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<p>“I was born in Al-Sira,” said Khalil al-Amur, 46. “My parents were born here, and we have been living for many, many generations in Al-Sira. It’s my roots, my family, my tradition, my values, my everything.” Al-Sira is “unrecognised” — one of many such Bedouin village in Israel’s southern Negev desert — and according to the Israeli authorities, has no right to exist. A few years ago, al-Amur, a teacher, law student and father of seven, woke up to find demolition orders posted on every door in the community.</p>
<p>A local court froze the orders late last year. Al-Amur said the court ruled in favour of the villagers because it was clear the state hadn’t worked out where the 500 residents would move once their homes were destroyed. The Israeli government is currently appealing the decision. “They don’t know where exactly they want to move the people,” said al-Amur. “They don’t have a resettling plan, not just for Al-Sira but for all the Bedouin.”</p>
<p>All the Negev Bedouin — 180,000-190,000&#160;people — are Israeli citizens. About half of them live in some 35&#160;unrecognised villages like Al-Sira. These communities, of a few hundred to several thousand people each, are deemed illegal — even though many existed before Israel’s foundation in 1948. They aren’t on any official maps, and they lack electricity, water, schools, sewage systems and other state services.</p>
<p>Israel is now pushing a plan to uproot 40,000&#160;Israeli Bedouins living in unrecognised villages, and resettle them in seven existing, government-planned Bedouin townships. The Prawer Plan has been widely criticised as an attack on their basic rights. The Bedouins reject it for ignoring their historic connection to the land and attempting to ghettoise them in the poorest towns in Israel. “It is the worst option; the towns have the highest rates of violence, the highest rates of poverty, the highest rates of unemployment, and are marginalised by the government,” said al-Amur. “What is attractive in these cities? Nothing.”</p>
<p>Ismail Abu Saad, a Bedouin academic and professor at Ben-Gurion University, who lives in the recognised town of Lakiya, says Israel’s policy of Bedouin urbanisation has created “third-world enclaves in the middle of an affluent society. The government planned this urbanisation process to fail. It is interested in controlling the people and keeping people poor, with a lot of social problems so that you’re busy all the time for survival; you don’t have time to think about anything else.”</p>
<p>The Israeli government says urbanisation will provide services and opportunities for the Bedouin of the unrecognised villages, but the townships are crippled by lack of services and socio-economic problems. “There are no incentives [to move],” said Abu Saad. “If the government really meant to … build a better place for people to live, people would come.”</p>
<p>Who are the Bedouin?</p>
<p>Before 1948, 65,000-90,000 Bedouin lived in the Negev desert; nearly 90% of these semi-nomads subsisted on traditional agriculture; the other 10% raised livestock. During the 1948-49 war, some 85% of the Negev Bedouin were expelled from their lands and went to the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Egypt. By the early 1950s, only 19 of the original 95 Bedouin tribes remained.</p>
<p>As the Palestinian population that remained within Israel’s Green Line were subject to military rule, the Bedouin there could no longer travel with their herds or cultivate their lands. Twelve of the 19 remaining tribes were forcibly displaced from their lands and confined to a restricted area in the northeastern Negev, which they could only leave with a special permit. This area, the Siyag, covered only 10% of the land the Bedouins controlled before 1948, and was known for its low fertility.</p>
<p>Israel also passed laws to facilitate taking control of the land, including the Absentee Property Law (1950) and the Land Acquisition Law (1953), which allowed the expropriation of 93% of land in the Negev. According to legal researcher Tawfiq Rangwala, Israel has perpetuated a myth of rootless nomads with no connection to the land to legitimise this land grab and ensure no Bedouin land claims would later be accepted.</p>
<p>“The Bedouin are viewed as an unsettled population, and their settlements labelled as ‘spontaneous’ rather than ‘planned’. This cultural dichotomy can be extended into the legal realm, where such conceptualisations obscure Bedouin claims to historic land ownership and only recognise formal land registrations, making the Bedouin worldview appear incompatible with any modern conception of land ownership. Such thinking has by extension fostered a view of Bedouin as trespassers and intruders in their own homes”&#160;( <a href="" type="internal">1</a>).</p>
<p>Yet many Bedouin tribes hold deeds to their land dating back to British and Ottoman rule, and families are now in Israeli courts attempting to prove ownership of the land. Israel has not recognised a single Bedouin land claim in the Negev. Although Israel’s Bedouin citizens are 30% of the population in the Negev, they only occupy 2% of its land. The entirety of their land claims amount to only 5% of the land.</p>
<p>‘A permanent cheap motel’</p>
<p>In 1963 Moshe Dayan said: “We should transform the Bedouins into an urban proletariat… Indeed, this will be a radical move which means that the Bedouin would not live on his land with his herds, but would become an urban person… His children would be accustomed to a father who wears trousers, does not carry a&#160;shabaria&#160;[the traditional Bedouin knife] and does not search for vermin in public. This would be a revolution, but it may be fixed within two generations. Without coercion but with governmental direction… this phenomenon of the Bedouins will disappear”&#160;( <a href="" type="internal">2</a>).</p>
<p>From the late 1960s, the state promoted a clear policy of Bedouin urbanisation. There are now seven recognised Bedouin towns: Rahat, the largest, has a population of over 50,000. The towns lack basics like sidewalks, fully paved roads, banks, libraries and job opportunities. Seen largely as dormitory towns, they fail to acknowledge Bedouin culture, and have had an irreversible impact on family and community structures. “The planning didn’t take into account … that extended families want to live next to each other. What about the new generation? There is no space for them,” said Khaled Alsana, the mayor of (recognised) Lakiya. “It’s like a motel. People sleep here and go to work [outside]. It’s a permanent, cheap motel. There is nothing that keeps you attached to the place. That’s the policy, to bring more people to the towns; that means more land for the state and less for the people.”</p>
<p>Drug abuse, crime, unemployment and school dropout rates are disproportionately high in Bedouin towns, compared with nearby Jewish cities, and the land allocated to the towns is insufficient for natural growth and development. The towns also fail to provide adequate health, educational and recreational services to young people, and lack a solid economic base. Each year the Bedouin townships receive the lowest socio-economic rankings in the country.</p>
<p>An apparent threat</p>
<p>In 2000, before becoming prime minister, Ariel Sharon outlined what he called &#160;“a serious problem”. “About 900,000 dunums of government land are not in our hands, but in the hands of the Bedouin population. As a resident of the Negev, I see this problem every day. It is, essentially, a demographic phenomenon”&#160;( <a href="" type="internal">3</a>). Last July Israeli media reported that the current prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said the state’s ability to maintain a Jewish majority in the Negev was under threat: “Different elements will demand national rights within Israel, for example, in the Negev, if we allow for a region without a Jewish majority. It has happened in the Balkans, and it is a palpable threat”&#160;( <a href="" type="internal">4</a>).</p>
<p>To combat this, the government publicly affirmed its goal to strengthen Jewish settlement in the Negev and increase its population by 70% by 2015. Jewish development projects in the Negev are immediately given basic services and infrastructure and encouraged to grow. Resources remain insufficient in Bedouin communities, recognised or not.</p>
<p>Jewish citizens can live in different Negev communities — cities, kibbutzim, moshavim (agricultural villages) or individual farms. Bedouin citizens have no option but to move into urbanised centres. This continuing policy means the largest possible number of Bedouin citizens will be restricted to smaller, more-easily controlled plots of land.</p>
<p>“Bedouin [would] like to live in kibbutzim and moshavim. Why not? This is our traditional life. Why is it OK for Jewish people to live as farmers in all of Israel, and not the Bedouin?” said Khadra Elsaneh, director of Sidreh, an organisation established in Lakiya in 1998 to improve the lives of Bedouin women through economic empowerment and education. “We have a group of women that started with nothing and we empowered ourselves. We have the support of our community and we don’t have any support from the government. Why? The government doesn’t give the Bedouin any hope. It must come to a solution with the community, not come to impose a solution, or the people here will explode.”</p>
<p>No incentive to leave</p>
<p>The Prawer plan wants to relocate 40% of the Bedouin now living in unrecognised villages into expanded areas of the government-planned townships; the plan says the government would offer compensation for only 50% of the land the Bedouin currently control. According to a&#160;Haaretz&#160;report on 2&#160;June 2011, the cost of displacement would be between $1.7 and $2.4bn, including $356m for economic development in recognised Bedouin townships.</p>
<p>On 5&#160;July the European parliament condemned Israel’s treatment of its Bedouin citizens, which it described as an “indigenous people leading a sedentary and traditionally agricultural life on their ancestral lands”, and urging Israel to withdraw the Prawer Plan.</p>
<p>But despite international condemnations, the Israeli government seems prepared to carry out its plans. A special Israeli police unit has been formed to safeguard and enforce demolitions and evictions in Bedouin communities throughout the Negev, and it is expected to begin work at the start of August.</p>
<p>In protest, the Bedouin have held strikes and rallies, thousands-strong, in front of the prime minister’s office and Knesset, lobbied the government to negotiate with them directly, and presented an alternative master plan for the unrecognised villages. To no avail.</p>
<p>The Prawer plan will be “a disaster for me, my family, my community and all the Bedouin of the Negev,” says al-Amur. “[Urbanisation] has killed our desert agriculture, the sources of our life. And now they are killing our morale, our being; they’re eliminating our population. If you visit us in 10 or 20 years, you won’t see any Bedouin anymore.”</p>
<p>Jillian Kestler-D’Amours is a Canadian journalist based in Jerusalem. Her documentary&#160;Sumoud: the Struggle for Al-Araqib&#160;can be found&#160; <a href="" type="internal">on her website</a>.</p>
<p>Notes.</p>
<p>( <a href="" type="internal">1</a>) Tawfiq Rangwala, “Inadequate housing, Israel and the Bedouin of the Negev”, Habitat International Coalition — Housing and Land Rights Network Middle East and North Africa (HIC-MENA), 2004.</p>
<p>( <a href="" type="internal">2</a>) Elana Boteach et al, “The Indigenous Bedouins of the Naqab-Negev Desert in Israel”, Negev Co-Existence Forum for Civil Equality, April 2008.</p>
<p>( <a href="" type="internal">3</a>) Thabet Abu-Ras, “ <a href="" type="internal">Land Disputes in Israel: the Case of the Bedouin of the Naqab</a>” (PDF), Adalah (legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel) newsletter, vol 24, April 2006.</p>
<p>( <a href="" type="internal">4</a>) Human Rights Watch, “ <a href="" type="internal">Israel: Halt Demolitions of Bedouin Homes in Negev</a>,” 1&#160;August 2010.</p>
<p>This article appears in the excellent Le Monde Diplomatique, whose English language edition can be found at&#160; <a href="http://www.mondediplo.com/" type="external">mondediplo.com.</a>&#160;This full text appears by agreement with Le Monde Diplomatique. CounterPunch features two or three articles from LMD every month.</p> | The End of the Bedouin | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/08/02/the-end-of-the-bedouin/ | 2012-08-02 | 4 |
<p>It’s official.&#160; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson is now Chad Ocho Cinco.&#160; What in God’s name does this have to do with the left?</p>
<p>In the NFL, wide receivers seem to need attention like green plants need sunshine.&#160; From New England Patriots wideout Randy Moss (who, to be fair, has settled down since his worst attention-seeking days when he played for the Minnesota Vikings) to Dallas Cowboys pass catcher Terrell Owens, Chad is just carrying on an NFL tradition of getting the TV cameras pointed at him.</p>
<p>Chad is actually a talented football player.&#160; He’s not a chump; he really does have game.&#160; But he hates playing in Cincinnati.&#160; He feels – correctly, as it turns out – that the Bengals organization isn’t committed to trying to field a championship-caliber team.&#160; Chad may want attention – and he does – but he also wants to win a Super Bowl.&#160; That won’t happen in Cincinnati, and Chad knows it.</p>
<p>Why won’t it happen?&#160; Because the Bengals are owned by Mike Brown, who is easily one of the worst owners in professional sports.&#160; (I’m an anti-capitalist, pro-pareconist.&#160; But I promise not to mention that even one time during the course of this essay.)&#160; Brown, the son of the legendary NFL coach Paul Brown, sees his team strictly as a business.&#160; He just wants his money.</p>
<p>See, if pro teams in any sport are going to be competitive for championships, then those teams’ owners need to spend money.&#160; It is possible for an owner to spend money on enough talent to compete for championships and still make money.&#160; But a team that wins cuts into an owner’s profit margin.</p>
<p>There are some owners – like Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft – who do want winning teams and do pay for them.&#160; But Mike Brown only starting paying for talent a few years ago (after owning the team for decades) when, thanks to increasing fan outrage over a team nicknamed by ESPN the “Bungles,” the political situation in Cincinnati had deteriorated to the point that Hamilton County officials (which built Brown a shiny new football stadium and handed him the deed a few years earlier) had to lean on Brown to stop his habit of having his team have the lowest payroll in the NFL every year.&#160; It got so bad that, at one point, then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue even had a sit-down with Brown about it.</p>
<p>So Brown shelled out a few bucks and upgraded the offense.&#160; Quarterback Carson Palmer is a legitimate stud, running back Chris Perry might be pretty good, and number-two wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is pretty good.&#160; But despite head coach Marvin Lewis’s defensive background, the defense sucks, and it’ll suck again this year.&#160; (Steeler fans can look forward to Pittsburgh winning the AFC North again.)</p>
<p>So against this backdrop, Chad decided last season was enough.&#160; He wanted out, and he made that known during the off-season.&#160; Now, if you’ve ever seen the movie The Godfather, you know two things:&#160; (1) The Godfather, while a very good movie, is a little overrated.&#160; (2) Never let personal matters influence business decisions.</p>
<p>All successful businesspeople understand the difference between what’s business and what’s personal.&#160; (If only Sonny Corleone had kept that in mind before heading over the causeway…)&#160; But while Paul Brown was a genius, his son Mike doesn’t have that problem.&#160; Mike Brown is an idiot, and he lets personal matters affect his business judgment.&#160; Considering his judgment isn’t that good to begin with, Brown needs all the brain cells working in his favor that he can get.</p>
<p>The Washington Redskins actually wanted to trade for Chad during the off-season.&#160; It was rumored that Washington offered Cincinnati a first-round pick and a third-round pick for Chad.&#160; If that’s true, it would have been a helluva deal for both teams.&#160; But Mike Brown refused to even speak with the Redskins about the trade.&#160; He wanted to show Chad who was boss.</p>
<p>Now look, I’m not saying you necessarily have to pull the trigger on that deal if you’re Brown.&#160; But if Washington really was offering a first and a third, you at least have to talk to the Redskins about it.&#160; That’s what Michael Corleone would have done.&#160; (Talk hell – Michael would pulled the trigger on that deal – figurately and literally, putting a bullet through Dan Snyder’s glasses-covered eye after the fact.&#160; But I digress…)&#160; Mike Brown let it get personal, because he’s a moron.&#160; He’s a rich moron.&#160; But a moron nonetheless.</p>
<p>Now Chad has gotten revenge.&#160; Chad’s self-annointed nickname is “Ocho Cinco.”&#160; His jersey number is 85, and since he knows just enough Spanish to be dangerous (since ocho cinco is actually “eight five” in Spanish, not eighty five), he wanted to put ocho cinco on the back of his jersey, in place of his birth name, Johnson.&#160; The Bengals said no.&#160; The NFL said, under league policy, only last names could go on the backs of jerseys.</p>
<p>Now, there are a lot of things one can fairly say about Chad – but stupid isn’t one of them.&#160; He may not be Albert Einstein, but he’s smarter than Mike Brown (okay, okay – that’s not saying much).&#160; Look, Chad really is a bright guy.&#160; And he’s actually not a bad guy.&#160; Unlike Randy Moss (who literally hit a cop with his car when he played in Minnesota) and Terrell Owens (who has made a career out of questioning the sexual orientation of his quarterbacks), Chad has never broken the law.&#160; He’s not a drug user, and he’s friendly with the fans.&#160; I actually like Chad (I wish I could say the same for the Bengals, but fuck them – I’m a Steeler fan).</p>
<p>Chad legally changed his name from “Chad Johnson” to “Chad Ocho Cinco.”&#160; (Haven’t you noticed I’ve been going through this entire piece calling him by his first name?)&#160; So now he can put ocho cinco on the back of his jersey.</p>
<p>How will this affect the Bengals?&#160; Quite simply, get ready for the return of the Bungles.&#160; Chad’s action will destroy what little chemistry the team still had.&#160; Chad has killed the team’s chances of winning squat this year.&#160; And I, for one, love it.&#160; Why?&#160; Because Mike Brown is a fuckhead, and he deserves what he’s about to get. So what in the blue hell does all this have to do with the left?&#160; Well, you know that old expression “What goes around…”?&#160; How about “You reap what you sow?”&#160; Just like Mike Brown is about to get what’s coming to him, so too are the Democrats.</p>
<p>The Democrats and Barack Obama spent the last year shitting and pissing all over their rank-and-file supporters.&#160; The details need not be reviewed here.&#160; We shouldn’t even be talking about the Republicans right now, except to ask whether it’s going to be a burial or a cremation.&#160; But the mealy-mouthed, spineless, corporate-grubbing, and base-screwing-over Democrats are now getting their asses handed to them by one formerly-little-known-Governor-turned-rock-star Sarah Palin.&#160; The Democrats deserve it.&#160; And I’ve got to tell you, I’m laughing my ass off watching it.</p>
<p>I watched a little of McCain and Palin on the stump this evening – or should I say, I watched John McCain gravy-training on the next Vice President.&#160; McCain is so obviously just a spectator during his own damn presidential campaign.&#160; He should be on his knees every night thanking Palin’s parents for conceiving her.&#160; McCain should change his name to American Tourister, because Palin is carrying him like a cheap piece of luggage.</p>
<p>And there’s not a damn thing the Democrats can do about it.</p>
<p>Obama left the Republicans the opening when he fucked his base over.&#160; Radical lefties tried to tell Obama, but he wouldn’t listen.&#160; Now he’s getting exactly what his arrogance deserves:&#160; a one-way ticket to the same mausoleum where the political corpses of Mondale, Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry are interred.</p>
<p>So long, Barry.&#160; It was nice knowing ya.&#160; Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out…</p>
<p>ERIC PATTON lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.&#160; He can be reached via e-mail at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Baseless in Obamaland | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/09/06/baseless-in-obamaland/ | 2008-09-06 | 4 |
<p>The Council of ex-Muslims of Britain will challenge Islam and any other religion for persecuting minorities, including the LGBT community, Jimmy Bangash, the spokesman for the controversial group, said during a debate on RT.</p>
<p>The group made headlines in the UK after its members joined an LGBT parade in London on Tuesday.Their least controversial banners at the event read: “We’re here. We’re kaffir [unbelievers]. Get used to it,” “Celebrating apostasy,” “Make LGBT rights universal” and others, accompanied by a list of Muslim states that punish homosexuality by the death penalty.</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>The group’s protest outraged many worshipers and UK Muslim organizations, but the group rejected the criticism, saying: “We don’t need your permission to march for LGBT rights or the rights of apostates.”&#160;</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/396794-gay-muslim-sex-marriage/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The Council of ex-Muslims is a “rampant Islamophobic organization” that has made its mission “to demonize Islam and the religious beliefs of Muslims,” Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim group promoting peaceful co-existence between all British communities, said during a live debate on RT.</p>
<p>“Let’s just say, is there a council of ex-Christians? Is there a Council of ex-Jews? A Council of ex-Hindus? A Council of ex-Sikhs?” he wondered.</p>
<p>Shafiq said that it was puzzling for him that the people, who themselves opted to cut ties with Islam, keep meddling in Muslim affairs.&#160;</p>
<p>“Let’s accept that they’ve got a right to leave Islam – then why are they constantly obsessed about Islam? They need to get a life. Move on. Enjoy their life and their ‘new freedom’ as they tell us,” Shafiq said.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/381122-milo-yiannopoulos-lgbt-muslim/" type="external">READ MORE: Milo Yiannopoulos wants to ban Muslim group on Glasgow campus ‘to protect LGBT students’</a></p>
<p>Bangash, who described himself as “a British Pakistani, who grew up as a gay individual in a Muslim family,” said that Shafiq’s complaints were groundless.&#160;</p>
<p>“Asking us to leave the religion and then be silent about our kin across the world, who are being victimized by the Muslim states, is an absurd request,” he said.</p>
<p>Bangash said that the group has no intention of spreading Islamophobia in the British society, explaining: “This is my community. I have no interest in galvanizing hate against Muslims because I’ll be subjected to that same hate” due to own Muslim background.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>However, the spokesman stressed that the Council of ex-Muslims will continue to protest persecution of minorities in Islam and other religions.&#160;</p>
<p>“If religion is legislating against people, like gays, we will challenge that. And we will challenge that boldly. We will challenge that in meaningful ways, holding signs that provoke thought,” Bangash said.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/375792-gay-nigeria-deportation-protest/" type="external">READ MORE: Gay Nigerian man faces ‘unlawful’ deportation from Britain</a></p>
<p>Human rights activist Peter Tatchellbacked Bangash by arguing that the group’s participation in the LGBT protest was justified. &#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;“Hatred against people is always wrong, whether they’d be Muslim or anyone else. But criticizing bigoted intolerant ideas is entirely right and proper,” he said.&#160;According to the activist, the Council of ex-Muslims was “targeting Islamist homophobia. It wasn’t targeting Muslim people or even Islam, in general.”</p>
<p>“The Council of ex-Muslims has never criticized or condemned Muslim people. It has only condemned and criticized Islamist extremists, who advocate hatred and violence against LGBT people,” Tatchell added.</p> | British ex-Muslims vow to ‘boldly’ challenge Islam over LGBT persecution | false | https://newsline.com/british-ex-muslims-vow-to-boldly-challenge-islam-over-lgbt-persecution/ | 2017-08-11 | 1 |
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<p>Both games will be played at St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque. The Sol compete in the Mountain Division of the Premier Development League (PDL) Western Conference.</p>
<p>“Hopefully we’ll put on two pleasing performances against a good opponent,” Sol manager Matt Gordon said. “We feel like with a bit of freshness and rest we can get something out of these games.”</p>
<p>Only double victories will give the Sol (2-8-2, 8 points) a realistic chance at escaping the division cellar. The Sol are four points behind the BYU Cougars.</p>
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<p>Albuquerque has scored 14 goals and conceded 25 for a -11 goal differential. The four teams ahead of the Sol in the divisional standings have combined to average 21.25 goals scored on the season and combined to average 17.75 goals against.</p>
<p>The Sol lost twice to FC Boulder U23 (6-4-2, 20 points) in previous meetings both on the road. Gordon said FC Boulder likes to overwhelm opponents with numbers in the final third and attack from wide areas. The Sol need to stay organized and compact to thwart Boulder advances.</p>
<p>The Sol have sustained a series of personnel challenges, losing players to injury, family issues, and collegiate obligations. Gordon cited losing midfield fulcrum Sammy Kahsai and target forward Luke Lawrence as significant losses. As a result, the team has signed on reinforcements to help fill the team sheet and provide depth for training and games.</p>
<p>“We still want to play the same way, we have to be a little different in how we set up,” Gordon said. “It’s hard integrating new guys and asking them to pick up too many details.”</p>
<p>Midfielder Tommy Ramos shrugs off any notion this has adversely affected the 2017 squad, noting some focused, spirited training sessions this week.</p>
<p>“Do your job, we’re still learning as soccer players, growing as players,” Ramos said. “You can always get better as a player. That’s enough motivation.”</p>
<p>The Sol recently concluded a brutal stretch playing four games in seven days with matches in Albuquerque, Tucson, Boulder, and Denver. Albuquerque went 0-3-1 with heavy legs and tired minds culminating in a deflating 5-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids U23 squad, a team the Sol had beaten twice and drawn once in previous meetings.</p>
<p>The Sol are hoping two wins can erase some bitter moments from the 2017 campaign. Both will be broadcast on Comcast Channel 26. Tickets are available at the gate or online at http://abqsolfc.com/tickets/</p>
<p>UNM Children’s Hospital visit: On Wednesday afternoon several members of the Albuquerque Sol visited the UNM Children’s Hospital. The club toured the facilities and amenities while learning about the patient population.</p>
<p>“Part of our responsibility is to grow them on the field and as young men,” Sol president Ron Patel said.&#160; “It’s a solemn reminder of why we exist, not just for soccer, but to enrich lives in the community.”</p>
<p>The club made fast friends with a young patient who makes yarn bracelets at a frantic pace.&#160; During the visit she outfitted the entire team.&#160; The Sol players will sport her handiwork for pregame training and for the team photo on Thursday.</p>
<p>Police vs. Fire Match: The undercard (4 p.m.) to Saturday’s finale will feature the first ever Sol-sponsored friendly match between Albuquerque Police and Albuquerque Fire.</p> | Sol hoping to make last home stand memorable | false | https://abqjournal.com/1032242/sol-hoping-to-make-last-home-stand-memorable.html | 2 |
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<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks’ earnings rose 6.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as revenues increased, delinquent loans continued to fall and the number of “problem” banks reached a six-year low.</p>
<p>The data issued Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed “gradual but steady improvement” for the banking industry, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said at a news conference. Still, low interest rates continued to crimp banks’ profit margins on loans during the January-March period.</p>
<p>The FDIC reported that U.S. banks earned $39.8 billion in the first quarter, up from $37.2 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>Nearly 63 percent of banks reported an increase in profit in the first quarter from a year earlier. Only 5.6 percent of banks were unprofitable — the lowest percentage of unprofitable institutions since the second quarter of 2005.</p>
<p>The volume of delinquent loans fell by 6 percent, and the average noncurrent loan rate declined from 1.96 percent to 1.83 percent, a seven-year low. Banks also increased by nearly 10 percent, or $756 million, the amounts they set aside to cover losses on loans. Lending grew by 0.6 percent, or $52.5 billion.</p>
<p>The number of banks on the FDIC’s confidential “problem list” fell to a six-year low of 253 from 291 in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Community banks scored strong earnings growth in the first quarter, jumping 16.4 percent from the same period last year to $4.9 billion. They showed stronger growth in lending than the rest of the industry, the FDIC said.</p>
<p>But continued low interest rates “remains a challenge for banks,” Gruenberg said</p>
<p>The average net interest margin on loans and other investments fell to 3.02 percent from 3.16 percent from a year earlier.</p>
<p>The number of bank failures continues to slow, marking 18 last year. That is still more than normal. In a strong economy, an average of four or five banks close annually. But failures declined from 24 in 2013 and were down sharply from 157 in 2010 — the most in one year since the height of the savings and loan crisis in 1992.</p>
<p>So far this year, five banks have failed. Eight had been shuttered by this time last year.</p>
<p>The decline in bank failures has allowed the deposit insurance fund to strengthen. The fund, which turned from deficit to positive in the second quarter of 2011, had a $65.3 billion balance at the end of March, according to the FDIC.</p>
<p>The FDIC was created during the Great Depression to insure bank deposits. It monitors and examines the financial condition of U.S. banks. The agency guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000 per account.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks’ earnings rose 6.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as revenues increased, delinquent loans continued to fall and the number of “problem” banks reached a six-year low.</p>
<p>The data issued Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed “gradual but steady improvement” for the banking industry, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said at a news conference. Still, low interest rates continued to crimp banks’ profit margins on loans during the January-March period.</p>
<p>The FDIC reported that U.S. banks earned $39.8 billion in the first quarter, up from $37.2 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>Nearly 63 percent of banks reported an increase in profit in the first quarter from a year earlier. Only 5.6 percent of banks were unprofitable — the lowest percentage of unprofitable institutions since the second quarter of 2005.</p>
<p>The volume of delinquent loans fell by 6 percent, and the average noncurrent loan rate declined from 1.96 percent to 1.83 percent, a seven-year low. Banks also increased by nearly 10 percent, or $756 million, the amounts they set aside to cover losses on loans. Lending grew by 0.6 percent, or $52.5 billion.</p>
<p>The number of banks on the FDIC’s confidential “problem list” fell to a six-year low of 253 from 291 in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Community banks scored strong earnings growth in the first quarter, jumping 16.4 percent from the same period last year to $4.9 billion. They showed stronger growth in lending than the rest of the industry, the FDIC said.</p>
<p>But continued low interest rates “remains a challenge for banks,” Gruenberg said</p>
<p>The average net interest margin on loans and other investments fell to 3.02 percent from 3.16 percent from a year earlier.</p>
<p>The number of bank failures continues to slow, marking 18 last year. That is still more than normal. In a strong economy, an average of four or five banks close annually. But failures declined from 24 in 2013 and were down sharply from 157 in 2010 — the most in one year since the height of the savings and loan crisis in 1992.</p>
<p>So far this year, five banks have failed. Eight had been shuttered by this time last year.</p>
<p>The decline in bank failures has allowed the deposit insurance fund to strengthen. The fund, which turned from deficit to positive in the second quarter of 2011, had a $65.3 billion balance at the end of March, according to the FDIC.</p>
<p>The FDIC was created during the Great Depression to insure bank deposits. It monitors and examines the financial condition of U.S. banks. The agency guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000 per account.</p> | US bank earnings up 6.9 percent in Q1 | false | https://apnews.com/71126bd8ff1d4a7da20ca6208f7b7c5d | 2015-05-27 | 2 |
<p>I’m proud and <a href="http://javelindc.com/2013/09/announcing-dana-loeschs-new-book/" type="external">excited to announce</a>, along <a href="http://centerstreet.com/news/pressrelease_loesch.html" type="external">with Center Street</a>, that my first book, “Defenseless,” will publish next year. The details:</p>
<p>Media Contact: Shanon Stowe, Publicity Director 615-371-7784; [email protected]</p>
<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26, 2013</p>
<p>CENTER STREET TO PUBLISH DEFENSELESS BY DANA LOESCH</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, TN - Center Street, an imprint of Hachette Nashville, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Defenseless by Dana Loesch, the outspoken conservative talk show host and political commentator. Senior Editor Kate Hartson acquired world rights from Keith Urbahn and Matt Latimer of Javelin.</p>
<p>In Defenseless, Loesch examines the motivations of the political left to grab the guns of law-abiding citizens, leaving vulnerable millions of Americans, especially women.&#160; She digs deep into the history of the Second Amendment, looking closely at the advantage a no-guns policy would give to murderers, rapists, and other criminals.&#160; She urges readers to fight back against what she sees as a hypocritical and unwarranted federal intrusion by policymakers who themselves rely on guns for their protection. The always provocative Loesch – who was once banned from CNN’s Piers Morgan for her support of self-defense—will present new reporting and offer surprising insights about gun control, while also offering a plan for reclaiming our rights and the security necessary for our peace of mind.</p>
<p>The book will publish in September 2014 and will be released simultaneously in hardcover and eBook formats.</p>
<p>About Hachette Book Group: Hachette Book Group is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the second-largest trade and educational publisher in the world. HBG publishes under the divisions of Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, Orbit, Hachette Nashville, and Hachette Digital.</p>
<p>This is the first of a few big announcements in the coming weeks.</p> | New Book “Defenseless” Takes Aim At Gun Control, Released Next Year | true | http://danaloeschradio.com/new-book-defenseless-takes-aim-at-gun-control-released-next-year/ | 2013-09-26 | 0 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter jokers had a field day Tuesday with a widespread outage suffered by the work-focused messaging service Slack.</p>
<p>Used by cubicle-dwellers and remote workers around the world to chat with co-workers, Slack was briefly out for many users.</p>
<p>Might we have to ... gasp ... speak out loud? Tristan Cooper, an editor at Dorkly.com, <a href="https://twitter.com/TristanACooper/status/950810748661452801" type="external">tweeted</a> "how am i going to communicate with someone five feet from me without making eye contact."</p>
<p>But the outage may have actually increased productivity. When you don't have 20 coworkers messaging you, you might actually get some work done.</p>
<p>That, or go home.</p>
<p>Barring that, reporter Will Ganss <a href="https://twitter.com/willganss/status/950810786221477888" type="external">tweeted</a> , "it's time to resurrect AOL Instant Messenger. You can reach fifth grade me at PopularStar5."</p>
<p>Slack said it had "connectivity issues" but gave no further details.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter jokers had a field day Tuesday with a widespread outage suffered by the work-focused messaging service Slack.</p>
<p>Used by cubicle-dwellers and remote workers around the world to chat with co-workers, Slack was briefly out for many users.</p>
<p>Might we have to ... gasp ... speak out loud? Tristan Cooper, an editor at Dorkly.com, <a href="https://twitter.com/TristanACooper/status/950810748661452801" type="external">tweeted</a> "how am i going to communicate with someone five feet from me without making eye contact."</p>
<p>But the outage may have actually increased productivity. When you don't have 20 coworkers messaging you, you might actually get some work done.</p>
<p>That, or go home.</p>
<p>Barring that, reporter Will Ganss <a href="https://twitter.com/willganss/status/950810786221477888" type="external">tweeted</a> , "it's time to resurrect AOL Instant Messenger. You can reach fifth grade me at PopularStar5."</p>
<p>Slack said it had "connectivity issues" but gave no further details.</p> | Slack down? You might get some work done! | false | https://apnews.com/amp/a8064ebfc1bf413e88d99797e5b72c49 | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Some of Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s new Washington neighbors are welcoming him to the area with gay-pride flags.</p>
<p>WJLA-TV reports ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2fPicrT" type="external">http://bit.ly/2fPicrT</a> ) that several people on Pence’s new block have hung rainbow pride flags to show their displeasure about his positions on LGBT issues.</p>
<p>Pence is living in the neighborhood during the transition before he moves into the vice president’s mansion on the grounds of the Naval Observatory next year.</p>
<p>LGBT activists have criticized Pence for a “religious-objections” law he signed as Indiana governor that they said could sanction discrimination against gay people.</p>
<p>IIsle Heintzen is one of Pence’s new neighbors. Heintzen says the flag was designed to be a “respectful message” expressing her disagreement with Pence’s thinking.</p>
<p>A Pence spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Some welcome Pence to new neighborhood with gay-pride flags | false | https://abqjournal.com/899732/some-welcome-pence-to-new-neighborhood-with-gay-pride-flags.html | 2 |
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<p>Lending assistance to the US as it sought to influence the internal affairs in Afghanistan both in the 1980s and following 9/11 was a “mistake,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has said, telling RT that US actions has made the region less secure.</p>
<p>Back in the 1980s, “we made a wrong choice… and then after 9/11 we again became a conduit of American effort in Afghanistan,” Asif said. “Today, [when] we look back in hindsight, [we] can say in full confidence it was a mistake.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/402467-china-pakistan-trump-taliban/" type="external" /></p>
<p>He said US interferences in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, both in ’80s, when it decided to back Islamists fighting the left-wing government supported by the Soviet Union, and in 2000s, when the US invaded Afghanistan following 9/11, led to nothing good and only contributed to a deteriorating security situation in the region.</p>
<p>More than a decade after the US and NATO invasion, Taliban militants still control some 40 percent of Afghan territory, “where they can have sanctuaries, bases and… can operate from there against anybody,” the minister said.</p>
<p>Asif added that the US, meanwhile, accuses Pakistan of “harboring terrorists,” even though the Taliban does not need Pakistani territory to operate from.</p>
<p>“Scapegoating Pakistan is not acceptable,” he told RT, adding that Pakistan has been a US defense partner for some 60-70 years. Asif warned that such accusations “compel” Islamabad to “rethink the whole alliance” issue.</p>
<p>The minister referred to the fact that Washington recently accused Pakistan of an“unwillingness” to fight militant and extremist groups that are active in the region, including Taliban.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the US Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the US would not be able to “attain [its] objectives in Afghanistan unless [it] materially changes the behavior of Pakistan.”</p>
<p>“It is unacceptable that Pakistan provides sanctuary, and we ought to bring the full weight of the US government and our coalition partners on Pakistan to ensure that they do not provide the sanctuary that they have provided historically to groups like Haqqani and the Taliban,” he said, as cited by Reuters.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/400756-us-afghanistan-dead-end-lavrov/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The foreign minister also said the threat of terrorism in Afghanistan and other regions of the world cannot be eradicated by armed engagement, as military strategies have proved to be ineffective in combating terrorism and that the issue needs a “political solution.”</p>
<p>To find “a long term solution, a permanent solution to this problem,” one has to deal with the issues that lie at the heart of the conflicts that have been ravaging the regions which have become terrorist hotbeds for decades, Asif said.</p>
<p>“For instance, Iraq is still unsettled. In Syria, the war still goes on. Libya is a state which does not fit the definition of a state anymore,” the minister said, calling on the international community to embrace a “wider, more comprehensive and solution-oriented approach” to combating terrorism.</p>
<p>He also warned, that, should various countries still pursue their narrow political interests instead of joining a collective effort in fighting terrorism, “this… terror and violence can engulf the rest of the world.”</p>
<p>In early September, Islamabad criticized the US administration’s new military-oriented strategy in Afghanistan. At that time, Asif also said there was no military solution for the Afghan conflict and the focus should be shifted to a “politically-negotiated settlement.”</p>
<p>Such a stance appears to be at odds with President Donald Trump’s current position on Afghanistan as he opted to send an additional 3,500 US soldiers to the Asian country in early September. This deployment, confirmed by the Pentagon on September 18, brought the total number of US troops in Afghanistan to around 14,500.</p>
<p>Russia has also slammed Trump’s Afghanistan strategy as a “dead-end approach.”</p> | Assisting US in Afghanistan was wrong choice – Pakistani FM to RT | false | https://newsline.com/assisting-us-in-afghanistan-was-wrong-choice-pakistani-fm-to-rt/ | 2017-09-27 | 1 |
<p />
<p>Wedding-related mishaps can turn any mild-mannered bride into a bridezilla, but they happen all the time, no matter how prepared you thought you were for the big day.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The florist may deliver your bouquet to the wrong address. Or the reception venue goes out of business just days before your wedding. Or maybe the caterer's appendix bursts and she's laid up in the hospital.</p>
<p>Whatever the disaster, you may be able to prevent an ill-timed snafu from turning into financial regret if you use a credit card, rather than cash or checks, to pay for certain expenses.</p>
<p>"I paid for my 2005 wedding with a credit card and I am glad I did," says one-time bride Alexandra Chauran of Issaquah, Wash. When the beer keg she rented jammed at her reception, Chauran asked the vendor for her money back. No luck. "The company that rented it to me refused to refund my money," she says. "So I just disputed the charge with my credit card company and got all my money back that way."</p>
<p>As Chauran found, paying for goods and services with a credit card, rather than cash, gives you extra ammunition to fight back against vendors -- and potentially recover your losses -- in the event that something goes wrong.</p>
<p>The federal <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/glossary/term-fair-credit-billing-act.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">Fair Credit Billing Act</a> gives you the right to dispute billing errors, including those for goods and services you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed, as long as you dispute it within 60 days after the first bill containing the disputed charge was received.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In addition to the limited protections provided under the law, if you are unsatisfied with the quality of the goods or service, and aren't able to get satisfaction from the merchant, most credit card issuers will investigate, and may step in on your behalf and charge a purchase back to the vendor.</p>
<p>There are limits to the charge-it wedding strategy, however. For one, make sure you don't charge more than your wedding budget allows, says Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. "If you do charge your wedding expenses, commit to paying them off in no less than three months," says Cunningham. "Starting a marriage with one foot in a financial hole is not a honeymoon."</p>
<p>So assuming you're borrowing responsibly, here are six wedding-related expenses experts recommend you charge with a credit card -- just in case.</p>
<p>1. Deposits</p>
<p>Unless you're planning a quickie elopement or a simple backyard affair, you can expect to spend a lot on deposits, often months in advance of your wedding.</p>
<p>Most vendors require a deposit upfront in order to reserve their services on your wedding date. However, a lot can happen in between the time you sign up with a vendor and your wedding day.</p>
<p>The wedding venue you scoped out months before your wedding may file for bankruptcy, leaving you without a place to get married. Or the makeup artist you hired may be missing in action just hours before you're supposed to walk down the aisle.</p>
<p>That's why it's usually a good idea to charge your deposit, rather than pay for it in cash, says Gail Johnson, a wedding planner based in Decatur, Ga. That way, you can file a dispute with your credit card company and potentially get your money back. The card issuer is not obliged to repay you on behalf of a bankrupt merchant, since bailing you out would leave the issuer holding the bag, not you. But it might.</p>
<p>2. Wedding planner fees</p>
<p>Many wedding planners will charge a hefty retainer fee upfront that, like a deposit, guarantees that the planner will be available for your wedding.</p>
<p>Unlike some deposits, however, "retainers are not refundable," says Johnson, which can make choosing the wrong wedding planner an especially costly mistake.</p>
<p>Most planners will charge extra fees for services well in advance of the wedding. That can add up to thousands of dollars in lost fees if your wedding planner fails to provide the services he or she promised. To minimize the costs of picking a bad planner, it's a good idea to charge any additional fees with your credit card. Check the agreement carefully -- before you pay that nonrefundable retainer -- to make sure you're not required to pay for some services in cash.</p>
<p>3. Services you expect to receive on the day of your wedding</p>
<p>Problems with wedding-day vendors, including photographers, florists and DJs, are the top cause of claims filed by couples under their wedding insurance policies, according to an <a href="http://investor.travelers.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=177842&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=1798300&amp;highlight=" type="external">analysis of claims Opens a New Window.</a> released in March 2013 by the insurance company Travelers.</p>
