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<p>Capt. Aric Wheeler said police have a weapon and DNA evidence that links Martinez, 53, to Boyer’s home in the 1100 block of West Alameda. He would not share details of the evidence.</p>
<p>Two men with criminal records who face charges in Martinez’s death, including Martinez’s brother, are now persons of interest in Boyer’s death, Wheeler said.</p>
<p>Police speculated since early in the case that Boyer, 34, a screen printer and digital design artist, was likely shot when he interrupted someone in the middle of a burglary on Feb. 23.</p>
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<p>Boyer lived a few blocks away from Torreon Park, where Martinez’s body was found March 12.</p>
<p>Suspicion in Martinez’s death quickly focused on his brother, Felix Martinez, 42, and their acquaintance, Sam Leyba, 43. A subsequent search of Leyba’s home turned up several suspected stolen items from area burglaries.</p>
<p>Police previously declined to make a connection between the two deaths, but Wheeler said evidence processed at the state crime laboratory provided a link.</p>
<p>“DNA evidence links (David Martinez) to the Boyer residence,” Wheeler said. “Obviously, he can’t give us a statement.”</p>
<p>But that does not mean police are pinning Boyer’s death on the late David Martinez.</p>
<p>Wheeler said Friday that Leyba and Felix Martinez are persons of interest in the Boyer case. Wheeler said further investigation would include comparing evidence in the Boyer murder to DNA taken from the two men.</p>
<p>There are no other persons of interest or suspects in the Boyer homicide, Wheeler said.</p>
<p>“We’re not looking for outstanding individuals involved in this case,” Wheeler said. “…. Are we looking for an armed and dangerous subject? Not really.”</p>
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<p>Felix Martinez has been charged with the murder of his brother and with tampering with evidence. He was released from Santa Fe County jail June 6. He posted a $50,000 surety bond and was placed on electronic monitoring, online court records indicate.</p>
<p>Leyba is being held in the Santa Fe County jail. He faces two cases in state District Court for a felony tampering with evidence charge and four charges of receiving stolen property. He was initially also charged with murder, but the murder charge dropped off as the case moved up from magistrate court to district court.</p>
<p>Leyba has a criminal record that includes two misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence, but no felonies. Wheeler said in March that David Martinez had a lengthy criminal records in other states.</p>
<p>Felix Martinez reportedly told police he acted in self-defense by shooting his brother during an argument when it looked as though David Martinez was reaching for a gun.</p>
<p>Leyba told police that on March 11 at his home on Ephriam Street, he and the Martinez brothers were drinking shots of alcohol and he went into his bedroom to watch TV. He said he heard the Martinez brothers arguing and dishes shattering, so he told them to stop destroying his property, and David Martinez left.</p>
<p>Police found a bullet hole in the glass and screen of a window on the south side of Leyba home. Police reports suggest David Martinez was shot in the chest and his body was dumped in Torreon Park by his brother and Leyba, who used a dolly to transport him.</p>
<p>Boyer ran his own business, worked as an art director for Licked Magazine and worked as screen printer and instructor at the Warehouse 21 teen arts center.</p> | Police: Clues Link 2 Killings | false | https://abqjournal.com/117098/police-clues-link-2-killings.html | 2012-07-07 | 2 |
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<p>VIGIL: Served as a judge in numerous NM courts</p>
<p>The Spirit of New Mexico Awards were created by the Greater Albuquerque of Chamber and the Albuquerque Journal in 2009 to celebrate individuals and groups who make a difference in New Mexico but who receive few accolades. The selection process for the winners is now underway.</p>
<p>A native New Mexican, Vigil was elected to the New Mexico Supreme Court in November 2012 and was elected chief justice on April 4, 2014. Prior to her election to the high court, Vigil served as a district judge, and chief judge, on the 1st Judicial District Court, comprising Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties.</p>
<p>Vigil presided over Children’s Court for more than 10 years while serving as a District Court judge.</p>
<p>She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from New Mexico State University and her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.</p>
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<p>Also presented at the luncheon is the Harry E. Kinney Good Neighbor Award – given to someone for his or her personal character and individual work that resembles the late Mayor Harry E. Kinney, known for his generosity toward others and his leadership as mayor of Albuquerque.</p>
<p>Contact Beverly Cruz at 764-3754 or <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> for more information or to purchase tickets. For chamber members, individual tickets are $40 and $400 for a table of 10. For nonmembers, tickets are $50 and $500 for a table of 10.</p>
<p /> | Chief justice to be keynote speaker at Spirit of NM Awards luncheon | false | https://abqjournal.com/478901/chief-justice-to-be-keynote-speaker-at-spirit-of-nm-awards-luncheon.html | 2 |
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<p>Pokemon Go is a free, fun augmented reality app that took the mobile gaming industry by storm. Literally millions of gamers across the world enjoy this innocent, fun-filled app on a daily basis. But what if it wasn't so innocent? What if instead of a perfect time-waster Pokemon Go was really a shadowy front for an evil Russian organization bent on influencing the outcome of the 2016 presidential election?</p>
<p>Is <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/12/media/dont-shoot-us-russia-pokemon-go/index.html" type="external">Pokemon Go</a> just a harmless little app, or is it the next cybersecurity threat in Russia's shadow war against the United States of America?</p>
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<p>Don't forget to visit the <a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/i49Rl8UmOQXQ/" type="external">Kaiju Conservative</a> on BitChute. Like the video and subscribe to the channel.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>You can also listen to the <a href="https://youtu.be/3GcUBKvtV6k" type="external">Kaiju Conservative</a> on YouTube. Again, don't forget to like the video and subscribe to the channel.</p>
<p>Stop by the <a href="https://vid.me/dZEeN" type="external">Kaiju Conservative</a> on Vidme as well!</p>
<p>Take a look at some of my older videos here:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Why Should You Watch Netflix's Death Note?</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Sick, Evil Liberals Shill For Gun Control After Las Vegas</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Watch a Video Timeline of the Las Vegas Shooting</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Why Did Liberal Heads Explode Over Mike Pence's Quick Exit?</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">How Can You Keep The NFL From Committing Suicide?</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Why Is Lindsay Lohan A Freaking Moron?</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Watch Libtards Shower The Kaiju Conservative With Love!</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Dotard Hysteria Proves How Stupid Liberals Are</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Why Are Gun Control Fanatics Exploiting Las Vegas?</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Evil Liberal Scum Attack Trump After Mandalay Bay Shooting</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Watch Loathsome Liberals Dance on the Ashes of Mexico City</a></p> | Pokemon Go: Innocent Fun Or Evil Russian Cyberthreat? | true | https://spartareport.com/2017/10/pokemon-go-russian-cyberthreat/ | 2017-10-13 | 0 |
<p>In yet another ugly scene involving Antifa and Trump supporters, after the Trump rally in Phoenix Tuesday night, a group of protesters attempted to block a Ford pickup truck carrying Trump supporters. When the pro-Trumpers finally were able to start pulling away, a few of the "anti-fascist" protesters assaulted the Trump fans who were in the back of the truck.</p>
<p>The violent scene was caught on video by New York Times reporter, Simon Romero: ​</p>
<p>The video begins with the truck apparently blocked by Antifa protesters. The driver of the truck is in front engaged in a shouting match with the protesters standing in front of the vehicle. One Trump supporter, who is African-American, restrains the driver, urging him to get into the truck as the Antifa protesters are converging on them. The black Trump supporter along with a female and another male Trump supporter get into the back of the truck.</p>
<p>The truck begins, <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/online/black-trump-supporter-punched-while-fleeing-arizona-melee/" type="external">Mediaite</a> accusing the driver of initially "attempt[ing] to drive into protesters on the sidewalk," though in reality it looks like he's simply trying to turn left, which he does.</p>
<p>The truck drives carefully passes the protesters, but not before one of the Antifa thugs takes a few cheap shots on the black Trump supporter. Then others begin to join in, surrounding the bed of the truck, which still contains the female. The truck finally drives away.</p>
<p>Though over 7,000 people RSVPed online to protest Trump in Phoenix, <a href="" type="internal">only about 500 showed up</a>, a number dwarfed by the Trump supporters, an estimated 8,000 of whom filled the Phoenix Convention Center.</p>
<p>The scene remained mostly peaceful until after the rally, when the Antifa protesters began throwing objects, including rocks and bottles, at riot police, who responded with tear gas, pepper balls, and eventually pepper spray and rubber bullets.</p>
<p>A few thousand protesters showed up outside the event, and things were mostly peaceful until the end of the rally, when Trump supporters filtered out of the Phoenix Convention Center and police had to use tear gas to manage the crowds.</p>
<p>The riot police were able to disperse the crowd, though a few protesters remained. According to initial reports, at least three people were arrested.</p> | WATCH: Trump Supporters Blocked, Then Assaulted Outside Phoenix Rally | true | https://dailywire.com/news/20101/watch-trump-supporters-blocked-then-assaulted-james-barrett | 2017-08-23 | 0 |
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A new report says the average household is earning less than when the recession ended, and unemployment rates in 28 states are going up. Stanford University professor John Taylor, author of “First Principles: Five Keys to Restoring America’s Prosperity,” says it’s necessary to establish a “predictable policy” framework for rebuilding the economy. A steadier strategy would lead people to spend, expand and innovate.</p>
<p>For regular investors who aren’t making trades every day, does yesterday’s NASDAQ flash freeze really matter? Liquidnet CEO Seth Merrin says it’s an incredibly public problem, so investors who are watching it unfold may feel less confident about putting their money in equities. GFI Group Director John Spallanzani says we need an overseer on all of the exchanges, who can prevent more flash freezes from occurring.</p>
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<p>International outrage is growing over the latest claims that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its citizens. Gen. Jack Keane, U.S. Army (Ret.) says the international community has verified that Assad has chemical weapons, and it appears that he probably has used them in a suburb of Damascus, an area where rebels had made advances. Lou Dobbs says the president is faced with a grave choice: acknowledge that chemical weapons have been used and formulate a policy, or continue to seek further investigation. Gen. Keane says President Obama should use this incident as a catalyst to bring together a coalition to topple the Assad regime.</p>
<p>Neil Cavuto says he agrees with President Obama’s take on soaring college costs. While it’s not perfect, he says he likes the idea of holding college personnel like professors and administrators accountable to proving their worth to Uncle Sam. Former Reagan and Nixon senior advisor Pat Buchanan, however, says the Department of Education’s metrics for grading are flawed and can be the first step down a slippery slope.</p> | 4 to Watch: Will the Flash Freeze Hurt Everyday Investors? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/08/23/4-to-watch-will-flash-freeze-hurt-everyday-investors.html | 2016-06-14 | 0 |
<p>SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (1-1) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (1-1)</p>
<p>KICKOFF: Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Nissan Stadium. TV: FOX, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kevin-Burkhardt/" type="external">Kevin Burkhardt</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Charles_Davis/" type="external">Charles Davis</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Pam-Oliver/" type="external">Pam Oliver</a> (field reporter).</p>
<p>SERIES HISTORY: 16th regular-season meeting. Seahawks lead series, 10-5. This series has not had many meetings, especially since the Seahawks moved to the NFC. One of the most memorable moments came in 2009 in Seattle, where <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Chris_Johnson/" type="external">Chris Johnson</a> broke the 2,000-yard mark in the season finale that year.</p>
<p>KEYS TO THE GAME: The Seahawks will focus on containing the rushing attack of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/DeMarco_Murray/" type="external">DeMarco Murray</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Derrick-Henry/" type="external">Derrick Henry</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Marcus-Mariota/" type="external">Marcus Mariota</a>. Seattle’s linebackers and secondary match up well against Tennessee’s passing attack and will need to control the running game to force tougher throws in the passing game.</p>
<p>Offensively, Seattle will need to build upon an encouraging rushing performance last week against the 49ers. Get Chris Carson involved early to help create play-action opportunities for <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Russell_Wilson/" type="external">Russell Wilson</a>.</p>
<p>The Titans re-established the run game against Jacksonville, and they will need it to be effective this week when the Seahawks come to town. The Legion of Boom will be gunning for Mariota, and the Titans will need a strong rushing attack to help offset the Seahawks’ play-making secondary.</p>
<p>Defensively, the Titans will have to contain Wilson. The Seahawks struggle to run the ball, putting the onus on Wilson to drive the offense. But the Titans will have to be disciplined and stay in their rush lanes.</p>
<p>MATCHUPS TO WATCH:</p>
<p>–Seahawks RG Mark Glowinski vs. Titans NT Jurrell Casey. Glowinski has struggled in Seattle’s first two games and Casey brings another imposing interior lineman for him to deal with. While Casey will mostly draw C Justin Britt, he’ll occasionally get matchups on Glowinski as well, which could cause issues for Seattle’s offense. It is possible the Seahawks will start Oday Aboushi in place of Glowinski.</p>
<p>–Titans WR Rishard Matthews vs. Seahawks CB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Richard-Sherman/" type="external">Richard Sherman</a>. Some say Sherman has lost a step and isn’t quite the shutdown corner he was a couple of years ago. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury that was deemed serious enough to almost sideline him last week. Despite all of the additions, Matthews is still the Titans’ best wide receiver and the one Marcus Mariota looks to in clutch situations.</p>
<p>PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Titans RB Derrick Henry. With DeMarco Murray iffy due to a hamstring injury, Henry could be in line to get his first start of the season on Sunday against the Seahawks. Henry came off the bench and had a 92-yard game on 14 carries, including a 17-yard TD run, in Week 2.</p>
<p>FAST FACTS: Seahawks QB Russell Wilson has been death on AFC opponents, compiling an incredible 127.9 QB rating while averaging 297.6 yards per game with a 22-1 TD-INT ratio. … Seahawks CB Richard Sherman had an interception the last time these teams played in 2013, one of an NFL-high 26 he has notched in the last five years. … Titans QB Marcus Mariota loves playing against NFC teams, rolling up a 121.4 QB rating in seven games with an 18-3 TD-INT ratio. … Titans LB Wesley Woodyard is one of four players with at least 15 sacks (17.5) and seven interceptions since the start of the 2012 season.</p>
<p>PREDICTION: Given the Seahawks’ great defense and their offensive line’s great struggles to block anyone, it might not take much offense to win this one. A win here would stamp the Titans as the favorite in a weak AFC South. If they can run the ball decently enough and not have to throw more than about 25 times, they will prevail.</p>
<p>OUR PICK: Titans, 17-13.</p>
<p>–Bucky Dent</p> | Seattle Seahawks vs. Tennessee Titans: Prediction, preview, pick to win | false | https://newsline.com/seattle-seahawks-vs-tennessee-titans-prediction-preview-pick-to-win/ | 2017-09-21 | 1 |
<p>Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian has been held in a prison in Tehran for 10 months.&#160;For most of that time, the 39-year-old Iranian American was held in solitary confinement, hardly had any contact with his family and didn’t know why he was being held.&#160;In April, the Iranian government announced that the Post’s Tehran bureau chief was facing espionage charges.</p>
<p>Rezaian appeared in court Tuesday, as did his journalist wife Yeganeh Salehi, and another suspect, both of whom are out on bail.&#160;The trial is expected to last only a couple of days or weeks, and much to the concern of his family, the Washington Post and the State Department, the proceedings were&#160;closed to the public. Tuesday's court session lasted just two hours before being recessed to begin again later, according to Iranian state media reports.</p>
<p>Among those who had hoped to attend: His mother and&#160;his brother, Ali Rezaian, who has led a&#160; <a href="https://www.change.org/p/his-excellency-supreme-leader-ayatollah-seyyed-ali-khamenei-we-request-the-immediate-and-unconditional-release-of-jason-rezaian-from-iranian-custody" type="external">Change.org campaign</a>&#160;to free Rezaian that has more than 435,000 signatures.</p>
<p>Jason Rezaian has met with his lawyer only once —&#160;for a mere 90 minutes.&#160;Recently,&#160;Jason’s mother traveled to Iran and was able to have a face-to-face meeting with her son.&#160;According to Ali Rezaian, “there were two interrogators there in the room.&#160;They didn’t want to be known.&#160;They had masks on.&#160;They were there in the room, spoke English, and were able to understand what they were saying.”</p>
<p>As to whether any of Jason’s actions as a journalist might have led to accusations that he is a spy, Ali says “there hadn’t been issues in the past.&#160;There were specific rules and processes to become accredited as a journalist in Iran.&#160;Jason did those things, followed the rules and had good relations with the folks that do the accreditation.”</p>
<p>Douglas Jehl, foreign editor for the Washington Post and Jason’s boss, also rebuts&#160;the charges against him.&#160;“There’s no basis whatsoever to believe Jason was doing anything illegal. He was doing his job as a journalist, he was gathering information and talking to people, he was bouncing that information off of others, but the idea that any of it was untoward or espionage is simply ludicrous,” says Jehl.</p>
<p>Zahir&#160;Janmohamed, a close friend of Rezaian,&#160;followed the trial from the US. The two men got to know each other back in 2012, when Rezaian was preparing to go to Iran to become a reporter.</p>
<p>"We had a lot in common,” Janmohamed recalls, “we both wanted to show the countries of our ancestry with greater depth and greater nuance."</p>
<p>Rezaian, Janmohamed says, did add nuance to the reporting that was done on Iran. But it was all&#160;short-lived.</p>
<p>"Iran is unfortunately very paranoid … and while there is an element in Iran, especially among the youth who want to normalize relations with the US, who want Iran to open up and become more transparent, there are still some hardliners,” he explains.</p>
<p>To Janmohamed, Rezaian's arrest&#160;is "completely unfair."</p>
<p>“I miss him and I think about him all the time and I can’t believe this is still happening,” he says.</p>
<p>Jehl, from the Post,&#160;has also been pressing the Iranian government for access to the trial, but without response. “I personally have sought a visa to return to Iran as soon as Jason was arrested. We renewed our request on several occasions, renewed it again this week. I think it’s important that the Post be there to witness the trial to provide support to his family, to be able to confirm it proceeds in an open and fair fashion,”&#160;says Jehl.</p>
<p>Jehl's boss, Post executive editor Martin Baron,&#160; <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32879675" type="external">put it more bluntly in a statement</a>. "There is no justice in this system, not an ounce of it, and yet the fate of a good, innocent man hangs in the balance."</p>
<p>Ali Rezaian says: “Our hope is that at the trial, they’ll realize that there’s no basis for charging him here, no basis for thinking he was involved in any kind of espionage, but if, in fact, he’s found guilty, we’ll go through the appeals process."</p>
<p>Ali says the sad irony is that his brother moved to Iran years ago, to give the public around the world a greater understanding of&#160;Iran’s “complex society and complex culture.”</p>
<p>This story is based on an <a href="http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/to-the-point/public-radio-capitalism-and-native-advertising/detained-american-journalist-on-trial-in-iran" type="external">interview</a>&#160;that aired on PRI's <a href="http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/to-the-point" type="external">To the Point&#160;</a>with Warren Olney. The story was updated with interviews by Shirin Jaafari of <a href="" type="internal">PRI's The World.</a>&#160;Listen to the full interview with Rezaian's friend, <a href="" type="internal">Zafir Janmohamed</a>, an author and former Amnesty International official.&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 'There is no justice in this system, not an ounce of it' | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-05-26/jason-rezaians-trial-starts-family-and-colleagues-hope-best | 2015-05-26 | 3 |
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<p>During the first Small Business Saturday two years ago, participating retailers saw a 28 percent rise in sales, compared to previous years that didn’t celebrate SBS, organizers including American Express said in a news release.</p>
<p>For a list of the hundreds of local businesses participating in dozens of New Mexico cities, visit <a href="http://www.shopsmall.com" type="external">www.shopsmall.com</a> and type in your city.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some 87 percent of polled shoppers believe that small businesses are a critical component to economic health in the U.S., according to consumer data from 2011.</p>
<p>Small businesses employ nearly half of all private-sector workers and provide 42.9 percent of the private-sector payroll. In addition to generating jobs, thriving locally owned establishments raise real estate values and stimulate entire communities.</p>
<p>Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery, 303 Romero St. in Old Town, is among metro area businesses taking part.</p>
<p>“Come in … and you’ll get 10 percent off member mats and framed prints” and even a $25 credit bills for customers using their American Express cards, the business said in a news release.</p>
<p>“Most importantly, get out there and ‘shop small.’ Let’s make this November 24th the biggest day of the year for small businesses.”</p>
<p>Because local businesses recycle money through the community and create jobs, they boost the economy more than chain stores or retailers that aren’t locally owned, organizers said.</p>
<p>Data from the American Express Independent Retail Index suggest that strong local businesses even lead to greater property values for homeowners. The report discovered the home values in 27 different neighborhoods with booming independent businesses outperformed their broader markets by 50 percent over the last 14 years. — This article appeared on page B1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | On Saturday, Consider Shopping Small, Local | false | https://abqjournal.com/148120/on-saturday-consider-shopping-small-local.html | 2 |
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<p>In recent years, it’s become all the rage to support —or accept, or give in to—the notion of a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</p>
<p>Israel’s constant, voracious expansion of the settlements has rendered the establishment of a Palestinian state near-impossible, goes the argument, and anyway, strict nationalism has a tendency to lead to civil and human rights abuses, and we’re better off focusing on ending those in the name of a pure democracy. The two-state solution, one-staters maintain, is dead.</p>
<p>And the simple truth is that these are good points. Throw in the near parity in current Israeli and Palestinian population figures, and I can understand the impulse to leapfrog over an idea whose time appears to have come and gone, and move on to something else.</p>
<p>The problem with the one-state idea, however, is even simpler: The people who actually live in Israel and Palestine don’t want it.</p>
<p>When asked to choose between a two-state solution and a single, bi-national state <a href="http://www.jmcc.org/documents/75_nov_2011_english.doc" type="external">, an absolute majority of Palestinians preferred the former</a>, double the number of respondents who chose a bi-national state. Figures for Israeli opinion on a single, bi-national state are hard to come by, but when asked <a href="http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2011/p42ejoint.html" type="external">in a different study</a> about the Clinton Parameters (which presuppose a two-state agreement), 58% of Israelis (and 50% of Palestinians) supported a permanent solution based on the Clinton model, and <a href="http://www.peaceindex.org/indexMonth.aspx?num=239&amp;monthname=%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8" type="external">in a third study</a>, 76% of Israelis said that maintaining Israel’s Jewish character was more important than continuing to hold on to the West Bank.</p>
<p>Moreover, at this point in blood-drenched history, the idea that Israelis and Palestinians would readily agree, en masse, to give up on their dreams of national statehood strikes me as utopian. At best. For any kind of peace to be genuine, just, and durable, both peoples will need some time to get used to being neighbors without being at each other’s throats.</p>
<p>I can’t provide links for this—it’s my gut sense, based in years of exposure to the story—but I just cannot believe that Palestinians and Israelis are ready to pay taxes together, develop an educational system, and choose a new anthem. They hate and fear each other too thoroughly, and (it’s crucial that we remember this) for too many good reasons. Both peoples need time to lick their wounds, get to know each other as something other than Evil, and build (yes) confidence.</p>
<p>The notion of a two-state agreement has become such boring conventional wisdom—and so frustratingly elusive—that people forget how revolutionary the idea really is. The real (perhaps only) achievement of the Oslo Process was that it made a once crazy notion commonplace.</p>
<p>Until the early 1990s, both sides roundly rejected the idea of sharing the land. <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093575.html" type="external">In 1987</a>, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093575.html" type="external">only 21% of Israeli Jews were willing to even consider it</a>, and Palestinians could be arrested for flying their flag, just as Israelis could be arrested for meeting with members of the very organization with which their government now negotiates as a matter of course, the PLO.</p>
<p>As a result, an enormous amount of work has already gone into laying the groundwork for the establishment of a two-state resolution. From the <a href="http://www.ipcri.org/files/clinton-parameters.html" type="external">Clinton Parameters</a> (2000), to the non-official Ayalon-Nusseibeh Plan (2002) and <a href="http://www.geneva-accord.org/mainmenu/summary" type="external">Geneva Accord</a> (2003), to the <a href="http://www.al-bab.com/Arab/docs/league/peace02.htm" type="external">Arab Peace Initiative</a> (2002 and <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/843364.html" type="external">2007</a>), the basic framework has never been more clear: Two states along the 1967 lines, with mutually agreeable land-swaps, a mutually agreeable resolution of the refugee question, and a shared Jerusalem.</p>
<p>Today, quite honestly, the only thing that stands between us and a two-state solution is a lack of courage and goodwill (well, and that seemingly endless Israeli building program on the West Bank—but that which is built by human hands can also be pulled down by human hands).</p>
<p>Nationalism isn’t perfect. No human system or idea is. Perhaps someday the people we know as “Israelis” and “Palestinians” will live in some sort of federation, which will in turn prove itself to be a stepping stone to–what? I don’t know. I can hardly imagine, actually. But that isn’t now. And we cannot yet get there from here.</p>
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<p>Thus, I would submit that it is an unconscionable waste of our little remaining energy and too-few resources to try to organize people where we want them to be—like all people, Israelis and Palestinians can only be organized where they actually are. No matter how we might feel about where they are.</p>
<p>If we don’t create the context in which the folks actually living with this conflict can begin to heal and realize their very real, self-expressed dreams, I fear the sheer, unmitigated pain and misery they will wind up inflicting on each other. I fear flat-out catastrophe, yet another great disaster for both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples.</p>
<p>And so, I’m sticking with (am stuck with) advocating for the imperfect idea of building two separate states. To my mind, it’s the only option that has any chance of both being realized, and doing more good than harm.</p> | Why I'm Still a Two Stater | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-im-still-a-two-stater | 2018-10-02 | 4 |
<p>Published time: 31 Jul, 2017 14:24</p>
<p>The European Central Bank (ECB) has called for large fines on EU countries that fail to adopt the bloc’s economic reform recommendations.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/business/367142-eu-warn-members-budget-blowouts/" type="external" /></p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ebbox201705_05.en.pdf?375c1c0f99759e4fa05734bee73f2247" type="external">report</a> published on Monday, the bank expressed concerns over the sluggish pace of economic reform in the eurozone, saying it could hurt the bloc’s longer-term growth and stability.</p>
<p>According to the ECB, governments should be fined up to 0.1 percent of gross domestic product if they repeatedly fail to address economic flaws identified by EU authorities.</p>
<p>The measure is part of a new risk-monitoring system known as the macroeconomic imbalances procedure which was designed to prevent worrisome economic developments such as high current account deficits, unsustainable debt levels, and house-price bubbles.</p>
<p>“There seems to be a strong case for applying the corrective arm of this procedure for all countries with excessive imbalances,” said the ECB.</p>
<p>The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission said the number of countries in which EU authorities have identified “excessive imbalances” is at an all-time high. France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal, and Bulgaria, are among those countries.</p>
<p>In February the commission said that for more than 90 percent of its 2016 recommendations, there had been only “some,” “limited” or “no” progress on implementation. It noted that a very small number of recommendations had been “substantially” or “fully” implemented.</p>
<p>The ECB has explained the failure “is all the more concerning given the remaining rigidities and vulnerabilities in euro area countries.”</p>
<p>According to the central bank, the use of financial sanctions against offending governments “offers a well-defined process ensuring greater traction on reform implementation for the most vulnerable member states.”</p>
<p>Last year, the European Commission warned eight countries, including Italy, that their budgets might fail to comply with EU budget rules.</p>
<p>According to euro regulations, all the member states have to keep their budget deficits at or below three percent of GDP. Spain and Portugal have managed to avoid the fines despite failing to comply.</p> | ECB urges fines on eurozone members for failure to comply with reform rules | false | https://newsline.com/ecb-urges-fines-on-eurozone-members-for-failure-to-comply-with-reform-rules/ | 2017-07-31 | 1 |
<p>This package of stories on Illinois’ practice of prosecuting 17-year-olds as adults for felony crimes and its impact was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of The Chicago Reporter.</p>
<p>As police pinned Derrick Reed to the hood of a squad car, one thought raced through his mind: “Oh, man. I’m going to go away. I’m 17 now.”</p>
<p>The East Garfield Park teen’s coming-of-age story isn’t filled with school dances or football-team tryouts. Rather, the day that shaped his adolescence was Nov. 30, 2009.</p>
<p>It started out fairly unremarkable for him. Reed stepped out of his apartment and into a local open-air drug market. The operation was standard, and he had his role.</p>
<p>Customers would walk up to a 14-year-old and hand him some cash. The boy would signal to Reed to grab the drugs from a stash spot. Reed waded through the thick weeds of a vacant, trash-strewn lot.</p>
<p>On this day, two beat cops were within eyeshot, watching as the teens dealt the drugs. Reed fished around the ground, locating an empty juice bottle. He tipped it over, spilling out a shiny packet. As the 5-foot-6 teen ran the tiny foil wrapper back for the handoff, he could hear someone yelling back to him. “Lock it up. Five-O!” The voice pierced the crisp fall air. Before Reed knew it, a squad car had jumped the curb and officers were darting out after him.</p>
<p>The officers found the juice bottle and recovered from it five packets of heroin. The crime lab priced the drugs at $75. It was enough for a felony.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, Reed had just turned 17 one month earlier. That meant he could be booked as an adult.</p>
<p>Months later, he was a convicted felon.</p>
<p>Had Reed been charged in most parts of the country, he would have been subject to juvenile jurisdiction–”taking high school classes and receiving social services instead of in adult jail watching television round-the-clock and rooming with an adult twice his age. However, Illinois is one of only 12 states to automatically prosecute minors facing felony charges in the adult penal system. Over the past decade, fewer states are prosecuting minors as adults, and a state commission is now trying to figure out whether Illinois should be next.</p>
<p>“In no other arena are we willing to look at 17-year-olds as adults,” said Randell Strickland, the Illinois disproportionate minority contact coordinator of the McArthur Foundation’s Models for Change program. As a member of the state’s Juvenile Justice Commission, he’s hoping the research nudges lawmakers to transition the teens into the juvenile system. “We’re killing flies with sledgehammers. It’s not only wasting resources, but wasting lives,” he said.</p>
<p>A Chicago Reporter analysis of court data found that 17-year-olds convicted of felonies defy the perception of some that these teens are violent criminals who deserve to be punished alongside adults. A majority, 54 percent, of 17-year-olds prosecuted in Cook County’s adult courts were convicted for drug deals and property theft alone, according to the analysis.</p>
<p>Of all the convictions, 58 percent were for nonviolent offenses. Include robbery without a gun, and nonviolent offenses are 71 percent of all convictions. The single largest number of convictions was based on low-level drug offenses.</p>
<p>An overwhelming majority of these 17-year-olds, like Reed, are black–”77 percent. And most hail from just five impoverished areas, some of which are home to the highest long-term unemployment rates in the country–”including Austin, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Roseland and West Englewood.</p>
<p>Once these teens were charged and their cases headed to court, the odds were they’d plead guilty and end up with an adult felony conviction, regardless of whether they had a private lawyer or public defender, according to the analysis. All this, well before they’re able to vote, buy a pack of cigarettes or join the military.</p>
<p>“Why are we giving young people felony records that will haunt them for the rest of their lives?” said Liz Kooy, who has been tracking juveniles in adult court systems across the state over the better part of the past decade through the Illinois-based advocacy group the Juvenile Justice Initiative.</p>
<p>Kooy is among the few people who know the ins and out of how teens are prosecuted as adults under Illinois’ maze of laws. She worked at the Juvenile Transfer Advocacy Unit in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office at the beginning of the decade. There, she quickly became the go-to expert for minors caught in the adult system.</p>
<p>As Kooy saw it, her main job was to advocate for the teens so they wouldn’t slip through the cracks in the nation’s largest courthouse. She saw how judges, prosecutors and public defenders–”who represent a vast majority of the teens–”were at times under enormous pressure to move cases swiftly through the system. In her eyes, that has led to a lot of negotiating on criminal charges to get guilty pleas over the years, often with little regard for the long-term consequences of a felony conviction. All of those teens in the Reporter’s analysis are now convicted felons and will be locked out of federal student aid for college, military service, public aid and, in many cases, jobs–”for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>These teens “are given a lot of bad choices,” Kooy said. “They’re told, –˜You can plead and get two years or face six.’ “</p>
<p>The Reporter analyzed what happened when a plea was entered and found that overwhelmingly, 99 percent of all 17-year-olds pleaded guilty. Only one percent–”27 people–”pleaded not guilty.</p>
<p>Once convicted, the teens weren’t given just a slap on the wrist for their crimes. More than half of them were sentenced to adult prison. According to the Reporter’s analysis, 882 of the 17-year-olds whose cases were opened since 2006 were sentenced to a combined 3,103 years behind bars in adult prison. More than half of those youth were sentenced to prison times of more than three years. Those remaining were sentenced to alternatives, including probation, community service or court supervision.</p>
<p>Abishi Cunningham, who now oversees the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, said he would not comment on the Reporter’s findings without seeing the analysis. But it’s common knowledge that annual attorney caseloads in Cook County have long exceeded the national standard of 150 felony cases per attorney, drawing criticism from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers that the lawyers don’t have the resources to adequately vet cases. “I don’t think you’d ever find someone who would say, –˜I twisted someone’s arm to get a plea,’ ” said former Public Defender Sean Harrison who now works criminal cases in private practice. “They’d lose their [law] license for starters.”</p>
<p>According to the Public Defender’s Office, the 80 lawyers at Cook County’s largest courthouse–”at 26th Street and California Avenue–”were representing people in 10,007 felony cases within the first six month of this year. If the caseloads were to remain constant for the rest of the year, each lawyer would have worked on an estimated 189 cases, or about 25 percent more than the national recommendation.</p>
<p>For Reed, his drug conviction was just another reminder of the role drugs played in his life. Child welfare workers began putting his file together from the day he was born, hooked on crack at St. James Hospital in south suburban Chicago Heights. Social workers charted his first year as a fragile infant tethered to a heart monitor, his days as a ward of the state and his teen father’s effort to stop selling drugs.</p>
<p>Ultimately, his grandmother, Patricia, who scraped by as a home health care worker since the early 1980s, adopted him and his older brother. Social workers kept tabs on Reed. His mom had at least a dozen additional drug-addicted children–”all of whom were taken away from her as well.</p>
<p>The effects of being a drug baby lingered for Reed. He suffered seizures until he was 8. School work was a challenge. And by the time he reached high school, he had spent time in a psychiatric hospital with signs of schizophrenia.</p>
<p>Now, at 17, in many ways he has grown into the typical teenager. He loves cartooning, has two pierced ears, likes to hole up in his bedroom listening to loud music, and longs for the latest gym shoes and movie money. The latter is what got him thinking about selling drugs. “It was all about money,” he said from behind a plate glass window at the Cook County Jail, where he sat in July awaiting trial on a new set of drug-related charges.</p>
<p>Those charges were leveled on April 17 after Reed told his grandparents he was stepping out to pick up the jacket he left at his friend’s house. Minutes after he walked out the front door, police stormed the 3600 block of West 5th Avenue in a drug raid. Reed and some officers locked eyes, and Reed shouted that police were moving into the courtyard.</p>
<p>His grandfather, Albert Sims, heard the commotion and went to the window. Reed “was pinned to the ground with a gun to his head,” Sims said. Reed was charged with attempting to ditch a clear, knotted plastic bag stuffed with crack, ecstasy and marijuana, initially valued at $710. He went back to jail, this time sharing a cell with a 34-year-old in Division XI on Chicago’s Southwest Side.</p>
<p>Reed was transferred among a handful of adult units while there, including a psychiatric hospital after he got so agitated that he started picking fights and plucking the hairs out of his head, which left a bald spot.</p>
<p>His grandparents have been on the move as well. They had waited nearly two decades on the Chicago Housing Authority’s waiting list for an apartment. But under the agency’s zero-tolerance drug policy, the now-unemployed couple was evicted and sent packing in July because of Reed’s drug activity.</p>
<p>In late July, Chicago Public Schools sent his grandparents a letter asking which high school Reed wanted to enroll in for the fall. His former school, John Marshall Metropolitan High School, had dismal academic performance this year. The school’s graduation rate dropped to 41 percent, and only 4 percent of 11th graders met state benchmarks last year.</p>
<p>As Reed sat in a jail cell, high school was the furthest thing from his mind. His biggest question was whether to request a bench trial. He pointed out what he considered some inconsistencies in his case. The officer who testified at his preliminary hearing wasn’t the arresting officer, he said.</p>
<p>If he lost, however, he could get between four and 16 years behind bars–”nearly the sum total of his life–”his public defender told his grandparents. If he cut a deal, he might get probation based on his schizophrenia. It was a gamble. “Whatever gets me out of here the soonest,” he said.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Reed pleaded guilty. After spending three months behind bars, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Rickey Jones on July 29 closed the case in all of 13 minutes. Reed and another 17-year-old from the West Side were convicted of adult felonies in one fell swoop. Reed was sentenced to probation predicated on him getting mental health treatment.</p>
<p>His grandmother wept with relief.</p>
<p>She and her husband had waited patiently, showing up early to each court appearance, as the case dragged on for months. His grandfather shook his head in disappointment as he left the courtroom. “These kids –¦ they plead to get out of here. Who wouldn’t?” he said. “[What about] the long-term effect? What’s going to happen on the job hunt when he’s 25?”</p>
<p>Founded a century ago, the juvenile justice system is built on the premise that teenagers should be treated differently from adults. Take Reed, for example. If he were in juvenile detention, he’d be held to a dawn-to-dusk regimen of high school classes, recreation time, peer groups and social services with the intent of getting his life on track. Instead, he spent most of his jail time in a cell or watching television.</p>
<p>He thought about attending GED classes but said that the adult prison classrooms are crowded and notorious for gang activity. It’s an environment that Reed, who weighs 140 pounds at most, chose to avoid.</p>
<p>Illinois lawmakers convened a juvenile justice commission to weigh whether 17-year-olds should be in the juvenile system rather than locked up with adults. Gov. Pat Quinn named 19 members to the 25-member commission in January, charging the group with delivering recommendations by 2012.</p>
<p>Advocates, psychologists, public defenders and some lawmakers are hoping that the commission will consider that all of Illinois’ laws calling for prosecuting juveniles as adults predate scientific studies on adolescent brain development. That research has found that the frontal lobe of the brain, the nerve center for impulse control, is not fully developed until the early 20s–”long after these teens were convicted as adults.</p>
<p>Judge William O’Brien oversaw the Felony Trial and Narcotics Prosecution divisions of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2002 before taking the bench. He said that from a legal standpoint, it’s up to lawmakers to rectify the inconsistencies in who is deemed a minor under Illinois law. Crime victims are juveniles until they turn 18. Misdemeanor cases aren’t brought to adult court until a defendant turns 18. But there are still a score of additional statutes on the books, which spell out how juveniles, 16 and younger, can be transferred to adult prosecution.</p>
<p>For years, Illinois has been chipping away at its own laws that affect youth. Lawmakers decided that minors were being prosecuted too harshly under state laws, and in 2005 struck down a law that automatically transferred 15- and 16-year-olds into the adult system for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school or public housing. Last year, the legislature agreed to return 17-year-olds with misdemeanors to juvenile court.</p>
<p>Shifting all 17-year-olds would require a reallocation of resources, including additional lawyers and investigators, said Linda Uttal, who heads up the juvenile justice division in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office.</p>
<p>Still, “It’s not a far-fetched idea,” Strickland said. In the past two and a half years, 13 percent, or 1,740, of the teens admitted to Cook County’s juvenile detention center were 17, according to detention center records obtained by the Reporter.</p>
<p>Earl Dunlap, a plain-spoken, juvenile corrections veteran appointed by federal court to overhaul the county’s juvenile detention system in 2007, said that he would welcome the shift, but only if the people who needed to be in jail were held there. “But if we’ve got to keep every Tom, Dick and Harry who commits a Mickey Mouse crime –¦ It gets to be insane in here.”</p>
<p>Contributing: Alissa Groeninger, Catherine Newhouse, Kayla Bensing, Samantha Winslow, Brittney Wong and Rebecca Freitag.</p> | Seventeen | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/seventeen/ | 2010-09-01 | 3 |
<p><a href="" type="external">Channel 4 News reports</a>:</p>
<p>On this occasion of their release, it is worthwhile reprinting excerpts from the translation of an interview by Elena Masyuk with Maria “Masha” Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova from last January that <a href="" type="external">appears on the Free Pussy Riot web site</a>:</p>
<p>Masyuk: “— I attended almost every single day of your [Maria’s} trial at the Khamovniki Court. I often think of Judge Syrova. Do you?</p>
<p>— No, I don’t. Not at all, she’s this kind of grey page for me.</p>
<p>—Hold on, this “grey page” did put you away for two years.</p>
<p>— That’s OK.</p>
<p>— At this “grey page” is out there, free, and you are in here.</p>
<p>— And Jesus Christ died.</p>
<p>— So you don’t feel any anger or malice towards her?</p>
<p>— Not at all, I don’t feel any anger towards Judge Syrova. I’m not really angry with anyone. I have some kind of desire for justice, and I am hurt that it sometimes it doesn’t happen. But anger is not the feeling I have right now.</p>
<p>— Nadezhda, and in this situation – what would be the justice for you?</p>
<p>— Justice is built up from every second and every moment of life. But if we’re talking about the courts, then justice will definitely be a complete absence of criminal conviction. I don’t believe that our actions had anything criminal about then, as we don’t have any religious hatred or enmity. I think it’s very obvious.</p>
<p>Pussy Riot and the Bible</p>
<p>— Do you regret what you have done back then, in the cathedral?</p>
<p>— No, I don’t. How can you regret something like this?!</p>
<p>— After this trial Pussy Riot became an internationally known band. But now Pussy Riot is being mentioned less and less, and there’s this information that you are not interested in the future of Pussy Riot.</p>
<p>— At the moment I’m doing other things.</p>
<p>— Like what?</p>
<p>— I sew. I was told that in a bit I’ll be sewing half-woolen coats for the officers of the Federal Correction Service. I won’t say that all other matters stopped interesting me – my social or political life, or the general life stuff, but I do understand that right now I’ve no influence on the particular destiny of Pussy Riot. So there’s no point in torturing my own heart with the thoughts of Pussy Riot. So now it’s less of a concern.</p>
<p>Besides, this band is anti-hierarchy, it doesn’t have any leaders or faces, for that matter. So if its former member, former at the moment, meaning me, is in prison, the band just fully passes into the hands of others. I’ve no influence over what these people do, and how. They can create and reinvent the band however they like. I can only advice, as a person in some way related to this band. But apart from that – they are free to do whatever. I can tell me: guys, don’t (for example) commercialize the band, but I can’t forbid this. I’m against any kind of forbidding anyway, I’ve this libertarian approach in this way. I believe that people should do whatever they like, and I can only advice this or other.</p>
<p>— Did you advice Yekaterina Samutsevich not to commercialize?</p>
<p>— Samutsevich doesn’t anyway. She doesn’t need advices. I think she’s a very ideologically correct, leftist artist, she’s stick to this line.</p>
<p>— Nadezhda, do you feel any kind of pressing here in the colony?</p>
<p>— No, not really, no pressing. I feel pressure from the Russian state, but not from the colony.</p>
<p>I would also like to add something to that question whether I regret anything. I find the wording of this question a bit wrong – the whole drama of this initiative was created artificially, created artificially by the Russian mass media, Russian state propaganda which represented us as some kind of blasphemers, hooligans and God knows what else. But in reality it was an ironic, fun, and also reckless action, like a heart-cry of our political hearts – which, however, was meant as completely ironical, funny. It wasn’t dramatic in its nature, the drama was thrown into it later. For some reason they decided to cut out some bits, didn’t show the entire song, the meaning of the song got completely lost, they didn’t say that the song was called “Mother of God, Drive Putin Away” and our gesture was represented as some kind of militant atheism. And of course this interpretation really pains me, I’m afraid when I’m being called a theomachist, yet it also is something of a shared destiny of all the people interested in the ways and fates of religion, and in particularly of the Russian Orthodox Church. Berdyaev was also convicted and even put away for a term, for being an alleged theomachist, blasphemer; and even Dostoevsky, his conviction stated that he’s being accused of “fighting against God and against the Orthodox Church”.</p>
<p>— Yesterday you told me that the philosophy books that you had in the pretrial custody, the whole lot of them, you donated to this colony’s library.</p>
<p>— Yes. So that people can read them.</p>
<p>— And do they?</p>
<p>— Yes, they do. They read Slavoj Žižek.</p>
<p>— Did you tell them about this philosopher?</p>
