just that over the course of a taut, 90-minute, nine-song, two-number encore set that paused midway through for their sprawling, newly added “Persia,” a Middle Eastern-flavored nod to the Grateful Dead’s psychedelic “Drums/Space” interlude. The second evening was more up-and-down, starting with a shimmering intro into “1880 or So,” from the band’s self-titled 1992 album, before an unbroken string of four “Marquee Moon” smashes – “Venus,” “Elevation,” “Prove It” and “Friction.”</p>
<p>Belying his reputation as a musical tyrant, Verlaine is notably generous, letting Jimmy Rip front-and-center for the distinctive Morse code solos on “Elevation,” and while Rip may be more conventional than Lloyd in his approach, he also manages to keep Verlaine grounded, even if the night two proved Television capable of being a world-class jam band, too. The new surprise set piece is “I’m Gonna Find You,” a previously unreleased song Verlaine calls “one of our oldest, most ancient songs,” originally intended for, but left off of, “Marquee Moon.”&#160; An insinuating blues-country plaint that channels the Stones of “Wild Horses,” the song shows the band’s hitherto well-concealed R&amp;B roots, and both evenings, led into elongated takes on “Marquee Moon,” with a second-night extrapolation that turned it into an epic, wide-screen soundscape.</p>
<p>“Guiding Light” and “Friction” closed out the first night, with the former doing the honors on Saturday night, a one-song encore that proved anti-climactic after the full-blown pyrotechnics of “Marquee Moon,” Verlaine taking center stage to emote his ass off, peeling off notes as he peels off layers to the skin.</p>
<p>Of course, Television is a vehicle for Tom Verlaine’s chordal, scale-based notion of guitar soloing – mostly gleaned from listening to jazz musicians like John Coltrane. Among New York punk and post-punk guitarists, perhaps only <a href="http://variety.com/tag/lou-reed/" type="external">Lou Reed</a>, Johnny Thunders, Johnny Ramone, Thurston Moore and Bob Quine challenge Television for fret supremacy. Still Television is a lot more than just Verlaine – without Fred Smith’s warmly melodic bass lines and Billy Ficca’s light-fingered jazz drumming, the band would simply disappear into the ether.</p>
<p>Forty years ago, I wrote about the band, “Forget everything you’ve heard about Television; forget punk, forget New York, forget CBGBs… hell forget rock and roll — this is the real item.” That quote is now immortalized in the band’s Wikipedia entry. Now, I look around and see kids half my age digging on a sound that has only deepened and resonated with age. Tom Verlaine and Television have nothing left to prove.</p> | Concert Review: Revisiting the Golden Age of Television From the Left Coast | false | https://newsline.com/concert-review-revisiting-the-golden-age-of-television-from-the-left-coast/ | 2017-10-01 | 1 |
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<p>FARMINGTON — Farmington police say an officer fatally shot a man while responding to a domestic violence call at a home.</p>
<p>Sgt. Joshua Laino says an officer arriving at the home Tuesday night shot a man who confronted the officer while armed with a “large edged weapon.” A caller had told a police dispatcher that a man at the home had thrown a small child from a bed, was striking a female and breaking things.</p>
<p>State Police are investigating the shooting, and the Farmington police officer involved has been placed on paid leave. Police did not immediately identify the officer or the man fatally shot. — This article appeared on page C3 of the Albuquerque Journal</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Farmington Police Officer Shoots, Kills Man | false | https://abqjournal.com/162866/farmington-police-officer-shoots-kills-man.html | 2013-01-24 | 2 |
<p>By Rollo Ross</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher embarked on a new kind of creative journey with his latest album “Who Built the Moon?” with his High Flying Birds band.</p>
<p>The British musician worked with Northern Irish producer David Holmes, who told Gallagher not to bring any pre-written songs to their sessions.</p>
<p>“Every time it started to sound a bit like Oasis, he (Holmes) would stop me what I was doing and say ‘You’ve done all that before. Try something different,'” Gallagher, 50, told Reuters Television.</p>
<p>“I would try all the things I’d learned down the years on the guitar or whatever I was playing… It was only when I’d switch off and I was just playing that the magic would happen,” he said.</p>
<p>The result is a mix of different styles and genres. “Who Built the Moon?” is released on Friday.</p>
<p>Seven years after 1990s rockers Oasis broke up in bitterness between Gallagher and his younger brother Liam, Gallagher claims all the credit for the band’s enduring legacy.</p>
<p>“I wrote those songs. Nobody else wrote them… I wrote them, I produced them, I came up with all the parts.”</p>
<p>He ruled out any prospect of reconciling with Liam, adding, “It’s a one-way thing. He’s (Liam) got a problem with me. There’s nothing going back the other way.”</p>
<p>Despite the well-publicized fights with his brother, the wild parties and the blaring newspaper headlines, Gallagher says he has no regrets.</p>
<p>“If I had to go back and do it all again tomorrow, I would make all the same mistakes because the mistakes were great. The drug years were… unbelievable and they were only unbelievable because I was smart enough to get to point and go ‘That’s it now,’ you know.”</p>
<p>“No regrets. You can’t have any. They’re useless anyway. They drive you mad,” he said.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Gallagher says it is “preposterous” that he has never had a number one U.S. album nor been Grammy nominated, despite the huge success of Oasis in Britain.</p>
<p>“That’s out of my hands but there’s nothing I can do to change that. There are people that I’d like to work with, but I won’t be getting on the phone and calling them,” he said.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Noel Gallagher discards any trace of Oasis sound in new album | false | https://newsline.com/noel-gallagher-discards-any-trace-of-oasis-sound-in-new-album/ | 2017-11-20 | 1 |
<p>It’s no secret to the American people that since President Obama gained office, he has added exponentially to this country’s national debt, but exactly how much is that?</p>
<p>Obama has added $7.917 trillion to the national debt of America. This is a 68 percent increase from the $11.657 trillion it was before his presidency. Obama has accumulated the most debt of any U.S. president, as per&#160;Breitbart.</p>
<p>There are many ways to figure out how much a president has contributed to America’s debt, and the most accurate figure is determined by combining the budget deficits of the fiscal years and then subtracting the total amount of debt from all previous presidents.</p>
<p />
<p>When George W Bush&#160;took office, the debt was at $5.8 trillion. He then added $5.849 trillion to it.</p>
<p>One important fact to remember is that the fiscal budget year for Washington starts on October 1 and ends on September 30. Bush’s final budget for 2009 added $1.632 trillion to the United States debt.</p>
<p>Here is a breakdown of Obama’s budgets for his fiscal years and the amount of debt that was added every year. 2016 – $1.423 trillion.</p>
<p>2015 – $327 billion; 2014 – $1.086 trillion; 2013 – $672 billion;&#160;2012 – $1.276 trillion; 2011 – $1.229 trillion; and 2010 – $1.652 trillion.</p>
<p>In 2009, he added $253 billion. Also, Congress passed the Economic Stimulus Act, which spent $253 billion in the fiscal year of 2009, something that should also be added to President Obama’s debt accumulation.</p>
<p>What’s even more disgusting is that when Obama was running for office, he slammed Bush for creating so much debt, stating it was both “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic.” And yet here he is with his 68 percent increase in our national debt.</p>
<p>On July 3, 2008, Obama stated, “The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents — 43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome. So, we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman, and child. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.”</p>
<p>It’s obvious that President Obama is unpatriotic by his own standards. And now, Donald Trump is going to try and fix the debt like the rest of Obama’s failures.</p>
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<p>Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. <a href="https://d32oduq093hvot.cloudfront.net/site/family_friendly_v1.html?utm_medium=modal&amp;utm_source=widget_272430" type="external">Learn More</a></p> | Obama Has Added $7.917 Trillion To The National Debt Of America | true | http://usainfonews.com/index.php/2016/12/30/obama-added-7-917-trillion-national-debt-america/ | 2016-12-30 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Tesla.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Most automakers enjoy hefty profits on an incredibly important side business: financial services. Traditional automakers like Ford have long offered a variety of high-margin financial products to customers, which also helps provide a nice profit cushion for certain low-margin vehicles in segments like mid-market sedans.</p>
<p>Note that Tesla's forthcoming Model 3 will be positioned in this market segment, which will inherently have lower gross margins than the luxury vehicles that Tesla has historically sold. Eventually, Tesla might push deeper into financial services.</p>
<p>Cash is kingRight now, it's simply not an option. Tesla's top priority right now is generating cash flow to fund the production and manufacturing infrastructure investments that it will need to put in place. This is primarily why Tesla outsources nearly all of its financial services to third-party financial institutions: so it can collect the cash upfront.</p>
<p>The company does lease some vehicles directly, which isn't ideal from a cash flow perspective, but Tesla uses an asset-based credit line to help support these leases. The good news is that most leased vehicles are leased through a leasing partner, which allows Tesla to collect the cash upfront for most of these leased vehicles (this is an aspect of Tesla's non-GAAP "core operating cash flow"). As of the end of last year, Tesla had 3,660 vehicles directly leased and over 67,000 leased through its leasing partner.</p>
<p>But Tesla's latest 10-K suggests that Tesla may eventually consider adding new financial products (emphasis mine):</p>
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<p>If and when Tesla's cash flow improves to the point that it can consider offering direct financing, financial services could prove to be quite a profitable endeavor.</p>
<p>Ford's most profitable products are financialThe financial services arms of traditional automakers serve two important functions: They help arrange wholesale financing for dealers but also provide financing directly to retail consumers. The first aspect is clearly irrelevant to Tesla, since it has no dealers, but the company could have an opportunity in providing financing for customers.</p>
<p>Image source: Ford.</p>
<p>Ford Credit had a 47% share of retail installment and lease sales for Ford and Lincoln vehicles sold last year in the U.S. The Blue Oval's financial services revenue was nearly $9 billion last year, translating into over $2 billion in income before taxes, for an EBT margin of 22.5%. That level of profitability is significantly higher than the core auto segment's 5.8% EBT margin.</p>
<p>Those profits help offset the low margins associated with high-volume products.</p>
<p>The time is not rightBuilding a full-fledged financial services arm is no easy task, though. Doing so would increase Tesla's exposure to customer credit risk, and there's a lot of talk within the industry right now about sub-prime auto loans with delinquency rates recently hitting a 20-year high.</p>
<p>Plus, the actual cash has to come from somewhere. Traditional automakers often tap capital markets for that cash, but Tesla immediate cash needs are to expand production. Simply put, Tesla doesn't currently have the financial flexibility to be worrying about a secondary financial services segment, despite the potential margin uplift.</p>
<p>Right now, it's all about launching Model 3, and there's even speculation that Tesla will raise external capital to help fund capital expenditures. Eventually, financial services could be an important way to further monetize Model 3. In a few years, when the company is more mature, it will make a lot of sense.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/11/one-of-these-days-tesla-motors-might-get-into-fina.aspx" type="external">One of These Days, Tesla Motors Might Get Into Financial Services Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Tesla Motors, andhas the following options: long January 2018 $180 calls on Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford and Tesla Motors. 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> | One of These Days, Tesla Motors Might Get Into Financial Services | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/11/one-these-days-tesla-motors-might-get-into-financial-services.html | 2016-04-11 | 0 |
<p>You just can't make this stuff up, which is why Off The Main Page is here - to give you all the dirtiest, most embarrassing news!</p>
<p>Apparently a man in Manchester was called after he got stuck in a urinal on January 7th. A crazy call for help rang out from the public toilet in a city center after a man's clothes became snagged on the toilet. Naturally, he could be heard cursing and a passerby heard and called the police.</p>
<p>No word yet on exactly how this happened, but the ending was about as happy as can be in this embarrassing situation. The security guards cut him free.</p> | Man Gets Stuck In Urinal, Police Are Called | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2016/01/17/man-gets-stuck-in-urinal-police-are-called/ | 2016-01-17 | 4 |
<p>Major small-cap exchange traded funds, including the iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: IJR) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca: IWM), have struggled to start 2017. Some traders expect the situation for small-caps to get worse before it gets better. Small-caps are also focused on the domestic economy and have less direct exposure to… <a href="https://www.etftrends.com/2017/04/small-cap-etf-investors-trouble-is-lurking/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Small-Cap ETF Investors: Trouble is Lurking | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/19/small-cap-etf-investors-trouble-is-lurking.html | 2017-04-19 | 0 |
<p>By Daniel Wallace and Jeff Brumley</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fbccovington.com/" type="external">First Baptist Church of Covington</a>, Texas,&#160;averaged slightly more than 50 in attendance when the congregation decided to build a sanctuary that seats 150 worshippers — in a community of 269 people.</p>
<p>“We’re either crazy or have high expectations — maybe a little bit of both,” Pastor Eric Black said.</p>
<p>Experts say other small-town churches also can meet those high expectations, if they’re willing to transform their ministries and operations.</p>
<p>First Baptist, Convington’s, building project sparked growth and revitalization in the rural congregation north of Hillsboro for the first time in more than a decade.</p>
<p>Last June, the congregation held its first service in a new building that more than tripled the size of the old one. The 17,000-square-foot building includes a sanctuary, fellowship hall, preschool, nursery and youth room.</p>
<p>For the first three months in the building, the church averaged 120 people on Sunday mornings, four times the attendance in 2010 when Black became senior pastor. After the initial spike in attendance, 75 to 80 people consistently attend Sunday morning worship services.</p>
<p>The Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church are the only other congregations in the city located about 60 miles south of Dallas. Membership at First Baptist is drawn from throughout the region, including Hillsboro, Itasca and Grandview.</p>
<p>“If this church was serving Covington proper, it would be overbuilt,” he said. “We are really more of a regional church.”</p>
<p>A willingness to change</p>
<p>But can this Texas congregation’s progress be duplicated by others located in small towns?</p>
<p>They have a shot if they are willing to transform how they conceive and operate their ministries and even their very purpose for being, said church consultant George Bullard, president of <a href="http://www.thecolumbiapartnership.org/" type="external">The Columbia Partnership</a>.</p>
<p>“The biggest challenge for any church that needs to transform is the willingness to do something,” Bullard said.</p>
<p>The risks First Baptist, Covington, took to effectively rebrand itself as a regional church and to construct facilities resulted from a willingness to envision themselves from a completely different perspective, he said.</p>
<p>“They were willing to reboot the church,” Bullard said. “They agreed to start over —&#160;to reinvent themselves.”</p>
<p>Sobering statistics</p>
<p>Experts and studies that focus on the health of American congregations say the forecast for congregational survival in a changing demographic landscape often looks grim.</p>
<p>For every 10 churches in need of significant change, six usually will take no action, two will undertake cosmetic changes and another two are willing to take the drastic steps needed to succeed, Bullard said.</p>
<p>Recent polling said these findings come at a time of steady, though gradual, decline in overall church attendance.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/13/what-surveys-say-about-worship-attendance-and-why-some-stay-home/" type="external">Pew Research Center study</a> published last September found that roughly three out of 10 American adults rarely or never attend worship services —&#160;an increase from 25 percent to 29 percent since 2003.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the percentage who said they attend services at least weekly has dropped from 39 percent to 37 percent in the same period. A Gallup poll reported <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/166613/four-report-attending-church-last-week.aspx" type="external">similar findings</a> in December.</p>
<p>Denominations should respond by putting their efforts into helping only those churches willing to face these trends, Bullard said.</p>
<p>“We always advise them to focus on the four out of the 10 —&#160;the ones willing to do something.”</p>
<p>It also puts the pressure on congregations like First Baptist, Covington, to constantly work to ensure any successes they enjoy will continue.</p>
<p>“It’s important they aren’t making short-term fixes,” Bullard said.</p>
<p>Baptisms rising</p>
<p>The successes in Covington, so far, are the kind most pastors long for.</p>
<p>During the first three years of Black’s pastorate, he baptized 15 people. In the past year, the church baptized more than 40 people.</p>
<p>“Our youth minister has baptized about 25 youth,” Black said. “I’ve baptized children, youth and adults close to that number in the last year. And that’s just huge, because this congregation hasn’t baptized that many people going back the last six or seven years.”</p>
<p>Youth Pastor Jerred Hurt, who is from Grandview, has built relationships with the youth in Covington and the surrounding areas, and the students have responded to him, Black said. In a small town, the youth minister benefits from having grown up in a neighboring community as part of a respected family, he added.</p>
<p>Youth pastor built relationships</p>
<p>“A lot of the influx of youth have been because of his tenure in the community,” Black said. “We have a lot coming from Grandview, but he is also connected pretty well with youth here in Covington.”</p>
<p>Soon after he arrived as youth pastor, Hurt took the students on an already-planned trip to work with&#160; <a href="http://www.missionarlington.org/" type="external">Mission Arlington</a>. This summer, he plans to take another group to serve with the multifaceted ministry in Arlington, Texas.</p>
<p>Weekly youth assemblies on Wednesday nights have outgrown the new youth room. So, the students meet in the church’s sanctuary.</p>
<p>“There are just too many of them to fit,” Black said.</p>
<p>A wedding in the unfinished building</p>
<p>Even before First Baptist completed construction of its new sanctuary, one couple chose to have their wedding in the facility. With simple decorations — a half-dozen candles at the front of the sanctuary — Joe and Megan Jennings married in a room with bare concrete floors and exposed drywall.</p>
<p>When their first child was born recently, the church held a baby dedication ceremony for their son — the only infant in the church’s nursery at this point.</p>
<p>“That is something the church hasn’t seen in a while,” Black noted. “That has really brought some life into the church, to see a young family come together like that and to plug in to the life of the church.”</p>
<p>Soon after Black arrived as pastor, he led the church to rewrite its bylaws. The congregation redefined who could serve on committees, combined several committees with overlapping duties and changed the language regarding baptism to bring it in line with the church’s beliefs and practices.</p>
<p>But Black rejects any suggestion he should receive credit for the church’s renewal.</p>
<p>‘I lean on a lot of people’</p>
<p>“The good stuff that is happening here, most of it has come from outside myself — help from friends and colleagues in ministry, my dad, my father-in-law, who was a pastor for over 40 years,” he said. “I lean on a lot of people.”</p>
<p>The John D. Marbut Endowment, managed by the Baptist Foundation of Texas, provided funding for the new building at First Baptist Church.</p>
<p>Since the church moved into its new facility, members have responded to the challenge of financing the increased expenses that accompany growth. Offerings exceeded the church budget last year, and missions giving grew significantly.</p> | Small church makes big strides despite location, trends | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/small-church-makes-big-strides-despite-location-trends/ | 3 |
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<p />
<p>The good folks at <a href="http://campusprogress.org/" type="external">Campus Progress</a> have launched a flashy new group blog, <a href="http://www.pushback.org/" type="external">Pushback</a>, for and by progressive young people. Editor Rob Anderson <a href="http://www.pushback.org/2008/06/01/welcome-to-pushback-2/" type="external">describes it</a> as “sort of like MTV’s reality show The Real World before it got really trashy: an experiment in which we jam strangers into a confined space and ask them to share with the world their thoughts, their ideas, and their work.”</p>
<p>Aiming to keep The Real World analogy on the up and up, Pushback contributor Matt Zeitlin immediately <a href="http://www.pushback.org/2008/06/10/whats-going-on-at-wellesley/" type="external">posted</a> this survey from the MIT-Wellesley Journal of Campus Life:</p>
<p />
<p>But it’s not just sex, people, they’ve got politics, too. <a href="http://www.pushback.org" type="external">Check it out.</a></p>
<p /> | A Blog To Watch: Young People Pushback | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/06/blog-watch-young-people-pushback/ | 2008-06-12 | 4 |
<p>ERBIL, Iraq — The Iraqi government declared a “magnificent victory” in Tikrit on Wednesday as it forced Islamic State militants from the city. Ten months after it was overrun, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was pictured walking through the streets in celebration,&#160;an Iraqi flag in hand.</p>
<p>But there was a familiar and troubling footnote to the victory, one which bodes ill for the government’s attempt to wrest control of central and western Iraq from the militant group.</p>
<p>Since it began its campaign to recapture areas taken by the Islamic State, a question that has been continually asked of the central government is whether it can win back Sunni cities without further deepening the sectarian resentment that allowed the militant group to capture those areas in the first place.</p>
<p>When the Islamic State swept through much of Anbar province in June, the Iraqi army melted away without much of a fight. For many Sunnis living in those areas, the extremist Islamic State represented less of a threat to their security and well-being than the authoritarian and sectarian government of Nouri al-Maliki, who many saw as representing Shia interests above all else. A brutal crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in Anbar in December 2013 is <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/07/opinion/iraq-anbar-crisis-lister/" type="external">pointed to by many</a> as a key turning point in the Islamic State’s rise in Iraq.</p>
<p>Now, under Prime Minister Abadi, the Iraqi army is engaged in a campaign to retake those areas. Despite efforts by Abadi to reign in the militias and present the government as less sectarian, the army’s weakness has forced it to rely heavily on Shia militias to do so.</p>
<p>The fight to take Tikrit was no different. Fighters from the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Committees played a key role in recapturing the city, taking a back seat only briefly from the month-long battle when the US launched airstrikes to help the Iraqi army’s advance.</p>
<p>What came after the battle, forewarned though it may have been, suggests Abadi’s task will be an uphill struggle.</p>
<p>Bloody revenge</p>
<p>In a similar scene to that which played out in a number of smaller towns already recaptured, a detailed <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/03/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-tikrit-special-re-idUSKBN0MU1DP20150403" type="external">report from Reuters</a> describes&#160;chaos in Tikrit, as the Shia militias who helped to retake the city quickly sought revenge.</p>
<p>Witnesses in the city told the news agency that militiamen burned dozens of homes and looted shops and local businesses. Reuters reporters describe witnessing the beheading of a suspected Islamic State fighter who had been captured.</p>
<p>“Near the charred, bullet-scarred government headquarters, two federal policemen flanked a suspected Islamic State fighter. Urged on by a furious mob, the two officers took out knives and repeatedly stabbed the man in the neck and slit his throat.”</p>
<p>A report in the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/chaos-charges-of-abuses-follow-retaking-of-tikrit-1428102549?cb=logged0.914936730870977" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a> painted a similar picture. Ahmed Al Krayam, head of Salahaddin provincial council, told the newspaper: “Tikrit is under chaos and things are out of control. The police force and officials there are helpless to stop the militias.”</p>
<p>Many saw it coming. Militias had said the battle for Tikrit would <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/fears-of-renewed-atrocities-in-iraqs-sunni-triangle" type="external">serve as revenge</a> for the massacre of 700 mostly Shia soldiers at Camp Speicher in June last year.</p>
<p>The aftermath of the battle in Tikrit mirrors similar events in other cities retaken by the Iraqi army and Shia militias.</p>
<p>A Human Rights Watch report dated March 4, just as the fighting in Tikrit began, said it had “documented repeated abuses against civilians in areas that Iraqi security forces and militias have retaken from ISIS [Islamic State]&#160;since it took control of the northern city of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, last June.”</p>
<p>The report, calling on the government to work to prevent similar atrocities in Tikrit, said crimes carried out by the militias “include <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/11/iraq-campaign-mass-murders-sunni-prisoners" type="external">mass killings</a> of prisoners and what appears to have been sectarian <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/31/iraq-pro-government-militias-trail-death" type="external">retaliation</a> against Sunni civilians. Human Rights Watch also documented militias’ alleged <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/15/iraq-militias-escalate-abuses-possibly-war-crimes" type="external">war crimes</a> against civilians in Diyala province after battles against ISIS in the area.”</p>
<p>GlobalPost’s <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/iraq/141016/think-the-islamic-state-bad-check-out-the-good-guys" type="external">own reporting</a> has documented atrocities carried out by Shia militias.</p>
<p>The bigger battle ahead</p>
<p>So what does this mean for the battle against the Islamic State? While Tikrit surely counts as a significant military victory for the government, a much larger battle looms on the horizon.</p>
<p>With a population of more than one million people, Mosul is the largest city under Islamic State control. According to Hassan Hassan, analyst and author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, the events in Tikrit will have a direct impact on the government’s ability to retake it.</p>
<p>“This kind of thing helps ISIS a lot,” he told GlobalPost. “People in Mosul will see the events in Tikrit and say: ‘this is what will happen to us — a lot of looting, lynching.’”</p>
<p>For many Iraqi Sunnis living under Islamic State control, the group represents the lesser of two evils.</p>
<p>“This is something the Americans don’t understand. Before ISIS controlled Mosul and these [other Sunni areas], people saw Iraqi security forces as corrupt, weak and smothering. Checkpoints were everywhere. They felt they couldn’t walk freely in their city.”</p>
<p>“When ISIS took over, it dismantled checkpoints and allowed local forces to have some control. Even its own fighters were not heavily visible.”</p>
<p>Continued atrocities by Shia forces against Sunnis not only reinforces people’s belief that the government has not shed its sectarian nature, but stop people rising up against the Islamic State, Hassan said. &#160;</p>
<p>“People see ISIS as a menace. They don’t like it’s brutality and so on. But they see the alternative as worse.”</p> | Looting and lynching in Tikrit bodes ill for Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State | false | https://pri.org/stories/looting-and-lynching-tikrit-bodes-ill-iraq-s-fight-against-islamic-state | 3 |
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<p>Tripoli University</p>
<p>The people I had hoped most to be able to find on returning to Libya were eight students from Fatah University (now renamed Tripoli University) who became my friends during three months in Libya this summer.&#160; They had all been strongly opposed to what NATO was doing to their country (NATO bombs destroyed some classrooms at the University during final exams in late May) and I was very keen to sit with them again if possible since the August 23 fall of Tripoli when some of them scattered and we lost contact.</p>
<p>Some excerpts and impressions from yesterday’s all night gathering with Ahmad, Amal, Hind, Suha, and Rana:</p>
<p>“I know Sanad al-Ureibi”, Ahmad said disgustedly about the 22 year old who is claiming he fired two bullets at close range into Muammar Gadhafi on October 22.</p>
<p>Amal, Ahmad’s fiancée interrupted him: “We are very angry but not really surprised by what Sanad did. &#160;He’s a stupid guy and I am sure someone whispered in his ear that he would become famous and rich if he did NATO’s dirty job by killing Colonel Gadhafi. &#160;NATO did more than 1000 bombing attacks “to protect Libyan civilians” but killed thousands of us instead.&#160; For sure NATO and their puppets want &#160;as many of our leader’s dead as possible in order to avoid years of a court trial that would expose NATO’s many crimes and those of certain western leaders.”</p>
<p>Ahmad: &#160;“Sanad told my cousin the day after he assassinated Colonel Gadhafi that he is promised protection and that the TNC will not arrest him despite their, for western ears only, &#160;announcement of a planned “investigation” of how Muammar and Mutassim died. &#160;Like some of his friends, Sanad did fight for a while with the rebels and he sometimes changed units because it was fun and now he plans to form a gang to protect rich Libyans and foreigners as they continue to arrive here to help, as they claim, to rebuild our destroyed country and make democracy. Now we all so exhausted from all the needless killing I am not sure what kind of democracy we will have or even want.&#160; American democracy?&#160; It’s very great? Sometimes it seems you have more problems than we do.&#160; At least we have free education, free medical care, and homes and are not living on the streets without jobs.</p>
<p>Rana joined in,&#160; &#160;“One Israeli-American Company has offered Sanad and other young men who refuse to give up their guns a job recruiting former fighters for proper training as Libyan police.&#160; There are some Blackwater (XE) people here are also trying to do business with &#160;NATO agents for private police forces around Libya. Anyone who thinks NATO is going to leave us in peace is mistaken.&#160; More of them arrive everyday.”</p>
<p>Hind, who has not wavered since last summer in her opposition to what she calls “NATO’s team” also voiced strong offense and condemnation of certain pro-rebel Sheiks who have declared that Gadhafi was not a Muslim.&#160; “Everyone knows he was a devout Muslim.&#160; His last Will stated, “I do swear that there is no other God but Allah and that Mohammad is God’s Prophet, peace be upon him. I pledge that I will die as Muslim. “</p>
<p>Hind interjected, “Please tell me who are these TNC Sheiks to say who is and who is not a Muslim &#160;In Islam it’s between each of us and Allah and nobody else’s business. &#160;If these Sheiks were better Muslims they would have opposed what has been done to his body and that of his son and friend in Sirte and Misrata. It is haram. I am very angry and disgusted.”</p>
<p>Ahmad explained: “ &#160;&#160;I am ashamed of what some Muslims are doing. &#160;Our religion does not allow for this mutilation and the freak show the TNC put on in that refrigerator.&#160; I was in Misrata with friends to pay our respects and was surprised how many others were doing the same as our group and for the same reasons.&#160; When the bodies were first exhibited curious people came and some said bad insults.&#160; But by the next day the atmosphere has completely changed. People came to honor Colonel Gadhafi for his courage in dying for what he believed was best for Libya and that was to keep Libya free from colonialism. I don’t believe the media is accurately reporting this. Our leader died a hero like Omar Muktar in my opinion and history will prove this someday.”</p>
<p>Again, his fiancée Amal interrupted Ahmad, &#160;&#160;“As Colonel Gadhafi revealed in his Will, NATO made him several offers if he would abandon his country to them. Foolish and criminal NATO established our leader forever as a great resister to colonialism and a patriot for Libya, for all of Africa and for the Middle East. I believe that Colonel Gadhafi died a far more honorable death than the leaders of NATO will.”</p>
<p>Amal then said, “I became ill when I left him.&#160; His skin was almost black and his body was rotting quickly with fluids leaking on the floor. They must give him immediately to his family and ask Allah to forgive themselves for their haram.”</p>
<p>Suha then spoke: “We also visited the Mahari Hotel in Sirte where we saw more than 50 bodies of Gadaffi supporters.&#160; Some had their hands behind them bound by plastic handcuffs and were executed at close range. Others had been taken from hospital beds and murdered. This crime is just one more example of the lies of the TNC and NATO.&#160; NATO forces commanded and controlled their rebels and knew what they have been doing.&#160; NATO is responsible for destroying much of our country and for what will surely happen in the coming days.”</p>
<p>I first met Ahmad what now seems like a couple of years ago, but in actuality it was only last June. We sat at an outdoor cafe on Green Square (now renamed Martyrs’ Square) and talked about NATO’s obvious plans for Libya.&#160; Since August 23 and the precipitous collapse of the loyalist resistance in Tripoli, which Ahmad had been organizing some of the neighborhoods to participate in, he has been on the lam as friends got word to him that TNC death squads were on his trail even staking out the Radisson Hotel lobby where he used to meet with journalists and western friends. Ahmad blames the lack of a real defense of Tripoli, that took us all by surprise, as “our incompetence and some high ranking traitors” for the non-implementation of plans to defend Tripoli from NATO’s rebels.</p>
<p>His first words after we hugged were: &#160;“Now the real resistance will begin! The Libyan people are now even surer than they were during this summer that the TNC sold our country to the NATO colonial countries.&#160; &#160;“As NATO now hunts down Saif al Islam, they are making Saif the new leader of the resistance to colonialism in Libya and in Africa. I personally pledge my support for him and pray that Allah will protect him.”</p>
<p>Franklin Lamb is reachable c/o <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | Revulsion and Fury, as Students Remember Man Who Shot Qaddafi | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/10/26/revulsion-and-fury-as-students-remember-man-who-shot-qaddafi/ | 2011-10-26 | 4 |
<p>This has to be said: department store mannequins have been creating unrealistic body expectations for men for decades now, and something has to be done about it. This guy is brave enough to speak truth to power.</p>
<p>First there's the expectation that men should have mannequin-like bodies, now you're telling us that men are expected to live less than women? This is unbelievable – we mean, believable. This is very believable.</p> | Are mannequins creating unrealistic expectations for men? | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/10/16/humor/are-mannequins-creating-unrealistic-expectations-for-men | 2017-10-16 | 1 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The elderly couple who were found dead in their home on Richmond SE on Wednesday have been identified as Bernard Pfeffer, 93, and his 90-year-old wife, Lola Pfeffer, according to Albuquerque police.</p>
<p>APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said that so far the police investigation indicates the Pfeffers both died from gunshot wounds. Lola Pfeffer appears to have been shot by Bernard Pfeffer and Bernard Pfeffer’s wounds appear to be self-inflicted, he said.</p>
<p>Police were called to the home at the corner of Lead and Richmond Wednesday morning after a family member found the couple dead inside the house.</p>
<p>Later Wednesday, police said evidence at the scene suggested that it was a murder-suicide situation.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Police identify elderly couple in suspected murder-suicide | false | https://abqjournal.com/480967/police-identify-elderly-couple-in-suspected-murdersuicide.html | 2 |
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<p>MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Stu Voigt has been found guilty of one count of bank fraud.</p>
<p>A federal jury reached the verdict Friday in a case that prosecutors said bilked investors out of millions of dollars. Voigt was acquitted of a second bank fraud count.</p>
<p>The Star Tribune reports ( <a href="http://strib.mn/1miV0Fv" type="external">http://strib.mn/1miV0Fv</a> ) Voigt's business partner, Jeffrey Gardner, was convicted of multiple fraud charges.</p>
<p>Gardner was accused of using money invested in his Hennessey Financial LLC to pay prior investors and debts instead of financing real estate projects. Voigt was accused of defrauding a bank while he was its chairman by failing to disclose debts Gardner owed him while Gardner sought credit.</p>
<p>The men will be sentenced later. Voigt's attorney didn't return a message.</p>
<p>Voigt played for the Vikings from 1970 to 1980.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Star Tribune, <a href="http://www.startribune.com" type="external">http://www.startribune.com</a></p>
<p>MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Stu Voigt has been found guilty of one count of bank fraud.</p>
<p>A federal jury reached the verdict Friday in a case that prosecutors said bilked investors out of millions of dollars. Voigt was acquitted of a second bank fraud count.</p>
<p>The Star Tribune reports ( <a href="http://strib.mn/1miV0Fv" type="external">http://strib.mn/1miV0Fv</a> ) Voigt's business partner, Jeffrey Gardner, was convicted of multiple fraud charges.</p>
<p>Gardner was accused of using money invested in his Hennessey Financial LLC to pay prior investors and debts instead of financing real estate projects. Voigt was accused of defrauding a bank while he was its chairman by failing to disclose debts Gardner owed him while Gardner sought credit.</p>
<p>The men will be sentenced later. Voigt's attorney didn't return a message.</p>
<p>Voigt played for the Vikings from 1970 to 1980.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Star Tribune, <a href="http://www.startribune.com" type="external">http://www.startribune.com</a></p> | Jury finds former Viking Voigt guilty of bank fraud | false | https://apnews.com/amp/2ce5bdec7ad4419ea0d2c32113cd0db6 | 2016-02-06 | 2 |
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Cameron Cawthorne</a> September 23, 2016 11:19 am</p>
<p>Veteran comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks did not let a White House ceremony stop him Thursday from joking around with President Obama, pretending to pull the commander in chief’s suit pants down.</p>
<p>Twenty-three&#160; <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/22/mel-brooks-gets-top-billing-white-house-awards/90836592/" type="external">honorees</a> were at the White House&#160;to receive the&#160;National Medals of Arts and Humanities for their achievements.&#160;Brooks was one of them and was honored for his contributions to comedy and making the world laugh.</p>
<p>"The 2015 National Medal of Arts to Mel Brooks for a lifetime of making the world laugh. As a writer, director, actor, and musician he pioneered the art of musical comedy in his hilarious and thought provoking work on film and in theater have earned him the rare distinction of winning Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy awards," an announcer said.</p>
<p>After Obama put the medal around Brooks’ neck, the comedian reached down and pretended to pull the president’s&#160;pants down. Obama&#160;and the crowd erupted with laughter. Obama shook his hand and gave him a hug.</p>
<p>Earlier in the ceremony, Obama had praised Brooks’ 1974 movie Blazing Saddles, calling it a&#160;"great film." Obama even quoted a line that Brooks had told his comedy writers for that film.</p>
<p>"Write anything you want because we’ll never be heard from again. We’ll all be arrested for this movie," Obama said</p> | Mel Brooks Pretends to ‘Pants’ Obama While Being Honored | true | http://freebeacon.com/politics/mel-brooks-pretends-to-pants-president-obama/ | 2016-09-23 | 0 |
<p>It took no longer than the announcement that Libya would host this year’s Arab League summit in late March for controversy to ensue. One of the League’s 22 member states has already threatened to boycott and, some would say, with good cause.</p>
<p>It is the one Arab country in which Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi has not dared set foot for the past 32 years.</p>
<p>That nation is Lebanon, and the circumstance that eventually led its judiciary to issue a warrant for Qadhafi’s arrest was the 1978 disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr.</p>
<p>Born in Iran to a Lebanese family, Imam Moussa al-Sadr was a Qum and Najaf-trained philosopher who became one of Lebanon’s most revered religious and political figures. Answering the call to become imam of Tyre, he moved to Lebanon in 1960. For the next two decades, his tireless devotion to enfranchising the marginalized Shia population while maintaining respect for, and tranquil relations with, all of Lebanon’s confessional groups won him wide praise. Al-Sadr helped redistribute needed resources to the country’s underdeveloped and impoverished south. With the institution of an array of social welfare programs, he quickly gained a reputation as a genuine reformer.</p>
<p>Al-Sadr became head of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council in 1969, making him de facto leader of this community. In 1974, he founded the “Movement for the Disinherited” which continued to advocate for Shia political and socioeconomic rights. Its armed wing, “The Lebanese Resistance Detachment,” became better known by its Arabic acronym, AMAL (“Hope”) which persists today as a political party.</p>
<p>The complete biography and works of Moussa al-Sadr are beyond the scope of this article. What brings us to the present conflict between Lebanon and Libya however, centers around al-Sadr’s 1978 visit to Libya.</p>
<p>In August of that year, he and two companions—Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine—flew from Beirut to Tripoli, Libya to meet Qadhafi and other government officials.</p>
<p>They were never seen or heard from again.</p>
<p>It is believed that on orders from Qadhafi, al-Sadr and his two aides were imprisoned and/or murdered. His motivation for doing so remains murky, although he may have regarded al-Sadr as a political or religious rival. Qadhafi denies any knowledge of their fate, saying the three had left Libya for Italy. After Aug. 31, though, no trace of them was found in either country. Other than contending they had departed for Rome, Qadhafi has persistently refused to comment on the matter.</p>
<p>In an Oct. 1978 article entitled “ <a href="" type="internal">An Imam Is Missing</a>,” Time recounted that although al-Sadr had flown to Libya to attend ceremonies celebrating Qadhafi’s ascent to power, an Alitalia flight was booked in his name the day before those celebrations were scheduled to take place. The crew did not report seeing him on the plane and Italian police found no evidence he had ever been in Rome.</p>
<p>As Time reported:</p>
<p>“Whatever the explanation of Moussa Sadr’s disappearance, troubled Lebanon had lost a potent moderating force in the Imam. As a political as well as spiritual leader of the country’s most impoverished community, he had founded technical schools, sports centers and medical clinics for the poor. He had repeatedly attempted to head off bloody sectarian strife.”</p>
<p>In a <a href="" type="internal">recent report</a> by the English language Web site of Lebanon’s government-aligned daily An-Nahar (no friend of Amal, Hezbollah, or affiliated parties), it was written:</p>
<p>“Sadr was a towering figure in Lebanon as he was trusted by political leaders from across the spectrum. He personified the essence of Lebanon’s national unity and many believed that Lebanon could have been spared the agony of Civil War had Sadr been there.”</p>
<p>Thirty years later, on Aug. 27, 2008, Lebanese courts indicted Qadhafi and six other Libyans on charges of conspiring to kidnap and false imprisonment.</p>
<p>In light of Qadhafi’s indictment and presumed involvement in al-Sadr’s disappearance, there are calls for Lebanon to boycott the upcoming Arab League summit in Tripoli—the same city from which he mysteriously vanished.</p>
