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<p>*CORRECTION TO THE TRANSCRIPT BELOW: &#160;After today’s show we learned that the New York Times did not alter its headline. They say there were two headlines all along, one in the online version, and one in the print edition. The print edition used the word “wiretapped” and the online edition never did.&#160; However, this does not change the premise that the story (Trump and Russians hacked the election) is waning in the MSM.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>RUSH: Say, have you noticed, my friends, that the whole Russians-stole-the-election theme is gone? Have you noticed it’s not out there today? You can’t find a story on it? I’m gonna tell you why, ’cause we had a major role in this I am convinced right here on the EIB Network yesterday ’cause <a href="" type="internal">we nailed ’em</a>.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: Have you seen any stories about the Russians hacking the elections? It’s gone, and so is <a href="" type="internal">the New York Times headline from the January 20th</a> story with “wiretaps.” They have gone back and they have changed it. “Wiretaps” is not in that headline anymore. I’ll have the details on this. There’s also two polls out there. Folks, this is big. This is exactly… I am convinced that we played a role in this. Not just yesterday, but in days in the past. Many people have, and Trump’s the actual reason why.</p>
<p>When he lobbed that tweet back that the Obama administration had him under surveillance, that’s when they had to let it go. And Matt Taibbi, who’s extreme liberal; Rolling Stone has a piece out today warning the Democrats saying you better be careful here, because you might get what you want, which is an investigation into what you’ve been doing. He’s warning them to walk this back and stop reporting on this with all these unnamed sources, that you’re setting yourselves up for a big fail.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>What has happened to the Democrats’ and media’s story on the Russians working with Trump to steal the election from Hillary?&#160; It’s gone.&#160; It’s not out there today.&#160; There aren’t any updates.&#160; We’ve got a revised New York Times headline — sneaky, sneaky, sneaky — as they postdate change the headline wiping out the word “wiretaps” and “wiretapped” from their headline on a story January 20th.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: The “Russia hacked the election and Trump worked with them to make it happen” story is gone. Now, it may reappear, but it’s gonna reappear in a different form. It is gone, and the best evidence that I can give you that it is gone — remember the headline that we and a lot of other people showed you from the New York Times on January 20th, which was — in fact, I’ve got it here in the desktop. Find this thing and — oops. I moved it. I’ll have to get it later. It was a headline from January 20th, Trump’s Inauguration Day, and it actually said: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445628/barack-obama-donald-trump-fbi-wiretap-russia" type="external">“Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides.”</a></p>
<p>And all week long, you know, we put it at RushLimbaugh.com, a lot of other people did, people had been focusing on it because it used the word “wiretapped.” And the reason it became interesting is because Trump volleyed back. Trump tweeted that Obama had ordered wiretaps on Trump Tower. And that caused the media and the deep state and the Democrat Party, “Wuh, wuh, wuh, we’re not investigating you. You’re stupid! You’re silly! Show us the FISA warrant. We don’t have any –” And then they had to stop themselves. Because if there’s no investigation of Trump, then what have all these stories the past six months been?</p>
<p>If there’s no investigation of Trump, if Trump’s not under investigation, then what the hell have all these stories been about the last six months with unnamed sources, intelligence agency officials? And every story, as I have pointed out ’til I’m blue in the face, every story has made it plain as day that they do not have any evidence yet. But the trend is looking like it happened and we’re continuing to track this story down.</p>
<p>Well, if you look, if you go back, you will find that the New York Times has changed the headline. You might say, “What does it matter, Rush?” January 20th. Well, these things are kept as archives now. The stories are always on the website. The pictures of the New York Times front page are always cached. A bunch of people do it. They’ve actually gone in and changed the headline. And instead of saying, <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/03/flashback-ny-times-front-page-headline-wiretapped-data-used-inquiry-trump-aides/" type="external">“Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides.”</a> The headline now is: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html" type="external">“Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates.”</a></p>
<p>Now, let me point out to you the difference. Up till now all of the reporting, every bit of it has implied that there are wiretaps, that there was a FISA warrant, two FISA warrants. One was sought to wiretap and surveil Trump that was turned down and rejected. A second one applied for that did not mention Trump was granted, but nobody’s seen these affidavits. Nobody has actually seen the warrants. They are not released, but the existence of these FISA warrants has been part of Drive-By Media reporting on this story.</p>
<p>So the assumption has been that the Obama administration asked and received a FISA warrant to surveil the Trump campaign and the Trump transition. And then the New York Times has that story on January 20th which says, “Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides” has been changed to, “Intercepted Russian Communication.” Why would they change the headline?</p>
<p>It’s very simple: there has not been an investigation of Trump, folks. They have been lying about this. “Lying” may be what’s happened, but it’s not the right way to — They have been hoping. There have been deep state sources telling the media enough things that the media has hoped and they’ve rolled the dice and believed that there is eventually going to be proof that Trump was being surveilled, and the reason that Trump was being surveilled is because there is evidence of Trump collusion.</p>
<p>Well, there isn’t any evidence, there never has been any evidence because there wasn’t any; and the Democrats were getting way ahead of themselves, the media getting way ahead of themselves. And Trump’s tweet back at them forced them to admit there wasn’t any. ‘Cause if they had admitted there was, can you — everybody talks about the scandal of Trump working with the Russians to affect the outcome of the election. That would be a huge scandal. But there’s no evidence, there never has been any evidence, there’s no indication of any evidence, there’s not even a scintilla of curiosity about evidence. It just isn’t there. This whole thing has been made up.</p>
<p>But now with Trump tweeting back — can you imagine the scandal if a sitting president actually was wiretapping a candidate for president from the opposing party? Can you imagine that scandal? Well, they’re not gonna let that happen, so they shut this down ex post facto, and they’re out there saying Trump’s insane, Trump’s crazy. We’re not investigating him. What makes him think we are? I guess the reason he thinks so is because it’s in the New York Times every damn day and it’s on CNN every damn hour, and it’s been in the New York Times and CNN every damn hour for six months that Trump worked with the Russians to hack the election.</p>
<p>As I said yesterday, what’s to hack? What was the hack? They can’t even produce the hack. Don’t tell me Podesta’s emails. They were not hacked. Podesta is responsible for his emails being in the public domain because he fell for a phishing attack. Podesta was not hacked. The Russians may have tried, but that’s not how we learned of Podesta’s emails. There was no hack. And as I pointed out yesterday, folks, this is all you need to know.</p>
<p>In October before the Election Day, there were a minimum of three stories of Hillary Clinton talking about how rotten it was for Donald Trump to suggest that our election had been rigged, how irresponsible. This meant that Trump was unsuited for the presidency, because it all stemmed from Trump’s lack of willingness in the last presidential debate, when he was asked a question, “Will you accept the outcome of the election?” And he said, “Tonight I’m not gonna tell you I will.” And they blew up. The media blew up, Hillary blew up, and they immediately targeted Trump as saying he was rigging the election and he was threatening the legitimacy of the election. I’ll give you the quotes here in just a second.</p>
<p>The point is that in October, prior to the election, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, the Democrat Party, were convinced the election was gonna be legitimate ’cause she was gonna win. In their mind, the polling data that they had, their common sense, Hillary was gonna win, it was gonna be a landslide, and here’s Trump saying he might not accept the outcome. And they were basing their outrage on the fact that our election is sacrosanct, our election is not hacked, our election will not be hacked, our election will not be unjust, it will not be fraudulent.</p>
<p>And then they lose, and guess what? All of a sudden the election was hacked. All of a sudden the election was fraudulent. All of a sudden Trump and the Russians did something. So Trump volleying back that he was being surveilled on an order by Obama caused panic in the deep state and in the Democrat Party and in the media, ’cause what if that’s true? What if they did get a FISA warrant? What if they were surveying Trump? You know what kind of scandal that would be? Particularly since nobody can find any evidence for it?</p>
<p>So they had to drop this like a hot potato. And last night when I got home, I ran into a story by an uber-leftist, I mean this is sick leftist. You know Mike Taibbi, his son, Matt, I think it’s his son. It may not be related. I’m just assuming that Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone. He was reporter for Channel 2 in New York when I was there. <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/taibbi-russia-story-is-a-minefield-for-democrats-and-the-media-w471074" type="external">He’s got a piece in Rolling Stone</a> — we will link to it at RushLimbaugh.com — warning the Democrats that they had better be real careful with this whole Trump-Russia thing, because if there’s nothing to it, they’re gonna be exposed as having made up all of this stuff, and when is there is a real scandal nobody’s gonna believe them because this has featured so many outrageous lies.</p>
<p>Here’s some excerpts from Taibbi’s piece. “But it could also be true that both the Democratic Party and many leading media outlets are making a dangerous gamble, betting their professional and political capital on the promise of future disclosures that may not come. … We can’t afford to bolster these accusations of establishment bias and overreach by using the techniques of conspiracy theorists to push this Russia story. Unfortunately, that is happening.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/taibbi-russia-story-is-a-minefield-for-democrats-and-the-media-w471074" type="external" />In other words, he’s saying we in the media, we’re the ones relying on conspiracies now. We’re the ones that sound like and look like kooks advancing conspiracy theories. “Look at the techniques involved within the more ‘legitimate’ reports.” He means the New York Times. “Many are framed in terms of what they might mean, should other information surface. There are inevitably uses of phrases like ‘so far,’ ‘to date’ and ‘as yet.’ These make visible the outline of a future story that isn’t currently reportable, further heightening expectations.”</p>
<p>His real point here is — and this is a valid point — that all of this reporting by the Drive-Bys, and you can see it every time you turn on television and listen to anybody talk, how many Democrats, how many panelists on cable TV shows, how many guests, how many places you go and talk to people, how many people that you read already believe that Russia hacked the election, took it away from Hillary, and Trump helped?</p>
<p>They’ve done more than create the expectation. They have already convinced people it happened with no evidence. And Taibbi’s point is that they have built up expectations on this to the point that if there’s nothing here, they are going to have credibility and blowback problems the likes of which they can’t imagine.</p>
<p>“Take the Times story about Trump surrogates having ‘repeated contacts’ with Russian intelligence officials (an assertion that can mean anything, incidentally — as a reporter in Russia I had contact with Russian intelligence officials, as did most of my colleagues and friends in business.) … Democrats in congress have been littering their Russia speeches with caveats like, ‘We do not know all the facts,’ and, ‘More information may well surface.’ They repeatedly refer to what they don’t know as a way of talking about what they hope to find out.”</p>
<p>And they’re building up expectations to the point that if this doesn’t (audio glitch) there is going to be a rabidly insane, angry Democrat base out there, because the media already has them expecting that the news is coming, the ultimate proof from the deep state, the intel will finally arrive. And there isn’t any, folks! It did not happen. The whole thing is made up. It is something that they’re all hoping for.</p>
<p>The reason the Times changed the headline — well, I gotta take a break. But I’ll explain that when we come back, and I want to go back and revisit what Hillary and Obama were saying before the election on how the election was gonna be clean and it was gonna be unassailable and it was going to just be as fair as any election has been, and there’s never been one that isn’t, and Trump’s silly. And then they changed on a dime.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: James Comey comes out and says, “We’re not wiretapping Trump. You people at the Department of Justice, would you get the story out, we’re not wiretapping Trump.” If you’re not wiretapping Trump, you’re not investigating Trump and the election. So the New York Times changes the headline. It’s no longer “Wiretap Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides.” Instead it’s, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html" type="external">“Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates.”</a> What happened here is exactly what happened to Mike Flynn.</p>
<p>The NSA was surveilling that fat Russian ambassador. His phone calls are being tapped as are all foreign ambassadors and a bunch of other people, Russians, being monitored, and as they talked to Americans, deep state operatives overheard. But they were not investigating Trump. There has not been an investigation of Trump! Or Trump collusion with the Russians. And Clapper even said so on Meet the Press. F. Chuck Todd begged him to say that there was an investigation of Trump. And Clapper said, “To my knowledge, no.” And he ran national security for Obama.</p>
<p>Exactly what Taibbi was talking about. You people making stuff up here, you’re writing thing that may be true, but if they’re not, you’re gonna have a lot of explaining because you’re building expectations out there — he didn’t say this — among this rabid Democrat base, and it’s all bogus. And Trump did this by tweeting that Obama was investigating him, tapping the phones at Trump Tower. And that sent them into a tizzy. They had to deny their own investigation, which was easy to do; there isn’t an investigation. And when you hear the quotes of Obama and Hillary before the election in October, you will realize nobody was thinking of the Russians hacking the election until Hillary lost. I’ll run through those again. We did this yesterday, but I wanted to put them in context now because I think that is the final nail in this coffin.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: I want you to listen to how Taibbi in Rolling Stone concludes his story warning the media that they may have bitten off too much here. He admits the press has to cover the subject because the deep state’s leaking it to them. Intelligence officials, Obama embeds wanted the media to believe that there’s an investigation into Trump and the Russians hacking the election. The media loved hearing it. Anything to think that Hillary should have won and the only reason she didn’t is because of subterfuge.</p>
<p>But he warns the media they can’t do this with glibness and excitement, and they can’t accept Saturday Night Live as legitimate news updates on this. You can’t just laugh along with Saturday Night Live and think you’re advancing the story. “Reporters should be scared to their marrow by this story,” Taibbi writes. “This is a high-wire act and it is a very long way down. We might want to leave the jokes and the nicknames be, until we get to the other side — wherever that is.”</p>
<p>I don’t think there is one. There wasn’t an investigation. All of these deep state leaks and all these Obama embeds telling the media of all these contacts between Trump and Russian officials have come, now we know, from Russians being wiretapped, not Obama wiretapping Trump people. But here to me, folks, is the clincher. And this is how the Democrats work. I want to read to you Fox News October 18th, roughly three weeks away from the election last year. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/10/18/obama-accuses-trump-whining-on-vote-rigging-claims.html" type="external">“Obama Accuses Trump of ‘Whining’ on Vote-Rigging Claims.”</a></p>
<p>And from the Fox article: “Obama said the rigging claim, ‘doesn’t really show the kind of leadership and toughness that you’d want out of a president — if you start whining before the game’s even over.’ Obama argued that elections are so ‘de-centralized’ that they couldn’t be rigged in the first place. Further, he said that if Trump wins, he’d expect rival Hillary Clinton to offer a ‘gracious’ concession speech and work with him — and he personally would welcome Trump for a ‘peaceful transfer of power. That’s what Americans do,’ Obama said.”</p>
<p>Okay. So that’s October 18th, a Fox News interview. Now, if you go back to October 18th, all of these people thought Hillary was gonna win in a landslide. Their polling data, the irreplaceable Nate Silver, every source authority they had, including their own instincts, told them that they were just gonna skunk Trump, it was gonna be a bloodbath, Hillary was gonna win, and of course Trump at that point in the debate had said, “No, I’m not gonna tell you tonight that I’ll accept the election outcome. I’m not gonna tell you that ’til it happens.”</p>
<p>They wanted to report that Trump had conceded the election that night. That’s why they asked the question, that’s the answer they were hoping for, so that they could report Trump, on the last debate, was conceding that Hillary was gonna win. And Trump, crafty enough to know that’s what was up and refused to give them that. So that’s why they were on this tear that Trump was challenging the authenticity of the election. And they were defending it. October 18th Obama’s saying it’s impossible to rig our elections. They’re too decentralized.</p>
<p>October 19th, next day, CNN headline: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/18/politics/donald-trump-rigged-election/" type="external">“Why Trump’s Talk of a Rigged Vote is So Dangerous.”</a> The U.K. Daily Mail, October 23rd: “‘Some people are sore losers,’ Clinton mocks Trump for ‘rigged’ election claims and says his comments are more consistent with what dictators might say about their opponents.” This goes back to what was the hack.</p>
<p>At this point, now, the Podesta emails were out there, and the Democrats were running around like stuck pigs, and they were trying to claim the Russians had hacked their server and that the Russians had done this. When in fact it was the Democrats that had screwed Bernie Sanders! It was the Democrat National Committee that rigged an election! Not Trump. Not the Russians. The Democrat National Committee screwed Crazy Bernie. And that’s what one of the document releases on WikiLeaks indicated.</p>
<p>And then there were the Podesta emails. And again, those were not made public by way of a Russian hack. Podesta fell for a phishing attack in his own email. His mistake is why his emails were made public. Up until the election itself, no Democrat was talking about the Russians trying to rig the election. They didn’t think the election was going to be rigged. They thought they were going to win it. They were not doing anything to challenge the authenticity, the veracity of the election.</p>
<p>They were making a point to try to impugn and humiliate Trump for daring to suggest that our elections might be tampered with? This man is unfit for office! Well, now, we know what happened. Hillary didn’t win. Trump did. And it was Hillary who refused to concede that night. It was Hillary who refused to behave as an adult. It was Hillary and the Democrats who immediately did not accept it and began laying the groundwork for this silly “Russians worked with Trump to hack the election.”</p>
<p>Folks, we have been scammed by this ever since the election. The roots of it are the Democrats’ server hack resulting in our learning that they rigged the election against Crazy Bernie and the Podesta emails. Those two things the media has taken and made it look like the Russians made those hacks possible, that WikiLeaks was working with the Russians and with Trump in order to embarrass the Democrats.</p>
<p>And now we’ve got these Obama embeds in the deep state trying to sabotage Trump by leaking all this stuff that they are learning because of wiretaps they have on Russians, not on Trump or his people, trying to make the media think — and it didn’t take too much effort — that Trump was being investigated. But when Trump actually acknowledged their premise and said, “Yeah, I think they’re tapping Trump Tower,” they ran around like squealing stuck pigs saying, “What investigation? What are you talking about?”</p>
<p>So now, now what they’re all saying is, “There was no targeting of the Trump campaign. It’s silly to think we would do that. That’s outrageous. How dare Trump say that. Who does Trump think he is? There wasn’t any investigation. We need to move on.” No, we don’t need to move on. We need to find out the truth about these two FISA warrants. We need to find out, were they actually requested. We need to find out if there indeed was an attempt by the Obama administration to sabotage Trump. We do need to find out.</p>
<p>These people have been telling us that Trump was working with the Russians. We need to find out if what they’ve been reporting has any basis in truth or whether they made it all up. But now they seem to have to have dropped it, and they have now shifted almost full speed 100 percent into destroying the Republican Obamacare repeal and replace.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: I just checked the email real quick, and I’m really glad I got this question. I just thought I made this perfectly clear, but if there’s any lack of clarity, the emailer said, “Rush, I don’t understand. Why does the Obama team want everybody to think there wasn’t an investigation?” Now, very simply, if there had been an official investigation via FISA warrants that the DOJ, the Justice Department, the Obama administration, that’s an abuse of power. You don’t do that. You don’t ask for wiretaps on the opposing presidential candidate.</p>
<p>If that really is what had happened, that is a huge scandal. That’s way beyond Watergate, gang. That’s an abuse of power. The Democrats don’t want anybody thinking that happened, even though they’ve been reporting it for five months that Trump was under investigation. That’s what they’ve been reporting.</p>
<p>And until Trump threw it back in their face, they were content to run with it. And then they had to, “Uh-oh, uh-oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa!” That’s the last thing they expected to have. They’re used to intimidating their targets. That’s why they had to dial it back. And Taibbi’s piece comes right before this all happens, warning them they’re on a high wire here with no net.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: Here’s James, Simi Valley, California. James, I’m glad you waited. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.</p>
<p>CALLER: Thank you, Rush, for taking my call.</p>
<p>RUSH: Yes, sir.</p>
<p>CALLER: I have a question, which is, do you think that Donald Trump will be able to root out the deep state within the administration and — because you had actually touched on this a year ago with a caller wondering why Obama never got caught with anything. And you had touched on the fact that people don’t need their marching orders; they already know what to do.</p>
<p>RUSH: Exactly. Well, this is the Trump desire to drain the swamp. That’s what he means by draining the swamp, by getting rid of the liberal — and by the way, it’s not just Obama. There’s a bunch of Clinton holdovers. The bureaucracy is big. And this is what the left does. They put activists in these positions. They put activists on the court and call ’em judges. They put activists in the media. They call ’em reporters. They’re everywhere.</p>
<p>They have been populating the deep state, as we humorously refer to it here, for 50 years. I’m starting to see stories now — there’s one in the Stack here — that there is no deep state, I don’t know what these people are talking about, there is no deep state, what is Trump talking about? Trump doesn’t even use the term deep state, but they’re out there saying there isn’t any deep state. It’s gonna be a massive undertaking to drain the swamp and I don’t think he’s even begun yet. He’s focusing on other things, ’cause I don’t think you’re gonna be able to identify every embed. I don’t think he’s gonna be able to completely drain it.</p> | The Russians-Stole-the-Election Meme Vanishes | true | https://rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/03/09/the-russians-stole-the-election-meme-vanishes/ | 2017-03-09 | 0 |
<p>By Deirdre Fulton / <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/05/02/exposing-gop-cruelty-alabama-rep-says-pre-existing-conditions-are-your-fault" type="external">Common Dreams</a></p>
<p>CNN host Jake Tapper, left, with Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., on Monday. (Screen shot via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7JuHc-aobs" type="external">YouTube</a>)</p>
<p>As House Republicans <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/331478-gop-struggles-to-find-obamacare-repeal-votes" type="external">scramble to amass support</a> for the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/27/resistance-urged-light-phones-zombie-trumpcare-bill-gains-traction" type="external">latest incarnation</a> of their cruel <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumpcare-30-gops-zombie-healthcare-plan-keeps-getting-worse" type="external">repeal-and-replace legislation</a>, one GOP representative laid bare the heartless way in which conservatives see the debate over pre-existing conditions and affordable coverage.</p>
<p />
<p>The Republican healthcare bill, also known as Trumpcare, “will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher healthcare costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they’re healthy, they’ve done the things to keep their bodies healthy,” Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday.</p>
<p>“And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing,” Brooks said.</p>
<p>Watch below:</p>
<p>The callous remark drew <a href="https://twitter.com/WuJillcpowers/status/859225175124054016" type="external">powerful</a> responses <a href="https://twitter.com/kyjlue/status/859223877377036288" type="external">online</a>, including from one of Brooks’ constituents and former legal clients:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> you represented my family in 1982 after a drunk driver slammed into our car at 75 mph. I was 5 years old. You were my lawyer</p>
<p>— Carol C.leaver (@10128brandywine) <a href="https://twitter.com/10128brandywine/status/859227156462919680" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> My brother had it even worse. He was a baby. Flew into the dashboard and became brain damaged for life. You defended us in Huntsville AL</p>
<p>— Carol C.leaver (@10128brandywine) <a href="https://twitter.com/10128brandywine/status/859227484738527232" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> Do you remember us? I am 40 years old now. The injuries I sustained still bother me, my ankle might need to be rebuilt (again). My brother</p>
<p>— Carol C.leaver (@10128brandywine) <a href="https://twitter.com/10128brandywine/status/859227730646372352" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> My brother requires almost $1,000 of medicine and insurance payments and dr co-pays per month. He is 36 now, still in Huntsville.</p>
<p>— Carol C.leaver (@10128brandywine) <a href="https://twitter.com/10128brandywine/status/859228065934835712" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> My brother requires medicine for the rest of his life. Please explain how we, as children, hit by a drunk driver, were not “living right?”</p>
<p>— Carol C.leaver (@10128brandywine) <a href="https://twitter.com/10128brandywine/status/859228294591414273" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p>Some juxtaposed Brooks’ comments with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional defense of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, delivered Monday night, in which he revealed his infant son’s rare heart defect and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/02/jimmy-kimmels-powerful-heartfelt-obamacare-plea-crystallizes-the-gops-dilemma/?utm_term=.02cf6a0abf5c" type="external">decried the idea</a> that anyone should be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.</p>
<p>. <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GOP" type="external">@gop</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump" type="external">@realdonaldtrump</a> Kimmel’s 3 day old son now has a pre-existing condition for life. Is this baby a “bad person”? 2/2</p>
<p>— B Didier (@Bev_Didier) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bev_Didier/status/859406904157753344" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p>According to Rep. Mo Brooks, Jimmy Kimmel’s newborn son just didn’t lead a good life. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/jimmykimmel?src=hash" type="external">#jimmykimmel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHCA?src=hash" type="external">#AHCA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> <a href="https://t.co/2EFzSPOLtY" type="external">https://t.co/2EFzSPOLtY</a></p>
<p>— liberalvixen (@liberalvixen) <a href="https://twitter.com/liberalvixen/status/859409686428123136" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p>Others drew Brooks’ attention to their own health dilemmas as a way to highlight the congressman’s insensitivity.</p>
<p>Hey, Mo Brooks, I was such a bad child that I got polio. Please raise my insurance rates to teach me a lesson. <a href="https://t.co/j507V98rxV" type="external">pic.twitter.com/j507V98rxV</a></p>
<p>— Mark Paul (@mugwump2) <a href="https://twitter.com/mugwump2/status/859181990146220033" type="external">May 1, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/aravosis" type="external">@aravosis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/americablog" type="external">@americablog</a> Would <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> like to come tour the NICU where I’m a RN and personally inform 45+ infants they apparently screwed up in utero??</p>
<p>— Kirsten (@KikiHavens) <a href="https://twitter.com/KikiHavens/status/859222823839178753" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/aravosis" type="external">@aravosis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> Here’s my irresponsible 10-year-old boy, born with cerebral palsy. <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> maybe you can explain to him your theory. <a href="https://t.co/RYjmc9Bhm8" type="external">pic.twitter.com/RYjmc9Bhm8</a></p>
<p>— Jeff Wilson (@jwilson_detroit) <a href="https://twitter.com/jwilson_detroit/status/859231480517623809" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/RepMoBrooks" type="external">@RepMoBrooks</a> Hey Brooks. As a triathlete, group exercise instr &amp; mom, I did everything right but had breast cancer. U do not rep Americans</p>
<p>— Patty Clements (@clementsp92) <a href="https://twitter.com/clementsp92/status/859408922863693825" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile, the resistance movement is urging supporters to help <a href="https://twitter.com/IndivisibleTeam/status/859214834080108545" type="external">stop TrumpCare</a>—which, in its latest version, would allow insurers to dramatically increase costs for people with pre-existing conditions—”once and for all.”</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/politics/health-care-bill/" type="external">indicated</a> Tuesday that the GOP does not have the votes to pass TrumpCare 3.0 after multiple moderate Republicans <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/01/does-gop-have-obamacare-repeal-votes-237843" type="external">came out</a> against the bill on Monday.</p>
<p>Ryan can only afford to lose 22 GOP votes from the Republican side and still pass the bill—and several whip counts, including those from <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/331478-gop-struggles-to-find-obamacare-repeal-votes" type="external">The Hill</a> and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/27/politics/health-care-republicans-whip-count/index.html" type="external">CNN</a>, show 21 Republicans opposed.</p>
<p>In turn, the pressure’s on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-short-health-care-whip-list_us_5907e58ae4b05c397681cfab?hep" type="external">potential Republican defectors</a>:</p>
<p>We can stop TrumpCare–but only if we work together, right now, to bury it.</p>
<p>Keep calling. Keep showing up. Let’s do this. <a href="https://t.co/JH2EvWpj3p" type="external">https://t.co/JH2EvWpj3p</a></p>
<p>— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndivisibleTeam/status/859380800843911168" type="external">May 2, 2017</a></p> | Rep. Mo Brooks Faces Backlash Over Health Care Comment | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/rep-mo-brooks-faces-backlash-over-health-care-comment/ | 2017-05-02 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has divested his interests in oil tanker company Diamond S Shipping and is in the process of selling off his holdings in another shipping firm, Navigator Holdings, a Trump administration official said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Ross had originally intended to retain his shipping interests following his confirmation in February. But the 79-year-old investor came under criticism after disclosures on Sunday that one of Navigator’s major clients is the Russian gas company Sibur, a firm whose owners include members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.</p>
<p>Information about the business ties between Navigator, which operates gas-carrying ships, and Sibur was based on leaked documents from offshore law firm Appleby that are part of the so-called Paradise Papers, which show details of business dealings by wealthy people and institutions ranging from Ross to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and trading firm Glencore (L:).</p>
<p>Reuters has not independently verified the documents.</p>
<p>“He began divesting his Navigator interests in May,” the administration official said of Ross. “He is nearing completion of that process.”</p>
<p>An office of government ethics disclosure filed by Ross on June 20 showed that he sold an interest in Navigator valued at $15,001 to $50,000 on May 30.</p>
<p>The official did not provide an explanation for Ross’s divestitures. Ross had owned stakes in the firms through several partnerships.</p>
<p>Ross, a billionaire investor who is helping to shape Republican President Donald Trump’s trade policy, had told U.S. senators during his confirmation hearing in January that his research showed that retention of shipping interests would not present a conflict of interest. U.S. ocean shipping regulation is handled by the Federal Maritime Commission, a separate, independent agency.</p>
<p>Diamond S Shipping, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, operates 33 petroleum product tankers and 12 tankers operated under the flags of Hong Kong, the Marshall Islands and Malta.</p>
<p>Ross told media on Monday that he had nothing to do with London-based Navigator’s relationship with Sibur and had never met any of Sibur’s owners. These include Putin’s son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, and Gennady Timchenko, a Putin associate who is subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions.</p>
<p>Ross said in multiple media interviews that he had fully disclosed his stake in Navigator Holdings as part of government ethics requirements.</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> | U.S. Commerce chief Ross divesting shipping interests: official | false | https://newsline.com/u-s-commerce-chief-ross-divesting-shipping-interests-official/ | 2017-11-08 | 1 |
<p>Pulling off a turnaround isn't easy, so we Fools generally steer clear of companies that have fallen on hard times. However, sometimes a company does manage to turn its fortunes around. When that happens, its shareholders usually get taken on a highly lucrative ride.</p>
<p>So which&#160;beaten-down stocks do we have our eyes on right now? We posed that question to a team of investors and they picked&#160;Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP),&#160;GameStop (NYSE: GME),&#160;and&#160;Coherus BioSciences (NASDAQ: CHRS).</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/ReubenGBrewer/activity.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Reuben Gregg Brewer Opens a New Window.</a> (Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.): The coal sector is filled with underdogs, and for good reason. But not all coal companies are alike, despite the fact that the entire industry is being painted with the same "coal is as good as dead" brush. That's why I'm watching Alliance Resource Partners and its massive 9% distribution yield.</p>
<p>There are a few reasons why I have my eye on Alliance. While other coal miners were falling deep into the red or, worse yet, resorting to the protections of a bankruptcy court, Alliance remained soundly profitable. It also has a solid balance sheet, with long-term debt at a modest 25% (or so) of its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/value/2005/12/27/capital-structure-explained.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">capital structure Opens a New Window.</a>. To put it simply, Alliance managed to survive coal's darkest days in stride.</p>
<p>But coal's fortunes are not looking too good right now, as cleaner alternatives gain an increasing share of the electricity market. Only the U.S. Energy Information Administration sees coal as a key part of the energy equation until at least 2040 (the furthest out its projections go today). And it expects the interior region, where Alliance is focused, to gain market share over that span. So not only is Alliance in good financial shape, but it's also operating in the right coal region.</p>
<p>That's also buttressed by management's first-quarter announcement that distribution increases might be on tap in the near future. That makes a lot of sense given that Alliance covered its distribution by nearly 2.4 times in the first quarter -- a massive amount of coverage in the partnership space. Yes, coal has real problems. But not all coal companies deserve to be painted with the same brush. And that's why my eye is fixed on underdog Alliance Resource Partners, easily <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/05/15/why-alliance-resource-partners-lp-is-the-best-buy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">one of the best-run coal miners around Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/keithnoonan/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Keith Noonan Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;(GameStop):&#160;At the beginning of the year, I recommended that investors stay away from GameStop on the grounds that video games are increasingly being <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/18/is-gamestop-stock-a-buy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">sold through digital</a> rather than brick-and-mortar channels. Shares have fallen roughly 17% since then, and many of the big challenges that this&#160;retailer faces continue to present downside risk. I don't think that the stock's performance this year, though, reflects the changes to its outlook, and I'm seeing more appeal in the company as a value play.</p>
<p>GameStop has actually seen some favorable developments that could bolster business as it transitions away from physical game sales and toward selling collectibles, mobile hardware and service packages, and developing its own games. The breakout success of Nintendo's Switch console and strong demand for its software point to a sustained tailwind over the next several years -- particularly because the Switch's small storage space encourages purchasing games through physical media rather than downloads. The movement of game sales to digital channels will continue over the long term, but the strength of Nintendo's latest platform at least buys GameStop some time to build up its turnaround components.</p>
<p>Shares now trade at a forward multiple of roughly 6 and pack a potent 7.3% dividend yield, and with momentum for its collectibles and technology brands segments (year-over-year sales were up 39% and 21.5%, respectively, last quarter) and next-gen hardware launches from Sony and Microsoft roughly two to three years out, it could be worth owning. I haven't bought GameStop stock yet, but it's a much better buy now than it was six months ago, and I'm keeping an eye on it.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTypeoh/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a> (Coherus BioSciences): There's no doubt that Coherus BioSciences has turned into an underdog stock. The company's shares were <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/12/why-coherus-biosciences-stock-is-getting-hammered.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">hammered</a> last month after the Food and Drug Administration&#160;rejected its application for&#160;CHS-1701, which is a <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/what-is-a-biosimilar.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">biosimilar Opens a New Window.</a> product candidate of Amgen's Neulasta. The agency said that its rejection was based on concerns related to the manufacturing process and its desire to see a reanalysis on a number of subject samples.</p>
<p>Since Coherus is still a clinical-stage biotech, it makes perfect sense that its stock was hit hard. However, I still think that there is ample reason to believe that Coherus can bounce back from here. Why? First, the rejection did not raise any concerns related to the clinical performance of the drug. That hints additional clinical studies won't be necessary for resubmission, which should help to speed up the timeline. Second, Coherus ended March with&#160;$174.8 million in cash on its balance sheet and it recently cut 30% of its workforce in a save cash. That means that liquidity is not an immediate concern, which is good since the share price is down so much. Finally, the company still has two other biosimilar product candidates in late-stage development. Both of these drugs should be in regulators' hands within the next 18 months and you can bet that the company will&#160;take every precaution to ensure they are submitted properly this time.</p>
<p>In total, Coherus' stock certainly deserved to get knocked around, but the long-term thesis for owning this company still looks intact. However, until we get a definitive timeline for&#160;CHS-1701's resubmission, I think the smart move is to take a pass on investing in this underdog for the time being.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Coherus BioSciencesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=79755e47-2e0e-4006-81e2-febd06308b01&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Coherus BioSciences wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=79755e47-2e0e-4006-81e2-febd06308b01&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTypeoh/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a> has the following options: short July 2017 $27 puts on GameStop. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/keithnoonan/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Keith Noonan Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/ReubenGBrewer/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Reuben Brewer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of GameStop and has the following options: short July 2017 $24 calls on GameStop. The Motley Fool recommends Alliance Resource Partners. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=11071504-6a62-11e7-a287-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Roundtable: 1 Underdog Stock I'm Watching | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/17/roundtable-1-underdog-stock-im-watching.html | 2017-07-17 | 0 |
<p>In our culture, there’s a lot of shame to go around. For folks who are parenting while poor, a heady brew of isms – including not only classism but often racism and sexism – swirl together with the generally high degree of scrutiny all parents face to create a perfect storm of stigma.</p>
<p><a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/10/08/working-moms-respond-to-bill-oreillys-latest-po/206041" type="external">The media shames poor parents</a>. <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/8/single-mothers-need-solutions-not-shaming.html" type="external">Politicians shame poor parents</a>. Other parents shame poor parents. My gosh, <a href="" type="internal">even people with no idea what it’s like to be a parent shame poor parents</a>! At the crux of their argument is often an offensive idea of the poor parent as a monolith: <a href="http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/are-poor-parents-poorer-at-parenting/" type="external">An uneducated, unhealthy, monolith ill-suited to raise kids.</a></p>
<p>There is a pervasive idea in our culture that poor parents are acting irresponsibly by bringing kids into the world that they can’t afford or can’t afford to do better by. There’s a pervasive idea in our culture that poor parents are inferior parents because they can’t raise their kids up to the arbitrary standards put in place by Pinterest boards and parenting magazines.</p>
<p>Those pervasive ideas are bullshit, and the only reason they’re so popular is because classism is so deeply engrained in our society that we don’t even notice it when we’re scrolling past a new post on a mommy blog.</p>
<p>In ways that are both explicit and implicit, the notion of a “good” parent in our society is inextricably tied up with class.</p>
<p>“Good” parents are feeding their kids <a href="" type="internal">organic veggies</a> for lunch, dropping them off at elite – and expensive – preschools and daycares, buying the latest and greatest educational toys or iPad apps.</p>
<p>“Good” parents save up enough money to pay for their kids to go to competitive colleges and have a destination wedding right after. The kids of “good” parents might even be lucky enough to get cars when they’re old enough to drive, get help buying their first home, and get a leg-up in their careers because of the connections their parents can pass along to them.</p>
<p>These are all great things, don’t get me wrong. Every child should have <a href="" type="internal">healthy food</a> to eat, a quality education to guide them forward, and a fun game to play after school that feeds their brain. But that’s not all that matters, and what it communicates on the flip side isn’t okay.</p>
<p>When we call affluent parents “good” parents just because of what they can afford to give their children, what we’re really saying is that poor parents are “bad” parents. And I, for one, deeply disagree with that.</p>
<p>I was raised by a poor single mom, and not to brag but I mean, I turned out kind of awesome. My mom loved us deeply and dearly. She gave us everything she could. And even if we weren’t always able to bring the best supplies to school or wear the latest fashions, even if we went to public schools and spent nights awake applying for scholarships so we could go to college, even if we ate fast food sometimes and didn’t shop in the organic section (still don’t, sorry not sorry), my brother and I had a solid foundation of love and light in our lives.</p>
<p>We worked&#160;hard, earned our way, and made something of ourselves. <a href="" type="internal">The rumors weren’t true</a>. We didn’t flunk out or drop out. We didn’t become addicts or criminals. (Not that I judge.)&#160; We went to high-ranking colleges, grew up into empathetic intellectuals, and we work in full-time jobs in the fields we always wanted to work in.</p>
<p>A relatively equal share of parents across income levels <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/17/parenting-in-america/" type="external">reported that they see themselves as good or great parents to Pew</a>, despite lower-income parents honestly responding to other questions about the challenges they face raising kids in more dangerous neighborhoods, attempting to provide their kids with experiences they can’t afford, and accessing quality care and education for their children.</p>
<p>A relatively equal amount of parents across income levels are also seriously invested and involved in their children’s education – meaning they attend PTA meetings, talk to teachers about their kid’s progress, and attend field trips and school events to support their children and the larger community of children in their neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Poorer parents, specifically of color, are more likely to prioritize teaching their children respect and responsibility than middle- and upper-class families. Some affluent children are more likely to struggle with mental health problems and behavioral issues than their poorer peers, despite the stressors of living in a lower-class household that those peers face on a daily basis.</p>
<p>It isn’t truly possible to make the case that all rich parents are good and all poor parents are bad. There isn’t even truly a case to be made that the amount of money in a family’s bank account will determine their child’s happiness, or how much a child is loved and supported, or what kind of parent a child will have.</p>
<p>That’s because <a href="" type="internal">our socioeconomic statuses don’t actually define us</a>: As people, as communities, as parents. And the longer we pretend they do, the longer we’re buying into classism.</p>
<p>Despite the many nuances of parenting, we tend to think of it in black-and-white terms. Parents are either doing things the “right” way or the “wrong” way. You’re either a good mom who breastfeeds or you’re not. You’re either a bad mom who spanks or you’re not. You’re either a successful parent with Ivy League grads in your living room on Christmas Day or you’re not.</p>
<p>But parenting isn’t that easy to crystallize.</p>
<p>When we define “good” parenting through material items and other things that come with a price tag, we’re no longer measuring parenting based on what parenting is truly about: Teaching your children to grow up into good, solid, moral people; modeling empathy and compassion; encouraging your kids to live their dreams and supporting them even when they mess up; whispering radical social justice phrases into your baby’s crib in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>Instead, we’ve started measuring “good” parenting in terms of affluence and access. That’s what makes the entanglement of “good” parenting and “wealthy” parenting so easy, and that’s what perpetuates a classist society in which our worth as human beings is determined by our affluence.</p>
<p>When we look at poor parents through a classist lens, we see them and their lives as <a href="" type="internal">defined only by failure to reach some sort of mark of success</a> in a capitalist society. When we consider how hard poor parents are working to provide their kids with stable, loving homes in the face of discrimination, stigma and financial insecurity, what shines through is much different. That difference is key – because it’s proof that the notion of all poor parents being bad parents is truly <a href="" type="internal">just a problematic stereotype in a pretty bad disguise</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, though, what’s really wrong with shaming poor parents is that they don’t deserve the brunt of criticism for our classist, capitalist society.</p>
<p>The problem isn’t that poor people should “know better” than to have kids. The problem isn’t that poor people are short-changing their kids by raising them without the creature comforts some of us held near and dear as kids. The problem is that we live in a society <a href="" type="internal">where parents aren’t supported</a>, poor people aren’t supported, and wild wealth gaps define our lives.</p>
<p>I’ve written before about the idea that shaming the poor only shifts accountability away from the real “bad guys” who are stacking the odds against us all. Shaming poor parents is no exception.</p>
<p>Many of the odds stacked against poor parents are rooted in a classist society that isn’t giving any of us the stuff we need to survive and thrive.</p>
<p>Teachers short-change poor kids because they expect less of them. Doctors are more likely to accuse poor parents of abuse. Growing up poor puts you at a higher risk of poor health and risky behaviors. Financial insecurity or instability can make it harder for parents to pay for extracurricular activities. And across income groups, finding affordable child care that’s high-quality and affordable is tough – even moreso for poorer parents, who often end up entrusting their kids to family members or friends instead of day care centers or preschools.</p>
<p>The solution to those problems isn’t simply to ensure that the only parents out there are wealthy parents.</p>
<p>The solution to those problems is putting an end, once and for all, to a culture where our worth is tied to our financial assets.</p>
<p>Teachers shouldn’t assume poor kids have no futures; instead, they should be equipped to help those kids go as far as possible and reassure them that they have just as much a right to do so as anyone else. Doctors shouldn’t profile poor parents; instead, they should be interested in making sure poor parents have access to the kind of nutritional information and health products that can set their children on a path to healthy adulthood.</p>
<p>Schools, day care centers, after-school care, and even nannies and other childcare <a href="" type="internal">shouldn’t come at a price tag so high</a> that parents can’t afford to ensure their kids are in good hands. Similarly, public schools should be equitably and fairly funded in every community to ensure that kids like me – who grow up in the public school system – aren’t being left behind because of it.</p>
<p>Instead of laying the blame for the challenges they face on poor parents and their families, maybe it’s time we took a wider look at what’s going on here.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s time we decided it isn’t poor parents who have failed their kids; it’s a society that lets their kids fall through the cracks. Maybe instead of preaching to and about poor parents about the notion of personal responsibility and good parenting, we should be more interested in figuring out how to make sure poor parents can make ends meet so they can spend quality time with their children and keep them safe and sound.</p>
<p>It’s undeniable that being poor while parenting puts you – and your children – at a disadvantage.&#160; But it isn’t true that those disadvantages are the responsibilities of the poor alone to fix. And it isn’t true that those challenges define who people are as parents, or who their children will come to be.</p>
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<p>Carmen Rios is a Contributing Writer for Everyday Feminism. She splits her time disparately between feminist rabble-rousing, writing, public speaking, and flower-picking.&#160;A professional feminist by day and overemotional writer by night, Carmen is currently Communications Coordinator at the Feminist Majority Foundation and the Feminism and Community Editor at&#160;Autostraddle. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/carmenriosss" type="external">@carmenriosss</a> and&#160; <a href="http://carmenrios.tumblr.com/" type="external">Tumblr</a>&#160;to learn more about her feelings.</p>
<p>Filed Under: <a href="" type="internal">Articles</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Posts</a> Tagged With: <a href="" type="internal">Class</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Parenting</a></p> | Society Shames Poor Parents As ‘Bad’ Parents – Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Fall for It | true | http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/08/poor-parents-arent-bad-parents/ | 2016-08-16 | 4 |
<p>Google Now, an app the already revolutionizes the virtual assistant component of smart phones, is taking things one step further. On Friday, January 30th, Google Now rolled out an <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2878299/google-now-is-about-to-get-even-more-powerful-with-third-party-app-data.html" type="external">update</a> that allows third-party applications to get in on the action.</p>
<p>What <a href="https://www.google.com/landing/now/" type="external">Google Now</a> does on its own is already pretty amazing. It streamlines relevant and useful reminders (Now cards) right to your lock screen based on information already in your phone. The idea is to keep you from having to seek out this information on your own and let you simply enjoy your day. If you have an appointment on your calendar to meet someone at a certain time, a Now card will appear on your phone in advance with a reminder and directions on how to get where you’re going, including traffic updates. It will let you know the weather early in the morning, and even update you on your favorite sports team’s score in real time throughout the game. Now, it can do even more.</p>
<p>Google Now is teaming up with other companies’ apps like Pandora, eBay, Lyft, Airbnb, RunKeeper, among almost <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/40-third-party-apps-coming-google-now/" type="external">40 others</a>, to bring you even more information when you need it and before you have to ask for it. Along with that appointment reminder complete with directions, the same Now card could include Lyft drivers near you to get you where you’re going. When an item goes up for auction on eBay that your search history shows you might have an interest in, you’ll know about it as soon as it happens.</p>
<p>Of course, you can customize your settings in Google Now and even opt out of the third-party app integration, but Google promises that your data is safe, and that you’ll love the app.</p>
<p /> | Google Now increases in power by including third-party apps | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/31/google-now-increases-in-power-by-including-third-party-apps-2/ | 2015-01-31 | 3 |
<p>U.S. worker productivity rose more than expected in the second quarter as hours increased at their fastest pace in 1-1/2 years, keeping labor costs under control.</p>
<p>The Labor Department said on Wednesday that nonfarm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 0.9 percent annualized rate in the April-June period. First-quarter productivity was revised to show it edging up at a 0.1 percent pace instead of being unchanged as previously reported.</p>
<p>Compared to the second quarter of 2016, productivity increased at a 1.2 percent rate, the strongest performance in two years. Economists had forecast productivity increasing at a 0.7 percent pace in the second quarter.</p>
<p>With productivity rising, unit labor costs, the price of labor per single unit of output, increased at only a 0.6 percent pace in the second quarter after jumping at a 5.4 percent rate in the January-March period.</p>
<p>Compared to the second quarter of 2016, unit labor costs fell at a 0.2 percent rate, pointing to muted inflation. Coming on the heels of a recent moderation in price pressures, the retreat in unit labor costs may worry some Federal Reserve officials as they contemplate further monetary policy tightening.</p>
<p>Prices for U.S. Treasuries were higher in early morning trading while U.S. stock index futures were lower. The dollar gained against a basket of currencies.</p>
<p>The government also revised productivity data going back to 2014, in line with recent revisions to gross domestic product figures. Those revisions showed productivity falling 0.1 percent in 2016, the first drop since 1982.</p>
<p>Productivity increased at an average annual rate of 1.2 percent from 2007 to 2016, below its long-term rate of 2.1 percent from 1947 to 2016, indicating that the economy’s potential rate of growth has declined.</p>
<p>Anemic productivity is bad news for President Donald Trump who has pledged to boost annual economic growth to 3.0 percent through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and a rollback of regulation.</p>
<p>“To reattain 3 percent real GDP growth with the demographics the U.S. is facing, productivity growth will have to exceed its long-run average growth rate of 2.1 percent, and we are far short of attaining such a pace,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.</p>
<p>FULL EMPLOYMENT</p>
