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<p>CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered U.S. immigration authorities to reconsider the case of a Mexican mother of four U.S.-born children who was deported last year while claiming she was threatened by a Mexican drug cartel.</p>
<p>A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Maribel Trujillo Diaz. It said the Board of Immigration Appeals shouldn't have rejected her motion to reopen removal proceedings based on new testimony about threats against her and her family by the Knights Templar cartel.</p>
<p>Her case had drawn attention as an early example of toughened immigration enforcement under Republican President Donald Trump. Her deportation drew criticism from Cincinnati's Catholic archdiocese and Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich. Wednesday's opinion was written by a Trump nominee, John K. Bush.</p>
<p>Trujillo Diaz's father gave a sworn statement that he was kidnapped by drug gang members in 2014 seeking revenge because his son had refused to work for a related drug cartel and fled the country. The father said the members told him they "knew Maribel had gone to the United States" and warned that "the whole family would suffer."</p>
<p>The immigration appeals board had called her fears "generalized, conclusory speculation." The appeals court opinion said the board didn't make any findings that her father's statements were unbelievable or inconsistent with other evidence.</p>
<p>"The BIA abused its discretion in finding that Trujillo Diaz failed to present (sufficient) evidence that her fear of persecution, or the threat to her life or freedom, was related to her family membership," Bush wrote.</p>
<p>Khaalid Walls, a Detroit-based spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined to comment Wednesday on "pending litigation."</p>
<p>Diaz' attorneys said in a statement Wednesday that they are "thrilled" at the court's ruling.</p>
<p>"This is an important step toward bringing Maribel back to the United States to reunite with her family, including her four American children," attorneys Kathleen Kersh and Emily Brown said. "We will continue to support Maribel in any way we can to bring her back to the United States where she belongs."</p>
<p>Trujillo Diaz had filed her motion just weeks before her April 19 deportation. The 6th Circuit in April had denied her request to block the deportation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Dan Sewell at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dansewell" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/dansewell</a></p>
<p>CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered U.S. immigration authorities to reconsider the case of a Mexican mother of four U.S.-born children who was deported last year while claiming she was threatened by a Mexican drug cartel.</p>
<p>A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Maribel Trujillo Diaz. It said the Board of Immigration Appeals shouldn't have rejected her motion to reopen removal proceedings based on new testimony about threats against her and her family by the Knights Templar cartel.</p>
<p>Her case had drawn attention as an early example of toughened immigration enforcement under Republican President Donald Trump. Her deportation drew criticism from Cincinnati's Catholic archdiocese and Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich. Wednesday's opinion was written by a Trump nominee, John K. Bush.</p>
<p>Trujillo Diaz's father gave a sworn statement that he was kidnapped by drug gang members in 2014 seeking revenge because his son had refused to work for a related drug cartel and fled the country. The father said the members told him they "knew Maribel had gone to the United States" and warned that "the whole family would suffer."</p>
<p>The immigration appeals board had called her fears "generalized, conclusory speculation." The appeals court opinion said the board didn't make any findings that her father's statements were unbelievable or inconsistent with other evidence.</p>
<p>"The BIA abused its discretion in finding that Trujillo Diaz failed to present (sufficient) evidence that her fear of persecution, or the threat to her life or freedom, was related to her family membership," Bush wrote.</p>
<p>Khaalid Walls, a Detroit-based spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined to comment Wednesday on "pending litigation."</p>
<p>Diaz' attorneys said in a statement Wednesday that they are "thrilled" at the court's ruling.</p>
<p>"This is an important step toward bringing Maribel back to the United States to reunite with her family, including her four American children," attorneys Kathleen Kersh and Emily Brown said. "We will continue to support Maribel in any way we can to bring her back to the United States where she belongs."</p>
<p>Trujillo Diaz had filed her motion just weeks before her April 19 deportation. The 6th Circuit in April had denied her request to block the deportation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Dan Sewell at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dansewell" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/dansewell</a></p> | Judges rule for deported Mexican woman threatened by cartels | false | https://apnews.com/amp/88c13a8f22b14a7e96a74c189aeb2154 | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
<p>According to Sarah Palin, it’s still too early in the presidential election cycle for her to say for sure whether she’ll be putting the White House in her cross hairs for 2012. We’re not sure about that, but, regardless, Palin says she’ll take on the challenge if there’s “nobody willing to do it.” –KA</p>
<p>Reuters:</p>
<p>In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, to air tonight, Palin let the moose out of the bag.</p>
<p>ET’s Mary Hart asked her bluntly: “Are you going to run for president?”</p>
<p />
<p>Palin began her response with what would be expected at this stage of the political cycle: “You know I have not decided what I’m going to do in 2012. I don’t think any of the potential candidates have. I think that still it is too early for anybody to get out there declaring what their intentions are.”</p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2010/10/28/palin-for-president-someones-gotta-do-it/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Palin Coy About 2012 Plans | true | http://truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/palin_coy_about_2012_plans_20101028/ | 2010-10-29 | 4 |
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<p>Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands will launch more than 10 electric cars by 2025, and zero-emission vehicles will make up between 15 percent and 25 percent of overall Mercedes sales by then, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Speaking to journalists at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday, Zetsche said the automaker was preparing a major push in pure electric vehicles thanks to advances in battery technology and greater consumer acceptance of zero-emissions vehicles.</p>
<p>A new generation of electric vehicles will be sold under the "EQ" brand, and based on a new technical architecture developed specifically for battery-electric models, the company said.</p>
<p>In addition, Daimler has set up a digital technologies division called CASE to incorporate connected cars, autonomous driving, car sharing and electric vehicles.</p>
<p>"Connectivity, autonomous driving, sharing and electric drive systems ��� each of these four trends has the potential to turn our industry on its head. Yet the real revolution lies in intelligently linking the four trends," Zetsche said at a Mercedes-Benz press conference in Paris.</p>
<p>"We have the competence and the ability, and we cannot buy the technology from suppliers which does not yet exist," he added, explaining Daimler had little choice but to develop the technology in-house if it wanted to be a leading player.</p>
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<p>"We believe this is a unique selling point and we cannot be ahead if we appoint a camera manufacturer to be our lead developer," Zetsche said, in a thinly veiled swipe at rival BMW , which recently announced a development partnership for autonomous cars with Mobileye.</p>
<p>Daimler said it would launch a peer-to-peer car sharing service, which would allow customers to unlock and start the car using just their mobile phone.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Victoria Bryan and Mark Potter)</p> | Daimler to make more than 10 electric cars by 2025 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/09/29/daimler-to-make-more-than-10-electric-cars-by-2025.html | 2016-09-29 | 0 |
<p><a href="http://www.idg.com/www/rd.nsf/rd?readform&amp;t=search&amp;q=Google" type="external">Google Opens a New Window.</a> is providing developers with a dashboard that is aimed at helping them decide which versions of the software to support and that shows the fragmentation of the Android platform.</p>
<p>The chart, displaying the percentages of Android phones using different versions of the software, also offers a peek at how the various Android phones are selling.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The goal of offering the data is to help developers decide whether or not to build applications that support older versions of the software, Raphael Moll, a <a href="" type="internal">Google</a> developer, wrote on a <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/12/knowing-is-half-battle.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FhsDu+%28Android+Developers+Blog%29" type="external">blog post Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The chart only represents a snapshot of the market, as it displays phones that accessed the Android Market between Dec. 1 and Dec. 14.</p>
<p>The <a href="" type="internal">Motorola</a> Droid, currently the only phone to run Android 2.0 and 2.0.1, has 17.7 percent of the Android Market, according to the dashboard. The heavily marketed phone only went on sale in early November, so the figures show that it has quickly taken Android market share.</p>
<p>Motorola's Cliq phone, one of the few that still runs Android 1.5, may be doing even better, however. Android 1.5 users represented 27.7 percent of people visiting the Market. The Cliq became available around the same time as the Droid.</p>
<p>The bulk of phones hitting the Market -- 54.2 percent -- run Android 1.6. Most HTC phones, including the G1 and MyTouch, run that version of the OS.</p>
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<p>Google has been quick to push out updated versions of the OS, but adoption of new versions has sometimes been slow. For instance, when the Cliq launched using version 1.5, 1.6 was already available. Motorola has yet to push the updated software to the phone.</p>
<p>In fact, version 2.0 came out just a handful of days after the Cliq became widely available. So far the Droid is the only one to run the latest software.</p>
<p>In the blog post, Google said it plans to update the dashboard regularly to reflect the release of new Android software and to include additional information like screen size. "Our goal is to provide you with the tools and information to make it easy for you to target specific versions of the platform or all the versions that are deployed in volume," Moll wrote.</p>
<p>While a growing number of handsets are available running Android, experts worry that fragmentation may slow down future growth. A platform with many versions of the software, and more to come, worries developers, who are not interested in having to tweak their applications for all the different versions. In addition, older Android phones may begin to have hardware limitations that prevent them from accommodating updates, ensuring that there are always many versions of the software in the market.</p>
<p>More from IDG:</p> | Google dashboard shows Android fragmentation | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2009/12/17/google-dashboard-shows-android-fragmentation.html | 2016-03-18 | 0 |
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<p>Toshiba Corp &lt;6502.T&gt; will file its twice-delayed October-December results as early as noon (0300 GMT) Tuesday, with a disclaimer of opinion from auditors, a source briefed on the matter said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Toshiba is expected to hold a press conference around 0700 GMT (3 am ET), the source told Reuters.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Stephen Coates)</p> | Toshiba to file results as early as noon with disclaimed opinion from auditors - source | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/10/toshiba-to-file-results-as-early-as-noon-with-disclaimed-opinion-from-auditors.html | 2017-04-11 | 0 |
<p>Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy predicted Wednesday that there would be an “uproar” if the <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> requires players to stand for the national anthem versus taking a knee or sitting in protest.</p>
<p>“I don’t think guys are going to like it,” Mr. McCoy told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “I think it’s going to be an uproar if that is to happen because you’re basically taking away a constitutional right to freedom of speech. If guys wanna have a, I guess you would call it a peaceful protest, I don’t think it’s right to take that away from guys.”</p>
<p>His comments came a day after <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> commissioner Roger Goodell said that teams would consider a rule change at next week’s regularly scheduled meeting in New York City that would require players to stand during the pregame ceremony.</p>
<p>In a memo to all 32 teams, Mr. Goodell also said that “we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem,” prompting President Trump to declare that it’s “about time.”</p>
<p>“It is about time that Roger Goodell of the <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> is finally demanding that all players STAND for our great National Anthem—RESPECT OUR COUNTRY,” said Mr. Trump in a Wednesday tweet.</p>
<p>The league issued a statement shortly thereafter emphasizing that the issue is still under discussion and that Mr. Goodell has not made standing mandatory.</p>
<p>“Commentary this morning about the Commissioner’s position on the Anthem is not accurate,” the statement said. “As we said yesterday, there will be a discussion of these issues at the owners meeting next week. The <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> is doing the hard work of trying to move from protest to progress, working to bring people together.”</p>
<p>Only about 30 players sat or took a knee last weekend, down from the nearly 200 who did so at the Sept. 24-25 games following Mr. Trump’s suggestion that team owners should fire players who refuse to stand for the flag.</p>
<p>Mr. McCoy told ESPN he does not plan on kneeling during the national anthem.</p>
<p>Free agent Antonio Cromartie said Wednesday that he thought players would continue to sit or take a knee in what he described as a statement against “police brutality” and “social injustice.”</p>
<p>“I think as players, we still have that First Amendment right to protest peacefully, and I think guys are still going to protest,” Mr. Cromartie said on Fox Sports’s “Undisputed.” “I think the biggest thing is, what are the organizations going to do now with guys protesting?”</p>
<p>Two teams—the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins—have already said they will require players to stand for the national anthem as the league struggles with fan outrage and declining television ratings.</p>
<p>Dolphins coach Adam Gase said that those who object may remain in the tunnel or locker room for the ceremony.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> operations manual now says that players “should” stand at attention for the national anthem.</p>
<p>Mr. Cromartie, who played in the <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> from 2006-16, said he didn’t think fans would abandon the <a href="/topics/national-football-league/" type="external">NFL</a> over the take-a-knee protests.</p>
<p>“People are still going to watch football. People love football,” he said.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/oct/11/gerald-mccoy-predicts-uproar-if-players-ordered-st/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | NFL player predicts ‘uproar’ if players ordered to stand for national anthem | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/11/gerald-mccoy-predicts-uproar-if-players-ordered-st/ | 2017-10-11 | 0 |
<p>Eastern Europe is about to blow. If it does, it could take much of the EU with it. It’s an emergency situation but there are no easy solutions. The IMF doesn’t have the resources for a bailout of this size and the recession is spreading faster than relief efforts can be organized. Finance ministers and central bankers are running in circles trying to put out one fire after another. Its only a matter of time before they are overtaken by events. If one country is allowed to default, the dominoes could begin to tumble through the whole region. This could trigger dramatic changes in the political landscape. The rise of fascism is no longer out of the question.</p>
<p>The UK Telegraph’s economics editor Edmund Conway sums it up like this:</p>
<p>“A ‘second wave’ of countries will fall victim to the economic crisis and face being bailed out by the International Monetary Fund, its chief warned at the G7 summit in Rome….But with some countries’ economies effectively dwarfed by the size of their banking sector and its financial liabilities, there are fears they could fall victim to balance of payments and currency crises, much as Iceland did before receiving emergency assistance from the IMF last year.” (UK Telegraph)</p>
<p>Foreign capital is fleeing at an alarming rate; nearly two-thirds gone in matter of months. Deflation is pushing down asset prices, increasing unemployment, and compounding the debt-burden of financial institutions. It’s the same everywhere. The economies are being hollowed out and stripped of capital. Ukraine is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary have all slipped into a low-grade depression. The countries that followed Washington’s economic regimen have suffered the most. They bet that debt-fueled growth and exports would lead to prosperity. That dream has been shattered. They haven’t developed their consumer markets, so demand is weak. Capital is scarce and businesses are being forced to deleverage to avoid default. All of Eastern Europe has gotten a margin call. They need extra funds to cover the falling value of their equity. They need a lifeline from the IMF or their economies will continue to crumble.</p>
<p>The UK Telegraph’s economics correspondent Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has written a series of articles about Eastern Europe. In “Failure to save East Europe will lead to Worldwide meltdown” he says:</p>
<p>“Austria’s finance minister Josef Pröll made frantic efforts last week to put together a €150bn rescue for the ex-Soviet bloc. Well he might. His banks have lent €230bn to the region, equal to 70pc of Austria’s GDP.</p>
<p>“A failure rate of 10pc would lead to the collapse of the Austrian financial sector,” reported Der Standard in Vienna. Unfortunately, that is about to happen.</p>
<p>The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says bad debts will top 10pc and may reach 20pc….</p>
<p>Stephen Jen, currency chief at Morgan Stanley, said Eastern Europe has borrowed $1.7 trillion abroad, much on short-term maturities. It must repay – or roll over – $400bn this year, equal to a third of the region’s GDP. Good luck. The credit window has slammed shut.</p>
<p>Almost all East bloc debts are owed to West Europe, especially Austrian, Swedish, Greek, Italian, and Belgian banks. En plus, Europeans account for an astonishing 74pc of the entire $4.9 trillion portfolio of loans to emerging markets. They are five times more exposed to this latest bust than American or Japanese banks, and they are 50pc more leveraged (IMF data). (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard UK Telegraph)</p>
<p>An economic crisis is quickly turning into a political crisis. Riots have broken out in capitals across Eastern Europe. Mr. Geithner had better be paying attention. The prospects for political upheaval are growing. Public anxiety can spill out onto the streets at a moments notice. Governments must act quickly and with resolve. These countries need hard currency and guarantees of support. If they don’t get help, the simmering public fury will turn into something much more lethal.</p>
<p>UK Telegraph’s economics correspondent Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:</p>
<p>“Global banks have so far written down half the $2,200bn losses estimated by the IMF. On top of this, EU banks have $1,600bn of exposure to Eastern Europe — increasingly viewed as Europe’s subprime debacle, and EU corporate debts are 95pc of GDP compared to 50pc in the US, a mounting concern as default rates surge.</p>
<p>“It is essential that government support through asset relief should not be on a scale that raises concern about over-indebtedness or financing problems. Such considerations are particularly important in the current context of widening budget deficits, rising public debt levels and challenges in sovereign bond issuance.” (UK Telegraph)</p>
<p>It’s the same wherever banks merged their commercial and investment branches. Debt has skyrocketed to unsustainable levels destabilizing the entire economy. The banks have been operating like hedge funds, concealing their activities on off-balance sheets operations and maximizing their leverage through opaque debt-instruments. Now the global economy is caught in the downdraft of a collapsing speculative bubble. East Europe has been hit hard, but it’s just the first of many bowling pins that will fall. All of Europe has been infected by the same virus which originated on Wall Street. Monday’s New York Times summarizes developments in the EU:</p>
<p>“Europe sank even deeper into recession than the United States in the closing months of last year, according to figures published Friday…The economy of the 16 countries sharing the euro currency declined by 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter, (an annualized drop of roughly 6 percent) according to the European Union’s statistics office. That is even worse than the 1 percent decline in the United States economy during that period, compared with the previous quarter.</p>
<p>“Today’s data wipes out any illusion that the euro zone is getting off lightly in this global downturn,” said Jörg Radeke, an economist at the Center for Economics and Business Research in London. (“Europe Slump Deeper than Expected” New york Times)</p>
<p>The “liquidationists” would like to see governments cut off the flow of funds to ailing financial institutions and let them fail by themselves. It’s Darwinian madness, like waiting out a heart attack on the kitchen floor instead of rushing to the hospital for emergency care. The global economy is decelerating at the fastest pace on record. 40 percent of global wealth has been wiped out. The banking system is insolvent, unemployment is soaring, tax revenues are falling, the markets are in shock, housing is crashing, deficits are soaring, and consumer confidence is at its lowest point in history. This is no time to cling to half-baked ideology. The global economy is undergoing a massive system-wide contraction which could spin out of control and plunge us into another world war. Political leaders need to grasp the urgency of the moment and keep the vehicle from careening into the ditch.</p>
<p>MIKE WHITNEY lives in the Pacific Northwest and can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Is Eastern Europe Primed to Explode? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/02/17/is-eastern-europe-primed-to-explode/ | 2009-02-17 | 4 |
<p>GREENSBORO — Guilford County Board of Education members voted to approve a nearly $900,000 contract for a major study of school district buildings and boundaries.</p>
<p>Thursday’s vote followed the recommendation of a joint committee of three county commissioners and three school board members. The committee sought a partner to deliver a study of both facility needs and facility assignment optimization. That second part has to do with the impact of school attendance boundaries and school programs, such as magnet options, on enrollment in schools.</p>
<p>The contract must still pass one final hurdle: a vote of the full Guilford County Board of Commissioners on funding half the cost of the study. Schools staff expected a vote would take place at the commissioners’ meeting on Monday.</p>
<p>“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity with a shared project (between the boards),” said Scott McCully, chief operating officer for the school system.</p>
<p>He said the Tallahassee-based MGT Consulting Group is an outside consultant picked by representatives from both the commissioners and the school board, able to give them an objective take on the condition of schools.</p>
<p>While the nearly $900,000 is more than the $800,000 originally budgeted, it’s less than the $1 million the consultants had sought for the work. McCully said leaders were able to negotiate the $100,000 price cut without sacrificing any of the scope of work.</p>
<p>Based on the timeline included with their proposal, MGT would expect to wrap up its work in June.</p>
<p>During a different discussion, board Chairman Alan Duncan brought up Western Guilford Middle as an example of the issues facing some of the district’s buildings.</p>
<p>Duncan said the district wasn’t able to afford to include a new building for Western Guilford Middle when bond money first became available and was only able to add it to the list when other projects came in under budget.</p>
<p>“What a wonderful illustration of how we are holding onto our schools to the last possible moment, because literally the systems are giving out in that school and we can’t get into the new building quick enough,” he said. “If this school were not being replaced and we were in this kind of circumstance it would be extremely difficult to deal with.”</p>
<p>District staff said they expect students to occupy their new building on Feb. 20.</p>
<p>Also Thursday the board:</p>
<p /> | Guilford school board OKs consultant to study schools, attendance zones | false | http://greensboro.com/news/schools/guilford-school-board-oks-consultant-to-study-schools-attendance-zones/article_65ec06c9-48a5-5b13-b78a-674ebf59468a.html | 2018-01-25 | 3 |
<p>Of the top five outside international appointments made by embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz during his nearly two-year tenure, three were senior political appointees of right-wing governments that provided strong backing for U.S. policy in Iraq.</p>
<p>The latest appointment came just last month, when former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher was named senior vice president for external affairs. Muasher served as King Abdullah II’s ambassador in Washington in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2002 and reportedly played a key role in ensuring Amman’s cooperation in the March 2003 invasion. During and after the invasion, when Muasher served first as foreign minister and then as deputy prime minister, he was considered among Washington’s staunchest supporters in an increasingly hostile Arab world.</p>
<p>Muasher’s appointment came nine months after Wolfowitz named former Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio as the World Bank’s senior vice president and general counsel. As foreign minister, she was an outspoken proponent of the U.S.-led Iraq invasion, to which her government, led by former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, contributed 1,500 troops.</p>
<p>Also in June 2006, Wolfowitz named former Salvadoran Finance Minister Juan Jose Daboub as one of the Bank’s two managing directors. In addition to his financial post, Daboub served as chief of staff to former President Francisco Flores Perez when, as a charter member of the U.S.-led “Coalition of the Willing,” he sent nearly 400 Salvadoran combat troops to Iraq, more than any other developing country.</p>
<p>Wolfowitz is currently fending off calls for his resignation-from World Bank staff, non-government organizations, and a number of former senior Bank officials-over charges that he improperly negotiated a promotion and compensation package for his romantic partner, career Bank staffer Shaha Riza, who was subsequently seconded to the U.S. State Department.</p>
<p>Since becoming World Bank president in June 2005, Wolfowitz has long insisted that his role as deputy defense secretary under President George W. Bush, in which he was a key architect of the Iraq War, would never influence his decisions at the Bank.</p>
<p>As recently as Thursday, as finance and development ministers began gathering in Washington for the annual Spring meetings of the World Bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Wolfowitz again denied that his connection to the Iraq War has played any role in his new work and suggested that the calls for him to resign were motivated at least in part by anti-war sentiment.</p>
<p>“For people who disagree with things they associate with me in my previous job,” he said, “I am not in my previous job.”</p>
<p>But persistent efforts by Wolfowitz to recruit a new country manager for Iraq despite concerns over staff security there-as well as the Bank’s attempts last month to suppress reports about an incident in which a Bank employee was injured in Baghdad, apparently to avoid derailing his recruitment efforts-have lent credence to critics’ charges that he has been more than eager to line up the institution and its resources behind U.S. policy there.</p>
<p>The fact that Wolfowitz also took with him to the Bank several key right-wing Republican aides-none with any development experience-who had worked closely with him on Iraq-related issues while he was at the Pentagon also bolstered that impression.</p>
<p>There have been reports of elaborate off-the-record efforts on Wolfowitz’s part, during his tenure at the Bank, to persuade prominent journalists that the administration’s pre-war allegations of an operational link between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida were indeed true.</p>
<p>It is in that context that Wolfowitz’s appointments of non-U.S. individuals who were not already working for the Bank to top posts appear significant.</p>
<p>“I believe that Paul Wolfowitz has used his tenure in part to reward those governments and individuals who were particularly helpful to the United States in the Iraq War,” said Steven Clemons, director of the American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation, who has closely followed Wolfowitz’s career on his much-read blog, www.thewashingtonnote.com.</p>
<p>“To me, that’s a completely irresponsible approach to managing one of the world’s most important economic development institutions,” he added.</p>
<p>In addition to Muasher, Palacio, and Daboub, Wolfowitz’s other senior, non-U.S. outside appointments went to Vincenzo La Via, a former Italian finance ministry official who serves as the Bank’s chief financial officer, and Lars Thunell, a Swede who serves as executive vice president of the Bank’s International Finance Corporation, a post for which the Bank president traditionally defers to the choice of the Bank’s major European donors. Unlike La Via and Thunell, Muasher, Palacio, and Daboub were all political appointees in governments that strongly backed the Bush administration on Iraq and on other issues, as well.</p>
<p>Daboub was a senior member of the ruling right-wing ARENA party in El Salvador and effectively ran the country’s economic policy from 1999 to 2004, during the presidency of Francisco Flores.</p>
<p>“He really was Flores’ right-hand man, and, as such, pursued the most orthodox economic policy in the country’s history, closely tied to U.S. policies,” said Roberto Rubio, president of the Fundacion Nacional para Desarrollo in San Salvador.</p>
<p>According to Rubio, Daboub was also a frequent visitor to Washington, where he founded the Instituto America Libre to advocate free market policies. At a conference in 2005, he called on Washington to “act more aggressively on the problem of security that South American populists represent to the United States and to other Latin American countries that have not fallen into leftist hands yet.”</p>
<p>Palacio, an outspoken supporter of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, lost her position as foreign minister after the 2004 defeat of Aznar’s Partido Popular in 2004. Before her appointment to the Bank, she repeatedly denounced the decision of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to withdraw Spanish forces from Iraq and praised the persistence of both Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair.</p>
<p>In an interview with the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute’s magazine, American Enterprise, in late 2005 she accused Zapatero of “plung[ing] Spain into Third World politics” by allying it more closely with France and Germany than with Britain and the United States.</p>
<p>As Jordan’s ambassador here before the Gulf War and later as foreign minister, Muasher met with then-Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz on at least several occasions, according to the Pentagon’s website.</p>
<p>Despite King Abdullah II of Jordan’s public criticism of the war, Washington found a “willing,” if behind-the-scenes, ally in Muasher. While Jordan, like other Arab countries, did not send troops to Iraq, it quietly provided intelligence and other critical support for the United States before and during the war. It has also helped train thousands of Iraqi security personnel and tightened control of its borders to prevent the infiltration of Sunni fighters after the war.</p>
<p>As deputy prime minister, Muashar was charged with implementing the country’s “reform” agenda, a portfolio that required frequent contact with U.S. officials, including former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney with whom Wolfowitz was closely allied during Bush’s first term.</p>
<p>Washington increased its aid to Jordan by some $300 million in 2003, to a total of $450 million. In 2006, Washington gave Amman $500 million, split between economic and military assistance.</p>
<p>Jordan’s benefits from the war included oil subsidies from Gulf States, substantial new U.S. aid, a booming real estate sector, and a growing Iraq-related trade and transport account-and, apparently, the appointment of Muasher to the World Bank’s vice presidency.</p>
<p>“It’s not at all surprising given Wolfowitz’s actions so far within the Bank and the Bush administration’s propensity to reward allies and cronies,” said Doug Hellinger, co-director of the Development GAP and a veteran Bank observer.</p>
<p>Emad Mekay is a writer for the Inter Press Service (IPS).</p>
<p>Jim Lobe is the IPS Washington bureau chief and a contributor to <a href="http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/" type="external">Right Web</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Wolfowitz’s Quid Pro Quo | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/04/19/wolfowitz-s-quid-pro-quo/ | 2007-04-19 | 4 |
<p />
<p>It turns out a little thanks can go a long way, especially when it comes to improving your chances of getting a job. In fact, new research found that a majority of human resources managers said they enjoyed receiving a thank-you from a job candidate and sending a note was helpful to their job chances. The research also found that the most preferred methods of receiving thankswere through an email or phone call.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Overwhelmingly, managers considered a thank-you to be <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2298-job-interview-narcissism.html" type="external">helpful in a candidate's job search Opens a New Window.</a>. Just 32 percent of managers said a thank-you was somewhat helpful while 10 percent said it was not helpful at all.</p>
<p>But not all methods of thanks are equal, the survey found. Nearly nine in 10 hiring managers preferred email thank-yous from job candidates while 81 percent preferred a thank-you phone call.&#160; Other appropriate methods for job candidates to thank an employer for an interview included through a handwritten note or through social media.&#160; Surprisingly, 10 percent of respondents said a text message was appropriate for a thank-you.</p>
<p>For the most part, job candidates have followed the requests of managers. Most applicants (62 percent) said thanks through email, but nearly a quarter did so through a phone call.&#160; Just 13 percent said thanks with a handwritten note.&#160; Regardless, sending a thank-you of any kind is a good idea, said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps a staffing service specializing in temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. Accountemps conducted the research.</p>
<p>[ <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2083-job-interview-mistakes-avoid.html" type="external">10 Crazy Job Interview Mistakes People Actually Made Opens a New Window.</a>]</p>
<p>"When it comes to delivering a thank-you, the message is typically more important than the medium," said&#160;Messmer, author of&#160;"Job Hunting&#160;for Dummies" (John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc., 1999). "Following up with hiring managers after the interview shows your enthusiasm for the position and allows you to reiterate the case for why you are the best person for the job."</p>
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<p>With that in mind, Accountemps has the following tips for sending out thank-you notes.</p>
<p>This research was based on 500 responses from human resource managers at companies with 20 or more employees.</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;on Twitter @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/D_M89" type="external">D_M89 Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;or BusinessNewsDaily @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles Opens a New Window.</a>. We're also on&#160; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/LifesLittleMysteries" type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;&amp;&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Copyright 2012 <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/" type="external">BusinessNewsDaily Opens a New Window.</a>, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</p> | The Magic Phrase That Just Might Get You a Job | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/06/15/magic-phrase-that-just-might-get-job.html | 2016-03-23 | 0 |
<p>Lawyers for dissident Wynn Resorts shareholder Kazuo Okada's will urge a Nevada court on Tuesday to overturn the casino company's forced redemption of the Japanese billionaire's $2.7 billion stake, a ruling which would allow him to vote at its November 2 shareholder meeting to unseat two board members.</p>
<p>Okada said on September 17 that he would nominate Yale law professor Jonathan Macey and former CBS Corp (CBS.N) Chief Financial Officer Fredric Reynolds for the company's 12-person board. Okada, who remains a board member, held a 20 stake in Wynn when the board voted in February to rescind the shares.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Wynn has rejected the nominations as invalid, calling it an attempt to divert attention from the issues facing Okada and his holding company, Aruze USA Inc.</p>
<p>The high-stakes legal battle pits Okada, formerly Wynn's largest shareholder, against Wynn CEO Steve Wynn in a nearly year-long struggle. Each billionaire claims the other made improper payments to win favor in their respective Asian markets.</p>
<p>Wynn forcibly bought back Okada's stake, valued at $2.7 billion, at a 30 percent discount after an internal probe by former FBI director Louis Freeh revealed that Okada had allegedly violated U.S. anti-corruption laws.</p>
<p>Okada's Universal Entertainment Corp &lt;6425.OS&gt; is Japan's largest pachinko manufacturer.</p>
<p>"Given the ticking clock aspect, I expect this litigation will be a full-time job up until November 2 and that any ruling by the judge is highly likely to be appealed," said Jacob Frenkel, a partner with Shulman Rogers in Maryland.</p>
<p>Okada's lawyers say the contract under which Okada first bought his stake in Wynn precluded a forced redemption. They also say Wynn's rationale, based on concerns the company's standing with gaming regulators is threatened due to Okada's alleged conduct, was without merit since no charges were proven.</p>
<p>Wynn argued its actions were justified because Okada's alleged payoffs to regulators at the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) were potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), therefore threatening Wynn's standing with gaming regulators in Nevada and Macau.</p>
<p>In his lawsuit, Okada "disputes that any redemption has occurred" and alleges that Wynn "undertook a secret investigation" to force him off the board and "committed a series of predicate acts of racketeering, which include fraud."</p>
<p>Okada's countersuit alleges that Steve Wynn "has run Wynn Resorts as a personal fiefdom," and that his shares were worth $2.7 billion, well above the $1.9 billion Wynn paid him in a 10-year note that was a 30 percent discount to the market.</p>
<p>In court filings, Okada said shareholders have lost confidence in Wynn's management and board, citing the stock's decline of 30 percent this year. He has claimed that only seven of the 12 board members are independent, using Nasdaq listing standards.</p>
<p>In August, Okada filed a defamation lawsuit in Japan against the casino company related to the forced redemption of his shares in February.</p>
<p>Okada claimed $140 million (11.2 billion yen) in damages, alleging Wynn's actions led to a fall in Universal's stock price and new business opportunities, and damaged his reputation.</p>
<p>The case is Wynn Resorts Ltd vs Kazuo Okada, an individual, et al, U.S. District Court, Clark County, Nevada, No. A-12-656710-B</p>
<p>(Reporting by Susan Zeidler; Editing by Richard Chang)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Okada heads to court to regain Wynn shares for board fight | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/10/01/okada-heads-to-court-to-regain-wynn-shares-for-board-fight.html | 2016-01-26 | 0 |
<p>President Donald Trump would sign the Graham-Cassidy bill if the legislation to repeal Obamacare passes Congress and makes it to his desk, an <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/19/politics/trump-graham-cassidy-obamacare-repeal/index.html" type="external">administration official told CNN</a> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The White House has been working with&#160;Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., on the renewed effort to repeal Obamacare, with Trump calling senators in recent days and Vice President Mike Pence on Capitol Hill Tuesday to press Republican senators to support it.</p>
<p>There is a Sept. 30 deadline to pass the Senate with only a simple majority, which would still mean Republicans cannot lose more than two senators if they want to pass the bill.</p>
<p>However, one of the key votes, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is still undecided, as he has voiced concern because he is hesitant to support any legislation that has not been debated in committee hearings, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/inside-graham-cassidy-minute-push-senate-republicans-resuscitate/story?id=49949759" type="external">ABC News reported.</a></p>
<p>Another decisive vote in the debate,&#160;Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said it was “problematic” for the Senate to be moving forward on the legislation without the full analysis of the Congressional Budget Office, <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/351261-collins-skeptical-of-new-obamacare-repeal-effort" type="external">The Hill reported.</a></p>
<p>And the <a href="http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2017/09/graham-cassidy-letter-final-september-2017-aarp.pdf" type="external">AARP has come out against the plan</a>, saying in a statement it “would increase healthcare costs for older Americans with an age tax, decrease coverage, and undermine preexisting condition protections. In addition, this bill would jeopardize the ability of older Americans and people with disabilities to stay in their own homes as they age and threaten coverage for individuals in nursing homes.”</p> | Trump Would Reportedly Sign Graham-Cassidy If It Passes | false | https://newsline.com/trump-would-reportedly-sign-graham-cassidy-if-it-passes/ | 2017-09-19 | 1 |
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<p>Electronics supply chains that Apple Inc. has helped build across Asia are shuddering at the cutback in production of the latest iPhone. Apple is slashing its plans for making iPhone X handsets by half, to 20 million, in the current quarter, the WSJ's Yoko Kubota and Tripp Mickle report. Orders for components could be cut even more, by perhaps 60%, as reductions ripple across the broad eco-system of electronics manufacturing and distribution that Apple products have fostered. The latest reduction, the result of disappointing sales of the latest generation of the iPhone, is a new example of how companies in Apple's orbit can rise and fall as the company builds up new technology and then moves on or sees some features grow stale. Just last month, shares in Dialog Semiconductor, whose chips control power use in Apple products, fell by a quarter when it said its main client "has the resources and capability" to make its own power-management chips.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Harley-Davidson Inc. is scaling down its U.S. supply chain as sales of its iconic motorcycles sag inside the country and abroad. The company is closing its assembly plant in Kansas City, Mo., and consolidating that production into one of its three remaining U.S. factories, the WSJ's Andrew Tangel reports, a step back for the manufacturing sector that follows recent announcements of new factory investments. Harley's problems look bigger than broad changes in the American economy that have fueled other factory expansion, however: The company's revenue from motorcycle sales fell 6.8% last year, and sales of its signature Hog line declined for the third straight year as it loses market share to overseas competitors. Harley has been looking to get more global its production. The company said last year it would put a plant in Thailand, in part to get tax breaks for motorcycles it ships to other Southeast Asian countries. Harley will see lower taxes in the U.S., of course, but what it needs now are more sales.</p>
<p>The era of driverless cars and delivery vehicles is well underway as far as some architects and developers are concerned. Planners in cities in North America, Europe and Asia are drawing up designs for streets with curbside drop-off areas for e-commerce deliveries and passengers rather than parking spaces, the WSJ's Peter Grant writes, while architects are laying out office and residential buildings with space for stacking up packages and delivery lockers. The goal for many planners, says an executive at one architecture firm, is to "future-proof" everything from roads to parking garages against what they say is an upheaval in transportation of goods and people. Real-estate developers and architects are thinking about a driverless future today because many of the structures and streets they're designing will still be around decades from now. They want to include flexibility so they can later adapt to changing transportation and shipping patterns with limited cost.</p>
<p>TRANSPORTATION</p>
<p>The very meager production of Tesla Inc. Model 3 sedans has created an unusual , big-money market for the electric cars. A shortage of the vehicles is fueling a frenzy among curious competitors, the WSJ's Tim Higgins reports, with some automotive companies paying upward of $500,000 to get their hands on the car billed as Tesla's entry into mass-market sales. The Model 3 so far hasn't worked out that way, with supply chain problems and production bottlenecks leaving fewer than 2,000 of the cars rolling out over the past two quarters. That's made the sedan a kind of model for the impact of supply scarcity in a market, with competitors and analysts scrambling to get their hands on the car. For some, it's purely a business decision. Engineering firm Caresoft Global Inc. has bought three Model 3s for around three times the list price each. They're in it not for the ride but for the technical analysis that Caresoft believes it can sell to competitors.</p>
<p>QUOTABLE</p>
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<p>IN OTHER NEWS</p>
<p>President Donald Trump called for spending of "at least $1.5 trillion" on infrastructure but offered scant details on his State of the Union address on how to fund such a program. (WSJ)</p>
<p>U.S. consumer confidence rose in January. (WSJ)</p>
<p>A revival of the French economy helped the eurozone clock its strongest growth in a decade last year. (WSJ)</p>
<p>Mexico's economy expanded at its fastest pace in more than a year in the fourth quarter. (WSJ)</p>
<p>The U.S. homeownership rate rose in 2017 for the first time in 13 years. (WSJ)</p>
<p>Growth in U.S. home prices accelerated in November on tight supply. (WSJ)</p>
<p>Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. are forming a company looking to reduce health-care costs for their U.S. employees. (WSJ)</p>
<p>Pfizer Inc. plans to invest $5 billion in manufacturing and other capital projects in the U.S. over the next five years. (WSJ)</p>
<p>McDonald's Corp. gained sales again by luring core customers to its cheapest meals and drinks. (WSJ)</p>
<p>Nikola Motor Co. chose the Phoenix area for a $1 billion manufacturing plant for its hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks. (Reuters)</p>
<p>Sequoia Capital led a $21 million funding round for online freight marketplace Next Trucking. (VentureBeat)</p>
<p>U.S. steel imports rose 15.4% last year from the year before. (Northwest Indiana Times)</p>
<p>An investigation shows drug distributors sent 20.8 million prescription pain killers to a West Virginia town with 2,900 residents. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)</p>
<p>Uber Technologies Inc. reportedly looked at buying Chicago-based freight broker Load Delivered Logistics to bolster its Uber Freight service. (Recode)</p>
<p>Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises Inc.'s fourth-quarter operating profit soared 29% on a 9% gain in overall revenue. (Omaha World-Herald)</p>
<p>Covenant Transportation Group Inc. expects a measure of truck pricing to rise at a mid to high single-digit percentage rate this year. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)</p>
<p>CMA CGM Group is starting a incubator called Ze Box for digital shipping technology startups. (American Shipper)</p>
<p>India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port will open its fourth container terminal this week. (DNA India)</p>
<p>French logistics group Bolloré Logistics acquired majority control of Danish freight forwarder Global Solutions. (The Loadstar)</p>
<p>Private equity group Leonard Green &amp; Partners bought packaging machinery manufacturer ProMach. (Business Journals)</p>
<p>Parcel volume at U.K. delivery company Hermes expanded 12% year-over-year during the holiday peak season. (Motor Transport)</p>
<p>Colombian authorities seized 185 kilos of cocaine and arrested 10 suspected drug smugglers aboard a Hapag-Lloyd AG container ship. (Splash 14/7)</p>
<p>ABOUT US</p>
<p>Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @PaulPage, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @brianjbaskin , @jensmithWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.</p>
<p>Write to Paul Page at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 31, 2018 07:13 ET (12:13 GMT)</p> | Today's Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/04/todays-top-supply-chain-and-logistics-news-from-wsj.html | 2018-01-31 | 0 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An audiotape of a private conversation involving the governor’s chief of staff, Keith Gardner , is best known for Gardner’s comments about his limited use of the state email system and his obscene remarks about Senate Democratic leader Tim Jennings.</p>
<p>The recording was made in October 2011 without Gardner’s knowledge but not made public until last month.</p>
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez says Gardner and Jennings have moved on and so should we – although Jennings didn’t sound much like he had even after a Gardner apology.</p>
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<p>But, in any case, there is more to the tape.</p>
<p>During the conversation with a Roswell man, who recorded it without Gardner’s knowledge, Gardner talks about finding the man and his wife jobs in state government. Neither was eventually hired.</p>
<p>“We got enough idiots out there,” Gardner says. “We can always replace one of them.”</p>
<p>The chief of staff says the administration may be looking for a new manager at Expo New Mexico.</p>
<p>“I’m about to fire that (expletive),” he says. “I’m so pissed. God, they screwed up that one.”</p>
<p>Gardner doesn’t mention Expo General Manager Dan Mourning by name, but Mourning was and still is in the job.</p>
<p>Gardner also doesn’t talk on the tape about how he thinks the manager fouled up, but Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell says his remark was in reference to a reduction in force at Expo.</p>
<p>The state Personnel Board approved an RIF at Expo at a meeting in September 2011 after it had to be tabled at an earlier meeting, Darnell said.</p>
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<p>Board minutes show it tabled a proposed Expo RIF in July 2011 but approved two others in August 2011 and September 2011.</p>
<p>Darnell declined to say why Gardner didn’t follow through on his plan to fire the Expo manager.</p>
<p>When Gardner made his taped comments, there was something much more controversial developing at Expo: the process of issuing a new lease for the horse-racing track and casino at the state fairgrounds in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>Just two days before Gardner’s comments, there was a front-page story in the Journal about how at least two State Fair commissioners were questioning the process.</p>
<p>Expo had issued a request for proposals in July 2011 to lease the land where the racetrack and casino sit. Bidders were given 30 days to submit proposals.</p>
<p>Only The Downs, the longtime operator of the track and casino, and Laguna Development Corp. submitted proposals, and an evaluation committee appointed by Martinez selected the Downs for the lease.</p>
<p>The State Fair Commission initially balked at approving the lease but later did so by a 4-3 vote in November. The Board of Finance, headed by Martinez, gave the final OK in December.</p>
<p>Critics of the leasing process say Expo should have done more to attract other bidders and that the deal has the appearance of possible political payback. Martinez has political ties to some Downs owners and representatives.</p>
<p>Tom Tinnin, a former longtime chairman of the State Fair Commission, resigned a Martinez appointment to the Board of Finance because of objections to the leasing process.</p>
<p>The administration has been consistent in maintaining that the bid process exceeded the requirements of law and that the new lease for the Downs is a square deal for taxpayers.</p>
<p>Some Martinez critics continue to allege the process was corrupt, but Laguna Development is no longer protesting the new lease for the Downs and construction is under way on the new casino, although behind schedule.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to <a href="" type="internal">www.abqjournal.com/letters/new</a> to submit a letter to the editor.</p> | Gov. Aide Threatened to Ax Expo Manager | false | https://abqjournal.com/135191/gov-aide-threatened-to-ax-expo-manager.html | 2012-10-03 | 2 |
<p>Since the hurricane, many people have gone daily to radio stations so that the on-air personalities can say the names of family members with whom they have been unable to communicate in a desperate attempt to find them.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared at <a href="http://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2017/09/son-muchos-mas-los-muertos-de-maria/" type="external">El Centro de Periodismo Investigativo</a>.</p>
<p>Leovigildo Cotté died in the midst of desperation over not getting the oxygen needed to keep him alive in the only shelter that exists in the town of Lajas, which has been without electricity since the passing of Hurricane María a week ago. Not even his connections with the government saved him.</p>
<p>“The generator never arrived,” said the current mayor of Lajas, Marcos Turín Irizarry, who explained that he looked for oxygen for Cotté, father of the former mayor of that same town, “turning every stone,” but could not find it.</p>
<p>Cotté is one of the unaccounted victims of the Category 5 hurricane that devastated all of Puerto Rico last week, with its sustained winds and gusts of up to 200 miles per hour. On Wednesday, the Government of Puerto Rico, still held that the official number of deaths as a result of the catastrophe was 16, but the El Centro de Periodismo Investigativo&#160;(CPI) has confirmed that there are dozens and could be hundreds in the final count.</p>
<p>The fatalities related to circumstances created by the hurricane are still mounting with each passing day, and official numbers are not counting patients who are not receiving dialysis, oxygen and other essential services, such as Pedro Fontánez, 79, who is bedridden at the Pavía Hospital in Santurce and who the institution is attempting to release since Saturday, while he lacks electricity at home to support the oxygen and gastric tube-feeding he needs to continue living. His daughter Nilka Fontánez showed up desperate at the government’s Emergency Operations Center asking for help, but was told they were not accepting patients there.</p>
<p>“There’s no information,” she said frustrated.</p>
<p>The dead are at the hospital morgues, which are at capacity and in remote places where the government has yet to go, and in many cases, their families are unaware of the deaths. The Demographic Registry certifies the deaths so bodies can be removed by funeral homes, many of which are also not operating for a lack of resources and fuel. They barely began certifying some of the dead on Monday, as Health Secretary Rafael Rodríguez-Mercado confirmed in an interview.</p>