<p>Both Vice President of the Higher Shia Council, Sheikh Abdul-Amir Qabalan, and Amal head Nabih Berri said Lebanon should not participate until all questions on al-Sadr’s fate are fully answered. President Michel Suleiman publicly asked of the Libyan government, “Where are Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his companions? We need to answer this question.”</p>
<p>Qadhafi has already threatened to expel the 20,000 Lebanese nationals living in Libya and institute other “painful” measures should a boycott take place.</p>
<p>This notwithstanding, Lebanon should still boycott the summit. Although nothing of substance has ever emerged from these gatherings, Lebanon has the opportunity to take a powerful stand before it even convenes.</p>
<p>For a country that has endured so much in civil strife since the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, a boycott would send the message that the lives of great men who uplifted the downtrodden, crossed sectarian lines to promote communal harmony and fought for the well-being of the Lebanese people will not be easily forgotten.</p>
<p>Facing Lebanon’s empty seat in Tripoli, leaders of the Arab League’s 21 other member states would learn what dignity, self-respect and the pursuit of justice are all about.</p>
<p>RANNIE AMIRI is an independent Middle East commentator. He may be reached at: rbamiri [at] yahoo [dot] com.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p /> | Lebanon, Libya and a Lingering Question | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/03/12/lebanon-libya-and-a-lingering-question/ | 2010-03-12 | 4 |
<p>Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A California police department shared photos of a large herd of escaped animals following their leader, a donkey, through a residential neighborhood.</p>
<p>The West Covina Police Department said <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WestCovinaPD/posts/1712742502080101" type="external">in a Facebook post</a> that officers responded to a report of loose animals about 12:30 a.m. Thursday.</p>
<p />
<p>"Officers found several sheep and goats being led by a donkey walking along the residential streets," the post said. "The group of animals at first failed to comply with officers as they evaded capture."</p>
<p>The department said the animals were corralled with the help of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.</p>
<p>Police determined the herd had escaped through an unsecured gate at their owner's property in Valinda. The owner was contacted and helped officers and deputies herd the animals, which were not injured, back home.</p>
<p>"When a police officer reaches the end of his/her career, most of them will say 'I've seen it all.' Well, let's add one more rare call for service to that list," the Facebook post said. "This incident is one for the books."</p> | Donkey leads escaped animals on midnight parade through neighborhood | false | https://upi.com/Odd_News/2018/01/26/Donkey-leads-escaped-animals-on-midnight-parade-through-neighborhood/9241516975633/ | 2 |
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<p>By Noel Randewich</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shares of water resource developer Cadiz Inc (O:) surged 30 percent in extended trade on Friday after a bill aimed at putting the brakes on its plan to pump water from California’s Mojave Desert failed to make it past a state Senate committee.</p>
<p>In a blow to environmentalists and other opponents of the project, California’s Senate Appropriations Committee held Bill AB 1000, known as the California Desert Protection Act, instead of advancing it.</p>
<p>“I’m deeply disappointed that the state legislature is actively blocking a bill to prevent Cadiz – one of the Trump administration’s pet projects – from destroying the Mojave Desert,” U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, said in a statement.</p>
<p>AB 1000 would require additional state government certifications that could stop plans by Cadiz to capture groundwater that it says would otherwise evaporate under 34,000 acres of land it owns in the eastern Mojave Desert.</p>
<p>Aimed at supplying water for 400,000 people, the Cadiz Water Project has already been approved by two California public agencies and withstood court challenges.</p>
<p>Under President Donald Trump, the Bureau of Land Management in March undid two Obama-era directives preventing Cadiz from using a federal railroad right-of-way to build a water pipeline.</p>
<p>Cadiz’s stock had lost a fifth of its value earlier in Friday’s session ahead of the Senate committee’s meeting. Its after-the-bell surge following the committee’s decision more than made up for that loss.</p>
<p>California Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday sent a letter to legislative leaders urging them to pass the bill and California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom sent a similar missive.</p>
<p>Cadiz did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a July statement it said, “AB 1000 would overrule the judgment of local agencies even where California’s courts have already reviewed and approved their decisions.”</p>
<p>Had the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill, it would have faced additional legislative hurdles before Brown could sign it.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | California lawmakers block Mojave water bill, Cadiz surges | false | https://newsline.com/california-lawmakers-block-mojave-water-bill-cadiz-surges/ | 2017-09-01 | 1 |
<p />
<p>Remember the “nuclear option” compromise? When the group of 14 Senators reached their agreement last May, they said they’d support a filibuster only under “extraordinary circumstances,” presumably if Bush nominated Attila the Hun. I’d suggest these circumstances apply not only to Samuel Alito’s track record but also to his nomination’s entire political context.</p>
<p>In threatening to end the Senate’s ability to filibuster judges, Republican leaders talk much about high principle, the right of presidents to have their nominees accepted or rejected without parliamentary obstructions. But the sole principle behind this proposed change is that of the power grab. The Republicans control the White House and Senate. They’re attempting to consolidate control in every way they can, including trying to obliterate 200 years of Senate tradition on the filibuster. This threat isn’t a moral stand: Republicans have filibustered nominees themselves. It’s just one more in a series of attacks on individuals and institutions that they’ve viewed as political obstacles, like Tom DeLay’s mid-census gerrymandering, the leaking of Valerie Plame’s identity, the jamming of Democratic phone banks, and the branding of political opponents as unpatriotic. Honorable conservatives used to warn against the raw power of the state. But the love of power has now become the political right’s prime gospel, making the slightest notion of checks or balances heretical treason. Republican leaders work to end the filibuster not because they believe it violates some deep constitutional mandate, but because they believe they can get away with it.</p>
<p>But maybe they can’t anymore. When Republicans first floated the “nuclear option” threat in early 2005, Bush’s polling numbers were as high as 57 percent. His support has dropped steadily since, in the wake of the Katrina disaster, the legal problems of DeLay, Bill Frist, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Duke Cunningham, and an Iraqi quagmire that’s inspired powerful challenges by Cindy Sheehan and Congressman John Murtha. Republicans have lost key electoral battles in Virginia, New Jersey and California. Bush’s polls have dropped as low as 37 percent. With once-solid Republican Senate and House seats now seemingly vulnerable, those who vote to eliminate the filibuster and confirm Alito will be taking far more of a political risk than they would have just a year ago.</p>
<p>Were Alito a reasonable Supreme Court choice, all this would be moot. But he isn’t. He’ll follow the script and evade specifics at his confirmation hearings, but he’s still the candidate nominated to appease the political right because they deemed Harriet Miers insufficiently hard-line. Consistently opposing the federal government’s right to address corporate abuses, Alito has argued for virtually unlimited executive power, including the government’s right to intervene in the most intimate realms of personal life. He’s endorsed the rights of police to shoot an unarmed 15-year-old who was fleeing after breaking into a house, defended the refusal of state employers to pay damages for violating the Family and Medical Leave Act, and said it created no undue burden if husbands could prevent their wives from getting abortions. Citizen groups, he’s ruled, have no standing to sue convicted polluters under the Clean Water Act. The federal government, he’s argued, has no right to pass national consumer protection legislation aimed at preventing odometer fraud or banning the sales of machine guns. Regarding the exclusion of blacks from juries in death penalty cases, he’s called the statistical evidence as inconsequential as the disproportionate number of recent U.S. presidents who’ve been left-handed. In one case, Alito’s Third Circuit colleagues said the federal law prohibiting employment discrimination “would be eviscerated if our analysis were to halt where [Judge Alito] suggests.”</p>
<p>Alito now downplays his membership in a Princeton alumni group so hostile to the admission of women and minorities that even Senate Majority Leader Frist condemned it. He dismisses as mere job-seeking his declarations, while applying to the Reagan-era Justice Department, that the Constitution does not protect a woman’s right to choose an abortion, and that he disagreed with the Warren Court rulings that desegregated schools and expanded voting rights. He’s trying to dismiss the memo he wrote, after getting the job, embracing the “goals of bringing about the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade.” He also minimizes the breaking of his pledge to recuse himself from cases involving his sister’s law firm.</p>
<p>It’s precisely because Alito’s presence on the Court is so potentially damaging that Democrats and moderate Republicans have a responsibility to challenge his nomination through every possible mechanism, including the filibuster. Republican leaders who try to eliminate it as a political option need to be branded, along with every Senator who supports them, as embodying a politics that believes in nothing except its own right to power. With Roberts, senators could say they were replacing the equally conservative William Rehnquist. To support Alito, we need to make clear, is to alter the balance on the Court radically for the most dubious of political ends. It does no good to reserve the right to filibuster in theory. If our senators aren’t willing to risk using it in a situation this exceptional, it becomes practically meaningless.</p>
<p>Senators accept a president’s court nominations for three reasons: They respect the perspectives of their nominees; they believe a president, as America’s legitimately elected leader, has the right to choose whomever they please; or they fear the president’s political power. But this administration has no moral standing to which senators should automatically defer. Bush gained the presidency through the extraordinary interventions of his brother Jeb and the existing Supreme Court. He was reelected based on lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida, John Kerry’s war record, and the true costs of his tax cut and prescription drug plans. And through Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell’s elimination of 300,000 overwhelmingly Democratic voters from the Ohio rolls and the withholding of voting machines from key Democratic precincts. My friend Egil Krogh, who worked in the Nixon administration, hired G. Gordon Liddy, and went to prison for Watergate, told the sentencing judge that he and his colleagues had “almost destroyed democracy.” The Bush people, he said to me recently, “are even more ruthless.”</p>
<p>Alito’s nomination embodies that ruthlessness. His track record suggests that, if confirmed, he’d support the Republican consolidation of power at every opportunity. But maybe the capacity of that power to intimidate is finally beginning to wane. If the Senate can find the courage to block Alito’s confirmation, they will draw a critical line on a choice whose effects could echo for the next forty years. They need to recognize the high stakes and extraordinary circumstances of our time.</p>
<p /> | Extraordinary Circumstances Indeed | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/01/extraordinary-circumstances-indeed/ | 2006-01-04 | 4 |
<p>Charles (left) and David Koch.&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhCDK1OCRlc"&gt;kochmbmproductions&lt;/a&gt;/YouTube; Globe Photos/ZUMA</p>
<p>On Thursday, the California attorney general and the state’s top election watchdog <a href="http://fppc.ca.gov/press_release.php?pr_id=783" type="external">named&#160;the “Koch brothers network”</a> of donors and dark-money nonprofits as the true source of $15 million in secret donations made last year to influence two bitterly fought ballot propositions&#160;in California. State officials unmasked&#160;the Kochs’ network as part of a settlement deal that&#160;ends a nearly&#160;year-long investigation into the source of the secret donations that flowed in California last fall.</p>
<p>As part of the deal, two Arizona-based nonprofits, the Koch-linked&#160;Center to Protect Patients Rights and Americans for Responsible Leadership, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/809700-california-fair-political-practices-commission.html" type="external">admitted violating</a> state election law.&#160;The settlement mandates that the two nonprofits&#160;pay a $1 million fine to California’s general fund, and the committees who received the secret donations at the heart of the case must also cut a check to&#160;the state for the amount of those donations, which totaled&#160;$15.08 million.</p>
<p>But those hoping to get the identities of the actual donors behind this dark money scheme are mostly out of luck. The settlement deal does not include the names of any flesh-and-blood donors—just the names of the shadowy nonprofits that shuffled money around the country during last year’s elections. However, partially redacted&#160;documents released by the Fair Political Practices Commission&#160;do <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-secret-donors-california-initiatives-20131024,0,6457967.story#axzz2ik1DO8wZ" type="external">point to a few major donors</a> involved in this dark money daisy chain, including investor Charles Schwab, machine tool magnate Gene Haas, Gap chairman Bob Fisher, and prominent philanthropist Eli Broad.&#160;</p>
<p>California officials hailed the settlement as a new record, but conceded that full disclosure was out of their reach.&#160;“This case highlights the nationwide scourge of dark money nonprofit networks hiding the identities of their contributors,” Ann Ravel, the chairwoman of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, said in a statement. “The FPPC is aggressively litigating to get disclosure and working on laws and regulations to put a stop to these practices in California.”</p>
<p>Malcom Segal, the attorney for CPPR, one of the two Arizona nonprofits named in the settlement,&#160;said in a statement&#160;that his client made an honest mistake in this case. “They believed they were in compliance,” Segal said. “But the FPPC believed they were mistaken about their compliance and (under state law) even a mistake is punishable conduct.”</p>
<p>The settlement documents ( <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/809700-california-fair-political-practices-commission.html" type="external">read them here</a>) give the clearest picture yet—without naming names—of the convoluted path that led to more than $15 million in secret donations ending up in California’s 2012 election season. Here’s how they did it.</p>
<p>In the spring of 2012, the documents say, a California-based fundraiser and consultant named Tony Russo began raising money to influence&#160;two ballot measures up for a vote in California that November.&#160;Russo sought money to defeat Proposition 30, which would have&#160;raised taxes on California’s wealthiest citizens, and to pass Proposition 32, which would have&#160;hindered the ability of labor&#160;unions to&#160;raise money for political purposes. To defeat these ballot measures, Russo told prospective donors they could donate directly to a California political action committee and be disclosed—or they could contribute to Americans for Job Security, a Virginia-based nonprofit that does not disclose the names of its donors.</p>
<p>One potential donor courted by&#160;an ally of Russo’s was Charles Koch, the chairman and CEO of&#160;Koch Industries. <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/810018-charles-koch-request-for-prop-32-contribution.html" type="external">In an email obtained by California investigators</a>, Russo’s ally asks&#160;Koch to give “several million” to defeat Proposition&#160;32. Koch Industries&#160;said in a statement that&#160;“we did not support, either directly or indirectly, this ballot initiative, which would have restricted public and private sector employees’ rights to contribute to candidates.”</p>
<p>Here’s the email to Charles Koch:</p>
<p />
<p>By October 2012, Russo had steered nearly $29 million for&#160;his Props. 30 and 32&#160;advocacy campaign to Americans for Job Security. But there was a problem. Election day was less than two months away, and the way campaign law works,&#160;the standards for disclosing donors get tougher within that two-month window. So, out of fear that its donors could somehow be revealed, AJS and its lawyers took precautions, choosing to funnel the money through the Center to Protect Patients Rights, which was run by Sean Noble, who was then <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/02/sean-noble-koch-brothers_n_4017578.html" type="external">&#160;the primary outside consultant and strategist to the Koch brothers’ national donor network</a>. The settlement documents indicate that&#160;AJS made three, no-strings-attached donations to Noble’s group: $4.05 million on September 10, 2012, $14 million October 11, 2012, and $6.5 million.</p>
<p>Here, the money trail forks into two trails. In one direction, CPPR gave $7 million to a nonprofit called the American Future Fund, which in turn passed $4.08 million of that to a subsidiary in California. That subsidiary, the California Future Fund for Free Markets,&#160;finally spent the money on influencing Props. 30 and 32.</p>
<p>In the second direction, CPPR directed $13 million to its Arizona neighbor, Americans for Responsible Leadership. ARL&#160;then passed $11 million of that money&#160;to the Small Business Action Committee in Sacramento, which spent the money influencing Props. 30 and 32.</p>
<p>Here’s the bottom line: A California fundraiser raised a boatload of money. He shuffled it through a network of secretly funded nonprofit groups to hide the donors’ identities. And when the money finally arrived in California in time to influence the 2012 elections, the fingerprints on the money had been thoroughly scrubbed off—and in the process, the operatives masterminding this scheme had broken the law.&#160;</p>
<p>“This is a nationwide issue,” said&#160;FPPC chairwoman Ann Ravel. “These groups exploit loopholes in the law to undermine the clear purpose of the law: to give essential information to the public.”</p> | California Watchdog: “Koch Brothers Network” Behind $15 Million Dark-Money Donations | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/10/california-koch-brothers-network-settlement-15-million-dark-money/ | 2013-10-25 | 4 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose 2.9 percent in December, the fastest pace since June and another sign of strength for American industry, the Commerce Department said Friday.</p>
<p>Orders were lifted by a 15.9 percent surge in demand for civilian aircraft and aviation parts, which can bounce around from month to month. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders increased 0.6 percent in December.</p>
<p>Overall orders for durable goods, which are meant to last at least three years, have risen in four the last five months and were up 5.8 percent for the full year 2017, best in six years.</p>
<p>Still, a category that measures business investment — orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft — dipped 0.3 percent in December.</p>
<p>American manufacturers are benefiting from a pickup in global economic growth and a weaker dollar, which makes U.S. goods less expensive in foreign markets.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Details:</p>
<p>–The Commerce Department upgraded the November increase in durable goods orders to 1.7 percent from the 1.3 percent gain it originally reported.</p>
<p>–Orders for computers dropped 4.4 percent, second straight monthly drop.</p>
<p>–Machinery orders rose 0.6 percent last month after being flat in November.</p>
<p>— Orders for cars, trucks and auto parts rose 0.4 percent, decelerating after gains of 2 percent in November and 1.5 percent in October.</p> | Global growth, dollar, push durable goods orders up 2.9 pct | false | https://abqjournal.com/1124577/durable-goods-orders-rise-2-9-percent-in-december.html | 2018-01-26 | 2 |
<p>Gilford 41, Sanborn Regional 28</p>
<p>Goffstown 44, Oyster River 33</p>
<p>Inter-Lakes 62, Moultonborough 40</p>
<p>Lisbon 33, Lin-Wood 27</p>
<p>Mascenic Regional 49, Concord Christian 20</p>
<p>Woodsville 54, Colebrook 48, 2OT</p>
<p>Gilford 41, Sanborn Regional 28</p>
<p>Goffstown 44, Oyster River 33</p>
<p>Inter-Lakes 62, Moultonborough 40</p>
<p>Lisbon 33, Lin-Wood 27</p>
<p>Mascenic Regional 49, Concord Christian 20</p>
<p>Woodsville 54, Colebrook 48, 2OT</p> | Wednesday’s Scores | false | https://apnews.com/4fd66fc1defd403387c4361268b4aa55 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
<p>The simple explanation for what happened on Election Day is that the American people voted for President Barack Obama because they didn’t understand the nature of his Marxist agenda. But it is inconceivable that the public would, on a fully informed and rational basis, choose a political ideology that guarantees American economic decline and foreign policy retreat.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there is a record of how this happened. The New York Daily News <a href="http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-08-31/news/33525426_1_american-crossroads-president-obama-undecided-voters" type="external">said</a> that GOP strategist Karl Rove, who raised $330 million for his Super PAC to guarantee Mitt Romney’s victory and win Republican control of the Senate, had been advising Republicans to avoid calling Obama a socialist or left-winger. Rove believed that undecided, moderate or left-leaning voters would jump to Obama’s side if that charge were leveled against him.</p>
<p>“If you say he’s a socialist, they’ll go to defend him,” <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-31/exclusive-inside-karl-roves-billionaire-fundraiser" type="external">Rove said</a>. “If you call him a ‘far out left-winger,’ they’ll say, ‘no, no, he’s not.’” Rove said Romney had to remain “focused on the facts and adopt a respectful tone” toward Obama.</p>
<p>We see where this got Romney. He was respectful toward Obama, especially in the third presidential debate, but got savaged by the media in the process.</p>
<p>A wake-up call to Romney came on September 21, when Democratic consultant Pat Caddell gave a <a href="" type="internal">speech</a> at the AIM “ObamaNation” conference and basically warned Romney and his advisers that he had to confront liberal media bias immediately and alert the American people to the facts about the national security crisis in the Middle East that were being carefully concealed and covered up.</p>
<p>In this riveting speech, which went viral on the Internet, Caddell called the media an enemy of the American people and said it was absolutely imperative that Romney and his campaign understand they were up against two major forces in society—the Democratic Party and the media. But it didn’t happen. There was no urgency. It was if Romney and his advisers thought he could coast to victory.</p>
<p>The failure by the liberal and most of the conservative media to truly “vet” Obama continues to be a major failing of our democratic system. Professor Paul Kengor wrote a blockbuster book this year, The Communist, on Obama’s mentor, which is a great contribution to helping people understand Obama’s policies domestically and internationally. But because Obama’s mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was a Communist, even conservative media organizations such as Fox News were reluctant to cover this topic in-depth. It is reported that Kengor was warned in advance of some of his media appearances not to even suggest that Obama was a Marxist. Joel Gilbert’s provocative film about the Obama-Davis relationship, Dreams from My Real Father, was not covered at all by Fox News. Advertising for his film was rejected by Newsmax, a conservative site.</p>
<p>As noted in a previous <a href="" type="internal">column</a>, the predictions of a Romney victory by various Fox News commentators were based on the erroneous assumption that the election enthusiasm was on Romney’s side, and that the true believers behind Obama in 2008 would not be with him this time around. “I’ve got egg on my face,” Dick Morris now says, after predicting a Romney landslide.</p>
<p>“You have more than egg on your face,” countered one angry conservative, who copied me on his email to Morris. “You have misled the American public, the Tea Party and me by making an assumption. I thought you knew what was going on! Your job is to know how people are voting!”</p>
<p>It appears that Romney’s strategy was to let the conservative media take on the liberal press, in the hope that the bias would somehow be neutralized. Conservatives were also told that Romney had a natural advantage as a successful businessman over a President who was presiding over a lackluster economy. In the words of one clever pundit, the assumption was that Bain Capital would emerge victorious over Das Kapital. It seems liked common sense.</p>
<p>But voters didn’t fully understand that Obama did represent Das Kapital, which is the name of a book by Karl Marx that offers a critique of capitalism. And Rove’s $330 million didn’t tell them.</p>
<p>What the commentators who were convinced of a Romney victory also ignored was the establishment of a progressive infrastructure, funded largely by George Soros, which generated grass-roots support for Obama and his agenda and complemented the work of Obama strategist David Axelrod and the others in Chicago. This elaborate network, which operates here and abroad on behalf of what Soros calls the “open society,” has benefitted from the incredible sum of $8 billion from Soros and his foundations.</p>
<p>While Soros is now hailing Obama’s win as an opportunity for “more sensible politics,” veteran conservative activist Richard Viguerie says Karl Rove’s Super PAC was clearly “ineffective” and that Republican donors should never give him a dime again. Donald Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/266283107014025216" type="external">agrees</a>, calling Rove’s spending “a waste of money.”</p>
<p>In his Wall Street Journal <a href="http://www.rove.com/articles/434" type="external">column</a> congratulating Obama and his strategists on their win, Rove gripes about an “anonymous New York Times headline writer” who wrote the unfair headline, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” over a Romney op-ed on reorganizing the auto companies. This occurred back in 2008. It was the only example of liberal media bias that Rove brought up in his piece. Even now, the lesson has been lost on this top GOP strategist.</p> | Republican Campaign Failed to Confront Media Bias | true | http://aim.org/aim-column/republican-campaign-failed-to-confront-media-bias/ | 2012-11-08 | 0 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A male pedestrian has been pronounced dead at a local hospital after being struck by a vehicle near Unser and Bluewater, Albuquerque police said.</p>
<p>Police have shut down the northbound lane of Unser as they investigate the death. It's unknown when the street might be reopened.</p>
<p>Police have not released any details about the collision. The man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition before dying at the University of New Mexico Hospital, an Albuquerque police spokesman said.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Man dies after being struck by vehicle | false | https://abqjournal.com/341342/man-dies-after-being-struck-by-vehicle.html | 2 |
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<p>European shares slipped on Friday with specialist chemical storage group Vopak slumping after cutting its outlook, as opinions were divided on whether this month's equity rally was running out of steam.</p>
<p>The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which hit a 6-week high on Thursday, edged back 0.2 percent to 1,206.67 points in mid-session trading. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.3 percent to 2,709.62 points.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dutch group Vopak was the worst performer on the FTSEurofirst 300, falling 5.6 percent after its profit warning.</p>
<p>The FTSEurofirst 300, which is up around 6 percent since the start of 2013, hit a five-year high in late May of 1,258.09 points before falling to a 2013 low of 1,111.11 points in late June on concerns about a scaling back of U.S. monetary stimulus.</p>
<p>It has since recovered as investors expect any such tapering to be gradual, but Logic Investments' strategy head Peter Rice said he expected investors to book profits.</p>
<p>"We recovered a lot of ground from those June lows, but I would now expect us to retrace those gains in the near term," said Rice.</p>
<p>Others with a longer-term view kept a positive outlook, arguing that signs of a gradual recovery in the European economy would boost stock markets.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Credit Suisse upgraded its position on continental Europe to "benchmark", while strategists at Citigroup also favoured equities over bonds.</p>
<p>"I certainly believe we've got around 2 percent more upside left in this market by the end of this month, before we see any reversal," said JN Financial investment manager Edward Smyth.</p>
<p>Smyth added he would have 'long' positions betting on more gains on the Euro STOXX 50 up to the 2,768 point level.</p> | European Shares Slump | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/07/19/european-shares-slump.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) _ These Rhode Island lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Numbers Evening</p>
<p>2-9-5-9</p>
<p>(two, nine, five, nine)</p>
<p>Numbers Midday</p>
<p>8-7-3-2</p>
<p>(eight, seven, three, two)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
<p>CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) _ These Rhode Island lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Numbers Evening</p>
<p>2-9-5-9</p>
<p>(two, nine, five, nine)</p>
<p>Numbers Midday</p>
<p>8-7-3-2</p>
<p>(eight, seven, three, two)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p> | RI Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/05d8ef89c8b445b5b9113b5e9d457d1b | 2018-01-20 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe city government, as part of a crackdown on overdue lodgers tax payments, released documents Monday showing it has taken action to collect more than $200,000 from a downtown hotel and a company that operates three other Santa Fe hotels.</p>
<p>On Friday, the city reached an agreement with Heritage Hotels and Resorts — which operates The Lodge at Santa Fe, Hotel St. Francis and the Hotel Chimayó — under which the company will pay off about $242,000 in lodgers taxes for months dating back to July 2011.</p>
<p>The agreement says Heritage has paid $65,000 toward the tax debt “in recent days” and will pay the rest by July 15. Heritage CEO James Long said Monday night that the back taxes will in fact be paid by next week.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The city agreed to reduce the penalty for the “remaining delinquency” from 10 percent to 6 percent, saving Heritage about $7,000, the agreement states.</p>
<p>Heritage president Adrian Perez said Monday it was an oversight that the taxes hadn’t been paid before and that when the city notified the company, “we wanted to rectify the situation immediately.”</p>
<p>“Our intention was always to make sure they (the tax payments) stayed current,” he said. He said city officials recognize that the delinquency was not malicious and “this was just an oversight on our part.” Also on Friday, the city placed a lien on Garrett’s Desert Inn at 311 Old Santa Fe Trail. The city’s records show the hotel owes $51,367 for lodgers taxes going back to September. The total includes a 10 percent penalty.</p>
<p>Efforts to reach a manager at the hotel for comment Monday evening were unsuccessful.</p>
<p>Last week, the city slapped liens on two other lodging establishments — Casa del Toro on McKenzie Street and the Western Scene Motel on Cerrillos Road — for back taxes. The taxes, equal to 7 percent of room revenue, are due monthly.</p>
<p>In letters earlier this month, an assistant city attorney informed leaders of Heritage, Garrett’s, Western Scene and Casa del Toro that the city was removing the hotels from santafe.org, Santa Fe’s official travel website, until the lodgers taxes were paid.</p>
<p>The letters said the city wouldn’t provide the hotels with any leads on groups looking for places to stay or in any way include the hotels in activities or promotions paid for with lodgers tax collections, until the taxes are paid off.</p>
<p>The city collected more than $7 million in lodgers taxes last year. The money goes to pay off the bond debt on the Santa Fe Community Convention Center and to promote local tourism.</p>
<p>The effort to collect the back taxes results from a recent City Council resolution that called for an inventory of taxes, fines, fees and other debts owed to the city and for the city staff to come up with plans for collecting the money.</p> | Lodgers Tax Crackdown Data Unveiled | false | https://abqjournal.com/114925/lodgers-tax-crackdown-data-unveiled.html | 2012-06-26 | 2 |
<p>The U.S. is considering opening additional bases in Iraq to help shore up efforts in the fight against ISIS, the Pentagon confirmed on Thursday, a move that could possibly further cement American presence in the war torn nation after Iraqi forces suffered a string of embarrassing defeats to the terrorist organization.</p>
<p>The bases would be similar to the Taqaddum base in Iraq where the U.S. administration is sending 450 more U.S. military personnel to help Iraq's military as it tries to take back the city of Ramadi from the terrorist group ISIS. The U.S. troops will not serve in a combat role and will augment the more than 3,000 U.S. troops who have already deployed to Iraq, according to administration officials.</p>
<p>Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Marty Dempsey first spoke about this plan while traveling overseas during a trip to Italy on Thursday.</p>
<p>Pentagon spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren acknowledged that these new bases could mean the need for additional U.S. troops to deploy to Iraq, serving mainly as advisers to the Iraqi Security Forces and as logistics and support personnel — including security.</p>
<p>He added that some of the forces for the new bases could also be drawn from troops already serving in Iraq.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">U.S. Sending 450 Military Personnel to Iraq for Ramadi Battle</a></p>
<p>Warren would not speculate on how many additional bases were under consideration or how many additional troops this could mean, saying only that any place where the U.S. had a forward operating base in Iraq during the war is under consideration.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday said the administration would view the decision on opening more facilities as a signal "that previous efforts have been useful."</p>
<p>During President Barack Obama's first term, the administration spent considerable effort working to withdraw American troops from Iraq.</p>
<p>Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have said they've found the recent news about increased U.S. presence in Iraq unsettling.</p>
<p>"This is how Vietnam started," Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-New York, told reporters on Wednesday. "If you don’t think we’re putting (U.S. military personnel) in harms way you’re not living in the real world."</p> | Pentagon Weighing Opening More Bases in Iraq | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pentagon-weighing-opening-more-bases-iraq-n373831 | 2015-06-11 | 3 |
<p>Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I wrote a <a href="" type="internal">piece</a> noting that whether or not Donald Trump colluded with Vladimir Putin’s covert operation to subvert the 2016 campaign, the public record was already clear that Trump, knowingly or not, had aided and abetted Russia’s war on US democracy. He did so by repeatedly ignoring evidence and denying Moscow’s role in the criminal hacking of Democratic targets and the subsequent release of stolen emails. Those denials muddied the storyline and prevented a vigorous bipartisan response to Putin’s attack.</p>
<p>The disclosure this week of Donald Trump Jr.’s emails revealing that he, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort joined what they believed was a secret Russian government project to disseminate dirt on Hillary Clinton shows that the Trump campaign went far beyond creating a political climate favorable to Putin’s clandestine assault. The Trump camp actually protected Russian intelligence while it was waging information warfare against the United States—and Trump’s most intimate advisers knew they were doing so.</p>
<p>The new emails prove that in the first week of June 2016, Trump Jr.; Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and key adviser; and Manafort, who the previous month had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/politics/paul-manafort-trump.html" type="external">named</a> Trump’s campaign chairman and chief strategist, all became aware there was a Russian government plot to help Trump become president. Each received an email from <a href="" type="internal">Rob Goldstone</a>, a talent manager who had helped broker the deal for Trump’s Miss Universe contest to be held in Moscow in 2013, and this message was not subtle: It stated that Trump’s business partner in Russia, billionaire developer Aras Agalarov, had been told by Russia’s national prosecutor, a Putin crony, that the Putin regime wanted to convey to the Trump campaign negative material on Clinton. Goldstone noted, “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”&#160;</p>
<p>This led to a June 9, 2016, meeting between the three Trump advisers and a Russian attorney that Trump Jr. now claims yielded no useful information. (The lawyer has denied representing the Russian government and has said she did not attempt to pass along derogatory information about Clinton.) Perhaps the meeting was a bust. But these Trump men did learn something rather important during this episode, if they were not already aware of it: The Putin regime was on Trump’s side and was looking to help Trump by spreading disparaging material about Clinton. This cannot be denied—the Trump campaign knew Moscow was aiming to intervene in the election to benefit Trump.&#160;</p>
<p>Flash forward…well, you don’t really have to flash forward. Five days later, the news broke that the Democratic National Committee had been hacked. Cyber experts hired by the DNC produced a report pointing to Russian intelligence as the culprit. How did the Trump campaign respond? The next day it released this <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/donald-trump-opposition-224397" type="external">statement</a>: “We believe it was the DNC that did the ‘hacking’ as a way to distract from the many issues facing their deeply flawed candidate and failed party leader.”</p>
<p>Ponder that spin. Trump’s campaign chief had learned days earlier that the Russians were targeting Clinton. Yet now the campaign was suggesting the Russian hack was a hoax cooked up by the victims.</p>
<p>This pattern continued. On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released 22,000 of the hacked DNC emails, causing havoc at the start of the Democratic convention. Since the initial news story of the hack, more cyber experts had concluded Russian intelligence was behind the operation, and now Democrats and Clinton campaign officials immediately raised the issue that Putin was meddling in the election. The Trump campaign responded by dissembling.</p>
<p>Manafort went on ABC’s <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/week-transcript-live-philadelphia-democratic-national-convention/story?id=40825144" type="external">This Week</a>&#160;on July 24 and was asked whether there were connections between the Trump campaign and the Putin regime. “No, there are not, and, you know, there’s no basis to it,” said the man who the previous month had met with an emissary from a Putin crony to receive anti-Clinton material from the Kremlin.</p>
<p>Trump Jr. was even more vociferous. Appearing on CNN, Trump’s oldest son was&#160;asked about the Clinton campaign’s assertion that Russia had hacked the DNC as part of a plot to benefit his father. Shaking his head, he answered, “It’s disgusting. It’s so phony…I can’t think of bigger lies.” Trump Jr. continued, “That exactly goes to show you what the DNC and what the Clinton camp will do. They will lie and do anything to win.”</p>
<p>Both of these men knew that Putin’s government had signaled to the Trump campaign that it wanted to furtively help Trump. Yet here they were each saying there had been no contacts—that was a lie—and dismissing the notion of any Russian involvement.&#160;</p>
<p>Manafort and Trump Jr. were providing cover for Putin’s operation.</p>
<p>The next day, Trump followed suit with a <a href="" type="internal">tweet</a>: “The new joke in town is that Russia leaked the disastrous DNC e-mails, which should never have been written (stupid), because Putin likes me.” A day later, he <a href="" type="internal">reiterated</a> this sentiment: “In order to try and deflect the horror and stupidity of the Wikileakes disaster, the Dems said maybe it is Russia dealing with Trump. Crazy!”</p>
<p>There is no evidence yet that Trump was told about the June 9 meeting and the emails that preceded it—though it seems more likely than not that the meeting would have been mentioned to Trump, especially given that this gathering had been put in motion by Trump’s business partner in Russia. So at the time of these tweets, Trump could well have known that the Putin regime had informed his campaign that it was on his side and wanted to assist him secretly. But if Trump didn’t know, the issuance of these tweets demonstrate that Manafort, Trump Jr., and Kushner were allowing Trump to make claims about the Russia connection they knew to be false.&#160;</p>
<p>Manafort kept up the disinformation campaign. On July 27, he went on&#160; <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/campaign-chair-denies-financial-relationship-between-trump-and-russia/" type="external">CBS This Morning</a>&#160;and said of&#160;Russia,&#160;“We have no relationship.” He then turned to the issue of Clinton’s emails: “The real issue isn’t even the Democratic National Committee’s server being hacked; the real issue is her server.”</p>
<p>In the following months, Trump and his campaign stuck to this line. In each presidential debate, Trump dismissed the notion that Russia was behind the hack. After the election, he would not accept the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russia had mounted this operation to help him win the White House. He routinely referred to the Trump-Russia scandal as a “hoax” and “fake news.”</p>
<p>The Trump Jr. emails demonstrate that through this entire affair, Trump’s top advisers possessed direct inside information indicating Putin’s crew was willing to act clandestinely to boost Trump’s chances. Whenever they discounted the idea that Russia was plotting against Clinton to help Trump—or stood by when Trump did so—they were lying. More important, they were knowingly creating a smokescreen behind which the Putin operation could proceed.</p>
<p>Within criminal law—and it’s unclear if there are criminal implications to the Trump camp’s interactions with Russia—a person who helps a criminal conceal a crime, or who aids an escape or who even fails to report a crime, is known as an accessory after the fact. Trump Jr., Kushner, and Manafort helped keep Russia’s operation a secret. They did not report what they knew about its efforts to intervene in the 2016 campaign.&#160;They did not tell the public that they had evidence that the Russian government was trying to undermine the election. They blew no whistle. They were silent partners in Putin’s enterprise. They were co-conspirators.</p>
<p>With these emails, there is no longer any dispute: The Trump campaign shielded a foreign adversary that sought to destabilize American democracy. By doing so, Trump’s most senior advisers increased the odds Putin’s mission would be accomplished.&#160;</p>
<p>Ashley Dejean&#160;contributed reporting for this article.</p>
<p /> | The Real Scandal Now Is How Team Trump Helped Putin Conceal His Attack on America | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/07/the-real-scandal-now-is-how-team-trump-helped-putin-conceal-his-attack-on-america/ | 2017-07-13 | 4 |
<p>Abington 68, Harry S. Truman 55</p>
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<p>Bodine 69, Rush 33</p>
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<p>Brashear 58, Pittsburgh Obama 57</p>
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<p>Cocalico 59, Elizabethtown 52</p>
<p>Collegium Charter School 62, Barrack Hebrew 43</p>
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<p>Curwensville 58, Dubois Central Catholic 49</p>
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<p>Delaware Valley 54, Western Wayne 40</p>
<p>Donegal 66, Solanco 53</p>
<p>Dunmore 56, Carbondale 50</p>
<p>East Stroudsburg South 55, Pleasant Valley 36</p>
<p>Easton 56, Allentown Dieruff 46</p>
<p>Eden Christian 56, Propel Andrew Street 54</p>
<p>Edison 42, Dobbins 40</p>
<p>ELCO 84, Columbia 48</p>
<p>Elk County Catholic 68, Sheffield 39</p>
<p>Elk Lake 64, Blue Ridge 46</p>
<p>Ellwood City 66, Mohawk 54</p>
<p>Elwood City Riverside 58, New Brighton 38</p>
<p>Erie 53, Harbor Creek 39</p>
<p>Erie First Christian Academy 63, Mercyhurst Prep 40</p>
<p>Fairview 60, Seneca 29</p>
<p>Fels 67, Eastern University 43</p>
<p>Fleetwood 61, Wyomissing 57</p>
<p>Fort Cherry 60, Jefferson-Morgan 39</p>
<p>Frankford 77, Engineering And Science 45</p>
<p>Franklin Regional 67, Kiski Area 37</p>
<p>Franklin Towne Charter 48, KIPP Dubois 46</p>
<p>Freeport 68, Mount Pleasant 30</p>
<p>Freire Charter 58, Franklin Learning Center 47</p>
<p>Garnet Valley 90, Harriton 67</p>
<p>Gateway 58, Armstrong 44</p>
<p>General McLane 33, Fort Leboeuf 32</p>
<p>Germantown Friends 57, Moorestown Friends, N.J. 55</p>
<p>Greater Latrobe 80, Plum 61</p>
<p>Greencastle Antrim 68, Waynesboro 56</p>
<p>Grove City 73, Farrell 37</p>
