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<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Redskins and Chiefs stood for a moment of silence before the national anthem, and flags flew at half-staff over Arrowhead Stadium, to honor victims of the Las Vegas shooting before Monday night’s game between Washington and Kansas City.</p>
<p>Members of the Redskins remained standing on their sideline, arms locked in unity, as the Kansas City Symphony performed the anthem. Everybody on the Chiefs sideline also remained standing except for cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker Ukeme Eligwe, who sat stoically on the bench.</p>
<p>Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston knelt in prayer before standing for the rest of the rendition.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Las Vegas,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “That’s a tough deal, kind of overrides the football part of it, but we were thinking about you.”</p>
<p>Dozens of players and teams took to social media earlier in the day to express condolences to those affected by the tragedy. The Chiefs joined in the outpouring, tweeting that “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and all those affected by the tragedy in Las Vegas.”</p>
<p>The deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history Sunday night left at least 59 concertgoers dead and more than 500 injured. It also caused ESPN, which broadcasts Monday night games, to reverse its plans and show the national anthem on television before the game.</p>
<p>ESPN shows the anthem on rare occasions, such as the season’s first Monday night game, which fell on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But after it aired the anthem before last week’s Cowboys-Cardinals game following league-wide protests among players, spurred on by the critical comments of President Trump, it had planned to skip its broadcast Monday night.</p>
<p>The electricity inside Arrowhead Stadium was evident even during warmups, when the Chiefs’ Terrance Mitchell and Redskins cornerback Josh Norman were among those involved in a brief scuffle at midfield.</p>
<p>Three members of the Army’s special operations parachute demonstration team, the Black Daggers, dropped into the stadium about 30 minutes before kickoff, while All-Star catcher Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals banged the ceremonial drum in the end zone a few minutes later.</p>
<p>But it was the moment of silence that brought everything into perspective.</p>
<p>Authorities were still searching for a motive behind the shooting at a country music concert in Las Vegas, where a crowd of 22,000 was watching Jason Aldean perform. The gunman, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, killed himself before officers stormed his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The big screens at each end of Arrowhead Stadium displayed a black-and-white picture of the Las Vegas skyline, and the simple words: “Pray for Las Vegas.”</p>
<p>“Your heart goes out for these people,” Reid said. “For one crazy person doing what he did, it’s ridiculous. But it happened. And there’s a lot of people that have to deal with this. It’s a sad deal.”</p>
<p>When the anthem played, the Redskins continued their practice of locking arms that they started last week against Oakland. But this time, rather than some taking a knee, they all stood at attention.</p>
<p>The Redskins said in a statement they are “proud of the players, coaches and fans of the Washington Redskins for all that they have done to improve the lives of others in neighborhoods all across our region. We are also grateful for the sacrifices made by the brave men and women of our armed forces that have provided us the freedom to play football.”</p>
<p>Many members of the Chiefs also took a knee before last week’s game against the Chargers, including tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Chris Conley, both of whom stood Monday night.</p>
<p>“It’s never really been about the military of veterans,” Conley said this earlier week. “Guys are continuing to have a dialogue and discussion, and that’s the beautiful thing about a locker room, and what we want to take out there, is that people may not agree. They can talk about things. And ultimately we can talk about things as brothers, and we support each other.”</p>
<p>Asked if there was any kind of show planned for Monday night, he replied: “Oh, there’s definitely going to be a show. The Kansas City Chiefs are playing the Washington Redskins.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | Tribute to Vegas shooting victims before Redskins-Chiefs | false | https://abqjournal.com/1072340/tribute-to-vegas-shooting-victims-before-redskins-chiefs.html | 2017-10-02 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>The office of Attorney General Gary King on Monday formally refused to release the bulk of an audit that alleges widespread wrongdoing by 15 New Mexico behavioral health providers, citing the “law enforcement” exception to the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act.</p>
<p>King’s office did release 100 pages of emails between the Attorney General’s Office and the state Human Services Department showing the two agencies were meeting about problems with behavioral health providers as early as January of this year.</p>
<p>The Human Services Department, citing a request from the attorney general, has only released a summary of the audits, prompting complaints from the providers, some lawmakers and an open government group.</p>
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<p>King’s refusal to release the audit was in response to a request by the&#160;Albuquerque Journal under the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. The emails produced also were in response to that request.</p>
<p>HSD Secretary Sidonie Squier has said the audit revealed an estimated $36 million in improper payments, fake billing, potential shell companies and nonprofit executives improperly getting rich off Medicaid funds.</p>
<p>The special audit was done by Public Consulting Group Inc., a Boston firm.</p>
<p>The emails show that as early as January, HSD officials were making contingency plans to replace a Las Cruces-based counseling center with a Tucson firm. That didn’t&#160;happen until July.</p>
<p>About half the providers sought a temporary restraining order in federal court but that was denied last week when a judge ruled they had not met the requirement of proving they were likely to prevail in a lawsuit on the merits.</p>
<p>Legislators, however, have been criticizing the failure to release the audit and the suspension of payments to the providers.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government’s executive director, Terry Schleder, said the organization disagrees with the attorney general.</p>
<p>“Just because the audit was sent to the Attorney General’s Office doesn’t make it a law enforcement document,” he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Schleder said the public deserves to know the details of the audits, adding that “the stakes are really high.”</p>
<p>In one of the emails released Monday, Assistant Attorney General Jody Curran, director of the Medicaid Fraud Division, said the investigation based on the audit could take more than a year.</p>
<p>HSD has insisted that new management companies will make sure patients continue to receive their services.</p>
<p>A letter from Chief Deputy Attorney General Albert J. Lama to HSD that accepted the referral said the acceptance “is not confirmation of any of the findings” but allows the Medicaid Fraud Division to begin its investigation.</p>
<p>The emails released by the Attorney General’s Office show the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office were brought in on the audit in June, just before a summary of the audit was released.</p>
<p>The emails also show HSD officials were concerned that some of the providers might declare bankruptcy and they wanted the attorney general’s help in making sure all client records were turned over to the department if that happened.</p>
<p>Fifteen behavioral health providers in New Mexico had their Medicaid funding for treating people with mental illness and substance abusers frozen by HSD last month.</p>
<p>The behavioral health funding has been restored to just one provider since then. Two others have had Medicaid funding that is not related to behavioral health services restored.</p>
<p>HSD General Counsel Ray Mensack wrote in an email that 88,000 New Mexicans use the agencies providing mental health and drug counseling. In the same email, he said that cases “where there is no credible allegations of fraud and are just technical violations” could be settled by HSD.</p>
<p>HSD has said it could pay up to $18 million to five Arizona behavioral health companies to provide transitional services, ranging from technical assistance to full-out management of the New Mexico nonprofits.</p>
<p>Funds are being shifted within the agency for the additional spending.</p>
<p />
<p /> | AG says mental health audit will remain secret | false | https://abqjournal.com/227657/ag-says-mental-health-audit-will-remain-secret-2.html | 2013-07-30 | 2 |
<p>TIDMTSCO</p>
<p>FORM 8.3</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY</p>
<p>A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE</p>
<p>Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")</p>
<p>1. KEY INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Full name of discloser: Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. ("Dimensional"), in</p>
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<p>its capacity as investment manager and on behalf its</p>
<p>affiliates who are also investment managers. Dimensional</p>
<p>and its affiliates expressly disclaim beneficial ownership</p>
<p>of the shares described in this form 8.3</p>
<p>(b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions</p>
<p>disclosed, if different from 1(a):</p>
<p>The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient.</p>
<p>For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries</p>
<p>must be named.</p>
<p>(c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant Tesco Plc</p>
<p>securities this form relates: (GB0008847096)</p>
<p>Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree</p>
<p>(d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree,</p>
<p>state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:</p>
<p>(e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: 30 January 2018</p>
<p>For an opening position disclosure, state the latest</p>
<p>practicable date prior to the disclosure</p>
<p>(f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the YES</p>
<p>discloser making disclosures in respect of any other If YES, specify which:</p>
<p>party to the offer? Booker Group Plc</p>
<p>If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state (GB00B01TND91)</p>
<p>"N/A"</p>
<p>2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than</p>
<p>one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c),</p>
<p>copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of</p>
<p>relevant security.</p>
<p>(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of</p>
<p>the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the</p>
<p>dealing (if any)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security: 5p Ordinary Shares</p>
<p>Short</p>
<p>Interests positions</p>
<p>Number % Number %</p>
<p>(1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 45,536,399* 0.56</p>
<p>(2) Cash-settled derivatives:</p>
<p>(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options)</p>
<p>and agreements to purchase/sell:</p>
<p>TOTAL: 45,536,399 0.56</p>
<p>*Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and / or its affiliates do not control</p>
<p>voting discretion for 308,537 shares.</p>
<p>All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.</p>
<p>Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded</p>
<p>options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should</p>
<p>be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).</p>
<p>(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors'</p>
<p>and other employee options)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription</p>
<p>right exists:</p>
<p>Details, including nature of the rights concerned</p>
<p>and relevant percentages:</p>
<p>3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant</p>
<p>securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b),</p>
<p>(c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant</p>
<p>security dealt in.</p>
<p>The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.</p>
<p>(a) Purchases and sales</p>
<p>Class of relevant Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit</p>
<p>security</p>
<p>Ordinary shares Purchase 9,192 GBP 2.1052</p>
<p>(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions</p>
<p>Class of Product description Nature of dealing Number of Price</p>
<p>relevant e.g. CFD e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing reference per</p>
<p>security a long/short position securities unit</p>
<p>(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)</p>
<p>(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying</p>
<p>Class of Product Writing, Number of Exercise Type Expiry Option</p>
<p>relevant description purchasing, securities price e.g. American, European etc. date money</p>
<p>security e.g. call selling, to which per paid/</p>
<p>option varying option unit received</p>
<p>etc. relates per</p>
<p>unit</p>
<p>(ii) Exercise</p>
<p>Class of Product description Exercising/ Number of Exercise</p>
<p>relevant e.g. call option exercised securities price per</p>
<p>security against unit</p>
<p>(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)</p>
<p>Class of Nature of dealing Details Price per unit</p>
<p>relevant e.g. subscription, conversion (if</p>
<p>security applicable)</p>
<p>4. OTHER INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements</p>
<p>Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or</p>
<p>any agreement or understanding, formal or informal,</p>
<p>relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement</p>
<p>to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the</p>
<p>person making the disclosure and any party to the</p>
<p>offer or any person acting in concert with a party</p>
<p>to the offer:</p>
<p>Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should</p>
<p>not be included. If there are no such agreements,</p>
<p>arrangements or understandings, state "none"</p>
<p>(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to</p>
<p>options or derivatives</p>
<p>Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding,</p>
<p>formal or informal, between the person making the</p>
<p>disclosure and any other person relating to:</p>
<p>(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under</p>
<p>any option; or</p>
<p>(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal</p>
<p>of any relevant securities to which any derivative</p>
<p>is referenced:</p>
<p>If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings,</p>
<p>state "none"</p>
<p>(c) Attachments</p>
<p>Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO</p>
<p>Date of disclosure: 31 January 2018</p>
<p>Contact name: Joann Kong</p>
<p>Telephone number: 020 3033 4876</p>
<p>Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory</p>
<p>Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at</p>
<p>[email protected]. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is</p>
<p>available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure</p>
<p>requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.</p>
<p>The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at</p>
<p>www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.</p>
<p>This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf</p>
<p>of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.</p>
<p>The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely</p>
<p>responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information</p>
<p>contained therein.</p>
<p>Source: Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. via Globenewswire</p>
<p>https://www.dimensional.com/</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 31, 2018 05:36 ET (10:36 GMT)</p> | Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. : Form 8.3 - Tesco Plc - Ordinary Shares | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/17/dimensional-fund-advisors-ltd-dimensional-fund-advisors-ltd-form-8-3-tesco-plc-ordinary-shares.html | 2018-01-31 | 0 |
<p>Hey folks, it’s me again, a whole week since I’ve last written and — guess what? — sexual relations under racist/capitalist/hetero-cis-patriarchy are still a bummer.Sometimes they’re a more casual bummer (you know who you are). But sometimes, they become deeply violent, as in sexual assault.</p>
<p>Since we know that systems of oppression permeate even the John Mayer wonderlands of our bedrooms/bodies, we must commit ourselves to a&#160;sexual-political analysis.</p>
<p>If you’ve not been following our&#160;scintillating <a href="" type="internal">months</a>- <a href="" type="internal">slash</a>- <a href="" type="internal">years</a> of <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/10/why-consensual-sex-can-still-be-bad.html" type="external">commentary</a>&#160;on the ways in which power relations structure and are structured into *even our most intimate moments* (narrator voice from a fear-mongering documentary on made-up teenage sex trend), here is a primer:</p>
<p>The world we live in is a huge bummer. We live in countries that run on money from resource extraction and war; in societies wherein the wealthy leech off the poor; and in oppressive&#160;racial, religious, ethnic, linguistic, gender and regional hierarchies. We internalize a lot of this injustice — both in areas where we are oppressed and areas wherein we are socialized to dominate others.</p>
<p>We also often have sex with each other. These internalized violences come with us into the bedroom. As feminists, we need to commit ourselves to analyzing — and changing — how power constitutes our sexual lives. We need to care about both sexual pleasure and sexual justice.</p>
<p>So! In order to make this deliverable to you&#160;in consumable&#160;internet form (you’re welcome), I have compiled a list!&#160;This is a list of things that people do a lot in bed that deserve some ethical scrutiny. If you feel like I’ve excluded some things or am missing the mark, do please chime in in the comments.</p>
<p>Here are some things that ethically suck in bed:</p>
<p>Okay see, it’s the “deciding unilaterally” part. Presumably if you’re doing a sexual activity with another person, it’s participatory. Like a game! You’re not just going to be like “hey Rosa, let’s play Monopoly,” and then put the board in front of her and make her move her pieces whether she wants to or not. Maybe Rosa prefers Life. Maybe this sex-board-game metaphor is rather strained. Either way, you get the point: If one person is deciding what’s happening without the other person being on board(game HAHAHA GET IT), that’s not super ethical sex.</p>
<p>Again, the “unilaterally” bit. Sex starts when both people want to start, but it ends the moment someone expresses they want to end. If someone doesn’t indicate they’re down for sex and you begin to sex them, that’s assault. If someone indicates they want to stop sex and you continue to sex them, that is also assault. You gotta both want to be doing it to do it, know what I mean?</p>
<p>This one brings up a whole complicated discourse on fetishization, but&#160;the basic gist of it is that if your partner is&#160;marginalized in a particular way that you’re not, that’s going to be an area you guys&#160;will need to negotiate on their terms. It could make them feel very uncomfy for you to sexualize their marginality, or they could think it’s hot, but you gotta let them take the lead on that. For example, I am sort of a fan of the whole hey-bisexual-woman, wanna-have-a-threesome-thing, except only when I bring it up. When dudes bring it up I feel kind of gross and fetishized and want to be uncooperative and haughty.</p>
<p>This is an extension of that first strained Monopoly-Life metaphor. If someone is like “no” and you’re like “pretty pretty please with sugar on top please please please please come on come on it’ll be fun I promise I’ll give you ice cream” you’re not respecting them and their boundaries.&#160;Not everyone is into ice cream all the time.</p>
<p>Soon we will all be consciousnesses floating in computer goo, but in this life we are embodied earthly creatures and thus deserve to have control over said&#160;bodies. Sometimes these bodies can get pregnant or gonorrhea and it’s our right to want to take precautionary measures to prevent this. If our partners put a lot of pressure on us not to take these measures when we want to, that sucks.</p>
<p>Back to the mere-embodied-earthlings bit. If you’re gonna hit someone, you’d better the hell have their very enthusiastic consent. Maybe you think it’s sexy to cause people physical pain without them agreeing to it. Yeah…that’s assault.</p>
<p>This means different things to different people, but, like, be a decent human being.&#160;I mean, there are some obviously egregious post-sex things that are the worst and should not be done such as&#160;blackmailing someone with images or threatening to reveal sexual details — seriously, who the fuck does that?? — or slut shaming them to your friends, their parents, the internet (like –&#160;you fucked them,&#160;really you’re gonna go around making fun of them for that?).&#160;In a kink context, this can mean aftercare – specific time set aside aftee getting it on it to take care of your partner’s needs. Checking in after sex can be a good idea if that’s what you’re into in more vanilla situations, too (for example, if you are sleeping with me).</p>
<p>Beyond that, people, just&#160;try not to be an asshole.</p> | 7 things people do in bed that ethically kind of suck | true | http://feministing.com/2016/05/03/things-that-are-sexually-ethically-weird/ | 4 |
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<p>Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday he was hopeful search teams were getting closer to solving the mystery of the Malaysia Airlines jet that vanished on March 8.</p>
<p>"It's still too early to be definite, but obviously, we have now had a number of very credible leads and there is increasing hope, no more than hope, no more than hope, that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft," Abbott said.</p>
<p>Aircraft and merchant vessels have been scouring a search zone drawn up after objects were spotted by satellite in distant waters off Australia.</p>
<p>Abbott said new Chinese satellite imagery seems to show a large floating object similar to one spotted by satellite in a 22,300-square-mile area in the remotest reaches of the southern Indian Ocean.</p>
<p>The prime minister added that two Chinese aircraft and two Japanese ones were joining the search mission Sunday.</p>
<p>"The more aircraft we have, the more ships we have, the more confident we are of recovering whatever material is down there and obviously, before we can be too specific about what it might be, we do actually need to recover some of this material," Abbott said.</p>
<p>On Saturday, a civilian aircraft helping in the search reported seeing a number of small objects, including a wooden pallet, Australian officials said.</p>
<p>The objects, which were spotted with the naked eye, were the only positive result from an otherwise fruitless search of the inhospitable waters as investigators look for possible wreckage of the missing Flight 370.</p>
<p>On Sunday, Abbott reinforced the searchers' commitment to solving the mystery.</p>
<p>"We owe it to the almost 240 people on board the plane, we owe it to their grieving families, we owe it to the governments of the countries concerned to do everything we can to discover as much as we can about the fate of MH370," he said.</p>
<p /> | Australia PM Has Hope Teams Will Solve MH370 Mystery | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/australia-pm-has-hope-teams-will-solve-mh370-mystery-n59721 | 2014-03-23 | 3 |
<p>Gov. John Kasich presents his 2014-15 budget proposal in Columbus, Ohio.Jay LaPrete/AP</p>
<p />
<p>In the crowded field of GOP presidential hopefuls, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has earned a reputation as a moderate conservative on fiscal issues. He often brings up his <a href="http://businessjournaldaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/KASICH-ANNOUNCEMENT-TX-7-21-15.pdf" type="external">empathy for</a> the economic problems facing regular Americans, from burdensome health care costs to ballooning student debt and unemployment. Last year, at a biannual retreat for donors organized by conservative megadonors the Koch brothers, an attendee confronted Kasich about his decision to expand Medicaid in Ohio. “When I get to the pearly gates,” Kasich <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/john-kasich-replace-jeb-bush-2016-candidate-119191" type="external">fired back</a>, “I’m going to have an answer for what I’ve done for the poor.”</p>
<p>When he arrives at those pearly gates, he may have some explaining to do. The tax policies Kasich has championed and implemented since he was elected governor in 2010 left Ohio’s low-income folks worse off than they were decades ago. His economic policies have led to growing inequality in a state that should be in recovery. Median household incomes began falling in 2007 and continued to drop during Kasich’s governorship. They are currently lower than they were in 1984, even though the overall state economy has actually grown healthier.</p>
<p>“The real reason this growth has not translated into gains for the middle and working class is that an increasingly large share of the state’s economic gains has been directed to those at the top,” wrote researchers David Madland and Danielle Corley in a Center for American Progress <a href="https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/report/2015/08/05/118378/ohios-struggling-middle-class/" type="external">report</a> published last month.</p>
<p>When Kasich launched his bid for governor in 2009, the state was reeling from the recession, when Ohio lost almost 400,000 jobs. Kasich’s campaign promised to “ <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2009/06/01/kasich_runs.html" type="external">right the ship</a>,” using leaner budgets to boost employment and helps recovery. His big strategy: phasing out the personal income tax in Ohio, a goal that Kasich highlighted in <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2009/07/31/kasich_toledo.ART_ART_07-31-09_B1_QUEKR11.html" type="external">nearly all</a> of his campaign speeches. He argued that the tax hurt Ohio’s ability to attract businesses and new residents.</p>
<p>“We’ll march over time to destroy that income tax that has sucked the vitality out of this state,” <a href="http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2010/aug/12/john-kasich/kasich-silence-casts-doubt-whether-he-would-seek-i/" type="external">Kasich said when he kicked off</a> his bid for governor. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5V2RIrVhUM&amp;list=UL0BtRS5Jjc6o&amp;playnext=4" type="external">He called</a> getting rid of the income tax “absolutely essential” for the state, “so that we no longer are an obstacle for people to locate here and that we can create a reason for people to stay here.” He did acknowledge, however, that the state’s dire budget situation would make this difficult to do in his first term.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, when Kasich began his first term as governor, he sought to slash a different tax by proposing to eliminate Ohio’s income tax on capital gains, the profits that come from selling off assets like stocks or bonds. Kasich is intimately familiar with the hefty benefits the wealthy glean from this sort of tax, having worked for nearly eight years as an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/us/politics/john-kasich-balances-his-blue-collar-roots-and-ties-to-wall-street.html?_r=0" type="external">investment banker at Lehmann Brothers</a>. Had he been successful, roughly three-fourths of the cut’s financial gain would have gone to <a href="http://www.policymattersohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/CapitalGainsPressRelease2011_03.pdf" type="external">the top 1 percent</a> of Ohio’s earners, while middle-class taxpayers would have gotten an average tax cut of just $2. Kasich abandoned the extreme proposal after learning that the measure <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2011/07/kasich-administration-holding-out-hope.html?page=all" type="external">might be unconstitutional</a>.</p>
<p>Still, the two-year budget that Kasich ultimately enacted was filled with tax breaks for the rich that would simultaneously hurt middle-class families. The budget either created or tweaked more than a dozen tax breaks for various industries, including energy and agriculture. Policy Matters Ohio, an economic policy research nonprofit, <a href="http://www.policymattersohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TaxBreakRelease2011_0727.pdf" type="external">pointed out</a> at the time that the lost government revenue from the budget’s tax cuts, new and old, would amount to about $7 billion a year—a big chunk came from money saved by industry and the wealthy as opposed to low- and middle-income families.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most debilitating cut Kasich introduced in the 2011 budget was the successful repeal of Ohio’s estate tax. This was another tax he vowed to eliminate during his bid for governor, telling audiences repeatedly that the tax was driving out successful Ohioans. He’s often joked that entrepreneurs were “moving to Florida,” which doesn’t have an estate tax.</p>
<p>In fact, when it still existed, the tax took just <a href="http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/docs/Estate_Tax_Booklet.pdf" type="external">6 or 7 percent</a> of estates valued over $338,333— <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2011/06/30/ohio-estate-tax-repeal-maine-oregon-tweak-tax/" type="external">the lowest</a> estate tax rate of any state—and affected only the wealthiest 8 percent of the state’s residents. Nearly all estate tax revenue (80 percent) went to fund local governments. The tax’s repeal meant that local governments statewide lost <a href="http://www.taxjusticeblog.org/archive/2011/06/ohio_estate_tax_in_peril.php#.VeuKKrxViko" type="external">more than $200 million</a>, leading to cuts in critical services, including <a href="http://www.policymattersohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/EstateTax2011.pdf" type="external">public safety workers</a> like police officers and firefighters, city planning, recreation, and emergency response. Cuts like this, says Wendy Patton, a senior project director at Policy Matters Ohio, tend to hit low-income communities harder.&#160;</p>
<p>“For example, the city of Toledo closed some pools. What is the impact on the family when the children don’t have a safe place to play for their summer recreation?” Patton says. “This is more important to a family that can’t purchase a pass to a private pool, and depends on public recreation centers. It’s an issue of greater importance when you go down the income scale.”</p>
<p>In the 2013 budget process, Kasich introduced still more tax cuts. His final budget package cut income tax rates by 10 percent and increased the state’s sales tax, moves that tilted the tax system to benefit wealthier families. This is because while income taxes are progressive, meaning different income brackets pay a proportional share, sales taxes are regressive: When the same percentage applies to everyone, it cuts deeper into the overall income of lower earners.&#160;</p>
<p>“The move to a higher sales tax and a lower income tax exacerbates inequality,” Patton says. “As the tax structure in Ohio becomes even more regressive, poor people pay a larger share of their income than wealthy people do.”</p>
<p>Kasich often points to his introduction of the 5 percent Earned Income Tax Credit in the state as another example of his compassionate conservatism. A version of this credit—a federal tax break for low-income working families adjusted based on income, marital status, and number of kids—is also implemented at the state level in 26 other states. <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/02/read_gov_john_kasichs_state_of.html" type="external">Kasich has touted</a> Ohio’s EITC, which he introduced in the 2013 budget, as an example of his commitment to helping the working poor.</p>
<p>In fact, the credit did little to help Ohio’s poorest families for two reasons: first, because it is nonrefundable, and then because it was introduced in the context of other tax changes that disproportionately burdened the poor. Both the federal credit and <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/07/ohios_just-expanded_earned_inc.html" type="external">most states’</a> credits are refundable, which means that those who receive them often receive a greater refund at the end of the year. Not so in Ohio. Kasich’s nonrefundable credit doesn’t increase a family’s tax refund—it can only reduce the taxes already owed. This primarily hurts those who need the credit most: low-earning households that owe little to no taxes. Ohio is also <a href="http://www.policymattersohio.org/eitc-apr2014" type="external">the only state</a> that caps its EITC.</p>
<p>Kasich’s credit was part of a budget that resulted in an overall tax increase for the <a href="http://www.policymattersohio.org/itep-jun2013" type="external">bottom 40 percent</a> of taxpayers, due to the rise in the sales tax and other tweaks. In 2015, for the third time in his tenure as governor and at the beginning of his second term, he proposed more cuts to income taxes and yet another jump in the sales tax from <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/02/02/gov-john-kasich-budget-proposal.html" type="external">5.75 percent to 6.25 percent</a>. Ultimately, the budget compromise implemented an income tax cut (though a smaller one than Kasich had suggested), an additional sales tax for cigarettes, and an increased tax cut for businesses, among other measures.</p>
<p>Once again, the budget brought tax savings for the wealthy, and higher taxes for those who can least afford them. An <a href="http://www.policymattersohio.org/taxplan-june2015" type="external">analysis</a> of the 2015 budget by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy found that about half the benefit of the tax cuts, totaling about $1 billion, would go into the pockets of the top 1 percent of Ohioans, while the only group that would see a tax increase was the bottom 20 percent of earners.</p>
<p>In spite of this layering of tax cuts, Kasich the presidential candidate has repeatedly trumpeted his commitment to helping the poor. “If you pick up Psalm 41, you know what the first couple of lines are? You’ll be remembered for what you do for the poor,” Kasich said in a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/07/21/exclusive-john-kasich-on-why-should-be-next-president/" type="external">Fox News interview</a> in July. “You can’t allow people to be stuck in the ditch. You’ve got to help them to get out…And that’s what we’re doing in this state.”</p>
<p>But the reality in Ohio isn’t so optimistic. “The tax cuts are shifting the tax system so it is more dependent on lower- and middle-income taxpayers and less dependent on those who are most able to pay,” says Zach Schiller, research director at Policy Matters Ohio. “Wages have not gone up in a meaningful way for the bulk of Ohioans, and we are taking funds needed for municipalities and giving them to people who don’t need it. It’s a shocking set of priorities.”</p>
<p /> | John Kasich Was Against Poor People Before He Was for Them | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/kasich-tax-policies-help-the-poor-not-so-much/ | 2015-09-11 | 4 |
<p>That's right folks, we've got another band on tonight and they are none other than dignitary. They describe their sound as post-punk, with a retro-futurist sound that will simultaneously send your mind backwards and forwards through time. Plus, we interviewed them and they've got some personality to go along with their talent, so be sure to stick around for that. Tonight, they'll be playing their song, "Destiny's False Turn," which is a real treat, so be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to Crooks and Liars for more Late Nite Music Live!</p>
<p>Also be sure to follow us on Facebook at <a href="facebook.com/latenitemusicclub" type="external">facebook.com/latenitemusicclub</a> for more info and updates about the show!</p>
<p>How'd you like Dignitary?</p> | C&L's Late Nite Music Live With Dignitary | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2015/05/cls-late-nite-live-dignitary | 2015-05-27 | 4 |
<p>It will be 18 months ago this election eve, since President Bush on May 1, 2003, donned a flight jacket, landed on the carrier Abraham Lincoln and before a “Mission Accomplished” banner announced the end of “major combat” in Iraq. He proudly said: “The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We have removed an ally of Al Qaeda and cut off a source of terrorist funding.” Only 114 US service people had died in what an administration US official called “a slam-dunk” war.</p>
<p>As Bush spoke gunfire ominously sounded in the streets of Iraq, and since the news was bad. US teams searched in vain for weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda. The CIA’s expert, Ahmed Chelabi, promised our troops would be greeted with flowers, but instead they became targets. Misrepresentations, miscalculations and rising casualties made members of the Coalition of the Willing more willing to head home.</p>
<p>As resistance stiffened that July, less the three months after “Mission Accomplished,” US General Arbizaid, said he faced “what I would describe as a classical guerrilla-type campaign against us.” Pentagon experts blamed the violence on Al Qaeda, Saddam loyalists, and foreigners, but it was growing wider and deeper.</p>
<p>The administration remained confident. That September the President said: “We have carried the fight to the enemy . . . so that we do not meet him again on our own streets.” In December, after Saddam Hussein was pulled from a hole in the desert, victory was again proclaimed. But members of Iraq’s diverse religious groups, increasingly found a common home in the insurgency.</p>
<p>Several weeks ago President Bush told a TV newsman he would do it all over again — the flight jacket, the carrier, the victory speech. After all, he insisted, Hussein is in prison, the government is preparing for elections, democracy is trumping terrorism and he has Hussein’s pistol as a trophy.</p>
<p>However, today more than a thousand US soldiers are dead, and the toll this September of more than 76 is up from 42 in June, and higher than any of the previous three months. At least 7,000 other servicemen and women have suffered severe injuries, 18,000 have been medically evacuated from the war zone, and 33,000 have sought medical care from the Veterans Administration. Upwards of 13,000 Iraqis have died, largely women and children. US forces face attacks 87 times a day, and Iraq pipelines are hit nearly every day. This October insurgents penetrated the secure “green zone” to kill Americans and local collaborators.</p>
<p>Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, now calls the US invasion “a tragedy and failure” and says it “has stimulated terrorism.” The coalition has shrunk: Americans are nearly ninety percent of the troops in Iraq and more than ninety-five percent of casualties. Abu Ghraib, known as the dictator’s worst prison, today is even more infamous in the Middle East as a symbol of American decadence and domination.</p>
<p>With insurgent forces in control of Falluja, Samara, Karbala, Ramadi and parts of Bagdad, a New York Times article stated, “One by One Iraqi Cities Become No-Go Zones.” Dexter Filkins of the New York Times [October 10th, 2004] reported from Bagdad that most European reporters have left, and fewer Americans remain than a few months ago. “To be an American reporter in Iraq, any kind of American, is not just to be a target yourself, but it is to make a target of others, too,” he concluded.</p>
<p>US-selected Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi can deliver an up-beat speech to the US Congress, but he cannot travel in Baghdad or other cities without a massive US military presence. Some 2,429 insurgent attacks shook Iraq this September, 997 in Baghdad. Afghanistan also spins out of control, so when President Hamid Karzai leaves his Kabul palace for another city, he requires a US protective shield. Osama Bin Laden is still at large, and the Talaban is regrouping there and elsewhere.</p>
<p>The Pentagon claims that only 5,000 are involved in the Iraq resistance, but less biased US sources place the number at 100,000. Insurgents are itching to get at the 140,000-strong US occupation force. On September 16th USA Today reported, “Insurgents in Iraq Appear More Powerful Than Ever,” and the New York Times headlined a CIA report “Pessimism on Iraq’s Future: Civil War Called Possible.” London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies reports that “over 18,000 potential terrorists are at large with recruitment accelerating on account of Iraq.”</p>
<p>As the holiday of Ramadan began in October, the front page of the New York Times reported more grim news. US military assaults on Falluja “sent a wave of panic through” its citizens and prompted Bagdad clerics to threaten “to call for a ‘holy war’ against the American forces.” As attacks increased Philip Carter, a former US Army captain, said, “There are no rear units in Iraq any more.” 18 men and women of the 343rd Quarter Master Company, a Reserve unit, were arrested for refusing a direct order to deliver supplies. They claimed they had “broken-down trucks” and lacked armed escorts, armor, training, and spare parts. In interviews with the Times CIA officials, guards and others assigned to Guantanamo revealed long before Abu Ghraib became known many inmates were subject to abuse that “fried them” and left them “completely out of it.” On an inside Times page, Marek Belka, the Polish Prime Minister, told his Parliament of plans to reduce Poland’s 2,400 troop contingent, since more than 75% of Poles oppose the war.</p>
<p>For some Iraq has been a bonanza. Today Halliburton has $18 billion in contracts for Iraq, an 80% increase over the previous March; Bechtel holds $3 billion in contracts; Lockheed Martin’s shares have tripled between 2002 and 2004; and Chevron’s Iraq oil contracts have soared 90% in the last year. Former US administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer ruled US business profits do not have to be invested in Iraq or its recovery, so these corporations increasingly donate to the party that rewards them.</p>
<p>For the many of us the question is: Will what goes around come around on election day?</p>
<p>WILLIAM LOREN KATZ is the author of forty US history books. His website is: williamlkatz.com</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | A Tragedy and a Failure That Has Stimulated Terrorism | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/10/19/a-tragedy-and-a-failure-that-has-stimulated-terrorism/ | 2004-10-19 | 4 |
<p>Hillary Clinton still can't get over the fact that she lost.</p>
<p>Let that sink in. Read it again. It's May 2, 2017. The election was 176 days ago. That's means more than 4,000 hours have passed. We've gone from Fall through Winter to a wonderful Spring. And remember, she's super smart -- if not the smartest person in the world, then certainly the smartest woman in the world.</p>
<p>Certainly by now she can get her head around the notion that she came in second. It's not that hard. Win, not win (you did the latter). W or L (you pulled an L). Base hit, strike out (you whiffed).</p>
<p>But not in her mid, her scary, delusional mind.</p>
<p>"I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28th and 'Russian' Wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off," Hillary said Tuesday. "And the evidence for that intervening, uh, event is, I think, uh, compelling, persuasive, and so we overcame a lot in the campaign."</p>
<p>"If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president," she told CNN's Christiane Amanpour at a Women for Women International event in New York.</p>
<p>Now, for the rest of this article, you will have to suspend your disbelief (because the <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article147475484.html" type="external">real reason</a> Hillary lost [brace yourself] is because her base didn't turn out, at least according to Democratic strategists). Let's take a trip into Hillary's mind to learn how deep her denial is -- and to see, firsthand, just how sycophantic the people she surrounds herself really are (because it's clear that everyone she knows truly believes her excuses).</p>
<p>Hillary deeply believes that the letter from FBI Director James Comey telling Congress the Federal Bureau of Investigation had reopened an investigation into her use of a private email server cost her the election (he would clear her of any wrongdoing on Nov. 7, the day before the election). And she deeply believes that the WikiLeaks release of campaign chairman John Podesta's emails, which showed how her campaign colluded with the Democratic National Committee to defeat challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders (and a slew of other wretched behavior by her top aides), handed the race to Donald Trump.</p>
<p>"The reason why I believe we lost were the intervening events in the last 10 days," she said.</p>
<p>Ready for one more sign that Hillary is totally delusional? Her finger-pointing came after (after!) she said this: "I take absolute personal responsibility. I was the candidate, I was the person who was on the ballot. I am very aware of the challenges, the problems, the shortfalls that we had."</p>
<p>And after she blamed Comey and Wikileaks, she said this: "And remember, I did win more than three million votes more than my opponent, so, it's like, ummmm, really?"</p>
<p>While Hillary told Trump in her concession call Nov. 9 that she accepted the outcome and pledged to help the new president reunite the country, she has -- ever since -- worked to delegitimize his presidency. Her latest comments are more evidence that she had no intention of helping America get past the divisive election, but rather hopes to derail Trump at every turn.</p>
<p>That Comey and Wikileaks cost her the election is gospel among the true believers in Team Clinton.</p>
<p>But Trump cut to the point in his own tweet.</p>