<p>Economists blame soft productivity on a shortage of workers as baby boomers retire as well as the impact of rampant drug addiction in some parts of the country. A report on Tuesday showed job openings surging to a record 6.2 million in June.</p>
<p>The International Monetary Fund in June cut its growth forecasts for the U.S. economy to 2.1 percent for both 2017 and 2018. The IMF said the Trump administration was unlikely to achieve its 3 percent growth goal over a sustained period, partly because the labor market is at full employment.</p>
<p>Other economists also argue that low capital expenditure, which they say has resulted in a sharp drop in the capital-to-labor ratio, is holding down productivity.</p>
<p>There is also a perception that productivity is being inaccurately measured, especially on the information technology side. Annual economic growth has not surpassed 3 percent or more since 2005. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.6 percent annualized rate in the second quarter.</p>
<p>Low productivity has also been blamed for sluggish wage growth even as companies continue to hire more workers to maintain output, pushing the labor market near full employment.</p>
<p>Hours worked increased at a rate of 2.5 percent in the April-June period, the quickest pace since the fourth quarter of 2015, and followed a 1.6 percent pace increase in the first quarter. As a result, output per worker surged at a 3.4 percent rate, the fastest since the first quarter of 2015, after rising at a 1.8 percent pace at the start of the year.&#160;</p> | Productivity Rises as Labor Costs Soften | false | https://newsline.com/productivity-rises-as-labor-costs-soften/ | 2017-08-09 | 1 |
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<p>BOSTON — A cruise ship that ran aground on a reef near Bermuda during a seven-day roundtrip from Boston has returned stateside.</p>
<p>The Norwegian Dawn, carrying nearly 3,500 passengers and crew, returned Friday morning to the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston.</p>
<p>The ship hit the reef late Tuesday and was stuck for more than six hours before a rising tide helped push it into deeper water.</p>
<p>Norwegian Cruise Line says a temporary malfunction in the steering system forced the ship off course near Bermuda, where it had spent three days in port.</p>
<p>The company says a team of experts inspected the ship and found it to be safe.</p>
<p>The ship’s 2,443 passengers will receive a 15 percent credit for a future cruise.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Cruise ship that ran aground near Bermuda returns to Boston | false | https://abqjournal.com/588754/cruise-ship-that-ran-aground-near-bermuda-returns-to-boston.html | 2015-05-22 | 2 |
<p>LANCASTER, S.C. (AP) — Deputies backed by a canine unit and a helicopter chased down a South Carolina man suspected of kidnapping a baby, eventually finding him eating at a fast food restaurant, his clothes bloody, according to authorities.</p>
<p>The baby, they said, was ultimately found safe.</p>
<p>“We all breathed a sigh of relief when we confirmed ... that the child had been found, and we are glad the child is safe and unharmed,” Sheriff Barry Faile said.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article195646254.html" type="external">Herald of Rock Hill</a> reports Gabriel L’Ambiance Ingram, 28, was sought on suspicion of taking the child of a woman he used to date.</p>
<p>Ingram was accused of leaving Thursday with the nine-month-old infant from the child’s grandmother’s house in Rock Hill without the mother’s permission, according to a statement from South Carolina’s Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. A Rock Hill Police Department report said that Ingram sometimes visited the child but wasn’t the father.</p>
<p>An alert went out to law enforcement, and authorities said, a Lancaster County deputy spotted L’Ambiance early Friday in a pickup truck. The deputy then chased the suspect on a highway and tried to get him to stop, according to the news release.</p>
<p>While being pursued, the suspect — who was alone in the pickup truck — tried to turn onto a rural road and crashed into a ditch, authorities said. He then fled on foot and got away from the deputy. Investigators said they found a handgun and marijuana in the truck.</p>
<p>A canine unit and police helicopter joined in the search.</p>
<p>Later Friday morning, police received a report of a man fitting Ingram’s description and wearing bloody clothes at a fried chicken restaurant. After law enforcement officers arrived, he was arrested and provided information leading to the safe recovery of the child from a home in Rock Hill.</p>
<p>Authorities said Ingram was being held on charges including failing to stop for law enforcement, adding more could be added.</p>
<p>Doug Barfield, staff attorney for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, said Sunday that the sheriff’s office didn’t know if Ingram had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.</p>
<p>LANCASTER, S.C. (AP) — Deputies backed by a canine unit and a helicopter chased down a South Carolina man suspected of kidnapping a baby, eventually finding him eating at a fast food restaurant, his clothes bloody, according to authorities.</p>
<p>The baby, they said, was ultimately found safe.</p>
<p>“We all breathed a sigh of relief when we confirmed ... that the child had been found, and we are glad the child is safe and unharmed,” Sheriff Barry Faile said.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article195646254.html" type="external">Herald of Rock Hill</a> reports Gabriel L’Ambiance Ingram, 28, was sought on suspicion of taking the child of a woman he used to date.</p>
<p>Ingram was accused of leaving Thursday with the nine-month-old infant from the child’s grandmother’s house in Rock Hill without the mother’s permission, according to a statement from South Carolina’s Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. A Rock Hill Police Department report said that Ingram sometimes visited the child but wasn’t the father.</p>
<p>An alert went out to law enforcement, and authorities said, a Lancaster County deputy spotted L’Ambiance early Friday in a pickup truck. The deputy then chased the suspect on a highway and tried to get him to stop, according to the news release.</p>
<p>While being pursued, the suspect — who was alone in the pickup truck — tried to turn onto a rural road and crashed into a ditch, authorities said. He then fled on foot and got away from the deputy. Investigators said they found a handgun and marijuana in the truck.</p>
<p>A canine unit and police helicopter joined in the search.</p>
<p>Later Friday morning, police received a report of a man fitting Ingram’s description and wearing bloody clothes at a fried chicken restaurant. After law enforcement officers arrived, he was arrested and provided information leading to the safe recovery of the child from a home in Rock Hill.</p>
<p>Authorities said Ingram was being held on charges including failing to stop for law enforcement, adding more could be added.</p>
<p>Doug Barfield, staff attorney for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, said Sunday that the sheriff’s office didn’t know if Ingram had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.</p> | Suspect who prompted dramatic pursuit found eating fast food | false | https://apnews.com/3ac6b2e74225422bb34f258f2e04d722 | 2018-01-21 | 2 |
<p>Remember that time Hillary Clinton’s campaign claimed that her fainting episode on Sunday at the 9/11 memorial was an isolated incident? Just a case of overheating in the brutally hot 75 degree weather of New York City?</p>
<p>Her husband just spilled the beans: she’s been fainting for years.</p>
<p>Charlie Rose of PBS asked Bill Clinton, “Is that what happened? She just got dehydrated? Because when you look at that collapse, that video that was taken, you wonder if it’s not more serious than dehydration.”</p>
<p>Clinton answered, “Well, if it is then it’s a mystery to me and all of her doctors. Rarely, on more than one occasion, over the last many, many year, the same sort of thing’s happened to her when she got severely dehydrated, and she’s worked like a demon, as you know, as Secretary of State, as a senator, and in the year since.”</p>
<p>Rose picked up on the cue and started talking about Hillary’s “grueling campaign,” even though she’s been taking frequent breaks and Clinton himself spun, “she had 2 ½ hard days before the day when she got dizzy. Today she made a decision, which I think was correct, to cancel her campaign day to take one more day to rest.”</p>
<p>But the damage was done: Hillary faints on a not-isolated basis. That damage was accentuated by the fact that Clinton will be filling his wife’s role for fundraising on the West Coast.</p>
<p>We already knew that Hillary has fainted before – that’s how she got her infamous concussion in December 2012. She also fainted during a speech in Buffalo in 2005 and while boarding a plane in Yemen in 2009.</p>
<p>Hillary’s team now claims that they just have trouble getting her to drink water – although why she should hate water more than the Wicked Witch of the West remains unanswered. Hillary told Anderson Cooper on Monday night she didn’t disclose her pneumonia because “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.” She also said she didn’t fall, she just got dizzy, and that “really only twice” has she been dehydrated and gotten dizzy in that way.</p>
<p>Why anyone should believe Hillary Clinton about her health remains unanswered.</p> | Bill Spills The Beans: Yes, Hillary Has A History Of Fainting | true | https://dailywire.com/news/9079/bill-spills-beans-yes-hillary-has-history-fainting-ben-shapiro | 2016-09-12 | 0 |
<p>In the months leading up to the Republican National Convention, the FBI-led Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force actively recruited people to infiltrate vegan groups and other leftist organizations and report back about their activities. On May 21, the Minneapolis City Pages ran a recruiting story called “Moles Wanted.” Law enforcement sought to preempt lawful protest against the policies of the Bush administration during the convention.</p>
<p>Since Friday, local police and sheriffs, working with the FBI, conducted preemptive searches, seizures and arrests. Glenn Greenwald described the targeting of protestors by “teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets.” Journalists were detained at gunpoint and lawyers representing detainees were handcuffed at the scene.</p>
<p>“I was personally present and saw officers with riot gear and assault rifles, pump action shotguns,” said Bruce Nestor, the President of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, who is representing several of the protestors. “The neighbor of one of the houses had a gun pointed in her face when she walked out on her back porch to see what was going on. There were children in all of these houses, and children were held at gunpoint.”</p>
<p>The raids targeted members of “Food Not Bombs,” an anti-war, anti-authoritarian protest group that provides free vegetarian meals every week in hundreds of cities all over the world. They served meals to rescue workers at the World Trade Center after 9/11 and to nearly 20 communities in the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina.</p>
<p>Also targeted were members of I-Witness Video, a media watchdog group that monitors the police to protect civil liberties. The group worked with the National Lawyers Guild to gain the dismissal of charges or acquittals of about 400 of the 1,800 who were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. Preemptive policing was used at that time as well. Police infiltrated protest groups in advance of the convention.</p>
<p>Nestor said that no violence or illegality has taken place to justify the arrests. “Seizing boxes of political literature shows the motive of these raids was political,” he said.</p>
<p>Further evidence the political nature of the police action was the boarding up of the Convergence Center, where protestors had gathered, for unspecified code violations. St. Paul City Council member David Thune said, “Normally we only board up buildings that are vacant and ramshackle.” Thune and fellow City Council member Elizabeth Glidden decried “actions that appear excessive and create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation for those who wish to exercise their first amendment rights.”</p>
<p>“So here we have a massive assault led by Federal Government law enforcement agencies on left-wing dissidents and protestors who have committed no acts of violence or illegality whatsoever, preceded by months-long espionage efforts to track what they do,” Greenwald wrote on Salon.</p>
<p>Preventive detention violates the Fourth Amendment, which requires that warrants be supported by probable cause. Protestors were charged with “conspiracy to commit riot,” a rarely-used statute that is so vague, it is probably unconstitutional. Nestor said it “basically criminalizes political advocacy.”</p>
<p>On Sunday, the National Lawyers Guild and Communities United Against Police Brutality filed an emergency motion requesting an injunction to prevent police from seizing video equipment and cellular phones used to document their conduct.</p>
<p>During Monday’s demonstration, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force. At least 284 people were arrested, including Amy Goodman, the prominent host of Democracy Now!, as well as the show’s producers, Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. “St. Paul was the most militarized I have ever seen an American city to be,” Greenwald wrote, “with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns, and tear gas cannisters, shouting military chants and marching in military formations.”</p>
<p>Bruce Nestor said the timing of the arrests was intended to stop protest activity, “to make people fearful of the protests, but also to discourage people from protesting,” he told Amy Goodman. Nevertheless, 10,000 people, many opposed to the Iraq war, turned out to demonstrate on Monday. A legal team from the National Lawyers Guild has been working diligently to protect the constitutional rights of protestors.</p>
<p>MARJORIE COHN is president of the National Lawyers Guild and a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. She is author of <a href="" type="internal">Cowboy Republic</a>. Her articles are archived at <a href="http://www.marjoriecohn.com" type="external">www.marjoriecohn.com</a>.</p>
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<p><a href="" type="internal">Your Ad Here</a> &#160;</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Raiding Democracy in St. Paul | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/09/02/raiding-democracy-in-st-paul/ | 2008-09-02 | 4 |
<p>“I’m happy to have a president that will bluntly speak the truth in negotiations,” Eric Prince commented on Breitbart News. “If the president says some places are shitholes, he’s accurate.”&#160;&#160;Thus did Mr. Eric Prince pay homage to Mr. Donald Trump. Prince of course being the renowned founder of Blackwater, the private army which in September 2007 opened fire in a crowded square in Baghdad, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and seriously wounding 20 more.</p>
<p>Speaking of Haiti and other “shitholes”, Prince declared: “It’s a sad characterization of many of these places. It’s not based on race. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with corrupt incompetent governments that abuse their citizens, and that results in completely absent infrastructure to include open sewers, and unclean water, and crime. It’s everything we don’t want in America.”</p>
<p>Like the US media, Prince failed to point out that on two occasions in the recent past when Haiti had a decent government, led by Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which was motivated to improve conditions, the United States was instrumental in nullifying its effect. This was in addition to fully supporting the Duvalier dictatorship for nearly 30 years prior to Aristide.</p>
<p>Aristide, a reformist priest, was elected to the presidency in 1991 but was ousted eight months later in a military coup. The 1993 Clinton White House thus found itself in the awkward position of having to pretend – because of all their rhetoric about “democracy” – that they supported the democratically-elected Aristide’s return to power from his exile in he US. After delaying his return for more than two years, Washington finally had its military restore Aristide to office, but only after obliging the priest to guarantee that he would not help the poor at the expense of the rich – literally! – and that he would stick closely to free-market economics. This meant that Haiti would continue to be the assembly plant of the Western Hemisphere, with its workers receiving starvation wages, literally! If Aristide had thoughts about breaking the agreement forced upon him, he had only to look out his window – US troops were stationed in Haiti for the remainder of his term.</p>
<p>In 2004, with Aristide once again the elected president, the United States staged one of its most blatant coups ever. On February 28, 2004, American military and diplomatic personnel arrived at Aristide’s home to inform him that his private American security agents must either leave immediately to return to the US or fight and die; that the remaining 25 of the American security agents hired by the Haitian government, who were to arrive the next day, had been blocked by the United States from coming; that foreign and Haitian rebels were nearby, heavily armed, determined and ready to kill thousands of people in a bloodbath. Aristide was pressured to sign a “letter of resignation” before he was flown into exile by the United States.</p>
<p>And then US Secretary of State Colin Powell, in the sincerest voice he could muster, told the world that Aristide “was not kidnaped. We did not force him onto the airplane. He went onto the airplane willingly. And that’s the truth.” Powell sounded as sincere as he had sounded a year earlier when he gave the UN a detailed (albeit imaginary) inventory of the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in Iraq, shortly before the US invasion.</p>
<p>Jean-Bertrand Aristide was on record, by word and deed, as not being a great lover of globalization or capitalism. This was not the kind of man the imperial mafia wanted in charge of the Western Hemisphere’s assembly plant. It was only a matter of time before they took action.</p>
<p>It should be noted that the United States also kept progressives out of power in El Salvador, another of Trump’s “shithole” countries.</p> | Fake News by Omission: the Haiti Example | true | https://counterpunch.org/2018/02/09/fake-news-by-omission-the-haiti-example/ | 2018-02-09 | 4 |
<p>Someone (with a lot of time on their hands) made a supercut of dancing scenes from 86 movies from the 1990s. Those of us who grew up in the decade will recognize many of these great films. This supercut has the moments cut together to the song “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim.</p>
<p>The man behind the video, Robert Jones, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supercut-dancing-90s-movies_us_5862177be4b0de3a08f603eb" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“I worked in a music store (Blockbuster Music) from ‘96-’99 and wanted to choose something from that great period in my life. Hopefully, this video captures some of the feels of the period for you too.”</p>
<p>This video has scenes from movies such as Clueless, Titanic, 10 Things I Hate About You, Pulp Fiction, and&#160;Can’t Hardly Wait.&#160;Robert Jones is a video artist, and he has also done videos featuring 1980s movies.</p>
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<p>Featured image via YouTube <a href="https://youtu.be/q8bs2ihwK2c" type="external">screenshot</a>.</p> | My Fellow Millennials! This Video Will Hit You Right In The Childhood! | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2016/12/27/my-fellow-millennials-this-video-will-hit-you-right-in-the-childhood/ | 2016-12-27 | 4 |
<p>Humana Inc.'s pretax income fell 11% in its latest quarter as the health insurer trimmed its workforce and earnings from its health-care-services business dropped.</p>
<p>Humana reported a third-quarter pretax profit of $799 million, or $3.44 a share, compared with $902 million, or $2.98 a share, a year ago.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Louisville, Ky., company said head-count reductions and decreased earnings from integrated-care services hurt its results, while earnings increased in many of its core insurance segments. Humana said its mail-order pharmacy services were less popular than expected during the quarter, especially among members in the prescription plan it is offering with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.</p>
<p>The company said this week it will cut 1,300 jobs and leave the long-term-care business, bolstering analyst speculation that the insurance company is readying itself for a merger less than a year after a tie-up with Aetna fell apart.</p>
<p>Humana plans to offload the long-term-care business, KMG America Corp., to Continental General Insurance Co. Humana expects to record a net loss of $400 million on the sale. It will provide $353 million to help fund the transaction, which it expects to be more than offset by a tax benefit from the sale of $500 million.</p>
<p>Together, the company expects layoffs and the early retirement program to reduce head count by 2,700 people, or 5.7% of its workforce.</p>
<p>Chief Executive Bruce Broussard said in prepared remarks Wednesday that cutting costs has allowed the company to invest in its products and streamline its operating processes. The company's number of four-star Medicare plans increased for 2018 and Mr. Broussard said management feels good about Humana's Medicare pricing a few weeks into the enrollment period for 2018.</p>
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<p>Excluding one-time items, Humana earned $3.39 a share, up from $3.20 a share in the year-earlier period. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings per share of $3.27.</p>
<p>Humana shares, up 26% this year, rose 2.6% in premarket trading on low volume.</p>
<p>The company also decreased its full-year outlook as a result of charges stemming from workforce reductions. It now expects earnings per share of $17.62 this year, down from an earlier forecast of $17.83. It raised its forecast for adjusted earnings per share to $11.60 from $11.50.</p>
<p>Write to Cara Lombardo at [email protected]</p>
<p>Humana Inc.'s revenue fell 3% in its latest quarter as the health insurer trimmed its workforce and revenue from individual insurance policies decreased.</p>
<p>Humana reported third-quarter revenue of $13.3 billion, down from $13.7 billion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected $13.4 billion.</p>
<p>The Louisville, Ky., company said head-count reductions and decreased earnings from integrated-care services hurt results, while revenue from its Medicare Advantage business rose. Humana said its mail-order pharmacy services were less popular than expected during the quarter, especially among members in the prescription plan it is offering with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.</p>
<p>The company said this week it will cut 1,300 jobs and leave the long-term-care business, bolstering analyst speculation that the insurance company is readying itself for a merger less than a year after a tie-up with Aetna fell apart.</p>
<p>Humana plans to offload the long-term-care business, KMG America Corp., to Continental General Insurance Co. Humana expects to record a net loss of $400 million on the sale. It will provide $353 million to help fund the transaction, which it expects to be more than offset by a tax benefit from the sale of $500 million.</p>
<p>Together, the company expects layoffs and the early retirement program to reduce head count by 2,700 people, or 5.7% of its workforce.</p>
<p>Chief Executive Bruce Broussard said in prepared remarks Wednesday that cutting costs has allowed the company to invest in its products and streamline its operating processes. The company's number of four-star Medicare plans increased for 2018 and Mr. Broussard said management feels good about Humana's Medicare pricing a few weeks into the enrollment period for 2018.</p>
<p>Last week, Humana sued the federal government for about $611 million, alleging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services misled insurers it brought into Affordable Care Act exchanges. Humana said in the lawsuit filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that the government owes it risk corridor payments, or reimbursements to cover losses over certain thresholds, for the years 2014 through 2016. The administration didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>Over all, Humana posted a third-quarter profit of $499 million, or $3.44 a share, compared with $450 million, or $2.98 a share, a year ago.</p>
<p>Excluding one-time items, Humana earned $3.39 a share, up from $3.20 a share in the year-earlier period. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings per share of $3.27.</p>
<p>Humana shares, up 26% this year, were down 2.5% in early trading Wednesday.</p>
<p>The company also decreased its full-year outlook as a result of charges stemming from workforce reductions. It now expects earnings per share of $17.62 this year, down from an earlier forecast of $17.83. It raised its forecast for adjusted earnings per share to $11.60 from $11.50.</p>
<p>Write to Cara Lombardo at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 08, 2017 11:06 ET (16:06 GMT)</p> | Humana's Earnings Fall as Insurer Cuts Jobs--3rd Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/08/humanas-earnings-fall-as-insurer-cuts-jobs.html | 2017-11-08 | 0 |
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<p>OK, so we didn’t realize we were waiting for it, but now that “Colossal” is here, what a unique and bizarre and surprising and original piece of filmmaking it is, and what a pleasure to experience a movie that takes so many chances and succeeds at nearly every twist of the plot.</p>
<p>Anne Hathaway is raw and real and pretty much sensational playing Gloria, a beautiful, smart, self-destructive, perpetual screw-up for whom the term “hot mess” was invented.</p>
<p>Gloria is an online journalist living in New York City with her handsome, well-off boyfriend, Tim (Dan Stevens). Sounds like the perfect life, except for Gloria’s ongoing commitment to getting wasted, neglecting Tim and generally being her own worst enemy. Tim has had it with Gloria’s disappearing act and constant partying. He packs Gloria’s bags and kicks her out, telling her she has no more second chances.</p>
<p>Jason Sudeikis appears in a scene from “Colossal.” (Courtesy of Cate Cameron/Neon)</p>
<p>Out of options, Gloria returns to her hometown of Mainland (how’s that for an Americana name?) and moves into her late parents’ house. Within hours of arriving in town, Gloria runs into her childhood best friend, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), the classic, amiable, never-left-home good guy who is now running his late father’s tavern.</p>
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<p>Oscar gives Gloria a job at the bar (dangerous turf for a hardcore alcoholic), sends over a bunch of items to furnish her house and is a supportive, sympathetic friend.</p>
<p>At this point, “Colossal” seems well on the path to becoming a genial, comfortable, predictable romantic comedy about the hard-bitten, cynical, self-destructive woman who comes home with her tail between her legs and falls in love with the solid, loyal, regular guy who’s been smitten with her since they were kids.</p>
<p>And then it’s not. That movie. It’s really, really not. Because Godzilla.</p>
<p>Not that the humongous, reptilian monster demolishing the streets of Seoul is actually called Godzilla, but you get the picture. While Gloria is getting blackout drunk in Mainland and trying to figure out her life’s path, the monster is making periodic appearances halfway across the world, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and then disappearing again after crushing hundreds of people and tearing up the city.</p>
<p>Slowly, Gloria begins to realize there’s an intense, strong connection between her actions and the movements of the monster, and I’m just going to leave it at that. It’s surreal and it’s goofy and it’s exhilarating, and it’s rather amazing to see where it all goes.</p>
<p>There’s a little bit of a “Donnie Darko” vibe to “Colossal.” (The poster featuring Hathaway with the rabbit-eared monster behind her is certainly reminiscent of some “Donnie Darko” artwork.) Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo draws the line between Gloria seemingly experiencing a breakdown, and the monster in Seoul, and either you buy into it or you don’t.</p>
<p>Once the Gloria-monster connection is established (the scene in which Gloria tests out her theory is powerful and chilling), “Colossal” kicks into full-gear metaphor mode and becomes a story of a woman fighting back against an abusive relationship and the demons of addiction. Hathaway delivers one of the more complex and more memorable performances of her career, hitting a variety of dramatic and comedic notes in a richly written character.</p>
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<p>Sudeikis’ Oscar becomes ever more … shall we say, complicated, as the story progresses. It’s strong work from an actor who can make the leap from laid-back comedy to intense drama – sometimes within the same scene – with nimble ease.</p>
<p>From its weird little prologue to a nearly perfect ending, “Colossal” is a trip in multiple meanings of that word.</p>
<p>‘Colossal’</p>
<p>RATED: R (for language) WHEN: Opens today WHERE: High Ridge</p>
<p>3.5 stars</p>
<p /> | Monster mash-up: Anne Hathaway takes on ‘Godzilla’ in comedy/drama | false | https://abqjournal.com/994098/monster-mashup.html | 2 |
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<p>She is also deaf, a fact she plays down in describing her path to one of the most world’s most prestigious academic honors.</p>
<p>“I’ve always felt most comfortable in an academic setting, especially while I was reading and writing — that’s been close to my heart,” Kolb said. “And so I’ve never really thought of my disability as standing in the way of that.”</p>
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<p>Just 32 Rhodes scholars were selected nationwide, from a pool of 838 candidates nominated by their colleges and universities. The list was announced this weekend.</p>
<p>Kolb, 22, has finished her undergraduate degree at Stanford. She is still there, now pursuing a one-year master’s degree in English. At Oxford next year, she plans to study contemporary literature and comparative social policy.</p>
<p>Rhodes scholar Rachel Kolb is an accomplished equestrian. She has ridden since the age of 8 and appeared in horse shows during high school. (courtesy of damian marhefka photography)</p>
<p>Kolb said she would like to write about social issues affecting people with disabilities.</p>
<p>“That’s something I’m passionate about, and I’m hoping to do that in a very mainstream, meaningful way,” she said, sitting outside the Academy on the day before Thanksgiving. Kolb was home for the holiday break.</p>
<p>Kolb has attended mainstream classes with her hearing peers since kindergarten, always with the help of a sign language interpreter. She attended the Academy from sixth through twelfth grade and had the same interpreter the whole time. She credits that interpreter, Jennifer Cole, with providing steady support and a familiar face throughout her schooling.</p>
<p>“That relationship is a really special one to me. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know that person, but also explore what you are able to do in your own abilities while they help you through the classroom setting,” she said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Kolb continued to have classroom interpreters at Stanford and will have them at Oxford. But she can have extensive conversations without any help, thanks to years of speech therapy, her ability to read lips, and a cochlear implant she got in the summer of 2010.</p>
<p>She said the implant helps her communicate, but she still doesn’t talk on the phone and relies on a combination of sounds and lip reading.</p>
<p>“It hasn’t turned me into a hearing person overnight, but it’s given me this wonderful tool to work with,” she said.</p>
<p>Besides excelling academically, Kolb began riding horses when she was 8 and did horse shows throughout high school. She has been president of the Stanford equestrian team for two years and represented Stanford in the national finals in 2010 and 2011.</p>
<p>She said that, even though riding takes a lot of her time, it helps her manage stress and focus on school.</p>
<p>“I think of riding as my fun time,” she said. “It’s my outlet to go to at the end of a day, where I finish stressing out about other things.”</p>
<p>Rachel Kolb is working toward a master’s degree at Stanford University. She is one of 32 Rhodes scholars chosen nationwide. (greg sorber/journal)</p>
<p>— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | NM’s Rhodes Scholar | false | https://abqjournal.com/148896/nms-rhodes-scholar.html | 2012-11-26 | 2 |
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<p>“Guess what? Atrisco is being repaved AGAIN, and with fresh one-lane striping. (As work wrapped up), the bottom part experienced yet another water-main break and the water department is digging up a good portion that … affects 20 homes.”</p>
<p>So if we have an aging water system and a rate increase to pay for it, “WHY hasn’t the water department scheduled a replacement (or, if it has) why waste taxpayer money for repaving and striping until this section is replaced? … Do the departments talk to each other?”</p>
<p>Yes. They just don’t always agree. First, the recent repaving. Melanie Chapman, program manager and public information officer for the Department of Municipal Development, says, “The work being referred to along Atrisco was a pavement preservation project … to ensure the quality of the roadway for citizens.” This kind of scheduled maintenance is cheaper than waiting for the road to fall apart under usual wear and tear.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But it sometimes falls apart anyway because of other causes. David Morris, public affairs manager for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, says the much-patched “water line in question is old and in need of replacement. We intend to do this between Central on the south and I-40 on the north, but the plans are on hold during the construction moratorium put in place by the city for the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project. We asked the city if we could do the line replacement work ahead of the resurfacing job mentioned by the reader, but they declined the request, citing the ART moratorium. … Presumably this was because of the scope and length of the work involved – it will probably take about a month. We hope to do the work next year after the moratorium is lifted.”</p>
<p>That said, the water authority meets “monthly with the city to review planned projects and coordinate efforts. (The flood control authority, highway department, conservancy district) and Bernalillo County also participate. With other utilities – gas and electric, for example – we meet with them when we are planning a project so we can take their infrastructure into account.</p>
<p>“Obviously, in the case of emergencies such as line breaks and sewer collapses, advance coordination is not possible.”</p>
<p>VENTURA ONE SPEED NOW: A reader emails that “going south on Ventura between Paseo del Norte and Alameda, the speed limit posted is 30 mph. Going north on that same stretch of road, the posted speed limit is 25 mph. The signs are almost across the street from each other just south of Alameda. … Can a street really be two different speed limits depending on whether you are going north or south? That might happen on a hilly highway, but on Ventura?”</p>
<p>Chapman says, “After review, speed limit signs have been changed to 25 mph in both directions.”</p>
<p>VOLUNTEER HIGHWAY TRASH PICKUP: The New Mexico Department of Transportation District Three is asking its Adopt-A-Highway volunteers to get in their last cleanup before winter hits.</p>
<p>District Three, which includes Bernalillo, Valencia and parts of Sandoval counties, alone has 78 active volunteer groups that have adopted 130 lane miles of highway. Statewide, volunteers picked up 70.8 tons of litter last year.</p>
<p>Volunteers get safety vests and garbage bags for the twice-a-year pickups; NMDOT maintenance crews haul away the trash bags. To adopt a section of highway, call 505-798-6613.</p>
<p>Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; [email protected]; or P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p /> | Atrisco’s water line woes make repaving useless | false | https://abqjournal.com/911596/atriscos-water-line-woes-make-repaving-useless.html | 2 |
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<p>Was any progress made at Thursday’s health care summit on Capitol Hill? Is Goldman Sachs bringing down the global economy? Is it Wall Street gone wild or just the progress of capitalism? And is the U.S. trouncing Toyota because the federal government owns GM? So many questions, but luckily the “Left, Right &amp; Center” lineup is ready for all of them on this week’s show.</p>
<p>KCRW:</p>
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<p /> | 'Left, Right & Center': Health Care Huddle, Goldman/Greece | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/left-right-center-health-care-huddle-goldmangreece/ | 2010-02-27 | 4 |
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<p>The electronics retailer said it expects "near flat" revenue in the fourth quarter - which includes key holiday shopping.</p>
<p>Its stock tumbled more than 5 percent in premarket trading shortly ahead of the market open.</p>
<p>The Richfield, Minnesota-based company reported that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 16.8 percent to $125 million, or 36 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 41 cents per share, surpassing Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 35 cents per share.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the company reported a 2.4 percent drop in revenue to $8.82 billion, which fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $8.84 billion.</p>
<p>The company also reported disappointing same-store-sales growth of 0.5 percent. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a 1.2 percent increase in that closely-watched shopping metric.</p>
<p>Best Buy said growth in computing and appliance sales was offset by weak tablet, mobile phone and digital imaging device sales. Also, the company saw a drop in service revenue. International revenue plunged on a mix of smaller operations in Canada and a stronger U.S. dollar.</p>
<p>Despite the morning rout in the market, several analysts said the results are positive overall for the company, as it deals with a tough retail environment and continues to adapt.</p>
<p>Stifel analyst David A. Schick, in a note to investors, called the reaction "a little overdone" and said the guidance includes investments in growth initiatives.</p>
<p>Best Buy Co. shares dropped $1.71, or 5.5 percent, to $29.62 in premarket trading 30 minutes ahead of the market open. Its shares have decreased 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index has risen 1 percent. The stock has dropped 10 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights ( <a href="http://automatedinsights.com/ap)" type="external">http://automatedinsights.com/ap)</a> using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BBY at <a href="http://www.zacks.com/ap/BBY" type="external">http://www.zacks.com/ap/BBY</a></p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Keywords: Best Buy, Earnings Report</p> | Best Buy reports weak 3Q sales, cautious outlook | false | https://abqjournal.com/678554/best-buy-reports-weak-3q-sales-cautious-outlook.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishbone" type="external">Fishbone</a>, a ska/funk/metal/rock band that formed in 1979 and has continued to tour and release albums ever since, has a song from their newest CD, Still Stuck in Your Throat, called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/fishboneisredhot" type="external">“Party With Saddam”</a> that is arguably the cheeriest, most hopeful, and most danceable song I’ve heard about the former Iraqi president.</p>
<p>The song is a standard <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska" type="external">ska</a> romp, and it’s catchy chorus <a href="http://www.fishbonelive.org/lyrics.php?songid=199&amp;fishbone_Session=ca72dbb9c4d77967c781b255257a7c72" type="external">goes like this</a>: “We won’t see the end / If we party till our colors blend / Party till Saddam’s your friend / Never drop a bomb again / All right / We can break the chains / If we party like our blood’s the same / Party till we lose our aim / Never shoot a gun again.” The song was actually released in Europe in August ’06, but after Saddam’s death last December, the band has since been inviteded to talk about/perform the song (a crowd favorite) on radio stations. Here’s one acoustic performance:</p>
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<p>Fishbone’s been around for decades (I’ve seen them live a dozen times), and despite having only two original members, they <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrONIb9gQ-k" type="external">keep making socially-conscious</a>, energetic, up-tempo music that most of their musical peers probably can’t—or just don’t want to—keep up with anymore.</p>
<p /> | Party With Saddam | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/12/party-saddam/ | 2007-12-05 | 4 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A Baptist group specializing in church/state issues says the threat of churches and other religious organizations losing their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage “have been highly exaggerated” in a two-page handout released in light of the landmark Supreme Court decision recognizing that gays have a constitutional right to wed.</p>
<p>“Churches have long followed their own rules for performing marriages without such threat,” the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty said in a resource document titled <a href="http://bjconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SSM-handout-June-2015-FINAL.pdf" type="external">The Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling: What you need to know now.</a></p>
<p>The BJC, a 79-year-old education and advocacy organization representing <a href="http://bjconline.org/supporting-bodies/" type="external">15 national, state and regional Baptist bodies</a> in the United States, says the high court’s 5-4 decision in <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/" type="external">Obergefell v. Hodges</a> legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states doesn’t change that.</p>
<p>Any threat to the tax-exempt status of religious entities, the BJC says, would require “over-expansion” of a 1983 Supreme Court ruling against Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian school in Greenville, S.C., which lost its tax-exempt status over a policy prohibiting interracial dating and marriage.</p>
<p>In that <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5709622583578921647&amp;q=bob+jones+v.+united+states&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=6,43&amp;as_vis=1" type="external">decision</a>, the Supreme Court agreed 8-1 with the IRS that to qualify for tax exemption as a “charitable” organization, an institution must provide a public benefit and not be contrary to public policy.</p>
<p>“We are bound to approach these questions with full awareness that determinations of public benefit and public policy are sensitive matters with serious implications for the institutions affected,” Chief Justice <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/warren-burger-9231479" type="external">Warren Burger</a> wrote for the majority. “A declaration that a given institution is not ‘charitable’ should be made only where there can be no doubt that the activity involved is contrary to a fundamental public policy. But there can no longer be any doubt that racial discrimination in education violates deeply and widely accepted views of elementary justice.”</p>
<p>The BJC said the ruling does not apply to churches and has not been applied beyond racial discrimination in education. “It is unlikely that the court’s decision in favor of same-sex marriage will have any effect on the 501(c)(3) status of religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage,” the BJC said.</p>
<p>During <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/14-556q1_7l48.pdf" type="external">oral arguments</a> in April, Justice Samuel Alito asked U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli if the Bob Jones precedent would apply to a college or university that opposed same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>“I don’t think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it’s certainly going to be an issue,” Verrillie said. “I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is going to be an issue.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx" type="external">Chief Justice John Roberts</a> remembered the exchange in a dissenting opinion to the marriage decision in <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/" type="external">Obergefell v. Hodges</a>. “There is little doubt that these and similar questions will soon be before this court,” Roberts predicted. “Unfortunately, people of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today.”</p>
<p>Douglas Laycock, a law professor at the University of Virginia, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/schools-fear-impact-of-gay-marriage-ruling-on-tax-status.html?_r=0" type="external">told</a> the New York Times that Verrilli’s response to Justice Alito was ill-considered.</p>
<p>Laycock, recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on religious liberty law, said church leaders are worried about jeopardizing their tax-exempt status because “there is a certain obvious logic” to Alito’s question. But he termed it “unimaginable” that any administration of either party would anytime soon go after the tax exemption of a religious institution over its views on homosexuality.</p>
<p>“When gay rights looks like race does today, where you have a handful of crackpots still resisting,” he said, “you might see an administration picking a fight.”</p> | BJC says same-sex marriage ruling unlikely to affect tax-exemption | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/bjc-says-same-sex-marriage-ruling-unlikely-to-affect-tax-exemption/ | 3 |
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<p>In today’s roundup, <a href="http://variety.com/t/marvel/" type="external">Marvel</a> launches a new animation franchise, the <a href="http://variety.com/t/new-york-television-festival/" type="external">New York Television Festival</a> moves to a summer date, and more.</p>
<p>LAUNCHES</p>
<p><a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/avengers-infinity-war-trailer-watch-1202625072/" type="external">Marvel</a> has announced the launch of “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/marvel-rising/" type="external">Marvel Rising</a>,” a multi-platform animation franchise featuring the next generation of Marvel heroes. The program will launch next year with six digital shorts–each four minutes long– that spotlight Spider-Gwen with her new secret moniker, Ghost-Spider. A feature-length film, “Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors,” will premiere later in 2018 and follow new characters and old favorites as they join forces to defeat evil. Marvel has also released a video, viewable below, that introduces the characters and voice actors behind the new franchise.</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/syfy/" type="external">Syfy</a> is launching Syfy Wire’s first Snapchat show, “Geekly.” Hosted by Andre Meadows and Whitney Moore, “Geekly” revolves around the biggest genre news and events each week. “Geekly” premieres its eight-week run today; new episodes, each running three to five minutes, will premiere on Thursdays at 6 a.m. EST on Snapchat’s Discover page. Previously released episodes will be available via Snapchat’s Search feature.</p>
<p>FESTIVALS</p>
<p>For its 14th anniversary, the <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/manic-new-york-is-dead-winners-new-york-television-festival-1202601807/" type="external">New York Television Festival</a>&#160;has moved the event, which is usually scheduled for late October, to the summer in order to align with the start of the TV buying season and maximize potential for officially-selected projects and creators. The festival’s next edition is set to take place the week of July 15. NYTVF has also announced the launch of flagship pilot and script initiatives for 2018. As it grows its core programs– the Independent Pilot Competition, NYTVF Scripts, and NYTVF Connect– NYTVF’s accredited industry participants will have exclusive early access to official selections from the pilot and script competitions following the upfronts.</p>
<p>PaleyFest LA has selected the first three series for its 35th anniversary event, which will take place at the Dolby Theatre from March 16-25, 2018. “Stranger Things,” “The Good Doctor,” and “Will and Grace” are the festival’s first selections. The full program schedule will be announced on January 9, 2018.</p>
<p>FIRST LOOKS</p>
<p>The official trailer for the Starz original limited series “Howards End” has been released; watch it below. Starz has also announced that the series will premiere in April 2018.&#160;“Howards End,” based on the novel by E.M&#160;Forster, marks the first TV adaptation from Oscar-winning screenwriter&#160;Kenneth Lonergan and stars Hayley Atwell, Philippa Coulthard, Matthew Macfadyen, and Tracey Ullman.&#160;</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>SPECIALS</p>
<p>Pat Boone Enterprises and Carpe Diem Group LLC have announced “The 70th Anniversary of Israel Concert and Television Special Presented by Pat Boone and Friends.” Boone is set to host the event, which will be taped live on May 13, 2018 at the historic Caesarea Maritima Amphitheater in Israel. The show will feature performances by Boone, celebrity friends, and esteemed musical performers including the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Famous faces and political leaders from around the world will speak at the event and partake in the celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary.</p>
<p>ADVOCACY</p>
<p>“The Young and the Restless” has partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association&#160;on an ongoing storyline about the disease,&#160;which the character of Dina (Marla Adams) was diagnosed with in an episode earlier this year.&#160;In the episode airing Friday, Dec. 8,&#160;Dina’s daughter faces reality when she recognizes that her mother does not remember the time they spent together earlier in the day. After the episode, a “CBS Cares” PSA will run featuring Peter Bergman, who plays Dina’s son, urging viewers to refer to the Alzheimer’s Association website for useful information.</p> | TV News Roundup: Marvel Launches ‘Marvel Rising’ Animation Franchise | false | https://newsline.com/tv-news-roundup-marvel-launches-marvel-rising-animation-franchise/ | 2017-12-07 | 1 |
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<p>BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University will no longer admit student-athletes with a history of sexual or domestic violence.</p>
<p>The Indianapolis Star ( <a href="http://indy.st/2pH2kkm" type="external">http://indy.st/2pH2kkm</a> ) reports the athletics department policy was approved this month. It bans prospective student-athletes from athletics-related financial aid, practice and competition if they have been “convicted of or pleaded guilty or no contest to a felony involving sexual violence.” That includes transfer students and incoming freshman.</p>
<p>The policy defines sexual violence as “dating violence, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or sexual violence as defined by the Indiana University policy on sexual misconduct.”</p>
<p>The new policy, the brainchild of Athletic Director Fred Glass, comes amid heightened scruitiny of how schools handle sexual and domestic violence involving college athletes. Indiana University dismissed freshman football player Kiante Enis within hours of his September arrest on child molesting charges. Enis has pleaded not guilty to having an improper relationship with a girl under age 13.</p>
<p>In 2015, the Southeastern Conference banned member institutions from accepting transfer students with a history of serious misconduct, including sexual and domestic assault. Indiana University’s conference, the Big Ten, has so far left decisions to individual institutions.</p>
<p>“I think it’s new ground,” Glass said. “My hope is that we’re leading in this area, and maybe others will follow with, maybe not the exact same policy, but one that fits their particular institutions.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Glass has been at the forefront of trying to find the best way to handle sexual assault investigations involving student athletes. In crafting the new policy, he consulted with the university’s Office of Student Welfare and Title IX, its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the university’s faculty athletics representative Kurt Zorn and athletic department head coaches.</p>
<p>The policy includes an appellate process, where an appeal would go before a committee comprised of school officials outside the athletics department, which Glass said was key.</p>
<p>Another school policy remains about suspending current student-athletes accused of a sexually violent crime from competition until the matter is resolved.</p>
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<p>Information from: The Indianapolis Star, <a href="http://www.indystar.com" type="external">http://www.indystar.com</a></p> | Indiana University bans athletes with sexual violence past | false | https://abqjournal.com/990716/indiana-university-bans-athletes-with-sexual-violence-past.html | 2017-04-20 | 2 |
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<p>Those Do-si-dos no longer come with a month-long wait.</p>
<p>The Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails began selling cookies this week, including the new Toffee-tastic, a gluten-free option.Girl Scout Cookie sales began this week. Unlike previous years, local Scouts already have access to the cookies they’re selling. (Morgan Petroski/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Neither do Thin Mints or Samoas, for that matter.</p>
<p>That’s because local Girl Scouts have changed their cookie sales approach in 2015, offering customers the kind of instant gratification not often associated with those famous boxed goodies. For the first time, area Scouts have dispensed with the traditional pre-order process, waiting to initiate sales until they had product in hand.</p>
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<p>Sales formally began Monday, meaning some locals already are devouring their $4 batches of Trefoils and Rah-Rah Raisins.</p>
<p>The Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails – the council that oversees an estimated 400 troops and 3,000 Scouts in central and northern New Mexico – made the decision to forgo pre-orders and adopt a sales model gaining popularity with Scouts around the country, said Trish Maxwell, the local council’s product sales manager.</p>
<p>Eliminating the January pre-order period “just makes it easier on everyone,” she said. First and foremost, it condenses the cookie-selling time frame for Scouts and their families. But it also has the added benefit of giving buyers faster access to the beloved treats.</p>
<p>“It has been (popular) so far,” Maxwell said.</p>
<p>Having the product immediately available has led to particularly robust sales so far, said Jana Lewis, leader of Albuquerque-based Troop No. 10547. She said leaders didn’t know what to expect with the change, but early reports indicate the move was positive.</p>
<p>“They’re selling way more immediately right off the bat than anyone could’ve guessed,” she said.</p>
<p>The one potential problem, of course, is that the council must purchase an inventory based on projections rather than established customer demand, and will have to eat – at least figuratively – any unsold boxes come the end of cookie season (March 29).</p>
<p>To avoid such a surplus, the council placed an initial bakery order based on what individual troops estimated they could sell within the first few weeks, Maxwell said. It will then reorder as needed throughout the season.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Should the council’s cookie cupboard runneth over come mid-March, leadership may initiate some last-minute incentives to bolster sales throughout the ranks, according to Carol Ann Short, who handles public relations for the council.</p>
<p>The good news for the council is that New Mexico Trails boasts some darn good salesgirls. In 2014, they sold 686,287 boxes – an average of 243 boxes per Scout.</p>
<p>“Our girls are really, really good at what they do,” Maxwell said, noting that the local average ranks among the highest in the nation.</p>
<p>Eliminating pre-orders is just one difference local Girl Scout Cookie fans may notice this year. For the first time, Scouts can sell cookies online. Local Scouts can create their own Web pages to peddle their product to friends and loved ones who may live far away. (Buyers must be invited to each page by the presiding Scout, though the council can help initiate contact for customers who don’t know a Scout.)</p>
<p>Also new in 2015 are the aforementioned Rah-Rah Raisin – an oatmeal cookie with raisins and Greek yogurt-flavored chunks – and the Toffee-tastic cookie, a $5-a-box gluten-free option that Maxwell said is available in limited quantities.</p>
<p>For more information, on Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, go online to <a href="http://nmgirlscouts.org" type="external">nmgirlscouts.org</a> or call 343-1040.</p>
<p />
<p /> | There’s no waiting for Girl Scout Cookies! | false | https://abqjournal.com/543450/girl-scout-cookies-are-here-right-now.html | 2 |
|
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon's second home could be in an already tech-heavy city, such as Boston, New York or Austin, Texas. Or it could be in the Midwest, say, Indianapolis or Columbus, Ohio. Or the company could go outside the U.S. altogether and set up shop in Toronto.</p>
<p>Those six locations, as well as 14 others, made it onto Amazon's not-so-short shortlist Thursday of places under consideration for the online retailing giant's second headquarters.</p>
<p>The 20 picks, narrowed down from 238 proposals, are concentrated mostly in the East and the Midwest and include several of the biggest metro areas in the country, such as Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles, the only West Coast city on the list.</p>
<p>The Seattle-based company set off fierce competition last fall when it announced that it was looking for a second home, promising 50,000 jobs and construction spending of more than $5 billion. Many cities drew up elaborate presentations that included rich financial incentives.</p>
<p>The list of finalists highlights a key challenge facing the U.S. economy: Jobs and economic growth are increasingly concentrated in a few large metro areas, mostly on the East and West Coasts and a few places in between, such as Texas.</p>
<p>Nearly all the cities on Amazon's list already have growing economies, low unemployment and highly educated populations.</p>
<p>"Amazon has picked a bunch of winners," said Richard Florida, an economic development expert and professor at the University of Toronto who helped develop that city's bid. "It really reflects winner-take-all urbanism."</p>
<p>Among those that didn't make the cut were Detroit, a disappointment for those excited about progress since the city came out of bankruptcy, and Memphis, Tennessee, where the mayor said the city gave it its "best shot." San Diego also failed to advance.</p>
<p>"Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough," said Holly Sullivan, who oversees Amazon's public policy. "All the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity."</p>
<p>Amazon said it will make a final selection sometime this year.</p>
<p>Besides Austin, another Texas city made the cut: Dallas. In the South, Miami and Atlanta are being considered.</p>
<p>Officials in cities that made the shortlist took the opportunity to further tout their locations, with Philadelphia's mayor noting "all that Philadelphia has to offer" and officials in and around Pittsburgh citing the region's "world-class talent pool" and other advantages.</p>
<p>Other contenders among the 20 include Denver; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; Northern Virginia; and Raleigh, North Carolina.</p>
<p>"It's a long list for a shortlist," said Jed Kolko, chief economist at job site Indeed.</p>
<p>He said Amazon may use the list to pit the locations against each other and get better tax breaks or other incentives. Two metro areas, New York and Washington, have more than one location on the list, increasing the competition there, he said.</p>
<p>"It's hard to say whether all these places are in play or Amazon wanted to encourage continued competition," Kolko said.</p>
<p>Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether locations would be able to change their proposals or offer better incentives, but said in a statement that it will "work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals."</p>
<p>State and local governments played up the amenities they think make their locations the best choice. Some pulled off stunts to stand out, such as New York, which lit the Empire State Building in Amazon orange.</p>
<p>Some gimmicks didn't work: Tucson, Arizona, which sent a 21-foot cactus to Seattle, did not make the list. Neither did Birmingham, Alabama, which installed giant replicas of Amazon's Dash buttons.</p>