<p>— No, I don’t think that these books require any special presentation. Slavoj Žižek’s Violence is in itself quite a noticeable book, not least because of its provocative title. Žižek is very fond of provocation, and fond of Pussy Riot – that’s why perhaps. I heard that those who have read this book liked it. The only two books I’m keeping on my bedside now are the Bible and Berdyaev’s The Russian Idea.</p>
<p>— To tell you the truth, when you say “Bible”, I feel like asking: why Bible?</p>
<p>— You are asking this question because, as I see it, you also got a little caught up in this state propaganda. Our actions were more pro-religion, rather than anti-. And it’s something so obvious for me. For me it was a very natural progression from everything I’ve read before, everything I was thinking – I’ve a very profound interest in the Russian religious philosophy, at some point I was reading a lot of Berdyaev, Soloviev, Merezhkovsky, these circles that used to gather in the early XX century. Then Rosanov – they used to meet with the representatives of the Orthodox Church, demanding modernisation of the Orthodox Church. And even back then the Church people used to take it all quite badly, negatively. No modernisation happened. And I just feel that I’m carrying on this tradition of the Russian philosophers, so Bible is quite an organic part of my life.</p>
<p>Besides, I rather sympathize with the Protestant ideas that first of all you have to turn to the original sources, the Church not just as the hierarchy, but the original source, the original revelation.</p>
<p>— Nadezhda, you said that you have registered to visit the church here. Is it to talk to your priest, or for something else?</p>
<p>— I would like to see the local church. It’s here, in the territory of the camp.</p>
<p>— And why can’t you just visit in on any day?</p>
<p>— Well, perhaps because they need to have a regulated amount of visitors at one time. And then, any movement around the colony is structured and regulated. I would like to see the church, and also meet the priest – I heard there are two of them there. I would like to attend their service. I might manage in January.</p>
<p>— Just as a cultural factor? Not as a person who’s looking to turn to the religion?</p>
<p>— I really can’t take its ritual side, because so many people fall into some sort of household religion, this kind of hypocrisy, and even Jesus himself condemned this. As for faith – it’s a complex thing. I’m rather a believer than not, but precisely out of this fear of the hypocrisy I’ll never, or at least, I think never, you can’t really say for certain, but at least any time soon going to get Christianized.</p>
<p>— People say that in the detention zones many turn to religion, because there’s nothing to hope for, apart for god.</p>
<p>— In terms of my self-awareness, nothing has changed since when I was free. So, I won’t say that ending up in prison has suddenly turned me into a religious person. I always had a holistic perception, I’ve always known that there must, most probably, be some kind of destiny, some call it god, you can call it different names, someone will call it Allah. I tend to call it destiny. And this clear sense of destiny has been with me pretty much always, all my conscious life – so, since I was 13 or 14…</p>
<p>And in conclusion I will say…</p>
<p>— Nadezhda, I would like to tell you that many people worry about your fate, it’s true. And maybe there’s something you’d like to tell these people, everyone who sincerely supports you?</p>
<p>— I would like them to be doing something about the political situation in Russia. Because I can’t see how I can be helped right now, realistically, apart from maybe writing me a letter. I don’t need any care packages, because we’ve agreed with the people I’m close with, including my family, that they will be taking care of packages. It’ just – there’s a rather complicated bureaucratic procedure for receiving packages, including having to leave work for a bit, to receive it all in person. So, it’s easier to get one from my guys, and that’s enough. But letters always make me happy. All in all, if people really do empathize, and if they have some strong feeling on this matter, I’d like them to let it out and channel into changing the political situation in Russia. And how – that’s everyone’s personal choice.</p>
<p>— Anything you’d like to tell President Putin?</p>
<p>— Not really, no, he doesn’t exist for me, he’s more like a blank space.”</p> | Freed Pussy Riot Band Members call for ‘Russia without Putin’ (Video of the Day) | true | http://juancole.com/2013/12/members-russia-without.html | 2013-12-26 | 4 |
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<p>LAS CRUCES - A man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in connection with a 2014 home invasion in Las Cruces.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Leonard Calvillo was convicted earlier this month of attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated burglary, child abuse and criminal damage to property in the January 2014 home invasion case.</p>
<p>Calvillo's sentence Monday includes a one-year enhancement for having a prior felony conviction under the habitual offender act.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Calvillo called a man on New Year's 2014 and threatened to kill him and his 2-year old son.</p>
<p>Calvillo and three other gang members reportedly arrived at the man's home and broke windows and kicked in the front door.</p>
<p>Authorities say Calvillo and the gang members tried to stab the man with a shank and knife.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Man gets 16-year prison term in Las Cruces home invasion | false | https://abqjournal.com/612235/man-gets-16-year-prison-term-in-las-cruces-home-invasion.html | 2 |
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<p>Having to pay taxes is an unfortunate fact of life, and filing tax returns is one of the most hated activities that Americans have to do. Yet the most important tax form that you'll ever fill out actually has nothing to do with the returns you file in April -- or October, for those who like living on the edge with their extensions. In fact, many people only file this form once. Yet it has a profound impact on your taxes, often determining whether you'll get a refund or end up owing money to Uncle Sam come April. Let's take a closer look at this key tax form and why it's so important.</p>
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<p>Image source: IRS.</p>
<p>The most important tax form for most taxpayers is one that you only have to file when you start a new job. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf" type="external">Form W-4 Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;is called the Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, and it's only half a page long. However, the impact that it has on your taxes is huge, and even though many people tend to pay little attention to it amid the flood of new documents you have to sign when you begin a new career, Form W-4 deserves more attention than it usually gets.</p>
<p>What Form W-4 does is determine how much your employer withholds from your paycheck to cover your federal tax liability. As you'll see on the form, the two key aspects of that calculation are in the total number of withholding allowances you claim on line 5, and the additional amount (if any) on line 6 that you voluntarily have withheld from each paycheck. In addition, your marital status on line 3 has implications for the withholding amount that goes to Uncle Sam.</p>
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<p>The problem with Form W-4 is that even though it looks simple on its face, it's actually fairly complicated. The Personal Allowances Worksheet that helps you fill out line 5 on the form is harder to complete than the W-4 itself, and it looks a lot more like a tax return.</p>
<p>Image source: IRS.</p>
<p>To complete the worksheet properly, you'll need to know key information like how many dependents you have for tax purposes, how much in child care expenses you'll have, and whether you'll be able to claim key credits. In addition, answers can vary depending on how many jobs you have and whether you have a spouse who works as well. Perhaps most confusing is the fact that some answers on the form look like they have wiggle room, giving you different ways to interpret them. Indeed, the IRS itself makes it clear that you can always claim fewer exemptions than you're entitled to take.</p>
<p>Even with the confusion surrounding Form W-4, the most important thing to know about the form is that it's merely a tool that you can use as part of your own tax management strategy. The federal government sets up Form W-4 in such a way that it often withholds slightly more than is necessary for tax purposes. As a result, most taxpayers end up getting at least a small refund at the end of the year. Moreover, some workers claim fewer allowances than they're entitled to take, and that can lead to even more withheld tax and a greater refund when you file your return.</p>
<p>However, as nice as a refund can be, you might prefer to keep more of your money in your paycheck in the first place. Claiming more allowances reduces the amount of tax withheld, boosting your paycheck. You might not get a refund and in fact could end up owing taxes in April, but as long as your remaining tax bill isn't so large that you end up owing underpayment penalties, the choice is yours.</p>
<p>Most importantly, filing a new W-4 with your employer is critical when your personal circumstances change. Changes in marital status or having children can have a dramatic impact on the proper withholding, so keeping your W-4 up to date will help prevent any problems from arising.</p>
<p>Form W-4 isn't among the tax forms you'll file with your return, but it's still the most important form you complete. By paying closer attention to it, you might be able to unlock more money from your paycheck and manage your taxes more effectively.</p>
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<p>By Neal Gabler / <a href="http://billmoyers.com/story/the-sham-presidency/" type="external">Moyers &amp; Company</a></p>
<p>President Trump at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference. ( <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/32984155372/" type="external">Gage Skidmore / CC 2.0</a>)</p>
<p>Presidencies are often defined by images: FDR delivering his reassuring fireside chats; Harry Truman speaking from the back of his campaign train, whistle stopping in 1948 and giving ‘em hell; JFK and Jackie, elegant in Paris, defying Henry James’ stereotype of Americans as bumpkins; Reagan at the Berlin Wall; and George W. Bush in his flight suit against the banner reading “Mission Accomplished.”</p>
<p />
<p>And then there is Donald Trump. To me, the defining image of Trump’s presidency so far may not be his Mussolini-like pose of narrowed eyes, wrinkled brow and jutting jaw that is supposed to strike fear in our hearts, but his brandishing of his executive orders, holding them up like a 3-year-old showing off a finger painting. See what I’ve done! I’m so proud of myself!</p>
<p>This image is defining not because of the nauseating display of ego in a 70-year-old man, though there is that, but because of the emptiness of the gesture. Make no mistake. Some of these executive orders have done real damage, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/us/politics/trump-overturning-regulations.html" type="external">especially those affecting the environment and workers’ rights</a>.</p>
<p>But many of them, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/04/25/us/politics/ap-us-trump-executive-orders.html" type="external">according to an Associated Press report</a>, are little more than grandiose press releases, which takes us straight to the empty heart of this administration. Trump could care less about the substance of his executive orders. The pompous flourish with which he promotes them, like nearly everything this president does, is an effort to create the perception of action when the reality is anything but. It is largely for show.</p>
<p>Astute political practitioners — FDR, JFK and Reagan among them — understood that there’s an aesthetics of politics: a way to showcase your policies to maximum effect. But until now, I don’t think any president had ever practiced a politics of aesthetics where the aesthetics don’t serve politics but the politics operate as window-dressing to serve the aesthetics. Now one does. To an inordinate degree, Trump’s is a perceptual presidency — a con, a grift, a sham in which appearances are just about everything, and in which policies themselves are subordinate to the perception of presidential action.</p>
<p>Putting style over substance had been the hallmark of Donald Trump’s pre-political career. He has always been the Great Pretender. He pretended to be a real estate mogul, reshaping the face of New York, when he was basically franchising his name to real builders so they could slap the brand on their buildings. He pretended to be a shrewd businessman when he drove his Atlantic City casinos into bankruptcy.</p>
<p>He pretended to be a multi-multi-billionaire, when reports suggest that his wealth is nowhere near as large as his boasts. He pretended to have one of the highest-rated shows on television, when it was rated in the top 10 only in its inaugural season and then steadily fell. He founded a university that pretended to let people in on his get-rich-quick secrets, but he was putting his name on what turned out to be a fleecing operation.</p>
<p>In short, he was as much a sham businessman as he is a sham president. His gift wasn’t business acumen but image acumen — creating an alternative reality not unlike alternative facts.</p>
<p>One could easily understand the purpose of that in the business world where there seem to be a lot of suckers waiting to be taken. But many of us wondered why he would pursue the presidency, and if he really wanted it just to polish his brand. As his campaign wore on, I thought of him as the Max Bialystock of politics. Bialystock was the swindler of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, who staged the train wreck musical, “Springtime for Hitler,” knowing it would bomb so he could then pocket the investors’ money.</p>
<p>Trump’s campaign was the political equivalent of “Springtime for Hitler” — a total mess — but like Bialystock, he wound up succeeding in spite of himself. He was stuck with the presidency, and we were stuck with him.</p>
<p>However, that might be selling him short. Even though Trump and his family have turned the presidency into their own personal ATM, I have come to reconsider whether Trump’s motives were primarily about the lucre. Rather, I think the lucre was a means to an end: puffing his ego.</p>
<p>The perception of wealth bought him the perception of importance for a man of obvious insecurity. It funded the Trump Show. It made him a star, even though one is hard pressed to say why he is a star. Or put another way, the presidency of the empty gesture was preceded by the empty life. Seen that way, the presidency was just a bigger stage — a bigger game of dress-up. All he had to do was make bold pronouncements and wave those executive orders, and he would be perceived as a big shot, the Leader of the Western World.</p>
<p>This, alas, was always hiding in plain sight. Just as Trump wasn’t shy about bragging how he stiffed subcontractors, skipped out on loans and gamed the IRS, he wasn’t shy about bragging how he turned perception into reality. “When I build something for somebody, I always add $50 million or $60 million onto the price,” he once said. “My guys come in, they say it’s going to cost $75 million. I say it’s going to cost $125 million, and I build it for $100 million. Basically, I did a lousy job. But they think I did a great job.”</p>
<p>And since the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/john-oliver-uses-ivanka-trumps-own-words-to-prove-she-may-be-more-deceptive-than-we-realize-video-53138" type="external">John Oliver quoted</a> the audiobook version of Ivanka Trump’s own discourse on the subject: “Perception is more important than reality,” she reads. “If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is true. This doesn’t mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but don’t go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage.”</p>
<p>In other words, it is perfectly OK to play someone for a fool… or an entire country for a bunch of fools.</p>
<p>But Trump isn’t just a purveyor of perception. He is also its captive because he has no reference beyond it. When he mocked a handicapped reporter, we thought it was yet another manifestation of Trump’s cruelty, which it was, but it may also have been a manifestation of his aesthetics and of a belief in eugenics nurtured by his father. Similarly, when he insulted women and harped on their looks, we thought it was ugly misogyny and sexism, which it was, but it may also have been another demonstration of his obsession with appearances. It may explain as well why he is so disdainful of facts. If you live a life without meaning or substance, appearance is the only thing that matters. Indeed, the only question he ever seems to ask himself is: How does he/she/it look?</p>
<p>In this, unfortunately, Trump may be a man of his times. Even more than his faux populism, his bigotry and his proud political incorrectness, Trump’s obsession with appearances may connect him to a vast swath of America. Ours is a perception-heavy country. So much of our culture and of our lives now are dedicated to the sort of image-making in which Trump always has specialized — from the clothes we wear to the cars we drive to TV shows we watch to the schools to which we send our children.</p>
<p>It is not that Trump is fooling us with this braggadocio and pretense at being a great president — at least not those who are not looking to be fooled. It is that we can appreciate the attempt because so many Americans are making similar attempts, and they know that creating perceptions is so much easier than achieving reality. It is an idea that is reinforced everywhere, even among political pundits who should know better. The press ridiculed Hillary Clinton for being policy-conscious. They preferred Trump’s performance.</p>
<p>The problem is that perception is not reality, no matter what Ivanka Trump thinks. Perception is still the perception of reality. Trump may have snookered the press into believing he was exercising strength by firing missiles at Syria, but nothing there seems to have changed. He may have snookered supporters by making a big show out of building a border wall, but no border wall is in the offing. And he may have snookered his own party by declaring he would repeal Obamacare because of his alleged deal-making capabilities, but Obamacare is still there. Big words. Big displays. And then… nothing, because the words and displays supplant action, and don’t prod it.</p>
<p>This isn’t to say that a sham presidency is a harmless one. Far from it. When you hollow out the presidency, when you create a vacuum to be filled by ego and performance. When the measure of everything is how it looks rather than how it affects people’s lives, you are asking for disaster, and we’ve got one.</p>
<p>A presidency without ballast is like a person without character or conviction. Both are worse than empty; they replace the gravity of reality with the weightlessness of perception. They denude everything of meaning, save the meaning of aesthetics, rob everything of value, save the value of appearance. What Trump has done, then, is to generate a metaphysics of appearance that endangers reality. It is action for action’s sake. If he’s harmful, and he is, it is not because he has any stake in doing harm but because he knows it is likely to get the biggest bang from his supporters and the most noise in the media.</p>
<p>Gertrude Stein may have said it best when she famously quipped, there is no there there. What better description of this perceptual presidency could there be?</p> | The Sham Presidency | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-sham-presidency/ | 2017-05-06 | 4 |
<p>In 2013, actress Geena Davis wrote <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/geena-davis-two-easy-steps-664573" type="external">an editorial</a> for the&#160;Hollywood Reporter exploring how filmmakers might tackle the apparent challenge of adding interesting female characters to their projects. One suggestion: simply go through and give several characters women’s names.</p>
<p>Based on the first three episodes of <a href="http://www.hbo.com/true-detective" type="external">True Detective</a>’s second season, writer <a href="http://nicpizzolatto.com/index.html" type="external">Nic Pizzolatto</a> seems to be a member of the Davis school of gender parity. There is little on the surface that differentiates the character of Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) from the other tormented cops of the HBO drama. She’s got troubled family relationships, challenging sexual proclivities, and the same unsmiling, furrowed-brow demeanor as the men. And that’s great.</p>
<p>Plenty of women brood and smolder; plenty of women respond to the prospect of emotional closeness with overt hostility. (When Bezzerides tells a suitor who isn’t getting the message that if he bothers her again he’ll be left carrying his teeth in a baggie, it’s more menacing than when Vince Vaughn’s gangster, Frank Semyon, uses pliers to actually extract someone’s teeth.)</p>
<p>Bezzerides isn’t a man shoehorned into a woman’s body, though, and what distinguishes her aren’t glimmers of softness buried beneath an abrasive exterior, but rather the other characters’ responses to her. She’s called a cunt for doing her job well, hit on by a suspect who seems to think they’re in a role-playing fantasy together, and asked by a superior to cozy up to a man for information.</p>
<p>True Detective is a show with plenty of issues, but misogyny isn’t one of them: it clearly understands the outrageousness of traditional gender roles, and why a woman like Bezzerides would be compelled to carry more knives than Crocodile Dundee.</p>
<p>Yet this is precisely what caused the backlash against the first season — the show’s alleged “macho nonsense,” as Emily Nussbaum put it <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/03/cool-story-bro" type="external">in a review for the New Yorker</a>. Nussbaum, perhaps, found Slate’s Willa Paskin too generous when she <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2014/02/true_detective_the_women_on_the_show_are_treated_badly_but_there_s_a_good.html" type="external">argued</a> that True Detective’s sexism was “shallow on purpose.” (Paskin herself later backpedaled from this stance, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/03/10/true_detective_has_a_woman_problem_yes_and_that_s_partly_why_people_love.html" type="external">writing</a> post-finale that the show “is an unfettered celebration of two men.”)</p>
<p>What began as a question — “Has True Detective been a turnoff for female viewers?” Abigail Chandler <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/mar/31/true-detective-turnoff-for-women-viewers" type="external">asked in the&#160;Guardian</a>&#160;— was resolved for many by the end of the first season. Thinkpieces about the show’s “ <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/03/09/true_detective_has_a_women_problem/" type="external">woman problem</a>” and its <a href="http://www.feministtimes.com/true-detective-the-fetisisation-of-killing-women/" type="external">fetishization of female corpses</a> proliferated, and lots of&#160;critics seem primed to view this year’s installments through the same lens.</p>
<p>During last week’s episode, my Twitter feed buzzed with claims that the show’s portrayal of women had become so over-the-top that it was now actively trolling viewers. In the&#160;Huffington Post, Matthew Jacobs <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/true-detective-down-will-come_55a2e711e4b0b8145f72f0fc" type="external">suggested</a> the characterization of Bezzerides is Pizzolatto simply throwing female&#160;fans a half-hearted bone.</p>
<p>And it’s true True Detective is not immediately feminist in the way that Orphan Black or Orange is the New Black are. With their multiple, distinct female characters (and often laughably lame male ones), those shows are <a href="http://bechdeltest.com/" type="external">Bechdel Test</a> valedictorians.</p>
<p>But while the test is a fantastic metric of how unimaginative many male screenwriters are, it’s reductive to use it as the sole measure of a work’s intelligence&#160;about women.</p>
<p>On this season of True Detective, the inter-lady interactions have hinged on Colin Farrell’s Ray Velcoro, although certainly not because Bezzerides and her superior want to romance or redeem him. Can’t a failure of the test in this case be a commentary on the primacy of men in policing, a realistic look at how a skilled investigator like Bezzerides might be expected to put her own work aside so she can keep an eye on a wayward male?</p>
<p>I tend to agree with Paskin’s initial reaction. Conventional masculinity as a poisonous force is the theme that connects the first season to the admittedly weaker current one. True Detective feels shaky on women because it’s still not sure on a larger scale what sort of show it wants to be. Its sophomore outing reveals a tonal incoherence that while present in the inaugural season, was overshadowed by great performances. Absent the chemistry of McConaughey and Harrelson, True Detective’s ass is showing.</p>
<p>Last year, Pizzolatto <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/true-detective-creator-hints-season-2-feature-female-leads/" type="external">wrote on Twitter</a> of “the detriments of only having two POV characters, both men.” If we’re to take him at his word, then the depiction of women in season one — as mostly sex workers, long-suffering romantic partners, or cadavers — is a reflection of Rust Cohle’s and Marty Hart’s macho, and seriously anemic, worldviews.</p>
<p>In the 2014 installments, both male leads are plagued by their own emotional dishonesty. Hart blusters about what a great family man he is — since that’s what he believes is expected of him — but is in fact a serial cheater. Cohle sucks down cigarettes with comic gusto and holds forth on the great emptiness at the heart of things. (He believes in nothing, Lebowski.) But in the finale, he’s apparently blindsided by the realization that love is the answer, that “the light’s winning” over darkness. His closing monologue punctures all the ones that precede it.</p>
<p>Hart avoids self-reflection because it interferes with his fun; Cohle wields his supposed self-awareness and clear-eyed outlook on life as a weapon, defending a vulnerable core. Perhaps if these guys hadn’t been programmed to eschew stereotypically feminine receptivity, to avoid at all costs talking about their feelings, it wouldn’t have taken them eight episodes and a voyage through Hell to discover that they loved each other.</p>
<p>At one point in season one, Cohle advises Hart to avoid “crazy pussy,” but one would be hard-pressed to find crazier cocks than those in season two. Malfunctioning, too: Taylor Kitsch’s closeted bike cop Paul Woodrugh has to pop little blue pills to perform for his girlfriend, Frank Semyon falters when it’s time to provide for his wife’s IVF treatments, and Velcoro has a flaccid mustache and a son who might not be his.</p>
<p>Why so much performance anxiety? Semyon gives us a clue in the third episode when he says, “There’s no part of my life not overwrought with live-or-die importance. I take a shit, there’s a gun to my head saying, ‘Make it a good one, don’t fuck up.’” Later, Velcoro’s father mumbles that this is “no country for white men.” But before we take out the tiny violins for Caucasian dudes, it’s worth considering that True Detective’s thesis is that this is no country for anyone, that a patriarchal culture places absurd, corrosive expectations on everyone.</p>
<p>And the men this season sure are absurd. Velcoro is a lunatic whose explosions of anger carry with them a strong dose of surrealism: what exactly are the logistics of “buttfuck[ing] your mom with your dad’s headless corpse,'” and why, upon hearing that his son’s shoes were stolen by a group of bullies, does Velcoro immediately assume that the boys shit in them?</p>
<p>Woodrugh comes across as a bit of a joke, too. In the second episode, his homophobia is skewered when he mentions wanting to “clock” a gay guy who hit on him. The older Detective Dixon (W. Earl Brown) just stares at him and says, “Why would you do that?” Poor Paul! He was led to believe somewhere along the line that this is how real men behave; what is he if not so grimly hetero? (Probably a much happier out gay man.)</p>
<p>Like the men, Bezzerides is plainly Not Okay, but her bitterness feels hard-won rather than based on a received notion of how she is supposed to live. The best investigator by far, her competence stems from her awareness that she has to be that much better, since men look at her like she’s a “cheerleader on an oil rig.” (Whereas Velcoro has the luxury to be “not exactly Columbo.”)</p>
<p>Like Detective Dixon, she deflates the hubbub around True Detective’s tortured sexuality, dismissing a victim’s fetishes by saying, “Guy thought about fucking a lot.” She gets it in a way the guys don’t, but her irony doesn’t weaken her dedication to the work. This is what a complex character looks like.</p>
<p>The men, however, holding fast to Marlboro Man masculinity, are dangerously divorced from self-knowledge. (And fun: I’ve counted one smile so far.) They’re mysteries to themselves.</p>
<p>Problem is, so is True Detective.</p>
<p>Fans were let down by last season’s resolution because they’d been on board with the Gospel According to Rust Cohle, and weren’t prepared to retrofit their ideas once the finale took all the air out of his nihilism. The confusion isn’t their fault: the show itself was unsure how enamored it was with Cohle’s philosophy. Lines like “Human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution” felt like the truth, until they were abruptly revealed at the conclusion to be nothing more than armor.</p>
<p>This season is even more inconsistent. Does it aspire to Lynchian camp or Law and Order: SVU ponderousness? The moody nightclub singer and the grotesque psychiatrist are straight out of Twin Peaks, but the leads seem to be acting on another show entirely.</p>
<p>When Velcoro tells Semyon that he’s abstaining from booze because it “tends to take the edge off, and I want to stay angry,” should we tremble at a line that sounds like it wandered over from a Miami Vice script? Woodrugh’s self-destructive highway bike jaunt is played straight, but are we really not supposed to laugh at the sight of his cheeks flapping in the wind? A male hustler Woodrugh questions has it right when he refers to “this angsty cop drama you rollin’.”</p>
<p>Angsty Cop Drama might be a better title for the show, and viewers would probably be less disappointed with its sophomore outing if they interpreted it as a broad parody of fragile masculinity. True Detective isn’t anti-feminist. But the problem is that it doesn’t know what it is.</p> | The Trouble With True Detective | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2015/07/mcadams-pizzolatto-sexism-season-two-nussbaum-review/ | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
<p />
<p>The League of Conservation Voters on Thursday launched a $350,000 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wld2ei2T1sw" type="external">ad blitz</a> for the Massachusetts special election that accuses Republican candidate Scott Brown of supporting “Bush-Cheney policies” on energy. The League is backing Democrat Martha Coakley in the race on Tuesday, as are the Sierra Club and Environment Massachusetts.</p>
<p>The group says the six-figure sum—to be deployed over just six days—is the most it has ever spent on an ad campaign of such a short duration. This shows just how concerned progressive groups have become that Brown could win the election and put the Democrats’ entire legislative agenda in peril. The SEIU, for instance, has <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/seiu-drops-665k-on-anti-brown-tv-ad-in-massachusetts.php" type="external">spent $665,000</a> on ads in the state. Health care is, of course, the issue where the loss of one vote could immediately cripple reform. But an anticipated vote on climate change legislation later this year is also expected to come down to a very tight margin.</p>
<p>“Just being down one more vote on a clean energy and climate bill is just going to make it so much more difficult to get to the 60 we’re going need,” Tony Massaro, the League’s senior vice president for political affairs and public education, told Mother Jones while en route to the airport to fly to Massachusetts for the election. “We have no margin to spare.”</p>
<p>Of course, the other side is spending big too. The Chamber of Commerce, a notable foe of both health care and climate legislation, has <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0110/Chambers_ad_for_Scott_Brown.html" type="external">spent $500,000</a> on ads in support of the Republican.</p>
<p>Green groups weren’t necessarily following the race in Massachusetts very closely. As Environment Massachusetts energy and global warming advocate Ben Wright told Mother Jones, up until recently, it looked like Coakley was going to coast to victory. “The conventional wisdom five weeks ago was she was going to run away with it,” he said. “We were all caught flat-footed.” That, and up until recently environmentalists in the state didn’t think Brown was all that bad. As a state senator two years ago he voted in favor Massachusetts reducing its emissions and joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.</p>
<p>But in the past few weeks, Brown took a right turn on the topic – coming out swinging against <a href="http://www.brownforussenate.com/issues" type="external">cap-and-trade legislation</a> and even <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/10/scott_brown_showcases_his_more_conservative_leanings/" type="external">questioning</a> whether human activity is causing the planet to warm. “He voted for the strongest bill in the country when he was a state senator,” said Wright. “Six weeks ago … he believed in global warming. His about face definitely was not anticipated.”</p>
<p>Enviros see Coakley as a definite “yes” vote on a climate bill, and she has been endorsed by LCV, Sierra Club, and Environment Massachusetts. As attorney general, Coakley petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to declare that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health and welfare. It was that landmark case, Massachusetts v. EPA, that last month promoted the agency to begin the process of regulating the planet-warming gases. That agency action is <a href="" type="internal">currently under attack</a> in the Senate, meaning another vote for cutting carbon emissions will be even more important in the coming weeks.</p>
<p /> | Green Group Launches Last-Ditch Effort Against Scott Brown | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/01/green-group-launches-last-ditch-effort-against-brown/ | 2010-01-15 | 4 |
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<p>7:15 p.m.</p>
<p>The attorney for Backpage.com is blasting the raid on the online classified ad portal’s Dallas headquarters and the arrest of chief executive Carl Ferrer as “an election year stunt” on the part of the California attorney general and “not a good-faith action by law enforcement.”</p>
<p>In a statement issued Friday, Backpage general counsel Liz McDougall said “the actions of the California and Texas attorneys general are flatly illegal” and “ignore the holdings of numerous federal courts that the First Amendment protects the ads on Backpage.com.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>She also said the actions violate a federal law that she says pre-empts state actions such as these and immunizes web hosts of third-party-created content.</p>
<p>McDougall says Backpage will, in her words, “take all steps necessary to end this frivolous prosecution and will pursue its full remedies under federal law against the state actors who chose to ignore the law, as it has done successfully in other cases.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Cindy McCain says the arrest of Backpage.com’s chief executive is a “huge game-changer” in efforts to crack down on the sex trafficking of young girls and boys.</p>
<p>The wife of Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain has been leading efforts for several years to fight human trafficking. She has repeatedly called out Backpage.com for allowing the advertising of minors for sex.</p>
<p>She said Friday that she’s grateful to California and Texas authorities who charged Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer. He’s facing pimping charges in California and a money laundering charge in Texas.</p>
<p>Ferrer was arrested in Thursday in Texas. He waived extradition to California during a court hearing Friday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cindy McCain co-chairs the Arizona Human Trafficking Council and works nationally and internationally on efforts to stop sex trafficking.</p>
<p>She says Backpage.com had the chance to “do the right thing early on” but chose not to.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Texas authorities say Backpage.com receives more than 90 percent of its revenue from the adult escort ad portion of its classified advertising business.</p>
<p>A warrant used to search the company’s Dallas headquarters says those ads amounted to about $50 million between January 2013 and May 2015 just in California, where the company is also being investigated.</p>
<p>A search warrant affidavit says law enforcement officers told the company’s chief executive, Carl Ferrer, about prostitution ads on the site.</p>
<p>The affidavit also says Ferrer “is regularly copied on the hundreds of law enforcement subpoenas and requests that Backpage.com receives each year related to prostitution and sex trafficking of both adults and minors on the website.”</p>
<p>Ferrer, who lives in the Dallas area, was arrested Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General’s Office says he’s also charged with a single count of money laundering in Texas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>11:50 a.m.</p>
<p>The chief executive of the adult classified ad portal Backpage.com has waived extradition from Texas to California after being arrested on several pimping charges.</p>
<p>CEO Carl Ferrer appeared in a Houston courtroom Friday in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. Ferrer was arrested Thursday on a California warrant after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam.</p>
<p>Ferrer waived extradition during the hearing. The local prosecutor says Ferrer is expected to be flown to California on Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>Ferrer’s attorney, Philip Hilder, says his client believes the charges are “trumped up.” Hilder says Ferrer is “looking forward to his day in court, where he gets to battle back on these charges.”</p>
<p>Investigators allege that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on Ferrer’s site.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>10:20 a.m.</p>
<p>A Texas search warrant affidavit accuses the chief executive of Backpage.com of engaging in money laundering while operating the adult classified ad portal.</p>
<p>The Dallas headquarters of Backpage.com were searched Thursday, the same day CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam.</p>
<p>Ferrer was arrested on a California warrant. He is expected to appear in court in Houston on Friday for an extradition hearing.</p>
<p>California authorities say Ferrer was arrested on several pimping charges, including one involving minors. Under California law, pimping is defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.</p>
<p>Backpage.com is a Dutch-owned limited liability corporation incorporated in Delaware. But its principal place of business in Dallas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6 a.m.</p>
<p>State agents have raided the Dallas offices of adult classified ad portal Backpage.com and arrested Chief Executive Officer Carl Ferrer following allegations that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site.</p>
<p>Fifty-five-year-old Ferrer was arrested on a California warrant after arriving Thursday in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. Authorities also issued warrants for the arrest of the site’s controlling shareholders, sixty-eight-year-old Michael Lacey and sixty-seven-year-old James Larkin.</p>
<p>California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Ferrer was arrested on felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. Under California law, pimping is defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the three company officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the charges.</p> | Backpage attorney blasts raid, CEO’s arrest | false | https://abqjournal.com/862752/backpage-com-ceo-accused-of-money-laundering.html | 2016-10-07 | 2 |
<p>Romenesko MemosJeff Bailey, who <a href="http://www.chireader.com/hottype/2005/050304_2.html" type="external">left</a> Crain's in February, will cover "accounting, corporate financial shenanigans and related issues" for the Times, says business editor Larry Ingrassia. Before joining Crain's, Bailey worked at the Wall Street Journal in a variety of jobs starting in 1983. He's also worked at the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times.</p> | Former Crain's Chicago Business editor Bailey joins NYT | false | https://poynter.org/news/former-crains-chicago-business-editor-bailey-joins-nyt | 2005-05-25 | 2 |
<p>&lt;a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/105644709@N08/10306021126/in/photolist-gGH42q-gGQzG8-gGPC3y-gGKH9n-gGRuot-gGR3vM-gGHGkF-gGH15c-gGRiRr-gGPDeR-gGRAra-gGLmta-gGQU1T-gGP9de-gGPzQ5-gGR1Rz-gGLhKP-gGKzwE-gGPj6m-gGQ2q2-gGRdyn-gGQ8T2-gGPqaq-gGH5QA-gGPp1u-gGPa8F-gGKRmq-gGQiTV-gGQnoQ-gGREpv-gGQL7s-gGQAPE-gGHfXQ-gGQSAX-gGQax6-gGQphD-gGNZGf-gGH6hB-gGKsRe-gGPB3W-gGPXvi-gGKCVU-gGKoCd-gGQDby-gGNQ5u-gGKQah-gGQo2J-gGPVMG-gGQ7qL-gGGYab"&gt;Antana&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p />
<p>With Thursday’s Scottish independence referendum <a href="http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/scots-independence/60218/scottish-independence-latest-polls-too-close-to-call" type="external">too close to call</a>, opponents of an independent Scotland have been stressing the would-be country’s lack of a reliable currency. An independent Scotland could either keep using the British pound and lose control of its monetary policy, join the eurozone’s well-known squabbles, or create a new national currency that’s almost certain to be weak. But there’s an intriguing fourth option: adopting an online crypto-currency such as Bitcoin.</p>
<p>Scotland actually has some historical experience with this sort of thing: Instead of relying exclusively on the British pound in the 18th and 19th centuries, many Scottish banks issued their own currencies—a fact noted by Guy Debelle, the assistant governor of Australia’s central bank, at a recent <a href="http://event.ft-live.com/ehome/campalphaville/197973/?&amp;" type="external">conference on digital currencies</a> in London. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/03/independent-scotland-bitcoin-testbed" type="external">Here’s Debelle in the Guardian</a>:</p>
<p>“The Scots can go back to experimenting with a multitude of currencies, Bitcoin and the like, and we can just sit back and see how it goes. A nice natural experiment about the future of money in Scotland—again. Because, as I said, they tried this in the 18th and 19th centuries. It worked for awhile, but eventually fell apart.”</p>
<p>In the ensuing discussion, David Birch, the director of the digital currency consultancy Hyperion, argued that Scotland’s currency experiment was more successful than one might think. From the Guardian:</p>
<p>“The economic research shows that in Scotland, the bank failures were fewer, and less disruptive, than the bank failures in England at the time,” he said. “Competing note issue in Scotland didn’t end because it collapsed: it ended because of an outrageous extension of the Bank Act of 1844, which extended the Bank of England’s monopoly over note issue north of the border.”</p>
<p>But ending the Bank of England’s monopoly might not be the biggest problem with Bitcoin. A national Bitcoin-based currency would, practically speaking, resemble one based on gold: Bitcoins are designed to function as a limited commodity that becomes harder to acquire over time. In either case, the result is a highly inflexible national currency that often can’t keep pace with economic growth. As Felix Martin <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/12/forgotten-300-year-old-solution-alex-salmonds-money-problems" type="external">points out</a> in the New Statesman, one of the first people to identify this problem was a Scotsman: The economist John Law of Lauriston emigrated to France, became that country’s minister of finance, and in 1719 replaced the gold standard with paper money printed at the discretion of the government.</p>
<p>No matter: Edinburgh-based venture capitalist Derek Nisbet recently launched <a href="http://scotcoin.org" type="external">Scotcoin</a>, which is offering 1,000 free Scotcoins to every resident adult. “Our motivation is to empower the Scottish people with an alternative digital currency opportunity,” he <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/25/bitcoin-goes-national-with-scotcoin-auroracoin" type="external">told</a> the Guardian, “which may be used as a medium of exchange, should the need or wish arise.”</p>
<p>For now, at least, it seems like Bitcoin’s biggest use in Scotland is as a marketing gimmick. In May, the London electronics retailer CeX got a load of free press when it introduced Scotland’s first Bitcoin ATM and briefly turned its Glasgow store into a “pound free zone”: For a few days, it <a href="https://uk.webuy.com/blog/feature.php?article=tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918688228918285001.post-5063424280247649388" type="external">only accepted Bitcoin payments</a>. “The trial is turning the Scottish High Street [location] into a Bitcoin laboratory,” a CeX spokesman <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/tech-retailer-cex-accepting-only-bitcoin-for-new-promotion/" type="external">told</a> the website CoinDesk, “highlighting alternative forms of currency should Scotland vote ‘yes’ in the forthcoming referendum.”</p>
<p /> | Could Bitcoin Become Scotland’s Official Currency? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/scotland-independence-referendum-currency-bitcoin/ | 2014-09-16 | 4 |
<p />
<p>The Guardian <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/26/bill-oreilly-former-colleagues-la-riots-bombardment" type="external">reports</a>&#160;that six of Bill O'Reilly's former colleagues dispute the embattled Fox News host's claim that he and his crew were "attacked by protesters" during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.</p>
<p>O'Reilly covered the riots, which took place after several LAPD officers were acquitted on charges they used excessive force against Rodney King, while serving as the host of Inside Edition. In a February 20 interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, O'Reilly <a href="http://www.hughhewitt.com/oreilly-on-corn-he-is-a-guttersnipe/" type="external">claimed</a> that during the riots, "We were attacked, we were attacked by protesters, where bricks were thrown at us." In a 2006 <a href="http://www.thebiofile.com/news/archive/1155643527.php" type="external">interview</a>, O'Reilly said, "They were throwing bricks and stones at us. Concrete was raining down on us. The cops saved our butts that time."</p>
<p>Several of O'Reilly's former&#160;Inside Edition colleagues -- "reporters Bonnie Strauss, Tony Cox and Rick Kirkham, and crew members Theresa McKeown, Bob McCall and Neil Antin" -- disputed O'Reilly's characterization of the event and suggested he was exaggerating an incident where the crew was confronted by a single man.</p>
<p>According to The Guardian, "Two of the team said the man was angered specifically by O'Reilly behaving disrespectfully after arriving at the smoking remains of his neighbourhood in a limousine, whose driver at one point began polishing the vehicle. O'Reilly is said to have shouted at the man and asked him: 'Don't you know who I am?'"</p> | The Guardian: Six Former Colleagues Dispute O'Reilly's Claim He Was "Attacked By Protesters" During The L.A. Riots | true | http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/02/26/the-guardian-six-former-colleagues-dispute-orei/202690 | 2015-02-27 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Superintendent Louis Martinez’s departure is effective immediately.</p>
<p>The announcement the superintendent would be leaving followed a three-hour closed-door meeting of the Las Cruces school board Tuesday, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported Wednesday. Board president John Schwebke read a statement that said, "The board thanks Mr. Martinez for the vision and direction he has created and leaves with the school district," the Sun-News reported.</p>
<p>Martinez, who wasn’t present for the announcement of his departure, had no comment, according to the paper.</p>
<p>Chief Academic Officer Joann Patton, 66, was named interim superintendent in a unanimous vote by the school board. Patton, a longtime teacher, principal, administrator and college educator in New Mexico, North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia, will serve while the search for a new superintendent goes on, the Sun-News said. She said she will not be an applicant for the permanent position.</p>
<p>Check out The Associated Press story <a href="../../../../news/state/apousted10-19-05.htm" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 8:25am — Las Cruces Schools Chief Out | false | https://abqjournal.com/21801/825am-las-cruces-schools-chief-out.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Dr. Paul argues that Republicans and Tea Party supporters are inaccurate when they ridicule Obama as a socialist.&#160; Instead, Congressman Paul <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/ron-paul-president-obama-is-not-a-socialst.php" type="external">claims</a> Obama, like George W. Bush, should be deemed a corporatist.</p>
<p>So, what’s the difference between socialism and corporatism?&#160; Paul <a href="http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=806" type="external">writes</a>:</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Socialism is a system where the government directly owns and manages businesses. Corporatism is a system where businesses are nominally in private hands, but are in fact controlled by the government. In a corporatist state, government officials often act in collusion with their favored business interests to design polices that give those interests a monopoly position, to the detriment of both competitors and consumers.</p>
<p>He claims the Obama administration, like the previous administration, has allowed big corporations to dictate policy in a number of key arenas.&#160; He says, “We see it in the financial institutions, we see it in the military-industrial complex…And now we see it in the medical-industrial complex.”&#160;</p>
<p>He adds, “He’s (Obama) a corporatist…And unfortunately, we have corporatists inside the Republican Party…”</p>
<p>It’s difficult to argue with Dr. Paul’s refreshing, unbiased candor.&#160;</p>
<p>After all, Obama and Bush supported the $700 billion Wall St. bailout, in which select banks and investment firms received taxpayer funds, while thousands of other banks were left to fend for themselves.&#160; Both pumped hundreds of billions into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, GM, GMAC, and Chrysler, while ignoring countless other struggling businesses.&#160; Both outsourced U.S. military operations to over 200,000 private war contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq.&#160; Both inserted a number of Goldman Sachs elites into positions of economic leadership.&#160; The list goes on and on.</p>
<p>One need only glance at the list of big donors to the likes of Obama, McCain, Bush, Dodd, and other DC elites, and it’s plain for all to see.&#160; Wall St runs Washington DC, and both parties are equally complicit in this charade.&#160; Simply put, DC serves Wall St, not Main St.</p>
<p>If we Americans want to cleanse DC of its greed, corruption, elitism, and corporate favortism, we will have to stop electing the same old candidates, from the same old parties, who do the bidding of the same old firms on Wall St.</p> | Ron Paul says Obama is a corporatist, not a socialist | false | https://ivn.us/2010/04/29/ron-paul-says-obama-corporatist-not-socialist/ | 2010-04-29 | 2 |
<p>A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday blocked a gun regulation in Washington, D.C., that limited the right to carry a handgun in public to those with a special need for self-defense, handing a victory to gun rights advocates.</p>
<p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s 2-1 ruling struck down the local government’s third major attempt in 40 years to limit handgun rights, citing what it said was scant but clear guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court on the right to bear arms.</p>
<p>The District of Columbia may appeal the three-judge panel’s ruling to the full appeals court, potentially a more favorable audience as seven of its 11 members were appointed by Democratic presidents. All three of the panel members involved in Tuesday’s ruling are Republican appointees.</p>
<p>Judge Thomas Griffith, writing the majority opinion, said constitutional challenges to gun laws “create peculiar puzzles for the courts,” noting that the U.S. Supreme Court’s first in-depth review “is younger than the first iPhone.”</p>