<p>Public Safety Secretary Héctor Pesquera told CPI that the names of the dead due to the hurricane will not be revealed, as the lack of communication has kept many people from knowing the whereabouts of their families. Since the hurricane, many people have gone daily to radio stations so that the on-air personalities can say the names of family members with whom they have been unable to communicate in a desperate attempt to find them.</p>
<p>A week after María’s passage, the government of Puerto Rico is trying with great difficulty to supply basic services, such as fuel, roads and communications and tells the world every day of the progress of these efforts through their press conferences at the Emergency Operations Center (COE, for its initials in Spanish) established in San Juan. But the fact that is not discussed is that the number of deaths resulting from the disaster are much higher than the 16 or 19 that have been offered as the official tally.</p>
<p>CPI sources in half a dozen hospitals said those bodies are piling up at the morgues of the 69 hospitals in Puerto Rico, of which 70% are not operating. The majority of the hospital morgues that provided information including Doctor’s Center in Bayamón and Santurce, Pavía Hospital in Santurce, the Manatí Medical Center, Dr. Pila in Ponce, the Río Piedras Medical Center, the Mayagüez Medical Center and the HIMA hospitals in Caguas and Bayamón, are at full capacity. Those hospitals are among the 18 that are partially operational.</p>
<p>Furthermore, this media outlet learned that the Institute of Forensic Sciences is also full of bodies and that allegedly 25 of those are hurricane victims. On Tuesday, the IFS informed that it had increased its storage capacity for bodies with a trailer that was obtained through The Morgue federal program.</p>
<p>It’s unclear what is happening with the deceased that are at the morgues of the 51 hospitals that have had to close their doors, with which it has been impossible to communicate.</p>
<p>Secretary Rodríguez-Mercado acknowledged that hospital morgues are full, including the one at the Medical Center in Mayagüez. He said the accumulated bodies cannot be removed from the morgues by funeral homes until the deaths can be certified by the Demographic Registry, who barely began operating from regional emergency centers on Monday.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the doctor acknowledged that the hurricane-related deaths are many more than those officially documented so far. As he said Monday, the three hospitals he visited that day in the island’s western region, during the first contact he was able to achieve with that region, he documented seven additional deaths “to the 19” that had been revealed so far. That same afternoon, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the official figure of hurricane-related deaths was still 16.</p>
<p>To date, Rodríguez did not know the status of the situation at the hospitals in Ponce, because the region remained completely cut off from communications, but planned to go to that town on Tuesday to explore the matter. On Wednesday, CPI learned through Ponce Mayor María “Mayita” Meléndez that the hospitals operating in that town are San Cristóbal and San Lucas.</p>
<p>“We’re finding dead people, people who have been buried. Related to the hurricane (we have) 19 dead, which the governor reported, but (people) have made common graves. We’ve been told people have buried their family members because they’re in places that have yet to be reached,” the Secretary told CPI, while visibly shaken.</p>
<p>The scenario is not optimistic. The hospitals that closed their doors during the week that the emergency has lasted have more than 4,000 beds, and when asked what happened to those patients, where they were transferred, the Secretary responded with a sincere “I don’t know.”</p>
<p>CPI sources said that in just two of the hospitals that are operating, they were they able to document a dozen deaths among patients that were transferred out of the closed-down hospitals. Furthermore, they pointed out that the problem is that patients are arriving in critical condition, with ventilators, for example, and with poorly documented records regarding what had happened at the institution where they were hospitalized. For that reason, and the limitation of resources and fuel for power generators, the majority of hospitals that are “operational” are not accepting transfers or new patients, they said. The Río Piedras Medical Center, the government’s main hospital for this disaster and the only tertiary hospital in Puerto Rico, has been operating at half capacity.</p>
<p>Rodríguez-Mercado said Wednesday that on that same day, they would meet with specialized authorities from the U.S. Department of Health to discuss the protocols used to handle cadavers to prevent a budding public health problem. He said the current protocol for disposing bodies and vegetative material in emergency situations is managed by the Environmental Quality Board. But soon after, the president of that agency, Tania Vázquez, said in an interview that her agency only oversees the protocol related to disposing of animals, not human beings, but added that burying a dead person without a certification of the death is a crime. As of press time, the Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s press secretary had not responded to a petition to clear up who is responsible for the protocol for these emergency burials.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the dead continue to accumulate as a result of the chaos in the health system due to a lack of diesel and the absence of a communications plan between the system’s components, and these must be added to those who are in areas that still lack communication and those in remote areas.</p>
<p>“We’re fighting. I would love for the government to understand that it has to open dialysis centers. If they don’t receive the service, the patients’ health is compromised quickly and they die. And yes, they have died,” Armando Rodríguez, vice president of Grupo HIMA confessed when confirming that the morgues of his two hospitals in Bayamón and Caguas is above capacity.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, thousands of doctors and nurses are literally at home unable to work, said Dr. Joaquín Vargas, president of the Puerto Rico Primary Physicians Groups Association, who was at the COE to see if the government would set up an operations center where they could at least answer calls from citizens.</p>
<p>CPI also learned that a large portion of specialized physicians is unable to work because hospitals don’t have supplies and the ability to conduct their procedures, nor basic resources such as fuel or electricity to run their medical practices.</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>Omaya Sosa Pascual is an award-winning investigative journalist and new media entrepreneur with 20 years of experience. She is the founding co-director of El Centro de Periodismo Investigativo and co-founder of NotiCel.com, a digital news outlet. Follow her on Twitter @omayasosa.</p> | We Still Don’t Know How Many Have Died In Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria | true | http://inthesetimes.com/article/20558/hurricane-maria-dead-puerto-rico-underreported | 2017-09-29 | 4 |
<p>Former U.S. Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton on Bitcoin.</p>
<p>Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan raised concerns about the sustainability of the Bitcoin craze, telling FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo, “Human nature is such that if you get something such as Bitcoin, you think there is some value there, whether there is or there isn’t. &#160;But that’s the same thing as the Continental, Greenbacks in the Civil War, all these currencies didn’t have any backing.”</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Former U.S. Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton responded to Greenspan’s comments on “Mornings with Maria” Friday.</p>
<p>“I do think it’s sustainable, I don’t know if it’s sustainable at these prices,” he told Bartiromo. “I mean, the only difference is, with Chairman Greenspan is that, you know, people are willing to pay for it and so if they’re willing to pay for it there is a demand.”</p>
<p>Despite concerns about cryptocurrency raised by its critics, Chilton said there is a legitimacy to Bitcoin.</p>
<p>“I don’t think it’s, you know, a fraud, like [JPMorgan CEO] Jamie Dimon said, or a pyramid scheme like [Russian] President Putin said, I mean, people are actually using Bitcoins to purchase things. So, that’s not a scam or a fraud.”</p>
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<p>According to Chilton, the CME’s plans for Bitcoin futures by the end of 2017 will bring some much-needed regulations to the cryptocurrency.</p>
<p>“The CME group which has done a great job. You know I used to regulate them all the time so I have a pretty good sense of what they do, you know, that is actually going to go ahead and regulate these things, put some side boards on it.”</p>
<p>On the other hand Chilton hoped there would not be a shift toward the other extreme when it comes to Bitcoin regulations.</p>
<p>“They don’t have to be crazy, overly zealous regulation, but some protections for consumers. &#160;And I think people, the Bitcoin enthusiasts, are starting to get this but it’s taken them a while.”</p> | Bitcoin isn't a fraud; it is sustainable: Bart Chilton | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/10/bitcoin-isnt-fraud-it-is-sustainable-bart-chilton.html | 2017-11-10 | 0 |
<p />
<p><a href="http://uncapitalist.com/blog/?itemid=544" type="external">Egypt voted today</a> in what some have hailed to be a breakthrough for democracy in the Middle East. It is the first time during Hosni Mubarak’s 24-year authoritarian rule that candidates from opposition parties were allowed.</p>
<p>But of course, the elections today hardly single the opening for democracy in Egypt. The so-called “free and fair” elections were anything but as <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-egypt07.html" type="external">the government banned protests</a> hours before voting began.</p>
<p>Then there was the fact that <a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&amp;storyID=2005-09-06T211510Z_01_MCC653544_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-EGYPT-ELECTIONS-DC.XML" type="external">the government tried to keep international monitors</a> and human rights groups from the polling stations – a decision that was backed yesterday by Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court. The Court in fact went so far as to rule that the voting process was free from any judicial review.</p>
<p>Then there is the actual constitutional amendment that set the elections into place – <a href="http://www.merip.org/mero/mero090605.html" type="external">Article 76</a> – an anti-democratic reform designed to preserve the status quo. Besides allowing for multi-party elections, Article 76 also outlawed the largest opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood, and made it virtually impossible for independent candidates to run at all.</p>
<p>And what of Kefaya – the group whose name in Arabic means “enough”? The affiliation of leftist intellectuals, Islamists, and progressive secular activists who have organized protests and demonstrations in opposition to the Mubarak regime have been thwarted with government violence and intimidation at every turn. Over the past weeks riot police <a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&amp;storyID=2005-09-07T134617Z_01_MCC653544_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-EGYPT-ELECTIONS-BEATINGS-DC.XML" type="external">have beaten and arrested protesters</a>, just <a href="http://cntodd.blogspot.com/2005/05/democracy-in-egypt.html" type="external">as they did back in May</a>. While some demonstrators held posters that read “No to the last pharaoh” and chanting “Poverty – kefaya! Torture – kefaya!” any effective opposition has been all but prohibited.</p>
<p>While this election is anything but legitimate, Bush and his crew will attempt to sanction it with the blessing of the United States, because the White House so desperately needs a positive democratic election in the Middle East in order to promote its foreign policy as a success. Unfortunately, if Bush praises this election, he will be sending the absolute wrong message. In effect, Bush will be telling those who long for democracy in the Middle East and elsewhere abroad that it doesn’t matter of elections come with government suppression and violence and intimidation and it doesn’t matter of elections are decided by legislation in advance of the vote as long the charade of freedom is maintained.</p>
<p /> | “No to the last pharaoh” | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/09/no-last-pharaoh/ | 2005-09-07 | 4 |
<p>By every measure, 2017 was an excellent year for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP). For example, <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/ffo-vs-cash-flow.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">funds from operations Opens a New Window.</a> (FFO) in the recently completed <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/03/brookfield-infrastructure-partners-lp-just-keeps-o.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">third quarter Opens a New Window.</a> rocketed 28.1% versus the year-ago period, driven by a combination of acquisitions and growth projects. The company currently has the most extensive backlog of expansion projects in its history -- with more on the way -- which should fuel growth over the next few years. These factors enabled it to increase its distribution to investors 11% earlier this year,&#160;which helped fuel a total return of more than 30%, crushing the roughly 20% total return of the S&amp;P 500.</p>
<p>Here's a look at what drove this strong performance and why Brookfield should be able to maintain its momentum in 2018.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Brookfield Infrastructure Partners can attribute some of its success this year to the groundwork it laid in 2016. That was an active year for the company, after securing more than $2 billion of acquisitions, including toll roads in India and Peru as well as a world-class container terminal business in Australia. In addition, the company took advantage of Brazil's weakening economy and growing political crisis to secure a number of electricity transmission projects. However, the crown jewel of last year's efforts was sealing a deal to buy a stake in a natural gas transmission business from Brazilian oil giant Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), which needed the cash to pay down its mountain of debt.</p>
<p>The deal with Petrobras closed this April and paid immediate dividends for Brookfield. In the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/03/brookfield-infrastructure-partners-lps-bold-brazil.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">second quarter Opens a New Window.</a>, FFO in its utilities segment rocketed 68% to $168 million. Meanwhile, last quarter it provided a similar boost, with FFO in that business group spiking 67% to $170 million.</p>
<p>Apart from that needle-moving deal, Brookfield has also benefited from recently completed expansion projects and other strategic initiatives. During 2016, the company completed construction on $850 million of organic growth projects, which helped set the stage for 2017. Those expansions and others that came on line this year helped drive 10% organic FFO growth last quarter. One of the highlights was in the North American natural gas pipeline business it co-owns with Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI). Brookfield and Kinder Morgan spent the past year restructuring that entity by paying down debt while at the same time investing in expansion projects. Those efforts have paid off this year and were a major driver of the 20% FFO increase in Brookfield's energy segment last quarter.</p>
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<p>In the meantime, Brookfield has continued securing expansion projects that will drive growth in future years. The company quickly replenished its capital project backlog and currently has $2.4 billion in projects underway, which is double the level of the past two years. It has another $1.5 billion to $2 billion in projects that could potentially get added to the backlog over the next few months. These expansions should drive significant growth in the coming years. For example, it's currently working with Kinder Morgan to secure $300 million of new projects in their pipeline joint venture, which alone could boost Brookfield's earnings by $45 million per year.</p>
<p>In addition to that organic growth, the company continues to acquire more infrastructure assets around the globe. Last quarter, it signed a deal to invest $100 million into two more toll roads in India, which will more than double that business. According to Reuters, Brookfield also recently agreed to buy a 59.1% stake in a retail gas distribution business in Colombia. Furthermore, the report said that Brookfield plans to launch a takeover offer for the remaining 48.1% stake in that entity. The company is reviewing several opportunities to buy communications towers in India as well. While it had one deal fall through, there are few bidders for the available assets, which leads the company to believe it can acquire an attractive portfolio for a reasonable price. Finally, it sees <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/10/3-areas-where-brookfield-infrastructure-partners-l.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">several exciting growth opportunities Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;on the horizon, including <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/21/this-high-yield-stock-wants-to-make-a-big-splash-i.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">water Opens a New Window.</a>, which could drive growth in the coming years.</p>
<p>Brookfield's bold bet on Brazil last year enabled the company to crush it this year as the earnings from the former Petrobras pipeline business was a leading growth driver in 2017. Meanwhile, it complemented that purchase with several smaller deals and expansion projects across many of its legacy assets. Those growth engines position the company to continue expanding in 2018 and beyond, with it currently targeting 5% to 9% annual FFO growth from organic expansion alone, which would support a similar yearly increase in shareholder distributions. That said, given its immense growth prospects, it's looking like Brookfield can keep growing both FFO and the distribution well above the high end of that forecast in the coming years.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Brookfield Infrastructure PartnersWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=cc1a2f31-d5e4-4c56-bca2-07f429594811&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=cc1a2f31-d5e4-4c56-bca2-07f429594811&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Matthew DiLallo Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Kinder Morgan and has the following options: long January 2018 $30 calls on Kinder Morgan, short December 2017 $19 puts on Kinder Morgan, and short March 2018 $17 puts on Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=cd8d4dcc-d3b4-11e7-bbac-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Here's How Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP Crushed It in 2017 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/12/04/heres-how-brookfield-infrastructure-partners-lp-crushed-it-in-2017.html | 2017-12-04 | 0 |
<p>By Andreina Aponte</p>
<p>CARACAS (Reuters) – “The Whale”, “The Dog” or “The Zebra”?</p>
<p>Players line up beside a small kiosk in a poor neighborhood to choose animals in a lottery game that has become a craze in Venezuela even as the oil-rich country suffers a fourth year of brutal recession.</p>
<p>It seems more and more Venezuelans are turning to gambling in their desperation to make ends meet amid the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.</p>
<p>Though more people lose than win overall, the illusion of a payday has become more alluring as Venezuelans endure the world’s highest inflation, shortages of basics from flour to car batteries, and diminished real-term wages.</p>
<p>Among multiple options from race courses to back-street betting parlors, the roulette-style “Los Animalitos” (or the Little Animals) is currently by far the most popular game on the street.</p>
<p>“Most people I see playing the lottery are unemployed, trying to make a bit extra this way because the payouts are good,” said Veruska Torres, 26, a nurse who recently lost her job in a pharmacy and now plays Animalitos every day.</p>
<p>Torres often plays more than a dozen times daily at the kiosk in Catia, spending between 5,000-10,000 bolivars, but sometimes making up to 50,000 or 60,000 bolivars in winnings – more than a quarter of the monthly minimum wage.</p>
<p>When that happens, she splits the money between buying food and diapers for her baby boy, and re-investing in the lottery.</p>
<p>The Animalitos game, whose results appear on YouTube at scheduled times, is hugely popular because it goes through various rounds, holding people’s interest, and provides more chances to win than most traditional betting options.</p>
<p>The cheapest ticket costs just 100 bolivars – a quarter of a U.S. cent at the black market currency rate, and more than 10 times less than that at the official exchange level.</p>
<p>“It helped me a lot,” said Eduardo Liendo, 63, of a timely win. He recently lost his house and lives in a car in Caracas’ Propatria neighborhood, but had a successful punt on the Animalitos, choosing the dog figure after his own had died.</p>
<p>There is no hard data on betting figures, and the government’s betting regulator did not answer requests from Reuters for information. But those behind Venezuela’s gambling businesses, run by a mixture of private companies and local regional authorities, said trade was booming, with lines longer and busier than ever – because of, not despite, the hard times.</p>
<p>“In a crisis like the one we’re going through, people drink and gamble more to escape from reality,” said psychologist Rosa Garcia from the rural state of Barinas.</p>
<p>The latest scarcity in Venezuela is cash – as authorities cannot produce enough notes to keep up with dizzying inflation – so many bars, shops and betting parlors have quickly switched from cash to electronic transactions to keep money flowing.</p>
<p>That has hit the Caracas hippodrome, where cash is still king. But thousands still go there at weekends, pushing against fences in front of the sand track to cheer their horse on as salsa music booms in the background.</p>
<p>(See http://reut.rs/2A2eOEB for a related photo essay)</p> | Venezuelan crisis spawns boom in gambling | false | https://newsline.com/venezuelan-crisis-spawns-boom-in-gambling/ | 2017-11-07 | 1 |
<p>Seven years ago, I became a founding teacher at a new, small CPS high school on the South Side.&#160; We replaced a neighborhood high school and admitted 150 students from the Englewood area.&#160; The initial year was incredibly challenging for many reasons. But a main factor in our struggles arose from the mismatch of teachers’ expectations and students’ academic skills and work habits.&#160;</p>
<p>Many students did not complete homework assignments. &#160;Some students did not complete class assignments even when they were present in class.&#160; One student – Vanessa –walked out on the final exam because she did not want to take it.&#160; Instead, she looked through the exam and said she would take it the next day.&#160; I asked her if something was wrong, but she admitted she just wasn’t ready.&#160; I told her I couldn’t give her the exam the next day because she had already seen it, and it wouldn’t be fair.&#160; She walked out, saying she was going to fail anyway.&#160;</p>
<p>That year, we gave our students zeroes for the work they did not turn in. And those zeroes had an impact. Many students tried to make up the zeroes for partial credit through tutoring sessions in the morning, on lunch periods, and after school.&#160; I remember grabbing kids at lunch to work with them to improve their grades and skills. When, in spite of these efforts, only 59 percent of our students were considered on-track to graduate in four years by the end of the school year, many of the off-track students signed up for summer school.</p>
<p>No more incentive</p>
<p>After our first year, our principal proposed that we move to what is called a “no-zero policy,” because a zero could bring a student’s grade down so far that recovery was not an option.&#160; She had us read an article that argued that the traditional grading scale of 90-100 for an A, 80-89 for a B, 70-79 for a C, 69-60 for a D, and 59-0 as an F unfairly penalized students because the range for an ‘F’ was 59 points while the other grades spanned only 10 points.&#160;</p>
<p>The principal’s proposal was quickly put to a vote, and teachers had the notion that we could always change the policy if we thought it wasn’t working.&#160; The majority of teachers voted in favor of the policy, which meant that if a student did not complete an assignment, he or she would receive a 50 percent.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Many students continued to fall into similar categories–the students who didn’t do homework still didn’t do it, those who didn’t do much class work still didn’t do much class work, and a few opted out of an exam.&#160; But there was one major change: The kids who once worked hard to pass by attending tutoring sessions instead decided to forego the sessions and do other things.</p>
<p>In fact, even though both batches of freshmen were similar academically, our on-track rate rose from 59 percent to 87 percent.&#160; Since few students were truly failing, hardly anyone thought they needed to work hard to improve.</p>
<p>With 87 percent of our freshmen considered on-track, one would expect that those in the second group would have much higher standardized test scores. But in fact, the ACT scores of both groups were nearly the same, and equally abysmal—a 15.1 for those with a 59 percent on-track rate, and a 15.4 for the group with 87 percent on-track.&#160;</p>
<p>After one year, some teachers wanted to reverse the no-zero policy, but the administration would not allow it.&#160; Why would they, when a major metric for rating a school, the freshman on-track rate, had increased nearly 30 percentage points and was far higher than the CPS average?&#160;</p>
<p>However, the statistic was not accurate in comparison to schools that did not have a no-zero policy. It was just that our expectations weren’t as high: If a student earned a D at our school for the same work that would have earned an F somewhere else, of course our on-track rates were higher.</p>
<p>Solutions for better academics, accountability</p>
<p>Now, with the new school ratings system in CPS, many networks and schools are trying out no-zero policies, especially schools that are already on probation and have experienced little improvement.&#160; My suggestion to these schools is to not lower your expectations for students by giving them the academic equivalent of a Monopoly-like “Get out of jail free” card.&#160; With the no-zero policy, I saw us telling our students, “You can get a pass even when you don’t work hard for it.”</p>
<p>It is incredibly difficult for people in our country to claw their way out of generational poverty.&#160; A good education is central to that struggle. And yet we are saying to young people in Chicago who have grown up in the deepest poverty, “You don’t have to work hard to pass. You can miss half of your assignments in all of your classes, and you can still graduate from our high school.”&#160; Most suburban schools and selective enrollment schools would never even consider this rule.&#160; And no, most colleges will not apply it either.&#160; But we are allowing our students in CPS to believe they are on-track because of it.&#160;</p>
<p>A better solution to the problem of ensuring that students get on-track is to offer clear, school-wide standards for revision of work and late assignments.&#160; The selective enrollment school where I currently work has implemented such policies as determined by departments.&#160; For example, in our English department, kids have up to two weeks to hand in late work, but their grade declines by a certain percentage each class day that their work is late.&#160; They also have two weeks to revise assignments for a higher grade.&#160;</p>
<p>We must also find a solution for how schools are held accountable for growth.&#160; If a school does have a no-zero policy, it is incredibly unfair to rank them equally alongside schools that do not. For accountability reasons, schools that have a no-zero policy should have an asterisk beside all of the numbers that are affected by the policy and explaining that the policy is in place. These schools should be held responsible for their D’s as well as their F’s when it comes to on-track data reporting.&#160;</p>
<p>It is a terrible lesson to teach any student in America that it is okay to be lazy, but this lesson is exactly what the no-zero policy says to our Chicago students.&#160; Teachers in schools where this policy is under consideration need to band together to fight it. We know that lowering academic expectations will only hurt our students in the long run.&#160;</p>
<p>Parents can be allies for teachers on this issue.&#160; During parent-teacher conferences at my old school, parents were surprised and put off by the no-zero policy.&#160; Many parents felt that students should receive zeroes if they didn’t do work, and that receiving a grade of 50 percent instead was not giving students real consequences.&#160;</p>
<p>It may seem like an uphill battle, but keeping our expectations high will help our students in school as well as in their future careers.</p>
<p>Gina Caneva is a National Board Certified teacher and Teach Plus teaching policy fellow who has been in CPS for 10 years. Currently, she is a librarian, English teacher, and Instructional Leadership Team Lead at Lindblom Math and Science Academy.</p> | For students’ sake, say no to ‘No-Zero Policy’ on grading | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/students-sake-say-no-no-zero-policy-grading/ | 2013-10-22 | 3 |
<p>Just when you thought this cursed year was going to slip out the back door in peace, it burps out another bit of very terrible news.&#160;Glee star Mark Salling, who played Puck, &#160;was arrested this morning by the LAPD for child pornography.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2015/12/29/mark-salling-child-porn-search-warrant/#ixzz3vjoUQFwA" type="external">TMZ:</a></p>
<p>We're told the LAPD's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force obtained a warrant and served it Tuesday morning, as first reported by the TV show - <a href="http://crimewatchdaily.com/2015/12/29/glee-actor-mark-salling-served-search-warrant-by-lapd-internet-crimes-against-children-task-force/" type="external">Crime Watch Daily</a>.?</p>
<p>We're told cops searched Salling's computer at his Sunland home and found hundreds of images. At the time of this post, Salling is being taken to the police station for booking.</p>
<p>Did you think you were going to get a break this week? Did you think that the year would let you out of its grip gently? This week between New Years and Christmas is a time of quiet, but this year has shown us all that it's not quiet finished with us yet. There's only a few more days left, guys. Let's try to get through it in one piece.</p>
<p>[ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2015/12/29/mark-salling-child-porn-search-warrant/#ixzz3vjoUQFwA" type="external">TMZ</a>]</p> | Glee Star Mark Salling Arrested For Child Pornography | true | http://thefrisky.com/2015-12-29/glee-star-mark-salling-arrested-for-child-pornography/?utm_source%3Dsc-fb%26utm_medium%3Dref%26utm_campaign%3Dglee | 2018-10-05 | 4 |
<p>Blue Apron is cutting about 320 jobs, less than four months after the meal-kit seller became a public company.</p>
<p>New York-based Blue Apron, which had nearly 5,400 employees in June, said Wednesday the layoffs represent about 6 percent of its workforce. The company says the cuts were at its corporate offices and warehouses where its meal kits are packed and shipped.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Blue Apron has been facing increasing competition. Amazon, which recently bought grocer Whole Foods, is testing its own meal kits. And supermarket operator Albertsons recently bought rival Plated and plans to sell kits at its 2,300 stores.</p>
<p>Shares of Blue Apron Holdings Inc. have lost nearly half their value since they began trading on the stock market at the end of June.</p> | Meal-kit seller Blue Apron cuts about 320 jobs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/18/meal-kit-seller-blue-apron-cuts-about-320-jobs.html | 2017-10-18 | 0 |
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<p>SALT LAKE CITY — Four Texans have pleaded guilty in the theft of dinosaur bones from a desert site near a quarry in southern Utah’s Wayne County during a 2015 educational trip.</p>
<p>Authorities have said the defendants slipped away from a geology trip sanctioned by McLennan Community College in Waco and pried loose bones at a site about 230 miles south of Salt Lake City.</p>
<p>The Utah Attorney General’s Office said Philip Bukowski of Crawford pleaded guilty to third-degree felony theft, Paige Bukowski of College Station pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and Travis York of Waco pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief</p>
<p>They entered their pleas in state court Friday. A fourth defendant, Crystal Webster of Georgetown previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft.</p>
<p>The Attorney General’s Office said the college cooperated in the investigation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4 plead guilty in theft of dinosaur bones from Utah site | false | https://abqjournal.com/933572/4-plead-guilty-in-theft-of-dinosaur-bones-from-utah-site.html | 2 |
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<p>PUSTAY: Playing hurt, the senior went 3 for 4 (Greg Sorber/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Despite the Air Force Falcons' best efforts to spoil the party, the University of New Mexico baseball team managed to enjoy Senior Day on Saturday.</p>
<p>John Pustay played through a painfully bruised knee to go 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and three RBIs to lift the Lobos to a nail-biting 5-4 victory over Air Force in the final game of the regular season. The win clinched a share of the Mountain West Conference's regular-season title for UNM (37-18-1, 20-10).</p>
<p>UNLV also finished 20-10 in league play after completing a three-game sweep of Nevada on Saturday. The Rebels and Lobos are co-champions, but UNLV will be the No. 1 seed for this week's MWC tournament based on its head-to-head season series victories over New Mexico.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the Lobos are one of just five teams in the nation to claim at least a share of the conference title in each of the past three seasons. Louisville, Bryant, Delaware State and Sam Houston State are the others. Florida State has won its division in the ACC each of the past three seasons, but Miami had a better overall conference record in the other division.</p>
<p>"Considering all the injuries and things we've gone through, I'm really proud of the kids," UNM coach Ray Birmingham said. "We were missing our leadoff hitter, our shortstop, and our DH today was playing on one leg. Winning this game and getting three championships in a row is a big deal."</p>
<p>The DH in question was Pustay, who left Friday night's game after twisting his knee on an awkward landing on first base. The senior had been playing left field in place of injured Danny Collier, but was forced to DH on Saturday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He helped provide just enough run support for UNM pitchers Drew Bridges, Jake Cole and Victor Sanchez. Bridges (4-1) was especially sharp, holding the Falcons (20-33, 10-20) hitless through 52/3 innings before allowing a bloop single with a man on third. That would be the only hit and run he allowed in six innings.</p>
<p>UNM led 5-2 after seven innings, but the Falcons scored single runs in the eighth and ninth. AFA had the tying run at third when Sanchez struck out the final batter.</p>
<p>"I'm kind of bummed we're not sole Mountain West champions," Bridges said, "but we still got a share of the title and sent our (six) seniors out on a good note. I feel like this gives us good momentum going into the tournament."</p>
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<p /> | UNM nips Air Force, shares MWC baseball title | false | https://abqjournal.com/402361/unm-nips-air-force-shares-conference-title.html | 2 |
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<p>By Scott Dickison</p>
<p>There’s a little button on the wall in the birthing center at the big hospital in town, down the street from our church. I’m told that other hospitals in town and probably other places have a similar button, but in this hospital it’s in the main hallway that leads from the birthing rooms to the suites where the new families spend their first few days together. And it’s practice in the hospital for new mothers, after they’ve given birth and are being wheeled down the hall to their rooms, to reach up and push this button, which sends a lullaby over the intercom system across the rest of the hospital, letting everyone know that a new life has just come into the world.</p>
<p>It’s a beautiful little gesture — my wife got to push the button after our son was born just over a year ago — and I can tell you from the many other times I’ve visited church members at the hospital that it’s a sight to see people’s faces change in the hallways or other rooms when the music starts playing. The fevered pace of the hospital seems to calm, ever so slightly. It’s especially touching in the elevator, when all the people who moments before were trying hard not to acknowledge those standing around them suddenly look up to make eye contact and smile knowingly at each other.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that this little melody is especially popular in the cancer treatment floors of the hospital and the ICUs — in those areas where situations are especially dire and outlooks are often bleak. This little melody of hope is most welcome on these floors. Some have even said this lullaby has some real medical benefits, helping to stabilize heart rates and breathing, which seems reasonable, but who knows?</p>
<p>Another minister on our staff told me sometime ago that one of the pediatricians in the hospital has picked up on the impact of this little lullaby, and so he doesn’t even wait for a new mother to press it; he pushes the button himself whenever he walks past it. And I’ll admit that my first reaction when he told me this was, Isn’t that a little dishonest? And in the sense that this lullaby is supposed to let people know a baby has been born in close proximity to them — just down the hall or in the next floor up—perhaps. Perhaps it’s a little misleading.</p>
<p>But then it occurred to me that in the sense that this lullaby reminds people that no matter what the circumstance they’re facing, they live in a world where babies are still being born, where new life is constantly springing forth, where hope and possibility are still very much alive — a world where new eyes are constantly opening and seeing light and love and life for the first time — no. No, this isn’t dishonest or misleading. This is telling the absolute truth, right when it’s needed most.</p>
<p>This is telling the truth, because we live in a world where these things are always and everywhere happening. To tell the other story, to act as if this weren’t happening — well, that would be dishonest, wouldn’t it? Life, light, hope and love are all around — the very presence of God is all around, and it would be misleading to say otherwise. That would be dishonest. So I say go ahead and push the button.</p>
<p>I thought about this button leading up to the first Sunday of Advent this year, the Sunday of hope. And like the hospital pediatrician, we don’t wait for an actual birth to push it; we push it in anticipation for the new life that we know is on the way. We send a hopeful lullaby out into a world that from time to time needs to be reminded that not only is new life possible, but in fact it’s already here, growing among us.</p>
<p>Now, we’re talking about small things here. In the great hospital whirlwind a little button that plays a lullaby is not a big thing at all. And with everything we see on the news and know in our own hearts, simply raising a banner of hope one Sunday a year doesn’t seem to be doing anyone much good.</p>
<p>No, there’s no arguing these are small things: the hospital lullaby and the Advent message of hope. But we are a people of small things. And this is the season of small things. Small hopes, small peace, small joys, small love. It’s a season that ends with us gathering by candlelight and telling each other again how small things make all the difference.</p>
<p>And just like the hospital’s care for patients doesn’t end with the playing of a lullaby, the church’s mission doesn’t stop with one Sunday and the raising of a banner. But at least as far as the church year goes, this Sunday (the first in the Christian year), and the hope we celebrate on it, is where our mission begins.</p>
<p>So go ahead and push the button. That baby won’t be born for another four weeks or so, but go ahead and give it a push. Let everyone know that new life is on the way. It would be misleading not to.</p> | The hope button | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/the-hope-button/ | 3 |
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<p>DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators are considering proposed new rules for thousands of oil and gas pipelines after a fatal explosion last year blamed on leaking gas.</p>
<p>The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission opened two days of hearings Monday on regulations for installing, testing and shutting down flow lines, which carry oil and gas from wells to nearby equipment.</p>
<p>The rules for thousands of oil and gas pipelines are in response to an April 17 explosion in the town of Firestone that killed two people, injured a third and destroyed a house. Investigators said the explosion was caused by odorless, unrefined natural gas leaking from a severed flow line.</p>
<p>Investigators said the line was believed to be abandoned but was still connected to an operating well with the valve turned to the open position.</p>
<p>The flow line was severed about 10 feet (3 meters) from the house, and gas seeped into the home’s basement, investigators said. The well and pipeline were in place several years before the house was built.</p>
<p>The proposed rules are a significant expansion of existing ones. A final version will be drawn up after this week’s hearings. No date has been set for the commission’s seven voting members to approve or disapprove of the rules.</p>
<p>Colorado has nearly 129,000 flow lines within about 1,000 feet (300 meters) of occupied buildings, according to energy company reports submitted to the state last year.</p>
<p>The presence of homes and schools near oil and gas operations is a contentious issue in Colorado, especially in the booming Front Range urban corridor — including Firestone — which overlaps with an oil and gas field.</p>
<p>A 22-page draft of the new regulations says flow lines that are permanently taken out of service must be disconnected, drained and sealed at both ends and any above-ground portion must be removed. The rules also allow energy companies to simply remove the lines.</p>
<p>The proposal also would require energy companies to provide information on the location of flow lines to the Call 811 program, which marks the site of underground utilities at a property owner’s request. That’s meant to help homeowners and construction companies avoid inadvertently severing a line.</p>
<p>The proposed rules revise or add requirements for designing, installing, testing and documenting flow lines.</p>
<p>Shortly after the explosion, some state officials argued that Colorado should compile a map of all flow lines in the state and make it available online. But Gov. John Hickenlooper decided against that in August, citing concerns about security and theft.</p>
<p>Instead, he said the state would require energy companies to participate in the Call 811 program, saying that would make location information available to anyone who needs it.</p>
<p>The new rules also are intended to close some gaps in pipeline regulation.</p>
<p>Commission staffers noted last week that one federal agency, three state agencies and some local governments have at least some say in pipelines, but a few types of pipelines and activities don’t fall within any agency’s jurisdiction.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Dan Elliott at <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP</a> . His work can be found at <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/search/dan%20elliott</a> .</p>
<p>DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators are considering proposed new rules for thousands of oil and gas pipelines after a fatal explosion last year blamed on leaking gas.</p>
<p>The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission opened two days of hearings Monday on regulations for installing, testing and shutting down flow lines, which carry oil and gas from wells to nearby equipment.</p>
<p>The rules for thousands of oil and gas pipelines are in response to an April 17 explosion in the town of Firestone that killed two people, injured a third and destroyed a house. Investigators said the explosion was caused by odorless, unrefined natural gas leaking from a severed flow line.</p>
<p>Investigators said the line was believed to be abandoned but was still connected to an operating well with the valve turned to the open position.</p>
<p>The flow line was severed about 10 feet (3 meters) from the house, and gas seeped into the home’s basement, investigators said. The well and pipeline were in place several years before the house was built.</p>
<p>The proposed rules are a significant expansion of existing ones. A final version will be drawn up after this week’s hearings. No date has been set for the commission’s seven voting members to approve or disapprove of the rules.</p>
<p>Colorado has nearly 129,000 flow lines within about 1,000 feet (300 meters) of occupied buildings, according to energy company reports submitted to the state last year.</p>
<p>The presence of homes and schools near oil and gas operations is a contentious issue in Colorado, especially in the booming Front Range urban corridor — including Firestone — which overlaps with an oil and gas field.</p>
<p>A 22-page draft of the new regulations says flow lines that are permanently taken out of service must be disconnected, drained and sealed at both ends and any above-ground portion must be removed. The rules also allow energy companies to simply remove the lines.</p>
<p>The proposal also would require energy companies to provide information on the location of flow lines to the Call 811 program, which marks the site of underground utilities at a property owner’s request. That’s meant to help homeowners and construction companies avoid inadvertently severing a line.</p>
<p>The proposed rules revise or add requirements for designing, installing, testing and documenting flow lines.</p>
<p>Shortly after the explosion, some state officials argued that Colorado should compile a map of all flow lines in the state and make it available online. But Gov. John Hickenlooper decided against that in August, citing concerns about security and theft.</p>
<p>Instead, he said the state would require energy companies to participate in the Call 811 program, saying that would make location information available to anyone who needs it.</p>
<p>The new rules also are intended to close some gaps in pipeline regulation.</p>
<p>Commission staffers noted last week that one federal agency, three state agencies and some local governments have at least some say in pipelines, but a few types of pipelines and activities don’t fall within any agency’s jurisdiction.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Dan Elliott at <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP</a> . His work can be found at <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/search/dan%20elliott</a> .</p> | Colorado debates new gas line rules after fatal explosion | false | https://apnews.com/59c3e91b73454d0584fbb2c53e2b9738 | 2018-01-08 | 2 |
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<p>When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.</p>
<p>It’s the law of nature, right? Just physiological fact, the way of the renal system, yes?</p>
<p>If you are lucky – and not at home, work or woods – you are in the right place at the right time when nature calls.</p>
<p>If you are unlucky, you are Mark Jackson.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Jackson is 49 and, like most adults, has never had a problem like this.</p>
<p>But he had a big problem on the night of Feb. 5, a Tuesday, when he had to go RIGHT NOW and was denied access to the bathroom inside the 24-hour Circle K at Central and Wyoming NE.</p>
<p>That led him to – how to put this delicately? – make do with a mop bucket discreetly set off in a corner of the store.</p>
<p>That led the clerks to call 911.</p>
<p>More troubling than the misuse of a mop bucket, however urgently required, is the reason Jackson said the clerks denied him entrance to the store’s public bathroom.</p>
<p>“They told me I was big, black and intimidating,” he said.</p>
<p>And yes, Jackson is big. He’s 6-foot-4 with an athletic build. He is also black.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But intimidating? That’s in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>Lou Valdes, vice president for operations for Circle K’s Southwestern region and spokesman for those beholders, declined comment beyond saying the incident is under review.</p>
<p>So behold this: Jackson has devoted much of his life to teaching school-age children how to be more confident and caring. For years, he ran a basketball camp for disadvantaged youths. He is the creator of the Way of the Snail, a program that seeks to empower children and teach them skills to resolve conflicts and insulate themselves from bullying, slowly, patiently, like a snail. He and his program were featured in a Journal article published in June 2011.</p>
<p>But on Feb. 5, none of his conflict resolution skills worked with the two clerks on duty.</p>
<p>“I’m good with most of the clerks there, but these guys must have been new,” he said. “I’m pretty much known in those establishments around there as always being cheery, joking around.”</p>
<p>Jackson said that night he was dressed in a yellow T-shirt and blue sweatpants, his workout clothes from the gym, where he had gone that night. He had also stopped by a friend’s house, he said.</p>
<p>Jackson was on his way home when he needed to use the bathroom. He decided to stop at the Circle K, which is also connected to a 24-hour McDonald’s, to purchase a Journal and use the bathroom, a facility he had used many times before.</p>
<p>It was just after 10:30 p.m., according to Albuquerque police records.</p>
<p>Jackson said he asked the clerks to unlock the bathroom door, which requires a clerk to press a button behind the counter. The clerks refused, saying it was their policy not to allow patrons to use the bathrooms at that hour of the night.</p>
<p>Signs on the bathroom doors say that the facilities are for customers and that a receipt is required as proof. No sign indicates the bathrooms are closed to the public at night, and no one at Circle K would confirm that policy.</p>
<p>“I told them, ‘Look, I have diabetes, and sometimes that means when I have to go to the bathroom, I have to go quick,’ ” he said. “That’s when they told me I was too big and black, as if I was some sort of monster.”</p>
<p>Jackson said he was left with choosing either to urinate outside, on himself or in the mop bucket next to the employees’ back room. It was, he said, an emergency.</p>
<p>It was also emergency enough, apparently, for one of the clerks to call 911.</p>
<p>Police records show an officer arrived seven minutes after the call was dispatched, spoke to all parties and left without making an arrest or issuing a citation.</p>
<p>“The officer made a discretionary call to simply have him (Jackson) leave the property after purchasing his newspaper,” Albuquerque police spokeswoman Tasia Martinez said.</p>
<p>To be fair, the Circle K at Central and Wyoming is in a location that has had its share of crime, drunks, prostitutes and problem patrons, especially at night.</p>
<p>But Circle K’s restroom restriction is flush with building code violations and, one can argue, the code of humanity. The American Restroom Association – yes, there is such a thing – says that most municipalities, including Albuquerque, adhere to the 2009 International Building Code, which requires public toilet facilities to be available at all times during business hours, except for periodic cleaning.</p>
<p>“After all the code speak, everyone associated with the activities of the building are to have access to toilet facilities,” Albuquerque Chief Building Official Land Clark said.</p>
<p>Violators are issued notices of correction; if the violation continues, the city’s Building and Safety Division issues a citation and would take “any legal action at our disposal,” Clark said.</p>
<p>Jackson says Circle K has some explaining to do – and an apology to make.</p>
<p>“I teach children to stand up for themselves, and so now I am standing up for me,” he said. “What happened to me was embarrassing, humiliating, discriminatory and wrong. It’s 2013. We shouldn’t have to do this anymore.”</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to ABQjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor. — This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | When you gotta go … you can’t go here | false | https://abqjournal.com/174641/when-you-gotta-go-8230-you-cant-go-here.html | 2013-03-04 | 2 |
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<p>The board in its meeting Monday noted that the city’s laws are silent on the narrow issue of whether Bushee, who early on paid a campaign staffer personally but later tried to substitute that with payment from her campaign “seed money” fund, had violated the campaign financing rules.</p>
<p>That said, Bushee certainly would have been better served by consulting, early on, city lawyers as she considered how to handle the transition from a privately financed campaign to what will now be a publicly financed run for office. Better yet, she should have made a public announcement of how she was handling her campaign finances, heading off any complaints about transparency.</p>
<p>Instead, she only late in the game asked the advice of a respected state political watchdog non-profit. That’s not a bad choice of advisors, but the city attorney’s office certainly should have been Bushee’s first stop, back when she decided to switch to a publicly financed campaign.</p>
<p>However, we’re not impressed by efforts of Bushee’s rivals in the mayoral race to make a big political stink over this issue – or non-issue, as it’s now been dubbed by the ethics board.</p>
<p>It’s true that Bushee opponent Javier Gonzales withdrew his complaint about Bushee’s handling of the payment before the board met Monday, but he still tried to make political hay afterward, insisting that Bushee’s actions cast a “cloud of doubt” over her credibility as a candidate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sorry, Javier – the ethics board cleared Bushee and, at this point and in this campaign, that should be the end of the story. As a former state Democratic Party chairman, he should know what real abuse of public campaign money is – that would be exemplified by former Public Regulation commissioner Jerome Block, who somehow won a party nomination over a group of well-qualified Democratic candidates, and his bizarre attempt to use a couple of thousand in taxpayer cash to pay a country-western band for a performance that never happened at a campaign event that never took place.</p>
<p>It’s time for everybody involved in this tempest to move on. Santa Fe voters deserve more from their mayoral candidates than squabbling over trivia. The city’s crime problem? The future of the city’s economy? The divide, growing here as nationally between the haves and the have-nots? Let’s hear some serious thoughts about these and other substantive problems, especially in a year when the question of whether to grant city mayors more power is also on the ballot.</p>
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<p /> | Move on from the sound and fury | false | https://abqjournal.com/322083/move-on-from-the-sound-and-fury.html | 2 |
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<p>A man dressed in black tactical-style gear and armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing 26 people and wounding at least 16 others in what the governor called the deadliest mass shooting in the state's history, <a href="http://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/meet-the-guy-that-chased-down-the-suspected-church-shooter" type="external">our affiliate KABB/WOAI reported</a>.</p>
<p>The dead ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old.</p>
<p>The attacker has been identified as Devin Kelley. He’s described as a white man in his 20s who was wearing black tactical gear and a ballistic vest when he pulled into a gas station across from the First Baptist Church around 11:20 a.m.</p>
<p>He crossed the street and started firing a Ruger AR rifle at the church, said Freeman Martin, a regional director of the Texas Department of Safety, then continued firing after entering the white wood-frame building, where an 11 a.m. service was scheduled. As he left, he was confronted by an armed resident and another man who chased him. A short time later, the suspect was found dead in his vehicle at the county line, Martin said.</p>
<p>One of the men who tracked down the alleged killer is Johnnie Langendorff. We caught up to him when he came back to the scene to get his vehicle.</p>
<p>“I did what I thought I needed to do,” said Langendorff.</p>
<p>“They said that there’s a shooting. I pursued and I just just did what I thought was the right thing to do.”</p>