<p>The company had stipulated that it wanted to be near a metropolitan area with more than 1 million people, and nearly all of those on the shortlist have a metro population of at least double that.</p>
<p>Amazon also wanted to be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and be able to expand the headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade.</p>
<p>But Amazon also made it very clear it wanted tax breaks, grants and any other incentives.</p>
<p>Boston's offer includes $75 million for affordable housing for Amazon employees and others. Before leaving office Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie approved a measure to allow New Jersey to offer up to $5 billion to Amazon. Newark is also proposing $2 billion in tax breaks.</p>
<p>But many of the state and local governments competing for the headquarters have refused to disclose the financial incentives they offered. Of the 20 finalists, 13, including New York, Chicago and Miami, declined requests from The Associated Press to release their applications. Toronto's mayor said Thursday that the city offered no financial incentives to woo Amazon.</p>
<p>Several said they don't want their competitors to know what they're offering, a stance that open-government advocates criticized.</p>
<p>Amazon plans to remain in its sprawling Seattle headquarters, and the second home base will be "a full equal" to it, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has said.</p>
<p>The extra space will give the rapidly growing company room to spread out. It had nearly 542,000 employees at the end of September, a 77 percent jump from the year before. Some of that growth came from Amazon's nearly $14 billion acquisition last year of the Whole Foods grocery chain and its 89,000 employees.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Josh Cornfield in Philadelphia, Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report. Rugaber contributed from Washington.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon's second home could be in an already tech-heavy city, such as Boston, New York or Austin, Texas. Or it could be in the Midwest, say, Indianapolis or Columbus, Ohio. Or the company could go outside the U.S. altogether and set up shop in Toronto.</p>
<p>Those six locations, as well as 14 others, made it onto Amazon's not-so-short shortlist Thursday of places under consideration for the online retailing giant's second headquarters.</p>
<p>The 20 picks, narrowed down from 238 proposals, are concentrated mostly in the East and the Midwest and include several of the biggest metro areas in the country, such as Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles, the only West Coast city on the list.</p>
<p>The Seattle-based company set off fierce competition last fall when it announced that it was looking for a second home, promising 50,000 jobs and construction spending of more than $5 billion. Many cities drew up elaborate presentations that included rich financial incentives.</p>
<p>The list of finalists highlights a key challenge facing the U.S. economy: Jobs and economic growth are increasingly concentrated in a few large metro areas, mostly on the East and West Coasts and a few places in between, such as Texas.</p>
<p>Nearly all the cities on Amazon's list already have growing economies, low unemployment and highly educated populations.</p>
<p>"Amazon has picked a bunch of winners," said Richard Florida, an economic development expert and professor at the University of Toronto who helped develop that city's bid. "It really reflects winner-take-all urbanism."</p>
<p>Among those that didn't make the cut were Detroit, a disappointment for those excited about progress since the city came out of bankruptcy, and Memphis, Tennessee, where the mayor said the city gave it its "best shot." San Diego also failed to advance.</p>
<p>"Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough," said Holly Sullivan, who oversees Amazon's public policy. "All the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity."</p>
<p>Amazon said it will make a final selection sometime this year.</p>
<p>Besides Austin, another Texas city made the cut: Dallas. In the South, Miami and Atlanta are being considered.</p>
<p>Officials in cities that made the shortlist took the opportunity to further tout their locations, with Philadelphia's mayor noting "all that Philadelphia has to offer" and officials in and around Pittsburgh citing the region's "world-class talent pool" and other advantages.</p>
<p>Other contenders among the 20 include Denver; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; Northern Virginia; and Raleigh, North Carolina.</p>
<p>"It's a long list for a shortlist," said Jed Kolko, chief economist at job site Indeed.</p>
<p>He said Amazon may use the list to pit the locations against each other and get better tax breaks or other incentives. Two metro areas, New York and Washington, have more than one location on the list, increasing the competition there, he said.</p>
<p>"It's hard to say whether all these places are in play or Amazon wanted to encourage continued competition," Kolko said.</p>
<p>Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether locations would be able to change their proposals or offer better incentives, but said in a statement that it will "work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals."</p>
<p>State and local governments played up the amenities they think make their locations the best choice. Some pulled off stunts to stand out, such as New York, which lit the Empire State Building in Amazon orange.</p>
<p>Some gimmicks didn't work: Tucson, Arizona, which sent a 21-foot cactus to Seattle, did not make the list. Neither did Birmingham, Alabama, which installed giant replicas of Amazon's Dash buttons.</p>
<p>The company had stipulated that it wanted to be near a metropolitan area with more than 1 million people, and nearly all of those on the shortlist have a metro population of at least double that.</p>
<p>Amazon also wanted to be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and be able to expand the headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade.</p>
<p>But Amazon also made it very clear it wanted tax breaks, grants and any other incentives.</p>
<p>Boston's offer includes $75 million for affordable housing for Amazon employees and others. Before leaving office Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie approved a measure to allow New Jersey to offer up to $5 billion to Amazon. Newark is also proposing $2 billion in tax breaks.</p>
<p>But many of the state and local governments competing for the headquarters have refused to disclose the financial incentives they offered. Of the 20 finalists, 13, including New York, Chicago and Miami, declined requests from The Associated Press to release their applications. Toronto's mayor said Thursday that the city offered no financial incentives to woo Amazon.</p>
<p>Several said they don't want their competitors to know what they're offering, a stance that open-government advocates criticized.</p>
<p>Amazon plans to remain in its sprawling Seattle headquarters, and the second home base will be "a full equal" to it, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has said.</p>
<p>The extra space will give the rapidly growing company room to spread out. It had nearly 542,000 employees at the end of September, a 77 percent jump from the year before. Some of that growth came from Amazon's nearly $14 billion acquisition last year of the Whole Foods grocery chain and its 89,000 employees.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Josh Cornfield in Philadelphia, Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report. Rugaber contributed from Washington.</p> | Amazon sweepstakes is narrowed down to 20 competitors | false | https://apnews.com/amp/ed3321a8c9ca41cba63e2528b727f037 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p />
<p>When it comes to refining stocks, there is only so much a company can do to affect overall earnings. Ultimately, it will all come down to market conditions. So, even though Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) did all the right things this quarter, the near-50% decline in refining margins was too much to overcome.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Still, there are plenty of items in this most recent quarter that suggest Phillips 66 remains on the right track. Let's take a look at the results for the quarter and what investors should expect from here.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>*in millions, except per-share data.Data source: Phillips 66 earnings release.</p>
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<p>The biggest weak spot in Phillips 66's earnings for this quarter was the rapid drop in refining earnings as well as a slide in chemical earnings. On the refining side, those declines were very much a product of the refining environment rather than the business itself. Refinery utilization for the quarter was a very impressive 97%, and its clean product yield -- the percentage of refined products that were higher-margin gasoline and diesel -- was a respectable 84%. It all pretty much came down to refining margins. In the third quarter of last year, realized refining margins were $13.96 per barrel, whereas in this past quarter, they came in at $7.23 per barrel. Refining is a very high fixed-cost, relatively low variable-cost business, so that extra $6.73 per barrel last year pretty much flowed directly to the bottom line.</p>
<p>On the chemical side of the business, the decline came mostly from a small slump in production rate -- capacity utilization dropped from 94% to 91% -- and an uptick in cash costs for its feedstock.</p>
<p>One of the more encouraging things in this earnings report was the modest improvement in midstream results. This was partially attributed to Phillips 66's investment in DCP Midstream -- the general partner of DCP Midstream Partners (NYSE: DPM) that Phillips 66 owns with Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) -- turning back to a positive result. This part of the business was in a rough spot a year ago, when both Phillips 66 and Spectra needed to inject some cash into the business and give it some assets. Some cost-cutting measures, shifting its contract structure toward fee-based services, and the added assets have helped turn things around.</p>
<p>Data source: Phillips 66 earnings releases. Chart by author.</p>
<p>Probably most surprising was the announcement that the company reduced its capital spending outlook for the year from $3.9 billion to $3 billion and that it expects capital spending in 2017 to be slightly below $3 billion. The change in spending mostly came from the deferral of a few projects as well as what it calls a project financing issue. Over the short term, this may not be much of an issue, because the company has several projects near completion that will boost earnings, including the expansion of its Beaumont terminal, CPChem's -- the chemical manufacturing joint venture with Chevron (NYSE: CVX) -- Gulf Coast Petrochemical plant, and its Freeport LPG export terminal. The larger effect of these capital spending declines will likely become known a few years down the road.</p>
<p>Like in so many other quarters, CEO Greg Garland gave a statement that sounded very much like "steady as she goes." Based on the company's operations, it's easy to see why he thinks that way. One thing that caught my eye was that he discussed some details about how the company is planning its capital spending and distributions to shareholders for next year:</p>
<p>Those share repurchases are notable because the company has already done a lot of it since it went public back in 2012.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/PSX/average_shares_outs_diluted" type="external">PSX Average Diluted Shares Outstanding (Quarterly)</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Sometimes, no news is good news. This was very much the case for Phillips 66 this quarter. The company continued to run its operations well, but the higher costs for crude oil and natural gas took a bite out of earnings for its refining and chemical businesses. 2017 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the company as several of its assets under construction will come into service. In the meantime, Phillips 66 will continue to generate decent profits and return high rates of cash to its shareholders.</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=2692&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/TMFDirtyBird/info.aspx" type="external">Tyler Crowe Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned.You can follow him at Fool.comor on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerCroweFool" type="external">@TylerCroweFool Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Spectra Energy. The Motley Fool recommends Chevron and DCP Midstream Partners. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Phillips 66's Earnings: The Best They Could Be in a Tougher Refining Market | true | http://foxbusiness.com/investing/2016/10/31/phillips-66-earnings-best-could-be-in-tougher-refining-market.html | 2016-10-31 | 0 |
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<p />
<p>Barack Obama is a <a href="http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_barack_obama_muslim.htm" type="external">secret Muslim</a> who <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/%20politicalradar/2007/11/obama-says-flag.html" type="external">refuses</a> to say the Pledge of Allegiance. During the Democratic primary campaign, the junior senator from Illinois has been hit repeatedly by virulent viral emails pushing false claims like these. The latest: Obama, due to his Muslim background, secretly favors Palestinians over Israelis.</p>
<p>An unsourced email being disseminated claims that “someone taped former Muslim Barack HUSSEIN Obama at a black church when he was in South Carolina” and that Obama said:</p>
<p>It’s clear that we give too much money to Israel. [cheers] Why… do you know that every American gives approx .20 cents A DAY to Israel? [jeers] We keep hearing how tough the Israelis are… how great an ‘ally’ they are… –but what if we gave the SAME AMOUNT of money we gave THEM to the poor Palestinians–I bet THAT would bring them finally to the table. We could have a two-state solution… a two-state solution–just like former President Carter outlined in his latest book. We can’t have peace in the Middle East until we solve that problem down in Palestine. George Bush should have thought about that before he went into Iraq…[etc.]</p>
<p>The email goes on to note that Obama sounds “a GREAT DEAL like Malcolm X.” It asks, “Instead of the ‘Manchurian Candidate,’ is Obama the secret ‘Farrakan Candidate'”? It then seeks to explain his purported anti-Israel bias:</p>
<p>Will Barrack’s [sic] Muslim roots cause him to favor the Palestinians against Israel?</p>
<p>Because he’s a “person of color,” will Obama be more sympathetic to 3rd World Peoples’ struggles in that they have “darker skin” like him?</p>
<p>Does Obama distrust the lighter-skinned, more “European”-looking Israelis and tend to favor the “darker complexioned” Palestinians and other Arabs (al Qaeada? [sic]) because his Muslim African father and cousins?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp" type="external">Obama’s father</a> was raised as a Muslim but was not a practicing Muslim as an adult. He was either agnostic or an atheist. He left Obama and Obama’s mother when Obama was two years old. Obama has said <a href="http://www.barackobama.com/factcheck/2007/11/12/obama_has_never_been_a_muslim_1.php" type="external">he has never worshipped in a mosque</a>–which would mean he is not a former Muslim. And he has <a href="/commentary/columns/2008/01/obamas-israel-shuffle.html" type="external">recently moved</a> to demonstrate his pro-Israel credentials.</p>
<p>The email is not just anti-Obama; it’s racist: “Will his election in America temper or EMBOLDEN the 3rd World Terrorist Groups he physically resembles around the world?”</p>
<p>This missive clearly is directed at Jewish American voters. It calls on the “pro-Israeli lobby” to investigate Obama: “He DOES have Muslim roots, you know! Is he a Trojan Horse for anti-Israeli interests? Maybe the American Jewish community ought to THINK about all that.” The email adds, “We already KNOW the Clintons are pro-Israeli.”</p>
<p>Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman, says that Obama campaign was unaware of the email until Mother Jones asked about it. And the campaign issued a statement: “This is the latest in a string of outlandish and false attacks against Barack Obama. Obama has a strong and consistent record of speaking out for and voting for economic and security assistance for Israel because he believes in a strong U.S.-Israel alliance.”</p>
<p>The note yields no clues as to who’s behind it. For what it’s worth, it does seem to encourage American Jews to vote for HIllary Clinton instead of Obama. But there’s no telling what that says about its origins. (Could someone be trying to make the Clinton camp look bad?) But it’s another sign of how easy it is for political dirty tricksters to spread malicious and untrue innuendo. Should Obama become the Democrats’ presidential nominee, he can expect a flood of similar attacks. In the meantime, the unknown author of this email says, “We’re putting [the tape of Obama at the South Carolina church] up on YouTube.” So far, nothing is there.</p>
<p>Photo by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountaineerpics/1218476612/" type="external">transplanted mountaineer</a> used under a Creative Commons license.</p>
<p /> | A New Smear Email: Obama Gave an Anti-Israel Speech at a Black Church | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/02/new-smear-email-obama-gave-anti-israel-speech-black-church/ | 2008-02-21 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Lasers have become increasingly popular, and II-VI (NASDAQ: IIVI) has used its technology to serve industrial customers needing laser equipment and telecom customers looking to enhance their optical communications capabilities. Coming into Tuesday's fiscal first-quarter report, however, II-VI investors weren't certain whether the company would be able to produce bottom-line growth despite high expectations for sales gains. II-VI weighed in with much stronger earnings than most were expecting to see, yet despite those results, the stock didn't react the way you'd think. Let's take a closer look at how II-VI did and how it sees things playing out in the future.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: II-VI.</p>
<p>II-VI's fiscal first-quarter results were exceedingly strong. Sales of $221.5 million were up 17% from year-ago levels, slightly exceeding the consensus forecast among investors following the stock. On the bottom line, GAAP net income fell 5% to $16.3 million, but after accounting for various extraordinary items, adjusted earnings of $0.35 per share were $0.08 higher than what most investors had expected.</p>
<p>Looking more closely at II-VI's numbers, bookings for the quarter were even stronger than its other figures. Overall, bookings jumped 31% to $244.3 million, with most of those gains coming from the photonics segment.</p>
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<p>Indeed, looking at II-VI's different businesses, photonics was the standout performer. Revenue for the segment jumped by a third, and operating income more than doubled from year-earlier levels. The remainder of II-VI's segments had more mixed results, with the laser solutions business posting 11% gains in revenue, but seeing operating income sink by nearly half due to research and development expenses. After adjusting for the R&amp;D charges, adjusted operating income gains of 17% were more impressive. The small performance-products segment also saw modest sales growth of just 2%, and operating income sagged by 6% year over year.</p>
<p>CEO Chuck Mattera highlighted a strong start to the new fiscal year. "Component sales into the optical communications market led the growth in margins, and our industrial laser business remained steady," Mattera said. In addition, the CEO pointed to acquisitions in helping to produce valuable growth for II-VI.</p>
<p>II-VI is extremely excited about its future growth prospects. In Mattera's words, "We have made good progress in our investment programs to scale our technology platforms to address fast-growing, emerging markets such as 3D sensing, power electronics, and data center interconnects." The more applications II-VI is able to focus on, the greater the prospects for long-term growth for the company.</p>
<p>For the most part, II-VI's outlook seemed reasonably upbeat. Guidance includes sales figures expected to be between $220 million and $230 million, which fits well with the $221 million consensus forecast among those following the stock. Similarly, with most investors expecting $0.23 per share in earnings, II-VI's range of $0.24 to $0.29 per share would be favorable -- especially as it incorporates additional investment in research and development of $0.10 per share.</p>
<p>Investors were initially pleased with the upbeat results that II-VI issued, sending the stock higher when the market opened following the announcement. Yet by midday, the stock had given up all of those gains and then some, falling more than 4%. Even with the lackluster reception that shares of II-VI have seen today from investors analyzing the earnings report, the laser maker appears to have a strong grip on some promising areas for future expansion. If II-VI can make the most of the opportunities it has to grow and broaden its business, then it has plenty of avenues for strong future performance.</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/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends II-VI. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Photonics Lift II-VI's Sales, Earnings | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/25/photonics-lift-ii-vi-sales-earnings.html | 2016-10-25 | 0 |
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<p>Photo by Fibonacci Blue | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
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<p>There are many important issues on the national political table right now, but sometime soon, fixing the federal minimum wage should be there too. Of course, the politics of reform don’t look good, but there is a Congressional election coming next year, and we need to be sure that voters understand that almost every Republican in Congress (some Democrats too), and the self-proclaimed workers’ champion in the White House don’t think people deserve a helping hand to get a living wage. The current federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, is a disgrace. Even $10 an hour yields only $20,800 for year-round, full-time work. That’s below the extra-low American poverty line for a family. Even for an individual living alone, it would not be enough in most American cities.</p>
<p>But how high a wage should we push for in the long run?&#160; Of course, $15 an hour is a great starting point and courageous workers and local politicians have succeeded in getting a $15 minimum or something like it in quite a few states and cities. Two years ago, 42% of American workers were earning less than $15 an hour, so movements that are winning a $15 minimum in states and cities are helping millions and millions of workers. But workers in other states and cities need federal help. Getting a $15 national minimum wage would be a tremendous victory.&#160;But just the beginning. In the not-so-long run, $15 an hour won’t be enough. That’s because $15, while a huge advance for millions of workers, yields only $31,000 before taxes for a full year of full-time work. And many low-wage workers do not work full-time. <a href="#_edn1" type="external">[1]</a></p>
<p>If we are debating with people who think $15 is terribly high, can we defend something higher? What would be an ideal minimum down the road? There are several ways to construct an ideal minimum wage, but two approaches are particularly compelling. One is about minimum living standards and the other is about equality. As to the first, we can ask how much a family needs to live, not in affluence, but in modest comfort. Experts have estimated that a two-parent, two-child family requires $54,500 a year for a modest living standard. (The amounts vary by where the family lives and household size.) If there is only one earner, he or she must work full-time all year and earn $26 an hour to reach $54,500. <a href="#_edn2" type="external">[2]</a></p>
<p>Next, if we apply the equality method, it seems a matter of elementary justice that everyone should share increases in the national income. To estimate how much income did not go to the people, we can use per capita income–the total national income divided by the population. Per capita income increased 16 times between 1965 and 2015. But average hourly pay increased only half as much. One reason is that a tiny group of “capitas”–the rich–seized most of the increase in the national income. If the hourly wage of the average rank-and-file worker had increased as much as per capita income, it would be $40 today, not $21. If the federal minimum wage of 1965 had increased by a factor of 16, it would be $20 an hour, not $7.25. <a href="#_edn3" type="external">[3]</a></p>
<p>In light of these facts, it is astonishing that many politicians on the national scene are happy with the pathetically low minimum of $7.25. This indifference to the working poor occurs while big bankers and business tycoons take home massive compensation packages of millions and even billions of dollars.</p>
<p>One wonders what the President’s working-class supporters expect of him on the wage front. He likes to visit factories and talks big about job creation, but it tells us something about what he really thinks of the working class that he, his appointees, and Congressional members of his party, are fine with a $7.25 national minimum wage, do not support the $15 movement, and would be horrified if we dared to talk about a minimum wage that started at $20.</p>
<p>Frank Stricker is emeritus professor of history and labor studies at California State University,&#160;Dominguez Hills, and he is a member of the National Jobs for&#160;All Coalition. He’s finishing a book about the history&#160;and future of American unemployment.</p>
<p>Notes.</p>
<p><a href="#_ednref1" type="external">[1]</a>. A full year would be 52 weeks of 40 hours = 2,080. Actual average weekly hours in America are usually just below 35. A review of much literature on the subject is Arne L. Kalleberg, Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: The Rise of Polarized and Precarious Employment Systems in the United States, 1970s to 2000s (NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011). Also Irene Tung, Yannet Lathrop, and Paul Sonn, “The Growing Movement for $15,” National Employment Law Project, November, 2015.</p>
<p><a href="#_ednref2" type="external">[2]</a>. James Lin and Jared Bernstein, AWhat We Need to Get By,@ EPI Briefing Paper #224, October. 29, 2008, <a href="http://www.epi.org/" type="external">www.epi.org</a>. The budgets ranged from a high in New York City ($68,758) to a low in rural Mississippi ($35,733). The national average was $48,778, which, after inflation, is about $54,500 in 2017. See also Andrew Khouri, “Low-Wage Workers Can=t Afford Rent,” Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2014, B2.</p>
<p><a href="#_ednref3" type="external">[3]</a>. Annie Lowrey, “Raising the Minimum Wage Would Ease Income Gap but Carries Political Risks,” New York Times, February 13, 2013, accessed at nytimes.com, 2/13/2013; Steve Lopez, “Overlooked and Underpaid,” LAT, 5/22, 13, A2; Lydia Saad, AAmericans Say Family of Four Needs Nearly $60K to ‘Get By,’” accessed at gallup.ocm/poll162587 on 5/22/2013; Don Lee and Shan Li, “Raising the Wage Floor,” LAT, February 14, 2013, B1, B4. Per capita income is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis at united-states.reaproject.org/analysis/comparative-trends.</p> | Why $15 an Hour Should be the Absolute Minimum Minimum Wage | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/27/why-15-an-hour-should-be-the-absolute-minimum-minimum-wage/ | 2017-03-27 | 4 |
<p>A petition urging the Donald Trump administration to formally classify the Antifa movement as a terrorist organization has been launched on the White House website.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/formally-recognize-antifa-terrorist-organization-0" type="external">petition</a> was started Thursday, and by Saturday, had garnered over 13,000 signatures.</p>
<p>The White House is obliged to review the initiative if it reaches the benchmark of 100,000 signees by September 16 – within the 30 day period.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/400263-free-speech-rally-boston/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The author of the petition said ant-fascists should be recognized as terrorists because of their “violent actions in multiple cities and their influence in the killings of multiple police officers throughout the United States.”</p>
<p>He added that “terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims,” and urged the Pentagon to be “consistent in its actions.”</p>
<p>“Just as they rightfully declared ISIS a terror group, they must declare Antifa a terror group – on the grounds of principle, integrity, morality, and safety,” the wording of the petition said.</p>
<p>Antifa or the extreme left is known for its violent rivalry with white supremacists and other far-right groups across America.</p>
<p>Last Saturday saw violent clashes between a Unite the Right rally and an Antifa counter-protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.</p>
<p>The violence culminated in a right-wing a activist plowing his car through the crowd, killing one person and injuring 19 others.</p>
<p>President Trump came under fire following the Charlottesville events, as he initially stopped short of condemning the white supremacists and instead placed blame on ”all sides.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/400216-charlottesville-fields-charges-additional-ten/" type="external">READ MORE: Additional charges against Charlottesville attack suspect bring total to 10 felonies</a></p>
<p>“What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say, at the alt-right? Do they have any assemblage of guilt?” the US leader said.</p>
<p>“What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. That was a horrible, horrible day,” Trump added.</p>
<p>Hundreds of right-wing demonstrators and thousands of left-winger counter-protesters flocked to a park in downtown Boston Saturday for simultaneous rallies.</p>
<p>Security has been boosted, with backpacks, sticks and any other items that can be used as weapons banned.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/400202-trump-arts-committee-resigns-charlottesville/" type="external">READ MORE: Trump’s Arts committee resigns in protest over Charlottesville remarks</a></p>
<p>Before the rally, the Boston Antifa branch has called on its members and supporters to “confront fascism” at Saturday’s rally.</p>
<p>“We’ll see who really, really has the guts at this rally,” the group said in an online video, <a href="http://www.wcvb.com/article/free-speech-rally-fight-supremacy-rally-boston-common/12036148" type="external">WCVB</a> reported.</p>
<p>In January, a petition to class the Black Lives Matter movement as terrorist organization was launched. However, it failed to reach the required benchmark, collecting less than 1,000 signatures in a month.</p> | Petition calling on White House to recognize Antifa as terrorists has 13k+ signatures | false | https://newsline.com/petition-calling-on-white-house-to-recognize-antifa-as-terrorists-has-13k-signatures/ | 2017-08-19 | 1 |
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<p>Does Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert really believe his once-venerable retailing empire is on the verge of collapse, or is the company's "going-concern" declaration merely some boilerplate to comply with SEC regulations?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>In a March 21 filing with the SEC, Sears Holdings wrote: "Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern."</p>
<p>Certainly, for a business to get to the point that it needs to include such language in its filings shows there is risk of failure. However, "substantial doubt" doesn't mean certainty and management can mitigate those risks. Lampert believes his plans more than override those fears.</p>
<p>In fact, in the filing, Sears Holdings follows up the going concern language by noting that, "We believe that the actions discussed above are probable of occurring and mitigating the substantial doubt raised by our historical operating results and satisfying our estimated liquidity needs 12 months from the issuance of the financial statements." That's encouraging, but the next sentence notes that "... we cannot predict, with certainty, the outcome of our actions to generate liquidity, including the availability of additional debt financing, or whether such actions would generate the expected liquidity as currently planned."</p>
<p>Image source: Sears Holdings.</p>
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<p>A "going concern" notice is language companies use to let investors know there are some serious, potentially fatal, risks facing it. All companies operate on the assumption they will remain a going concern, or a viable business,well into the future. That is the presumption everyone goes by and it's the basis for how companies file their financial statements.</p>
<p>However, when significant problems arise that could create not onlyturmoil, but actually undermine the company's ability to keep functioning, businesses have a duty to warn people that risk exists. The Financial Accounting Standards Board says, "When relevant conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, indicate that it is probable that the entity will be unable to meet its obligations as they become due within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued," management should disclose the risk [emphasis added].</p>
<p>The board goes on to say that even if there are conditions that can mitigate or even alleviate the substantial doubts raised, companies must still warn of the existence of the risks.</p>
<p>This is what seems to be going on with Sears. In its annual 10-K report, the retailer pointed to its historical operating results for causing the "substantial doubt" about its future existence. One look at Sears quarterly filings shows that deepening losses can only go on for so long before a company gives up the ghost.</p>
<p>In the fourth quarter, Sears' losses expanded to $607 million from $580 million the previous year, though both periods included non-cash charges for Sears' deteriorating trade name, understandably, though, it was a much larger amount this year than last. Revenues were also on the decline, falling to $6.1 billion from $7.3 billion, and though a lot has to do with the large number of stores Sears Holdings has closed, it's also because fewer people are shopping at its Sears and Kmart stores.</p>
<p>Yet following the filing of the annual report, Sears CFO Jason Hollar took to the <a href="http://blog.searsholdings.com/shc-updates/sears-holdings-remains-focused-on-long-term-profitability/" type="external">company's blog Opens a New Window.</a> to further explain that this was indeed boilerplate to the extent Sears is required to disclose the risks by regulation, but the retail company has a plan in place to turn things around. He also pointed to Sears' independent auditors giving the retailer an "unqualified audit opinion," meaning they believe Sears remains a going concern "that can meet its financial and other obligations for the foreseeable future."</p>
<p>One can argue that Hollar's outlook is just feel-good language intended to get investors to whistle past the graveyard. That's what teen retailer Aeropostale appeared to do as it careened toward bankruptcy. Despite consistently touting its plans to return to profitability, it still went under, and it never warned investors about its ability to survive as a going concern.</p>
<p>In none of its filings did Aeropostale mention there was any "substantial doubt." Not when its stock plunged into penny stock territory, nor when it was delisted from the NYSE, nor even when it filed notices saying it couldn't file its financial statements in a timely manner. In fact, the only time Aeropostale warned about its viability was after it declared bankruptcy. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sears' disclosure about its concerns and its optimism were required by a new accounting rule.</p>
<p>Sears and Lampert do finally have a plan forfixingthe retailer, and it's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/07/sears-licensing-kenmore-brand-to-gas-grill-maker-b.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">rather Opens a New Window.</a>innovative, even if it's a long shot to succeed after more than a decade of neglect. But maybe the saying "better late than never" will hold true for the retailer.</p>
<p>Image source: Sears Holdings.</p>
<p>Plan or not, though, there are real-world implications that stem from Sears raising these doubts in its filings, even ifeveryone already knew they existed. Vendors that were already jittery about delivering merchandise to the retailer may become even more so now that Sears has publicly acknowledged the jeopardy it faces. Vendors are already unable to get insurance to cover their shipments to the retailer, and continuing to supply Sears means they are gambling they'll still be paid if the music stops.</p>
<p>Sears' stock also plunged 12% on the disclosure, though it has rallied sharply since, and that could be because investors realize Sears was merely following the rules and Lampert has a game plan, even if it is late in coming. Recently reported <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/28/why-sears-holdings-inc-stock-popped-again-today.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">insider buying Opens a New Window.</a> also pushed the stock up. That doesn't mean I'd be buying Sears stock, though, because the retailer faces some exceptionally strong headwinds that even better-financed companies are having trouble getting through.</p>
<p>The going concern notice by Sears is important and there is a lot to be worried about with the retailer, but this particular disclosure isn't the final piece of this puzzle, and Lampert may make a surprise return from the brink.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Sears HoldingsWhen 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 February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Does Sears Holdings Really Think It's Not Going to Survive? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/30/does-sears-holdings-really-think-it-not-going-to-survive.html | 2017-03-30 | 0 |
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<p>The controversy that has engulfed East High School not even one week into the school year stems from pre-season practices organized by newly hired coach Ozell Williams, a Guinness World Record holder and former contestant on the NBC reality series “America’s Got Talent.”</p>
<p>The allegations involve at least eight young girls, according to Denver’s NBC affiliate, KUSA. In one clip obtained by the station, a 13-year-old incoming freshman shrieks “please stop” nine times during a span of 24 seconds.</p>
<p>School officials were provided the videos in June. Denver Police received an anonymous tip Wednesday and immediately assigned child-abuse detectives to the case, a spokesman told The Washington Post.</p>
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<p>“This is an open case,” the official said in an email, “therefore no additional details or videos will be provided at this time.”</p>
<p>Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg appealed for calm as police and the school district carry out their investigations, and he has sought to reassure angry students and parents that administrators are taking the matter seriously.</p>
<p>“We absolutely prohibit any practices that place our students’ physical and mental health in jeopardy,” Boasberg said in a prepared statement appearing on the school’s website. “We do not and will not allow any situation in which a student is forced to perform an activity or exercise beyond the point at which they express their desire to stop.”</p>
<p>Williams did not respond to a message left with his business, Mile High Tumblers, but told KUSA that he learned the split technique while in Chicago and New Orleans. He has been a regular halftime performer at Denver Broncos football games, and set the world record for consecutive handsprings – 57 – in 2013. His stint on “America’s Got Talent” came in 2015.</p>
<p>On his website, Williams offers some insight into his training philosophy. “Our mission,” it says, “is to develop strong athletes and well-rounded citizens by teaching discipline, responsibility, respect, sense of ownership and other characteristics that mimic upstanding citizenship.”</p>
<p>Kirsten Wakefield, whose 13-year-old daughter Ally is seen screaming in one of the videos, emailed the school district June 15 demanding to know what the administration would do about her daughter’s injury. KUSA reported an investigation began only after the news station made inquiries.</p>
<p>“This is a grown man,” Kirsten Wakefield told KUSA, “pushing my 13-year-old against her will.”</p>
<p>Another parent, Cheri Nickolay, said watching the videos made her ill. Her daughter has quit the cheerleading squad, she said, adding, “I don’t know how you could justify that.”</p>
<p>In addition to Williams and his assistant coach, Mariah Cladis, Principal Andy Mendelsberg and Assistant Principal Lisa Porterand were put on leave, as was an attorney employed by the school district, Michael Hickman.</p>
<p>“This is standard practice in an investigation of this type,” Superintendent Tom Boasberg said in a statement posted to the school’s website. “It does not imply or prejudge in any way the actions of the individuals or what the investigation might determine.”</p>
<p>Another assistant principal, Jason Maclin, will oversee school operations during the investigation.</p>
<p>The district intends to share the results of its investigation as soon as possible, Boasberg said.</p> | Disturbing video shows high school cheerleaders screaming as they’re forced to do splits | false | https://abqjournal.com/1053249/disturbing-video-shows-high-school-cheerleaders-screaming-as-theyre-forced-to-do-splits.html | 2 |
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<p>Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The Dallas Morning News on the fourth Republican presidential debate:</p>
<p>Fewer podiums, more-moderated moderating and a few welcome policy contrasts marked an occasionally plodding but certainly more substantive fourth Republican presidential debate.</p>
<p>The separation into candidate tiers was evident again Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Unlike Boulder, Colorado, the emphasis was less horse race and more dash to score governance points.</p>
<p>This left one of two outsider co-front-runners, Ben Carson, mostly out of range. Fellow outsider Donald Trump displayed stylistic improvements but remained typically sketchy on substance.</p>
<p>Which provided the opening that back-in-the-pack runners Jeb Bush and John Kasich needed to whack away at Trump's simplistic solutions to the nation's immigration impasse. Trump reiterated his desire to wall off the Southern border and send home any undocumented immigrants left on the U.S. side.</p>
<p>This "makes no sense," Kasich correctly noted. "We all know you can't pick them up and ship them ... back across the border," he said. "It is a silly argument. It is not an adult argument."</p>
<p>Bush, coming off a dreadful debate last month, was closer to the top of his game, with Trump a handy foil. "Sending 11 million people back is not possible, and it's not embracing American values," the former Florida governor said. "Even having this conversation sends a powerful signal. They're doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign over this."</p>
<p>(Seconds later, thanks to Twitter, we got confirmation from Hillary Clinton's spokesman.)</p>
<p>"We actually are doing high-fives right now," Brian Fallon tweeted.</p>
<p>The back-and-forth lays bare a significant fault line for Republicans in 2016. The further right candidates drift on immigration — as in Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — the more they risk alienating Latino voters. The Catch-22 for Bush and Kasich is that the Republican base already is solidly to their right. What might play a year from now will hurt more than it helps in landing the nomination.</p>
<p>Similarly, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, roused from a campaign stupor, offered a defense of his libertarian leanings and specific criticism of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for backing enhanced defense spending at the expense of smaller-government conservatism.</p>
<p>"Marco, how is it conservative to add a trillion-dollar expenditure to the federal government that you're not paying for?" Paul said. "Can you be a conservative and liberal on military spending?"</p>
<p>Rubio's response: "Yes, I believe the world is a safer — no, I don't believe, I know — the world is a safer and better place when America is the strongest military power in the world."</p>
<p>It's another legitimate governance question for a general-election audience, but it puts Paul solidly to the left of the average Republican voter.</p>
<p>While the focus on actual policy differences was refreshing, it did not shake the overall dynamic of this crowded race. And only two GOP debates remain before voters take over in February with the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/" type="external">http://www.dallasnews.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The South Florida Sun Sentinel on Veteran's Day:</p>
<p>Companies throughout South Florida and the nation are falling all over themselves to offer goodies to veterans today.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, veterans appreciate the discounts — or even freebies — on groceries, yoga classes, wedding gowns, car washes, haircuts, oil changes, drinks, meals, theme park admissions and everything else you can imagine.</p>
<p>Veterans Day has almost become Black Friday for veterans. The vets get something, and businesses improve their bottom lines by attracting more customers.</p>
<p>Still, we hope the true meaning of a day meant to honor the bravery and service of U.S. veterans doesn't get lost in the giveaways.</p>
<p>For given today's global threats, Americans have a duty to better understand the challenges our veterans face in defending our country's security and way of life.</p>
<p>Years ago, most Americans had a better grasp of what veterans faced because most people had family members or knew somebody in the military. But today, with less than 1 percent of our population in the armed forces, too many people view the military as something for somebody else.</p>
<p>To address the growing cultural gap, noted author Sebastian Junger offers a good suggestion for getting beyond today's shopping sprees and yellow-ribbon parades. He suggests communities make their town halls available for vets to tell their stories about their experiences at war.</p>
<p>"We would hear a lot of anger and pain. We would also hear a lot of pride. Some of what would be said would make you uncomfortable, whether you are liberal or conservative, military or nonmilitary, young or old. But there is no point in having a conversation about war that is not completely honest," he said. "Let them speak. They deserve it. In addition to getting our veterans back, we might get our nation back as well."</p>
<p>Besides asking to hear their stories, it's important we address the aftermath of war, which remains an open wound for too many veterans and their families.</p>
<p>The need is particularly great in Florida, New York and California, which have almost half of the nation's homeless veterans. On any particular night, an estimated 50,000 veterans are homeless in America, with about 10 percent of them in Florida.</p>
<p>Then there is employment. Many veterans come home and find the jobs they left don't exist, or their job skills aren't relevant any more.</p>
<p>According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, 40,000 unemployed veterans live here. While the unemployment rate has been going down, too many still can't find work, live in poverty or are homeless. Nationally, more than one in 10 veterans between the ages of 18 and 34 lives in poverty.</p>
<p>Such numbers are disgraceful in a nation that owes so much of what we have, so much of what we are, to our veterans.</p>
<p>So in addition to thanking a veteran for his or her service today, there is more that you — and businesses — can do to make a difference.</p>
<p>Countless agencies offer veterans help in finding employment, housing and services. They no doubt would be glad to hear from you today. They include: Florida Veterans Foundation, Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion and Mission United, a program run by the United Way of Broward. You can find these and other worthy programs on the Internet.</p>
<p>Demonstrating your appreciation would provide a powerful show of force today.</p>
<p>And it would mean a lot more than an oil change.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/" type="external">http://www.sun-sentinel.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The New York Times on refugees in Europe:</p>
<p>Turbulent seas and falling temperatures are not stopping desperate people from seeking safety in Europe. Last month, more than 218,000 people made the perilous Mediterranean crossing — nearly as many as in all of 2014. So far this year, more than 3,400 people attempting to cross have died or are missing.</p>
<p>More than 2 1/2 million people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis fleeing war, have gone to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where they are facing increasingly dire conditions. Many families have exhausted their savings, and children are forced to work menial jobs instead of attending school. United Nations agencies that provide food aid and winter supplies have had to cut thousands of people from support in these countries. They simply don't have enough funding.</p>
<p>Thousands who have made it to Europe are also at risk of exposure, hunger and illness. Some European leaders, paralyzed by rising xenophobia that they themselves have stoked, are doing little to help. European Union members promised in September to accept 160,000 refugees who were already in Europe, but only 116 had been relocated by the start of November. Of the 2.3 billion euros ($2.46 billion) pledged by European governments to help refugees, less than €500 million has been received. For a union founded on values of solidarity and dignity, this is shameful.</p>
<p>Germany stands alone among the European Union's 28 member states in welcoming legitimate asylum seekers on the scale required. It plans to take in 800,000 people this year.</p>
<p>There is much that European and other governments need to do now, like stepping up contributions to United Nations agencies working in Jordan, Syria and Turkey. Greece, where refugees are expected to arrive at a rate of 5,000 a day, needs emergency help. The European Union should swiftly relocate refugees from Greece and Italy to states that have promised to accept them. And shelter, clothing and food are urgently needed by the people straggling across Europe, left at the mercy of winter by Europe's miserable failure to respond to the biggest influx of refugees since World War II.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>http://www.nytimes.com/</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The Khaleej Times on Russia and Syria:</p>
<p>A Russian peace plan for Syria could go a long way in kick-starting the stalled political process in the conflict-ravaged country, but is vague about the future of President Bashar Al Assad. Will Assad go or does he stay? Will he be in charge during the planned transition over 18 months? The West and Gulf countries want him out without further delay. Russia, Iran and Hezbollah are fighting on the side of the Syrian government, which is now retaking territory from the terrorist Daesh group.</p>
<p>Russia has thrown Assad a lifeline and he knows it. President Putin is a player in the country and wants a say in its future. The Russians have a diplomatic edge at the moment, but a transition toward a new government with Assad at the helm, in any role, could prove tricky. Syrian rebel factions are divided on the future of the country post Assad. How do you bring them to the table when they're pulling in different directions?</p>
<p>Under the plan, Moscow insists opposition groups should be vetted before they are allowed to sit at the table for proposed talks. Terrorists among the groups should be barred, they say. This may not be acceptable to other countries involved in Syria.</p>
<p>Then there's the question of Daesh. Who fights them during such a delicate transition? There's also the question of refugees, the dying and the maimed in battle. Dithering over the real terrorists in Syria's midst could prove fatal during a planned political settlement.</p>
<p>Daesh still has the resources to cause extensive damage. It's nimble in its movements, smart with strategy, high on ideology, and it is still recruiting new faithful to its ranks. A unified military command of all parties engaged in Syria should be set up to tackle the threat head on if the political process envisaged by Russia is acceptable to all.</p>
<p>First, a cease-fire should be reached between all warring parties in the country. Assad and some opposition groups may fall in line and agree to international mediation. But how do you rein in Daesh, which respects no country or boundaries?</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/" type="external">http://www.khaleejtimes.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The Telegraph, United Kingdom, on UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the European Union:</p>
<p>The fact that David Cameron has written a letter to the President of the EU Council setting out Britain's terms for a renegotiation of its membership terms is emblematic of the institution's aggrandizing tendencies. Until a few years ago this post, currently occupied by Donald Tusk, the former Polish premier, did not even exist. It was created by the Lisbon Treaty to add to four other presidencies.</p>
<p>This is the real backdrop to Mr. Cameron's search for a new deal, which his letter to Mr. Tusk formally initiated. Those who argue against reforms and in favor of the status quo must acknowledge how far the EU has developed from the loose association of common trading partners most people thought we were joining 40 years ago. Still, the four key points that Mr. Cameron set out are more about stopping Britain being drawn further into an integrated superstate rather than repatriating powers.</p>
<p>Mr. Cameron says he is confident he can get a deal and there seems no obvious reason why he shouldn't since the rest of the EU does not want Britain to leave and the demands are modest. The area where he will have greatest difficulty is with rules for claiming benefits. Here, Mr. Cameron wants other EU citizens to work and contribute for four years before qualifying for tax credits and other payments. This would be fine if the same rules applied to UK citizens; the issue is whether it is possible to treat other EU citizens differently.</p>
<p>Moreover, it is by no means clear that new benefit conditions would have much impact on immigration. Mr. Cameron said that 40 per cent of recently arrived EU workers claim benefits; but it does not follow they would be deterred from coming if the payments were unavailable for four years, even were the European Court to accept such discrimination is lawful.</p>
<p>So, a fundamental change to Britain's position in the EU is not anticipated and is not even being requested. Perhaps this was never a realistic hope; but in his Bloomberg speech three years ago in which he announced plans for a referendum, he foresaw a "new settlement" in Europe, one "in which ... some powers can be returned to member states".</p>
<p>Little is now heard of repatriation of sovereignty. Mr. Cameron is effectively preparing the ground for a referendum that invites voters either to support the status quo with some modifications, or to leave. That at least has the virtue of clarity.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/" type="external">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 8</p>
<p>The Orange County (California) Register on immigration reform:</p>
<p>Immigration reform from Congress will have to await the inauguration of the next president in 2017. Last week, new Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan put the kibosh on any action, even though in the past he has backed reforms, including some type of amnesty for illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>Ryan's decision brought an immediate response from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who tweeted, "Republicans continue to play politics with families who want to contribute to our economy. Eso no es liderazgo." In English: "That is not leadership."</p>
<p>She's obviously turning the issue into a political soccer ball to head off primary opponents, in particular, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But she was a U.S. senator from New York when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress from 2007-09, yet passed no immigration reform at all, even though the president was pro-amnesty Republican George W. Bush.</p>
<p>In 2009, Barack Obama took office and Democrats enjoyed a 60-seat Senate supermajority needed to thwart filibusters. Again, no reform was passed. So Clinton's own party and president first earned her derisive "Eso no es liderazgo."</p>
<p>Mr. Obama himself is a large part of the problem. As Rep. Ryan explained, "I think given the fact that President Obama tried to do an end-run around Congress to go it alone, to try to write laws himself unilaterally - which is not what presidents do, that's what Congress does - I think on this particular issue he has proven himself untrustworthy."</p>
<p>Whatever immigration policy is crafted should come from Congress, not presidential fiat. That's clear from the Constitution, which reads in Article I, Section 8, "The Congress shall have the Power ... To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization."</p>
<p>Another problem has been the desire of many reformers in both parties for "comprehensive" immigration reform. That took shape in 2013 as S.744. The main author was Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York. But one co-author was Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida; now a presidential candidate, he since has distanced himself from the bill.</p>
<p>But the bill stretched to 1,198 pages. It was one of those preposterously complex bills that, as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Obamacare in 2010, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."</p>
<p>We favor piecemeal and understandable immigration reform that follows the Constitution and would not entice people here with generous taxpayer-funded welfare programs. That process can start as soon as Inauguration Day 2017.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ocregister.com/" type="external">http://www.ocregister.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 6</p>
<p>The Washington Post on the Keystone XL oil pipeline:</p>
<p>At least it's over.</p>
<p>President Obama rejected the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Friday, ending an unseemly political dispute marked by activist hysteria, GOP hyperbole, presidential weakness and a general incapability of various sides to see the policy question for what it was: a mundane infrastructure approval that didn't pose a high threat to the environment but also didn't promise much economic development. The politicization of this regulatory decision, and the consequent warping of the issue to the point that it was described in existential terms, was a national embarrassment, reflecting poorly on the United States' capability to treat parties equitably under law and regulation.</p>
<p>Though environmentalists hailed Mr. Obama on Friday, the president essentially admitted most of these points in his announcement. "For years, the Keystone pipeline has occupied what I frankly consider an overinflated role in our political discourse," he said. "All of this obscured the fact that this pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others."</p>
<p>So why reject it? "The reality is that this decision could not be made solely on the numbers — jobs that would be created, dirty fuel that would be transported here, or carbon pollution that would ultimately be unleashed," Secretary of State John F. Kerry said, as though a principled regulatory decision could be made on anything other than relevant hard evidence. Mr. Obama and members of his administration argued that rejecting Keystone XL would show that the United States was serious about fighting climate change in advance of an international conference on the topic in Paris later this month.</p>
<p>Yet world governments are smart enough to recognize what many activists apparently have not: The Keystone XL fight hardly matters in the grand scheme of the global climate. Perceptions of U.S. climate leadership depend on Environmental Protection Agency rules to reduce emissions from U.S. power plants and cars, not on a domestic political psychodrama.</p>
<p>Some smart environmentalists have excused jettisoning substance and siding with the anti-Keystone XL crowd by emphasizing the symbolic importance of the pipeline. Cultivating enthusiasm with a victory on Keystone XL might lead to meaningful progress in other areas of climate policy, the thinking goes. Not only does this view infantilize environmentalists, its illogic could justify all sorts of irrational, arbitrary decision-making.</p>
