text
stringlengths 0
127k
| title
stringlengths 0
777
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 26
278
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
int64 0
4
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p>On December 13, 2001, President George W. Bush gave notice that the United States was going to withdraw from the ABM Treaty in six months.</p>
<p>There are several issues to be dealt with.</p>
<p>1 Does a President of the United States have the Constitutional power to terminate a treaty without the advice and consent of the Senate or the approval of the Congress?</p>
<p>2 Has the United States satisfied the necessary conditions for withdrawal from the ABM Treaty as specified in the Treaty itself?</p>
<p>3 Is it necessary to withdraw from the ABM Treaty at this time to pursue the development of ballistic missile defenses?</p>
<p>4 Are effective defenses against ballistic missiles accompanied by likely countermeasures and decoys technologically achievable in the foreseeable future?</p>
<p>5 Is there a ballistic missile threat which justifies the development of ballistic missile defenses?</p>
<p>6 Are the envisioned ballistic missile defenses survivable against preemptive attack by entities possessing the technology for both intercontinental ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction?</p>
<p>7 Are ballistic missile defenses more effective and less costly than other means of dealing with the existing and forecast ballistic missile threats (such as buying them out)?</p>
<p>8 Taking into account the likely responses of both our allies and our adversaries to our withdrawal from the ABM Treaty and development of ballistic missile defenses, is the net effect of such actions such as to enhance our national security?</p>
<p>9 Considering the fact that ballistic missile defenses would be useless against aircraft, small boats, rental trucks, and all the other delivery means that the CIA and DOD say are far more likely to be used against us than missiles, and that withdrawal from the ABM Treaty will increase the fear and hatred which makes us the target of terrorists, is the potential utility of defenses against hypothetical rogue nation missiles sufficient to offset the increase in the terrorist threat they will cause?</p>
<p>10 Is it in the interest of the people of the United States of America to withdraw from the ABM Treaty?</p>
<p>These ten questions are interrelated, of course, but each of them can be addressed independently of the others. For President George W. Bush’s actions to be appropriate, the answer to all ten questions would have to be “Yes.” For the members of Congress to be justified in continuing their inaction with respect to the President’s planned withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, the answer to all ten questions would have to be “Yes.” If the answer to even one of the above ten questions is “No,” then Congress has to challenge the President’s actions, and (if necessary) take him to court.</p>
<p>Ironically, in my considered opinion, the answer to every single one of the ten questions is “NO.”</p>
<p>The purpose of this article [link] is to address the first three questions.</p>
<p>(In previous articles, I have explained why “No” is the proper answer to each of the last seven questions. These questions are addressed in some detail on <a href="http://rmbowman.com/ssn/" type="external">our web site</a> and in past issues of Space &amp; Security News as well as my 1984 book “Star Wars: Defense or Death Star.” (And no, the answers haven’t changed.)</p>
<p>Constitutionality of Unilateral Treaty Withdrawal by the President</p>
<p>The Congress is acting like there’s nothing they can do about President Bush withdrawing from the ABM Treaty. But that’s only their cowardice talking. They are afraid to challenge a popular wartime president.</p>
<p>The ABM Treaty is important. I believe that its demise will greatly harm our national security. But there’s even more at stake. Letting Bush get away with this will destroy the balance of powers carefully crafted in our Constitution. The President pretends that the Constitution gives him the sole responsibility for conducting foreign policy. It does no such thing. It assigns the president only three duties with respect to foreign policy: (1) to be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, (2) to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur, and (3) to appoint ambassadors. The latter two powers are subject to the “advice and consent of the Senate,” but only the power to make treaties is constrained additionally by the requirement to obtain the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators present. The president is given no power whatsoever to “make foreign policy.” As Judge Oliver Gasch of the District of Columbia District Court said in 1979, “While the President may be the sole organ of communication with foreign governments, he is clearly not the sole maker of foreign policy. In short, the conduct of foreign relations is not a plenary executive power.” Judge Gasch went on to say, “He alone cannot effect the repeal of a law of the land which was formed by joint action of the executive and legislative branches, whether that law be a statute or a treaty.”</p>
<p>The Constitution itself doesn’t mention withdrawal from treaties. But historical precedents are heavily on the side of Congressional involvement. The first time the United States withdrew from a treaty was in 1798, when a pair of treaties with France were ended by an act passed by a majority of both houses of Congress and then signed by President John Adams. Since then, three quarters of the treaty terminations have been accomplished jointly by Congress and the president. Sometimes the president would ask Congress to make the decision by a vote of both houses. On other occasions the president would ask the Senate for their “advice and consent.” A number of historical precedents are described in an article by Walter C. Clemens, Jr. (professor of political science at Boston University) in the November/December 2001 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.</p>
<p>Those defending unilateral presidential action point to President Jimmy Carter’s termination of the mutual defense treaty with Taiwan, an action he took in order to recognize the People’s Republic of China. Twenty-four members of Congress sued the president in an attempt to stop his withdrawal from the treaty. The case eventually wound up in the Supreme Court, which refused to order Carter to desist. But it is important to recognize that the Supreme Court never decided the Constitutional case on its merits. It simply refused to act because Congress as a body had not yet taken action.</p>
<p>Goldwater vs. Carter had first gone to Judge Gasch, who ruled against the president. He ruled that “The great majority of the historical precedents involve some form of mutual action, whereby the President’s notice of termination receives the affirmative approval of the Senate or the entire Congress.” As a result he concluded that “the President’s notice of termination must receive the approval of two-thirds of the United States Senate or a majority of both houses of Congress for it to be effective under our Constitution.”</p>
<p>Carter, however, appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed the Circuit Court’s decision. They noted that the Senate had not “since the giving of the notice of termination, purported to take any final or decisive action with respect to it, either by way of approval or disapproval.” Chief Judge Wright and Judge Tamm concluded that “if Congress wants to participate directly in a treaty termination, it can find the means to do so.” There was a clear inference that if Congress or the Senate had taken clear action, their decision would have been different. The other justice, Judge McKinnon filed an impassioned dissent. He felt that the District Court decision should have been upheld even though Congress as a body had not acted. He quoted Chief Justice Marshall’s statement that a treaty is “to be regarded in courts of justice as equivalent to an act of the legislature.” (And of course a president may not do away with a law.)</p>
<p>Finally, the Supreme Court ordered the judgment of the Court of Appeals to be vacated and the case to be remanded to the District Court with directions to dismiss the complaint. Note that they did not uphold the Court of Appeals, which sided with Carter. Four of the justices (Burger, Rehnquist, Stewart, and Stevens) said that it was a political issue that should be decided between the President and the Congress. Justice Powell disagreed but voted with them because he considered the case not “ripe” for judgment since Congress had not officially taken a position.</p>
<p>The net result was to allow Carter to withdraw from the treaty, but it is important to note that the Supreme Court never ruled on the merits of the case. They by no means said that a president has the unilateral power to end a treaty. They were just unwilling to do what they considered Congress’s work for them. (And, of course, a majority of those on the Court agreed with Carter’s desire to recognize China, and therefore were probably happy to find a way not to stop him.) A more detailed exposition of the journey of Goldwater vs. Carter through the courts was written by Peter Weiss, president of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy.</p>
<p>Ironically, the challenge to Carter came from the conservatives, three of whom are still in Congress — Orrin Hatch, Jesse Helms, and Strom Thurmond. This is what they had to say at the time: allowing Carter to withdraw from the treaty without the permission and participation of Congress would be “a dangerous precedent for executive usurpation of Congress’s constitutionally based powers.” If they believed that then, why do they not believe the same is true of Bush’s withdrawal from the ABM Treaty? (Of course, they hate the ABM Treaty and the limits it places on US absolute military supremacy, but that shouldn’t affect the constitutional issue. Bruce Ackerman, professor of constitutional law at Yale, raised the issue in an August 29, 2001 op-ed piece in the New York Times. He called for these conservative Republicans to join with Democrats in passing a joint resolution declaring that Congress claims the constitutional right to have a say in any treaty withdrawal.)</p>
<p>It would seem that the clear intent of the framers of the Constitution, the historical precedent, the judicial record of Goldwater vs. Carter, and common sense all agree that no president has the authority to withdraw from a treaty without the consent of Congress. The answer to question (1) is “No.”</p>
<p>Satisfaction of Withdrawal Conditions</p>
<p>The ABM Treaty of 1972 provides for withdrawal in Article XV, paragraph 2, which states that either nation may withdraw giving six months’ notice “if extraordinary events related to the subject matter of this treaty have jeopardized its supreme interests.” It is the responsibility of the US government (and therefore of President Bush) to state what the extraordinary events are, to demonstrate that they are related to the subject matter of the treaty, and that they jeopardize the supreme interests of the United States. He cannot. There have been no such events. In its diplomatic notes to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the Ukraine announcing its intention to withdraw, the US made vague references to states and non-state entities seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. It also noted that a number of (unnamed) states are developing ballistic missiles. Finally, it concluded that “These events pose a direct threat to the territory and security of the Unites States and jeopardize its supreme interests.” This is patently untrue. The only nations capable of hitting the United States with ballistic missiles are Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom. This situation hasn’t changed in decades and is unlikely to change for decades to come.</p>
<p>The only thing remotely like an “extraordinary event” that has happened is that several years ago North Korea tested a ballistic missile, firing it across the tip of Japan into the Pacific Ocean. The test missile was nothing like an ICBM. If the test program had continued and led to the successful development of a missile, it would have been incapable of reaching any populated area in the United States. (An improved missile based on that design could theoretically reach a tiny unmanned atoll which belongs to the State of Hawaii, but is 3,000 miles NW of Oahu.) But the program was halted, thanks to negotiations by the Clinton Administration, and has not been restarted.</p>
<p>There have been extraordinary events (9/11 comes to mind), and some of them threaten the security of the United States. But none of them involve ballistic missiles, and none of them are in any way related to the subject matter of the ABM Treaty.</p>
<p>Bush’s attempt to withdraw from the ABM Treaty not only violates the US Constitution. It also violates international law and Article XV of the ABM Treaty itself.</p>
<p>Ironically, the withdrawal requirements of Article XV were put in at the insistence of the United States to tie the hands of the Soviets, so that they could not withdraw without good reason. In 1972 we did not trust the Russians. Now that we are becoming the first nation to withdraw from a treaty since World War II, the question now is, “Will any nation ever trust the United States again?” If we allow Bush to have his way, I’m afraid the answer to this, like the answer to question (2), will be “No.”</p>
<p>Necessity of Withdrawal to Pursue NMD</p>
<p>According to Lisbeth Gronlund, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, none of the tests that the Pentagon is ready to perform for development of missile defenses are constrained by the ABM Treaty. As a matter of fact, it will be several years before the program requires tests prohibited by the Treaty. John Rhinelander, an international lawyer who actually was involved in advising our negotiators for SALT I and the ABM Treaty, agrees.</p>
<p>The Bush Administration says it needs to get rid of the ABM Treaty so it can test the SPY radar on the Aegis cruisers against ICBMs and so that it can build a new test facility at Fort Greely, Alaska.</p>
<p>The Aegis radar system is designed to work against aircraft fairly close to the cruiser. As Gronlund has pointed out, the Defense Department itself has already concluded that the Aegis radar is not suitable for the missile defense mission. But that was in 1998 and 1999, when the mission (in the Clinton Administration) was tracking incoming warheads. The Bush team want to see if it can be used to track outgoing boosters in a boost-phase intercept scheme. But you don’t have to run a special test to find that out. As Rhinelander points out, all you have to do is station the cruiser 300 miles off the coast of Florida and see how well it can track satellite launchers. The Aegis tests are not designed to help develop a missile defense system, but to violate the ABM Treaty.</p>
<p>As things stand now, the Fort Greely site would violate the ABM Treaty, but all the Administration would have to do, according to Rhinelander, is notify Russia that, pursuant to Article IV of the Treaty and paragraph 5 of the 1978 agreed statement, it intends to establish a new test range in Alaska. That way the Fort Greely site becomes perfectly legal.</p>
<p>The ABM Treaty specifically prohibits the development of mobile ABM systems, and Bush is pushing for laser weapons on 747 aircraft, interceptors on those Aegis cruisers, and space-based laser battle stations, all of which will violate the Treaty. But it will be several years before their development gets to the stage where the ABM Treaty becomes a barrier.</p>
<p>The truth of the matter is that even if one wanted to develop a missile defense system (and I don’t), one doesn’t have to withdraw from the Treaty now — probably not until after the 2004 elections. But of course Bush doesn’t want to wait. He wants to (as Rhinelander puts it) throw some “red meat” to the right wing. He campaigned on a platform of getting rid of the ABM Treaty, and he intends to deliver while the post-9/11 political climate lasts — and national security be damned. The answer to question (3) is “No.”</p>
<p>Why Do the Conservatives Hate the ABM Treaty?</p>
<p>So why do the conservatives hate this Treaty that was negotiated by one of their own (Richard Nixon)? The answer is that it stands in the way of a “Star Wars” missile defense system which is their only public excuse for putting weapons in space.</p>
<p>According to “Battlefield Space” (an article by Jack Hitt in The New York Times Magazine August 5, 2001, starting on page 30), the use of space for weaponry directed back at earth or guided from space is pretty much at hand. “War planners have conceived scores of new and exciting weapons. Talking about them is not a conversation the military wants to have in public, given the gnarly debate over the missile shield, but it is one they have been having in private for some time.” According to a recent Pentagon study, a laser cannon in space could “successfully attack ground or airborne targets by melting or cracking cockpit canopies, burning through control cables, exploding fuel tanks, melting or burning sensor assemblies and antenna arrays, exploding or melting munitions pods, destroying ground communications and power grids, and melting or burning a large variety of strategic targets (e.g. dams, industrial and defense facilities and munitions factories) — all in a fraction of a second.” Another study included in Air Force 2025 describes small metal projectiles fired at the earth from space. These “flechettes” could penetrate the earth to a depth of a half mile, destroying targets like underground bunkers.</p>
<p>If the above sounds like what I have been saying for almost twenty years in my “Star Wars” speech, there’s a good reason. These recent studies mirror the results of studies we performed in the 1970s and early 80s. The difference is that then we considered the results sufficient reason to continue our national policy of keeping weapons out of space, while now they entice the hawks into discarding treaty constraints and pursuing a still more total form of absolute military superiority. Bush’s first budget quadrupled the spending on laser battle stations. In his new budget, he gives the space warriors an essentially blank check. Now he has once again renamed and reorganized the Pentagon office doing “Star Wars.” Under Reagan and Bush I, it was the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). Under Clinton, it became the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). Now Bush II has made it the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and given it the freedom from oversight and audit previously enjoyed only by the black programs. If Congress doesn’t act soon, this new independent agency may take their essentially unlimited budget and spend it outside of public and Congressional scrutiny on weapons that we won’t know anything about until they’re in space. In theory, then, the space warriors would rule the world, able to destroy any target on earth without warning. (Of course, they still won’t know where Osama bin Laden is!)</p>
<p>Will these new super weapons bring the American people security? Hardly. But they will (according to a government study) enable our government to maintain the growing gap between rich and poor in the world. This is the real reason the billionaire “country-club conservatives” and oil-company hirelings want to get rid of the ABM Treaty.</p>
<p>So What Can We Do About All This?</p>
<p>Of course, Congress could vote not to withdraw from the ABM Treaty. Then the courts would have to deal with the issue. This is by far the most desirable course of events. Unfortunately, that’s unlikely to happen. The Democrats (who never would have withdrawn from the treaty if it were up to them) are running scared of Bush’s apparent popularity, and are unlikely to mount such a challenge until the 9/11 honeymoon is over. By then it will be too late. They would also be unlikely to gather enough Republican support to get such a resolution through the House of Representatives.</p>
<p>Alternatively, a coalition of Democrats and conservative Republicans could pass a joint resolution saying that they insist on their Constitutional right to be involved in any withdrawal (without committing to which way they would vote). Such a measure has a better chance of passage than an outright vote against withdrawal. In the face of such a challenge, President Bush might well request a joint resolution of Congress enabling him to withdraw from the treaty. Then, the Democratic majority in the Senate might be able to prevent the resolution from passing, and the ABM Treaty would be saved.</p>
<p>There is a third option. If a joint resolution insisting on a Congressional vote was unable to pass in the House, it might still be possible to pass a Senate resolution asking the President to submit any treaty withdrawal to them for their advice and consent. A simple majority would be sufficient to pass such a resolution. The President would be likely to refuse, knowing that he could never get 2/3 of the Senate to vote for withdrawal. At that point the courts would have to get involved. Even though the Supreme Court leans toward the Republicans (as evidenced by their appointment of Bush as president), they might have a hard time justifying denying the Senate a voice. A court decision in favor of Senate involvement would again save the ABM Treaty.</p>
<p>Once again, however, the Democrats in the Senate might well chicken out and refuse to insist on a role in the withdrawal process. In that event, the United States will officially withdraw from the ABM Treaty on June 13, 2002.</p>
<p>Even then, all is not lost. It is possible to avoid the worst effects of withdrawal even after it happens. All that is required is for the Congress, through its power of the purse strings, to refuse to fund activities that would violate the ABM Treaty were it still in effect. There is precedent for this. Congress did it to President Reagan more than once. For example, after the Reagan Administration officially adopted a loose interpretation of the ABM Treaty, Congress refused to fund any activities in violation of the strict interpretation. The loose interpretation eventually was abandoned. Congress also used its budget authorization power to prevent the Reagan Administration from violating a joint US/USSR ban on anti-satellite tests that it had never agreed to. Congress also used the same tactic during the first Bush presidency to force the Administration to abide by a Comprehensive Test Ban that it had refused to sign.</p>
<p>With the Republicans in control of the House, it is unlikely that a straightforward ban on spending in violation of the ABM Treaty could pass. But the Senate can simply refuse to pass any defense authorization or appropriation bill which funds such activities. Then, if the 2002 elections result in both houses being in Democratic/Independent control, subsequent defense spending bills can contain language such as the following:</p>
<p>“No funds authorized by this or any other Act may be used for any activity which would be in violation of the ABM Treaty, were that Treaty still in effect.”</p>
<p>If there is strong control in both houses, and Bush’s popularity drops, then it would also be possible to pass a Joint Resolution such as the following:</p>
<p>“The Congress of the United States of America finds that withdrawal from the ABM Treaty was unlawful, unnecessary, and unwise. This Congress will therefore conduct its business as if the Treaty were still in effect. We appeal to the Russian Federation to do likewise.”</p>
<p>Russia is unlikely now to react strongly to our withdrawal from the ABM Treaty. But if our government proceeds to deploy weapons in space, then not only Russia, but China, and many nations we consider our allies are likely to respond very strongly indeed. The end result would be a world even less secure than the one we have today. We must do all we can to prevent that from happening.</p>
<p>Lt. Col. Robert M. Bowman, Ph.D. (USAF, ret.), had directed all the “Star Wars” programs under Presidents Ford and Carter.</p> | Is the ABM Treaty Really Dead? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/02/26/is-the-abm-treaty-really-dead/ | 2002-02-26 | 4 |
<p>Yellen spoke before the Senate Banking Committee</p>
<p>Government bonds on Thursday sold off across major developed markets, driving yields higher, as investors anticipated further evidence of a tapering of longstanding easy-money policies that have supported prices of sovereign paper.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal reported that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is set to speak at a prominent conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for the first time in three years, where he is expected to signal optimism in the eurozone economy and reduced need for stimulus.</p>
<p>The German 10-year benchmark bond, or the bund, has risen as much as 5 basis points since the news broke, while the French 10-year government bond has climbed more than 7 basis points. Bond prices move inversely to yields.</p>
<p>The selloff highlighted the close relationship between global bond markets as investors find it easier to arbitrage differences in interest rates across the world, as central bankers begin efforts to normalize their monetary policies.</p>
<p>Draghi at the coming Jackson Hole event is expected to signal a pullback of its EUR60 billion ($68.43 billion) bond-buying program, less than two weeks before the ECB's September policy meeting, the WSJ reported.</p>
<p>European interest rates have remained depressed as a price-insensitive ECB snapped up government bonds and corporate debt to meet its quota for monthly purchases.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"The ECB has been buying every month, they were supposed to buy by the end of the year, potentially longer if needed. But it finally looks like we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We're not going to get quantitative easing forever," said Larry Milstein, head of government and agency trading at R.W. Pressprich &amp; Co.</p>
<p>Draghi's return to Jackson Hole is symbolic, as the mountain resort was where he first announced the ECB's plans to unleash quantitative easing on European bond markets. Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other central bankers have also used the conference to declare shifts in U.S. monetary policy.</p>
<p>Domestically, yields also climbed. The 10-year treasury yield rose 2.3 basis points to 2.348%. The two-year note's yield rose 1.2 basis points to 1.363%, while the 30-year bond gained 3 basis points to 2.924%.</p>
<p>Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, in her second day of Capitol Hill testimony on Thursday, repeated her expectations in front of Senate Banking Committee for a "gradual" increase in interest rates as factors holding down the neutral policy stance, the long-term resting point for the fed-funds rate, abate.</p>
<p>See: Live blog and video of Yellen's testimony before senate panel (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2017/07/12/live-blog-and-video-of-yellens-testimony-before-house-panel/)</p>
<p>More senior Fed officials have begun to align with Yellen's dovish stance. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, a voting member and a centrist, questioned the need for additional rate increases (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dallas-feds-kaplan-becomes-third-fomc-member-to-question-need-for-more-rate-hikes-2017-07-13) without some progress toward the Fed's 2% long-term inflation target. On Tuesday, Fed Gov. Lael Brainard said she wanted to monitor economic data before settling on whether another interest-rate hike was needed.</p>
<p>But some investors feel the spate of dovish comments does not jeopardize the chance of a December rate hike. Bryce Doty, senior portfolio manager at SIT Investment Associates said the Fed had to shrink its portfolio of holdings before raising the Fed funds rate, or it would risk paying too much on the so-called interest on excess reserves (IOER) that banks park at regional Federal Reserve Banks.</p>
<p>"What they're trying to do is set up the balance sheet reduction, and it looks like they're going full steam ahead. They need to get that down before they raise rates," he said.</p>
<p>On the economic data front, the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits slipped 3,000 to 247,000 last week (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-drop-3000-to-247000-2017-07-13), but the four-week initial jobless claims average, the less volatile gauge, rose 2,250 to 245,750. Meanwhile, producer prices rose 0.1% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-wholesale-inflation-up-slightly-in-june-but-no-longer-rising-rapidly-ppi-shows-2017-07-13), yet the rapid pace of growth in the 12-month PPI slowed to 2% from 2.4%. Diminishing inflation pressures amid a tight labor market could cast doubt on the Fed's plans to tighten monetary policy.</p>
<p>The Treasury Department auctioned off $12 billion of 30-year bonds at noon, but attracted lackluster demand.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 13, 2017 16:17 ET (20:17 GMT)</p> | BOND REPORT: Global Bond Selloff Resumes As Draghi Set To Signal Shift Away From QE | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/13/bond-report-global-bond-selloff-resumes-as-draghi-set-to-signal-shift-away-from-qe0.html | 2017-07-13 | 0 |
<p />
<p>The owners of the Empire State Building announced Monday they will invest $20 million in the 80-year-old skyscraper as part of a plan to cut the building’s overall energy use by 40 percent.</p>
<p>Projections from the Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls, Inc., and the Rocky Mountain Institute showed the building will save $4.4 million a year—and qualify the building for a LEED Gold certification—after the project is complete in a few years.</p>
<p>The thing I like most about this project is how they’re going to save that energy and cut their carbon output: They’ll be retrofitting windows and radiators, and installing new lighting and ventilation systems—all in the name of efficiency.</p>
<p>The Rocky Mountain Institute and its founder, Amory Lovins, have been promoting energy efficiency for more than two decades now. <a href="" type="internal">As Lovins told Mother Jones last May</a>, it’s one of the cheapest and best ways to save money and cut carbon.</p>
<p>MJ: If you had $1 million to invest in the energy sector, where would you put it?</p>
<p>AL: Efficient use. I want to do the cheapest things first to get the most climate protection and other benefits per dollar. Buying micropower and “negawatts” [Lovins’ term for efficiency measures] instead of nuclear gives you about 2 to 11 times more carbon reduction per dollar, and you get it much faster.</p>
<p>In other words, owners of older buildings don’t have to wait around for cleaner energy—and a smart grid to supply it—to proliferate before they can cut carbon output and energy use. And Lovins thinks the this project in particular could “help inform and inspire [similar] initiatives.” In a building so iconic, the project certainly sets an example. If the cost-saving projections hold, it should turn into a trend.</p>
<p /> | Empire State Building Cutting Energy Use by 40 Percent | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/empire-state-building-plans-cut-energy-use-40-percent/ | 2009-04-06 | 4 |
<p>Here’s one person in Pennsylvania Barack Obama doesn’t want to shake hands with. After repeatedly refusing to pose for a photo, the candidate finally relented, but warned: “I won’t be smiling.”</p>
<p>Obama called the man “an eBay guy,” a reference, according to <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Scenes_from_the_pool_report_I_wont_be_smiling.html" type="external">The Politico</a>, to campaign profiteers.</p>
<p>Watch it:</p>
<p /> | Obama: 'I Won't Be Smiling' | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/obama-i-wont-be-smiling/ | 2008-04-03 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Vera Bradley.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Vera Bradley (NASDAQ: VRA) announced on Oct. 12 that its payment system was breached. Payment cards used at Vera Bradley store locations between July 25 and Sept. 23 may have been affected. Besides the potential theft of customer information, the company expects some of its business plans to be delayed as a result.</p>
<p>Law enforcement notified the women's fashion designer on Sept. 15 that credit and debit cards used at Vera Bradley stores were affected. The company advised customers to be alert to unauthorized transactions on the cards they used at Vera Bradley stores. Upon further investigation, it was concluded that online sales transactions were not affected.</p>
<p>The hack into the payment system is a blow to Vera Bradley as the company's new online store was set to be launched this month. The company was betting on the new format, which features new payment options, an easier-to-navigate and customizable layout, and international sales scalability.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a result of the hack, the company will have to delay the online store launch until 2017. Even though the online payment system wasn't hit, efforts that would have gone into launching the website are instead being focused on increasing security measures. Management said that comparable sales numbers could be negatively impacted as a result of the newly designed web store missing the important holiday shopping season this fall.</p>
<p>Vera Bradley has been in the midst of a brand transformation in the past year. The company has redesigned the look and feel of its logo and store layout and has also launched new fashion lines, including leather handbags, accessories, and a line of stationery.</p>
<p>To complement all of the new changes and revamping, a new ad campaign with extra emphasis on a social-media presence and outreach is under way. Along with that, the company's flagship store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City recently opened its doors, featuring the new logo and fashion lines. Refreshing other full-line stores is also under way, with an emphasis on bringing them up to speed with the new design elements in the flagship New York location.</p>
<p>All of these company redesigns are aimed at showing off the new Vera Bradley styles. So far, these offerings have failed to boost comparable sales, with the figure coming in at negative 6.1% during the last reported quarter.</p>
<p>The final part of the makeover, and the one expected to drive a return to comparable sales growth, was supposed to be the relaunch of the online store, just in time for the big end-of-year shopping rush. With the security breach now making customer privacy a bigger issue and the website getting put on the back burner, it looks as if investors may have to cope with struggling sales a bit longer.</p>
<p>Also not known yet is how knowledge of the hack itself will affect customers' shopping habits. Over the past few years, retail companies that have lost customer information have gotten beaten up.</p>
<p>Before the news, Vera Bradley had been figuring on 2% to 8% full-year sales growth. Between the delay of the new site and possible short-term loss of trust from customers, it would be best to assume Vera Bradley will miss expectations for the fourth quarter of this year.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2667&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/nrossolillo/info.aspx" type="external">Nicholas Rossolillo Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Target. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | What Investors Need to Know After the Vera Bradley Security Breach | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/24/what-investors-need-to-know-after-vera-bradley-security-breach.html | 2016-10-24 | 0 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Project Veritas' undercover videos featured Lacy MacAuley who is a well-known radical left-wing Antifa organizer in Washington D.C. The videos exposed the #DisruptJ20 plot to violently disrupt President Trump's inauguration.</p>
<p />
<p>It's no surprise that Lacy fell in love with Islam and became infatuated with helping Syrian "refugees", wholeheartedly believing that Islam is the religion of peace. MacAuley revealed her experience dating a Turkish Muslim man, describing the hell and fear she lived in because he controlled every move she made, beat and raped her.</p>
<p />
<p>Lacy revealed that she is a radical activist based in Washington DC. Who fell in love with an energetic, charismatic activist she met in November where she had gone to cover the resistance to the G20 Summit, a global event in Antalya, Turkey.</p>
<p>Lacy also pointed out that after she came back to the U.S., they talked every day, adding that back then he was lovely and charming.</p>
<p />
<p>The Turkish man offered a ready smile, engaged in kindness, and intelligent conversation. Back in February, she decided to return to Turkey with the promise of love driving her forward. Little did she know that things would turn sour.</p>
<p />
<p>Having had a romantic relationship that moved forward solidly, everything seemed to be going on well.</p>
<p />
<p>Surprisingly, Lucy was forbidden from interviewing a local woman for an article on Syrian refugees. The incident sparked their first fight. The Turkish man did not approve. However, he knew the woman and did not like her, so he strictly forbade Lucy from speaking with her.</p>
<p />
<p>Lucy questioned his motives, after which the man yelled and stormed out of the room to go smoke a cigarette.</p>
<p />
<p>A man has no power to silence a woman. I had put myself in a place of dependence upon a person who, as it turned out, would have liked to keep me by his side and control my every move. He hindered, rather than helped, the work I tried to do there.</p>
<p />
<p>MacAuley learned what true Islam is versus what her leftist professors taught her. She faced the absolute frustration of her efforts to do her advocacy work. She also realized that the Turkish man wanted to control every move she made, he also hindered the work she tried to do.</p>
<p />
<p>The situation got worse after the man started violently pushing and blocking her from leaving freely. Shockingly, Lucy was forbidden from speaking, failure to which anger erupted. Lucy endured threats that she would be burnt with cigarettes. She had to duck to avoid having sharp objects thrown at her face.</p>
<p>Lucy was also subjected to unwanted sex. The man did not stop to determine whether she consented to sex. The men went to the extent of turning off her wifi and verbally criticized her for using social media.</p>
<p />
<p>The dysfunctional relationship between Lucy and her partner is leftism in a nutshell. She was in denial the whole time. However, she still kept believing that the Turkish Muslim man believed in women's rights because he said so.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/05/antifa-chick-goes-turkey-muslim-loverboy-gets-raped-beaten/" type="external">thegatewaypundit.com/2017/05/antifa-chick-goes-turkey-muslim-loverboy-gets-raped-beaten</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://8ch.net/n/res/542648.html" type="external">8ch.net/n/res/542648.html</a></p> | Muslim Lover Boy Rapes and Beats Up Antifa Chick In Turkey | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/3080-Muslim-Lover-Boy-Rapes-and-Beats-Up-Antifa-Chick-In-Turkey | 2017-05-22 | 0 |
<p />
<p>People put off installing home security systems for all kinds of reasons. Sure, having a big, barking dog and living in a nice neighborhood may help — but burglars are smarter than you think.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A burglary occurs&#160; <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/standard-links/national-data" type="external">every 15 seconds Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;in the United States, and homes without security systems are up to&#160; <a href="http://www.inthenation.com/home-theft-prevention-tips-infographic/" type="external">three times more likely to be targets Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;of a burglary.</p>
<p>And it turns out that renters are actually the last group of people who should delay securing their homes. “The burglary rate for rental properties was 56 percent higher than the rate for owner-occupied homes,” reveals a&#160; <a href="http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&amp;iid=1102" type="external">30-year study by the&#160;U.S. Department of Justice Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>If concerns about the&#160;price of a security system are holding you back, you might be surprised to learn that while monthly monitoring can run from $15 to $100,&#160; <a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2013/09/09/the-cost-of-keeping-your-home-safe" type="external">the average monthly cost is just $30 Opens a New Window.</a>. And when you factor in reduced renter’s insurance after your security system is installed, the cost of a safe home is cheaper than you’d think.</p>
<p>Still not convinced? Today’s security systems are more streamlined and easier to use than ever. With home automation a growing trend&#160;and apps available for everything in your life, it’s only fitting that your security system is just as tech savvy.</p>
<p>Benefits of a wireless home security system</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>If you’re debating whether a wired or wireless home security system is better, read on to learn why a wired system can’t compete with a wireless setup.</p>
<p>Modern day security musts</p>
<p>With so many wireless home security options, choosing the best option for your family’s needs can be overwhelming. Here are a few of the top choices&#160;on the market today.</p>
<p>Still unsure about which system is best for you?&#160;Consider whether&#160;you plan to move in the next few years, if you want mobile access, and if you really need security cameras. With endless wireless security options, it’s important to consider your needs versus wants.</p>
<p>DIY security options</p>
<p>With so many wireless home security options, cost should no longer be a worry. And it turns out, installing your own system is much easier than you’d think.</p>
<p>Most DIY systems are wireless; the basic elements of a DIY system are a main panel with keypad, sensors and motion detectors. You can <a href="http://www.asecurelife.com/piper-vs-canary-vs-ismartalarm-vs-simplisafe/" type="external">compare DIY systems Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to choose the one that’s best for you.</p>
<p>There’s no excuse good enough to delay your home security planning. And with such ease in installation, instant alerts, interactive monitoring and lower costs than ever, now’s the perfect time&#160;to step up your rented home security game.</p>
<p>More from Zillow: <a href="http://www.zillow.com/blog/6-ways-to-make-your-apartment-more-secure-102038/" type="external">6 Ways to Make Your Apartment More Secure Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.zillow.com/blog/how-to-file-renters-insurance-claim-173278/" type="external">How to File a Renters Insurance Claim Without the Headache Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.zillow.com/blog/renters-insurance-roommates-168474/" type="external">The Inside Scoop on Renters Insurance and Roommates Opens a New Window.</a></p> | Locking Down Wireless Home Security for Renters | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/07/14/locking-down-wireless-home-security-for-renters.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>It was “a sophisticated, white-collar crime instigated by contingency-fee lawyers in pursuit of unimaginable riches,” according to the libertarian Cato Institute. Or perhaps it established “entrepreneurial private litigators as a fourth branch of government,” as Reason magazine warned.</p>
<p>This week marks a decade since a consortium of state attorneys general negotiated the landmark settlement of lawsuits against tobacco companies. The deal stirred conservatives into such a froth that they all but promoted the Shakespearean proposition that we kill all the lawyers.</p>
<p>The lawyers survived, and that is a good thing. The settlement they engineered is helping to save millions of lives and billions in health costs. It may well be the most significant advance in the campaign to curtail tobacco use since the 1964 surgeon general’s report.</p>
<p>The agreement, at bottom, forced the companies to stop lying about their record of spreading death and disease for profit. It put public health ahead of private gain, a rare achievement in an era that has been shaped so indelibly by the pursuit of wealth rather than the promotion of the general welfare.</p>
<p />
<p>The settlement drastically limited the industry’s ability to market cigarettes to young people — the strategy Big Tobacco was using to hook new generations of smokers in order to replace those who were dying off. The pact also banned outdoor advertising, promotions in public transit facilities and the use of cigarette brand names and logos that commonly festooned merchandise as if the killer products had the same cachet as a designer’s initials.</p>
<p>The results are in: Cigarette consumption has declined by 28 percent in the past 10 years. The proportion of 12th-graders who are smoking is at a record low of 22 percent — down from the 37 percent high reached in 1997. “The landscape around tobacco use has shifted significantly,” says the American Legacy Foundation, an anti-smoking group funded with money from the settlement.</p>
<p>Travelers this holiday season will fly on smoke-free planes — a clean-air environment so expected now that it’s startling to recall that smoking aboard aircraft was permitted as recently as 2000. Most major airports will be smoke-free.</p>
<p>Sixty percent of Americans now live in localities that have clean indoor air laws, according to Cheryl Healton, president of the American Legacy Foundation. In fact, the steepest one-year drop in cigarette consumption occurred between 2006 and 2007 — one possible result, Healton says, of a quickening in the trend toward municipal regulation of indoor smoking.</p>
<p>“Basically there are fewer and fewer places where you can smoke, and people are feeling more and more guilt about smoking at home or allowing people to smoke in the home,” Healton says. “There is a lot of data that shows even in a home with a smoker, the smoker is smoking outside.”</p>
<p>No single, positive development is solely attributable to the controversial litigation that the states undertook. In particular, government studies confirming the health consequences of breathing second-hand smoke were crucial to the enactment of indoor air rules.</p>
<p>Yet without the forced disclosure of thousands of pages of tobacco industry documents that showed the unseemly truth behind the companies’ relentless marketing campaigns aimed at the young, it is difficult to imagine that the industry would have been forced to limit even its most disturbing tactics. Indeed, the current advertising restrictions are not without loopholes: Public health officials are incensed at a current Philip Morris campaign to promote Virginia Slims Super Slims Lights in pink “purse packs,” a lure transparently aimed at young women.</p>
<p>There is, however, a certain justice in having the industry forced to finance anti-smoking campaigns directed at the young. And justice, in the best and most democratic sense, is why the tobacco lawsuits were brought to begin with.</p>
<p>For decades, no amount of health research was frightening enough to force Congress’ hand. No expenditure to treat smoking-related diseases through Medicare, Medicaid or other health programs was sufficiently enormous to catch the attention of most lawmakers. They dawdled in the haze of obfuscation the industry created.</p>
<p>There was no get-rich-quick scheme concocted by greedy lawyers that prompted the states to pursue Big Tobacco in court. The impetus was a failure of democracy, and the outcome has been both democratic — and healthy.</p>
<p>Marie Cocco’s e-mail address is mariecocco(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2008, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | The Smoke Is Clearing | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-smoke-is-clearing/ | 2008-11-25 | 4 |
<p>Walmart Stores said Wednesday that it has settled a lawsuit with the representatives of comedian Tracy Morgan and two others, who were seriously injured in an accident involving its truck.</p>
<p>The crash on June 7 last year killed comedian James McNair. Walmart has already settled with his children.</p>
<p>The terms and conditions of the settlement with Morgan and the other plaintiffs remain confidential, the company said.</p>
<p>"Our thoughts continue to go out to everyone that was involved in the accident," said Greg Foran, Walmart U.S. president and CEO, in the statement from the company. "While we know there is nothing that can change what happened, Walmart has been committed to doing what's right to help ensure the well-being of all of those who were impacted by the accident. We worked closely with Mr. Morelli, and we are pleased to have reached an amicable settlement that ends this litigation. We are deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved."</p>
<p>As part of Walmart's press release, Morgan said, "Walmart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families. I am grateful that the case was resolved amicably."</p>
<p>Reached by NBC News after the announcement, Morgan's agent, Lewis Kay, said he had "nothing else to add at this time to the statement that Walmart put out."</p>
<p>McNair, Morgan and others were returning from a performance in Delaware when the limousine bus they were traveling in on the New Jersey Turnpike was rear-ended by a Wal-Mart truck.</p>
<p>Morgan, who starred in the TV show "30 Rock" and the late night comedy sketch show "Saturday Night Live," suffered a serious brain injury and several broken bones and spent weeks in hospital and rehabilitation.</p> | Walmart, Tracy Morgan Settle Lawsuit Related to Deadly Accident | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/walmart-tracy-morgan-settle-lawsuit-related-deadly-accident-n365541 | 2015-05-28 | 3 |
<p>U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading. Energy stocks rose more than the rest of the market as the price of oil climbed. Among individual stocks, Salesforce.com was among the biggest gainers after reporting earnings that exceeded the forecasts of Wall Street analysts.</p>
<p>KEEPING SCORE: The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index increased three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,129 as of 10:07 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 18,296. The Nasdaq composite was up eight points, or 0.2 percent, at 5,080.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>GOING NOWHERE FAST: Although the Dow Jones and the S&amp;P 500 index set record closing highs earlier this week, trading has been sluggish and the stock market has remained trapped in a narrow range. The S&amp;P 500 index has gained just 0.1 percent this week after a series small gains and losses.</p>
<p>SALES GAIN: Salesforce.com was among the early gainers after reporting results that beat analysts' forecasts. The stock rose $3.76, or 5 percent, to $73.98.</p>
<p>ON THE ECONOMY: More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, though the number of applications remains at a historically low level that is consistent with a healthy job market.</p>
<p>Weekly applications increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 274,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, fell to a fresh 15-year low of 266,250.</p>
<p>CHINA, EUROPE DATA: Manufacturing in China shrank for the third month in May as demand remained soft, raising the chances of more stimulus to prop up growth in the world's No. 2 economy. HSBC's preliminary manufacturing index came in at 49.1, slightly better than April's 48.9 but still indicating a contraction.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In Europe, a similar survey showed employers were hiring at their fastest level in four years. The improvement came as the weaker euro was helping exporters get more business. Overall business activity, however, slowed down.</p>
<p>EUROPE'S DAY: France's CAC 40 was flat, Germany's DAX dropped 0.1 percent and Britain's FTSE fell 0.2 percent</p>
<p>ASIA SCOREBOARD: Japan's Nikkei 225 was barely changed while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2 percent. South's Korea Kospi dropped 0.8 percent. China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.9 percent as the weak data reinforced hopes for more government measures to boost the economy. The index has more than doubled over the past year.</p>
<p>ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.25 to $60.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.</p>
<p>BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.22 percent from 2.25 percent on Wednesday. The dollar fell to 121.08 yen from 121.25 yen. The euro rose to $1.1128 from $1.1094.</p> | US stocks edge higher early trading; Salesforce.com gains on earnings | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/05/21/us-stocks-edge-higher-early-trading-salesforcecom-gains-on-earnings.html | 2016-03-09 | 0 |
<p>Bethlehem: Today I joined twenty internationals in an attempt to accompany a Red Crescent ambulance to get food and medicine to the injured into the Church of the Nativity. Ambulances are going out but not to where they’re desperately needed, such as the nearby refugee camps (Deheishe, Azzeh, Ayda) and Manger Square.</p>
<p>Departing from the main Bethlehem Hospital we encircled the ambulance as it slowly made its way down the street. Signs we carried read, “4th Geneva Convention, Article 3 – The Wounded and The Sick Will Be Collected and Care For,” “Peace” and the Red Cross symbol. We got about 50 yards from the Church before we were confronted by Israeli soldiers and tanks who fired either live ammunition in the air or threw a sound grenade at us.</p>
<p>A tank positioned its turret and gun directly at us. Normally this would not have scared me but recently the Israeli soldiers have been shooting internationals and journalists. I felt very scared at this point. I had to look down at the ground to control my fear. I hope that if the tank fired on us would be quick and painless.</p>
<p>We sent a negotiator who spoke Hebrew down to where the soldiers were to try to get permission for our group to go in o the Church. We were told no one could go in. We were also told by the soldiers that “the injured were being cared for, and food and water were being supplied to those inside the church” – a blatant lie. People inside the church have said that Palestinian resistance fighters did come in but they agreed to put their guns down when they were in the church.</p>
<p>After several more attempts at convincing the soldiers to let us into the church and then being denied, we retreated. As we retreated we began giving out food to families along the streets we were on. One father came out and said, “On Easter instead of my children finding Easter eggs in the yard they found bombs.” We saw very few Palestinians anywhere, only an occasional brave soul risking a peak out of their window or door.</p>
<p>About three blocks from our hotel we began to encounter Israeli jeeps and tanks riding past us. We heard through several journalists that the road to our hotel was completely blocked off by the Israelis. We sat waiting for about 20 minutes until we saw a convoy of tanks and bulldozers moving away from the direction of our hotel. We began walking towards our hotel. Near the Baba Skak intersection I saw Dan Rather talking to a TV crew.</p>
<p>I wanted to run over tom him and shake him by his shoulders, pleading him to portray this conflict accurately. Instead I held up my sign to get the TV crews attention. The crew came over to me and filmed me and my sign (“4Th Geneva Convention, Article 3 – The Wounded and The Sick Will Be Collected and Care For”). I feel I must work diligently for every bit of TV coverage I can get.</p>
<p>We made it back to the hotel as the never ending sound of gunfire exploded around us.</p>
<p>Beth Daoud is one of four Coloradans currently in Palestine as part of a larger international presence acting as human shields in Palestinians refugee camps, accompanying ambulances and getting the word out to the world. More of their experience can be found at <a href="http://www.ccmep.org/palestine.html" type="external">http://www.ccmep.org/palestine.html</a></p> | Accompanying Ambulances in Bethlehem | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/04/07/accompanying-ambulances-in-bethlehem/ | 2002-04-07 | 4 |
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/t/star-wars-the-last-jedi/" type="external">Star Wars: The Last Jedi</a>” is heading for a massive launch in the $200 million range during its Dec. 15-17 opening weekend in North America, according to first estimates released by tracking services on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Directed by Rian Johnson, the movie picks up where 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” left off. It stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Andy Serkis.</p>
<p>New cast members include Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro. It’s the final film role for Fisher, <a href="http://variety.com/2016/film/news/carrie-fisher-dead-star-wars-princess-leia-dies-1201948744/" type="external">who died last December</a>.</p>
<p>“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” set an all-time record in December of 2015, with a domestic opening of $248 million at 4,134 theaters for the first “Star Wars” movie in a decade. The first “Star Wars” spinoff, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” opened a year later with $155.1 million.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/star-wars-the-last-jedi-to-launch-from-dubai-film-festival-into-middle-east-1202620788/" type="external">Star Wars: The Last Jedi</a>” will most likely be the biggest debut of the year, surpassing the March 17-19 opening for “Beauty and the Beast” at $174.8 million.</p>
<p>Disney had no comment on the tracking, which showed that the key “unaided awareness” and “definite interest” categories in the same range as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”</p>
<p>Should the $200 million forecast hold, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” could be the fourth film to debut at that level. The others are “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” 2015’s “Jurassic World” at $208.8 million and 2012’s “The Avengers” at $207.4 million.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Box Office: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Tracking for Stellar $200 Million Opening Weekend | false | https://newsline.com/box-office-star-wars-the-last-jedi-tracking-for-stellar-200-million-opening-weekend/ | 2017-11-22 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK, Colo. — The Colorado State Patrol says a trooper has found a 6-year-old boy reported missing in Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado.</p>
<p>The patrol says the boy was found Monday. No other details were immediately released.</p>
<p>The boy was last seen at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday with other children at a family gathering.</p>
<p>Park officials didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking details.</p>
<p>The park is 140 miles south of Denver. It has sand dunes up to 750 feet tall, the highest in North America. The dunes cover about 30 square miles, and the park itself contains 235 square miles.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Missing 6-year-old boy found at Great Sand Dunes Park | false | https://abqjournal.com/552047/missing-6-year-old-boy-found-at-great-sand-dunes-park.html | 2 |
|
<p>In an early flashback in “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/submergence/" type="external">Submergence</a>,” <a href="http://variety.com/t/wim-wenders/" type="external">Wim Wenders</a>’ latest film starring <a href="http://variety.com/t/alicia-vikander/" type="external">Alicia Vikander</a> and James McAvoy, McAvoy’s James More, a British spy, jogs manfully past Vikander’s Danielle Flinders on a romantic Atlantic beach in France.</p>
<p>He suggests lunch. And that is about the last time in their courtship and seduction that he, a prototype man of action, really makes the moves. It’s Danny who keeps him waiting for lunch, because of her work, moves their table conversation from professional to personal, squeals “chicken!” when she has opened her hotel bedroom door and he doesn’t react, pulls him gracefully into her bedroom; and leads in their foreplay.</p>
<p>That, Vikander said presenting the film at San Sebastian with Wenders, was however par for the course for modern love. “Maybe for a young generation that is reality in the sense that it can be both ways. It’s about personality not gender.”</p>
<p>At Friday’s press conference, dressed immaculately in a white top and high-waited black trousers, Vikander came across as lively, charming, and multi-lingual – in the film she plays a half-Swedish half-Australian marine biologist with a touch of English ancestry. About the first thing she said at San Sebastián that she knew some Spanish.</p>
<p>Vikander will soon star in the newest iteration of the video-game property “Tomb Raider,” which should take her far greater global stardom. But, at San Sebastian, Spanish journalists were as interested in grilling her about her opinions on women in cinema as her Hollywood fame. When asked how women’s presence in cinema had changed, she delivered a carefully measured view.</p>