<p>That 2008 ruling in a landmark case called District of Columbia v. Heller struck down a D.C. law that banned all handgun possession in the city. It was a major victory for supporters of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects gun ownership rights.</p>
<p>The city council tried again to ban carrying weapons, a law that was also struck down by the courts, and now is trying a third time to restrict the right to carry handguns in the city.</p>
<p>Griffith wrote that the Supreme Court’s Heller ruling made it clear that “the Second Amendment erects some absolute barriers that no gun law may breach.”</p>
<p>Some ambiguity exists due to the first 13 words of the Second Amendment, which reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”</p>
<p>The D.C. law that is being challenged directs the police chief to create rules limiting those who can carry handguns to people showing good reason to need one.</p>
<p>Writing a dissenting opinion, Judge Karen Henderson cited case law finding that the “core” right to bear arms is for self-defense inside the home.</p>
<p>“Regulations restricting public carrying are all the more compelling in a geographically small but heavily populated urban area like the District,” Henderson said.</p>
<p>The National Rifle Association and the office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had no immediate comment.</p> | US Appeals Court Blocks DC Law Restricting Gun Rights | false | https://newsline.com/us-appeals-court-blocks-dc-law-restricting-gun-rights/ | 2017-07-25 | 1 |
<p>Cutting short idle chatter of polite conversation of hypocrisy in a small California town about to be eaten by barbarian bikers.</p>
<p>What are you rebelling against? What have you got?</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Brando died yesterday. He was 80. Judy and I met him in Iowa in 1975 during the trial of two Native Americans for killing two FBI agents. Their lawyer Bill Kunstler was having a 50th birthday party in Cedar Rapids. We were living with Bill and Margie.</p>
<p>A supportive Brando showed up. He was amazing. He responded to changing situations by acting like different characters he had played on the screen. He was Stanley Kawolski one moment, then Fletcher Christian and finally the Godfather. Our personal highlight was when we told him the tale of FBI agents putting a homing device under the rear bumper of our car and he immediately began imitating an FBI agent putting a homing device on our car. A memorable private performance from the master.</p>
<p>STEW ALBERT runs the <a href="http://members.aol.com/stewa/stew.html" type="external">Yippie Reading Room</a>. His memoir, <a href="http://www.redhen.org/stewalbert.htm" type="external">Who the Hell is STEW ALBERT?</a>, is just out from Red Hen Press. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | Brando, a Personal Recollection | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/07/03/brando-a-personal-recollection/ | 2004-07-03 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Endangered animals capture the public imagination to such an extent that their mute botanical counterparts, endangered plants, are often forgotten. But the figures for imperiled flora are dire: As many as 30,000 to 60,000 varieties of plant life are in imminent danger of extinction. Author and illustrator Dugald Stermer documents a selection of these plants in his new book Vanishing Flora (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.).</p>
<p>The Texas poppy-mallow, with its large petals and wine-red color, blooms for only a week on a narrow strip of land along the Colorado River. The amoreuxia wrightii, which shortsighted collectors pick along the Rio Grande in Mexico and southern Texas. Vanishing Flora details what can be done to preserve threatened plants–and why it must be done: Plant diversity is essential to a balanced ecosystem and, ultimately, to the survival of all living things.</p>
<p>Note to MoJo historians: Stermer did the cover illustration for the very first issue of the magazine in February 1976.</p>
<p /> | Not cute and furry, still in danger | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1995/05/not-cute-and-furry-still-danger/ | 2018-05-01 | 4 |
<p>Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) suffered a steeper-than-expected 8.9% slide in first-quarter profits as the maker of Kleenex tissues grappled with higher prices.</p>
<p>The Dallas-based company said it earned $350 million, or 86 cents a share, last quarter, compared with a profit of $384 million, or 92 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, it earned $1.09 a share, solidly missing consensus calls from analysts for $1.17.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>On the other hand, revenue at Kimberly-Clark, which also makes Huggies diapers, increased 4% to $5.03 billion, exceeding the Street’s view of $4.98 billion. North American personal care sales slid 2%, compared with a 1% rise in Europe. Consumer tissue sales in North America were flat, while tissue sales climbed 3% in Europe.</p>
<p>“We continue to execute our global business plan strategies in a difficult environment,” CEO Thomas Falk said in a statement.</p>
<p>Kimberly-Clark announced plans to raise prices in a “number” of its businesses, including North American consumer products.</p>
<p>“The rapid run-up in commodity costs has influenced our near-term profitability, so we are taking aggressive actions in response to the cost environment,” Falk said.</p>
<p>In light of the higher prices, Kimberly-Clark lowered its 2011 non-GAAP EPS forecast to $4.80 to $5.05, compared with $4.90 to $5.05 previously. Yet the company now sees full-year sales rising 4% to 6%, up from 3% to 4% previously. Organic sales are expected to rise 2% to 4%.</p>
<p>Shareholders punished Kimberly-Clark for the earnings miss and new guidance, sending the stock down 3.1% to $64.00 ahead of Monday’s open. The company’s shares finished last week up nearly 5% on the year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Kimberly-Clark Posts Softer 1Q Profit, Will Raise Prices | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/04/25/kimberly-clark-posts-lower-profit-says-raise-prices.html | 2016-01-28 | 0 |
<p>General Motors says its third-quarter profit nearly doubled as strong earnings in North America and China outweighed struggles in Europe and South America.</p>
<p>The automaker posted a net profit of $1.38 billion, or 81 cents per share, from July through September. A year ago, GM made $698 million, or 45 cents per share.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It was the first quarter this year without significant charges for recalls. GM has issued 75 recalls in 2014 covering more than 30 million vehicles, costing the company more than $2.8 billion.</p>
<p>Without $331 million in one-time items, GM would have made 97 cents per share, exceeding Wall Street's expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 95 cents.</p>
<p>Revenue grew 2 percent to $39.25 billion. That also beat expectations of $38.79 billion.</p> | General Motors 3Q profit nearly doubles on strong performance in N. America, China | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/23/general-motors-3q-profit-nearly-doubles-on-strong-performance-in-n-america.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>"The Joy of Love."</p>
<p>Nope, that's not the title of a new self-help manual hitting bookstores this weekend.</p>
<p>"The Joy of Love" is the English translation of Pope Francis’ latest apostolic exhortation, <a href="https://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia_en.pdf" type="external">Amoris Laetitia</a>.</p>
<p>It's a 256-page document offering the pontiff's thoughts and recommendations on matters related to love and the family.</p>
<p>Inés San Martín was one of the first people to get a copy. She's the Vatican correspondent for Crux, based in Rome.</p>
<p>“Making a quick summary of what Pope Francis wrote in 256-pages is an almost unachievable goal but let me put it this way, Pope Francis wrote about the family and he left basically, absolutely no issue untouched,” San Martín told&#160;PRI’s The World.</p>
<p>From issues of same-sex marriage to what happens to divorced Catholics who were remarried in a civil court and cannot receive communion to female genital mutilation — the document certainly&#160;covers a lot&#160;of ground.</p>
<p>Today’s apostolic exhortation is the result of two successive synods, or assemblies of bishops, that Francis initiated on the situation of modern families. These two meetings held in October of 2014 and 2015 resulted in a lot of intense discussion between both liberal and conservative bishops from around the world.</p>
<p>In the end, neither the liberal nor the conservative camp got everything they wanted out of Friday’s exhortation.</p>
<p>“What Pope Francis is trying to do with the apostolic exhortation is to reach out to every family in the world whether you are actually Catholic or not. He’s trying to say that the church welcomes you, he’s trying to say that God’s love reaches you no matter what your situation,” says San Martín.</p>
<p>Except, it seems, for the situation of same-sex couples looking to get married with the approval of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis came out decidedly against same-sex unions in the document.</p>
<p>“He definitely closed the door to same-sex families, that’s against Catholic teaching,” says San Martín.</p>
<p>While liberal members of the church were upset that Pope Francis wasn’t as welcoming with gays and lesbians as was expected, she says,&#160;the same liberal camp was happy that the pontiff&#160;seems to have opened the door for Catholics who have divorced and were civilly married to be able to access the sacrament again on a case-by-case basis.</p>
<p>Conservatives in the church were not happy about this.</p>
<p>“Even though Pope Francis didn’t fully open the doors, he did leave a space for doubt or what he called ‘discernment,’” says San Martín.</p>
<p>This very contentious fact didn’t actually come in the body of the long document, but in a footnote.</p>
<p>“There were two very specific footnotes on chapter eight that opened the doors for the divorce and the remarried to access the sacrament but it’s not in the body of the text.&#160;That caused a lot of confusion today,”&#160;the Vatican correspondent says.</p>
<p>“When I was talking with different colleagues today in Rome and a lot&#160;were saying, ‘well, nothing happened.’ And others were saying, ‘a lot happened.’&#160;And it all came down to whether you were reading the footnotes or not.”</p> | Pope Francis on the joys and heartache of love | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-04-08/pope-francis-joys-and-heartache-love | 2016-04-08 | 3 |
<p>HONG KONG — Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters turned their backs on the Chinese flag Wednesday morning as it was flown over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor in celebration of the country’s National Day holiday. &#160;</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of others continued their blockade of key roads in the city’s business and commercial districts. On the fourth day of protests, demonstrators showed no sign of giving up. Many had spent the night sleeping through a thunderstorm on wet concrete. &#160;</p>
<p>“Today, what the Chinese government is seeing on their holiday is over 100,000 Hong Kong people on the streets, angry and frustrated because we don’t have basic democratic rights,” 18-year-old protest leader Agnes Chow said.</p>
<p>People of all ages are now occupying five districts throughout Hong Kong. Riot squads had been pulled back, where they remained at day’s end on Wednesday. Protesters were in control. Risking another confrontation with the police, protesters threatened to occupy government buildings if Hong Kong’s unpopular leader, Leung Chun-ying, does not resign by Thursday midnight.</p>
<p>This all comes as a shock to some of the mainland Chinese residents who arrived in the city today at the start of their seven-day holiday, known as “Golden Week” — traditionally a time for travel and shopping. Hong Kong, with its low taxes on luxury goods and favorable exchange rate, is a favorite destination of China’s newly affluent middle class.</p>
<p>Official Chinese state media have shown no images of the protests in Hong Kong, and government censors are <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1603869/record-censorship-chinas-social-media-references-hong-kong" type="external">working in overdrive</a> to delete discussions of the situation in the semi-autonomous enclave on social media. The government has also <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29409533" type="external">blocked</a> photo-sharing service Instagram and directed all Chinese websites to remove any information related to the protests, according to propaganda monitoring website <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/09/minitrue-delete-harmful-information-hong-kong/" type="external">China Digital Times</a>.</p>
<p>Acknowledging that the news is seeping through, however, official media have begun running commentaries <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29437851" type="external">condemning</a> the protests. <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/141001/why-obama-should-keep-quiet-about-the-hong-kong-prot" type="external">Predictably</a>, the Obama administration is taking blame. A Chinese language article in the Global Times argued that the United States was "attempting to hold a color revolution in Hong Kong,” the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29437851" type="external">BBC reported</a>; another official article predicted “if the central government loses its political grip under the pressure of the opposition, Hong Kong will sink into political turmoil like countries in other parts of the world.”</p>
<p>“How could this be happening? Don’t these people need to go to work?” one mainland resident from Shanghai asked GlobalPost, while gawking at a group of about 200 protesters who had recently created a new occupation site on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. The luxury brand stores lining both sides of Canton Road kept their doors open to their affluent customers despite the occupation.</p>
<p>Others lashed out at the protesters. A mainland resident who would only give his name as Gary from Hubei to the <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1605202/live-tensions-rising-wan-chai-occupy-protesters-gather-ahead-national" type="external">South China Morning Post</a> debated with students, arguing that China was like a mother, with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau her children. “Children could express their unhappiness to their mother, but should do so in a way that does not interrupt people's lives,” he said.</p>
<p>Hours later, I witnessed a middle-aged Chinese woman yell at protesters while walking by with shopping bags, “What you kids are doing is meaningless! You are too idealistic!’’ The protesters did not react to the outbursts. “These people are the wealthy class in China. I can understand why they wouldn’t want to support us and risk losing their privileges,” protester Derek Tang told me.</p>
<p>But events in Hong Kong have not gone unnoticed among China’s vast population, which has surely stoked government fears of pro-democracy “contagion” spreading through the country. &#160;</p>
<p>A number of Chinese citizens may have faced <a href="http://chrdnet.com/2014/10/chrb-activists-across-mainland-china-detained-for-supporting-democracy-protests-in-hong-kong-919-1012014/" type="external">reprisal</a> for publicly supporting the Hong Kong protests. The group China Human Rights Defenders has <a href="http://chrdnet.com/2014/10/chrb-activists-across-mainland-china-detained-for-supporting-democracy-protests-in-hong-kong-919-1012014/" type="external">documented</a> dozens of arrests in relation to messages and gatherings in support of Hong Kong protesters.</p>
<p>On Monday, prominent Chinese artist-activist Ai Wei Wei <a href="https://twitter.com/aiww/status/516416521656995842" type="external">tweeted</a>, “我是香港人” (I am a Hongkonger). He <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/09/29/exp-ns-ai-weiwei-hk-protest.cnn.html" type="external">told CNN</a> that people in China are carefully watching the protests because what happens in Hong Kong will reflect on China’s future.</p>
<p>The protests in Hong Kong are also making some Chinese reflect on the past. On Tuesday morning, I was walking in the middle of a six-lane highway, closed to traffic, toward the center of the demonstrations in Admiralty. A family was walking next to me and I struck up a conversation with the mother.</p>
<p>Jackie Ng told me she was 18 years old and a first year university student in Beijing when she decided to take part in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.</p>
<p>"I am so moved to see this happening in Hong Kong. It reminds me a lot of what happened in 1989. Then, it was also mostly students, who were demanding similar things. They wanted democracy and they wanted the government to listen to their voices,” she said.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/141001/why-obama-should-keep-quiet-about-the-hong-kong-prot" type="external">Why Obama should keep quiet about the Hong Kong protests</a></p>
<p>But while the mood on the streets is often relaxed and jovial, Ng worries that the continued standoff may lead to a crackdown. A senior city official <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-government-open-to-meeting-with-protesters-official-says-1412167236?mod=djemalertAsianews" type="external">hinted</a> today that the government is open to meeting with protesters, but protest leaders are now not interested in speaking with Chief Executive Leung. They want nothing short of his resignation.</p>
<p>The problem, Financial Times’ David Pilling <a href="http://blogs.ft.com/the-world/2014/09/umbrella-revolution-raises-questions-over-one-country-two-systems/" type="external">writes</a>, is that the Hong Kong government has “nothing whatsoever to offer the demonstrators.” Beijing is unlikely to ever allow open elections in the territory. If they let mass protests in Hong Kong succeed in changing their stance, this could set a highly unwanted precedent, especially as Beijing faces <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29373158" type="external">deepening unrest</a> in Xinjiang.</p>
<p>Ng said: “I think the longer the protests drag on and their demands are not addressed, the angrier the protesters will become. That was what happened in 1989. The protests dragged on for a long time until it became a dangerous situation. The whole world is watching and the government needs to act to avoid a worse crisis.”</p> | What Beijing really fears: Hong Kong protests spreading across the country | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-10-01/what-beijing-really-fears-hong-kong-protests-spreading-across-country | 2014-10-01 | 3 |
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<p>Thousands of school-age offenders are treated annually for sexual aggression in the United States, yet experts see no standard profile of personality, background or motivation.</p>
<p>They say that while anti-social behavior can suggest a greater risk of offending, the cool kid may attack and the rebel may reform. The reasons are rarely as straightforward as physical gratification and range from a sense of entitlement to desperation to fit in.</p>
<p>Though many sexual assaults aren’t reported to authorities, research shows that about 95 percent of juvenile offenders who enter the justice system won’t be arrested for another sex crime. Experts say the ordeal of facing police and parents — along with public condemnation for such taboo acts — scares many straight.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>An ongoing Associated Press investigation has documented how K-12 schools in the United States can fail to protect students in their care from sexual assault, sometimes minimizing or even covering up incidents. Schools also struggle to help sexually aggressive students, both before and after they do lasting harm.</p>
<p>The juvenile justice system stresses second chances, and even unrepentant offenders don’t forfeit their right to an education. Back in class, privacy laws can mean teachers and peers do not know their pasts.</p>
<p>The toughest patients need support from all sides, not just treatment professionals, according to one of the nation’s pre-eminent juvenile sexual offender experts.</p>
<p>“The safest sex offender is somebody who is stable, occupied, accountable to others and has a plan for the future,” said therapist David Prescott, who has treated or assessed hundreds of sexually aggressive kids and now works in Maine for an alliance of nonprofit organizations.</p>
<p>With support and maturation, experts say, young abusers typically recover.</p>
<p>“It’s not a lifelong trajectory,” said Maia Christopher, executive director of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. “Children tend to be much more influenced by effective kinds of interventions than adults.”</p>
<p>But, as three cases identified by the AP show, they have to want to make it work.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>CONFRONTING REALITY</p>
<p>This undated photo shows Marques Mondy, a member of the Forest Hills Central High School football team in Grands Rapids, Mich. After the Division I basketball prospect assaulted a classmate in a darkened band room at their suburban Michigan high school, a judge ordered him into adolescent sex offender treatment — for the second time. (Grand Rapids Press via AP)</p>
<p>Marques Mondy’s basketball talent was obvious. His troubled past was not.</p>
<p>After the Division I prospect assaulted a classmate in a darkened band room at their suburban Michigan high school, a judge ordered him into adolescent sex offender treatment — for the second time.</p>
<p>Under oath in court, the 17-year-old admitted touching the girl on the upper inside of her thigh without her consent. The girl had alleged much worse, and a nurse who examined her told a sheriff’s detective an internal tear was “consistent with an injury caused from a penetration.”</p>
<p>In mandatory counseling, however, Mondy insisted he did nothing wrong. His therapist told the judge he saw no value in more sessions: Without an acknowledgement of harm, treatment would not succeed.</p>
<p>Mondy’s story is not simply a case study of how an offender who drifts in and out of already-strained punishment and treatment systems can end up back at school, unbowed and unchanged. It also shows how family dynamics and privacy rules can further complicate accountability and, ultimately, rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Approached by the AP in person, Mondy, now 23, said there was more to the high school assault story and that he would call to discuss it. He never did.</p>
<p>To piece together his background, the AP unearthed disciplinary records from eight law enforcement agencies and four colleges where he tried to extend his basketball career, and also reviewed material from a civil lawsuit and federal investigation targeting how the school district handled the assault.</p>
<p>In 2003, as a fourth-grader just shy of his ninth birthday, Mondy joined three other boys in an attack on two 11-year-old girls, according to records AP obtained from police in his hometown of Grand Rapids. Behind a house, the boys took turns humping the girls while clothed, later forcing them into an empty home to continue the sexual assault.</p>
<p>When police sought to interview Mondy and his older brother, whom witnesses said helped lead the attack, their mother came without them. Nicole Scott, who is black, suggested the white detective had scared the other two boys into confessing.</p>
<p>Mondy ended up accepting a deal that knocked two criminal sexual conduct felonies down to misdemeanor aggravated assault. Probation included his first stint in Kent County’s Adolescent Sex Offender Treatment Program.</p>
<p>Seven years later, Mondy was roaming the halls of Forest Hills Central High School with a sophomore he’d just met. Now 6′ 5″, he was poised for a breakout junior year of basketball, with pedigree programs including Michigan and Stanford showing interest.</p>
<p>As a cheerleader and multisport athlete herself, the girl knew of Mondy. Charismatic and popular, he was one of the few black students on campus.</p>
<p>He also was well-known to school administrators, who had suspended him for incidents including intimidation and fighting.</p>
<p>Mondy and the girl, Quinn Eck, stopped in front of an empty band room. They went inside and he attacked her, removing her underpants and trying to force her to have sex, she told investigators. She said she struggled free after a call to her cell phone distracted him.</p>
<p>Mondy’s story was far different: They talked, it got awkward, he left. “She was telling (me) that she liked (me) but she don’t wanna get played,” he said in a handwritten statement .</p>
<p>Two weeks later, a second student said Mondy assaulted her in the school parking lot.</p>
<p>Prosecutors eventually charged Mondy with two counts of criminal sexual conduct — one in connection with each alleged assault.</p>
<p>Therapists say adults can play a huge role in rehabilitation, whether by pushing young offenders to confront reality or shielding them from responsibility.</p>
<p>Mondy’s coach lobbied for the suspended star’s return. “I have invested hundreds of hours in Marques, as have his other coaches and teachers and support teachers,” Kenneth George wrote the district superintendent. “And, it is working.”</p>
<p>As when he was in fourth grade, Mondy’s mom was fiercely protective.</p>
<p>“I hope race isn’t a factor when determining who is telling the truth and who is lying,” she wrote a district official on Christmas Day 2010. Her son’s accusers were white.</p>
<p>The second girl decided not to press charges after other students started harassing Eck, reducing the case to a he said-she said standoff. For a second time, Mondy pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, rather than a sexual conduct felony. Again, he received probation and a trip to adolescent sex offender treatment.</p>
<p>Within several months Mondy moved, and the criminal case was closed.</p>
<p>An investigation by the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights concluded the school failed to protect Eck from retaliation after the assault. Her family filed a federal lawsuit asserting that officials bungled the case and she won a $600,000 settlement.</p>
<p>The AP does not identify victims of sexual assault without their consent, but Eck said she was ready to speak publicly. After many dark moments, she wants to advocate for victims.</p>
<p>“I am the person I am today because of what happened,” she said. “I’m crying now, but I know I’m strong.”</p>
<p>Mondy, meanwhile, bounced around smaller colleges, often leaving after run-ins with campus security. By April 2014, he was 20 years old and back in Grand Rapids, where police in a nearby suburb arrested him on suspicion of shoplifting an $8.99 bottle of wine.</p>
<p>Weeks later, Mondy was accused of a fourth sexual assault. A former neighbor told police that he pushed her onto a bed and yanked off her underwear but left after she resisted. He never faced charges — the woman told police she wanted to move on.</p>
<p>Authorities did not connect the dots: An officer who checked Mondy’s record found no prior charges. A Grand Rapids police spokesman explained that criminal history checks may not reveal juvenile misdemeanors, which the fourth-grade assault became.</p>
<p>The prosecutor who handled Mondy’s juvenile cases said she wasn’t surprised to learn of the 2014 assault allegation.</p>
<p>“He didn’t do the treatment he needed to do,” Vicki Seidl said. “If you can’t admit you’ve done something wrong, you’re never going to change behavior.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>PREDICTIONS AND WARNINGS</p>
<p>The leading research suggests the overwhelming majority of the nation’s roughly 50 million K-12 students will never sexually attack a peer. What have therapists, researchers and other experts concluded about those who do?</p>
<p>Because children are constantly developing, experts say age is an important factor when it comes to motivation. Feelings of control or entitlement might spur a high school student. A middle schooler could act on impulse and opportunity. Elementary students might not know they are violating boundaries.</p>
<p>Academic studies suggest that what might seem like two obvious risk factors — exposure to pornography and being the victim of sexual abuse — are far from certain triggers.</p>
<p>Broader life instability likely is a factor. A 2013 report that studied 517 children who committed sexual offenses found every one had suffered some form of neglect or abuse, said Nicole Pittman, who wrote the report for Human Rights Watch.</p>
<p>Experts also have struggled to develop accurate ways to assess who will reoffend, which leaves them on the hunt for warning signs that may suggest greater risk. Clues include a disregard for others’ personal boundaries, or a tendency to fight and steal. Social isolation or pressure to be sexually active further elevates the risk, as do fantasies about forceful sex.</p>
<p>This photo provided by the Idaho State Police shows Jesse Vierstra after his release from prison, where he served more than three years for the rape of a college student. While investigating Vierstra for that attack, a detective interviewed two girls who claimed similar assaults during Vierstra’s high school years, though they did not tell authorities at the time. In the fall of 2016, more than three years into a 5-to-15-year sentence for the university rape, Vierstra was released in a plea deal when a new attorney argued that his first lawyer did not defend him competently. (Idaho State Police via AP)</p>
<p>The case of Jesse Vierstra illustrates how difficult it is to predict who will be sexually aggressive.</p>
<p>Handsome, athletic and respectful of his coaches, Vierstra was well-liked growing up as the son of wealthy dairy farmers in Twin Falls, Idaho, the kind of place where elementary school kids walk home alone.</p>
<p>As a teenager, the biggest blots on Vierstra’s record were a few traffic stops. But as soon as he left for college, the serious accusations started.</p>
<p>Several days into his freshman year at the University of Idaho in fall 2011, two students told authorities that Vierstra raped them. Both said consensual encounters turned violent after they refused sex. Authorities charged him with battery, which he pleaded down to disturbing the peace. Though a university disciplinary process cleared him, Vierstra was suspended during the inquiry and never re-enrolled.</p>
<p>In October 2012, a third woman — a freshman — said Vierstra raped her outside a fraternity party when he was visiting the campus for homecoming weekend.</p>
<p>The veteran detective assigned to investigate had a hunch: College rapists don’t start there. And then he learned the stories of two high school girls from Twin Falls.</p>
<p>His notes of their interviews recorded the allegations:</p>
<p>In fall 2010, when Vierstra was a high school senior, a girl joined friends to watch a movie in his home theater. He separated the girl, a sophomore, from the group, pulled down her pants and, as she resisted, angrily insisted she wanted the sex he was forcing on her.</p>
<p>About a month later, the girl’s friend, also a 15-year-old sophomore, went to Vierstra’s house for a movie. On the ride home, he pulled into a parking lot. Though she resisted, she said, he penetrated her.</p>
<p>Several weeks later, he called apologetically and she agreed to hang out again. They drove to the family dairy, where she said he attempted to assault her but was interrupted by the arrival of one of his sisters. On the ride back, Vierstra insisted the girl get out near a corn field to watch the sunset. He pushed her into a ditch and, she told the detective, tried to force her to perform oral sex when he was unable to pull off her pants.</p>
<p>Neither girl reported the alleged assaults to authorities at the time. The second girl later told the detective it was her fault for hanging out with him again.</p>
<p>During Vierstra’s 2013 sentencing for the university rape, the judge noted that he did not accept responsibility. “You use terms like ‘the alleged victim,'” the judge said, “indicating that she’s really not the victim.”</p>
<p>Last fall, more than three years into a 5-to-15-year sentence, Vierstra was released in a plea deal when a new attorney argued that his first lawyer did not defend him competently.</p>
<p>“I wish I would have been a better man; I wish I would have had more respect for her,” Vierstra said at his resentencing.</p>
<p>An AP reporter tried unsuccessfully to interview Vierstra, now 24, in Twin Falls, where he lives as a registered sex offender.</p>
<p>His mother, Susan Parnell, said he is working to be a good citizen and that his resentencing remarks shouldn’t be interpreted as any suggestion of guilt.</p>
<p>False sexual assault accusations are “out of control” nationwide, Parnell said. She added that any woman who had “actually been assaulted, she should be able to go forward.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TREATMENT CAN WORK</p>
<p>It’s unclear how many children and adolescents in the United States are undergoing treatment for sexual offenses. The latest count of 14,000, based on a 2008 survey of treatment providers, was an acknowledged underrepresentation.</p>
<p>Most adolescent offenders enter outpatient counseling, according to the survey, though there are residential programs, too, including some where the offenders attend local schools.</p>
<p>As an adolescent, Christopher Lee received treatment at a rural camp and in a group home. Since 2005, four days before he turned 19, he has been locked up in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.</p>
<p>From birth, Lee could hear well in only one ear and see well with only one eye. According to his case file, parts of which were released to AP with Lee’s permission, family members abused him mentally and physically, though not sexually.</p>
<p>Growing up, Lee said he desperately sought connections but was too needy to keep friends and became a target for bullying. Lee said he channeled his aggression toward sex starting at 10, after a 12-year-old cousin who usually ignored him invited him under the covers. The girl undressed, then got on top of Lee. Someone came to the bedroom door and they stopped.</p>
<p>“I equated sex with love, acceptance, safety, security, friendship, life,” Lee said. “It meant something more to me than what it should have.”</p>
<p>When he was 12, a girl he liked began teasing him in the middle school pool. He said he responded by shoving his hand down her bathing suit, then forcing her to touch his crotch.</p>
<p>Minnesota officials civilly committed him for indefinite treatment after concluding he was likely to continue exposing himself to, masturbating in front of or peeping on other children — a pattern he admitted to during counseling for an arson case. He also sexually molested two relatives, according to his file.</p>
<p>When Lee first arrived, he was too angry to accept treatment. He has since made substantial progress, according to notes made by his primary therapist, but still may lash out when upset.</p>
<p>Inside the barbed-wire secure complex where he is locked up, Lee mused about the 700 or so other men also undergoing treatment, about 10 percent of whom offended only as juveniles. He has come to learn their stories through conversation or group therapy.</p>
<p>Some did it because they could, others because they were trying to deal with past trauma or because it made them feel powerful.</p>
<p>“The rhyme or reason as to why people offend,” Lee said, “is infinite.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Pritchard reported from Los Angeles and Twin Falls, Idaho; Dunklin reported from Dallas and Commerce, Texas. Contributing to this report were Robin McDowell in St. Peter, Minnesota; Rhonda Shafner in New York; Gillian Flaccus in Beaverton, Oregon; and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>If you have a tip, comment or story to share about student-on-student sexual assault at K-12 schools, please email: [email protected]</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Pritchard at <a href="http://twitter.com/lalanewsman" type="external">http://twitter.com/lalanewsman</a> and Dunklin at <a href="http://twitter.com/ReeseDunklin" type="external">http://twitter.com/ReeseDunklin</a></p>
<p>Third in a monthlong Associated Press investigative series focusing on sexual assaults by students on students in U.S. elementary and secondary schools.</p> | Schools face vexing test: Which kids will sexually attack? | false | https://abqjournal.com/1003469/schools-face-vexing-test-which-kids-will-sexually-attack.html | 2017-05-15 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Shmuel Rosner, chief Washington correspondent for Israel’s leading newspaper Ha’aretz, has been a critical observer of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. But in an <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/984046.html" type="external">analysis</a> of Bush’s Iran comments in Israel this past week, he points out that while Bush has talked tough on Iran, his Iran policy has thus far been a failure:</p>
<p>Bush should be measured by the same yardstick. Meetings will not stop Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but neither will speeches in Knesset.</p>
<p>Bush may not be as naive as Obama, but U.S. foreign policy under his leadership has failed time after time on the Iranian issue. International sanctions are too skimpy to mount any real pressure against Iran’s uranium enrichment program, and Tehran is gaining.</p>
<p>One knowledgeable observer was using this baseball metaphor yesterday. The Iranians have players waiting on all three bases. Hamas on first, Syria on second and Hezbollah on third. All they need now is the grand slam homerun – a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran that will send them running around the bases for home.</p>
<p>Bush often says he learned a thing or two from his years as the owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team: “I developed a thick skin against criticism. I learned to ignore minor setbacks and focus on the long haul.” But in the case of Iran, the long haul is creeping ever closer, and it appears Bush plans to leave the problem for his successor.</p>
<p>The proof is in the pudding. While some worry over the “signs” that the administration plans to strike Iran before it leaves office, other, arguably closer observers such as Rosner seem to detect something different: that the rhetoric vs. results gap regarding Iran from the Bush administration remains far apart. As Rosner writes:</p>
<p>Earlier this week, [Bush] gave the Israeli press a rather complicated answer regarding what he hopes to accomplish during his term. “I think what definitely will be done is a structure on how to deal with this, to try to resolve this diplomatically. In other words, sanctions, pressures, financial sanctions; a history of pressure that will serve as a framework to make sure other countries are involved.”</p>
<p>In other words, as recently departed US undersecretary of state for political affairs Nick Burns, who handled the US’s Iran portfolio, <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/02/7338_us_iran_envoy_s.html" type="external">said</a> in February, Iran’s nuclear issue most likely will not be resolved by the time Bush leaves office. Which arguably may not be a failure at all, but a sign of restraint, or a recognition of constraints, as well as <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/05/8274_appeasement_wat.html" type="external">wiser counsel</a>, in <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4312" type="external">conflict</a> with some of the president’s deepest inclinations.</p>
<p /> | On Iran, Bush May Talk Tough, But the Results Are Lacking | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/05/iran-bush-may-talk-tough-results-are-lacking/ | 2008-05-19 | 4 |
<p>Comedian Aziz Ansari responds to sex misconduct allegations; "True Lies" actress alleges she was abused at age 12; Dennis Rodman arrested on suspicion of DUI in California(Jan. 15)</p>
<p>Comedian Aziz Ansari responds to sex misconduct allegations; "True Lies" actress alleges she was abused at age 12; Dennis Rodman arrested on suspicion of DUI in California(Jan. 15)</p> | ShowBiz Minute: Ansari, Dushku, Rodman | false | https://apnews.com/amp/fd23b490bdbd4fa28e8c1079a91baee6 | 2018-01-15 | 2 |
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former middle-school football coach convicted of abducting and killing a 10-year-old Missouri girl has been sentenced to death.</p>
<p>Circuit Judge Thomas Mountjoy sentenced 49-year-old Craig Wood on Thursday for the February 2014 death of Hailey Owens. Woods was convicted of first-degree murder in November but the jury couldn't decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without parole.</p>
<p>Before Wood learned his punishment, Mountjoy denied motions from Wood's attorneys that sought a new trial and called judge-imposed death sentences unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Wood snatched Hailey off a Springfield, Missouri, street in daylight in front of horrified witnesses. He took her to his home, where he raped her and shot her in the head. Her body was found in his basement.</p>
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former middle-school football coach convicted of abducting and killing a 10-year-old Missouri girl has been sentenced to death.</p>
<p>Circuit Judge Thomas Mountjoy sentenced 49-year-old Craig Wood on Thursday for the February 2014 death of Hailey Owens. Woods was convicted of first-degree murder in November but the jury couldn't decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without parole.</p>
<p>Before Wood learned his punishment, Mountjoy denied motions from Wood's attorneys that sought a new trial and called judge-imposed death sentences unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Wood snatched Hailey off a Springfield, Missouri, street in daylight in front of horrified witnesses. He took her to his home, where he raped her and shot her in the head. Her body was found in his basement.</p> | Man sentenced to death for killing 10-year-old Missouri girl | false | https://apnews.com/amp/9f5a8adf6a7a426ab3d1369ff3102070 | 2018-01-12 | 2 |
<p>Donald Rumsfeld, who served as secretary of defense under President George W. Bush, decided at age 83 to try his hand at developing a Solitaire game app.</p>
<p>He apparently became obsessed with a version of solitaire created by Winston Churchill. In between assessing the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/rumsfelds-knowns-and-unknowns-the-intellectual-history-of-a-quip/359719/" type="external">“known knowns” and the “known unknowns,”</a> Rumsfeld would challenge himself to a game. He wrote in a <a href="https://medium.com/@DonRumsfeld/at-83-i-decided-to-develop-an-app-dadd4e53d342#.abshmntrh" type="external">post on Medium</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>On long flights across the world, or when I found a quiet moment at the end of a busy day, I would clear my mind and refocus by playing a few hands of the game. I’ve found it helps improve concentration and sharpens instincts. To succeed in Churchill Solitaire, you have to envision a variety of scenarios and think a good many moves ahead.</p>
<p>Rumsfeld applied those sharpened “instincts” in pushing for and overseeing the disastrous invasion of Iraq.</p>
<p>Rumsfeld explained in his Medium post that he worked with a team of developers to transform this challenging version of the Solitaire card game created by Churchill into an app.</p>
<p>Rumsfeld learned about Churchill’s version of Solitaire from André de Staercke, who was exiled from Belgium in 1940. De Staercke befriended Churchill, and learned the former British prime minister’s version of the card game. He then later relayed the rules to Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld wrote:</p>
<p>“Churchill’s Solitaire” requires two decks of cards, placed in 10 rows rather than 7, and includes an extra row of cards called “the Devil’s Six.”</p>
<p>“It’s a card game that can frustrate even the most skilled player because a single move can make or break an entire game,” Rumsfeld wrote. “A number of hands are simply unwinnable. But the most steadfast players will gamely soldier on to find their way to victory.”</p>
<p>The app is currently available for download on Apple devices and will soon be available on other platforms, according to Rumsfeld.</p> | Be As Mentally Sharp As Rumsfeld By Playing His New ‘Churchill Solitaire’ App | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-rumsfeld-solitaire-app | 4 |
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<p>Sprint will buy one-third of Tidal, the streaming-music service run by rap mogul Jay Z, the latest content deal secured by a network provider.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The companies said Monday the deal will give Sprint's 45 million customers access to the Tidal streaming service as well as exclusive content. Tidal's current management team will keep running the service and Sprint Chief Executive Marcelo Claure will join its board.</p>
<p>Jay Z bought the service in March 2015 for $56 million from Swedish company Aspiro, which had created the Tidal brand. He has given famous artists and bands small stakes in Tidal and promised each millions of dollars worth of marketing, The Wall Street Journal has reported.</p>
<p>Streaming music through the internet is one of the more common tasks used by smartphone owners. Pandora Media Inc., Spotify AB and Apple Inc. all have competing streaming music services.</p>
<p>Network service providers have also been striking content deals to attract and retain new customers. AT&amp;T Inc. made a deal with singer Taylor Swift to share exclusive videos with its customers. Verizon Wireless has a deal to stream NFL games to its customers.</p>
<p>Write to Austen Hufford at [email protected]</p> | Sprint to Buy 33% of Jay Z's Tidal Music Service | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/23/sprint-to-buy-33-jay-zs-tidal-music-service.html | 2017-01-23 | 0 |
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<p>Despite the rhetoric coming from all sides, this is not a clear choice. Nobody possesses clairvoyance.</p>
<p>The lobbying for and against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, negotiated with Iran by the United States and the other P5+1 world powers remains intense, but ultimately this should be a vote of conscience, not a litmus test of party loyalty or political acumen.</p>
<p>Objectively, a nuclear-armed Iran would be a global game-changer that would increase instability in one of the world's most volatile regions.</p>
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<p>After Iran has received sanctions relief, it will be difficult to effectively reimpose sanctions to prevent a nuclear breakout. If Iran then rushed to produce a nuclear weapon, using the military option becomes more likely.</p>
<p>The JCPOA does contain significant achievements. It imposes severe restrictions on Iran's nuclear program for the next 10 to 15 years. And we retain the ability to snap back into place international sanctions in the event of a significant violation, without the possibility of other members vetoing U.S. action at the U.N. Security Council.</p>
<p>These achievements were possible due to the diplomatic skills of the Obama administration. Iran was left with no choice but to compromise after years of economic pain resulting from tough U.S. sanctions initiated by Congress.</p>
<p>The bipartisan passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act further strengthened our negotiators' hands. It provided transparency and made clear that the agreement would be subject to critical review.</p>
<p>This is a close call, but after a lengthy review, I will vote to disapprove the deal.</p>
<p>The JCPOA legitimizes Iran's nuclear program. After 10 to 15 years, it would leave Iran with the option to produce enough enriched fuel for a nuclear weapon in a short time.</p>
<p>The JCPOA would provide this legal path to a country that remains a rogue state and has violated its international nonproliferation obligations for years. It would provide Iran with international endorsement of an industrial-scale nuclear program.</p>
<p>Worse, Iran would be economically strengthened by frighteningly quick relief from sanctions and international economic engagement. If Iran violates the agreement, building international support for new sanctions would take too long to be effective. A military response in this scenario would be more likely, although disastrous.</p>
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<p>The agreement talks about normalization of economic relations with Iran and states that the parties shall "implement this JCPOA in good faith - based on mutual respect." But there cannot be respect for a country that actively foments regional instability, advocates for Israel's destruction, kills the innocent and shouts "Death to America."</p>
<p>I remain troubled that we agreed to a challenge period of up to 24 days for International Atomic Energy Agency inspections should Iran deny access to an undeclared, suspicious site. And I cannot support lifting the U.N. arms embargo and ballistic missile sanctions.</p>
<p>This agreement leaves resolution of the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program to the IAEA. The bottom line is that we know Iran was developing a nuclear weapon, and we must understand how far it went down the weaponization path before we can move forward with the JCPOA. After numerous hearings and briefings, I am still not confident that we will fully resolve outstanding concerns on this topic.</p>
<p>What happens if Congress rejects the JCPOA? No one can predict with certainty the consequences. Our European partners understand that they cannot effectively act without the United States. Iran understands that if it accelerates its nuclear program it will ignite international action against it. And Iran needs U.S. sanctions relief. Ultimately, it is in everyone's interest to reach a diplomatic solution.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether Congress rejects the JCPOA, discomfort with aspects of the agreement remains across the ideological spectrum. That is why I will introduce legislation backed by supporters and opponents of the deal designed to strengthen the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act and U.S. regional security strategy. This would be consistent with the administration's interpretation of the agreement and complement its regional security commitments.</p>
<p>The legislation includes the following:</p>
<p>We must stand firm in our determination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. We must agree to counter Iranian support for terrorism and confront Iranian violations of ballistic missile protocols and international human rights obligations. Congress and the administration cannot dwell on past disagreements; together we must find a functional, bipartisan approach to Iran. I stand ready to work with my colleagues and the administration to achieve such a result.</p>
<p>Sen. Ben Cardin represents Maryland in the U.S. Senate, where he is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.</p>
<p /> | Democratic senator explains opposition to Iran deal | false | https://abqjournal.com/641295/democratic-senator-explains-opposition-to-iran-deal.html | 2 |
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<p>Amerco&#160;(NASDAQ: UHAL) reported its fiscal first-quarter 2018 earnings after the market closed on Wednesday. The parent company of the do-it-yourself moving leader and growing self-storage player U-Haul, which also has two insurance company subsidiaries, posted a 3.8% year-over-year increase in revenue, while earnings per share declined 14.2%.</p>
<p>Shares of Amerco closed down 7.9% on Thursday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While year-over-year revenue grew, a rise in operating expenses resulted in operating income declining, which flowed through to the bottom line. Depreciation expense, net of gains and losses on equipment disposals, increased&#160;$31.3 million&#160;due to increased costs of acquisitions and lower relative vehicle sales values compared to the same period last year.</p>
<p>The company has been dealing with a lower resale market for vehicles for some time.</p>
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<p>Here's what CEO Joe Shoen had to say in the press release:</p>
<p>Overall, it was a challenging quarter, with operating income declining about 12% and net income and EPS decreasing about 14%. However, there were some relatively brighter spots: The core U-Haul segment's revenue grew 4.3%, and the average occupancy rate based on room count in the self-storage business ticked up from last quarter.</p>
<p>Amerco doesn't provide guidance. And there's just a single Wall Street analyst who provides estimates, making them of little value.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than AmercoWhen 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=d22f65c7-876d-4a41-a1d5-fb2b08768446&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=74f6275e-7e25-11e7-a285-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Amerco 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=d22f65c7-876d-4a41-a1d5-fb2b08768446&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=74f6275e-7e25-11e7-a285-0050569d32b9&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 August 1, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMcKenna/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=74f6275e-7e25-11e7-a285-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Beth McKenna Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Amerco. 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=74f6275e-7e25-11e7-a285-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | U-Haul Parent Amerco's Revenue Increases, but Earnings Decline | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/11/u-haul-parent-amercos-revenue-increases-but-earnings-decline.html | 2017-08-11 | 0 |