<p>There is much to be done, at home and abroad, on climate change. The EPA has made a strong start, but it is only a start. If Congress ever bothered to help with legislation, the EPA approach could be made more comprehensive and less costly. Negotiators in Paris, meanwhile, must strike a deal that holds countries accountable for the emissions commitments they make and creates a process that requires countries to meet regularly to enhance their emissions pledges.</p>
<p>This is the stuff of climate policy, not killing a pipeline in order to satisfy emotional needs. Now that the Keystone XL affair is over, we hope the nation spends more energy on what matters.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>https://www.washingtonpost.com/</p>
<p>Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The Dallas Morning News on the fourth Republican presidential debate:</p>
<p>Fewer podiums, more-moderated moderating and a few welcome policy contrasts marked an occasionally plodding but certainly more substantive fourth Republican presidential debate.</p>
<p>The separation into candidate tiers was evident again Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Unlike Boulder, Colorado, the emphasis was less horse race and more dash to score governance points.</p>
<p>This left one of two outsider co-front-runners, Ben Carson, mostly out of range. Fellow outsider Donald Trump displayed stylistic improvements but remained typically sketchy on substance.</p>
<p>Which provided the opening that back-in-the-pack runners Jeb Bush and John Kasich needed to whack away at Trump's simplistic solutions to the nation's immigration impasse. Trump reiterated his desire to wall off the Southern border and send home any undocumented immigrants left on the U.S. side.</p>
<p>This "makes no sense," Kasich correctly noted. "We all know you can't pick them up and ship them ... back across the border," he said. "It is a silly argument. It is not an adult argument."</p>
<p>Bush, coming off a dreadful debate last month, was closer to the top of his game, with Trump a handy foil. "Sending 11 million people back is not possible, and it's not embracing American values," the former Florida governor said. "Even having this conversation sends a powerful signal. They're doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign over this."</p>
<p>(Seconds later, thanks to Twitter, we got confirmation from Hillary Clinton's spokesman.)</p>
<p>"We actually are doing high-fives right now," Brian Fallon tweeted.</p>
<p>The back-and-forth lays bare a significant fault line for Republicans in 2016. The further right candidates drift on immigration — as in Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — the more they risk alienating Latino voters. The Catch-22 for Bush and Kasich is that the Republican base already is solidly to their right. What might play a year from now will hurt more than it helps in landing the nomination.</p>
<p>Similarly, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, roused from a campaign stupor, offered a defense of his libertarian leanings and specific criticism of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for backing enhanced defense spending at the expense of smaller-government conservatism.</p>
<p>"Marco, how is it conservative to add a trillion-dollar expenditure to the federal government that you're not paying for?" Paul said. "Can you be a conservative and liberal on military spending?"</p>
<p>Rubio's response: "Yes, I believe the world is a safer — no, I don't believe, I know — the world is a safer and better place when America is the strongest military power in the world."</p>
<p>It's another legitimate governance question for a general-election audience, but it puts Paul solidly to the left of the average Republican voter.</p>
<p>While the focus on actual policy differences was refreshing, it did not shake the overall dynamic of this crowded race. And only two GOP debates remain before voters take over in February with the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/" type="external">http://www.dallasnews.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The South Florida Sun Sentinel on Veteran's Day:</p>
<p>Companies throughout South Florida and the nation are falling all over themselves to offer goodies to veterans today.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, veterans appreciate the discounts — or even freebies — on groceries, yoga classes, wedding gowns, car washes, haircuts, oil changes, drinks, meals, theme park admissions and everything else you can imagine.</p>
<p>Veterans Day has almost become Black Friday for veterans. The vets get something, and businesses improve their bottom lines by attracting more customers.</p>
<p>Still, we hope the true meaning of a day meant to honor the bravery and service of U.S. veterans doesn't get lost in the giveaways.</p>
<p>For given today's global threats, Americans have a duty to better understand the challenges our veterans face in defending our country's security and way of life.</p>
<p>Years ago, most Americans had a better grasp of what veterans faced because most people had family members or knew somebody in the military. But today, with less than 1 percent of our population in the armed forces, too many people view the military as something for somebody else.</p>
<p>To address the growing cultural gap, noted author Sebastian Junger offers a good suggestion for getting beyond today's shopping sprees and yellow-ribbon parades. He suggests communities make their town halls available for vets to tell their stories about their experiences at war.</p>
<p>"We would hear a lot of anger and pain. We would also hear a lot of pride. Some of what would be said would make you uncomfortable, whether you are liberal or conservative, military or nonmilitary, young or old. But there is no point in having a conversation about war that is not completely honest," he said. "Let them speak. They deserve it. In addition to getting our veterans back, we might get our nation back as well."</p>
<p>Besides asking to hear their stories, it's important we address the aftermath of war, which remains an open wound for too many veterans and their families.</p>
<p>The need is particularly great in Florida, New York and California, which have almost half of the nation's homeless veterans. On any particular night, an estimated 50,000 veterans are homeless in America, with about 10 percent of them in Florida.</p>
<p>Then there is employment. Many veterans come home and find the jobs they left don't exist, or their job skills aren't relevant any more.</p>
<p>According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, 40,000 unemployed veterans live here. While the unemployment rate has been going down, too many still can't find work, live in poverty or are homeless. Nationally, more than one in 10 veterans between the ages of 18 and 34 lives in poverty.</p>
<p>Such numbers are disgraceful in a nation that owes so much of what we have, so much of what we are, to our veterans.</p>
<p>So in addition to thanking a veteran for his or her service today, there is more that you — and businesses — can do to make a difference.</p>
<p>Countless agencies offer veterans help in finding employment, housing and services. They no doubt would be glad to hear from you today. They include: Florida Veterans Foundation, Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion and Mission United, a program run by the United Way of Broward. You can find these and other worthy programs on the Internet.</p>
<p>Demonstrating your appreciation would provide a powerful show of force today.</p>
<p>And it would mean a lot more than an oil change.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/" type="external">http://www.sun-sentinel.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The New York Times on refugees in Europe:</p>
<p>Turbulent seas and falling temperatures are not stopping desperate people from seeking safety in Europe. Last month, more than 218,000 people made the perilous Mediterranean crossing — nearly as many as in all of 2014. So far this year, more than 3,400 people attempting to cross have died or are missing.</p>
<p>More than 2 1/2 million people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis fleeing war, have gone to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where they are facing increasingly dire conditions. Many families have exhausted their savings, and children are forced to work menial jobs instead of attending school. United Nations agencies that provide food aid and winter supplies have had to cut thousands of people from support in these countries. They simply don't have enough funding.</p>
<p>Thousands who have made it to Europe are also at risk of exposure, hunger and illness. Some European leaders, paralyzed by rising xenophobia that they themselves have stoked, are doing little to help. European Union members promised in September to accept 160,000 refugees who were already in Europe, but only 116 had been relocated by the start of November. Of the 2.3 billion euros ($2.46 billion) pledged by European governments to help refugees, less than €500 million has been received. For a union founded on values of solidarity and dignity, this is shameful.</p>
<p>Germany stands alone among the European Union's 28 member states in welcoming legitimate asylum seekers on the scale required. It plans to take in 800,000 people this year.</p>
<p>There is much that European and other governments need to do now, like stepping up contributions to United Nations agencies working in Jordan, Syria and Turkey. Greece, where refugees are expected to arrive at a rate of 5,000 a day, needs emergency help. The European Union should swiftly relocate refugees from Greece and Italy to states that have promised to accept them. And shelter, clothing and food are urgently needed by the people straggling across Europe, left at the mercy of winter by Europe's miserable failure to respond to the biggest influx of refugees since World War II.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>http://www.nytimes.com/</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The Khaleej Times on Russia and Syria:</p>
<p>A Russian peace plan for Syria could go a long way in kick-starting the stalled political process in the conflict-ravaged country, but is vague about the future of President Bashar Al Assad. Will Assad go or does he stay? Will he be in charge during the planned transition over 18 months? The West and Gulf countries want him out without further delay. Russia, Iran and Hezbollah are fighting on the side of the Syrian government, which is now retaking territory from the terrorist Daesh group.</p>
<p>Russia has thrown Assad a lifeline and he knows it. President Putin is a player in the country and wants a say in its future. The Russians have a diplomatic edge at the moment, but a transition toward a new government with Assad at the helm, in any role, could prove tricky. Syrian rebel factions are divided on the future of the country post Assad. How do you bring them to the table when they're pulling in different directions?</p>
<p>Under the plan, Moscow insists opposition groups should be vetted before they are allowed to sit at the table for proposed talks. Terrorists among the groups should be barred, they say. This may not be acceptable to other countries involved in Syria.</p>
<p>Then there's the question of Daesh. Who fights them during such a delicate transition? There's also the question of refugees, the dying and the maimed in battle. Dithering over the real terrorists in Syria's midst could prove fatal during a planned political settlement.</p>
<p>Daesh still has the resources to cause extensive damage. It's nimble in its movements, smart with strategy, high on ideology, and it is still recruiting new faithful to its ranks. A unified military command of all parties engaged in Syria should be set up to tackle the threat head on if the political process envisaged by Russia is acceptable to all.</p>
<p>First, a cease-fire should be reached between all warring parties in the country. Assad and some opposition groups may fall in line and agree to international mediation. But how do you rein in Daesh, which respects no country or boundaries?</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/" type="external">http://www.khaleejtimes.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 11</p>
<p>The Telegraph, United Kingdom, on UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the European Union:</p>
<p>The fact that David Cameron has written a letter to the President of the EU Council setting out Britain's terms for a renegotiation of its membership terms is emblematic of the institution's aggrandizing tendencies. Until a few years ago this post, currently occupied by Donald Tusk, the former Polish premier, did not even exist. It was created by the Lisbon Treaty to add to four other presidencies.</p>
<p>This is the real backdrop to Mr. Cameron's search for a new deal, which his letter to Mr. Tusk formally initiated. Those who argue against reforms and in favor of the status quo must acknowledge how far the EU has developed from the loose association of common trading partners most people thought we were joining 40 years ago. Still, the four key points that Mr. Cameron set out are more about stopping Britain being drawn further into an integrated superstate rather than repatriating powers.</p>
<p>Mr. Cameron says he is confident he can get a deal and there seems no obvious reason why he shouldn't since the rest of the EU does not want Britain to leave and the demands are modest. The area where he will have greatest difficulty is with rules for claiming benefits. Here, Mr. Cameron wants other EU citizens to work and contribute for four years before qualifying for tax credits and other payments. This would be fine if the same rules applied to UK citizens; the issue is whether it is possible to treat other EU citizens differently.</p>
<p>Moreover, it is by no means clear that new benefit conditions would have much impact on immigration. Mr. Cameron said that 40 per cent of recently arrived EU workers claim benefits; but it does not follow they would be deterred from coming if the payments were unavailable for four years, even were the European Court to accept such discrimination is lawful.</p>
<p>So, a fundamental change to Britain's position in the EU is not anticipated and is not even being requested. Perhaps this was never a realistic hope; but in his Bloomberg speech three years ago in which he announced plans for a referendum, he foresaw a "new settlement" in Europe, one "in which ... some powers can be returned to member states".</p>
<p>Little is now heard of repatriation of sovereignty. Mr. Cameron is effectively preparing the ground for a referendum that invites voters either to support the status quo with some modifications, or to leave. That at least has the virtue of clarity.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/" type="external">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 8</p>
<p>The Orange County (California) Register on immigration reform:</p>
<p>Immigration reform from Congress will have to await the inauguration of the next president in 2017. Last week, new Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan put the kibosh on any action, even though in the past he has backed reforms, including some type of amnesty for illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>Ryan's decision brought an immediate response from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who tweeted, "Republicans continue to play politics with families who want to contribute to our economy. Eso no es liderazgo." In English: "That is not leadership."</p>
<p>She's obviously turning the issue into a political soccer ball to head off primary opponents, in particular, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But she was a U.S. senator from New York when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress from 2007-09, yet passed no immigration reform at all, even though the president was pro-amnesty Republican George W. Bush.</p>
<p>In 2009, Barack Obama took office and Democrats enjoyed a 60-seat Senate supermajority needed to thwart filibusters. Again, no reform was passed. So Clinton's own party and president first earned her derisive "Eso no es liderazgo."</p>
<p>Mr. Obama himself is a large part of the problem. As Rep. Ryan explained, "I think given the fact that President Obama tried to do an end-run around Congress to go it alone, to try to write laws himself unilaterally - which is not what presidents do, that's what Congress does - I think on this particular issue he has proven himself untrustworthy."</p>
<p>Whatever immigration policy is crafted should come from Congress, not presidential fiat. That's clear from the Constitution, which reads in Article I, Section 8, "The Congress shall have the Power ... To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization."</p>
<p>Another problem has been the desire of many reformers in both parties for "comprehensive" immigration reform. That took shape in 2013 as S.744. The main author was Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York. But one co-author was Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida; now a presidential candidate, he since has distanced himself from the bill.</p>
<p>But the bill stretched to 1,198 pages. It was one of those preposterously complex bills that, as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Obamacare in 2010, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."</p>
<p>We favor piecemeal and understandable immigration reform that follows the Constitution and would not entice people here with generous taxpayer-funded welfare programs. That process can start as soon as Inauguration Day 2017.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ocregister.com/" type="external">http://www.ocregister.com/</a></p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Nov. 6</p>
<p>The Washington Post on the Keystone XL oil pipeline:</p>
<p>At least it's over.</p>
<p>President Obama rejected the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Friday, ending an unseemly political dispute marked by activist hysteria, GOP hyperbole, presidential weakness and a general incapability of various sides to see the policy question for what it was: a mundane infrastructure approval that didn't pose a high threat to the environment but also didn't promise much economic development. The politicization of this regulatory decision, and the consequent warping of the issue to the point that it was described in existential terms, was a national embarrassment, reflecting poorly on the United States' capability to treat parties equitably under law and regulation.</p>
<p>Though environmentalists hailed Mr. Obama on Friday, the president essentially admitted most of these points in his announcement. "For years, the Keystone pipeline has occupied what I frankly consider an overinflated role in our political discourse," he said. "All of this obscured the fact that this pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others."</p>
<p>So why reject it? "The reality is that this decision could not be made solely on the numbers — jobs that would be created, dirty fuel that would be transported here, or carbon pollution that would ultimately be unleashed," Secretary of State John F. Kerry said, as though a principled regulatory decision could be made on anything other than relevant hard evidence. Mr. Obama and members of his administration argued that rejecting Keystone XL would show that the United States was serious about fighting climate change in advance of an international conference on the topic in Paris later this month.</p>
<p>Yet world governments are smart enough to recognize what many activists apparently have not: The Keystone XL fight hardly matters in the grand scheme of the global climate. Perceptions of U.S. climate leadership depend on Environmental Protection Agency rules to reduce emissions from U.S. power plants and cars, not on a domestic political psychodrama.</p>
<p>Some smart environmentalists have excused jettisoning substance and siding with the anti-Keystone XL crowd by emphasizing the symbolic importance of the pipeline. Cultivating enthusiasm with a victory on Keystone XL might lead to meaningful progress in other areas of climate policy, the thinking goes. Not only does this view infantilize environmentalists, its illogic could justify all sorts of irrational, arbitrary decision-making.</p>
<p>There is much to be done, at home and abroad, on climate change. The EPA has made a strong start, but it is only a start. If Congress ever bothered to help with legislation, the EPA approach could be made more comprehensive and less costly. Negotiators in Paris, meanwhile, must strike a deal that holds countries accountable for the emissions commitments they make and creates a process that requires countries to meet regularly to enhance their emissions pledges.</p>
<p>This is the stuff of climate policy, not killing a pipeline in order to satisfy emotional needs. Now that the Keystone XL affair is over, we hope the nation spends more energy on what matters.</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>https://www.washingtonpost.com/</p> | Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e6c9c0353e7c47dd8e3f0980f836ab83 | 2015-11-11 | 2 |
<p>California might be one step closer to rejoining nationwide settlement talks between major U.S. banks and a coalition of state attorneys general over allegations of widespread mortgage fraud.</p>
<p>“For the past 13 months we have been working for a resolution that brings real relief to the hardest-hit homeowners, is transparent about who benefits and will ensure accountability,” State Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a prepared statement released Sunday night. “We are closer now than we’ve been before, but we’re not there yet.”</p>
<p>In October, Harris pulled out of negotiations between the nation’s five largest lenders and attorneys general representing all fifty states. The California AG was concerned that the $25 billion deal didn’t provide enough relief for distressed homeowners and that it granted bank officials immunity from civil investigations into their lending practices.</p>
<p>The new plan, which has enticed California back to the table, would end all civil investigations by the state but would not prohibit future criminal investigations of bank officials.</p>
<p>Critics like Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of Foreclosureradar.com, still say that the settlement proposal comes up woefully short. O’Toole’s company tracks foreclosure filings nationwide. Even if California were to get a quarter of the money (about $6 billion), this represents just a fraction of the equity that is lost by homeowners every year when lenders foreclose on their homes, he told the Sacramento Bee. O’Toole called the move “largely meaningless” and said it would only fix roughly three months worth of foreclosures.</p>
<p>Other critics say there are more than just loan modification issues to consider.</p>
<p>“The proposed settlement will not move the evicted back to their homes,” writes <a href="http://www.themoneyparty.org/main/?author=1" type="external">Michael Collins</a> at themoneyparty.org, adding:</p>
<p>[The settlement] will not establish a moratorium on foreclosures, running at over a million per year. There will be no cram downs forcing the banks to absorb part or all of inflated housing prices caused by a real estate bubble that the banks and Federal Reserve Board helped create. In addition, be assured that the settlement will not hold bankruptcy courts accountable nor the attorneys for their failure to spot obvious errors in bankruptcy proceedings, errors that would have invalidated many creditor claims.</p>
<p>The settlement, however, will create a private relief for the big banks, regulators, and politicians responsible for this mess. The relief will spare the bankers prosecution under existing laws and seriously complicate lawsuits that have the potential to devastate lending institutions by righting the wrongs done to citizens.</p>
<p>Relying on the research of University of Utah law professor <a href="http://www.law.utah.edu/faculty/faculty-profile/?id=christopher-peterson" type="external">Christopher L. Peterson</a>, Collins points out that the involvement of <a href="http://www.mersinc.org/about/index.aspx" type="external">Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems</a> (MERS) – created by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and big banks in the early 1990′s to provide a then-new and legally murky method for recording and registering the sale of real estate – in the “robo-signing” scandal has put commercial banks on the defensive in civil courts. That’s because centuries of common law statutes (on the books in all fifty states) preclude entities such as MERS from bringing foreclosure actions for lack of legal standing, says Collins.</p>
<p>The latest settlement proposal would allow Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Ally to lower the principals on mortgages for almost 1 million of their customers by an average of $20,000. It would also offer victims of deceptive lending practices an $1,800 award.</p>
<p>California has been the state hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis in terms of sheer volume. According to RealtyTrac, more than 400,000 California homeowners face some form of foreclosure filing each year, more than double that of the runner-up: Florida.</p> | California to Reconsider Foreclosure-Gate Settlement Talks | false | https://ivn.us/2012/02/08/california-to-reconsider-foreclosure-gate-settlement-talks/ | 2012-02-08 | 2 |
<p>LISBON, Portugal — Media reports compounded the anguish in the Netherlands on Monday with the information that the Russian company that exports missile systems of the type suspected of downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 operates an Amsterdam office in order to profit from Dutch international tax loopholes.</p>
<p>"Supplier of the MH17 rocket sits in Amsterdam's Zuidas," said a headline in the daily De Volkskrant, referring to the Dutch capital's business district.</p>
<p>The paper cited a report from an investigative website that says an office in Amsterdam is linked to the Russian conglomerate Rostec, whose complex web of subsidiaries includes the arms exporter that sells BUK anti-aircraft missiles.</p>
<p>Russian companies and their oligarch owners are among the most enthusiastic users of Dutch fiscal laws enabling international businesses to recycle profits and avoid national taxes.</p>
<p>Tens of billions of Russian dollars flowing through the Netherlands — and other fiscally relaxed European Union countries such as Cyprus, Luxembourg and Ireland — go some way toward explaining why the EU is finding it so difficult to impose hard-hitting sanctions against Moscow.</p>
<p>EU officials will try again on Tuesday. This time, several leaders are insisting that the outrage over MH17 means they'll finally have to take meaningful action against Vladimir Putin's regime.</p>
<p>"It is time to make our power, influence and resources felt," British Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday.</p>
<p>"Russia cannot expect to keep on enjoying access to European markets, European capital, European knowledge and technical expertise while she fuels conflict in one of Europe's neighbors," he told parliament in London. "We must do what is necessary to stand up to Russia."</p>
<p>Cameron said French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with him that Tuesday's meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels should set tougher sanctions in place.</p>
<p>However, it's not clear that they will back Cameron's specific proposals. They include an arms embargo on Russia, widening asset freezes and travel bans on individuals to include "cronies and oligarchs" close to Putin, and so-called "third-tier" sanctions that would target sensitive sectors of the Russian economy.</p>
<p>France in particular has been reluctant to consider an arms embargo as it prepares to hand over two high-tech Mistral warships to Moscow under a $1.65-billion contract. Around 400 Russian navy operatives arrived in France in June to begin training on the first of the ships.</p>
<p>Merkel on Sunday joined voices suggesting France should suspend the contract, and Cameron said it would be "unthinkable" for Britain to consider making such a delivery to Russia under the current circumstances.</p>
<p>However, in recognition of French reluctance, it's expected the proposals for an EU arms embargo to be debated Tuesday will exclude existing contracts.</p>
<p>Since the downing of the Malaysian airliner with the loss of 298 people, Cameron has emerged as the loudest voice calling for a tougher EU approach toward Russia, joining hawks such as Poland, Sweden and the Baltic states.</p>
<p>Britain had previously held back, cautious about the $46 billion worth of Russian stock invested in London, British energy investments in Russia's oil and gas fields, and "Londongrad's" role as the playground of choice for big-spending Russian tycoons.</p>
<p>Cameron dodged a question about that Monday, saying only that a crackdown on Russians' access to London's financial center was something that should be considered and would not hold back a stronger EU stance. His finance minister, George Osbourne, insisted Britain is prepared to take an economic hit to put pressure on Putin.</p>
<p>Among the other backers of a tough line, Lithuania said it wants Tuesday's meeting to blacklist Russian-linked separatists in eastern Ukraine as terrorist organizations, a move that could have serious implications for their backers in the Kremlin.</p>
<p>There are doubts, however, over how far others are prepared to go in taking Putin on.</p>
<p>Hollande has stressed that decisions should be made only after an international inquiry has ascertained full details of what happened to the plane. The Italian government has limited itself to saying Europe must have a united position.</p>
<p>Germany's main business lobby had warned the day before the missile strike about the impact of additional sanctions that were already under discussion by the EU. It noted German exports to Russia had already fallen by 14 percent in the first four months of 2014 — to $13.5 billion.</p>
<p>However, the mood in Germany has hardened. German media are calling for soccer's governing body FIFA to reverse a decision to hold the 2018 World Cup in Russia.</p>
<p>Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appears to have joined the hawks after the slaughter of 192 Dutch citizens aboard the flight. "All political, economic and financial options are on the table against those who are directly or indirectly responsible," he said over the weekend.</p>
<p>Until last week, the Netherlands had been one of the EU countries most wary of confronting Putin.</p>
<p>The Dutch have worked hard to woo Russian business: 2013 was declared Dutch-Russian Friendship Year, harking back four centuries to when Czar Peter the Great took inspiration from the Netherlands to modernize the Russian Empire.</p>
<p>Human rights violations were overlooked as Putin was invited to the Netherlands and the Dutch royals headed for a state visit in Moscow.</p>
<p>King Willem-Alexander was back in Russia in February. While human rights and Ukraine led many Western leaders to boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Dutch monarch knocked back Heineken with Putin and Rutte attended the opening ceremony.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/russia/140718/russia-isn-t-immutable-force" type="external">Russia isn’t an immutable force</a></p>
<p>"There has been a lot of hypocrisy in the Dutch attitude to Russia," says Michiel van Hulten, a Brussels-based consultant on EU affairs and former chairman of the Dutch Labor Party.</p>
<p>"They ... refused to take any measures that would damage economic relations," he said in a telephone interview. "Dutch society is now being confronted with those double standards and it's clear which way things are going to go because this is a kind of 9/11 for the Netherlands."</p>
<p>Sympathy for the Dutch, van Hulten added, could see Italy, Germany and other soft-line EU members joining the Netherlands in toughening their stance on sanctions.</p> | MH17 is changing Europe's game on Russia | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-07-21/mh17-changing-europes-game-russia | 2014-07-21 | 3 |
<p>Jan 25 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp:</p>
<p>* NORTHROP GRUMMAN INCREASES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND 10 PERCENT TO $1.10 PER SHARE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>HELSINKI (Reuters) - European Union leaders will discuss the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain, the chairman of EU leaders Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.</p> FILE PHOTO: President of the European Council Donald Tusk speaks during a press conference at Government buildings in Dublin, Ireland, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
<p>“I express my full solidarity with Prime Minister Theresa May in the face of the brutal attack inspired, most likely, by Moscow,” Tusk told a news conference in Helsinki.</p>
<p>“I’m ready to put the issue on next week’s European Council agenda,” he said.</p>
<p>Asked what measures the EU might take against Russia, he said the EU would wait until Britain itself proposed actions before deciding on a common approach.</p>
<p>Britain is braced for a showdown with Russia after a midnight deadline set by May expired without an explanation from Moscow about how a Soviet-era nerve toxin was used to strike down Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4.</p>
<p>Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s moves to what Tusk called a “trade war” and said Russian interference in Western countries showed the need for more, not less, Transatlantic cooperation.</p>
<p>“There is no need to explain the significance of close cooperation between Europeans and Americans at a time when someone on the outside spreads fake news, meddles in our elections and attacks people on our soil with the use of a nerve agent,” he said. “There must not be Transatlantic bickering but Transatlantic unity.”</p>
<p>Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels; Editing by Alastair Macdonald</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain braced for a showdown with Russia on Wednesday after a midnight deadline set by Prime Minister Theresa May expired without an explanation from Moscow about how a Soviet-era nerve toxin was used to strike down a former Russian double agent.</p> Russia's flag flies from the consular section of its embassy, in central London, Britain March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble
<p>The United States, European Union and NATO voiced support for Britain after May said it was “highly likely” that Russia was behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter with Novichok, a nerve agent developed by the Soviet military.</p>
<p>Russia, which denied any involvement, said it was not responding to May’s ultimatum until it received samples of the nerve agent, in effect challenging Britain to show what sanctions it would impose against Russian interests.</p>
<p>“Moscow had nothing to do with what happened in Britain. It will not accept any totally unfounded accusations directed against it and will also not accept the language of ultimatums,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.</p>
<p>He said Russia remained open to cooperating with Britain in investigating the poisoning, blaming the British authorities for refusing to share information.</p>
<p>Russia’s Interfax news agency reported the Russian embassy in London planned to ask for consular access to Yulia Skripal, Sergei’s daughter.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-lavrov/russias-lavrov-says-no-progress-made-in-stand-off-with-britain-idUSKCN1GQ194" type="external">Russia's Lavrov says no progress made in stand-off with Britain</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-diplomacy/russian-embassy-seeking-access-to-skripals-daughter-ifax-cites-source-idUSKCN1GQ14D" type="external">Russian embassy seeking access to Skripal's daughter, Ifax cites source</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-rights/britain-accuses-reckless-russia-at-u-n-human-rights-council-idUSKCN1GQ11M" type="external">Britain accuses 'reckless' Russia at U.N. Human Rights Council</a>
<p>Britain’s response to the expiry of the deadline and lack of explanation from Moscow was expected to be announced by May in parliament later, after she chaired a meeting of the National Security Council at her Downing Street office in the morning.</p>
<p>London could call on Western allies for a coordinated response, freeze the assets of Russian business leaders and officials, limit their access to London’s financial center, expel diplomats and even launch targeted cyber attacks.</p>
<p>It may also cut back participation in the soccer World Cup, which Russia is hosting in June and July.</p>
<p>Russia is due to hold a presidential election on Sunday in which Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB spy, is expected to coast to a fourth term in the Kremlin. He was first installed as Kremlin chief by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump told May by telephone Russia “must provide unambiguous answers regarding how this chemical weapon, developed in Russia, came to be used in the United Kingdom,” the White House said.</p>
<p>The White House said Trump and May “agreed on the need for consequences for those who use these heinous weapons in flagrant violation of international norms.”</p>
<p>A British readout of the conversation said, “President Trump said the US was with the UK all the way.”</p> Dawn is reflected in the windows of the official residence of Russia's ambassador to Britain, in central London, March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble
<p>“MILITARY-GRADE NERVE AGENT”</p>
<p>Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found slumped unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center in the genteel southern English city of Salisbury on March 4. They have been in a critical condition in hospital ever since.</p>
<p>British scientists identified the poison as a military-grade nerve agent from a group of chemicals known as Novichok, first developed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.</p>
<p>May said either the Russian state had poisoned Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, or Russia had somehow lost control of its chemical weapons. Putin said last year that it had destroyed its last stockpiles of such weapons.</p> Slideshow (9 Images)
<p>A Russian chemist who helped develop the nerve agent said only the Russian government could have carried out the attack.</p>
<p>Vil Mirzayanov, 83, said he had no doubt that Putin was responsible, given that Russia maintains tight control over its Novichok stockpile and the agent is too complicated for a non-state actor to have weaponized.</p>
<p>“The Kremlin all the time, like all criminals, denying - it doesn’t mean anything,” said U.S.-based Mirzayanov, an exile.</p>
<p>Skripal betrayed dozens of Russian agents to Britain before being arrested in Moscow and later jailed in 2006. He was freed under a spy swap deal in 2010 and took refuge in Britain.</p> Related Video
<p>A British policeman who was also affected by the nerve agent is now conscious in a serious but stable condition.</p>
<p>May said Russia had shown a pattern of aggression including the annexation of Crimea and the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after drinking green tea laced with radioactive polonium-210.</p>
<p>A public inquiry found the killing of Litvinenko had probably been approved by Putin and carried out by two Russians, one of them a former KGB bodyguard who became a member of the Russian parliament. Both denied responsibility, as did Moscow.</p>
<p>Counter-terrorism officers began investigating the death of another Russian in Britain on Tuesday, although police said it was not thought to be linked to the attack on the Skripals.</p>
<p>Nikolai Glushkov, 68, who was an associate of late tycoon Boris Berezovsky, was found dead on Monday. Berezovsky was found dead in March 2013 with a scarf tied around his neck in the bathroom of his luxury mansion west of London.</p>
<p>Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael HoldenAdditional reporting by Polina Ivanova in Moscow, Writing by Estelle Shirbon, Editing by William Maclean</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd withdrew its $117 billion bid to acquire Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump blocked the attempt citing national security concerns.</p> Broadcom Limited company logo is pictured on an office building in Rancho Bernardo, California May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake
<p>The company said it has also withdrawn its slate of independent director nominees for Qualcomm’s annual shareholder meeting.</p>
<p>Broadcom, however, expects to continue with its plan to redomicile to the United States.</p>
<p>“Although we are disappointed with this outcome, Broadcom will comply with the order,” the chipmaker said.</p>
<p>Sources had told Reuters on Tuesday that Broadcom was ready to scrap its bid for Qualcomm.</p>
<p>Broadcom’s board met late on Tuesday to formalize plans to move its base to the United States, at a cost of about $500 million a year under a higher tax rate, the sources said.</p>
<p>Being based in the United States as opposed to Singapore should make it easier for Broadcom to make acquisitions of U.S. companies without falling under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).</p>
<p>Shares of Broadcom were untraded, while those of Qualcomm were up marginally before the opening bell.</p>
<p>Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Stephen Hawking, who sought to explain some of the most complicated questions of life while working under the shadow of a likely premature death, has died at 76.</p> FILE PHOTO: Physicist Stephen Hawking sits on stage during an announcement of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative with investor Yuri Milner in New York April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
<p>For a timeline of his life: <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2HxYXBA" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2HxYXBA</a></p>
<p>Following is reaction:</p>
<p>* His children Lucy, Robert and Tim:</p>
<p>“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world. He once said: ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”</p>
<p>* Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web:</p>
<p>“We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking.”</p>
<p>* Actor Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in the 2014 film ‘The Theory of Everything’: “We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet. My love and thoughts are with his extraordinary family.”</p>
<p>* Professor Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge:</p>
<p>“Professor Hawking was a unique individual who will be remembered with warmth and affection not only in Cambridge but all over the world. His exceptional contributions to scientific knowledge and the popularization of science and mathematics have left an indelible legacy. His character was an inspiration to millions. He will be much missed.”</p>
<p>* Professor Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, Fellow of Trinity College, and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge:</p>
<p>“Soon after I enrolled as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964, I encountered a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. He had recently been diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and it was thought that he might not survive long enough even to finish his PhD. But, amazingly, he lived on to the age of 76.</p>
<p>“Even mere survival would have been a medical marvel, but of course he didn’t just survive.&#160;He became one of the most famous scientists in the world - acclaimed as a world-leading researcher in mathematical physics, for his best-selling books about space, time and the cosmos, and for his astonishing triumph over adversity.</p>
<p>“Tragedy struck Stephen Hawking when he was only 22. He was diagnosed with a deadly disease, and his expectations dropped to zero. He himself said that everything that happened since then was a bonus. And what a triumph his life has been. His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more, around the world, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds – a manifestation of amazing will-power and determination.”</p> Queen Elizabeth meets Stephen Hawking during a reception for Leonard Cheshire Disability charity at St James's Palace in London May 29, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Brady/Pool * NASA:
<p>“His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we and the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014.”</p>
<p>*Paul Nurse, Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute:</p>
<p>“Stephen Hawking was a great physicist, a great public communicator, and a great icon for science and rationalism throughout the world.&#160;He will be sorely missed.”</p>
<p>* Matthew Colless, professor of astronomy &amp; astrophysics at The Australian National University:</p>
<p>“Hawking was a great scientist and an inspirational figure. The universe is better understood and more interesting because he was in it.”</p>
<p>* British Prime Minister Theresa May:</p>
<p>“Stephen Hawking was a brilliant and extraordinary mind - one of the great scientists of his generation. His courage, humor and determination to get the most from life was an inspiration. His legacy will not be forgotten.”</p>
<p>* Katherine Mathieson, chief executive of the British Science Association: “He was a true genius who had a great admiration of and connection to the public. Most people, when he published ‘A Brief History of Time’, would have thought a book about physics would not sell. But Stephen knew people would want to read it – and it turned out they did. He simplified and explained, but without gimmicks. His assumption that people are curious about the universe and black holes was true. He inspired us all to wonder.”</p>
<p>“Importantly, he showed that disability and difference are no barriers to success; he challenged perceptions. On a personal note, I remember him - from when I was a student at his University - speeding down the middle of the road to get around, because the pavements were too bumpy. It sent out a message that ‘it doesn’t matter what you look like, you can be a scientist here’.</p>
<p>* Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang:</p>
<p>“Mr Hawking was a remarkable scientist and also was a fighter for science in his long and bitter struggle against illness. He made great contributions to science and to humanity.</p>
<p>“China’s leaders have met with him. China’s scientists and science lovers have had very enjoyable interactions with him. Mr Hawking followed China’s development closely. He gave a high assessment of China’s developments and progress in science. Mr Hawking also had a keen fondness for Chinese culture.</p>
<p>“As I understand it, under his strong persistence and with the help of his assistant, he was finally able to see China’s Great Wall. We express condolences for Mr Hawking’s passing and our sympathies to his family. I have faith that Mr Hawking and his contribution will never be forgotten.”</p>
<p>* Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics:</p>
<p>“A quite remarkable physicist and certainly a remarkable person. He made several fundamental and lasting contributions to cosmology but is probably best known by the public for his passion and enthusiasm in sharing his knowledge of how the universe works.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Kate Kelland and Guy Faulconbridge in London and Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by Janet Lawrence and David Stamp</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Northrop Grumman Increases Quarterly Dividend By 10 Percent To $1.10 Per Share EU leaders to discuss Russian attack on UK next week: Tusk Britain and Russia brace for showdown over nerve attack on ex-spy Broadcom ends bid for Qualcomm after President Trump nixes deal Reactions to the death of physicist Stephen Hawking | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-northrop-grumman-increases-quarter/brief-northrop-grumman-increases-quarterly-dividend-by-10-percent-to-110-per-share-idUSASB0C2AF | 2018-01-25 | 2 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>President Obama recently said he wants to eliminate mindless, burdensome, and unneeded regulations at the federal level. California Senate President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) agrees, saying he wants to do the same for California and will propose “urgency legislation that directs each state agency to review its regulations, identify any duplicative, archaic or inconsistent rules.”</p>
<p>You know things are changing when a Democrat <a href="http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/01/steinberg-wants-big-review-to.html" type="external">proposes this</a>. The Republican response was definitely positive. They have been attempting to do this for years, and are probably wondering what alternative reality they’ve stumbled into where a ranking Democrat advocates slashing bureaucracy, red tape, and hindrances to people and businesses getting things done.</p>
<p>Steinberg hastened to add he didn’t want to undermine public safety, health, or environmental protections. However, those agencies no doubt need some streamlining of regulations too. His main intent is to simplify the entire state regulatory system, reducing duplication and archaic rules.</p>
<p>This clearly is needed and apparently has never been done before. Those wishing to cut through the overgrown thicket of California regulations that has sprouted up over decades had better bring a chain saw, too.</p>
<p>Along with simplying regulations, I propose that California make it far simpler to apply for permits and licenses, form corporations, and find and use information. California does not currently make it easy to do any of this. Worse, their online services are antiquated, deeply user-unfriendly, and seem to be designed by trolls intent on ensuring that citizens do not find the information they seek.</p>
<p>As an example, I present a comparison between registering an LLC in California vs. Utah.</p>
<p>How to register an LLC in California</p>
<p>First off, there are no instructions that I could find on the California Secretary of State website on how to register an LLC. Why is this? After repeated searching, outside sites did provide a few clues.&#160;</p>
<p>Here’s what you do. Download Form LLC-1 and LLC-12 from this <a href="http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/forms.htm#llc%20%20" type="external">utterly unhelpful page</a>. Fill them out and mail them to the Secretary of State with $70 and $20, respectively. Nowhere on the website is there info on how long the process will take, or on whether to mail both forms at once or wait to hear back on the first filing before sending the second one.</p>
<p>Further, the forms must be mailed in (or dropped off in person at one specific office in Sacramento only. Wow, that’s just so helpful for those not in Sacramento.) You can’t fax the forms in either. There is no online registration nor do they take credit cards.&#160; You must mail a check.</p>
<p>How to register an LLC in Utah</p>
<p>Go to <a href="http://www.corporations.utah.gov/osbr_phase_2.html%20%20" type="external">Utah One Stop Business Registration</a>. Register the LLC online, paying $70 with a credit card. The LLC will be registered by Utah in as little as 15 minutes, generally within 24 hours, and never more than two days.</p>
<p>Clearly, Utah gets it and California does not. Moreover, Utah appears to actually want you to start new enterprises rather than making the process opaque and interminable. Also, the California Secretary of State website needs reorganization. Oh, the information is there. But it’s difficult to find because the site meanders all over the place with no particular organization or explanation of how to find information. Plus it’s all very 1995 HTML. You can determine how to start a business in two clicks from the Utah.gov home page. It’s clear and obvious. Such functionality does not exist on State of California websites.</p>
<p>Let’s hope California will soon streamline its regulations and update its websites so they become genuinely helpful.</p> | Darrell Steinberg looks to eliminate superfluous California regulations | false | https://ivn.us/2011/01/27/darrell-steinberg-looks-eliminate-superfluous-california-regulations/ | 2011-01-27 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>A Chihuahua state court last year sentenced El Paso cousins Richard Lopez and Ruben Lopez to 20 years each for the slayings of Victoria Parker, 35, and Rita Parker, 37, the Times said.</p>
<p>The court found that the Lopez cousins were responsible for the deaths, basing its decision on evidence that included FBI witness and lab reports and FBI witness interviews, the paper reported.</p>
<p>“We heard a couple of weeks ago that their families are trying to get them a pardon,” Sophia Parker-Weidenfeller, Victoria’s daughter and a spokeswoman for the family, told the Times.</p>
<p>The Mexican consulate in El Paso recently served the family with a notice related to the case and asked family members to report to a government office in Juarez, the relative said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Officials with the federal judiciary in Juarez said only that the Lopez cousins had recently submitted an amparo — similar to a writ of habeas corpus — asking to be released from prison, and that as of Tuesday both men remained imprisoned, the Times said.</p>
<p>Although the slayings occurred in 1996, the Parker family said it was the persistence of the FBI over several years that led to the arrest and conviction of Richard and Ruben Lopez, according to the Times.</p>
<p>“Richard and Ruben shouldn’t get out of prison,” Parker-Weidenfeller told the paper. “Victoria and Rita did not deserve to be killed.”</p> | Men convicted of killing El Paso sisters in Mexico could go free, relatives say | false | https://abqjournal.com/257532/men-convicted-of-killing-el-paso-sisters-in-mexico-could-go-free-relatives-say.html | 2 |
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<p>TEMPE, Ariz. - Tempe police are investigating a shooting in which a man was wounded.</p>
<p>The Police Department says officers found a man with a gunshot wound to a leg but that information on the circumstances of the shooting or a suspect are not immediately available.</p>
<p>The incident occurred Friday morning in the vicinity of Rural Road and Apache Boulevard - near but not on the Arizona State University main campus.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Tempe police find man with gunshot wound to leg | false | https://abqjournal.com/742532/tempe-police-find-man-with-gunshot-wound-to-leg.html | 2016-03-18 | 2 |
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<p>The winery will be giving a tour of its Albuquerque facility at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31. Tours are held the last Saturday of every month. Walk-ins are welcome, but large groups are encouraged to call ahead so they can be accommodated.</p>
<p>Each tour includes a look at the winery’s newly renovated tasting room, which was unveiled in early November.</p>
<p>Gruet held a grand reopening celebration of the tasting room and event space on Nov. 5.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It also opened another tasting room to serve its northern New Mexico clientele. It is located inside the historic Hotel St. Francis, 210 Don Gaspar Ave., Santa Fe. Its regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays. The new Santa Fe space and the renovated Albuquerque venue are must-sees.</p>
<p>“It you haven’t been here, it’s really beautiful,” Albuquerque tasting room manager Regina Wilson said of her location. “As far as the tour goes, … you get to see behind the scenes and all that fun stuff. There’s a lot of the family history that we also tie into it.”</p>
<p>Tour participants also will get the opportunity to purchase and taste Gruet wines sold exclusively at Gruet.</p>
<p>Just in time for New Year’s Eve, Gruet has its Blanc de Blancs Magnum, the non-vintage Blanc de Blancs, in a 1.5-liter bottle, Wilson said.</p>
<p>“Those are awesome for the holidays,” she said. “They are so much fun. It’s fun and its celebratory and all that good stuff.”</p>
<p>The non-vintage Blanc de Blancs presents aromas of brioche and green apples. “Flavors of lemon zest, honeysuckle and tropical fruit lead to a crisp, fresh finish,” according to tasting notes on Gruet’s website.</p>
<p>Only available at Gruet also is its Sauvage Vintage 2011 and the Grand Blanc de Blancs 2011. Gruet has also released its 2014 Red Blend and 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, which also are available only at Gruet.</p>
<p>Gruet Sauvage Vintage 2011 is a “bone-dry sparkler, rich gold in color with a delicate and persistent mousse,” according to Gruet’s tasting notes. “The extended en tirage time results in aromas of brioche, complex minerals and a hint of grapefruit.”</p>
<p>The Red Blend still wine is described as a Bordeaux blend, which is “bold and rich.” It is predominantly made up of Merlot and contains aromas of raspberry and plum and flavors of vanilla, black pepper and sweet tobacco leaf. A leathery mid-palate finishes with bold tannins and toasty oak, according to Gruet’s tasting notes.</p>
<p>The Cabernet Sauvignon contains “subtle aromatics of cloves, anise and rose petal. Dark cherries hit the front palate with delicate earthiness that lead to flavors of vanilla, caramel and black plum finish with velvety tannins,” according to Gruet’s tasting notes.</p>
<p>Guests also have an option to taste Gruet’s wines. There are four tasting options to choose from. Options range from $8 to $14.</p>
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<p /> | Gruet Winery tour includes a look at newly renovated tasting room | false | https://abqjournal.com/917104/beverage-albuquerque-2.html | 2 |
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<p>Oil prices continued to slide Friday morning, as investors again worried that OPEC was failing to rein in output and make a dent in the continuing global supply glut.</p>
<p>Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 0.8%, to $51.62 a barrel, in London midmorning trading. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.8%, at $48.66 a barrel.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Investors were looking ahead to a planned meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries early next week in Abu Dhabi, where the main topic will be member compliance with a deal to cut production. Preliminary data has shown that OPEC output continued to rise in July.</p>
<p>"I wouldn't expect too much other than the normal platitudes" about all the players needing to show compliance, said Tom Pugh, a commodities economist at Capital Economics, of the coming cartel gathering.</p>
<p>However, Mr. Pugh said investors would be looking for harsher language from Saudi Arabia--the cartel's largest member and the world's biggest exporter--on lax compliance by Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. He said investors would also hope that Libya would join Nigeria in voluntarily capping its output. Both countries were exempt from the original deal.</p>
<p>OPEC's members and 10 producers outside the cartel, including Russia, first agreed last November and December to cap their production at around 1.8 million barrels a day below October 2016 levels. The goal was to drain a global oversupply that has kept prices depressed, but the market has remained subdued, in part because U.S. production continues to rise.</p>
<p>Oil prices had been rallying in recent days but that ended in a selloff late Thursday.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Prices "failed yet again to increase towards and above $53 a barrel, which may encourage some negative reactions" in the market, said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank.</p>
<p>The market is also looking ahead to weekly U.S. oil rig data from Baker Hughes Inc. later Friday.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude stockpiles had dropped by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended July 28, a smaller draw than had been expected. U.S. production, meanwhile, has hit a two-year high.</p>
<p>Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock--the benchmark gasoline contract--was down 0.2% at $1.6282 a gallon. ICE gasoil changed hands at $480.75 a metric ton, down roughly 2.3% from the previous settlement.</p>
<p>Write to Christopher Alessi at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 04, 2017 06:06 ET (10:06 GMT)</p> | Oil Falls as Oversupply Concerns Linger | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/04/oil-falls-as-oversupply-concerns-linger.html | 2017-08-04 | 0 |
<p>U.S. stocks opened mostly higher Tuesday, putting the main benchmarks within striking distance of their mid-August record closing highs. The moves came after a rally on Friday, following a weaker-than-expected monthly jobs report that bolstered the view that the Federal Reserve won't raise interest rates in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 52 points, or 0.3%, to 18,530. The S&amp;P 500 opened 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,1779. And the Nasdaq Composite gained 6 points, or 0.1%, to 5,256. Among individual companies, seeds and pesticides giant Monsanto Co. rose 0.8% after German chemicals titan Bayer AG raised its bid for the U.S. company to $127.50 a share, up from $125 a share.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | U.S. Stocks Open Mostly Higher After Long Weekend | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/06/us-stocks-open-mostly-higher-after-long-weekend.html | 2016-09-06 | 0 |
<p>Barcelona The fascist regime led by General Franco was one of the most repressive regimes in Europe in the twentieth century. It was imposed on the Spanish people by Hitler and Mussolini; without their assistance, Franco could not have defeated the popular forces that defended the democratically elected government of the Spanish Republic during the years 1936–1939.</p>
