text
stringlengths 0
127k
| title
stringlengths 0
777
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 26
278
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
int64 0
4
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p>So many of you have probably read this Chris Rock’s&#160; <a href="http://therightscoop.com/chris-rock-tells-white-people-to-own-the-actions-of-their-ancestors/" type="external">quote.</a>..</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/1/chris-rock-tells-white-people-to-own-the-actions-o/" type="external">WASHINGTON TIMES</a>&#160;– Chris Rock explained in a lengthy interview Sunday that he believes part of healing racial relations in America is by white people “owning” the actions of their ancestors.</p>
<p>The black comedian told New York magazine’s Frank Rich that racial progress in America is “nonsense” and that the only thing that’s changed is white people aren’t as crazy as they used to be.</p>
<p>“When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it’s all nonsense,” Mr. Rock said. “There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they’re not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.”</p>
<p>Mr. Rich asked the comedian if white people are “adjusting to a new reality?”</p>
<p>“Owning their actions. Not even their actions. The actions of your dad,” Mr. Rock said. “Yeah, it’s unfair that you can get judged by something you didn’t do, but it’s also unfair that you can inherit money that you didn’t work for.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">&lt;img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-549" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/chris-rock-chicken-and-waffles-bet-awards-2014-300x168.jpg" alt="chris-rock-chicken-and-waffles-bet-awards-2014" width="300" height="168" /&gt;</a></p>
<p>Now, I hate to be in the business of questioning comedians. Comedy is comedy, and just like any form of art, it shouldn’t be viewed through the lens of journalism. The problem here is that Chris Rock wasn’t doing comedy. He was giving a deliberate answer in an attempt to affect cultural change. So with that in mind, I’d have to ask…</p>
<p>Chris, firstly, allow me to ignore the irony found in you judging individuals based on the general actions of others. You know, the definition of “prejudice”. When put in the context of your “rant” against racism, the irony’s so rich that I’ll get gout. I’m talking serious uric acid build-up in my big toe, gout.</p>
<p>I guess the ultimate question comes down to: what’s the number? How many years back must individuals be held responsible for actions not of their own? Two hundred years? Three hundred? Give us a ballpark.</p>
<p>Also, is this standard exclusive to “crazy white people”? What about black, African slave-traders? You know, the originals? As a matter of fact, slavery still goes on in many parts of Africa today (unlike here in the less homogenized United States). Should all black people “own” these actions as well? Is it limited to color, actual race or geographic location?</p>
<p>The prejudices you hold today&#160;(against “white people”) is very much like the prejudice Voltaire held against people of color. It was wrong for him to be racist, of course, but one of his misguided reasonings (among many)&#160;was that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire" type="external">he believed blacks to be less than humane, due to their treatment/enslavement of other Africans.</a>The main difference in historical contexts between his racism and yours, is that he was unfairly applying a generality to a race of people currently abusing their fellow humans. You apply your generality based on that of&#160;past actions. Both are terrible. Yours is just worse.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’ve faced some discrimination in your lifetime Chris. I’m sorry that you’ve had to experience that, but I won’t apologize for those individuals. Just like you shouldn’t have to apologize for every jackass&#160;who forwards&#160;me your unwatchable&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3PJF0YE-x4" type="external">“black people vs. n*ggas”</a> routine. You like using the n-word. We get it.</p>
<p>You’re a funny guy, Chris. You’re also a hateful one. I’d say stick with what you know, but I’m scared as to which one you’d pick, so how about I just spell it out for you?</p>
<p>S-T-O-P &#160; &#160;B-E-I-NG &#160; A &#160; R-A-C-I-S-T &#160; J-A-C-K-A-S-S</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Dear Chris Rock: You Racist, Ignorant Ass… | true | http://louderwithcrowder.com/dear-chris-rock-racist-ignorant-ass/ | 2014-12-01 | 0 |
<p>BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - The first thing I notice about the house on Manatee Avenue, aside from Muffin, the fluffy yellow Labrador mix that comes down to the curb to greet me, are the bees. They're everywhere.</p>
<p>I'm here to meet Danielle "Danie" La Casse, 33, part-time beekeeper and owner of Brick Street Honey, a small St. Petersburg-based business she started in early 2017. La Casse is making honey straight from these local bees, tending their hives and extracting the sweet by-product to bottle and sell to Tampa Bay marketgoers.</p>
<p>She meets her mentor, David Blinn, or "Mr. Blinn" as she calls him, here at his Bradenton home every week. Sometimes, the two meet as early as 6 a.m. before going out to nearby beehives. This morning, I'm glad they've agreed to 9:30.</p>
<p>As I arrive, two full-body beekeeping suits wave at me from the bed of a red truck, and La Casse hops down. Soon, Blinn is taking me on a tour of his backyard. It is dwarfed by two large vegetable gardens: Mammoth cabbages, carrots that "still have about another week" and a blackberry bush that "grows like a weed" are among his crops, as well as potatoes, collards, strawberries, mustard greens and radishes. Down by the water there's a mango tree, and all around the yard honeybees hum and flit.</p>
<p>Blinn's garage door is open, revealing a large, drumlike centrifuge used to extract honey stationed in the middle of the floor. In the garden, beneath a bush that yields lemons the size of fists, is a tree log, home to a hive of bees that Blinn rescued from a tree-trimming company. He lifts a tarpaulin flap to show me the frames he built into the wood himself. La Casse tells me he has been "hammering bee boxes since he was 4." Now, the retired chemist is in his 70s.</p>
<p>She has always been interested in bees, but before Blinn she had never met anyone who invited her to "come on down and get stung."</p>
<p>Back at the truck, La Casse's friend Quinn Freeborg hands me a suit.</p>
<p>"Hope you don't mind duct tape," she says cheerily, "because we're going to have to tape you in."</p>
<p>La Casse studied environmental science and biology at Eckerd College, but her fascination with bees comes from working on farms her whole life: on her godparents' organic farm in the Bahamas, in her parents' home garden, at farms she volunteered at throughout her childhood. Being homeschooled, she was given the freedom to explore lots of things she wouldn't have otherwise, and she was always drawn to bees.</p>
<p>She's also drawn to art. A minor she studied in college, La Casse says that she has never been good at painting, sewing or any of the other crafts that she associates with art. But she does love food and she does love cooking, even considering culinary school at one point.</p>
<p>It was her love of science and art that helped birth Brick Street Honey.</p>
<p>With no relation to Brick Street Farms, also in St. Petersburg, her honey business is still small. Currently, it falls under cottage food law, which means she's able to produce honey out of her home and Blinn's before selling it at independent markets. This year, she is planning to apply for a commercial license so that she will be able to sell her honey in local stores, coffee shops, restaurants, breweries and bars.</p>
<p>Also on her mind this year: Blinn's plans to retire from beekeeping. He wants to pass the torch - or, for a beekeeping pun, the fumigator - on to her. Like a grandfather passing on the family business, he has already slowly started stepping back, selling less of his own honey and, like today, letting La Casse spend more time at the hives on her own.</p>
<p>The process of making honey seems relatively straightforward the way La Casse explains it.</p>
<p>It starts with the hives. When the frames of the hives are full of honey and the bees have covered them with a protective layer of wax, she pulls them. Then she takes the frames and places them in a centrifuge, like the one in Blinn's garage, and spins them with a hand crank. The wax falls off, and she runs the honey through a filter, or several, to catch any leftover particles. Then she bottles it and brings it to market.</p>
<p>La Casse sells a spring batch and a fall batch (called "pulls"), a batch enriched with royal jelly and extra pollen, and a spicy batch, with red pepper flakes and apple cider vinegar. It's really good in bourbon, she says.</p>
<p>She tends to the hives in Bradenton but she also has hives in Terra Ceia. She once had hives at her house in St. Petersburg, but temporarily had to move them out due to home renovations. Soon, she says, they'll be back. She'll also soon be tending to hives on the roof of the Partridge Animal Hospital, where she works as a veterinary nurse.</p>
<p>Bees don't like to fly low, so up on the roof they won't bother anyone.</p>
<p>La Casse is holding a match book-sized wood box, pointing through a wire mesh top at a large bee with a yellow dot on its back.</p>
<p>"She's so awesome," La Casse says.</p>
<p>She's a queen, flown in from a breeder in Hawaii, that La Casse is attempting to introduce to a currently queenless colony. That, and changing beetle traps, is her main task at the Geraldson Community Farm today.</p>
<p>She and Freeborg have pulled off the top of the hive. They've fumed the bees to calm them down, but they're still angry - maybe it's the cooler temperature, or the occasionally overcast sky. Swarming, their indignant buzzing is like the distant hum of an IndyCar race. And they're everywhere, pelting my suit and menacing me from the mesh hood in front of my face.</p>
<p>They don't like the weather, La Casse says. Plus, they're still recovering from Hurricane Irma.</p>
<p>La Casse lost about 10 percent of her hives after the storm, and that number keeps rising. Because of the intense wind and rain, the bees stayed inside the box hives for a long time, preventing them from foraging. And there wasn't much foraging they could do; the blossoms were knocked off all the trees.</p>
<p>It'll take at least a season to recoup, La Casse says.</p>
<p>Honeybee populations across the country are in decline. Between 2015 and 2016, beekeepers lost 44 percent of their colonies, according to the Bee Informed Partnership, which works with the Apiary Inspectors of America and the United States Department of Agriculture. It's bad news for crop production, as the USDA estimates that bees pollinate about 75 percent of the produce that we eat.</p>
<p>Humans aren't going to go flower to flower hand-pollinating plants when the bees die off, La Casse points out. So she focuses on raising them.</p>
<p>With Freeborg, she lowers the box with the egg-bearing queen into the middle of the hive at a 45-degree angle. One end of the box is coated in sugar, which the bees in the box will nibble through from one end while the bees in the hive work on the other. It'll take about three to four days to break through the wood, but that's enough time for the hive to accept her as their queen.</p>
<p>If they don't, they'll kill her.</p>
<p>Queens cost $25 apiece, so it can be frustrating when that happens, La Casse says, but it's the intricacy and specificity of that relationship that fascinates her. Every bee has a distinct purpose, from the worker bee to the drone to the queen, and every bee is important.</p>
<p>Back at Blinn's house we untape (which I learn was to prevent the bees from flying up our pant legs) and step out of our suits. Blinn checks in about the day's activities, asking La Casse if she was able to find an elusive queenless hive and double-checking to make sure she changed the beetle traps.</p>
<p>La Casse had taken care of it all.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), <a href="http://www.tampabay.com." type="external" /> <a href="http://www.tampabay.com" type="external">http://www.tampabay.com</a>.</p>
<p>BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - The first thing I notice about the house on Manatee Avenue, aside from Muffin, the fluffy yellow Labrador mix that comes down to the curb to greet me, are the bees. They're everywhere.</p>
<p>I'm here to meet Danielle "Danie" La Casse, 33, part-time beekeeper and owner of Brick Street Honey, a small St. Petersburg-based business she started in early 2017. La Casse is making honey straight from these local bees, tending their hives and extracting the sweet by-product to bottle and sell to Tampa Bay marketgoers.</p>
<p>She meets her mentor, David Blinn, or "Mr. Blinn" as she calls him, here at his Bradenton home every week. Sometimes, the two meet as early as 6 a.m. before going out to nearby beehives. This morning, I'm glad they've agreed to 9:30.</p>
<p>As I arrive, two full-body beekeeping suits wave at me from the bed of a red truck, and La Casse hops down. Soon, Blinn is taking me on a tour of his backyard. It is dwarfed by two large vegetable gardens: Mammoth cabbages, carrots that "still have about another week" and a blackberry bush that "grows like a weed" are among his crops, as well as potatoes, collards, strawberries, mustard greens and radishes. Down by the water there's a mango tree, and all around the yard honeybees hum and flit.</p>
<p>Blinn's garage door is open, revealing a large, drumlike centrifuge used to extract honey stationed in the middle of the floor. In the garden, beneath a bush that yields lemons the size of fists, is a tree log, home to a hive of bees that Blinn rescued from a tree-trimming company. He lifts a tarpaulin flap to show me the frames he built into the wood himself. La Casse tells me he has been "hammering bee boxes since he was 4." Now, the retired chemist is in his 70s.</p>
<p>She has always been interested in bees, but before Blinn she had never met anyone who invited her to "come on down and get stung."</p>
<p>Back at the truck, La Casse's friend Quinn Freeborg hands me a suit.</p>
<p>"Hope you don't mind duct tape," she says cheerily, "because we're going to have to tape you in."</p>
<p>La Casse studied environmental science and biology at Eckerd College, but her fascination with bees comes from working on farms her whole life: on her godparents' organic farm in the Bahamas, in her parents' home garden, at farms she volunteered at throughout her childhood. Being homeschooled, she was given the freedom to explore lots of things she wouldn't have otherwise, and she was always drawn to bees.</p>
<p>She's also drawn to art. A minor she studied in college, La Casse says that she has never been good at painting, sewing or any of the other crafts that she associates with art. But she does love food and she does love cooking, even considering culinary school at one point.</p>
<p>It was her love of science and art that helped birth Brick Street Honey.</p>
<p>With no relation to Brick Street Farms, also in St. Petersburg, her honey business is still small. Currently, it falls under cottage food law, which means she's able to produce honey out of her home and Blinn's before selling it at independent markets. This year, she is planning to apply for a commercial license so that she will be able to sell her honey in local stores, coffee shops, restaurants, breweries and bars.</p>
<p>Also on her mind this year: Blinn's plans to retire from beekeeping. He wants to pass the torch - or, for a beekeeping pun, the fumigator - on to her. Like a grandfather passing on the family business, he has already slowly started stepping back, selling less of his own honey and, like today, letting La Casse spend more time at the hives on her own.</p>
<p>The process of making honey seems relatively straightforward the way La Casse explains it.</p>
<p>It starts with the hives. When the frames of the hives are full of honey and the bees have covered them with a protective layer of wax, she pulls them. Then she takes the frames and places them in a centrifuge, like the one in Blinn's garage, and spins them with a hand crank. The wax falls off, and she runs the honey through a filter, or several, to catch any leftover particles. Then she bottles it and brings it to market.</p>
<p>La Casse sells a spring batch and a fall batch (called "pulls"), a batch enriched with royal jelly and extra pollen, and a spicy batch, with red pepper flakes and apple cider vinegar. It's really good in bourbon, she says.</p>
<p>She tends to the hives in Bradenton but she also has hives in Terra Ceia. She once had hives at her house in St. Petersburg, but temporarily had to move them out due to home renovations. Soon, she says, they'll be back. She'll also soon be tending to hives on the roof of the Partridge Animal Hospital, where she works as a veterinary nurse.</p>
<p>Bees don't like to fly low, so up on the roof they won't bother anyone.</p>
<p>La Casse is holding a match book-sized wood box, pointing through a wire mesh top at a large bee with a yellow dot on its back.</p>
<p>"She's so awesome," La Casse says.</p>
<p>She's a queen, flown in from a breeder in Hawaii, that La Casse is attempting to introduce to a currently queenless colony. That, and changing beetle traps, is her main task at the Geraldson Community Farm today.</p>
<p>She and Freeborg have pulled off the top of the hive. They've fumed the bees to calm them down, but they're still angry - maybe it's the cooler temperature, or the occasionally overcast sky. Swarming, their indignant buzzing is like the distant hum of an IndyCar race. And they're everywhere, pelting my suit and menacing me from the mesh hood in front of my face.</p>
<p>They don't like the weather, La Casse says. Plus, they're still recovering from Hurricane Irma.</p>
<p>La Casse lost about 10 percent of her hives after the storm, and that number keeps rising. Because of the intense wind and rain, the bees stayed inside the box hives for a long time, preventing them from foraging. And there wasn't much foraging they could do; the blossoms were knocked off all the trees.</p>
<p>It'll take at least a season to recoup, La Casse says.</p>
<p>Honeybee populations across the country are in decline. Between 2015 and 2016, beekeepers lost 44 percent of their colonies, according to the Bee Informed Partnership, which works with the Apiary Inspectors of America and the United States Department of Agriculture. It's bad news for crop production, as the USDA estimates that bees pollinate about 75 percent of the produce that we eat.</p>
<p>Humans aren't going to go flower to flower hand-pollinating plants when the bees die off, La Casse points out. So she focuses on raising them.</p>
<p>With Freeborg, she lowers the box with the egg-bearing queen into the middle of the hive at a 45-degree angle. One end of the box is coated in sugar, which the bees in the box will nibble through from one end while the bees in the hive work on the other. It'll take about three to four days to break through the wood, but that's enough time for the hive to accept her as their queen.</p>
<p>If they don't, they'll kill her.</p>
<p>Queens cost $25 apiece, so it can be frustrating when that happens, La Casse says, but it's the intricacy and specificity of that relationship that fascinates her. Every bee has a distinct purpose, from the worker bee to the drone to the queen, and every bee is important.</p>
<p>Back at Blinn's house we untape (which I learn was to prevent the bees from flying up our pant legs) and step out of our suits. Blinn checks in about the day's activities, asking La Casse if she was able to find an elusive queenless hive and double-checking to make sure she changed the beetle traps.</p>
<p>La Casse had taken care of it all.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), <a href="http://www.tampabay.com." type="external" /> <a href="http://www.tampabay.com" type="external">http://www.tampabay.com</a>.</p> | How woman crafts honey from the hives of local bees | false | https://apnews.com/143c56b60ae84706983ce89059b99868 | 2018-01-07 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Most, if not all, writers doubt their ability from time to time. As Poynter Vice President and Senior Scholar&#160;Roy Peter Clark points out, writers of all ages deal with fear.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>"The fleas come with the dog," Clark said. "The anxiety and vulnerability is part of the excitement of being a writer."</p>
<p>Having fear is "a very writerly response," he said. "The act of writing tends to reveal the writer. That's why the writer feels nervous, anxious, and vulnerable."</p>
<p>One way to counter fears and grow as a communicator is to write often. Another way is to listen carefully to criticism, even if it hurts.</p>
<p>"Learn the value of any criticism, even harsh and insensitive criticism," Clark said. "If you can find a way to absorb it without it crushing you, then it helps you develop writing and revising muscles. Ask yourself what it was in the story that made the person react that way."</p>
<p>Instead of apologizing or defending your work, simply take what you can from the criticism and then let it go.</p>
<p>"Writers can get beat up by insensitive teachers and editors," Clark said. "They may feel vulnerable to exposing themselves to more of that. The best way to get back is to stand up straight, read it loud, and be proud."</p>
<p>Thanks to Doug White, who contributed to the high school journalism website for Poynter Online&#160;in 2001.</p> | Put Aside Your Fears, and Write | false | https://poynter.org/news/put-aside-your-fears-and-write | 2004-11-08 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Thirteen Native American tribes in Arizona don’t want their sacred mountain defiled by faux snow made from treated wastewater. A federal appeals court <a href="http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12378" type="external">ruled</a> that Arizona Snowbowl’s plan to augment the ski season in the San Francisco peaks would violate the tribes’ religious freedom.</p>
<p>Judge William A. Fletcher compared the snow-making plan to conducting Christian baptisms with wastewater. The plan would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration act of 1993, he ruled. Tribal representative Howard Shanker said that the ruling “creates a tremendous precedent for tribes to protect their sacred sites.” Before the ruling, Snowbowl owner Eric Borowsky said that he would sell the resort if the appeals court ruled against him, due to both a string of bad-snow years and the $4 million he spent on environmental impact statements and legal fees.</p>
<p>— Rose Miller</p> | Sewage-to-Snow Plan Stopped Short on Sacred Indian Mountains | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/03/sewage-snow-plan-stopped-short-sacred-indian-mountains/ | 2007-03-16 | 4 |
<p>Tennessee Conservative Union</p>
<p>What’s it take to get conservatives in Tennessee fired up about blowing up mountains? China, apparently.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the Tennessee Conservative Union, which bills itself as the state’s “largest and oldest conservative group,” started running anti-mountaintop removal coal mining ads on television throughout the state. Their complaint? The Chinese company Guizhou Guochuang Energy Holding Group <a href="http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-29/industries/31886672_1_coal-mines-chinese-coal-china-coal" type="external">announced last year</a> that it is acquiring Triple H Coal Mining, which&#160;does mountaintop removal. The Tennessee Conservative Union ad warns that they will become “the first state in our great nation to permit the red Chinese to destroy our mountains and take our coal.”</p>
<p>“We’re proud that Tennessee is a red state,” the ad concludes. “But just how red are we willing to go?”</p>
<p>The ad comes off as anti-China, but it also offers a critique of mountaintop removal coal mining in general, which is the big news here. The ad comes just a day before committees in both the state Senate and House are expected to vote on the <a href="http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0577" type="external">Scenic Vistas Protection Act</a>, a bill activists have been trying to get passed in the state for six years. The measure&#160;would make it illegal to blow up mountaintops to mine coal. Supporters are taking TCU’s support for the bill as a sign that it might gain more traction this year.</p>
<p>“The Tennessee Conservative Union is 100% pro-Coal, but our organization does not support destroying our mountain heritage,” TCU Chairman Lloyd Daugherty&#160;said in a statement Tuesday. “Mountaintop removal mining kills jobs because it takes fewer workers to blow up a mountain.”</p>
<p>JW Randolph, Tennessee director of Appalachian Voices, a group that has been working to pass the anti-mountaintop removal law, welcomed the ad. “We don’t care if you’re from Bristol or Beijing, blowing up the oldest mountains in America for a few tons of coal is a bad idea,” he said.&#160;</p>
<p>Here’s TCU’s ad:</p>
<p />
<p /> | Conservatives Outraged About Mountaintop Removal in Tennessee… By Chinese Company | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/tennessee-mountaintop-removal-china-conservative/ | 2013-03-19 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Ramiro Armendariz was able to enjoy Christmas at home after being released from a hospital this week.</p>
<p>Authorities say Officer Tamas Nadas was investigating a burglary in a second-floor apartment Dec. 14 when he tripped, causing his gun to go off.</p>
<p>Police say the bullet went through the floor and struck Armendariz in the apartment below.</p>
<p>Armendariz underwent surgery and has to use a walker.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He says he has not spoken to an attorney and wants to focus on getting better.</p>
<p>Nadas, who has been with the department since April 2013, was put on administrative leave.</p>
<p>Police are paying for Armendariz’s medical bills and brought food and presents to his home.</p> | Man shot by police not likely to file legal action | false | https://abqjournal.com/517464/man-shot-by-police-not-likely-to-file-legal-action.html | 2 |
|
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The first group of participants in New York’s $2 million medication take-back program have been announced.</p>
<p>Under the two-year pilot program, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will purchase medication collection boxes and pay for the disposal of pharmaceuticals collected.</p>
<p>The goal is to keep pharmaceuticals from getting into waterways and protect public health by getting leftover medications out of homes.</p>
<p>Participants include 80 retail pharmacies, hospitals, and long-term care facilities across the state. They’ll officially begin accepting waste medications in April.</p>
<p>Flushed medications have been found in New York lakes, rivers, and streams and can harm fish and other aquatic wildlife.</p>
<p>A national study by the U.S. Geological Survey found low levels of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives, and steroids in 80 percent of rivers and streams tested.</p>
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The first group of participants in New York’s $2 million medication take-back program have been announced.</p>
<p>Under the two-year pilot program, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will purchase medication collection boxes and pay for the disposal of pharmaceuticals collected.</p>
<p>The goal is to keep pharmaceuticals from getting into waterways and protect public health by getting leftover medications out of homes.</p>
<p>Participants include 80 retail pharmacies, hospitals, and long-term care facilities across the state. They’ll officially begin accepting waste medications in April.</p>
<p>Flushed medications have been found in New York lakes, rivers, and streams and can harm fish and other aquatic wildlife.</p>
<p>A national study by the U.S. Geological Survey found low levels of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives, and steroids in 80 percent of rivers and streams tested.</p> | New York launches pharmaceutical take-back program | false | https://apnews.com/ce0f6390ca78421d9f5c087ea8a55bc6 | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
<p>The Latest on rules restricting methane emissions (all times EDT):</p>
<p>8:10 p.m.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to reinstate an Obama-era regulation aimed at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas production on federal lands.</p>
<p>The order by a judge in San Francisco comes as Interior is moving to delay the rule until 2019, saying it is too burdensome to industry. Interior tried earlier to postpone part of the rule set to take effect next year.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte says Interior failed to give a "reasoned explanation" for the changes and had not offered details why an earlier analysis by the Obama administration was faulty. She has ordered the entire rule reinstated immediately.</p>
<p>The rule, finalized last November, forces energy companies to capture methane that's burnt off or "flared" at drilling sites on public lands.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2:30 p.m.</p>
<p>The Interior Department is moving to delay an Obama-era regulation aimed at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas production on federal lands.</p>
<p>The rule, finalized last November, forces energy companies to capture methane that's burnt off or "flared" at drilling sites on public lands during production because it pollutes the environment. An estimated $330 million a year in methane is wasted through leaks or intentional releases on federal lands, enough to power about 5 million homes a year.</p>
<p>The Interior Department said in a notice to be published Thursday in the Federal Register that it wants to delay the rule until January 2019.</p>
<p>Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a leading contributor to global warming.</p> | The Latest: Interior ordered to reinstate methane rule | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/04/latest-interior-ordered-to-reinstate-methane-rule.html | 2017-10-04 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>There are 20 players from Mountain West schools (current or former) on NBA rosters to start the 2014-15 season, including 13 who actually played in Mountain West games and seven others who played for teams before they joined the Mountain West.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">READ MORE: Bulls exercise option on Tony Snell, keeping former Lobo through 2015-16</a></p>
<p>The New Mexico Lobos have four players on opening night NBA rosters who actually played in the Mountain West, more than any other team in the league. UNLV has four active NBA players, though one — Shawn Marion — last played for the Runnin’ Rebels in 1999, the season prior to the Mountain West beginning. One other player, Utah’s Andre Miller, last played for the Utes in 1999 and never actually played in the Mountain West, but is included below as Utah was a member of the league for several years before leaving for the Pac-12.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Nevada has three active NBA players and Fresno State has two, but none of those five played for those schools since they actually joined the Mountain West for the 2012-13 season.</p>
<p>Here is the list of the 20 players on 2014-15 opening night NBA rosters from Mountain West schools (their final season with their school is in parenthesis):</p>
<p>• Cameron Bairstow (2014), Chicago Bulls • Danny Granger (2005), Miami Heat • Alex Kirk (2014), Cleveland Cavaliers • Tony Snell (2013), Chicago Bulls</p>
<p>• Lou Amundson (2006), Cleveland Cavaliers • Joel Anthony (2007), Detroit Pistons • Anthony Bennett (2013), Minnesota Timberwolves • Shawn Marion (1999), Cleveland Cavaliers *Marion left UNLV in 1999, the season before the Mountain West began. He did not play in the MWC.</p>
<p>• Luke Babbitt (2010), New Orleans Pelicans • JaVale McGee (2008), Denver Nuggets • Ramon Sessions (2007), Sacramento Kings *Nevada joined the WAC for the 2012-13 season. Babbitt, McGee nor Sessions played in the MWC.</p>
<p>• Kawhi Leonard (2011), San Antonio Spurs • Malcolm Thomas (2011), Philadelphia 76ers</p>
<p>• Paul George (2010), Indiana Pacers • Greg Smith (2011), Dallas Mavericks *Fresno State joined the WAC for the 2012-13 season. George nor Smith played in the MWC.</p>
<p>(No longer in the Mountain West) • Brandon Davies (2013), Philadelphia 76ers • Jimmer Fredette (2011), New Orleans Pelicans)</p>
<p>(No longer in the Mountain West) • Andrew Bogut (2005), Golden State Warriors • Andre Miller (1999), Washington Wizards *Miller left Utah in 1999, the season before the Mountain West began. He did not play in the MWC.</p>
<p>• Jason Smith (2007), New York Knicks</p>
<p>LOBO LINKS: <a href="" type="internal">Geoff Grammer’s blog</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Schedule/Results</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Roster</a></p> | Mountain West players on NBA rosters (Lobos have the most) | false | https://abqjournal.com/487145/mountain-west-players-on-nba-rosters-lobos-have-the-most.html | 2 |
|
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Republicans this past week began to realize their long-held goal of requiring certain adults to work, get job training or perform community service in exchange for getting health coverage through Medicaid.</p>
<p>Whether that’s a commonsense approach or an added burden that will end up costing many Americans their health insurance will now be debated in states across the country considering the landmark change to the nation’s largest health insurance program.</p>
<p>To Medicaid recipients such as Thomas J. Penister of Milwaukee, it’s created uncertainty about their ability to have health coverage.</p>
<p>He’s been unemployed for the last four or five years and has received Medicaid for the past two. He sees a behavioral health specialist to deal with anxiety and said Medicaid has made a big difference in his life.</p>
<p>Penister, 36, said he is not yet ready to rejoin the workforce and is unnerved by the prospect of potentially losing Medicaid. His state, Wisconsin, is one 10 that applied to the federal government for a waiver seeking to implement work and other requirements for single adults.</p>
<p>“Would it be advantageous for me even to go into the workforce instead of me therapeutically transitioning to a state where I’m actually ready to perform in the workforce?” he said. He compared it to someone recovering from a car accident “and saying that in order for me to give you this medication, you got to go to work. Well, I can’t.”</p>
<p>Yet his story also helps make the case for those who favor some type of commitment from working-age adults who benefit from Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for poor and lower-income Americans. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, sought federal approval for a work requirement last year and said it helps prepare recipients to leave public assistance.</p>
<p>Penister’s status is unclear, because Wisconsin’s proposed changes would exempt anyone diagnosed with a mental illness or who is mentally unable to work.</p>
<p>Republicans say work and other requirements will return Medicaid to its original intent — to act as a stopgap until people can find work. They say it has expanded far beyond its basic mission.</p>
<p>The program, created in 1965 for families on welfare and low-income seniors, now covers more than 70 million people, or about 1 in 5 Americans. It expanded under President Barack Obama’s health care law, with a majority of states choosing to cover millions more low-income people.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it will allow states to implement certain requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid benefits. Generally, it will mean that states can require many adults on Medicaid to get a job, go to school, take a job-training course or perform community service to continue their eligibility.</p>
<p>Ten states had previously asked the federal government for the requirement waiver, and others are sure to follow. On Friday, Kentucky became the first to have it approved. Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, called the new requirement “transformational.”</p>
<p>Bevin has said he expects the move to save the state more than $300 million over the next five years in Medicaid costs. But he also estimated that as many as 95,000 Kentucky residents could lose their Medicaid benefits, either because they will not comply with the new rules or will make too much money once they begin working.</p>
<p>Critics of the policy shift point to the number of people who could lose coverage, even if they meet the new requirements.</p>
<p>“We just have concerns that a lot of people who still are legitimately eligible, who do meet the work requirement, will end up falling off the rolls because they don’t know how to verify or there’s a technology glitch,” said Marquita Little, health policy director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.</p>
<p>In Arkansas, the work requirement is among several new restrictions the state has proposed for its hybrid Medicaid expansion. About 285,000 people are on the program, which uses money from Medicaid to buy private health insurance for low-income people.</p>
<p>Supporters of the work requirement cast it as a way to move more people into the workforce and eventually off the program.</p>
<p>“These are people that are either underemployed or do not have sufficient training, and this is a mechanism to put into place to make sure that the health care coverage is really a bridge to training and better employment,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, told The Associated Press. “I think it really fits in with the goals of our state in increasing our workforce and training our workforce.”</p>
<p>States face limits on how far they can go. The administration has said states should exempt pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly, and that they should take into account hardships for people in areas with high unemployment or for people caring for children or elderly relatives. States also have to make accommodations for people in treatment for drug and alcohol problems.</p>
<p>Arkansas’ waiver request to the federal government says it would require childless, able-bodied adults on expanded Medicaid between the ages of 19 and 49 to work 20 hours a week or participate in other activities such as job training or volunteering.</p>
<p>In Maine, where Republican Gov. Paul LePage is pushing for a work requirement, Democrats are deriding the idea as essentially a political stunt to punish the poor.</p>
<p>“They aren’t about getting people back to work. Instead, it’s a political move to take health care away from people who have already fallen on hard times,” Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon said. “The reality is that Medicaid supports work, and the sooner Governor LePage and the Trump Administration realize this, the better.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Ehlke reported from Milwaukee. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Adam Beam in Frankfort, Kentucky; Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine contributed to this report.</p>
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Republicans this past week began to realize their long-held goal of requiring certain adults to work, get job training or perform community service in exchange for getting health coverage through Medicaid.</p>
<p>Whether that’s a commonsense approach or an added burden that will end up costing many Americans their health insurance will now be debated in states across the country considering the landmark change to the nation’s largest health insurance program.</p>
<p>To Medicaid recipients such as Thomas J. Penister of Milwaukee, it’s created uncertainty about their ability to have health coverage.</p>
<p>He’s been unemployed for the last four or five years and has received Medicaid for the past two. He sees a behavioral health specialist to deal with anxiety and said Medicaid has made a big difference in his life.</p>
<p>Penister, 36, said he is not yet ready to rejoin the workforce and is unnerved by the prospect of potentially losing Medicaid. His state, Wisconsin, is one 10 that applied to the federal government for a waiver seeking to implement work and other requirements for single adults.</p>
<p>“Would it be advantageous for me even to go into the workforce instead of me therapeutically transitioning to a state where I’m actually ready to perform in the workforce?” he said. He compared it to someone recovering from a car accident “and saying that in order for me to give you this medication, you got to go to work. Well, I can’t.”</p>
<p>Yet his story also helps make the case for those who favor some type of commitment from working-age adults who benefit from Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for poor and lower-income Americans. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, sought federal approval for a work requirement last year and said it helps prepare recipients to leave public assistance.</p>
<p>Penister’s status is unclear, because Wisconsin’s proposed changes would exempt anyone diagnosed with a mental illness or who is mentally unable to work.</p>
<p>Republicans say work and other requirements will return Medicaid to its original intent — to act as a stopgap until people can find work. They say it has expanded far beyond its basic mission.</p>
<p>The program, created in 1965 for families on welfare and low-income seniors, now covers more than 70 million people, or about 1 in 5 Americans. It expanded under President Barack Obama’s health care law, with a majority of states choosing to cover millions more low-income people.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it will allow states to implement certain requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid benefits. Generally, it will mean that states can require many adults on Medicaid to get a job, go to school, take a job-training course or perform community service to continue their eligibility.</p>
<p>Ten states had previously asked the federal government for the requirement waiver, and others are sure to follow. On Friday, Kentucky became the first to have it approved. Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, called the new requirement “transformational.”</p>
<p>Bevin has said he expects the move to save the state more than $300 million over the next five years in Medicaid costs. But he also estimated that as many as 95,000 Kentucky residents could lose their Medicaid benefits, either because they will not comply with the new rules or will make too much money once they begin working.</p>
<p>Critics of the policy shift point to the number of people who could lose coverage, even if they meet the new requirements.</p>
<p>“We just have concerns that a lot of people who still are legitimately eligible, who do meet the work requirement, will end up falling off the rolls because they don’t know how to verify or there’s a technology glitch,” said Marquita Little, health policy director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.</p>