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<p>South Korea's SK Hynix Inc &lt;000660.KS&gt; has submitted an initial bid to acquire a stake in Toshiba Corp's &lt;6502.T&gt; memory chip business, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The person said it has not been decided how much a stake SK Hynix, the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, will acquire in Toshiba's memory business as the deal is in early stages.</p>
<p>A SK Hynix spokesman declined to comment, and Toshiba could not be immediately reached for comment.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Chris Reese)</p> | SK Hynix submitted bid for a Toshiba memory business stake : source | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/06/sk-hynix-submitted-bid-for-toshiba-memory-business-stake-source-1583389077.html | 2017-02-06 | 0 |
<p>I totally agree with this Gawker <a href="http://gawker.com/5992398/the-unbelievable-photos-taken-by-the-crazy-russians-who-illegally-climbed-egypts-great-pyramid?post=58564418" type="external">commenter's</a> response to a group of Russians climbing the Great Pyramid and taking photos:</p>
<p>The pictures are beautiful, but for heaven's sake, the rules about climbing those pyramids are there for a reason. It's like people who insist on touching things in a museum - if everyone thinks they're the only one who's doing it, then pretty soon your lovely sarcophagus or painting will be covered in grime and gradually disintegrating. Where's a good old Pharaoh's Curse when you need one? If scrawny little Tutankhamun can do it, a badass like Khufu could probably cause them to spontaneously combust.</p> | Why Do These Russians Hate History So Much? | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-do-these-russians-hate-history-so-much | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
<p>In his book, Propaganda, published in 1928, Edward Bernays wrote: "The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."</p>
<p>The American nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays invented the term "public relations" as a euphemism for state propaganda. He warned that an enduring threat to the invisible government was the truth-teller and an enlightened public.</p>
<p>In 1971, whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg leaked US government files known as The Pentagon Papers, revealing that the invasion of Vietnam was based on systematic lying. Four years later, Frank Church conducted sensational hearings in the US Senate: one of the last flickers of American democracy. These laid bare the full extent of the invisible government: the domestic spying and subversion and warmongering by intelligence and "security" agencies and the backing they received from big business and the media, both conservative and liberal.</p>
<p>Speaking about the National Security Agency (NSA), Senator Church said: "I know that the capacity that there is to make tyranny in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law … so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return."</p>
<p>On 11 June, following the revelations in the Guardian by NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg wrote that the US had now "that abyss".</p>
<p>Snowden’s revelation that Washington has used Google, Facebook, Apple and other giants of consumer technology to spy on almost everyone, is further evidence of modern form of fascism – that is the "abyss". Having nurtured old-fashioned fascists around the world – from Latin America to Africa and Indonesia – the genie has risen at home. Understanding this is as important as understanding the criminal abuse of technology.</p>
<p>Fred Branfman, who exposed the "secret" destruction of tiny Laos by the US Air Force in the 1960s and 70s, provides an answer to those who still wonder how a liberal African-American president, a professor of constitutional law, can command such lawlessness. "Under Mr. Obama," he wrote for AlterNet, "no president has done more to create the infrastructure for a possible future police state." Why? Because Obama, like George W Bush, understands that his role is not to indulge those who voted for him but to expand "the most powerful institution in the history of the world, one that has killed, wounded or made homeless well over 20 million human beings, mostly civilians, since 1962."</p>
<p>In the new American cyber-power, only the revolving doors have changed. The director of Google Ideas, Jared Cohen, was adviser to Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state in the Bush administration who lied that Saddam Hussein could attack the US with nuclear weapons. Cohen and Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt – they met in the ruins of Iraq – have co-authored a book, The New Digital Age, endorsed as visionary by the former CIA director Michael Hayden and the war criminals Henry Kissinger and Tony Blair. The authors make no mention of the Prism spying program, revealed by Edward Snowden, that provides the NSA access to all of us who use Google.</p>
<p>Control and dominance are the two words that make sense of this. These are exercised by political, economic and military designs, of which mass surveillance is an essential part, but also by insinuating propaganda in the public consciousness. This was Edward Bernays’s point. His two most successful PR campaigns were convincing Americans they should go to war in 1917 and persuading women to smoke in public; cigarettes were "torches of freedom" that would hasten women’s liberation.</p>
<p>It is in popular culture that the fraudulent "ideal" of America as morally superior, a "leader of the free world", has been most effective. Yet, even during Hollywood’s most jingoistic periods there were exceptional films, like those of the exile Stanley Kubrick, and adventurous European films would have US distributors. These days, there is no Kubrick, no Strangelove, and the US market is almost closed to foreign films.</p>
<p>When I showed my own film, The War on Democracy, to a major, liberally-minded US distributor, I was handed a laundry list of changes required, to "ensure the movie is acceptable". His memorable sop to me was: "OK, maybe we could drop in Sean Penn as narrator. Would that satisfy you?" Lately, Katherine Bigelow’s torture-apologizing Zero Dark Thirtyand Alex Gibney’s We Steal Secrets, a cinematic hatchet job on Julian Assange, were made with generous backing by Universal Studios, whose parent company until recently was General Electric. GE manufactures weapons, components for fighter aircraft and advance surveillance technology. The company also has lucrative interests in "liberated" Iraq.</p>
<p>The power of truth-tellers like Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden is that they dispel a whole mythology carefully constructed by the corporate cinema, the corporate academy and the corporate media. WikiLeaks is especially dangerous because it provides truth-tellers with a means to get the truth out. This was achieved by Collateral Damage, the cockpit video of an US Apache helicopter allegedly leaked by Bradley Manning. The impact of this one video marked Manning and Assange for state vengeance. Here were US airmen murdering journalists and maiming children in a Baghdad street, clearly enjoying it, and describing their atrocity as "nice". Yet, in one vital sense, they did not get away with it; we are witnesses now, and the rest is up to us.</p>
<p><a href="http://johnpilger.com" type="external">John Pilger</a>'s documentaries have won Academy Awards in the U.K. and the U.S.&#160;</p> | There's a New Fascism on the Rise, and the NSA Leaks Show Us What It Looks Like | true | http://alternet.org/media/understanding-latest-leaks-understanding-rise-new-fascism | 2013-06-21 | 4 |
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<p>Eldorado 35, Volcano Vista 6</p>
<p>Santa Rosa 26, Hope Christian 22</p>
<p>St. Pius 55, Bernalillo 0</p>
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<p>Friday, Sept. 19</p>
<p>Artesia 53, Deming 15</p>
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<p>Hatch Valley 14, Clint, Texas 7</p>
<p>Hondo 50, Lake Arthur 0</p>
<p>Kirtland Central 24, Los Alamos 6</p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Thursday, Sept. 18</p>
<p>Centennial 48, El Paso Socorro 18</p>
<p>La Cueva 31, Cibola 19</p>
<p>Los Lunas 32, Rio Grande 16</p>
<p>Sandia 42, Valley 14</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Prep football scores/schedule: Sept. 18-20 | false | https://abqjournal.com/464653/prep-football-scoresschedule-sept-18-20.html | 2 |
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<p>It's the time of the year for reflection, an apt season&#160;to see what draws people to religious pilgrimages across the globe. What do they get from the experience?</p>
<p>Below are brief summations&#160;from reports by&#160;author&#160;Bruce Feiler in his six-part TV series " <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/home/" type="external">Sacred Journeys</a>,'' covering holy places from Nigeria to France to Saudi Arabia to Japan.&#160;</p>
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<p>The International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes culminates in a silent, candlelit procession to the Rosary Basilica.</p>
<p>Anna Branthwaite</p>
<p>In 1858, in an unassuming town in the southwest of France, a 14-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous claimed she had 18 encounters with the Virgin Mary.</p>
<p>Since then, Lourdes has become one of the holiest Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, visited annually by more than 5&#160;million people <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/lourdes/" type="external">who come in search of healing from its sacred waters</a>.</p>
<p>Since the end of World War II, soldiers from around the world have journeyed to Lourdes seeking healing and unity with one another at a week-long gathering known as the International Military Pilgrimage.</p>
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<p>Pilgrims climb the steps to one of the 88 temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan.</p>
<p>Doug Dreger</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/shikoku/" type="external">Japanese island of Shikoku</a> is the birthplace of the most revered figure in Japanese Buddhism, the monk and teacher Kobo-Daishi, who brought a populist form of Buddhism to Japan from China in the 9th century.</p>
<p>For hundreds of years, a 750-mile pilgrimage route has circled this mountainous island, connecting 88 separate temples and shrines that claim connection to Daishi, also known as the Great Master.</p>
<p>Each leg of the journey represents a stage of the path to nirvana: awakening, austerity and discipline, enlightenment, and nirvana.</p>
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<p>Worshippers gather at the Western Wall during the Jewish festival of Sukkot.</p>
<p>Bosie Vincent</p>
<p>The Hebrew Bible instructs all Jews to make <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/jerusalem/" type="external">a pilgrimage to Jerusalem</a> three times a year: in spring for Passover, in summer for Shavuout, and in the fall for Sukkot.</p>
<p>But the city is holy to more than just Jews: Christian pilgrims began coming to Jerusalem and the Holy Land within centuries of Jesus' death, and the Al Aksa Mosque, located inside the walls of the Old City, is considered the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.</p>
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<p>At the Hajj, A pilgrim participates in a ritualistic throwing of rocks symbolizing the prophet Abraham’s defiance of the devil.</p>
<p>Shakeb Ahmed</p>
<p>One of the five pillars of Islam is that each believer is called, at least once in their lives, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/the-hajj/" type="external">to make the Hajj</a>, the annual pilgrimage that starts and ends in the holy city of Mecca located in today's Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>The journey recreates Muhammad's own path as the native son returned to his tribal home as the leader of a vibrant new religion. Unlike other sacred sites, Mecca is closed off to believers of other faiths: only Muslims are permitted on the Hajj.</p>
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<p>Aarti, a lamp ceremony, performed in the city of Varanasi in India.</p>
<p>Sacred Journeys/Maya Vision International</p>
<p>Every 12 years, tens of millions of men, women and children gather on the flood plain of the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers in Allahabad, India, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/kumbh-mela/" type="external">for the Kumbh Mela</a>, the largest gathering of humanity for religious purposes on the planet.</p>
<p>Pilgrims come from across India and around the world to bathe in the water where the two sacred rivers meet. Such mass bathing in the Ganges has been recorded for more than 2,500 years.</p>
<p />
<p>A pilgrim participates in the cleansing ritual at Osun’s Sacred Grove during the festival of Osun-Osogbo.</p>
<p>Jon Wood</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/osun-osogbo/" type="external">The festival of Osun-Osgobo</a>, which takes place every year in Osogbo, Nigeria, celebrates the goddess of fertility, Osun. The festival renews the contract between humans and the divine: Osun offers grace to the community; in return, it vows to honor her Sacred Grove.</p>
<p>This ceremony is part of a rich indigenous Yoruba religious tradition that began in West Africa and has become one of the ten largest religions in the world, with upwards of 100 million practitioners.</p> | 6 incredible pilgrimages around the world | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-12-16/6-incredible-pilgrimages-around-world | 2014-12-16 | 3 |
<p>PepsiCo recently announced fourth quarter and full-year results with net revenue down 5% to $63 billion and diluted earnings per share down 14% to $3.67.But the real story is found in the bleak portrait of global economic malaise as painted by Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi:</p>
<p>These forces are putting "extreme pressure on previously booming economies like Russia, Canada and Brazil ... "and the rebound, according to Nooyi, may be a long slog as the few tools possessed by the central banks in these economies have been "fully exploited over the past several years".</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>She goes on to describe how this global turbulence may impact the U.S. and upend its economy, stating that the U.S. is experiencing a delicate recovery that may falter if the "globe continues to experience such massive pressures".Specifically, she points to three risks to the U.S. economy: the strong dollar, volatile financial markets, and widespread political and social turmoil. The question is: How intense are these pressures?</p>
<p>A robust greenback</p>
<p>The strong U.S. dollar creates both a transaction and translation problem for domestic companies with large overseas markets. The transaction issue occurs as products with dollar denominated source inputs retain their pricing power to account for costs. Subsequently, the product is more expensive in markets with weaker currencies, and therefore, local consumers purchase less.</p>
<p>Secondly, the translation problem occurs when revenues are exchanged back from a weaker currency to the stronger dollar. In China for example, the yuan has been notoriously devalued and now stands at a five year low to the dollar. One million yuan renminbi would have translated back to roughly $165,000 in early 2014.Now, the same amount of renminbi would only exchange for $153,000. <a href="http://file:///E:/The%20Main%20Jump%20Drive/The%20Motley%20Fool/Articles/Pepsi%20Global%20Headwinds%20Upend%20U.S.%20Economy/Pepsi%20Reveals%20Global%20Headwinds%20That%20Could.docx#_edn7" type="external">Shockwave Flash file Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Any domestic companies with significant overseas exposure in countries with weak currencies such as China and its daisy-chained Asia Pacific economies will realize these headwinds are driving revenue and earnings hits. This can lead to restructuring layoffs which can impact the economy even more broadly.</p>
<p>According to data published by the S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices in July of 2015, approximately 48% of S&amp;P 500 company revenues come from international markets.</p>
<p>Volatile financial markets</p>
<p>Markets across the globe have been erratic with the U.K. and Japan entering bear market territory in January, in addition to multiple circuit breaker fumbles made by the Chinese government in its attempts to half market sell-offs. In the U.S., the Dow is down approximately 4% year-to-date, and although U.S. economic fundamentals appear to be sound, market sell-offs can become an economic self-fulfilling prophecy.</p>
<p>As markets decline, additional sell-offs occur, and the cycle continues. Timothy Geitner likened this behavior to an E. coli meat scare in his book Stress Test, except in this case, as more consumers avoid the meat, the more E. coli it creates.As markets decline, flights to safety take place, and thistypically pushes bond rates down. But yields on bonds issued by energy companies and others have risen lately, precipitated by perceived risk.</p>
<p>As bond rates increase, the costlier it becomes for businesses to make current investments, because the discount rate on future profits has increased. Thus, business investments tend to seize up. According to Stanford University economist Bob Hall,"a falling stock market often coincides with rising unemployment, because both reflect higher risk aversion and discount rates,"as cited by Wall Street Journal Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip.</p>
<p>Ip further elaborates on the ephemeral market psychology that can lead to very real economic impacts:</p>
<p>Geopolitical tremors</p>
<p>During the conference call, Nooyi points to the Middle East as a source of geopolitical unrest with its refugee crisis and militant dynamics, but political volatility is rife in other regions as well: The U.K. is deciding if it wants to leave the European Union, and subsequently, Scotland may leave the U.K. In the U.S., the odds are increasing that voters will elect a populist president with a platform of radical economic change.Markets hate uncertainty, which can lead to sell-offs (see self-reinforcing market psychology impacts above).</p>
<p>The picture of global economic malaise painted by PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is troubling to say the least, and Nooyi made some important links to the U.S. economy during the call. Specifically, she formed a contagion path to the U.S. through the strong dollar, volatile financial markets, and geopolitical unrest and uncertainty.</p>
<p>If the intensity of these pressures keeps up, they will potentially derail the U.S. economy. What is the likelihood of this happening? Approximately half of S&amp;P 500 revenues come from international markets; market confidence is shaky at best; and Donald Trump just won 46% of the Nevada Republican primary votes. The probability is high, to say the least.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/28/pepsico-inc-ceo-indra-nooyi-describes-global-econo.aspx" type="external">PepsiCo Inc. CEO Indra Nooyi Describes Global Economic Threats to U.S. Economy Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/brownap02/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Adam Brownlee Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends PepsiCo. 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>
<p>Advertisement</p> | PepsiCo Inc. CEO Indra Nooyi Describes Global Economic Threats to U.S. Economy | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/28/pepsico-inc-ceo-indra-nooyi-describes-global-economic-threats-to-us-economy.html | 2016-02-28 | 0 |
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<p>Cash entered her plea without benefit of a plea agreement, and at her sentencing, which is still to be scheduled, she could receive up to 10 years in prison on each of the four theft offenses and one year on each of the tax counts, the release said.</p>
<p>At the time of the charged offenses, Cash was executive director of La Pasada Halfway House (La Pasada), a residential center in Albuquerque that provides housing for defendants in the federal criminal justice system, including those awaiting trial and those re-entering society after serving time in prison.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, between September 2008 and January 2011, Cash made unauthorized debits to La Pasada’s business bank account and used the proceeds to her own benefit, not that of the halfway house, federal prosecutors said.</p>
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<p>Among the unauthorized debits were checks written for services never provided to La Pasada; ATM withdrawals at various Albuquerque locations, including casinos; and debit card charges at casinos in Las Vegas, Nev.</p>
<p>8/11/12 — Ex-Halfway House Boss Charged</p>
<p>Journal Staff Report</p>
<p>The former executive director of La Pasada Halfway House, a residential center for individuals in the federal criminal justice system, has been charged with taking money from programs receiving federal funds and with willful failure to a file tax return.</p>
<p>Robin Cash, 55, of Albuquerque has been summoned to appear in federal court in Albuquerque on Aug. 23, for arraignment.</p>
<p>La Pasada houses defendants awaiting trial and those who are re-entering society after serving a term of incarceration.</p>
<p>The federal District Court’s Pretrial Services Office contracted with the not-for-profit corporation that operates La Pasada to cover the costs of providing a custodial residential environment at a monthly rate of roughly $60,000 to $80,000, and La Pasada deposited the funds in its business bank account.</p>
<p>When Cash became executive director of La Pasada in April 2008 at an annual salary of about $45,000, she was added as a signatory on the business bank account and received a debit card for the account.</p>
<p>From September 2008 through January 2011, the indictment alleges, Cash made unauthorized debits to La Pasada’s account and used the proceeds for her own benefit, giving cash to her family members for services that were never provided to La Pasada; making ATM withdrawals at various Albuquerque locations, including casinos; and using the debit card for charges at casinos in Las Vegas, Nev.</p>
<p>In April 2010, Cash allegedly opened a checking account and bank account in the name of La Pasada without authorization, the indictment says, using it to take funds from residents at La Pasada on a regular basis and depositing the funds into the unauthorized account until February 2011. The diverted money was used to pay personal expenses, the indictment says.</p>
<p>Cash is charged with failing to file federal income tax returns for calendar years 2008 when she had a gross income of approximately $46,104; in 2009 when she had a gross income of approximately $113,248; and in 2010, when she had a gross income of approximately $173,526.</p> | UPDATED: Ex-ABQ halfway house director pleads guilty to theft, tax counts | false | https://abqjournal.com/199716/updated-ex-abq-halfway-house-director-pleads-guilty-to-theft-tax-counts.html | 2013-05-16 | 2 |
<p>Before anyone freaks out, let us unequivocally state that we heart the computer geeks. Apparently toymaker Mattel Inc. is hoping that members of its Barbie target market do, too, as the company is debuting its own computer engineer version of the iconic blond doll, complete with a pink laptop and a stylish-yet-nerdy T-shirt. –KA</p>
<p>SFGate:</p>
<p>Barbie has a new career as a computer engineer, and technical women are cheering the development as another way to help attract girls to careers in science, high-tech, biotech and the other occupations of the future.</p>
<p>Backers include the likes of IEEE Fellow Dr. Karen Panetta, director of the NerdGirls program that aims to break down the negative sterotypes of women engineers and help young female students translate their interest into degrees.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gettowork/detail?entry_id=57401&amp;type=jobs" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Introducing Computer Geek Barbie | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/introducing-computer-geek-barbie/ | 2010-02-20 | 4 |
<p>A new study, published in the journal <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/mt/c4mt00260a#!divAbstract" type="external">Metallomics</a>, evaluates a potential blood test for early detection of breast cancer.&#160; Researchers note that breast cancer tumors were found to have a certain composition of zinc isotopes, which could be detected in the blood.&#160; If made into a diagnostic test, this may greatly increase early detection of breast cancer, which would translate to higher survival rates.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2867188/Simple-blood-test-detect-breast-cancer-long-symptoms-appear-spell-end-mammogram.html" type="external">Daily Mail</a>, there is already an 80 percent chance of survival after a breast cancer diagnosis.&#160; However, early detection may mean the difference between life and death.&#160; Currently, physical exams, mammograms, and x-rays are used to detect breast cancer.&#160; These are given to different portions of the female population, but a blood test could be given to all women to provide an efficient early screening.</p>
<p>In addition to zinc, there are other trace metals in the blood.&#160; Scientists believe that some of these may be correlated to other types of cancer.&#160; Further research needs to be done to determine the relationships between these trace metals and other cancers.&#160; If such relationships are found, more blood tests for early cancer detection may be forthcoming.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/" type="external">WebMD</a> reports that the first sign of breast cancer is usually a breast lump or an abnormal mammogram.&#160; Breast cancer stages range from early, curable breast cancer to metastatic breast cancer.&#160; Other signs of breast cancer include a change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast, a change in the feel or appearance of the skin on the breast or nipple, redness of the breast or nipple, and blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple.&#160; Breast cancer does not only appear in women.&#160; Male breast cancer is a real, but often overlooked, threat.</p>
<p /> | Potential blood test detects breast cancer before symptoms appear | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/03/07/potential-blood-test-detects-breast-cancer-before-symptoms-appear/ | 2015-03-07 | 3 |
<p />
<p>For decades, HR and talent acquisition departments have been trying to get seats at the executive table. Often, however, they were prohibited from doing so because they lacked the quantitative data they needed to prove they could be strategic partners in the business.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But now, thanks to advances in technology, these departments have access to the kinds of strategic analytics they need to show the C-suite that they should be part of the business's overall strategy.</p>
<p>In fact, HR and TA teams may now be more important to business success than ever before. The skills gap has forced executive leaders to face the fact that attracting and retaining talent is both a critical and complicated affair. Prior to the advent of strategic HR and TA analytics, employers simply made talent decisions based on what they assumed to be beneficial or cost-effective. Strategic analytics have shown many employers that their assumptions were often wrong.</p>
<p>Are strategic analytics guiding your hiring decisions, or are you still making decisions based on erroneous assumptions?</p>
<p>If the war for talent is causing you and your organization significant problems, then it's time to leverage <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/hr-software.html" type="external">HR technology Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;and let strategic analytics show you the way to hiring success.</p>
<p>Here are four ways that strategic analytics can help your organization close the skills gap and win the war for talent:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>1. Staying Up to Date With the Talent Market</p>
<p>Many employers pay&#160;below market rates and expect to attract&#160;the cream of the crop. This may work now, but it won't work for long. Savvy candidates have more access to salary data than they used to, and&#160;your existing employees are more willing than ever to jump ship for organizations that offer better pay and benefits. Using <a href="http://rightsourcingusa.com/strategic-analytics-guide-healthcare-workforce-solutions/" type="external">strategic analytics Opens a New Window.</a>, employers can gain access to regional market rate intelligence that can help them attract and retain the best talent.</p>
<p>On the other side of the coin, some employers may not realize they're paying too high above&#160;the market rate and thereby wasting money. Using strategic analytics, these companies can adjust their compensation packages downward and prevent further unnecessary loss of funds.</p>
<p>2. More Accurate Workforce Forecasting</p>
<p>For many industries, labor requirements vary significantly depending on the time of year. In these cases, strategic analytics can guide employers in making more accurate predictions about the kind of labor they'll need and when, based on historical labor data. This can help employers avoid situations where they need to hire contingent workers at crisis rates or pay existing employees expensive overtime rates.</p>
<p>3. Cutting Attrition and Associated Costs</p>
<p>Strategic analytics aren't only useful&#160;during the hiring process. They can also help employers determine the exact costs of employee attrition and identify any processes that may contribute to higher attrition rates. This is especially useful for revealing cost-cutting measures that actually turn out to cost the company more money.</p>
<p>For example, an employer might save thousands by cutting benefits, only to find that the cost of the increased attrition rates spurred by the loss of benefits is even higher than the amount saved.</p>
<p>4. More Efficient Screening</p>
<p>During the recruiting process, strategic analytics can also be helpful for candidate management. Strategic analytics can inform TA teams about&#160;which candidates possess the right skills for the job, which candidates meet&#160;compliance requirements, and more. This can cut the&#160;time it takes to hire and&#160;lead to more quality hires&#160;overall.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Today, big data is everywhere.&#160;In HR and TA, it&#160;comes in the form of strategic analytics that can help us make better hiring decisions. The challenge for employers is no longer the collection of data – it's how to best use that data to achieve their goals.</p>
<p>Catherine Hess is the marketing manager for&#160; <a href="http://rightsourcingusa.com/" type="external">RightSourcing Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4 Reasons Why You Should Leverage Strategic Analytics in Your Hiring Strategy | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/07/01/4-reasons-why-should-leverage-strategic-analytics-in-your-hiring-strategy.html | 2016-07-06 | 0 |
<p>Employers squeezed by years of rising medical costs and pressure from the health care overhaul are still making employee health insurance a priority, but that coverage may grow skimpier in the coming years.</p>
<p>A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that companies that offer health insurance see it as a key tool to attract workers and keep them on the job. But they're also sweating the expense, with 86 percent citing the cost of coverage as a key factor in picking a plan.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A separate survey from the benefits consultant Mercer found that only 4 percent of all large employers say they will likely drop their employee health plans within the next five years, a figure that has trended down over the past few years.</p>
<p>"We've been hearing lots of people blowing alarms about employers dropping plans and getting out of the business, but that's never what our data showed," said Beth Umland, Mercer's director of health and benefits research.</p>
<p>The survey results run contrary to speculation among benefits insiders that more companies would consider dropping insurance coverage for their employees. They figured companies might do so in order to curb health care costs, which have climbed faster than inflation for years for many employers. The health care overhaul also has added more costs in some cases with taxes, fees and coverage mandates.</p>
<p>Additionally, the overhaul created public insurance exchanges on which people can buy coverage. That could offer a safety net for companies that had offered benefits only because their employees had no other way to get them.</p>
<p>Many companies have pared their coverage by making their workers pay a bigger share of the doctor bill. In some cases, they've also cut coverage for spouses of workers who can find insurance elsewhere. But business owners say they still see several reasons to offer some coverage.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A total of 81 percent that offer insurance in the AP-NORC poll said they do so mainly because it's the right thing to do, while about 60 percent say it helps recruit and keep workers.</p>
<p>Kinetic Systems Vice President and co-owner Judy Solomon says she has to provide insurance to attract and keep engineers when competing against bigger companies. Her Boston business has 32 full-time workers and makes equipment that helps control vibrations for sensitive scientific instruments</p>
<p>She also thinks her lower-wage workers should have coverage as well.</p>
<p>"I won't drop it no matter how much it goes up (in price)," she said. "I've sustained as much as an 18 percent increase in some years."</p>
<p>Companies are generally wary about making big changes to their benefits to avoid pushing employees to leave, especially if unemployment rates are low and the pool of possible replacements is weak.</p>
<p>"Historically, as the labor market improves, employers are more willing to go along with the status quo, so to speak," said Jon Gabel, a senior fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago.</p>
<p>Offering insurance also can make good business sense. Companies get a tax break for offering benefits. They lose that if they drop coverage. And, depending on a company's size, it also may have to pay an overhaul-mandated fine for not providing coverage.</p>
<p>In addition, a company that drops coverage probably will have to give employees more cash to help them buy coverage on their own and avoid a mass exodus of unhappy workers.</p>
<p>While companies in general remain resolute about offering coverage, the expense may become too much for smaller businesses that generally have less control over rate hikes and what they offer their employees. The Mercer study found that 16 percent of companies with 50 to 199 employees say they are likely or very likely to drop medical plans in the next five years.</p>
<p>Employers that stick with benefits may not offer the same coverage year after year, though. Ezell Precision Tool Co. used to pay the entire premium for its workers. That changed after that bill spiked 40 percent a few years ago. Now the Clearwater, Florida, company covers half the premium and has workers pay a $10,000 deductible before most of their insurance coverage starts.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Controller Anne Short said her company remains committed to offering some coverage.</p>
<p>"It's the right thing to do," she said.</p>
<p>The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey of employers on the health insurance market included interviews by telephone or online with a representative sample of 1,061 private sector companies with at least three employees. It was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago from August 19 through October 8, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For results among the full sample of employers, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>AP-NORC Center: www.apnorc.org</p> | Polls: Companies still prioritize health coverage for workers, but benefits may evolve | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/11/20/polls-companies-still-prioritize-health-coverage-for-workers-but-benefits-may.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Rep. Trey Gowdy is a former prosecutor, a Republican congressman from South Carolina and chairman of the House Oversight Committee. He has earned the nickname <a href="http://conservativetribune.com/gowdy-bulldog-trump-hating/" type="external">“The Bulldog”</a> for his outstanding ability to go after those who break and cheat the laws of the land and there are plenty of examples of it.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Gowdy established the nickname during his time on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, where as the ranking member he became known for his tenacious manner and bellicose pursuit of the actual facts. While that investigation didn’t go the way that many believed it should have, Rep. Gowdy’s bulldog nature has once again reared its head — this time defending Attorney General Jeff Sessions against the political unit of liberal politicians and their pets in the media going after him.</p>
<p>Gowdy was scheduled to speak on Mike Gallagher’s syndicated radio show on Friday to talk about the attorney general’s determination to recuse himself in matters involving Russia amid calls for him to resign from Democrats over two meetings he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.</p>
<p>While Gowdy claimed that Sessions’ statement that he had not met with the Russian ambassador regarding Donald Trump’s campaign was “not tantamount to perjury,” he said that Sessions made the right move by recusing himself.</p>
<p>John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.</p>
<p>“I thought it was the right decision. You should recuse yourself, obviously, if there’s an actual conflict, but you should frankly recuse yourself if there’s a perception of a conflict which would impact people’s ability to trust the result and the process.”</p>
<p>However, as the interview went on, Gowdy took some hard swings at the Democrats for their hypocrisy involving Sessions, especially given the recent calls for a special counsel to look into the Trump administration’s alleged Russian ties.</p>
<p>“The reality is, Jeff Sessions is not going to be in the courtroom prosecuting this case. If it was good enough for the media for Holder and Lynch, look — it exposes their hypocrisy all of the sudden about Sessions, but did you ever hear the media call for special counsel for President Obama?”</p>
<p>“I feel like I’m watching ‘The Notebook.’ They’ve fallen in love with the special counsel regulation they didn’t know existed a few months ago.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Gowdy GOES OFF And Attacks The “Hypocrisy” Of The Left Over Sessions [LISTEN] | true | http://rightwingnews.com/top-news/gowdy-goes-off-attacks-hypocrisy-left-sessions-listen/ | 2018-03-20 | 0 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />April 29, 2013</p>
<p>By Joseph Perkins</p>
<p>After giving a speech in which he refused to bail out New York City from impending bankruptcy, Gerald Ford prompted the famously pithy headline in the New York Daily News:&#160; FORD TO CITY:&#160; DROP DEAD.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles City Council this week did not exactly tell San Diego and Orange County to drop dead, but it did send them a message that LA is perfectly sanguine with the prospect that the state’s second- and third-largest counties spend the upcoming summer in the dark.</p>
<p>In a unanimous vote, the 15-member council passed a resolution urging federal regulators not to allow the <a href="http://www.songscommunity.com/about.asp" type="external">San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station</a> to restart either of its two reactors, both of which have been offline since January 2012, owing to premature wear on steam generator tubes.</p>
<p>Essentially, the council wants the <a href="http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc.html" type="external">U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a> to reverse its finding earlier this month that allowing Southern California Edison to fire up one of the nuclear plant’s reactors&#160;would pose no threat to public safety. SCE&#160;has a 78 percent ownership stake in San Onofre, San Diego Gas &amp; Electric 20 percent and the city of Riverside 2 percent.</p>
<p>The council is following the advice of S. David Freeman, a former head of the <a href="https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-power?_adf.ctrl-state=hx6p90cbe_21&amp;_afrLoop=36193642647000" type="external">Los Angeles Department of Water</a>, who is now a “consultant” with the extremist environmental group <a href="http://www.foe.org/news/archives/2013-04-nrc-opens-public-comment-on-edisons-experiment" type="external">Friends of the Earth</a>, which is crusading to permanently shutter San Onofre.</p>
<p>Freeman and anti-nuke Friends demand that the NRC require Edison to obtain a full-blown license amendment to restart San Onofre. That may sound reasonable, but it entails courtroom-like proceedings at which Edison would be on public trial.</p>
<p>All Edison wants to do is get San Onofre operating at reduced capacity by this upcoming summer, the peak season for electricity demand in the Southern California region.</p>
<p>When San Onofre is operating at full capacity, it accounts for a fifth of the electricity both Edison and San Diego Gas &amp; Electric deliver to their business and residential customers.</p>
<p>Now, if L.A. businesses and residences faced the prospect of a summer with 20 percent less electricity than normal, and the resultant possibility of rolling blackouts, there’s no way the City Council would urge that San Onofre remain idle.</p>
<p>But because San Onofre generally doesn’t supply atoms to the L.A. Department of Water and Power, the City Council felt free to dump on the nuclear plant, no matter the consequence to Edison’s Orange County customers and SDG&amp;E’s San Diego County customers.</p>
<p>In fact, <a href="http://www.caiso.com/Documents/BriefingSummer2013-Presentation-Mar2013.pdf" type="external">a report</a> last month by the California Independent System Operator (CaISO), which oversees the electrical grid for 80 percent of the state, warns that the combination of the continued shutdown of San Onofre and the significant drought-related reduction of hydroelectric generation — which helped replace the nuclear plant’s electrons last summer — could cause “Enron-style” power shortages this summer.</p>
<p>While the power shortages would affect all of Southern California, they would fall hardest on southern Orange County and San Diego County.</p>
<p>That suits the L.A. City Council just fine. After all, who cares if the bumpkins to the South have to deal with rolling blackouts this summer?</p> | LA council attack on San Onofre might bring blackouts to Orange County, San Diego | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2013/04/29/la-council-attack-on-san-onofre-might-bring-blackouts-to-orange-county-san-diego/ | 2018-04-20 | 3 |
<p>The Czech presidential spokesman described comments by “some” Kiev politicians as “cries from a Neanderthal cave.” The Czech leader had said that Russia could compensate Kiev for Crimea, and the Ukrainian PM subsequently questioned his mental health.</p>
<p>“I consider the rude attacks by some Ukrainian politicians on the president [of Czech Republic, Milos Zeman] as cries from a Neanderthal cave. They have no place in modern Europe,” Jiri Ovcacek <a href="https://twitter.com/PREZIDENTmluvci/status/918448842420510720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fzpravy.aktualne.cz%2Fzahranici%2Fzeman-je-psychicky-nemocny-mini-ukrajinsky-premier-obchodova%2Fr~f0330940af4511e780320025900fea04%2F" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/406287-zeman-ukraine-crimea-compensation/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman had earlier remarked that only a person with mental issues would say that Russia could “compensate” Kiev for Crimea, responding to a comment made by Zeman.</p>
<p>“A [mentally] healthy person would never say such a thing, but it is possible that a mentally ill person may [make such a remark],” Vladimir Groysman told <a href="http://nv.ua/ukraine/politics/zdorovyj-chelovek-takogo-ne-skazhet-grojsman-prokommentiroval-zajavlenie-zemana-po-krymu-2013947.html" type="external">journalists</a> on Thursday.</p>
<p>The top Ukrainian official stressed that Czech people “are absolutely nice and clever,” but added that among them there are people “who sometime make insane statements that we witness today.”</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Zeman made headlines after saying that Russia could “compensate” Ukraine for Crimea with money or oil.</p>
<p>Speaking to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in France two days earlier, he had said that in his opinion “there will be some compensation for Ukraine [for losing Crimea].”</p>
<p>That may be done in form of “either money, oil or gas,” he said.</p>
<p>Zeman also urged European politicians to accept the secession of the peninsula from Ukraine as “fait accompli.” He noted that an attempt to try and return Crimea to Ukraine “will mean a European war.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/380288-zeman-agent-putin-trump/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The comments prompted Ukraine’s PACE representatives to stage a walkout. Russia has also rejected the idea.</p>
<p>“Crimea is not the subject of haggling or transactions,” Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Committee on International Affairs in the Russian Duma, said. However, he welcomed the Czech leader’s comments on the status of the peninsula.</p>
<p>Zeman also urged Moscow and Kiev to develop closer economic and diplomatic ties, pointing to non-controversial initiatives such as student exchanges as a starting point.</p>
<p>The Czech Senate condemned the president for his statement, saying in a resolution that by suggesting Russian compensation for Crimea the president “legitimized aggression that violates international law,” Ceske Noviny reported.</p>
<p>Ovcacek defended the head of state by saying that Zeman “didn’t legalize the annexation of Crimea, but expressed a balanced and realistic opinion.”</p>
<p>Crimea held a referendum after the 2013 uprising and ensuing coup in Ukraine. The peninsula reunited with Russia following a plebiscite on whether to do so in March 2014, in which 97 percent voted in favor.</p>
<p>The result remains unrecognized by Kiev and the West; Moscow insists the vote was conducted in accordance with international law.</p> | ‘Cries from Neanderthal cave’: Czech Republic & Ukraine trade jibes over Crimea | false | https://newsline.com/cries-from-neanderthal-cave-czech-republic-ukraine-trade-jibes-over-crimea/ | 2017-10-12 | 1 |
<p>Teacher activism, “reframing” the public debate on education and skepticism regarding teacher evaluation were among the topics at the recent Chicago Teachers Union’s annual School Improvement Conference.</p>
<p>“Education in Crisis: What YOU Can Do” offered a day-long series of speeches and workshops with advice on curriculum and teaching, but also strategies to help teachers organize for the expected battles with a new city administration and schools leadership.</p>
<p />
<p>Chicago Teachers Union Vice-President Jesse Sharkey and author and educator Lois Weiner of New Jersey City University talk at last weekend’s CTU school improvement conference.</p>
<p>Teacher activism, “reframing” the public debate on education and skepticism regarding teacher evaluation were among the topics at the recent Chicago Teachers Union’s annual School Improvement Conference.</p>
<p>“Education in Crisis: What YOU Can Do” offered a day-long series of speeches and workshops with advice on curriculum and teaching, but also strategies to help teachers organize for the expected battles with a new city administration and schools leadership.</p>
<p>The conference kicked off with a speech from Lois Weiner, a former New York City teacher and a leading scholar on urban education at New Jersey City University. Weiner told the crowd that public education in the U.S. has always been underfunded and “never provided equal educational opportunities for everyone, and that has to be our vision. That has to be our goal.”</p>
<p>Weiner also challenged many of the reform strategies now taking shape in many districts, such as charter schools and an emphasis on standardized testing, and have been championed by reform advocates and governors.</p>
<p>In response, Weiner said, teachers need to reach out to parents and communities for support. They also should find out what students’ lives are like outside of school and then use that knowledge in instruction, Weiner said.</p>
<p>The conference is an annual gathering that educates teachers about what’s happening in their profession and what they can do to help advance it, said Lynn Cherkasky-Davis, coordinator at the Quest Center, the CTU’s professional development component. This year’s conference focused on activism and how teachers can influence the debate on public education.</p>
<p>One strategy teachers could use is to get more people into the conversation about public education, said Kevin Kumashiro, a University of Illinois at Chicago education professor who presented one of the workshops.</p>
<p>“It’s too often we’re talking to ourselves,” he noted.</p>
<p>His comments echoed previous goals that the new union leadership has talked about: reaching out to parents and community members.</p>
<p>A workshop on teacher evaluation sought to bring CTU members up to date on the status of a new evaluation system, mandated by state law, which CPS is required to have in place in 300 schools by fall 2012 and the remainder of the district by fall 2013.</p>
<p>The new evaluations must include a value-added component that takes into account growth in student test scores. The evaluation framework is being field-tested in some schools this year and is slated to be implemented system-wide by this coming fall.</p>
<p>Carol Caref, Quest Center coordinator in charge of evaluations, said the CTU believes all teachers can continuously improve, but that “an emphasis on teacher-driven, collaborative professional development will do far more than teacher evaluation systems to increase student learning.”</p>
<p>The evaluation workshop touched off a spirited discussion and plenty of comments about the burdens and follies of testing, as well as skepticism about the usefulness of standardized tests.&#160;</p>
<p>One elementary school teacher told of having to administer a test that “plainly” indicated on the form that “there is no validity to this test.” Another teacher questioned the wisdom of administering tests after students return from breaks, when they’re more likely to have not been thinking of schoolwork.</p>
<p>“How can you possibly evaluate someone who has been given a classroom of low performers and major disciplines and emotional problems with [a teacher] who has a magnet class?” asked another teacher. “You cannot evaluate apples and oranges and get who is the better teacher.”</p>
<p>“Kids are burned out” from all the testing, a teacher said from the back of the lecture hall.</p>
<p>“One day they will rise up angry and say, ‘This has taken our childhood away because all we did was test instead of learn.’”</p> | Teachers conference focuses on strategies for more activism on education | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/teachers-conference-focuses-strategies-more-activism-education/ | 2011-05-18 | 3 |
<p>Right now, during this economic crisis, no one is suffering more than the rich. The old rules – where the investors got to make huge profits but also assumed the financial risks – don’t apply anymore. That’s why we need to give your tax money to condo developers. After all, they need it more than you do! And maybe they’ll hire you for a couple weeks. Or do you want to be a welfare parasite for the rest of your life?</p>
<p>Please join us in supporting ex-hockey player and struggling Vancouver Island resort developer <a href="" type="internal">Len Barrie</a>. This week, we inducted Barrie into the <a href="http://wtflangford.blogspot.com" type="external">WTF?</a> Hall of Flame and awarded him the first annual West Coast Wetiko Prize.</p>
<p>In 2006, Barrie set the stage for his entrance into the Hall of Flame by deliberately <a href="" type="internal">blowing up a native cave to build his golf course, after sending gangs of construction workers to harass native elders.</a></p>
<p>Naturally, Barrie was hailed as a hero by his posse in Langford, home to some of Vancouver Island’s most racist rednecks.</p>
<p>Barrie clinched the Wetiko Prize last month by uniting with fellow developer Ron Coutre and Langford City Council behind an application for a $24.5 million <a href="http://zoeblunt.gnn.tv/blogs/31459/Bear_Mtn_developer_bailout_FAIL" type="external">federal infrastructure grant</a> that would benefit Barrie and Coutre.</p>