<p>Hanover Area 56, Wilkes-Barre Meyers 46</p>
<p>Harrisburg Bishop McDevitt 75, Mechanicsburg 39</p>
<p>Harrisburg Christian 68, Lancaster Mennonite 56</p>
<p>Haverford 53, Radnor 46</p>
<p>Haverford School 84, Germantown Academy 70</p>
<p>Hazleton Area 89, Pittston Area 37</p>
<p>Hempfield 61, Lebanon 60</p>
<p>Hershey 54, Red Land 26</p>
<p>Hickory 86, Oil City 79</p>
<p>High Point 64, Veritas Academy 28</p>
<p>High School of the Future 68, GAMP 46</p>
<p>Highlands 62, Greensburg Salem 35</p>
<p>Holy Redeemer 42, Nanticoke Area 27</p>
<p>Honesdale 51, North Pocono 48</p>
<p>Imhotep Charter 61, Mastery Charter North 54</p>
<p>Indiana 84, Yough 60</p>
<p>Iroquois 63, Maplewood 61</p>
<p>Jeannette 71, Serra Catholic 70, 2OT</p>
<p>Jersey Shore 61, Shamokin 57</p>
<p>Karns City 57, North Clarion 50</p>
<p>Keystone 71, Cranberry 43</p>
<p>Kutztown 67, Brandywine Heights 39</p>
<p>Lackawanna Trail 48, Mountain View 36</p>
<p>Lakeview 53, Mercer 36</p>
<p>Lampeter-Strasburg 54, Ephrata 41</p>
<p>Lancaster Catholic 52, Lebanon Catholic 27</p>
<p>Lancaster Christian 78, Dayspring Christian 28</p>
<p>Latin Charter 48, Philadelphia Central 40</p>
<p>Laurel Highlands 53, West Mifflin 47</p>
<p>Ligonier Valley 67, Homer-Center 62</p>
<p>Lincoln Park Charter 55, Aliquippa 32</p>
<p>Lower Dauphin 52, Palmyra 29</p>
<p>Lower Moreland 55, Bristol 30</p>
<p>Loyalsock 82, Montoursville 49</p>
<p>Manheim Central 60, Garden Spot 47</p>
<p>Manheim Township 70, Lancaster McCaskey 60</p>
<p>Mars 72, Moon 64</p>
<p>Martin Luther King 72, Audenried 57</p>
<p>Mastbaum 74, Olney Charter 68</p>
<p>McKeesport 81, Ringgold 56</p>
<p>Meadowbrook Christian 59, Northumberland Christian 51</p>
<p>Mifflinburg 72, Milton 66</p>
<p>Millville 77, Montgomery 23</p>
<p>Monessen 107, Mapletown 15</p>
<p>Montrose 54, Susquehanna 32</p>
<p>Motivation 52, Sayre 44</p>
<p>Mount Carmel 56, Central Columbia 54</p>
<p>Mount Lebanon 66, Baldwin 43</p>
<p>Muhlenberg 60, Daniel Boone 50</p>
<p>Neshaminy 68, Council Rock North 54</p>
<p>Neumann 72, Muncy 39</p>
<p>Newport 62, Lancaster Country Day 51</p>
<p>Norristown 67, Upper Merion 34</p>
<p>North Penn 47, Souderton 45</p>
<p>North Penn-Mansfield 72, Towanda 43</p>
<p>North Penn/Liberty 45, Cowanesque Valley 38</p>
<p>North Schuylkill 60, Jim Thorpe 50</p>
<p>Northampton 63, Whitehall 46</p>
<p>Northern Lehigh 57, Palisades 32</p>
<p>Northwestern 40, Girard 35</p>
<p>Northwestern Lehigh 67, Saucon Valley 59</p>
<p>Notre Dame-Green Pond 64, Moravian Academy 61</p>
<p>Octorara 71, Oxford 62</p>
<p>Old Forge 84, Forest City 43</p>
<p>Our Lady Of Sacred Heart 77, Neshannock 59</p>
<p>Owen J Roberts 46, Phoenixville 45</p>
<p>Panther Valley 68, Marian Catholic 63</p>
<p>Parkway Northwest 73, Mastery Charter South 64</p>
<p>Paul Robeson 76, Overbrook 73</p>
<p>Penn Charter 58, Episcopal Academy 52</p>
<p>Penn Hills 63, Hempfield Area 57</p>
<p>Penn Treaty 89, Hill Freedman 62</p>
<p>Penn-Trafford 54, Fox Chapel 53</p>
<p>Penncrest 67, Conestoga 55</p>
<p>Penns Manor 70, Northern Cambria 55</p>
<p>Pennsbury 51, Council Rock South 34</p>
<p>Perkiomen Valley 47, Pope John Paul II 26</p>
<p>Philadelphia Academy Charter 57, Elverson 48</p>
<p>Pine-Richland 61, Seneca Valley 51</p>
<p>Pittsburgh Central Catholic 50, North Allegheny 48</p>
<p>Pittsburgh North Catholic 43, Brentwood 22</p>
<p>Plymouth-Whitemarsh 78, Hatboro-Horsham 40</p>
<p>Pocono Mountain West 62, Nazareth Area 57</p>
<p>Purchase Line 67, Marion Center 53</p>
<p>Quaker Valley 77, Hopewell 46</p>
<p>Reading 60, Exeter 45</p>
<p>Ridgway 55, Brockway 44</p>
<p>Ridley 62, Springfield Delco 44</p>
<p>Riverside 61, Lakeland 49</p>
<p>Rochester 74, Western Beaver 49</p>
<p>Rocky Grove 67, Reynolds 38</p>
<p>Roxborough 67, Masterman 56</p>
<p>Salisbury 65, Pen Argyl 53</p>
<p>Saltsburg 55, United 47</p>
<p>Sankofa Freedom 58, Philadelphia Northeast 41</p>
<p>Schuylkill Valley 64, Tulpehocken 51</p>
<p>Scranton 46, West Scranton 45</p>
<p>Scranton Holy Cross 41, Mid Valley 38</p>
<p>Scranton Prep 51, Abington Heights 45</p>
<p>Seton-LaSalle 87, Carlynton 46</p>
<p>Sewickley Academy 71, Northgate 44</p>
<p>Shaler 50, North Hills 41</p>
<p>Sharon 73, Slippery Rock 29</p>
<p>Shikellamy 77, Selinsgrove 65</p>
<p>Shipley 68, Friends Central 61</p>
<p>Shippensburg 82, James Buchanan 30</p>
<p>SLA Beeber 71, Maritime Academy 61</p>
<p>South Fayette 64, Waynesburg Central 51</p>
<p>South Philadelphia 71, Franklin 55</p>
<p>South Side 72, Southmoreland 41</p>
<p>Spring-Ford 59, Upper Perkiomen 46</p>
<p>Springdale 57, Leechburg 45</p>
<p>State College 77, Central Dauphin 53</p>
<p>Steelton-Highspire 51, Camp Hill 49, OT</p>
<p>Strawberry Mansion 88, Palumbo 80</p>
<p>String Theory Schools 76, Prep Charter 62</p>
<p>Sullivan County 75, Bucktail 31</p>
<p>Summit Academy 54, Riverview 51</p>
<p>Susquehanna Township 88, Cedar Cliff 71</p>
<p>Swenson 56, Mariana Bracetti 47</p>
<p>Tidioute Charter 49, Vision Quest 38</p>
<p>Titusville 60, North East 52</p>
<p>Trinity 72, Thomas Jefferson 34</p>
<p>Troy 72, Williamson 41</p>
<p>Uniontown 95, Elizabeth Forward 56</p>
<p>Upper Dublin 62, Springfield Montco 44</p>
<p>Upper Moreland 55, Quakertown 47</p>
<p>Upper St. Clair 62, Peters Township 43</p>
<p>Valley 53, Derry 46</p>
<p>Valley View 62, Wallenpaupack 60</p>
<p>Vincentian Academy 82, Union Area 59</p>
<p>Warwick 64, Conestoga Valley 51</p>
<p>Washington 71, Burgettstown 58</p>
<p>Wellsboro 81, Athens 47</p>
<p>West Allegheny 79, Montour 64</p>
<p>West Chester Rustin 67, West Chester Henderson 51</p>
<p>West Lawn Wilson 54, Governor Mifflin 39</p>
<p>West Middlesex 45, Greenville 41</p>
<p>West Philadelphia 64, Philadelphia George Washington 58</p>
<p>West Shore 55, Mount Calvary 51</p>
<p>Westinghouse 68, Perry Traditional Academy 43</p>
<p>Westtown 51, Academy of the New Church 49</p>
<p>Wilkes-Barre GAR 50, Northwest Area 38</p>
<p>Wilmington 61, Sharpsville 49</p>
<p>Wilson 72, Southern Lehigh 54</p>
<p>Winchester Thurston 67, St. Joseph 56</p>
<p>Woodland Hills 85, Norwin 46</p>
<p>Wyalusing 50, Sayre Area 40</p>
<p>Wyoming Area 47, MMI Prep 36</p>
<p>Wyoming Seminary 55, Tunkhannock 40</p>
<p>York Country Day 65, Lititz Christian 28</p> | Tuesday's Scores | false | https://apnews.com/amp/8d530c0d74c081208e6fd832f64eac91 | 2018-01-10 | 2 |
<p>By <a href="" type="internal">Juan Cole</a> / <a href="http://www.juancole.com/2016/09/trillion-iraq-afghanistan.html" type="external">Informed Comment</a></p>
<p />
<p>A Brown University political scientist estimates that as of 2016, The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have cost the American taxpayers $5 trillion. That number isn’t important when we consider the human cost: Some 7,000 US troops dead, 52,000 wounded in action; hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead who wouldn’t otherwise be, 4 million displaced and made homeless, etc.</p>
<p>Just to put that $5 trillion in perspective. Let’s say you chose five individuals. Each of the five will spend $10 million a day. That’s the cost of <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/media/homes-what-can-you-buy-for-10-million/%20" type="external">Heidi Klum’s mansion</a>. They’d be buying the equivalent of five of those each day.</p>
<p />
<p>They’ll do that every day of their lives. All five of them. And then each of them will be succeeded by one their children, who will spend $10 million dollars a day, and one of their grandchildren, and one of their great-grandchildren, until 270 years have passed and it is the year 2286. That’s the equivalent of a stardate for <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZdrS7bEcF4C&amp;pg=PT128&amp;lpg=PT128&amp;dq=stardate+2286&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=RlKgMKhPHa&amp;sig=v2NPg-Oc0y-y1U5x7O3IVyvJgBI&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiD-6yKwovPAhXLKh4KHcrEDEAQ6AEILzAD#v=onepage&amp;q=stardate%202286&amp;f=false%20" type="external">Captain Picard</a> of the Enterprise.</p>
<p><a href="http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2016/Costs%20of%20War%20through%202016%20FINAL%20final%20v2.pdf%20" type="external">Neta Crawford, a professor of Political Science at Brown University</a> published the study for Brown University’s Watson Institute.</p>
<p>Professor Crawford writes:</p>
<p>“As of August 2016, the US has already appropriated, spent, or taken on obligations to spend more than $ 3.6 trillion in current dollars on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria and o n Homeland Security (2001 through fiscal year 2016). To this total should be added the approximately $6 5 billion in dedicated war spending the Department of Defense and State Department have requested for the next fiscal year, 2017, along with an additional nearly $3 2 billion requested for the Department of Homeland Security in 2017, and estimated spending on veterans in future years. When those are included, the total US budgetary cost of the wars reaches $4.79 trillion.”</p>
<p>The US has spent $1.7 billion for combat and reconstruction. I have a sinking feeling that first they spent half of it on destroying things and then they spent the other half on rebuilding them.</p>
<p>Through 2053, the US government owes the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans $1 trillion in medical and disability payments along with the money to administer all that.</p>
<p>Crawford adds:</p>
<p>“Interest costs for overseas contingency operations spending alone are projected to add more than $1 trillion dollars to the national debt by 2023. By 2053, interest costs will be at least $7.9 trillion unless the US changes the way it pays for the wars.”</p>
<p>Of 2.7 million military personnel who served in those two theaters, 2 million have now left the military and have entered the Veterans Administration system. Some 52,000 of them were wounded in action and many need care.</p>
<p>Because the Bush administration borrowed money to pay for the wars, we’ve paid half a trillion dollars in interest alone.</p>
<p>At least al-Qaeda had been based in Afghanistan. Iraq had had nothing to do with September 11. It was Bush’s invasion that brought al-Qaeda there, which later morphed into ISIL.</p>
<p>We were lied into that war, and it has weakened our economy. If anyone can tell me what benefits that war brought the average American, I’d like to hear it.</p>
<p>The Iraq War was a government-led Ponzi scheme and as usual the little people are the ones who took a bath.</p> | What Did We Buy With the $5 Trillion That the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars Have Cost Us? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/what-did-we-buy-with-the-5-trillion-that-the-iraq-and-afghanistan-wars-have-cost-us-2/ | 2016-09-13 | 4 |
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<p />
<p>– Lewis Thomas</p>
<p>BETHESDA, Md. – The pedigree of human beings, Thomas wrote, probably traces to a single cell fertilized by a lightning bolt as the Earth was cooling. Fortunately, genetic “mistakes” – mutations – eventually made us. But they have also made illnesses. Almost all diseases arise from some combination of environmental exposures and genetic blunders in the working of DNA. Breast cancer is a family of genetic mutations.</p>
<p>The great secret of doctors, wrote Thomas – who was a physician, philosopher and head of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center – “is that most things get better by themselves; most things, in fact, are better in the morning.” But many things require intelligent interventions – cures. So, to see the federal government at its best, and sequester-driven spending cuts at their worst, visit the 322 acres where 25,000 people work for the National Institutes of Health.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>This 60th anniversary of the Clinical Center, the NIH’s beating heart, is inspiriting and depressing: Public health is being enhanced – rapidly, yet unnecessarily slowly – by NIH-supported research here and in hundreds of institutions across the country, into new drugs, devices and treatments. Yet, much research proposed by extraordinarily talented physicians and scientists cannot proceed because the required funding is prevented by the intentional irrationality by which the sequester is administered.</p>
<p>A 2 percent reduction of federal spending would be easily manageable. It has, however, been made deliberately dumb by mandatory administrative rigidities intended to maximize pain in order to weaken resistance to any spending restraint. Spending on basic medical research is being starved as the river of agriculture subsidies rolls on.</p>
<p>For Francis Collins, being the NIH’s director is a daily experience of exhilaration and dismay. In the last 40 years, he says, heart attacks and strokes have declined 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Cancer deaths are down 15 percent in 15 years. An AIDS diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. Researchers are on the trail of a universal flu vaccine, based on new understandings of the influenza virus and the human immune system. Chemotherapy was invented here – and is being replaced by treatments developed here. Yet the pace of public health advances is, Collins says, being slowed by the sequester.</p>
<p>He entered federal service to oversee decoding the human genome, which he describes as “reading out the instruction book for human beings.” We are, he says, at the dawn of the era of “precision medicine,” of treatments personalized for patients’ genetic makeups.</p>
<p>This will be, Collins believes, “the century of biology.” Other countries have “read our playbook,” seeing how biomedical research can reduce health costs, produce jobs and enhance competitiveness. Meanwhile, America’s great research universities award advanced degrees to young scientists from abroad, and then irrational immigration policy compels them to leave and add value to other countries. And now the sequester discourages and disperses scientific talent.</p>
<p>In the private sector, where investors expect a quick turnaround, it is difficult to find dollars for a 10-year program. The public sector, however, with its different time horizon, can fund for the long term, thereby drawing young scientists into career trajectories and collaborations impossible elsewhere.</p>
<p>Collins is haunted by knowledge that the flow of scientific talent cannot be turned on and off like a faucet. Unfortunately, recent government behavior has damaged the cause of basic science. It has blurred the distinction between fundamental research and technical refinements (often of 19th-century technologies – faster trains, better batteries, longer-lived light bulbs). It has sown confusion about the difference between supporting scientific research and practicing industrial policy with subsidies – often incompetently and sometimes corruptly dispensed – for private corporations oriented to existing markets rather than unimagined applications. And beginning with the indiscriminate and ineffective 2009 stimulus, government has incited indiscriminate hostility to public spending.</p>
<p>NIH scientists seek intensely practical, meaning preventive and therapeutic, things that can save society more than any sequester can. The scientists also know, however, that the enchantment of science is in the phrase “You never know.” You never know where things might lead. Sixty years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick published a paper in the journal Nature describing the double-helix structure of DNA and noting almost laconically that it “suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.” They could not have known that this would lead to Collins’ career, which has led him here to days of dismay about exhilarations postponed.</p>
<p>Will’s columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at abqjournal.com/opinion – look for the syndicated columnist link. E-mail: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p /> | Government is damaging basic science | false | https://abqjournal.com/250312/government-is-damaging-basic-science-2.html | 2013-08-20 | 2 |
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<p>FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2015 file photo, a sign displays a shooter tip line above Interstate 10 in Phoenix. The prosecutor in the Phoenix freeway shootings investigation said Wednesday, April 27, 2016 that he will press ahead with the case despite dropping the charges against the suspect. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery refused to get into specifics at a news conference when asked basic questions about the investigation.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)</p>
<p>PHOENIX - For months, metropolitan Phoenix residents lived in fear as shots were fired at motorists on the freeway at random. Drivers avoided highways, school buses took different routes and signs were posted telling people to be careful.</p>
<p>The head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety called the shootings the work of a "domestic terrorist," and authorities heightened patrols and surveillance in pursuit of what appeared to be a serial shooter.</p>
<p>Now the case has been dropped against the only named suspect. Maricopa County's top prosecutor won't say why, except that the decision was made after hearing from an additional forensic expert.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>County Attorney Bill Montgomery declined to give any details when asked basic questions about the investigation at a news conference Wednesday. It's unclear whether those behind the shootings are still at large, and what authorities plan to do next.</p>
<p>But Montgomery said his office is not afraid to stop and review a case if needed.</p>
<p>"Prosecutors are not afraid of the truth. In identifying areas for further investigation, it's a part of reviewing cases in preparation for trial. Wherever the evidence leads is where we go," Montgomery said.</p>
<p>Dismissing charges against Leslie Merritt Jr. may be interpreted by some as a sign of a botched investigation by Montgomery's office and law enforcement.</p>
<p>"If people want to draw that conclusion at this point in time, they're certainly free to do so. And I got to stand here and take it," Montgomery said.</p>
<p>When asked if the public should be on guard when driving Interstate 10 - where most of the shootings occurred - Montgomery said people should just be aware in general.</p>
<p>"You're much more likely to get hit with a piece of flying debris," he said. "You cannot in this day and age protect yourself against every potential threat."</p>
<p>Ulises Ferragut Jr., one of Merritt's defense attorneys, said Wednesday he thinks prosecutors and law enforcement were under pressure to make an arrest and soothe the community's fears.</p>
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<p>"It is a travesty and they did a very poor job, a rush to judgment and Leslie Merritt became the scapegoat and he had to suffer and continues to suffer for it," Ferragut said.</p>
<p>He also said being labeled a "domestic terrorist" has ruined his client's life.</p>
<p>Department of Public Safety spokesman Damon Cecil said the agency had no comment, but that it does support Montgomery.</p>
<p>Merritt's lawyers are calling for the release of previously sealed documents in the case. Those will prove their client isn't responsible for four of 11 shootings of vehicles that caused panic on Phoenix-area freeways in August and September.</p>
<p>Their court filing states the documents should be unsealed to prevent prosecutors from making false claims about why the case was dismissed. It cited a statement from County Attorney's spokesman Jerry Cobb saying the case's latest developments are the result of evidence uncovered by prosecutors.</p>
<p>"Nothing could be further from the truth," the motion states. "Allowing MCAO's statements to stand would constitute a tacit endorsement of the State's misleading the public with utter impunity."</p>
<p>Cobb declined comment, saying: "We respond to motions in court, not in the media."</p>
<p>It's not clear what's in the sealed documents.</p>
<p>Merritt's lawyers have contended ballistic tests cast doubt on authorities' claim that their client was behind four of the freeway shootings.</p>
<p>Merritt, who spent seven months in jail before his release last week, has maintained his innocence and says authorities arrested the wrong person.</p>
<p>He filed a legal claim - a precursor to a lawsuit - a month ago demanding $10 million from the state and county. Merritt said authorities rushed to judgment and failed to provide evidence that he was present at any of the shootings.</p>
<p>Lamm said the case is still in its infancy, but Merritt could seek additional recourse if his arrest is found to be arbitrary or punitive.</p>
<p>Detectives took Merritt into custody Sept. 18, leading Gov. Doug Ducey to declare "We got him!" on Twitter five minutes after the arrest.</p>
<p>In court the next day, Merritt adamantly denied shooting any cars, telling the judge, "I'm the wrong guy." His lawyers immediately began raising questions about the evidence, citing ballistics information and phone records they say provided their client an alibi.</p>
<p>Ducey's tweet came under fire as a rush to judgment. Montgomery declined to comment on whether the tweet impacted the case.</p>
<p>"Having made ill-advised tweets myself, I am the last one who will cast a stone," he said.</p>
<p>Montgomery could refile charges against Merritt. The charges he faced have a statute of limitations of seven years, Montgomery said.</p> | Prosecutor offers no details on Phoenix freeway shootings | false | https://abqjournal.com/764594/prosecutor-offers-no-details-on-phoenix-freeway-shootings.html | 2 |
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<p />
<p>Dear Cashing In,</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I read an article by Randy Petersen entitled "Using Frequent Flier Miles on a tax-deductible trip." In that article, he states that "business expense deductions are covered under IRS 162."</p>
<p>I took a business trip and used my frequent flier mileage to obtain the ticket (no upgrade involved). The IRS has asked me to produce case law or specific section of 162 that authorizes me to deduct fair market value of the ticket as a business-related expense. Can you or Mr. Petersen provide me with any case law or specific Revenue Ruling or specific IRS section that applies?</p>
<p>- Terry</p>
<p>Dear Terry,</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/petersen-frequent-flier-miles-deductible-2243.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">the article</a> you refer to, written in May 2009 for CreditCards.com, Randy Petersen never says a taxpayer is allowed to deduct the fair market value of redeemed frequent flier miles. The way the Internal Revenue Service sees it, you did not pay anything for that ticket so there is no deductible expense. "There are no portions of Section 162 or case law that appear to justify that deduction," says CPA Paul Conway.</p>
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<p>Had you paid for your ticket with cash, it would be a different story, and that's where <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/162" type="external">Section 162 of the IRS Code Opens a New Window.</a> comes in. It covers business expenses, including what items are deductible, required documentation, business nature of the expense and overall reasonableness of the expense.</p>
<p>So, for instance, it is intended to offer guidance on whether a trip that involved both business and pleasure could be considered a business expense. "An airline ticket to meet with a business client to inspect a property in another state prior to purchase would be a deductible item," says Conway. "Taking your family on the Gulfstream to supposedly look at properties near Disney for two hours, and then spending the rest of the week on Splash Mountain, probably won't pass muster."</p>
<p>Your confusion may have come from the fact that Petersen discussed fair market valuation of frequent flier miles -- but that valuation is only relevant in non-tax situations. (Editor's note: Petersen's piece has been updated to avoid confusion caused by discussion of fair market valuation. That section has been removed.)</p>
<p>The normal procedure for the IRS is to forbid a deduction unless you can produce documentation suggesting that the IRS will accept the item or has been ruled in favor of the taxpayer in court. If the taxpayer can't produce that information, the deduction will be refused.</p>
<p>"In an audit, you're guilty until proven innocent," says Conway. "If the IRS questions an expense, you are responsible for proving that the item is allowed under the code. It is the rare auditor who will offer you a specific path to back your position."</p>
<p>No specific cases have been argued relating to taking a fair market valuation for a deduction related to redeeming frequent flier or comparable programs. "The only information related to frequent flier programs relate to the non-inclusion as income when they are earned and/or redeemed," Conway says.</p>
<p>Petersen compared the redemption of miles to using a coupon on a purchase: Only the final sale amount is deductible. In fact, any redemption of rewards to offset the cost of a business deduction results in the loss of the deduction to the extent that the reward pays for the expense. So a cash-back reward that is redeemed to help pay for a business expense would reduce the deduction.</p>
<p>See related: <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/frequent-flier-rewards-points-taxable-1282.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">Are credit card rewards taxable? Probably not, but ...</a>, <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/rewards_card-airline-miles-points-taxable-1099-poll-1277.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">Poll: 2 out of 3 rewards card holders balk at taxing miles, points</a></p> | Is an Award Flight Taken for Business Tax-Deductible? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/09/10/is-award-flight-taken-for-business-tax-deductible.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>More than 60% of all American seniors rely on Social Security for at least half of their income, and around a third of them depend on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.That makes Social Security an incredibly important part of nearly all Americans' retirement plans.</p>
<p>Social Security benefits are based on a formula that considers your age when you collect, the number of years you worked, and the income you earned during those working years. That formula makes it possible for you to figure out ways to increase your monthly Social Security benefit, with the three listed below already proven to help you do exactly that.</p>
<p>Social Security considers your 35 highest earning years when setting your benefit level. If you worked fewer than 35 years, those non-working years count as $0. Working longer can replace both $0 earning years and lower income years with a much better wage base for calculating your benefits.</p>
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<p>You might benefit from this approach if you took a few years off to care for your children or parents, or if you climbed the corporate ladder and can command substantially more near the end of your career than you did at the beginning of it. In any event, you'll certainly need to keep working to be able to put more years on your Social Security record.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>You can claim your Social Security retirement benefit as early as age 62, but the longer you wait between ages 62 and 70, the higher your monthly benefit will be. The rate at which your benefits increase by waiting depends on the year you were born and whether you're above or below your full retirement age. Social Security has a chart ( <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/ProgData/ar_drc.html" type="external">see this link Opens a New Window.</a>) that will help you calculate the specific benefit increase you'll receive for waiting longer to collect.</p>
<p>To benefit from this approach, you need to have another way to cover your costs. Whether you're still working, have savings or a pension, or are getting residuals like cash from the installment sale of business you used to own, you'll need some way to pay your bills until you start collecting. After all, it makes no sense to dig yourself into debt just to collect a larger Social Security check a few years down the road.</p>
<p>The Social Security formula considers your salary or other earnings from work, up to a limit that can change each year based on the national average wage index. In 2017, that limit is $127,200. If you're earning less than that amount, a higher working income will help you increase your Social Security benefit when it comes time to collect.</p>
<p>If you're eligible for overtime, that's one way to both pick up some extra cash and increase your Social Security benefits. If you're part-time and can work some extra hours, that would be useful as well. For salaried folks, over the long run, raises and potential bonuses can help you increase your earnings, but over the short run, there's nothing wrong with picking up a second job to boost your income.</p>
<p>Remember, too, that any extra income you pick up above and beyond what you need to live is money you can invest toward your future. Over time, that can turn into a decent nest egg to increase your retirement income above and beyond the increased Social Security benefit.</p>
<p>While you can use those three proven ways to increase your Social Security benefit, it's important to note that Social Security will only replace around 40% of the typical retiree's income. That percentage actually decreases for higher-income earners, and even Social Security itself encourages people to have another source of retirement cash available to them.</p>
<p>Indeed, the typical retiree's Social Security payment is currently around $1,363 per month. While you can leverage these methods to improve your chances of adding a bit to your monthly payment, the reality is that Social Security primarily serves as a guard against abject poverty in old age.</p>
<p>As you're figuring out ways to put in more years of work, delay collecting until later and earn more each year. Take some of that extra money you'll be earning along the way and set it aside for your future. Let that money compound for you between now and when you do retire and start collecting your Social Security. That money, combined with the increased Social Security benefit you can get by following these three methods, can help you get all that much closer to a truly comfortable retirement.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBigFrog/info.aspx" type="external">Chuck Saletta Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Proven Ways to Increase Your Social Security | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/02/3-proven-ways-to-increase-your-social-security.html | 2017-04-02 | 0 |
<p>UN investigators said on Tuesday they had expanded their list of suspected war criminals from both sides in Syria's civil war and the evidence was solid enough to prepare any indictment.</p>
<p>The UN inquiry has identified individuals, military units and security agencies as well as insurgent groups suspected of committing abuses such as torture and bombing civilian areas, it said in its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.</p>
<p>Some 20 investigators have carried out 2,700 interviews with victims, witnesses and defectors in the region and by Skype in Syria, but have never been allowed to enter the country now in its fourth year of an increasingly sectarian conflict.</p>
<p>However, despite the accumulation of evidence, diplomats say it is unlikely Syria would be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that tries war crimes suspects in The Hague any time soon.</p>
<p>As Syria has not signed the Rome statutes setting up the ICC, the UN Security Council would need to make the referral. Russia, supported by China, has shielded its ally Syria throughout the war, vetoing three UN resolutions that would have condemned President Bashar al-Assad's government and threatened it with possible sanctions.</p>
<p>"We do not lack information on crimes or even on perpetrators. What we lack is a means by which to achieve justice and accountability but this is not in our powers," Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the UN commission of inquiry on Syria, told a news conference.</p>
<p>The commission said the period of January 20 to March 10 was characterized by escalating hostilities between insurgent groups throughout northern and northeastern provinces as Islamist rebel strongholds came under attack.</p>
<p>Government forces have dropped barrel bombs on Aleppo and other cities, causing extensive civilian casualties in areas with no clear military target, and severely tortured detainees.</p>
<p>The mostly Sunni Muslim Insurgents seeking to topple Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam, have used car and suicide bombs targeting civilian areas — also violations of international law, the commission said.</p>
<p>Fighters from Al Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS, executed detainees, including civilians, and captured soldiers, in Aleppo, Idlib and al Raqqa before coming under attack by other armed groups such as the Islamic Front, it said.</p>
<p>Confidential lists</p>
<p>Four confidential lists of suspects have been drawn up, including the names of those responsible for hostage-taking, torture and execution, Pinheiro said.</p>
<p>"It also contains names of the heads of intelligence branches and detention facilities where detainees are tortured, names of military commanders who target civilians, airports from which barrel bomb attacks are planned and executed, and armed groups involved in attacking and displacing civilians," he said.</p>
<p>Carla del Ponte, a former UN war crimes prosecutor who is on the inquiry, said the investigators had gathered "objective evidence" including photographs and documents that could used by a prosecutor for any future ICC case.</p>
<p>"This commission has collected a lot of evidence that can be used tomorrow to prepare an indictment," she said.</p>
<p>"Referral to justice is an urgent, extremely urgent need, but as you know the Security Council cannot take the decision to refer to the ICC because of the veto."</p>
<p>Photos published by the Guardian newspaper in January appeared to confirm their previous findings on the government's systematic torture of detainees, the UN investigators said.</p>
<p>"I must assure you that the commission has taken these allegations very seriously, and we are investigating the evidence of torture, killing and starvation of detainees related to this case," Pinheiro added.</p>
<p>The independent team was set up in September 2011, months after the start of the revolt in which at least 140,000 people have been killed.</p>
<p>It has called repeatedly for the Security Council to refer Syria to the ICC prosecutor, a call endorsed again by Britain, the European Union, France and Switzerland on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Syrian ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui denounced the commission, in comments echoed by its ally Iran. "Referral to the ICC is a politicized and unlawful step as there are national judicial mechanisms available in Syria," he said.</p>
<p>Khabbaz Hamoui accused the commission of working for the political agendas of countries that are supporting the rebels — naming the United States, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.</p> | UN says war crimes evidence in Syria is solid enough for indictment | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-03-18/un-says-war-crimes-evidence-syria-solid-enough-indictment | 2014-03-18 | 3 |
<p>The death match between " <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/donald-trump-liar-in-chief-w475917" type="external">Liar in Chief</a>" Donald Trump and the " <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/832708293516632065?lang=en" type="external">FAKE NEWS</a>" media added another few brutal rounds last week involving a bloody <a href="" type="internal">"facelift" tweet</a>, Trump <a href="" type="internal">"body-slamming" CNN</a>, and blatantly false reports on a " <a href="" type="internal">dissed handshake</a>." So who's winning, or perhaps more appropriately, who's losing the war? A recent Marist poll provides an answer Trump's nemesis is not going to appreciate.</p>
<p>In what one PBS NewsHour guest described as a "horrible trend," a recent <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us170621_PBS_NPR/NPR_PBS%20NewsHour_Marist%20Poll_National%20Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_Democracy_Trust_July%202017.pdf#page=3" type="external">NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll</a> found that more Americans trust the Trump administration than they do the establishment media. While trust in both was quite poor, 7% more respondents said they put a "good amount" or "great deal" of trust in the Trump administration (37%) than said the same of the media (30%). Asked about their trust in polls, Americans also rated them slightly below Trump at 35%.</p>
<p>The partisan divide on trust in Trump goes about how you'd expect, with a vast majority of Trump supporters and Republicans expressing trust in Trump (86% and 84%, respectively) and most Democrats distrusting him (90% saying they either have "not very much" trust in his administration or "none at all"). Only 28% of Independents said they trust the administration.</p>
<p>But the most eye-opening numbers involve trust in the media: Only 56% of Democrats have a "good amount" or "great deal" trust in the media, while 42% said they don't have very much or any at all. Republicans expressed even less trust in the Fourth Estate, only 9% saying they trusted it; a stunning 91% said they did not trust the media. Only 28% of Independents said they trust the media; more than two-thirds, 70%, said they did not trust the media. Oof.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/matthew-balan/2017/07/06/pbs-poll-more-americans-trust-trump-media-horrible-trend" type="external">Newsbusters</a> highlighted NPR's rather grim coverage of their deflating poll on Monday's episode of NewsHour, which included a few gems from host Judy Woodruff and guests Stuart Rothenberg and Tamara Keith. After Woodruff pointed to the poll as more evidence that "the media may be a good whipping boy," Rothenberg noted the precipitous decline in the media since the 1970s, decrying it as a "horrible trend," one that Keith said "puts America at risk."</p>
<p>WOODRUFF: I do want to raise, in our last few minutes, this new CNN — I'm sorry. I had CNN on the brain from the video — the new poll that the NewsHour and NPR did in conjunction with Marist, where one of the things we looked at was what Stu — exactly what you mentioned — high distrust of the news media.</p>
<p>More than two-thirds of Americans — they were asked, what do you think about trust in institutions? And here it is: 37%, a good deal or a great amount of trust in the Trump administration; 30% — even less — trust in the news, in the media. And twenty [nine], about on the same par as trust in Congress. And you go on to see trust in the intelligence community, twice that much, 60%, and in the courts, 60%.</p>
<p>But the bottom line here, Stu, is that the media may be a good whipping boy.</p>
<p>Rothenberg replied that "right now, nobody trusts politicians or people covering politicians. ... It's a horrible trend. I look back to Gallup numbers in the early 1970s, and those of us in the media are regarded much worse than we were back then. But it's been occurring over the past couple of decades."</p>
<p>Keith then chimed by citing Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, who faulted the president for "trying to weaponize distrust," and said, "We are at risk of getting to a place where we don't have a shared set of public facts. A republic will not work if we don't have shared facts."</p>
<p>"These numbers are part of a very long trend of institutions losing trust from the American people; and that makes — puts America at risk," said Keith.</p>
<p>H/T <a href="http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/matthew-balan/2017/07/06/pbs-poll-more-americans-trust-trump-media-horrible-trend" type="external">Newsbusters</a>, <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2017/07/07/marist-people-trust-trump-administration-media/" type="external">HotAir</a>.</p> | Who's Winning The Trump-Media War? The Media's NOT Going To Like This New Poll. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/18407/whos-winning-trump-media-war-medias-not-going-new-james-barrett | 2017-07-10 | 0 |
<p>SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco supervisors voted unanimously to ban the sale of fur, further burnishing the city’s animal-loving credentials as it becomes the largest U.S. city to approve the prohibition.</p>
<p>Animal welfare advocates around the world cheered news of Tuesday’s vote, applauding the city for its compassion and hoping that the legislation will catch on.</p>
<p>The ban takes effect Jan. 1 and applies to apparel and accessories featuring real fur, including coats, key chains and gloves. An amendment added Tuesday allows furriers and other retailers to sell current inventory until January 1, 2020.</p>
<p>Wayne Hsiung, co-founder of animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere, said in a statement that “this historic act will usher in a new wave of animal rights legislation across the globe.”</p>
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<p>Retailers in San Francisco, however, balked at what they called another social mandate at the cost of their ability to make a living.</p>
<p>“It should be a citywide public vote, it shouldn’t be decided by the Board of Supervisors,” said Skip Pas, chief executive officer of West Coast Leather, which sells fur-trimmed items but deals largely in leather.</p>
<p>San Francisco, named for the patron saint of animals, has a reputation for a strong social conscience, often at a cost to businesses.</p>
<p>Its board banned the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco, which voters will consider in June. In 2016, San Francisco approved what was then a groundbreaking paid parental leave law, requiring private employers to offer six weeks of fully paid leave.</p>
<p>Katy Tang, the supervisor behind the fur ban legislation, has successfully pushed to prohibit performances by exotic animals and to forbid the sale of non-rescue cats and dogs from pet stores.</p>
<p>Mayor Mark Farrell said he plans to sign the legislation.</p>
<p>About 50 clothing and accessory retailers downtown will be affected by the legislation, said Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of public policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. Reselling vintage and used fur by outlets not usually in the business of trading fur, such as secondhand stores, pawn shops and nonprofits, will still be allowed.</p>
<p>The chamber estimates San Francisco fur sales account for at least $40 million a year. The city’s Office of Economic Analysis estimated fur sales at $11 million in 2012, based on census figures.</p>
<p>The city says even if sales numbers are much higher than its estimate a prohibition is unlikely to significantly harm the overall local economy.</p>
<p>The Fur Information Council of America and the International Fur Federation wrote to supervisors before the vote, seeking to partner with the city to launch a rigorous certification program that it said would ensure animal and environmental health.</p>
<p>The organizations did not have immediate comment on Tuesday’s vote.</p>
<p>The prohibition will hit retailers large and small, although smaller businesses will probably have a harder time adjusting. Luxury department stores Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue both feature fur salons. Representatives for the stores did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>Benjamin Lin, 72, owns B.B. Hawk in the South of Market neighborhood. His showroom features chinchilla, sable, fox, and Blackglama mink.</p>
<p>He is considering keeping his current location but selling fur at a smaller place nearby, outside San Francisco.</p>
<p>“I cannot fight it,” he said of the ban. “I will not win. I do not have the energy and the money.”</p>
<p>San Francisco joins two other California cities, West Hollywood and Berkeley, in saying no to fur.</p> | San Francisco Outlaws the Sale of Fur | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/san-francisco-outlaws-the-sale-of-fur/ | 2018-03-20 | 4 |
<p>This year’s Nobel Prize in economics goes to a triumvirate of researchers — MIT’s Peter Diamond, Northwestern University’s Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides of the London School of Economics — whose work focuses on a subject that’s all too apropos these days: unemployment. –KA</p>
<p>MarketWatch:</p>
<p>The problem with unemployment is that, theoretically, it shouldn’t exist. Efficient market theory says unemployed workers should always be able to find a job if they just lower their standards enough, just as all employers should be able to find workers if they just lower theirs.</p>
<p>By this theory, all unemployment is voluntary.</p>
<p />
<p>Diamond, Mortensen and Pissarides reject that theory, arguing that it’s costly to find just the right job — that is, one that matches your skills and abilities and pays you what you are worth.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nobel-for-explaining-why-markets-fail-2010-10-11" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Nobel Prize in Economics Plays on Timely Theme | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/nobel-prize-in-economics-plays-on-timely-theme/ | 2010-10-11 | 4 |
<p>GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry broke his leg in bike crash Sunday, apparently after hitting a curb, and scrapped the rest of a four-nation trip that included an international conference on combating the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>Kerry was in stable condition and in good spirits as he prepared to return to Boston for further treatment with the doctor who previously operated on his hip, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said. He said X-rays at a Swiss hospital confirmed that Kerry fractured his right femur.</p>
<p />
<p>“The secretary is stable and never lost consciousness, his injury is not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery,” Kirby said in a statement.</p>
<p>Kerry was taken by helicopter to Geneva’s main medical center, HUG, after apparently hitting a curb with his bike near Scionzier, France, about 40 kilometers southeast of the Swiss border.</p>
<p>Paramedics and a physician were on the scene with his motorcade at the time and provided him immediate attention. They quickly decided to order the 10-minute-long helicopter transport.</p>
<p>Kerry’s cycling rides have become a regular occurrence on his trips. He often takes his bike with him on the plane and was riding that bicycle Sunday.</p>
<p>During discussions in late March and early April between world powers and Iran, he took several bike trips during breaks. Those talks were in Lausanne, Switzerland, and led to a framework agreement.</p>
<p>Kerry had been in Geneva for six hours of meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday as the sides now work to seal a comprehensive accord by June 30.</p>
<p>Kerry regrets not being able to make the rest of his scheduled stops, Kirby said. The top U.S. diplomat had planned to travel later Sunday to Madrid for meetings with Spain’s king and prime minister, before spending two days in Paris for an international gathering to combat IS.</p>