<p>In Arkansas, the work requirement is among several new restrictions the state has proposed for its hybrid Medicaid expansion. About 285,000 people are on the program, which uses money from Medicaid to buy private health insurance for low-income people.</p>
<p>Supporters of the work requirement cast it as a way to move more people into the workforce and eventually off the program.</p>
<p>“These are people that are either underemployed or do not have sufficient training, and this is a mechanism to put into place to make sure that the health care coverage is really a bridge to training and better employment,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, told The Associated Press. “I think it really fits in with the goals of our state in increasing our workforce and training our workforce.”</p>
<p>States face limits on how far they can go. The administration has said states should exempt pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly, and that they should take into account hardships for people in areas with high unemployment or for people caring for children or elderly relatives. States also have to make accommodations for people in treatment for drug and alcohol problems.</p>
<p>Arkansas’ waiver request to the federal government says it would require childless, able-bodied adults on expanded Medicaid between the ages of 19 and 49 to work 20 hours a week or participate in other activities such as job training or volunteering.</p>
<p>In Maine, where Republican Gov. Paul LePage is pushing for a work requirement, Democrats are deriding the idea as essentially a political stunt to punish the poor.</p>
<p>“They aren’t about getting people back to work. Instead, it’s a political move to take health care away from people who have already fallen on hard times,” Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon said. “The reality is that Medicaid supports work, and the sooner Governor LePage and the Trump Administration realize this, the better.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Ehlke reported from Milwaukee. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Adam Beam in Frankfort, Kentucky; Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine contributed to this report.</p> | Medicaid work mandate will create uncertainty in some states | false | https://apnews.com/cd30aad619de4da6b7434f888a98d8f8 | 2018-01-14 | 2 |
<p />
<p>It may seem hard to get into the cable television industry these days. We live in an era of cord cutters, and as investors we're taught to stay away from fading markets. The trend is your friend, or so they say.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Thankfully for investors there are still some compelling players with stocks worth exploring, even at a time when folks are ditching ESPN and other cable channels as they shift to cheaper entertainment options. Let's take a look at the three top cable stocks to buy now.</p>
<p>Image source: Comcast's Universal Orlando.</p>
<p>The country's largest cable provider may also be its most resilient. Comcast is gaining ground at a time when many of its smaller peers are going the wrong way. Comcast had22.549 million cable television accounts as of the end of March, up from 22.4 million customers a year earlier.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>It shouldn't be a surprise to see its Xfinity internet service growing faster, as even cord cutters need a reliable connection to stream video content. Internet accounts just topped 25 million for Comcast, up 6% over the past year.Comcast is also doing a better job of milking more money out of its growing account base, as revenue for both its cable and internet platforms is growing faster than its user growth.</p>
<p>Comcast isn't just a cable provider these days, diversifying successfully into content. The acquisition of NBCUniversal arms Comcast with movie studio and media network assets along with a thriving theme park business that now ranks as the world's third largest player. It also <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/04/3-reasons-comcast-bought-dreamworks.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">acquired DreamWorks Animation Opens a New Window.</a> a year ago.</p>
<p>Satellite television is struggling, and as the country's second largest player DISH Network isn't necessarily doing well on that front. It had 13.528 million pay TV customers at the end of March, down from the 13.874 million accounts on its rolls a year earlier. Average revenue per user has actually declined over the past year, unlike Comcast where that metric is inching higher.</p>
<p>DISH Network makes the cut here because it's the one player that isn't afraid to disrupt its own industry. DISH was the first player to roll out an internet-tethered service in Sling TV. Before that DISH was the one leading the way to let subscribers view channels that they were already paying for across various devices.</p>
<p>DISH is also making some interesting moves in wireless. It's been <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/05/19/why-we-might-see-a-shakeup-in-the-telecom-industry.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">loading up its arsenal with spectrum Opens a New Window.</a> that it has three years to put into play or face stiff penalties. Whether DISH is able to build out the Internet of Things network that it's discussed in the past or finds a well-heeled partner to make it all come together, DISH is an attractive buyout candidate even if none of its divestitures pan out.</p>
<p>The third top stock is a company that few consider a pay TV provider, but let's go over the many ways that the company formerly known as Google is a much bigger player in this space than you might initially think.</p>
<p>Alphabet obviously doesn't rely on pay TV the way that Comcast and DISH do, but it's an important player that just happens to be the global top dog in digital advertising. Comcast, DISH Network, and Alphabet are the top cable stocks for investors to consider.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than DISH NetworkWhen 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=ffa5b647-ba60-4b55-930a-84d477bae99b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and DISH Network 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=ffa5b647-ba60-4b55-930a-84d477bae99b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of May 1, 2017</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBreakerRick/info.aspx" type="external">Rick Munarriz Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). 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 Top Cable Stocks to Buy Now | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/01/3-top-cable-stocks-to-buy-now.html | 2017-05-30 | 0 |
<p>The Supreme Court recently granted review of two lower-court decisions that were hostile to the core male-female nature of marriage. The future of marriage in this country is at stake in these cases. And so, ultimately, are the rights of faithful Catholics to participate fully in public life.</p>
<p>One case (United States v. Windsor) involves the federal Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA was adopted by overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress–with votes from many supporters of homosexual rights, like then-Sen. Joe Biden–and was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. For purposes of provisions of federal law only (such as those governing health benefits for federal employees), DOMA defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. At the same time, and consistent with principles of federalism, DOMA leaves states free to redefine marriage as they see fit.</p>
<p>In 2011, the Obama administration <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=1236c2f567&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">irresponsibly abandoned</a>its duty to defend DOMA. This past October a federal appellate court in New York issued a <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=09d60751a6&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">badly confused</a> <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=c2248d37b6&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">ruling</a> holding that DOMA violates the Constitution by not extending federal benefits to same-sex couples who are “married” under New York law. Same-sex marriage advocates pretend that their DOMA challenge involves only the authority of the federal government. But if the federal government can’t define marriage as a male-female union for purposes of provisions of federal law, then all the similar marriage laws in the states would also be unconstitutional.</p>
<p>The second case (Hollingsworth v. Perry) concerns the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8. In 2008, after the state supreme court had invented a state constitutional right to same-sex marriage, California voters adopted Proposition 8 to restore the traditional definition of marriage. Same-sex couples sued to invalidate Prop. 8, claiming that it violated the federal Constitution.</p>
<p>The saga of the anti-Prop. 8 lawsuit would make an unbelievable novel. No federal district judge has ever committed more <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=9a67cf896b&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">egregious acts</a> of malfeasance and manifest bias in a case than Vaughn Walker. In the end, Judge Walker concocted a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage and based that right on a set of absurd factual findings. Only after he finished with the case and retired did he disclose that he was in the midst of a long-term same-sex relationship–which means that he had been ruling on his own legal right to marry his same-sex partner.</p>
<p>To compound the farce: The Ninth Circuit <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=7792657646&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">ruling</a> on appeal, which also held Prop. 8 to be unconstitutional, was written by notorious liberal activist Stephen Reinhardt. Judge Reinhardt’s wife, Ramona Ripston, directed an ACLU affiliate that filed briefs in support of the Prop. 8 challengers in the same case and publicly rejoiced over Judge Walker’s ruling. Yet Judge Reinhardt somehow refused to disqualify himself from deciding the appeal. Then, in a transparent effort to evade Supreme Court review, he ruled that Prop. 8 was invalid on the narrower (but infirm) ground that it took away a right that the state supreme court had previously conferred.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court ought to reverse both the DOMA ruling and the Prop. 8 ruling when it decides these cases at the end of June 2013. Under any sensible interpretation, the Constitution simply does not speak, one way or the other, to the question of same-sex marriage but instead leaves the matter to the realm of representative government for decision–to each state to determine its own marriage laws and to Congress to determine what marriage means in provisions of federal law.</p>
<p>Alas, the fact that the constitutional questions in these cases are easy is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will get them right. Where, as with same-sex marriage, so many members of the academic, legal, and media elites hold such strong policy preferences and vituperatively disparage those who dare to disagree, some justices may well be sorely tempted to entrench the position of the elites as a newly discovered constitutional right. Plus, the Court’s previous power grabs provide precedents that could readily be manipulated to rationalize further intrusions on representative government. So there is a very real prospect that the four liberal justices and the justice in the middle, Anthony Kennedy, could vote to strike down both DOMA and Prop. 8.</p>
<p>Such rulings would, I believe, threaten disastrous long-term consequences.</p>
<p>The collapse of our marriage culture in recent decades–a collapse that heterosexuals are largely responsible for–has brought with it all the social pathologies associated with divorce, out-of-wedlock births, and single-parent families. Over the long term, the American experiment in ordered liberty cannot flourish amidst this collapse. It is time for all Americans to work to restore our marriage culture and to re-establish the inherent link between marriage and responsible procreation and child-rearing, rather than to redefine marriage to deny that vital link.</p>
<p>Catholic institutions and faithful Catholics are at special risk. The logic and rhetoric deployed in support of same-sex marriage depict supporters of traditional marriage as the moral equivalent of racist bigots. If a Supreme Court majority indulges that libel, those organizations and individuals who embrace the Church’s teaching will in the coming years be stigmatized, marginalized, and penalized, on matters ranging from educational admissions and employment to professional licenses, accreditations, and tax-exempt status.</p>
<p>All Americans should hope and pray that the Supreme Court doesn’t take a huge step in the wrong direction.</p>
<p>Ed Whelan is president of the <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=9ff1cfea4c&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">Ethics and Public Policy Center</a> in Washington, D.C., and is a regular contributor to National Review Online’s <a href="http://eppc.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=be333e74ea841be93db60da61&amp;id=ac1a33832d&amp;e=b9aba082e9" type="external">Bench Memos</a> blog.</p> | Marriage at Stake | false | https://eppc.org/publications/marriage-at-stake/ | 1 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Thursday was graduation day for Romero from the 1st Judicial District’s Adult Drug Court program, a program at risk of being slashed next year under a $6.3 billion spending plan proposed by Gov. Susana Martinez.</p>
<p>Romero’s addiction, which had its nascence with her alcohol use from age 12 before she “graduated” to cocaine and heroin in her 20s, has morphed into a success story that she hopes she can build on.</p>
<p>Romero, 29, and expecting her first child, praised the drug court program to other drug court clients before sharing carrot cake with drug court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, Assistant District Attorney Jason Lidyard, drug court director Susan Billings, and Romero’s mother, Marie Vigil, and father, George Anaya.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“You and your program saved my life,” Romero told Sommer as they hugged between bites of cake.</p>
<p>Jeanette Romero, left, gets a hug from Santa Fe drug court director Susan Billings on Thursday after Romero graduated from the drug court program. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>The program tries to sober up alcohol and drug users for productive lives in a series of reward and punishment steps that include periodic drug testing, counseling, and the acquisition of employment and/or GED diplomas. The Journal profiled Romero’s story as she was in the beginning of the drug court program in April 2014.</p>
<p>“This program has kept her (Romero) alive,” said proud mom Vigil. “If we didn’t have this program, I don’t know where we would be today.”</p>
<p>Vigil was also appreciative of St. John’s College, where her daughter works in the dining hall. “They work with people for a second chance,” Vigil said.</p>
<p>Romero stood and admitted, “I have never been clean this long until I got into drug court.”</p>
<p>“I learned how to live a clean life,” she said.</p>
<p>“You are doing great,” the judge told her.</p>
<p>The drug court program is one of the key elements in local judicial/law enforcement philosophy, which endorses diversion and treatment programs to help stop the drug-jail-drug revolving door and keep addicts out of prisons. Art Pepin, director of the state Administrative Office of the Courts, said recently that the budget cuts, if approved, would equate to at least 100 clients – or about 10 percent statewide – being forced out of New Mexico drug court programs.</p>
<p>“You take all those people, if they’re not going to drug court, they’re going to be incarcerated,” Pepin told members of the House finance committee. “It would really be counterproductive.” A Martinez spokesman disputed that claim, saying the spending plan would reallocate moneys for some programs but not drug court.</p>
<p /> | Drug court graduate: ‘You and your program saved my life’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/543889/drug-court-graduate-you-and-your-program-saved-my-life.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>As a strategic move, this makes sense to me: Why spend money and time getting a head start in a race where she has no credible opponent? All this could possibly do is give her time to make gaffes and give her opponents insights they could use to get a jump on their campaigns against her.</p>
<p>Of course, they’ll be doing that anyway.</p>
<p>All across the land, there are nameless moles digging through Clinton’s every utterance … every Gawker post, every speech video and high school term paper.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And at every campaign office, people are even now mapping out the strategies that our presidential hopefuls will use to run against her.</p>
<p>The advantage of being the front-runner is that she has all the money locked up, and she won’t need to run to her left in the primaries in order to placate the base. The disadvantage is that she has no idea who she is running against, while everyone else knows exactly what they will be fighting.</p>
<p>They’ll have over a year to lock in their message – no, better than that, they’ll be able to start their campaigns against her during the primaries, while she can’t mount an effective response until she knows who her opponent will be.</p>
<p>Any rejoinder she makes before then will only serve to raise the profile of the people making the most effective criticisms.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, she’ll need to spread her opposition research across multiple candidates, while all of theirs is laser-focused on her.</p>
<p>To be sure, she’ll also benefit from the research they do on each other. But of course, the winning candidate will also have the benefit of everyone else’s anti-Hillary research operations – and they’re more likely to pool their research for the general campaign, while they probably won’t be sharing any unused tidbits with the Democrats.</p>
<p>Overall, I wonder if this early lead won’t ultimately turn out to be a disadvantage, not just because the candidates will be focused on her, but because the public will be, too.</p>
<p>By the time she actually gets around to running against an opponent, she will already largely be defined in the public mind, and not by her side. People will have been listening to Republican campaigns talking about Hillary Clinton more than they’ll have been listening to her talk about herself.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Her best hope is a bruising primary season from which the Republican victor staggers forward, bloody and battered and ready for Clinton to deliver the killing blow.</p>
<p>That wouldn’t exactly be surprising, given the last race.</p>
<p>But I suspect that by then, Clinton will be nursing a few wounds herself.</p>
<p>Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC</p>
<p />
<p /> | Unknown opponents disadvantage Hillary | false | https://abqjournal.com/536772/unknown-opponents-disadvantage-hillary.html | 2 |
|
<p>ROY, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say a 29-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the slaying of a Washington state sheriff's deputy.</p>
<p>The Pierce County Sheriff's Department says the woman was arrested Tuesday south of Tacoma. She's the third suspect arrested in the death of Deputy Daniel McCartney.</p>
<p>Authorities say the woman was booked into jail on murder and kidnapping charges. They say they believe she was involved in planning a home invasion on Jan. 7 and was in the getaway car.</p>
<p>Frank Pawul has been charged with murder, kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm. Brenda Troyer has been charged with murder and kidnapping.</p>
<p>Authorities say McCartney responded to the break-in and called about gunfire shortly afterward. Deputies found him shot and another suspect, Henry Carden, with a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound.</p>
<p>ROY, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say a 29-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the slaying of a Washington state sheriff's deputy.</p>
<p>The Pierce County Sheriff's Department says the woman was arrested Tuesday south of Tacoma. She's the third suspect arrested in the death of Deputy Daniel McCartney.</p>
<p>Authorities say the woman was booked into jail on murder and kidnapping charges. They say they believe she was involved in planning a home invasion on Jan. 7 and was in the getaway car.</p>
<p>Frank Pawul has been charged with murder, kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm. Brenda Troyer has been charged with murder and kidnapping.</p>
<p>Authorities say McCartney responded to the break-in and called about gunfire shortly afterward. Deputies found him shot and another suspect, Henry Carden, with a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound.</p> | Third suspect arrested in Washington deputy's slaying | false | https://apnews.com/amp/4ad89b07fbed4bc2a41ab8f5f025260f | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton promise to bring back jobs lost to foreign producers. &#160;There are many questions about these promises but the most important are whether they can do it, and how many jobs can be brought back. This piece focuses on the second issue.</p>
<p>How many factory jobs can be brought back? We’ve lost a lot of them. Manufacturing employees were 30% of the non-farm work force in 1955. Now they’re just 8.5%. To get the factory work force back to the relative weight it had in 1955, we’d have to add 31,000,000 factory jobs. That’s not going to happen.</p>
<p>Thanks to automation we don’t need as many factory workers as we used to. But we could have more than we do now. Imagine that through selective tariffs and less currency manipulation by China and other nations, government policy could cut the $600 billion manufacturing trade deficit in half. In that ideal situation, we might add two million jobs in the manufacturing sector.</p>
<p>Two million new factory jobs would be a plus for American workers. If these jobs offered better-than-average pay and benefits and union protections too, think what they could do if they went to the south side of Chicago, high-poverty areas of Milwaukee, to coal areas of West Virginia, to Fresno, Cleveland, Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and the state of Mississippi.</p>
<p>These areas are among the poorest in the nation. We hear about them when a police officer shoots a young person of color or when residents go on a shooting spree. But politicians and the media don’t pay much attention otherwise. The major party conventions were held in two of these cities. Did one mainstream politician or journalist tour high-poverty neighborhoods and offer a credible analysis of causes and cures? I must have missed it.</p>
<p>More good jobs for poor areas would be a plus. But two million factory jobs won’t bring back the golden age of the factory worker, and they won’t make much of a dent in our good-jobs deficit. Fighting China and Mexico is not a jobs policy. To draw into the labor force millions of workers who have dropped out because of lousy job markets and to push the official unemployment rate closer to full employment–let’s say 2%–we need 10 million more jobs than we are currently getting.</p>
<p>That many extra jobs won’t come in factories and they won’t come by making the 1% richer with tax cuts. They will have to be created directly by the federal government in the public and private sector. We can start with the physical infrastructure, which is in D+ condition, and the social infrastructure, where we can expand affordable child care, cut class size in public schools, and much more. Neither candidate has made a major commitment in these areas.</p> | Can We Bring Back Many Factory Jobs? Let’s Do the Math | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/09/08/can-we-bring-back-many-factory-jobs-lets-do-the-math/ | 2016-09-08 | 4 |
<p>A few days ago, I made a trip to Wat Po, a huge complex of Buddhist temples, stupas and learning halls attached to the Royal Palace in the center of Bangkok. I was there not to gain enlightenment, however, but a Thai massage. In the end, I got some of both.</p>
<p>Wat Po is a busy tourist destination, crowded with farangs, or Westerners, even in the sweltering heat of the long tropical summer. The massages there cost about twice as much as they do elsewhere. Even so, they are still cheap by American standards — about $14 for an hour. And since Wat Po is home to Thailand’s leading Thai massage school, you can be sure that your therapist will know what he or she is doing, which is not always the case with other practitioners.</p>
<p>After the massage, feeling loose and with some time to kill, I decided to revisit the temple that holds Thailand’s largest statue of the Reclining Buddha. But before I ever got to see the Buddha, I witnessed the most disturbing — and infuriating thing — I have seen so far while in this country.</p>
<p>Clinging to the railing halfway up the side stairs to the temple entrance was a little farang girl of perhaps three years old. As is usual in Bangkok at this time of the year, the weather was hot and extremely humid. There is also absolutely nothing at Wat Po that might interest a young child. Lots of things for grownups to see, but not kids. As I climbed the steps the little girl gave me a look of utter misery.</p>
<p>When I glanced around to see where her parents might be I spotted her mother, a woman in her mid-thirties with a cross expression on her face. Half turned away from the little girl, she scowled back over her shoulder. “Au revoir, Gabrielle!” she taunted. “Au revoir,” she repeated, making as if to leave Gabrielle behind.</p>
<p>Gabrielle looked up me, eyes welling, lip quivering. I turned to glare at the woman.</p>
<p>That’s when I witnessed it.</p>
<p>A few feet beyond the woman, her husband was standing with the couple’s son, who looked to be about the same age as Gabrielle, perhaps her twin. I didn’t hear what the little boy was saying, but whatever it was, it ticked off the old man. Without warning he leaned over and slapped the child across the cheek. When the boy let out a howl his p're raised his hand as if to hit him again.</p>
<p>I couldn’t help myself. “Hey!” I bellowed.</p>
<p>My intervention had the desired effect. The man pretended not to hear, but did lower his hand. The little boy continued to simper. Gabrielle rose disconsolately and began the long trip down the steps to join maman.</p>
<p>I remained rooted to the spot, staring in disbelief as the couple shuffled off around another temple, the children in tow.</p>
<p>Really?!! I thought. Really?!! You take a couple of small children to a place like Wat Po and get bent out of shape because they’re spoiling your tour? Then you hit one of them in plain view of a Buddhist temple, of all places?!! I mean, the Buddha was no Father of the Year — he abandoned his wife and son to take up a life of meditation and teaching - but surely, he ranks right up there alongside Jesus as an all-time champion of non-violence.</p>
<p>And, on top of that, you lash out at your kid in a country where not only are you guests but where the “natives” seem to have a genuine fondness for children, their own and others.</p>
<p>I mean — really?!!</p>
<p>And then I had another, even darker thought.</p>
<p>Why is it, I wondered, so many of us Westerners feel entitled to take out our frustrations on those too small and weak to defend themselves?</p>
<p>And how far does that sense of entitlement go in explaining the role the West has played — and continues to play — in a world engulfed in violence?</p>
<p>I mean — really?!!</p>
<p>Rich Broderick lives in St. Paul and teaches journalism at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Rich is a writer, poet, and social activist. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>This essay originally appeared in <a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/" type="external">TC Daily Planet</a>.</p>
<p /> | The Recline of the West | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/06/17/the-recline-of-the-west/ | 2011-06-17 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>This Tuesday Aug. 26, 2014 photo shows Kate Lee, of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, using a hydrometer to test beer samples in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. The brewery in Richmond brought in Lee, a veteran from Anheuser-Busch to head its quality assurance program. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)</p>
<p>RICHMOND, Va. — Scoff if you must at mass domestic beers, but lessons learned from the makers of Budweiser and Miller Lite are helping to make sure your craft beer tastes the same from pint to pint.</p>
<p>Far from the small and scrappy crew of home brewers that started the movement, craft brewers increasingly are turning to employees of much larger shops like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to tap their experience in creating beer with a consistent flavor and quality time after time on a large scale.</p>
<p>While it’s hard to say exactly how many people have left the big boys to join the craft beer movement, it is clear breweries seeking to grow are placing a greater value on quality assurance as the industry gains market share. Sales of craft beer rose about 17 percent last year despite a nearly 2 percent drop in overall beer sales, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group for the majority of the nation’s more than 3,000 breweries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Craft beer drinkers have simply come to expect that every time they crack a can or bottle it will taste the same as the last. If that doesn’t happen, breweries risk losing customers, says Julia Herz, the craft beer program director at the Colorado-based Brewers Association.</p>
<p>Less than a year ago, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond brought in a veteran from Anheuser-Busch to head its quality assurance program, a move that co-founder Patrick Murtaugh said serves as an “insurance policy” for a craft brewer to make sure things won’t go wrong. And if they do? You’ve got someone with experience from a bigger brewery to know what to do to fix it.</p>
<p>“One of the major things that separate home brewers from professional brewers is being able to not only brew a great beer, but the exact same beer over and over again,” Murtaugh said, who added that it’s wrong to think that products such as Bud Light are lousy. “It’s not. It’s exactly what they intended to brew and to be able to brew it on that scale over and over and over again is an incredible feat.”</p>
<p>Take it from Dan Westmoreland, the brewmaster at Anheuser-Busch’s Williamsburg, Virginia, brewery. The facility — one of 12 in the U.S. — has about 500 full-time employees and about 150 weekend employees that produce roughly 2.5 billion 12-ounce beers a year. Its production in one week is about the amount being produced by a larger craft brewery in a full year.</p>
<p>“When you’re making a beer that’s this light, you’ve got to be on your game because it won’t be consistent very easily,” Westmoreland said. “You can’t hide anything.”</p>
<p>Kate Lee, who joined Hardywood after 12 years in various positions across the country with Anheuser-Busch, knows that firsthand. The biggest difference, she said, is the scope and method of making beer. Much of the process at Anheuser-Busch is monitored from a master control room with a bank of computer screens. At craft breweries, the more hands-on process makes consistency a challenge.</p>
<p>During a forum on the subject at a recent Craft Brewers Conference, industry leaders stressed to roughly 9,000 attendees that with so many breweries opening, a lack of consistency may mean a beer drinker won’t try new brands and go only with ones they know and trust, or simply decide it isn’t worth their paycheck.</p>
<p>And Tim Hawn, who became brewmaster at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware, in 2011 after working at MillerCoors agrees.</p>
<p>“People will put up with a little bit of variability, but it’s not like it used to be,” he said. “Obviously folks are willing to pay for the luxury of craft … and for that luxury they expect to have that same experience every time they enjoy a beer.”</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Michael Felberbaum can be reached at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MLFelberbaum" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/MLFelberbaum</a> .</p> | Craft brewers placing greater emphasis on quality | false | https://abqjournal.com/462331/craft-brewers-placing-greater-emphasis-on-quality.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The New Mexico Republican met with officials on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team Monday at Trump Tower in Manhattan. A Fox News tweet has her under consideration for the critical position of director of national intelligence – along with former Hewlett-Packard CEO/GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who has received far more media attention regarding the post and who has met with Trump personally.</p>
<p>Still, Wilson checks the right boxes.</p>
<p>She is a Rhodes scholar with master’s and doctoral degrees in international relations from Oxford University in England. She understands U.S. military strategies and challenges as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and an officer. She has been stationed overseas and has worked in Washington.</p>
<p>Any single assignment in her intelligence background would set her apart and above other candidates – Wilson was the negotiator and political adviser to the commander of the U.S. Air Force in Britain, the negotiator and defense planning officer for the U.S. mission to NATO, acting representative of the secretary of defense to the negotiations on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, director of defense policy and arms control for the National Security Council, and chairwoman and ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, overseeing America’s defense and technical intelligence capabilities.</p>
<p>(Wilson has also owned a small business, run a state Cabinet department and represented New Mexico – and its four military bases and three national laboratories – in Congress for a decade.)</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>While there are other accomplished individuals up for the job, including Fiorina, Wilson has a personal understanding of the civilian, military and political sides to any national security issue.</p>
<p>Wilson has been a college president in South Dakota since 2013, no doubt a job with its own challenges but one that arguably does not take full advantage of her unique education and professional experience.</p>
<p>There is little question that political unrest and terror attacks have made this a scary world, and the United States needs an experienced hand to help guide it through dangerous national security waters. Heather Wilson would provide it.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p /> | Editorial: Heather Wilson the right pick for national security | false | https://abqjournal.com/908429/heather-wilson-the-right-pick-for-national-security.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>SAN FRANCISCO – The nation’s largest marijuana policy advocacy group said it will begin raising funds for a ballot measure in 2016 to legalize recreational marijuana use in California.</p>
<p />
<p>The Marijuana Policy Project will file paperwork Wednesday with the California secretary of state’s office for a new committee that aims to put a pot legalization measure on the November 2016 state ballot, the group said. The measure would be similar to one passed by voters in Colorado in 2012, which legalized marijuana for all adults over 21.</p>
<p />
<p>“Marijuana is an objectively less harmful substance than alcohol, and that’s how it needs to be treated,” Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Rob Kampia said in a statement. “Regulating and taxing marijuana similarly to alcohol just makes sense.”</p>
<p />
<p>California allows marijuana use only for medical purposes.</p>
<p />
<p>Voters narrowly rejected a ballot initiative seeking to legalize it for recreational purposes in 2010, and some of the state’s top politicians, including Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, have expressed skepticism about legalization.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Drive begins to legalize casual pot use in Calif. | false | https://abqjournal.com/467868/drive-begins-to-legalize-casual-pot-use-in-calif.html | 2 |
|
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/peoplesworld/7971923484/sizes/l/"&gt;peoplesworld&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p>This explainer has been regularly updated; <a href="#newvideo9" type="external">click here for the most recent post</a>. Or read on for a primer.</p>
<p>More than 350,000 kids in the Chicago Public School district got to sleep in an extra week because their teachers were up early <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/education/with-no-contract-deal-by-deadline-in-chicago-teachers-will-strike.html" type="external">striking</a> for better benefits, job security, evaluations, and training. The Chicago Teachers Union has been in <a href="http://www.ctunet.com/media/press-releases/breaking-news-ctu-files-notice-of-intent-to-strike" type="external">contract negotiations</a> with Chicago Public Schools since November 2011, but this was the first actual teachers’ strike to hit the Windy City in <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/10/chicago-teachers-to-strike-after-talks-fail/57720772/1" type="external">25 years</a>. There have been other teacher strikes this year in <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2012/05/reynolds_strike_is_over.html" type="external">Oregon</a> and <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&amp;id=8687732" type="external">Pennsylvania</a>,&#160;but this latest movement sparked a fierce debate about national education reform, raising questions about America’s emphasis on standardized testing. It also pit public schools against charter schools, which are often nonunionized and “tend to favor rookie teachers who are younger and far less likely to be minorities,” according to <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-chicago-schools-analysisbre8890vs-20120910,0,3265204.story" type="external">the Chicago Tribune</a>.</p>
<p>Stephanie Gadlin, a spokesperson for the <a href="http://www.ctunet.com/" type="external">Chicago Teachers Union</a>, said “we are fighting for educational justice. We do not intend on taking this anymore.” But Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel characterized the protest as “a strike of choice” because, he claimed, the city has already made an offer that is close to the demands of the union.</p>
<p>Union delegates voted to end the strike on September 18, and students returned to school on Wednesday, September 19.&#160;</p>
<p>Read on for the rest of our primer, or jump to these recent updates:</p>
<p><a href="#newvideo9" type="external">Teachers to get annual raises; still evaluated by standardized test scores (9/19/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo8" type="external">Strike ends with compromise for both parties (9/18/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo7" type="external">Strike to continue, Emanuel promises to sue (9/16/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo6" type="external">Union tells CNN “tentative” deal reached, but details not released (9/14/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo5" type="external">Chicago Teachers Union president says no classes on Friday (9/13/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo4" type="external">Two Chicago teachers on the front lines tell Mother Jones about their experiences (9/12/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo3" type="external">“Testy” negotiations resume on Wednesday (9/12/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo" type="external">Striker accuses Mayor Emanuel of liking the band, Nickelback (9/11/12)</a></p>
<p><a href="#newvideo2" type="external">No contract deal Tuesday night, says Chicago school board president (9/11/12)</a></p>
<p>Why are the teachers striking? The Chicago Teachers Union is looking for a contract that includes the following (information courtesy of Gadlin):</p>
<p>The union is also looking for a fair recall procedure for laid off teachers and fair compensation for a longer school year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/br5ad/7972608004/" type="external" />Chicago teachers on strike: September 10 br5ad, Flick</p>
<p>Where are teachers clashing with the school system? On Sunday, Chicago Public Schools offered the teachers union its “ <a href="http://www.cps.edu/News/Announcements/Pages/09_09_2012_A1.aspx" type="external">fair and reasonable deal</a>,” which the union did not accept. This proposal included a 16 percent average salary increase equaling $320 million over the next four years, security for laid off teachers, and paid maternity leave, among other things. There are <a href="http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/10/what-are-key-issues-in-chicago-public-school-strike/" type="external">multiple clashes</a> between the teachers’ asks and what the school system will give, but contrary to popular belief, it’s not all about wages (according to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html" type="external">CNN</a>, public school teachers are “close to a deal on pay”). Instead, the big sticking points are maintaining existing health benefits (the school district would keep costs from rising for two-thirds of union members, but the union doesn’t want anyone to be paying more) and fair evaluation procedures.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>How long will the strike last? No one is hazarding a guess: Emanuel told <a href="http://world.time.com/2012/09/09/chicago-teachers-to-strike-after-talks-fail/" type="external">Time</a> he will “work to end the strike quickly.” CTU spokesperson Gadlin says that “we are currently in negotations as we speak,” but “I don’t know, I don’t have a crystal ball.”&#160;</p>
<p>What does Mayor Emanuel have to say about it? Emanuel says: “This is a strike of choice, and because of how close we are, it is a strike that is unnecessary. I have told my team, they are available tonight and ready to go back in. We’ve asked [the teachers] to postpone this…the issues are not financial.” To see his full statement, check out this video (by the Associated Press):&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Where are the children going to go? Chicago Public Schools opened 144 “ <a href="https://secure.cps.k12.il.us/ChildrenFirstSites/" type="external">Children First</a>” sites on Monday, September 10, with limited hours. These sites promise provide a safe environment, food, and things for kids to do. The school system is also working with libraries, nonprofits, and churches.&#160;</p>