<p>There. That oughta' bring an end to your suspension of disbelief.</p> | Is Hillary Really This Delusional? She Blames FBI, Wikileaks For Loss. Again. For the Millionth Time. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/15995/hillary-really-delusional-she-blames-fbi-wikileaks-joseph-curl | 2017-05-03 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Navigating the shark-infested waters of the business world is hard enough for <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/startups" type="external">start-up Opens a New Window.</a> entrepreneurs without doing it using substandard tools. That's why we're launching this monthly look at the most start-up-worthy software and hardware we've reviewed in the previous month.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>HARDWAREUnless you're lucky enough to score six or seven digits of initial investment dollars that cover leasing professional office space, today's start-ups tend to forego that expense in favor of working virtually. But no matter how virtual your organization, there are still several key pieces of hardware that you just can't do without, and June's examples are notebooks, routers, and storage.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2500028,00.asp" type="external">Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 260 Opens a New Window.</a> <a type="external" href="" />: For "startrepreneurs" watching their budget dollars, the recently reviewed Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 260 represents the best price performance value out of the most recent crop of notebooks tested by PCMag Labs. It's got plenty of horsepower, especially on the graphics front, which produced excellent overall benchmark results. That's coupled with an upgraded, pack-leading battery and a slew of cutting-edge features, including built-in 4G/LTE connectivity and an integrated stylus. Yet, even with all of those goodies, it's a lightweight, 2.93-pound convertible-hybrid, which makes it the perfect form factor for oft-mobile start-up scenarios.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/review/343601/linksys-ea7500-max-stream-ac1900-mu-mimo-gigabit-router" type="external">Linksys EA7500 Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router</a> <a type="external" href="" />: Whether your start-up is a collection of individual home office workers connecting only online, or whether some or all of them are housed in a small office/garage/Mom's basement somewhere, you're going to need a fast wireless router with business smarts to get online safely, reliably, and without breaking the bank. Enter the Linksys EA7500.</p>
<p>This dual-band router did very well on PCMag's throughput tests and supports the latest Wi-Fi standards, with throughput speeds up to 600 megabits per second (Mbps) on the 2.4-GHz band and 1,300 Mbps on the 5-GHz band. It also supports the latest router technologies, including easy setup via <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/62219/wi-fi-protected-setup" type="external">WPS Opens a New Window.</a> as well as USB 2.0 and <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/58695/usb-3-0" type="external">USB 3.0 Opens a New Window.</a> ports so you can easily hook up shared peripherals.</p>
<p>The EA7500's router control software supports direct external storage access, advanced routing and <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53925/virtual-lan" type="external">VLAN Opens a New Window.</a> options, along with guest access and security settings that go from basic <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/54412/wep" type="external">WEP Opens a New Window.</a> up to advanced <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/67310/wpa2" type="external">WPA2 Opens a New Window.</a> personal and enterprise. It's got a firewall that supports internet filtering and VPN pass-through, and there's even a mobile app that'll let you control the router from anywhere.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2498470,00.asp" type="external">Western Digital My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 (4TB) Opens a New Window.</a>: Sure, you can store your start-up's shared files exclusively on cloud services such as Editors' Choice winners <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362675,00.asp" type="external">iDrive</a> <a type="external" href="" /> or <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409569,00.asp" type="external">Microsoft OneDrive Opens a New Window.</a> <a type="external" href="" />. But if the cloud is your only solution, you're at Murphy's mercy should anything go wrong with your service provider or your internet connection.</p>
<p>Having local copies of your files shared on a local network or across the web is a necessary second tier to your company's cloud storage measures. That means a small-office <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/47631/nas" type="external">network attached storage Opens a New Window.</a> (NAS) device and the current cream of that crop is the Western Digital My Cloud Gen 2 <a type="external" href="" />. This 4 terabyte (TB) device comes with two 2TB drives that can be set to back each other up as well as Western Digital's Cloud OS control software, which lets you access files both locally and across the internet (meaning you can create your own cloud-style storage service that backs up the same data you've got stored on other online storage services).</p>
<p>SOFTWARE AND SERVICESHardware is important, but the DNA of every modern start-up is software. Spanning the desktop to the cloud, our start-up software finds range from productivity and <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380448,00.asp" type="external">project management</a> (PM) applications to security and <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426600,00.asp" type="external">web hosting Opens a New Window.</a> software.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article/344692/at-home-with-google-apps" type="external">Google Apps</a>: <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491223,00.asp" type="external">Microsoft Office Opens a New Window.</a> <a type="external" href="" /> may still be king of the enterprise-class productivity suite market, but start-ups have different requirements, including tighter web integration and a lower price tag. That's where Google Apps shines, providing not only email/scheduling, word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation functionality, but also excellent mobile capabilities and integrated and shareable cloud storage with <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2494010,00.asp" type="external">Google Drive Opens a New Window.</a> <a type="external" href="" />.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2482380,00.asp" type="external">Teamwork Projects</a>: Every start-up is working on at least one project at a time. With team members likely distributed in different geographic locations, you'll need a PM package that supports both virtual teams and as much advanced functionality as your company can handle. Teamworks Projects <a type="external" href="" /> isn't the easiest PM tool we've ever reviewed, but it is definitely one of the most thorough, and it's even offering <a href="https://www.teamwork.com/startups" type="external">special support Opens a New Window.</a> to start-ups that can get you free access to the software for one full year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/review/344816/keepsolid-vpn-unlimited" type="external">KeepSolid VPN Unlimited</a>: Security is key in this day and age, and not even budding start-ups are exempt. For distributed teams looking to share information and access a variety of web services, using personal <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403388,00.asp" type="external">virtual private network Opens a New Window.</a> (VPN) software on every device is a key consideration. One of the best personal VPN clients is KeepSolid, which offers not only excellent performance and advanced features but also a very low price.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423650,00.asp" type="external">DreamHost Web Hosting</a> <a type="external" href="" />: Creating and maintaining a professional web presence is a must-have for any modern start-up. To do that, you need to find a solid web hosting service that won't rupture your budget. Editors' Choice winner DreamHost is just such a service, with advanced capabilities such as <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/54124/vps" type="external">virtual private servers Opens a New Window.</a> (VPS) and cloud storage, though you'll need to build your site using a third-party tool.</p>
<p>APPSMobile devices are another fact of life every start-up should leverage, especially in a virtual team scenario. Therefore, picking the best mobile apps for your venture can be just as critical as picking the right software or cloud service. Here are three excellent contenders reviewed last month that cover social media marketing, mobile communications, and even crowdfunding.</p>
<p><a href="javascript:OpenImageWindow('http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1740,iid=493272,00.asp',%20'225',%20'400')" type="external">Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402663,00.asp" type="external">Instagram (for iPhone)</a>: <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article/344807/use-snapchat-to-improve-your-marketing-efforts" type="external">Snapchat</a> <a type="external" href="" />may be the digital marketing darling of the moment, but Instagram is still a key component of any effective marketing campaign. Instagram for iPhone underwent a recent update that includes simple but effective photo editing, along with photo filters and a private photo sharing feature called Instagram Direct.</p>
<p><a href="javascript:OpenImageWindow('http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1740,iid=493273,00.asp',%20'224',%20'400')" type="external">Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419784,00.asp" type="external">Viber (for Android)</a>: Virtual teams are a common start-up strategy but they need one key component to make them work: powerful and consistent communication. Viber is a powerful Android communication and collaboration app that lets users text and make voice or video calls. It's got stiff competition from services such as <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423458,00.asp" type="external">Google Hangouts</a> <a type="external" href="" /> and <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2462539,00.asp" type="external">Signal Opens a New Window.</a> <a type="external" href="" />, but it offers an excellent feature set in its own right, and does very well when combined with the company's PC-oriented softphone client.</p>
<p>Start-Up Tool of the Month <a href="javascript:OpenImageWindow('http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1740,iid=493275,00.asp',%20'224',%20'400')" type="external">Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/review/343563/kickstarter-for-android" type="external">Kickstarter (for iPhone)</a>: If you're like most of the start-up world and didn't score a few million venture capital (VC) dollars as soon as the ink was dry on your business plan, then you've probably at least looked at Kickstarter. Since its founding in 2009, this site has had a massive impact on how start-ups get funded and, well, started. For those depending on Kickstarter to back their business ideas, the site's new (and free) iPhone app is a boon. You can scan Kickstarter for other projects that might compete or partner with yours, and it'll even let you post updates to your project while you're mobile.</p>
<p>This article <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article/344910/pcmag-start-up-tools-june-2016" type="external">originally appeared Opens a New Window.</a> on <a href="http://www.pcmag.com" type="external">PCMag.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | PCMag Start-Up Tools: June 2016 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/06/01/pcmag-start-up-tools-june-2016.html | 2016-06-01 | 0 |
<p>Shares of solar manufacturer Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) jumped 24.3% in June, according to data provided by <a href="http://marketintelligence.spglobal.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>, as the solar industry's prospects seemed to get a little brighter.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>First quarter financial results were released early in the month and weren't as bad as expected. Revenue rose slightly to $677.0 million, and on an adjusted basis net earnings were $6.0 million, or $0.10 per share. Analysts were only expecting $0.04 per share in earnings.</p>
<p>The better news is that solar panel prices are <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/07/this-week-in-solar.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a23d70e8-6573-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">on the rise during the second quarter Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;as U.S. and Chinese demand surges. U.S. installers are trying to get out ahead of potential tariffs, and Chinese demand is up because feed-in tariffs will adjust in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Short-term the news is fairly positive, but investors shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Canadian Solar's scale hasn't led to any kind of profit advantage in the solar market. The company is barely breaking even in a high demand environment, and its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/06/canadian-solar-inc-in-3-charts.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a23d70e8-6573-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">$2.4 billion debt load Opens a New Window.</a> is a big weight around long-term profitability. The third and fourth quarters are when we'll see if Canadian Solar can make money in a competitive solar market, and right now I have my doubts.</p>
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<p>10 stocks we like better than Canadian SolarWhen 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>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a23d70e8-6573-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" 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;uuid=a23d70e8-6573-11e7-b579-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Shares of Canadian Solar Inc. Popped 24% in June | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/11/why-shares-canadian-solar-inc-popped-24-in-june.html | 2017-07-11 | 0 |
<p>U.S. government bonds retraced early gains Friday, ending the day little changed as the departure of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon helped ease demand for safer assets.</p>
<p>The yield on the 10-year Treasury note settled at 2.196%, compared with 2.197% Thursday and 2.191% last Friday. Yields rise when bond prices fall.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>After rising overnight and at the start of the U.S. trading session, bond prices fell after reports surfaced that Mr. Bannon was leaving the White House.</p>
<p>Mr. Bannon was seen as a leader of a populist wing of the Trump administration, which has sometimes clashed with officials more aligned with traditional Republican priorities, such as corporate tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. Stocks also ticked higher after the news.</p>
<p>The moves came after two days of gains for the bond market, which came amid a string of events, including minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting, terrorist attacks in Spain, and fallout from President Donald Trump's controversial response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va.</p>
<p>Traders have bought bonds based on "concerns about the state of politics in America, concerns about terrorism risks abroad, concerns about equity market performance -- it's just a slew of these things," said John Herrmann, rates strategist at MUFG Securities in New York.</p>
<p>Treasurys typically benefit from political uncertainty, though the impact has been modest in recent sessions. The 10-year yield continued Friday to hold within its tightest trading range since a 90-day period in 1972, according to WSJ Market Data Group.</p>
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<p>After sharp swings last year, investors have recently arrived at a more settled view of the economy. Though most see little near-term risk of recession, many are unconvinced inflation will reach the Federal Reserve's 2% annual target any time soon and are similarly skeptical that the Fed will raise interest-rates at near the pace the central bank followed in previous cycles of monetary policy tightening.</p>
<p>While the Fed has raised interest-rates twice this year, minutes from the central bank's July meeting showed this week that some officials are hesitant to raise interest-rates again while inflation remains subdued.</p>
<p>Federal-funds futures, used by investors to place bets on the Fed's rate-policy outlook, on Friday showed a roughly 41% chance of a rate-increase by December, down from 45% Thursday and 54% a month ago, according to CME Group data.</p>
<p>Analysts have pointed to the Fed's Jackson Hole conference next week as one near-term risk for the market. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is scheduled Aug. 25 to give the opening speech at the conference on the topic of financial stability, a subject that has come under increased focus recently.</p>
<p>On Monday, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said in an interview with the Associated Press that rising asset prices suggested the Fed likely needed to do more to tighten financial conditions. A similar message from Ms. Yellen could lead to higher bond yields, analysts said.</p>
<p>Write to Sam Goldfarb at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 18, 2017 16:07 ET (20:07 GMT)</p> | Treasurys Give Back Earlier Gains | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/18/treasurys-give-back-earlier-gains.html | 2017-08-18 | 0 |
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<p>Across a huge swath of what, up until recently, had been known as Iraq and Syria, a transnational movement of Sunni Islamic extremists has taken control.</p>
<p>The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has conquered – without much effort – Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, along with most of the province of Nineveh. It also took Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown.</p>
<p>Along the way it has ransacked banks (to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars), pillaged weapon stockpiles (including the stuff we left behind for the Iraqi army) and recruited ever more fighters from Iraq, Syria and abroad.</p>
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<p>Late Thursday, the Iranians finally sent troops to support the teetering government and managed to reclaim most of Tikrit. So either the regional war just got bigger, or Iraq is poised to become even more of an Iranian vassal.</p>
<p>ISIS started out as an al-Qaida franchise, but in 2011 it broke off to become an independent dealer of Islamist mayhem. If anything, it is more extreme than al-Qaida – though that fine distinction probably means little to the Shiites and Christians it slaughters.</p>
<p>Last Sunday in Pakistan, Taliban militants attacked the airport in Karachi, the country’s busiest and most important travel hub. They followed up with an attack on an airport security-training facility, showing that there was no area of Pakistan it could not threaten.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came into office seeking an accord with the Taliban. But the Taliban won’t abandon its key objective: a total Islamist state. After the attacks, most observers think Sharif will have little choice but to unleash the army on the insurgents.</p>
<p>Late last month, President Obama announced at West Point that we are definitely leaving Afghanistan, period. That period took the form of a prisoner swap in which we essentially gave back five top Taliban commanders. Meanwhile, al-Qaida linked and inspired groups are on the rise in Nigeria, Yemen, the Philippines, Libya and elsewhere.</p>
<p>The good news is that the administration has a policy to deal with the Jihadi Spring. The bad news is that it looks to be the same policy it had for the Arab Spring: nothing.</p>
<p>Nothing, that is, beyond casting lots of words and Twitter hashtags into the air like so many magic beans that will sprout into peace and security wherever they find purchase.</p>
<p>That’s the hitch. This administration’s words don’t have much traction around the world, or at least where it matters. (He’s still popular in Belgium!)</p>
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<p>Often, when critics call attention to these and numerous other foreign-policy failures, the president and his defenders will argue that the critics want war. Indeed, in his West Point speech, Obama took a firm and forthright stand against an argument pretty much nobody is making: Military action “cannot be the only – or even primary – component of our leadership in every instance.”</p>
<p>Even the most rabid hawks (though technically, I don’t think birds can get rabies) would never dream of arguing that the military should be the only or primary component of leadership in “every instance.”</p>
<p>But this is a clever, albeit grotesquely cynical, ploy.</p>
<p>If you give the American people a choice between, on the one hand, doing nothing beyond tweeting slogans and lecturing the “international community” and, on the other, sending American troops into harm’s way in the Middle East (or Ukraine or the South China Sea), Americans are going to choose option A, and understandably so.</p>
<p>A better option would be a time machine.</p>
<p>That way today’s President Obama could go back and give first-term Obama the benefit of his experience. He could tell him that foreign policy should define his talking points, not the other way around.</p>
<p>With that foresight, maybe he would have done more to help democracy in Iran when the streets were full of protesters. Perhaps he wouldn’t have wasted so much time harassing Israel as if it were the cause of a centuries-old Sunni-Shia civil war.</p>
<p>Or maybe he would have kept U.S. troops in Iraq to deter the rise of ISIS. Or maybe he would have followed through on his “red line” threats to Syria.</p>
<p>Today’s Obama could tell first-term Obama that Mitt Romney was right about Russia, and that “Bin Laden is dead” isn’t a foreign policy, it’s a bumper sticker.</p>
<p>Defenders of the president often ask critics, “Well, what do you want to do?” I’ll be honest. I don’t know. We have no good options left.</p>
<p>I certainly think we should have provided assistance to the (corrupt and pathetic) Iraqi government when they asked for air support last month. But I don’t want boots on the ground.</p>
<p>What I really want is that time machine.</p>
<p>Copyright, Tribune Media Services Inc.; email to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p /> | No good options left in Iraq mess | false | https://abqjournal.com/415702/no-good-options-left-in-iraq-mess.html | 2 |
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<p />
<p>Image source: 3D Systems.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) were sharply higher on Wednesday after the company <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/03/3d-systems-earnings-improvements-outshine-plunging.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">announced its second-quarter earnings Opens a New Window.</a> before the market opened. At one point during the trading session, 3D Systems' stock was over 20% higher.</p>
<p>So what: In the second quarter, 3D Systems' revenue fell 7% year over year to $158.1 million, which translated to a GAAP net loss of $0.04 per share and a non-GAAP profit of $0.12 per share. Compared to the first quarter, revenue increased by 3.6%. The sequential increase in revenue may be the reason why investors are bidding up the stock, as it could be an early indication that the slowdown in customer demand it's experienced since early 2015 may have begun to stabilize.</p>
<p>Overall, strength from 3D Systems' materials, software, and healthcare solutions sales helped offset the impact of continued weakness from its core 3D printing hardware business. Specifically, its printer sales fell 30% year over year, which fell at an accelerated rate from the first quarter's 17% annual fall.</p>
<p>3D Systems reduced costs across the board, which led to improved gross margins and smaller operating loss. Second-quarter gross profit margin increased 300 basis points year over year to 50.9%, while operating expenses fell 20.2% year over year to $80.4 million. Its operating loss narrowed from $23.8 million last year to $3.7 million this year.</p>
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<p>Now what: While there were several aspects of 3D Systems' earnings that suggest the company is making notable improvements in its business, its diversified business model masked the reality that its core 3D printer business deteriorated further. Unfortunately, without a notable improvement in 3D printer sales, which drives the long-term sale of consumables and materials, it doesn't seem likely that 3D Systems' business is anywhere near a full recovery.</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=2691&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/TMFTopDown/info.aspx" type="external">Steve Heller Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of 3D Systems. The Motley Fool recommends 3D Systems. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why 3D Systems Corporation Jumped After Earnings | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/03/why-3d-systems-corporation-jumped-after-earnings.html | 2016-08-03 | 0 |
<p>Eric Blair, a.k.a. George Orwell, is often wrongly thought to have been writing science fiction in his seminal novel, 1984. In fact, he was simply warning about certain tendencies in governmental practice as actually observed not only in the mass authoritarian regimes but often in his own Britain.</p>
<p>Thus, newspeak, whereby the government calls things by their opposite, is an arrow in the quiver of the abject everywhere. So when the far rightwing government of Israel <a href="" type="external">names anti-war peacenik Kenneth O’Keefe a “terrorist”</a>, it is being Orwellian, but only in the sense of behaving as the worst governments typically do in contemporary times, not in the sense of resembling a dystopian future.</p>
<p>Rightwing Zionism is one of the more dangerous purveyors of newspeak nowadays. Former deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz tried to invoke anti-terrorism laws forbidding attacks on US troops to keep peaceful protesters away from US military bases.</p>
<p>And it isn’t just governments. Israeli music promoter <a href="" type="external">Shuki Weiss referred to the rash of cancellations by Western bands such as the Pixies of their scheduled appearances in Israel this summer</a> as “cultural terrorism.” The musicians are protesting the aid flotilla massacre, in which 9 innocent persons were killed and 30 wounded. Come on. I’m not big on cultural or academic boycotts myself, but ‘cultural terrorism?’ How is declining to come a way of inspiring fear in someone? Maybe you could call it cultural passive-aggression. But terrorism?</p>
<p>By the way, one of the musicians now boycotting Israel is Gil Scott-Heron, who performed the classic “The Revolution will Not be Televised.” What he did not realize was that it couldn’t be televised because the Israeli navy jammed the signals.</p>
<p>But back to the serious. The tendency of the modern national security state is to recategorize peace work as a form of terrorism, and the Bush administration placed many peace workers on the no-fly list.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">The implication of the Israeli government that a corps of ‘trained terrorists’ pre-planned an assault on the Israeli troops</a> that illegally boarded their vessel in international waters is rejected by all the eyewitnesses.</p>
<p>A kind reader pointed out that Israeli troops and the Israeli authorities have now admitted to firing bullets at the deck of the Mavi Marmara before the commandos landed, and I think the evidence is that these bullets wounded some passengers and provoked the resistance to the landing.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">“T. said he realized the group they were facing was well-trained</a> and likely ex-military after the commandos threw a number of stun grenades and fired warning shots before rappelling down onto the deck.”</p>
<p>The <a href="" type="external">NYT also reported that the Israeli military fired rubber coated steel bullets</a>before landing on the ship.</p>
<p>Alarmingly, there is now good evidence that the Israelis systematically erased much of the photographic evidence of their aggressive assault on the ship after they confiscated it from the passengers and journalists.</p>
<p>No wonder <a href="" type="external">the Israelis are rejecting an independent commission to investigate the massacre</a>— it would find that not only were crimes committed, but that there was then a concerted cover-up.</p> | “Peace is Terror, Protest is Terror” – The Israeli Ministry of Truth | true | http://juancole.com/2010/06/israel-names-peace-worker-as-terrorist.html | 2010-06-07 | 4 |
<p>Aug. 14 (UPI) — WWE Superstar Sasha Banks was turned into a zombie recently by special effects pioneer Tom Savini to promote Mattel’s WWE Zombies action figure line.</p>
<p>WWE shared videos highlighting The Boss’s transformation into a member of the undead with time-lapse makeup videos on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7zUdkj4mek" type="external">YouTube</a> and clips of Banks scaring other Superstars backstage at Raw.</p>
<p>“Oh my god what happened to my little Sasha? I don’t like it,” Big Show says after Banks creeps up behind the towering wrestler as he sits down to eat a meal.</p>
<p>“That’s so scary!” noted WWE announcer Renee Young. Banks was able to properly scare Bayley who let out a loud scream after Banks surprised her.</p>
<p>Other Superstars taken aback by Bank’s zombie look included Enzo Amore, Alicia Fox, announcer Booker T and The Hardy Boyz.</p>
<p>Savini, known as the “Godfather of Gore,” <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/watch-wwe-sasha-banks-zombie-wrestler-video/" type="external">created</a> Jason for Friday the 13th and worked on other horror films such as Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow and Night of the Living Dead.</p>
<p>Banks is set to take on Nia Jax Monday on Raw to determine who will face Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam.</p> | WWE's Sasha Banks turns into a zombie and scares Raw Superstars | false | https://newsline.com/wwes-sasha-banks-turns-into-a-zombie-and-scares-raw-superstars/ | 2017-08-14 | 1 |
<p>A look at what's happening today as spring training comes to a close:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>BEST VS. WORST</p>
<p>The World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who have the most losses in spring training this year, visit the Coliseum to take on the Oakland Athletics, who have the most wins.</p>
<p>SOLID STATS</p>
<p>Alex Rodriguez is set to play for the New York Yankees against Washington at Nationals Park. Back from a season-long drug suspension, A-Rod is hitting .286 with three home runs this spring.</p>
<p>CALIFORNIA WRAP</p>
<p>In the final spring training game this year, the Los Angeles Angels play at Dodger Stadium. Hector Santiago starts for the Angels against Brett Anderson.</p>
<p>HE'S HERE</p>
<p>Newly acquired Trevor Cahill will pitch a simulated game for Atlanta in Kissimmee, Florida. The Braves got him Friday night in a trade with Arizona. Cahill will work out of the bullpen until they need a fifth starter.</p>
<p>A look at what's happening today as spring training comes to a close:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>BEST VS. WORST</p>
<p>The World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who have the most losses in spring training this year, visit the Coliseum to take on the Oakland Athletics, who have the most wins.</p>
<p>SOLID STATS</p>
<p>Alex Rodriguez is set to play for the New York Yankees against Washington at Nationals Park. Back from a season-long drug suspension, A-Rod is hitting .286 with three home runs this spring.</p>
<p>CALIFORNIA WRAP</p>
<p>In the final spring training game this year, the Los Angeles Angels play at Dodger Stadium. Hector Santiago starts for the Angels against Brett Anderson.</p>
<p>HE'S HERE</p>
<p>Newly acquired Trevor Cahill will pitch a simulated game for Atlanta in Kissimmee, Florida. The Braves got him Friday night in a trade with Arizona. Cahill will work out of the bullpen until they need a fifth starter.</p> | LEADING OFF: Spring training down to the final day | false | https://apnews.com/amp/84db128463884454bb4b5b355d2acb6b | 2015-04-04 | 2 |
<p>Police arrest Leshia Evans at a protest over the police shooting death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge on July 9.Jonathan Bachman/Reuters</p>
<p />
<p>Amid renewed nationwide protests over police killings of black men, a representative from the United Nations toured the United States with a peculiar goal: to assess whether the exercise of freedom of assembly and association in the country conforms to <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx" type="external">international human rights law</a>.</p>
<p>UN special reporter <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mainakiai.sr/" type="external">Maina Kiai</a> concluded a 17-day tour on Tuesday, during which he <a href="http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/alton_sterling/article_26ed1202-5040-11e6-b427-03e35b23141a.html" type="external">met with protesters</a>, law enforcement, and government officials in 10 cities—including Baton Rogue, Louisiana; Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore; and New York City—and observed protests at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, as well as Black Lives Matter protests in other cities. A full UN report on Kiai’s visit is due in June 2017, but Kiai posted his preliminary findings on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mainakiai.sr/" type="external">Facebook page</a> on Wednesday. Many of them weren’t pretty:</p>
<p>Kiai said Louisiana’s new “ <a href="" type="internal">Blue Lives Matter</a>” hate crime law and similar <a href="https://news.vice.com/article/police-shootings-blue-lives-matter-hate-crime-law-louisiana" type="external">proposals</a> in other cities could have “disastrous effects.” He argued that the arrest of <a href="" type="internal">Christopher LeDay</a>, the man who shared the Alton Sterling police shooting video widely, amounted to intimidation and harassment. He also criticized stop-and-frisk and called on the Department of Justice to enforce consent decrees against “as many of the [United States’] 18,000-plus local law enforcement jurisdictions” as possible in order to reduce discrimination in law enforcement.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time the United Nations has involved US policing and protests in the global dialogue on human rights. Members of the Black Lives Matter movement spoke on a <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/un-invites-black-lives-matter-high-level-event-after-un-rights" type="external">panel</a> at a UN event in New York City earlier this month, and a delegation of organizers from Chicago <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/11/us/ferguson-brown-parents-u-n-/" type="external">testified</a> before the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 2014, along with the parents of <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/14/michael-brown-ferguson-missouri-timeline/14051827/" type="external">Michael Brown</a>.</p>
<p>You can read Kiai’s full assessment of his tour <a href="http://freeassembly.net/news/usa-statement/" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p /> | UN Rep Slams US Police for Trampling Protesters’ Rights | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/un-representative-us-police-protesters/ | 2016-07-29 | 4 |
<p>KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — E.C. Matthews scored 18 points with five rebounds and Rhode Island cruised to an 83-64 win over George Mason on Saturday.</p>
<p>Jared Terrell added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (9-3) who notched their fourth-straight victory. Andre Berry had 13 points and Stanford Robinson chipped in 10. Cyril Langevine led the team with 10 rebounds in addition to his six points.</p>
<p>Jeff Dowtin — who finished with nine points and eight assists — drained his second 3-pointer to cap a 19-7 start for the Rams and they led all the way, building to a 44-26 lead at the break.</p>
<p>Robinson hit a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 14-6 surge to open the second half and extend the Rams advantage to 58-32 with 15:45 to play. They cruised to the win from there.</p>
<p>Justin Kier scored 15 points with eight rebounds for the Patriots (6-8). Otis Livingston II added 14 points.</p>
<p>KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — E.C. Matthews scored 18 points with five rebounds and Rhode Island cruised to an 83-64 win over George Mason on Saturday.</p>
<p>Jared Terrell added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (9-3) who notched their fourth-straight victory. Andre Berry had 13 points and Stanford Robinson chipped in 10. Cyril Langevine led the team with 10 rebounds in addition to his six points.</p>
<p>Jeff Dowtin — who finished with nine points and eight assists — drained his second 3-pointer to cap a 19-7 start for the Rams and they led all the way, building to a 44-26 lead at the break.</p>
<p>Robinson hit a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 14-6 surge to open the second half and extend the Rams advantage to 58-32 with 15:45 to play. They cruised to the win from there.</p>
<p>Justin Kier scored 15 points with eight rebounds for the Patriots (6-8). Otis Livingston II added 14 points.</p> | Rhode Island cruises to 83-64 win over George Mason | false | https://apnews.com/007b29fa70de4eebaa1a2b2362c7c7f7 | 2017-12-30 | 2 |
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - Just because Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are getting divorced doesn't mean they can't have some fun on social media.</p>
<p>The country stars, who announced the end of their marriage earlier this week, shared friendly banter on Twitter Friday, even joking about pregnancy rumors.</p>
<p>After initially touting fellow singer Ashley Monroe, the former couple got playful with their posts. Lambert shared a photo of Shelton with a stroller and joked he was pregnant. He responded by saying he was "busted" and not just fat.</p>
<p>The couple released a statement Monday saying they are ending their four-year marriage. Shelton, 39, is a host of NBC's "The Voice" whose hits include "Lonely Tonight" and "Boys Round Here." Lambert, 31, is a Grammy winner with such hits as "The House that Built Me."</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - Just because Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are getting divorced doesn't mean they can't have some fun on social media.</p>
<p>The country stars, who announced the end of their marriage earlier this week, shared friendly banter on Twitter Friday, even joking about pregnancy rumors.</p>
<p>After initially touting fellow singer Ashley Monroe, the former couple got playful with their posts. Lambert shared a photo of Shelton with a stroller and joked he was pregnant. He responded by saying he was "busted" and not just fat.</p>
<p>The couple released a statement Monday saying they are ending their four-year marriage. Shelton, 39, is a host of NBC's "The Voice" whose hits include "Lonely Tonight" and "Boys Round Here." Lambert, 31, is a Grammy winner with such hits as "The House that Built Me."</p> | Shelton, Lambert tweet playfully after announcing divorce | false | https://apnews.com/abaf6d529f1941ab9170b4cdad14b322 | 2015-07-25 | 2 |
<p>Facebook is known for using its deep pockets to make huge acquisitions, and Wednesday was no exception. The social media giant announced an agreement to buy WhatsApp for the hefty sum of <a href="" type="internal">$16 billion in cash and stock</a>. The messaging app offers its users unlimited messaging on mobile devices for 99 cents a year after a one-year free trial.</p>
<p>If you're left wondering <a href="" type="internal">why it's valued so highly</a>, here are some of the reasons WhatsApp has such a loyal following across the globe.</p>
<p>Seriously, none. WhatsApp remains completely ad-free.</p>
<p>"When we sat down to start our own thing together three years ago we wanted to make something that wasn’t just another ad clearinghouse," the company <a href="http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2012/06/why-we-dont-sell-ads/" type="external">explains on their blog</a>. "Remember, when advertising is involved you the user are the product."</p>
<p>WhatsApp allows users to send messages for free over the Internet, so it bypasses phone carriers that may otherwise charge users to send texts over their networks. It’s also free to install.</p>
<p>That includes Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia and Windows smartphones.</p>
<p>When you download the app, WhatsApp automatically scans through your address book and connects you with those who have WhatsApp installed on their phones.</p>
<p>With WhatsApp, it's possible to avoid the relatively costly practice of sending SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging overseas.</p>
<p>WhatsApp has a “last seen” or “online” timestamp feature, which tells you if your contacts are online, and the last the time were connected to WhatsApp.</p>
<p>Whether you want to be available, busy, sleeping, or at the gym, it's easy to get creative with your status update.</p>
<p>With WhatsApp you can broadcast a message to many contacts, but each person will get the message individually.</p> | An App Worth $16 Billion? 8 Reasons WhatsApp Is So Popular | false | http://nbcnews.com/nightly-news/app-worth-16-billion-8-reasons-whatsapp-so-popular-n34141 | 2014-02-20 | 3 |
<p>ATLANTA (AP) — Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson isn’t quite ready to call his college career complete.</p>
<p>Not long after the <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/article/milton-powers-no-10-ucf-34-27-peach-bowl-win-over-auburn" type="external">No. 7 Tigers lost the Peach Bowl 34-27 to No. 10 Central Florida</a> on Monday, Johnson didn’t want to look to the future just yet.</p>
<p>He already has drawn plenty of attention in the NFL after being named the Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year, but the junior from Huntsville stopped short of saying he’s ready to apply for early entry for the draft.</p>
<p>“I’ve got to think about the positives and negatives and all that stuff,” he said. “That’s a life choice. There’s only a few times that you get a life choice. College is one, and this is another. Just got to take time and do it.”</p>
<p>Johnson reported no health issues after rushing 22 times for 71 yards. He scored one touchdown, a 4-yard run midway through the third quarter, but otherwise had a quiet afternoon.</p>
<p>There were <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/article/auburns-kerryon-johnson-back-old-self-peach-bowl" type="external">concerns last week that Johnson wasn’t recovered from right shoulder and rib injuries</a> he suffered in the win over Alabama in the regular-season finale. He played in the <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/article/no-6-georgia-makes-playoff-bid-routs-no-4-auburn-28-7" type="external">SEC championship game loss to Georgia</a> in a significant amount of pain, finishing with 44 yards rushing on a season-low 13 carries.</p>
<p>Johnson, the powerful back who led the SEC in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards per game, was neutralized by a Central Florida defense that made stopping him its top priority.</p>
<p>“I thought Kerryon was fairly close to 100 percent today,” Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. “We didn’t do a very good job blocking up front. There’s a lot of times that — they had some stunts early on and they got us before we got going. I thought Kerryon had some very good runs, some tough runs, and there wasn’t a whole lot of creases like there normally is.”</p>
<p>Auburn led 20-13 after Johnson’s touchdown, but it went three-and-out on its next three possessions and trailed by seven when quarterback Jarrett Stidham threw a pick six with 5:56 remaining.</p>
<p>Its bad tendencies started in the first half when Stidham was sacked five times and Auburn was penalized six times.</p>
<p>“We felt like it was nothing that they were doing specifically,” Stidham said. “It was all self-inflicted. We just challenged each other to come out and play a much better second half, which I think we did at times, but we did not execute the way we should have.”</p>
<p>Tigers linebacker Darrell Williams credited UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton with consistently keeping plays alive, but he blamed himself and his teammates for letting a bowl win slip away.</p>
<p>“We should not have lost this game,” Williams said. “It was not up to our standard. We’ve got to learn from that aspect of it and know you’ve got to win the games you’re supposed to.”</p>
<p>Johnson disputed the notion that Auburn, which ruined Georgia’s and Alabama’s unbeaten seasons in November, wasn’t excited to be in the Peach Bowl.</p>
<p>“Those who thought they weren’t motivated — they’re not in our locker room, they’re not at our practices, they’re not in our meetings,” he said. “Obviously they don’t really know what’s going on. We were plenty of motivated to get this win. We shot ourselves in the foot. This team is strong minded. We knew how badly we wanted to win this game. That’s all that matters.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>ATLANTA (AP) — Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson isn’t quite ready to call his college career complete.</p>
<p>Not long after the <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/article/milton-powers-no-10-ucf-34-27-peach-bowl-win-over-auburn" type="external">No. 7 Tigers lost the Peach Bowl 34-27 to No. 10 Central Florida</a> on Monday, Johnson didn’t want to look to the future just yet.</p>
<p>He already has drawn plenty of attention in the NFL after being named the Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year, but the junior from Huntsville stopped short of saying he’s ready to apply for early entry for the draft.</p>
<p>“I’ve got to think about the positives and negatives and all that stuff,” he said. “That’s a life choice. There’s only a few times that you get a life choice. College is one, and this is another. Just got to take time and do it.”</p>
<p>Johnson reported no health issues after rushing 22 times for 71 yards. He scored one touchdown, a 4-yard run midway through the third quarter, but otherwise had a quiet afternoon.</p>
<p>There were <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/article/auburns-kerryon-johnson-back-old-self-peach-bowl" type="external">concerns last week that Johnson wasn’t recovered from right shoulder and rib injuries</a> he suffered in the win over Alabama in the regular-season finale. He played in the <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/article/no-6-georgia-makes-playoff-bid-routs-no-4-auburn-28-7" type="external">SEC championship game loss to Georgia</a> in a significant amount of pain, finishing with 44 yards rushing on a season-low 13 carries.</p>
<p>Johnson, the powerful back who led the SEC in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards per game, was neutralized by a Central Florida defense that made stopping him its top priority.</p>
<p>“I thought Kerryon was fairly close to 100 percent today,” Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. “We didn’t do a very good job blocking up front. There’s a lot of times that — they had some stunts early on and they got us before we got going. I thought Kerryon had some very good runs, some tough runs, and there wasn’t a whole lot of creases like there normally is.”</p>
<p>Auburn led 20-13 after Johnson’s touchdown, but it went three-and-out on its next three possessions and trailed by seven when quarterback Jarrett Stidham threw a pick six with 5:56 remaining.</p>
<p>Its bad tendencies started in the first half when Stidham was sacked five times and Auburn was penalized six times.</p>
<p>“We felt like it was nothing that they were doing specifically,” Stidham said. “It was all self-inflicted. We just challenged each other to come out and play a much better second half, which I think we did at times, but we did not execute the way we should have.”</p>
<p>Tigers linebacker Darrell Williams credited UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton with consistently keeping plays alive, but he blamed himself and his teammates for letting a bowl win slip away.</p>
<p>“We should not have lost this game,” Williams said. “It was not up to our standard. We’ve got to learn from that aspect of it and know you’ve got to win the games you’re supposed to.”</p>