<p>“I remember when ‘The Hunger Games,’ came out and you saw a female actress take center stage and prove it could be a good film, but also a huge commercial success.”</p>
<p>She went on: “Over the last few years, the awareness of the lack of balance has made people think differently and open their eyes to look for opportunity for everyone. Like with all these big subjects, I’m positive. I think there is progress and that it continues.”</p>
<p>As for having the phrase “Oscar-winning actress” now pinned before her name, Vikander stayed humble saying: “It still feels very new to me to hear those words. I grew up in a small town in Sweden and watched the Oscars at 2am with mom every year, it was a window to a different universe.”</p>
<p>“Submergence” opens the 65th San Sebastián Film Festival Friday night. It’s the highest-profile festival in the Spanish-speaking world, has a significant industry presence. But that didn’t phase Wenders.</p>
<p>“The pressure of the opening film doesn’t really concern me,” the director said before further dismissing any concerns over criticisms of his films. “I beg your pardon but I don’t read my reviews. I read reviews of other people’s films but with mine I just ask my wife.” He said that while good reviews can over-inflate your ego, bad ones “make you feel like s***t, and I think it’s best not to feel either.”</p> | San Sebastián: Alicia Vikander on ‘Submergence,’ Modern Love and Women in Cinema | false | https://newsline.com/san-sebastian-alicia-vikander-on-submergence-modern-love-and-women-in-cinema/ | 2017-09-22 | 1 |
<p>Apple, Google and Facebook are just a few major players in the tech industry that have <a href="https://dreamers.fwd.us/business-leaders" type="external">signed a letter</a>&#160;urging President Donald Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.</p>
<p>But Trump has moved&#160;ahead with his plan to end DACA, and Silicon Valley is considering what its next steps should be.</p>
<p>“The tech industry has been very active on immigration,” says Tony Romm, politics and policy editor at tech news site <a href="https://www.recode.net/" type="external">Recode</a>. “And it sounded off in staunch opposition to the president's announcement earlier today.”</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">DACA recipients won’t go back into the shadows quietly</a></p>
<p>Microsoft <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/9/5/16255490/microsoft-satya-nadella-offered-aid-employee-worker-trump-daca-dreamer-deport" type="external">denounced</a> the president’s decision and said it would support employees who may be affected in any way it can, including paying for legal counsel.</p>
<p>Other companies have made similar statements&#160;and called on Congress to make replacing DACA a legislative priority.</p>
<p>But whether tech companies’ lobbying efforts will have an effect is “another matter entirely,” Romm said.</p>
<p>The industry relies heavily on highly skilled engineers, often from outside the US, and has been lobbying the government for policies that would help the hiring process for many years.</p>
<p>But not much has changed — “partisan divisions [in Congress] have prevented any sort of progress on immigration,” said Romm.</p>
<p>And despite tech companies’ efforts to engage with President Trump, Romm said, “few companies have really been able to shift this president's thinking on policy matters.”</p>
<p>You can hear The World's full interview with Recode's Tony Romm above.</p> | Silicon Valley takes a stand against President Trump's DACA decision | false | https://pri.org/stories/2017-09-05/silicon-valley-takes-stand-against-president-trumps-daca-decision | 2017-09-05 | 3 |
<p>“… football was being tropicalized in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo by the poor who enriched it while they appropriated it. No longer the possession of the few comfortable youths who played it by copying, this foreign sport became Brazilian, fertilized by the creative energies of the people discovering it. And thus was born the most beautiful football in the world, made of hip feints, undulations of the torso and legs in flight, all of which came from capoeira, the warrior dance of black slaves, and from the joyful dances of the big-city slums.”</p>
<p>The quote, about the magical tropical transformation of soccer when it reached Brazil in the early 20th century, is from Eduardo Galeano’s beautiful <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859844235/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Football in Sun and Shadow</a> <a href="/1859844235/counterpunchmaga" type="external">,</a> currently my favourite book about anything, since a friendly CounterPunch reader recommended it to me a few weeks ago. The Uruguayan writer’s prose-poem is a&#160; reminder that when you talk about Braziilian football, even when you’re trying to talk about politics, you end up talking about aesthetics. The habit is not confined to romantic outsiders: in Brazil, they measure their historic World Cups not by whether they won it — they’ve done that five times since 1958, not quite routine but an unmatched record — but by how beautifully they played. By this measure, among the triumphs 1958 and 1970 are the twin peaks of achievement, and 1994 the nadir. The team of 1982, which didn’t even reach the final after losing one of the greatest games ever to Italy, is recalled with more fondness than the 1994 team, which won its final in a penalty shoot-out after a drab scoreless draw with the Italians.</p>
<p>What worries many Brazilians, as well as the legions of Brazil-lovers throughout the world, including people who tune in to soccer only to see the men in yellow and blue play in the World Cup, is that the 2010 team is coached by the man who captained that grimly determined 1994 side, who won the trophy after 24 barren years but did so without style. Dunga, a hard man rather than an artist, is now choosing the players and tactics, and the world worries that the team is made in his image. Some of the choices he has made already in the pre-selection of his squad have sparked angry debate and denunciation.</p>
<p>Football aesthetics are more than usually in focus this summer, because of what has occurred over the last month in the world’s most prestigious club competition, the European Champions League. Italian club Inter Milan, with its ‘charismatic’ (i.e. handsome with good English) coach Jose Mourinho, won the trophy, despite averaging a mere 25 per cent of possession of the ball in the last two games of its run to the title. Mourinho himself boasted that his team had done more than proverbially ‘park the bus’ in front of its own goal to protect a lead in the semi-final against Barcelona: they had parked an airplane. They routinely returned the ball to their opponents, he said, because keeping the ball themselves would have broken the concentration they required to defend. The very notion seems anathema to the Brazilian way of playing. Yet three excellent players in that Inter Milan team — goalkeeper Julio Cesar, central defender Lucio and fullback Maicon — are likely to be in Dunga’s team too when Brazil kicks off against the North on June 15. It might be a disappointment, but it would be no surprise, to see Brazil, and indeed many other teams in South Africa, adopt a similar defensive posture, usually euphemized as ‘counter-attacking football’. (We’ll see whether the extraordinary team ethos and self-belief that Mourinho engenders can be translated along with the tactics.)</p>
<p>Although Dunga is white, it would be too simple to suggest that his team’s tight, rigorous, athletic football is somehow racially counterposed to the artistry of great black Brazilians such as Pele. (Some basketball fans may recognise the stereotype.) In reality, the history of Brazilian soccer is a complex interplay of styles and politics, and many of its greatest artists have been white. It is possible, some say, to relate a previous Brazilian turn toward tighter, harder, less expressive football to the encouragement of the country’s military rulers in the 1970s. However, it is difficult to carry such as analysis forward to the era of Lula’s nominally socialist government. Today’s Brazil plays the way it does not because of authoritarian government at home, but more likely because of the dominance of technocratic European football over Brazil’s players, hundreds of whom ply their trade in European leagues, including tiny weak leagues like the Finnish or Cypriot ones as well as the big ones. (Part of the mad attraction of Argentina manager Diego Maradona, by the way, is his resistance to such European hegemony: two of the four fine Argentines who play for that unbeatable Inter Milan team have not even been selected by Maradona to travel to South Africa, with home-based players chosen in their place. His team and Spain are perhaps the only ones at the World Cup who can be counted upon not to ‘park the bus’.)</p>
<p>Brazilian poverty continues to breed great footballers in the favelas, but it breeds them for export. Given the millions of dollars that routinely change hands in transfer fees, often involving mere teenagers, it is no exaggeration to regard this as a significant Brazilian industry — a corrupt one in which the best hope for financial gain at the grassroots is from players’ own direct remittances of their European salaries to their families and home-places. The domestic game in Brazil, always a rather chaotic and politicized sphere, has been hollowed out over the last three decades, as fans’ best hopes of seeing their own great players come when European matches are beamed west and south by the TV networks that govern so much Latin American life. Attempts by Pele himself to reform the structure of Brazilian clubs in the 1990s, introducing corporate ‘good governance’ in place of messy club structures, seem only to have made things worse.</p>
<p>Such is the dominance of Europe over Brazilian football that it was regarded as&#160; rather freakish when striker Robinho, having fallen out with his manager at Manchester City — who wouldn’t sell him to another European club — actually returned home this year to play at Santos on loan for a few months to keep fit for the World Cup. His international teammates, including Kaka, whose middling season at Real Madrid has seem him slip down the press’s unofficial ‘best player in the world’ rankings, will otherwise be Europe-based, with a couple of possible exceptions who have taken ‘early retirement’ back home in Brazil. If Kaka comes good, Brazil clearly have enough flair to marry with pragmatism to win the World Cup, despite a murderous group draw that will see either Brazil, Portugal or Ivory Coast (you can make a case for all of these as potential winners) eliminated at the first hurdle.</p>
<p>The neoliberal mess that is global football, where the undisputed world leader in the game can sustain only poorly supported leagues, and cash sloshes around with wild abandon but always seems to land the world’s very best players at the same few clubs in Spain, Italy and England, can make one yearn for the the socialist paradise of American sport. In the US, highly centralised sports bureaucracies ensure the distribution of top players and thus some changing of the guard at the top of baseball, basketball and (American) football. When US soccer authorities launched Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 1990s, they did it in the American way, with the league as the body that actually contracts players and individual teams acting as mere ‘franchises’. By and large, America’s response has been a resounding ‘meh’.</p>
<p>As I write this I’m not at home in Ireland, but in the US for my 25th college reunion at Harvard. Reading the doorstopping book that circulated before the event and that goes by the name of of ‘class report’ (the word ‘class’ rarely more apposite) gives an interesting insight into the position of soccer in America, and its failure to reach a mass audience. There, in the little potted autobiographies written by many of my classmates, alongside the ubiquitous phrases “wow, 25 years”, “senior partner” and “working with nonprofits”, are little whimsical asides about their children’s soccer careers, and even their own coaching efforts.</p>
<p>Soccer cannot be taken seriously by the majority of Americans, nor is the US likely to create world-class players, while such people consider it their sporting preserve. (There is also a small historical irony, since Harvard was instrumental in turning US colleges away from soccer and towards the evolving gridiron game in the 1870s.) Upper-middle-class youths will usually get a better offer for their careers than chasing the almost-impossible dream of sporting stardom.</p>
<p>Of course many working-class people in America play and watch and love soccer, and are far from dilettantes about it. In my New Jersey hometown, it’s a largely Latino affair. One of my most vivid sporting memories remains the night 30 years ago when my high school, a Catholic one in a poor corner of New Jersey, found itself contesting the state parochial championship against a team of white lads from a prosperous suburb. (Perhaps some of these lads’ parents were Harvard graduates. No one from my school had ever gone to Harvard.) My own soccer skills would never had got me near the team, and my lack of Spanish would have meant I could not have communicated with the coach or teammates during the game anyway. But I loved to watch them. That night, those white lads were not only taught a lesson in the silky passing and movement of South-American style soccer, they learned that, contrary to their parents’ hopes, soccer is indeed a contact sport. It finished 5-0. Our striker, Peruvian-born Andres Iglesias, went on to be a star of indoor soccer, the odd five-a-side game that flourished for a decade while the proper, outdoor version floundered in the US.</p>
<p>But despite the creation of a Mexican-oriented MLS team in Los Angeles, Chivas USA, soccer at a national level in the United States has not found a consistent way to tap that rich seam of talent. Without a minor-league structure of the sort that sustains baseball, and that characterizes soccer elsewhere in the world, the professional game in the US relies on colleges as an important ‘farm’ system. This works for American football and basketball because of the enormous investment colleges are willing to make in those sports, for the commercial and alumni income they attract. If the players don’t actually manage to earn degrees, well that’s tough, but it’s not relevant to the business model. The tens of thousands of talented Latino soccer players in the US are more unlikely to earn sports scholarships on similar terms; so the system that passes players through to elite level favors whites. Thus the best soccer in the United States America is probably being played in urban parks, in local league structures that don’t have a clear organic connection to the organization of the game at national level. It may be too that US soccer authorities have been loath to select heavily-Latino teams to play for the USA for image reasons as they continue to build the sport among the white middle-classes. But I suspect this sort of prejudice is subordinate to the basic structural problems of the game’s organization.</p>
<p>All that said, the USA has had a very competent men’s team for the last decade, going as far as the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 before collapsing under the weight of the nation’s indifference and their own limitations against eventual finalists, Germany. They are certainly capable of going that far again this year, especially given the group they’ve drawn. But the real passion for the World Cup in the US will again be in ethnic enclaves, for teams other than the US, rather than in the national media. When I had dinner this week in Brooklyn with my sports-mad and soccer-friendly brother and brother-in-law, both could tell me how they and their children are looking forward to the World Cup, but neither could name more than two or three US players, and they knew nothing of the team’s likely tactics.</p>
<p>The peculiar class structure of American soccer — and it is genuinely peculiar, with nowhere in the world quite like it — has had one unambiguous benefit. The commitment of those Harvard parents, and others of their class, to gender equality has seen the women’s game grow to unprecedented proportions: it is, per capita, several times bigger than women’s soccer even in its most liberal north-European strongholds. The US wins World Cups in women’s soccer, and the media attention generated by the American women has been good for girls all over the world. It is not even out of the question that, some day, the gender bar will be broken in mainstream professional soccer, and, if so, the odds are good it will be an American woman who does it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the tactics that have dominated 2010 so far, the Mourinho approach, put a high premium on physical strength, height and speed over skill, balance and artistry. If the trend continues, the glorious day of women’s genuine equality in the Beautiful Game may be postponed indefinitely.</p>
<p>HARRY BROWNE lectures in the School of Media at Dublin Institute of Technology and is author of CounterPunch’s <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">Hammered by the Irish</a>. Contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]&#160;</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p /> | Brazil and the US | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/05/28/brazil-and-the-us/ | 2010-05-28 | 4 |
<p>Egyptian forensics officials collected DNA Tuesday from relatives of EgyptAir MS804 victims to help identify body parts retrieved from the Mediterranean, where the crash killed 66 people, the airline said.</p>
<p>Investigators are still searching for Airbus A320's two black boxes on the seabed as they seek answers as to why the aircraft came down early on Thursday.</p>
<p>"Body parts arrived at the morgue yesterday and other body parts arrived the day before yesterday," EgyptAir Holding Company chairman Safwat Musallam told AFP on Tuesday.</p>
<p>"DNA samples have been collected from the victims' families to help identify body parts," EgyptAir said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Experts and sources close to the investigation told AFP local media reports that body parts analysis showed evidence of an explosion did not in fact reveal anything about the cause of the disaster.</p>
<p>Hesham Abdel Hameed, head of the justice ministry's forensics department, also denied that the reports were accurate, according to the website of state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper.</p>
<p>It reported Abdel Hameed as saying such comments are hypothetical and could not have been issued by the department or any of its forensics doctors.</p>
<p>"No trace of any explosives has been found so far on debris or body parts," one source told AFP.</p>
<p>"When a plane crashes, an explosion takes place at some stage or another, reducing the plane to pieces," another source said.</p>
<p>This is "either as a result of mechanical failure or a criminal act, or when the plane hits the sea after falling 11 kilometers (6.8 miles), as in this case."</p>
<p>"This does not advance the investigation, unless we find traces of an explosive, which is not the case at this stage," the source added.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | EgyptAir victims' relatives give samples for DNA tests | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-05-24/egyptair-victims-relatives-give-samples-dna-tests | 2016-05-24 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Muslim shopper wasn’t physically attacked and Albuquerque police say she wasn’t afraid she would be.</p>
<p>So charges will not be filed against the woman who went on a loud, racist rant against the shopper in the Smiths grocery store on Yale and Coal just before Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>One of the dozens of shoppers in the store that morning took a picture of the ranting woman as she screamed at the shopper wearing a hijab, a head covering worn by some Muslim women.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Employees stepped between the two women, ushering the yelling woman out to the parking lot, and then providing support for the shopper and walking with her to her car. Police arrived shortly after that, but the ranting woman had gone.</p>
<p>Albuquerque police said this week that they believe they know who the woman is. That woman is believed to have a history of mental illness and drug problems, and is known to frequent the area, Albuquerque police spokesman Fred Duran said in an email.</p>
<p>But, since police can’t be sure it was her and since the shopper “denied any other actions other than the slurs the female was yelling,” charges will not be pursued.</p>
<p>“Based on their (officers’) investigation of what the woman was doing, it was determined she was within her rights and that would fall under freedom of speech,” Duran said.</p>
<p>Barney Lopez, the shopper who caught the incident in a photo, said Thursday that he agrees with APD’s interpretation of the incident.</p>
<p>“It’s a very fine line between free speech and hate speech. There was no physical assault, so no crime,” Lopez said. “My response would be that we as people, we need to be the ones to police hate speech by saying it when we see it, by calling it out and by standing up for others who are being spoken to that way.”</p>
<p>Abbas Akhil, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, said the Muslim shopper, a young woman, is a fellow member at his masjid, or church.</p>
<p>The masjid, he said Thursday, sent a package of baklava to the Smiths grocery store and to its manager, Andrew Castillo, who helped intervene in the incident. And Akhil said he plans to write to the Smiths corporation to praise the staff.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“What was really heartwarming was the fact that the customers immediately came to her, and the Smiths staff escorted her to her car and saw her off,” Akhil said. “That’s really what I would expect from Albuquerque. Ours is a very multicultural city, and people are very generous and accepting.”</p>
<p>He also said he understands that the police and prosecutors can’t charge the ranting woman, even if her identity had been certain.</p>
<p>“The authorities have to follow the guidelines of the law. If you go around prosecuting everybody shouting a slur,” it’s not practical, he said.</p>
<p>The closest state charge to the case would likely have been assault, which in New Mexico is a petty misdemeanor defined as an “attempt to commit a battery upon the person of another; any unlawful act, threat or menacing conduct which causes another person to reasonably believe that he is in danger of receiving an immediate battery; or the use of insulting language toward another impugning his honor, delicacy or reputation.”</p>
<p>The last portion of that statute is tricky and not often applied.</p>
<p>“In today’s society, this would need a definition as such that everyday activities offend a person that never did in the past. … An officer has to be able to articulate that the language was offensive to the degree of the law and that an individual was not merely saying they are offended to get someone into trouble,” Duran said.</p>
<p>Plus, he said, the woman they suspect of starting the disturbance likely has mental illness.</p>
<p>“A mental(ly) ill person is also not going to be held to these standards as they are not mentally aware of what they may be saying. Same with small children calling another child a name at school,” Duran said.</p>
<p>The District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the incident or explain the nuances of the statute.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Police: Charges won’t be filed over racist rant at grocery store | false | https://abqjournal.com/900327/racist-rant-in-store-wont-lead-to-charges.html | 2016-12-02 | 2 |
<p>According to a bit of street wisdom that has worked its way into the national vocabulary, “You got to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.” But since the opposite of everything is frequently, if not always, true, we might, on the matter of explicitly Christian rhetoric and the American public square, consider reversing the injunction and asking the question: How do we talk the talk? How, that is, do we talk so that moral judgments born from Christian religious conviction can be heard and thoughtfully considered by all Americans-or at least by those Americans willing to concede that moral judgment plays a crucial role in the public policy process?</p>
<p>The question of how Christians “talk the talk” in American public life will not go away, because it cannot go away; this is a fact of demographics, as well as a reflection of the nation’s historic cultural core. For the foreseeable future the United States will remain at one and the same time a democracy, a deeply religious society, and a vibrantly, gloriously, maddeningly, and, in some respects, depressingly diverse culture. And thus, just as in decades if not centuries past, the 1990s will see a striking diversity of “vocabularies” in the American public square: many of them religious, others determinedly secular.</p>
<p>How, then, to begin with, can Christians of various theological persuasions talk with each other as they deliberate their public responsibilities within the household of faith? And how can those same diverse Christian communities contribute to a public moral discourse that would more closely resemble a reasonable argument than a cacophony? Is there, in other words, a grammar that can bring some discipline to the inevitably polyglot public debate over how we ought to live together?</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>These questions have been perennials in the garden of American public controversy. But they have been rendered more urgent over the past twenty years by two phenomena, distinct in their provenance but not unrelated in their public consequences.</p>
<p>The first is the return to the public square of conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist Protestants from the cultural hinterlands to which they were consigned (and to which they often consigned themselves) in the aftermath of the Scopes Trial of 1925. For almost fifty years after that great trek to the margins of the public discourse, “the evangelicals” were content to remain in their enclaves, worshipping and educating their children as they saw fit, asking only to be left alone by the larger society. By the late 1970s, however, the Carter Administration’s Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service, by their assault on Christian day schools, had demonstrated the impossibility of sustaining that strategy; and the result was the defensive/offensive movement we have come to know as the “religious new right.” That this movement dramatically sharpened the debate over the place of Christian conviction in public discourse is too obvious to need further elaboration.</p>
<p>And second, the return of the evangelicals and fundamentalists from cultural exile was paralleled in the 1980s by a new assertiveness on the part of American Roman Catholics (and especially several prominent bishops). On issues such as abortion, pornography, school choice, and the claims of the gay/lesbian/bisexual movement, Catholic bishops, activists, and intellectuals who insisted on acting like Catholics in public soon found themselves engaged not simply in political or electoral battles, but in heated confrontations with several of the key idea-shaping and values-transmitting institutions in our society: among them the prestige press, the academy, and the popular entertainment industry. Perhaps the high (or low) point of this trajectory was reached on the 26th of November, 1989, when a New York Times editorial solemnly warned Catholic bishops that their resistance to abortion-on- demand threatened the “truce of tolerance” by which Catholics were permitted to play a part in American public life: a warning that was, even by Times’ standards, an exercise in brazen chutzpah.</p>
<p>Thus through the evangelical insurgency and the revitalization of the Catholics in the public square-through the activism and interaction of two groups who had long eyed each other with mutual suspicion (if not downright hostility) but who now found themselves in common cause on a host of fevered public issues-American democracy was faced, yet again, with the problem of how it could be a e pluribus unum in fact as well as in theory. And for their part, American Christians had to think through the question of how their most deeply held convictions could be brought to bear on public life in ways that were faithful both to those convictions and to the canons of democratic civility. Given that the United States remains, in Chesterton’s famous phrase, a nation with the soul of a church, the two questions were not unrelated.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>So far as we know, the apostle Paul was not overly vexed about the public policy of Athens in the first century of the common era; but Paul’s struggle to “translate” the Christian Gospel into terms that the Athenians could understand and engage suggests that the issue confronting Christians has a venerable history. Paul’s invocation of the “unknown god” to the men gathered on the Areopagus was, of course, an evangelical tactic aimed at the religious conversion of his audience; the book of Acts does not suggest that Paul was very much concerned to reform deficit financing, health care, education, or defense appropriations in Greater Athens. But that evangelical instinct which led the apostle to seek a language-a grammar, if you will-through which the Athenians could grasp (and be grasped by) the claims of the Gospel is something on which we might well reflect, as we ponder such decidedly secondary and tertiary questions as deficit financing, health care reform, education, and defense appropriations in the American Republic.</p>
<p>Paul was a man at home with at least two moral-intellectual “grammars”: the Judaic, in which he had been rabbinically trained, and the Hellenistic, which dominated elite culture in the eastern Mediterranean at the time. We may be sure that Paul regarded the Judaic grammar as superior to the Hellenistic, but he did not hesitate to employ the latter when he deemed it necessary for the sake of the Gospel.</p>
<p>This grammatical ecumenicity, as we might call it, was memorably captured in Paul’s familiar boast, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22b) Again, the questions behind this present discussion are questions of considerably less consequence than the salvation of souls. But if, in such a grand cause, the apostle of the gentiles could appeal to his audiences through language and images with which they were most familiar-if, to get down to cases, Paul could expropriate an Athenian idol as an instrument for breaking open the Gospel of Christ, the Son of the Living God-then perhaps it is incumbent upon us, working in the far less dramatic precincts of public policy, to devise means of translating our religious convictions into language and images that can illuminate for all our fellow-citizens the truths of how we ought to live together, as we have come to understand them through faith and reason.</p>
<p>There is danger in this, of course, and it should be squarely faced: Christians eager to be heard in the public square today may, through an excess of grammatical ecumenicity, so attenuate their message that the sharp edge of truth gets blunted, and thus debased. Flaccidity in the cause of a misconceived public ecumenism has been one dimension of the decline of the academic study of religion in America, as it has been a dimension of the decline of mainline/oldline Protestantism. Some would suggest that a similar disposition to excessive public correctness, as that set of attitudes is defined by the tastemakers of our society, has also misshaped certain interpretations of the Roman Catholic “consistent ethic of life.”</p>
<p>Moreover, it can often seem as if our cultural moment demands uncompromising confrontation rather than polite dialogue. When unborn children have less legal standing than an endangered species of bird in a national forest; when any conceivable configuration of consenting adults sharing body parts is considered in enlightened circles to constitute a “marriage”; when senior United States senators bloviate about “sexual harassment” in kindergarten while national illegitimacy rates approach 30 percent of all births: one is reminded of Orwell’s observation, two generations ago, that “we have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” There are some hard, home truths to be told on the various Mars Hills of the American Republic, and one need not doubt that the telling of such truths, even in a publicly accessible grammar, is going to bring down upon one’s head the odium of those committed to the establishment of the Republic of the Imperial Autonomous Self. Under such circumstances, the old country saw which tells us that we may as well get hung for a sheep as for a goat retains its pertinence.</p>
<p>But the good news is that the bad news is not all the news there is. For in certain signs of these times we may also be seeing a new public recognition of the enduring realities of religious conviction and a new willingness to concede a place for religiously based moral argument in the American public square. The warm reception given Professor Stephen L. Carter’s recent critique of the secularism of our elite culture, our law, and our politics suggests that seeds first planted by Richard John Neuhaus in The Naked Public Square are beginning to flower, however variously or confusedly. The broad bipartisan, ecumenical, and interreligious support that made possible the passage last year of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is also an important straw in the wind (although it remains to be seen just how the creative minds on the federal bench will bend RFRA to various agendas of their own devising).</p>
<p>Then there is the fact that we have a President who, unlike his predecessor, is unabashedly public about his Christian faith, and who seems to understand that the engagement of differing religious convictions within the bond of democratic civility is good for America. It is far from self-evident that President Clinton’s policies (and appointments) are entirely congruent with his religious and moral rhetoric; nor can one dismiss as mere partisanship the suggestion that the President’s rhetoric has been designed in part to divide the white evangelical vote and thus secure his reelection in 1996. But politicians will always be politicians, and those of us who take the bully pulpit seriously can still applaud the fact that the President of the United States publicly acknowledges that “we are a people of faith” and that “religion helps to give our people the character without which a democracy cannot survive.”* However wide the chasm between the President’s talk and his Administration’s walk, it surely means something that President Clinton experiences no embarrassment about using religious language in public.</p>
<p>At the very least, the President’s public appeal to biblical religion ought to remind us just how far from our roots we have strayed when the “naked public square” could even be considered a plausible embodiment of the American democratic experiment. In a nation whose coinage and currency contain the motto, “In God We Trust”; whose Supreme Court sessions open with the plea (admittedly, ever more poignant in recent years) that “God save this honorable court”; whose House of Representatives and Senate begin their daily work with prayer; whose Presidents have, without exception, invoked the blessing of God in their inaugural addresses-it is the proponents of established secularism who should be on the historical, cultural, constitutional, and moral defensive. If President Clinton’s use of explicitly religious language does nothing other than make clear who ought to be prosecuting and who defending in this matter of religion and public life, then the President will have done the country a service indeed.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Still, the sheer fact that religiously based public moral argument seems “okay” again in certain influential quarters does not suggest the end of our problem, any more than the widespread celebration of the film The Age of Innocence, with its celebration of the superiority of marital fidelity over extramarital sexual passion, suggests the end of the sexual revolution. What we may have today, through a confluence of forces (and not least because the crisis of the urban underclass has finally focused the elite culture on problems of moral formation), is an opening through which to begin the slow and laborious process of reclothing the naked public square. Save in some tenured bunkers where cultural vandals make merry while the cities burn and children shoot children over basketball shoes, it is now widely acknowledged that its nudity has been bad for the country. The question is how, and in what livery, the square will be reclothed.</p>
<p>Abraham Lincoln, and specifically his Second Inaugural Address, provides an important historical model. In this speech, remember, Lincoln interpreted the national agony of a violent and sanguinary civil war in explicitly biblical terms, citing Matthew’s Gospel (“Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh”) and the Psalmist (“The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether”) to buttress his general hermeneutic claim that the workings-out of the American democratic experiment were caught up in a divinely ordered plan for human history.</p>
<p>Now, can anyone reasonably argue that, in his deliberate choice of biblical language and in his appeal to the notion of a providential purpose in history, Lincoln was excluding anyone from the public debate over the meaning and purpose of the War Between the States? Can it be reasonably contended that Lincoln’s attempt to prepare the United States for reconciliation by offering a biblically based moral interpretation of the recent national experience constituted an unconstitutional “imposition” of belief and values on others?</p>
<p>We recognize Lincoln’s Second Inaugural as perhaps the greatest speech in American history precisely because, with singular eloquence and at a moment of unparalleled national trauma, it spoke to the entire country in an idiom that the entire country could understand. No one was excluded by Lincoln’s use of biblical language and imagery; all, irrespective of confessional conviction (or the lack thereof), were included in the great moral drama whose meaning the President was trying to fix in the national consciousness.</p>
<p>It is arguably true that, even in the midst of civil war, the United States (North and South) was a more culturally coherent nation than our America today; and it is certainly true that no statesman of Lincoln’s eloquence and moral imagination is on the horizon of our public life. Yet there is still an important lesson here. And the lesson is that biblical language and imagery in public discourse ought to be used, not to divide, but rather to unite: not to finish off an opponent with a rhetorical coup de grace, but to call him (and all of us) to a deeper reflection on the promise and perils of the American democratic experiment.</p>
<p>This principle does not preclude hard truth-telling (as the Second Inaugural amply attests). But Lincoln spoke as one who had understood the frailty of all things human, and especially of all things political; he did not suggest, even amidst a civil war, that all righteousness lay on one side, and all evil on another; he knew, and acknowledged, that the nation was under judgment; and he spoke not as a Republican, and not even as a Northerner, but as an American seeking to reach out to other Americans across chasms of division at least as broad and deep as any we face today.</p>
<p>Such an approach-in which Christian conviction speaks through and to the plurality of our national life, such that that plurality is enabled to become a genuine pluralism-ought to commend itself to us, first and foremost, on Christian theological, indeed doctrinal, grounds.</p>
<p>The treasure of the Gospel has been entrusted to the earthen vessels of our humanity for the salvation of the world, not for the securing of partisan advantage. We debase the Gospel and we debase the Body of Christ (which witnesses in history to God’s saving work in Christ) when we use the Gospel as a partisan trump card. Our first loyalty-our overriding loyalty-is to God in Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of that loyalty, Christians are “resident aliens” in any polis in which they find themselves, as the second-century “Letter to Diognetus” puts it. But it is precisely because our ultimate allegiance is to a Kingdom not of this world that we can make a useful contribution to the working out of an American democratic experiment that has understood itself, from the outset, to be an experiment in limited government, judged by transcendent moral norms, and open to the participation of all men and women who affirm belief in certain “self- evident” truths about human persons and human community.</p>
<p>The experiment could fail; it requires a virtuous people in order to succeed. All of this was implied in the Second Inaugural, and that helps explain the enduring power of Lincoln’s address. None of us is Lincoln. But everything we say and do in public should make clear that our purposes are to reunite America through a new birth of freedom, not simply to throw their rascals out and get our rascals in.</p>
<p>And at a far more vulgar level, there are also practical considerations to be weighed here. Playing the Gospel as a trump card is not only offensive to Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and secularists; it is also offensive to other Christians-even (perhaps especially) to those Christians who may be otherwise inclined to make common cause on public policy issues. In brief, playing the Gospel as a trump card makes us less effective witnesses to the truths we hold about the way in which we ought to live together. (Moreover, and to go back to our primary concern, the suggestion that Christian orthodoxy yields a single answer to virtually every contested issue of public policy is an offense, not simply against political common sense, but against . . . Christian orthodoxy.)</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, and its unchallenged position in the pantheon of American public rhetoric, ought to have secured a place for biblical language and imagery in our public life, the frettings of radical secularists notwithstanding. But, having seen in Lincoln a model for the proper deployment of explicitly biblical language in American public discourse, perhaps a word about natural law is in order.</p>
<p>This is not the place to explore the differences among the various natural law theories, or the points of tangency (and distinction) between Roman Catholic natural law theory and Calvinist concepts of common grace. Rather, the question before us is how Christians contribute to the evolution of a genuine pluralism out of the plurality of vocabularies in American public moral discourse today; the question is how today’s cannonading is transformed, in John Courtney Murray’s pungent phrase, into a situation of “creeds at war, intelligibly.” And the issue is a serious one, for society will descend into a different kind of war, Hobbes’ dread war of “all against all,” unless we can talk to each other in such a way that we make sense to each other-or at least enough sense to conduct the public argument that is the lifeblood of a democracy.</p>
<p>“Natural law” here means the claim that, even under the conditions of the Fall, there is a moral logic built into the world and into us: a logic that reasonable men and women can grasp by disciplined reflection on the dynamics of human action. The grasping of that logic may be (and Christians would say, most certainly is) aided by the effects of grace at work in human hearts; and it may be the case that the Gospel draws out of the natural law certain behavioral implications that are not so readily discernible with the naked eye (so to speak). But that such a moral logic exists, that it is available to all men through rational reflection, and that it can be intelligibly argued in public, is, I think, a matter of moral common sense.</p>
<p>We saw that logic at work in the American public debate over possible U.S. military action in the Persian Gulf in the months between Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the beginning of Operation Desert Storm. From one end of the country to the other, and in venues ranging from radio talk shows to taxicabs to barber shops to bars to the halls of Congress, men and women instinctively argued in the natural law categories of the just war tradition in order to debate America’s responsibilities in the Gulf: Was ours a just cause? Who could properly authorize the use of force? Did we have a reasonable chance of success? Was military action a last resort? How could innocent civilian lives be protected? The country did not instinctively reach for these questions because the just war tradition had been effectively catechized in our schools over the past generation (alas); rather, we reached for those questions because those are the “natural” questions that any morally reflective person will ask when contemplating the use of lethal force for the common good. Moreover, the rather high level of public moral argument over the Gulf crisis (perhaps the highest since a similar natural law argument had been publicly engaged during the debate over the 1964 Civil Rights Act) suggests that this instinctive moral logic has the perhaps unique capacity to bring grammatical order to the deliberations of a diverse society.</p>
<p>To commend the development of the skills necessary for conducting public debate according to the grammar of the natural law is not to deny explicitly Christian (or Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist) moral discourse a place in the American public square. All Americans have the right to bring their most deeply held convictions into play in our common life; that is-or rather, ought to be-the commonly accepted meaning of the First Amendment’s guarantee of “free exercise.” But those convictions will be most readily engaged which are translated into idioms that can be grasped by those whom we are trying to persuade. And one grammar capable of effecting that translation is the natural law tradition. Two examples may help illustrate the point.</p>
<p>The abortion license created by the Supreme Court in 1973 remains the single most bitterly contested issue in American public life. It is self-evident that Christian orthodoxy regards elective abortion as a grave moral evil: as a profound offense against the entire structure of Christian morals. And there is no doubt that the steady proclamation of that truth, in love, has been a crucial factor in the perdurance of the right-to-life movement over the past generation. The overwhelming majority of those active on behalf of the right to life of the unborn are committed to that cause, and have remained committed in the teeth of fierce opposition from the elite culture, because they understand that the Lord requires this of us.</p>
<p>But how are we to make our case to those who do not share that prior religious commitment, or to those Christians whose churches do not provide clear moral counsel on this issue? And how do we do this in a political-cultural-legal climate in which individual autonomy has been virtually absolutized?</p>
<p>The answer is, we best make our case by insisting that our defense of the right to life of the unborn is a defense of civil rights and of a generous, hospitable American democracy. We best make our case by insisting that abortion-on-demand gravely damages the American democratic experiment by drastically constricting the community of the commonly protected. We best make our case by arguing that the private use of lethal violence against an innocent is an assault on the moral foundations of any just society. In short, we best make our case for maximum feasible legal protection of the unborn by deploying natural law arguments that translate our Christian moral convictions into a public idiom more powerful than the idiom of autonomy.</p>
<p>A similar strategy commends itself in the face of the gay and lesbian insurgency. Again, the position of orthodox Christian morality is unambiguously clear: homosexual acts violate the structure of the divinely created form of love by which men and women are to exercise their sexuality in unitive and procreative responsibility. Thus “homosexual marriage” is an oxymoron, and other proposals to grant homosexuality “equal protection” with heterosexuality are an offense against biblical morality: what many would call, unblushingly, an abomination before the Lord.</p>
<p>But given the vast disarray wrought by the sexual revolution, by the plurality of moral vocabularies in America, and by the current confusions attending Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence, we make a more powerful case against the public policy claims of the gay and lesbian insurgency by arguing on natural law grounds: by arguing that it is in the very nature of governments to make discriminations; that the relevant question is whether any proposed discrimination is invidiously unjust; and that the legal preference given to heterosexual marriage is good for society because it strengthens the basic unit of society, the family, and because it is good for children. Given the fantastic damage done to the urban underclass by the breakdown of family life, this is, alas, an easier argument to make today than it was, say, twenty years ago. But as that asphalt Via Dolorosa comes to impress itself more indelibly on the national conscience, we may well find that natural law- based appeals to public responsibility for the welfare of children and families give us a vocabulary superior in political potency to the rhetoric of autonomy. And we just may find a new possibility for building a conservative-liberal coalition on precisely these grounds, facing precisely these issues.</p>
<p>Similar models of argumentation can be developed for other “social issues,” including censorship, school curricula, school choice, sex education, and public health. In all these cases, it should be emphasized again, the goal is not to weaken the moral claims or judgments involved, but rather to translate them, through the grammar of natural law, into claims and judgments that can be heard, engaged, and, ultimately, accepted by those who do not share our basic Christian commitment (and, perhaps, even by some of the confused brethren who do).</p>
<p>Finally, a word about democratic etiquette. If patriotism is often the last refuge of scoundrels, then what currently passes for civility can be the last refuge of moral weakness, confusion, or cowardice. Moreover, as Mr. Dooley pointed out a while ago, “pollytics ain’t beanbag.” That enduring reality, and the gravity of the questions engaged in the American Kulturkampf, remind us that genuine civility is not the same as docility or “niceness.”</p>
<p>But there is a truth embedded in the habit of democratic etiquette, and we should frankly acknowledge it. The truth is that persuasion is better than coercion. And that is true because public moral argument is superior-morally and politically-to violence.</p>
<p>All law is, of course, in some measure coercive. But one of the moral superiorities of democracy is that our inevitably coercive laws are defined by a process of persuasion, rather than by princely ukase or politburo decree. And why is this mode of lawmaking morally superior? Because it embodies four truths: that men and women are created with intelligence and free will, and thus as subjects, not merely objects, of power; that genuine authority is the right to command, not merely the power to coerce; that those who are called to obey and to bear burdens have first the right to be heard and to deliberate on whether a proposed burden to be borne is necessary for the common good; and that there is an inherent sense of justice in the people, by which they are empowered to pass judgment on how we ought to live together.</p>
<p>Thus in observing, even as we refine, the rules of democratic etiquette, Christians are helping to give contemporary expression to certain moral understandings that have lain at the heart of the central political tradition of the West since that tradition first formed in Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome (to take symbolic reference points). And, not so inconsequentially, we are thereby taking a stand against the totalitarian temptation that lurks at the heart of every modern state, including every modern democratic state. To be sure, that is not the most important “public” thing we do as Christians. But it is an important thing to do, nonetheless.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Two sets of obstacles make the transition from plurality to genuine pluralism in contemporary America even more difficult than it necessarily is.</p>
<p>The first obstacle is the legal and cultural sediment of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence about the First Amendment religion clause over the past fifty years. There is no space here to review this sorry history in detail. Suffice it to say that the Court’s strange decision to divide what is clearly one religion clause into two religion clauses, and its subsequent tortuous efforts to “balance” the claims of free exercise and no establishment through Rube Goldberg contraptions like the three-part “Lemon test,” have not only led the justices into a jurisprudential labyrinth of exceptional darkness and complexity; they have also created a legal and cultural climate in which the public exercise of religious conviction is too often understood as a quirk to be tolerated, rather than a fundamental human right that any just state is obliged to acknowledge. Which is to say, the justices’ increasingly bizarre balancing act has elevated no establishment and subordinated free exercise to the point where a new establishment, the establishment of secularism, threatens the constitutional order. And until the First Amendment’s religion clause is sutured together once again, in law and in the popular understanding of the law-until, that is, no establishment is understood as the means to the goal of free exercise-our law will remain profoundly confused and our political culture too often inhospitable to people of faith.</p>
<p>Thus, for example, one cannot applaud Professor Stephen Carter’s suggestion that the answer to the trivialization of religious belief and practice in contemporary American law and politics is something like maximum feasible toleration for religion in public life. No: the free and public exercise of religious conviction is not to be “tolerated”-it is to be accepted, welcomed, indeed celebrated as the first of freedoms and the foundation of any meaningful scheme of human rights. And until we reverse, both in law and in our popular legal-political culture, the inversion of the religion clause that the Court has effected since the Everson decision in 1947, the already difficult problem of bringing a measure of democratic order and civility into our public moral discourse will be endlessly exacerbated.</p>
<p>The second obstacle in the path to genuine pluralism is a certain lack of theological and political discipline on the part of the religious right.</p>
<p>Now this may seem a classic case of “blaming the victim”; after all, we have recently witnessed a campaign for lieutenant governor of Virginia in which the Democratic Party and much of the media portrayed the Republican candidate, an avowed Christian, as a high-tech Savonarola panting to impose a theocracy on the great Commonwealth, the Mother of Presidents, through such lurid policies as . . . well, school choice, informed consent prior to an elective abortion, parental notification of a minor’s intention to seek an abortion, equalization of the state’s personal income tax exemption with that allowed by the federal government, tort reform, and a lid on state borrowing. All of which took place eight brief months after a Washington Post reporter, in a magnificently revealing Freudian slip, unselfconsciously described evangelicals as “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command.” Which in turn took place a mere seven months after the prestige press batted nary an eye when Jesse Jackson, at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, told the Christmas story in such a way as to criticize those who would have objected to Mary aborting Jesus. In these circumstances, in which fevered warnings are endlessly issued about the machinations of the religious right and not a word is written or said about the agenda of the religious left (and its influence on no less a personage than Hillary Rodham Clinton), it may seem passing strange to suggest that the necessary challenge to the imposition of an establishment of secularism in America must be complemented by a parallel demand for increased self- discipline on the part of the religious right. Yet that is what is needed. And here is why.</p>
<p>It is needed, first and foremost, for theological reasons. A partisan Gospel is an ideological Gospel; and as many of us insisted against the claims of liberation theology in the 1970s and 1980s, an ideologically driven Gospel is a debasement of the Gospel. “Christian voter scorecards” which suggest that the Gospel provides a “Christian answer” to President Clinton’s economic stimulus package, to the Administration’s tax proposals, to questions of voting rules in the House of Representatives, and to increasing the federal debt ceiling demean the Gospel by identifying it with an ideological agenda.</p>
<p>Another set of concerns arises from democratic theory. One can have no quarrel with describing our current circumstances as an American “culture war.” But the suggestion, offered by Patrick J. Buchanan at the 1992 Republican Convention, that a culture war is to be equated, willy- nilly, with a “religious war” must be stoutly resisted. The two are not the same. A culture war can be adjudicated, and a reasonable accommodation reached, through the processes (including electoral and juridical processes) of democratic persuasion; a religious war cannot.</p>
<p>Moreover, the very phrase “religious war” suggests that the answer to the issue at the heart of the culture war-namely, the establishment of officially sanctioned secularism as the American democratic creed-is an alternative sanctified creed. But under the conditions of plurality that seem to be written into the script of history (by God, some of us would say), such a substitution is not and cannot be the answer. The alternative to the naked public square is the reconstitution of civil society in America. And what is “civil society”? Civil society is the achievement of a genuine pluralism in which creeds are “intelligibly in conflict.” Genuine pluralism is, as Richard Neuhaus has written on many occasions, not the avoidance of our deepest differences, but the engagement of those differences within the bond of democratic civility.</p>
<p>No serious observer of the American political scene can doubt that any number of forces have declared war on the religious right. For its part, however, the religious right should decline that definition of the conflict, and get on with the task of rebuilding civil society in America-a strategy that is both theologically appropriate and, one suspects, very good politics.</p>
<p>Finally, a greater measure of theological and political self-discipline is to be urged on the religious right because it is just possible that the right might win, and thus it had better start thinking now about how it wants to win: as a force of reaction, or as a movement for the revitalization of the American experiment. The choice here is going to have a lot to do with how conservatives, evangelical Christian or otherwise, govern in the future.</p>
<p>To say that the religious right might just win is not necessarily to predict the outcome of, say, the 1996 presidential election, or the 1997 Virginia gubernatorial election, or the 1998 congressional elections. Nor can one overlook the possibility that the current moral-cultural ills in this country might lead to a kind of national implosion, perhaps in the next decade. Given the demographic realities and the current sad state of our politics and our law, that might yet happen.</p>
<p>To say that the religious right might win is, rather, to express an intuition about the current correlation of forces in the debate over how we ought to live together. One cannot get over the feeling that Irving Kristol was on to something when he argued (in the Wall Street Journal of February 1, 1993) that cultural conservatism is the wave of the future in the United States. The secularization project, for all that it dominates the network airwaves and the academy, has largely failed: Americans are arguably more religious today than they were fifty years ago. And this growth is not to be found in those precincts where mainline/oldline churches have been acquiescing, both morally and theologically, to this secularization. On the contrary, it is precisely the churches making the most serious doctrinal and moral demands on their congregants which are flourishing. All of this on the positive side, coupled with the undeniably disastrous effects of the sexual revolution, the welfare state, and the absolutization of individual autonomy on the negative side, suggests that the revival of “traditional moral values” as the common ethical horizon of our public life in the late twentieth and the early twenty-first century is not an impossibility.</p>