<p>These organizations are providing <a href="http://www.cps.edu/ChildrenFirst/Documents/nonCPS_ChildrenFirstLocationsZip.pdf" type="external">additional sites for students</a>. The downside is that many keep weird hours for parents. If you’re in the 60639 area code for example, it could be tough trying to shuttle a kid from the Mark Twain Elementary School Park (open 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.) to the New Dimension Library (open till 2 p.m.) to the Salvation Army, Midway Citadel (open till 5 p.m., but in a different zip code).</p>
<p>What do the parents say? Needless to say, some parents are very upset, and have taken to Twitter over the past week to express their frustration:</p>
<p />
<p>However, other parents are taking the opportunity to express their support for the teachers. As of Monday, a petition on <a href="http://signon.org/sign/stand-with-chicago-teachers?source=s.tw&amp;r_by=5535440" type="external">SignOn.org</a> has over 1,500 signatures, many from Chicago (although it’s unclear how many of the signatories are actually parents.) Here’s what Twitter has to say:</p>
<p />
<p>What do Mitt Romney and President Obama say? Obama hasn’t taken a firm stand on the strike one way or the other. However, at a White House press briefing on Monday, spokesman Jay Carney said that the president’s “principle concern is for the students and families who are affected by the situation. And we hope that both sides are able to come together and settle this quickly and in the best interest of Chicago’s students.” Here’s a video of the briefing:&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has taken a firm stance against the strike. He said in a press release: “I am disappointed by the decision of the Chicago Teachers Union to turn its back on not only a city negotiating in good faith but also the hundreds of thousands of children relying on the city’s public schools to provide them a safe place to receive a strong education. Teachers unions have too often made plain that their interests conflict with those of our children, and today we are seeing one of the clearest examples yet. President Obama has chosen his side in this fight, sending his Vice President last year to assure the nation’s largest teachers union that ‘you should have no doubt about my affection for you and the President’s commitment to you.’ I choose to side with the parents and students depending on public schools to give them the skills to succeed, and my plan for education reform will do exactly that.”</p>
<p>What do others say? New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is leading a social media debate on both <a href="https://twitter.com/NickKristof" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kristof" type="external">Facebook</a>about his view:</p>
<p>Labor expert Kathleen Hirsman told <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/09/10/strike-puts-chicago-into-uncharted-waters-expert-says/" type="external">CBS News</a>, “We are in uncharted waters in regards to this strike…in the past, strikes usually center around pay increases, and it’s just a matter of horse trading on the numbers. In this instance, the union does not seem to be focusing on salary as their main issue of contention.”&#160;</p>
<p>Employment law expert John P. Hancock Jr. says: “The length of the strike is tough to call but if I were to make a prediction, I would say three weeks. That is one paycheck missed and probably the boiling point of the parents making child care arrangements and enough time for Emanuel to show he is tough and that the union is tough. This is strike is different because in many states such strikes are illegal…the size of it makes it different as well and the number of children involved. Also, you have a large number of competing charter schools who are not on strike…I believe some of their demands will be met because they cannot continue to have the schools shut down. I understand and can relate to them because my daughter used to be a teacher in Chicago Public Schools.”&#160;</p>
<p>UPDATE 8, 2:00 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, September 19: Teachers to get annual raises; still evaluated by standardized test scores</p>
<p>After an almost unanimous vote by delegates of the Chicago Teachers Union, 350,000 Chicago students returned to school today. According to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/us/vote-scheduled-on-chicago-teachers-contract.html?hp" type="external">The New York Times</a>, the compromise gives annual raises to teachers and moves “laid-off teachers with strong ratings into at least half of any new job openings in schools.” However, Mayor Emanuel appears to have gotten his way in regards to the teacher evaluation issue:&#160;Teachers will still be partly evaluated on standardized test scores.&#160;</p>
<p>The contract still needs to be ratified by Chicago Teacher Union members, which is expected to happen in the next few weeks. A full copy of the contract deal has not yet been made public.&#160;</p>
<p>UPDATE 7, 6:45 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, September 18: Chicago Teachers Union Delegates Vote to End Strike</p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/us-usa-chicago-schools-idUSBRE88E0IV20120918" type="external">Reuters</a> reports: “Some 800 delegates representing the union rank-and-file ended the strike after more than two hours of debate on a new three-year contract with the school district. The compromise deal gave Emanuel part of the reforms he wanted, and teachers got some guarantees on employment.”</p>
<p>UPDATE 7, 9:30 p.m. EDT, Sunday, September 16: Strike continues, Emanuel promises to sue</p>
<p><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-teachers-union-meets-on-contract-today-20120916,0,4830609.story" type="external">The Chicago Tribune</a>&#160;reports that the teacher strike will be heading into its second week, and Mayor Emanuel is planning to file a court injunction. According to the paper, classes may not resume until Wednesday.</p>
<p>UPDATE 6, 7:00 p.m. EDT, Friday, September 14: Union tells CNN tentative deal reached, but details not released</p>
<p>According to&#160; <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html" type="external">CNN</a>,&#160;&#160;“a tentative deal has been reached in the dispute.” However, language of the agreement will be drafted over the weekend, and at this time there are no further details about what the agreement contains.&#160;</p>
<p>UPDATE 5, 4:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, September 13: Chicago Teachers Union President says no classes on Friday&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis tells <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-both-sides-see-progress-as-teachers-strike-reaches-day-4-20120912,0,482612.story" type="external">The Chicago Tribune</a>that classes will not resume Friday, but “I’m a 9 [on a deal being reached today.]”</p>
<p>UPDATE 4, 8:30 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, September 12: Two Chicago teachers on the front lines tell Mother Jones about their experiences</p>
<p>[Both teachers requested to remain anonymous.]</p>
<p>Teacher 1: “I have worked as an educator in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for four years and in the education field for six. I work on the Northwest side of the city in one of the highest performing CPS networks….We have Starboards and iPads and the ability to access and ask for supplies at any point in the year. We are a very successful neighborhood school. So why have I been wearing a sandwich board-like picket sign and red garb for the past three days? Why have I attended five pickets and rallies at my school, one of the chosen Children First locations, a high school, and in downtown Chicago? I have come home with aching feet without getting paid because I have seen schools and students that have far less than my students and me. I have seen a parent being removed from those schools in handcuffs after entering the school and assaulting a first grader. I have seen five-year-old students at those schools being lectured by a principal about how to deal with the gang activity in their neighborhood. I am on strike because, like one rally sign stated, ‘Together we bargain – alone we beg.’</p>
<p>There is a sense of safety being with that many people fighting with you. Perhaps the crowd provides a sense of freedom to be more creative with signs, music, and chants. Being with the larger group makes the sting of angry drivers stopping by to scream, “You are a fucking piece of shit!” at our picket line subside. I do not believe this event to be detrimental to students; they will make up the days once the strike ceases. I understand the inconvenience on the families and believe it to be unfortunate, but we must understand that the fight is a larger, national, even worldwide situation.”</p>
<p>Teacher 2: “I am a special education pre-school teacher. I have been a teacher at CPS for a year. I was an assistant teacher in CPS for a year as well. I have picketed at my school and one of the 144 holding centers that are open. I went to rallies downtown yesterday and Monday. Today we rallied at a high school in Chicago. The mood while picketing at our local school is a bit frustrating for me. Most of the teachers’ attitudes are not really enthusiastic. We just walk around and don’t chant. Downtown feels completely different. When I am at the rally downtown I feel like I am part of a family of people who are positive and determined to get better conditions for our students.</p>
<p>I am protesting for my students. I am striking because I don’t want any child to be in a classroom with 40 other children and one adult. I want enough school nurses, social workers, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists to service my students. I want children to have art, music, and physical education. I want children to be taught foreign languages and to get to go to school building that are not falling apart, and are safe. I want all children in public schools to have adequate resources to be able to succeed in school. I want to be evaluated in a fair way, not primarily by tests scores. I am protesting because teachers have not been included in school reform talks, and sadly the only way to get our voices heard has been to strike. In the long run it will hurt our students more to give up this fight.”</p>
<p>UPDATE 3, 3:30 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, September 12: “Testy” negotiations resume Wednesday</p>
<p><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-teacher-strike-expected-to-go-into-2nd-day-20120910,0,4057997.story" type="external">The Chicago Tribune</a>reports that negotiations have resumed, but characterizes a top Chicago Public Schools official as starting them on a “testy” note. According to the paper, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the district’s chief education advisor is “laying the blame for no agreement on union leaders.”</p>
<p>UPDATE 2, 7:00 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, September 11: No contract deal Tuesday night, says Chicago school board president&#160;</p>
<p>Chicago School Board President David Vitale&#160;tells <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html" type="external">CNN</a>&#160;there will be no contract deal Monday night. He also says that he told the union: “we should resolve this tomorrow. We are close enough.”&#160;</p>
<p>UPDATE 1, 4:00 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, September 11: Striker accuses Mayor Emanuel of liking the band Nickelback</p>
<p><a href="http://gawker.com/5942212/chicagos-striking-teachers-take-protest-too-far" type="external">Gawker</a> published this gem of a sign at a teachers’ protest today:</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | What Happened With the Chicago Teacher Strike, Explained | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/teachers-strike-chicago-explained/ | 2012-09-11 | 4 |
<p>When, in 2010,&#160;Oclaro (NASDAQ: OCLR)&#160;acquired optical networking supplier Mintera for $12 million in cash plus other incentives, it laid the groundwork for what would become one of its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/07/why-shares-of-acacia-communications-surged-12-in-a.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a09515c8-9581-11e7-9a1b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most successful upstart competitors Opens a New Window.</a>:&#160;Acacia&#160;Communications (NASDAQ: ACIA).</p>
<p>"Oclaro's acquisition of Mintera is the latest in a series of strategic moves to increase our addressable market, better serve our customers, and outdistance our competition," said Alain Couder, former president and CEO of Oclaro, in <a href="http://investor.oclaro.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=490263" type="external">a press release at the time Opens a New Window.</a>. "Through this acquisition, Oclaro has taken another important step forward in building upon our leadership position in 40 Gbps [gigabit per second] regional and metro networks by broadening our product portfolio and systems expertise to expand into 40 Gbps LH [long haul] and the 100 Gbps Coherent markets."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Translation: Mintera is going to allow us to serve bigger networks with faster service over longer distances. Sounds good, right? There's just one problem: Key members of the team that developed Mintera's technology, including founder Benny Mikkelsen, had already started work on Acacia the year before the Oclaro deal.</p>
<p>Located in Boston's historic tech corridor, Acacia would gross $374,000 in 2010 sales,&#160;the same year Oclaro was paying millions to acquire its predecessor company. Mikkelsen, as Mintera's founder, presumably received the bulk of the gains from selling, but cash wasn't all he took. He also partnered with Mintera colleagues Mehrdad Givehchi and Christian J. Rasmussen to create the first Acacia Communications products, which, from the get-go, were designed to connect optical networks using standard silicon connections.</p>
<p>The idea is simpler than the execution. Here's the basic gist:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Acacia Communications simplifies the process by taking data from lasers and moving it between devices using standard silicon chips. And those chips can work with virtually any form of optical networking equipment and also plug into existing networks that aren't designed to transmit data with laser beams.</p>
<p>By the end of 2013,&#160;Acacia had multiplied its annual revenue rate more than 200 times over -- from $374,000 to $77.7 million -- and all signs pointed to still further gains, thanks partly to a $20 million venture investment led by Summit Partners.&#160;Revenue would rise another 88% in 2014 and 63% in 2015. The company would file for a $125 million IPO by the end of that year. The stock soared 35% on its first day of trading in May 2016.</p>
<p>Investors liked the story, and for good reason. Instead of relying on an overextended North American market, Acacia found big customers in China and Europe that needed to build out a fiber infrastructure to upgrade the Internet and provide better connectivity for their burgeoning populations. To this day, China's ZTE accounts for over a third of revenue.</p>
<p>Investors aren't as thrilled with the story as they used to be. Acacia Communications stock is still down over 29% year to date&#160;despite <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/07/why-shares-of-acacia-communications-surged-12-in-a.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a09515c8-9581-11e7-9a1b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">a 12% rally in August Opens a New Window.</a>. Quality issues are part of the problem. Specifically, Acacia had an issue with a contract manufacturer of its chip products in Q1 and as of Q2 was in the process of ramping up production to replace problematic components while serving new customer demands.</p>
<p>"We are in the process of implementing enhanced quality initiatives, internally and with our suppliers and contract manufacturers. As we continue to scale rapidly with new products, we believe these enhanced quality initiatives will help prevent this type of a quality issue in the future," Acacia CEO Raj&#160;Shanmugaraj said in comments made to analysts in the Q2 conference call, according to a transcript made available by S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence.</p>
<p>If that sounds like good news, you wouldn't know it from the valuation. Acacia Communications stock trades for less than 15 times earnings despite a long history of growing per-share earnings over 100% in all five quarters prior to the most recent. Even a return to modest growth should send the stock soaring once more,&#160;proving Mikkelsen,&#160;Givehchi, and Rasmussen were right to leave Oclaro's nest when they did.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Acacia CommunicationsWhen 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=bd61e5aa-4cec-4cf1-a83b-e8cf9533e9ec&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a09515c8-9581-11e7-9a1b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Acacia Communications 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=bd61e5aa-4cec-4cf1-a83b-e8cf9533e9ec&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a09515c8-9581-11e7-9a1b-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 September 5, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMileHigh/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a09515c8-9581-11e7-9a1b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Tim Beyers Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=a09515c8-9581-11e7-9a1b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Acacia Communications History: Everything Investors Need to Know | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/11/acacia-communications-history-everything-investors-need-to-know.html | 2017-09-11 | 0 |
<p>I was half right. In late May I wrote that September was going to be an exciting month in Iraq. I observed that that was the month in which funding for the war would end and the debate about the future of the war would begin. That has happened and the debate has not yet drawn to a close. I also said it was going to be exciting because that was the month in which the new United States Embassy in Iraq would be opened. I said it was not only exciting because it would soon be opening but because it was going to be the first major construction project in Iraq that had been completed on time and right on budget, an unusual occurrence in the United States but even more unusual in a place like Iraq. I also observed that unlike the rest of Iraq, this splendid edifice (as large as the Vatican with an ambassador’s residence of 16,000 square feet) would have its own water and power supply. That served to distinguish it from the rest of Iraq where many residents have electricity only 4 hours a day and only 32% of the population has access to potable water.</p>
<p>As columnists always are, it is a pleasure to read in subsequent reports that one’s earlier comments prove accurate. Thus, I was delighted to learn of the testimony of Major Gen. Charles Williams (Ret.), the Director of Overseas Building Operation (OBO) at the State Department before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. On July 26, 2007, he tesitified that: “the project is on schedule and on budget. We are slated to complete the project in September of this year and personnel can begin to move into offices and residences shortly thereafter. As to project quality, OBO is proud of its employees’ and contractors’ work on this project. We have received numerous accolades as to the extremely high quality of construction. It is among the best that OBO has managed.” That was then. This is now. November. No one has moved in. No one knows when anyone will move in. It is $144 million over budget.</p>
<p>On October 9, Henry Waxman, Chair of the Committee sent a letter to Condoleezza Rice inquiring about the embassy project and describing some problems uncovered by inspectors from the State Department’s Fire Protection Division who inspected the project during the last two weeks in August. They observed that since fire service mains were deficient there was no reliable automatic fire sprinkler system coverage in any building on the compound. No fire alarm detection systems were ready for testing, “most buildings have a complete lack of fire stopping in fire rated walls and floors” as a result of which “a fire could spread very quickly from one area to another.” The report then has the fairly global condemnation that “[T]he entire installation is not acceptable.”</p>
<p>According to Mr. Waxman, the September 4, 2007 report does not simply disclose deficiencies in construction. It disclosed that OBO and First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting, the prime contractor on the job “had been aware of these problems for nearly a year. In October 2006, OBO received reports that First Kuwaiti ‘is installing underground fire protection service mains that are not of the correct material, which has already resulted in stress cracking. This condition is unacceptable and was discussed with the contractor.”</p>
<p>Mr. Waxman’s letter does not content itself with describing deficiencies in the construction. He describes some things about First Kuwaiti that would lead some to question why it got the job in the first place. Mr. Waxman observes that Pentagon auditors released a report “several months before the award of the contract that questioned more than $130 million that First Kuwaiti had billed for services provided to the U.S. military.” He also observed that the Justice Department had asserted in court papers that “the Managing partner of First Kuwaiti bribed officials to obtain subcontracts for First Kuwaiti.”</p>
<p>I am sure that if Mr. Williams happens to hear about any of this he will be sorely disappointed since it suggests that he was not only clueless about the state of the project two months earlier when testifying, but not troubled by the corruption of the contractor, describing it as a contractor that wanted to “get it right”. (He was not referring to the payment of bribes but completion of the project.)</p>
<p>In the real world Mr. Williams would be fired for incompetence, being so ignorant of the project about which he was reporting. That won’t happen.</p>
<p>Incompetence in the Bush administration may be an excuse but not an excuse for firing someone. Were it otherwise, the White House and countless executive offices would be unoccupied. Were it otherwise the embassy project might in fact be on budget and on schedule.</p>
<p>CHRISTOPHER BRAUCHLI is a lawyer in Boulder, Colorado. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected].</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Iraq Embassy as Gilded Palace | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/11/24/iraq-embassy-as-gilded-palace/ | 2007-11-24 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The traditional 12 days of Christmas seems inspiration enough for a 12 days of holiday cookies. These recipes spice up the holiday cookie baking with a dozen different cookie recipes, each inspired by a common spice cabinet resident. Read on, and discover the magic in these 12 featured spices: allspice, cardamom, Chinese five-spice, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, ginger, mace, nutmeg, paprika, black peppercorns and saffron. Not all recipes appear in print.</p>
<p>All recipes adjusted for high altitude.</p>
<p>Cherry Allspice Hermits</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Cardamom Chocolate Macadamia Cookies</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Cinnamon-Honey Oat Drop Cookies</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Apricot Clove Crumb Bars</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Fennel Cornmeal Wafers</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Triple-Ginger Cranberry Bars</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Tangerine-Mace Shortbread</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Nutmeg Nut Bars</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Lemon Paprika Bars</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Chocolate Pepper Sable</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Almond Saffron Puff Cookies</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Chinese Five-Spice Brownie Cookies</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 12 Days of Cookies | false | https://abqjournal.com/510080/12-days-of-cookies.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />NEW YORK - American Express is raising its dividend 13 percent, boosting the quarterly payout to 26 cents from 23 cents.</p>
<p>The New York company says its next dividend will be paid Aug. 8 to shareholders of record on July 11.</p>
<p>In April, American Express Co. said its first-quarter net income and revenue grew as cardholders spent more money.</p>
<p>The company's cardholders tend to be more affluent than other credit card users, which has helped bolster the company throughout the slow economic recovery. American Express also issues its own cards, unlike its competitors. That means it gets more fees from stores and more income from interest.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | American Express raises dividend 13 percent | false | https://abqjournal.com/399277/american-express-raises-dividend-13-percent.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>Oil prices slipped off one-year highs Tuesday with OPEC skeptics taking control of the market again after several days of surging prices because of cutbacks promised by the world's oil exporters.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Many traders and analysts have become more confident the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is likely to follow through on production cuts, but there are still many others who believe OPEC members will cheat on new quotas. On Tuesday, skeptics pointed to data forecasting another monthly increase to record-high output in November and to a deeper-than-expected price cut Saudi Arabia just issued for Asian customers.</p>
<p>An increase in U.S. stockpiles also may be weighing on prices, brokers said. Stockpiles at Cushing, Okla., rose by about 3 million barrels in the week ended Friday, data provider Genscape Inc. said on Monday, according to people who saw the report. That limited gains Monday and appeared to be adding to losses again Tuesday, ahead of the official U.S. government update on stockpiles scheduled for Wednesday, brokers said.</p>
<p>Light, sweet crude for January delivery settled down 86 cents, or 1.7%, to $50.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The loss snaps a four-session winning streak.</p>
<p>A stall in the rally wasn't surprising, even within a week of OPEC's decision, Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects in London, said in an email. "We have always said prices will move up on the news, then sell off till the market finds evidence of the cuts and then move higher."</p>
<p>Brokers and traders weren't finding it Tuesday. Several pointed to data showing output from OPEC has kept growing, seemingly up to the very day of the deal. That makes it harder for OPEC to hit its target for cutbacks, said Tim Pickering, president at Auspice, which manages $300 million.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"It points to further evidence OPEC is not to be trusted," he said.</p>
<p>Oil had rallied around 15% in just a week after OPEC's decision to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day, equivalent to around 1% of global supply. But that isn't a very strong rally -- considering oil's price above $100 a barrel just two years ago -- and isn't likely to get much stronger, said Dennis Gartman, writer of Wall Street's well-known daily Gartman Letter.</p>
<p>Speaking to a conference for coal traders in New York, he said leaders of the cartel's biggest producers and its biggest rivals feel urgency to produce as much as they can even now. Technological advancements will eventually lead to cleaner sources of power that render oil and other fossil fuels obsolete, so those exporters always have an incentive to produce, he said.</p>
<p>Many traders had been spooked by the still-growing production and questions about whether a meeting planned for Saturday between OPEC and nonmembers, including Russia, happens the way it is supposed to, brokers said. OPEC wants its non-OPEC counterparts to slash 600,000 barrels a day.</p>
<p>Commerzbank cast doubt on such a deal partly because Saudi Arabia, the quasi-head of OPEC, appears to be waiting until January to seasonally adjust its production to its lower winter level while also cutting its January selling price for Asian consumers, maintaining its strategy of defending market share. If Iran cuts prices in response, it could be a big problem for oil prices, said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc.</p>
<p>"They'll all cheat," Mr. Gartman said. "Believe me, Saudi Arabia is here to say 'We have oil for sale.' The Russians have crude oil for sale."</p>
<p>Gasoline futures lost 1.4% to $1.5359 a gallon. Diesel futures lost 1.2% to $1.6379 a gallon.</p> | Oil Prices Pause After Hitting One-Year High | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/06/oil-prices-pause-after-hitting-one-year-high.html | 2016-12-06 | 0 |
<p>Cue the pumpkin-spiced everything, because fall is officially here! Along with the coming of fall we've also witnessed a pretty steady stream of new highs for the stock market, with all three indexes recently notching all-time record closes.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, we head into fall with a number of questions still to be answered. Namely, will President Trump and the GOP pass healthcare and/or tax reforms? Wall Street has been counting on corporate tax reform (i.e., lower income-tax rates) to drive growth in the years to come, and anything less than a passage of a cut in corporate tax rates could be viewed as a failure.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>There's also the question of what's to come with interest rates. The Federal Reserve chose to stand pat on its federal funds target at its September meeting, but the door is still open for a possible rate increase for the third consecutive December. How future rate hikes could impact stocks and the economy remains a highly debatable topic.</p>
<p>Right now, the answers to these questions are unknown, but that doesn't mean investors have to sit idly by awaiting the outcomes. Instead, investors with a long-term mindset have the opportunity to seize the day by picking out attractively priced high-quality stocks this fall that could power their portfolio to gains for years to come.</p>
<p>Here are three top stocks trading at discounts that investors may want to consider buying this fall.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Ready for a curveball? How about we begin by taking a look at coal producer (yes, I said "coal producer") --&#160;Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ: ARLP).</p>
<p>Some pundits would suggest that buying into coal would be investment suicide, given how it's been pushed to the wayside by natural gas and alternative energies such as wind and solar in recent years. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal wound up generating 30% of all electricity in 2016, which is down almost 10% in just two years.&#160;This reduction and subsequent oversupply has weighed on coal prices, which also pushed Alliance Resource Partners' sales and net income down in its most recent quarter.</p>
<p>However, the EIA also calls for coal's usage to rise in 2017 to 31% of all electricity generation, suggesting that coal isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Instead, it just means that investors in the coal space need to be especially picky when looking for companies to benefit from coal's usage. I believe Alliance Resource Partners is that top-tier producer in the coal industry.</p>
<p>To begin with, the company does an excellent job of minimizing its exposure to wholesale coal prices, which in turn makes its cash flow very predictable from one quarter to the next. It does this by contracting out its production years in advance. Through the midway point of 2017, it had 38 million tons of coal committed this year, along with 20.1 million tons, 11 million tons, and 6.9 million tons, respectively committed for 2018, 2019, and 2020.&#160; Few other coal producers have commitments of this size pushed out as far as Alliance Resource Partners.</p>
<p>The company has also done a remarkably good job <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/01/3-rock-solid-high-yield-dividend-stocks-with-a-pe.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">managing its debt and expenditures effectively Opens a New Window.</a>. Whereas many of Alliance Resource Partners' competitors are mired in debt, its debt-to-equity was a reasonable 48% as of the latest quarter, and it's been generating more in annual operating cash flow than it has in total debt at the moment. In other words, there are no debt or financing concerns here.</p>
<p>As the icing on the cake, Alliance Resource Partners is a limited partnership, meaning its dishes out a delectable 10.6% yield in return for hefty tax breaks. It's possible this dividend could be cut a bit in the future depending on coal prices and demand, but it's likely that you'll continue to receive a dividend that's light years higher than the S&amp;P 500's average yield.</p>
<p>How about another curveball? Even with every big-name money manager and Wall Street pundit under the sun running in the opposite direction, I'd suggest that pharmaceutical castaway Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE: TEVA) could make for an intriguing buy this fall.</p>
<p>Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: Teva is nothing short of a mess in the very near term. Here's the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/08/a-perfect-storm-cut-teva-pharmaceutical-industries.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">laundry list of everything that's gone wrong recently Opens a New Window.</a> (and forgive me if I miss a point or two):</p>
<p>As I said, it's not pretty -- but it could very well get better.</p>
<p>Recently, Teva announced that it had found its next CEO, Kare Schultz, a longtime veteran at Novo Nordisk , and it sold its women's health operating segment. It divested Paragard to Cooper Companies for $1.1 billion, and then announced the sale of the remainder of its women's health assets for $1.38 billion in two separate transactions just a few days later.&#160;That's a pretty good start for a company aiming to reduce its debt load by $5 billion by year's end. Remember, cutting its dividend by 75% will allow it to keep $1 billion in annual cash flow that it can then funnel toward debt reduction. It's also generating around $1 billion in free cash flow each quarter from existing operations. If Teva can make good on its expected sale of European oncology and pain franchises, it's not out of the question that it can reduce its total debt by between $7 billion and $10 billion by the end of 2018.</p>
<p>Teva's also done a nice job with trying to shield Copaxone from generic competition. It developed a new formulation that can be administered three times weekly, as opposed to daily. While it's unclear if this new formulation will be protected from generics, Teva continues to utilize the legal system to the best of its ability to keep its cash cow untouched by generic competitors.</p>
<p>Finally, just keep in mind that as the top generic-drug maker in the world, the long haul numbers are on its side. Within the U.S. alone, the elderly population is expected to nearly double from 48 million in 2015 to 88 million by 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.&#160;Since the elderly are more likely to take prescription medicines, Teva is uniquely set up to see its demand for generic products rise. Even if margins remain challenged, volume can prove to be a moneymaking tool for Teva.</p>
<p>At just five times forward earnings and boasting a 2% yield even after the dividend cut, Teva looks worthy of value- and income-seekers' consideration.</p>
<p>Why not one more curveball? The last discounted top stock worth a look this fall is Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE). Yes, an airline!</p>
<p>Fuel costs are generally the largest expenditure for the airline industry, so when crude prices fell from north of $100 a barrel in 2014 to under $30 at one point in 2016, most everyone rejoiced, including consumers. But that cheering only lasted so long for bare-bones airlines like Spirit, which rely on exceptionally low fares to attract consumers. Low fuel prices have opened the door for major airlines to wage ticket-price wars with Spirit, hurting its near-term margins.</p>
<p>More recently, Spirit has also had labor disagreements with its pilots who want a new contract. Despite the offer for bonus pay, many of Spirit's pilots have been turning down overtime work, pushing the airline to cancel 850 flights during the second quarter.&#160;Worries about when a new agreement will be reached have hung over the stock in the interim.</p>
<p>Now, here's the good news: Spirit Airlines' business model is unique, and that alone could help differentiate it in a crowded and debt-laden industry.</p>
<p>Spirit's focus is on passing along the lowest ticket price as possible. That's its lure to hook passengers and get them on its planes. After their ticket is purchased is where the high-margin business model comes into play. Spirit charges for pretty much everything thereafter, including printing out your boarding pass, checking luggage, taking a carry-on bag onto the plane, food, drinks, pillows, a blanket -- you name it, they charge for it. The best part about these ancillary fees is they're very high margin, since they don't typically require the assistance of an airline agent. These ancillary costs are geared in such a way as to persuade cost-conscious travelers to handle things on their end, rather than to rely on Spirit Airlines' agents. That means fewer employee costs for Spirit.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Spirit Airlines is operating <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/03/average-fleet-age-of-the-10-major-us-airlines.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">one of the youngest fleets in the skies Opens a New Window.</a>. According to AirFleets.net, the average age of its 103 aircraft is just 5.3 years,&#160;which means its plane spend most of their time in the air rather than in the garage receiving repairs. What's more, if jet fuel prices do creep higher, Spirit's newer fleet will get far better fuel efficiency than the older planes than many majors are currently operating. Yet in spite of this new fleet and capacity expansion, Spirit has only $211 million in net debt, which is very reasonable for a profitable airline of its size.</p>
<p>Currently valued at less than 10 times forward earnings, Spirit and its low-cost model could prove to be a bargain for consumers and investors.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Teva Pharmaceutical IndustriesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom&#160;Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they&#160;have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom&#160;just revealed what they believe are the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;for investors to buy right now... and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries wasn't one of them! That's right -- they&#160;think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFUltraLong/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Sean Williams Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The Motley Fool recommends Alliance Resource Partners, Novo Nordisk, and Spirit Airlines. 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=1cbb7b3a-9e5e-11e7-88f9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Top Stocks on Sale This Fall | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/19/3-top-stocks-on-sale-this-fall.html | 2017-09-25 | 0 |
<p>The United States Supreme Court delivered a blow to the Trump administration, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/326960-supreme-court-wont-pause-obama-water-rule-case" type="external">refusing today to consider pausing</a> a case challenging an Obama-era EPA rule on water protections. The decision comes on the same day the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump appointed to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia (following Senate Republicans’ unprecedented blockade of Obama appointee Merrick Garland).</p>
<p>The rule implemented by Trump’s predecessor would allow the government to place restrictions on businesses and other development plans near small waterways, like ponds and streams. Before development could occur around these waterways, special permits&#160;would need to be granted by the Army Corps of Engineers, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/314243-supreme-court-to-hear-case-concerning-obama-water-rule" type="external">according to reporting from the Hill</a>.</p>
<p>President Trump opposed the measure, and asked the Supreme Court to pause current litigation on the case on the basis that the current administration was planning to dismantle the executive rule, thus rendering the case moot. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-clean-water-rule-executive-order_us_58b5add8e4b0a8a9b78681b9" type="external">Trump signed an executive order earlier this year</a> ordering the Army Corps of Engineers to “revise and reconsider” the rule.</p>
<p>But the Court, in refusing to grant Trump’s motion to pause litigation, essentially told Trump that, until the rule itself is formally revised, it is still permitted to go through the legal process. In other words, the law is not moot due to the intentions of the Trump administration to revise the rule.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court <a href="http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2017/01/13/stories/1060048405" type="external">agreed to hear arguments on the case</a> in January, when President Barack Obama was still in the White House. A date for formal arguments has not yet been decided.</p> | The Supreme Court just ruled against Trump on the environment | true | http://resistancereport.com/politics/supreme-court-just-ruled-trump-environment/ | 2017-04-03 | 4 |
<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — The city of Pittsburgh has agreed to pay $5.5 million to resolve a federal lawsuit filed by a black man who was paralyzed when he was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop.</p>
<p>Mayor William Peduto and Leon Ford said in a joint statement released by the city Wednesday that "after five years of arduous litigation ... an amicable resolution" had been reached in the November 2012 shooting.</p>
<p>A jury cleared one officer of assault and battery allegations but said they were deadlocked on whether the other officer used excessive force in shooting him as his car sped away from the traffic stop with the officer still inside. A federal judge had scheduled a retrial next week on the suit alleging excessive force.</p>
<p>The statement said the agreement to pay Ford and his attorneys $5.5 million was in the best interest of Ford, the officer and the city, adding that it "will provide all involved the closure needed to move forward in a positive direction."</p>