<p>You see, Barrie has fallen on hard times. But your tax dollars can help make sure he doesn’t lose his 15,000-square-foot castle at Bear Mountain Resort, 20 km west of Victoria. If you haven’t lived in a castle, you can’t possibly know how humiliating it is to live in a crappy condo and fly coach instead of first class.</p>
<p>The West Coast Wetiko (“WEE-ti-go”) Prize is dedicated to lost heritage and self-destructive insanity. Noted author <a href="" type="internal">Jack Forbes</a> describes the Wetiko worldview this way: “Brutality knows no boundaries. Greed knows no limits. Perversion knows no borders. This is the disease of the consuming of other creatures’ lives and possessions. I call it cannibalism.”</p>
<p>An awards ceremony is planned for later this year.</p>
<p>WANDA FUCHA writes for <a href="http://wtflangford.blogspot.com" type="external">WTF Langford?</a> is the hottest new satire and gossip blog on Vancouver Island.</p> | Brother, Can You Spare a Million Bucks? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/04/10/brother-can-you-spare-a-million-bucks/ | 2009-04-10 | 4 |
<p>Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has had it with Donald Trump and comparisons of his campaign to that of the billionaire mogul and GOP frontrunner.</p>
<p>The Vermont senator told the <a href="//www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/bernie-sanders-has-heard-about-that-hashtag.html" type="external">New York Times&#160;Magazine</a>&#160;that he not only disagreed with Trump’s views on immigration but that he found Trump’s entire campaign to be an embarrassment. Asked by Ana Marie Cox in a short interview what he thought of “Trump’s surge in the polls,” Sanders responded, “not much.” Sanders went on to slam Trump as an “embarrassment for our country,” citing his “slurring of the Latino community”:</p>
<p>I think Donald Trump’s views on immigration and his slurring of the Latino community is not something that should be going on in the year 2015, and it’s to me an embarrassment for our country.</p>
<p>Sanders and Trump briefly crossed paths this weekend at the Iowa State Fair, where presidential candidates from both sides of the aisle visited the famed Soapbox and chowed down on a variety of fried delectables. “I apologize, we left the helicopter at home. It’s in the garage,” Sanders <a href="//www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/08/15/432408554/listen-sanders-jokes-about-trump-helicopter" type="external">joked</a>, mocking Trump’s splashy appearance at the fair via helicopter (t <a href="//www.salon.com/2015/08/17/twitter_goes_wild_after_donald_trump_tells_children_i_am_batman/" type="external">he billionaire offered free rides to children and told them he was Batman</a>.)</p>
<p>And on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend, Sanders explained to host Chuck Todd how his campaign differs from that of Trump’s after Todd asked what he thought he “had in common with the Trump voter”:</p>
<p>Here’s the difference. I am not a billionaire. My family doesn’t have a whole lot of people. We are raising our campaign contributions from 350,000 people who are contributing on average Chuck, $31.20 apiece. That’s our response to out to working class people, to go out to the middle-class people and gain support. I think that’s a little bit different approach than Donald Trump’s.</p>
<p />
<p>Sophia Tesfaye is the Deputy Politics Editor at Salon.</p> | Bernie Sanders Blasts Donald Trump as 'an Embarrassment For Our Country' | true | http://alternet.org/news-amp-politics/bernie-sanders-blasts-donald-trump-embarrassment-our-country?sc%3Dfb | 2015-08-19 | 4 |
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<p>The surge in orders for durable goods, which are products expected to last at least three years, was the latest evidence of a rebound in manufacturing. The gains will likely provide support for the economy into 2014.</p>
<p>The Commerce Department said Tuesday that orders for durable goods jumped 3.5 percent last month compared with October, when they had fallen 0.7 percent. The increase was led by a 21.8 percent surge in demand for commercial aircraft, which can be volatile.</p>
<p>Core capital goods, a category that tracks business investment, rose 4.5 percent, the biggest gain since January. This category is seen as a gauge of business plans to expand and modernize and as a measure of business confidence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Economists said the stronger-than-expected November gain and a revision for October, which had previously been reported as a sharper 1.6 percent drop, were encouraging signs.</p>
<p>“Nearly all of the major industries saw more orders coming in during November,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.</p>
<p>She noted that machinery, fabricated metals, computers and electronics and communications equipment all showed solid gains.</p>
<p>Last month’s rise in core capital goods, a category that excludes defense and aircraft, followed declines of 0.7 percent in October and 1.2 percent in September. It was the strongest gain since an 8.9 percent increase in January.</p>
<p>Demand for transportation products rose 8.4 percent, led by a surge in commercial aircraft orders. Orders for motor vehicles and parts increased 3.3 percent. Automakers have been enjoying a banner sales year.</p>
<p>Orders for communications equipment shot up 13 percent. Demand rose 5.3 percent for computers and 3.8 percent for machinery.</p>
<p>Other reports have also signaled a strengthening manufacturing sector. The Institute for Supply Management has reported that its gauge of manufacturing activity rose in November at the fastest pace in 2½ years. Factories ramped up production and hiring.</p>
<p>According to the ISM gauge, manufacturing activity has expanded for six straight months after hitting a rough patch in the spring. A separate report showed that factories increased output in November for a fourth straight month, led by a surge in auto production.</p>
<p>The government said last week that the economy grew at a 4.1 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. It was only the second time since the recovery began in mid-2009 that annual growth has topped 4 percent in any quarter.</p>
<p>Economists think annual growth has slowed to between 2 percent and 2.5 percent in the current quarter, reflecting a slowing in business stockpiling. But they are growing confident that the economy will gain momentum in 2014 as the drag from tax increases and federal spending cuts enacted this year fades.</p>
<p>Strong auto sales and a healthier housing market have boosted demand for steel and other metals, auto parts, furniture and appliances.</p>
<p>Overseas demand for many goods has also risen as Europe has climbed out of recession, Japan is growing faster and China’s economy, while slowing, is still expanding at a healthy pace.</p> | US durable goods orders jumped 3.5 percent in Nov. | false | https://abqjournal.com/325931/us-durable-goods-orders-jumped-3-5-pct-in-nov.html | 2 |
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<p>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/7188960566/sizes/z/in/photostream/"&gt;DonkeyHotey&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175608/" type="external">story</a> first appeared on the <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/" type="external">TomDispatch</a> website.</p>
<p>Obesity is an American plague—and no, I’m not talking about overweight Americans. I’m talking about our overweight, supersized presidential campaign. I’m talking about Big Election, the thing that’s moved into our homes and, especially if you live in a “swing state,” is now hogging your television almost 24/7.</p>
<p>There’s a wonderful old American postcard tradition of gigantism, a mixture of (and gentle mocking of) a national, but especially Western, urge toward bravado, braggadocio, and pride when it comes to this country. The imagery on those cards once ranged from <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q_fE0xMZzvA/T0m-F37uo_I/AAAAAAAAFwM/1UCjQhE62lE/s1600/giant+oranges.jpg" type="external">giant navel oranges</a> on railroad flatcars to saddled <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37257689@N00/3700819783/" type="external">jackalopes</a> (rabbits with antlers) mounted by cowboy riders on the range. Think of the 2012 election season as just such a postcard—without the charm.</p>
<p>Though no one’s bothered to say it, the most striking aspect of this election is its gigantism. American politics is being supersized. Everything—everything—is bigger. There are now scores of super PACs and <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/two-dark-money-groups-outspending-all-super-pacs-combined" type="external">“social welfare”</a> organizations, hundreds of <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/10/16/luntz_focus_group_of_mostly_former_obama_voters_switch_to_romney.html" type="external">focus groups</a>, thousands upon thousands of <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/" type="external">polls</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/10/09/162551936/outside-political-groups-swamp-montanas-media-market" type="external">hundreds of thousands</a> of TV ads, copious multi-million dollar contributions to the dark side by the .001%, <a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/advertising-television-rockets-super-pacs-pour-dough-total-spending-5-billion" type="external">billions</a> of ad dollars flooding the media, up to $3 billion <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/political-consultants-2012-campaign-big-money_n_1570157.html" type="external">pouring into</a> the coffers of political consultants, and oh yes, though it’s seldom mentioned, trillions of words.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com" type="external" /></p>
<p>It’s as if no one can stop talking about what might otherwise be one of the least energizing elections in recent history: the most vulnerable president in memory versus a candidate who somehow threatens not to beat him, two men about as inspired as a couple of old beanbag chairs. And yet the words about the thrill of it all just keep on pouring out. They stagger (or perhaps stun) the imagination. They are almost all horse race- and performance-oriented. Who is ahead and why? Who is preparing for what and how? Who has the most momentary of advantages and why? Who looked better, talked tougher, or out-maneuvered whom?</p>
<p>It never seems to end, and why should it? After all, it’s the profit-center of the ages, pure money on a stick. And there’s just so much to say about what is surely an event for the record books. The only question (and it’s not one to be taken lightly) is: What is it?</p>
<p>The Jumbotron Election</p>
<p>It started earlier and lasted longer than any election in our history, and every number associated with it is bigger and better and more striking than the last. If you happen to have the TV on, every one of its moments is The Moment. I even heard one prime-time news anchor call the vice-presidential head-to-head “an epic generational debate.”</p>
<p>Such hyperbole is the daily norm. Before the first presidential debate, another TV talking head assured his audience, “the Republicans were crawling out onto the 33rd floor ledge looking into the abyss.” Then, for a while, that abyss belonged to Barack Obama and he was falling, falling, falling.</p>
<p>That was, of course, before the second of the three presidential debates, which arrived with enough fanfare to put the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrilla_in_Manila" type="external">Thrilla in Manila</a> or the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle" type="external">Rumble in the Jungle</a> to shame. It was, according to the logos I jotted down, “The Showdown,” “The Rematch,” “The Comeback,” or simply “High Stakes”—but what wasn’t in this election season? Of course, Romney and Obama weren’t doing something as mundane as simply debating each other for an hour and a half. They were preparing to head “into the arena” to demonstrate “the power of one night,” and not just any night but “the most crucial single night of the campaign.” All of this to be followed, of course, by debate number three (“The Last Face-Off,” “The Final Showdown”).</p>
<p>Everything about this year was, in fact, crucial and record-making, including the 73,000 (mainly attack) ads that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/us/politics/never-to-be-outdone-vegas-sets-record-for-political-ads.html" type="external">saturated Las Vegas</a> by October 12th, making it “the place with the most televised campaign advertisements in a single year.” (Cleveland came in second and Denver third.) And talk about obesity: for the two campaigns, which long ago busted out of their public-financing election togs, the sky’s now the limit on contributions and there’s no place in the country, however faintly competitive, at which dollars <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/us/politics/cash-flood-allows-fight-to-the-finish-for-electoral-votes.html" type="external">can’t be thrown</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>That blitz of money—more than <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/political-ads-expensive-inefficient-and-essential-20120814" type="external">$3 billion</a> for TV ads alone—should stagger the imagination, as should the <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/10/16/romney-obama-near-1-billion-fundraising-milestone" type="external">nearly billion dollars</a> each that the <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82659.html?hp=l1" type="external">Obama</a> and Romney crews have already raised. Then there are the <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82646.html?hp=l5" type="external">multimillions pouring into</a> mainly Republican Super PACs; the $10 million that casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-sheldon-adelson-shakes-up-race-with-10-million-proromney-donation-20120613,0,2900391.story" type="external">gave</a> in June to the Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future, and the $24.2 million <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/money-men-top-5-donors-romney-article-1.1187517" type="external">that has followed</a>—with Adelson reportedly pledging another $65 million, if necessary, to get Obama out of the White House; and the multi-millions the billionaire Koch brothers have poured into <a href="http://americansforprosperity.org/" type="external">Americans for Prosperity</a>. That organization, in turn, is funneling <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/18/koch-backed-activists-americans-for-prosperity" type="external">$6 million</a> into anti-Obama attack ads every two weeks and has even set up its own “ground game”—200 permanent staff members in 32 states, and thousands of volunteers armed with “sophisticated online micro-targeting tools.” All of this, of course, gives the phrase “money politics” new meaning.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/155849586X/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external" />And then there’s TV. Keep in mind that prime-time audiences were radically <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/business/media/tv-viewers-are-missing-in-action.html" type="external">down this spring</a>: CBS lost 8% of its audience, Fox 20%, and ABC 21%. What luck, then, that billions of ad dollars and eyeball-gluing programming have been flowing into the same medium as part of that heavily over-promoted reality show “Mitt v. Barack” (only one will remain standing!). It’s been an ongoing vote-’em-outta-there show that, as in the second presidential debate, has proven capable of capturing an audience of <a href="http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/10/obama-romney-rematch-cracks-top-10-most-watched-debates-ever-2/" type="external">65.6 million</a> across the channels, the sort of numbers that stomp the Oscars and are beaten only by a few previous presidential debates and <a href="http://www.siegelgale.com/blog/post-game-report-super-bowl-xlvi-and-social-advertising/" type="external">Super Bowls</a>.</p>
<p>So if you own some media outfit, from the first spring Republican debates on, politics has been a never-ending Christmas. It should surprise no one, then, that the employees of those media bosses have supersized the way they are plugging election 2012. (In one of the stranger phenomena of our election moment, however, this obvious conflict of interest is never discussed, even if its reality is daily before our eyes.)</p>
<p>So forget the profits involved. Just sit back and enjoy an election for the ages. Only one thing could possibly be bigger: election 2016—and the media isn’t even waiting for November 7th to begin handicapping that race. Articles about whether or not <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/elections-2012/bill-hillary-clinton-2012-10/" type="external">Billary is running</a> are already commonplace. (Hillary’s <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/18/hillary-clinton-repeats-no-2016-cant-stand-whinin-about-life-choices/" type="external">denied it</a>. Bill’s left the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/23/bill-clinton-i-dont-know-whether-hillary-clinton-will-run-for-president/" type="external">door ajar</a>. Just about everybody suspects that, in the end, the answer could be yes.)</p>
<p>In the meantime, what a learning experience this election is proving to be. Who doesn’t now know about the significance of “the suburban woman,” or the “ <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/-walmart-moms-focus-group-feels-better-about-both-obama-romney-after-debate-20121017" type="external">Walmart mom</a>,” or what a “four-point swing” is, or an “outlier poll,” or a campaign “ <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/10/11/prebuttal_mania_is_hurting_america/" type="external">prebuttal</a>” (a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/07/obama-camp-prebuts-romney-foreign-policy-speech/" type="external">preemptive response</a> to arguments not yet made), or <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/gallup-vs-the-world/" type="external">how to judge</a> Gallup’s handiwork? Who couldn’t go on and on about campaign 2012? Which, in fact, is just what’s happening.</p>
<p>An Election That Outgrew Us All</p>
<p>Still, amid all the hoopla, money, and analysis, what exactly is it? I mean this thing we still call an “election,” in which our temperatures are taken every 30 seconds, in which we are told that we have more or less voted every day for months on end, in which to keep up with events you need to read <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/" type="external">daily columns</a> by a man who lives only to make sense of this morning’s batch of polls.</p>
<p>What does it mean when the election season never ends, when 2016 is already gestating in the oversized body of 2012? What does it mean when a candidate must spend a <a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2019283360_apuspresidentialcampaign.html" type="external">startling proportion</a> of his time glad-handing the wealthiest Americans just to keep the pump primed, the campaign rolling along? What does it mean that a “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/us/politics/anita-dunn-both-insider-and-outsider-in-obama-camp.html" type="external">corporate strategist</a>“—a woman working for clients who want something from the White House—prepares one of the candidates for the debates and helps plot his campaign strategy? What does it mean when the other’s advisors are a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/top-romney-advisor-jim-ta_b_1929947.html" type="external">walking</a>, talking <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2011/10/14/influence_game_romney_advisers_interests_emerge/" type="external">directory</a> of lobbyists? What does it mean when you already know that the <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/08/2012-election-total-spending-costliest-obama-romney-/1#.UIP_3IUVmHl" type="external">$2.5 billion</a> presidential election of 2012 will be the $3.5 billion election of 2016?</p>
<p>What is to be made of a phenomenon that seems to be outgrowing us all, and every explanation we have for what it is? Yes, thanks only in part to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission" type="external">Supreme Court</a>, this is distinctly a <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175478/tomgram%3A_engelhardt,_the_1%25_election/" type="external">1% election</a>, but that hardly encompasses it. Yes, corporations and lobbyists are pouring their everything into it, but that can’t really explain it all either. Yes, it’s a profit center for media owners, but no one would claim that catches the essence of it. Yes, it’s an entertainment spectacle, but is that really how you’d define it? And certainly it’s an everything-the-market-can-bear version of an election campaign, but does that encompass it either?</p>
<p>It’s certainly not your grandparents’ election, and you may not understand it any better than I do. But if you’ve been worried about Big Government, why haven’t you been worrying about Big Election, too?</p>
<p>The fact is: sometimes things outgrow all of us, even those who think they control them.</p>
<p>And here, to me, is the strangest thing: for all the trillions of words devoted to campaign 2012, no one even bothers to discuss its size. Americans may be <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/US/rasmussen-soft-drink-ban/2012/06/04/id/441129" type="external">willing to argue</a> copiously about whether New York’s Mayor Bloomberg should control the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-31/nyc-mayor-bloomberg-seeks-ban-on-super-size-soft-drinks.html" type="external">supersizing of soft drinks</a> in his city, but not a peep is heard when it comes to the supersizing of the run for the presidency.</p>
<p>Under the circumstances, the slogan of ABC News seems either touchingly or mockingly silly: “Your Voice, Your Vote.” Whatever this thing may be, it certainly has ever less to do with your individual voice or your individual vote. As Big Election becomes a way of life, democracy—small “d”—increasingly seems like a term from a lost time. If this is democracy, it’s on steroids and on the Comedy Channel. It’s our own Democratic Mockpocalypse.</p>
<p>I’d be the last person to claim I understand it. Still, I do know one thing: whatever it is, we’re evidently going to pass right through this endless political season without stopping to take stock of our supersized political world.</p>
<p>Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the <a href="http://www.americanempireproject.com/" type="external">American Empire Project</a> and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608461548/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">The United States of Fear</a> as well as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/155849586X/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">The End of Victory Culture</a>, his history of the Cold War, runs the Nation Institute’s <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/" type="external">TomDispatch.com</a>. His latest book, co-authored with Nick Turse, is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086EF89K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=tomdispatch-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B0086EF89K" type="external">Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050</a>.To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com <a href="http://tomdispatch.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6cb39ff0b1f670c349f828c73&amp;id=1e41682ade" type="external">here</a>.</p> | Our Big Fat Amercian Election | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/tom-engelhardt-big-election-money/ | 2012-10-23 | 4 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-127633316/stock-photo-frustrated-businessman-around-by-multiple-office-tools.html?src=fw5RmMffJMGpeu-y5aFRwQ-1-5"&gt;michaeljung&lt;/a&gt;/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>You’re a busy person. Keeping up with your job, plus your life, has you constantly racing. It doesn’t help that when working, you’re distracted not only by your mobile devices, but also by your computer. You average 10 tabs open in your browser at any one time, and you compulsively click amongst them. One’s your email, which never stops flowing in. At the end of the day, you sleep less than you know you should, but as you tell yourself, there’s just never enough time.</p>
<p>If this is how you live, then Maria Konnikova has a simple message for you: Pause, step back, and recognize the actual costs of your habits. A psychology Ph.D. and popular writer for The New Yorker, Konnikova circles back, again and again, to a common theme: how we thwart our own happiness, and even sometimes harm our brains, in our quest for a simply unattainable level of productivity. “The way that we’ve evolved, the way our minds work, the way we work at our most optimal selves, is really not the way we have to operate today,” Konnikova explained on this week’s <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inquiring-minds/id711675943" type="external">Inquiring Minds podcast</a>. “I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle, but I hope that if there are enough voices out there, someone will finally hear that, ‘Hey, this attempt at hyperproductivity is making us much less productive.'”</p>
<p />
<p>Based on Konnikova’s writings, here are four ways that we can change our lifestyles so as to also improve our brains and how they function:</p>
<p />
<p>Sleep more. Science still has a lot to learn about how sleep deprivation affects us. But the research is starting to look pretty grave, especially in light of new studies (Konnikova has written about them <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html?_r=0" type="external">here</a>) suggesting that a crucial function of sleep is to purge the brain of biochemical waste products that are the result of conscious brain activity. This means that not sleeping enough could be contributing to the buildup of harmful proteins like beta-amyloids, which could in turn predispose us to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.</p>
<p>So how do you fix your bad sleep habits? Not easily: It requires nothing less than a major lifestyle change. “You can’t just think that, ‘Well, I’m not ever going to get enough sleep, but on the weekends I’ll sleep in and I’ll be okay,'” says Konnikova. “It doesn’t work that way.” Recovering from one night with too little sleep is easy, but recovering from chronic sleep deprivation requires nothing less than chronic sleep, er, restoration.</p>
<p>How much sleep? People vary, but the <a href="http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need" type="external">National Sleep Foundation</a> says adults need seven to nine hours per night.</p>
<p>Stop being an internet junkie. You’ve probably wondered what the internet is doing to your brain. And especially if you can actually remember the era before the internet’s existence, you’ve probably noticed how the widespread availability of things like email has changed you. It might even have made you into a kind of addict, habituated to constant switching from task, to task, to task: Facebooking, tweeting, emailing, reading…and whatever else arises.</p>
<p>Using the internet in this frenetic way is just bad for us, says Konnikova. “Where the problem comes in is when we start to do it all simultaneously, when we start to multitask and really very quickly switch our attention from an article, to a tweet, to a Facebook post, and we’re just all over the place,” she explains. “Because that’s very cognitively demanding, and that makes us less able to engage with what we’re reading and what we’re doing, and it also just makes us exhausted and worse at the tasks that we do have to accomplish.”</p>
<p>So how do you use the internet better? Set rules for yourself, advises Konnikova: a half-hour of email, followed by a half-hour of Twitter, and so on. You can force yourself to have this kind of discipline, or, you can use a tool to help you with it. To get writing done, Konnikova herself uses an app that blocks you from using the internet for a set period of time, forcing you to work and focus.</p>
<p />
<p>Put a check on your multitasking. Our problems with using the internet productively are just a subset of a broader problem: multitasking. We have a culture that encourages it, even though it forces us to use our brains suboptimally (at best). “How many job descriptions have you seen where it says, ‘Good at multitasking,’ or, ‘We need someone who’s a good multitasker’?” asks Konnikova. “It’s just this mindset that this is a very very good thing.”</p>
<p>It isn’t. Konnikova <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2014/01/the-open-office-trap.html" type="external">wrote recently</a> about how open offices, which are widespread, distract us and leave us stressed out and less productive. It’s because they thwart our ability to focus; the space itself is structured for multitasking and a lot of distractions and interruptions. And yet, being able to focus is closely related to happiness. “There’s really interesting work showing that when you’re focused on what you’re doing, you become happier, even if what you’re doing is incredibly boring,” says Konnikova. “And even if you’re doing something very fun, it will be less fun for you if you’re not paying attention to it.”</p>
<p>So how do you stop multitasking? First, try to make a habit of noticing how much you do it, Konnikova says. And instead, as with the internet, try to discipline yourself, so that you do only one thing at a time.</p>
<p>Practice mindfulness. But there’s also a broader solution. It’s called mindfulness, and it’s outlined in detail in Konnikova’s bestselling book Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.</p>
<p>The most striking thing about Arthur Conan Doyle’s character is his supreme attentiveness, his ability to perceive the details that everybody else misses. And yet Konnikova notes that Holmes solves his crimes, in significant part, through inactivity. “He often just sits in his armchair and does a lot of nothing,” says Konnikova. “He has his eyes closed, or is playing the violin, but often just does nothing at all.” It is this rest, this calm, that enables Holmes to be such a hyperfocused and attentive detective when he’s actually on the case.</p>
<p>So how do you think like Sherlock Holmes? Konnikova says you need to mimic the detective in his armchair: Take 10 to 15 minutes each day, set them aside, and designate them as your time for not doing anything. “All you really need to do, for instance, is sit in your chair in your office, and close your eyes for 10 minutes, and focus on your breath, just on the ins and outs of your breath,” says Konnikova. “And that’s it.”</p>
<p>Research shows that such mindfulness exercises help improve your attention, your focus. “It’s like a muscle, it starts growing stronger, bigger,” says Konnikova. “You start being able to focus much more easily, and for longer stretches of time.”</p>
<p>But, you might be thinking, making these changes would be so hard! Yet that very way of thinking is itself the problem. “It’s this mindset that this is the way we need to operate, but it’s really counterproductive,” says Konnikova. “And what we don’t realize is that it’s making us less creative, it’s making us unhappy, and it’s not using humans to the best of their capacity on both a mental and physical level.”</p>
<p>You can listen to the full interview with Maria Konnikova here:</p>
<p />
<p>This episode of <a href="http://t.co/CQ9WZRPMFO" type="external">Inquiring Minds</a>, a podcast hosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas and best-selling author Chris Mooney, also features a report by Climate Desk’s Tim McDonnell on how <a href="" type="internal">climate change is threatening winter sports</a>, and a special guest appearance by science communicator <a href="https://twitter.com/drkiki" type="external">Dr. Kiki Sanford</a>, who helps us break down what happened in the widely watched <a href="" type="internal">Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham creationism debate</a> earlier this week.</p>
<p>To catch future shows right when they are released, subscribe to Inquiring Minds via <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inquiring-minds/id711675943" type="external">iTunes</a>or <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/inquiring-minds" type="external">RSS</a>. We are also available <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/inquiring-minds" type="external">on Stitcher</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swell-radio/id557048779?ls=1&amp;mt=8" type="external">on Swell</a>. You can follow the show on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/inquiringshow" type="external">@inquiringshow</a>and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/inquiringmindspodcast" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>. Inquiring Minds was also recently singled out as one of the “Best of 2013” shows on iTunes—you can learn more <a href="http://www.itunes.com/bestof2013" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p /> | 4 Ways to Make Your Brain Work Better | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/inquiring-minds-maria-konnikova-mindfulness-multitasking/ | 2014-02-07 | 4 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — St. Michael’s midfielder Viola Pecos wanted to make it clear that her squad did not overlook Santa Fe High. “They’ve just gotten better,” she said.</p>
<p>So much so, the Demonettes (1-1) managed to do what no other team has been able to do so far this season: hold host St. Michael’s (3-0), which outscored its first two opponents — East Mountain and Capital — 13-0 in the first half, scoreless before the break.</p>
<p>While St. Mike’s ultimately won 3-0 in non-district action, first-year Santa Fe coach Keith Richards considered the game a moral victory.</p>
<p>“I’m very proud of them,” he said. “I’ve only had a few weeks with them to get them accustomed to my system, and they showed me a lot. … In the past, the girls told me they’ve lost to them 6-0 and 8-0. Losing is not a win, but in their heads, they were proud of how they represented Santa Fe. We showed we could play with them.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Alicia DeLeon-Dowd ended St.Mike’s scoring drought in the 43rd minute, taking a through-ball from Catie Ish and firing the ball at Demonette goal keeper Mia Melchor. DeLeon-Dowd recovered her own rebound for the score.</p>
<p>Pecos followed with a goal in the 54th minute, scoring from 25 yards out. DeLeon-Dowd was credited with the assist.</p>
<p>Eighth-grader Nique Enloe capped off the scoring, beating Melchor on a fast break off a long pass from Cristiana Gaboldon.</p>
<p>“We came out slow but did what we had to in the second half,” St. Mike’s coach Ed Velie said. “There was concern at the half, but that second goal killed them.”</p> | Demonettes Fight, But Fall to Lady Horsemen | false | https://abqjournal.com/127563/demonettes-fight-but-fall-to-lady-horsemen.html | 2012-08-31 | 2 |
<p>Thousands of self-balancing scooters, referred to as hoverboards, are being recalled this week because their batteries can overheat and explode. Other recalled consumer products include crossbows and lawn mowers.</p>
<p>Here's a more detailed look:</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: Sonic Smart Wheels self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards, with model number S-01 or SBW666SL printed on the bottom of the unit. The hoverboards were sold in black, blue, green, red, white and yellow and have an "S'' printed in the center of the wheel caps. They were sold at Dollar Mania stores in Bossier City and Shreveport, Louisiana from August 2015 through December 2016.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of the products smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: One report of a self-balancing scooter/hoverboard catching fire in Louisiana in 2017 resulting in approximately $40,000 of property damage to a consumer's home. No injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 1,000.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Dollar Mania at 844-333-4457 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit Dollar Mania's Facebook page for more information.</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: Tech Drift self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards. The hoverboards were sold in black and white at www.techdrift.com and www.amazon.com from December 2015 through April 2016.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of the products smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: None reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 100.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Tech Drift at 800-491-0264 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or send email to [email protected] for more information.</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: iLive self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards, with model numbers GSB56BC, GSB56RC, GSB65BUC, GSB56WC and GSB56GDC. The model number is printed on the bottom of the unit. "iLive" is printed in the center of the hoverboard's top surface as well as underneath the top deck, facing the ground. The hoverboards were sold in black, red, white, blue and gold. Some units were sold with a black carrying case. They were sold at Ace Hardware and hh gregg stores nationwide, Heartland America catalogs and at AceHardware.com and hhgregg.com from April 2016 through March 2017.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of the hoverboards smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: One report of the battery pack overheating and smoking. No injuries or property damage have been reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 8,700.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call DPI at 800-311-9263 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT or visit www.iliveelectronics.com and click on "Recall Notice" for more information.</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: All iHoverspeed self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards. The hoverboards were sold in black, blue, red and white and have "iHoverspeed" printed on the front. They were sold at Amazon.com, iHoverspeed.com and other online retailers from November 2015 to December 2015.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of the products smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: None reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 900.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Simplified Wireless at 833-220-1212 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or send email to [email protected].</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: All Go Wheels self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards. The hoverboards have two wheels at either end of a platform and are powered by lithium-ion battery packs. "Go Wheel" is printed in a circle on the middle of the unit where the sides connect. The "Go Wheel" identification will illuminate when the hoverboard is powered on. They were sold in black, white, red, blue, gold and pink.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of the products smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: Four Star Imports has received one report of a self-balancing scooter/hoverboard overheating. There have been no reports of injuries or property damage.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 1,800.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Four Star Imports at 800-780-5231 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT or online at www.villagemart.com and click on "Recall Notice."</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: Certain Drone Nerds self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards. The hoverboards have two wheels at either end of a platform and are powered by lithium-ion battery packs. They were sold in a variety of colors at Drone Nerds store in Aventura, Florida and at www.dronenerds.com from November 2015 through March 2016.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of the products smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: None reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: 700.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Drone Nerds at 888-785-7543 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, send email to [email protected] or visit www.dronenerds.com and click on "Recall Notice" for more information.</p>
<p>SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: This recall involves Smart Balance Wheel self-balancing scooters, commonly referred to as hoverboards. They were sold in black, white, red, or blue at Salvage World stores in Hattiesburg, Mississippi from August 2016 through March 2017.</p>
<p>WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: One report of a battery pack catching fire and/or exploding in Mississippi in 2017, resulting in property damage. No injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 700.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Salvage World at 888-726-9603 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit www.salvageworldllc.com and click on "Recall Notice" for more information.</p>
<p>FIREWORKS</p>
<p>DETAILS: Toxic artillery rockets, Boom Box aerial shells and Detonator firecrackers. They were sold at Wholesale Fireworks stores in Wyoming from June 2017 through August 2017 for between $13 and $90. More details can be found at https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/Wholesale-Fireworks-Recalls-Fireworks-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Standards-Explosion-and-Burn-Hazards</p>
<p>WHY: The recalled fireworks are overloaded with pyrotechnics intended to produce an audible effect, violating the federal regulatory standards for this product. Overloaded fireworks can result in a greater-than-expected explosion, posing burn and explosion hazards to consumers.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: None reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 1,700.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Wholesale Fireworks at 855-534-3473 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT any day, or send email to [email protected].</p>
<p>RIDING LAWN MOWERS</p>
<p>DETAILS: Bush Hog Zero Turn Radius (ZTR) HDE riding lawn mowers sold in black with gray wheels and gray rollover protection structures. HDE is printed on the left side of the unit beneath the seat. The mowers were made on or before August 4, 2017. The manufacturing date is located on a plate on the right rear frame, underneath the fender. The 15-digit serial number includes the manufacture date in digits 9-11. Recalled mowers have a date code that represents the number of days since the beginning of the calendar year of 001 through 216 (January 1 through August 4). Mowers with a yellow bolt fastening the blade to the spindle have already been repaired.</p>
<p>WHY: The mower blade can separate from the spindle, posing a laceration hazard to the operator or bystanders.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: Two reports of blade disengagement during product demonstrations. No injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 500.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Bush Hog at 877-873-0145 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit www.bushhog.com and click "Safety Recall" for more information.</p>
<p>CROSSBOW</p>
<p>DETAILS: All FANG XT, FANG LT and THRIVE archery crossbows with serial numbers 2404285-2514039. The serial number is on the bottom of the trigger grip. The model number can be found on the product hang tag and on the box. The Fang XT and LT come in Mossy Oak Country &amp; Skullworks 2 camo and muddy girl colors. They were sold at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, Kinsey's Archery and other archery and hunting sporting goods stores nationwide and online at PSE-archery.com from October 2016 through August 2017. The Thrive comes in Mossy Oak Country. Models and numbers include Fang XT 01295CY and 01295S2; Fang LT 01303CY, 01303MG and 01303S2; Thrive 01312CY.</p>
<p>WHY: The crossbows can fire or discharge unexpectedly, posing an injury hazard to the user and to bystanders.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: Six reports of the crossbow firing unexpectedly. No injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 17,000.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call PSE at 800-477-7789 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit www.pse-archery.com and click on "Product Support" for more information. The Return Authorization Form can be used to submit a request for repair.</p>
<p>OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES</p>
<p>DETAILS: All 2017 Arctic Cat Wildcat Trail SE (Special Edition) and Wildcat Sport SE ROVs with winch solenoids installed as original equipment and winch accessory kits sold separately for use on 2014 through 2017Arctic Cat Wildcat Sport and Wildcat Trail ROVs. The ROVs have four wheels, side-by-side seating for two people, and have a black chassis. "Wildcat Trail" or "Wildcat Sport" is printed on each side of the vehicle. In addition, Special Edition ROVs have "SE" printed on each side. They were sold at Arctic Cat dealers nationwide from February 2017 through August 2017 for about $17,000 for the ROVs with the winch accessory kits installed. The winch accessory kits were also sold separately from December 2013 through August 2017 for between $200 and $600.</p>
<p>WHY: The winch solenoid located under the operator seat can overheat, posing a fire hazard.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: 49 reports of winch solenoid failure, with five resulting in fires. No injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 300 ROVs and 3,000 winch accessory kits in the U.S. In addition, 124 were sold in Canada.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Arctic Cat at 800-279-6851 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit www.arcticcat.com and click on "Customer Care" and then click on "Product Recall" for more information.</p>
<p>FOOT WARMERS (SOLD WITH BEDS)</p>
<p>DETAILS: The foot warmer sold exclusively with Sleep Number 360 smart beds (models i7 and i10) when combined with a FlexFit 3 adjustable base. The beds were sold in the following sizes: TwinXL, Full, Queen, King, FlexTop King, Cal King, Split King, Split Cal King and FlexTop Cal King and were also provided for consumer research purposes to select consumers beginning in November 2016. They were sold at Sleep Number stores and online from April 2017 to August 2017.</p>
<p>WHY: The foot warmer under the mattress cover can short circuit and overheat, posing a burn hazard.</p>
<p>INCIDENTS: Six reports of the foot warmer overheating, including one report of a burn injury which did not require medical attention.</p>
<p>HOW MANY: About 11,900.</p>
<p>FOR MORE: Call Sleep Number at 800-318-4432 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, or visit www.sleepnumber.com/recall or www.sleepnumber.com and click on "Product Recall" for more information.</p> | Recalls this week: self-balancing scooters, crossbows | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/17/recalls-this-week-self-balancing-scooters-crossbows.html | 2017-11-17 | 0 |
<p>Published time: 13 Nov, 2017 17:10Edited time: 13 Nov, 2017 17:12</p>
<p>RT has filed for registration as a ‘foreign agent’ in the US, as November 13 is the deadline, Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has announced. The broadcaster has been threatened with legal action should it refuse to comply.</p>
<p>“Between legal action and registration [as a foreign agent], we have chosen the latter,” Simonyan said in a Twitter post on Monday. The channel thus complies with the demands put forward by the US Department of Justice.</p>
<p>Reacting further on the dubious victory by Washington, Simonyan said she “congratulates the US [on its] freedom of speech and all those who still believe in it.”&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Между уголовным делом и регистрацией мы выбрали последнее. С чем и поздравляем американскую свободу слова и всех, кто в неё всё ещё верит.</p>
<p>— Маргарита Симоньян (@M_Simonyan) <a href="https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/930098486653149184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">13 ноября 2017 г.</a></p>
<p />
<p>In September, the Justice Department demanded that a company supplying services to RT America on US soil should register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The 1938 legislation was adopted to counter Nazi Germany. Washington threatened to freeze the company’s assets if it failed to comply.</p>
<p>Earlier, Simonyan said that the broadcaster would go to court to prove that Washington’s demands violate US law. “This demand is discriminative, it runs counter to the principles of democracy and the freedom of speech,” she said on November 9.</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin also recently denounced the US pressure against Russian media. “An attack on our media in the US is an attack on the freedom of speech beyond all doubt,” he said, adding that Russia would come up with a “tit-for-tat” response for such US measures.</p>
<p>Earlier on Monday, the Russian State Duma’s deputy speaker, Pyotr Tolstoy, said that the lower house of the Russian parliament could amend the laws regulating foreign agent status for media outlets as early as on Wednesday. The amendments could allow any media outlet receiving funding from a foreign government or government-affiliated structure that actively works in Russia and interferes in its electoral process to be recognized as a foreign agent.</p>
<p>DETAILS TO FOLLOW</p> | RT filed for registration as ‘foreign agent’ in US facing ultimatum from Washington | false | https://newsline.com/rt-filed-for-registration-as-foreign-agent-in-us-facing-ultimatum-from-washington/ | 2017-11-13 | 1 |
<p>SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) - A coroner's official has identified three of four people shot to death inside a Southern California home in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide involving family members.</p>
<p>Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies found the bodies at the house in Santa Clarita Friday after getting a call from someone concerned about the family.</p>
<p>Lt. Rodney Moore said the husband and wife, their college-age daughter and pre-teen son were found shot to death in what appears to be a murder-suicide carried out by the man. Police are not looking for any suspects.</p>
<p>The coroner's office Sunday identified three of the deceased as 47-year-old Amy Suzanne Birnkrant, 20-year-old Drew Taylor Birnkrant and 11-year-old Sean Birnkrant.</p>
<p><a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/01/07/santa-clarita-murder-suicide-victims/" type="external">KCBS-TV</a> reports officials have withheld the identity of the fourth individual, pending notification of next of kin.</p>
<p>SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) - A coroner's official has identified three of four people shot to death inside a Southern California home in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide involving family members.</p>
<p>Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies found the bodies at the house in Santa Clarita Friday after getting a call from someone concerned about the family.</p>
<p>Lt. Rodney Moore said the husband and wife, their college-age daughter and pre-teen son were found shot to death in what appears to be a murder-suicide carried out by the man. Police are not looking for any suspects.</p>
<p>The coroner's office Sunday identified three of the deceased as 47-year-old Amy Suzanne Birnkrant, 20-year-old Drew Taylor Birnkrant and 11-year-old Sean Birnkrant.</p>
<p><a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/01/07/santa-clarita-murder-suicide-victims/" type="external">KCBS-TV</a> reports officials have withheld the identity of the fourth individual, pending notification of next of kin.</p> | California coroner IDs 3 victims in apparent murder-suicide | false | https://apnews.com/7a4356db36bc4f69b7f8984952fce96f | 2018-01-07 | 2 |
<p>Discussion Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School</p>
<p />
<p>What role will distributive electricity technologies play in meeting future demand? Policy makers are divided on the answer.&#160; For some, these technologies represent the foundations from which a decentralized electricity system could be established––one in which small, clean generating systems gradually replace the existing system of large centralized power stations. To others, they represent an alternative to the siting and permitting problems that have plagued the construction of new transmission systems, while simultaneously realizing the high reliability standards required in an era of growing reliance on computing and communication technologies. To others still, distributive generation is seen as simply an economic alternative to meeting power needs. Finally there are skeptics who believe that smaller generators will never be as efficient or cost effective as larger centralized technologies.</p>
<p>To determine which of these scenarios is more likely to emerge, the paper poses two questions. What are the factors that will determine the competitiveness of distributive generation technologies, as opposed to electricity purchased from the existing centralized system? What do these factors tell us about the role of distributive generation technologies in the electricity commodity market over the near and mid-term?</p>
<p>The paper concludes that distributive generation technologies will have to dramatically improve their efficiency and reduce their costs if they are to become competitive with power purchased from the grid. Furthermore, even if over the next decade these technologies can be dramatically improved, centralized power technologies will also improve. In other words, distributive generation technologies are competing against a moving target.</p>