<p>In these circumstances, it is not only appropriate, but indeed obligatory, for the evangelical and fundamentalist components of the religious right to practice the public arts of grammatical ecumenicity: to learn how to translate religiously grounded moral claims into a public language and imagery capable of challenging the hegemony of what Mary Ann Glendon has styled “rights-talk.”</p>
<p>For the cultural-conservative coalition that can revitalize American civil society and American politics will be a coalition that includes Christians of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox commitment; Jews who have broken ranks with the reflexive secularism and cultural liberalism that have come to inform so much of American Jewry’s approach to the public square; a few secular people; and, just perhaps, a considerable number of Muslims. Grammatical ecumenicity within this coalition is essential to maintaining its tensile strength in the cultural and political battles in which this coalition will be engaged. And such ecumenicity will if anything be even more essential in exercising the authority of governance such that the reconstitution of America as a nation e pluribus unum involves a deepening, rather than a theologically and democratically inappropriate narrowing, of the unum.</p>
<p>In talking the talk, in truth and in charity, with force and with wit, so that others can enter the great conversation over the “oughts” of our common life, the religious right can make a signal contribution to the reclothing of the naked public square in America. And in doing that, it will be serving the Lord who stands in judgment on all the works of our hands, but most especially on our politics. For orthodox Christians politics is, or ought to be, penultimate. Talking the talk in the terms suggested here helps keep politics in its place: and that, too, is no mean contribution to the reconstruction of civil society in America at the end of the twentieth century.</p>
<p>George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.</p> | Christian Conviction and Democratic Etiquette | false | https://eppc.org/publications/christian-conviction-and-democratic-etiquette/ | 1 |
|
<p />
<p>Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has a strong history of beating analysts' expectations. In fact, since it went public nearly 20 years ago, the investment bank has beaten expectations 90% of the time, and it hasn't reported an earnings miss since late 2015. So when Goldman Sachs reported first-quarter earnings that failed to meet expectations, it was quite a surprise to investors. The stock dropped by 5% following the report, and it is now trading at its lowest level since November 2016.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While there was a lot of negative information in Goldman Sachs' first-quarter earnings report, the news wasn't all bad. Here's a breakdown of the news, good and bad.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>To be perfectly clear, this was not a great quarter for Goldman Sachs -- far from it. The company missed expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue came in at $8.026 billion, far short of the $8.446 billion analysts had been expecting. Also, earnings of $5.15 per share failed to match the $5.31 analysts were looking for.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In addition, equities trading revenue fell by 6% from the first quarter of last year, which was a major contributor to the earnings and revenue miss. While competitors have reported strong bond trading revenue, Goldman's was flat year over year. Merger and acquisitions volume as a whole has also been weak throughout the first few months of 2017, which was also a factor in the bank's weak performance.</p>
<p>Not only does Goldman have a long history of beating expectations, but the rest of the banking sector produced very strong earnings in the quarter, which added to Goldman investors' disappointment.</p>
<p>So the first quarter was not a good one for Goldman Sachs. The bank not only missed analyst expectations but also underperformed its peers. However, the news wasn't all bad. Here are some of the good parts:</p>
<p>Goldman also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, which is rising by $0.10 to $0.75 per share, beginning with the June dividend payment. Not only that, but Goldman's board authorized the repurchase of another 50 million common shares, worth $10.8 billion, or nearly 13% of the current outstanding share count. That's a pretty aggressive return of capital to shareholders.</p>
<p>Goldman Sachs is still an incredible institution and not one to bet against over the long run. So perhaps the best news for long-term investors is that the stock now trades at its lowest price-to-book multiple in over four months.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/GS/price_to_book_value" type="external">GS Price to Book Value</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong. As a Goldman Sachs shareholder myself, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed with the company's first quarter. However, there's nothing about this quarterly report that I find discouraging from a long-term perspective.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Goldman SachsWhen 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6995a673-48f1-40d4-bc58-f31dd5796be1&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Goldman Sachs 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6995a673-48f1-40d4-bc58-f31dd5796be1&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/KWMatt82/info.aspx" type="external">Matthew Frankel Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Goldman Sachs. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Goldman Sachs Earnings: A Disappointing Quarter, but There Was Some Good News | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/18/goldman-sachs-earnings-disappointing-quarter-but-there-was-some-good-news.html | 2017-04-19 | 0 |
<p>President Donald Trump vowed to build the wall on the Mexican border even if he has to shut down the government to secure funding for it, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/22/trump-says-hes-willing-to-shut-down-the-government-to-get-his-border-wall.html" type="external">CNBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>He made the vow during a rally in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“If we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall,” Trump said. Congress must agree to an overall funding bill that Trump signs into law by Sept. 30 or the government will shut down, according to CNBC. But Democratic lawmakers have vowed to oppose any deal that includes money for the wall.</p>
<p>If Congress does push through a funding package without money for the wall, Trump could decide against signing the measure, forcing a shutdown.</p>
<p>Designs for the border wall were accepted by the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year, <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347588-trump-threatens-to-shut-down-government-to-build-border-wall" type="external">The Hill noted</a>.</p> | Trump Threatens Govt Shutdown to Secure Funds to Build the Wall | false | https://newsline.com/trump-threatens-govt-shutdown-to-secure-funds-to-build-the-wall/ | 2017-08-23 | 1 |
<p>Journal Article - Climatic Change</p>
<p />
<p>Many who study global change, particularly from industrialized countries, are optimistic about the capacity of agriculture to successfully adapt to climate change. This optimism is based on historic trends in yield increases, on the spread of cropping systems far beyond their traditional agroecological boundaries, and the inherent flexibility of systems of international trade. Analysis of the success (or in rare cases, failure) of adaptation is by analogy— either to analogous socioeconomic or technological change or to short term environmental change. Such studies have been limited to industrialized countries.This paper uses five analogs from developing countries to examine potential adaptation to global climate change by poor people. Two are studies of comparative developing country responses to drought, flood, and tropical cyclone and to the Sahelian droughts of the 1970s and 80s that illustrate adaptations to climate and weather events:. Two address food production and rapid population growth in South Asia and Africa. Three types of adaptive social costs are considered: the direct costs of adaptation, the costs of adapting to the adaptations, and the costs of failing to adapt. A final analog reviews 30 village-level studies for the role that these social costs of adaptation play in perpetuating poverty and environmental degradation.</p>
<p /> | Cautionary tales: Adaptation and the global poor | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/cautionary-tales-adaptation-and-global-poor | 2 |
|
<p>When Joe Torre left as manager of the New York Yankees following the 2007 season, it was not without rancor.&#160; According to reports, Torre felt that, after years of faithful and productive service, he had been grossly disrespected by Yankee management.&#160; Torre turned down a one-year $5 million salary offer, which, while a large chunk of change in the real world, was a hefty $2.5 million less than he’d made the previous season.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t simply the cut in pay that rankled Torre.&#160; Rather, it was the insidious suggestion that Torre hadn’t properly applied himself—hadn’t tried hard enough to win—during the previous three disappointing seasons.&#160; To Torre, evidence of that suggestion was demonstrated by the incentive bonuses the Yankees offered.</p>
<p>Per the terms of the new offer, Torre would earn a cash bonus if the team won the division, another cash bonus if they won the pennant, and a substantially larger bonus if they went all the way and won the World Series.&#160; But instead of being energized or intrigued by the bonuses, Torre was insulted.&#160; He took the bonus tie-in to mean the Yanks didn’t think he’d been “putting out” for his $7.5 million, and to a proud man like Torre, that was anathema.</p>
<p>Something similar is going on with America’s public school teachers.&#160; Some well-meaning education reformers have suggested that one way to raise the country’s test scores is by offering teachers merit pay in the form of a “performance bonus.”&#160; Whenever their students’ test scores rose, they’d be given a pile of cash.&#160; Like the Torre situation, the two premises were (1) that the more money offered, the harder they would work, and (2) that the harder they worked, the better the demonstrable results.</p>
<p>While any public teacher could instantly tell you that a teachers’ dedication and a classroom’s test results don’t necessarily correlate, it took a respected “merit pay” study by Vanderbilt University to confirm it.&#160; The Vanderbilt study showed that by offering middle-school math teachers cash bonuses (some as high as $15,000), there were no significant improvements in test scores.</p>
<p>Again, any public teacher could have predicted the results.&#160; Money has virtually nothing to do with it.&#160; Most teachers can rattle off the problems automatically: classroom discipline is lacking, students are tardy, students are absent, students refuse to do their homework, parents do little to support their kids’ academic progress, administrators are nothing but highly paid buck-passers, and the standardized state tests (which have ZERO bearing on a kids’ report cards or their opportunity to promote to the next grade) are arbitrary and flawed.</p>
<p>It’s not as if teachers aren’t looking for solutions.&#160; Indeed, teachers are driving themselves crazy trying to come up with new ways, innovative ways, of improving their students’ performance—not just on the standardized state tests, but on everyday learning.</p>
<p>But with all the hysterical criticism, teachers are freaking out, they’re having nervous breakdowns, they’re leaving the profession in droves, looking for shelter.&#160; While the job never paid that much to begin with, at least it was gratifying in the sense that teaching was considered a noble profession, as teachers were perceived as the “custodians” of the next generation of America’s leaders.&#160; It was a very respectable job.</p>
<p>But that’s all been spoiled by Republican smear-mongers intent on ruining the teachers unions (which give generously to Democratic candidates) and are willing to do so by destroying the reputation of the teachers themselves.&#160; The very notion that offering a teacher a pile of cash could make a night-and-day difference in test score results just shows how naïve and misguided these reformers are.&#160; It’s ludicrous.</p>
<p>Just think about it.&#160;&#160; What’s a teacher going to do for a $5,000 bonus? Is she going to say to her boss, “Wait a minute!&#160; Did I hear you right?&#160; Did you just say five grand?!&#160; Whoa!”&#160; Is she then going to say to her class, “Listen up, kids.&#160; Beginning today I’m going to start teaching you the PROPER way, the EFFECTIVE way.&#160; Starting today, I’m going to teach the living crap out of every one you!!&#160; Why?&#160; Because it means an extra five grand!”</p>
<p>Putting this whole thing in terms of cash bonuses not only ignores the fundamental problems facing America’s schools, it humiliates and disgraces a noble profession.&#160; Is there no limit to the insults being heaped upon America’s teachers?</p>
<p>DAVID MACARAY, an LA playwright and author (“It’s Never Been Easy:&#160; Essays on Modern Labor”), was a former union rep. &#160; He is a contributor to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, published by AK Press. Hopeless is also available in a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Kindle edition</a>. He can be reached at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Is There No Limit to the Insults Being Heaped Upon America’s Teachers? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/08/03/is-there-no-limit-to-the-insults-being-heaped-upon-americas-teachers/ | 2012-08-03 | 4 |
<p>Truthdig contributor Reese Erlich <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2007/06/blowback_lebanon.html" type="external">connects</a> the blowback from American meddling in the Mideast to the recent violence in Lebanon, where a Palestinian militant group has been fighting with the Lebanese army.</p>
<p>Mother Jones:</p>
<p>The brutal fighting inside Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, which has claimed 140 lives so far, seems incomprehensible to anyone not steeped in the intricacies of Palestinian politics. But behind the killing lurks an urgent question: Is Fatah al Islam - the organization responsible for much of the fighting - a pawn of Syria, as charged by the U.S. and some Lebanese? Or is it an unintended outgrowth of a U.S.-backed plan to develop a Sunni counterweight to Hezbollah?</p>
<p>During a recent trip to the Middle East, I conducted exclusive interviews with Palestinian and Syrian government and intelligence officials as well as independent sources. All of them insisted that while some leaders of Fatah al Islam did indeed live in Syria, those leaders broke from a Syrian-supported group in 2006, well before the current Lebanese turmoil.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2007/06/blowback_lebanon.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Blowback in Lebanon | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/blowback-in-lebanon/ | 2007-06-22 | 4 |
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Washington Free Beacon Staff</a>December 7, 2014 10:25 am</p>
<p><a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=92511" type="external">Long-time Hillary Clinton supporter</a>&#160;former Rep. Jane Harman&#160;(D., Calif.) tore apart Clinton’s claim that&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/5/hillary-clinton-empathize-enemies-remark-slammed/" type="external">the U.S. needs to "respect" and "empathize with" its enemies.</a></p>
<p>Harman said she did not know what Clinton meant by "enemies" in her controversial statement.</p>
<p>"I take issue with the word ‘enemies,’" Harman told Fox’s Chris Wallace&#160;on Sunday. "I think we have to respect people with different points of view in order to win the argument with them. I don't exactly know what she was saying."</p>
<p>Harman, who has&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/Junecaden/status/473877869152960512" type="external">thrown her support behind a 2016 Clinton candidacy,</a>&#160;said the U.S. does not have to "respect" terrorists ever.</p>
<p>"I don't think we have to respect members of terror groups ever," Harman said. "I think we have to have harsh policies against them."</p>
<p>Washington Post&#160;columnist George Will said Clinton’s "gaseous new-age rhetoric about respect and empathy" was a poor attempt at explaining that the U.S. needs to understand its enemies in order to defeat them.</p>
<p>"Let me try to say this as politely as possible: The English language is not Hillary Clinton's close friend. She's just not a fluent speaker," Will said.&#160;"We're going to have a lot of experience with this, we've had it already, we'll have a lot more going forward."</p>
<p>Former Fox News host Brit Hume said Clinton’s ‘inane’ comments were reminiscent of her&#160; <a href="" type="internal">claim that corporations and businesses do not create jobs</a> ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.</p>
<p>"She meant to say something noncontroversial and ended up saying something highly controversial just like she did a few weeks ago when she said, ‘Don't let anybody tell you that businesses and corporations create jobs.’ And, you know, they had to rush the fire brigade out there to try to put out the storm that was created by that inane comment," Hume said.</p>
<p>"You think she'd be sharper than this as a candidate, but so far she's not."</p> | Hillary Clinton Backer Jane Harman Questions Her Suggestion We ‘Empathize’ With Our ‘Enemies’ | true | http://freebeacon.com/politics/hillary-clinton-backer-jane-harman-questions-her-suggestion-we-empathize-with-our-enemies/ | 2014-12-07 | 0 |
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro rose against the U.S. dollar on Monday, just shy of the three-year high touched last week, as market participants awaited the outcome of the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday for possible clues to future shifts in the bank’s monetary policy.</p>
<p>News of U.S. senators striking a deal to lift a three-day government shutdown failed to give a lasting boost to the weak dollar.</p>
<p>The euro was up 0.3 percent against the greenback at $1.2257, with traders focused on upcoming central bank meetings.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/uk-global-forex-shutdown/dollar-pares-losses-on-news-of-deal-to-end-u-s-government-shutdown-idUSKBN1FB2GU" type="external">Dollar pares losses on news of deal to end U.S. government shutdown</a>
<p>The ECB is unlikely to ditch a pledge to keep buying bonds as rate setters need more time to assess the outlook for the economy and the euro, three sources close to the matter have said.</p>
<p>Investors also await a Bank of Japan policy announcement on Tuesday. Analysts do not expect Japan to signal any policy shift.</p>
<p>“Generally speaking the majors are all holding in familiar territory here ahead of a busy week of economic news and data, particularly on the central bank front,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst, at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.</p>
<p>“If we get kind of status quo statements from both central banks, which is very likely, that could provide a little bit of a boost for the dollar,” said Esiner.</p>
<p>The idea of other major central banks moving closer to more normal policies has been a key headwind for the dollar over the last year.</p>
<p>The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, was down 0.2 percent at 90.388, close to a three-year low.</p>
<p>The index briefly pared losses on news that U.S. senators struck a deal to lift a government shutdown, but retreated soon after.</p> FILE PHOTO: Bundles of banknotes of U.S. Dollar are pictured at a currency exchange shop in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
<p>Legislation to renew federal funding to the government cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate and was expected soon to pass votes in the Senate and House of Representatives, allowing government to re-open through Feb. 8.</p>
<p>“The shutdown was definitely a negative for the dollar, so steps to reopen the U.S. government for business are good,” said Alfonso Esparza, senior currency analyst at OANDA in Toronto, said.</p>
<p>However, underlying concerns about U.S. political uncertainty lingered and were a negative for the dollar, Esparza said.</p> FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar and Euro notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
<p>Sterling was up about 1 percent against the dollar, reaching its highest level since the vote for Brexit in June 2016, on optimism that Britain will reach a favourable divorce deal with the European Union.</p>
<p>Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tesla Inc shares fell sharply again on Wednesday, reeling from a credit downgrade of the electric car maker by Moody’s Investors Service, federal probes of a fatal crash and concerns about Model 3 production.</p>
<p>Shares tumbled 9 percent before ending down 7.7 percent at $257.78. On Tuesday, Tesla tumbled 8.2 percent to its lowest close in almost a year after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened a field investigation into a fatal crash and vehicle fire in California on March 23.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, a second federal regulator, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), said it was sending a team to California to investigate the crash.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-tesla-stock-options/extreme-bearish-options-on-tesla-making-money-as-stock-dives-idUSKBN1H434B" type="external">Extreme bearish options on Tesla making money as stock dives</a>
<a href="/article/us-tesla-crash/u-s-auto-safety-agency-to-probe-fatal-tesla-california-crash-idUSKBN1H42X1" type="external">U.S. auto safety agency to probe fatal Tesla California crash</a>
<p>Late on Tuesday, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tesla’s credit rating to B3 from B2, citing “the significant shortfall in the production rate of the company’s Model 3 electric vehicle.” It also noted “liquidity pressures due to its large negative free cash flow and the pending maturities of convertible bonds.”</p>
<p>Tesla has $230 million in convertible bonds maturing in November 2018 and $920 million in March 2019.</p>
<p>Moody’s said its negative outlook “reflects the likelihood that Tesla will have to undertake a large, near-term capital raise in order to refund maturing obligations and avoid a liquidity shortfall.”</p>
<p>It said Tesla’s weekly production target is now 2,500 Model 3 vehicles by the end of March, down sharply from its year-earlier target of 5,000 per week by the end of 2017. Tesla’s weekly target for the end of June is 5,000.</p>
<p>Tesla declined to comment on the downgrade. The company plans to provide an update on Model 3 production next week.</p>
<p>Tesla shares have experienced big swings in the past, as worries about losses have vied with enthusiasm for Chief Executive Elon Musk’s ambitious plans.</p>
<p>The sell-off has left Tesla’s stock market value at $44 billion, below General Motors Co’s $49 billion. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla has at times had a larger market value than GM, the largest U.S. automaker by vehicle sales.</p> A Tesla dealership is seen in West Drayton, just outside London, Britain, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
<p>Since the end of February, the median analyst price target for Tesla has dipped by $10 to $356, about 37 percent higher than Wednesday’s price, according to Thomson Reuters data. Nomura Securities analyst Romit Shah has the highest Tesla price target, $500, or nearly double the current price. All the targets were set before the March 23 crash.</p>
<p>In last week’s accident in which the Tesla struck a highway median, it was unclear if the vehicle’s automated control system called Autopilot was driving, the NTSB and police said.</p>
<p>The 38-year-old driver of the Tesla died at a nearby hospital shortly after the crash.</p>
<p>Late Tuesday, Tesla said in a blog post it does “not yet know what happened in the moments leading up to the crash,” but added that data shows Tesla owners have driven the same stretch of highway with Autopilot engaged “roughly 85,000 times ... and there has never been an accident that we know of.” The statement did not say if the crashed vehicle was in Autopilot mode.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Alexandria Sage and Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Dan Grebler and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 1 percent on Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose 1.6 million barrels last week, weighing on market sentiment.</p> FILE PHOTO: An oil well pump jack is seen at an oil field supply yard near Denver, Colorado, U.S., February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo
<p>Brent June crude futures LCOc2 settled 70 cents lower at $68.76 per barrel, while the front month May contract LCOc1, which expires on Thursday, fell 58 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $69.53 a barrel.</p>
<p>West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for May delivery fell 87 cents to $64.38 a barrel, a 1.3-percent loss.</p>
<p>U.S. crude stockpiles USOILC=ECI rose as net imports USOICI=ECI soared by 1.1 million barrels per day, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.</p>
<p>Stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S crude futures USOICC=ECI also rose 1.8 million barrels, EIA said.</p>
<p>“Oil supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma are starting to replenish, which is bearish for prices, but they have a long way to go to near normal levels of supply,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC in New York.</p>
<p>U.S. crude production also inched up last week to fresh record high at 10.433 million bpd. Output has risen by nearly 25 percent in the last two years to over 10 million bpd C-OUT-T-EIA, taking it past top exporter Saudi Arabia and within reach of the biggest producer, Russia, which pumps around 11 million bpd.</p>
<p>U.S. crude’s discount to Brent WTCLc1-LCOc1 widened to as much as $5.22, the biggest since Jan. 24.</p>
<p>“Costs in the U.S. are getting to be a little bit less expensive to drill and that’s one of the aspects that is potentially driving the spread between Brent and WTI,” Mark Watkins, a regional investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management said from Salt Lake City, Utah.</p>
<p>Average breakeven prices to drill a new well in the U.S. range from $47 to $55 per barrel depending on the region, according to a Wednesday survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.</p>
<p>Brent prices have risen in seven out of the last nine months and have increased by more than 4 percent so far this year. Prices have also had three consecutive quarters of gains, the longest stretch since late 2010 and early 2011, after production curbs led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries since last year.</p>
<p>Wednesday’s price falls came despite Saudi Arabia saying it was working with Russia on a long-term pact that could extend controls over world crude supplies by major exporters for many years.</p>
<p>Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Reuters on Tuesday that Riyadh and Moscow were considering greatly extending the short-term alliance on oil curbs that began in January 2017 after a crash in crude prices, with a partnership to manage supplies potentially growing “to a 10-to-20-year agreement.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; editing by Marguerita Choy</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">AMZN.O</a>) shares fell almost 5 percent on Wednesday, wiping more than $30 billion off its market value, after news website Axios reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is obsessed with the world’s largest online retailer and wants to rein in its growing power.</p> The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
<p>Trump has talked about using antitrust law to “go after” the company because he is worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business by Amazon, Axios reported, citing five sources it said had discussed the issue with him.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-amazon-com-trump/no-u-s-policy-changes-on-amazon-at-the-moment-white-house-official-idUSKBN1H42IY" type="external">No U.S. policy changes on Amazon at the moment: White House official</a>
<p>Trump also wants to change Amazon’s tax treatment, the Axios report said, an issue the president raised publicly last year when he called for an internet tax for online retailers, even though Amazon already collects sales tax on items it sells direct to customers.</p>
<p>“The president has said many times before he’s always looking to create a level playing field for all businesses and this is no different,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, when asked about the Axios report. “He’s always going to look at different ways, but there aren’t any specific policies on the table at this time.”</p>
<p>Trump has been complaining about Amazon in private, believing the company has become too powerful, another administration official confirmed to Reuters.</p>
<p>The official said Trump links this to Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos’ private ownership of the Washington Post, which he has called “fake news” for its critical coverage of his administration. Trump regards the newspaper as a mouthpiece for Bezos’ business interests, calling it #AmazonWashingtonPost on Twitter.</p> The logo of the web service Amazon is pictured in this June 8, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration
<p>Amazon did not reply to a request for comment on the Axios report.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">Amazon.com Inc</a> 1431.42 AMZN.O Nasdaq +0.00 (+0.00%) AMZN.O FB.O FAVORITE TARGET
<p>Trump has criticized Amazon over taxes and jobs in the past, without offering evidence. The president urging the use of antitrust law to selectively thwart a company would be unprecedented, according to Jeffrey Jacobovitz of the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory LLP.</p>
<p>Amazon’s stock, which fell as low as $1,386.17 on Wednesday, was last down 4.6 percent at $1,427.83. The shares have nearly quadrupled over the last three years.</p> U.S. judge says 'emoluments' case against Trump can proceed
<p>Tech stocks have been under pressure after Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) acknowledged this month that user data had been improperly harvested by a consultancy.</p>
<p>“With Facebook and regulatory worries, the last thing nervous tech investors wanted to see was news that Trump is targeting Bezos and Amazon over the coming months as this remains a lingering cloud over the stock and heightens the risk profile in the eyes of the Street,” GBH Insights analyst Daniel Ives said.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Diane Bartz and Amanda Becker in Washington; Sinead Carew in New York; writing by Chris Sanders; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Euro stronger ahead of ECB meeting; dollar index weak Tesla shares dive again, stung by fatal crash, credit downgrade Oil falls about 1 percent after surprise U.S. crude build Amazon shares fall after report Trump wants to curb its power | false | https://reuters.com/article/global-forex/forex-euro-stronger-ahead-of-ecb-meeting-dollar-index-weak-idUSL2N1PH1FP | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p>Photo: Wikimedia Commons</p>
<p />
<p>Today, in press-releases-that-make-me-feel-stabby, LeaseTrader.com (whatever the hell that is) sent me this new “research” on the top 10 “chick cars” that shrink men’s testicles or something. On top of that, they also included the seven worst places to get caught driving said “chick cars,” which include sacred dude activities like hitting the gym, drinking at a sports bar, and participating in their weekly circle jerk.</p>
<p>From the release:</p>
<p>“Every guy should know there are just some cars he should never, under any circumstances, sit behind and drive. This goes for most cars made by Toyota or Volkswagen (cars that give off estrogen vibes) and driven by a guy, should get ready to be horribly ridiculed by his buddies.”</p>
<p>Dude bro! I thought we talked about the whole my-car-is-not-my-penis thing. Maybe you were too distracted by my estrogen vibe to pay attention.</p>
<p>I suppose it’s not that surprising that the idea of a gendered car exists or that certain members of the doucheoisie wouldn’t be caught dead in a Mini Cooper. After all, driving is fraught with gender stereotypes and assumptions, which, judging by this <a href="http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/who-drives-better-men-or-women/" type="external">Freakonomics</a> series, hasn’t really changed much despite other social and cultural victories women have won in the last hundred years. We can vote! And wear pants! We’re earning more degrees and have lower insurance rates. But God forbid we try to parallel park. &#160;</p>
<p>If you care, here’s LeaseTrader’s list of cars that will castrate you:</p>
<p>1.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Mini Cooper</p>
<p>2.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Toyota Matrix</p>
<p>3.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Mitsubishi Eclipse</p>
<p>4.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Mercedes C Class</p>
<p>5.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; All coupe Saturns</p>
<p>6.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Chrysler Sebring&#160;</p>
<p>7.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Toyota Yaris</p>
<p>8.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Chevy Malibu Coupe</p>
<p>9.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Volkswagen Beetle</p>
<p>10.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Toyota Scion</p>
<p>Curiously, back in December of 2009, the Toyota Yaris tried to change its image as a “chick car” by featuring a sexist ad in Australia that was eventually yanked after many <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/14/toyota-yaris-ad-pulled-af_n_391221.html" type="external">consumer complaints</a>. Who knew incest overtones wouldn’t sell cars?</p>
<p>This ridiculous press release also reminded of this year’s Super Bowl <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RyPamyWotM" type="external">Dodge Charger ad</a> that depicted men as so emasculated by the demands and nagging of women that they had to go out and buy a Dodge in order to get over their righteous (m)anger. MacKenzie Fegan’s female response to the ad is worth a watch.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sullen emasculation commercials aside, isn’t it time we shifted male virility away from large, gas-guzzling automobiles, especially in light of the <a href="" type="internal">recent</a>, <a href="" type="internal">horribly costly</a>, and <a href="" type="internal">damaging</a> <a href="" type="internal">oil spill</a> in <a href="" type="internal">the Gulf</a>" Maybe the sexes will never agree on who’s the better driver; but can’t we at least, for the sake of humanity, retire the phrase “chick cars” and the embarrassing PR it inspires"</p>
<p /> | “Chick Cars” Don’t, in Fact, Castrate Men | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/06/chick-cars-dont-fact-castrate-men/ | 2010-06-03 | 4 |
<p>TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Japan’s prime minister has kicked off a five-day European tour to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania — becoming the first-ever head of the Asian nation to visit those countries.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived Friday in Estonia’s capital of Tallinn, where he focused on cybersecurity and information technology issues. The small Baltic nation of 1.3 million people is considered one of Europe’s most advanced technological nations.</p>
<p>Tokyo has been increasingly worried about potential cyberthreats from North Korea and China, and is looking to learn from Estonia, whose public institutions and private companies were hit by a large-scale cyberattack in 2007.</p>
<p>Following a meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas, Abe said both leaders agreed about the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear arms program. He urged the international community to “maximize the pressure” on Pyongyang.</p>
<p>Abe is expected to address the North Korea issue in more detail when he visits Bulgaria, which took over the European Union’s rotating presidency from Estonia on Jan. 1.</p>
<p>Abe announced that Japan would join NATO’s cyberdefense center in Tallinn to boost its capabilities to deal with digital threats.</p>
<p>Abe also met with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid over discussions on EU-Japan relations and bilateral trade, accompanied by a business delegation with several dozen representatives from Japanese companies.</p>
<p>He travels to Estonia’s Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania on Saturday.</p>
<p>TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Japan’s prime minister has kicked off a five-day European tour to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania — becoming the first-ever head of the Asian nation to visit those countries.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived Friday in Estonia’s capital of Tallinn, where he focused on cybersecurity and information technology issues. The small Baltic nation of 1.3 million people is considered one of Europe’s most advanced technological nations.</p>
<p>Tokyo has been increasingly worried about potential cyberthreats from North Korea and China, and is looking to learn from Estonia, whose public institutions and private companies were hit by a large-scale cyberattack in 2007.</p>
<p>Following a meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas, Abe said both leaders agreed about the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear arms program. He urged the international community to “maximize the pressure” on Pyongyang.</p>
<p>Abe is expected to address the North Korea issue in more detail when he visits Bulgaria, which took over the European Union’s rotating presidency from Estonia on Jan. 1.</p>
<p>Abe announced that Japan would join NATO’s cyberdefense center in Tallinn to boost its capabilities to deal with digital threats.</p>
<p>Abe also met with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid over discussions on EU-Japan relations and bilateral trade, accompanied by a business delegation with several dozen representatives from Japanese companies.</p>
<p>He travels to Estonia’s Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania on Saturday.</p> | Japanese PM kicks off six-nation European tour in Estonia | false | https://apnews.com/54426bab2d25470d885de2815cfd849e | 2018-01-12 | 2 |
<p>Fueled by the ongoing risk-on environment amidst the so-called Trump rally, exchange traded funds attracted new assets at their fastest pace of any year on record. Global investors funneled $62.9 billion into ETFs in February, bringing the total to $124 billion in net inflows to ETFs year-to-date, the best start of any year in the… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2017/03/2017-etf-inflows-are-already-smashing-records/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 2017 ETF Inflows Are Already Smashing Records | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/03/2017-etf-inflows-are-already-smashing-records.html | 2017-03-03 | 0 |
<p>By Dan Levine</p>
<p>(Reuters) – U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly signed a memorandum on Thursday rescinding an Obama-era plan to spare some illegal immigrant parents of children who are lawful permanent residents from being deported, the department said in a statement.</p>
<p>The program, which was announced by President Barack Obama in 2014, never took effect because it was blocked in federal court.</p>
<p>Obama had hoped that overhauling the U.S. immigration system and resolving the fate of the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally would be part of his presidential legacy. However, President Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.</p>
<p>The plan unveiled by Obama intended to let roughly 4 million people – those who have lived illegally in the United States at least since 2010, have no criminal record and have children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents – get into a program that shields them from deportation and supplies work permits.</p>
<p>However, it was quickly challenged in court by Republican-governed Texas and 25 other states that argued Obama had overstepped the powers granted to him by the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon the authority of Congress.</p>
<p>A federal appeals court blocked the program, and the U.S. Supreme Court let that ruling stand in a 4-4 split decision last year.</p>
<p>Kelly said in a statement on Thursday he was rescinding the initiative, known as DAPA, because “there is no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy.”</p>
<p>An earlier program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), offers some 750,000 immigrants brought to the country illegally as children the chance to attend school and to work.</p>
<p>Trump has previously said his administration was devising a policy on how to deal with individuals covered by DACA, but no formal changes have been announced.</p>
<p>“They shouldn’t be very worried,” Trump said of DACA recipients in a January ABC News interview. “I do have a big heart.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Eric Beech and Dan Levine; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Paul Tait)</p> | Trump Rescinds Obama’s DAPA Program | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/trump-rescinds-obamas-dapa-program/ | 2017-06-15 | 4 |
<p>Published time: 28 Nov, 2017 15:53</p>
<p>British liberalism “isn’t very liberal anymore,” according former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who claims the movement has “eaten itself.” The idea of a unifying set of British values is a “myth,” he added.</p>
<p>Farron, an evangelical Christian, stood down as the party’s leader after two years following a number of occasions on which he was asked whether he considered gay sex to be a sin. He avoided giving a direct answer, saying his views on personal morality did not matter and “we are all sinners.”</p>
<p>Scrutiny of his religious beliefs persisted during this year’s election campaign. He resigned in July, saying: “To be a political leader and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible’s teaching, has felt impossible to me.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/392313-farron-libdems-christianity-resigns/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Speaking at an event run by religious think tank Theos on Tuesday, Farron will say that active Christianity is widely deemed as “dangerous” and “offensive.” He will say: “If you actively hold a faith that is more than an expression of cultural identity … you are deemed to be far worse than eccentric.”</p>
<p>In a comment piece for The Guardian ahead of his talk, he wrote that British liberalism was founded in the battle for religious liberty. “The non-conformist, evangelical Christian groups that were persecuted by a society that favored adherence only to the established Church built a liberal movement that championed much wider liberty, for women, for other religious minorities, for cultural and regional minorities, for the poor and vulnerable.”</p>
<p>While liberalism has won, he says – with politicians from across the political divide and journalists calling themselves liberals – its triumph is “hollow.” It has “eaten the very world view that gave birth to it, that makes it possible,” he added.</p>
<p>“In discarding Christianity, we kick away the foundations of liberalism and democracy, and so we cannot then be surprised when what we call liberalism stops being liberal. My experience is that although liberalism has won, it is now behaving like the established church of the empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. It has gained ascendancy and lost itself in the process. It isn’t very liberal anymore.” He added: “So many who declare themselves to be liberals really aren’t.”</p>
<p>Farron added that the idea of Britain having “shared values” is a myth. “People talk about shared values today. But when they do, what they mean is ‘These are my values – and I’m going to act as though they are also yours, and will demonstrate contempt for you if you depart from them.’”</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>The cultural leaders of our day have made the “arrogant and fatal assumption” that we have shared liberal values, he says, saying the consequences are Trump and Brexit.</p>
<p>“Because every tyrant feeds and inspires the resistance that threatens to overthrow them, as a result of their own arrogance. The hand-wringing elite in our politics, media, education and business are as guilty of creating the reactionary politics of populism as much as Rupert Murdoch and Paul Dacre. Why? Because they/we assumed everyone thought the same, and dismissed with ridicule and contempt any sign of eccentricity,” he said.</p> | ‘Liberalism isn’t very liberal anymore,’ says ex-Liberal Democrat leader | false | https://newsline.com/liberalism-isnt-very-liberal-anymore-says-ex-liberal-democrat-leader/ | 2017-11-28 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Christian artist Chris Tomlin released his 10th album, "Love Ran Red," last year.</p>
<p />
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Ten studio albums in and Chris Tomlin feels like he's finding his stride, not only with music but with his current tour.</p>
<p>"This has been our best response," he says during a recent phone interview. "We've been touring for over 10 years now and we feel so blessed. People are able to come to the show and get to worship God."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tomlin has accomplished a lot in his career. He's picked up a Grammy Award and numerous Dove Awards, as well as a pair of Billboard Music Awards.</p>
<p>His songs also are reinterpreted for the church. In fact, in 2012, his songs were performed more than 3 million times in churches around the world.</p>
<p>With his latest album, "Love Ran Red," he's been able to expand the reach of his music.</p>
<p>"It's about putting yourself out there," he says. "It's important for me to keep the ball moving forward when it comes to music."</p>
<p>"I've surrounded myself with a group of guys that I trust," he says. "I'm not looking for the next cool pop song. I look for songs that can others can reproduce for church choirs."</p>
<p>Though he has many awards and has sold millions of albums, Tomlin says there's a new goal to accomplish.</p>
<p>"I want to be a good husband and father," he says. "There's always going to be music. But I want to be able to be there for my family. This is the reason I work so hard in music. I'm trying to provide a good life for my family. My wife understands the nature of my job and she lets me get out on tour and perform the music. This is so freeing."</p>
<p>Tomlin has been touring for months already this year, and hopes to make it back into the studio once the tour stops.</p>
<p /> | Church music and beyond: Chris Tomlin's latest effort reaches for the heart | false | https://abqjournal.com/570616/rio-rancho-christian-music-8.html | 2 |
|
<p>Photo by UNclimatechange | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>Suddenly it’s possible — indeed, all too easy — to imagine one man starting a nuclear war. What’s a little harder to imagine is one human being stopping such a war.</p>
<p>For all time.</p>
<p>The person who came closest to this may have been&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Tony de Brum</a>, former foreign minister of the Marshall Islands, who died last week of cancer at age 72.</p>
<p>He grew up in the South Pacific island chain when it was under “administrative control” of the U.S. government, which meant it was a waste zone absolutely without political or social significance (from the American point of view), and therefore a perfect spot to test nuclear weapons. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 such tests — the equivalent of 1.6 Hiroshima blasts every day for 12 years — and for much of the time thereafter ignored and/or lied about the consequences.</p>
<p>As a boy, de Brum was unavoidably a witness to some of these tests, including the one known as Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton blast conducted on Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. He and his family lived about 200 miles away, on Likiep Atoll. He was nine years old.</p>
<p>He later&#160; <a href="https://www.wagingpeace.org/commending-the-honorable-tony-a-de-brum-of-the-republic-of-the-marshall-islands/" type="external">described</a>&#160;it thus: “No sound, just a flash and then a force, the shock wave . . . as if you were under a glass bowl and someone poured blood over it. Everything turned red: sky, the ocean, the fish, my grandfather’s net.</p>
<p>“People in Rongelap nowadays claim they saw the sun rising from the West. I saw the sun rising from the middle of the sky. . . . We lived in thatch houses at that time, my grandfather and I had our own thatch house and every gecko and animal that lived in the thatch fell dead not more than a couple of days after. The military came in, sent boats ashore to run us through Geiger counters and other stuff; everybody in the village was required to go through that.”</p>
<p>The Rongelap Atoll was inundated with radioactive fallout from Castle Bravo and rendered uninhabitable. “The Marshall Islands’ close encounter with the bomb did not end with the detonations themselves,” de Brum said more than half a century later, in his 2012 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award&#160; <a href="" type="internal">acceptance speech</a>. “In recent years, documents released by the United States government have uncovered even more horrific aspects of this burden borne by the Marshallese people in the name of international peace and security.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nuclearsavage.com/" type="external">These included</a>&#160;the natives’ deliberately premature resettlement on contaminated islands and the cold-blooded observation of their reaction to nuclear radiation, not to mention U.S. denial and avoidance, for as long as possible, of any responsibility for what it did.</p>
<p>In 2014, Foreign Minister de Brum was the driving force behind something extraordinary. The Marshall Islands, which had gained independence in 1986, filed a lawsuit, both in in the International Court of Justice and U.S. federal court, against the nine nations that possess nuclear weapons, demanding that they start living up to the terms of Article VI of the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which includes these words:</p>
<p>“Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”</p>
<p>Right now, Planet Earth could not be more divided on this matter. Some of the world’s nine nuclear powers, including the United States, have signed this treaty, and others have not, or have withdrawn from it (e.g., North Korea), but none of them has the slightest interest in recognizing it or pursuing nuclear disarmament. For instance, all of them, plus their allies, boycotted a recent U.N. debate that led to the passage of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which calls for immediate nuclear disarmament. One hundred twenty-two nations — most of the world — voted for it. But the nuke nations couldn’t even endure the discussion.</p>
<p>This is the world de Brum and the Marshall Islands stood up to in 2014 — aligned with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, an NGO that provided legal help to pursue the lawsuit, but otherwise alone in the world, without international support.</p>
<p>“Absent the courage of Tony, the lawsuits would not have happened,” David Krieger, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, told me. “Tony was unequaled in being willing to challenge nuclear weapon states for their failure to fulfill their legal obligations.”</p>
<p>And no, the lawsuits didn’t succeed. They were&#160; <a href="https://www.wagingpeace.org/marshall-islands-ninth-circuit/" type="external">dismissed</a>, eventually, on something other than their actual merits. The U.S. 9th District Court of Appeals, for instance, eventually declared that Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty was “non-self-executing and therefore not judicially enforceable,” which sounds like legal jargon for: “Sorry, folks, as far as we know, nukes are above the law.”</p>
<p>But as Krieger noted, referring to the recent U.N. vote calling for nuclear disarmament, de Brum’s unprecedented audacity — pushing the U.S. and international court systems to hold the nuclear-armed nations of the world accountable — may have served as “a role model for courage. There might have been other countries in the U.N. who saw the courage he exhibited and decided it was time to stand up.”</p>
<p>We do not yet have nuclear disarmament, but because of Tony de Brum, an international movement for this is gaining political traction.</p>
<p>Perhaps he stands as a symbol of the anti-Trump: a sane and courageous human being who has seen the sky turn red and felt the shockwaves of Armageddon, and who has spent a lifetime trying to force the world’s most powerful nations to reverse the course of mutually assured destruction.</p> | The Man Who Stood Up to Armageddon | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/09/01/the-man-who-stood-up-to-armageddon/ | 2017-09-01 | 4 |
<p />
<p>The GOP seems to have no end of nutty criticism of the Democrats’ health care plans. First they had the entirely fictional “death panels.” Now, they’re claiming that a reformed health care system might discriminate against Republicans. Last week, the ever-entertaining Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, mailed out <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/56844/obtained-the-rncs-health-care-survey" type="external">a push-poll disguised as a health care “survey</a>.” Among the questions on the survey was this one:</p>
<p>“It has been suggested that the government could use voter registration to determine a person’s political affiliation, prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system. Does this possibility concern you?”</p>
<p>While it’s hard to imagine that Steele will get much traction with this sort of thing, in this climate, it seems Republicans are banking on the public’s willingness to believe just about any conspiracy theory they put out there to kill off health care reform. Again.</p>
<p /> | No Health Care For Registered Republicans? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/08/no-health-care-registered-republicans/ | 2009-08-28 | 4 |
<p>The quip, retweeted by celebrity atheist Richard Dawkins, exemplifies the belligerent incomprehension with which so many, including self-proclaimed liberals, have responded to protests against the film&#160;The&#160;Innocence of Muslims.</p>
<p>Rioting over a YouTube clip that offends the Muslim sky fairy? How tremendously foolish! How childish; how superstitious; how very, very silly!</p>
<p>Well, we’ve certainly seen ignorance paraded over the last few days but it’s as much by smug progressives as anyone else.</p>
<p>Consider a historical analogy.</p>
<p>In 1857, Bengali soldiers (known as ‘sepoys’) shot their British officers and marched upon Delhi. The Great Indian Rebellion became very violent, very quickly. The rebels massacred prisoners, including women and children; the British put down the revolt with a slaughter of unprecedented proportions.</p>
<p>Now, that rebellion began when the troops learned that their cartridges, designed to be torn open with their teeth, would be greased with beef and pork fat, an offence to the religious sensibilities of Hindus and Muslims alike. Had Twitter been an invention of the Victorian era, London sophisticates would, no doubt, have LOLed to each other (#sepoyrage!) about the credulity of dusky savages so worked up about a little beef tallow. Certainly, that was how the mouthpieces of the East India Company spun events: in impeccably Dawkinesque terms, they blamed ‘Hindoo prejudice’ for the descent of otherwise perfectly contented natives into rapine and slaughter.</p>
<p>But no serious historian today takes such apologetics seriously. Only the most determined ignoramus would discuss 1857 in isolation from the broader context of British occupation. In form, the struggle might have been religious; in content, it embodied a long-simmering opposition to colonial rule.</p>
<p>That’s why those who pretend the protests against&#160;The Innocence of Muslims&#160;came from nowhere merely reveal their own foolishness.</p>
<p>‘Today, many Americans are asking — indeed, I asked myself — how could this happen?’ said Hillary Clinton after the riots in Libya. ‘How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction? This question reflects just how complicated and, at times, how confounding the world can be.’</p>
<p>The echoes of George Bush’s infamous query ‘Why do they hate us when we’re so good?’ suggests nothing whatsoever has been learnt from the last decade and the hundreds of thousands of deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere.</p>
<p>For this is, of course, the same Hillary Clinton who, as recently as 2009,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">proclaimed</a>&#160;Mubarak, Egypt’s torturer-in-chief, and his wife, ‘friends of my family’, acknowledging a relationship that exemplified the pally connections between the US elite and every dictator and despot in the region. Mubarak might have been crossed off the Clinton Christmas list but President Obama forges ever closer relations with the tyrants of Saudi Arabia, delivering the biggest ever arms deal in US history to fortify a reactionary and criminal government against its populace.</p>
<p>No, Hillary Clinton might not recall such matters. But the people of the Muslim world are considerably better informed – and that’s the context for their anger.</p>
<p>But what about the movie itself? Why should such a shoddy piece of amateur filmmaking become such a flashpoint?</p>
<p>Again, shift to a more familiar referent and the outrage becomes at once markedly less strange. The&#160;Protocols of Zion&#160;were, of course, also a bodged-up job, a childish forgery thrown together by racist cranks from the Tsarist secret service. But no-one’s surprised when Jews (and their anti-racist allies) mobilise against some fresh incarnation of that notorious document, since we all, quite correctly, recognise any new publication of the&#160;Protocols&#160;as a conscious and deliberate attempt to promote hatred.</p>
<p>The Innocence of Muslims&#160;should be understood in the same fashion. This is a film produced at a time in which, across Europe and the United States, the far right has developed an Islamophobic doctrine that replicates, almost exactly, the key tropes of traditional anti-Semitism.</p>
<p>Jews will not integrate. Jews are more fertile than Christians and are outbreeding them. Europe is becoming a province, a colony, of a Judaic entity. Europe will either be Judaicised or there will be a civil war. Most likely, Jews will resort to terrorism as part of their takeover. They are already spoiling for&#160;violence.</p>
<p>All of that sounds like the rantings of an old-school fascist. But&#160;replace ‘Jew’ with ‘Muslim’, and you’re left with a workaday opinion piece from any mainstream conservative paper.</p>
<p>The structural homology here is not accidental. Mattias Gardell&#160; <a href="" type="internal">notes how</a>:</p>
<p>The tradition of Islamophobia is, like anti-Semitism, rooted in the medieval Christian hostility to the ‘enemies of God’, with these perceptions disseminated, expanded upon, restructured, rearticulated and reactivated in various social and political contexts, from the Turk scare in early modernity, via the colonial expansion, to the War on Terror.</p>
<p>Many stories told about Jews in medieval and early modern Europe were also spun around what were then termed Moors, Saracens or Red Jews: Muslims were devil-worshipping, sexually deviant, man-eating monsters; Muslims ritually defamed the cross and consumed the blood of ceremonially slaughtered Christian children in blasphemous communions. Church art portrayed Mohammed as the <a href="" type="internal" />Antichrist, and Muslims as horned devils, Christ-killers, dogs or a hybrid race of dog-men. Lars Vilks – the Swedish artist who depicted Mohammed as a dog – may claim originality, but the dog motif goes back hundreds of years and is as old as the&#160;Judensau&#160;(the medieval depiction of Jews in obscene contact with a sow).</p>