<p>We then asked Langendorff if he knew there were more weapons in the car and he possibly stopped further attacks.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know that,” he said.</p>
<p>Until an autopsy is performed no way to tell if he committed suicide or was killed by someone else.</p>
<p>Kelley lived in a San Antonio suburb and didn't appear to be linked to organized terrorist groups. Investigators were looking at social media posts Kelley made in the days before Sunday's attack, including one that appeared to show an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon.</p>
<p>RELATED: <a href="" type="internal">Texas Gov. Abbott confirmed 26 dead at First Baptist Church shooting</a></p>
<p>In a brief statement, the Pentagon confirmed he had served in the Air Force "at one point." Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said records show that Kelley served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge. The date of his discharge and the circumstances under which he left the service were not immediately available.</p>
<p>Investigators weren't ready to discuss a possible motive for the attack. 23 of the dead were found dead in the church, two were found outside and one died after being taken to a hospital.</p>
<p>Addressing the news conference, Gov. Greg Abbott called the attack the worst mass shooting in Texas history. "There are no words to describe the pure evil that we witnessed in Sutherland Springs today," Abbott said. "Our hearts are heavy at the anguish in this small town, but in time of tragedy, we see the very best of Texas. May God comfort those who've lost a loved one, and may God heal the hurt in our communities."</p>
<p>Among those killed was the church pastor's 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle Pomeroy. Pastor Frank Pomeroy, and his wife, Sherri, were both out of town in two different states when the attack occurred, Sherri Pomeroy wrote in a text message to the AP.</p>
<p>RELATED: <a href="" type="internal">Here are some of the First Baptist Church victims</a></p>
<p>"We lost our 14 year old daughter today and many friends," she wrote. "Neither of us has made it back into town yet to personally see the devastation. I am at the charlotte airport trying to get home as soon as i can."</p>
<p>Federal law enforcement swarmed the small rural community of a few hundred residents 30 miles southeast of San Antonio after the attack, including ATF investigators and members of the FBI's evidence collection team.</p>
<p>At least 16 wounded were taken to hospitals, hospital officials said, including eight taken by medical helicopter to the Brooke Army Medical Center. Another eight victims were taken to Connally Memorial Medical Center, located in Floresville about 10 miles from the church, including four who were later transferred to University Hospital in San Antonio for higher-level care, said spokeswoman Megan Posey.</p>
<p>Alena Berlanga, a Floresville resident who was monitoring the chaos on a police scanner and in Facebook community groups, said everyone knows everyone else in the sparsely populated county.</p>
<p>"This is horrific for our tiny little tight-knit town," Berlanga said. "Everybody's going to be affected and everybody knows someone who's affected."</p>
<p>Regina Rodriguez, who arrived at the church a couple of hours after the shooting, walked up to the police barricade and hugged a person she was with. She said her father, 51-year-old Richard Rodriguez, attends the church every Sunday, and she hadn't been able to reach him. She said she feared the worst.</p>
<p>Church member Nick Uhlig, 34, wasn't at Sunday's service, but he said his cousins were at the church and that his family was told at least one of them, a woman with three children and pregnant with another, was among the dead.</p>
<p>"We just gathered to bury their grandfather on Thursday," he said, shaking his head. "This is the only church here. We have Bible study, men's Bible study, vacation Bible school. Somebody went in and started shooting."</p>
<p>President Donald Trump, who was in Japan, where he was on an Asian trip, called the shooting an "act of evil" and said he was monitoring the situation.</p>
<p>"We're shocked. Shocked and dismayed," said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat whose district includes Sutherland Springs, a rural community known for its peanut festival, which was held last month. "It's especially shocking when it's such a small, serene area. These rural areas, they are so beautiful and so loving."</p>
<p>Later Sunday, two sheriff's vans were parked outside the gate of a cattle fence surrounding the address listed for Kelley on the rural, western outskirts of New Braunfels, north of San Antonio, preventing a group of waiting journalists from entering. Officials from the Comal County Sherriff's Office and the Texas Rangers declined to comment or say if they had raided his home.</p>
<p>Ryan Albers, 16, who lives across the road said he heard intensifying gunfire coming from that direction in recent days.</p>
<p>"It's really loud. At first I thought someone was blasting," Albers said. "It had to be coming from somewhere pretty close. It was definitely not just a shotgun or someone hunting. It was someone using automatic weapon fire."</p>
<p>The church has posted videos of its Sunday services on a YouTube channel, raising the possibility that the shooting was captured on video.</p>
<p>In a video of its Oct. 8 service, a congregant who spoke and read Scripture pointed to the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting a week earlier as evidence of the "wicked nature" of man. That shooting left 58 dead and more than 500 injured.</p>
<p>Until Sunday, the deadliest mass shooting in Texas had been a 1991 attack in Killeen, when a mentally disturbed man crashed his pickup truck through a restaurant window at lunchtime and started shooting people, killing 23 and injuring more than 20 others.</p>
<p>The University of Texas was the site of one of the most infamous mass shootings in American history, when U.S. Marine sniper Charles Whitman climbed the Austin campus' clock tower in 1966 and began firing on stunned people below, killing 13 and wounding nearly three dozen others. He had killed his wife and mother before heading to the tower, one victim died a week later and medical examiners eventually attributed a 17th death to Whitman in 2001.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump has promised his administration's full support to the investigation of a Texas church shooting that left 26 dead and about 20 wounded.</p>
<p>Speaking to U.S. and Japanese business leaders in Tokyo Monday morning during his Asian trip, Trump highlighted that this "act of evil" at a place of sacred worship.</p>
<p>Trump says: "Our hearts are broken but in dark times — and these are dark times — such as these, Americans do what they do best." He says Americans will pull together to help those suffering.</p>
<p>Trump says he will continue monitoring the investigation during his 11-day tour.</p>
<p>Here's a timeline of the deadliest US mass shootings in the last decade.</p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | Meet the guy who chased down the suspected Texas church shooter | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/11/06/nation/johnnie-langendorff-chased-down-devin-kelley-suspected-texas-church-shooter | 2017-11-06 | 1 |
<p>Gold futures suffered a sharp loss on Wednesday as traders hoped for some clarity on the near-term path for U.S. interest rates from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's speech later this week. Gold for December delivery lost $16.40, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,329.70 an ounce. That was the lowest settlement for the contract since July 26, according to FactSet data.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Gold Futures Settle At a One-month Low | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/24/gold-futures-settle-at-one-month-low.html | 2016-08-24 | 0 |
<p>“Not by Might, nor by Power”: The Zionist Betrayal of Judaism</p>
<p>By Moshe Menuhin. With a new introduction by Adi Ophir.</p>
<p>Originally published as The Decadence of Judaism in Our Time, Exposition Press, 1965; <a href="https://openroadmedia.com/the-forbidden-bookshelf" type="external">Forbidden Bookshelf</a>, 2017, ebook $9.99.</p>
<p>Dissent</p>
<p>Dissidents include individuals who have been victimized and those who have a developed sense of empathy for others’ oppression and trauma.</p>
<p>Acts of dissent range from the minuscule to the enormous and assume countless forms. One can sign a petition, kneel during a national anthem, block a highway, sit in the front of a bus, participate in a strike, march or sit-in, lead an armed revolt, or as in the case of Moshe Menuhin – perhaps Zionism’s first dissident – write a book.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A_vxpUgv3s" type="external">Moshe Menuhin</a> (1893-1983) was born in the city of Gomel (as Moshe Mnuchin), Belarus to a notable orthodox Jewish family. As a young boy of eleven he moved to Palestine where he studied at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem and subsequently was a student in the inaugural class of the first Zionist high school in Tel Aviv – Gymnasia Herzliya. Several of his classmates would become leaders of the Zionist Yeshuv (settlement) and of the new state of Israel, such as Moshe Shertok (aka Moshe Sharett, Israel’s second Prime Minister) and Eliyahu Golomb (leader of the Zionist militia- Haganah). Menuhin moved to the United States in 1913 to pursue higher education at New York University. He was the father of legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin and a committed anti-Zionist throughout his entire life, authoring several books on the topic.</p>
<p>Cover of Moshe Menuhin’s book in 2017 reissue.</p>
<p>Moshe Menuhin’s “Not by Might, nor by Power”: The Zionist betrayal of Judaism is a riveting, thorough, courageous and ruthless indictment of the Zionist project written from an alternative Jewish perspective. In fact, much of this book is rooted in the experiences and observations garnered by Menuhin during his own Aliyah (i.e. immigration) and time in Palestine from 1904-1913. <a href="https://openroadmedia.com/the-forbidden-bookshelf" type="external" /></p>
<p>Now reintroduced to the public in an eBook format by Forbidden Bookshelf, a series of publications aimed at bringing attention to groundbreaking yet underrated and vanished books (edited by Mark Crispin Miller) it contains an introduction by scholar Adi Ophir and a postscript added by Menuhin in 1969.</p>
<p>“Not by Might, nor by Power” is a methodical and chronological (and to a significant extent autobiographical) survey of Jewish nationalism, beginning with its various manifestations throughout biblical and post-biblical history, and including its modern incarnation – Zionism – an offshoot of 19th century European political nationalism.</p>
<p>Menuhin devotes the majority of the book to the presentation of historical information peppered with pertinent quotes from Zionist and other world leaders, which reveal a premeditated and systematic plan for the Jewish colonization of the land known then as Palestine – now Israel – alongside a brutal ethnic cleansing of its indigenous people – the Palestinians.</p>
<p>Not by Might, nor by Power is an act of dissent born of pain, love, outrage, shame and a fundamentally Jewish desire for atonement.</p>
<p>Atonement</p>
<p>Then he said to me, this is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts (Zechariah 4:6)</p>
<p>Moving to Palestine at the age of eleven, Menuhin was deeply inspired by his beloved Jerusalemite grandfather whom he described as an:</p>
<p>…extremely kind, humane and genuine, honest orthodox Jew … (who) believed in the Shulchan Aruch as much as he believed in ethical and universal peace and love for your fellow man… (he) used to always dwell on the point of repentance…</p>
<p>And in fact, central to Not by Might, nor by Power is a theme of repentance, which paints Menuhin’s disillusioned presentation of the hard facts in a shade of religious virtue.</p>
<p>Menuhin’s account of the birth and rise of Zionism offers much information about its successes, trials and tribulations. It is conveyed via a thinly disguised anger at Zionists and “the military junta of Israel” (most notably Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion) for coopting and manipulating the ethical tenets of Judaism for the purposes of justifying a redemption of a contrived Jewish “nation” at the expense of other peoples. Accordingly, his presentation is unabashedly sympathetic to the Arab natives who are cast as victims of the megalomaniacal ambitions of a people driven by an exclusivist and exploitive settler-colonialist ideology.</p>
<p>Remarkably though, Menuhin lays bare the many crimes committed by Zionists not only towards non-Jews, but also Jews. He carefully chronicles the cynical schemes of Zionist leaders who targeted Jewish critique of the Zionist project.</p>
<p>Theodor Herzl told the Second World Zionist Congress in Basel in 1898: “Campaigning against Zion in the Jewish communities cannot be tolerated any longer. It is an abnormal and untenable situation. We must put an end to it … The authority of the community, its means and the persons it has at its command must never be used against the concept of peoplehood. Therefore, I believe, I speak for you too, distinguished Congress members, when I propose capturing the Jewish communities as one of our next targets.” (Page 90)</p>
<p>Actually, Dr. Herzl thought very little of his followers. “I have only an army of schnorrers. I stand at the head of a mass of youths, beggars, and jackasses”, he entered in his diary. (Page 92)</p>
<p>What’s more, Menuhin portrays Zionist leaders as obsessed with their goal – Jewish colonization of Palestine – while committing acts of aggression that resulted in tragic consequences for Jewish communities outside Palestine. In turn, these tragedies served the Zionist nationalistic narrative of the importance of Palestine as a Jewish national refuge against persecution. For example, his remarks on the effects of Israeli aggression toward Egypt in 1956 (aka Suez Crisis, Sinai War, Tripartite Aggression) on the Egyptian Jewish community:</p>
<p>From time immemorial, the Jewish community in Egypt, one of the oldest in Jewish history, had prospered and lived in brotherly peace with their Arab fellow citizens. This happy lot of Jews was irresponsibly sacrificed as a burnt offering on the altar of aggressive “Jewish” political nationalism. Fifty thousand innocent Jews who lived an independent, ideal, happy and respectable life as equal citizens in Egypt, whether under Farouk or Nasser, became beggars overnight, exiled from their homeland, the first casualty in a war that was not of their making or interest. (Page 306)</p>
<p>By demonstrating that Zionist crimes target Jewish communities as well as Arab ones, Menuhin avoids the trap of critique for the purpose of reform, i.e. transforming Zionism into a friendlier system of oppression, and indicts it as an un-Jewish aberration that should be wholly opposed. As such, Menuhin cleverly attacks the Zionist project from within.</p>
<p>Prophecy and propaganda</p>
<p>… Prophetic Judaism is my religion. The essence of Prophetic Judaism – universal and ethical Judaism – is: Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not covet … Love thy fellow-man as thyself … What thou dost not like to be done to thee, do not do to thy fellow-man … Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit … In the place where the repentant stands, even the completely righteous man cannot stand.</p>
<p>A Jew who practices, or at least tries hard to practice the above noble teachings, is my fellow Jew. (Page 770)</p>
<p>Traces of Menuhin’s love for the teachings of his grandfather are interspersed throughout the book as romantic notions of a “real” Judaism – a righteous, universalist one that stands in opposition to Zionism’s nationalistic version and is presented as an alternative to it.</p>
<p>Following his grandfather’s death, however, Menuhin was encouraged to attend Gymnasia Herzliya, the first Zionist high school in the newly-established Hebrew city of Tel Aviv. There, he experienced and rejoiced in a liberal curriculum and a mixed-sex environment, which he saw as unfortunately intermingled with unremitting Zionist propaganda aimed at ingraining a hatred of Arabs and the necessity to drive them out from the promised “Jewish homeland”.</p>
<p>All through the years of our studies at the Gymnasia, we daily imbibed an endless harangue about our sacred obligations towards Amaynooh, Artzaynooh, Moladtaynooh (our nation, our country, our fatherland). (Pages 104-105)</p>
<p>But the propaganda apparatus did not manage to indoctrinate him with its mantras and prejudices, a failure which made him uniquely privy to- and capable of- questioning, assessing, documenting and publishing its mechanisms and crimes.</p>
<p>We must particularly and thoroughly understand how a small but militant group from among the persecuted and bedeviled East European Jews cleverly managed to captivate the unsophisticated West European and American Jews, who were on the road to becoming fully integrated nationals of their adopted or native countries… behind a cloak of simulated philanthropy and innocuous-sounding “togetherness”.” (Pages 61-62)</p>
<p>Self-loving Jew</p>
<p>In Not by Might, nor by Power, Menuhin dissects the crimes and fallacies inherent within Zionism and obliterates its propagandized selling points, while maintaining his love for his version of Jewish identity.</p>
<p>Moshe Menuhin</p>
<p>Though Not by Might, nor by Power was published in the mid-sixties, its important insights are as relevant today as they were the day they were printed. Predating the Israeli “new historians” of the 1980s, it is a mystery why Menuhin’s scholarship is not prominently celebrated as a pioneering work in the canons of Jewish and Zionist history.</p>
<p>Menuhin represents a number of prominent Jews, such as Ahad Ha’am and Judah L. Magnes, who favored spiritual as opposed to nationalistic Zionism and were outspoken critics of Zionism’s exclusivist and oppressive practices.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, instead of constructively embracing the critique Menuhin offered as an opportunity to self-reflect and grow, he was vilified as a “self-hating Jew”, a common pejorative used to this day to describe anti-Zionist Jews. In fact, as a result of his scapegoating, the original publisher of Not by Might, nor by Power refused to promote the first edition or print a second one, in spite of high demand post the six-day war in 1967.</p>
<p>But as Moshe Menuhin proves time and again throughout the book, his motivations are precisely the opposite of those attributed to him by his denouncers, i.e. love – not hate, empathy and inclusion – not antipathy and exclusion. His vision of Judaism is one that opposes xenophobic nationalism of dispensationalist entitlement, superiority and dominance.</p>
<p>Israeli society, and by extension the bulk of Jews, are still in deep denial of Zionism’s bloody history, its fallacies, hypocrisies and manipulations, which unless confronted will never be resolved. “Not by Might, nor by Power”: The Zionist betrayal of Judaism can serve as a vehicle to promote understanding, growth and atonement through accountability – essential ingredients in the quest for both justice and healing, and fundamental aspects of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.</p>
<p>This piece first appeared in <a href="" type="internal">Mondoweiss</a>.</p> | A Jewish Atonement for Zionism | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/10/03/a-jewish-atonement-for-zionism/ | 2017-10-03 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Is car insurance squeezing your budget? Try living in Rhode Island, where motorists pay $237 a year more than the national average. Are you tired of the taxes and fees that come with your car? Don't complain to drivers in Georgia, who pay nearly $900 per year above the national average.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The cost of owning a car varies by thousands of dollars across the United States, according to Bankrate's first-ever Car Cost Index, which ranked states according to which ones took the biggest bite out of your budget.</p>
<p>The index compares the cost of car ownership for every state. Bankrate determined these costs using aveaverage car insurance costs provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, average repair costs from CarMD.com, and taxes and fees from Kelley Blue Book. Gasoline spending was estimated using average pump prices for 2012 from GasBuddy.com. Bankrate didn't include data on vehicle depreciation in its analysis, since geography isn't a major factor in determining that cost.</p>
<p>Here, in order from least to most expensive, are the five most expensive states to drive in and why they rank so high.</p>
<p>No. 5: Nevada</p>
<p>Nevada ranks as the fifth-most expensive state in the country, with a total annual cost of $3,886, according to Bankrate's analysis. The culprits? High insurance premiums and taxes.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Insurance is high in the Silver State in part because its drivers seem to have particular trouble staying between the lines. There were 84 injury-related collisions reported for every 100 million miles traveled, according to Nevada's 2010 accident statistics. That's well above the national average of 52 crashes per 100 million miles traveled.</p>
<p>The more crashes, the more insurance companies want to charge to insure drivers in the state, says Rajat Jain, assistant chief of property and casualty with the Nevada Division of Insurance. At an average of $970 per year, insurance premiums in Nevada are the seventh-highest in the U.S.</p>
<p>Besides high insurance costs, Nevada also charges a 6.85% state sales tax -- the eighth-highest in the country. And many of its counties pile on even more sales taxes. In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, car owners pay 8.1% sales taxes, or $2,430 in sales taxes on a $30,000 vehicle.</p>
<p>No. 4: Rhode Island</p>
<p>The smallest state in the union has one of the biggest car tax and insurance burdens in the country and a total annual car ownership cost of $3,913.</p>
<p>Drivers in Rhode Island pay an average of $1,717 a year for automobile taxes and fees, and a one-year car insurance policy costs an average $999. That's 62% and 31% higher than the national averages, respectively.</p>
<p>On top of the state's 7% sales tax, local governments also levy taxes on vehicles. The city of Providence, R.I., for example, charges an annual tax of $60 for each $1,000 of value for the car.</p>
<p>"There was a plan six to eight years ago to phase out the car tax," says Mike Stenhouse, head of local think tank Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity. But then the recession hit, and the state budget tightened. "Unfortunately, localities have come to depend on it," Stenhouse says.</p>
<p>No. 3: Wyoming</p>
<p>Wyoming has the smallest population in the U.S. while being the 10th-biggest state. As one can imagine, life is a little more spread out there.</p>
<p>Wyoming residents bear a total car ownership cost of $3,938 and drive farther than anyone else in the country. In 2010, the Cowboy State clocked in at 16,948 vehicle miles traveled per person -- the national average was 9,590 vehicle miles traveled per person.</p>
<p>Those long commutes mean drivers need more gasoline and pay for more repairs. And, to top it off, Wyoming charges car owners relatively high taxes and fees. The estimated annual cost of $1,341 in taxes and fees is the 12th-highest in the country.No. 2: California</p>
<p>California's sprawling beaches and vineyards have made the state a road-tripper's dream. Yet high taxes and fees can be a nightmare for commuters, along with a total car ownership cost of $3,966.</p>
<p>Drivers in California pay an average of $1,809 per year in state taxes and fees for their cars. That's the second-highest in the country, behind Georgia, according to Kelley Blue Book.</p>
<p>Those sales taxes are especially tough to stomach in Northern California, since neighboring state Oregon has no statewide sales taxes. Eric Ibara, an expert on vehicle expenses with Kelley Blue Book, says California's sales taxes inflate the price of a $30,000 car by $2,500 for those buying in California instead of Oregon.</p>
<p>Insurance also costs drivers an average of $786 per year, which is above average. State gas prices also tend to be well above average in California, though drivers have cut gasoline costs by driving fewer miles than in many other states.</p>
<p>No. 1: Georgia</p>
<p>The most expensive state in the U.S. for car owners, at $4,233 annually, is Georgia. The Peach State tops Bankrate's Car Cost Index thanks to above-average costs for repairs, taxes and fees, gasoline, and insurance.</p>
<p>Georgia drivers spend a lot of time in their cars thanks in part to Atlanta's sprawling communities and a lack of public transportation. The state has the 10th-highest vehicle miles traveled per capita in the country, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.</p>
<p>Those long commutes not only drive up gasoline costs, but they also increase insurance rates, according to Aubie Knight, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia.</p>
<p>Georgia drivers pay above the national average for other annual costs, including $385 for repairs, $1,952 in taxes and fees, $1,129 for gasoline, and $767 for insurance.</p> | 5 of the Most Expensive States to Drive | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/08/21/5-most-expensive-states-to-drive.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) - The sauvignon blanc boasts brassy, citrus notes, but with one whiff, it's apparent this is no normal Sonoma County wine. It's infused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that provides the high.</p>
<p>Move over, pot brownies. The world's largest legal recreational marijuana market kicks off Monday in California, and the trendsetting state is set to ignite the cannabis culinary scene.</p>
<p>Chefs and investors have been teaming up to offer an eye-boggling array of cannabis-infused food and beverages, weed-pairing supper clubs and other extravagant pot-to-plate events in preparation for legalization come Jan. 1.</p>
<p>Legal pot in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado and California's longstanding medical marijuana market already spurred a cannabis-foodie movement with everything from olive oil to heirloom tomato bisques infused with the drug.</p>
<p>Cannabis-laced dinners with celebrity chefs at private parties have flourished across Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in recent years, but a medical marijuana card was required to attend.</p>
<p>With that requirement gone, the edibles market is expected to boom, though manufacturers face a host of regulations, and doctors fear the products could increase emergency room visits and entice youth. Marijuana industry analysts predict edibles for the recreational marijuana market will top $100 million in sales in 2018.</p>
<p>"Californian's culinary expertise is far more refined from college kids making pot brownies in a dorm," said John Kagia of Frontier Data, a cannabis market research firm.</p>
<p>(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)</p>
<p>Expect a slew of vegan and gluten-free choices and low-dose snacks from trail mixes to chocolates. And they may well be served at a gym or Pilates studio.</p>
<p>"This is the dawn of the Amsterdam-style cafe in the U.S.," Kagia said. "We expect to see spaces that are targeted to cannabis consumers that capitalize on the arts and entertainment offerings of California and really create unique and elevated experiences."</p>
<p>That includes ethnic options in a state with the largest immigrant population in the U.S.</p>
<p>"Now you see all kinds of cuisines," said Cristina Espiritu of the 420 Foodie Club, which has promoted cannabis food events in Southern California that have included everything from Mediterranean dishes to Filipino specialties. "There's going to be infused tacos, infused burritos. I think because of the diversity and creativity in California, this is going to explode."</p>
<p>But Espiritu worries regulations could make certain aspects of the culinary experience accessible only to the elite in places like Beverly Hills.</p>
<p>Kitchens for those making edibles to sell must be licensed. And organizers must pay $5,000 a year for a license to host up to 10 events, and depending on the size, they may be required to hold them at a fairground. Cities can pose additional fees and ban an event altogether.</p>
<p>Regulations prohibit manufacturers from producing cannabis products for retail sale that include perishable items that could pose a health risk, such as dairy, seafood, fresh meat, or food or beverages appealing to children. It's still unclear if those rules would apply to a chef-hosted dinner or cooking class that people have paid for.</p>
<p>Edible products must be produced in serving sizes with no more than 10 milligrams of THC and no more than 100 milligrams of THC for the total package.</p>
<p>Drug policy expert and Stanford Law School professor Robert J. MacCoun said the regulations are too lax. Edibles already being sold in the medical marijuana industry vary widely in their potency, so people get more stoned than they planned and can end up in emergency rooms.</p>
<p>The bright packages appeal to children, who often are too young to read warning labels, MacCoun said. He thinks edibles should be restricted to plain brown or white packaging.</p>
<p>"Everyone sees this as a kind of new gold rush in the way that it will make a lot of money, but I think we need to be more careful about how this rolls out," he said.</p>
<p>Many see California's recreational marijuana business mirroring its wine industry, with people seeking weed pairings, cannabis farm tours and products made from organic, local plants.</p>
<p>Rebel Coast Winery's THC-infused sauvignon blanc is made from Sonoma County grapes, but the alcohol is removed in compliance with regulations that prohibit mixing pot with alcohol.</p>
<p>It smells like marijuana, meeting another requirement that it not be confused with a food or beverage that does not contain pot.</p>
<p>Founder Alex Howe is planning high-end dinner parties in Los Angeles in early 2018 to debut the $59.99 bottle of wine. Each bottle contains 16 milligrams of THC, and the company says on average, people feel the effects in under 15 minutes.</p>
<p>"We really wanted to mimic that ritual of opening a bottle of wine at dinner, or at a party with friends or while watching a movie, which is something so familiar to people, especially in California," he said.</p>
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) - The sauvignon blanc boasts brassy, citrus notes, but with one whiff, it's apparent this is no normal Sonoma County wine. It's infused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that provides the high.</p>
<p>Move over, pot brownies. The world's largest legal recreational marijuana market kicks off Monday in California, and the trendsetting state is set to ignite the cannabis culinary scene.</p>
<p>Chefs and investors have been teaming up to offer an eye-boggling array of cannabis-infused food and beverages, weed-pairing supper clubs and other extravagant pot-to-plate events in preparation for legalization come Jan. 1.</p>
<p>Legal pot in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado and California's longstanding medical marijuana market already spurred a cannabis-foodie movement with everything from olive oil to heirloom tomato bisques infused with the drug.</p>
<p>Cannabis-laced dinners with celebrity chefs at private parties have flourished across Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in recent years, but a medical marijuana card was required to attend.</p>
<p>With that requirement gone, the edibles market is expected to boom, though manufacturers face a host of regulations, and doctors fear the products could increase emergency room visits and entice youth. Marijuana industry analysts predict edibles for the recreational marijuana market will top $100 million in sales in 2018.</p>
<p>"Californian's culinary expertise is far more refined from college kids making pot brownies in a dorm," said John Kagia of Frontier Data, a cannabis market research firm.</p>
<p>(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)</p>
<p>Expect a slew of vegan and gluten-free choices and low-dose snacks from trail mixes to chocolates. And they may well be served at a gym or Pilates studio.</p>
<p>"This is the dawn of the Amsterdam-style cafe in the U.S.," Kagia said. "We expect to see spaces that are targeted to cannabis consumers that capitalize on the arts and entertainment offerings of California and really create unique and elevated experiences."</p>
<p>That includes ethnic options in a state with the largest immigrant population in the U.S.</p>
<p>"Now you see all kinds of cuisines," said Cristina Espiritu of the 420 Foodie Club, which has promoted cannabis food events in Southern California that have included everything from Mediterranean dishes to Filipino specialties. "There's going to be infused tacos, infused burritos. I think because of the diversity and creativity in California, this is going to explode."</p>
<p>But Espiritu worries regulations could make certain aspects of the culinary experience accessible only to the elite in places like Beverly Hills.</p>
<p>Kitchens for those making edibles to sell must be licensed. And organizers must pay $5,000 a year for a license to host up to 10 events, and depending on the size, they may be required to hold them at a fairground. Cities can pose additional fees and ban an event altogether.</p>
<p>Regulations prohibit manufacturers from producing cannabis products for retail sale that include perishable items that could pose a health risk, such as dairy, seafood, fresh meat, or food or beverages appealing to children. It's still unclear if those rules would apply to a chef-hosted dinner or cooking class that people have paid for.</p>
<p>Edible products must be produced in serving sizes with no more than 10 milligrams of THC and no more than 100 milligrams of THC for the total package.</p>
<p>Drug policy expert and Stanford Law School professor Robert J. MacCoun said the regulations are too lax. Edibles already being sold in the medical marijuana industry vary widely in their potency, so people get more stoned than they planned and can end up in emergency rooms.</p>
<p>The bright packages appeal to children, who often are too young to read warning labels, MacCoun said. He thinks edibles should be restricted to plain brown or white packaging.</p>
<p>"Everyone sees this as a kind of new gold rush in the way that it will make a lot of money, but I think we need to be more careful about how this rolls out," he said.</p>
<p>Many see California's recreational marijuana business mirroring its wine industry, with people seeking weed pairings, cannabis farm tours and products made from organic, local plants.</p>
<p>Rebel Coast Winery's THC-infused sauvignon blanc is made from Sonoma County grapes, but the alcohol is removed in compliance with regulations that prohibit mixing pot with alcohol.</p>
<p>It smells like marijuana, meeting another requirement that it not be confused with a food or beverage that does not contain pot.</p>
<p>Founder Alex Howe is planning high-end dinner parties in Los Angeles in early 2018 to debut the $59.99 bottle of wine. Each bottle contains 16 milligrams of THC, and the company says on average, people feel the effects in under 15 minutes.</p>
<p>"We really wanted to mimic that ritual of opening a bottle of wine at dinner, or at a party with friends or while watching a movie, which is something so familiar to people, especially in California," he said.</p> | California preps for pot-infused fare, from wine to tacos | false | https://apnews.com/ce8e71c16f124f55a1876ab075bf5635 | 2017-12-26 | 2 |
<p>Reps. Issa and GowdyPhoto Credit: <a href="http://www.southcarolinaradionetwork.com/2011/06/18/sparks-fly-as-gowdy-grills-nlrb-prosecutor/" type="external">South Carolina Radio Network</a></p>
<p>Though only in the early stages of the investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s mistreatment of conservative groups, House Republicans are already divided on the eventual need for a special prosecutor.</p>
<p>Some rightfully worry that special counsel would be appointed by none other than controversial Attorney General Eric Holder, others say the IRS investigation will ultimately require the criminal investigative powers of the Justice Department.</p>
<p>All agree, though, that the House Ways and Means and Oversight Committees continue its attempts to seek answers and information.</p>
<p>According to The Hill, “Some in the GOP conference are skeptical of essentially allowing President Obama’s administration to investigate itself,” also saying that DOJ involvement may actually hamper Congress’ current investigation.</p>
<p>“When I can’t do my job because I lack the authority or cooperation, I’ll seek additional remedies,” Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa said.</p>
<p>“It scares me: Who will appoint the special prosecutor? Holder!” the article quoted of Ways and Means member U.S. Rep. Diane Black. “Do I really want the administration that I don’t trust appointing a prosecutor right now? I think not.”</p>
<p>But after a couple of weeks of House hearings, it is clear senior IRS officials aren’t being forthcoming with information.</p>
<p>Both former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman and former acting commissioner Steven Miller have spent days testifying before Congress with many a “I don’t know, I can’t recall, I can’t say,” and the arrogant director of tax-exempt organizations flat out refused to testify after invoking the Fifth Amendment.</p>
<p>“So, now how do you get those answers,” if not by calling for a special prosecutor Rep. James Lankford asked, the article said.</p>
<p>Former prosecutor Rep. Trey Gowdy also agreed special counsel will be needed. “As long as you have access to grand jury power and subpoena power, yes, that’s the way you investigate crimes,” Gowdy said. “Congress is not well-equipped to investigate crimes.”</p>
<p>However, some Republicans are calling for patience on a special prosecutor, The Hill reported:</p>
<p>“It took us eight months to start to get some answers on Benghazi. This IRS thing has been around three weeks. It’s not going to happen overnight,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs an Oversight subcommittee.</p>
<p>“It may come to that,” Jordan added about the prospects of a special prosecutor. “I’m certainly not dismissing that. It remains an option, but right now we’re just getting started.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">More from The Hill.&#160;</a></p> | House Republicans divided: Special prosecutor for IRS? | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2013/05/24/house-republicans-divided-special-prosecutor-for-irs-71809 | 2013-05-24 | 0 |
<p>As I was browsing the internet the other day, I stumbled across a video clip from the show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” entitled The Religious Right. It piqued my interest because I had seen commercials for this new comedy show on TBS and I was intrigued by the topic she would be discussing. I was curious to hear what her thoughts were about conservative Christians in America. I assumed, based on the fact that this show airs on mainstream media networks, that it wouldn’t be a warm and fuzzy feel-good piece for conservatives, but I was shocked with the vitriolic and crass humor that ensued in the ten minute segment from her show. As if being offended with her disrespectful and degrading jokes about my religious beliefs wasn’t enough to make my blood boil (calling Jesus a “little white cracker,” among other offensive visuals), I was angered with her overall portrayal of the conservatives in America.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, her monologue details the evolution of today’s conservative from being politically disconnected to overly obnoxiously involved in recent campaigns in an effort to push their Bible-thumping viewpoints. Throughout the segment she creates an inaccurate picture of the American conservative through sweeping generalizations, offensive humor, and faulty reasoning. In defense of conservative Christians like me, I’d like to spend some time clearing up the mainstream media’s portrayal of “the religious right.”</p>
<p>A common misconception that the mainstream media frequently pushes to make a point against conservatives is making the assumption that we are uneducated and unaware of how the world around us functions. Very often we are portrayed as gun-toting, Bible preaching rednecks who have a very narrow mindset and are happy to be stuck in our traditions of ignorance. During her piece, Samantha Bee made the statement that “fundamentalists are terrible at science,” making a sweeping generalization that just because most conservative Christians do not believe in evolution, we are somehow also awful scientists, healthcare professionals, and teachers. Coming from a religious and conservative home, I was raised to love learning and value education. My sisters and I were all strongly encouraged to pursue a college education and to enter the healthcare field (where we all had to study science extensively, by the way).</p>
<p>Throughout our courses of study we grew to understand and appreciate the chemistry, biology, anatomy, and physiology behind how our bodies functioned. After obtaining my undergraduate degree I went on to obtain my master’s degree so I could continue to study the science behind neurological disorders and how to rehabilitate and treat them from a clinical perspective, and guess what? I wasn’t terrible at it! In fact, I use my knowledge of science every day to diagnosis, evaluate and treat the patients I am presented with. Conservatives are not stupid, ignorant, or uneducated. It is time for us to stand up against the mainstream media’s inaccurate portrayal of us by defending our intellect, education, and contribution to society.</p>
<p>At one point during her segment, Samantha Bee made a jab at conservative women by portraying us as weak, too focused on the family, and uninvolved in areas of life outside of the home. As a woman, I was highly offended by her portrayal of the conservative woman. While I do value my marriage and when I have children, I will value my responsibility as a mother, I am constantly making an effort to be involved in areas outside of the sphere of my home. I view it as my right and responsibility to be knowledgeable about local, national and worldwide events and issues, and to allow that knowledge to spur me to action.</p>
<p>Because of my love for my husband and future children, I want to do everything I can to extend my influence in my community to promote the values that I cherish. Conservative women have proven themselves to be some of the strongest forces in fighting the evils and injustices that we face in this present world. To portray us as weak, skittish, and fearful is giving the world the wrong impression of us. I know the mainstream media gets more laughs out of portraying us as frazzled, pregnant weaklings, but the truth is that we are strong and capable women who are willing to fight tooth and nail to preserve conservative values in America.</p>
<p>Another punch that was thrown at conservatives during her “comedic” monologue was that we are bigoted and hateful towards people who do not line up with our conservative values. It seems that this is the area where I most frequently have to defend myself due to the nature of recent events involving the legalization of gay marriage and the most recent uproar about transgender bathroom laws. As a conservative Christian, I look to the example of Christ in my dealings with people who don’t share the same lifestyle that I do and I hope that people who know me and discuss these issues with me see that my goal is to treat every individual with the respect and kindness that I hope would be shown to me in return.</p>
<p>In defense of conservative values however, I do also hold to the old saying that goes “your rights end where mine begin.” In my field of practice, if I was ever faced with a transgender client who was requesting vocal therapy while undergoing a sex change, I would respectfully and kindly refer him to another qualified vocal professional. This person has absolutely every right to pursue a gender that he identifies with, but I also have absolutely every right to not violate my conscience by providing services for a lifestyle that goes against my morals.</p>
<p>This does not make me a bigot or a homophobe, this makes me an American citizen exercising my rights in the same way a transgender client would exercise his. This is what makes America such an amazing country! Unfortunately, the mainstream media is hypocritical and unfair as it portrays conservatives as hateful and bigoted. When a lesbian couple demands a cake from a conservative baker, the lesbian couple is applauded for exercising their rights, while the conservative business owner is punished for exercising his.</p>
<p>The mainstream media is not on conservatives’ side. It is constantly pushing to degrade, humiliate, and undermine Christian values. It is our responsibility to stand up, say enough is enough and not let ourselves be bullied by the powers of mainstream media anymore.</p> | What A Conservative Is (and Is NOT) | true | http://politichicks.com/2016/05/what-a-conservative-is-and-is-not/ | 2016-05-21 | 0 |
<p>There is tragedy and irony in the nationally aired videotaped shooting of Air Force policeman Elio Carrion in an area east of Los Angeles and the subsequent indictment of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy Ivory Webb, Jr. The tragedy is that the shooting even took place. Carrion apparently complied with Webb’s commands, was unarmed, and posed no threat to the officer. Webb has been charged with attempted involuntary manslaughter.</p>
<p>The irony is that Webb is black and Carrion is Latino. Black leaders and community activists have long clamored for more black cops. They say that they would be less likely to brutalize other blacks and minorities than white cops. In the past decade, most big city police departments have implemented aggressive minority outreach and recruitment programs. Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have had ugly racially tinged deadly encounters involving police shootings of unarmed blacks.</p>
<p>They have been slapped with Justice Department consent decrees and forced to hire and promote more women and minority officers. But a black cop shooting an unarmed black or Latino under highly questionable circumstances is no longer an oddity. In the past two years, black cops have gunned down unarmed blacks in Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Baltimore, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Gary, Indiana, Inglewood, California and Los Angeles.</p>
<p>A Justice Department report in 2000 found that a majority of white cops did not think that police were more prone to treat blacks more harshly than whites. A sizable number of black cops agreed. Despite massive public attention and outrage over the blue code of silence, the Justice Department survey found that eighty percent of police officers either believed the code of silence was necessary to do good police work or feared retaliation from other officers or even the brass if they squealed on bad cops.</p>
<p>Black cops were no more anxious to come forth to report misconduct by other officers than white cops out of fear of not being seen as a team player and that protesting abuse will damage their career. Many Black cops are also infected with the “us versus them” police siege mentality and will commit and then attempt to cover-up their misconduct or brutal acts. The problem of blacks using deadly force against other blacks will probably get worse. The number of black officers on big city police departments has soared since the 1970s.</p>
<p>Many of them are young, inexperienced, recent recruits. They are often assigned to work in low income, black and Latino neighborhoods. And since black and Latino males commit more crimes than whites, many police are convinced that black communities are a dangerous, and risky place where violent thugs abound and every encounter is potentially life threatening. Webb, for instance, claimed that he thought Carrion was reaching for a gun. Criminal justice experts agree that no matter how much training officers get, how they react in a situation on the streets depends on their own apprehensions and prejudices and that police work tends to aggravate whatever prejudices they have. Many black officers have those same prejudices as whites. They do not live in or grow up in impoverished black neighbors and see them as hostile and alien places. Many of them are just as jittery as white cops at the prospect of an armed encounter with other blacks.</p>
<p>It’s not only dubious shootings by black cops of other minorities that’s a growing problem. It’s also the blind spot many black police officials have toward these shootings. That was evident in the killing of Margaret Laverne Mitchell, a black middle aged, emotionally disturbed, homeless woman who was slain in an altercation over a shopping cart in May 1999 by an LAPD officer. After demonstrations, marches, and angry protests, then LAPD Chief Bernard Parks, an African-American, ruled that the officer used bad tactics. The L.A. Police Commission ruled the shooting out of policy. Yet the officer was never punished. In every case, black police officials promise a vigorous investigation but in most of the cases the officers are not punished, or receive a mild hand slap reprimand.</p>
<p>Black police chiefs also know that while a shooting such as that of Mitchell shooting will almost always trigger rage and protest, they will not be the target of that rage and protest. Black leaders are loath to criticize black officials directly or to blame them for police misconduct. The feeling is that an attack on black officials will publicly embarrass them and reinforce the perception among whites that blacks are incompetent. This is seen as tantamount to racial betrayal. Airman Carrion did not know that he would be the victim of a wrongful shooting at the hands of a fellow officer, let alone a black officer. But he was. That just proved that some black cops can and do take the law into their own hands as readily and easily as some white officers.</p>
<p>EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON is a columnist for <a href="http://www.blacknews.com/" type="external">BlackNews.com</a>, an author of <a href="" type="internal">The Disappearance of Black Leadership</a> and <a href="" type="internal">The Assassination of the Black Male Image</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | When Black Cops Go Bad | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/03/21/when-black-cops-go-bad/ | 2006-03-21 | 4 |
<p>A superbug outbreak at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland has claimed its seventh victim, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/15/fatal-superbug-kills-7th-person-at-md-hospital/57785964/1" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>. He was the 19th patient at the hospital so far to become infected by an antibiotic-resistant strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae.&#160;</p>
<p>Making matters worse is that the NIH clinical center is not actually required to report hospital-borne infections, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nih-superbug-claims-7th-victim/2012/09/14/09b3742e-fe9b-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story_1.html" type="external">&#160;the Washington Post reported</a>. And hospital officials refused to tell the Post more details about the victim, such as his name and age. The hospital blames the outbreak on an infected patient that was admitted to the hospital last year.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/120601/when-the-brics-crumble" type="external">When the BRICs Crumble</a></p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/superbug-stalked-nih-hospital-last-year-killing-six/2012/08/22/5be18b1a-ec66-11e1-9ddc-340d5efb1e9c_story.html" type="external">&#160;Washington Post investigation from last month</a> reveals that the NIH waited six months before bothering to tell the public about its superbug epidemic.</p>
<p>Superbugs, or infections that are resistant to antibiotics, have a wide array of causes. Researchers have blamed over-exposure to antibiotics as one likely cause. In February, researchers found that using <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120224/antibiotics-meat-give-humans-drug-resistant-skin" type="external">antibiotics in meat</a> had caused farmers to develop drug-resistant skin infections, a different type of superbug.</p>
<p>The Klebsiella superbug, meanwhile, mostly infects patients who are already very ill. It has been a major problem in hospitals, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nih-superbug-claims-7th-victim/2012/09/14/09b3742e-fe9b-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story_1.html" type="external">the Post reported</a>, with 6 percent of hospitals nationwide battling outbreaks.&#160;</p> | Superbug kills 7th person at Maryland hospital | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-09-16/superbug-kills-7th-person-maryland-hospital | 2012-09-16 | 3 |
<p />
<p>There are few things more frustrating for a headhunter than asking a person basic questions that revolve around what they, the��job seeker,��are looking for in a job and receiving only��uncertain answers in return.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I'm not talking about something like salary; that's a question where a wise person states a target objective and is flexible enough to let the market decide their value.</p>
<p>No, I'm talking about a few very basic interview questions that, nevertheless, many job seekers can't seem to answer properly:</p>
<p>1. What Is Your Current Compensation?</p>
<p>The three wrong answers are:</p>
<p>A��lie (A lie will generally be found out after you've been hired. You know what happens then? While you're out to lunch or after you have gone home one day, your ability to log in to your company computer while be terminated and security will be waiting for you at your desk with your personal items packed to escort you from the premises.)</p>
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<p>"I won't tell you."��(This reveals that your salary is much lower than the amount advertised and that you are seeking a big bump.)</p>
<p>"Do you really need to know that?" (Yes. I do. Because my client will want to know. They will ask about it on their form. Many companies will terminate an interview when a candidate��refuses to answer.)</p>
<p>2. Geographically, What's Acceptable to You?</p>
<p>Some people are willing to drive more than others. Some people must follow mass transit routes. Some people are willing to relocate at a company's expense, and others are willing to relocate on their own for the right opportunity. Think about it before your next interview. We need to know this stuff.</p>
<p>3. What's Not Working for You That Is Prompting You to Look for Another Job?</p>
<p>Most of the time, money is not the only factor in a person's job search. Be prepared to discuss your reasons maturely.</p>
<p>An immature answer would be, "I hate my job," or "My boss is an idiot."</p>
<p>Instead, say something like this: "I would like to leave consulting and move to industry so that I can avoid the heavy travel that is keeping me away from my family too much." It's practical, it gets to the point, and it gives the headhunter some valuable information about you.</p>
<p>4. What Are You Looking for in a New Position?</p>
<p>Nine times out of ten, people don't think about��this before��they speak to me. What am I supposed to do? Guess? "I'll know it when I see it" isn't helpful either. How can I match you with the right opportunity if you don't even know what the right opportunity is?</p>
<p>5. What Was the Corporate Culture Like��at Your Previous Employer?</p>
<p>Did you like it? What did you like about it? What didn't you care for? I need to��know if I should aim to place you in a��job at a firm with a similar company culture ��� but more money and more interesting work ��� or a job with a totally different culture.</p>
<p>���</p>
<p>Answering these questions isn't just helpful for headhunters. It's also beneficial to you. If you take some time before your next interview��to decide what is important to you in your��next job or organization,��you will find that your interviews will be much better����� and so will your results!</p>
<p>Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like 100��years.</p> | 5 Questions You Should Be Able to Answer at Your Next Interview | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/05/11/5-questions-should-be-able-to-answer-at-your-next-interview.html | 2016-05-16 | 0 |
<p>Yellowstone National Park is the only place on Earth where bison and grizzly bears coexist in significant numbers. Most people, inured to the on-going ecological holocaust of recent centuries, probably think this 2-million-acre area is huge. Yet the current joint distribution of bison and grizzlies comprises only around 2% of what we once had in this country; 1% of what we once had on this continent; and a truly miniscule fraction of what we once had in the Northern Hemisphere. Bison and brown or grizzly bears of some sort coexisted in close relationship for 10s of thousands of years in a 11,000-mile-long swath from Europe, across Siberia, through northwestern North America, to northeastern Mexico. What we have in Yellowstone Park is a truly infinitesimal remnant barely 60 miles across.</p>
<p>But this remnant is not inconsequential. Yellowstone’s populations of bison and grizzly bears have sustained a relic relationship between these two species that was probably critical to grizzly bears in much of their former North American range.</p>
<p>A Little About Yellowstone’s Grizzlies and Bison</p>
<p>I was fortunate enough to participate in and then oversee field investigations of grizzly bears for 15 years in the Yellowstone ecosystem. We documented exploitation of ungulates such as bison and elk by radio-collared grizzlies,&#160;and monitored transects along which we documented scavenging by bears during springtime. This work followed a similar decade-long pioneering effort&#160;by John and Frank Craighead. These studies, along with less intensive monitoring of spring scavenging between 1996 and the present, spanned a total of over 50 years and provided unparalleled insights into relations between bison and grizzly bears. From this we can glimpse the undoubtedly richer and more complex natural history of bears and bison in Europe, Asia, and North America, recognizing that our modern-day studies span only ¼ of 1% of the time and space shared by these two species.</p>