<p>The officers said Ford was shot five times because he tried to drive away during a struggle inside his vehicle. Their attorney said Ford was shot during a frantic seven-second interval when his car drove forward as one officer stood outside and the other, kneeling on the front passenger seat, fired multiple times from inside the car.</p>
<p>But Ford said the car was inadvertently knocked into gear and that the officers acted aggressively because they thought he was a gang member with a similar name, age and appearance.</p>
<p>Ford's attorneys said the shooting left him a paraplegic without any sexual function.</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — The city of Pittsburgh has agreed to pay $5.5 million to resolve a federal lawsuit filed by a black man who was paralyzed when he was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop.</p>
<p>Mayor William Peduto and Leon Ford said in a joint statement released by the city Wednesday that "after five years of arduous litigation ... an amicable resolution" had been reached in the November 2012 shooting.</p>
<p>A jury cleared one officer of assault and battery allegations but said they were deadlocked on whether the other officer used excessive force in shooting him as his car sped away from the traffic stop with the officer still inside. A federal judge had scheduled a retrial next week on the suit alleging excessive force.</p>
<p>The statement said the agreement to pay Ford and his attorneys $5.5 million was in the best interest of Ford, the officer and the city, adding that it "will provide all involved the closure needed to move forward in a positive direction."</p>
<p>The officers said Ford was shot five times because he tried to drive away during a struggle inside his vehicle. Their attorney said Ford was shot during a frantic seven-second interval when his car drove forward as one officer stood outside and the other, kneeling on the front passenger seat, fired multiple times from inside the car.</p>
<p>But Ford said the car was inadvertently knocked into gear and that the officers acted aggressively because they thought he was a gang member with a similar name, age and appearance.</p>
<p>Ford's attorneys said the shooting left him a paraplegic without any sexual function.</p> | Pittsburgh to pay $5.5 million in suit over police shooting | false | https://apnews.com/amp/1c87f7fec35b480dac420243c2e4d13b | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
<p>WASHINGTON—The Trump administration stepped up its support for protesters in Iran on Tuesday, calling on the government to stop blocking Instagram and other social media sites while encouraging Iranians to use special software to circumvent controls.</p>
<p>Following several days of tweets by President Donald Trump rooting on the protesters and declaring that it’s “time for change,” the State Department took it further, arguing that the United States has an “obligation not to stand by.” Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein, in charge of public diplomacy, said the U.S. wants Iran’s government to “open these sites” including the photo-sharing platform Instagram and the messaging app Telegram.</p>
<p>“They are legitimate avenues for communication,” Goldstein said. “People in Iran should be able to access those sites.”</p>
<p>Iranians seeking to evade the blocks can use virtual private networks, Goldstein said. Known as VPNs, the services create encrypted data “tunnels” between computers and are used in many countries to access overseas websites blocked by the local government.</p>
<p />
<p>Despite the blocks, the United States is working to maintain communication with Iranians in the Farsi language, including through official accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. The State Department also was to distribute videos of top U.S. officials encouraging the protesters through those and other sites.</p>
<p>The U.S. outreach came as the Trump administration, in a departure from President Barack Obama’s approach, was mounting a full-throated show of support for Iranians protesting against the government over concerns about corruption, mismanagement and economic woes.</p>
<p>The administration was also considering additional sanctions against Iran over human rights concerns related to the protests, said a U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the plans publicly and demanded anonymity. And at the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said she was calling for the Security Council to meet urgently to discuss the protests.</p>
<p>Iran’s government has blamed the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom for fomenting the protests, calling them the work of foreign “enemies of Iran.” It’s a similar response to the ones Tehran has used in the past to discredit uprisings, including the Green Movement demonstrations in 2009.</p>
<p>Goldstein said the U.S. was not only supporting the protesters but encouraging other countries to do the same. The State Department was also dispatching Arabic speakers to appear on Arabic-language television networks to discuss the protests in Iran.</p>
<p>“We want to encourage the protesters to continue to fight for what’s right and to open up Iran,” Goldstein said.</p>
<p>The demonstrations over six days have been largest in Iran since the country’s disputed 2009 presidential election. They started Dec. 28 in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, as demonstrators decried the country’s weak economy and a surge in food prices. The protests have expanded to several cities. At least 21 people have died, and hundreds have been arrested.</p>
<p>Trump has voiced support for the protesters on Twitter, praising Iranians on Tuesday for “finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime.” He has said the United States will be closely monitoring any human rights violations by the government.</p>
<p>“The U.S. is watching!” the president tweeted.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</p> | U.S. Calls on Iran to Unblock Social Media Sites | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/u-s-calls-iran-unblock-social-media-sites/ | 2018-01-02 | 4 |
<p>As Hurricane Harvey continued to devastate Houston and the surrounding areas, it soon became clear that President Trump’s response to the disaster was destined to be laughing stock.</p>
<p>On Wednesday morning, Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/902881712010653697" type="external">tweeted</a> that he’d seen the destruction from the storm “firsthand,” but that account was soon <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/31/trump-claimed-he-witnessed-harveys-devastation-first-hand-the-white-house-basically-admits-he-didnt/?utm_term=.e6df90426e2e" type="external">challenged by reporters</a>who said the President’s on-the-ground account of the destruction was secondhand at best.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Unsurprisingly, the pro-Trump Twittersphere tried to change the subject to Obama with a bit of revisionist history and took to Twitter to complain about how Obama ‘didn’t do enough’ when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005.</p>
<p>The fraudulent claim became so widespread that the fact-checking site <a href="http://www.snopes.com/barack-obama-katrina/" type="external">Snopes.com</a> had to publish an article reiterating that George W. Bush was president when Katrina hit, not Barack Obama.</p>
<p>From Snopes:</p>
<p>The argument that Obama did not do enough after Hurricane Katrina lashed New Orleans, however, ignores the fact that Obama was not president at the time. Katrina made landfall in August 2005, during George W. Bush’s presidency.</p>
<p>Obama — who was a Democratic Party senator representing Illinois when the storm hit — was not elected president until November 2008. However, Obama did&#160; <a href="http://lubbockonline.com/stories/090605/sta_090605082.shtml#.Wab6l3Z97IV" type="external">meet</a>&#160;with Katrina evacuees on 5 September 2005 in Lubbock Texas alongside former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Via Snopes</p>
<p>As Snopes points out, a 2013 <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/poll-louisiana-gopers-unsure-if-katrina-response-was-obama-s-fault" type="external">PPP poll</a> found that 29 percent of Republicans thought Obama was to blame for the disastrous federal response to Katrina, while another 44 percent couldn’t decide whether it was Bush’s or Obama’s fault.</p>
<p>Featured image via Snopes</p> | Snopes had to remind Trump supporters that Obama wasn’t president during Hurricane Katrina | true | http://deadstate.org/snopes-had-to-remind-trump-supporters-that-obama-wasnt-president-during-hurricane-katrina/ | 2017-08-31 | 4 |
<p>TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital will buy Japanese advertising agency Asatsu-DK Inc (T:) for about 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion), the reported.</p>
<p>Bain will launch a tender offer soon for shares of Asatsu-DK, the Nikkei said, adding that an announcement of the deal would be made on Monday.</p>
<p>($1 = 112.8600 yen)</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> | Bain to buy Japan ad agency Asatsu-DK for $1.3 billion: Nikkei | false | https://newsline.com/bain-to-buy-japan-ad-agency-asatsu-dk-for-1-3-billion-nikkei/ | 2017-10-02 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. - Santa Fe police Thursday night tried to arrest a man accused in a search warrant of sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 7-year-old daughter.</p>
<p>After a SWAT standoff that lasted several hours,police found a body inside a home in the 4400 block of Calle Turrquesa near Capital High School. Police spokesman Greg Gurule identified the dead man as Javier Flores, about 30 years old.</p>
<p>Gurule said an apparent gun shot had been heard inside the residence early in the standoff.</p>
<p>Flores was named in a recent search warrant affidavit filed in District Court.</p>
<p>The affidavit said a woman reported that Flores, her boyfriend, had inappropriately touched her daughter. The girl later told investigators that Flores touched her sexually several times over the past two months and that the assaults happened when everybody else was asleep. Asked why she didn't report Flores, the girl said she was too frightened.</p>
<p>The girl was taken to the hospital and was treated for a urinary infection.</p>
<p>Police seized bedsheets, blankets and pillowcases as well as some of the girl's clothing from Flores' home on april 15.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Alleged sex offender dead after Santa Fe SWAT standoff | false | https://abqjournal.com/769580/alleged-sex-offender-dead-after-santa-fe-swat-standoff.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>Visit the Generation-X discussion group <a href="news:alt.society.generation-x" type="external">here!</a></p>
<p><a href="http://venus.mcs.com/~flowers/html/cybernet.html" type="external">CyberNet</a> is the central on-line “jumping off” point for alternative information seekers. Their library of topics range from the bizarre, to the downright scary. If you’re after information about anarchy, Nirvana, or goofy art, come on over. The whole splendid thing is maintained by <a href="http://venus.mcs.com/~advertiz/html/IntMarket.html" type="external">Internet Marketing Inc.</a> (a.k.a. two hip Generation Xers who are cybersavvy about Internet marketing/advertising).</p>
<p>Lookout! An attempt to <a href="gopher://gopher.mndly.umn.edu:71/00/1994/Jan/Jan%2027%2c%201994/SLACKER.STO" type="external">define Slackerness</a></p>
<p>Former slacker explains <a href="gopher://gopher.acs.ohio-state.edu:70/00/News%20and%20Weather/The%20Lantern/1994%20-%20Spring%20Quarter/Vol.%20113%20No.%20127%20-%20apr.%2008/Former%20slacker%20explains%20the%20art%20of%20loafing" type="external">the art of loafing.</a></p>
<p>A review of the film <a href="gopher://spinaltap.micro.umn.edu/00/fun/Movies/1991/Oct/SLACKER" type="external">SLACKER</a></p>
<p>The Atlantic discusses <a href="gopher://csf.Colorado.EDU/00/psn/marthas-corner/Generation_Gap--Atlantic.Dec92" type="external">“The Generation Gap”</a></p>
<p>This netsurf page is brought to you by <a href="http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ikallen/ian.kallen.html" type="external">Ian Kallen</a></p>
<p /> | SLACKER! | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1994/09/slacker/ | 2018-09-01 | 4 |
<p>Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) said Friday the European Commission has approved its drug Mavenclad for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.</p>
<p>The German pharmaceuticals company said it expects the drug to become available in Germany and the U.K. as early as September, and that it plans to file for additional regulatory approval in other countries, including the U.S.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Mavenclad 10mg is used to treat highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis. Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use had recommended the approval of the treatment in June, the company said.</p>
<p>More than 700,000 people are affected by the neurological desease in Europe and there is no cure available, the company said.</p>
<p>The stock was trading at EUR92.61, up 2.2%.</p>
<p>Write to Max Bernhard at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>August 25, 2017 04:51 ET (08:51 GMT)</p> | Merck Gets EU Approval for Multiple Sclerosis Drug Mavenclad | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/25/merck-gets-eu-approval-for-multiple-sclerosis-drug-mavenclad.html | 2017-08-25 | 0 |
<p>A young 17 year old Bosnian girl from Austria was murdered by The Islamic State for trying to leave the organization and return home to her family in Austria. A woman who had been living with 17 year old Samra Kesinovic had successfully escaped from the Islamic State stronghold in the city of Raqqa and told her tale to an Austrian newspaper.</p>
<p>Young Kesinovic ran away from home last year with her friend, 15 year old Sabina Semimovic, and the two headed for Syria because they expected to marry a couple of Islamic State soldiers, reports <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/teen-joined-isis-beaten-death-leave-article-1.2445473" type="external">The New York Daily News</a>. Kesinovic eventually changed her mind a year later and tried to flee from Raqqa. That was when she was caught and murdered by Islamic State soldiers.</p>
<p>Since the two young teenagers were so beautiful, the Islamic State used them as “poster girls” in their marketing campaign to get other young teenagers, especially girls, from around the world to come to Iraq and Syria and joining in the great jihadist movement against the West.</p>
<p>The two girls were almost immediately married off to a pair of Islamic State soldiers and it is believed that they had received training and sent into combat. Members of the Islamic State are fervent believers that no one can go to heaven if they are killed in battle by a female.</p>
<p>It is also believed that Kesinovic’s friend, Semimovic, was also killed while trying to escape but no one has been able to confirm that belief. It has also been reprted that Semimovic was killed last year and was a catalyst for Kesinovic wanting to escape. Both girls came from families that were Bosnian. The families both escaped the violence and&#160;brutality of Bosnia in the early 1990’s and ended up settling in Austria.</p>
<p>The two friends were both born and raised in Austria and it is unclear how they became attracted to the Islamic State or why they really ran away to Syria.</p>
<p /> | Teenage girl is murdered by the Islamic State for attempting to return home | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/12/03/teenage-girl-is-murdered-by-the-islamic-state-for-attempting-to-return-home/ | 2015-12-03 | 3 |
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.pandagon.net/mtarchives/004871.html" type="external">Via</a> Amanda Marcotte, the latest bit of anti-immigrant nuttery floating through Congress is <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-698" type="external">this pleasant little bill</a> that would strip citizenship from all children born to illegal immigrants in the United States. Y’know, to deter all those third-trimester Mexican women racing across the hot desert sands to give birth in Texas and “beat” the system. Not only that, but the bill is retroactive, so presumably all current citizens would have to prove that their ancestors had their paperwork in order. Good times for all.</p>
<p>The bill won’t ever see the light of day, of course, but it does highlight the burgeoning and rather vicious GOP split over immigration. It’s true that claims of intra-Republican infighting have in the past been <a href="http://nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg200503300801.asp" type="external">overblown</a>—the supposed split between libertarian businessmen and raid-your-bedroom social conservatives, for instance, will probably never materialize. But the immigration fight genuinely has the ability to push people out of the party. Either legislation like the Miller-Deal bill above get flaunted (or worse, passed), and Hispanics never vote Republican again, or the president pushes for his preferred amnesty-based immigration approach, and angers his white nationalist base. (There’s an even stickier conundrum, too: any immigration reform that offered illegal immigrants the path to citizenship—which is what <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/PollVault/story?id=419276" type="external">61 percent</a> of Americans favor—risks minting millions of new Democratic voters.)</p>
<p>As a somewhat indirect but noteworthy sign of just how strong that “white nationalist” base is, Michael Crowley did a <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050328&amp;s=crowley032805" type="external">good profile</a> in the New Republic a few weeks back of Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), who has defied Karl Rove time and time again in his push for tougher immigration restrictions. Tancredo wouldn’t be so defiant if he didn’t have a groundswell behind him—according to a 2003 Pew poll, 54 percent of Republicans agree “completely” that immigration needs to be tightened. As with the Democratic stance on Iraq over the past few years, the GOP could end up straddling this issue and making all of its constitutents bitter.</p>
<p /> | The politics of xenophobia | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/03/politics-xenophobia/ | 2005-03-31 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Phoenix welcomes football fans from across the country to its city this weekend for Super Bowl XLIX. The showdown between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks is expected to attract 100,000 visitors to the region—but will the big game give the host city a financial boost?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee expects this year’s game, which will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to give the state’s economy a $500 million boost.</p>
<p>But Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers has a different view.&#160; While he’s looking forward to hosting the Super Bowl, he says he’s concerned about Glendale’s ability to afford upfront costs, including $2.1 million in additional security.</p>
<p>“The Super Bowl is going to benefit our city, the region and the state of Arizona,” Mayor Weiers told FOX Business Network. “The money that’s paid upfront for public safety costs has been my complaint. That’s the thing I’ve been talking about for more than a year. This whole thing started when I asked the state to help out with the public safety costs.”</p>
<p>Arizona’s state government rejected a bill that would have reimbursed the city of Glendale for half of the public-safety cost, which Mayor Weiers argues the state should pay since it will benefit from the game.</p>
<p>“The furthest thing from the truth is that we don’t want the Super Bowl.&#160; I’d love to have the Super Bowl every year if we could,” Mayor Weiers said.&#160; “But what I’m trying to make happen is for the state to step up and be a partner with the city along with the NFL.&#160; The state benefits more than anyone.&#160; All of the cities benefit through state-shared revenues.&#160; My city should not brunt the burden when every city benefits from the event.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>When Glendale hosted the Super Bowl in 2008, the city estimates it lost $1.6 million.</p>
<p>Although it won’t be determined until after this weekend whether the city of Glendale will lose money on the Super Bowl, plenty of cash will be exchanging hands in the Grand Canyon State.</p>
<p>PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates the game will generate $206 million in direct spending in the Phoenix area in lodging, tourism and transportation by the NFL, fans and media.</p>
<p>And attending the Super Bowl will cost fans a pretty penny.&#160; The current average price for Super Bowl tickets is $9,484.37, with a get-in price of $7,087, according to TiqIQ.&#160; Seats in the 200’s level are averaging $7,251 and seats in the 100’s level are selling for an average of $6,206.</p>
<p>But the game doesn’t just impact Arizona’s economy. More than 100 million Americans are expected to watch Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, and consumers are expected to spend a record $14.3 billion on game day food, drinks, and even TVs, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.</p>
<p>And consumers are not the only ones spending the big bucks. A 30-second advertisement slot during the game will cost $4.5 million, according to SuperBowl-Ads.com. That’s a half-a-million-dollar increase from last year. &#160;More than 70 advertisers will be featured in Sunday's game.</p>
<p>Anheuser-Busch InBev has been the top advertiser for the past five Super Bowls, spending a combined $152.5 million, according to Kanter Media. &#160;The next four biggest spenders: Chrysler Group ($89.5 million), PepsiCo ($76.6 million), Hyundai ($69.8 million) and Volkswagen ($68.1 million).</p>
<p>Super Bowl XLIX will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on February 1.</p> | How Much Is Super Bowl XLIX Worth to Arizona? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2015/01/30/how-much-is-super-bowl-xlix-worth-to-arizona.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>There are Lego kits and Chatty Cathys, which children, who realizing their new-found power, will beg, cajole and coax Santa in their letter to the North Pole into bringing to them, promising to be especially good. A song concerning inclusion and diversity, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” is about a small, child-like deer, who will now be allowed to play all those reindeer games with his new friends.</p>
<p>Thinking about a special child born in Bethlehem long, long ago makes us see how extraordinary and unique all children are. This is a time we are to think about them and cherish them even more.</p>
<p>This makes me think of Malala.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I know many of you have heard the story of Malala, Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, who when she was a mere 11 years old created a blog detailing her life, and began speaking out for her right and the rights of all girls and women in her country to learn and have the freedom to be.</p>
<p>Because of this bravery, when she was 16, the school bus she was riding on was stopped and she was deliberately shot in the head by a Taliban follower.</p>
<p>She didn’t die, but remained in a coma for days. Heroic efforts to save her were undertaken. She was eventually flown to England and recuperated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.</p>
<p>A year later, she has had a marvelous recovery and when she is interviewed by Jon Stewart on the “Daily Show,” says this about the attack: “Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.”</p>
<p>I can relate to this emotion, but Malala went further.</p>
<p>“Then I said, ‘If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and Talib. You must not treat others that much with cruelty and that much harshly. You must fight others, but through peace and through dialogue and through education. Then I (would) tell him how important education is and that ‘I even want education for your children as well.’ And I would tell him, ‘That’s what I want to tell you. Now, do what you want.'”</p>
<p>I think we all agree on this child’s perception and stand in awe of wisdom in one so young, and we are glad she got the care she desperately needed.</p>
<p>But this also made me think about the other children of Pakistan and Yemen and Somalia. There has been precious little information regarding the civilians killed in drone strikes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The total number of strikes under President Obama from 2008 to the present is 326 and the number of civilians killed is unclear, but from 416 to 948 is cited, of those 168-200 were children. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism gives monthly updates on the web if you wish to explore further.</p>
<p>It made me think how much we cared about Malala, and what a brave and wise girl she is. It made me think of how many more Malalas are out there, and how many stories of brave and wise children we need to learn from.</p>
<p>I think now would be a good time to open our hearts and our ears, and listen to their stories, too, and cherish and love them all.</p>
<p>When Malala met with President Obama, she pleaded that he stop the drone strikes, that these deaths and injuries were turning the people against the United States.</p>
<p>Perhaps, she suggested, we build schools instead.</p>
<p>How best to keep another 9/11 from happening? Is this the way? Maybe this is the season to remember that love has always won out over fear – always.</p>
<p>Let us remember to listen to the children, especially during this season of peace.</p>
<p /> | This is the season to listen to the children | false | https://abqjournal.com/321982/this-is-the-season-to-listen-to-the-children.html | 2 |
|
<p>NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A Cypriot company says its new sub-sea internet cable that will connect Israel with Spain will be powerful enough to handle up to 60 percent of the world’s internet traffic at peak time.</p>
<p>Quantum Cable Chairman Nasos Ktorides said after signing on Tuesday an agreement to lay the cable that the $200 million project is expected to come online in 2020.</p>
<p>Ktorides said the cable will have 40 times more capacity than existing internet cables on the Mediterranean seabed. He said that’s enough capacity to handle as many as 80 million high-definition video calls between Asia and Europe simultaneously.</p>
<p>The 4785-mile (7,700 km) cable will reach Bilbao, Spain, where an equally powerful internet cable now connects Spain with the U.S. state of Virginia.</p>
<p>NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A Cypriot company says its new sub-sea internet cable that will connect Israel with Spain will be powerful enough to handle up to 60 percent of the world’s internet traffic at peak time.</p>
<p>Quantum Cable Chairman Nasos Ktorides said after signing on Tuesday an agreement to lay the cable that the $200 million project is expected to come online in 2020.</p>
<p>Ktorides said the cable will have 40 times more capacity than existing internet cables on the Mediterranean seabed. He said that’s enough capacity to handle as many as 80 million high-definition video calls between Asia and Europe simultaneously.</p>
<p>The 4785-mile (7,700 km) cable will reach Bilbao, Spain, where an equally powerful internet cable now connects Spain with the U.S. state of Virginia.</p> | ‘Superfast’ internet cable to cross Mediterranean sea | false | https://apnews.com/4290d3fb472542b693b6c332281d6927 | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p>Indian cartoonist&#160;Aseem Trivedi, charged with sedition for political images critical of the government, was <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/12/jailed-political-cartoonist-trivedi-released-on-bail-in-india/" type="external">released on bail</a> early Wednesday.</p>
<p>If convicted, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/asia/india-cartoonist-sedition/index.html?hpt=hp_t2" type="external">CNN says</a>, Trivedi could spend the rest of life in jail.&#160;Some of his images can be <a href="http://www.cartoonsagainstcorruption.blogspot.in/" type="external">found here</a>.</p>
<p>Trivedi originally said he would not accept bail and demanded the government drop the charges. However, on Wednesday,&#160;Trivedi agreed to cooperate.</p>
<p>After his release Trivedi called for the repeal of the sedition law being used against him.</p>
<p>"I will cooperate in court cases," <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/aseem-trivedi-released-wants-sedition-law-repealed/290888-3.html" type="external">he said</a>. "Section 124 (A) should be removed from the Indian Constitution."</p>
<p>He added,&#160;"Although I'm free, the battle will continue. Whenever there is an infringement of legal rights, our fight will continue," <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Aseem-Trivedi-freed-Advani-says-current-time-worse-than-emergency/Article1-928496.aspx" type="external">&#160;Trivedi told reporters</a>.</p>
<p>Trivedi was arrested on Sunday after complaints were brought against him on grounds that his cartoons insulted India.</p>
<p>CNN puts the&#160;Trivedi case in a larger, cultural context.</p>
<p>Here's the video:</p>
<p /> | Aseem Trivedi, Indian cartoonist charged with sedition, is released on bail | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-09-12/aseem-trivedi-indian-cartoonist-charged-sedition-released-bail | 2012-09-12 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>During a work break, Drew McDonough reaches among his work colleagues to grab a piece of freshly baked chocolate chip banana bread at the Sugar &amp; Spice Extraordinary Sweet Treats bakery in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/TNS)</p>
<p>EVANSTON, Ill. – Drew McDonough walks quickly past the 50-pound bags of brown sugar and the huge tubs of chocolate frosting. He takes a second to clock in at a computer, dresses in his bakery clothes (hairnet, work shirt, apron), and then speed-walks toward the stainless-steel table where, five days a week, he packages cups of sticky toffee pudding.</p>
<p>When his boss inquires about his weekend, McDonough responds with brisk one-word answers and barely makes eye contact. But that is fine with Jean Kroll, owner of the Sugar &amp; Spice Extraordinary Sweet Treats commercial bakery in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, who simply points her new hire toward the racks of golden brown cakes.</p>
<p>“We have 800,” she says. “Can you start by dating the sleeves and then getting some boxes?”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For the rest of the four-hour shift on this cold December afternoon, the quiet, dark-haired 27-year-old moves so quickly he seems set on fast-forward. He boxes cakes, stacks them on a hand cart, labels them for shipment and, when he’s done, carefully sweeps the floor.</p>
<p>McDonough has autism. The fact that he also has a job at the bakery is something that he says is “probably a miracle.”</p>
<p>“I’m working 20 hours a week, which my parents are very happy about,” he said. “It feels as happy as can be.”</p>
<p>Last summer, McDonough and two other men with autism arrived at the bakery as part of a six-week unpaid internship. But there was one important twist: As the men learned to measure sugar and package cakes, a graduate student from the nearby Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management carefully tracked their productivity. The question: Did it make good business sense to hire someone with a disability?</p>
<p>For Kroll, a 50-year-old entrepreneur who had plowed her life savings into the bakery, that was a critical question.</p>
<p>Drew McDonough works with Jean Kroll, founder of a commercial bakery in the Chicago area. McDonough, who has autism, performs such tasks as stamping labels on Sticky Toffee Pudding, boxing them to be shipped and putting labels on the boxes. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/TNS)</p>
<p>“Small businesses hire based on economics,” Kroll said. “Most of us are not big enough to hire based on a philanthropic approach.”</p>
<p>The story of how – at the end of the internship – she offered paid positions to McDonough and two other men with autism is one of luck and goodwill. But it is also, according to Kroll, a story of a clear-eyed business decision.</p>
<p>“People always say, ‘That’s such a nice thing to do,'” said Kroll, referring to her decision to hire the men. “I say, ‘Yes it is nice. But it’s also a smart thing to do.'”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Two years ago, Kroll moved her commercial bakery into a 10,000-square-foot facility tucked in an industrial strip. A few doors down was a nonprofit called Have Dreams, which provides services to people with autism.</p>
<p>Shortly after the move, Kroll’s landlord mentioned that her new neighbors – the men and women with autism – were always looking for job training.</p>
<p>“Maybe they could help you build boxes,” the landlord suggested.</p>
<p>Soon after, Kroll invited a group of five men with autism to help her construct and label boxes for her chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and signature shortbread cookies. She had no experience with people with disabilities. But when a young man put together a box and, with a huge grin, declared: “Look what I did!” Kroll was charmed.</p>
<p>For a year and a half, the men came every week.</p>
<p>One day, an administrator at Have Dreams asked if Kroll might have other jobs for the men. Kroll’s answer was firm and immediate.</p>
<p>“No,” she said.</p>
<p>After she went home that night, she couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said. “I was so angry with myself,” she recalled. “They were such a great group of young people.”</p>
<p>Around that time, Kroll had begun negotiations with a client whose line of baked goods would require labor-intensive packaging. The work could have been automated, but Kroll didn’t have the $80,000 she estimated it would cost to buy the equipment.</p>
<p>She thought of the men from Have Dreams and picked up the phone.</p>
<p>“I think I might have a job for the guys,” she said.</p>
<p>Over the following weeks, Kroll and a team from Have Dreams came up with a plan to establish a job training program at the bakery and eventually landed a $125,000 grant from the Chicago-based Coleman Foundation. The money came with a unique prerequisite: It required Have Dreams to hire a Master of Business Administration student to collect data on the men’s productivity.</p>
<p>By the end of the six weeks, the metrics that tracked the men’s productivity for portioning sugar, labeling boxes and dating the cakes showed that they could work about 80 percent as quickly as a typical bakery worker. For Kroll, that was a break-even point that meant it would make sense to hire them for an entry-level, minimum-wage position and allow more experienced, higher-paid workers to focus on more complex tasks.</p>
<p>When an official from the Coleman Foundation came for a visit in August, Drew McDonough – whose hands used to shake – proudly gave a tour of the bakery. Then McDonough joined the other men on a small assembly line.</p>
<p>“They worked together without a coach and did a wonderful job,” recalled Kroll. “Everyone looked at each other, and we were all thinking, ‘This works. This makes sense.'”</p>
<p /> | Commercial payoff: Small bakery finds hiring autistic employees benefits business | false | https://abqjournal.com/531213/commercial-payoff.html | 2 |
|
<p>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/national-govt--politics/shark-tank-billionaire-mark-cuban-considers-running-independent/o5hqJopXeI0ykayfkeYjTJ/" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>“Shark Tank” billionaire Mark Cuban said Thursday he is “seriously considering” running for president and that he might do so as an independent. Cuban was asked about his political aspirations during an appearance at the Venture Atlanta business conference in Georgia.</p>
<p>In recent months, the Dallas Mavericks owner has indicated a presidential run might be in his future. “It is something I’m seriously considering,” Cuban told the Atlanta gathering. Among the factors he’s weighing is his wife’s thoughts on the matter, he said.</p>
<p>“If I was single, I’d definitely be running,” he said. Cuban said he’s an independent. “Maybe I run as an independent. I don’t know.” “I’m for smaller government,” he said, adding that, “I think there is a healthcare solution.”</p> | Mark Cuban Floats Presidential Run As Independent | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/10/13/mark-cuban-floats-presidential-run-independent/ | 2017-10-13 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Also at Collected Works, Margaret Moore Booker will present artist demonstrations, a reading and book signing for her new book, “Southwest Art Defined: An Illustrated Guide” at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21.</p>
<p>Collected Works is at 202 Galisteo St. The events are free.</p>
<p>PAGE ONE BOOKSTORE: The store will celebrate its 32nd anniversary Saturday, March 23. Hot dogs, cake and other refreshments will be served, local bands will perform live and there will be other surprises and specials during the day.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The schedule will include children’s programming. Performers will include a high school chorus, the John Ferguson Bluegrass Jam and Albuquerque Celtic Jammers. Page One is at 11018 Montgomery NE.</p>
<p>WILDFLOWER BOOK: Larry Littlefield and Pearl M. Burns discuss and sign their book “Wildflowers of the Sandia Mountains of Central New Mexico” from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at Treasure House Books &amp; Gifts, 2012 South Plaza NW in Old Town. The book was the winner of the 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Best Nature/Environment Book.</p>
<p>AT BOOKWORKS: Twenty-five years after Taos author Natalie Goldberg’s classic best-seller “Writing Down the Bones,” she has authored her first book on a revolutionary new method, “The True Secret of Writing.” She will present the new book at an author event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 at Bookworks.</p>
<p>Also at Bookworks, Rilla Askew reads from her new novel, “Kind of Kin,” a fiction exploring anti-immigrant sentiment in Oklahoma, at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23.</p>
<p>At 3 p.m. Monday, March 18 Emily Rapp will discuss “Still Point of the Turning World,” a memoir of her son who recently succumbed to Tay Sachs.</p>
<p>GARCIA STREET BOOKS: Author Helen Marie Clarke wil read from and discuss her new book “Over P.J. Clarke’s Bar: Tales from New York City’s Famous Saloon,” at 2 p.m. today at Garcia Street Books, 376 Garcia St., Santa Fe.</p>
<p>The book looks at how the bar became a watering hole for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, Rocky Marciano, Buddy Holly and other celebrities.</p>
<p>CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Alamosa Books, on the northwest corner of Ventura and Paseo del Norte NE, will host author and illustrator Jill McElmurry for two of her books, “Mario Makes a Move” and “Little Blue Truck,” from noon-2 p.m. Saturday, March 23.</p>
<p>“Little Blue Truck” was written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by McElmurry.</p>
<p>ANOTHER AWARD: The award-winning documentary novel “No Crystal Stair” by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, has received the American Library Association Coretta Scott King Honor Award. It is given annually to an African American author and illustrator for outstanding inspirational and educational contribution. The book is the story of the life and work of Harlen bookseller Lewis Michaux.</p>
<p>Nelson is a youth services librarian at the Rio Rancho Public Library.</p> | New Mexico book notes | false | https://abqjournal.com/179381/new-mexico-book-notes-9.html | 2013-03-17 | 2 |
<p>KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say two Kingman men have been seriously injured in a crash involving four motorcycles.</p>
<p>Kingman police say one of the men suffered life-threatening head and internal injuries while another man also remains hospitalized in serious condition with internal injuries that aren’t life-threatening.</p>
<p>They say four motorcyclists were travelling as a group Saturday morning in Kingman when a 43-year-old man made a lane change and struck a 59-year-old rider.</p>
<p>A 52-year-old man driving a third motorcycle in the group struck the non-helmeted first rider, causing him to lose control and crash.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old fourth cyclist also went down while trying to avoid the other crashes.</p>
<p>The fourth motorcyclist also wasn’t wearing a helmet but suffered only lacerations and didn’t need hospital treatment.</p>
<p>Police say alcohol or other impairment isn’t suspected.</p>
<p>KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say two Kingman men have been seriously injured in a crash involving four motorcycles.</p>
<p>Kingman police say one of the men suffered life-threatening head and internal injuries while another man also remains hospitalized in serious condition with internal injuries that aren’t life-threatening.</p>
<p>They say four motorcyclists were travelling as a group Saturday morning in Kingman when a 43-year-old man made a lane change and struck a 59-year-old rider.</p>
<p>A 52-year-old man driving a third motorcycle in the group struck the non-helmeted first rider, causing him to lose control and crash.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old fourth cyclist also went down while trying to avoid the other crashes.</p>
<p>The fourth motorcyclist also wasn’t wearing a helmet but suffered only lacerations and didn’t need hospital treatment.</p>
<p>Police say alcohol or other impairment isn’t suspected.</p> | 2 Kingman men are seriously injured in motorcycle accident | false | https://apnews.com/9221f6b73cf44655b19a76bad4f7e96b | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p />
<p>On the occasion of President <a href="" type="internal">Obama’s Oval Office speech on Iraq</a>, David Corn and Dan Senor duke it out over the origins of the Iraq war on <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#38941458" type="external">MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews</a>. Spoiler alert: Corn outclasses Senor with an Ernest Hemingway quote.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>David Corn is Mother Jones’ Washington bureau chief. For more of his stories, <a href="" type="internal">click here</a>. He’s also on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/davidcorndc" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p /> | Corn on “Hardball”: Why Did We Go To War in Iraq? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/08/corn-hardball-dan-senor-iraq-war/ | 2010-08-31 | 4 |
<p>There's a case of gold fever in Poland. A pair of treasure hunters reportedly located&#160;a Nazi-era train filled with gold — and it's causing quite a stir.</p>
<p>But when sorting fact from fiction in this story, the BBC’s Adam Easton says there’s not a scrap of documentary evidence that this train actually exists. But the legend does have longevity, dating back to the end of World War II.</p>