<p>Elsewhere, the journalist&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Colm Ó&#160;Broin</a>&#160;has&#160; <a href="" type="internal">produced a neat demonstration</a>&#160;of the relationship between the old hate and the new hate, with a close comparison of the writings of the notorious Islamophobe Robert Spencer on Muslims alongside the propaganda of Julius Streicher, the editor of,&#160;Der Stuermer. Streicher, you’ll recall, went to the gallows at Nuremberg – but Spencer holds forth regularly on FOX News.</p>
<p>The labour leader August Bebel famously dubbed anti-Semitism the ‘socialism of fools’, since some supposed radicals subscribed to crackpot theories about Jewish finance. In a similar fashion, Islamophobia today often gets served up as an add lepated secularism by vulgar atheists, indifferent to how often their conversations about&#160;Muslim theology slide neatly into anguish about Muslim birthrates (an obvious giveaway of the racialised imagination and its biological concerns).</p>
<p>Should Muslims be worried about rising Islamophobia? Of course they should! As the recent report by the Institute of Race Relations,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Pedlars of Hate</a>, makes clear, anti-Islam bigotry is becoming a key element of the revival of the far Right – a Right that doesn’t merely slander Muslims but also takes action against them.</p>
<p>The&#160;Innocence of Muslims&#160;was, quite obviously, intended&#160; <a href="" type="internal">as a provocation</a>, and many Muslims have argued that the minority of shrilljihadis who raised their sectarian and violent slogans at protests around the wold fell entirely into the intended trap.</p>
<p>Then, again, this too is familiar. Twentieth century race-baiters knew all about goading their victims into a certain response, and then using that response to justify a fresh pogrom. Not unexpectedly, German far-right extremists (who have some historical experience with this strategy) are now&#160; <a href="" type="internal">planning fresh screenings</a>&#160;of the film.</p>
<p>Those who call themselves progressive might note that a certain Karl Marx followed the Great Indian Rebellion closely. While he acknowledged and decried the excesses of the rebels, he declared these were ‘only the reflex, in a concentrated form, of England’s own conduct in India.’</p>
<p>In other words, Marx, one of history’s more famous atheists, stood firmly with the ‘ignorant’ sepoys against their ‘enlightened’ opponents.</p>
<p>‘John Bull,’ he wrote, ‘is to be steeped in cries for revenge up to his very ears, to make him forget that his Government is responsible for the mischief hatched and the colossal dimensions it has been allowed to assume.’</p>
<p>Add ‘Uncle Sam’ to that sentence, and you have a remarkably apt assessment of what’s taking place today.</p>
<p>Jeff Sparrow is the editor of&#160;Overland&#160;magazine and the author of “ <a href="" type="internal">Money Shot: A Journey into Porn and Censorship.</a>“</p> | Islamophobia, Left and Right | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/09/18/islamophobia-left-and-right/ | 2012-09-18 | 4 |
<p>Published time: 13 Nov, 2017 13:20</p>
<p>A 23-year-old man sexually assaulted a pony at Berlin’s zoo for children, police have confirmed. The coitus is said to have happened almost directly in front of a babysitter walking with a child.</p>
<p>The animal abuser was first spotted by a babysitter walking there with a boy, whose mother initially revealed the bizarre story to the local <a href="https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/polizeibericht/article212502451/Junger-Mann-vergeht-sich-sexuell-an-Pony-im-Goerlitzer-Park.html" type="external">Berliner Morgenpost</a>. “My babysitter was at Goerlitzer Park with our son when they witnessed the man carrying out a sexual act on the pony,” she told the newspaper.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/323867-switzerland-horses-sex-attacks/" type="external" /></p>
<p>An employee of the zoo said the babysitter took a picture as the abuser was copulating with the pony, and then showed the image to park staff, who called the police. When the man realized he had been spotted, he got off the animal and left the area.</p>
<p>However, the park’s wardens tracked him down and held the suspect until the police arrived. Berlin law enforcement have confirmed to RT that there is an ongoing investigation into the case, saying the man in question is of Syrian origin, but his current citizenship is yet to be established.</p>
<p>He is now facing complaints of violating the Animal Welfare Act and “causing a public nuisance through sexual acts,” police told the German media. The man can be sentenced for up to three years behind bars or fined in respect of the first charge, while the second charge carries a sentence of up to one year in prison or a fine.</p>
<p>Bestiality, or having sexual intercourse with an animal, had been considered technically lawful in Germany up until 2012. At that time, German lawmakers enacted a law against the practice, imposing a €25,000 for sexual abuse against animal species.</p>
<p>Ahead of the vote, animal-rights groups had launched a huge campaign against zoophilia, battling for bestiality to be recognized as rape and defilement inflicted on an animal. Critics of the law, however, complained it made an indictment all too easy, saying the decree would make gossip sufficient to land a suspect with the heavy fine.</p>
<p>Sex with an animal has been recently outlawed in a number of states in the US. Nevertheless, “non-penetrative” intercourse with animals is considered legal in neighboring Canada. “Although bestiality was often subsumed in terms such as sodomy or buggery, penetration was the essence – ‘the defining act’ – of the offence,” Canada’s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/346036-canada-bestiality-court-ruling/" type="external">ruled</a> in 2016.&#160;</p> | Caught in the act: Man has sex with pony at Berlin children’s zoo | false | https://newsline.com/caught-in-the-act-man-has-sex-with-pony-at-berlin-childrens-zoo/ | 2017-11-13 | 1 |
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are highly speculative and raise investor protection concerns, global securities regulatory body IOSCO said on Thursday.</p>
<p>Start-ups have begun issuing new digital currencies via ICOs, also known as token or coin sales, that are sold to investors in return for a crypto-currency like bitcoin or ether.</p>
<p>“There are clear risks associated with these offerings,” the International Organization of Securities Commissions said in a statement.</p>
<p>“ICOs are highly speculative investments in which investors are putting their entire invested capital at risk.”</p>
<p>IOSCO groups regulators like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, which said in December it would step up scrutiny of ICOs.</p>
<p>Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Carolyn Cohn</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Oxygen supply device maker Inogen Inc said on Friday it was notifying 30,000 existing and former customers following a data breach that led to improper access of personal details of some rental clients.</p>
<p>The company, which makes portable devices that supply oxygen to patients with breathing difficulties and lung diseases, said some non-public financial information was also leaked after an employee’s email account was compromised.</p>
<p>The unauthorized access appeared to have occurred between Jan. 2 and March 14 and involved rental customers’ personal information such as names, contact details, Medicare identification numbers and insurance policy information.</p>
<p>However the affected data did not include payment card information or medical records, the company said in a filing <a href="https://bit.ly/2GUP8xE." type="external">bit.ly/2GUP8xE.</a></p>
<p>Inogen said it has hired a forensic firm to investigate and will provide credit monitoring and an insurance reimbursement policy to assist affected customers.</p>
<p>The company said its insurance policy may not be adequate to protect against all costs arising from the incident.</p>
<p>Inogen’s shares have risen about 81 percent over the past year and on Thursday closed at their highest level since the company went public in 2014.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is investigating the methods partner KPMG uses to crack down on the illegal use of its software in India, after a complaint from a senior member of the country’s ruling political party, documents seen by Reuters showed.</p> FILE PHOTO: An advertisement is played on a set of large screens at the Microsoft office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
<p>India is one of the U.S. technology firm’s biggest markets in Asia, yet over half of all software installed on computers in the country is unlicensed, advocacy group Business Software Alliance said in 2016.</p>
<p>A pirated compact disc of Microsoft’s Windows 10 can be bought for around $2 in New Delhi, compared with $130 needed to buy the operating system from Microsoft’s online portal.</p>
<p>To ensure compliance, Microsoft runs a global “software asset management” (SAM) program under which it partners global consultants, such as KPMG in India, which seek permission from business owners to check for the use of unlicensed software.</p>
<p>Last month, Vinit Goenka, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and technology adviser to the government, complained to both companies that a KPMG employee “barged in” to his Mumbai recruitment firm without an appointment to check its software, according to emails reviewed by Reuters.</p>
<p>Rajiv Sodhi, a senior Microsoft India executive, told Goenka in a March 20 email that the company was looking at the issue with “utmost seriousness”.</p>
<p>“We are also getting an assessment agency to carry out an audit of the process delivery at KPMG to identify and correct gaps, if any,” Sodhi wrote in the email reviewed by Reuters.</p>
<p>Sodhi did not respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>Microsoft told Reuters its SAM program is run as per global standards, while KPMG said it follows “appropriate procedures agreed in our engagement with clients”. Both declined to comment on the alleged incident and probe.</p>
<p>The employee, who identified himself in the emails as Srijesh, declined to comment.</p> A pirated copy of Windows 10 is on display for sale at a market in New Delhi, India, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Saumya Khandelwal
<p>Goenka confirmed the incident and complaint, telling Reuters the handful of computers at his company, Ratein Infotech, used genuine software. He said he planned to file a police complaint against both companies.</p>
<p>Ratein Infotech last month received a letter from the U.S. software firm saying it needed help in “interpreting licensing policies of Microsoft”, the emails showed. The issue escalated when the KPMG employee entered Ratien’s office on March 15.</p>
<p>Microsoft and KPMG apologized and the employee, Srijesh, resigned, the e-mails showed.</p>
<p>“This is part of my regular job, that I do on a daily basis as directed by KPMG and Microsoft,” Srijesh wrote in an apology email to Goenka, seen by Reuters.</p>
<p>Goenka is a former employee of International Business Machines Corp and advises government committees on information technology initiatives.</p>
<p>Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Aditya Kalra; Editing by Euan Rocha and Christopher Cushing</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Friday ordered that access to the Telegram messenger service be blocked in Russia, heralding possible communication disruption for millions of users in the latest clash between global technology firms and Russian authorities.</p> FILE PHOTO: The Telegram app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
<p>The decision came a week after state communication watchdog, Roskomnadzor, filed a lawsuit to limit access to Telegram following the company’s repeated refusal to give Russian state security services access to its users’ secret messages.</p>
<p>As part of its services, Telegram allows its more than 200 million global users, including senior Russian government officials, to communicate via encrypted messages which cannot be read by third parties.</p>
<p>But Russia’s FSB Federal Security service has said it needs access to some of those messages for its work that includes guarding against terrorist attacks. Telegram has refused to comply with the demands, citing respect for user privacy.</p>
<p>“The court decided to meet the requirements of Roskomnadzor, impose restrictions on access to Telegram messenger and stop providing technical conditions for the exchange of messages,” the TASS news agency quoted judge Yulia Smolina as saying.</p>
<p>Roskomnadzor head Alexander Zharov said the ban would be enforced soon but would not say exactly when, TASS reported. Roskomnadzor later added Telegram to its register of banned websites, paving the way for it to be blocked.</p>
<p>Russia’s top network providers, Megafon and MTS, declined to comment on the ban. Competitor Beeline said it would “act within the framework of the law.”</p>
<p>Telegram founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, said the app will use built-in systems to circumnavigate the ban but could not guarantee 100 percent access without the use of a virtual private network, or VPN.</p>
<p>Pavel Chikov, a lawyer representing Telegram, said the court decision was warning to global technology firms of the dangers of operating in Russia.</p>
<p>“They have demonstrated again and again that the court system is devoted to serving the interests of the authorities. They no longer even care about basic external appearances,” he said on his Telegram channel.</p>
<p>Fallout from the court decision will also be closely watched by investors as Telegram is undertaking the world’s biggest initial coin offering - a private sale of tokens which can be traded as an alternative currency, similar to Bitcoin or Ethereum.</p>
<p>The company has so far raised $1.7 billion in pre-sales via the offering, according to media reports.</p> KREMLIN USERS
<p>Ranked as the world’s ninth most popular mobile messaging app, Telegram is widely used in countries across the former Soviet Union and Middle East.</p>
<p>As well as being popular with journalists and members of Russia’s political opposition, Telegram is also used by the Kremlin to communicate with reporters and arrange regular conference calls with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.</p>
<p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday, organized using Telegram, that his office would soon move to another messaging service.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 164.52 FB.O Nasdaq +0.65 (+0.40%) FB.O
<p>“Limiting access was not the goal in and of itself,” he said. “There is the legal position, which requires the provision of data to certain Russian state bodies. Meetings this condition would have allowed for a consensus. But unfortunately this consensus was not reached.”</p>
<p>Telegram is the second global network to be blocked in Russia after LinkedIn was banned in 2016 for failing to comply with a law that requires companies holding Russian citizens’ data to store it on servers on Russian soil.</p>
<p>Other international technology companies, such as Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) and Alphabet Inc’s Google GOOG.L, have also clashed recently with Russian regulators.</p>
<p>Roskomnadzor asked Facebook earlier this week about the steps it was taking to meet its requirements under the data law and has said it will carry out an audit of Facebook’s compliance with Russian legislation in the second half of 2018.</p>
<p>Durov himself left Russia in 2014 after selling the country’s biggest social media network, VK, to a businessman close to the Kremlin after coming under pressure from Russian authorities.</p>
<p>Russian users will still be able to access Telegram’s services by using VPNs, which allow people to bypass internet restrictions imposed by authorities.</p>
<p>When Reuters asked a person in the Russian government how they would operate without access to Telegram, the person, who asked not be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, replied by sending a screenshot of his mobile phone with an open VPN app.</p>
<p>Russia’s deputy communications minister, Alexei Volin, said VPNs and other ways of circumnavigating the ban meant Telegram users would not be greatly inconvenienced.</p>
<p>“Many Telegram users have already adopted different messengers, and those who want to stay with this product know a lot of ways to get round the ban and continue using the services they are used to,” Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva, Maria Kiselyova and Denis Pinchuk in Moscow, Eric Auchard in London; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to demand tech giants like Facebook and Google do more to stop the spread of fake news on their websites by the end of the year to avoid possible regulatory actions, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.</p>
<p>The draft document sets out for the first time the measures the EU would like to see the tech giants take within a certain timeline. The companies have come under fire in Europe for not doing enough to remove misleading or illegal content, including incitement to hatred, extremism and the online sale of counterfeit products.</p>
<p>The European Commission plans to draw up a “Code of Practice” by July that will commit online platforms and advertisers to take a number of measures to prevent fake news being both uploaded and disseminated, “with a view to producing measurable effects by the end of 2018”, the draft policy document says.</p>
<p>“Should the results prove unsatisfactory, the Commission may propose further actions, including actions of a regulatory nature, if necessary.”</p>
<p>The measures include improving the scrutiny of advertisement placements, stepping up efforts to close fake accounts, ensuring that fighting disinformation is factored in by design when developing online tools and preventing the unauthorized use of users’ personal data by third parties - a clear reference to the Cambridge Analytica scandal engulfing Facebook.</p>
<p>The revelations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica - which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign - improperly accessed the data of up to 87 million Facebook users have hit the social network’s share price and led to 10 hours of questioning for its CEO by U.S. lawmakers.</p>
<p>“So far, platforms have been unable to address the challenge posed by disinformation and some have turned a blind eye to the manipulative use of their infrastructures,” the document says.</p> Figurines are seen in front of the Facebook logo in this illustration taken March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
<p>“The gravity of the threat, however, has become increasingly clear as exemplified by the recent revelations about personal data mined from social media used in a electoral context.”</p>
<p>Facebook has stepped up fact-checking in its fight against fake news and is working on making it uneconomical for people to post such content by lowering its ranking and making it less visible.</p>
<p>The world’s largest social network is also working on giving its users more context and background about the content they read on the platform.</p> FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured atop an office building in Irvine, California, U.S. August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Picture
<p>Some European countries have already moved to tackle the problem, like Germany which has passed a law requiring social media companies quickly remove hate speech. France is also looking at rules to block fake news.</p>
<p>Facebook disclosed in September that Russians under fake names used the social network to try to influence U.S. voters in the months before and after the 2016 election, writing about inflammatory subjects, setting up events and buying ads.</p>
<p>“Platforms have by and large failed to ensure sufficient transparency on political advertising and sponsored content,” the Commission document - which is due to be published at the end of April - says.</p>
<p>The Commission also wants companies and advertisers to “establish clear marking systems and rules for bots and ensure their activities cannot be confused with human interactions.”</p>
<p>Editing by Alexandra Hudson</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Global markets watchdog issues warning on initial coin offerings Oxygen device maker Inogen discloses customer data breach Microsoft auditing partner KPMG's anti-piracy work in India after complaint: documents Russia to ban Telegram messenger over encryption dispute Exclusive: EU to demand improvements on tackling fake news by end of year - draft | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-regulator-markets-cryptocurrencies/global-markets-watchdog-issues-warning-on-initial-coin-offerings-idUSKBN1F723B | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>Mark Zuckerberg says he's not running for president, but he's up to... something.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg's on a mission to visit all 50 states by the end of 2017, meeting people and just, you know, man, like, listening to them. And The Zuck has enlisted the services of former Hillary Clinton pollster Joel Benenson, who is conducting research for the philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.</p>
<p>The stories have gone from "Will Mark Zuckerberg run for president?" by <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/702752/mark-zuckerberg-run-president" type="external">The Week</a> in June to "Here’s where Mark Zuckerberg, would-be presidential candidate, stands on the issues" by <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/8/5/16100032/mark-zuckerberg-issues-president-facebook" type="external">Recode</a> just a few days ago.</p>
<p>But not everybody is excited about the Facebook founder, who's just 33 (he would, though, meet the constitutional requirement of being 35 in order to be president), running for political office.</p>
<p>Los Angeles street artist Sabo last week posted several photos on Facebook showing his latest work: “F*ck Zuck 2020.” The posters, displayed in Pasedena, have the little Facebook hand, but it's not a thumb's up (it's a different digit).</p>
<p>Zuckerberg, meanwhile, says he's not planning a run.</p>
<p>"Some of you have asked if this challenge means I'm running for public office. I'm not," he wrote in a Facebook post earlier this year. "I'm doing it to get a broader perspective to make sure we're best serving our community of almost 2 billion people at Facebook and doing the best work to promote equal opportunity at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative," the philanthropy run by him and his wife.</p>
<p>Still, the hiring of Benenson raised eyebrow. Plus, in January, the Zuckerbergs hired another top political adviser -- David Plouffe, who was the campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential run — as president of policy and advocacy. On the Republican side, Ken Mehlman, who ran President George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, also sits on the philanthropy's board. Also on board is Amy Dudley, a former communications adviser to Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.</p>
<p>Then again, a guy with $45 billion can pretty much do what he wants. Maybe he'll just buy the presidency.</p> | ‘F*ck Zuck 2020’ Street Signs Appear In California | true | https://dailywire.com/news/19407/fck-zuck-2020-street-signs-appear-la-joseph-curl | 2017-08-07 | 0 |
<p>SHAMELESS: US, UK-backed ‘rebels’ are using children as ‘No Fly Zone’ props in Syria. Other reports suggest the rebels are also <a href="" type="internal">recycling child ‘victim’ images</a> for the derelict western media.&#160;</p>
<p>EU-French-funded ‘opposition’ media outlets like the <a href="" type="internal">Aleppo Media Centre</a>, and US-UK-funded ‘NGOs’ like the <a href="" type="internal">White Helmet</a>s, are operating exclusively in terrorist-held areas of Syria – and they are feeding customised propaganda to deceptive media outlets like CNN.&#160;There is a new “group think” which has taken over the US and European mainstream media. But is it really group think, or is contrived to bolster a failing US foreign policy in Syria?</p>
<p>Before the 2003 US invasion of&#160;Iraq, Washington’s political and mainstream media operatives all towed a single party line in covering for&#160;US government’s fraudulent case for initiating an illegal&#160;war. The same is happening today – as the US media enforce a sanctimonious group think, once again, designed to conceal&#160;a coalition policy laced with lies and deception regarding the the conflict in&#160;Syria, while simultaneously&#160;escalating tensions with Russia.</p>
<p>Melissa Melton of <a href="http://www.truthstreammedia.com" type="external">Truthstream Media</a> (see video below) explains, “I wasn’t going to, but then I saw the CNN anchor pretend to cry…”</p>
<p>Even Democratic Party presidential candidate <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/full-transcript-third-2016-presidential-debate-230063#ixzz4O23gnnml" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a>&#160;(image, left) is still trying to exract political capital out of the staged imagery by invoking ‘Dusty Boy’ Omran during the last television debate, saying,&#160;“That picture of that little 4-year-old boy in Aleppo with the blood coming down his face while he sat in an ambulance is haunting…” After that, she tried to hammer home the real plan:</p>
<p>“First of all, I think a no-fly zone could save lives and hasten the end of the conflict.”</p>
<p>We’re told that CNN ‘news’ anchor&#160;Kate Bolduan&#160;could not contain her emotions when&#160;reporting the story of the ‘Dusty Boy’ of Aleppo, Omran Daqneesh. The only problem is, the infamous Omran scene was fake (like Bolduan’s dramatic&#160;on-air tears).</p>
<p>Watch this video produced by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6miOTbk_GSU" type="external">Truthstream Media</a>:</p>
<p />
<p /> | ‘No Fly Zone’ Propaganda: Crocodile Tears for the ‘Children of Aleppo’ | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/10/24/no-fly-zone-propaganda-crocodile-tears-for-the-children-of-aleppo/ | 2016-10-24 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>At least three U.S. airlines are adding new fire-suppression equipment to fleets in case a cellphone or laptop battery overheats, catches on fire and can’t be extinguished.</p>
<p>The issue has taken on new urgency following incidents of overheating Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, including one on a Southwest Airlines flight earlier this month.</p>
<p>The Federal Aviation Administration has taken the unusual step of warning passengers not to use or charge the devices while on board and not to stow them in checked luggage.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>One of the first airlines to deploy fire-containment bags on its entire fleet was Alaska Airlines. The Seattle-based airline finished adding them to its 219 planes in May, a process that took two months from concept to deployment.</p>
<p>The bright red bags are made of a fire-resistant material and are designed to hold electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops that can sometimes overheat and catch fire. The bags can be shut with Velcro and heavy-duty zippers and can withstand temperatures up to 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The sell for $1,800 each but airlines are likely to have negotiated a bulk discount.</p>
<p>Virgin America has installed fire-containment bags on all its planes, said spokeswoman Jennifer Thomas. The airline, which is based in Burlingame, California, has about 60 jets.</p>
<p>Delta Air Lines noted Thursday on a call with investors that it too would be adding such bags. The Atlanta-based airline has more than 900 planes, all of which will eventually get the bags, depending on production speeds and the ability to train flight attendants and pilots.</p>
<p>The first priority will be the 166 aircraft that cross oceans, as well as some Boeing 757s used for domestic flights, according to spokesman Morgan Durrant. Those jets will have two bags each by the end of the year. In 2017, Delta plans to start adding the bags to its domestic fleet, including planes flown by its regional airline partners.</p>
<p>“This has been on the to-do list but has been accelerated by recent events,” Durrant said.</p>
<p>American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines don’t have any immediate plans for fire containment bags but all said their crews are trained on how to fight such high-energy fires. Additionally, aircraft have been fitted with fire extinguishers in the cabin as well as other fire detection and suppression systems in cargo holds for decades.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Koenig reported from Dallas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected that Alaska Airlines was one of the first to add the fire-containment bags, not the first.</p> | Airlines add ‘fire containment bags’ for overheating phones | false | https://abqjournal.com/866736/airlines-add-fire-containment-bags-for-overheating-phones.html | 2016-10-13 | 2 |
<p>LIMA, Peru (AP) — Thousands of Peruvians are demonstrating against the medical pardon that freed former strongman Alberto Fujimori from a 25-year prison sentence.</p>
<p>Thursday night’s protest in Lima marks the second time in less than a month that Peruvians have taken to the streets to protest the pardon granted by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.</p>
<p>Demonstrators carried signs with phrases like “Assassin Fujimori” and held photographs of the 25 Peruvians whose deaths the former president was convicted of playing a role in.</p>
<p>Fujimori was pardoned on humanitarian grounds on Christmas Eve. He was released from a clinic less than two weeks later and in messages on Twitter has urged Peruvians to cast aside their bitterness.</p>
<p>Some Peruvians credit Fujimori with defeating the nation’s Maoist guerrillas, but others condemn him for permitting human rights abuses.</p>
<p>LIMA, Peru (AP) — Thousands of Peruvians are demonstrating against the medical pardon that freed former strongman Alberto Fujimori from a 25-year prison sentence.</p>
<p>Thursday night’s protest in Lima marks the second time in less than a month that Peruvians have taken to the streets to protest the pardon granted by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.</p>
<p>Demonstrators carried signs with phrases like “Assassin Fujimori” and held photographs of the 25 Peruvians whose deaths the former president was convicted of playing a role in.</p>
<p>Fujimori was pardoned on humanitarian grounds on Christmas Eve. He was released from a clinic less than two weeks later and in messages on Twitter has urged Peruvians to cast aside their bitterness.</p>
<p>Some Peruvians credit Fujimori with defeating the nation’s Maoist guerrillas, but others condemn him for permitting human rights abuses.</p> | Thousands protest former president’s pardon in Peru | false | https://apnews.com/741fba5b132049bba36fcbdd2cf3699f | 2018-01-12 | 2 |
<p>Speaking before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey was out of sorts, <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/09/28/comey-defends-clinton-case-do-not-call-us-weasels-n2224648" type="external">sternly defending</a> the Bureau's investigation into Hillary Clinton's private, unsecured email server:</p>
<p>"You can call us wrong, but don't call us weasels. We are not weasels, we are honest people and we did this in that way.</p>
<p>I think questions are fair, I think criticism is healthy and fair, I think reasonable people can disagree about whether I should have announced it and how I should have done it. What's not fair is any implication that the Bureau acted in any way other than independently, competently, honestly here. That's just not true.</p>
<p>I knew this was going to be controversial, I knew there would be all kinds of rocks thrown, but this organization and the people who did this are honest, independent people. We do not carry water for one side or the other. That's hard for people to see because so much of our country we see things through sides. We are not on anybody's side. This was done exactly the way you would want it to be done."</p>
<p>Here are 9 weasel-like aspects of the Clinton investigation:</p>
<p>Perhaps you're not weasels, just incompetent.</p> | Comey: ‘Don’t Call Us Weasels.’ No, You’re Weasels | true | https://dailywire.com/news/9582/comey-dont-call-us-weasels-no-youre-weasels-frank-camp | 2016-09-29 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Deputies search for two suspects near University of New Mexico Hospital Wednesday night. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal)</p>
<p>A car that may have been driven by two suspects sits where it was abandoned near University of New Mexico Hospital Wednesday night. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A pursuit across the city for two suspects in a stolen vehicle that ended with the lockdown of a hospital Wednesday night turned up a 17-year-old girl and an innocent bystander, according to a spokesman for the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office.</p>
<p>The teenager was released to a family member instead of being booked into the Juvenile Detention Center, said Sgt. Aaron Williamson. The arresting officer will determine what charges she will face, he said.</p>
<p>The teenager and a man were found together inside a University of New Mexico Hospital parking structure and detained. Deputies determined he was not the driver of the car, Williamson said.</p>
<p>"Apparently he was just walking through the parking garage, and she came up and started talking to him," Williamson said. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."</p>
<p>The man was free to go after he was questioned, Williamson said.</p>
<p>Deputies first spotted the stolen vehicle around 6 p.m. in the South Valley and followed it to Los Padillas elementary school, Williamson said Wednesday. The two suspects ditched the vehicle at the elementary school and stole a white sports utility vehicle instead, he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"The individuals in that white car tried to ram our deputies," Williamson said. "They also tried to strike several other vehicles in that parking lot."</p>
<p>After fleeing at speeds nearing 100 mph through the city the pair abandoned the second stolen car at UNMH, he said, resulting in an hour-long lockdown of the hospital and a perimeter search.</p>
<p>The girl told deputies she had asked the car's driver for a ride but did not elaborate on her relationship with him, Williamson said.</p>
<p>Detectives were still trying to identify the driver Thursday afternoon, Williamson said.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 17-year-old girl detained after manhunt that locked down UNMH | false | https://abqjournal.com/648857/17-year-old-girl-arrested-after-manhunt-that-locked-down-unmh.html | 2015-09-24 | 2 |
<p>Shares of L Brands Inc. fell more than 7% late Wednesday after the parent of Victoria's Secret met Wall Street's quarterly sales expectations but cut its forecast for third-quarter and full-year earnings. L Brands said it earned $138.9 million, or 48 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with $252.4 million, or 87 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, the company said it earned 48 cents a share in the quarter, compared with 70 cents a share a year ago. Net sales fell to $2.8 billion in the quarter, from $2.9 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected GAAP and adjusted earnings of 45 cents a share on sales of $2.8 billion. Comparable sales fell 8% for the quarter, in part due to Victoria's Secret's exiting the swim and apparel categories, the company said in a statement. "Accordingly, the company's guidance for the remainder of the year reflects a more conservative sales forecast than its previous guidance," L Brands said. The company updated its guidance for full-year 2017 per-share earnings to between $3 and $3.20, from a previous guidance of $3.10 a share to $3.40 a share, and guided third-quarter per-share earnings to between 25 cents a share and 30 cents a share. Shares ended the regular trading day up 1.3%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Victoria's Secret Parent L Brands Shares Fall After Company Cuts Full-year View | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/16/victoria-secret-parent-l-brands-shares-fall-after-company-cuts-full-year-view.html | 2017-08-17 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A case of burning love caused thousands of dollars in damage at a school playground in Alaska.</p>
<p>Anchorage police say a fire from lit paper ignited rubber mulch and spread to two pieces of playground equipment, destroying both.</p>
<p>After speaking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance video, police interviewed two 18-year-olds.</p>
<p>The teens told investigators that they burned a love letter Tuesday night from an ex-girlfriend on the playground at Bowman Elementary School and left.</p>
<p>Police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro says investigators recommended charges of criminal mischief, criminal negligent burning and failure to control or report a fire.</p>
<p>Online court documents Wednesday morning did not indicate formal charges had been filed.</p>
<p>Rubber mulch is used on the playground to cushion falls. School district spokeswoman Heidi Embley says damage is estimated at $20,000.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Teens say burning of ex's love letter led to school fire | false | https://abqjournal.com/733699/teens-say-burning-of-exs-love-letter-led-to-school-fire.html | 2 |
|
<p>(Reuters) – Japan’s Kenzo Shirai won his second gold medal at the world gymnastics championships when he claimed the men’s vault title by a mere 0.001 in Montreal on Sunday.</p>
<p>The Olympic bronze medalist’s score of 14.900 enabled him to edge Ukraine’s Igor Radivilov (14.899) and Kim Han-sol of South Korea (14.766) on the final day of the championships.</p>
<p>The gold medal was Shirai’s fifth in world championship competition and third medal in Montreal. He won his third consecutive floor exercise title on Saturday after claiming the all-round bronze medal on Thursday.</p>
<p>Korean Rio Olympic vault champion Yang Hak-seon withdrew from the final.</p>
<p>Mai Murakami added a second gold for Japan by winning the women’s floor exercise with a score of 14.233.</p>
<p>The podium finish was her first in Montreal after two fourth places.</p>
<p>American Jade Carey (14.200) earned the silver and the bronze went to Britain’s Claudia Fragapane (13.933).</p>
<p>China continued their strong showing at the championships when Zou Jingyuan defeated Olympic champion Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine on the parallel bars.</p>
<p>Zou won his first world medal with a score of 15.900 to Verniaiev’s 15.833. Russia’s David Belyavskiy (15.266) earned the bronze.</p>
<p>Germany took gold and bronze in the women’s beam with Pauline Schaefer the winner with a score of 13.533. She had won the bronze in 2015.</p>
<p>This year’s bronze went to countrywoman Tabea Alt (13.300) with all-round champion Morgan Hurd of the United States the silver medalist (13.400).</p>
<p>Croatia’s Tin Srbic defeated 2012 Olympic champion Epke Zonderland and fellow Dutchman Bart Deurloo to earn the horizontal bar gold medal. Srbic’s score of 14.433 topped Zonderland’s 14.233. The bronze was won by Deurloo in 14.200.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Gymnastics: Japan's Shirai uses narrow win for second gold in Montreal | false | https://newsline.com/gymnastics-japan039s-shirai-uses-narrow-win-for-second-gold-in-montreal/ | 2017-10-08 | 1 |
<p>The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week rebounded from a near 44-year low, but continued to point to a tightening labor market.</p>
<p>Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 243,000 for the week ended March 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were unrevised at 223,000, the lowest level since March 1973.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It was the 105th straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market.</p>
<p>That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.</p>
<p>The labor market is at or close to full employment, with employers increasingly reporting difficulties finding qualified workers for open job positions. Labor market tightness together with firming inflation could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as early as next week.</p>
<p>Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new claims for unemployment benefits rising to 235,000 in the latest week.</p>
<p>A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week's claims data. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 2,250 to 236,500 last week.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The claims report has no bearing on February's employment report, which is scheduled for release on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period. First-time applications for jobless benefits declined in February, suggesting another month of strong employment growth.</p>
<p>According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls probably increased by 190,000 jobs last month after surging 227,000 in January. The unemployment rate is forecast falling one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.7 percent.</p>
<p>But payrolls could surprise on the upside after a report on Wednesday showed private sector employers hired 298,000 workers in February, the largest amount in a year.</p>
<p>Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 6,000 to 2.06 million in the week ended Feb. 25. The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims decreased 5,250 to 2.07 million.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)</p> | Weekly Jobless Claims Rebound from 44-Year Low | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/09/weekly-jobless-claims-rebound-from-44-year-low.html | 2017-03-09 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>⋄&#160; What are the root causes? There is no magic bullet that will lead quickly to the necessary cultural change; however, if one believes in cause and effect, then it makes sense to attempt to identify the root causes of the unwanted effects. The things that come to mind are drug addiction, abject poverty, relative poverty and mental health problems. The case can be made that these are all related to a profound dissatisfaction with the conditions of one’s life and a feeling of hopelessness when it comes to the ability to make any meaningful change.</p>
<p>⋄&#160; Escape from meaninglessness. Why in the world would one willingly become addicted to any substance that is clearly going be totally self-destructive? The only answer that makes any sense is escape. If one does not see one’s own life as having value, then escape is seductive. Added to that is the fact that the illegal status of those substances leads to sky-high prices and accompanying incentive for dealers to “push” their wares. It is easy to see a very close parallel between the current prohibition and that of a century ago. In both cases, prohibition opened up big business for organized crime.</p>
<p>⋄&#160; Escape from poverty. The “profit motive” is king of the hill when it comes to providing incentive. But when profit is the only incentive, then everything becomes valued in dollars and cents. It takes money to make money. One cannot share in the returns of the rising stock market if the demands of survival take all available resources, as is the case for those whose weekly pay still leaves them in abject poverty. Karl Marx was not the only economist to observe that unfettered capitalism would lead to the disappearance of the middle class, and with it, the disappearance of the ladder to success. This means a loss of hope, even for those whose sense of poverty is only relative to the wealth that they see all around themselves.</p>
<p>⋄&#160; The only solution lies in education. Thomas Jefferson understood very well that the health of our democracy depends first and foremost on an enlightened and educated citizenry. Now, more than ever, basic education is a requirement for getting and holding a rewarding job. We must somehow arrange to have our best and most talented teachers in the early grades, teachers who, themselves, understand the vast difference between understanding and mere memorization and who can foster the natural instinct of a child to ask “why.” What suffers first when budgets get tight? Education! In the long run, we pay a heavy price for cutting education funding. Raising teachers’ salaries might not make them better teachers, but failing to raise the pay scales will guarantee that the best and brightest will look elsewhere for fulfilling vocations.</p>
<p>⋄&#160; Education depends on healthy minds and bodies. Health insurance for all is not merely a bleeding-heart liberal goal. It is essential for the health of our society that proper nutrition and health care be available, especially from an individual’s start in the womb through their learning years. It costs money, but it is an investment in our society.</p>
<p>⋄&#160; Armed citizenry is not the guarantor of freedom. That guarantor is the citizenry – business people, legislators, military, government leaders, voters – who are devoted to what we cherish as American ideals. Especially (around) the Fourth of July, it is appropriate to observe that patriotism, in addition to waving the flag and sincerely thanking veterans for their service, must also include a deep understanding and devotion to the principles that we accept as representing “Americanism.” Taxes must not be seen as an obstruction to accumulating wealth but as the patriotic way for devoted citizens to support the costs of building the society that we want.</p>
<p /> | ‘Get tough on crime’ doesn’t solve problems | false | https://abqjournal.com/1034744/get-tough-on-crime-doesnt-solve-problems.html | 2 |
|
<p>&amp;amp;lt;i&amp;amp;gt;This post originally ran on Truthdig contributor &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.juancole.com/2015/11/reasons-governors-refugees.html" title="Juan Cole’s website"&amp;amp;gt;Juan Cole’s website&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;.&amp;amp;lt;/i&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/16/governors-have-little-power-block-refugees/75888766/%20"&amp;amp;gt; Some half of US governors &amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; have announced their opposition to their states taking in Syrian refugees after the Paris attacks. Although they can bother refugees, they can’t actually dictate to people who are here legally where they can live. But anyway, here are the reasons for which these announcements are a form of political hysteria and not grounded in any rational policy considerations:&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;1. The attackers in Paris were European nationals. The Syrian passport found near one of them was a fake. So are the governors opposed to Belgian immigration into the United States?&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;2. The attackers were not refugees. They were born in Europe. Refugees are poor and lacking in knowledge or resources about their new environment. The attackers knew exactly where everything was that they wanted to assault and were hooked in with arms smugglers and other hard-to-discover criminal networks.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;div class="sidebar__ad-label"&amp;amp;gt;Advertisement&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;broadstreet-zone zone-id="58577"&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/broadstreet-zone&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;3. There is no rational reason to bar Syrian refugees but accept refugees from other conflict areas. The US already admits 70,000 refugees every year, but only took in about 400 Syrians last year. Most refugees are fleeing conflict situations or oppressive governments, and if you wanted to be paranoid about them you could fear them all on the same grounds that the GOP fears Syrians. The US has accepted &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/refugees-fact-sheet%20"&amp;amp;gt; a former child soldier&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; from the Congo (might have skills). &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/fiscal-year-2014-refugee-arrivals%20"&amp;amp;gt; In 2014 the US accepted 758 refugees&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; from Afghanistan; how are they different from Syrian refugees? And here’s the kicker: &amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt; the US accepted 19,651 refugees from Iraq last year!&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; It is completely irrational to single out Syrians if you are going to take in Iraqis.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;4.These &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://m.state.gov/mc58124.htm%20"&amp;amp;gt; refugees undergo at least 18 months of background checks&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;, contrary to what Sen. Mario Rubio (whose parents were Cuban immigrants to the US) has alleged.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;5. &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/10/economist-explains-13%20"&amp;amp;gt; The Economist points out&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; that since 2001, the US has admitted roughly 750,000 refugees and none, zero, nada have been accused of involvement in domestic terrorism aimed at the US homeland (2 Iraqis were accused of trying to help a terrorist organization back in Iraq).&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;6. The need is urgent. Of the some 22 million Syrians, a good half are homeless. About 7.5 million have been displaced within the country and some 4 million have been forced abroad. Little Jordan (pop. 6 million) has taken 800,000. Little Lebanon (pop. 4 million) has taken 1.2 million. Turkey (pop. 75 million) has taken 2 million. Sweden is accepting Syrian refugees without announcing limits. Germany is taking tens of thousands (though probably most of the refugees Chancellor Angela Merkel has accepted are not Syrians). Winter is arriving and the refugees have no proper shelter, clothing or nourishment. The US has to step up in the face of one of the world’s great humanitarian crises.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;7. Syrian refugees are not guerrilla fighters or terrorists. They are fleeing the oppression of the Bashar al-Assad government or the brutality of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) or al-Qaeda. The are the victims of America’s enemies.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;8. The US owes these refugees. Without the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, there would have been no al-Qaeda in that part of the world, and no al-Qaeda offshoots like Daesh/ ISIL. Why do the governors (most of whom supported the invasion of Iraq) think the US can go around the world sowing instability and being responsible for creating the conditions that lead to millions of refugees but then can avoid the responsibility of ameliorating those broken lives?&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;9. Some US politicians, such as Ted Cruz, have spoken of taking in only Christian refugees. That step would be unconstitutional. But let’s remember that such a policy would have excluded Albert Einstein from coming to the US in 1933, after the Nazis seized his property in Germany. You wonder without such refugee intellectuals, would the US have fallen behind Nazi Germany on, e.g., constructing an atomic bomb?&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;10. Cruz’s call for Christian refugees to be given special privileges reminds us of the the racist &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&amp;amp;amp;#038;psid=3291%20"&amp;amp;gt; Chinese Exclusion Act&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;, which derived in part from Christian American dislike of those they called “heathens.” Religion is often an element in the construction of ethnicity, so the privileging of Christianity has a long history of being a stealth form of racism.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;</p> | Top 10 Reasons Governors Are Wrong to Exclude Syrian Refugees | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/top-10-reasons-governors-are-wrong-to-exclude-syrian-refugees/ | 2015-11-17 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Whenever one of us “little people” dares to speak up against the inept, dizzying, and out of control nonsense that continues to come from the “reformers” in our state government and education department, we are accused of “defending the status quo.”</p>
<p>In other words, we are trying to maintain a system that has been broken for years. That system, which the heroes of education reform are trying to leave behind. Heroes like Gov. Susana Martinez and Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera.</p>
<p>Let’s think about that status quo for a minute.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For more than a decade, the status quo has been No Child Left Behind reforms, those that attempt to hold schools accountable based on test scores. Skandera and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan say that system didn’t work, since it only offered a “pass/fail” method of accountability.</p>
<p>Race to the Top and the NCLB waivers apparently fix everything because now we can break it all down into more categories, like “Highly Effective,” “Effective,” “Minimally Effective,” and with traditional letter grades for schools. The brilliance of this plan is blinding.</p>
<p>The problem is, it’s still exactly the same plan.</p>
<p>It’s still based on normed test scores, which means that you will always see the same normed results, made worse by a fatally flawed statistical equation that has been shown over and over again not to work.</p>
<p>The “reformers” also like to point to the dismal lives of new college students, as they struggle to pass their remedial courses in order to fit into the mainstream.</p>
<p>Those are the kids who have endured the past decade of education reforms that have left them unprepared to be the critical thinkers and creative problem solvers that America’s higher education system is seeking.</p>
<p>The new reforms, under the Obama Administration, use the same playbook, with only minor changes to the accountability schemes. And those changes are already proving to be incredibly harmful to our nation’s envied education system of the past – the system that so many other successful countries have copied.</p>
<p>The status quo is to forget about poverty and to forget about the changes to the way American politics, corporations and society respond to those who are affected.</p>
<p>The status quo is to keep barking about international test scores, which show strong correlation with said poverty, and very little correlation with the effectiveness of schools.</p>
<p>The defenders of that status quo seek to maintain lack of awareness of these issues and, even more so, lack of action. The real defenders of the status quo – Duncan, Martinez and Skandera, among others – seek to maintain the harmful policies which threaten the futures of our children, our schools and our nation as a whole.</p>
<p /> | Test scores real basis of school woes | false | https://abqjournal.com/418618/test-scores-real-basis-of-school-woes.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>In Albuquerque and in Santa Fe, the many sounds of jazz will light up the nights – and the days – of the New Mexico Jazz Festival.</p>
<p>Those sounds include swing, bebop, straight-ahead, Latin, jazz fusion, African-blended jazz and Brazilian.</p>
<p>Trio da Paz kicks off the eighth annual festival today at the Outpost Performance Space with its band of jazz fused with Brazilian rhythms. Rhythms, plural.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Brazil has more than the bossa nova,” Brazilian-born trio guitarist Romero Lubambo said in a phone interview.</p>
<p>“We play baiano, afoche and maracatu – many different rhythms – but with the atmosphere of jazz improvisation. … And since we’ve played together for such a long time, it feels very natural for us.”</p>
<p>And Lubambo and his two colleagues, bassist Nilson Matta and drummer Duduka da Fonseca have been playing together since Lubambo moved to the United States from Brazil in 1985.</p>
<p>The trio’s concert will be filled with original tunes as well as compositions by such famous Brazilian composers as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Egberto Gismonti and Hermeto Pascoal.</p>
<p>“We play acoustic instruments, but the trio has a lot of energy on stage. It’s Brazilian energetic music,” Lubambo said.</p>
<p>The festival then shifts to the Old Town Plaza where singer Catherine Russell will perform Saturday afternoon, July 13.</p>
<p>“The music —— particularly of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s —— appeals to me and moves me. I love the sound of those old recordings,” Russell said in a phone interview.</p>
<p>Russell’s voice and the sonority of her ensemble invoke the feel of the songs of those decades. Her latest album, “Strictly Romancin,” has such cuts as “Ev’ntide,” “Wake Up and Live” and “Under the Spell of the Blues.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Given her heritage, it’s easy to understand Russell’s affinity for that music.</p>
<p>Russell’s father was popular band-leader Luis Russell, who also was music arranger for Louis Armstrong. Russell’s mother is Carline Ray Russell, who performed with pianist Mary Lou Williams and was a member of the all-women band the International Sweethearts of Rhythm in the 1940s.</p>
<p>“I come from high-achieving parents,” Russell said.</p>
<p>The Dan Dowling-John Griffin Duo will open for the singer in Old Town.</p>
<p>The festival returns to the Outpost on July 18 when Arlen Asher and Straight Up – all New Mexico jazz musicians – will perform.</p>
<p>The next three days of the festival have jazz concerts that bookend the Route 66 Summerfest, which will be held July 20 on Central Avenue between Girard and Washington.</p>
<p>In terms of patrons, Route 66 Summerfest is the festival’s biggest event. Last year it drew an estimated 45,000 people, said Tom Guralnick, a festival co-director.</p>
<p>“In a sense it has become a great thing for the jazz festival. We have this huge free event in the middle of the festival,” he said. “It’s great for the city to get people out. It’s great for the jazz festival to offer a free event. And it’s great for the Nob Hill Main Street Association because it’s the best day of the year for all the merchants on the street.”</p>
<p>The bands Red Baraat and The Relatives headline Summerfest’s main stage, but there are a total of 20 bands on three stages along Central.</p>
<p>One of Summerfest’s bookend events features the veteran jazz fusion group The Yellowjackets on July 19 at the Hiland Theater.</p>
<p>On July 21 there will be three jazz brunches as the other bookend of Summerfest.</p>
<p>Most of the events in the festival’s remaining week will be in Santa Fe.</p>
<p>Bassist Stanley Clarke, known for his work with the fusion band Return to Forever and his collaborations with Al DiMeola and Jean-Luc Ponty, will play at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe on July 21.</p>
<p>Larry Mitchell and The Mil-Tones will play the Santa Fe Plaza on July 23. African-born guitarist Lionel Loueke is at the Outpost on July 26. The next night Loueke will join prominent trumpeter-film score composer Terence Blanchard at the Lensic in Santa Fe.</p>
<p>Recently named NEA Jazz Master Eddie Palmieri, a pianist long associated with salsa and Latin jazz, is in conversation on July 27 at the Lensic with A.B. Spellman and that evening Palmieri will be in concert at the same venue.</p>
<p>The festival will close on July 28 with New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott at the Outpost.</p>
<p>For more information on the festival, visit <a href="http://www.newmexicojazzfestival.org" type="external">www.newmexicojazzfestival.org</a>.</p>
<p>For advance tickets to festival concerts go to <a href="http://www.newmexicojazzfestival.org" type="external">www.newmexicojazzfestival.org</a> or call the Outpost at 268-0044 or the Lensic at 505-988-1234 or go to the Outpost, 210 Yale SE, or the Lensic box office, 211 W. San Francisco, Santa Fe.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Jammin’ to jazz in ABQ and the City Different | false | https://abqjournal.com/220295/jammin-to-ja-zzin-abq-and-the-city-different.html | 2013-07-12 | 2 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — A Native American tribe will be able to go ahead with its plans for a gambling hall on Martha’s Vineyard after the Supreme Court declined to get involved in the dispute.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court said Monday that it would not take up the case involving the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe.</p>
<p>That leaves in place a lower court ruling favoring the tribe, which had proposed a facility with 300 electronic bingo machines and live bingo. It hasn’t proposed offering slot machines or casino table games such as blackjack or roulette.</p>
<p>Massachusetts and the Martha’s Vineyard town of Aquinnah opposed the gambling hall. They argued that a 1980s agreement granting the tribe nearly 500 acres (202 hectares) had specifically prohibited gambling. The tribe argued a federal law effectively repealed that gambling prohibition.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — A Native American tribe will be able to go ahead with its plans for a gambling hall on Martha’s Vineyard after the Supreme Court declined to get involved in the dispute.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court said Monday that it would not take up the case involving the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe.</p>