<p>One thing we know for sure. Bison have been and still are an important source of food—meat—for Yellowstone’s grizzly bears, far exceeding anything one might expect simply from numbers of bison in the ecosystem—by a factor of 2-½-fold and more. Bears obtain almost all this meat by scavenging rather than by predation. Bison are too big, too well-armed, too collectively aggressive, and typically too far from ambush cover for a bear to kill outright. But bison do tip over dead for all sorts of reasons—from starvation and disease during winter and spring, from complications of birthing, from injuries sustained during the rut, and less often from being killed by wolves. And when bison do die, they constitute a big package of meat that not only provides a large reward for any bear lucky enough to find it, but also increases odds that stinky carrion will persist long-enough for discovery by animals, such as bears, endowed with an acute sense of smell.</p>
<p>These fundamentals suggest that bison were always a comparatively important food for brown/grizzly bears wherever both species overlapped in time and space. In fact, availability of meat from bison probably dictated the terms of existence for grizzly bears for over 10 millennia in the mid-section of North America.</p>
<p>Ice Age Bison</p>
<p>The murky scientific waters of ever-evolving methods applied to ever-more data have, over time, clarified the evolutionary biogeography of bison and bears, along with the formative context of dynamic climates, ephemeral corridors, and shifting barriers of ice and vegetation. Disagreements and uncertainties remain, especially given the indirect measures necessary to reconstruct a long-gone past, but the broad outlines of a shared journey have emerged.</p>
<p>Steppe bison, Bison priscus—the progenitor of all subsequent bison—probably first arrived in North America around 150,000 years ago during the penultimate Illinoian Ice Age. Like all bison, steppe bison were predominantly grazers that followed a broad swath of grass-dominated steppe tundra from eastern Siberia across the Bering Land Bridge into what is now Alaska. This bridge between Eurasia and North America was exposed then, as it was during all Ice Ages, by lower sea levels resulting from the capture of ocean water in continent-spanning ice-sheets.</p>
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<p>Bison of North America, including the giant Ice Age Bison latifrons farthest left, our comparatively small modern-day bison farthest right, and the ancestral steppe bison, Bison priscus, in the middle. Illustrations by Roman Uchytel.</p>
<p>Roughly 25,000 years later North America’s continental ice sheets were rapidly melting, creating an ephemeral grass and forb-dominated corridor from eastern Beringia south to mid-latitudes. It was during this early part of our penultimate interglacial period—the Sangamonian—that bison moved south into the grasslands that they have occupied ever since, and where they were then isolated by consolidating boreal forests from steppe bison in the north. By 120,000 year ago these southern bison had rapidly evolved into an enormous long-horned variant called Bison latifrons, presumably in response to the predatory pressures of a host of now-extinct large carnivores that included lions, saber-toothed tigers, scimitar-toothed cats, and giant short-faced bears. These giant Ice Age bison weighed 2-3-times more than modern-day bison.</p>
<p>Enter Ice Age Grizzlies</p>
<p>Grizzly bears didn’t arrive in North America until much later, also from Eurasia, and only with reemergence of the Bering Land Bridge early during the last, Wisconsinan, Ice Age. We don’t know exactly when grizzlies arrived, but probably around 70,000 years ago during a mini-maximum of glacial ice. Subsequent short-lived retreats of the ice sheets produced perhaps more than one ephemeral ice-free corridor from Beringia south to mid-latitudes that closed by between 55,000 and 30,000 years ago. But grizzlies slipped through, as evidenced by 32,000-year-old remains found near Edmonton, Alberta.</p>
<p>As a result, we had grizzly bears living among&#160;bison, along with a slew of other large predators, throughout the Last Glacial Maximum south of the continental ice sheets. Curiously, grizzlies in Beringia mixed it up with steppe bison for perhaps 35 millennia, up until around 35,000 years ago, and then disappeared or declined to very low densities for a 15,000-year period that coincided with a burgeoning of giant 700 to 2200-pound short-faced bears. Some paleontologists have implicated competition from or even predation by the formidable short-faced bears in the demise of Beringian grizzlies.</p>
<p />
<p>The Pleistocene bestiary of North America large carnivores, including grizzly bears top middle, and giant short-faced bears top left. All illustrations of extinct species by Sergio De la Rosa.</p>
<p>But by 20,000 year ago short-faced bears were largely gone from eastern Beringia, only to be replaced by another wave of migrant grizzly bears from Siberia, arriving hard on the heels of a second major wave of migrant bison. Both bison and grizzly bears remained bottled up in Beringia for another 9,000 years, with grizzlies probably scavenging bison whenever and wherever they could, up until yet another ice-free corridor opened between the rapidly-melting Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice-sheets around 13,000 years ago. Not long after, the Bering Land Bridge disappeared for the last time, isolating both bears and bison from conspecifics on the supercontinent of Eurasia, where brown bears persisted, but steppe bison went extinct.</p>
<p>The Cusp of the Holocene</p>
<p>As an upshot, North America is the only place on Earth where an undiluted bison lineage survived, notwithstanding a distant relative called wisent that occurred across much of Europe until being nearly driven to extinction by hunters during the 1800s and 1900s. Despite sometimes being called bison, wisent descended from an aurochs x bison hybrid, leaving yaks as the closest surviving relative of our North American bison.</p>
<p>The rapidly melting ice at the end of the last glacial epoch and beginning of our current Holocene era was associated with a wildly fluctuating climate, rapidly shifting vegetation, expansion of human populations armed with lethal stone-tipped weapons, and extinctions of virtually all the large carnivores and herbivores that had dominated Ice Age landscapes—including mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, giant stag-deer and muskox, and lumbering ground sloths. Around 10,000 years ago the last and largest of the megafauna literally and figuratively left standing were bison, moose, and grizzly and polar bears. Although grizzlies remained much the same, albeit of different genetic lineages north and south of the melting ice sheets, between 22,000 and 15,000 years ago bison had yet again rapidly evolved into different forms, including a southern morph called Bison antiquus.</p>
<p>Lots of ink has been spilled disputing the taxonomic status of bison, but there is widespread agreement that bison looked different 14,000-10,000 years ago compared to before or after, and were still larger than our present-day bison. There is also widespread agreement that essentially all bison and grizzly bears in mid-latitudes of North America descended from genetically distinct animals that were part of the earliest waves of migrants south from Beringia. Grizzly bears of&#160;the last wave of migrants from Siberia never made it south of central Alberta, and northern bison of the direct Bison priscus lineage eventually went extinct, in some places as recently as 200-400 years ago.</p>
<p>The Rocky Altithermal</p>
<p>Bison of the mid-latitudes have been denizens primarily of the great North American grasslands ever since the end of the Ice Age. When you plot known locations of bison dating between roughly 500 and 10,000 years ago, virtually all occur in areas with abundant grass, which is not surprising given that modern bison are grazers. But all was not static during those 9,500 years.</p>
<p>For one, North America entered a sustained period of severe drought even as the continental ice sheets were still melting. This epic&#160;period of hot dry conditions that lasted between 9,000 and 4,500 years ago is known by various names, most commonly the Altithermal. Bison numbers were held at a nadir during this bleak period not only by drought-diminished forage, but also by the spread of less nutritious grasses north across the Great Plains. These grasses, which include species such as blue grama and buffalo grass, are adapted to warm dry conditions, but support significantly lower densities of bovids such as bison, in the past, and cattle now-a-days. By contrast, grass species typical of northern latitudes, such as wheat- and bluegrasses, support much higher densities of both wild and domesticated grazers. Several researchers have suggested that conditions were so tough on the southern Great Plains during the height of the Altithermal that bison disappeared there for several millennia.</p>
<p>Grizzlies were profoundly affected by these environmental changes. In fact, grizzly bears seem to have disappeared from most of the Great Plains for most of the Altithermal as well as for several millennia after. I have no doubt that this dearth of bears was a direct consequence of a dearth of bison, aggravated by competition with humans and black bears for shared foods concentrated along the west-east-trending river corridors of the Plains. People were also probably killing their share of grizzlies.</p>
<p>But, despite the epic droughts, grizzly bears probably hung on and even flourished in the Northern Plains, and may have even benefited from the activities of humans. Bison densities were almost certainly always highest in the north, simply because of more bounteous forage. Not by coincidence, most of the known pre-equestrian sites where humans engaged in mass kills of bison were also located in this region, including most buffalo jumps and corrals. Kills at these sites could be so large that some bison carcasses were left untouched by the involved people, while others were butchered only for the choicest cuts—“gourmet butchering.” As a result, ample meat was available for scavengers such as grizzlies who undoubtedly took full advantage of the opportunity. In fact, it is easy enough to imagine repeated vignettes where grizzlies lurked around kill sites negotiating access with the wary but heavily-laboring people.</p>
<p>European Bio-ethnic Cleansing</p>
<p>But all this changed with arrival of Europeans and their diseases in the late 1400s. Native peoples were decimated. Some scholars reckon that between 40 and 80% died from fast-spreading disease alone, well before any contact with Europeans themselves. This reduction in Native populations, along with related increases in grassy woodlands, seems to have opened the way for the spread of substantial numbers of bison into eastern North America for the first time in the last 9,000 years. European adventurers thus encountered bison—but not any grizzly bears—as far east as coastal Florida and South Carolina during the early 1600s.</p>
<p>But by 1800, a short 200-years later, the tide had irreversibly turned for bison and bears. Europeans embarked upon a systematic slaughter of both. By 1810 only a few enclaves of bison survived in the East. A decade later, they were completely gone from the East and pushed back west of the Mississippi River. By around 1800, Europeans, most notably Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, were recording their first encounters with grizzlies, including their first accounts of killing them.</p>
<p>The accounts thereafter become tediously terrible. Bison were served up on the altar of an ever-widening trade in hides and meat spawned by European demand, but with Native Americans fully complicit. Most bison in most places where they had existed in 1600 had probably been slaughtered by the time the Transcontinental Railroad split surviving bison into the “great” northern and southern herds around 1870. Within 25 years the 40-80 million bison that had once roamed the Great Plains had been reduced to a few hundred wild survivors in the remote enclave of what had become our first National Park.</p>
<p>Grizzly bears didn’t fare much better. They were gone from the central and southern Plains by around 1850, out-pacing even the slaughter of bison. Sixty years later grizzlies could only be found in scattered haunts restricted to the most rugged and remote parts of the mountain West. By 1950 they were extirpated from roughly 97% of the areas they had once occupied in 1800 and relegated to two main populations each of a few-hundred individuals. One of these populations hung on in Yellowstone along with our remnant wild bison.</p>
<p />
<p>The Aftermath</p>
<p>Where does this leave the epic relationship between bison and grizzlies—and humans? For the last 2,500 years, up until roughly 1800 A.D., bison and grizzly bears coexisted in an area roughly 950,000 square miles in size, spanning most of the western part of what is now the United States, and encompassing roughly 60% of former grizzly bear range within this same area. The only place on Earth where this relationship persists is in the Yellowstone ecosystem, in an area comprising &lt;2% of what we once had.</p>
<p>Historical (gray) and current (green) overlap of grizzly bears and bison in North America. Historical overlap is from around 1800 A.D. Current overlap is restricted almost wholly to Yellowstone National Park in the middle of the green high-lighted area.</p>
<p>And how are we treating this rare and highly vulnerable relic? Last year we killed roughly 1,400 wild bison as part of a plan to deliberately confine them to within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. This slaughter was justified by the presumed need to protect a handful of regional livestock producers from the near non-existent threat of disease transmitted from bison to cattle—a disease called brucellosis that was originally introduced by cattle. Simultaneously, we are poised to remove Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone’s grizzly bears, with the intent of turning them over to the tender mercies of State wildlife managers fully intent on instituting a trophy hunt.</p>
<p>And nowhere in the mountain of tedious planning documents spawned by the numerous involved management agencies will you find any recognition of, much less prioritization for, the precious remnant we have in Yellowstone of a relationship between bears and bison that once spanned continents and millennia. In short, a travesty.</p>
<p>There is much more that can be said—that needs to be said—about our current management of bison and the unique surviving relationship between bison and grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Stay tuned for more on this front in the next part of this two-part series…</p>
<p>For more information on the Evolutionary Biogeography of North American Grizzly Bears and Bison, see <a href="https://www.allgrizzly.org/history" type="external">here</a>&#160;and these papers:</p>
<p>Barnes, I., Matheus, P., Shapiro, B., Jensen, D., &amp; Cooper, A. (2002). <a href="" type="internal">Dynamics of Pleistocene population extinctions in Beringian brown bears.</a>&#160;Science,&#160;295(5563), 2267-2270.</p>
<p>Davison, J., Ho, S. Y., Bray, S. C., Korsten, M., Tammeleht, E., Hindrikson, M., … &amp; Cooper, A. (2011). <a href="http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/d2beb3_51a663cdb3eb4568b6b112bbb1647ae3.pdf" type="external">Late-Quaternary biogeographic scenarios for the brown bear (Ursus arctos), a wild mammal model species.</a>&#160;Quaternary Science Reviews,&#160;30(3), 418-430.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Drummond, A. J., Rambaut, A., Shapiro, B. E. T. H., &amp; Pybus, O. G. (2005). Bayesian coalescent inference of past population dynamics from molecular sequences.&#160;</a>Molecular biology and evolution,&#160;22(5), 1185-1192.</p>
<p>Froese, D., Stiller, M., Heintzman, P. D., Reyes, A. V., Zazula, G. D., Soares, A. E., … &amp; MacPhee, R. D. (2017). <a href="" type="internal">Fossil and genomic evidence constrains the timing of bison arrival in North America.</a>&#160;Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,&#160;114(13), 3457-3462.</p>
<p>Heintzman, P. D., Froese, D., Ives, J. W., Soares, A. E., Zazula, G. D., Letts, B., … &amp; Jass, C. N. (2016). <a href="" type="internal">Bison phylogeography constrains dispersal and viability of the Ice Free Corridor in western Canada.&#160;</a>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,&#160;113(29), 8057-8063.</p>
<p>Marsolier-Kergoat, M. C., Palacio, P., Berthonaud, V., Maksud, F., Stafford, T., Bégouën, R., &amp; Elalouf, J. M. (2015). <a href="" type="internal">Hunting the extinct Steppe Bison (Bison priscus) mitochondrial genome in the Trois-Freres paleolithic painted cave.</a>&#160;PloS one,&#160;10(6), e0128267.</p>
<p>Massilani, D., Guimaraes, S., Brugal, J. P., Bennett, E. A., Tokarska, M., Arbogast, R. M., … &amp; Madelaine, S. (2016). <a href="" type="internal">Past climate changes, population dynamics and the origin of Bison in Europe.</a>&#160;BMC biology,&#160;14(1), 93.</p>
<p>Matheus, P., Burns, J., Weinstock, J., &amp; Hofreiter, M. (2004). <a href="" type="internal">Pleistocene brown bears in the mid-continent of North America.&#160;</a>Science,&#160;306(5699), 1150-1150.</p>
<p>Shapiro, B., Drummond, A. J., Rambaut, A., Wilson, M. C., Matheus, P. E., Sher, A. V., … &amp; Willerslev, E. (2004). <a href="http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/d2beb3_fa4d72f994df4b2c9af2f1dc55d184c1.pdf" type="external">Rise and fall of the Beringian steppe bison.</a>&#160;Science,&#160;306(5701), 1561-1565.</p> | The Epic Shared Journey of Bison and Grizzly Bears | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/06/16/the-epic-shared-journey-of-bison-and-grizzly-bears/ | 2017-06-16 | 4 |
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<p>Jennifer Grogg</p>
<p>Nathaniel Kurtok, 30, and Jennifer Grogg, 21, were taken into custody after a standoff with police Thursday night at the Country Club Gardens mobile home park off Airport Road on charges of armed robbery, aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and bribery of a witness.</p>
<p>They are accused of robbing a man at gunpoint in his own south side apartment and pointed a gun at another man near an apparently random encounter on the other side of town, near an east side elementary school.</p>
<p>Nathaniel Kurtok</p>
<p>According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court, a man told police that Kurtok kicked in the door of his Zepol Road apartment around 8:45 a.m. Thursday while he was sleeping. He said Kurtock pointed a silver revolver at him while Grogg grabbed a TV and a pellet gun and took the items to a car. Kurtock then pulled out a hunting knife, put it to the victim’s throat and said, “If you call the police I will kill you,” before leaving in the apartment, the robbery victim said.</p>
<p>The officer wrote in his report that the man was visibly shaken and was scared that Kurtok was going to come back and kill him. He said he had met the couple through a mutual friend at Country Club Gardens and started hanging out with them in November.</p>
<p>At about 9:50 a.m. Thursday, officers were dispatched to Camino Delora near Desert Montessori School and Cristo Rey Catholic Church after reports of shots fired. A contractor told police that he was meeting with two city officials over drainage work on Camino Delora when a silver Honda Civic drove by at high speed and that he yelled at the male driver to slow down. Hesaid the driver, later identified as Kurtok, then stopped in the middle of the street, got out of the car, pointed a large silver revolver at the contractor’s head and asked, “How do you like that?”</p>
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<p>The city workers told police that they took cover behind their work trucks because they thought Kurtok was going to shoot them.</p>
<p>Kurtok got back into his car and the men at the scene reported hearing gunshots as he drove away. They said a woman later identified at Grogg was sitting in the passenger seat but never got out of the car.</p>
<p>Officers started setting up a perimeter around the mobile home park around 6:30 p.m. and diverted traffic from the area. It’s unclear from police reports when they were taken into custody, but Santa Fe County jail records indicate that Grogg was booked about 10 p.m. and Kurtok was taken in about an hour later.</p>
<p>Kurtock was given a $100,000 cash bond while Grogg was given a $50,000 surety bond, meaning she can get out by posting 10 percent with a bond company.</p> | Couple arrested after alleged crime spree around Santa Fe | false | https://abqjournal.com/901191/couple-arrested-after-alleged-crime-spree-around-santa-fe.html | 2 |
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<p>According to a recent survey, mid-market executives are optimistic about Mergers and Acquisition opportunities and many companies can now make strategic transactions rather than settle for opportunistic ones. &#160;With 25% of mid-market firms currently involved in an ongoing acquisition it looks like we are finally approaching a seller’s market.</p>
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<p>Citizens Commercial Bank's fourth annual Middle Market M&amp;A Outlook Survey found retiring baby boomers are making an impact with seven in 10 business owners considering their targeted retirement date a “key factor” in determining the time frame for selling their business. Bob Rubino, Head of Corporate Finance and Capital Markets for Citizens Commercial Banking offered these additional findings from the survey.</p>
<p>Boomer: &#160;How did the survey find the state of the M &amp; A market for 2015 overall?</p>
<p>Rubino: &#160;In Citizens Commercial Banking's Middle Market M&amp;A Outlook, business leader respondents who have been contemplating making acquisitions have reached a tipping point. We have a definite break between those companies that are more firmly committed to making an acquisition in 2015 and those that have decided to sit on the sidelines for the next 12 months. &#160;We believe the Middle Market M&amp;A Outlook survey suggests that the U.S. middle market in 2015 will witness greater intensity by buyers and an acceleration in their M&amp;A plans. The more robust U.S. economy is giving potential buyers more confidence to pursue an acquisition and many middle market companies are gaining confidence from watching their larger public competitors increase their level of acquisitions. In 2014, global M&amp;A increased by 25% aided by a number of very large transactions. &#160;However, the U.S. domestic middle market M&amp;A was flat year-over-year. Middle market companies see the large corporate M&amp;A gains and want to ensure they do not fall further behind their larger competitors. The stronger U.S. economy has increased demand and is driving the top line for many middle market companies. &#160;As the survey points out, potential buyers are increasingly concerned that doing an acquisition in this “up” economy could put their employees and clients at risk.</p>
<p>Boomer: &#160;What is the general market outlook found by the survey?</p>
<p>Rubino: &#160;Thirty-six percent of mid-market firms are now currently involved in acquiring another firm or are actively seeking opportunities. &#160;This compares to 26% percent in 2013. Forty-six percent of the highest-revenue group of mid-market companies ($100MM-&lt;$2B) are currently involved in a purchase, up from 30 percent in 2013. At the same time, the number of buyers who have decided to put off a purchase for at least a year has risen to 40 percent. This data points to an increased level of market awareness: companies considering acquisitions feel they have enough information to either decide to act now or postpone any buying activity until a later date. We expect M&amp;A conversations this year to be even more intensive and focused. Companies that are considering M&amp;A have made up their minds to pursue a deal.</p>
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<p>Boomer: &#160;What is the state of buying in 2015?</p>
<p>Rubino: &#160;Nearly half of mid-market firms in last year’s survey were content to sit on the sidelines of purchase activities, classifying themselves as passively receptive to buying transactions. This is no longer the case. The market has reached a tipping point where business leaders have decided to buy now or wait at least one year before taking action. Many business leaders feel they know enough about the market and their industry to make a decision. After several years of being in a low-growth environment, executives have come to the realization that they can’t sit on the sidelines forever and wait for things to dramatically turn around. At the same time, the percentage of companies that has decided to wait at least 12 months before getting involved in a purchase has risen. High valuations might be one reason this group of companies has decided to delay purchase activity. Many properties on the market come with high price tags, and some potential buyers might prefer to wait and see if prices moderate.</p>
<p>Rubino: &#160;What is the state of selling in 2015?</p>
<p>Rubino: &#160;Selling activities remain relatively sluggish, with just 9 percent of mid-market companies actively trying to be sold. Several factors likely explain why more companies aren’t actively putting themselves on the market in these days of high multiples. First, about two-thirds of mid-market companies expect their market valuations to rise over the next 12 months, so some organizations might be waiting for a more lucrative opportunity. Also, most middle market companies are largely dependent on domestic customers and the U.S. economy for their growth and the U.S. economy is doing well versus most world economies. &#160;The positive trends in the U.S. economy are contributing to better business results and higher demand levels for U.S. middle market firms. &#160;Finally, many business leader respondents reported a significant number of unsolicited offers from both private equity and other strategic investors. &#160;This increased level of buyer interest further fuels confidence on the part of sellers that valuation could continue to rise. The survey also points to heightened concerns on the part of potential sellers. &#160;The most frequently mentioned concerns are: losing key employees, being undervalued and the potential negative impact a sale would have on client service. &#160;This higher level of seller anxiety supports the findings that sellers are not overly excited about putting their companies up for sale in the near term. &#160;&#160;&#160;In many ways, these heightened concerns are a “call to action” for would-be buyers. &#160;&#160;Buyers should be cognizant of these heightened seller concerns when they approach firms to engage in acquisition discussions. &#160;Buyers stand a better chance of success in their overtures to the degree they can alleviate or mitigate these seller concerns.</p>
<p>Boomer: &#160;Why is it time for baby boomers to sell?</p>
<p>Rubino: &#160;The oldest baby boomers are nearing retirement age and that seems to be having an impact on sales activities. Among business owners, 7 in 10 say their retirement date is a key factor in deciding when they’ll sell their business. The correlation between retirement date and sales timing is tied to the fact that companies today are less likely to be passed on to others in the family. Longer life expectancies mean that owners are deciding to retire while they still have time to enjoy the revenue from the sale of the business. More than one-third of mid-market sellers feel that M&amp;A activity will increase in 2015 due to retirement. This trend is expected to increase over the next several years as more baby boomers reach retirement age.</p> | Boomers Impacting M&A Market | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/02/12/boomers-impacting-ma-market.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>By Nadia Prupis / <a href="http://commondreams.org/news/2016/08/10/personnel-policy-progressives-urge-clinton-avoid-wall-street-cabinet" type="external">Common Dreams</a></p>
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<p>&#160; &#160; Hillary Clinton. (Disney / ABC Television Group / flickr / cc)</p>
<p>A coalition of progressive organizations published an <a href="https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rE8Dx3c6rvjM/v0" type="external">open letter</a> to <a href="/tag/hillary-clinton" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a> on Wednesday, urging her to keep Wall Street veterans out of her administration if she wins the presidency.</p>
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<p>The 15 signatories, which include advocacy groups, a labor union, a political party, and other organizations, wrote the letter to “reaffirm the importance of selecting executive branch appointees with a documented record of fighting for the public interest.”</p>
<p>“Historically, too many Wall Street executives and corporate insiders have traveled through the revolving door between private industry and government,” the letter states. “The result of this practice is that the interests of elites are over-represented in Washington.”</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a report which found that Washington’s revolving-door system is part of what allows corporate crime to <a href="/news/2016/01/29/corporate-crime-runs-rampant-thanks-rigged-system-elizabeth-warren" type="external">run rampant.</a></p>
<p>The groups include advocacy organizations Public Citizen, MoveOn.org, and RootsAction.org, as well as the union Communications Workers of America (CWA), which in December <a href="/news/2015/12/17/citing-urgent-need-political-revolution-major-union-endorses-sanders" type="external">endorsed</a> Clinton’s then-rival Sen. <a href="/tag/bernie-sanders" type="external">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-Vt.) for president. Ending economic inequality became a well-known cornerstone of Sanders’ campaign.</p>
<p>Clinton should end her controversial associations with Wall Street to demonstrate to voters that her proclaimed commitments to increasing regulation of big banks and opposing destructive trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) are serious, the groups write:</p>
<p>We are heartened to see that the Democratic Party’s 2016 platform is perhaps its most progressive one to date. But to realize its promise—including serious regulation of the banks, action to confront climate change, revitalized antitrust enforcement, support for fair trade and labor rights, progressive telecommunications policy, and so much more—we must remember the maxim, “personnel is policy.”</p>
<p>[….] As you begin to consider who would serve in your administration, we write to urge you to follow through on these commitments and the general spirit behind them. By doing so, you will ensure that your public positions on issues ranging from trade to Wall Street reform will not be undermined by executive branch appointees.</p>
<p>“Moreover,” they continue, “we urge you to publicly state that, should you win the presidency, you will appoint personnel from backgrounds in public interest advocacy, academia, and public service to influential positions within your administration, rather than merely drawing from the usual set of corporate insiders.”</p>
<p>The letter comes ahead of Clinton’s economic speech on Thursday outside of Detroit, which progressives are using to <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/290931-progressives-pressure-clinton-on-tpp-ahead-of-economic" type="external">amp up pressure</a> on Clinton regarding her TPP stance. Though she now says she opposes the trade deal, activists are pushing for her to make her position <a href="/news/2016/07/28/clinton-readies-nomination-unions-hope-its-zero-hour-tpp" type="external">more concrete</a>.</p>
<p>Other signatories to the letter include the Center for Popular Democracy Action, CREDO Action, Daily Kos, Democracy for America, New York Communities for Change, Other98, Presente.org, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, the Rootstrikers Project at Demand Progress, and the Strong Economy for All Coalition.</p>
<p>Nadia Prupis is a staff writer at Common Dreams.</p> | Progressives Urge Clinton Not to Appoint a Wall Street Cabinet | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/progressives-urge-clinton-not-to-appoint-a-wall-street-cabinet/ | 2016-08-11 | 4 |
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<p>Family sedans are falling out of favor with American drivers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Car shoppers have increasingly jumped into new crossovers and SUVs, showing a preference for additional cargo space, an elevated ride height and comparable fuel mileage. Automakers have responded to the shift by discounting cars on dealership lots in hopes of boosting sales. Some manufacturers, including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU), have cut production of slow-selling sedans.</p>
<p>Utilities overtook sedans for the first time in mid-2014, based on IHS Automotive’s analysis of U.S. car registrations. By 2015, compact crossovers dethroned midsize sedans as the most popular vehicle among American consumers. The decline has continued into the current year, even as U.S. auto sales set a pace to beat the annual record set in 2015. During the first half of 2016, passenger cars recorded a sales decline of 7.5%, overshadowed by a 9.2% gain for light trucks, according to sales tallies compiled by Autodata.</p>
<p>June was a microcosm of the sedan’s persistent struggles. Sales of all passenger cars combined slipped 8% versus June 2015. Automakers sold 11.4% more light trucks, a category that includes crossovers and SUVs. <a href="" type="internal">Demand for pickup trucks and utilities carried June to 2.5% sales growth overall</a>.</p>
<p>“Sedans have had a tough year,” said Patrick Min, senior analyst at TrueCar (NASDAQ:TRUE). Even updated models like the Kia Optima are having a tough time generating demand, he added. “Maybe the only car that’s hit it out of the park this year has been the Honda (NYSE:HMC) Civic.”</p>
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<p>The Civic, Toyota (NYSE:TM) Camry, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Altima were the only sedans to rank in the <a href="https://www.cars.com/articles/top-10-best-selling-cars-june-2016-1420684928288/" type="external">10 best-selling vehicles last month Opens a New Window.</a>. Pickup trucks—the Ford (NYSE:F) F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram models—dominated the top three. Three crossovers made the top 10: the Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue and Ford Escape.</p>
<p>Incentives for new cars have edged higher across the board this year, but “a little more on the car side” as sales lag behind SUVs, Min said.</p>
<p>Cash discounts on 45 compact, midsize and full-size models sold in the U.S. from January through May have risen an estimated 9%, according to TrueCar data provided to FOXBusiness.com. For the Toyota Camry, car buyers received an average of $3,452 in promotional discounts. Still, sales of the venerable Camry—the top-selling passenger car so far this year—were down 6.3% over the same timeframe.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, utility vehicles hold their own cash incentive: cheaper gasoline. AAA on Wednesday reported a national average of $2.26 a gallon, or savings of 50 cents compared to the same day in 2015. Drivers were paying around $3.60 a gallon just two years ago.</p>
<p>“Before, SUVs had a huge fuel-efficiency penalty, but there have been a lot of gains in fuel economy,” Min said. “People see a lot of added value in crossovers. They feel like they’re not giving up a lot.”</p>
<p>Light trucks have widened their lead over passenger cars to 58% of the market in the first half, up from 56%. TrueCar expects trucks and SUVs to hold onto their advantage with gas prices staying below $3 a gallon for the next few years, and compact crossovers are projected to remain the best-selling segment.</p> | Can the Family Sedan Make a Comeback? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/07/07/can-family-sedan-make-comeback.html | 2016-07-07 | 0 |
<p>RICHMOND, Va. — The Religious Herald launched on March 7 a new blogging site — HeraldBlogs — with an initial group of 16 bloggers drawn primarily from the Mid-Atlantic region, with a few&#160;from other parts of the country.</p>
<p>The site, which can be accessed at <a href="http://www.religiousheraldblogs.com/" type="external">www.religiousheraldblogs.com,</a>is linked to the Herald’s destination web site, <a href="http://www.religiousherald.org/" type="external">www.religiousherald.org</a>.</p>
<p>“These outstanding writers reflect a robust commitment to the values we share as Baptists as well as the diversity which also characterizes us,” said Robert Dilday, the Herald’s managing editor. “We believe this new initiative will enhance thoughtful and stimulating discourse about the issues which animate our Baptist community.”</p>
<p>Dilday said additional bloggers will be added over the next few weeks and months. The initial group includes:</p>
<p>The writers will post blogs at varying frequencies, but Dilday said he expects there will be at least two or three fresh entries on the site itself every day. Links to new posts will appear on the Herald’s web site and readers also can receive e-mail alerts when blogs are posted.</p>
<p>HeraldBlogs is another step — endorsed by both staff and trustees — in the Herald’s expanded coverage of and partnering with Baptists of shared values in the Mid-Atlantic region, which the news organization defines as Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and the District of Columbia.</p>
<p>Dilday said the expansion continues its “historic and valued partnership” with the Baptist General Association of Virginia, while exploring relationships with additional Baptist communities in the region.</p> | Herald launches new blog site to ‘enhance discourse’ among Baptist community in Mid-Atlantic region | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/heraldlaunchesnewblogsitetoenhancediscourseamongbaptistcommunityinmid-atlanticregion-4/ | 3 |
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<p>American Bobby Brown competes in the Freestyle Skiing Men's Ski Slopestyle Finals during day six of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.</p>
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<p>American finalists from left, Gus Kenworthy, Joss Christensen and Nicholas Goepper celebrate on the podium after the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals.</p>
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<p>Yakov Godorozha of Ukraine competes during the Figure Skating Men's Short Program.</p>
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<p>China's Fan Kexin crashes into officials in the women's 500-meter short track speed skating semifinal event at the Iceberg Skating Palace.</p>
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<p>Norway's Torger Nergaard delivers a stone as Haavard Vad Petersson (left) and Christoffer Svae sweep during the men's curling round-robin against Sweden.</p>
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<p>Charlotte Kalla of Sweden skis in the women's cross-country 10km classic event at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.</p>
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<p>Alexander Ovechkin of Russia reacts after scoring against Slovenia during the first period of the men's preliminary round ice hockey game.</p>
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<p>Britain's Elise Christie cries after crashing out during the women's 500-meter short track speed skating final event.</p>
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<p>Austria's Matthias Mayer prepares to start during the downhill run of the men's alpine skiing super combined training session.</p>
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<p>Katie Uhlaender of the United States speeds down the track during the women's skeleton event.</p>
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<p>Bobby Brown of the U.S. performs a jump during the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle semi-finals.</p>
<p /> | Sochi Olympic Games: February 13, 2014 (PHOTOS) | true | https://thedailybeast.com/sochi-olympic-games-february-13-2014-photos | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
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<p>In this photo made Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, Dr. Keith Frederick poses for a photo in his medical office in Rolla, Mo. Frederick is a Missouri House member who sponsored a law allowing medical school graduates to start treating patients immediately, without wading through years of traditional residency in an effort to fill the gaps where there aren't enough doctors to meet health care needs. (Jeff Roberson/AP)</p>
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A new Missouri law offered a first-of-its-kind solution to the physician shortage plaguing thousands of U.S. communities: Medical school graduates could start treating patients immediately, without wading through years of traditional residency programs.</p>
<p>Following Missouri's lead, similar measures were enacted in Arkansas and Kansas and considered in Oklahoma. The idea appeared to be a new model for delivering medical care in regions with too few physicians to meet needs.</p>
<p>Yet more than 18 months after that first law passed, Missouri regulators are still trying to make it work. And not a single new doctor has gone into practice in any of the three states as a result of the new laws.</p>
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<p>"You've got the need for services on one hand, and you've got a group of people that are capable of providing those services. But we're not making it happen," said Dr. Keith Frederick, an orthopedic surgeon and Missouri House member who is frustrated by the delays in implementing the legislation he sponsored.</p>
<p>There are more than 6,200 places nationwide with a shortage of primary care physicians, ranging from urban neighborhoods to entire rural counties, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Universities have been launching new medical programs and expanding student enrollment in an attempt to meet an even larger projected doctor shortage caused by retirements and an increased demand for physicians under President Barack Obama's health insurance overhaul and state Medicaid expansions. Total U.S. medical school enrollment approached 110,000 this past year, up almost one-third over a decade ago.</p>
<p>Residency programs, which provide an additional three to six years of post-graduate training needed for physicians to be certified, have also grown but have failed to keep up with demand.</p>
<p>When foreign medical school graduates are added to the mix of U.S. students, more than 8,600 applicants were denied residency positions this year through the nation's main matching service. That's an increase of more than 50 percent from 2005. That bottleneck is due partly to a 1997 federal law that limits the growth in federal Medicare funding for residency programs.</p>
<p>States have taken a number of steps to get more medical professionals in the field. Some have allowed specially trained nurses, physician assistants and pharmacists to assume greater roles. Others have kicked in state money to expand residency positions.</p>
<p>The Missouri law creates a license for an "assistant physician," defined as someone who graduated from medical school within the past three years and passed the first two rounds of licensing exams within the last two years, but who has not completed a residency program. The law allows them to provide primary care services in "medically underserved" areas as long as they are supervised by another physician. They can work as an "assistant physician" indefinitely, essentially sidestepping the residency requirements.</p>
<p>Once the program is operating, supporters expect it to serve as a prototype that will spread beyond the Midwest.</p>
<p>"It kind of allows us to be a trailblazer on the issue," said Jeff Howell, the government relations director for the Missouri State Medical Association.</p>
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<p>But Missouri's new rules may not take effect until fall 2016, and supporters of the law are growing frustrated with each passing month that it remains in limbo.</p>
<p>Sara Bubenik said she graduated two years ago from medical school at Oregon Health &amp; Science University with about $350,000 in loans but had to retake the licensing exams several times before passing and has subsequently been unable to get a residency position. Although the Missouri law could offer her another route, the implementation delays mean she could soon be disqualified by the law's time limits on testing and graduation.</p>
<p>"It's heartbreaking for me, because I'm not going to be able to be a physician," Bubenik said in a telephone interview from New York, where she now is pursuing a master's degree in public health. "It's also really disappointing that I owe so much money and will never get to pay it back. I'm bound for the cycle of poverty."</p>
<p>The Missouri law was the brainchild of Dr. Edmond Cabbabe, a plastic surgeon in St. Louis who is active in state and national medical associations.</p>
<p>But the measure is opposed by some of the nation's most influential medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, which stands against any proposal that allows doctors to gain special licensing without completing a residency program.</p>
<p>Instead, the AMA wants more government funding to increase the number of available residency positions, something that has proved difficult to pass in Congress.</p>
<p>The Missouri law is also opposed by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. They say medical school is not intended to prepare physicians to go directly into practice but to lay a foundation for clinical residency training.</p>
<p>Even some rural physicians, who could potentially benefit from the help, don't like the Missouri law.</p>
<p>Dr. Tammy Hart is the only physician in Missouri's Mercer Country along the Iowa border. She opens her office at 7 a.m. to walk-in patients with urgent needs and often ends up working on days off. But Hart views the new Missouri law as "a very poor answer" to the physician shortage.</p>
<p>"By no means are you ready to assume being a physician when you graduate from medical school," she said.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Laws to ease doctor shortage see lag | false | https://abqjournal.com/690803/laws-to-ease-doctor-shortage-see-lag.html | 2 |
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<p>Asian tech stocks have been on a tear this year, outpacing robust gains made by the Nasdaq Composite benchmark, Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc.</p>
<p>And yet, the sector appears to be undervalued when compared with its U.S. counterpart.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Information Technology Index, which is made up of stocks in 12 countries from Pakistan to Japan, was up 56% through October, its best performance since a rebound from the global financial crisis in 2009.</p>
<p>But on a forward price-to-earnings basis, a common measure of stock valuations, the Asia index finished last month at 15.9. A comparable MSCI index of American firms was at 19.6. That isn't surprising because over the past five years, Asian technology companies have carried a lower multiple than their peers in the U.S.</p>
<p>The sector has had to grapple with an economic slowdown in China, which is one reason Asia tech stocks look cheaper, noted Guillermo Felices, a portfolio manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management.</p>
<p>And while Asian tech valuations are historically high relative to other sectors in the region, "we are seeing earnings going up continuously," said Claire Teng, executive director at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Asia.</p>
<p>Some investors believe Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd. is undervalued, even though its Hong Kong-listed shares have doubled this year, putting its market capitalization at about $470 billion. That puts it within $75 billion of Amazon and Facebook Inc.</p>
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<p>Kevin Tam, an analyst following the Shenzhen-based company at Core Pacific Yamaichi, said Tencent's cloud-computing and payment operations aren't properly valued. Their combined revenue nearly tripled from a year earlier in the second quarter and third-quarter earnings are due next week.</p>
<p>Properly valuing those operations would give a lift of about 10% to Tencent shares, Mr. Tam said.</p>
<p>Tencent shares are trading at 50 times this year's projected earnings, the highest point since early 2014, according to data provider FactSet. But Tencent has been logging earnings-per-share growth of at least 40% recently, making such a price-to-earnings ratio reasonable. The company's shares have been a big driver for Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark, which is up 31% this year.</p>
<p>Tencent is the parent of messaging app WeChat, web portal QQ.com and internet library operator China Literature Ltd., whose shares surged 86% in their Hong Kong debut Wednesday, valuing the company at more than $12 billion.</p>
<p>Shares of South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., which are heavily weighted in the MSCI AC Asia Pacific IT index like Tencent, have surged 56% this year after jumping 43% in 2016.</p>
<p>But despite strong profit growth this year, Samsung's 2017 price-to-earnings ratio is just 9.6, FactSet said. Since the start of 2012, the forward ratio has for the most part been below 10. In comparison, Apple's forward price-to-earnings ration has been in a range of 13 to 17 for the past decade.</p>
<p>Write to Kenan Machado at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 09, 2017 00:14 ET (05:14 GMT)</p> | Despite Major Gains, Asia Tech Stocks Are Still a Bargain | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/09/despite-major-gains-asia-tech-stocks-are-still-bargain.html | 2017-11-09 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-6926433/stock-photo-elderly-seniors-couple" type="external">BIGSTOCK Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>One of the toughest choices for Americans approaching retirement is when to start taking Social Security benefits. You can claim as early as age 62, but waiting longer to file can boost your eventual monthly payments substantially. Although most of the advice you'll see suggests that waiting past age 62 is the smartest decision, there are some situations in which filing as early as possible is in fact the best move.</p>
<p>Situation 1: If the Windfall Elimination Provision will affect your retirement benefitsFor most workers, the Social Security Administration won't cut your benefits even if you have outside sources of retirement income from an employee pension. However, for public employees who didn't pay Social Security payroll taxes throughout their careers and instead paid into a public pension plan, the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/10/will-the-windfall-elimination-provision-cut-your-s.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Windfall Elimination Provision Opens a New Window.</a> can reduce what you'll get from Social Security.</p>
<p>If you paid Social Security taxes for fewer than 30 years during your career, then your Social Security benefits are subject to reductions of up to half your government pension payment. The reduction is subject to a maximum of $428 per month for 2016 for those who worked 20 or fewer years in the Social Security system, and that maximum slides downward for those with 21 to 29 years of Social Security payroll tax-paying employment.</p>
<p>This reduction only takes effect when you start receiving your government pension. For some public employees, pension payments don't start until age 65 or later, so claiming Social Security at 62 can give you three or more years of unreduced payments. Depending on the size of your Social Security benefit and your pension, the fact that you can avoid the Windfall Elimination Provision for a while can offset the fact that you'll get smaller payments throughout your retirement.</p>
<p>Situation 2: If the Government Pension Offset will affect your spousal benefitsA situation similar to the one above occurs for those seeking to claim spousal benefits based on their spouse's work history. If you receive a government pension based on wages on which you didn't pay Social Security payroll tax, then the Social Security Administration will use the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/29/will-my-pension-cut-my-social-security-payments.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Government Pension Offset Opens a New Window.</a> to reduce any spousal benefits you're entitled to receive. In general, spouses of eligible workers are entitled to spousal Social Security benefits.</p>
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<p>The Government Pension Offset can be more draconian than the Windfall Elimination Provision. Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your pension amount, with no maximum limit. That means some spouses end up getting no spousal benefit at all because of the Government Pension Offset.</p>
<p>Like the Windfall Elimination Provision, the Government Pension Offset only applies once you start receiving your government pension. Therefore filing for Social Security early can sometimes get you at least a few years of spousal benefits before the Government Pension Offset reduces or eliminates them.</p>
<p>Situation 3: You have a terminal illness, and your decision won't harm surviving family membersPart of the reason why Social Security payments are lower if you file earlier is that the Social Security program factors life-expectancy assumptions into its payment formula. If you know you won't live long enough to take benefits at full retirement age or later, then claiming early Social Security is your best way to get at least some money from the program.</p>
<p>It's important to remember that your filing decisions can affect a surviving spouse and children, so you should check to see how filing early will affect any survivor benefits your family would be eligible to receive. For many retirees, though, their decision won't have an adverse impact on family members, so it makes sense to file early and get something from Social Security.</p>
<p>Claiming Social Security at 62 isn't always the right answer. But in these situations, defying the general rule and taking your benefits as soon as possible could be the smartest possible move.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/03/27/3-times-its-smart-to-take-social-security-benefits.aspx" type="external">3 Times It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62 Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days 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> | 3 Times It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/27/3-times-it-smart-to-take-social-security-benefits-at-62.html | 2016-03-27 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Thursday, July 22</p>
<p />
<p>Dear Diary,</p>
<p>Have you ever been in a Porta Potty in the middle of an Air Force runway at noon in near-100 degree heat?</p>
<p>I suppose I neglected to mention yesterday a striking feature of the concert site: the near complete absence of vegetation. Most of the ground surface is tarmac. There are virtually no trees but for a handful of withered pines in the immense camping area. It occurs to me that the 250,000-odd people that are not vendors, roadies, muscians, or other miscellaneous hangers-on will be deprived of all manner of shade for the next four days, other than that offered by the sauna-like Porta Pottys or tents.</p>
<p>Equally striking is the dearth of water available to the huddled masses. Within each of the Porta Potty cities are rudimentary sinks and faucets, but these are few and very, very far between. Amazing, given the number of people expected to show and the hostility of the environment. (One among us was heard to say, “People are gonna die.”)</p>
<p>Pray for rain.</p>
<p>Another profoundly irksome disappointment has been the so-called “beer gardens” which are, in fact, merely fenced-off compounds (within the greater fenced-off compound) monopolized by a single brew: Budweiser. Admittedly, we had grander hopes for beer consumption this weekend that went beyond the many permutations of increasingly bland Budweiser: Ice, Dry, Light, Extra-Dry, Mocha, Clear, and Vegan.</p>
<p>Later …</p>
<p>A thought: This place is like Kosovo, but with $8 cheesesteaks.</p>
<p>Regards, Daddy</p>
<p><a href="/commentary/columns/1999/07/woodstockdiaries.html" type="external" /> &#160; <a href="/commentary/columns/1999/07/woodstockdiaries3.html" type="external" /></p>
<p><a href="/sideshow/woodstockdiaries.html" type="external">Part I</a>&#160;&#160; <a href="/sideshow/woodstockdiaries2.html" type="external">Part II</a>&#160;&#160; <a href="/sideshow/woodstockdiaries3.html" type="external">Part III</a>&#160;&#160; <a href="/sideshow/woodstockdiaries4.html" type="external">Part IV</a>&#160;&#160; <a href="/sideshow/woodstockdiaries5.html" type="external">Part V</a></p>
<p /> | Part II: Mosquito Coast | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1999/07/part-ii-mosquito-coast/ | 1999-07-22 | 4 |
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<p>Shiprock’s Tierra Clichee, right, and Hope Christian’s Alivia Lewis battle for a loose ball during the 4A state championship game Friday. (Jim Thompson/Journal)</p>
<p>The Pit rarely is more alive than when one of New Mexico’s Navajo Nation schools takes the stage, and the venerable building was at full throat Friday afternoon as one of the state’s most revered programs returned to the top of the summit.</p>
<p>No. 2 seed Shiprock trailed Hope Christian by 15 points midway through the third quarter, but, propelled by pressure defense, timely 3-pointers and near-perfect free-throw shooting down the stretch, the Lady Chieftains rallied to upset the top-seeded Huskies 47-42 in the Class 4A girls state championship game.</p>