<p>The establishment of the Republic had opened up the possibility of making important reforms needed in Spain to respond to the demands of the popular classes.&#160; The first democratically elected republican government instituted land reform (which antagonized the large landowners – the Catholic Church being among the largest); educational reform that expanded public education (antagonizing the Church, which controlled the educational system); and public pension reform (antagonizing banking). It also facilitated the organization of workers by encouraging trade unionism (antagonizing employers), reduced the number of top officers in the Armed Forces, and instituted many other highly popular changes. In response, the groups opposed to these reforms, led by the Army and assisted by troops and military equipment sent by Hitler and Mussolini, carried out a military coup.</p>
<p>The coup was strongly resisted by Spain’s popular classes, who fought for three years to defend the Republic, under enormous difficulties – the major one being the lack of arms (there was one gun for every three soldiers on the front). The Western democratic governments did not lift a finger to help the democratically elected government of Spain. As Winston Churchill said, the European governments were afraid that the popular reforms taking place in the new Republic would “contaminate” their own popular classes, who would then ask for the same changes in their own countries. So these governments chose to follow their class interests, Churchill said, over national interests. And, as history proved, this was the wrong choice. Their failure to assist the democratic forces in Spain only helped Hitler and later, in starting World War II.</p>
<p>Franco’s victory in Spain meant brutal repression. More than 200,000 men and women were executed, and another 200,000 died in fascist concentration camps and other places of detention. And 114,266 people simply disappeared. They were killed by the Falange (the fascist party) or by the Army, and their bodies were abandoned or buried without being identified (see my &#160; <a href="" type="internal">“A Forgotten Genocide: The Case of Spain”</a>).</p>
<p>Up until the last year of the dictatorship, 1978, repression was a constant in Spain’s fascist regime. Of course, apologists for that regime (coming from the fascist apparatus of the state) – such as Juan Linz, later a professor of political science at Yale – denied that Franco’s regime was a fascist totalitarian regime. They defined it as authoritarian, but not totalitarian, by which Linz (and Spain’s right-wing Popular Party, the PP) meant a regime that did not impose a totalizing ideology on the population. This claim is easily proven wrong. Spanish fascism was rooted in a profound and intense form of nationalism based, by its own definition, on a special race – the Hispanic race (the national day celebrating the conquest of Latin America was called the Day of the Hispanic Race) – that was chosen by God as the savior of civilization (this being rooted in a profoundly reactionary form of Catholicism) and led by a man of superhuman qualities, General Franco. The regime controlled all the country’s value-producing systems, from school tests to sports magazines. To deny the totalizing character of that regime, and how it controlled and imposed itself on all spheres of life, is plain apologetics.</p>
<p>The transition to democracy in 1978 was carried out on terms very favorable to the right-wing forces controlling the Spanish state, led by the king, who regarded Franco “as one of the greatest patriots in the history of Spain, savior of the nation against the Red forces”. A key element of the transition was the Amnesty Law, which called for immunity for all who had committed political crimes during the dictatorship. The law was accompanied by a Pact of Silence among the leaderships of all political parties, including the left-wing parties (the socialist and communist parties). As a consequence, the 114,266 disappeared remained disappeared.</p>
<p>Then, three years ago, the grandchildren of the disappeared (the desaparecidos) started looking for their bodies. Village by village, they began to search for them – a movement that immediately received huge popular support at the street level. There were people who knew where the disappeared were buried, but they had been afraid to talk about it, even thirty years after Spain’s return to democracy. The movement spread throughout the country, putting right-wing forces (and the old leadership of the left-wing forces) on the defensive. This movement has challenged the official perception and presentation of the change from dictatorship to democracy as a “model” transition. In fact, in this “model” transition, the right-wing forces still held enormous power.</p>
<p>The movement to recover the disappeared was instrumental in forcing a new law, approved by the Spanish Parliament, to break the Pact of Silence. The Law of Historical Memory calls for the government and public authorities to help families find the bodies of their loved ones. But the socialists in government (with the exception of the Catalan government, a coalition of three left-wing parties) have done very little to advance this. They are afraid of antagonizing the powerful forces (the monarchy, the Army, and the Church) that insist on the need to respect both the Pact of Silence and the Amnesty Law.</p>
<p>Enter Judge Garzon. This is the Spanish judge who tried to take General Pinochet to court when the general was in London, and who led the movement to take other Latin American dictators to court. He came under increasing pressure from the popular movement working for the recovery of historical memory in Spain to look at what had happened at home, not just abroad. Pinochet, after all, was a boy scout compared with Franco: General Franco’s repression was even more brutal than that carried out by his disciple, General Pinochet.</p>
<p>Finally, in response to this popular pressure, Judge Garzon called for an inquiry into the crimes committed by the Franco dictatorship, so as to hold tribunals and take those responsible for the horrors of that regime to court. It was a courageous and highly popular move. For the first time, an official report was prepared, by Garzon, documenting the extent of the repression under fascism in Spain. And, as it turns out, the repression was even broader and deeper than previously known. Many people had never spoken (even to their own children) of what they had seen and experienced during those years.</p>
<p>And, of course, the reactionary forces mobilized. There are very powerful forces in Spain that want to stop Garzon and punish him. The fascist party (La Falange) and other ultra-right-wing forces took Judge Garzon to the Supreme Court, asking that he be stopped from taking Franco’s regime and those responsible for the desaparecidos to the tribunals. And to everyone’s surprise, a member of the Supreme Court, Judge Varela, who had been assigned by this court to look at the fascists’ denunciation of Garzon, saw merit in their request: according to this judge, the Amnesty Law signed in the last days of the dictatorship gave permanent immunity to all who had committed violations of human rights under the fascist regime. This judge’s position increased the likelihood of Garzon’s being taken to the Supreme Court (a five-member court presided over by a judge who swore loyalty to the fascist regime).</p>
<p>It is interesting to read in Judge Varela’s indictment the way in which he justifies the need to take Judge Garzon to court. “[Garzon’s] actions seem to imply that there has been a pact of silence about the actions taken by the previous regime, exposing all the political and judicial systems to the criticism of having been insensitive to the defense of human rights and defense of the forgotten”.&#160;Judge Varela wants to prevent Judge Garzon from continuing his trial of the Francoist regime because it will reveal that there has been a pact of silence and that neither the state nor the courts have put into practice the recently passed Historical Memory Law and have done nothing in defense of the forgotten. In that way, Varela wants to save the honor of the Spanish state and the courts and avoid any further embarrassment to the very powerful forces responsible for that silence and for that democratic insensitivity. The initial work done by Judge Garzon has already proved not only the horrible crimes committed by the Fascist regime, but also the deafening silence during the 30 years of democracy. Judge Varela added that the Amnesty Law prevents any inquiry into the crimes committed during the dictatorship, ignoring the fact that the Spanish state has signed the United Nations Human Rights Law, which in Article 15.2 clearly states that the “crimes against humanity” cannot be silenced by national laws such as Spain’s Amnesty Law.</p>
<p>In a few days, the Supreme Court (chaired by a judge who swore loyalty to the Fascist regime during the dictatorship) will pass judgment on Garzon and most likely will divest him of his judicial responsibilities. To put this in perspective, what is happening is equivalent to the Supreme Court of Germany (presided over by a judge who swore loyalty to the Nazi Government) responding to the request of the Nazi Party and passing judgment on the only judge who had dared to try the crimes committed by the Nazi regime. This is what is happening in Spain. And the “official” international media remain silent.</p>
<p>VINCENT NAVARRO is Professor of Public Policy, The Johns Hopkins University and Professor of Political Science, Pompeu Fabra University, Spain. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p /> | The Case of Judge Garzon | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/02/22/the-case-of-judge-garzon/ | 2010-02-22 | 4 |
<p>I don’t know how anyone given the task could draw a map of Israel: it is likely the only country in the world with no defined borders, and it actually has worked very hard over many decades to achieve this peculiar state.</p>
<p>It once had borders, but the 1967 war took care of those. It has no intention of ever returning to them because it could have done so at any time in the last forty-three years (an act which would have been the clearest possible declaration of a desire for genuine peace with justice and which would have saved the immense human misery of occupation), but doing so would negate the entire costly effort of the Six Day War whose true purpose was to achieve what we see now in the Palestinian territories.</p>
<p>As far as peace, in the limited sense of the absence of war, Israel already has achieved a kind of rough, de facto peace without any help from the Palestinians. The Palestinians have nothing to offer in the matter of peace if you judge peace by the standards Israel apparently does.</p>
<p>Israel has the peace that comes of infinitely greater power, systematic and ruthless use of that power, the reduction of the people it regards as opponents to squatters on their own land, and a world too intimidated to take any effective action for justice or fairness.</p>
<p>Genuine peace anywhere, as Canadian physicist and Holocaust survivor Ursula Franklin has observed, is best defined by justice prevailing. But you can have many other circumstances inaccurately called peace; for example, the internal peace of a police state or of a brutally-operated colony.</p>
<p>Israel appears to have no interest or need for the kind of peace that the Palestinians can offer. What then can the Palestinians give Israel in any negotiation?</p>
<p>There are many “technical” issues to be settled between the Israelis and Palestinians, such as the right of return, compensation for property taken, the continued unwarranted expulsions from East Jerusalem, the Wall and its location largely on Palestinian land, but in a profound sense these are all grounded in the larger concept of genuine peace as Ursula Franklin defined it, something we have no basis for believing Israel is, or ever has been, interested in.</p>
<p>Israel wants recognition, not just as a country like any other, but as “the Jewish state,” whatever that ambiguous term may mean, given the facts both of Israel’s rubbery borders and the definition of Jewish, something which Israelis themselves constantly fight over – reformed, orthodox, ultra-orthodox, Ashkenazi, Sephardic, North African, observant, non-observant, and still other factions and divisions in what is quite a small population.</p>
<p>I very much think that the reasons Israel wants that particular form of recognition are not benevolent: it is the kind of term once put into a contract which opens the future interpretation of the contract to pretty much anything. After all, recognition of Israel as a state is something Arab states have long offered Israel in return for a just settlement, but Israel has never shown the slightest interest.</p>
<p>If recognition of Israel as “the Jewish state” were granted, what would be the status of any non-Jewish person in Israel? I think we can guess, given the awful words of Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, or the even more terrible words of Ovadia Yosef, founder of the Shas Party, a Netanyahu ally, and Israel’s former Chief Rabbi.</p>
<p>After all, about nineteen percent of Israeli citizens are non-Jews, mainly the descendants of Palestinians who refused to run from the terrors of the Irgun and Stern gangs in1948. They carry Israeli passports, but are not regarded as citizens in the same sense as Jewish citizens, and there are even laws and restrictions in place creating the kind of deadly distinction George Orwell wrote of in Animal Farm, “Some animals are more equal than others.”</p>
<p>The new talks do not include even the most basic requirement of a legitimate voice to represent the Palestinians, a desirable situation perhaps from Israel’s point of view, one Israel’s secret services have long worked towards with dark ops and assassinations. How do you negotiate with opponents you allow no voice?</p>
<p>Mahmoud Abbas, an almost pitifully shuffling character who is the man supposedly representing Palestinian interests, is now approaching two years of playing president without an election: he has zero legitimacy with the Palestinians and the outside world. Even at that, his assumed authority extends only to parts of the West Bank of the territories.</p>
<p>Hamas, despite the shortcomings found in any leadership of a heavily oppressed population (after all, it is often forgotten that the African National Congress in South Africa was communist-affiliated), is nevertheless the elected government of Gaza territory, but Israel has pressured the United States – and through it, effectively the world – to regard Hamas as a coven of witches, ready to unleash dark powers if only once Israel relaxes its stranglehold.</p>
<p>It would be far more accurate to talk of a settlement or an accommodation with the Palestinians than peace, but any reasonable agreement requires intense pressure on Israel, which holds all the cards, pressure which can only come from Washington. Accommodation involves all the difficult “technical” issues Israel has no interest in negotiating – right of return, compensation, the Wall, and East Jerusalem. Israel’s position on all of them is simply “no.”</p>
<p>But we know that Washington is contemptibly weak when it comes to Israel. The Israel Lobby is expert at working the phones and the opinion columns and the campaign donations. It even gets Washington to fight wars for it, as it did in Iraq, and as it now is attempting to do in Iran – surely, the acid test of inordinate influence on policy.</p>
<p>Most American Congressmen live in the same kind of quiet fear of the Israel Lobby as they once did of J.Edgar Hoover’s special files of political and personal secrets. Hoover never even had to openly threaten a Congressman or Cabinet Secretary who was “out of line.” He merely had a brief chat, dropping some ambiguous reference to let the politician know the danger he faced. It was enough to keep Hoover’s influence going for decades.</p>
<p>You never heard a thing in the press about the quiet power Hoover exercised in the 1940s and 1950s and 1960s, but it was there. Just so, the Israel Lobby today.</p>
<p>So where does the impetus for a fair accommodation come from?</p>
<p>Nowhere. Israel goes right on with its calculatedly-unfair laws taking the homes and farms of others, slowly but surely pushing out the people with whom it does not want to share space.</p>
<p>Anywhere else, this process would be called ethnic-cleansing, but not here, not unless you want to be called a bigot or an anti-Semite.</p>
<p>One says this about the impossibility of a settlement with a reservation. It is possible that the weak Abbas, locked in a room in Washington, could well be browbeaten and bribed into signing some kind of bastard agreement, giving Israel every concession it wants in return for a nominal rump Palestinian state composed of parcels Israel doesn’t want or hasn’t yet absorbed. It wouldn’t be worth the paper it was written on, but Israel would then undoubtedly assume its perpetual validity and in future interpret it as it wished.</p>
<p>After all, the history of modern Israel involves agreements divvying up the land of others without their consent, but even those historical divisions – look at the maps attending the Peel Commission (1937) or the UN decision on partition (1947), and you see roughly equally divided territory – today are ignored by Israel or given some very tortured interpretation. So what will have changed?</p>
<p>There simply can be no genuine peace with justice where there is no will for it.</p> | The Misnomer of Peace Talks | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/09/10/the-misnomer-of-peace-talks/ | 2010-09-10 | 4 |
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<p>Times-PicayuneThe Associated Press6/18/03 8:29 AM</p>
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<p>Twenty-one Roman Catholic bishops, 10 of them Americans, have resigned since 1990 in the context of sex scandals.</p>
<p>U.S. cases:</p>
<p>--The late Archbishop Eugene Marino of Atlanta, in 1990, upon admitting involvement with a woman parishioner.</p>
<p>--Archbishop Robert Sanchez of Santa Fe, N.M., in 1993, after confessing relationships with adult women.</p>
<p>--Bishop J. Keith Symons of Palm Beach, Fla., in 1998, after admitting past molestation of five boys in three parishes.</p>
<p>--Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann of Santa Rosa, Calif., in 1999, when a priest claimed sexual coercion after Ziemann learned he had stolen parish funds. Ziemann said their relationship was consensual.</p> | Worldwide, 21 Roman Catholic bishops have resigned amid church sex scandals since 1990 | false | https://poynter.org/news/worldwide-21-roman-catholic-bishops-have-resigned-amid-church-sex-scandals-1990 | 2003-06-18 | 2 |
<p>What better way to ban President Trump from Twitter than to buy it yourself? At least that's the plan proposed by ​Valerie Plame Wilson, whom Americans may remember as the outed CIA operative whose identity was uncovered thanks to a leak during the George W. Bush administration.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/22/valerie-plame-wilson-wants-buy-twitter-and-ban-president-trump/590982001/" type="external">USA Today</a>, Wilson has now started a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/buytwitter" type="external">GoFundMe page</a> to "buy a controlling interest in Twitter, in order to delete the president's account." Twitter is currently valued at $12 billon with shares going for $16. Her goal: $1 billion.</p>
<p>"Donald Trump has done a lot of horrible things on Twitter. From emboldening white supremacists to promoting violence against journalists, his tweets damage the country and put people in harm's way," Wilson wrote on the campaign's page "But threatening actual nuclear war with North Korea takes it to a dangerous new level."</p>
<p>"At the current market rate that would require over a billion dollars — but that's a small price to pay to take away Trump's most powerful megaphone and prevent a horrific nuclear war," Plame wrote.</p>
<p>The campaign launched on August 16 and has only raised $3,000.</p>
<p>Should she not meet the goal, then plan B is to buy a "significant stake" to push the proposal at the annual stakeholder's meeting. The tweet Wilson took most issue with is below:</p>
<p>"Tweets like this are heard around the world," Wilson said. "As he uses his biggest platform to escalate the crisis, this could all-too-easily spark a military confrontation that goes nuclear."</p>
<p>Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has expressly stated he will not ban the president because it was important for people to "hear directly from our leadership." Banning him, according to some experts, would <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-17/what-is-trump-worth-to-twitter-one-analyst-estimates-2-billion" type="external">wipe out $2 billion of Twitter's market value</a>.</p> | Valerie Plame Wilson Hopes To Buy Twitter Just To Ban President Trump | true | https://dailywire.com/news/20086/valerie-plame-wilson-hopes-buy-twitter-just-ban-paul-bois | 2017-08-22 | 0 |
<p>Truthdig salutes the 12 jurors who sacrificed four months of their lives to sift through the lies of former Enron chiefs Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, convicting them on 25 counts of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. Interviewed after the case, jurors were incredulous that the two former titans were unaware of the crimes at their company. “Skilling was supposed to be a hands-on individual,” one juror <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052502100.html" type="external">told a newspaper</a>. “It’s hard to believe a hands-on individual wouldn’t know what was going on.”</p>
<p>Washington Post:</p>
<p>HOUSTON, May 25 — Jurors in the Enron trial made it clear that it would have been better for former executives Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling if they’d kept their mouths shut and stayed off the witness stand.</p>
<p>Speaking shortly after a federal judge read their verdict, jurors said Lay’s indignant outbursts while testifying in his own behalf made him seem “that he very much wanted to be in control — he commanded the courtroom,” said Wendy Vaughan, a Houston business owner.</p>
<p />
<p>“He was very focused, but he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder that made me question his character,” she said.</p>
<p>As for Skilling, who spent days explaining the tedious financial inner workings of the once high-flying energy company, the jurors couldn’t understand how he could know so much about that and not be aware of illegal business maneuvering, whether or not he was responsible for it personally.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052502100.html" type="external">Link</a></p>
<p>Washington Post:</p>
<p>HOUSTON, May 26 — Across town from the federal courthouse where he spent four months, Doug Baggett did something Friday he had not done for a long time.</p>
<p>He slept until 7 a.m. — scandalously late for him. He watched the morning news, and he read the newspaper.</p>
<p>As a juror on the Enron trial, he had been able to do none of those things. But now, a day after the jury found two former Enron executives guilty of multiple counts in the fraud trial, life was beginning to return to normal.</p>
<p>On Fridays during the trial, Baggett had headed into work at Shell Oil Co., where as manager of the company’s legal department, he directed seven employees taking care of 130 company lawyers. Fridays meant trying to catch up on a week’s worth of work, although he managed to answer e-mails at night and on weekends. U.S. District Judge Simeon T. Lake III presided over the Enron trial from Monday to Thursday and handled other cases on Fridays.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052601723.html" type="external">Link</a></p> | Truthdiggers of the Week: The Enron Trial Jurors | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/truthdiggers-of-the-week-the-enron-trial-jurors/ | 2006-05-27 | 4 |
<p>BLOOMINGTON. Add Scott Wells’ name to the growing list of Indiana environmental activists to find themselves face to face with government agents. The Monroe County Councilman last week was questioned by the FBI and ATF about last month’s fire at Pedigo Bay, an under-construction housing development for the rich and powerful on the shores of Lake Monroe.</p>
<p>The feds’ interest in Wells was spawned by accusations at this month’s council meeting made by a radical property-rights activist that Wells knew the fire was going to occur, knew who was going to commit it, and did nothing to prevent it. But there has been no evidence produced to support the allegation, whatsoever. And history suggests it’s just the latest effort by wealthy developers and their allies to slow the growing citizen revolt against developer domination of Monroe County’s democratic institutions.</p>
<p>“I’ve been talking about the truth,” Wells said at the Farmers Market on Saturday. “The power of the truth scares the hell out of them. The truth burns ’em.”</p>
<p>The truth Scott Wells has been pursing for almost a decade now is the real story behind developer efforts to thwart this community’s clear and unambiguous desire to stop development in the watershed of its only source of drinking water–Lake Monroe.</p>
<p>“That’s my mission,” says Wells, a 47-year-old school teacher who also lives in the watershed, “to protect our water supply.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Wells’ mission dates to 1993, when he opposed the Gentry East development along Ind. 446. Three years later, in 1996, he won a “Frontline Award” from the Hoosier Environmental Council for spearheading efforts to pass a county ordinance that restricts density and implements slope restrictions on developments in the Lake Monroe and Griffy watersheds.</p>
<p>Throughout these and other fights, Wells earned the nickname “bulldog” for his tenacity and determination. He also received death threats. “They’ve been trying to silence me all along,” he says. “But they’re not going to do it.”</p>
<p>In 2000, Wells ran for an at-large county council seat and received more votes than any of six candidates running for three seats. He was then appointed to the Monroe County Plan Commission, where he doggedly pursued environmental violations at Pedigo Bay, a luxury home development on the southern shores of Lake Monroe.</p>
<p>Like practically every major development in this community over the past two decades, engineer Steve Smith’s footprints are all over Pedigo Bay. He owns property adjacent to the development. Even though Smith only owned a minority interest in the development, the mailing address for project developer PB Estates LLC is the Smith Neubecker office. In a May 25th letter to “community leaders,” Smith announced he had assumed majority control.</p>
<p>That announcement came one day after Pedigo Bay received the latest in a series of citations and fines from the county plan department for environmental violations at the development. To date, the county has fined PB Estates more than $40,000. Among the infractions are failures to submit and implement erosion-control plans. Smith is a member of the county drainage board, which is charged with protecting topsoil and public waterways from erosion.</p>
<p>On June 27, an arsonist set fire to one of the homes being built at Pedigo Bay. Smith said the home, with an estimated value of $725,000, was going to be his.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Even before the fire was officially ruled arson, pro-development forces, news stories and editorials in the Herald-Times pointed the finger at Wells in particular and environmentalists in general for “fanning the flames” that led to the fire.</p>
<p>According to a July 11 Herald-Times editorial, a reporter was tipped off just before the July 9 council meeting that “something was going to come out at the meeting that would turn the place on its ear.” County resident Kevin Shiflet then distributed a legal-looking, signed and notarized “affidavit” that, according to the Herald-Times, clearly implied “that Wells knew in advance about the fire and who was going to set it.”</p>
<p>In the document, Shiflet asserts that Wells told him he knew the fire was “going down” and that he’d talked to “deep throats number one, two and three” on the phone about it. Given that the document has absolutely no legal significance whatsoever and is backed up by no substantive evidence, the Herald-Times concluded “the most plausible real purpose of the affidavit was to harm Wells by impugning his credibility and reputation.”</p>
<p>Upon releasing the document, Shiflet asked Wells, “What did you know and when did you know it?” That was followed by calls from right-wing extremists like Franklin Andrew and Leo Hickman for Wells’ resignation from the plan commission. Subsequently, a bumper sticker asking, “What did Scott Wells know and when did he know it?” was surreptitiously stuck on the bumper of Wells’ vehicle.</p>
<p>Within a week of Shiflet’s public accusation, Wells, who adamantly denies the charges, was summarily summoned to an interview with federal agents to answer what effectively amounted to variations on that very theme.</p>
<p>“They’re trying to take me out permanently; they’re trying to silence me,” Wells says, agreeing that the true objective is to ruin his name. “Your reputation is all you have. If you don’t have your reputation, you don’t have anything.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The attacks on Scott Wells are chilling enough in and of themselves. But when taken in the broader context of the post-9/11 erosion in civil liberties and sensational pre-9/11 media coverage of “eco-terrorism,” they are ominous indeed.</p>
<p>Consider the case of environmentalist John Blair, president of the Evansville-based Valley Watch, a former Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and one of the state’s highest profile environmental leaders for more than a quarter century.</p>
<p>In the post-9/11 rush to squelch Americans’ freedom of assembly and expression, Blair was jailed in February for walking down the street in Evansville carrying a sign to protest Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy policy. Cheney was in Evansville stumping for 8th District Republican Congressman John Hostettler, one of the House’s “Environmental Dirty Dozen,” an obsequious political flack for the fossil-fuel industry.</p>
<p>“Tonight I was arrested for nothing more than exercising my rights as a citizen in what I thought was a free country,” Blair wrote on Feb. 6 <a href="blair1.html" type="external">in a piece published in CounterPunch</a>. Blair was not part of any formal protest. He was neither belligerent nor confrontational. “It is clear that I was singled out only because I had a sign,” he wrote.</p>
<p>The last image many citizens saw on Evansville television that evening was Blair staring out the window of a squad car as he was being taken to jail. The disorderly conduct charges against him were increased at his arraignment the next day to Resisting Law Enforcement, which carried a maximum sentence of a year in jail. All charges ultimately were dropped.</p>
<p>“They kept me in jail until Cheney was gone, then they let me out,” Blair said in a recent interview. “I don’t know if it was their intention, but it certainly appeared that they just wanted to silence protest.”</p>
<p>While Blair is preparing to sue the city of Evansville for violating his constitutional rights, he readily admits that his recent experience with government authority pales in comparison with that of former Bloomington activist Frank Ambrose.</p>
<p>“What they did to Frank, that was appalling,” he said.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Almost a year to the day before Blair’s arrest in Evansville, the FBI and state and local authorities raided Frank Ambrose’s Owen County home, seized his computer and other personal belongings, including family pictures, and charged the former Purdue University swimmer with spiking trees in Yellowwood State Forest.</p>
<p>Ambrose had been the face man for a growing, aggressive, direct-action movement for environmental responsibility in Bloomington and Monroe County. He spoke out at public meetings. He helped organize and lead protests in the city and in the woods. He publicly embarrassed the mayor and other public officials.</p>
<p>Ambrose did all of this at a time when the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for another arson on a luxury home under construction in the Lake Monroe watershed and the Yellowwood tree spiking. To say law enforcement was under pressure to make an arrest is an understatement of cosmic proportions. In a public discussion in Bloomington seven months before Ambrose’s arrest, an ELF spokesman from Oregon claimed the shadowy group was responsible for more than $30 million in damage nationwide without a single person being caught.</p>
<p>After his arrest, Ambrose was effectively silenced. He dropped out of public view. His political activities ceased. In September 2001, prosecutors announced the charges against him were being dismissed. They offered no explanation for the decision.</p>
<p>Blair, who publicly defended Ambrose on environmental discussion lists and through other venues, doesn’t speculate on why the authorities did what they did. But he’s unequivocal on the ultimate result of their actions.</p>
<p>“Nobody wants the FBI to come knocking on their door,” Blair says. “To come down hard on somebody like they did on him, whether they had any evidence or not, they get their desired results, which is everybody falling in line. They completely chilled protest in Indiana through the treatment they gave him.” Steven Higgs is the editor of the excellent new weekly, <a href="http://65.18.141.122/" type="external">The Bloomington Alternative</a>. We strongly recommend you subscribe if you care about what’s going on in the heartland of America. He can be reached at: <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p> | Activists Under Siege | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/08/01/activists-under-siege/ | 2002-08-01 | 4 |
<p>SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's prime minister on Tuesday called on the Saudi-led coalition allied with his government to deposit $1 billion in the central bank to save the local currency from "complete collapse."</p>
<p>In an emotional letter, Ahmed Obeid bin Daghir called on the coalition to act "now, not tomorrow," and said saving the rial means "saving Yemenis from inevitable famine."</p>
<p>The rial, now trading at 500 to the dollar, has lost half its value since the coalition went to war against Yemen's Houthi rebels in 2015. Food and fuel prices have soared, pushing many to the brink of famine.</p>
<p>The U.N. has called Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The war pits the coalition and an internationally recognized government against the Houthis, rebels allied with Iran who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The war, which has been locked in a bloody stalemate for most of the last three years, has killed an estimated 10,000 people and displaced 2 million.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, protests broke out in the city of Taiz, which has been split between the Houthis and pro-government forces for the past three years. Hundreds of protesters on the government-held side set fire to pictures of Daghir and the governor of the central bank, and chanted against the coalition.</p>
<p>A senior Yemeni official told The Associated Press that the coalition hasn't moved to shore up the central bank because of mistrust between the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the alliance, and Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press.</p>
<p>The UAE is believed to be at odds with Hadi over his embrace of a local affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood group, and fighters loyal to the two sides have clashed in recent months. Hadi has been prevented from returning to Yemen by the Saudis following his fallout with the UAE.</p>
<p>Last August, the governor of the central bank, Monasser al-Quaiti, said the coalition had blocked 13 flights bringing cash into the country and was "strangling" its economy.</p>
<p>The government moved the central bank from Sanaa to the southern port city of Aden last year, saying the Houthis were using it to finance the war. In Houthi-run areas, hundreds of thousands of civil servants have not been paid in more than a year.</p>
<p>The economic collapse has contributed to the breakdown of basic services, fueling a cholera outbreak that has killed some 2,000 people and infected a million.</p>
<p>The U.N. children's agency said Tuesday that more than 5,000 children have been killed or wounded in Yemen's war, an average of five per day since March 2015. It said nearly every child in Yemen requires humanitarian assistance, and that 1.8 million are acutely malnourished.</p>
<p>SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's prime minister on Tuesday called on the Saudi-led coalition allied with his government to deposit $1 billion in the central bank to save the local currency from "complete collapse."</p>
<p>In an emotional letter, Ahmed Obeid bin Daghir called on the coalition to act "now, not tomorrow," and said saving the rial means "saving Yemenis from inevitable famine."</p>
<p>The rial, now trading at 500 to the dollar, has lost half its value since the coalition went to war against Yemen's Houthi rebels in 2015. Food and fuel prices have soared, pushing many to the brink of famine.</p>
<p>The U.N. has called Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The war pits the coalition and an internationally recognized government against the Houthis, rebels allied with Iran who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The war, which has been locked in a bloody stalemate for most of the last three years, has killed an estimated 10,000 people and displaced 2 million.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, protests broke out in the city of Taiz, which has been split between the Houthis and pro-government forces for the past three years. Hundreds of protesters on the government-held side set fire to pictures of Daghir and the governor of the central bank, and chanted against the coalition.</p>
<p>A senior Yemeni official told The Associated Press that the coalition hasn't moved to shore up the central bank because of mistrust between the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the alliance, and Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press.</p>
<p>The UAE is believed to be at odds with Hadi over his embrace of a local affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood group, and fighters loyal to the two sides have clashed in recent months. Hadi has been prevented from returning to Yemen by the Saudis following his fallout with the UAE.</p>
<p>Last August, the governor of the central bank, Monasser al-Quaiti, said the coalition had blocked 13 flights bringing cash into the country and was "strangling" its economy.</p>
<p>The government moved the central bank from Sanaa to the southern port city of Aden last year, saying the Houthis were using it to finance the war. In Houthi-run areas, hundreds of thousands of civil servants have not been paid in more than a year.</p>
<p>The economic collapse has contributed to the breakdown of basic services, fueling a cholera outbreak that has killed some 2,000 people and infected a million.</p>
<p>The U.N. children's agency said Tuesday that more than 5,000 children have been killed or wounded in Yemen's war, an average of five per day since March 2015. It said nearly every child in Yemen requires humanitarian assistance, and that 1.8 million are acutely malnourished.</p> | Yemen asks Saudis for $1B to save currency, prevent 'famine' | false | https://apnews.com/amp/0fdec92400f249d3a8fbbd687d105bfc | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p>That we work to defeat and to overthrow the rule of the 1% (and the 0.1%) over our lives, our society, and our world;</p>
<p>That we devote our lives to ending the oppression, domination, and exploitation of people both near and far;</p>
<p>That we defend what remains of public space and the public sector against neoliberal attempts to privatize or destroy it;</p>
<p>That we stand up for the freedom of speech and assembly, of dissent and public protest, as rights which no law-maker can revoke;</p>
<p>That we work for social equality: the radical redistribution of wealth, the transformation and/or abolition of oppressive institutions, the dismantling of unaccountable hierarchies, and the&#160;thorough democratization of society;</p>
<p>That we aspire towards egalitarianism in our own movement and in our own lives, seeking to build others up as equals, not to subordinate them as tools or inferiors;</p>
<p>That we seek to unite the many against the few, behind an inspiring vision of global human emancipation;</p>
<p>That we work to expose, to challenge, and to shut down wars abroad and militarism at home, along with the imperial and fascistic apparatus that makes them possible;</p>
<p>That we devote ourselves to exposing, and to&#160;resisting the ravages of a toxic&#160;ecocidal&#160; capitalism before it&#160;poisons the climate to the point of rendering wide swaths of our planet unlivable;</p>
<p>That we work to expose, oppose, and defeat racism, homophobia, sexism and other reactionary and oppressive ideologies and practices wherever they rear their ugly heads;</p>
<p>That we seek to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless across our world;</p>
<p>That we help to inspire courage, trust, and solidarity amongst those who have been beaten down by the current system, to turn our&#160;collective weakness into strength;</p>
<p>That we work to expose the farcical nature of our 1%-dominated, so-called “democracy,” even as we may utilize what is left of this state apparatus to tactically leverage the needs of our movement;</p>
<p>That we hold accountable those individuals and institutions that have produced and profited from the current crisis, at the expense of the people.</p>
<p>That we reject all 1%-er attempts to&#160;scapegoat the vulnerable&#160;and to blame the victims for&#160;their oppression;</p>
<p>That we approach with suspicion and skepticism those representatives of existing 1% power structures that seek to co-opt our movement, even as we are constantly on the lookout for friends and allies in unexpected places;</p>
<p>That we put the greater good of the people and the movement ahead of our personal interests, even as we recognize that only through such a movement can our individual talents be fully realized, and vice versa;</p>
<p>That we keep our commitments and promises to one another;</p>
<p>That we are honest and accountable in our interactions whenever we are representing the movement;</p>
<p>That we work each day to help raise consciousness (inside and outside the movement) about the world situation–for this is a global struggle;</p>
<p>That we inform ourselves about the current dangers and crises facing our society and our planet, and that we seek to understand not only the news and the facts, but the fundamental forces driving the situation forward, and the future trajectories these forces imply;</p>
<p>That we seek to cultivate a tactical flexibility and creativity that can adapt to the shifting situation;</p>
<p>That we develop a long-term, nationally coordinated&#160;strategy for actually building the movement that we want to create, for actually achieving the changes we want to see;</p>
<p>That we cultivate an honest and humble self-critical attitude in evaluating the successes and failures, the strengths and weaknesses of our movement, its theories and its practices; that we are willing to alter our theories and practices in light of evidence and reflections we gather;</p>
<p>That we seek to become citizens of the world, not just of any single city or nation;</p>
<p>That we sink roots in our local communities, in our workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, families, and other institutions, becoming attentive students of others’ lives, as well as supportive allies, and where appropriate, leaders of local struggles;</p>
<p>That we are kind and patient with one another in the movement, working to understand deeply even those with whom we disagree, knowing that those who may be wrong on nine issues may teach us something valuable&#160;concerning the tenth;</p>
<p>That we demonstrate courage as well as wisdom in the face of threats we face;</p>
<p>That we seek to cultivate the fullest humanity in ourselves and in others alike;</p>
<p>That we work creatively and tirelessly to bring into being a society that is worthy of human beings;</p>
<p>That we commit to the long haul, as the fight ahead is sure to be as extended as its outcome remains uncertain.</p>
<p>That we sustain one another in this great collective endeavor, cherishing each thinking, fighting spirit in these dark times.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in CounterPunch in June 2012.</p> | Occupy, Five Years On: What the Movement Demands From Each of Us | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/09/19/occupy-five-years-on-what-the-movement-demands-from-each-of-us/ | 2016-09-19 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Big-box department stores revolutionized the retail industry in the late 20th century, and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) remains the industry's giant. With more than 2.3 million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart is the biggest private employer in the nation, and the company has rewarded long-term shareholders with 20% average annual returns over the past 40 years and an impressive streak of raising its dividend payments every year for more than 40 years. Yet recently, Wal-Mart stock has fallen dramatically, calling into question the company's future growth prospects. Let's look more closely at Wal-Mart to see whether investors can count on the Dow component to raise its dividend in 2017.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>Source: Yahoo! Finance. Last increase refers to ex-dividend date.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Wal-Mart's track record of boosting its payouts has been extremely impressive, and the gains were particularly large over the past 15 years or so. Double-digit percentage boosts to the quarterly dividend payment were common, and as recently as 2013, Wal-Mart made an 18% increase to its dividend, capping a run that had almost doubled the quarterly amount just since 2008.</p>
<p>Yet in recent years, Wal-Mart has almost done away with dividend growth. The company has made token increases of $0.01 per share in three consecutive years, amounting to raises of just over 2% each year. That has had the effect of extending Wal-Mart's streak of annual dividend increases, but it hasn't given investors any confidence about the company's true commitment to income investors.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/WMT/dividend" type="external">WMT Dividend</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>A combination of factors has hit Wal-Mart hard over the past couple of years. First and foremost, terrible conditions throughout the brick-and-mortar retail space have spared few companies, and it isn't entirely fair to single Wal-Mart out. In fact, some department store retailers are facing much bigger challenges than Wal-Mart is, and high-end retail in particular has had to deal with challenges that Wal-Mart's more mainstream core of shoppers hasn't yet posed.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/01/wal-mart-stock-history-how-the-worlds-biggest-reta.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Wal-Mart does have some company-specific issues as well Opens a New Window.</a>. The company decided to close all of its Wal-Mart Express stores in early 2016. The concept had grown to more than 100 stores, but the attempt to bring the Wal-Mart name to a store size far smaller than the traditional supercenter didn't pick up traction. The retailer still has high hopes for other concepts like its Neighborhood Market offering, but closures of both that concept and traditional supercenters also show some that Wal-Mart has had to optimize its store portfolio to avoid taking financial hits from sluggish conditions in retail. In addition, despite big spending to boost its online presence, Wal-Mart still hasn't found a way to compete effectively against the biggest online-only retailers.</p>
<p>Moreover, Wal-Mart is facing some cost increases that not all of its competitors have to deal with right now. Wal-Mart has boosted its base wages over the past two years, with increases to $10 per hour as of February 2016. But many states are boosting minimum wages on a long-term path that could force further increases. Moreover, it will be <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/06/why-wal-mart-will-never-pay-employees-as-much-as-c.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">hard for Wal-Mart to match some of its big-box peers Opens a New Window.</a>, simply because of the nature of its business model.</p>
<p>Even though Wal-Mart has had difficulties in generating as much growth as investors would like, however, the company does have the capacity to boost its dividend. With a payout ratio well under 50%, further increases in Wal-Mart's quarterly payout wouldn't have a dramatic impact on its available cash flow. That would still leave the retailer with plenty of options in considering what to do with the bulk of its capital.</p>
<p>Based on its recent actions, investors shouldn't expect Wal-Mart to give them more than another $0.01 per share token increase in 2017. That would take the quarterly payment to $0.51 per share, and leave the yield at close to 3% while extending Wal-Mart's impressive streak for another year. Before investors can count on bigger hikes, Wal-Mart will have to restart its growth engines and demonstrate that it can compete effectively not only against its department store peers but also against online retail giants without the brick-and-mortar baggage that Wal-Mart has to carry.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Wal-Mart Stores When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=88ec7f6e-8088-4fac-854a-10a29d233b7f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart Stores wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=88ec7f6e-8088-4fac-854a-10a29d233b7f&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Will Wal-Mart Raise Its Dividend in 2017? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/18/will-wal-mart-raise-its-dividend-in-2017.html | 2017-01-18 | 0 |
<p>Photo by Tim Murphy</p>
<p />
<p>Donald Trump’s preparation for the upcoming Republican presidential primary debate is “low key, absolutely low stress,” adviser Chuck Laudner <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-presence-in-first-gop-debate-makes-prep-challenging-for-candidates/2015/07/29/2e34766a-3564-11e5-8e66-07b4603ec92a_story.html" type="external">told the</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-presence-in-first-gop-debate-makes-prep-challenging-for-candidates/2015/07/29/2e34766a-3564-11e5-8e66-07b4603ec92a_story.html" type="external">Washington Post</a> on Wednesday. “This isn’t 50 consultants locked in a war room, with a fake podium and cardboard cutouts of the other candidates, playing the game of Risk.”</p>
<p>Maybe that’s because Trump has a different board game of choice—his own. In 2004, as his reality television show The Apprentice was just getting underway, he unveiled the latest in a long line of short-lived ventures. (Hello, <a href="" type="internal">Trump Steaks</a>.) It’s called TRUMP: The Game, and according to an introductory letter from the billionaire that was included in a set I recently acquired for $4 on Amazon, “the object of the game is to make the most money.” Surprise!</p>
<p />
<p>Live the fantasy! Feel the power! And make the deals! Photo by Tim Murphy</p>
<p>Much like his presidential campaign, TRUMP: The Game was a reboot of an earlier failed Trump venture, a 1988 Milton Bradley product also called TRUMP: The Game. The tagline for that was “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s whether you win!” A television ad for TRUMP: The Game 1.0 boasted that all proceeds from the game would be donated to charity. (This was his Paul Newman phase, evidently.) The 2004 version abandoned the charitable pretense, and replaced the old tagline with a bolder, fresher take: “IT TAKES BRAINS TO MAKE MILLIONS. IT TAKES TRUMP TO MAKE BILLIONS.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Did I have the brains to make millions? Did I have the TRUMP to make billions? Was I, in fact, Donald Trump? I recruited three Mother Jones political reporters—Pat Caldwell, Pema Levy, and Molly Redden—to help me take TRUMP: The Game for a spin.</p>
<p>Here are a few things you should know about the game:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Our experimental game lasted a little more than an hour. If there’s an upside to TRUMP: The Game, it’s that it’s hard to envision anyone flipping the board over in disgust after six hours because it’s physically impossible for a game to last that long. At no point did anyone have any idea who was winning until Molly bought the casino. Luxury properties are Trump’s horcruxes; when the seventh one is taken off the board, the game ends. Molly won.</p>
<p />
<p>“I’m Donald Trump now,” she said. For a brief moment, I thought I saw a shadow fall across her face.</p>
<p>Afterwards, I asked our team of guinea pigs for their feedback:</p>
<p>“It’s like Monopoly, but really dumb,” Pema declared.</p>
<p>“Nothing really happens,” Pat said. “I think I probably went around the board twice.”</p>
<p>“The thing about it is,” Pema continued, “it’s just a dumb game. Because you can’t really lose money. In Monopoly you can get really screwed by landing on other people’s&#160;properties. In this there’s very little moving around the board. And when you land on a property, the bank pays them instead of you so there’s no real risk.”</p>
<p>But the game’s flaws—its erratic nature, its contradictions, its singular obsession with the rapid accumulation of wealth for the purpose of acquiring luxury real estate and firing people—are also Trump’s flaws. And by the time we’d finished, there were a few signs that the experience of playing Donald Trump had begun to influence us in subtle ways. “I could see us all becoming ruthless and judging each other,” Pat said, after a moment of reflection. And more to the point, handling such huge quantities of money seemed to bring us closer, if just a little bit, to the luxurious lifestyle of the Republican front-runner. As Molly put it: “I stopped saying ‘million’ after a while and started treating them like normal denominations.”</p>
<p>Just don’t ask any of us to play it again.</p>
<p /> | What We Learned About Donald Trump by Playing His Board Game | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/what-we-learned-playing-donald-trump-board-game/ | 2015-07-31 | 4 |
<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the Kentucky Lottery’s “Cash Ball” game were:</p>
<p>03-05-18-33, Cash Ball: 14</p>
<p>(three, five, eighteen, thirty-three; Cash Ball: fourteen)</p>
<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the Kentucky Lottery’s “Cash Ball” game were:</p>
<p>03-05-18-33, Cash Ball: 14</p>
<p>(three, five, eighteen, thirty-three; Cash Ball: fourteen)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Cash Ball’ game | false | https://apnews.com/ccda26c5456b41a1bdd85c0ef9400131 | 2017-12-30 | 2 |
<p>Barack Obama once again <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/19/exit-polls-obama-holds-onto-his-base-makes-inroads-in-clintons/" type="external">swept</a> the evening’s contests, but the big surprise came in Wisconsin, where Hillary Clinton invested much time and money and where the two candidates got caught in a nasty air war. He beat her there by roughly 18 points.</p>
<p>John McCain also won Wisconsin and his party’s primary in Washington.</p>
<p>Hawaiians still haven’t finished counting ballots, but with roughly a quarter of the results in, Obama leads by somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 points. Expect that to fluctuate. Although he was born there, so which direction it fluctuates is still up in the air.</p>
<p>Wisconsin is a major defeat for Hillary Clinton. As one commentator put it, she ran out of excuses. There isn’t a large black population to blame. She can’t really say it was Bill’s fault. Women, who have always made up Hillary’s core constituency, came out in massive numbers. Many of them simply voted for Barack. She could blame the weather, which was, to be fair, really bad. But she might not, because that isn’t how you win elections.</p>
<p />
<p>Hillary Clinton was under immense pressure after the last string of losses to try something new: A new message, go positive, go negative, dismiss him. Two of these strategies grabbed headlines this week, but didn’t damn Obama’s momentum.</p>
<p>When Clinton tried to paint Obama as a plagiarist, he said he borrowed a line or two from a friend, probably shouldn’t have, but what’s the big deal? And why was she making one? The Clinton campaign denied “fanning the flames” of the story, but later <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8594.html" type="external">copped</a> to a campaign conference call pushing the item to reporters.</p>
<p>Hillary tried negative ads in Wisconsin, and they were compelling. Enough, even, for Obama to respond in kind. Cleverly, Clinton shot back right away with a more robust attack. It didn’t win her Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Negativity is not working for Hillary Clinton. We’ve known that since South Carolina. Sure, she wasn’t guaranteed to win Wisconsin, but she wanted to, she spent time there, she bought ads there, she organized there and then lost by 18 points. Negativity is not working for her.</p>
<p>There are two common catchphrases in politics: Don’t bet against momentum, and don’t count out the Clintons. Both are true, but the Clintons are betting against themselves. No one who grew up with Bill Clinton as president wants to witness pissy red-faced Bill snap at somebody. Nobody who once respected Hillary Clinton’s directness, intelligence and dignity wants to see her fake a smile while she pushes a subtle attack out the side of her mouth. Does this seem familiar: I love Barack Obama, I just think people have a right to know about x, y and z. She needs to remind us that she’s tough, smart and ready to kick ass. And Bill, if he’s listening, can do the smoothing over. He’s better at picking up after a fight than picking one.</p>
<p>The Obama campaign isn’t perfect, either. But, well, they’re winning. Maybe they can give us some advice.</p>
<p>CNN:</p>
<p>In campaign contests so far, Barack Obama has polled the best among black, more wealthy and educated voters and college students, while rival Hillary Clinton has been able to count on women, low-income voters and blue-collar workers.</p>
<p>But in early exit polls tonight, Obama held Clinton to a virtual tie among Wisconsin Democratic primary voters who said they have a union member in their household — 50 percent for Clinton to 49 percent for Obama — and actually edged her among women, 51 percent to 49 percent.</p>
<p>Clinton held a narrow advantage over Obama among Catholic poll respondents — who made up 43 percent of voters interviewed — 51 percent to 48 percent. She also held narrow leads among voters with only a high school education, people 60 or older and those making between $15,000-$30,000 a year.</p>
<p>But Obama kept those margins close and took easy wins among his traditional base of supporters.</p>
<p><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/19/exit-polls-obama-holds-onto-his-base-makes-inroads-in-clintons/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Obama Wins Again | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/obama-wins-again/ | 2008-02-20 | 4 |
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<p>Two warring neighbors, a parrot with a 'foul mouth' and a murder. That seems to sum up the strange case of a man in Italy who has been accused of murdering his next-door neighbor because she supposedly trained her pet parrot to hurl insults at him.</p>
<p />
<p>Ignazio Frailis, 46, from Capoterra, Sardinia allegedly stabbed to death his neighbor Maria Bonaria Contu, 60, as she was out on a walk with friends. He was said to have stabbed her 11 times and injured her friend who tried to defend her from his attacks.</p>
<p />
<p>Frailis was later described by arresting police officer Eugenio Fatone as being "very cold, very calm and full of rage." Investigators said they may have reasons to believe that unemployed Frailis decided to murder Contu, mother of two, because she had coached her parrot to make derogatory remarks against him. It was reported in local media that whenever Frailis passed by Contu's property, the parrot would insult him. It was not indicated what particular insulting or offensive phrases or words the parrot used against Frailis that would warrant his rage, and a desire for revenge.</p>
<p />
<p>Investigating magistrate Paolo De Angelis said that Frailis spent much of his time at home just playing violent video games within earshot of the bird. It was not clarified in local media reports whether the parrot or its owner, Mrs.Contu, was affected or irritated by the noise of the video games.</p>
<p />
<p>Angelis said that hearing the parrot insult him all day may have triggered an obsession with Frailis. He is not excluding the possibility that Frailis may have mental issues. In the end he said, no matter how insulting the parrot is, even if he may be the "worst parrot in the world", the murder can not be justified.</p>
<p />
<p>There had been prior hostilities between the neighbors. Arresting officer Fatone said that Frailis has complained before about the parrot. Officers had attempted to reach a settlement between the at-odds neighbors by suggesting to Contu to transfer the parrot to a different room, not facing Frailis's house. It was not clear whether such suggestion was rejected by Contu, or if there have been other issues between the neighbors.</p>
<p />