<p>If you're not willing to shell out for wedding insurance -- a type of policy that covers unforeseen disasters, such as bad weather, shady vendors and sometimes even cold feet -- it's a good idea to pay for those services with a card, especially if you're expected to pay in full before your wedding day.</p>
<p>Paying vendors by plastic could also relieve some stress on the day of the wedding if the vendor asks for more money than you anticipated, says Chauran. "We rented out a whole ski lodge for our wedding and about halfway through the reception, the lodge people said, 'We'll have to charge you more money.'" Chauran told them to put it on her tab and went back to her reception.</p>
<p>4. The dress</p>
<p>Your wedding attire will likely be one of the heftiest purchases you make. In 2012, brides spent an average of $1,211 on their wedding dresses, according to a March 2013 <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/theknotcom-and-weddingchannelcom-reveal-results-of-largest-wedding-study-of-its-kind-surveying-more-than-17500-brides-195856281.html" type="external">study Opens a New Window.</a> by Brides magazine and TheKnot.com.</p>
<p>Wedding dresses are often custom-ordered and may take months to arrive from the manufacturer. In the meantime, the shop you ordered your dress from could fail to make the necessary alterations in time for your wedding when the dress does arrive.</p>
<p>Wedding planner Gail Johnson says there's also another reason why many of her brides decide to charge their wedding dresses. They're confident they'll be able to sell them after the wedding. "There are a lot of really good consignment shops," says Johnson. So brides who pay more for their dresses than they have in cash may be able to recoup some of that money shortly after the wedding to pay down their credit card purchase.</p>
<p>5. Anything you buy online</p>
<p>The online wedding industry is big business, according The Wedding Report, a market research company. In 2011, for example, couples spent a whopping <a href="http://www.theweddingreport.com/bz/index.php/online-spending-for-the-wedding-industry-reached-8-6-billion-in-2011/" type="external">$8.6 billion Opens a New Window.</a> on online wedding supplies.</p>
<p>Whether it's a cute accessory you found on Etsy or a box of white paper fans you bought on discount from a vendor on Amazon, make sure you pay for those purchases with a credit card. That way, you're guaranteed the strongest possible consumer protections in case the vendor turns out to be a fraud, or the items arrive damaged -- or never arrive at all.</p>
<p>Virtually all credit and debit cards branded with a Visa or MasterCard logo offer <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/glossary/term-zero-liability-policy.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">zero liability fraud protection</a>. Some credit cards also come with additional <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/identity-theft-scam-in-romania-1282.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">price protection services</a>. So if you splurge on an item, then find an identical one for a lower price, your credit card may refund you the difference.</p>
<p>6. Travel expenses for you and your guests</p>
<p>If you're renting a limo or traveling out of town for your wedding, go ahead and charge those purchases to your card as well.</p>
<p>Some credit cards offer <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-emergency-travel-assistance-plans-1273.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">emergency travel insurance</a> that covers you in case you are injured or become ill on the way to the event.</p>
<p>Many credit cards also offer roadside assistance and rental car insurance, which could help save you from bigger financial headaches if you crash your limousine rental on the way to the reception or wind up stuck on the side of the road.</p>
<p>As an added perk, charging such big expenses could help you quickly rack up rewards points that you can spend on other things.</p>
<p>That's what one-time father-of-the-bride Richard Hayman of Washington, D.C., did when he was faced with a fat bill. "I never carry a balance on any cards, so why not get the points?" says Hayman, who used an American Express card to pay for hotel rooms and more for his daughter's wedding. "I was going to spend it anyway."</p>
<p>See related: <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/qa-meg_keene-a_practical_wedding-1272.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">Q&amp;A with author Meg Keene, author of</a>, <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/dispute-credit-card-product-merchant-1282.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">Disputing a credit card bill with a merchant</a>, <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/win-credit-card-charge-back-disputes-1294.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">How to win a credit card charge-back dispute</a></p> | 6 Wedding Expenses you Should Always Charge on Credit | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/04/08/6-wedding-expenses-should-always-charge-on-credit.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
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<p>DENVER — Colorado wildlife officials say they’re trying to relocate dozens of prairie dogs seized from a suburban Denver garage after the animals were removed from a shopping mall development site.</p>
<p>About 100 prairie dogs were trapped for relocation after arbitration with the developer but plans to move them to a ranch in New Mexico fell through. On Tuesday, wildlife officers seized the animals in Castle Rock, removing them in the large tubs they had been kept in.</p>
<p>If relocation isn’t possible, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill says they could be euthanized and fed to black-footed ferrets, an endangered animal that is a natural predator.</p>
<p>People have been protesting the destruction of prairie dogs, who live in underground colonies, to make way for the mall.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Prairie dogs seized from Colorado garage could be relocated | false | https://abqjournal.com/566333/prairie-dogs-seized-from-colorado-garage-could-be-relocated.html | 2 |
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<p>CHESTER, Pa. – A Chester police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting two women in separate instances while on duty.</p>
<p>Officer Albert Ross, 47, of the 1400 block of West 7th Street in Chester, is charged with two counts of official oppression, harassment and indecent assault without the consent of others.</p>
<p>Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said Ross inappropriately touched a 46-year-old woman at her home during a service call on May 20th.</p>
<p>“He isolated the victim, in this case inside the kitchen, and when he approached the victim he took his flashlight and placed it down her breast or cleavage area,” Whelan said. “He then made statements asking her to expose herself. She did not. She reported it.”</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Ross groped and kissed a different woman on another occasion in an elevator in the building where the Chester Police Department is located.</p>
<p>A woman who’d didn’t want to be identified says she was the woman in the elevator.</p>
<p>“Sickening, sickening, that is what I say, because you shouldn’t have the authority to do this and then you are doing it inside of the building where you work at. There is no protection for us as citizens,” she said.</p>
<p>The District Attorney says Ross has been under review since that 2015 allegation but says there was not enough evidence to charge him, until now. The DA’s office says the second incident supported the allegations from the first case.</p>
<p>“It took me 24 hours to really conjure myself to want to talk about it. But I talked to a retired detective and he told me to go forward, don’t hide because he will do it to somebody else, so I came forward,” the alleged victim said.</p>
<p>“Officer Ross used his position of authority to coerce and intimidate these women into acts for his own sexual gratification,” Whelan said. “His behavior is extremely offensive. As a police officer, he took an oath to serve and protect the residents of Chester, and for that reason, we hold him to a higher standard of conduct.”</p>
<p>“There will be more to come forward,” that alleged victim said. “I am not the first and I am not going to be the last… that we already know. He’s done this before in different countries and different areas.”</p>
<p>Ross was arrested by detectives from the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division, and a judge set bail at $250,000.</p>
<p>A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 13.</p>
<p>Commentary by Jon Masters,</p> | Pennsylvania Police Officer Charged With Sexually Assaulting Two Women While on Duty | false | https://studionewsnetwork.com/news/pennsylvania-police-officer-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-two-women-while-on-duty/ | 2017-09-03 | 3 |
<p>Want to put a little extra spending money in your pocket this semester?</p>
<p>If you are taking debit or credit cards to college, following some smart tips can make the difference between a few extra pizzas and a pile of bills.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>From the best deals on bank accounts to financial security in the dorm, here are eight things you need to know:</p>
<p>1. You Can Save Big Bucks by Shopping Banks</p>
<p>Do not automatically apply for a campus debit card. Instead, shop around for a bank account and debit card you can use on campus.</p>
<p>"A lot of these campus debit cards come loaded with fees -- even 'per transaction' fees," says Joe Ridout, consumer services manager with Consumer Action. "Just because the school promotes a card doesn't mean that card is the best one for you."</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-91" type="external">February 2014 Government Accountability Office study Opens a New Window.</a> found that while campus card fees were generally in line with cards offered by banks, not all card issuers were forthcoming with information.</p>
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<p>"Shop around and don't take it on faith," says Chris Lindstrom, higher education program director for US PIRG, which issued a 2012 <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/thecampusdebitcardtrap_may2012_uspef.pdf" type="external">study Opens a New Window.</a> that criticized campus debit card fees. "For as many deals [as] we found [that] were good, we found campuses where students could have gotten a better deal down the street."</p>
<p>2. You have a Choice with Overdraft Fees</p>
<p>Normally, your debit card will be refused if the purchase takes your account below $0. But if you give the bank permission to charge overdraft fees, the debit card will keep working even after you are out of money. And you will get charged a fee -- often about $35 -- every time you use the card, says Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.</p>
<p>"With debit cards, the biggest problem is the overdraft fees," Wu says.</p>
<p>Almost half (46%) of 18-to 25-year-olds are charged overdraft fees, according to U.S. PIRG's study. And 61% of the overdrafts were for purchases, not ATM withdrawals. Fifteen percent of college-age consumers paid 10 or more overdraft fees each year -- more fees than any other age group, the study found.</p>
<p>Banks and financial institutions need your written consent in advance before they can allow your account to dip below zero and start charging overdraft fees. Wu suggests declining that option, or revoking your consent if you have agreed to it in the past.</p>
<p>3. It is Easier than Ever to Track Purchases and Receipts</p>
<p>If you use your debit card daily, it is even more important to know exactly how much money you have in your account. Three free options for keeping tabs include:</p>
<p>No matter which option you choose, recognize that not all purchases are deducted from your account the minute you make them. Some may take several days, or even a week, to clear, says Michelle Dosher, managing editor for the consumer education department of the Credit Union National Association.</p>
<p>4. You can hurt your parents' credit If you run up a balance you cannot pay on your parents' credit card, you are potentially hurting their credit scores, says Dosher: "It's your parent's credit that's on the line."</p>
<p>Want to avoid problems? Have a talk with Mom or Dad to spell out exactly what the card is meant to cover, says Dosher. If they use fuzzy terms like "for emergencies," get specific and have them spell out exactly what constitutes a card-worthy emergency.</p>
<p>5. You have free access to your credit history At least once a year, pull all three of your credit reports and make sure everything is accurate, says Anthony Sprauve, spokesman for myFICO, a division of FICO. If you've never managed credit before, the likelihood of you even having a credit report is small. But if you've got a student loan, odds are that's in your report.</p>
<p>You are entitled to pull your credit reports from each of the big three credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- for free annually through <a href="http://www.annualcreditreport.com" type="external">AnnualCreditReport.com Opens a New Window.</a>. You often have to pay to view your credit scores. However, some credit card companies, banks and credit unions provide scores for free as a customer service.</p>
<p>Sprauve says the keys to building a good credit score are:</p>
<p>"You don't need multiple credit cards to have a good score," he says. Instead, Sprauve suggests getting one good, all-purpose card, using it and paying it off judiciously.</p>
<p>6. You Probably can Get a Credit Card, but Maybe You're Not Ready for One</p>
<p>Years ago, enrollment in college almost guaranteed you a credit card. "The Credit CARD Act changed that," says Dosher, referring to <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-law-interactive-1282.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">federal credit card legislation</a> signed into law in 2009.</p>
<p>Now, if you are under 21 and want a card, you either need verified income (enough to pay the bill) or a co-signer. "Credit card companies are allowed to consider grants and loans" as income, as long as a student is receiving an amount greater than the tuition bill, says Wu.</p>
<p>But even if your loans and grants cover more than tuition, that is not exactly disposable income. You still need to do other things with the money. Such as buy books. And eat. So while you may qualify, it is often smart to stay out of the credit card arena until you have actual disposable income to dispose of.</p>
<p>7. 'Plain Vanilla' Cards are Preferable</p>
<p>If you do have some disposable income, opt for a general use credit card with no annual fee that has good terms and a low interest rate, says Ridout. Remain skeptical of "student cards," he says. "There's a lot of marketing of 'student cards,' and then there's what's good for students. And they're not necessarily the same thing," Ridout says.</p>
<p>Instead, shop for the card that best suits you, he says. That probably means a general-use card (not a <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/retail_card-stores-survey-apr_2014-1276.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">retail store card</a>), with a low interest rate and no annual fee. "For a student, there's absolutely no reason to be paying an annual fee," Ridout says.</p>
<p>8. Limit Potential ID Theft</p>
<p>In a dorm, you share a communal environment with little space and less privacy. Safeguard your cash, debit cards, credit cards and personal financial information. Also, use private devices and access banking information on secure networks.</p>
<p>Never write down PINs or passwords. Force yourself to log in to financial sites each time rather than saving passwords or logins. You do not want your bank or card pages to pop up if someone trolls through your phone or surfs on your computer. And devise a secret hiding place for your debit or credit card.</p>
<p>"You just need to recognize that it is money," says Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.</p>
<p>See related: <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/4-reasons-college-kids-need-credit-1279.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">4 reasons why college kids need a credit card</a>, <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/video-student-credit-cards-1279.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">A look at student credit cards</a></p> | 8 Keys to Safe Credit, Debit Card Use on Campus | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/09/02/8-keys-to-safe-credit-debit-card-use-on-campus.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Published time: 6 Sep, 2017 20:56</p>
<p>The night shift in Stockbridge, Georgia received several calls from motorists reporting an adult tiger roaming the streets near the I-75 interstate in the early hours of Wednesday.</p>
<p>Police in Henry County, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Atlanta, quickly located the tiger and set up a security perimeter at a safe distance around the big cat while Animal Control officers were en route. Authorities were forced to temporarily close down four lanes of the highway, reports <a href="http://wjla.com/news/offbeat/tiger-killed-after-running-loose-in-georgia-neighborhood-09-06-2017" type="external">ABC 7</a>.</p>
<p>The tiger then veered off the highway and headed toward a nearby residential community. It vaulted a garden fence and began attacking the homeowners’ terrified dachshund.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, it jumped a fence and went after a dog back behind one of the residences here. And the officers had to use some force to put the tiger down,” Henry County Police Captain Joey Smith said, as cited by <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/traffic/search-for-owner-tiger-shot-dead-metro-atlanta-neighborhood/k9fiC7yQdqK5mOjEXqjxQL/" type="external">The Atlanta Journal Constitution</a>. &#160;</p>
<p>The house where the tiger was shot is “in close proximity to a school bus route in a densely populated area,” and “was large enough to be of great concern to us,” Smith added.</p>
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<p>SENSITIVE PICTURES: Tiger shot, killed by police as it attacked little dog in Henry Co backyard – now, work to find out WHERE it came from <a href="https://t.co/PDAH4K8QgV" type="external">pic.twitter.com/PDAH4K8QgV</a></p>
<p>— Kaitlyn Pratt Fox 5 (@Fox5Kaitlyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fox5Kaitlyn/status/905391589882830848" type="external">September 6, 2017</a></p>
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<p>The city zoo and local wildlife sanctuaries have confirmed the tiger was not one of theirs.</p>
<p>Both the Henry County Police and Animal Control have launched an investigation to ascertain where the animal came from. They have asked for the public’s help in identifying the owner of the tiger.</p>
<p /> | Police kill tiger roaming city streets near Atlanta, Georgia (GRAPHIC PHOTOS) | false | https://newsline.com/police-kill-tiger-roaming-city-streets-near-atlanta-georgia-graphic-photos/ | 2017-09-06 | 1 |
<p>A federal judge has issued a preliminary ruling against Mississippi’s religious freedom law.</p>
<p>In a limited ruling against the newly enacted “religious freedom” law in Mississippi seen to enable sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination, a federal judge has agreed to reopen a case that sought&#160;marriage equality in the state to block the portion of the law allowing clerks to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, an Obama appointee who in 2014 ruled against the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, issued a subsequent&#160; <a href="http://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://files.eqcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/52-Order.pdf" type="external">order</a>&#160;on Monday asserting authority to issue an injunction against HB 1523 on the basis that it interferes with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality nationwide.</p>
<p>“Mississippi’s elected officials may disagree with Obergefell, of course, and may express that disagreement as they see fit – by advocating for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, for example,” Reeves writes. “But the marriage license issue will not be adjudicated anew after every legislative session. And the judiciary will remain vigilant whenever a named party to an injunction is accused of circumventing that injunction, directly or indirectly.”</p>
<p>Although after the Obergefell decision the attorney general issued a letter to clerks instructing them to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Reeves writes he’s not persuaded the 81 clerks in Mississippi understand they’re bound to it and asks for&#160;an agreement on an injunction so he may more clearly hold them in contempt of court if they refuse licenses under HB 1523.</p>
<p>The order is the result of a motion from Roberta Kaplan, the New York-based lesbian attorney who successfully argued against the Defense of Marriage Act before the Supreme Court. To challenge Mississippi’s&#160;“religious freedom” law, Kaplan sought to re-open her subsequent lawsuit seeking marriage equality in the state on behalf of the Campaign for Southern Equality.</p>
<p>Kaplan said the order amount to Reeves saying “there’s housekeeping that needs to be done” to ensure compliance with the Obergefell decision despite HB 1523.</p>
<p>“It’s essentially an eloquent judicial statement of the power of federal courts to enforce Supreme Court opinions and the Constitution in all 50 states, including Mississippi, despite efforts by the Mississippi legislature to get around it,” Kaplan said.</p>
<p>Signed by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant in April, HB 1523 is seen to enable sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination in the name of “religious freedom.” The law permits clerks to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, provided someone else in their office can offer the service, and allows&#160;business and individuals to deny services to same-sex couples as well as&#160;transition-related care to transgender people. HB 1523 is set to go into effect July 1.</p>
<p>The order doesn’t impose an injunction against the religious freedom law at the present time, nor it does impact other portions of law enabling sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination aside the issuing of marriage licenses.</p>
<p>Kaplan said she’s expecting another order&#160;from the judge as soon as this week addressing other aspects of HB 1523 as a result of another pending lawsuit before the court.</p>
<p>“So, in a lot of ways, I can say to people, this is just the appetizer,” Kaplan said. “The fried chicken and grits are coming later in the week.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">HB 1523</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mississippi</a> <a href="" type="internal">religious freedom</a> <a href="" type="internal">Roberta Kaplan</a></p> | Court issues limited ruling against Miss. ‘religious freedom’ law | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/06/27/court-issues-limited-order-mississippi-religious-freedom-law/ | 3 |
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<p>He went to college instead. And in addition to three years of on-the-field honors, and trying to lead his LSU Tigers to a national championship on Sunday, Bregman will join the Houston Astros organization as 2015's No. 2 draft pick, with a $7 million-plus signing bonus.</p>
<p>Way to let it travel deep. Bregman is now the highest-drafted player from New Mexico.</p>
<p>He says he "dreamed about it since I was 5 years old. My dad (Albuquerque lawyer Sam) and I would play catch in the backyard, and my mom (Jackie) would throw me batting practice. I've been dreaming about this since then. It's a dream come true. If you work hard enough, anything can happen."</p>
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<p>And by all accounts work hard is what Bregman has done.</p>
<p>His coach at the Academy, Josh Ayala, says Bregman has the greatest work ethic he's ever seen.</p>
<p>LSU freshman outfielder Beau Jordan says "he's a great leader in the locker room and on the field. I'm really glad for him because he's prepared for this moment his whole life."</p>
<p>That's not hyperbole.</p>
<p>Jackie Bregman says her eldest son "had a baseball in his crib at the hospital when he was born."</p>
<p>Twenty-one years, some smart decisions, family support and a lot of patience later, Bregman has hit it out of the park.</p>
<p>Congratulations.</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: Congrats to Bregman for knocking it out of the park | false | https://abqjournal.com/597091/congrats-to-bregman-for-knocking-it-out-of-the-park.html | 2 |
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<p>Blame it on a lack of knowledge or limited time and cash flow, but either way tons of small business owners aren’t offering their employees some form of retirement savings, despite the fact that it ranks second just behind health care in terms of things workers want.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While you may not be under any specific requirement to give your employees a vehicle to save for their retirement, offering it does help with recruitment and retention, particularly if you are competing with the big boys for top talent.</p>
<p>“There are three major reasons small businesses should offer a plan,” says Connie Certusi, vice president and general manager, Small Business Solutions, Sage North America. “For one it’s an important tool for attracting and retaining good talent. There’s also a tax advantage and finally it’s the right thing to do.”</p>
<p>Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, but if their workers are struggling to save money for their retirement the repercussions will be felt for years to come, experts warn.</p>
<p>Consider this: By 2020 40% of the American workforce or 60 million people will be self-employed and/or small business owners. What’s more, according to the Small Business Administration or SBA, over 40 million workers do not participate in a retirement plan.</p>
<p>Offering a retirement savings vehicle isn’t going to be too costly, but doing nothing will. According to Terry Dunne, senior vice president, managing director of Rollover Solutions Group, at Millennium Trust, some of the IRA options are “very inexpensive to administer.” What’s more, he says by keeping it simple, you’ll avoid having to hire a consultant or record keeper, which is more typical for standard 401(k) plans. “Right now if a small organization does nothing they risk losing employees,” says Dunne. “Eventually the talented ones are going to get a job somewhere else.”</p>
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<p>When it comes to offering retirement savings you have a lot of choices depending on the size of your company and your cash flow.&#160; If you are one of the many business owners who don’t have any money set aside for your own retirement, you can create a Solo 401 (k) account. According to Dunne, a Solo 401 (k) gives you the same plan options, contribution limits and flexibility that is often found with a 401 (k) at a larger company. “</p>
<p>As a result, single-owner businesses can put away more money for retirement in a shorter amount of time using a combination of salary deferral and profit sharing contributions to fund the plan,” he says.</p>
<p>If you have the cash flow and a workforce, another option is the Employer-Sponsored SEP or Simplified Employee Pension IRA. With this, Dunne says you can make contributions to the employees’ retirement accounts but there are limits. Contributions can be up to 25% of the employee’s compensations or $49,000, whichever is less, he says. Keep in mind the SEP IRA is completely funded by the employer.</p>
<p>An Employer-Sponsored Simple IRA lets companies with less than 100 employees establish an individual retirement account for each employee who participates. You can match all or part of the employee’s contributions, says Dunne.</p>
<p>When it comes to choosing a plan, experts say you have to research all your options to find the one that meets your needs. You also have to take a hard look at any fees, administrative costs or work that will be required of you. Andrew Meadows, Consumer &amp; Brand Ambassador at The Online 401(k) says you want to choose a provider who offers the most flexibility in enabling you to maximize how much you and your employees can put away for retirement.&#160; Meadows says most small business employers he works with are looking for a plan that is easy to setup and one that has a low cost flat fee.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of fear in that the 401 (k) is going to be costly, complicated and one extra hat to put on every year,” says Meadows. “The thing is recent changes in the industry has really opened up the door to allow 401 (k) plans to be more successful. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”</p> | 3 Reasons to Offer Employees a 401 (k) | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/11/12/3-reasons-to-offer-employees-401-k.html | 2016-04-07 | 0 |
<p>Sears says it has a deal with the federal pension insurance agency to release 140 properties from certain restrictions in exchange for $407 million in pension contributions, some relief for once-storied department store chain.</p>
<p>The Hoffman Estates, Illinois retailer, which operates Sears and Kmart stores, says it expects net losses for the third quarter to improve by $190 million and that it hit its $1.25 billion target in cost savings for 2017. The company continues to close underperforming stores and sell assets in an attempt to remain afloat.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Sears expects about $3.7 billion in revenue for the third quarter, down from $5 billion a year ago, mostly due to store closures. It lost more than $2 billion in 2016.</p>
<p>The deal with the pension fund is expected to close in three months. After the $407 million contribution is made, Sears said it will be freed from pension obligations for two years, with the exception of a $20 million payment in the second quarter of 2018.</p>
<p>The company known for DieHard batteries and Kenmore appliances has been selling assets, most recently its Craftsman tool brand. Sears has said it's been hamstrung by the pension obligations, which prevented the company from selling off even more assets to fund operations.</p>
<p>Sears said its revenues were also dinged by reductions in the number of pharmacies in its Kmart stores, as well as cuts to consumer electronics offerings in Kmart and Sears stores.</p>
<p>Total sales in existing stores — a key metric of a retailer's health — declined more than 15 percent for the quarter, with Kmart comparable-store sales falling 13 percent from last year's quarter. Sears comparable-store sales declined 17 percent for the same period in 2016.</p>
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<p>In addition to previously announced store closings, Sears said earlier this month it would close 63 additional namesake and Kmart stores after the holidays.</p>
<p>Shares in Sears fell almost 5 percent in afternoon trading, to $4.76, an all-time low, and have declined about 60 percent in the past year.</p> | Sears posts decline in 3Q revenue due to store closures | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/08/sears-posts-decline-in-3q-revenue-due-to-store-closures.html | 2017-11-08 | 0 |
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<p>12:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Denver and Kansas City exchanged field goals in overtime, leaving them tied at 27. Brandon McManus connected on a 44-yarder and Cairo Santos countered with a 37-yarder.</p>
<p>Kansas City scored with 12 seconds remaining in regulation when Tyreek Hill caught a 3-yard pass from Alex Smith. Hill was first ruled short of the goal line, but a review changed the call to a TD. The Chiefs tied it when Smith hit Demetrius Harris for the 2-point conversion.</p>
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<p>___</p>
<p>9:45 p.m.</p>
<p>This was quite a 10-second span for the Kansas City Chiefs: Justin Houston forced a fumble that led to a safety and Tyreek Hill returned the ensuing free kick for an 86-yard touchdown. The Chiefs lead 9-0 in a game where the offense has gained just 57 yards so far.</p>
<p>Houston sacked Broncos QB Trevor Siemian in the end zone, with Broncos offensive tackle Russell Okung saving a TD by pouncing on the loose football. It didn’t last as Hill found a lane through the Broncos coverage unit. He was so far in the clear that he high-fived De’Anthony Thomas on his way into the end zone.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Broncos running back Kapri Bibbs returned to the field in the second quarter after being evaluated for a possible concussion.</p>
<p>Bibbs remained on the ground for several minutes after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Kansas City safety Eric Berry in the first quarter. Bibbs was eventually helped up by trainers.</p>
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<p>The running back out of Colorado State is backing up rookie Devontae Booker with C.J. Anderson sidelined by a knee injury.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:10 p.m.</p>
<p>Broncos running back Kapri Bibbs was assisted off the field after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Kansas City safety Eric Berry.</p>
<p>Bibbs remained on the ground for several minutes after his 7-yard gain. He was eventually helped up by trainers. The team announced he’s being evaluated for a possible concussion.</p>
<p>The running back out of Colorado State is backing up rookie Devontae Booker with C.J. Anderson sidelined by a knee injury.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack came up with a strip sack on fourth down to stop Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers from a last-minute comeback, pushing Oakland to its first winning season since 2002.</p>
<p>That also happened to be the year the Raiders last went to the playoffs, when they lost to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>The thrilling 35-32 finished capped three strong late afternoon games, with the Patriots overcoming early struggles to beat the Jets 22-17 and Tampa Bay besting the Seahawks 14-5.</p>
<p>The Sunday night game is Kansas City at Denver.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Derek Carr briefly left the Oakland Raiders game against Carolina after hurting his right pinky finger on a fumbled snap early in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Carr grabbed at his throwing hand in pain as soon as he dropped the snap from Rodney Hudson on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter. The Panthers recovered the ball and cut Oakland’s lead to 24-13 on Jonathan Stewart’s 1-yard run. Denico Autry blocked Graham Gano’s extra point attempt.</p>
<p>Carr was taken to the locker room and was replaced by Matt McGloin to start the next series, but soon returned wearing a black glove on his right hand.</p>
<p>On his first play back, he completed a 17-yard pass to Clive Walford.</p>
<p>— Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland, California</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:20 p.m.</p>
<p>New England tight end Rob Gronkowski was downgraded to out for the rest of the game against the New York Jets with a back injury.</p>
<p>Gronkowski left the game late in the first quarter and was initially questionable to return. He had been uncertain to play after missing last week’s game with a chest injury. It was not immediately certain if the latest injury was connected to the previous one.</p>
<p>Gronkowski had no catches when he left, with Tom Brady unable to connect with him on two third-down throws.</p>
<p>Martellus Bennett, Gronkowski’s backup, was also banged up early in the second half when he appeared to injure his left foot or ankle.</p>
<p>— Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Tom Brady became the fifth player in NFL history to reach 60,000 yards passing for his career, reaching the milestone on an 18-yard pass to Julian Edelman with 9:40 left in the second quarter of the New England Patriots’ game against the New York Jets.</p>
<p>Brady, who is also looking to tie Peyton Manning for career wins by a quarterback with 200, came into Sunday’s game needing 57 yards passing to join Manning (71,940), Brett Favre (71,838), Drew Brees (64,180) and Dan Marino (61,361).</p>
<p>The Patriots quarterback, who was questionable for the game with an ailing knee, is 21-6 in the regular season against the Jets as starter and could join Favre as only QBs in NFL history with at least 22 wins against two teams. Brady has 26 victories vs. Buffalo; Favre has 26 wins vs. Detroit and 23 vs. Chicago.</p>
<p>— Dennis Waszak reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:15 p.m.</p>
<p>New England tight end Rob Gronkowski left the Patriots’ game against the New York Jets late in the first quarter with a back injury.</p>
<p>The Patriots announced that Gronkowski is questionable to return.</p>
<p>Gronkowski had been questionable to play after missing last week’s game with a chest injury. He had no catches when he left, with Tom Brady unable to connect with him on two third-down throws.</p>
<p>— Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:40 p.m.</p>
<p>The Saints blew out Los Angeles and their former defensive coordinator now working for the Rams. Buffalo hung on during a back and forth match with Jacksonville to deny the Jaguars a third win. And the Ravens beat the Bengals behind several long field goals from Justin Tucker, dropping Cincinnati to 3-7-1, including 1-5 in road games.</p>
<p>Other results from early games Sunday:</p>
<p>— Giants 27, Browns 13</p>
<p>— Falcons 38, Cardinals 19</p>
<p>— Dolphins 31, 49ers 24</p>
<p>— Titans 27, Bears 21</p>
<p>— Chargers 21, Texans 13.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:15 p.m.</p>
<p>Breathe easy, Patriots fans. As expected, Tom Brady is active, and so is Rob Gronkowski.</p>
<p>The New England star quarterback and tight end were both listed as questionable heading into the team’s game Sunday against the New York Jets.</p>
<p>Brady missed two days of practice with a knee injury, but returned Friday — although the Patriots were taking a wait-and-see approach. Gronkowski missed last week’s game at San Francisco with a chest injury and it appeared early in the week that he would also miss this week, but he improved enough for the Patriots to make him active.</p>
<p>Tight end Martellus Bennett (ankle, shoulder) and wide receivers Julian Edelman (foot) and Chris Hogan (back) are also playing after being listed as questionable, making all of Brady’s top targets available. — Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3 p.m.</p>
<p>Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy has opened the second half by scoring on a 75-yard touchdown — the longest run of his career — against the Jacksonville Jaguars.</p>
<p>His previous career-long was a 66-yard gain in 2009, his rookie season.</p>
<p>The touchdown was also McCoy’s second of the game after he scored on a 7-yard run in the final minute of the first half.</p>
<p>McCoy has now scored two or more touchdowns in three games this season, the most by a Bills player since running back Willis McGahee did that five times in 2004.</p>
<p>— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:40 p.m.</p>
<p>Another big drop by Atlanta receiver Julio Jones led to a possible six-point swing at the end of the first half vs. the Arizona Cardinals.</p>
<p>With the Falcons leading 17-10 and in position for a possible field goal to extend their lead, Matt Ryan went to Jones on a quick slant. Jones bobbled the ball, however, and Arizona’s D.J. Swearinger grabbed it for an interception with 20 seconds left.</p>
<p>Carson Palmer followed with a 17-yard pass to J.J. Nelson into Atlanta territory. With 5 seconds left, the Falcons dropped everyone deep expecting a Hail Mary throw on the final play. Instead, the Cardinals threw a quick pass to Larry Fitzgerald, who went to the turf in time for Arizona to call a timeout with 1 second left.</p>
<p>Chandler Catanzaro knocked through a 54-yard field goal to cut Atlanta’s lead to 17-13 at the break.</p>
<p>Jones also dropped a key pass near the end of the Falcons’ most recent game, a loss at Philadelphia two weeks ago.</p>
<p>— Paul Newberry reporting from Atlanta.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:20 p.m.</p>
<p>The New Orleans Saints have surged in front of the Los Angeles Rams thanks to a pair of touchdowns both scored on fourth-and-1 plays less than two minutes apart.</p>
<p>In both situations, the Saints were stuffed on third-and-1 by the Rams, whose defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, held the same post under Saints coach Sean Payton from 2009 to 2011.</p>
<p>On the first, Ingram took a pitch to the left side and used a sharp cut back toward the middle for a 10-yard touchdown that tied the score at 14.</p>
<p>On the Rams’ next possession, rookie quarterback Jared Goff was sacked and stripped by rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, fellow first-rounder last spring. Paul Kruger recovered for New Orleans on the L.A. 10.</p>
<p>After Tim Hightower was stopped on third-and-goal from 1, Brees kept the ball on fourth down, diving over a pile of players on the goal line and reaching for the score to make it 21-14 in the middle of the second quarter.</p>
<p>— Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:05 p.m.</p>
<p>Buffalo Bills cornerback Ronald Darby has sustained a concussion and been ruled out from returning against the Jacksonville Jaguars.</p>
<p>Darby was hurt in the first quarter after taking a knee to the head while tackling running back Chris Ivory in the first quarter.</p>
<p>Later, the Jaguars announced Ivory has hurt one of his hamstrings, and it’s questionable whether he’ll return to play.</p>
<p>Ivory had nine carries for 44 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown, and a catch for 11 yards before he was hurt late in the first quarter.</p>
<p>If Ivory can’t continue, the Jaguars will have to lean on T.J Yeldon, who was bothered by an ankle injury this past week.</p>
<p>The Jaguars also announced that receiver Rashad Greene Sr. (Achilles) and safety Peyton Thompson (ankle) are also listed as questionable to return.</p>
<p>— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:45 p.m.</p>
<p>New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. left the game for one series after hurting his right thumb.</p>
<p>Beckham was taken to the locker room for X-rays after getting hurt in the first quarter Sunday against the Browns. He returned for New York’s second possession in the second quarter.</p>
<p>Beckham had three catches before getting hurt. He came in with 59 receptions for 819 yards and a team-high six touchdowns.</p>
<p>— Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:40 p.m.</p>
<p>Buffalo Bills starting cornerback Ronald Darby has been escorted to the locker room after taking a knee to the head while tackling Jacksonville Jaguars running back Chris Ivory in the first quarter.</p>
<p>The Bills announced Darby is being monitored for a potential concussion.</p>
<p>Ivory caught a short pass while crossing to his right, and leapt into the air as he was brought down by Darby and Zach Brown.</p>
<p>Darby sat on the field for several minutes before being helped up by the team’s medical staff. He looked dazed as he made his way off the field and nearly tripped at one point.</p>
<p>— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Finally.</p>
<p>The Jacksonville Jaguars streak of opening-drive futility is over after Chris Ivory scored on a 2-yard run against the Buffalo Bills. It marked the first time in 25 games the Jaguars have scored a touchdown on their first possession. It was the NFL’s longest active streak, dating to Week 3 of the 2015 season.</p>
<p>During the 24-game drought, Jacksonville had three field goals, punted 18 times and turned the ball over three times.</p>
<p>Ivory’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive spanning 6:45. The Jaguars converted three third-down chances, including their last one courtesy of a defensive holding penalty against Corey White on third-and-goal from the 3.</p>
<p>— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:20 p.m.</p>
<p>San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is drawing jeers at the start of his team’s game at Miami.</p>
<p>There were loud boos from the crowd when Kaepernick and the rest of the 49ers offense trotted onto the field for their first series, and more jeers just before the snap on first down. The possession ended with a Kaepernick touchdown pass to Carlos Hyde.</p>
<p>Kaepernick drew criticism in Miami when he defended former Cuban leader Fidel Castro during a conference call Wednesday with reporters in South Florida, citing Cuba’s high literacy rate. In August, Kaepernick wore a T-shirt that featured Castro and Malcolm X.</p>
<p>Castro, who died Friday, has strong critics within South Florida’s large Cuban-American population.</p>
<p>Kaepernick has kneeled through the national anthem all season to protest police brutality and the treatment of minorities.</p>
<p>–Steven Wine reporting from Miami.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:50 p.m.</p>
<p>The Chicago Bears paid tribute to the World Series champion Cubs prior to Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.</p>
<p>They showed a video of the World Series celebration. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, standing at the 50-yard line, then raised the championship trophy above his head.</p>
<p>The Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series for the first time since 1908 and end baseball’s longest title drought.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:10 p.m.</p>
<p>Laremy Tunsil is inactive Sunday because of a shoulder injury, leaving the Miami Dolphins without three starting offensive linemen against the 49ers.</p>
<p>Center Mike Pouncey was earlier ruled out due to a hip injury. Left tackle Branden Albert is inactive as expected with a dislocated left wrist.</p>
<p>Anthony Steen is starting at center, Kraig Urbik at left guard and Sam Young at left tackle.</p>
<p>Pouncey and Albert both missed last week’s game against the Rams, and Tunsil departed in the first half, leaving the Dolphins with a patchwork line as they earned their fifth victory in a row.</p>
<p>–Steven Wine reporting from Miami.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NFL football: <a href="http://pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | Broncos, Chiefs exchange field goals in OT | false | https://abqjournal.com/896602/the-latest-mccoy-gets-75-yd-td-on-longest-career-run.html | 2016-11-27 | 2 |
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<p>Here are some of the trends popping up among the newest generation of homeowners found in Houzz’s 2017 Kitchen Trends Study. Of the survey’s 2,700 participants (all of whom had recently completed or were completing a kitchen remodel), 10 percent to 12 percent were ages 25 to 34.</p>
<p>SOFT NEUTRALS STRENGTHEN THEIR HOLD: “Millennials are a lot more focused on making sure that the style, color palette and materials used in the major elements of the kitchen stay as relevant as long as possible because they’re not planning another remodel any time soon,” said Nino Sitchinava, Houzz’s principal economist.</p>
<p>Although gray was the most popular wall color across all ages (and up in popularity 4 percent from 2015), it was especially popular among millennial homeowners (43 percent of millennials vs. 22 percent of baby boomers chose it). Boomers were more likely to try warmer colors, and 1 in 10 chose green walls.</p>
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<p>White cabinets topped all age groups; millennials were nearly twice as likely to extend that color to the backsplash as well.</p>
<p>DECORATIVE LIGHTING OVER FUNCTIONAL LIGHTING: Younger renovators tended to prefer decorative pendant lighting (67 percent), while older homeowners were more likely to choose more functional under- or in-cabinet lights (74 percent). “There’s potentially a little more versatility with pendant lighting,” Sitchinava said. “It’s self-contained [and] a little more affordable. But some of it could also be preferences and style aesthetic.” Lighting upgrades were part of 84 percent of the kitchen renovations surveyed.</p>
<p>KITCHEN ISLANDS: The most popular built-in features for millennials were pantry cabinets and islands, appearing in two of five renovated kitchens, and younger homeowners were much more likely to install an island than older homeowners (49 percent vs. 36 percent, respectively). “They are a must-have in a millennial kitchen,” Sitchinava said. “Millennials really do value that extra counter space.”</p>