<p>Johnson disputed the notion that Auburn, which ruined Georgia’s and Alabama’s unbeaten seasons in November, wasn’t excited to be in the Peach Bowl.</p>
<p>“Those who thought they weren’t motivated — they’re not in our locker room, they’re not at our practices, they’re not in our meetings,” he said. “Obviously they don’t really know what’s going on. We were plenty of motivated to get this win. We shot ourselves in the foot. This team is strong minded. We knew how badly we wanted to win this game. That’s all that matters.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p> | Auburn’s Johnson not sure if he will leave early for NFL | false | https://apnews.com/1bc18b0c492e45d3bfd42da98d936b82 | 2018-01-02 | 2 |
<p>BEIJING, China — Subways can be hellish even on a normal day. But here in Beijing on Friday, officials were particularly concerned about ghosts in the machine.</p>
<p>A notice, posted at midday Halloween on a police micro-blog, stated that anyone “wearing [weird] clothes or scary makeup” would be refused entrance to Beijing’s crowded underground transit.</p>
<p>“If the chaos seriously affects safety, police will deal with it severely,” it warned.</p>
<p>On Halloween, the subway is to Beijing what Christopher Street is to New York City.&#160; For the past four years, an annual <a href="http://beijingcream.com/2013/10/announcing-subway-line-2-halloween-party-this-friday/" type="external">Halloween subway ride</a> has been (loosely) organized by foreign residents.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/141031/french-village-bans-clowns-evil-or-friendly-0" type="external">This French village just banned clowns for a very scary reason</a></p>
<p>As the police message got around, some revelers found it to be confusing.</p>
<p>“The wording is quite vague: ‘weird costumes.’ How should that be defined?” asked Beijing lawyer Li Heping. “It’s too broad a concept.”</p>
<p>Party officials have not always been so anti-Halloween. This year, it turns out, is different. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum — a meeting of economic leaders from around the region — will <a href="http://www.apec-china.org.cn/41/2014/08/29/[email protected]" type="external">take place</a> this week in Beijing. &#160;</p>
<p>That’s inspired a series of increasingly strict measures, designed to <a href="http://bjrb.bjd.com.cn/html/2014-10/08/content_222448.htm" type="external">“publicize the capital’s and the country’s positive image.”</a> Factories have been shuttered and schools closed ahead of the summit.</p>
<p>But the trickle-down effect has also resulted in official over-reach — and in response, satire. “Is Beijing really afraid of Halloween?” one expat joked as thousands of Chinese thronged the city’s dense nightlife area on Friday, many in costume despite the warnings.</p>
<p>Things become somewhat tense whenever an international “flash mob” type event emerges. At other times, <a href="http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2010/12/14/more-santacon-weekend" type="external">large numbers of Santas</a> have been known to gather in Tiananmen Square. Authorities are <a href="http://theanthill.org/subway-party" type="external">often baffled</a>, but they usually relent.</p>
<p>Not this year.</p>
<p>The run-up to the APEC summit is “a political task that overrides everything in the city,” according to city officials. That oversight has run from the authoritarian to the faintly absurd.</p>
<p>All state employees have been <a href="http://www.afr.com/p/special_reports/opportunityasia/beijing_kicks_out_residents_to_cut_lsrcPatR06rts0WM8XX1DJ" type="external">given five days off</a>, with travel agents offering cut-price getaways. Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.bjd.com.cn/10beijingnews/metro/201410/30/t20141030_8156234.html" type="external">no visas</a> or marriage certificates are being issued. Overseas journalists have found mundane activities monitored, and identity papers checked. “Wrong time, wrong place,” one security agent told a team detained filming a routine land-grab.</p>
<p>One main issue for the city is the terminally toxic air. Prior to 2008, most of Beijing’s coal-polluting factories were relocated to nearby Hebei province. The solution worked for that year’s Olympics but now the smog has returned — more implacably than ever.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/photo-galleries/planet-pic/5966860/china-thick-smog-harbin" type="external">PHOTOS: Smog shuts down Harbin, China</a></p>
<p>To ensure blue skies for foreign eyes, thousands of factories in nearby Hebei are being temporarily shuttered, at <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-27/beijing-tells-its-residents-to-leave-town-ahead-of-apec-summit.html" type="external">considerable economic loss.</a></p>
<p>And for reasons unexplained, a planned “Zombie Walk” between four bars was <a href="http://www.smartbeijing.com/wire/nightlife/axed-fridaygulou-zombie-walk" type="external">also abruptly nixed</a> ahead of time.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, it turns out not everyone got the anti-Halloween memo. China’s state channel, CCTV, published <a href="http://www.cctvnews.cn/2014/10/28/10-chinese-themed-halloween-costumes-to-impress-your-friends/" type="external">a Buzzfeed-style list</a> of “10 Chinese-themed Halloween costumes to impress your friends.” The looks include Dowager Empress Cixi, a PLA general, "fuerdai" (rich kid), and the jailed socialite Guo Meimei. “Get into the spirit with these super-fab ideas,” the post enthuses. “You’ll be totally niubi!” That word means "f*cking cool."</p> | Why Beijing cracked down on Halloween | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-11-03/why-beijing-cracked-down-halloween | 2014-11-03 | 3 |
<p>You are what you eat, which is why how many calories you consume is key to loosing and gaining weight. Sure you can figure out your calorie intake manually but why not get a little help from smartphone apps? Here’s a look at five apps that will count calories and hopefully aid in reaching your weight loss goals. (Reuters)</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Hate Counting Calories? These Apps Do it for You | true | http://foxbusiness.com/slideshow/personal-finance/2011/08/16/hate-counting-calories-these-apps-do-it-for.html | 2017-02-08 | 0 |
<p>The Syria conference underway in Geneva to transition from the rule of President Assad will fail, and the Obama team knows it. There is no incentive now in the Assad or rebel camps for diplomatic compromise, and the U.S. knows that. Nothing the U.S. and its allies are doing or planning on the military front will compel President Assad to step aside, and the White House understands that full well. The reality on the ground today is that American-helped moderate rebels continue to flounder, while Assad's forces and those of the jihadi extremists prosper. Obama officials see this as well and realize that nothing they are doing or are likely to do will alter those facts.</p>
<p>So, if President Obama understands what he is doing will fail, why is he doing it? The answer is that the Obama administration sees no viable alternative. Obama officials simply can't bear the thought of joining hands with Assad, even if temporarily and even in the right anti-jihadi cause. And they simply don't see any way to push the moderate rebels into harness with Assad, even against the dreaded extremists.</p>
<p>But there is an alternative that may be viable. It starts not just with understanding the current course is failing, but that the costs of failure to U.S. power in a still critical area of the world are too high. It begins with realizing that Washington must pressure moderate rebels and Assad (with Russian help) to set aside their mutual hatreds and focus on what they both see as the much larger long-term danger to them both - the jihadis.</p>
<p>Step one is for the Obama team to redefine U.S. objectives sharply and publicly. The first and key goal must be to devise and support collaboration between the Assad regime and the moderate rebels against jihadi extremism, the overriding threat to almost all Syrians and their neighbors. There must be a working arrangement between Syria's moderates and the Assad government, even if it includes Assad, at least for the time being. This new goal would also serve the already emerging second U.S. priority of establishing humanitarian zones in Syria to relieve the awful suffering of the Syrian people. Neither objective - and this must be stressed - entails or requires highly premature political compromises in Geneva on an interim or future government.</p>
<p>Neither Assad nor the moderate rebels are close to taking this political plunge. But Washington can help them to see that they must be ready - for their own survival - to join forces against the jihadis and to pull their fellow Syrians from the madness of starvation, homelessness, and refugee status.</p>
<p>These objectives run consistently with realities in Syria and the region, unlike Obama's current course. They accord with the worst fears of both the Alawites and the moderate Sunni rebels inside Syria and of most nations in the region and beyond. These objectives postpone Assad's fate and make it more likely that some kind of peaceful transition to a new government can be arranged in the future. What the U.S. is doing now can only prolong Syrian and regional agonies. Zeroing in on the jihadis, while relieving the suffering of millions of Syrians, has a chance of working.</p>
<p>This is not a pleasant policy choice. Indeed, it's an ugly one, given Assad's sins. But it is based on the facts on the ground in Syria and its jihadi-threatened neighbors. On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry blurred these realities. On the one hand, he correctly stressed that "we need to deal with reality here." Then, however, he escaped from reality by insisting that there is "no way possible in the imagination" to work with Assad. This consistent unrealistic Kerry line may not be shared by the White House. Officials there, including the president, have not been in recent months nearly as categorical as Kerry in rejecting the possibility of some working relationship between Assad's Alawite/Shiite regime and the American-backed, moderate Sunni rebels. Perhaps the White House now realizes that it was too quick off the mark and too absolute when the Syrian uprising first began. At that time, it stated its main goal as Assad's removal from power. Perhaps now, administration officials are prepared to entertain a transitional working arrangement with Assad.</p>
<p>That end can be joined with realities inside Syria. Certainly, all parties hate one another. But a good case can be made that Assad and the moderates fear or should fear the jihadis more than they hate each other. The Alawites, Syria's Christians, and other religious ethnic minorities know the Islamic radicals would target them most brutally and end any hope for a tolerant, secular society. Moderate Sunnis, the majority of Syrians, realize they would not fare much better. The extremists would Islamize and tyrannize their mostly moderate and secular country. Life under Assad was nasty, but life under extremist command would be worse. Obama officials have to do a far better job of helping all Syrians see that this nightmarish future could surpass the Assad past. Of course Syrian moderates can't forget or simply set aside past Assad horrors, but they have to be made to contemplate future ones as well.</p>
<p>Meantime and to help move matters in this anti-jihadist direction, the Obama administration also has to pursue harder a second track, one already on their platter - to push Alawites and Sunni moderates toward effective humanitarian cease-fire zones to provide food and medical relief. Assad's ghouls have undermined a few such meager efforts to date. Their tactic has been to use these arrangements to expand Damascus' control. Both Russia and the U.S. must make Assad aware that it will be impossible to make working arrangements with his government against extremists under such circumstances. And there's considerable evidence that Moscow would back this approach. At the same time, Washington has to pressure moderate rebels to buy into such humanitarian cooperation with Assad. It's their people, their supporters who are suffering most and who would profit most from humanitarian zones. Another benefit would be to shine the spotlight on Assad's cruelty if he did not truly cooperate with humanitarian zones. It's not a big stick, but Russian pressure could help.</p>
<p>The U.S. can't expect help in this new reality-based course from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states like Qatar. These Gulfies are so blindly anti-Shiite and anti-Assad that they have been backing the Islamic extremists. To them, any Assad survival for any length of time means victory for Shiite Iran, their ultimate devil. Obama should do some tough talking to Riyadh just to make the point. It should not expect much, however, until it convinces Riyadh that it can put together successful policies in the region. Sure, fashioning an anti-jihadist policy in Syria would be easier with Riyadh, but it can be done without the Saudis and others. And Israeli leaders, who despise both Assad and the jihadis, won't interfere unduly.</p>
<p>Most other key countries would welcome a U.S.-led effort that had a decent chance of tamping down the Syrian conflict and its spread. Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon, whose very survival is in question, desperately want an end to the flood of refugees pouring into their countries and to the potential Islamic upheavals. Key European nations are already beginning to work with Assad, especially on joint intelligence operations against European-based Islamist fighters. Iran might be willing to associate with any plan that protected the Alawites in the future. Most critically, Russia could and should be made a partner in this plan. Moscow is quite clear-eyed about the links between the Syrian jihadis and its own Muslim terrorists. Indeed, fashioning a working arrangement between Assad and the moderate Sunnis should be a joint Russo-American initiative.</p>
<p>With such a coalition of outside powers to back up the working arrangement between Assad and the moderates would come another benefit - a basis for a coherent military and diplomatic strategy. There would be a greater willingness among the U.S. and its allies to provide more and better arms for the moderates. This effort would also send a salubrious message to Assad's camp. The working relationship also would provide the groundwork for a future power-sharing arrangement between the Alawites and the Sunnis. In the beginning, nothing need be said about Assad's fate. The Russians, Iranians, and Alawites could say that there is no agreement to dump the dictator. The moderates could paint the arrangement as the path to his departure. Indeed, his exit would be made easier if Alawites felt more assured that a bloodbath did not await them. Meantime, if they cooperated, both Alawites and moderate Sunnis would be doing something, finally, for the Syrian people's humanitarian catastrophe.</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>The prerequisite for this is for the U.S. to postpone current efforts for some kind of political transition among Syrians. That's a bridge much too far for now. The prerequisite is for the U.S. to forge a working relationship between moderates and the Assad government to fight the greater jihadi threat. The prerequisite is for the parties in Syria to show some basic decency and save their own people.Frank G. Wisner is a former Under Secretary of State and of Defense and a former Ambassador to Zambia, Egypt, the Philippines, and India. Leslie H. Gelb, a former New York Times columnist and senior government official, is author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (HarperCollins, 2009), a book that shows how to think about and use power in the 21st century. He is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.</p> | Face the Assad Reality In Syria | true | https://thedailybeast.com/face-the-assad-reality-in-syria | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
<p>U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, following global equities higher after closely watched first-round presidential election results in France. A global relief rally followed the Sunday vote, which saw centrist Emmanuel Macron receive the most votes and avert fears of a euroskeptic-only runoff. The main indexes posted their largest one-day gains since March 1. The S&amp;P 500 closed 25.46 points, or 1.1%, higher at 2,374.15, led by a 2.2% gain in financials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 216.13 points, or 1.1%, to 20,763.89. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 73.30 points, or 1.2%, to 5,983.82, an all-time high.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | U.S. Stocks Post Largest Gains In More Than 7 Weeks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/24/us-stocks-post-largest-gains-in-more-than-7-weeks.html | 2017-04-24 | 0 |
<p>Sometime in 2014, a group of analysts walked into the office of Eugene Kaspersky, the ebullient founder of Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, to deliver some sobering news.</p>
<p>Kaspersky's anti-virus software had automatically scraped powerful digital surveillance tools off a computer in the United States and the analysts were worried: The data's headers clearly identified the files as classified.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"They immediately came to my office," Kaspersky recalled, "and they told me that they have a problem."</p>
<p>He said there was no hesitation about what to do with the cache.</p>
<p>"It must be deleted," Kaspersky says he told them.</p>
<p>The incident, recounted by Kaspersky during a brief telephone interview on Tuesday and supplemented by a timeline and other information provided by company officials, could not immediately be corroborated. But it's the first public acknowledgement of a story that has been building for the past three weeks — that Kaspersky's popular anti-virus program uploaded powerful digital espionage tools belonging to the National Security Agency from a computer in the United States and sent them to servers in Moscow.</p>
<p>The account provides new perspective on the U.S. government's recent move to blacklist Kaspersky from federal computer networks, even if it still leaves important questions unanswered.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>To hear Kaspersky tell it, the incident was an accident borne of carelessness.</p>
<p>Analysts at his company were already on the trail of the Equation Group — a powerful group of hackers later exposed as an arm of the NSA — when a computer in the United States was flagged for further investigation. The machine's owner, identified in media reports as an NSA worker, had run anti-virus scans on their home computer after it was infected by a pirated copy of Microsoft Office, according to a Kaspersky timeline released Wednesday.</p>
<p>The scan didn't just treat the infection. It also triggered an alert for Equation Group files the worker had left in a compressed archive which was then spirited to Moscow for analysis.</p>
<p>Kaspersky's story at least partially matches accounts published in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. All three publications recently reported that someone at the NSA's elite hacking unit lost control of some of the agency's powerful surveillance tools after they brought their work home with them, leaving what should have been closely guarded code on a personal computer running Kaspersky's anti-virus software.</p>
<p>But information security experts puzzling over the hints dropped by anonymous government officials are still wondering at whether Kaspersky is suspected of deliberately hunting for confidential data or was merely doing its job by sniffing out suspicious files.</p>
<p>Much of the ambiguity is down to the nature of modern anti-virus software, which routinely submits rogue files back to company servers for analysis. The software can easily be quietly tweaked to scoop up other files, too: perhaps classified documents belonging to a foreign rival's government, for example.</p>
<p>Concerns have been fanned by increasingly explicit warnings from U.S. government officials after tensions with Russia escalated in the wake of the 2016 presidential election.</p>
<p>Kaspersky denies any inappropriate link to the Russian government, and said in his interview that any classified documents inadvertently swept up by his software would be destroyed on discovery.</p>
<p>"If we see confidential or classified information, it will be immediately deleted and that was exactly (what happened in) this case," he said, adding that the order had since been written into company policy.</p>
<p>An AP request for a copy of that policy wasn't immediately granted.</p>
<p>Kaspersky's account still has some gaps. For example, why not alert American authorities to what happened? The newspaper reports alleged that the U.S. learned that Kaspersky had acquired the NSA's tools via an Israeli spying operation.</p>
<p>Kaspersky declined to say whether he had ever alerted U.S. authorities to the incident.</p>
<p>"Do you really think that I want to see in the news that I tried to contact the NSA to report this case?" he said at one point. "Definitely I don't want to see that in the news."</p>
<p>So did he alert the NSA to the incident or not?</p>
<p>"I'm afraid I can't answer the question," he said.</p>
<p>Even if some questions linger, Kaspersky's explanation sounds plausible, said Jake Williams, a former NSA analyst and the founder of Augusta, Georgia-based Rendition InfoSec. He noted that Kaspersky was pitching itself at the time to government clients in the United States and may not have wanted the risk of having classified documents on its network.</p>
<p>"It makes sense that they pulled those up and looked at the classification marking and then deleted them," said Williams. "I can see where it's so toxic you may not want it on your systems."</p>
<p>As for the insinuation that someone at the NSA not only walked highly classified software out of the building but put it on a computer running a bootleg version of Office, Williams called it "absolutely wild."</p>
<p>"It's hard to imagine a worse PR nightmare for the NSA," he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>Kaspersky's timeline:</p>
<p>https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/internal-investigation-preliminary-results/19894/</p> | Kaspersky: We uploaded US documents but quickly deleted them | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/25/kaspersky-uploaded-us-documents-but-quickly-deleted-them.html | 2017-10-25 | 0 |
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<p>CREW’s list of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress is out for 2008, and constituents of Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY), Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) should be very pleased. Their congressional representatives are new additions to the list!</p>
<p>Here is the <a href="http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/" type="external">2008 list</a>; here are the <a href="http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/archive" type="external">previous three years’</a>.</p>
<p /> | 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress, Freshly Revealed | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/20-most-corrupt-members-congress-freshly-revealed/ | 2008-09-10 | 4 |
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<p>For the first time in decades, three US aircraft carriers sailed in the Korean sea together in close formation, in a major show of gunboat diplomacy.</p>
<p>The USS Ronald Reagan, based in Japan; the USS Theodore Roosevelt, based in San Diego; and the USS Nimitz, based at Naval Base Kitsap at Bremerton, Washington, are all participating in the exercise.</p>
<p>Analysts on Fox news say that this is basically sending the message "if you're gonna strike, we will win." No military analyst can now see how the US would lose against the North Korean navy.</p>
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<p />
<p>Seven South Korean naval vessels also took part in the joint drill.</p>
<p>Commanding Officer Buzz Donnelly of the USS Ronald Reagan: "The significance of our combat power as an American super-carrier is our striking power through our mobile carrier airway, and we can sustain 24 hour operations for extended periods of time, and with more than one carrier participating, that length of time goes out indefinitely quite frankly when we get to three."</p>
<p>The maneuvers are a potent reminder to Pyongyang of the US's ability to rapidly mobilize a military force.</p>
<p>Japan said o it would send one of its two helicopter carriers, the largest ships in its fleet, along with two warships to join the drill.</p>
<p>Aegis guided missile cruisers from the US and South Korea will also be present and are designed to defend the awe-inspiring carriers from enemy ships, submarines, aircraft and missiles.</p>
<p>Two nuclear-powered attack submarines, which are tasked with seeking out and destroying enemy submarines, will be included in the group as well as surface ships collecting intelligence.</p>
<p>Up in the air there will be carrier-based F18 Super Hornet jets capable of hitting the North Korean infrastructure and military targets. In total, the 100,000-tonne US carriers carry a combined force of some 200 aircraft, to which the troops of Kim Jung Un are no match.</p>
<p>Lastly, it is understood that several B-52 bombers will also take part in the war games.</p>
<p>A message from the South Korean defense ministry read: "The exercise is aimed at enhancing deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and showing off preparedness to fend off any provocative acts by the North."</p>
<p>Source:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-41968321/us-displays-military-might-near-korea" type="external">bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-41968321/us-displays-military-might-near-korea</a></p> | Video - US Navy Nears Korea | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/11735-Video-US-Navy-Nears-Korea | 2017-11-13 | 0 |
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<p>A Bank of England employee shows the new five pound note at the Bank of England Museum in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)</p>
<p>LONDON — The Bank of England’s new plastic 5-pound note is stronger, cleaner and safer — but apparently not suitable for vegetarians.</p>
<p>Vegans and vegetarians are calling for the new bank notes, which have only been in circulation for two months, to be replaced because they are made with a substance derived from animal fat.</p>
<p>The Bank of England confirmed on Twitter that the notes contain “a trace of a substance known as tallow” — a rendered form of animal fat, processed from suet, which is sometimes used in soaps and candles.</p>
<p>An online petition against the notes has been getting attention Wednesday. The petition says the use of tallow is “unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the U.K.”</p>
<p>The Bank of Canada says their bank notes also have tallow, according to a CBC report.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Tallow tensions: Vegans want ‘fat-free’ UK 5-pound bank note | false | https://abqjournal.com/898514/petition-calls-for-new-uk-5-pound-bank-note-to-be-fat-free-2.html | 2016-11-30 | 2 |
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<p>Hmm. If mortgage fraud perpetrators had gone to jail, would it have deterred these crooks from proceeding with schemes like this? (Hah hah, we all know you can't send bankers to jail!) I wonder if we're going to punish anyone for <a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/insurers-inflating-books-new-york-regulator-says/?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss&amp;src=ig" type="external">these crooked deals,</a> either?</p>
<p>New York State regulators are calling for a nationwide moratorium on transactions that life insurers are using to alter their books by billions of dollars, saying that the deals put policyholders at risk and could lead to another taxpayer bailout.</p>
<p>Insurers’ use of the secretive transactions has become widespread, nearly doubling over the last five years. The deals now affect life insurance policies worth trillions of dollars, according to an analysis done for The New York Times by SNL Financial, a research and data firm.</p>
<p>These complex private deals allow the companies to describe themselves as richer and stronger than they otherwise could in their communications with regulators, stockholders, the ratings agencies and customers, who often rely on ratings to buy insurance.</p>
<p>Benjamin M. Lawsky, New York’s superintendent of financial services, said that life insurers based in New York had alone burnished their books by $48 billion, using what he called “shadow insurance,” according to an investigation conducted by his department. He issued a report about the investigation late Tuesday.</p>
<p>The transactions are so opaque that Mr. Lawsky said it took his team of investigators nearly a year to follow the paper trail, even though they had the power to subpoena documents.</p>
<p>Insurance is regulated by the states, and Mr. Lawsky said his investigators found that life insurers in New York were seeking out states with looser regulations and setting up shell companies there for the deals. They then used those states’ tight secrecy laws to avoid scrutiny by the New York State regulators.</p>
<p>[...] Mr. Lawsky said that because the transactions made companies look richer than they otherwise would, some were diverting reserves to other uses, like executive compensation or stockholder dividends.</p>
<p>The most frequent use, he said, was to artificially increase companies’ risk-based capital ratios, an important measurement of solvency that was instituted after a series of life-insurance failures and near misses in the 1980s.</p>
<p>Mr. Lawsky said he was struck by similarities between what the life insurers were doing now and the issuing of structured mortgage securities in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008.</p> | So Now Life Insurance Companies Are Gambling, Too | true | http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/so-now-life-insurance-companies-are-a | 2013-06-12 | 4 |
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<p />
<p />
<p>Update: Williams was pronounced dead at 11:05 pm, a little less than an hour before his death warrant was set to expire. He convulsed for ten seconds roughly 3 minutes into the execution, which lasted 13 minutes.</p>
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<p>Kenneth Williams was laughing at the jury members when they sentenced him to life in prison for torturing and killing a university cheerleader. Then he killed a prison guard and was sentenced to death.</p>
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<p>He's not laughing now. He's going to die soon unless the liberal judges can save him. Prospects aren't looking good for the 38-year old soon-to-be dead man.</p>
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<p>The Governor and Attorney General of Arkansas are putting the pedal to the metal at the death chamber. And if they manage to kill Williams today, they'll be batting 500. Sorry for the mixed metaphor.</p>
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<p>The initial plan was to kill 8 sick bastards before the State's death drugs expire at the end of the month. Liberal judges jumped out of the woodwork and initially stopped all of them. Then, good old governor, Asa Hutchinson stepped up to the plate and promised the families of the victim's justice.</p>
<p />
<p>They got a double dose on Monday. Here's the play-by-play:</p>
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<p>In 1994, Marcel Williams committed armed robbery then kidnapped, raped and murdered Stacy Erickson, a young mother of two. Williams confessed to the crime and was sentenced to death by a jury of his peers. And now he's dead.</p>
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<p>In 1995, Jack Jones raped and killed Mary Philips and then tried to kill her 11-year-old daughter. He was also convicted of another rape and killing in Florida. He was sentenced to death by a jury of his peers. And now he's dead.</p>
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<p>Sounds fair to me. Stay tuned to the Goldwater for updates and let us know if you agree with the death penalty.</p>
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-arkansas-supreme-court-execution-20170427-story.html" type="external">chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-arkansas-supreme-court-execution-20170427-story.html</a></p> | Batting .500: Arkansas Executes Fourth | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/2578-Batting-500-Arkansas-Executes-Fourth | 2017-04-28 | 0 |
<p>DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio community where the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony was held for decades before moving to Fort Worth, Texas, last year is seeking the return of the event.</p>
<p>The Dayton Daily News <a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/pitch-made-bring-aviation-hall-fame-ceremony-dayton-again/uZOseZj89XNjGrod3Pw1QP/?ecmp=newspaper_email&amp;" type="external">reports</a> Dayton is one of five contenders for this year's ceremony. The hall of fame hasn't announced the other contenders.</p>
<p>Executive Director Amy Spowart says the organization will make a final decision in the upcoming weeks.</p>
<p>Except for last year, the annual ceremony has been held in Dayton since 1962, drawing astronauts and Hollywood stars to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.</p>
<p>Tony Sculimbrene, of the nonprofit National Aviation Heritage Alliance, says he thinks there's no better place for the ceremony than the museum in Ohio.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Dayton Daily News, <a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com" type="external">http://www.daytondailynews.com</a></p>
<p>DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio community where the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony was held for decades before moving to Fort Worth, Texas, last year is seeking the return of the event.</p>
<p>The Dayton Daily News <a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/pitch-made-bring-aviation-hall-fame-ceremony-dayton-again/uZOseZj89XNjGrod3Pw1QP/?ecmp=newspaper_email&amp;" type="external">reports</a> Dayton is one of five contenders for this year's ceremony. The hall of fame hasn't announced the other contenders.</p>
<p>Executive Director Amy Spowart says the organization will make a final decision in the upcoming weeks.</p>
<p>Except for last year, the annual ceremony has been held in Dayton since 1962, drawing astronauts and Hollywood stars to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.</p>
<p>Tony Sculimbrene, of the nonprofit National Aviation Heritage Alliance, says he thinks there's no better place for the ceremony than the museum in Ohio.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Dayton Daily News, <a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com" type="external">http://www.daytondailynews.com</a></p> | Officials want aviation hall of fame ceremony back in Ohio | false | https://apnews.com/amp/cdbb911c0ca247c69218c662b21d2bd7 | 2018-01-15 | 2 |
<p>Last week the Haaretz headline screamed: “Doctors: Arafat died of AIDS or poisoning”. AIDS appeared in first place.</p>
<p>For dozens of years, the Israeli media has conducted, with government inspiration, a concentrated campaign against the Palestinian leader (with the sole exception of Haolam Hazeh, the news magazine I edited). Millions of words of hatred and demonization were poured on him, more than on any other person of his generation. If somebody thought that this would end after his death, he was mistaken. This article, signed by Avi Isasharof and Amos Harel, is a direct continuation of this smear campaign.</p>
<p>The key word is, of course, “Aids”. Throughout the long article there is no trace of proof for this allegation. The reporters quote “sources in the Israeli security establishment”. They also quote Israeli doctors “who heard from French doctors” – an original method for medical diagnosis. A respected Israeli professor even found conclusive proof: it was not published that Arafat had undergone an Aids test. True, a Tunisian medical team did test him in Ramallah and the result was negative, but who would believe Arabs?</p>
<p>Haaretz knows, of course, how to protect itself. Somewhere in the article, far away from the sensational headline, there appear the nine words: “The possibility that Arafat had Aids is not high”. So Haaretz is alright. In army parlance, its ass is covered. By comparison, the New York Times, which published a similar story on the same day, treated the Aids allegation with contempt.</p>
<p>There is a very simple proof for the spuriousness of the allegation: if it had even the most tenuous basis in fact, the huge propaganda apparatus of the Israeli government and the Jewish establishment throughout the world would have trumpeted it from the rooftops, instead of waiting for 10 months. But, as matter of fact, there is no evidence whatsoever. More than that, the writers themselves are compelled to admit that Arafat’s symptoms are completely incompatible with the picture of Aids.</p>
<p>So what did he die of?</p>
<p>Since taking part in his tumultuous funeral in Ramallah, I have abstained from giving my opinion on the cause of his death. I am not a doctor, and my dozens of years as editor of an investigative news magazine have taught me not to voice allegations which I am unable to prove in court.</p>
<p>But, since now all dikes have been breached, I am prepared to say what is on my mind: from the first moment, I was sure that Arafat had been poisoned.</p>
<p>Most of the doctors interviewed by Haaretz testified that the symptoms point towards poisoning, and, in fact, are incompatible with any other cause. The report of the French doctors, who treated Arafat during the last two weeks of his life, states that no known cause for his death was discovered. True, the tests did not find any traces of poison in his body – but the tests were conducted only for the usual poisons. It is no secret that many intelligence services in the world have developed poisons that cannot be detected at all, or whose traces disappear in a very short time.</p>
<p>Some years ago, Israeli agents poisoned the Hamas chief Khaled Mash’al with a slight prick in a main street of Amman. His life was saved only because King Hussein demanded that Israel immediately provide the antidote. (As a further indemnity, Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to the release from prison of another Hamas chief, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated several years after his return to Gaza by more conventional means – an airborne missile.)</p>
<p>In the absence of symptoms of any known disease, and since clear indications of poisoning were present, the highest probability is that Yasser Arafat was indeed poisoned while having dinner four hours before the first symptoms appeared.</p>
<p>I can testify that the security arrangements around the Ra’is were very lax. At each of my dozens of meetings with him in different countries I was always amazed at the ease with which a potential assassin could have done his job. Protection was always casual, especially compared to the way Israeli Prime Ministers are guarded. He often had his meals in the company of strangers, he embraced his visitors. Associates report that he frequently accepted sweets from strangers and also took medicines from visitors, swallowing them on the spot. After surviving dozens of assassination attempts, and even an airplane accident, he had come to adopt a fatalistic attitude, “it’s all in the hands of Allah”. I think that in his heart of hearts he really believed that Allah would preserve him until the completion of his historic mission.</p>
<p>If he was poisoned – by whom was he poisoned?</p>
<p>First suspicion falls, of course, on the Israeli security establishment. Indeed, Ariel Sharon declared on several occasions that he intended to kill him. The subject came up in cabinet meetings. Twice during the last years my friends and I were so convinced that this was imminent, that we went to the Mukata’ah in Ramallah to serve as a “human shield” for him. We were convinced that the murder of Arafat would cause much harm to Israel. In one of his interviews, Sharon stated that our presence there had prevented his liquidation.</p>
<p>Truth is that Sharon abstained from killing Arafat mostly because the Americans forbade it. They were afraid that the murder would arouse a huge storm in the Arab world and exacerbate anti-American terrorism. But this interdiction may have applied only to an overt act.</p>
<p>The Mash’al affair proves that the Israeli intelligence services have the means to poison people without leaving any trace. The poisoning was discovered only because the perpetrators were caught in flagrante.</p>
<p>However, a probability, high as it may be, is not proof. At the moment, there is no proof that Arafat was indeed poisoned by the Israeli services.</p>
<p>But if not the Israelis, who? The US intelligence services also have the necessary capabilities. President Bush never hid his hatred for Arafat, an obstinate leader who did not submit to his dictates. He was quick to embrace Mahmoud Abbas. Even now, American emissaries who visit the Mukata’ah pointedly abstain from putting wreaths on the grave of the Ra’is in the courtyard.</p>
<p>But American interests, too, do not constitute proof. One can think of several other suspects, even in the Arab world.</p>
<p>Did Arafat’s death benefit Sharon?</p>
<p>On the face of it, no. As long as Arafat was alive, American support for Israel was unlimited. But since his death, President Bush has been going out of his way to support his successor. The dismal American debacle in Iraq compels Bush to look for achievements elsewhere in the “Broader Middle East”. He presents Mahmoud Abbas as a symbol of the new winds blowing through the Arab and Muslim world as a result of American policy. In order to convince the Palestinian public to support Abbas, Bush is putting pressure on Sharon of a new sort. Perhaps Sharon is secretly longing for the good old days of Arafat, when life was simple and an enemy dressed the part.</p>
<p>But a person who wants – as Sharon surely does – to break the Palestinian people into pieces and prevent at any cost the establishment of a viable State of Palestine, can only be happy with the demise of Arafat, who united the entire Palestinian people. He had the moral authority to impose order, and he enforced it by empathy and force, human wisdom and tricks, threats and seduction.</p>
<p>There are many people in Israel who hoped that without him the Palestinian society would break apart, that anarchy would destroy its very foundations, that armed factions would kill each other and the national leadership. They are certainly glad that Arafat is dead and pray for the failure of Mahmoud Abbas.</p>
<p>Arafat assured me once that we would both see peace in our lifetime. He was prevented from seeing the day. He who caused this – whoever he is – has sinned not only against the Palestinian people, but also against peace, and therefore against Israel.</p>
<p>An Odd Birthday Party</p>
<p>Yesterday, on the eve of my 82nd birthday, I had a very unusual party. Emotions ran high, tears flowed as never before, there was a long parade. The whole thing took place in a West Bank village called Bil’in.</p>
<p>True, the tears were caused by gas. Emotion ran high because we were viciously attacked by the Border Police. The parade was in protest at the Separation Fence, which cuts off most of the land of the village in order to enlarge the huge Modi’in Ilit settlement.</p>
<p>For months now, Israeli peace activists have joined the villagers every Friday in a protest march to the site of the fence, turning Bil’in into a symbol of non-violent resistance. The site has already been leveled, but the fence itself has not yet been built in this sector. Last week’s demonstration was attacked by the army with special brutality, so we decided to come back in force this week.</p>
<p>There were more than 200 of us – protesters from all over the country, belonging to various peace movements. Before setting off, we had already heard on the radio that the village had been invaded at daybreak, that a curfew had been imposed and that violent clashes were taking place. Since all the regular routes into the village had been blocked, we had to approach from an unexpected direction.</p>
<p>Leaving our buses on the edge of the settlement, we started on our way through a typical Palestinian landscape – steep hills covered with slippery rocks of all sizes, olive trees, thick dry brush and thorns. The temperature had climbed to 30 degrees in the shade, but there was no shade in sight. I didn’t like walking there when I was a soldier, and now, 57 years later, I like it even less.</p>
<p>For two endless hours we climbed up and down, slipping now and again, helping each other. We were a motley lot – youngsters of both sexes, elderly people and everything in between. When I was almost at the end of my tether, I reached the site of the fence, a bright, long wound winding like a snake through the valley. Rachel, no spring chicken either, had the eerie experience of her legs just refusing to take orders from her brain. She was unable to move. But eventually she made it, too.</p>
<p>The first contingent crossed the ribbon and climbed the next hill towards the village, where they were surrounded by the Border Police in front of the mosque. I and the rear contingent were stopped at the site of the fence by soldiers and policemen, who reminded us that we were guilty of entering a “closed military area”. Using threats and enticement, and noticing our pitiful state after the strenuous march over the rocks, they offered to convey us back to the Green Line in their armored vehicle, granting us the status of “detained”. Except for a few who were close to fainting, we refused.</p>
<p>Life is full of surprises. Suddenly an army jeep drove up and offered us ice-cold water. Since we were all by now in various stages of dehydration, we accepted. (I imagined a soldier offering a girl a cup of cold water, asking “with or without gas?”)</p>
<p>Thus fortified, we dispersed among the olive trees and started to walk towards the village. It was a very steep climb over the rocks, worse even than before. Half way up, I was overtaken by two young army officers. “Wouldn’t you consider coming back with us?” they enquired politely. I declined with equal civility. And then the incredible happened: They bade me farewell and disappeared.</p>
<p>I climbed on, reaching the village just when I felt that I could not take one more step. Approaching the mosque, I was met by the pungent smell of tear gas. I already had half an onion in my hand – for some reason, onions, which generally cause people to shed tears, have an uncanny interaction with tear gas, making the gas almost bearable. I had one clutched in my hand throughout the day.</p>
<p>Our contingent was welcomed with much enthusiasm by our comrades who had already reached the mosque, as well as by the villagers. The scene resembled a battlefield – armored jeeps were racing around, the regular percussion of stun grenades and tear gas canisters was a background music, hardly noticed, and from time to time a barrage of gas drove us into the adjoining courtyards.</p>
<p>How to proceed? We had reached the village against all odds, we had demonstrated our solidarity, the radio had announced the events every hour. However, we decided that the job was not complete. We had come to march to the fence together with the villagers, and we wanted to prove that even the brutal occupation of the village would not prevent this. So we marched out again, back down the way we had come. Curiously enough, the site of the fence was abandoned. We marched along it for a few hundred yards and then we climbed again towards the village, slipping on the same rocks we had already cursed before.</p>