<p>A crowd of about 12,000 saw Shiprock (26-5) win its first blue trophy in 15 years and sixth overall.</p>
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<p>“I’m really overwhelmed with emotion,” Lady Chieftains coach Larenson Henderson said.</p>
<p>Shiprock four times this decade had reached the finals, only to fall short, including last year to Hope. The Lady Chieftains all but willed themselves to this title, with 95 percent of a jam-packed Pit urging them on.</p>
<p>“We all stuck together like a family, and that’s exactly what we are,” senior guard Melanie Secody said.</p>
<p>As the Huskies (28-3) set out to win a third consecutive title, everything was on track for them, with Hope Christian leading 33-18 with 3½ minutes left in the third quarter following Alivia Lewis’ three-point play.</p>
<p>Shiprock went on a 9-0 run to end the quarter, starting with Tayya Dale’s 3, and ending with a tough shot off the glass by Paige Dale, and shaved the deficit to 33-27 starting the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>“We didn’t give up,” said senior guard Tanisha Begay, who led Shiprock with 22 points, including 10-for-11 from the line.</p>
<p>The Lady Chieftains eventually caught and passed Hope with 3:46 remaining, but the Huskies regrouped momentarily and led 40-38 with 2:10 to go.</p>
<p>Paige Dale’s 3 with 1:09 left put Shiprock in front again, and this time it stayed there, largely because Secody was 6-for-6 from the line in the final 30 seconds, and because Shiprock also turned Hope over twice in the final seconds.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The pressure we put on Hope in the fourth quarter really rattled them,” Henderson said. This was Shiprock’s largest deficit overcome this season.</p>
<p>“I didn’t think we were capable of pulling it out,” Henderson admitted. “For these girls to pull it off like that, overwhelms me.”</p>
<p>Hope Christian had won 18 games in a row before Friday, including a mid-January win at home over Shiprock.</p>
<p>“I think it was pretty simple,” Hope coach Terry Heisey said after his final game with the Huskies after 25 years. “They made some big shots, we made some critical errors, and we did get a little bit fatigued.”</p>
<p>Lewis finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds for Hope. Hanna Valencia added 10 points and seven rebounds.</p>
<p>Shiprock was 9-of-10 from the line in the fourth quarter and made 10 more free throws than Hope did in the game.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>No. 2 SHIPROCK 47,</p>
<p>No. 1 HOPE CHRISTIAN 42</p>
<p>SHIPROCK (26-5): Kylie McKinley 0-1 0-0 0, Melanie Secody 1-5 6-6 8, Tiontai Woods 1-2 1-2 4, T’Yana Harry 1-2 0-0 2, Paige Dale 3-8 1-2 8, Tanisha Begay 5-12 10-11 22, Tierra Clichee 0-1 0-2 0, Tayya Dale 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 12-34 18-23 47.</p>
<p>HOPE CHRISTIAN (28-3): Charity Murphy 3-8 0-0 6, Alivia Lewis 7-13 2-4 16, Candace Ellis 0-1 0-0 0, Christine Heisey 0-5 2-4 2, Destiny Holien 1-4 1-2 3, Brielle Milford 2-6 0-0 5, Hanna Valencia 3-12 3-5 10. Totals 16-49 8-15 42.</p>
<p>Shiprock&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;8&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 4&#160; 15&#160; 20—47</p>
<p>Hope&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;7&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160; 16&#160; 10&#160;&#160;&#160; 9—42</p>
<p>3-point goals: S 5-16 (Begay 2-5, P.Dale 1-5, T.Dale 1-2, Woods 1-2, McKinley 0-1, Secody 0-1); HC 2-13 (Milford 1-2, Valencia 1-4, Murphy 0-5, Heisey 0-2). Field-goal percentages: S 22 first half, 50 second half, 35 game; HC 32 first half, 33 second half, 33 game. Rebounds: S 31 (Clichee 8); HC 36 (Lewis 15). Assists: S 7 (Woods, Clichee 2); HC 10 (Murphy 4). Total fouls: S 14; HC 17. Fouled out: HC, Murphy. Turnovers: S 9; HC 9.</p> | Class 4A girls final: Shiprock wins crown after coming from 15 down | false | https://abqjournal.com/966724/class-4a-girls-final-shiprock-wins-crown-after-coming-from-15-down.html | 2 |
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<p>NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus expects its economy to grow between 2.5 percent and 3 percent this year as it recovers from its recent financial crisis and bailout.</p>
<p>Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said Tuesday the economy has rebounded strongly and is making up lost ground after the country in 2013 sought out a multibillion-euro rescue deal from its eurozone partners to save it from bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Georgiades said unemployment in 2016 fell 1.6 percentage points from the previous year to 13.3 percent. Public finances ended last year with a slight fiscal surplus of 0.1 percent of GDP.</p>
<p>The minister said authorities are confident the economy is on an upward trajectory despite risks. He said it’s in the hands of Cypriots to avoid past mistakes that brought Cyprus to the brink of financial ruin.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Cyprus expects robust economic growth this year | false | https://abqjournal.com/949653/cyprus-expects-robust-economic-growth-this-year.html | 2 |
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<p>Being an Olympic gymnast takes dedication, but so does being a "Pokemon Go" player.</p>
<p>Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura said he racked up $5,000 in data roaming charges after playing in Brazil before the game's official release there on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Uchimura caught "Pokemon Go" fever a little later than usual and said he only downloaded the app after arriving in Sao Paulo for pre-Olympic training.</p>
<p>His teammate, Kenzo Shirai said Uchimura "looked dead at the team meal that day" after finding out what his Pokemon wrangling had cost, according to Japan's <a href="http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2016/08/424110.html" type="external">Kyodo News</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Read More: Now You Can Earn College Credit for Playing 'Pokemon Go'</a></p>
<p>Thankfully the story has a happy ending for the Olympian, who said he explained the situation to his service provider and "lucked out" when they agreed to move him to a flat $30 per day rate.</p>
<p>Now that he has that settled, Uchimura can focus on the big reason he came to Rio — winning that gold medal. Uchimura is the reigning men's all-around gold medal champion and a favorite to pull off the feat in Rio.</p>
<p>"Uchimura may not get any Pokemon, but he will surely get gold," Nikkan Sports predicted.</p>
<p>The men's competition begins Saturday, August 6.</p> | Japanese Gymnast Racks up Olympian $5,000 ‘Pokemon Go’ Bill in Rio | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-rio-summer-olympics/japanese-gymnast-racks-olympian-5-000-pokemon-go-bill-rio-n622811 | 2016-08-04 | 3 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Lester Tenney endured three years as a Japanese prisoner during World War II, but he has made peace with his former enemy. Yet as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to address Congress on Wednesday, in the 70th anniversary year of the war's end, something rankles Tenney about Japan's attitude toward its past.</p>
<p>"They don't want the young people to know what really happened," complains Tenney, now 94.</p>
<p>The Associated Press spoke to three U.S. war veterans about their surrender in the Philippines in 1942 and their exploitation as slave laborers in Japan. It's an episode of history most notorious for the Bataan Death March, when tens of thousands of Filipino and American POWs were forced 65 miles on foot to prison camps. Thousands are believed to have perished.</p>
<p>The AP also asked the veterans for opinions about Japan today. Japan issued a formal apology to American POWs in 2009 and again in 2010, and has paid for some veterans to travel to Japan, leaving them with a more positive view of the Japanese people.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tenney, with the Army's 192nd Tank Battalion, said he was made to march for eight days after his capture.</p>
<p>"You had to stand on your own two feet and you had to keep moving. If you fell down, you died. If you had to go to the bathroom, you died. If you had a malaria attack, you died. The Japanese would just kill you, period. You had to stay on your feet. ... If you looked at a Japanese soldier in the wrong way, he would beat the hell out of you."</p>
<p>After a 28-day journey by ship to Japan, Tenney worked at a coal mine near the town of Omuta run by the Mitsui Mining Co., shoveling coal 12 hours a day for three years.</p>
<p>He said British, Australian and Indonesian prisoners also worked there and they had no protective gear, and they would injure themselves intentionally to get days off. His weight dropped from 189 pounds to 97 pounds. He said Mitsui has never responded to his letters calling for an apology.</p>
<p>(Mitsui &amp; Co., which was disbanded after the war and then re-established as a major industrial group, denies having any legal or historical responsibility for Mitsui Mining Co.'s treatment of forced laborers before or during the war. It says therefore it cannot comment on complaints or requests for apologies.)</p>
<p>"If Mr. Abe comes here I would like him to say, 'I bring with me an apology from the industrial giants that enslaved American POWs.' He could say that very easily. ... I'm afraid that when Mr. Abe leaves here, all of it's going to be forgotten. They're going to forget about apologies to the POWs, they're going to forget they did anything wrong. It's going to like whitewashing the whole thing."</p>
<p>"You can't have a high-ranking country today if you're not willing to face your past. They have to admit their failures. If they admit their failures, then by golly they deserve to have the best."</p>
<p>After the war, Tenney became a professor of economics at Arizona State University and today lives in Carlsbad, California. He has returned to Japan five times and was instrumental in starting Japanese government-supported "friendship" visits by POWs.</p>
<p>"The Japanese people were wonderful. They were very kind, they were very hospitable, no question about it. They treated us beautifully ... And there's no reason why they shouldn't. We didn't do anything wrong (in the war)."</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Harold Bergbower, 94, was a private with the Air Force's 28th Bomb Squadron when he was captured on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao and sent eventually to Davao penal colony.</p>
<p>"We could not have been treated any worse in prison camp," he said. "It was inhuman."</p>
<p>Intensely sick during the voyage, he cannot recall the journey to Japan, in the broiling, closed holds of "hell ships" that carried POWs and Asian laborers. They were starved of food, deprived of water. Only decades after did he learn that the first ship he was on was hit in a U.S. bombing attack and forced to dock for repairs. Thousands died on such voyages.</p>
<p>Bergbower spent two years in brutal labor, scooping ore into open furnaces at a steel mill in the city of Toyama.</p>
<p>"When I got back to the States after the war, I was told to go home and forget about it and that's exactly what I did. I didn't talk to anybody."</p>
<p>His view of Japan changed when he went on a friendship visit in 2011 and returned to the factory where he'd been enslaved. Staff there apologized "from the heart" for what the POWs had been through. "I came away with a much different impression of Japan. We couldn't have been treated any better."</p>
<p>Bergbower, who lives near Phoenix, said he has forgiven the people of Japan, but not the government.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Darrell Stark, 93, was a new recruit of the Army's 31st Infantry Regiment when he was captured and eventually shipped to Yokkaichi, where he was forced to shovel coal at a copper mill.</p>
<p>Five years after the war, Stark received a letter from a Japanese man who showed him kindness and gave him food at the mill. Stark always regretted that he never replied.</p>
<p>Stark suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, but he recovered and enjoyed a long career as a corrections officer in Connecticut. He went to Japan on a friendship visit last October, and the current deputy director of the mill clasped his hand and apologized.</p>
<p>Stark has also exchanged letters with the son of the man, now deceased, who showed him kindness 70 years ago.</p>
<p>"I found the people (in Japan) to be very friendly, the country very clean and the people that I talked to were very nice. It is amazing what the two countries have done together to accomplish what we have over all these years. It's also amazing that with all this we have accomplished, they are not completely coming out with the truth."</p>
<p>"It really upsets me there are certain individuals who have completely ignored history and rewritten it to make it look like Japan was attacked, and that there was no Bataan Death March and no cruelty at all on their part. That's not all the people. But there are some.</p>
<p>"I think when (Abe) comes, and if he really wants to do something great for his nation and maybe for the world, he should make an apology and be grateful, in a way of appreciation, for things the two countries have done together. That would just about wind it up right there, because we need to be allies."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo contributed to this report.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Lester Tenney endured three years as a Japanese prisoner during World War II, but he has made peace with his former enemy. Yet as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to address Congress on Wednesday, in the 70th anniversary year of the war's end, something rankles Tenney about Japan's attitude toward its past.</p>
<p>"They don't want the young people to know what really happened," complains Tenney, now 94.</p>
<p>The Associated Press spoke to three U.S. war veterans about their surrender in the Philippines in 1942 and their exploitation as slave laborers in Japan. It's an episode of history most notorious for the Bataan Death March, when tens of thousands of Filipino and American POWs were forced 65 miles on foot to prison camps. Thousands are believed to have perished.</p>
<p>The AP also asked the veterans for opinions about Japan today. Japan issued a formal apology to American POWs in 2009 and again in 2010, and has paid for some veterans to travel to Japan, leaving them with a more positive view of the Japanese people.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tenney, with the Army's 192nd Tank Battalion, said he was made to march for eight days after his capture.</p>
<p>"You had to stand on your own two feet and you had to keep moving. If you fell down, you died. If you had to go to the bathroom, you died. If you had a malaria attack, you died. The Japanese would just kill you, period. You had to stay on your feet. ... If you looked at a Japanese soldier in the wrong way, he would beat the hell out of you."</p>
<p>After a 28-day journey by ship to Japan, Tenney worked at a coal mine near the town of Omuta run by the Mitsui Mining Co., shoveling coal 12 hours a day for three years.</p>
<p>He said British, Australian and Indonesian prisoners also worked there and they had no protective gear, and they would injure themselves intentionally to get days off. His weight dropped from 189 pounds to 97 pounds. He said Mitsui has never responded to his letters calling for an apology.</p>
<p>(Mitsui &amp; Co., which was disbanded after the war and then re-established as a major industrial group, denies having any legal or historical responsibility for Mitsui Mining Co.'s treatment of forced laborers before or during the war. It says therefore it cannot comment on complaints or requests for apologies.)</p>
<p>"If Mr. Abe comes here I would like him to say, 'I bring with me an apology from the industrial giants that enslaved American POWs.' He could say that very easily. ... I'm afraid that when Mr. Abe leaves here, all of it's going to be forgotten. They're going to forget about apologies to the POWs, they're going to forget they did anything wrong. It's going to like whitewashing the whole thing."</p>
<p>"You can't have a high-ranking country today if you're not willing to face your past. They have to admit their failures. If they admit their failures, then by golly they deserve to have the best."</p>
<p>After the war, Tenney became a professor of economics at Arizona State University and today lives in Carlsbad, California. He has returned to Japan five times and was instrumental in starting Japanese government-supported "friendship" visits by POWs.</p>
<p>"The Japanese people were wonderful. They were very kind, they were very hospitable, no question about it. They treated us beautifully ... And there's no reason why they shouldn't. We didn't do anything wrong (in the war)."</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Harold Bergbower, 94, was a private with the Air Force's 28th Bomb Squadron when he was captured on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao and sent eventually to Davao penal colony.</p>
<p>"We could not have been treated any worse in prison camp," he said. "It was inhuman."</p>
<p>Intensely sick during the voyage, he cannot recall the journey to Japan, in the broiling, closed holds of "hell ships" that carried POWs and Asian laborers. They were starved of food, deprived of water. Only decades after did he learn that the first ship he was on was hit in a U.S. bombing attack and forced to dock for repairs. Thousands died on such voyages.</p>
<p>Bergbower spent two years in brutal labor, scooping ore into open furnaces at a steel mill in the city of Toyama.</p>
<p>"When I got back to the States after the war, I was told to go home and forget about it and that's exactly what I did. I didn't talk to anybody."</p>
<p>His view of Japan changed when he went on a friendship visit in 2011 and returned to the factory where he'd been enslaved. Staff there apologized "from the heart" for what the POWs had been through. "I came away with a much different impression of Japan. We couldn't have been treated any better."</p>
<p>Bergbower, who lives near Phoenix, said he has forgiven the people of Japan, but not the government.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Darrell Stark, 93, was a new recruit of the Army's 31st Infantry Regiment when he was captured and eventually shipped to Yokkaichi, where he was forced to shovel coal at a copper mill.</p>
<p>Five years after the war, Stark received a letter from a Japanese man who showed him kindness and gave him food at the mill. Stark always regretted that he never replied.</p>
<p>Stark suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, but he recovered and enjoyed a long career as a corrections officer in Connecticut. He went to Japan on a friendship visit last October, and the current deputy director of the mill clasped his hand and apologized.</p>
<p>Stark has also exchanged letters with the son of the man, now deceased, who showed him kindness 70 years ago.</p>
<p>"I found the people (in Japan) to be very friendly, the country very clean and the people that I talked to were very nice. It is amazing what the two countries have done together to accomplish what we have over all these years. It's also amazing that with all this we have accomplished, they are not completely coming out with the truth."</p>
<p>"It really upsets me there are certain individuals who have completely ignored history and rewritten it to make it look like Japan was attacked, and that there was no Bataan Death March and no cruelty at all on their part. That's not all the people. But there are some.</p>
<p>"I think when (Abe) comes, and if he really wants to do something great for his nation and maybe for the world, he should make an apology and be grateful, in a way of appreciation, for things the two countries have done together. That would just about wind it up right there, because we need to be allies."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo contributed to this report.</p> | Japan's views of WWII history rankles some US veterans | false | https://apnews.com/amp/d85eeaeb631e4a6a89d84f05e1747a86 | 2015-04-25 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera unexpectedly returned to the island Thursday to serve the remainder of a sentence commuted by outgoing President Barack Obama, the San Juan mayor’s office said.</p>
<p>A mayoral official said Lopez disembarked from an American Airlines jet that landed in the capital, San Juan, just after 4:30 p.m. local time. He had been expected to be released from prison in Terre Haute, Indiana on May 17. Federal officials did not immediately respond to questions about the reason for his unexpectedly early release.</p>
<p>The official said Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto accompanied Lopez on the flight. The official described Lopez’s arrival on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak with the press.</p>
<p>Lopez is expected to live in a halfway-house until his formal release date.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He had been sentenced to 55 years in prison for his role in a violent struggle for independence for the U.S. territory. Obama commuted that sentence last month.</p>
<p>Lopez was a member of the ultranationalist Armed Forces of National Liberation, which claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings at public and commercial buildings during the 1970s and ’80s in New York, Chicago, Washington and other U.S. cities. The group’s most notorious bombing killed four people and injured more than 60 at New York’s landmark Fraunces Tavern in 1975. Lopez was not convicted of any role in that attack, but some still hold him responsible because of his ties to the ultranationalist group.</p>
<p>Lopez’s friends had previously said he wanted to spend time with his daughter and granddaughter and establish a think tank that will work on such problems as climate change, the economy and the island’s political status.</p>
<p>Mayor Cruz recently said she would offer him a job as a community leader.</p> | Puerto Rico nationalist returns to serve term cut by Obama | false | https://abqjournal.com/946524/puerto-rico-nationalist-returns-to-serve-term-cut-by-obama.html | 2017-02-09 | 2 |
<p>Bucharest.</p>
<p>I was interviewed a few months back on Michael Slate’s radio program at KPFK in Los Angeles. He had read a piece I wrote for Counterpunch defending the use of the admittedly overused label ‘fascist’ in reference to the Bush administration, and he invited me on the air to expatiate.</p>
<p>Once there, I drifted into other historical comparisons. I said that the administration’s talk about Iraq is often reminiscent of Moscow city-planning under Stalin, when maps were published including not just, as Stalin might say, ‘actually existing’ streets, polyclinics, and centers for natation, gymnastics, and other sub-branches of ‘physical culture’, but also those they had intended to build, under Stalin’s orders, over the course of the next several years.</p>
<p>My host interrupted me with what he took to be a whopping revelation: I had drifted too far, he declared, for, while fascists are bad, Stalin was, as he put it, and as he insisted the historical record would show at the end of days, ‘on the side of the people’.</p>
<p>I didn’t get a chance to ask Mr. Slate what he thinks of Ceausescu.</p>
<p>I arrived in the Eastern Bloc for the first time just a month after watching Mr. Ceausescu’s execution on Christmas Day, 1989, at the hands of enraged Timisoara miners, on T.V., from the comfort of my parents’ sitting room within the gates of a Palm Springs country club. Mom implored me to postpone my semester in Moscow until things settled down a bit. That’s not, I insisted, how the dialectic of history works.</p>
<p>And now I am in Bucharest, almost 16 years later, giving a few public lectures on topics that have nothing to do with politics, and touring the former dictator’s ‘House of the People’, a kitsch and monstrous neo-classical palace on top of a hill in a central neighborhood he had bulldozed to make room for it, which now houses various government ministries for the promotion of commerce and for integration into the European Union, as well as a mediocre museum of national folk costumes and a rather worse exhibition of what I would describe as student-produced science-fiction/fantasy paintings. Ceausescu got it into his head to build the palace after visiting North Korea in 1971 and deciding that he might be the only communist dictator audacious and megalomaniacal enough to outdo Kim Il Sung.</p>
<p>It is a ruin like any other, and it too has been covered over with its own Barbarian desecrations. There are ads all about for a sandwich company called ‘Big Time’, using the slogan ‘meat me’ and displaying a grotesque, photo- shopped face of a man with an outsized mouth. The only adaptation I’ve seen in the post-communist world to rival this place in its simultaneous embodiment of two different eras’ different versions of vulgarity is the Atomic Energy pavilion of the Moscow All-Union Exhibition of the Achievements of the Peoples’ Economy, where the people can now go to purchase low-end Chinese-made microwave ovens.</p>
<p>But in defence of the present historical era, it is at least worth noting that there are now plenty of people milling about in the House of the People who are the undisputed descendents of those they must have had in mind when they started carrying on about ‘le peuple’ in France some centuries ago: chubby folks in shiny track suits, men with few remaining teeth, Icarus-busloads of domestic tourists who’ve brought packed lunches of hard-boiled eggs, black bread, and tomatoes to be eaten like apples.</p>
<p>I recall visiting another institution ostensibly designed for the people: the Lenin Library in Moscow. It was January, 1990, and glasnost’ was already in full swing. But, I was to learn, old habits die hard. I decided to test Gorbachev’s rhetoric about openness by seeing if the old ladies assigned to guard the books could produced a copy of Freud’s Totem and Taboo for me.</p>
<p>I knew they had one in there somewhere, since back in California I had read about the early efflorescence of Freudo-Marxism in the glory days of the Soviet avant garde that would scarcely survive Lenin’s death. They kept at least one copy in deep storage after Freud fell out of favor so that, at least on occasion, some designated hacks might haul him out and choose a few isolated, mistranslated, and decontextualized passages for derisive ‘critique’.</p>
<p>I was given to know very quickly that the Lenin Library is an institution the very purpose of which is to throw up obstacles at every step of a research project to prevent its purported users from getting their hands on the desired materials. If this is a library for the people, I thought at the time, I shall have to have my species membership looked into.</p>
<p>Yes, I feel a deep and sincere sense of loss before the ruins of that half of the world that was swallowed up over night and covered over with vulgar advertisements for things no one needs in a meaningless English no one understands. But yes, I also think Stalinism reached a level of duplicitous doublespeak it would be difficult for the Bush administration to match.</p>
<p>So was my casual shift from the one historical comparison to another justified?</p>
<p>Of course, the facile elision of fascism and Stalinism is an exercise appropriate to intellects operating roughly at the level of Nicholas Kristof, or of some worn-out, 10th-grade world history teacher in the California public school system. There are important differences. Slavoj Zizek has sharply noted that Stalin, unlike Hitler, could appropriately applaud along with the crowd at his own public appearances, for what was being applauded was not the man, but the grand and inevitable sweep of history that had propelled this man to its fore. The actually existing conditions were the result of objective, scientific laws spelled out, but not willed into existence, by Marx himself. Stalin could not be blamed for what happens in accordance with the iron law of history. Nazism, in contrast, was the result of one man’s bold and willful interruption of the normal course of history, rather than the continuation of this course.</p>
<p>To this distinction, one might add that, while holocaust revisionists are a particularly despicable lot, gulag apologists have something about them that commands sympathy: they are delusional, but it is a beautiful vision of what history could have been that deludes them.</p>
<p>Still, one had best limit one’s apologies to on-air chatter at the obscure low end of the FM dial in places like Los Angeles, where one is free to flirt with revolutionary iconography without the slightest chance of ever being confronted with a real choice between pacifism and bloodshed, and where one can wax Stalinistic on the mic until one’s hour is up and it’s time for ‘Spaceways’, ‘Inner Visions’, or ‘Aziatik Rhythmz’.</p>
<p>In Romania, in contrast, where the Stalinist legacy lasted not until 1956, as in the USSR, but until 1989, it’s too likely that the person to whom you are divulging your sympathies has parents who were placed in prison for years for some perceived counterrevolutionary faux-pas (like moving to an excessively Asiatic rhythm: witness Ceausescu’s crackdown in the 1980s against followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi0, or loved ones who were shot in the town square in Timisoara during what is now universally referred to as the ‘revolution’ of ’89.</p>
<p>Around here, after so many decades of duplicity, invocations of ‘the people’ can’t but ring false. This has nothing to do with ideology: this has to do with the way meanings attach to words in spite of what ideologues might want them to mean.</p>
<p>For what is said of Woodrow Wilson –that he loved the people but hated people– is assuredly a fortiori the case for the man whose House of the People would make any small child, of the bourgeoisie or the proletariat, avert her poor eyes in dread, and long for the sight of something warm and human.</p>
<p>Justin Smith is a professor of philosophy and writer living in Montreal. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | What About the People? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/05/28/what-about-the-people/ | 2005-05-28 | 4 |
<p>Kathryn Watson, <a href="http://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2017/03/07/was-nyt-reporters-tweet-for-trumps-tax-returns-illegal-or-only-unethical/" type="external">DCNF</a></p>
<p>It’s possible New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof crossed the free speech line into criminal solicitation of a felony Monday when he <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/06/nyt-columnist-encourages-irs-agents-to-commit-felony-by-leaking-trumps-taxes/" type="external">tweeted where IRS employees</a> could send him President Donald Trump’s tax returns, legal experts say.</p>
<p />
<p>At least, it’s up for debate.</p>
<p>An IRS employee’s disclosure of tax returns to an unauthorized person <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7213" type="external">is a felony,</a> and federal law <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2" type="external">prohibits anyone from soliciting a crime</a>. The First Amendment “wouldn’t immunize” that, wrote UCLA law professor and Washington Post columnist&#160;Eugene Volokh Monday.</p>
<p>“I think that asking IRS employees — even if not a specific employee — to leak a specific document is likely to be enough to put the statement on the solicitation side of the line, rather than the mere advocacy side” of speech,&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/06/is-asking-irs-agents-to-leak-president-trumps-tax-return-a-crime-and-constitutionally-unprotected/?utm_term=.b951f6a07ea3" type="external">Volokh wrote</a>. “But I can’t be completely certain of that.”</p>
<p>Whether Kristof’s tweet qualifies as protected advocacy of an action or criminal solicitation under U.S. code is irrelevant, however, if he meant it as hyperbole or satire, Volokh said. He compared Kristof’s case to then-candidate Donald Trump’s <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/trump-putin-no-relationship-226282" type="external">suggestion on the campaign trail</a>&#160;that Russians hack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s missing 30,000 emails.</p>
<p>William Marshall, a University of North Carolina Law School professor and White House deputy counsel under former President Bill Clinton, said it’s unlikely a judge would take Kristof’s tweet seriously.</p>
<p>“I think that the court has held numerous times that satire and political speech are both fundamental to the First Amendment, and I don’t think anyone looking at this tweet is going to look at it as an attempt of criminal solicitation,” Marshall told The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group.</p>
<p>Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the criminal solicitation issue isn’t clear. If Kristof received Trump’s tax returns and published them, however, that would qualify as criminal activity <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7213" type="external">under the tax code</a>, he said.</p>
<p>“I am not sure his solicitation would fit within the statute, since he didn’t offer anything of value,” Von Spakovsky told TheDCNF. “But I think it is unethical for him to ask IRS employees to commit a federal crime and he could be prosecuted if he published such an illegally obtained tax return.”</p>
<p>Marshall, citing the Pentagon Papers case in which The New York Times <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/pentagon-papers" type="external">published secret Department of Defense papers</a> about U.S. involvement in Vietnam, said prosecutors are unlikely to pursue Kristof if he did publish Trump’s returns as a result of his tweet. Prosecutors are less likely to pursue Kristof for his tweet under criminal solicitation laws.</p>
<p>“I would say this is nothing any serious prosecutor would try to pursue,” Marshall said.</p>
<p>Trump has refused to release his returns, claiming they are under audit, although IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told Congress an audit doesn’t prohibit an individual from disclosing them.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/01/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html" type="external">NYTimes in October</a> published three pages of Trump’s 1995 state tax records, showing Trump took more than $900 million in losses that year. No charges have been filed against the paper.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/kathrynw5?lang=en" type="external">Follow Kathryn on Twitter</a></p>
<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected].</a></p> | Was this reporter’s tweet about Trump’s tax returns illegal, or only ‘unethical?’ | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2017/03/08/reporters-tweet-trumps-tax-returns-illegal-unethical-456554 | 2017-03-08 | 0 |
<p>On a campus where even a whisper of politics risks jail time and where loyalty to the ruling party is rewarded with better grades and the best dorms, the small gathering of medical students, holding olive branches and flowers and dressed in bright white coats, were staging something truly revolutionary: A rally against the regime.</p>
<p>"God, Syria, freedom only," chanted the group of some 150 budding doctors, their voices reverberating around the faculty buildings of Damascus University.</p>
<p>Outraged at the killing of more than a dozen protesters in the central city of Homs in just two days and with the army set to move into Daraa, the southern city where Syria's popular uprising began, the students had dared the previously unthinkable.</p>
<p>The regime's reaction was the same on campus as off it: Violent repression.</p>
<p>"God, Syria, Bashar only," came the rhythmic chant, as around 500 members of the Students? Union, run by the ruling Baath Party, slowly descended on the protesters. The call for freedom was drowned out.</p>
<p>"We tried to ignore them at first, but they kept coming closer," said Mohammad, 22, one of the student protesters. "Then they began to beat us with wooden sticks and their belts."</p>
<p>The white coats scattered, olive branches and flowers left to be trampled underfoot.</p>
<p>"We used to be afraid of the secret police, but now we are afraid of our friends who sit next to us or live with us in the same dorms," said Mohammed, who like other students interviewed for this article declined to publish his full name, fearing retribution for speaking out. "It is a shame."</p>
<p>Big Brother watching</p>
<p>Since taking power in a military coup in 1963, Syria's socialist Baath Party has opened up free university education to hundreds of thousands of students from poorer families. Damascus University alone now counts nearly 220,000 enrolled students.</p>
<p>At the main gates of Damascus University students and teachers pass under the gaze of a towering statue of the late President Hafez al-Assad, draped in a university robe and holding a stack of books.</p>
<p>But in the one-party police state of the Assad dynasty, the campuses of Syria's universities have long been places for smothering dissent, rewarding loyalty to the regime and for gathering intelligence on students as much as educating them.</p>
<p>"All new ideas come from the youth and therefore the university environment is even more controlled than the rest of Syria," said Fadi, a 25-year-old student at Damascus University.</p>
<p>Human rights activists have documented dozens of cases of students arrested after speaking their mind on campus and being informed on by a fellow student to the Students? Security department of the Union.</p>
<p>"Students report each other to the Union and in return they are offered privileges such as being allowed to stay out until late or better dorm rooms," said Khaled, a former student of the university.</p>
<p>One of Syria's leading cyber activists, profiled by GlobalPost last month, was in part motivated to join the opposition following the arrest and disappearance of his sister from Damascus University after she was heard questioning Assad's effectiveness.</p>
<p>Joining the party</p>
<p>The principal route for the regime's exercise of control over campus is through rewarding students if they join the ruling party and the Baath-run Students? Union.</p>
<p>Political life starts early. Elementary school students can join the Baath Pioneers and later, during high school, in the Revolution Youth Union.</p>
<p>Upon enrolling at university, students are encouraged by their teachers to join the Baath Party itself. Membership guarantees students an instant increase in their grade points, a crucial boost for many hoping to enter the best faculties.</p>
<p>"Baathist students receive five to 10 grade points more than us so they can get into the better faculties," said Mohammed, who did not join the ruling party.</p>
<p>Membership of the Students? Union, run by Ammar Saaty, a Baath Party MP, while not compulsory, also brings many rewards.</p>
<p>"It is easier to get a room in campus if you're a member of the Union. Otherwise you might have to rent a room in the city which costs a lot of money," said Mohammed.</p>
<p>Members of the Students? Union are rewarded when they inform on students suspected of not supporting the regime and, as was the case with the medical students' protest, are often directly used to violently break up demonstrations.</p>
<p>A current student said the Union is now offering rewards to members who catch anyone filming at protests on campus: The successful agent gets to keep the mobile phone of the person caught and is given money.</p>
<p>Thugs roaming campus</p>
<p>Students? Union members were joined on campus by hundreds of plain clothes secret police patrolling an empty and eerily quiet Damascus University, according to several current students.</p>
<p>"Now there are more than 300 secret police patrolling inside the university alongside members of the Students? Union," said Ahmad, a student at Damascus University. "They swear at people and if anyone answers back they will be beaten."</p>
<p>While some concerned parents have kept their sons and daughters at home, other students have decided to boycott classes in protest.</p>
<p>Classes have been broken into by groups of thugs, said Ahmed, shouting "Long live Bashar!" and "There are traitors among us and we'll kill you!"</p>
<p>In a chilling parallel to the crackdown on students in Iran during the Green Movement protests against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syrian secret police were sent into Damascus University to raid dormitories late last month.</p>
<p>"I saw two large buses full of plain clothes security pull up to the statue of Hafez al-Assad. The officers went to the dorms housing IT students and searched their rooms and arrested some of the students," said Ahmad.</p>
<p>A representative of the Students? Union, contacted by a reporter, refused to comment on the testimony of students that they had been beaten by members of the Union.</p>
<p>In a press conference, Minister of Higher Education Abdul Razzaq Sheikh Issa said, "It is not allowed for university students to demonstrate or stage sit-ins inside university buildings. If students have some demands they can talk directly to their faculty's dean or to the university's president."</p>
<p>Khaldoun, a 21-year-old member of the Union and staunch supporter of the regime, said he had not participated in attacks on the protesters, but could understand why they had happened.</p>
<p>"Universities are for education, not for demonstrations. Without the Baath Party and President Assad none of us poor could get into university," he said.</p>
<p>"Those students who are protesting are studying in the government's buildings: No one eats from a dish only to spit in it. Everyone against the country and Assad should be punished."</p>
<p>But for many students, the fear barrier that kept politics off campus for generations has fallen in a matter of weeks.</p>
<p>Since the attack on the medical students, a group calling itself "The University Students of Syria" issued an eight-point statement denouncing "acts of force and humiliation inflicted upon university students inside campuses by security forces."</p>
<p>"We want freedom and democracy for all of Syria," said Ibrahim, one of the students who drafted the statement.</p>
<p>"We want freedom of expression, the release of political prisoners, for political parties to be allowed and a free media. We are university students, but we are also Syrians: We feel and see what is going on in the country."</p> | Syria: Revolution on campus? | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-05-06/syria-revolution-campus | 2011-05-06 | 3 |
<p />
<p>The good news for Rush Limbaugh: One month after being notified he was getting <a href="/blog/2015/05/19/bostons-wrko-dropping-rush-limbaughs-show-from/203671" type="external">dumped</a> by his Boston talk radio host station, the talker has <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/06/15/rush-limbaugh-finds-home-new-boston-talk-station/U275PnOOiLXy8rcQhGDlFM/story.html" type="external">a new AM</a>home in the city. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>The bad news: The station currently boasts a <a href="http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb013" type="external">0.6 rating</a>, trails four non-commercial stations in the market, and becomes yet another big-city, cellar-dwelling outpost that Limbaugh is forced to call home.</p>
<p>The station, WKOX, is the type of " <a href="http://www.fybush.com/nerw-20150615/" type="external">bottom-rung</a>" affiliate that Limbaugh was rarely associated with during his halcyon days as the king of talk radio. But those days seem to be dwindling as the Boston fall from grace has previously played out for Limbaugh in places like <a href="/blog/2014/05/01/rush-limbaughs-california-ratings-debacle/199108?fb_action_ids=434700553334265&amp;fb_action_types=og.likes&amp;fb_ref=article" type="external">Los Angeles</a> and Indianapolis. In each instance, Limbaugh exited a prosperous, longtime radio home and was forced to settle for an also-ran outlet with miniscule ratings.</p>
<p>Limbaugh's ongoing major market woes can be traced to his 2012 on-air meltdown over Sandra Fluke, where he castigated and insulted the graduate student for three days on his program, calling her a "slut" and suggesting she post videos of herself having sex on the Internet. (Fluke's sin in the eyes of Limbaugh was <a href="/blog/2012/03/14/did-anyone-in-conservative-media-actually-read/184427" type="external">testifying</a> before Congress in favor of contraception mandates for health care insurance.)</p>
<p>The <a href="" type="internal">astonishing Limbaugh monologues</a> sparked an unprecedented <a href="/blog/2013/03/01/rush-limbaugh-still-toxic-for-advertisers-one-y/192865" type="external">advertiser exodus</a>, which means selling his show has become a major lift for the affiliate stations that pay a hefty fee for the right to carry his program. The&#160;Wall Street Journal&#160;has&#160; <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/talk-radios-advertising-problem-1423011395" type="external">reported</a>&#160;on the millions of dollars&#160;in advertising revenue that Limbaugh's host stations&#160;lose because of the talker's stigma on Madison Avenue.</p>
<p>The still-unfolding repercussions? Some key stations want out of their Limbaugh deals. And when those deals are up, nobody else is stepping forward to ink new contracts with Rush.&#160;</p> | Rush Limbaugh Demoted To Another Irrelevant, Ratings-Challenged Station In A Major Market | true | http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/17/rush-limbaugh-demoted-to-another-irrelevant-rat/204028 | 2015-06-17 | 4 |
<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee received a wakeup call before starting the toughest portion of its schedule.</p>
<p>Mercedes Russell scored a career-high 33 points as the seventh-ranked Lady Volunteers came from behind in the second half to outlast Vanderbilt 86-73 on Sunday and remain unbeaten heading into a four-game stretch against ranked opponents.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt (4-13, 0-3 SEC) is struggling through its worst start in school history and has never beaten Tennessee at Knoxville in 33 attempts, but the Commodores gave Tennessee (15-0, 3-0) everything it could handle in this one. Vanderbilt led 62-58 with a minute left in the third quarter before Tennessee's 11-0 run put the Lady Vols ahead for good.</p>
<p />
<p>"I think their record's not any indication of how they are," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. "They hit great shots. They hit big shots. We went into the game knowing that's what they needed to do to stay in the game, and we didn't defend them. We've got to understand game preparation, what we need to do, stick to the game plan and we won't dig ourselves in a hole."</p>
<p>Tennessee is 15-0 for the fourth time ever and is enjoying its fastest start since 2005-06, when the Lady Vols won their first 16 games and finished 31-5 with an NCAA regional final appearance. In the other two times the Lady Vols started 15-0, they had an undefeated national championship season in 1997-98 and reached the NCAA final in 1994-95.</p>
<p>The next two weeks should provide some clues about Tennessee's long-term potential this season. Tennessee is on the road for its next three games against No. 19 Texas A&amp;M, No. 4 South Carolina and No. 2 Notre Dame before returning home to face No. 5 Mississippi State.</p>
<p>"This is a team that can compete for a national championship," Vanderbilt coach Stephanie White said of Tennessee. "There's no doubt about it."</p>
<p />
<p>Vanderbilt stayed close by shooting 10 of 20 from 3-point range. Cierra Walker scored 20 points and was 6 of 8 on 3-pointers. Christa Reed scored 16 points, Chelsie Hall had 15 and Erin Whalen added 10.</p>
<p>But without any starters over 6-foot-2, Vanderbilt had no way of stopping the 6-6 Russell and the 6-3 Cheridene Green, who shot 7 of 8 and had a career-high 17 points off the bench. Tennessee outscored Vanderbilt 56-26 in the paint.</p>
<p>"It was a huge key for us coming into today's game," Russell said. "The past few days in practice, we really just emphasized we could get a lot of paint points and post touches."</p>
<p>Tennessee still trailed for much of the third quarter and didn't put Vanderbilt away until the last five minutes.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt trailed 73-68 with 5:19 left when a Walker 3-point attempt bounced off the rim, her first miss after making six straight shots from beyond the arc. Tennessee then used a suffocating defense to score 10 straight points and put the game away as Vanderbilt committed a flurry of turnovers.</p>
<p />
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Vanderbilt: Although the Commodores lost for the seventh time in their last eight games, this performance should give Vanderbilt some confidence that it can compete with the rest of the SEC. Vanderbilt's ability to stay close much of the way was particularly impressive since its leading scorer this season - Rachel Bell - managed just two points.</p>
<p>Tennessee: Green's performance is encouraging for a team that will likely need more contributions from the junior as it enters the meat of its SEC schedule, particularly if Russell encounters foul trouble. Tennessee needed Green to deliver Sunday because Evina Westbrook and Nared combined to shoot just 6 of 26, though Nared still scored 15 points.</p>
<p />
<p>QUOTABLE</p>
<p>"I was able to cover Russell when we were doing TV when she was a freshman and when she was a sophomore, and she didn't want that contact and was sort of a little bit passive wanting the ball," said White, a former WNBA coach who broadcast women's college basketball games before taking over Vanderbilt's program. "Her development particularly over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. There's no doubt about it. She's hungry for the ball. She puts this team on her shoulders in a way that you don't see a lot of bigs do. She's so poised and mobile. I'm not sure there's anybody in the country that can match up with her."</p>
<p>KEY STATS</p>
<p>Tennessee outrebounded Vanderbilt 42-28 and outscored the Commodores 23-6 in second-chance points.</p>
<p>NEXT UP</p>
<p>Vanderbilt hosts No. 15 Missouri on Thursday.</p>
<p>Tennessee is at No. 19 Texas A&amp;M on Thursday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Steve Megargee at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/stevemegargee" type="external">www.twitter.com/stevemegargee</a></p>
<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee received a wakeup call before starting the toughest portion of its schedule.</p>
<p>Mercedes Russell scored a career-high 33 points as the seventh-ranked Lady Volunteers came from behind in the second half to outlast Vanderbilt 86-73 on Sunday and remain unbeaten heading into a four-game stretch against ranked opponents.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt (4-13, 0-3 SEC) is struggling through its worst start in school history and has never beaten Tennessee at Knoxville in 33 attempts, but the Commodores gave Tennessee (15-0, 3-0) everything it could handle in this one. Vanderbilt led 62-58 with a minute left in the third quarter before Tennessee's 11-0 run put the Lady Vols ahead for good.</p>
<p />
<p>"I think their record's not any indication of how they are," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. "They hit great shots. They hit big shots. We went into the game knowing that's what they needed to do to stay in the game, and we didn't defend them. We've got to understand game preparation, what we need to do, stick to the game plan and we won't dig ourselves in a hole."</p>
<p>Tennessee is 15-0 for the fourth time ever and is enjoying its fastest start since 2005-06, when the Lady Vols won their first 16 games and finished 31-5 with an NCAA regional final appearance. In the other two times the Lady Vols started 15-0, they had an undefeated national championship season in 1997-98 and reached the NCAA final in 1994-95.</p>
<p>The next two weeks should provide some clues about Tennessee's long-term potential this season. Tennessee is on the road for its next three games against No. 19 Texas A&amp;M, No. 4 South Carolina and No. 2 Notre Dame before returning home to face No. 5 Mississippi State.</p>
<p>"This is a team that can compete for a national championship," Vanderbilt coach Stephanie White said of Tennessee. "There's no doubt about it."</p>
<p />
<p>Vanderbilt stayed close by shooting 10 of 20 from 3-point range. Cierra Walker scored 20 points and was 6 of 8 on 3-pointers. Christa Reed scored 16 points, Chelsie Hall had 15 and Erin Whalen added 10.</p>
<p>But without any starters over 6-foot-2, Vanderbilt had no way of stopping the 6-6 Russell and the 6-3 Cheridene Green, who shot 7 of 8 and had a career-high 17 points off the bench. Tennessee outscored Vanderbilt 56-26 in the paint.</p>
<p>"It was a huge key for us coming into today's game," Russell said. "The past few days in practice, we really just emphasized we could get a lot of paint points and post touches."</p>
<p>Tennessee still trailed for much of the third quarter and didn't put Vanderbilt away until the last five minutes.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt trailed 73-68 with 5:19 left when a Walker 3-point attempt bounced off the rim, her first miss after making six straight shots from beyond the arc. Tennessee then used a suffocating defense to score 10 straight points and put the game away as Vanderbilt committed a flurry of turnovers.</p>
<p />
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Vanderbilt: Although the Commodores lost for the seventh time in their last eight games, this performance should give Vanderbilt some confidence that it can compete with the rest of the SEC. Vanderbilt's ability to stay close much of the way was particularly impressive since its leading scorer this season - Rachel Bell - managed just two points.</p>
<p>Tennessee: Green's performance is encouraging for a team that will likely need more contributions from the junior as it enters the meat of its SEC schedule, particularly if Russell encounters foul trouble. Tennessee needed Green to deliver Sunday because Evina Westbrook and Nared combined to shoot just 6 of 26, though Nared still scored 15 points.</p>
<p />
<p>QUOTABLE</p>
<p>"I was able to cover Russell when we were doing TV when she was a freshman and when she was a sophomore, and she didn't want that contact and was sort of a little bit passive wanting the ball," said White, a former WNBA coach who broadcast women's college basketball games before taking over Vanderbilt's program. "Her development particularly over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. There's no doubt about it. She's hungry for the ball. She puts this team on her shoulders in a way that you don't see a lot of bigs do. She's so poised and mobile. I'm not sure there's anybody in the country that can match up with her."</p>
<p>KEY STATS</p>
<p>Tennessee outrebounded Vanderbilt 42-28 and outscored the Commodores 23-6 in second-chance points.</p>
<p>NEXT UP</p>
<p>Vanderbilt hosts No. 15 Missouri on Thursday.</p>
<p>Tennessee is at No. 19 Texas A&amp;M on Thursday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Steve Megargee at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/stevemegargee" type="external">www.twitter.com/stevemegargee</a></p> | Russell's big day helps No. 7 Lady Vols outlast Vandy 86-73 | false | https://apnews.com/e85de5e4bfcc424ca1cf61920235be34 | 2018-01-07 | 2 |
<p>ANDREW TATE: &#160;Well I think this whole epidemic about depression is basically a misunderstanding of what depression is. People&#160;are talking about depression like it's this big external monster, like it's this condition you're going to catch regardless, like the common cold and it's something that can't be avoided regardless of how good your life is and how perfect your life it, it's going to strike out of nowhere and you have zero self control and zero ability to fight against it. And when people believe this rhetoric, when people like J.K. Rowling and these celebrities think that they're destroying the stigma as they were saying I was propagating the stigma, all they're doing is telling people you're helpless to control your own mind. You're helpless to defend yourself against any kind of negative thought and the only answer is to completely succumb and surrender and take these pills. I do not believe depression is the monster people are saying it is.</p>
<p>I believe it's a situational phenomenon. If you're in a situation you're unhappy with, if you're in depressing surroundings, you're going to feel depressed. If you decide to be proactive and get healthy and build a business and do good things with your life, you're going to be proud of yourself and you're going to be happy. I think this is fairly obvious. And a lot of the reason that these young people are "suffering" from depression is because they're lazy or they're dissatisfied with their life and instead of thinking oh, I need to do something about this, they buy into the propaganda which is being splurted out by people like J.K. Rowling and they think the only answer is to take pills because depression is a horrible monster that struck them out of nowhere and that's absolutely false, it's not true.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/905768225023123460" type="external">Andrew Tate:&#160;Depression isn't real. You feel sad, you move on. You will always be depressed if your life is depressing. Change it. Thread.</a></p>
<p>Previously:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Infowars' Paul Joseph Watson can't get anything right</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Alex Jones: Trump is being "covertly drugged" and is now slurring his words by 6 or 7 p.m. each night</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Alex Jones: Child who called Infowars reporter a "fucking idiot" sounds like "John Belushi on PCP" and acts like "some thug woman"</a></p> | Infowars hosts kickboxer who says people get depression because they're lazy | true | https://mediamatters.org/video/2017/09/12/infowars-hosts-kickboxer-who-says-people-get-depression-because-theyre-lazy/217918 | 2017-09-13 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>It transforms a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical into a moving dramatic work with a musical score. It transforms the beauty of its two memorable songs, “The Impossible Dream” and “Dulcinea,” into uplifting anthems of one man’s unwavering idealism.</p>