<p>Frailis's uncle, Dario Serra also came to his nephew's rescue by defending him and saying he is not violent. Serra said he is "a good person" and that he took care of cats and dogs and "has never hurt anyone." Of course, such statement of support will be weighed against the testimonies of Contu's friend who was with the victim when the attack was made, especially given the severity by which the murder was carried out- horrifically with 11 stabs and all against an elderly lady.</p>
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<p>Source:</p>
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<p><a href="https://heatst.com/world/man-killed-neighbor-who-taught-parrot-to-insult-him/" type="external">heatst.com/world/man-killed-neighbor-who-taught-parrot-to-insult-him</a></p> | Woman Who Taught Parot to Insult her Neighbor is Stabbed to Death | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/2724-Woman-Who-Taught-Parot-to-Insult-her-Neighbor-is-Stabbed-to-Death | 2017-05-04 | 0 |
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<p>“It’s a testament to the whole community,” Sen. Morales said. “From day one, I have tried to install in the program that it belonged to the community and help make them a part of it. I felt like if we could do that on both sides with players and fans then they would take pride in the program. I think we were able to accomplish that.”</p>
<p>Sen. Morales was an accomplished high school baseball coach at Silver High School and Cobre High School. He was the youngest head coach in New Mexico to reach 200 wins and he retired (2009) after coaching to an impressive 203-49.</p>
<p>Sen. Morales won a state title in 2008 and saw his team as state runner-ups in 2002, 2007 and 2009. He was also part of seven district championships and seven regional championships as a head coach.</p>
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<p>“I couldn’t have done this without the countless assistants and volunteers we had in our program,” Sen. Morales added. “From the concession stand to the maintenance of the field, we had people willing to come and give their time to make our program successful. The administration was also very supportive at Cobre High.”</p>
<p>Sen. Morales added that as he was in Albuquerque during the festivities memories flooded his mind but the one he took most was the pride that he helped shape young men and women and he helped them grow to become productive members of society.</p>
<p>“I had an opportunity to shape their lives,” Sen. Morales said. “They continue to lead by example in all areas.”</p>
<p>Sen. Morales has made successful efforts in his legislation to benefit children and students. He has always tried to improve quality education. He serves on the Key Senate Finance Committee and holds a PhD from New Mexico State University in Education. He is also a graduate of Western New Mexico University and currently seeking the Lieutenant Governor’s position of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Cobre athletic director Pat Abalos said the school is very proud to have the senator given the honor.</p>
<p>“His accomplishments as a baseball coach were outstanding,” Abalos said. “We are proud to have had him here at Cobre High School. But, he has also shown leadership in other areas as well and he helped establish a program that is the benchmark around the state. He has also been a leader in government and he continues to help the students in every way he can. I am happy that we had the opportunity to have him here as our head baseball coach.”</p>
<p>Cobre’s baseball stadium is named after the Senator. He accomplished a lot of renovation with new custom bleachers and helped ignite the atmosphere of a professional baseball feel.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2017 the Silver City Sun-News (Silver City, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit the Silver City Sun-News (Silver City, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.scsun-news.com" type="external">www.scsun-news.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p>_____</p> | Sen. Morales is inducted into New Mexico High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame | false | https://abqjournal.com/1106030/sen-morales-is-inducted-into-new-mexico-high-school-baseball-coaches-hall-of-fame.html | 2 |
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<p>Two Democrats, Roman Montoya and Linda Stover, have announced campaigns for county clerk.</p>
<p>Incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver, also a Democrat, will step down at the end of 2016. She can't run for re-election because of term limits.</p>
<p>Montoya is a deputy county clerk under Toulouse Oliver and a former Rio Rancho city clerk.</p>
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<p>Stover describes herself as a 25-year community activist. She is the widow of Bob Stover, the former Albuquerque police chief and county sheriff.</p>
<p>Drag racing ordinance</p>
<p>Bernalillo County commissioners are considering an ordinance that would allow them to seize the cars of people involved in drag racing.</p>
<p>But it would apply only outside city limits in unincorporated parts of the county.</p>
<p>Now the city might consider a similar law.</p>
<p>City Councilor Don Harris brought the idea up during a recent council meeting. He said he's heard from teenagers about large drag races that are organized through social media, with people agreeing to meet at one spot to race. Then they disperse before police show up.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid it's just a question of time before someone gets seriously injured or worse because of this behavior," Harris said.</p>
<p>City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said the city already has an ordinance that should allow the seizure of cars involved in drag races. But she also said the city might want to update the language to strengthen its legal position in case of a challenge.</p>
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<p>Abortion truck appeal</p>
<p>In a YouTube appeal posted Friday, Mayor Richard Berry asks Protest ABQ, a pro-life ministry, to cease driving around town with a box truck featuring large photos on three sides of aborted fetuses, next to the words: "Stop the Killing."</p>
<p>Berry says children and school kids can be traumatized by seeing the graphic images.</p>
<p>"We live in a free country, we have a First Amendment right to advocate for issues that are important to us, but we need to do it in a responsible manner," he said.</p>
<p>Berry later told the Journal that he is a pro-life mayor and before that a pro-life state legislator, and he is receptive to the organization's message. Their tactic, however, crossed the line "from advocating to traumatizing."</p>
<p>Protest ABQ spokeswoman Tara Shaver said Friday that there is "no proof" that children who see the large images of aborted fetuses are detrimentally affected by them.</p>
<p>"This is the way the pro-choice side tries to guilt us for exposing the truth" about abortion, she said.</p>
<p>In fact, Shaver said, the group of about 150 core members adopted this approach because the mayor has ignored repeated overtures over the last 18 months to meet with them.</p>
<p>"Berry," she said, has "done nothing to rein in Albuquerque's out-of-control abortion industry."</p>
<p>Under Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision, abortion, with some limited restrictions, is legal in the United States.</p>
<p>Staff writer Rick Nathanson contributed to this column.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p /> | Two Democrats announce run for county clerk | false | https://abqjournal.com/650281/two-democrats-announce-run-for-county-clerk.html | 2 |
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<p>President Emmanuel Macron will visit French Caribbean islands hammered by Hurricane Irma where residents have criticized the government for not doing enough to prepare them for the storm's devastation.</p>
<p>Macron's plane is bringing water, food and tons of medicines and emergency equipment. He will first visit Guadeloupe on Tuesday morning before heading to St. Martin to meet with residents, and then to St. Barts.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The president is also being accompanied by doctors and experts who will be in charge of evaluating the damage. St. Martin was one of the hardest-hit islands where 10 people were killed.</p>
<p>About 1,500 troops, police and emergency workers were on the ground to help islanders, and 500 others were expected to arrive in the coming days, according to French authorities.</p> | French president to visit Caribbean islands hit by Irma | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/12/french-president-to-visit-caribbean-islands-hit-by-irma.html | 2017-09-12 | 0 |
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<p>Image source: iStock/Thinkstock.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Given the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote, most investors in Wells Fargo probably haven't had an opportunity to absorb how the bank performed on the 2016 Dodd-Frank Act supervisory stress test, the results of which were announced last Thursday. With this in mind, I drew up three charts to illustrate how the nation's third biggest bank by assets fared through the process.</p>
<p>The purpose of the annual stress test is to assess whether banks with $50 billion or more in assets on their balance sheets have enough capital to survive a severe economic downturn. The assumptions in this year's test, for instance, combine the worst aspects of the 2008 financial crisis and the 2011 European sovereign debt crisis.</p>
<p>The Fed assumed that, among other things:</p>
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<p>After reading this list you may be surprised if any bank could survive this, much less all 33 of the banks tested this year, which was indeed the case. Though, to be clear, they didn't escape unscathed. The combined losses from the banks added up to $195 billion over the course of the stress test's nine-quarter scenario.</p>
<p>Data source: Federal Reserve. Chart by author.</p>
<p>Wells Fargo was among the banks with the highest projected losses, which is to be expected given that it's the nation's third largest. Over the nine-quarter stretch, the Fed estimates that Wells Fargo would lose $25.2 billion, the vast majority of which stem from loan losses.This goes to show how challenging the test is, as the California-based bank didn't report a single annual loss through the 2008 crisis.</p>
<p>According to the Federal Reserve's projections, Wells Fargo would lose more money from loan losses than any other bank in the country. That includes JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, both of which have bigger balance sheets than Wells Fargo.</p>
<p>But this shouldn't be taken as a sign that Wells Fargo is a bad risk manager. It's a reflection instead of the fact that it has the country's largest loan portfolio. This distinction becomes clear when you consider that its loan losses equate to 5.4% of its total loans, which is less than the group average of 6.1%.</p>
<p>Where do Wells Fargo's loan losses stem from? As you can see in the chart below, the largest sources are commercial and industrial loans, followed by commercial real estate, and then first-lien residential mortgages.</p>
<p>Data source: Federal Reserve. Chart by author.</p>
<p>The final chart cuts to the purpose of the stress test. That is, it shows the change in Wells Fargo's common equity tier 1 capital ratio from the beginning of the test to the end.</p>
<p>This is the most important chart of all, because a bank that's able to satisfy its regulatory capital requirements post-stress test can then seek the Fed's approval to increase its dividends and/or share repurchase program. And, rest assured, Wells Fargo cleared this hurdle.</p>
<p>Data source: Federal Reserve. Chart by author.</p>
<p>As you can see, Wells Fargo entered the test with a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 11.1% and exited with a 7.2% ratio. That's a meaningful drop, but the latter figure nevertheless exceeded its 5.6% regulatory minimum.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/29/wells-fargo-and-the-stress-test-in-3-charts.aspx" type="external">Wells Fargo and the Stress Test in 3 Charts</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">John Maxfield</a> owns shares of Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | Wells Fargo and the Stress Test in 3 Charts | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/29/wells-fargo-and-stress-test-in-3-charts.html | 2016-06-29 | 0 |
<p>Netflix has bought worldwide rights to “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/jim-andy/" type="external">Jim &amp; Andy</a>,” Chris Smith’s documentary about <a href="http://variety.com/t/jim-carrey/" type="external">Jim Carrey</a>’s portrayal of comedian Andy Kaufman.</p>
<p>The deal was announced Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie uses approximately 100 hours of footage shot on the set of “Man on the Moon” documenting Carrey’s transformation into Kaufman for four months.</p>
<p>The Vice Documentary Films production premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is produced by Spike Jonze, and Vice Films’ Danny Gabai and Brendan Fitzgerald.</p>
<p>Milos Forman cast Carrey to play Kaufman in the 1999 movie, during which Carrey “became” Andy and, alternately, Tony Clifton, Kaufman’s obnoxious lounge singer alter ego. Carrey’s acting took on a performance art quality during the film. He never broke character on set, the cast and the crew referred to him as either ‘Andy’ or ‘Tony’ depending on who he was embodying.</p>
<p>In “Jim &amp; Andy,” Carrey looks back at the resulting footage 18 years later, reflecting on how he and Andy came up in oddly parallel universes.</p>
<p>“For almost two decades this brilliant performance from Jim Carrey has resonated with audiences and fans of Kaufman’s, but the story behind the film – a true piece of entertainment history has remained largely unknown,” said Lisa Nishimura, VP of original documentaries for Netflix. “Chris Smith and Spike Jonze have masterfully unearthed and explored Jim’s complex and artful creative process, hurling audiences right into the mind of a genius.”</p>
<p>The complete title is “Jim &amp; Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton.” Executive producers are Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, Tony Clifton, Michael Kronish, Jim Czarnecki, and Nicole Montez.</p> | Toronto: Netflix Buys Jim Carrey’s Andy Kaufman Documentary ‘Jim & Andy’ | false | https://newsline.com/toronto-netflix-buys-jim-carreys-andy-kaufman-documentary-jim-andy/ | 2017-09-11 | 1 |
<p>In <a href="" type="internal">this article</a> by Exxon lobbyist Paul Driessen, it is posited that solar energy is inherently inferior to existing forms of energy, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, because it’s inefficient and costly.</p>
<p>To begin, Paul cites sources such as climate depot, which is <a href="https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/climate-depot/" type="external">classified by mediabiasfactcheck.com</a> as conspiracy-pseudoscience, and a dubious AEI ‘study’ that tries to brand solar energy as wasteful on the grounds that it employs more workers per kwh generated than fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Without questioning the accuracy of the numbers, one would expect far more workers per unit of production in any infantile industry compared to legacy industry, regardless of the industry.&#160; That’s because it’s new.&#160; The infrastructure isn’t there, the efficiency hasn’t been refined, and hardly anything has been automated to a point where the workload can be reduced.&#160; This is a common-sense rule that applies to any growing business sector, and is especially true of solar energy.&#160; Put simply, a lot of people are employed at installing solar panels, developing the new technology, and producing numbers that don’t exist yet, whereas nobody installs new coal equipment anymore.&#160; So naturally, the solar energy sector is going to employ far more people than coal.&#160; The same study further confirms this basic principle by pointing out the number of people employed in natural gas, which is also a growing sector.</p>
<p>Paul further claims that coal is cheap, while solar has to benefit from mandates and subsidies.&#160; This is an incredibly odd claim, given that coal has benefited from federal subsidies since 1932.&#160; According to <a href="http://www.ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/CorporateTaxDodgersReport.pdf" type="external">this article</a>, coal, oil, and other fossil fuel companies are among the worst offenders when it comes to taking advantage of tax loopholes which allow them to carry a negative balance for tax purposes while making billions in profits — the same loopholes that were pushed through congress by lobbyists like Paul Dreissen.&#160; Coal has had US taxpayers cover the cost of capital improvements, mining and prospecting costs, not to mention abysmal lease payments on federal lands way below the market value of the reserves.&#160; To be sure, were it not for American taxpayers shelling out billions upon billions to prop up this industry with a negligible ROI, coal would be cost-prohibitive.</p>
<p>Solar, by contrast, has zero fuel cost.&#160; Zero.&#160; Once you install a solar panel, it generates electricity, and it keeps generating it with minimal operating cost.&#160; There is no massive capital outlay required to buy up big expensive machinery to dig the stuff out of the ground; rather, the sun shines for free.&#160; For now.&#160; No, it’s not as efficient as a technology that’s been around for over a century; it would be foolish to expect it to be, but it IS growing.</p>
<p>Paul further complains about the acreage of solar farms, dragging up issues such as distance from power generation, to destruction of wildlife habitat.&#160; But if land-use is what he’s concerned about, perhaps he should try to install a coal plant on the roof of his house.&#160; It is true that solar doesn’t generate nearly as much energy while it’s dark or overcast.&#160; But compare <a href="https://www.tesla.com/solarroof" type="external">these solar roofing tiles by Tesla</a> to conventional, ceramic roofing tiles which generate no energy, ever, and the comparison is a little silly.&#160; The tiles on my roof, Paul, are fairly close to my house, but thanks for your concern.</p>
<p>Again, with new technology, a world of possibilities opens up.</p>
<p>Is solar perfect?&#160; Of course not; if it were, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.&#160; The ratio of energy gained to the amount of sunlight received is not pretty.&#160; The power generation is inconsistent and requires large capacitors.&#160; The total amount of energy, even during peak hours, is often insufficient to match our existing power requirements.&#160; There is high capital outlay for very little return.&#160; But these things are improving, rapidly, and the future is making way.&#160; Coal, in its infancy, was grossly inefficient, highly dangerous, and disgustingly unhealthy.&#160; It’s improved from this, but no matter how you spin it, it’s still a dirty, limited resource.&#160; It’s time to move on.</p>
<p>Michael Patrick Lewis is a teacher, and bestselling author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Edge-God-Michael-Patrick-Lewis-ebook/dp/B016TSYNJA" type="external">Edge Of God</a>, and for a limited time, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/538086" type="external">Preferred Rewards</a> is free to download on Smashwords.com.</p>
<p /> | More Coal Jobs is a Curse, Not a Blessing | false | http://natmonitor.com/2017/06/06/more-coal-jobs-is-a-curse-not-a-blessing/ | 2017-06-06 | 3 |
<p>WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?” ASSIGNMENT:</p>
<p>If you support the “war” in Iraq:</p>
<p>(a) excepting yourself, choose five people from your immediate family and/or from among your best friends whom you would be willing to “sacrifice” (i.e., kill) in order to depose Saddam Hussein;</p>
<p>(b) tell them personally of your decision.</p>
<p>It is extremely difficult to challenge someone regarding the sincerity of his or her religious beliefs. How does one presume to “know the contents of another’s heart,” let alone one’s own?</p>
<p>In the case of President George W. Bush, the mainstream press has deliberately avoided an in-depth discussion of whether the “religion” of President Bush is sincere, the general assumption being that it is sincere. Both Bob Woodward and Ron Suskind, in their various discussions, seem convinced that the Religious Mr. Bush is truly a religious man, that his “born again” status is legitimate, that when he speaks of his faith, he speaks from his heart.</p>
<p>Can we ever know for sure? Perhaps not, but one way to examine the “heart” of President Bush is to examine his words and deeds, which would surely seem to be extensions of his One True Self. In this arena, George W. Bush has stated that Jesus is his favorite philosopher, and according to Bob Woodward, “there’s a higher Father that I appeal to.”</p>
<p>With these seemingly-unquestioned (and unquestionable?) statements in mind, one can surely ask which of the teachings of Jesus, which parts of the Jesus “philosophy” has George W. Bush has followed during his rapid political rise, because seldom does the president justify his words and deeds by citing the teachings of Jesus.</p>
<p>It is well known that George W. Bush (and indeed the Bush family) is not above holding a petty grudge. It is no secret that George W. Bush possesses a nasty temperament, that he does not appreciate being contradicted or challenged, and that his vocabulary employs the “f” word with considerable frequency. During the 2000 campaign, when he spotted then New York Times reporter Adam Clymer, he called Clymer an “asshole.” Which of the teachings of Jesus justify such juvenile behavior?</p>
<p>The nation’s corporate media are reluctant (or afraid) to say that President Bush “lied” in the lead-up to his war-of-choice in Iraq, although there was no such reservation about calling Bill Clinton a liar when Clinton lied to the public. Does George W. Bush get a pass because he is a self-declared “religious” man and a chosen instrument of his God? As more and more evidence emerges to show how false reasons were given to justify invading and appropriating Iraq, still the major media avoid the “l” word. When Colin Powell, whose own top experts on weapons of mass destruction advised him otherwise, went before the world at the United Nations and made false statements about Iraq’s WMD capability, he lied. He was not relying on “the best intelligence” available to the administration, he was relying on false intelligence, cherry-picked intelligence, intelligence that was not the least bit intelligent in the first place.</p>
<p>With a sense of concerned amazement, the Rev. Pat Robertson recently told CNN that President George W. Bush believed there would be no casualties during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. President Bush, through spokespeople, now says he can’t recall making the statement or that Pat Robertson is not telling the truth. (Once when this writer was deposing a defendant, her lawyer openly coached her, “If you don’t recall, just say you don’t recall,” and the witness dutifully echoed, “I don’t recall . . .”) Despite being called a liar by Bush surrogates, Pat Robertson still intends to vote for the president, apparently because the president is a man “of God.” Is God the Supreme Hypocrite, or what?</p>
<p>If George W. Bush truly said there would be no casualties resulting from his war of choice, it was a belief so thoughtless and naive (and so alarming) as to disqualify him from serving as the nation’s Commander-in-Chief. One presumes the course of history and the facts emerging from the undeclared “war” in Iraq have enlightened the president, but given the president’s unwillingness to even consider the errors of his ways, it is only a presumption.</p>
<p>A separate aspect of the president’s rosy “no casualties” statement, however has not received appropriate attention. During this same period, while selling his rationale for a U.S. takeover of Iraq, President Bush was alarming the nation, including so-called “sophisticated” members of congress, claiming Saddam Hussein was possessed of and was ready to use weapons of mass destruction capable of killing millions of human beings. These weapons, the world was assured, would surely be used against the United States and others. Only by taking out Saddam would the world be safe.</p>
<p>Here’s the conflict: If George W. Bush truly believed Saddam had WMD enough to kill millions, he might have (must have) assumed Saddam would use those weapons against an invading force. Invasion promoters spread a story about a mythological “Red Zone” near Baghdad where WMD would surely be employed to turn by the U.S. troops. Yet if President Bush believed there would be “no casualties,” then he must have known (would have known) the fabled WMD did not in fact exist.</p>
<p>Never having served in congress, President Bush came into the highest office in the land as a relative newcomer to politics, to the problems of foreign policy and foreign relations (apart from Mexico), to the demands imposed on one who is supreme commander of the nation’s military might. According to his many on-the-record statements regarding the invasion, President Bush acted not after wrestling with the intellectual demands surrounding the issue, but by following his “gut” instinct as guided by prayer. (Conveniently, this president’s faith in himself as a messenger of God means that President Bush can always blame God when the Bush-gut actions end in disaster.)</p>
<p>Seldom if ever does President Bush tell us that he primarily relies on the advice supplied to him by his closest advisors such as Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzalez or Condoleeza Rice who exist not merely as Yes Men and Women who grovel before the president and his Godly presence. If Karl Rove is indeed a political “genius,” it is demonstrated by his deliberate employment of religion as the ultimate “untouchable” political reality. Questioning the sincerity of his man’s “faith” is out of bounds. One proceeds at one’s peril.</p>
<p>Prior to the publication of her valuable best-selling expose “The Family,” this writer described to Kitty Kelley his analysis of George W. Bush regarding intellectual thought, and I’ll expand on that brief discussion here. President Bush dismisses the rigorous employment of intellect because, as a middling student, he has always viewed teachers and professors with a measure of discomfort and contempt. They expected more of him than he was willing or able to give. At prep school and later at Yale, George W. Bush was surrounded by peers with far more interest in discussion and analysis than he cared about. Instead, the future president relied on his viciously-waspish “wit,” often employed to take advantage of the weaknesses of others, as Gary Trudeau affirmed in an interview with Charlie Rose.</p>
<p>In his youth, George W. Bush was out to have a good time, not to suffer the mental torment of contemplation, but to enjoy the mentally-stimulating benefits of drugs, alcohol, sex and demeaning power over others. “Have a ball!” The too-solemn professors and other (slur) “intellectuals” were irritants, as summed up nicely by a note I recently received from a reader of one of my earlier columns who wrote, ” I find that often the ‘intellectuals’ make situations much more complicated than they actually are so that they can justify their time. I am a skeptic of Academia. I have studied your major areas with the exception of education; I’m not impressed. Over analyzing often leaves one worse off.”</p>
<p>When George W. Bush at mid-life finally was forced to “see the light,” he did not complicate his thought processes by immersing himself in intellectual pursuits. Instead, he tells us he underwent a religious “born again” transformation that, once more, did not require him to justify (waste) time thinking deeply about the essential issues involving the world and humankind. Just as he found acceptance among the party-time social set, so he found new and apparently-profound acceptance among the evangelical born-again multitudes who welcomed him with open arms. They knew, as it were, “his heart.” But did they really?</p>
<p>When called upon to force the nation into his chosen “war” to appropriate the soverign nation of Iraq, George W. Bush did not examine the issues with over-analysis. Had he done so, he would have had to struggle with the many expert opinions and evidence that ran contrary to his “gut” reactions and, more important, the “advice” given to him by manipulative, agenda-driven ideological colleagues who knew what an indolent “patsy” they had in their chosen president.</p>
<p>Accepting the serious matters of sending men and women into a “war,” of spending the nation’s money and blood, are simplified when one can duck the hard work of authentic analysis and rely instead on the mentally-lazy process of “faith” as a guide to action. If George W. Bush is truly as thoughtless as he increasingly appears to be, then he not only has faith in his version of “God” and “Jesus,” but also faith in the axis of Rove, Rice, Rumsfeld and their conspiratorial colleagues.</p>
<p>As evidence continues to emerge on the lead-up to war and in the light of its grimly-gruesome aftermath, George W. Bush can cynically dismiss whatever may be discomforting by claiming it is all “God’s will.” At the same time, he can count on the nation’s popular media to back him up, because the popular media, too, is “not impressed” with discomforting analysis, echoing the notion, “Over analyzing often leaves one worse off.” And one dare not question publicly the “conversion” of George W. Bush nor his wisdom in pushing the nation into what was (obviously now) a totally-unnecessary war.</p>
<p>Guided by Svengali Karl Rove, President George W. Bush and his colleagues knew before invading Iraq there were no weapons of mass destruction. They knew conquering the Iraqi military would not amount to the proverbial hill of beans. Devoid of empathy, our National Cabal may give lip service to but cares little or nothing about the sacrifices being made by American troops, by Iraqis, by families here at home — or by any but themselves. Where in the “philosophy” of Jesus are the words to support the lies, abusive and arrogant actions, the gross hubris of President George W. Bush and his followers?</p>
<p>DOUG GIEBEL, writer and analyst, lives in Big Sandy, Montana. He welcomes comments at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Religion of George W. Bush | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/10/26/the-religion-of-george-w-bush/ | 2004-10-26 | 4 |
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/11/kaine-blasts-nra-as-shill-for-the-gun-manufacturers/" type="external">This from WaPo</a>:</p>
<p>“You can support the Second Amendment, that's fine, but we ought to be able to have reasonable rules to keep people safe in this country,” Kaine told an enthusiastic audience at the Progressive National Baptist Convention.</p>
<p>This is from a guy who thinks “ammunition clips” are synonymous with magazines and <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/08/03/on-guns-tim-kaine-appears-to-blow-with-the-political-wind-n2201121" type="external">waffles on gun control</a>.</p>
<p>Rules like what? <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/08/tim-kaines-gun-control-bill-is-a-backdoor-ban-on-all-private-gun-sales/" type="external">Kaine proposed to force legal private transfers between non-FFLs to conduct criminal background checks while denying them access to the NICS database</a>, either by malicious design or outright idiocy.</p>
<p>Congress is too cowed by the gun lobby group, Kaine said, and by siding with the NRA against gun-control laws is siding against “a majority of Americans, a majority of gun owners, a majority of NRA members,” who support certain gun-control measures opposed by the NRA.</p>
<p>Notice how he never explains this, he just keeps it general. What measures do lifetime members like me oppose? How would these measures keep us safe?</p>
<p>“The NRA doesn't even speak for members anymore. They're just a shill for gun manufacturers,” Kaine said. “And gun manufacturers have one goal: Sell as many, whenever, wherever, to whomever. That's their only goal.”</p>
<p>Actually, Kaine doesn't speak for gun owners and he certainly doesn't speak for NRA members, millions of us, like myself. It's offensive that a VP candidate is calling a bipartisan group of Second Amendment supporters “shills” simply because he believes in compromising the Second Amendment with poorly-written restrictions that do nothing, while we believe otherwise. His only goal is to win an election and amass power for himself, that's his only goal.</p> | Gun Control Waffle Tim Kaine Nurses Grudge Against NRA | true | http://danaloeschradio.com/gun-control-waffle-tim-kaine-nurses-grudge-against-nra | 2016-08-11 | 0 |
<p>The latest poll covering Tea Party preferences reveals a less antagonistic view toward the federal government than many would have predicted.&#160; The Selzer &amp; Co. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&amp;sid=aLBZwxqgYgwI" type="external">poll</a> interviewed over 1,000 nationwide respondents, including Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and self-proclaimed Tea Party adherents.</p>
<p>Here are some of the pertinent highlights from Tea Party responders:</p>
<p>More than 90% of Tea Partiers believe America is verging more toward socialism than capitalism; 70%, however, want a federal government that fosters job creation (which likely means they want the goverment to lower taxes &amp; incentivize the private sector)</p>
<p>Almost 50% want the federal government to rein in Wall St executive bonuses</p>
<p>80% believe expansion of the government’s role into the economy is a real threat, with about 33% citing deficit spending as a critical concern (so why weren’t they protesting during the Bush years when the size of government grew, deficit spending exploded, and Wall St firms started getting bailed out?)</p>
<p>90% believe both parties behave badly</p>
<p>86% say taxes are too high, compared to 57% of other respondents</p>
<p>Less than 10% believe the Veterans Administration is socialistic, while 36% believe expanding Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security amounts to socialism; nearly 50% want to keep Social Security and Medicare under government control, however</p>
<p>78% believe some form of government-run healthcare is definitely a form of socialism</p>
<p>While Tea Party supporters appear extremely resistant to government-run healthcare, higher taxes, profligate spending, and an expanding federal government, they are surprisingly supportive of government intervention in regulating Wall St salaries, as well as government supervision of key entitlement programs.</p>
<p>Also, based on the response rate regarding the Veterans Administration, it is likely that most Tea Party supporters would support the massive government expansion in the national security arena, as it pertains to the Department of Homeland Security, intelligence agencies, private war contractors, and the overseas wars.&#160; To be fair, though, Tea Party adherents would likely argue that national defense is one of the few, clear-cut responsibilities of the federal government.</p>
<p>All in all, these poll numbers may surprise some people.&#160; As the stats show, the Tea Party may not be as dogmatic in its anti-government views as is commonly portrayed by certain media outlets.&#160;</p> | Poll reveals a few surprises about Tea Party views on government | false | https://ivn.us/2010/03/30/poll-reveals-few-surprises-about-tea-party-views-government/ | 2010-03-30 | 2 |
<p>The new Roman Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, is appalled by a new life-size statue of himself in Buenos Aires and has ordered it removed "right away," <a href="http://www.clarin.com/pope-francis/Francis-Buenos-Aires-Bishopric-Cathedral_0_952705076.html" type="external">according to Argentina's Clarin</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The pope has made it very clear he's not big on pomp and ceremony, <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/2013/03/26/pope-francis-opts-for-vatican-guesthouse-instead-of-papal-apartment/" type="external">opting out of extravagent Vatican living quarters</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22551125" type="external">speaking out on poverty</a> in one of his first speeches as Pope.</p>
<p>The statue by artist Fernando Pugliese went up twelve days ago outside the Pope's old church, the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, <a href="http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/news/detail/articolo/papa-el-papa-pope-26340/" type="external">according to Vatican Insider</a>.&#160;Pugliese is well-known for his depictions of major Catholic figures like Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa.&#160;</p>
<p>Pope Francis was outraged by the statue because he feared it would foster a cult of personality, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/pope-francis-statue_n_3579074.html" type="external">according to The Huffington Post</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, he called the Cathedral as soon as he heard about it and told the first priest that picked up: “Get [rid of] that right away,” <a href="http://www.clarin.com/pope-francis/Francis-Buenos-Aires-Bishopric-Cathedral_0_952705076.html" type="external">according to Clarin</a>, adding that a "few hours later, the statue vanished from the garden."</p>
<p>The statue's fate raises questions about a proposed Papal-inspired museum exhibition planned in the Buenos Aires church. Work on the project has been suspended due to recent objections from the Vatican, <a href="http://www.clarin.com/pope-francis/Francis-Buenos-Aires-Bishopric-Cathedral_0_952705076.html" type="external">said Clarin</a>.&#160;</p> | Pope Francis horrified by new life-size statue of himself in Buenos Aires | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-07-11/pope-francis-horrified-new-life-size-statue-himself-buenos-aires | 2013-07-11 | 3 |
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<p>Cheryl Rofer has some very <a href="http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2005/04/nuclear_ambigui.html" type="external">interesting thoughts</a> on the future of America’s nuclear arsenal:</p>
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<p>I heard a talk last week by a high-up manager at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, someone who characterizes himself as “not doing policy.” He said that George Bush is committed to serious reductions in nuclear weapons, down to 5000 from the current 10,000. One of the contributors to the most recent Nuclear Posture Review said something similar about a year ago.</p>
<p>The question in many people’s minds seems to be whether that reduction is intended to make the remaining weapons more usable in situations that the US is likely to face in the post-Cold War world.</p>
<p>It goes on, so read the whole thing. There’s an open question as to how necessary nuclear deterrence really is in an age of all those shadowy, trans-national terrorist groups lurking around. In the New Republic a few weeks ago, Michael Levi <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050411&amp;s=levi041305" type="external">argued</a> that the U.S. should threaten an overwhelming response—presumably an overwhelming nuclear response—even to failed nuclear attacks on American soil. For those threats to work, presumably, we’re going to need some usable nuclear weapons. Frankly, I’m not sure whether this is a good idea or not. I do know that I’d prefer we never have this threat, which is precisely why it’s worth imploring the White House to get serious about funding programs like <a href="http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_03/NunnLugarFunding.asp" type="external">Nunn-Lugar</a>, to secure loose nuclear material worldwide.</p>
<p>Rofer also notes that the Bush administration is thinking about taking the nuclear program away from Los Alamos and putting it into private, for-profit hands. (See <a href="http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/index.php?id=540" type="external">here</a> for more&gt;.) Oy. You’d think any grand claims about the “efficiency” of the private sector would be at least a little muted after the debacle in Iraq, or even after, as Rofer puts it, “Lockheed-Martin’s penchant for using English and metric units interchangeably, which resulted in the crash of one of the Mars vehicles.” Heh, wee bit of a mess-up there. But no, apparently that track record is more than solid enough to trust contractors with our nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>Oh, and you also have to wonder: would the private companies who would stand to make billions off of a new and ever-more-dazzling array of nuclear weapons ever—ever—advise restraint on the subject? Hmmm, tough question.</p>
<p /> | Give Contractors… Nukes? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/04/give-contractors-nukes/ | 2005-04-25 | 4 |
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<p>Four students were injured when a science demonstration went bad on the Lalo Delgado campus of Denver’s Science, Math and Arts Academy. (Brennan Linsley/The Associated Press)</p>
<p>DENVER – A dazzling show of fire and color can make science come alive for young students, but it can also inflict serious and painful injuries, as flash fires in Nevada and Colorado showed this month.</p>
<p>Educators and investigators say some teachers lack the training required by law and don’t know about standard safety measures that can dramatically lower the inherent dangers of hands-on experiments – experiments they say are vital to science education.</p>
<p>“You’ve got to have it hands-on, but you have to make it a safer experience through that training,” said Ken Roy, a safety consultant for the National Science Teachers Association and a longtime teacher.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Four students were injured, one seriously, when a teacher was pouring methanol onto a tabletop and igniting it during a chemistry class demonstration Monday at Denver’s Science, Math and Arts Academy, a charter high school. A 4-foot jet of flame erupted out of the methanol bottle, investigators said.</p>
<p>School officials said the seriously injured student’s parents asked them not to release any information about his condition.</p>
<p>On Sept. 3, 13 people, mostly children, were burned by a methanol-fueled flash fire during a science demonstration at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum in Reno.</p>
<p>Both incidents are being investigated.</p>
<p>Daniel Horowitz, managing director of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, said the board has not been able to find any national standards for teacher training and procedures.</p>
<p>“As long as that’s the case, other schools may fall into the same trap,” he said.</p>
<p>Schools and museums are not required to report such incidents, so no one knows for sure how often they happen.</p>
<p>Jim Kaufman, president of the nonprofit Laboratory Safety Institute, estimates that about five methanol-related accidents occur in high school labs every year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Chemical Safety Board, which investigates chemical accidents, said it knows of at least 11 methanol-related fires in science demonstrations since 2000, and more are coming to light amid the news of the Reno and Denver fires.</p>
<p>The Denver teacher wanted the tabletop fire to be bigger, so he was pouring more methanol from a gallon-size jug when the chemical inside the container caught fire, said Mark Wingard, a Chemical Safety Board investigator.</p>
<p>The heat expanded the methanol inside the jug, and it erupted in a stream out of the narrow opening, said Dan Tillema, another board investigator.</p>
<p>The teacher had minor injuries and declined medical treatment, officials said.</p>
<p>Methanol, a form of alcohol, is often used as a fuel source for a popular classroom demonstration that shows how different chemicals emit different colors when they burn. But it emits inflammable vapor at temperatures as low as 50 degrees, experts say, making it dangerous.</p>
<p>Safer alternatives to methanol are available, Roy said, but methanol is commonly used because it’s convenient and because many teachers learned the experiment that way.</p>
<p>The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires school districts to train and supervise teachers who handle hazardous chemicals like methanol, Roy said, but many schools don’t have training and no one is keeping track.</p>
<p>Roy said that in lab accidents he has looked into over the past few years, training has been rare.</p>
<p>“In almost every case, I find that the teachers have not been trained as required by law,” he said. Safety guidelines and instructional videos are available online. A safety data sheet on the website of the Methanol Institute, an industry group, recommends the use of safety goggles, gloves and ventilation when handling the chemical.</p>
<p>Neither the teacher nor the students were wearing goggles or other gear in the Denver incident, and although the school laboratory had three ventilation hoods, none was being used at the time of the fire, Wingard said.</p>
<p>Investigators have also said the teacher did not have any special training in handling methanol.</p>
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<p /> | Experts urge training for safer lab experiments | false | https://abqjournal.com/465362/experts-urge-training-for-safer-lab-experiments.html | 2 |
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<p>State-owned aircraft maker Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, based in Shanghai, has nearly completed work on the 175-passenger C919, the ruling Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily reported.</p>
<p>The C919 was originally due to fly in 2015, but has been beset by delays blamed on manufacturing problems. It is now scheduled to enter service in 2019, aimed at competing with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, along with the Russian Irkut MC-21.</p>
<p>Airbus and Boeing say the market for new aircraft will be worth more than $5 trillion over the next 20 years. Industry experts say China faces a tough slog capturing a significant share of that market, even with government support. Comac has 517 orders for the C919.</p>
<p>Company officials couldn’t immediately be reached.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The C919 is part of China’s efforts to develop a homegrown aviation industry in one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing air travel markets. China currently relies heavily on foreign-made aircraft.</p>
<p>Last June, the ARJ21-700, China’s first homemade regional jet, made its debut flight carrying 70 passengers. The jet is one of a series of initiatives launched by the party to transform China from the world’s low-cost factory into a creator of profitable technology in aviation, clean energy and other fields.</p>
<p>The ARJ21, also made by Comac, is a rival to aircraft made by Bombardier Inc. of Canada and Brazil’s Embraer SA.</p> | China’s first large homemade passenger jet to fly in 2017 | false | https://abqjournal.com/943460/chinas-first-large-homemade-passenger-jet-to-fly-in-2017.html | 2017-02-06 | 2 |
<p>Robin Rayne Nelson/ZUMA</p>
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<p>Before the penultimate issue of “Life With Archie” had even hit newsstands Wednesday, conservatives were preparing their outrage. As had been <a href="http://www.archiecomics.com/Blogs/tabid/97/EntryId/1563/LEGENDARY-COMIC-BOOK-CHARACTER-ARCHIE-ANDREWS-DIES-IN-JULY.aspx" type="external">previously announced</a>, Archie met his maker in Issue #36, heroically taking a bullet meant for his friend Kevin Keller. Keller, the series’ first gay character, has been a lighting rod for controversy since <a href="http://comicsalliance.com/archie-introduces-an-openly-gay-character-kevin-keller/" type="external">first being introduced in 2010</a>, prompting <a href="http://time.com/3000130/singapore-has-banned-an-archie-comic-for-depicting-a-gay-wedding/" type="external">Singapore to ban the series</a>. After his boyfriend was murdered in a mass shooting targeting gay people, Keller was prompted to run for political office on a strictly pro-gun control platform. Archie’s death appears to be a heroic, selfless act at the end of the lighthearted redhead’s saga, but conservatives are in an outrage—because his killer was a homophobe.</p>
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<p>Christian Toto of Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/archie-death-comic-book-angers-conservatives-article-1.1867785" type="external">doesn’t want his kids exposed</a>to the issues Archie presents: “There’s a sense in conservative circles that there are fewer and fewer places they can enjoy, stories their kids can read or movies they can see without being force-fed a message.”</p>
<p>Rod Dreher of the American Conservative r <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/archie-andrews-death-by-homophobia/" type="external">esponded to the news of Archie’s death</a> by saying it “seems like everybody is gay in pop culture today,” and expressing concern that just “2 percent” of the population is engulfing the media.</p>
<p>Hot Air, a conservative news blog, had <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2014/07/14/archie-to-be-shot-dead-while-saving-gay-best-friend-who-called-for-gun-control/" type="external">this to say about Archie’s last episode</a>: “Sticking Archie Andrews in the middle of an assassination narrative is like redoing ‘Goofus and Gallant’ so that Goofus is a meth head. When you lose the innocence, you lose part of the charm.”</p>
<p>Before It’s News <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2014/07/archie-to-be-killed-off-saving-gay-best-friend-from-gunmans-bullet-2879932.html" type="external">weighed in</a> on the issue in an opinion piece: “The formerly healthy, all-American Archie Comics franchise has gone to extremes to corrupt children with a depraved liberal sexual/political agenda.”</p>
<p>The news swept Twitter and Facebook too, where conservatives even parodied Archie’s final chapter with a cartoon featuring even more liberal agendas that could have replaced the ending:</p>
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<p>Though Archie Comics Publisher Jon Goldwater told the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/archie-death-comic-book-angers-conservatives-article-1.1867785" type="external">New York Daily News</a>that the super-charged ending “had nothing to do with politics,” this is not the first time Archie’s political storylines have raised conservative ire. In Issue #10 of the Kevin Keller series, Keller confronts a woman upset about him kissing his boyfriend in public. “I don’t mind promoting my work and talking about issues,” writer and artist Dan Parent <a href="#correction" type="external">*</a>, who created Keller, <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&amp;id=47301" type="external">told Comic Book Resources</a>. Though he claims he doesn’t want Archie to be a billboard for gay rights, he admits that “serious issues” sometimes come up in a quality storyline and that the kiss was an important part of a discussion about “tolerance and acceptance.”</p>
<p>The Archie death is not the only cartoon that’s been criticized for its progressive qualities. Conservatives are also freaking out about Marvel Comics’ decision to transform powerhouse hammer-wielder <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/07/15/thor-is-now-woman/" type="external">Thor into a woman</a>, and the Council of Conservative Citizens <a href="http://comicsalliance.com/racists-thor-idris-ebla-racism/" type="external">nearly imploded</a> when black actor Idris Elba was chosen to play a Norse God in Marvel Studios’ Thor. Marvel’s <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/17/us-books-captainamerica-idUSKBN0FM11020140717" type="external">recent decision</a> to make the next Captain America black is being described as “ridiculous” over Twitter, and Christian conservative groups <a href="http://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/59526/thor-captain-america-and-3-other-comic-diversity-shockers" type="external">threatened to boycott</a> a gay Green Lantern in 2012.</p>
<p>The root of the Archie conservative ire appears to be the imposition of a political agenda. Maybe what they’re really worried about, though, is that their lily-white heterosexual fantasyland is officially too unrealistic, even for comic books.</p>
<p>Correction: This post originally said that Dan Parent wrote “Life With Archie” #36. The writer was actually Paul Kupperberg.</p>
<p /> | Conservatives Are Freaking Out Because Comic Books Are Getting Too Real | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/conservatives-archie-captain-america-freak-out/ | 2014-07-17 | 4 |
<p>Charlie Neibergall, File/AP</p>
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<p>Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, was <a href="" type="internal">charged</a> with misdemeanor battery on Tuesday for forcibly grabbing Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields on March 8 in Jupiter, Florida. According to the <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/trump-aide-charged-with-misdemeanor-battery-on-ex-/nqtkY/" type="external">Palm Beach Post</a>, Lewandowski turned himself in to police in Jupiter on Tuesday morning, about two weeks after Fields filed a complaint with the police. The Jupiter Police Department released this video of the incident on Tuesday:</p>
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<p>Despite the new evidence, and multiple earlier reports that Lewandowski had grabbed Fields, the Trump campaign is still proclaiming Lewandoswki’s innocence, declaring in a <a href="https://twitter.com/Hadas_Gold/status/714832568185712640" type="external">statement</a> that he “is absolutely innocent of this charge” and “will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court.” It’s hardly the first denial from the Trump campaign. Here is a list of those denials.</p>
<p>On March 10, two days after the incident, Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, released a statement calling Fields’ allegations “entirely false.” She denied that there were any witnesses (which <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/03/trump-campaign-manager-breitbart-reporter-220472" type="external">there were</a>) or any camera footage (which we <a href="https://vine.co/v/iDIFMlYJYXY" type="external">now have</a>). The statement also implied that Fields had a “pattern of exaggerating incidents” in order to make herself “part of the news story.”</p>
<p>Later that day, Lewandowski began to attack Fields himself.</p>
<p>Trump accused Fields of being a fabulist. After a Republican debate that evening, Trump responded to a question about the incident by suggesting Fields invented the incident. “Perhaps she made the story up,” <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-breitbart-reporter-michelle-fields-made-alleged-lewandowski-assault-n536451" type="external">Trump said</a>. “I think that’s what happened.”</p>
<p>Lewandowski continued his Twitter barrage the next day.</p>
<p />
<p>After Lewandowski was charged on Tuesday, the campaign continued to defend him.</p>
<p /> | New Video Shows Trump Campaign Manager Grabbing a Reporter. Here Are All the Times the Trump Campaign Denied It. | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/donald-trumps-campaign-manager-charged-battery-manhandling-reporter-denials/ | 2016-03-29 | 4 |
<p>Oil futures edged down in electronic trading late Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 3.65 million-barrel rise in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended Nov. 11, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&amp;P Global Platts forecast a decline of 2 million barrels in stockpiles. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday. December crude was at $45.76 a barrel in electronic trading, below the contract's settlement of $45.81 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Oil Inches Lower As Sources Say API Data Show U.S. Supply Up Nearly 3.7 Mln Barrels | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/15/oil-inches-lower-as-sources-say-api-data-show-us-supply-up-nearly-37-mln.html | 2016-11-15 | 0 |
<p>Late Thursday, President Obama said he <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/world/middleeast/obama-weighs-military-strikes-to-aid-trapped-iraqis-officials-say.html" type="external">authorized air strikes in Iraq</a> if ISIS moves on the Kurdish capital of Erbil. Obama also announced the U.S. military had conducted a humanitarian mission to airdrop food and water to Kurds that have been isolated.</p>
<p>They represent the vast majority of a religion that rose alongside the world’s most popular faiths. Now, members of the Yazidi are cut off from the rest of the world, forced to choose between death at the hands of the militants threatening their families and the elements that have already ended the lives of dozens of children.</p>
<p>“There are children dying on the mountain, on the roads,” Marzio Babille, the Iraq representative for UNICEF, told <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iraqi-yazidis-stranded-on-isolated-mountaintop-begin-to-die-of-thirst/2014/08/05/57cca985-3396-41bd-8163-7a52e5e72064_story.html" type="external">the Washington Post</a>. The situation that drove the Yazidi to the protection of Mount Sinjar is one that most analysts had hoped would not come to pass. Over the weekend, members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) managed to take the town of Sinjar from the Kurdish forces who held it. “There is no water, there is no vegetation, they are completely cut off and surrounded by Islamic State,” Babille continued. “It’s a disaster, a total disaster.”</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.aina.org/reports/yezidiscpt.pdf" type="external">fewer than 700,000 members</a> of the Yazidi faith in all of Iraq, who practitioners are ethnically Kurdish, with the majority of them located in Nineveh Province in northern Iraq. Rather than being an off-shoot of Islam or Christianity, Yazidism is a monotheistic faith that believes that the world was created and placed under the protection of seven angels. Their beliefs clash with ISIS’ in this regard, particularly <a href="http://i-cias.com/e.o/uyazidism.htm" type="external">due to their reverence</a> for one angel whose closest analogue in the Judaic faiths later becomes Satan himself. While Nineveh was the site of one of ISIS’s first major offenses this year, the territory under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been seen as a bulwark against ISIS’ expansion. Until recently, the Kurdish security forces — called peshmerga — were the only group in Iraq that ISIS had yet to defeat on the battlefield.</p>
<p>When ISIS managed to defeat the peshmerga on Sunday and force their retreat from Sinjar, up to 200,000 people fled for the surrounding mountains, according to the United Nations. Among them were around 50,000 Yazidis, said Jawhar Ali Begg, a spokesperson for the group, who <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/region/iraq/isil-militants-execute-dozens-from-yazidi-minority-1.1367034" type="external">warned</a> that those hiding from ISIS risk starvation if not rescued soon. The conditions on the remote mountain are extremely inhospitable, though, and humanitarian aid has yet to reach those who fled. Reports indicate that these conditions have already lead to the death of 40 Yazidi children, UNICEF <a href="http://www.unicef.org/media/media_74676.html" type="external">said on Tuesday</a>, who “died as a direct consequence of violence, displacement and dehydration over the past two days.”</p>
<p>ISIS wasted no time in attempting to stamp out the practitioners of what they believe to be a religion that worships the devil. Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi politician in Iraq’s parliament, reportedly <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/politician-begs-world-help-iraq-yazidis-20148681139201392.html" type="external">broke down in tears</a> as she described the situation during a session/ “We are being slaughtered, our entire religion is being wiped off the face of the earth. I am begging you, in the name of humanity,” she said, claiming that 500 Yazidi men had been killed and women enslaved as “war booty.”</p>
<p>The Yazidi who didn’t escape into the mountains face a choice from ISIS: convert to their extreme version of Islam or perish. “Where are you going to go? I swear [to] God I will cut you into pieces… We are coming for you, you pig, you enemy of God,” read a text message that Khalaf Qassim, a member of the Yazidi faith who left Sinjar after ISIS’ advance, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/iraqi-yazidis-if-move-they-will-kill-us-20148513656188206.html" type="external">showed Al Jazeera</a>, saying the message came from a member of ISIS on Friday. “Didn’t I tell you yesterday to come and repent,” it continued.</p>
<p>The situation for those stranded on Mount Sinjar remains bleak, even if they remain outside of ISIS’ reach. “Unable to dig deep into the rocky mountainside, displaced families said they have buried young and elderly victims of the harsh conditions in shallow graves, their bodies covered with stones,” <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iraqi-yazidis-stranded-on-isolated-mountaintop-begin-to-die-of-thirst/2014/08/05/57cca985-3396-41bd-8163-7a52e5e72064_story.html?hpid=z1" type="external">the Post reported</a>. “Iraqi government planes attempted to airdrop bottled water to the mountain on Monday night but reached few of those marooned.”</p>