<p>That leaves in place a lower court ruling favoring the tribe, which had proposed a facility with 300 electronic bingo machines and live bingo. It hasn’t proposed offering slot machines or casino table games such as blackjack or roulette.</p>
<p>Massachusetts and the Martha’s Vineyard town of Aquinnah opposed the gambling hall. They argued that a 1980s agreement granting the tribe nearly 500 acres (202 hectares) had specifically prohibited gambling. The tribe argued a federal law effectively repealed that gambling prohibition.</p> | High court lets tribe’s Massachusetts gambling hall proceed | false | https://apnews.com/35747e62333d47f68a8d9c30c17d5823 | 2018-01-08 | 2 |
<p>This won't stop the media of course, but this viral photo has a serious flaw. Namely: the alleged KKK members are actually black. In a classic liberal move, when they can't take him down legitimately, they resort to straw man arguments. Don't try and pin this on Donald Trump. You may not agree with his politics, but don't attack him with false attacks.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>0 comments</p> | KKK members allegedly supporting Trump. Here's what's wrong with the arguement | true | http://freedomsfinalstand.com/kkk-members-allegedly-supporting-trump-heres-whats-wrong-with-the-arguement/ | 0 |
|
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bryan Fischer</a> apparently thinks lesbian and bisexual are the same thing. The <a href="" type="internal">American Family Association</a> spokesperson yesterday claimed that <a href="" type="internal">Hillary Clinton</a> “could be our first lesbian president” because former <a href="" type="internal">Bill Clinton</a> mistress <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2424555/Bill-Clintons-mistress-Gennifer-Flowers-Wed-today-wasnt-Chelsea.html" type="external">Gennifer Flowers recently claimed the former Secretary of State is bisexual</a>. Of course, there is no evidence Mrs. Clinton is a lesbian or bisexual, nor is it currently anyone’s business — and nor is it a slur, despite Fischer’s apparent hopes.</p>
<p>And all this on the day the Pope announced it’s <a href="" type="internal">time to stop being “obsessed” with homosexuality</a>.</p>
<p>“Since Fischer accepts pure speculation from whatever source as indisputable fact so long as it fits his agenda,” Brian Tashman at <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-hillary-clinton-could-be-our-first-lesbian-president" type="external">Right Wing Watch</a> writes, “it is no surprise that he now claims that ‘the bottom line is that if Hillary Clinton becomes president in 2016 she will not only be our first female president she could be our first lesbian president.’”</p>
<p>It’s hard to tell if a working day goes by that Fischer, the most-recgnizable name in his Mississippi-based anti-gay hate group, doesn’t talk about LGBT people, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, or other issues related to the LGBT community.</p>
<p>When the middle name of the company that gives you a paycheck every week is “family,” isn’t it about time you started actually doing something to support that?</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Image by&#160; <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcn/" type="external">Marc Nozell</a>&#160;via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcn/2166992396/" type="external">Flickr</a></p>
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">American Family Association</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Bill Clinton</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Bisexual</a>, <a href="" type="internal">bryan fischer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">hate groups</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Hillary Clinton</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p> | Hillary Clinton ‘Could Be Our First Lesbian President’ Says Fischer | true | http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/hillary-clinton-could-be-our-first-lesbian-president-says-fischer/politics/2013/09/20/75459 | 2013-09-20 | 4 |
<p>Afghanistan may be nearing yet another political crisis as officials fear that President Hamid Karzai will not accept results of an investigation outlining massive fraud in the country’s presidential elections two months ago. The inquiry is expected to drop Karzai’s vote total to under 50 percent, requiring a runoff election.</p>
<p>The Guardian:</p>
<p>Britain and the United States are attempting to avert a political crisis in Afghanistan as fears mounted in Kabul that Hamid Karzai will refuse to accept the results of an official inquiry into massive electoral fraud that is expected to trigger a fresh round of voting.</p>
<p>Diplomatic sources in the Afghan capital said the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was due to call the Afghan president amid concerns that he will reject the findings of the Election Complaints Commission (ECC), due to be published on Saturday. Downing Street confirmed that Gordon Brown has telephoned the Afghan president twice this week. The US ambassador to Kabul is expected to visit the presidential palace.</p>
<p />
<p>Clinton indicated that a second round of voting would follow the expected report. “Whatever the ECC’s recommendation is, I believe it should be followed. And if that requires a second round that is what should happen,” she said in an interview with CNN. She added she expected Karzai to win: “I think one can conclude that the likelihood of him winning a second round is probably pretty high.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/16/karzai-election-result-crisis" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Political Crisis Brews in Afghanistan | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/political-crisis-brews-in-afghanistan/ | 2009-10-17 | 4 |
<p>While many Americans may believe that US policies are designed to address American needs, America’s new Ambassador to Israel explains that this is far from the case.</p>
<p>In a recent&#160; <a href="http://jppi.org.il/" type="external">speech</a>&#160;before the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), Ambassador Daniel Shapiro clarified what drives US policies:</p>
<p>“The test of every policy the Administration develops in the Middle East is whether it is consistent with the goal of ensuring Israel’s future as a secure, Jewish, democratic state. That is a commitment that runs as a common thread through our entire government.”</p>
<p>Shapiro went on to say:</p>
<p>“This test explains our extraordinary security cooperation, our stand against the delegitimization of Israel, our efforts on Iran, our response to the Arab Spring, and our efforts on Israeli-Palestinian peace.”</p>
<p>US funding of Israel and its weapons industry</p>
<p>Shapiro elaborated:</p>
<p>“Israel will receive over $3 billion in U.S. funding for training and equipment in the coming fiscal year.&#160;&#160;This assistance allows Israel to purchase the sophisticated defense equipment it needs to protect itself, by itself, including the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.&#160;&#160;Our assistance has also helped boost Israel’s domestic defense industry.”</p>
<p>On top of this, Shapiro pointed out,</p>
<p>“Congress, at the request of President Obama, provided $205 million to accelerate production and deployment of the Iron Dome short-range missile system, a project to which I devoted particular attention during my tenure at the White House.”</p>
<p>Shapiro failed to note that this system&#160; <a href="http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/component/k2/item/8-whats-in-it-for-us-mr-obama?" type="external">competes</a>&#160;with American defense firms, causing still further job loss for Americans, who have a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">higher unemployment rate</a>&#160;than Israel.</p>
<p>Shapiro said that one of his first visits as Ambassador to Israel was to see an Iron Dome battery deployed near Ashkelon, where he “had very moving visits with the victims of rocket attacks in Ashdod.” Palestinian rocket attacks have killed&#160; <a href="" type="internal">approximately 20</a>&#160;Israelis. There is no report that Shapiro has visited the victims of Israeli shelling attacks on Gaza, where over <a href="http://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/gazafactsheet.html" type="external">1,400</a>&#160;have been killed.</p>
<p>Opposing international initiatives</p>
<p>Shapiro said:</p>
<p>“The test of our policy – that it advances Israel’s status as a secure, Jewish, democratic state – also explains our commitment to vigorously battle against those who would attempt to isolate or delegitimize Israel in the international community.”</p>
<p>As a result, Shapiro said, the US withdrew from the South African conference on racism in Durban and vetoed UN efforts on Israel (which otherwise would have passed).</p>
<p>Currently, he said, the administration is “doing everything we can” to oppose the Palestinian bid for UN membership to come later this month. “We are taking our opposition to capitals around the world.”</p>
<p>This campaign is reminiscent of previous pro-Israel campaigns, including the original pressure brought by Israel partisans in&#160; <a href="http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/israellobby/usisraelrelationship" type="external">1947</a>&#160;on the UN General Assembly to pass a recommendation to give over half of Palestine to a Jewish state.</p>
<p>Policies on Iran based on Israeli concerns</p>
<p>Shapiro went on to say:</p>
<p>“The test of our policy – to advance Israel’s status as a secure, Jewish democratic state – explains our persistent efforts and the President’s determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>“Since 2009, the United States has led the world in imposing the toughest sanctions ever against Iran, through U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, through the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions and Divestment Act, and through additional sanctions imposed by European and other partners beyond those mandated by the U.N. Security Council…&#160;&#160;We are working to increase pressure on Iran through additional means, and have taken no option off the table.</p>
<p>Twenty years ago similar pressure on Iraq created a humanitarian catastrophe in which, according to the World Health Organization, over&#160; <a href="" type="internal">5,000 children</a>&#160;under the age of five died each month from “embargo-related causes.”</p>
<p>Arab Spring actions predicated on Israeli interests</p>
<p>Shapiro explained that concerns for Israel also drive the US administration’s actions regarding the Arab Spring:</p>
<p>“The test of our policy explains President Obama’s original outreach to the Muslim world, and his response to the Arab Spring.</p>
<p>“Israel’s interests were not served by the deep anger felt toward the United States in many Muslim communities, and the President made clear that those who would accept his outstretched hand must do so knowing that the United States will remain a fierce defender of Israel’s legitimacy and call on others to build their own connections with Israel.</p>
<p>“As the unprecedented events of the Arab Spring have unfolded, we have recognized the opportunity presented by the possible emergence of more open, transparent, peaceful, and democratic governments, who will make better neighbors, while remaining vigilant about the risks these changes could present.&#160;&#160;We know the stakes for Israel are high, and in a situation where neither of us can control outcomes, we are working closely together to chart a common strategy.”&#160;</p>
<p>Shapiro said that US support for a “two-state solution” is also based on Israeli desires, explaining that he and the Administration are “convinced that a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.” Therefore, he said, the administration’s “vigorous pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace” also meets the pro-Israel test.</p>
<p>Need to bolster pro-Israel ties among Jewish Americans</p>
<p>Shapiro spoke of the close allegiance that most Jewish Americans feel for Israel, but expressed concern that “much research has shown that growing numbers of younger American Jews feel disconnected, or at best ambivalent, toward Israel.&#160;&#160;Valuable programs like Birthright have exposed many to this connection, but many more have not been reached.”</p>
<p>He said that “a stronger commitment to Zionist education for American Jewish youth could do much to strengthen bonds that we want to be even stronger in the next generation, but may not be if left untended.”</p>
<p>Helping Israeli finances even further</p>
<p>Shapiro said that “one of the most fruitful opportunities for deepening ties” between Americans and Israelis is in the economic sphere:</p>
<p>“There are approximately one dozen American-Israel Chambers of Commerce throughout the United States, based in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.&#160;&#160;&#160;These organizations are run and organized by Americans who care deeply about the U.S.- Israel relationship and strive to facilitate U.S.-Israel business connections.”</p>
<p>Shapiro pointed out:</p>
<p>“In 2010 alone the U.S. imported $21 billion of Israeli goods and services; that’s 10 percent of Israel’s GDP.&#160;&#160;&#160;American companies and their representatives here directly employ about 60,000 Israelis; that’s fully 2 percent of Israel’s entire workforce. This figure does not include the many thousands more that are supported by American companies here as subcontractors or in downstream businesses.</p>
<p>“American companies have opened two-thirds of all foreign R&amp;D facilities in Israel and brought in nearly 60 percent of all foreign direct investment.&#160;&#160;In 2011, American companies have acquired ten Israeli startups to the tune of $1.5 billion dollars, not just for their products, but to establish leading international R&amp;D centers tapping into the greatest asset of Israel’s people, their brainpower.&#160;&#160;American-sourced venture capitalism provides more than half of all money for nascent technology companies to get off the ground.</p>
<p>“Just as other Diaspora communities are often in the lead in promoting economic ties with their countries of origin, many of these projects began because of Jewish-American ‘champions’ of corporate interaction with Israel.”</p>
<p>Ambassador Shapiro failed to mention that Israel’s current&#160;account balance&#160;is 29th in the world; the U.S. comes in at 196th.</p>
<p>1973 War and Shapiro’s personal ties to Israel</p>
<p>In his speech, Ambassador Shapiro recounted his personal history “for the insights it can give us about the connection of the American Jewish community to the U.S.-Israel relationship.” He stated:</p>
<p>“I am a proud member of our Jewish community in Washington, DC, active in a Conservative synagogue and the Jewish day school that my children attend and where my wife, Julie, worked for many years. And my profound respect for the State of Israel and its remarkable achievements stems from a lifetime of exposure to the extraordinary people who brought Theodore Herzl’s Zionist dream to life.”</p>
<p>Shapiro explained that his close attachment to Israel began in 1973 when he was four years old and his family spent a fall semester in Israel. They were there during the war in which Egypt and Syria tried to retrieve land that had been taken by Israel seven years before.</p>
<p>While Ambassador Shapiro didn’t go into this, there is a close US connection to the 1973 war, called by Israel and US media the “Yom Kippur War.”</p>
<p>Before and during this war, Saudi Arabia called on the US to pressure Israel to return the lands that it had taken and held since 1967, in&#160; <a href="http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/un497.htm" type="external">violation</a>&#160;of international law. Instead, Henry Kissinger arranged a massive airlift of US weaponry to Israel, saving Israel from losing the war.&#160;&#160;This support led to the&#160; <a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/oil-boycott.html#end%22" type="external">oil embargo</a>&#160;against the US that caused a deep depression and cost thousands of Americans their jobs.</p>
<p>As historian Donald Neff later&#160; <a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/oil-boycott.html#end%22" type="external">wrote</a>, this boycott, induced by Kissinger’s weapons to Israel, left “economies around the world shattered and many individuals living poorer lives.” Neff wrote that while “Kissinger admitted, ‘I made a mistake,’ skeptics might wonder whether it was a mistake, or wanton disregard of U.S. interests during a passionate effort to help Israel.”</p>
<p>Shapiro explained that the 1973 war had a major impact on his family:</p>
<p>“By the end of the war, and even more so, by the end of our stay, our family’s relationship with Israel had been utterly transformed, from a solid but light connection to the deepest of bonds.&#160;&#160;Throughout the remainder of my childhood, family dinner conversations turned easily to events in Israel, from the thrill of the&#160; <a href="http://ifamericansknew.org/history/egyptrev.html" type="external">peace with Egypt</a>&#160;to the anguish of the Lebanon War [initiated by Israel; fatalities were approximately&#160; <a href="" type="internal">25:1</a>&#160;Lebanese to Israelis].&#160;&#160;The ample bookshelves in my parents’ home grew laden with studies in Zionism, Jewish history, and Israeli literature.</p>
<p>“A product of the Reform Movement, I nurtured my own connection to Israel primarily through summer camp experiences at the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, an unlikely setting for some of the most innovative Jewish and Zionist education to be found anywhere.</p>
<p>“These experiences led me to spend half a year after high school in Israel on a Reform Movement program, living with an Israeli family in Jerusalem, studying at Hebrew Union College, traveling widely throughout the country, and volunteering on Kibbutz Yahel in the Arava.</p>
<p>“I returned for my sophomore year of college at Hebrew University, supplementing my studies with work as a waiter at the wedding hall in the Beit Knesset HaGadol and long walks in Rehavia, where my girlfriend – who is now my wife of 19 years – took an apartment.</p>
<p>“In the years since, I have made Israel, its history and people, its quest for peace and security in the Middle East, and its relationship with the United States, the centerpiece of my academic studies at Brandeis and Harvard, my work on Capitol Hill, and my service in the Clinton and Obama Administrations.”</p>
<p>Shapiro emphasized that in many ways his story is not unique, stating that “it is impossible to deny the special connection that most in the American Jewish community feel for Israel…. wherever they fall on the political spectrum, and whatever their views on American policy, Israeli policy or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the vast majority of American Jews care deeply about Israel…”</p>
<p>Shapiro said that he is deeply honored that President Obama has entrusted him with the “task and responsibility of strengthening and deepening” US ties to Israel.</p>
<p>Shapiro concluded:</p>
<p>“… as a committed Jewish American, with deep roots in the American Jewish community and warm bonds of affection with Israel, I will have an opportunity to draw on those associations to help make the U.S.-Israel relationship, strong as it is, even stronger in the years ahead.”</p>
<p>Alison Weir is Executive Director of&#160; <a href="http://ifamericansknew.org/" type="external">If Americans Knew</a>&#160;and President of the&#160; <a href="http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/" type="external">Council for the National Interest</a>. She can be reached at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | The Israeli Litmus Test | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/09/14/the-israeli-litmus-test/ | 2011-09-14 | 4 |
<p>I spoke to journalist Eric Duhaime about what's going on in Quebec politics right now.</p>
<p />
<p>English Canadian reporters are abuzz about NDP leader Thomas Mulcair's comments about separation. Duhaime agrees with me that no one in Quebec is talking about that issue right now.</p>
<p>What Quebeckers are really concerned about is the niqab, and <a href="http://www.ShowYourFace.ca" type="external">the court decision</a>allowing Muslim women to cover their faces while taking the citizenship oath.</p>
<p>Duhaime says the NDP's popularity in the province has been dropping one percent a day and they're now below 40 percent, based on the perception that the party is pro-niqab.</p>
<p>Duhaime says even most Quebec Muslims oppose it.</p>
<p>He adds that there is also a "huge backlash" against <a href="http://www.thetruthaboutrefugees.com" type="external">proposals to accept large numbers of Syrian refugees.</a></p>
<p>"If there is a problem in Syria, we should help them in Syria," he says, is the common point of view among average people, even if the media don't agree.</p>
<p>Believe that Muslim face coverings have no place in Canada? <a href="https://the-rebel-store.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/shirt-keep-em-seperated" type="external">The Rebel Store has the t-shirt for you:</a>Get our NEW "Separation of Mosque and State" tee today!Judges say Muslim women can wear burqas while pledging Canadian citizenship. <a href="http://www.ShowYourFace.ca" type="external">SIGN OUR PETITION</a> now, demanding that the federal government appeal this outrageous decision. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/CBCExposed" type="external">READ Brian Lilley's book CBC Exposed</a> -- it's been called "the political book of the year.”</p> | In Quebec, "the niqab issue has really hijacked the campaign" | true | http://therebel.media/in_quebec_the_niqab_issue | 2015-09-23 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of NextEra Energy Partners LP (NYSE: NEP) screamed 23.5% higher in January according to data provided by <a href="http://marketintelligence.spglobal.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>after the company reported earnings, giving a positive outlook on dividend guidance and modifying its incentive distribution rights (IDR) agreement.</p>
<p>NextEra Energy Partners reported $639 million in EBITDA for 2016 and $222 million in CAFD, resulting in a dividend per share of $1.41. At the same time, management said it expects to have the runway to generate dividend growth of 12% to 15% through 2022 and also lowered its IDRs to NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) by half to 25% of future dividend increases.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>IDRs are set up to give sponsors an incentive to help yieldcos grow by compensating them with a percentage of any dividend increase. At the current dividend level, half of the dividend increase would go to NextEra Energy and half would go to NextEra Energy Partners shareholders. Now, shareholders will get 75% of the increase, which will allow the company to grow more easily in the future.</p>
<p>High dividend yields have made it difficult for yieldcos to grow because they need to be able to buy projects with a higher rate of return than their own cost of capital. A lower dividend leads to a lower cost of capital, which will help NextEra Energy Partners grow in the future. It's a virtuous cycle, and right now this is one of the lowest dividend yield yieldcos out there, which will be an advantage for the company long-term.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than NextEra Energy 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=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=0351e85b-755d-4aa5-9576-233168f0576f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and NextEra Energy 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=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=0351e85b-755d-4aa5-9576-233168f0576f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | The Yieldco Comeback: NextEra Energy Partners LP Jumps 24% in January | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/07/yieldco-comeback-nextera-energy-partners-lp-jumps-24-in-january.html | 2017-02-07 | 0 |
<p>Apple earnings are due after the market closes</p>
<p>U.S. stock-market indexes were under pressure in early trade Thursday, as traders took a cautious approach ahead of two closely watched events expected to finally land: Trump's choice of Federal Reserve Chairman and the unveiling of a House Republican tax bill.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Tesla and Facebook are expected to be in focus after they issued quarterly reports late Wednesday. After the market closes Thursday, attention should turn to earnings from tech giant Apple and coffee-chain Starbucks.</p>
<p>What are stock indexes doing?</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 was off by 1 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2,578, with seven of the 11 main sectors trading in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 4 points, or less than 01%, to 23,428.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq Composite Index traded flat at 6,716, paring an opening slide.</p>
<p>What's driving the markets?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A tax bill from House Republicans, which was postponed one day to Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/house-gop-delays-tax-bill-plans-to-keep-top-individual-rate-of-396-2017-10-31) to give lawmakers more time to iron out unresolved issues, should hit today. Hopes for the passage of tax reforms in Washington, including corporate tax cuts, have buoyed investing in stocks.</p>
<p>Republicans are running into difficulties reaching consensus on the tax cuts and that the expected corporate tax cuts to 20% from 35% is expected to be permanent, according to The Wall Street Journal. Earlier news reports suggested that corporate tax cuts would be temporary (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/report-that-us-corporate-tax-cut-could-be-temporary-hits-stock-futures-dollar-2017-11-02).</p>
<p>(https://twitter.com/damianpaletta/status/925842836804833281)</p>
<p>Also in focus is the next Fed chair. President Donald Trump is expected to announce his pick later Thursday, with Fed Gov. Jerome Powell seen as the likely choice. The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House has already notified Powell (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/white-house-has-informed-powell-he-will-be-next-fed-chief-report-2017-11-01) that Trump intends to nominate him.</p>
<p>Read:What a Jerome Powell-led Fed might look like (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imagining-life-under-a-jerome-powell-fed-2017-10-20)</p>
<p>Read:How the next Federal Reserve chair could affect you and your mortgage (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-next-federal-reserve-chair-could-affect-you-and-your-mortgage-2017-10-31)</p>
<p>Across the pond, the Bank of England (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boe-delivers-a-typical-dovish-hike-analysts-react-to-historic-uk-rate-rise-2017-11-02)raised its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 0.5%, meeting widely held expectations for the first rate increase to be enacted since July 2007.</p>
<p>However, the central bank left the level of bond purchases unchanged.</p>
<p>Read: 5 things investors need to know as the Bank of England prepares for historic rate increase (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-investors-need-to-know-as-the-bank-of-england-prepares-for-historic-rate-hike-2017-10-31)</p>
<p>(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-investors-need-to-know-as-the-bank-of-england-prepares-for-historic-rate-hike-2017-10-31)What are analysts saying?</p>
<p>"It's a busy old day for markets, with the GOP tax bill proposal due later, and the likely shake-up at the Federal Reserve. Jerome Powell is tipped, and that's broadly a continuity choice, certainly not the hawkish shift that a Taylor appointment would entail," said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, in a note.</p>
<p>"Who runs the Fed is less important than what Congress does on tax. Fed officials have yet to factor in any tax reform to their projections so any cuts will push the FOMC to be more hawkish," he added.</p>
<p>What economic data are in focus?</p>
<p>Initial U.S. jobless claims (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/layoffs-in-us-back-to-nearly-45-year-low-jobless-claims-show-2017-11-02), a tool to measure layoffs, fell by 5,000 to 229,000 in the week ended Oct. 28. That was lower than the 235,000 estimate of economists polled by MarketWatch.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the productivity of American firms and workers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hard-at-work-us-productivity-hits-three-year-high-2017-11-02)rose 3% in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Which stocks are in focus?</p>
<p>Shares of Tesla Inc. (TSLA) dropped 5.8% after the electric car maker late Wednesday reported a wider-than-expected loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-announces-worst-quarter-ever-model-3-delays-2017-11-01).</p>
<p>Facebook Inc.(FB) slipped 1.4% even after earnings out late Wednesday beat forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-stock-up-after-earnings-and-revenue-beat-2017-11-01). Lawmakers on Wednesday warned Facebook, Alphabet Inc.'s Google(GOOGL)(GOOGL) and Twitter Inc.(TWTR) that they are considering tougher regulations on social-media sites (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lawmakers-warn-social-media-execs-to-fix-problems-or-face-new-regulations-2017-11-01)over concerns of foreign intervention via their platforms.</p>
<p>Alphabet shares were down 0.5%, and Twitter was down 0.9%.</p>
<p>L Brands, Inc. (LB) shares soared 9% after October sales growth. Ralph Lauren Corp.(RL) stock jumped 5.3% after better-than-expected earnings and revenue.</p>
<p>Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.(BABA) shares were up 1% after better-than-expected earnings.</p>
<p>DowDuPont Inc.'s (DWDP) stock was 0.8% lower even as the company exceeded profit and sales expectations.</p>
<p>Yum! Brands Inc.(YUM) shares rose 5.8% after beating earnings estimates.</p>
<p>And after the market closes, Apple and Starbucks Corp.(SBUX) are slated to report.</p>
<p>Read:Apple earnings: iPhone X supply is the question, but the answer may not matter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-earnings-iphone-x-supply-is-the-question-but-the-answer-may-not-matter-2017-10-30)</p>
<p>What are other markets doing?</p>
<p>The pound plunged to $1.31 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pound-strengthens-ahead-of-historic-boe-decision-2017-11-02) after the rate decision, compared with $1.3246 late Wednesday in New York.</p>
<p>Read:Here's how a Bank of England rate increase could 'kill' the British pound (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-a-bank-of-england-rate-hike-could-kill-the-british-pound-2017-11-01)</p>
<p>The dollar fell against most other currencies, with the ICE Dollar Index down 0.1% at 94.686 and on track to break a two-day winning run.</p>
<p>European markets swung between small gains and losses, while Asian markets closed mixed.</p>
<p>Oil futures and gold prices were both down 0.2%.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 02, 2017 09:56 ET (13:56 GMT)</p> | MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks On Pause As Tax Bill, New Fed Boss Comes In To Focus | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/02/market-snapshot-u-s-stocks-on-pause-as-tax-bill-new-fed-boss-comes-in-to-focus.html | 2017-11-02 | 0 |
<p>Hollywood is never going to accurately portray prison life. Like most of our cultural history, the people recording it are on the "winning" side, and while OITNB is a rare instance of hearing about prison from someone who has actually experienced it, the show is also laced with the bias and privilege of that person's life.</p>
<p>To celebrate the fact that&#160;In These Times's recapping of Netflix sensation&#160;Orange is the New Black&#160;has&#160; <a href="" type="internal">reached its midway point</a>, we&#160; <a href="" type="internal">convened a group of&#160;</a> <a href="" type="internal">feminist and activist all-stars</a>&#160;to talk about the show's evolution over the first half of its much-lauded first season.</p>
<p>Assembled for this roundtable were yours truly, Sady Doyle,&#160;In These Times' Orange is the New Black&#160;correspondent;&#160;Lindsay Beyerstein, author of the blog&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Duly Noted</a>;&#160;Jamia Wilson, a feminist activist and writer who's authored, amongst many other great pieces,&#160; <a href="http://www.good.is/posts/the-upside-of-the-help-controversy-it-made-me-think" type="external">“The Upside of 'The Help' Controversy”</a>&#160;for&#160;GOOD;&#160;Danielle Henderson,&#160;Ph.D. student in critical race theory and media and&#160; <a href="http://www.vulture.com/tv/orange-is-the-new-black/" type="external">New York&#160;</a> <a href="http://www.vulture.com/tv/orange-is-the-new-black/" type="external">magazine's OITNB recapper</a>;&#160;Jennifer L. Pozner, author of&#160;Reality Bites Back&#160;and founder of Women in Media and News, who&#160; <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/08/29/tv_can_make_america_better/" type="external">recently wrote about OITNB for Salon</a>; and&#160;Yasmin Nair, the co-founder of Against Equality and author of the article that kicked off OITNB criticism on&#160;In These Times and perhaps the entire Internet,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">”</a> <a href="" type="internal">White Chick Behind Bars.”</a></p>
<p>What follows is an abridged and edited transcript of one of the most fun, interesting and challenging conversations your humble OITNB correspondent has ever had about TV.&#160;In the final round of our discussion, below, we talk about why&#160;Orange Is The New Black&#160;matters and whether TV has the power to change the world.&#160;Read part I&#160; <a href="" type="internal">here</a>&#160;and part II&#160; <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</p>
<p>(SPOILER alert: The following contains general plot points from the first six episodes of&#160;Orange is the New Black).</p>
<p>Yasmin:&#160;I think there's a larger kind of meta-critical discussion to be had perhaps about the extent to which such shows can and/or should be seen as in any way tools with which to think about or through or against the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison%E2%80%93industrial_complex" type="external">Prison-Industrial Complex (PIC)</a>.</p>
<p>My own sense is that it's dangerous to think that a mainstream show, which exists to boost ratings, can in any way point us in the direction of ending the PIC or even to think critically about it. But, also, that we tend to consequently erase a lot of the very critical work that has been done about and around the PIC, work that comes out of grassroots communities like, for instance, Project NIA in Chicago or Chicago Freedom School, work that actively resists and notes the growth of the PIC.</p>
<p>We also risk erasing the existence of non-mainstream representations of the PIC and its harmful effects, in favor of glossy and more palatable renditions like OITNB. I'm thinking here especially of films like <a href="http://www.outfest.org/tixSYS/2013/xslguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=3795" type="external">Criminal Queers, made by my friends Chris Vargas and Eric Stanley,</a> which stars Angela Davis, and which render a very thorough representation and critique of the PIC (and with trans actors and characters in abundance) but which circulate with much less support.</p>
<p>Mostly, my point is: It's okay that OITNB is a deeply flawed representation of women and the PIC, it’s okay to think it’s great or even perfect, and it's okay to take great pleasure in watching it—we can hold all hold all those facts in the air at once. But let's not pretend that it's anything but a multimillion-dollar production by an industry that has no real interest in any social issues, and let's just treat it, critically, in a nuanced way, and without overly fetishizing it, as a piece of cultural production.</p>
<p>Sady: Yasmin, I keep going back to the way show-runner Jenji Kohan described Piper: as a “Trojan Horse.” I think you could say that about OITNB as a show, too. Although people have obviously been doing great work on prison, human rights abuses, and women in prison, for a long time, and although it's easier than ever for people to find those discussions and news stories through the Internet, I think the fact is that a lot of people won't look beyond the prevalent stereotypes about these experiences—prison as “punishment” for a lot of monsters who don't “deserve” any better—until something fun, engaging, and widely accessible lands on their laps. This is what I like so much about OITNB: It goes down really easy, for me anyway, and you don't necessarily realize how much it's done to challenge you, as a viewer, until you've already watched a few hours of it. I don't think something with that “accessible and easy” focus can necessarily do the work of a radical political representation. But I definitely think it can draw people into the conversation, where the other work will be more available to them. I've learned more about incarceration and incarcerated women since OITNB aired than I think I have in several years —which speaks to me being a dope, but I think it also speaks to the fact that this show draws people in and gets them looking for more information about some crucial topics.</p>
<p>Jamia:&#160;I do believe that in spite of the problematic and reductive nature of the show, there will be people who will be compelled to learn more about PIC and prisoner's rights because they feel connected to the humanity of characters they care about. Lauryn Hill is now serving time at the same prison the show is based on and Jesse Jackson's son and daughter-in-law are also doing time. I'm hopeful that the discourse the show inspires, coupled with the media attention sparked by the incarceration of these celebrities will focus more mainstream attention on the importance of transforming law enforcement and the PIC in general. I'm not naive enough to believe that this is the end-all-be all solution, but I'm hopeful that leveraging the moment can spark important conversations and campaigns. I'm thinking specifically about how <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/02/how_domestic_workers_are_using_the_help_and_the_oscars_to_create_change.html" type="external">Ai-Jen Poo and Domestic Workers United leveraged the buzz and controversy around&#160;The Help</a>&#160;to raise awareness about their issues and movement build.</p>
<p>Danielle:&#160;From what I've seen, and what I know to be true, Hollywood is never going to accurately portray prison life. Like most of our cultural history, the people recording it are on the “winning” side,&#160;, and while OITNB is a rare instance of hearing about prison from someone who has actually experienced it, the show is also&#160;laced with the bias and privilege of that person's life. There will never be a solitary, united prison experience for that reason, but we keep pushing this prison genre as something that can be encapsulated by the singular experience. It's one of the reasons I'm really glad this show is so intent on telling the stories of the non-Piper inmates; their subjective experiences showcase the fact that even within a shitty system, every prison experience is solitary, every life differently affected by being in that system.</p>
<p>I (probably unfairly) think that if it takes a TV show to open your eyes to the atrocities of prison industrial complex, that's sort of sad. On the flipside, I realize that our main cultural capital is media, so any show that CAN do that work in the dramatic but non-masculine way is probably a good thing. Like, if OITNB gets more people to send books to prisons, or support bridge programs, or just remember the humanity of people in jail as something generally not related to their crimes, how can that be bad?</p>
<p>Yasmin:&#160;As a closing thought, I'd just like to reiterate that OITNB might well induce conversations about the PIC, but it's dangerous to burden media representations with so much responsibility and power. I think we've reached a point where we cede too much autonomy to media, and buy into the idea that we need it to further our understanding of the world around us. I'm by no means media-phobic—I live in it and write about it and use it constantly. But I'd like us, on a larger cultural scale, to stop imbuing it with so much power, and take all our righteous anger and indignation to meetings, discussions, and to the streets demanding change. Ultimately, media can be a tool for change, and we should also be fine with it as a tool for unthinking consumption, no shame in that—but I think too many people, swayed by the promise and ease of online petitions and celebrity power, and platforms, think of it AS change.</p>
<p>Jenn:&#160;Yasmin, I agree that it is extremely important not to expect media to do the work of cultural change for us without activists working at all sorts of levels in pursuit of that change: via communications strategies, art, public policy advocacy, community organizing, and more. That said, I almost entirely disagree with your comment that “it's dangerous to burden media representations with so much responsibility and power. I think we've reached a point where we cede too much autonomy to media” and “I'd like us, on a larger cultural scale, to stop imbuing it with so much power.”</p>
<p>I’ve been a full-time feminist media critic, activist and educator since the 1990s specifically because in today’s mega-merged media landscape, media have enormous power to shape what the public believes to be “the truth”—about public policy, about legislation, about gender roles, about people of color, about economics, about sexuality, about the way we should and shouldn’t be treated, and so much more. More than 90 percent of what we watch, see, read, hear, play, drive by and consume is owned by approximately six conglomerates, which have very specific financial and (usually undeclared) political agendas in terms of the content they produce and distribute. We live in a country that is incredibly fragmented on a regional level. Our schools, places of worship, city councils and state houses all attempt to uphold vastly different values. So when we think about it, media is the only medium that is available to nearly everyone across the country (except for low-income folks without access to television or internet). This means that media are the one remaining didactic tool through which cultural messages reach Americans equally from Brooklyn to Boise to Birmingham. Representations matter, in a major way. We can’t afford to (and it would be stupid to) expect media to do all the work of social change for us, because that will never happen—but we ignore the immense power of media’s political, cultural and social impact at our peril.</p>
<p>Yasmin:&#160;I agree with you on those points—but I’d also clarify that we need to contextualize the power of media differently. I was responding very specifically to some of the ways that OITNB’s most fervent supporters have hyped the show’s ability to bring about solid, deep conversations about the PIC or the treatment of women in prison. And in my mind, that simply can’t happen as long as they/we are so hung up on valorizing the show’s “diversity,” at the expense of asking what the costs of representation might be.</p>
<p>Which is to say: Representations absolutely matter, but much of the discourse around OITNB has become enmeshed in a complicated narrative that is part soggy 1990s identity politics and part liberal/progressive guilt, which causes people to simply freak out at any suggestion that this breadth of characters is not necessarily part of a larger, more radical portrayal. Or that, indeed, it’s the very diversity of representation that’s part of the problem.</p>
<p>It’s the conditions of possibility I’m most concerned about, the conditions set upon representation but yes, certainly, we ignore media’s power at our peril.</p>
<p>Oh, and Larry</p>
<p>Sady:&#160;Well! We are coming in to the home stretch now. I just want to thank everyone who's participated for their time and their thoughts, which have been amazing to read. Any more closing thoughts? We never did discuss Larry. Because no one ever wants to discuss Larry, that's why.</p>
<p>Jamia:&#160;Amen. He's such a dudebro stereotype. I have NO love for him.</p>
<p>Lindsay:&#160;Larry is the WORST.</p>
<p>Yasmin:&#160;Women become queer because men are so boring? But seriously, yes, I actually completely forgot about him.</p>
<p>Sady:&#160;If we have learned nothing from discussing “Orange is the New Black” over one day and 8,000 words, it is that all OITNB opinions can be united on one point: Nobody, anywhere, ever, will ever care about Larry. I think that's a valuable lesson for us all.T</p>
<p>This is part III or a three-part series.&#160;Read part I&#160; <a href="" type="internal">here</a>&#160;and part II&#160; <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</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>Sady Doyle is an In These Times contributor. She is the author of <a href="http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/trainwreck/" type="external">Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why</a> (Melville House, 2016) and was the founder of the blog <a href="http://tigerbeatdown.com" type="external">Tiger Beatdown</a>. You can follow her on Twitter at @sadydoyle, or e-mail her at sady inthesetimes.com.</p> | Orange Is the New Black Roundtable, Part 3: The Final Word on OITNB (Oh, and Larry) | true | http://inthesetimes.com/article/15552/orange_is_the_new_black_roundtable_part_3/ | 2013-09-09 | 4 |
<p>Photo used under Creative Commons license by Flickr user &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/biggreymare/3281787278/sizes/l/"&gt;Big Grey Mare&lt;/a&gt;.</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>It’s a year from now, and you wake up with a sore throat. You’re not worried, because not too long ago the Obama administration successfully passed comprehensive health care reform, expanding coverage to you and many of the 46 million Americans previously without it. So you call your family doctor to schedule an appointment; the doctor, however, is booked, and can’t see you for two months. You decide to wait it out. A couple weeks pass; your throat worsens. Fearing something more serious, you go where you know a doctor will treat you: the emergency room. There, after a couple of hours of waiting, a physician and his team run you through a battery of complicated, expensive tests. The mystery ailment? Strep throat—something your doctor could’ve spotted in 10 minutes and for maybe $50 or $60. For the four hours you spent in the ER, the cost is 10 times that.</p>
<p>Pretty bleak, right? Yet this scenario—of extended delays to see a doctor, of patients spilling over into emergency rooms, of costs soaring ever higher—isn’t far from reality. Indeed, in Massachusetts, where near-universal health care came into force several years ago and now covers more than 97 percent of the population, the rapid influx of patients has strained the system and wait times to see a primary-care doctor can stretch more than three months. Some primary-care doctors have ceased taking new patients at all, forcing individuals into unnecessary appointments with more expensive specialists or trips to the ER. And while Massachusetts’ health care experiment isn’t a perfect indicator of what national reform might look like, this kind of access crisis, experts say, could derail the Obama administration’s best-laid plans for reform.</p>
<p>So far, the public debate and media coverage concerning <a href="" type="internal">comprehensive health care reform</a> has largely focused on insurance. Whether it’s a government-run <a href="" type="internal">public plan</a>, nonprofit <a href="" type="internal">co-ops</a>, or tweaking the system already in place, the country is divided on how to cover the uninsured. Yet vastly underplayed is how health care, irrespective of the insurance model in place, will be delivered to those with coverage. Not as controversial a topic as insurance, health care delivery is nonetheless vital to any new legislation; even the most revolutionary health insurance plan will be a bust by failing to lower costs and improve outcomes if the system in place—the doctors and nurses and hospitals and clinics and so on—to deliver that care buckles under the deluge of new patients. And our delivery system needs help. Look no further than the foundation of American health care—primary-care medicine, which consists of family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology—and the serious crisis it faces for a glimpse of how even the most ambitious health care legislation could fail without major delivery changes.</p>
<p>If primary-care medicine in the US were a patient, its diagnosis would be grim. The first responders to illness and pain, who can spot and treat chronic conditions in their early stages, primary-care doctors are in greater demand each year. In 2006, just more than 250,000 primary-care doctors practiced in the US—by some estimates, that was about several thousand to more than 7,000 less than the demand. The <a href="http://www.aamc.org/" type="external">Association of American Medical Colleges</a> projects that by 2025 the demand for primary-care doctors will have soared to nearly 320,000 doctors nationwide, a 29 percent increase from 2006 and the most for all types of physicians.</p>
<p>But while demand skyrockets, supply of primary care doctors lags far behind. Statistics from the AAMC estimate a shortfall of 46,000 primary care doctors by 2025, a gap that will lead to pervasive access problems and force patients to seek out emergency rooms or costly specialists. “If all of a sudden President Obama increases access to the uninsured, there will be a huge capacity that the demand will not be met for,” says Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the <a href="http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home.html" type="external">American Academy of Family Physicians</a> (AAFP). “People will have access issues, and they will be sicker.”</p>
<p>Which brings the question: Where have all the primary-care doctors gone? The problem starts on medical-school campuses, where the pipeline for primary-care medicine is drying up. As the demand for primary care continues to increase, the percentage of graduates today choosing the field—about 30 percent—is stagnant at the same level as in 1980. The remaining 70 percent choose more lucrative specialties like radiology or cardiology or any number of niche fields that weren’t around 30 years ago. In 2006, a mere 42 percent of residency positions in family medicine were filled by medical-school graduates, a decrease from 73 percent a decade earlier.</p>
<p>Part of this supply problem is financial. Graduates see that primary-care doctors earn among the least of all doctors, a deterrent for new doctors who enter the workforce with an average of $155,000 in <a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-sections/medical-student-section/advocacy-policy/medical-student-debt.shtml" type="external">debt</a> and climbing. A 2008 salary survey found that internists, pediatricians, and family physicians ranked in the bottom three at about $180,000 to $190,000 a year. (Diagnostic radiology topped the list, with an average salary of well over $400,000 a year.) Other salary surveys suggest that primary-care figure might be $30,000 or $40,000 lower.</p>
<p>Yet the problem isn’t purely financial, but cultural, too. Primary-care experts inside and outside of academia interviewed by Mother Jones cited an academic environment in medical schools that touts more specialized fields and undervalues primary care. Dr. Russell Robertson, who’s on the faculty at Northwestern University’s medical school, said students often get the impression that the only doctors who go into primary care are the ones who aren’t smart or ambitious enough to succeed in more specialized fields. “There’s so much data and misinformation that’s perpetuated in osteopathic and allopathic medical schools, that basically the only people who go into primary care are the ones who can’t go into other specialties,” Robertson says.</p>
<p>The primary-care crisis extends to practicing physicians, almost half of whom say they would seriously consider leaving primary care if they could, according to a 2008 poll by the Physicians’ Foundation. Because the American health care system embraces a fee-for-service payment model—basically, the more imaging tests and complicated procedures you perform, the more you get paid—doctors who offer preventive care, who don’t conduct MRIs or other expensive tests, have to shuffle patients in and out as fast as possible to collect more reimbursement fees per visit. The result is less time with patients, lesser quality care, and exhausted doctors. “You see as many patients in the day as you can. If quality happens as a byproduct of that, that’s great—but [insurance companies are] not going to look at that,” says Dr. Jay Fathi, a family physician at Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center, one of the largest nonprofit health care providers in the Pacific Northwest. “You’re on roller skates all day.”</p>
<p>Studies and reports for decades have shown that greater access to primary-care doctors provides benefits reaped across the population. By spending more time with their patients and learning their personal backgrounds and medical histories, primary-care doctors deliver higher quality care, prevent chronic conditions, improve quality of life, and lower mortality rates. And, crucially, more preventive care substantially lowers health care costs. “If you build on a primary-care model, you get more satisfied patients, better outcomes in terms of equality of care, and it costs less,” says Dr. Eric Larson, director of the Group Health Research Institute at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. “All the major industrial countries generally have built their system [on] primary care and build off it. We’re doing just the opposite.”</p>
<p>The good news is the Obama administration and some members of Congress to an extent understand this. They believe in the benefits of more preventive care, and recognize what needs to be fixed in our unbalanced system. To address the burdensome debt levels of new doctors, $200 million in <a href="http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/secretary-sebelius-makes-recovery-act-funding-available-bolster-health-care-needy-communitie" type="external">stimulus funding</a> went to expand the <a href="http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/" type="external">National Health Service Corps</a>, a government program that offers loan repayment for med-school graduates who often practice primary care in underserved areas; under the House tri-committee health care legislation, another $4 billion would be allocated to NHSC over a decade.</p>
<p>With regard to payment, the House and Senate health care bills would increase Medicare reimbursements to primary-care doctors, which, today at about $30 to $50 per patient for a typical office visit, are long overdue for an increase. Doing so would begin to allow doctors to slow down and spend more time with patients instead of darting from one to the next. The bills would also invest more to boost primary-care access in underserved areas, and increase training opportunities in fields like family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, and geriatrics.</p>
<p>Even better would be major investment in concepts like the patient-centered medical home, an integrated system that coordinates all elements of a patient’s care in one setting and offers round-the-clock access for patients. This kind of system, which is in use at a few scattered locations in the US, would reward doctors not for how many patients they can see in a day, but for how well they treat their patients and what their outcomes are. At the Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative’s patient-centered medical home, just one year showed promising results with 29 percent fewer emergency room visits, 11 percent fewer hospitalizations that primary care can prevent, and 6 percent fewer in-person visits.</p>
<p>What remains to be seen is whether primary-care-focused funding will survive the gauntlet of lobbyists and special interests involved in the health care fight and, if a bill even passes, the cost-cutting process before the legislation lands on Obama’s desk. Failure to bolster primary care, experts say, could be ruinous for any attempt at reform and almost certainly shut out millions of Americans from crucial health care—even if they are insured. “Giving coverage,” says Ted Epperly of the AAFP, “doesn’t create a better system unless you have a delivery system that’s also fixed.”</p>
<p /> | The Doctor Can’t See You Now | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/10/doctor-cant-see-you-now/ | 2009-10-05 | 4 |
<p>UPDATED:</p>
<p>Talk about a pet project. A tiny mouse with the longtime backing of a political giant may soon reap the benefits of the economic-stimulus package.</p>
<p>Lawmakers and administration officials divulged Wednesday that the $789 billion economic stimulus bill being finalized behind closed doors in Congress includes $30 million for wetlands restoration that the Obama administration intends to spend in the San Francisco Bay Area to protect, among other things, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.</p>
<p>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi represents the city of San Francisco and has previously championed preserving the mouse’s habitat in the Bay Area.</p>
<p>The revelation immediately became a political football, as Republicans accused Democrats of reneging on a promise to keep so-called earmarks that fund lawmakers’ favorite projects out of the legislation. Democrats, including Mrs. Pelosi, countered that the accusations were fabricated.</p>
<p>See related story: <a href="" type="internal">Deal reached on historic stimulus</a></p>
<p>Politics aside, the episode demonstrates that no matter how hard lawmakers argue that they technically lived up to their pledge to keep specific projects from being listed in the bill, there is little stopping the federal money from going to those projects after the legislation passes and federal and state agencies begin deciding where to spend their newfound dollars.</p>
<p>Programs for sexually transmitted diseases, smoking prevention, a clean-burning power plant and a computer center also appear ready to get infusions of money once the bill becomes law, congressional offices told The Washington Times.</p>
<p>“One of the proudest boasts of Democrats supporting their trillion-dollar spending plan is that it doesn’t contain earmarks. But it seems like powerful Democrats will still find a way to bring home the bacon,” said a frustrated Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, who took direct aim at the mouse.</p>
<p>“This certainly doesn’t sound like it will create or save American jobs,” Mr. Steel said. “So can Speaker Pelosi explain exactly how we will improve the American economy by helping the adorable little” critter?</p>
<p>A spokesman for Mrs. Pelosi said Republicans “fabricated” the claim.</p>
<p>“The speaker nor her staff have had any involvement in this initiative. This is yet another contrived partisan attack,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said. “Restoration is key to economic activity, including farming, fisheries, recreation and clean water.”</p>
<p>Republican lawmakers said they learned of the marsh money when asking about how various agencies plan to spend stimulus money. The vitality of the mouse has been an issue for Mrs. Pelosi and other California Democrats since the early 1990s.</p>
<p>President Obama boasts that the stimulus plan contains no earmarks because Congress technically did not use the earmark process for lawmakers to request and drop in specific spending items. Congressional leaders were putting the finishing touches on a $789 billion final version of the bill Wednesday night. It was not clear how many of the programs criticized by Republicans remained in the package.</p>
<p>Some of those items that Republicans are calling earmarks include $200 million for a clean-burning power plant in Mattoon, Ill., and $750 million for the National Computer Center and $500 million for the National Institutes of Health offices, both located in Maryland.</p>
<p>Other spending questioned by Republicans — but not considered on the chopping block — are $275 million for flood prevention, $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries, and $650 million for the digital TV converter-box coupons.</p>
<p>The list goes on: $1 billion for administrative costs and construction of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office buildings, $100 million for constructing U.S. Marshals office buildings, and $1.3 billion for NASA, including $450 million tagged for science.</p>
<p>Then there is the $300 million for hybrid and electric cars for the federal government. The funding includes golf carts for federal workers.</p>