<p>That naive man is the famous literary figure Don Quixote de la Mancha, who believes there is more to life than what we see in front of us. The heart of the story is the war between Don Quixote’s idealism and the meanness of the ordinary, of his truth versus the factual universe.</p>
<p>In the end, that idealism empowers the character Aldonza to eventually believe that she is more than a wench, that she is indeed what Don Quixote sees her as – the lady, Dulcinea.</p>
<p>The show, which is being staged this weekend and next at UNM’s Rodey Theatre, has its own built-in transformations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The character of the imprisoned tax collector/author Miguel de Cervantes wants to hold onto his manuscript of the story of Don Quixote. Cervantes is first transformed into Alonso Quijana and then renames himself Don Quixote. Cervantes is imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition, but also faces a mock trial at the hands of his fellow prisoners. Cervantes presents Quixote’s story in his defense. Jack Nuzum is Cervantes/Quixote. Vernon Reza is Sancho Panza, Cervantes’ servant/Quixote’s sidekick and Tasha X. Waters is Aldonza/Dulcinea. Together, through their acting and their singing, they forge an intense, emotional bond.</p>
<p>The rest of the cast members are transformed as well. They are prisoners, muleteers, thieves, barbers and even horses. They add a collective vigor to the production’s success.</p>
<p>The Paul Ford-directed production also creatively transforms the theater by bringing performers into the aisles and by using the orchestra pit as a staging area for props. Yes, a live orchestra is playing in the pit.</p>
<p /> | Moving dramatic work with music is a success | false | https://abqjournal.com/310169/albuquerque-musical-theater-review-3.html | 2 |
|
<p>WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) - West Bend police say they arrested a man for drunken driving twice in four hours.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisn.com/article/south-milwaukee-man-arrested-twice-in-4-hours-accused-of-owi/14765885" type="external">WISN-TV</a> reports that Anthony Woodall, of South Milwaukee, was first arrested around 5 p.m. Thursday after he was stopped for a traffic violation. Police say he failed field sobriety tests and his breath test indicated a blood-alcohol content of 0.12 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.</p>
<p>Police released Woodall to a friend at 8:30 p.m. Shortly after 9 p.m., he was pulled over for speeding in West Bend. Authorities say he again failed field sobriety tests and his blood-alcohol level was at 0.092 percent. He was arrested and taken to the Washington County Jail.</p>
<p>Woodall faces two charges of operating while intoxicated.</p>
<p>A phone number for Woodall could not be found.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: WISN-TV, <a href="http://www.wisn.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.wisn.com" type="external">http://www.wisn.com</a></p>
<p>WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) - West Bend police say they arrested a man for drunken driving twice in four hours.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisn.com/article/south-milwaukee-man-arrested-twice-in-4-hours-accused-of-owi/14765885" type="external">WISN-TV</a> reports that Anthony Woodall, of South Milwaukee, was first arrested around 5 p.m. Thursday after he was stopped for a traffic violation. Police say he failed field sobriety tests and his breath test indicated a blood-alcohol content of 0.12 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.</p>
<p>Police released Woodall to a friend at 8:30 p.m. Shortly after 9 p.m., he was pulled over for speeding in West Bend. Authorities say he again failed field sobriety tests and his blood-alcohol level was at 0.092 percent. He was arrested and taken to the Washington County Jail.</p>
<p>Woodall faces two charges of operating while intoxicated.</p>
<p>A phone number for Woodall could not be found.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: WISN-TV, <a href="http://www.wisn.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.wisn.com" type="external">http://www.wisn.com</a></p> | Milwaukee man arrested for drunken driving twice in 4 hours | false | https://apnews.com/32bc5efbf71e439d90a0699c367ac12a | 2018-01-06 | 2 |
<p>Tuesday, Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox News' Hannity to discuss President-elect Donald Trump's transition into the White House. During the segment, host Sean Hannity said that many of his viewers are disturbed by the potential selection of Mitt Romney as Secretary of State. Predictably, Conway's answer was ridiculous.</p>
<p>HANNITY: "My email has been blowing up over the speculation that Governor Mitt Romney, who met with Donald Trump, might get the Secretary of State position. And a lot of people are beyond mystified considering all the horrible things, and the effort that he helped lead to smear and hurt Donald Trump..."</p>
<p>CONWAY: "...In terms of Governor Romney, I think the Secretary of State position is such that--and all of the cabinet positions--you have to be qualified and capable, number one. Number two, you have to be loyal to what President-elect Trump has said his vision of the world, and his agenda is in his first 100 days or so."</p>
<p>HANNITY: "So if you call him a fraud and a huckster, and whatever else...it was horrible. Just awful."</p>
<p>CONWAY: "I just want to say generally, apart from Governor Romney, that there were a lot of 'Never Trumpers' that were 'Never Trump' up until the last moment. Go read their twitter feeds, go pull the tape of what they were saying on TV cameras, and in print...they wanted to pile on, and instead of helping the nominee of their Party, they piled on. And in terms of a diverse cabinet--I'm all for diversity, but I think maybe one 'Never Trumper' is enough, so let's not get two, three, five in there..."</p>
<p />
<p>There are three critical points to consider regarding "Never Trump" politicians joining the president-elect's team.</p>
<p>1. Trump Has Said Just as Many "Horrible" Things About Them</p>
<p>Sean Hannity and Kellyanne Conway are troubled by all the "horrible" things potential cabinet picks said about Donald Trump. What about the horrible things Trump said about them?</p>
<p>Donald Trump is allegedly considering Dr. Ben Carson for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). During the primaries, he compared Carson to a <a href="https://youtu.be/24gx0SMep6A" type="external">child molester</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/24gx0SMep6A" type="external">mocked</a> his faith conversion story.</p>
<p>Donald Trump recently met with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Rumor has it that he's considering Cruz as a potential SCOTUS pick. Trump <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/22/politics/ted-cruz-melania-trump-twitter-donald-trump-heidi/" type="external">mocked the appearance</a> of Cruz's wife, Heidi; he <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/trump-ted-cruz-jfk-assassination-226020" type="external">implied</a> Cruz's father, Rafael, was involved in the JFK assassination; he <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/269238-trump-how-is-cruz-christian-when-he-lies-so-much" type="external">questioned Cruz's Christian faith</a>; he pushed the false <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/13/tracing-the-evolution-of-donald-trumps-birther-attack-on-ted-cruz/" type="external">birther argument</a>; and he called Cruz a liar repeatedly.</p>
<p>Even Mitt Romney wasn't spared Trump's insults. In 2012, Trump <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Donald-Trump-Ronald-Kessler/2012/11/26/id/465363/" type="external">called</a> Romney's immigration plan "crazy" and "maniacal."</p>
<p>2. Trump is Reaching Out</p>
<p>Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Mitt Romney each have grounds to avoid Trump at all costs. He's a toxic figure. However, as Trump himself said in his acceptance speech: "For those who have chosen not to support me in the past--of which there were a few people--I am reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country."</p>
<p>Trump said he wants bygones to be bygones. As someone who has never run for elected office in his life, and is now the leader of the free world, he's going to need help from those with more experience. Both Romney and Cruz have more knowledge and experience regarding the Constitution and the workings of the government than Trump ever will. For him to consider Romney and Cruz despite what was said and done in the past shows some modicum of maturity.</p>
<p>3. They're Letting Go of the Past and Protecting the Future</p>
<p>On the other hand, for Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney to openly work with Donald Trump also shows maturity and foresight. They know that Trump needs assistance, and despite their misgivings about the man himself, they're willing to work with him. It's also quite possible that they believe their expertise can help shape Trump's policy into something more cohesive and conservative, thus protecting the country from the radicalism and incoherent policy ideas he displayed on the campaign trail.</p>
<p>Trump needs people around him who have the depth of policy knowledge that he lacks. Unfortunately for him, many of the most qualified people didn't support his run for the presidency. However, if Trump, Romney, et al., refuse to let resentment fester, and rather allow maturity to govern their decisions, Trump's tenure as president has a chance at some success.</p> | Conway: We Shouldn’t Pick Never Trumpers; They Were Disloyal | true | https://dailywire.com/news/11050/conway-we-shouldnt-pick-never-trumpers-they-were-frank-camp | 2016-11-23 | 0 |
<p>In questioning the value of medicinal marijuana, Carly Fiorina said “we don’t understand how it interacts with other drugs.” In fact, there is information about marijuana’s interactions with other medications, although major clinical trials using marijuana have been limited by its legal status.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8b-tOYJhho" type="external">Fiorina spoke with Fox News’ Sean Hannity</a>, who asked her about the legal status of marijuana in Colorado (it also has been legalized in Washington). She said she believes in states’ rights but that legalizing marijuana is a “bad idea” (at the 30:20 mark):</p>
<p>Fiorina, June 25:&#160;I remember when I had cancer, my doctor asked me if I had an interest in medicinal marijuana. I did not, and he said good, because marijuana is a very complex chemical substance now, we don’t understand how&#160;it interacts with other drugs, we don’t understand what it does to your body.</p>
<p>The claim regarding drug interactions is not correct: Prescribing information for approved versions of medicinal marijuana does contain drug interaction information, and studies&#160;have turned up few problems in terms of interactions with cancer therapies, as well as other types of medication.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />To be clear, there is still much to be learned about potential interactions with cannabis; its status as a <a href="http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml" type="external">schedule 1 drug</a> makes it <a href="http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/why-its-so-hard-scientists-study-pot" type="external">more difficult to study in clinical trials than other medications</a>, meaning there is simply less information available. As a <a href="https://www.wsma.org/doc_library/LegalResourceCenter/MedicalCannabis/Med%20Mar%20-%20Pharmacologic%20and%20Clinical%20Effects.pdf" type="external">paper in the journal&#160;Pharmacotherapy</a> in 2013 put it: “Because medical cannabis is not controlled or regularly used in mainstream medicine, the actual drug – disease and drug – drug interaction profiles remain to be elucidated.” That paper goes on, however, to list a number of interactions that are in fact known.</p>
<p>Some of these can be found in the prescribing information for the two approved forms of medicinal marijuana, Cesamet and Marinol. These contain synthetic versions of THC, a cannabinoid that is marijuana’s main ingredient, delivered in pill form. Fiorina was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, well after both of these agents had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (which did so&#160; <a href="http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/testimony/ucm114741.htm" type="external">as far back as 1985, with subsequent revisions</a>). However, some of the studies we note below have been published in the years since her diagnosis. We contacted Fiorina’s campaign to ask&#160;for clarification on her comments, but we did not receive a reply.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cesamet.com/pdf/Cesamet_PI_50_count.pdf" type="external">prescribing information for Cesamet</a>, with the active ingredient nabilone, contains warnings regarding a number of potential interactions. These include additive depressive effects when combined with any central nervous system depressant and decreased clearance of drugs from the body when taken with barbiturates. Combined with antidepressants, nabilone could cause some cardiovascular problems including tachycardia (an elevated heart rate) and high blood pressure.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/05n0479/05N-0479-emc0004-04.pdf" type="external">prescribing information for Marinol (active ingredient dronabinol)</a>&#160;is similar with regard to drug interactions. It warns that the agent “should be used with caution in patients receiving concomitant therapy with sedatives, hypnotics or other psychoactive drugs because of the potential for additive or synergistic [central nervous system] effects.” It also lists antidepressants, barbiturates and other agents that may have interactions with cannabinoids in general.</p>
<p>Some studies also have examined what potential effects the use of medicinal marijuana agents may have specifically on patients being treated for cancer, which was the context of Fiorina’s remarks. For example, <a href="http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/12/3/291.abstract" type="external">one study published in The Oncologist in 2007</a> showed that medicinal&#160;cannabis delivered via herbal tea “does not significantly influence” how the drugs docetaxel and irinotecan function. <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/docetaxel" type="external">Docetaxel</a>is used to treat many cancers, including certain types of breast cancer, while <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/irinotecanhydrochloride" type="external">irinotecan</a>is most commonly used in colorectal malignancies.</p>
<p>Other studies have shown that cannabinoids do in fact interact with cancer drugs — synergistically, meaning they actually add to the beneficial effects. In <a href="http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/10/1/90.full" type="external">one 2011 study published in&#160;Molecular Cancer Therapeutics</a>, the combination of cannabinoids and <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/temozolomide" type="external">temozolomide</a>, a drug used to treat brain tumors, produced a strong anti-tumor effect in the very difficult-to-treat brain malignancy known as glioblastoma multiforme. In another study, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21525939/" type="external">published in 2011 in Cell Death &amp; Disease</a>,&#160;the same thing was observed in pancreatic cancer when medicinal marijuana was combined with <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/gemcitabinehydrochloride" type="external">gemcitabine</a>, which is used in many cancers.</p>
<p>Outside of cancer, other beneficial effects have been seen in combination with other drugs. A study published in&#160; <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/clpt.2011.188/abstract;jsessionid=3E20D0F86678B4F58BD13A20C6179231.f02t01" type="external">Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2011</a> showed that adding vaporized cannabis to opioids actually improved the control of chronic pain. The authors wrote that this could allow treatment of pain with lower doses of opioids, with fewer side effects.</p>
<p>In another field, a study showed that smoked or pill-form marijuana had no adverse effect on patients with HIV/AIDS, in spite of worries that the drug may interact with protease inhibitors used to prevent the virus from replicating in these patients. That study was <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12965981" type="external">published in&#160;Annals of Internal Medicine</a>&#160;in 2003.</p>
<p>There is still much to be learned about medicinal marijuana, but it’s not accurate to say that “we don’t understand how it interacts with other drugs.”</p>
<p>Editor’s Note: SciCheck is made possible by a grant from the Stanton Foundation.</p>
<p>– Dave Levitan</p> | Fiorina Shortchanges Marijuana Research | false | https://factcheck.org/2015/07/fiorina-shortchanges-marijuana-research/ | 2015-07-02 | 2 |
<p>Our weekly documentary film curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE.</p>
<p>“In 2009, film-maker and former AI programmer Raj Dye spent his summer following futurist AI researchers Ben Goertzel and Hugo DeGaris around Hong Kong and Xiamen, documenting their doings and gathering their perspectives…. The Singularity or Bust is a true story pertaining to events occurring in the year 2009. It captures a fascinating slice of reality, but bear in mind that things move fast these days. For more recent updates on Goertzel and DeGaris’s quest for transhuman AI, you’ll have to consult the Internet, or your imagination.”</p>
<p>Watch this thought-provoking and fascinating film – which drills down to some of the fundamental questions surrounding AI and the human experience.</p>
<p>. Run time: 47 min Produced &amp; Directed by Raj Dye Pacific Coast Digital Inc.</p>
<p>SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENINGS <a href="" type="internal">HERE</a></p> | SUNDAY SCREENING: The Singularity Or Bust (2012) | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/10/08/sunday-screening-singularity-bust-2012/ | 2017-10-08 | 4 |
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<p>The 8 to 1 decision by Colombia’s Constitutional Court means that President Juan Manuel Santos can seek expedited congressional approval for the laws and constitutional changes he needs for the peace accord with the rebels to take effect.</p>
<p>The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has some 6,000 heavily armed fighters deployed across Colombia’s jungles and mountains, and Tuesday’s ruling clears the way for them to begin to demobilize and disarm in the coming weeks. The terms call for their 52-year war against the government, the longest-running conflict in the Americas, to end as the rebels move into camps, where the United Nations is to collect their weapons over a six-month period.</p>
<p>Had the judges ruled against the government’s “fast-track” plan, the peace deal would have had to proceed through Colombia’s Congress along a slower, traditional legislative path. Santos insisted that the government’s cease-fire with the FARC was too fragile to wait that long and that the peace deal would be at risk of falling apart or getting bogged down in lengthy congressional debates.</p>
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<p>Instead, the streamlined approach reduces the number of legislative sessions and allows for up-or-down votes on the key elements of the accord. It effectively prevents lawmakers from making changes to the deal signed by the government and the rebels Nov 24.</p>
<p>The court’s decision comes three days after Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a war that has killed more than 220,000 and driven at least 7 million Colombians from their homes.</p>
<p>After nearly four years of seesawing talks between government negotiators and FARC commanders in Havana, the two sides announced a peace deal in September and staged an elaborate signing ceremony. But Colombian voters rejected that accord less than a week later in a special referendum, sending the government and FARC back to the bargaining table.</p>
<p>Their 2.0 agreement won new concessions from the rebels, including financial reparations to victims of the conflict. But Santos opted to bypass voters and take the revised accord straight to Colombia’s Congress, which approved it earlier this month.</p>
<p>The accord’s opponents, led by former president Álvaro Uribe, abstained from the voting in Colombia’s Senate and House of Representatives, while denouncing Santos for skipping a new referendum. They allege that the revised pact is still too soft on FARC chieftains guilty of terrorism, kidnapping and murder, and they say it creates a path for convicted war criminals to leap into electoral politics.</p>
<p>But Tuesday’s court ruling means opponents of the peace accord will have little or no chance to amend or alter its terms. The judges determined that Colombia’s elected lawmakers possess the requisite “democratic legitimacy” to approve the deal without the need for a new referendum.</p>
<p>With elections coming in 2018, Santos feared that the accord would become a political football next year, and he now has the legal backing to try to get the deal in place before lawmakers move into campaign mode.</p>
<p>The first item on the legislative agenda will be the so-called “amnesty law” that FARC leaders insist should be in place so that its fighters can move into the U.N.-run camps without risk of arrest.</p>
<p>colombia</p> | Court gives big boost to Colombia’s peace deal with FARC rebels | false | https://abqjournal.com/908131/court-gives-big-boost-to-colombias-peace-deal-with-farc-rebels.html | 2 |
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<p>I’m traveling on the east coast right now, which has thrown me back into the kind of queer, mostly female assigned community that exists in the “I date women and trans men” frame (I’m not saying this doesn’t happen on the west coast – but I’ve found alternatives way more easily). This is a big part of <a href="http://vimeo.com/39769021" type="external">what my Girl Talk piece was about</a>, but I want to address this particular issue really directly.</p>
<p>“I date women and trans men” is the definition of cissexism. It’s basing your frame for sexuality on the gender coercively assigned to a person by their doctor at birth, not on that person’s actual identity. In this case, we’re talking about folks who were assigned female. Of course, “women” means cis women – trans women totally drop off the map.</p>
<p>Chart via TransFusion</p>
<p>My critique of this frame isn’t about everyone on the trans masculine spectrum, where there’s a ton of complex gender and sexuality diversity (though there is an important conversation to have about the privileging of masculinity here as well). I’m talking about how this approach to sexuality addresses people who were assigned female at birth but are men.</p>
<p>It’s incredibly undermining to frame sexuality in a way that lumps these men in with all female assigned folks instead of with cis men. It’s a failure, in the realm of sexuality, to recognize that trans men’s male identities are just as legitimate as cis men’s. If you’re going to base sexuality on gender, better base it on people’s actual genders.</p>
<p>I get why a lot of female assigned folks exist in this frame for reasons that aren’t overtly about undermining trans identities. There’s a ton of gender based trauma out there, and I understand that folks associate this with cis men, and not with trans men. But that’s not a reality-based approach to gender. A lot of that trauma gets easily linked to genitals, but this isn’t about bodies, it’s about patriarchy.&#160;I think this sexuality frame is a big part of why so many trans men get away with (and are sometimes even encouraged to practice) unchecked misogyny and male privilege (remember, power is complicated. You can experience both male privilege and cissexist oppression). Real talk: being trans doesn’t prevent you from perpetrating hurt and violence in the realm of sexuality.</p>
<p>My trans brothers deserve better than sex in a frame that undermines their identities. This doesn’t mean queer cis women and gender non-conforming female assigned folks can’t fuck trans men, but then they owe it to these guys to reframe their sexuality in a way that’s not undermining – to recognize that they sleep with men, and to question why they’re OK with sleeping with trans men and not cis men. I just don’t think it’s OK to process your sexual trauma in a delegitimizing way through the bodies of folks who’ve often faced tons of trauma at the intersection of gender and sexuality.</p>
<p>The problem isn’t one sided: trans guys owe it to themselves to not accept a misgendering sexuality frame just because it makes it easier to get laid, but that shit’s complicated in a cissexist world. It’s unfair to place all the responsibility for fixing this problem at the feet of the people who’s identities are being undermined. I want to encourage trans guys to stand up for what they deserve, but a lot of the responsibility for fixing this shit belongs to the people doing the undermining.</p>
<p>I do put a little more responsibility on trans men for letting this frame push their trans sisters out. This approach to sexuality totally erases trans women by excluding us from the group of sexually existing queer women. Yes, it’s also incredibly undermining of trans women’s identities by moving us out of the category “women” when it comes to sexuality. Ultimately, this frame goes back to the gender coercively assigned at birth for trans women as well. It’s a way for transmisogyny to advance unchecked, because trans women totally drop out of the conversation. It’s part of the broader problem of privileging masculinity over femininity, and specifically &#160;of privileging masculinity in female assigned folks and hating on and marginalizing femininity in male assigned folks. The problem goes beyond <a href="" type="internal">gender theory</a> about masculinity and femininity – this is about really specific, really real transmisogyny. Even when some femininity is accepted, it’s in female assigned folks. Trans women (even the butch ones) get left out in the cold. (I think it’s time for everybody to re-read <a href="http://www.juliaserano.com/whippinggirl.html" type="external">Julia Serano’s groundbreaking book Whipping Girl</a> with their sex brains on.)</p>
<p>There’s a lot of resistance to thinking about the politics of sexuality in this way, which I totally get. Our sexualities are our own, they’re personal, and in such a puritanical world any critique of sexuality can seem messed up. But our desires are absolutely influenced by our cultural context. When you really look at the way patterns of desire map onto <a href="http://www.splicetoday.com/sex/white-dudes-rule-the-gay-world" type="external">what bodies are privileged</a> and what bodies are marginalized, it becomes obvious that our desires are political. I am absolutely not about critiquing the way one person falls for another. The problem is with a community trend. When we leave sexuality trends unexamined, sex becomes a space where privilege and oppression run amuck.</p>
<p>It’s well past time to say enough. If queer community wants to be about a gender and sexuality revolution it’s got to take these questions seriously. Its got to address the ways cissexism overdetermines community approaches to sexuality. This is an ongoing process involving lots of thought, critique, and, well, processing. We’ve got to be able to move from the broad and systemic to seeing how cissexism plays out in our personal lives, including in relation to who and how we fuck.</p> | Enough with “I date women and trans men” | true | http://feministing.com/2012/06/28/enough-with-i-date-women-and-trans-men/ | 4 |
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<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday long-range bombers had carried out air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, the RIA news agency reported.</p>
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<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> | Russian bombers hit Islamic State targets in Syria: RIA | false | https://newsline.com/russian-bombers-hit-islamic-state-targets-in-syria-ria/ | 2017-11-23 | 1 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Shultz.jpg" type="external" />Share Hard-left MSNBC host Ed Schulz is worried that Democrats will be hammered by voters if President Barack Obama uses his executive authority distributes work-permits to millions of illegal immigrants. "Hold the phone - this would be a mistake if the president were to do this," Schultz told his [?]</p>
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<p><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/07/30/msnbc-host-obamas-amnesty-could-doom-democrats/" type="external">Click here to view original web page at dailycaller.com</a></p>
<p /> | MSNBC Host: Obama's Amnesty Could Doom Democrats | true | http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/msnbc-host-obamas-amnesty-could-doom-democrats/ | 0 |
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<p>For a while it looked as if Western Europe’s imperial-colonial era had drawn to a close and as if the imperial benefits and burdens it bequeathed to the U.S. were about to be liquidated, as well. &#160; But this turns out to be a gross historical misconstruction.</p>
<p>The West, writ large, has neither relented in its god-given “civilizing mission” nor turned a deaf ear to its deep-set inner calling to “pick up the white man’s burden.”&#160; Only a few years ago America’s Neo-conservatives and Christian &#160; &#160; Rightists trumpeted the “Project for a New American Century” and the universalizing “Freedom Agenda.”&#160; They said out loud what so many others continue to think or say sotto voce throughout the Euro-Atlantic world.&#160; In fact, this First World has folded its array of national flags into first the NATO flag and then the UN flag.&#160; It carries out its perduring imperial mission with the help of the “blue helmets” of the UN; it is abetted and aided by a galaxy of NGOs; and it deploys special international tribunals to try overthrown or defeated civil and military leaders for crimes against humanity and for the cardinal sins of gargantuan corruption.</p>
<p>The West is omnipresent overseas: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; Egypt, Libya, the Gulf monarchies and emirates; Nigeria, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Ivory Coast. &#160; The principle of intervention trumps that of sovereignty; and the essence of civil war is redefined to be an incumbent government’s enforcement of law and order with loss of life as nothing short of the perpetration of a crime against humanity.</p>
<p>It is, of course, best not to bring to mind who drew the borders of all these potentially de-sovereignized states and who established their regimes and enthroned so many of their dynasties, royal and non-royal.&#160; Nor is it seemly to recall the West’s role in the overthrow of Premier Mohammed Mossadegh and the investment of Shah <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844672352/counterpunchmaga" type="external" /> Mohammed Reza Pahlavi on the Peacock Throne which paved the way for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in Iran; in the campaign against General Abdel Nasser which cleared the ground for Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt;&#160; in the removal of Premier Salvador Allende in favor of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile; and in the all-out support of President Fulgencio Batista which precipitated Fidel Castro’s triumph in Cuba.</p>
<p>This new-model interventionist thrust of Western statecraft became manifest on the Old Continent between the two World Wars: the intervention in revolutionary Russia’s civil war followed by the cordon sanitaire and quarantine around the Soviet regime which furthered Stalin’s ascendancy; the all-but-innocent forbearance for the Nationalists in the Spanish civil war which quickened Franco’s victory.&#160; And then, after 1945, the West’s conservative-tilted interventions in the anti-colonial independence struggles in Indo-China, Algeria, South Africa, Kenya, Dutch East Indies, Belgian Congo, and Portuguese Angola.</p>
<p>To this day empire is lucrative, perhaps not steadily for the exchequer, but year in and year out for discrete interests, some of them vital and powerful.&#160; The name of the game is the extraction and exploitation of natural resources, most notably oil, ores, minerals, and metals.&#160; This rush for non-renewable resources invites or commands the formation of local elites, essential associates in the imperial enterprise.&#160; This collaboration between the imperial agents and indigenous elites, some of them westernized, is the nexus of autocratic rule and twinned corruption, including the “flight” of capital abroad, at the expense of the native population at large. &#160; Indeed, it is more than a tad crafty and hypocritical to pass over in silence the senior imperial partners of the Euro-Atlantic world when vilifying and eventually putting on trial or executing outright Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, Muammar al-Qaddafi, and–god-forbid or god-willing–Bashar al-Assad, King Abdullah of the House of Saud, King Hamad Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain, Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, and tutti quanti.&#160;</p>
<p>Ultimately, though, the West still claims the right to mete out a poetic cum victor’s justice.&#160; After all, Mubarak did kill some 800 “innocent civilians” at the start of Egypt’s Arab Spring and deposited and invested much of his corrupt fortune in the First World—possibly with Warren Buffet, George Soros, City Bank, Barlcays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, and UBS.&#160; Not only Mubarak and Qaddafi, but several of their fellow regional potentates, committed egregious crimes against humanity compounded by their equally outrageous violations of the West’s, not to say financial capitalism’s otherwise spotless morality.&#160; Never mind that while so much of the Arab and non-Arab Muslim world, some of it faith driven, runs amok, the secular Judeo-Christian Western world is killing and displacing not hundreds or a couple of thousand but countless “innocent civilians” in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Libya. &#160; Choosing to disremember the gore of its own civil wars the West mocks &#160; &#160; Montaigne’s postulate that “civil war is a milder evil than foreign war.”&#160; Be that as it may, the West encourages and supports the freedom fighters of Third-World revolts far and wide, much as it encouraged and supported those of the erstwhile “color” and “velvet” revolutions, but only on condition that their pro-democracy movements not take a decided socio-economic or proto-religious turn.</p>
<p>Altogether unconscionably Moscow and Beijing challenge, nay oppose, the new-fashioned UN-sanctioned imperial-colonial interventionism.&#160; Having lost the Cold War, embraced turbo-capitalism, and resacralized the Orthodox Church,&#160; Russia should really know better than to recall the price it paid for having been the prime target and victim of Western containment-cum-intervention fired by a pumped-up fear of epidemic Communism analogous to the West’s current play on the fear and danger of widely expansionist Islamism with its Kremlin in Tehran.&#160; By the same token, having unchained the capitalist Prometheus, pirated from the West, it is thankless and shameless on China’s part to hark back to not just the Japanese but above all the American intervention in its internal and regional affairs.&#160; And to bolster their respective positions in the world of neo-mercantilist capitalism, Russia brazenly wages the geopolitics of oil and arms sales while China exploits its vast reserve army of surplus labor to supply the Walmarts of the First World with basic consumer goods–at cut-rate prices–without which the West’s bulging ranks of low-paid and unskilled immigrant workers could not hack it.&#160; Nor could their employers.&#160; To boot, China has the temerity to use its trade surplus and manipulate its currency (the yuan) to challenge the West’s monetary hegemony and strain its public finances, thereby sapping the First World’s will and capacity to continue its imperious interventions in the Third World in its tendentious and swollen “orientalist” spirit.</p>
<p>Meanwhile the Euro-Atlantic world is likely to be shaken disproportionately by the increasingly frequent, severe, protracted, and far-flung gyrations of multinational finance-mercantilist capitalism, especially with a fast-growing and aging world population outrunning critical non-renewable resources and running up against food supplies whose prices are at the mercy of the wildly speculative commodity markets.&#160; Whereas in the West the social fallout of this commodity crunch may well take the form of lower-class protest movements, in the Third World, home of so many of The Wretched of the Earth, it is more likely to fuel malnutrition, starvation, and epidemic disease.</p>
<p>Up to the present the urban and rural poor have jointed either the rebels or Tahrir Square in Cairo or the indignacios of the Puerta del Sol in Madrid.&#160; At least for the short term, with criticism focused exclusively on the functional rather than substantive rationality and equity of the regnant capitalist economy and society, and given the conspicuous want of a vision and theory of a closely reasoned alternative political economy, the increasingly multi-polar world most likely will be run by the competing rating agencies, not governments, of the G-20.&#160; This has the enormous advantage of freeing up presidents, premiers, legislators, and think-tankers to concentrate on developing the military to fight asymmetric wars in which they can kill and defeat an enemy without sacrificing any of their own male and female soldiers. &#160; These are in any case being replaced by private-sector condottieri who when not engaged in battle turn into a cross between a peace corps and a salvation army. &#160; In any case, the new-model unmanned air and naval warfare is infinitely easier to understand and master by politicians than statistical, mathematical, and model-building economics.&#160; Moreover, by fully investing themselves in military affairs they can see to it that the “defense” budget will not only continue to vastly exceed that for social benefits but will also generate employment and profits for the armaments sector of the economy.</p>
<p>In sum, the political leaders of the emergent multipolar world, with the U.S. still in a leading economic and military position, will be able to compete for the Nobel Peace Prize which is as reliable a measure of the exercise of today’s statecraft as the Nobel Prize in Economics is of the utility and application of today’s narrow-gauged “dismal science,” which is dead to the questions, issues, and concerns raised and discussed in the broader field of political economy through the ages.</p>
<p>Even in face of the fast changing international system and Greater Middle East the Euro-Atlantic coalition does not think fit to prevail on Israel to shift from continuing to claim that it is a quintessential and indispensable cultural and military Western outpost in Southwest Asia to seeking an understanding and cooperation with its neighbors on a footing of genuine equality and common interest. &#160; The era of hubristic and boundless nation-building has run its course, and the time has come to save Israel from itself.</p>
<p>Arno J. Mayer&#160;is emeritus professor of history at Princeton University.&#160;He is the author of&#160; <a href="" type="internal">The Furies: Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions.</a>and&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844672352/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Plowshares Into Swords: From Zionism to Israel&#160;</a>(Verso).&#160;</p> | The New-Model Interventionists | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/08/26/the-new-model-interventionists/ | 2011-08-26 | 4 |
<p>A visitor to the memorial display in front of the Ghost Ship warehouse in OaklandPaul Kuroda/ZUMA</p>
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<p>In the aftermath of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, California, that claimed 36 lives earlier this month, the inhabitants of live-work artist warehouses all over America have been receiving eviction threats and notices. In Oakland and San Francisco, residents of at least five such spaces&#160;are now facing eviction. Warehouses in Baltimore and Denver <a href="https://www.thefader.com/2016/12/13/ghost-ship-rhinoceropolis-bell-foundry-fire" type="external">have been shuttered</a> since the fire, and others are facing increased scrutiny in Nashville, Philadelphia, and Dallas, as well&#160;as Indianapolis, Indiana, and New Haven, Connecticut.&#160;Many worry that&#160;this activity is related less&#160;to safety concerns than to property owners’ desire&#160;to expel&#160;low-wage&#160;artists in favor of wealthier tenants.</p>
<p>Bay Area artists, at least, have a high-profile defender—the civil rights lawyer John Burris, who has stepped up to act as a liaison between tenants and local government code enforcers. Burris, whose name pops up in many a lawsuit regarding abusive practices by local police, is best known for representing Rodney King, Tupac Shakur, and the family of Oscar Grant—who was killed by a BART police officer, inspiring the movie Fruitvale Station. Standing up for low-rent artists seemed a little off the beaten track for Burris, so I reached out to him and his&#160;housing guru, James Cook, to see what was afoot.</p>
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<p>Mother Jones: What&#160;inspired you to help artists facing&#160;eviction&#160;after the fire?</p>
<p>John Burris:&#160;My daughter lost two friends.&#160;I knew she has spent&#160;time in the Bay Area’s&#160;artist&#160;warehouses, so I called her immediately when I heard the news. She had two friends who were missing, later confirmed dead.&#160;I feel her pain, but I’m pained just as a community person as well. The loss of 36 lives is just outrageous. So we thought, how can we help?</p>
<p>MJ: How are you helping?&#160;Are you filing a lawsuit?</p>
<p>JB: No. It’s not clear that the city can be held liable for the fire. But the eviction issue came up very quickly. We invited people in the affected community&#160;to sit around our table and tell us their stories.&#160;That’s what we do in civil rights law—we hear&#160;stories, and the stories move us to action. We said we don’t think we can&#160;do what we would traditionally do, which is file a lawsuit, but maybe there’s something else. Now we’re facilitating communication&#160;between the city and the&#160;artistic&#160;community. Ultimately we’ll have to bring in&#160;real estate people as well, because they hold the aces.&#160;Our goal is to make sure people know their rights, and make policy adjustments if needed to protect&#160;people&#160;from eviction.</p>
<p>MJ: Why is it important to you that these&#160;artists stay put?</p>
<p>JB:&#160;We’re concerned that this may turn into a boondoggle for landowners and real estate interests, who will use this tragedy to&#160;evict&#160;artists and members of&#160;alternative communities—including LGBT people. We fear they will legally be able to put people out by saying they need&#160;to get a building&#160;up to code for safety reasons, and then turn around and rent it for a lot of money to someone else. This practice&#160;is not uncommon. Take&#160;African American communities—often developers will&#160;come in and renovate a neighborhood, driving up rents, and the city fails to take&#160;action on behalf&#160;of&#160;the&#160;community, which eventually&#160;has to move out. The African American population is declining in Oakland, as it&#160;has already&#160;declined in San Francisco. So the question is,&#160;will this particular event cause that process to occur with respect to the artistic community, here and elsewhere?</p>
<p>MJ:&#160;Doesn’t the city have a&#160;responsibility to enforce housing codes?</p>
<p>JB: The city has a responsibility to&#160;make sure a living space is not harmful. But that doesn’t mean it has to be up to every code, in which case landlords would have&#160;reason to put people out left and right.&#160;Basic requirements of safety have to be maintained, but we have to preserve the affordable housing stock, too, and respect people’s right&#160;to&#160;stay in&#160;their homes.</p>
<p>MJ: Why would cities want to stop gentrification?</p>
<p>James Cook: We use the term “legacy community” to talk about&#160;a community that’s part of a city’s cultural, historical, and economic fabric.&#160;For good reason, we&#160;have housing laws in many cities designed&#160;to keep&#160;legacy communities&#160;in place, and to create some sort of economic structure to help&#160;those communities&#160;survive.&#160;If you can maintain legacy communities, the theory is that cities will thrive economically, thrive politically, thrive intellectually, thrive culturally. In the Bay Area, artists and LGBT people are legacy communities that we want to sustain.</p>
<p>MJ: Do you think a city has a special responsibility to its current residents, as opposed to potential future ones?</p>
<p>JB: Yes, a community is defined by those who are already here, not those whom you want to attract.</p>
<p>JC: Housing&#160;is the&#160;next dimension of civil rights law. There’s actually a constitutional&#160;case to be made for this. The Constitution&#160;says you have the right to a notice and a hearing before your property can be taken away.&#160;Some people may say that&#160;if&#160;you’re a tenant and you don’t own your house, this shouldn’t necessarily apply to you. But&#160;housing rights advocates&#160;argue that the law applies because&#160;you own a stake in the property&#160;as a leaseholder.&#160;Across the country, we increasingly have laws that&#160;mimic&#160;the 14th&#160;Amendment for tenants.</p>
<p>MJ: Does protecting these artists have implications for other legacy communities?</p>
<p>JB: Yes. Decreasing one type of diversity usually leads to decreasing other types.&#160;So if rents go up because the artistic community is expelled, African Americans will suffer too.&#160;Forward-thinking leaders of&#160;cities&#160;value&#160;diversity&#160;for many reasons, including&#160;economic ones. So if&#160;something&#160;comes along that threatens that diversity, the city has a responsibility to do what it can to make sure that doesn’t happen.</p>
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<p /> | After Ghost Ship Fire, Tupac’s Old Lawyer Is Helping Artists Fight Eviction | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/ghost-ship-fire-artists-evictions-john-burris/ | 2016-12-20 | 4 |
<p>Professor Emeritus James R. Crotty teaches in the Department of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is a Research Associate at PERI. He's a macro economist with broad interests whose research in theory and policy attempts to integrate the complementary analytical strengths of the Marxian and Keynesian traditions. His writings have appeared in such diverse journals as the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Cambridge Journal of Economics, the Review of Radical Economics, Monthly Review, the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, and the Journal of Economic Issues, and in many edited collections. His research interests include: economic methodology; the implications of radical uncertainty for macro theory and policy; theories of financial markets and their implications for understanding financial booms and crises; Marxian and Keynesian perspectives on investment theory; the structure and performance of the global neoliberal economy; theories of competition and their impact on theories of macro dynamics; the financialization of the non-financial firm; and the political economy of South Korea.</p>
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<p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay, coming to you from the PERI institute in Amherst, Massachusetts. Now with the Republicans in control of the House and the drumbeats for austerity pounding away, what will that mean to the American economy? If there's no stimulus program and instead cuts in government spending, how will that affect things? Will it create room for growth? Or will it create double-dip recession or years of stagnation? Joining us now to help us understand all of this is James Crotty. He's a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and he's a fellow at the PERI institute. Thanks for joining us.
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<p />JAMES R. CROTTY, PROF. EMERITUS OF ECONOMICS, UMASS AMHERST: My pleasure.
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<p />JAY: If austerity is going to bring us—it's hard to imagine, at least in the short term, even under the theories of the people promoting austerity, if there's no more stimulus and there's smaller government, at least for some time, there's got to be at the very least the same unemployment we have, if not worse, and perhaps much worse. So the people promoting austerity know all of this. Why do they want an austerity regime?
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<p />CROTTY: Well, there are some economists who promote this because they actually believe that it's better to reduce the deficit than to stimulate the economy, and that through a kind of an arcane set of causal relationships, that this will actually boost growth. But it's completely an unbelievable scenario; it doesn't make any sense. The economics profession thought it had defeated this in the 1930s, with Keynes being the representative. And if you have a situation in which businesses are not investing very much, which is the case, in which consumers can't invest a lot, can't buy a lot, because their jobs are bad and incomes are not so good and they've lost a lot of money on their house and they've lost a lot of money in the stock market, and if we're running substantial trade deficits, which is bad for the economy, then the only actor in the whole scene who can create some kind of demand, put money in somebody's pockets, buy things, is the Federal Government.
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<p />JAY: In the last months of the Bush regime, the Republicans bought into a stimulus plan. They bought into a save-the-banks plan. What has changed in the psychology? 'Cause in that period everybody was for throwing public money to get out of the abyss. Now let's cut it all back and let's worry about the debt.
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<p />CROTTY: Well, first of all, Bush was the president, so that lots of people who now take the opposite position were supportive of the government's program. Secondly, it wasn't really a stimulus package, like unemployment compensation or building infrastructure or directing money to state and local governments so they don't have to lay all their workers off. It was—instead of that, it was a rescue of the large financial institutions. And the large financial institutions are one of the most powerful political players in the United States of America. All George Bush's friends are in the financial institutions, and he was certainly going to allow—or he didn't know how to do it, but he was going to follow the advice of people who were in positions of authority, like Treasury Secretary Paulson, an ex-Goldman CEO who said, we have to rescue the banks, we have to spend money on them; otherwise, they'll collapse and everything will go down the drain. And they did rescue the banks, and they thought that was okay to do. And the bankers, the top rainmakers in the banking system, made phenomenal amounts of money. So they crashed the system and they took the money that the government gave them and they paid [it] out in bonuses.
<p />
<p />JAY: And President Obama did more or less the same.
<p />
<p />CROTTY: President Obama did more or less the same, and he selected a set of advisors who supported these kinds of bailout policies without much of a quid pro quo.
<p />
<p />JAY: So now we're in this period. We're hearing deficit cutting. We're hearing it from President Obama as well. He appointed his deficit commission, where the Republicans certainly are using this wave of this vote as the rationale for significant cuts in government spending. Every—they have to know this is going to lead, as I said, at least for a while, to more unemployment and deeper recession. So why do they want it? Why are they more worried about debt than they are recession?
<p />
<p />CROTTY: It's curious, and it's true that Obama has swallowed the Kool-Aid and is essentially spouting similar things, that if we spend any money, we have to raise taxes on somebody to pay for the bill, which raising the taxes then kind of works against the stimulus in the short run.
<p />
<p />JAY: Although not as much if this really is the top two percentile [inaudible]
<p />
<p />CROTTY: No, not as much as if it really is the top two percentile. But it seems as if there's another set of factors that are operating here, and maybe some of them are ideological, which are operating against the idea of kicking the economy forward. I mean, one is a fear of debt in the future. One is if we don't start to deal with the deficit, then we're going to have large debts in the future and, you know, we won't be able to pay the interest rates. So one is a kind of a long-term view that we have to sacrifice the short run for the long run.
<p />
<p />JAY: Okay. So what's wrong with that if there's—is there anything wrong with that?
<p />
<p />CROTTY: Yes, there's something terribly wrong with that, that basically if you have austerity policies now, if you don't support people who are unemployed, if you don't support infrastructural investment, if you don't support anything that will stimulate the economy now, what you get is a deeper or double-dip recession, and what you get out of that is no investment, 'cause it's not profitable. What you get is people who don't have jobs, people who lose their work skills, children [inaudible] school—.
<p />
<p />JAY: Okay. So let's say, if you're sitting on mountains of cash, don't you say, well, so what, so what if there's another year or two years or three years of 20 percent unemployment?
<p />
<p />CROTTY: There is an advantage, ideological and to some extent economic, for a lot of big players here. So what happens if you go through with austerity policies? You either have to cut expenditures or you have to raise taxes. The people pushing austerity policies are not pushing tax cuts or tax increases for the rich or for the corporations. In fact, they want to keep the Bush tax cuts going, which will cost $1 trillion, and they don't want to tax the rich, and they're proposing to cut corporate taxes. Okay?
<p />
<p />JAY: But there is the drumbeat of an added value tax, which will hit ordinary people.
<p />
<p />CROTTY: Well, that tax is okay. If I'm a billionaire, what do I care about a—?
<p />
<p />JAY: A 5 percent sales tax.
<p />
<p />CROTTY: I don't care at all. But there's a positive side for that, and the positive side is that they weaken the government, they weaken labor, right, they cut social programs, they make it harder to get unemployment, they make it more dangerous to be unemployed. So they have the workers basically weaker than ever and are going to have to work for any wage, and they can cut their costs and they can control their labor forces. And so for the corporations there is a real benefit, over the long run, of essentially weakening labor's power to get a decent or fair share of the income pie.
<p />
<p />JAY: So is that the core objective here? And that doesn't mean there's only one objective; there may be many. But is this the core of what this austerity measures are about?
<p />
<p />CROTTY: Well, there may be many cores. There may be many causes. It is the case that—it's a curious case. So we have the banking system deregulated, powerful, huge, bloated, the financial system, and then the financial system, the players in the financial system take these risks, they get all this money, they get these bonuses, they crash the United States economy, they crash the global economy. The global economy and the US economy are all in very difficult kind of situations, and [when] they lose tax revenue, right, they have to—the automatic stabilizers cut in, which means that there's payments that they have to make for unemployment compensation and so on, there's stimulus programs, which most of the countries around the world have tried. So a big deficit opened up. A big deficit means you have to borrow money from the large financial institutions. The large financial institutions who caused the problem in the first place and who were rescued by the governments now say to you, we'll only lend you the money on reasonable terms if you do a whole bunch of things which we say we want. We want austerity. We want to be sure we'll get our money back. We want to be sure there's no inflation, which might devalue the amount of money that we'll give you. So we want you to basically take out all of the problems that we created on the middle class and the working people, and we just get more and more business and richer and richer.
<p />
<p />JAY: Is there a political agenda here, too? I mean, we know the Tea Party movement to a large extent may have had some—not may have, I think had some spontaneous beginnings, but over the course of this election to a large extent becoming part of Karl Rove's spider's web. We know Rand Paul's campaign received more than $1 million, apparently, of money funneled through Karl Rove's organizations. There are a lot of this other of Koch money and other right-wing billionaire money helping to fund not just general Republicans but focusing on the Tea Party. In other words, at this moment of economic crisis, instead of seeing a kind of workers left upsurge, they're actually creating a right upsurge. Is there some political advantage in the worse it gets, the more they can build a right-wing movement and accomplish some of the aims that they wanted to accomplish during the Bush-Cheney years?
<p />
<p />CROTTY: This is especially true of neocons and really hard-right people like the Koch brothers. Okay? So they've been trying for decades—.
<p />
<p />JAY: Let me just quickly say, for people that don't know, but Koch brothers are in the oil and gas business.
<p />
<p />CROTTY: Among other things.