<p>He will participate in the Paris conference remotely, Kirby said.</p>
<p>Kerry’s decision to seek treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital was made because the fracture is near the site of his prior hip surgery, Kirby said.</p>
<p>Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. <a type="external" href="" /></p> | John Kerry Breaks Right Femur In Swiss Bike Crash | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/john-kerry-bike-crash | 4 |
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<p />
<p>It may sound like a 1970s sci-fi flick starring the likes of Darth Vader or Captain Kirk.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But as the debate rages on in Washington over green energy, one former NASA engineer has an intriguing solution: capture solar energy in space through a network of intelligent mirrors and transport it back to Earth through a microwave beam.</p>
<p>The vision of solar power in space has been around for decades, however, John Mankins, the former head of Advanced Concepts Studies at NASA and now president of Artemis Innovation, says the project is finally feasible thanks to advances in solar tech and space travel.</p>
<p>His goblet-shaped idea dubbed SPS-ALPHA (Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large Phased Array, if you want to get technical) would be comprised of thousands of intelligent computers working together in high orbit to capture and transmit the sun’s rays to be used as energy.</p>
<p>“SPS-ALPHA is a biologically inspired architecture, analogous to a hive of bees, or a colony of ants,” Mankins said in a detailed 100-page report on the concept. “A very large number of modules will be assembled to form a single enormous satellite.”</p>
<p>The satellites would spend their lifetime collecting the sun's rays through individually pointed thin-film mirrors. Energy would be converted across a large radio frequency aperture and transmitted via a microwave beam to receptors on Earth.</p>
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<p>The entire project requires just minor innovations, which means its development is, feasibly, capable within 15 years notwithstanding any outstanding hurdles. Mankins sees the first two small-scale prototypes requiring about three years and $50 million to build, and the larger, in-space prototype taking another decade and $3 to $4 billion.</p>
<p>“The innovative advanced concept described here is a new approach to enable a technically feasible, economically viable and programmatically executable solar power satellite,” he said.</p>
<p>The World's Remotest</p>
<p>The former NASA researcher doesn’t expect SPS-ALPHA to replace today’s energy sources but acting instead as complimentary, deploying on an as-needed basis to remote islands, disaster areas or helping to offset the traditional grid if it were to be taken temporarily offline due to a storm or catastrophe.</p>
<p>“Between now and 2045 total electricity consumption on Earth is projected to double – and by 2100 it’s projected to double again,” Mankins said.</p>
<p>Each receptor would collect the equivalent of a tenth of 1% of the entire U.S. energy requirement. But the benefit is that the receptors – each a few kilometers long -- could be built relatively quickly once the satellites are deployed.</p>
<p>The satellites themselves would be able to turn in any direction so that emergency energy can be zapped to the far reaches of the world on command.</p>
<p>“These are all places that are geographically isolated -- the price of energy is two or three times the price in the Continental U.S.,” Mankins said, pointing to regions like Northern Canada, Hawaii and Indonesia. “From space, we can deliver power directly to” them.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the receptors, which must be large enough (five to 10 kilometers) so that the beam can be diluted and harmless to people on Earth, would be made from a thin film that is 80% transparent.</p>
<p>It would allow for the passing of rain water and sunlight, enabling regular vegetation to thrive underneath. The receptors could be installed over a large stretch of land or hoisted on pillars over the ocean.</p>
<p>If this sounds absurd, take a look at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico (pictured below), which is home to the world’s largest curved focusing dish.</p>
<p>At 1,000 feet in diameter and situated atop an old sinkhole, the dish is made of aluminum panels and supported by mesh steel cables. Tropical vegetation flourishes underneath, with orchids and lizards inhabiting the ecosystem.</p>
<p>The SPS-ALPHA receptors would be simultaneously powerful, with one in, say, the Mojave Desert easily supplying power for all of Southern California.</p>
<p>In space, the satellites would be able to reach any receptor within its field of view, with as little as four satellites covering the world’s entire surface (though each would only be able to communicate with one receptor at a time).</p>
<p>“A single satellite in orbit above the Indian Ocean can send power anywhere in Africa, Central or Eastern Europe, anywhere in Russia up to Moscow, the Middle East, India and half of China,” Mankins said.</p>
<p>Though he sees it being "immediately market ready" for remote locations.</p>
<p>Making Money Now</p>
<p>While it may take years for the dream to reach fruition – if it ever does – and even longer for something like this to be competitive with the power grid, Mankins sees an ability to profit from SPS technologies in the near term.</p>
<p>Partnering with major communications providers, the technology could be installed on traditional satellites, allowing them to attain a greater source of power at a cheaper cost. It could help boost the satellite’s bandwidth while reducing operational costs, making satellites more profitable and helping to lower excessive launch costs.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to wait until you have solar power satellites to make a lot of money from this,” Mankins said.</p>
<p>High launch costs remain one of this SPS-ALPHA’s biggest roadblocks, and while Mankins says new advances from the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX are helping to bring costs down for major providers, he argues further innovation is needed to make space travel -- and satellites -- economically feasible for the little guys.</p> | Capturing Solar Energy in Space for the World's Remotest Region | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/09/19/capturing-solar-energy-in-space-for-world-remotest-regions.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>An airliner was forced to make an <a href="http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=40210" type="external">emergency landing</a> on Monday after a passenger struck matches in attempting to cover the odor of her gas. After bomb-sniffing dogs searched the plane, the woman admitted to lighting the matches and said she had a medical condition. She was not allowed to reboard.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/05/flatulence_forces_pl.html" type="external">(h/t: Boing Boing)</a></p>
<p>WBIR:</p>
<p>Flatulence brought 99 passengers on an American Airlines flight to an unscheduled visit to Nashville early Monday morning.</p>
<p />
<p>American Flight 1053, from Washington Reagan National Airport and bound for Dallas/Fort Worth, made an emergency landing here after passengers reported smelling struck matches, said Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority.</p>
<p>The plane landed safely. The FBI, Transportation Safety Administration and airport authority responded to the emergency, Lowrance said.</p>
<p>The passengers and five crew members were brought off the plane, together with all the luggage, to go through security checks again. Bomb-sniffing dogs found spent matches.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=40210" type="external">Link</a></p> | Plane Grounded by Flatulence | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/plane-grounded-by-flatulence/ | 2006-12-06 | 4 |
<p>South Koreans watched smoke coming from one of their most historic monuments. Fire broke out after a guard had left for the night. Fire fighters arrived at the gate within minutes and the wall went down in a blaze after a few hours. Police say they arrested a suspect. The suspect said he set the wall on fire because he was upset about a land dispute. The suspect had been convicted two years ago on similar charges. The suspect spoke briefly today as he arrived at the police station. The police said the man used a ladder to slip into the gate and set the structure on fire with a lighter. South Koreans have been stunned at how easy it was to do so much damage. It will take $20 million dollars to restore the gate.</p> | South Korean landmark destroyed | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-02-12/south-korean-landmark-destroyed | 2008-02-12 | 3 |
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<p>Tobacco politics could become the hottest issue in this year’s election. After a 100-year history of disinformation, perjury, and fraud, America’s most lethal industry is on the verge of being brought under the law. But the tobacco industry has bought the sheriff. Or more precisely, it has secured Congress and is sponsoring the presidential campaign of a longtime ally.</p>
<p>The morality of the issue is clear: Tobacco kills about 420,000 Americans a year. In order to replace these customers, and the 1.3 million who quit each year, tobacco has to find new consumers: kids. Seventy percent of smokers are hooked by the time they are 18, the age when they can legally buy cigarettes.</p>
<p>Throughout our package of articles, you’ll keep coming upon stark facts about smoking. Although cumulatively they may desensitize you, we’ve taken that risk because, frankly, Americans are already numb. The tobacco industry has pacified the public as expertly as it has manipulated the nicotine kick in cigarettes.</p>
<p>Consider the Marlboro Man, Joe Camel, and Virginia Slims. The healthy, active freedom they promise hides an insidious, debilitating addiction. Using the same “big lie” technique, tobacco companies are sponsoring the Republican “get-the-government-off-our-backs” revolution that promises to return power to our communities and states. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Big Tobacco is strong-arming GOP governors and legislators to override local anti-smoking laws, tobacco excise taxes, and lawsuits brought by state attorneys general.</p>
<p>The tobacco companies want more–not less–centralized power. Faced with revolts throughout the country and defections from their own ranks, they’re banking on corrupt politicians to bail them out.</p>
<p /> | The Tobacco Election | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1996/05/tobacco-election-0/ | 2018-05-01 | 4 |
<p>Attorney General <a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Loretta Lynch</a> said Friday she “fully” expects to accept recommendations from career Justice Department agents in the investigation into <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a>’s private email arrangement.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Ms. Lynch</a> said she understands questions about her private meeting earlier this week with former President <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Clinton</a> and she said that while she wouldn’t do it again, the meeting has no bearing on how the case is being handled.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Ms. Lynch</a> said the case is being handled by career agents and investigators with the Justice Department and that recommendations will be reviewed by supervisors and, ultimately, FBI Director James Comey.</p>
<p>“And then, as is the common process, they present it to me and I fully expect to accept their recommendations,” <a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Ms. Lynch</a> said at the “Aspen Ideas Festival” in Colorado.</p>
<p>She stopped short of announcing she would fully recuse herself from the case, as some Republicans have called for, saying that would entail not being briefed on what the findings are and what the actions going forward would be.</p>
<p>“While I don’t have a role in those findings and coming up with those findings or making those recommendations as to how to go forward, I’ll be briefed on it and I will be accepting their recommendations,” she said.</p>
<p>“The final determination as to how to proceed will be contained within the recommendations in the report, in whatever format the team puts it together — that has not been resolved,” she said. “This case will be resolved by the team that’s been working on it from the beginning.</p>
<p>“I’ll be informed of those findings, as opposed to never reading them or never seeing them,” she said. “I will be accepting their recommendations and their plan for going forward.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Ms. Lynch</a> said it’s reasonable for people to ask about her private meeting earlier this week with <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mr. Clinton</a>, but said it really was a social meeting.</p>
<p>The two crossed paths during an impromptu meeting at a Phoenix airport, leading Republicans to re-issue their call for <a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Ms. Lynch</a> to appoint a special prosecutor in the case.</p>
<p>She said Friday she had already determined the process before the meeting with <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mr. Clinton</a> this week.</p>
<p>“I do think that no matter how I viewed it, I understand how people view it,” she said. “And I think that because of that and because of the fact that it has now cast a shadow over how this case may be perceived, no matter how it’s resolved, it’s important to talk about how it will be resolved.”</p>
<p>“It’s important to make it clear that that meeting with President <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Clinton</a> does not have a bearing on how this matter’s going to be reviewed, resolved, and accepted by me,” she said.</p>
<p>“I certainly wouldn’t do it again,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a> has said she made a bad choice in using a private email account and a server run out of her New York home while she served as secretary of state. Hundreds of her messages have since been labeled classified, and authorities are investigating the arrangement.</p>
<p>Responding to <a href="/topics/loretta-lynch/" type="external">Ms. Lynch</a>’s announcement, the White House sought to emphasize that President Obama and his advisers had no role in it.</p>
<p>“The White House and the president were not at all involved in that decision,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.</p>
<p>The White House has also said Mr. Obama’s recent endorsement of <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a> won’t affect the case, but the president has received some criticism for previous comments saying he didn’t think <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a> jeopardized national security.</p>
<p>• Dave Boyer contributed to this report.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/jul/1/lynch-fully-expect-recommendations-clinton-emails/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Loretta Lynch: I ‘fully expect’ to accept investigators’ recommendations in Clinton email case | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/1/lynch-fully-expect-recommendations-clinton-emails/ | 2016-07-01 | 0 |
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<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
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<p>As important as the video game industry is in the U.S., it can be hard for investors to understand just how huge a market China provides to companies catering to online gamers. NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) has done an exceptional job of giving Chinese gamers what they want, and shareholders have gotten used to the company's success in producing impressive financial results. Coming into Wednesday's second-quarter financial report, NetEase investors wanted to see continued evidence of strong growth, and NetEase gave them everything they could have asked for and more. Let's take a closer look at how NetEase did this quarter and whether it can sustain its fast growth pace in future quarters.</p>
<p>NetEase's second-quarter results once again dramatically exceeded the high expectations that investors had from the online gaming specialist. Revenue nearly doubled in local-currency terms, hitting $1.35 billion, which was far greater than the $1.26 billion consensus forecast among those following the stock. Similarly, NetEase posted impressive bottom-line performance, with adjusted net income of $484.6 million reflecting a roughly 100% increase in earnings as measured in China's currency. Adjusted earnings per American depositary share of $3.70 more than doubled the year-ago figure and exceeded expectations by more than $1 per share.</p>
<p>Taking a closer look at online gaming specialist's numbers, the same trends that NetEase has seen in the past continued to appear in its financial results. Revenue from online game services climbed by more than three-quarters to $969 million, and sales generated by email, e-commerce, and other types of revenue more than quadrupled from year-ago levels to nearly $300 million. The advertising services sector posted more modest growth of about 25%, but it has become an insignificant source of revenue for NetEase over the years.</p>
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<p>In addition, the margin compression that NetEase has suffered once again showed itself, but the pace of the declines has slowed considerably. Online gaming gross margin fell by about three percentage points to 66.2%, but gains in email-related gross margin figures offset the decline. Overall, NetEase saw gross margin fall to 59%, but a slower pace of growth in operating expenses helped to boost operating margin figures and produce impressive profit gains.</p>
<p>CEO William Ding was once again pleased with NetEase's results. The strong quarterly results "reflect NetEase's leadership in China's dynamic online games industry," Ding said, "where we continue to introduce premium game content, innovative technology, and effective marketing strategies." The CEO also pointed to the way in which NetEase is looking at embracing new technology to try to deliver the experiences that gamers want.</p>
<p>NetEase has captured a huge share of the growing mobile gaming market, with more than 100 titles that include several strong franchises. Many titles have become popular not just in China but also in Korea, and NetEase has the potential to become much more of a regional powerhouse as it looks at its overall expansion strategy.</p>
<p>At the same time, NetEase isn't content with what it has achieved thus far. The company is also looking at virtual reality and similar new offerings to see how it can develop content that will lead NetEase forward in the future. Collaboration with the creator of the popular Minecraft game to develop a Chinese version of the program also has NetEase excited about its position in the market.</p>
<p>Investors have gotten used to seeing NetEase share its success in the form of higher dividends, and the company didn't disappoint this quarter. The income-tied payout rose to $0.78 per depositary share, up a nickel from the previous quarter.</p>
<p>NetEase shareholders seemed happy with the report, sending the stock up nearly 3% in after-hours trading following the announcement. With so much positive momentum, NetEase has the potential to keep setting new all-time record highs as long as the Chinese online gaming market remains as strong as it has been in recent years.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NetEase. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | NetEase Shows Investors Its A-Game | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/17/netease-shows-investors-its-game.html | 2016-08-17 | 0 |
<p>Sandra Pianalto, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and a member of the Federal Reserve’s policy making committee, announced Thursday she will retire early next year after a three-decade career with the bank.</p>
<p>Pianalto joined the Cleveland Fed in 1983 and has served as its president since 2003, according to a statement released by the bank.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“It has been an honor to serve as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and to participate on the Federal Open Market Committee during this extraordinary period in our country’s economic history,” Pianalto said in the statement.</p>
<p>Pianalto said she plans to continue with civic work in Cleveland after her retirement.</p>
<p>Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in the statement, “Sandy has been a remarkable colleague who has made invaluable contributions to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve System, and the country.”</p> | Cleveland Fed President Pianalto to Retire | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/08/08/cleveland-fed-president-pianalto-to-retire.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
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<p>It’s time for what’s become a semiannual ritual: General David Petraeus comes to Capitol Hill. Last September, the top military commander in Iraq testified before several House and Senate committees in what was widely depicted as a make-or-break moment for the Bush administration and its war in Iraq. Wielding charts and graphs, Petraeus, who was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, claimed that the so-called surge of U.S. troops in Iraq was working and that “it is possible to achieve our objectives in Iraq over time.” Such an outcome, he added, “will require a long-term effort.” The questions he received from the legislators were mostly softballs. (Neither senators Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama were impressive <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&amp;pid=232601" type="external">when questioning</a> Petraeus.) But when Republican Senator John Warner asked Petraeus if the Iraq War “makes America safer,” the general replied, “I don’t know, actually. I have not sat down and sorted [it] out in my own mind.” War critics zeroed in on that comment, yet Petraeus’ performance was generally deemed a success, in that it appeared to have created political space (in the United States) for the war—six month’s of space, at least. Petraeus told Congress that a decision on reducing the level of troops should be put off until March 2008 and that in half a year he would report back to Congress.</p>
<p>His return is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, when he will testify before the armed services and foreign affairs committees of the Senate and the House. In recent weeks, the purported success of the surge strategy has been called into question, due to the rise of sectarian fighting with the Mahdi militia of Moqtada al-Sadr (an army also known as JAM) clashing with the Iraqi military. Before those battles occurred, Petraeus himself noted that the overall decline in violence (which in late 2007 dipped to 2005 levels) had not been accompanied by success on the political front: “No one feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation.” And on Tuesday, senior Army and Marines Corps leaders told Congress that the surge of troops in Iraq has placed unsustainable stress on the U.S. military and rendered it less able to handle other conflicts. Yet Petraeus is not expected to provide Congress with testimony that will inconvenience the Bush administration or undermine its arguments for staying the course in Iraq. And there’s no telling if members of Congress—including Democrats—will give Petraeus a more thorough grilling than he received in September, given that most members of Congress appear to have concluded that the House and the Senate cannot do much to slow or reverse Bush’s war in Iraq.</p>
<p>So I asked various national security experts to provide questions that they would like to see posed to Petraeus. Here’s what they want to know.</p>
<p>Andrew Bacevich, professor of history and international relations at Boston University:</p>
<p>—Many credit the “surge” with reducing the level of violence in Iraq. Yet violence continues and over the past several months has leveled out. How will you reduce violence to levels that are acceptable? What is the definition of “acceptable” in this context?</p>
<p>—You have written of counterinsurgency as an enterprise that typically takes 10 to 12 years to complete. Where do we stand today on that timeline? The war is now more than five years old. Are we halfway to accomplishing our mission? Or did the 10-to-12-year “clock” only begin when you took command and began to implement the army’s revised counterinsurgency doctrine?</p>
<p>Larry Johnson, former CIA and State Department intelligence official:</p>
<p>—How many Iraqi army divisions are capable of conducting unilateral operations?</p>
<p>—Of those units, what is their ethnic (i.e. tribal) and sectarian composition? In other words, do we have mixed Sunni-Shiite units, or are we creating glorified tribal militias?</p>
<p>—Given that groups headed by people such as Abdul Aziz al-Hakim [leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq] are very closely tied to Iran and considered allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, what is the evidence that Iran is trying to destabilize a government filled by people who are sympathetic to Tehran?</p>
<p>Wayne White, head of the State Department’s Iraq intelligence team 2003 to 2005 and an adviser to the Iraq Study Group:</p>
<p>—Regarding the JAM-related debacle in March, could the pitter-patter of relatively limited U.S. (and Iraqi government) attacks against some of Sadr’s leaders and JAM cadres during a period in which so many of them were observing a ceasefire not only have had little impact on the JAM’s overall capabilities, but also have constituted a provocation that increased the level of militancy (even a desire for revenge) among many of its fighters? Did this expand the JAM’s popular base?</p>
<p>—With Hakim seemingly playing ball with Washington, Maliki doing likewise, and the Concerned Local Citizens [program] taking most Sunni Arab insurgents off the playing field, have many Shiites come to regard Sadr’s organization as the only nationalist and anti-American force left standing? If so, what can—or should—be done about that?</p>
<p>Juan Cole, professor of history at University of Michigan:</p>
<p>—General Petraeus, you have done what you can do militarily. It’s unclear that more can be done on that front, and yet there is still a fair amount of violence. The question is, what now? This is not facetious.</p>
<p>Sam Gardiner, retired Air Force colonel and expert on military strategy:</p>
<p>—Why did Iran help broker the cease-fire with the Mahdi Army?</p>
<p>A research professor at a military institute who asked not to be named:</p>
<p>—The Sunni Muslim Awakening groups now have between 80,000 and 100,000 members, according to press reports. These groups are slated to be reduced to 20,000 or 25,000 as the crisis in western Iraq becomes more manageable. What is the likelihood that these groups will accept a 75 percent demobilization even if noncombat jobs are found for them? Is it possible that they will see a pressing need to remain under arms to protect their home communities from a Shiite-dominated government? What would be the consequences if these groups remain in existence at the current level? If they are a short-term solution to the Al Qaeda in Iraq problem, might they also be a long-term building block for an Iraqi civil war?</p>
<p>—There is considerable fear that a residual Al Qaeda presence in western Iraq would lead to a terrorism campaign against neighboring countries. Yet when Al Qaeda mounted the November 2005 Jordanian hotel bombings, this led to a massive backlash and collapse of already limited Jordanian and Palestinian public sympathy for Al Qaeda, according to all relevant polling. Does this situation suggest that the danger of terrorism against other regional states is not as great as originally believed since it can lead to counterproductive results for Al Qaeda?</p>
<p>David Isenberg, military affairs analyst and adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute:</p>
<p>—What role do you see for both private military and security contractors in Iraq in the future?</p>
<p>—The surge was supposed to provide space for political reconciliation. What does the recent fighting in Basra and Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq say about the supposed success of the surge?</p>
<p>—What are the likely average monthly costs for the Iraq war? Will they reach a predicted peak level of $12 billion a month?</p>
<p>—Would you advocate a long-term presence of U.S. troops in Iraq? If so, under which of the following scenarios? A combat scenario: approximately 55,000 military personnel in Iraq, operating at the same pace and conducting the same types of missions as the forces currently deployed there? Or a noncombat scenario: approximately 55,000 military personnel indefinitely stationed there in a manner similar to the current practice in Korea or Germany, with the troops rarely, if ever, engaged in combat operations?</p>
<p>A former intelligence analyst who handled Middle Eastern issues for years and who asked not to be identified by name:</p>
<p>—What is your candid assessment of the chances that the Maliki-led regime can survive without Sadr’s backing and having failed to convince both the U.S. and Iran that it has the capability to govern?</p>
<p>—What do you make of Sadr’s cease-fires? And are the positive remarks you and other Americans have made whenever Sadr shows signs of cooperating truly justified?</p>
<p>—What does the most recent Iranian intervention—the commandant of the al-Qods Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard intervening and getting Sadr to sign another cease-fire—say about Iran’s role in Iraq and its ability to orchestrate events?</p>
<p>—How do you assess the military capabilities of the Iraqi forces used in the Basra campaign? Who were they, and are the stories of defections of these troops to the other side true?</p>
<p>Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell:</p>
<p>—As a military man with some strategic acumen, you must realize how badly positioned the U.S. military is to protect and secure America’s fundamental strategic interests in the Middle East, interests such as the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the security of Israel, relationships with Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council [of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates], and the real fight against Al Qaeda, which is largely in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan, not Iraq. How much concern does this malpositioning risk give you? And how swiftly do you believe the U.S. must move to correct it?</p>
<p>—Clearly, the U.S. destroyed the old balance of power in the Persian Gulf when it invaded Iraq, so that now the U.S. presence in Iraq sits, as it were, upon the scales, balancing Iran. Since it is inevitable that the U.S. presence in Iraq will be diminished over time, how would you reestablish the balance of power in the wake of that diminishment? —</p>
<p>Gordon Adams, professor of U.S. Foreign Policy at the School of International Service, American University:</p>
<p>—Why do you and the administration continue to plan policy as if we have any leverage in Iraq? Don’t American forces have precious little to do with the “frozen” character of the conflict? Sunni peace is dependent on the sheikhs, not us; Shiite peace is in question because of the decisions of militia we have little influence over; and Baghdad has already purged its mixed neighborhoods, which has solidified the barriers between hostile neighbors. A dysfunctional government we prop up has virtually no impact on the country’s security or economy outside Baghdad, and 70 percent of the people want us to leave. It seems the U.S. is completely unable to influence the fundamentals of the situation. So why should anyone assume that more or fewer U.S. troops are the key factor in Iraq’s future?</p>
<p>Retired Colonel W. Patrick Lang Jr., former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s human intelligence service:</p>
<p>—Why has Colonel H.R. McMaster not been promoted to brigadier general? McMaster is arguably the most successful officer of the war. His command of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Tal Afar was brilliant. But he was not promoted, while the usual conformist dullards rise to the top. The failure to promote McMaster shows the Army has learned little from Iraq. After all, you were president of the promotion board that should have promoted McMaster.</p>
<p>—Why did the Iraqis go to Qom for mediation of the recent crisis at Basra?</p>
<p>A former Army colonel and planner who asked not to be identified:</p>
<p>—In Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, you wrote that forces that learn counterinsurgency effectively have regularly challenged their assumptions, both informally and formally. What assumptions did you make in the course of planning for surge and postsurge operations and how have you challenged them?</p>
<p>—You wrote that long-term success in counterinsurgency depends on the people taking charge of their own affairs and the government eliminating as many causes of the insurgency as feasible. So then how are the latest Iraqi government operations in Basra and Baghdad—which target Sadr’s competing militia, which is associated with a political party—eliminating the causes of an insurgency, especially when you’ve said that Al Qaeda in Iraq is enemy No. 1? If the Baghdad government has to use force against a competing power center, isn’t this evidence of a nascent civil war?</p>
<p>—In Rick Atkinson’s account of the invasion of Iraq, In the Company of Soldiers, you are depicted as constantly asking Atkinson, “Tell me how this ends.” After five years of war, do you have any better idea of how this all ends?</p>
<p /> | Grilling Petraeus | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/04/grilling-petraeus/ | 2008-04-02 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Mint has unveiled a commemorative $100 gold coin that features an image of Liberty as a black woman.</p>
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<p>The 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin shows the woman's head in profile with a crown of stars. It features the year of the mint's founding, 1792, as well as 2017. The mint says the other side of the coin will depict an eagle in flight.</p>
<p>The coin will be released on April 6. The mint says it's the first in a series of 24-karat gold that will also depict Liberty in designs representing Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Indian-Americans. The mint says the goal of the coins is to reflect the "the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States."</p>
<p>Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</p> | Liberty Depicted As Black Woman On $100 Commemorative Gold Coin | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mint-gold-coin-black-woman | 4 |
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<p>Ferguson, Mo., Police Chief Thomas Jackson. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)</p>
<p>FERGUSON, Mo. — The police chief in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson resigned Wednesday in the wake of a scathing Justice Department report prompted by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer.</p>
<p>The city said in a statement that it reached a mutual separation agreement with Chief Thomas Jackson, who will get a severance payment and health insurance for a year. Lt. Col. Al Eickhoff will become acting chief March 19 while the city searches for a replacement.</p>
<p>Jackson had previously resisted calls by protesters and some of Missouri’s top elected leaders to step down over his handling of the August shooting of Michael Brown and the weeks of sometimes-violent protests that followed.</p>
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<p>Text and phone messages were left with Mayor James Knowles III and Jackson, who submitted a four-sentence letter in which he said he was announcing his resignation with profound sadness.</p>
<p>He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he felt it was time for the city to move on.</p>
<p>“I believe this is the appropriate thing to do at this time,” Jackson said. “This city needs to move forward without any distractions.”</p>
<p>Jackson becomes the sixth employee to resign or be fired after the U.S. Department of Justice last week issued a report that cleared Officer Darren Wilson of civil rights charges in the shooting but found a profit-driven court system and widespread racial bias in the city police department.</p>
<p>Justice Department officials had previously said that they were willing to work with whatever leadership the police department had. A U.S. law enforcement official said Wednesday that the Justice Department had not pressured or encouraged Jackson to resign during meetings with him but had also not resisted the idea. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing meetings between the Justice Department and the police department.</p>
<p>The resignation was welcomed by state lawmakers who represent Ferguson.</p>
<p>“There would be a lot of people that would approve of that,” said Democratic state Rep. Sharon Pace, who represents the neighborhood where Michael Brown was shot.</p>
<p>Jackson oversaw the Ferguson force for nearly five years before the shooting that stirred months of unrest across the St. Louis region and drew global attention to the predominantly black city of 21,000.</p>
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<p>His handling of the situation drew wide criticism from the outset, both for the aggressive police response to protesters and for his agency’s erratic and infrequent releases of key information. Attorney General Chris Koster and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill were among those working behind the scenes to get him to resign, but Jackson stood firm.</p>
<p>Since the Aug. 9 shooting, he has spoken of a desire to work with community members and described efforts to bolster minority hiring in a department that had just three black officers at the time of Brown’s death.</p>
<p>But he struggled to manage a local crisis that turned into an international event and explain his decision-making at news conferences disrupted by angry protesters and grieving community members.</p>
<p>Then the Justice Department issued its report, which found that Ferguson’s police and court systems functioned as a money-making enterprise rather than one meant to ensure public safety. The report found black drivers in Ferguson were more than twice as likely as others to be searched during routine traffic stops and more likely to face excessive force from police, often during unwarranted stops.</p>
<p>Investigators also noted that Ferguson was counting on revenues from fines and fees to generate nearly a quarter of its total $13.3 million budget for the 2015 fiscal year. Many residents ended up in jail after missing court dates or failing to pay fines for minor violations. The report also uncovered evidence that three employees — a court clerk and two police officers — had sent racist emails.</p>
<p>The clerk was fired last week and two officers resigned. The judge who oversaw the court system also resigned and the City Council on Tuesday agreed to a separation agreement with the city manager.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Associated Press Writer Jim Suhr in St. Louis, David Lieb in Jefferson City and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.</p> | Ferguson chief resigns in wake of scathing federal report | false | https://abqjournal.com/553692/ferguson-chief-resigns-in-wake-of-scathing-federal-report.html | 2 |
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<p>7:45 PM PDT</p>
<p>Wallace asks about entitlements. Good for him. How this was saved for the last question of the last debate is beyond me. Wallace asks about a grand bargain on entitlements including tax increases. Trump says we must lower taxes and repeal and replace Obamacare.</p>
<p>Hillary says we need to put more money into Social Security, that's part of raising taxes. She says Trump will try to get out of it. Trump: "Such a nasty woman." She says she wants to expand entitlement.</p>
<p>Wallace asks for closing statements. Hillary says she's reaching out to all Americans. She says she knows the awesome responsibility of protecting the country and trying to make life better. She says children and families have been her life's work.</p>
<p>Trump: She's raising her money from the people she wants to control. Trump says he wants to Make American Great Again. He says our military is depleted. He says we need to take care of our veterans. Trump says he's helped black people and Latinos more than she has in ten lifetimes. He says we can't take four more years of Barack Obama, and that's what you get when you get Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>7:30 PM PDT</p>
<p>Hillary asked about using American soldiers in Iraq. She says we won't do it as an occupying force. She then blabs about "no-fly, no-buy" or something. She then says she wants a no-fly zone in Syria.</p>
<p>Trump is asked if we're able to push ISIS out of Mosul, should we put American troops in? Trump says we had Mosul, but when we left, we lost Mosul, now we're fighting again for it. Trump says they wanted to get the leaders of ISIS in Mosul, and they're going to attack Mosul. He again does his "element of surprise" routine. Trump says the leaders have all left. He cites Patton and MacArthur again.</p>
<p>Trump says Obama made lots of mistakes, but they want to look good for the election, so they're going in. Trump says Mosul is going to be much tougher than they thought. Mosul will be a wonderful thing and Iran should write us a letter of thank you, just like the stupidest deal of all time, a deal that gives Iran nuclear weapons. Trump says we're going to take Mosul, and Iran will be the beneficiary. Trump says Hillary was there when they withdrew. You shouldn't have been in Iraq, but you should never have left the way you did.</p>
<p>Hillary smiles awkwardly. She says Trump keeps denying he supported the invasion. Trump interjects, "wrong." She's still trying to trigger him. She then name checks Bin Laden, whose body has been used more than Bernie's in Weekend At Bernie's.</p>
<p>Hillary calls Trump unfit. Trump says Hillary's unfit. Trump says John Podesta said some terrible things about Hillary; so did Bernie Sanders. If you think going into Mosul is a good idea, you have terrible instincts and judgment.</p>
<p>Hillary says Sanders says Trump is the most dangerous person ever to run for president.</p>
<p>Wallace asks Trump about Aleppo, and says it hasn't fallen as Trump claimed. Trump argues with the questioner. Wallace says Trump said Syria and Russia are fighting ISIS, but they've been shelling Aleppo. Trump says Aleppo is a humanitarian disaster, but it has fallen. Trump says this is because of Hillary Clinton. By fighting Assad -- "and now she's going to say he loves Assad" -- he's "much tougher and smarter" than Obama and Hillary. Trump says we don't know who the rebels are. This is utterly incoherent. But so is she. He finishes "lotsa luck, Hillary, great job." It's like watching two giraffes trying to eat the same leaf, tangling their necks, and strangling to death.</p>
<p>Trump concludes by saying that we can't let unsafe refugees in.</p>
<p>Hillary says she wants a no-fly zone. Wallace says this may start a war. What does she say? She says she wants safe zones on the ground. She says millions of people inside Syria are being dislocated. She doesn't answer the question about a no-fly zone. Hillary says she won't slam the door on women and children from Syria, but we'll do careful vetting. That doesn't solve our internal challenges with ISIS. She says we have to be smarter here at home.</p>
<p>Trump says she'll defeat ISIS? We never should have let them happen in the first place. They had a cease-fire in Syria, and during the cease-fire, Russia took over vast swatches of land. We are so outplayed.</p>
<p>Wallace asks about the national debt, 77% of our GDP. He says that Clinton would raise debt to 86% of GDP; under Trump it would rise to 105% of GDP. Why are they both ignoring this problem? Trump says they're wrong because we're going to grow GDP. Trump predicts recession if Hillary's elected. He says we can go higher than 4%. He says if we grow the economy, we have a tremendous machine. He neglects to mention he opposes entitlement reform. He's back to trade deals.</p>
<p>Hillary asks when Trump thought America was great when he says "Make America Great Again," and before he rushes and says "Before you," Hillary says he's been criticizing our government for decades. He took out an ad in 1987 during the time Reagan was president and said that we were the laughing stock of the world. He was criticizing Reagan. She says Trump portrays himself as "I alone can fix it." She says if you look at the debt, she pays for everything she's proposing. She says tax increases won't diminish growth.</p>
<p>Trump says Reagan was wrong on trade. Nobody does it right.</p>
<p>7:15 PM PDT</p>
<p>Wallace asks Trump about whether the election is rigged. Pence pledged to "absolutely accept the results of this election." Ivanka said the same thing. So, will he make the same commitment to accept the results? Trump says he will look at it at the time. Trump says what he's seen is so bad: the media is so dishonest and so corrupt and the pile-on is so amazing. Trump says there are millions of dead people registered to vote. Trump says Hillary shouldn't be allowed to run. She's guilty of a serious crime. It's rigged. Trump says he'll keep us in suspense.</p>
<p>Hillary says that's horrifying. Every time Trump thinks things aren't going in his direction, he calls it rigged. Hillary says the FBI concluded there was no case; Trump said it was rigged. Trump lost some primaries, everything was rigged. Trump U was sued, he claimed the court system was rigged. There was a time he didn't get an Emmy three years in a row and he said the Emmys were rigged. Trump says he should have gotten it. Hillary says it's funny but also really troubling. That's not the way the democracy works. We've had free and fair elections, we have accepted outcomes, we must accept that. Hillary says when you're whining before you're even done, you're not up to doing the job.</p>
<p>Trump says that the investigation was rigged. That's true. But saying the election is rigged is both stupid and bad politics.</p>
<p>7:00 PM PDT</p>
<p>Wallace asks Trump about nine women saying that he groped or kissed them without their consent. He asks why so many different women would all make up these stories? Trump blames Hillary for dropping this information. Trump says Hillary and Obama hired people to be violent at his rallies -- that's the James O'Keefe story. Trump says he didn't apologize to his wife because he didn't do anything. He says these women, they want either fame or her campaign did it. Trump says they're after ten minutes of fame. It was all fiction, all lies. This is not particularly smart.</p>