<p>For more political news, check out the latest Washington Times <a href="" type="internal">blog posts.</a></p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="https://goo.gl/forms/xGjXcUKYsKxMeCUl1" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Pelosi’s mouse slated for $30M slice of cheese | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/12/earmark-less-bill-gives-pelosis-mouse-cookie/ | 2009-02-12 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Former Lobo guard Kendall Williams told the Journal on Thursday he received an invitation to next week's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.</p>
<p>The 6-foot-4-inch guard from California will join former University of New Mexico teammates Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow at the event, which features 60 players chosen only after NBA player personnel have expressed interest in the player attending the event. Kirk and Bairstow <a href="" type="internal">learned of their invitations to the combine on Saturday</a>.</p>
<p>Williams averaged 16.0 points and 4.9 assists this past season and was the 2013 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.</p>
<p>A year ago, former Lobo Tony Snell was invited and impressed league executives and general managers and was eventually selected in the first round, No. 20 overall, by the Chicago Bulls.</p>
<p>Snell, Williams, Kirk and Bairstow were all members of the same 2010 recruiting class at UNM.</p>
<p>The draft is June 26.</p>
<p>LOBO LINKS: <a href="" type="internal">Geoff Grammer's blog</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Schedule/Results</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Roster</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Lobo Williams also gets NBA combine invite | false | https://abqjournal.com/397073/lobo-williams-also-gets-nba-combine-invite.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What:Shares of Michael Kors Holdings Limited climbed 15.8% in the month of June, according to data provided by <a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/CIQDotNet/Login.aspx" type="external">S&amp;PGlobal Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>, driven by the company's strong fiscal fourth-quarter 2016 results.</p>
<p>So what: More specifically on June 1, 2016, shares jumped after Michael Kors revealed quarterly revenue climbed 10.9% year over year, to $1.2 billion, and would have risen an even more impressive 11.7% had it not been for the negative impact of foreign currencies. Within that, retail net sales rose 22% (23.4% excluding currencies), to $572.6 million, helped by a 1.5% increase in comparable sales, 142 net new store openings, and the positive influence of e-commerce sales fromMichael Kors' digital flagships.</p>
<p>On the bottom line, net income fell 3% year over year, to $177 million. But Michael Kors' share repurchase activity over the same period enabled earnings per share to rise 8.9%, to $0.98 per share.Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $0.97 per share on more modest 6% revenue growth.</p>
<p>As I <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/02/why-michael-kors-holdings-limited-stock-fell-173-i.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">pointed out Opens a New Window.</a> last month, it also helped that shares of Michael Kors had only just fallen more than 17% the month prior, albeit primarily as the market fretted afterpeer Fossil Group blameda "challenging retail environment" for its own <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/11/why-fossil-group-inc-stock-plunged-today.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">painful report Opens a New Window.</a> in the middle of May.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Now what:But Michael Kors CEO John Idol specifically stated his company was able to deliver broad geographic growth "despite the challenging retail environment," driven by consumers' positive response to its product offerings and marketing efforts.</p>
<p>As it stands, Michael Kors hasn't confirmed its next quarterly report. But it should be slated to release fiscal first-quarter 2017 results a few weeks from now. For perspective, its latest guidance calls for quarterly revenue to be between $940 million and $950 million and for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $0.70 to $0.74. With the caveat that we don't lend much credence to Wall Street's near-term demands, it seems analysts are expecting another beat with consensus estimates predicting quarterly revenue of $954.2 million and earnings of $0.74 per share.</p>
<p>That's not to say Michael Kors wasn't underpromising with the intention of overdelivering. But given its recent rise, it seems fair to say investors are in for more volatility -- favorable or not -- depending on whether Michael Kors misses, meets, or exceeds those expectations next month.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/12/why-michael-kors-holdings-limited-stock-popped-158.aspx" type="external">Why Michael Kors Holdings Limited Stock Popped 15.8% in June. Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Michael Kors Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends Fossil. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Michael Kors Holdings Limited Stock Popped 15.8% in June. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/12/why-michael-kors-holdings-limited-stock-popped-158-in-june.html | 2016-07-12 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Talia Freedman</p>
<p>Q: I’m buying a house and it looks like we need to do an extension. The lock on my interest rate is going to expire and I can either extend the lock (and pay about $500-$1,000 to do that) or we can let the rate go and relock it after about 30 days. What should I do? I’m worried rates are going to go higher.</p>
<p>A: In recent years rates have been historically low and have stayed there for a long time. Yes, they fluctuated here and there but for the most part you could count on the rate you had not changing drastically by waiting just 30 more days. Right now, however, we are in a very unique situation and some care should be taken not to risk ending up with a much higher rate.</p>
<p>With the change in the presidency, there’s been a raise in mortgage rates but they’re still pretty great. As we head deeper into the new year, it’s really hard to say what will happen to loan rates, but it’s a safe bet they aren’t going down. So, the questions you need to answer are: Which will cost you more or less money and what is the safest way to get the best rate possible?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>With the first option, extending the rate lock, you have very known fees and you can somewhat control those. You should be able to extend your rate five days at a time. The benefit of this option is you can count on your rate staying the same and the expense is a one-time fee.</p>
<p>With the second option you might get lucky and the rate may stay the same (very lucky and they go down, but not likely). You don’t have to spend money on the extension, which is good but if rates do go up then you’ll be facing spending money to “buy-down” the rate (this is where you can pay advance interest and reduce the interest rate on the loan) and there’s no guarantee you’d be able to get it as low as it was or that the fee would be less than the extension.</p>
<p>All of that to say, you have to do what’s comfortable but it seems to me the risk of ending up with a higher rate could cost you money every month for the life of the loan. I would suggest paying for the lock extension and just trying to close the loan as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Talia Freedman is a Realtor with Signature Southwest Properties.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Locking down interest rate might be best now | false | https://abqjournal.com/942836/locking-down-interest-rate-might-be-best-now.html | 2 |
|
<p>LAS VEGAS ( <a href="https://www.intellihub.com/intellihub-exclusive-on-scene-investigator-banned-from-mandalay-bay-for-life-after-he-discovered-this/" type="external">INTELLIHUB</a>) An independent&#160;investigator working on the Las Vegas shooting case was staying at the Mandalay Bay Resort &amp; Casino when he was abruptly and ‘formally trespassed from all MGM Resorts International Properties’ within 24 hours of his check-in.</p>
<p>The investigator, who likes his anonymity, goes by “@Nick_Falco” on Twitter and has posted a series of tweets confirming his claims that he was indeed banned from the property ‘for life’ by MGM management around 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening.</p>
<p>1. I questioned the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LasVegas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">#LasVegas</a> shooting narrative.</p>
<p>I went to Mandalay Bay to check for myself</p>
<p>After 24 hours I was banned for life from MGM <a href="https://t.co/AEdgzRGfG8" type="external">pic.twitter.com/AEdgzRGfG8</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919660897928323073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>Falco told Intellihub exclusively that he received a phone call from the front desk of Mandalay Bay shortly before 7:30 p.m. in which a female operator instructed him to answer his hotel room door where four men (two armed guards, a security guy, and an FBI agent) simultaneously met him. Falco was then told to pack up his belongings before the FBI agent conducted a subsequent inspection of his room.</p>
<p>Soon after the independent investigator says that he was then escorted over to the main entrance of the Mandalay Bay where a security guard stood him in front of a camera and verbally read him&#160;the trespass.</p>
<p>During Falco’s visit, he was able to prove that&#160; <a href="https://www.intellihub.com/receipt-shows-paddock-had-another-guest-in-his-room-before-shooting/" type="external">leaked online version of Stephen Paddock’s room service receipt</a>&#160;was, in fact, “authentic” after comparing it to a receipt he himself received&#160;after ordering room service&#160;Saturday morning.</p>
<p>2. I stayed at Mandalay</p>
<p>Paddocks room service receipt was leaked online. It is authentic. <a href="https://t.co/us9zDGoU57" type="external">https://t.co/us9zDGoU57</a></p>
<p>Here's mine- ONE guest <a href="https://t.co/JEAyuEzpKM" type="external">pic.twitter.com/JEAyuEzpKM</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919661236056416257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>Doing a better job than most actual career journalists, Falco also reported that “there’s a surveillance camera in each main elevator” of the Mandalay Bay and added that there is “nowhere to hide.”</p>
<p>3. There's 1000s of surveillance cameras in gaming area, mostly visible</p>
<p>There's a surveillance camera in each main elevator. You cant hide <a href="https://t.co/qXeOlORYUb" type="external">pic.twitter.com/qXeOlORYUb</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919661419661901826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>During his short-lived&#160;investigation, Falco dispelled online rumors that ‘Paddock used his girlfriend’s employee ID to access the fright&#160;elevator’ which is inaccurate because the buildings freight elevator doors are not secured nor do they have a sign posted on them restricting the general public from entering or using them.</p>
<p>‘Some People have said Paddock used service elevator w his girlfriend’s ID — this is FALSE,’ Falco tweeted.</p>
<p>4. Some People have said Paddock used service elevator w his girlfriends ID- this is FALSE</p>
<p>There are No locks, No signs, No keys required <a href="https://t.co/rjE5sdr6yD" type="external">pic.twitter.com/rjE5sdr6yD</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919661620766285824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>In his&#160;barrage&#160;of tweets, Falco makes clear: ‘Service elevators aren’t prohibited from guests. No signs. No locks.’</p>
<p>5. Police said Paddock used service elevators.Why? To bypass security?</p>
<p>Service elevators arent prohibited from guests. No signs. No locks <a href="https://t.co/kHVYc8WPLK" type="external">pic.twitter.com/kHVYc8WPLK</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919661962367156224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>“There are visible surveillance cameras in all service elevators,” Falco notes.</p>
<p>6. There are visible surveillance cameras in all service elevators.</p>
<p>There was no reason for Paddock to use these to get around security. <a href="https://t.co/xNFWYtMF3i" type="external">pic.twitter.com/xNFWYtMF3i</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919662142218842112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>Moreover, the freight elevator is located a good&#160;distance from Paddock’s suite. It’s past the main elevators and nearly all of the way down to the end of an adjoining hallway. It’s quite a trek.</p>
<p>The elevator in question is located across the hall from the red dot on the diagram that’s included in the following tweet:</p>
<p>7. Red dot is service elevator. Main elevators are in middle. I'm pointing to Paddocks room</p>
<p>Why did Paddock use service elevator? It's far <a href="https://t.co/FSrVnTuY5a" type="external">pic.twitter.com/FSrVnTuY5a</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919662273559388160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>In the diagram above, you can also see where Paddock’s suite was located (it’s to the far right). Just outside Paddock’s suite is a stairwell which police say was barricaded. It’s very close.</p>
<p>9. There is an exit staircase right next to Paddock's room.</p>
<p>No locks, no alarms, no signs &amp; most importantly?</p>
<p>No Cameras. <a href="https://t.co/GF0JoXJaq3" type="external">pic.twitter.com/GF0JoXJaq3</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919662852402692096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>The following video shows the vantage that Paddock would have had overlooking the venue.</p>
<p>8. I had clear view of Paddocks room, concert &amp; fuel tanks</p>
<p>Shooter didnt need 2nd window to shoot people &amp; fuel tanks</p>
<p>Why break 2 windows? <a href="https://t.co/Tq5giT76In" type="external">pic.twitter.com/Tq5giT76In</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919662571556184064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>The video proves that Paddock would have had a clear shot at the fuel tanks from his room (32-135) which raises questions about the official story which purports that Paddock broke out the second window in the adjoining&#160;room to fire at the fuel tanks.</p>
<p>Although Falco tells Intellihub he is no conspiracy theorist and likes to ‘stick to the facts,’ he captured an image of the TVs which come equipped in all Mandalay Bay rooms.</p>
<p>“Samsung Smart TV in all rooms,” he tweeted. “In @wikileaks #Vault7 release these are compromised listening devices by CIA. I unplugged mine immediately.”</p>
<p>10. Samsung Smart TV in all roomsIn <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">@wikileaks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vault7?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">#Vault7</a> release these are compromised listening devices by CIA</p>
<p>I unplugged mine immediately <a href="https://t.co/PUfJhxpOpH" type="external">pic.twitter.com/PUfJhxpOpH</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919662995327688704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>‘There are at least 3 Samsung Smart TVs in Paddock’s suite,’ Falco tweeted. “Everything could be recorded by CIA or maybe even MGM?”</p>
<p>11. There are at least 3 Samsung Smart TVs in Paddocks suite</p>
<p>Everything could be recorded by CIA or maybe even MGM? <a href="https://t.co/gy9AJBnDJI" type="external">https://t.co/gy9AJBnDJI</a> <a href="https://t.co/sondtbaTw9" type="external">pic.twitter.com/sondtbaTw9</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919663221077716993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>And take note of MGM’s privacy policy which Falco notes in&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919663379551207424" type="external">tweet number 12</a>&#160;of 14.</p>
<p>From MGM Resorts&#160; <a href="https://www.mgmresorts.com/en/privacy-policy.html" type="external">official website</a>:</p>
<p>Wi-Fi and Location Information.&#160;When you use Wi-Fi services we make available at MGM Resorts, we might collect information (directly or through third parties) about the websites you visit, the type of device and browser you are using, your device identification number, your precise physical location, bandwidth used, session time, etc. &#160;Even if you choose not to use Wi-Fi services we make available at MGM Resorts, we may still collect information concerning the precise physical location of your mobile device within and around MGM Resorts for non-marketing purposes.&#160; With notice or your consent (and regardless of whether you use Wi-Fi service we make available at MGM Resorts), we might also collect information about the precise physical location of your mobile device within and around MGM Resorts for marketing purposes.</p>
<p>“Falco tweeted: “MGM admits that they track your location through your phone whether or not Wifi is used! Heavy surveillance!” However, he questions how Paddock got “23 rifles” up to his room if surveillance actually exists.</p>
<p>13. I was evicted after less than 24 hours but a shooter w 23 rifles was at their hotel for 7 days &amp; they didn't know?</p>
<p>This guy? Really? <a href="https://t.co/ZUGpLqeqMe" type="external">pic.twitter.com/ZUGpLqeqMe</a></p>
<p>— Nick (@Nick_Falco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919663509553549313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">October 15, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>Additionally, Falco told Intellihub that not one of the four men who escorted him out of his room would provide any form of identification or business card nor did the front desk provide him with a signed&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/919663662595432448" type="external">copy of the trespass</a>.</p>
<p>Please follow&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco" type="external">@Nick_Falco</a>&#160;on Twitter.</p>
<p>Hat Tip:&#160; <a href="https://www.twitter.com/tabertronic" type="external">@tabertronic</a>&#160;on twitter.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.intellihub.com/?s=las+vegas+shooting" type="external">Read more about the Las Vegas Shooting</a></p>
<p>Featured Image:&#160;The lobby inside of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Resort Las Vegas. (Prayinto/Flickr)</p>
<p>©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM All Rights Reserved.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="https://intellihub.com/shepardambellas/" type="external">Shepard Ambellas</a>&#160;is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News &amp; Politics ( <a href="https://www.intellihub.com/" type="external">Intellihub.com</a>). Shepard is also known for producing&#160; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4529552?ref_=nmbio_mbio" type="external">Shade: The Motion Picture</a>&#160;(2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s&#160; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3220124?ref_=nmbio_mbio" type="external">America Declassified</a>&#160;(2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to&#160; <a href="https://www.infowars.com/contributors/" type="external">Infowars</a>. Read more from&#160; <a href="https://www.intellihub.com/opinion/shepsworld" type="external">Shep’s World</a>. Follow Shep on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shepardambellas" type="external">Facebook</a>. Subscribe to&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/shepardambellas?sub_confirmation=1" type="external">Shep’s YouTube channel</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Intellihub Exclusive: On scene investigator banned from Mandalay Bay, MGM, for life AFTER HE DISCOVERED THIS! | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/16/intellihub-exclusive-on-scene-investigator-banned-from-mandalay-bay-mgm-for-life-after-he-discovered-this/ | 2017-10-16 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Nobel Prizes cannot be revoked, so the judges must put a lot of thought into their selections for the six awards, which will be announced in the next two weeks.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A discovery might seem groundbreaking today, but will it stand the test of time?</p>
<p>Prize founder Alfred Nobel wanted to honor those whose discoveries created "the greatest benefit to mankind." Here are five Nobel Prize decisions that, in hindsight, seem questionable:</p>
<p>When a German who organized poison gas attacks won the chemistry prize</p>
<p>Fritz Haber was awarded the 1918 chemistry award for discovering how to create ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen gases. His method was used to manufacture fertilizers and delivered a major boost to agriculture worldwide.</p>
<p>But the Nobel committee completely overlooked Haber's role in chemical warfare during World War I. Enthusiastically supporting the German war effort, he supervised the first major chlorine gas attack at Ypres, Belgium, in 1915, which killed thousands of Allied troops.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>When the medicine committee awarded a cancer discovery that wasn't</p>
<p>Danish scientist Johannes Fibiger won the 1926 medicine award for discovering that a roundworm caused cancer in rats.</p>
<p>There was only one problem: the roundworm didn't cause cancer in rats.</p>
<p>Fibiger insisted his research showed that rats ingesting worm larvae by eating cockroaches developed cancer. At the time when he won the prize, the Nobel judges thought that made perfect sense.</p>
<p>It later turned out the rats developed cancer from a lack of vitamin A.</p>
<p>Oops.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>When chemistry prize honored man who found use for DDT, which was later banned</p>
<p>The 1948 medicine prize to Swiss scientist Paul Mueller honored a discovery that ended up doing both good and bad.</p>
<p>Mueller didn't invent dichlorodiphenyltricloroethane, or DDT, but he discovered that it was a powerful pesticide that could kill lots of flies, mosquitoes and beetles in a short time.</p>
<p>The compound proved very effective in protecting agricultural crops and fighting insect-borne diseases like Typhus and Malaria. DDT saved hundreds of thousands of lives and helped eradicate malaria from southern Europe.</p>
<p>But in the 1960s environmentalists found that DDT was poisoning wildlife and the environment. The U.S. banned DDT in 1972 and in 2001 it was banned by an international treaty, though exemptions are allowed for some countries fighting malaria.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>When the man who invented lobotomy won the medicine prize</p>
<p>Carving up people's brains may have seemed like a good idea at the time. But in hindsight, rewarding Portuguese scientist Antonio Egas Moniz in 1949 for inventing lobotomy to treat mental illness wasn't the Nobel Prizes' finest hour.</p>
<p>The method became very popular in the 1940s, and at the award ceremony it was praised as "one of the most important discoveries ever made in psychiatric therapy."</p>
<p>But it had serious side effects: some patients died and others were left severely brain damaged. Even operations that were considered successful left patients unresponsive and emotionally numb.</p>
<p>The method declined quickly in the 1950s as drugs to treat mental illness became widespread and it's used very seldom today.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>When India's Mahatma Gandhi didn't win the peace prize</p>
<p>The Indian independence leader, considered one of history's great champions of non-violent struggle, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize no fewer than five times. He never won.</p>
<p>The peace prize committee, which rarely concedes a mistake, eventually acknowledged that not awarding Gandhi was an omission.</p>
<p>In 1989 — 41 years after Gandhi's death — the Nobel committee chairman paid tribute to Gandhi as he presented that year's award to the Dalai Lama.</p> | 5 decisions that made the Nobel Prizes look bad | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/10/01/5-decisions-that-made-nobel-prizes-look-bad.html | 2016-10-02 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Looking to grow that nest egg? See how your savings compares to the average American's.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Read the financial news with any regularity and you know we Americans could probably do a better job of saving money. But most people don't know that we're actually living within our means far better than we did just a decade ago.</p>
<p>According to Moody's Analytics, in 2006, the median American below the age of 54 -- which most of us are -- actually had a negative savings rate. Even worse, those age 44 and under averaged a savings rate worse than negative 10%!</p>
<p>Apparently, many folks have learned since the financial crisis that we don't need to finance our future to afford a house we don't need.</p>
<p>So how much does the average American now save? Instead of giving you just one number, we'll break out the data a bit more. The first two variables we need are the typical savings rate by age (provided by Moody's Analytics) and the median household income by age (courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau).</p>
<p>Here's what we get:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="https://infogr.am/-9519495179411024" type="external">Typical Savings Rate &amp; Household Income, by Age Opens a New Window.</a> | <a href="https://infogr.am" type="external">Create infographics Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>As you can see, individuals under the age of 35, commonly referred to as millennials, presently have a negative savings rate. This wasn't always the case, as this age group was able to sock away as much as 5.2% of income in 2009.Since then, however, there's been a steady shift downward -- with some pointing the finger at heavy debt <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/20/the-real-crisis-with-us-student-debt-no-one-is-tal.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">burdens Opens a New Window.</a> from student loans.</p>
<p>That has led the typical American under the age of 34 to lose money annually for the past couple of years. So if you're young and putting away money right now, you're doing better than most.</p>
<p>The important thing to recognize here is that any money saved this year and invested in the stock market could return about 6.9% after adjusting for inflation, using historical returns as the benchmark.</p>
<p>Even investing small amounts of money can make a big difference, particularly for the younger generations. Consider: If a 35-year-old saved the average amount ($1,690) last year and invested it in the stock market for 30 years, it would be worth $12,500 in today's dollars by the time he or she retired.</p>
<p>There are lots of ways to boost your savings beyond the averages for your age. The lowest hanging fruit is to be very conscious about major purchases: things like your college education, a car, and a home. Our own Morgan Housel has detailed a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/08/how-non-rich-people-can-graduate-college-without-c.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">way Opens a New Window.</a> to make it through college without copious debt levels. He's also demonstrated -- <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/02/the-uncomfortable-reason-your-home-is-not-a-great.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">convincingly Opens a New Window.</a>-- that owning a home should be about the social/emotional benefits, not the financial ones.</p>
<p>Beyond these big ticket items, I'm a big proponent of finding your " <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/07/02/how-to-be-happier-with-your-money.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Enough Opens a New Window.</a>" level -- the baseline of what you need to live a happy, healthy, balanced life. Once you find that level, any increases in salary can go immediately into savings and investments.</p>
<p>If you can start these processes today and slowly increase the amount you're saving, it cango a long way in helping you reach financial independence. Of course, there are other, lesser-known ways of helping you retire comfortably, as highlighted below.</p>
<p>The $60K Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlookIf you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known Social Security secrets could ensure a boost in your retirement income of as much as $60,000. In fact, one MarketWatch reporter argues that if more Americans used them, the government would have to shell out an extra $10 billion every year! And once you learn how to take advantage of these loopholes, you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?impression=d410790d-04a6-4e43-8af1-53d4f7edbac4&amp;url=http://www.fool.com/ecap/income_investor/loophole-retirement-report/?aid=8610&amp;source=iiieditxt0000022&amp;source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Simply click here to receive your free copy of our new report that Opens a New Window.</a> details how you can take advantage of these strategies.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/02/02/heres-how-much-the-typical-american-saved-last-yea.aspx" type="external">Heres How Much the Typical American Saved Last Year -- How Do You Compare? 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 - 2015 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> | Here’s How Much the Typical American Saved Last Year -- How Do You Compare? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/02/02/heres-how-much-typical-american-saved-last-year-how-do-compare.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Meet Boeing's new best friend. So far this year, United Continental accounts for more than half of the orders for new 737s. Image source: <a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/customers/united-airlines/" type="external">Boeing Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The month of March <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/11/boeing-books-its-biggest-order-of-2016-sort-of.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">came in like a lion Opens a New Window.</a> for Boeing -- and April's starting to look pretty darn leonine for the airplane maker as well.</p>
<p>Seattle-based Boeing succeeded in booking no fewer than 69 new plane orders in March, including a 767-300F freighter (for FedEx), four 747-8F freighters (destination unknown), four 777-300ERs, and no fewer than five dozen 737s (a mix of -NG variants and MAXes, including two 737-800s destined to become new Navy P-8A Poseidons).</p>
<p>Precisely how all of the above will stack up against archrival Airbus' performance remains to be seen, as Airbus has not yet released its March results. But honestly, Boeing's not even looking <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/14/airbus-tied-boeing-in-february-and-still-managed-t.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">in its rearview mirror Opens a New Window.</a> anymore.</p>
<p>April showers plane orders on BoeingOn Thursday, Boeing issued its order book update for the first week of April -- and it was a good one. Over the course of the week (which included a couple of March days), Boeing landed 17 new orders, including a 777 purchased by FedEx, the aforementioned four 747 freighters, and a dozen 737s to boot.</p>
<p>Because there's some overlap between the March results and Boeing's early April tally, those results may look a bit jumbled. Let's smooth them out, and get the full picture of how things look for Boeing year-to-date. So far this year, Boeing has booked:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>That's 140 gross orders in all. Minus 18 cancellations year-to-date, Boeing has now amassed 122 net new plane orders on its 2016 order book.</p>
<p>What this means to investorsCombined, these new orders work out to a list-price value somewhere north of $16 billion. That sounds like good news for Boeing (and it is, even with the caveat that those list prices overstate what the planes actually sell for in the real world). But with these planes due for delivery years from now, the revenue effect won't be felt for quite some time.</p>
<p>So why are these numbers important today? In part, it's because they show the relative ascendancy of Boeing over Airbus <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/01/14/boeing-and-airbus-the-final-countdown.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">after years of lagging its rival Opens a New Window.</a>. Simply put, they tell us who is gaining market share -- and who is losing it.</p>
<p>Beyond that, these companies' order tallies also give us a clue about where the broader aircraft industry is heading -- something that should interest investors in both Boeing and Airbus. To wit, when last we checked in on Airbus, backlog at the European plane maker had begun falling, with <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/14/airbus-tied-boeing-in-february-and-still-managed-t.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">new orders failing to come in fast enough</a> to replace planes being completed and delivered to customers. And now here at Boeing, we're seeing the same thing happen.</p>
<p>Despite Boeing raking in significant sales gains in March and April, its backlog number currently stands at just 5,740 planes -- 55 planes fewer than what Boeing had in backlog <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/01/january-gives-boeing-a-boost-to-plane-orders.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">at the end of January Opens a New Window.</a>. Granted, if the company keeps winning plane orders at the rate it's been doing, the trend could reverse yet again, and its backlog could grow. Granted too, in conversations I've had with Boeing management, the execs are not worried one bit, and remain supremely confident that air traffic globally, and demand for new airplanes, will continue to rise.</p>
<p>But at the present moment, right here, today -- the trend is heading down.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/09/boeing-jets-ahead-with-new-plane-orders-in-march-a.aspx" type="external">Boeing Jets Ahead With New Plane Orders in March... and Falls Behind? Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838&amp;source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he's currently ranked No. 290 out of more than 75,000 rated members.The Motley Fool recommends FedEx. 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> | Boeing Jets Ahead With New Plane Orders in March... and Falls Behind? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/09/boeing-jets-ahead-with-new-plane-orders-in-march-and-falls-behind.html | 2016-04-09 | 0 |
<p>The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):</p>
<p>4 p.m.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Stocks are ending mostly lower, ending the longest winning streak in four years for the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index.</p>
<p>Technology stocks managed to post some gains, however, leaving the Nasdaq composite slightly higher and setting another record.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, it was largely down arrows. Energy stocks slumped along with a steep decline in the price of crude oil. Chevron lost 1.3 percent.</p>
<p>Consumer-focused stocks also fell. Wholesale club operator Costco sank 6 percent.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 index fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,549.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 1 point to 22,773, and the Nasdaq composite edged up 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,590.</p>
<p>Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.37 percent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>11:45 a.m.</p>
<p>Stocks are fading from their record highs, putting the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index on track to break its longest winning streak in four years.</p>
<p>Energy stocks posted some of the biggest declines in midday trading Friday as the price of oil fell. Chevron fell 1.2 percent.</p>
<p>Consumer-focused stocks were also falling. Wholesale club operator Costco sank 6 percent.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 index fell 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,544.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average lost 37 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,738, and the Nasdaq composite fell 9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,576.</p>
<p>Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.36 percent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:35 a.m.</p>
<p>Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street as technology and phone companies take losses.</p>
<p>The declines early Friday threatened to put an end to the longest winning streak in four years for the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index.</p>
<p>Wholesale club operator Costco sank 5.2 percent.</p>
<p>Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.40 percent.</p>
<p>The higher yields send banks higher. Citizens Financial rose 1.4 percent.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,547.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average lost 21 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,753, and the Nasdaq composite fell 9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,576.</p> | Markets Right Now: Stocks end mostly lower; Nasdaq climbs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/06/markets-right-now-us-stocks-open-slightly-lower.html | 2017-10-06 | 0 |
<p>This is possibly the most offensive interview sequence I’ve ever seen.</p>
<p>Lawrence O’Donnell lectures and snidely criticized&#160;Herman Cain, who was a minor when Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus in 1955 and in high school for the desegregation fights in the late 1950s and early 1960s,&#160;for not participating in civil rights demonstrations later in the&#160;1960s.&#160; The Freedom Rides referenced in the interview and as to which O’Donnell lambasted Cain for not participating, were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_riders" type="external">in 1961</a>, when Cain was in high school.</p>
<p>Here are some memorable O’Donnell questions:</p>
<p>Where do you think black people would be sitting on the bus today if Rosa Parks had followed your father’s advice [for Herman not to make trouble if&#160;told to sit in the back of the bus;&#160;my note, Cain was 9 years old at the time of Parks’ act of defiance.]</p>
<p>You watched black college students from around the country and white college students from around the country come to the south and be murdered, fighting for the rights of African-Americans; do you regret sitting on the sidelines at that time?</p>
<p>How easy it is for a liberal like O’Donnell to lecture someone who lived through it.&#160; If this had been a Fox News interview of a black liberal candidate, there would be an uproar and demands for a firing.</p>
<p />
<p>Visit msnbc.com for <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com" type="external">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" type="external">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" type="external">news about the economy</a></p>
<p>The full interview is <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/10/06/fireworks_msnbcs_lawrence_odonnell_hostile_interview_with_herman_cain.html?utm_source=co2hog" type="external">here</a>.</p> | Lawrence O’Donnell lectures Herman Cain on how to be black in the segregated South | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2011/10/lawrence-odonnell-lectures-herman-cain-on-how-to-be-black-in-the-segregated-south/ | 2011-10-06 | 0 |
<p>Oklahoma geologists have documented strong links between increased seismic activity in the state and the injection into the ground of wastewater from oil and gas production, a state agency said on Tuesday. Currently, Oklahoma is recording 2-1/2 earthquakes daily of a magnitude 3 or greater, a seismicity rate 600 times greater than observed before 2008, the <a href="http://wichita.ogs.ou.edu/documents/OGS_Statement-Earthquakes-4-21-15.pdf" type="external">report by the Oklahoma Geological Survey</a> (OGS) said. It is "very likely that the majority of the earthquakes" are triggered by wastewater injection activities tied to the oil and gas industry, the OGS said. It warned that residents should be prepared for a "significant earthquake."</p>
<p>Last year the state recorded 585 magnitude 3 or greater, up sharply from 109 in 2013. Prior to 2008, Oklahoma averaged less than two a year. The spike in earthquake activity has put Oklahoma in the center of a national debate over whether wastewater disposal from oil and gas production triggers earthquakes. The report said seismicity rates have increased with injection volumes. Other reports have also found links between oil and gas work and earthquakes that have rocked communities throughout the U.S. Midwest and South.</p>
<p>The water at issue is extracted from the ground along with oil and gas, then the water is separated and re-injected into deep wells. The drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," generates large amounts of wastewater. But the OGS report said fracking is responsible for only "a small percentage of the total volume of wastewater injected into disposal wells in Oklahoma."</p>
<p>State regulators have been closely monitoring wastewater well activity, limiting well permits in some areas and requiring some operators to take steps to mitigate earthquake risk. On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates oil and gas work in the state, said this issue was its top priority."There will no doubt be more steps to take, and all options... are on the table," the OCC said in a statement.</p> | Surge in Oklahoma Earthquakes Linked to Oil and Gas Waste Wells | false | http://nbcnews.com/science/environment/oklahoma-earthquakes-linked-oil-gas-waste-wells-n345821 | 2015-04-21 | 3 |
<p>The government is expected to come to AIG's rescue for a fourth time as the mega-insurer prepares to announce the biggest quarterly loss by a single company in the history of the world. Reports put the bonus bailout at $30 billion, less than half of AIG's expected quarterly loss.</p>
<p>New York Times:</p>
<p>The federal government is preparing to loosen the terms of its huge loan to the American International Group and provide another $30 billion to the insurer as it prepares to report the biggest quarterly loss in history on Monday, $62 billion, people involved in the discussions said Sunday night.</p>
<p>The intervention marks the fourth time that A.I.G., the giant insurer, has had to seek assistance from the federal government. The government already owns nearly 80 percent of the insurer's holding company as a result of the earlier interventions, which included a $60 billion loan, a $40 billion purchase of preferred shares and $50 billion to soak up the company's toxic assets.</p>
<p />
<p>The deal would have the government commit another $30 billion in cash to A.I.G. from the Troubled Assets Relief Fund, should the company need it, according to the people involved in the talks.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/business/02aigweb.html?hp" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Bigger Bailout Expected for AIG | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/bigger-bailout-expected-for-aig/ | 2009-03-02 | 4 |
<p>Most healthcare stocks have had a rough election season this year after Hillary Clinton made prescription drug prices a centerpiece of her campaign. In fact, the Health Care SPDR (ETF) (NYSE:XLV) is down 3.2 percent thus far in 2016.</p>
<p>Healthcare investors are bracing for some significant volatility in the weeks leading up to and after the election. However, Goldman Sachs analyst Asad Haider recently compiled a list of healthcare stocks that could see minimal impact from the election.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While large swaths of the Healthcare sector are exposed to the election theme, we attempt to isolate the companies within our coverage groups that our analysts see as least exposed to shifts in political dynamics, Haider explained.</p>
<p>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/10/8588647/5-election-proof-stocks-to-consider" type="external">5 Election-Proof Stocks To Consider Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Heres Goldmans full lists of 25 stocks:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In addition, Goldmans expectations for how certain healthcare subsectors will react to the elections outcome are included in the chart below.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a> with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!</p>
<p><a href="/stock/ALGN/ratings" type="external">View More Analyst Ratings for ALGN</a> <a href="/calendar/ratings" type="external">View the Latest Analyst Ratings</a></p>
<p>2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p> | Goldman Says These 25 Healthcare Stocks Are Immune To The Election | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/24/goldman-says-these-25-healthcare-stocks-are-immune-to-election.html | 2016-10-24 | 0 |
<p>EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Keith Appling and forward Jeremy Tyler, reducing their training camp roster to 17 players.</p>
<p>The Lakers made the moves Monday.</p>
<p>Appling is a rookie from Michigan State. He played 20 minutes in two preseason games for the Lakers.</p>
<p>Tyler has played for Golden State, Atlanta and New York. He averaged 2.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in three preseason games with the Lakers.</p>
<p>Los Angeles faces the Phoenix Suns in Anaheim on Tuesday.</p>
<p>EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Keith Appling and forward Jeremy Tyler, reducing their training camp roster to 17 players.</p>
<p>The Lakers made the moves Monday.</p>
<p>Appling is a rookie from Michigan State. He played 20 minutes in two preseason games for the Lakers.</p>
<p>Tyler has played for Golden State, Atlanta and New York. He averaged 2.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in three preseason games with the Lakers.</p>
<p>Los Angeles faces the Phoenix Suns in Anaheim on Tuesday.</p> | LA Lakers waive Keith Appling, Jeremy Tyler | false | https://apnews.com/amp/234729d3f2b94df89cd13b61a99d7d17 | 2014-10-21 | 2 |
<p>A raven wakes me at dawn with the scratchy-throated call of a two-pack a day smoker. I dredge myself out of the sleeping bag, which is saturated with dew. The air is sharp, autumnal.</p>
<p>I lumber to the river, strip and dive in. I haven’t bathed in four days. I’m beginning to smell like roadkill. As I submerge in the dark current, my testicles leap toward my throat from the cold shock. The water is still chilled from its black impoundment in the guts of Flaming Gorge reservoir, where it emerges at a flat and frigid 54 degrees–almost precisely the temperature of a grave.</p>
<p>The raven chuckles and flies down the canyon, a perpetual agent of mischief.</p>
<p>I dry off, slip on a ratty pair of jeans and a thick fleece and head up Jones Hole through a tall thicket of cane grass. After a mile or so, I strike off to the south and into a deep side canyon chiseled by a small stream called Ely Creek.</p>
<p>A few hundred yards up the white-walled ravine, Ely Creek plunges in a thin blue ribbon over a twelve-foot ledge of the skin-toned Weber sandstone. The shallow pool at the base of the falls reflects the early morning sky. It is filled with glittering cobble. A multi-colored stone draws my attention. I reach into the pool and pick it up. The fist-sized stone swirls with red, white and black streaks. The curious rock is smooth and exquisitely polished.</p>
<p>Perhaps the stone is a gastrolith, a stomach rock. But who’s stomach? A giant sauropod, maybe. The big plant eaters loaded their stomachs with grinding stones to masticate the tons of foliage passing through their cavernous bodies every week. Some of the dinosaur skeletons in western Utah and Colorado have yielded as many as forty gastroliths.</p>
<p>There’s a peculiar mystery to the gastroliths of Dinosaur National Monument. Most of the stones examined here by paleontologists are composed of rocks not found in Utah. In fact, many of them derive from Nevada and California. Apparently, the huge sauropods had impressive home ranges, thundering across hundreds of miles through swamps and savannahs like 30-ton bison, only faster and more agile. Or perhaps they simply marched off to Nevada for in search of replacement gastroliths, the way we visit the dentist.</p>
<p>As I roll the strange stone in my hand, I think about alternate histories. What if, for example, that asteroid hadn’t smashed into the Yucatan, gouging a giant crater in the crust of the earth and coating the planet in an irradiated cloud of dust that blocked the sun for a thousand years? Contrary to popular belief, the dinosaurs didn’t fail to adapt to changing climatic conditions. Indeed they were incredibly adaptable creatures – intelligent, social and, perhaps, the most successful beings to inhabit the planet-aside from the scorpions. It has always been, after all, an arthropod world. Instead, the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous age were annihilated by something like a full-scale thermo-nuclear war. The Terrible Lizards were whacked by the untamed geology of the heavens.</p>
<p>This rocky bench at Jones Hole has its own alternate history. If the Bureau of Reclamation had been permitted to fulfill its schemes, the mouth of Jones Hole Canyon would have been submerged under twenty feet of water and silt, held back by a 118-foot tall dam the engineers wanted to build at the entrance to Split Mountain Canyon. The dam would have flooded Island Park, Rainbow Park and every inch of Whirlpool Canyon all the way up to the footings of the Echo Park Dam. The canyons of Dinosaur would have become two giant holding tanks. That’s where David Brower steps in to change the course of history.</p>
<p>These days the Bureau of Reclamation is a broken and dysfunctional agency, a mere outlier in the vast labyrinth of the Department of the Interior. But back in its heyday of the 1940s and 1950s, the Bureau was a titanic force, perhaps the most powerful government agency in the Western States. It was the epicenter of the dam-industrial complex: promising cheap hydropower, irrigation, drinking water for expanding cities, water playgrounds, and industrial jobs. Exploiting Cold War anxieties, the Bureau presented itself as internal bulwark against the Communist Peril-even though most American Communists, such as Woody Guthrie, applauded its plan to dam nearly every Western river. In fact, the Bureau of Reclamation is the most Stalinist of federal agencies, cleaving closely to the masterplan of Old Joe who dictated to Soviet dam-builders: “No river should ever reach the sea.”</p>
<p>The Bureau’s leaders, men like Mike Strauss and the infamous Floyd Dominy, were as arrogant as defense contractors in the early days of the Iraq war. Everything was going their way. They steamrolled internal opposition, like that offered by Park Service chief Newton Drury, vilified conservationists as starry-eyed patsies and intimidated members of Congress who had the temerity to question any of the outrageously priced line items in their budget requests.</p>
<p>The Bureau drilled a tunnel through Rocky Mountain National Park for the Big Thompson water diversion. They built a dam across the Snake River in Jackson Hole National Monument at Grand Teton. They had no qualms about proposing dams in Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. They didn’t have the slightest clue that they were about to be coldcocked over their plans for two dams in a remote national monument that almost no one, including the leadership of the Sierra Club, had ever heard of, never mind visited.</p>
<p>The year 1946 was a fateful one for the rivers and canyons of the Colorado Plateau. FDR was dead. His Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, who wanted to designate most of the canyon country of Utah as a huge national park larger than Yellowstone, had been rudely dismissed from office by Harry Truman. The world war was over, the Cold War heating up.</p>
<p>Enter Mike Strauss, the new head of the Bureau of Reclamation. Unlike the previous commissioners, Strauss was a deal-making politician, not an engineer. Under Strauss’s direction, the Bureau published its document of doom, a study titled The Colorado River: A Natural Menace Becomes a Natural Resource. The book was nothing less than a death warrant for the Green, Colorado and San Juan rivers. It targeted 136 potential dam sites and envisioned a dam project or water diversion scheme in nearly every canyon and tributary on the Colorado Plateau. Central to the plan were four big main-stem dams: Flaming Gorge, Glen Canyon, Bridge Canyon on the western flank of Grand Canyon National Park and at Echo Park, where the Yampa River meets the Green in the heart of Dinosaur National Monument.</p>
<p>The Colorado River Compact of 1922 had divided the river’s water between upper basin states and lower basin states. The line of demarcation was drawn at Lee’s Ferry in Arizona, near the mouth of Glen Canyon. In an act of political wish-fulfillment, the Bureau ordained that the annual flow of the Colorado was 17.5 million acre feet of water and allocated 7.5 million acre feet to each basin. In theory, another 1.5 million acre feet was supposed to flow to Mexico. Of course, the Colorado River no longer flows to Mexico. But the Mexicans did inherit a toxic delta of pesticide-laden sludge.</p>
<p>In reality, the annual flow of the Colorado over the course of the last hundred years has averaged 13 million acre feet, a flow that continues to fall as a result of persistent (some might say permanent) drought and global warming. Naturally, the allocation of water between the basins has never been amended to reflect hydrological reality.</p>
<p>The California struck first with the construction of Hoover Dam in Black Canyon in 1936, quickly followed by Parker Dam and the All-American Canal, which diverted most of the flow of the Colorado into the fields of the Imperial Valley.</p>
<p>Panic broke out among the upper basin states of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, who feared that California was raiding more than their share of water. Prodded by the Bureau of Reclamation, the upper basin states demanded dams of their own in order hoard their water rights. But these states were also at war with each other over how much water each state was entitled to. This testy debate was finally settled in 1948 with the passage of the Upper Colorado Basin Compact, an exercise in computational fantasy that never once paused to examine how much water was actually flowing down the rivers.</p>
<p>These were big but sparsely populated states that were intensely motivated by those twin engines of American politics: jealousy and greed. Each state wanted its own big dam and large water impoundment, even if they couldn’t use the water and had no foreseeable need for the hydropower. They would rather see the waters of the Green, San Juan and Colorado evaporate into desert skies than flow into the hands of the Californians.</p>
<p>With the compact signed, the Bureau of Reclamation was primed to roll. They swiftly unveiled their plans for three large upper basin dams: Glen Canyon, Echo Park and Flaming Gorge, followed by smaller dams on the Gunnison River, the San Juan and at Split Mountain in Dinosaur.</p>
<p>Deviously, the Bureau had anticipated that the centerpiece of their scheme, the Echo Park Dam, might generate a modest amount of public outcry because it would flood more than 100 miles of canyon inside a national monument. They had an ace up their sleeve that almost no one knew about it. In 1943, the Bureau of Reclamation had signed a secret agreement with Park Service Director Newton Drury called a “reclamation withdrawal.” Essentially, the Park Service had already ceded the dam site to the Bureau of Reclamation. The deal was so covert that the park manager at Dinosaur, Dan Beard, knew nothing about it and when he protested to his superiors about unauthorized incursions into the monument by Bureau of Reclamation engineers in 1948, he was ordered to stand aside. “We see no advantage to be gained now in questioning the legality of the withdrawal,” wrote Arthur Demaray, assistant director of the Park Service. “To do so would be extremely embarrassing to the Department.”</p>
<p>By now Park Service boss Newton Drury knew he had made a tragic mistake by signing the agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation. Drury began to leak his opposition to the dam to his allies on the advisory board for the national parks, people like Rosalie Edge, Alfred Knopf and the crusty Utahn Bernard DeVoto. In 1950, Drury was forced to resign by Truman’s Interior Secretary Oscar Chapman. With Drury gone, it was going to be up to an outside force to save Dinosaur-if, indeed, it could be saved.</p>
<p>The first blow was struck in 1950 by the historian and polemicist Bernard DeVoto in Reader’s Digest, at the time the most influential and widely read publication in America. DeVoto was one of the original dam-busters, a rare western critic of the political-driven exploitation of western lands. DeVoto was an irritant, as prickly as Edward Abbey. Reportedly, DeVoto’s feisty introduction to <a href="" type="internal">Beyond the Hundredth Meridian</a> cost Wallace Stegner the Pulitzer Prize–not that Stegner ever griped about the loss.</p>
<p>DeVoto’s vicious attack on the Bureau of Reclamation was titled “Shall We Let Them Ruin Our National Parks?” DeVoto’s acidly written article was most people’s introduction to the remote Dinosaur National Monument. And they didn’t like what they read. One of those outraged by the DeVoto essay was Howard Zahniser, the crusading leader of the Wilderness Society. Zahniser had never heard of Dinosaur before, but he riled at the idea of a National Monument being flooded by a big dam.</p>
<p>Over at the Sierra Club fortuitous changes were afoot. The young Dave Brower had just been hired as the Club’s executive director and first paid staffer. Brower didn’t know much about Dinosaur either. But unlike most Sierra Clubbers of his era, Brower did hold any particular prejudice against the Interior West. He had spent time in the Rocky Mountains and on the Colorado Plateau. During World War II, Brower trained at Camp Hale in central Colorado with the famous 10th Mountain Division of the US Army. And, in 1939, he had made the first staggeringly difficult ascent of Shiprock, the ghostly volcanic plug on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona.</p>
<p>In the summer of 1953, Brower made his first float trip through Dinosaur, guided by the early river-runner Bus Hatch, who operated out of Vernal. Brower made two more trips that summer–one with the writer Wallace Stegner and the other with Dr. Harold Bradley, the former dean of the medical school at the University of Wisconsin.</p>
<p>During those trips, the strategic outlines of a battle plan were drawn up. Time was short. Congress was scheduled to move forward with the Colorado River Storage Act in the winter of 1954. Brower devoted himself to the study of western water law and the region’s peculiar political pressure points. He leaned heavily upon the scientific acumen of Bradley and the legal advice of a brilliant lawyer named Northcutt Ely, who, ironically, represented the California water users.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Stegner went to work on a book that would become a classic text in the history of environmental politics. Published by Alfred Knopf, a staunch opponent of the dam, <a href="" type="internal">This is Dinosaur: The Echo Park Country and Its Magic Rivers</a> contained eight essays, all keenly edited by Stegner, and a gallery of evocative photos of the monument. The book was hand delivered to every member of congress and nearly every newspaper editor in the country.</p>
<p>This is Dinosaur may have been the most potent American political pamphlet since Tom Paine’s Common Sense. Wayne Aspinall, the flinty congressman from western Colorado who served as a political overlord for the Bureau of Reclamation, said he knew his dream of a dam at Echo Park was shattered the moment the book hit his desk.</p>
<p>Still Brower had much to overcome, notably the eccentricities of some of his colleagues, particularly the ridiculous Zahniser, who wasted his precious minutes before the Senate Interior Committee by reciting Southey’s ridiculous poem, “Cascades of Lodore.” After Zahniser’s strange performance, Utah Senator Arthur Watkins grunted to a fellow member of the committee, “What did I tell you? Abominal nature lovers.”</p>
<p>Fortunately, Brower, even though he had never testified before congress, came armed with facts. He humiliated the engineers at the Bureau of Reclamation by proving that they had made grievous mathematical errors in their calculations of evaporation rates in the planned reservoirs. Unfortunately, in exposing the Bureau’s fraudulent science Brower doomed Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge.</p>