<p>MODERN AND FARMHOUSE STYLES: Although contemporary is the most popular style for kitchen remodels across all ages (26 percent among millennials and 24 percent among baby boomers), younger homeowners are more likely to try a modern (19 percent) or farmhouse style (14 percent) for their renovation as opposed to boomers, who are more likely to stick with a traditional style (14 percent compared with 8 percent of millennials).</p>
<p>AN EYE ON THE BUDGET: Millennial homeowners “are twice as likely to be driven by cost considerations than homeowners over age 35,” per the survey’s findings. Younger renovators are also more willing to get their hands dirty when it comes to kitchen remodeling, with a majority favoring stock and ready-to-assemble cabinets.</p>
<p>“They are less likely to hire a general contractor, architect or a designer and instead take on that process themselves,” Sitchinava said.</p>
<p>Still, about a third of the millennials surveyed splurged on custom cabinetry (vs. 42 percent of baby boomers). “Millennials are going into their kitchen remodel with a sort of understanding that they want to make the kitchen as perfect as they possibly can,” Sitchinava said, “because they are going to be utilizing it for a long time.”</p>
<p>STARTING TO TURN AWAY FROM GRANITE: Look and feel (72 percent), and durability (53 percent) were the driving factors for choosing a countertop material, far ahead of cost (21 percent), and quartz and granite reign supreme as the most sought-after materials, across all ages. But Gen Y is much more willing to experiment with an alternative, more budget-friendly countertop material such as laminate or wood.</p>
<p /> | Millennials counter long-standing kitchen trends | false | https://abqjournal.com/1006142/millennials-counter-longstanding-kitchen-trends.html | 2 |
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<p>Qayyarah Airbase, South of Mosul, Iraq — The American ground force commander in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, said U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have momentum on their side in the battle to drive ISIS out of its Iraq stronghold, the northern city of Mosul.</p>
<p>Volesky, speaking to NBC News in his first interview since the Mosul offensive began earlier this week, expressed confidence that the terror group will lose Mosul and with it, its caliphate, or Islamic state, in Iraq.</p>
<p>"ISIS has said, this is the crown jewel of Iraq and its idea of a caliphate," Volesky said. “There’s not going to be a caliphate, if there ever really was one. So for ISIL, this is going to be a key loss for them and it will be a loss"</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">The Battle for Mosul Won't End With the Ouster of ISIS</a></p>
<p>Volesky praised Iraqi troops for advancing quickly toward Mosul and said so far the resistance they have meet has been moderate.</p>
<p>"Iraqis have the momentum," he said. "They know it and they want to get there as quickly as they can."</p>
<p>The Iraqi army has a lot riding on the success of the Mosul operation. ISIS was able to swiftly take control of Mosul two and a half years ago when the Iraqi army collapsed in the city, running from the fight and abandoning their weapons.</p>
<p>Volesky doesn’t expect that to happen this time.</p>
<p>"They're much more confident and they've learned from these last two years," he said. "Make no mistake, they've learned."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Villages Retaken as Bid to Free 1.5M From ISIS Begins</a></p>
<p>Volesky said the capture of Mosul would not mean the end of ISIS. Its fighters are expected to retreat into the desert and conduct terror attacks and try to establish an insurgency, he said. Volesky estimates there are between 3,000 to 5,000 ISIS fighters in Mosul, but he said some have been leaving.</p>
<p>"I'll tell you there are a lot fewer Daesh today than there were yesterday. There will be fewer tomorrow than today," he said, referring to another name by which ISIS is sometimes called.</p>
<p>Despite the successes thus far, Volesky said it’s just too early to know how long the Mosul operation will take. Most estimates have ranged from a few weeks to several months.</p> | Fall of Mosul Would Mean End of ISIS ‘Caliphate’ in Iraq: U.S. General | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/fall-mosul-would-mean-end-isis-caliphate-iraq-u-s-n668421 | 2016-10-18 | 3 |
<p />
<p>U.S. housing starts unexpectedly fell in January likely as bad weather disrupted building projects in some parts of the country, in what could be a temporary setback for the housing market.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Groundbreaking fell 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.099 million units, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Part of the decline in starts could be attributed to the snowstorms, which blanketed the Northeast last month.</p>
<p>December's starts were revised down to a 1.143 million-unit rate from the previously reported 1.15 million-unit pace.</p>
<p>Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to a 1.17 million-unit pace last month.</p>
<p>The report comes on the heels of a survey on Tuesday showing confidence among homebuilders fell in February amid concerns over "the high cost and lack of availability of lots and labor."</p>
<p>Builders were less optimistic about current sales.</p>
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<p>Still, the housing market fundamentals remain strong, with a tightening labor market starting to push up wage growth.</p>
<p>Though residential construction accounts for a small fraction of gross domestic product, the decline in starts at the beginning of the year suggests that an anticipated rebound in economic growth will be modest.</p>
<p>The economy grew at a 0.7 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter after consumer spending moderated and a strong dollar hurt exports. Gross domestic product growth was also restrained by efforts by businesses to sell inventory and cuts in capital goods spending by energy firms.</p>
<p>GDP growth estimates for the first quarter are currently around a 2 percent rate.</p>
<p>In January, single-family housing starts, the largest segment of the market, fell 3.9 percent to a 731,000-unit pace.</p>
<p>Single-family starts tumbled 14.1 percent in Northeast and fell 3.8 percent in Midwest. Groundbreaking on single-family projects was unchanged in the South, where most home building takes place. Single-family starts in the West slipped 0.4 percent.</p>
<p>Housing starts for the volatile multi-family segment dropped 3.7 percent to a 368,000-unit pace.</p>
<p>Building permits dipped 0.2 percent to a 1.202 million-unit rate last month. Permits for the construction of single-family homes fell 1.6 percent last month. Multi-family building permits increased 2.1 percent.</p>
<p>(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)</p> | January Housing Starts Fall 3.8% | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/17/january-housing-starts-fall-3-8.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Chicago TribuneNeil Young criticized the Chicago Tribune for last Saturday's Page One <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509170144sep17,1,3227320.story" type="external">story</a> questioning Farm Aid's distribution of funds. The Tribune report "hurt our reputation" by distorting the charity's mission, Young said. "The people at the Chicago Tribune should be held responsible for this piece of crap." &gt; <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-farmaid20.html" type="external">Young tears up copy of Trib, stomps on it at press session (Sun-Times)</a></p> | Chicago Trib's Farm Aid funds distribution story irks musician | false | https://poynter.org/news/chicago-tribs-farm-aid-funds-distribution-story-irks-musician | 2005-09-21 | 2 |
<p>Published time: 30 Nov, 2017 15:05</p>
<p>Growing litigation costs and fierce global competition have widened Uber’s net loss in the third quarter to $1.46 billion reports the company. This compares to a loss of $1.06 billion in the previous quarter.</p>
<p>At the same time, net revenue went up from $1.66 billion to $2.01 billion with gross bookings growing to $9.71 billion against the $8.74 billion in the second quarter.</p>
<p>Following a number of major difficulties, including a massive data breach and revelations about internal spying, the ride-hailing company launched a tender offer to sell its shares.</p>
<p>The SoftBank-led consortium that includes Dragoneer, Sequoia Capital, TPG and Tencent have offered to buy up to $8 billion in shares from existing Uber shareholders in a new round of financing. However, the group of potential investors is offering $32.96 per share, a third lower than the $48.77 paid to the company last year.</p>
<p />
<p>Uber paid two hackers $100,000 to delete customer names, email addresses, cell phone numbers and approximately 600,000 driver’s license numbers – report <a href="https://t.co/qdxa20BstA" type="external">https://t.co/qdxa20BstA</a></p>
<p>— RT America (@RT_America) <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_America/status/933118205165436930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">November 21, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>The Japanese company is also purchasing a billion dollars of new shares at a higher price, which created a blended valuation for Uber of $54 billion, down from $68 billion last year, according to a SoftBank spokesperson. The company confirmed that Benchmark Capital and Menlo Ventures intended to sell shares.</p>
<p>Despite significantly knocked down prices, the deal may reportedly become a turning point for the privately held San Francisco firm, as it is getting ready to go public as early as next year.</p>
<p>This year, Uber has to appoint a new chief executive. Under Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced founder Travis Kalanick, the company’s adjusted third-quarter losses widened to $743 million, up 14 percent from the previous quarter.</p> | Uber reports massive losses amid legal troubles & regulatory scrutiny | false | https://newsline.com/uber-reports-massive-losses-amid-legal-troubles-regulatory-scrutiny/ | 2017-11-30 | 1 |
<p>Scientists discovered earlier this month that Phobos, one of the two moons that revolve around Mars, is likely dying. Mars’ gravitational pull is causing Phobos to stretch. The moon will likely cease to exists within 20 million years, falling victim to the gravitational push and pull.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/11/23/mars-might-get-rings-just-like-saturns-one-day/" type="external">The Washington Post</a>, the destruction of Phobos could lead to Mars developing rings, similar to those found around Saturn. Research, published Monday in&#160;Nature Geoscience,&#160;lead by Benjamin Black and Tushar Mittal of The University of California at Berkeley, suggests that Phobos can form rings around Mars that could last anywhere from 1 million to 100 million years. The rings are expected to form quickly, as the moon begins to crumble.</p>
<p>Saturn’s rings were likely created by frequent collisions of the planet’s many moons. The remains, combined with space dust, helped to assemble the rings. Mars’ rings will likely be smaller, as there is only one moon-worth of material. However, the closeness of the rings to the planet will likely make the rings just as dense as those found around Saturn.</p>
<p>A ring added around Mars will be the next chapter in the planet’s known evolution. Considered a “dead planet,” Mars was once warm and wet, but after the atmosphere was stripped away by the sun, the planet became cold and similar to a wasteland.</p>
<p>Researchers believe that the death of a moon leading to the creation of rings was a more common occurrence in the early days of our solar system. Phobos is thought to be one of the last remaining moons, destined to be broken apart by its planet. Future observations may give further insight on how moons help influence the shaping of planets.</p>
<p /> | Mars may obtain rings upon death of moon Phobos | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/11/23/mars-may-obtain-rings-upon-death-of-moon-phobos/ | 2015-11-23 | 3 |
<p>MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities will investigate whether opposition leader Alexei Navalny is breaking the law with his campaign for boycotting next year's presidential election, the Kremlin said Thursday.</p>
<p>President Vladimir Putin, whose approval ratings have topped 80 percent, is set to win a fourth term in the March 18 election. A victory would put Putin, 65, on track to become Russia's longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin.</p>
<p>Navalny, 41, has campaigned for the presidency all year despite an implicit ban on his candidacy from a fraud conviction seen by many as political retribution. He was formally barred from the ballot earlier this week.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Navalny announced that a slew of rallies would be held across Russia on Jan. 28 to promote an "electoral strike" to protest the Central Election Commission's decision to bar him from the race.</p>
<p>Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters Thursday he had "no doubts" that authorities would review Navalny's appeals to determine if they are illegal.</p>
<p>While Russian law doesn't explicitly prohibit calls for election boycotts, Russian authorities have used anti-extremism legislation to cut access to websites carrying such calls.</p>
<p>A YouTube video in which Navalny encourages the Jan. 28 electoral strike protests was not available in Russia for several hours Thursday, but reappeared.</p>
<p>Navalny has appealed the election commission's decision to keep him off the presidential ballot. Russia's highest court is set to consider the issue Saturday.</p>
<p>MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities will investigate whether opposition leader Alexei Navalny is breaking the law with his campaign for boycotting next year's presidential election, the Kremlin said Thursday.</p>
<p>President Vladimir Putin, whose approval ratings have topped 80 percent, is set to win a fourth term in the March 18 election. A victory would put Putin, 65, on track to become Russia's longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin.</p>
<p>Navalny, 41, has campaigned for the presidency all year despite an implicit ban on his candidacy from a fraud conviction seen by many as political retribution. He was formally barred from the ballot earlier this week.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Navalny announced that a slew of rallies would be held across Russia on Jan. 28 to promote an "electoral strike" to protest the Central Election Commission's decision to bar him from the race.</p>
<p>Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters Thursday he had "no doubts" that authorities would review Navalny's appeals to determine if they are illegal.</p>
<p>While Russian law doesn't explicitly prohibit calls for election boycotts, Russian authorities have used anti-extremism legislation to cut access to websites carrying such calls.</p>
<p>A YouTube video in which Navalny encourages the Jan. 28 electoral strike protests was not available in Russia for several hours Thursday, but reappeared.</p>
<p>Navalny has appealed the election commission's decision to keep him off the presidential ballot. Russia's highest court is set to consider the issue Saturday.</p> | Russia to investigate Putin foe's call for election boycott | false | https://apnews.com/amp/39566726dda045a9b011b10956d1354d | 2017-12-28 | 2 |
<p>According to Forrester Research, India is the world's fastest-growing e-commerce market. Though the country currently lags China and the U.S. in terms of e-commerce revenue generation, it holds a lot of potential as the industry is growing at a terrific CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of over 31%.</p>
<p>By 2021, India's e-commerce sales are expected to hit $64 billion, and it is likely that the growth will continue beyond that as the majority of the population still resides in smaller cities and towns. E-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) doesn't want to miss this gravy train, so it isn't leaving any stone unturned to tap the massive opportunity in India.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company has <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/12/amazons-makes-its-latest-bet-in-this-fast-growing.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=c673f4c4-b315-11e7-8484-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">made numerous moves Opens a New Window.</a> to expand its business in India in recent months, but its latest expansionary measures could take it to another level. Let's see how.</p>
<p>Amazon recently picked up a 5% stake in Indian departmental store chain Shoppers Stop for $27 million. This might not look like a significant monetary investment, but its benefits can be long-lasting. First, Amazon will be able to set up "experience centers" at 80 Shoppers Stop locations, with an additional 20 locations planned for the future. At these centers, shoppers can test out products for sale online via Amazon.com. Therefore, the company can save the pain of acquiring strategic real estate and building its own infrastructure from scratch.</p>
<p>Second, the Shoppers Stop deal will bring more than 400 brands to Amazon's portfolio across various categories such as footwear, apparel, beauty, and accessories, giving customers a wider selection of items to choose from. Additionally, Amazon's brand in India will receive a boost through promotions from Shoppers Stop's physical locations, increasing the company's visibility in large-spending metro markets.</p>
<p>Moreover, Shoppers Stop has been adopting strategies to increase appeal with millennial customers. It has been introducing brands that are popular with this category but have limited presence in physical stores. This move could help the company increase foot traffic at its physical locations, which will eventually benefit Amazon's getting closer to a larger customer base in the country.</p>
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<p>Additionally, customers walking into Amazon's experience centers at Shoppers Stop locations will be able to witness the smart-home capabilities of its Echo home assistant firsthand.</p>
<p>Amazon is also offering one year of its Prime membership program free with its Echo family of speakers in India. This is a smart move as India is now Amazon Prime's fastest-growing market, and a bundled offer will help the e-commerce giant add more customers to its ecosystem. Amazon currently lists more than 11 million products under the Prime subscription plan in India, with 40% of its total orders reportedly coming from members. Getting more people to sign up for Prime is a good thing for the company.</p>
<p>India's digital payments market is expected to clock a terrific annual growth rate of almost 59% through 2023, so it isn't surprising to see Amazon attacking this opportunity. The company has expanded a digital wallet that was only good for Amazon purchases to other transactions and offers a prepaid option.</p>
<p>As it stands, customers can already use Amazon Pay to pay bills, book movie and bus tickets, or dine out, among other third-party services. Additionally, Amazon has been doing its bit to increase the platform's popularity by offering sizable discounts on every purchase through the platform during special sale days.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Amazon Pay transactions in India during the recently concluded festive sale season increased 25 times. Such moves should help Amazon add more customers to its digital payments service, which will bear fruit in the long run thanks to the secular growth of this space in India.</p>
<p>Therefore, Amazon is trying to cover as many bases as possible in India by moving into a fast-growing niche such as digital payments, or by getting closer to consumers through retail locations. This will complement the company's strategy of attacking lucrative markets in India such as groceries, as customers locked into Amazon's ecosystem through Prime or Pay will ideally come back for more purchases and boost the company's revenue.</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TechJunk13/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=c673f4c4-b315-11e7-8484-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Harsh Chauhan Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. 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;referring_guid=c673f4c4-b315-11e7-8484-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Amazon Steps Up to Dominate the World’s Fastest-Growing E-Commerce Market | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/06/amazon-steps-up-to-dominate-world-s-fastest-growing-e-commerce-market.html | 2017-11-06 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Part 3 in an 11-part series.</p>
<p />
<p>Serving time in prison is not supposed to be pleasant. Nor, however, is it supposed to include being raped by fellow prisoners or staff, beaten by guards for the slightest provocation, driven mad by long-term solitary confinement, or killed off by medical neglect. These are the fates of thousands of prisoners every year—men, women, and children housed in lockups that give Gitmo and Abu Ghraib a run for their money.</p>
<p>While there’s plenty of blame to go around, and while not all of the facilities described in this series have all of the problems we explore, some stand out as particularly bad actors. We’ve compiled this subjective list of America’s 10 worst lockups (plus a handful of dishonorable mentions) based on three years of research, correspondence with prisoners, and interviews with criminal-justice reform advocates concerning the penal facilities with the grimmest claims to infamy.</p>
<p>We will be rolling out profiles of all of the contenders in the coming days, complete with photos and video. Our third contender you’re probably already familiar with, thanks to a proudly defiant boss who takes pride in humiliating his heavily Latino jail population, and pinching pennies at the expense of their humane treatment. &#160;</p>
<p>Number of prisoners: ~2,000</p>
<p>Who’s in charge: Joe Arpaio, warden and sheriff of Maricopa County</p>
<p>The basics: No jail is more closely associated with its jailer than Tent City, the 20-year-old brainchild of Maricopa County’s infamous tough-guy sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 1993, to save the county the cost of building a new jail, Arpaio set up hundreds of Army surplus tents from the Korean War era and used them to house prisoners. Tent City residents now number more than 2,000, most of them awaiting trial. (See this county press release ( <a href="http://www.mcso.org/MultiMedia/PressRelease/Tents%20Birthday.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>) for an event celebrating its 20th year.) The tents are unheated in winter and uncooled in summer—temperatures inside them have been clocked <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/07/03/20110703tent-city-temperatures-rise-145.html" type="external">as high as 145 degrees</a>. A few permanent buildings suffice for showers and meals, and a guard tower displays a permanent “vacancy” sign, warning passersby to stay in line. Arpaio himself has called the place a “concentration camp,” while Tent City’s prisoners have gone so far as to cobble together a <a href="http://abouttentcity.com/forum/tent-city-tips/how-to-survive-sheriff-joe-arpaio%E2%80%99s-jail-system/" type="external">survival guide</a>.</p>
<p>To humiliate his charges, Arpaio dresses them in old-school chain-gang stripes, and forces male prisoners to don pink underpants—a detail that has scored him some points among locals. “ <a href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2012/10/joe_arpaio_obliterated_in_two.php" type="external">I can get elected on pink underwear</a>,” the 80-year-old sheriff has said. “I’ve done it five times.” By day, men, women, and even some teens are sent out to work on chain gangs, sustained by twice-daily meals that are the <a href="http://www.mcso.org/About/Sheriff.aspx" type="external">cheapest among the nation’s lockups</a>. (Arpaio brags that he saved taxpayers $20,000 by eliminating salt and pepper.) Back at camp they risk beatings by gangbangers and guards, and medical care <a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-12-20/news/dead-end/full" type="external">so abysmal</a> that it has been <a href="http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/judge-calls-maricopa-county-jail-conditions-unconstitutional" type="external">ruled unconstitutional</a> by a federal court.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>The backlash: In a 2011 report, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/us/maricopa_documents.html?_r=0" type="external">Justice Department report</a> found “a <a href="http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/46420125101544060757.pdf" type="external">pervasive culture of discriminatory bias</a> against Latinos” in the jails run by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, based on the frequent use of racial slurs and punishments for prisoners who fail to speak English.&#160; The federal lawsuit that followed is just one of the <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-long-lawless-ride-of-sheriff-joe-arpaio-20120802" type="external">many legal actions</a> against Arpaio, accusing him of corruption and incompetence as well as racial profiling. So far, he has pretty much <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-01/news/sns-rt-us-usa-arizona-arpaiobre88000f-20120831_1_controversial-arizona-sheriff-arpaio-county-sheriff-paul-babeu" type="external">dodged all bullets</a>, and in November was reelected to his sixth term.</p>
<p>Watch: Arpaio refers to Tent City as a concentration camp.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Next prison: <a href="" type="internal">A “violent and dangerous institution.”</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">View all ten prisons.</a></p>
<p>Research for this project was supported by a grant from <a href="http://www.theinvestigativefund.org" type="external">the Investigative Fund</a> and <a href="http://www.nationinstitute.org" type="external">The Nation Institute</a>, as well as a Soros Justice Media Fellowship from the <a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/" type="external">Open Society Foundations</a>. Additional reporting by Beth Broyles, Valeria Monfrini, Katie Rose Quandt, and Sal Rodriguez.</p> | America’s 10 Worst Prisons: Tent City | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/10-worst-prisons-america-joe-arpaio-tent-city/ | 2013-05-03 | 4 |
<p>(Reuters) – British police said on Tuesday they made a third arrest linked to Friday’s tube attack in Parsons Green, London, that injured 30 people.</p>
<p>The arrest, of a 25-year-old man, was made in Newport, Wales, they said in a statement.</p>
<p>A search was taking place at an address in the town.</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> | British police arrest third man in London tube attack investigation | false | https://newsline.com/british-police-arrest-third-man-in-london-tube-attack-investigation/ | 2017-09-19 | 1 |
<p>The Clash asked. Now I am too: Should I stay or should I go?</p>
<p>Celebrity liberals always <a href="" type="internal">threaten</a> to head for the exits if a presidential election doesn’t go their way. Then they renege.</p>
<p>This year is different: some Americans really are leaving.</p>
<p>An early indicator of Trump-inspired flight came on Election Night, when <a href="" type="internal">Canada’s immigration</a> website <a href="" type="internal">crashed</a> due to visitors from the lower 48.&#160; Whether these scaredy-cats are motivated by Trump’s come-from-behind victory — so this is America? — or by the grim reality of Trump’s cabinet picks and executive orders — so he’s <a href="" type="internal">keeping</a> his fascist campaign promises? — this is the first time I’ve seen people <a href="" type="internal">actually up and go</a> in response to an election.</p>
<p>“ <a href="" type="internal">Trumping out</a>” is far too tiny of a phenomenon to qualify as an official Thing. By mid-December, only <a href="" type="internal">28</a> Americans had applied for asylum. But my instincts tell me that’s about to change. And my instincts are pretty sharp: counting yard signs in my swing state/swing county hometown of Dayton, Ohio gave me an <a href="" type="internal">early indication</a> that Trump had a strong chance of winning.</p>
<p>If you’ve got some money, college degrees and speak a second language (ahem, French), it’s <a href="http://www.workpermit.com/immigration/canada/canadian-immigration-points-calculator" type="external">pretty easy</a> to get into Canada, which has served as our go-to exile since the <a href="" type="internal">Vietnam draft dodgers</a>. With help from a lawyer, a friend of mine who said he didn’t want his children to grow up in a fascist country scored residency documents for himself, his wife and kids in just a few months. Canadian colleges and universities are reporting a <a href="" type="internal">surge</a> in U.S. applicants — many of whom would likely stay up there after graduation.</p>
<p>I think most people who eyeing the door are like me, in wait-and-see mode.</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: this isn’t about voting with our feet. If I moved out of the country every time I didn’t like the election results, I’d be gone after every single election, and that includes the local ones. I hate both parties; I hate the entire system. This is about self-preservation: what if some Trump nut takes it upon himself to shoot me over a cartoon? It <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Culwell_Center_attack" type="external">wouldn’t</a> be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo_shooting" type="external">unprecedented</a>.</p>
<p>It’s also about practicality. Fleeing Trumpistan would be much easier for me than for most people. I have dual French/EU citizenship through my mom, a status I have maintained in the belief that economies and societies can collapse quickly so it’s good to have an exit strategy. My French is passable. Thanks to the Internet, my career is portable. I could draw cartoons and write columns and publish books from anywhere on earth.</p>
<p>I talk almost every day with a colleague, a conservative journalist, about how we will now it’s time to leave the United States. Not to express disapproval – honestly, who would care? – but to save our skins.</p>
<p>You know that Martin Niemöller “ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_..." type="external">first they came</a> for the…” quote? Political cartoonists know that here, in the U.S. under Trump in 2017, we could easily be the first. So we’re watching closely.</p>
<p>When your government turns psycho, you don’t want to wait until it’s too late to get out. When you ask Jewish Americans what year their family fled Europe to come to the United States, it’s striking how most left before, say, 1936. The Holocaust didn’t technically begin until <a href="" type="internal">1941</a>, but earlier departures were easier — and impossible after World War II began in 1939. On the other hand, moving is expensive. And I’m American. I don’t want to leave. I like it here. Why jump the gun?</p>
<p>I’ve been reading Volker Ullrich’s superb biography <a href="" type="internal">Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939</a>. Trumpism isn’t Nazism but 20th century fascism provides some useful tips for America’s descent into whatever the hell this psychotic real estate honcho has in store for us.</p>
<p>As Ullrich reminds us, the machinery of state repression moved quickly after Hitler’s 1933 seizure of power. Censorship, then arrests of left-wing politicians were an early canary in the coalmine. This week we watched Trump’s Republicans <a href="" type="internal">silence</a> the unfailingly polite Elizabeth Warren on the floor of the U.S. senate. The president himself personally <a href="http://time.com/4663314/president-trump-destroy-texas-sheriff-opponent/" type="external">joke-threatened</a> to “destroy” the career of a Texas state senator as a favor to police, because the lawmaker wants to reform civil asset forfeiture (when cops steal your property and never give it back, even when you’re found not guilty of a crime).</p>
<p>Soon after becoming chancellor, the Nazis began insinuating their one-party state into commerce, punishing businesses they deemed insufficiently cooperative. Also this week, Trump went after Nordstrom’s in revenge for the department store chain’s decision to stop carrying his daughter Ivanka’s clothing line. Trump Administration chief propagandist Sean Spicer defended the president’s bizarre comments, declaring Nordstrom’s decision “ <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ivanka-trump-nordstrom-line" type="external">an attack on his daughter</a>.”</p>
<p>Should I stay or should I go?</p>
<p>Like porn, we’ll know The Moment Everything Changed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobellis_v._Ohio" type="external">when we see it</a>.</p>
<p>The arrest of a politician would be such a moment. As would a “temporary” suspension of civil rights, even/especially if it followed the inevitable next terrorist attack.</p>
<p>I don’t have much use for the reliably impotent corporate news media — indeed, Trump’s win is largely their fault — but as a look-out-this-is-getting-really-real moment, Trump’s relentless <a href="" type="internal">beating up on the press</a> makes me incredibly nervous. What will this guy do when the new Left gears up with big-ass protests later this year? Isolated from the rallies from whence he drew his strength, Boy Trump in the Beltway Bubble spells trouble; look for The Donald to wallow in paranoia so deep and dark that even Richard Nixon wouldn’t be able to relate. There he’ll be, surrounded by Steve Bannon and his other pet fascists — no one talking stay calm and carry on, everyone around him egging him on as he lashes out.</p>
<p>If you’re not scared, you’re not paying attention. Then again, maybe it’s not as necessary for you to watch the signs as it is for me.</p> | How I Know It’s Time to Flee Trump’s America | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/02/10/how-i-know-its-time-to-flee-trumps-america/ | 2017-02-10 | 4 |
<p>Q: Was H.R. 1388 passed “behind our backs”?</p>
<p>A: This latest e-rumor is a double-header. It recycles one false claim and alludes to another. We’ve debunked both before.</p>
<p>FULL&#160;QUESTION</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I have received three of these from different sources. It sounds fishy to me.</p>
<p>Your comments would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Very Important Notice</p>
<p>[EET ]</p>
<p>Whether you are an Obama fan, or not, EVERYONE IN THE U. S. needs to know….</p>
<p>Something happened… H.R. 1388 was passed yesterday, behind our backs. You may want to read about it. It wasn’t mentioned on the news… just went by on the ticker tape at the bottom of the CNN screen.</p>
<p>Obama funds $20M in tax payer dollars to immigrate Hamas Refugees to the USA. This is the news that didn’t make the headlines…</p>
<p>By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in “migration assistance” to the Palestinian refugees and “conflict victims” in Gaza.</p>
<p>The “presidential determination”, which allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States, was signed on January 27 and appeared in the Federal Register on February 4.</p>
<p>Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.</p>
<p>Let’s review…itemized list of some of Barack Obama’s most recent actions since his inauguration:</p>
<p>His first call to any head of state, as president, was to Mahmoud Abbas, leader of Fatah party in the Palestinian territory.</p>
<p>His first one-on-one television interview with any news organization was with Al Arabia television.</p>
<p>His first executive order was to fund/facilitate abortion(s) not just here within the U. S., but within the world, using U. S. tax payer funds.</p>
<p>He ordered Guantanamo Bay closed and all military trials of detainees halted.</p>
<p>He ordered overseas CIA interrogation centers closed.</p>
<p>He withdrew all charges against the masterminds behind the USS Cole and the “terror attack” on 9/11.</p>
<p>Now we learn that he is allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refuges to move to, and live in, the US at American taxpayer expense.</p>
<p>These important, and insightful, issues are being “lost” in the blinding bail-outs and “stimulation” packages.</p>
<p>Doubtful? To verify this for yourself: www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488</p>
<p>PLEASE PASS THIS ON… AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW</p>
<p>WE are losing this country at a rapid pace.[/EET]</p>
<p>FULL&#160;ANSWER</p>
<p>No Secret</p>
<p>To start, the claim that H.R. 1388 was passed “behind our backs” is false, and the bill had nothing to do with Palestinian refugees in any case.</p>
<p>H.R. 1388 actually expands AmeriCorps and other federal public service programs, more than tripling the total number of positions to 250,000. It got lots of publicity as it worked its way through Congress, including a widely reprinted Associated Press story on March 31 when the House cleared the final version for the president’s signature. The headline: “ <a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/education/news-article.aspx?storyid=135038&amp;provider=rss" type="external">Congress Expands Ways for Americans to Help Others</a>.”</p>
<p>President Obama later signed the measure at a public ceremony that also <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/21/obama.service/" type="external">got plenty of publicity</a>. The idea that Congress was trying to slip something through unnoticed, or that the news media ignored it, is wrong.</p>
<p>False Claims</p>
<p>The author, we conclude, is alluding to false claims about H.R. 1388 that had been circulating previously on the Internet. We exposed these e-rumors in an Ask FactCheck item we posted March 31. In summary, it said: <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Q: Is Congress creating a mandatory public service system? Are participants not allowed to go to church?</a></p>
<p>A: The national service bill does not mandate that youth must participate nor does it forbid anyone who does participate from going to church.</p>
<p>For full details, click through to read the entire item, which we won’t repeat here.</p>
<p>The e-mail message is mainly devoted to repeating a second false rumor that we had taken on in another Ask FactCheck item on Feb. 19. In summary we said:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Q: Did Obama pay for Hamas-affiliated terrorists to emigrate to the United States?</a></p>
<p>A: This claim is false. The president’s memorandum to the State Department would pay for refugee assistance in Gaza, not for transporting anyone to the U.S.</p>
<p>Again, consult the full article for more on the Hamas falsehood.</p>
<p>Half-truths</p>
<p>The remainder of the e-mail is a mix of truth and half-truths.</p>
<p>Partly true: It’s true that Palestinian leader Abbas was among the first leaders to receive a telephone call from Obama on the day after he took office. Obama also called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, to signal a determination to press for peace in the region.</p>
<p>The claim that Abbas got a call before the others, however, rests on a statement by Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, who quoted Obama as saying: “This is my first phone call to a foreign leader, and I’m making it only hours after I took office.” We can’t confirm whether or not that part is true. And in any case, as <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/01/21/2009-01-21_new_president_barack_obama_jumps_in_on_m.html" type="external">the New York Daily News reported</a>quoting diplomatic sources, “[W]ho a President phones first when he makes a flurry of calls is more often a matter of scheduling and availability, not favoritism.”</p>
<p>True: It’s true that <a href="http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/01/27/65087.html" type="external">Obama’s first formal TV interview</a>after taking office was with Al Arabiya. He said peace talks should resume, and also said, “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.”</p>
<p>Partly True: It is not entirely true that Obama’s “first executive order” facilitates abortions. What the author is referring to is a presidential memorandum (different from an executive order) that was signed Jan. 23. It overturned a policy that was first established by Ronald Reagan, rescinded by Bill Clinton and reimposed by George W. Bush. The so-called “Mexico City Policy” had cut off foreign aid money to any private aid group that provided advice, counseling or information regarding abortion, even if they used their own money for those purposes.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/23/obama.abortion/" type="external">CNN reported</a>, the result of the order is to allow U.S. money to flow to “clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion services.”&#160; But Obama had signed <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/executive_orders/" type="external">at least half a dozen executive orders and presidential memoranda</a>before getting to this one, so it was by no means his “first.” For the record, Obama said in his memo that the restrictions he overturned “have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning programs in foreign nations.”</p>
<p>True: It is true that on Jan. 22 Obama ordered the Guantanamo prison facility to be “ <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities/" type="external">closed as soon as practicable</a>” and no later than Jan. 22, 2010. The same order also halted all trials of detainees before military commissions set up during the Bush administration. On the same day he <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EnsuringLawfulInterrogations/" type="external">ordered CIA interrogation centers closed</a>down and required that questioning of detainees follow the Army Field Manual.</p>
<p>Partly True: As a consequece of Obama’s shutting down trials by military commission, a judge did drop charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. But <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/president-oba-2.html" type="external">the charges were dismissed “without prejudice,”</a>meaning that they can be reinstated at a later date. So the claim that the president “withdrew all charges” is misleading.</p>
<p>–Brooks Jackson</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/education/news-article.aspx?storyid=135038&amp;provider=rss" type="external">Congress Expands Ways For Americans To Help Other</a>s.” Associated Press. 31 Mar 2009.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/21/obama.service/" type="external">Obama Signs National Service Legislation.</a>” CNN.com. 22 Apr 2009.</p>
<p>Sisk, Richard. “ <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/01/21/2009-01-21_new_president_barack_obama_jumps_in_on_m.html" type="external">New President Barack Obama jumps in on Mideast and stirs a phone flap</a>.” New York Daily News. 21 Jan 2009.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/01/27/65087.html" type="external">Obama tells Al Arabiya peace talks should resume</a>.” Al Arabia news channel. 27 Jan 2009.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-1893.pdf" type="external">Executive Order 13492</a> of January 22, 2009; Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained At the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities.” Federal Register. 27 Jan 2009: 4897.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-1885.pdf" type="external">Executive Order 13491</a> of January 22, 2009; Ensuring Lawful Interrogations.” Federal Register. 27 Jan 2009: 4893.</p>
<p>Tapper, Jake. “ <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/president-oba-2.html" type="external">Military Commission Charges Dropped Against Terrorist Suspect Al-Nashiri</a>.” ABCNews.com. 5 Feb 2009.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/23/obama.abortion/" type="external">Obama reverses abortion-funding policy</a>.” CNN.com. 24 Jan 2009.</p> | H.R. 1388 Passed ‘Behind Our Backs?’ | false | https://factcheck.org/2009/05/hr-1388-passed-behind-our-backs/ | 2009-05-05 | 2 |
<p>Reports began circulating last night about a <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304250204579433312607325596" type="external">hidden individual mandate delay</a> buried in some recent regulations:</p>
<p>ObamaCare’s implementers continue to roam the battlefield and shoot their own wounded, and the latest casualty is the core of the Affordable Care Act—the individual mandate. To wit, last week the Administration quietly excused millions of people from the requirement to purchase health insurance or else pay a tax penalty.</p>
<p>This latest political reconstruction has received zero media notice, and the Health and Human Services Department didn’t think the details were worth discussing in a conference call, press materials or fact sheet. Instead, the mandate suspension was buried in an unrelated rule that was meant to preserve some health plans that don’t comply with <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/page/health-law-rollout.html?lc=int_mb_1001" type="external">ObamaCare</a> benefit and redistribution mandates. Our sources only noticed the change this week.</p>
<p>That seven-page <a href="http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Regulations-and-Guidance/Downloads/transition-to-compliant-policies-03-06-2015.pdf" type="external">technical bulletin</a> includes a paragraph and footnote that casually mention that a rule in a separate December 2013 bulletin would be extended for two more years, until 2016. Lo and behold, it turns out this <a href="http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Regulations-and-Guidance/Downloads/cancellation-consumer-options-12-19-2013.pdf" type="external">second rule</a>, which was supposed to last for only a year, allows Americans whose coverage was cancelled to opt out of the mandate altogether.</p>
<p>In testimony today, Kathleen Sebelius said it ain’t so, as reported by <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/200554-sebelius-no-individual-mandate-or-enrollment" type="external">The Hill</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>The Obama administration will not delay ObamaCare’s individual mandate or the March 31 deadline for enrolling in the new healthcare law, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday.</p>
<p>Sebelius offered the assurance during testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee, where Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) noted the administration has made dozens of other changes or delays to the law.</p>
<p>Given problems caused by ObamaCare’s faulty website last year, Brady asked Sebelius directly if delays to the individual mandate or enrollment deadline were next.</p>
<p>“No sir,” Sebelius responded on both counts.</p>
<p>Republicans have played up the administration’s refusal to make changes to the individual mandate and enrollment deadline even as it has made changes to the law to benefit other groups.</p>
<p>I don’t know who is right on the mandate delay — whether it’s cooked into the regulations or not.</p>
<p>At this point, considering how toxic Obamacare is, does it matter?</p>
<p>)</p> | Sebelius: No individual mandate or enrollment delay | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/03/sebelius-no-individual-mandate-or-enrollment-delay/ | 2014-03-12 | 0 |
<p>The UK government has ended its freeze-out of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, signaling that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader may be getting "too big to ban" as he edges closer to becoming his party's nominee for the prime ministerial race. The next question: Does this mean the US will rethink its decision to deny a visa to the man whom many still accuse of preventing police from interceding in the deadly Gujarat riots of 2002?</p>
<p>"On Monday, British High Commissioner James Bevan travelled to Gandhinagar and met Modi, signalling a 're-engagement' with Gujarat under Modi and ending a 10-year freeze and a virtual "boycott" over the 2002 riots in which, among others, three Britons of Gujarati origin were killed," <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/politics/british-thaw-with-modi-shows-which-way-the-wind-is-blowing-499303.html" type="external">FirstPost.in reported</a>.</p>
<p>But even though the website argues this indicates "Western powers in economic decline are beginning to clamber down from the pedestal of the high moral ground" they adopted with regard to Modi, the UK's&#160;Bevan hastened to claim that re-establishing ties with the controversial leader doesn't amount to an endorsement.</p>