<p>Hillary says at the last debate, Trump talked about what he did to women. After that, a number of women came forward. Hillary says Trump gave rallies where he said he couldn't have done those things because the women weren't attractive enough to be assaulted. Trump says he didn't say that (he kinda did). Hillary gets indignant about Trump's sexist response to the women: "Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger." Hillary's got this big speech planned, and the music swells...</p>
<p>Trump says he has respect for women. He says he wants to talk about something slightly different. He again blames Hillary's "sleazy campaign." He says what isn't fictionalized is her 33,000 destroyed emails after getting a subpoena. What happened to the FBI? Trump says he doesn't know.</p>
<p>Hillary says every time Trump is pushed on something uncomfortable, he swivels to denying responsibility, and it's not just about women. He never says he's sorry. He went after a disabled reporter, mocked and mimicked him; went after Mr. and Mrs. Khan, the parents of a soldier KIA; he went after McCain; he went after a judge with Mexican parents. She goes through the litany. Amazing that Trump is getting hammered into the ground over this. "This is a pattern of divisiveness, a dark and dangerous vision of our country, where he incites violence, applauds people who are pushing and pulling and punching...that is not who America is," Hillary says.</p>
<p>Wallace asks Hillary about giving away special access, and why isn't what she did "pay to play"? She says she furthered our country's interests and our values. She says she's thrilled to talk about the amazing Clinton Foundation (except for all the corrupt crap). Wallace pushes her again -- she says Clinton Foundation is great. Trump calls it a criminal enterprise. Trump says Hillary took money from countries that push gays off buildings and mistreat women -- so why won't she give back the money from those countries? Trump says the Clinton Foundation was a disgrace in Haiti.</p>
<p>Hillary says the Clinton Foundation spends 90 percent on programs. She says she has the highest rating. She says the Trump Foundation is a scam, bought a six-foot portrait of Trump. She says Haiti is super poor. She neglects that the Foundation scammed Haitian citizens, as per Peter Schweizer.</p>
<p>Wallace asks if Trump used the cash on legal issues. Trump says no. Hillary says we can't check any of this thanks to tax return non-transparency. Trump says he obeyed the law on paying taxes, but Hillary could have changed the law and never did.</p>
<p>6:45 PM PDT</p>
<p>Trump says we have a country of laws, you can leave and come back in and become a citizen (that's touchback amnesty, for those counting).</p>
<p>Hillary calls "open borders" a "rank mischaracterization." She says this used to be a bipartisan issue, talks over Wallace.</p>
<p>Wallace hits her on her speech in Brazil for which she was paid $225,000. Is her dream "open borders"? Hillary says she was talking about energy. Hillary then swivels to hit Wikileaks for espionage in order to avoid the question.</p>
<p>Trump says that was a great pivot off of the "open borders" question. The crowd laughs. Trump says Hillary wants "open borders." He doesn't know about Putin. He'd be happy if everyone got along well. He was doing so well until he started defending Putin.</p>
<p>Hillary calls Trump a Putin puppet, says that Putin's helping out Trump because Trump's his favorite. Hillary says that the attacks came from the Kremlin and they're designed to push this election. Trump says she has no idea who hacked. Hillary cites 17 intelligence agencies. Hillary says he'd rather believe Putin than the military and civilian intelligence professionals sworn to protect us. Trump says she doesn't like Putin because Putin has outsmarted her every step of the way. Wow. Blew up over Putin.</p>
<p>Wallace asks if Trump will condemn Russian interference. Trump says he condemns -- Putin isn't his best friend. He reiterates Putin has outsmarted Hillary every step of the way.</p>
<p>Hillary says Trump has been casual about nuclear weapons. He said if we had them, why not use them? Hillary says when the president gives the order on nuclear weapons, the order must be followed. There are four minutes between the order and the button being pushed. She cites 10 people who have held that position against Trump.</p>
<p>Trump says he has 200 generals and admirals, 21 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients endorsing him. He says we're being ripped off by other countries.</p>
<p>Hillary says the United States has kept the peace through our alliances; Trump wants to defend our alliances. She says she'd work with our allies in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Wallace moves on to economics. He says Hillary wants more government involvement; Trump wants to get government out. She talks about spending tons of your taxpayer dollars on climate change and infrastructure. This is command and control economics. She says we'll have the wealthy pay their fair share. She says Trump's plan will cost us jobs.</p>
<p>Trump says Hillary's plan will raise taxes dramatically. Trump says we'll do a lot of things for college tuition, but we'll have a massive increase under Hillary Clinton's plan. Trump says Japan, Germany, South Korea, Saudi Arabia should be paying us more money. Trump says we're going to have a lot of free trade, but right now we have a lot of horrible deals.</p>
<p>Hillary says she wants to translate Trump -- he says "you can't." She says Trump will advocate for the largest tax cuts you've ever seen. She says she will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000. That's nonsense. She says she won't add to the debt. That's also nonsense. She accuses Trump of adding $20 million to the debt.</p>
<p>Wallace asks Hillary about Obama's plan -- his infrastructure plan sucked, and led to the lowest GDP growth since 1949. Hillary says that her plan is a "combination." She blabs about Bush.</p>
<p>Wallace says Trump's plans for the economy are unrealistic, that they don't add up with regard to the debt, that the oil industry won't grow us because prices are too low. Trump smacks the Obama economy. Trump says that he's made friends over the last year, and they cry when they see what's happening -- and he blames free trade again. Trump randomly says TPP was the "gold standard" for Hillary.</p>
<p>Hillary says that TPP isn't good enough. She says there's only one person onstage who has shipped jobs to Mexico -- to 12 countries including Mexico. Hillary says China's illegally dumping steel and aluminum into our markets. She says Trump buys Chinese steel and aluminum. He goes around with "crocodile tears" but he's "given jobs to Chinese steelworkers, not American steelworkers."</p>
<p>Hillary starts to talk -- Trump shuts her down. "My turn." He says Hillary only has bad experience. He says for thirty years she's been in a position to help. Trump says she talks but has never gotten anything done. He says at State Department, $6 billion was missing. Trump says, "If you become president, this country is going to be in some mess."</p>
<p>Hillary says that what he said about the State Department is untrue. She goes into her stump speech about what wonderful experience she has. This time she contrasts herself with Trump -- he was discriminating in real estate, he was insulting a former Miss Universe, he was hosting "The Celebrity Apprentice." She's happy to compare experience.</p>
<p>Trump says look at her real record: Syria, Iraq, Libya. She created ISIS. She grins awkwardly.</p>
<p>6:25 PM PDT</p>
<p>Trump says he's pro-life, and Wallace asks him about Roe v. Wade. Trump says if it's overturned, it will go back to the states. He struggles to say he'd overturn it, says his justices would be pro-life.</p>
<p>She babbles about difficult decisions and why Roe is deeply important, then blabs about how Planned Parenthood is wonderful. Wallace asks her about partial birth abortion; she says this is really tough and we need it.</p>
<p>Trump says it's ridiculous to say you can rip a baby out of the womb of the mother in the ninth month, on the final day. Hillary says that's not what happens, calls it scare rhetoric. She then cites some of the women she's met with. She says it's one of the worst possible choices, and the government shouldn't make those choices. She tries to equate China and Romania with the United States.</p>
<p>Trump says nobody has business doing that four days prior to birth.</p>
<p>It would sure be nice to have an eloquent pro-life spokesperson on stage to tear Hillary apart over this nonsense.</p>
<p>Wallace asks about immigration. Trump's excited because he knows something about the issue. He talks about strong borders, touts the ICE union rep endorsement. He talks about the heroin problem, attributes it to illegal immigration and an open border, which is at least partially true. Trump says that "we have some bad hombres and we're gonna get 'em out."</p>
<p>Hillary talks about a young girl she's met, Carla, who was worried about her parents being deported. Hillary decries the notion of a massive law enforcement presence to round up "undocumented" people. She says we'd have to put them on "trains" -- using deliberately evocative language. Gross. She rips Trump's meeting with the president of Mexico. She says we are a nation of laws and immigrants and she'll push comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.</p>
<p>Trump rips NAFTA again, says it's one of the worst deals ever. He says Hillary Clinton fought for the wall in 2006. She never gets anything done, so the wall wasn't built.</p>
<p>Hillary says she was for border security. She rips Trump for criticizing criminal illegal immigrants. She says bringing illegal immigrants out of the shadows will stop exploitation. She says Trump underpaid undocumented workers, and that Trump threatened to deport them.</p>
<p>6:15 PM PDT</p>
<p>I'm livetweeting this thing with a yelling six month old next to me. Shockingly, he's not one of the nominees.</p>
<p>The two competitors enter; Hillary's wearing her Christian Bale outfit from Equilibrium. Wallace asks about the Supreme Court. Hillary says that the Supreme Court raises the central issue: what kind of country do we want to be? Then she launches into her sillytalks about how the Supreme Court must be filled with magical godkings who do nice things for the leprechauns. She rips Citizens United, a decision about an organization that made a documentary Hillary didn't like.</p>
<p>Trump says the Supreme Court is what it's all about. As opposed to the hokey pokey. He says that Justice Ginsburg said mean things about him. He continues by saying Hillary Clinton will shrink the Second Amendment into a small replica, like Mike TV from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Trump says he wants the Constitution interpreted the way the founders want. He says it's all about the Constitution the way it was meant to be, and those are the people he would appoint.</p>
<p>Hillary says she supported the Second Amendment, but she doesn't want people to be threatened or killed with guns. Which has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. She then says 33,000 people per year die from guns. She neglects to mention half of those are suicides.</p>
<p>Wallace asks Trump if Hillary will defend the Second Amendment. Trump says Hillary was very angry about Heller. Trump says Scalia was involved and it was well-crafted. He says people who agree with the Second Amendment were upset with her. Hillary says that dozens of toddlers kill people with guns, because not everyone who has a loaded gun in the home takes appropriate precautions. This is horse crap. No law about storing guns will prevent idiot parents from being idiots.</p>
<p>ORIGINAL:</p>
<p>So, we've finally reached the third debate. This is the one where Anakin Skywalker loses all his limbs and becomes Darth Vader, Natalie Portman dies in childbirth, and Yoda goes into exile. Or something.</p>
<p>This is going to be the uncut, unedited presidential debate if George Lucas finally got to produce a debate the way he wanted to, with all the CGI, all the Senatorial deliberations about trade treaties, and nearly as much jabber about midichlorians.</p>
<p>For my thoughts on what's going to happen tonight, <a href="" type="internal">click here</a>. It basically comes down to Donald Trump throwing red meat to the Breitbart commenters in an effort to shore up his subscription base for Trump TV, and Hillary Clinton attempting to sidestep the fact that she is the most corrupt human being ever to run for the presidency.</p>
<p>And you thought Obama outlawed waterboarding.</p>
<p>Soon it begins.</p>
<p>It can't end too soon.</p>
<p>WARNING: If this liveblog begins to lose coherence as we progress, it's because of heavy drunkenness, which is a hazard of this particular job.</p> | LIVEBLOGGING THE 3RD DEBATE: Apocalypse Now | true | https://dailywire.com/news/10023/liveblogging-3rd-debate-hang-your-butts-ben-shapiro | 2016-10-19 | 0 |
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<p />
<p>Unfortunately, some in the oil and gas industry have tried to delay action that would clean up this pollution problem by attempting to point the methane finger elsewhere. Their attempts to blame the hot spot on “natural causes” are not borne out by the science.</p>
<p>A new study is again underlining the cause of this methane pollution: problems at the tens of thousands of oil and gas wells that dot the basin. According to NOAA, which used specialized aircraft to measure atmospheric methane levels, “the lack of any large increasing trend in ground-based sampling, geologic seepage cannot explain the persistent [methane] emissions in the basin over time.”</p>
<p>In other words, atmospheric methane levels are high, yet measurements taken at the ground from naturally occurring sources are low. The methane cloud culprit: it’s the oil and gas industry.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And the problem is poised to get worse.</p>
<p>Just weeks after the study was released, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to impose a two-year delay on regulations that would have reduced methane emissions from newly developed oil and gas facilities. And last week, the head of the Department of the Interior told the Senate Energy Committee the Department plans to rewrite a similar rule that would reduce methane emissions from new and existing wells on New Mexico’s federal and tribal lands.</p>
<p>These protections are vital to cleaning the air and reducing energy waste – since methane is the primary component of natural gas. The administration’s reversal on these protections will do unjust harm to New Mexico communities. For instance, if EPA’s rules are put on hold, it will allow 1,500 wells across the state of New Mexico to emit up to 870 tons of climate-forcing methane, 230 tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds and nine tons of hazardous air pollutants into our air.</p>
<p>Regrettably, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has refused to defend national efforts to protect New Mexico communities from this waste and pollution – and at the same time has failed to implement any protections at the state level.</p>
<p>Fortunately, New Mexico’s congressional leaders, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Michelle Lujan Grisham, have been strong champions for standards that prevent methane waste, and state Attorney General Hector Balderas is among those fighting these federal rollbacks in court. With the Trump administration reversing course on this pressing issue, New Mexico leaders must continue to step up.</p>
<p>Here’s why – every day these common-sense standards are not in place, the public’s health is put at risk, the climate is threatened and New Mexico’s energy resources are wasted.</p>
<p>That’s unacceptable, especially when policies that reduce wasteful methane emissions will create needed New Mexico jobs. Research shows that companies in the pollution-reduction business have grown up to 30 percent in states that have methane protections. And returning more gas to the sales line also means returning more money to New Mexico taxpayers. Without BLM’s methane policies, New Mexico will not be able to recoup royalties from $100 million of gas that companies are wasting every year on the state’s public and tribal lands.</p>
<p>New Mexico leaders have the tools to solve this waste and pollution problem. Unlike other oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico does not currently require controls for the release of this harmful pollution from oil and gas development. In fact, unlike neighboring states, New Mexico does not even require oil and gas companies to get basic air quality permits before drilling. It is time for New Mexico to take up these tools and cut this waste and pollution.</p>
<p /> | State should step up on oil and gas pollution | false | https://abqjournal.com/1025945/state-should-step-up-on-oil-and-gas-pollution.html | 2 |
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<p>Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s department of external relations and a frequent visitor to the West, is a young man of parts: a widely-published author, a composer, a gifted linguist. He can be charming and witty, as I discovered during two hours of conversation at the Library of Congress in 2011; and in the intervening years he’s positioned himself and his Church as defenders of traditional Christian values in a world threatened by Western decadence.</p>
<p>There’s a serious problem, however: Metropolitan Hilarion does not always speak the truth.</p>
<p>In the year since the Maidan “revolution of dignity” broke out in Ukraine, Hilarion has gone out of his way to attack the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, charging that this largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches has been a partisan political actor; that its priests have fomented violence; and that Ukrainian Greek Catholics have been working to keep Ukrainian Orthodoxy divided. These are calumnies, for the charges are demonstrably false: The Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine has been a voice for national moral renewal and reconciliation; its priests have risked their lives to aid men and women of all confessions; and the Greek Catholic leadership has worked within the country’s established ecumenical structures to forge a united religious voice for a Ukraine that is free and prosperous, rid of the corruptions that have bedeviled it for decades.</p>
<p>In our Washington conversation, Metropolitan Hilarion would not even concede that the forced liquidation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in 1946 was an act of thuggery perpetrated by Stalin’s secret police. Rather, he defended the bogus “L’viv Sobor [Council]” in the name of Orthodox prerogatives he evidently believes are threatened by Eastern-Rite Churches in full communion with Rome. That visceral disdain for the very existence of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine has also been on public display this past year.</p>
<p>So what happens? Hilarion is invited to the recent Synod in Rome, where he used part of his time addressing the representatives of global Catholicism to repeat his lies about the activity of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine and his contempt for that martyr-Church.</p>
<p>This is unacceptable. For the past year, Metropolitan Hilarion and his master, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, have functioned as agents of Russian state power in matters having to do with Ukraine. Which is to say, they have functioned as agents of Vladimir Putin. I take it as axiomatic that serious ecumenical dialogue is impossible when the dialogue-partner operates under ambiguous or false pretenses and uses the dialogue to advance political interests. Yet that is the charade that is allowed to continue when Hilarion is welcomed in Rome. Indeed, the charade is reinforced.</p>
<p>Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has suggested that Hilarion’s aggressive and offensive intervention at the Synod damaged the Russian Orthodox Church. That may be. But inviting Hilarion to participate in the Synod, after a year of lies about the courageous efforts of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine to support a moral revolution in that hard-pressed land, was a self-inflicted wound on the part of the Holy See. It is now past time to reexamine the default positions in the Vatican Secretariat of State, and at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity that permitted Hilarion to lie in the Synod hall and to call into question the integrity of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine as an ecclesial community.</p>
<p>No “dialogue” is worth the appeasement of aggression abetted by falsehood. Nothing is accomplished in terms of moderating Russian Orthodoxy’s historic deference to Russian state power (be that tsarist power, communist power, or the “managed democracy” of Mr. Putin) by giving Hilarion a platform like the Synod. And despite the fantasies of some Western pro-life and pro-family activists, there is nothing to be gained for those great causes in tandem with the current leadership of Russia, or of Russian Orthodoxy.</p>
<p>Stemming and then reversing the tide of Western decadence cannot be done by compromises with the truth.</p>
<p>George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.</p> | Ecumenism and Russian State Power | false | https://eppc.org/publications/ecumenism-and-russian-state-power/ | 1 |
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<p />
<p>Source: Facebook.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This year is all about real-time live content for Facebook . CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly redirected resources to help build out Live, the company's live streaming video product. The company launched a real-time sports forum just ahead of the Super Bowl. On the company's fourth-quarter earnings call, COO Sheryl Sandberg told investors, "We feel pretty confident that real-time sharing is an increasingly important part of the platform and one we'll continue to invest in."</p>
<p>Now, Sandberg is reportedly in Hollywood schmoozing with talent agents in an attempt to convince celebrities to start using Live. Facebook might even pay some of them to create content for the social network.</p>
<p>The reasoning is that a larger celebrity presence will draw more attention to Live and help Facebook compete with Twitter's Periscope and YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, the Alphabet company.</p>
<p>Something to spark interestVideo on Facebook has quickly ballooned from nothing to an average of 8 billion video views and 100 million hours per day. Video on Facebook didn't really take off, however, until the Ice Bucket Challenge took over the Internet in the summer of 2014. Suddenly, users were seeing more videos and felt comfortable posting their own videos.</p>
<p>Facebook needs something similar for live videos. The company is reportedly pushing live videos higher in users' news feeds so that they can see the videos as they're being broadcast. If the live videos feature celebrities that users follow, users may be more likely to watch.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Live videos already perform better than pre-recorded video. Users watch live videos more than three times longer than pre-recorded videos, according to Facebook. Users are particularly interested in live content as it's happening, so generating more content and getting it in front of users should help Facebook capture mind share from competitors such as Periscope.</p>
<p>The promise of revenueFacebook released a statement to <a href="http://recode.net/2016/03/01/facebook-wants-celebrities-for-its-live-streaming-service-and-its-willing-to-pay-cash/" type="external">Re/Code Opens a New Window.</a> about its plans to court celebrities for Live. The statement noted Facebook will "explore with them [celebrities] potential monetization models."</p>
<p>Investors have been betting that video content would generate additional revenue for Facebook, but so far that hasn't really been the case. While an advertiser might spend more for a video ad compared with a static ad, Facebook hasn't developed any ways to directly monetize video views on its platform.</p>
<p>Developing a way to generate revenue and share that revenue with creators will ultimately be the key to attracting more creators to Live. YouTube is currently able to hold on and attract new talent because of its revenue sharing program. While Periscope doesn't generate any revenue, it was early to market and had the support of Twitter to overcome early competition. Twitter may use its Niche property, an online talent agency for social-media celebrities, to monetize high profile Periscope users.</p>
<p>An advertising solution, or other form of monetization, will open the doors for more creators to experiment with Facebook videos and Live broadcasts. The viewers will follow. Paying celebrities up front to get content could kick-start the feature, but a sustainable monetization model is the only thing that will keep it going. If Facebook figures it out, Periscope and YouTube had better watch out.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/11/facebook-wants-more-live-content-and-it-will-pay-c.aspx" type="external">Facebook Wants More Live Content, and It Will Pay Cash for It Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</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/adamlevy/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Adam Levy Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), 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 Wants More Live Content, and It Will Pay Cash for It | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/11/facebook-wants-more-live-content-and-it-will-pay-cash-for-it.html | 2016-03-11 | 0 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregbrannon2014/8682219210/in/photostream/"&gt;Greg Brannon&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p />
<p>On the stump, Greg Brannon, the tea party candidate in North Carolina’s competitive Senate race, <a href="http://ashevilleteapac.org/?page_id=1380" type="external">preaches personal responsibility</a> and <a href="http://gregbrannon.com/monetary-policy/" type="external">rails against</a> out-of-control government spending.</p>
<p>So a <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/politics&amp;id=9436671" type="external">recent jury verdict</a> that held Brannon responsible for misleading two investors who gave him a quarter million dollars is quite a blow to the image Brannon has tried to craft of a crusader for better financial decisions in government.</p>
<p>Brannon, a full-time OB-GYN, is best distinguished from the rest of the GOP primary candidates vying to replace Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan by his extreme beliefs: He has said <a href="http://youtu.be/I5PR6McgBy4?t=31m52s" type="external">public education</a> “does nothing…other than dehumanize” students and that <a href="" type="internal">food stamps are “slavery.”</a> Recent GOP primary <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/12/nc-senate-race-continues-to-look-like-a-toss-up.html" type="external">polls</a> have Brannon trailing the front-runner, North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, by single digits. Endorsements <a href="http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dfe59cfa8720316f956cf5b22&amp;id=257c544e51&amp;e=" type="external">from Sen. Rand Paul</a> (R-Ky.) and conservative leaders such as RedState editor Erick Erickson have given Brannon a significant fundraising boost.</p>
<p>His legal troubles are linked to Neogence Enterprises, a <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/23/4719244/senate-hopeful-brannon-says-he.html" type="external">defunct</a> technology company Brannon cofounded several years ago. The company tried to develop a smartphone application which Brannon pitched as a “social augmented reality network connecting people, places and things” and a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity. Last week, a civil jury concluded that Brannon had <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/politics&amp;id=9436671" type="external">led two investors to believe</a> that Verizon was considering preinstalling the application on certain smartphones. (The Raleigh News &amp; Observer <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/03/3588844/senate-candidate-greg-brannon.html" type="external">first reported</a> the verdict.) Although Neogence pitched Verizon, the cellphone carrier never, in fact, made that offer.</p>
<p>The jury cleared Robert Rice, Neogence’s former CEO, of similar wrongdoing. Brannon’s case defense probably foundered due to emails he sent bragging of Neogence’s potential partnership with Verizon. “I know all of you are BUSY!!!” Brannon wrote in one email. “I need you to give a few minutes to look at this potential. THANK YOU for your TRUST!! Greg.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/03/3588844/senate-candidate-greg-brannon.html" type="external">two investors</a> who brought the suit are a former classmate of Brannon’s from medical school, Larry Piazza, and the husband of one of Brannon’s patients, Sam Lampuri. In court, Lampuri, a Raleigh plumber who gave Brannon $100,000, testified that Brannon “pretty much spoke about Neogence every time my wife was in stirrups.” Brannon must now repay Piazza and Lampuri a total of $250,000 plus interest.</p>
<p>Brannon has boasted about his personal connection with his patients before. In a fall 2013 fundraiser for Hand of Hope, his nonprofit crisis pregnancy center, Brannon said, “When I see little girls that come here, boyfriends that do show up are my favorites. Then I can whoop on them with love. How many people have we got married over the last 20 years just by riding that boy’s rear end?”</p>
<p>Brannon’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment last week. In the run-up to the trial, Brannon <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/03/3588844/senate-candidate-greg-brannon.html" type="external">told the News &amp; Observer</a>, “I can’t wait for my day in court.” After the verdict, <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/18/3633777/gop-senate-candidate-brannon-found.html" type="external">he said</a>, “I cannot wait to go to the appeal process.”</p>
<p /> | Jury Finds Tea Party Senate Candidate Who Rand Paul Endorsed Misled Investors to the Tune of $250,000 | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/jury-greg-brannon-tea-party-senate-candidate-misled-investors/ | 2014-02-24 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/LA.jpg" type="external" />A 3.7 magnitude earthquake hit Southern California on Sunday night, shaking Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. According to the U.S. Government's earthquake hazards website , the epicenter was just under four miles west northwest of Westwood, four miles north of Santa Monica, five miles west northwest of Beverly [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/37-earthquake-hits-los-angeles-708552" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.hollywoodreporter.com</a></p>
<p /> | Small Earthquake Shakes Southern California | true | http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/3-7-earthquake-hits-los-angeles-on-sunday-night/ | 0 |
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<p>Journal Article - Proceedings of the Symposium on International Safeguards: Verification and Nuclear Material Security</p>
<p />
<p>The appalling events of September 11, 2001 require a major international intiative to strengthen security for such materials and facilities worldwide, and to put stringent security standards in place. This paper recommends a range of specific steps to upgrade security at individual facilities and strengthen national and international standards, with the goal of building a world in which all weapons-usable nuclear material is secure and accounted for, and all nuclear facilities secured from sabotage, with sufficient transparency that the international community can have confidence that this is the case. These steps will cost money, and accomplishing them will require sustained political leadership and reconsideration of a range of past policies and approaches.&#160; But the costs and risks of failing to act are far higher than the costs of acting now.</p>
<p /> | Reducing the Threat of Nuclear Theft and Sabotage | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/reducing-threat-nuclear-theft-and-sabotage-0 | 2001-10-29 | 2 |
<p>Electoral democracy has largely failed. It has been captured by big corporates, suborned and crudified (de-deliberationised) by the corporate media, and sidelined by neoliberal globalisation (and the consequent minute-by-minute power of ‘the markets’).</p>
<p>Perhaps the most spectacular ever instance of the failing of electoral democracy has been very recent indeed: it is the election of Donald Trump to (what is still, even now) the most powerful office in the world.</p>
<p>Probably the most dire but predictable global effect of a Trump Presidency is its catastrophic impact on climate-policy and energy-policy. The most senior salient offices in the land are now stuffed full of the most egregious know-nothing climate-deniers. These people will be busy from Day One of the new administration, actively bringing about the deaths of people all over the world (and especially, in the future) from climate-disasters that would otherwise not occur or that would otherwise not be so severe. (This is not hyperbole. My Green colleague Craig Simmons has undertaken calculations such that it is now possible to produce <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anuradha-vittachi/since-flying-is-responsib_b_361777.html" type="external">a (very rough) correlation between GHGs emitted and deaths caused</a>.)</p>
<p>So what is to be done?</p>
<p>Readers of CounterPunch&#160;know a lot of the answer. We need to ‘fight’: at Standing Rock; through the ballotbox; through changing our own lifestyles and building bottom-up alternatives; and much much more.</p>
<p>And we must make the most of the good news that there already is: such as Obama’s <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-places-sweeping-ban-offshore-drilling-n698461" type="external">ban on Arctic offshore drilling</a>, which may prove difficult for Trump to reverse: We must seek to ensure that it is. For we know the hard truth: that even if humanity burns only that part of Earth’s fossil fuel reserves that is already accessible, that would be enough to virtually guarantee runaway climate change.</p>
<p>But the point of this piece is to warn you about something that might take the wind out of our sails, something which might risk taking the heart right out of our fight. You heard it here first: sometime in 2017, I suspect that Trump will have a ‘climate moment’. Sometime next year, the American President will probably issue a partial mea culpa, and tell us that he now ‘gets it’ on climate: That human activity IS changing our planet’s climate, and not for the better, after all.</p>
<p>And (if and) when this happens, be prepared. Be prepared for a tidal wave of foolishness from the media about how Trump isn’t as bad as we all thought he was. And for a huge collective sigh of relief from across the world – perhaps we still have a chance on climate, after all, if even Trump can ‘get it’.</p>
<p>Be prepared: because this ‘change of heart’ will not be half as good news as it seems. It might not even be good news at all.</p>
<p>To understand why, we need to understand better why Trump will most likely claim at some point in 2017 to ‘get it’ on climate.</p>
<p>Trump on climate: from denialism to agnosticism to…?</p>
<p>The process has actually already begun. Trump has pulled back somewhat from his previous full-on climate-denialism, to a position of ‘ <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-climate-change-scepticism-may-withdraw-paris-agreement-a7469221.html" type="external">agnosticism</a>‘ on the issue: Why? Because Trump’s climate-denialism in the election period was partly just a pose, to shore up support among Republicans, and to epater les bourgeois. Now that, incredibly, he has made it all the way to the White House, he can afford to stand back and look more ‘Presidential’, less extreme. A position of studied agnosticism fits the bill nicely.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as I say, the Administration that he heads is getting stuffed full of <a href="" type="internal">climate-deniers</a>.&#160;They will be working gung-ho to re-fossilise the U.S. economy, and are thus preparing the ground to harvest the faster destruction of the future of our living planet.</p>
<p>So, why would Trump go further than agnosticism on climate in 2017?</p>
<p>Already, Trump and his aides will be receiving briefings every day from those Government agencies that are well aware of the reality and disastrous consequences of human-triggered dangerous climate change. Foremost among these, perhaps, will be the Pentagon, which has a long record now of being part of the ‘reality-based community’ <a href="http://taskandpurpose.com/dont-count-us-military-among-climate-change-skeptics/" type="external">on climate</a>.</p>
<p>This constant drip-drip of truth into the awesomely thick skulls (and thin skins) of Trump and his team will gradually have its effect. Sooner or later, Trump will most likely decide that the moment is ripe to accept reality.</p>
<p>&#160;The PR bonanza awaiting Trump if he accepts the truth on climate</p>
<p>As this moment – literally – of truth approaches, Trump will discuss with his aides the upsides and downsides of joining the reality-based community.</p>
<p>A downside will be that it will annoy some supporters. But that doesn’t matter that much; Trump doesn’t need them much for the next few years, and he will be confident that in any case he can motivate them in other ways with regular extreme tweets, eye-catching speeches to feed the base, and a million other methods.</p>
<p>The biggest upside is that Trump’s acceptance of climate-reality will be a huge story – a story blindsiding most of his critics (unless they have been forearmed by reading the present article, first…). Trump and his publicists will I think be unable to resist its incredible potential for him to sound so reasonable, rowing-back from some of the less tenable aspects of his public persona and stance.</p>
<p>And it could take the wind out of the sails of a remarkable number of his opponents, to hear Trump say, publicly, that climate change is real, partly human-influenced and dangerous.</p>
<p>Be prepared for this. Don’t let the wind be taken out of your sails.</p>
<p>People are so desperately wanting there to be hope for the world. When Trump’s climate moment comes, it will chime all too easily with this desperation. And too many of the intelligentsia will rush with relief toward the conclusion that Trump can be ‘normalised’ after all, and that we aren’t actually on the brink of a sub-fascist, end-game for democracy.</p>
<p>But we still will be. For Trump’s climate moment won’t be the product of a conversion to rationality, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMyxXs3t7Fs" type="external">science and precaution</a>. It will be the product of a cynical decision by a self-publicist-‘populist’-President to cut some of his losses, in a way that his critics are (as yet) totally not expecting.</p>
<p>If Trump accepts the human influence on climate, whither climate-policy?</p>
<p>A key question, in order to become clear on why Trump’s climate moment (that I’m here foreseeing) will not in truth be good news, is this: what will be the real-world consequences, the policy-consequences, of Trump’s ‘moment of truth’ vis-a-vis climate? Here’s my guess as to the rough outline of how little difference it will make, how few consequences it will have in the most obvious places and respects:</p>
<p>It will not significantly affect the behaviour of the climate-denying numpties now getting ready to take the reins of the U.S. Federal Government. They will continue to eviscerate regulations, to back big business, and to burn fossil fuels like (in a sadly-telling phrase) there’s no tomorrow. It will not result in the scaling back of Trump’s horrific ‘infrastructure-building’ programme, which will continue to spill roads and bridges and airports across the U.S.A. And so forth.</p>
<p>It will not ensure either that the U.S. does not pull out of the Paris Agreement; there are plenty of reasons for someone like Trump to continue to hate that Agreement (which is by its nature internationalist), even if he admits the reality of the reason for it. And even if the U.S. does remain within that Agreement, Trump’s own climate-change will not ensure that the U.S. does not in effect gut, delay or bog down the implementation of the Agreement (which was already – is – incredibly weak and <a href="http://kevinanderson.info/blog/is-the-climate-change-academic-community-reluctant-to-voice-issues-that-question-the-economic-growth-paradigm/" type="external">problematic to begin with</a>).</p>
<p>What actual difference then will Trump’s climate conversion make to policy? Here is where things get complicated, and maybe even worse:One piece of actual good news: it will give Trump the excuse he may already have been looking for to help some parts at least of the U.S. renewable <a href="" type="internal">energy sector</a>. Why not embrace green-tech when it’s profitable (while going hell for leather for coal, oil, gas, tracings etc., simultaneously)? Even here, though, enormous care is needed: Trump could easily, for example, embrace large scale agro-fuels in the name of ‘green energy’: with calamitous <a href="http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk" type="external">consequence</a>.</p>
<p>As I already warned above; a bad effect will be the risk that it encourages complacency (as Paris itself, arguably, already does, unjustifiably). There is a terrible danger that a Trump who ‘gets it’ on climate will suddenly seem not worth the trouble of endlessly fiercely opposing; and that the last-ditch struggle to stop climate-catastrophe will start taking a back-seat in the minds of too many climate activists (including, possibly, you, dear reader: which is why I want to forewarn you).</p>
<p>And here’s the really bad news. Here’s where it gets really scary. There are significant elements of the Right that favour a sort of ‘survivalist’ strategy vis a vis threats such as climate: they aren’t interested in the altruism and enlightened self-interest of climate-change-mitigation, but they are interested in ‘adaptation’. Adaptation is indeed necessary, because we are already, tragically, ‘committed’ to some pretty serious harmful climate-change just by virtue of how much we have polluted our atmosphere with GHGs already; but an adaptationist stance alone looks pretty ugly, and capable of making things worse, in the round. Adaptation, consisting of things like building ever higher ‘hard’ flood defences and hardening one’s heart against climate refugees is hardly… heart-warming, as a response to climate-reality. One can imagine Trump adopting a pretty terrifying narrowly adaptionist climate-policy.</p>
<p>The scariest possibility of all, by far, is that a climate ‘wake-up call’ for Trump could take him in the same direction that a number of influential voices on the hard Right (including, notably, Newt Gingrich) have already moved in: that of climate-engineering or ‘ <a href="" type="internal">geo-engineering</a>‘ <a href="" type="internal">&#160;</a>The idea of a kind of total planetary management of climate fits well with the hubris, techno-utopianism and refusal to change course of many on the Right: in fact, they sound exactly like Trump…. Why alter ‘the American way of life’, if we (who, exactly?) can just put mirrors in space to cool the Earth down a little? The extreme moral hazard of climate-engineering, of course, is that it provides the perfect seeming-excuse for not bothering to rein in our GHG emissions.</p>
<p>Paris, climate-engineering – and the hard Right…</p>
<p>Lest all this seem a remote possibility to you, I want you to notice something that very few people have noticed yet: that the Paris Agreement made climate-engineering mainstream. Worse than that: it <a href="http://kevinanderson.info/blog/the-hidden-agenda-how-veiled-techno-utopias-shore-up-the-paris-agreement" type="external">committed us to it</a>.&#160; The Paris figures don’t add up without desperate, utterly untried, utterly reckless vast-scale technological gambles, later this century.</p>
<p>Why not – Trump’s advisers will whisper – speed the process up a little? What bolder idea for Trump than to ‘wake up’ to the reality of human-influenced climate change – and propose that we tackle it in the biggest way imaginable: by allegedly ‘taking charge’ of the Earth’s climate, and finding a ‘solution’ that will let us keep the petrol flowing (and keep the oceans dying, and keep the atmosphere moving into uncharted waters, and so forth) indefinitely? I can see Trump, for example, providing a huge Government funded prize for the most successful (sic) plan to geo-engineer the future. Take it a step further: it’s not that hard to imagine a Hollywood-ification of climate disaster(s) in which Trump’s narrative becomes that of: America ‘saves the world’, by high-tech, ultra-reckless gambles such as mirrors in space, ‘seeding the oceans’, GM-monoculture fuels and forests…</p>
<p>That’s why I say: be careful what you wish for. When Trump’s climate moment comes, we need to be ready to push back. Otherwise, he might ‘lead’ us out of the frying pan of climate-denialism, into the fire (literally) of what would actually be an out-of-control tech-mad future, in which climate reality became an excuse for allowing the world’s biggest polluter (and its military) in effect to take ownership of the atmosphere itself.</p>
<p>Rupert Read is philosopher working and writing at UEA, the Chair of Green House think tank, and a former parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of England &amp; Wales. He Tweets at: @GreenRupertRead &amp; @rupertread.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.theecologist.org" type="external">the Ecologist</a>.</p> | Trump’s Coming Climate Moment: Careful What You Wish For | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/12/26/trumps-coming-climate-moment-careful-what-you-wish-for/ | 2016-12-26 | 4 |
<p>CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafik apologized on Saturday to supporters who were arrested this week and called on authorities to resolve the situation.</p>
<p>Police arrested three members of Shafik’s Egyptian National Movement on Wednesday and charged them with spreading false information harmful to national security, two security sources told Reuters.</p>
<p>Shafik, a former prime minister and ex-air force commander who is seen as the most serious potential challenger to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in an election due early next year, apologized for the trouble caused to the detainees and their families.</p>
<p>“I call on the relevant authorities to clarify the situation quickly, for it is dangerous,” Shafik said on his Twitter account.</p>
<p>President Sisi, a former military chief, is seen by many Egyptians as the only person able to provide stability after years of turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising that ousted veteran leader Hosni Mubarak.</p>