<p>It was a premeditated decision. Instead of opposing the entire Colorado River Storage Project, the environmentalists decided to focus on saving Dinosaur National Monument by recommending that the Bureau of Reclamation raise the height of the Glen Canyon Dam. Brower demonstrated during his testimony that a high Glen Canyon dam would store 700,000 acre feet more water than a lower dam at Glen Canyon and Echo Park. Though they squealed about it publicly, this was a deal even the water barons couldn’t pass up. On July 8, 1955, Aspinall deleted the Echo Park dam from the bill.</p>
<p>Dinosaur was saved. The neophyte environmental movement had beaten the mighty Bureau of Reclamation and its political backers with better science, more savvy public relations and, shockingly, bigger political clout. But the victory came at a very high price: Flaming Gorge, Glen Canyon and half of Cataract Canyon would be inundated.</p>
<p>Looking back, the problem isn’t just that Brower and his cohorts made a political deal to save Dinosaur and, as they saw it, the integrity of the national park system, by consenting to the larger scheme of the Colorado Storage Project, which meant big dams at Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge and smaller, but equally damaging impoundments, on the San Juan, Dolores and Gunnison Rivers. No, the problem was in fixating on institutional names, bureaucratic boundaries, regulatory classifications and legal designations and not on the river itself and the green current of life that flowed with it.</p>
<p>Yes, they were men (and nearly all of them were men) of their era. Yes, they had fought hard for the national park system, for the idea of wilderness. For many, the wounds from the Hetch Hetch battle were still tender. No more dams in national parks. The conservationist contingent didn’t have recourse to legal weapons such as the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act. They fought an intense political battle with what they had, an Emersonian ideal of primitive wilderness as represented in the park system, a vision, as illusory as it was, they correctly believed would appeal to a new generation of mobile post-war Americans seeking respite from the oppressive monotony of their suburban existence.</p>
<p>Still, some knew better. Stegner advised strenuously against the deal Brower struck. So did the photographer Eliot Porter, river guide Ken Sleight, folksinger Katie Lee-even Georgia O’Keefe, who executed a beautiful but little known series of paintings in Glen Canyon during the 1950s.</p>
<p>Olaus Murie, the naturalist with the Wilderness Society, should have raised the ecological issues more forcefully. Even Brower himself realized the disastrous consequences shortly after the passage of the Colorado River Storage Act, dooming Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon. But at the time his organization of Bay Area elites remained mired in an ice-and-rocks mindset that might be diagnosed as Sierracentrism. In many ways, it still is.</p>
<p>As astounding as their triumph over the Bureau of Reclamation was, it is now clear that the conservationists didn’t save the wildness of Dinosaur by preventing it from being flooded by two big dams, for a simple reason: the dam that they consented to at Flaming Gorge continues to inflict terrible ecological damage downstream, robbing the canyons of some essential chords of life. Even today, Dinosaur is being starved of sandbars, starved of organic debris, starved of driftwood piles and spring floods, starved of willows and cottonwoods, razorback suckers and bony chubs. Starved of its unpredictability, its temporality, in a word its naturalness. Through most of its course in these glorious canyons the Green is a mechanized river, cold as a machine.</p>
<p>The fallout from the operations of Glen Canyon Dam have proven even worse. Not only did the giant cenotaph drown the most magnificent canyon on the continent, but it mauled the ecology of the Grand Canyon, as well. The hard lesson is that dams kill in both directions.</p>
<p>Still Brower’s accomplishment here can’t be discounted. He stopped a dam and built a powerful new movement, a movement that beat back dams in Grand Canyon National Park in the 1960s and enacted the signature environmental laws of our time: the Endangered Species Act, the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.</p>
<p>Even crusty Wayne Aspinall realized that the battle of Echo Park had shifted the dynamics of political power in the West. “If we let them knock out Echo Park,” Aspinall warned. “We give them a tool they’ll use for the 100 years.” By the congressman’s math, that means we’ve got fifty more years to bust a couple big dams. You know the ones. Time to get to work.</p>
<p>I toss the gastrolith back in the streambed in case some creature needs it for efficient digestion in an alternate future. Who knows when the Earth will once again be ruled by titantic vegans. Perhaps that’s the secret karma of global warming.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>We lounge around camp until noon, writing in our journals, watching golden eagles twist in the sun, listening to Judy and Craig belt out Broadway show tunes. This is a comfortable campsite and we are loathe to leave it. But evacuate we must. The Park Service permits no layovers.</p>
<p>Whirlpool Canyon is another misnomer. For most of its run through this dark slot, the Green River is calm and meditative, as if brooding over its narrow escape from engineered extinction.</p>
<p>A few hundred yards below our camp, the river splits around a green island of tamarisk and old cottonwoods, where herons have nested. As the threads of river rejoin, we encounter a boisterous group of boaters harassing a bighorn ram and his harem. The men have crowded their rafts and kayaks to within a few feet of the sheep, and are clicking away with their cameras, snickering obscenely, tossing beers from raft to raft. The ewes are skittish, poised for flight. But the ram doesn’t move. Like an old Mormon patriarch, he stares defiantly at the fat interlopers, poised for confrontation. Almost willing one. Finally, the drunken boaters depart and, under darkening skies, we slide silently past the bighorns, noticing that their ears are free of tags and that their throats are unencumbered by radio collars. Long may it be so.</p>
<p>As we float by the flanks of Hardscrabble Mountain, the familiar red rocks of the Lodore Formation give way to the blocky white ramparts of the Madison limestone, tiger-striped with black desert varnish. The angular walls of the canyon are cluttered with the adobe summer homes of cliff swallows. The birds, among the fastest and most beautiful on earth, have already migrated south to the Yucatan, Guatemala and Honduras, leaving behind their odd, gourd-like mud houses, surely the architectural inspiration for the granaries of the Anasazi.</p>
<p>Most of the summer birds have followed the swallows south. But every now and then we spot one of my favorite bird species, jittering on a rock at the river’s edge: the water ouzel. Look up ouzel in your field guides. You won’t find it, even though it was immortalized by the best passages John Muir ever wrote. That’s because the nomenclature Nazis at the American Orinthological Union arbitrarily determined that the water ouzel should be exclusively known as the American Dipper.</p>
<p>I refuse to submit to this tyranny. Dipper describes only a small part of the wren-like bird’s behavior. Ouzel evokes its essence. Back home in Oregon, I’ve spent hours mesmerized by the acrobatics of ouzels flying around, in and, yes, up waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge. Here in Whirlpool the chunky black ouzel dives into the dark current of the Green, pops out of the river a dozen feet upstream, lands back on the flat rock, shakes the water off its stubby tail and chastises us as we pass by with a bug-like song: Dzeet, dzeet, dzeet.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Around the next twist of the river, we once again encounter the flotilla of boaters. They have stopped for lunch. Their spread gives the appearance of a tailgate party before a college football game. Beer (well, Coors, anyway) is being guzzled from hydration packs. Whiskey bottles have been set up like bowling pins on a shelf of rock. Two ravens, hunched on a low-hanging cottonwood branch, have already taken notice of the main course: an Army helmet stuffed with orange Cheetos.</p>
<p>The seven men range from pudgy to corpulent. Their rafts must groan under the load. To a man, they are smoking fat cigars. The smell sours the canyon air. One demands another Coor’s as he urinates on a thatch of sage. An aluminum can is promptly launched his direction, like a frozen monkfish flung through the air at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. He flubs the catch, pisses on his leg. Someone has constructed a crude sand sculpture that vaguely resembles a prone Monica Lewinsky. The giveaway is the cigar protruding from the crotch. They are from Colorado, naturally, on a frat boy reunion of some sort. This beach is being subjected to an depraved hazing ritual.</p>
<p>Calling all cougars.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Whirlpool Canyon ends abruptly at a contorted upthrust of rock called Island Park Fault. At the mouth of the gorge, the red walls of the canyon descend sharply back into the earth and the landscape smoothes into rolling hills of cheatgrass, another tenacious exotic. These fuzzy mounds are the rounded tops of ancient dunes, now solidified into Navajo sandstone.</p>
<p>This is Island Park, where, according to the map, the Green River braids through a series of islands, shaded by groves of cottonwoods. The Park Service has assigned us a campground for the evening on the southern flank of Big Island. There’s just one problem. The islands seem to have disappeared–and so have most of the cottonwoods. The shrunken river is restricted to the main channel. The old course of the Green is clotted now with horsetail, cane grass and the ubiquitous tamarisk.</p>
<p>We pull our boats out on a rocky beach at the foot of the Island Park Fault. Chris and I slip off the Riverkeeper’s raft and walk downstream toward the alleged campsite. We slop through the sucking mud of the old riverbed and spook two young mule deer that had bedded down in the cane. They jolt to their feet, but don’t scamper too far away from this cool and moist spot. They stare at us balefully, with alert, Yoda-like ears.</p>
<p>Finally we bushwhack our way to a signpost designating Big Island Camp, nearly concealed behind a veil of willows. The little beach is landlocked, at least a hundred yards from the river. A dead end.</p>
<p>What gives? Why did the Park Service consign us to a campground on a dried out channel? Did they finger us as anti-dam fanatics? Is this some kind of bureaucratic set up? Is that why they demanded our social security numbers?</p>
<p>Back at the rafts, Susette has already made the call. We’re spending the night here at Red Wash, near the broken end of Whirlpool Canyon. We unload the boats, set up the kitchen, search for sandy sleeping spots among the spines of rock.</p>
<p>Susette plants the the shitter on a spit of sand near the river and gives it a test drive. As she finishes her business, the inebriated armada of Coloradoans emerges noisily from the canyon. Two of the men take out cameras with zoom lenses and snap dozens of photographs of her and then the rest of us. Invaders, gluttons and voyeurs. One of them yells: “Lookee! Tree huggers! Envirofeminazis!!”</p>
<p>These guys aren’t merely aging fratboys, after all. Almost certainly, they are also Bush-appointees at the Department of the Interior. They sure have the pedigree.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Weisheit is meant to be cooking dinner, but he’s standing near the firebox instead, pointing dreamily to the curving Island Park Fault that looms above us. “Someday we must climb that,” he muses.</p>
<p>“No time like the present, Johnny,” says Jennifer. “Chris and I can handle dinner. Besides, we like to watch. This might be damned amusing.”</p>
<p>The fault is a buckled reef of layered rock that resembles the dorsal fin of an attacking Orca–if it had been painted by Peter Max. From here the anticline seems to offer a relatively modest climb of maybe five hundred vertical feet. From here.</p>
<p>On closer inspection, this flying fault soars nearly two thousand vertical feet above the floor of the canyon, all of it nearly straight up. The ascent will prove to be more like three thousand feet for us, since for every two steps we climb, we slide back one. The surface of the upwarp of limestone is flaked with scree, a slippery coating of shattered chert and jasper.</p>
<p>No one has brought a rope, climbing shoes or a stretcher. The only handholds are prickly pear cactus, thorny blackbrush and trick branches of juniper that snap off when you need them most. Pick your poison.</p>
<p>A sweaty hour of grunting, stumbling and profanity brings us to the top, where the arc of stone abruptly terminates in a concave drop of 2,000 feet to the lazy river below. I enjoy climbing, but am unnerved, justifiably I tell myself, by extreme exposure in high places. I cower on a flat ledge of limestone and look down river across the meadows of Island Park to the fissured flank of Split Mountain. The Riverkeeper shows no such inhibitions. Weisheit perches like a gargoyle on the edge of the precipice, an unstable cornice of fractured rock through which fat rays of light seem to be seeping. Is he wearing flip-flops?</p>
<p>Craig ventures down first, glissading on stones, kicking up a trail of dust behind him. A splendid strategy — for a solo descent. But Susette is next out of the starting gate. She slips, slides and stumbles a few hundred feet down the broken spine of rock, and kicks loose a boulder the size of a peccary, which begins careening down the slope.</p>
<p>“Head’s up!” Judy yells. “No, down. Get your head down, Craig.”</p>
<p>The tumbling rock seems to harbor a magnetic attraction for Craig. He moves left, it tracks left. He dodges right, the boulder follows suit. Finally Craig ducks and covers as the maniacal stone skims over his head and into a juniper tree, which disintegrates in a puff of debris like an atom in one of Edward Teller’s cyclotrons.</p>
<p>My own descent is less than glorious, something between a crawl and an uncontrolled skid. I shed vital layers of epidermis all the way down.</p>
<p>Back at camp, Chris and Jennifer have bemused themselves by watching the tragi-comedy unfold at a comfortable distance. They also seem to have dipped rather deeply into the tequila while preparing tonight’s feast, a fiery quesadilla, stuffed with cheese, black beans, and habanero peppers. The biomass of the meal is heavily weighted toward the habanero. As our mouths blister, there’s a good deal of obscene snickering from the chefs.</p>
<p>A line forms in front of Susette, who is slouched in her river chair with a drink in her hand and a hunk of ice on her rump. Requests are made: backrub, neck massage, Chakra realignment. She waves us away, one by one, with an imperious flick of her hand. The Reiki master is on vacation and she’s taking no new patients. We limp back to our seats, lick our wounds and try to find an angle of repose that doesn’t ache. Then Jennifer comes along, bearing Mojitos. “Two guys walk into a bar,” she quips, turning to Craig. “The third one ducks.”</p>
<p>This is our last evening in open air and there’s a melancholy mood to the camp. After dinner we each shuffle off to our own sleeping spaces. On this night, only Judy resorts to a tent.</p>
<p>The quark-quick western pipistrelles dart through the cool darkness. A lone coyote, sitting on a hidden rib of sandstone, does a keening imitation of an Ornette Coleman riff, phase-shifting between dissonant shrieks and sweet melodies.</p>
<p>The moonless sky is nearly black, lit only by a lustrous stream of stars.</p>
<p>To be continued.</p>
<p>Click here to read Part One: <a href="" type="internal">Dams, Oil and Whitewater</a>.</p>
<p>Click here to read Part Two: <a href="" type="internal">Through the Gates of Lodore</a>.</p>
<p>Click here to read Part Three: <a href="" type="internal">At Disaster Falls.</a></p>
<p>Click here to read Part Four: <a href="" type="internal">A Half Mile of Hell.</a></p>
<p>Click here to read Part Five: <a href="" type="internal">Greetings from Echo Park.</a></p>
<p>Click here to read Part Six: <a href="" type="internal">The Dam That Isn’t There</a></p>
<p>Click here to read Part Seven: <a href="" type="internal">Splitsville.</a></p>
<p>JEFFREY ST. CLAIR is the author of <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">Been Brown So Long It Looked Like Green to Me: the Politics of Nature</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Grand Theft Pentagon</a>. His newest book is <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">End Times: the Death of the Fourth Estate</a>, co-written with Alexander Cockburn. This essay will appear in <a href="" type="internal">Born Under a Bad Sky</a>, to be published in December. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Going Down on the Rocks in Dinosaur | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/10/26/going-down-on-the-rocks-in-dinosaur-3/ | 2007-10-26 | 4 |
<p>Using colorful exaggerations are commonplace in writing. However, when I call Donald Trump an idiot, I’m not using hyperbole. I absolutely believe that he’s a bona fide imbecile who’s gotten as far as he has in life mostly due to the advantages he was handed coming from a wealthy family — and because he’s a <a href="" type="internal">masterful salesman and con artist</a>.</p>
<p>That being said, there’s one trait that always stands out to me: Donald Trump is so incredibly ignorant, he’s too delusional about <a href="" type="internal">his own lack of intelligence</a> to understand exactly how stupid he truly is.</p>
<p>I believe a sign of intelligence is a person’s desire to want to constantly learn from others. In my opinion, often the person who thinks they’re the smartest person in the room is usually the dumbest. Even incredibly brilliant people like Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Stephen Hawking are constantly wanting to learn more from their peers and the world around them. They’re constantly driven to seek out new ideas and information.</p>
<p>Oh, but not Donald J. Trump. In his world, he is almost always the “smartest person in the room.” Just look at <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/02/09/president-trump-is-smarter-than-you-just-ask-him/?utm_term=.524e58883724" type="external">how often</a> he brags about his self-described “intelligence”:</p>
<p>I was a good student. I comprehend very well, okay, better than I think almost anybody.</p>
<p>Like every time I say I had an uncle who was a great professor at MIT for 35 years who did a fantastic job in so many different ways, academically — he was an academic genius — and then they say, is Donald Trump an intellectual? Trust me, I’m like a smart person.</p>
<p>I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years.</p>
<p>I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things. … I know what I’m doing and I listen to a lot of people, I talk to a lot of people and at the appropriate time I’ll tell you who the people are. But I speak to a lot of people. My primary consultant is myself, and I have, you know, I have a good instinct for this stuff.</p>
<p>I went to the Wharton School of Business. I’m, like, a really smart person.</p>
<p>I went to an Ivy League school. I’m very highly educated. I know words, I have the best words.</p>
<p>In my experience, at least most of the time, people who constantly brag about their supposed “intelligence” <a href="" type="internal">aren’t very bright</a>. That’s why they feel the need to brag about it in the first place.</p>
<p>Yet when it comes to Trump, there’s comical irony in the way he boasts about being&#160;a “smart person.” He does so in ways that sound as if they were being said by a spoiled, arrogant 9-year-old with a limited vocabulary.</p>
<p>Dealing in politics, I encounter people who have a similar mindset as Trump does about their own “intelligence” all of the time. Individuals who’ll send me messages littered with misspelled words, no hint of proper sentence structure, improperly using words like you’re/your or they’re/there/their, calling me an idiot or ranting on about what a “dummy” Barack Obama was.</p>
<p>These types of folks are so ignorant that they truly believe they’re the intelligent ones.</p>
<p>That’s Trump!</p>
<p>This is a man who was coddled and spoiled as a child. Then, as an adult, he surrounded himself with people who fed his ego and told him how amazing he was at everything he did. This created a person whose view on the world is so completely warped that he lacks the ability to understand that he’s not a very bright person. But he’s so incredibly ignorant, and people around him have spent most of his life lying to him, that he truly believes he “comprehends better than almost anybody,” that he has a “very good brain,” and he’s a “really smart person.”</p>
<p>He’s like the Billy Madison of politics.</p>
<p>It’s one of the reasons why I’ve found the situation with James Comey so interesting. When Trump fired him, it never even crossed his mind that Comey was <a href="" type="internal">more intelligent than he was</a>. That’s why he’s lashing out at him on Twitter, calling him names like “coward,” trying to undermine his credibility — he’s ticked off Comey outsmarted him by immediately documenting what was said during their conversations.</p>
<p>The same thing could be said about his hatred for Barack Obama. No matter how hard he tried to “get at” Obama, Trump could never do it. In his mind, he couldn’t stomach the fact that, as “smart” as he thinks he is, a man he clearly viewed as inferior (probably largely because of his race), he couldn’t beat. When he had to sit there during the White House Correspondents Dinner and quietly watch as Barack Obama mocked him basically to his face, I bet that was pure torture.</p>
<p>Conspiracy after conspiracy, lie after lie, Trump did just about everything he could to try to defeat Obama in 2012 (except, of course, run against him because he was too much of a coward). When Obama won his re-election, Trump had an absolute meltdown on Twitter.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">That’s why</a> many of Trump’s “policies” are almost the direct opposite of whatever Obama supported. Since Trump couldn’t “defeat” someone he clearly felt was beneath him, but was really just jealous of, he’s going to spend his time in office doing his best to effectively “erase” Obama’s presidency. Not because he necessarily disagrees with everything Obama did or supported, but because he’s so petty he wants to undo as many of his accomplishments as he can for no other reason than spite.</p>
<p>Personally, I still love the fact that it eats away at Trump knowing his inauguration crowd was much smaller than Obama’s and that Hillary Clinton received 3 million more votes than he did. I have no doubt that both of those facts haunt him, if not every single day — most of them.</p>
<p>The sad irony of Donald Trump is, he only thinks he’s as “intelligent” as he frequently brags about being, because he’s too ignorant to know just how <a href="" type="internal">incredibly stupid he really is</a>. Sadly for our country (and the rest of the world) his Republican handlers are perfectly content enabling his stupidity every step of the way.</p>
<p>Feel free to <a href="https://www.twitter.com/allen_clifton" type="external">follow me on Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/allencliftonroc" type="external">Facebook</a> to let me know what you think.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">There are Only 2 Possible Reasons Why Trump Gave Highly Classified Intel to Russia &amp; Neither are Good</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Republicans Don't Care that Donald Trump is an Absolute Moron and Completely Incompetent</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">5 Reasons Why I Believe Russia Has Information to Compromise &amp; Blackmail Trump</a></p>
<p>138 Facebook comments</p> | This is the Comically Sad Truth About Donald Trump’s Unparalleled Stupidity | true | https://forwardprogressives.com/comically-sad-truth-donald-trumps-unparalleled-stupidity/ | 2017-06-15 | 4 |
<p>Can we truly be at home in the marketplace? What kind of place is the marketplace, anyway, and how is it related to places like our communities, our homes, and the places we love in the natural world? Has the marketplace effectively replaced these physical/mental places by becoming the great provider of all that we need? And what about virtual place? Many of us spend so much time in online “environments” that place has taken on entirely new meanings unheard of prior to the Internet age. In a time when we can be both virtually and physically present in two different places at once, does it matter how we think about place, or can we just make of it what we will — make how we see and use place fit our chosen lifestyles?</p>
<p>The Occupy Movement, fueled by the indignation of vast numbers of people who are increasingly disenfranchised and displaced by the modern marketplace economy, recognizes the primacy of place in social change that moves us toward a just and sustainable future. This aspect of the movement is articulated by the physical occupation of public spaces, and more recently of homes that have been foreclosed with their occupants evicted by a corrupt banking system.</p>
<p>The primacy of place in the movement reminds us that, when people are denied access to the primary productivity of the land and the seas, they are relegated to a status of <a href="" type="internal">enforced dependency</a> on an abstract marketplace primarily constructed to serve the interests of the rich and the powerful. The Movement’s emphasis on space also reminds us that we cannot live entirely within the realm of the abstract idea of the marketplace. We need real food, non-virtual water, wearable clothing, and shelter — all made available to us through the natural processes of the earth, captured and molded by human effort.</p>
<p>In what is perhaps a first step in (re)connecting with place in a world where the fantasy of an endlessly growing and satisfying marketplace is crumbling, the Occupy Movement articulates vital needs for human dignity: the need for efficacy — to be heard and to have one’s welfare and voice taken seriously within collective processes of decision making and action — and the need for dignified and adequate means to obtain physical sustenance to satisfy one’s basic needs. Both of these needs converge in the concept and construct of place.</p>
<p>Reviving place as a focal point of human life and community is essential to social justice and sustainability. When I invoke place in this context, I conceptualize it as a nexus of physical space (both the natural world and the built environment) and community life (that includes economic activity, interpersonal relationships between people and between people and environments, cultural identity and expression, and governance processes). We make our places, and our places make us. Place is a reciprocal relationship that continually emerges through the forces of nature and human activity.</p>
<p>In the techno-world of modern industrial societies, many of us have lost sight of place as an organizing principle in our lives. We find that virtual spaces may indeed satisfy many of our needs as environments for building social bonds and friendships and for purchasing just about anything we might need or want (as long as we have the money to do so, of course), but we still rely physically upon tangible places that provide the necessities of life, even if our needs are mediated and obscured by the modern phenomenon of the marketplace.</p>
<p>Whether we recognize it or not, we are intimately connected to places, though in the globalized world, the reciprocal bonds between people and place, once paramount to the processes of community prosperity and health, have largely been broken. We abuse the land and the sea, sometimes without even knowing it, but because we need nature, we cannot completely sever our ties to places.</p>
<p>Take for example our water. It comes to us through processes of the earth that occur in some particular place, even though most of us know little of the detail of how water appears in our taps. Food offers another example. Since we, as yet, only metaphorically eat words, our food must be raised, cultivated, hunted, or gathered from particular places with particular environmental characteristics, and most often it must be cared for and harvested by people living in those environments. Both food and water derive from particular social and ecological contexts. They are not abstractions, and their concreteness bonds us with natural and social processes that are hidden behind the facades of grocery store shelves and Internet shopping malls — the “places” where we make the purchases that support the way we live and provide the things we need to stay alive.</p>
<p>We live a paradox in which intimate physical relationships to nature and social processes of production are juxtaposed with ignorance and neglect of the places and people who sustain us. Our very lives are in the hands of people and ecologies that may be entirely foreign to us intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. We may never see the face of one person who has picked the bananas we eat throughout our lives, but we are connected to the banana pickers and to the ecology of the banana fields from which the fruit comes. Through our bodily existence and our own internal ecologies, we are connected to others and nature. In many ways, we are others and nature, for without them, we would cease to exist.</p>
<p>And as human-caused depletion and damage of the natural world continues, the threat has become ever present: we may indeed cease to exist without a radical (re)conceptualization of and (re)connection to place.</p>
<p>Many indigenous societies have conceptualized the fundamental relationship between humans and nature as reciprocal, believing that people must respect and care for nature if nature is to provide for people. We cannot allow the continued plunder of the land and the sea to take place in our name, masked behind images of clean and orderly grocery store shelves, spotless storefront windows, and online shopping centers. I’m also convinced that we won’t protect that which we don’t know, and consequently don’t value. It takes years of paying attention and continual, mutual interaction to know a place, both the human community that is part of the place and the natural world within which that community is embedded. Growing into a place is a long term process of relationship building, and to do it well, we will need to learn to stay in place. In a world where careerists are rewarded for their willingness to relocate, this is no small challenge.</p>
<p>But we will have to stay put if we are to learn what we need to know to live sustainably on the land. To recover the health of our damaged places, we will need to learn what can and can’t be done sustainably within particular environments, and we will have to end the process of robbing that which we need from other places because, as we deplete distant places, we threaten the survival of other people and the health of the biosphere — we behave as tyrants, and we threaten both nature and our own existence. We will need to (re)learn the art of neighborliness and of working together in spite of our differences, and we will need to make decisions embedded in a context of our love for each other and for place — and rooted in a desire to sustain that which we love beyond our short lifetimes. It’s time to rejoin the community of life, to belong in mutually sustaining ways. We need to (re)construct places in ways that bring to an end this era of loneliness.</p>
<p>The process will not be easy, especially because so much social power has been concentrated for so long in so few hands. But at least people around the world are recognizing this reality and working to change it. People are seeing the concentration of power and wealth itself as perhaps the central driver for social injustice in the globalized world. This recognition is a huge step in the right direction. It’s also important to recognize that virtually all of the processes that contribute to (re)building healthy places also serve to devolve social power to local contexts.</p>
<p>The (re)conceptualization and (re)construction of place can be both challenging and exhilarating. It’s an endeavor that can take many forms that coalesce in a long term process of articulating who we are in place — community gardens; potluck dinners with neighbors; bioregional resource management; reading, study, and discussion circles; governance work in local politics or in community organizations; farmers markets; community art and theater projects, formal and informal education; developing and using local currencies; localized production, retail, and banking; localized renewable energy generation; and simply authentic listening among friends and neighbors – any activity that helps to build a sense of community and to increase the provision of basic needs from localized sources. Community building and (re)localization of our economies will help us build the resiliency that we will need to weather the converging crises of climate change, <a href="" type="internal">peak oil production</a>, and economic instability.</p>
<p>The Occupy Movement may well be the introduction to a new story about who we are in place. The plot line for this story will be grounded in communities and bioregions, not in the marketplace. And it’s a story for which there is no final draft. Chapters will be written and rewritten over time, and if we can write them in ways that continually deepen our efficacy, improve the health of our environment, and strengthen reciprocal ties between ourselves and our places, we just might come to occupy a place called home.</p>
<p>Tina Lynn Evans, Ph.D., teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on energy systems and socio-ecological sustainability at Prescott College and Fort Lewis College, and is a Contributing Author for <a href="http://www.newclearvision.com/" type="external">New Clear Vision</a>. She earned her doctorate in Sustainability Education at Prescott College, and currently resides with her husband and cat in the town of Durango, Colorado, where she grows and gathers a good deal of her own food and teaches and writes on sustainability issues and ideas.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | I Ain’t Got No Home | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/13/i-aint-got-no-home/ | 2011-12-13 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An American Airlines flight heading from Las Vegas to Dallas has made an emergency landing in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller says Flight 1868 landed safely around 8:20 a.m. Friday at Albuquerque International Sunport after the crew discovered of an issue with one of the plane’s generators.</p>
<p>The plane’s captain told passengers that the plane was forced to make a landing after a generator went out and the plane’s backup generator failed to turn on.</p>
<p>Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford says no injuries were reported and the FFA is investigating.</p>
<p>Miller says a maintenance team is working to get the MD-80 aircraft back into service. He says the flight had 140 passengers and a crew of five.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | AA Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Albuquerque | false | https://abqjournal.com/159459/aa-flight-makes-emergency-landing-in-albuquerque.html | 2013-01-11 | 2 |
<p>CLEVELAND (AP) — Hue Jackson is finally handing off his Browns offense.</p>
<p>Cleveland's coach, who has handled game-planning and play-calling duties while going 1-31 over two seasons with the Browns, is hiring former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley.</p>
<p>Jackson interviewed other quality candidates but chose Haley, who spent six seasons guiding Pittsburgh's high-powered offense before he was fired following a playoff loss last week, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press on Monday night.</p>
<p>The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the move.</p>
<p>A former head coach with Kansas City, Haley's familiarity with the AFC North will be a huge plus for Jackson as he tries to turn around the Browns following a historic 0-16 season.</p>
<p>The 50-year-old Haley worked in Pittsburgh with some of the NFL's best offensive players — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. The trio made the Steelers a challenge for any defense, and the team ranked in the Top 10 in scoring in each of the past four seasons.</p>
<p>The Steelers averaged 25.4 points per game last season while the Browns managed a league-low 14.6.</p>
<p>Haley will inherit an offense in Cleveland with far less talent than he had in Pittsburgh, but the Browns are expected to upgrade their offense through free agency and in the draft. They'll likely use either the No. 1 or No. 4 overall picks on a quarterback and could land Southern Cal's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen or Wyoming's Josh Allen, the top three prospects.</p>
<p>Haley became the fall guy after Steelers were bounced by Jacksonville in the AFC playoffs. He was criticized for failing to have Roethlisberger sneak on two failed fourth-down plays. Haley called a wide pitch that lost yardage and Roethlisberger threw an incompletion on the second critical play as the Steelers were beaten 45-42 by the Jaguars, who advanced to the conference championship.</p>
<p>Haley reportedly had a strained relationship with Roethlisberger, and that disconnect could have hastened the Steelers electing not to renew his contract.</p>
<p>Haley went 19-27 and had one playoff appearance with the Chiefs, who fired him late in the 2011 season. Prior to that, he worked as Arizona's offensive coordinator in 2007-08. The Cardinals scored a franchise-record 427 points in Haley's second season.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NFL: <a href="https://pro32.ap.org" type="external">https://pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>CLEVELAND (AP) — Hue Jackson is finally handing off his Browns offense.</p>
<p>Cleveland's coach, who has handled game-planning and play-calling duties while going 1-31 over two seasons with the Browns, is hiring former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley.</p>
<p>Jackson interviewed other quality candidates but chose Haley, who spent six seasons guiding Pittsburgh's high-powered offense before he was fired following a playoff loss last week, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press on Monday night.</p>
<p>The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the move.</p>
<p>A former head coach with Kansas City, Haley's familiarity with the AFC North will be a huge plus for Jackson as he tries to turn around the Browns following a historic 0-16 season.</p>
<p>The 50-year-old Haley worked in Pittsburgh with some of the NFL's best offensive players — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. The trio made the Steelers a challenge for any defense, and the team ranked in the Top 10 in scoring in each of the past four seasons.</p>
<p>The Steelers averaged 25.4 points per game last season while the Browns managed a league-low 14.6.</p>
<p>Haley will inherit an offense in Cleveland with far less talent than he had in Pittsburgh, but the Browns are expected to upgrade their offense through free agency and in the draft. They'll likely use either the No. 1 or No. 4 overall picks on a quarterback and could land Southern Cal's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen or Wyoming's Josh Allen, the top three prospects.</p>
<p>Haley became the fall guy after Steelers were bounced by Jacksonville in the AFC playoffs. He was criticized for failing to have Roethlisberger sneak on two failed fourth-down plays. Haley called a wide pitch that lost yardage and Roethlisberger threw an incompletion on the second critical play as the Steelers were beaten 45-42 by the Jaguars, who advanced to the conference championship.</p>
<p>Haley reportedly had a strained relationship with Roethlisberger, and that disconnect could have hastened the Steelers electing not to renew his contract.</p>
<p>Haley went 19-27 and had one playoff appearance with the Chiefs, who fired him late in the 2011 season. Prior to that, he worked as Arizona's offensive coordinator in 2007-08. The Cardinals scored a franchise-record 427 points in Haley's second season.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NFL: <a href="https://pro32.ap.org" type="external">https://pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | AP source: Browns hiring fired Steelers coordinator Haley | false | https://apnews.com/amp/7f8097f123af4cb6904946c9c227eadf | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>On Monday, La Promesa’s governance council sent Education Secretary Hanna Skandera a letter arguing that Paul Aguilar misled the commission and violated ethics standards when he testified about the school’s fiscal and academic issues on Feb. 10.</p>
<p>But several commissioners told the Journal they believe Aguilar, the PED’s deputy secretary of Finance and Operations, was doing his job.</p>
<p>“My feeling was he was making the comments based on his assessments and his understanding,” said James Conyers, commissioner for District 5, the northwest corner of New Mexico. “That’s what he does.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Conyers – one of the three commissioners who voted to keep La Promesa open – said he did not think any of Aguilar’s statements were out of line.</p>
<p>Commission Chairwoman Patricia Gipson was hesitant to comment ahead of the April 5 charter revocation hearing, but said the deputy secretary’s testimony wasn’t unusual.</p>
<p>“I didn’t find his reporting (on La Promesa) any different than any other reporting he has done,” Gipson said. “He is deputy secretary for finance, so his information is what we rely on because he is the expert. It’s not just him casually coming in to offer an opinion about the school.”</p>
<p>Aguilar did speak out against La Promesa in strong terms, arguing that the dual-language K-8 charter school is so poorly managed it should be closed.</p>
<p>He cited a fiscal year 2016 audit, released by the Office of the State Auditor, which shows a pattern of overpayments, missing and inaccurate invoices and other bookkeeping problems.</p>
<p>PED took over La Promesa’s finances in August and forced it to improve through steps such as hiring a new business manager and restructuring payroll, Aguilar told the commission.</p>
<p>“The school has not acted on their own initiative to solve these problems,” Aguilar said.</p>
<p>In the letter, La Promesa’s governing council disputed that conclusion and defended executive director Chris Jones, who took over from the school’s founder, Analee Maestas, this fall. Maestas, an Albuquerque Public Schools board member, was forced out after the state auditor determined that she doctored a $342 invoice to receive improper reimbursement.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Since Oct. 18, 2016, Mr. Jones has been diligently working to correct the many problems and issues he inherited from the former administration,” the letter states. “Mr. Aguilar has no personal knowledge about the extent of actions taken by Mr. Jones.”</p>
<p>PED spokeswoman Emilee Cantrell said La Promesa’s governing council is just trying to distract attention away from the school’s problems.</p>
<p>“Their finances were in such disarray that we had to take control of their spending to ensure that students weren’t getting shortchanged,” she said in a prepared statement. “Because of their troubling history, their baseless attacks have zero credibility.”</p>
<p>In addition to the financial and academic issues, La Promesa is the subject of a lawsuit that claims staff did not properly vet or supervise a substitute teacher who inappropriately touched a first-grader and exposed himself to other students.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Troubled charter school says commission heard false testimony | false | https://abqjournal.com/963332/troubled-charter-school-says-deputy-secretary-misled-commission-in-hearing.html | 2 |
|
<p>US Air Force pararescuemen and Army Soldiers prepare to cross-load simulated casualties from a Marine MH-53 to an Air Force HC-130J Combat King II during a training exercise at an improvised landing strip in the Grand Bara Desert, Djibouti. The joint service exercise took place in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. US Air Force <a href="http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/2012%5C07%5C120630-F-BU402-990.jpg" type="external">photo</a> by Tech. Sgt. Donald R. Allen.</p> | We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for July 9, 2012 | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/were-still-war-photo-day-july-9-2012/ | 2012-07-09 | 4 |
<p>Derek Kulach, the new owner of Fiesta Kia, insists on treating people right. (Glen Rosales/For the Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s party time at the new Fiesta Kia dealership.</p>
<p>New owner Derek Kulach wants to deliver a fun way of doing business. And because he and his wife, Alexandra Kulach, are veritable youngsters, having graduated from La Cueva High School less than a decade ago, they are ready to do things a little differently.</p>
<p>“We want to make it fun and being pretty young, we’re pretty in touch with the new generation,” he said. “We want to make it a party every day.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Still, while the Kulachs may be young, they are hardly inexperienced.</p>
<p>Both grew up in the business as their families have been long-time auto dealers.</p>
<p>And Derek Kulach graduated Northwood University in Midland, Mich., a college that specializes in entrepreneurial education and all aspects of the automotive industry.</p>
<p>“I was geared up to own and run an auto dealership,” he said.</p>
<p>Upon graduation, he immediately went to work in management for a dealership in South Carolina, then moved to Colorado to continue to climb the corporate ladder.</p>
<p>About a year and a half ago, the couple moved back to their hometown and Derek Kulach went to work at Garcia Kulach.</p>
<p>And just recently, Ed Garcia agreed to sell the dealership to the Kulachs.</p>
<p>“So I’ve already been running this store,” he said. “And he and I came to an agreement that he would sell it to me. I am really grateful that he was willing to give somebody like me a chance to own a dealership like this. And that’s where I am today.”</p>
<p>Alexandra Kulach, who has a degree in speech therapy and will continue working in that field while also working at the dealership said it’s going to be interesting juggling the two careers.</p>
<p>“I’ll do what I can to help and support the business,” she said. “But it is very different.”</p>
<p>But being different is what Derek Kulach wants.</p>
<p>“I didn’t get to where I am by sliding through,” he said. “We’re going to make use of all the modern technology that we can. The Internet. But it’s going to be fun and easy because we know what’s like when you go in to buy a car. We’re going to have fun here and treat people right.”</p>
<p /> | Fiesta Kia’s owner makes business a pleasure | false | https://abqjournal.com/485923/fiesta-kias-owner-makes-business-a-pleasure.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>To those in the mining business, the 38-mile stretch of Nevada called the Carlin Trend, near the Independence Range, holds as much promise as the Vegas strip does to a gambler on a roll. For the Carlin is a mother lode, accounting for nearly a third of the gold mined in the United States in 1993.</p>
<p>But instead of grizzled prospectors with pickaxes, this 1990s gold fever features multinational mining corporations wielding technology of devastating efficiency. In 1993, almost three times as much gold was mined in the United States as in 1852, the peak year of the Gold Rush. The United States now ranks second behind South Africa among gold-producing nations. Nevada, the heart of the new mining boom, accounted for 63 percent, or 6.7 million ounces, of the 1993 take–a take worth $2.4 billion.</p>
<p>The same revolutionary procedures that let mining companies extract gold in such quantity, however, are degrading the environment at an unprecedented rate, leaving behind open pools of cyanide, contaminated waterways, vast tracts of dried-out land, and man-made toxic lakes.</p>
<p>And because of the mining industry’s political clout, state and federal agencies are reluctant to enforce the few environmental regulations currently on the books. Moreover, an archaic law meant to lure 19th-century prospectors westward allows large mining companies, many foreign owned, to buy mineral-rich land for $5 an acre, and to pay no taxes at all on minerals they take from public lands.</p>
<p>The new gold rush can be traced back to cyanide “heap leaching,” a process pioneered by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1967. This modern-day alchemy permits ore that would have been considered worthless a few decades ago to be mined on a massive scale. But heap leaching carries a high price: The resulting pools of cyanide kill thousands of migratory birds that drink from them; leaks from these pools also threaten groundwater.</p>
<p>The special liners required beneath ore heaps to prevent leaks have a tendency to rip and tear. At the Independence Mine (owned by a Luxembourg-based company) in Nevada, for example, solution has been leaking out of the collection pool since the mine’s inception in 1982. It now leaks at the rate of 2,800 gallons per minute, threatening the Humboldt River and a creek containing an endangered trout species. A pump-back remediation system now recycles the solution, but some worry that the site may have to be maintained in perpetuity.</p>
<p>Though the Independence Mine situation is perhaps the worst, it is not unique–and cleanup is costly. The Mineral Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, estimates that cleaning up abandoned mines and the 10,000 miles of streams polluted by mine waste will cost taxpayers $32-$72 billion.</p>
<p>Another devastating new mining procedure is “dewatering,” where mining companies pump water not only from the mining pits that run deeper than the water table, but also from the surrounding area, creating enormous tracts of arid land. For two mines in the Carlin Trend alone, the dried-out area already measures nearly 350 square miles. The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees mining on public land, anticipates that at one mine, at least 330 acres of streams and springs will dry up. With 10 major gold mines currently dewatering, the water table is expected to take up to 100 years to recover.</p>
<p>Also, abandoned mining pits slowly refill with water to become massive “pit lakes.” But rock previously unexposed to air can leach into the water, forming a toxic brew. “They don’t know what to do [with the lakes],” says Jim Lyon of the Mineral Policy Center. “There are a lot of ticking time bombs out there.”</p>
<p />
<p>Why are mining companies able to wreak such environmental havoc? A source at the BLM says, “There are no teeth to any of our regulations. We have no authority to fine or even to shut down an operation. You can issue a notice of noncompliance, but that’s all it is–a piece of paper that doesn’t mean anything.”</p>
<p>Others blame lax state agencies and the relatively quiet Nevada citizenry, many of whom are mine employees earning some of the highest pay in the state. The $93,530,000 Nevada received in mining taxes in 1993 and the $164,200 Gov. Bob Miller received from the industry during his recent re-election campaign are certainly incentives to look the other way. As a federal agent explains, “Here in Nevada people live by a different golden rule: He who has the gold, rules.”</p>
<p>The Mining Law of 1872 let prospectors mine minerals on public land for free and let them buy, or “patent,” the land, including all minerals beneath it, for $5 an acre. Under the same archaic law, still in effect, the government cannot receive royalties when companies mine claims on public land. Private landowners, in contrast, routinely charge companies that extract minerals from their land.</p>
<p>Even more obscene is the fact that the law doesn’t require the patent holder to mine the land. In 1986, one mining company patented 17,000 acres in Colorado for $42,500 and a month later resold the land to oil interests for $37 million. In reviewing 20 other patents made since 1970, the General Accounting Office discovered that the government had received less than $4,500 for land now worth up to $47.9 million.</p>
<p>In the fall of 1993, the House of Representatives passed a bill to end patenting and requiring mining companies to pay an 8 percent royalty to mine on public lands. (In contrast, the oil, coal, and gas industries pay a 12.5 percent royalty for use of federal lands.) But the reform effort was scuttled in the Senate by six Westerners (see photos). Said Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.), sponsor of the House bill, “In the final analysis, the mining industry, guided by greed and guile, did not want a bill of any kind.”</p>
<p>Congress did place a moratorium on patents for one year. While this will not stop mining on public lands or the filing of new claims, it does preserve Congress’ option to impose royalties. The bad news: Of 613 patent applications pending, 422 will be processed, giving mining companies title to federal lands holding minerals worth an estimated $21 billion.</p>
<p>With the future of patenting in doubt, mining companies are turning to land exchanges with the BLM as another way to privatize public land rich in minerals. As the BLM often sets a price on its land based only on the surface (usually grazing) value, mining companies can trade hundreds of acres of their useless land to the BLM for smaller properties that are mineral-rich and far more lucrative.</p>
<p />
<p>Considering that gold currently mined is neither strategically nor industrially important (85 percent of it is made into jewelry), sacrificing land and wildlife in its pursuit is all the more senseless. And time for action is quickly running out.</p>
<p>Up in Jerritt Canyon in the Independence Range, where freeway-size exploratory roads carved deep into the mountains are dotted with drilling rigs and haul trucks, one lone aspen stands, a single message carved into its trunk: Goodbye.</p>
<p>Jessica Speart is a Connecticut-based environmental writer.</p>
<p /> | A Lust for Gold | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1995/01/lust-gold/ | 2018-01-01 | 4 |
<p>Traitor, loser, deserter. Fox News can’t seem to find enough insults to describe prisoner of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. And to add insult to injury, in exchange for the American captive “we gave up the [Taliban] Dream Team!” exclaims “The Colbert Report” host. “Now who are we going to send to the Rio Olympics in 2016?”</p>
<p>Watch as Stephen Colbert joins Fox News and CNN in disparaging the tortured Bergdahl and drawing comparisons between the sergeant’s years in captivity and those of the character Nicholas Brody on Showtime’s “Homeland.” As the comedian puts it, “You cannot make this stuff up, although we will continue to try.”</p>
<p><a href="http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/" type="external">The Colbert Report</a>Get More: <a href="http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/full-episodes" type="external">Colbert Report Full Episodes</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecolbertreport" type="external">The Colbert Report on Facebook</a>, <a href="http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos" type="external">Video Archive</a></p>
<p>—Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Natasha Hakimi Zapata</a></p>
<p /> | Stephen Colbert on the 'Growing Cable News Consensus' That Bowe Bergdahl Doesn't Deserve to Be Alive | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/stephen-colbert-on-the-growing-cable-news-consensus-that-bowe-bergdahl-doesnt-deserve-to-be-alive/ | 2014-06-11 | 4 |
<p>Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Government and Public Policy Lawrence Wilkerson's last positions in government were as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff (2002-05), Associate Director of the State Department's Policy Planning staff under the directorship of Ambassador Richard N. Haass, and member of that staff responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, political-military and legislative affairs (2001-02). Before serving at the State Department, Wilkerson served 31 years in the U.S. Army. During that time, he was a member of the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College (1987 to 1989), Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93), and Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia (1993-97). Wilkerson retired from active service in 1997 as a colonel, and began work as an advisor to General Powell. He has also taught national security affairs in the Honors Program at the George Washington University. He is currently working on a book about the first George W. Bush administration.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Washington. We're continuing our series of interviews with Larry Wilkerson. We're now going to pick up on 9/11. Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />LAWRENCE WILKERSON, FMR. CHIEF OF STAFF TO COLIN POWELL: Sure.
<p />
<p />JAY: So where were you on 9/11?
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: I'd just given a breakfast talk in the morning at one of the hotels downtown in Washington and was riding in a taxi back to the State Department, had just exited a taxi, and the radio recorded the first tower being hit in New York. So I got back in the taxi, listened to the radio.
<p />
<p />JAY: What's your first thought?
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: My first thought was that the black smoke roiling up across the river might mean that something else had been hit too. And so I ran up the stairs and into the building and discovered that, yes, the Pentagon had been hit also. You could see it. And then, of course, the mass of people coming out of the State Department caught me, and we all went to our separate areas per our evacuation plan. And the rumors were rampant--you know, a bomb had gone off on C Street, a car bomb had exploded on D Street, and so forth. So everyone's running around, trying to do what they can to make sure that all their people are safe and that they're in their designated areas outside the State Department.
<p />
<p />JAY: So this became a seminal moment for, really, a change in the whole US foreign policy and military positioning in the world. Did you think that was justified, based on what happened? And I'm talking your mindset at the time.
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: I thought we needed to do something about Afghanistan, and I thought we needed to do it forthwith. What that something should be would probably be to take out al-Qaeda. How we did it, with the CIA, with special operating forces, or with the military, was up to other people above my pay grade to decide. I also thought that what Colin Powell had developed, as I recall, on 12 September--I say Colin Powell; his staff developed--to give to the president was a pretty good strategy, and it was a strategy to essentially enlist all the countries in the world that we had dealings with in one way or another, in order to assist in dealing with this problem called terrorism with a global reach. We weren't calling it the global war on terror at that time. It was terrorism with a global reach, meaning terrorist groups that had the capability and the intent of reaching out across borders and striking people, including us and our allies. And this was everything from political support to troops in whatever struggle might result. And this was briefed to President Bush, and he accepted it. This was the strategy. And with each country and each ingredient or ingredients that that country offered, whether it was overflight rights, political support, soldiers, or whatever, was a diplomacy. Now--and who would execute that diplomacy. With Pakistan, for example--very important country--it was the president and the secretary of state and the deputy secretary of state. They were going to orchestrate that diplomacy with some other country that might provide only political support in the UN or wherever. It would be our ambassador in that country who would ask for that support and coordinate the support. So this was the strategy. It was a strategy built on exploiting--and that's not the right term--using the world solidarity that occurred because of 9/11, the sympathy we got from Tehran, from everywhere in the world, from Havana, and using that sympathy in a positive way to fight these terrorists who were doing these things globally.
<p />
<p />JAY: Now, President Bush makes a speech a few days after 9/11. It's not a war against an organization called al-Qaeda. There's no specificity to who we are going to fight. You are either with us or you're against us in a war on terror. And it becomes a rubric for just about anything.
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: As far as I know, until the 19 words, I think it was, or 16 words, or whatever, about Niger and uranium in Niger, presidential and vice presidential speeches in particular were never clear with anyone. Maybe at a National Security Council meeting or maybe in principals, Colin Powell might glance at a speech. Dick Cheney didn't clear his speeches with anybody.