<p>If we thought that that was it, we were wrong. While we were waiting in front of the mosque for transportation by Palestinian vehicles, there suddenly roared up a long column of armored jeeps, which deployed around us. Soldiers sprang out, waving their guns and shooting gas in all directions. It was an unprovoked and quite unnecessary show of force which was, of course, met with a hail of stones from the village youth.</p>
<p>Eventually we got out of there, conveyed by Palestinian drivers over interior roads, and reached our buses. There I regretted only one thing: the day before I had bought some bottles of wine, to celebrate my birthday in the bus on the way back. Hearing the news in the morning and expecting violence, I thought this was no appropriate occasion for such a celebration. However, I was wrong. The activists, dead tired but high-spirited after having accomplished the mission, seemed quite ready to celebrate, but the wine had been left at home.</p>
<p>Now I am faced with the task of drinking eight bottles of French Merlot on my own.</p>
<p>URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is one of the writers featured in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156584789X/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Other Israel: Voices of Dissent and Refusal</a>. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s hot new book <a href="" type="internal">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Who Murdered Arafat? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/09/13/who-murdered-arafat/ | 2005-09-13 | 4 |
<p>President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor next month to 24 soldiers whose heroism was overlooked because of their backgrounds, the Army said Friday.</p>
<p>The March 18 ceremony will bestow the nation's highest military honor on 24 soldiers — most of them Latino or Jewish — who received the Distinguished Service Cross. They were identified during a congressionally mandated review of overlooked heroes for possible upgrade to the Medal of Honor.</p>
<p>Three of the recipients are still alive:</p>
<p>Of the 21 soldiers receiving their awards posthumously, five fought in Vietnam War, nine in Korea and seven in World War II.</p>
<p>The soldiers, known collectively as the Valor 24, <a href="http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/valor24/" type="external">are remembered in an extensive section of the Army's website</a>.</p>
<p>— M. Alex Johnson</p> | 24 Overlooked Soldiers to Receive Medal of Honor | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/24-overlooked-soldiers-receive-medal-honor-n36061 | 2014-02-22 | 3 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">BP</a> continues to <a href="" type="internal">defy a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency</a> to find a less toxic alternative for the chemicals the company is using to disperse oil in the Gulf. And despite a <a href="http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/bp-hayward-dhs-epa.pdf" type="external">separate order</a> from EPA and the Department of Homeland Security to make its operations more transparent, BP is still keeping crucial information about its activities in the Gulf under wraps.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants/5-21bp-response.pdf" type="external">BP sent a letter to the EPA</a> Thursday saying that it was unable to find a replacement dispersant. The company redacts a number of critical pieces of data, which it claims are “confidential business information.” An excerpt:</p>
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<p>The EPA released a statement on Saturday saying that the agency it is working to get more information released:</p>
<p>BP and several of the dispersant manufacturers have claimed some sections of BP’s response contain confidential business information (CBI). By law, CBI cannot be immediately made public except with the company’s permission. EPA challenged these companies to make more information public and, as a result, several portions of the letter can now be made public. EPA is currently evaluating all legal options to ensure that the remaining redacted information is released to the public. EPA continues to strongly urge these companies to voluntarily make this information public so Americans can get a full picture of the potential environmental impact of these alternative dispersants.</p>
<p>I’ve asked EPA just how much the agency can do to force BP’s hand on disclosure and moving to a less toxic dispersant option. I’ll update as more information is available.</p> | BP Hiding Critical Dispersant Data | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/bp-hiding-critical-dispersant-data/ | 2010-05-24 | 4 |
<p>Truthdig's Robert Scheer appeared on "Democracy Now!" on Thursday to tell host Amy Goodman who exactly sent the U.S. into financial dire straits and to recommend some changes that could put the country on a better track. Here are some hints: One culpable party rhymes with "Shmoldman Shmacks," and another is at the top of President Obama's economic team.</p>
<p>Click <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/19/the_great_american_stickup_veteran_journalist" type="external">here</a> to see the video on the "Democracy Now!" site.</p> | Amy Goodman and Robert Scheer: Should Geithner Step Down? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/amy-goodman-and-robert-scheer-should-geithner-step-down/ | 2009-03-20 | 4 |
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<p>Article created by <a href="http://www.tcf.org" type="external">The Century Foundation</a>.</p>
<p>Last Saturday, in his weekly radio broadcast, President Bush proposed making health savings accounts (HSAs) “more available, more affordable, and more portable.” He is widely expected to call for expanding access to these accounts, which resemble individual retirement accounts for health care, in next week’s State of the Union address.</p>
<p>The predecessors of these accounts, such as medical savings accounts, made very little impact on the health insurance marketplace. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which established the Medicare drug benefit, created HSAs and offered substantial tax incentives for electing to use them. Individuals who join a health insurance plan with a high deductible ($1,000 for a single person and $2,000 for families) may establish an HSA in which contributions (up to a limit) may be deducted from federal taxes and withdrawn tax-free to pay for qualified medical services.</p>
<p>Proponents of HSAs claim that they will lower the numbers of uninsured, persuade employers to retain insurance coverage, empower individuals by giving them a choice in how to spend their health care dollar, and encourage providers to compete on price and quality as a true market for medical services evolves.</p>
<p>Many health care analysts fear that widespread acceptance of HSAs will separate the wealthy and healthy from the sick in insurance pools and drive up premiums and out-of-pocket health costs for the latter. They worry that individuals who face higher out-of-pocket spending, within their HSA or outside it, will be unable to distinguish accurately between care they need and care that they don’t, with bad consequences for health. They also doubt that HSAs will have a major impact on overall health costs or on the number of uninsured.</p>
<p>For instance, because a relatively small percentage of the population incurs most of the national health care costs (about one quarter of Americans account for roughly 80 percent of total spending each year), most of the spending presumably will be above the deductible. Under the current framework, there is also an incentive for the holder of an HSA to time any elective services in a year when the deductible has already been reached, or to spend more on health care of marginal value if he anticipates that the deductible will be reached.</p>
<p>Real evidence on the impact of HSAs is skimpy at best. Only about 8 percent of Americans are enrolled in an existing health plan with a high deductible and only about 2.5 million have health savings accounts or their equivalent. The number of insurers and employers offering such plans is expected to rise substantially in 2006 because Treasury guidelines for their use have been clarified. As Beth Fuchs and Julia James point out in their exceptionally clear and comprehensive survey, “ <a href="http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_bp/BP_HSAs_04-11-05.pdf" type="external">Health Savings Accounts: The Fundamentals</a>” (National Health Policy Forum, April 2005), while insurers and employers are eager to offer HSAs, the demand for them is much less clear. According to a recent survey of working-age adults, two-thirds of respondents preferred employer-chosen plans to health savings accounts.</p>
<p>Whatever their theoretical pros and cons, current interest in HSAs is being driven by employers who are searching for ways to reduce their health care spending. (If current trends persist the cost of health benefits for Fortune 500 companies will be greater than their profits by 2008.) HSAs are the centerpiece of so-called “consumer-directed” or “consumer-driven” care. This is premised on the questionable idea that cost-conscious individual buyers of health care are the key to reining in health care costs. While many of the features of consumer-directed care are unobjectionable, such as encouraging people to adopt healthier lifestyles and improving information on the quality and price of medical care, the potential risks of HSAs to low-income and sicker Americans shouldn’t be overlooked. Their widespread adoption would represent a potentially radical shift away from the basic insurance principle of healthier individuals subsidizing the sick through a common pool of premiums.</p>
<p>The current health care crisis—rapidly increasing U.S. spending on health care that doesn’t result in equal value, unsustainable costs for employers and public payers, and eroding coverage—is real. There are better ways to address it than by relying principally on individual Americans and market dogma to right the ship. These include new strategies for universal coverage and rewarding better performance from health care providers through incentives offered by public purchasers and health care plans.</p>
<p>We will say more about Health Savings Accounts when the specifics of the president’s plan are released. In the meantime, many of the most important recent books, reports, and articles on the subject are set out <a href="http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=IN&amp;pubid=%7B82B9E1DF-D0DC-49B9-BC1B-DE2988B90FFB%7D" type="external">here</a>, in the hope and expectation that they will be a useful resource for those who are joining the debate.</p>
<p /> | Health Savings Accounts: A Bad Idea Whose Time Has Come? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/01/health-savings-accounts-bad-idea-whose-time-has-come/ | 2006-01-26 | 4 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Religious-Objections-Protest/19529f7e170f40faa94fdb4b921e5051/68/0"&gt;Doug McSchooler&lt;/a&gt;/AP</p>
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<p>Miley Cyrus, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and former NBA star Charles Barkley are just a few of the high-profile figures condemning <a href="" type="internal">a law</a> signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday, which critics say will give businesses the option to discriminate against LGBT customers on religious grounds. Here’s a roundup of notable people and groups that have joined the rising backlash, including athletes, celebrities, leaders of Fortune 500 companies, and even city and state governments:</p>
<p>Athletes: A few days before Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, <a href="https://twitter.com/jasoncollins98/status/580145175726403584" type="external">Jason Collins</a>, the first openly gay active player in the NBA, tweeted his opposition, asking whether he would face discrimination when he visits Indiana for the NCAA’s Final Four. Barkley, who has urged the NCAA to pull the tournament out of the state, said in a statement, “Discrimination in any form is unacceptable to me.” The NCAA has indicated the games will go on as planned, but President Mark Emmert said the league was concerned about how the law might impact student-athletes, and that it would “closely examine” how the bill “might affect future events.” In a joint statement on Saturday, the NBA, WNBA, Indiana Pacers, and Indiana Fever <a href="http://www.nba.com/pacers/statement-nba-wnba-indiana-pacers-and-indiana-fever" type="external">said</a> they would “ensure that all fans, players and employees feel welcome.”</p>
<p>Corporate leaders: <a href="http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/03/25/business-leaders-address-letter-to-pence-urging-him-to-veto-religious-freedom-bill/70466808/" type="external">Salesforce</a> chief executive Marc Benioff tweeted on Thursday that the tech giant was canceling programs that would require customers or employees to travel to Indiana. The San Francisco-based company bought the Indianapolis-based ExactTarget for $2.5 billion last year. <a href="http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/03/28/719862/10126773/en/Angie-s-List-Withdraws-Campus-Expansion-Proposal-Due-to-Passage-of-Religious-Freedom-Bill.html" type="external">Angie’s List</a> is putting a campus expansion project in Indianapolis on hold, while <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/yelp-ceo-response-indiana-religious-freedom-law-116454.html" type="external">Yelp’s chief executive</a> Jeremy Stoppelman said it would be “unconscionable” for the company to maintain or expand “a significant business presence in any state that encouraged discrimination.” Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook wrote an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/pro-discrimination-religious-freedom-laws-are-dangerous-to-america/2015/03/29/bdb4ce9e-d66d-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html" type="external">op-ed</a> for the Washington Post opposing the legislation, saying that it “rationalize[s] injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear.” The chief executives of Gap and Levi’s have also since spoken out against the law in a <a href="http://blogs.gapinc.com/blog/2015/3/30/calling-on-retailers-to-raise-their-voices-against-discrimin.html" type="external">joint statement</a>.</p>
<p>Celebrities: <a href="https://twitter.com/aplusk/status/581254396719316993" type="external">Ashton Kutcher</a>, Star Trek actor <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/george-takei-boycott-indiana" type="external">George Takei</a>, Larry King, and columnist Dan Savage have all criticized the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, while Miley Cyrus went as far as <a href="http://instagram.com/p/0tCZH7QzAi/" type="external">calling Pence an “asshole”</a> on Instagram. The band <a href="https://twitter.com/Wilco/status/582641088869109760" type="external">Wilco</a> announced that they were canceling their May 7 show in Indianapolis because of the law, which they described as “thinly disguised legal discrimination.” Parks and Recreation actor <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/ron-swanson-joins-chorus-saying-no-to-indiana-actor-nick-offerman-cancels-indianapolis-show/" type="external">Nick Offerman</a> said Tuesday that he was scrapping a scheduled stop in the city as part of his 2015 summer tour.</p>
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<p>State and city governments: On Monday, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/30/connecticut-indiana-boycott-lgbt_n_6969684.html" type="external">Connecticut</a> became the first state to join the boycott, with Gov. Dan Malloy signing an executive order prohibiting the use of state funds for travel to Indiana. <a href="http://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/statement-gov-jay-inslee-indiana%E2%80%99s-new-%E2%80%9Creligious-freedom%E2%80%9D-law" type="external">Washington state</a> soon followed, with Gov. Jay Inslee banning administrative trips there. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/san-francisco-indiana-boycott_n_6957136.html" type="external">San Francisco</a>, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/seattle-mayor-prohibits-city-employees-traveling-indiana/story?id=29979438" type="external">Seattle</a>, and <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/03/portland_latest_to_join_boycot.html" type="external">Portland</a> have made similar pledges, while <a href="http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/30/ballard-council-address-rfra-today/70674176/" type="external">Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard</a> has called on Indiana’s general assembly to repeal the law or add protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.</p>
<p>Conventions: Gen Con, a gaming convention that brings an estimated $50 million to Indianapolis annually, has threatened to pull out of the state. “Legislation that could allow for refusal of service or discrimination against our attendees will have a direct negative impact on the state’s economy, and will factor into our decision-making on hosting the convention in the state of Indiana in future years,” chief executive Adrian Swartout wrote in <a href="http://files.gencon.com/Gen_Con_Statement_Regarding_SB101.pdf" type="external">a letter to Pence</a> before the law was passed. On Monday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees announced that it was pulling its women’s conference out of Indiana due to the “un-American law” that “sets Indiana and our nation back decades in the struggle for civil rights.” T <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/2015/03/26/disciples-look-pull-convention-indiana-religious-freedom-bill/" type="external">he Disciples of Christ</a>, which has been based in Indianapolis for nearly 100 years, is also weighing the option of moving its biennial convention elsewhere.</p>
<p /> | Here Are All the Athletes, Celebrities, and CEOs Joining the Indiana Backlash | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/indiana-backlash-pence-religious-freedom-lgbt/ | 2015-03-31 | 4 |
<p>It sure is curious how documents entering the Bush Machine exit with blank pages. It happened with Iraq’s 11,800-page dossier on weapons and now it has happened again with the report on prison abuse produced by Major General Antonio M. Taguba.</p>
<p>“The copy [the Senate Armed Services Committee] got after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s testimony on May 7 was a thick document with 106 annexes, and it was quickly arranged into separate binders. Only later did the committee stack up all the pages, compare them with a ream of 6,000 blank pages and decide that at least 2,000 pages were missing,” reports Time Magazine.</p>
<p>If indeed the Bushites filched the pages it would hardly be surprising or unusual. This is a criminal administration at ease with deception and thievery. Lies, dirty tricks, and theft are their modus operandi — from the 2000 election onward.</p>
<p>Obviously, the pages in question are not missing because they contain embarrassing nudie shots of the Bush twins. The pages are missing because there is ample evidence of Bush administration complicity in the torture of Iraqi detainees.</p>
<p>“Interviews and government documents obtained by The New Yorker and Newsweek show that the very highest levels of the Bush administration — including President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld — set up programs designed to extract more information out of detainees by circumventing international laws banning torture. Moreover, they were fully conscious that in doing so they were violating US and international law and leaving themselves open to prosecution for war crimes,” writes Alex Lefebvre.</p>
<p>Seymour Hersh’s article The Gray Zone reveals how the Bushites set up torture mills after September 11, 2001. From the very outset of the so-called war on terror the Bush administration and the Pentagon neocons have conspired to violate international law.</p>
<p>“If the government is not handed over to the Iraqis, if Osama Bin Laden is not arrested and if torture photos keep coming in, Bush will lose the election,” predicts Joseph Napolitan, a former political adviser to John F. Kennedy.</p>
<p>Napolitan would be correct under normal conditions. However, since Bush stole the 2000 election, conditions have been anything but normal. Is it outrageous to believe Bush will steal it again or contrive a situation where the American people believe they have no choice but to hand him the election? Bush’s only option may be to demand a rally.</p>
<p>“Even though Bush II will lose the popular vote in the US presidential election of 2004, his electoral college victory seems assured. With Republican party governors firmly in charge of Florida, California, Texas and New York, and supported by a whopping Bush campaign war chest approaching $200 million, dubious electronic voting schemes courtesy of Diebold, Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors (&lt;http://www.blackboxvoting.com&gt;), it seems certain that Bush will make it back to the Oval Office through the back door that is the Electoral College,” writes John Stanton. “And if not the Electoral College then by benefit of a rebel attack on US soil which kills thousands of Americans and leads to the suspension of the US Constitution.”</p>
<p>Stanton’s mention of a “rebel attack” on the US during or prior to the election is not the fictional meandering of a conspiracy theorist. Condi Rice talked about just such a possibility recently. “I think that we do have to take very seriously the thought that the terrorists might have learned, we hope, the wrong lesson from Spain,” Rice told Fox News Sunday. And then there is the “nightmare scenario” floated by the White House. “We assume an attack will happen leading up to the election,” a senior official told US News &amp; World Report.</p>
<p>David Rothkopf, former Clintonite, made similar observations. “Recently, I co-chaired a meeting hosted by CNBC of more than 200 senior business and government executives, many of whom are specialists in security and terrorism related issues,” Rothkopf wrote in a Washington Post op-ed piece. “Almost three-quarters of them said it was likely the United States would see a major terrorist strike before the end of 2004.”</p>
<p>Bush and Crew believe the Taguba report is little more than a troublesome public relations problem. It will not be allowed to get in the way of the neocon plan to attack the Arab Middle East and cripple Islam. Four more years will give the Pentagon neocons time to set up bases in Iraq — these “enduring camps” are in the process of construction (as Christine Spolar wrote the Chicago Tribune) — and devise pretexts to invade Syria and Iran.</p>
<p>“Pentagon hardliners are drawing up plans to invade Iran once Iraq and its oil are ‘liberated.’ They hope civil war will erupt in Iran, which is riven by bitterly hostile factions, after which a &lt;pro-U.S&gt;. regime will take power. If this does not occur, then Iraq-based U.S. forces will be ideally positioned to attack Iran. Or, they could just as well move west and invade Syria, another of Israel’s most bitter enemies,” Eric Margolis wrote in November, 2002. “Israel’s Likudniks thirst for revenge against Syria — and also Iran — for supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, which drove Israeli forces from Lebanon.”</p>
<p>None of this should be particularly surprising. It’s all spelled out in A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm, written by Richard Perle, James Colbert, Charles Fairbanks, Douglas Feith, Robert Loewenberg, Jonathan Torop, David Wurmser and Meyrav Wurmser way back in 1996 for then-incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It provides an early window into some of the current administration’s thinking. For one, it predicted that toppling the Hussein regime could be the beginning of a larger rollback of autocratic, terrorist-supporting states such as Syria and Iran, blamed for supporting Hezbollah guerrillas operating in southern Lebanon and accused of terrorism against Israel and the United States,” reported the Boston Globe last August.</p>
<p>But it’s not simply Hezbollah or the mullahs in Iran. It’s the whole neoliberal global game plan — or rather the neocon take on it — that’s at stake if Bush is shown the door in November.</p>
<p>Team Bush will do whatever it takes to get Dubya reinstalled in the White House, even if it means the installation process — some of us still refer to it as democracy — is circumvented entirely. Treason concerns them little.</p>
<p>As Joe Nichols writes in Asia Times Online, the central issues beyond Israeli dominance in the Middle East are “oil, the prospects for privatizing the region, derailing any possibilities for a common currency among Arab nations, the position of the dollar in petroleum markets and for the central reserves in Asia, and the balance of trade between the US and the nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.” These issues are so important to our rulers they will not allow an election to get in the way.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Pentagon rolled out glib excuses for the crucial pages missing from the Taguba report. “If there is some shortfall in what was provided, it was an oversight,” explained Pentagon spokesman Larry Dirita.</p>
<p>Sure it was, Larry. And so was the bogus report that Saddam had acquired uranium from Niger, a crudely fabricated lie Bush pawned off on the United Nations and the world in order to invade Iraq and kill 10,000 innocent civilians. Bush has amassed a pile of lies as of yet unanswered for — the aluminum tubes, the WMD trailers, the fictious links between al-Qaeda and Saddam, misrepresentations concerning weapons inspections and the International Atomic Energy report alleging that Iraq was “six months away” from developing a nuclear weapon. All clear-cut lies. Is there any reason to believe the curious disappearance of pages from the Taguba will be any different? Is it foolish to believe the election is so hallowed Karl Rove and his dirty tricksters will not subvert it, especially now that Bush is running neck and neck with that other neolib, John Kerry?</p>
<p>Is it possible the Bush neocons in the Pentagon will stage a terrorist attack as the election approaches, or take advantage of a terrorist “event” in order to steal the election?</p>
<p>Considering the pathological lies and dirty tricks of this administration — lies and dirty tricks resulting in war crimes and arrogant disregard for international law — a “nightmare scenario” cannot be ruled out.</p>
<p>In fact, as continuous scandals and evidence of misdeeds pile up on Bush’s doorstep — and as an inevitable result he falls behind in the polls — the American people should expect nothing less than dirty tricks.</p>
<p>Question is, will they sheepishly accept it?</p>
<p>Or will enough finally be enough?</p>
<p>KURT NIMMO is a photographer and multimedia developer in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Visit his excellent no holds barred blog at <a href="http://www.kurtnimmo.com/" type="external">www.kurtnimmo.com/blogger.html</a>. Nimmo is a contributor to Cockburn and St. Clair’s, <a href="" type="internal">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>. A collection of his essays for CounterPunch, <a href="" type="internal">Another Day in the Empire</a>, is now available from Dandelion Books.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | More Dirty Tricks in TortureGate | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/05/24/more-dirty-tricks-in-torturegate/ | 2004-05-24 | 4 |
<p>In his most recent editorial, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times discusses the great progress he sees in Iraq, and attributes it to President George Bush’s troop ‘surge’ of eighteen months ago. A look at just a few of Mr. Friedman’s bizarre comments causes one to wonder why he is writing for the Times and not for Mr. Bush himself.</p>
<p>“One of the first things I realized when visiting Iraq after the U.S. invasion was that the very fact that Iraqis did not liberate themselves, but had to be liberated by Americans, was a source of humiliation to them. It’s one reason they never threw flowers.”</p>
<p>So Mr. Friedman apparently buys into Mr. Bush’s definition of liberation. Let’s see now: following the invasion of a sovereign nation, one sets about to kill approximately 1,000,000 of its men, women and children, and drives an estimated 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 from their homes, many of them from the country. These ‘liberators’ deprive the remaining citizens of basic services such as electricity and potable water, and storm into their homes in the middle of the night. They then ransack those homes looking for who knows what, and drag any male over the age of twelve out into the darkness and take them to who knows where, as their anguished mothers, sisters and wives scream in despair.</p>
<p>As families are driving to perfectly legitimate destinations they encounter ‘checkpoints,’ where foreign soldiers gesture to them, shout unintelligible words and then shoot them all. This, to Mr. Friedman, apparently represents liberation. Yet one questions whether or not it was their humiliation at being thus liberated that caused them to leave their flowers in their gardens, rather than strewing them beneath the feet of such liberators. Perhaps they had better uses for their flowers: putting them on the coffins and graves of their ‘liberator’s’ victims.</p>
<p>“That also helps explain why Iraqis initially never took ownership of their governing institutions, like the Coalition Provisional Authority, or C.P.A. They never fought for it. It was handed to them. People have to fight and win their own freedom, and that’s what gives their institutions legitimacy.”</p>
<p>Well now; is this not most interesting? The Iraqis never ‘took ownership’ of their own government, not because it was forced upon them by an invading and occupying army that had, and continues to have, little knowledge of their culture and even less interest in learning anything about it. They did not ‘take ownership’ of a government run by a foreign nation that bombed their hospitals but protected their oil fields during the initial invasion. No, a people must liberate themselves, says Mr. Friedman, in order for their government to have legitimacy in the eyes of the common citizen.</p>
<p>But now, he says, circumstances in Iraq are different; the U.S. troop surge has enabled the Sunnis to ‘liberate’ themselves from Al-Qaeda, and the Shiite ‘mainstream,’ represented by the U.S. puppet Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, to ‘liberate’ certain areas from pro-Iranian death squads. So it appears, at least to Mr. Friedman, that things are going well in Iraq.</p>
<p>Does it not occur to Mr. Friedman that by his own logic, the Iraqi people must continue to oppose U.S. oppression? This is what they must now do, and have needed to do for over five years. If “people have to fight and win their own freedom” in order to gain governmental legitimacy, obviously U.S.-style democracy (capitalism plus elections financed by the corporations that thrive on that capitalism and which will do whatever is necessary to preserve it) must be opposed; the Iraqi people must fight for their liberation from the U.S. Mr. Friedman’s symbolic ideas of liberation won’t work.</p>
<p>And the Iraqi people have chosen to continue to fight. One week before Mr. Friedman published his Pollyannaish view of Iraq, fifty-one people died in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad when explosives hidden in a mini-bus were detonated, sending tensions between the Shiites and Sunnis spiraling once again. Since this happened in a neighborhood supposedly protected by pro-American forces it is not sitting well with many of the grieving and angry citizens there. This will surely cause many to demand a return of the Mahdi Army to recommence its protection of Shiite neighborhoods. This militia is led by Moktada al-Sadr, no friend or fan of the U.S. occupation.</p>
<p>Three days before Mr. Friedman’s article, a suicide bomber killed fifteen people outside a government complex. Perhaps the woman who strapped the bombs to her body and hid them beneath her clothing was unaware of the new ‘liberation’ that seems to please Mr. Friedman so much.</p>
<p>But, cautions Mr. Friedman, all is not yet well; we must not too soon anticipate those flowers finally flying through the air to be trod on by the boots of ‘liberating’ soldiers. No, says he, ‘civil war could still be in Iraq’s future.’</p>
<p>In Iraq’s future? When the citizens of that nation have been united in nothing for five years except their hatred for the U.S.; when millions die and are maimed because of age old tensions between the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis that were held in check before being released by the U.S. invasion; when a trip to the marketplace is fraught with mortal danger; when once-integrated neighborhoods have became so dangerous for one group that that population’s members have had to flee for their lives; when the Prime Minister is unable to pass any meaningful legislation, much less do anything to stop the violence that wracks the nation he supposedly governs, it must be recognized that Iraq in its current state fits the definition of civil war.</p>
<p>Perhaps Mr. Friedman simply wants to justify his support for the invasion and, like Arizona Senator and GOP presidential candidate John McCain, will attempt to skew reality to fit his particular point of view. But the fact remains that the Iraqi people are far worse off today under U.S. oppression than they ever were under their previous murderous dictator, Saddam Hussein, and things were no picnic for them during his reign. Despite Mr. Friedman’s interpretation of a new liberation (he concedes that the U.S. invasion for ‘liberation’ five&#160; years ago “didn’t count”), the Iraqi people will not be truly liberated until such time as there are no more foreign soldiers terrorizing them, directed by a greedy, money-lustful government that covets their oil. Only when they are allowed to find their own system of government, or possibly multiple governments, will they be truly liberated. This cannot and will not happen while U.S. soldiers remain in Iraq.</p>
<p>ROBERT FANTINA is author of ‘ <a href="" type="internal">Desertion and the American Soldier: 1776–2006.</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Iraq and the New York Times | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/06/28/iraq-and-the-new-york-times/ | 2008-06-28 | 4 |
<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former Michigan middle school band teacher acquitted in 2002 of sexual conduct involving a student has pleaded guilty in a separate case to attempting to engage a minor for prostitution.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2018/01/17/former-lansing-band-teacher-jeff-howenstine-pleads-sex-crime/1040108001/" type="external">Lansing State Journal</a> reports that 60-year-old Jeffrey Howenstine entered the plea Wednesday in an agreement with prosecutors to drop charges including engaging the services of a minor for prostitution. He faces up to 2½ years in prison when sentenced Feb. 21</p>
<p>The former Lansing teacher was charged last year related to a sex-trafficking ring that also ensnared the area’s former prosecutor, Stuart Dunnings III. Dunnings served 10 months in jail after pleading guilty to misconduct and solicitation.</p>
<p>Howenstine was acquitted in 2002 after being charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for alleged incidents involving a 14-year-old girl.</p>
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<p>Information from: Lansing State Journal, <a href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com" type="external">http://www.lansingstatejournal.com</a></p>
<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former Michigan middle school band teacher acquitted in 2002 of sexual conduct involving a student has pleaded guilty in a separate case to attempting to engage a minor for prostitution.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2018/01/17/former-lansing-band-teacher-jeff-howenstine-pleads-sex-crime/1040108001/" type="external">Lansing State Journal</a> reports that 60-year-old Jeffrey Howenstine entered the plea Wednesday in an agreement with prosecutors to drop charges including engaging the services of a minor for prostitution. He faces up to 2½ years in prison when sentenced Feb. 21</p>
<p>The former Lansing teacher was charged last year related to a sex-trafficking ring that also ensnared the area’s former prosecutor, Stuart Dunnings III. Dunnings served 10 months in jail after pleading guilty to misconduct and solicitation.</p>
<p>Howenstine was acquitted in 2002 after being charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for alleged incidents involving a 14-year-old girl.</p>
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<p>Information from: Lansing State Journal, <a href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com" type="external">http://www.lansingstatejournal.com</a></p> | Ex-Michigan teacher enters plea deal in prostitution case | false | https://apnews.com/4e009a6532f94694a373da3bd533fc78 | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
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<p>Dr. Susan Wood, director of the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/politics/AP-Morning-After-Pill.html?hp&amp;ex=1125547200&amp;en=ac7fff1fa8316aec&amp;ei=5094&amp;partner=homepage" type="external">resigned</a> today in protest of the agency’s refusal to permit over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception. Last week, the FDA indefinitely postponed its decision over the matter, saying it wasn’t sure about the safety of over-the-counter use by adolescents. In 2003, however, the FDA’s own scientists declared the contraceptive drug, Plan B, safe for teenage girls. What short memories these bureaucrats have.</p>
<p>Since the Bush administration took office, it has repeatedly ignored its own scientists about global warming and pollution, and it was to be expected that FDA scientists would be ignored in the service of fake “pro-life” rhetoric. All over the nation, pharmacists refuse to fill prescriptions for morning-after pills, citing “the taking of a life” as the reason, when–if they really did graduate from pharmacy school–they know good and well that that is an out-and-out lie, and has nothing to do with the actual pharmaceutical process.</p>
<p>Or perhaps they, too, have really bad memories.</p>
<p>Controlling women’s and girls’ reproductive choices–controlling their bodies–has always been the first line of attack in the war against women. Determining who can have an abortion and why, who can use what kind of contraception, and <a href="http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.asp?id=278" type="external">what type of sexual assault is socially acceptable</a>, is the most primitive aspect of rendering women powerless, and it is always done in the name of religion.</p>
<p>Women and girls who believe that their right to make decisions about their own body is guaranteed haven’t been paying attention. It is a right they have already lost.</p>
<p /> | Director of FDA’s Office of Women’s Health resigns | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/09/director-fdas-office-womens-health-resigns/ | 2005-09-01 | 4 |
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<p>Water Street Plaza, which contains Coyote Cafe, is one of two properties in downtown Santa Fe headed for auction before the end of the year. (Journal file)</p>
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<p>Two more commercial properties in downtown Santa Fe are going up for auction, a sign of some last gasps of commercial struggle that have hit the town since the Great Recession.</p>
<p>Water Street Plaza, which hosts the long-time, well-known Coyote Cafe, is listed on Auction.com, as is the Lincoln Place Shopping Center, which has had ongoing turnover of tenants and a series of restaurants on the second story in spaces that long have been vacant.</p>
<p>Both properties are lender-owned and being sold by LNR Property LLC, an international real estate investment, finance, management and development company, according to its website.</p>
<p>That same company engineered the August auction for $7.3 million of Sanbusco Market, an 88,712-square-foot facility that will be the new home of the New Mexico School for the Arts, according to Patti Peixotto with Sperry Van Ness, the real estate company representing the Water Street property.</p>
<p>She said it isn't that unusual for this many properties to be hitting the market in such a short time frame, even for as small an area as downtown Santa Fe. Depending on when owners acquired and financed their properties, many have been "trying to stay afloat for the last seven or eight years," she said. "It's been a difficult time in Santa Fe and anywhere."</p>
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<p>Peixotto said New Mexico was a step behind the national trend in properties ending up back in the hands of financiers. "We didn't start seeing it until last year," she said. "I think our people held on as long as they could."</p>
<p>Water Street Plaza, 126-138 Water St., built in 1985, includes 14,721 square feet and is 89 percent occupied, most of it by the Coyote Cafe, which recently signed a new 10-year lease, Peixotto said, adding that the tenants' leases will stay in place with this sale.</p>
<p>"I think there are going to be a lot of interested parties," Peixotto said. The starting bid is listed at $1.2 million, with the auction to take place online Nov. 30-Dec. 2.</p>
<p>Lincoln Place Shopping Center, at 130 Lincoln Ave., is 67.6 percent occupied and includes 40,850 square feet. Starting bid is set at $2 million, with the auction taking place Dec. 14-16.</p>
<p>Built in 1950, one of its major tenants, clothing store J. Crew, left the premises in January. Businesses still shown at the location from an online search include C.G. Higgins Confections, Blue Rain Gallery, and True West, a business selling Native American goods.</p> | Two downtown Santa Fe properties face the auctioneer's gavel | false | https://abqjournal.com/670759/two-downtown-santa-fe-properties-face-the-auctioneers-gavel.html | 2 |
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<p>President&#160;Trump&#160;on Friday broke a record that was previously held by Ronald Reagan. He did so by being the first sitting U.S. president since Reagan to speak at the&#160;National Rifle Association's annual convention.</p>
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<p>Mr. Trump pledged to come through for gun-rights activists like they did for him last year. In his statement, President Trump emphasized that the NRA came through for him, and that he was going to come through for the activists.</p>
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<p>President Trump was speaking at the&#160;NRA&#160;lobbying arm's 2017 Leadership Forum where he reassured the Association that the eight-year assault on their Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end.</p>
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<p>The NRA gun-rights group endorsed&#160;Mr. Trump&#160;at its convention last May in Louisville, Kentucky, and was one of his biggest outside boosters in the 2016 presidential campaign.</p>
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<p>President Trump reassured the members of the Association that they're his friends, adding that he going to have their back as he approaches the 100th day of his administration. Mr. Trump also fondly recalled Election Night 2016 and some of the states he won.</p>
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<p>Mr. Trump said that the November 8th was a great evening he pointed out that Republicans have a tremendous disadvantage in the Electoral College system.</p>
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<p>President Trump was scheduled to speak later in the day at a reception on behalf of Karen Handel, the Republican candidate running to fill Georgia's Atlanta-area 6th congressional district seat formerly held by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.</p>
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<p>Ms. Handel got a shout out in Trump's speech and reminded attendees that a runoff election will take place on June 20. He emphasized that Handel is totally for the&#160;NRA&#160;and that she's totally for the Second Amendment, adding that people should get out and vote for her. Democrat Jon Ossoff will face Ms. Handel in the race.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/28/trump-nra-crowd-you-came-through-me/" type="external">washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/28/trump-nra-crowd-you-came-through-me</a></p> | Trump Vows Never to Infringe on 2nd Amendment: "Never Ever" | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/2587-Trump-Vows-Never-to-Infringe-on-2nd-Amendment-Never-Ever | 2017-04-28 | 0 |
<p>By Molly T. Marshall</p>
<p>Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has created quite a stir with her national best seller <a href="file:///C:UsersbobAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary%20Internet%20FilesContent.OutlookDRMO08PVLean%20In:%20Women,%20Work,%20and%20the%20Will%20to%20Lead" type="external">Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead</a>. She rightly applauds the social change over the past 50 years since the release of Betty Friedan’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Feminine-Mystique-Betty-Friedan/dp/0393322572" type="external">The Feminine Mystique</a> in 1963, but argues there is more to do in establishing full equality for women in the workforce and at home.</p>
<p>Many dismiss her jeremiad about women’s leadership as unrealistic. After all, she does have unlimited resources for childcare, a husband who parents equally and an executive position that allows her to set her own hours. All that notwithstanding, she offers cogent and pragmatic advice for women as they craft the lives they want. She knows that “social gains are never handed out. They must be seized.”</p>
<p>That is true, whether in the corporate world, the academy or the church. I remember how I got one of my first opportunities to preach. I was a first year M.Div. student at Southern Seminary in 1973, and I overheard a fellow student inviting his friend to preach for him at his ABC church in southern Indiana.</p>
<p>I pretended he was inviting me, and quickly whirled around to tell him that I would love to fill his pulpit. Startled, yet with good humor, he said “why not?” He became a proponent of women in ministry and opened many doors of opportunity over the years.</p>
<p>Sandberg is most concerned by what she terms “the ambition gap.” Society rewards men for being ambitious; however, ambitious women pay a social penalty, even in 2013. Rather than allowing patriarchal conventions to discourage, she advises women to “lean in” to their vocational aspirations and claim their places at the table.</p>
<p>Baptists should be the chief advocates for the ambition kindled by the Spirit of God. We privilege the fragile freedom that allows religious liberty for all, which surely includes the right of women to follow their calling.</p>
<p>Tonight Baptist Women in Ministry will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Founded in Louisville, Ky., in 1983 by 33 “mothers” of the movement, this organization has been essential in educating and advocating for women for women as “full partners in Christ’s service,” to borrow Jane Parker Huber’s words. I give thanks for BWIM, which has transformed the landscape for so many women and the churches they serve.</p>