<p>"I don't agree with your perception that we are rehabilitating Mr Modi," FirstPost quoted Bevan as saying. "This engagement is not about endorsement." If anything, he added, this was a "re-engagement" with Gujarat as a whole - and not with any individual. "If we need to engage with some state, we need to engage with the chief minister of the State and Mr Modi is the democratically elected leader of Gujarat."</p>
<p>In August, Maya&#160;Kodnani, an ex-minister and aide to Modi, was sentenced to&#160;28 years in jail for her part in murdering 97 people during the Hindu-Muslim violence of 2002, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19432982" type="external">the BBC reported earlier</a>. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed during the riots, which broke out after 60 Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire blamed on Muslims in the Gujarat town of Godhra.</p>
<p>Subsequently, Modi has faced repeated allegations charging him with preventing the police from taking action until much of the carnage was over, though he has always denied those charges and an Indian court has ruled in at least one instance that there is not enough evidence to prosecute him.</p>
<p>So far, the US is holding its ground, but that will change in a heartbeat if Modi becomes the Indian PM, the website said, citing an unnamed US diplomat.</p>
<p>Already some US lawmakers have urged the US administration to re-orient its official policy towards Modi, including Congressmen Joe Walsh.</p>
<p>"If Modi becomes Prime Minister, the travel ban will naturally be forgotten," a Washington-based diplomat told the website. "We can't block a head of state from attending say the annual session of the United Nations general assembly. If Modi becomes India's prime minister, we will have to put out the red carpet for him."</p>
<p>That's by no means a foregone conclusion, considering Modi faces opposition within his own party and might make forging alliances with regional leaders such as Bihar's Nitish Kumar and Orissa's Naveen Patnaik more difficult. &#160;But the reversal begs the question: Does the UK know something we don't? &#160;</p> | India's Narendra Modi: Too big to ban? | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-10-23/indias-narendra-modi-too-big-ban | 2012-10-23 | 3 |
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<p />
<p>The announcement comes about a month after the site censored Nick Ut’s famous documentary photograph from the Vietnam War as a violation of Facebook’s nudity policies. In the coming weeks, Facebook said, it will change the way it enforces its rules for images such as Ut’s, “to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest,” even if that content otherwise violates the site’s community standards.</p>
<p>Founder Mark Zuckerberg recently said that Facebook is “a tech company, not a media company.” When Facebook censored – and then later reinstated – Ut’s photograph, it demonstrated just how hard it will be for the company to keep the two things entirely separate.</p>
<p>Ut’s photograph is an iconic representation of the horrors of war. As a tech company, Facebook saw the photograph as a violation of its rules against nudity. The change on Friday – which will open up the company to weighing its rules and the importance of the image together – could be read as an implicit acknowledgment that decisions like this will no longer be so simple for the platform.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>While the company has no plans to exist as a traditional part of the media, Facebook is, in many ways, already very much a part of the media industry.</p>
<p>A month ago, Norway’s largest newspaper – and even the country’s prime minister – loudly criticized Facebook for removing Ut’s image from the page of a well-known Norwegian author. Espen Egil Hansen, the editor of Norway’s Aftenposten newspaper, called Zuckerberg the “world’s most powerful editor” in a front-page, open letter to the company. Hansen wrote that the decisions newsrooms make about the newsworthiness of difficult or graphic images such as Ut’s “should not be undermined by algorithms encoded in your office in California.”</p>
<p>Forty-four percent of the general population in the United States says it gets its news from Facebook, according to a recent Pew study. Facebook’s Friday announcement suggests that the company will now play a more active role in making sure that the newsworthiness of the images and videos posted there are not undermined by the rules it designed to protect its users from potentially offensive content.</p>
<p>To do that, Facebook VPs Joel Kaplan and Justin Osofsky wrote on Friday that the company will “work with our community and partners” over the coming weeks to figure out “new tools and approaches to enforcement” for its community standards.</p>
<p>“Our intent is to allow more images and stories without posing safety risks or showing graphic images to minors and others who do not want to see them,” the announcement explains. The brief post provides no specific information on how Facebook will start to make these determinations. The company did say it would seek input from “experts, publishers, journalists, photographers, law enforcement officials and safety advocates” in doing so, however.</p>
<p>Facebook initially defended its censorship of Ut’s photo in early September but reversed the decision after international outrage, citing the photograph’s historical importance. But the Vietnam War photo hardly marks the only time that Facebook has faced criticism for its handling of newsworthy but difficult content on its site.</p>
<p>Some other recent examples:</p>
<p>In March, Facebook suspended the accounts of users who shared an article about Australian Aboriginal feminism, because the article’s share image was a photograph of Aboriginal women in traditional dress, including ceremonially painted bare breasts.</p>
<p>In July, Facebook briefly removed Diamond Reynolds’s Facebook Live video that showed the dying moments of Philando Castile after he was shot in by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop. The video was reinstated with a graphic-content warning, and Facebook explained the video’s brief disappearance as a “technical glitch.”</p>
<p>In August, law enforcement successfully petitioned Facebook to disable the social-media accounts of Korryn Gaines, who was live-streaming her armed standoff with Baltimore County police. Gaines was later killed, and her young son injured, in a shootout with law enforcement.</p>
<p>In September, activists claimed that Facebook had temporarily censored a live stream of a mass arrest during a Dakota Access pipeline protest. A Facebook spokesperson told Motherboard that the video was mistakenly removed as a result of an error with its automatic spam filters.</p>
<p>Separately, Facebook has faced criticism over the accuracy and presentation of the news stories and topics it surfaces as “trending” on the site.</p>
<p>facebook</p> | Facebook will consider whether graphic content is ‘newsworthy’ before censoring it | false | https://abqjournal.com/872741/facebook-will-consider-whether-graphic-content-is-newsworthy-before-censoring-it.html | 2 |
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<p>One of the most vulnerable Republican senators is now using his opposition to his party’s presumptive nominee Donald Trump to encourage voters to support his re-election bid.</p>
<p />
<p>In a new TV ad out Thursday, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) touted his opinion that Trump was “not fit to be commander in chief” as proof of his “courageous and independent” record in office.</p>
<p>While Kirk previously said he would “absolutely” support his party’s nominee, Trump’s attacks on the “Mexican” heritage of a federal judge prompted the Illinois senator to <a href="" type="internal">release a statement</a> saying he “cannot and will not support” the billionaire businessman.</p>
<p>The ad also highlighted Kirk’s position as the first Republican to call for a vote on President Barack Obama’s pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy and touts his record as a “leader on protecting a woman’s right to choose.”</p>
<p>The senator spent $230,000 on broadcast time for the weeklong ad buy and another $35,520 for cable TV time in Chicago, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-tv-ad-story.html" type="external">according to the Chicago Tribune</a>.</p>
<p>His Democratic opponent, Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), has repeatedly <a href="" type="internal">linked</a> Kirk to his party’s mercurial nominee.</p>
<p>Watch the ad below:</p>
<p /> | Vulnerable GOP Sen. Highlights His Opposition To Trump In New TV Ad (VIDEO) | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kirk-ad-highlights-opposition-trump | 4 |
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<p>March 23, 2006 was a historic day for Milwaukee. It was a day with Latinos in a city that still thinks of itself stereotypically as either a German/Polish Old World European enclave or a post-industrial, predominantly African-American ghetto, plagued with violence and urban blight. It was a day that thousands of Latino workers and their families took their children across the 6th Street Bridge from the once mostly Polish Southside to downtown’s Ziedler Park (named after German-American Socialist Mayor Frank Ziedler), where Milwaukee’s predominantly white political and economic elite work, to demand that they not be treated as criminals in a land settled and built by immigrants. They demanded that the state and federal governments not pass laws, like H.R. 4477, sponsored by Wisconsin’s own James Sensenbrenner, which would criminalize them for wanting to make a better life for themselves and their families. Symbolically, this march was historic because just by their presence Milwaukee’s Latino community showed, in a dignified way, that they are part of this community and are not willing to be taken for granted anymore.</p>
<p>During the 1960’s and 1970’s Milwaukee’s civil rights movement, led by Italian-American Father James Groppi, marched across the 16th Street Bridge to demand equal housing and dignity for all of Milwaukee’s citizens. An old racist joke named Milwaukee’s 16th Street Viaduct the longest bridge in the world because it linked Poland to Africa. But after March 23, 2006 the newly-renovated, David Kahler-designed 6th Street Bridge should become a symbol for a new Milwaukee that is being revitalized by the Southside’s increasingly confident Latino community, one that is emerging as a center for cultural and entrepreneurial activity.</p>
<p>Although many Milwaukeeans in the last 20 years have had more and more interaction with Latinos at work, in churches, at entertainment venues and in schools, the community’s 12% Latinos have been virtually invisible in the dominant media, that spends more and more of its time pandering to the suburbs. Except for a constant xenophobic drumbeat about the hordes of foreigners coming across the border on by late-night AM radio shows and regular racial slurs by our local wannabee Rush Limbaughs- Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes- Milwaukee’s coverage of what is actually an American story of immigrant struggle and success ­ an urban-American story ­ has been appalling.</p>
<p>As Milwaukee’s Latino population has almost doubled in the last ten years Latino radio, newspapers, entertainment and businesses of all types have mushroomed with barely a peep from a press that has historically been a cheerleader for the Anglo-Saxon business class. The success of Milwaukee’s Latino workers and entrepreneurs in light of an almost total collapse of the industrial base in the 1970’s and 1980’s, which traditionally was an entry into a living wage for Milwaukee’s immigrants, has been astonishing. This is not to say that we have reached a utopian Atzlan on the banks of the Menomonee River given the educational achievement gap, lower incomes, unemployment and poverty that exist in Milwaukee’s minority communities. However, we should recognize that the Southside has certainly had a resurgence, based on the energy of our now second-largest minority population.</p>
<p>What the march suggests for Milwaukee and the United States is that we have a choice between two worlds. In one the world that Representative Sensenbrenner’s bill would create children and workers are denied emergency health care, kept from having driver licenses, indefinitely detained by border agents and lumped together with criminal terrorists and generally treated as outcasts. Or we have a choice to travel the bridge from the south to the north like Milwaukee’s Latino’s to create the promise of an America as a place that welcomes people who want to live in a country that has as its foundational principles a society of tolerance, a sense of justice and equal opportunity.</p>
<p>CHRISTOPHER FONS teaches US history in Milwaukee and runs the <a href="http://negroyrojo.blogspot.com/" type="external">Red and the Black</a> website. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | A City With Latinos | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/03/25/a-city-with-latinos/ | 2006-03-25 | 4 |
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<p>The Lookout Studio, a historic century-old structure near Grand Canyon Village is one of a number of attractions available for sightseeing on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. (Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C./The Associated Press)</p>
<p>GRAND CANYON, Ariz. – The drive to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim is easy enough. Get to Flagstaff and it’s only about 90 miles across Arizona’s high country.</p>
<p>But why take a car when you can ride a train, especially one like the Grand Canyon Railway?</p>
<p>Traveling down the same tracks as the pre-automobile original, the Grand Canyon Railway is like a two-hour trip through history, a scenic, informative and entertaining ride from an historic Route 66 town to one of world’s greatest natural wonders.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“One of our customers described it as more than just a train ride,” said John Lovely, conductor for the Grand Canyon Railway. “We give you an experience coming to the Grand Canyon, then going home.”</p>
<p />
<p>GETTING THERE: Williams, Ariz., is about three hours northwest of Phoenix, 30 miles west of Flagstaff on Interstate 40</p>
<p>COST: Round-trip train tickets start at $62 for Pullman Class up to $209 for Luxury Parlor. Hotel and train packages start at $206</p>
<p>WHERE TO STAY: The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams is located at the railway depot, allowing guests to walk to the train. The South Rim has four hotels, from the historical El Tovar Hotel on the upscale end to cabins and rooms with shared bathrooms at Bright Angel Lodge. Rates range from $75 a night at Bright Angel to $25 at El Tovar. Reservations in summer are essential</p>
<p>WHERE TO EAT: Williams has numerous restaurants downtown, walking distance from the depot, and the railway hotel features a pub and a buffet-style restaurant. At the South Rim, there’s a food court at Maswik Lodge, a fine dining/steakhouse restaurant at Bright Angel Lodge and upscale dining at El Tovar</p>
<p>When the Grand Canyon Railway was established in 1901, it immediately became the most popular route to the canyon’s South Rim, smoother and less dusty than rickety stagecoaches.</p>
<p>The railway opened the canyon to the entire world, ushering in millions of tourists to one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The railway carried countless dignitaries through the years, including U.S. presidents Taft, Eisenhower and both Roosevelts, along with kings and queens, actors and actresses.</p>
<p>Once the automobile era began, interest in the train waned. It shut down in 1968.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In 1989, Max and Thelma Biegert sunk their life savings into resurrecting the railway and restoring depots at the starting point in Williams and at the Grand Canyon village.</p>
<p>Carrying 225,000 riders a year, the Grand Canyon Railway is now once again a popular route to the South Rim, a throwback to a bygone era accentuated by Wild West characters and musicians who tell stories and sing songs during the ride.</p>
<p>“It’s a much more entertaining ride than just driving in your car,” said Bruce Brossman, Arizona regional director of sales and marketing for Xanterra Parks and Resorts.</p>
<p>Starting in Williams, the last Route 66 town to be bypassed by Interstate 40, the train travels 65 miles to the village of Grand Canyon, with about 2,000 people at the South Rim of the canyon.</p>
<p>The train has a variety of cars, from the 1923 Harriman-style coach cars to glass-domed cars and a luxury parlor with private bar. The fare includes fruit, pastries and coffee in the morning, and snacks and a champagne toast on the way back. A cafe car has food and drinks for purchase.</p>
<p>The train travels from the Ponderosa pine forests surrounding Williams across the high desert plains, then climbs to the piñon pines of Grand Canyon National Park.</p>
<p>Along the way, there are views of the 12,000-foot San Francisco Peaks, the highest point in Arizona, and wildlife, including antelope, wild turkey, bald eagles, coyotes, skunks, bobcats and mountain lions.</p>
<p>A performer plays the violin onboard the Grand Canyon Railway train on its daily run. (Grand Canyon Railway/The Associated Press)</p>
<p>Before boarding in Williams, riders are treated to a Wild West shootout in a corral next to the depot. Once the train starts rolling, the conductor and attendants tell stories and provide facts about the train, the canyon and towns at both ends of the line.</p>
<p>Wild West and Native American musicians stop into each car to perform, and just so you’re prepared, there’s a train robbery on the way back to Williams.</p>
<p>There also are seasonal themed rides. The train stops at a pumpkin patch leading up to Halloween; the Polar Express during the holidays is the most popular trip, featuring hot chocolate, Christmas characters and songs, along with a stop at the North Pole to see Santa.</p>
<p>The train runs daily, leaving Williams at 9:30 a.m. and returning at 3:30 p.m. That’s enough time to get a few hours at the South Rim, but if you want to spend more time sightseeing, you can stay at one of four hotels in Grand Canyon Village and return by train on a different day.</p>
<p>Attractions near the village include 100-year-old historic structures called Hermits Rest and Lookout Studio, both designed by Mary Coulter.</p>
<p>Free shuttles and guided bus tours are available from the village to different parts of the canyon.</p>
<p>The canyon is one of those places you truly can’t appreciate until you’ve been there, and the Grand Canyon Railway offers a great way to get there.</p>
<p>The train of the Grand Canyon Railway is shown on its daily run between Williams, Ariz., and the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. (Grand Canyon Railway/The Associated Press)</p>
<p /> | Train to the Grand Canyon is a trip through history | false | https://abqjournal.com/422418/train-to-the-grand-canyon-is-a-trip-through-history.html | 2 |
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<p>CIFC LLC shares were halted late Friday after the private debt investment manager agreed to be acquired by investment platform F.A.B. Partners for $333 million cash. CIFC shares jumped 44% to $10 after hours before being halted. Under the agreement, CIFC stockholders will get $11.46 a share, with $11.36 for each share and 10 cents a share cash distribution on Sept. 12 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 31.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | CIFC Shares Jump On $333 Million Buyout Offer | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/19/cifc-shares-jump-on-333-million-buyout-offer.html | 2016-08-19 | 0 |
<p />
<p>IT HAD GOTTEN TO THE POINT where I was taking Bikram yoga classes to cool off, so, yeah, I was glad to be getting the hell out of New York. Plus the great thing about watching the news on a plane is you’ve got the barf bag right there. Why I watch anymore, I don’t know. I think it’s just to keep track of the stories that don’t get any traction.</p>
<p>A lot of people are still pulling for that Downing Street memo (about a guy who lives in a white house wanting a war no matter what), to finally make some big waves in the press, now that the question of sleepovers has been put to bed — and by the way, even if Michael Jackson got off on everything, he still qualifies as an honorary Catholic priest, right?</p>
<p>But here’s something you may have missed — that to me is way more disturbing than anything else I’ve heard in a while. The Cookie Monster came out recently and said that, from now on, he’s going to start calling cookies a “sometimes food.” Mind you, I know about the craziness that erupted over whether or not to liberate PBS from government funding and all that, but I am not talking about anything so trivial. I’m talking about a Copernican shift in my reality that, frankly, I’m not ready to handle.</p>
<p>A sometimes food? But you are the Cookie Monster. What, are you watching your waist now? You don’t even have a waist. You just slope down to a furry blue hemline, as far as I can tell. Ever since my childhood, I have related to that primal scream, “Cookie!” To this day I still confuse raison d’etre with oatmeal raisin. So please, don’t futz with one of my fondest childhood archetypes to appease some misguided food-pyramid revisionism.</p>
<p>Kids know better than to trust a monster that counts calories. That’s what I loved about the Cookie Monster; his message rang true. Sure, you can argue that a certain president was being true to himself when he gave the wrong definition for the word disassemble, which he mistook for the word dissemble, while he himself was in the act of dissembling, during a press conference. But to me it’s not nearly as straightforward or charming.</p>
<p>For him, though, it works brilliantly, playing right into that mistake mystique that he’s cultivated so cleverly over time. Every gaffe adds to his error aura. And no memo is any match for it. Of course, how he spends his grammatical capital is none of my business. But I would love to see a “Leave No President Behind” bill signed, just to reset the bar for the future.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you, though, there’s only one person I’d ever be interested in having as my future president. I think the country would agree with me unanimously — and we can’t afford her. It would be quite a pay cut for Oprah. What would she gain from stooping so low as to slum it in the Oval Office?</p>
<p>On the other hand, Pope… Now that would be a viable career move for her. There’s some prestige in that. Pope Oprah. Poprah. She wouldn’t even really have to change her name, just meld it into the title. And put on the hat.</p>
<p>I can so see it. After this current clash of civilizations shakes out, there’s going to be a power vacuum. Who better to fill it than someone with that kind of money and ratings, a unifying real-life lovable bobble-head figure that preaches healing and closure and shows up at your house for surprise makeovers? She wouldn’t just be a ceremonial stooge, either. She’d actually be in charge and control everything in the world, except her weight. And it wouldn’t matter because under those robes, who cares?</p>
<p>Anyway, I noticed something on my way back from wrestling a flight attendant in the galley for another Oreo. Nobody on the plane was watching the news. Nearly everyone onboard had tuned their individual little chair-back TVs to one of those Discovery Channel-type reality shows, where these guys were risking their lives — dying, literally — to catch Alaskan king crab.</p>
<p>Every five seconds somebody’s going overboard. Guys are biting it left and right, because it’s so dangerous. It’s a staggering death toll, and people are loving this show. Because it’s for crab. If it’s war, then everybody’s getting upset, there’s controversy, memos, it gets all personal, and families can’t talk to each other anymore. As a nation we are much more unified about crustacean consumption than we are about foreign policy. You will never see a “no-blood for crab legs” bumper sticker.</p>
<p>Honestly, I had never stopped to even consider the human cost represented by the heap of crab legs piled up like firewood at an all-you-can-eat buffet. On the other hand, I am not about to start eating imitation crab just to save a few deck hands. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as imitation terrorists. So it’s not like we could substitute, even if we wanted to make the sacrifice. Obviously we’re in need of distractions, and lots of melted butter.</p>
<p>Luckily, “War of the Worlds” is going to open any day now, and I can’t wait. What better escapist retreat from a real war, started on a fudged pretext, than a fictional war, started by aliens from outer space, for no apparent reason whatsoever, except so Tom Cruise can go on every talk show possible and swear he’s really really, really in love this time.</p>
<p>Sure, I wish I could just see it as a movie, a fun summer blockbuster, the way I would have when I was a kid. Especially ’cause, you know, summers and childhood, they go together, and the heat takes you back to a time you were naturally limber without practicing no damn downward dog pose.</p>
<p>I don’t know, though, if any of those memories are gonna be spared. I mean, I can’t even hear any of those lyrics anymore — “do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3, baby you and me girl” — without headlines popping into my head, like, “Culken Testifies.” Kinda ruins it for me. And the monster whose dependable cry became my earliest personal mantra — that cookies are to be eaten on sight and until they are all gone — has suddenly and unforgivably flip-flopped on his position. They are now to be eaten in moderation, at unspecified intervals.</p>
<p>Who wants to live in a world where cookies are a sometimes food? Where’s the outrage over this? Why isn’t anybody digging up the Sesame Street memo?</p>
<p>I don’t know what it’s all coming to, exactly. But I have faith that we’ll get through this. And when we do, I say, give unto Poprah what is Poprah’s. And give unto the Cookie Monster the whole bag of double-chocolate-mint milanos.</p>
<p /> | Freedom Starts at the Cookie Jar | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/06/freedom-starts-cookie-jar/ | 2005-06-30 | 4 |
<p>I WAS shocked when I read the headline in Haaretz. It quoted Sari Nusseibeh as saying “There is no Room for Two”, meaning two states between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan.</p>
<p>What? Has Nusseibeh abandoned his support for a solution based on coexistence between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine?</p>
<p>I read his long interview with Akiva Eldar and calmed down. Calmed down and immediately got angry. Because the heading was a gross distortion. It had no bearing on what was said in the interview. And since many people read only the heading and do not bother to study the text underneath, this is a deception.</p>
<p>How do such things happen? In Haaretz, as in most other newspapers, the rule is that the headings are not composed by the writers, but by the page editor. This may lead to utterly misleading headings – either through ignorance, negligence, or malice.</p>
<p>This time the matter and the person are too important to pass over in silence.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>FAIR DISCLOSURE: I like Sari Nusseibeh very much. We once walked arm in arm at the head of a demonstration in the Old City of Jerusalem. We shared a peace prize in Germany (the Lev Kopelev Prize of 2003, named after the exiled Russian human rights activist.)</p>
<p>I knew his father, Anwar Nusseibeh, a true Palestinian aristocrat, who served during the Jordanian occupation as a Jordanian Minister of Defense and ambassador to the Court of St. James. Soon after the start of the Israeli occupation, I asked him in confidence whether he would prefer to go back to Jordanian rule or have an independent Palestinian state. He told me in no uncertain terms that he preferred the latter.</p>
<p>Sari enjoyed a British education along with the Palestinian. Some people see him as aloof, even overbearing, but I know him as a sensitive, modest person. He is very courageous, both morally and physically, frequently voicing very unpopular views. As a result he has been beaten up several times.</p>
<p>Five years ago, in cooperation with the Israeli Admiral (and current minister without portfolio) Ami Ayalon, he published an unambiguous peace plan, envisioning the establishment of a Palestinian state side by side with Israel, with the border based on the Green Line and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. The plan was not very different from the earlier Gush Shalom peace plan or the later Geneva Initiative.</p>
<p>Therefore I was shocked when I saw the headline. Could it be that Nusseibeh has forsaken the central plank of his outlook?</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>IN THE interview, Nusseibeh says something entirely different. Not only does he not say that “there is no room for two”, but on the contrary: he lauds the Two-State Solution as the best practical solution. However, he adds a warning to the Israelis: because of the rapid expansion of the settlements, time for the realization of this solution is running out. He even fixes a time limit: the end of 2008.</p>
<p>This amounts to an ultimatum: If the Israelis miss this opportunity, which is still there, and if they continue to accelerate the settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Palestinians will turn their backs on this solution. Instead, they will accept the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories to Israel, i.e. Israeli rule over the entire country between the sea and the river, and struggle for equal civil rights within this state. He calls this a “default alternative”.</p>
<p>Nusseibeh is holding the demographic pistol against the temple of the Israeli public. He is telling them, in effect: the Palestinians will be a large minority in such a state. Their struggle for equality will compel Israel, in the end, to accord them full citizenship. Within a few years the Arab citizens will constitute the majority. Exit the Zionist dream. Exit the Jewish State. (Tzipi Livni, by the way, is saying much the same thing.)</p>
<p>Nusseibeh knows the Israelis well. He knows that the demographic obsession drives them mad. The demographic demon pursues them in their dreams. The frantic discussion of this subject dominates the Israeli discourse. He believes, therefore, that this threat will compel the Israelis to hurry and agree to the Two-State Solution. That is the main objective of the interview.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>WITH ALL due respect and friendship for Nusseibeh, I believe that this tactic of his is unwise. Very unwise.</p>
<p>In his eyes, and in the eyes of some intellectuals on both sides, there are only two possibilities: the “Two-State Solution” or the “One-State Solution”. A Palestinian state alongside Israel or a bi-national State, where equality between all the citizens, Jews and Arabs, is assured.</p>
<p>That is a dangerous misconception.</p>
<p>The “One-State Solution” is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. The One-State idea is not a solution, but an anti-solution. It is a recipe for an ongoing bloody conflict. Not a dream, but a nightmare.</p>
<p>There is no chance at all that the Jewish public will agree, in this generation or the next, to live as a minority in a state dominated by an Arab majority. 99.99% of the Jewish population will fight against this tooth and nail. The demography will not stop haunting them, but on the contrary, it will push them to do things which are unthinkable today. Ethnic cleansing will become a practical agenda. Even moderate Israelis will be driven into the arms of the fascist right-wing. All means of oppression will become acceptable when the Jewish majority adopts the aim of causing the Arabs to leave the country before they have a chance of becoming the majority.</p>
<p>True believers in the bi-national state idea will say: OK, let it be. We shall have one or two generations of bloodshed, of a state of civil war, but in the end we shall persuade or compel the Jews to accord the Palestinians citizenship and equality. But what normal people would take such a risk?</p>
<p>The real choice is, therefore: the “Two-State Solution” or the “Ethnic Cleansing Solution”.</p>
<p>In the best case, the bi-national state is impractical. I assume that Nusseibeh, too, knows this. In his eyes, the threat is a tactical move. He goes even further and suggests carrying out the threat at once in Jerusalem.</p>
<p>The Arab residents of East Jerusalem are not Israeli citizens and cannot take part in Knesset elections. However, they have the right to vote in municipal elections. Until now they have boycotted these elections, because participating would imply recognition of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem.</p>
<p>Nusseibeh raises the possibility of the Arab residents ending &#160;the boycott and putting up an election list of their own. They amount to roughly a third of the city’s population, and the Jewish majority is divided between the orthodox and the secular, so the Arabs would be able to decide who would be the next mayor. Nusseibeh does not reject the idea of running for the job himself. He believes that this would frighten the Jews out of their wits.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>THE REAL danger inherent in this tactic is not that it would convert people into accepting the bi-national state idea. The danger is far greater and much more immediate.</p>
<p>The main danger is this: If the whole country is about to become a bi-national state anyway, there is no further reason to restrict Jewish settlement anywhere at all.</p>
<p>Nusseibeh argues that time for the Two-State Solution is running out because of Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank, and especially in East Jerusalem. But it is precisely the One-State idea that opens the floodgates to unrestricted Jewish settlement. In theory, it also allows the Palestinians to adopt this option – but even mentioning this possibility reveals its absurdity.</p>
<p>The real struggle today is about the settlements. It is being waged all over the country, for every settlement, every “outpost”, every by-pass road, every housing project. It is a titanic struggle that is being fought out everywhere, from the “Har Homa” settlement in Jerusalem to the “Separation Wall’ (which is nothing but a means for enlarging the settlements, as even the Israeli Supreme Court now admits.)</p>
<p>The Nusseibeh tactic pulls the rug out from under all those of us who fight against the land grab and settlements – from the courageous activists who are daily demonstrating and being injured in the struggle against the Wall, to our friends abroad, who address public opinion in their own countries.</p>
<p>The “vision” of the bi-national state belongs to the far future, but the immediate result of campaigning for it is to remove all obstacles to the settlement effort.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>THIS IS also the objective which Ehud Olmert, with his devious maneuvering, has in mind. He proclaims loudly that he is in favor of the Two-State Solution, but only a fool would take him seriously, considering what he is doing on the ground.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, his people leaked the peace plan which he is submitting to the Palestinian Authority. An innocent, even positive plan.</p>
<p>Its main ingredients: Israel will return all the occupied territories to the Palestinian state, except 7% of the area, where the settlement blocs are located. In return, Israel will turn over to the Palestinians areas of Israel proper, equal to 5.5% of the West Bank. In addition, Israel will allow the Palestinians the use of a passage to be opened between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. That will make up for the difference between the areas of the land swap.</p>
<p>So where is the sting? The devil, as the saying goes, is hiding in the small details. The accord would be a “shelf agreement”. It will be implemented in the future. When? Ah, well…</p>
<p>The occupied territories in the West Bank will be returned to the Palestinians when the Palestinian Authority proves that it is able to control them. Who will decide? We, of course.</p>
<p>The Israeli areas that are to be turned over to the Palestinians, in return for the areas which will be annexed to Israel, are located alongside the Gaza Strip. When will they be turned over? After the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip has been overthrown and the Palestinian Authority asserts itself there. The same applies to the Gaza-West Bank passage. When will that happen? As the ancient Romans said: “ad calendas graecas”, on the Greek Calends. (In the Roman calendar, the Calends were the first days of the month – the Greek calendar had no Calends.)</p>
<p>The real sting became apparent when Olmert’s “confidants” explained that immediately after the acceptance of the “shelf agreement” by the Palestinians, Israel will start to accelerate the settlement activities, since – according to the agreement – the settlement blocs will in any case become part of Israel. Even the Americans could not object to that, after the Palestinians themselves have agreed to the annexation of these areas to Israel.</p>
<p>Simply put: all these agreements are empty words, and only one thing is practical and immediate: the settlements will be ceaselessly expanded.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>IN CHRISTIAN mythology, the devil has a cloven hoof. Sometimes this hoof shows under his long robe, giving him away.</p>
<p>Our devil’s hoof is the settlements. While scrutinizing any idea or plan, one should lift the hem of the robe and see what it is standing on.</p>
<p>URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is a contributor to CounterPunch’s book <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | The Devil’s Hoof | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/08/25/the-devil-s-hoof/ | 2008-08-25 | 4 |
<p>Rob Lowe Roast, Comedy Central, 2016.</p>
<p>The roasting at the stake of Anne Coulter was a misstep on the part of liberal Hollywood, or rather a paus de cheval in its usual thinly-concealed nastiness. Like the mopey kid with his spikes in the overcooked old play Equus, a slew of non-entities trapped the vicious pundit for an unbearable length of time while they humiliated and insulted her, paying surgical attention to her naggy features and dredging up references to her most offensive remarks to a roomful of the ironic and self-righteous. At the Wells Fargo Democratic Convention, Madeleine Albright addressed a room of similar types. They looked into eyes sharp as screwdriver tips, mentioned no Iraqi dead, applauded respectfully.</p>
<p>Coulter did not spit back or storm off stage, actions which would have saved face for both her and her persecutors. Her petulance surely would have shown her a coward of the first sort, unable to take the kind of bile she so regularly smears, but perhaps one or two dollops of dignity in refuse might have settled on her tropical dress (Aside, her wardrobe is usually patterned after Mobutu’s). Coulter, her very name a corruption of ‘colt’ (horse not pistol) haunted by ‘uncouth’ (her selling-point), is usually anathema even to her fellow right-wingers. She sat fidgeting, no glower or parched look of innocence disturbing the spell of that second sort of cowardice Musil inflicts on <a href="" type="internal">Young Tӧrless</a>, cowardice which ever leads to a Pity called better by Despise. Because she hadn’t the nerve to truly recognize the arena around her or do anything much except sit like a biscuit weevil, her pitiful weakness pulled out a loathsome emotion in the viewer. This morbid feeling had three periods: a hatred of her jellyfish spine; a sympathy (in the old sense of the world: not a recognition of others’ emotions by relation to ones’ own psychology, but a simple following of the object by its gravitational pull); and finally, a hatred of those who have pulled these emotions out of you without your consent–blackmailed and recruited you, pressed you into their Special Forces.</p>
<p>Coulter occasionally moved her hand through her hair, a gesture of no dignity done more to hide the hocker flowing through her Rapunzels. Her potty-mouth stayed shut, unpursed lips slight apart, probably slightly damp but not as foamy as usual. Of the thousands of moony Nazi remarks she lets fall every time she opens her gob, not one of them came up in vomit to defend her. She was robbed of her virulent, cash-friendly pop fascism and returned to the dais shouting nothing but the look of a reviled schoolgirl. There was no history, no political grandstand, nothing that would return her to her past reptilian self, just remarks about racing, races run, bestiality and the glue factory from the aging teen idols in charge. The do-gooders had succeeded in transforming this creature into a memory without a past, the visual repeat of a scene some of us may recall in a cruel city, once when we were very young:</p>
<p>A rainy schoolyard day. A young girl from Poland stands in the center of a crowd of classmates. They hurl spitballs, jeers, mimics of her Slav syllables at her without accuracy and without mercy. She stands stock still and timelessly works her fingers through her musky hair, sometime metropolitan time.</p>
<p>Cutting back and forth between the shitbirds and their awful target, you began to see that Coulter really had no idea of how this simple situation came to be. She even rejected the snappy comebacks written for her earlier so it wouldn’t seem so bad a slaughter, relying instead on her own sallow wit. Unable to pass up a public appearance, she was suckered into a ghastly low-rent Baby Jane act whose audience wouldn’t even laugh at her. A strange sort of moronic honesty played over her stretched face, a lack of expression which shows how the self-obsessed are hidden from themselves by remote viewing stations all tuned in to different likenesses. Looking at her was like staring into the black eyes of a chicken. You could almost say it was moving. And there they have you.</p>
<p>Coulter could not have pried her pestilential opinions from herself with all her might. She could not become stunned or angry or martyred; she returned to her first state, a non-being washed way too many times. Her newspaper columns and radio rants covered her, tourettes of tourettes, until the fire-worshippers really started in. Then she became nothing but a pitiful repetition which says nothing about just deserts or the madness of crowds. But she did let go – without knowing it of course – a flickering, bizarre millipede to crawl over the memories of anyone who has seen or practiced the arts of the milder climes of violence, those little alley things which always lead to bigger. For this, her enemies should not be forgiven.</p>
<p>Exhibit: At the end of Laughton’s Night of the Hunter, the same kids whom Robert Mitchum has been trying to kill cry out in defiance as the cops drag him to the ground and cuff him. This is because the scene exactly mirrors a crucial one at the film’s beginning, when their own father is dragged off by the pigs in exactly the same way. The repetition of humiliations is seen through a child’s eyes, eyes that are unable yet to take in the world of weights and balances. The kid sees only the duplication of events, and in a rapturous moment he refuses both and denounces both based on the symmetry of appearances alone. After this mistake, he will grow up, thanks to home and school, and become immune to the mystery of repetition. The world will then be of age to offer him the darkest of justifications.</p>
<p>Do not think that these justifications are always wrong: they are not, and I am not speaking of the Law. Do not think that most severe of judgments is unacceptable: it must be, if there is to be any kind of judgment at all. It is just that one can never return to the infant state of strict images, of apparent repetition, without being weakened beyond repair. What returns us involuntarily to these moments, without revealing its method and without forcing one to understand the many powers at work in the world, is pure sentiment. No doubt this nostalgic instant is as natural as the terrible judgments above are necessary. And not least because it is the purest of deceits; as a true deceit, it is naturally unassailable. But the flight is different this time around, in older skin, and the sentimental has dragged you a bit in Icarus’ river. To return to this childhood is to go back to the moments of first violence. Delirium, taking part, sympathy for the repulsive, an abhorrent and naive wish to protect any broken creature that in the end will justify only the obligatory corrections of the torturer… In the final analysis, this is the very kind of weakness which, second time around, will ensure the victory of the powerful every time. This thing Coulter and her strange collaborators unleashed without understanding any of its clockwork mechanism, although its wings were felt by some of us who have been brushed by them before.</p>
<p>What is really at stake in this hollow event is a gaping void where the false ‘humanity’ of people is used like a product, ridden down, turned into sentimental mush made of ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’, all at the bid of higher powers, changed rapidly in the mind into an atrocious Responsibility To Protect the most repellant of forces. There is another, older name for it: Bourgeois, the smoothing over of despicable acts by either smugness or exaggeration. Another effect: the suicide of the political, whispered into our ears softly by the Angel of Communication whose burning name is Israfel and who is covered in mouths and tongues.</p>
<p>The sacrificial fool-for-a-day is unquestionably the babbling commentator, silently waiting for the self-inflicted bullet to hit. I never thought much about that overplayed Syd Pollack film, but maybe he was onto something with the scenes of the dance competition where you’re only out by exhaustion. The whole thing is exhausting… horse and rider, Erl Kings and sickly waif, all buzzing in a wild hunt made of dead childhood screams.</p> | They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/09/09/they-shoot-horses-dont-they/ | 2016-09-09 | 4 |
<p>(Karzai said that he has no power to stop U.S. bombers. How true is that?) In Afghanistan the government does not have control in many operations going on in the country. (But can't Karzai at least renegotiate the terms under which U.S. forces operate in the country?) I think he will not ask them to leave because international forces are needed and welcomed by the majority in the country. But a larger degree of cooperation with the Afghan government is needed. (Karzai has hinted the possibility of negotiations with Al Qaeda and today he said he would even give sanctuary to top Al Qaeda leaders if they gave themselves up and agreed to abide by the Afghan constitution. How wise do you consider that stance?) All insurgencies should end through negotiations. The Afghan government is in the position to get a better deal from negotiations. (Can Obama trust Karzai to be an effective partner in this war?) I think there needs to be a unified policy and it's not an issue of one side versus the other. (Do you think Karzai is the man?) The Afghans are the ones to decide this. Karzai does not need my vote, he needs the votes of the majority of the people of Afghanistan.</p> | Afghan leader criticizes US | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-11-26/afghan-leader-criticizes-us | 2008-11-26 | 3 |
<p>The Martian, based on the novel by Andy Weir, spins a tale of how an astronaut is left for dead on the hostile red planet we know as Mars. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) must find a way to survive for months with a little less than nothing after his crewmates leave him on the planet’s surface in the midst of a horrific storm.</p>
<p>While doing their routine of experiments, the crew of the Hermes is told to leave quickly from the planet surface. A huge storm bears down on them. While preparing to leave, Watney is struck by a part of the communications antenna. This renders his suit unable to function properly, which leads the crew to believe he died.</p>
<p>After the crew takes off from the planet, Mark awakens with a piece of the antenna stuck in his body, but very much alive. He makes it back to the Hab, the construct the crew lived in on the planet, and faces the truth that it will be at least four years before any rescue can happen.</p>
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<p>Counting up his food stuffs, he discovers he does not have enough to make it that long. So he must make a decision: do something to survive or die.</p>
<p>Mark remembers that the crew had potatoes set aside for Thanksgiving. Being a botanist, he decides he is not going to die, but he is going to plant potatoes using soil from Mars.</p>
<p>What follows is a primer on how one survives being stranded with no food and only your knowledge of botany and science to guide your way forward.</p>