<p />
<p />JAY: I mean, they essentially established a new US foreign policy which divided the world: you're with us or you're against us; join the war on terror or you're our enemy; we will strike you if you--as if you are the enemy.
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: And an interesting thing about that is, as I came to find out later, and this is a fascinating point to be researched by a scholar in the future, a lot of that rhetoric came from speechwriters like Michael Gerson and others. It did not come out of the fertile brain of Dick Cheney or George Bush or Condi Rice. It came from speechwriters eager to be high rhetoriticians, eager to create their own evil empire phrase for George Bush, like it was created by Tony Dolan for Ronald Reagan. And this sort of thing gets out of hand when you don't have people who are sane, pragmatic, and sober reading these speeches in the bureaucracy, in the cabinet departments, and in the agencies and so forth. And that wasn't happening. So these speeches--.
<p />
<p />JAY: But it did play into what Cheney and group wanted to do.
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: Well, I think Cheney's not the most eloquent person on the face of the earth. If you've ever seen him give a speech, you know that. He used talking points that were developed [incompr.] and yes, these talking points were developed from these sort of people, and they were developed from the kind of things that Douglas Feith was doing over in the Pentagon in his Special Plans Office, where he was developing these talking points about Iraq and so forth.
<p />
<p />JAY: So when you hear this and then you start to see that in this new administration you've just joined, the foreign policy and a lot of other things are being run by the vice president, Cheney, what does this do to Larry Wilkerson?
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: This becomes very scary. We're looking at a constant barrage of speechifying coming from the vice president, from the president, from the National Security advisor. We're looking at a constant barrage of unilateral actions that our boss Colin Powell was having to ameliorate in some way. We had a phrase already: by the end of 2002, we were saying Colin Powell's job is to clean the dog crap off the Oval Office carpets, because there was so much dog crap. We had a German chancellor that wouldn't even speak to the president of the United States. We had a situation in Europe in general that was fractious at best because the Transatlantic relationship was frayed mightily, not just by Kyoto and the unilateral rejection of that, which I think everybody expected, but by the fact that we came out and essentially said the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty is dead and we're going to build ballistic missile defense and spend $60 billion to do it and didn't talk to anybody, didn't consult anybody, didn't talk to Moscow. This scared the bejesus out of our European allies.
<p />
<p />JAY: And how long after 9/11 do you become aware that the Bush-Cheney objective is not even so much about Iraq? They didn't seem all that interested even in capturing bin Laden or killing bin Laden. The direction is Baghdad and Iraq.
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: I think that became very clear to me after we got UN Security Council Resolution 1441, 15-0 vote in the UN Security Council, in November 2002. And I realized in all the euphoria over that--my boss was elated. You know, this was a historic victory. We got a 15-0 vote in UN Security Council. In all that euphoria, I kind of pricked it for myself, and I looked at it and I said, I think we're going to war.
<p />
<p />JAY: Greg Thielmann, who I believe had the file about proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reported to John Bolton, who then, I assume, reported to Powell--yes?
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: M-hm.
<p />
<p />JAY: Thielmann told me directly that when Bolton took over, he--Thielmann comes in for the security briefing, and Bolton says to Thielmann, so where are the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? And Thielmann says, well, we don't think there are any. And Bolton says, oh, well, come back next week and tell me where the weapons are. So Thielmann told me this over a breakfast. But he did this three times. And after the third time, and Bolton said, well, we won't be requiring your participation anymore in these security briefings to the guy who's in charge of collecting the intelligence. And that's within the State Department. Now, did Thielmann's opinion reach you? Did it reach Powell? Did you guys know your own guy was saying nothing was there?
<p />
<p />WILKERSON: Carl Ford gave Colin Powell his best shot. Carl Ford was one of 16 entities in the United States' very expensive--at that time about $60 billion--intelligence apparatus, one of 16. Carl Ford in INR at State dissented on an active nuclear weapons program. They did not dissent on chemicals and biologicals. And that got weighed in the balance. And George Tenet as the DCI said, oh, 15-1. Sorry. You're beat. And it became an active nuclear program as well as chemical and bio, and other violations too.
<p />
<p />JAY: Okay. So next segment of the interview, we'll talk about what happens after this and how you start to question some of the underlying assumptions of all of this. Please join us for the next segment of our interview with Larry Wilkerson 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. | 9/11 and the War in Iraq (6/8) | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D6875 | 2011-06-03 | 4 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — A former Federal Reserve Bank of New York examiner on Wednesday admitted leaking confidential information to a Goldman Sachs employee that led to a $50 million penalty against the investment bank.</p>
<p>Jason Gross entered a guilty plea in Manhattan federal court to a misdemeanor theft of information charge, admitting giving information in August 2014 to former supervisor Rohit Bansal, who prosecutors say was trying to make a good impression after moving to his new job at Goldman Sachs.</p>
<p>Bansal, who had worked with Gross at the Federal Reserve until April 2014, is scheduled to enter a plea Thursday in Manhattan. His attorney, E. Scott Morvillo, declined to comment on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said the documents Gross shared with Goldman Sachs were used to assist it with client banks.</p>
<p>In court papers, Bansal was referred to by prosecutors as Individual-1. They said one of the documents Gross sent to Bansal pertained to a bank that Bansal had supervised when he worked at the Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Bansal emailed the document to other Goldman Sachs employees, telling them it “gives you (an) idea of what (the) Board was looking at. ... Please don’t distribute.”</p>
<p>Sentencing for Gross, 37, was scheduled for March 2, when he could face up to a year behind bars.</p>
<p>Although federal sentencing guidelines call for Gross, of Bellmore, to serve from 10 months to a year, defense attorney Bruce Barket said he will argue for no jail time.</p>
<p>“He’s a relatively young man who obviously made an error that caught the attention of ... the U.S. attorney’s office,” Barket said. “We don’t think jail is appropriate.”</p>
<p>Goldman Sachs agreed last week to pay $50 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services to resolve an enforcement action.</p>
<p>The Department of Financial Services, without identifying Bansal by name, said he had worked at the Federal Reserve as a bank examiner from 2007 until 2014 before joining Goldman in May 2014 as an associate in the Financial Institutions Group within the Investment Banking Division.</p>
<p>Goldman Sachs said it fired two employees after discovering and reporting the issue to authorities.</p>
<p>“We have zero tolerance for improper handling of confidential information,” it said in a statement. “We have reviewed our policies regarding hiring from governmental institutions and have implemented changes to make them appropriately robust.”</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — A former Federal Reserve Bank of New York examiner on Wednesday admitted leaking confidential information to a Goldman Sachs employee that led to a $50 million penalty against the investment bank.</p>
<p>Jason Gross entered a guilty plea in Manhattan federal court to a misdemeanor theft of information charge, admitting giving information in August 2014 to former supervisor Rohit Bansal, who prosecutors say was trying to make a good impression after moving to his new job at Goldman Sachs.</p>
<p>Bansal, who had worked with Gross at the Federal Reserve until April 2014, is scheduled to enter a plea Thursday in Manhattan. His attorney, E. Scott Morvillo, declined to comment on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said the documents Gross shared with Goldman Sachs were used to assist it with client banks.</p>
<p>In court papers, Bansal was referred to by prosecutors as Individual-1. They said one of the documents Gross sent to Bansal pertained to a bank that Bansal had supervised when he worked at the Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Bansal emailed the document to other Goldman Sachs employees, telling them it “gives you (an) idea of what (the) Board was looking at. ... Please don’t distribute.”</p>
<p>Sentencing for Gross, 37, was scheduled for March 2, when he could face up to a year behind bars.</p>
<p>Although federal sentencing guidelines call for Gross, of Bellmore, to serve from 10 months to a year, defense attorney Bruce Barket said he will argue for no jail time.</p>
<p>“He’s a relatively young man who obviously made an error that caught the attention of ... the U.S. attorney’s office,” Barket said. “We don’t think jail is appropriate.”</p>
<p>Goldman Sachs agreed last week to pay $50 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services to resolve an enforcement action.</p>
<p>The Department of Financial Services, without identifying Bansal by name, said he had worked at the Federal Reserve as a bank examiner from 2007 until 2014 before joining Goldman in May 2014 as an associate in the Financial Institutions Group within the Investment Banking Division.</p>
<p>Goldman Sachs said it fired two employees after discovering and reporting the issue to authorities.</p>
<p>“We have zero tolerance for improper handling of confidential information,” it said in a statement. “We have reviewed our policies regarding hiring from governmental institutions and have implemented changes to make them appropriately robust.”</p> | Guilty plea entered by ex-Federal Reserve bank examiner | false | https://apnews.com/42ea164527bf4043bac188b8d1c00442 | 2015-11-05 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man is in the hospital Tuesday night after being shot in southwest Albuquerque, according to police.</p>
<p>Spokeswoman Hannah Glasgow said the man’s condition is unknown.</p>
<p>She said officers responded to a shooting on the 6300 block of Gonzalez SW, around 6:30 p.m., and found the male injured.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Man shot in SW Albuquerque, police say | false | https://abqjournal.com/1099082/man-shot-in-sw-albuquerque-police-say.html | 2 |
|
<p>Shire PLC (SHP.LN) said Friday that it swung to a profit in the third quarter of 2017 and that it backs its full-year guidance.</p>
<p>For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the Dublin-based biopharmaceutical company reported net income of $551 million, compared with a $386.8 million loss in the same period a year earlier. However this was lower than the consensus estimate of $771 million net income provided by FactSet.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Total revenue increased to $3.69 billion compared with $3.45 billion last year, but this was also below the consensus forecast of $3.73 billion. Total revenue included a 7% increase in product sales of $3.53 billion from $3.32 billion last year.</p>
<p>Non-GAAP diluted earnings per American Depository Receipt, which strips out exceptional and one-off items, was $3.81, ahead of the consensus forecast of $3.66.</p>
<p>FTSE 100-listed Shire reiterated its full-year guidance of revenue between $14.3 billion to $14.6 billion and diluted earnings per share between $14.80 to $15.20.</p>
<p>Shares in Shire were up 9.50 pence, or 0.27%, to 3,532.50 pence at 1129 GMT.</p>
<p>Write to Maryam Cockar at [email protected]</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 27, 2017 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)</p> | Shire Swings to 3Q Profit, Backs Full-Year Guidance | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/27/shire-swings-to-3q-profit-backs-full-year-guidance.html | 2017-10-27 | 0 |
<p>BERLIN (AP) — China and Europe are jointly testing new technology that could help satellites peer through clouds and analyze storms.</p>
<p>The European Space Agency says it has teamed up with China’s National Space Center to conduct ground tests on two complementary devices designed to deliver high-resolution images from an orbit of 36,000 kilometers (22,370 miles).</p>
<p>The agency said Wednesday that if the tests are successful, the next stage would be a space mission. It is the first time Europe and China have worked together to test and build an instrument.</p>
<p>Current satellite systems are unable to gather the temperature and humidity data needed to accurately monitor storms.</p>
<p>The tropical cyclones in the northwest Pacific, known as typhoons, pose a serious threat to China and other countries in the region each year.</p>
<p>BERLIN (AP) — China and Europe are jointly testing new technology that could help satellites peer through clouds and analyze storms.</p>
<p>The European Space Agency says it has teamed up with China’s National Space Center to conduct ground tests on two complementary devices designed to deliver high-resolution images from an orbit of 36,000 kilometers (22,370 miles).</p>
<p>The agency said Wednesday that if the tests are successful, the next stage would be a space mission. It is the first time Europe and China have worked together to test and build an instrument.</p>
<p>Current satellite systems are unable to gather the temperature and humidity data needed to accurately monitor storms.</p>
<p>The tropical cyclones in the northwest Pacific, known as typhoons, pose a serious threat to China and other countries in the region each year.</p> | China, Europe jointly test technology for storm satellite | false | https://apnews.com/3a22f3a47ee94b46a7ca4878828b8e02 | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
<p>When a tour group of LGBTQ youth visited Oklahoma’s Capitol on Monday, a House staffer warned young staffers to use other private bathrooms because there were “cross-dressers in the building.”</p>
<p>On Monday afternoon, a staffer with pro-LGBTQ group Oklahomans for Equality began filming a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OklahomansforEquality/videos/1436976576375916/" type="external">Facebook Live video</a> from inside the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Capitol building. High school students, dressed up for their field trip to the Capitol, talked excitedly among themselves. They had come to the Capitol to speak with legislators on issues facing Oklahoma’s LGBTQ youth. But on their way through the building, the group came to a halt as their leader made an announcement.</p>
<p>“Every year we bring LGBTQ youth to the Capitol. This year we came again to advocate for LGBTQ youth, especially school funding because that’s a real issue this year,” Toby Jenkins, the group’s executive director announced in the video. “But this year we got here, and we’re just going about our business visiting our legislators when we were told that there had been a message sent to all of the legislators in the building to be warned: ‘Be aware that there are cross-dressers in the building, and you can use private bathrooms if you need to.’”</p>
<p>Jenkins was referring to an email later surfaced by the <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/capitol_report/lgbtq-group-s-capitol-visit-prompts-mass-email-about-cross/article_0f0c4a48-7e67-5440-8668-5e27168cd2d2.html" type="external">Tulsa World</a>. The email, titled “Ladies Restroom,” went out to multiple offices in the Capitol while the LGBTQ students toured the building.</p>
<p>“As per the Speaker’s office, Pages are being allowed access to the ladies restroom across from 401, for today,” read an email from Karen Kipgen, a supervisor for the House’s Page Program. “Again, there are cross-dressers in the building.”</p>
<p>The Page Program is a week-long pseudo-internship in which high school students sit in on House proceedings and run errands for staff. The pages are the same age or older than the students who toured the Capitol on Monday.</p>
<p>But Kipgen’s email implied that the visiting children might be dangerous predators with whom pages should not share a bathroom. The email also implied that Kipgen’s orders had come from the office of House Speaker Charles McCall.</p>
<p>In a statement, McCall’s office denied having called the children “cross-dressers” or arranging alternate bathrooms for pages.</p>
<p>“The email was not authorized by me, my staff or my office,” McCall said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “It was sent unilaterally by a House staff member without any input or permission. I was unaware that such an email was being sent, and the remarks contained in the email are not condoned by me or the Office of the Speaker. As Speaker, all Oklahomans should feel welcome in the Oklahoma Capitol building. We are looking into this matter, and it will be taken seriously.”</p>
<p>Kipgen did not return a request for comment.</p>
<p>But shortly after the email went out, McCall’s office appeared less contrite. In their livestream, the Oklahomans for Equality group walked to McCall’s office to confront the legislator in person.</p>
<p>“That’s what bigots call us: ‘cross-dressers,’” Jenkins told a staffer in McCall’s office when the group arrived to request a meeting with McCall. “That is not the language you use to describe children… That is insulting and I am embarrassed that the state would do something like that.”</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>“OK,” the staffer said, declining to offer any further comment. She appeared to have been stifling laughter earlier during Jenkins’s speech. When Jenkins asked to meet with McCall, the staffer told him the speaker was unavailable. “Do you have a business card with you?” the staffer asked Jenkins, who was leading approximately 70 students on a scheduled tour of the building.</p>
<p>Another staffer intervened, telling Jenkins he would look into the incident, but that Jenkins’s request to hear an answer before the group left at 1 p.m. might be unreasonable.</p>
<p>“We’ll see what we can do,” the second staffer said on the video. “One o’clock is kind of a tight deadline, especially with lunch, when we’re at caucus.”</p> | Oklahoma Capitol Warned of ‘Cross-Dressers in the Building’ When LGBTQ Kids Visited | true | https://thedailybeast.com/oklahoma-capitol-warned-of-cross-dressers-in-the-building-when-lgbtq-kids-visited | 2018-10-02 | 4 |
<p>Chesapeake Energy Corp will sell a 50 percent interest in some of its oil and gas properties in the Mississippi Lime shale formation to China Petroleum &amp; Chemical Corp (Sinopec) for $1.02 billion cash, a valuation that fell short of some expectations.</p>
<p>Shares of Chesapeake declined 4 percent in morning New York Stock Exchange trading following news of the deal on Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Hammered by prolonged low natural gas prices and a hefty debt load, Chesapeake plans to sell up to $7 billion of assets this year to help close a $4 billion gap between capital expenditures and cash flow.</p>
<p>A number of Wall Street analysts had expected Chesapeake to bring in a higher valuation for the Mississippi Lime deal, but they welcomed the liquidity boost the cash deal brings.</p>
<p>"We're certainly not bowled over with the valuation paid, but Chesapeake remains in a position of needing to pare down the portfolio and increase liquidity," analysts at Wells Fargo wrote to clients. "This transaction helps towards accomplishing both goals."</p>
<p>Shares of SandRidge Energy, a U.S. oil and gas company that has 1.85 million acres in the Mississippi Lime, fell almost 5 percent following news of the Chesapeake deal.</p>
<p>Sinopec will pay about $2,400 per acre, below the $3,400 per acre analysts at CapitalOne Southcoast in New Orleans had expected, the analysts said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Oil and gas production from the assets averaged 34,000 barrels oil equivalent in the fourth quarter, and proved reserves are estimated at 140 million barrels oil equivalent, Chesapeake said.</p>
<p>HUNGRY FOR EXPERTISE</p>
<p>Output from shale fields in the United States and Canada has jumped over the last three years due to the advent of drilling methods such as hydraulic fracturing.</p>
<p>Companies in China, which has the largest shale reserves in the world, are keen to get the know-how for drilling in such unconventional fields.</p>
<p>China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd has struck a deal to buy Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc for $15.1 billion, while Pioneer Natural Resources Co said last month it would sell a stake in its assets in the Wolfcamp shale field of Texas to Sinochem Group for $1.7 billion.</p>
<p>Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, will buy 50 percent of Chesapeake's 850,000 acres of net oil and natural gas leasehold properties in the Mississippi Lime shale field in northern Oklahoma, the companies said.</p>
<p>Chesapeake has about 2.1 million acres in the Mississippi Lime formation, which straddles northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.</p>
<p>Chesapeake will be the operator of the properties owned with Sinopec, and development costs will be shared equally by the two companies.</p>
<p>Chesapeake's production from the Mississippi Lime region jumped 208 percent to an average of 32,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter, the company reported this month.</p>
<p>About 45 percent of the total output was oil, 46 percent was natural gas, and the rest was natural gas liquids.</p>
<p>Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon, who co-founded Chesapeake in 1989, is stepping down on April 1 following a tumultuous year during which the company faced a liquidity crunch and a governance crisis.</p>
<p>Sinopec struck a deal with Devon Energy Corp in January 2012 to buy a third of the U.S. oil and natural gas producer's interest in five developing fields for about $2.2 billion.</p>
<p>In October 2011 a unit of Sinopec signed a deal to buy Canadian oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy Ltd for more than $2 billion.</p>
<p>Shares of Chesapeake fell 87 cents to $19.63.</p> | Sinopec To Buy Stake In Chesapeake Assets | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/02/25/sinopec-to-buy-stake-in-chesapeake-assets.html | 2016-01-25 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Part 2 in an 11-part series.</p>
<p />
<p>Serving time in prison is not supposed to be pleasant. Nor, however, is it supposed to include being raped by fellow prisoners or staff, beaten by guards for the slightest provocation, driven mad by long-term solitary confinement, or killed off by medical neglect. These are the fates of thousands of prisoners every year—men, women, and children housed in lockups that give Gitmo and Abu Ghraib a run for their money.</p>
<p>While there’s plenty of blame to go around, and while not all of the facilities described in this series have all of the problems we explore, some stand out as particularly bad actors. We’ve compiled this subjective list of America’s 10 worst lockups (plus a handful of dishonorable mentions) based on three years of research, correspondence with prisoners, and interviews with criminal-justice reform advocates concerning the penal facilities with the grimmest claims to infamy.</p>
<p>We will be rolling out profiles of all of the contenders in the coming days, complete with photos and video. Now let’s head on down to Texas to visit our second contender, where condemned men (even <a href="" type="internal">severely mentally ill ones</a>) spend their final years under what are arguably the nation’s harshest death-row conditions. &#160;</p>
<p>Number of prisoners: ~300</p>
<p>Who’s in charge: Richard Alford, former warden at Polunksy, he now oversees all the region’s prisons; Oliver Bell, chairman, Texas Board of Criminal Justice</p>
<p />
<p>The basics: “The most lethal [death row] anywhere in the democratic world” is also probably “the hardest place to do time in Texas,” writes Robert Perkinson, author of the book TexasTough. Indeed, the all-solitary Allan B. Polunsky Unit houses condemned Texans under some of the nation’s harshest death row conditions. The prisoners are housed in single cells on 22-hour-a-day lockdown, and even during their daily “recreation” hour, they are confined in separate cages. With no access to phones, televisions, contact visits, they remain in <a href="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/17_B.U._Pub._Int._L.J._237,_.pdf" type="external">essentially a concrete tomb</a> (PDF) until execution day—a stretch of at least three years for the mandatory appeals, and far longer if they opt to keep fighting. Some have been <a href="http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&amp;context=lsrp_papers" type="external">known to commit suicide</a> or waive their appeals rather than continue living under such conditions.</p>
<p>The backlash: At Polunsky, the “emotional torture” of awaiting death in total isolation is “driving men out of their minds,” former prisoner Anthony Graves told senators last year at the first-ever <a href="http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=6517e7d97c06eac4ce9f60b09625ebe8" type="external">Judiciary Committee hearing</a> on solitary confinement. “I would watch guys come to prison totally sane and in three years they don’t live in the real world anymore,” recalled Graves, who <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2010-10-01/feature2.php" type="external">was exonerated in 2010</a>, after spending more than 18 years on death row.</p>
<p>Graves <a href="http://solitarywatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/anthony-graves-texas-death-row-exoneree.pdf" type="external">detailed for the senators</a> some of the profoundly erratic behavior of his fellow prisoners. “I know a guy who would sit in the middle of the floor, rip his sheet up, wrap it around himself, and light it on fire. Another guy…would take his feces and smear it all over his face as though he was in military combat.”</p>
<p>Listen: Click on the arrow for audio of M*A*S*H* actor Mike Farrell reading our essay, “ <a href="" type="internal">How Crazy Is Too Crazy to be Executed?</a>“</p>
<p>This man, Graves added, was <a href="" type="internal">ruled competent for execution</a>. While on the gurney, “he was babbling incoherently to the officers, ‘I demand that you release me soldier, this is your captain speaking.’ These were the words coming out of a man’s mouth, who was driven insane by the prison conditions, as the poison was being pumped into his arms.”</p>
<p>Another prisoner, a paranoid schizophrenic named Andre Thomas, <a href="" type="internal">scooped out his eye and ate</a> it during his stay at Polunsky. He, too, remains on track for execution. It is perhaps no wonder that Dallas insurance executive Charles Terrell asked to have his name removed from the facility after it became death row.</p>
<p>Watch: Anthony Graves’ Senate testimony:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Next prison: <a href="" type="internal">A facility with a “pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos.”</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">View the whole series.</a></p>
<p>Research for this project was supported by a grant from <a href="http://www.theinvestigativefund.org" type="external">the Investigative Fund</a> and <a href="http://www.nationinstitute.org" type="external">The Nation Institute</a>, as well as a Soros Justice Media Fellowship from the <a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/" type="external">Open Society Foundations</a>. Additional reporting by Beth Broyles, Valeria Monfrini, Katie Rose Quandt, and Sal Rodriguez.</p> | America’s 10 Worst Prisons: Polunsky | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/10-worst-prisons-america-allan-polunsky-unit-texas-death-row/ | 2013-05-02 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Earlier this year, I argued that off-price giant TJX Companies is a better pick for long-term investors than its smaller rival Ross Stores . At the time, I noted that TJX's international business was likely to be a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/09/why-tjx-has-a-leg-up-on-ross-stores.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">major driver of growth and margin expansion Opens a New Window.</a> in the coming years.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Last quarter, TJX showed that there's another thing setting it apart from Ross Stores: superior execution. This allowed TJX to post stronger profit growth than its rival despite facing big headwinds from its wage increase initiative and foreign currency exposure.</p>
<p>Steady growth has helped TJX nearly double its annual revenue over the past decade, surpassing $30 billion. This makes it one of the largest fashion retailers in the world.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/TJX/revenues_ttm" type="external">TJX Revenue (TTM) Opens a New Window.</a>, data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Given TJX's massive size and scale, one would generally expect its growth to be slowing. Instead, the company has reported accelerating growth lately. In the fiscal year that ended in early 2015, comp sales rose a modest 2% year over year at TJX. By contrast, in TJX's most recent fiscal year, comp sales rose 5% year over year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Last quarter, TJX recorded another increase in growth, with comp sales rising 7%. Most of this sales growth was driven by higher customer traffic. Meanwhile, the company increased its retail square footage by 5% year over year. As a result, total sales rose 10% year over year despite a 1 percentage point negative impact from the strong dollar.</p>
<p>TJX posted strong sales growth last quarter. Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>The net result was that earnings per share increased 10% last quarter, from $0.69 to $0.76. Had the dollar remained flat against other currencies, EPS would have reached $0.81, up 17% year over year.</p>
<p>EPS rose a respectable 6% year over year at Ross Stores last quarter. However, Ross clearly underperformed its larger rival in most respects.</p>
<p>Most notably, Ross Stores' comparable store sales rose just 2% year over year, while total sales increased 5%. Furthermore, customer traffic was roughly flat, indicating that shoppers didn't feel motivated to visit Ross' locations.</p>
<p>Merchandising mistakes hurt Ross Stores' Q1 performance. Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>On the company's earnings call, management mentioned "merchandise execution issues" in the ladies apparel market. While Ross executives didn't provide much detail on the nature of these issues, it appears that the company didn't have the right colors and styles that customers wanted.</p>
<p>These merchandise problems will continue to disrupt Ross Stores' growth in Q2, and could even have some lingering effects in the second half of the year.</p>
<p>Ross Stores hopes to fix its merchandise selection problems in the next few months and reinvigorate customer traffic by presenting a more compelling product assortment.</p>
<p>However, a big selling point of off-price retailers like TJX and Ross Stores is the "treasure hunt" experience: if you look hard enough, you can always find great deals on desirable products. If customers don't find anything they like, they won't return.</p>
<p>To put it a different way, it's easier for an off-price retailer to keep a regular customer than to win back a lapsed customer. Thus, there is a risk that a short-term slowdown in sales growth due to merchandise miscues could eventually morph into a longer-term decline in customer traffic.</p>
<p>TJX has been firing on all cylinders lately in terms of finding items that will excite shoppers. This consistency ensures that customers will keep coming back. As a result, TJX is well-positioned to continue gaining market share over the next decade.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/26/why-tjx-will-continue-to-outperform-ross-stores.aspx" type="external">Why TJX Will Continue to Outperform Ross Stores Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGemHunter/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Adam Levine-Weinberg Opens a New Window.</a> is long January 2018 $60 calls on The TJX Companies, Inc. and short January 2018 $90 calls on The TJX Companies, Inc. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why TJX Will Continue to Outperform Ross Stores | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/26/why-tjx-will-continue-to-outperform-ross-stores.html | 2016-05-26 | 0 |
<p>First <a href="" type="internal">Dallas</a>, now Houston.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Governor Perry put together a <a href="http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/20194/#.VDLIcqbeU1o.twitter" type="external">Task Force</a> on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. The task force, “will assess and enhance the state’s existing capabilities to prepare for and respond to pandemic disease, such as the Ebola virus.”</p>
<p>Perry also, “called on the federal government to immediately begin enhanced screening procedures at all points of entry, including obtaining additional information, checking temperatures and staffing quarantine stations to help prevent the disease from entering the country.”</p>
<p>According to a local <a href="http://abc13.com/339306/" type="external">ABC News affiliate</a>:</p>
<p>A hospital in Cypress says it is treating a patient with an “extremely low-risk” chance of having Ebola.The North Cypress Medical Center, located along the Northwest Freeway, says the patient was admitted Monday and is being monitored. The hospital issued the following statement about the patient’s admission:“North Cypress Medical Center is treating a patient who has not been diagnosed with ebola. He is considered to be of extremely low risk to the ebola virus. Hospital personnel are taking all precautions as prescribed by the Harris County Health Department and the U.S. Center for Disease Control. The patient is in stable condition and is showing no signs of a fever. Admitted earlier today (October 6th), he has been isolated from other patients. We are working closely with local health and CDC officials who will determine all the steps we need to take to ensure the patient’s recovery and the community’s safety.”&#160;Over the weekend, it was thought a person in Katy may have had Ebola, but that turned out to be malaria.&#160;The health department says they’ve conducted two Ebola tests on patients in the Houston area. Both have come back negative.</p>
<p />
<p>In other Ebola news, the first case of Ebola infection in someone who did not contract the virus&#160;in Africa was reported today in Spain. The&#160;woman who treated a Spanish priest and a Spanish missionary after they contracted the virus has tested positive. Both individuals died from the virus, and the woman is currently receiving&#160;treatment.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/health/ebola-us/index.html" type="external">CNN</a> Reports:</p>
<p>The woman helped treat a Spanish missionary and a Spanish priest, both of whom had contracted Ebola in West Africa. Both died after returning to Spain.</p>
<p>Health officials said she developed symptoms on September 30. She was not hospitalized until this week. Her only symptom was a fever.</p>
<p>“We are working in coordination to give the best care to the patient and to guarantee the safety of all citizens,” the health minister said.</p>
<p>An investigation is under way to find everyone the assistant may have had contact with while contagious. So far, there are no other known cases.</p>
<p>The assistant was one of about 30 health professionals in Spain who helped to treat the Ebola patients.</p>
<p />
<p>Follow Kemberlee Kaye on <a href="https://twitter.com/KemberleeKaye" type="external">Twitter</a></p> | Potential Ebola patient being monitored in Houston suburb | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/10/potential-ebola-patient-being-monitored-in-houston-suburb/ | 2014-10-06 | 0 |
<p>Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>As Israel steps up its expansionist policies both inside and outside the Green Line, the Bedouin community has come under particularly intense pressure.</p>
<p>Inside of Israel, the state seeks to Judaize the Negev (Naqab) desert. This “development” includes last &#160;year’s Prawer plan which recommends that Israel relocate some 30,000-40,000 Bedouin citizens, ripping them from their villages and sticking them in impoverished townships, to clear the area for Jewish-only settlements. `</p>
<p>After the Israeli cabinet passed the Prawer plan in September 2011, Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel likened it to “a declaration of war.”</p>
<p>Al Arakib could be considered an opening battle. The state first demolished the unrecognized village in July 2010—destroying homes and tearing olive trees from the ground to make way for a forest to be planted by the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF). After the Bedouin residents of Al Arakib rebuilt their village, Israeli forces returned and destroyed it again. Since then, Al Arakib has been demolished and rebuilt over 30 times.</p>
<p>Israel’s policies are just as inhumane on the other side of the Green Line, where the so-called “Civil Administration” seeks to remove 27,000 Bedouin from Area C in order to expand illegal Israeli settlements. The Civil Administration’s plans will be carried out over the next three to six years.</p>
<p>The United Nations reports that Israeli forces demolished 44 Palestinian-owned buildings in East Jerusalem and the West Bank last month, including 14 houses. 66 people were displaced, 40 of whom were Bedouin.</p>
<p>Recent years have seen Israel escalate its campaign to push Palestinians and Bedouin out of their homes. According to the UN, nearly 1100 Palestinians and Bedouins were displaced by Israeli house demolitions in 2011—approximately 80 percent more than 2010.</p>
<p>So where is the Bedouin Intifada?</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>In 2004, the Israeli daily Haaretz called a Bedouin uprising “practically inevitable.” Lurching from one alarmist quote to the next, the article labeled the Bedouin a “ticking bomb,” a “keg of dynamite,” depicting them not as native inhabitants but as criminals who have taken over the Negev.</p>
<p>Amidst the hysteria came a fetishizing remark from Reuven Gal, then-Deputy National Security Advisor for Domestic Policy, who commented that, to the Bedouin, “honor is more precious than money.”</p>
<p>The writer concluded, ominously, “Every plan to develop the Negev is likely to face violent opposition because of the Bedouin who live in the area.”</p>
<p>The article drips with racism and colonialism—Israeli plans to displace the Bedouin constitute “development.” Not only are the Bedouin sure to oppose such “progress,” they are likely to be “violent.” And then there are the Orientalist depictions of the Bedouin as reactionary, volatile beings unable to control their impulses, especially when “honor” is at stake.</p>
<p>But it would be wrong to blame the writer and his interviewees alone.</p>
<p>In his book <a href="" type="internal">Good Arabs</a>, Hillel Cohen describes an incident that took place in 1950, when the Israeli army’s chief of staff visited a Bedouin tribe, reporter in tow. The journalist recounted a “royal meal,” eaten against the backdrop of “the echoes of gunshots” and “riders’ galloping.” The evening climaxed with a ceremonial “presentation of the sword of the desert.”</p>
<p>Cohen explains that the reporter’s depiction “fit well with that period’s common portrayal of the Bedouin as hospitable noble savages…”</p>
<p>An Orientalist view of the Bedouin is deeply rooted and, as the 2004 Haaretz article suggests, persists. So feverish proclamations about a Bedouin Intifada should be taken with a camel-sized grain of salt.</p>
<p>We should also consider the motives behind such “warnings.” As, Jaber Abu Kaf, a representative of the Regional Council for Unrecognized Bedouin Villages told Haaretz in 2004, claims of an imminent Bedouin Intifada “are baseless and are intended to promote a political agenda.”</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>But, for argument’s sake, let’s say that the Bedouin would like to revolt, violently, against Israel’s discrimination.</p>
<p>Let’s set aside the quiet acts of resistance, the small, silent intifada, already taking place: rebuilding demolished homes; the day-long general strike held in December of 2011; the massive protest outside the Prime Minister’s office on the same December day.</p>
<p>And let’s set aside individual agency and pretend the Bedouin can only react, collectively, to Israeli policies.</p>
<p>So why hasn’t that “ticking bomb” exploded?</p>
<p>The answer lies, in part, in the state’s founding. Before Israel was established in 1948, some 91,000 Bedouin lived in the Negev. After the war, only twelve percent of the original population remained. Many of the Bedouin facing forced transfer from the West Bank today are refugees whose families fled or were driven from the Negev during the nakba.</p>
<p>Shattered and scattered, the Bedouin were subject to additional Israeli efforts to divide and rule. A number of those who had managed to hang on to their land in the Negev were pushed off of it. In some cases, the state appointed local mukhtars, pitting families against one another, and putting weak leaders, or those who would serve Israeli interests, at the head of villages.</p>
<p>Israeli authorities also sowed seeds of disunity by actively encouraging–and rewarding–collaboration. That some took the bait undermines the Orientalist assertion that the Bedouin value honor more than money.</p>
<p>Israel has also fomented poverty in the Bedouin community. In the 1970s, the state built seven townships for the Negev Bedouin that are home today to approximately 80,000 Bedouin. These ghettos have the country’s highest unemployment and school dropout rates as well as the social problems that accompany poverty and hopelessness, including rampant drug abuse.</p>
<p>Those that remained in the desert have not had it much easier. Despite the fact that many Bedouin live in villages that predate the state itself, Israel does not recognize most of these communities. Some 80,000 Bedouin live in the unrecognized villages that lack infrastructure and high schools. Rawia Aburabia, an attorney with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), calls the status of Bedouin education, “catastrophic,” pointing out to a drop out rate that tops 40 percent.</p>
<p>There is also the contentious issue of military service. Some Bedouin tribes serve in the Israeli army; many do not. This creates tension within the community and serves as yet another obstacle to the unity needed for a successful uprising.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>With Palestine’s Bedouin divided between Israel and the surrounding countries; split between those who serve in the Israeli army and those who don’t; struggling to survive; lacking leadership and a cohesive national strategy, an organized and sustainable uprising is unlikely. The international community, then, has a responsibility to stop the home demolitions and forced transfers that Palestinians and Bedouin face in the West Bank and inside Israel. Advocating for outside intervention runs the risk of sounding patronizing, at best, colonial, at worst. That’s the beauty of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. The call for BDS comes from Palestinian civil society and is self-empowering.</p>
<p>While some Palestinians don’t consider the Bedouin to be Palestinian—and many Bedouin don’t consider themselves Palestinian, either—BDS is an appropriate response to Israel’s treatment of the Bedouin. They suffer from the same discriminatory policies that plague the Palestinians. And the two communities share common hopes for human and civil rights, to return to their homeland, and to live in freedom, justice, and dignity.</p>
<p>Mya Guarnieri&#160;is a freelance journalist and writer based in Tel Aviv. She can be reached at: myaguarnieri(at)gmail(dot)com</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Where is the Bedouin Intifada? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/02/09/where-is-the-bedouin-intifada/ | 2012-02-09 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Dear Let's Talk Credit,</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>My wife and I are in the process of paying down our credit card balances. Once paid in full we plan to use them on a regular basis for some bills and other things like gas and groceries. Regarding charging monthly and paying off the current balance in full when the next statement comes, should we pay off the balance then wait for the next statement to come in the mail with a $0 balance before we charge on this same card again?</p>
<p>Or is it OK if we pay off a balance in full when we get a statement but then turn around and add more charges to this same card and pay off the new balance the following month? We feel that we may have to wait until the card has a $0 balance via a mailed statement before charging anything else on that card to get credit for a payment being made.&#160;</p>
<p>- John</p>
<p>Dear John,</p>
<p>Congratulations for paying off your credit card debt and entering into a plan to use your credit more responsibly, without the added cost of paying interest on balances. You are not alone in choosing to use your credit cards for the convenience they provide. Purchasing with credit always extends to you the protections that many card issuers offer, such as the <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/compare-extended_warranties-1273.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">extension of the product warranty</a>. Additionally, if you have a problem with the product you purchased, your <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/win-credit-card-charge-back-disputes-1294.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">card issuer can act on your behalf</a>.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As long as you do not carry a balance on your credit card, you can make purchases throughout your billing cycle and you will not be charged interest, if the entire amount is paid in full when you receive your billing statement. You do not have to wait to receive a zero balance statement. As long as you make the full payment shown on the statement by the due date you will not be charged interest. Purchases made after the close of the billing cycle will appear on the next statement and the same rules apply.</p>
<p>You can use your monthly statement to help budget your expenses, with the added bonus of boosting your credit with zero balances and consistent on-time payments.</p>
<p>Finally, you should remember to keep track of your charges to ensure that you can pay off your bill in full each month. Also, watch any annual fees attached to your cards, as the benefit should be more than the cost of the fees.</p>
<p>Let's keep talking!</p>
<p>See related: <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/new-look-credit-card-statement-1273.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">Credit card billing statements get a makeover</a>, <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-limit-utilization-ratio-use-charge-1267.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">To maximize your credit score, time your payment</a></p> | You Don't Have to Wait for a 0-Balance Statement to Avoid Interest | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/04/03/dont-have-to-wait-for-zero-balance-statement-to-avoid-interest.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Two Republican members of Congress <a href="http://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-lucas-introduce-bill-limiting-federal-agencies-from-stockpiling-ammunition" type="external">introduced legislation</a> on Friday that would limit the amount of ammunition the government is able to purchase at a given time. The bill is a response to <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/035649_DHS_ammunition_domestic_war.html" type="external">far-right</a> <a href="http://www.infowars.com/government-cover-up-of-ammo-buys-implodes/" type="external">conspiracy</a> <a href="http://www.infowars.com/government-ammunition-stockpiling-story-breaks-through-media-censorship-and-goes-mainstream/" type="external">theories</a> that the government is “stockpiling” ammunition, either to wage a war against the American people or to dry up the ammunition market so average citizens can’t buy bullets.</p>
<p>Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) will put forth the Ammunition Management for More Obtainability Act (or, AMMO) Act in both the House and Senate. The bill would require executive branch agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to maintain ammunition levels below the average monthly amounts that the agencies had before Obama took office.</p>
<p>According to a joint press release from Lucas and Inhofe, “The legislation would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a report on the purchasing of ammunition by federal agencies, except the Department of Defense, and its affect on the supply of ammunition available to the public”:</p>
<p>“President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans’ access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” said Inhofe. “One way the Obama Administration is able to do this is by limiting what’s available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition. As the public learned in a House committee hearing this week, the Department of Homeland Security has two years worth of ammo on hand and allots nearly 1,000 more rounds of ammunition for DHS officers than is used on average by our Army officers. The AMMO Act of 2013 will enforce transparency and accountability of federal agencies’ ammunition supply while also protecting law-abiding citizens access to these resources.”</p>
<p>For members of Congress whose interests have generally aligned with those of gun and ammunition manufacturers, this legislation isn’t smart economics; limiting the ability of the government to buy ammunition will remove a key consumer, drying up demand and causing manufacturers to take a sales hit. Similarly, Lucas and Inhofe’s claim that the government “limit[s] what’s available in the market” if it buys up more ammunition reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of basic economics. If demand for ammunition increases, ammunition producers will increase production in order to meet this demand.</p>
<p>Last week, another Republican representative, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) <a href="" type="internal">brought up the “stockpiling” conspiracy</a> in a hearing with DHS Sec. Janet Napolitano, who said it was “inherently unbelievable that those statements would be made.”</p>
<p>The theory comes from fringe websites like Alex Jones’s Infowars, but have <a href="" type="internal">been given a platform</a> by Drudge, a site that commonly peddles unfounded conspiracy theories. Even some far-right sites have taken it upon themselves to debunk the claim that DHS is “stockpiling” weapons. Brietbart.com <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/04/The-Great-DHS-Ammunition-Stockpile-Myth" type="external">described the theories</a> as “based more on panic than fact.”</p> | Members Of Congress Introduce Legislation Based On Fringe Conspiracy Theory | true | http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/26/1925461/stockpiling-conspiracy-inhofe/ | 2013-04-26 | 4 |
<p>As the planet continues to warm up, and the Arctic sea continues to retreat, researchers are becoming more and more concerned that polar bears will have less access to food they need to survive.</p>
<p>Scientists had thought that the bears would enter a kind of “walking hibernation” to survive when they do not have access to prey,&#160;BBC reports. The animals would stay awake, but they would significantly lower their metabolism in order to save their energy. This sort of hibernation would be useful during the warmer summer months, according to Washington Post.</p>
<p>A new study, published in&#160;Science&#160;Thursday, says that research conducted over 3 years and with more than 24 polar bears from the Arctic’s Beaufort sea turns that idea down. The new research says that polar bears will starve in warmer conditions when food-deprived.</p>
<p>The study monitored the temperatures of bears living on land and on ice. Researchers did not find any evidence concluding that temperatures dropped low enough to not need food in the summer months. In other words, the temperature patterns and activity recorded for polar bears were not comparable to the patterns of hibernating bears in winter.</p>
<p>Biologist at the University of Wyoming and lead author John Whiteman said, “We didn’t find anything that looks like hibernation,” New York Times reports.</p>
<p>“We haven’t known until now whether bears really reduce their metabolism in summer, which, if they did, may have offered a limited buffer from some of the negative effects of ice loss,” he added.</p>
<p>A scientific adviser to Polar Bears International and bear biologist at the University of Alberta Andrew Derocher said that the results put more concern on polar bears’ fate since food sources are more scarce on land than seals are on the ice (Polar bears use sea ice to hunt seals).</p>
<p>Though the bears do not have the ability to change their behavior when it comes to food, they do have the ability to adapt to swimming in cold water. “They have this ability to temporarily allow the outermost portion of the core of the body to cool off substantially and this protects the innermost vital organs,” Whiteman said.</p>
<p>Researchers said that a female bear survived a 9-day 400-mile swimming stretch from the shore to ice; however, the bear had lost 22 percent of her body mass and her baby after seven weeks. Though swimming in cold water is a great accomplishment, Whiteman does not believe it will play as big of a role “in determining their fate” as a lack of hunting options will.</p>
<p /> | Another reason why polar bears will struggle to survive in warmer arctic | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/07/16/another-reason-why-polar-bears-will-struggle-to-survive-in-warmer-arctic/ | 2015-07-16 | 3 |
<p />
<p>Congratulations, class of 2016! Your graduation is quite an accomplishment, and it's a sure sign that you can get things done when you put your mind and heart to it. That perseverance will serve you well in your future. In particular, it will be a key driver in your ability to become a multimillionaire by the end of your career.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As you're starting out in life, you may not have much experience or a particularly high income, but what you do have going for you is time. A little bit of money, consistently invested in decent stocks every paycheck throughout your career, can propel you to multimillionaire status. As a young graduate, you have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get yourself started on the most straightforward path to get you there, and that chance starts now.</p>
<p>Your straightforward path to $2 million Because you're young, compounding can work for you over decades, providing you an amazing lifetime return on your investments. The table below shows how much you need to save every month to wind up with $2 million by age 67, depending on the age you start and the average rate of return you earn along the way:</p>
<p>Table calculations by the author.</p>
<p>Three things should immediately pop out at you when you look at that table:</p>
<p>First, check out how quickly the monthly amount you have to sock away grows when you move farther down the table. That should show you how important it is for you to start saving now, while you're still young enough for compounding to work its magic.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The longer you wait, the more expensive it will be for you to reach that $2 million mark. If you think it's tough to come up with $173 per month now as a recent graduate, imagine trying to come up with nearly $2,100 per month at age 45 just to have a chance of winding up in the same place.</p>
<p>Second, check out how quickly the monthly amount you have to save grows when you move farther to the right in the table. That should show you how important it is for you to invest in stocks for the long term returns they can provide. While there are no guarantees in investing and stock market returns can be incredibly volatile, over the long run, stocks have returned around 10% annually.</p>
<p>Even if you don't think stocks will return as much in the future as they have in the past, it's a lot easier to save a little bit more now when you're young instead of having to sock away a whole lot more later. As a bonus, if you invest as though you'll really only get 6% or 8% annual returns but stocks do wind up returning closer to 10%, you'll hit multimillionaire status that much sooner.</p>
<p>Third, realize that the stock-focused potential returns in the top couple of rows of that table are really likely within your reach, even as a new hire. $173 per month is less than $6 per day, and even $447 per month is under $15 per day. If you've been living like a broke college student, then you're already used to making your money stretch. Keep your other costs down as you set up your life as an independent adult, and you can free up the cash to invest to make yourself a multimillionaire.</p>
<p>You don't have to do it on your own Perhaps best of all, you don't have to come up with all that cash entirely on your own. Your boss and Uncle Sam may very well be willing to chip in to help you along the way.</p>
<p>Here's how Uncle Sam will help: Money you sock away in a qualified retirement account like a 401(k) or an IRA will compound for you tax-deferred. In a traditional style plan, you might even get a tax deduction on your contribution, while in a Roth style plan, you could take your money out completely tax free in retirement.</p>
<p>Here's how your boss might help: If your boss offers a 401(k) or similar plan, it might come with a match. A match is additional money your boss kicks in above and beyond your contribution, as an incentive for you to participate. Matches vary by company, but a typical match is $0.50 for every $1.00 you sock away, up to some percentage of your salary.</p>
<p>In addition, you can make contributions to your employer-sponsored plan directly out of your paycheck. You'll quickly find that you don't miss money you never see, but that money still works on your behalf.</p>
<p>Between the tax benefits and possibility of an employer match for contributing to your retirement plan, you just might find <a href="http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/retirement/2006/02/17/instantly-double-your-money.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">you only need to sock away half of the amount</a> out of your own pocket. So yes that means that if:</p>
<p>... you might be able to wind up a multimillionaire by sacrificing less than $100 a month out of your own pocket.</p>
<p>Want to be a multimillionaire? Start today The incredible opportunity that you have to become a multimillionaire with such a small investment is available to you only because you're young. Take advantage of it now -- preferably starting with your next paycheck -- and no matter where you end up in life, you'll be incredibly glad you did. Miss your chance by waiting too long, and it's gone forever. So get started now, while the opportunity is still there for you.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/13/class-of-2016-heres-how-you-can-become-a-multimill.aspx" type="external">Class of 2016: Here's How You Can Become a Multimillionaire</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBigFrog/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Chuck Saletta</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | Class of 2016: Here's How You Can Become a Multimillionaire | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/13/class-2016-here-how-can-become-multimillionaire.html | 2016-05-13 | 0 |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.