<p>Shafik recently returned from exile in the United Arab Emirates to where he fled in 2012 after a narrow electoral defeat to Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mursi was removed from office in a military takeover led by Sisi in 2013.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, Shafik said he was still deciding whether or not to run for the presidency in 2018.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Egyptian presidential hopeful apologizes to arrested supporters | false | https://newsline.com/egyptian-presidential-hopeful-apologizes-to-arrested-supporters/ | 2017-12-16 | 1 |
<p>It’s the question of the day, the week, and quite possibly the election. “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Ronald Reagan asked it in 1980, and won:</p>
<p>“Are you better off than you were four years ago - Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was?"</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We’ve drawn that parallel between 1980 and now often on Varney &amp; Co, because of the striking similarities to the state of the economy then and now. So we put it to you, our viewers. We found some people did admit they are better off, but through no help of the government. Here’s how you answered the question on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/varneyco" type="external">Facebook page: Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Dean echoed the sentiment of a majority of people who responded, “No. I’m not better off. My employer gave no raises in 2012 and everything we buy is more expensive.” Rosemary, on the other hand, spoke for the few who say they are in fact better off. “My husband’s business is going strong and we have enough to live…and pay our bills,” she writes. “We don’t mind paying our fair share of taxes,” she adds.</p>
<p>As for me, my salary is up from four years ago. But that’s because of hard work. Again, nothing the government’s done. But my taxes, expenses, and debt are also up. And the value of my home and the amount I have in savings are down. What kind of future am I providing for my daughter if I can’t even afford to put money away for her college education?</p>
<p>I also asked my colleagues here on the Varney production team. Associate producer Michael Golz earned a promotion within the last four years. “Just because I’ve had a good four years,” he says, “it doesn’t really mean I’m better off. While I am making more money, I am spending more in rent, food and other costs. (Yes I do live in the most expensive U.S. city). I also worry about the direction of the country as a whole.” Bailey Wild is a production assistant on the team. She was a college sophomore four years ago. Two years into her career the optimism of graduation is all but gone. “The country is worse off and we’ve all felt it in one way or another.”</p>
<p>Paul Amin, another one of our associate producers, says he is better off, “I was laid off from my job a week after Pres. Obama was elected. I can’t really blame him for that. I was hired at Fox Business about a month later. Can’t give him credit for that. I was the one who scoured the internet looking for job openings and wore about my mouse sending resumes. But now I am at a much better job that I like much more working with a great anchor on a great show for a great and passionate audience. So I guess I can thank the President for that.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>It seems it depends on whom you ask, as former Standard and Poors chief economist <a href="" type="internal">David Wyss Opens a New Window.</a> told Stuart this morning. “At best, you could say things have leveled off the past couple of years,” Wyss said on Varney and Co. today. But he adds, “We’ve had four years that we haven’t fixed the stuff that needed to be fixed. That’s the biggest problem.” He’s talking about the things we talk about on the show every day: budget, debt, deficits, and entitlements.</p>
<p>When Ronald Reagan posed that question back in 1980, he said if your answer was yes, then your choice was clear. And if it wasn’t, then your choice was also clear. Thirty-two years later, it seems voters will decide the same thing nine weeks from today.</p> | Are You Better Off? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/09/04/are-better-off.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV.</p>
<p>Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. This week, “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/this-is-us/" type="external">This Is Us</a>” airs its fall finale and “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/the-marvelous-mrs-maisel/" type="external">The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</a>” debuts on Amazon.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/this-is-us-tuesday-ratings-1202615578/" type="external">This Is Us</a>,” NBC, Tuesday, 9 p.m.</p>
<p>The beloved NBC drama series will air its second season fall finale this week. In the episode, Randall and Beth are faced with a hard choice. Jack takes Randall on a college tour. Season 2 will then resume on Jan. 2, 2018 at 9 p.m.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/the-marvelous-mrs-maisel-amazon-amy-sherman-palladino-albert-cheng-1202614481/" type="external">The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</a>,” Amazon, Wednesday (CRITICS’ PICK)</p>
<p>Midge Maisel is a proper (if witty) 1950s Manhattan matron who finds herself unexpectedly pursing a standup comedy career, and Rachel Brosnahan is sensational in the title role (also watch for Alex Borstein’s great work as her sardonic manager).&#160;Watching Midge’s sense of excitement build as she hones her set is the central pleasure of “Mrs. Maisel,” which could be described as a stand-up comedy riff on “Mad Men” — one told entirely from a Peggy Olson’s perspective. This handsome comedy is uneven, but like Sherman-Palladino’s “Gilmore Girls,” it contains gifts that will appeal to fans of verbal combat and realistic depictions of complicated friendships among whip-smart women.</p>
<p>“The Dark,” Netflix, Friday</p>
<p>Netflix’s first original German series debuts this week. It is described as a family saga with a supernatural twist, set in a German town in present day where the disappearance of two young children exposes the double lives and fractured relationships among four families. In ten, hour-long episodes, the story takes on a supernatural twist that ties back to the same town in 1986.</p>
<p>“The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special,” CBS, Sunday, 8 p.m.</p>
<p>CBS celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic comedy series “The Carol Burnett Show.” Filmed on the show’s original soundstage, Burnett reminisces about her favorite sketches, Q&amp;As with the studio audience, guest stars, her memorable wardrobe and bloopers, as well as the effect the show had on television today. Original cast and crew members from the show will also appear alongside a range of new guest stars.</p> | Our Staff Picks: TV Shows to Watch the Week of Nov. 27, 2017 | false | https://newsline.com/our-staff-picks-tv-shows-to-watch-the-week-of-nov-27-2017/ | 2017-11-27 | 1 |
<p>Jan 23 (Reuters) - Cardiome Pharma Corp:</p>
<p>* CARDIOME ANNOUNCES EXPANDED LABEL FOR AGGRASTAT® IN CHINA INCLUDING NEW STEMI INDICATION AND HIGH DOSE BOLUS REGIMEN</p>
<p>* CARDIOME PHARMA - AGGRASTAT EXPANDED LABEL NOW INCLUDE PATIENTS WITH STEMI WHO ARE INTENDED FOR PRIMARY PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION</p>
<p>* CARDIOME PHARMA - CHINESE CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION ALSO APPROVED AGGRASTAT HIGH DOSE BOLUS REGIMEN TO BE USED ON BOTH INDICATED PATIENT POPULATIONS IN STUDY Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>OKANAUTONI, Angola (Reuters) - Apart from a few packs of medicine and plastic jars, the shelves at the Okanautoni health center in southern Angola are bare and lack basic drugs for saving lives.</p> A toddler runs through Chiulo Hospital in Cunene province, Angola February 24, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Eisenhammer
<p>Hours from the nearest town in Cunene province, the clinic has no first-line tuberculosis drugs, no antiretrovirals for HIV, no general antibiotics and just three anti-malarial pills.</p>
<p>Okanautoni is remote but the provincial director for health says clinics without drugs are no exception. “The public health system is losing credibility,” said Mendes Esteves at his office in the sleepy provincial capital Ondjiva.</p>
<p>João Lourenço, Angola’s first new president in 38 years, has vowed to tackle corruption, attract foreign investment and improve public services such as healthcare, which the government acknowledges suffers from a lack of doctors and medication.</p>
<p>Crippled by 27 years of civil war, healthcare improved after the conflict ended in 2002 as the oil-fueled economy surged and new hospitals and clinics were built. But experts say the country failed to develop a robust system for buying and distributing medicines, or training doctors and nurses.</p>
<p>When the price of oil tumbled in 2014, the economy stalled and the government slashed spending, exposing cracks in the public health service and leaving the population at risk.</p>
<p>Diseases that should be disappearing after more than 15 years of peace are spreading. Tuberculosis has been declining worldwide but in Angola the incidence of TB rose 16 percent from 2002 to 2016, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).</p>
<p>Angola suffered the world’s worst yellow fever epidemic in a generation in 2016 with about 4,000 suspected cases and 380 deaths, and the country is now in the grip of a malaria outbreak with more than 300,000 cases so far this year.</p>
<p>International health workers say the country is leaving itself open to further outbreaks, with some warning of cholera spreading from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and others of a potentially devastating epidemic like ebola - a strain of which struck Angola in 2005.</p>
<p>In 2018, the government committed 4 percent of government expenditure to health, down from 4.3 percent in 2017. By comparison, South Africa spent about 14 percent on health in 2015 and Kenya 6 percent, according to WHO data.</p> ‘NEVER ENOUGH’
<p>At the clinic in Okanautoni, plastic gloves, syringes and disinfectant are in short supply. There’s no running water and the only electricity is from a generator that runs sporadically.</p>
<p>At night, births are guided by the light of a cell phone. If something goes wrong, patients are driven for two hours down bumpy bush tracks to the nearest hospitals in Chiulo or Xangongo – where conditions too can be precarious.</p>
<p>“We ask for medicine but they don’t send us anything,” said nurse Penitencia Goreti, 33, who said she had repeatedly asked for fresh stock from the municipal government.</p>
<p>“The situation is getting worse,” she said, as a child, blurry-eyed with malaria, lay on the floor nearby.</p>
<p>Provincial health director Esteves said the sick were starting to shun health centers because they didn’t expect them to have any medicine. He said he hoped a batch of first-line TB drugs would come in the next few months, but deliveries had failed to show up before. “We will see,” he said with a sigh.</p>
<p>Nearly 1,000 km away in the capital Luanda, ranked the most expensive city in the world for expatriate workers and home to a luxury-loving Angolan elite, public hospitals are similarly stretched.</p>
<p>At Cacuaco hospital on the capital’s outskirts, two doctors see 400 to 700 patients per day. The hospital suffers power outages, there is no functioning X-ray machine and only the most basic medication. Anti-malarial drugs frequently run out.</p>
<p>“We just have so many cases, it’s never enough,” one nurse said as hundreds waited in the humid heat under broken fans.</p>
<p>Poorer residents in Luanda frequently say they have to pay for medication that should be free at public hospitals. The cost means patients often cut their treatment short, increasing the risk of resistant strains developing.</p> Tuberculosis patients, wearing masks to stop the spread of the disease, stand outside their ward at Chiulo Hospital, Cunene province, Angola February 22, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Eisenhammer
<p>The Ministry of Health did not respond to requests for comment on the state of the healthcare system. It provided data showing 304,410 cases of malaria had been reported in Angola between Jan. and Feb. 4, with 984 deaths.</p>
<p>After a tour of the northern Zaire province, Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta, said the lack of drugs was being addressed.</p>
<p>“We can’t come here and affirm that we have resolved all the medication problems, but the basics and essentials for the functioning of centers is there,” local media quoted her saying.</p> RED TAPE AND DELAYS
<p>However, senior medical professionals working in the system said the situation had got worse since Lourenço’s new government was appointed. They described severe delays in decision-making and project approvals since Lutucuta took charge in October.</p>
<p>They said the response to the malaria outbreak had been hamstrung by increased red tape, which slowed the distribution of preventative measures such as mosquito nets.</p>
<p>Most sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issues.</p>
<p>They described flaws in the way drugs, that are not supplied by international agencies, are procured and distributed.</p>
<p>Sources said purchases at the local level were not in enough bulk to secure competitive prices while the central procurement system, known as CECOMA, lacked the information and budget to keep the system fully supplied. Drugs also often go missing, they said.</p>
<p>According to one former government source, the Ministry of Health has estimated that half the drugs it buys do not reach their intended destination.</p>
<p>In the one-road town of Chiulo, Cunene, basic medication regularly runs out at the hospital. While Reuters visited wards the last tablets of a vital antibiotic were handed out.</p>
<p>The hospital struggles without mains electricity and has a generator that cuts out at 11 p.m. Water is pumped from a dry river bed but ageing equipment often fails.</p>
<p>Chiulo receives assistance from the Italian charity Medici con L’Africa (CUAMM), which has worked there since 2000. Laura Villosio, a wiry indefatigable doctor from northern Italy, said the water and drugs situation had deteriorated since she first worked in Chiulo a decade ago.</p>
<p>In July, the hospital diagnosed cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis but medication to treat it did not arrive until four months later, despite increasingly desperate requests.</p>
<p>For such emergencies, the hospital is supposed to have a small budget of its own to buy drugs, but clinical director Ivo Makonga described the money as a “fiction”.</p>
<p>Payment, which is centrally controlled in Luanda, takes more than eight months to be processed, if at all, meaning suppliers increasingly refuse to accept orders, Makonga said.</p>
<p>The lack of drugs means Emilio Txikussa faces a bleak future. Five years old, he weighs just over 10 kg, his eyes sunken and belly swollen with severe malnutrition.</p>
<p>He also has HIV and tuberculosis.</p>
<p>For now, the doctor is pleased that he has put on 300 grammes after three days on therapeutic milk. With a big smile she asks if he is feeling better. Beaming, she asks again.</p>
<p>“Tell the doctor, yes,” his father urges. “Say yes ... say yes.” Emilio only stares.</p>
<p>Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; editing by David Clarke</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, starting Holy Week services leading to Easter, urged young people on Sunday to keep shouting and not allow the older generations to silence their voices or anesthetize their idealism.</p> Pope Francis blesses faithful gathered to attend the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2018 REUTERS/Tony Gentile
<p>Francis spoke a day after hundreds of thousands of young Americans and their supporters answered a call to action from survivors of last month’s Florida high school massacre and rallied across the United States to demand tighter gun laws. He did not mention the demonstrations.</p>
<p>The 81-year-old Roman Catholic leader led a long and solemn Palm Sunday service before tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square, many of them young people there for the Catholic Church’s World Day of Youth.</p>
<p>Carrying a woven palm branch known as a “palmurello,” Francis led a procession in front of the largest church in Christendom to commemorate the day the Bible says Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was hailed as a savior, only to be crucified five days later.</p>
<p>Drawing on biblical parallels, Francis urged the young people in the crowd not to let themselves be manipulated.</p>
<p>“The temptation to silence young people has always existed,” Francis said in the homily of a Mass.</p>
<p>“There are many ways to silence young people and make them invisible. Many ways to anesthetize them, to make them keep quiet, ask nothing, question nothing. There are many ways to sedate them, to keep them from getting involved, to make their dreams flat and dreary, petty and plaintive,” he said.</p> Pope Francis holds palm as he leads the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2018 REUTERS/Tony Gentile
<p>“Dear young people, you have it in you to shout,” he told young people, urging them to be like the people who welcomed Jesus with palms rather than those who shouted for his crucifixion only days later.</p>
<p>“It is up to you not to keep quiet. Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders, some corrupt, keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?”</p> Slideshow (10 Images)
<p>The young people in the crowd shouted, “Yes!”</p>
<p>While Francis did not mention Saturday’s marches in the United States, he has often condemned weapons manufacturing and mass shootings.</p>
<p>Palm Sunday marked the start of a hectic week of activities for the pope.</p>
<p>On Holy Thursday he is due to preside at two services, including one in which he will wash the feet of 12 inmates in a Rome jail to commemorate Jesus’ gesture of humility toward his apostles the night before he died.</p>
<p>On Good Friday, he is due to lead a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum. On Saturday night he leads a Easter vigil service and on Easter Sunday he delivers his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message.</p>
<p>Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Mark Heinrich</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Britain’s accusations that Moscow was behind the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in England “border on banditry”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by RIA news agency on Sunday.</p> Police officers prepare equipment as inspectors from the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) begin work at the scene of the nerve agent attack on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal, in Salisbury, Britain March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
<p>“We are stating that this is quite unprecedented - international affairs bordering, maybe, on banditry. What stands behind this? Is it Britain’s internal problems or the problems of Britain’s cooperation with its allies or something else? Looks like this is not our business,” RIA quoted Peskov as saying by RIA on an NTV program.</p>
<p>Moscow has denied responsibility for the March 4 attack on Skripal and his daughter, the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two. Britain expelled 23 Russians as a result and Moscow retaliated by ordering out the same number of Britons.</p>
<p>Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Mark Heinrich</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized to Britons on Sunday over a “breach of trust”, taking out full page advertisements in British newspapers after a political consultancy got its hands on data on 50 million users.</p> FILE PHOTO: Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
<p>“We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can’t, we don’t deserve it,” said the advert, signed by Facebook founder Zuckerberg.</p>
<p>The world’s largest social media network is facing growing government scrutiny in Europe and the United States.</p>
<p>This follows allegations by a whistleblower that British consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed users’ information to build profiles on American voters that were later used to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016.</p>
<p>The plain black text apology on a white background, with only a tiny Facebook logo, appeared in Sunday publications including The Observer - one of the newspapers whose reporting on the issue has sent Facebook’s share price tumbling.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg said an app built by a university researcher “leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014”.</p> A figurine is seen in front of the Facebook logo in this illustration taken March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
<p>“This was a breach of trust, and I’m sorry we didn’t do more at the time,” Zuckerberg said, reiterating an apology first made last week in U.S. television interviews.</p>
<p>Cambridge Analytica says it initially believed the data had been obtained in line with data protection laws, and later deleted it at Facebook’s request. The consultancy said it did not use the data in work it did for the 2016 U.S. election.</p>
<p>On Friday night, investigators from Britain’s data watchdog searched the London offices of Cambridge Analytica for several hours.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg, whose firm has lost more than $50 billion in market value since the allegations, said Facebook would give users more information and control about who can access their data.</p>
<p>“Thank you for believing in this community. I promise to do better for you,” he wrote.</p>
<p>Advertisers Mozilla and German bank Commerzbank have suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook has been trending online.</p>
<p>On Friday, electric carmaker Tesla Inc and its rocket company SpaceX’s Facebook pages - each with more than 2.6 million followers - were deleted after Chief Executive Elon Musk promised to do so.</p>
<p>Reporting by William James; Editing by Keith Weir</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Cardiome Announces Expanded Label For Aggrastat In China Drug shortages cripple Angola's health service Keep shouting, don't become anesthetized, pope tells young people Kremlin: British accusations over Skripal poisoning 'border on banditry' Facebook's Zuckerberg says sorry to Britons with newspaper apology ads | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-cardiome-announces-expanded-label/brief-cardiome-announces-expanded-label-for-aggrastat-in-china-idUSFWN1PI0TI | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Police worked Wednesday to try and unravel the mystery of who killed a woman, her partner and her two young children, whose bodies were found in a riverfront apartment house the day after Christmas.</p>
<p>"After being in this business for 43 years, I can't describe the savagery of a person who would do this," said Troy Police Chief John Tedesco.</p>
<p>Investigators revealed little about the deaths, declining to identify the victims or say how they were killed. But the chief said the slain children were an 11-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. The mother was 36 years old and in a relationship with a 22-year-old woman whose body was also found in the basement apartment, the chief said.</p>
<p>Tedesco declared during a news conference that the killings were "not a random act," but wouldn't say why he believed that was the case.</p>
<p>A property manager found the bodies Tuesday after being asked to check on the welfare of the residents of the apartment, one of five in a house located in the city's Lansingburgh section along the Hudson River just north of Albany, police said.</p>
<p>"I don't think there's any doubt that a person who committed this crime is capable of anything," Tedesco said, adding that police don't believe there was an imminent danger to the public.</p>
<p>The victims' names were being withheld pending notification of relatives, he said.</p>
<p>Police didn't know when the slayings occurred, but Tedesco said he hoped autopsies being conducted Wednesday would provide clues. State police were involved in the investigation along with New York parole officials, Tedesco said.</p>
<p>"This will be a full-court press, if you will, until we bring someone to justice," he said, adding that police were seeking any information the public may have about the crime.</p>
<p>Investigators remained at the scene Wednesday. Police cars blocked vehicles from approaching the home, which is set amid older, restored houses. Yellow crime tape was stretched across the street, running along the river's east bank. Few people ventured out on the snow-covered sidewalks in temperatures in the teens.</p>
<p>"This heinous atrocity is unimaginable, incomprehensible. I believe it affects the whole community," said the Rev. Jackie Robinson, pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Troy, who did not know the family. "Kids are traumatized. A lot of adults are traumatized too, because this monster is still out there."</p>
<p>TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Police worked Wednesday to try and unravel the mystery of who killed a woman, her partner and her two young children, whose bodies were found in a riverfront apartment house the day after Christmas.</p>
<p>"After being in this business for 43 years, I can't describe the savagery of a person who would do this," said Troy Police Chief John Tedesco.</p>
<p>Investigators revealed little about the deaths, declining to identify the victims or say how they were killed. But the chief said the slain children were an 11-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. The mother was 36 years old and in a relationship with a 22-year-old woman whose body was also found in the basement apartment, the chief said.</p>
<p>Tedesco declared during a news conference that the killings were "not a random act," but wouldn't say why he believed that was the case.</p>
<p>A property manager found the bodies Tuesday after being asked to check on the welfare of the residents of the apartment, one of five in a house located in the city's Lansingburgh section along the Hudson River just north of Albany, police said.</p>
<p>"I don't think there's any doubt that a person who committed this crime is capable of anything," Tedesco said, adding that police don't believe there was an imminent danger to the public.</p>
<p>The victims' names were being withheld pending notification of relatives, he said.</p>
<p>Police didn't know when the slayings occurred, but Tedesco said he hoped autopsies being conducted Wednesday would provide clues. State police were involved in the investigation along with New York parole officials, Tedesco said.</p>
<p>"This will be a full-court press, if you will, until we bring someone to justice," he said, adding that police were seeking any information the public may have about the crime.</p>
<p>Investigators remained at the scene Wednesday. Police cars blocked vehicles from approaching the home, which is set amid older, restored houses. Yellow crime tape was stretched across the street, running along the river's east bank. Few people ventured out on the snow-covered sidewalks in temperatures in the teens.</p>
<p>"This heinous atrocity is unimaginable, incomprehensible. I believe it affects the whole community," said the Rev. Jackie Robinson, pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Troy, who did not know the family. "Kids are traumatized. A lot of adults are traumatized too, because this monster is still out there."</p> | Victims in basement apartment were mom, 2 kids, 2nd woman | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e5135723925b47d4b3bae8b3fa4d196e | 2017-12-27 | 2 |
<p>Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</p>
<p />
<p>Sometime in the next ten days, President Obama can expect a call from Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090810-713053.html" type="external">wants to invite Obama</a> to a meeting of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_American_Nations" type="external">Union of the South American Nations</a> (Unasur) meeting to discuss the increasing American presence in Colombia, now that the South American country has allowed US military forces to use Colombian air bases to track down rebels and drug dealers. A conversation about the topic should take place before the next Unsaur meeting, scheduled for August 28th in Bariloche, Argentina.</p>
<p>During the last meeting of Unasur leaders, last week, in Quito, Ecuador, the Brazilian president said he was “uneasy” with American troops going to Colombia and proposed the meeting with Obama. The main reason for his concern, he said, is that South America should be able to solve its own problems without outside help, especially since the Narcotraffic Combat Council was just created by Unasur to fight drug traffic in South America without international interference. “The Council can answer many things that Colombians think only Americans can answer,” Lula said.</p>
<p>But during a press conference, Lula expressed a concern that must cross the mind of every leader whose neighbors are about to host American troops: Are they really going to stay where they’re supposed to? Lula emphasized that it should be made “explicit” that American troops will act only within Colombian territory. Translation: Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and Obama can sign whatever they want, as long as we don’t have American soldiers crossing into the Brazilian Amazon.</p>
<p>Guest contributor Gabriela Lessa is a journalist and blogger spending the summer in her native Brazil. Watch for her dispatches on motherjones.com.</p>
<p /> | Brazil to Obama: Watch It | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/08/brazil-obama-watch-it/ | 2009-08-18 | 4 |
<p>A new report released by the World Health Organization today shows that diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity aren't just common in wealthy countries where junk food is plentiful.&#160;The report provides the "clearest evidence to date" that such chronic diseases are spreading from developed nations to poorer nations,&#160; <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/16/us-global-report-idINBRE84F0A720120516" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>"In some African countries, as much as half the adult population has high blood pressure," WHO director general Margaret Chan <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJGpTXaEtX2ipM6bhBHQX1N1SD0A?docId=CNG.48c7b717ba063b03e58ef21e0a50a8fd.131" type="external">told the Associated Foreign Press</a>. &#160;</p>
<p>In Niger 50.3 percent of men suffer from high blood pressure, the AFP said.</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</a></p>
<p>In total, one in 10 adults worldwide has diabetes, according to the WHO's study.&#160;</p>
<p>The report also found that one in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure,&#160; <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42012&amp;Cr=Non-Communicable%20Diseases&amp;Cr1=" type="external">according to UN News Centre</a>. The highest obesity levels are still in the Americas, with 26 percent of adults suffering from the condition.&#160;</p>
<p>While chronic diseases like diabetes have long been thought of as diseases of developed nations, the WHO says that almost 80 percent of deaths from such diseases now occur in poor and middle-income countries. In Africa, this trend is explained by a rise in smoking rates, a more Western-style, unhealthy diet and less exercise, according to Reuters.&#160;</p> | One in 10 adults worldwide has diabetes: WHO report | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-05-16/one-10-adults-worldwide-has-diabetes-who-report | 2012-05-16 | 3 |
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<p />
<p>6:20 p.m.</p>
<p>North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says the burning of a local GOP office is unlike anything he’s seen in his political career.</p>
<p>McCrory addressed reporters on Monday outside of the Orange County GOP headquarters that was burned by a flammable device early Sunday.</p>
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<p>He said: “To come back near our state capital and see a broken window from a molotov cocktail is unimaginable.” He has been traveling to other areas of the state that have been stricken by floods in recent days.</p>
<p>McCrory also questioned why it took several hours after an emergency call was made for Hillsborough authorities to make an official public statement.</p>
<p>Hillsborough Police Chief Duane Hampton told The Associated Press in an interview that one of his department’s first calls was to federal agents, who were on scene less than an hour after his officers arrived. He says his department took the act very seriously and understood its implications from the beginning.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:50 p.m.</p>
<p>The White House is responding to reports of a fire being set at a local Republican Party headquarters in North Carolina, saying there is no justification for the use of violence to advance a political agenda.</p>
<p>White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in Monday’s press briefing that President Barack Obama has consistently praised political activists who sought to overcome significant differences through the use of non-violent tactics.</p>
<p>Earnest says in a season heated with political rhetoric that neither side benefits from vandalism and violence.</p>
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<p>He is also noting that some Democrats are trying to raise money to rebuild the campaign office. The online campaign he says is consistent with the president’s optimistic vision about the country and that progress can be made on key issues by focusing on shared values.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:15 p.m.</p>
<p>A GoFundMe online drive by Democrats to raise $10,000 to reopen the North Carolina county Republican office that was damaged by a fire-bombing attack needed only 40 minutes to meet its goal.</p>
<p>Harvard University researcher David Weinberger created the site and says the speed with which the money was raised shows that Americans are “thirsty for civility and decency.”</p>
<p>His point was underscored by the fact that local Democrats joined the campaign.</p>
<p>Orange County GOP chairman Daniel Ashley says the Democrats gesture is great and they appreciate it a lot.</p>
<p>Local, state and federal officials are investigating the attack.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:45 a.m.</p>
<p>The police chief in a North Carolina town where a fire was set at the county Republican Party headquarters said Monday that he had no new developments to report.</p>
<p>Hillsborough Police Chief Duane Hampton said in an email that nothing developed overnight as the investigation continues into the fire-bombing of the Orange County Republican Party headquarters late Saturday or early Sunday.</p>
<p>No one was hurt when a bottle filled with flammable liquid was thrown the window of the building. An earlier news release from the town said the building next door was spray-painted with the words: “Nazi Republicans leave town or else.”</p>
<p>A state Republican official called the attack “political terrorism.” Republican offices around the state are reviewing their security.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7:05 a.m.</p>
<p>Authorities are investigating after a local Republican Party office in North Carolina was set on fire in what a state GOP official called “political terrorism.”</p>
<p>According to a Sunday news release from the town of Hillsborough, a bottle filled with flammable liquid was thrown through the window of the Orange County Republican Party headquarters overnight. The flammable substance that was thrown into the office ignited and damaged the interior before burning out. No one was injured.</p>
<p>In addition to the fire, the news release says an adjacent building was spray-painted with the words: “Nazi Republicans leave town or else.”</p>
<p>State GOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse called the fire “political terrorism” and said Republican offices around the state were re-examining their security.</p> | NC gov.: Burning of GOP office ‘unimaginable’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/869181/the-latest-white-house-no-justification-for-violence.html | 2016-10-17 | 2 |
<p>Have you ever wondered whether your milk carton caps can be recycled? Or what happens to your recycling after&#160;it gets picked up from your curb? Science Friday video producer <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/person/luke-groskin/" type="external">Luke Groskin</a> decided to explore the mysteries of recycling further. He visited a recycling facility in Brooklyn and came back to report on it.</p>
<p>According to Groskin, the inside of a recycling facility looks like it might look like if you were “inside the digestive track of a robot that eats recyclables. It's really really mechanized.”</p>
<p>And the smell?&#160;</p>
<p>“It was musky,” Groskin says, “but mostly the overriding smell, the smell that pervaded everything, was the three-day-old beer smell.”&#160;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/darby-hoover" type="external">Darby Hoover</a> from the Natural Resources Defense Council says the US falls somewhere in the middle of developed countries in terms of how well it does at recycling.&#160;</p>
<p>“In the US we're recycling about 34.3 percent of what we throw away at the municipal level,” Hoover says. “We're not doing that well. We're recycling about a third of what we dispose of. That puts us about halfway in between other developed countries. In Europe you've got countries that are doing much better — over 60 percent. Some of the rest of the world is doing a little bit worse, we’re right about in the middle worldwide.”</p>
<p>When it comes to specific questions about what can and cannot be recycled, Hoover says the answers vary depending on where you live.&#160;</p>
<p>"Anything that we talk about being recyclable or not recyclable has to be caveated by saying you should go to the website of your local city government and check to see what is accepted for recycling in your community and how they like to prepare it,” she says.</p>
<p>1. When it comes to greasy pizza boxes, though, there’s a pretty widely accepted rule-of-thumb.&#160;</p>
<p>“For the most part, communities don't want pizza boxes in the recycling. If you've got paper that has grease or oils in it, that can complicate the paper recycling process. It's hard to remove the oils from the fibers, so for the most part you can't put those pizza boxes in with your other paper recycling.”</p>
<p>2.&#160;Some people wonder what the numbers surrounded by a triangle of arrows that are printed on plastics mean. Hoover says it’s a system that may or may not be helpful in in trying to determine whether or not a certain material can be recycled.&#160;</p>
<p>“You'll see it on the bottom of almost every plastic container. ...&#160;Most people look at that and think, ‘Well, that means it's recyclable.’ It doesn’t,” Hoover says. “All it does is tell you what type of plastic it is. It’s there to just help identify the polymer but it's not something that for the most part can tell you if it's actually recyclable in your community or not.”</p>
<p>3.&#160;For those who might be agonizing over how much they need to fully rinse out or scrub their recyclables, Hoover says not to worry.&#160;</p>
<p>“You're going to not be surprised that I'm going to say the answer varies from community to community,” Hoover says. “You want to get it as empty as you can, practically speaking. If you can use a little excess dishwater to shake it up and get it a little bit cleaner, that's great. You don't have to have it be sparkling clean. The issue is less usually with contaminating that container itself and more about having that food or that beverage that's in the container transferred to paper and other materials in the recycling bin that then become contaminated.”</p>
<p>Recycled material doesn’t just end up at recycling facilities, however. Hoover says the recycling facility is just the first stop for recycled materials. After the plastics, papers and glass get sorted, they’re then loaded onto trucks to be sold and shipped to others who will further wash them, clean them, break them down and turn them into new products.&#160;</p>
<p>“A lot of our plastic recycling does get shipped overseas to China and other countries,” Hoover says. “That's part of a global market for recycling and that's true for many of our materials. Wastepaper is one of our largest exports from the US.”</p>
<p>This article is based on an&#160; <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ask-recycler-sorting-recycling-questions/" type="external">interview</a> <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/confessions-of-a-meteorite-hunter/" type="external">&#160;</a>that aired on PRI's&#160; <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/" type="external">Science Friday</a>.</p> | Here are all your burning questions about recycling, answered | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-08-01/here-are-all-your-burning-questions-about-recycling-answered | 2016-08-01 | 3 |
<p>Jan 22 (Reuters) - Siam Commercial Bank:</p>
<p>* SAYS PLANS TO REDUCE NUMBER OF BRANCHES TO 400 FROM 1,100 OVER NEXT 3 YEARS</p>
<p>* SAYS TO CUT HEADCOUNT TO 15,000 FROM 27,000 OVER NEXT 3 YEARS</p>
<p>* SAYS PLANS JV WITH PARTNERS IN TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE, RETAIL, AUTO LOANS Further company coverage: (Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Writing by Orathai Sriring)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TORONTO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retailer Hudson’s Bay Co on Sunday disclosed that it was the victim of a security breach that compromised data on payment cards used at Saks and Lord &amp; Taylor stores in North America.</p> The Lord &amp; Taylor flagship store building is seen along Fifth Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
<p>One cyber security firm said that it has evidence that millions of cards may have been compromised, which would make the breach one of the largest involving payment cards over the past year, but added that it was too soon to confirm whether that was the case.</p>
<p>Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay said in a statement that it had “taken steps to contain” the breach but did not say it had succeeded in confirming that its network was secure. It also did not say when the breach had begun or how many payment card numbers were taken.</p>
<p>“Once we have more clarity around the facts, we will notify our customers quickly and will offer those impacted free identity protection services, including credit and web monitoring,” the statement said.</p>
<p>A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate.</p>
<p>The breach comes as Hudson’s Bay struggles to improve its financial performance as a tough retail environment has weighed on sales and margins. Last June, it launched a transformation plan to cut costs and is working to monetize the value of its substantial real estate holdings.</p>
<p>Hudson’s Bay disclosed the incident after New York-based cyber security firm Gemini Advisory reported on its blog that Saks and Lord &amp; Taylor had been hacked by a well-known criminal group known as JokerStash.</p>
<p>JokerStash, which sells stolen data on the criminal underground, on Wednesday said that it planned to release more than 5 million stolen credit cards, according to Gemini Chief Technology Officer Dmitry Chorine.</p>
<p>The hacking group has so far released about 125,000 payment cards, about 75 percent of which appear to have been taken from the Hudson’s Bay units, Chorine told Reuters by telephone.</p>
<p>The bulk of the 5 million card numbers that JokerStash said it plans to release are likely from Saks and Lord &amp; Taylor, but it is too early to say for sure, Chorine said.</p> FILE PHOTO: The outside of the Saks Fifth Avenue store is seen in New York October 8, 2009. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
<p>“It’s hard to assess at the moment, primarily because hackers have not released the entire cards in one batch,” he told Reuters.</p>
<p>Alex Holden, chief information security officer with cyber security firm Hold Security, confirmed that the 125,000 cards had been released by JokerStash but said it was too soon to estimate how many had been taken from Hudson’s Bay.</p>
<p>If in fact millions of records were stolen, the breach would be one of the largest involving payment cards in the past year, but it would still be far smaller than any of the biggest thefts on record, which occurred a decade ago.</p>
<p>Hackers stole more than 130 million credit cards from credit-card processor Heartland Payment Systems, convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc and grocer Hannaford Brothers Co, from 2006 to 2008, according to U.S. federal investigators.</p>
<p>Cyber criminals stole some 40 million payment cards in a 2013 hack on Target Corp and 56 million from Home Depot Inc in 2014.</p>
<p>Hudson’s Bay said there is no indication its recent breach involved online sales at Saks and Lord &amp; Taylor outlets or its Hudson’s Bay, Home Outfitters and HBC Europe units.</p>
<p>The company said that customers will not be liable for fraudulent charges resulting from the breach.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto and David Henry in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby and Steve Orlofsky</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) - China has increased tariffs by up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts, escalating a spat between the world’s biggest economies in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel.</p> FILE PHOTO: Several-week-old pigs stand in a pen inside a barn at Paustian Enterprises in Walcott, Iowa, November 19, 2014. REUTERS/Daniel Acker/File Photo
<p>The tariffs, to take effect on Monday, were announced late on Sunday by China’s finance ministry and matched a list of potential tariffs on up to $3 billion in U.S. goods published by China on March 23.</p>
<p>Soon after the announcement, an editorial in the widely read Chinese tabloid Global Times warned that if the U.S. had thought China would not retaliate or would only take symbolic counter-measures, it can now “say goodbye to that delusion.”</p>
<p>“Even though China and the U.S. have not publicly said they are in a trade war, the sparks of such a war have already started to fly,” the editorial said.</p>
<p>China’s Ministry of Commerce said it was suspending its obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reduce tariffs on 120 U.S. goods, including fruit and ethanol. The tariffs on those products will be raised by an extra 15 percent.</p>
<p>Eight other products, including pork and scrap aluminum, will now be subject to additional tariffs of 25 percent, it said, with the measures effective from April 2.</p> FILE PHOTO: A butcher cuts a piece of pork at a market in Beijing, China, March 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
<p>“China’s suspension of its tariff concessions is a legitimate action adopted under WTO rules to safeguard China’s interests,” the Chinese finance ministry said.</p>