<p>There is another plot to the movie. This takes place at NASA. There, Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) is the director of the agency and he announces that Mark died on Mars. But in time there is a discovery made that someone is moving things around on the surface. The conclusion is reached that Mark is alive. This sets in motion a plan to bring Mark home. Mitch Henderson (Sean Bean), the flight director, wants to tell the crew of the Hermes that Mark is alive, but he is rebuffed by Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is just above Mitch in NASA. This creates tension within the agency.</p>
<p>As the movie progresses we get to see Mark working on the problems faced being on a planet with no immediate means of support. He must plant potatoes, create water to grow the potatoes, and find a way to communicate with NASA. All the while he uses his knowledge of science to work to his advantage.</p>
<p>NASA scrambles to find a way to send supplies to Mark. They cut corners and throw together the best plan possible. There is also the issue of how to get Mark home. Just getting him food is not going to be enough. They must get him back to Earth.</p>
<p>The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott. Scott is no stranger to space movies. He is the director of that classic from the 1970s, Alien. His ease with the subject matter is apparent and his use of multiple cameras to show all manner of points of view makes viewing the movie interesting to watch.</p>
<p>Damon does a masterful job as Matt Watney. One of the things that he injects into the picture is humor and lots of humanity. As he talks to the camera that records the record of his work on Mars, there is a boyishness and playfulness that informs how Watney is able to survive on the planet. This gives the movie a large dose of humanity.</p>
<p>Many are calling The Martian one of the best pictures of the year. I will join that refrain. It is a solid offering full of intelligence and humanity. The viewer is shown the power of the human spirit and how a person that puts his mind to task is able to analyze, adapt and overcome.</p>
<p>The Martian Rated PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity. Directed by Ridley Scott Written by Drew Goddard, based on the novel by Andy Weir With: Matt Damon (Mark Watney), Jessica Chastain (Melissa Lewis), Jeff Daniels (Teddy Sanders), Sean Bean (Mitch Henderson), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Vincent Kapoor)</p> | ‘The Martian’ is an ode to science and the will to live | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/the-martian-is-an-ode-to-science-and-the-will-to-live/ | 3 |
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<p>The border fence between Sunland Park and Anapra, Mexico, was extended farther into New Mexico this year as part of scheduled maintenance and improvements to border infrastructure. (Angela Kocherga/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 Albuquerque Journal</p>
<p>SUNLAND PARK – The number of people caught crossing the southwest border is at its lowest point in more than four decades. But there has been a spike in Central American families with kids arriving on the stretch of border that includes New Mexico.</p>
<p>Year-end figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that the El Paso Border Patrol sector, which includes all of New Mexico, saw a 52 percent increase in the number of “family units” from 5,664 in 2016 to 8,609 this past year.</p>
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<p>“This is a mini-surge” said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House, which provides temporary shelter for migrants and refugees in the El Paso and Las Cruces region. The organization often takes in parents with children released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE in the area because they don’t have detention space designed for families.</p>
<p>Garcia said there was a drop in the number of migrants arriving right after President Trump’s inauguration.</p>
<p>“What I think happened is we entered a wait and see period,” said Garcia. But in recent months Central Americans have started to cross the border again in the region. “There has been a steady climb” Garcia said. <a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/10/G_jd_11dec_BorderApprehensions.jpg" type="external" /></p>
<p>An additional 6,889 families with children arrived at border crossings or international bridges in the region seeking asylum, an increase of 23 percent. Most are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.</p>
<p>In recent years, the vast majority of Central American families and children arrived in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley.</p>
<p>“One of the factors that makes people think of crossing further away from the Valley is it’s further away from the detention centers,” said Garcia. The main detention center built to house families is located near San Antonio. Instead of paying to transport parents with children, ICE often releases them and requires adults to wear ankle monitoring devices and check in as their cases move through immigration court.</p>
<p>The uptick in Central American migration to New Mexico and far West Texas is in sharp contrast to the decline in undocumented immigration overall with CBP reporting a total of 303,916 people apprehended this past year on the southwest border. Border Patrol agents picked up 15,562 people in New Mexico, more than half of the total 25,193 people apprehended in the El Paso sector.</p>
<p>“We have seen historic low numbers this year – an almost 30 percent decline in apprehensions in fiscal year 2017, but we are very concerned about the later month increases of unaccompanied minors and minors with a family member said Acting Deputy CBP Commissioner Ronald Vitiello at a news conference Wednesday in Washington D.C.</p>
<p>Border Patrol agents wait by their units to help apprehend undocumented immigrants traveling north through the Animas mountains. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Immigrant advocates who help Central American families and other refugees arriving on the border say enforcement alone won’t keep people fleeing violence and poverty from trying to cross the border.</p>
<p>“A lot of people are desperate and this is the only way they see as a way out for themselves,” said Garcia.</p>
<p /> | New Mexico sees spike in Central American families crossing border | false | https://abqjournal.com/1104956/border-crossings-lowest-in-4-decades-in-el-paso-sector.html | 2017-12-11 | 2 |
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the "Pick Four-Evening" game were:</p>
<p>9-7-5-6, Fireball: 5</p>
<p>(nine, seven, five, six; Fireball: five)</p>
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the "Pick Four-Evening" game were:</p>
<p>9-7-5-6, Fireball: 5</p>
<p>(nine, seven, five, six; Fireball: five)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Pick Four-Evening' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/8e92ee7a4fbd424f981cb120ac4c0fe5 | 2018-01-19 | 2 |
<p>EB-5 visas are given to foreign individuals who invest in American commercial enterprises. Applicants must invest between $500,000 and $1,000,000 — depending on several business-related factors — in order to obtain their visa applications.</p>
<p>According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/eb-5" type="external">website</a>:</p>
<p>Under this program, entrepreneurs (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) are eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) if they: Make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States; and plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.</p>
<p>The official website adds:</p>
<p>Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. In 1992, Congress created the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the Regional Center Program. This sets aside EB-5 visas for participants who invest in commercial enterprises associated with regional centers approved by USCIS based on proposals for promoting economic growth...</p>
<p>On December 10, 2016, President Obama signed Public Law 114-254 extending the regional center program through April 28, 2017.</p>
<p>Within the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending package President Trump recently signed is an extension of the EB-5 program through September 30, 2017.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellensheng/2017/01/26/new-proposal-seeks-to-raise-minimum-investment-for-eb-5-visa/#151a73042ee1" type="external">Forbes</a>, despite some significant successes, the EB-5 program has seen its fair share of fraud, and some lawmakers and government agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), want it altered.</p>
<p>This is where things get a bit crunchy.</p>
<p>Although Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, "has stepped down from his management positions at the more than 200 entities that operated aspects of the family real estate business, he will remain a beneficiary of a vast majority of the business he ran for the past decade, through a series of trusts that already owned the various real estate companies," according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/us/politics/ivanka-trump-and-jared-kushner-still-benefiting-from-business-empire-filings-show.html" type="external">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>Additionally, Kushner's sister recently pitched an EB-5 related deal to Chinese investors.</p>
<p>The Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/06/world/asia/jared-kushner-sister-nicole-meyer-china-investors.html?_r=0" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Kushner’s sister Nicole Meyer made a pitch to attract $150 million in financing for a Jersey City housing development, known as One Journal Square, to more than 100 Chinese investors gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Beijing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/spicer-kushner-not-involved-family-s-chinese-eb-5-visa-n756406" type="external">NBC News</a> adds:</p>
<p>She name-checked Kushner, according to reporters from the Washington Post and the New York Times who attended. Trump's photo also was included in a slideshow that described him as a key decision-maker on the fate of the EB-5 program, but Kushner Companies said that was the work of the Chinese organizer.</p>
<p>While Kushner has divested from K One Journal Square LLC, he allegedly holds investments in other stakes. However, attorney Blake Roberts <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/spicer-kushner-not-involved-family-s-chinese-eb-5-visa-n756406" type="external">claims</a> that Kushner is adhering to all ethical standards:</p>
<p>[Kushner] divested his interests in the One Journal Square project by selling them to a family trust that he is not a beneficiary of, a mechanism suggested by the Office of Government Ethics...As previously stated, he will recuse from particular matters concerning the EB-5 visa program.</p>
<p>While there is no evidence to suggest Kushner is involved in illegal activities, some are accusing him and his family of engaging in pay-to-play politics, something that would be highly unethical. Foreigners investing in a Kushner family company might expect favors from the White House, or more broadly, the federal government. Kushner could also enrich his family by advising the president against any changes to the EB-5 program in the future.</p>
<p>Even if no such manipulation occurs, the optics are quite ugly.</p> | Jared Kushner Facing Possible Conflict Of Interest With EB-5 Visas | true | https://dailywire.com/news/16226/jared-kushner-facing-possible-conflict-interest-eb-frank-camp | 2017-05-09 | 0 |
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<p>Brian Urlacher, a former Lobo football star and retired Chicago Bears linebacker, is running with an impressive pack of thoroughbreds that includes fellow NFL retiree Peyton Manning, who quarterbacked for the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts.</p>
<p>Urlacher, Manning and 11 other former college standouts will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame next December at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner in New York City.</p>
<p>He joins two other New Mexicans who have received the honor – the late Warren Woodson, who coached the New Mexico State Aggies from 1958-67 and who was inducted in 1989, and running back Pervis Atkins, who played for Woodson at NMSU from 1959-60 before playing professionally for the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, and who was elected in 2009.</p>
<p>Urlacher grew up in Lovington, where he helped the Wildcats win the 1995 Class 3A title and went on to play for the University of New Mexico Lobos where, in 1998, he led the nation in tackles. In 1999, he was a Jim Thorpe Award finalist and was 12th in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was named to the 1999 AP All-America team and was picked ninth in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.</p>
<p>And he’s an All-Pro player who has never forgotten his New Mexico roots. Congrats to Brian Urlacher, a hometown boy who made New Mexico proud.</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>
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<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Editorial: Urlacher tops Lobo pack with Hall of Fame honors | false | https://abqjournal.com/930787/urlacher-tops-lobo-pack-with-hall-of-fame-honors.html | 2 |
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<p>A scene from "Sicario," which is premiering at Cannes Film Festival. New Mexico filmmaker and actor Matt Page, sitting, is featured with Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The world's eyes will be on the Cannes Film Festival this weekend in France and along with the glitz and glamour, there will be at least one film with New Mexico connections there.</p>
<p>"Sicario," which means hitman in Mexico, will debut at the festival this weekend.</p>
<p>The film is set in the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico. It follows an idealistic FBI agent named Kate, played by Emily Blunt, who is enlisted by an elite government task force official, played by Josh Brolin to aid in the escalating war against drugs.</p>
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<p>Led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past, played by Benicio Del Toro, the team sets out on a clandestine journey forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive.</p>
<p>The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve.</p>
<p>It also features Oscar winner del Toro, Brolin, Blunt along with Jon Bernthal and Victor Garber.</p>
<p>Production for "Sicario" took place in New Mexico and is one of the bigger productions to take place in the state in the last year.</p>
<p>According to the New Mexico Film Office, the production shot in Albuquerque, Los Lunas, Corrales, Laguna Pueblo, Bernalillo County and Sandoval County last June through August.</p>
<p>The production employed about 200 New Mexico crew members as well as more than 2,000 resident actors and background talent, the film office said.</p>
<p>"Sicario" opens nationwide on Sept. 25.</p>
<p>Look for more Cannes updates in Sunday's ReelNM column.</p>
<p>Emily Blunt stars in "Sicario."</p>
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<p>Benicio Del Toro in a scene&#160;from the New Mexico made "Sicario."</p>
<p>The movie poster for "Sicario."</p> | NM-made 'Sicario' gets first look at Cannes | false | https://abqjournal.com/583539/nm-made-sicario-gets-first-look-at-cannes.html | 2015-05-12 | 2 |
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<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p /> | We Interupt This War… | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2003/04/we-interupt-war/ | 2003-04-24 | 4 |
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<p>BOSTON — Hasn’t anyone ever told drug companies to put a warning label on their lobbying? You know, the kind you find on every little prescription bottle? Caution: Too much lobbying may result in an overdose of suspicion. Push too hard and you may experience political acid reflux.</p>
<p>As it is, Merck seems to have rolled a million — or many millions — into a shoestring. And the real losers may be girls and women who need access to the vaccine against cervical cancer.</p>
<p>Let’s return to that magical moment when clinical trials proved that a new vaccine was nearly 100 percent effective in preventing two strains of the HPV virus that causes most cervical cancer. This is the second-leading cancer killer of women in the world. In America, about 9,700 women are diagnosed with it every year and 3,700 die.</p>
<p>In October 2005, Eliav Barr of Merck said exuberantly, “This is it. This is the Holy Grail.” Merck, barely recovering from its Vioxx troubles, was the first of two companies to develop a vaccine. There were hosannas all around. Or, well, almost all around.</p>
<p />
<p>The response from the abstinence-only crowd was less enthusiastic. Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins said that “it sends the wrong message.” After all, HPV had been almost as useful in the scare tactics of abstinence-only education as had HIV. There were fanciful charges that preventing cancer would encourage promiscuity.</p>
<p>But it was bad PR to be against cancer prevention. So the right-wing groups dropped back from opposing the vaccine itself to opposing mandatory school vaccination.</p>
<p>All of this might have just simmered along, but something happened on the way to gradual acceptance. After FDA approval, the folks at Merck saw Gardasil as their anti-Vioxx, the drug that would help them do well by doing good.</p>
<p>Let us say that the lobbying and advertising that ensued were not heavy-handed by drug company standards. Let us not say much about drug company standards.</p>
<p>Nineteen states introduced legislation to add Gardasil to the list of school vaccines. But the plans blew up when Rick Perry, the governor of Texas and a conservative darling, issued an executive order mandating vaccines. His order allowed parents to opt out on religious or philosophical grounds, the same all-purpose loophole that has worked with other vaccines.</p>
<p>But it turned out that Perry’s former chief of staff is now a lobbyist for Merck. Did that look bad? Whoa, Nellie. Did it look bad that Merck had funded an organization of women legislators backing similar bills? Whoa, Merck.</p>
<p>With a JetBlue-style fiasco on its hands, Merck suspended all flights, uh, lobbying and advertising. But now some very strange bedfellows are going to the mattresses against Gardasil.</p>
<p>There are the abstinence-only folks who believe that cancer prevention sends the “wrong message.” There are the routine opponents of all vaccines and the libertarian opponents of the “nanny state,” not to mention some doctors who thought the vaccine was being rushed and was too expensive. But behind this odd collection are legions who have come to regard Big Pharm with big suspicions.</p>
<p>I hold no brief for Merck. They won their setback the old-fashioned way: They earned it. There’s every reason to assume that Merck wanted its drug approved before the competitor from GlaxoSmithKline comes down the pike. At $400 for a three-shot regimen, there’s a lot of money at stake.</p>
<p>Nor am I surprised to find that parents are queasy. It’s not easy for any parent to accept that their middle-schooler should get protection from a sexually transmitted disease, even with the risk of cancer. But the parents among these strange bedfellows may remember that the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend.</p>
<p>What’s been lost in the debate about school-mandated vaccines is that this one is extraordinarily safe and effective against a lethal disease. Researchers tell us that most parents ask three questions about vaccines: Is it safe, does it work well and can it prevent something that will seriously harm my child? Gardasil passes those tests. School vaccines also pass the public health test of providing the widest possible coverage.</p>
<p>In the wake of this fiasco, the rush for school mandates has slowed to a crawl. It’s wise to keep one eye on the costs and another on alternative vaccines. It’s savvy to give parents a way to opt out.</p>
<p>But allow me to add one last label on this sorry tale of public relations and public health. This warning is for parents. Caution: Too much suspicion can be bad for your daughters’ health.</p>
<p>Ellen Goodman’s e-mail address is [email protected].</p>
<p>© 2007, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | Lost in the Lobbying | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/lost-in-the-lobbying/ | 2007-03-01 | 4 |
<p>The reports are coming in from all over the nation. The Democrats are getting pilloried as they shuck and jive on the war. They have an election coming up in fall of 2006 and they want to take back Congress. They are scrambling to find their footing. The Dems think we can have guns and butter – war and health care. I’ve got news for them – that tune ain’t playing no more.</p>
<p>The Boston Globe reported on February 20 that the Dems have put Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), a former Army officer, in charge of coming up with a consensus Democratic plan for the war. His answer? It’s called “strategic redeployment.” What does that mean? “It’s important to note that it’s not withdrawal — it’s redeployment,” Reed said. “We need to pursue a strategy that is going to accomplish the reasonable objectives, and allow us to have strategic flexibility. Not only is it a message, but it’s a method to improve the security there and around the globe.”</p>
<p>The Dems new plan is to pull some number of U.S. troops out of Iraq into Kuwait and other new bases in Afghanistan, Southeast Asia and the Horn of Africa. From the new large bases in Kuwait the U.S. would increase Air Force bombing missions over Iraq, increase the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) like the Predator, that fly via satellite direction, and can drop bombs and fire missiles. For the Iraqi people this means more indiscriminate bombing and more innocent people killed.</p>
<p>When things get really out of hand in Iraq, the “strategic redeployment” plan (it’s just the Murtha plan with a new name by the way) will call for an expansion of U.S. Special Forces teams going back into Iraq for quick hits and killings of anyone who dares resist the corrupt puppet government the U.S. has put into place.</p>
<p>The Democrats will sell this to the American public by saying they are pulling the troops out of the war. A few units will be brought home and big ceremonies held so that the public thinks the war is slowing down. The Dems hope that “strategic redeployment” will mean less troops will be killed day to day in Iraq. They hope it will be their ticket to victory in November. But in truth the war will go on.</p>
<p>In fact, the endless war will be expanded with new basing arrangements in Southeast Asia, Africa and Afghanistan. More territory will be occupied and the field of operations against that faceless “terrorism” will be expanded. All this will be done with the Dems full encouragement and support. And guess what? The Pentagon will need lots more money to build these new bases and outposts and Congress – both Repubs and Dems – will give them the money.</p>
<p>The peace movement had better not fall for this bait and switch. The Dems are running an election game on us. They are feeling our pressure and this is their disingenuous response. Peace activists nationwide must see through this latest shell game and call it for what it is. Strategic deception.</p>
<p>The time has come for the peace movement to unembedded itself from the Democratic Party. As long as peace activists see themselves as “party” people they will not have the ability to be critical of these kind of cynical moves to co-opt our energies.</p>
<p>I was in Germany right after the U.S. began the invasion of Afghanistan soon after 9-11. The Green Party in Germany supported that invasion and angered the German peace movement. I saw German peace activists publicly condemn national Green Party leaders for supporting the U.S. war. The peace activists understood where their primary allegiance belonged. To the anti-war movement first, and then to a party. If the party goes astray, the peace movement does not follow. We must do the same here in the U.S.</p>
<p>BRUCE K. GAGNON is Coordinator of the <a href="http://www.space4peace.org/" type="external">Global Network Against Weapons &amp; Nuclear Power in Space</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Democrats’ New Stall Strategy | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/02/21/the-democrats-new-stall-strategy/ | 2006-02-21 | 4 |
<p>A <a href="http://www.wonkette.com/politics/dick-cheney/shreddin-with-dick-211028.php" type="external">Wonkette reader</a> snapped this photo on of a document shredding truck headed to Dick Cheney's compound at the Naval Observatory on Oct. 19. Perhaps coincidentally, the truck is operated by the same company the Secret Service contracted with for "Pickup &amp; Destruction Of Sensitive Waste Material."</p>
<p>(h/t: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/10/30/document-shredding-truck-_n_32832.html" type="external">HuffPo</a>)</p>
<p>Wonkette:</p>
<p>The Mid-Atlantic Shredding Services truck making its way up to the Cheney compound at the Naval Observatory.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Fun fact: Mid-Atlantic Shredding Services has been contracted by the Secret Service for our Executive Branch's record-not-keeping needs.</p>
<p>The present contractor providing Pickup &amp; Destruction of Sensitive Waste Material services is Mid Atlantic Shredding Services and the current rate is $0.095 cents per lbs.</p>
<p>You better get crackin?, Dick - that evidence won't destroy itself!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wonkette.com/politics/dick-cheney/shreddin-with-dick-211028.php" type="external">Link</a></p> | Shredding Truck Was Heading to Cheney's | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/shredding-truck-was-heading-to-cheneys/ | 2006-10-31 | 4 |
<p>Oilfield services company Hercules Offshore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday with crude prices hovering around six-year lows.</p>
<p>The filing was orchestrated with bondholders, however, and the company expects to restructure its debt and emerge from bankruptcy protection rather quickly.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"The overwhelming support by the noteholders of the plan will enable Hercules to expedite the restructuring process and emerge by mid-fall," said CEO John Rynd in a printed statement. "We do not expect any interruption to our daily operations as a result of today's filing."</p>
<p>Major oil and gas drillers have been squeezed by the plunge in oil prices and have slashed capital expenditures, particularly this year. The first to feel the pinch from those spending cuts are often oilfield services companies, which do much of the drilling and field maintenance, both offshore and on land.</p>
<p>Hercules last month reported that its quarterly revenue had tumbled 67 percent. The company cut its fleet of rigs in half due to decreased activity.</p>
<p>In its bankruptcy filing Thursday, the Houston company listed $1.3 billion in debt and $546.3 million in assets.</p>
<p>In morning trading Thursday, shares of Hercules Offshore Inc. were worth about 8 cents. They were trading above $3 a year ago.</p>
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<p>Crude prices on Thursday fell to $42.30, down more than 2 percent.</p> | Falling oil prices push Hercules Offshore under bankruptcy protection | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/08/13/falling-oil-prices-push-hercules-offshore-under-bankruptcy-protection.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the North Carolina Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:</p>
<p>8-6-1, Lucky Sum: 15</p>
<p>(eight, six, one; Lucky Sum: fifteen)</p>
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the North Carolina Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:</p>
<p>8-6-1, Lucky Sum: 15</p>
<p>(eight, six, one; Lucky Sum: fifteen)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Pick 3 Evening' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/6afef8be66c8495a992004266b7fe003 | 2018-01-16 | 2 |
<p>Jan 24 (Reuters) - China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd:</p>
<p>* SAYS IT EXPECTS 2017 NET PROFIT TO RISE 25-35 PERCENT Y/Y VERSUS 3.4 BILLION YUAN ($532.46 million) YEAR AGO Source text in Chinese: <a href="http://bit.ly/2n7OG6B" type="external">bit.ly/2n7OG6B</a> Further company coverage: ($1 = 6.3855 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - The serial bomber whose deadly attacks terrorized Austin, Texas, for weeks left a 25-minute video “confession” on a cell phone found after he blew himself up on Wednesday as officers closed in to make an arrest, police said.</p>
<p>Mark Conditt, 23, an unemployed man from the suburb of Pflugerville, detailed how he made all seven bombs that have been accounted for - five that exploded, one that was recovered before it went off and a seventh that he detonated as officers rushed his vehicle early on Wednesday.</p>
<p>But the video failed to reveal a coherent motive for the attacks spread over the past three weeks, police said.</p>
<p>“He does not at all mention anything about terrorism, nor does he mention anything about hate, but instead it is the outcry of a very challenged young man, talking about challenges in his personal life,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters.</p>
<p>“I would classify this as a confession,” Manley said.</p>
<p>Conditt, who had never before been in trouble with the law, killed two people and wounded five with a campaign of violence that began on March 2, authorities said.</p>
<p>Based on their search of the suspect’s home and his video statement, authorities said they felt confident that there were no other bombs and that the public was safe from further harm.</p>
<p>FBI special agent Christopher Combs said investigators believe the suspect would have continued his attacks had he not been apprehended.</p>
<p>Police recovered a “target list” of addresses for future bombings, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing U.S. Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.</p>
<p>Even so, the video gave no explanation for the individuals and addresses singled out as recipients of the bombs that were planted or shipped, Manley said.</p>
<p>Police previously said they had considered the possibility that the attacks were racially motivated, noting that the first several victims, including the two who died, were either African-American or Hispanic.</p>
<p>Conditt likely recorded the video between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Tuesday. According to Manley, Conditt said he believed police “were getting very close to him,” and he was right. Authorities filed a criminal complaint and issued an arrest warrant around that time.</p>
<p>By Wednesday morning, police had tracked Conditt to a hotel and were waiting for the arrival of tactical units and equipment before they planned to make an arrest, Manley said. But then Conditt drove away.</p>
<p>Police followed and decided to stop him before he got on the highway. Just as officers approached the vehicle, the explosion went off, Manley said. There was also some police shooting.</p> Texas blast suspect Mark Anthony Conditt is seen in this undated handout photo released by Austin Community College in Austin, Texas, U.S. March 21, 2018. Austin Community College/Handout via REUTERS
<p>“This can never be called a happy ending, but it’s a damn good one for the people of this community, the people of the state of Texas,” Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore told reporters.</p>
<p>Residents in Austin, a city of 1 million people and a liberal enclave of university students and tech companies, voiced relief that the hunt for the serial bomber was over.</p>
<p>“I am going to be leery and extra careful tomorrow at work, but I feel relieved now,” said Jesus Borjon, 44, an employee of parcel delivery firm UPS, who lives in Pflugerville.</p>
<p>Austin was hosting thousands of out-of-town visitors for its annual South by Southwest festival of music, film and technology when the first bombings occurred.</p> Slideshow (24 Images) TRAIL OF CLUES
<p>The trail of clues leading hundreds of investigators to the serial bomber ranged from store receipts and fragments of booby-trapped packages to surveillance video of the suspect in a hat and wig.</p>
<p>Experts scoured the suspect’s home for further evidence on Wednesday, removing explosive materials and bomb components.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t call it a bomb-making factory, but there’s definitely components consistent with what we’ve seen in all these other devices,” Fred Milanowski, special agent in charge of Houston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told reporters.</p>
<p>Investigators evacuated a four-block radius around Conditt’s house while they searched the home, which Conditt shared with two roommates who had been detained for questioning. Conditt moved in a year ago after leaving his parents’ home about a mile (1.6 km) away, public records showed.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-texas-blast-fedex/fbi-reminds-couriers-on-suspicious-package-protocols-after-texas-bombings-idUSKBN1GX2AR" type="external">FBI reminds couriers on suspicious package protocols after Texas bombings</a>
<p>One law enforcement official involved in the investigation but speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that some of the materials found in remnants of the bombs were traced back to where they had been sold.</p>
<p>The source also said investigators, once they had identified Conditt as a potential suspect, obtained a warrant to monitor his Google search history.</p>
<p>Surveillance video showed the suspect in a hat and a blond wig, as he prepared to ship one of two booby-trapped packages he was known to have sent through FedEx Corp’s delivery service, according to the source.</p>
<p>He used the alias “Kelly Killmore” to ship those packages, ABC News reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources.</p>
<p>Conditt, who was home-schooled, described himself as a conservative but said he was not politically inclined, according to blog posts he wrote as part of a U.S. politics class at Austin Community College. He attended from 2010 to 2012 and had no record of any disciplinary actions, the school said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Mark Hosenball in Washington, Jonathan Allen and Gina Cherelus in New York and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Peter Cooney &amp; Simon Cameron-Moore</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve did not signal a faster pace of rate hikes this year while worries about a coming announcement on tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump dented Asian shares.</p> U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this photo illustration taken February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/Illustration
<p>MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.1 percent, erasing earlier gains of up to 0.7 pct, which were led by South Korea <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.KS11" type="external">.KS11</a> and Taiwan <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.TWII" type="external">.TWII</a> hitting six-week highs. Japan's Nikkei <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.N225" type="external">.N225</a> gained 0.4 percent.</p>
<p>Wall Street stock indexes ended the day lower, with the S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> losing 0.18 percent and the Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> 0.26 percent.</p>
<p>The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and forecast two more hikes for 2018 in its first policy meeting under Chairman Jerome Powell.</p>
<p>Given that some investors had expected it to project three more rate hikes, the guidance was perceived by some as less hawkish than anticipated, a positive factor for risk assets in general, though analysts noted the Fed was upbeat on the economy overall.</p>
<p>Fed policymakers notched up rate projections for 2019 and 2020 and also raised the estimated longer-term “neutral” interest rate a touch, suggesting the current tightening cycle could go on longer than previously thought.</p>
<p>“They also forecast three hikes next year and two more in 2020 and clearly revised up the growth forecast as well,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.</p>
<p>“So the picture looks different when you look at longer-term projections. That explains the complicated reaction by markets. The prospects of continued rate hikes may cap shares,” he added.</p>
<p>The yield on two-year U.S. notes yield slipped back to 2.299 percent US2YT=RR from 9 1/2-year high of 2.366 percent hit on Wednesday while the 10-year yield dipped to 2.872 percent US10YT=RR after an initial spike to 2.936 percent.</p>
<p>That pushed the U.S. dollar lower in the currency market, with the dollar index .DXY =USD testing this month’s low after suffering its biggest fall in two months on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The euro <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=EUR&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">EUR=</a> gained 0.2 percent to $1.2363, extending its recovery from a near three-week low of $1.2240 touched earlier in the week.</p>
<p>The dollar shed 0.4 percent to 105.66 yen <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=JPY&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">JPY=</a>, turning down on the week to edge closer to its 16-month low of 105.24 on March 2.</p>
<p>The British pound hit a 1 1/2-month high of $1.4171, building on Wednesday’s one-percent gains.</p> A man walks past an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
<p>Strong UK wage data published on Wednesday cemented expectations that the Bank of England will likely signal a May rate hike later in the day at a monetary policy meeting.</p>
<p>Bucking the trend, the Hong Kong dollar <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=HKD&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">HKD=D4</a> hit a 33-year low of 7.8469 per U.S. dollar, inching closer to the lower end of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's targeted trading band of 7.75-7.85.</p>
<p>But most market participants do not see this bout of weakness as a threat or attack on Hong Kong’s dollar peg, unlike instances in the past.</p>
<p>With the Fed meeting over, investors are watching Trump, who is due to sign a memo on imposing tariffs on Chinese imports at 1630 GMT on Thursday.</p>
<a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.KS11" type="external">Korea Exchange</a> 2505.57 .KS11 Korea Stock Exchange +20.60 (+0.83%) .KS11 .TWII .N225 .SPX .IXIC
<p>Concerns about a trade war between the world’s two largest economies have kept many investors on guard.</p>
<p>U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday the tariffs would target China’s high-technology sector and could also include restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States.</p>
<p>Investors worry such a move could trigger countermeasures by China, possibly causing a vicious cycle of escalating retaliation.</p>
<p>Shares on China's exchanges were lower, the with Shanghai Composite Index <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SSEC" type="external">.SSEC</a> slipping 0.8 percent to two-week lows.</p>
<p>“China’s equity market is relatively domestic. We estimate that on average more than 80 percent of revenues are generated in China while only a marginal share comes from the U.S. Still, there would be first-order casualties if trade tensions escalated. In the front line would be firms with significant exposure to the US, mostly in the tech and consumer</p>
<p>sectors,” wrote analysts at Societe Generale.</p>
<p>In the energy market, oil prices stood near six-week highs and closed in on a 3-year peak set in late January, helped by a surprise decline in U.S. inventories, strong compliance on OPEC production cuts, and persistent concerns on the nuclear pact with Iran.</p>
<p>U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose to as high as $65.74 per barrel CLc1, not far from its January peak of $66.66, having gained almost five percent so far this week.</p>
<p>In contrast, copper fell to three-month low of $6,702 per tonne CMCU3 the previous day before bouncing back to $6,817.</p>
<p>Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Eric Meijer and Richard Borsuk</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump defended his congratulations to Vladimir Putin on the Russian president’s disputed re-election victory on Wednesday, saying he wants Putin’s help in solving crises from North Korea to Syria and beyond.</p> White House Chief of Staff John Kelly sits at the end of the table as U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sit down to a working lunch with their delegations at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
<p>Trump drew fire from Republicans and Democrats alike for telling reporters on Tuesday that he had congratulated Putin on his re-election and that the two leaders had made tentative plans to meet in the “not too distant future.”</p>
<p>The Washington Post reported that Trump, in his briefing papers to prepare for the phone call with Putin on Tuesday, was specifically warned “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” the Russian president. White House officials did not dispute the report, but said whoever leaked it could be subject to dismissal.</p>
<p>A Trump confidant who asked not to be named said Trump was angry about the leak, and a White House official said John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff, was “frustrated and deeply disappointed.”</p>
<p>In a pair of tweets on his call with Putin, Trump said U.S. news organizations “wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing.”</p>
<p>“They can help solve problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, ISIS, Iran and even the coming Arms Race,” Trump said.</p>
<p>Trump’s congratulations to Putin, which came shortly after he joined Britain in blaming Russia for a poison nerve gas attack against a former Russian spy in southern England, has revived criticism that Trump has been too tolerant of the Russian leader.</p>
<p>Trump is under investigation by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on whether he or his aides colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Trump calls the probe a political witch hunt.</p>
<p>Trump’s overture to Putin has drawn heavy fire by critics who called Sunday’s election rigged.</p>
<p>Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said there was a “lack of credibility in tallying the result.” Senator John McCain, a longtime Putin critic, was even blunter, saying: “An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections.”</p>
<p>Administration officials said it was unclear if the president had seen the briefing memo that was leaked to the Post.</p>
<p>“If this story is accurate, that means someone leaked the president’s briefing papers. Leaking such information is a fireable offense and likely illegal,” said a senior White House official, who requested anonymity.</p>
<p>Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he did not like Trump’s congratulations to Putin but thought the leak was worse.</p>
<p>“If you don’t like the guy, quit. But to be this duplicitous and continue to leak things out, it’s dangerous,” Rubio told reporters.</p>
<p>White House officials have said that Trump is less trusting of Putin because of Russian activities in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Last week, after initially equivocating about the chemical attack on the former Russian double agent in Salisbury, England, the White House joined a statement by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany in which they said they “abhor the attack” and blamed it on Moscow.</p>
<p>Moscow has denied any involvement in the poisoning.</p>
<p>The issue came up on Wednesday in a telephone call between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, who is scheduled to visit the White House in late April, according to a White House statement.</p>
<p>“The presidents reiterated their solidarity with the United Kingdom in the wake of Russia’s use of chemical weapons against private citizens on British soil and agreed on the need to take action to hold Russia accountable,” it said.</p> Related Video
<p>But the poisoning incident did not appear to come up in Trump’s call with Putin.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe that was discussed in today’s call,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The leak incident was likely to revive questions about whether Trump would embark on more turnover in his senior staff after the departure of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.</p>
<p>Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, is widely seen as likely to leave at some point, and Kelly himself is said by Trump confidants to have tested the nerves of the president.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Leslie Adler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TEMPE, Ariz./SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Police in Arizona on Wednesday released a short video of a fatal collision between an Uber self-driving vehicle and a pedestrian, as investigators probe the accident that has put new focus on the safety of autonomous vehicles.</p>
<p>The video, taken from inside the Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle that Uber has used for testing, shows the vehicle driving along a dark road when an image of a woman walking a bicycle across the road suddenly appears in the headlights.</p>
<p>The woman, Elaine Herzberg, 49, later died from her injuries.</p>
<p>Police have released few details about the accident that occurred on Sunday night in Tempe, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, while the SUV was driving in autonomous mode. Uber suspended its self-driving testing in North America after the incident and federal safety regulators are conducting their own probe.</p>
<p>Fall-out from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, which are designed to perform far better than human drivers and sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year.</p>
<p>The video shows the vehicle traveling in the right-hand lane of a divided four-lane roadway. The vehicle’s headlights illuminate a woman directly in front of it who is crossing the SUV’s lane with her bike. The woman appears to be jaywalking as she is not in a crosswalk.</p>
<p>A photo released by safety regulators on Tuesday showed that the impact occurred on the right side of the vehicle.</p>
<p>The footage also shows a view of the vehicle’s interior and the driver at the wheel. The driver appears to be looking down, and not at the road, for two periods of about five seconds each. Just before the video stops, the driver looks upward toward the road and suddenly looks shocked.</p>
<p>“The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine’s loved ones,” Uber said in a statement. “Our cars remain grounded, and we’re assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can.”</p>
<p>The video is likely to be a key part of investigations of Uber’s self-driving car technology and whether it was ready for testing on public roads.</p>
<p>Although the exact specifics of Uber’s technology are not known, self-driving cars typically use a combination of sensors, including radar and light-based Lidar, to identify objects around the vehicle, including potential obstacles coming into range. While cameras do not perform well in the dark, radar and Lidar can work at night.</p>
<p>One question on regulators’ minds will be why the sensors did not pick up on the presence of Herzberg, who would ostensibly have already crossed three lanes of traffic before arriving in the path of the Uber vehicle.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>One self-driving car expert, Bryant Walker Smith, said his first impression was of “outrage” viewing the video.</p>
<p>“Although this video isn’t the full picture, it strongly suggests a failure by Uber’s automated driving system and a lack of due care by Uber’s driver (and by the victim),” said Smith, a professor of law at the University of South Carolina.</p>
<p>Another autonomous driving expert agreed with Smith’s assessment.</p>
<p>“The sensors should have detected the pedestrian in this case; the cameras were likely useless but both the radars and the Lidar must have picked up the pedestrian,” said Raj Rajkumar, a professor at Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">Alphabet Inc</a> 1094.0 GOOGL.O Nasdaq -1.80 (-0.16%) GOOGL.O GM.N
<p>“Though no information is available, one would have to conclude based on this video alone, that there are problems in the Uber vehicle software that need to be rectified,” he said.</p>
<p>Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its systems.</p> OVERSIGHT?