<p>Yet we know that many churches have yet to consider seriously the candidacy of a woman to be their pastor. Fear of women’s spiritual authority, usually unexamined and unspoken, prevents churches from calling the creative leadership it needs. How the church treats women and sexual and ethnic minorities is the litmus test for many young adults. They do not want to participate in structures that are not fully egalitarian.</p>
<p>Each year I observe how much easier it is for graduating men to land in ministry positions than their graduating sisters, who often outstripped them in seminary studies. Many of these women will be “underemployed,” betraying their arduous investment in ministry preparation through theological education.</p>
<p>It is imperative that ministry colleagues — women and men — provide “demonstration plots” for women to prove their competence. Several ABC and CBF and NBC congregations in Kansas City are known for their mentoring of women. These teaching churches welcome students as interns and help hone ministry practice. It is a transformative initiative, and these churches — and the women they help prepare — are the better for it.</p>
<p>CBF is currently experiencing a “game change” as it has called a woman to lead this branch of the Baptist family tree. Unthinkable only a few short years ago, this clear acknowledgment of the calling and giftedness of women is already re-branding our identity on the ecclesial landscape.</p>
<p>As Baptist women and men lean in together, we will become a more graceful instrument of the Spirit of God. Our witness to the agenda of the Reign of God will be more robust as we create space for the full participation of all.</p> | Leaning in together | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/leaning-in-together-2/ | 3 |
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<p>While many Americans stop each Memorial Day to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, others not quite as interested in honoring those contributions to America's freedom instead think about barbeques, getting drunk or having a long weekend.</p>
<p>The Democratic National Committee paused to remember the day by tweeting a photo of President Obama - the commander-in-chief - eating ice cream.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, others reflect upon the loss that many families are feeling this Memorial Day - and every day.</p>
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<p>It was only after being ridiculed on social media did the DNC tweet a graphic honoring the fallen.</p>
<p>But, of course, it had to include our Dear Leader.</p>
<p /> | DNC tweets photo of Obama eating ice cream for Memorial Day | true | http://theamericanmirror.com/dnc-tweets-photo-of-obama-eating-ice-cream-for-memorial-day/ | 2015-05-24 | 0 |
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<p>In the past, though, the place might even have attracted those seeking spaghetti or craving chicken.</p>
<p>The family running El Camino Dining Room today includes, from left, Amanda Chavez, her mom Lydia Sakelaris, and her son, Gilbert Chavez. (Greg Sorber/Journal)</p>
<p>As one of the metro’s longest-running restaurants, El Camino Dining Room has weathered some change – including at the top. Amanda Chavez, a current owner, said she’s not sure exactly how many predecessors she’s had at the 4th Street eatery that Clyde Tyler built in 1950.</p>
<p>But the restaurant keeps on going, regardless of who is in charge, and the owners say the longevity is cause for celebration. El Camino Dining Room, 6800 4th NW, will commemorate 66 years on what was the original Route 66 with music, a car show and Coats for Kids fundraiser today.</p>
<p>Chavez, who bought El Camino in 2003 with husband Gilbert and her mother, Lydia Sakelaris, said they’ve upgraded electrical systems, kitchen equipment and remodeled the entryway since they took over, but the 2,700-square-foot structure remains in great shape.</p>
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<p>“We’re really, really lucky that the previous owners left it the way it was; they didn’t paint the vigas, they didn’t change it,” she said. “It had so much charm. A lot of people walk in not really expecting it.”</p>
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<p /> | Serving up a celebration | false | https://abqjournal.com/882816/celebration-3.html | 2 |
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<p>Most people would say cure the incurable or eradicate hunger. One Belen native has taken a different tack – choosing to focus on an issue that affects us all but is rarely thought about.</p>
<p>When he was still at Belen High School, Brad Cordova was in a severe car crash caused by a distracted driver.</p>
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<p>“That kind of awoke me. It’s a huge problem and not a lot of people are tackling it,” Cordova, now 27, said during a phone interview from Boston, the city he now calls home.</p>
<p>While at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, things fell into place and he decided to use technology to make the roads safer.</p>
<p>That has earned him a place on Forbes magazine’s 2017 “30 Under 30” list, which highlights 600 millennials in 20 industries determined to be the innovators and disrupters we need to keep an eye on.</p>
<p>Forbes has been compiling this list since 2012 and its “30 Under 30” community includes 4,000 members, from the United States to Europe to Asia.</p>
<p>Those previously named to the list include Mark Zuckerberg, Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel, SNL’s Kate McKinnon, Chance the Rapper and YouTube phenom Michelle Phan.</p>
<p>Fortuitous meeting</p>
<p>While at MIT, Cordova needed to find an elective to balance out his studies in machine learning, and an entrepreneurship class caught his eye. That’s where he met Joel Adelmann.</p>
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<p>“Both our dads are truck drivers and both our moms teach, so we had a lot in common,” Cordova said. “We were sharing crazy stories about our dads and the stuff that happened to them on the road.”</p>
<p>The two started looking at statistics and crash data and found it surprising.</p>
<p>“Every 15 seconds, someone is put in the hospital for a driving-related crash. The No. 1 cause of death for teens is driving,” he said. “We found that in the last 50 years, crashes have been decreasing because cars are being made safer, but in 2015 the number was rising and in 2016 … even bigger.</p>
<p>“We have a lot of evidence that it’s due to distracted (driving). You can see it, when you see that blue glow on people’s faces at night when they’re driving.”</p>
<p>Belen High School graduate Brad Cordova, co-creator of the safe-driving app TrueMotion, was named to Forbes magazine’s list of innovators for 2017.</p>
<p>Cordova didn’t necessarily want to start a company and abandon his academic pursuits, but he couldn’t ignore the other thing he and Adelmann had in common – their social mission.</p>
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<p>“We both grew up in a western country and it’s not like we chose to do that. We recognized that we unfairly won some kind of lottery with great parents and opportunities,” he said. “And we felt that everyone who won that should give back.”</p>
<p>So they took the plunge and founded TrueMotion, originally called Censio, to develop a product to end distracted driving.</p>
<p>“The mission of the company from the very first day was to empower people to be safer on the road while driving and to drive more affordably,” the 2007 Belen High School graduate said.</p>
<p>One product the company developed is an eponymous named app, which tracks your driving habits and gives you a safety score based on those habits.</p>
<p>Multiple applications</p>
<p>The TrueMotion app can do more than just tell you how safe you are on the road. It can be used to lower your insurance rates, Cordova said.</p>
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<p>“Historically, insurance companies have looked at your age and gender, your credit score. If you are a 22-year-old male, they are going to charge you X,” he said. “But you can have two 22-year-olds and one is safe while the other drives very dangerously. Replacing the old model with measuring how people drive is very challenging.”</p>
<p>The app, available on Android and iPhone, collects data from your smartphone and is able to automatically detect when you begin and end a trip, knows whether you are on a bus or a train, even if you are a passenger in a vehicle rather than the driver.</p>
<p>“Using AI and the sensor data smartphones already have, we can use them in machine learning to understand how people drive. Most people are about 85 percent very safe, which is a surprise,” he said.</p>
<p>Insurance companies can partner with TrueMotion so their customers can track their driving and possibly get discounts. For instance, Progressive already uses the app to collect data for 30 days and offers customers a discount based on the information.</p>
<p>TrueMotion, named a Best Place to Work by the Boston Business Journal in 2016, plans to release another app later this year that will allow users to win rewards, such as Amazon gift cards, for driving safely, Cordova said.</p>
<p>Belen memories</p>
<p>Cordova is on the East Coast now, but he hasn’t forgotten all that Belen has given him, he said.</p>
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<p>“I’ve seen things where Belen gets a bad rap. … In my personal experience, there are tons of amazing people there and that starts with my amazing parents, but maybe I’m biased,” he said.</p>
<p>“A lot of who I am today makes growing up in a small town very valuable.”</p>
<p>We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to [email protected].</p>
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<p /> | Belen native featured in Forbes magazine’s ’30 Under 30′ | false | https://abqjournal.com/943330/car-accident-helped-inspire-belen-high-grad.html | 2 |
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<p>Tony Hale hangs out with his comedic peers, Gavin Rossdale meets the Indianapolis Colts, and Emma Bunton puts the pedal to the metal. Plus, see more of this week’s best celebrity Twitter photos.</p>
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<p>“Bitchin witcho bitch ass!!!” wrote <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2013/05/07/rihanna-777-documentary-sheds-light-on-tour-leaves-out-some-details.html" type="external">Rihanna</a> about the selfie she <a href="http://twitter.com/rihanna/status/339447500412960768" type="external">tweeted</a> to her fans. RiRi posed by a windowsill with an empty wine glass and a cigarette lit between her fingers in this photo. Each of her albums, except for one, have hit the million-album-sales mark, including her latest, Unapologetic, as reported by <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1565445/rihanna-earns-sixth-million-selling-album" type="external">Billboard</a>.</p>
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<p>Always on the forefront of fashion, Alessandra Ambrosio donned a wide-brimmed fedora for this snapshot she <a href="http://twitter.com/AngelAlessandra/status/339369381484187648" type="external">tweeted</a>, revealing wardrobe racks full of clothes in the background at a photo shoot. The model was recently found at the <a href="/content/dailybeast/features/2013/05/cannes-film-festival-2013.html" type="external">Cannes film festival</a>, working at AmfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS gala to raise money for AIDS research.</p>
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<p>As the Spice Girls would say, “Spice up your life!” Emma Bunton, formerly known as Baby Spice, did just that as she and Kimberley Walsh of U.K. pop outfit Girls Aloud raced around the <a href="http://www.heart.co.uk/london/" type="external">Heart 106.2</a> London radio station on pink bikes in this <a href="http://twitter.com/EmmaBunton/status/339720007590219776" type="external">Twitter pic</a>. Bunton hosts the Heart Breakfast show on the dial.</p>
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<p>Kevin Hart is channeling his inner fashion diva. The comedian rocked a pair of canary yellow pants, pairing them with some stunner shades, in this <a href="http://twitter.com/KevinHart4real/status/339478453080432640" type="external">Twitter snapshot</a>. He captioned it, “It’s summer time bitches...Y'all ain’t ready for this ‘Yellow Pants’ life...” Hart seems to be in better spirits since his April arrest for a DUI, calling it a “wake-up call,” in a <a href="http://twitter.com/KevinHart4real/status/323517343147884544" type="external">tweet</a>.</p>
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<p>Mayday, Mayday! Gavin Rossdale caused a bit of a stir in Indianapolis at the annual May Day music festival run by local radio station X103. As the Bush frontman left the stage to mingle with the crowd during a performance, fans rushed in and mobbed him, and security guards had to escort the singer out. In this <a href="http://twitter.com/GavinRossdale/status/339482598550155264/photo/1" type="external">Twitter pic</a> he posted, he was in a much calmer state, posing with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.</p>
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<p>These divas look flawless! Carmen Electra posed with rapper <a href="http://www.azealiabanks.com/" type="external">Azealia Banks</a> in this photo she <a href="http://twitter.com/carmenelectra/status/339800319963836416/photo/1" type="external">tweeted</a> to fans. Banks performed at the upscale Life Ball charity event in Vienna, wearing a kitty-inspired furry number on stage.</p>
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<p>“All hands on!” <a href="http://twitter.com/msleamichele/status/339454197261033472/photo/1" type="external">tweeted</a> Lea Michele about this photo. It takes a village to raise a child and a team of great makeup artists and stylists to prep for a photo shoot. The star of Fox’s Glee got dolled up to shoot cover photos for her upcoming memoir, Brunette Ambition.</p>
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<p>Stars, they’re just like us! They also think Hugh Jackman’s a hunk! Oprah Winfrey ogled the X-Men star and gingerly touched his abs in this snapshot she <a href="http://twitter.com/Oprah/status/339456724832493568" type="external">tweeted</a>, captioning the photo, “Having lunch convo with hughjackman …omg those abs are Real!”</p>
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<p>Ladies, ladies, there’s enough of McLovin to go around! The <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650554/" type="external">Kick-Ass 2</a> super villain and Superbad star took a moment to lay on the grass, enjoying a trip to Ireland with makeup artist Maeve Showalter, in this snapshot he <a href="http://twitter.com/maeveshowalter/status/339439249147445249/photo/1" type="external">tweeted</a>.</p>
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<p>A scruffy and silver-haired Andy Cohen asked life’s deepest question in his <a href="http://twitter.com/BravoAndy/status/339450889267998720/photo/1" type="external">selfie</a>, captioning it with “Must I shave???”‏ The host of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live recently got into a Twitter spat with Anthony Bourdain of Bravo’s Top Chef, even dragging HBO’s Treme’s co-creator David Simon into the mix, on the fiery topic of shooting in Louisiana and the funding behind it, as reported by <a href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/77169/andy-cohen-and-anthony-bourdains-f-ing-tweet-war-drags-in-david-simon" type="external">Grantland</a>.</p>
<p /> | Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna, and More Celebrity Twitter Pictures (PHOTOS) | true | https://thedailybeast.com/oprah-winfrey-rihanna-and-more-celebrity-twitter-pictures-photos | 2018-10-05 | 4 |
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<p>Heinrich, now in his second term as the 1st Congressional District representative in the U.S. House, was backed by 50 percent of voters surveyed statewide Oct. 23-25.</p>
<p>Wilson, the former five-term representative of the 1st Congressional District, had support from 42 percent of voters in the survey.</p>
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<p>The new poll found a 3 percentage point gain for Wilson over the 39 percent who said they would vote for her in a Journal Poll conducted Oct. 9-11, which Heinrich led by 9 points.</p>
<p>Independent American Party candidate Jon Barrie totaled 3 percent in the new poll. Another 6 percent of voters remained undecided.</p>
<p>The margin of error for the full voter sample in the Oct 23-25 Journal Poll is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. The survey included likely voters for the Nov. 6 election and voters who said they cast ballots early. Early voting in New Mexico began Oct. 9.</p>
<p>The three candidates are aiming to replace U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who is retiring after 30 years.</p>
<p>Between the two Journal surveys this month, Heinrich’s margin over Wilson declined by 1 point to a lead of 8 percentage points.</p>
<p>However, the Democrat reached the 50 percent support level for the first time in a Journal survey.</p>
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<p>For Wilson to overtake Heinrich, her campaign would have to win all remaining undecided voters and take away at least 3 percentage points of the support now claimed by Heinrich or Barrie, said Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff.</p>
<p>“On one hand, the lead has gone from 9 (points) to 8,” Sanderoff said. “On the other hand, the undecideds keep dropping and Heinrich has reached the 50 percent mark, and we’re that much closer to the election.”</p>
<p>Adding to Wilson’s challenge is the fact that Barrie drew support predominantly from voters who likely would have supported Wilson if the third-party candidate, who is affiliated with the tea party, were not in the race, Sanderoff said.</p>
<p>Barrie was winning about 5 percent of Republican and independent voters but had a statistical 0 percent support level from Democrats, the Journal Poll found.</p>
<p>Heinrich and Wilson were splitting independent voters, 45 percent to 44 percent, in the latest Journal Poll.</p>
<p>Wilson’s share of independents in the new survey was increased from earlier this month, when she was backed by 36 percent of independents.</p>
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<p>Wilson also appeared to be running more strongly than Heinrich among members of the opposite party – drawing support from 15 percent of Democrats, compared with Heinrich pulling support from 10 percent of Republicans. About 6 percent of voters from each party remained undecided.</p>
<p>Because Democrats represent about 48 percent of statewide voter registrations, Wilson must draw more Democrats than she has so far in the Senate race, Sanderoff said.</p>
<p>“Heather Wilson needs to pick up more crossover Democrats and independents,” Sanderoff said. “For her to close the gap and to win, she needs more of those groups.”</p>
<p>Heinrich and Wilson remained close among male voters, with 46 percent backing Heinrich and 44 percent backing Wilson. Among women, however, Heinrich had a more significant lead, with the support of 53 percent of female voters to Wilson’s 39 percent.</p>
<p>Heinrich also maintained a strong lead among voters who identified themselves as Hispanic. Hispanics preferred Heinrich 67 percent to 24 percent, the latest Journal Poll found.</p>
<p>Wilson’s regional support was strongest on the east side of the state, with 56 percent of voters there saying they would or had voted for her. Wilson also had an advantage in northwestern New Mexico, 54 percent to 44 percent.</p>
<p>Heinrich led in the Albuquerque area, 49 percent to 40 percent, although the former Albuquerque city councilor appeared to have lost a little ground to Wilson among city voters, who previously favored him 52 percent to 37 percent.</p>
<p>Heinrich has continued to hold his strongest advantage in New Mexico’s north-central region, which includes Santa Fe and Española. Heinrich had a 38 percentage point advantage there in the latest Journal Poll.</p>
<p>The Journal Poll on the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico was conducted by Oct. 23-25 by Research &amp; Polling Inc. of Albuquerque. It is based on cellphone and land-line telephone interviews statewide of 662 likely voters in the Nov. 6 general election, or voters who said they had already voted. The margin of error for the statewide sample in the Journal Poll is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. The margin of error grows for subsamples, such as ethnicity, gender and region. Sums may not equal 100 percent because of rounding error. — This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Heinrich Stays Ahead in Senate Race | false | https://abqjournal.com/142207/heinrich-stays-ahead-in-senate-race.html | 2012-10-29 | 2 |
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<p>FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Winter weather conditions means Coconino National Forest will be closing some roads as it does each year.</p>
<p>Officials say they close several road to keep the public safe as chances for snow increase.</p>
<p>As of Thursday, the Mogollon Rim Ranger district will begin season road closures. The Flagstaff Ranger Districts are also being closed for the season. Most roads will be closed by noon on Friday.</p>
<p>Visitors should check the forest’s website for info on which roads remain open.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Coconino National Forest begins annual winter road closures | false | https://abqjournal.com/914842/coconino-national-forest-begins-annual-winter-road-closures.html | 2 |
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<p>WELLESLEY, Mass. — Until last year, Ninotska Love would have been barred from attending Wellesley College. She’s an accomplished student who has persevered through hardship, but under longstanding rules, the college would have rejected her.</p>
<p>Now the rules have changed. This week, Love will become one of the first transgender women to attend Wellesley in the school’s 147-year history.</p>
<p>“For me to be accepted to one of the best colleges for women in the nation, it is a big validation of the person that I have become. At first I couldn’t believe it,” said Love, 28, who was born in Ecuador but fled to the U.S. in 2009 after being kidnapped and threatened because of her gender identity. “I’m so thankful to be here.”</p>
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<p>Her arrival on campus reflects a quiet but momentous shift that’s taking place at a wave of women’s colleges that have begun allowing trans women. On Tuesday, Spelman College in Atlanta became the latest to say it will accept students who identify as women, “regardless of their gender assignment at birth.” But even as many schools embrace shifting views on gender, some have been reluctant to change amid lingering differences over the role of women’s colleges.</p>
<p>At least nine women’s colleges have moved to allow trans women since 2014, starting with Mills College in Oakland, California. Joining Wellesley in 2015 were Smith, Bryn Mawr and Barnard colleges, the last of the so-called Seven Sisters women’s colleges to make the change. Spelman, a historically black college, announced its new policy will take effect for students enrolling in the 2018-2019 academic year.</p>
<p>Advocates say others have likely done so without advertising it.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a step forward, one that’s long overdue,” said Genny Beemyn, director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a resource group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. “If they say they’re women, then saying that they can’t attend is denying their identities and marginalizing them.”</p>
<p>Just how many trans women are attending women’s colleges remains unknown. Many schools that now accept them won’t say how many they enroll, if any, citing privacy concerns. Schools including Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges say they don’t track the gender identities of their students.</p>
<p>Chicora Martin, vice president of student life and dean of students at Mills College, said some fear backlash from alumni or donors who don’t support the change, and they want to protect students from outside scrutiny. At Mills, 8 percent of more than 700 undergraduates identify as trans women.</p>
<p>“I think that’s something they don’t want to draw to their students,” Martin said. “Ultimately the attention is drawn to them, and that can be negative attention.”</p>
<p>Colleges of all types have faced increasing pressure to meet the needs of trans men and women, who make up an estimated 0.7 percent of the nation’s youths. Some schools have responded by offering gender-neutral bathrooms and medical insurance that covers hormone treatments, or by letting students pick their gender pronouns .</p>
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<p>Still, alumnae of some women’s colleges have opposed the admissions change, saying it undermines the institutional mission to empower women. Leaders at some schools counter that women’s colleges were founded to educate those who have been marginalized because of their gender.</p>
<p>“That’s always been the historic role of women’s colleges,” Martin said. “The definition of gender and gender identity has broadened, and yet it’s still very much that mission.”</p>
<p>Some schools have resisted widening their gender policies. At Hollins University, a private school of about 800 in Virginia, trans women can be accepted only if they have completed a legal and surgical transition from male to female, which legally entitles them to consideration anyway.</p>
<p>Hollins spokesman Jeff Hodges said the policy “supports how the university defines its mission as an undergraduate institution of higher learning for women.”</p>
<p>At Wellesley, Love said she knows of at least one other trans woman starting this week. Wellesley leaders said that they don’t comment on the gender identities of specific students but that they welcome Love to the school’s “community of outstanding women.”</p>
<p>“As the leading liberal arts college for women, Wellesley’s mission is to educate women who will make a difference in the world — and those women represent diversity in every dimension,” Sofiya Cabalquinto, a college spokeswoman, said in a statement.</p>
<p>Love is considering a major in women’s and gender studies and later hopes to become a civil rights lawyer for LGBT students and immigrants. It’s a goal shaped by her own past; Love says she illegally entered Texas from Mexico before being granted asylum because of her persecution in Ecuador.</p>
<p>Her first job in the U.S. was cleaning dorms at a college in North Carolina. She later moved to New York City and started classes at LaGuardia Community College, where she earned academic honors and gained support from the Kaplan Educational Foundation, which helps low-income and minority students transfer to four-year universities.</p>
<p>Love was accepted to a dozen colleges but says Wellesley was always her top choice.</p>
<p>“I knew that it would be a challenge; I knew that it would be difficult,” she said, “but at the same time I knew that I can make a difference — and I knew that I can show to other people that we transgender women are humans, too.”</p>
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<p>Follow Collin Binkley on Twitter at @cbinkley</p> | Women’s colleges more welcoming to transgender students | false | https://abqjournal.com/1058518/more-womens-colleges-open-doors-to-transgender-students.html | 2017-09-05 | 2 |
<p>PHOENIX (AP) — A not guilty plea has been entered for a Phoenix man accused in the fatal shootings of his estranged wife and their two children on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>Anthony Milan Ross was arraigned Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court.</p>
<p>He remains jailed without bail on three counts of first-degree murder.</p>
<p>The 45-year-old Ross also is facing multiple counts of aggravated assault and assault against a police officer in connection with a shootout before his arrest.</p>
<p>His next scheduled court hearing is a Feb. 26 pretrial conference.</p>
<p>Police responding to a report of gunfire arrived at a Phoenix apartment complex and found the body of Ross' estranged 38-year-old wife outside.</p>
<p>Officers later found the bodies of the couple's 11-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter inside the apartment where Ross had barricaded himself.</p>
<p>PHOENIX (AP) — A not guilty plea has been entered for a Phoenix man accused in the fatal shootings of his estranged wife and their two children on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>Anthony Milan Ross was arraigned Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court.</p>
<p>He remains jailed without bail on three counts of first-degree murder.</p>
<p>The 45-year-old Ross also is facing multiple counts of aggravated assault and assault against a police officer in connection with a shootout before his arrest.</p>
<p>His next scheduled court hearing is a Feb. 26 pretrial conference.</p>
<p>Police responding to a report of gunfire arrived at a Phoenix apartment complex and found the body of Ross' estranged 38-year-old wife outside.</p>
<p>Officers later found the bodies of the couple's 11-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter inside the apartment where Ross had barricaded himself.</p> | Not guilty plea entered for Phoenix man accused of killing 3 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/0cc501726da14a9faee1c29c4d457476 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
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<p>Banks have rebounded from the 2008 Great Recession and they’re now on the prowl for new customers flooding mailboxes with <a href="http://www.creditsesame.com/credit-cards/" type="external">credit card Opens a New Window.</a> offers promising 0% interest rates.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to the Mintel Group, direct mail credit card solicitations increased by 18.5% in the first quarter of 2013 from the previous quarter. For consumers that carry a balance on their plastic, these mailings certainly are tempting: Transfer an existing balance and you could end up paying a lot less in interest charges. But these offers aren’t for everyone. Here’s why you should give them a second look though before applying.</p>
<p>When you move an existing balance from one card to a new one with a 0% APR, you’ll probably be charged a <a href="http://www.creditsesame.com/blog/the-ins-and-outs-of-balance-transfers/" type="external">balance transfer Opens a New Window.</a> fee. This expense, which usually runs around 3% of the total balance, could be expensive so do the math to make sure that your savings in interest payments exceed the fee.</p>
<p>A balance transfer fee isn’t the only expense you risk incurring opening up a 0% APR card. These offers are commonly called “teaser rates,” meaning that they’re only available for a short amount of time. Once the introductory period is up, the interest rate will increase—often drastically. Failure to eliminate your balance before your introductory period ends could leave you stuck with an interest rate that’s higher than what you were previously paying.</p>
<p>And if you’re not diligent, you could lose your 0% interest rate before its expiration date. A late payment—even by one day—can annul the deal and trigger the higher interest rate. Failing to make the minimum payment or going over your limit can also nullify the introductory rate, too.</p>
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<p>Taking advantage of a 0% offer also has the potential to damage your <a href="http://www.creditsesame.com/free-credit-score/" type="external">credit score Opens a New Window.</a>, too. Anytime you apply for a new credit card, the lender submits a request for your <a href="http://www.creditsesame.com/free-credit-report/" type="external">credit report Opens a New Window.</a> in order to determine your credit worthiness. The greater the number of inquiries, the greater the credit risk you appear to be. How much your score ultimately drops depends upon your credit history—those with good credit will see their score reduced by just a couple of points; people with poor credit could see a bigger hit.</p>
<p>Lastly, some 0% APR credit cards are interest-free <a type="external" href="" />not only on balance transfers, but on new purchases as well. If you’re not disciplined, this could induce you to buy things that you ultimately can’t afford. Meaning once the introductory period ends, you’ll be right back where you started: Carrying a balance on a piece of plastic that charges a high interest rate.</p>
<p>Credit Sesame is the consumer’s credit and lending expert, providing smarter financing for your world. We provide a complete picture of your credit and loans in one place, including your free credit score, <a href="http://www.creditsesame.com/credit-monitoring/" type="external">credit monitoring Opens a New Window.</a>, customized analysis, and unbiased loan and savings recommendations – all for free. Our proprietary savings recommendation engine, with bank-level analytics, monitors the market, runs thousands of scenarios and analyzes each consumer’s debt, to identify the best loans and savings opportunities.</p> | Why 0% APR Offers Might Not be Good for Your Credit | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/06/03/why-0-apr-offers-might-not-be-good-for-your-credit.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Hundreds of thousands of protesters have rallied in Rome to protest Premier Matteo Renzi's plan to make it easier to fire workers.</p>
<p>Two noisy marches crisscrossed the heart of the Italian capital Saturday, snarling traffic for hours. Protesters cheered CGIL labor confederation head Susanna Camusso when she promised more protests and strikes unless Renzi abandons efforts to give employers considerably more leeway to fire workers. The center-left premier contends employers now fear hiring workers they cannot dismiss in case business sours. He says the measure would help heal Italy's recession-mired economy.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Nationwide, unemployment tops more than 12 percent. Nearly one of every two youths is unemployed, with many going abroad to find work. Renzi's main goal of economic growth has so far proved elusive.</p> | Protesters march in Rome against government plans to make firing easier, snarling traffic | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/25/protesters-march-in-rome-against-government-plans-to-make-firing-easier.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — The deputy attorney general at the center of former FBI Director James Comey’s firing made a surprise appearance on Capitol Hill Thursday, arriving as Senate Democrats were demanding a reckoning over his role in the ouster but leaving more questions than answers in his wake.</p>
<p>Less than two weeks ago, Rod Rosenstein earned the bipartisan confidence of the vast majority of the Senate during his confirmation as deputy attorney general. But a memo he drafted this week that has served as President Donald Trump’s public justification for firing Comey has all but eviscerated that trust.</p>
<p>Led primarily by Democrats, senators are now asking Rosenstein to come back to Capitol Hill next week to explain his role in Comey’s dismissal. A senior Republican, too, declined to defend Rosenstein’s actions after meeting with him behind closed doors.</p>
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<p>Rosenstein was tight-lipped as he entered and emerged from a secure facility Thursday on Capitol Hill, where he huddled with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va. The senators said the meeting had been scheduled before Comey’s ouster to discuss “deconfliction” – keeping the FBI’s and committee’s investigations of alleged ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government from stepping on each other’s toes.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the arrival of Rosenstein and his entourage – during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that dealt extensively with Comey’s firing – served only to heighten the political intrigue surrounding the deputy attorney general’s enigmatic role in the controversial Comey affair.</p>
<p>Following the meeting, Warner said he “still has concerns” about Rosenstein, while Burr refused to say whether he has confidence in Rosenstein to oversee the Justice Department’s Russia-related investigations.</p>
<p>“I don’t think that’s up to Sen. Warner and myself to make,” Burr said. “The president’s made a determination . . . we don’t have the luxury of picking who we work with.”</p>
<p>Trump initially pointed to Rosenstein’s May 9 memo, in which the former prosecutor criticized Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, as justification for Comey’s firing. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House casting him as a prime mover of the decision. Senators said Thursday that they did not discuss that point with him.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as Rosenstein huddled with Intelligence Committee leaders, NBC released an interview in which Trump said the decision to oust Comey was his. He said he would have found a reason to fire Comey regardless of Rosenstein’s recommendation.</p>
<p>Later Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., excoriated the Trump administration for the mixed messaging surrounding Comey’s firing and Rosenstein’s role in it, noting on the Senate floor that “the story coming out of the White House about why Mr. Comey was fired continues to change, and there are no good explanations for the changes.”</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is trying to schedule an all-senators’ briefing with Rosenstein on Capitol Hill as soon as next week. Democrats want to hold a similar meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Schumer said Thursday. “The need for these briefings is even greater now than it was this morning, given what the president said this afternoon,” he said.</p>
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<p>Rosenstein has not responded publicly to the president’s shifting claims about his role in Comey’s firing. Nor has he addressed Senate Democrats’ warnings that his reputation as an “independent, apolitical actor” is “imperiled,” as Schumer wrote to him in a letter. Schumer also asked for details on any meetings Rosenstein had with Trump before drafting the memo – and with Comey about requests for additional resources to aid the FBI’s Russia investigation. Schumer asked for answers to the questions by Monday.</p>
<p>Comey requested such resources from the Justice Department, according to several people familiar with the discussion. In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday, McCabe said he was unaware of the request – and that he believed the FBI had adequate resources for the investigation.</p>
<p>Senior Senate Appropriations Committee Democrats Patrick Leahy and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who oversee funding for the Justice Department, are also trying to clarify that point with Rosenstein. On Thursday, they asked the deputy attorney general to specify the circumstances surrounding Comey’s request.</p>
<p>“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) should dedicate the needed personnel and resources to the investigation without hesitation,” Leahy and Shaheen wrote in a letter to the deputy attorney general, adding that they want “the details of any request for increased resources made by the FBI to DOJ” and “how this request was communicated from the FBI to DOJ, and whether similar requests were made to the White House.”</p>
<p>Unclear is whether senators will get the opportunity to hear from another key player who could set part of the record straight: Comey.</p>
<p>Burr and Warner invited Comey to address the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, but as of Thursday afternoon, they had not received a response, Burr said.</p>
<p>In the absence of answers, some senior Democrats are casting doubt on the entire foundation of their once-positive impression of him, suggesting that it was an amateurish piece of work.</p>
<p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee and a top member of the Intelligence Committee, said she has now read Rosenstein’s memo three times. She remains incredulous, she said, that he wrote it – and that it may have served as the basis for Comey’s firing. She pointed to the second page, which is filled with quotes from opinion pieces and news clippings about former Justice Department officials critiquing Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation.</p>
<p>“That surprised me, that a guy as highly prized as Rosenstein, on the basis of legal talent, professionalism in the department, would pull things out of a newspaper and quote them, in terms of somebody else’s opinion of Comey,” Feinstein said. “It means to me we really have to have him in and talk to him, because, wow, I mean, I could have written it.”</p> | Rosenstein role in Comey firing raises more questions than answers | false | https://abqjournal.com/1002248/rosenstein-role-in-comey-firing-raises-more-questions-than-answers.html | 2017-05-11 | 2 |
<p>For all those "Arrested Development" fans, you know the song merely as G.O.B.'s signature music when he's doing his magic act.</p>
<p>But the song is actually "The Final Countdown," by one-hit wonder Europe. And it's hilarious (let's just say it didn't age well from the time it was first released in 1986).</p>
<p>We're leaving together, But still it's farewell And maybe we'll come back To earth, who can tell? I guess there is no one to blame We're leaving ground (leaving ground) Will things ever be the same again? It's the final countdown The final countdown</p>
<p>Oy.</p>
<p>But that makes it the perfect song with which to troll North Korea.</p>
<p>That's right, a hacker burst onto a North Korean short-wave radio station and played the Swedish band's big hit, the <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/hacker-hijacks-north-korean-radio-station-plays-the-final-countdown_2354373.html" type="external">Epoch Times</a> reports.</p>
<p>News of the incident was posted on Twitter by vigilante hacker, “The Jester,” who has in the past gained fame by hacking jihadist websites, and who in October 2016 defaced the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the message, “Stop attacking Americans.” ...</p>
<p>The 6400kHz station is based in Kanggye close to the North Korean border with China, and is used by North Korean radio station Pyongyang Broadcasting Station ( <a href="http://www.shortwaveschedule.com/index.php?station=55" type="external">Pyongyang BS</a>), which also broadcasts on the 621, 1053, and 3250 frequencies.</p>
<p>The North Korean communist regime has in the past used the 6400kHz radio station to broadcast coded messages. Strategic Sentinel, a Washington-based nonpartisan geostrategic consulting company, noted that <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-north-korea" type="external">North Korea</a> often broadcasts messages on the station ahead of provocations.</p>
<p>Twitter wags had a field day.</p>
<p />
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<p>And if you still don't remember the song, here it is:</p> | Hacker Hijacks North Korean Radio Station, Plays ‘The Final Countdown’ | true | https://dailywire.com/news/23458/hacker-hijacks-north-korean-radio-station-plays-joseph-curl | 2017-11-12 | 0 |
<p>When Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas pulled a grandfather clause out from under 160 assistant principals, Principal James Breashears of Robeson High School jumped at the chance to infuse new blood into his leadership team.</p>
<p>“I think this new policy is great,” says Breashears, who became principal of the Englewood school in 1995. “I have two assistant principals, and I elected to replace both of them. It is not that they are bad people, but I need more energy. I need people who recognize good teaching techniques, folks who know what good reading and writing methods look like, people who are innovative. We are moving into a different era that requires different ways to help students achieve.”</p>
<p>Breashears is among 157 principals who inherited assistant principals as a result of 1993 negotiations between the Board of Education and the Chicago Teachers Union. Historically, assistant principals had held their positions as long as they liked, regardless of changes in a school’s top leadership. In 1993, however, the teachers union agreed to term limits—henceforth, newly selected assistants (and head teachers) would serve for the same period of time as the principals who selected them. However, individuals who were assistant principals on Sept. 1 of that year were grandfathered into their jobs.</p>
<p>By 1997, 160 of those longtime assistants were still in the system, according to Cozette Buckney, chief of staff to Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas. However, their tenure became tenuous in 1995, when the Illinois General Assembly removed assistant principals from the teachers’ bargaining unit.</p>
<p>Last month, Vallas took advantage of the Legislature’s action by permitting all principals to choose their own assistants, who will continue to serve coterminously with their principals. If a principal retires, does not receive a new contract or is ousted by the local school council, a new principal will have three months to decide whether to retain the school’s assistant principals.</p>
<p>Advocates of local control applauded the move. “In the spirit of school reform, principals should be able to choose their staff,” says Anthony Bryk, an education professor at the University of Chicago. “In the long term, this policy helps build a unified administrative team. The local school council chooses the principal, the principal chooses the assistant principal. The whole process is self-guided.”</p>
<p>Breashears adds, “This new policy means that it is in the best interest of the assistant to help principals be successful.” He says he knows of one school where the assistant principals “were outright saboteurs. They openly tried to oust their principal so they could take his place.”</p>
<p>Not all approve</p>
<p>However, some principals, as well as many assistant principals, disapproved, especially since many assistants will lose money as a result of another change Vallas made. Starting now, assistant principals will work a 44-week year—principals work 52 weeks, most teachers, 40—but not be eligible for overtime.</p>
<p>“What happens to people who are intelligent, are experienced and have been real assets to their schools?” questions Inez G. Walton, principal of Morgan Elementary in Auburn Gresham. “What if I retire? Our school has been really involved in Direct Instruction for a year now, and my assistants are really knowledgeable about the program. If a new principal comes in and gets rid of my assistant principals, I think my kids would suffer because there would be a disruption in what they are used to doing.”</p>
<p>“I was lucky that I have two people who I brought on board when the previous assistant principals retired,” says Linda Pierzchalski, principal of Bogan High School in Ashburn, noting that the previous principal had had a hard time working with the veterans, too. “The disadvantage is that my assistants will lose money. I am just lucky that they have opted to stay.”</p>
<p>Vallas gave assistant principals until May 30 to decide whether they wanted to retain their jobs— their principals’ willing—or return to teaching in their schools. In the future, assistant principals will not have a guaranteed fallback because they are not part of the teachers union. Principals lost tenure and seniority rights in 1989, after the Chicago School Reform Act was passed.</p>
<p>Buckney says the new policy is aimed at supporting principals, who are accountable for what goes on in their schools.</p>