<p>Ostensibly, the train contains gold the Nazis gathered, perhaps precious art, all loaded in the city of Breslau. They chose to hide the train, either in a tunnel or underground, though, because of the advancing Soviet Red Army, Easton says.&#160;People have been looking for it for 70 years, and every five years someone claims that if you just tear down this brick wall, we’ll find it. But it's never happened.</p>
<p>This time the Nazi gold train rumor has been stoked by a Polish government official who is said to have received information from two anonymous treasure hunters who claimed to have "discovered"&#160;a Nazi train hidden in a tunnel in the southwest Polish city of Walbrzych. Piotr Zuchowski,&#160;Poland's deputy minister of culture, quoted the sources saying they were "99 percent certain the train was hidden under a hill," based on ground-penetrating radar.</p>
<p>Zuchowski&#160;called the find "unprecedented," adding "we do not know what is inside the train ...&#160;probably military equipment but also possibly jewelery, works of art and archive documents. ... Armored trains from this period were used to carry extremely valuable items and this is an armored train. It is a big clue."</p>
<p>Since the story began circulating, tourists armed with metal detectors and treasure hunters with a case of Nazi gold fever have flocking to the city near the border with the Czech Republic. The World Jewish Congress has already staked a claim, saying that any gold that&#160;is discovered was looted from victims of the Holocaust and&#160;should be returned to their families or heirs.</p>
<p>Poland's central bank governor Marek Belka was asked Wednesday how the discovery of an armored train packed with gold and jewelry might impact the Polish currency. "I don’t think anybody at the central bank even thought to devote a second to this issue," he said. This is some hoax."</p>
<p>A day earlier, Poland said it would deploy the army to do reconnaissance in an area near Walbrzych known for secret underground tunnels. So far there’s no digging or excavation underway.&#160;</p>
<p /> | Nazi gold train fever is spreading across Poland | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-09-02/nazi-gold-train-fever-spreading-across-poland | 2015-09-02 | 3 |
<p>A company-wide memo sent out by the head of human resources at the <a href="http://variety.com/t/warner-music-group/" type="external">Warner Music Group</a> on Friday warned employees of impending media articles about allegations against WMG employees — and confirmed that “some of the allegations were found to be true,” leading to “appropriate disciplinary actions against the relevant employees.”</p>
<p>The employees in question went unnamed in the memo signed by&#160;Maria Osherova, WMG’s human resources EVP.</p>
<p>Earlier Friday, sources confirmed to&#160;Variety&#160;that&#160; <a href="http://variety.com/2017/music/news/warner-music-taking-disciplinary-action-against-evp-jeff-fenster-for-sexual-harassment-1202642283/" type="external">WMG was taking disciplinary action&#160;against Warner Bros. Records executive VP A&amp;R Jeff Fenster</a> and another unnamed executive after a female former staffer made claims of sexual misconduct against them. The woman also accused WMG CEO&#160;Stephen&#160;Cooper&#160;of making an inappropriate remark at a party, a source confirmed.&#160;Osherova’s memo warned that news reports “will likely mention” the accusation against Cooper.</p>
<p>The full text of&#160;Osherova’s memo to WMG staff is below:</p>
<p>“I’m writing to let you know that a former Warner Bros. Records US employee has come forward with concerns about inappropriate behavior by several of our US executives. We are expecting some press coverage to appear soon, and I wanted you all to hear about it first from me.</p>
<p>“As you would expect, we treated these concerns very seriously, and appointed an independent investigator to conduct a review. Some of the accusations were found to be true and, as a consequence, we are in the process of taking the appropriate disciplinary actions against the relevant employees. The press coverage regarding this matter will likely mention that our CEO, Steve Cooper, was accused of making an inappropriate remark at a party.</p>
<p>“Each one of us at WMG plays an important role in maintaining a positive and productive workplace free from any form of harassment or discrimination. Our Code of Conduct details the high standards expected of everyone who works at the company. Early next year, we are rolling out a revised version of our Code.</p>
<p>“If, at any time, you believe that our Code has not been complied with, please contact your manager, someone in Human Resources, or our Compliance Office ([email protected]); or you can call the WMG Compliance Helpline (numbers attached).</p>
<p>“If the disturbing news stories from the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that there is a need for lasting change at our company, in our industry, and in our society at large. We can always do better. We will continue to listen and learn about how best to provide a safe, respectful and professional environment for everyone.”</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that WMG is owned by Access Industries, whose chief executive Len Blavatnik was a longtime business associate of Harvey Weinstein’s. After accusations of sexual assault and misconduct were levied against Weinstein on the heels of an October New York Times expose, Access sued The Weinstein Company Holdings and Weinstein personally for repayment of a loan issued in 2016, plus accrued interest and expenses, that places TWC in default should an “occurrence of a Material Adverse Change” come to pass.</p>
<p /> | Read Warner Music’s Memo Alerting Employees About ‘Inappropriate Behavior’ Among ‘Several’ Executives | false | https://newsline.com/read-warner-musics-memo-alerting-employees-about-inappropriate-behavior-among-several-executives/ | 2017-12-15 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Retailers and smaller U.S. companies jumped again Friday as they continued to report strong third-quarter results, but technology companies and other big U.S. corporations couldn’t add to the previous day’s gains.</p>
<p>A slew of retailers including discount chain Ross Stores, shoe store Foot Locker and clothing companies Gap and Abercrombie &amp; Fitch soared following strong results or forecasts. Wal-Mart helped kick off a retail rally a day ago. Technology, health care and industrial companies slumped. On Thursday they led stocks to their biggest gain in two months.</p>
<p>Investors have liked what they’ve seen from retailers the last two days. Invesco Global Market Strategist Kristina Hooper said the companies are giving a double dose of good news. Consumers are spending more, and there are signs some companies are figuring out how to survive in a world where more and more sales are made online.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Businesses are starting to evolve and alter their models and may be able to survive quite well in very changed circumstances,” she said. “This is only the beginning of what they’re going to need to do to stay competitive.”</p>
<p>The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index fell 6.79 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,578.85. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up 100.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,358.24. The Nasdaq composite dipped 10.50 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,782.79 after it closed at a record high Thursday.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 index of smaller and more U.S.-focused stocks climbed 5.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,492.82. Most of the companies on the New York Stock Exchange rose.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 finished slightly lower for the second week in a row after an eight-week winning streak.</p>
<p>Ross Stores jumped $6.56, or 10 percent, to $72.25 after its profit and sales were greater than expected, and the company raised its forecast for the rest of the year. The discount retailer said its business remained strong even though it dealt with the effects of several major hurricanes. Gap, too, did better than expected as sales at Old Navy and Athleta improved and it cut spending. Its stock gained $1.92, or 7 percent, to $29.40.</p>
<p>Foot Locker had a solid quarter and said that in spite of steep discounts, it expects to meet or “modestly exceed” its annual profit and sales forecasts. It surged $8.97, or 28.2 percent, to $40.82. Hibbett Sports raised its profit forecast and expects a smaller decline in an important sales measurement. Its stock climbed $2.25, or 15.2 percent, to $17.10. Foot Locker has fallen 42 percent this year and Hibbett has dropped 54 percent.</p>
<p>Twenty-First Century Fox continued to soar on growing speculation that some of the media company’s assets will be sold. Comcast is in talks to buy Twenty-First Century Fox’s movie studio, some of its cable channels, and its international business. The Wall Street Journal and CNBC first reported Comcast’s interest. The Journal reported that Verizon and Sony are also interested in some of Fox’s assets.</p>
<p>Reports last week said Disney recently discussed a deal with Fox for the same businesses Comcast is now interested in. Fox is up 25 percent in two weeks after it gained $1.83, or 6.2 percent, to $31.15. Comcast fell 91 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $36.16. Verizon picked up 65 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $45.42.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Electronic Arts stock dropped after the video game company announced a last-minute change to “Star Wars Battlefront II” right before its Friday launch. EA turned off in-game purchases after fans complained about the cost of a feature that allowed players to skip ahead in the game to parts that include famous characters such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Earlier this week the company reduced the payments, but that didn’t quiet the uproar.</p>
<p>The stock fell $2.78, or 2.5 percent, to $108.92 and it’s down 9 percent this month.</p>
<p>Other technology companies also struggled. Microsoft lost 80 cents, or 1 percent, to $82.40 and Intel slipped $1.02, or 2.2 percent, to $44.63.</p>
<p>Gold and oil prices jumped as the dollar weakened to its lowest level in almost a month. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.41, or 2.6 percent, to $56.55 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $1.36, or 2.2 percent, to $62.72 a barrel in London.</p>
<p>Gold rose $18.30, or 1.4 percent, to $1,296.50 an ounce. Silver climbed 30 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $17.37 an ounce. Copper rose 2 cents to $3.07 a pound.</p>
<p>The dollar fell to 112.13 yen from 112.98 yen. The euro rose to $1.1796 from $1.1765.</p>
<p>Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.34 percent from 2.38 percent.</p>
<p>In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $1.74 a gallon. Heating oil gained 4 cents to $1.95 a gallon. Natural gas climbed 4 cents to $3.10 per 1,000 cubic feet.</p>
<p>France’s CAC 40 shed 0.3 percent and Germany’s DAX slid 0.4 percent. The British FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 percent and South Korea’s Kospi ended was little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.6 percent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at <a href="http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP</a> His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jayt</p> | Retailers rise again, but tech leads other US stocks lower | false | https://abqjournal.com/1094349/us-stocks-step-back-after-a-big-gain-retailers-climb.html | 2017-11-17 | 2 |
<p />
<p>The Big Mac is a choice on McDonald's McPick 2 menu. Image source: McDonald's. .</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>After years when the leading trend in fast food involved increasing quality to compete with fast-casual restaurants, the industry has fallen back on old habits.</p>
<p>Now it seems like all the major burger chains, McDonald's , Wendy's , Restaurant Brands International's Burger King,and even Sonic have returned to discounting as a key marketing strategy. In this case, all four players have used cheap meal combos as the strategy of choice rather than dollar menus or individual, low-cost items.</p>
<p>It's a risky proposition that can drive low-margin traffic into restaurants. In addition, heavy discounting can force prices lower for the entire industry, creating a pricing war that helps consumers, but hurts franchisees as well as the parent companies.</p>
<p>However, when done right, discounting can actually lead to people spending more. The fast-food chains must walk a careful tightrope where their deals either bring in new customers or drive existing ones to buy items beyond the specials, preferably both.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Each of the chains above has some version of a multi-item combo as a current promotion (as of June 20, 2016).</p>
<p>McDonald's: The chain has been heavily advertising its "McPick 2" promotion where consumers can choose two items from a list that includes the Big Mac, Filet O-Fish, and the 10-piece Chicken McNuggets. Unlike all of the other chains on this list, the Golden Arches deal does not include fries and a drink.</p>
<p>Wendy's: The chain known for its square burgers is offering a 4 for $4 promotion featuring either a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger or a Crispy Chicken BLT along with a four-piece chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink.</p>
<p>Burger King: In a slightly different take on a meal deal, Burger King offers two Whoppers, two small fries, and two sodas for $10.</p>
<p>Sonic: The latest fast-food player to jump into the meal-deal fray, Sonic offers its $5 "Boom Box," which includes a 6-inch hot dog, a Jr. Deluxe Cheeseburger, medium Tots or fries, and a medium drink.</p>
<p>While fast-casual chains including Chipotle and Panera Bread have been able to charge higher prices while rarely offering discounts by offering higher-quality food, fast-food restaurants have trouble doing that. McDonald's, for example, has struggled with various incarnations of a better-quality burger simply because that's not what the chain is known for. To a lesser degree Burger King has suffered the same fate while Wendy's has always been in the odd position of being considered a good burger for fast food (but not compared to higher-end fare).</p>
<p>The staff at <a href="http://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/the-real-reason-for-the-removal-of-mcdonalds-and-wendys-dollar-menu/" type="external">Fast Food Menu Prices</a> explained in a recent article why discounting creates problems for the industry.</p>
<p>"Hesitantly, fast food chains believe that the reason why many customers flock to their food joints is because the industry and the public love $1 items and affordable promotions," reported the website. "Unfortunately, food chains do not exactly worship the idea of formulating these kinds of tactics just to boost customer rates. The are concerned as to how these promotions can eventually hurt their revenues as customers continue to patronize cheap and affordable menu items."</p>
<p>Essentially going cheap can lead to busier restaurants that make less money and a customer base that chases the best deal. McDonald's learned that the hard way during the Dollar Menu days and franchisees protested an early version of the McPick 2 which offered two items for $2. That offer was quickly scrapped in favor of the current, pricier deal.</p>
<p>Discounting can be a valuable tool in bringing in customers and if done well it can actually lead to people spending more. The problem here is that by offering a complete meal these chains eliminate a need for people to add items to their order. If you're already getting a sandwich, fries, and a drink (and maybe more) most people simply don't need anything else.</p>
<p>That's fine if a chain gets consumers in the door and they keep coming back after the promotion ends. The problem is that with fast-causal restaurants offering higher-quality food, fast-food eateries run the risk of people only coming when the best deals are offered.</p>
<p>McDonald's has shown in the past that discounts can drive traffic while hurting business but they can be an addictive marketing tactic even when the end result is bad. All four of these chains are walking a dangerous road and consumers should take advantage while shareholders should be wary.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/21/fast-food-deals-good-for-consumers-bad-for-busines.aspx" type="external">Fast-Food Deals: Good for Consumers; Bad for Business?</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/Dankline/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Daniel Kline</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | Fast-Food Deals: Good for Consumers; Bad for Business? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/21/fast-food-deals-good-for-consumers-bad-for-business.html | 2016-06-21 | 0 |
<p>President Trump is making single life great again, at least for one Florida woman who says she’s divorcing her husband in part over his inability to deal with her love for the commander-in-chief. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Why-a-woman-blames-Trump-selfies-for-her-divorce-11718905.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop" type="external">According to divorce records</a>, Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg and his wife, Lynn Aronberg, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, are parting ways for a variety of reasons ranging from his unwillingness to have children to her politics. “A staunch Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, Lynn also said she felt increasingly isolated in the marriage,” their public relations release stated. Dave Aronberg is a Democrat. Lynn is a Republican.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t an issue at first, but that was before the Hillary-Trump saga,” she explained. “And as that built, the tension in our relationship built.”</p>
<p>Dave Aronberg was tangentially involved in the 2016 election when he dropped assault charges against then-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. He worked with Trump at Mar-a-Lago for years, but after Trump’s political rise, attempted to distance himself. “I’m walking through the red carpet,” Lynn stated, “and he’s sneaking through the bushes…He’d ask me not to take pictures. He wouldn’t want me to post them. I did not listen to him.” She says she took selfies with Trump and her husband didn't like it.</p>
<p>Obviously, Lynn is hungry for some publicity. But there are a few lessons from this tragic tale of marital woe.</p>
<p>First, two publicity-hungry people probably shouldn’t marry one another. This seems like a lesson that the Scaramuccis have also learned in the recent past. Their agendas obviously weren’t aligned — and if Mrs. Aronberg’s agenda deviated from her husband’s, she seems happy to ignore his agenda in favor of her own, and vice versa.</p>
<p>Second, people of different political preferences should think seriously before tying the knot. Politics often reflect deeper values, and while we’re fond of papering over those differences because of luuuuuuv, the reality of marriage requires that two people share a set of values in order to live a successful life together.</p>
<p>Finally, the Trump era has polarized people in a unique way. That’s because Trump himself is polarizing — he’s a loud, brash personality with a thousand character flaws that endear him to some and alienate others. People tend to see feelings about Trump as a referendum on character.</p>
<p>And that speaks to the problem with treating our politicians as celebrities. The point of politics is that we have certain policies and ideas we’d like to see promulgated, and politicians are a vehicle for those policies and ideas. The character of politicians matters only insofar as it speaks to the trustworthiness and capableness of the person making promises with regard to policy. But now, policy has taken a back seat to the attitude of politicians — we care more about what our politicians are like than what we’d like them to do. That means that if someone likes Trump, we tend to judge them not with regard to the policies they’d want to promote, but with regard to their approbation of Trump’s shortcomings. That's often an inaccurate and even nasty attempt to impute motives to people out of political differences.</p>
<p>In any case, this looks like a publicity marriage. And publicity marriages don’t tend to end quietly, outside the glare of the press.</p> | Meet The Florida Couple Divorcing Because She Liked Trump Too Much | true | https://dailywire.com/news/19149/meet-florida-couple-divorcing-because-she-liked-ben-shapiro | 2017-07-31 | 0 |
<p>Where do the guerillas come from? From which social strata, which environment? The answer can save us from many errors, for it eliminates almost the whole propaganda literature on guerrillas, both pro and con.</p>
<p>Most of the leaders, organizers, and volunteers of Latin-American guerrilla groups are intellectuals of middle-class origin. Workers and peasants are rare. True, an occasional transport or building worker may be found among the guerrilla fighters, and some peasants or agricultural workers may join a guerrilla group that establishes a foco (center) in their area. But proletarian elements are not the founders of guerrilla movements, nor are they characteristic of them</p>
<p /> | The Myth of the Guerrilla | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/the-myth-of-the-guerrilla | 2018-05-01 | 4 |
<p />
<p>The recent surge in stocks since the presidential election in November has been particularly generous to banks, pushing the KBW Bank Index up 30% over the past four months. This doesn't mean that there are no more cheap bank stocks to be had, but it does mean that the list has narrowed to two: Capital One (NYSE: COF) and Citigroup (NYSE: C).</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>These are the only two large-cap bank stocks that still trade below book value, which is the traditional threshold that investors use to demarcate between cheap banks and ones that are considered to be more fairly priced. But just because these banks trade for the lowest valuation of the biggest banks in the country doesn't necessarily mean that either is a buy.</p>
<p>Data source: YCharts.com.</p>
<p>In Citigroup's case, it has a number of strikes against it from the perspective of an individual investor. For starters, its return on common equity last year was only 6.6%. That's half as much as investors expect from a bank Citigroup's size. Indeed, anything below a 12% return on common equity is indicative of a bank that's destroying shareholder value as opposed to growing it, after factoring in the opportunity cost of not investing one's money elsewhere.</p>
<p>On top of this, Citigroup's far-flung commercial and investment banking operations mean that it faces particularly strict capital and liquidity standards, which weigh directly on its profitability. As a global systematically important bank, it must set aside an added 3% of its capital over smaller, simpler banks in order to absorb future losses. And given the heavily protectionist language emanating out of Washington, D.C., nowadays, one would be excused for concluding that Citigroup's internationally focused operations could be hit especially hard if the talk were to materialize into policy.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Along similar lines, Capital One also has things going against it. The first is a downward trend in its profitability, fueled principally by growing loan losses. Its loan loss provision last year climbed by nearly $2 billion "driven by higher charge-offs in our credit card, taxi medallion, and oil and gas lending portfolios, as well as larger allowance builds in our credit card and auto loan portfolios," the bank explains in its latest <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927628/000092762817000115/cof-12312016x10k.htm" type="external">10-K Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/COF/return_on_equity_annual" type="external">COF Return on Equity (Annual)</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Additionally, because such a large share of Capital One's loan portfolio consists of credit card loans, roughly 41% as of the end of last year, it is especially sensitive to changes in the economy given the relationship between unemployment and credit card delinquencies. In the 2016 stress tests, for instance, the Federal Reserve projected that Capital One would experience the second-largest loss from credit card delinquencies in the industry, after only Citigroup.</p>
<p>In sum, there's a reason these two banks trade for lower valuations then their peers do. Whether this makes them a buy is up to each individual investor -- though with the run-up in stock prices over the past four months, you'd be excused for waiting for a correction before piling into new positions.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than CitigroupWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=04b12602-a893-43f1-a707-3a8b9aded558&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Citigroup wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=04b12602-a893-43f1-a707-3a8b9aded558&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx" type="external">John Maxfield Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Bank of America, US Bancorp, and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 2 Cheapest Big Bank Stocks Right Now | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/11/2-cheapest-big-bank-stocks-right-now.html | 2017-03-17 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Some are asking if Mark Cuban will run for president. A more relevant question is: Will anyone care? Cuban is not anything close to a populist. And while there’s still a segment of the population dedicated to Leftism, they are a rabid minority. Cuban would have to unite the entire Democrat base to win. I don’t think he would be that popular.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The Washington Free Beacon reports, “ <a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/mark-cuban-im-seriously-considering-running-for-president/" type="external">Mark Cuban: I’m ‘Considering’ Running for President.</a>”</p>
<p>Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban said he is “considering” running for president of the United States in a new podcast posted on Tuesday.</p>
<p>In an interview on former Democratic South Carolina state representative Bakari Sellers’ podcast ViewPoint, Cuban said he is an “independent all the way through” who tries to remain informed and objective on issues.</p>
<p>Cuban&#160;remarked in 2015 that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/14/mark-cuban-i-could-beat-trump-and-clinton.html" type="external">he could beat</a> both Trump and Clinton if he decided to run in 2016…</p>
<p><a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/mark-cuban-im-seriously-considering-running-for-president/" type="external">Read the full story.</a></p>
<p>The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by EagleRising.com</p> | Mark Cuban for President? [VIDEO] | true | https://eaglerising.com/47651/mark-cuban-for-president/ | 2017-10-04 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>In fact, the only potential sanction Brachle could now face would be a refusal by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board to re-certify him as a law enforcement officer in the unlikely event he would apply. Brachle retired from APD days before the city Police Oversight Board announced its recommendation he be fired for violating numerous policies, and he gave the state Attorney General’s Office a sworn affidavit his law enforcement certification had expired and he did not plan to apply for recertification.</p>
<p>Eden, who retired Nov. 30, never sent APD’s investigation to the Law Enforcement Academy Board for review, according to interim APD Police Chief Mike Geier, who said that should have occurred. Geier plans to forward the investigation to the board on the outside chance Brachle changes his mind about working in N.M. law enforcement again.</p>
<p>Brachle will not face any potential criminal charges either because, by the time former DA Brandenburg sent the case to the AG’s office in August 2016, the statute of limitations for negligent use of a firearm had already expired.</p>
<p>Grant has paid a far higher price for his colleague’s astonishing errors during the $60 drug bust outside a McDonald’s in NE Albuquerque. Most of Grant’s vital organs were damaged, and he has gone through more than a dozen surgeries. Taxpayers paid, too. To settle a lawsuit, the city agreed to pay Grant $6.5 million. He is also receiving lifetime medical coverage and disability retirement pay – as he should.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It may be a futile act, but Geier and the 10-member Law Enforcement Academy Board should follow through and review this horrific incident, albeit late, and let the pubic know what it finds. If nothing else, it might discourage future foot-dragging by public officials on police shootings.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p /> | Editorial: Then-DA, APD chief let lieutenant walk in shooting | false | https://abqjournal.com/1106974/thenda-apd-chief-let.html | 2 |
|
<p>by Mark Jurkowitz, Associate Director, Project for Excellence in Journalism</p>
<p>“A Foot In His Mouth and No Clue In His Head,” declared the Baltimore Sun headline. “Imus Can’t Dribble Around This Flagrant, Racist Foul” added the New York Daily News. “Misogyny InThe Morning” were the words atop a Washington Post column.</p>
<p>If the spreading fallout is any indication, the last chapter has not yet been written in the huge national story triggered by Don Imus’s remarks about the Rutgers woman’s basketball team.</p>
<p>Already, after a number of advertisers dropped the controversial talk show host, MSNBC has discontinued its morning simulcast of Imus, and CBS has cancelled his radio show.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a quick survey of the media coverage in the week since the veteran talk host uttered his infamous April 4 racial and gender insult against the Rutgers women suggests he will face a tough battle to re-establish his reputation and viability. Put simply, he is taking a pummeling from a press corps that can’t seem to get enough of the story.</p>
<p>In order to take a snapshot of the Imus coverage, PEJ searched both Google News and LexisNexis in the period from April 4 until April 11. We searched for stories that matched Imus’s name with a number of related terms to try and get some sense of the overall tenor of the coverage.</p>
<p>Through mid-day on April 11, there were about 5,200 stories on Google News alone that contained the name “Imus.” The search does not provide a definitive portrait of the coverage. But it does suggest that the tone of the reporting and commentary is quite tough.</p>
<p>Of the search terms selected, the one that came up most frequently in stories about Imus on both data bases was Al Sharpton, the black leader whose criticisms of Imus propelled the controversy. Sharpton blasted the talk host during a tense in-studio interview on Sharpton’s April 9 radio show. (In an exchange widely picked up in the media, Sharpton introduced his daughter, a recent college graduate, and said to Imus: “Are we now saying it’s acceptable…for you to sit up and call my daughter a ho?”) Sharpton’s name appeared in some 3,200 Google stories that featured Imus’s name and in more than 1,500 such stories on LexisNexis.</p>
<p>More generally, all of the top five Google News terms that appeared in stories about Imus had negative connotations including “racism” or “racist” (almost 2,600), “apology” (about 2,300), “sexism” or “sexist” (about 1,250) and “should be fired” (more than 840). Those also turned out to be the top five terms, with a slightly different ranking, in the LexisNexis search.</p>
<p>Conversely, a number of the words or phrases that might be construed as a defense of Imus did not show up as often. In the Google search, “free speech,” for example, appeared in about 290 stories.</p>
<p>Some people have argued that if Imus is being punished for his language, there should be more criticism of the misogynistic language and imagery that appears in some African-American popular culture, most notably rap music. Thus, the words “rap” or “gangsta rap” showed up in about 240 Google stories, with “hypocrisy” (50 stories) and “double standard” (40 stories) lagging further behind. “Political correctness” also clocked in about 40 stories.</p>
<p>Several other key figures in this drama showed up in a number of the Imus-related stories. Gwen Ifill — an African-American PBS staffer and a former New York Times White House correspondent — wrote an April 10 Times column recounting what Imus once said about her: “Isn’t the Times wonderful. It lets the cleaning lady cover the White House.” In the April 4-11 Google search, Ifill’s name showed up in more than 350 stories and it was present in more than 60 LexisNexis stories as well.</p>
<p>Someone who is quickly becoming a household name here is the captain of the Rutgers basketball squad who displayed poise and grace during the team’s heavily covered April 10 press conference. Essence Carson’s name appeared in about 270 stories in the Google search and in about 90 stories on LexisNexis.</p>
<p>In one of the lighter moments during an often emotional press conference, Carson also displayed a knack for the disarming ad lib. When the subject came around to what New York radio station WFAN might air during Imus’s two week absence from the show, she suggested that it broadcast highlights of Rutgers women’s basketball games.</p>
<p>Source: Google News Search carried out on April 11, 2007</p> | Assessing the Imus Mess | false | http://pewresearch.org/2007/04/12/assessing-the-imus-mess/ | 2007-04-12 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>To paraphrase Rhett Butler, I don’t give a damn if Mitt Romney releases more of his tax returns. I expect to learn nothing from them, aside from the fact that he is very rich and has paid less in taxes than he has acknowledged.</p>
<p>He has probably taken advantage of all the loops and dodges in the tax code, piling trusts on top of trusts, securing wealth for Romneys yet unborn – gelt unto the third generation, little taxed, slightly taxed or taxed not at all.</p>
<p>“Let me tell you about the very rich,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote. S’cuse me, Scotty, let me tell you about them: They don’t pay much in taxes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>This is what the average person would learn if all of Romney’s tax filings hit the light of day.</p>
<p>He has so far divulged just the most recent two years and the Obama camp, smelling blood, has demanded more. The din has reached such a level that even some conservatives are entreating Romney to reveal them.</p>
<p>They are not, however, imploring their candidate to identify his bundlers – for this might actually reveal who has their hooks into him. The filings, I promise you, will show loopholes and financial black holes that make taxable income disappear. What we will not see is anything revelatory or, as some insist, genuine insights into the character of the candidate.</p>
<p>Certainly, this has been the case in the past.</p>
<p>Richard Nixon disclosed his taxes preceding the 1968 presidential campaign. He reported hefty earnings averaging $200,000 in his years as a New York lawyer, but there was nothing in the forms relating to occasional bouts of drunkenness, paranoia, excessive self-pity or a proclivity to listen to the telephone conversations of others.</p>
<p>Similarly, Bill Clinton, in his pre-White House filings, showed a gross 1990 income of $268,646, but the box (32a) relating to possible extramarital relations in the Oval Office was left blank, no doubt an oversight.</p>
<p>George W. Bush’s tax forms were as vacant as he was of any suggestion that he moved his lips when he read and would, if given the chance, tank the economy and lead the nation into two wars, mismanaging both.</p>
<p>By and large, the tax filings tell you nothing you don’t already know. But the refusal to release them is a different matter.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Romney’s case, this is his one and only stand on principle, an odd example of political bravery. He has flipped on abortion, gun control and, of course, health insurance reform, his signature achievement as governor of Massachusetts. But not on releasing his taxes.</p>
<p>Others have been recalcitrant. Ronald Reagan didn’t want to do it (he charged his daughter Maureen interest on a loan) but ultimately did.</p>
<p>In general, presidential and vice presidential candidates have released their returns. Maybe this was because most of them were public servants whose salaries were already known and whose wealth was modest.</p>
<p>Others though were people of considerable wealth – Lloyd Bentsen, John Kerry, John Edwards – who laid it all out on the table. (I wonder if Edwards, if he still had presidential prospects, would have deducted his latest child.)</p>
<p>It’s impossible to know what Romney is not revealing. But it is instructive to contrast him to his father, George, who was an auto executive and governor of Michigan.</p>
<p>When George Romney ran for president in 1968, he released 12 years’ worth of income tax returns. But he was essentially salaried – his remuneration set either by statute or a board of directors – and so he was really divulging little. Maybe more important, he actually made something (cars) or did something (governed). His son not only manufactured nothing but earned his wealth the new way – by financial manipulation, leveraging and such. On paper, it could look ugly.</p>
<p>For Mitt Romney, there are no assembly lines, no factories or mines – just back offices and computer terminals and such esoterica as the infinitesimal difference between what the Libor rate should be and what it is.</p>
<p>He was loyal to no company, no industry – just to his investors.</p>
<p>The making of such money is concealed, based on the exotic manipulation of numbers and the disregard of people. Only a relatively few know how to do this sort of thing, and they don’t much like to talk about it. Romney, as we already know, is one of those people.</p>
<p>He hides his taxes not because it would reveal anything new about him, but because it would reveal what he has always known about us: We’re suckers.</p>
<p>Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. Copyright 2011, Washington Post Writers Group.</p> | Proof Is Out There, in the Hiding | false | https://abqjournal.com/120126/proof-is-out-there-in-the-hiding.html | 2012-07-25 | 2 |
<p>Sweden has a penchant for safety and cleanliness. Swedes invented the Volvo, one of the safest automobiles. Volvos are built to minimize harm to passengers during accidents, and they are built without toxic flame retardants. Swedes invented the safety- match and dynamite too — much safer than the alternative it replaced, black powder. Recently, Sweden has become known for its innovations in sustainable development — safer development.</p>
<p>Sweden recently declared that it will create an energy and transportation economy that runs free of oil by the year 2020. But the groundwork for this radical declaration was laid in the 1980s by Sweden’s eco-municipality movement, which successfully incorporated sustainability into municipal planning and development.</p>
<p>Before former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland became a household name in international environmental circles, Sweden and Finland were stimulating local economic growth in ways that were good for people and the planet. The town of Overtornea — Sweden’s first eco-municipality — was an early adopter of what we now call sustainable development, which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”[The Brundtland Report, 1987].</p>
<p>Simultaneously, The Natural Step (TNS) was being developed by Swedish scientist Karl-Henrik Robert. The Natural Step began as a way for individual companies to create more environmentally and socially responsible practices. And TNS was quickly embraced by Swedish planners, government officials and residents who wanted to achieve their goals AND minimize harm to the environment and human health.</p>
<p>The Swedish economist and planner Torbjorn Lahti was one of the visionaries in Overtornea — a town of 5,000 that had 25% unemployment and had lost 20% of its population during the previous 20 years. Lahti and his colleagues engaged the community — getting participation from 10% of residents — to create a shared vision of a local economy based on renewable energy, public transportation, organic agriculture, and rural land preservation. In 2001 the town became 100% free of fossil fuels. Public transportation is free. The region is now the largest organic farming area in Sweden and more than 200 new businesses have sprung up.</p>
<p>The story of the eco-municipality movement is documented in the new book, The Natural Step for Communities; How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices (2004; ISBN 0865714916) written by American planner Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti. Today there are more than 60 eco-municipalities in Sweden — representing 20 percent of the population — and this movement for social and ecological sanity has spread throughout Norway, Finland and Denmark as well.</p>
<p>Here in North America, cities like Whistler, British Columbia, Portland, Oregon, and Santa Monica, California are on the bleeding-green edge with city-wide master plans in which sustainability is more than just a buzzword. These cities are making the transition to renewable energy, mass-transit, green building, zero waste and open-space preservation. As a report card on Santa Monica’s progress shows, they have a long way to go, especially on the social-justice front, to meet the Brundtland Report definition of sustainability. But they are trending in the right direction. They are trying!</p>
<p>What is the Natural Step for Communities and how does it work?</p>
<p>Like the Precautionary Principle — which is another lens for sustainability — the Natural Step (TNS) says that the decision-making process must be inclusive and participatory. TNS recognizes that the communities we live in will be self-sustaining only when resources are justly distributed. You can have the greenest buildings, the cleanest energy in the world, and the best public transportation. But without a just social system, the community will not achieve sustainability.</p>
<p>The Natural Step has four ‘system conditions’ which, when achieved, will create sustainable conditions. In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing</p>
<p>1. concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust;</p>
<p>2. concentrations of substances produced by society;</p>
<p>3. degradation by physical means</p>
<p>4. and, in that society human needs are met.</p>
<p>In other words, we should minimize harm to the earth and human health; we should use alternatives to fossil fuels, toxic metals, and other persistent toxic substances. We should achieve zero waste (or darn near). And we should protect and restore nature and the ecosystem services it provides. But most importantly, we should meet basic human needs for food, shelter, education and healthcare. I would add that basic human needs include a social environment free of social isolation bred of racism and classism, an environment that nurtures and respects everyone.</p>