<p>The video is likely to renew calls for more oversight in a nascent industry that lacks standardized testing or safety definitions. Lawmakers have had to juggle the need to encourage innovations that promise to dramatically improve safety on roads with current public safety concerns.</p>
<p>Companies including Uber, Alphabet’s Waymo ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) and General Motors’s Cruise Automation ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GM.N" type="external">GM.N</a>) have been testing their self-driving technology in Arizona, which has welcomed the industry with a lighter regulatory touch than in states like California, for example.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Arizona transportation officials said they saw no immediate need to tighten rules on the testing of self-driving cars in the state.</p>
<p>Although some within the self-driving industry have suggested agreeing testing and safety standards for autonomous technology, there has been no concerted effort to do so.</p>
<p>Timothy Carone, an associate teaching professor at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza College of Business whose research specialties include artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, said the question is whether Uber did enough testing before sending robot cars out onto streets alongside humans.</p>
<p>“Did they jump the gun?” he said. “If their testing is found to be inefficient, that cannot be allowed to happen again because these systems have to be ready for road tests.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Paul Lienert and Nick Carey in Detroit; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Peter Cooney and Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-China Gezhouba Expects 2017 Net Profit To Rise 25-35 Percent Y/Y Texas serial bomber made video confession before blowing himself up: police Dollar on defensive after Fed, trade worries hit shares Trump defends congratulatory phone call to Putin Arizona police release video of fatal collision with Uber self-driving SUV | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-china-gezhouba-expects-2017-net-pr/brief-china-gezhouba-expects-2017-net-profit-to-rise-25-35-percent-y-y-idUSH9N1PH00M | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Up-and-coming social network Google+ will soon be integrated with Google’s blogging platform, Blogger, according to a message now appearing in the “Edit User Profile” section of Blogger’s Settings.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The message reads “Connect Blogger to Google+ : Use your Google profile and get access to upcoming Google+ features on Blogger,” and includes links to “Learn more” and ”Get Started.” Unfortunately, the links are dead-ends right now, so we don’t yet know what type of integration is being planned.</p>
<p>The “Learn More” link is currently dumping to this “page not found” message in Blogger’s Help Center, while the “Get Started” link simply redirects logged-in users to their Blogger Dashboard.</p>
<p>The message was spotted first Alex Chitu of the unofficial Google news source, Google Operating System. Chitu says it’s obvious that Blogger profiles will be discontinued and replaced by Google Profiles – the profiles which are now used by the Google+ social network.</p>
<p>He also speculates that the Google+ integration will be used to introduce additional social features that have been provided in the past by Google Friend Connect. That service, which offers social gadgets that can be embedded on personal websites and blogs, now seems to be obsolete since Google+ has arrived. Google has already closed the Google Friend Connect Help Forum and has shut down the Friend Connect discussion group. It’s well past time for Google to officially shut down the actual website for the service too.</p>
<p>Friend Connect currently lists gadgets that provide access to blog readers’ user profiles, a “social bar” highlighting members’ activities, a ratings and reviews gadget, a comments gadget and more. Chitu says it’s possible we’ll soon see even deeper integration between Blogger’s commenting system and Google+ comments in the future, thanks to the forthcoming integration.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>That would position Google+ against Facebook on another front beyond just social networking: blog commenting. Facebook Comments (such as those used here on TechCrunch) provide a way for authenticated users to sign in using their Facebook credentials in order to leave a comment. The drawback, of course, to using a system such as this is that it requires commenters to post using their “real” identity, not a pseudonym. While somewhat effective against trolling and other bad behaviors, it also has it drawbacks.</p>
<p>With the recent news that Google+ will soon be supporting the use of pseudonyms, it sets up the social network as a platform that could soon rival Facebook as another option for sign-ins, authentication and therefore, for blog commenting as well. Integration with its own blogging service, Blogger, is surely just the first step.</p>
<p><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/t1CnL8Sik6A/" type="external">This content was originally published on TechCrunch.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>More from Tech Crunch:- <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/24/following-adobe-partnership-optimine-lands-3-6m-for-keyword-bid-optimization-software/" type="external">Following Adobe Partnership, OptiMine Lands $3.6M For Keyword Bid Optimization Software Opens a New Window.</a>- <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/24/the-yahoo-circus-animation/" type="external">The Yahoo Circus (Animation) Opens a New Window.</a>- <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/24/sencha-launches-mobile-html5-cloud-sencha-io/" type="external">Sencha Launches Mobile HTML5 Cloud, Sencha.io Opens a New Window.</a></p> | Google+ to Integrate With Blogger | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/10/24/google-to-integrate-with-blogger.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
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<p>Security researchers have discovered a Wi-Fi network vulnerability that could allow attackers to steal sensitive information or spread malicious software while someone is logged into a computer or mobile device.</p>
<p>A report published Monday said the breach could only happen if an attacker is within range of the potential victim, but the weakness could affect anyone using a Wi-Fi network, whether at home, the office or at a public coffee shop.</p>
<p>The Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group, says there’s no evidence that the vulnerability discovered by researcher Mathy Vanhoef has been exploited maliciously. It affects WPA2, a protocol used to secure Wi-Fi networks.</p>
<p>The group says the problem can be resolved through straightforward software updates. Microsoft says it’s already deployed patches. Google says it’ll do so in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Researchers discover vulnerability affecting Wi-Fi security | false | https://abqjournal.com/1078760/researchers-discover-vulnerability-affecting-wi-fi-security.html | 2017-10-16 | 2 |
<p>(By Juan Cole)</p>
<p>It can only be called an <a href="" type="external">Escherian Mobius Strip</a> foreign policy.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">The Obama administration is sending hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to the Shiite Islamic Mission Party-dominated government of Iraq</a> to help in the latter’s struggle against radical Sunni rebels who have increased their bombings and attacks this year. If the helicopter gunships and missiles really could take out the radicals that would be all to the good, but one suspects that the al-Maliki government can only prevail against them if it reaches out politically to the Sunni Arab community (it hasn’t).</p>
<p>Ironically, the Sunni radicals in Iraq are much the same as those in Syria. Indeed, there is a united Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that operates both in Falluja and Aleppo. Some of the Iraqi radicals’ new momentum comes from the money and aid they have received for their Syrian operations from wealthy Gulf residents in places like Kuwait.</p>
<p />
<p>But in the case of Syria, the US is supporting the rebellion against the Baath government of Bashar al-Assad, which is dominated at the upper echelons by members of the Shiite Alawite sect.</p>
<p>Although the US is not backing the radical Sunni fighters of northern Syria in specific, the latter increasingly predominate among the rebels and hold the majority of liberated territory. US military support for the rebels, allegedly already being supplied covertly, inevitably leaks to the radicals.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-NJ) and others</a> close to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee introduced a bill in May formally to arm the Syrian opposition. In Iraq, what we found was that weapons given to the Iraqi government troops often ended up being sold to insurgents because of corruption.</p>
<p>President Obama should just exercise a veto and tell Menendez and AIPAC “no.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is close to Iran and to the Baath government of Bashar al-Assad, and it is alleged that 70% of the materiel imported to Damascus is coming from Iraq.</p>
<p>So the US is supporting the Shiite government of Iraq, which supports Iran and Syria, against Sunni extremists. But it is backing Sunni rebels in Syria against the Alawite Shiite government in Damascus</p>
<p>The Baath government in Damascus is now peopled with war criminals and the world must sanction it. But al-Qaeda affiliates such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and the Jabhat al-Nusra (Succor Front) are extremely dangerous and Menendez and others are bonkers to risk allowing medium and heavy arms to fall into their hands.</p>
<p>(Likewise, Saudi Arabia, which has broken with the US over its negotiations with Iran, its support for al-Maliki, and its refusal to intervene directly in Syria to overthrow al-Assad, is crazy to risk having those al-Qaeda types take over Damascus; how long would it be before they were in Riyadh blowing things up?)</p>
<p>Ever since Ronald Reagan supported the raising of a private jihadi army in Afghanistan to fight Communism in the 1980s, the US has constantly been tempted to ally with such groups.</p>
<p>It is time for Obama to resist that temptation.</p>
<p>As for Iraq, the price tag for the hellfires should include al-Maliki’s agreement to stop excluding the Iraqi Sunnis politically.</p>
<p>Related video:</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">RT reports:</a></p> | US Arms Shiite Iraqi Gov’t to Kill Sunni Rebels, Arms Syrian Sunni Rebels to overthrow Shiite Gov’t | true | http://juancole.com/2013/12/shiite-syrian-overthrow.html | 2013-12-27 | 4 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan is still being non-committal about whether he'll seek re-election to an 11th term.</p>
<p>The Republican says that's a decision he always makes with his wife "each and every term" before Wisconsin's filing deadline. The deadline this year is June 1.</p>
<p>Ryan adds "I'm not going to share my thinking with you before I even talk to my wife."</p>
<p>Ryan is being asked about his future on CBS's Face the Nation.</p>
<p>Ryan will be a heavy favorite to win re-election, but mid-term elections are historically difficult for the party in power. Democrats are voicing increasing confidence about their prospects of winning the House.</p>
<p>Ryan has made clear he's not going anywhere anytime soon, telling The Associated Press last month: "I've got no plans to do anything different."</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan is still being non-committal about whether he'll seek re-election to an 11th term.</p>
<p>The Republican says that's a decision he always makes with his wife "each and every term" before Wisconsin's filing deadline. The deadline this year is June 1.</p>
<p>Ryan adds "I'm not going to share my thinking with you before I even talk to my wife."</p>
<p>Ryan is being asked about his future on CBS's Face the Nation.</p>
<p>Ryan will be a heavy favorite to win re-election, but mid-term elections are historically difficult for the party in power. Democrats are voicing increasing confidence about their prospects of winning the House.</p>
<p>Ryan has made clear he's not going anywhere anytime soon, telling The Associated Press last month: "I've got no plans to do anything different."</p> | House Speaker Ryan remains non-committal about re-election | false | https://apnews.com/amp/fbfa8bd87f8b411cb5b902da6b45fa70 | 2018-01-21 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Pilgrim's Pride.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Pilgrim's Pride , which operates chicken process plants and prepared-foods facilities in 12 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, are soaring 15% higher today after the company announced two key things: its first-quarter results and a special dividend.</p>
<p>So what: A quick glance at the company's first quarter suggests that it was an ugly one. Net sales moved 4.3% lower compared to last year's first quarter while, even worse, its GAAP EPS plunged 42% and adjusted EBITDA dropped nearly 36% lower.</p>
<p>The company's EPS of $0.46 was a decline compared to last year, but it still managed to beat estimates of $0.42 per share and was enough to appease investors gloomy after the recent announcement that Pilgrim would be recalling more than 4.6 million pounds of chicken due to the possibility that plastic, wood, rubber, and metal could have contaminated the goods.</p>
<p>The real hero pushing Pilgrim's higher Thursday is the revelation that it would pay a special cash dividend of $2.75 per share. The special dividend will total about $700 million, based on shares outstanding, and is payable May 18, 2016, to shareholders of record on May 10, 2016.</p>
<p>Now what: Looking ahead, the company's U.S. and Mexican business segments improved during the quarter, coming off a challenging fourth quarter of 2015, which should continue to improve during the second quarter of this year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"Within Prepared Foods, our vision of sustainable growth remains intact. With the well-regarded Pierce brand playing a central role and the addition of a new fully cooked line at our Moorefield, WV complex scheduled for completion late this year, we are on track to expand margins and increase our footprint to new accounts where we did not have prior presence," said CEO Bill Lovette in a press release.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/28/special-cash-dividend-sends-pilgrims-pride-soaring.aspx" type="external">Special Cash Dividend Sends Pilgrim's Pride Soaring 15% Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTwoCoins/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Daniel Miller Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Special Cash Dividend Sends Pilgrim's Pride Soaring 15% | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/28/special-cash-dividend-sends-pilgrim-pride-soaring-15.html | 2016-04-28 | 0 |
<p>Did they deliver? That was the question coming from the Democratic and Republican camps after Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin did battle at the vice presidential debate in St. Louis on Thursday night. Here’s the full debate in video — tell us what you think about how the candidates handled themselves and represented their respective tickets.</p>
<p>YouTube:</p>
<p />
<p /> | The Big Question After the VP Tussle | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-big-question-after-the-vp-tussle/ | 2008-10-03 | 4 |
<p>Here's the latest chapter in the case of Toronto Mayor <a href="https://twitter.com/TOMayorFord" type="external">Rob Ford</a>. Earlier this year, two reporters were shown a video of the mayor allegedly puffing on a glass crack pipe.</p>
<p>The Toronto Star and the news site <a href="http://gawker.com/toronto-cops-are-investigating-mayor-rob-fords-drug-ha-1455977242" type="external">Gawker</a>&#160;broke the story of the video, but didn't obtain the video from the person selling it. Mayor Ford denied that the video existed and that he was a crack user.</p>
<p>Yesterday, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair announced that investigators now have that video of Ford allegedly smoking crack.&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/robyndoolittle" type="external">Robyn Doolittle</a> is a reporter for <a href="http://www.thestar.com/" type="external">The Toronto Star</a>. Doolittle was one of the few people who saw the video when it surfaced earlier this year.</p>
<p>"After the Toronto Star revealed that two of our reporters had seen a video of the mayor apparently smoking crack," she says, "the police launched their own investigation... it was called Project Brazen 2."</p>
<p>The police just released a report of about 500 pages, says Doolittle, half of which was redacted, or blacked out. She says the story it tells is not simple.&#160;</p>
<p>Apparently, during a bust of a gun-smuggling ring, the police confiscated a computer and found the video on the computer's drive.&#160;One part of the story involves someone connected to the mayor who has been charged with extortion for trying to get the video back.&#160;</p>
<p>Doolittle says her newspaper had been reporting on issues with Mayor Ford even before her stories on the video.</p>
<p>"Earlier, a month before that, we reported that the mayor was asked to leave a military ball because he was impaired. We reported that his staff was trying to get him into rehab, for what they described as a drinking problem. Throughout this summer, we wrote about his connections to this gang, about his activities in connection to indivduals who lived in what neighbors called a crack house."</p>
<p>So, she says, the video is just one piece of the story. "This has kind of been unfolding all along, but there's always been this contingent of the city saying, unless you have the video, we won't believe you."</p>
<p>"The fact that the police have come out and said, no, there is a video, we have seen it and it does look like Rob Ford, that is what is really significant."</p> | Crack, Lies and Videotape — it's a tale only Toronto can tell | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-11-01/crack-lies-and-videotape-its-tale-only-toronto-can-tell | 2013-11-02 | 3 |
<p>WASHINGTON — At first glance, last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference looked like a hot mess. On closer inspection, it looked even worse.</p>
<p>Difficult though it might be, however, progressives should resist the urge to gloat. CPAC may have been a disaster, but the Republican Party is showing faint signs of brain activity and a fluttering pulse.</p>
<p>Oh, what the heck, let’s gloat just a little. The conservative movement’s annual group therapy session often takes place well outside the political mainstream, but this year it was in some parallel dimension, perhaps down a rabbit hole.</p>
<p>Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, defined the gathering: “If standing for liberty and standing for the Constitution makes you a wacko bird, then count me a proud wacko bird. And I think there are more than a few other wacko birds gathered here today.”</p>
<p />
<p>I’ll say. From all the screeching and squawking, you’d think the National Harbor convention complex on the banks of the Potomac River had been converted into a wacko bird rookery. Here was a preening Sarah Palin, cracking one-liners and making an unconvincing case for her continued relevance. There was a strutting Donald Trump, delivering a stream-of-semi-consciousness monologue to a half-empty room.</p>
<p>Newt Gingrich performed his party trick of seeming both visionary and hallucinatory in the same speech. “You’re going to hear a false attack that we don’t need new ideas,” he said. “Let me draw a distinction. We don’t need new principles. … We do need ideas.” All well and good — but he tried to illustrate his point with a candle he had brought onstage and a history lesson about the invention of the light bulb. In the end, not very illuminating.</p>
<p>Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sounded like one of those benighted people Gingrich was talking about. “We don’t need a new idea,” he told the crowd. “There is an idea. The idea is called America, and it still works.”</p>
<p>To the extent that Rubio’s words meant anything at all, they belied the fact that he has been working mightily to infect the GOP with new ideas about immigration. His whole speech tried to have it both ways — change but don’t change, and God bless America. If Rubio wants to be president, I don’t think Mitt Romney is the model to emulate.</p>
<p>Speaking of whom, yes, Romney was there, making his post-election debut as a Republican elder statesman. Speaking to conservative true believers who once derided him as a “Massachusetts moderate,” he totally brought down the house. He was warm, funny, self-deprecating — all the things that as a candidate he was not. Perhaps most endearing was that he didn’t have much of anything to say, beyond encouragement to keep the faith. Many other speakers didn’t even mention him.</p>
<p>Jeb Bush made the sensible argument that the GOP cannot continue to write off the segment of the population that Romney famously called the “47 percent.”</p>
<p>Bush told the crowd, “Here’s reality: If you’re fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, the rest of the nation is drowning. In our country today, if you’re born poor, if your parents didn’t go to college, if you don’t know your father, if English isn’t spoken at home, then the odds are stacked against you.” The speech received polite but tepid applause.</p>
<p>At least Bush fared better than another prominent moderate — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, presently the most popular Republican in the country — who wasn’t even invited.</p>
<p>The presidential straw poll conducted at the end of the conference was won by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., king of the “wacko birds” — the disparaging reference is Sen. John McCain’s, not mine. Paul’s speech included what sounded like a direct retort to the veteran Arizona Republican: “The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. I don’t think we need to name any names, do we?”</p>
<p>Yes, stale. Obviously, dripping with moss. But outside of the CPAC echo chamber, there are signs of life.</p>
<p>Thanks largely to Rubio and Bush — and to exit polls from the November election — there is a lively debate within the party about immigration reform. Thanks largely to Paul, there’s a debate about defense spending. Thanks to the switch by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, there’s a debate about same-sex marriage. Was any of this conceivable even six months ago?</p>
<p>All this ferment tells me that someday the GOP will claw its way to the right side of history. Progressives had better be ready with some new ideas of their own.</p>
<p>Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2013, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | Some Signs of Life in the GOP? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/some-signs-of-life-in-the-gop/ | 2013-03-19 | 4 |
<p>Vanessa Beeley <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a></p>
<p>On the 24th of July 2016, the US Peace Council delegation entered Syria for a week of talks and meetings with Syrian religious leaders, government spokespeople, parliamentarians, education ministers, Syrian NGOs and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.</p>
<p>Full reports of the many and varied discussions and the extraordinary conversation with President Bashar Al Assad will be forthcoming.</p>
<p>We have put <a href="http://@Walid970721" type="external">subtitles</a> to the Syrian media reports as a trailer for the fascinating insights that were shared by all those we met both in the Government and in the many opposition parties on the ground in Syria, not those living offshore in the US or holding meetings on the future of Syria in ornate and luxurious hotels in the Gulf States or Istanbul.</p>
<p>Our meeting with the Grand Mufti (photo, above) was one of the most profoundly moving and eloquent introductions to the mind of a true man of peace and reconcilitiation.</p>
<p>“If you do not extinguish the fire in Syria, it will engulf the world” ~ The Grand Mufti</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>One particular story had many of the delegates visibly moved. The Mufti told us of one time when he was leaving the Masjid [Mosque] and a 10 year old boy came up to him in the corridor and asked the Mufti “what is your secret?“.&#160; The Mufti replied “ I dont understand” and the child repeated the question “what is your secret? I am a Christian child, what obliges me when you are on the TV to listen to you. I have learned and loved my Christianity through you.”</p>
<p>This simple story symbolises the grace, humility and tremendous universally unifying influence of this genuinely compassionate and forgiving human being who is determined to uphold the principle of secular unity that has held the Syrian people together against the vast array of divisive foreign forces pitted against them.</p>
<p>Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad personally welcomed the delegation at the top of the staircase before showing them to the meeting room where he responded to a variety of incisive and challenging questions with ease, intelligence and humour, displaying a disarming honesty and visionary logic that belies the hostile NATO and gulf media demonization of a man who has withstood five years of “Assad must go” mantras from the Congressional “regime change” promoters.</p>
<p>When asked how he has personally weathered such hostile media intervention with such dignity and diplomacy, the President replied:</p>
<p>“I stand for a cause, not for myself.&#160; Were I fighting to keep myself in power, the people would have got rid of me by now. This gives me the confidence to respond to such media attacks.”</p>
<p>The following is a report from <a href="http://sana.sy/en/?p=83861" type="external">SANA</a>on the meeting with President Bashar Al Assad:</p>
<p>“President Bashar al-Assad said the policy of the US administration in the region goes against the interests and values of the American people, adding that they are getting increasingly violent at the expense of logic and common sense.</p>
<p>During his meeting on Thursday with the US Peace Council delegation currently visiting Syria led by Henry Lowendorf, President al-Assad said the US policies are at a collision course with the interests of the US citizens and the peoples of the world, indicating that the role of the United States as a superpower should otherwise be positive and based on fostering knowledge, science and technology instead of chaos and destruction.</p>
<p>President al-Assad gave a concise review of the events in Syria since the start up until now, indicating that the crisis which later morphed into a war on the Syrian people was prompted by Syria’s rejection to have a regional role that runs counter to the interests of its people.</p>
<p>The delegation members said their visit is aimed at having a close look into the situation in Syria and conveying their first-hand accounts to the US public opinion, vowing to do their best to stop the war and US and Western interference in Syria.</p>
<p>They underlined their vehement opposition to the US belligerent and interventionist policies, pledging to exert efforts to change this policy.</p>
<p>President al-Assad, for his part, praised such visits for their importance in helping governments change their policies if they are willing to.</p>
<p>In a statement to journalists, Lowendorf said the delegation held “fruitful and constructive” talks with President al-Assad.</p>
<p>“We had the honor to meet President al-Assad. He was straightforward and wanted us to be so. We related to him what we saw and he provided rational, accurate and wise answers for our questions… He impressed us with his insight not only about the situation in Syria but also about world powers,” he added.”</p>
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<p>Support our work by Subscribing and becoming a Member @ <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">21WIRE.TV</a></p> | SYRIA: The US Peace Council Delegation Meets President Bashar Al Assad and Grand Mufti Hassoun | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/08/02/syria-the-us-peace-council-delegation-meets-president-bashar-al-assad-and-grand-mufti-hassoun/ | 2016-08-02 | 4 |
<p>Thailand's government says it may return the passport of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a "New Year's gift," the <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/268985/noppadon-thaksin-s-passport-for-justice" type="external">Bangkok Post</a> reported.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister <a href="" type="external">Surapong Tovichakchaikul</a> on Friday morning said authorities were looking into the legality of reissuing a passport to Thaksin, but that he expected it would happen before the end of this month.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/thailand/111116/amnesty-thaksin-shiniwatra-thailand-exile-yingluck" type="external">Amnesty proposal could pardon former Thai PM</a></p>
<p>Surapong said it would be an ordinary passport, and not a diplomat passport.</p>
<p>Thaksin's passport was revoked in 2009 by Thailand's previous government under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhisit_Vejjajiva" type="external">Abhisit Vejjajiva</a>, which accused him of encouraging his supporters to protest.</p>
<p>Thaksin lives in exile in Dubai, and has been issued with travel documents by Montenegro and Nicaragua, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15997700" type="external">the BBC</a> reported.</p>
<p>Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadon Pattama, said his client was unaware of the news he may be reissued with his Thai passport, and that the move was a symbolic gesture of "justice," that would have no bearing on his ability to travel.</p>
<p>Thaksin was overthrown as prime minister in a coup in 2006 while he was out of the country.</p>
<p>His sister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yingluck_Shinawatra" type="external">Yingluck Shinawatra</a> won power in a landslide election earlier this year, spurring rumors that Thaksin may return from exile.</p> | Thailand may return passport to ex-PM Thaksin | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-12-02/thailand-may-return-passport-ex-pm-thaksin | 2011-12-02 | 3 |
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<p>Supervalu (NYSE:SVU) shares fell 9.3% on Monday after the grocery chain was hit with a downgrade from Goldman Sachs, which cited food stamp cuts and increased competition as headwinds.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Analysts at the investment bank now rate Supervalu at “sell” and lowered its price target to $6. Goldman Sachs also reduced its full-year estimates for Supervalu to account for the company’s second-quarter earnings.</p>
<p>The stock tumbled to $6.24 late Monday morning, retreating from a year-to-date gain of 178% through Friday’s close.</p>
<p>In a research note sent to clients, Goldman Sachs said it’s encouraged by a slowdown in top-line deterioration at Supervalu’s Save-A-Lot stores.</p>
<p>But cuts to food stamp benefits, sluggish sales at Save-A-Lot licensee stores and encroaching competition “will likely overwhelm operational improvements,” analysts wrote.</p>
<p>The temporary increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits expired on Nov. 1. Food stamps account for roughly 40% of sales at the Save-A-Lot chain</p>
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<p>Goldman Sachs suggested Save-A-Lot’s core customer may trade down to lower price-point items in response to SNAP cuts, although there’s some upside risk if consumers reallocate spending in favor of food.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Supervalu is facing competition from a wide array of retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT).</p>
<p>According to the research note, Walmart Neighborhood Markets are rolling out in many Save-A-Lot’s core markets, and testing of a Walmart value brand called Price First has occurred near Save-A-Lot locations.</p>
<p>Last month, Supervalu reported a second-quarter profit amid lower costs and improved margins, although adjusted per-share earnings were cut in half to 13 cents.</p>
<p>Sales at Save-A-Lot fell just 0.1% to $972 million. Total retail food sales also stemmed declines, slipping 1.1% to $1.07 billion.</p> | Supervalu Falls 9% as Wal-Mart, Food Stamp Cuts Spur Downgrade | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/11/18/supervalu-falls-as-wal-mart-food-stamp-cuts-spur-downgrade.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>"Entrepreneur Diary" by Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.shipwire.com/help/c/welcome/blog/" type="external">Shipwire Product Fulfillment Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Over the past few week weeks, there has been quite a bit of road construction down the street from Shipwire. Though I’ve needed to find an alternative route to the office, I can’t help but smile at the thought of the construction. The reason is that it reminds me of an amazing piece of advice given to me by one of our Shipwire board of advisors, Ivan Hoffman, who built <a href="" type="internal">FedEx</a> Ground. Ivan told me that our job as founders and early employees is to “build the road.”</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Before I go into what that means I need to make a quick aside. If you are starting a business that you hope to build into a multi-million or billion dollar company, you should form a team of advisors around you that have “been there, and done that.” I think Shipwire is very fortunate to have a board with long-term vision that can help us to weather the short-term speed bumps.</p>
<p>Ivan comes into the Shipwire offices on a semi-regular basis to meet with us, coach our growth and ask questions … ones that occasionally make us squirm. During one of his first visits, he told us about a mistake that he had made in one of his early companies that had cost him dearly. He said, “Early stage employees need to invest in the road and not the people.”</p>
<p>As you can imagine, this made us scratch our heads. I value each of my employees and we do invest in them. However, Ivan was not saying: “don’t invest in your people.” Rather, what he wanted us to understand was that the early-stage employees need to build the processes and procedures that will help the business scale and grow. Ivan told me a story about hiring a solid team of people for one of his startups where he invested in the people and built the company around them. But when his employees moved on, the company struggled because the original employees took all their knowledge of the business and processes with them, leaving the company in bad shape as it tried to move forward.</p>
<p>“Build the Road” is a mantra for my core startup team. We constantly ask ourselves what steps we need to take on a daily basis to help the business scale. When we crack the code on a particular problem, we document the steps taken to solve it to ensure that the next group of employees doesn’t have to resolve the same problem. For instance, we use internal wikis for projects and processes. Just as with <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/" type="external">Wikipedia Opens a New Window.</a>, every Shipwire employee is both a reader and creator of the content. The team is motivated to build our processes as they overcome each roadblock.</p>
<p>To find out if your team is taking the time to build the road, ask yourself: “What would happen if a core-team member were no longer available?” Would you be able to recover and keep the business moving forward?</p> | Build the Road, So You Don't Get Stuck | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2010/05/26/build-road-dont-stuck.html | 2016-03-23 | 0 |
<p>The city of Newark, New Jersey will test 17,000 children for lead poisoning after the drinking water in nearly half the schools in the city was found to have high levels of the toxin, <a href="http://abc7ny.com/education/newark-will-test-17000-school-children-for-lead-poisoning/1247932/" type="external">ABC 7</a> reports.</p>
<p>New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has been caught up chasing Donald Trump around on the campaign trail, said on Tuesday that his administration would be tackling the problem immediately.</p>
<p>“I want to make sure everyone understands this is a situation we’re concerned about, but it is not a crisis,” Christie told reporters. “But we don’t want to let it become a crisis. So we’re on top of it.”</p>
<p>The situation is reminiscent of another water crisis that has been making headlines for months now.</p>
<p>Flint, Michigan has become the catalyst for a national conversation on environmental injustice. The bureaucratic decision to save a few dollars&#160;by switching Flint’s previous water supply to the corrosive water of the Flint River is unique (and uniquely troubling) in some ways, but it’s part of a larger problem&#160;in America.</p>
<p>We need to stop thinking about Flint as an isolated tragedy. Instead, let’s discuss whether or not we live in a Flint nation, one where negligence and systemic inequality conspire to adversely affect our most vulnerable communities.</p>
<p>There’s a reason Latinos rank climate change right alongside immigration as an&#160;issue they care most about. There’s a reason Native Americans are often at the front line in the fight for environmental justice. It’s because these communities, communities more likely to populate impoverished areas, are the ones footing the bill for the reckless practices of politicians who have prioritized money over people.</p>
<p>I am reminded of the <a href="" type="internal">Latino community in Kern County</a>, California, the most fracked county in the state, which was forced to relocate because residents were suffering from headaches, nosebleeds, rare cancers and respiratory diseases associated with oil and drilling extraction.</p>
<p>I am reminded of a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0094431" type="external">study</a> that said in 2014, nonwhites were exposed to concentrations of toxic nitrogen dioxide that were 38% higher than the ones affecting whites.</p>
<p>I am reminded of <a href="" type="internal">Sierra Blanca</a>, a poor Latino community that has been used as a waste&#160;dump since 1992.</p>
<p>I am reminded of Native American reservations across the United States where contaminated water is the norm. I think of the Navajo Nation, and&#160;what happened to them last August when <a href="" type="internal">three million gallons of toxic sludge</a> spilled into the Colorado River System, which flows through the heart of Navajo Nation. When assistance finally arrived to the Navajo, it was in the form of oily water tanks.</p>
<p>We cannot divorce race and systemic inequality from the above examples. Nor we can we divorce them from what happened in Flint. As Hillary Clinton said at the Democratic debate on January 17th:</p>
<p>“We’ve had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor in many ways and the majority African American, has been bathing and drinking in lead-contaminated water.&#160;And the governor of that state acted as thought he didn’t really care. He had his requests for help that he basically stonewalled. I’ll tell you what: If the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would’ve been action.”</p>
<p>These are words to take to heart.</p>
<p>Newark. Sierra Blanca. Navajo Nation. Kern County.</p>
<p>It’s time we faced the truth: Flint is everywhere.</p> | Flint is Everywhere (Newark to Test 17,000 Kids For Lead Poisoning) | true | http://bluenationreview.com/flint-is-everywhere/ | 2016-03-17 | 4 |
<p>Fox News senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is “taking some time off” following a report by In Touch Weekly alleging he had a 10-month extramarital affair with a Las Vegas hostess.</p>
<p>“We recently became aware of Ed’s personal issues and he’s taking some time off to work things out,” a Fox News spokesperson told Politico in a <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/05/ed-henry-fox-cheated-on-wife-222790" type="external">statement</a> Wednesday.</p>
<p>Mr. Henry has been married to NPR’s deputy Washington editor Shirley Hung since 2010.</p>
<p>Las Vegas hostess Natalia Lima <a href="https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/ed-henry-affair-mistress-100998" type="external">told In Touch</a> that she and Mr. Henry met five years ago through social media and started a sexual relationship in the spring of 2015.</p>
<p>“Whenever he was in town, we would pretty much just have sex. He has a really high sex drive,” Ms. Lima told the magazine.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/may/4/ed-henry-off-the-air-at-fox-news-after-in-touch-re/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Ed Henry off the air at Fox News after report he cheated on wife | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/4/ed-henry-off-the-air-at-fox-news-after-in-touch-re/ | 2016-05-04 | 0 |
<p>CLEVELAND (AP) — Todd Haley has experience calling plays, beating AFC North teams and working with star quarterbacks.</p>
<p>Just the kind of coach who could help the Browns win.</p>
<p>Haley, who was fired last week by Pittsburgh, has discussed Cleveland’s offensive coordinator position with Browns coach Hue Jackson, according to a person who spoke Sunday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team is not confirming any interviews.</p>
<p>Haley spent six years with the Steelers before he was let go following a playoff loss to Jacksonville.</p>
<p>Jackson has handled offensive coordinator duties the past two seasons, but after going 0-16, he said he was open to hiring a coordinator. Jackson has previously interviewed Houston quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan and fired New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo about the job.</p>
<p>ESPN first reported the Browns were in “serious talks” with Haley, whose contract expired after the Steelers were stunned 45-42 by the Jaguars.</p>
<p>Jackson is very familiar with the 50-year-old Haley after years spent facing each other as division foes.</p>
<p>Haley worked as Arizona’s coordinator and was Kansas City’s head coach for two years before joining Mike Tomlin’s staff in Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>He occasionally butted heads with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but Haley also oversaw one of the NFL’s most elite offenses spearheaded by wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell.</p>
<p>The Browns have struggled to score under Jackson, but Cleveland’s offense is set to get an infusion of talent. New general manager John Dorsey is likely to use either the No. 1 or No. 4 overall draft pick on a quarterback this year and the Browns are expected to be $100 million under the salary cap, money they can use for roster upgrades.</p>
<p>Jackson has overhauled his offensive staff this offseason.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NFL: <a href="https://pro32.ap.org" type="external">https://pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>CLEVELAND (AP) — Todd Haley has experience calling plays, beating AFC North teams and working with star quarterbacks.</p>
<p>Just the kind of coach who could help the Browns win.</p>
<p>Haley, who was fired last week by Pittsburgh, has discussed Cleveland’s offensive coordinator position with Browns coach Hue Jackson, according to a person who spoke Sunday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team is not confirming any interviews.</p>
<p>Haley spent six years with the Steelers before he was let go following a playoff loss to Jacksonville.</p>
<p>Jackson has handled offensive coordinator duties the past two seasons, but after going 0-16, he said he was open to hiring a coordinator. Jackson has previously interviewed Houston quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan and fired New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo about the job.</p>
<p>ESPN first reported the Browns were in “serious talks” with Haley, whose contract expired after the Steelers were stunned 45-42 by the Jaguars.</p>
<p>Jackson is very familiar with the 50-year-old Haley after years spent facing each other as division foes.</p>
<p>Haley worked as Arizona’s coordinator and was Kansas City’s head coach for two years before joining Mike Tomlin’s staff in Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>He occasionally butted heads with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but Haley also oversaw one of the NFL’s most elite offenses spearheaded by wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell.</p>
<p>The Browns have struggled to score under Jackson, but Cleveland’s offense is set to get an infusion of talent. New general manager John Dorsey is likely to use either the No. 1 or No. 4 overall draft pick on a quarterback this year and the Browns are expected to be $100 million under the salary cap, money they can use for roster upgrades.</p>
<p>Jackson has overhauled his offensive staff this offseason.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NFL: <a href="https://pro32.ap.org" type="external">https://pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | AP Source: Browns meet with Haley about coordinator job | false | https://apnews.com/07a3c07ea4734d4fbc5aa6a9efedaccd | 2018-01-21 | 2 |
<p>Canada is becoming a major <a href="" type="internal">weapons dealer</a>, a reliable accomplice in U.S. wars, and a true believer in “humanitarian” armed peacekeeping as a useful response to all the destruction fueled by the weapons dealing.</p>
<p>William Geimer’s Canada: The Case for Staying Out of Other People’s Wars is an excellent antiwar book, useful to anyone seeking to understand or abolish war anywhere on earth. But it happens to be written from a Canadian perspective of possibly particular value to Canadians and residents of other NATO countries, including being valuable right now as Trumpolini demands of them increased investment in the machinery of death.</p>
<p>By “other people’s wars” Geimer means to indicate Canada’s role as subservient to leading war-maker the United States, and historically Canada’s similar position toward Britain. But he also means that the wars Canada fights in do not involve actually defending Canada. So, it’s worth noting that they don’t involve actually defending the United States either, serving rather to <a href="" type="internal">endanger</a> the nation leading them. Whose wars are they?</p>
<p>Geimer’s well-researched accounts of the Boer war, the world wars, Korea, and Afghanistan are as good a depiction of horror and absurdity, as good a debunking of glorification, as you’ll find.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate then that Geimer holds out the possibility of a proper Canadian war, proposes that the Responsibility to Protect need merely be used properly to avoid “abuses” like Libya, recounts the usual pro-war tale about <a href="" type="internal">Rwanda</a>, and depicts armed peacekeeping as something unlike war all together. “How,” Geimer asks, “did Canada in Afghanistan slip from actions consistent with one vision, to those of its opposite?” I’d suggest that one answer might be: by supposing that sending armed troops into a country to occupy it can be the opposite of sending armed troops into a country to occupy it.</p>
<p>But Geimer also proposes that no mission that will result in the killing of a single civilian be undertaken, a rule that would completely abolish war. In fact, spreading understanding of the history that Geimer’s book recounts would likely accomplish that same end.</p>
<p>World War I, which has now reached its centennial, is apparently a myth of origins in Canada in something of the way that World War II marks the birth of the United States in U.S. entertainment. Rejecting <a href="" type="internal">World War I</a> can, therefore, be of particular value. Canada is also searching for world recognition for its contributions to militarism, according to Geimer’s analysis, in a way that the U.S. government could really never bring itself to give a damn what anyone else thinks. This suggests that recognizing Canada for pulling out of wars or for helping to ban landmines or for sheltering U.S. conscientious objectors (and refugees from U.S. bigotry), while shaming Canada for participating in U.S. crimes, may have an impact.</p>
<p>While Geimer recounts that propaganda surrounding both world wars claimed that Canadian participation would be defensive, he rightly rejects those claims as having been ludicrous. Geimer otherwise has very little to say about the propaganda of defensiveness, which I suspect is much stronger in the United States. While U.S. wars are now pitched as humanitarian, that selling point alone never garners majority U.S. public support. Every U.S. war, even attacks on unarmed nations halfway around the earth, is sold as defensive or not successfully sold at all. This difference suggests to me a couple of possibilities.</p>
<p>First, the U.S. thinks of itself as under threat because it has generated so much anti-U.S. sentiment around the world by means of all of its “defensive” wars. Canadians should contemplate what sort of an investment in bombings and occupations it would take for them to generate anti-Canadian terrorist groups and ideologies on the U.S. scale, and whether they would then double down in response, fueling a vicious cycle of investment in “defense” against what all the “defense” is generating.</p>
<p>Second, there is perhaps less risked and more to be gained in taking Canadian war history and its relationship with the U.S. military a bit further back in time. If Donald Trump’s face won’t do it, perhaps remembrance of U.S. wars gone by will help sway Canadians against their government’s role as U.S. poodle.</p>
<p>Six-years after the British landing at Jamestown, with the settlers struggling to survive and hardly managing to get their own local genocide underway, these new Virginians hired mercenaries to attack Acadia and (fail to) drive the French out of what they considered their continent. The colonies that would become the United States decided to take over Canada in 1690 (and failed, again). They got the British to help them in 1711 (and failed, yet again). General Braddock and Colonel Washington tried again in 1755 (and still failed, except in the ethnic cleansing perpetrated and the driving out of the Acadians and the Native Americans). The British and U.S. attacked in 1758 and took away a Canadian fort, renamed it Pittsburgh, and eventually built a giant stadium across the river dedicated to the glorification of ketchup. George Washington sent troops led by Benedict Arnold to attack Canada yet again in 1775. An early draft of the U.S. Constitution provided for the inclusion of Canada, despite Canada’s lack of interest in being included. Benjamin Franklin asked the British to hand Canada over during negotiations for the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Just imagine what that might have done for Canadian healthcare and gun laws! Or don’t imagine it. Britain did hand over Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. In 1812 the U.S. proposed to march into Canada and be welcomed as liberators. The U.S. supported an Irish attack on Canada in 1866. Remember this song?</p>
<p>Secession first he would put down Wholly and forever, And afterwards from Britain’s crown He Canada would sever. Yankee Doodle, keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy. Mind the music and the step and with the girls be handy!</p>
<p>Canada, in Geimer’s account, has lacked ambition to dominate the globe through empire. This makes ending its militarism quite a different matter, I suspect, from doing the same in the United States. The problems of profit, corruption, and propaganda remain, but the ultimate defense of war that always emerges in the United States when those other motives are defeated may not be there in Canada. In fact, by going to war on a U.S. leash, Canada makes itself servile.</p>
<p>Canada entered the world wars before the U.S. did, and was part of the provocation of Japan that brought the U.S. into the second one. But since then, Canada has been aiding the United States openly and secretly, providing first and foremost “coalition” support from the “international community.” Officially, Canada stayed out of wars between Korea and Afghanistan, since which point it has been joining in eagerly. But to maintain that claim requires ignoring all sorts of war-participation under the banner of the United Nations or NATO, including in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and <a href="" type="internal">Iraq</a>.</p>
<p>Canadians must be proud that when their prime minister mildly criticized the war on Vietnam, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson <a href="" type="internal">reportedly</a> grabbed him by the lapel, lifted him off the ground, and shouted “You pissed on my rug!” The Canadian prime minister, on the model of the guy Dick Cheney would later shoot in the face, apologized to Johnson for the incident.</p>
<p>Now the U.S. government is building up hostility toward Russia, and it was in Canada in 2014 that Prince Charles compared Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. <a href="" type="internal">What course will Canada take?</a> The possibility exists of Canada offering the United States a moral and legal and practical Icelandic, Costa Rican example of a <a href="" type="internal">wiser way</a> just north of the border. If the peer pressure provided by Canada’s healthcare system is any guide, a Canada that had moved beyond war would not by itself end U.S. militarism, but it would create a debate over doing so. That would be a continental step ahead of where we are now.</p> | Can Canada Get Out of the War Business? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/07/can-canada-get-out-of-the-war-business/ | 2017-03-07 | 4 |
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<p>A: We appreciate family remedies that have been passed down for generations. Many cultures value garlic and onions for their healing properties.</p>
<p>Readers tell us that onion syrup has been used against coughs for decades. The onion was sliced thinly and cooked slowly with some sweetening and a little liquid. Here is one reader’s story: “My mother prepared onion syrup when I was a child in the 1940s and ’50s, but she used honey instead of sugar.</p>