<p>Noting that a new board policy requires principals to have had some previous administrative experience, Bryk says the assistant principal position will become more of a stepping stone.</p>
<p>As one board insider notes, “This position is so shaky now that no one would be bothered with it unless they were serious about becoming principals themselves and getting that administrative experience.”</p> | 160 assistant principals from old days lose tenure | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/160-assistant-principals-old-days-lose-tenure/ | 2005-07-25 | 3 |
<p>A group of opioid painkiller makers has asked an Ohio court to dismiss the state's case alleging the companies misrepresented the addiction risks of their drugs, arguing the lawsuit is "fatally defective."</p>
<p>Ohio's lawsuit, filed in state court in May, targeted parent companies or subsidiaries of Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Allergan PLC and Endo International PLC, alleging they fraudulently marketed their drugs by overselling the benefits and playing down the addictive risks of the painkillers, helping create an addiction crisis.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Since then a number of other states have filed similar lawsuits against painkiller makers or distributors, including New Hampshire, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri and New Mexico.</p>
<p>In a joint motion to dismiss, the companies argued that Ohio failed to offer any specifics to its fraud allegations, as required under the law, and that the claims are pre-empted by federal law and Food and Drug Administration regulations.</p>
<p>The companies also took issue with one of Ohio's main claims: that the drug industry engaged in a decadeslong fraud to persuade doctors and patients to use opioids for chronic pain rather than just severe, short-term pain.</p>
<p>The FDA has approved extended release, long-acting versions of some opioids to be used to treat chronic pain, the companies argued, which they said undermines Ohio's allegations.</p>
<p>"At its core, the complaint seeks to substitute the Ohio Attorney General's judgment about how to weigh the risks and benefits of chronic opioid therapy for the FDA's judgment," the companies said.</p>
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<p>In addition to the joint request, the manufacturers each filed separate motions to dismiss the case.</p>
<p>The pharmaceutical companies also argued that Ohio failed to support two additional claims: that the defendants deceived the state into reimbursing opioid prescriptions, or that specific doctors relied on the companies' allegedly fraudulent marketing when writing prescriptions.</p>
<p>On Monday, the Ohio Attorney General's office said it was reviewing the companies' filings and would file a response in court "in due course."</p>
<p>Should the court decline to dismiss the case, the defendants requested in a separate joint filing that the court stay, or suspend, the case pending what they described as an FDA review of opioid painkillers. The FDA, the defendants said, has asked opioid companies to conduct additional studies to assess the risks of addiction, overdose and death associated with long-term use of opioid painkillers.</p>
<p>The FDA has "primary jurisdiction" over drug safety and efficacy matters, the defendants argued. The FDA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>Write to Jeanne Whalen at [email protected] and Sara Randazzo at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 11, 2017 18:59 ET (22:59 GMT)</p> | Opioid Painkiller Makers Seek to Dismiss State Lawsuit | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/11/opioid-painkiller-makers-seek-to-dismiss-state-lawsuit.html | 2017-09-11 | 0 |
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<p>When controversial musician Kid Rock first announced on Twitter a few weeks back his plans to run for the U.S. Senate, not a few raised their eyebrows, some smirked, and others laughed. Many were not sure if the renegade singer/rapper is serious, or if he should be taken seriously.</p>
<p />
<p>The political class met his announcement with predictable contempt. Like how could he even think about it? He with his songs and their offensive content, he with the sex tape scandal, he who was arrested over an embarrassing Waffle House brawl, he with the head-shaking no contest-plea to charges he assaulted a DJ at a Nashville strip club, he with his equally controversial messy divorce with Pamela Anderson; and he with his long list of politically incorrect statements against other celebrities including Beyonce and on issues as same-sex marriage.</p>
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<p>Then there are the critics who pointed out that such surprising announcement may be nothing more than a marketing, promotional ploy to boost his recording career which has not seen that much huge hits in the more recent years, compared to his heydays. He's had only one single reach any of Billboard's charts in the past four years. They said he needed to boost his bottom line.</p>
<p />
<p>Then again, Kid Rock or Robert Ritchie, has already accumulated lots of money from performing, aside from boasting of a truly solid following. He has given huge seven-figure sums to charity. He had the power and option to lower ticket prices to his concerts at $20 just to make them accessible to his working-class fans. In his native southeast Michigan, in spite of his reputation in the music industry, he is known for his earnest civic involvement, giving his help to local businesses and leading major philanthropic events. Even in 2012 when Mitt Romney asked for his endorsement, he had a list of a range of policy questions he prepared for Romney before he gave his nod and collaborated with him on his campaign. These do not serve as guarantees that Kid Rock will really run but these are more than glimpses for his prospective opponents and everyone to know he could not simply be mocked for saying he wanted to bid for a Senate seat.</p>
<p />
<p>In fact, there are also those who say his path to the U.S. Senate would be far easier than Trump's was to the White House. Dennis Lennox, a Republican political consultant in Michigan, says: "Presuming Kid Rock doesn't get caught in bed with a little boy or beat up a woman between now and August 2018, he's going to win the nomination if he gets in. I think there's no question about that. I think he's the prohibitive favorite if he gets in."</p>
<p />
<p>Trump indeed faced tougher challenges to his bid to get the Republican nomination, having to compete with 16 rivals, more than a dozen of whom were established, well-regarded, well-financed campaigners; Kid Rock, in contrast, would only enter a primary field of three little-known newcomers to partisan politics. Trump was largely targeted by a national network of influential donors and activists who laughed him off at first, only to mount a desperate scramble to thwart and destroy his candidacy once they realized he was a serious threat; Kid Rock will most likely face little such resistance in a state where primaries aren't preordained by party bosses.</p>
<p />
<p>Trump even started his run with still no obvious base or even a blueprint for victory; Kid Rock would launch a campaign already with a given strength-as a favorite-son status that cuts across socioeconomic boundaries and is particularly resonant with the president's winning coalition of culturally conservative, populist-minded, blue-collar voters.</p>
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<p>Kid Rock is also capable of scrambling the playbook and freaking out the Democrats because he could just be that "unsafe" challenger incumbent Debbie Stabenow fears, after easily cruising to reelections in 2006 and 2012.</p>
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<p>Some say Kid Rock may not have the time, schedule and logistics to mount a serious campaign especially given that he has a November tour to get preoccupied with. But that's about it- he is not a conventional candidate that would need a traditional campaign. He is already well-known and could easily command free media to make up the lack of the usual ground game. He also might prove capable of mobilizing Republicans who otherwise don't turn out to vote in midterm elections.</p>
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<p>Saul Anuzis, former chairman of the Michigan GOP says: "The fact that he's non-traditional is appealing to a lot of people. Obviously, it scares others who want someone more predictable. But if you're going to beat an entrenched candidate like Debbie Stabenow in a purple state, you need to do something different. He's well-liked in Michigan. He's a hometown darling. He's got deep connections to Detroit. He's done a lot throughout the state. Anybody who's writing him off is making a mistake."</p>
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<p>So anybody raising their eyebrows, smirking and worse, laughing, better pause now and rethink their strategies as Kid Rock's running is no laughing matter.</p>
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<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/23/kid-rock-run-senate-serious-michigan-analysis-215408" type="external">politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/23/kid-rock-run-senate-serious-michigan-analysis-215408</a></p> | Kid Rock Running for Senate is No Laughing Matter | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/5567-Kid-Rock-Running-for-Senate-is-No-Laughing-Matter | 2017-07-24 | 0 |
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<p>Courtesy Blaze Pizza Facebook</p>
<p>Red-hot <a href="http://www.blazepizza.com/" type="external">Blaze Pizza</a> is heading our way.</p>
<p>The country’s fastest-growing restaurant chain expects to open its first Albuquerque location next year in a <a href="http://cie.carnm.com/files/property/6040000/6042175/14371381_Holly_Plaza_Shops.pdf" type="external">new retail development</a> near San Pedro and Paseo del Norte,&#160; according to the chain’s local franchisee, Yogesh Patel. Construction on the project is already underway on Holly Avenue, behind Chick-fil-A.</p>
<p>One of several fast casual pizza chains to emerge in recent years, Blaze Pizza topped <a href="https://www.technomic.com/_files/press_release/2016_Top_500.pdf" type="external">Technomic’s 2016 list</a> of the fastest-growing restaurant chains after seeing year-over-year sales rise 205 percent. Celebrity investors like LeBron James have helped the chain attract attention — the basketball superstar <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lebron-james-backed-pizza-chain-175901913.html" type="external">even worked at a location</a> for a commercial.</p>
<p>Patel, who also has two Genghis Grill restaurants in Albuquerque, said his franchise group has had Blaze Pizza’s Albuquerque rights for 2½ years but has struggled to find the right locations. He plans to ultimately open three sites, but said opportunity is limited in high-profile areas like “restaurant row” in the north Interstate 25 corridor. He said he liked the Holly development because the area is already home to several busy restaurant chains like Chick-fil-A and Chipotle. He said he is also considering Uptown for another location.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Blaze Pizza will take about 3,100 square feet in one of the three new buildings planned for the Holly project, which is marketed by Maestas &amp; Ward’s Thalia Toha and Todd Strickland.</p>
<p>Construction has begun on the new commercial buildings behind Chick-fil-A along the Paseo del Norte corridor. Blaze Pizza has signed a lease to join the new development.</p>
<p>Blaze follows a model similar to the homegrown WisePies Pizza &amp; Salad and several other fast-casual pizza chains. Customers can build their own personal pizzas and have it baked in just a few minutes.</p>
<p>Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder Rick Wetzel and wife Elise started Blaze in 2012 in Irvine, Calif., and has since grown to more than 150 locations. <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/video/13699666/lebron-james-is-doing-his-part-to-build-blaze-pizza-into-next-billion-dollar-fast-food-colossus.html" type="external">According to The Street</a>, its sales should hit $200 million this year, compared to $33 million in 2014.</p> | Blaze Pizza ready to fire up Albuquerque | false | https://abqjournal.com/887031/blaze-pizza-ready-to-fire-up-albuquerque.html | 2 |
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<p>Hartford Courant That's according to David Medina. "It would be interesting to know if, before he pulled the trigger, Hunter S. Thompson took time to reflect on the impact he's had on journalism," he writes. Journalists who didn't buy into Thompson's style "have had to endure being called spineless and old-fashioned by the hip crowd as if there were something wrong in gathering as much information as possible, ensuring that the facts are accurate and expressing them in language that any person, regardless of background, would find irresistible." &gt; <a href="http://startribune.com/stories/562/5274301.html" type="external">Suicide is considered hip and cool when Thompson does it (Strib)</a> &gt; <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/03/06/last_man_standing?pg=full" type="external">"His legacy, at this point, is uncertain," writes Parker (Boston Globe)</a></p> | HST violated every generally accepted journalistic principle | false | https://poynter.org/news/hst-violated-every-generally-accepted-journalistic-principle | 2005-03-07 | 2 |
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A 6-year-old Florida boy has died from rabies he contracted after being scratched by an infected bat.</p>
<p>The father of Ryker Roque told NBC that the boy died Sunday at an Orlando hospital.</p>
<p>Father Henry Roque said he had found a sick bat, put it in a bucket and told his son not to touch it, but he did and was scratched.</p>
<p>He said he washed the wound thoroughly but didn't take the boy to the hospital because he cried when he was told he would get shots. About a week later the boy developed numb fingers and a headache and his parents took him for hospital treatment.</p>
<p>Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms develop. A vaccine given after a wound but before symptoms almost always prevents the disease.</p>
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A 6-year-old Florida boy has died from rabies he contracted after being scratched by an infected bat.</p>
<p>The father of Ryker Roque told NBC that the boy died Sunday at an Orlando hospital.</p>
<p>Father Henry Roque said he had found a sick bat, put it in a bucket and told his son not to touch it, but he did and was scratched.</p>
<p>He said he washed the wound thoroughly but didn't take the boy to the hospital because he cried when he was told he would get shots. About a week later the boy developed numb fingers and a headache and his parents took him for hospital treatment.</p>
<p>Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms develop. A vaccine given after a wound but before symptoms almost always prevents the disease.</p> | 6-year-old Florida boy dies of rabies contracted from a bat | false | https://apnews.com/amp/55c3689d9c3841fd9b359408811f6311 | 2018-01-15 | 2 |
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<p>NEW YORK — The Dallas police chief who was praised for his response to last summer’s shootings of five law enforcement officers is working on a memoir.</p>
<p>Ballantine Books announced Thursday that it had a deal with David O. Brown for a “deeply revealing” book, currently untitled, to come out next year. Brown, who retired in October, received national attention after a sniper killed five officers at a July protest. According to Ballantine, the book will reflect his “measured, motivating” approach to his work.</p>
<p>Brown said in a statement that he hoped to emphasize the importance of trust and “other philosophies” he had developed over the years. Earlier this week, ABC News announced that he would join the network in January as a commentator on race, policing and other subjects.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Former Dallas police chief David Brown writing memoir | false | https://abqjournal.com/899374/former-dallas-police-chief-david-brown-writing-memoir.html | 2016-12-01 | 2 |
<p>RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s federal police said on Tuesday they served arrest warrants and conducted search and seizure operations to probe a suspected international vote-buying scheme which could have helped Rio de Janeiro’s successful bid to host the 2016 Olympics.</p>
<p>The head of Brazil’s Olympic committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, was one of the targets of the operation, TV Globo said, without citing sources.</p>
<p>Reuters’ efforts to contact Nuzman were unsuccessful before business hours.</p>
<p>Last March, organizers of the 2016 Rio Olympics denied that vote-buying helped secure the Games.</p>
<p>They were responding to a French newspaper report that said a Brazilian businessman made a payment to the son of an International Olympic Committee member, three days before the 2009 IOC decision on the host city for the 2016 Games.</p>
<p>The IOC then said it had began investigating the allegations.</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> | Brazil police launch raid to probe vote-buying for 2016 Olympics | false | https://newsline.com/brazil-police-launch-raid-to-probe-vote-buying-for-2016-olympics/ | 2017-09-05 | 1 |
<p>Evan Vucci/AP</p>
<p />
<p>On Friday, the Cincinnati Enquirer <a href="http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/09/23/enquirer-endorses-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/90728344/" type="external">endorsed Hillary Clinton</a>, the first Democrat for president the paper has endorsed in almost 100 years.</p>
<p>“The Enquirer has supported Republicans for president&#160;for&#160;almost a century—a tradition this editorial board doesn’t take lightly,” the editorial board wrote. “But this is not a traditional race, and these are not traditional times. Our country needs calm, thoughtful leadership to deal with the challenges we face at home and abroad. We need a leader who will bring out the best in all Americans, not the worst.”</p>
<p>With this unexpected endorsement, the Enquirer joins several other newspapers who, due to fears of a Trump presidency, have bucked years of tradition and chosen not to endorse the GOP nominee: Earlier this month, the Dallas Morning News <a href="http://beta.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2016/09/07/recommend-hillary-clinton-us-president" type="external">endorsed Clinton</a>, the first Democratic nominee for president they’ve endorsed in 75 years. The New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed libertarian Gary Johnson, after endorsing Republican candidates for a century.</p>
<p>The Enquirer’s editorial outlines Hillary Clinton’s “proven track record of governing,” including her work fighting for women’s rights, children’s health coverage, LGBT equality, and to secure care for 9/11 first responders.</p>
<p>Of Trump, the editorial board points out that he has no history of governance—and rather than acknowledging his novice status, he purports to know more than the experts:</p>
<p>Trump is a clear and present danger to our country. He&#160;has&#160;no history of governance that should engender any confidence from voters.&#160;Trump has no foreign policy experience, and the fact that he doesn’t recognize it—instead insisting that,&#160;“I know more about ISIS than the generals do”—is even more troubling. His wild threats to blow Iranian ships out of the water if they make rude gestures at U.S. ships is just the type of reckless, cowboy diplomacy Americans should fear from a Trump presidency.</p>
<p>The editorial board acknowledges their reservations about Clinton, including her lack of transparency, and it makes clear that any reservations they have about Clinton “pale in comparison to our fears about Trump.” The board goes on to outline a host of other concerns about Trump: his insults about women, his offensive comments about Latino and African-American communities, his support of dictatorial leaders like Vladimir Putin and Saddam Hussein, his endorsements from white supremacist groups, and much more.</p>
<p>“Of late, Trump has toned down his divisive rhetoric, sticking to carefully constructed scripts and teleprompters,” the Enquirer notes. “But going two weeks without saying something misogynistic, racist or xenophobic is&#160;hardly a qualification for the most important job in the world.&#160;Why should anyone believe that a Trump presidency would look markedly different from his offensive, erratic,&#160;stance-shifting&#160;presidential campaign?”</p>
<p /> | This Newspaper Just Endorsed Its First Democrat for President in Almost a Century, Because Trump | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/donald-trump-just-forced-yet-another-newspaper-endorse-democrat-first-time-almost-c/ | 2016-09-23 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - Jared Terrell hit 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc and Rhode Island won on the road for the first time this season, beating George Washington, 81-60 in an Atlantic 10 Conference contest Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>The Rams' only win away from home this season came at the Barclays Center in the NIT Season Tip-off and Rhode Island now has won four of the last five meetings between the schools.</p>
<p>Rhode Island (11-3, 3-0) doubled up the score on the Colonials in the first half, taking a 46-23 advantage by intermission.</p>
<p>The Rams converted 31 of their 58 shots from the field (53 percent), including 8 of 17 from distance.</p>
<p>Andre Berry contributed 17 points, E.C. Matthews added 12 and Cyril Langevine pulled down 10 rebounds for Rhode Island.</p>
<p>George Washington (8-8, 1-2) got 17 points from Yuta Watanabe and another 13 from Terry Nolan Jr.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - Jared Terrell hit 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc and Rhode Island won on the road for the first time this season, beating George Washington, 81-60 in an Atlantic 10 Conference contest Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>The Rams' only win away from home this season came at the Barclays Center in the NIT Season Tip-off and Rhode Island now has won four of the last five meetings between the schools.</p>
<p>Rhode Island (11-3, 3-0) doubled up the score on the Colonials in the first half, taking a 46-23 advantage by intermission.</p>
<p>The Rams converted 31 of their 58 shots from the field (53 percent), including 8 of 17 from distance.</p>
<p>Andre Berry contributed 17 points, E.C. Matthews added 12 and Cyril Langevine pulled down 10 rebounds for Rhode Island.</p>
<p>George Washington (8-8, 1-2) got 17 points from Yuta Watanabe and another 13 from Terry Nolan Jr.</p> | Rhode Island gets 1st road win, 81-60 over George Washington | false | https://apnews.com/f5835f34bd2149c2bd72075a7ba0f178 | 2018-01-06 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>The 2016 Polar Bear Plunge is set for Jan 1. at 11 a.m. the Albuquerque Jewish Community Center. It will benefit the JCC and the Albuquerque BioPark polar bears.</p>
<p>Participation in the plunge requires a minimum $25 tax-deductible donation; donate or raise sponsorships of $50 and get a commemorative Polar Bear Plunge towel. Free hot drinks and polar bear snacks will be provided, and participants are welcome to enjoy the JCC facilities from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at no additional charge. All participants must be swimmers and sign a waiver.</p>
<p>Academy Plumbing is the lead sponsor of the 2016 Plunge.</p>
<p>"Make the first step of 2016 a real doozy," said Dave Simon executive director of the JCC. "The JCC thanks our sponsor Academy - there's no better time to think about heating and cooling than at a Polar Bear Plunge."</p>
<p>For more information call 348-4455 or go to jccabq.org</p>
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2016 Polar Bear Plunge helps JCC and bears | false | https://abqjournal.com/692484/2016-polar-bear-plunge-helps-jcc-and-bears.html | 2015-12-17 | 2 |
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ These Wyoming lotteries were drawn Wednesday:</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $45 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>07-24-33-49-50, Powerball: 4, Power Play: 5</p>
<p>(seven, twenty-four, thirty-three, forty-nine, fifty; Powerball: four; Power Play: five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ These Wyoming lotteries were drawn Wednesday:</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $45 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>07-24-33-49-50, Powerball: 4, Power Play: 5</p>
<p>(seven, twenty-four, thirty-three, forty-nine, fifty; Powerball: four; Power Play: five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p> | WY Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/bda2733bb3c14359bdd4c850a751da80 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
<p>DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Duke says it's adding another offensive lineman from Ohio State.</p>
<p>Coach David Cutcliffe said Thursday that lineman Jack Wohlabaugh is transferring in after two seasons with the Buckeyes.</p>
<p>Wohlabaugh will enroll at Duke for the start of the spring semester Jan. 10, will sit out this season and will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2019.</p>
<p>He did not appear in any games in his two seasons with the Buckeyes but was a four-star prospect in high school.</p>
<p>He follows Evan Lisle, who started at right tackle for the Blue Devils this season as a graduate transfer after playing three seasons for Ohio State.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: https://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</p>
<p>DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Duke says it's adding another offensive lineman from Ohio State.</p>
<p>Coach David Cutcliffe said Thursday that lineman Jack Wohlabaugh is transferring in after two seasons with the Buckeyes.</p>
<p>Wohlabaugh will enroll at Duke for the start of the spring semester Jan. 10, will sit out this season and will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2019.</p>
<p>He did not appear in any games in his two seasons with the Buckeyes but was a four-star prospect in high school.</p>
<p>He follows Evan Lisle, who started at right tackle for the Blue Devils this season as a graduate transfer after playing three seasons for Ohio State.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: https://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</p> | Ohio State offensive lineman Wohlabaugh transfers to Duke | false | https://apnews.com/amp/7355c302b0eb40109f46dc81a693d13b | 2018-01-04 | 2 |
<p />
<p>“Just the minute the FBI begins making recommendations on what should be done with its information, it becomes a Gestapo.”</p>
<p>–&#160;– &#160;J. Edgar Hoover, FBI chief, who constantly fed&#160;confidential files to his political friends</p>
<p>Before we rush to embrace the FBI’s “proud tradition of impartiality and neutrality” just because Trump&#160;screwed the pooch in firing its fumbling director Comey, just hold on a second.</p>
<p>A chunk of my life was spent hiding from, or being chased by, FBI agents who, in conversation, I found&#160;uniformly tightassed Organization Men and facelessly conservative.&#160;&#160;OK, this was in the bad old days of the&#160;gay-bashing, commie hunting, Mafia denying, blackmailing J. Edgar Hoover who no president from FDR to Nixon&#160;had the guts to fire because The Chief had the goods on them.&#160;&#160;(FDR’s mistress Lucy Mercer, Truman’s political ‘father’ &#160;Kansas City crooked boss Pendergast, Eisenhower’s girlfriend Kay Summersby, and let’s not even think Jack Kennedy.)</p>
<p>As a secret and (normally, until the past few days) secretive police the FBI was born in the 1920s to protect us from&#160;immigrants and radicals.&#160;&#160;Under its weird boss J. Edgar Hoover it never wavered from its reason for existence,&#160;the Red Hunt, reds to be defined loosely.&#160;&#160;It was, and still is, racist to the core.</p>
<p>If you saw “Mississippi Burning” with Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as heroic G Men chasing the white killers of&#160;black civil rights workers, it’s a lie.&#160;&#160;I was in the south in the 1960s when Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, to help his brother&#160;Jack’s re-election prospects, flooded Georgia (where I was) with white southern born FBI agents who did absolutely&#160;nothing except stand by passively while local white cops and their KKK allies brutalized African American kids and their parents.</p>
<p>As Kurt Vonnegut was fond of saying, And so it goes.</p>
<p>J. Edgar never died, his paranoid ghost stalks us.&#160;&#160;The agency is a rigid top down yessir nosir bureaucracy with a</p>
<p>historical and irresistible tendency to break and bend laws.&#160;&#160;(It messed up the 9/11 investigation by not listening&#160;to its own whistleblowers.&#160;&#160;It loves entrapping dumb-as-dogshit, mentally retarded “terrorists”.)&#160;&#160;By many accounts,&#160;the agency was virulently anti Hillary and today is “Trumplandia” with agents openly admitting who they voted for.</p>
<p>Within living memory the agency engineered COINTELPRO, to illegally disrupt antiwar, civil rights and left groups;&#160;&#160;and colluded with presidents Kennedy and Nixon to smear Martin Luther King into (they hoped) suicide.</p>
<p>Shed no tears for Comey.&#160;&#160;Think what life is like for the occasional honest, trustworthy, Constitution-loving agent – they’re out there –&#160;under Comey, Trump and coming to work every morning in a building named for J. Edgar Hoover.</p>
<p>Notes.</p>
<p>There are some really good books about the FBI by Curt Gentry ( <a href="" type="internal">The Man and the Secrets</a>), Tim Weiner ( <a href="" type="internal">Enemies: a History of the FBI</a>) and Seth Rosenfeld ( <a href="" type="internal">Subversives: the FBI’s War on Student Radicals and Nixon’s Rise to Power</a>) about the agency’s war on students.</p> | J. Edgar Hoover: the Man Who Never Dies | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/05/16/j-edgar-hoover-the-man-who-never-dies/ | 2017-05-16 | 4 |
<p>Jan. 22 (UPI) -- In order to better understand the nature of fracturing in soil and sediment, researchers at Swansea University injected compressed air into glass capsules packed with sand. Their experiments could eventually pave the way for improved cleanup strategies at industrial brownfield sites.</p>
<p>After shooting pressurized air into cells packed with sand and saturated water, scientists used advanced imaging technology to trace the intricate shapes created by the injections. The unique structures resemble tree branches or blood vessels.</p>
<p />
<p>"It is surprising to see that widely different systems can produce patterns that look eerily similar," Bjornar Sandnes, an associate professor of engineering at Swansea University, <a href="http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media-centre/latest-research/swanseauniversityresearchhelpsbreakgroundtocleanupland.php" type="external">said in a news release</a>. "Often this is because, deep under the surface, they share some mathematical guiding principle."</p>
<p>Though complex in appearance, analysis showed the compressed air simply follows different paths of least resistance. As the air pushes through the material, the sand becomes compressed around the edge of each branch, preventing other fractures from veering close by.</p>
<p>The research -- detailed <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prapplied/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.064029" type="external">in the journal Physical Review Applied</a> -- could have a number of potential applications.</p>
<p>"We study these patterns first and foremost because we are curious to discover what physical mechanisms shape the form and function of these beautiful structures, but also because these processes are important in many natural and industrial systems," Sandnes said.</p>
<p>Scientists believe air fracturing could be used to improve the cleanup of contaminated soil sites. A strategy known as in-situ chemical oxidation is often used to detoxify land that's been contaminated by years of industrial use and pollution. A chemical is soaked into the sediment and allowed to react with the contaminant, rendering it harmless.</p>
<p>But not all sediments are easily penetrated or saturated. By injecting the land with pressurized air, the oxidant could travel throughout the contaminated soil through the branch-like fractures.</p>
<p>"By fracturing the soil, high-conductivity pathways can be generated for fluid exchange, speeding up the cleaning process, and reducing cost for the operator," researchers wrote.</p> | Study suggests high-pressure air injections could aid contaminated soil cleanups | false | https://upi.com/Science_News/2018/01/22/Study-suggests-high-pressure-air-injections-could-aid-contaminated-soil-cleanups/2791516650249/ | 2 |
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<p />
<p>The prepaid debit card industry is undergoing a transformation, and this makeover is looking good for consumers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Bankrate's 2014 Prepaid Debit Cards Survey shows that while prepaid card offerings continue to vary widely, the industry is moving toward lower fees and more transparency as it becomes a more mainstream product.</p>
<p>"Prepaid cards initially were rife with all kinds of ancillary charges," says Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride. "The evolution of the marketplace over the past couple years has not only brought fees down, but also made them more transparent."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/credit-cards/credit-card-results.aspx?pid=p:foxbz?CCType=TYPE&amp;CCProductId=103&amp;ec_id=" type="external">Find the best prepaid and debit cards Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The evolution of the prepaid business</p>
<p>For years, the prepaid card business was relegated to the periphery of the financial sector, seen by those in the industry as mostly a product for underbanked or unbanked consumers, people who rarely use traditional banking services.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>But while the financial industry may have seen reloadable prepaid cards as a fringe product, the average consumer did not, says Ben Jackson, a senior analyst at Mercator Advisory Group.</p>
<p>Between 2009 and 2012, prepaid card payments increased faster than credit, debit and check payments, according to a 2013 report by the Federal Reserve. Consumers loaded an estimated $71.6 billion onto general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards in 2013, according to the research firm Mercator, up from $56.8 billion in 2011. Mercator forecasts that number to jump to $97.9 billion by 2016.</p>
<p>Companies are taking note by ratcheting up their prepaid card offerings, catering to different niches of customers.</p>
<p>"This product really went from a fringe product to, 'Oh, no, wait, this can be a tool for the mainstream,'" Jackson says. "That was a cardholder-driven trend."</p>
<p>Some fees are marginalized</p>
<p>The increased competition has helped marginalize some of the fees associated with general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards, McBride says.</p>
<p>Of the 30 cards examined in Bankrate's 2014 survey -- conducted Feb. 10 to Feb. 19 -- 77% do not charge for declined transactions under any circumstances, while 10% charge $1 to $2 for transactions declined at an ATM.</p>
<p>Only 17% charge a fee for making a PIN-based point-of-sale purchase, although 7% of the prepaid cards don't allow users to make PIN-based transactions.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/video/banking/prepaid-debit-cards-fees.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Watch Greg McBride's analysis of the survey results Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>None of the cards surveyed charge bill payment or reload fees, and 83% don't charge an inactivity fee. As much as 73% of the cards in the survey do not charge for phone customer service. That's an increase from last year's survey, when 67% of the 24 cards surveyed offered free phone customer service.</p>
<p>Other prepaid fees still abound</p>
<p>Still, fees and offerings vary widely depending on the cards, the survey data show. And many other types of charges are still common. For instance, most of the cards surveyed charge a monthly fee, although 33% will waive that fee, typically based on the amount loaded onto the card.</p>
<p>About half the cards have a one-time activation fee, and all charge a fee for using the card at an out-of-network ATM.</p>
<p>"There's tremendous variation (among different cards)," McBride says. "You have to shop around and be mindful of those other, ancillary charges that can crop up. That can really increase your total monthly cost."</p>
<p>Differences in fees</p>
<p>Mercator's Jackson says the difference in fees among the various cards is based on the companies behind the cards and the audience being targeted.</p>
<p>While the overall trend is lower fees for prepaid cards thanks to increased competition, there's no standard fee structure for cards, he says. Instead, companies set fees based on the audience they're reaching and where the prepaid cards fit into their business models, he says.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart in 2009 dramatically lowered the fees on its prepaid debit cards, but the move did not spark a price war because the prepaid debit card market is more about features than about price, Jackson says.</p>
<p>For instance, if a consumer wants a prepaid card to be used in lieu of a checking account, he or she will look for features such as where the card is accepted, how easy it is to load cash onto the card and what the network of ATMs looks like, Jackson says.</p>
<p>A consumer will look for different features if he or she just wants to use the prepaid card for traveling, or to shop online or to give to a college-aged child.</p>
<p>"Consumers should shop around based on how they think they're going to use the card," Jackson says.</p>
<p>A replacement for checking accounts?</p>
<p>The Pew Charitable Trusts recently published a couple of reports on the prepaid card industry noting that, in many instances, a prepaid card can be more affordable than a basic checking account, especially if a consumer tends to overdraft his or her account.</p>
<p>Bankrate's McBride says one of the advantages for consumers using certain prepaid cards is in knowing how much in fees will be charged each month. In contrast, if a consumer overdraws a checking account more than once in a month, it's unclear how much could be charged in total, since the overdrafts keep piling up until you discover the problem.</p>
<p>But it's important to be clear on exactly what fees are involved in a prepaid card, especially given the differences in fee structures. A 2014 Pew survey found that only 32% of consumers compare terms before choosing a prepaid card.</p>
<p>Are prepaid fees transparent?</p>
<p>Making matters worse, fee transparency in the prepaid industry comes up short, says Susan Weinstock, director of Pew's safe checking project. Pew examined 66 of the most popular prepaid cards and found that, while disclosure is improving, some cards still don't disclose fees for particular services.</p>
<p>Weinstock says Pew bought five cards, cut open the packaging and read the disclosures. She says a card's monthly fee and activation fee often are printed on the package, but other fees are only in the document, "which you can't get to unless you purchase the card."</p>
<p>She adds that the disclosure documents are often long. "They're dense. Some of them are on onion skin paper," Weinstock says.</p>
<p>Pew has created a model disclosure form it wants to see all prepaid card providers adopt so consumers can easily see various fees and comparison shop. JPMorgan Chase and Co. has adopted Pew's form for its Liquid prepaid card.</p>
<p>Looking to the future</p>
<p>Weinstock says Pew would like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to require adoption of this disclosure form and provide other protections to consumers using prepaid cards, such as mandating that all be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.</p>
<p>For its part, the CFPB posted a blog in March saying it is developing a model disclosure form and is working on a proposed rule about prepaid cards and consumer protection. It is soliciting comments from the public on the disclosure form.</p>
<p>Jackson and McBride say the industry is already moving toward more transparency.</p>
<p>"They want to have customers that use their cards," Jackson says.</p>
<p>But when consumers are tagged by a surprise fee, they may walk away from the card. "All of a sudden, it's going to be, 'You ripped me off,'" Jackson says. "The industry doesn't want that."</p>
<p>Copyright 2014, Bankrate Inc.</p> | Bankrate Survey: Prepaid Cards go Mainstream | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/04/07/bankrate-survey-prepaid-cards-go-mainstream.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>The McCain campaign is definitely counting on an <a href="http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/palin_plans_pennsylvania_tour.php" type="external">upset in Pennsylvania</a>. With the clock running out, the GOP nominee and his running mate will spend much of their remaining campaign days in the Keystone State. McCain said Sunday that the polls are <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/campaign.wrap/" type="external">inflating</a> his rival’s lead.</p>
<p>Marc Ambinder via <a href="http://politicalwire.com" type="external">Political Wire</a>:</p>
<p>Pennsylvania will see a lot of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin next week.</p>
<p>The scheduling reflects McCain’s tough electoral math. With some — though by no means all — advisers all but conceding Colorado, McCain would be forced to win a blue state in order to recoup the electoral votes. New Hampshire wouldn’t give him enough, and Pennsylvania, the McCain campaign believes, is the most brittle of the remaining states. Public and private polls give Obama a double digit lead in the state, but McCain advisers believe that Obama is underperforming in the suburbs and exurban counties around Pittsburgh. Tensions between the two campaigns in the state is acute.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/palin_plans_pennsylvania_tour.php" type="external">Read more</a></p> | McCain Doubles Down on Pennsylvania | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/mccain-doubles-down-on-pennsylvania/ | 2008-10-27 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK.B) on Monday said it has increased its stake in Apple Inc by 55 percent, boosting its bet on the iPhone and iPod maker even as other prominent investors reduce their own.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Berkshire owned about 15.23 million shares of Apple as of June 30, up from 9.81 million three months earlier, according to a regulatory filing detailing Berkshire's U.S.-listed stock holdings at the end of the second quarter.</p>
<p>It is unclear whether Buffett or one of his portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, made the investment. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish)</p> | Warren Buffett Takes Bigger Bite Out of Apple | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/15/warren-buffett-takes-bigger-bite-out-apple.html | 2016-08-15 | 0 |
<p>Fetty Wap is a new trap artist of the singing rapper breed who&#160;has been killing the game and the charts. Currently, he is the <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/all-four-of-fetty-waps-singles-are-in-the-top-10-on-billboards-hot-rap-songs-chart-news.17158.html" type="external">first artist to have the first four</a> of his chart entries hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Charts. Distinguished from his peers by his missing left eye, Fetty has confidently <a href="http://www.musictimes.com/articles/37821/20150506/fetty-wap-clears-up-rumors-left-eye-trap-queen-performance-glaucoma.htm" type="external">refused to wear his prosthetic eye</a> because he “didn’t want to look like everyone else.” Even if you never hear one of his songs (which is unlikely unless you live under a rock), you have to admire his spirit.</p>
<p>But I hope you do hear at least a couple of his singles because Fetty is doing something very different than his peers: he’s bringing <a href="http://news.mtv.ca/news/music/let-fetty-wap-be-the-soundtrack-to-your-summer-romance/" type="external">romance</a> to trap music. In a genre where “Making Love to the Money” is one the most romantic tunes to date, that’s saying a lot.&#160;</p>
<p>In “ <a href="http://genius.com/Fetty-wap-my-way-lyrics" type="external">My Way</a>,” the rapper affectionately dubbed Fettyoncé has a simple mission, one not uncommon in many a love ballad. He is pursuing a woman he likes. Despite the seemingly unremarkable story, it’s pretty radical in the context of&#160;songs like “ <a href="http://genius.com/Chief-keef-love-no-thotties-lyrics" type="external">Love No Thotties</a>” and “ <a href="http://genius.com/Migos-freak-no-more-lyrics" type="external">Freak No More</a>.” Not only that, he renounces the mistreatment his beloved&#160;suffered at the hands of an unworthy ex:</p>
<p>This is something you should know, I don’t ever chase no hoes</p>
<p>I spotted you, you had that glow, watch me pull out all this dough</p>
<p>Take you where you want to go, flexing on your ex, I know</p>
<p>He ain’t ever take you out, barely even left your house</p>
<p>How dare that nigga run his mouth when his pockets in a drought</p>
<p>The last single he put out didn’t even make it out</p>
<p>And he dumb as hell and I swear his ass don’t think, ayy</p>
<p>If he disrespect, two shots and I won’t blink, ayy</p>
<p>To an extent, Fetty Wap follows in the footsteps of rappers like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEUX-HYRtUA" type="external">LL Cool J</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM9uL8WG4ZY" type="external">Ja Rule</a>, and even the&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGlN8m8SC08" type="external">Cash Money Millionaires</a>&#160;(we can debate this choice later) who have all tried their hand at hip hop odes to the ladies. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the hip hop heartthrob himself, Drake. But none of these artists are strictly trap, and within the genre,&#160;Fetty’s&#160;lyrics&#160;and&#160;willingness to playfully flex his vocal range, sets him&#160;apart.&#160;(Future’s “ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIrhcTkHX_A" type="external">Turn on the Lights</a>” was an amazing trap love song. But unlike Fetty Wap, love and romance is not the primary theme of Future’s discography)</p>
<p>When I <a href="" type="internal">first talked about trap feminism</a> I was interested in noting the ways in which trap lyrics, which are uniquely saturated with references to different ways to get money, can sometimes insert women as active agents in the alternative and sub-economies popular to the trap genre. Fetty’s&#160;“ <a href="http://genius.com/Fetty-wap-trap-queen-lyrics" type="external">Trap Queen</a>” is a prime example of this. You could consider this track a trap version of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” In the song, Fetty is bragging about the then-love of his life, a woman who joined him among the ranks of the trap elite by partnering with him in his drug business. Here’s a snippet of some of the lyrics:</p>
<p>I’m like “hey, what’s up, hello”</p>
<p>Seen yo pretty ass soon as you came in that door</p>
<p>I just wanna chill, got a sack for us to roll</p>
<p>Married to the money, introduced her to my stove</p>