<p>But is the electricity commodity market the competitive battleground for distributive generation? The probable answer is no. There are several niche markets that are evolving quite rapidly and these could provide significant opportunities. Combined heat and power systems are already being installed by commercial and industrial users in many parts of the country. However, their competitive advantage is that they produce both heat and power simultaneously, not that they produce either one more economically. Another possible niche is ancillary electricity services such as increased reliability, emergency back-up power, and voltage support.&#160; The demand for these services is growing, and distributive generation could play a significant role in each.&#160; However, this marketplace is characterized by fierce competition from other emerging technologies, including demand-side management tools and new types of power storage equipment.</p>
<p>Finally, in some localities the proposed changes in the design of electricity markets could have far-reaching effects on the seasonal and hourly price of power. These prices will be volatile and will fluctuate in both the long and short term as demand patterns change and new investments are made. These new market rules could provide interesting opportunities for distributive technologies, but investors will have to examine power markets in a much more sophisticated fashion in order to evaluate the potential benefits.</p>
<p>Why Are Distributive Generation Technologies Unlikely To Be Competitive In The Electricity Commodity Market?</p>
<p>First, distributive generation technologies have capital costs that are approximately double those of the newest central generation stations.</p>
<p>Second, today’s gas-fired distributive generators, such as microturbines, have an efficiency rate that is about half that of a new gas-fired central plant.&#160; For microturbines to be competitive with grid based retail power priced at 12 cents, they would have to improve their efficiency level by approximately 50%. Some emerging technologies, such as fuel cell technologies, are likely to reach––if not exceed––those efficiency levels. But these technologies are not presently available.</p>
<p>Third, distributive technologies are small and thus operators must purchase their natural gas as commercial or small industrial customers. Central stations can buy their gas in bulk at much cheaper rates and often can bypass the distribution system and obtain their gas directly from the main transmission line.&#160; Anecdotal evidence suggests that this price differential may actually increase as gas companies upgrade their distribution networks to meet both growing demands and the requirements of new gas-fueled equipment.</p>
<p>Fourth, while newer fuel-based distributive generation options emit conventional pollution at levels that are comparable to those reached by new central stations, their low efficiency levels result in much higher carbon emissions per unit of electricity generated.</p>
<p>Finally, regulators and public officials are likely to resist any effort by customers to bypass the social costs of providing electricity to the broad population. These costs are embodied in electricity rates as a surplus charge on the wires. Thus efforts to leave the system and self-generate will require some type of payment to cover these “social costs.” This additional cost must be factored into any comparative economic analysis.</p>
<p>Additional Research</p>
<p>Fuel cell technologies may change this competitive balance, but their potential must be assessed not in comparison with today’s central generating stations, but in comparison with generating options that will become available in the next decade. What will be the likely capital costs, efficiency levels, and emissions levels of central electric generation alternatives for facilities built in 2010 and what improvements would be needed if distributive technologies were to be competitive with these facilities?</p>
<p>While there have been many studies of future gas supplies and needed improvements in the interstate gas transmission systems, there has been very little analysis of the capability of the gas distribution system to meet the needs created by the emergence of new technologies, such as fuel cells.</p>
<p>Finally, assuming the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is successful in persuading the states and the electricity industry to adopt its recommendations for new transmission pricing rules and a standard market design, how will these changes affect future markets for distributive technologies? Under these new rules both suppliers and consumers will face new incentives. The character of these incentives and how the parties will respond to them will have a significant impact on the future market for distributive generation.</p>
<p /> | Assessing the Challenges Confronting Distributive Electricity Generation | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/assessing-challenges-confronting-distributive-electricity-generation | 2 |
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<p>It’s nearly impossible to find Fred Bronson’s house at night. It’s right outside of Raleigh in a suburban neighborhood dotted with bodegas and small restaurants. The road is bumpy and it’s pitch dark.</p>
<p>After yelling a couple of hellos into the night, Fred steps out of the house. He’s a large man dressed in an old T-shirt, head wrapped in a Confederate flag bandana. He invites me in.</p>
<p>Fred's small wooden house is cluttered with books and memorabilia. We sit on the couch. I note that he has a Southern drawl, but he tells me he's actually from New York’s Adirondacks.</p>
<p>He left the Northeast when he lost his job at a wire mill — it was when a lot of jobs in the area disappeared. So he came to North Carolina. The weather was warm, and there was plenty of work.</p>
<p>"You could open up the newspaper ... and there was probably 20 pages of ads of jobs. You had your pick. I was making really good money in 1990," he recalls.</p>
<p>He got a nice house for his family, too. "It was up on top of a hill. Den, kitchen, living room. You know, nice long driveway. But you know. S**t happens, and you lose it."</p>
<p>It was 2007. The Great Recession. "Everything went dead."</p>
<p>But Fred says&#160;it wasn’t just the economy. "You know when you got 300,000 illegals up here who are willing to work for $9&#160;an hour, $8&#160;an hour, $10&#160;an hour, we started losing our jobs."</p>
<p>Between 1990 and 2000, North Carolina’s Latino population —&#160;mostly foreign born — grew by about 400 percent. With lots of competition for work in places like Los Angeles and New York, many immigrants saw opportunity in America’s South. "The gates just opened up. Nobody seemed to stop them," Fred says.</p>
<p>Around that time, Fred says, he asked his boss for a raise, and the conversation rapidly turned ugly.</p>
<p>"I went and talked to the president of the company one time, we’re sitting there talking about the raises. And he says, 'Listen, I have&#160;four other people right now. I’m going to tell you the same thing I told them. You want a raise? They’re hiring down the street. I can hire three illegals for what I'm paying you right now.'"</p>
<p>I ask him if he ever thought of changing careers?&#160;</p>
<p>"To what? I’m 63 years old."</p>
<p>Like the majority of North Carolina voters, Fred was pleased when Donald Trump won, promising to stop illegal immigration and deport millions. He’s hoping fewer undocumented immigrants will mean more work for him. I push back: How realistic is it to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants?</p>
<p>"The ones that are here ... the children who were born here, you probably can’t do nothing about," Fred concedes. But, he says, if there’s a crackdown on businesses that hire undocumented immigrants, that’ll push people out. "If you don’t have a place to work, they’ll go home."</p>
<p>You might think Fred is kind of a stereotype. Someone easy to figure out.&#160;And then you meet his wife.</p>
<p>Elena. She is from Guanajuato, Mexico. She came here for work. And when she met Fred, she was undocumented: She’d overstayed her visa.</p>
<p>She has a work permit now&#160;and cleans hotels. She laughs at the surprised look on my face — they are such an unlikely couple. They’ve been married for about eight years. They have a son. Elena’s family is mostly undocumented. Her father, who is not a citizen, lives with them. Elena — doesn’t like the new president.</p>
<p>"The way he talks about Hispanic people? No. And he wants to build that wall? No. I don’t like that," she says.&#160;</p>
<p>"We don’t talk about this at dinner," Fred interrupts. "In this house, my views are my views. Her views are her views. When we’re together, we respect each others' views."</p>
<p>He’s a good husband, Elena says.</p>
<p>This is hardly the only American family split by the elections. But it is an extreme case. Fred is thrilled — while his wife and her family worry about deportations. Fred doesn’t think that’s going to happen. He just feels there’s a bigger issue at hand.</p>
<p>"We’ve lost —&#160;we’ve lost who we were. We’ve become complacent as Americans. We’re used to having money, we’re used to having this and that. For some reason, we seem to have lost who we were. We lost where we came from."</p>
<p>"Who were we?" I ask him.</p>
<p>"Well, we were a strong nation once."</p>
<p>But Elena —&#160;she worries about what her future is&#160;in that strong country Fred wants back.</p> | A North Carolina family grapples with very different takes on the immigration debate | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-12-02/north-carolina-family-grapples-very-different-takes-immigration-debate | 2016-12-02 | 3 |
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<p>Belton school officials say the district’s business office received an email that appeared to be from Superintendent Susan Kincannon asking for IRS W-2 forms, which show the amount of taxes withheld from an employee.</p>
<p>The forms were forwarded Friday before the district realized Kincannon had never made the request. Employees whose personal information was released were told Tuesday.</p>
<p>Belton police, the IRS and FBI were notified of the breach.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Temple Daily Telegram reports two district employees responsible for the breach have resigned.</p>
<p>Kincannon expressed her regret for the incident in an email to those whose data was compromised.</p> | Texas school district duped into releasing personal data | false | https://abqjournal.com/941224/texas-school-district-duped-into-releasing-personal-data.html | 2 |
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<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry seized 16.5 pounds of cocaine and firearm components on Saturday, CBP said in a statement. CBP estimated the value of the narcotics at $528,000.</p>
<p>It was the second large cocaine bust at the Santa Teresa port in less than a week. On March 29, customs officers seized 31.5 pounds of cocaine they found stuffed in the fuel tank of an SUV. That load was worth about $1 million in the U.S., CBP said.</p>
<p>On Saturday, a Mexican citizen drove a 1995 GMC Sonoma to the border crossing. A customs officer noticed anomalies in the appearance of the engine and called over a CBP canine team. The dog alerted to the presence of narcotics.</p>
<p>Customs officers found a total of 10 cocaine-filled packages inside the engine, as well as concealed firearms parts.</p>
<p>“The officers applied their training and experience to locate the drugs and weapon, apprehend the smuggler, and safely put an end to a volatile situation,” said CBP Santa Teresa Port Director Ray Provencio.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>CBP officers arrested the driver, a 26-year-old Mexican man from Chihuahua state. He was turned over to U.S. immigration agents to face charges in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.</p>
<p>A 22-year-old man, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in connection with the March 29 cocaine smuggling attempt.</p>
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<p /> | Would-be smuggler busted by Customs | false | https://abqjournal.com/983137/u-s-customs-busts-another-cocaine-load-at-nm-crossing.html | 2017-04-05 | 2 |
<p>Congressman Dennis Kucinich commandeered the House floor for an hour Wednesday to discuss “in detail the Congressional and White House efforts to privatize the oil of Iraq.” Before he spoke, he announced the speech in a public e-mail. The talk is excerpted here.</p>
<p>Kucinich.us:</p>
<p>Oil was the primary reason for the invasion of Iraq. There were, of course, no weapons of mass destruction, no connection between Iraq and 911, no connection between Iraq and Al Queda’s role in 911. Despite that the Bush-Cheney Administration, with the approval of a Democratic-controlled Senate and the Democratic leader of the House, supported and commenced a brutal campaign of shock and awe, of bombing, invasion and then occupation of Iraq.</p>
<p>Iraq may have as much as 300 billion barrels of oil untapped. With oil headed toward $70 a barrel, the oil wealth of Iraq could be worth as much as $21 trillion. Nearly 3,400 sons and daughters of America have been sacrificed. As many as 1,000,000 innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed in the course of the US occupation. The taxpayers of the United States will pay between one and two trillion dollars for this war, which is based on lies.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://kucinich.us/node/4527" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Kucinich on 'The Truth About Oil and Iraq' | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/kucinich-on-the-truth-about-oil-and-iraq/ | 2007-05-24 | 4 |
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<p>A search warrant led police to the items after Shaun Anaya, 35, was arrested on March 13 for allegedly trying to cash altered money orders at a check-cashing business on Coors NW.</p>
<p>Anaya told police the money orders were from a tenant who rents one of his homes. He said he did not know exactly who they were from because he rents out a lot of properties through his company, Mt. West Investment Group LLC, which he said he runs from his home on San Patricio SW, according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.</p>
<p>He said he had to check his records to determine who wrote the money orders.</p>
<p>Police were already working on other cases involving Anaya, who also owns Olive Tree Property Management, according to a search warrant affidavit.</p>
<p>Police obtained a search warrant for the home on San Patricio SW and found items that were stolen from one of the properties that Anaya was trying to illegally rent to an unwitting consumer, Albuquerque police spokeswoman Officer Tasia Martinez said. The property owner identified some of the items as being taken when the home was burglarized, she said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police have released photos of the items and are asking possible victims to call Crime Stoppers at 843-STOP (7867).</p>
<p>Police were contacted by several people accusing Anaya of illegally assuming ownership of several properties that he had no legal claim over and renting out these properties. The renters were forced to vacate the properties when the fraud was discovered.</p>
<p>Anaya would enter the residences and change the locks before renting them, the affidavit states.</p>
<p>Most of the properties Anaya would take possession of were in the process of foreclosure and located in southwest and northwest Albuquerque.</p>
<p>In one case, Anaya impersonated the homeowner and signed a lease agreement for a house that was being sold, according to the affidavit. The parties were due to close on the property within a month from the time that Anaya leased the residence, the affidavit reads. — This article appeared on page 1 of the West Side Journal</p> | Man Linked To Stolen Property | false | https://abqjournal.com/97104/man-linked-to-stolen-property.html | 2012-03-29 | 2 |
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<p>According to a police report, a 12-year old girl was missing from Safford, Ariz., and this driver stated that he saw a male and female walking on the side of Hwy 78 (Mule Creek area) toward the Arizona border. The witness stated that he thought the two matched a description of an Amber Alert that had come from Arizona the day before.</p>
<p>The deputy drove toward the last sighting and made contact with the male and the young girl. After a quick investigation, it was determined that in fact this was the 12-year old girl that was missing from Safford. Halamek was placed under investigative detention and transported to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, while the girl was taken to Gila Regional Medical Center where she was treated and released.</p>
<p>Halamek was then arrested on a warrant out of Graham County Arizona for Custodial Interference which is a Class 3 felony in Arizona. The bond was set at $100,000. He was transported to the Grant County Detention Center where he will remain until he is extradited to Arizona.</p>
<p>“The suspect’s vehicle was located in the area and taken into evidence,” Lt. Fermin Lopez of the Grant County Sheriff’s Department said. “This investigation is ongoing. Our investigators as well as Graham County investigators are working together to determine if any other crimes were committed.</p>
<p>The Amber Alert was issued after the 12-year old girl was reported missing Monday. She was last seen when she left her Arizona home at around 6:30 a.m., headed to a school bus stop.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2016 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> | Amber Alert girl from Arizona found in Grant County by Sheriff’s Office | false | https://abqjournal.com/904833/amber-alert-girl-from-arizona-found-in-grant-county-by-sheriffs-office.html | 2 |
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<p>The problem of bank loans gone bad, especially those with government-guarantees such as U.S. student loans and Fannie Mae mortgages, has thrown into question just what should be a “fair value” for these debt obligations. Should “fair value” reflect what debtors can pay – that is, pay without going bankrupt? Or is it fair for banks and even vulture funds to get whatever they can squeeze out of debtors?</p>
<p>The answer will depend largely on the degree to which governments back the claims of creditors. The legal definition of how much can be squeezed out is becoming a political issue pulling national governments, the IMF, ECB and other financial agencies into a conflict pitting banks, vulture funds and debt-strapped populations against each other.</p>
<p>Consider first the case of Iceland, where this polarizing issue has now exploded. The country is suffering a second round of economic and financial distress stemming from the collapse of its banking system in October 2008. That crisis caused a huge loss of savings not only for domestic citizens but also for international creditors such as Deutsche Bank, Barclay’s and their institutional clients.</p>
<p>Stuck with bad loans and bonds from bankrupt issuers, foreign investors in the old banks sold their bonds and other claims for pennies on the dollar to buyers whose web sites described themselves as “specializing in distressed assets,” commonly known as vulture funds. (Persistent rumors suggest that some of these are working with the previous owners of the failed Icelandic banks, operating out of offshore banking and tax havens and currently under investigation by a Special Prosecutor.)</p>
<p>At the time when those bonds were sold in the market, Iceland’s government owned 100 per cent of all three new banks. Representing the national interest, it intended for the banks to pass on to the debtors the write-downs at which they discounted the assets they bought from the old banks. This was supposed to be what “fair value” meant: the low market valuation at that time. It was supposed to take account of the reasonable ability of households and businesses to pay back loans that had become unpayable as the currency had collapsed and import prices had risen accordingly.</p>
<p>The IMF entered the picture in November 2008, advising the government to reconstruct the banking system in a way that “includes measures to ensure fair valuation of assets [and] maximize asset recovery.” The government created three “good” new banks from the ruins of its failed banks, transferring loans from the old to the new banks at a discount of up to 70 per cent to reflect their fair value, based on independent third party valuation.</p>
<p>The vultures became owners of two out of three new Icelandic banks. On IMF advice the government negotiated an agreement so loose as to give them a hunting license on Icelandic households and businesses. The new banks acted much as U.S. collection agencies do when they buy bad credit-card debts, bank loans or unpaid bills from retailers at 30 per cent of face value and then hound the debtors to squeeze out as much as they can, by hook or by crook.</p>
<p>These scavengers of the financial system are the bane of many states. But there is now a danger of their rising to the top of the international legal pyramid, to a point where they are in a position to oppress entire national economies.</p>
<p>Iceland’s case has a special twist. By law Icelandic mortgages and many other consumer loans are linked to the country’s soaring consumer price index. Owners of these loans not only can demand 100 per cent of face value, but also can add on the increase in debt principal from the indexing. Thousands of households face poverty and loss of property because of loans that, in some cases, have more than doubled as a result of the currency crash and subsequent price inflation. But the IMF and Iceland’s government and Supreme Court have affirmed the price-indexation of loan principal and usurious interest rates, lest the restructured banking system come to grief.</p>
<p>This is not what was expected. In 2009 the incoming “leftist” government negotiated an agreement with creditors to relate loan payments to the discounted transfer value. On IMF advice, the government handed over controlling interest in the new banks to creditors of the old banks. The aim was to minimize the cost of refinancing the banking system – but not to destroy the economy. Loans that were transferred from the old banks to the new after the 2008 crash at a discount of up to 70 per cent to reflect their depreciated market value. This discount was to be passed on to borrowers (households and small businesses) faced with ballooning principal and payments due to CPI indexing of loans.</p>
<p>But the economy’s survival is not of paramount interest to the aggressive hedge funds that have replaced the established banks that originally lent to the Icelandic banks. Instead of passing on the debt write-downs to households and other debtors, the new banks are revaluing these loan principals upward. Their demands are keeping the economy in a straight jacket. Instead of debt restructuring taking place as originally hoped for, the scene is being set for a new banking crisis.</p>
<p>Something has to give. But so far it is Iceland’s economy, not the vulture funds. With the IMF insisting that the government abstain from intervention, the government’s approval rating has plunged to just 10 per cent of Icelanders for floundering so badly while the new owners call the shots.</p>
<p>The New Banks have written off claims on major corporate debtors, whose continued operations have ensured their role as cash cows for the banks’ new vulture owners. But household debts acquired at 30 to 50 percent of face value have been re-valued at up to 100 percent. The value of owners’ share equity has soared. The government has not intervened, accepting the banks’ assertion that they lack the resources to grant meaningful debt relief to households. So unpayably high debts are kept on the books, at transfer prices that afford a windfall to financial predators, dooming debtors to a decade or more of negative equity.</p>
<p>With the preparatory work done, the time has come for the vultures to cash in through re-sale of New Bank equity shares by yearend. The New Banks have kept their corporate cash cows afloat while window-dressing owners’ equity with unrealistic valuations of consumer debts that cannot be paid, except at the cost of bankrupting the economy.</p>
<p>There is a feeling that Iceland’s government has been disabled from acting as an honest broker, as bank lobbyists have worked with Althing insiders – now backed by the IMF – to provide a windfall for creditors.</p>
<p>The problem becoming a global one. Many European countries and the United States face collapsed banks and derailed banking systems. How are the IMF and ECB to respond? Will they prescribe the Icelandic-type model of collaboration between Government and hedge funds? Or should the government be given power to resist drive by vulture funds to profiteer on an international scale, backed by international sanctions against their prey?</p>
<p>The policy danger now facing Europe&#160;</p>
<p>An economic crisis is the financial equivalent of military conquest. It is an opportunity for financial elites to make their property grab as Foreclosure Time arrives. It also becomes a political grab to make real the financial claims that had become uncollectible and hence largely fictitious “mark-to-model” accounting. Populist rhetoric is crafted to mobilize the widespread financial distress and general discontent as an opportunity to turn losers against each other rather than at the creditors.</p>
<p>This is the point at which all the years of financial propaganda pay off. Neoliberals have persuaded the public to believe that banks are needed to “oil the wheels of commerce” – that is, provide the credit bloodstream that brings nourishment to the economy’s moving parts. Only under such crisis conditions can banks collect what has become a fictitious buildup of debt claims. The overgrowth of mortgage debt, corporate debt, student loans, credit-card debt and other debts are fictitious because under normal circumstances there is no way for them to be paid.</p>
<p>Foreclosure Time is not sufficient, because much property has fallen into negative equity – about a quarter of U.S. real estate. And for Ireland, market value of real estate covers only about 30 per cent of the face value of mortgages. So Bailout Time becomes necessary. The banks turn over their bad loans to the government in exchange for government debt. The Federal Reserve has arranged over $2 trillion of such bank-friendly swaps. Banks receive government bonds or central bank deposits in exchange for their bad debts, accepted at face value rather than at “mark-to-market” prices.</p>
<p>At least in the United States and Britain, the central bank can print as much domestic currency as is necessary to pay interest and keep these government bonds liquid. Public agencies then take on the position of creditor vis-à-vis debtors that can’t pay.</p>
<p>These public agencies then have a choice. They may seek to collect the full amount (or at least, as much as they can get), as in the case of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the United States. Or, the government may sell the bad debts to vulture funds, for a fraction of their face value.</p>
<p>After the September 2008 crash, Iceland’s government took over the old, collapsed, banks and created new ones in their place. Original bondholders of the old banks off-loaded the Icelandic bank bonds in the market for pennies on the dollar. The buyers were vulture funds. These bondholders became the owners of the old banks, as all shareholders were wiped out. In October, the government’s monetary authority appointed new boards to control the banks. Three new banks were set up, and all the deposits, mortgages and other bank loans were transferred to these new, healthier banks – at a steep discount. These new banks received 80 percent of the assets, the old banks 20 percent.</p>
<p>Then, owners of the old banks were given control over two of the new banks (87 per cent and 95 per cent respectively). The owners of these new banks were called vultures not only because of the steep discount at which the financial assets and claims of the old banks were transferred, but mainly because they already had bought control of the old banks at pennies on the dollar.</p>
<p>The result is that instead of the government keeping the banks and simply wiping them out in bankruptcy, the government kept aside and let vulture investors reap a giant windfall – that now threatens to plunge Iceland’s economy into chronic financial austerity. In retrospect, none of this was necessary. The question is, what can the government do to clean up the mess that it has created by so gullibly taking bad IMF advice?</p>
<p>In the United States, banks receiving TARP bailout money were supposed to negotiate with mortgage debtors to write down the debts to market prices and/or the ability to pay. This was not done. Likewise in Iceland, the vulture funds that bought the bad “old bank” loans were supposed to pass on the debt write-downs to the debtors. This was not done either. In fact, the loan principals continued to be revalued upward in keeping with Iceland’s unique indexing designed to save banks from taking a loss – that is, to make sure that the economy as a whole suffers, even suffering a fatal austerity attack, so that bankers will be “made whole.” This means making a windfall fortune for the vultures who buy bad loans on the cheap.</p>
<p>Is this the future of Europe as well? If so, the present financial crisis will become the great windfall for vulture banks, and for banks in general. Whereas the past few centuries have seen financial crashes wipe out the savings and creditor claims (bonds, bank loans, etc.) that are the counterpart to bad debts, today we are seeing the bad debts kept on the books, but the banks and bondholders that provided the bad loans being made whole at taxpayer expense.</p>
<p>This is not how economic democracy was expected to work during the 19th-century drive for parliamentary reform. And by the early 20th century, social democratic and labor parties were supposed to take the lead in moving banking and credit along with other basic infrastructure into the public domain. But today, from Greece to Iceland, governments are acting as enforcers or even as collection agents on behalf of the financial sector – as the Occupy Wall Street movement expresses it, the top “1 per cent,” not the bottom 99 per cent.</p>
<p>Iceland stands as a dress rehearsal for this power grab. The IMF and Iceland’s government held a conference in Reykjavik on October 27 to celebrate the ostensible success in their reconstruction of Iceland’s economy and banking system.</p>
<p>In the United States, the crisis that Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel celebrated as “too good to let go to waste” will be capped by scaling back Social Security and Medicare as soon as the autumn Doomsday Clock runs down and the Congressional Super-Committee of 12 (with President Obama holding the 13th vote in case of a tie) gets to agree to make the working population pay Wall Street for its bad loans. The Greek austerity plan thus serves as a dress rehearsal for the U.S. – with the Democratic Party playing the role as counterparts to Greece’s Socialist Party that is sponsoring austerity, and expelling labor union leaders from its ranks if they object to the grand double-cross.</p>
<p>OLAFUR ARNARSON is an author and columnist at Pressan.is. MICHAEL HUDSON is Prof. of Economics at UMKC and a contributor to &#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, forthcoming from AK Press.&#160;GUNNAR TOMASSON is a retired IMF advisor.</p>
<p>Exclusively in the New Print Issue of CounterPunch</p>
<p>THE SLOW DEATH OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH&#160;– Nancy Scheper-Hughes on Clerical Sex Abuse and the Vatican. PLUS Fred Gardner on Obama’s Policy on Marijuana and the Reform Leaders’ Misleading Spin. &#160; <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">SUBSCRIBE NOW</a></p>
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<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;&#160; &#160; &#160; &#160;&#160;</p> | Vulture Funds Gorge on Stricken Economies | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/11/14/vulture-funds-gorge-on-stricken-economies/ | 2011-11-14 | 4 |
<p>Investing.com – Nigeria stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.</p>
<p>At the close in Lagos, the fell 0.83%.</p>
<p>The best performers of the session on the were Total Nig (LAGOS:), which rose 1.30% or 3.00 points to trade at 233.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Access Bank (LAGOS:) added 0.91% or 0.09 points to end at 9.98 and Uacn Prop (LAGOS:) was up 0.58% or 0.11 points to 19.10 in late trade.</p>
<p>The worst performers of the session were Unilever Nig (LAGOS:), which fell 4.88% or 1.95 points to trade at 38.02 at the close. Diamond Bank (LAGOS:) declined 3.48% or 0.040 points to end at 1.110 and Dangote Flour Mills PLC (LAGOS:) was down 3.17% or 0.30 points to 9.20.</p>
<p>Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Lagos by 53 to 21 and 19 ended unchanged.</p>
<p>Shares in Uacn Prop (LAGOS:) rose to 52-week highs; up 0.58% or 0.11 to 19.10.</p>
<p>Crude oil for December delivery was down 2.24% or 1.27 to $55.49 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in January fell 2.20% or 1.39 to hit $61.77 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.02% or 0.21 to trade at $1279.11 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>EUR/NGN was up 0.63% to 422.060, while USD/NGN rose 0.14% to 360.000.</p>
<p>The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.53% at 93.90.</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> | Nigeria stocks lower at close of trade; NSE 30 down 0.83% | false | https://newsline.com/nigeria-stocks-lower-at-close-of-trade-nse-30-down-0-83/ | 2017-11-14 | 1 |
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<p>Dr. Lisa Stern, right, talks with Christa McCaffrey about her 2-month-old daughter, Olive, during her visit. The pediatrician attended a program that helps doctors talk to parents who are unwilling to vaccinate their children. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES – The doctors shifted nervously in their seats as the sharp-tongued questioner scanned the room.</p>
<p>Dr. Paul Offit, a University of Pennsylvania pediatrician and the nation’s most outspoken childhood vaccine proponent, had come to the UCLA lecture hall to subject several dozen physicians to a faux parental grilling.</p>
<p>He wanted to give them the kind of pushback doctors have come to expect from increasing numbers of parents refusing to inoculate their kids against contagious, even life-threatening diseases for fear of complications.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For many of the pediatricians in the audience, taking a hard line on the immunization schedule can mean potentially alienating well-intentioned, if misinformed, parents.</p>
<p>If Offit, a rock star in his field, could give these doctors more factual ammunition – and a little practice on their delivery – could they help convince resistant parents that science is simply not on their side?</p>
<p>The salt-and-pepper-haired Offit slipped straight into character and zeroed in on one young doctor.</p>
<p>“I know you doctors keep telling me that vaccines don’t cause autism. If that’s true, then why is it on this package insert?” he asked, playing the role of a parent who had read the blogs and heard the celebrities who connect the two.</p>
<p>Nursing supervisor Caitlin Canelli gives a shot to 2-month-old Olive McCaffrey. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)</p>
<p>Shifting in her seat, the designated victim shot Offit an unsure look.</p>
<p>Then she began citing studies and said that drug packaging inserts include many “temporally associated symptoms” that weren’t necessarily caused by the vaccine.</p>
<p>“Why?” Offit pressed. “Why would they put that there – just to scare me?”</p>
<p>The doctor kept trying. “They’re required by law,” she said. “I actually didn’t know the answer.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Offit broke character to explain: Drug companies must list any condition known to have occurred within six weeks of a vaccination, whether the medication caused the condition or not, and even if it occurs at the same level as with a placebo.</p>
<p>Package inserts are legal documents, not medical documents, he said, calling them “the bane of (his) existence.”</p>
<p>“If you look at the original package insert for chicken pox vaccine, it says, ‘Broken leg has been associated with this drug,'” he added.</p>
<p>Studies have firmly debunked the notion that vaccines cause autism. Yet that is one of the most common claims made by a persistent national anti-vaccination movement that treats Offit as public enemy No. 1.</p>
<p>Some brand the doctor as a mouthpiece for the pharmaceutical firms that sell vaccines, in part because he co-invented one to prevent rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhea in infants and children and kills nearly half a million around the world each year.</p>
<p>Since the introduction of a vaccine for measles in 1963, the number of cases in the U.S. has dropped dramatically. According to the CDC, vaccine refusals have played a role in measles outbreaks occurring since 1989.</p>
<p>Doctors who showed up for the recent Q&amp;A session said they were eager for advice.</p>
<p>“I want to listen to Dr. Offit because he’s a world-renowned expert,” Dr. Lisa Stern said before the event. “I know whatever he talks about, there’ll be something I’ll take away from it.”</p>
<p>Stern sees a lot of families in her Santa Monica, Calif., practice who are “sort of on the fence” about immunizations, she said.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of misinformation at baby groups and on the playground,” Stern said. “The more educated people are and the more free time they have, the more they take a position.”</p>
<p>Parents ask her about additives in injections, and whether giving babies “bundled vaccines” – shots that protect against more than one illness – will overwhelm their young immune systems. They ask whether a baby who’s going to stay home with Mom really needs protection. They question why their child can’t just skip being immunized against polio, since the disease has been eradicated in the U.S.</p>
<p>“I say, ‘Your kid is going to travel. You’re going to take your child to Africa. You can’t take an unvaccinated child to Africa,'” Stern said. “I have stock answers for all of the questions.”</p>
<p>Rachel Gibson entertains her twin children Simon and Henry, 2, while waiting to be seen by their pediatrician, Dr. Lisa Stern. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)</p>
<p>But other doctors in the audience didn’t have as ready an information arsenal, which was apparent as Offit continued to pepper his audience with questions.</p>
<p>A simulated parental inquiry about the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to four vaccines made using cells derived from aborted fetuses elicited uncomfortable squirms.</p>
<p>Offit told the group that, in fact, the Catholic Church had ruled that use of these vaccines is acceptable to protect the health of children and pregnant women. (The church’s official position does, however, call on researchers to develop alternative immunization options.)</p>
<p>Regarding worries about the inclusion of the preservative formaldehyde in some vaccines, Offit told the group that humans have been “making formaldehyde in our cells since we crawled out of the ocean onto land.”</p>
<p>Stern said Offit’s presentation had armed her with useful information to take back to her “overeducated parents,” and that she would “make more of an effort to push” those who sought to delay shots.</p>
<p>“I waver with my families,” she admitted. “But I have to. I have to keep their trust. If I send them away, they won’t come back” and could end up in an office where doctors don’t vaccinate.</p>
<p>In an interview, Offit said there also was risk in not pressing a resistant parent.</p>
<p>“If you do that,” he said, “if you say: ‘OK, we’re going to make this decision together’ – which is to say that they’re going to be a major force in the decision – then you have to be willing to watch them make a bad one and stand back.”</p>
<p /> | Doctors learn vaccination facts | false | https://abqjournal.com/496736/doctors-learn-vaccination-facts.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />The Line: The federal government will “collect more revenue in 2013 than ever before.”</p>
<p>It is true that the government will collect more revenues than ever in raw dollars, but not as a percentage of gross domestic product — which accounts for growth in population, inflation and earnings. As a percentage of GDP, revenues this year are actually expected to be lower than the historical average since World War II.</p>
<p>This Republican talking point is rooted in a government report issued Feb. 5 by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, “ <a href="http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43907" type="external">The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2023.</a>” CBO projects&#160;that the U.S. government will collect more than $2.7 trillion in fiscal 2013. In nominal dollars, that would be higher than any year in history — topping the previous peak of $2.57 trillion in 2007 (See <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals" type="external">Table 1.1</a>).</p>
<p>But it’s misleading to talk about revenues in nominal dollars. Economists prefer to view historic revenues as percentages of GDP. In fiscal 2013, federal tax revenues are projected to equal 16.9 percent of the nation’s economy, which is below the post-World War II average of 17.7 percent.</p>
<p>For more on Republican revenue claims, please see our Feb. 28 piece, “ <a href="" type="internal">Boehner’s Revenue Reach.</a>“</p>
<p>Below is a list of some Republicans who have made this claim.</p>
<p>House Speaker John Boehner, Feb. 26: The federal government will have more revenue this year than any year in our history. (Source: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50141802n" type="external">“CBS Evening News</a>.”)</p>
<p>Rep. Darrell Issa of California, Feb. 28: In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government is expected to collect record revenues this year, totaling approximately $2.7 trillion. (Source:&#160; <a href="http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-02-28-DEISequesterLetter_Transportation.pdf" type="external">Letter</a> to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.)</p>
<p>Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, March 1: This year alone, the federal government will take in more revenue than ever before. (Source:&#160; <a href="http://www.speaker.gov/video/weekly-republican-address-rep-cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-calls-president-act-sequester" type="external">Weekly Republican Address</a>.)</p>
<p>Former Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Feb. 28: We have record revenues this year. (Source: CNN’s “ <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1302/28/sitroom.03.html" type="external">The Situation Room</a>.”)</p>
<p>Rep. Cory Gardner of Colorado, March 10: Well, the president got over $600 billion worth of taxes at the beginning of this year. We know that this town has a spending problem. We’re going to have record revenues in 2013 as … the economists have already shown. (Source: NBC’s “ <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51122701/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/#.UT4yoRyG3To" type="external">Meet the Press</a>.”)</p>
<p>Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Feb. 26: Many of us do not believe that it is a revenue problem, and in fact, and according to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government will take in more revenues this year than ever before, $2.7 trillion. (Source: <a href="http://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=321427" type="external">Opening statement, House Committee on Financial Services</a>.)</p>
<p>House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, Feb. 25: We have more revenue for 2013, projected, than at any other time. And what does the president ask for? To take more from the taxpayer. (Source: <a href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/2189312153001/gop-no-time-for-roadshow-president-on-sequester/" type="external">Fox News interview.</a>)</p>
<p>[EET ]</p>
<p>Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Feb. 26: This year we will have a record revenue year. I mean $2.7 trillion I think is the most that we will take in as a government. But yet we can’t find 2.5 percent in cuts? (Source:&#160; <a href="http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2013/02/26/buchanan-this-is-about-cutting-spending/" type="external">Interview</a> with the Sarasota Herald Tribune.)</p>
<p>Rep. Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi, Feb. 22: The federal government is set to collect more revenue this year than any previous year in American history, yet here [the president] is demanding another tax hike. (Source: <a href="http://nunnelee.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&amp;itemid=407" type="external">Press release</a>.)</p>
<p>Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Feb. 25: Punishing middle class families and small businesses is no way to promote lasting growth. In fact, the federal government will take in more revenue this year than ever before. (Source: <a href="http://stutzman.house.gov/news/a-crisis-of-the-presidents-own-choosing" type="external">Press release</a>.)</p>
<p>Rep. Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, March 7: And Washington certainly is not starving for revenue. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the federal government will take in $2.7 trillion in revenues in 2013 — more revenue than it ever has before. (Source: <a href="http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130307/OPINION03/130309578/gerlach-wasteful-spending-is-the-real-crisis#full_story" type="external">Op-Ed</a> in the Norristown Times Herald.)</p>
<p>Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska, Feb. 20: The Congressional Budget Office has project [sic] the government will take in $2.7 trillion in revenues in 2013 — more revenue than it ever has before. (Source: <a href="http://leeterry.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=2305:sequestration-page&amp;catid=37:issues" type="external">Press release</a>.)</p>
<p>Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana, Feb. 22: This month the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan agency, reported the federal government will take in more revenue than ever before in 2013, at a projected $2.7 trillion. (Source: <a href="http://walorski.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/walorski-replacing-the-sequester" type="external">Op-Ed</a> in the Rochester Sentinel.)</p>
<p>Rep. Scott Tipton of Colorado, March 1: While American families have seen their taxes go up and their incomes shrink over the past few years and are doing all they can to weather the storm, the federal government continues to increase spending, and will collect more revenue in 2013 than ever before — $2.7 trillion. (Source: <a href="http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/column-impact-sequestration" type="external">Press release</a>.)</p>
<p>Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana, Feb. 27: No one should be talking about raising taxes on hardworking Americans with so much wasteful spending in Washington, especially when the federal government is set to take in more revenue than it ever has before in 2013. (Source: <a href="http://bucshon.house.gov/press-release/things-know-about-president-obamas-sequester" type="external">Press release</a>.)</p>
<p>Rep. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Feb. 13: We have more revenue now than ever, but the President continues to look for new ways to tax. (Source: <a href="http://lankford.house.gov/press-release/lankford-american-families-need-economic-climate-change" type="external">Press release</a>.)</p>
<p>[/EET]</p> | ‘Record Revenues’ | false | https://factcheck.org/2013/03/record-revenues/ | 2013-03-21 | 2 |
<p>ISTANBUL, Turkey — As the potential for Western military strikes in Syria grows, residents of the Syrian capital Damascus are fearful, angry and with little hope for the future.</p>
<p>Few in the embattled capital see immediate benefits in a short-term air campaign against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — one US administration officials say would be limited in scope and seek to punish the regime rather than topple it.</p>
<p>But even the talk of military action from Washington, London and Brussels has had its effects. The Syrian pound lost 10-20 percent of its value against the dollar Tuesday in the Damascus black market, a Syrian banker said.</p>
<p>Food prices rose sharply Wednesday, according to residents. And employees are wondering if it’s still necessary to turn up for work.</p>
<p>“Syrians have spoken a lot, but no one listens,” said a Damascene woman who works in the art scene. “Syrians feel that everyone benefits from their pain.”</p>
<p>The debate in the United States and Europe over whether to hit Assad’s military infrastructure intensified after reports of an alleged chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus surfaced on Aug. 21, and that is said to have caused hundreds of deaths.&#160;</p>
<p>Activists uploaded harrowing footage of victims — including children — twitching, fighting to breathe and foaming at the mouth as medics struggled to revive them.</p>
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry said the use of chemical weapons was “undeniable,” and unnamed administration officials have told CBS and Foreign Policy magazine they intercepted phone calls between regime officials that implicate the government in the attack.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama said a year ago that the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict — now in its third year — would be a “red line” for his administration. More than 100,000 Syrians have already been killed in the conflict, the United Nations says.&#160;</p>
<p>Abdul Aziz, a banker, says everyone he knows in Damascus — which had largely been spared by the violence of the rest of the country — is divided over the prospect of a US-led campaign against their leader.&#160;</p>
<p>“Of course I don’t support [military intervention],” he said, adding that pro-interventionists do not discuss their positions publicly in the city. “Because I consider the American administration my nation’s enemy.”&#160;</p>
<p>Before the first anti-government protests started in Syria in March 2011, Damascus, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, was a bustling metropolis and hot new Middle East tourist destination.&#160;</p>
<p>But today, as its 1.7 million residents attempt to get on with their lives as the war rages at the city’s gates, the facade of normalcy is starting to crack.&#160;</p>
<p>In the upmarket district of Shalaan, a steady stream of customers made their way to restaurants and cafes.&#160;</p>
<p>Just beyond the city limits, where the rebels are strong, government forces continue to pound residential districts with mortars and air strikes.&#160;</p>
<p>“Clearly things are deteriorating dramatically now,” said Rama Tarabishi, an executive at an industrial company just outside the city.</p>
<p>At first, she didn’t believe Western countries were really planning to strike.&#160;</p>
<p>“I don't know how to put my feelings into words, but all I can say is that I am worried and frustrated. It seems to me that the Iraq scenario is repeating itself,” she said, referring to the lead-up to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.&#160;</p>
<p>Then, the administration of George W. Bush falsely said the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.&#160;</p>
<p>Sari Akminas, a journalist, says he will not flee if there are strikes.&#160;</p>
<p>“The mood in Damascus is strong,” he said. “If you love your country, stay and participate in rebuilding it.”&#160;</p>
<p>Talal Atrache is from the southern province of Suweida, and spends the summer months in Syria and Damascus.</p>
<p>“Any strike against the army will strengthen the jihadists,” said Atrache, who is now in Canada but last visited Damascus in May. A number of extremist groups, including foreign fighters, have sprung up in Syria to fight the regime.&#160;</p>
<p>“I believe we are witnessing the destruction of a country and a society ... for contradicting political, strategic and economic interests,” he said.&#160;</p>
<p>For Rama, she says she doesn’t know where the country is going, or “for how long this chaos will continue.” &#160;</p> | The mood in Damascus: Weary of war but wary of the West | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-08-28/mood-damascus-weary-war-wary-west | 2013-08-28 | 3 |
<p>Gilbert Achcar grew up in Lebanon, and is currently Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. His books include The Clash of Barbarisms: The Making of the New World Disorder, published in 13 languages, Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy, co-authored with Noam Chomsky, and most recently the critically acclaimed The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives.</p>
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<p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay. Joining us again now from London is Gilbert Achcar. He is the professor of development studies and international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Most recent book is The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives. Thanks for joining us again, Gilbert.