<p>According to The Natural Step for Communities, social justice is a prerequisite that will either allow or prevent the other system conditions from being achieved. And while TNS for Communities is rich with examples of towns and cities that have improved their physical and natural environments, the examples of improved social environments are fewer and less concrete.</p>
<p>The indigenous Sami people — a trans-arctic people living in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia — are struggling to hold on to their traditional reindeer herding culture which is being crowded out by logging, development and environmental degradation. While some groups of Sami — as suggested by TNS for Communities — are transitioning to an economy based on eco-tourism, the growth of that phenomenon isn’t necessarily socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. If the traditional Sami culture dies, then this movement has failed.</p>
<p>While there are obvious technological fixes to some of our environmental woes — like wind energy and electric vehicles — solving the issues of institutional racism are not specifically addressed by the Natural Step. Still, I believe TNS for Communities does hold several important pearls of wisdom for all cultures.</p>
<p>* Begin and guide a planning process with a community-defined vision of a desired future (set goals; involve residents in the process).</p>
<p>* Combine vision, planning, and action from the start and throughout the planning process (assess alternatives and choose the best one; pick the low-hanging fruit and dive into real projects that improve lives).</p>
<p>* Include the full range of community interests, values, and perspectives in a meaningful way (involve those most affected; use open, democratic decision-making).</p>
<p>* Plan in cycles, not just one linear pass (learn from your mistakes and oversights; correct course accordingly).</p>
<p>* Focus on finding agreement, not on resolving disagreement (consider the positive).</p>
<p>* Lead from the side (involve those most affected: let residents be the experts).</p>
<p>There is mounting evidence that the Nordic model — including Sweden and Finland — of free education, affordable healthcare, and cradle- to-grave social services COMBINED with high rates of investment in industrial research and development produces a high standard of living and a vibrant economy.</p>
<p>As we begin to acknowledge that the social determinants of health are MORE important than purely environmental factors, those of us who are building a movement for a sustainable urban environment have much to learn from the Natural Step and the eco-village movement.</p>
<p>TIM MONTAGUE is co-editor of <a href="http://www.rachel.org/" type="external">Rachel’s Health and Democracy</a>, where this essay originally appeared. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Natural Step for Eco-Villages | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/10/30/the-natural-step-for-eco-villages/ | 2006-10-30 | 4 |
<p>Check out Thursday’s newsletter!</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>The Gist: President Obama and Elizabeth Warren are moving forward with a plan that could bring a sea change to how Americans retire.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Obama Signs Stopgap Spending Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown</a></p>
<p>The Gist: Congress approved a stopgap spending bill hours before the midnight deadline, but there’s no assurance there won’t be another shutdown showdown in December.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Clinton: McCarthy Describing Benghazi As Political Win Is ‘Deeply Distressing’</a></p>
<p>The Gist: Clinton was disturbed that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy linked her polling performance with the select committee on the Benghazi attacks.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>– Ben <a href="" type="internal">Carson joked about how he used to run from the police</a> in his youth.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Related: Bill <a href="" type="internal">Clinton said Trump could be the Republican nominee</a>.</p>
<p>Have something to add? Become a <a href="" type="internal">Prime</a> member and join the discussion <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Teachers remember Ahmed as a brilliant motormouth with some authority issues. ( <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150926-before-ahmeds-fame-fantastic-inventions-and-a-fight-with-authority.ece" type="external">The Dallas News</a>)</p>
<p>The untold story of the Texas Biker Gang shoot-out. ( <a href="http://www.gq.com/story/untold-story-texas-biker-gang-shoot-out?mbid=social_twitter" type="external">G</a> <a href="http://www.gq.com/story/untold-story-texas-biker-gang-shoot-out?mbid=social_twitter" type="external">Q</a>)</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Top GOPer Says Benghazi Is Political Win, The ‘Americans Speak English’ Debate, and Bill Clinton’s 2016 Role | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/daybreaker/mccarthy-benghazi-political-americans-english-bill-clinton-2016 | 4 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ACCORDING TO Saturdays UpFront column, the dead cow was removed from the Rio Grande by a rope “that was then attached to a wench on a fire truck.”</p>
<p>A wench, really? I would have paid money to see that!</p>
<p>ARTHUR SENA</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | What a sight to see her brute strength! | false | https://abqjournal.com/483829/what-a-sight-to-see-her-brute-strength.html | 2 |
|
<p>Shares of Schlumberger Ltd. rose 0.4% late Thursday after the oil-field services company reported third-quarter profit above expectations but sales that came in a hair below estimates. Schlumberger said it earned $176 million, or 13 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $989 million, or 78 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2015. Adjusted for one-time items, including charges related to its 2016 merger with Cameron International Corp., Schlumberger earned $353 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with 78 cents a share a year ago. Sales fell to $7.02 billion, from $8.47 billion in the year-ago period, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share on sales of $7.09 billion. Shares ended the regular trading day down 0.5%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Schlumberger Swings To Profit, Shares Rise 0.4% | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/20/schlumberger-swings-to-profit-shares-rise-04.html | 2016-10-20 | 0 |
<p>Meetings: Like them or not, they're an integral part of corporate life. It's estimated that middle managers spend just over one-third of their time in <a href="https://www.fool.com/careers/2017/06/16/are-meetings-killing-your-productivity-at-work.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=74bb0bc4-7e0c-11e7-8bac-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">meetings Opens a New Window.</a>, while higher-level execs spend half of their time wasting away in conference rooms. But while you might resent the fact that meetings eat up such a huge chunk of your schedule, once you make the commitment to attend, you should know that certain behavior is just plain unacceptable. Here are some things you should never, ever do in a meeting -- no matter what.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Perhaps you're expecting an important call, or keep whipping out your phone to skim through some work-related emails. There are a million ways to justify being glued to your phone during a meeting, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter -- you're going to look unprofessional. If you're really anticipating an urgent call, put your phone on silent, stick it in your pocket, and only check it if you feel a buzz. Similarly, any message that comes your way via email is probably something that can wait an hour, so focus on your meeting and then carve out some time afterward to respond at your desk.</p>
<p>It's one thing to take notes on your laptop during an important discussion. But there's a difference between documenting a few key points and hammering out your upcoming presentation while someone else is speaking. Not only will it become obvious that you're doing your own thing, but the sound of incessant typing could be enough to distract your colleagues or annoy the daylights of out them. Neither is what you want.</p>
<p>Perhaps your coworker's <a href="https://www.fool.com/careers/2017/07/02/5-tips-to-nail-your-big-presentation.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=74bb0bc4-7e0c-11e7-8bac-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">presentation Opens a New Window.</a> is loaded with errors, or your boss has a tendency to use the same catchphrases so often you could actually make a game out of it. Be that as it may, there's never an excuse to be disrespectful when someone else is speaking. Furthermore, you might think you're being subtle when you roll your eyes or mutter some choice comments under your breath, but when you're confined to a small space, these things become noticeable. The next time someone says something you don't agree with, or something you find laughable, bite your tongue and avoid reacting.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Eating during meetings isn't necessarily taboo, especially if you're locked in a conference room during what would otherwise be your lunch hour. But if you're going to bring food to a meeting, make sure it's something that isn't overly messy or smelly. Otherwise, your meal will likely become the focal point of the discussion, and not in a good way. In other words, there's nothing wrong with eating a turkey sandwich while your coworkers take turns presenting. But potent fish and hard-boiled eggs are a definite no-no.</p>
<p>Remember that classic Friends episode where Chandler falls asleep in a meeting and winds up getting his job transferred to Tulsa, OK? If that doesn't highlight the dangers of falling asleep during a meeting, then nothing else will.</p>
<p>On a more serious note, nodding off during a meeting can hurt you in many ways. First, it can come off as disrespectful, even if that's not your intention. It could very well be that your kid kept you up the entire night before, but if you drift off mid-slideshow, your presenter's bound to chalk it up to boredom, and get offended. Furthermore, falling asleep puts you at risk of missing out on critical information you need to do your job. If you're feeling tired going into a meeting, grab a coffee or soda for backup energy. And if things really drag on, ask for a five-minute restroom break, splash some water on your face, and perk up.</p>
<p>While meetings can no doubt be a drag, and in some cases, a glorious waste of time, once you make the decision to attend a meeting, you'll need to act professionally throughout. Knowing what not to do during a meeting can help you avoid the sort of faux pas that could come back to haunt you.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=74bb0bc4-7e0c-11e7-8bac-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>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=74bb0bc4-7e0c-11e7-8bac-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 5 Things You Should Never Do During a Business Meeting | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/17/5-things-should-never-do-during-business-meeting.html | 2017-08-17 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Hospital employees spend 10% more on healthcare, consume more medical services, and are generally sicker than the rest of the U.S. workforce, according to a study released on Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The cost difference was even greater when dependents were taken into account, with healthcare costs 13% higher, including medical care and prescription drugs.</p>
<p>The study, conducted by Thomson Reuters Healthcare, analyzed the health risk and utilization of 1.1 million hospital workers and compared them with 17.8 million health plan members across all industries around the country.</p>
<p>Researchers did not look at the causes for the disparity.</p>
<p>Healthcare workers and their dependents were more likely to be diagnosed and hospitalized to treat asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, HIV, hypertension and mental illness.</p>
<p>It found that the average cost of healthcare for hospital employees and their dependents was $4,662 per year -- $538 higher than that of the general population.</p>
<p>MORE VISITS TO THE ER</p>
<p>Hospital employees and their dependents saw their doctors less often, but were 22% more likely to visit an emergency room and spent 18% more time hospitalized, the study found.</p>
<p>Kreg Sherbine, co-author of the study, speculated that easy access to expensive care may play a role.</p>
<p>"When they're right down the hall from the emergency room, it might just be easier to go there than to make an appointment with a physician," Sherbine said.</p>
<p>The stressful environment of a hospital and the irregular hours that many hospital employees work, which together make it difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle, may be another contributing factor, he said.</p>
<p>Sherbine said he doubted the reason was more exposure to disease in the workplace since there was disparity in numerous noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes and obesity.</p>
<p>"Awareness could be a factor. We know that chronic conditions are often undiagnosed. One might reasonably conclude that professionals are more aware of their symptoms and consequently more likely to seek treatment. However, that doesn't explain the inordinate difference in utilization," he said.</p>
<p>Researchers concluded that a hospital or health system with 16,000 employees would save an estimated $1.5 million annually in medical and pharmacy costs for each 1% reduction in health risk.</p>
<p>"There are industries with higher risks. The manufacturing sector, for example, is typically older and has an even less healthy population," Sherbine noted.</p>
<p>But with increasing financial pressure on hospitals, hospital administrators need to pay attention to their bottom lines, he said.</p>
<p>"Salaries and benefits are their biggest costs. We think it's really important for hospitals to address this," he said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | U.S. Hospital Workers Outspend Others on Medical Care | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/09/12/us-hospital-workers-outspend-others-on-medical-care.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>RONDEAU: Will explain his approach to trading</p>
<p>Ticket price is $15 per person or couple at the door; $10 per person/couple in advance; and $5 for active military.</p>
<p>To register or for more information contact Albuquerque chapter President George Proctor at 505-239-0102 or by emailing <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> or by visiting <a href="www.aaii.com/albuquerque" type="external">www.aaii.com/albuquerque</a>.</p>
<p>Rondeau is a trader who has developed and applies a combination of techniques based on his personal strengths of evaluating probabilities and technical analysis, organizers said in a news release. He will share these techniques and tools that attendees can use to deal with today's current trader's market.</p>
<p>Starting with the basics and progressing to more sophisticated tools, Rondeau will discuss hedging techniques and risk reduction, along with utilizing probabilities and minimizing emotions.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>As president of the AAII Boston chapter, Rondeau oversees five New England states. Additionally, he is a member of the Market Technicians Association and a former analyst for the popular website Index Universe, where he wrote a weekly technical analysis column. He has been a professional trader and TradeStation programmer since 2001.</p>
<p>The New Mexico chapter of AAII holds eight general speaker presentation meetings a year.</p>
<p /> | Trader to share his investing approaches | false | https://abqjournal.com/394333/trader-to-share-his-investing-approaches.html | 2 |
|
<p>With President Obama in office for another four years, here are two takes from &#160;on what investors should be prepared for.</p>
<p>The Equities view:</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Joanna Shatney, Head of US Large Cap Equities: Does Obama have the same political capital as when he entered his first term?</p>
<p>Obama’s victory in the election came as a landslide of major swing states fell to the incumbent President. However, this was the not the victory we saw in 2008. Obama does not have same political capital as when he entered his first term. The biggest difference is that the Republicans have retained control of the House of Representatives. When Obama won in 2008 it was Democrat controlled (the Republicans won it back in 2010). This will be the focus of controversy in the next few weeks as everyone waits to see what will happen in terms of dealing with the fiscal cliff. We believe that there will be a compromise reached before year end (although January is possible) to push the deadlines out on the $600 billion of tightening which is currently scheduled for the new year. There does seem to be some agreement on extending Bush’s tax cuts (which represent a significant portion of the fiscal cliff) for the short term until greater tax overhaul is discussed (we hope in 2013). Overall, though, just getting the election out of the way is probably a positive for the equity market. The presidential campaign has only served to show the state of the economy in a bad light – and this has taken its toll on consumer confidence. We expect a positive year for the equity market in 2013, although gains are likely to slow from 2012. Equity valuations remain very attractive – particularly compared to US bonds. High yield, high risk bonds are more expensive than equities. The question is when will we see the catalyst which makes investors take advantage of this value? While we saw strong outperformance from equities in the third quarter, I think this would need to persist for a good deal longer: there is always something of a herd mentality about moving from one asset class to another. In terms of the economy, we know we are not going to see a rapid turnaround, but we are optimistic that GDP can continue its slow pace of &#160;about 2% next year. We are a bit worried about the beginning of 2013 given fiscal uncertainties and a tough 1Q12 comparison which was boosted by an exceptionally mild winter. However, the housing sector is picking up – and we believe this will have a positive effect on the consumer; we are finding a number of good opportunities in consumer discretionary stocks which should benefit from the confidence this brings. &#160;We also expect it to be positive for financials. What is most encouraging about market conditions today is that it is now stockpicker’s market – the correlation that dominated stock performance a year ago has completely reversed – and this has been very positive for our portfolios given our bottom-up approach.</p>
<p>The Fixed Income view:</p>
<p>David Harris, Head of US Multi-Sector Fixed Income: Victorious Obama could face fiscal gridlock</p>
<p>Although President Obama’s victory reduces the level of market uncertainty, the considerable challenge of negotiating an agreement on fiscal policy remains.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Indeed, the status quo of an Obama presidency combined with a Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives presents a worst-case scenario for reaching a near-term fiscal agreement and continues the gridlock that failed to produce an agreement in 2011. A nearly equal split of the popular vote means there is not a clear mandate for Obama, despite the larger-than-expected margin of victory in the electoral vote.&#160; The loss of several moderate figures from the House and Senate arguably polarizes government even more. While Obama’s post-election speech was reconciliatory, it will be difficult to achieve an agreement that includes higher taxes.&#160; Increasing taxes in any form is a virtual death sentence for Republicans seeking future re-election.&#160; Higher tax rates may be possible in the future but only with an income threshold above the currently proposed $250,000 level and with substantial offsets that will take time to negotiate. Regarding the approaching fiscal cliff, the best possible scenario in the near-term is for an agreement to temporarily delay the expiration of tax cuts and spending cuts until later in 2013 in order to build a consensus on a sustainable policy. The cumulative impact of both the expiration of tax cuts and sequestration is roughly 4% of US GDP, so an incentive to find an interim compromise (in other words, a delay) is high. In the longer term, however, a grand bargain is required rather than simply avoiding the fiscal cliff. Addressing fiscal imbalances would improve business confidence and increase US competitiveness. Such a plan would need to be credible (bi-partisan) and realistic, requiring some sacrifice from nearly all interested parties – both regarding revenue (taxes) and spending (entitlements). The initial bond market reaction to the heightened economic risks is that the 10-year treasury yield moved 10bps lower. Meanwhile, risk premiums for corporate bonds moved slightly higher; 0-5 basis points for high quality industrials and 5-10bps for banks. The risk premium on mortgage backed securities (MBS) has so far remained unchanged.Investment conclusions Fiscal uncertainty and monetary status quo appear to be the key themes following the election result. Federal Reserve policy is likely to remain highly accommodative with a continuation of zero interest rate policy and large scale asset purchases (QE). Looking ahead to the first half of 2013, the economic risks are skewed to the downside. Private sector GDP growth of 2%-2.5% is at risk of being offset by at least a portion of the fiscal cliff taking hold, or a delay that will prolong policy uncertainty. Economic uncertainties will keep downward pressure on interest rates and limit gains on some corporate bonds. However, a continuation of QE from the Fed will be supportive for MBS, and its zero-rate policy will be supportive for high-quality alternatives to low-yielding treasuries.</p>
<p>Disclaimer</p>
<p>The views and opinions contained herein are those of Joanna Shatney, Head of US Large Cap Equities, and David Harris, Head of US Multi-Sector Fixed Income, and&#160;may not necessarily represent views expressed or reflected in other&#160;Schroders communications,&#160;strategies&#160;or funds.</p>
<p>Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.</p> | Election's Over: What it Means for Your Investments | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/11/07/election-over-what-it-means-for-your-investments.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
<p>James Risen, national security reporter for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/02/09/donald-trump-russia-election-nsa/" type="external">The Intercept</a>, released an expose Feb. 9 alleging that the U.S. intelligence community has been “conducting a top-secret operation to recover stolen classified U.S. government documents from Russian operatives,” and that “the operation has also inadvertently yielded a cache of documents purporting to relate to Donald Trump and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.”</p>
<p>Shortly after The Intercept published its story, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/politics/us-cyberweapons-russia-trump.html" type="external">The New York Times</a> published a piece by Matthew Rosenberg alleging that a Russian who claimed to have NSA cyberweapons and compromising information on President Trump received $100,000 of U.S. government money routed through an indirect channel.</p>
<p>The CIA <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-calls-report-of-100k-payment-to-russian-fictional-trump-tweet/" type="external">has called</a> both reports “fictional,” adding that “the people swindled here were James Risen and Matt Rosenberg. The fictional story that CIA was bilked out of $100,000 is patently false.” Trump asserts that the report from The New York Times is true.</p>
<p />
<p>Risen told CBS: “It’s a very complicated story. First, the CIA and the NSA were trying to recover stolen NSA documents that allow people to do very sophisticated hacks, and they were worried that those documents would allow for really horrible hacks of American systems. So that was their main focus, was to try to buy back documents from the Russians on that. And in this process of conducting a secret channel with the Russians, some of the Russians began to offer documents related to Trump and to the 2016 campaign. And the Americans were very ambivalent about whether they wanted to get these documents, because they know how explosive this whole issue is.”</p>
<p>“So there was a lot of back and forth between the Russians and the Americans about whether the Americans would even accept the documents about Trump,” he said. “And so finally it appears that they accepted some, but their primary goal all along for the CIA and the NSA was to get these documents back from a group called Shadow Brokers.”</p>
<p>CBS News reports:</p>
<p>The Times reported that the Russian, early in the negotiations, dropped the asking price from $10 million to $1 million for the cyber tools and the Trump-related information.</p>
<p>U.S. officials had said the payment was intended to recover the alleged NSA materials and was abandoned after the Russian produced “possibly fabricated” information on Mr. Trump related to the 2016 presidential election and alleged ties between his associates and Russia, the Times reports. The U.S. agents reportedly considered the information “tabloid gossip pages” rather than intelligence gathering and ultimately terminated the deal. Several American officials said they did not want the alleged information about Mr. Trump.</p>
<p>The Times reports that the coveted cyberweapons were built to break into the computer networks of Russia and China, but wound up in the hands of a mysterious group called the “Shadow Brokers.” The weapons have helped hackers breach millions of computers around the world, including hospitals, businesses and factories, the Times reports.</p>
<p>The Times claimed it obtained four of the documents the Russian tried to give to American intelligence, noting that the newspaper did not pay for the documents. The documents, according to the newspaper, discuss former Trump campaign aide Carter Page and billionaire GOP donors Robert and Rebekah Mercer. But the reports, according to the Times, draw almost entirely from publicly available news reports.</p>
<p>Rosenberg, who wrote The New York Times story, responded to the CIA’s comments on Twitter, writing:</p>
<p />
<p>Trump also took to Twitter to comment on the Times piece, saying: “I hope people are now seeing &amp; understanding what is going on here,” though he has previously called reporting from the paper “fake news.”</p>
<p />
<p>In a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/02/12/bonus-intercepted-podcast-jim-risen-goes-inside-the-nsas-secret-channel-to-russia/" type="external">podcast from The Intercept</a>, Risen added that within the CIA there has been debate on whether or not to take possession of compromising information on Trump, as some officials do not want to assist in Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.</p>
<p>Risen said, “To understand the full extent of possible collusion between Trump and Russia, it strikes me that you need evidence out of Moscow, and/or out of Russia. And to the extent that Mueller will be able to do that without the support of the intelligence community is something that I question. And that’s where I think this is a really interesting story, is to me: How far is the intelligence community willing to go to support Mueller versus how the degree to which they’re afraid of attacks by Trump and the right wing for claiming that they’re part of some mythical deep state?”</p> | New Allegations Surface About U.S. Spy Agencies and Russians | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/new-allegations-surface-u-s-spy-agencies-russians/ | 2018-02-14 | 4 |
<p>India's Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of&#160;Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone survivor among the terrorists who attacked Mumbai in November 2008, the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/mumbai/SC-stays-Kasab-s-death-sentence-says-he-deserves-to-be-heard/Article1-755634.aspx" type="external">Hindustan Times reports</a>.</p>
<p>The court said that the execution cannot be carried out until it hears Kasab's petition&#160;challenging his conviction and death sentence, the paper said.</p>
<p>&#160;"People may believe it otherwise, but the due process of law demands that the accused should be given full opportunity to defend his case in the highest court," the paper quotes Kasab's lawyer as saying.</p>
<p>Kasab was one of 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, killing 166 people, most of them civilians, while waging a three-day gun battle with Indian security forces.</p>
<p>He was awarded death sentence by a Mumbai trial court May 6, 2010. Besides other charges, he was convicted for waging war against the nation. The Bombay high court upheld the verdict.</p> | Indian Supreme Court stays execution of Mumbai terrorist | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-10-10/indian-supreme-court-stays-execution-mumbai-terrorist | 2011-10-10 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Austin, Texas, businessman Mike Stotts lost Romeo, his 15-year-old golden retriever, while camping at Hyde Memorial State Park in mid-August.</p>
<p>After more than three days of searching, Stotts gave up and even used rocks and a cross to build a marker in the park for his pet, assuming the elderly Romeo had died or been killed by coyotes or bears.</p>
<p>But on Tuesday, Romeo was back in Stotts’ arms.</p>
<p>KOAT-TV reports that Romeo escaped when Stotts unzipped his camping tent to adjust the rain cover.</p>
<p>Eli Madrid, a Chavez Security guard working in the Santa Fe watershed, found the dog Monday, with a collar indicating that Romeo had an identifying microchip. Stotts jumped in a car to drive back to Santa Fe for the reunion Tuesday at Madrid’s house. Romeo had a split ear and had lost a lot of weight, but the vet says he will be fine, according to KOAT-TV.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Elderly Dog Survives Two Months in Wild | false | https://abqjournal.com/139189/elderly-dog-survives-two-months-in-wild.html | 2012-10-17 | 2 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>An international missionary in Zimbabwe said June 11 that Southern Baptists need to worry not only about unreached people groups but also about competition for new converts from other Christian and non-Christian faiths.</p>
<p>“Southern Baptists, would you allow me to challenge us by the reality that in Zimbabwe, for instance, those who are proclaiming a false hope or liberal theology are happily moving into areas that we vacate and outspending us promoting a religion without hope and gods who cannot save?” missionary Gregg Fort asked during a report to messengers at the June 11-12 SBC annual meeting in Houston.</p>
<p>“Dare we turn over partially conquered ground to Mormons, to Jehovah’s Witnesses, to Muslims?” asked Fort, a second-generation missionary who has served in the sub-Saharan African nation a little smaller than Texas since 1987.</p>
<p>“Dare we allow proponents of liberal theology to sneak among our converts through Bible-training programs and seminaries to corrupt the very believers that we have labored to bring to salvation in Christ?” he continued.</p>
<p>Two years ago Fort defended the Zimbabwe Baptist Convention for firing Baptist Theological Seminary of Zimbabwe Principal Henry Mugabe after the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Ph.D. graduate refused to abide by a directive from a new council named to replace the school’s board of trustees requiring faculty to endorse the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.</p>
<p>Last year, U.S. groups including the Alliance of Baptists and Lott Carey Missionary Convention switched their longtime support for the seminary to a new Zimbabwe Theological Seminary described as “a Christian institution shaped by Baptist tradition and piety, ecumenical openness and social concern.”</p>
<p>Supporters of Mugabe, who has taught as a <a href="http://www.btsr.edu/s/918/index.aspx?sid=918&amp;gid=1&amp;pgid=366" type="external">visiting</a>professor at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, said the rift resulted from a condition for transfer of the Baptist seminary to Zimbabwe Baptists from the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. An IMB official said the Richmond, Va., – based mission board was not involved in the controversy.</p>
<p>Mary Andreolli, minister for outreach and communications for the Alliance of Baptists, declined to comment about Fort’s statement at the SBC.</p>
<p>Alliance and Lott Carey support for the Baptist&#160;Theological Seminary of Zimbabwe began in the 1990s after the SBC International Mission Board reoriented priorities so that funds were no longer available for operating such institutions.</p>
<p>When former faculty and others launched the new Zimbabwe Theological Seminary in September 2012, the Alliance pledged to “help give birth” to the new venture.</p>
<p>That included both financial support and collecting books for a new seminary library. Renowned Baptist scholar Glenn Hinson, senior professor of church history and spirituality at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, donated his personal library.</p>
<p>The Forts are church planters among the Ndebele people group in a rural area about an hour’s drive from the city of Gweru. Their work began slowly, with only two churches started in several years, but more recently has reportedly taken off.</p>
<p>“Together as Southern Baptists have prayed and often come to labor alongside us through short-term mission trips, we have witnessed our Father reconcile the lost to himself,” Fort told SBC messengers.</p>
<p>“The miracle of new birth has been accompanied by the sick being healed, the demonized being delivered, new believers becoming the Body of Christ in community,” Fort said. “Communities have been transformed and tribal groups have found their animosity toward each other changed into godly love and concern.”</p>
<p>He shared the story of one father who brought his 9-year-old son to them for prayer.</p>
<p>“The family had exhausted all their wealth on traditional healers and false prophets seeking relief for a sickness that made their son appear to be only 5 years old,” Fort said. “He was unable to talk, unable to run, unable even to walk without falling down.</p>
<p>“The parents did give their lives to Christ during a church planting emphasis. They wondered whether the God they now worshipped would be able to heal their son’s body.</p>
<p>“When they brought him to us, he still had the charms around his neck and around his waist. The father was told that they needed to be removed because they represented the power and the authority of our enemy, Satan.</p>
<p>“We watched as he cut them off, built a fire and burned them. And then we gathered around his son … and interceded before the God who is more than able and watched as, even though there were repeated attacks from the enemy, [the youth] was restored to full health and given back to his family.”</p>
<p>Previous stories:</p>
<p><a href="archives/item/6604-zimbabwe-baptist-seminary-principal-fired#.UbhhIUgo474" type="external">Zimbabwe Baptist seminary principal fired</a></p>
<p><a href="ministry/organizations/item/7528-us-baptists-support-zimbabwe-seminary#.Ubhg0Ego474" type="external">U.S. Baptists support Zimbabwe seminary</a></p> | Missionary warns of ‘liberal’ theology | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/missionary-warns-of-liberal-theology/ | 3 |
|
<p>The mainstream GOP is so certain Republicans will be blamed for the government shutdown, the first in 17 years, it has been actively campaigning against its conservative base within government.</p>
<p>Sen. John McCain summed up the party line when he said that as much as he doesn’t like Obamacare, it’s the law, and shutting down the government won’t change that.</p>
<p>But the tea party has leverage over House Speaker John Boehner, who was nearly fired from that position, and Boehner has leverage over his caucus. Thus the House has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/us/politics/congress-shutdown-debate.html?_r=0" type="external">refused</a> to vote so far on any bill to fund the government unless some token strike against the Affordable Care Act is included. Republicans inched toward resolution Monday, first settling for a delay of the individual mandate and then attempting to negotiate their differences in conference, but it was too little too late and the maneuvering was not enough by the stroke of midnight.</p>
<p>So 1.8 million government employees will either stop working or work without pay.</p>
<p />
<p>Here’s the rub: As with the sequester, President Obama is the chief executive and, through his subordinates, can shape the impact of the shutdown. For example, the president <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/obama-not-all-resigned-shutdown" type="external">signed a bill</a> ensuring that enlisted military personnel will be paid on time. But he hinted Monday that veterans could be impacted through the shutdown. Certain emergency services and programs will stay available — Social Security checks will go out, the president promised — but there will be across the board inconveniences and real human suffering.</p>
<p>This is no game, but Obama will have an opportunity to control how the public experiences life without government. Put more accurately, the president will, more than any individual (except for Boehner, whom Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blamed for the crisis), have the power to decide what kind of government Americans have.</p>
<p>Leaders in both parties are scrambling to present as the more reasonable negotiator in this political impasse. Since he came into office, the president has had nothing but opposition from Congress. It shouldn’t be too hard to pin this one on the GOP, given that history and the almost prideful stance political figures such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have adopted in championing the shutdown. It’s their idea, and they’re proud of it.</p>
<p>Faced with plummeting poll numbers, a sick economy and an NSA spying scandal that won’t go away, this is quite a gift Obama has received from the opposition.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer</a></p> | Why This Government Shutdown Will Backfire on Republicans | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/why-this-government-shutdown-will-backfire-on-republicans/ | 2013-10-01 | 4 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukexmartin/4836804608/"&gt;Luke X. Martin&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p>Greenwashing is out, brownwashing is in. These days, GOP politicians are scrambling to distance themselves from past environment-friendly statements, initiatives, and votes. (Thanks to Grist reader Gary Wockner for <a href="http://www.grist.org/politics/2011-05-20-flashback-2003-romney-attacked-coal-jobs-that-kill-people#c916613" type="external">naming this trend</a>.)</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Check out the top 10 offenders. And watch for a lot more Republicans to join the club as we head toward the 2012 election.&#160;</p>
<p>10. Scott Brown</p>
<p>US senator from Massachusetts</p>
<p>Before: “Reducing carbon dioxide emission in Massachusetts has long been a priority of mine,” <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/01/scott-brownclim.html" type="external">he said</a> in 2008 when, as a member of the state Senate, he voted in favor of his state joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon-trading initiative in the Northeast. “Passing this legislation is an important step … towards improving our environment.”</p>
<p><a href="http://theclimatedesk.org/" type="external" /></p>
<p>After: “I think the globe is always heating and cooling. It’s a natural way of ebb and flow. The thing that concerns me lately is some of the information I’ve heard about potential tampering with some of the information,” <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2009/12/17/us_senate_candidates_at_odds_on_states_climate_change_issues/" type="external">he said</a> in December 2009, as the <a href="" type="internal">“Climategate” faux-scandal</a> was raging. In April 2011, <a href="http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-13/bostonglobe/29414551_1_greenhouse-gases-greenhouse-gas-emissions-scott-brown" type="external">he voted</a> to strip the U.S. EPA of its authority to regulate carbon dioxide.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.grist.org/politics/2011-06-08-green-who-me-top-10-brownwashing-republicans" type="external">For brownwashing Republicans 1-9 check out Grist’s list.</a></p>
<p>This post was produced by <a href="http://www.grist.org/politics/2011-06-08-green-who-me-top-10-brownwashing-republicans" type="external">Grist</a> as part of the <a href="http://theclimatedesk.org/" type="external">Climate Desk</a> collaboration.</p> | Green—Who, me? Top 10 Brownwashing Republicans | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/top-10-brownwashing-republicans/ | 2011-06-13 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>On a recent day in the county, which is dependent on the federal dollars that run Los Alamos National Laboratory, nannies, young mothers and children enjoyed the shade at Ashley Pond Park near a new county building and a renovated community center. A mega-grocery store bore “help wanted” signs. And Melanie Bennett of Bennett’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts lamented that it’s hard to find good help because “the lab sucks everybody.”</p>
<p>Just to the north is Rio Arriba County, home to drug-and crime-plagued Española, whose main drag is a mix of fast-food restaurants, boarded-up businesses, a casino-hotel and a Walmart.</p>
<p>“There’s more workers than there are jobs,” said Dennis Salazar, who owns a liquor store. Average per-capita income in Rio Arriba: $20,000, well below half Los Alamos County’s average of $50,740.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The contrast highlights an unusual wealth gap in New Mexico. Unlike other states, the richest residents of New Mexico work mainly in the public sector, while almost everyone else is employed in the private sector.</p>
<p>That dynamic is both a blessing and a curse. Federal dollars, along with the energy industry in southeastern New Mexico, have fueled the state’s economy for decades. Besides Los Alamos, where the atomic bomb was developed, the state is home to Sandia National Laboratories, three Air Force bases, the Army’s White Sands Missile Range and several national forests and parks. In all, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trust’s Fiscal Federalism Initiative, about 35 percent of New Mexico’s economy comes from the federal government — the highest such figure for any state.</p>
<p>But critics say an inability to diversify the economy has exacerbated income disparities. They say that at a time of tight federal budgets, the state can no longer afford to stake its economic future on government spending.</p>