<p>Showed her how to whip it, now she remixin’ for low</p>
<p>She my trap queen, let her hit the bando</p>
<p>We be countin’ up, watch how far them bands go</p>
<p>We just set a goal, talkin’ matchin’ Lambos</p>
<p>Got 56 a gram, prob’ a 100 grams though</p>
<p>This love story is fueled by hard earned cash and the significance of a partner with whom to earn it with. In Fetty’s world, it is not simply the support of a woman in a business venture that makes her a Trap Queen; it is the effort that a Trap Queen puts into learning the ins and outs of said business, her willingness to perform the same amount of labor, take the same amount of risk, and most importantly reap the same benefits and create the same opportunities for herself. I love that Fetty has moved beyond female partners as uninvolved and unimportant in relation to their male bae/assumed breadwinner. In Fetty’s world, the bond between him and his boo is strengthened by their personal and business relationship, uplifting a romance trope that is refreshing. I like to think that he is indirectly suggesting that men should use their privilege to make room for more women in business. While I’m less than pleased that he allowed “Trap Queen” to be <a href="https://instagram.com/p/6J3ZHQu7XX/?taken-by=oliviamorrison" type="external">sullied by a rhythmically challenged Taylor Swift</a>, I support this his brand of trap feminism nonetheless.</p> | Trap Feminism Vol. 3: Fetty Wap and the trap love song | true | http://feministing.com/2015/08/21/trap-feminism-vol-3-fetty-wap-and-the-trap-love-song/ | 4 |
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<p>BALTIMORE (AP) — Nearly 50 people have fallen sick on a cruise ship that departed from Baltimore last week.</p>
<p>Royal Caribbean Cruises spokesman Owen Torres <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/bs-md-royal-caribbean-cruise-sick-20180111-story.html" type="external">told The Baltimore</a> Sun 46 cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported aboard the Grandeur of the Seas ship.</p>
<p>The 2,900-passenger cruise left Baltimore on Jan. 2 for a nine-day trip with stops in South Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas. It was scheduled to set sail back to Baltimore on Thursday, but now won't until Saturday because of a mechanical error.</p>
<p>Torres said the cause of the illness is unknown. The ship's doctors have treated those affected by the illness with over-the-counter medication. Torres said no new illnesses had been reported as of Thursday morning.</p>
<p>Last month, about 500 passengers on two separate Royal Caribbean cruises also fell sick.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show the reason for the ship's delayed return was mechanical error, not the sickness.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Baltimore Sun, <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com" type="external">http://www.baltimoresun.com</a></p>
<p>BALTIMORE (AP) — Nearly 50 people have fallen sick on a cruise ship that departed from Baltimore last week.</p>
<p>Royal Caribbean Cruises spokesman Owen Torres <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/bs-md-royal-caribbean-cruise-sick-20180111-story.html" type="external">told The Baltimore</a> Sun 46 cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported aboard the Grandeur of the Seas ship.</p>
<p>The 2,900-passenger cruise left Baltimore on Jan. 2 for a nine-day trip with stops in South Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas. It was scheduled to set sail back to Baltimore on Thursday, but now won't until Saturday because of a mechanical error.</p>
<p>Torres said the cause of the illness is unknown. The ship's doctors have treated those affected by the illness with over-the-counter medication. Torres said no new illnesses had been reported as of Thursday morning.</p>
<p>Last month, about 500 passengers on two separate Royal Caribbean cruises also fell sick.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show the reason for the ship's delayed return was mechanical error, not the sickness.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Baltimore Sun, <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com" type="external">http://www.baltimoresun.com</a></p> | Nearly 50 people fall sick on Royal Caribbean cruise ship | false | https://apnews.com/amp/d0b64f88853e4cae823459c29804599f | 2018-01-12 | 2 |
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<p>LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Dona Ana County Sheriff’s officials say the body of a man found west of Las Cruces has been identified as their investigation into his death continues.</p>
<p>The body of 61-year-old Robert Reed was discovered Oct. 10.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials say the severely decomposed remains were wrapped in a tarp and could have been dumped at the spot as early as mid-August.</p>
<p>Two landscape workers who were clearing weeds in the area discovered the body and alerted authorities.</p>
<p>The remains were sent to the University of New Mexico Office of the Medical Examiner for positive identification.</p>
<p>Detectives have learned that Reed lived in Las Cruces, frequented Branigan Library and walked with a cane.</p>
<p>But they have been unable to locate any of his relatives and are asking the public for any information.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Body of man found west of Las Cruces ID’d; Probe continues | false | https://abqjournal.com/880801/body-of-man-found-west-of-las-cruces-idd-probe-continues.html | 2 |
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<p>The NFL voluntarily gave up its tax-exempt status two years ago, but that didn’t stop President Donald Trump from tweeting on Tuesday morning that tax law should be changed so that the NFL will no longer get “massive tax breaks.”</p>
<p>That’s right —&#160;in between attacking Congress, the “failing New York Times,” and ESPN host Jemele Hill, Trump said that as long as NFL players continued protesting during the national anthem, the NFL should no longer get the tax breaks that it has already voluntarily given up.</p>
<p />
<p>Why is Trump so upset about tax breaks the NFL is getting, particularly when the NFL is not actually taking those tax breaks?</p>
<p>Well, on Monday night, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson interviewed&#160;Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Gaetz, it turns out, is the new lead sponsor of the Pro Sports Act, a bill that would permanently remove the tax-exempt status —&#160;originally granted in 1966 — from the NFL’s League Office.</p>
<p>“It would seem ludicrous to leave&#160;in the tax&#160;code special&#160;treatment for professional&#160;sports leagues when they are not&#160;out there shutting down behavior&#160;that is not only unpatriotic,&#160;it’s just a overgeneralized&#160;indictment,” Gaetz said.</p>
<p>By “unpatriotic behavior,” Gaetz is referring to the NFL players who are taking a knee or raising a fist during the national anthem as a way to protest police brutality and systemic racism, a movement that started when Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the anthem last year, shortly after the police killings of Terrence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile.&#160;It’s important to note that these players are not protesting the American flag or the military, or even the anthem itself; that is merely the narrative that many on the right are trying to push so that they can avoid talking about (or even acknowledging) police brutality and systemic racism.</p>
<p>What we learned from tracking protests for more than a year.</p>
<p />
<p>Notably, the Pro Sports Act wouldn’t just impact the NFL — it would also remove the tax-exempt status of the National Hockey League and the PGA Tour, two organizations that Trump has recently praised.</p>
<p>But on Carlson’s show, Gaetz tied the Pro Sports Act directly to the tax plan that Trump is trying to pass through Congress.</p>
<p>“It’s my belief that if the&#160;Congress is serious about&#160;getting rid of the loopholes and&#160;special interest giveaways in&#160;the tax&#160;code in the coming weeks,&#160;an easy place to start is by&#160;not subsidizing and not giving&#160;special treatment to&#160;professional sports leagues,&#160;particularly when the NFL League Office has embraced this&#160;unpatriotic behavior,” Gaetz told Carlson.</p>
<p>It would seem as though Trump, an avid Fox News viewer, saw Gaetz’s interview and decided to follow Gaetz’s lead in trying to turn his base’s hatred of the NFL protests into support for his tax bill.</p>
<p>Of course, this connection is tenuous at best. First of all, Gaetz failed to mention that Trump’s proposed tax plan would be a huge boost to the NFL, as it would <a href="" type="internal">cut the tax rates</a> that NFL owners pay from 40 percent to 25 percent.</p>
<p />
<p>And, as we previously noted, neither Gaetz nor Trump brought up the fact that the NFL had already voluntarily given up its tax-exempt status, mostly due to pressure coming from activists on the left.</p>
<p>For years, liberal activists pushed for legislation that would strip pro sports leagues of tax-exempt status, but most in Congress were <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/18/nfl-tax-exemption-debate-congress-tom-coburn/4110381/" type="external">hesitant to pick up the cause</a>, likely due to the lobbying power of the NFL. Former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) created the Pro Sports Act in 2013, but the bill never received a massive amount of support from either side of the aisle. When the NFL voluntarily gave up its tax-exempt status in 2015, commissioner Roger Goodell said it did so in order to get rid of the “distraction” that the issue had become. The league argued — and most experts agree — that the tax-exempt status did not save the NFL significant money since it only applied to the league office, which predominantly serves as a pass-through entity, funneling money to the teams. There are 32 NFL teams, and 31 of them are taxed as private organizations.</p>
<p>In reality, the most direct way to stop the NFL benefiting from tax breaks would be to end the tax exemptions that allows for (and encourages) taxpayer money to fund the building and renovations of sports stadiums. In his 2015 <a href="" type="internal">budget proposal</a>, President Barack Obama offered a plan to repeal just such exemptions.</p>
<p>The GOP-led congress never approved Obama’s plan.</p> | Donald Trump wants to punish the NFL by taking away a tax exemption they gave up 2 years ago | true | https://thinkprogress.org/trump-tax-nfl-f40592574b55/ | 2017-10-10 | 4 |
<p>JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A proposal to ban smoking in bars and restaurants across Alaska gained wide support in the Alaska Legislature, but the bill's fate will again be decided by a single lawmaker.</p>
<p>Republican state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux of Anchorage has given no sign that she has changed her opposition to the ban, the Juneau Empire <a href="http://bit.ly/2n88ozY" type="external">reported</a> Wednesday. LeDoux, the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, killed the same bill in the 2015-16 Legislature. LeDoux is in a key position that allows her to decide whether it comes up for a final vote.</p>
<p>LeDoux, through a spokesman, declined to talk about her position.</p>
<p>If signed into law, the bill would restrict smoking in public places. It's being advanced by Republican state Sen. Peter Micciche of Soldotna.</p>
<p>Micciche said he believes the bill is a matter of public health and is about protecting employees in businesses that currently allow smoking.</p>
<p>"It's clearly a public health issue. No one disagrees there will be health benefits," he said.</p>
<p>Micciche, speaking to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday afternoon, said he refers to the bill as the "take it outside" act.</p>
<p>"It's complaint-driven," he said. "There's not going to be a group of people from (environmental conservation) or (state health) that is going around trying to catch you because you're trying to sneak a cigarette near the bathroom."</p>
<p>Bethel was the first city in Alaska to ban smoking in public spaces such as bars and restaurants. Its ban passed in 1998 and in the two decades since that vote, other cities have followed suit. Anchorage bans smoking in public and so does Juneau. Fairbanks hasn't passed a ban and neither has Kodiak.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, <a href="http://www.juneauempire.com" type="external">http://www.juneauempire.com</a></p>
<p>JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A proposal to ban smoking in bars and restaurants across Alaska gained wide support in the Alaska Legislature, but the bill's fate will again be decided by a single lawmaker.</p>
<p>Republican state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux of Anchorage has given no sign that she has changed her opposition to the ban, the Juneau Empire <a href="http://bit.ly/2n88ozY" type="external">reported</a> Wednesday. LeDoux, the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, killed the same bill in the 2015-16 Legislature. LeDoux is in a key position that allows her to decide whether it comes up for a final vote.</p>
<p>LeDoux, through a spokesman, declined to talk about her position.</p>
<p>If signed into law, the bill would restrict smoking in public places. It's being advanced by Republican state Sen. Peter Micciche of Soldotna.</p>
<p>Micciche said he believes the bill is a matter of public health and is about protecting employees in businesses that currently allow smoking.</p>
<p>"It's clearly a public health issue. No one disagrees there will be health benefits," he said.</p>
<p>Micciche, speaking to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday afternoon, said he refers to the bill as the "take it outside" act.</p>
<p>"It's complaint-driven," he said. "There's not going to be a group of people from (environmental conservation) or (state health) that is going around trying to catch you because you're trying to sneak a cigarette near the bathroom."</p>
<p>Bethel was the first city in Alaska to ban smoking in public spaces such as bars and restaurants. Its ban passed in 1998 and in the two decades since that vote, other cities have followed suit. Anchorage bans smoking in public and so does Juneau. Fairbanks hasn't passed a ban and neither has Kodiak.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, <a href="http://www.juneauempire.com" type="external">http://www.juneauempire.com</a></p> | Lawmaker could thwart Alaska smoking ban proposal again | false | https://apnews.com/amp/dff7034e057e47ca9680e1b93bac383f | 2018-01-25 | 2 |
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<p>SAN ANTONIO — An ex-high school English teacher in San Antonio accused of throwing lewd parties for boys must serve 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sex abuse-related counts.</p>
<p>Prosecutors in San Antonio say Jared Anderson was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sexual performance by a child and indecency with a child by exposure.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old Anderson was a teacher at Judson High School when he was arrested in March 2016 on allegations he hosted sex parties for boys.</p>
<p>Police have said Anderson encouraged the boys to get naked and engage in sexual activity with him and each other during gatherings at his residence.</p>
<p>Authorities say Anderson later texted apologies to some parents amid the investigation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Former San Antonio teacher gets 10 years in sex parties case | false | https://abqjournal.com/1046644/former-san-antonio-teacher-gets-10-years-in-sex-parties-case.html | 2 |
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<p>Lawrence Spiekermeier, the truck driver who transported the national tree to the U.S. Capitol, says it was the highlight of his career.</p>
<p>The Capitol Christmas tree arrived in Washington D.C. after being driven from Montana’s Kootenai National Forest early Monday morning.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Montana truck driver Lawrence Spiekermeier explained why the 3,500 mile drive was one of his proudest trips yet.</p>
<p>“I’m going to call this the crown jewel of a driving career. I guess I’m blessed and lucky to have such an opportunity,” he told FOX Business’ Liz MacDonald on “Risk &amp; Reward.”</p>
<p>Spiekermeier has traveled 3.5 million accident-free miles and has been hauling for 49 years through 49 states.</p>
<p>“We started on Nov. 12 and we arrived in D.C. on Nov. 26, so we had a few days on the road and visiting all the different stops across America,” he said. “The tree comes from our country, the Kootenai National Forest in Northern Montana and every stop that we made along the whole journey it was nothing, but happy faces because this is the tree for the people, it’s the people’s tree,” he said.</p>
<p>While making stops across America, Spiekermeier allowed people to physically sign his truck.</p>
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<p>“We had banners on the side of the trailer and at each stop we made people come up and sign their name to the banner,” he said.</p>
<p>The 79-foot-tall Engelmann Spruce is one of many trees that has been put in front of the Capitol building, which has been a tradition for Capitol Hill for over 50 years.</p> | Montana truck driver: Delivering America’s Christmas tree was the highlight of my career | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/28/montana-truck-driver-delivering-america-s-christmas-tree-was-highlight-my-career.html | 2017-11-28 | 0 |
<p>OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Jerrick Harding drilled five from distance and totaled 29 points as Weber State rolled over Sacramento State 80-64 in Big Sky Conference action on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Weber State (11-7, 4-2) has won four of its last five games.</p>
<p>The Wildcats nailed 10 treys in the first half but only led 37-36 at the break. They finished hitting 13 of 23 from distance, making 26 of 53 (49 percent) from the floor. Sacramento State was 25 of 62, hitting 8 of 17 from distance. Weber State made nine more free throws than the Hornets.</p>
<p>Sacramento State opened the second period on a 9-6 run to go up 45-43. Weber State's Brekkott Chapman slammed home a dunk to start a 16-5 surge for a 59-50 lead at the 8:47 mark. Justin Strings hit a trey and Bryce Fowler added a layup to close to 63-60 with 5:20 remaining.</p>
<p>The Wildcats finished with a 17-4 surge.</p>
<p>Izayah Mauriohoohoo-Le'Afa led the Hornets (5-14, 2-4) with 19 points.</p>
<p>OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Jerrick Harding drilled five from distance and totaled 29 points as Weber State rolled over Sacramento State 80-64 in Big Sky Conference action on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Weber State (11-7, 4-2) has won four of its last five games.</p>
<p>The Wildcats nailed 10 treys in the first half but only led 37-36 at the break. They finished hitting 13 of 23 from distance, making 26 of 53 (49 percent) from the floor. Sacramento State was 25 of 62, hitting 8 of 17 from distance. Weber State made nine more free throws than the Hornets.</p>
<p>Sacramento State opened the second period on a 9-6 run to go up 45-43. Weber State's Brekkott Chapman slammed home a dunk to start a 16-5 surge for a 59-50 lead at the 8:47 mark. Justin Strings hit a trey and Bryce Fowler added a layup to close to 63-60 with 5:20 remaining.</p>
<p>The Wildcats finished with a 17-4 surge.</p>
<p>Izayah Mauriohoohoo-Le'Afa led the Hornets (5-14, 2-4) with 19 points.</p> | Harding has 29 as Weber St. rolls Sacramento St. 80-64 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/38bde5a7c160467bbad174470638c52f | 2018-01-19 | 2 |
<p>Published time: 4 Sep, 2017 17:23</p>
<p>A car accidentally plowed into a New York City laundromat, injuring six people on Sunday. Surveillance cameras captured the dramatic scene around 8am at the Page Laundromat in Tottenville, Staten Island.</p>
<p>Six people were transported to Staten Island University Hospital North. Three with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries, and three were treated for minor injuries.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/401874-car-house-crash-volkswagen/" type="external">READ MORE: Man arrested after car smashes into living room (PHOTO)</a></p>
<p>The car’s 74-year-old driver is thought to have confused the gas pedal with the brake, <a href="http://www.silive.com/news/2017/09/post_1714.html#incart_river_home_pop" type="external">according</a> to police.</p>
<p>Speaking with RT.com, the owner of the laundromat, Bon Koo, said he plans on filing a police report to claim from his insurance to cover the costly repairs.</p>
<p>Koo directed RT.com to a recording of the CCTV footage taken by local media outlet Staten Island Live.</p>
<p>Four washers, four dryers, a vending machine and new glass storefront will all need to be replaced.</p>
<p /> | SUV plows into NYC laundromat, injures 6 people (VIDEO) | false | https://newsline.com/suv-plows-into-nyc-laundromat-injures-6-people-video/ | 2017-09-04 | 1 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The expected wave of litigation against the Federal Communications Commission’s <a href="" type="internal">repeal of net-neutrality rules</a> has begun.</p>
<p>A group of attorneys general for 21 states and the District of Columbia sued Tuesday to block the rules. So did Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, public-interest group Free Press and New America’s Open Technology Institute. Others may file suit as well, and a major tech-industry lobbying group has said it will support litigation.</p>
<p>The rules barred companies like AT&amp;T, Comcast and Verizon from interfering with internet traffic and favoring their own sites and apps. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s push to undo them <a href="" type="internal">inspired both street and online protests</a> in defense of the Obama-era rules.</p>
<p>New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading the suit, said Tuesday that the end of the net neutrality rules would hurt consumers and businesses.</p>
<p>FCC spokesman Brian Hart declined to comment on the litigation.</p>
<p>The lawsuits are part of a multi-pronged approach against the net-neutrality repeal. There are efforts by Democrats to undo the repeal in Congress. State lawmakers have also introduced bills to protect net neutrality in their own states. However, the FCC’s order bars state laws from contradicting the federal government’s approach. The FCC’s new rules are not expected to go into effect until later this spring.</p>
<p>THE COURTS</p>
<p>Apart from New York, the other attorneys general participating in the lawsuit are from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.</p>
<p>The New York attorney general says the FCC made “arbitrary and capricious” changes to existing policies and was unjustified in departing from the FCC’s long-standing policy of defending net neutrality.</p>
<p>The legal challenge could face an uphill battle, however. Antitrust attorney David Balto says the courts have generally shown deference to agencies to set regulations as long as they provide adequate explanations. A court would likely judge that the FCC has the authority to class the internet as an “information service” and invalidate the prior rules, just as the Obama-era FCC had the authority to label internet service a telecommunications utility and regulate it more heavily.</p>
<p>The parties may have to file suit again after the FCC’s order is published in the Federal Register. That hasn’t happened yet. The different suits may also be consolidated.</p>
<p>REPEAL IN CONGRESS</p>
<p>Democrats in the Senate will force a vote on a simple repeal of the FCC’s repeal, using the same law, the Congressional Review Act, that Congress used to <a href="" type="internal">undo the Obama-era internet privacy rules</a> . The vote probably won’t happen for a few months.</p>
<p>Democrats need a least two Republican votes to pass a repeal in the Senate. Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins has already said she’ll support it. But the resolution would probably run into difficulties in the House, where Republicans have a much bigger majority. And President Donald Trump seems likely to veto it. The White House has said it supports the FCC’s efforts to roll back regulations.</p>
<p>However, if net neutrality does become a campaign issue with young voters in the 2018 elections, as some Democrats hope, they could use Republicans’ “no” votes on restoring net neutrality rules to their advantage.</p>
<p>STATE BILLS</p>
<p>The FCC order bars states and cities from imposing rules on broadband providers that contradict the FCC’s plan. Lawmakers in a number of states are pursuing net-neutrality bills anyway.</p>
<p>In New York, <a href="http://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A08882" type="external">a bill</a> would bar the state from <a href="http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Patricia-Fahy/story/78711" type="external">contracting</a> with broadband companies that don’t follow net-neutrality principles.</p>
<p>In California, <a href="http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/news/2018-01-04-senate-leader-de-leon-announces-legislation-protect-net-neutrality-california" type="external">one bill would forbid companies</a> like AT&amp;T, Comcast and Verizon from blocking, limiting or interfering with customers’ internet service. <a href="http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180103-senator-wiener-introduce-net-neutrality-legislation-today-california-legislature" type="external">Another</a> is similar in its approach to the New York bill, predicating state contracts and local cable franchises to companies following net-neutrality policies.</p>
<p>State lawmakers have also introduced bills in Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Washington, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks state bills. A New Mexico state senator has said he will propose legislation.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The expected wave of litigation against the Federal Communications Commission’s <a href="" type="internal">repeal of net-neutrality rules</a> has begun.</p>
<p>A group of attorneys general for 21 states and the District of Columbia sued Tuesday to block the rules. So did Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, public-interest group Free Press and New America’s Open Technology Institute. Others may file suit as well, and a major tech-industry lobbying group has said it will support litigation.</p>
<p>The rules barred companies like AT&amp;T, Comcast and Verizon from interfering with internet traffic and favoring their own sites and apps. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s push to undo them <a href="" type="internal">inspired both street and online protests</a> in defense of the Obama-era rules.</p>
<p>New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading the suit, said Tuesday that the end of the net neutrality rules would hurt consumers and businesses.</p>
<p>FCC spokesman Brian Hart declined to comment on the litigation.</p>
<p>The lawsuits are part of a multi-pronged approach against the net-neutrality repeal. There are efforts by Democrats to undo the repeal in Congress. State lawmakers have also introduced bills to protect net neutrality in their own states. However, the FCC’s order bars state laws from contradicting the federal government’s approach. The FCC’s new rules are not expected to go into effect until later this spring.</p>
<p>THE COURTS</p>
<p>Apart from New York, the other attorneys general participating in the lawsuit are from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.</p>
<p>The New York attorney general says the FCC made “arbitrary and capricious” changes to existing policies and was unjustified in departing from the FCC’s long-standing policy of defending net neutrality.</p>
<p>The legal challenge could face an uphill battle, however. Antitrust attorney David Balto says the courts have generally shown deference to agencies to set regulations as long as they provide adequate explanations. A court would likely judge that the FCC has the authority to class the internet as an “information service” and invalidate the prior rules, just as the Obama-era FCC had the authority to label internet service a telecommunications utility and regulate it more heavily.</p>
<p>The parties may have to file suit again after the FCC’s order is published in the Federal Register. That hasn’t happened yet. The different suits may also be consolidated.</p>
<p>REPEAL IN CONGRESS</p>
<p>Democrats in the Senate will force a vote on a simple repeal of the FCC’s repeal, using the same law, the Congressional Review Act, that Congress used to <a href="" type="internal">undo the Obama-era internet privacy rules</a> . The vote probably won’t happen for a few months.</p>
<p>Democrats need a least two Republican votes to pass a repeal in the Senate. Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins has already said she’ll support it. But the resolution would probably run into difficulties in the House, where Republicans have a much bigger majority. And President Donald Trump seems likely to veto it. The White House has said it supports the FCC’s efforts to roll back regulations.</p>
<p>However, if net neutrality does become a campaign issue with young voters in the 2018 elections, as some Democrats hope, they could use Republicans’ “no” votes on restoring net neutrality rules to their advantage.</p>
<p>STATE BILLS</p>
<p>The FCC order bars states and cities from imposing rules on broadband providers that contradict the FCC’s plan. Lawmakers in a number of states are pursuing net-neutrality bills anyway.</p>
<p>In New York, <a href="http://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A08882" type="external">a bill</a> would bar the state from <a href="http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Patricia-Fahy/story/78711" type="external">contracting</a> with broadband companies that don’t follow net-neutrality principles.</p>
<p>In California, <a href="http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/news/2018-01-04-senate-leader-de-leon-announces-legislation-protect-net-neutrality-california" type="external">one bill would forbid companies</a> like AT&amp;T, Comcast and Verizon from blocking, limiting or interfering with customers’ internet service. <a href="http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180103-senator-wiener-introduce-net-neutrality-legislation-today-california-legislature" type="external">Another</a> is similar in its approach to the New York bill, predicating state contracts and local cable franchises to companies following net-neutrality policies.</p>
<p>State lawmakers have also introduced bills in Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Washington, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks state bills. A New Mexico state senator has said he will propose legislation.</p> | Wave of lawsuits filed to block net-neutrality repeal | false | https://apnews.com/13de8d0c79bf4c4baf8c4675de183f83 | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Supreme_Court_-_corrected.jpg" type="external">Jarek Tuszyński/Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
<p>Alejandro Rodriguez was a year old when he <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/garcia-et-al-v-hayes-et-al-habeas-petition" type="external">arrived in the United States</a>. Twenty-four years later, he landed in immigration detention. In between, he’d become a permanent legal resident, a dental assistant, and a father. He’d also acquired a criminal record.&#160;</p>
<p>The crimes weren’t particularly serious—convictions for “joyriding” in 1998 and drug possession&#160;five years later—but they were enough for the Department of Homeland Security to detain him in 2004. He spent the next three years in immigration detention.&#160;</p>
<p>On Monday, the Supreme Court announced that it would rehear arguments in&#160;Rodriguez v. Jennings in its next session,&#160;with a full court that includes its newest member, Justice Neil Gorsuch.&#160;The decision, at least temporarily, leaves in place&#160;a lower court ruling that detained immigrants&#160;have the right to <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/rodriguez_ninth_2015.pdf" type="external">a bond hearing every six months</a>. But it’s not an encouraging sign for immigrants in detention.</p>
<p>The case will now be decided by five conservative justices. Immigrant advocates had hoped that Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s frequent swing vote, would provide the fifth vote in their favor. That may have been a tough sell:&#160;In 2003, Kennedy wrote a concurring opinion&#160;in <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/01-1491" type="external">Demore v. Kim</a>&#160;stating that&#160;regular&#160;bond hearings were not needed for detained immigrants with criminal records.&#160;Cornell University&#160;law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr suggests that&#160;Monday’s announcement that the court will rehear Rodriguez&#160;indicates that&#160; <a href="https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/26/supreme-court-will-hear-california-immigrant-detention-case-again/" type="external">the justices split 4-4.</a>&#160;That would leave Gorsuch to break the tie, and so far he’s&#160;been a <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/neil-gorsuch-is-paying-off-for-trump-so-far/" type="external">thoroughly reliable conservative vote</a>.</p>
<p>More broadly, Rodriguez’s case&#160;highlights how the rapid expansion of immigration detention has overwhelmed the judicial system.&#160;Between 1995 and 2016, the number of immigrants in detention&#160; <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/white_paper_09-30-16_released_for_web-v1-opt.pdf" type="external">rose from 7,475 to 32,985</a>, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. President Donald&#160;Trump’s budget proposes further increasing spending on immigration detention and removal <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/fact_sheets/2018%20Budget%20Fact%20Sheet_Budget%20Overview.pdf" type="external">by $1.5 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Funding for the immigration courts that decide cases like Rodriguez’s <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/empty_benches_underfunding_of_immigration_courts_undermines_justice.pdf" type="external">has grown more slowly</a>, contributing to a backlog of almost 600,000 immigration cases, up from about 175,000 a decade ago, according to the <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/apprep_backlog.php" type="external">Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse</a>. The result is that the detained immigrants who joined Rodriguez’s class action suit spent an <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/15-1204-Opp-to-Govt-Petition-for-Writ-of-Cert.pdf" type="external">average of 404 days</a> in detention.</p>
<p>To help the courts keep up, the Justice Department is now moving immigration judges to priority cities. But the judges are being sent from states like New York, which has its own <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/apprep_backlog.php" type="external">81,284-case backlog</a>. Paul Schmidt, a former immigration judge and chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals, told Reuters that the “ <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-judges-exclusive-idUSKBN16O2S6" type="external">aimless docket reshuffling</a>” will force the reassigned judges to postpone their own cases.</p>
<p>As immigrants wait for their hearings, the government pays <a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666911.pdf" type="external">$158 per day</a> to keep them in detention, according to a 2014 report from the Government Accountability Office. There are also additional costs like the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/respondents-brief-jennings-v-rodriguez" type="external">welfare benefits</a> that the pregnant wife of a Rodriguez class member used to help cover her husband’s lost income.</p>
<p>The Obama administration believed that the hardship and costs were necessary to protect the public and ensure that immigrants showed up for hearings. The Solicitor General’s office&#160;argued that the difficulty of predicting whether an immigrant will jump bail led Congress to <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/jennings_pet.pdf" type="external">mandate</a> that&#160;immigrants remain in detention while their cases proceed.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court&#160; <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/01-1491" type="external">upheld that approach</a>&#160;in&#160;Demore,&#160;partly because it assumed the average detention period in appealed cases was five months. Last year, the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review apologized after finding&#160;that the&#160;average wait at the time was actually <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Demore.pdf" type="external">more than a year</a>.</p>
<p>That’s not the only change since Demore,&#160;Ahilan Arulanantham, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California lawyer who argued Rodriguez before the Supreme Court, said prior to Monday’s announcement. There are now highly effective tools like GPS for tracking immigrants who are out on bond. &#160;</p>
<p>“If they were citizens, they would be released,” Arulanantham said. “In fact, citizens with the same offenses as our class members are released in far greater numbers every day.”&#160;</p>
<p>Arulanantham adds that immigration judges often know a detainee is headed toward release, but they have no authority to grant bail. When those immigrants eventually get their hearing, they go home.&#160;“It shows the total pointlessness of the detention,” he said.</p>
<p>Still, he wasn’t surprised that the Obama administration fought for it. “From day one, they were completely invested in the continuation and actually the expansion of the immigration detention system,” he said. The government’s position in Rodriguez&#160;did not change once Trump took office.</p>
<p>In Rodriguez’s case, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement&#160;declined to release him under supervision at <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/garciavhayes_habeaspetition.pdf" type="external">four separate custody reviews</a>. But about a month after Rodriguez filed the suit, the government let him go and used his release to&#160;argue (unsuccessfully) that the class certification was moot.</p>
<p>After he was released in 2007, Rodriguez wore an <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/rodriguezvhayes_opinion.pdf" type="external">ankle monitor</a> and was not allowed to go more than 50 feet from his home at night. Data from an ICE contractor shows that about <a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666911.pdf" type="external">95 percent of immigrants</a> under intensive supervision show up for their final hearing. The supervision costs <a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666911.pdf" type="external">$10.55 per day</a>—15 times less than detention.</p>
<p>More than seven years after Rodriguez was first detained, an immigration judge <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/15-1204bs.pdf" type="external">granted him a cancellation of removal</a> that allows him to stay in the country. When Arulanantham and Rodriguez last spoke a few years ago, Rodriguez was back to working as a dental assistant.&#160;</p>
<p>In 2003, Kennedy wrote in his <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/538/510/case.pdf" type="external">concurring opinion in Demore</a>&#160;that an “unreasonable delay” in deportation proceedings could make it necessary to consider “whether the detention is not to facilitate deportation, or to protect against risk of flight or dangerousness, but to incarcerate for other reasons.” The decision to rehear the Rodriguez&#160;case suggests that despite the changes since Demore, conservative justices are still not convinced that immigrants are being held for “other reasons”&#160;that violate their rights.&#160;</p> | Supreme Court Delivers a Bad Omen for Immigrants in Detention | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/supreme-court-delivers-a-bad-omen-for-immigrants-in-detention/ | 2017-06-26 | 4 |
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<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Every third Monday in January, Arkansas state offices are closed in observance of an unlikely holiday: the shared birthdays of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.</p>
<p>Only three states commemorate both men on the same day, a practice that critics say hurts Arkansas’ reputation. Now the Republican governor is reviving an effort to remove Lee from the holiday, but he faces resistance from opponents who complain the move belittles the state’s Confederate heritage and from black lawmakers worried about a plan to set aside another day to honor Lee.</p>
<p>“I think this provides our state an opportunity to bridge divides,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has vowed since early last year to make the change, which is part of his agenda for the legislative session that began last week.</p>
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<p>Arkansas has had a holiday in honor of Lee since 1947 and one for King since 1983. That year, agencies required state employees to choose which two holidays they wanted off: King’s birthday on Jan. 15, Lee’s birthday on Jan. 19 or the employee’s birthday. In 1985, the Legislature voted to combine holidays.</p>
<p>Alabama and Mississippi also honor the men on the same day.</p>
<p>Hutchinson’s idea is not new. Two years ago, a similar proposal repeatedly failed before a House committee.</p>
<p>The renewed debate comes amid a nationwide re-evaluation of monuments and symbols linked to the Civil War, the Confederacy and slavery.</p>
<p>After the 2015 fatal shooting of nine black church members by a white gunman who had posed with the Confederate flag in photos, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the flag’s removal from the Statehouse. In Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley took down four Confederate flags on the Capitol grounds.</p>
<p>Arkansas Democrats last year announced they would remove Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson’s names from the party’s annual fundraising dinner, joining a growing number of states distancing themselves from the slave-owning presidents.</p>
<p>As with the flag debate in other states, the King Day proposal has drawn the ire of groups that say removing Lee from the holiday is an affront to people whose ancestors served the Confederacy. In 2015, opponents regularly filled a House committee room to speak out against the idea.</p>
<p>“It’s like telling our Hispanic neighbors that we’re not going to do Cinco de Mayo. It’s like telling the Irish we’re not going to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day,” said Robert Edwards, commander of the Arkansas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “I think it’s just a racist bill.”</p>
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<p>The idea also raised complaints from lawmakers who question why any change is needed.</p>
<p>“We’re looking for a solution to a problem we don’t have,” Republican Rep. Josh Miller said. “I haven’t noticed any humongous Robert E. Lee parades that are taking place in conjunction with Martin Luther King Day.”</p>
<p>Supporters of ending the dual holiday include the city of Little Rock and Pulaski County, which passed resolutions last year endorsing the move. Proponents previously argued that the current holiday hurts the state’s efforts to attract businesses, an argument Hutchinson has not adopted. The 2015 bill was fueled in part by photos widely circulated on social media of a sign noting the shared King and Lee holiday.</p>
<p>“I think if Robert E. Lee were here today, he would say, ‘Move my birthday and Dr. King deserves recognition,'” Hutchinson said.</p>
<p>The governor faces resistance from past supporters by simultaneously calling for a day in October to remember Lee, although it would not be an official state holiday. Democratic Rep. Fred Love, who sponsored one of the two previous bills, said he’s unlikely to support Hutchinson’s proposal if it includes a day for Lee.</p>
<p>The former chairwoman of the Legislative Black Caucus said a Lee Day would also give her pause. She suggested Hutchinson pursue that in a bill separate from the proposal giving King the holiday to himself.</p>
<p>“I don’t think my constituents would understand having a day that celebrates the head of the Confederate army that enslaved black folks,” Democratic Sen. Linda Chesterfield said. “But I think they truly will understand that it’s important for Dr. King’s day to be a stand-alone day.”</p>
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<p>Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ademillo" type="external">www.twitter.com/ademillo</a> .</p> | Arkansas tries to strip Gen. Lee from Martin Luther King Day | false | https://abqjournal.com/928682/arkansas-tries-to-strip-gen-lee-from-martin-luther-king-day.html | 2017-01-16 | 2 |
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<p>And now that Jared and Connor Mang have experienced the state baseball playoffs, it’s possible they come into the 2013 campaign hungry to do a little more come postseason time. And that kind of combination, talent propelled by extra motivation, could prove dangerous down the line for Hilltoppers’ opponents.</p>
<p>“They don’t have any particular feeling about that game,” says Los Alamos coach Mike Gill of his team’s 2-0 upset loss to Miyamura in last year’s opening round of the Class 4A state tourney.</p>
<p>“I think the biggest thing they think about is the missed opportunity,” Gill says.</p>
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<p>The season has started for the ‘Toppers and lopsided losses to 4A foes Piedra Vista and Los Lunas suggest the team has some work to do. But Gill does have one of the best players in Jared Mang, who was the District 2-4A player of the year in 2012 as only a freshman. Connor Mang, Jared’s younger brother, started in right field as only an 8th-grader. Jared is expected to resume his duties at shortstop and pitcher, while Connor will see time at center and the middle infield this season. Los Alamos has only one senior, in pitcher/first baseman Steven Williams, so the learning curve is still firmly in place for the young squad.</p>
<p>“We’re not ready for a run right now, by any means,” Gill says.</p>
<p>Santa Fe is nearly the opposite of Los Alamos in age. Although six seniors graduated from coach Tony Martinez’ first team, he still has 11 seniors on this year’s edition.</p>
<p>The Demons’ best player, R.J. Porras, will play at shortstop when not pitching, while sophomore Korwin Mueller will see time on the mound, in center and at first. Santa Fe also got a transfer from St. Michael’s in catcher Gabe Valdez, who may prove valuable.</p>
<p>“I expect to win (district). I think we have the talent,” Martinez says. “Last year, I was hired late. My system is pretty much in place now. They kind of know how things go.”</p>
<p>At Española Valley, the Sundevils and coach Anthony Alarid will look to hitting from sophomore Jesus Chavez and pitching from both Chavez and freshman Elias Archuleta. Senior Estevan Martinez adds some experience at third while sophomore designated hitter Juanito Diaz has some pop in his bat.</p>
<p>Former Capital assistant James Naranjo is the Jaguars’ new head coach and he’s excited about players like sophomore pitcher Antonio Dominguez and junior catcher Ricardo Rodelas.</p>
<p>“It’s fun, we have a good time. It’s a new beginning for Capital,” Naranjo says. “We’ve got a good young team. Our goal is to be competitive.”</p>