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<p />PROF. GILBERT ACHCAR, SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES: Thank you, Paul. My pleasure.
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<p />JAY: So we left off, if we step back again and sort of take a big-picture look, again it's about oil and strategic control of the Middle East, such an important piece of the puzzle if you want to have the dominant position in the globe. And the US strategy essentially, in most of the Arab world, is to ally with kings, and where there aren't any, create them and make sure you sort of do a bargain, oil for we'll keep you and your family in power. And I guess in Egypt, in a sense they've created another form of monarchy, you know, with a bit of a democratic front. But, essentially, whoever is the head of the military or gets maneuvered to be elected president becomes like a king, and you have a 30-year reign and what amounts to King Mubarak. Do you think that's a fair enough description?
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<p />ACHCAR: Yes. But I should say that this isn't exactly or necessarily what the United States would prefer. I mean, they would prefer, you know, [inaudible] of circulation of power, one could say, where you don't get into such situations as the one you have now in Egypt. And they have been having some trouble with Mubarak for a few years. There have been some tensions between the US administration and the Mubarak regime. Already in 2005, you know, after the Bush administration invaded Iraq and when the big lie of the weapons of mass destruction was revealed, they had to, you know, put forward some different rationality for the invasion, and that's where they brought this idea of democracy promotion in the Middle East. And so in the year 2005 they put some pressure on their allies in the region to do some changes, and the result was, in Egypt, that under US pressure Mubarak opened some space in the parliamentary election for some degree of freer elections than the previous repeatedly completely fraudulous elections that existed in the country, and also turn the presidential contest into one through popular vote and a plurality, so-called, of candidates, although here he was much less generous in the opening than what he did at the level of the Parliament. But in 2005, as a result of that, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the most important organized opposition force in Egypt, managed to get the 88 seats, that is, 20 percent of seats in the Egyptian Parliament. In the next election--I mean, that was, for Mubarak, a way of telling the United States, if you keep harassing me on wanting to get more, you know, cosmetic changes and all that--. I mean, the 2005 election was, in a way, I mean, Mubarak's message to the United States, in saying, if you keep exerting pressure on me for more democratic opening and more democratic space, that's what you get; that is, the Muslim Brotherhood will seize power through elections, because they are--I mean, they have a strong popular support. And as a result of that, indeed, the Bush administration stopped its pressure, the kind of pressure--even, you know, statements and the like--they were exerting until then over Mubarak in that direction.
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<p />JAY: I mean, is there any question that--whether or not the United States wanted the military to remain the dominant power or not?
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<p />ACHCAR: No. I mean, for the United States, the military control of power in Egypt is crucial. It's absolutely crucial. The fact that they fund the Egyptian army is there to prove it. That is, for them it is through the Egyptian army that they control the country, that Egypt is firmly in the US camp, is a firm US ally in the region, one of the countries on which the United States can rely in case, for instance, you have--and that's a major worry for Washington. Imagine you have some upheaval in the Saudi Kingdom. It will be very difficult for either Israeli or American troops to go in the kingdom because of religious reasons and the rest. And here comes the importance of the Egyptian army as an ally.
<p />
<p />JAY: Yeah. I think--it seems to me this is a critical point that doesn't get talked about very much. You know, $1.5 billion or more to the Egyptian army if it's only to quell domestic dissent doesn't make any sense. It's just way too much firepower. I mean, you can't use fighter jets against your own people. So that kind of military, the size of the Egyptian military, which I think is the tenth biggest army in the world, it's mostly pointed at Saudi Arabia, isn't it?
<p />
<p />ACHCAR: It is absolutely pointed at securing the stability of US-dominated regimes in the region. It's a kind of force by proxy for the United States. And the same could be said about the state of Israel, which gets even more money for its military from the United States than Egypt.
<p />
<p />JAY: Right. But as you say, it's a lot more acceptable for an Arab Muslim army to march into an Arab country. It's totally unacceptable for Israel, or for that matter the United States, as we've seen in Iraq.
<p />
<p />ACHCAR: Or to march in the Saudi Kingdom. But to strike at regimes, as we have seen when we discussed 1967, the Israeli army can be absolutely efficient, and the Israeli army dealt the two most radical regimes of the time, in 1967, a very heavy blow, Syria and Egypt. We mentioned that. So Israel is very important. And ever since the mid '60s, when the United States was compelled to evacuate the base it had in the Saudi Kingdom under the pressure of Arab nationalism, and of Egypt, mostly, in the early '60s, gradually Israel became the key strategic asset for Washington that we know now. But this started in the mid '60s. It's not something that--I mean, that wasn't the case in the '50s or in the early '60s. And in the '70s, Egypt was added to that. And its importance was enhanced by the Iranian Revolution, which toppled another of the key allies of Washington in the region in 1979, the Shah of Iran. And he was replaced by one of the most, you know, radically anti-American regimes in the region. So this enhanced the importance of Egypt and this explains why whatever Washington pays to Israel and to Egypt is considered, from Washington's view, extremely well-invested money. Well, think [inaudible] one second, Paul. I mean, when you think of the US military budget, which is some--you know, close to six hundred, and depending on what you take into consideration even more (it can get to $800 billion), these few billion dollars that they pay to Israel and Egypt are peanuts, are just peanuts. And, actually, their effectiveness is way higher than the equivalent amount of money being added to the US military budget. So how--that's how they look at it. I mean, they see these countries as /sVp."lE.tIvs/ of the United States, as forces by proxy able to intervene in cases where the United States cannot do it by itself.
<p />
<p />JAY: And with Egypt, not only the Middle East, but you get the potential of intervention in Africa to boot with Egypt.
<p />
<p />ACHCAR: Yes, yes, but that is rather secondary. I mean, the importance of Egypt is as a key strategic country for the Middle East, for this whole area where you have the oil. Two-thirds of the oil world reserves are there. This is extremely important. And you have, also, huge natural gas resources. So strategically speaking, economically speaking, this is an absolutely vital, crucial part of the world, and therefore this huge, you know, priority that it is given by the United States. And also this explains the adventure of the Bush administration in invading Iraq. They miscalculated completely, but we shouldn't forget that the invasion itself, the principle of the invasion itself, had, you know, a kind of almost total bipartisan support, with maybe one exception. That's because at the level of the American establishment there is a consensus about the strategic importance for the United States of control over this part of the world. Now, it backfired with Iraq. It was a big failure. But that's another story. So the importance of Egypt is here. And, actually, with the United States failing in Iraq in the way we have seen and we are still witnessing, Egypt's importance was enhanced. And that's why also Washington, well, moderated the kind of pressure it used to exert on Egypt over the last few years, and Mubarak felt free in the last Parliamentary election that was in November and December, just very recently, to go back to the previous pattern--and even worse, actually, of completely rigged elections, completely fraudulent elections. And, well, I mean, one very obvious indication is the fact the Muslim Brotherhood went down from 88 seats in the previous Parliament to one in the present one.
<p />
<p />JAY: Yeah, we had a story we ran on The Real News that depicted one area where the election took place, and they simply wouldn't let pro-Muslim Brotherhood people vote, they wouldn't let candidates run, and the whole thing was rather a farce, which I guess was one of the things that helped lead to this current explosion. So please join us for the next segment of our interview with Gilbert Achcar, and this time we will get to the most recent explosion. Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />End of Transcript
<p />
<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. | Egyptian Military Supports US Dominance In Region | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D6255 | 2011-02-26 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Thinking about a new job? Before you start your job search, you may want to consider a job that’s among those seeing the biggest jumps in total pay over the past year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>To help, Glassdoor is here with our newest report on the 20 Jobs with the Biggest Pay Raises, identifying the top 20 jobs where total pay has increased the most over the past year. Salaries for these 20 jobs have grown 3 - 10% over the past year, all above the national average for salary increase (2.2%), <a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm" type="external">according to BLS Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>As part of this report, we include the total pay for each job title for 2015 and 2014, the percentage increase in total pay, and the number of job openings.</p>
<p>Check out the top 20 results:</p>
<p>1. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/business-systems-analyst-jobs-SRCH_KO0,24.htm" type="external">Business Systems Analyst Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/security-officer-jobs-SRCH_KO0,16.htm" type="external">Security Officer Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>3. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/sales-consultant-jobs-SRCH_KO0,16.htm" type="external">Sales Consultant Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>4. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/sales-consultant-jobs-SRCH_KO0,16.htm" type="external">Pharmacy Technician Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>5. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/barista-jobs-SRCH_KE0,7.htm" type="external">Barista Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>6. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/customer-service-manager-jobs-SRCH_KO0,24.htm" type="external">Customer Service Manager Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>7. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/certified-nursing-assistant-jobs-SRCH_KO0,27.htm" type="external">Certified Nursing Assistant Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>8. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/financial-analyst-jobs-SRCH_KO0,17.htm" type="external">Financial Analyst Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>9. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/systems-analyst-jobs-SRCH_KO0,15.htm" type="external">Systems Analyst Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>10. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/research-scientist-jobs-SRCH_KO0,18.htm" type="external">Research Scientist Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>11. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/programmer-analyst-jobs-SRCH_KO0,18.htm" type="external">Programmer Analyst Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>12. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/personal-banker-jobs-SRCH_KO0,15.htm" type="external">Personal Banker Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>13. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/branch-manager-jobs-SRCH_KO0,14.htm" type="external">Branch Manager Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>14. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/jobs.htm?suggestCount=0&amp;suggestChosen=false&amp;clickSource=searchBtn&amp;typedKeyword=research+associate&amp;headSiteSrch=%2FJob%2Fjobs.htm&amp;sc.keyword=research+associate&amp;locT=&amp;locId=" type="external">Research Associate Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>15. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/project-engineer-jobs-SRCH_KO0,16.htm" type="external">Project Engineer Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>16. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/cashier-jobs-SRCH_KO0,7.htm" type="external">Cashier Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>17. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/cook-jobs-SRCH_KO0,4.htm" type="external">Cook Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>18. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/web-developer-jobs-SRCH_KO0,13.htm" type="external">Web Developer Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>19. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/network-engineer-jobs-SRCH_KO0,16.htm" type="external">Network Engineer Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>20. <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/software-engineer-jobs-SRCH_KO0,17.htm" type="external">Software Engineer Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Job Search Tip: Before your next job interview, search for the job’s <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/index.htm" type="external">salary Opens a New Window.</a> on Glassdoor. You can search for salaries by company and job title, and can view the local and national average to make sure you’re negotiating a fair compensation.</p>
<p>Thinking About Moving for a Job?: Check out Glassdoor’s report on the <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/best-cities-jobs/" type="external">25 Best Cities for Jobs Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Methodology: For a job title to be considered for Glassdoor's report on the 20 Jobs with the Biggest Pay Raises, job titles must have at least 500 salary reports shared by U.S.-based employees on Glassdoor for 2015 (9/11/14-9/10/15) and 2014 (9/11/13-9/10/14), respectively. Salary reports represent total pay, which includes base pay, tips, commissions, bonuses and all other forms of pay reported. Job openings represent active job listings on Glassdoor as of 9/10/15. Rankings represent percentages beyond the thousandth, and percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number for simplicity of reporting. This report takes into account job title normalization that groups similar job titles.</p> | 20 Jobs with the Biggest Pay Raises | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/09/22/20-jobs-with-biggest-pay-raises.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>Here's a story about a great singer from Mali and two generations of record producers from neighboring Senegal.</p>
<p>The singer's name is&#160;Kandia Kouyaté — she's a legend in Mali and many parts of West Africa.</p>
<p>The producer of Kouyaté's latest recording — which made <a href="" type="internal">my top 10 list for 2015</a> — had been Ibrahim Sylla. He was the founder of Syllarts, one of the best-known record labels in post-independence West Africa.</p>
<p>Sylla produced several albums with Kouyaté and in 2011, Sylla was hoping to get Kouyaté back into the studio to produce what would be her first recording in 13 years.</p>
<p>But Kouyaté was still weak from a stroke she had in 2004. Still, Sylla was determined.</p>
<p>"He still believed in Kandia, despite illness," says Binetou Sylla, Ibrahim's 27-year-old daughter. "He was also sick and maybe he was thinking at this time that it was the last chance for him to record an album with this artist, so I think all these things make that they record this album."</p>
<p>As Binetou says, her father was sick when the session with Kouyaté started. And mid-way through, producer Ibrahim Sylla died.</p>
<p>Binetou picked up her father's baton and completed the album for him. But Binetou didn't just do it for her father, she also recognized the importance of Kandia Kouyaté's music.</p>
<p>Kouyaté, she says, is one of the last living connections to an ancient musical tradition in West Africa.</p>
<p>"Kandia Kouyaté comes from the great tradition of djeli," Binetou says. "The last singer, the last Malian and Mandingo singer, who knows perfectly the art of the djeli. It's why she is so important."</p>
<p>Even among the djeli poets, troubadours and griots, Kandia Kouyaté has distinction as a ngara — a singer who possesses an aura of majesty.</p>
<p>So I asked Binetou is she worried this might be her last album given her health?</p>
<p>"No, no, no... I don't think that she's gonna finish her career. I think it's a new beginning. It's also why I choose the title of this album, it's a new beginning."</p>
<p>The title of Kouyaté's album is "Renascence," or rebirth.</p>
<p>It's both a hope and an assertion. Because it really doesn't sound like Kandia Kouyaté is retiring any time soon.</p> | It took a generational effort to record Kandia Kouyaté's new album — and it was worth it | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-01-13/it-took-generational-effort-record-kandia-kouyat-s-new-album-and-it-was-worth-it | 2016-01-13 | 3 |
<p>Another day, another instance of outrage from DePaul University's band of leftists. Today's outrage? The audacity for DePaul's Turning Point USA chapter to invite James Kirchick for an event titled "Dictatorships and Radical Islam: Enemies of LGBTQ Rights." An individual going by the name of "MK Okay" on Facebook wrote the following post regarding Kirchick's appearance:</p>
<p>DEPAUL QUEER AND TRANS FAMILY :: Milo2.0 (ok Milo .5 - he's not alt-right, which makes this harder) is happening tomorrow at 5:30.</p>
<p>"Turning point DePaul" (check out that horror below, is bringing James [Kirchick], a white, Zionist, neoliberal journalist, to speak on shit he knows nothing about: "Dictatorships and Islam: Enemies of LGBTQ Rights."</p>
<p>IF [YOU] FEEL SAFE DOING THIS: we will be turning up to counter, and I invite and ask you to join. We need to be visible and present. Not in our f**king name will you pretend to define our safety, where danger comes from. Not in our f**king name will you continue to demonize Islam and Muslims and ignore the radical Christian right. Because we all know &amp; see what the real danger here is — and we all know &amp; see how this is f**ked. I will be making signs in the atrium of the stu today during [Students for Jewish Persecution's] event, so come chat if you want to...</p>
<p>Interestingly, Kirchick himself noticed something peculiar about this anonymous student's post:</p>
<p>Indeed, this student omitted the word "radical" before Islam in the event title. Of course, this makes sense because radical leftists like this individual are Islamophobic enough to blend fascistic and genocidal radical Islamists with every other practitioner of Islam who does not subscribe to the same regressive beliefs. This is a typical leftist tactic that attempts to paint anyone who criticizes radical Islam as a Muslim basher instead of being able to think critically on complicated issues.</p>
<p>Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElliottRHams/" type="external">Facebook</a></p> | DePaul Leftists Plan To Protest 'White, Zionist, Neoliberal Journalist' James Kirchick | true | https://dailywire.com/news/16293/depaul-leftists-plan-protest-white-zionist-elliott-hamilton | 2017-05-10 | 0 |
<p>Oh dear readers, you are enigmas, all of you. Without further ado, here are the most read stories on GlobalPost that were published in the last year. If you are curious, the most-read story in GlobalPost's almost 5-year history continues to be the one about former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/111024/gaddafi-sodomized-video-gaddafi-sodomy" type="external">brutal killing</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Cyclists ride along a road as heavy fog engulfs the city on Oct. 21, 2013 in Daqing, China. (AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>Choking smog <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/131021/china-smog-emergency-shuts-city-11-million-people" type="external">all but shut down</a> one of northeastern China's largest cities in October, snarling traffic, closing the airport and forcing schools to suspend classes. It was the country's first major air pollution crisis of the winter.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Lush strip of green: Nine-tenths of villagers are believed to take part in marijuana cultivation in Lazarat, Albania. (Besar Likmeta/GlobalPost)</p>
<p>Lazarat is known as Albania’s drug capital, notorious for its <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/130815/europe-marijuana-capital-lazarat-albania" type="external">cannabis and lawlessness</a>. The annual crop earns almost $6 billion, according to the Italian financial police. Although local police dispute that figure, they admit that marijuana production is booming.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>(Cayusa/Flickr Commons)</p>
<p>While the erosion of civil liberties, particularly privacy, has been the most public American failure of the year, there are many other areas where US reality doesn't match the hype. Here are <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130607/7-graphs-america-overrated-nsa-prism-privacy" type="external">seven metrics</a> that prove an American's quality of life isn't really all that grand.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>A surveillance camera in New York. (Spencer Platt/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>This is satire. Although the news is real, very little actual reporting was done for this story and the quotes are imagined. It is the first installment of an ongoing series that examines the language journalists use to cover foreign countries. What if we wrote that way about the United States?&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>BOSTON, Mass. — Human rights activists say revelations that the US regime has expanded its domestic surveillance program to private phone carriers is more evidence of the North American country’s pivot toward authoritarianism. <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130607/what-if-journalists-covered-us-like-they-cover-world" type="external">Continue reading</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons director Ahmet Uzumcu at The Hague in October. (AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>US President Barack Obama in April <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130429/obama-tells-putin-concern-over-syrian-chemical-arms" type="external">raised his concern</a> over the reported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian military in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>(AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>A senior Dutch diplomat at the Netherlands embassy in Moscow was <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/131016/senior-dutch-diplomat-beaten-russia-1" type="external">beaten up at his home</a> in the Russian capital by unknown attackers who scrawled the letters "LGBT" on a mirror in October, officials said.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>(Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>In a rare late-night parliament vote in December, the Japanese government achieved one of their key goals, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/japan/131206/japan-s-parliament-democracy-muzzling-secrecy-law" type="external">passing a controversial security measure</a>: the Bill on the Protection of State Secrets — essentially Japan’s version of the US Patriot Act. The Obama administration, which has long complained of intelligence leaks in Japan, supported the bill.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>New research from China could accelerate the use of stem cells by making them easier to create. (AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>Stem cell research <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/130719/stem-cell-research-breakthrough-china-japan-stem-cell-trial-approved" type="external">made new gains in July</a> after a safe and easy way for them to be created was developed in China. The new breakthrough may also allow for an easier way to create organs and tissues from stem cells. At the same time, the Japanese government approved the first stem cell trial involving cells from the patients' own body.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>(Sean Gallup/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>A 9-year-old girl in Mexico <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/9-year-old-girl-mexico-gives-birth-baby" type="external">gave birth to a baby girl</a> in February. The father was a 17-year-old. Authorities believe the girl was raped or sexually abused. The girl was just over 8 when she got pregnant. The mother didn't report the case to state authorities because she didn't think it was a crime. But when the mother and her daughter arrived at the hospital for the birth, doctors informed the woman that her daughter may have been a victim of sexual assault. It was only then that state authorities were notified.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in New York City. (Monika Graff/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>In the hours after two explosions rocked the streets of Boston in April, messages of love and support saturated the internet. But <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130415/boston-marathon-explosion-twitter-photos-and-video" type="external" />compassion was not universal. The commentary streaming across the Twitter feed of the Westboro Baptist Church was both <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130415/westboro-baptist-church-threatens-to-picket-boston-marathon-funerals" type="external">hostile and hateful</a>.</p> | The top 10 most-read GlobalPost stories in 2013 prove you hate America, among other things | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-12-30/top-10-most-read-globalpost-stories-2013-prove-you-hate-america-among-other | 2013-12-30 | 3 |
<p>This is one of a bunch of <a href="http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6fe722797caa175298db8c716&amp;id=5661375540&amp;e=%5BUNIQID%5D" type="external">watercolors painted by Steve Mumford</a>on a visit to the prison at Guantanamo Bay where alleged terrorists are being held by our government. Mumford's solo show inaugurates the lovely new space that Postmasters gallery has reopened in, near Chinatown in New York. There's something especially poignant about the plywood and concrete of Guantanamo being rendered in a medium usually linked to British fields and fens and harbors. Watercolor is also famous as a medium that cares as much about blank expanses of paper as about the pigment laid down on them - but in this case some of Mumford's empty spaces are there because the authorities told him he wasn't allowed to fill them in with visions of what he saw. Watercolor is also known for catching evanescent details in the passing scene, but at Guantanamo the problem is that everything seems to stay the same, year after year after year.</p>
<p>For a full visual survey of past Daily Pics visit <a href="http://blakegopnik.com/archive" type="external">blakegopnik.com/archive</a>.</p> | Steve Mumford at Postmasters is the Daily Pic by Blake Gopnik | true | https://thedailybeast.com/steve-mumford-at-postmasters-is-the-daily-pic-by-blake-gopnik | 2018-10-07 | 4 |
<p />
<p>First some numbers. The size of the US military was cut 30 percent between 1990 and 2005, which led to increased reliance on private companies to provides services previously thought of as “inherently governmental.” The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accelerated the shift. Pentagon contracts have grown 31 percent in the last few years, from $241 billion in fiscal year 2004 to $316 billion in fiscal year 2008, and the Congressional Budget Office reports that, by year’s end, the US will have shelled out over $100 billion to contractors in Iraq. One out of every five dollars spent in Iraq now goes to private industry, and there is one contractor for every US soldier in the country. (During the Gulf War, the ratio of soldiers to contractors was 50:1.)</p>
<p>These figures come from a <a href="http://www.newamerica.net/" type="external">New America Foundation</a> report released Friday, called “Changing the Culture of Pentagon Contracting” ( <a href="http://www.newamerica.net/wp-content/uploads/Changing%20the%20Culture%20of%20Pentagon%20Contracting.pdf" type="external">.pdf</a>), which acknowledges the “inevitability of contractors,” while making recommendations for integrating them more effectively into the US force structure. Among the report’s admonishments:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Perhaps most interesting, though, is the report’s recommendation that the US government move away from outsourcing private security to companies like Blackwater, which has attracted attention for numerous questionable shootings in Iraq. From the report:</p>
<p>Our research with respect to the activities of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to date leads us to doubt that effective control and, more importantly, sustainable accountability measures can ever be fully imposed upon those providing private security services… That is why we believe that both the U.S. military and, in particular, the Department of State should begin to move away from the use of private security contractors and develop the internal capacity to provide security protection services currently provided by the private sector.</p>
<p /> | Military Contractors Are Here to Stay, Report Concludes | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/11/military-contractors-are-here-stay-report-concludes/ | 2008-11-10 | 4 |
<p>U.S. safety regulators are investigating whether a recall of 156 fire trucks last year was enough to fix a problem with aerial ladders that can unexpectedly fall.</p>
<p>The probe covers trucks from the 2000 to 2012 model years made by Ohio-based Sutphen Corp.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says two ladders fell after the trucks were recalled in May of last year. Six people were hurt in incidents in Belle Valley, Pennsylvania, and Hall County, Georgia.</p>
<p>Sutphen says in a July statement posted on its website that it is telling fire departments not to use the ladders until further notice. The company says it's investigating and working to fix the problem. Messages were left Monday for a company spokesman.</p>
<p>The government says cables that control the ladders can fail.</p> | US safety agency investigating whether fire truck aerial ladder recall solved the problem | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/18/us-safety-agency-investigating-whether-fire-truck-aerial-ladder-recall-solved.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Shares in <a href="http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&amp;q=NASDAQ:WTSLA" type="external">Wet Seal Inc</a>plunged as much as 18 percent today after the struggling teen clothing retailer sacked chief executive Susan McGalla due to falling sales, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/23/us-wetseal-ceo-idUSBRE86M0UF20120723" type="external">Reuters reported.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://ir.wetsealinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=694075" type="external">California-based Wet Seal said</a> in a statement that the company's president, Ken Seipel, and chief financial officer, Steve Benrubi, would steer the clothing chain while it searched for a new CEO.</p>
<p>The announcement came as Wet Seal downgraded its sales guidance for the current quarter as it struggles to attract young shoppers whose parents are tightening their belts due to the economic downturn.</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120723-711158.html" type="external">According to the Wall Street Journal,</a> Wet Seal expects same-store sales to fall 10-11 percent in the three months to the end of July - the lower end of its earlier guidance - after a sharp fall in sales in stores opened at least a year in the third week of this month.</p>
<p>Benrubi <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/wet-seal-fires-ceo-susan-mcgalla-as-the-teen-retailers-summer-sales-sink-cuts-2q-outlook/2012/07/23/gJQA8CM53W_story.html" type="external">told the Associated Press</a> that the decision to fire McGalla was based on the financial performance of the company and not a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by three former managers, who have accused Wet Seal of favoring white workers over their black colleagues.</p>
<p>Wet Seal shares were down nearly 11 percent at $2.63 in afternoon trading in New York.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/120723/nexen-shares-soar-after-cnooc-makes-151bn-takeover-b" type="external">Nexen shares soar after CNOOC makes $15.1BN takeover bid</a> &#160;</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Wet Seal dumps CEO Susan McGalla as sales fall | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-07-23/wet-seal-dumps-ceo-susan-mcgalla-sales-fall | 2012-07-23 | 3 |
<p>NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Authorities in Pulaski County say a masked man fatally shot a woman who was standing outside her apartment complex with her children.</p>
<p>Lt. Cody Burk says a 5-year-old child was also struck by the gunfire Friday morning, and the shooter has not been caught.</p>
<p>Burk says 30-year-old April Harris died following the shooting about 6:30 a.m. at the complex just outside the North Little Rock city limits.</p>
<p>Burk says Harris was outside the building with her four children when she was approached by a person wearing a ski mask who then shot her and the 5-year-old she was carrying.</p>
<p>Burk says a 9-year-old and 10-year-old twins escaped without injury. Burk says the woman died Friday morning and the 5-year-old child is in stable condition.</p>
<p>NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Authorities in Pulaski County say a masked man fatally shot a woman who was standing outside her apartment complex with her children.</p>
<p>Lt. Cody Burk says a 5-year-old child was also struck by the gunfire Friday morning, and the shooter has not been caught.</p>
<p>Burk says 30-year-old April Harris died following the shooting about 6:30 a.m. at the complex just outside the North Little Rock city limits.</p>
<p>Burk says Harris was outside the building with her four children when she was approached by a person wearing a ski mask who then shot her and the 5-year-old she was carrying.</p>
<p>Burk says a 9-year-old and 10-year-old twins escaped without injury. Burk says the woman died Friday morning and the 5-year-old child is in stable condition.</p> | Woman killed, child hurt in Pulaski County shooting | false | https://apnews.com/3af53e129fad40ae87e8e9d863c53909 | 2018-01-19 | 2 |
<p>LINCOLN, Ill. (AP) — The National Weather Service has wind chill advisories in effect for western, central and southern Illinois as bitter cold temperatures blanketed parts of the state.</p>
<p>The advisories were issued through noon Tuesday, warning of wind chills as low as -25 degrees. Forecasters also warned of hazardous driving conditions due to snow in some areas.</p>
<p>The frigid weather prompted dozens of school closings Tuesday in central and southern Illinois, including Springfield, Belleville, Edwardsville, Alton and Taylorville. Students on their way back to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana faced a Tuesday forecast of 3 degrees with a -14 wind chill.</p>
<p>Also in Champaign, one men’s emergency shelter that can hold 30 per night is seeing an average of 43 men a night seeking beds. An overflow shelter has opened.</p>
<p>LINCOLN, Ill. (AP) — The National Weather Service has wind chill advisories in effect for western, central and southern Illinois as bitter cold temperatures blanketed parts of the state.</p>
<p>The advisories were issued through noon Tuesday, warning of wind chills as low as -25 degrees. Forecasters also warned of hazardous driving conditions due to snow in some areas.</p>
<p>The frigid weather prompted dozens of school closings Tuesday in central and southern Illinois, including Springfield, Belleville, Edwardsville, Alton and Taylorville. Students on their way back to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana faced a Tuesday forecast of 3 degrees with a -14 wind chill.</p>
<p>Also in Champaign, one men’s emergency shelter that can hold 30 per night is seeing an average of 43 men a night seeking beds. An overflow shelter has opened.</p> | Below-zero wind chills cancel school in parts of Illinois | false | https://apnews.com/5f0cd51346e24a849badf369f7b33dc9 | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p>ATLANTA — A year-long spiritual discernment process culminated Oct. 10 in the unanimous approval by its governing Coordinating Council of the re-prioritizing of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's work.</p>
<p>In addition to the vote to adopt new strategic priorities and bless the discernment process findings, the fall meeting of the CBF Council included good news — through Aug. 31 the Fellowship had an excess of revenues over expenditures of $525,870. The fiscal year ended Sept. 30, and leaders hope that this trend continues for the final month. The full financial details will be released at the February Council meeting, after the Fellowship's audit concludes.</p>
<p>“This was, without a doubt, one of the most important meetings for the Fellowship during my tenure as executive coordinator,” said Daniel Vestal, the CBF's executive coordinator since 1996. “I believe the Spirit has been present in every step of this discernment process. We now have a clearer sense of what God is calling us to do together as a fellowship for the next five to seven years.”</p>
<p>After 13 months of discerning through feedback sessions with the CBF staff, Coordinating Council, state and regional CBF organizations, the “Current” young leaders network, and other CBF groups, 47 specific activities grouped into seven categories emerged:</p>
<p>• Interacting with the world community</p>
<p>• Honoring race, gender and generations</p>
<p>• Missional engagement</p>
<p>• Training and development</p>
<p>• Spiritual formation</p>
<p>• Resource utilization</p>
<p>• Broadening the CBF community</p>
<p>A survey was developed in consultation with J. Michael Webber, marketing professor at Stetson School of Business and Economics of Mercer University, which was presented to participants of the 2008 General Assembly in Memphis in June. The Assembly devoted six hours to praying over the discussions, giving time to respond to the survey and conducting feedback sessions to gather insights not included on the survey instrument.</p>
<p>“Throughout the past year we have moved from a qualitative, subjective process to a quantitative, objective process,” said CBF past moderator Harriet Harral, principal and founder of the Fort Worth, Texas,-based Harral Group leadership consulting firm. “We have heard from this Fellowship movement about what they are discerning are the priorities for us in the next three to five to seven years. I think we can be confident in the direction we are being called at this time in our history to be the presence of Christ.”</p>
<p>The results of the survey, which the Council affirmed with its vote, were that the top 15 actions as ranked by the participants at the Assembly fell under three priorities of the seven. These top three in priority order were “interacting with the world community,” “honoring generations, gender and race” and “missional engagement.” The top 15 actions were as follows:</p>
<p>Interacting with the world community: • Support and promote the Millennium Development Goals (#2) • Expand advocacy efforts for human rights, religious liberty, and social justice (#3) • Develop a national framework to address poverty in the United States (#4)</p>
<p>Honoring generations, gender and race • Invest in young Baptists (#1) • Model racial, gender and generational inclusion in hiring and leadership (#5) • Heighten understanding of women in leadership (#13)</p>
<p>Missional engagement • Increase funding for global missions efforts (#6) • Educate and develop missional leaders (#7) • Increase awareness of global missions efforts (#8) • Provide training for indigenous church leaders and pastors (#9) • Facilitate short term mission engagement opportunities for churches and individuals (#10) • Provide missional resources (#11) • Facilitate long term relationships among churches, individuals, and field personnel ministries (#12) • Expand communication of the CBF's mission and vision (#14) • Increase the number of field personnel (missionaries) (#15)</p>
<p>“God has blessed our Fellowship in its early history,” said Moderator Jack Glasgow, pastor of Zebulon Baptist Church, Zebulon, N.C. “Now, God has been with us in this prayerful process of discernment. These priorities will support our fundamental principles. Under a vision to be the presence of Christ to one another and to the world, we will continue to strive to fulfill our mission of serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission. And, we will continue to live out our core values.”</p>
<p>Glasgow then appointed a five-member committee of the Council to begin working on a re-organization of the Council to match the priorities. That work group will be chaired by Tom Siddle, of Rocky Mount, Va., and includes Sylvia McQuaig, of Jacksonville, Fla.; Don Horton, of Zebulon, N.C.; Lynne Smith, of Burlington, Ky.; Jeremy Colliver, of Georgetown, Ky., and CBF staff members Connie McNeil, coordinator of administration, and Ben McDade, coordinator of advancement. The results of their work will be presented to the full Council at its July meeting in Houston.</p>
<p>“The officers, staff and Coordinating Council should engage in cooperative effort to develop outcome statements based on these strategic priorities and recommended actions,” Glasgow said. “We are partners together in a process to determine what CBF will look like in its near future, engaging in planning that will determine the next chapters in the CBF story.”</p>
<p>Glasgow said the 2010-2011 CBF budget should reflect these priorities and encouraged the autonomous state and regional CBF organizations as well as churches affiliated with the CBF to consider how these strategic priorities could inform their planning processes.</p>
<p>In his global mission update, Rob Nash, the Fellowship's coordinator for global missions, talked about the future of global missions engagement. He talked about CBF Global Missions' three primary teams — field ministries, missional church and bridge. The field ministries team, directed by Jim Smith, facilitates the work of 145 field personnel. The missional church team, directed by Harry Rowland, facilitates the engagement of congregations around the world. And, the bridge team, facilitated by Grace Powell Freeman, supports and facilitates the work of other two teams in the areas of finance, personnel recruitment and selection, training, rural poverty and student missions.</p>
<p>“We need to keep the best of what has been — field personnel, movement-wide engagement, pooling our financial resources to share the good news of the gospel with the rest of the world,” Nash said. “We must also open ourselves up to what can be done, including full partnership with congregations and the global church — where congregations and field personnel sit together at the table to determine where God is calling.”</p>
<p>In other business, the Council took up the following items:</p>
<p>• Voted to authorize the Leadership Development Initiative Team to convene a group of young CBF-related Baptist pastors to respond to the question: “What does it mean to CBF to invest in young Baptists?”</p>
<p>• Recognized the service of Tom Prevost, who will retire as the Fellowship's poverty initiative and projects specialist at the end of year. Prevost has served on the CBF staff since 1995 and helped facilitated Together For Hope, the Fellowship's rural poverty initiative.</p>
<p>• Named moderator-elect Hal Bass as chair of the Council's United Nations' Millennium Development Goals task force, along with Colleen Burroughs of Birmingham, Ala., and Debbie Ferrier of San Antonio, Texas.</p> | CBF Coordinating Council adopts new strategic priorities | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/cbfcoordinatingcounciladoptsnewstrategicpriorities/ | 3 |
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<p>Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders formally kicked off his underdog White House bid on Tuesday, promising to build a grassroots movement of millions ready "to stand up and fight back."</p>
<p>"Here is my promise to you for this campaign. Not only will I fight to protect the working families of this country, but we're going to build a movement of millions of Americans who are prepared to stand up and fight back," Sanders said in the first major speech of his campaign. "We are going to take this campaign directly to the people - in town meetings, door to door conversations, on street corners and in social media."</p>
<p>The independent senator from Vermont first announced his 2016 campaign on Capitol Hill last month, but chose Burlington, where he was once mayor, to officially begin his run. The festive event held on the shores of Lake Champlain featured live music and free ice cream from Ben &amp; Jerry's.</p>
<p>The two-term senator is unlikely to mount a serious challenge to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but he may have success in pushing her further to the left on his signature issues of income inequality, campaign finance reform and climate change.</p>
<p>"This campaign is not about Bernie Sanders. It is not about Hillary Clinton. It is not about Jeb Bush or anyone else," Sanders said. "This campaign is about the needs of the American people, and the ideas and proposals that effectively address those needs. As someone who has never run a negative political ad in his life, my campaign will be not be driven by political gossip or reckless personal attacks."</p>
<p>The self-described democratic socialist has championed many of the positions liberals are pushing for, like raising the minimum wage, free college tuition and universal access to health care. He also is a staunch opponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that fellow progressives like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren oppose, but Clinton has not yet taken a firm position on.</p>
<p>Sanders is hoping a well-organized grassroots campaign, prolific social media presence and appeal to the liberal wing of the Democratic party is enough to make a real impact on Democratic presidential primary.</p>
<p>"When people stand together, when people are prepared to fight back, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished," Sanders said.</p> | Bernie Sanders: Campaign Will be 'A Movement of Millions' | false | http://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/bernie-sanders-campaign-will-be-movement-millions-n365001 | 2015-05-27 | 3 |
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<p>David Pineda, 42, of Raton, was arrested last week after an undercover investigation that began in the Four Corners area fingered Pineda for allegedly sharing child pornography on the Internet, <a href="http://www.ratonrange.com/main.asp?SectionID=2" type="external">The Raton Range</a> reported.</p>
<p>Pineda, who was in custody Monday at the Vigil-Maldonado Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond, is facing 14 counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count each of abandonment or abuse of a child, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia, The Range said.</p>
<p>According to an arrest-warrant affidavit, a Farmington-based State Police officer discovered computer video files with alleged child pornography during an undercover investigation on May 17, the paper reported.</p>
<p>A search warrant of the Internet provider address found that Pineda had been connected to the Internet through a Bloomfield site but was alleged viewing and using the Internet at his home in Raton, according to The Range.</p>
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<p>The State Police officer, along with detectives from the Farmington Police Department, came to Raton on July 1, met with State Police investigators from Las Vegas and investigators with the District Attorney’s Office in Raton to serve a search warrant on Pineda’s address, The Range said.</p>
<p>According to the affidavit, a computer and other computer equipment were seized by police, as well as items believed to be related to the growing of marijuana, and a later search of Pineda’s computer turned up numerous video files of child pornography, the paper reported.</p>
<p>Pineda allegedly first told police that he downloaded porn, but initially denied having any involving children, but under further questioning, he allegedly told police that he had downloaded child porn but later deleted it, The Range said.</p>
<p>Pineda’s 4-year-old son, who was playing in the front yard of his home when police arrived July 1, was temporarily placed in state custody, the paper reported.</p> | 6:45am — Raton Man Arrested on Child-Porn Charges | false | https://abqjournal.com/8785/645am-raton-man-arrested-on-child-porn-charges.html | 2 |
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<p>Democratic challenger Chris Murphy’s ad&#160;falsely implies that&#160;incumbent Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut failed to respond to a local resident’s pleas&#160;for help with her&#160;son’s medical problems.</p>
<p>The resident, Erin McCall-Goldie, says she contacted Johnson for help getting corrective surgery for her son’s cleft lip and palate and was ignored.&#160;“I contacted Nancy Johnson’s office repeatedly. She never called back,”&#160;McCall-Goldie says, adding that she got better treatment from&#160;State Sen. Murphy, who “passed a law mandating insurance coverage for reconstructive facial surgery.”</p>
<p>In&#160;fact,&#160;McCall-Goldie contacted Murphy first,&#160;and&#160;didn’t write to&#160;Johnson until nearly three years&#160;later. And when she did, it was&#160;as head of a advocacy group&#160;pushing for federal legislation. She wasn’t&#160;seeking direct assistance for her son.</p>
<p>The ad says McCall-Goldie contacted&#160;Johnson’s office thirteen times and that she “never called back.” That&#160;seems to&#160;be true, but a member of Johnson’s staff did send an email response once, and the mother&#160;chatted with the congresswoman at two different&#160;public events. The ad also neglects to mention that&#160;McCall-Goldie held local office briefly, as a Democrat.</p>
<p>The&#160;Johnson campaign asked Murphy to withdraw the ad&#160;after it began running on Oct. 8,&#160;but&#160;the&#160;Murphy campaign has refused,&#160; <a href="http://murphyforcongress.org/index.php?id=269" type="external">claiming</a>&#160;in a&#160;statement&#160;that, “the ad is completely true.” Maybe so, but only in the narrowest sense. The ad’s carefully constructed language would lead&#160;any reasonable viewer to draw&#160;a false&#160;conclusion.</p>
<p>Chris Murphy Ad: “Connor”</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie: My son Connor was born with a cleft lip and palate. I worried about his health and whether our insurance would cover expensive corrective surgery for Connor and others like him. I contacted Nancy Johnson’s office repeatedly. She never called back.</p>