<p />
<p />JAY: Among other things. And are multi-multibillionaires, and put a lot of money into this last election.
<p />
<p />CROTTY: But have been doing it for decades. And what they want to do, basically, is to kind of roll back the victory of the working people after the Second World War. We're familiar with this from Reagan, right? They want to roll back the state. They want to roll back regulation. They don't want any interferences by the government on how they make their money or what they do with their money or how they treat their workers. They want a weak working force. They want no opposition. They want the 19th century. They want the power of the 19th century. And the fact that large financial institutions have created this devastating crisis is empowering them in the agenda everywhere. So if we look, for example, at Greece or Portugal or whatever, countries that really had difficulties meeting the debt requirements that came out of this crisis, they got money from the European community, they got money from the IMF, and in return for this, they essentially were told that they have to slash their spending, that they have to cut pensions, that they have to slash public workers, fire them and cut their wages. And public workers are the people who provide the social services that are part of the social welfare system. So you could, if you look at it from the Koch's perspective or from a long-term perspective of a lot of these really rich people, this is an opportunity for them, essentially, to defeat the forces that created the social welfare system, social democracy, a government which was basically looking to support the public. And to do that, they have to regulate and control business interests. So this may be an important historic moment.
<p />
<p />JAY: Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />CROTTY: You're welcome.
<p />
<p />JAY: Thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
<p />
<p />End of Transcript
<p />
<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. | Austerity Road to 19th Century | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D5857 | 2010-11-13 | 4 |
<p>The New Yorker reigns among us as an arbiter of taste. Since the intellectual monthlies and quarterlies lost authority, and the youth culture faded as a trend-setting force, the New Yorker has emerged as a model of what is "best." Its style is enshrined in freshman writing classes throughout the country, its fiction is emulated by aspiring writers, its impact is evident on recent books. In its ability to reveal even ugly social facts with an unruffled neatness, the New Yorker has demonstrated that it is possible to face anything with style. With its elegance of observation and voice, it has set a standard of what it means to be "civilized." How can there be anything pernicious in that?</p>
<p>In politics the New Yorker is liberal but not democratic. It is inclusive, or tries to be, in acknowledging social issues, but it remains exclusive in its response, usually limiting its treatment to dense description of a problem. This practice has produced mixed results. For example, Elizabeth Drew's Portrait of an Election: The 1980 Presidential Campaign, originally published in the New Yorker, is a massive accumulation of detail that produces a valuable record. But it also reveals the disproportions that can be produced by facts without an authorial intelligence to distinguish the trivial from the significant.</p>
<p /> | The New Yorker as Cultural Ideal | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/the-new-yorker-as-cultural-ideal | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It's been a rough year to be a biotech investor. The market-cap-weighted iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF is down about 25% so far this year.</p>
<p>However, if you're looking to buy in July, you'll be happy to learn the industry sell-off hit some companies much harder than it should have. That's created more than a few opportunities for smart investors willing to stick around for the long term.</p>
<p>So we pulled our team of our Motley Fool healthcare contributors in from the beaches to pick their brains about biotech stocks. Here's what they think is a great buy at the moment.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/crenauer/activity.aspx" type="external">Cory Renauer Opens a New Window.</a>:I think now is a good time topick up shares ofAlnylam Pharmaceuticals . Its market cap of around $4.7 billion recently has been flirting with low points it hasn't seen in a couple of years, while its future looks brighter than ever.</p>
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<p>The company finished the first quarter with about $1.2 billion in cash and marketable assets, and it expects to end the year with more than $1 billion. At this pace, it should have enough to see its Sanofi-partnered programs begin contributing significant revenue before it needs to sell more shares, if they're successful.</p>
<p>The partners' transthyretin (TTR) gene mutation-targeted program has two candidates in phase 3 -- patisiran and revusiran, for treatment of nerve and heart damage, respectively. Combined, they could treat a globalpopulation of about 50,000 patients who cannot produce properly functioning transthyretin proteins, which leads to a buildup of amyloid fibrils in nerves or the heart.</p>
<p>In May, a competing program from partners Ionis Pharmaceuticals andGlaxoSmithKlinefaced a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/03/ionis-pharmaceuticals-inc-was-pummeled-in-may-here.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">massive setback Opens a New Window.</a> that could boost the chances of a successful commercial launch for patisiran and revusiran. Of course, these drugs need to succeed in phase 3 and earn approval first.</p>
<p>Results from the first of the phase 3 trials won't be ready until the second half of next year, but you won't have to wait that long for hints of potential success. Alnylam intends to present results from phase 2 studies for both drugs at the International Symposium on Amyloidosis in early July.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/CherylSwanson/info.aspx" type="external">Cheryl Swanson Opens a New Window.</a>: The way I see it, the dog days of July may be the perfect time to pick up some shares of super-aggressive Kite Pharma, Inc. . Because of its recent actions, the clinical-stage biotech looks set to blow past Novartis AG and Juno Therapeutics in the hot race to launch the first CAR-T therapy.</p>
<p>While we're in uncharted territory, and all CAR-T therapies havethat huge bridge of FDA approval still to cross, one of the key challenges is manufacturing. To tackle that obstacle, Kite just opened a state-of-the-art T-cell manufacturing facilitycapable of producing both clinical and commercial product.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, competitor Juno's Bothell, Washington, manufacturing facility can produce only clinical-trial quantities of its product this year. Third-place CAR-T contender Novartis has a facility in New Jersey, but the Big Pharma is well behind clinically, having recently let its timeline slip to 2017 to file for approval. By then, both Kite and Juno hope to have their commercial launches under way.</p>
<p>Many of Kite's CAR-T aspirations are already built into the stock, but it's well off its 52-week high of $89.84, and there's another big revenue opportunity on the way. Even while announcing the new plant, Kite also signed a new pact with the National Cancer Institute for TCR drugs directed against HPV-associated cancers. More than 33,000 cases of HPV cancers are diagnosed annually, and current therapies are mostly unsuccessful, so this is a significant unmet medical need.</p>
<p>Kite says its growing pipeline of TCR drugs will build on the work it's doing with CAR-T in blood cancers. It's working to become a world-class provider of a novel type of cancer therapy to which patients have shown unprecedented response rates. It's a risky bet, but Kite looks to have what it takes <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/11/my-favorite-clinical-stage-biotech-stocks-to-buy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">to deserve a spot Opens a New Window.</a> in your biotech portfolio.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fool.com/author/14471/index.aspx" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a>:One biotech stock that has captured my attention isNeurocrine Biosciences , which is focused on creating products that treat neurological and endocrine-related diseases.</p>
<p>Like many clinical-stage biotech stocks, this company's shares have been taken to the woodshed over the past few months. However, unlike many other biotechs, Neurocrine is currently in phase 3 clinical trials with two compounds that target three differentindications. That gives investors multiple shots at winning regulatory approval over the coming year, which greatly increases the chances of success.</p>
<p>Its first compound is called elagolix, being developed with the help of pharma giantAbbVie , which is responsible for all development, marketing, and commercialization costs. Elagolix is being researched as a treatment for endometriosis and uterine fibroids. If it's approved, some analysts believe that peak sales of elagolix could top more than $3 billion, which would entitle Neurocrine to around $750 million in royalties plus hundreds of millions in milestone payments.</p>
<p>Its second investigational drug is called NBI-98854, which is currently in phase 3 trials as a treatment for tardive dyskinesia, a disease of the central nervous system that causes involuntary movements of the extremities. Neurocrine has already announced plans to file a New Drug Application with the FDA this year, putting it on pace for an approval decision in early 2017. Peak sales estimates are currently running around $1 billion for this indication in the U.S. alone, and that number could grow much higher if it's shown to be effective at treating Tourette syndrome, too.</p>
<p>In addition, Neurocrine has more than $381 million in cash on its balance sheet. That treasure chest should help to ensure that the company won't be tapping shareholders for extra cash anytime soon.</p>
<p>Top it all off with shares that are down more than 25% from their 52-week high, and I see plenty of reasons to remain bullish on Neurocrine Biosciences' stock.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/25/3-biotech-stocks-to-buy-in-july.aspx" type="external">3 Biotech Stocks to Buy in July Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTypeoh/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/CherylSwanson/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Cheryl Swanson Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/crenauer/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Cory Renauer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Juno Therapeutics. 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> | 3 Biotech Stocks to Buy in July | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/25/3-biotech-stocks-to-buy-in-july.html | 2016-06-25 | 0 |
<p>CAVALESE, Italy (AP) - Dario Cologna of Switzerland tied the record with his fourth Tour de Ski title Sunday, while Heidi Weng of Norway repeated as women's champion.</p>
<p>On the final climb up Mount Cermis, Cologna won with a comfortable margin of 1 minute, 26.5 seconds ahead of Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway.</p>
<p>Alex Harvey of Canada finished third, 1:30.6 behind.</p>
<p>Cologna joined Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk as the only four-time winners of the Tour.</p>
<p>Sundby recorded the fastest time of the stage to move up from sixth overall at the start of the day.</p>
<p>Weng began the day trailing teammate Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg by 1.8 seconds but pulled away and won by 48.5 seconds with the fastest time of the stage in the 9-kilometer free pursuit.</p>
<p>"I knew when it got steep that was when I wanted to make my move," Weng said.</p>
<p>Jessica Diggins finished third, 2:23.2 behind, to become the first American on the podium in the 12-year history of the week-long event.</p>
<p>CAVALESE, Italy (AP) - Dario Cologna of Switzerland tied the record with his fourth Tour de Ski title Sunday, while Heidi Weng of Norway repeated as women's champion.</p>
<p>On the final climb up Mount Cermis, Cologna won with a comfortable margin of 1 minute, 26.5 seconds ahead of Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway.</p>
<p>Alex Harvey of Canada finished third, 1:30.6 behind.</p>
<p>Cologna joined Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk as the only four-time winners of the Tour.</p>
<p>Sundby recorded the fastest time of the stage to move up from sixth overall at the start of the day.</p>
<p>Weng began the day trailing teammate Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg by 1.8 seconds but pulled away and won by 48.5 seconds with the fastest time of the stage in the 9-kilometer free pursuit.</p>
<p>"I knew when it got steep that was when I wanted to make my move," Weng said.</p>
<p>Jessica Diggins finished third, 2:23.2 behind, to become the first American on the podium in the 12-year history of the week-long event.</p> | Dario Cologna and Heidi Weng take Tour de Ski titles | false | https://apnews.com/a029788ff6ac43078fb7742cab4003f5 | 2018-01-07 | 2 |
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<p>It is high noon MST on Jan. 9, and it is time to announce the Baseball Hall of Fame balloting for 2013 induction into Cooperstown.</p>
<p>I am euphoric in anticipation that Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros will be selected in his first year of eligibility (players must be retired for five years to be eligible for selection).</p>
<p>It is not easy being a fan of Houston franchise. I have followed the team since their inception in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s. During the following 50 years, they won one National League pennant, but were swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series.</p>
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<p>I hope to see the club at least win a World Series game in my lifetime, but my hopes are dimming. For the last two seasons the Astros were the worst team in Major League Baseball, losing 105 games in 2011 and 107 games last season.</p>
<p>But Jan. 9, 2013, was going to be a different day for this Astros fan. No Astros player has entered the Hall of Fame wearing a Houston uniform—Nolan Ryan pitched for Houston but entered Cooperstown as a Texas Ranger.</p>
<p>However, I was confident that the Baseball Writers of America would select Craig Biggio. After all, he amassed over 3,000 hits during his 20 seasons in Houston. An All-Star at three positions — catcher, second base, and outfield — Biggio drove in 1.200 runs and stole over 400 hundred bases in his career.</p>
<p>He played his entire career with one club, a sense of loyalty that is rare in the free agent era. I was so certain of Biggio’s selection that I was hoping he might have a coattails effect on the election of his former teammate Jeff Bagwell, who also spent his entire career in Houston.</p>
<p>Working off these assumptions, I was quite shocked to learn that the writers had failed to select any player for 2013 induction into the Hall. But how does one account for the failure to induct Biggio or other stars from the 1990s?</p>
<p>The answer seems to be the type of guilt by association that we usually connect with McCarthyism in our history. Among the other first year eligible candidates on the ballot with Biggio were Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa; all of whom are assumed to have used steroids.</p>
<p>Biggio was the top vote getter on the 2013 ballot with his name appearing on approximately 68 percent of the ballots submitted by the writers. However, to quality for selection into the Hall, one must be named on at least 75 percent of the submitted returns. Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa failed to muster even 50 percent of the vote.</p>
<p>Certainly their association with steroids helps explain the lack of support, but what about Biggio, whose name has not been linked to performance-enhancing drugs? Some sportswriters insist that they will never vote for a player from the steroids era. They argue that all records from the period are suspect.</p>
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<p>This guilt by association is the height of hypocrisy.</p>
<p>After the 1994 strike which led to cancellation of the World Series, baseball interest was lagging until the exciting 1996 assault by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire upon Roger Maris’s single season home run mark. Major League Baseball ownership and the sportswriters celebrated the home run as the salvation of the sport, and when rumors of performance-enhancing drugs were whispered, everyone looked the other way.</p>
<p>Should all players be denied membership in the Hall of Fame because there was widespread drug use that was at least to some extent encouraged by baseball management and the now holier than thou sportswriters?</p>
<p>Does this mean that athletes who played in the first four decades of the 20th century should have their records questioned because they never had to face black pitchers such as the legendary Satchel Paige?</p>
<p>And, of course, cheating has always been part of the game from stealing signs to doctoring the baseball as Hall of Fame pitchers Whitey Ford and Gaylord Perry certainly acknowledge. Drug usage has also been part of the game from chewing tobacco to alcohol to the amphetamines which were prominently present in most clubhouses during the 1960s and 1970s.</p>
<p>There is enough hypocrisy to go around. The players’ union and Major League Baseball have responded to the 2013 Hall of Fame voting by announcing a new anti-doping program that will make baseball the most highly monitored sport in North America. But in the meantime what do we do with the exceptional career of an athlete such as Craig Biggio?</p>
<p>In January 2014, I will again don my Astros jersey and hat and reserve a hotel room in Cooperstown in anticipation of justice being served with Biggio’s election to the Hall, and it would be nice to see a Bagwell plaque as well.</p>
<p>Ron Briley is a history teacher at Sandia Prep School who has written five academic books on baseball.</p> | Guilt By Association In Baseball | false | https://abqjournal.com/161318/guilt-by-association-in-baseball.html | 2013-01-18 | 2 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Mr. Tillerson:</p>
<p>You have to be feeling pretty good about your new position heading the world’s largest oil and gas company. You stand astride the globe where, with few exceptions, the Congress is like putty in your hands, the White House is your House and the consuming public is powerless. Governments in the Third World may huff and puff, but Exxon/Mobil pretty much gets its way in dozens of arrangements completed and about to be concluded.</p>
<p>Seven years ago, your predecessor, Lee Raymond, took over Exxon’s main competitor, Mobil Oil Company, through a merger approved by the misnamed Antitrust Division of the Justice Department. Really, what is left of antitrust standards when the number one and number two companies in an industry are permitted to marry?</p>
<p>Profits of your company are beyond your dreams of avarice. Over $36 billion last year, after modest taxes, yet you blithely ignored urgent pleas by members of Congress, especially that of the powerful Chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley (Rep. Iowa) to contribute some significant deductible money to charities which help impoverished American families pay the exorbitant prices for heating oil this past winter. Rarely has there been such a demonstration of corporate greed and insensitivity by a company that has received huge government welfare subsidies, de-regulation and tax expenditures over the years at the expense of the smaller taxpayers of America.</p>
<p>Exxon/Mobil even relishes the latest “Big Oil’s Big Windfall,” to use the phrase in a recent /New York Times/ editorial, which wrote that “oil companies stand to gain a minimum of $7 billion and as much as $28 billion over the next five years under an obscure provision in last year’s giant energy bill that allows companies to avoid paying royalties [to Uncle Sam] on oil and gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico. This welfare payment at a time of record crude oil, refined oil and natural gas prices appears too much even for one of your industry’s giants. A Shell official told the /New York Times/ reporter, Edmund L. Andrews, “Under the current environment, we don’t need royalty relief.”</p>
<p>Exxon/Mobil doesn’t feel any need to say something like that. You’re a corporate superpower at the pinnacle of your superpowers. No Ida Tarbell, no Fred Cook, no Senator Phil Hart, no Sixty Minutes program can effectively expose you, because the company has been exposed and exposed and nothing changes your corporate policies.</p>
<p>Unchanged is Exxon/Mobil’s stubborn refusal to pay the modest $5 billion punitive damage award following the Exxon Valdez oil spill that damaged or put so many small businesses out of business. They are still waiting, according to a recent network television expose. Last year your company made that much post-tax profits in about seven weeks. After the devastating spill in Alaskan waters, your gasoline prices rose sharply in California and you made money there. And your delay for 12 years resisting the court ordered payout by legal maneuvers has returned in interest on that award about that amount. Not that many years ago, a company in your mega-profitable position would have considered the public relations if not the simple justice benefits before dragging on the proceedings. Not so, with the impregnable Exxon/Mobil.</p>
<p>While BP and Shell move to build and talk about a solar power business, including wind power, you continue to parade that window dressing pittance of a project at Stanford University that is going nowhere. Your company is still seen as a resistant skeptic among a swarm of multinational companies including BP, that recognize Global Warming and its direct fossil fuel connections.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, Exxon/Mobil has funded over three dozen organizations to undermine scientific findings about global warming or as front groups to engage in obstructionist or harassment activities.</p>
<p>These and other derelictions have led environmental groups to urge a boycott (See <a href="http://www.exposeexxon.com/" type="external">exposeexxon.com)</a> of Exxon/Mobil products and employment refusals by university graduates. Only company insiders know how effective such a boycott has been at the gasoline pump and elsewhere. My guess is that you’re shrugging it off as inconsequential. The boycott clearly needs more imagination in getting its message out.</p>
<p>The lessons of history teach that the arrogance of corporate power eventually meets its match, either through the decay of internal hubris or the rise of public law enforcement or from private challenges-innovative, civic or competitive.</p>
<p>Remember, the awesome power and market position of General Motors years ago, or the dominance of IBM. When you’re on top is when you should be most alert to the misuses of power that are sowing the seeds of future decline. The mean-spirited image of your company, the stinginess of transferring some of your corporate welfare windfalls to the welfare of millions of shivering children and their penurious parents are upsetting even Republican members of Congress hearing from their indignant constituents about sky high fuel prices.</p>
<p>So observers of your company-official and regular people-will be waiting for signs of the post-Raymond, clenched jaw era of Exxon/Mobil under the command of your group of executives. Let’s see if the change is just one of style or one of more sincere responses to the ways the approaching winds are blowing.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>RALPH NADER</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Corporate Superpower of Superpowers | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/04/01/the-corporate-superpower-of-superpowers/ | 2006-04-01 | 4 |
<p>The quaint town of Boulder, Colorado looks nothing like the terrorist hotbed of Nablus of Palestinian-occupied West Bank. Islamic clerics are not passing around candy after a successful civilian slaughter. Fathers are not dressing their infants up like suicide bombers. Despite being world’s apart, Nablus is set to be recognized as the sister city of Boulder.</p>
<p>Naturally, the proposal has angered the community’s residents. As a result, the City Council has decided to review the proposal, entertaining arguments from both sides. “The council decided Tuesday to hire a moderator and convene a citizen panel in hopes of settling differences between two sides arguing about whether Boulder should have a formal sister-city relationship with Nablus on the West Bank,” <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNIVERSITY_TOWN_MIDDLE_EAST?SITE=MYPSP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2016-04-20-03-37-25" type="external">reports</a> AP.</p>
<p>The council rejected a similar proposal in 2013 after the community voiced its criticism about its city taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</p>
<p>Boulder is a university town; therefore, it’s not surprising that much of the support for the proposal comes from university students.</p>
<p>Supporters of the sister-city proposal are treating the entire affair as a social experiment. According to Essrea Cherin, president of the Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project, the sister-city project was designed to supposedly combat mischaracterizations of Palestinians in the media.</p>
<p>According to AP, “The Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project has already arranged pen-pal relationships between Boulder and Nablus students, Cherin said,” adding:</p>
<p>The group has brought women from Nablus to learn yoga in Boulder and plans to send a yoga teacher there. The group has also arranged for cultural exchanges.</p>
<p>Whitewashing Palestinian hate-culture is the group’s specialty apparently. The group works to deliberately downplay the anti-Semitism, misogyny, and anti-Americanism of Nablus, while singing the praises of its supposed "yoga" programs.</p> | Boulder Wants To Name A Palestinian Terror Hotbed Its Sister City | true | https://dailywire.com/news/5134/boulder-wants-name-palestinian-terror-hotbed-its-michael-qazvini | 2016-04-21 | 0 |
<p>Every semester, Grossmont College’s Political Economy department hosts Political Economy Week. For fall 2012, the event began today. Instructors use their campus and class times to instead lecture and present topics that are outside of the core curriculum. The objective is to inform attendees of issues in the current political climate. Political Economy Week is open to the public.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.grossmont.edu/polecon/PEWeekSchedule.htm" type="external">This year’s schedule</a> is as follows (times am-pm, respectively):&#160;</p>
<p>Monday, October 29 9:30 – 10:45 –&#160; Rm. 578 – The Myth of Individualism – Joe Braunwarth</p>
<p>11:oo– 12:15 – Rm. 575 – Overview of the Ballot Propositions – Joe Braunwarth/Todd Myers</p>
<p>12:30 – 1:45 – Rm. 577 – Economics of Happiness – Todd Myers/Shahrokh Shahrokhi</p>
<p>2:oo – 3:15 – Rm. 583 – Freedom On My Mind.&#160; The Fight for Voting Rights for African-Americans – Brian Jennings</p>
<p>5:30 – 6:45 – Rm. 535B – Economic Instability and Irrational Financial Markets – Shahrokh Shahrokhi</p>
<p>Tuesday, October 30 9:30 – 10:45 – Rm. 577 – Top Secret America. The New Military Industrial Complex. Video discussion – Brian Jennings</p>
<p>9:30 – 10:45 – Rm. 325 – Lessons from History: The Great Depression vs. The Great Recession – Scott McGann</p>
<p>11:00– 12:15&#160; – Rm. 575 – Health Care Puzzle: Lessons from Economics – Shahrokh Shahrokhi</p>
<p>11:00-12:15 – Rm. 331 – Vote No on Yes: How Power to the People Became Power to the Powerful – Brian Jennings</p>
<p>12:30 – 1:45 – Rm. 575 – Silent Spring Analysis – Joe Braunwarth</p>
<p>2:oo– 3:15 – Rm. 577 – The Ascent of Women – Joe Braunwarth</p>
<p>Wednesday, October 31 9:30 -10:45 – Rm. 524 – Political and Economic Impacts of Medical Marijuana in the San Diego Area – Lori Carrillo</p>
<p>11:00 – 12:15 – Rm. 575 – Health Care Debate and Discussion – Scott McGann/Gregg Robinson</p>
<p>12:00 – 1:30 – Griffin Gate Silent Spring. Film and Discussion – Brian Jennings</p>
<p>Thursday, November 1 8:oo– 9:15&#160; – Rm. 579 – Gold? Stocks? Cash? The Macroeconomics of Investing – Scott McGann</p>
<p>9:30 – 10:45&#160; – Rm. 325 – Seeds of a Recession: Analysis of the U.S. Housing Bubble – Scott McGann</p>
<p>11:00 – 12:15 – Rm. 522 – Is an Equal Society a Better Society? – Will Cummings</p>
<p>12:30 – 1:45 –&#160; Room 575 –&#160; Liberal/Conservative Debate – Will Cummings/ Scott McGann</p>
<p>2:00 – 3:15&#160; –&#160; Room 577 – Political Transitions and American Sino Relations – Todd Myers</p>
<p>Friday, November 2 9:30 – 12:00 – Room 575 – The Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? – Denise Schulmeyer</p>
<p>From Political Economy Week’s schedule, we can see that the Grossmont faculty covering a wide-range of topics. Instructors and notable guest presenters do their best to objectively present the issues while offering several opinions.</p>
<p>Dr. Todd Myers, a professor and participant of Political Economy Week, told us why the public should consider attending a presentation:</p>
<p>“The events are open to the community as part of the public mission of the community colleges to create a better informed citizenry. Anyone who loves politics and wants to get a little deeper than the surface would benefit by stopping by Grossmont during Political Economy Week.”</p>
<p>San Diego County Board of Education candidate <a href="http://www.smartvoter.org/2012/06/05/ca/sd/vote/robinson_g/" type="external">Gregg Robinson</a> will be participating. On Wednesday, he will be covering the health care market with fellow instructor Scott McGann. Gregg Robinson is a professor of sociology at Grossmont College. He holds a Ph.D in Sociology of Education from UC San Diego and is a long-time political activist.</p>
<p>The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) has <a href="http://www.gcccd.edu/advancement-communications/proposition-v/propvfaq.html" type="external">Proposition V</a> on the ballot this election. It is a $398 million bond measure to help with the campuses’ technology and infrastructure. East County voters will be deciding on the bond measure as it will affect their property taxes. Since Political Economy Week takes place on Grossmont’s campus, Proposition V could be used to help take the event further in its recognition and professionalism.</p>
<p>Grossmont College is located on 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon.</p>
<p>For more background on Grossmont College’s Political Economy Week, read our story on the locally renowned event:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">http://ivn.us/san-diego/2012/10/02/grossmont-college-changes-pace-political-economy-week/.</a></p> | Grossmont College's Political Economy Week Kicks Off | false | https://ivn.us/2012/10/29/political-economy-week-kicks-off/ | 2012-10-29 | 2 |
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Patty Schachtner defeated Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow for an open Wisconsin Senate seat Tuesday in an upset victory for Democrats, signaling voter anger toward President Donald Trump that could cost the GOP more legislative seats in the fall election.</p>
<p>Jarchow tweeted his concession to Schachtner late Tuesday evening, with returns nearly complete across five northwestern Wisconsin counties and Schachtner leading by more than 1,600 votes. Schachtner, the St. Croix County medical examiner and a Somerset school board member, had entered the race in northwestern Wisconsin's traditionally conservative 10th Senate District as the clear underdog.</p>
<p>The district has trended red for years. Republican Sheila Harsdorf held the Senate seat for 16 years before she resigned in November to become Gov. Scott Walker's agriculture secretary. Every county in the district voted for Trump in 2016. Jarchow is in the middle of his third term representing the area in the Assembly and had built a formidable base.</p>
<p>But Democrats banked that anti-Trump backlash could even the playing field. Republicans sensed it, too. Conservative groups Americans for Prosperity and the Republican State Leadership Committee both ran ads supporting Jarchow and Republican state Sen. Leah Vukmir, who is running for U.S. Senate, traveled to the district to campaign for him.</p>
<p>It wasn't enough, even in a district that Barack Obama lost by 6 points in 2012 and Hillary Clinton lost by 17 to Trump.</p>
<p>Schachtner said her win sends a message that voters are tired of negative politics.</p>
<p>"People sent a message tonight we don't want to be negative any more," she said. "Change it up. I ran a positive campaign. ... My message has always been be kind, be considerate and we need to help people when they're down."</p>
<p>Schachtner said the victory "certainly could be" a bad sign for Republicans elsewhere in the state this year, but for now she's just focused on serving her new constituents.</p>
<p>Schachtner's victory doesn't change the balance of power in the Senate. Republicans will go into the fall campaign season with an 18-14 majority and one vacancy.</p>
<p>But her win is a sign of hope for Democrats, who have been pushed to the brink of irrelevancy after seven years of Republican control of both legislative houses and the governor's office.</p>
<p>Also Tuesday, Democrat Greta Neubauer of Racine won a special election for an open seat in southeastern Wisconsin's 66th Assembly District. She replaces Democrat Cory Mason, who is stepping away to serve as mayor of Racine. Neubauer was unopposed.</p>
<p>Republican Rick Gundrum of Slinger defeated Democrat Dennis Degenhardt for an open seat in eastern Wisconsin's solidly red 58th Assembly District. The seat opened up in October after incumbent Republican Bob Gannon died.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.</p>
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Patty Schachtner defeated Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow for an open Wisconsin Senate seat Tuesday in an upset victory for Democrats, signaling voter anger toward President Donald Trump that could cost the GOP more legislative seats in the fall election.</p>
<p>Jarchow tweeted his concession to Schachtner late Tuesday evening, with returns nearly complete across five northwestern Wisconsin counties and Schachtner leading by more than 1,600 votes. Schachtner, the St. Croix County medical examiner and a Somerset school board member, had entered the race in northwestern Wisconsin's traditionally conservative 10th Senate District as the clear underdog.</p>
<p>The district has trended red for years. Republican Sheila Harsdorf held the Senate seat for 16 years before she resigned in November to become Gov. Scott Walker's agriculture secretary. Every county in the district voted for Trump in 2016. Jarchow is in the middle of his third term representing the area in the Assembly and had built a formidable base.</p>
<p>But Democrats banked that anti-Trump backlash could even the playing field. Republicans sensed it, too. Conservative groups Americans for Prosperity and the Republican State Leadership Committee both ran ads supporting Jarchow and Republican state Sen. Leah Vukmir, who is running for U.S. Senate, traveled to the district to campaign for him.</p>
<p>It wasn't enough, even in a district that Barack Obama lost by 6 points in 2012 and Hillary Clinton lost by 17 to Trump.</p>
<p>Schachtner said her win sends a message that voters are tired of negative politics.</p>
<p>"People sent a message tonight we don't want to be negative any more," she said. "Change it up. I ran a positive campaign. ... My message has always been be kind, be considerate and we need to help people when they're down."</p>
<p>Schachtner said the victory "certainly could be" a bad sign for Republicans elsewhere in the state this year, but for now she's just focused on serving her new constituents.</p>
<p>Schachtner's victory doesn't change the balance of power in the Senate. Republicans will go into the fall campaign season with an 18-14 majority and one vacancy.</p>
<p>But her win is a sign of hope for Democrats, who have been pushed to the brink of irrelevancy after seven years of Republican control of both legislative houses and the governor's office.</p>
<p>Also Tuesday, Democrat Greta Neubauer of Racine won a special election for an open seat in southeastern Wisconsin's 66th Assembly District. She replaces Democrat Cory Mason, who is stepping away to serve as mayor of Racine. Neubauer was unopposed.</p>
<p>Republican Rick Gundrum of Slinger defeated Democrat Dennis Degenhardt for an open seat in eastern Wisconsin's solidly red 58th Assembly District. The seat opened up in October after incumbent Republican Bob Gannon died.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.</p> | Dem Schachtner beats Jarchow to take Senate seat | false | https://apnews.com/amp/c2afc07d8c57404e9845397f07f45181 | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
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<p>It was the 9-1 Hawks’ first loss of the season.</p>
<p>Bustos had four 3-pointers in a decisive second quarter, when Pojoaque Valley outscored Laguna Acoma 25-11. The Elks went on to lead by as many as 16 points.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Other double-digit Elk scorers were Curtis Cordova with 14 points, and Anthony Rodriguez and Matthew Herrera with 10 each.</p>
<p>DEL NORTE 66, VALENCIA 46: At Del Norte, Christopher Wright scored 18 points, and the Knights had a strong second quarter after a slow start, giving Del Norte a comfortable 35-22 lead at half.</p>
<p>Valencia’s Josh Baca scored 18 points to share game-high honors with Wright.</p>
<p>CLOVIS 58, ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 49: In Clovis’ Rock Staubus Gymnasium, the Wildcats raced out to a 29-13 halftime lead, then withstood a third-quarter surge by the visitors.</p>
<p>Drew Cole scored 18 points to lead the Wildcats (5-2), while Marquette-bound John Dawson added 14.</p>
<p>John Cotton scored 13 points to lead Española Valley (10-3).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>TAOS 53, SOCORRO 27: In the third-place game at the Ben Lujan in Jacona, Shane Willis scored 16 points and Lorenzo Rael had 10 to lead the Tigers (8-3) to a rout of the Warriors.</p>
<p>Taos jumped out to a 27-14 first-half lead and never looked back, finishing the tournament with two wins and one loss.</p>
<p>LAS CRUCES 54, CLEVELAND 40: Host Las Cruces raced to a 16-8 first-quarter lead en route to improving its record 9-0. Cleveland’s Erin Carrica was the game’s only double-figure scorer with 13 points. The Storm is 6-3.</p>
<p>HOPE 62, BERNALILLO 14: At Hope Christian, Leala Longmire had 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead a runaway victory for the Huskies (7-1) over the Spartans (0-11).</p>
<p>ELDORADO 62, RIO GRANDE 27: At Rio Grande, the Eagles built an eight-point lead in the first period and never looked back.</p>
<p>The game got out of hand in the third, as a 14-point lead increased to 33. Kerstin Strong, with 13 points, led a balanced attack as 12 players scored for Eldorado.</p>
<p>LA CUEVA 55, ATRISCO HERITAGE 16: At La Cueva, Alexa Romano (11 points) and Shayla Malicki (10) led the Bears to a rout of the Jaguars. The score was 32-4 at the half.</p>
<p>SANTA FE INDIAN SCHOOL 41, TAOS 28: In the championship game of the Ben Lujan in Jacona, the typically stifing Lady Braves defense limited Taos to two first-half field goals en route to the tournament title.</p>
<p>Bridgette Lee and Danielle Nelson led SFIS with 14 points each. With the win, the Lady Braves improve to 10-1, while Taos falls to 6-5.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Pojoaque Valley Wins Lujan | false | https://abqjournal.com/238500/pojoaque-valley-wins-lujan.html | 2 |
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<p>June 2 is only a few weeks away, and the Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fcc10may10,1,6492463.story" type="external">is reporting</a> that the FCC staff will make its formal recommendation regarding ownership rules today. Here's the important stuff:</p>
<p>In an FCC staff report to be delivered to commissioners Monday, officials also will recommend allowing TV broadcasters to reach up to 45% of U.S. households rather than the current 35%, sources said. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment.</p>
<p>The staff recommendation is subject to change until a final vote, scheduled for June 2, by the agency's five commissioners. In a victory for FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, however, the Republican majority appears ready to support it. "This was a big test of his leadership, and so far he's done a remarkable job," an FCC official said.</p>
<p>The rules review promises to reshape the U.S. media market, spurring further consolidation and affecting how Americans are entertained and informed.</p>
<p>The Democrats ain't done with this yet, the AP <a href="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/1904248" type="external">reports</a>.And The New York Times lets business whiz Stephen Labaton <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/business/yourmoney/11RULE.html" type="external">loose on the story</a> with a long, well-done summary piece. The outline of the Powell/Martin relationship in the first few grafs is particularly interesting; it's a dynamic that hasn't been described in other reports, and one seems to have been crucial lately. (Finally... it's all coming together... when these new rules go through, there will be nothing left to stop Convergence Chaser from gobbling up <a href="" type="internal">Chip on Your Shoulder</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Design Desk</a>! Mu-hu-hu-ha-ha-haaa!)</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | FCC staff recommends relaxed rules | false | https://poynter.org/news/fcc-staff-recommends-relaxed-rules | 2003-05-12 | 2 |
<p />
<p>By Tom Engelhardt</p>
<p>Let’s forget for a minute the recent <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/" type="external">Newsweek report</a> that the Pentagon is considering funding 1980s El Salvador-style “death squads” in Iraq, an article which caused enough of a stir to be addressed both by <a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050111-secdef1961.html" type="external">the Secretary of Defense</a> (“somebody has been reading too many spy novels and went off in flights of fancy, which I hope have been put to rest”) and <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050110-8.html" type="external">by the White House press spokesman</a>; or the urge among administration hardliners to extend a failing war and occupation across a border in the next few weeks with <a href="http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050111-105709-6329r.htm" type="external">strikes into Syria</a>; or the fact, just revealed in a front-page <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/13/politics/13intel.html?ex=1106646769&amp;ei=1&amp;en=858d42cbc04fe551" type="external">New York Times piece</a> that the “we don’t torture” administration sent Condoleezza Rice on a special mission to Capitol Hill to oppose the imposition of Congressional restrictions on, and oversight of, what the two Times reporters politely call CIA “extreme interrogation measures.” Instead, what stays in my mind is a single incident reported recently that caught for me the desolation the Bush administration is spreading in its wake: a desolation of place, of our military, of our values, of our language.</p>
<p>On January 7, an American plane dropped a 500-pound bomb on a house in a village near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The house, the military announced afterwards, was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59325-2005Jan8?language=printer" type="external">“not the intended target”</a> in what was called “a cordon and search operation to capture an anti-Iraqi force cell leader.” An argument promptly began as to whether, as the military claimed, 5 people had been killed or, as people on the ground claimed, 14 people, including 7 children. (This sort of argument has been a commonplace of such incidents in both Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.) The military also issued an expression of regret — and it was a phrase in that statement which still hangs desolately in my memory. The military announced that it “deeply regretted the loss of possibly innocent lives.” Think of that. A 500-pound bomb hits what they themselves then believed not to be “the intended target” and what they regretted was the loss of “possibly innocent” lives. Was it simply assumed by now that so many Iraqis support the insurgency in areas like Mosul that even in the “wrong” house the odds of “innocence” were slim?</p>
<p>A homespun version of Iraqi desolation came my way recently via an e-mail sent in by an Iraqi exile from the Saddam years who is still in exile. She writes:</p>
<p />
<p>“I just finished reading Dahr Jamail’s article about Iraq and thought I might add my personal account of the situation there. Here is what I heard from my family (in Baghdad) in the last few weeks:</p>
<p>“1. As of last week, they have only two hours of electricity for every ten hours of black-out.</p>
<p>“2. Several female hairdressing salons have been bombed and the others are threatened by the fanatics. The result: Most salons are now closed for business.</p>
<p>“3. Male barbers were also given warnings not to do specific hair styles only God knows why!!</p>
<p>“4. One of my sister’s friends has been killed because he failed to stop at an American checkpoint. It was a bit dark and his eyesight wasn’t 100%. In his panic he just rushed past the checkpoint. It is one of the tragedies that are occurring every day and have been since the start of the war. The reason is so simple; no one educated the soldiers that the Iraqi, when faced with such a situation, accelerates instead of stopping. This habit had been instilled in the Iraqi mind during the terrorizing years of [Saddam Hussein’s] dictatorship. The last thing anyone would want was to be caught up at a checkpoint because this could lead to prison and possibly death, regardless of whether he/she was involved in anything suspicious. All that was needed was for someone to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, I learned that the hard way when my husband was arrested at such a checkpoint. He was released one month later after the intelligence forces were satisfied he wasn’t involved in anything suspicious, but in that month he had gone through some horrible experiences, which to this day he refuses to talk about (even to me), and which still haunt his nights.”</p>
<p>Of course, there is now nothing more literally desolate in Iraq than the Carthage we’ve created in Falluja.</p>
<p>Tom Engelhardt is the writer and editor of <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com" type="external">Tomdispatch.com</a>, where this piece first appeared as an introduction to Michael Schwartz’s essay, <a href="/news/update/2005/01/01_400.html" type="external">Falluja: City Without a Future?</a></p>
<p /> | Desolate Falluja | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/01/desolate-falluja/ | 2005-01-14 | 4 |
<p>It's been a rough day for The Occupy Wall Street movement.</p>
<p>In New York, police cleared Zuccotti Park in a pre-dawn raid. The same thing happened Tuesday morning at a park in Zurich, Switzerland.</p>
<p>And in London, officials say they're resuming legal action to evict protesters camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral.</p>
<p>Some of those protesters headed over to the US Embassy to show their solidarity with their brethren in New York.</p>
<p>With notice that protesters were on their way to the embassy, groups of police moved to guard all the entrances to the grass square in front of the building.</p>
<p>And as soon as a handful of people showed up and hoisted a sign, an officer moved in.</p>
<p>"This with the sign now constitutes an assembly. An assembly of people," he told the crowd. "I am going to ask you to just step inside the pen that's all I want you to do and then your demonstrations your issues with your own countrymen or what have you, you can deal with them."</p>
<p>Within minutes about two dozen chanting men and women did as they were told, placing themselves inside a fenced off area to voice their anger at what happened in New York.</p>
<p>"I wanted to ask my ambassador for an explanation as to why Secretary of State Clinton can condemn (Syrian President Bashar) Assad and (former Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak for suppressing peaceful dissent in the tent cities in Cairo," said Adam Fitzmorris, an American student who is part of the Occupy London protest. "And yet our government says nothing, in fact encourages brutality in New York, Denver, Oakland, Seattle, Boston."</p>
<p>The small group that showed up in front of the American embassy lamented events in New York, but they are also keenly aware that the City of London has just announced it is going to court to evict people from the protest camp in front of St. Paul's Cathedral.</p>
<p>City official Stuart Fraser admitted his admiration for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an interview with the BBC.</p>
<p>"Do you have a sneaking regard for what Mayor Bloomberg's done in New York?" the BBC host asked. Fraser laughed and said, "Yes is the answer to that. But the same principle in a way is to remove the protesters in their camp, clean up the park and say look, you can come back and protest but don't bring your camping equipment. And in that sense it is the same."</p>
<p>Despite the turnout at the embassy protest, Occupy London's Naomi Colvin rejected any claim that the movement is losing momentum.</p>
<p>"We know we have substantial public support," she said. "We have prominent politicians expressing sympathy with why we're there if not support for us directly."</p>
<p>Colvin also brushed aside any concern about the city's legal action, saying both it and this morning's events in New York don't signal the beginning of the end for protesters.</p>
<p>"Possibly, some people would like it to be a turning point for the Occupy movement. I don't think that's the case at all," Colvin said. "I am sure, I actually have no doubt at all after what we've seen in New York last night the movement — Occupy Wall Street will come back much bigger and stronger than it was before. I don't think there can be any doubt of that whatsoever."</p>
<p>There's also no doubt that the standoff in London will play out very differently.</p>
<p>It may have taken just hours to clear the tents in New York.,but it will take months of legal wrangling before there is any chance that police will move in to evict the camp in front of St. Paul's cathedral.</p> | Occupy London Protesters Face Eviction As Well | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-11-15/occupy-london-protesters-face-eviction-well | 2011-11-15 | 3 |
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<p>Some advertisers decided to lean all the way into this year’s tense political climate, delivering emotional rebukes against sexism and xenophobia. In less contentious political years — which feel like ancient history by now — these commercials might have provoked a statement from One Million Moms, or an angry tweetstorm. This year, people are calling for full-on boycotts — or they’re pledging to support companies that previously might have held no interest for them. Bad or good, these ads got people talking.</p>
<p>– Budweiser</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>There’s no ad that got more pre-game buzz than Budweiser’s controversial commercial, which made headlines for its sympathetic immigrant story just days after the president announced his travel ban. It’s a classic American story: Adolphus Busch endures a harsh and treacherous journey to set foot on foreign soil and pursue the American dream — brewing beer, in his case. Budweiser drinkers already tend to lean Democratic, so the company must not have feared alienating a large portion of its customer base. Still, people have been calling for boycotts on social media. But many have praised the company for personifying the struggle of people who came to our country — a message that resonates even more, coming from such an all-American beer.</p>
<p>– AirBnb</p>
<p>The home-sharing network made a pointed statement with an equality-themed ad supporting the company’s #weaccept campaign. The commercial is timely and poignant given the political climate, though it’s worth noting that the company has seen a fair share of criticism for racial bias among its users. Also worth noting: The only thing letting us know it was an AirBnb ad was the tiny logo that appeared at the end. The ad speaks for itself: “We believe that no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love or who you worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept. #weaccept.”</p>
<p>– 84 Lumber</p>
<p>A lumber company seemed an unlikely candidate for such a bold statement. Their ad follows a young Mexican girl and her mother who are trying to make it to America illegally – traveling in the back of a flatbed truck, in a boxcar train and by foot. Along the way, the girl collects little scraps of fabric and plastic. The commercial that aired during the game was initially rejected, and was edited to end with the mother and daughter still in transit — a cliffhanger. But when viewers went to 84lumber.com (when the site wasn’t crashing), they could see the full, nearly six-minute-long spot. For those who are sympathetic towards immigrants, it’s a tearjerker: They approach a massive, seemingly impenetrable border wall, and the mother’s face is stricken with despair. The daughter reaches into her backpack and pulls out a tiny, tattered American flag, made with all those scraps she’s been picking up. It seems like the end of the line for them, but they walk along the wall and find a massive door — made from wood supplied by 84 Lumber. It ends with them walking through the door, overlaid with the message: “The will to succeed is always welcome here.”</p>
<p>– Google</p>
<p>Google’s commercial brought us into people’s homes, representing a cross-section of America. We saw black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern and Latino families; a rainbow, gay-pride flag; and a mezuzah, hung on the doorpost of Jewish houses. The ad ended with a surprise party, and a cake with the message “welcome home” written in frosting. It may not be as overt as the Budweiser and 84 Lumber commercials, but it’s not so subtle either — Google is telling us that everyone in America should feel warm and safe at home (where, preferably, you’re connected to a voice-activated Google device).</p>
<p>– Audi</p>
<p>In Audi’s commercial, a father voices his fears for his daughter, competing against a bunch of boys in a soapbox car race: that she will never be seen as (or paid) equal to men. But it ends on a hopeful note. Dad wants to tell his daughter something different, and Audi affirms its commitment to equal pay — which wouldn’t have been such a political statement last year, but arriving on the heels of the Women’s Marches around the world, it’s meaningful.</p> | The five most political Super Bowl commercials | false | https://abqjournal.com/943568/the-five-most-political-super-bowl-commercials.html | 2 |
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<p>Palestinian – Israeli peace-making can only deliver if Palestinians are united, but the current Annapolis “peace process” was launched first of all as a blueprint for perpetuating the inter- Palestinian divide.</p>
<p>Commitment or non-commitment to what the Quartet of the US, EU, UN and Russian mediators in Middle East peace – making described as the “Annapolis Process” in a statement they released after their meeting in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on November 8 has become the terms of reference to make or break the Palestinian unity of ranks, which has so far failed the Egyptian mediation efforts, the latest in a series of national, Arab and non-Arab similar reconciliation endeavors.</p>
<p>The Annapolis conference, which was hosted by the United States in Meryland on November 27, 2007 and attended by all members of the League of Arab States, convened with much fanfare and re-launched the Palestinian – Israeli negotiations after a seven – year interruption since the collapse of the trilateral Camp David summit with the U.S. in 2000.</p>
<p>In Annapolis, Arab leaders and the Palestinian presidency were lured by a promise of a Palestinian state by the end of 2008 and a wider Arab – Israeli peace process, mainly on the Syrian track thereafter, to coexist with the inter-Palestinian divide between the PLO – led West Bank and the Hamas – led Gaza Strip and to grudgingly hide their bitter resentment of the U.S. – Israeli threat of siege, which had aborted Qatari, UAE, Saudi, Egyptian, Yemeni and other Arab and non – Arab mediation efforts to unify Palestinian ranks.</p>
<p>The Annapolis plan to implement the first stage of the 2003 Road Map for a Palestinian – Israeli political settlement has built on two pillars, the first a Palestinian – Israeli security coordination that is solely and directly monitored by three senior U.S. generals, namely James Jones, William Fraser and Keith Dayton, and the second pillar is inter – Palestinian divide between the PLO in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza.</p>