<p>China is moving swiftly with retaliatory action amid escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, which have rocked global financial markets in the past week as investors feared a full-blown trade spat between the two countries will be damaging for world growth.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump is separately preparing to impose tariffs of more than $50 billion on Chinese goods intended to punish Beijing over U.S. accusations that China systematically misappropriated American intellectual property - allegations Beijing denies.</p>
<p>China has repeatedly promised to open its economy further, but many foreign companies continue to complain of unfair treatment. China warned the United States on Thursday not to open a Pandora’s Box and spark a flurry of protectionist practices across the globe.</p>
<p>“There are some people in the West who think that China looks tough for the sake of a domestic audience, and would easily make concessions in the end,” the Global Times editorial said.</p>
<p>“But they are wrong.”</p>
<p>The Global Times is run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, although its stance does not necessarily reflect Chinese government policy.</p>
<p>Reaction to China’s measures varied on Chinese social media, with some saying Chinese customers would be the one ultimately paying for the trade war.</p> FILE PHOTO: A labourer works on coils of steel wire at a steel wholesale market in Beijing, China, January 17, 2012. REUTERS/Soo Hoo Zheyang/File Photo
<p>“Why not directly target soybean and planes? The tariffs that China announced today don’t sound a lot to me,” said a user on Weibo, a Twitter-like microblog popular in China.</p>
<p>Aircraft and soybeans were China’s biggest U.S. imports by value last year.</p>
<p>In a statement published on Monday morning, the Chinese commerce ministry said the United States had “seriously violated” the principles of non-discrimination enshrined in World Trade Organization rules, and had also damaged China’s interests.</p>
<p>“China’s suspension of some of its obligations to the United States is its legitimate right as a member of the World Trade Organization,” it said, adding that differences between the world’s two largest economies should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation.</p>
<p>Weibo prominently featured the list of U.S. goods that China is targeting among the day’s “hot” trending topics.</p>
<p>“I will never buy fruit from the U.S.,” a Weibo user wrote.</p>
<p>Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Tony Munroe; Additional reporting by David Stanway in SHANGHAI and Stella Qiu and Lusha Zhang in BEIJING; Additional Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Eric Meijer and Shri Navaratnam</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s Tiangong-1 space station re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and burnt up over the South Pacific on Monday, the Chinese space authority said.</p>
<p>The “vast majority” of the craft burnt up on re-entry, at around 8:15 a.m. (0015 GMT), the authority said in a brief statement on its website, without saying exactly where any pieces might have landed.</p>
<p>Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist at Australian National University, said the remnants of Tiangong-1 appeared to have landed about 100 km (62 miles) northwest of Tahiti.</p>
<p>“Small bits definitely will have made it to the surface,” he told Reuters, adding that while about 90 percent would have burnt up in the atmosphere and just 10 percent made it to the ground, that fraction still amounted to 700 kg (1,543 lb) to 800 kg (1,764 lb).</p>
<p>“Most likely the debris is in the ocean, and even if people stumbled over it, it would just look like rubbish in the ocean and be spread over a huge area of thousands of square kilometers.”</p>
<p>China said on Friday it was unlikely any large pieces would reach the ground.</p>
<p>The United States Air Force 18th Space Control Squadron, which tracks and detects all artificial objects in Earth’s orbit, said it had also tracked the Tiangong-1 in its re-entry over the South Pacific.</p>
<p>It said in a statement it had confirmed re-entry in coordination with counterparts in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Britain.</p>
<p>The 10.4-metre-long (34.1-foot) Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace 1”, was launched in 2011 to carry out docking and orbit experiments as part of China’s ambitious space program, which aims to place a permanent station in orbit by 2023.Decommissioning was originally planned for 2013 but the mission was repeatedly extended.</p>
<p>Asked about the space station, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular briefing he had no other information and reiterated that China had been reporting the situation to the U.N. space agency in an open and transparent way.</p>
<p>“According to what I understand, at present there has not been found any damage on the ground,” he said, without elaborating.</p>
<p>China had earlier said re-entry would happen in late 2017, but that process was delayed, leading some experts to suggest the space laboratory was out of control.</p>
<p>Worldwide media hype about the re-entry reflected overseas “envy” of China’s space industry, the Chinese tabloid Global Times said on Monday.</p> FILE PHOTO: A model of the Tiangong-1 space lab module (L), the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft (R) and three Chinese astronauts is displayed during a news conference at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in Gansu province, China June 15, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
<p>“It’s normal for spacecraft to re-enter the atmosphere, yet Tiangong-1 received so much attention, partly because some Western countries are trying to hype and sling mud at China’s fast-growing aerospace industry,” it said.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Stanway and Wang Jing; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Alison Bevege in SYDNEY; Editing by Paul Tait and Clarence Fernandez</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON/IXTEPEC, Mexico (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Sunday that there will be no deal to legalize the status of young adult immigrants called Dreamers and he said the U.S.-Mexico border is becoming more dangerous.</p>
<p>After tweeting a “Happy Easter” message on Twitter, he said: “Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch &amp; Release. Getting more dangerous.</p>
<p>“‘Caravans’ coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!” he wrote, adding a threat to kill the North American Free Trade Agreement which is being renegotiated with Mexico and Canada.</p>
<p>DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a program created in 2012 under Democratic former President Barack Obama that Trump sought to rescind last autumn.</p>
<p>Designed for people brought to the United States as children by parents who were undocumented immigrants, the program shielded them from deportation and gave them work permits.</p>
<p>Trump had said he was open to a deal with congressional Democrats who want to protect DACA in exchange for funding to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, a campaign trail promise.</p>
<p>He insisted during his 2016 White House run that Mexico would pay for the wall, something the Mexican government has repeatedly rejected.</p>
<p>Mexico’s presidential front-runner, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, launched his campaign close to the border on Sunday demanding respect for Mexicans and signaling he may take a harder line toward Trump if he wins the July 1 election.</p>
<p>“Mexico and its people will not be the piñata of any foreign government,” Lopez Obrador said in a speech in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which borders El Paso, Texas. “It’s not with walls or use of force that you resolve social problems.”</p>
<p>Whether Trump will stick to his guns on DACA is unclear. Trump last month threatened to veto a spending bill because it did not address the fate of Dreamers and did not fully fund his border wall but he ultimately signed the bill.</p>
<p>In the months after Trump took office, apprehensions of illegal crossers along the U.S.- Mexico border dropped from more than 42,400 arrests in January 2017 to a low of around 15,700 in April, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Since then, the number of arrests has risen and in the first months of 2018 was above Obama administration levels.</p>
<p>“Mexico has got to help us at the border,” the president, who is spending Easter at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, told reporters on his way into an Easter church service. “A lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA. They had a great chance. The Democrats blew it.”</p> MIGRANT CARAVAN
<p>Trump’s DACA tweets came after a report on the Fox New Channel’s Fox &amp; Friends program, one of his favorites, that a “caravan” of mostly Honduran migrants was crossing Mexico and headed to the United States, “either illegally or by asking for asylum.”</p>
<p>More than 1,000 would-be migrants have passed through Mexico’s southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca in recent days in a so-called “refugee caravan” organized by U.S.-based immigrant advocacy group Pueblo Sin Fronteras.</p>
<p>In the town of Ixtepec, more than 1,500 men, women and children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala waited in a sweltering warehouse on Saturday, mattresses rolled and bags packed, as local authorities and immigration officials from Mexico’s federal government organized 15 buses to take them to their next stop on the long journey north.</p>
<p>By traveling together, the immigrants hope to protect themselves from the crime and extortion that makes the route through Mexico dangerous. They say some but not all of them will seek asylum if they reach the United States.</p>
<p>Gina Garibo, a member of Pueblo Sin Fronteras traveling with the migrants, said the group would hold a meeting to discuss Trump’s statements on Sunday and stressed that the caravan’s aim was to protect vulnerable people.</p>
<p>“The main people here are fleeing criminal violence, political violence, in their country and this allows us to save lives,” she said in response to Trump’s comments.</p>
<p>A guest on Sunday’s Fox &amp; Friends show, Brandon Judd, head of the National Border Patrol Council union, said illegal immigrants benefit from the “catch and release” program that Trump referenced in his tweet. Under it, they can be freed while awaiting court hearings if detained in the United States.</p>
<p>If recent border crossers do not claim asylum, they can usually be deported quickly. But if they say they fear targeted violence or persecution in their home countries, they can begin the long process of petitioning for asylum in immigration court.</p>
<p>Trump said on Twitter on Sunday that Mexico is doing “very little, if not NOTHING,” to stop the flow of people across the southern border. “They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!”</p> U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, U.S. for the Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
<p>Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said the United States and Mexico work together on migration every day.</p>
<p>“An inaccurate news report should not serve to question this strong cooperation. Upholding human dignity and rights is not at odds with the rule of law. Happy Easter,” he said in a tweet.</p>
<p>Mexico deported some 80,000 people in 2017, down from about 160,000 in 2016, official statistics show. The vast majority were from Central American nations. The drop reflects fewer Central Americans crossing the country last year.</p>
<p>Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Delphine Schrank in Ixtepec, Mexico; Additional reporting by by Steve Holland in West Palm Beach, Mica Rosenberg in New York, David Lawder in Washington and Lizbeth Diaz in Ciudad Juarez; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Daniel Wallis</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Siam Commercial Bank Says To Cut Headcount To 15,000 From 27,000 Over Next 3 Years Saks, Lord & Taylor hit by payment card data breach China hammers U.S. goods with tariffs as 'sparks' of trade war fly China says space station burns up over South Pacific Trump says DACA deal for young immigrants is off | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-siam-commercial-bank-says-to-cut-h/brief-siam-commercial-bank-says-to-cut-headcount-to-15000-from-27000-over-next-3-years-idUSL4N1PH221 | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p>Vladimir Putin’s regime, with the aid of 9,000 police officers, attempted to prevent a rally in Moscow by <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6554989.stm" type="external">arresting</a> opposition leader Garry Kasparov along with dozens of other protesters and even some journalists. The chess phenom has accused Putin of trampling on democracy.</p>
<p>Apparently no one told Putin that arresting the opposition for speaking out is a bad way to show that freedom is alive and well in Russia.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Police have arrested Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov at a banned anti-Kremlin rally in central Moscow.</p>
<p />
<p>He was detained during a huge security operation to prevent opponents of President Putin gathering at Pushkin Square.</p>
<p>The former chess champion leads the United Civil Front group, part of the opposition coalition Other Russia.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6554989.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Putin Puts Kasparov in Check | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/putin-puts-kasparov-in-check/ | 2007-04-14 | 4 |
<p>Today’s crop of ambitious businesswomen will earn just as much as their male counterparts but will also kill female solidarity in the process, concludes a <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1739858,00.html" type="external">controversial UK academic report</a>.</p>
<p>The Guardian:</p>
<p>Chiara Cargnel wants to have it all: a high-flying career and a successful marriage. So far she is halfway there. At 26, she is an investment banker in London working over 70 hours a week and earning more than 80,000 a year. Cargnel, like many other young women, is excelling in a world many thought governed not by their rules, but by rules set and enforced by men.</p>
<p>For the first time in history these ‘elite women’ can succeed in any career they want. According to a remarkable thesis that has blown open the debate around feminism, sexism and the future role of women, a new generation of bright, rich professionals have broken through the glass ceiling and have nothing to fear from the men around them. They will be just as successful.</p>
<p />
<p>The thesis was expounded in a highly controversial article for Prospect magazine by Alison Wolf, a professor at Kings College London and author of Does Education Matter? She argues that the meteoric rise of this new generation of ‘go-getting women’ who want high-powered, well-paid jobs has dire consequences for society. Wolf says it has diverted the most talented away from the caring professions such as teaching, stopped them volunteering, is in danger of ending the notion of ‘female altruism’, has turned many women off having children – and has effectively killed off feminism.</p>
<p><a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1739858,00.html" type="external">Link</a></p> | Young, Successful, Well Paid: Are They Killing Feminism? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/young-successful-well-paid-are-they-killing-feminism/ | 2006-03-29 | 4 |
<p>Although I generally applaud the notion of a national conversation about rape and rape culture, the repeated coverage of the accusations against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and the responses he has given as well as those of his supporters, are deeply troubling. I fear they are reinforcing dangerous misconceptions about sexual assault, so am offering below five actual facts about sexual assault.</p>
<p>Fact One:&#160; Sexual assault is not about the victim’s looks.&#160; Rape is crime of opportunity and power, not sexual attraction. It’s not, as others have said, “a pretty girl problem.” Yet Donald Trump’s defense against the accusations made by Jessica Leeds, who alleged that he groped her on an airplane several decades ago, is that she “would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.” Such a statement implies that Leeds is “unrapeable,” a common but inaccurate and disgusting trope.</p>
<p>Fact Two: Sexual assault is not funny or trivial.&#160; Yet Donald Trump publicly made fun of Kristin Anderson, a woman who claims that he reached his hand up her skirt and touched her vagina while she sat next to him at a New York night club in the 1990s. In a speech Friday, he mockingly said “And then I went wah to somebody” as he simulated the gesture. His supporters laughed.&#160; His supporters seem to buy the defense that all his comments about grabbing women were just “locker room,” “bad boy,” or “gutter” talk, with some even suggesting it is not Trump that should be blamed but rather the person who recorded him saying those horrible things.&#160; Former presidential candidate Ben Carson also trivialized the accusations, noting that it is common for men to brag about their “conquests” and denouncing the entire conversation as unimportant compared to other issues facing the nation.&#160; Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions claimed that the unwanted touching is not sexual assault, despite the fact that it does indeed meet the definition provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.</p>
<p>Fact Three: False reports of sexual assault are uncommon.&#160; Although it is impossible to determine right now the accuracy of the many allegations against Trump, the reality is that, according to the FBI and other sources, at most eight percent of rape allegations are false, with some studies finding the false report number as low as two percent.&#160; Trump has repeatedly suggested that the accusations are all part of a Clinton-media conspiracy to rig the election against him, an idea that bears no resemblance to reality.&#160; But it does harken up all kinds of rape myths: women levy false accusations for attention, money, or because they regret sexual activity. I do believe Trump has the right to defend himself in the media and in court, should that time come, but a simple denial rather than a conspiracy theory would be more palatable.</p>
<p>Fact Four: One of the strongest predictors of sexual assault is the way a man views and talks about women.&#160; Trump’s repeated derogatory comments about women (among them “piece of ass,” “pig,” and “bimbo);” the many allegations of harassment and even rape that have been made against him; his disgusting comments about the appearance of a 10-year-old girl (and other young girls) who he said he’d “be dating in 10 years;” and his own words describing how it’s OK if a man grabs a woman and kisses her without her consent, who even grabs her by her genitalia; are the type of beliefs and statements that are common among rapists.</p>
<p>Fact Five: That other high-profile men have faced similar accusations does not excuse your behavior, both that which is documented and that which is alleged. That Bill Clinton behaved poorly (at best) when he was in the White House has no connection to the accusations against Donald Trump. Shockingly, Texas Republican Louie Gohmert even alleged that Trump’s comments were only due to the fact that he was chums with Bill Clinton, and so of course they spoke similarly.</p>
<p>Given that fact-checkers have found that most of what comes out of Trump’s mouth is a distortion or flat-out lie, it should come as no surprise that he is peddling misconceptions about sexual assault. But we deserve better.</p> | The Rape Election | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/10/17/the-rape-election/ | 2016-10-17 | 4 |
<p>Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says the man behind the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history may have had help.</p>
<p>“Do you think this was all accomplished on his own?’ he asked Wednesday while discussing gunman Stephen Paddock, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/04/las-vegas-gunman-stephen-paddock-survive-police" type="external">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>“You’ve got to make the assumption he had to have some help at some point,” Lombardo noted during a press conference on last Sunday’s bloodshed.</p>
<p>Lombardo added that it was possible Paddock, 64, was a “super guy” who was “working out all of this on his own.”</p>
<p>“It would be hard for me to believe that,” he said, also revealing that investigators are pressing to find others who may have been involved.</p>
<p>Some Twitter users on Thursday speculated about whether Paddock had assistance when he recently opened fire on an outdoor concert.</p>
<p>The head of the FBI’s Las Vegas bureau on Wednesday seemed to cast doubt on Lombardo’s suggestion later on during the same press conference.</p>
<p>“Theories are great and everyone can have a theory,” Aaron Rouse said. “But I need to deal with facts. The sheriff needs to deal with facts.”</p>
<p>“He’s not going to make assumptions,” he added of Lombardo. “I’m not going to make assumptions.”</p>
<p>Investigators are struggling to explain what motivated Paddock to begin shooting from his 32nd floor hotel room in Las Vegas last Sunday.</p>
<p>Responding police found Paddock dead at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino after he killed at least 58 people and wounded at least 527 others during a nearby country music event.</p> | The Las Vegas sheriff said gunman Stephen Paddock 'had to have some help' | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/10/05/nation/joseph-lombardo-las-vegas-sheriff-says-stephen-paddock-may-have-had-help | 2017-10-05 | 1 |
<p>Following the <a href="" type="internal">conviction</a> of three members of the Russian feminist punk band <a href="" type="internal">Pussy Riot</a>, two additional members have fled the country, fearing arrest for their participation in the band’s punk prayer performance at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Church. Last week,&#160;Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (above), Mariya Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich were sentenced to two years in prison for the crime of “hooliganism.” Their punk prayer performance criticized Vladimir Putin and&#160;Kirill I, the Moscow Patriarch of the&#160;Russian Orthodox Church. Pussy Riot wore their trademark face-covering balaclavas during the performance, which made police only able to identify and thus arrest three of the five participating members.</p>
<p>In a statement posted to their Twitter over the weekend, Pussy Riot cheered, “In connection with the search, our two participants have successfully left the country! They are recruiting foreign feminists for new actions!” Pyotr Verzilov — husband of imprisoned member Tolokonnikova — told the press, “They are in a safe place beyond the reach of the Russian police.” [ <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/26/pussy-riot-members-escape-russia_n_1831087.html" type="external">Huffington Post</a>]</p> | Pussy Riot: Two Members Of Feminist Punk Band Flee Russia, Fearing Arrest | true | http://thefrisky.com/2012-08-27/pussy-riot-2-additional-members-of-feminist-punk-band-flee-russia-fearing-arrest/ | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia--Origin Energy Ltd. (ORG.AU) logged a more than doubling in sales revenue over the last financial year as production at the big Australia-Pacific gas export venture on Australia's east coast and from other assets jumped.</p>
<p>Sales revenue jumped to 2.21 billion Australian dollars (US$1.76 billion) in the year through June, from A$1.08 billion the year before, as production climbed 40% to 323.2 petajoules equivalent, a measure used to express the volume of different petroleum products based on energy content, Origin said Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For the final quarter, revenue increased to A$673.4 million from A$562.9 million in the prior three months and production rose 12% quarter-over quarter to 89.2 petajoules as output from the APLNG project increased and output from the Otway Basin in southern Australia rose.</p>
<p>Production at the APLNG operation, one of three liquefied natural gas plants built on Curtis Island in northeastern Queensland, rose by 9% on-quarter for the final three months of the financial year and the plant operated at more than 10% above "nameplate" capacity through May and June, Origin said.</p>
<p>The venture, which counts ConocoPhilips (COP) and China Petrochemical Corp. as partners, last week wrapped up a 90-day operations test of the two production lines as part of a project-finance review. When the final tests are completed, the remaining US$3.4 billion in shareholder guarantees for APLNG's US$8.5 billion project finance facility will be formally released.</p>
<p>Write to Robb M. Stewart at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>July 30, 2017 20:47 ET (00:47 GMT)</p> | Origin Energy Annual Revenue Jumps With Rise in Production | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/30/origin-energy-annual-revenue-jumps-with-rise-in-production.html | 2017-07-30 | 0 |
<p>PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Donte Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Bradley beat Valparaiso 80-71 in Missouri Valley Conference action on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>Koch Bar and Nate Kennell added 14 points apiece for the Braves (12-4, 2-1). Darrell Brown had 12 points and seven assists and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye pulled down 14 rebounds in addition to his six points.</p>
<p>The teams were tied 33-all at intermission and Bradley pulled away on a 16-11 run early in the second half to lead 49-44 with 13:03 to play. The Braves led the rest of the way.</p>
<p>Valparaiso closed to 70-65 with 2:30 left but Thomas, Brown, Kennell and Jayden Hodgson combined to hit 8 of 8 from the line after that to help keep the Braves on top.</p>
<p>Tevonn Walker scored with 25 points and seven rebounds for the Crusaders (9-7, 0-3) who have lost four straight. Markus Golder added 11 points off the bench.</p>
<p>PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Donte Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Bradley beat Valparaiso 80-71 in Missouri Valley Conference action on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>Koch Bar and Nate Kennell added 14 points apiece for the Braves (12-4, 2-1). Darrell Brown had 12 points and seven assists and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye pulled down 14 rebounds in addition to his six points.</p>
<p>The teams were tied 33-all at intermission and Bradley pulled away on a 16-11 run early in the second half to lead 49-44 with 13:03 to play. The Braves led the rest of the way.</p>
<p>Valparaiso closed to 70-65 with 2:30 left but Thomas, Brown, Kennell and Jayden Hodgson combined to hit 8 of 8 from the line after that to help keep the Braves on top.</p>
<p>Tevonn Walker scored with 25 points and seven rebounds for the Crusaders (9-7, 0-3) who have lost four straight. Markus Golder added 11 points off the bench.</p> | Thomas scores 19 as Bradley beats Valparaiso 80-71 | false | https://apnews.com/a8f0e73e16e84d19a9841a448abd5fe7 | 2018-01-04 | 2 |
<p>‘I Can’t Watch This Entire Thing,’ Obama Said</p>
<p>(Weekly Standard) – Reggie Love says he and President Obama played cards during the Osama bin Laden raid, and that the president told him, “I can’t watch this entire thing.”</p>
<p>“Most people were like down in the Situation Room and [President Obama] was like, ‘I’m not going to be down there, I can’t watch this entire thing,’ We must have played 15 games of spades,” said Love at a public event.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">FAX BLAST SPECIAL: Impeach Obama NOW!</a></p>
<p />
<p>Love was Obama’s “body man,” and spent much time with his boss while he worked for Obama at the White House.</p>
<p>http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/love-obama-played-cards-during-osama-raid-i-can-t-watch-entire-thing-obama-said_748413.html</p> | BODY MAN: Obama Played Cards During Osama Raid… | true | http://teaparty.org/body-man-obama-played-cards-during-osama-raid-27454/ | 0 |
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<p>INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention, struggling with a membership decline nationwide, passed a resolution June 11 that could significantly shrink church membership rolls even further.</p>
<p>Messengers to the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis also turned back efforts to encourage Christians to remove their children from public schools and asked Congress to defund Planned Parenthood.</p>
<p>A resolution calling on churches to “lovingly correct wayward members” — intended to ensure only true and obedient Christians make it onto church rolls — was toughened even more with two amendments that encourage tighter definitions of a “member.”</p>
<p>The resolution, which reflects the growing influencing of Calvinism in the SBC, comes on the heels of denominational statistics that showed the 16 million-member convention shrinking.</p>
<p />
<p>Photo by Jim Yates/BP</p>
<p>Messengers raise their ballots to vote on one of several issues.</p>
<p>Membership fell in 2007 for the second time in a decade. Even more discouraging, officials said, baptisms in SBC churches dropped for the seventh time in eight years — down 5.5 percent in 2007.</p>
<p>The resolutions — a total of nine were adopted — are simply statements that reflect the sentiment of messengers gathered at a particular annual meeting and have no weight of law for Southern Baptists. However, as resolution committee chair Darrell Orman, pastor of First Baptist Church, Stuart, Fla., said when introducing the resolutions, these statements “speak to the nation.”</p>
<p>Other resolutions included statements:</p>
<p>• Celebrating growing ethnic diversity within the SBC.</p>
<p>• Encouraging Christians to participate in the secular political process but warning against “potential problems of politicizing the church and the pulpit.”</p>
<p>• Affirming use of the term “Christmas” in public life.</p>
<p>• Offering “wholehearted support” for a petition in California requiring the state to place a referendum on the ballot in November defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.</p>
<p>• Recognizing the centennial anniversary of the boys mission education group Royal Ambassadors.</p>
<p>The resolution on “regenerate” church membership drew two amendments that encouraged churches to tighten membership definitions. The original resolution called for “churches to maintain a regenerate membership by acknowledging the necessity of spiritual regeneration of Christ's lordship for all members” and urged churches to “maintain accurate membership rolls for the purpose of fostering ministry and accountability.”</p>
<p>It also urged churches to “restore wayward members,” reviving the principle of church discipline.</p>
<p>After much discussion, messengers adopted two amendments. The first, offered by Malcolm Yarnell, a professor at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, added to the definition of a New Testament church.</p>
<p>The original included the definition “composed only of those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, the local church's only Lord, by grace through faith.” The amendment added as further definition: “which church practices believers-only baptism by immersion, (Matt. 28:16-20,) the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26-30) and church discipline (Matt. 18:15-20).</p>
<p>Messengers adopted an amendment by Tom Ascol, prominent in the Calvinist-inspired Founder's Movement in the SBC, urging “the churches of the SBC to repent of any failure among us to live up to our professed commitment to regenerate church membership and any failure to obey Jesus Christ in lovingly correcting wayward church members.”</p>
<p>Calvinist doctrine has been on the ascent in the SBC in recent years.</p>
<p>The amendment encouraged “denominational servants to support and encourage any church's efforts to recover and implement this discipline of our Lord Jesus Christ … even if such efforts result in a reduction in the number of members that are recorded in those churches.”</p>
<p>Southern Baptist leaders have been worrying publicly about the decline in SBC membership and baptisms, which they say reflects the fact three-fourths of SBC churches are stagnant or dying. Outgoing SBC president Frank Page predicted that, without intervention, half of the SBC's 44,000 churches won't exist by 2030.</p>
<p>Some messengers tried to amend the resolution against same-sex marriage to include an admonition to withdraw children from public schools — a frequent but unsuccessful initiative at recent SBC meetings.</p>
<p>Ron Wilson from Thousand Oaks, Calif., said if the convention was going to pass a resolution opposing same-sex marriage, they ought to encourage families to remove their children from public schools, “which are the main training grounds for the teaching of same-sex marriage.”</p>
<p>The committee, however, did not “want to dilute the emphasis of this resolution by bringing in the corollary issue of the education system,” Orman explained.</p>
<p>The resolution on ethnic diversity encouraged nominating committees to “identify ethnic leadership” for SBC service and encouraged them to “strive toward a balanced representation of our ethnic diversity.”</p>
<p>Ethnic congregations are the only growing segment of the Southern Baptist Convention. Without that growth, the decline in SBC membership would have surfaced much earlier.</p>
<p>Reported by Norman Jameson. Greg Warner contributed to this article.</p> | Resolution could shrink SBC rolls further | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/resolutioncouldshrinksbcrollsfurther/ | 3 |
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<p>Daily Wire Cultural Correspondent Michael Knowles has pulled off one of the greatest trolling jobs of all time: releasing a top-selling 266-page blank book titled <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Reasons-Vote-Democrats-Comprehensive-Guide/dp/1543024971" type="external">Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide</a>. The "thorough" self-published nonfiction book became <a href="" type="internal">Amazon's number one bestseller worldwide</a> within a month of its release, selling 80,000 copies to date.</p>
<p>But Knowles isn't done yet. Actually, it looks like he's just getting started.</p>
<p>The creativity, unrelenting wit and knack for trolling from the Yale graduate has landed him a literary contract with top agency Premiere Authors, which represents the likes of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, businessman and former presidential contender Herman Cain, and Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro.</p>
<p>"Michael J. Knowles has signed with Premiere Authors for exclusive literary representation, according to Frank Breeden, Managing Partner of the firm," announced Premiere Authors via press release.</p>
<p>"It is rare to see a self-published title rocket to the top ten of Amazon.com and maintain that position for days on end. To occupy the top slot for over a week is simply incredible," said Breeden. "We’re thrilled to partner with Michael on the outset of his literary journey.</p>
<p>"In spite of the fact that his first work is comprised of blank pages, we know that his marketing prowess is an asset that will serve him well."</p>
<p>-Frank Breeden on Michael Knowles</p>
<p>"We’re optimistic that Michael has a bright future in publishing because he is a gifted writer," he continued. "In spite of the fact that his first work is comprised of blank pages, we know that his marketing prowess is an asset that will serve him well. Now that he has captured the attention of millions, including several major publishers, they’ll be waiting to see what he has to say next – this time with words."</p>
<p>Knowles has garnered <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39226684" type="external">international attention</a> for his cheeky book, and has even inspired <a href="" type="internal">poor-selling copy-cat guides</a> from idea-challenged Democrats (ironically proving Knowles' thesis correct).</p>
<p>Remember kids, it pays to troll Democrats.</p>
<p>To receive a signed copy of Reasons to Vote for Democrats, subscribe to Daily Wire <a href="" type="internal">here.</a></p> | TROLL LEVEL 1,000: Top Literary Agent Signs Michael Knowles For Best-Selling Blank Book | true | https://dailywire.com/news/14614/troll-level-1000-top-literary-agent-signs-michael-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2017-03-21 | 0 |
<p>Egypt has decided to suspend flights from Iran until mid-June as it re-evaluates its recent decision to allow tourists from the predominantly Shiite nation to visit largely Sunni Egypt.</p>
<p>The first direct flight between the two nations in decades took off March 30, soon after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt in February — a development that some Egyptians, primarily Sunnis, found distressing.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/130330/egypt-iran-flights" type="external">Egypt-Iran flights resume for first time in 34 years</a></p>
<p>"We are re-evaluating our tourism programs with Iran,” said Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou of the new development, <a href="http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/tourism-minister-stops-iranian-flights-re-evaluate-program" type="external">wrote the Egypt Independent.</a></p>
<p>He did not give a specific reason for the halt in flights, although recent protests by Sunni Islamists against Egypt's warming ties with Iran may provide some clues.</p>
<p>Last week, hardline Sunni Islamists attempted to break into a senior Iranian diplomat's Cairo residence, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/05/us-egypt-protest-idUSBRE9340QU20130405" type="external">wrote Reuters,</a>angered over Iran's continuing support of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.</p>
<p>Sunni protesters are also concerned that Iranian Shiite visitors to Egypt — 50 of whom arrived to walk the Egyptian tourist trail last month — may attempt to spread their own faith while ostensibly on holiday, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/08/egypt-suspends-tourist-flights-with-iran-until-june-amid-outcry-by-radical/" type="external">notes the Associated Press</a>.</p> | Egypt suspends tourist flights to Iran after protests | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-04-08/egypt-suspends-tourist-flights-iran-after-protests | 2013-04-08 | 3 |
<p>Aug. 7 (UPI) — Two former police officers in California were spared prison time after they pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from evidence lockers and selling them on the street.</p>
<p>Logan August and Derrick Penney are former deputies for the Kern County Sheriff’s Office who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana in May. The two men, who routinely worked in marijuana eradication operations while members of law enforcement, faced five years in federal prison. But on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence O’Neill said he was so moved by the remorse shown by the criminals that he decided prison time was not justified, reported the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/former-kern-county-sheriff-s-deputies-plead-guilty-marijuana-trafficking" type="external">Bakersfield Californian</a>.</p>
<p>Instead of prison, August and Penney will get <a href="http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/logan-august-and-derrick-penney-face-up-to-five-years-in-prison-for-marijuana-charge" type="external">three years of probation</a>. Penney will also have to do 250 hours of community service and August, who was more involved in the drug dealing operation, will have to do 1,500 hours.</p>
<p>O’Neill said the cooperation shown by August and Penney to investigators after their operation was uncovered and the apparent toll the case has taken on their family contributed to his decision.</p>
<p>“Being the wife of a law enforcement officer is not easy,” the judge told the men’s wives,Tiffany August and Callie Penney. “The two of you have been incredible not to have gotten into the U-Haul and taken off. The both of you should be proud.”</p>
<p>Throughout 2014, then-Kern County Sheriff’s Office deputies August and Penney would get access to evidence lockers and steal marijuana they and fellow officers seized during drug investigations. They would then process it into “usable marijuana” before giving the drugs to a former confidential informant to sell and eventually split the profit.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/former-kern-county-sheriff-s-deputies-plead-guilty-marijuana-trafficking" type="external">Department of Justice</a> cited Penney as engaging in this routine once, but accused August of doing it 10 times, stealing more than 30 pounds of marijuana and taking home nearly $20,000. Penney is believed to have profited $1200.</p>
<p>In May, August published a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjZZXfBu0Rs" type="external">video on Youtube</a> titled “I AM SORRY!”</p>
<p>“I made a horrible decision,” August said in the video. “It was nobody else’s fault. Nobody influenced me to do it. I made that decision based on Satan playing games with me and making me feel like I was prideful and unable to go to family members for help.”</p>
<p>Two other former officers involved with August in the drug-stealing and selling operation are Patrick Mara and Damacio Diaz, who are both currently serving 5-year sentences for trafficking methamphetamine.</p> | No prison time for California cops who sold drugs they confiscated | false | https://newsline.com/no-prison-time-for-california-cops-who-sold-drugs-they-confiscated/ | 2017-08-08 | 1 |
<p>The top-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee – which is currently investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia – just demanded that President Trump release to Congress any recorded conversations he may have had with former FBI director James Comey.</p>
<p>Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) statements on the matter came in response to Trump’s tweeted threats to release recordings of conversations between Comey and Trump if the former FBI director&#160;speaks to the media.</p>
<p />
<p>“If the President has ‘tapes’ of his conversations with Director Comey, it is because the president himself made them,” Schiff said in a statement. “For a President who baselessly accused his predecessor of illegally wiretapping him, that Mr. Trump would suggest that he, himself, may have engaged in such conduct is staggering.”</p>
<p>Trump famously accused the Obama administration of wiretapping Trump Tower, which then-FBI Director Comey said <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-s-comey-testifies-house-intel-committee-russia-n735696" type="external">he had “no information that supports”</a> the president’s allegation.</p>
<p />
<p>“The president should immediately provide any such recordings (of Comey) to Congress or admit, once again, to have made a deliberately misleading — and in this case threatening — statement,” Schiff continued.</p>
<p>Comey was abruptly fired earlier this week, mere hours&#160;after the FBI <a href="http://q13fox.com/2017/05/09/grand-jury-subpoenas-issued-in-fbis-russia-investigation-cnn-reports/" type="external">issued its first round of grand jury subpoenas</a> as part of their ongoing probe into potential Trump campaign collusion with Russian operatives. While Press Secretary Sean Spicer refused to answer questions about whether Trump was taping his meetings, <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/news/333140-report-comey-not-worried-about-possible-trump-tapes?rnd=1494609274" type="external">sources close to Comey say</a> “He hopes there are tapes. That would be perfect.”</p>
<p>Nathan Wellman is a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and playwright. His less-political Youtube channel&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTX2M68DdRvR5Jd2YHEH7A" type="external">can be found here</a>.&#160;Follow him on Twitter: @LightningWOW</p> | Top Democratic Senator just called Trump’s bluff on alleged Comey tapes | true | http://resistancereport.com/news/top-intelligence-committee-democrat-demands-release-alleged/ | 2017-05-12 | 4 |
<p>Evangelist Franklin Graham called on his followers to pray for President Donald Trump, applauding him for his speech before the United Nations General Assembly.</p>
<p>Join me in praying for <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS" type="external">@POTUS</a>. He reminded the world, “If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph.”</p>
<p>— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) <a href="https://twitter.com/Franklin_Graham/status/910222009732345856" type="external">September 19, 2017</a></p>
<p>In his speech, Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man,” and threatened to “totally destroy” the country if its nuclear weapons program continues. Trump retweeted Graham’s message early Wednesday morning.</p>
<p>The day before, just after Trump’s speech, Graham published a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1652083208181187" type="external">Facebook post</a> saying, “thank God we have a president who stands for truth and is not afraid to speak truth to the whole world.”</p>
<p>He added that “Trump’s address today to the United Nations General Assembly may have been one of the best speeches ever given to that body. It made you proud to be an American. I hope you will join me in praying for this man, that God will guide and direct him. He reminded the world, ‘If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph.'”</p> | Franklin Graham Calls for Prayers for Trump, Praises UN Speech | false | https://newsline.com/franklin-graham-calls-for-prayers-for-trump-praises-un-speech/ | 2017-09-20 | 1 |
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<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>In a bid to enlarge its market share for military drones, China put on display its first unmanned combat helicopter, the AV500W, for foreign buyers today in the northeastern city of Tianjin.</p>
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<p>The state owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) says the 7.2-meter-long aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 450 kilograms, whilst being able to maintain a maximum speed of 170 kilometer per hour and a flight ceiling of 4,000 meters.</p>
<p />
<p>Furthermore, the helicopter is capable of carrying 120 kilograms of weapons and equipment. The reconnaissance version can stay airborne for eight house whilst the combat model can fly for four hours.</p>
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<p>&lt;iframe width="640" height="480" src=" <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8QK7GR47Lg0" type="external">https://www.youtube.com/embed/8QK7GR47Lg0</a>" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p />
<p>Given that terrorism and insurgencies across Asia and in the Middle East are a growing threat, the helicopter is being marketed to countries who want to ramp up their counter-terrorism</p>
<p />
<p>The Chief Designer, Mr Jiang Taiyu, commented on the weapons test made during its maiden flight: "The helicopter is able to take off and land on almost any landform including plateaus and canyons. It can operate in cold and tropical environments. It will be useful in border patrols, counterterrorism operations and low-intensity conflicts because it can carry out very-low-altitude penetration and keep hovering for a while."</p>