<p>Unless New Mexico can attract new industries, workers will have to settle for whatever lower-paying government jobs are available or for low-wage work in the service industry, according to political leaders and experts on the state’s economy.</p>
<p>“The rest of the nation is subsidizing New Mexico,” said Jake Arnold, a political consultant and longtime New Mexican. “It’s like the Third World. … All these people are fighting over crumbs.”</p>
<p>The issue was a key topic in this fall’s governor’s race, with Republican Gov. Susana Martinez insisting in one debate that “we have to diversify … and make sure that there are jobs of all kinds.” Martinez said she cut business taxes to spark the creation of more private-sector jobs.</p>
<p>But so far, large-scale job-creation efforts have faltered. In September, the state lost out to Nevada for a Tesla battery factory that officials say could have created 22,000 jobs over the next two decades and pump billions into that state’s economy.</p>
<p>Then there’s Spaceport America in southern Sierra County, the venture of entrepreneur Richard Branson that was supposed to lure both jobs and tourism dollars. Instead, like much of New Mexico, Sierra County is losing rather than gaining private-sector jobs, according to data from the state Labor Department. The futuristic building and runway sit nearly empty, waiting for Virgin Galactic to make good on what have been annual projections since 2010 to launch its $250,000-per-person space tourism flights “by the end of the year.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The breakup Oct. 31 of its experimental rocket-powered spaceship over the California desert has raised new doubts about whether the space-tourism flights will ever happen. Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides has said that the company could resume test flights as early as next summer if it can finish building a replacement craft.</p>
<p>“I think we gave up on all that a long time ago,” said Stephanie Ontiveros, who works at the Butte General Store and Marine in Sierra County, which raised its taxes to help support Spaceport. It’s now among the New Mexico counties with the lowest average wages, and, like Rio Arriba, it is plagued by empty buildings and businesses for sale.</p>
<p>New Mexico ranked last among states for job growth from January 2011 through 2013. It is second, behind Mississippi, in the percentage of its residents living in poverty — a percentage that increased from 20.8 percent in 2012 to 21.9 percent in 2013, Census figures show. It also consistently ranks at or near the bottom of national rankings for education and child welfare.</p>
<p>“What this state really needs to advance economically is workforce training and education that is at least as good as what the surrounding states have,” New Mexico State University economist Jeff Peach said.</p>
<p>Economists and activists say New Mexico has trouble attracting new industries for two major reasons: widespread poverty and low education levels. A study released in mid-November by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that more than half of New Mexico families with children under the age of 8 are low-income, about one-third of the families are headed by a single parent and more than 10 percent of the families include parents who don’t have high school diplomas.</p>
<p>Family advocacy groups in New Mexico have long said that breaking the cycle of poverty is nearly impossible when families and children are confronted with economic burdens, barriers to educational success and few prospects for high-paying jobs. While Los Alamos and a few other parts of New Mexico have some of the highest percentages in the nation of doctoral-degree holders in science and engineering, U.S. Census data show the state is below the national average in the percentage of its adult population that holds a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>The private sector did add about 8,000 jobs in the 12-month period that ended in September, according to state labor reports. More than half the jobs were in education or health services. Government jobs declined by 1,800 over the same period, with 300 of those losses in the federal sector.</p>
<p>Even in Los Alamos, the number of lucrative lab jobs is shrinking along with the federal budget. And yet in a sea of struggling New Mexicans, Los Alamos, with nearly 18,000 residents, remains an island of prosperity. Of those ages 25 and above, 63 percent hold at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 25 percent statewide. More people own homes than the statewide average. And the median home value is far higher: $285,800, compared with $161,500 statewide.</p>
<p>The average salary for jobs at Los Alamos National Laboratory listed on employment-search sites pays about $70,000 a year, but many high-level scientists and program managers earn six-figure salaries. Employees at the Sandia National Laboratories, based in Albuquerque, enjoy similar pay doing security-related research for the federal government. But they are spread throughout the sprawling metropolitan area.</p>
<p>Mike Lippiatt, a Los Alamos native, said that while Los Alamos and places like Rio Arriba County are worlds apart, residents really don’t think much about the disparities. Nor do they tend to consider that — thanks to federal largess — they live in one of the country’s most affluent communities.</p>
<p>Lippiatt likened Los Alamos to a “fantasy world” where children still walk to school, crime is kept low by a huge police force and there’s no such thing as real traffic.</p>
<p>While many residents “live very humbly,” Lippiatt said, “I think the people who have all this money are retired from the lab, they invested well, they did things right. … They have literally millions of dollars in the bank.”</p> | New Mexico struggles despite federal largess | false | https://abqjournal.com/505017/new-mexico-struggles-despite-federal-largess-2.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The vacancy rate for warehouses, assembly plants, R&amp;D buildings and the like dropped to 7.9 percent in the second quarter, down from 8.9 percent in the preceding first quarter and 10.1 percent from the second quarter of 2013. The last time the industrial vacancy rate broke the 8 percent threshold was the end of 2008.</p>
<p>“On the surface the market appears to be doing well,” says Colliers’ latest Industrial Trends Report.</p>
<p>The biggest deal registered during the second quarter was Nova Corp.’s lease of the 192,125-square-foot former Schott Solar facility at Mesa del Sol. A provider of information technology services owned by the Navajo Nation, Nova plans to relocate an existing office and operate a data center in part of the facility.</p>
<p>Greg Foltz of Coldwell Banker Commercial Las Colinas is marketing for lease about 60,000 square feet in the smaller of the two former Schott buildings.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Also in the quarter, Canada-based Inland Kenworth Inc., which provides sales and service of Kenworth trucks, vacated 30,345 square feet of leased space for its own, new 45,750-square-foot building on the West Side.</p>
<p>Altogether, Colliers reported 337,000 square feet of industrial space occupied in the second quarter, a brisk pace of absorption that was common during the economic boom of the mid 2000s but rare since then. That level of absorption isn’t expected to continue.</p>
<p>“Realistically the market is still lacking in sustainable drivers of growth,” the report says. “Activity levels are still low with a limited number of users searching for space. The market remains flat and is stuck in a holding pattern.”</p>
<p>Another commercial real estate services firm in the metro, CBRE, says in its second quarter report that most activity in the industrial market is generated by existing companies relocating for the purpose of expanding or downsizing. Downsizings will offset expansions, so that “flat is the new norm,” it says.</p> | ABQ industrial sector has lower vacancy rates | false | https://abqjournal.com/434067/abq-industrial-sector-has-lower-vacancy-rates.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>The central motif for the Leave campaign’s agitation for Brexit was that of sovereignty.</p>
<p>As the story went, membership of the European Union entailed a loss of sovereignty in diverse fields, from agriculture, fishing, and domestic economic policy to immigration management, foreign policy, and international trade.</p>
<p>The narrative continued with promises of an independent and resurgent (“Hopeful”) Britain, one, with a hint of nostalgia, that can stand on its own two feet on the world stage.</p>
<p>The audience was also tantalised with the prospect of a bonfire of EU regulations and the end of the allegedly remote rule of an “unaccountable” Brussels.</p>
<p>There were finally re-assurances that new trade deals would be negotiated, through the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and that Britain could position itself globally (not merely in relation to the EU) as a multi-lateral trading partner.&#160; With the elimination of EU regulations, the UK would have the competitive advantage of a ‘flexible’ economy.</p>
<p>There are many problems with this story, not the least being the very meaning of the word sovereignty.&#160; Indeed, in many senses, Brexit substantially reduces the sovereignty of the UK.&#160; Not only will the new everyday situation be a more costly version of business-as-usual, but Britain itself will also exist in a more dangerous environment of risk.</p>
<p>Contrary to the tale of an independent, prosperous Britain is that of an isolated and exposed Britain – a vulnerable Britain, awash amid the harsh reality of the international market.&#160; This avoidable self-exposure gives the UK very little moreover as much of the regulatory regime, for instance, will continue as is or slightly rebranded since it is underwritten by WTO trade rules and EU market entry requirements (55% of UK exports).</p>
<p>The challenges of globalism have been met by nations through regional and inter-regional associations, from Asia, the Americas, Africa and, of course, Europe.</p>
<p>Russia and China continue to integrate their economies and have developed a cooperative network of nations in Asia and around the globe through groupings such as BRICS and its fledgling New Development Bank.&#160; This network was meant to include cooperation between China and the UK, viewed as the gateway to Europe, especially in financial services.&#160; Yet, with Brexit, China is re-assessing its investment strategy and commitments in the UK.</p>
<p>With strength in numbers, nations have achieved a more tangible sovereignty, an existential security, if you will, through peaceful cooperation and sustainable development.&#160; Stronger and better trade deals have been negotiated, by the EU, for example, providing members with greater discretion for democratic self-governance.</p>
<p>Of course, the UK could attempt to strengthen its own global network of nations, as with the Commonwealth and the Anglosphere.&#160; Yet, such fantastic hopes fly in the face of the reality of the current international order.</p>
<p>With full Brexit (no European Economic Area, etc.), Britain will be required to re-negotiate its relationships with the EU and the WTO.&#160; Any subsequent FTA’s would, moreover, take place according to WTO rules and governance.&#160; In both re-negotiations, and in new free trade negotiations, Britain would have lost much of the clout that it derived from its membership of the EU.&#160; Pre-Brexit, international trade deals were negotiated by the EU, and, as the world’s largest economy, significant concessions were won to limit the exposure of the more savage aspects of globalism.</p>
<p>Immediately after Brexit, Britain will be bargaining from a position of weakness, or, as in the case of China, from a new irrelevance. Disappointing or worse deals are likely.</p>
<p>The exposure of Britain, with a population of 65mil, to the savageries of the international market does not contribute to its sovereignty, but instead, undermines it.&#160; In fact, Britain had already conceded much of its sovereignty long ago, at both a domestic and international level, through its membership of other global organisations such as NATO and the IMF, in its alignment with the United States.&#160; That is not even to mention the exposure to the speculative movements of international capital, curtailing sovereignty.&#160; It is telling that the Leave campaign did not complain about these other more drastic constraints on sovereignty.</p>
<p>If we want a glimpse of things to come, let us take as one example the potential collapse of the property market.&#160; Since the referendum, at least five international property firms have suspended trading due to a massive rush to sell UK holdings.&#160; This suspension merely post-pones a harsh transition of property values in the UK toward a new un-decided settlement.</p>
<p>Of course, a shake-up in the longstanding dear levels of property values could, if the political will can be mustered, lead to the relative and much needed democratisation of land.&#160; Yet, if there is an absence of will among the landless many and farmers – and the political parties which purport to represent them – there could be less a “re-balancing” than concentrated corporate hierarchies in agriculture, tourism, business and housing.</p>
<p>70% of UK land is in agriculture.&#160; A crash in the property market, exacerbated by a removal of EU subsidies to agriculture, could in theory lead to a wider distribution of ownership.&#160; Yet, with the collateral economic calamity of such a crash, it is unlikely that the landless many or farmers would be in a position to take advantage of the opportunity.&#160; The land instead will be swallowed up by the international property market, tourism and corporate agribusiness.</p>
<p>The remaining 30% of UK land will also be subject to international exposure.&#160; Residential assets, business, utility companies, football teams – in essence, the ownership of the furniture of UK life falling into the hands of consortiums for speculative profit.</p>
<p>We are far along the neo-liberal pathway, a far greater threat to sovereignty than the EU, an institution which acted to resist the most extreme excesses of globalism.</p>
<p>Without political clarity on the adverse exposure of the UK, the sovereignty of citizens, both political and existential, will likely further diminish in what will soon become Little Britain.</p> | Little Britain, After Brexit: UK Plunges into the Deep End of the International Market | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/08/09/little-britain-after-brexit-uk-plunges-into-the-deep-end-of-the-international-market/ | 2016-08-09 | 4 |
<p>Nine Palestinians died and 29 were wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes that began Wednesday and continued Thursday. The air raids were in retaliation for a recent terrorist attack that killed eight Israelis and for continuing rocket fire over the Israel-Gaza border.</p>
<p>On the Israeli side, a baby was reported to have been slightly wounded when shrapnel from a Palestinian rocket hit a car.</p>
<p>Since the deadly attack on Israel on Aug. 18, the country has retaliated by killing at least 23 Palestinians, many of them Islamic Jihad and pro-Hamas leaders but some of them simply civilians. –BF</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p />
<p>On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike killed an Islamic Jihad leader, Ismail al-Asmar, 34; the group said Thursday that it had fired several of the missiles at Israel in retaliation.</p>
<p>Early Thursday, Israelis struck a smuggling tunnel that crossed under Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, killing four.</p>
<p>A third airstrike — on a sports club the Israeli military said held a weapons storage facility — killed two in northern Gaza: a member of Islamic Jihad, and a Palestinian man, 22, who died hours after he was wounded.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/world/middleeast/26gaza.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Retaliatory Attacks Between Israel and Gaza Continue | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/retaliatory-attacks-between-israel-and-gaza-continue/ | 2011-08-25 | 4 |
<p>CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Ashley Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to reclaim the lead and Marcus Thomas scored five of his nine points in the final 1:27 as Western Carolina held off The Citadel 81-79 in a Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.</p>
<p>Desmond Johnson led Western Carolina (5-8) with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight steals — all three are career bests. Mike Amius added 12 points, Williams 11 and Marc Gosselin scored nine points with 11 rebounds.</p>
<p>Tariq Simmons scored 16 points to lead The Citadel (5-8) and Matt Frierson added 15, shooting entirely from 3-point range, hitting 5 of 13. The Bulldogs made 13 3-pointers, but put up 44 attempts.</p>
<p>The Citadel jumped out to an early 16-point lead before Western Carolina went on a 25-5 tear in the last 7:32 before halftime, taking advantage of 10 turnovers.</p>
<p>Western Carolina led by as many as 13 midway through the second half before The Citadel caught up, 70-70, after a 15-5 run.</p>
<p>Western Carolina trailed by four before Williams and Thomas turned that around.</p>
<p>CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Ashley Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to reclaim the lead and Marcus Thomas scored five of his nine points in the final 1:27 as Western Carolina held off The Citadel 81-79 in a Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.</p>
<p>Desmond Johnson led Western Carolina (5-8) with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight steals — all three are career bests. Mike Amius added 12 points, Williams 11 and Marc Gosselin scored nine points with 11 rebounds.</p>
<p>Tariq Simmons scored 16 points to lead The Citadel (5-8) and Matt Frierson added 15, shooting entirely from 3-point range, hitting 5 of 13. The Bulldogs made 13 3-pointers, but put up 44 attempts.</p>
<p>The Citadel jumped out to an early 16-point lead before Western Carolina went on a 25-5 tear in the last 7:32 before halftime, taking advantage of 10 turnovers.</p>
<p>Western Carolina led by as many as 13 midway through the second half before The Citadel caught up, 70-70, after a 15-5 run.</p>
<p>Western Carolina trailed by four before Williams and Thomas turned that around.</p> | Thomas helps W Carolina hold off The Citadel 81-79 in SoCon | false | https://apnews.com/21b3f893d50d41c7a9245893f5429d64 | 2017-12-30 | 2 |
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday that the U.N. Security Council has run out of options on containing North Korea’s nuclear program and the United States may have to turn the matter over to the Pentagon.</p>
<p>“We have pretty much exhausted all the things that we can do at the Security Council at this point,” Haley told CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that she was perfectly happy to hand the matter to Defense Secretary James Mattis. “We’re trying every other possibility that we have but there’s a whole lot of military options on the table.”</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> | Haley says U.N. has exhausted options on North Korea | false | https://newsline.com/haley-says-u-n-has-exhausted-options-on-north-korea/ | 2017-09-17 | 1 |
<p>Republican <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Donald Trump</a> sharpened his attacks Thursday on Democrat <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a> for dishonesty, corruption and catering to special interests while offing himself as a champion of the people.</p>
<p>“ <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a>’s mistakes destroy innocent lives, sacrifice national security, and betray the working families of this country,” <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> said at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, delivering the first stump speech since reorganizing his campaign.</p>
<p>“Please remember this: I will never put personal profit before national security. I will never leave our border open to appease donors and special interests. I will never support a trade deal that kills American jobs. I will never put the special interests before the national interest. I will never put a donor before a voter, or a lobbyist before a citizen,” said the New York billionaire.</p>
<p>“Instead, I will be a champion for the people,” he said.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> used a teleprompter for the speech, sticking closely to the script in a way he usually reserves for policy speeches.</p>
<p>The real estate tycoon said that he may be politically incorrect, but he tells the truth.</p>
<p>He slammed <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a> for failing to apologize for her secret email setup as secretary of state, turning the State Department into a “pay-to-play operation,” the Iran nuclear deal, “unleashing” Islamic State or ISIS and “lying to the families who lost loved ones at Benghazi.”</p>
<p>“Has <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a> apologized for the decisions she made that have led to so much death, destruction and terrorism,” he asked.</p>
<p>The crowd responded: “No.”</p>
<p>The speech united several themes of <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>’s campaign, including fighting terrorism, getting tough on illegal immigration, making better trade deals and rebuilding the economy, while keeping the focus on what he described as the failures of <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a> and her questionable character.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> also appealed for support from minorities and gay Americans who typically vote Democrat, as well as to factory workers losing their jobs and military veterans denied health care, saying he wanted to be their voice.</p>
<p>“I am running to be your voice,” he said.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>, who has been accused a racism and bigotry throughout the race, said that <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a> was the real bigot.</p>
<p>“We are going to reject the bigotry of <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Hillary Clinton</a>, which sees communities of color only as votes and not as human beings worthy of a better future,” he said, repeating a theme from his law-and-order speech Tuesday in Michigan.</p>
<p>He promise that he would lead America in rejecting bigotry and hatred and restoring honesty to government.</p>
<p>“If African-American voters give <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Donald Trump</a> a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing. Look at how badly things are going under decades of Democratic leadership – look at the schools, look at the 58% of young African-Americans not working. It is time for change,” he said.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> said that, unlike <a href="/topics/hillary-clinton/" type="external">Mrs. Clinton</a>, he said was not running for his own aggrandizement.</p>
<p>“It’s not about me. It’s never been about me. It’s about all the people in this country who don’t have a voice,” said <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>. “I am running to be the voice for every forgotten part of this country that has been waiting and hoping for a better future.”</p>
<p>“I am glad that I make the powerful a little uncomfortable now and again – including some powerful people in my own party,” said <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>. “Because it means I am fighting for real change.”</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/aug/18/donald-trump-takes-charge-i-will-be-champion-peopl/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Donald Trump takes charge: ‘I will be a champion of the people’ | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/18/donald-trump-takes-charge-i-will-be-champion-peopl/ | 2016-08-18 | 0 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>West Virginia</p>
<p>The reporters were in complete shock when Delegate Brian Kurcaba allegedly (R) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidlgutman/status/563487694471593984" type="external">said</a>, “Obviously rape is awful,” but “What is beautiful is the child that could come from this.” How exactly did that make any sense.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The word rape means ‘to take’ which also means ‘to steal’. If you steal something you’re probably going to get tackled and arrested by the cops.</p>
<p>In 2012, Missouri’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/07/17/todd-akin-i-should-have-said-legitimate-case-of-rape/" type="external">Rep. Todd Akin</a> said that pregnancy can’t result from rape because “If it’s legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”</p>
<p>Indiana Senate candidate <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/mourdock-pregnancy-a-gift-from-god-even-in-cases-of-rape/" type="external">Richard Mourdock</a> said that while sexual assaults are unfortunate, the resulting pregnancy is a “gift from God.”</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party_%28United_States%29" type="external">Libertarian</a> favorite <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/ron-paul-tells-piers-morgan-only-honest-rape-merits-abortion/" type="external">Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)</a> made statements of his own implying that women routinely fabricate rape stories in order to get abortions.</p>
<p>There is noting beautiful about a crime especially if that crime is raping an innocent life. It should be simple: If the rape victim says no to sex that is the end of the discussion. No means no. If the assailant proceeds with the crime of rape then they are stealing.</p>
<p>Do you guys think this delegate was out of line? What are your thoughts on rape? Let us know in the comments.</p> | West Virginia Republican Says Rape Can Be ‘Beautiful’ If It Produces A Child? | true | http://bigamericannews.com/2015/03/31/west-virginia-republican-says-rape-can-be-beautiful-if-it-produces-a-child/ | 2015-03-31 | 0 |
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ These Oregon lotteries were drawn Wednesday:</p>
<p>Lucky Lines</p>
<p>04-06-10-14-FREE-20-23-26-30</p>
<p>(four, six, ten, fourteen, FREE, twenty, twenty-three, twenty-six, thirty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $36,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $306 million</p>
<p>Megabucks</p>
<p>07-11-15-36-40-44</p>
<p>(seven, eleven, fifteen, thirty-six, forty, forty-four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $5.8 million</p>
<p>Pick 4 10PM</p>
<p>0-2-8-4</p>
<p>(zero, two, eight, four)</p>
<p>Pick 4 1PM</p>
<p>3-7-6-6</p>
<p>(three, seven, six, six)</p>
<p>Pick 4 4PM</p>
<p>5-9-1-9</p>
<p>(five, nine, one, nine)</p>
<p>Pick 4 7PM</p>
<p>9-6-2-5</p>
<p>(nine, six, two, five)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>03-09-16-56-60, Powerball: 3, Power Play: 3</p>
<p>(three, nine, sixteen, fifty-six, sixty; Powerball: three; Power Play: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p>
<p>Win for Life</p>
<p>01-60-65-67</p>
<p>(one, sixty, sixty-five, sixty-seven)</p>
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ These Oregon lotteries were drawn Wednesday:</p>
<p>Lucky Lines</p>
<p>04-06-10-14-FREE-20-23-26-30</p>
<p>(four, six, ten, fourteen, FREE, twenty, twenty-three, twenty-six, thirty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $36,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $306 million</p>
<p>Megabucks</p>
<p>07-11-15-36-40-44</p>
<p>(seven, eleven, fifteen, thirty-six, forty, forty-four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $5.8 million</p>
<p>Pick 4 10PM</p>
<p>0-2-8-4</p>
<p>(zero, two, eight, four)</p>
<p>Pick 4 1PM</p>
<p>3-7-6-6</p>
<p>(three, seven, six, six)</p>
<p>Pick 4 4PM</p>
<p>5-9-1-9</p>
<p>(five, nine, one, nine)</p>
<p>Pick 4 7PM</p>
<p>9-6-2-5</p>
<p>(nine, six, two, five)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>03-09-16-56-60, Powerball: 3, Power Play: 3</p>
<p>(three, nine, sixteen, fifty-six, sixty; Powerball: three; Power Play: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p>
<p>Win for Life</p>
<p>01-60-65-67</p>
<p>(one, sixty, sixty-five, sixty-seven)</p> | OR Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/b5c168ecb29b4fed974d956e186776c1 | 2017-12-28 | 2 |
<p>California’s SD 19 (Santa Barbara) should be a district where Republicans are concentrating some of their efforts to prevent a Democratic super-majority in the House, but the Republican candidate Mike Stoker lags behind former CA Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) in fundraising. When State Senator Tony Strickland (R) opted to run for US Congress, he left open a seat that could help the Democrats gain the necessary 27 seats for a two-thirds majority in California’s upper house.</p>
<p>However, the district hasn’t been a Democratic stronghold, but after a recent redistricting, Jackson appears to have a slight advantage in not just fundraising, but also name recognition. Back in 2008 she lost the district to State Senator Tony Strickland by less than 900 votes.</p>
<p>The district is fairly evenly split amongst Democrats, Republicans, and Decline-to-State voters, but the money isn’t there, yet Mike Stoker led in the primary. According to the <a href="http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2012-primary/pdf/97-state-senators-formatted.pdf" type="external">CA Secretary of State</a>, Stoker won the June 5 primary over Jackson 44.9% to 41.6%, respectively. That would bode well for the former Santa Barbara Supervisor, but if you include Democrat Jason Hodge coming in a distant third with 13.5%, you would see a much closer general election come November 6.</p>
<p>In a <a href="" type="internal">May Q&amp;A</a> posted on IVN, Mike Stoker pointed out his bi-partisan accomplishments and laid out stark contrasts between himself and Ms. Jackson.</p>
<p>…I am the only candidate supporting Democrat Governor Jerry Brown’s Pension Reform proposal. My two Democrat opponents [Jackson and Hodge] are opposed…&#160;I am the only candidate focusing on Budget Reform and Regulatory Reform to help make California more business friendly.</p>
<p>The November election will be an interesting test for a district with two same-party candidates with large amounts of votes where one did not make it to the general election. Mike Stoker could be overcome by Jackson if she gains the 13% of the June vote that went to fellow-Democrat Jason Hodge. To overcome this obstacle <a href="" type="internal">Mike Stoker</a> plans to avoid the discussion of special interests and contribution to attract independent-minded voters.</p>
<p>Regardless of Stoker’s move to gather independents, there may be too many Democrats in the district for him to win and Hannah-Beth Jackson may give the Democrats an extra seat toward the super-majority they are seeking in the Legislature.</p> | Republican Mike Stoker Fights Super-Majority in Senate Race | false | https://ivn.us/2012/10/21/sd-19-has-republican-party-yielded-in-supermajority-fight/ | 2012-10-21 | 2 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Scientists with the Serengeti Lion Project have been documenting the lives of lions in the Serengeti National Park for more than 40 years.</p>
<p>Of course, in the old days, studying detailed animal interactions meant sending a graduate student out with a diary to conduct hours of observations.</p>
<p>"That's like trying to understand Britain by sitting in Trafalgar Square for an afternoon," Lintott said. "You don't get a picture of everything that's going on."</p>
<p>Lintott's involved with a project called <a href="http://snapshotserengeti.org/" type="external">Snapshot Serengeti</a>.</p>
<p>Scientists have set up more than 200 camera traps in the park in Tanzania to capture pictures not just of lions, but of all the wildlife.</p>
<p>But here's the thing - those 200 cameras capture a lot of photos. Imagine if you had not hundreds, but millions of holiday snapshots from your African safari to sort through.</p>
<p>"The cameras allow us to carpet the whole place, and get a real understanding of what's going on," Lintott said. "But only if we have some help in sorting through the three million holiday snaps that we've got."</p>
<p>And so, on the Snapshot Serengeti website, you are asked to look through the pictures. With just a few clicks, you can help identify the animals, number them, and describe what they're doing in the picture.</p>
<p>"The cameras capture most everything," Lintott said.</p>
<p>In particular, he remembers one sequence of hyena photos that recently caught his eye.</p>
<p>"The first is the hyena looking straight down the lens, like a superstar out on a Friday night. And the second one, the hyena's in the background skulking. And the third shot is the inside of the hyena's mouth as it attacks the camera." Linott said. "And that's one of the problems. The animals take a strong interest in the cameras and they don't survive all that long."</p>
<p>The cameras can last about two months before needing maintenance and new batteries. Of course, they're likely to be torn down by elephants or infested by ants before then.</p>
<p>But it's all worth it.</p>
<p>The photos, Lintott says, will help scientists get a clearer picture of how animals, especially big predators like lions, interact with other big predators in the park.</p>
<p>"Do they compete for food? Do they attack each other? Do they ignore each other and go about their business? And so that's one of the things we think we can understand by doing this experiment," he said.</p>
<p>Lintott says experts are also hoping to get a better sense of just how much park land big carnivores need to survive and thrive.</p>
<p>The Snapshot Serengeti project, isn't an isolated project. In fact, Lintott's group also runs two other popular "citizen science" projects.</p>
<p>One called <a href="http://www.oldweather.org/" type="external">Old Weather</a> gives you the chance to mine old Navy ships' logs for climate data. Another, called <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/project/hubble" type="external">Galaxy Zoo</a>, allows you to help classify galaxies.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Citizen science project needs your help to catalog Africa's great animals | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-12-18/citizen-science-project-needs-your-help-catalog-africas-great-animals | 2012-12-18 | 3 |
<p>Editor's note: This essay is the third in a series, “Conservation Innovation: Voices of a New Generation,” which has been produced by the <a href="http://www.lincolninst.edu" type="external">Lincoln Institute of Land Policy</a> in collaboration with The GroundTruth Project on GlobalPost. The essays were written for presentation in Sydney, Australia during the November <a href="http://worldparkscongress.org/" type="external">2014 World Parks Congress</a> organized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.&#160;</p>
<p>RIO DE JANEIRO — Mauricio Ruiz grew up surrounded by one of the last refuges of primary forest in Rio de Janeiro. As a teenager, Mauricio and some of his friends would walk for days inside the Tinguá Biological Reserve, oriented only by the flow of the waters and the singing birds.</p>
<p>During a groundbreaking journey to the Amazon rainforest with his father, Mauricio at age 14 encountered the biggest tree in his life. A metaphorical seed was planted, and then a young tree took root in his heart. When Mauricio returned home, he pledged to devote himself to conserving the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.</p>
<p>Mauricio, his father and some friends founded Instituto Terra de Preservação Ambiental (ITPA, translated into English as the Earth Institute for Environmental Protection). It started in 1998 as a tree-planting initiative funded with pocket change. Today, it has grown into an internationally significant organization with 130 employees, working at the vanguard of a remarkable effort to create a large corridor of protected areas along Brazil’s Atlantic Coast.</p>
<p>Since World War II, biodiversity loss in the Amazon, and in other tropical forests around the globe, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/brazil/130215/brazilian-amazon-deforestation-rain-forest-conservation" type="external">has increased at an alarming rate</a>. The rapid disruption of the Earth’s tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon. To address the problem of fragmentation and habitat loss, conservationists has become increasingly focused on landscape-scale approaches, especially through building extensive corridors and mosaics of open land protected by government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private citizens, institutions, corporations and indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>The Brazilian Atlantic Forest figures as one of the Earth’s 25 biodiversity hotspots — one of the world’s biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecological regions. Today the Atlantic Forest encompasses only a small fraction of its original cover. Appropriately, it has become a global biodiversity conservation priority.</p>
<p>Despite its global priority status, however, mobilizing the forces to restore many highly degraded landholdings along Brazil’s Atlantic Coast is no simple task. In Brazil, as in other nations, there is little coordination among federal government agencies, and between federal, state and local governments, private landholders and a wide variety of other institutions. If they want to have a lasting impact, conservationists in Brazil like Mauricio Ruiz have little choice but to become environmental entrepreneurs in establishing large corridors of protected land.</p>
<p>And so, with the support of the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, Ruiz and his associates did exactly that. Having led he struggle to establish the Tinguá Biological Reserve in the early 2000s, Ruiz was a good choice in 2005 to help lead the effort to build a corridor of protected lands in Rio de Janiero state between Tinguá and the Serra de Bocaina National Park to the south. The new entity, the <a href="http://www.iucn.org/knowledge/focus/shaking_things_up_in_rio/?10162/Up-the-road-from-Rio---fresh-forests-and-green-jobs" type="external">Tinguá-Bocaina Biodiversity Corridor</a>, encompasses an area of some 195 thousand hectares, or more than 480,000 acres.</p>
<p>With the soil severely degraded by relic coffee plantations and, more recently, cattle ranching operations, the rural population of the region had few good choices for making a living. Leaving some of the poorest municipalities in the state, many of the residents were heading for Rio to find whatever work might be available. What they were leaving behind was a territory that provides enormously valuable ecosystem services to the city. Some 80 percent of the water supply of Rio de Janeiro comes from the corridor. Furthermore, 20 percent to 30 percent of Rio’s energy supply comes from hydroelectric plants in the region.</p>
<p>With help from the CEPF (whose members include the World Bank, the Global Environmental Facility, Conservation International, the MacArthur Foundation, the Government of Japan, and l’Agence Francaise pour le Developpement), the ITPA and its partners (ranging from small landowner unions to large international NGOs) were able to create several dependable sources of income to underwrite the reforestation and restoration of the landscape.</p>
<p>The income sources they helped to establish include: the ICMS Ecológico (a transfer scheme that allocates a legally-defined share of state tax revenues to municipalities for several purposes, including the acquisition of conservation lands critical to watershed function); and a set of consolidated State Payment for Ecosystem Services programs that compensate private land owners for environmentally appropriate land management practices.</p>
<p>As reported in a report on the impact of the CEPF in the Atlantic Forest, the tangible results of these efforts were significant, including the establishment of more than 100,000 hectares of protected areas, the creation of more than 300 green jobs, the establishment of a local fire brigade, and the compilation of a detailed geographic information system covering the area.</p>
<p>Note that the ITPA is only one of several successful entrepreneurial conservation organizations focused on the conservation of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Another organization that provides a bright example of entrepreneurship and policy advocacy in the region is the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas – IPÊ (the Institute for Ecological Investigations), created by Claudio and Suzana Pádua.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, the Páduas and their three children left their comfortable city life, and careers in business and design, to devote themselves to wildlife conservation. They conducted research regarding the black lion tamarin, a highly threatened – and very charismatic – primate. From these studies and interactions with the local people, Claudio and Suzana came to understand that effective species conservation required the support of communities surrounding the tamarins' forest home – and that working with the children in those communities through outdoor education was one of the best ways to plant the seeds of change that would lead to long-term forest conservation.</p>
<p>Working with local residents, Claudio and Suzana raised local awareness that tamarin conservation not only preserved the Atlantic Forest, but also improved local people’s lives. Investing years of work to the task, IPÊ developed an integrated model, combining&#160;research, environmental education, habitat&#160;restoration, community engagement with&#160;sustainable development, landscape conservation and&#160;policy advocacy.&#160;Working from this base of experience, the Institute grew and prospered to become one of the largest environmental NGOs in Brazil, with about 90 employees and projects in 40 different locations throughout the nation. It has been recognized with several awards for its innovative work, including three Social Entrepreneurship awards.</p>
<p>It is conservation entrepreneurs like Mauricio Ruiz, and Claudio and Suzana Pádua who persistently engage in new hubs of activity, deepen their networks, build capacities and share innovative ideas. Over days and decades, they are tremendously effective at shaping our local, national and international conservation cultures, and at influencing the policy making process.</p>
<p>As young conservation practitioners, with our own love stories with nature, can we find inspiration in these examples to catalyze change and scale up our actions? Which lessons can we draw from it?</p>