<p>However, the failure of the “Annapolis process” could be better proved by the unmet deadline of 2008 and the un-honored promise of a Palestinian state, but the two pillars nonetheless survived the failure of Annapolis so far to perpetuate and exacerbate the Palestinian rift, with the security coordination raising accusations by Hamas of PLO collaboration with Israel and the divide developing into what threatens to become a permanent separation between the West Bank and Gaza.</p>
<p>There remain too at the core of the Annapolis process and at the heart of the Palestinian divide the three Israeli – U.S. “good conduct” preconditions that qualify Palestinians to be partners to peace negotiations as well as to evade military siege, economic blockade and diplomatic isolation, namely to unilaterally renounce violence without any guarantees of Israeli reciprocity, recognize the existence of the state of Israel without any Israeli reciprocal recognition of the state of Palestine, and commitment to the accords signed by the PLO with Israel regardless of Israeli reciprocal respect thereto.</p>
<p>Israel’s lack of reciprocity has come recently under spotlight by the refusal of the U.S. State Department to publish a report by its Middle East security envoy General James Jones on Palestinian – Israeli security, which the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoted by AFP on November 26, described in August as “an extremely critical report of Israel’s policies” in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”</p>
<p>It is now public knowledge that the Palestinian partner to the Annapolis process, represented by the President Mahmoud Abbas – led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the autonomous Palestinian Authority (PA), are wholeheartedly committed thereto irrespective of any Israeli reciprocity. The emergency meeting of the Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on November 26 concluded similarly committal, encouraged beforehand to let go the undelivered promises of the Annapolis conference by indications floated by both the Israeli President Shimon Peres and the U.S. President – elect Barak Obama’s team of their willingness to deal with the collective Arab peace initiative.</p>
<p>Hamas is consequently left in the cold to fend off a Palestinian and Arab diplomatic isolation as much as to survive the Israeli ongoing economic blockade and military siege, “hopefully” to gradually be finished off or alternatively to surrender to those same three preconditions to which its Palestinian rival had subscribed to as early as the Oslo accord was signed with Israel in Washington D.C. in 1993.</p>
<p>More out of presuming the weakness of Hamas than out of feeling a strength in his own position, but stiffening his back with the U.S. and Israeli determination to push hard with their three pre-qualifications, President Abbas feels safe enough to persistently reiterate his commitment to Annapolis and to corner the besieged Islamic movement to either dismantle voluntarily or otherwise being swept away in a way or another, and he is on record as saying that the end of the “black coup d’etat” in Gaza in June 2007 is only a matter of time.</p>
<p>However the end game of the Annapolis process is still far away from being the only game in the town as it is held hostage to Hamas’ fate as much as it has cornered Hamas, but meanwhile this process remains the detrimental factor that makes or breaks the unity of Palestinian ranks, as long as both Palestinian protagonists continue to risk it out in their brinkmanship policies.</p>
<p>NICOLA NASSER is a veteran Arab journalist based in Bir Zeit of the Israeli – occupied Palestinian West Bank.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | A Peace Process That Makes Peace Impossible | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/11/27/a-peace-process-that-makes-peace-impossible/ | 2007-11-27 | 4 |
<p>Bitcoin Cash retreats</p>
<p>Bitcoin rose modestly on Thursday as the most prominent digital currency recovers from recent sharp declines that briefly put it into correction territory.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Moves for the cyber monetary unit come as Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily suspended trading (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sec-halts-trading-in-first-bitcoin-capital-after-it-gained-more-than-6000-in-2017-2017-08-24) in the shares of First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (BITCF) because of concerns about the accuracy and adequacy of public information on the Canadian company.</p>
<p>Still, a single bitcoin rose 2.3% to $4,287.64, advancing for a third straight day, according to Coindesk.com data (https://www.coindesk.com/), and sending its total market value to about $70 billion, according to digital-currency research site Coinmarketcap.com (https://coinmarketcap.com/).</p>
<p>Despite recent advances, the digital currency, is still about 5% below its record set on Aug. 17, though year to date, it is up more than 300%.</p>
<p>Bitcoin prices have been volatile, largely due to issues surrounding the need to increase transaction sizes in the blockchain network. Traditional bitcoin participants agreed on a new protocol known as Segregated Witness, or SegWit., which they believe solves bitcoin's scaling issue.</p>
<p>The adoption of SegWit hasn't been smooth, with a minority of users rejecting it, leading to the split of bitcoin that created Bitcoin Cash.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>On Thursday, the price of Bitcoin Cash fell 1.6% to 649.32, bringing its market cap to $10.7 billion.</p>
<p>Ether tokens, the chief rival to bitcoin, which runs on the Ethereum network, was little changed on Thursday at $323.74. Ether on Wednesday rose 0.4% to $325, its highest level since June 23. While it remains below an all-time intraday high above $400 hit on June 12, it has more than doubled from a recent intraday low hit in mid-July. For 2017, it is up about 4,000%, bringing its market cap to $30.6 billion.</p>
<p>Read: This bitcoin $25,000 call is more proof of the cybercurrency bubble (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-25000-this-is-more-proof-of-the-cybercurrency-bubble-2017-08-18)</p>
<p>The recent advances in bitcoin, along with the recovery in Ether, brought the total market capitalization of all cryprtocurrencies above $150 billion. The basket of cybercurrencies tracked by Coinmarketcap.com first broke above $100 billion in early June, meaning the space has risen by half in a little more than two months.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, shares of Firtst Bitcoin Capital Corp traded at $1.79 before its halt. The stock traded at $0.05 at the start of the year and gained more than 6,000% year to date.</p>
<p>First Bitcoin Capital Corp. is a Canadian corporation that invests in companies that mine bitcoin and operates exchanges and digital wallets, according to their website. The suspension was effective Thursday 9:30 Eastern Tim until noon Sept. 7.</p>
<p>In other news, A regulatory arm of Canada on Thursday signaled a warning about so-called initial coin offerings, or ICOs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ethereum-co-founder-warns-icos-are-a-ticking-time-bomb-2017-07-18), which have spiked in popularity. The Canadian Securities Administrator, although acknowledging the benefits of raising funds by digital tokens, it said there are big risks (https://www.inc.com/john-koetsier/ico-bubble-startups-are-raising-hundreds-of-millio.html).</p>
<p>"However, they can also raise investor protection concerns, due to issues around volatility, transparency, valuation, custody and liquidity, as well as the use of unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges.Also, investors may be harmed by unethical practices or illegal schemes, and may not understand the properties of the investment products that they are purchasing," the CSA said, adding that it was monitoring developments in ICOs (http://www.osc.gov.on.ca/documents/en/Securities-Category4/csa_20170824_cryptocurrency-offerings.pdf).</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 24, 2017 11:36 ET (15:36 GMT)</p> | CURRENCIES: Bitcoin, Ether Extend Gains, Even As Digital Currencies Take A Regulatory Hit | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/24/currencies-bitcoin-ether-extend-gains-even-as-digital-currencies-take-regulatory-hit.html | 2017-08-24 | 0 |
<p>Israeli prime minister speaks out on 'Sunday Morning Futures' about preventing Iran's nuclear capabilities.</p>
<p>On Friday morning, President Donald Trump announced that he would not recertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, one of the foremost foreign policy achievements under the Obama administration, in a blow that had been a long-time coming.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Though widely criticized by the other world powers who were a part of the deal, Trump’s decision has been praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who once denounced the deal as a “historic mistake.”</p>
<p>“Since the Iran deal was signed, Iran has been like a tiger unleashed from its cage,” Netanyahu told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo. “It’s not joining the community of nations, it’s devouring nations left and right. Refusing to go along with a bad deal is a good thing, an important thing, even a historic thing that’s certainly important for world peace.”</p>
<p>The deal, long a point of contention, was made to prevent Iran from producing two components used to make nuclear weapons: plutonium and uranium. In exchange, crippling economic sanctions against Iran were reduced.</p>
<p>During the White House press conference, the president said Tehran was not “living up to the spirit” of the agreement, and suggested they might be working with North Korea on its weapons program, a so far unsubstantiated report.</p>
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<p>But, the future of the deal ultimately remains to be seen: Trump kicked the issue back to Congress, which now has 60 days to determine its fate. Trump also warned that he could still cancel the deal. On Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the U.S. would remain in the international deal for the time being.</p>
<p>Netanyahu said either option -- fixing the agreement or leaving it -- is an important step in stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>“The goal is to prevent Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. “And you can achieve it either by fixing this bad deal, or by nixing it. I don’t particularly care which one, but it’s the result that we want to have.”</p> | Netanyahu commends Trump’s Iran deal, gives U.S. leverage | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/10/15/netanyahu-commends-trump-for-making-bold-decision-to-decertify-iran-deal.html | 2017-10-16 | 0 |
<p>Good morning. Here are some of the stories we’re following today:</p>
<p>A New York City-bound Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring at least 140 others. One rescue worker at the scene said that authorities feared the death toll could rise as they had been unable to get underneath the toppled cars and mangled metal. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter described the scene as an "absolute disastrous mess." <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>Speed was being eyed as a possible cause of the Amtrak accident that temporarily closed the nation's busiest rail corridor from Philadelphia to New York City, sources told NBC News. The derailment happened on a section of track where a 70 mph straight section goes into a 50 mph curve — although officials stressed it was too early to know whether the curve or speed were factors. The National Transportation Safety Board deployed a team with equipment to the site and an investigation has begun. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>The search for a Marine helicopter that vanished in earthquake-rattled Nepal was expanded Wednesday with four U.S. aircraft and hundreds of Nepalese troops joining in. However, there was no sign of the missing UH-1Y Huey which was carrying six Marines and two Nepalese service members. The chopper <a href="" type="internal">disappeared on Tuesday night</a> while delivering aid to the region; hours earlier, a powerful earthquake aftershock rocked Nepal, killing dozens more people. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>Potential presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he misinterpreted a question on Monday about his support for the Iraq War, saying he is unsure whether he would have made the same decision as his brother President George W. Bush knowing what we do 12 years later. "I don't know what that decision would have been, that's a hypothetical," Bush said on the Sean Hannity radio show, clarifying his earlier remarks. "But the simple fact is that mistakes were made." <a href="" type="internal">Read more in POLITICS</a>.</p>
<p>The jury is expected to begin deliberating on convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's fate later this week after both sides make their closing arguments Wednesday in his penalty phase. Tsarnaev faces life in prison or the death penalty. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>The Madison officer who shot and killed unarmed 19-year-old Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. won't face charges, prosecutors said Tuesday. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne called the shooting of Robinson on March 6 by Officer Matt Kenny a "lawful use of deadly police force," saying that Robinson had Xanax, mushrooms and marijuana in his system and that multiple witnesses told investigators Robinson was "tweaking out" on mushrooms, jumping in front of cars and intimidating bystanders. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in NEWS</a>.</p>
<p>Pricey cancer drugs, expensive new cures for hepatitis and made-to-order drugs have driven U.S. prescription costs to new highs for some Americans, according to <a href="http://lab.express-scripts.com/insights/drug-options/super-spending-US-trends-in-high-cost-medication-use%20" type="external">a report issued Wednesday.</a> It finds that more than half-a-million Americans each took home $50,000 or more worth of prescription drugs last year, and the number of super-high spenders prescribed $100,000 or more worth of medications nearly tripled from 47,000 to 139,000. <a href="" type="internal">Read more in HEALTH</a>.</p>
<p>Abolitionist Harriet Tubman won an <a href="" type="internal">online campaign asking which woman</a> should be on the $20 bill — and it got a lot of children talking about women’s history.</p>
<p /> | KNOW IT ALL: Wednesday’s Top 7 Stories at NBC News | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/know-it-all/know-it-all-wednesday-s-top-7-stories-nbc-news-n358161 | 2015-05-13 | 3 |
<p>Morgan Stanley plans to cut 1,600 jobs in its investment banking unit, roughly 6 percent of staff in that unit, with employees being informed about job losses beginning this week, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The cuts will affect traders, salespeople and bankers in Morgan Stanley's institutional securities business as well as support staff, the source said.</p>
<p>This round of job cuts comes in addition to a 6 percent reduction in the investment bank workforce in 2012, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.</p>
<p>About half of the job cuts will occur in the United States, with the rest affecting international units, said the source, adding that all levels of staff will be affected, with an emphasis on more senior employees.</p>
<p /> | Morgan Stanley to Lay Off 6% of Workforce: Sources | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/01/09/morgan-stanley-to-lay-off-6-workforce-sources.html | 2013-01-09 | 0 |
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<p>This morning the Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201579.html" type="external">reports</a> that prior to the invasion of Iraq, the CIA had funded, trained, and armed an Iraqi paramilitary group, the “Scorpions,” to “foment rebellion, conduct sabotage, and help CIA paramilitaries who entered Baghdad and other cities target buildings and individuals.” Then we <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201941.html" type="external">learn</a> that the Scorpions helped the military interrogate and torture officers captured in Iraq. Not al-Qaeda detainees, not Taliban detainees, not people who were planning to blow up anything in the United States. By the way, given that we invaded Iraq, the Geneva Conventions should very clearly apply there—none of this murky business that the president thinks should apply to al-Qaeda. But guess not. Laws are for pansies. Go read Marty Lederman’s analysis <a href="http://balkin.blogspot.com/2005/08/horrifying-shameful.html" type="external">here</a> and <a href="http://balkin.blogspot.com/2005/08/mowhoush-murder-geneva-scorpions-and.html" type="external">here</a>. As Lederman says of an Iraqi general who was beaten to death by Army officers:</p>
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<p>From all that appears, this was a concerted, planned, systematic and extended series of brutal interrogations, carried out by numerous persons and entities, within the military and the CIA, in a manner that they all considered to be authorized. No rotten apples. No nightshift. Official U.S. policy and practice.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/03/AR2005080300377.html" type="external">this</a> is going on, as well as <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/03/AR2005080300359.html" type="external">this</a>.</p>
<p /> | Scorpions | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/08/scorpions/ | 2005-08-03 | 4 |
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<p>The incident happened in Ludington Library in Pennsylvania, according to <a href="http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Man-Defecates-in-Stairwell-Twice-Police-366466771.html" type="external">NBC News</a>. The man went into the stairwell, and dropped a load. Twice. In an effort to identify the suspect, the Lower Merion Police department posted the video on Facebook. They have taken the video off their Facebook Page, but you can watch it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckt0N9Q3WLI" type="external">here</a> if you are so inclined.</p>
<p>The suspect has been identified, but the Police department hasn't commented on whether or not he was arrested or charged with a crime.</p>
<p>When you think about it, the man has received a much worse sentence than jail. He will live in infamy in a YouTube video where anyone and everyone can watch him getting ready to drop a load in a library stairwell.</p>
<p>When he applies for a job or goes to the grocery store, he is known as the man who went in a stairwell, his private moment shared with anyone who viewed the police officers' post or has a YouTube account. His family and friends most likely saw it. How do you look anyone in the eye after that?</p>
<p>There is a lesson here, my friends. If you are in a public place, anything you do could end up online, and once its there, its there. Just ask the man who pooped in the stairway.</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p />
<p /> | Police: Man Caught Defecating In Stairwell - Twice! | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2016/01/28/police-man-caught-defecating-in-stairwell-twice/ | 2016-01-28 | 4 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />John Seiler:</p>
<p>In early negotiations Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown reached a budget agreement with Republican legislators to increase taxes $12 billion — without a ballot measure. Votes in the Assembly and Senate are expected later in the day. Two Republicans from each house, joining all Democrats, are needed for a tax increase.</p>
<p>“What is the sound of one hand clapping is an old Zen saying,” a jovial Brown announced at a morning news conference. “Now we know the sound of four Republicans clapping!”</p>
<p>Democratic Senate <a href="" type="external">President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg</a> said, “I can’t believe it, but it’s true. The Republicans finally saw the need to make sure education, public safety and the safety net were funded. No one wants to increase taxes, but a stronger state will be a more productive state. So the taxes will pay for themselves.”</p>
<p>The vote to immediately increase taxes avoids the estimated $100 million cost of a special election. “See, we’re saving Californians money already,” quipped Brown.</p>
<p>“One of the best things about this deal is that it provides certainty to businesses,” explained <a href="http://www.asmdc.org/speaker/" type="external">Assembly Speaker John Perez</a>. “An election would have continued the confusion over taxes. Many businesses have told me, ‘The worst thing is the uncertainty. We can’t plan our business expansions in this atmosphere.’ Now, they have the certainty of $12 billion in &#160;higher taxes for five years. They can plan to create new jobs.”</p>
<p>“Kids are the real winners,” <a href="http://www.tomtorlakson.com/" type="external">Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlaksen</a> said. “Further cuts in education funding would have devastated budgets for math, English and science instruction. We can only build the future on a solid foundation of thorough education.”</p>
<p>Read the next sentence backwards:</p>
<p>!loof lirpA</p>
<p>April 1, 2011</p> | Brown, GOP Reach Budget Deal | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2011/04/01/brown-gop-reach-budget-deal/ | 2018-04-20 | 3 |
<p>Michael Sam is back in the spotlight as one of GQ’s Men of the Year.</p>
<p>What did Sam do to deserve the coveted cover spot for GQ? Well, he was drafted 249th overall. He has never played a professional football game. He was axed from two teams. But actually playing is clearly&#160;not what's important for the media.</p>
<p>Youngcons.com breaks it <a href="http://www.youngcons.com/gq-gives-michael-sam-man-of-the-year-award-just-for-being-gay-2/" type="external">down</a>. &#160;</p>
<p>“The cause of Michael Sam was nothing more than another transparent example of politicized affirmative action and more proof that the Left cares more about intentions rather than results. In this case, the Left cared more that a gay player was drafted than it did about the gay player’s talent keeping him on an active NFL roster. The Left got what it wanted -- a “first” -- or the first. The first openly-gay player drafted into the NFL. Yet the Left gave no thought that this -- because of the constant and disproportionate attention Sam received (none for his talent) -- could be the last or at least the only for quite some time.”</p>
<p /> | Michael Sam Scores GQ Cover | true | http://truthrevolt.org/news/michael-sam-scores-gq-cover | 2018-10-04 | 0 |
<p>PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota is going to ask the Trump administration to allow the state to require some Medicaid recipients to work to qualify for the government-funded health coverage for the poor, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Tuesday in his State of the State address.</p>
<p>The change would apply to about 4,500 low-income, able-bodied parents who are not caring for a child under the age of 1, Daugaard told state lawmakers gathered for the first day of the 2018 legislative session. The governor proposed piloting the new requirement in Minnehaha and Pennington counties.</p>
<p>"Work is an important part of personal fulfillment," Daugaard said. "By making this adjustment to our Medicaid program, we can continue to help those who need it the most and start to connect those who can work with jobs that give them that sense of self-worth and accomplishment."</p>
<p>Daugaard said he has asked the state Department of Social Services to pursue the work requirement waiver. The average monthly Medicaid enrollment was roughly 120,000 people last state budget year.</p>
<p>Joan Alker, executive director at Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, said low-income parents are not driving the costs of the Medicaid program.</p>
<p>"We're talking about the very, very poorest families in a state, and applying a work requirement to these parents, the majority of whom are women, is in my judgment counterproductive, it's fiscally inefficient, and it's just downright cruel," Alker said.</p>
<p>During the current legislative session, the Republican-controlled Legislature will make a new state budget and take up policy proposals on issues ranging from the state's ballot question system to the use of lakes on private land for recreation. Legislators will adjourn in late March.</p>
<p>Daugaard asked lawmakers to extend an expiring law that restored access to nearly 30 specific lakes for public recreation that was curtailed by a state Supreme Court decision. The rules were the product of a special legislative session last year on so-called nonmeandered waters. The governor's bill would move the law's June expiration date to 2021.</p>
<p>House Democratic leader Spencer Hawley said he supports the extension because too little time has passed to evaluate issues with the law.</p>
<p>"We need to extend this," he said. "We need to work with it."</p>
<p>Daugaard said he's also proposing legislation that would make South Dakota microbrewers more competitive with those in surrounding states. He noted that current law caps South Dakota craft brewers at 5,000 barrels of beer annually, compared to 60,000 in Montana, 50,000 in Wyoming and 25,000 in North Dakota.</p>
<p>The governor's proposal would increase the limit to 30,000 barrels per year.</p>
<p>The governor has made workforce development a key policy focus. He said South Dakota doesn't have enough workers in many skilled fields, which is a barrier to economic growth.</p>
<p>Officials are encouraging high schools to expand the availability of apprenticeships, internships or job shadowing during school, Daugaard said. And he's pushing a new law to create a professional licensure reciprocity compact with other states.</p>
<p>Daugaard looked back on his time in office during the final State of the State address of his second term, saying he's pleased with progress on boosting teacher pay and that revenue increases for road and bridge funding are "being put to good use." The 64-year-old Republican cannot run again this year because of term limits.</p>
<p>"I look forward to working hard with you, over this session and over this, my last year, to make South Dakota a better place than it is today," Daugaard said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow James Nord on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Jvnord</p>
<p>PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota is going to ask the Trump administration to allow the state to require some Medicaid recipients to work to qualify for the government-funded health coverage for the poor, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Tuesday in his State of the State address.</p>
<p>The change would apply to about 4,500 low-income, able-bodied parents who are not caring for a child under the age of 1, Daugaard told state lawmakers gathered for the first day of the 2018 legislative session. The governor proposed piloting the new requirement in Minnehaha and Pennington counties.</p>
<p>"Work is an important part of personal fulfillment," Daugaard said. "By making this adjustment to our Medicaid program, we can continue to help those who need it the most and start to connect those who can work with jobs that give them that sense of self-worth and accomplishment."</p>
<p>Daugaard said he has asked the state Department of Social Services to pursue the work requirement waiver. The average monthly Medicaid enrollment was roughly 120,000 people last state budget year.</p>
<p>Joan Alker, executive director at Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, said low-income parents are not driving the costs of the Medicaid program.</p>
<p>"We're talking about the very, very poorest families in a state, and applying a work requirement to these parents, the majority of whom are women, is in my judgment counterproductive, it's fiscally inefficient, and it's just downright cruel," Alker said.</p>
<p>During the current legislative session, the Republican-controlled Legislature will make a new state budget and take up policy proposals on issues ranging from the state's ballot question system to the use of lakes on private land for recreation. Legislators will adjourn in late March.</p>
<p>Daugaard asked lawmakers to extend an expiring law that restored access to nearly 30 specific lakes for public recreation that was curtailed by a state Supreme Court decision. The rules were the product of a special legislative session last year on so-called nonmeandered waters. The governor's bill would move the law's June expiration date to 2021.</p>
<p>House Democratic leader Spencer Hawley said he supports the extension because too little time has passed to evaluate issues with the law.</p>
<p>"We need to extend this," he said. "We need to work with it."</p>
<p>Daugaard said he's also proposing legislation that would make South Dakota microbrewers more competitive with those in surrounding states. He noted that current law caps South Dakota craft brewers at 5,000 barrels of beer annually, compared to 60,000 in Montana, 50,000 in Wyoming and 25,000 in North Dakota.</p>
<p>The governor's proposal would increase the limit to 30,000 barrels per year.</p>
<p>The governor has made workforce development a key policy focus. He said South Dakota doesn't have enough workers in many skilled fields, which is a barrier to economic growth.</p>
<p>Officials are encouraging high schools to expand the availability of apprenticeships, internships or job shadowing during school, Daugaard said. And he's pushing a new law to create a professional licensure reciprocity compact with other states.</p>
<p>Daugaard looked back on his time in office during the final State of the State address of his second term, saying he's pleased with progress on boosting teacher pay and that revenue increases for road and bridge funding are "being put to good use." The 64-year-old Republican cannot run again this year because of term limits.</p>
<p>"I look forward to working hard with you, over this session and over this, my last year, to make South Dakota a better place than it is today," Daugaard said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow James Nord on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Jvnord</p> | Daugaard: South Dakota seeking Medicaid work requirement | false | https://apnews.com/amp/99f5c440e4d2408b97c8ecc02bf32a88 | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
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<p>MELBOURNE, Fla. — Just four weeks into his administration, President Donald Trump appeared at a campaign rally that mirrored the months leading up to Election Day, complete with promises to repeal the health care law, insults for the news media and a playlist highlighted by the Rolling Stones.</p>
<p>“I want to be among my friends and among the people,” Trump told a cheering crowd packed into an airport hangar in central Florida, praising his “truly great movement.”</p>
<p>Trump promised anew to build a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, reduce regulations and create jobs. He also pledged to “do something over the next couple of days” to address the immigration order that has been blocked in the courts. Said Trump: “We don’t give up, we never give up.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Insisting he was the victim of false reporting, Trump said his White House was running “so smoothly” and that he “inherited one big mess.” The president has been trying refocus after reports of disarray and dysfunction within his administration.</p>
<p>Speaking to reporters on Air Force One before the rally, Trump said he was holding a campaign rally because “life is a campaign.”</p>
<p>“To make America great again is absolutely a campaign,” he said. “It’s not easy, especially when we’re also fighting the press.”</p>
<p>And he’s also had to contend with crowds of protesters. Thousands of them were out on the streets of Dallas and Los Angeles to oppose immigration enforcement raids and to support immigrants and refugees generally. In Los Angeles, an organizer urged local authorities not to spend money on immigration enforcement.</p>
<p>Trump, who held a rally in the same spot in Florida in September, clearly relished being back in front of his supporters, welcoming the cheers and letting one supporter up on stage to offer praise for the president. He also enjoyed reliving his surprise victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>First lady Melania Trump introduced her husband at the rally, reciting the Lord’s Prayer before offering her own pledge to act in the best interest of all Americans as she pursues initiatives she says will impact women and children around the world.</p>
<p>The event had the familiar trappings of a Trump campaign rally, including red Trump caps, “Make America Great Again” and “Trump/Pence” signs and at least one sign reading “Hillary for Prison.” Some of the speakers ahead of Trump’s appearance called for repealing and replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law, criticized the news media or lobbed barbs at Clinton, other constants of last year’s rallies.</p>
<p>The music playlist preceding Trump’s appearance included rally favorites like Free’s “All Right Now.” As Air Force One rolled up to the hangar, the theme to the Harrison Ford movie “Air Force One” signaled its arrival. Trump and the first lady appeared as Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” played. And his 45-minute remarks were followed by another 2016 campaign favorite, the 1969 hit “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones.</p>
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<p>The rally came during Trump’s third straight weekend at his private south Florida club, Mar-a-Lago. It was another working weekend for the president, who planned to interview at least four potential candidates for the job of national security adviser, a position unexpectedly open after retired Gen. Michael Flynn’s firing early this week.</p>
<p>Trump said Saturday “I have many, many that want the job, they want to really be a part of it. I’ll make a decision over the next couple of days.”</p>
<p>Scheduled to discuss the job with the president were his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the four interviews were expected to take place Sunday at the private estate.</p>
<p>Finding a new national security adviser was proving to be a challenge for Trump. His first choice, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer.</p>
<p>Trump had also expressed interest in former CIA Director David Petraeus, but Spicer said Saturday that Petraeus was not a finalist. The retired four-star general resigned as CIA director in 2012 and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information relating to documents he had provided to his biographer, with whom he was having an affair.</p>
<p>Flynn resigned at Trump’s request Monday after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the transition. Trump said in a news conference Thursday that he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence, but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.</p>
<p>Trump has lurched from crisis to crisis since the inauguration, including the botched rollout of his immigration order, struggles confirming his Cabinet picks and a near-constant stream of reports about strife within his administration.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story corrects the title of the Lee Greenwood song to “God Bless the U.S.A.”</p> | Trump rallies supporters by renewing old promises, insults | false | https://abqjournal.com/952611/outside-of-washington-trump-slips-back-into-campaign-mode-2.html | 2017-02-18 | 2 |
<p>During the recent bomb cyclone snowstorm, I couldn't go to the store for several days as I waited to get plowed out of my driveway. I had plenty of food, but a lot of it was that first of January "diet" food and I was craving a warm stick-to-your ribs stew.</p>
<p>It became a challenge to see what I had on hand that I could assemble into a dish that would warm my bones and satisfy my appetite. I had a hanger steak in the freezer and carrots, mushrooms, shallots and garlic on hand. I had half a bottle of burgundy (pinot noir) left over from the last supper before the storm and so a beef burgundy stew immediately came to mind.</p>
<p>Because I had never made a beef burgundy stew before, and was short on time, I decided to use my handy electric pressure cooker. I am a new fan of these one-pot meals and amazed at the flavor that you can coax out of a pressure cooker.</p>
<p>I decided to cook the hanger steak whole and still partially frozen, and cut it into chunks once it was done. I like the texture of the meat better this way even though almost every stew recipe out there tells you to chunk it up first. If you don't want to use hanger steak, there are other cuts of beef that you can use.</p>
<p>I cleaned and sliced the carrots into round slices, cut the white mushrooms in half so that they would retain their shape during the pressure cooking, peeled the skins from the garlic cloves and the shallots but left them whole so that they would peel apart once they were cooked and add chunkiness to the stew.</p>
<p>To peel the garlic, I tried a new tip that will change your garlic-peeling life. I know it changed mine. A friend who does not cook, but microwaves, told me that you could microwave garlic and the peel will slide off. Like most people, I find peeling the skin off garlic cloves to be tedious.</p>
<p>To that end, I have tried everything including the silicone tube that promises to peel garlic but only works a fraction of the time. Having nothing to lose, I took half a bulb of garlic and placed it in the microwave for 10 seconds. I removed it, and it broke into individual cloves immediately. I then rubbed the cloves between my fingers and the peel slipped right off. New year, new kitchen tip!</p>
<p>But back to the stew. Once I made it, I realized that it would be even better the next day, so I poured the stew into a Dutch oven and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Besides letting all the flavors marry, I love doing this because you can skim the fat in one fell swoop by picking the solidified fat off the top. Below is all the flavor but none of the fat. This is an excellent trick for chicken soup and many other one pot soups and stews that start with raw meat.</p>
<p>If you want to eat the stew immediately, you can skim the fat off the top the old-fashioned way, or just eat it. I thickened my stew with an old-fashioned roux of browned butter and flour, but you could also thicken it with corn starch. Serve the stew over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or gnocchi for a very satisfying cold-weather meal.</p>
<p>BURGUNDY BEEF STEW</p>
<p>Servings: 6-8</p>
<p>Start to finish: 75 minutes</p>
<p>1 hanger steak brisket or boneless short ribs, 1 1(backslash)2-2 pounds</p>
<p>1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt</p>
<p>1/2teaspoon fresh-ground white pepper</p>
<p>1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary</p>
<p>1/8teaspoon dried sage</p>
<p>2 large carrots, cleaned and sliced into rounds</p>
<p>1/2bulb of garlic, 6-9 individual cloves peeled</p>
<p>6-8shallots peeled and trimmed</p>
<p>1 package (8-ounces) of white mushrooms, cleaned and cut in half</p>
<p>1 quart (4 cups) beef broth or stock</p>
<p>2 cups red burgundy (pinot noir)</p>
<p>2 tablespoons unsalted butter</p>
<p>2 tablespoons all-purpose flour</p>
<p>Set whole hanger steak or other meat on a plate. Mix together the salt, pepper, rosemary and sage. If you like a more "seasoned" stew, double the spice mixture and save half of it for seasoning at the end. Season the meat with the spice rub and place in the pressure cooker or a Dutch Oven.</p>
<p>Pour the sliced carrots, garlic cloves, shallots and mushrooms on top of the meat. Pour the beef broth and wine over the meat and vegetables. Seal your pressure cooker or "Instant Pot" according to manufacturer directions. Set on high pressure for 23 minutes. Once it is cooked, release pressure and keep it warm.</p>
<p>Remove the meat and discard any connective tissue. Cut into chunks and place back into the hot pot and stir. Keep the stew on warm.</p>
<p>In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Let it cook until brown and thickened. Add a little of the cooking liquid, about 1/2 cup total and let it cook until thickened, stirring frequently.</p>
<p>Add thickened sauce to the hot liquid and let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. At this point, you can taste the stew and correct any seasonings by adding salt and pepper if needed. You can also season the stew with the spice rub that you seasoned the meat with it you doubled the recipe. Serve the stew at this point, or do as I do and pour the stew into a Dutch Oven and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.</p>
<p>When ready to serve, remove fat cap and simmer for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Nutrition information per serving: 364 calories; 139 calories from fat; 16 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 77 mg cholesterol; 42 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 25 g protein.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>EDITOR'S NOTE: Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pit master at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and the author of three books, including "Taming the Flame."</p>
<p>During the recent bomb cyclone snowstorm, I couldn't go to the store for several days as I waited to get plowed out of my driveway. I had plenty of food, but a lot of it was that first of January "diet" food and I was craving a warm stick-to-your ribs stew.</p>
<p>It became a challenge to see what I had on hand that I could assemble into a dish that would warm my bones and satisfy my appetite. I had a hanger steak in the freezer and carrots, mushrooms, shallots and garlic on hand. I had half a bottle of burgundy (pinot noir) left over from the last supper before the storm and so a beef burgundy stew immediately came to mind.</p>
<p>Because I had never made a beef burgundy stew before, and was short on time, I decided to use my handy electric pressure cooker. I am a new fan of these one-pot meals and amazed at the flavor that you can coax out of a pressure cooker.</p>
<p>I decided to cook the hanger steak whole and still partially frozen, and cut it into chunks once it was done. I like the texture of the meat better this way even though almost every stew recipe out there tells you to chunk it up first. If you don't want to use hanger steak, there are other cuts of beef that you can use.</p>
<p>I cleaned and sliced the carrots into round slices, cut the white mushrooms in half so that they would retain their shape during the pressure cooking, peeled the skins from the garlic cloves and the shallots but left them whole so that they would peel apart once they were cooked and add chunkiness to the stew.</p>
<p>To peel the garlic, I tried a new tip that will change your garlic-peeling life. I know it changed mine. A friend who does not cook, but microwaves, told me that you could microwave garlic and the peel will slide off. Like most people, I find peeling the skin off garlic cloves to be tedious.</p>
<p>To that end, I have tried everything including the silicone tube that promises to peel garlic but only works a fraction of the time. Having nothing to lose, I took half a bulb of garlic and placed it in the microwave for 10 seconds. I removed it, and it broke into individual cloves immediately. I then rubbed the cloves between my fingers and the peel slipped right off. New year, new kitchen tip!</p>
<p>But back to the stew. Once I made it, I realized that it would be even better the next day, so I poured the stew into a Dutch oven and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Besides letting all the flavors marry, I love doing this because you can skim the fat in one fell swoop by picking the solidified fat off the top. Below is all the flavor but none of the fat. This is an excellent trick for chicken soup and many other one pot soups and stews that start with raw meat.</p>
<p>If you want to eat the stew immediately, you can skim the fat off the top the old-fashioned way, or just eat it. I thickened my stew with an old-fashioned roux of browned butter and flour, but you could also thicken it with corn starch. Serve the stew over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or gnocchi for a very satisfying cold-weather meal.</p>
<p>BURGUNDY BEEF STEW</p>
<p>Servings: 6-8</p>
<p>Start to finish: 75 minutes</p>
<p>1 hanger steak brisket or boneless short ribs, 1 1(backslash)2-2 pounds</p>
<p>1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt</p>
<p>1/2teaspoon fresh-ground white pepper</p>
<p>1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary</p>
<p>1/8teaspoon dried sage</p>
<p>2 large carrots, cleaned and sliced into rounds</p>
<p>1/2bulb of garlic, 6-9 individual cloves peeled</p>
<p>6-8shallots peeled and trimmed</p>
<p>1 package (8-ounces) of white mushrooms, cleaned and cut in half</p>
<p>1 quart (4 cups) beef broth or stock</p>
<p>2 cups red burgundy (pinot noir)</p>
<p>2 tablespoons unsalted butter</p>
<p>2 tablespoons all-purpose flour</p>
<p>Set whole hanger steak or other meat on a plate. Mix together the salt, pepper, rosemary and sage. If you like a more "seasoned" stew, double the spice mixture and save half of it for seasoning at the end. Season the meat with the spice rub and place in the pressure cooker or a Dutch Oven.</p>
<p>Pour the sliced carrots, garlic cloves, shallots and mushrooms on top of the meat. Pour the beef broth and wine over the meat and vegetables. Seal your pressure cooker or "Instant Pot" according to manufacturer directions. Set on high pressure for 23 minutes. Once it is cooked, release pressure and keep it warm.</p>
<p>Remove the meat and discard any connective tissue. Cut into chunks and place back into the hot pot and stir. Keep the stew on warm.</p>
<p>In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Let it cook until brown and thickened. Add a little of the cooking liquid, about 1/2 cup total and let it cook until thickened, stirring frequently.</p>
<p>Add thickened sauce to the hot liquid and let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. At this point, you can taste the stew and correct any seasonings by adding salt and pepper if needed. You can also season the stew with the spice rub that you seasoned the meat with it you doubled the recipe. Serve the stew at this point, or do as I do and pour the stew into a Dutch Oven and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.</p>
<p>When ready to serve, remove fat cap and simmer for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Nutrition information per serving: 364 calories; 139 calories from fat; 16 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 77 mg cholesterol; 42 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 25 g protein.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>EDITOR'S NOTE: Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pit master at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and the author of three books, including "Taming the Flame."</p> | Wine, meat and garlic combine for a stick-to-your ribs stew | false | https://apnews.com/amp/52d150cd0a844dc7a913916fc18f4a08 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>By Team Englewood</p>
<p>Hide Your Schools, Hide Your Homes, Hide Your Children, Cause He’s Wrecking it All</p>
<p>Hammer in one hand paint brush in the otherRahm Emanuel is single-handedly destroying our cityMr. Wreck-It Rahmlook what Chicago is becomingbending the rules to fit in the lie of building a new Chicagobuilding new streetswhen his own plan got some potholes</p>
<p>Tearing down our dreamsit’s getting really windy in these streetsRed Xs mark the spots where his wrecking balls are next to drop</p>
<p>We are not included in the Blue Print of the New Chicago: we’re being pushed outour buildings transformed into condos—and we know those AIN’T FOR USThermal shock is setting in from the whipping wind of the heartless sinsof the mayor</p>
<p>Norfolk Railroads is pushing us southern folk outHomes replaced with tracksthat will be laidwhere our heads used toIf drywall could talk it would speak many prayers to keep our homesnow vacant lots that hold lots of remnantsof 60 years of backyard barbecues,baby showersand when electric sliding was the superpower of the summer55th and Normalwe are losing all of this</p>
<p>Torturing, tormenting us as we choke on the ashes of our memories*Cough Cough*Let’s hope we don’t get sickBecause he’s closing all our clinicsHe needs to get treatedAnd then maybe we can sew back on the other half of the middle finger that he has been giving us</p>
<p>It’s almost as if he’s E Manuel of E-LiminationExportation!Extermination!Eradication!</p>
<p>Step one: Take away our schoolsStep two: Put them out their homeLastly: Destroy it all and Deny Deny DenyBut remember to always keep a straight face when you lie!</p>
<p>Try to pour the cheap paint over our eyes while stealing dollars from under our mattressesThere’s not enough? Close their schoolsBut he’s building a new DePaul stadiumUsing our TIF funds to Transform the South Loop into the Promised Land of redevelopmentand some river walkof course downtownThe paint is starting to streakBuilding a new Chicago or extending a new lie!How can a city so in debt blueprint something so expensive?</p>
<p>Banneker Elementary — ClosedWoods Elementary — ClosedYale Elementary — Closed</p>
<p>The paint is crackingFrom every west side basketball brotherhoodTo south side sisterhood bonds through pompomsAnd every poetry team that had dreamed of being on this very stagehas been ripped apart,Goodbye</p>
<p>Bad foundation for our future generationsstruggling with 40 students in one classso they learn from the streetsThere’s not money for our schools, but there’s enough to build a New Chicago But that New Chicago is NOT for us.The paint is wearing thin and so was our patienceIrreparable damage has already been done</p>
<p>Time to stop the destruction of OUR cityPrevent the further corruption of our already twisted politics of Chicago</p>
<p>25% of Chicago schoolchildren won’t amount to anything 255075100% sure that we will be something See Rahm we are mathematiciansyour lies are adding upand this new Chicago is just another one of them</p> | Wreck-It-Rahm | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/wreck-it-rahm/ | 2014-05-11 | 3 |
<p>With so many scandals in the picture or looming, it’s easy to miss the fact that President Obama may soon become one of the most successful presidents in American history. I’m defining success as fulfilling Obama’s mission of substantially transforming America.</p>
<p>The Obama administration scandals matter because, to one degree or another, they involve scandalous conduct. But step back for moment. In 20 years, very few people will remember any of them.</p>
<p>By contrast, in 20 years — assuming that Obamacare sticks and Schumer-Rubio style immigration reform is enacted — Americans will constantly experience the impact of the Obama presidency.</p>
<p>Obamacare is an enormous deal. It directly affects about one-sixth of the U.S. economy. It directly affects not just our well-being, but also life and death. Arguably, it provides the most significant entitlement in American history, and certainly one of the top three. No entitlement enacted since 1964 comes close to matching it.</p>
<p>Enacting Schumer-Rubio style immigration reform would be just as impactful. It would radically transform America by ultimately leading to citizenship for (an estimated) <a href="http://powerline.wpengine.com/archives/2013/04/do-we-want-to-import-33-million-mexicans-and-if-so-why.php" type="external">30 million or more Mexicans</a>, nearly all of whom will be low-skilled individuals, and many of whom violated American law as their very first act in this country.</p>
<p>It is highly unlikely that these new citizens will <a href="http://powerline.wpengine.com/archives/2013/04/the-boston-bombers-the-assimilation-vacuum-and-immigration-reform.php" type="external">assimilate</a> successfully. Thus, America will be a far less unified country than it is today.</p>
<p>It is overwhelmingly likely that the vast majority of the new citizens will vote consistently <a href="http://powerline.wpengine.com/archives/2013/04/the-d-c-immigration-protest-and-the-shape-of-things-to-come.php" type="external">for Democrats</a>. It is virtually certain that they <a href="http://powerline.wpengine.com/archives/2012/11/lindsey-graham-poised-to-sell-out-to-chuck-schumer-on-immigration-reform.php" type="external">will not vote for conservative Republicans</a>, as that designation is currently understood. Thus, America will not be anything close to a “center-right” country. If we are a “center” country, it will only be because the center moved significantly to the left.</p>
<p>The economic impact of Schumer-Rubio is subject to legitimate debate, so I’m not going to include it in my analysis. But quite apart from immigration policy, the U.S. almost surely will either have an enormous debt problem or will have taxed the relatively well-to-do to the breaking point.</p>
<p>Either state of affairs will reflect another Obama administration “success” — its ability to fend off Republican efforts to reform entitlements and to bring about substantial cuts in government.</p>
<p>And, with so many new underclass voters, it will be nearly impossible to reverse the rot.</p>
<p>Name a U.S. president since Lincoln who has had more of an impact on America than that which I have just described. You could make a case for Reagan, but FDR is the only one I would agree on.</p> | Obama on the verge of becoming one of America’s most successful presidents ever | true | http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/05/obama-on-the-verge-of-becoming-one-of-americas-most-successful-presidents-ever.php | 2013-05-23 | 0 |
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<p />
<p>Passengers on the flight were told the pilot was sick and it was making an emergency landing in Syracuse, and they later learned of his death in a scenario that's rare but not unheard-of: Seven pilots for U.S. airlines and one charter pilot have died during flights since 1994, the Federal Aviation Administration says.</p>
<p>American Flight 550 left Phoenix at 11:55 p.m. local time Sunday and was diverted mid-flight, landing shortly after 7 a.m. EDT, American spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said. After the flight's captain was stricken, the first officer safely took over with 147 passengers and five crew members onboard.</p>
<p>"American 550. Medical emergency. Captain is incapacitated," the first officer calmly told the Syracuse airport tower, requesting a runway to land.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In a recording of his exchange with the tower, he expresses concern whether ambulance medics can get on the plane quickly. He's assured they can and is told to go into a gate where the medics would meet the plane.</p>
<p>Details of the medical emergency and the identity of the dead pilot weren't immediately released, and the airline wouldn't say when the death occurred.</p>
<p>"We are incredibly saddened by this event, and we are focused on caring for our pilot's family and colleagues," the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline said.</p>
<p>A replacement crew was sent to Syracuse, and the plane, an Airbus A320, landed in Boston at 12:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Aviation experts said there was never any danger to passengers because pilots and co-pilots are equally capable of flying.</p>
<p>Former airline pilot John Cox, an aviation safety consultant, said when one pilot becomes unable to fly the other will rely on help from the plane's automated systems and get priority treatment from air traffic controllers.</p>
<p>"The passengers were not in danger, absolutely not," he said.</p>
<p>Passenger Louise Anderson, who was heading from Reno, Nevada, to Boston via Phoenix, said she had dozed off on the flight.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"What I woke up to was the flight attendant telling us we were making an emergency landing because the pilot was ill," she said.</p>
<p>She said rumors of the pilot's death circulated in the Syracuse airport but were confirmed only by an announcement on their makeup flight to Boston.</p>
<p>Anderson said the mood on board then was somber, but she commended the crew's handling of a tragic situation.</p>
<p>Airline pilots must pass physical exams every 12 months, every six months for captains 40 or older.</p>
<p>Captains and co-pilots usually take turns flying and doing takeoffs and landings, said former airline pilot James Record, who teaches aviation at Dowling College in Oakdale.</p>
<p>"The advantage to that is the co-pilot gets an equal amount of experience and the captain gets to see how the other guy flies," he said.</p>
<p>Record noted the co-pilot remained calm while describing the emergency and requesting permission from air traffic controllers to land.</p>
<p>"He was doing what he's trained to do - fly the plane," Record said. "He was probably more concerned with the health of his buddy, his crew member," than his ability to fly.</p>
<p>Modern airliners are capable of largely flying themselves. There's debate in aviation circles about whether over-reliance on automation is eroding pilots' flying skills. Incidents like Monday's help ensure regulators won't allow unmanned cockpits or unaccompanied pilots anytime soon.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Airlines Writer David Koenig contributed to this report from Dallas. AP writers Alina Hartounian in Phoenix and Mary Esch in Albany also contributed.</p> | Boston-bound airline pilot dies; co-pilot lands safely in NY | false | https://abqjournal.com/654877/medical-emergency-sends-boston-bound-plane-to-ny-pilot-dies.html | 2015-10-05 | 2 |
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