<p>(On screen: “No response.”)</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie: But I went to State Senator Chris Murphy and within six months Chris passed a law mandating insurance coverage for reconstructive facial surgery. For us, Chris made the difference.</p>
<p>&#160;Distorting the Timeline</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie explains in the ad that her&#160;son Connor was born with a cleft lip and palate. The craniofacial condition&#160;needed corrective surgery which is often not covered by insurance plans. McCall-Goldie then says:</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie: I contacted Nancy Johnson’s office repeatedly. She never called back.&#160;But I went to State Senator Chris Murphy and within six months Chris passed a law mandating insurance coverage for reconstructive facial surgery.</p>
<p>The script is written so it appears that McCall-Goldie called Murphy only after she went to Johnson and was met with continued indifference. This was not the case.</p>
<p>In fact, Murphy was contacted first&#160;– nearly three years earlier.</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie lists 13 dates on which she tried to contact Johnson, the first of which&#160;is Oct.&#160;13, 2005. However, the law the ad refers to&#160; <a href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/act/Pa/2003PA-00037-R00SB-00001-PA.htm" type="external">passed</a> the&#160;Connecticut state legislature on May 23, 2003.&#160;McCall-Goldie says she had contacted Murphy six months before that.</p>
<p>It is also worth noting, that by 2002, Connor had already begun&#160;having his corrective surgery. The ad misleadingly implies that&#160; McCall-Goldie was asking for direct assistance for her son as opposed to&#160;legislative action on the insurance issue more broadly.</p>
<p>The ad says that Johnson “never called back.” So far as we can tell, that’s true.</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie did get a&#160;pro-forma,&#160;“we’ll get back to you” e-mail from one of Johnson’s staffers,&#160;according to records McCall-Goldie provided to the Murphy campaign, which in turn forwarded them to FactCheck.org.&#160;But the mother says there&#160;was no follow-up to&#160;that e-mail,&#160;a statement&#160;Johnson’s&#160;aides don’t&#160;dispute.</p>
<p>Johnson&#160; <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/10/11/johnson_demands_ad_featuring_birth_defect_baby_be_pulled/" type="external">said</a> at a news conference&#160;on Oct. 11 that she had spoken with McCall-Goldie twice this year. However, the mother has said, and the Johnson campaign has&#160;confirmed, that in both instances the contact occurred at public events, and it was McCall-Goldie who approached the congresswoman . The Johnson campaign says&#160;the district and Washington&#160;offices do not have records to confirm or deny her account.</p>
<p>The ad says that Murphy “passed a law mandating insurance coverage for reconstructive facial surgery.” That overstates Murphy’s role.</p>
<p>The craniofacial bill was actually <a href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/tob/s/2003SB-00001-R00-SB.htm" type="external">introduced</a>&#160;by state Senator Kevin Sullivan. In fact, McCall-Goldie&#160;was effusive in her&#160;praise for Sullivan, crediting him three separate times for his work in a thank you note after the bill became law in 2003. Murphy was not mentioned.</p>
<p>It would be more accurate to say Murphy helped pass the law. He was chairman of the Committee on Public Health that co-sponsored the bill and held hearings on the issue. He&#160;did&#160; <a href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/vote/s/2003SV-00075-R00SB00001-SV.htm" type="external">vote</a> for the bill’s passage, but he was hardly alone. In fact, the measure passed 31-1 in the state senate and&#160;143-1&#160; <a href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/vote/h/2003HV-00077-R00SB00001-HV.htm" type="external">in</a>&#160;the state house.</p>
<p>Murphy’s ad doesn’t mention&#160;that McCall-Goldie has&#160;become a political advocate for the craniofacial community. She&#160;founded and directs&#160;the non-profit organization Families Advancing Craniofacial Excellence (FACE). It was as the President/Founder of this organization, not just as a concerned mother, that she contacted and successfully lobbied Murphy and other members of the Connecticut state house.</p>
<p>It&#160;was also in these dual roles that she contacted Johnson. A letter she sent to Johnson’s district office was written on FACE letterhead. It&#160;included both the organization’s contact information and her own.</p>
<p>McCall-Goldie has become even more involved in the political process since then, actually becoming an elected official herself. She briefly&#160; <a href="http://vvv.munic.state.ct.us/burlington/boards_commission.pdf" type="external">served</a>&#160;on her local&#160;Board of Assessment Appeals&#160;– as a Democrat&#160;– in 2004.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Watch Murphy Ad: “Connor”</p>
<p>&lt;iframe style="width: 500px; height:300px;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen src="https://video.factcheck.org/play/legacy-238-1"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>Haigh, Susan, “Johnson demands ad featuring birth defect baby be pulled,”&#160; <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/10/11/johnson_demands_ad_featuring_birth_defect_baby_be_pulled/" type="external">AP</a>. 11 Oct. 2006.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Tugging At Heartstrings With Loose Facts | false | https://factcheck.org/2006/10/tugging-at-heartstrings-with-loose-facts/ | 2006-10-14 | 2 |
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<p>Blue-chip conglomerate 3M (NYSE:MMM) announced plans on Monday to raise its quarterly dividend by 35% and revealed favorable 2014 earnings and share buyback projections.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of the maker of Post-Its and traffic sensing systems rallied more than 2% on the upbeat news.</p>
<p>Joining a slew of major companies that have recently announced dividend increases, 3M said its board of directors approved a new dividend of 85.5 cents per share for the first quarter. That represents a 35% increase from the current dividend of 63.5 cents per share.</p>
<p>3M said the new dividend is payable on March 12 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 14. The company said it has paid dividends to shareholders without interruption for more than 97 years.</p>
<p>In recent days, a number of big-name companies have raised their dividend, including <a href="" type="internal">aerospace giant Boeing</a> (NYSE:BA), <a href="" type="internal">drug maker Pfizer</a> (NYSE:PFE), <a href="" type="internal">ethanol and flour maker Archer Daniels Midland</a> and <a href="" type="internal">conglomerate General Electric</a> (NYSE:GE).</p>
<p>Ahead of a meeting with institutional investors and analysts on Tuesday, 3M said it expects to post 2014 EPS of $7.30 to $7.55 on organic local currency sales of 3% to 6%. The midpoint of that EPS range, $7.425, would narrowly top the Street’s view of $7.40. Management also sees free cash flow conversion in the range of 90% to 100%.</p>
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<p>At the same time, 3M reaffirmed its long-term financial objectives, calling for EPS growth of 9% to 11% between 2013 and 2017 on organic revenue growth of 4% to 6%.</p>
<p>3M said it plans to invest $5 billion to $10 billion for acquisitions through 2017 and $17 billion to $22 billion on gross share buybacks, compared with $7.5 billion to $15 billion previously.</p>
<p>“The strength and diversity of our business model supports more aggressive capital deployment and reflects our confidence in 3M's future,” 3M CEO Inge Thulin said in a statement. “We are building the company for long-term success and are committed to creating sustainable value for our shareholders."</p>
<p>Shares of St. Paul-based 3M advanced 2.62% to $131.00 in premarket trading, putting them on pace to extend their 2013 rally of 37.5%.</p> | 3M Boosts Dividend, Issues Upbeat 2014 Guidance | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/12/17/3m-issues-sales-forecast-raises-dividend.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
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<p>After two gunmen opened fire at a <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shooting-outside-draw-muhammad-contest-texas-n352996" type="external">Muhammad drawing contest</a>in Texas over the weekend, the head of the group that organized the controversial event has appeared on several television programs explaining the legitimacy of the contest.&#160; Today, Pamela Geller’s defense reached a new height of tone-deafness when she compared herself to <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/pamela-geller-compares-self-to-rosa-parks-fox-host-aint-having-it/" type="external">civil rights activist Rosa Parks.</a></p>
<p>Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Geller how she felt about criticism from conservatives including <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/05/04/donald_trump_slams_pam_geller_for_%E2%80%9Ctaunting%E2%80%9D_muslims_with_%E2%80%9Cdraw_the_prophet%E2%80%9D_contest_%E2%80%9Cwhat_the_hell_is_she_doing/" type="external">Donald Trump</a>,&#160;who condemned Sunday’s contest as a “taunting” tactic solely used to incite Muslims. Geller dismissed Trump’s comments, saying, “He sure flaps his tongue and uses free speech and wishes to silence others. What would he have said about Rosa Parks? Rosa Parks should never have gone to the front of the bus. She’s taunting people.”</p>
<p>Shocked, MacCallum responded, “No, no, no. How do you make the Rosa Parks comparison?”</p>
<p>Geller refused to back down, and in fact seemed to be gaining steam, pledging she would not “abridge” her freedom for the sake of “savages”—a description she has used in past <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/anti-islam-subway-ads-pamela-geller-mta-disclaimer_n_2295864.html" type="external">anti-Islam campaigns.</a></p>
<p>Insulting Donald Trump, Muslims, and the memory of Rosa Parks in one brief segment does demonstrate the unusual range of Geller’s ability to be downright offensive. Who needs the <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/05/04/404158281/5-things-to-know-about-the-organizers-of-mohammed-cartoon-contest" type="external">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> when there’s material like this?</p>
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<p /> | The Woman Behind Texas’ Muhammad Cartoon Contest Compares Herself to Rosa Parks | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/pamela-geller-rosa-parks/ | 2015-05-05 | 4 |
<p>&lt;a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hillaryclinton/24148670121/"&gt;Hillary for America&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
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<p>Stinging from its lopsided defeat in New Hampshire and bracing for a tougher-than-expected primary fight against Bernie Sanders, the Hillary Clinton campaign has sought to lower expectations for the next contest, this Saturday’s Nevada caucuses. To do so, the campaign has been subtly pushing a curious line: Don’t read too much into the results of the Nevada caucuses because the state is disproportionately white, just like New Hampshire and Iowa.</p>
<p>As I <a href="" type="internal">explained</a> last week, Nevada should be a firewall state for Clinton, and that’s how the Clinton campaign long painted it. But last Tuesday, campaign spokesman Brian Fallon tried to dash those impressions during an appearance on MSNBC. As <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/defeated-in-new-hampshire-clinton-camp-already-forecasting-c#.ln3XdNvxrR" type="external">recounted</a> by BuzzFeed‘s Ruby Cramer, Fallon tried to suggest that Sanders had an edge in the caucuses thanks to the makeup of the state.</p>
<p>“There’s an important Hispanic element to the Democratic caucus in Nevada,” Fallon said. “But it’s still a state that is 80 percent white voters. You have a caucus-style format, and he’ll have the momentum coming out of New Hampshire presumably, so there’s a lot of reasons he should do well.”</p>
<p>Campaign manager <a href="" type="internal">Robby Mook</a>, who ran Clinton’s 2008 campaign in the state, made a similar argument the next day when talking with congressional Democrats:</p>
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<p>Is Nevada as lacking in diversity as Iowa and New Hampshire? <a href="http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00,32" type="external">Not even close</a>. It’s actually one of the more diverse states in the country. The population is 9 percent African American, just a few points below the national average of 13 percent. It’s also 9 percent Asian American or Pacific Islander, above the national 5.6 percent average. And Nevada boasts a far larger Latino population than the country: 27.8 percent, versus 17.4 percent nationally.</p>
<p>Where does the Clinton campaign come up with the idea that Nevada is so overwhelming white? It all comes down to the difficult terminology of race and ethnicity. Technically, the state is 76 percent white, but that’s because most people who identify as Latino or Hispanic are included in that category. Separate them out, and the state is just 51.5 percent non-Hispanic white.</p>
<p>Compare that to Iowa and New Hampshire, which are, respectively, 87 percent and 91 percent non-Hispanic white.</p>
<p>It’s possible that Nevada’s minority populations won’t show up to caucus in large numbers. But that doesn’t seem too likely, at least based on the 2008 caucuses, when 35 percent of caucus voters were racial or ethnic minorities, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/NVDemHorizontal.pdf" type="external">according to exit polls</a>. The state’s minority population has only grown since 2008, so there’s little reason to expect the caucus-going population to look that much whiter than in 2008.</p>
<p>With Sanders having captured the momentum after his big New Hampshire win, Clinton really may have a more difficult time in Nevada than she anticipated. But she can’t blame it on demographics.</p>
<p /> | Sorry, Hillary Clinton, Nevada Is Actually a Diverse State | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/hillary-clinton-nevada-diverse-latino/ | 2016-02-16 | 4 |
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<p>I’ll make this clear before anyone begins to get too upset: Bullying and hazing have no place in organized sports, or in civil society for that matter.</p>
<p>On that I’m sure we can all — at least most of us — agree. The combination has ruined many lives, and we’d all be better off without it.</p>
<p>That said, I’m still finding it hard to imagine who brought this up when negotiators for Major League Baseball and the players’ union got together at the bargaining table for their new contract .</p>
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<p>“Uh, guys, we’ve been getting some complaints lately that players have had to dress up like women. Some have even put on lipstick, and badly. Before we get to free agency and the minimum wage, I’d like to propose some new contract language that bans players from dressing up as Hooters waitresses or Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.”</p>
<p>To be sure, it’s not such a bad thing. If you’ve ever seen a grown baseball player in a dress and wig, you’d quickly realize most are no RuPaul. Fellow players might find it funny, but locker room humor isn’t always that humorous.</p>
<p>Still, you have to wonder why baseball players seem to have such a need to be protected from everything these days.</p>
<p>They can’t slide hard into second base anymore for fear of either hurting themselves or the $20 million-a-year shortstop. No collisions allowed at home plate, either, because someone watched an old film clip of Pete Rose running over Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game.</p>
<p>Don’t even think of violating a pitch count, or a new-age manager like Dave Roberts of the Dodgers will head to the mound with a hook even when a pitcher (Rich Hill) is throwing a perfect game.</p>
<p>And, of course, soon they won’t be able to spit tobacco all over the turf, something that’s been around in baseball for well over a century and helped popularize the spitball in the old days.</p>
<p>What’s next, a ban on shaving cream pies in the eye after game-winning RBIs? They can sting a bit, you know, and who can say there won’t be permanent eye damage?</p>
<p>Sometimes, these big bruising multimillionaires just look like babies. Actually, they did last year when manager Joe Maddon had his Cubs wear pajamas on the flight home from a tough 1-0 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles.</p>
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<p>That surely will be banned, too, especially after the newspaper headline the next morning in Chicago after pitcher John Lester was seen walking from the clubhouse in a onesie and cowboy boots.</p>
<p>“Cubs sent home in their pajamas after series spanking by Dodgers,” it read.</p>
<p>Some of the rationale for the new rule is that what happens in the clubhouse doesn’t stay in the clubhouse anymore. That’s largely because of social media, which the players themselves can sometimes use carelessly.</p>
<p>What is supposed to be a gag among 25 guys doesn’t look so funny when it’s spread on Instagram or Twitter.</p>
<p>“There’s lots of pictures of baseball players dressed up as Disney princesses,” MLB Vice President Paul Mifsud said.</p>
<p>There’s also a picture of Mike Trout dressed as Lady Gaga in a 2011 rookie hazing that still circulates online. Trout seems to be taking it in good spirits, but you have to wonder if he will one day regret he didn’t get to be a Disney princess instead.</p>
<p>Yes, the line should be drawn at outright bullying and hazing. Richie Incognito’s bullying of Jonathan Martin when the two were teammates on the Miami Dolphins highlighted the ugly and very real consequences of such behavior.</p>
<p>But I’m not sure that grown men getting paid millions of dollars to play sports need protection against everything. And while having rookies don cheerleader outfits or princess costumes may be a bit embarrassing and not politically correct, it’s probably not going to scar anybody for life.</p>
<p>Not everything can be legislated, and not everything can be negotiated. Ballplayers will sometimes just be ballplayers, and that’s part of their appeal.</p>
<p>They scratch and spit, and do things sometimes that you’d rather not see your kids doing. But then you watch them jumping all over each other after winning a World Series and realize that underneath it all they’re a lot like kids, too, only bigger.</p>
<p>Oh, wait, no more jumping around. Someone might get hurt.</p>
<p>A polite handshake will have to suffice.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg//twitter.com/timdahlberg</p> | Column: No more Lady Gaga, and that might not be a bad thing | false | https://abqjournal.com/908300/column-no-more-lady-gaga-and-that-might-not-be-a-bad-thing.html | 2016-12-13 | 2 |
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<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
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<p>In the past, banks were seen as a solid source of dividend income. Banks could pay out a small percentage of their income and retain the rest to grow their loan books, and thus their future earnings. Although a lot has changed -- big banks now need approval from the Fed to issue dividends to investors -- some banks including Bank of Hawaii (NYSE: BOH), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) could soon offer their investors bigger dividend paydays.</p>
<p>Bank of Hawaii recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.48 per share, but future dividend hikes could be in the cards. The company benefits from the fact that it competes in the remote islands of Hawaii, which has become a duopoly market as the bank and its closest competitor together have more than 68% of the state's deposits.</p>
<p>Limited competition allows Bank of Hawaii to pay less on its deposits and earn outsized returns on its equity. The company has also proven to be a capable underwriter, and conservative in its estimates for future loan losses. The company currently maintains an allowance for loan and lease losses of 1.25% of loans outstanding.Meanwhile, only 0.2% of its loans were non-performing at the end of the second quarter.</p>
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<p>Bank of Hawaii has historically paid out a substantial portion of its earnings in the form of dividends and repurchases. In the last 12 months the bank paid out $79 million of dividends, and repurchased $66 million of stock, equating to about 84% of its net income during the period. After its first dividend increase since the financial crisis, Bank of Hawaii may be signaling that it sees the potential for increased dividends going forward.</p>
<p>After failing the Fed's stress tests twice, Citigroup passed with flying colors in 2016, getting approval to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.05 per share to $0.16 per share. Despite a tripling of the dividend, the company has plenty of capacity to increase its payouts upon approval from the Fed each year.</p>
<p>Consider first that the company's dividend payout ratio is relatively low. At $0.64 per share, per year, Citi's payout ratio sits at about 13% of its earnings over the last 12 months. As my colleague John Maxfield explained, the Federal Reserve indicated in 2011 that it <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/01/25/1-question-bank-investors-should-be-asking.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">would not approve dividends Opens a New Window.</a> that pushed payout ratios above 30%. Recently, however, the Fed has allowed well-capitalized big banks to pay out more than that 30% limit.</p>
<p>If Citigroup's payout were to rise to just 30% of trailing twelve-month earnings, it could increase its quarterly dividend to as much as $0.375 per share, more than twice what it currently pays out to shareholders.</p>
<p>Citigroup isn't without its challenges and historical missteps, having suffered dramatic losses during the financial crisis, and poor share-price performance ever since. But the market largely reflects this reality, allowing shares to trade at about 73% of its second-quarter tangible book value, the lowest valuation of any Big Four U.S. bank.</p>
<p>PNC Financial has rewarded investors with substantial dividend increases since slashing its dividend during the financial crisis, recently increasing its quarterly dividend from $0.51 per share to $0.55 per share. The increased dividend is equivalent to a 30% payout ratio on its trailing twelve-month earnings, suggesting some breathing room for dividend increases going forward.</p>
<p>PNC Financial has managed its balance sheet very conservatively -- perhaps too conservatively. The company holds about $26 billion of capital (more than 10% of its customer deposits) at the Federal Reserve, earning little more than 0.50% per year.The thesis goes that if this cash were redeployed into higher-yielding securities or loans, PNC Financial's net interest income would jump immediately. PNC executives, however, have indicated that they won't rush to move the capital, choosing to be prudent about when and how to put the money to work.</p>
<p>Credit quality at PNC has been good, and charge-offs minimal. The bank last reported its nonperforming loans stood at just 1.08% of total loans, and its net charge-offs were just 0.17% and 0.44% of commercial and consumer loans, respectively, in the most recent quarter.</p>
<p>Even with currently tepid loan growth, PNC Financial has capacity to increase its dividend. But its excess deposits present the opportunity for PNC Financial to increase its profitability markedly in a step function, by moving them from a low-yielding account at the Fed to higher-yielding loans to households and businesses.</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFValueMagnet/info.aspx" type="external">Jordan Wathen Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Bank Stocks That Could Raise Their Dividends | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/06/3-bank-stocks-that-could-raise-their-dividends.html | 2016-08-06 | 0 |
<p>History often tends to repeat itself. Many would argue that the cyclical nature, in which world events unfold, is just merely coincidental. But for proof that this trend really does exist, we have to look no further than the Quran. In the last section of Islam’s Holy Book, there is a surah or chapter devoted to two devious and evil characters that dedicated their lives to destroying Islam. It is called Surah Lahab, in honor of the cruel, vicious and tormenting uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), known as Abu Lahab. This individual focused his life solely toward propagating against Muhammad (pbuh) and the followers of Islam. However bad Abu Lahab may have been, his wife “Umm Jamil” was equally or quite possibly even more sinister an individual. Together, these two enemies of Islam inflicted great physical, emotional, and mental anguish upon Muhammad and the Muslim community.</p>
<p>Fourteen hundred years have passed since the birth of Islam, and many neo-Abu Lahabs have emerged. The most notable of this group is Middle East faux-scholar Daniel Pipes. The Muslim community is well aware of the damage that Pipes has tried to inflict upon it. What they may not have been aware of is the fact that a 21st century Umm Jamil has emerged from the shadows. This villain just like her predecessors enjoys the spotlight as proven by her numerous novels and appearances on the political talk show circuit. It is here that she unleashes her barrage of verbal attacks upon Islam, making no secret that she loves to mock the religion and its adherents. What is her name, you ask? It is none other than Ms. Ann Coulter.</p>
<p>At first glance, this young blonde political puppet would be considered attractive by “western standards”. Her confidence, and fearlessness in a male-dominated industry has won her a great deal of praise and admirers. However, in this case looks are most certainly deceiving. Coulter has been around for a while, but just like Pipes has greatly emerged after September 11, 2001. Both have impressive credentials, flashing degrees from some of America’s most reputable higher learning institutions. Although they have also been labeled as experts in the field of world affairs, it becomes clear soon after seeing both, that they are mere masters of political spin-doctoring. As the public gravitated toward an ultra-conservative mindset triggered by President Bush and his right-hand man Attorney General Ashcroft, these two began to capitalize off the vulnerable public. Pipes (labeled by CAIR as America’s leading Islamaphobe) has garnered success with his syndicated columns across the U.S, and is now trying to parlay his success into one of most short-sighted, and highly protested Federal Government appointments in history. Coulter has followed suit, with her columns in various news outlets such as World Net Daily and is now a frequent panelist on the HBO talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher.” In one of her error-laden columns titled “Build Them Back “, Coulter goes off on an unfounded, libelous tirade in an attempt to explain the nature of Islam to her readers.</p>
<p>“The urge to destroy may not come from Islam, but creation is not Islam’s strong suit either. In his immense book “The Creators,” historian Daniel Boorstin explains the Islamic approach to innovation. While Judaism and Christianity begin with the Creation, Islam reveres a God who creates nothing. It is a central tenet of Islam that God did not even create the Koran. According to Boorstin, mullahs explain that since “the speech of God is uncreate, the words must be eternal uncreate.” The world comes into being not by God’s energy and initiative, but by fiat. As Boorstin says: “For a believing Muslim, to create is a rash and dangerous act.””</p>
<p>&gt;From reading this excerpt, I’m not sure to reprimand first: Coulter, or Boorstin? I have not read Boorstin’s “immense” novel, therefore I cannot accurately say whether or not he is misleading his readers. But from the sound of his quote it seems quite clear that he has not grasped the concept of Islam’s teachings, therefore he should have held off on writing the book until he went back to school. Our religious scholar seems to have juxtaposed two separate facts about Islam and made them into one. Innovation to the religion or bida is truly unacceptable for the adherents to Islam. This is one topic Muslims will agree on worldwide. But Boorstin makes a categorical mistake in claiming, “Islam reveres a God who creates nothing”. As Muslims are well aware, Creation is mentioned countless times in the Quran. Two of Allah’s names are: Al-Khaliq and Al-Bari, both meaning The Creator. Coulter’s usage of this piece of literature is truly symptomatic of the religious problems that America is currently facing.</p>
<p>As the Evangelical or what is now known as the Zionist Christian movement continues to encompass our political spectrum and media outlets, a conscious effort is being made to try and polarize Islam and its values away from the classical Judeo-Christian beliefs. As illustrated by her usage of the quote from Boorstin’s novel, Coulter (also an Evangelical) attempts to differentiate to her readers the God of the Jews and Christians from the God (Allah in Arabic) of the Muslims. As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict goes on, Coulter and her fellow right wing hawks make it clear whose side not only the U.S. Government is on, but also who God is rooting for.</p>
<p>One would think that a self-proclaimed “Christian” would make a concerted effort in trying to emulate the teachings of Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him). However, looking back throughout his life, you would be hard pressed to find Jesus mocking another religion on a daily basis, and/or attacking an entire race of human beings. Ann on the other hand, apparently missed this Sunday school lesson, and continues to ridicule Islam sarcastically as the “religion of peace” whenever a negative story arises within the Muslim world. Quoting another column titled “Would Mohamed Atta Object to Armed Pilots?” Coulter offers a solution to the airport restrictions that Americans are now facing:</p>
<p>” I don’t know, how about … NO ARABS? (Religion-of-Peace Update: As they prepare to stone a rape victim to death in Pakistan, the latest suicide bombing in Israel claimed the lives of a grandmother and her 18-month old granddaughter.)”</p>
<p>Although Mr. Pipes is still the nation’s leading Islamaphobe, there is little doubt on who is the chief Islamaphobess. Coulter will probably continue to rise in popularity until the public realizes that she is merely a product of the heated political climate, and how little knowledge she truly possesses. One thing she will never lack is an aptitude for the offensive. When asked recently how Arabs should be allowed to get around, Coulter replied, “They should use flying carpets.” Rumor has it that she should be receiving her appointment as Middle East Public Relations Specialist from our President at any time.</p>
<p>IMRAAN SIDDIQI lives in Irving, TX and attends the University of Texas at Arlington. He writes in his spare time on a variety of issues concerning Islam and Muslims. He can be reached via e-mail at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Ann Coulter’s Foul Mouth | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/06/02/ann-coulter-s-foul-mouth/ | 2003-06-02 | 4 |
<p>Book Chapter</p>
<p />
<p>Although narrowly defined security problems, such as missile defense, are obviously critical to Asia''s future, the region''s present economic predicament bears direct consideration by those concerned with security and political relationships, not simply those worried about straightforward economic and financial issues. Â&#160;This chapter details some analytical connections between economics and security in contemporary Asia and rejects analogies to earlier periods of global economic turbulence that have produced security tensions and led to international crises. Â&#160;Some recent writings on Northeast Asian security have emphasized potential conflicts and the notion that the region is "ripe for rivalry." Â&#160;If this were true, the economic crisis could be expected to make such tensions worse. Â&#160;The central argument of this chapter, though, is that contemporary East Asia may fare better than many pessimists expect, in large part because the configuration of factors that have seemed to produce security tensions out of economic despair in the past do not exist in East Asia today: Â&#160;(1) Â&#160;prior existence of irredentist claims to territory; Â&#160;(2) Â&#160;lack of an outside power to guarantee the peace; Â&#160;(3) Â&#160;states'' pursuit of "beggar thy neighbor" resource and trade policies ; Â&#160;(4) Â&#160;absence of global export markets. Â&#160;The prospect of security risks intensifying due to the current round of economic difficulty and its aftermath is far less dire than some have predicted.</p>
<p /> | Security, Economics, and Asian Stability After the Crash | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/security-economics-and-asian-stability-after-crash | 2 |
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<p>Just when everything seemed to be going so well, the budget legislative analyst’s office had to puncture our little balloon of joy. Well, not joy, unless one’s overjoyed at tax increases and spending cuts, but hey, at least something was punctured.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget14-2009mar14,0,3882637.story" type="external">Los Angeles Times</a>, “the plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers approved last month to fill California’s giant budget hole has already fallen out of balance with a projected $8-billion shortfall, the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday.”</p>
<p>Lovely! So glad we know that money we didn’t have was spent so…wait, $8 billion? You mean there’s fully 20 percent of the original budget shortfall that we still haven’t dealt with? My, what cheap “nonpartisan” compromises will we have to make to get out of this one?</p>
<p>The drastic news has sent Schwarzenegger’s office careening back into <a href="/article/issues/2009/2/10/harsh-medicine" type="external">Panic Mode</a>, especially where the governor’s May special election idea is concerned. According to the Times, “The dour projection is likely to complicate Schwarzenegger’s effort to win voter approval for a package of budget-related ballot measures scheduled for a special election May 19.” That is, it might mean that the passage of the ballot measures Schwarzenegger has proposed might be completely impossible, as opposed to simply unlikely.</p>
<p>Larry Gerson, professor of political science at San Jose State, speaks for us all when he points out that the new insolvency will give opponents of the budget “a tremendous argument” against it, as does Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association. Coupal is quoted by the Times as saying that “Their campaign was based on a shaky foundation as far as credibility goes . . . and this isn’t going to make it any better.”</p>
<p>Amen. This shortfall may, however, have positive political consequences for Schwarzenegger’s office. That is, they might force the governor to realize that, rather than wasting his time with insignificant, counterproductive <a href="/article/taxes/2009/3/17/power-people" type="external">do-overs of actions that lost him tremendous political capital</a> in the past, what he ought to be doing is fixing the budget with good, old-fashioned executive prerogative.</p>
<p>When a ship is sinking, there is no vote on whether to release the lifeboats, and if Schwarzenegger’s plan is really the solution to the budget crisis, then he ought to release it regardless of the predispositions of California’s spending happy electorate, who have already proven themselves to be untrustworthy where money is concerned.</p>
<p>But, naturally, one could point out that this sort of approach has its dangers, not least of all the fact that Schwarzenegger is not omniscient — in fact, he’s often quite the opposite. If Schwarzenegger assumes the sort of massive executive power needed to steamroller all these measures past California’s people, that will in turn set a precedent that other governors can assume that sort of massive power in times of crisis, thus giving future governors a political incentive to maximize their own power by dancing on the precipice of crisis forever.</p>
<p>This would be true if Schwarzenegger were avoiding an election in order to get his plan passed. However, this is not Canada, where politicians can <a href="http://www.gold-prices.biz/stephen-harper-suspends-canadian-parliament/" type="external">suspend elections</a> because they don’t like the results.</p>
<p>Schwarzenegger has absolutely no positive obligation to call a special election and voluntarily put himself in danger, especially at a time when stability in California’s leadership is necessary, and decisiveness is mandated. Obviously, Schwarzenegger is not the optimal leader to hold down this stability, but at least he has some measure of understanding about how money ought not to be spent, and can act decisively if necessary. One cannot say the same for California’s electorate. $8 billion is a lot of money, so let’s not waste anymore finding out just how much California’s people don’t want to pay for it.</p> | We Work Hard for No Money | false | https://ivn.us/2009/03/19/we-work-hard-no-money/ | 2009-03-19 | 2 |
<p>When CIA-agent Raymond Davis gunned down two Pakistani civilians in broad daylight on a crowded street in Lahore, he probably never imagined that the entire Washington establishment would spring to his defense. But that’s precisely what happened. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mike Mullen, John Kerry, Leon Panetta and a number of other US bigwigs have all made appeals on Davis’s behalf. None of these stalwart defenders of “the rule of law” have shown a speck of interest in justice for the victims or of even allowing the investigation to go forward so they could know what really happened. Oh, no. What Clinton and the rest want, is to see their man Davis packed onto the next plane to Langley so he can play shoot-’em-up someplace else in the world.</p>
<p>Does Clinton know that after Davis shot his victims 5 times in the back, he calmly strode back to his car, grabbed his camera, and photographed the dead bodies? Does she know that the two so-called “diplomats” who came to his rescue in a Land Rover (which killed a passerby) have been secretly spirited out of the country so they won’t have to appear in court? Does she know that the families of the victims are now being threatened and attacked to keep them from testifying against Davis? Here’s a clip from Thursday’s edition of The Nation”:</p>
<p>“Three armed men forcibly gave poisonous pills to Muhammad Sarwar, the uncle of Shumaila Kanwal, the widow of Fahim shot dead by Raymond Davis, after barging into his house in Rasool Nagar, Chak Jhumra.</p>
<p>Sarwar was rushed to Allied Hospital in critical condition where doctors were trying to save his life till early Thursday morning. The brother of Muhammad Sarwar told The Nation that three armed men forced their entry into the house after breaking the windowpane of one of the rooms. When they broke the glass, Muhammad Sarwar came out. The outlaws started beating him up.</p>
<p>The other family members, including women and children, coming out for his rescue, were taken hostage and beaten up. The three outlaws then took everyone hostage at gunpoint and forced poisonous pills down Sarwar’s throat.” (“Shumaila’s uncle forced to take poisonous pills”, The Nation)</p>
<p>Good show, Hillary. We’re all about the rule of law in the good old USA.</p>
<p>But why all the intrigue and arm-twisting? Why has the State Department invoked the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to make its case that Davis is entitled to diplomatic immunity? If Davis is innocent, then he has nothing to worry about, right? Why not let the trial go forward and stop reinforcing the widely-held belief that Davis is a vital cog in the US’s clandestine operations in Pakistan?</p>
<p>The truth is that Davis had been photographing sensitive installations and madrassas for some time, the kind of intelligence gathering that spies do when scouting-out prospective targets. Also, he’d been in close contact with members of terrorist organizations, which suggests a link between the CIA and terrorist incidents in Pakistan. Here’s an excerpt from Wednesday’s The Express Tribune:</p>
<p>“His cell phone has revealed contacts with two ancillaries of al Qaeda in Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban of Pakistan (TTP) and sectarian Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which has led to the public conclusion that he was behind terrorism committed against Pakistan’s security personnel and its people ….This will strike people as America in cahoots with the Taliban and al Qaeda against the state of Pakistan targeting, as one official opined, Pakistan’s nuclear installations.” (“Raymond Davis: The plot thickens, The Express Tribune)</p>
<p>“Al Qaeda”? The CIA is working with “ancillaries of al Qaeda in Pakistan”? No wonder the US media has been keeping a wrap on this story for so long.</p>
<p>Naturally, most Pakistanis now believe that the US is colluding with terrorists to spread instability, weaken the state, and increase its power in the region. But isn’t that America’s M.O. everywhere?</p>
<p>Also, many people noticed that US drone attacks suddenly stopped as soon as Davis was arrested. Was that a coincidence? Not likely. Davis was probably getting coordinates from his new buddies in the tribal hinterland and then passing them along to the Pentagon. The drone bombings are extremely unpopular in Pakistan. More then 1400 people have been killed since August 2008, and most of them have been civilians.</p>
<p>And, there’s more. This is from (Pakistan’s) The Nation:</p>
<p>“A local lawyer has moved a petition in the court of Additional District and Sessions … contending that the accused (Davis)… was preparing a map of sensitive places in Pakistan through the GPS system installed in his car. He added that mobile phone sims, lethal weapons, and videos camera were recovered from the murder accused on January 27, 2011.” (“Davis mapped Pakistan targets court told”, The Nation)</p>
<p>So, Davis’s GPS chip was being used to identify targets for drone attacks in the tribal region. Most likely, he was being assisted on the other end by recruits or members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban.</p>
<p>A lot of extravagant claims have been made about what Davis was up to, much of which is probably just speculation. One report which appeared on ANI news service is particularly dire, but produces little evidence to support its claims. Here’s an excerpt:</p>
<p>“Double murder-accused US official Raymond Davis has been found in possession of top-secret CIA documents, which point to him or the feared American Task Force 373 (TF373) operating in the region, providing Al-Qaeda terrorists with “nuclear fissile material” and “biological agents,” according to a report.</p>
<p>Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is warning that the situation on the sub-continent has turned “grave” as it appears that open warfare is about to break out between Pakistan and the United States, The European Union Times reports…..The most ominous point in this SVR report is “Pakistan’s ISI stating that top-secret CIA documents found in Davis’s possession point to his, and/or TF373, providing to al Qaeda terrorists “nuclear fissile material” and “biological agents”, which they claim are to be used against the United States itself in order to ignite an all-out war in order to re-establish the West’s hegemony over a Global economy that is warned is just months away from collapse,” the paper added. (“CIA Spy Davis was giving nuclear bomb material to Al Qaeda, says report”, ANI)</p>
<p>Although there’s no way to prove that this is false, it seems like a bit of a stretch. But that doesn’t mean that what Davis was up to shouldn’t be taken seriously. Quite the contrary. If Davis was working with Tehreek-e-Taliban, (as alleged in many reports) then we can assume that the war on terror is basically a ruse to advance a broader imperial agenda. According to Sify News, the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, believes this to be the case. Here’s an excerpt:</p>
<p>“Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy to Afghanistan, once brushed off Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s claim, that the US was “arranging” the (suicide) attacks by Pakistani Taliban inside his country, as ‘madness’, and was of the view that both Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who believed in this US conspiracy theory, were “dysfunctional” leaders.</p>
<p>The account of Zardari’s claim about the US’ hand in the attacks has been elaborately reproduced by US journalist Bob Woodward, on Page 116 of his famous book ‘Obama’s Wars,’ The News reported.</p>
<p>Woodward’s account goes like this: “One evening during the trilateral summit (in Washington, between Obama, Karzai and Zardari) Zardari had dinner with Zalmay Khalilzad, the 58-year-old former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN, during the Bush presidency.</p>
<p>“Zardari dropped his diplomatic guard. He suggested that one of the two countries was arranging the attacks by the Pakistani Taliban inside his country: India or the US. Zardari didn’t think India could be that clever, but the US could. Karzai had told him the US was behind the attacks, confirming the claims made by the Pakistani ISI.”</p>
<p>“Mr President,” Khalilzad said, “what would we gain from doing this? You explain the logic to me.”</p>
<p>“This was a plot to destabilize Pakistan, Zardari hypothesized, so that the US could invade and seize its nuclear weapons. He could not explain the rapid expansion in violence otherwise. And the CIA had not pursued the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, a group known as Tehreek-e-Taliban or TTP that had attacked the government. TTP was also blamed for the assassination of Zardari’s wife, Benazir Bhutto.” (“Pakistan President says CIA Involved in Plot to Destabilize Country and Seize Nukes”, Sify News)</p>
<p>Zardari’s claim will sound familiar to those who followed events in Iraq. Many people are convinced that the only rational explanation for the wave of bombings directed at civilians, was that the violence was caused by those groups who stood to gain from a civil war.</p>
<p>And who might that be?</p>
<p>Despite the Obama administration’s efforts to derail the investigation, the case against Davis is going forward. Whether he is punished or not is irrelevant. This isn’t about Davis anyway. It’s a question of whether the US is working hand-in-hand with the very organizations that it publicly condemns in order to advance its global agenda. If that’s the case, then the war on terror is a fraud.</p>
<p>MIKE WHITNEY lives in Washington state and&#160; can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p /> | The CIA’s Killing Spree in Lahore | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/02/24/the-cia-s-killing-spree-in-lahore/ | 2011-02-24 | 4 |
<p>A new policy approved by the EPA will allow states to permit the sale of fuel that contains up to 15 percent ethanol, and the difference could damage your car.</p>
<p>Ten states currently require gas to include 10 percent ethanol, usually derived from corn, reports Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones. Eighty percent of gasoline consumed in the U.S. is blended with the stuff. As some states, especially in the corn-producing region of the Midwest, begin to take advantage of the new allowance, people who own certain makes and models and aren’t paying attention at the pump will risk ruining their engines in ways that are not covered by manufacturer warranties. BMW, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen have explicitly said so, while eight other companies have warned of the possibility.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Alexander Reed Kelly</a>.</p>
<p>Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones:</p>
<p />
<p>A few weeks ago, AAA issued a statement saying that the EPA’s new policy creates the “strong likelihood of consumer confusion and the potential for voided warranties and vehicle damage.” The worry is that people will put E15 in their cars without realizing it. AAA surveyed vehicle manufacturers, and found that only about 12 million of the 240 million vehicles on the roads today are built to use E15 gasoline.</p>
<p>… Brian Lyons, Toyota’s safety and quality communications manager, told me that the problem is that “nobody really knows what negative effects [E15 is] going to have on the vehicle.” While the company is now working on cars that can run on the new blend, the existing models weren’t built for that.</p>
<p>It’s not that filling up with E15 one time will screw up my engine, Lyons said. Rather, the concern is that repeated, long-term exposure could cause the higher-alcohol-content fuel to degrade engine parts like valves and cylinder heads—which could potentially cost thousands of dollars to replace. Short-term, I may notice that my car isn’t performing as well. My “check engine” light might come on. And it could keep coming on, repeatedly, which is probably more annoying than dangerous.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/12/will-e15-tank-my-ride" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Protecting Your Ride From the New Ethanol Blend | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/protecting-your-ride-from-the-new-ethanol-blend/ | 2012-12-27 | 4 |
<p>On Friday afternoon in Turku, Finland, a man wielding a huge knife went on a <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4272609/finland-attack-people-injured-stabbings-shots-turku/" type="external">stabbing rampage,</a> knifing one woman to death and injuring between five and <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/842942/turku-finland-terror-attack-stabbing-knife-police" type="external">eight</a> others. One of the victims was a woman pushing a baby in a stroller.</p>
<p>Police <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/18/europe/finland-stabbing/index.html" type="external">shot a suspect</a> in the leg; he was arrested. Police warned citizens to get out of the city’s center. The city’s main library and other major buildings nearby have been locked down, including the Impivaara swimming pool.</p>
<p>There are reports that Finnish police are looking for other possible perpetrators on trains and buses in Turku.</p>
<p>The Finnish tabloid <a href="v" type="external">Ilta-Sanomat</a> reported an eyewitness caught sight of the Turku attacker in his car: he appeared to be a man in his twenties.</p>
<p>Kent Svensson, 44, from Sweden, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/18/europe/finland-stabbing/index.html" type="external">witnessed the attack</a>; he said:</p>
<p>It was really horrible. We were sitting on a terrace just next to the square and this woman just screamed like hell and this guy was standing in front of her with a huge knife just stabbing people. There was blood everywhere.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Juha Sipila wrote on Twitter: "The government is closely following the events in Turku and the ongoing police operation. The government will meet later today.”</p>
<p>Turku is roughly 85 miles west of Helsinki, the Finnish capital.</p> | BREAKING: Turku, Finland: Stabbing Rampage Leaves At Least One Murdered, Several Wounded | true | https://dailywire.com/news/19906/turku-finland-stabbing-rampage-leaves-least-hank-berrien | 2017-08-18 | 0 |
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