<p />
<p>"Several nations have told us that they are interested in this aircraft. This is because there are a very small number of unmanned helicopters in the world that can perform strikes, while demand for such types is not small."</p>
<p />
<p>AVIC reported that full testing will be finished by November 2017 and the helicopter should be ready for mass production in 2018.</p>
<p />
<p>The military visitors from Saudi Arabia at the display showed great interest whilst AVIC was keen on telling the gathered press that first orders from the governments of Namibia and Malawi would be coming in soon.</p>
<p />
<p>China has been exporting military material to many African nations in recent years.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-displays-its-first-unmanned-attack-helicopter/article19689895.ece" type="external">http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-displays-its-first-unmanned-attack-helicopter/article19689895.ece</a></p> | Video: New Chinese Unmanned Attack Helicopter - Saudis to Buy | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/8150-Video-New-Chinese-Unmanned-Attack-Helicopter-Saudis-to-Buy | 2017-09-15 | 0 |
<p>China swung to a surprise trade deficit in February of $7.3 billion, its largest in seven years, as the Lunar New Year holiday dealt an unexpectedly sharp blow to exports.</p>
<p>It was China's first trade deficit since March last year and its biggest since February 2004. Economists, who had forecast a small surplus of $4.95 billion, said the sudden drop was likely to prove temporary.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We did expect exports to slow last month, but I think nobody had expected such a weak outcome," said Nie Wen, an analyst at Hwabao Trust in Shanghai.</p>
<p>"There is little chance that China will have a trade deficit again, and the monthly trade surplus may pick up in the second half of this year," he added.</p>
<p>Still, the extent of the slowdown in both exports and imports caught markets by surprise. Asian stocks tumbled on worries that monetary tightening in China and other emerging markets was taking a real chunk out of economic growth.</p>
<p>The deficit will at least be welcome news on two fronts for the Chinese government, helping it dampen inflationary pressure and deflect calls for faster yuan appreciation.</p>
<p>Cash inflows from the country's vast trade surplus over the past few years have been a root cause of China's recent run-up in prices.</p>
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<p>Inflation reached a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in the year to November. Data due on Friday is expected to show it pulled back to 4.7 percent in February.</p>
<p>With tightening policies beginning to have an impact, China is confident that it can achieve its 2011 goal of holding inflation to an average of 4 percent this year, Ma Jiantang, the government's statistics chief, said on Thursday.</p>
<p>His comments followed a report in an official newspaper that bank lending in February was much less than expected, indicating that Beijing has scored some success in reining in credit issuance, a crucial part of its campaign to control inflation.</p>
<p>Until that number is confirmed, though, attention will be squarely on China's precipitous drop in exports.</p>
<p>China exports grew 2.4 percent in February from a year earlier, the customs agency said on Thursday, well short of forecasts for a rise of 26.2 percent.</p>
<p>Imports increased 19.4 percent, missing market expectations of a 32.3 percent increase.</p>
<p>The data hit markets when investors are already worried that high oil prices will undermine global growth. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.5 percent and stocks elsewhere in Asia slid 1.4 percent.</p>
<p>"It's come on a day when commodity prices are off, and investors are worried about global growth and it's just accentuated the market pullback," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors.</p>
<p>"The Lunar New Year does heavily distort Chinese trade data and I'll be inclined not to read too much into it. But the market is obviously feeling nervous and has probably read a bit more into it."</p>
<p>HOLIDAY EFFECT</p>
<p>The government has in the past pointed to a narrower trade surplus as evidence that it is making headway in tilting China away from excessive reliance on exports, a shift that is seen as a crucial part of putting the global economy on firmer footing.</p>
<p>But many economists cautioned against reading too much into one month's trade data, especially in the first quarter.</p>
<p>Chinese exports typically slump at the start of the year, with the country's factories shut or running at half speed for weeks because of China's New Year holiday, which this year fell in the first week of February.</p>
<p>"We believe the trade deficit is likely to be a temporary phenomenon distorted by the Lunar New Year. During the several weeks following the Lunar New Year, the holiday distortions affect exports much more than imports because exporters have a much greater tendency to take extended holidays," Yu Song and Helen Qian, economists with Goldman Sachs, said in a note.</p>
<p>Yet the holiday effect had been expected to weigh on exports when analysts made their initial forecasts, so some said that the downside disappointment in the data was, in fact, a worry.</p>
<p>"Both imports and exports are lower than expected, and seasonal factors alone can't explain the sharp monthly drop," said Xu Biao, economist with China Merchants Bank in Shenzhen.</p>
<p>"It is definitely not a good sign. The size of imports is already read as a measure of domestic demand. But now imports have dropped significantly, and it points to a serious weakening in domestic economic activity," he said.</p>
<p>CONTROLLING FOR HOLIDAY</p>
<p>Because of distortions caused by the Chinese New Year, some analysts prefer to look at data for January and February together.</p>
<p>On that combined basis, exports rose 21.3 percent from a year earlier and imports increased 36.0 percent, both of which were faster than December's pace.</p>
<p>The average trade balance for the first two months of 2011 was a $0.4 billion deficit, far below the monthly average of a $15 billion surplus last year.</p>
<p>"We look at January and February together. On that basis, growth is still quite healthy. We were expecting exports and imports to slow this year due to weak external demand, so this is line with that," said Tao Wang, chief China economist for UBS.</p>
<p>With import growth set to outpace export growth, China was hoping to narrow its trade surplus for the third straight year, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said earlier this week. China's trade surplus was $183 billion last year, down from $196 billion in 2009 and a record $295 billion in 2008.</p>
<p>Chen also said that the yuan was on "a gradual upward trend", but that there was no reason for it to move any faster. Although the yuan has been running near record highs against the dollar, it has only appreciated about 4 percent since being depegged last June. (Additional reporting by Langi Chiang and Aileen Wang; Writing by Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Ken Wills)</p> | China Trade Swings to Largest Deficit in 7 Years | true | http://foxbusiness.com/2011/03/09/china-trade-swings-largest-deficit-7-years.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
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<p>Reeling from weeks of bad press, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reportedly plans to hit back at a high-profile Senate report that accused the Wall Street bank of misleading investors and mismanaging conflicts of interest while shorting the housing market before it collapsed.</p>
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<p>According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman plans to accuse the Senate subcommittee of drastically overstating the companys bets against the housing market in 2007. To make its case, Goldman is mulling a release of documents that it believes shows the panel used sloppy math and incomplete analysis.</p>
<p>The Senate report, which was released in April, called out Goldman for profiting from a big short against the housing market and hurting clients by putting their interests behind that of the companys.</p>
<p>Last week it emerged the Manhattan District Attorneys office and New York State had subpoenaed Goldman in response to information that came to light from the Senate report. At the same time, Goldman expects to receive a subpoena from the Department of Justice very soon, FOX Businesss Charles Gasparino reported last week.</p>
<p>Goldman may decide to soon release documents in its defense on its Web site.</p>
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<p>Over the past few months, Goldman has pored through all of its mortgage trades in 2007 and what it found has made execs more confident, the paper reported.</p>
<p>Goldman officials believe the Senate panel didnt consider more than $5 billion of high-quality, mortgage-backed bonds held on June 25, 2007 -- a date when the report claimed Goldman had a net short position of $13.9 billion, the Journal reported. The panel had said that date was Goldmans largest bet against the housing market.</p>
<p>Shares of Goldman, which have tumbled 20% this year amid regulatory fears, were inactive ahead of Mondays opening bell.</p> | Goldman Set to Fight Senate Report | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/06/06/goldman-to-fight-senate-report.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 25, 2017).</p>
<p>Offshore-drilling services major Seadrill Ltd. said Thursday it will likely file for bankruptcy protection next month as part of a plan to restructure around $10 billion in debt.</p>
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<p>The Bermuda-based company, controlled by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, is one of the world's largest offshore drilling companies. It operates a fleet of 68 rigs and drillships for customers including Total SA, Petrobras and Exxon Mobil Corp.</p>
<p>Seadrill said it plans to file for chapter 11 in the U.S. by Sept. 12 but that its business operations remain unaffected by the restructuring efforts and it expects to continue to meet its ongoing customer and business counterparty obligations.</p>
<p>Its assets at the end of the first half amounted to $20.7 billion.</p>
<p>Seadrill's shares tumbled 10 cents to 16 cents in New York trading and are down 99% from their 2013 peak, when the company's market value exceeded $22 billion.</p>
<p>Daily leases for the company's rigs, which commanded up to $800,000, dropped to around $200,000 as cheap oil from U.S. shale drilling flooded the market.</p>
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<p>The low oil prices, coupled with a glut of rigs, has put rig owners under severe pressure. In late July, Ocean Rig UDW Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Hercules Offshore Inc., GulfMark Offshore Inc., Toisa Ltd. and Vantage Drilling have also spent time in bankruptcy court since oil and gas prices cratered. Paragon Offshore PLC, which emerged from chapter 11 last month, was forced back into bankruptcy after it was unable to transfer two rigs to its reorganized entity.</p>
<p>Seadrill has managed to push back a number of restructuring deadlines over the past year, but it faces a $1 billion bond, which matures next month.</p>
<p>The company said its latest restructuring plan will likely involve raising about $1 billion of new capital, along with a five-year extension of its bank facilities and "substantial" impairment or conversion of its bonds into equity.</p>
<p>Seadrill is discussing the restructuring with dozens of creditor banks including Sweden's Nordea, Norway's DNB and Denmark's Danske Bank, as well as with bondholders and rig-building yards in Asia.</p>
<p>In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in June, Mr. Fredriksen said he was putting in long hours to keep Seadrill from collapsing. "It's hard to answer if it will come out of restructuring, but as long as I back it, we'll be OK," Mr. Fredriksen said. "In the past, we've dealt with messier situations than Seadrill, but we came through."</p>
<p>Patrick Fitzgerald</p>
<p>contributed to this article</p>
<p>Write to Costas Paris at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 25, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)</p> | Seadrill Plans To Rework Debt In Chapter 11 -- WSJ | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/25/seadrill-plans-to-rework-debt-in-chapter-11-wsj.html | 2017-08-25 | 0 |
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<p>It’s something longtime Rio Ranchoan Gallagher didn’t discover until December when, chatting with Browne at what was then called Chamisa Hills Country Club, he learned that the two had been schoolmates, Gallagher a seventh-grader and Browne a fifth-grader, at Our Lady of Annunciation in Albuquerque, the only year Gallagher and his parents lived there.</p>
<p>He also learned that a few years later, when he was playing basketball at New Mexico Military Institute and Browne was starring at Sandia High, they both were being recruited by New Mexico State basketball coach Lou Henson. They didn’t play together there, either, and didn’t connect those earlier dots until their chance meeting at CHCC.</p>
<p>Bob Gallagher, right, and business partner Jhett Browne chat near the Club Rio Rancho swimming pool. (Rio Rancho Observer—GARY HERRON photo)</p>
<p>“It’s unbelievable, uncanny, how our lives had intersected but we never met,” Gallagher said.</p>
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<p>After Browne heard a deal to buy CHCC had fallen through, he remembered Gallagher’s business savvy and the two talked for 20 consecutive days.</p>
<p>“He looked at me and said, ‘Buy this golf club,'” Gallagher recalled.</p>
<p>Thus, an amenity that’s been in Rio Rancho longer than it’s been incorporated, has new life — and has “gone public” for the first time.</p>
<p>Begun in 1970 as Panorama Country Club, renamed Rio Rancho Golf and Country Club in 1974 and then Chamisa Hills in 2003, Gallagher said no fancy name was sought because, the way he put it, people would merely say to meet them at “the club.”</p>
<p>So that’s what it’s become: Club Rio Rancho. No longer carrying “country,” connoting a place for the privileged, in its proper name, it’s now open to everyone.</p>
<p>The two men have spent $1.05 million so far, with much more to be doled out. When they assumed ownership, they had to, for legal purposes, terminate all 47 employees. While many of them chose to remain and work for the new club, additional help was hired: Gallagher said there are now 65 to 68 Club Rio Rancho employees. It seems easy to get a job there, and a smile is a must, Gallagher said.</p>
<p>There are six men and women designated as heads of “profit centers” — such as dining, bars and golf — and Gallagher said Browne lets each run his or her own department.</p>
<p>“Jhett gives them the support,” Gallagher said.</p>
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<p>Staying the course</p>
<p>Starting where a golfer’s round begins, the pro shop, is a wide variety of clothing and golf clubs and accessories.</p>
<p>Soon, a new fleet of golf carts — 70 in all, Gallagher says — will arrive, each with GPS. Golfers will be able to see the distance to the next cup, as well as order food and drinks from their cart.</p>
<p>The driving range, barren in most parts and a great place for blowing sand to kick up and get into neighboring yards and homes, will be xeriscaped, with a lot of red crusher fine.</p>
<p>“Aesthetically, it will look good,” Gallagher said, and “and it provides assistance for our neighbors so they don’t get blowing dirt. And golfers get a premier driving range.”</p>
<p>Gallagher said the club has spent $450,000 for new mowing equipment, irrigation of the course will change — he believes a lot of sprinkler heads will need to be replaced — and there’s really no reason why so much grass is necessary just a few dozen yards from the teebox, in the direction the ball is being hit. Aerating starts soon.</p>
<p>Improvements to the golf course began even before Browne and Gallagher closed the transaction.</p>
<p>“Seed hasn’t been on this course for five years,” he said. “We couldn’t pass another growing season.”</p>
<p>Coupled with the deal on water the club got from the City of Rio Rancho, watering will help turn the fairways green again.</p>
<p>Scott and Betty Thomas, former CHCC members, had just completed a round of golf recently when Gallagher rolled up to them near a teebox.</p>
<p>He asked what they thought of the course.</p>
<p>“The teeboxes are 100 times better than in the last 20 years,” Scott Thomas said. “We live here (in the Loma Colorado area) … We’d consider re-joining.”</p>
<p>As for playing a round, he added, “It’s cheap.”</p>
<p>Indeed: $33 during the week, $38 on weekends, for 18 holes, a cart and range balls.</p>
<p>Rio Rancho residents, with proof of their address, can get 10 percent off that.</p>
<p>Nothing seems definite, though, when it comes to the future of the North Nine.</p>
<p>“We’re talking about doing it right,” Gallagher said. “This will be a total new look for golfers.”</p>
<p>Courts soon to be in session</p>
<p>The six tennis courts are being resurfaced and will be Australian Open blue.</p>
<p>“There’s not a court in New Mexico that has Australia blue,” Gallagher said. “That’s why our pro chose it.”</p>
<p>That pro, by the way, Johnny Parkes, 27, is the University of New Mexico’s all-time winningest singles player; he was a Lobo from 2005-09.</p>
<p>Improving the inside</p>
<p>Almost everywhere you look, there is fresh paint, new carpeting and brand-new furniture, plus fancy artwork, chosen by Browne’s mother.</p>
<p>All of the commitments made by the previous ownership — weddings, parties and meetings — will be honored by the new ownership, Gallagher said, but then the real fun starts.</p>
<p>“Jhett’s Fine Dining” will take over the current banquet room, while “Bobby G’s” will be in the meeting room and bar on the south side. A large, rarely used patio outside that room will become only the second cigar bar in the area, said Gallagher, a guy who appreciates a fine stogie.</p>
<p>The duo has bought a stretch limousine, which Gallagher said will be used to bring in small wedding parties, celebrities and so forth.</p>
<p>Nothing had to be spent on one of the club’s best features, tabbed by Gallagher the “billion-dollar view,” namely the view of the Sandia Mountains. Of course, clean windows in the dining room are a must.</p>
<p>The outside patio area will be a fine place to dine when the wind isn’t howling; it’s also a great vantage point to see Fourth of July fireworks and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October.</p>
<p>Again, it’s now all open to the public.</p>
<p>“What a change; what an improvement,” beamed Enid Solin, as she played mahjong with three friends in the lower level of the Triple Play Bar. She had been a CHCC member for 10 years.</p>
<p>“I was depressed when it was in limbo,” she said. “They’ve come a long way in a short time.”</p>
<p>“That’s the essence of what Club Rio Rancho will become,” Gallagher vowed, happy to hear Solin’s testimonial. “The customers’ perception is reality.”</p>
<p>Community spirit</p>
<p>Gallagher said he helped instigate a group of members who are chipping in cash to support Canadian tour golfer Tim Madigan.</p>
<p>“He’s a kid from the club,” he said, recalling a long-ago visit to CHCC with his wife — they saw “a little kid in fourth or fifth grade hitting golf balls that morning and still there at night.</p>
<p>“I think we have to get behind him and support him,” Gallagher said. “We’re proud that Timmy says this is his home course.”</p>
<p>Plans are in the works for a jazz festival this summer, plus a grand opening for the whole city, taking up a whole weekend, “in late July or August,” he said.</p>
<p>Gallagher and his family own a home on the to-be-changed North course; Browne is selling his home in the Albuquerque foothills and buying a two-story home just south of the club’s parking lot.</p>
<p>“This whole thing is about Rio Rancho,” Gallagher said. “We’re gonna bring this back: a golf course, three bars, three restaurants, a cigar bar, the swimming pool. It’s that quality of life, a de facto convention center.”</p>
<p>Membership drives start soon; Gallagher said there’ll be special nights for Cabezon, Enchanted Hills, Loma Colorado and other city neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Last question for Gallagher in mid-June: When will all these expensive improvements be complete and nothing but good memories — and great golf — become a reality?</p>
<p>“If we’re true to ourselves, at least two years,” Gallagher said. “It’s fun to see it: People working, people smiling.”</p>
<p>Memberships, not requiring membership fees, are $225 a month for an individual (unlimited golf, with cart, and use of all facilities); $325 monthly for a family (ditto individual perks); $75 a month for an adult social membership (excludes golf) and $100 for a family social membership (excluding golf).</p>
<p>Watch for a new website soon, on which people can make dinner reservations, tee time reservations and more.</p> | Revamp: Old club gets new look | false | https://abqjournal.com/418722/revamp-old-club-gets-new-look-local-businessmen-have-big-plans-already-underway.html | 2 |
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<p>Customers looking to buy Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPhone 5 online through Apple in the U.S. will need to wait two weeks for it to ship, according to Apple's website. Pre-orders for the September 21 debut became available at 3:01 am ET Friday and sold out within an hour.</p>
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<p>In comparison, the iPhone 4S, which represented a smaller upgrade, took nearly a day to sell out.</p>
<p>Apple did not immediately return requests for comment on the subject.</p>
<p>People looking to snatch one up on launch day can still do so at Apple's retail stores at 8 a.m. local time. Historically, there have been long lines at these events, although Apple has worked to increase staff and inventory levels ahead of these releases in recent years.</p>
<p>Verizon Wireless, AT&amp;T (NYSE:T) and Sprint (NYSE:S), the three carriers that will support the new phone, all say on their websites that it is possible to pre-order for arrival on launch day on September 21. It is unclear, however, if those measures represent current inventory levels.</p>
<p>The process reportedly didn’t go off without its flaws. Danny Sullivan, a tech writer, <a href="https://twitter.com/dannysullivan/status/246514493717377025/photo/1" type="external">dispatched a tweet</a> showing a screenshot of Apple’s website that says “we’re currently unable to reach the carrier systems to process your order, but will reserve an iPhone for you.”</p>
<p>The new phone represents a substantial upgrade to the iPhone 4S. It is made completely of aluminum and glass, with a taller screen, faster processor, better camera and a host of other improvements.</p>
<p>Analysts across Wall Street are bullish on Apple and the new device. In fact, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) boosted its price target on the tech juggernaut to $810 from $790 following the announcement earlier this week. The biggest American company by market capitalization is forecast to see sales of $156 billion this year, and $193 billion the following year, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters.</p>
<p>Shares were up 1.8% to a fresh all-time high at $695.21 in morning trading in New York.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | First Round of iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Sells Out | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/09/14/first-round-iphone-5-pre-orders-sells-out.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
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<p>“We feel like they haven’t worked with us in good faith,” said Fonda Osborn, district president for District 1199 of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees.</p>
<p>Hospital CEO Alex Valdez said Thursday he had not yet seen the substance of the complaints so would not address them in detail.</p>
<p>“We too have sent to the union counsel concerns we have in the manner in which union leadership have conducted themselves, particularly at the nurse staffing level,” he said.</p>
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<p>“We are working to schedule a conversation with the union counsel, our attorney and a representative of the union so we can attempt to resolve the issues between us.”</p>
<p>Referring to that meeting, Valdez declined to say whether or not hospital management was planning to file its own grievance against the union.</p>
<p>Among the grievances filed July 25 and 27 by the union is the allegation that the hospital has not honored contract requirements to bargain collectively over staffing levels and setting minimum staffing requirements. “This dispute cannot be resolved through the grievance process as parties have agreed that it ‘shall not be subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure,'” according to the written complaint.</p>
<p>Osborn said hospital administrators have decided to aim for staffing levels at the 50th percentile of similar hospitals around the country and have not deviated from that goal, despite questions raised by union members about its effectiveness and practicality. “They’re going to go for the 50th percentile, no matter what the patient need is,” she contended.</p>
<p>In connection with that, the union has charged that the hospital administration refuses to provide information required under its collective bargaining agreement, which calls for each hospital unit to post the average daily census of patients and the number of staff members on duty for that day.</p>
<p>That information is not posted consistently, and follow-up requests for that data have not been successful, according to that complaint, which also alleges the union has been unable to get statistics on nurse turnover, vacancy rates for clinical staff positions, number of hours paid to contract nurses and results of exit surveys with departing employees.</p>
<p>“This has been filed because we have not been provided with the information we’ve needed so that we can make some realistic proposals regarding staffing,” Osborn said.</p>
<p>But Valdez expressed some of his own frustrations, saying, “The nurse staffing committee has not worked as well as I would have wanted. It’s spent a lot of time not moving forward. Now it’s time to get off the dime.” The committee needs to discuss issues such as how a new electronic medical record system can make nursing more productive, he said.</p>
<p>Under the contract, a staffing council made up half of union members and half of management representatives, with management having the tie-breaking vote, had been set up to talk about how labor can be allocated.</p>
<p>“We find ourselves in very complex and challenging times … calling for us as an organization to work wiser and work in a more efficient way,” Valdez said.</p>
<p>In its third complaint, the union charges that: “The employer enforces its visitation policy in a discriminatory fashion in an attempt to interfere with, and restrain the employees in their” guaranteed rights. Specifically, the hospital lets civic groups and groups selling Tupperware and other items use the cafeteria and conference room, but will not give the union access to the same spaces, it says.</p>
<p>Osborn said the hospital does let the union meet with members in the cafeteria on some predetermined dates set on a calendar, but has denied requests for additional days as conditions arise that make the union want contact with its members. She noted that requests aren’t for formal, full union meetings, but for discussions with members on a one-to-one basis.</p>
<p>From here, the Labor Relations Board will investigate and decide whether or not the claims have merit, Osborn said. If it decides they have merit, and no settlement is reached with the hospital, then the board would take the charges to court, she said.</p> | Union Complaint Set on St. Vincent | false | https://abqjournal.com/123523/union-complaint-set-on-st-vincent.html | 2012-08-10 | 2 |
<p>Steven Greenhut: It’s one thing to be insulted, harassed and treated like subjects in a dystopian movie as we head to the airport to fly somewhere. We’ve all become accustomed to such overly intrusive and generally nonproductive nonsense since 9-11. But it’s quite another thing to have these types of security procedures permeate themselves throughout society. At the downtown Sacramento Post Office, one is subject to an x-ray screening simply to mail a letter because the Post Office is located in a federal building.</p>
<p>I went to mail a letter yesterday and one of the two guards complained that my cell phone wasn’t on (it was, but he couldn’t figure out how it worked) and closely examined my keys. I made a slightly annoyed comment, which gained the attention of someone else waiting in line. This man took me over to a display in the lovely old building of the Constitution and some other historical documents. He liked the display and took out his cell phone to take a picture of it, which, he said, drew the immediate angry attention of the guards. They insisted that he delete the picture from his phone while they watched.</p>
<p>I found this action to be emblematic. Two clueless government security guards who spend the day searching people who want to mail letters insist that a photograph of the U.S. Constitution is a security breach. The man deleted the Constitution’s image, but I keep getting the sneaking feeling that more than its image has been removed from our society.</p>
<p>MAY 9</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Deleting The Constitution | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2011/05/10/deleting-the-constitution/ | 2018-05-20 | 3 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal">We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party</a> Mumia abu Jamal, Boston, South End, 2004</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">The Head Negro in Charge Syndrome: The Dead End of Black Politics</a> Norman Kelley, New York, Nation Books, 2004</p>
<p>Mumia abu Jamal’s membership in the Black Panther Party was used by the prosecution in his murder trial as a reason to sentence him to death in 1981. This questionable conduct by the prosecution and bench was but one instance in his trial for the murder of a policeman that can only be characterized as a miscarriage of justice. Since he was sentenced, Jamal has sat on death row, written commentary for various radio stations and websites, received a couple honorary degrees, spoken via tape recordings to high school and college commencements, and written several books.</p>
<p>His most recent book, We Want Freedom, is a history of the Panthers. Like other party memoirs/histories (from David Hilliard, Elaine Brown, Bobby Seale, to name a few), Jamal’s book is partly autobiographical. Yet, unlike those books, it is mostly a political, critical history of the party. Another aspect of this book that sets it apart from those other Panther books is that it is the first history written by a party member who was not in the leadership; it is written by a foot soldier. Consequently, it tells a story somewhat different than those written by the leadership. With all due respect to the Panther leaders, things look different to the foot soldiers in most organizations and the Panthers weren’t any different in that regard (although the differences weren’t that great).</p>
<p>Mumia does a great job placing the Panthers in the proper historical context. He starts with a brief history of various slave rebellions, relates anecdotes and historical evidence of various black self-defense groups, and then writes about the influence of Malcolm X’s speeches and writings on the BPP’s founders, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. This is where Jamal places the Panthers-an organization whose legacy lies with those African-Americans historically opposed to their oppression by the white-skinned capitalist class.</p>
<p>Given his status as a minor light in the Party-indeed more of a worker than a leader-Mumia relates his story of the Panthers in their heyday. Furthermore, his story emanates from Philadelphia, not Oakland or New York, which is where most other histories and remembrances of the Panthers were written. Consequently, he highlights Party activities that merited little mention in those other books. The Revolutionary People’s Constitutional Convention in 1970, the success of the Panther’s community programs in Philly and throughout the country are but two such examples.</p>
<p>What is truly unique to Mumia’s book, though, is the fact that he addresses the role that the US government’s counterintelligence operation known as COINTELPRO played in the Party’s demise. One of the ongoing debates among leftist historians in the US is the importance of COINTELPRO. There are those who belittle its effect, blaming the failures of the organizers and leaders for the New Left’s collapse, while others tend to blame the government for everything-a process which often leads to a paranoiac fascination with conspiracies that wind in endless loops. Mumia spins a line between these two extremes and places the government’s manipulations of Panther personalities via various dirty tricks in their proper historical place (manipulations that fueled the split between the Oakland and New York wings). All the while, he does not let the reader forget that the FBI and other law agencies were intent on destroying the Black Panther Party by any means necessary.</p>
<p>Another important aspect of Mumia’s book is that he addresses the role women played in the Panthers. Although he acknowledges that the actions of several male members did not match the ideals of the Party in terms of treating women equally and not abusing them sexually, Jamal makes it clear that it was the goal of Panther leadership to have all of its members treat women the same as they would men. Jamal further emphasizes the leading roles various women played in the Party after Newton, Seale, Cleaver, and other leaders had been jailed, exiled, or murdered. These women not only answered the call, states Jamal, they led the Party to greater things, building the community programs and, in Oakland, creating an electoral political organization.</p>
<p>True to the cornerstone of Panther philosophy, Mumia’s history emphasizes the role class plays in US society. Indeed, one of the primary differences between the Black Panther Party and other nationalist organizations (organization that were termed reactionary nationalists by the Panthers and others on the left) was its insistence that the only true African-American nationalism had to be a revolutionary nationalism that based its thoughts in the economic history of Black Americans, from slavery to today’s situation of permanent lumpenism for much of Black America.</p>
<p>If one looks back at the mainstream civil rights movement that existed during the Black Panther Party’s time, they won’t find very many leaders who understood the role that class plays in US society. Indeed, one could argue that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was probably the only one. Unfortunately, Dr. King met his end as prematurely as many of the Panthers, thanks to COINTELPRO and the racism of US society. Also, like the Panthers, once he was gone, there was no one left who could truly carry on his work.</p>
<p>This is the underlying concept of Norman Kelley’s latest book, The Head Negro in Charge Syndrome: The Dead End of Black Politics. Kelley, the author of the Nina Halligan noir soul mystery series and a writer on the music business and African-American politics, argues quite convincingly that Black politics in America has become a politics devoid of content that not only fails to deliver, but can’t deliver the goods it promises. Furthermore, writes Kelley, the “post-civil-rights leadership has been politically co-opted and reduced to functional irrelevance.” This has occurred across the black political spectrum, from the NAACP to Louis Farrakhan, continues Kelley, leaving the supposed constituency of these groups and individuals with nothing but empty symbols like the Million-Man March and Al Sharpton’s 2004 political campaign.</p>
<p>Like Jamal, Kelley places the story he wishes to tell within the context of African-American history and the struggle for civil rights and liberation. Discussing the differences between WEB Du Bois and Booker T. Washington and the 1960s version of the NAACP and Black Power, Kelley makes the argument that the dichotomization of these differences created a situation that made it difficult for black America to move forward after legal segregation was outlawed. As King, Du Bois, and Huey Newton knew only too well, it was the racial nature of the class system (or maybe the class nature of the racial system) in the US that keeps African-Americans from a true equality. Yet, as Washington and the Nation of Islam (NOI) have pointed out in words and deeds, it is necessary for black America to create a somewhat self-reliant economy if it truly intends on destroying (or upending) that class system Unfortunately, writes Kelley, the attempts at self-reliance by the NOI have not translated into an economy that can sustain much more than those who adhere to the mosque.</p>
<p>Deservedly, Kelley saves his harshest words for those African-Americans who have given their soul to the Democrats. After discussing Jesse Jackson and the role he has tended to play since 1984, when he ran for the Democratic nomination and then, after failing to win it, campaigned for Walter Mondale in a losing campaign. Since then, Jackson’s politics have become not only more nebulous, but more right wing. In part because of this transition, he no longer seems able to rally very many folks to his various causes. Al Sharpton fares no better in Kelley’s eyes. In fact, Kelley goes so far as to label Sharpton’s 2004 campaign, the Scampaign.</p>
<p>Kelley offers some potential answers to the dilemma of 2004 America. One, which he suggests after a discussion of the positive role singer James Brown played in the 1960s with his release of “I’m Black and I’m Proud” and other songs, is the idea that black musicians and performers should use their creative and economic clout to create their own economy, instead of selling out to the Hip-Hop pimps and the global capitalists that they work for. Another suggestion from Kelley revolves around black people withholding their vote in a very public way in order to get some results from the white establishment. Although this reviewer has little faith in US electoral politics, perhaps such an endeavor would produce results if it were done in the right way. However, it might be more fruitful if another grassroots party were to arise from the ashes of the ill-fated Panthers.</p>
<p>RON JACOBS is author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841678/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground</a>, which is just republished by Verso. It can be purchased by calling 1 800 233 4830.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Panthers and the Rest | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/07/10/the-panthers-and-the-rest/ | 2004-07-10 | 4 |
<p>GENEVA (AP) — The Court of Arbitration of Sport opened a full week of appeal hearings on Monday for 39 Russian athletes disqualified from the 2014 Sochi Olympics for taking part in a state-backed doping program.</p>
<p>Some athletes hope to overturn their Olympic life bans and clear their names to compete in the invitation-only “Olympic Athlete from Russia” team at the Pyeongchang Games, which open on Feb. 9 in South Korea.</p>
<p>Verdicts are not expected to be delivered before Jan. 30 or 31, CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said, acknowledging that it would be at least two days after the official deadline for Olympic entries on Sunday.</p>
<p>Two key prosecution witnesses, Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov and World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren, are set to testify by video or telephone link to the closed-door hearings at a conference center.</p>
<p>Rodchenkov, the former director of the Moscow and Sochi anti-doping laboratories, is living as a protected witness in the United States.</p>
<p>Reeb said both men would each give evidence in a single block with “no repeated testimonies” for individual athlete hearings.</p>
<p>“They will be heard one day and in one shot,” Reeb said. “They will be heard during the week in the presence of the parties, but maybe not all the athletes will be present throughout.”</p>
<p>The 39 athletes appealing through Saturday are among 46 Russian cases from Sochi investigated last year by an International Olympic Committee disciplinary panel.</p>
<p>The IOC judging panel, chaired by Swiss lawyer and IOC executive board member Denis Oswald, found 43 of the athletes guilty of complicity in the Sochi conspiracy. Three athletes were cleared.</p>
<p>Russia’s long-planned doping program included storing clean urine from a target list of athletes months before the Sochi Olympics and swapping them during the games for samples tainted with steroids.</p>
<p>The IOC panel believed that supposedly tamper-proof sample bottles were broken into, which seemed to confirm Rodchenkov’s claim that Russia’s security service, known as the FSB, found a method to force open the caps.</p>
<p>Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittner is representing the 39 athletes from seven sports, including several gold medalists, before two separate judging panels. Two judges from Germany are sitting on both of the three-judge CAS panels.</p>
<p>The IOC banned the athletes “despite a lack of specific evidence against any of them and in breach of their fundamental due process rights,” the law firm said in a statement.</p>
<p>Among officials arriving at the hearings venue near the European headquarters of the United Nations was International Ice Hockey Federation general secretary Horst Lichtner.</p>
<p>Eight members of Russia’s women’s ice hockey team at the Sochi Olympics are among the 39. Russia finished sixth before being disqualified by the IOC.</p>
<p>Reeb said speed skating cases would be the first hearings heard on Monday.</p>
<p>Russian speed skaters were among a group in Moscow getting their uniforms as potential Olympians.</p>
<p>The red-and-white and gray-and-white tracksuits, as well as gray coats are modified from the original designs drawn up for Team Russia.</p>
<p>As a punishment in fallout from the Sochi scandal, Russia has been denied using its flag and badges which are replaced with IOC-approved symbols. Instead of the Russian Olympic Committee logo, there’s now a white circle on the chest with the red inscription “Olympic Athlete from Russia.”</p>
<p>The skaters, who must get an IOC invitation to compete in South Korea, were reluctant to discuss the issues around Russia’s participation.</p>
<p>Asked what she expected from the Olympics, short-track speed skater Emina Malagich said: “Only good things.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed to this report from Moscow.</p>
<p>GENEVA (AP) — The Court of Arbitration of Sport opened a full week of appeal hearings on Monday for 39 Russian athletes disqualified from the 2014 Sochi Olympics for taking part in a state-backed doping program.</p>
<p>Some athletes hope to overturn their Olympic life bans and clear their names to compete in the invitation-only “Olympic Athlete from Russia” team at the Pyeongchang Games, which open on Feb. 9 in South Korea.</p>
<p>Verdicts are not expected to be delivered before Jan. 30 or 31, CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said, acknowledging that it would be at least two days after the official deadline for Olympic entries on Sunday.</p>
<p>Two key prosecution witnesses, Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov and World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren, are set to testify by video or telephone link to the closed-door hearings at a conference center.</p>
<p>Rodchenkov, the former director of the Moscow and Sochi anti-doping laboratories, is living as a protected witness in the United States.</p>
<p>Reeb said both men would each give evidence in a single block with “no repeated testimonies” for individual athlete hearings.</p>
<p>“They will be heard one day and in one shot,” Reeb said. “They will be heard during the week in the presence of the parties, but maybe not all the athletes will be present throughout.”</p>
<p>The 39 athletes appealing through Saturday are among 46 Russian cases from Sochi investigated last year by an International Olympic Committee disciplinary panel.</p>
<p>The IOC judging panel, chaired by Swiss lawyer and IOC executive board member Denis Oswald, found 43 of the athletes guilty of complicity in the Sochi conspiracy. Three athletes were cleared.</p>
<p>Russia’s long-planned doping program included storing clean urine from a target list of athletes months before the Sochi Olympics and swapping them during the games for samples tainted with steroids.</p>
<p>The IOC panel believed that supposedly tamper-proof sample bottles were broken into, which seemed to confirm Rodchenkov’s claim that Russia’s security service, known as the FSB, found a method to force open the caps.</p>
<p>Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittner is representing the 39 athletes from seven sports, including several gold medalists, before two separate judging panels. Two judges from Germany are sitting on both of the three-judge CAS panels.</p>
<p>The IOC banned the athletes “despite a lack of specific evidence against any of them and in breach of their fundamental due process rights,” the law firm said in a statement.</p>
<p>Among officials arriving at the hearings venue near the European headquarters of the United Nations was International Ice Hockey Federation general secretary Horst Lichtner.</p>
<p>Eight members of Russia’s women’s ice hockey team at the Sochi Olympics are among the 39. Russia finished sixth before being disqualified by the IOC.</p>
<p>Reeb said speed skating cases would be the first hearings heard on Monday.</p>
<p>Russian speed skaters were among a group in Moscow getting their uniforms as potential Olympians.</p>
<p>The red-and-white and gray-and-white tracksuits, as well as gray coats are modified from the original designs drawn up for Team Russia.</p>
<p>As a punishment in fallout from the Sochi scandal, Russia has been denied using its flag and badges which are replaced with IOC-approved symbols. Instead of the Russian Olympic Committee logo, there’s now a white circle on the chest with the red inscription “Olympic Athlete from Russia.”</p>
<p>The skaters, who must get an IOC invitation to compete in South Korea, were reluctant to discuss the issues around Russia’s participation.</p>
<p>Asked what she expected from the Olympics, short-track speed skater Emina Malagich said: “Only good things.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed to this report from Moscow.</p> | CAS opens week of cases for 39 Russians banned from Olympics | false | https://apnews.com/c559d3a9812f4c43af70f835bee19571 | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
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