<p>The leader of the Yazidi faith, Prince Tahseen Said, issued a distress call on Monday, asking world leaders for urgent assistance. “I ask for aid and to lend a hand and help the people of Sinjar areas and its affiliates and villages and complexes which are home to the people of the Yazidi religion,” he <a href="I%20ask%20for%20aid%20and%20to%20lend%20a%20hand%20and%20help%20the%20people%20of%20Sinjar%20areas%20and%20its%20affiliates%20and%20villages%20and%20complexes%20which%20are%20home%20to%20the%20people%20of%20the%20Yazidi%20religion.%20I%20invite%20them%20to%20assume%20their%20humanitarian%20and%20nationalistic%20responsibilities%20towards%20them%20and%20help%20them%20in%20their%20plight%20and%20the%20difficult%20conditions%20in%20which%20they%20live%20today%20%20Citizens%20of%20this%20religion%20are%20peaceful%20people%20who%20acknowledge%20all%20principles%20and%20humanitarian%20values%20and%20respect%20all%20religions,%20and%20never%20had%20enmity%20against%20any%20of%20their%20countrymen,%20and%20in%20the%20near%20past%20they%20even%20had%20a%20major%20humanitarian%20stand%20with%20their%20fellow%20residence%20of%20Mosul%20and%20Tal%20Afar,%20and%20today%20they%20desperately%20need%20their%20brethren%27s%20help." type="external">wrote in a statement</a>. “I invite them to assume their humanitarian and nationalistic responsibilities towards them and help them in their plight and the difficult conditions in which they live today. Citizens of this religion are peaceful people who acknowledge all principles and humanitarian values and respect all religions, and never had enmity against any of their countrymen, and in the near past they even had a major humanitarian stand with their fellow residence of Mosul and Tal Afar, and today they desperately need their brethren’s help.”</p>
<p>Making matters worse, the assault on Sinjar and other Kurdish-controlled areas appears to be part of a move from ISIS to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/world/meast/iraq-crisis/" type="external">gain control</a> of Iraq’s largest hydroelectric dam, located just north of Mosul. Mosul was the second major city to fall under ISIS control, after Fallujah came under their power last year. In that instance, the militants <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19385" type="external">opened the gates</a> to the nearby dam, flooding the area to cause the Iraqi army to lift their siege on the city. In the event that Mosul Dam is captured and a similar tactic used, the devastation and chaos could <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/03/world/meast/iraq-crisis-isis/" type="external">stretch as far as Baghdad</a>.</p>
<p>According to the New Yorker’s George Packer, the Obama administration <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/friend-flees-horror-isis" type="external">may be</a> “contemplating an airlift, coördinated with the United Nations, of humanitarian supplies by C-130 transport planes” to aid the Yazidis. While horrifying, the plight of the Yazidis makes up just part of the massive refugee crisis playing out in both Iraq and Syria as a result of the conflicts on both sides of the ever evaporating border. According to the United Nations, at least <a href="http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/OCHA%20Iraq%20Situation%20Report%20no5.pdf" type="external">1.2 million Iraqis</a> are internally displaced as a result of the current fighting.</p> | This Ancient Religion Is Being Threatened With Extermination In Iraq [UPDATE: Obama Authorizes Air Strikes] | true | http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/08/06/3468074/isis-sinjar-yazidi/ | 2014-08-06 | 4 |
<p>From LA Times:</p>
<p>Reporting from Sacramento—&#160;The state Senate secretly paid $120,000 to settle a claim by a legislative aide that she was sexually harassed by Sen.&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/roderick-wright-PEPLT007237.topic" type="external">Roderick Wright</a>&#160;(D-Inglewood), according to her attorney and government documents released this week.</p>
<p>Senate leaders acting behind closed doors approved the payment to Fahizah Alim, who was a district coordinator for Wright, in an agreement that required “no publicity.” The document, approved last year, said the deal was made “to avoid the costs, uncertainty, and operational burden of a further dispute.”</p>
<p>John Poswall, an attorney for Alim, alleged in an interview Thursday that Wright’s actions included inappropriate comments to Alim “over some period leading up to her ultimately leaving that office.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-rod-wright-20111216,0,6638719.story?track=rss&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fpolitics%2Fcal+%28L.A.+Times+-+California+Politics%29" type="external">(Read Full Article)</a> <a href="" type="internal" /></p> | Harassment claim against Sen. Wright (D) settled in secret, records show | false | http://capoliticalreview.com/trending/harassment-claim-against-sen-wright-d-settled-in-secret-records-show/ | 2011-12-17 | 1 |
<p>YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Former Australia coach Ange Postecoglou was introduced as head coach of the J-League’s Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday.</p>
<p>The 52-year-old announced his shock resignation from the Socceroos in November, weeks after guiding Australia through a lengthy qualifying campaign for this year’s World Cup in Russia.</p>
<p>“Our goal is to make Yokohama F Marinos a team everyone else will fear,” Postecoglou said at a team ceremony. “My priority and my ambition is to have Yokohama F Marinos playing football that will make our supporters excited, make them proud and, most importantly, we will bring success.”</p>
<p>Rather than staying to lead the Socceroos in Russia he indicated he intended to return to club coaching. Most recently he guided Brisbane to back-to-back A-League titles in 2011 and 2012.</p>
<p>“Everyone in Australia wants a reason,” Postecoglou said. “I had a fantastic four years as national coach. When you coach your own country it’s the highest honor. In those four years we won the Asian Cup, we qualified for the World Cup and I just felt it was the right time for me to try a new adventure.”</p>
<p>He replaces Frenchman Erick Mombaerts whose contract is not being renewed after Yokohama’s fifth-place finish in 2017. Yokohama President Koichiro Furukawa said Postecoglou was chosen for his “attractive and entertaining style of football” and his commitment to youth development.</p>
<p>Postecoglou will be the first Australian to coach in the J-League since Graham Arnold’s short-lived tenure with Vegalta Sendai in 2014.</p>
<p>“It’s a new culture for me, a new country that I have to adapt to and embrace,” Postecoglou said. “I think for me in my journey as a coach and in life it’s exactly what I want and I’m really looking forward to it.”</p>
<p>YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Former Australia coach Ange Postecoglou was introduced as head coach of the J-League’s Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday.</p>
<p>The 52-year-old announced his shock resignation from the Socceroos in November, weeks after guiding Australia through a lengthy qualifying campaign for this year’s World Cup in Russia.</p>
<p>“Our goal is to make Yokohama F Marinos a team everyone else will fear,” Postecoglou said at a team ceremony. “My priority and my ambition is to have Yokohama F Marinos playing football that will make our supporters excited, make them proud and, most importantly, we will bring success.”</p>
<p>Rather than staying to lead the Socceroos in Russia he indicated he intended to return to club coaching. Most recently he guided Brisbane to back-to-back A-League titles in 2011 and 2012.</p>
<p>“Everyone in Australia wants a reason,” Postecoglou said. “I had a fantastic four years as national coach. When you coach your own country it’s the highest honor. In those four years we won the Asian Cup, we qualified for the World Cup and I just felt it was the right time for me to try a new adventure.”</p>
<p>He replaces Frenchman Erick Mombaerts whose contract is not being renewed after Yokohama’s fifth-place finish in 2017. Yokohama President Koichiro Furukawa said Postecoglou was chosen for his “attractive and entertaining style of football” and his commitment to youth development.</p>
<p>Postecoglou will be the first Australian to coach in the J-League since Graham Arnold’s short-lived tenure with Vegalta Sendai in 2014.</p>
<p>“It’s a new culture for me, a new country that I have to adapt to and embrace,” Postecoglou said. “I think for me in my journey as a coach and in life it’s exactly what I want and I’m really looking forward to it.”</p> | Postecoglou introduced as new head coach of Yokohama | false | https://apnews.com/75f4696f86ab40c3b97763766ace2742 | 2018-01-14 | 2 |
<p>The Supreme Court on Monday shot down Florida Gov. Rick Scott's request to review a lower court ruling that struck down his drug testing program for state employees.</p>
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<p>The high court's decision not to take the case effectively upholds the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Republican governor's executive order in 2011 to randomly drug-test state employees was unconstitutional as it violated 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court did not explain its decision not to hear the case. The <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/042114zor_c0n2.pdf" type="external">order</a> is a victory for the state workers' union.</p> | Supreme Court Shoots Down Rick Scott's Appeal On Drug Testing | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/supreme-court-rick-scott-drug-testing | 4 |
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<p>Dear Jenn: Choosing your inspector, rather than allowing you to choose for yourselves, may or may not have been a bad thing. Some agents choose inspectors who are competent and highly qualified, while others choose inspectors whose work is substandard. Likewise, there are agents who give their clients a list of competent home inspectors, while others provide lists of less-qualified inspectors.</p>
<p>Your agent’s big mistake was advising you not to attend the inspection. Agents who are honest and ethical do not give that kind of misleading advice to clients. Your presence at the home inspection was more than just a good idea. It was essential. You are on the verge of making an extremely high-cost investment. The home inspector was there for one purpose – to educate you about the condition of the property so that you could make a prudent purchase decision.</p>
<p>In advising you not to attend the inspection, your agent limited your exposure to the information you needed from your inspector. Again, that is not something that an ethical agent would do.</p>
<p>A second inspection by a home inspector of your choice is not a bad idea, and you shouldn’t worry about whether this is objectionable to your agent. It was her job to protect your financial interests. If she is not performing that duty, then you should do it for yourselves.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dear Barry: I paid a plumber to inspect my home before I bought it, and he said that everything was OK. No leaks or any other issues were found. But since moving in, I’ve had several problems with the toilets and drains. Is the plumber liable for the repairs? – Suzi</p>
<p>Dear Suzi: Whether the plumber is liable depends on the kinds of plumbing problems involved. If the defects were apparent at the time of the inspection, then the plumber should make the necessary repairs. You should call him and request that he re-inspect the problem areas.</p>
<p>Before buying your home, you should have hired a home inspector, not just a plumbing inspector. There are many issues besides plumbing that should have been considered when you were buying the home.</p>
<p>Distributed by Action Coast Publishing. To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the Web at <a href="http://www.housedetective.com" type="external">www.housedetective.com</a>.</p> | Attending inspection essential for buyers | false | https://abqjournal.com/185920/attending-inspection-essential-for-buyers.html | 2013-04-07 | 2 |
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<p>More rain fell on the hard-hit Houston area, temporarily complicating the cleanup a day after a downpour of nearly a foot triggered the worst flooding the nation's fourth-largest city has seen in years. Hundreds of homes were damaged.</p>
<p>Severe weather continued in other parts of Texas, with hundreds of people west of Fort Worth told to evacuate along the rising Brazos River and flash flood warnings posted in many areas.</p>
<p>Gadi Shaulsky spent the day cutting wet carpet and padding from his home in Houston's Meyerland section and taking it to the curb. His neighbors were doing the same. A water mark showed that up to 6 inches of water had seeped into the home.</p>
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<p>"That was just really frightening. It was just flowing in," said Shaulsky's wife, Jodi. With tears in her eyes, she added: "It's hard to wrap your head around all that needs to be done."</p>
<p>Houston Mayor Annise Parker said two people whose boat capsized during a rescue were missing. Another person was missing in suburban Houston. And in Central Texas, crews resumed the search for nine people feared dead after the swollen Blanco River smashed through Wimberley, a small tourist town between San Antonio and Austin, over the Memorial Day weekend.</p>
<p>Wimberley had some of the heaviest damage, including the loss of a two-story vacation home that was swept downstream and slammed into a bridge. Seven people in the home were missing, including three children. Among the missing were the owner of the house, Albuquerque native Ralph H. Carey, and members of his family. On Wednesday, authorities identified the body of Michelle Marie Carey-Charba, 43, Carey's daughter.</p>
<p>The storms that produced the flooding were part of a system that stretched from Mexico into the central U.S. The death toll from the system climbed to 35 - 14 in Mexico, 17 in Texas and four in Oklahoma. The Houston area alone had seven storm-related deaths.</p>
<p>Matt Meeks and his wife, Natalie, worked to clean up the resort on the banks of the Blanco that has been in his family for five generations, since the 1920s.</p>
<p>Of the 14 rock cabins at Rio Bonito Resort, probably only five will be salvageable, they said. Two were destroyed and seven appeared structurally unsound.</p>
<p>Meeks' parents own the resort, but he took charge of removing the debris and salvaging the furniture because "they're too emotionally tied to the place to decide what gets junked and what stays."</p>
<p>On the night of the flood, they got all 100 guests out safely after the fire chief called to warn that the river was rising. The river had never gotten so close to the cabins before, Meeks said.</p>
<p>This has been the wettest month on record for Texas, and there are still several days left. The state climatologist's office said Wednesday that Texas has gotten an average of 7.54 inches of rain in May, breaking the old record of 6.66 inches, set in June 2004.</p>
<p>Texas has been hit with almost continuous storms for the past week to 10 days. The wettest area has been from Dallas-Fort Worth to the Red River, where some places have gotten more than 20 inches of rain.</p>
<p>Authorities, meanwhile, defended their telephone and in-person warnings to residents ahead of the bad weather but acknowledged the difficulty in reaching tourists and said a messaging system in Houston is awaiting improvements.</p>
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<p /> | Flooding death toll rises to 21 | false | https://abqjournal.com/591013/flooding-death-toll-rises-to-21.html | 2 |
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<p>If President-elect Donald Trump is going to meet his pledge to energize the U.S. economy, there's a simple yet tough way to do so: Put more men to work.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The proportion of men in their prime working years who either have a job or are looking for one has been dropping for decades — and limiting economic growth in the process.</p>
<p>The full brunt of the 60-year decline burst into view during the 2016 election. Trump triumphed in part by vowing to restore jobs at steel mills, auto plants and coal mines — the types of work that had once employed legions of men who lacked a college education.</p>
<p>Bringing more non-college-educated men into the workforce is a Herculean challenge that has long bedeviled economists. Among the root causes:</p>
<p>— Automation. Factory robots and computer software have eliminated the need for many workers, wiping out an array of jobs that once provided a middle class lifestyle.</p>
<p>— Global competition. U.S. workers have been competing for jobs with cheaper foreign workers, a trend that's led to some offshoring of jobs and curbed pay in some industries.</p>
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<p>— Criminal records. Stricter criminal laws have left over 20 million Americans with felony convictions and prison records — a fourfold increase from 30 years earlier. That background has made it hard for them to get hired.</p>
<p>— Prescription drug use. Nearly half of jobless men who are no longer looking for work are on pain medication, research has found.</p>
<p>Still, Trump appears to endorse a straightforward fix: Bump up economic growth, and workers will land good jobs at decent wages.</p>
<p>"Many are dropping out of the labor force because they cannot find good-paying jobs in an economy operating near stall-speed," the Trump campaign said before the election.</p>
<p>To chart the problem and any progress Trump might achieve over the next four years, his team has pointed to an obscure gauge called the "labor force participation rate." This is the proportion of people who are either working or looking for work. It excludes anyone who's stopped searching for a job.</p>
<p>In the government's monthly jobs report being released Friday, it's a number that draws secondary billing after the unemployment rate and job creation. But beneath the sunny 4.6 percent jobless rate is the troubling shadow cast by the millions of men ages 25 to 54 who have dropped out of the workforce.</p>
<p>For this group, labor force participation has sunk to 88.5 percent from a 1954 peak of 97.9 percent. Most of that loss has occurred among men who have a high school degree or less, according to a report this year by the Obama administration. (Women's participation rate has declined less dramatically.)</p>
<p>The Trump team argues that it can lift the overall participation rate by reducing taxes and regulation, which it says would speed economic growth. But economists say increasing men's participation is difficult. The underlying causes are long-standing and go beyond the tax, trade and regulatory policies that Trump has attacked as the main hindrances.</p>
<p>For one thing, there has been a disappearance of "routine" manual jobs that required little education or high-tech skills — from machine operators to assembly line workers. These occupations have been displaced by such trends as automation and, to a lesser extent, outsourcing to lower-wage countries. The number of factory jobs has dropped 37 percent from the 1979 high to 12.3 million.</p>
<p>Routine manual jobs accounted for 23 percent of work in 1979, a share that fell to 15 percent by 2014, according to research by the economists Guido Matias Cortes, Henry Siu and Nir Jaimovich. They found that the loss of these jobs led many people to stop working. Those who did remain often accepted lower-paying work.</p>
<p>Faster economic growth might not raise the participation rate, said Siu, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia. If growth is fueled by greater use of technology, it could result in even fewer routine jobs and further depress labor force participation, he said.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if stronger economic growth came from improved worker skills and higher college graduation rates, labor force participation might rise.</p>
<p>One obstacle is that many men are unwilling to accept service sector jobs that are viewed as lower-paying women's work — from cooks to home health aides — said Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the University of Michigan who worked in the Obama administration.</p>
<p>"We are adding lots of jobs in the service sector, and the goods sector is shrinking," Stevenson said. "Trump can't really fix that because the magnitude of the decline is so big. He might keep some factory jobs for now. But technological change will prevent him from making that a true engine of job growth."</p>
<p>Stevenson said that avoiding a recession would at least help stabilize the participation rate. Many workers 50 or older who lost jobs during or after the Great Recession couldn't find another and eventually stopped looking. Their exodus from the labor force lowered the participation rate.</p>
<p>Still, other social forces, from mass incarceration to poor health, have contributed to the declining participation rate. Nicholas Eberstadt, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, notes that roughly 23 million Americans have felony convictions.</p>
<p>Having a prison record makes an American man three times as likely to drop out of the labor force compared with a man with no arrests, Eberstadt said.</p>
<p>Health problems and the opioid epidemic may also be a major barrier to work, according to research by Alan Krueger, a Princeton economist and former Obama adviser. Nearly half of men ages 25 through 54 who are neither working nor looking for work take pain medication daily, Krueger found.</p>
<p>All of which means the Trump administration might have to embrace a broader effort to increase labor force participation, one that addresses public health problems, the many Americans with criminal records and the displacement caused by increased use of technology.</p>
<p>However it might be achieved, the benefits from any rise in labor force participation could be substantial, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and now president of the center-right American Action Forum. Increasing the participation rate would serve both the economy and individual Americans.</p>
<p>"In terms of genuinely helping things, this is the place you really want to go," Holtz-Eakin said.</p> | Tough challenge for Trump: Getting more men back to work | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/05/tough-challenge-for-trump-getting-more-men-back-to-work.html | 2017-01-05 | 0 |
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<p>But he and two councilors have come up with a compromise $528.9 million budget that will be presented to the City Council on Monday.</p>
<p>Mayor Richard Berry</p>
<p>“The budget that came up from the City Council was well-intentioned, but it was simply a recipe to overpromise and underdeliver,” Berry told the Journal on Thursday.</p>
<p>It’s the first time since Berry became mayor in 2009 that he has vetoed a budget.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The city charter calls for the council to take up the veto on Monday for a possible override, but that would require six council votes. The council adopted the vetoed budget by an 8-1 vote, but it’s unclear how many councilors would vote for an override.</p>
<p>Berry formally notified the council of his veto in a memo to council President Isaac Benton on Thursday.</p>
<p>“While I appreciate the council’s hard work and desire to add more money for issues that are important to all of us, I cannot in good conscience sign (the budget) as amended,” he wrote.</p>
<p>Among the concerns cited by Berry are:</p>
<p>• The bill leaves the general fund structurally imbalanced, meaning that expected revenues aren’t in line with proposed expenditures.</p>
<p>• It reduces the Albuquerque Police Department’s budget by $2.4 million and reserves the funding for a “new” longevity program, leaving the administration in a precarious position with regard to continuing the existing longevity program already in place.</p>
<p>• The spending plan sought to appropriate $3 million in revenues the city doesn’t have to pay for one-time programs and projects. It proposed to pay for those items through savings from a proposed four-month hiring freeze.</p>
<p>• The bill also sought to reduce general fund reserves and the risk recovery fund, which is used to cover lawsuits.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Berry, in his veto message, referenced the budget compromise that he and Councilors Pat Davis and Brad Winter have come up with. That compromise bill will be presented to the full council for consideration on Monday, although the council likely wouldn’t vote on it until June 19.</p>
<p>“I believe it represents an acceptable compromise budget proposal that is structurally balanced and sustainable,” the mayor said. “It provides additional funding for public safety and other critical needs of our community while providing a modest raise for our valuable employees and continues to grow reserves in my final year as mayor.”</p>
<p>Among other expenses, the compromise budget includes 1.5 percent pay raises for fire union employees and 1 percent pay raises for all other city employees.</p>
<p>Berry said the proposal includes no tax increases, although it does propose modest increases in some user fees. A round of golf will cost $1 more and it will cost 25 cents more to swim in a city pool, the mayor said.</p>
<p>But not everyone is happy with the compromise.</p>
<p>Councilor Don Harris, who fought for the budget to include $4 million in longevity pay for veteran police officers, called the proposal “truly unfortunate.” While the budget vetoed by the mayor included $4 million in longevity pay for police officers, the compromise budget lowers that amount to $2.4 million, the same amount currently available.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand why we’d compromise on public safety at this stage in the city’s public safety crisis,” Harris said, pointing to the more than two dozen homicides in Albuquerque this year. He and Councilor Ken Sanchez proposed an increase in longevity pay, saying the city needs to do more to keep veteran officers on the streets.</p>
<p>“The thinking of the mayor and apparently some councilors is we refuse to get emergency surgery because we want to put money away for our health savings account,” Harris later added.</p>
<p>Davis, one of the architects of the budget compromise, said the proposed budget ensures that senior APD officers will continue to receive the longevity pay they have been receiving. The Berry administration had raised concerns that the vetoed budget placed all $4 million in longevity pay into a reserve fund, and that money would only be available if city revenue forecasts were positive.</p>
<p>The compromise budget “guarantees every single employee from parks workers to police a 1 percent raise,” Davis said. “It’s not much, but we can revisit it in January if there’s more money available.”</p>
<p>Davis said the compromise budget was designed to give the mayor and councilors part of what they asked for.</p>
<p>Berry said he supports the compromise budget without amendments.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Albuquerque mayor vetoes budget, calling it fiscally unsound | false | https://abqjournal.com/1011717/albuquerque-mayor-vetoes-budget.html | 2017-06-01 | 2 |
<p>July 18 (UPI) — <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Stephon-Gilmore/" type="external">Stephon Gilmore</a> is now on the other side of an AFC East rivalry, and he’s letting <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Buffalo-Bills/" type="external">Buffalo Bills</a> fans know about it.</p>
<p>The Super Bowl champion <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New_England_Patriots/" type="external">New England Patriots</a> picked up the 2016 Pro Bowler as a free agent this offseason. Gilmore, 26, was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. During his five-year tenure, the Bills posted a 36-44 record and never went to the playoffs, finishing last in the division twice. The Patriots have won two Super Bowls in that timeframe and have lost the AFC East since just once since 2002.</p>
<p>“My People finally going to get to see me play on tv,” <a href="https://twitter.com/BumpNrunGilm0re/status/887026681986396162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2017%2F07%2Fnfl-stephon-gilmore-patriots-bills-tweet" type="external">Gilmore tweeted Monday</a>. “#Patsnation #aboutthattime.”</p>
<p>The Bills were 2-8 against the Patriots in Gilmore’s five seasons with the franchise.</p>
<p>After seeing Gilmore’s tweet, Buffalo WGRZ news anchor Jonah Javad said he would have fun with it when he went on the air.</p>
<p>My People finally going to get to see me play on tv. #Patsnation#aboutthattime</p>
<p>— The Gilly Lock (@BumpNrunGilm0re) <a href="https://twitter.com/BumpNrunGilm0re/status/887026681986396162" type="external">July 17, 2017</a></p>
<p>“Hooooo boy, we’re gonna have fun with this tonight on @WGRZ,” Javid tweeted. “Make sure you tune in by 6:20pm. Trust me, #BillsMafia.”</p>
<p>Javid <a href="https://twitter.com/JonahJavad/status/887081519537418240" type="external">proceeded to post a clip</a> from his rant against Gilmore in Monday’s sports segment.</p>
<p>Hooooo boy, we’re gonna have fun with this tonight on <a href="https://twitter.com/WGRZ" type="external">@WGRZ</a>.</p>
<p>Make sure you tune in by 6:20pm. Trust me, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BillsMafia?src=hash" type="external">#BillsMafia</a>.</p>
<p>— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonahJavad/status/887062331011813376" type="external">July 17, 2017</a></p>
<p>“Stephon Gilmore took a jab at the #Bills for not playing on national TV as much as the Patriots,” Javid wrote as the caption for the clip, calling it a “clap-back.”</p>
<p>“It was sunny and 75 today but that didn’t stop an ex-Buffalo Bill from throwing shade on his former team,” Javid said during the segment. “Stephen Gilmore spent five years with the Bills, before signing with the Patriots in March.”</p>
<p>“That’s [tweet] is Gilmore taking a jab at the Bills for not playing on TV as much as the Patriots. Since Gilmore’s people didn’t get to see him play on TV, here’s what they missed out on.”</p>
<p>Javid then showed a clip of Gilmore getting burnt repeatedly by the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New_York_Giants/" type="external">New York Giants</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Houston-Texans/" type="external">Houston Texans</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kansas-City-Chiefs/" type="external">Kansas City Chiefs</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New-York-Jets/" type="external">New York Jets</a> and of course, the Patriots.</p>
<p>“Guess if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em right? Get your popcorn ready,” Javid said. “Gilmore and the Pats come to town in Week 13.”</p>
<p>The Bills battle the Patriots on Dec. 3 at <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ralph_Wilson/" type="external">Ralph Wilson</a> Stadium and on Christmas Eve at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.</p>
<p>Gilmore did not rank inside the NFL Network’s Top 100 players for 2017. <a href="https://profootballfocus.com/news/pro-ranking-all-32-nfl-teams-secondaries-heading-into-the-2017-season" type="external">Pro Football Focus ranked</a> the Patriots as the No. 2 secondary heading into 2017. He posted the 15th lowest passer rating (70.6) when targeted, according to the site. Pro Football Focus rated the Bills as the <a href="https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-ranking-all-32-nfl-secondaries-this-season" type="external">NFL’s No. 24 secondary</a> last season.</p> | Buffalo sportscaster claps back at Stephon Gilmore for Buffalo Bills dis | false | https://newsline.com/buffalo-sportscaster-claps-back-at-stephon-gilmore-for-buffalo-bills-dis/ | 2017-07-18 | 1 |
<p>Rick Perry speaks to a group of anti-abortion-rights activists in 2009.Harry Cabluck/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Denying Texas women access to abortion is proving to be pricey. Texas has paid Vincent Rue, a Florida marriage therapist best known for his discredited theories about how abortion causes mental illness, more than $42,000 in less than six months to aid its legal defense of a new law that would close <a href="" type="internal">all but a handful of the state’s abortion clinics</a>.</p>
<p>The controversial legislation, which was the target of state Sen. Wendy Davis’s <a href="" type="internal">11-hour filibuster</a>, places strict new regulations on abortion clinics with the aim of shutting them down. Its most onerous provision—which the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group, is challenging in court—gives abortion clinics until September 1 to <a href="" type="internal">meet the standards</a> of ambulatory surgical centers. A typical abortion does not require the features of an ambulatory surgical center, such as general anesthesia. Only six Texas clinics currently qualify as ambulatory surgical centers. The state’s other 15 clinics would need upgrades to operating rooms and construction to widen hallways in order to meet the standard—a costly prospect that will ultimately force these clinics to close.</p>
<p>Judges in other states have thrown out less draconian laws. So to defend its abortion restrictions, Texas brought in Rue, who helped draft, edit, and find citations for the reports its experts witnesses submit to the court. But Rue,&#160;who <a href="http://www.leagle.com/decision/19902067744FSupp1323_11868.xml/PLANNED%20PARENTHOOD%20v.%20CASEY" type="external">holds a doctorate</a>&#160;in family relations from the University of North Carolina School of Home Economics, is an odd choice for the job—”a long-discredited quack,” <a href="http://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/taylor/pressreleases/Pages/Rue%20Statement.aspx" type="external">in the view</a> of one state representative from Wisconsin, where Rue performed similar defense work. Although Rue testified about the harms of abortion in two landmark abortion cases in the early 1990s, the judges in those cases dismissed his testimony as <a href="http://www.leagle.com/decision/19902067744FSupp1323_11868.xml/PLANNED%20PARENTHOOD%20v.%20CASEY" type="external">personally biased</a> and <a href="http://www.leagle.com/decision/19861404648FSupp756_11287.xml/HODGSON%20v.%20STATE%20OF%20MINN." type="external">lacking expertise</a>. Rue has pushed the medical mainstream to recognize “post-abortive syndrome”—a mental illness that supposedly results from abortion—only to have organizations such as the National Center for Health Statistics <a href="http://www.leagle.com/decision/19902067744FSupp1323_11868.xml/PLANNED%20PARENTHOOD%20v.%20CASEY" type="external">pan his research</a>. In 1981, he claimed in a report to the US Senate that “abortion re-escalates the battle between the sexes” and “abortion increases bitterness toward men.”</p>
<p>“He has been really thoroughly discredited by trial courts,” Priscilla Smith, who directs Yale Law School’s reproductive justice studies program, <a href="" type="internal">told Mother Jones</a> in June; Smith faced Rue many years ago as a litigator.</p>
<p>This hasn’t stopped Rue from getting regular work as an expert on abortion, although <a href="" type="internal">he no longer testifies</a> in court. In the past two years, Republican administrations in four states—Alabama, North Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin—have paid or <a href="http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=42886" type="external">promised to pay</a> Rue $192,205.50 in exchange for help defending anti-abortion laws.</p>
<p>Abortion rights advocates bank on Rue’s involvement in these cases to undermine the states’ arguments. Last week, an Alabama judge who heard a challenge to one of the state’s recent anti-abortion laws <a href="https://ecf.almd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2013cv0405-238" type="external">discounted</a> the testimony of one of Rue’s go-to experts; during cross-examination, the judge had been disturbed to learn about Rue’s heavy influence on the expert’s testimony. Lawyers for Planned Parenthood <a href="" type="internal">highlighted Rue’s past</a> in their ongoing challenge to a Wisconsin law requiring admitting privileges for abortion providers. And in Texas, <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-defend-anti-abortion-hb-2/" type="external">according</a> <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/State-providers-argue-over-safety-in-abortion-5675490.php" type="external">to accounts</a> <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-continue-to-show-ags-influence-on-hb-2-testimony/" type="external">of the trial</a> from the Houston Chronicle and Austin Chronicle, attorneys for the Center for Reproductive Rights made Rue’s connection to the defense a key point in cross-examination of state witnesses last week.</p>
<p>One of these witnesses was Deborah Kitz, a health care consultant from Pennsylvania. Kitz <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/State-providers-argue-over-safety-in-abortion-5675490.php" type="external">testified</a> that it was inexpensive to turn a typical health care facility into an ambulatory surgical center, but she admitted that she had never reviewed the standards for ambulatory surgical centers required by Texas.</p>
<p>Lee Yeakel, the federal judge who’s handling the Texas case, allowed emails into evidence purporting to show how Rue influenced Kitz. “Tried to use as much of your material as I could, but time ran out,” Kitz <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-defend-anti-abortion-hb-2/" type="external">wrote to Rue</a> in one email. In another email, Kitz <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-continue-to-show-ags-influence-on-hb-2-testimony/" type="external">referred to the document</a> Rue was editing in quotations—”my” report. Kitz also pushed back against Rue for adding citations to her draft of sources she hadn’t read. On Thursday, Kitz <a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/08/07/state-witnesses-credibility-called-question-texas-trap-law-trial/" type="external">testified</a> that the ideas in her report were her own.</p>
<p>The state also called Peter Uhlenberg, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, to testify that obtaining hospital admitting privileges was not as difficult as abortion providers made it out to be. Emails produced by the prosecution show that Rue gave Uhlenberg <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-continue-to-show-ags-influence-on-hb-2-testimony/" type="external">sources, “ideas,” and “fact changes,”</a> according to the Austin Chronicle. “I need your critical suggestions,” Uhlenberg wrote to Rue in one message. Uhlenberg <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-continue-to-show-ags-influence-on-hb-2-testimony/" type="external">testified</a> that he did not seek input from Rue.</p>
<p>Another witness for the state was James C. Anderson, a Virginia emergency room doctor and <a href="http://www.vachristian.org/Board-of-Advisors/" type="external">the chair</a> of Virginia Physicians for Life. Rue has <a href="" type="internal">tapped Anderson as an expert witness</a> in Alabama, Alaska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. These states have paid Anderson more than $110,000.</p>
<p>Anderson testified that Rue had <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-07/state-witnesses-defend-anti-abortion-hb-2/" type="external">provided sources</a> for his testimony and “wordsmithing.” Anderson made a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1184046-al-trial-transcript-anderson.html#document/p68/a161949" type="external">similar admission</a> to an Alabama court in May, in the course of defending a law that would have closed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/us/alabama-suit-is-filed-to-block-abortion-clinic-law.html?_r=0" type="external">three of state’s five clinics</a>. In that case, Rue’s involvement may have caused the judge in that case to discredit Anderson’s testimony. When Anderson admitted that he wasn’t aware two courts had tossed Rue’s testimony, and the judge grew incredulous. “You say you don’t know his employment or any organizations that he belongs to,” the judge said to Anderson.&#160;“Why do you trust him?” Last week, in his opinion <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-district-judge-rules-ala-abortion-clinic-law-unconstitutional/" type="external">striking down the anti-abortion law</a>, the judge said he had <a href="https://ecf.almd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2013cv0405-238" type="external">ignored Anderson’s testimony</a> “due to concerns about his judgment or honesty.”</p>
<p>Anderson, Kitz, and Rue did not reply to calls and emails seeking comment. Uhlenberg declined to comment until the end of the trial.</p>
<p>Rue’s work with several states is ongoing. In the nine weeks since Mother Jones first <a href="" type="internal">reported</a> on Rue’s involvement with these lawsuits, Alabama, Texas, and Wisconsin have paid him an additional $25,417.50. North Dakota may soon offer another opportunity for a paycheck: The state has <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nd-appeals-federal-judges-ruling-abortion-ban" type="external">appealed a decision</a> striking down a six-week abortion ban, which Rue helped defend, and the Legislature has provided the attorney general with <a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/05/12/north-dakota-anti-choice-lawmakers-urge-appeal-ruling-block-fetal-heartbeat-ban/" type="external">$400,000</a> to fight for the law. A spokeswoman for North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem wouldn’t say whether he would hire Rue to work on the appeal.</p>
<p /> | Texas Pays “Thoroughly Discredited” Expert $42,000 to Defend Anti-Abortion Law | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/texas-vincent-rue-anti-abortion-law/ | 2014-08-13 | 4 |
<p>The Joint Force will be prepared to confront and defeat aggression anywhere in the world</p>
<p>– Leon Panetta, ‘Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership’, Jan 5, 2012</p>
<p>Empires huff and puff, and sometimes stutter.&#160; Bloodied heels are not taken as a warning that their time has come – rather they are simply seen as part of the job prescription.&#160; Despite a slow economy and stagnation in such theatres as Afghanistan, the United States is moving inexorably into the Pacific, and the military wise men are intent that they do so with speed.&#160; The 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance called ‘Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense’ is the guiding document in that mission.</p>
<p>It is little secret that a primary focus of the report is China and its busy profile.&#160; Indeed, Uncle Sam is eager to counter any such suggestions that another power might become dominant in the region.&#160; Far from it being merely a neoconservative tendency, the Obama administration has come on board the global mission to combat rivals with enthusiasm and a highly mobile ‘joint force’.&#160; ‘As Commander in Chief,’ remarked Obama in his introduction to the report, ‘I am determined that we meet the challenges of this moment responsibly and that we emerge even stronger in a manner that preserves American global leadership, maintains our military superiority and keeps faith with our troops, military families and veterans.’&#160; Dick Cheney would have been proud.</p>
<p>Europe, well secured within Washington’s orbit of interests, and an increased role for NATO with the Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, along with the extended Operation Active Condor in the Mediterranean, to say nothing of the Middle Eastern jaunts, shows a power insatiable in design.</p>
<p>Washington has proven ever present in prodding members of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into alliances and arrangements.&#160; Even a once ostracised Vietnam is considered a valuable addition, as are Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.&#160; Recently, the United States secured basing rights for its warships in Singapore.&#160; It is also having discussions with Australia over the use of such territories as the Cocos Islands, which, it is hoped, will become a future base for the development of spy drones such as the Global Hawk.&#160; (That move, incidentally, ran counter to the assurance given by Australia that the former British possession would not be militarised after being given over to Canberra.)</p>
<p>The comments of Pentagon chief Leon Panetta at the Shangri-La dialogue defense summit in Singapore over the weekend are instructive.&#160; Partnerships with such countries as South Korea, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia are to be tightened.&#160; The satraps are to be brought closer, their stabilising influence in the region key to Washington’s hungry eye.&#160;&#160; Most strikingly of all, the Pacific will become the primary base of operations in terms of US naval power – 60 percent as against 40 percent in the Atlantic.&#160; The beast is also streamlining – old naval vessels shall be retired, making way for 40 more advanced ships over the next five years.</p>
<p>As for China, the necessary cautionary notes were struck by the Defense Secretary, with their accompanying barbs.&#160; ‘We are not naïve about this relationship, and neither is China.&#160; We both understand the differences we have. We both understand the conflicts we have.’ Both countries had no choice other than to ‘improve our military-to-military relationships’ (Xinhua, June 2).</p>
<p>The Chinese have proven indifferent.&#160; The previous Shangri-La dialogue saw the presence of Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, reflecting a position adopted in 2011 to engage in regional, multilateral forums.&#160; Beijing’s absence on this occasion was all too conspicuous, and renders any such security dialogue in the region marginal.&#160; An argument has been made that this can be put down to China’s designs on the South China Sea.&#160; The issue would only hold water were it not for the combative stance taken by Guanglie last year. The Chinese position on this has been a long held one: disputants shall sort out disagreements amongst themselves. Outsiders should be wise enough to stay on the outside (Wall Street Journal, June 3)</p>
<p>Looking glass gazers may well wonder if domestic considerations are at play here.&#160; Could it be the leadership issues in the Communist party? The issues surrounding the controversial and volatile Bo Xilai?&#160; ‘The failure to attend, or to provide an adequate explanation for not doing so,’ writes the Hudson Institute’s John Lee for the WJS (June 3), ‘has reinforced the view that when the heat is on, Beijing’s political culture and instincts are inherently secretive and paranoid, and not transparent or cooperative.’</p>
<p>Lee’s perspective tends to soften the imperial sting in the American effort to expand. China should be enthusiastic that the U.S. is ‘committed to engaging with Asia’, even if differences may well be had over what form that engagement takes.&#160; And that is precisely what should be of concern.</p>
<p>Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.&#160; He lectures at RMT University, Melbourne. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | To the Pacific We Go | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/06/04/to-the-pacific-we-go/ | 2012-06-04 | 4 |
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<p>The CNM governing board unanimously approved a renewed contract for Winograd that increases her benefits, including a retention incentive that pays her 10 percent of her salary each year.</p>
<p>The quick approval of Winograd’s contract, at a meeting in the Workforce Training Center on Tuesday, was met with applause.</p>
<p>“I just want to say that everything I value in the world comes together at CNM and I can’t believe I get to do this job,” Winograd said.</p>
<p>Winograd, who became president in 2007, has a base salary of $212,180 annually, although that number bumps up to more than $266,600 with deferred compensation.</p>
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<p>Among the changes in Winograd’s contract are an increase in her retention bonus, from 5 percent to 10 percent each year. Also included are a two-month paid sabbatical, which Winograd cannot take until 2014, and a retirement contribution of 10 percent of her salary each year. In addition, the contract calls for a year’s salary if Winograd is fired without cause, and for a “pay for performance plan” through which the governing board sets goals Winograd has to meet, and is then paid for.</p>
<p>Governing board members have been highly supportive of Winograd and last year said they hope she continues her presidency until at least 2017.</p>
<p>Winograd, like most CNM employees, will also get a one-time 2 percent raise. The raise could become permanent if CNM does not receive cuts in funding from the state.</p> | CNM Board Approves President’s Contract | false | https://abqjournal.com/146089/cnm-board-approves-presidents-contract.html | 2 |
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<p>A jury has been chosen in the trial of Texas bigamist and former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints president Wendell Loy Nielsen, 71.</p>
<p>Nielsen was one of 12 men indicted for crimes including child sexual assault, bigamy and performing an illegal marriage,&#160; <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-bigamybre82l08g-20120321,0,7421644.story" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>They were arrested after an April 2008 raid on the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas.</p>
<p>Ten have been convicted, including Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) "prophet" Warren Jeffs, found guilty last year of sexually assaulting two underage girls he wed as spiritual brides, the younger of them just 12.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://mobile.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/110810/warren-jeffs-niece-speaks-relief-at-his-life-sen" type="external">Warren Jeffs' niece speaks of relief at his life sentence</a></p>
<p>Jeffs is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison in Palestine.</p>
<p>Prosecutors believe Nielsen "married" 34 women in addition to his legal wife, however have charged him with only three counts of bigamy, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-bigamybre82l08g-20120321,0,7421644.story" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>It is alleged Nielson married two women on the same day in February 2006.</p>
<p>The FLDS, which teaches that for a man to be among the select in heaven he must have at least three wives, is estimated to have 10,000 followers in North America.</p>
<p>The mainstream Mormon church abandoned the practice of taking multiple wives more than a century ago.</p>
<p>Each count of bigamy is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000, however according to the AP, questions remain over whether the marriages performed by the sect Nielson once headed were valid under Texas law.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/mar/21/jury-seated-in-flds-bigamy-case-in-midland/" type="external">According to the San Angelo Standard-Times</a>, Nielson attended the hearing at the Midland County Courthouse wearing a blue sweater vest, and looked unconcerned as jurors were chosen.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120306/australian-economy-wayne-swan-mining-billionaires" type="external">Tough times for Australian billionaires</a> &#160;</p> | Jury chosen in trial of former Mormon sect leader Wendell Loy Nielsen | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-22/jury-chosen-trial-former-mormon-sect-leader-wendell-loy-nielsen | 2012-03-22 | 3 |
<p>This has been a bad week for Holocaust deniers. I’m talking about those who wilfully lie about the 1915 genocide of 1.5 million Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Turks. On Thursday, France’s lower house of parliament approved a Bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered genocide. And, within an hour, Turkey’s most celebrated writer, Orhan Pamuk–only recently cleared by a Turkish court for insulting “Turkishness” (sic) by telling a Swiss newspaper that nobody in Turkey dared mention the Arm! enian massacres–won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In the mass graves below the deserts of Syria and beneath the soil of southern Turkey, a few souls may have been comforted.</p>
<p>While Turkey continues to blather on about its innocence–the systematic killing of hundreds of thousands of male Armenians and of their gang-raped women is supposed to be the sad result of “civil war”–Armenian historians such as Vahakn Dadrian continue to unearth new evidence of the premeditated Holocaust (and, yes, it will deserve its capital H since it was the direct precursor of the Jewish Holocaust, some of whose Nazi architects were in Turkey in 1915) with all the energy of a gravedigger.</p>
<p>Armenian victims were killed with daggers, swords, hammers and axes to save ammunition. Massive drowning operations were carried out in the Black Sea and the Euphrates rivers–mostly of women and children, so many that the Euphrates became clogged with corpses and changed its course for up ! to half a mile. But Dadrian, who speaks and reads Turkish fluently, ha s now discovered that tens of thousands of Armenians were also burned alive in haylofts.</p>
<p>He has produced an affidavit to the Turkish court martial that briefly pursued the Turkish mass murderers after the First World War, a document written by General Mehmet Vehip Pasha, commander of the Turkish Third Army. He testified that, when he visited the Armenian village of Chourig (it means “little water” in Armenian), he found all the houses packed with burned human skeletons, so tightly packed that all were standing upright. “In all the history of Islam,” General Vehip wrote, “it is not possible to find any parallel to such savagery.”</p>
<p>The Armenian Holocaust, now so “unmentionable” in Turkey, was no secret to the country’s population in 1918. Millions of Muslim Turks had witnessed the mass deportation of Armenians three years earlier–a few, with infinite courage, protected Armenian neighbours and friends at the risk of the lives of their own Muslim families–and, o! n 19 October 1918, Ahmed Riza, the elected president of the Turkish senate and a former supporter of the Young Turk leaders who committed the genocide, stated in his inaugural speech: “Let’s face it, we Turks savagely (vahshiane in Turkish) killed off the Armenians.”</p>
<p>Dadrian has detailed how two parallel sets of orders were issued, Nazi-style, by Turkish interior minister Talat Pasha. One set solicitously ordered the provision of bread, olives and protection for Armenian deportees but a parallel set instructed Turkish officials to “proceed with your mission” as soon as the deportee convoys were far enough away from population centres for there to be few witnesses to murder. As Turkish senator Reshid Akif Pasha testified on 19 November 1918: “The ‘mission’ in the circular was: to attack the convoys and massacre the population… I am ashamed as a Muslim, I am ashamed as an Ottoman statesman. What a stain on the reputation of the Ottoman Empire, these criminal people..! .”</p>
<p>How extraordinary that Turkish dignitaries could speak such truths in 1918, could fully admit in their own parliament to the genocide of the Armenians and could read editorials in Turkish newspapers of the great crimes committed against this Christian people. Yet how much more extraordinary that their successors today maintain that all of this is a myth, that anyone who says in present-day Istanbul what the men of 1918 admitted can find themselves facing prosecution under the notorious Law 301 for “defaming” Turkey.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that Holocaust deniers–of the anti-Armenian or anti-Semitic variety–should be taken to court for their rantings. David Irving is a particularly unpleasant “martyr” for freedom of speech and I am not at all certain that Bernard Lewis’s one-franc fine by a French court for denying the Armenian genocide in a November 1993 Le Monde article did anything more than give publicity to an elderly historian whose work deteriorates with the years.</p>
<p>But it’s gratifying to find French President Jacques Chi! rac and his interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy have both announced that Turkey will have to recognise the Armenian death as genocide before it is allowed to join the European Union. True, France has a powerful half-million-strong Armenian community.</p>
<p>But, typically, no such courage has been demonstrated by Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara, nor by the EU itself, which gutlessly and childishly commented that the new French Bill, if passed by the senate in Paris, will “prohibit dialogue” which is necessary for reconciliation between Turkey and modern-day Armenia. What is the subtext of this, I wonder. No more talk of the Jewish Holocaust lest we hinder “reconciliation” between Germany and the Jews of Europe?</p>
<p>But, suddenly, last week, those Armenian mass graves opened up before my own eyes. Next month, my Turkish publishers are producing my book, The Great War for Civilisation, in the Turkish language, complete with its long chapter on the Armenian genocide entitled “The ! First Holocaust”. On Thursday, I received a fax from Agora Books in Is tanbul. Their lawyers, it said, believed it “very likely that they will be sued under Law 301”–which forbids the defaming of Turkey and which right-wing lawyers tried to use against Pamuk–but that, as a foreigner, I would be “out of reach”. However, if I wished, I could apply to the court to be included in any Turkish trial.</p>
<p>Personally, I doubt if the Holocaust deniers of Turkey will dare to touch us. But, if they try, it will be an honour to stand in the dock with my Turkish publishers, to denounce a genocide which even Mustafa Kamel Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish state, condemned.</p>
<p>ROBERT FISK is a reporter for The Independent and author of <a href="" type="internal">Pity the Nation</a>. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s collection, <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Bookshop.html" type="external">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>. Fisk’s new book is <a href="" type="internal">The Conquest of the Middle East</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Confronting Turkey’s Armenian Genocide | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/10/14/confronting-turkey-s-armenian-genocide/ | 2006-10-14 | 4 |
<p>In this segment of the <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/motley-fool-money?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a48b1884-a7fc-11e7-a9fd-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Motley Fool Money Opens a New Window.</a> radio show, host Chris Hill, Million Dollar Portfolio's Jason Moser and Matt Argersinger, and Aaron Bush of Supernova and Rule Breakers check in on McCormick&#160;(NYSE: MKC), the leader in the spice space.</p>
<p>Once again, sales rose 9%, and the company beat on profitability. Though there have been concerns about the balance sheet in the wake of a recent big acquisition, the Fools are fairly enthusiastic about the company's value proposition.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than&#160;Wal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom&#160;Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they&#160;have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom&#160;just revealed what they believe are the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a48b1884-a7fc-11e7-a9fd-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they&#160;think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a48b1884-a7fc-11e7-a9fd-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.</p>
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<p>This video was recorded on Sept. 29, 2017.</p>
<p>Chris Hill: Solid third quarter report from McCormick, the spice maker. Sales rose 9%, and profits were higher than expected. Pretty good guidance, too, Jason.</p>
<p>Jason Moser: Hey, I just used McCormick spices last night, Chris, as I was making pizza at home for the kids. I mean, I love the value proposition these guys communicate in their products. They basically say that their products represent 10% of the cost of the food that you're eating, yet 90% of the flavor. That right there tells you everything. They really are responsible for pretty much everything that's going on your table, or that stuff you're buying in the restaurant. I think what we've seen in the past few months, there was a lot of concern with McCormick because they announced the acquisition of RB Foods, which was the French's and Frank's properties. They've closed that acquisition and everything has gone through relatively smoothly. There are some downsides in the near term. It has added some debt to the company's balance sheet. It dings their credit rating a little bit. And I think that's where the concern maybe came in. Bigger picture, though, I think the acquisition made perfect sense. It's right in their wheelhouse. I think it helps them gain more of a global presence and lever to that cost structure, which will ultimately help boost margins down the line. You're looking at a market that's going to continue to grow slowly but steadily. Euromonitor projects 5% growth in the space into 2021, and McCormick is always getting a pretty good share of that year-in and year-out. I defy you to look in your pantry at home and not find at least one or two McCormick products in there. So, all in all, a very well-run business, a good track record of growing earnings and dividends. It's one we have on the watch list in MDP. We're really a little bit more concerned with the valuation than anything.</p>
<p>Hill: You've got it on the watch list, so I'm guessing you were hoping for a bad quarter, because the stock bumped up about 5% on this report.</p>