<p>Our search for answers can be informed by a video produced in 2010 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) titled: " <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvIdwOEzreM" type="external">Love. Not Loss.</a>" The video postulates that the way we have been talking about the enormous biodiversity challenges we face can be alarmist&#160;and ineffective. It shows that inspiration and wonder with nature is the most effective way to spark lifelong passion for biodiversity conservation.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.futerra.co.uk/downloads/Branding_Biodiversity.pdf" type="external">According to the IUCN</a>, “Research on adults who care about biodiversity reveals the single most important factor behind taking action is an emotionally powerful childhood experience of nature, from a visit to a city farm to stroking a wild animal. When people experience a memorable natural encounter as a child, that experience can be reawakened in the adult. People who got outdoors and enjoyed nature as children are more likely to be environmentally responsible adults.”</p>
<p>Many academic institutions continue to struggle to find ways to bridge the science-policy gap by producing numbers, figures and “sound science” to influence policy makers. Expert panels appear to have low capacity to guide the formulation of decisive environmental and conservation policies.</p>
<p>It appears that science alone is not enough. To address the huge challenges we face, we also need the passion and entrepreneurial drive of young people following the path of the Pádua family and Maurico Ruiz. Their love stories with the trees and animals that inhabit the forest show us exactly the kind of passion that moves us in face of the challenges and risks – that push us to explore new paths.</p>
<p>We will need to nurture the seeds of love for nature planted in our own hearts as children, and which we are helping to plant in the hearts of today’s children. It will be the entrepreneurial drive that grows from these seeds that can make a lasting difference, giving us the persistence to patiently address seemingly huge obstacles, to overcome shortfalls of political willpower, and to effectively address the indecisiveness of policy makers.</p>
<p>As conservation scholars, can we see a new way to bridge the science-policy gap? How should the scientific narrative be reframed to achieve policy change? What can conservation science learn from entrepreneurial practitioners? Let us start by considering the poetry of Robert Frost:</p>
<p>Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Priscila Franco Steier is an environmental analyst in the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation in the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment (ICMBio/MMA). She received her masters of science in environmental governance from Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg (the University of Freiburg) in Germany. Her thesis and current work are focused on social entrepreneurship for biodiversity conservation. &#160;</p>
<p>Read Part One of the series:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/groundtruth/american-southwest-drought-WPCSydney" type="external">How to keep the American Southwest from drying up altogether</a></p>
<p>Read Part Two of the series: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/groundtruth/bombs-biodiversity-military-lands-conservation-WPCSydney" type="external">Why military lands make great conservation areas</a></p> | Why reversing deforestation is all about love | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-11-19/why-reversing-deforestation-all-about-love | 2014-11-19 | 3 |
<p />
<p>Not only should investors prepare for a rate hike to be announced at the FOMC’s two-day meeting later this month, they should also brace for a faster pace of increases compared to prior years, according to Fed Chair Janet Yellen.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“We currently judge that it will be appropriate to gradually increase the federal funds rate if the economic data continue to come in about as we expect. Indeed, at our meeting later this month, the Committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate,” Yellen said in her prepared remarks to the The Executives’ Club of Chicago.&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Watch Yellen LIVE on FOXBusiness.com.</a></p>
<p>On the potential speed of rate hikes Yellen said; “given how close we are to meeting our statutory goals, and in the absence of new developments that might materially worsen the economic outlook, the process of scaling back accommodation likely will not be as slow as it was in 2015 and 2016.”</p>
<p>U.S. stocks remained modestly lower following Yellen’s remarks. However the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the 21000 level on Friday, a key milestone reached earlier in the week. As for bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which trades inversely to prices, was little changed at 2.48%, though it has been on a gradual incline so far this year.</p>
<p>Members of the FOMC will hold their two-day meeting on March 14-15 with a decision on rates expected Wednesday, March 15. Fed Fund Futures, which gauge the probability of monetary policy moves, show traders putting the odds of a March rate hike at 81.9%.</p> | Yellen Signals March Rate Hike and Faster Pace of Future Increases | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/03/yellen-signals-march-rate-hike-and-faster-pace-future-increases.html | 2017-03-03 | 0 |
<p>sercansamanci/Getty Images</p>
<p>Poorer, less educated Americans have given up smoking much more slowly than the upper and middle classes, a report from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/americas-new-tobacco-crisis-the-rich-stopped-smoking-the-poor-didnt/2017/06/13/a63b42ba-4c8c-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_stillsmoking-155am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.259054f27097" type="external">Washington Post</a> found. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while college-educated Americans reduced their smoking rate by 83 percent between 1966 and 2015, those without a high school diploma cut back by just 39 percent.</p>
<p>It’s not due to lack of willpower: Tobacco companies have targeted their marketing toward impoverished communities in recent years and lobbied against cigarette taxes in poor, rural states <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/statesystem/cigaretteuseadult.html" type="external">where smoking rates are highest</a>.</p>
<p>“[Poorer] communities are not protected like others are,” Robin Koval, president of Truth Initiative, told the Post. “They don’t have access to good health care and cessation programs. If you have a bull’s eye painted on your back, it’s harder to get away.”</p>
<p>The Post story follows Debbie Seals, who runs some of the few cessation classes available in southern Virginia and West Virginia. “People down here smoke because of the stress in their life,” she says. “They smoke because of money problems, family problems. It’s the one thing they have control over. The one thing that makes them feel better. And you want them to give that up? It’s the toughest thing in the world.”</p>
<p>See the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/americas-new-tobacco-crisis-the-rich-stopped-smoking-the-poor-didnt/2017/06/13/a63b42ba-4c8c-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_stillsmoking-155am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.18028c616e03" type="external">full article</a> for some illuminating charts.</p> | When Wealthy People Quit Smoking, Tobacco Companies Went After the Poor | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/when-wealthy-people-quit-smoking-tobacco-companies-went-after-the-poor/ | 2017-06-16 | 4 |
<p>Investing.com – Germany stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher while losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.</p>
<p>At the close in Frankfurt, the declined 0.10%, while the index gained 0.16%, and the index climbed 0.42%.</p>
<p>The best performers of the session on the were Continental AG O.N. (DE:), which rose 2.10% or 4.20 points to trade at 204.20 at the close. Meanwhile, Allianz SE VNA O.N. (DE:) added 0.46% or 0.85 points to end at 185.00 and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (DE:) was up 0.36% or 0.300 points to 84.370 in late trade.</p>
<p>The worst performers of the session were Deutsche Boerse AG (DE:), which fell 1.73% or 1.630 points to trade at 92.620 at the close. RWE AG ST O.N. (DE:) declined 1.19% or 0.245 points to end at 20.400 and Lufthansa AG VNA O.N. (DE:) was down 1.08% or 0.245 points to 22.460.</p>
<p>The top performers on the MDAX were Krones AG O.N. (DE:) which rose 3.66% to 113.150, Leoni AG (DE:) which was up 1.96% to settle at 52.660 and Hella KGaA Hueck &amp; Co (DE:) which gained 1.62% to close at 51.32.</p>
<p>The worst performers were Bilfinger SE O.N. (DE:) which was down 2.18% to 34.110 in late trade, Aurubis AG (DE:) which lost 2.10% to settle at 75.090 and Steinhoff International Holdings NV (DE:) which was down 1.83% to 4.01 at the close.</p>
<p>The top performers on the TecDAX were Medigene NA O.N. (DE:) which rose 7.13% to 12.700, Siltronic AG (DE:) which was up 5.46% to settle at 88.590 and Nordex SE O.N. (DE:) which gained 2.90% to close at 9.899.</p>
<p>The worst performers were Dialog Semiconductor (DE:) which was down 1.77% to 39.400 in late trade, SMA Solar Technology AG (DE:) which lost 1.68% to settle at 33.860 and Slm Solution G (DE:) which was down 1.28% to 32.30 at the close.</p>
<p>Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 409 to 342 and 39 ended unchanged.</p>
<p>Shares in Krones AG O.N. (DE:) rose to 52-week highs; rising 3.66% or 4.000 to 113.150.</p>
<p>The , which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was down 7.48% to 11.95 a new 1-month low.</p>
<p>Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.10% or 1.33 to $1329.33 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.68% or 0.83 to hit $50.13 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 1.02% or 0.56 to trade at $55.72 a barrel.</p>
<p>EUR/USD was down 0.06% to 1.1877, while EUR/GBP fell 1.42% to 0.8869.</p>
<p>The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.04% at 92.35.</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> | Germany stocks mixed at close of trade; DAX down 0.10% | false | https://newsline.com/germany-stocks-mixed-at-close-of-trade-dax-down-0-10/ | 2017-09-14 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Just Brakes stores will be converted into Pep Boys Service &amp; Tire Centers, Pep Boys chief executive Brent Windom said in a statement. The addition will boost Pep Boys’ store count above 900. The companies have few overlapping markets.</p>
<p>Windom added that Bill Ihnken, former CEO of Just Brakes, will take over as Pep Boys’ president of service. Pep Boys is run by a team recruited mostly from Icahn’s other auto parts store chain, Kennesaw, Ga.-based Auto Plus. Icahn also controls Federal-Mogul, an auto parts maker and major Pep Boys supplier.</p>
<p>In addition to the Just Brakes deal, “in the coming year, we look forward to continuing to increase our network of stores and service bays across the country,” Windom said in the statement.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>©2017 The Philadelphia Inquirer</p>
<p>Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at <a href="http://www.philly.com" type="external">www.philly.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p>
<p>_____</p> | Pep Boys buys Just Brakes store chain, plans more deals | false | https://abqjournal.com/934100/pep-boys-buys-just-brakes-store-chain-plans-more-deals.html | 2 |
|
<p>President Bush, in an effort to buy time and lower expectations for the surge, has set a new <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6251982.stm" type="external">goal</a> for Iraq: be like Israel. As in a country "that can protect its people, deliver basic services for all its citizens and function as a democracy even amid violence." In view of daily violence that's off the charts by Israeli standards and Iraq's lack of a functioning government, democratic or otherwise, couldn't he have set the bar a tad lower? But as long as you're aiming high, why not just change the name to New Finland and leave?</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>He said: "Our success in Iraq must not be measured by the enemy's ability to get a car bombing in the evening news."</p>
<p>The terms of success set out by Mr Bush included "the rise of a government that can protect its people, deliver basic services for all its citizens and function as a democracy even amid violence".</p>
<p />
<p>Mr Bush suggested Israel as a standard to work towards.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6251982.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Bush Wants Iraq to Be More Like Israel | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/bush-wants-iraq-to-be-more-like-israel/ | 2007-06-29 | 4 |
<p>ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Public Radio News is reassigning a prominent host after he disclosed his relationship with a Democratic politician.</p>
<p>The St. Paul-based radio station said Friday it was removing Tom Weber from his weekday morning show soon after learning of his relationship with Rep. Peggy Flanagan, a candidate for lieutenant governor.</p>
<p>Weber frequently discussed Minnesota politics and hosted well-known politicians during his program.</p>
<p>It's unclear what role Weber will have. The radio station said in a statement that Weber would not cover the race for governor, any 2018 election material or public policy issues.</p>
<p>Flanagan also disclosed their relationship on her personal Facebook page, saying it began recently.</p>
<p>ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Public Radio News is reassigning a prominent host after he disclosed his relationship with a Democratic politician.</p>
<p>The St. Paul-based radio station said Friday it was removing Tom Weber from his weekday morning show soon after learning of his relationship with Rep. Peggy Flanagan, a candidate for lieutenant governor.</p>
<p>Weber frequently discussed Minnesota politics and hosted well-known politicians during his program.</p>
<p>It's unclear what role Weber will have. The radio station said in a statement that Weber would not cover the race for governor, any 2018 election material or public policy issues.</p>
<p>Flanagan also disclosed their relationship on her personal Facebook page, saying it began recently.</p> | MPR News reassigns host due to relationship with candidate | false | https://apnews.com/amp/361fb974f94046b2a3c33dc2cc55c7d7 | 2018-01-13 | 2 |
<p>By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan</p>
<p>It has been almost a year since President Barack Obama admitted, “in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. … we tortured some folks.” The administration of Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, carefully crafted a legal rationale enabling what it called “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which is no more than a euphemism for torture. From the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay to the dungeons of Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Bagram air base in Afghanistan, countless hundreds, if not thousands, of people were subjected to torture, all in the name of the “Global War on Terror.” With the exception of a few low-level soldiers at Abu Ghraib, not one person has been held accountable. The only high-level person sent to prison over torture was John Kiriakou — not for conducting torture, but for exposing it, as a whistleblower.</p>
<p>The legal facade behind which these heinous acts were conducted relied heavily on the cooperation of professional psychologists, who trained and advised the interrogators and supervised the progress of the “breaking” of prisoners. This cooperation, in turn, was dependent on an official seal of approval from the American Psychological Association, the largest professional organization of psychologists in the world. In 2006, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association both barred their members from taking part in military interrogations.</p>
<p>This month, the APA released a stunning independent report that confirms what whistleblowers and dissident psychologists have maintained for close to a decade, that the APA actively colluded with the U.S. Department of Defense and the CIA, manipulating the APA’s policies, meetings and members in order to get the APA’s endorsement of the Pentagon’s torture program. The association’s board of directors last year commissioned an independent review by former Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hoffman. The 542-page report, dubbed “The Hoffman Report,” undermines the APA’s repeated denials that some of its 130,000 members were complicit in torture.</p>
<p />
<p>One of those dissident psychologists is Stephen Soldz, a professor at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis and co-founder of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology. “Since at least 2005, there’s been a major debate in the association [APA] and the profession about the role of psychologists in national-security interrogations and torture,” Soldz said on the Democracy Now! news hour after the report was released. “The association has denied it … the report says that the association was wrong; the so-called dissidents, the critics were right.”</p>
<p>The report delves into the practices of a key task force created by the APA, the Presidential Task Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security, also known as the PENS Task Force. Created in 2005, the task force met, ostensibly, to determine the ethical standards for psychologists overseeing interrogations. After just two and a half days of deliberations, the task force concluded that psychologists were playing a “valuable and ethical role” in assisting the military. The PENS Task Force encouraged the APA “to ensure that the national security-related activities of psychologists are safe, legal, ethical and effective.” It was later revealed that six of the nine voting members of the task force were from the military and intelligence agencies with direct connections to interrogations at Guantanamo and elsewhere.</p>
<p>“I was appointed to be duped,” PENS Task Force member Jean Maria Arrigo told us on Democracy Now! She was the original whistleblower who exposed the task force as a rubber stamp for torture. “The manipulation began very early on. So, for instance, I was seated between, on the one side, Morgan Banks, who was the head of the BSCT psychologists (Behavioral Science Consultation Team), and, on the other side, the now-president Barry Anton.” Arrigo detailed how the task force was essentially run by Pentagon psychologists, some of them in uniform. While she was told not to take notes, she did anyway, and has since created the PENS Task Force archives at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Arrigo was lied to about the PENS process, suggesting future meetings would be held where her concerns about torture would be addressed.</p>
<p>The Hoffman report is sending shockwaves through the APA. The director of the APA Ethics Office, Stephen Behnke, considered the “chief of staff” of the APA/Pentagon/CIA collusion, is out, followed by the “retirement” this week of the APA’s CEO, Dr. Norman Anderson, the Deputy CEO, Dr. Michael Honaker, and the executive director for public and member communications, Rhea Farberman.</p>
<p>When asked if there should be indictments, Stephen Soldz said, “There should be a legal investigation.” He is calling for the FBI and Justice Department to investigate. Stephen Benke, the ousted APA ethics head, meanwhile, has hired as his legal counsel the former head of the FBI, Louis Freeh.</p>
<p>Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 1,300 stations. She is the co-author, with Denis Moynihan, of “The Silenced Majority,” a New York Times best-seller.</p>
<p>(c) 2015 Amy Goodman</p>
<p>Distributed by King Features Syndicate</p>
<p /> | Torture, Impunity and the American Psychological Association | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/torture-impunity-and-the-american-psychological-association/ | 2015-07-16 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />A New Mexico man is facing charges after authorities say he stole thousands of dollars in beef jerky.</p>
<p>Mark Torres was charged last week with embezzlement stemming from an Old Santa Fe Trail Co. delivery van heist.</p>
<p>According to investigators, the stolen van was found at Torres’ Tijeras residence in June. Authorities say investigators also discovered hundreds of boxes of jerky inside his home.</p>
<p>A Metro Court criminal complaint says Torres is charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from Old Santa Fe Trail Co. — which sells jerky and other products — by falsifying invoices to collect higher commissions.</p>
<p>Authorities say Torres is a former employee of the company.</p>
<p>He was ordered held at $35,000, cash or surety.</p>
<p>It was not known if Torres had an attorney.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Report: New Mexico man in beef jerky heist | false | https://abqjournal.com/475757/report-new-mexico-man-in-beef-jerky-heist.html | 2 |
|
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carson Wentz’s value to the Philadelphia Eagles is reflected clearly in a historic betting line.</p>
<p>The Eagles (13-3) are the first No. 1 seed to be an underdog in their opening playoff game. The sixth-seeded Atlanta Falcons (11-6) are 2 ½-point favorites in Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t really matter,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said Monday. “We’re better than that, but we have to show it.”</p>
<p>After Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14, the Eagles went 2-1 with backup quarterback Nick Foles. But the offense was inconsistent. Foles played well in his first five quarters after replacing Wentz and struggled in the next five. He sat out the final three quarters in Week 17 along with most of the starters.</p>
<p>Oddsmakers weren’t impressed. Of course, players and coaches shrugged off the disrespect.</p>
<p>“I don’t care what people say because what people say has never won a game for me and my teammates,” linebacker Dannell Ellerbe said.</p>
<p>Defensive end Chris Long said it would be foolish for the team to use this as motivation.</p>
<p>“This is not the way we think,” he said.</p>
<p>The Falcons are coming off a 26-13 playoff win at the Los Angeles Rams after beating Carolina in a win-or-out regular-season finale. The defending NFC champions had their worst offensive performance during the 2016 season in a <a href="http://www.nfl.com/m/share?p=%2Fvideos%2Fnfl-game-highlights%2F0ap3000000738602%2FLeodis-McKelvin-intercepts-Matt-Ryan-to-seal-the-game" type="external">24-15 loss</a> at Philadelphia in Week 10.</p>
<p>Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz isn’t drawing too much from that victory. Atlanta has a new offensive coordinator — Steve Sarkisian replaced Kyle Shanahan — and it took a while for them to get things on track.</p>
<p>“They are a little bit different than last year,” Schwartz said. “Every team’s going to be a little bit different from year-to-year. There’s going to be some things you do well, some things that you put in in the offseason, some things that maybe fit your personality a little bit more. There’s still a lot of challenges with that team. I mean, it goes well beyond a player like Julio Jones. It goes well beyond the quarterback (Matt Ryan). Their tight end (Austin Hooper) is having a great year. Their running backs (Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman), if you combine the running back stats, you’re talking about a first-team All-Pro — 1,500 yards, I think 12 touchdowns. So we have to look at it that way. There’s going to be a lot of challenges this week.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi</a></p>
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carson Wentz’s value to the Philadelphia Eagles is reflected clearly in a historic betting line.</p>
<p>The Eagles (13-3) are the first No. 1 seed to be an underdog in their opening playoff game. The sixth-seeded Atlanta Falcons (11-6) are 2 ½-point favorites in Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t really matter,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said Monday. “We’re better than that, but we have to show it.”</p>
<p>After Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14, the Eagles went 2-1 with backup quarterback Nick Foles. But the offense was inconsistent. Foles played well in his first five quarters after replacing Wentz and struggled in the next five. He sat out the final three quarters in Week 17 along with most of the starters.</p>
<p>Oddsmakers weren’t impressed. Of course, players and coaches shrugged off the disrespect.</p>
<p>“I don’t care what people say because what people say has never won a game for me and my teammates,” linebacker Dannell Ellerbe said.</p>
<p>Defensive end Chris Long said it would be foolish for the team to use this as motivation.</p>
<p>“This is not the way we think,” he said.</p>
<p>The Falcons are coming off a 26-13 playoff win at the Los Angeles Rams after beating Carolina in a win-or-out regular-season finale. The defending NFC champions had their worst offensive performance during the 2016 season in a <a href="http://www.nfl.com/m/share?p=%2Fvideos%2Fnfl-game-highlights%2F0ap3000000738602%2FLeodis-McKelvin-intercepts-Matt-Ryan-to-seal-the-game" type="external">24-15 loss</a> at Philadelphia in Week 10.</p>
<p>Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz isn’t drawing too much from that victory. Atlanta has a new offensive coordinator — Steve Sarkisian replaced Kyle Shanahan — and it took a while for them to get things on track.</p>
<p>“They are a little bit different than last year,” Schwartz said. “Every team’s going to be a little bit different from year-to-year. There’s going to be some things you do well, some things that you put in in the offseason, some things that maybe fit your personality a little bit more. There’s still a lot of challenges with that team. I mean, it goes well beyond a player like Julio Jones. It goes well beyond the quarterback (Matt Ryan). Their tight end (Austin Hooper) is having a great year. Their running backs (Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman), if you combine the running back stats, you’re talking about a first-team All-Pro — 1,500 yards, I think 12 touchdowns. So we have to look at it that way. There’s going to be a lot of challenges this week.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi</a></p> | Eagles aware of historic underdog status against Falcons | false | https://apnews.com/ef6f184fec7b40fcb51dac7cf5b6adde | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
<p>Runway: samaro/iStock; Trump: Evan Vucci/AP</p>
<p />
<p>On Wednesday morning, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) intensified her push for a federal investigation into Trump Model Management, the GOP nominee’s New York modeling firm. Last week, Boxer called on the the director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security, to launch an inquiry into the company’s immigration practices, following a <a href="" type="internal">Mother Jones investigation</a>that cited three former models who say they worked for the company illegally.</p>
<p>After speaking to former Trump model Rachel Blais (who is featured in Mother Jones‘ story), Boxer today requested that the Department of Labor investigate the agency’s employment practices, which include hiring models as young as 14 and allegedly housing them, as many as six to a bedroom, in tight communal living quarters.</p>
<p>“Blais was particularly concerned about the treatment of girls, some as young as 14, who were actively recruited by the modeling agency,” Boxer wrote in the letter to Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. “She told me that many underage girls lived with her in cramped dormitory-style living arrangements.”</p>
<p>She added: “As you know, our labor laws were written to protect workers, especially children, young women and other vulnerable populations, from mistreatment and exploitation.”</p>
<p>The letter details several questions Boxer would like the Labor Department to look into, including whether Trump’s agency sought to “violate federal laws that seek to protect workers from unfair treatment and wage theft,” and whether or not underage models were being lawfully cared for by the company.</p>
<p>“We need to protect our children!” Boxer wrote in blue marker at the end of the letter. Read the full letter here:</p>
<p />
<p>Mother Jones‘ <a href="" type="internal">investigation into Trump Model Management</a> revealed that foreign models effectively competed for work visas while performing a range of modeling jobs for the company while in the United States as tourists,&#160;including posing for high-profile magazine shoots and runway appearances. Two former models also described how they were encouraged by Trump’s company to evade customs officials when they came into the country—including lying about their New York addresses on federal customs forms. While they were working for the company, the models recalled living in a basement dormitory in New York’s East village that could be occupied by 11 or more people. Rent for a single bunk in the apartment could run $1,600 per month and was deducted from the models’ earnings—if they made enough to pay off the debt in New York’s competitive industry.</p>
<p>The immigration practices that the former Trump models described pose a stark contrast to the hardline stance on immigration that Donald Trump has taken on the campaign trail. Trump’s running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, described the allegations as “sidebar” issues.</p>
<p>So far, no one from Trump’s modeling agency has responded to multiple inquiries from Mother Jones. But last Thursday, Ronald Lieberman, executive vice president for management and development at the Trump Organization, commented on the story to <a href="http://www.bna.com/trump-modeling-agencys-n73014447354/" type="external">Bloomberg BNA</a>. He did not deny that foreign Trump models had worked in the United States without proper visas, saying only that the cases highlighted in Mother Jones‘ story happened “many, many years ago.”</p>
<p /> | Senator Intensifies Calls for Federal Investigation Into Donald Trump’s Modeling Agency | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/trump-models-federal-investigation-push-senator-boxer/ | 2016-09-14 | 4 |
<p>Gold prices climbed Wednesday to recoup much of their losses from the previous session. Weakness in the U.S. dollar and losses in the stock market drew investors to the perceived safety of gold as the market awaited clues on any changes to monetary policy from global central bankers at a three-day meeting in Wyoming that begins Thursday. December gold rose $3.70, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,294.70 an ounce after losing roughly 0.4% on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Gold Gets a Boost From U.S. Dollar, Equities Weakness | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/23/gold-gets-boost-from-us-dollar-equities-weakness.html | 2017-08-23 | 0 |
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening’s drawing of the Indiana Lottery’s “Quick Draw Evening” game were:</p>
<p>02-03-08-11-17-18-21-22-25-30-33-37-39-41-42-47-58-62-71-79, BE: 17</p>
<p>(two, three, eight, eleven, seventeen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-three, thirty-seven, thirty-nine, forty-one, forty-two, forty-seven, fifty-eight, sixty-two, seventy-one, seventy-nine; BE: seventeen)</p>
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening’s drawing of the Indiana Lottery’s “Quick Draw Evening” game were:</p>
<p>02-03-08-11-17-18-21-22-25-30-33-37-39-41-42-47-58-62-71-79, BE: 17</p>
<p>(two, three, eight, eleven, seventeen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-three, thirty-seven, thirty-nine, forty-one, forty-two, forty-seven, fifty-eight, sixty-two, seventy-one, seventy-nine; BE: seventeen)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Quick Draw Evening’ game | false | https://apnews.com/809ed15a31a24168af6a8bbcadd7da06 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>WASHINGTON — With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of victory, Barack Obama is approaching his second term by replicating the mistake of his first. Then his overreaching involved health care — expanding the entitlement state at the expense of economic growth. Now he seeks another surge of statism, enlarging the portion of gross domestic product grasped by government and dispensed by politics. The occasion is the misnamed “fiscal cliff,” the proper name for which is: the Democratic Party’s agenda.</p>
<p>For 40 years the party’s principal sources of energy and money — liberal activists, government employees unions — have advocated expanding government’s domestic reach by raising taxes and contracting its foreign reach by cutting defense. Obama’s four years as one of the most liberal senators and his four presidential years indicate he agrees. Like other occasionally numerate but prudently reticent liberals, he surely understands that the entitlement state he favors requires raising taxes on the cohort that has most of the nation’s money — the middle class.</p>
<p>Mitt Romney as candidate and others before and since have suggested increasing revenues by capping income tax deductions. This would increase that tax’s progressivity, without raising rates that would dampen incentives. Obama’s compromise may be: Let’s do both. Remember the story of when the British Admiralty sought six new battleships, the Treasury proposed four, so they compromised on eight.</p>
<p>Those proposing higher taxes on the wealthy note that when the income tax began in 1913, the top rate was 7 percent. But in 1917, war brought a 67 percent rate. Between 1925 and 1931, the rate was 24 percent or 25 percent, but in only five of the subsequent 80 years — 1988-92 — was the top rate lower than it is today.</p>
<p>Republicans, however, respond that because lower rates reduce incentives to distort economic decisions, they promote growth by enhancing efficiency. Hence restoration of the higher rates would be a giant step away from, and might effectively doom, pro-growth tax reform. Furthermore, restoration of the Clinton-era top rate of 39.6 percent would occur in the very different Obama era of regulatory excesses and Obamacare taxes. Hence Republicans rightly resist higher rates.</p>
<p>Given liberals’ fixation with the affluent paying their “fair share,” it might seem peculiar that they are so vehemently against Paul Ryan’s “premium support” proposal for Medicare. Their recoil is, however, essential to the liberal project.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Ryan’s supposedly radical idea is that people should shop for health insurance, with government subsidizing purchases by the less affluent. This would introduce what soon will be inevitable — means testing, aka progressivity. But liberals reject it with a word the incantation of which suffices, they think, as an argument — “voucher.”</p>
<p>This is peculiar because perhaps the most successful federal program of the 20th century was essentially a voucher program. The purpose of the 1944 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act — aka the G.I. Bill of Rights — was to facilitate demobilization by helping men and women acquire educations and buy houses — and hence form families. The government did not build universities or houses. It, in effect, gave individuals conditional cash — vouchers — by helping to pay for home loans and college tuition.</p>
<p>Liberals’ strenuous objection to vouchers is that vouchers, as the functional equivalent of cash, empower individuals to make choices. It is the business of the liberals’ administrative state, staffed by experts, to make choices for inexpert individuals. This is why, while Democrats in Washington are working to reduce the portion of Americans’ private income that is disposed of by private choices, two tentacles of the Democratic Party — the Indiana and Louisiana teachers unions — are currently in their states’ courts waging futile fights against school choice programs, lest thousands of low- and moderate-income parents be as empowered as millions of demobilized servicemen were.</p>
<p>Washington’s contentiousness about the “cliff” is producing a blizzard of numbers. The argument, however, is not about this or that tax rate but about the nature of the American regime. When the Republican House majority acts as though it has a mind — and a mandate — of its own, this is not Washington being “dysfunctional,” it is the separation of powers functioning as the Founders intended. Their system requires concurrent congressional majorities — one in the Senate, with its unique constituencies and electoral rhythms, another in the House, with its constituencies and rhythms. And at least 219 of the 234 House Republicans won in November by margins larger than Obama’s national margin.</p>
<p>Will’s columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at ABQjournal.com/opinion — look for the syndicated columnist link. E-mail: <a href="" type="external">[email protected]. &gt;</a></p> | Washington Working as Intended | false | https://abqjournal.com/150025/washington-working-as-intended.html | 2012-11-30 | 2 |
Questionable Security Contracts In Cicero Did Top Cicero Official Go To Bat For Relatives’ Towing Firm? Does Cicero Garbage Deal Stink For Taxpayers? Is Cicero Towing Deal Taking Taxpayers For Ride? No-Bid Trash Deal Emits Foul Odor In Cicero Feds Resurface In Cicero | false | https://bettergov.org/news/cicero-pays-printing-firm-millions-in-no-bid-deal | 2016-05-22 | 2 |
|
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The United States Air Force is called the air force, not the space force, but it has been testing a space plane recently that has brought much speculation. The mysterious X-37B space plane will launch into orbit around Earth from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The unmanned spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. ET atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. This will be the reusable space plane’s fourth mission. The craft is known as OTV-4, which stands for Orbital Test Vehicle-4.</p>
<p>The majority of X-37B’s payloads and specific <a href="#" type="external">activities</a> are classified, so no one outside the Air Force is really sure what the spacecraft is supposed to be doing once it leaves Earth. The secrecy surrounding the spacecraft has led to some speculation that the machine might be some sort of space weapon. Air Force officials have repeatedly rejected that notion and say that the vehicle simply tests a number of new space technologies.</p>
<p>For example, the space plane boasts a type of ion engine called a Hall thruster, Air Force officials said, as <a href="#" type="external">reported</a> by <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/air-force-gets-x-37b-space-plane-ready-its-next-n360946" type="external">NBC News</a>. NASA is also flying an experiment on OTV-4. The agency’s Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space investigation will see how exposure to the space environment affects nearly 100 different types of materials. The results should aid in the design of future spacecraft, NASA says.</p>
<p /> | Mysterious Air Force space plane X-37B prepares for next mission to orbit Earth | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/05/18/mysterious-air-force-space-plane-x-37b-prepares-for-next-mission-to-orbit-earth/ | 2015-05-18 | 3 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said he does not know whether the 18 new deaths were related to long waiting times for appointments but said they were in addition to the 17 reported last month by the VA’s inspector general. The announcement of the deaths came as senior senators reached agreement Thursday on the framework for a bipartisan bill making it easier for veterans to get health care outside VA hospitals and clinics.</p>
<p>The 18 veterans who died were among 1,700 veterans identified in a report last week by the VA’s inspector general as being “at risk of being lost or forgotten.” The investigation also found broad and deep-seated problems with delays in patient care and manipulation of waiting lists throughout the sprawling VA health care system, which provides medical care to about 9 million veterans and family members.</p>
<p>Richard Griffin, the VA’s acting inspector general, told a Senate committee three weeks ago that his investigators had found 17 deaths among veterans awaiting appointments in Phoenix. Griffin said in his report last week the dead veterans’ medical records and death certificates as well as autopsy reports would have to be examined before he could say whether any of them were caused by delays in getting appointments.</p>
<p>The bill announced Thursday by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would allow veterans who experience waits of 30 days or more for VA appointments or who live at least 40 miles from a VA hospital or clinic to use private doctors enrolled as providers for Medicare, military TRICARE or other government health care programs.</p>
<p>It would also let the VA immediately fire as many as 450 senior regional executives and hospital administrators for poor performance. The bill resembles a measure passed last month by the House but includes a 28-day appeal process omitted by the House legislation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bill is a response to a building national uproar over veterans’ health care following allegations that surfaced in April that as many as 40 veterans may have died while waiting an average 115 days for appointments at the Phoenix VA hospital or its walk-in clinics.</p>
<p>Since then, investigators have found long wait times and falsified records covering them up at other VA facilities nationwide.</p>
<p>“Right now we have a crisis on our hands and it’s imperative that we deal with that crisis,” said Sanders.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 18 more vets kept off Phoenix list have died | false | https://abqjournal.com/411395/18-more-vets-kept-off-phoenix-list-have-died.html | 2 |
|
<p>According to the Houston Chronicle, Senator Ted Cruz plans to announce on Monday that he is running for the 2016 Republican nomination [hat tip <a href="http://therightscoop.com/confirmed-ted-cruz-will-announce-presidential-campaign-on-monday/" type="external">the Right Scoop</a>]</p>
<p>Now, I'm a big fan of Ted Cruz. I like his directness, his honesty, his courage. The man is a patriot.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>I also like his story.</p>
<p>The son of a Cuban immigrant who escaped the oppression of the Castro regime for freedom in the US where he started with nothing and worked hard to make a life for himself in America.</p>
<p>Ted Cruz clearly learned a lot from his dad. He too fights for freedom.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>His courage in the face of tyranny and his bravery in the face of petty palace intrigue from the Establishment make him a strong contender.</p>
<p>If we want any hope of restoring our freedom and our Republic, the Republican party must nominate a conservative. And Ted Cruz would definitely fit the bill.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Plus, I really enjoy photoshopping him.</p>
<p>Can you guess that?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Though it is too early for me to land on one particular candidate, I have to say, Cruz's entrance into the 2016 race is a breath of fresh air, as opposed to say, Jeb Bush who isn't so much a breath of fresh air as he is a sputtering wet fart in a very small, airless room.</p> | Cruz to Announce | true | http://patriotretort.com/cruz-to-announce/ | 2015-03-22 | 0 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.