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<p>Class 3A</p>
<p>St. Michael’s held down the No. 1 seed last year at the Class 3A state tournament, before being upended by Cobre in the semifinals.</p>
<p>David Vigil, the coach for the Horsemen, still has a very solid unit, especially in view of the return of Matt Smallwood. The junior pitcher is expected to lead St. Mike’s along with fellow hurlers Marc Brandt and Andre Chavez, junior shortstop Reyes Lujan and senior outfielder Zack Bobchak.</p>
<p>“We do have some senior leadership, but we’re still young,” Vigil says. “The game we lost last year (against Cobre), just the magnitude of that game – that’s a world of experience.”</p>
<p>Raton, Robertson, Taos and West Las Vegas were all in the state playoffs as well last year and all are in the same district.</p>
<p>Michael Marez’s Raton Tigers perhaps took the biggest hit in graduation after gaining a fifth-seed at the ’12 state tourney. The Tigers have zero seniors and will depend on the likes of junior Cam Baird and Brandon Romero, as well as sophomore Ethan Washburn.</p>
<p>“We’ve been young before, but we usually had one or two seniors,” Marez says.</p>
<p>In Las Vegas, both Robertson and West Las Vegas have new head coaches who were formerly assistants at the same schools. Robertson’s Kenneth Sandoval has a sophomore-heavy bunch led by pitcher/shortstop Ryan Tafoya and pitcher Miklo Allen. At West Las Vegas, new coach Ryan Gabaldon will look for leadership from senior Pancho Caro and junior Jake Ulibarri – both who will don the pitcher’s glove for the Dons at times.</p>
<p>Taos may have as much returning experience as anybody as the Tigers try to improve upon a 13 seed at last year’s state tournament. Four junior pitchers, including Isaiah Concha and Keith Imberger, as well as catcher Alejandro Tavarez will pace Taos this season.</p>
<p>“Last year, we were one win away from a district championship,” Taos coach Mark Montoya says. “Which means we would’ve been an eight seed and hosted in the playoffs.”</p> | Mang brothers lead youth movement for Hilltoppers | false | https://abqjournal.com/177246/mang-brothers-lead-youth-movement-for-hilltoppers.html | 2013-03-12 | 2 |
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<p>The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is pressing for a civil lawsuit against Barclays by former senior investment banker Richard Boath to be heard in private to avoid prejudicing its investigation into the bank's 2008 emergency fundraising.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Boath, one of a number of former top Barclays executives questioned by the SFO in a criminal investigation over the bank's fundraising from Gulf investors during the credit crisis, is suing Barclays in a pay dispute, according to court listings.</p>
<p>The SFO said it had applied to the East London Employment Tribunal to either impose privacy on the proceedings or to ensure that Boath and Barclays' legal representatives do not refer to the contents of an SFO interview with Boath in open court when the case kicks off in earnest next week.</p>
<p>The SFO application is due to be discussed in court on Nov. 21. No further details were immediately available.</p>
<p>The agency has said it expects to decide whether to charge Barclays and former executives early next year in its criminal inquiry into the bank's financial arrangements with Qatar, that included a Barclays' loan to the Gulf state.</p>
<p>The investigation centers on commercial agreements between Barclays and Qatari investors as part of a capital raising to raise a total of about 12 billion pounds ($15 billion) at the height of the credit crisis.</p>
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<p>Barclays' emergency fundraising, which allowed the bank to become one of the few British lenders to sidestep a state bailout, has also triggered a separate civil lawsuit by businesswoman Amanda Staveley.</p>
<p>Her private equity group PCP Capital Partners is claiming around $1 billion in damages for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation.</p>
<p>That case, which is due to come to trial in January 2018 if it is not settled, hinges on the terms that Qatari and Abu Dhabi investors received for participating in a cash call by Barclays to raise around 7 billion pounds in 2008.</p>
<p>Staveley, who put together a syndicate of Abu Dhabi investors in October 2008, has alleged in court documents that Barclays made an undisclosed $3 billion loan to Qatar shortly before completion of the October 2008 capital raising.</p>
<p>Barclays said in 2013 that British authorities were investigating the bank and four current and former senior employees over the fundraising.</p>
<p>Sources familiar with the matter have said Boath, who was co-head of global finance in EMEA at the time of the capital raising, has been interviewed alongside former chief executives Bob Diamond and John Varley, former finance director Chris Lucas and former tax advisory boss Roger Jenkins among others.</p>
<p>Boath, most recently Barclays' chairman of the financial institutions group, left the bank in March. He has not publicly commented on the investigation.</p>
<p>Barclays declined to comment.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Alex Chambers; Editing by Adrian Croft)</p> | UK's SFO wants Boath lawsuit heard privately to protect Barclays' probe | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/15/uk-sfo-wants-boath-lawsuit-heard-privately-to-protect-barclays-probe.html | 2016-11-15 | 0 |
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<p>RIO RANCHO - Rio Rancho's governing body will hold a budget hearing meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Rio Rancho City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle.</p>
<p>Mayor Gregg Hull has called the meeting, according to a city news release.</p>
<p>At the hearing, the body is scheduled to vote on changes to the recommended fiscal year 2015 budget previously outlined and discussed at three previous budget hearings.</p>
<p>The governing body will hear public comment about the budget at the Wednesday and May 28 regularly scheduled meetings at 6 p.m.</p>
<p>A vote to adopt a budget is set to take place during the May 28 meeting. The new fiscal year starts July 1.</p>
<p>The budget hearing also will be streamed live and archived on the city's website, <a href="http://www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us" type="external">ci.rio-rancho.nm.us</a>, and broadcast on the city's RioVision government cable channel 15, which is available to Rio Rancho Cable One subscribers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | RR budget hearing set for Wednesday | false | https://abqjournal.com/397919/rr-budget-hearing-set-for-wednesday.html | 2 |
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<p>Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Keith Elder in a news release issued this week said residents are receiving calls from a scammer who says he is Civil Sergeant Victor Rodriguez with the office’s Civil Division. The caller tells the recipient of the call that they have failed to appear for jury duty and must pay $1,500 by pre-paid credit card or an arrest warrant will be issued. If the scammer doesn’t talk with anyone, a message for a call back will be left. The caller has left the number of 505-437-0188.</p>
<p>Elder says the legitimate number for the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office is 505-867-7526.</p>
<p>“If anyone receives a call from the number (mentioned) or any other telephone number do not provide any personal, banking or credit card information,” Elder said. “Do not send pre-paid credit cards in the mail.</p>
<p>“This is a scam!”</p>
<p>Elder said the office has received numerous calls and walk-in visits from concerned citizens complaining about the calls, and the sheriff’s office is conducting an investigation into these calls and scam.</p>
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<p>“If you receive a call, simply hang up without discussing your situation with the scammer,” Elder said. “If you have a message to return a telephone call regarding the failure to appear for jury duty or an arrest warrant, do not call the scammer.”</p>
<p>Elder said the sheriff’s office will not call you and demand money for payment of any type over the telephone or through email. All financial transactions with the sheriff’s office are done at the sheriff’s office in cash, and you will receive a receipt at the time of transaction for the monies paid.</p>
<p>He also said if someone calls and says he or she is an employee with the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office and demands money, note the telephone number and name of the caller. Hang up without providing any information and call 505-891-7226 to report the incident.</p>
<p>The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office recently reported a similar scam occurring in that southern New Mexico county.</p>
<p /> | Beware of missed jury duty scam | false | https://abqjournal.com/927677/beware-of-missed-jury-duty-scam.html | 2 |
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<p>Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) will report its next earnings on Dec 28 BMO. The company reported the earnings of $-0.01/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $-0.01/share.</p>
<p>Many analysts are providing their Estimated Earnings analysis for Rite Aid Corporation and for the current quarter 3 analysts have projected that the stock could give an Average Earnings estimate of $-0.02/share. These analysts have also projected a Low Estimate of $-0.02/share and a High Estimate of $-0.01/share.</p>
<p>In case of Revenue Estimates, 4 analysts have provided their consensus Average Revenue Estimates for Rite Aid Corporation as 7.35 Billion. According to these analysts, the Low Revenue Estimate for Rite Aid Corporation is 6.98 Billion and the High Revenue Estimate is 7.78 Billion. The company had Year Ago Sales of 8.09 Billion.</p>
<p>When it comes to the Analysis of a Stock, Price Target plays a vital role. Analysts reported that the Price Target for Rite Aid Corporation might touch $2.5 high while the Average Price Target and Low price Target is $2.18 and $2 respectively.</p>
<p>The Relative Volume of the company is 0.63 and Average Volume (3 months) is 26.22 million. The company’s P/E (price to earnings) ratio is 19.39 and Forward P/E ratio of 28.91.</p>
<p>The company shows its Return on Assets (ROA) value of 0.8%. The Return on Equity (ROE) value stands at 14%. While it’s Return on Investment (ROI) value is 5.4%.</p>
<p>While looking at the Stock’s Performance, Rite Aid Corporation currently shows a Weekly Performance of 1.27%, where Monthly Performance is -13.11%, Quarterly performance is -29.33%, 6 Months performance is -55.83% and yearly performance percentage is -79.11%. Year to Date performance value (YTD perf) value is -80.7%. The Stock currently has a Weekly Volatility of 5.62% and Monthly Volatility of 5.97%.</p> | What Are Analysts Report About Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) | false | https://newsline.com/what-are-analysts-report-about-rite-aid-corporation-rad/ | 2017-11-20 | 1 |
<p>KKK-affiliated pedophile-employing hate group leader Tony Perkins has rushed out a late night celebratory press release in which he claims credit for tonight repeal of Houston’s LGBT rights ordinance. He writes:</p>
<p>A digital ad campaign by FRC Action’s Super PAC, the Faith Family Freedom Fund, was seen by nearly 300,000 Houston residents in recent weeks. Last year, Family Research Council (FRC) organized “I Stand Sunday,” a live simulcast featuring Christian leaders including FRC President Tony Perkins, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, Dr. Rick Scarborough, and the Houston pastors whose sermons were subpoenaed by the city’s mayor. Nearly 7,000 people were in attendance at the host church, Grace Community Church in Houston. Additionally, 765 churches and nearly 3,000 home groups tuned into the event in all 50 states. On the defeat of Houston’s Prop 1, Family Research Council Action President Tony Perkins commented: “Houston has become a rallying cry for Americans tired of seeing their freedoms trampled in a politically correct stampede to redefine marriage and sexuality. Houstonians sent a message heard across the country: They will not allow the government to flush away their money, and more importantly, their values and religious liberties.</p>
<p>There will be lots more celebrating tomorrow from the usual haters.</p> | Tony Perkins Takes Credit For Houston | true | http://joemygod.com/2015/11/03/tony-perkins-takes-credit-for-houston/ | 2015-11-03 | 4 |
<p>Since taking office, Barack Hussein Obama has indeed brought change to this country. This page will bring you daily highlights of exactly what type of change he has brought. So ask yourself this - are we as a nation, with Obama as president, better, richer, stronger or more respected? Is this the America that our parents left us? Or has it become something quite different? "Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?"</p> WAIT! There's a lot more... | true | http://nowtheendbegins.com/pages/today-in-obamas-america.htm | 0 |
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<p>Gareth Porter is a historian and investigative journalist on US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.</p>
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<p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Washington. Now joining us again to discuss the WikiLeaks leak is Gareth Porter. He's an investigative journalist and often-contributor to The Real News Network. Thanks for joining us again. So one of the cables that jumped out at you was about Lebanon. Tell us what you found.
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<p />GARETH PORTER, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST AND HISTORIAN: Well, this was one of the meetings, a high-level--or mid-level, I guess, is more accurate--meeting between US officials from the State Department and the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and Ministry of Defense as well, and also Mossad. These are the various agencies that were involved on the Israeli side. And what happened in this is that the Ministry of Defense director of political military affairs, a man named Amos Gilad, brought up an issue with the Americans that shows just how seriously the situation in Lebanon and in the entire Middle East, in terms of the balance of power between Israel and its adversaries--Iran, the Hezbollah, and Syria--has changed in the last two or three years. And what he said--and I'll read from the cable what he said--he said: "Gilad addressed threats posed by" what he called "'Hizballahstan' and 'Hamastan'. . . . He noted that rockets from Lebanon can now cover the entire territory of Israel". And this is something that's very new. This was never the case in the past, of course, that Hezbollah rockets could actually cover the entire territory of Israel. They were really shorter-range rockets that could only reach a very small portion of the populated area of Israel.
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<p />JAY: Yeah, [Hassan] Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, said last spring publicly on Lebanese television that we now have the capability that if you target a building in Beirut, we can now target a building in Tel Aviv. If you take out one of our bridges, we can take out one of your bridges.
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<p />PORTER: And he was not exaggerating at all. And the Israelis are very concerned about this; they're very upset about this. And I think what this reflects is a totally new balance of power, really, militarily, in the Middle East which had not existed prior to this buildup of rockets within Lebanon, held by the Hezbollah. And I think that one can say with a fair degree of confidence that this actually stabilizes the situation, relatively speaking, compared with what existed before. The Israelis are no longer able to contemplate another war in Lebanon without considering very seriously the consequences of that, which could be, you know, another war involving Iran as well, because of the tit-for-tat retaliation.
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<p />JAY: And people have flipped it the other way, that if there actually is an attack on Iran, which a lot of the WikiLeaks has been about, the Israel pushing United States to attack Iran, that there can't be that attack on Iran without some kind of attack on Hezbollah, because people think Hezbollah will fire back in defense of Iran. Whether that's true or not I don't know.
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<p />PORTER: Well, that is certainly a serious possibility, that the two issues will, obviously, merge, that the two conflicts will merge, and that Hezbollah-Israel war would then be a result.
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<p />JAY: I mean, one of the questions, I guess, is: is the real issue a nuclear bomb in Iran, when US intelligence agencies seem to keep saying to Israel--although so far that's not part of the WikiLeaks material that I've seen--but they keep saying that any real bomb threat is three years off, five years off, if there even is a weapons program, which is still--there seems no, you know, definitive evidence that such a thing even exists? Is the real issue Hezbollah and Hamas?
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<p />PORTER: I think it's absolutely primarily Hezbollah and Hamas and the broader balance of power that exists between Israel and all of these adversaries. And what the Israelis cannot abide is precisely the loss of their clear-cut military supremacy, which is now what has been lost with this new balance of power, conventional balance of power, involving the rockets in Lebanon versus the Israeli military, obviously, ability to retaliate or to take the offensive. And this is in fact what it amounts to is a loss of the ability of the Israelis to easily contemplate an aggressive attack on any other neighbor in the region, and this is what the Israelis really are concerned about and what I think, you know, deserves to be much more widely known and understood at this point.
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<p />JAY: Well, that seems to go to the core of the whole question of why is everyone so worried about a nuclear bomb in Iran in the first place, in the sense that even if they had a few bombs, that doesn't give any offensive capacity. It only gives--frankly, even as a defensive capacity, it's hard to understand what it does other than make you a target. But perhaps--.
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<p />PORTER: Well, I mean, nuclear weapons are a matter of perception, I guess, is the bottom line, and perceptions are obviously highly subject to subjectivity, and that's really the problem.
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<p />JAY: Thanks for joining us. And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
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<p />End of Transcript
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<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. | WikiLeaks: Hezbollah Rockets Cover All of Israel | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D5937 | 2010-12-03 | 4 |
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<p>LOS ANGELES — The line stretches down the block before the sun rises in Los Angeles, made up of immigrants seeking help to renew their work permits under a program that has shielded them from deportation but is now nearing its end.</p>
<p>Ivan Vizueta, a 25-year-old from Long Beach, California, brought a folding chair and music to pass the time while waiting to renew his papers and get a new two-year permit that lets him work for a plumbing company and earn nearly double the amount he made at his old job. The lines have been a regular occurrence in recent days, with some people camping out as early as 3 a.m.</p>
<p>“I have to do this so I have another two years of safety,” said Vizueta, who was brought to the country nearly two decades ago from Mexico and hopes to run his own plumbing business someday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For immigrants like Vizueta, it’s a race against the clock as they rush to renew their permits ahead of a looming Oct. 5 deadline set by the Trump administration. After that date, no one else can renew under a program that has let nearly 800,000 immigrants brought to the United States as children work even though they lack legal papers.</p>
<p>The work permits have been a lifeline for many young immigrants who have been educated in American schools and know no other home than the United States. The program created by President Barack Obama in 2012 also protected these immigrants, many of them in their 20s, from being deported to countries they hardly remember. Critics call it an illegal amnesty program that is taking jobs from U.S. citizens.</p>
<p>When President Donald Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program this month, he gave Congress six months to draft a more lasting fix. Democratic leaders and Trump said they have reached a deal to protect the immigrants, but Congress has since turned its focus to overhauling the tax code. Democratic congressional leaders say they are waiting on the White House to craft a legislative proposal.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, immigrant advocates around the country have been urging the Trump administration to extend the Oct. 5 deadline and holding legal clinics and donating money to help immigrants cover the $500 renewal fee.</p>
<p>Jesus Perez of Phoenix says he’s not sure he would have been able to come up with the cash in time to renew were it not for the financial help of an advocacy group that is among several giving financial aid and helping people fill out their paperwork in time. The 30-year-old father of three, with one on the way, was just approved to buy a home but can’t complete the purchase until his renewal comes through.</p>
<p>“You’re in limbo,” said Perez, who works at a car wash and hopes to open his own business soon.</p>
<p>In Las Vegas, fewer than 30 people have asked for a service provided by the Immigration Clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, causing alarm among organizers who are fearful immigrants are staying in the shadows or waiting too close to the deadline. The government must receive the renewal paperwork by Oct. 5, meaning it needs to be sent in most cases by this weekend.</p>
<p>“If you are not at the post office with an express mail envelope in your hand on the morning of Oct. 2, you are too late,” said Michael Kagan, director of the Las Vegas clinic.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Only immigrants whose permits are expiring before March 5, 2018, are eligible to apply for renewals. Those whose permits expire starting on March 6 will not be able to renew. The government estimates there are about 154,000 recipients whose permits expire between Sept. 5, 2017, when the Trump administration announced the end of the program, and March 5.</p>
<p>The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services said Friday that it had received 39,400 renewal applications since Sept. 5. The agency said it aims to have a 120-day turnaround to complete the applications.</p>
<p>At the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, advocates have helped about 40 immigrants a day renew their permits for free. Immigrants began lining up outside before dawn to ensure they were seen quickly, as some have had to wait until the afternoon or the next day for assistance due to the demand, said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesman for the organization.</p>
<p>Maria Moreno, 23, lined up at 3 a.m. outside the group’s offices on a recent morning to renew under the program, which has made it easier for her to work as a cashier and attend college to eventually become a special education teacher. She said her parents brought her to this country from Mexico when she was 10 months old.</p>
<p>“I’ve been here all my life,” said Moreno, who lives in Los Angeles. “I’ve never been back there, and I’m hoping not to go.”</p>
<p>Oscar Gaytan, a 22-year-old history and Chicano Studies student at University of California, Los Angeles, was also among those waiting in line. He said his permit under the program is valid until the end of next year but was stolen from his gym locker, forcing him to refile paperwork.</p>
<p>Gaytan said he hopes to go on to become a professor or immigration lawyer after graduation but knows he’ll need a work permit to do so.</p>
<p>“When Trump rescinded DACA, I was pretty upset,” said Gaytan, who was brought here from Mexico when he was 4. “But I feel like everything happens for a reason — so hopefully Congress acts.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press Writer Regina Garcia Cano contributed to this report from Las Vegas. Galvan reported in Phoenix.</p> | Immigrants line up to renew work permits as program ends | false | https://abqjournal.com/1070818/immigrants-line-up-to-renew-work-permits-as-program-ends.html | 2017-09-29 | 2 |
<p>Photos: Associated Press courtesy of The New Yorker</p>
<p />
<p>Even before the photographs of soldiers torturing and humiliating Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison surfaced, the Bush administration’s contention that everything is going according to plan in Iraq was finding fewer and fewer takers either among the American public as a whole or in the media. Even in the right-wing media like the Fox network, conservative pundits like Bill O’Reilly had begun to challenge the government line that the Iraqi resisters fighting in Fallujah or Najaf are simply a minority of malcontents — those few “individuals,” as the Coalition Provisional Authority’s spokesman, Dan Senor, put it in a press conference on April 20, “who would like to see Saddam Hussein’s regime return.” For anyone but Bush administration true believers, the evidence of widespread support for both the Fallujah insurrection and the radical cleric Moqtada Sadr was too overwhelming to deny.</p>
<p>In other words, Americans had already come a long way toward sobering up from those heady post-Saddam days when White House advance men could sanction a banner reading ‘Mission Accomplished’ as the perfect backdrop for Bush’s announcement that major combat in Iraq was at an end. The images of postwar Iraq — the charred and mutilated bodies of the American contractors hanging from the bridge in Fallujah as jubilant Iraqis crowded round, the ever-growing tide of flag-draped coffins returning to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware — have all but guaranteed that. But the Abu Ghraib photographs finally seem to have galvanized even many supporters of the war into realizing that not only has the occupation been a failure, but it may well turn out to be the calamity for U.S. interests and America’s reputation in the world that the war’s most adamant opponents always claimed it would be.</p>
<p>But, even if a serious mainstream debate on Iraq is beginning to emerge in this country, one in which the Bush administration cannot simply silence its critics by optimistic predictions and appeals to patriotism, there still is virtually no criticism of the American military. One might think that the military itself would have been discredited by the revelations of what happened at Abu Ghraib — and, as seems increasingly apparent, at the constellation of prisons from Afghanistan through Guantanamo to Iraq where “unlawful combatants” are being held in contravention of the most elementary norms of humane conduct. But this has not been the case, at least so far.</p>
<p>To the contrary, the standard line Democratic critics of the war are taking about Abu Ghraib is the same one that they have been taking about the occupation of Iraq generally. For them, it is the politicians who have erred, not the soldiers. In the case of Abu Ghraib, the consensus is that what has taken place must be Rumsfeld’s fault, or that of the private contractors in interrogations, or the CIA’s, but not that of the uniformed military hierarchy itself. If anything, the military is exonerated on the grounds that some officers, notably Major General Antonia Taguba in his admirable report, have done their duty.</p>
<p>It is certainly true that, as Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld bears the ultimate responsibility for everything the military does. It is also true that is the glory of our democratic army that it hews to its role of carrying out, without public protest let alone resistance, the orders of the President of the United States and the rest of the legitimate civilian leadership. After all, the alternative is a military that sees itself as being above the country’s elected leaders; in other words, a short road to hell, or at least 1970s-era Argentina. But to insist upon this point neither entirely explains, nor entirely excuses the virtual free ride the U.S. military has gotten from both the mainstream media and the overwhelming majority of the American public both during the Iraq war itself and in its aftermath. Indeed, uncomfortable as it may be to recognize, there is a connection between the military’s attitude toward its Iraqi foes and the crimes committed against Iraqi prisoners.</p>
<p>Think, for a moment, of the fact that the same reporters and pundits who lambaste President Bush for speaking so simplistically of an “axis of evil,” of “evil-doers,” and of “those who hate freedom,” report without the slightest skepticism the equally reductionist boilerplate of the U.S. military when it refers to Iraqi insurgents simply as “the bad guys.” Did anyone point out that once one starts talking of ‘bad guys’ rather than, say, ‘the enemy,’ a great deal more becomes permissible? Enemy soldiers have rights under the Geneva Conventions. But unlawful combatants, “bad guys,” terrorists? The nomenclature itself is the first step to Abu Ghraib.</p>
<p>Every reporter in the field in Iraq heard U.S. soldiers using this terminology as a matter of routine, and yet, as far as I know, none of us ever call the military on it. And yet, having spent five of the past 12 months in Iraq, I have become convinced that almost as many of our mistakes in the postwar derive as much from the sheriff’s posse fantasy that U.S. forces are simply protecting the innocent locals from a few bad hombres as from any planning mistakes in Washington. Language does matter and what confronts us in Iraq has little to do with the moral certainties of a Louis L’Amour novel. From the soldiers’ perspective inside Abu Ghraib, their prisoners were evil-doers. Thus do the rhetorical simplicities of Washington exact their real toll in blood, suffering, and shameful conduct.</p>
<p>The Occupier Effect</p>
<p>Of course, U.S. soldiers were completely unprepared for the actual Iraq (as opposed to the Iraq of neo-conservative fantasy). What American troops have had to learn, and what even President Bush now concedes when he says that he realizes Iraqis are ‘chafing’ under the occupation, is that, while a majority of Iraqis welcomed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by American forces, they still view these American forces as foreign occupiers.</p>
<p>This Iraqi view has been widely reported. What has been less reported is why Iraqis have quite a lot of reason for feeling as they do. This is where it is hard not to conclude that the media’s indulgence toward the US military plays a role. Because, as anyone who has spent any time on the ground in Iraq knows, the conduct of U.S. forces toward the Iraqi civilian population is, to put it mildly, extremely variable. Some soldiers bend over backwards to conduct themselves respectfully and humanely. Others behave like, well, occupiers, expressing with words, gestures, body language, and actions that theirs is to command and the Iraqis’ is to obey.</p>
<p>Perhaps this is the inevitable by-product of any occupation. The soldiers speak no Arabic, and have little or no understanding of Iraqi culture (a combination of security considerations and their commanders’ wish not to offend Iraqi mores preclude even the kind of raunchy fraternization that was the hallmark, say, of the US occupations of Germany and Japan after World War II). As the security situation has deteriorated, American troops have grown increasingly and quite justifiably frightened of the Iraqi masses among whom they must move. Some behave brutally, and as the recent killing of several teams of Arab journalists demonstrated, their fire discipline is not what it should be.</p>
<p>During the war itself, some foreign reporters accused U.S. troops of killing too many civilians during the advance to Baghdad. It was an assertion the soldiers and commanders bitterly rejected, and one that U.S. reporters, most embedded with front line American units, viewed with skepticism. Indeed, the so-called embed system was a prophylactic against critical thinking; anyone who heard reporters use the term ‘we’ to describe the actions of their particular unit learned what needed to be learned about just how well the system was working.</p>
<p>But even this does not really explain the free ride the military has gotten since the fall of Baghdad. Today, reporters are eager to expose the errors of the Bush Administration’s. Why, then, has the media not evinced a similar drive to unmask the errors of the US military on the ground in Iraq?</p>
<p>The brutality of Abu Ghraib is only one element in a larger picture of brutality on the part of the occupiers that rages from many of the cordon and search operations mounted over the past year in the so-called ‘Sunni Triangle’ of central Iraq, to the kind of arbitrary arrests of Iraqis that practically every reporter in Iraq has witnessed. In the case of the cordon and search, American forces have routinely loosed dogs through women’s quarters of Iraqi compounds, and have forced even men they would eventually let go to sit bound and often hooded on the ground while the G.I.s tore through family belongings searching for weapons or documents. As for the arrests themselves, in my experience these often end with a US soldier, his boot on the back of a prone Iraqi ‘suspect,’ ringed by a perimeter of US troops with M-16s shouldered and ready to fire. Beyond this cordon, an angry crowd of Iraqis gathers, muttering about how much they hate the Americans for the humiliations visited on their country and its people.</p>
<p>None of this might matter so much were so many US commanders not convinced that the only people who oppose them are the ‘bad guys.’ To believe that you can face and destroy your enemy is a necessity for a competent soldier. But to believe that you can defeat your enemy while misunderstanding him is, in fact, a recipe for failure. It is the postwar equivalent of the cardinal military sin, taught in every service academy worthy of the name, of losing touch with your adversary during or after a battle. It is also an attitude that smoothes the way from warrior’s honor to torturer’s disgrace.</p>
<p>Obviously, the US military is anything but monolithic. Plenty of commanders in the field in Iraq have been well aware that purely military solutions rarely work well in guerrilla conflicts. One US army general I got to know in Iraq told me that his criterion for whether or not to launch a cordon and search operation in his area was whether it would create more enemies among the civilian population than it would take ‘bad guys’ — again! — out of circulation. “If that seemed at all probable,” he told me, “I wouldn’t allow the operation to go forward.” But, he conceded, many of his fellow commanders took a different line. In the Sunni Triangle, in particular, he told me regretfully, there are those who behave as if they were Israelis in Gaza.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Israeli comparison is not one that some in the U.S. defense establishment would find fault with. Some American officials have been quite comfortable in making the analogy between the situation the Israelis face and that which the U.S. faces in postwar Iraq. “Those who have to deal with like problems tend to share information as best they can,” was the way Stephen Cambone, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, put it at a Washington breakfast in late-November of 2003.</p>
<p>From Walking Softly to Hitting Hard</p>
<p>Some in Washington’s ‘coalition of the willing’ have been critical of the American approach. In March of this year, a high-ranking British officer in Basra in southern Iraq gave an interview to the London Daily Telegraph in which he publicly expressed the UK military’s concern about the American military’s postwar tactics. “My view and the view of the rest of the British chain of command,” he said, “is that the American use of violence is not proportionate and is over responsive to the threat they are facing.”</p>
<p>This was a British commander speaking, a member of a military that views itself as second to none in the dishing out of organized violence. And the sentiments expressed by this officer reflected the sense that many observers of the Iraqi postwar have felt for a long time. Yet a serious discussion of the issue has been largely absent from the stories those of us who have covered the postwar have filed. Indeed, to the extent that the issue has been brought up at all, it has been raised by the Marine Corps officers charged with putting down the Fallujah uprising.</p>
<p>These officers have gone to great lengths to insist to reporters that their original (i.e. pre-uprising) plan for the Sunni Triangle was to go softly. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s motto might be, ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy,’ but in an address to his troops, the unit’s commander added the noble phrase from the Hippocratic Oath, ‘First Do No Harm.’ The Marines insisted that they would take off their sunglasses when they spoke to Iraqis (a constant source of annoyance and hurt pride to ordinary Iraqis), and, clichéd though the phrase might be, win hearts and minds.</p>
<p>These statements, which heralded an approach that could not be more antithetical to the approach taken by Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza, were accompanied by a sophisticated assessment of why so many ordinary Sunni Iraqis throw in their lot with the insurgents. “Planting an improvised explosive device might seem like a good deal,” said Major T.V. Johnson, the Marine spokesman, “if you can’t feed your family. We need to give the people of Fallujah a better deal.”</p>
<p>But it should not have fallen to Marine officers to raise issues about the military tactics being used in Iraq by other American forces. That is supposed to be the media’s job. And yet for a wide variety of reasons — ranging, I think, from an unstated but nonetheless powerful internalization of the critique that the press undermined America’s will to fight during Vietnam, to the legacy of the embed system with its profound sense of identification between soldier and reporter, to the simple but compelling fact that for Iraqi insurgents, all foreigners, whether they were US soldiers, aid workers, or journalists, were part and parcel of the same occupation — few of us have focused on the military’s own mistakes.</p>
<p>Obviously, Abu Ghraib has changed all that. But it is not encouraging that the media emphasis, again, seems to be on the civilians in the Pentagon. Deserving as Rumsfeld and company may be of condemnation, the uniformed side of the U.S. military still does not deserve a free ride. Yes, U.S. forces must obey orders from the civilian leadership in Washington. But this does not exempt them either from the need to fight intelligently, or to fight legally. When the military briefers in Baghdad OR Fallujah claim that they have killed almost only terrorists, but reports from inside the city’s hospitals suggest that many civilians have been killed, this should be a central story for U.S. reporters, not just Al Jazeera. And yet, while the US media has not covered the story up, it has not focused on it either — any more than we focused on the rumors about Abu Ghraib that have been rife in Iraq for some time.</p>
<p>I write this as a member of this media, and someone probably at least as culpable as any of my colleagues. Certainly, I can’t help wondering if, for me and perhaps for others as well, my profound lack of trust in the Bush administration’s competence in judging postwar Iraq has made me look for competence and sound judgment in the military. Have I glossed over errors committed by the troops because I believe they have been misused by the civilian leadership, and because many of them have expressed their grave doubts about what they are being asked to do in Iraq?</p>
<p>In the end, nobody deserves a free ride — not the administration, not the press corps, not the military. To the contrary, if things go wrong in Iraq, if we end up changing course again and destroying much of Fallujah, or Najaf, or Kufa, or Sadr City, the lack of criticism of how the war is being fought is going to seem like a terrible dereliction of responsibility. There are honorable reasons for why nothing seems more inappropriate — impious even — than criticizing the military at the very moment when U.S. soldiers are dying. But if truth is not to become the first casualty of this war, as the old cliché goes, then we must accept that there is no good moment to criticize, make sure the criticism is undertaken with seriousness and gravitas and without cheap tricks, and get on with criticizing. We do the military no favor by making it a sacred cow, and we do the country the most profound disservice.</p>
<p /> | Good Soldiers and ‘Bad Guys’ | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/05/good-soldiers-and-bad-guys/ | 2004-05-07 | 4 |
<p>The US had to step back from its policy of regime change in Syria after multiple failures, as the jihadists they allegedly hoped to use as a proxy began posing a threat, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Kassem, argued in an interview to RT.</p>
<p>For an exclusive interview with RT’s Eisa Ali, one of the most senior Hezbollah leaders agreed to meet –with the toughest security precautions in place – in a clandestine location in Beirut. Kassem told RT he believes US President Donald Trump has opted for a less confrontational approach in Syria of late after previous attempts to oust the Syrian government proved futile.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/401481-coalition-targets-isis-lebanon-hezbollah-deal/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“When they failed by using the military option, or by using the opposition option, or by using their cooperation with the regional Arabic countries that wanted change in Syria in favor of Israel, America adopted a new non-confrontation policy with President [Bashar] Assad because of their inability to do more, and because they know that [Islamic State] is against them as much as they are against the Syrian people,” Kassem claimed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/400337-assad-syria-terrorism-deescalation-zones/" type="external">READ MORE:&#160;No role for West &amp; allies in Syria until they cut support to terrorists – Assad</a></p>
<p>He noted, however, that a perceived change in political strategy does not mean that the White House has reversed its opinion of Assad, arguing that the US has been left with no better option than to fight the “monster” of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) which they helped to create in the first place but which has “now shifted against them.”&#160;</p>
<p>Speaking of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Hezbollah’s view on his role as the country’s head of state, Kassem said that the group regards Assad as the legitimate ruler of Syria, re-elected by the people to serve as the country’s leader.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/400702-bibi-putin-iranian-presence-syria/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Arguing that the main interest of the US in the war was to “remove President Assad from power and change Syria’s stance from resistance to American-Israeli friendly,” he praised Assad for being an effective leader, guiding his country through difficult times of war.However, he went on to stress that the Syrian President’s fate lies exclusively in the hands of the Syrian people.</p>
<p>“We are with the Syrian people’s choice and when it is election time and Syria’s choice will be made without external intervention, we will respect any choice made by the Syrian people.”</p>
<p>Kassem said there is an “effective” cooperation between the Syrian and Russian armed forces, Iran and Hezbollah, which has contributed greatly to Syria’s driving jihadists out of swathes of its territory.</p>
<p>Accusing Israel of fuelling the protracted Syrian conflict, Kassem in particular pointed to the Jewish state’s reported support of armed opposition groups fighting the Syrian forces and affiliated militias in the south-western Syrian city of Daraa and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.</p>
<p>“Israel plays the main part in Syria’s destruction, and it is an important supporter of the armed opposition, especially in the southern part of Syria,”&#160;Kassem said.</p>
<p>Kassem further claimed that over 3000 militants fighting the Syrian government have received treatment in Israeli hospitals, adding that there have been reports of cross-border supplies of munitions and food from Israel to Syria.&#160;</p>
<p>A US-Russian ceasefire agreement for south-western Syria dealt a blow to Israel’s alleged aspirations as it did not include removing Hezbollah from its positions in the border area, Kassem argued. Shortly after the deal was agreed in July, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#160; <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.801612" type="external">denounced&#160;</a>the plan, saying it might strengthen Iranian influence in the country.&#160;</p>
<p>Criticism was levelled at Hezbollah in late August for allowing the evacuation of some 300 Islamic State terrorists and roughly as many family members from the Qalamoun Mountains to the eastern province of Deir al-Zor as part of the deal to return bodies of eight slain Hezbollah fighters. Kassem justified the controversial move by saying that the group did not know whether the fighters were alive or dead and that it was&#160;“an important chance that could not be [used] again.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/401650-townsend-isis-russia-convoy-baghdadi/" type="external">READ MORE:&#160;‘Lines agreed to’ with Russia for final push against ISIS in Syria – US general</a></p>
<p>The deal sparked outrage, with critics slamming the group for negotiating with terrorists. After the deal was struck and the militants departed to Deir ez-Zor, the US-led international coalition shelled the road to impede relocations of militants and their family members and struck some of the vehicles and fighters it&#160;“clearly identified as ISIS.”&#160;In a&#160; <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/13964/hezbollah-buses-isis-fighters-across-syria-as-us-mulls-striking-convoy" type="external">statement&#160;</a>following the attack, the coalition said it&#160;“was not a party to any agreement”&#160;negotiated between Lebanon, ISIS and Hezbollah and considered the moving of terrorists from one part of the country to another&#160;“not a lasting solution.”</p>
<p>Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict six years ago, Hezbollah has been embroiled in fighting IS and Al-Nusra Front terrorists in Syria in cooperation with government forces. The group, which is listed as a terrorist entity in the West and in most of the Arab League countries, has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli airstrikes on Syrian soil.</p> | Hezbollah co-leader: US nurtured ISIS monster against Syrian govt, now has to fight them | false | https://newsline.com/hezbollah-co-leader-us-nurtured-isis-monster-against-syrian-govt-now-has-to-fight-them/ | 2017-09-05 | 1 |
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