<p>“On my first trip to India in 1986, I accompanied a local doctor to villages where she was teaching assistants to distinguish between minor ailments that could be treated with local remedies and major problems that needed professional care in the nearest large village. One of the remedies used for minor coughs was an onion syrup sweetened with natural sugar processed from the local sugarcane fields.”</p>
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<p>We like the idea that an onion relative, garlic, also would be helpful against colds. This aromatic bulb has been used against colds, flu, fever and a host of other complaints.</p>
<p>Q: I was one heck of a skeptic when I heard about putting soap in the bed to calm restless leg syndrome. In fact, I laughed at the person who told me about it. However, I have suffered with RLS for several years, so I decided to give it a try.</p>
<p>Well, I had to eat a little humble pie. Not only does soap work, it works in a matter of 30 seconds to a minute. I’m sure it will not work for everyone, every time. But it sure has helped me and a dozen people I’ve told about it. We may not know exactly how it works, and there may be folks who think it is bogus. Well, they are just plain wrong.</p>
<p>I put my bar of soap in a pillowcase and rest my leg or legs on the pillow under the cover. This works to ease the restlessness every time.</p>
<p>A: Thank you for your story. We have heard from many other people who find soap helpful for restless leg syndrome, but, as you recognize, not all benefit. There are prescription drugs used to treat those with serious RLS, but the medications have some daunting side effects, such as falling asleep during the day while driving or eating. Dizziness, fainting, sleepiness, fatigue, gambling and other compulsive behaviors, indigestion, nausea, pain, swollen legs, dry mouth and hallucinations are other potential reactions.</p>
<p>We offer some approaches to managing restless legs with supplements or measures other than drugs. Again, not every treatment will be effective in each case.</p>
<p>Q: I am 44 years old and took simvastatin for five years. I was very active and full of energy before taking simvastatin. Gradually, I lost strength in my body, especially in my left leg. I could hardly raise it to get out of a car or chair. I also began to have memory problems, muscle cramps, muscle twitching and fatigue.</p>
<p>I went to the emergency room when I got so weak I could hardly walk. There was fear I might have multiple sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, but the tests came back normal.</p>
<p>I was told to stay off simvastatin for four to six weeks. I have noticed huge changes in only two weeks. The fatigue has gone, I can walk again, my memory and concentration are improved, my strength has returned, and my left leg is feeling better!</p>
<p>The neurologist does not think simvastatin could have caused these side effects, but I am convinced it did. Are there alternative ways to lower cholesterol?</p>
<p>A: The muscle pain and weakness you experienced have been reported by hundreds of visitors to our website (www.PeoplesPharmacy.com). We also have heard from many people that statins can cause muscle twitching, fatigue, memory problems and symptoms similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease.</p>
<p>There are other ways to control cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Ask your doctor about drugs such as cholestyramine, niacin and aspirin. One reader shared this experience: “I have taken a number of different statins through the years and always had muscle pain. My doctor recently had me try cholestyramine. It seems to be working fine with no muscle pain. I am surprised it isn’t better-known.”</p>
<p>Write to Joe and Teresa Graedon via their website: <a href="http://www.PeoplesPharmacy.com" type="external">PeoplesPharmacy.com</a>. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”</p>
<p /> | Simvastatin side effects reported | false | https://abqjournal.com/325131/simvastatin-side-effects-reported.html | 2 |
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<p>Police are investigating the mysterious event that hospitalized Merced Estrada, who was in stable condition Sunday evening. The wound was not severe, according to witnesses.</p>
<p>About 900 members of the Catholic church in the 2400 block of Broadway near Gibson were leaving the 10:30 Mass about noon, as about 1,200 more worshippers were arriving for the 12:30 service. Estrada had planned to walk into the church with her husband and son, anticipating other family members arriving later.</p>
<p>A familiar face at the parish, she was standing outside the large red-roofed white structure among a group when, without the forewarning from a pop of gunshot, a bullet struck her temple, then landed on the ground outside the west-facing, wide-open church entrance.</p>
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<p>“All of a sudden, I saw blood coming out of her temple,” said Esther Garcia, 86, adding that Estrada’s husband blotted the bleeding with a towel or handkerchief.</p>
<p>“He was holding the bullet in his hand, but they don’t know where it came from,” said Garcia, a 30-year parish member. “It was stray, from far away.”</p>
<p>Those who were near Estrada when she was hit believe the bullet was shot from a high-altitude distance, possibly first hitting one of the church’s buildings.</p>
<p>“The bullet had been spent by the time it hit her,” said Diego Garcia, 80, Esther Garcia’s husband. “It fell right by her.”</p>
<p>Deacon Gregory Henderson said in a telephone interview Sunday evening that he didn’t think the bullet was meant to intentionally target the church or anyone at the service.</p>
<p>“The bullet didn’t go in (to the skull), and the bullet was dented … so what we thought is that it was shot in the air from far away,” he said. Had it been shot from closer, there would have been more noise, but “no one heard a shot — and a lot of people were gathered around from the 10:30 Mass,” he said.</p>
<p>Once he found out Estrada had been struck, Henderson offered help. “I got a chair and sat her in the shade, and got her some ice,” he said. When paramedics arrived, along with about five police officers, they found her vital signs normal and moved her by stretcher to the ambulance, he said.</p>
<p>“She wasn’t dizzy, was never unconscious, she didn’t black out at all.”</p>
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<p>By the time the ambulance arrived, the bleeding had stopped.</p>
<p>“They took her in to make sure there was nothing happening internally,” Henderson said. “There was quite a bit of discussion as to whether she needed to go at all,” particularly because Estrada was taking the whole experience in stride. “(Her husband) was a little bit shaken, more than she was,” Henderson said. “She seemed totally calm.”</p>
<p>Neither Henderson nor the Garcias had contact information for the Estrada family.</p>
<p>The ambulance, without sirens, transported Estrada and her husband to University of New Mexico Hospital, while her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren followed.</p>
<p>Estrada was listed in stable condition at 8:30 Sunday night, according to University of New Mexico Health Science Center spokesman Billy Sparks.</p>
<p>During Mass at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church three Sundays ago in northwest Albuquerque, 24-year old Lawrence Capener allegedly climbed over several pews, yelled out, “Fake preacher!” and used a pocket knife to stab the choir director and choir members who tried to stop him.</p>
<p>“I think they are totally isolated events,” Henderson said of the April 28 attack.</p>
<p>“And the one lesson, of course, is that people shouldn’t be shooting in the air,” he said. “We can be really thankful it wasn’t worse.”</p> | Falling bullet hits woman at church | false | https://abqjournal.com/198456/falling-bullet-hits-woman-at-church.html | 2013-05-13 | 2 |
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<p>In business you may find yourself in a situation that requires a strong elevator pitch. This pitch is a short description of who you are, what you do and why someone should join you in a business venture. This can range from getting hired for a project to attracting venture capitalists to invest in your project. The name comes from a hypothetical situation that places you in an elevator with the person to whom you need to convey an idea. You only have the length of the elevator ride to do so. Here are three things to keep in mind when crafting an elevator pitch to ensure its power and effectiveness:</p>
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<p>Demonstrate how you are uniqueYou introduce yourself during an elevator pitch. How do you want the listener to remember you? Think of specific words that will convey the image you are crafting for yourself and incorporate these into your introduction. Clearly, you need to demonstrate your value. The listener needs to understand how you would prove an asset to his or her company. The listener should think that you are unique—that you are, in essence, indispensable. The listener shouldn’t think that you are simply better than other candidates for your position. He or she should think that you are a different type of candidate altogether. You are the one person who can do what you do. If you don’t have an exclusive or rare skill-set, think about developing one that would make you the lynchpin of an organization. If you can be easily replaced, you need to rethink how you are selling yourself.</p>
<p>Convey your goals and enthusiasmThe most successful mindset for business ventures is one full of volition and drive. For all purposes pertaining to this elevator pitch, your past accomplishments were not a matter of circumstance. You saw a problem. You solved it. You brought your past goals to fruition. Now, you will bring the listener’s goals to fruition for them. Your goals should not be vague and unrealistic. You want the listener to think you are ambitious but your immediate goals should be tangible and practical—well-defined objectives that you have already crafted plans to accomplish.</p>
<p>Speak simply and clearlyIn an elevator pitch, you do not have a lot of time to convey a wealth of information to your listener. Feel free to further flesh out your history and the intricacies of your resume during a future meeting. For the elevator pitch, however, do not try to impress the listener with obscure words or complex stories. Speak simply and speak clearly. You want to pick the right words. If you use the right words, they will speak volumes. You want your listener to retain what you say. Often when people don’t have anything to say, they start speaking incomprehensibly. If your words and messages carry weight, let them do so. You want to put forth the best image of yourself possible but that image includes sincerity. Do not bend the facts and attempt to trick the listener. You have value. You are unique. If you plan ahead, you can clearly define goals about which you are enthusiastic. The key to a well-executed elevator pitch is to trim out all the superfluous information and magnify the best you have to offer.</p> | What to Consider When Building an Elevator Pitch | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/04/02/what-to-consider-when-building-elevator-pitch.html | 2016-03-23 | 0 |
<p>Imagine a US military team deployed in Afghanistan printing its own ammunition. Or perhap using a 3-D printer to rebuild a damaged fortification, or maybe recreating a drone shot down by insurgents.</p>
<p>It sounds far-fetched, but it may be the future of the military, according to an article in the latest issue of Armed Forces Journal.&#160; <a href="http://www.wired.com/2013/05/military-3d-printers/" type="external">Wired magazine looks at</a> the opportunities — and limitations — of 3-D printing on the battlefield, and how it may upend the way wars are fought. And this isn't just about the US military. China is quite interested, as well.</p>
<p>(Editor's note: The Global Scan can be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Just&#160; <a href="" type="internal">register and sign up&#160;</a>today.)</p>
<p>Britain is sending a clear message through its school system: evolution is as close to scientific fact as there is. &#160;Officials have declared that creationism has no place in science classes. It's the culmination of a long battle by scientists and others to ensure that schools that receive any government funding teach a basic science curriculum.</p>
<p>Up till now, only new schools had been required to teach the curriculum. <a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2014/06/18/secular-triumph-as-government-bans-creationism-from-free-sch" type="external">Politics.co.uk looks at</a>&#160;how the government finally found the will to shut down the evolution debate.</p>
<p>Nepal has a tradition of selecting young girls to serve as the living embodiment of the&#160;Hindu goddess Durga. These girls, some as young as five, can't talk to outsiders or have their feet touch the ground outside their homes.</p>
<p>The faithful arrive for audiences, bringing offerings and gifts and seeking blessings. But when the girl has her first period, her time as a living goddess is over.&#160; <a href="" type="internal">PRI's The World producer Sonia Narang</a>&#160;has photos, a video and a story&#160;on the tradition and how these girls transition from goddesses to grade school students.</p>
<p>General Qasem Soleimani is the commander of the elite&#160;Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.&#160;Now he's being called on to help Iraq in its fight against ISIS militants who have taken control of much of northern Iraq and threaten Baghdad.</p>
<p>Soleimani has already helped save one Iranian ally.&#160;He's credited with developing the strategy against militant groups in Syria, including ISIS, that has recently given Syria's government the upper hand in its civil war.&#160;He was also a key player when Iran advised the US in its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.&#160; <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27883162" type="external">The BBC charts his recent rise</a>&#160;into the public view.</p>
<p>"I couldn't walk, I couldn't talk, I had never been held by anybody" — that's the life Peter Ferris Cochran escaped at 18 months old when an American family adopted him from an Irish home for unwed mothers. But that home has an even darker past — more than 800 babies died there in Tuam, Ireland, where Cochran was born.&#160;</p>
<p>Cochran has since returned to Tuam many times to explore the brutal history of the unwed mothers home, where Irish women were shamed and punished for having children out of wedlock. He told&#160; <a href="" type="internal">PRI's The Takeaway</a>&#160;what he found out about the home and his own birth family.</p>
<p>The small community of Fermagh, Northern Ireland, is crowing about how hot it is there: hotter than Paris, Rome and Portugal. It's "warm temperatures" are leading to bustling business, especially at the local pubs, where World Cup soccer is on all the channels. But what exactly counts for noteworthy temperatures in Fermagh? 25 degrees Celsius — about 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Can we all move to Fermagh? <a href="http://fermanaghherald.com/2014/06/were-hotter-than-rome-and-paris/" type="external">The Fermagh Herald reports</a>.</p> | Will the Pentagon's next war be 3-D printed? | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-06-18/will-pentagons-next-war-be-3-d-printed | 2014-06-19 | 3 |
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<p>U.S. luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers on Tuesday reported a rise in quarterly profit and revenue, boosted by higher demand for its homes.</p>
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<p>Orders, a key metric of future revenue for homebuilders, rose 14.5 percent to 1,979 homes in the fourth quarter. A robust labor market has supported demand for housing in the United States.</p>
<p>"Meanwhile our customers in the upscale market are benefiting from low unemployment, income growth, a strong stock market and attractive mortgage rates," Executive Chairman Robert Toll said.</p>
<p>Toll Brothers said the average price of homes sold marginally increased to $836,600 from a year earlier, while the number of homes sold rose 9 percent to 2,424.</p>
<p>Homebuilders have reported largely positive quarterly results and remained upbeat on the housing market even as the recent hurricanes weighed on some operations.</p>
<p>The company's net income rose to $191.9 million, or $1.17 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31, from $114.4 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.</p>
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<p>The year-ago quarter was hit by a $121.2 million warranty charge.</p>
<p>Revenue rose 9.3 percent to $2.03 billion.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta)</p> | Toll Brothers profit, revenue jump on higher demand | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/12/05/toll-brothers-profit-jumps-67-8.html | 2017-12-05 | 0 |
<p>In order to understand the roots of contemporary police repression in the United States, readers need to return to the Vietnam War era and the attempt of the government to squelch political activism through the use of a centralized system of monitoring and responding to domestic social action and peace movements.</p>
<p>The protest movement of the Vietnam era scared the hell out of the government. The decision of Lyndon Johnson not to seek a second term and the resignation of Richard Nixon (in addition to the specter of Watergate) were reactions to the peace movement and reflections of that fear. Images of Nixon holed up in the White House portraying himself disinterested in the protest movement are at odds with the paranoia that produced Watergate.</p>
<p>Nixon responded to the demonstrations on the streets of the US by putting into motion the apparatus to monitor peace activists around the nation. By the time Jimmy Carter took office, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (now under the Department of Homeland Security), originally given the responsibility to respond to disasters, expanded into the area of civil affairs. It was no accident that FEMA set up shop in places like National Guard armories around the nation and in other locations.&#160; The agency was given enormously expanded powers under the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, allowing it to coordinate state defense forces (Martin, Harry, V. “FEMA-The Secret Government,” Free America, 1995). Of course, all of this pales in comparison to the enormous powers that both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have added to an imperial presidency! Barack Obama has also given himself the power that allows for the assassination of US citizens deemed a threat to the country. A parallel development in policing that took off as FEMA enlarged its powers was the development of special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams that resembled storm troopers, or alternately, the forces of darkness portrayed in movies like Star Wars.&#160; So, now there existed a centralized apparatus to respond to and track protest movements, and also to respond to them in a way that elicited terror for those who took to the streets in opposition to government policies and actions. It became routine to view nightly news broadcasts showing masses of police storming an area where a suspected criminal was located. Soon, these same shock troops showed up with regularity at protests in increasingly intimidating gear and in larger and larger numbers. Fast-forward over three decades later and it became expected that peaceful Occupy movements across the nation would be subjected to repression by SWAT teams and assaulted. Indeed, The Department of Homeland Security and Patriot Act gave added life to these shows of brute force in the face of peaceful demonstrations.</p>
<p>Now the police role of local, state, and national governments will be heightened by the 2013 completion of the National Security Data Center in Utah, run by the National Security Agency. Every communication, every traceable word, every electronic connection will be monitored by this spy agency. The data center is an Orwellian scenario in its intent and scope.</p>
<p>The tragic events of September 11, 2001 gave added sustenance to the security state mindset that is now routinely practiced on the streets of this nation. Occasionally, the security state spills over into what is routine policing. Incidents of police violence are now part of evening news telecasts. Such was the case in the police response to a mistaken call for help placed to a medical alert company in November 2011 in White Plains, New York.</p>
<p>Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. accidentally activated the button on his medical alert device in the early hours of a November morning. When he cancelled the false alert, the police showed up at his apartment in force along with an officer dressed in SWAT riot gear. Police demanded entry into Chamberlain’s apartment. He opened his apartment door a crack and told the police to leave. They insisted on entering and removed the door by its hinges and shot the unarmed former Marine Corps veteran dead within minutes of their incursion into his home, but not before taunting him for responding with “Semper fi” in answer to police taunts (“Officers, Why Do You Have Your Guns Out?” The New York Times, March 5, 2012). Ironically, Kenneth Chamberlain had spent twenty years as a corrections’ officer. He suffered from a serious heart ailment. For Kenneth Chamberlain’s innocuous mistake of activating his medical alert device, he paid with his life. At least one officer from White Plains was also heard shouting racial epithets prior to the shooting.</p>
<p>So, whether protesting on the streets of the US or accidentally activating a medical alert device, we are no longer safe and secure within the US security state!</p>
<p>Howard Lisnoff is a freelance writer. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | Insecure in the Security State | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/04/06/insecure-in-the-security-state/ | 2012-04-06 | 4 |
<p>“Copy-and-pasting press releases” is typically used as a term of art to indicate that media are mindlessly repeating a corporate or government line. But recent coverage of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “gang raids” across the country has various outlets literally copy-and-pasting ICE’s <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-led-gang-surge-nets-1378-arrests-nationwide" type="external">press release</a>.</p>
<p>Take San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT ( <a href="http://www.ksat.com/news/76-suspected-gang-members-arrested-in-sa-area" type="external">5/11/17</a>):</p>
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<p>KSAT attempts to avoid outright plagiarism by adding an “officials said,” but the lack of quotation marks <a href="http://researchguides.case.edu/avoid-plagiarism" type="external">qualifies it as plagiarism</a> anyway.</p>
<p>Gannett’s Detroit Free Press ( <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/05/11/feds-nab-1-378-record-gang-sweep-20-came-michigan/318623001/" type="external">5/11/17</a>) didn’t even bother jamming an “officials said” in there, instead copy-and-pasting language from the ICE press release word for word:</p>
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<p>Fox 2 Detroit ( <a href="http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/254254090-story" type="external">5/11/17</a>) would also cut and paste with a slight tweak:</p>
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<p>Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR’s Dallas Franklin ( <a href="http://archive.is/CFvFW#selection-457.1-457.15" type="external">5/11/17</a>) ran away with the plagiarism gold, however, rattling off three entire paragraphs directly from the ICE press release ( <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-led-gang-surge-nets-1378-arrests-nationwide" type="external">5/11/17</a>) word for word, without bothering to alter them at all:</p>
<p>(The KFOR version even faithfully reproduces a typo from the ICE press release: “U.S” for “U.S.” in the last line.)</p>
<p>Verbatim copying is a specific problem in ICE “gang raid” reporting, pointed out by Gaby Del Valle in The Outline ( <a href="https://theoutline.com/post/1448/the-media-is-spreading-immigration-propaganda" type="external">5/1/17</a>) earlier this month, when she caught, among others, Houston’s NBC affiliate copy-and-pasting an ICE press release from April almost word for word:</p>
<p>ICE selected five immigrants to highlight in its release, all of whom were mentioned in the <a href="http://www.click2houston.com/news/95-arrested-during-5-day-ice-operation-in-se-texas" type="external">Click2Houston</a> story. Here’s ICE’s summary of one of the arrests:</p>
<p>A 32-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested without incident in Houston. A Barrio North Side gang member with convictions for marijuana possession, unlawfully carrying a firearm and evading arrest. He was previously removed from the United States in September 2006.</p>
<p>Click2Houston’s reporting was nearly identical to the language in the release:</p>
<p>A 32-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested without incident in Houston on April 19. He is a Barrio North Side gang member with convictions for marijuana possession, unlawfully carrying a firearm and evading arrest, according to authorities. He was previously removed from the United States in September 2006.</p>
<p>FAIR has documented other examples as well, such as Charlotte’s Fox affiliate ( <a href="http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/local-news/214974506-story" type="external">11/1/16</a>)&#160; transcribing three entire paragraphs from a November 2016 ICE release ( <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/charlotte-area-ms-13-gang-members-sentenced-life-prison-following-ice-hsi" type="external">11/1/16</a>) without attribution:</p>
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<p>And these are just examples of the media literally copy and pasting press releases; this doesn’t address the exceedingly common practice of taking the press release and slightly rewriting it—something CNN ( <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/politics/ice-gang-arrests-operation/" type="external">5/11/17</a>; ICE press release, <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-led-gang-surge-nets-1378-arrests-nationwide" type="external">5/11/17</a>) and Washington Post ( <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/ice-arrests-82-in-five-day-sweep-in-virginia-maryland-and-dc/2017/04/05/9b5b6304-1a30-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html?utm_term=.1e9878218f5d" type="external">4/5/17</a>; ICE press release, <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-82-individuals-during-5-day-operation-focused-va-dc" type="external">4/5/17</a>) did in their reporting on ICE raids. The vast majority of reporting on Thursday’s “raid,” from NBC News ( <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-says-over-1-000-gang-members-arrested-nationwide-sweep-n758116" type="external">5/11/17</a>) to the San Antonio Express News ( <a href="http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/ICE-rounds-up-1-300-76-in-South-Texas-as-part-11140147.php" type="external">5/11/17</a>) to WTOP ( <a href="http://wtop.com/local/2017/05/11-arrested-va-ice-operation/slide/1/" type="external">5/11/17</a>) to ABC News ( <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ice-arrests-1000-people-targeted-gang-operation/story?id=47359039" type="external">5/11/17</a>), only repeated government claims, never once talking with any of the arrestees’ families or lawyers, community activists or immigrant rights groups.</p>
<p>Several outlets, like Fox News Business ( <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/05/11/ice-arrests-more-than-1000-gang-members-in-country-wide-surge.html" type="external">5/11/17</a>) and Time ( <a href="http://time.com/4776820/ice-anti-gang-operation-arrests/" type="external">5/11/17</a>), asserted the arrestees’ “gang member” status simply on the say-so of the government—a power-serving habit FAIR ( <a href="" type="internal">5/2/16</a>) documented last year.</p>
<p>Headlines in Fox Business News (left) and Time (both 5/11/17) found the subjects of their stories guilty without a trial.</p>
<p>Without going through every DHS and ICE press release and cross-checking them against local media reports, it’s impossible to document the scope of the problem. But with a half-dozen glaring examples in just the past few weeks alone, it appears rampant in local media. Rewriting press releases to mindlessly advance a government narrative is bad enough; literally plagiarizing government press releases in the service of the same ends is a whole new low in corporate media stenography.</p> | Media Are Literally Copy-and-Pasting ICE Press Releases | true | http://fair.org/home/media-are-literally-copy-and-pasting-ice-press-releases/ | 2017-05-12 | 4 |
<p>As the death toll from the current <a href="" type="internal">Ebola outbreak</a> has <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-death-toll-rises-932-says-130436265.html" type="external">topped 900</a> in four West African nations, several medical experts are pointing out that infected Africans <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/08/experts-give-new-us-ebola-drug-africans-201485233636516828.html" type="external">deserve the same access</a> to the experimental treatment for the virus that’s being given to the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ebola-missionary-emory-atlanta-arrive-20140805-story.html" type="external">two Americans</a> currently being cared for at Emory University Hospital.</p>
<p>The U.S. citizens who have come down with Ebola were flown to a special isolation unit in Atlanta and are <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/two-americans-who-contracted-ebola-in-africa-received-an-experimental-serum/2014/08/04/dbc44a48-1c07-11e4-ae54-0cfe1f974f8a_story.html" type="external">receiving an experimental serum</a> that hasn’t yet been approved by the government. The treatment has helped monkeys survive the deadly virus, which has killed about <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/31/ebola-sierra-leone-emergency-meetings/13407731/" type="external">60 percent</a> of the people who have caught it over the past several months. These experimental treatments aren’t without some <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/8/5/5968749/american-ebola-outbreak-victims-subject-of-science-experiment-ZMapp" type="external">controversy</a>; while a handful of potential Ebola drugs appear to be promising, they haven’t actually been tested in humans, and it’s <a href="http://www.livescience.com/47224-experimental-ebola-treatment-supply-limit.html" type="external">not clear</a> whether they’ll be effective. Still, there’s an obvious divide when it comes to who gets the chance to try.</p>
<p>Three of the world’s leading Ebola specialists — including one of the individuals who first discovered the virus back in 1976 — say that the residents of Western African countries should get the opportunity to see whether untested drugs could help them survive, if they <a href="https://twitter.com/texasinafrica/status/496982691758489600" type="external">consent</a> to the treatment.</p>
<p>“African governments should be allowed to make informed decisions about whether or not to use these products — for example to protect and treat healthcare workers who run especially high risks of infection,” Peter Piot, David Heymann, and Jeremy Farrar <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/08/experts-give-new-us-ebola-drug-africans-201485233636516828.html" type="external">wrote in a joint statement</a>. All three are infectious disease experts at major public health organizations in Europe, and Piot was one of the scientists who <a href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/former-unaids-director-peter-piot-recounts-his-role-in-discovery-of-ebola-aids/" type="external">discovered Ebola</a> in what was then known as Zaire.</p>
<p>Health officials in Liberia, which has been <a href="" type="internal">hit particularly hard</a> by the current Ebola outbreak, are also questioning the disparity between the medical treatment that Americans and Liberians are receiving. “This is something that has made our job most difficult,” the country’s assistant health minister, Dr. Tolbert Nyenswah, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/second-ebola-patient-lands-in-u-s-1407256243" type="external">told the Wall Street Journal</a> this week. “The population here is asking: ‘You said there was no cure for Ebola, but the Americans are curing it?’”</p>
<p>In their <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/08/experts-give-new-us-ebola-drug-africans-201485233636516828.html" type="external">new editorial</a>, Piot, Heymann, and Farrarr also urge WHO to take on “greater leadership role” by officially extending approval for untested Ebola drugs in Western Africa. The three infectious disease experts point out that the situation might be different if the deadly virus were currently killing hundreds of people in wealthy countries. If that were the case, medical agencies “would begin discussions with companies and labs developing these products and then make rapid decisions about which of them might be appropriate for compassionate use,” they <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/08/experts-give-new-us-ebola-drug-africans-201485233636516828.html" type="external">write</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, Ebola is a disease that probably wouldn’t make it very far in more developed countries with sophisticated health care infrastructures. Ebola can only be spread through direct contact with bodily fluids; unlike the flu, for example, it can’t travel through the air. So, although the deadly virus has captured international attention, medical experts agree it <a href="http://jezebel.com/the-paranoid-hypochondriacs-guide-to-the-ebola-outbreak-1614724719" type="external">doesn’t actually pose much of a risk</a> to Western nations, where there are adequate medical resources to screen people for symptoms and enforce quarantines.</p>
<p>The reason that Ebola has been able to spread so far is specifically because Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria are <a href="http://www.vox.com/cards/ebola-outbreak-2014/why-is-the-current-ebola-outbreak-so-deadly" type="external">impoverished countries</a> without strong health care systems, as well as home to people who <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960938-7/fulltext?rss=yes" type="external">mistrust Western doctors</a> and are wary of following <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/bodies-dumped-streets-west-africa-struggles-curb-ebola-081231167.html" type="external">quarantine requirements</a>. “It afflicts poor African people who live in villages amid forest and are obliged by scarcity of options to eat bats, apes and other wild creatures, found dead or captured live,” David Quammen, the author of a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pandemic/dp/0393346617" type="external">book on pandemics</a>, explains in a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/opinion/ebola-virus-a-grim-african-reality.html" type="external">recent New York Times op-ed</a>. “Ebola in Guinea is not the Next Big One, an incipient pandemic destined to circle the world, as some anxious observers might imagine. It’s a very grim and local misery.”</p>
<p>Ebola also isn’t unique in that regard. There are plenty of other <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/08/04/what-are-your-chances-getting-ebola/dsF58FxG8P3AlSKexoeQOL/story.html" type="external">infectious diseases</a> that disproportionately plague low-income countries — killing <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/05/ebola-worrying-disease" type="external">far more people</a> than the current outbreak — without sparking as much concern from the Americans who remain largely unaffected. For instance, about <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/" type="external">1.5 million people</a> die from diarrheal diseases annually in areas of the world that lack <a href="" type="internal">proper sanitation systems</a>. Each year, more than six million children <a href="" type="internal">die before their fifth birthday</a> from preventable diseases like pneumonia. In Africa, <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/" type="external">one child dies every minute</a> from malaria, which can prevented with simple steps like using netting and insect repellent.</p>
<p>There are also several debilitating infectious diseases that afflict people throughout the courses of their lives. According to the World Health Organization, about <a href="http://www.ncats.nih.gov/about/faq/neglected/neglected-faq.html" type="external">a billion people worldwide</a> — one sixth of the word’s entire population — are plagued by at least one so-called “neglected tropical disease” that can lead to crippling deformities and slow deaths. Those neglected diseases, which are heavily concentrated in poor countries in Africa and Latin America, typically aren’t high priorities for treatment. Since they don’t cause dramatic outbreaks that kill a lot of people at the same time, they don’t inspire the same kind of <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118972/ebola-virus-obsession" type="external">public interest</a> that Ebola has. They also don’t have any impact on people who live in developed countries.</p> | Top Ebola Experts Point Out Africans Deserve The Same Medical Care As Infected Americans | true | http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/08/06/3468239/ebola-disparities/ | 2014-08-06 | 4 |
<p>In this segment of the <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/motley-fool-money/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e99b6458-b420-11e7-bdc9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Motley Fool Money Opens a New Window.</a> podcast, host Chris Hill, Million Dollar Portfolio's Jason Moser, Supernova and Rule Breakers' David Kretzmann, and Motley Fool Hidden Gems' Andy Cross discuss the rising speculation that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is preparing to enter Brazil, the most populous nation in South America. It's the biggest single market for MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), and would be a beachhead for the U.S. giant to make further inroads into its territory. But there's reason to believe that MercadoLibre can beat Amazon in the markets where it already dominates the online retail scene.</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017</p>
<p>This video was recorded on Oct. 13, 2017.</p>
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<p>Chris Hill: MercadoLibre is often referred to as the Amazon of Latin America. Shares of MercadoLibre fell 12% on Thursday on reports that the Amazon of the United States may be expanding its presence in Brazil. What do you think, David?</p>
<p>David Kretzmann: The funny thing here is, this shouldn't be all that surprising. These rumors have been floating around, even from the same Brazil publication, since the summer. So, in June is reported the Amazon Marketplace might be coming to Brazil in the future months. Another publication, the Brazil Journal, sort of speculated that would happen in 2018. So, this isn't anything brand new. But, obviously, any time you're going head-to-head against Amazon, potentially, that's something to have on your radar. But, we can actually look at a case study of how MercadoLibre has fared against Amazon looking at Mexico, where Amazon has operated for the past three years. MercadoLibre has been there since 1999, so they have a bit of a head start in Mexico and pretty much everywhere else in Latin America, including Brazil. But, over the past seven quarters, Mercado Libre's revenue has accelerated each quarter. That's despite Amazon ramping up its efforts there. Amazon rolled out Prime Mexico in March this year. Despite the competition from Amazon, MercadoLibre is still doing well in Mexico. And I think a key to that is they have that head start with that e-commerce ecosystem. They have a payments platform, MercadoPago, they have shipping and logistics through Mercado Envíos, a lot of other services that go into that marketplace ecosystem.</p>
<p>Jason Moser: Yeah, I got a few questions about this on Twitter. I think you have to look at it from the perspective of, you never want to dismiss competition from Amazon. They are formidable in virtually everything that they do. But by the same token, let's also not dismiss what MercadoLibre has built to this point using that very same blueprint, and also with a founder leader that is still very much invested in the company. Again, there's a lot to be said for getting that first mover status in that part of the world. And Brazil really is what is going to dictate a lot of that company's gains for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>Kretzmann: Yeah, Brazil makes up almost half of Mercado Libre's revenue. But only 4% of total retail sales in Brazil come online. So, that's still a market that's growing very quickly as more people in the region get access to the internet and start buying things online. So, I don't even think it's a winner-take-all market. There's not going to be just MercadoLibre or just Amazon. I think there's room for both of them to compete.</p>
<p>Hill: Do you think part of what we saw with shares of MercadoLibre falling on Thursday has to do with the run that the stock has had, in the same way that Domino's&#160;has had this great run, so falling just short of perfect means some people are going to pull back?</p>
<p>Kretzmann: Yeah. The stock, even after this job, is trading for 10X trading sales. So, expectations are high. The valuation is at a premium. So, this kind of volatility should be expected.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFWizard/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e99b6458-b420-11e7-bdc9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Chris Hill Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Amazon. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFPencils/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e99b6458-b420-11e7-bdc9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">David Kretzmann Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Amazon and MercadoLibre. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFJMo/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=e99b6458-b420-11e7-bdc9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Jason Moser Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and MercadoLibre. 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=e99b6458-b420-11e7-bdc9-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | MercadoLibre Shares Take a Hit on Fears That Amazon Is Moving South | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/19/mercadolibre-shares-take-hit-on-fears-that-amazon-is-moving-south.html | 2017-10-19 | 0 |
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<p>Walmart (left), CIW representatives (right) sign historic agreement at a Lipman Produce tomato farm (Photo: Business Wire)</p>
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday joined an initiative that will require its Florida tomato suppliers to increase farmworker pay and protect workers from forced labor and sexual assault, among other things.</p>
<p>The nation’s largest retailer became the most influential corporation to join the initiative promoted by a coalition of farmworker activists based in southwest Florida. Farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers said they welcomed Wal-Mart to its Fair Food Program since no other company has the market strength and consumer reach it has when it comes to selling produce.</p>
<p>“Through this collaboration, not only will thousands of hard-working farmworkers see concrete improvements to their lives, but millions of consumers will learn about the Fair Food Program and of a better way to buy fruits and vegetables grown and harvested here in the U.S,” said Cruz Salacio, a spokesman for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.</p>
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<p>The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer’s participation in the Fair Food Program is the most visible catch for the coalition, whose activists have been asking corporate grocery chains and restaurants to put pressure on growers to improve farmworker conditions for the past decade. Participants now include McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Chipotle, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s and Yum Brands — the company whose restaurant chains include Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut.</p>
<p>“The companywide commitment from Wal-Mart on social issues is the reason why we are doing this, and we are committed to the Fair Food Program,” said Tom Leech, a Wal-Mart senior vice president.</p>
<p>He attended the ceremony on an Immokalee farm where the announcement was made.</p>
<p>Florida tomato suppliers in the Fair Food Program pass on to their buyers a penny-per-pound of tomatoes pay increase for farmworkers. They also must have zero tolerance for forced labor and sexual assault and put in place a mechanism for resolving labor disputes between growers and farmworkers. The program also requires growers to allow farmworkers to form health and safety committees on each farm.</p>
<p>Growers in compliance earn a “Participating Grower” designation, and if they lose the designation through violations, they won’t be able to sell their tomatoes to the participating buyers, such as Wal-Mart, according to the coalition.</p>
<p>Farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers said the majority of Wal-Mart’s Florida tomato suppliers already participate in the Fair Food Program. But they said they expect the retailer expands the Fair Food Program to other crops in its produce supply chain and to tomatoes grown outside of Florida.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart’s sizable influence with suppliers — what some dub “the Wal-Mart” effect — could make that happen, as well as help make the standards pushed for by the coalition industry standards, said Michael Hicks, an economics professor at Ball State University whose research has focused on Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>“When a buyer out of Bentonville says, ‘This is what I want out of tomatoes,’ that influences all of the tomato market,” Hicks said. “It may not change everything, but it will influence anybody who wants to sell tomatoes through Wal-Mart.”</p>
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<p>The coalition began fighting to increase the wages of tomato pickers back in the 1990s, attempting strikes with little success early on. Then the group turned to the major food chains that bought the tomatoes, leading to a nationwide boycott of Taco Bell that culminated in a 2005 agreement with the fast-food chain.</p>
<p>More deals with tomato buyers soon followed, but each time the growers balked. The growers threatened to fine any members who worked with the coalition and instead created their own safety and worker protection plan.</p>
<p>Finally, in 2010, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange agreed to boost wages and working conditions for farmworkers with measures outlined in the Fair Food Program.</p>
<p>Any extra cost likely will be shared by shippers, Wal-Mart and consumers, Hicks said.</p>
<p>“My guess is it’s not a very big cost increase,” he said.</p>
<p>———</p>
<p>Wilfredo Lee contributed to this from Immokalee.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Wal-Mart joins initiative on farmworker pay | false | https://abqjournal.com/337877/wal-mart-joins-initiative-on-farmworker-pay.html | 2014-01-16 | 2 |
<p>Image by flickr user studiosmith.</p>
<p />
<p>Till today, I couldn’t find too many reasons not to shop at the Salvation Army: Thrift-stores are cheaper, better for the planet, and usually more interesting than the mall. But turns out my fondness for weird old mugs could land me in financial hot water. <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/buying-green-ruin-credit.php" type="external">Treehugger</a> has a great little post today about green consumer habits that some credit companies consider “red flags:”</p>
<p>Credit companies take note, for instance, if you charge services like tire retreading and shoe repair to your card. Or if you’re shopping at thrift stores like the Salvation Army.</p>
<p>The message: Buying used things and repairing broken ones instead of buying new means you’re struggling financially, and can’t be trusted to pay back a loan. That’s awfully backwards. Little do the credit companies know how much poorer I’d be if I didn’t shop at the Salvation Army.</p>
<p>For other credit company red flags, check out this <a href="http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090712/OPINION/907120328/1027/OPINION01" type="external">Concord Monitor piece</a>.</p>
<p /> | Buying Green: Bad for Your Credit? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/07/buying-green-bad-your-credit/ | 2009-07-15 | 4 |
<p>Each day we move closer to a Mideast war that could involve the use of horrible weapons, even nukes. In this darkest hour since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the shining example of one man’s courage has never been more relevant to the cause of peace. That man is Mordechai Vanunu, former Israeli nuclear technician, and may well be the longest serving prisoner of conscience anywhere in the world. Daniel Ellsberg recently referred to him as “the preeminent hero of the nuclear age.”</p>
<p>In September 1986, Mordechai Vanunu was illegally abducted by agents of the Mossad for revealing to the world press information that confirmed the existence of Israel’s often-denied plutonium separation plant. The plant is buried eighty feet below ground in the Negev desert, and had long escaped detection. Since the 1960s it has been used to recover plutonium from spent fuel rods from the Dimona nuclear reactor, located nearby. The plant continues to be an integral part of Israel’s ongoing nuclear weapons program. Israel is believed to possess at least 200 nukes.</p>
<p>Then Prime Minister Shimon Peres ordered Vanunu’ s abduction to silence the whistleblower, and to bring him to trial for allegedly jeopardizing the securi ty of the state of Israel. But Vanunu’s real “crime” was speaking the truth. And for that he was made to suffer a fate worse than death: eleven years and five months in solitary confinement. Isolation in a tiny cell is a well known form of torture, and one that can cause deep emotional scars and mental impairment. During this period Vanunu was subjected to constant harassments and humiliations: an obvious attempt by the Mossad to “break” his will, or drive him over the edge. Amnesty International described the conditions of his ordeal as “cruel, inhuman, and degrading.”</p>
<p>Yet, the prisoner held firm as a rock. Nor has Vanunu since wavered from the position of principle he articulated in the very beginning: that the only sane path is full disclosure and abolition of nuclear weapons. From his prison cell Mordechai wrote: “It is a dangerous illusion to believe they [nuclear weapons] can be defensive….Only peace between states can promise security.”</p>
<p>The world gained another glimpse of Vanunu’s character in 1998, shortly after his removal from solitary and his placement in the general prison population. At that time he was queried by Israeli officials about whether he would agree to remain silent on the nuclear issue, implying an offer of conditional release. But Vanunu refused. He insisted on his right to speak freely. And he made it plain that being muzzled on the nuclear issue was non-negotiable: not an option for his release. Vanunu is currently starting the seventeenth year of his eighteen year sentence. One of the causes for which Vanunu risked his life, full disclosure of Israel’s nuclear policies, was briefly realized in February 1999, when a debate of the nuclear issue occurred on the floor of the Israeli Knesset. The event was short-lived. After shouting and recriminations, several Arab members of the Knesset who had sparked the debate were expelled from the chamber. The stormy circumstances showed the extent of denial that remains to be overcome. But it was a victory, nonetheless, for those who favor nuclear abolition.</p>
<p>Over the years the case of Mordechai Vanunu has come to symbolize the intractable problem of state secrecy that continues to stymie all efforts toward world nuclear disarmament. This is why Vanunu has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since1987. Though his name is a household word in Europe, Australia, and throughout much of the rest of the world, here in America Vanunu remains almost unknown. The US press ignores his case because it is an embarrassment to Israel and to the US government.</p>
<p>Yet, spotlighting Vanunu for his courage and his witness would have salutary effects. It would increase public awareness of the folly of President Bush’s current Mideast policies. The problem is Bush’s double standard: one standard for the US and Israel, another for everyone else. This explains why almost nobody (outside the US) trusts the president when he says he wants to roll back weapons of mass destruction from the Mideast. They correctly understand that Bush is not serious. If he were he would also be pressuring Israel to open its nuclear sites to IAEA inspectors. Israel remains the only state in the region with nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>MARK GAFFNEY is an anti-nuclear activist and the author of a pioneering 1989 book about Israel’s nuclear weapons program: DIMONA, THE THIRD TEMPLE. THE STORY BEHIND THE VANUNU REVELATION. Mark can be reached for comment at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Mordechai Vanunu and Israel’s Nukes | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/01/31/mordechai-vanunu-and-israel-s-nukes/ | 2003-01-31 | 4 |
<p>After Stephen Paddock started opening fire on the massive&#160;Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival crowd in Las Vegas, one father decided to take a selfless approach to helping his fellow American.</p>
<p>Jonathan Smith, who is a 30yr-old Father, was able to save 30 people during the shooting before being hit by a bullet that is currently stuck in his neck.</p>