<p>Moser: I'm not going to lie, Chris, I was hoping it would go in the other direction.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFWizard/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a48b1884-a7fc-11e7-a9fd-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Chris Hill Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFJMo/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a48b1884-a7fc-11e7-a9fd-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Jason Moser Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends McCormick. 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=a48b1884-a7fc-11e7-a9fd-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Once Again, the Market Likes What McCormick Is Cooking | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/04/once-again-market-likes-what-mccormick-is-cooking.html | 2017-10-04 | 0 |
<p>A DHS official at the South Texas Family Residential CenterBob Owen/SanAntonio Express-News via ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>The Department of Homeland Security has renewed a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/inside-the-administrations-1-billion-deal-to-detain-central-american-asylum-seekers/2016/08/14/e47f1960-5819-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html" type="external">much-criticized contract</a> with the Corrections Corporation of America, one of the country’s biggest prison companies, to continue running a family immigrant detention center in Texas.</p>
<p>The decision comes months after the Justice Department <a href="" type="internal">announced</a> it would stop contracting with private prison companies because of concerns over the security and safety of their facilities. In August, DHS’s&#160;Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said it would also <a href="" type="internal">review</a> its contracts with private prison operators.</p>
<p>The renewed contract at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, which holds a majority of the country’s immigrant mother and child detainees, will run through 2021, <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/10/18/cca-announces-ice-contract-extension/92355068/" type="external">the Tennessean reports</a>. The Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America, which announced the deal on Monday, has agreed to reduce costs at the 2,400-bed facility by 40 percent, mostly through reductions in staff.</p>
<p>That could be bad news for immigrants who have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/inside-the-administrations-1-billion-deal-to-detain-central-american-asylum-seekers/2016/08/14/e47f1960-5819-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html" type="external">complained</a> in the past of an understaffed medical clinic and widespread illness among child detainees. Mothers at the Dilley facility <a href="http://www.statesman.com/news/crime--law/judge-weighs-fate-south-texas-family-immigration-detention-centers/FOfVKBkmXlYqhEwX9jkLyM/" type="external">have said</a> it’s not right to hold them and their kids in prison-like conditions, especially after they escaped gang violence and other trauma in their home countries. Understaffing at another CCA-run prison, in Louisiana, coincided with high rates of assault, a Mother Jones <a href="" type="internal">investigation</a> found.</p>
<p>The South Texas Family Residential Center opened in 2014 as the Obama administration was attempting to deal with a surge of Central American families at the border. DHS struck an unusual deal with CCA to run the facility, according to an August Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/inside-the-administrations-1-billion-deal-to-detain-central-american-asylum-seekers/2016/08/14/e47f1960-5819-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html" type="external">investigation</a>, which found that the department had skipped the standard bidding process and agreed to pay CCA the same rate regardless of how many beds were actually occupied in the facility.</p>
<p>That’s been lucrative for CCA, which earned 14 percent of its total 2015 revenue from the South Texas Family Residential Center, but highly criticized by immigrant rights activists. “For the most part, what I see is a very expensive incarceration scheme,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) told the Post. “It’s costly to taxpayers and achieves almost nothing, other than trauma to already traumatized individuals.”</p>
<p>DHS immigration officials are currently reviewing contracts with seven other CCA-run detention facilities across the country. “We think…they’ll come to the same conclusion that we’ve been a really, really good tool for ICE,” CEO Damon Hininger <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/10/18/cca-announces-ice-contract-extension/92355068/" type="external">said in a conference call</a> on Tuesday, referring to the DHS agency. He added that it would be expensive for the government to end its contracts with CCA. “Building, staffing&#160;and operating new facilities to replace all the capacity currently provided by the private sector would cost ICE billions of dollars and result in costly long-term obligations.”</p>
<p>CCA shares climbed on Monday after the company announced the renewed contract in Texas. The announcement “removed some uncertainty” about CCA’s relationship with the Obama administration, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/18/private-prison-stocks-are-spiking.html" type="external">financial analysts noted</a>. Stocks for private prison companies, including CCA, had been <a href="http://qz.com/761597/prison-company-stocks-are-tanking-after-the-us-government-abruptly-revised-its-policy-on-privately-run-facilities/" type="external">falling for months</a> after the Justice Department announced it would end their use.</p>
<p>For more on CCA, check out MoJo senior reporter Shane Bauer’s <a href="" type="internal">report</a> about his four months as a prison guard for the company.</p>
<p /> | The Fight Against the Private Prison Industry Was Just Dealt a Huge Blow | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/corrections-corporation-america-renews-contract-immigration-customs-enforcement/ | 2016-10-19 | 4 |
<p>I won't hold my breath waiting for this to happen any time soon, but Bill Maher's exactly right. These institutions should have to pay taxes like the rest of us.</p>
<p>The Real Time host expressed his anger over churches and their tax-exempt status during his New Rules segment this Friday evening and asked why non-believers should be forced to subsidize "their Sunday morning hobby."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-maher-church-tax-religion_us_5711dd19e4b0018f9cba30a7" type="external">Bill Maher Breaks Down Why All Religious Institutions Should Be Properly Taxed</a>:</p>
<p>“Now that it’s April 15,” he said, “all U.S. taxpayers must call out all the deadbeats who ride for free — which includes giant corporations like GM and United Airlines, which this year are going to pay no taxes.”</p>
<p>As photographs of temples and churches appeared on the screen beside him, he added, “But the list should also include this place, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one….”</p>
<p>The comedian said there are 300,000 religious congregations in the country that pay “no tax, no federal, state, or local, no income, sales or property tax,” yet they own $600 billion in property.</p>
<p>Maher cited a quote from Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, that the only way to make any real money in this world was to start a religion, before asking, “if we levy taxes, sin taxes they call them on things that are bad to get people to stop doing them, why in heaven’s name don’t we tax religion?”</p>
<p>He called religion “a senseless homophobic magic act that’s been used to justify everything from genital mutilation to genocide.”</p>
<p>And after pointing out that 22 percent of Americans identify themselves as atheists or agnostics, Maher asked exactly why “almost a quarter of us are being forced to subsidize a myth that we’re not buying into. Why am I subsidizing their Sunday morning hobby?”</p> | Bill Maher Rips Into Tax-Exempt Status For Churches: We're Being Forced To 'Subsidize A Myth' | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2016/04/bill-maher-rips-tax-exempt-status-churches | 2016-04-16 | 4 |
<p />
<p>For more than three years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly warned Wall Street analysts not to try to predict iPhone sales based on supply chain rumors. Supply chain rumors aren't always wrong -- but they are unreliable. Due to the complexity of Apple's supply chain, it's dangerous to assume that any one data point is representative of Apple's underlying performance.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, the analysts have ignored that advice. In the race to get a leg up on rivals, analysts spend countless hours talking to iPhone suppliers in the hope of getting hints about how Apple's flagship product is doing.</p>
<p>Analysts are always looking for data to help them predict iPhone sales. Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>iPhone sales forecasts based on supply chain data are particularly error-prone the further in the future analysts are trying to project. That means investors should take Apple analysts' recent predictions about iPhone 7 sales with a big grain of salt.</p>
<p>In the past few weeks, a number of Apple analysts have commented on Apple's prospects for getting iPhone sales growing again this fall. Most are relatively pessimistic, based on supply chain data such as year-over-year declines in iPhone component orders.</p>
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<p>However, the evidence isn't clear-cut. Apple has multiple suppliers for many components. Furthermore, Apple's component orders depend on its own inventory and expected component failure rates in addition to its sales projections. Indeed, analysts at Bank of Montreal countered earlier this month with evidence that Apple's supply chain orders have stabilized recently.</p>
<p>This highlights one of the big risks of relying on supply chain data -- namely, that analysts are only seeing a small part of the broader picture. Analysts looking at different parts of the supply chain can draw conclusions that are diametrically opposed.</p>
<p>Even if analysts correctly predict how many iPhones Apple plans to build, Apple could be wrong about demand. Since it has the flexibility to adjust production fairly quickly, even its internal forecasts for demand a few quarters down the road can be an inaccurate indicator of future iPhone sales.</p>
<p>Around this time last year, Apple was planning to build about 85 million-90 million units of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus by the end of 2015, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-preparing-record-number-of-new-iphones-1436367371" type="external">according to The Wall Street Journal Opens a New Window.</a>. By contrast, it had ordered components for only 70 million-80 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models a year earlier.</p>
<p>Apple rapidly boosted iPhone 6 production in 2014 after demand outstripped supply. Image source: Apple.</p>
<p>As it turned out, it underestimated iPhone 6 demand in 2014. However, it was able to raise its production plans as the strength of demand became clear. By contrast, it likely overestimated demand in 2015 and subsequently cut its production plans near the end of the year.</p>
<p>Thus, evidence that Apple's initial iPhone 7 component orders may be flat or down slightly on a year-over-year basis is more or less meaningless. If demand is solid, Apple should be able to ramp up production this fall -- just as it did two years ago -- and thus deliver significant year-over-year iPhone sales growth during the fall quarter.</p>
<p>The key takeaway here is that watching the supply chain is no substitute for trying to estimate demand. Forecasting demand is extremely tricky, too, but the advantage is that demand -- not supply -- is the primary driver of iPhone sales.</p>
<p>There are some good signs here. For example, there are still a lot of pre-iPhone 6 smartphones in use. Each new model launch increases the chances that users will upgrade these older phones. Apple may boost the base storage configuration to 32GB for the iPhone 7, providing users with 16 GB phones a reason to upgrade irrespective of whether the new iPhone has innovative features.</p>
<p>Furthermore, while many users are holding on to their iPhones longer, a good number still upgrade every other year. With Apple having sold more than 85 million iPhones between the mid-September 2014 launch of the iPhone 6 and the end of 2014, there will be more users reaching this two-year upgrade window this fall than ever before.</p>
<p>Finally, Apple's unique ecosystem is attracting new users as quickly as it ever has. The lower-priced iPhone SE could help Apple appeal to more price-sensitive customers around the world, supporting this trend.</p>
<p>Ultimately, customers will decide just how much iPhone sales grow this fall, if at all. Supply chain leaks can't provide any useful information about the only thing that really matters: customer demand.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/19/heres-one-more-reason-to-ignore-iphone-supply-chai.aspx" type="external">Here's One More Reason to Ignore iPhone Supply Chain Rumors Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGemHunter/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Adam Levine-Weinberg Opens a New Window.</a> is long January 2017 $85 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool is long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Here's One More Reason to Ignore iPhone Supply Chain Rumors | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/19/here-one-more-reason-to-ignore-iphone-supply-chain-rumors.html | 2016-06-19 | 0 |
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon’s drawing of the Wyoming Lottery’s “Cowboy Draw” game were:</p>
<p>04-09-20-25-35</p>
<p>(four, nine, twenty, twenty-five, thirty-five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $495,000</p>
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon’s drawing of the Wyoming Lottery’s “Cowboy Draw” game were:</p>
<p>04-09-20-25-35</p>
<p>(four, nine, twenty, twenty-five, thirty-five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $495,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Cowboy Draw’ game | false | https://apnews.com/e9d73761f1e64560867c6208cf5a4abe | 2017-12-28 | 2 |
<p>Here we go again.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama, in an attempt to restart the moribund Middle East peace process, has invited the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to the White House. The two men broke bread together at a dinner hosted by the president, before launching into the first direct talks in more than 20 months.</p>
<p>Of course, they have been communicating with each other (barely) through Obama’s impotent Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, for months. But this will be the first time that the two sides will meet face to face under Obama’s leadership, meaning after nearly two years of raising expectations around the world with promises of a fresh start and a more balanced approach to the conflict; after two years of talking tough with Israel regarding its settlements and reaching out to the Arab world—Obama has managed to return the situation in Israel/Palestine back to where it was three years ago, under President George W. Bush’s 2007 peace summit in Annapolis.</p>
<p>It is difficult to find anyone who has much good to say about President Obama’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis so far.</p>
<p>One step forward, three steps back. That is the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a nutshell.</p>
<p>• Matthew McAllester: <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2010/09/02/israel-palestinian-peace-talks-netanyahu-is-the-hateful-savior.html" type="external">Bibi Is the Hateful Savior</a>Still, it’s good to see that Obama hasn’t lost his celebrated sense of confidence. The White House has said that these talks will tackle all “final status” issues, including East Jerusalem (which Palestinians claim as their future capital), the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees (which no president since Carter has dared bring up), and the final borders of the Palestinian state (which is divided into two—Gaza, controlled by Hamas, and the West Bank, controlled by the Palestinian Authority). In other words, Obama has promised to settle all of the issues that four decades of violence have created, and two decades of peace talks have failed to overcome—and he’s going to do it, as <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-sees-washington-peace-talks-as-start-of-year-long-process-1.311144" type="external">Secretary of State Clinton announced</a> last week, in one year… while blindfolded… and with one hand tied behind his back.</p>
<p>• <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2010/09/01/mideast-peace-talks-learn-from-my-mistakes-obama.html" type="external">Martin Indyk: Learn From Our Mistakes, Mr. President</a>It’s hard to know if the White House is serious or not (not about the blindfolded thing… I made that part up). It is difficult to find anyone who has much good to say about President Obama’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis so far. The pro-Israel camp faults him for focusing too narrowly on the settlements issue. The pro-Palestine camp criticizes him for backing down on his pledge to be tough with Netanyahu. Neither side has confidence in his ability to broker a deal at all, let alone in a year. A senior Israeli minister in Netanyahu’s government summed up the feelings on both sides by <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704476104575440580729721798.html" type="external">admitting</a> “No one really thinks the peace talks will succeed. But this is how the world judges us, and so we have no choice but to go through with the dance.”</p>
<p>At least Abbas and Netanyahu seem to be playing along with the charade. Both men gave rousing speeches to their constituencies about their enthusiasm for direct peace talks. Abbas called it a “ <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944074,00.html" type="external">historic opportunity</a>” and Netanyahu claimed that Israel is “coming to the talks with a genuine desire to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/20/israel.palestinian.talks.reax/" type="external">reach a peace agreement</a> between the two peoples.”</p>
<p>But it did not take long for both sides to retreat to their respective corners, with Abbas claiming that negotiations cannot move forward if the 10-month “settlement freeze” put in place by Israel <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-end-of-settlement-freeze-would-end-direct-peace-talks-1.309608" type="external">is not extended</a>, and Netanyahu pledging that he would neither consider the possibility of a divided Jerusalem nor capitulate to another settlement freeze—not with his right-wing supporters threatening to take him down should he do so.</p>
<p>“This is not a time to mince words as this is literally a day of judgment for our prime minister and government,” <a href="http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=186005" type="external">said Naftali Bennett</a>, the director-general of the Yesha Council, which represents the settlement communities. “If we are not given the legal right to actually build homes for our families and children, we cannot allow this coalition to continue to govern.”</p>
<p>And, as expected, Hamas has made its feelings about the peace talks known by brutally attacking a family of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, a not-so-subtle message from Hamas' leaders in Gaza that they have no interest in supporting peace talks that exclude them. Not to be outdone, the Hamas leader-in-exile, Khalid Meshaal, <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100826/FOREIGN/708259834/1002/FOREIGN" type="external">issued a statement</a> from the comfort of his lush, peaceful villa in Damascus—hundreds of miles from the devastation of Gaza—that “there are no Palestinian or Arab reasons for these talks.” Indeed, Meshaal tipped his hand by admitting that if these talks succeed they would “liquidate the Palestinian cause,” by which I’m pretty sure he means they will render him and his feckless cabal in Syria irrelevant.</p>
<p>I recognize that those of us in the media who want peace for Israel and dignity for Palestine are supposed to gush enthusiasm and feign optimism every time a U.S. president gathers the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together in the same room. The situation in the region has become so desperate that we have no choice but to put away our skepticism and confidently declare that “this time things are different… this time there’s hope” (Exhibit A: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/opinion/27indyk.html?_r=2" type="external">Martin Indyk</a> in The New York Times).</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>But it’s hard to be optimistic when we have been using the same playbook for decades and have not come one inch closer to a peaceful resolution to the conflict (Exhibit B: the Madrid Conference, the Oslo Accords, the Hebron Agreement, the Wye Agreement, Camp David, the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit, the Road Map to Peace…). A right-wing Israeli coalition, ruled by a prime minister whose party platform <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1983751.stm" type="external">explicitly rejects</a> the possibility of a two-state solution, and a powerless Palestinian leadership at war with itself does not inspire confidence that this time things will be different, this time there is hope.</p>
<p>Wasn’t the whole point of electing Barack Obama to throw away the playbook altogether? Isn’t this the president who staked his reputation on his ability to think outside of the box? Why is it then that, when it comes to the Middle East peace process, he is relying on the same policies—indeed, the same personnel!—that have repeatedly failed to move the Israelis and Palestinians one step closer to peace?</p>
<p>What does “thinking outside of the box” look like? It begins by abandoning the Bush-era idea of trying to play Hamas and Fatah against each other and discarding the notion that the Palestinians can be neatly divided between a “moderate” pro-America camp and “extremist” anti-America one ( <a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/author/peter-harling" type="external">Robert Malley and Peter Harling</a> make this point brilliantly in the recent issue of Foreign Affairs). It requires negotiating with Hamas, as both the former director of Mossad and the former head of Israel’s National Security Council have advised, instead of continuing to pretend we can ignore the most dynamic political and social force in the region (Is there anyone left who actually believes that isolating Hamas in Gaza has made it weaker?). It demands that the U.S. tie the billions of dollars in aid that the Israelis and Palestinians receive each year from American taxpayers to their respective obligations in working toward a two-state solution. And it requires doing more than just talking about a Palestinian state, but actually making it a reality.</p>
<p>Here’s a deadline that would actually make a difference: Instead of pretending that all final-status negotiations will be resolved in a year, Obama should announce that on September 1, 2012—two years from the start of this newest round of talks—the United States government, along with the European Union and the United Nations, will be ready to officially recognize the existence of an independent Palestinian state. Ready or not.</p>
<p>That would light a fire under everyone’s seat. It would jolt the region out of its stupor. It would give the Israeli government a deadline to get its act together and, perhaps ironically, shield Netanyahu from the inevitable backlash he would face if he tried on his own to push for a Palestinian state. And it would give the Palestinians in both the West Bank and in Gaza a reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, this time will be different, this time there is hope.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I’m with Israeli lawmaker <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/21/world/la-fg-mideast-cynicism-20100821" type="external">Meir Sheerit,</a> who, when asked about the new round of talks, said, “The price of peace is well known by everyone. We've been talking about this for 15 years. We don't need to waste any more time.”</p>
<p><a href="http://rezaaslan.com/" type="external">Reza Aslan</a> is author of the international bestseller <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812971892/thedaibea-20/" type="external">No god but God</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400066727/thedaibea-20/" type="external">How to Win a Cosmic War</a> (published in paperback as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812978307/thedaibea-20/" type="external">Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized World</a>). Follow him on <a href="http://twitter.com/aslanmedia" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reza-Aslan/45860087915" type="external">Facebook</a>.</p> | Middle East Peace Process: Obama’s Broken Peace Promise | true | https://thedailybeast.com/middle-east-peace-process-obamas-broken-peace-promise | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
<p>Over thirty years ago, my father was arrested for intervening at an anti-war rally when a woman was being roughhoused by what turned out to be a plainclothes police officer. His penalty was seven days in jail. Today, the penalty might be closer to seven years, if the case of Cecily McMillan is any indication.</p>
<p>On March&#160;17, 2012, McMillan was at Zuccotti Park during a protest marking the six-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. When the police began a mass arrest of the peaceful protestors, she was violently grabbed on her breast from behind — an action that, as any woman will tell you, will cause an instinctive response. McMillan’s response is what the NYPD calls an assault on their officer; the physical evidence of what prompted her action is downplayed.</p>
<p>But the bruising on her breast wasn’t all. After her arrest, McMillan was beaten severely by the police on her ribs and arms until she went into a seizure. She was subsequently denied medical treatment by the police, in full view of other protestors who pleaded with police to attend to her. The NYPD claim she initiated the altercation and charged her with a felony —&#160;an unfortunately common reversal on the part of the police after abusing arrestees.</p>
<p>Assistant district attorney Erin Choi stated in court that during McMillan’s arrest she cried out to protestors “Are you filming this?” and implied she did so out of fear of being caught on video attacking an officer. But Occupy Wall Street activists — and anyone who has ever demonstrated and seen police mistreat protestors —&#160;knows that the reason we chant “the whole world is watching” is that we want to remind the police that their actions will be documented. Unfortunately, it is a usually fruitless attempt to dissuade excessive force, as in McMillan’s case.</p>
<p>McMillan is just one of more than 700 protesters arrested in the course of New York Occupy Wall Street’s mass mobilization. These mass arrests during a peaceful protest resulted from a policing policy of arresting first and finding charges later — a pattern of unjust policing noted in a scrupulously detailed <a href="http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/GLOBAL_JUSTICE_CLINIC_OWS_REPORT" type="external">report</a> issued by the NYU School of Law and Fordham Law School faculties. According to this report, the NYPD routinely used excessive force against Occupy protestors, with the police employing batons, pepper spray, scooters, and horses against the peaceful demonstrators. This behavior has led to the vast majority of these 700 charges being dismissed by the courts.</p>
<p>McMillan’s case, however, has not been dismissed. The DA’s office offered her a plea bargain: avoid jail time in exchange for pleading guilty to felony assault. A dedicated pacifist, she refused.</p>
<p>McMillan’s arresting officer Grantley Bovel has previously been involved in incidents involving the possible excessive use of force, as well as other possibly illegal behavior, but the judge ruled this history is inadmissable. Bovel is also currently being sued by a protestor arrested the same day as McMillan for purposefully bashing his head into the seats of a police bus while dragging him down the aisle.</p>
<p>I have known Cecily personally for several years. She has been an active member of both the Democratic Socialists of America and our youth section, the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS), serving as the volunteer northeast regional coordinator for YDS in 2011–2. Now, NYC activist networks should mobilize on her behalf.</p>
<p>Dozens of supporters have attended trial dates and it is important that the jury see that McMillan has widespread support in the next two weeks. It could be a major factor in the jury’s decision.</p>
<p>Let’s not let the NYPD steamroll McMillan the way they have hundreds of Occupy protestors —&#160;and the countless New Yorkers facing systemic violence every day through stop and frisk policies.</p>
<p>Supporters can find more information at the Justice For Cecily <a href="http://justiceforcecily.com" type="external">website</a>, where you can donate to her defense fund and sign up to attend court sessions at the New York City Criminal Court (100&#160;Centre Street, Room&#160;1116 Part&#160;41, on the eleventh floor) every day except Thursdays from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm and 2:00 to 4:30 pm. Check the site for the latest schedule.</p> | The Trial of Cecily McMillan | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2014/04/the-trial-of-cecily-mcmillan/ | 2018-10-05 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Joseph Apodaca was sentenced to 36 years in prison for the rape and brutal beating of a young woman he left for dead in Valencia County in 2014, the state Attorney General’s Office announced Friday.</p>
<p>The victim almost died and will suffer medical issues for the rest of her life due, the AG’s Office said in a news release.</p>
<p>In November, Apodaca was convicted on two counts of criminal sexual penetration in the first degree, and one count of tampering with evidence following a two week trial.</p>
<p>“I am thankful for the courage and perseverance of the young woman who suffered this horrific rape, and I hope she has some semblance of closure and justice now that we are sending Joseph Apodaca to prison for 36 years,” said Attorney General Balderas in a statement.</p>
<p>Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Gilbert prosecuted the matter on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General and Second Judicial District Judge Alisa Hadfield presided over the case.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Man gets 36 years in Valencia County rape | false | https://abqjournal.com/995103/man-gets-36-years-in-valencia-county-rape.html | 2 |
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<p>Here’s an impressive statistic — a high school without one dropout.</p>
<p>The 3-year-old Arrowhead Park Early College High School, part of the Las Cruces Public Schools district, claims that distinction. It’s a high school with a focus on academics and a clear mission: to educate students who want to earn an associate’s degree or graduate with marketable skills and who are willing to forgo some of the amenities a regular high school offers like extracurricular activities and interscholastic athletics.</p>
<p>You won’t likely find a track and field team at Arrowhead, but you will find study tracks in pre-engineering, architecture and drafting, criminal justice, creative media technology and health care occupations.</p>
<p>There is no admission test, and students are chosen by lottery. No cherry picking.</p>
<p>The demographic of the Arrowhead student body, now at 335 students, is close to the district’s — 67 percent Hispanic, compared with 75 percent district-wide, and 43 percent economically disadvantaged, compared with 57 percent districtwide. Nearly two-thirds come from families in which no one else has a college degree.</p>
<p>The school came about from a push by a partnership of local businesses and educators to help improve the district’s graduation rate, just 54 percent in the 2007-2008 academic year. It’s improved to 71.2 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>While other high schools in the state offer dual credit classes starting in the junior year, Arrowhead has taken the concept a step further by bringing in motivated ninth-graders. It is similar to Albuquerque Public School’s Early College Academy.</p>
<p>Some of the benefits of dual credit, according to the Legislative Finance Committee and the University of New Mexico’s Center for Education Policy Research, are higher academic performance, higher high school graduation rate, higher college graduation rate and shorter time to graduate. That can equate to less cost to students and their families, higher earning potential for students and less cost to the state.</p>
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez is high on the concept and wants to see it expanded to other school districts. She is seeking $500,000 from the Legislature to open four or five more college high schools around the state. The Legislature should step up and approve the governor’s request to get the ball rolling.</p>
<p>Arrowhead looks like a template for success that should be replicated. Kudos to the Las Cruces’ district, Superintendent Stan Rounds and the business communty for taking the initiative.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p> | Editorial: State Should Expand On Dual Credit Success | false | https://abqjournal.com/167091/state-should-expand-on-dual-credit-success.html | 2013-02-08 | 2 |
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<p>Bush administration officials quietly confirm that the U.S. will accept what international law confirms: Iran and every country signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty has the right to enrich uranium for civilian energy purposes. This, following Bush’s contention that this provision in the treaty constitutes a “loophole,” with the intimation that the treaty (which has some provisions already ignored by the U.S.) ought to be rewritten! This, following Vice President Cheney’s repeated declarations that the Iranians are “already sitting on an awful lot of oil and gas. Nobody can figure why they need nuclear as well to generate energy.”</p>
<p>The neocons have all along challenged Iran’s right to continue the nuclear program begun with U.S. support under the Shah. But now Condoleezza Rice is apparently specifically acknowledging that right. These are significant changes, which will, most likely, result in talks.</p>
<p>But even if Iran suspends enrichment—as it has before during negotiations with the Europeans, as a voluntary confidence-building measure, losing no face thereby—and even if Iranian delegates sit down at the table with Americans somewhat humbled by the mess in Iraq and persuaded reluctantly of the limits of U.S. power, there’s still a rocky road ahead. At any point the U.S. could announce that it has new evidence that contradicts Iran’s stated denial of a nuclear weapons program, terminate the talks—saying, “We’ve gone that last mile!”—and begin what would likely be either unilateral military moves against Iran, or ones conducted in tandem with Israel.</p>
<p>In a Fox interview just after the administration announced it would enter multilateral negotiations with Iran if it suspended its enrichment program, UN Ambassador John Bolton made it sound like a likely set-up. “The president’s made it very clear he wants to resolve the Iranian nuclear weapons program [sic] though peaceful and diplomatic means, but he’s also said that Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” he told his cherubic soul-mate, salivating warmonger Neil Cavuto.</p>
<p>Cavuto: But unacceptable means that if it keeps going on you’re going to do something about it . . .</p>
<p>Bolton: No option is taken off the table.</p>
<p>Cavuto: Military as well?</p>
<p>Bolton: Exactly.</p>
<p>Cavuto: Unilateral military action?</p>
<p>Bolton: Secretary Rice made that point . . . that’s why . . .</p>
<p>Cavuto: That we would act alone if we had to?</p>
<p>Bolton: That’s why he says no option is taken off the table. But it’s also why the president has reached out to [Russian] President Putin and other leaders in the past couple of days to say, “We’re making a significant step here” — that will be criticized by many of the president’s staunchest supporters here at home, but he’s taking this step to show strength and American leadership. He’s doing it to say “We gave Iran this last chance to show they are serious when they say ‘We don’t want nuclear weapons.'” This is “put up or shut up” time for Iran.</p>
<p>Among the “staunchest supporters” of Bush’s bellicose policies is of course the notorious former head of the Defense Policy Board who retains strong ties to the neocons surrounding Cheney who have dominated foreign policy to date. Addressing a sympathetic audience at the AIPAC conference in April Richard Perle opined that “The attack [on Iran] would be over before anybody knew what had happened,” adding that a dozen B-2 bombers could solve the problem overnight.</p>
<p>Bolton’s comment about criticism of the decision may hint at the disappointment felt by Cheney’s staff as well as Bolton himself, who’s been chomping at the bit to attack Syria and Iran. They may all resent Condi’s growing grip on foreign policy and the relative decline in the neocons’ power. The changing U.S. position causes some hope that the war plans already well advanced will remain on hold and maybe even be shelved, to the great relief of the top brass and most rational people. But as the diplomatic dance proceeds, one must avoid delusional optimism.</p>
<p>Perhaps there’s a relationship between the timing of the Iraqi and the Washington Post’s reporting of a strategic retreat from an attack on Iran. It allows the neocons to save some face, surely. Their first project, the imposition of Pax Americana on Afghanistan, has in this fifth year since the fall of Kabul produced anti-American rioting in the capital, reestablishment of Taliban control over the south, record opium harvests, and one U.S. GI death every four days. The second, the acquisition of control over Iraq, has failed miserably. While a college campus-sized “embassy”-the largest in the world—was rising in the heart of Baghdad (a fortress to shelter the world’s largest diplomatic mission from the wrath of a people enraged by the Abu Ghraibs, Hadithas, and daily abuses, humiliations and intolerable inconveniences caused by a criminal invasion), 1,400 civilians were killed by “sectarian violence” under the old regime in Baghdad. That’s just in Baghdad, and just in May alone! Failure, failure, failure.</p>
<p>And then, a message from Russia and China (and the world in general), delivered through Condi to Bush: We won’t play along with your game, designed to legitimate your planned attack on Iran. We won’t pass your resolution in the Security Council. Bush reportedly winced as his Secretary of State recommended the first U.S.-Iranian negotiations in 27 years. Hadn’t Cheney said, “We don’t negotiate with evil, we defeat it”?</p>
<p>GARY LEUPP is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion. He is the author of <a href="" type="internal">Servants, Shophands and Laborers in in the Cities of Tokugawa Japan</a>; <a href="" type="internal">Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan</a>; and <a href="" type="internal">Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900</a>. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s merciless chronicle of the wars on Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CP_Books.html" type="external">Imperial Crusades</a>.</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> | Bush and the Iran Deal | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/06/09/bush-and-the-iran-deal/ | 2006-06-09 | 4 |
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<p>MAYVILLE, Wis. (AP) — Firefighters in the Wisconsin community of Mayville had to respond to a fire at a familiar scene – their own firehouse.</p>
<p>Firefighters were dispatched round 10 p.m. Saturday after a passer-by reported seeing flames at the station, which is not staffed around the clock.</p>
<p>The volunteer fire department said in a statement Sunday that crews arrived to find a vehicle on fire inside the station and put it out. The fire was confined to the vehicle, but the station had to be ventilated due to the heavy smoke.</p>
<p>Investigators are still trying to figure out what sparked the fire. The department says the fire won't affect its operations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cleanup was underway Sunday.</p>
<p>Mayville is about 45 miles northwest of Milwaukee.</p>
<p><a href="#dae38dfd-13d0-44b7-b11f-2605c893a16e" type="external">© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p> | Firefighters in Wisconsin fight fire at their own firehouse | false | https://abqjournal.com/962297/firefighters-in-wisconsin-fight-fire-at-their-own-firehouse.html | 2017-03-05 | 2 |
<p>Is there a mound of old cell phones piling up in your drawer? Probably, right? The statistics are staggering. There are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users in the world. And the average American buys a new cell phone every 18 months. Those numbers make for a lot of used cell phones. Hopefully, you recycle the old devices. But more than likely, you don’t know what to do with them.</p>
<p>That’s where a new company called <a href="http://www.yourenew.com/" type="external">YouRenew</a> dials in. You Renew is an online platform that buys your old electronics, then refurbishes and sells them. The founders, 22-year-old Bob Casey and 23-year-old Rich Littlehale, are both still students at Yale University, but that’s not stopping these bright whippersnappers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Since launching in the summer of 2008, they’ve already raised over a million dollars from a venture-capital firm and got a well-regarded executive to step into the role of CEO.</p>
<p>Recycling and remarketing electronics, they believe, is the wave of the future. They’re just thrilled to be part of the innovation. “We’re really excited to be at the forefront of offering solutions to consumers," said Casey.</p>
<p><a href="http://video.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/v/4159250/phone-home-this-device-still-works?playlist_id=87013" type="external">Watch the video for more on their story.</a></p>
<p>It's very different having an idea about something than actually building it. Building and scaling a company always takes about three times longer.</p>
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<p>In the early days, not being patient enough to see a program all the way.</p>
<p>Find mentors and older and more successful business people to glean advice from.</p>
<p>Ability to handle the ups and downs (read stress), but remain focused.</p>
<p>We thought about how many old electronics we had at home and compared that to larger market statistics from reputable organizations like the EPA.</p>
<p>I think we're actually in a good spot in both. I guess you could say more of both always help, but it's not realistic and better to focus on driving ahead with what you have.</p>
<p>Twice a month, FOX Business profiles up-and-comers with stories that can help you build a better small business—or inspire you to start one. From renting hot rods to creating a socially-conscious record label to building a business entirely from waste, <a href="http://www.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/entrepreneurs/2010/02/12/young-guns-archive/" type="external">Young Guns</a> runs the gamut of startups with vision and verve.</p> | Young Guns: Phone Home: This Device Still Works | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2010/04/21/young-guns-phone-home-device-works.html | 2016-03-23 | 0 |
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<p>The Chief Executive of Exxon Mobil Corp is going to hold the top diplomat position in the U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump is going to entrust him with this position since he has enormous experience and close ties with the Russian government. This is based-on reports from a familiar source with the situation.</p>
<p>Mr. Trump's cabinet and inner circle is getting filled with people who are capable of co-operating with the Russian government and hence improve the relationship between the two countries.</p>
<p>The Exxon Mobil Corp CEO has had success in expanding Exxon in Russia for many years and he also managed to avoid the U.S. sanctions that were imposed on Russia following the seizure of Crimea. Tillerson was also awarded one of Russia's highest civilian honors the Russia Order of Friendship by President Vladmir Putin.</p>
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<p>The position of U.S. secretary of state had several candidates; Mitt Romney the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and other three individuals. However, Tillerson emerged as the ideal candidate. Tillerson has had two meetings with Mr. Trump regarding the position with the Saturday meeting at Trump Tower taking up more than two hours.</p>
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<p>This reports are based on a source that is close to the Trump's transition who spoke on condition of anonymity adding that the offer had not yet been made officially.</p>
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<p>Jason Miller who is Trump's spokesman reported that no announcement was forthcoming soon concerning the high-profile position. In a tweet that the spokesman made, he said that the Transition update had no announcement regarding the Secretary of State until the coming week.</p>
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<p>Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani withdrew from consideration as secretary of state on Friday. In a report made by NBC News, John Bolton who was a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations would also be named as deputy secretary of state.</p>
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<p>Tillerson's previous role as the CEO of Exxon involved overseeing the operations in more than 50 countries including Russia, he therefore has extensive experience. In collaboration with Rosnef, Exxon could sign a deal for joint oil exploration and production. This deal has birthed 10 joint ventures concerning projects in Russia. Despite the U.S. sanctions, Rosnef and Exxon unleashed their plans on drilling in the Russian Arctic as part of their joint venture.</p>
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<p>President-elect Trump has vowed to work for stronger U.S. and Russia ties and this is evident with the consideration that Tillerson is getting from Trump's transition. The relationship between the two had been affected by Russia's intervention in the war in Syria. Trump said that Tillerson is a world class player and not only a business executive, Trump also commended Tillerson for the unbelievable management of Exxon.</p> | Rex Tillerson of ExxonMobil Expected To Be Named Trump's Secretary of State | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/723-Rex-Tillerson-of-ExxonMobil-Expected-To-Be-Named-Trump-s-Secretary-of-State | 2016-12-10 | 0 |
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<p>The reported spills, which have not been publicly detailed, occurred at U.S. Oil Recovery, a former petroleum industry waste processing plant contaminated with a dangerous brew of cancer-causing chemicals. On Aug. 29, the day Harvey’s remnants cleared out, a county pollution control team sent photos to the Environmental Protection Agency of three large concrete tanks flooded with water. That led PRP Group, the company overseeing the ongoing cleanup, to call a federal emergency hotline to report a spill affecting nearby Vince Bayou.</p>
<p>Over the next several days, the company reported two more spills of potentially contaminated storm water from U.S. Oil Recovery, according to reports and call logs obtained by the AP from the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates the National Response Center hotline. The EPA requires that spills of oil or hazardous substances in quantities that may be harmful to public health or the environment be immediately reported to the 24-hour hotline when public waterways are threatened.</p>
<p>The EPA has not publicly acknowledged the three spills that PRP Group reported to the Coast Guard. The agency said an on-scene coordinator was at the site last Wednesday and found no evidence that material had washed off the site. The EPA says it is still assessing the scene.</p>
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<p>The AP reported in the days after Harvey that at least seven Superfund sites in and around Houston were underwater during the record-shattering storm. Journalists surveyed the sites by boat, vehicle and on foot. U.S. Oil Recovery was not one of the sites visited by AP. EPA said at the time that its personnel had been unable to reach the sites, though they surveyed the locations using aerial photos.</p>
<p>Following AP’s report, EPA has been highlighting the federal agency’s response to the flooding at Superfund sites. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reiterated that safeguarding the intensely polluted sites is among his top priorities, during a visit Friday to the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, one of the sites AP reported about two weeks ago.</p>
<p>Pruitt then boarded a Coast Guard aircraft for an aerial tour of other nearby Superfund sites flooded by Harvey, including U.S. Oil Recovery.</p>
<p>Photos taken Aug. 31 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show dark-colored water surrounding the site two days after the first spill was reported to the government hotline. While the photos do not prove contaminated materials leaked from U.S. Oil Recovery, they do show that as the murky floodwaters receded, they flowed through Vince Bayou and emptied into the ship channel leading to the San Jacinto River. The hotline caller identified Vince Bayou as the waterway affected by a spill of unknown material in unknown amounts.</p>
<p>Thomas Voltaggio, a retired EPA official who oversaw Superfund cleanups and emergency responses for more than two decades, reviewed the aerial photos, hotline reports and other documents obtained by AP.</p>
<p>“It is intuitively obvious that the rains and floods of the magnitude that occurred during Hurricane Harvey would have resulted in some level of contamination having been released to the environment,” said Voltaggio, who is now a private consultant. “Any contamination in those tanks would likely have entered Vince Bayou and potentially the Houston Ship Channel.”</p>
<p>He said the amount of contaminants spread from the site during the storm will likely never be known, making the environmental impact difficult to measure. The Houston Ship Channel was already a polluted waterway, with Texas state health officials warning that women of childbearing age and children should not eat fish or crabs caught there because of contamination from dioxins and PCBs.</p>
<p>PRP Group, the corporation formed to oversee the cleanup at U.S. Oil Recovery, said it reported the spills as legally required but said subsequent testing of storm water remaining in the affected tanks showed it met federal drinking water standards. The company declined to provide AP copies of those lab reports or a list of specific chemicals for which it tested, saying the EPA was expected to release that information soon.</p>
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<p>U.S. Oil Recovery was shut down in 2010 after regulators determined operations there posed an environmental threat to Vince Bayou, which flows through the property in Pasadena. Pollution at the former hazardous waste treatment plant is so bad that Texas prosecutors charged the company’s owner, Klaus Genssler, with five criminal felonies. The German native fled the United States and is considered a fugitive. Genssler did not respond to efforts to contact him last week through his social media accounts or an email account linked to his website address.</p>
<p>More than 100 companies that sent hazardous materials and oily waste to U.S. Oil Recovery for processing are now paying for the multimillion-dollar cleanup there through a court-monitored settlement, including Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations Inc., U.S. Steel Corp. and Dow Chemical Co.</p>
<p>Past sampling of materials at the site revealed high concentrations of hazardous chemicals linked to cancer, such as benzene, ethylbenzene and trichloroethylene. The site also potentially contains toxic heavy metals, including mercury and arsenic.</p>
<p>A 2012 EPA study of the more than 500 Superfund sites across the United States located in flood zones specifically noted the risk that floodwaters might carry away and spread toxic materials over a wider area.</p>
<p>Over the past six years, remediation efforts at U.S. Oil Recovery have focused on the northern half of the site, including demolishing contaminated structures, removing an estimated 500 tons of sludge and hauling away more than 1,000 abandoned containers of waste.</p>
<p>PRP Group said the southern portion of the site, including the three waste tanks that flooded during Harvey, has not yet been fully cleaned. Over the years workers have removed more than 1.5 million gallons of liquid waste — enough to fill nearly three Olympic-sized swimming pools.</p>
<p>AP began asking the EPA whether contaminated material might have again leaked from U.S. Oil Recovery last week, after reviewing the aerial photos taken Aug. 31. The EPA said it visited the site on Sept. 4, nearly a week after site operators reported an initial spill, and again the following week. The EPA said that its staff saw no evidence that toxins had washed away from the scene during either visit.</p>
<p>“Yesterday, an EPA On-scene coordinator conducted an inspection of Vince Bayou to follow up on a rumor that material was offsite and did not find any evidence of a black oily discharge or material from the U.S. Oil Recovery site,” an EPA media release said on Thursday.</p>
<p>PRP Group said the spills occurred at the toxic waste site on Aug. 29, Sept. 6 and Sept. 7. One of the EPA’s media releases on Sept. 9, more than 11 days after the first call was made to the hotline, made reference to overflowing water at the scene, but did not describe it as a spill.</p>
<p>The company said it reported the first spill after Harvey’s floodwaters swamped the three tanks, filling them. The resulting pressure that built up in the tanks dislodged plugs blocking a series of interconnecting pipes, causing the second and third spills reported to the hotline the following week.</p>
<p>The company does not know how much material leaked from the tanks, soaking into the soil or flowing into nearby Vince Bayou. As part of its post-storm cleanup workers have vacuumed 63 truckloads holding about 315,000 gallons from the tanks.</p>
<p>The Superfund site is located just a few hundred yards from the Pollution Control Services offices for Harris County, which includes Houston. Its director, Bob Allen, says his team took pictures of the flooding on Aug. 29, when the area that includes the three big tanks was still underwater. The AP requested those photos as public records, but they have not yet been released.</p>
<p>Allen said his staff did not note any black water or oily sheen on the surface at the time, and did not collect water samples for testing. He said the EPA later sampled the area to determine whether there was contamination.</p>
<p>“We knew that the water probably got into the plant, probably washed out some of the stuff that was in the clarifier,” Allen said, referring to one of the old concrete tanks once used to store toxic waste. “Once they get done with the assessment of that site and the other Superfund Harris County sites, then they’ll probably let us know, let the public know, what’s been going on.”</p>
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<p>Biesecker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Reese Dunklin in Dallas and Jeff Horwitz in Washington contributed to this reporting.</p>
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<p>Follow Biesecker at <a href="http://twitter.com/mbieseck" type="external">http://twitter.com/mbieseck</a> and Bajak at https://twitter.com/fbajak</p>
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<p>Submit a confidential tip to The Associated Press at https://www.ap.org.tips</p> | AP Exclusive: Evidence of spills at toxic site during floods | false | https://abqjournal.com/1065985/ap-exclusive-evidence-of-spills-at-toxic-site-during-floods.html | 2017-09-19 | 2 |
<p>Aug. 30 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy on Wednesday ordered two of its ships to travel to the Texas coast to assist with relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the military announced.</p>
<p>Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Fleet <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Forces_Command/" type="external">Forces Command</a>, ordered <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/USS_Kearsarge/" type="external">USS Kearsarge</a>, an amphibious assault ship, and USS Oak Hill, a dock landing ship, to depart from their homeports in Norfolk, Va. The two vessels are scheduled to leave Thursday.</p>
<p>“These ships are capable of providing medical support, maritime civil affairs, maritime security, expeditionary logistic support, medium and heavy lift air support, and bring a diverse capability including assessment and security,” <a href="http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=102213" type="external">a news release</a> from the Navy said.</p>
<p>The news comes hours after Texas Gov. <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Greg_Abbott/" type="external">Greg Abbott</a> said he has doubled the National Guard deployment to deal with the fallout from the storm.</p>
<p>Some 2,000 Texas National Guard members have joined the 12,000 already active throughout the storm-hit region.</p>
<p>“We are also, as we speak, coordinating with the National Guard Bureau to deploy an additional 10,000 National Guard from other states,” Abbott said during an afternoon news conference.</p>
<p>In the past week, the guard has rescued more than 8,500 people from floodwaters caused by now Tropical Storm Harvey, which made landfall for a second time overnight.</p>
<p>During the briefing, Abbott offered a look at some other numbers:</p>
<p>— The National Guard has evacuated 26,000 people.</p>
<p>— More than 32,000 displaced residents have been housed in shelters throughout Texas.</p>
<p>— Texas Parks and Wildlife reports 5,000 evacuees were at state parks, most in shelters, cabins or mobile homes.</p>
<p>— About 280,000 people were without power by midday Wednesday.</p>
<p>— Another 14 counties have been added to the federal disaster declaration, bringing the total to 33. Some of those counties, like Dallas, are only eligible for funds to public organizations assisting refugees since North Texas was not directly affected by the storm.</p>
<p>— About 210,000 people have registered for assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has already approved $37 million for individual aid.</p>
<p>Abbott warned that despite the sunny skies in some regions of southeast Texas, the flood threat isn’t over. Rain is still expected in the Beaumont region and the Sabine, Neches, Brazos and Colorado rivers are all expected to continue flooding.</p>
<p>“The worst is not yet over for Southeast Texas, as far as rain is concerned,” he said.</p>
<p>After four days of severe weather, parts of Houston began to dry out Wednesday. The city’s fire department, though, said it’s <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/hurricaneharvey/article/Houston-hunkers-to-Harvey-braces-for-long-storm-12003388.php?utm_content=chron_hp_zonec_hold_v1&amp;ipid=chronhpholdreccos" type="external">continued to get calls</a> for high-water rescues.</p>
<p>Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said the department responded to more than 2,100 incidents within an 18-hour period, and made 763 water rescues by 6 p.m. Tuesday. He added that 124 residents of a nursing home in northeast Houston were among those rescued.</p>
<p>Flooding could worsen as rivers and bayous continue to rise in Texas, which could cause breaches and failures at levees.</p>
<p>AccuWeather President Joel N. Myers called Harvey a 1,000-year flood, and warned that some parts of Houston will be “uninhabitable for weeks and possibly months due to water damage, mold, disease-ridden water.”</p>
<p>“This will be the worst natural disaster in American history,” he said. “The economy’s impact, by the time its total destruction is completed, <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/accuweather-predicts-hurricane-harvey-to-be-the-most-costly-natural-disaster-in-us-history/70002597" type="external">will approach $160 billion</a>, which is similar to the combined effect of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. The disaster is just beginning in certain areas.”</p>
<p>As the city begins cleanup, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/08/29/Houston-mayor-imposes-curfew-to-prevent-looting/6931504054085/" type="external">curfew to prevent looting</a> and other “potential criminal acts.”</p>
<p>President <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Donald_Trump/" type="external">Donald Trump</a> took to Twitter on Wednesday to offer sympathies.</p>
<p>“After witnessing first hand the horror &amp; devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey,my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!” <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/902881712010653697" type="external">Trump wrote</a>.</p> | Navy sends ships to assist Harvey efforts | false | https://newsline.com/navy-sends-ships-to-assist-harvey-efforts/ | 2017-08-30 | 1 |
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