<p>The shooting claimed a confirmed number of 59 lives and injured hundreds more.</p>
<p>Jonathan was unaware that the explosions he was hearing were not fireworks, but his brother, Louis Rust, knew they were gunshots.</p>
<p>“Rust realized what was really going on and told the entire extended family — all nine of them — to hold hands and run. By then, it was a stampede,” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/03/he-helped-people-escape-from-the-storm-of-gunfire-in-las-vegas-now-he-has-a-bullet-in-his-neck/?utm_term=.a0b19e5f3301" type="external">reports</a> The Washington Post.</p>
<p>The 30yr-old father realized his family was scattered in the crowd, including his young nieces who were of 17-22 years in age.</p>
<p>“He says he turned back toward the stage to look for them, he saw people hunched behind a sheriff patrol car at the northwest edge of the concert lawn. Others were so frightened they didn’t know what to do. He kept shouting, ‘Active shooter, active shooter, let’s go! We have to run,'” notes the Post. “He grabbed people and told them to follow him toward a handicapped parking area in the direction of the airport, away from Las Vegas Boulevard. It was a large field with several rows of vehicles. Smith and the others crouched down behind one of the last rows of cars.”</p>
<p />
<p>“I got a few people out of there,” said Smith. “You could hear the shots. It sounded like it was coming from all over Las Vegas Boulevard.”</p>
<p>‘While the man was urging young girls who were not fully shielded from the gunfire to get on the ground, Smith was stuck in the neck by a bullet,’ reports the <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/21872/hero-dad-saved-30-people-during-vegas-attack-being-amanda-prestigiacomo" type="external">Daily Wire</a>.</p>
<p>“I couldn’t feel anything in my neck. There was a warm sensation in my arm,” he told the Post.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/21872/hero-dad-saved-30-people-during-vegas-attack-being-amanda-prestigiacomo" type="external">Daily Wir</a>e also stated, “The bullet remains lodged in his neck; he suffered a fractured collarbone, a cracked rib and a bruised lung, per the Post. Doctors are concerned that removing the bullet at this time will cause extensive harm.”</p>
<p>“I might have to live with this bullet for the rest of my life,” said Smith.</p>
<p>Interestingly an&#160;off-duty San Diego police officer saved Smith after he was hit:</p>
<p>The officer came over and tried to stop the bleeding and then flagged down passing cars to try to get Smith a ride. Many just drove by, but a pickup truck stopped and Smith was put in the back of it along with several other wounded victims. By then, he was struggling to breathe.</p>
<p>“I really didn’t want to die,” Smith said.&#160;“I don’t see myself that way,” he said, in response to being a hero. “I would want someone to do the same for me. No one deserves to lose a life coming to a country festival.”</p>
<p>All of his family members survived the attack.</p> | Hero Father Saves 30 People in Vegas Before He was Shot in the Neck | true | http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/hero-father-saves-30-people-vegas-shot-neck/ | 0 |
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<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Washington Free Beacon Staff</a>September 11, 2012 9:32 pm</p>
<p>The backdrop for a tribute to U.S. veterans during the final night of the Democratic National Convention showcased a series of Russian warships, flying a Russian naval flag.</p>
<p>The image was projected behind retired Adm. John Nathman and more than a dozen&#160;Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans on Sept. 6. The entire image was projected at the beginning and end of the tribute; a portion of the image (the right-most ship) could be seen at some points during the more than <a href="http://bit.ly/RJZWfV" type="external">five-minute tribute</a>.</p>
<p>The Navy Times first <a href="http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/09/navy-russian-warships-displayed-dnc-veterans-tribute-091112/" type="external">reported the mistake Tuesday</a>:</p>
<p>"The ships are definitely Russian," said noted naval author Norman Polmar after reviewing hi-resolution photos from the event. "There’s no question of that in my mind."</p>
<p>Naval experts concluded the background was a photo composite of Russian ships that were overflown by what appear to be U.S. trainer jets. It remains unclear how or why the Democratic Party used what’s believed to be images of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at their convention.</p>
<p>A spokesman for the Democratic National Convention Committee was not able to immediately comment Tuesday, saying he had to track down personnel to find out what had happened.</p>
<p>Not only are ships clearly outfitted with Russian radar equipment, but they are even flying a Russian naval flag, according to the&#160;Times.</p>
<p>Update (9:50 p.m.): An earlier version of this post said the ships were showcased in a video; the ships were in a backdrop during the tribute. The post has been updated to correct that.</p> | DNC Tribute to Veterans Showcased Russian Ships | true | http://freebeacon.com/dnc-tribute-to-veterans-showcased-russian-ships/ | 2012-09-11 | 0 |
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<p>Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) new mobile operating system iOS8 is causing significant issues for some users who connect their phones to cars via Bluetooth, reports Apple news blog MacRumors, citing reports on Apple's Support forums and its own user forums.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It appears that following an upgrade to iOS 8, or after purchasing a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, users seem to be having trouble pairing their phones to their car audio systems, MacRumors posted in a blog.</p>
<p>Several issues faced by users include the devices refusing to pair entirely, neglecting to play audio over the speakers, or disconnecting when a call comes in.</p>
<p>The Bluetooth pairing problems are not just limited to cars, as iOS 8 users have also reported issues pairing their devices with headphones, speakers, headsets and more.</p>
<p>MacRumors had also posted on Monday that a bug in iOS 8's 'Reset All Settings' option could erase iCloud drive documents, citing user reports.</p>
<p>Apple has been plagued by problems following the September release of its iPhones and iOS8, with iPhone 6 Plus buyers discovering their phones can bend when placed in back pockets, and the company pulling a botched iOS8 update after reports of dropped cellular service.</p>
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<p>Apple could not be immediately reached for comment.</p>
<p>(Reporting By Sai Sachin R; Editing by Don Sebastian)</p> | Report: Apple iOS 8 Causing Bluetooth Issues | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/10/01/report-apple-ios-8-causing-bluetooth-connectivity-issues.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
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<p>Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the Fed is moving toward raising interest rates in light of a solid job market and an improved outlook for the U.S. economy and inflation. But she's stopping short of signaling any timetable for the next rate hike.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Yellen is offering a generally upbeat assessment of the economy in a speech to a conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She notes strong gains in employment and strength in consumer spending. Yellen notes that inflation is still running below the Fed's 2 percent target but is being depressed mainly by temporary factors.</p>
<p>In light of the economy's gains, the Fed chair says the case for an increase in the central bank's key policy rate "has strengthened in recent months."</p> | Yellen suggests rate hike is coming but offers no timetable | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/26/yellen-suggests-rate-hike-is-coming-but-offers-no-timetable.html | 2016-08-26 | 0 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>Simply denouncing acts of overt violence against gays without addressing the underlying message that people with same-sex attractions are abnormal and inferior to heterosexuals is not enough, a gay Baptist minister argues in a recent Religion Dispatches <a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/6679/queer_suicide_and_the_malpractice_of__love__/" type="external">article</a>.</p>
<p>Cody Sanders, a graduate of McAfee School of Theology now pursuing a doctorate at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, lamented the recent suicide of a Michigan teenager who had just told his mother he was gay as evidence of “ministerial malpractice” going on in American pulpits.</p>
<p>Sanders, a featured speaker at last April’s [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant co-sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Mercer University’s Center for Theology and Public Life, said people discuss malpractice by clergy less than other professions. When they do it usually refers to cases of criminal child sexual abuse that have come to light in various denominations in recent years.</p>
<p>He applied the term to the well-meaning but misguided belief that violence both committed against LGBT persons and the self-loathing that causes gay teenagers to take their own life will go away if churches just learn to “love” people who are gay.</p>
<p>“Love” covers a multitude of meanings in various religious traditions, Sanders said. Churches that practice “reparative” or “conversion” therapy aimed at “normalizing” gays by changing their sexual orientation say they are motivated by love and compassion.</p>
<p>Other congregations are more “accommodating” to people attracted to members of the same sex. Some are the “silent type” that loves and welcomes everybody without getting into specifics. Others are the “vocal type,” which intentionally include gay people in structures like leadership, ordination and marriage already enjoyed by straight folks.</p>
<p>Sanders said “accommodation” is helpful, but he called for a broader vision of love “supported by a robust understanding of justice, concerned not only with the wider distribution of privileges but also with the more fundamental inequality of some having to grow up with the marks of insult and hatred being written onto their bodies.”</p>
<p>Sanders cited several examples of what he means by “ministerial malpractice.”</p>
<p>–“Negligent attitudes of clergy and congregations concerning the violence being enacted upon queer lives, not just the violence of bullying, but the persistent injury to the bodies, psyches and souls of queer people.”</p>
<p>–“The youth minister who invites representatives of ‘ex-gay’ ministries to speak to teenagers because these ‘practices of love’ are theologically responsible, despite evidence of their destructive power.”</p>
<p>–“The pastor who knows the realities of violence enacted upon queer lives and is deeply concerned, but who, nevertheless, avoids any mention of sexuality in the pulpit so as not to upset parishioners.”</p>
<p>–“The theological scholar who prevaricates in public when asked about concerns of justice for queer lives — not even out of a sense of personal conviction on the matter, but in order to protect a public career: speaking invitations, book deals.”</p>
<p>–“The congregation that skirts around open discussions of queer affirmation, inclusion and justice, because they don’t want to become a ‘gay church’ or (more liberally) they don’t want to be ‘defined by that one issue.’”</p>
<p>Sanders discussed the article Dec. 15 in an <a href="http://stateofbelief.com/" type="external">interview</a> on the State of Belief radio program with <a href="http://stateofbelief.com/about-the-host/" type="external">Welton Gaddy</a>, head of the Interfaith Alliance and an ordained Baptist minister who serves as pastor for preaching and worship at <a href="http://www.northmin.com" type="external">Northminster (Baptist) Church</a> in Monroe, La.</p>
<p>Sanders told Gaddy he has long been concerned about gay teen suicides, and began writing and speaking publicly on the topic after a string of highly publicized such deaths in 2010. He has also made it an item of research in his pursuit of a Ph.D. in pastoral theology and pastoral care.</p>
<p>Sanders described the problem as “fists with footnotes.”</p>
<p>“We are aware of fist bullies that attack queer lives on a daily basis in schools, in society, but we often aren’t aware of the footnotes that those fists come with,” Sanders said. “The physical bullying and the violence is a citation of the larger social and religious discourse that mentions the queer self as sick or sinful or an object of disgust or derision.”</p>
<p>“The words don’t even have to be said,” he continued. “We all already know the reason that queer people become subjected to violence and bullying.”</p>
<p>What is less obvious, he said, is how the “fists with footnotes mentality” affects the psyche of adolescents trying to square same-sex attraction with a healthy image of “self.”</p>
<p>“What I’m suggesting in the article is that we need to sort of revisit these practices of love,” Sanders said, “to re-imagine these practices of love so that they are supported by a more robust notion of justice that takes into account the effects of multiple levels of violence experienced by queer people in our society.”</p>
<p>In addition to his studies, Sanders is editor of the forthcoming revised edition of <a href="http://soulforce.org/pdf/rdwt.pdf" type="external">Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Resource for Congregations in Dialogue on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity</a>, published by the <a href="http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/" type="external">Alliance of Baptists</a>, the <a href="http://www.awab.org/" type="external">Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists</a>, and the <a href="http://www.bpfna.org/" type="external">Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America</a>.</p>
<p>Previous related story:</p>
<p><a href="faith/theology/item/7160-speakers-say-churches-can-learn-from-same-sex-couples" type="external">Speaker says churches can learn from same-sex couples</a></p>
<p>Other commentary by Cody Sanders:</p>
<p><a href="opinion/commentaries/item/4602-on-gay-rights-is-there-common-ground" type="external">On gay rights, is there common ground?</a></p>
<p><a href="opinion/commentaries/item/5001-the-questions-we-aren’t-asking-about-gays-and-the-church" type="external">The questions we aren’t asking about gays and the church</a></p>
<p><a href="opinion/commentaries/item/5725-public-professions-and-sexuality" type="external">Public professions and sexuality</a></p> | Scholar says gay teen suicide a moral issue | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/scholar-gay-teen-suicide-a-theological-issue/ | 3 |
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<p>Rob Cook, whose credits include “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” will become commissioner of the Technology Transformation Service on Oct. 31. He will have top secret security clearance.</p>
<p>Cook is credited with advancements in software-driven animation. He said in a statement that the U.S. needs first-rate technology expertise, effective relationships with industry and partnerships throughout government. He declined, through a spokesman, to speak to The Associated Press. Cook’s appointment was for three years. He has been a Democratic donor to the campaigns of President Barack Obama and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>The Technology Transformation Service is part of the U.S. General Services Administration. It was created in April to “transform the way government builds, buys and shares technology.” It includes “18F,” a Silicon Valley-style startup for government digital projects that was the subject of a highly critical review by the agency’s inspector general over its financial losses of $32 million and lack of viable financial planning, among other issues.</p>
<p>Cook will also oversee investments, acquisitions and the presidential innovation fellows program, among other offices.</p>
<p>Cook joined Pixar in 1981 when it was part of Lucasfilm and was the primary author of Pixar’s RenderMan software, which creates photo-realistic computer images for animation, effects and design. It has been used in 19 of the last 20 films to win Oscars for visual effects. Cook later started a digital imaging company and headed a software company he sold to Microsoft, before returning to Pixar as vice president of software development. Since 2012, he has been a business consultant to prominent Silicon Valley companies.</p>
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<p>“Rob’s renowned experience, both as a software developer and in cultivating innovative teams throughout his career, are incredible additions to our long-term goal of enhancing the way government uses technology to deliver world-class services for citizens,” Tony Scott, the U.S. chief information officer, said in a statement.</p>
<p>Cook won an Oscar in 2001 for software and in 2009 an award for a lifetime of contributions to computer graphics from a computer professionals group.</p>
<p>Cook’s job pays between $123,175 and $185,100.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Tami Abdollah on Twitter at https://twitter.com/latams.</p> | Ex-Pixar executive to head federal tech innovation service | false | https://abqjournal.com/876214/ex-pixar-executive-to-head-federal-tech-innovation-service.html | 2016-10-27 | 2 |
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<p>Despite similar challenges, we have long had strikingly different approaches to the regulation of horse racing versus casino gaming. It may be time to unify our approach.</p>
<p>The differences stem partially from history. Casino gaming in the United States was born in a den of iniquity. The modern industry was begun by mobsters in the desert in Las Vegas, Nev. When Nevada and then other governments began to legitimize and tax casino gaming, they came to it with great suspicion and began to regulate it rigorously.</p>
<p>Virtually everyone involved in casino gaming at any level, from the cocktail waiter to the major casinos owners, needs a license of some sort and is carefully scrutinized for his or her “suitability.” Moreover, we have rigid gaming regulations that require recorded video surveillance of all gaming areas, resulting in thousands of cameras recording data in every casino.</p>
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<p>These regulations often prevent employees in “count rooms” from even having pockets in their uniforms. Players do not need licenses, but we watch them closely for evidence of cheating and they may be banned from a casino in the famous “black book.”</p>
<p>The main purpose of all of this regulation is to ensure that honest people are not tempted to crime by having access to so much cash and to ensure that opportunistic criminals cannot make the casino a tool for money laundering or other corruption. This regulatory scrutiny works; it is rare that significant corruption in casino gaming occurs for very long.</p>
<p>Horse racing has a different history. Horse racing has been legal in some states for 200 years, and it comes from a far different cultural milieu. Horse racing once had a socially valuable purpose in improving the breeding of the primary mode of western transportation. Long after horses ceased being a principal means of transportation, wealthy sportsmen and hobbyists remained interested.</p>
<p>Horse racing never had the taint that casino gaming had. As a result, we have never applied such careful regulatory standards to horse racing or the people involved.</p>
<p>These cultural expectations may no longer be accurate. It simply may no longer be true that all of the people currently involved in horse racing are horse lovers in pursuit of a wholesome passion.</p>
<p>Pressure on this notion began to build with “racinos,” as horse tracks with slot machines are widely known. Initially, racinos were developed to cross-subsidize the horse-racing industry by directing slot machine revenues toward racing purses. More recently, however, some racetracks have become stalking horses for disguised casinos. These days, the public seems more interested in slot machines than racing wagers, and some track owners are driven more by revenues than a wholesome passion for horses.</p>
<p>More pressure on our ideal of wholesome horse racing has increased recently with the revelations that many owners are risking their horses’ lives by pushing them to injury or drugging them to improve performance. The ideal is further tested by the revelation that Mexican drug cartels are allegedly using horse racing to launder money.</p>
<p>It would be a wholesale shift in philosophy to apply the same rigorous scrutiny to gambling ventures in the racing context that we already apply in the casino context. We should not do so without careful thought because it would be very expensive for the horse racing industry, and these increased costs would inevitably put some racetracks and owners out of business.</p>
<p>But recent revelations are deeply troubling, and we should be asking the same question of horse tracks that we ask of casinos. If we cannot trust that the action at tracks is legitimate, why should we allow it to be legal?</p> | Horse Racing Earns Increased Scrutiny | false | https://abqjournal.com/113366/horse-racing-earns-increased-scrutiny.html | 2012-06-18 | 2 |
<p>NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York annually gathers data from 6,300 weather stations as well as ship and buoy based instruments and data from Arctic Research Stations. According to this year’s GISS data, 2014 is the warmest year to date. This data was verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).</p>
<p>Since modern record keeping began in 1880, Earth’s average surface temperature has warmed by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit driven by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. The majority of the increase has been seen over the last three decades.</p>
<p>“The observed long-term warming trend and the ranking of 2014 as the warmest year on record reinforces the importance for NASA to study Earth as a complete system, and particularly to understand the role and impacts of human activity,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington in a <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-determines-2014-warmest-year-in-modern-record/" type="external">statement</a>.</p>
<p>The 10 warmest years on record have now occurred since 1998, with nine of those years occurring since 2000.</p>
<p>“This is the latest in a series of warm years, in a series of warm decades. While the ranking of individual years can be affected by chaotic weather patterns, the long-term trends are attributable to drivers of climate change that right now are dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt.</p>
<p>According to researchers they expect to see fluctuations in annual temperatures due to events such as El Niño or La Niña which cause unusual warming or cooling in the pacific. However, 2014 was a “El Niño-neutral” year and still broke the record.</p>
<p>In a <a href="" type="internal">report</a> late last year from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) it was also reported that temperatures are currently being kept cooler than they would otherwise be by gasses from recent volcanic activity. The research, published in the journal <a href="//www.nature.com/news/2014-was-the-hottest-year-on-record-1.16674”" type="external">Nature</a> shows that without the volcanic activity, temperatures wicked gave risen by as much as an additional 0.12 degrees Celsius since 2000.</p>
<p>The NOAA also <a href="" type="internal">stated</a>, in December of last year, that some coastal areas of the United States have already passed the tipping point and will soon begin to experience annual flooding by 2050.</p>
<p>“NOAA provides decision makers with timely and trusted science-based information about our changing world. As we monitor changes in our climate, demand for the environmental intelligence NOAA provides is only growing.&#160;It’s critical that we continue to work with our partners, like NASA, to observe these changes and to provide the information communities need to build resiliency,” ,” said Richard Spinrad, NOAA chief scientist.</p>
<p>The NASA and NOAA results are based on an average, global surface temperature reading and do not indicate a uniform heating of every region. In 2014, for example, parts of the US Midwest and East Coast were cooler than normal, while Alaska, California, Arizona and Nevada had their warmest years on record.</p>
<p>World leaders are expected to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference" type="external">meet in Paris</a> in December of this year to discuss a global approach to climate change and follow up on progress and agreements made at the <a href="http://newsroom.unfccc.int/lima/lima-call-for-climate-action-puts-world-on-track-to-paris-2015/" type="external">Lima Conference</a> in December 2014.</p>
<p /> | 2014 was warmest year on modern records according to NASA and NOAA | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/17/2014-was-warmest-year-on-modern-records-according-to-nasa-and-noaa/ | 2015-01-17 | 3 |
<p>Around 8,000 people, according to the police, marched this afternoon through Paris to celebrate the fall of the Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a journalist from Agence France-Presse reported. The demonstrators, mainly Tunisians and Franco-Tunisians, as well as representatives of the parties of the French left, gathered in the Place de la R??publique in the center of Paris. A group of young people were carrying coffins wrapped in Tunisian flags with banners, "Thanks to all our martyrs; we will never forget them." "We made the revolution; everything has to change. We are not going to let them rob the people of this victory," said Hedi, a 17 year old student. Najet Mizoni, a 59 year old law professor, said that she was "happy to be here, to participate in the first revolution in the Arab world." There were also demonstrations in several cities in the French interior, like Lyon and Toulouse.</p> | 8,000 demonstrators in Paris | true | https://leftvoice.org/8-000-demonstrators-in-Paris | 2011-01-16 | 4 |
<p>A new Baptist hymnal being developed by Mercer University will make a lasting contribution to worship among Baptists in North America, say three Virginia Baptist who are involved in the project.</p>
<p>More than 50 Baptist pastors, church musicians, composers, scholars and laymen from across the United States and Canada gathered at Mercer University's Atlanta campus Feb. 1-2 to begin fine tuning the hymnal.</p>
<p>Scheduled for release in 2009, the 400th anniversary of Baptists, the hymnal is a collaborative initiative of the Townsend-McAfee Institute Graduate Studies in Church Music at Mercer and the Mercer University Press.</p>
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<p>“It is a wonderful honor to be a part of a project that will make a lasting impression and contribution to worship within our greater Baptist family,” said Tom Ingram, worship and spiritual development consultant for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. “Baptists have always been a singing people. The Mercer Hymnal Project, guided by a wide variety of some of the most outstanding church musicians and educators from across the country, will follow in that wonderful tradition by including not only the great hymns that have taught us so much and been the vehicle through which we have been able to express our faith beyond words, but also those hymns that have been newly written and composed and that allow us to sing from our hearts and souls from within the culture and context of our contemporary world.”</p>
<p>During the early February meeting in the Atlanta, the project's editorial committee unveiled the official title of the hymnal—Celebrating Grace: Hymnal for Baptist Worship.</p>
<p>“We want all Baptists to feel connected to this hymnal,” said John E. Simons, coordinating editor of the project and director of the Townsend-McAfee Institute Graduate Studies in Church Music at Mercer University. “Grace is part of what it is to be a Baptist, to be a Christian. For all of our differences, grace is a point of common ground among all of us.”</p>
<p>The three-year project has purposefully taken a grass-root approach to developing and designing the hymnal in order to be inclusive of all Baptists and to be open to new ideas for meeting the resource needs of churches.</p>
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<p>Providing the leadership for the development of Celebra- ting Grace: Hymnal for Baptist Worship are (left to right, front row) David W. Music, director of graduate studies, School of Music, Baylor University, Wa- co, Texas; Mark Edwards, minister of music, First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn.; Paul A. Richardson, professor of church music, Samford Univer- sity, Birmingham, Ala.; Alicia W. Walker, associate pastor of music and worship, Peachtree Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.; and J. Thomas McAfee III, chairman and president, Hall- mark Systems, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.; (back row) Milburn Price, retired dean, Samford Univer- sity School of Performing Arts, Birmingham, Ala.; John E. Simons, director of Townsend-McAfee Institute Graduate Stu- dies in Church Music, Mercer University, Macon, Ga., and Stanley L. Roberts, director of choral activities, Townsend School of Music, Mercer University, Macon, Ga.</p>
<p>“We began this project from ground level, without a predetermined agenda,” said Milburn Price, an editor of the project and a retired dean of the School of Performing Arts at Samford University. “We have brought together creative minds, and we are listening to what is being said. The project will benefit greatly from this process.”</p>
<p>The men and women participating in this project include nationally and internationally recognized authorities in hymnology in North America.</p>
<p>“They are contributing their knowledge and talents to making this new hymnal the finest music and worship resource available to churches,” said J. Thomas McAfee III, president and chairman of Hallmark Systems, who serves as the project chair. “We are all Baptists, and while we may not always agree, many want to come together on this and make it work.”</p>
<p>Seminary professor Deborah Carlton Loftis echoed McAfee's description of the project's participants.</p>
<p>“I'm honored to be working on this hymnal project with so many outstanding colleagues who share a passion for congregational singing,” said Loftis, professor of church music at Baptist Theological Seminary. “We have an exciting task before us to gather fresh new expressions of our faith and mission while maintaining a foundational core of familiar well-loved hymns.</p>
<p>“Recognizing the diversity among different Baptist groups, we want to widen the repertoire to support worship for Baptists all over North America. That's a tall order, to be sure, but a challenge I'm ready to embrace. It would fulfill one of my fondest hopes if this collection of congregational song could provide one place of common ground for many Baptists to stand together.”</p>
<p>Also serving on the hymnal projects is David Schwoebel, minister of music at Derbyshire Baptist Church in Richmond.</p>
<p>“I am of course honored and humbled to serve on the hymnal committee with so many of my lifetime ‘heroes' in Baptist church music life,” he said. “I pray I'll be able to positively contribute on this project to affect the lives of others as these highly respected ladies and gentlemen have contributed to church music for years to affect my life and highly influenced my ministry practice and career.</p>
<p>“The task of creating a useful hymnal for Baptists in the 21st century is a tremendous challenge and opportunity. The supplemental music resources committee I serve on has been charged to assemble practical, yet creative worship materials for local churches to use in their worship services. I truly love this creative aspect of our corporate worship life. I believe it is in the innovative, thoughtful delivery of the familiar text and tune that worshippers realize a new and hopefully deeper meaning of what they have sung the same way for years.</p>
<p>“Our committee's work is aggressively underway to research and list everything that has ever been innovatively done on the hymns selected so fare for inclusion—choral descants, tags, intros, organ free accompaniments, handbell, solo instrument and full-blown orchestral accompaniments—and when needed, enlist writers to create new material. Jokingly, I'm glad we have three years to complete the potentially overwhelming task!”</p>
<p>Broad in scope and supportive of Baptist patterns of worship, the hard-bound hymnal will be published for congregational use, yet will provide planning and supplemental resources (printed and online) for church worship leaders. It will include traditional hymns, congregational songs, scripture songs, worship readings, and extensive indices. Organized in a user-friendly manner, the hymnal will feature expanded sections on such topics as baptism, the Lord's Supper, family, Advent, Lent, Easter, corporate worship and praise.</p>
<p>A core collection of 145 hymns has been selected for the hymnal through a survey of ministers of music across the country. To add to the core collection, committee members are reviewing and evaluating new music and hymns submitted for the hymnal. The total collection is expected to include 600 to 650 hymns, plus online resources.</p>
<p>“A clear distinction of this hymnal project is the new collection it will offer,” said Price. “It is like no other at this time.”</p>
<p>A distinction of this hymnal will be the combination of printed and online resources for worship and ministry. The first of their kind, these comprehensive companion resources will provide worship planning tools, responsive readings and litanies, as well as the history of the hymns and information on the composers and authors. It will have searchable detailed and biblical indices. Printed supplemental musical arrangements, such as for piano and organ, instrumental and orchestral, and descants and codas of varying difficulties, will be available online for immediate purchase and download.</p>
<p>“This online resource is a vast untapped area. No one is offering the depth and breath of information and materials we have planned,” said Stanley L. Roberts, an editor and director of choral activities at Townsend School of Music at Mercer University. “Churches of all sizes will benefit from having this tremendous addition to the hymnal.”</p> | With a voice of singing: New Baptist hymnal will offer churches options in congregational worship | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/withavoiceofsingingnewbaptisthymnalwillofferchurchesoptionsincongregationalworship/ | 3 |
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<p>By Ehab Farouk</p>
<p>CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s tourism revenues jumped by 170 percent in the first seven months of 2017, reaching $3.5 billion, a government official told Reuters.</p>
<p>The number of tourists visiting Egypt rose by 54 percent, reaching 4.3 million in the first seven months of the year, he said.</p>
<p>The government official, who preferred not to be named, said Egypt hoped the number of tourists would reach 8 million this year, compared with 4.5 million in 2016.</p>
<p>He expected revenues to reach $6 billion in 2017, compared with $3.4 billion the previous year, despite Russia’s flight ban. Russia banned flights to Egypt in 2015 after an aircraft crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 passengers on board.</p>
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<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> | Egypt's tourism revenues rise 170 percent in first seven months of 2017: official | false | https://newsline.com/egypt039s-tourism-revenues-rise-170-percent-in-first-seven-months-of-2017-official/ | 2017-09-05 | 1 |
<p>Herman Cain may feel like he’s being harassed by the media, but his harassment controversy is now spinning out of control.The question when Politico broke the original piece Sunday night, involving two unnamed women and largely unspecified conduct from his tenure at the National Restaurant Association, was how much more would come out on the sexual harassment front. The answer, at the moment, is a whole helluva lot.Forget for a moment his ham-handed handling of the matter, first saying he didn’t remember any legal settlement, then saying it was for about three months’ pay (it turned out to be a year’s salary, $35,000, the New York Times reported). Leave aside that some reporters looked like jackals shouting questions at the candidate while he appeared with a doctors’ group in Alexandria. On Wednesday, the story reached a tipping point.Now there’s a third case, according to GOP pollster Chris Wilson, who says he saw Cain sexually harass an unnamed woman at an Arlington restaurant in the late 1990s, making everyone “very uncomfortable.” Wilson says the woman wants to talk. (Again, though, no details on what Cain allegedly said or did—this is one murky controversy, without so much as a pubic-hair-on-Coke-can phrase attributed to the alleged harasser.)And we have the lawyer for one of the two complainants at the restaurant group saying she wants to tell her side of the story if the trade association would just release her from her promise not to talk. That was starting to smell like a cover-up--although the lawyer later backed off and said the woman doesn’t want to go public and become the next Anita Hill.Then there’s Iowa radio host Steve Deace, saying that Cain has said “awkward” and “inappropriate” things to his staff.Beyond the drip-drip-drip of new details, the harassment story has now graduated to full culture-war status. You have Cain accusing one of his former consultants, Curt Anderson, a Rick Perry supporter, of leaking the allegations (Anderson denies it), while his chief of staff demands apologies from Perry and Politico (don’t hold your breath). You have Rush Limbaugh accusing the media of an “unconscionable, racially stereotypical attack” and Ann Coulter using similar language (“Liberals detest, detest, detest conservative blacks.”). Lefty pundits, of course, are firing back (Lawrence O’Donnell saying Rush is peddling “pure hatred”).What all this means is that there’s enough invective to fuel the story hour after hour even during the brief periods when no actual news emerges.Meanwhile, some Iowa Republicans are telling reporters for The Washington Post and Politico that they don’t much care about the harassment allegations and view the whole mess as a media-generated scandal.</p>
<p>The problem now for Cain is that he can’t talk about anything else—or that, more precisely, nothing else he says can break through the scandalous static.</p> | Cain Controversy Reaches Tipping Point | true | https://thedailybeast.com/cain-controversy-reaches-tipping-point | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
<p>A big part of the reason why I don’t want to have kids is that I think that this is probably one of the most dull times in history to be a kid. I look at those plastic playgrounds with only those diaper-looking swings, and no merry go-rounds or see-saws or legit slides (sorry, but your four-foot high plastic slide is a slide made of lies) and I feel deeply sad. I look at kids going trick-or-treating, with their parents, at three in the afternoon and I just want to give up on the world altogether.</p>
<p>To be perfectly frank, the idea of living amongst people raised in this manner fills me with absolute dread and despair. There is no question in my mind that these children, once adults, will be exquisitely intolerable. In 20 years we will be living in a nation of gluten-free Taylor Swifts, and that is a terrifying thought.</p>
<p>I’m deeply confused by the way things are now for children, but I didn’t quite realize the extent of it all until today, when I found out that some parents in Washington, D.C. were being investigated for neglect for letting their 10-year-old and six-year-old children take a walk together.</p>
<p>On December 20th, parents Danielle and Alexander Meitiv allowed their kids Rafi and Dvora walk from a park back to their home on their own–about a one mile walk, which they were familiar with. Half way through this walk, the kids were pulled over by police who had been alerted by, I assume, Gladys Kravitz, and taken home. The family is now the subject of a full-on investigation by Child Protective Services.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, somewhere, there is a kid who is actually being neglected or abused somewhere, and the schools and police and CPS are doing nothing. But godforbid some kids take a walk. In broad daylight. Before the street lights are even on.</p>
<p>Via <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/maryland-couple-want-free-range-kids-but-not-all-do/2015/01/14/d406c0be-9c0f-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html" type="external">Washington Post</a>:</p>
<p>Alexander said he had a tense time with police on Dec. 20 when officers returned his children, asked for his identification and told him about the dangers of the world.</p>
<p>The more lasting issue has been with Montgomery County Child Protective Services, he said, which showed up a couple of hours after the police left.</p>
<p>Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for CPS, said she could not comment on cases but that neglect investigations typically focus on questions of whether there has been a failure to provide proper care and supervision.</p>
<p>In such investigations, she said, CPS may look for guidance to a state law about leaving children unattended, which says children younger than 8 must be left with a reliable person who is at least 13 years old. The law covers dwellings, enclosures and vehicles.</p>
<p>Seriously? I babysat my sister when I was 12 and started babysitting for neighbors around that age as well. And I was pretty good at it too!</p>
<p>Apparently, letting your kids go for a walk is so unusual now that these parents have actually given their kids laminated cards that say “I am not lost, I am a free-range child.” What do kids even do now? Are they allowed to ride bikes? At what age is one now “allowed” to take a walk to the park or to get ice cream or whatever? What do they do in the summer? Do they have to wait to go outside until there’s an adult around to “supervise?”</p>
<p>The Meitivs say that on Dec. 20, a CPS worker required Alexander to sign a safety plan pledging he would not leave his children unsupervised until the following Monday, when CPS would follow up. At first he refused, saying he needed to talk to a lawyer, his wife said, but changed his mind when he was told his children would be removed if he did not comply.</p>
<p>Following the holidays, the family said, CPS called again, saying the agency needed to inquire further and visit the family’s home. Danielle said she resisted.</p>
<p>“It seemed such a huge violation of privacy to examine my house because my kids were walking home,” she said.</p>
<p>This week, a CPS social worker showed up at her door, she said. She did not let him in. She said she was stunned to later learn from the principal that her children were interviewed at school.</p>
<p>The family has a meeting set for next week at CPS offices in Rockville.</p>
<p>This is seriously one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard of in my life. Personally, I think it’s probably more damaging to a child’s development to not allow them any kind of independence. I get that the world is “scary” and that there are “dangers” out there, but sheltering kids to the point where they can’t even take a walk by themselves is going a little far.</p> | Parents Investigated For Neglect After Letting Kids Go For A Walk | true | http://thefrisky.com/2015-01-16/parents-investigated-for-neglect-after-letting-kids-go-for-a-walk/?utm_source%3Dsc-fb%26utm_medium%3Dref%26utm_campaign%3Dkids | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
<p>President Barack Obama returned to Chicago, his adopted hometown, Tuesday night to deliver a <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/01/10/509137106/watch-live-obama-addresses-the-nation-in-farewell-speech" type="external">farewell address</a> marking the end of his eight years in office. Thousands attended the speech at McCormick Place, where Obama paid tribute to his administration’s accomplishments, his family and staff.&#160; Recalling at first his early days as an organizer in Chicago, the president delivered an optimistic message urging national unity and political participation, but also warned of various threats to American democracy, including income inequality, racism and toxic politics.</p>
<p>Looking back to his historic election as the nation’s first African American president, Obama said, “After my election there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. … But we’re not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do.”</p>
<p>See photos of the evening and interviews with attendees by photographer Max Herman.</p>
<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Sandra McCloud of Chicago, originally from Texas, said she got emotional seeing President Obama talk about his work in the White House and his family. But she's also nervous about the incoming presidential administration. "It's not that I'm against the Republican Party--not at all. I just feel that Donald Trump is the wrong person [for president]."</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Ashley McGowan of Chicago attended President Obama's victory speech in Grant Park eight years ago. Before the president’s farewell speech, she said, "I'm hoping for the same vibe today--something to get us through the next four to eight years. I think that we need a boost.”</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Wesley Morrissette of Chicago, originally from Maryland, said that President Obama doesn't get enough credit for his work during his two terms. "I think a lot of people complain about his policy, not knowing that what they're complaining about isn’t [up to] him."</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>"I don't think he'll be back in Chicago for a good while," said Dorthea McNulty of Chicago, who was without a ticket before President Obama's farewell speech. McNulty insisted, "I'm gonna get in--trust me."</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Audience members were interviewed by the media prior to President Obama's farewell speech at McCormick Place.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Jamel Franklin of Chicago said he has been an Obama supporter since 2004 and voted for the president in 2008 in his first time at the polls. Franklin came out to hear the farewell speech in part for guidance. "I'm waiting to hear what's next—not to be told what's next, but encouraged."</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>The Chicago Children's Choir performed with Eddie Vedder before President Obama’s farewell speech at McCormick Place.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Vice President Joe Biden greets Rev. Jesse Jackson before President Obama's farewell speech.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>President Obama walks out to deliver his farewell speech at McCormick Place.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>President Obama greets the crowd prior to making his farewell speech at McCormick Place. (Photo by Max Herman)</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Audience members cheer President Obama's arrival on stage at McCormick Place.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>A protester with a sign reading, "Pardon us all now!" attempts to disrupt President Obama's farewell speech.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>President Obama delivers his farewell speech. His remarks warned that economic inequality, racism, toxic politics and other ills pose a threat to democracy.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Thousands filled a hall at McCormick Place to hear President Obama's farewell speech.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Audience members cheered President Obama's comments about inclusion and diversity during his farewell speech. “After my election there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society,” the president said. “If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.”</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>President Obama delivers his farewell speech at McCormick Place. He ended with the same words that became the catchphrase of his presidential campaign” Yes we can.”</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>President Obama gives First Lady Michelle Obama a hug following his farewell speech at McCormick Place. The president said the First Lady “took on a role you didn’t ask for. And you made it your own with grace and with grit, style and good humor.”</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia Obama and the Bidens wave goodbye to the audience following the farewell speech at McCormick Place.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Vice President Joe Biden—“the scrappy kid from Scranton,” the president said--Jill Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, President Obama, and Malia Obama walk off stage after the farewell speech.</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Shannon Trudge came from Washington D.C. to see President Obama's speak and called his farewell "empowering and bold." Trudge was especially struck by the theme of unity and the idea that "we have to work together every day moving forward."</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>After the doom and gloom many students felt following the recent election, University of Chicago student Andrew Yin liked how President Obama put an emphasis on youth and unity during his farewell speech, but refrained from personal attacks."</p>
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<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Sandra McCloud of Chicago, originally from Texas, said she got emotional seeing President Obama talk about his work in the White House and his family. But she's also nervous about the incoming presidential administration. "It's not that I'm against the Republican Party--not at all. I just feel that Donald Trump is the wrong person [for president]."</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">permalink</a></p>
<p>Photo by Max Herman</p>
<p>Ashley McGowan of Chicago attended President Obama's victory speech in Grant Park eight years ago. Before the president’s farewell speech, she said, "I'm hoping for the same vibe today--something to get us through the next four to eight years. I think that we need a boost.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">permalink</a></p> | Photos: Obama bids his presidency farewell in Chicago | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/photos-obama-bids-his-presidency-farewell-in-chicago/ | 2017-01-11 | 3 |
<p>Once it became certain that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) wouldn’t be challenging President Obama from the left next year, as some liberals had hoped, it seemed like the president could look forward to smooth sailing through an uncontested nomination process. But it looks like the ride won’t be without a small bump. Anti-abortion activist <a href="http://www.terryforpresident.com/" type="external">Randall Terry has announced his intention to challenge Obama</a> in the Democratic primary, and he’s going to start running ads Thursday in Iowa, where he’ll be campaigning at a homeschooling convention.</p>
<p>Terry made a name for himself as the founder of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, but even the pro-lifers there found his antics a little extreme (he essentially justified the murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller), and they broke with him years ago. Since then, he’s been a one-man anti-abortion sideshow, appearing at tea party rallies dressed in chains and a death mask, getting arrested at Obama’s speech at Notre Dame in 2009, <a href="http://www.wfpl.org/2009/08/24/photos-activist-randall-terry-brings-health-care-protest-to-louisville/" type="external">acting out granny-killing death panel skits</a> to protest health care reform, and generally making a nuisance of himself.</p>
<p>But lest you think that Terry is a single issue presidential candidate, his ads will denounce the president on a host of issues—everything from Obama’s position on gays to the Wall Street bailout, and from China to oil drilling in the arctic. Terry claims that he will be expressing what Republican leaders should be saying but are too afraid to. “I am simply saying what John Boehner or Mitt Romney should say daily; apparently they do not posses the courage or clarity of thought,” he said in a press release announcing the new ads.</p>
<p>Terry is aware he has no hope of defeating Obama. “I’m not delusional,” he says, <a href="http://www.terryforpresident.com/teaparty.php" type="external">in a video message to tea partiers</a>. (He claims he was a tea partier before the tea party was hip.) Terry explains that beating Obama is not the point. “The point is to beat him up.” He plans to publicize his campaign by, among other things, running ads during next year’s Superbowl showing photos of dismembered fetuses.</p>
<p>This won’t be Terry’s first run for office. He’s run twice before, once for Congress in upstate New York in 1988 (read a funny story about this race <a href="" type="internal">here</a>, written back then by Mother Jones bureau chief David Corn). In 2006, he mounted a primary challenge to a Florida state senator who’d blocked legislation designed to keep Terri Schiavo alive. Both times he ran as a Republican. But apparently, he’s still mad that the GOP not only failed to support his campaigns but actively obstructed them, so this time around, he’s decided to torment the Democrats. Which is probably a good thing. He will at least give some of those poor reporters covering the Democratic primary something to do for the next year. If nothing else, Terry can be pretty entertaining. Check out Terry’s new Iowa ad here:</p>
<p /> | Meet Obama’s Primary Challenger | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/obamas-primary-challenger-randall-terry/ | 2011-06-08 | 4 |
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